Viva Hysteria, April 10, 2013

The Hard Rock Hotel, Resort and Casino,
including concert venue, The Joint,
Las Vegas, NV



My first overnight in Las Vegas was miserable.  It was one of those rooms where the temperature seemed impossible to regulate.  It was either Antarctica cold or pulsing out heat like a blast furnace.  If that wasn't bad enough, I'd been so worried about staying hydrated in nine percent humidity, (Nine!!) I'd had way too much water and was up every hour to pee.

Welcome to Las Vegas, indeed!

When I woke up at 4:30 Vegas time, I was a little peeved until I realized it was 7:30 at home.  But given the lack of rest I'd had, I stayed in bed and may have slept some, getting up about 7:30 or so.

After showering in the aesthetically beautiful, but poorly designed shower, I went in search of coffee.  The hotel was quiet, but not deserted by any means.  It was the perfect time to wander about and look at the exhibits.

Almost immediately, I found The Joint and its box office.  Duh.  It was right where everyone I'd asked, said it would be.  ((shaking my head and rolling my eyes))



The hall with the box office also contained a long display wall, the entirety of which was dedicated to the various awards--gold and platinum albums, vinyl, CDs and even cassette tapes--that had been earned by Def Leppard over the course of their career so far.  They had been donated or loaned by drummer, Rick Allen, and lead guitarist, Vivian Campbell.    (Sidenote:  While I waited alone in this hall for the box office to open, a man and a woman wandered in and began to look at the Def Leppard exhibit, perhaps casually.  On several other walls of the hall, they had displayed vintage--and I mean "vintage" tee shirts from all kinds of different concerts.  Clapton, Allman Brothers, The Cure, etc, etc.  It was fascinating.  Some of them were like, forty years old.  So cool.

At the far end, away from me, I heard the woman say, and honestly, I thought my head would explode--"I wonder who the woman is?"  I wanted to scream at her--I wanted to SCREAM at her--"Vivian Campbell is a MAN!" [Oh, and my God, he is ALL man!]  "And one of the most incredible guitar players on the face of the earth."  Dumbasses!  Okay, I'm taking a deep breath here.) 

Backing up, timewise--still early, still coffee time, in the hall, being blown away by the incredible, major awards these guys have racked up over the years and wondering why American radio abandoned them so completely throughout most of the 90's (yeah, yeah, grunge and all that--really?  Is that really rock and roll?  [ahem] No! Again, Corporate America rules and brainwashes its subjects.  Sorry, I get carried away on tangents.  If you know me--you know me.  If you don't, much as I love you, get used to it.  You never know where it might lead.)

Anyway, before all that--when I wandered into the hall the first time--there was another woman already in the hall, taking pictures of individual pieces of the display and, of course, we struck up a conversation.  Her name is Sarah and she was from Indiana, also on her own, sent by her hubs.  I'd say we got a couple of winners, all in all, eh?

She'd had a baby seven months ago and her hubs knew she wanted to go to the show--didn't we all--and he bought her the Meet and Greet package!  She was so excited!  She's only thirty and could not believe I had never seen Def Leppard in concert.  She's seen them, like fourteen times now.  Wow!!  (I'm not sure if we discussed Eric Johnson or not.  It was early.  Seeing as how I've seen him in concert about twenty+ times--well, you know.  But he's played in places I've been or have had four to six hour access to.  The DL summer date in Charlotte, 2012 doesn't count.  I was completely indisposed for anything during that time.

So, we got to know each other and hung around together all morning and afternoon, getting more coffee and a muffin or whatever, taking in all the Def Leppard exhibits and others.  We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the Culinary Dropout, but then she had to get ready for her Meet and Greet and I wanted to go to the Bellagio for the Dale Chihuly glass atrium in the conservatory and to Caesar's Palace for Rick Allen's "Electric Hand" exhibit at the Martin Lawrence Galleries there.  Wow!!

Rick Allen's
Electric Hand Exhibit
Martin Lawrence Galleries
Las Vegas.

Okay, this is long already.  Here are a couple of pictures.  Please stay with me.  There's more to come.

Chihuly Glass Atrium at
The Bellagio
Las Vegas



Happy Birthday to Me!

 

Rick Savage

Previously:  Some sort of Bold took over me.  Sounds like a song lyric, doesn't it?  I approached Rick Savage, the extremely talented bassist for Def Leppard and showed him my pick necklace.

At that point, I left him to his conversation and talked to the woman, Nancy, at the bar.  We got along fine, she didn't think I was creepy and I joined her. 

During our second glass of wine--a very nice Petite Syrah--I wondered if I could get a picture with Sav, since I had my iPod in my pocket.

He politely declined for the moment, as he was deep in conversation with his companion, but perhaps when they finished.

I accepted that graciously (I hope) because really, I know they must get tired of being approached by strangers.  Didn't I recently finish a novel that deals with just this sort of thing?  Yes. 

So I returned to the bar where Nancy and I continued to converse.  A company of three, to whom she had been talking before, were on the other side of her and they were a lot of fun.  As they were leaving, Nancy told them I was on my own, and it was my birthday.  One of the three was having her birthday as well, and none of us were exactly reticent about it--right in front of Sav. 

But I did have the sense to sit with my back to him and I didn't turn around to look at him while talking with Nancy.  He could've easily slipped out and I wouldn't have known.  I almost expected it, and I wouldn't have thought any less of him.  I may have been disappointed, but such is life, eh?

My conversation with Nancy covered many different subjects including dogs, pets in general, husbands and aging parents among other things. 

Imagine my surprise when a touch on the shoulder revealed Sav's companion who said, "Let's do this thing, but discreetly."

Wow!  We went into an adjacent, but unpopulated area and Sav's friend took two pictures with my iPod.  I wanted to squeal and jump for joy, but I didn't.  For once, I didn't become a victim of my unbridled enthusiasm, a la Billy Mumfrey.

"Do me a favor, will you?" Sav asked me.

Anything, I wanted to say, but "Sure," came out of my mouth.

"Keep this to yourself, okay?  I don't want to see it on Facebook."

Being a part of the Lepp Nation on Facebook, I certainly understood that.  I told him I hadn't even been able to connect with the Internet from my room and he was glad to hear it.  So, he didn't actually ask me to promise I wouldn't, but to me, it was a promise and I will not post the picture on Facebook.  I won't post it here, either, because inevitably it will find its way to Facebook.

(Sidenote:  One of my friends used his Photoshop to exchange the original background of the pictures with a picture of Def Leppard onstage, making it look like Sav and I are standing in front of the stage.  My friend didn't know about the promise and it was on Facebook for about an hour before I saw it and panicked.  He took it down when I called him.  *grin*  He did a great job though, and an 8X10 print of it will look fantastic in the stairwell going up to the gameroom, next to the one of me and Eric Johnson in 2005.  That was another smile I held onto for weeks afterward.)

Eric Johnson and me
2005




Vegas, Baby!

Elevator door at the
Hard Rock Hotel in
Las Vegas, NV

Previously:  I got to Vegas on my birthday and began to explore the hotel. Without the meet and greet package, I knew I wouldn't see any of the band members except onstage.  But really, I told myself I would be happy to share the same building with them for a couple of hours.

My body told me it was past time to have supper, and having had only a salad for lunch, albeit a very nice salad, at Chicago Midway, I was hungry.  The map of the hotel was fairly useless to anyone over forty, as the names of things were printed in teeny-tiny letters and I probably should, but don't carry a magnifying glass around with me as a general rule.

And, I wanted to find the box office right away to pick up my ticket.  How exciting!  My first Def Leppard concert--ever.  I wanted to physically hold the ticket.  On the elevator down, I figured out the "casino" floor was the first floor and, surprisingly, I didn't get too lost, too often.

But man, I could not find that box office.  And you know me, I asked for directions.  Like, twice.  Jimmy Buffett would've said, "It plum evaded me."

I did, however, find the Hard Rock Store and saw they had some of Claire Jane Vranian's shirts, as worn by Joe Elliott onstage.  Check out her website, www.ICJUK.com or on Zappos at http://www.zappos.com/inspired-by-claire-jane.  They also had some of her incredible feathered rock and roll handbags.  I looked around but I left empty-handed 'cause I needed to eat.

Right next to the store is a restaurant/bar called "Culinary Dropout" (www.hardrockhotel.com/las-vegas.../culinary-dropout ) and it looked like a fun place, even at the early Las Vegas hour.  I went in and sat at the bar.  I ordered a glass of wine and hoped to strike up a conversation with someone other than the bartenders.  Not that they weren't a lot of fun, 'cause they were, but you know.  They get busy.

Presently, I noticed a woman who I thought was sitting alone and sort of kept my eye on her, in what I hope was not a creepy way.  Hahaha!!  (I'm cracking myself up, as I have everyone else to whom I've told this.)  Really, I just wanted to see if a companion showed up to join her.  None did, and when she ordered another glass of wine, I got up to see if we might hit it off.

I had been sitting beside a large square, cement-like column, of sorts, so I had an obstructed view of the long table behind it.  When I walked around the column, I got the shock of a lifetime.  In one of those seats obstructed from my view was Rick Savage, bass player extraordinaire of Def Leppard!  He was having a conversation and a pint with another guy.  Afterwards, I had the thought that this other man was someone important to the tour, but at the time, I was basically unconscious, so he'll have to forgive me.



Rick Savage, bass player
extraordinaire for
Def Leppard

Honestly, I hope I didn't gasp and drop my jaw, but I can't swear to it.  I had on my Hysteria pick necklace and just dropped by their table quickly to point it out.  I can't even believe I did that!

"See what I'm wearing?" I asked Sav.

It took him a couple seconds, but then he recognized it and smiled.  Fortunately my feet and legs held me up. 

"Are you coming to the show tomorrow?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah.  That's what I'm here for," I answered.

"Fantastic," he said.

Stay with me,
there's more

 

Mary O, Vegas Virgin

Ded Flatbird, Def Leppard's
"opening" band in Las Vegas
2013

Man, what a trip!  I can't even believe I went to Las Vegas by myself.  I literally, (yes, Sheldon, literally) lost sleep trying to decide whether to go or not.  I had tons of encouragement, but it was my brother, Jim Ogden, who decided it for me.  He said, "If you don't go, you'll regret it."  And I knew it was true.

Here's the story.

When the announcement came out last November that Def Leppard would be doing a residency at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, I was so excited!  Excited until I realized I didn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of attending.  Not only had I never been to Las Vegas, I had never been to a Def Leppard concert in thirty years of fandom.  They were in Charlotte in June (? I think) of 2012, but we were sort of indisposed during that time, and I couldn't even think of going.

Oh, and then the excitement began to build within the Lepp Nation online.  The mania of Viva Hysteria hit Facebook, Rock Brigade Fan Forum, plus the myriad of other Lepp pages.

I became more and more melancholy with each new posting of someone getting their tickets.  It seemed as if no one was getting a regular ticket.  It seemed like they were all able to afford $750.00 per ticket for the "meet and greet" with the band.  Or, they could afford one M&G plus several other regular tickets for multiple nights.  WTH?

Color me sad.  And the more I talked about it, the less likely it seemed that I would get a chance to go.  Christmas came and went.  No tickets in my stocking. 

The new year began the online countdown to March 22nd, the date of the first show.  Color me depressed.  As the date approached, as well as my birthday, the more despondant I became.

Hubs noticed.

And finally I brought it to him.  Keep in mind, this was after I had repeatedly told him "I didn't expect to go."  I mean, airfare from Charleston, hotel, ticket--even a regular one--not to mention merchandise, of which, if I got to go, I planned on purchasing a LOT--would probably run upwards of $1000-$1200--in the middle of the "sequester" scare.  So I hadn't seen any possibility.  However, we talked about it and it came to pass. 

Wha-a-a-a-t?!  Hubs would not get to come with me because of work, but he wanted to see me happy, so I started planning.  Yes, I know I have a great husband.

My review of the concert, beyond the adjectives "awesome," fantastic" and "loved it!" will be in a separate blog.  You guys know I rock hard, right?  Just checking.

So I gathered my courage over travelling alone to a place I'd never been--a BIG obstacle--and arrived in Sin City and the Hard Rock Hotel, on my birthday about four o'clock.  The excitement had worn me out somewhat, but I was pretty wound up.  I called home to let Hubs know I'd made it and then put on my exploring shoes, so to speak.

Stay tuned

"The Guitarist"

Vivian Campbell of
Def Leppard

As you may or may not have noticed, this blog is morphing into less about me taking guitar lessons and more about me writing and learning about guitarists.  I finished the first-ish draft of my novel, "The Guitarist" on Valentine's Day.  I actually finished it a day or so earlier, but couldn't quite say goodbye to it, so I waited till February 14th to write "The End."  Silly girl.  The first draft logline is "Famous guitarist finds love and family despite his troubled past ."  I can start the first round of revisions on April 14th.

Several people on Facebook said it would be okay to write a sequel.  I was like, eh, I don't know.  I had an idea (thank you, muse) for another story, this one about a singer.  No, it's not called "The Singer."  I started that one and, thank goodness musicians hang out with other musicians, because my guitarist and his girl, and several other characters from other stories are making an appearance.  I like their world.

Sean Ashe

I finally got a Twitter account-- @maryfersner --and found some incredible young guitar players.  Well, one found me and I found others through him.  The first one is Sean Ashe, shredder extraordinaire.  Find him at www.SeanAsheGuitar.com and www.Youtube.com/SeanAsheOfficial.  He actually makes music.  It's not just going fast, there's melody involved.  Essential in my book.  And some gig Sean's got too.  Guitar manufacturers send him guitars to demo.  I mean, c'mon!



Martin Miller

Sean turned me onto a German guitarist, Martin Miller who can be found at www.martinmillerguitar.com and I bought his full-length cd called, "The Other End."  Wow.  Part shred, a la Satch, part jazz guitar, part sweetness and part "tearin' the roof off the emeffer," yet tied together being all Martin.  Check it out.  I've got it on my "Writing Music" playlist, so that says something.

Okay, finally, because this is starting to get long and you know how I can go on.  Hahaha!!  So for my birthday, and seeing them for the first time ever, I'm going to Las Vegas to see Def Leppard in their Viva Hysteria residency at Hard Rock's The Joint!  I'm so psyched!  I've been a fan for decades, but seeing them in concert is so gonna ROCK!!  Oh, yeah.  www.defleppard.com

Def Leppard
Hysteria Album Cover

Recording Studio

Okay, so this was written in December of 2012.  Not that long ago, so I'm putting it up.  I'll get you caught up on what's been happening in 2013 in the next one.  Thanks for you patience:

I had a great time this morning with Ed Blanton of Encore Music in Mt. Pleasant.  I had stopped into his shop a couple weeks ago to check it out and purchase my nephew, Conner Fersner's, Christmas present.  When I got there, I noticed there was a recording studio associated with the shop, but when I got in there, I got too busy talking to him, the other clerk, checking out the stuff they had, etc. to remember to ask about the studio.  But I went back the next week and we made an appointment for me to take the tour.

What fun.  I felt like if there was going to be a recording studio in The Guitarist, I should probably have stepped foot in one in my lifetime, eh? 

Anyway, the Encore studio is not a big place, but it's big enough to get a good idea of what goes on and how it works.  They do strictly digital recording there with a computer but as Ed and I talked, he was able to tell me quite a bit about the history of guitars and recording.  I evidently know what an analog sound board looks like, so I'm good. 

I had several questions and came up with more as we talked which he answered willingly and with a smile.  He didn't act like I was bothering him too much, so I'll take it.  And he said I could call anytime with other questions that might come up.  I'm sure they will.

So if you're looking for anything in the musical instrument or performing departments check out Encore Music.  Also, my guitar teacher, John Smith, Jr. who has been mentioned in this blog before is teaching there now.  So that's a plus, obviously.

Well, here we are.  It's about a year since I hurt my shoulder the FIRST time and had to give up playing for a while.  I never really got back to it through the holidays and then the Year of Guitar was over.  AND I hurt my shoulder again, plus . . . other happenings in our house and I'm finally picking up my beautiful red pet that I love so much.  I'm still not very good, but I'm still trying and I haven't forgotten everything I learned.  My calluses are back in pretty good shape and my muscles are back up to power chords again.  Whew!  That one hurt for a couple days.

But my main news is I started a novel in April or May that I'm calling "The Guitarist."  It started out as a stress reliever for some of those previously mentioned "other happenings," but I'm getting good feedback about it and currently have over 72,000 words, so that's exciting.  My guitarist is not based on any one person for which I'm quite proud and although I've gotten a lot of inspiration from the lyrics of some Def Leppard songs, none of my characters are based on any of their members.  Man, they do rock though!

Obviously, the book is about rock and roll with some romance, mystery and action thrown in.  I'm having a blast writing it!  I just hope my muse stays with me till the end.  I believe he will!