Indeed, i was at that well known Sheryl Crow concert in Central Park... how?!

I was touring with the Funky Meters at the time, mixing the House sound. We were finishing a long run through the West Coast.. personally, it was a rough run and i was sick with a cold through-out most of it... anyway, the day we arrived back home, not 3 hours after settling in back home, the call came in that we were to be back at the airport for 6am the following morning. WHA?!

It turns out that our departure for the next leg of the tour in NYC was being pushed up by two days because Sherl wanted the Funky Meters to share the opening spot with Taj Mahal at the central park show.. and was prepared to fly us all out (first-class, woo hoo!) to make it happen... damn...

During the non-stop flight, i got the chance to finish the book by Julia Baird(John Lennon's sister) entitled 'John Lennon my Brother'. I was incredibly moved by what i read; her stories about finally being able to re-connect to John during the later part of his NYC years at the Dakota; the long-distance calls sharing stories about growing up, about their mother Julia who passed away very early in their lives... specifically, the sense of great frustration as to being unable to communicate in the physicai sense (that is) with Julia(mom), because John felt that there's so much to talk about now... yup, it brought some tears to eyes as we were landing when considering the passing of my mother some 4 years earlier... i know.

so on the ride into NY from the airport, i was lost in my thoughts.. reflecting on the book.. we arrived at Central Park and walked out onto the stage.. definitely the biggest show? i've worked on to date.. i was floored.. wandering around the stage, i was of course drawn to the magnificent grand piano set to one side.. overcome as i was and exhausted, i chose to open the lid and purge a little... i played through a couple of bars of 'Watching the Wheels'.. it was nice.. in no time, the roadies shut me down politely, asking me to "please not play of Sarah MacLaughlin's piano." - long silence... sure, no problem... no problem at all.

The show was great, the Funky Meters played.. again, biggest show i've mixed to date.. i was privileged also to be able to mix for Taj Mahal's set as well. Great..

Backstage, after the show, i started to realize the true scope of this event, i couldn't walk 10 feet without crossing paths with or seeing a celebrity of great import.

Bill Murray, Sandra Bullock, Tim Robbins, Sandra Bernhard, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, The Dixie Chicks, Sarah MacLaughlin, Susan Sarandon, and so many others.

Perhaps the most surreal part of the backstage show was the confusion as to the fact that i could watch the show on a gigantic widescreen monitor while hearing the roar of the show going on just behind me... weird.. why am i watching this on TV when i'm at the show?? oh well... i left the show and finished of the night with an incredible sushi dinner... slept with my head in the clouds that night back at the hotel.. but there is a little more to this story.. click here.