Date: July 25, 1994
Place: New Orleans, LA UNO Lakefront Arena
Notes: Last performance of "Ugly Truth".
Setlist: Jesus Christ Pose, Spoonman, Let Me Drown, Mailman, The Day I Tried to Live, My Wave, Room a Thousand Years Wide, Black Hole Sun, Searching With My Good Eye Closed, Superunknown, Rusty Cage, Half, Mind Riot, Fell on Black Days, Drawing Flies, Ugly Truth, Slaves and Bulldozers, Kickstand, Face Pollution, Like Suicide, Head Down

Ya know; I've been sitting here today reading about Jim Christiansen's trials and tribulations in the concert life. Now granted, I like what Jim has to write and I think it's pretty damn cool, but I believe that I have something on him. I'm only 25, which makes me 12 years his junior, and I haven't seen such great bands as YES and Judas Priest, but I have worked with and for some of the greatest bands and DJs of my generation.

This all started back when I was in high school. Now, this was only 1994, but I was 17 at that time, and being a radio DJ was all I wanted to do in my life. I used to call up the morning show of a local radio station almost every day doing different voice characters and the occasional joke with the guys. Finally after about a month of doing this kind of stuff, the guys doing the morning show asked me if I could come to the studio and sit in with them one morning. I didn't mind skipping out of school; hell, I was doing this every other day anyway, so I said "What the hell?" When a 16-year-old kid showed up you should have seen the surprise on their faces. I was told that I had a great talent and they wanted to know if I would be willing to go on the payroll as a radio personality. Now here it was! My dream! I said sure and it was it.

Now, as many of you know, radio stations always get the great tickets to the great shows, and being a radio personality you can usually get backstage passes to the shows. My first concert as a radio personality was right after I had graduated high school and my best friend, Mark, and I got tickets to go see Soundgarden with The Reverend Horton Heat and the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, LA. This was awesome because that night Soundgarden was going to be filming a live video (or at least attempting to) for some song that escapes memory at this time. Now, we got to the arena about an hour and a half before the doors opened because I wanted to meet some of the guys and get a guitar signed for my radio station. When we walked into the Lakefront, the place was totally empty except for the road crew running around doing the last minute thing that road crews do. I walked to the giant curtain that covered the right side of the stage, showed my laminate and waltzed right in. Mark and I were creaming ourselves because it was so easy. I'm carrying this giant guitar case in my hands and everyone is looking at me like I was an idiot or something when I finally got up the courage to introduce myself to some guy wearing a funny hat and looked like he had a pass to every concert ever put on around his neck. He told me that they had been expecting someone else, not some 17-year-old kid, but he knew who I was and brought me to Soundgarden's bus. On the way there he introduced himself as the tour manager and began to yell at the top of his lungs at some local stagehand who was "fucking up his entire show".

As you may very well know, I had never been on a tour bus before, and at this time "Black Hole Sun" was climbing up the charts, so this was the greatest moment of my young life. I was introduced to the band and we sat and chatted for a while after they signed the guitar. Then it was time for the show. Mark and I left from backstage to go check out what was going on. The Reverend put on one of the best shows I have ever seen and I was hyped! While waiting for Soundgarden to take the stage, we went back stage again to hang with the groupies and such. We were watching the show from stage left when all of a sudden Chris Cornell and the rest of the band comes bolting off the stage like a bat out of hell screaming "FUCK THIS! I'm not gonna put up with this shit all night!" What was going on was that they were trying to shoot that video and people kept throwing shit on the stage and at the band. What finally blew his fuse what that someone hit him in the head with a shoe! They were only half way through the set and now they wanted to quit. It just so happens that I'm standing in the middle of the band, the road managers, the production crew, and half a dozen other people when I blew my fuse. I turned to Chris and pretty much told him to get his ass back on stage and finish his show or I was going to tell everyone in Louisiana tomorrow that Chris Cornell was a fucking pussy on my morning show. I have never seen so much scorn in one man's eyes in my life. This started a war of words and damn near a fistfight. Mark and I were escorted from back stage and about 10 minutes later Soundgarden took the stage to finish the show. I was the hero to everyone around me and didn't know why. What I didn't realize was that everyone on the left side of the stage off the floor could see the whole thing unfold. They thought I had saved the day or something. Great times with great people huh? The next morning my program director received a real nice phone call from the production company. They chewed his ass like old bubble gum, which in turn fell down hill to me. But, it was one of my best shows because I had so much to talk about.

That's how I got started in my life of backstage fun. Even after my radio days I've managed to wiggle my way backstage and in the green room with some great musicians. Hang around for the next article about smoking pot with Bob Dylan and making an ass of myself in front of Sheryl Crow all in one night. Until then, be good. And if you can't be good, BE GOOD AT IT!

Concert memories? Blackouts? Send us e-mail at editor@corporatemofo.com