My friend Poppy and I are so excited because we’re going to go see Melissa Manchester in concert tomorrow night!
Singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester is one of my best friends. She will always be one of my best friends – even if I never speak with her again. When I think of what a “friendship” is ultimately about – love and support, growth, inspiration, challenge, the people I think of as my “best” friends are the ones who have given so much to me in those areas that the effects are everlasting. I wouldn’t be who I am today without Melissa Manchester.
I toured with Melissa for about 8 years. We experienced swanky restaurants, limousines, and lobster in Maine; roadside dives and four-star hotels…one and two-star hotels… and some hotels that were wishing for a star.
The band members were the entertainment industry’s equivalent of salty-dogs. They had been there, twice, seen it three times and tried it at least once. I was the baby of the band (except for when we hired a sub background vocalist named Kellie Coffey. Amazingly sweet girl who went on to win a Country Music Award.) I travelled so much with Melissa that I would literally forget where I had been sometimes, and I mean by the next day! So & So would ask me, “Where were you this weekend?!” And I’d have to say, “Hold on, let me look at my calendar… Oh, yea! I was in St. Louis.” And all too often Las Vegas or Atlantic City.
‘Less touring life should seem too exciting, let me say that often the most exciting thing each of the band members would see was some special on “Tornados”, on The Weather Channel. Life on the road can be painfully exhausting and often there isn’t enough time to truly sightsee (if one has the energy after all the planes, trains and automobiles). Very often a trip could be rated by the number of premium channels offered by the hotel. - The high-end hotels were gorgeous, but it could get tideous paying $50 for a $10 cheeseburger just because it was delivered via Room Service on an overpriced tray! We weren't rich, and our daily perdiems went a much longer way in the cheaper hotels. :-)
In the end however, I got to experience a lot of truly beautiful places (which I remembered far past the next day.) And most importantly, made some lifelong friends – one of whom I’ll be seeing tomorrow night! :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment