We rehearsed the song through about 4-5 times over 2 days, if I remember right. We had to do it between line-checks or before the bands got there at 11am.
Glenn was at the first run through and had told us in advance, if you suck, you aren't playing. See... noone gets by the man.
We bluffed our way through and got the ...
Our amazing drummer, Mike Haid actually had just gotten back from a gig he had down the road at midnight and basically walked onto the kit to play with us. You might recognize Mike's name from his stints with David Chastain or his articles in Modern Drummer. That is the kit that he brings each year. The rack was amazing this year... no stands fell.
We had Johnny Macaluso on stand-by on the side of the stage if Mike hadn't made it in time. Thanks, Johnny!
We had Don Capps on back-ups for the harmony in the chorus. He nailed it, but it was hard to hear him over the crowd... which is never a bad thing. He is also another drum tech of our 3.
We had both Shane (Krucible) and Mike Clark on bass. Maiden has 3 guitarists, so we had to 1-up them with 2 guitarists and 2 bassists.
Mike DiSarro of Prymary fame was on guitar along with Wayne Petroskey of Silent Shadows. These are my right hand guys and the 2 main guitar techs for either side of the stage each year. Both have some new material coming out soon (plug, plug).
I sang, because hey bassists cannot outnumber guitarists and that's where we have to draw the line.
I believe Glenn, Ralf Walter, Kelly, Mike (our new keyboard tech) and Duke (bass tech) joined us along with others for background vocals, but it was a blur, so I'll have to watch the video someday to see for sure. Sorry, if I missed anyone.
We're very fortunate to have such a dedicated and hardworking crew, but it's even cooler to know that they can really tear it up musically with little prep.
After the song, the crew shared/polished off a bottle of Jaeger and the rest is a bit sketchy at least from this angle.
It was nice to be back on stage for a few moments and it never ceases to amaze me how awesome the PPUSA USA crowd.
Thank you for another great event!
You Rock!
