If you haven’t watched Almost Famous stop reading and go watch it! This post will make no sense if you haven’t watched it.
Chuck’s Almost Famous Experience
For those who haven’t watched Almost Famous and you’ve ignored my warning here is a synopsis of it…
Almost Famous is a 2000 comedy-drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe, telling the coming-of-age story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine while on the road with a fictitious 1970s rock band named Stillwater. The film is semi-autobiographical, Crowe himself having been a teenage writer for Rolling Stone.
Minor differences in Chuck’s story from the original Almost Famous:
- Chuck is not a teenage journalist, but a middle-age metal head.
- Chuck was sent to cover the Dave Mason show not Black Sabbath.
- David Ball, the Editor in Chief from National Rock Review, not the Rolling Stone, gave Chuck the assignment.
With our free tickets and press pass we set off to see Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam at the Brighton Center for the Performing Arts. The whole time we were at the show, the Almost Famous movie kept flitting into my consciousness. (Hence the reason for this post!) I kept an eye out for Penny Lane. I’m certainly too old to be cast as Penny, maybe back in the day, but not today. Perhaps Elaine, the local college professor with a mix of New Age and conservative beliefs. Yep a perfect fit. Sigh… Middle age.
How do you score a Press Pass?
Last year Chuck had tickets to the Anthrax Concert that included a VIP package which meant he could go to the “meet and greet with Anthrax before the concert.” Good Grief, talk about a groupie! Chuck’s primping for the show included carefully retrieving his 1984 Anthrax tickets from a hermetically sealed package for the band to sign.
He got lots of great pictures and published a post on LifeInMichigan.Com. Anthrax “tweeted” the post…OMG our blog had a melt down. Over a thousand hits. I’m not sure either one of us will ever be the same. It was from this show that Chuck connected with Jon Freeman of Freeman Promotions. They hooked him up with a “photo pass” for the Clutch show in November and a show at the Magic Stick to check out The Red Paintings, Lionize, Spacehog and Sponge. This is when he met Steve Sergent from National Rock Review.
Contributor Status was Born
It is official! Chuck is a “contributor” for National Rock Review which means he is one of 30-40 music enthusiasts that review concerts, do interviews, and write album reviews. A sampling of Chuck’s contributions includes:
- Concert Review: Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam
- Interview: Going “Cowless” with Richie Onbori
- Album Review: Feared: Vinter
Sometimes you have to put yourself out there. You never know what you may get in return!
Real Life
The reality is we both need our day jobs to support what we are most passionate about: music, running, traveling, writing, hiking and beer! We aren’t paid to write for LifeInMichigan.com and we won’t be adding sponsors anytime soon. I hate seeing ads on blogs. I know they may help subsidize it, but I’d rather just work an few extra hours during the week.
We are serious about our mission for LifeInMichigan.com which is to positively promote Michigan — One Story at a Time! If you have a story you want to share, please email us or leave a comment.
