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climber (Don Cutler) |
Mon May 17 '04 Bellevue American Music Bellevue, WA, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Thu May 20, '04 12:41 pm |
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All we can say is "WOW!" The Bellevue Wa. In-store performance was absolutely awesome. We called American Music in the morning to check whether or not we needed to know anything special about the performance (wrist bands, tickets, etc.), all they said was "Get here early." Since we live 70+ miles away, we left around 11:30 (the clinic was scheduled for 6:00). There's a lot of construction for the bridge in Tacoma, as well as the highway just before Bellevue. Well, we arrived early, it was 1:00 when we got there. We went in the store to check it out, it's a nice store, I thought it was a little small for such an event but it turned out great. We browsed around for awhile and checked out the various guitars. We asked one of the salesmen about the Peavey JSX, he said we couldn't try it because it was there for the demo. Oh well, it was worth a shot. A little later we were talking to another guy, and he offered to let us hook up to it!! Turns out that this guy (Gino) was the Peavey Rep. The amp did everything you would expect it to do from, sweet, bell-like Clean to creamy blues Distortion to rip-your-face-off Metal. Everything is on the front of the amplifier except the line-out level for recording, but that only seems right since you don't accidentally want to change it. We felt quite honored to find out that it was the same amp that Joe was going to play for his performance. With 5 hours to kill, we went and browsed the other shops in the strip mall, got some lunch, and returned. We still had 3 hours to go, and nobody else had arrived yet. We browsed the store some more, then decided to walk up to Fred Meyer to get a disposable camera. Just as we were coming back, the first car with other fans showed up and staked out their spot as first in line. Okay, fine, we sat in the car for another 30 minutes and waited until 4 or 5 other people showed up, then we stood in line for 2 hours. We listened as Joe did his sound check / warm up. That was terrific by itself. Finally, they let everyone in the door. We managed to get up toward the front, unfortunately, it was right in front of the PA speaker. The store manager, Reese, had a few words to say, then Gino, the Peavey rep spoke for a few moments, then... JOE!!! He started off with the red Ibanez 1200, he played SWTA and Satch Boogie, then talked a little bit about the amp. He played Midnight, switched to Chrome Boy, spoke some more about the amp, played some more songs, switched to the 7 string, explained some more about the amp, played some more songs, then had a question and answer session. During his performance he discussed the different channels and played the songs in such a way as to demonstrate what the amp could do. It was kind of strange to see him playing without the DS-1, but the amp itself has replaced that little box. And then some!! While Joe was performing we noticed that Reese, the store manager, was pulling stuff off the racks in front of the windows so that the fans who couldn't get in could at least watch. We thought that was extremely cool of him! Then it was on to the autograph / picture session. Since we were towards the front of the stage, we ended up being at the back of the line for autographs. It moved along steadily, yet slowly. We got our picture taken with Joe, and our alloted two autographs per person. Like everyone always says, Joe is a down to earth, real person. He either has an extraordinary memory or can bullshit the hide off of a buffalo. He truly seemed to remember us from when we won aftershow passes at the G3 show last October. It was truly good to see and talk to him again. What a once in a lifetime experience!I think our ears have finally recovered from being two feet in front of the PA speaker. But it was well worth the experience. We will see you again Joe, when you are here with Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy in September
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rushman (troy rush) |
Mon May 17 '04 Bellevue American Music Bellevue, WA, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Tue May 18, '04 7:05 pm |
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Hi Joe, my wife and I had a great time at your appearance at the Bellevue American Music store. It is great that you still take time to see your fans on a more personal level, we really appreciate it. Also it was awesome to finally meet you and shake your hand, something that alot of musicians unfortunately don't get out and do with their fans. It would be alot of fun to spend more time in a small setting like this with you. We look forward to seeing you come back and play soon.
Thank you and take care, Troy and Kristine Rush
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DJ HAMSTER (Luke Kearney) |
Mon May 17 '04 Bellevue American Music Bellevue, WA, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Tue May 18, '04 2:50 pm |
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Hey Joe, my name is Luke and I just want to say that I totally enjoyed your performance tonight. I was the one who asked you about keeping in touch with your former students and tried (unsuccessfully, haha) to shake your left hand. It's all good though, I extremely admire your humble and down-to-earth attitude and I think that a lot of professional musicians could learn a thing or two from you. All in all tonight was great, I appreciate you signing all of my stuff, you definately made tonight a night that my friend, sister, and I will never forget. Luke K.
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