NEWSLETTERS
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June Issue Hello again! Since my co-editor seems to have covered the West Palm Beach show so well I thought I would do a short piece. Ladies first of course! One reminder if
you didn’t already know the song “Wake Up” from 10 will be on a sound
track/ movie called “Wild Awake” which has one of the Baldwin brothers in
it. Stephen I believe. I have NO idea of the release date and if you would like
to know feel free to email Tom at: EZNPubRel1@aol.com
and he might be able to shed some light on it for you. Enuff Z’Nuff Hits the Beach!!…
Review of
EZN’s showing at the Glam Slam Metal Jam in West Palm Beach, FL June 2, 2001 By Penny
Irving and Traci Peters of the Express Being long
distance friends and also die-hard Z’Nuff fans brought the two of us to the
conclusion long ago, that whenever the band plays near one of our home towns,
we’ll always try to get together for a show, and plan our yearly “girls
vacation” around it as well. 2001
afforded us the Glam Slam Metal Jam, and even though it was a bit of a drive
from Penny’s home turf of Jacksonville…(and a half-day’s flight from my
home in Wisconsin!) the 3+-hour road trip was full of some beautiful music to
travel by! Driving from
Jacksonville on Saturday morning, we hit rain just as we arrived in West Palm
Beach just after noon. Unable to check into our room just yet, we decided to
scope out the amphitheater. Armed with directions from the hotel desk, it
sounded easy enuff to find… However, when we found ourselves about 8 miles out
of town in the farm fields, far from civilization, we realized we had missed
something! Stopping to get (better) directions, we then easily found the
“scene”. After “casing” the joint, we had just enuff time to head back
to our hotel to shower and change. The rain had turned into thunder and
spectacular- (albeit very SCARY)- lightening, and we worried a bit about whether
the outdoor show would still go on. Luckily, the rain/thunder/lightening
diminished as we drove back for the show. Arriving at the
Mars Music Amphitheater, we parked and walked toward the front gate, as rain
sprinkled lightly. Just as we were about to pick up our passes at “will
call”, we spotted Chip at the gate, signing autographs and talking to several
people standing in line. So we walked up and introduced ourselves and chatted
for a few minutes, before he was whisked away on the golf cart that the staff
used to transport VIP’s. The gate wasn’t scheduled to open for another ½
hour, so we returned to our car to wait, and attempt to stay dry! Walking
through the lot, several Poison fans could be seen “tailgating” and hanging
out together. Since they weren’t quite our “crowd”, we were happy to see a
guy walking toward us, wearing a white EZN t-shirt with multi-colored peace
signs on it. We greeted him with a most sincere “Love your shirt!!”
(We learned later that this “guy” was actually Rich, a good friend of
Chip’s from childhood.) Returning
to the gate, we spotted a group of people talking, and noticed that one of the
guys was holding some sleeves and liners from EZN CD’s and singles. So
naturally, we knew these were potential friends as well!
Meeting Adam, Shanyn, Dave, Julie & Heidi, we found an instant common
bond, as expected. We spent much of the evening chatting about Enuff Z’Nuff
and what we all love about the music and the guys. It was 7 ½ hours of open
live EZN forum!! —Much better than AOL! When the gates opened, we cruised directly to the merchandise stand, where the EZN “store” included: Tour t-shirts (black with green & purple lettering, and green peace sign on the front… tour dates on the back); Caps (black with green peace sign and EZN on them); Paraphernalia posters and “Live” posters. We each bought a t-shirt and bottled water, and then proceeded to the courtyard area to locate our seats. The rain had stopped and the sun was just beginning to peek through the clouds- (PERFECT timing, mother nature!)- and it was becoming quite warm! There were several empty seats in the front center section, so we asked the security people if we could move down front, after the show began. They obliged, so in the middle of the opener “Revolution”, we slipped down to about 7th row, center stage, and “rocked out”, watching the show and singing along with the other fans around us. Donnie had introduced the band as “Spinal Tap from the UK”… Not sure what this was all about, but he also closed the show with that title as well. No mistaken identity to worry about, however! —A huge “Enuff Z’Nuff” banner covered the wall behind the band, and everyone in the place knew exactly whom they were listening to! The sound was very good from where we were, though people in the more ‘distant’ seats said that some parts sounded slightly muffled to them. There were a few technical glitches in the form of feedback, but nothing to interfere tremendously with our enjoyment. Moving closer
also afforded us a better view of the “ensembles” that each of the guys was
wearing. Never failing to entertain us with the visual, the eccentricity of
clothing tastes showed through loud and clear! On stage left was Chip, in his
now-trademark “purple tie-dyed, stone-washed jeans”, and a purple patterned
shirt, capped off with an over-sized purple velvet-looking hat, sporting a large
feather on the side… and purple shades. Center stage was Donnie, in white
pants, a dark red velvet vest, a tank top with the words “Bite Me” printed
large on the front, and… bare feet—complete with perfectly painted toenails!
(The shirt, we learned later, was “borrowed” at the last minute from
“Greg”, a friend of Donnie’s who was hanging with the band on the bus
before the show… In return, Greg was given the shirt off Donnie’s back,
complete with “artwork”, in the form of caricatures, on the front and back,
created by Mr. Vie himself…) Ricky, in the back, was decked out in red and
black shimmery pants, semi-matching shirt- (which of course only made an
appearance for the first 2 songs…)-and Mardi gras beads around his neck. John,
on stage right, would get the prize for most “interesting” look on stage….
A denim stone-washed 2-piece silver-studded “dress”, with shorts underneath,
white knee-socks, black shoes, red-streaked hair and bright orange lipstick!!
The man looked like a cross between an 80’s Debbie Gibson and Raggedy Ann!!
John told us later that Donnie had bought the dress for him.
You’re a brave man, Monaco!! —And the skirt was a good ‘cut’ for
your figure! The stage of
course was set for the headliners, but EZN made a commanding presence
nonetheless, despite the lack of bells and whistles. The set list after
“Revolution” went as follows: Kiss The Clown, We’re All Alright, Fly Away,
a short drum solo into Baby Loves You, then The Beast, and closing with New
Thing. Like others who’ve
seen shows on this tour, we all felt a bit “cheated” or “teased” by such
a short set. 30 minutes does VERY little justice to these guys! But the energy
enthusiasm and vibe produced by each of them on stage set forth a challenge for
each of the other bands to try to match. (I
don’t think I’ve ever heard Ricky hit the drums like he did that night!) As expected,
Chip grabbed the lead vocals on the 2nd verse of New Thing, which
left Donnie to happily take on the role of his brother, putting out his best
“Chip impersonation”, marching and jumping in the finest Z’Nuff spirit.
Brotherly love abounded, even earlier in the show, when Chip found himself
facing an “in-your-face” pucker from Donnie…. then finally obliged him
with a quick “smooch”. People continued to file in during Z’Nuff’s show,
with approximately ¼ to 1/3 of the amp. full by the time they finished their
set. As we all stood and “hailed” our brothers, Donnie modestly mentioned,
“Hey… You guys aren’t supposed to clap for the opening band! —That’s
not cool!”--Which only made us all the more “vocal”. As we reluctantly
watched the band exit the stage, we left our seats to hang with our new Z’Nuff
buddies. A while later, Chip and Ricky appeared at the merchandise stand to meet
& greet and sign autographs for the growing number of EZN fans in
attendance. They stayed at the stand for about a half hour, and left no one out.
We decided to
stick around until the end of Poison’s show, and sure enuff, Chip and Donnie
appeared outside the back gate, telling us that they would pull the bus out into
the parking lot and hang with the fans for as long as we all cared to stay. The
whole experience from here on out was a magical “whirlwind” of idol-worship,
hi-jinx, and brotherhood. Monaco
appeared briefly and even jumped in a few group shots with us, chatted a bit
with everyone, and then faded out of sight. Unfortunately Ricky made no
appearance at this particular “event”. We did spot him walking into the bus,
just as we were leaving later. Chip, clad in a long-sleeved EZN tour shirt, and
wearing a black scully, was in and out of the bus, as he was undoubtedly getting
things ready for their departure. As usual, Mr. Z’Nuff was the epitome of
“business man”, toting t-shirts and CD’s around with him wherever he went,
smiling and gracious and welcoming to whomever approached him. Donnie, still
barefoot, had changed into baggy purple pants, a red Indian-patterned
paisley-type shirt and a red floppy hat. He
was in very good spirits, and seemed happy enuff to hang with the fans, posing
for pictures, chatting us up, and even “wowing” the small crowd with a
sudden glimpse of “artistic genius”, in the form of some impromptu drawing.
Spotting the perfect “canvas” on a fan’s t-shirt, he dropped to his knees
and proceeded to sketch- (in approximately 4 minutes time, nonetheless!)- his
now infamous caricature of the band, finishing up with his signature at the top.
For those of you who’ve never seen this man “create”… trust us—it’s
awe-inspiring! During this time, someone had come out to tell us to move out of
the road, to which an audience member replied, “You can’t interrupt
inspiration!!” We all agreed, but alas, “canvas” and artist reluctantly
relocated to a grassy area off to the side. At one point, a fan approached
Donnie and they began to discuss tattoos. Donnie explained that the Japanese
symbols on his left arm translated to: “broken hearted joker” in English,
but then added, “… at least that’s what they tell me. After a while,
we ventured over to where the tour bus was now parked, and Chip was still
handing out CD’s. Many were starting to leave for the night, so we said
good-bye to our new friends, grabbed a few pic’s of the tour bus, and a couple
more with Chip, then turned to leave. Hearing a loud “buzzing” sound behind
us, we turned again to see Mr. Vie, speeding by on a motorized scooter,
cigarette between his teeth, grinning from ear to ear and waving as he passed
by. Thoroughly goofy!! This may not sound so funny n print, but
for those who were there, it was a moment in time! Perfect end to a wonderful
night with friends! For those of
you out there who have yet to see Enuff Z’Nuff on this tour, or any show to
come, you’re in for a special treat when you do! Also know that our guys truly
appreciate each and every one of us being there to support them. They make themselves as available as possible for their fans,
and as Chip asked me to relay: “Thanks to all of our fans for sticking by and
seeing us through, all these years! We hail you all!!”
And “hail”, they do… As we stood at midnight outside the gates at the Mars Music Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, we realized one striking point: Not one member of any of the other bands there was greeting fans outside the gate—much less for an hour and a half, as WE were treated to! Bands like Enuff Z’Nuff, and guys of their character don’t come along very often. We “Hail” you right back, brothers!!! Onto my
review… Sunday June 10th at Hershey Park First off the
weather couldn’t have been any better! Not a cloud in the sky but radio
station balloons bouncing around. It was like I was back in the 80’s for a day
in a sea of thousands of fans both my age and younger. The band
started at 6 PM sharp so if you want to see them get to a show early as the
lines are long. Well… not for me but that’s another story… =) There are
some benefits to this job! The band
started the show off with a WICKED version of Revolution and if you are
wondering why… well my best guess as I didn’t ask Chip on the bus is to
naturally associate the band with their idols and start off by letting people
know that they are NO “glam band” and that their roots lie elsewhere! The set
included only 6 tunes and a small drum solo with Chip playing some percussion.
Can you guess what song that led into? Baby Loves You of course! The tunes were:
Revolution, Kiss The Clown, which was dangerous! It’s All Alright, Fly Away
that I hadn’t previously had the chance to hear live before. All I have to say
is what a song! It translated very well live and the mix for the band had none
of the technical problems that occur when they do club tours. The sound was
kicking and Ricky’s drum kit sounded KILLER that night. He is as solid as they
get and that’s just not his body for you ladies out there. =) As Chip said,
“he hits harder than any drummer I’ve played with period”! Donnie took
some time to introduce the band by name and welcome everyone that showed up and
said, “ somebody had to start the show early and I guess that’s us”! Best
opening band I ever heard! In my opinion a couple of hits or not, Quiet Riot
should have been the openers. Their sound was lacking to say the least! Next up
was the drum solo with Chip playing percussion while Donnie walked the stage in
bare feet. Must be nice to be able to work in your bare feet! They then went
into Baby Loves You and of course the song that started it all, New Thing with a
nice little instrumental piece in the ending. Just like that and their time was
up. “Wait you can’t stop now I was thinking”! The guys were
clad in mostly mod outfits in the vein of “Austin Powers” or just the way
they always dress to those of us who have seen them. Tie-dye shirts and pants,
purple hats and leather and suede as well. Hey Erin, did they steal your purple
hat color? (haha) After the show
I met up with Chrissy and we were escorted back to the tour bus by Mike who is
the main man on the tour who handles all of their needs and loading and
unloading. I talked with everyone but Donnie on this day (sorry Judy) and Chip
was doing interviews and being the host and just being the great guy that he is!
I didn’t even bother to watch the other bands because I went to support one
band and one band only! Plus hanging with them was much better than my
alternative. Now the other bands were good and it’s a show that is WELL worth
the money but I was envisioning the day when Enuff Z’nuff would be up on the
stage for an hour and a half and the other bands would be opening for them. For those of
you who want to know about merchandise that was available they are allotted two
items to sell. This is in the Poison tour rider and no CD’s were allowed to be
sold at the shows I’m sorry to tell you. So many potential new fans and no
music for them to take home. But,
you can purchase shirts and stickers I believe but don’t quote me on the
latter item. Both Traci and
I will be at shows between now and July so we will update you further on how the
tour is shaping up. Till then the
staff wishes you a GREAT beginning to the summer! The
EZNEXPRESS Staff: Chris
Capozza (owner/editor) Traci
Peters (co-editor) Michelle
Dimos (contributing (fact finding) editor
www.eznexpress.com Special thanks
to Penny Irving for her work on the Florida review!
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