The Hair Metal Files: Teenage John’s High-School Reunion
The backstage area bustled with activity. I kept reminding myself that I was there as a journalist, not as a fan. It was really hard though, especially when Stephen Pearcy emerged from the dressing room. RATT was three minutes from the stage. A roadie handed him a microphone and he was pacing back and forth, psyching himself up. He stopped pacing long enough to say hello to me again. He gave me a high-five.
“Hey man, we didn’t have time to hang out this time around. Next time we’ll grab a brew or something,” he said, before returning to his routine.
The other members of RATT emerged: Warren DeMartini, Bobby Blotzer, Robbie Crane and John Corabi. I shook hands with each of them and wished them a good show. The road crew finally kicked me out, and I went to my seat. When I got there, they were playing “Slip of the Lip,” my all-time favorite slice of RATT n’ Roll. It was a surreal end to a surreal day.
The M3 Rock Fest felt like one giant high school reunion. The bands had all toured with each other at one time or another during their Aqua-Net heyday, and greeted each other with hugs and laughter. It was a high school reunion for me too, as guys I worshipped in high school kept walking by me. Every few minutes a van with tinted windows would pull up, and someone would get out. When I came back from the concession stand, I found Nuno Bettencourt and Gary Cherone of Extreme lounging in the pink chairs of the backstage area. Gilby Clarke went motoring by on a golf cart, waving to me as he passed. Jani Lane was talking shop with Marq Torien of the BulletBoys. I was totally professional, but in the back of my mind I was thinking, “Holy shit….Mark Slaughter is standing over there.”
I also ran into people that I hadn’t seen in years, like Linda, who I first met as a teenage mallrat. She worked at Hot Topic, and held t-shirts for my mom to approve. I ran into Tammi, who I first met through the Poison board. She helped me meet Bret Michaels back in 2005.
I kept my game face on for most of the day, but there were times when I couldn’t help but flex my geek muscles. Keri Kelly’s mouth hung open when I told him that I remembered him from Big Bang Babies. I asked Gilby Clarke why he didn’t play any Candy songs during his set. He shook his head in disbelief and said “Um, I forgot them all.” Jetboy laughed when I told them I caught a Stryper bible. Jani Lane put “I Saw Red” in his setlist for me, because we had the same first name.
Twisted Sister was the headliner of the festival, a spot they deserved. Dee shook my hand and said hello as he got out of the van. I didn’t see him again until his performance. His onstage alter-ego is as fierce today as it was in 1984.
The M3 Rock Fest was my ultimate teenage fantasy come to life. I thought about Teenage John all day. His freakouts would have been on the outside, instead of a series of inner monologues. His hands would have been shaking as Nuno Bettencourt acknowledged his presence. He might have gotten a little misty talking to Stephen Pearcy. He would have had tons of fun. Adult John had fun too, but in a different way. It was cool meeting these guys, but it was much better having real conversations with them. Teenage John bubbled to the surface only once. Jani Lane was playing “Heaven,” and asked the crowd to sing it with him. Teenage John burst forth and sang about the sparkle in Laura S.’s eyes, completely free of irony.
