Peace backstage at the Fox

This woman had a wish to meet Ringo at it came true in October 2014 backstage at the Fox Theater in St. Louis, Missouri.     She had a terminal illness and it was her last wish because she sadly passed away not too long after meeting Ringo.    I think this is a lovely photo and what a great photo for her family to remember her by.

A happy fan in 2014

the three shades

I think this is such a cute photo.  That is Bruce Sugar and Don Was with Ringo.  Notice that Ringo is wearing a Doors T-shirt?  I didn't know he was a fan!   And that cigar box ukulele thing---was that really used on an album?    

That'll be the Day guitar

When Paul McCartney performed in Lubbock, Texas on October 2, 2014,  The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation were allowed backstage to present Paul with two replica "That'll be the day" Buddy Holly guitars.     He signed one of the guitars and it is on display.     The other guitar he kept for his collection, although he has yet to use it in concert.  

Interesting tidbit of from the top photo---Paul watched Family Fued with Steve Harvey when he is backstage?

Bright Eyes

Paul meeting a fan in June 2014.

Japan loves the McCartney's

Happy moments

I am not sure who this young man is, but I love his grin.    Pretty sure he was someone who paid for the Ringo meet and greet and enjoyed every moment of it.

Backstage happiness

Here's to a great 2015!

I have had a blast in 2014.  It isn't every year that you get the opportunity to see both living Beatles in concert in the same week, or attend two Beatle conventions, or have a fun part in a community theater production of a musical.

I have read so many people saying how terrible 2014 was for them, and I my heart goes out to anyone who lost a loved one or went through a difficult time in the past year.   I hope that the music of the Beatles and some of the fun photos I have posted on this blog brought at least a small glimmer of happiness in your life.

As the year of the Beatles 50th anniversary comes to an end, I want to take the time to thank some people who really made this year special:

To my mom, Coral Schmidt:  Thank you for always being ready to go on another Beatles adventure with me.

To Jude Southerland Kessler:  Thank you for allowing me to be on your radio show this year.   It was really a fun experience.  You have been such a great Beatles friend.

To Lana Staggs:   Thanks also to you, Lana for putting me on your radio show this year!  It was so great to see you at the Ringo concert.

To Brother Michael:  Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.   I appreciate your help in typing things up and for your emails.   You are MTBFR's #1 fan!

To Mister Kite:  You make me laugh and make me shake my head at the same time.  Ringo and Paul are still amazing to me.   But I thank you for making me think.

To Ben in France:  Thank you for the photos and conversations.

To Lizzie, Bruno, Graame, Mark  Luis, Since1963, Vincent  and anyone else who has sent photos and/or stories to me this past year!   Thank you so much!   It is folks like you that make this blog better and better every year.

To Mark Lewisohn:  Thank you for writing the best Beatles book ever and for meeting me this year.  The mere fact that you look at this blog still freaks me out.


And to everyone who visit MTBFR every day and even those who right click and save without saying anything to me....I thank you for coming here and I hope you all continue to enjoy this place in the future.

I hope  as we get into 2015 that great things will continue.   Plans are in the works for the 50th anniversary of Help as well as other things from 1965 to tie into 2015.   Happy new year Beatle friends!

The Meet the Beatles for Real top 12 countdown of 2014

Alright Beatlefans around the globe, here are the top 6 posts according to blogger from 2014.  Just read this as if you are listening to the radio countdown for the year.


6.  Beatles on Sullivan Remembered 
749 hits
First Appeared February 3, 2014

Here is an article that I wrote myself specifically for this blog.   It is a very special article and I am so happy that so many of you have enjoyed it.   I have gotten messages from places like Japan and Vietnam asking if it would be alright to transcribe the article into those languages so that the Beatle fans in those countries could enjoy it as well.    It is quite an honor for me and I am happy to share what American fans felt with the rest of the fans around the world.   I hope to be able to write more articles like this one because I think the oral history of the fans is an important part of the Beatles story.


5.  The Run away
760 hits
First appeared February 18, 2014

The story of the 13 year old girl who left her home in Boston and ran away to England and ended up meeting the Beatles is a story that was quite popular.   "There is no way she is 13!" Is what I heard the most after I shared this story.   But rest assured that she truly was just 13 years old when she had her Beatles adventure.   I obviously am quite fond of this story myself, because I realize that every tie I go on a radio program to talk about this blog, this is one of the stories I bring up.


4.  Performing in Beantown
1161 hits
First appeared:  September 12,2014

So this is just a photo only post of photos of when the Beatles were performing a concert in Boston in during the 1964 North American tour.   I am honestly not sure why it is coming in at #4, because it does not stand out in any way to me.   But I can say that the entire 1964 North American tour was super fun to work on this past year and I am already working on the 1965 tour posts.


3.  Paul McCartney and the girl with the Black Beret
1265 hits
First Appeared August 12, 2014

One of the most touching stories on this blog.  It hit a lot of readers and moved them to tears.   Paul and Ringo have done some extremely nice things for kids with cancer over the years and this story is a wonderful example of Paul's kindness and compassion.    You need some tissues if you are going to read this story again...it is a tearjerker for sure!


2.  The Beatles are our Bosses!
1277 hits
First Appeared January 30, 2014

It has been almost a year since I first posted this story.  Time to re-read it!   I remember working my tail off using Google translate and Babelfish translate to get the German to English figured out.   But it was worth it!   I love reading about the girls that worked for Apple. 


And the number 1 post of 2014 is  (Ringo---that is the cue for that drum roll!)


1.  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road 
1513 hits
First appeared February 21, 2014

I found this story in an issue of Good Day Sunshine fan magazine.   It tells the story of an actor who was also a Beatles fan and how he got a part in the Broadway production of Sgt. Pepper and met John and Paul as a result.   It is an interesting story and one that I enjoyed reading.  


What a great year it has been....hope 2015 is just as good!

Out there winners

I am not sure what the story is behind this and I hope to find out soon.   So far what is known is that a contest was held after the soundcheck during Paul's Brazil concert yesterday and 9 people were chosen to meet Paul!!   This is the first I have ever heard of any fans meeting Paul like this at a concert and it bring a whole new excitement level for me.   If this is a regular thing, I might reconsider never buying a Hot Sounds package again.

A big congratulations goes out to the 9 Brazilian fans that won!!  Way to go! 

My kid brother's band --- a book review

Lou and Paul just last month

I remember being excited that Louise Harrison was going to be one of the speakers at my very first Beatlefest.  The year was 1994, and I had never been around anyone who had met one of the Beatles, much less the only full-blooded sister of one!  I was excited to hear Louise tell stories about her brother.  Imagine my extreme disappointment when she refused to talk about George and talked the entire time about the charity she had created to help the environment.  She even had a trash can passed around the auditorium for donations. I went to a Q&A with her the next year at the Fest and experienced much of the same. I recall one fan asking her if she and George still exchanged Christmas or birthday cards or gifts.  Instead of really answering the question, she went on a discussion about how all of those greeting cards are bad for the environment.  She always would say that she would not talk about George because she wanted to respect his privacy.  Personally, I never understood how talking about events (such as the Ed Sullivan Show) that were common knowledge was an invasion of his privacy. It wasn't like she was telling us his addresses or flight schedules or anything intimate about affairs he had or whatever.  In the 1990s, I always had the impression that she and George were not on speaking terms, something that she denies in this book. Of course after George's death, Louise opened up a bit more about her little brother and even shared some old family photos with the Daily Mail, so I wasn't sure what to expect of this book.

I think the title  My Kid Brother's Band, aka the Beatles! is a great name.  In 1963, when Louise lived in the United States, she was going around to radio stations, trying to get the Beatles some airplay; that is what she referred to the Beatles as: My Kid Brother's band. Louise shares some very nice and interesting stories about George and the Beatles in this book.  I learned a few new things, and it was especially interesting to read about George being sick during the Ed Sullivan Show from Louise's point of view.   I enjoyed reading about how she went to many of the Beatles concerts in America, and of course, I loved reading about George's visit to see her in Benton, Illinois.  You can't help but admire and love the senior Louise and Harold Harrison even more after reading this book.  The Harrison parents raised good kids and were so kind-hearted to Beatle fans around the world. 

However, I had a lot of issues with Louise's book.  She went on what I would call "tangents" throughout the book.  She would be telling about the Beatles in 1964 and then she would put in parentheses something about politics, health care, the environment, phonics vs. whole language, how much she loves the president, taking jobs away from people, etc etc.  Now the woman is free to have her thoughts and opinions, but I am not sure if a book about her brother is the right outlet for that. Nonetheless, even if she wanted to leave it in, the way it was dispersed throughout the book made it almost impossible for me to read.  It was so disjointed and confusing.  Many of her opinions I agreed with and some I did not, but I wish the book was laid out differently

She did make a few mistakes that we Beatle geeks will notice. Two that stood out to me were that she put the British Embassy event where Ringo's hair was snipped before the Washington D.C. concert and that she said George and Paul Simon appeared on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s. But those are minor things, especially considering that she isn't writing as a Beatles historian. 

For me, spending almost $40 on this book was worth it for the photo of Louise, Peter, George, and Leslie (Louise's daughter) standing on the square in Benton, Illinois. That color photo alone is amazing! (Well, it is to me because I live near there.) 

One thing that REALLY stood out is that she does not mention Olivia by name at all.  One time, she refers to her as "Dhani's mother."  And there are some strong words against the "Harrison estate" whom she says "are not real Harrisons."  So if you are an Olivia Harrison fan, then this won't be a book for you!

So, should you get this book? I would say that this book is for those of you who are big George Harrison fans. He is your favorite, and you can't get enough information about George. Or if you are (like me) a Beatles book completest and must have all Beatle books.


The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this book.  I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/3IuWwkE

Seeing Ringo on home turf -- Sara's concert review

 

There is just something special about seeing a Beatle in your town.   Something special about hearing him say the name of your town on the stage.    It just is a neat experience and was something I got to do this past Friday night when Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band came to St. Louis, Missouri and performed at the Fox Theater.   

The last time Ringo Starr came to St. Louis was in the summer of 2001.   He had played at the Fox Theatre that time as well and I did not go to that concert.   I had seen him the summer before, at Riverport Amphitheater from the 4th row.    I was in a tough place financially in 2001 and thought I could skip the concert that year and make it the next time he was in town.   I had no clue that it was take him 13 years to return to St. Louis!    

Before I knew that he was coming to St. Louis, I had already bought VIP  tickets for the show in Mississippi in July.   This concert was the same band and the exact same set list as the show I had seen in Mississippi.   My feelings towards the band members and the song list did not change at all.  So I will not get a whole lot into the songs this time.  But here was my experience.

My mom and I got down to the Fox Theater in St. Louis and walked past the City Diner, which is next to the Fox.  Who do we see?  None other than our Beatle friend, Lanea Staggs and her daughter and niece.   We squeezed past the crowd at the door and got into the booth with them and had a meal.  If you are in St. Louis, I would recommend this restaurant because it is a fun place.  It is decorated in 50's and 60's kitchen decor, with lava lamps on the tables.  They were playing Beatles music while we ate.   It was a fun way to get even more excited about seeing Ringo!

The Fox is a beautiful theater.   I have seen tons of Broadway plays there, but very few concerts.  There was a table of Ringo merchandise for sale and only one guy running the table.   It was packed!  There were tons of people with credit cards and they were having issues.   Word of wisdom:  if you go to a concert and plan on buying merchandise, always bring cash.  It is much easier for everyone.   There is a funny story about me throwing money at the guy and running up the stairs, trying not to push any old people with canes as I went to my seat.  

My mom decided to see if the Fox had free wifi, and she found Ringo's wifi listed!   This got us so excited!  We tried to guess his password without any luck.   Haha!

 

This time we did not sit on the floor, instead we sat in the Mezzanine, which was cheaper and we had a better view of Ringo playing the drums.   I have no problem with the location of the seats, but gosh the people around me were boring!    No one stood up the entire show.   No one!    I wanted to dance, but I couldn't because people were behind me.   Seriously!?!     But we did have an amazing shot of Ringo playing the drums (unlike in the 2nd row).

Ringo sings "Boys"  photo by Sara Schmidt

Ringo was so entertaining!   He kept laughing and joking around.  He seemed to really be in a good mood Friday night.   The thing I really like about Ringo's performance is that you can tell that he doing it because he wants to.  He is having fun.     He isn't trying to impress critics or anything like that, he is just playing because he loves to play.    I feel like that comes across in his concert and I appreciate it. 

By the time Ringo got to "Yellow Submarine" I started to feel a bit emotional.   Here was Ringo performing a song that was written by Lennon-McCartney and I am singing it along with him.   I just hit me that we don't know how much longer Ringo will be performing.   And while I hope it is for a long time to come, it won't last forever.   And I realized that there will be a time when I will cherish the moment of singing "Yellow Submarine" with Ringo in the town where I live.   I know it is silly,  but I think about that sort of thing....just how special it was for me to be there at that moment.

I about died when Todd asked if Beatle Bob was in the audience!  Beatle Bob!   He is at every single concert in St. Louis (and elsewhere because he was in Arkansas as well) and he dances this crazy dance for every. single. song.    And there they were talking about him on the stage!   

Todd and Ringo   Photo by Sara Schmidt

Ringo and the band talked several times about how they singed "the wall" backstage and how Ringo knew that he had played there before because he found his name on "the wall."    I have never been backstage at the Fox Theater, but my mom tells me that you can take a tour of the place and go backstage and see "the Wall."  It might be worth it to see what Ringo and the rest of the band wrote!  

I have to say again, like I did in about the Mississippi show, that Richard Page (from Mister Mister) is a great singer!   I can't believe how he sounds just like the guy I would hear on the radio in the 1980's.  His voice hasn't changed at all.   

Richard and Ringo.  Photo by Sara Schmidt

I really want to encourage everyone to see Ringo in concert.   I have read that Ringo's ticket sales have really gone up this summer.   That is great news!   I have heard that a lot of people, however, are skipping Ringo's concert because Ringo's show isn't as good as Paul's and because Ringo doesn't change his set list.    Paul and Ringo both put on great shows, but they are vastly different.   Ringo isn't Paul and Ringo's ticket prices show it.   But come on, guys, Ringo is so good!   You really need to see him and appreciate the greatest drummer in rock n roll.

Peace and Love!

Peace and Love Ringo!   Photo by Sara Schmidt

*All photos (except for the one of Richard and Ringo by the Wall) were taken by me, Sara Schmidt.  Please ASK ME before you post any of my photos on your facebook or blog.   I will say yes, but I just like to know it before I see my photo just out there.   Thanks for understanding!  

Beatles at the Ridge -- Festival Review

On September 19-20, 2014 my  mom and I drove down to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas for a Beatles festival called "Beatles at the Ridge."    Those of you who follow this blog and know the history of the Beatles 1964 are familiar with the reason why Walnut Ridge, Arkansas is part of Beatles history as it was the Walnut Ridge airport that the Beatles stopped at in 1964 on their way to and from Reed Pigman's ranch.   It is really just a blip in Beatles history, but the town of Walnut Ridge has decided to make the most of their small Beatles connection for the sake of improving tourism to the region.  A large metal sculpture of the Beatles crossing Abbey Road can be found in the town as well as a cute shop called "Imagine" that sells Beatles items.   There is a 115-ft-long by 40-ft-wide guitar on the ground that is a replica of John Lennon's guitar in an area called the "Guitar Walk."    All of this is well worth seeing if you are in the area.   Once a year the town throws a big city-wide festival called "Beatles at the Ridge."

Beatles at the Ridge is not completely a Beatles convention.   It is very Beatles centered and there are a lot of Beatles activities and things going on, but it is also a carnival-type fest for the town.  There are booths and tents from area groups and organizations as well as activities that have nothing at all to do with the Fab 4 (such as a duck calling contest).

But if you are a Beatles fan (and I know that you are), there is plenty of Beatles fun.   My wonderful author-friend, Jude Southerland Kessler was the chair of the first ever Beatles author symposium at this festival.   She put together some of the BEST authors and speakers to talk about their books.   There also was a Beatles photo display that was extremely good, an art display by Enoch Doyle Jeeter who drew pictures for each of the songs on the Meet the Beatles album and a display called "Meet the Covers" which showed album covers that were parodies of Beatles album.   It was really fun to see!

When I arrived on Friday afternoon, the first thing I noticed was that the entire town of decked out in 1960's and Beatles theme.   Every store-front window had things like peace signs or cartoon Beatles in the windows.   There was a large cut out of the Yellow Submarine and the Cartoon Beatles and it made for a fun photo opportunity.   It was really festive and put us in the mood for the weekend!

My mom with the cartoon Beatles cut outs

After looking around for a bit and getting our bearings, we made our way into the author's room and found our friends.   Even though I had just seen everyone just a month earlier, it was great to see Chuck Gunderson, Lanea Staggs, Kit O'Tool, Jude and Rande Kessler and  Anthony Robustelli again!

My mom and I with Jude Southerland Kessler (I know I look terrible here!  I had been driving all day and just blah!)

On Friday night we heard a GREAT talk about the events of 1964 by Jude and Chuck.   This multi-media presentation was just amazing.   Both of these two authors are amazing speakers and they know their Beatles stuff!  We stuck around and listened to a band perform for awhile, but we were super tired and decided to try to get some sleep.

The Beatles statue looked REALLY cool at night!

On Saturday, we were up bright and early for a full day of Beatles fun.   At first we walked around outside and looked at the booths and venders.    We saw that Danny Donuts, who we recognize from all of our years going to the Chicago Fest for Beatle Fans (even though he doesn't know us) was running a fun children's section.   He had a bubble machine going and kids were jumping around to Beatles music.   He had a parade later in the day, but we missed that.   It looked like fun for the kids.

We had a full day of listening to the authors in the symposium because---well that is what I like to do.  But before that, we went back into the Imagine shop and talked to Carrie Mae Snapp, who as you might recall was the girl who's father took the photos of the Beatles at the Walnut Ridge airport and she touched George's elbow.   Well, she said to us, "do you want to see the pictures?" and she proceeded to pull out all of her photos from that day and tell the story to just my mom and I with more details than what I have heard before.   It was so great!  

Lanea Stagg did a brunch based on some of the recipes in her Recipe Records Cookbook that were really tasty.  I recommend "Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey bread."  Then we heard Kit O'Tool give two talks--one about the Abbey Road medley and another about the top Beatles sounds.   Both of these were really fascinating and help me listen to Beatles music that I  have heard forever in a new way.   We also heard Anthony Robustelli's presentation where he stripped down Beatles music so that you just heard the harmonies or just the guitar.   It was really some amazing stuff.  If you like that sort of thing, I highly recommend listening to Anthony's radio program on Beatles a rama radio online on Sunday nights.

Then for something silly---we needed to eat, right?  So mom and I went to a local diner that was serving Beatle burgers and Onion Ring-o's.    We were laughing about that through the entire meal.

We came back to the site and got ready for the concert by Liverpool Legends (Louise Harrison's Beatles tribute band from Branson).   But before that we had to listen to this country band that was really boring.   I think they were called Rockabilly.   I do not like country music.  At all.    I especially do not like country music about food.   Yeah...these guys were tolerable for the first 20 minutes but then they went on and on.  And they didn't even sing one single Beatles song or even Carl Perkins or someone like that.   I was so bored!

Finally Liverpool Legends came on.  They sounded great.   As I have said before on this blog, I am not a big fan of Beatles tribute bands who like to act like they are really the Beatles.   The whole dressing up in costumes  with wigs and saying things like "this is a song from our first movie...."  it just irritates me.   So I disliked these guys trying to look and act like them, because let's face it---none of these tribute bands are guys in their 20's.  They are not the Beatles.   But I really enjoyed the music.  They sounded really good and I was there to have a good time and enjoy some Beatles music.  I do have to admit, the last costume the "George" guy wore was great!  

Check this out!  George totally wore an outfit just like that!

Next year is set to be even better than this years festival and there is hope for more Beatle fans to travel to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas  for this event.    So make plans now to be there!   Here are some tips for you if you plan to go---

1.  This is a FREE event.   People were asking how much it cost and the answer is nothing! 

2.   Bring a lawn chair with you if you plan on staying for the concerts.  

3.   Walnut Ridge is located in a dry county.   Yeah....that is a real thing in the United States in 2014.  There are places were you cannot buy alcohol and this is one of them.   So plan accordingly (whatever that means to you).

4.  There are not really any hotels in Walnut Ridge.  The closest town with hotels is Jonesboro, Arkansas.  I stayed at a place called the Fairview inn and suits.   It was cheap and clean, but old and little run down.  

I don't do pictures

photo by loudsigh and posted here with permission

Here is something I would rather not think about.   What if you suddenly met Paul McCartney and he refused a photo?  I know that I would be a mix of emotions.  Excited and thrilled to have finally met the man, but extremely disappointed that my dream of getting a photo with him had been squashed by just a few words.    That is what happened to this fan, who goes by the name loudsigh on tumblr.    She had a brief, unexpected encounter with Sir McCartney on the street and he told her that he doesn't "do pictures."   Yeah right.....I think this blog is proof that he does pictures with fans.    I guess he just wasn't doing them that day.   I believe her Dad was smart enough to quickly snap a photo of Paul as he was walking away.   What a moment!!    I saw this story on tumblr and contacted her and got her permission to share her story here.   It can happen friends!


In September (2014), I went to a Gary Winograd exhibition with my mom and dad.  Coincidentally, when I was there I pointed out  a Beatlemania photo he had taken and showed it to my dad. 

Afterwards we began walking to the left-- away from the museum and heading up on 2nd East 84th street.  While we’re walking my dad steps on my mom’s flip flop which makes the three of us stop to kind of adjust.  My dad then whispers to me “Paul McCartney is behind you.”  Paul was just leaning against a fence checking his phone.

  This was all happening really quickly I was really confused but then out of no where Paul walks in front of us turns around to my dad and is like “see the trouble you cause!”  So now I’m just flabbergasted.  I cannot even say anything to him even though I want to because I'm just so in disbelief.  My dad then says “Paul, can we have a picture?”  And Paul says, “Sorry I don’t do pictures.”  My dad then just blurts out “You’re amazing!” and he just kind of waves his hand at us to say thank you.  He then begins walking in front of us and tries to cross the street but a bus comes super close to him that he almost looses his balance.  He continues to walk on the same side of the street as us.  I didn’t want to stare at him the whole time so I don’t know but somehow he ends up walking behind us for a couple more blocks.

It’s weird because when ever talking to my friends about celebrities I want to meet it would always be Paul McCartney because the Beatles are my favorite band.  It was probably the surrealist moment I’ve ever experienced.

The Fest for Beatle fans Chicago 2014 -- Sara's Review

 

2014 marked my personal 20th anniversary of Beatlefest conventions in Chicago.   I went to my very first Fest in 1994, when I was 17 years old.   The summer before, I had attended the Illinois Teenager Institute in Bloomington, Illinois.  ITI was sort of like a camp for kids who didn't do drugs and were positive peer leaders in their high schools (yes...I was one of those kids).   I was wearing one of my Beatles t-shirts there and an adult counselor stopped me and asked if I had ever gone to Beatlefest.  Beatlefest??  What is that??   He told me that it was awesome and I had to go. He said to call 1-800-BEATLES and order a catalog.    I have no idea who that man was, but I am so thankful that he told me about the Fest.   In pre-"everyone has the internet" days, you had to hear about things like this through word of mouth.  

And so the next summer, right before I went off to college, I begged my mom to take me to Beatlefest.   And 20 years ago, I had no idea that I would one day know so many Beatle authors and be a speak on two panels myself.    

If I was going to give a name to this year's Fest, I would call it "the Fest for Beatle Friends."   I spent so much of my time chatting with Beatle friends both old and new from all around the world.   From friends that I have met many years ago to people I just started chatting with while waiting in line to get into an event, I had such a great time enjoying the company of fellow Beatle fans.    

Due to the negativity going on in the Beatles community, especially on tumblr, and some not so nice comments I had been receiving, I had lost a lot of faith in Beatle fans.   I was scared that this fandom was going in a direction that I did not like at all.  However, Beatlefest has renewed my faith in all of you.   I am sorry for ever doubting that Beatle fans are some of the best people in the world.   I am sorry that I allowed a few bad "apples" (yes that is a pun) to ruin my attitude. 

As always, my mom and I had a great time at the Fest for Beatle fans.   We went into the event knowing that it was going to be fun and we weren't going to allow changes in the layout of the hotel, or the attitude of a few negative people stop us from enjoying ourselves.    Unfortunately, since my school started bright and early Monday morning, we had to leave at 4:00pm on Sunday, missing out on about 8 hours worth of Beatles fun.   But we made the best out of the time we had there.



On Friday we got our wristbands and went into the main ballroom and listened to the introduction of the authors.   Of course most of the authors are friends of mine, which made me really happy to see them all up on stage talking about their books.  Afterward we took some time to check out the art contest, Beatles museum, record room, market place and all of the other artists that was showcasing their work (Eric Cash's things are amazing!).    Then it was an evening of listen to various people talk about my favorite thing to talk about--the Beatles!   The surprise guest of the fest was Dee Ellis. Dee has a new book called Confessions of a Beatlemaniac that retells her life in 1964-1966 including when she met three of the Beatles in a Cleveland hotel in 1966.   I will be reviewing her book very soon.   She has such enthusiasm and is so animated when she talks, that you feel like you are right there with her when she is telling her story.   Dee is a sweet woman and I am so glad that I met her!   I also listened to Ringo's former finance, Nancy Andrews talk and show some of the photos from her new Ringo Starr photograph book.  Nancy is so kind that is is just no shock to me that Ringo fell in love with her.    The last thing I did on Friday night was listen to several people talk about the Beatles 1964 summer tour.   Great discussions!

Nancy Andrews talk about the photos she took of Ringo Starr

Wally Podrazik leads a discussion on the 1964 Beatles tour with Ivor Davis, Al Sussman, Chuck Gunderson and Bruce Spizer

Saturday was a super busy day and I didn't want to miss anything!    I was once again honored to take part in the "She's a Woman--historian" panel where we discussed the legacy of the Beatles.   Big wigs in the Beatles world such as Mark Lewisohn and Bruce Spizer came to this panel discussion.   I was pretty nervous up there with those guys in the crowd, but it went really well.   Another highlight from Saturday was hearing Wally Podrazik interview Mark Lewisohn.   I found it to be a great interview and I just love hearing Mark talk about the Beatles!    I did a lot of shopping, chatting, and enjoying Beatles music. I personally did not care for the musical guests this year.   I do not like the Monkees, but my mom does and so we listened to Peter Noone and Mickey (I think that is who it was) form the Monkees sing and they were both very good.    I spent the end of Saturday with the "people under the stairs" singing Beatles songs.  One of these days I am going to find out who these folks are.  I see them each and every summer and recognize them, and yet I do not know them.

Women's historians:   Tina Kukla, Allison Boron, Susan Ryan, me, Kit O'Tool and Karen Duchaj

Mark is finally getting a good interview by Wally

As I said, I had to leave early on Sunday, so I wasn't able to do everything I wanted to do. First I was able to hear my dear friend, Jude Southerland Kessler's presentation on the Beatles and John Lennon in 1964.   She is such an amazing speaker!!    I made sure not to miss the puppet show!   I do not think I have missed a Beatles puppet show since Bob Abdou started putting them on.   If you go to a Beatlefest,  I really encourage you to see the puppet show.   It is good fun.   Then I was on my 2nd panel which was about the Beatles in the Cyberworld.    I was excited about this panel because it gave me a chance to talk about this blog and tell some of the stories.   I hope I didn't monopolize the discussion too much.   It is really intimidating to be on a panel with Beatles authors and I just have a blog.   But....I really loved doing it.   

Bob Abdou with his Beatle baby puppet

Professor "moptop", Richard Buskin, Rob Rodriguez, Kit O'Tool, me and Lana Stagg talk about the Beatles online

I am so glad that I was able to attend the fest this year and I encourage all of you out on the west coat to check out the Fest in L.A. in October! 

Run for it!

I love Paul's reaction to this fan that is running to take his photo from the car in Liverpool last week.   I would love to see the photos he took.  I hope that he got some good shots.

First grader is Ringo's new brother

The best meeting the Beatles for Real story of the week goes to King Tobias.   King is currently 5 years old and is heading for the first grade in the fall.    As an elementary school teacher, I guess I have a special soft spot for first grade Beatlemaniacs.    I just think King is a sweetie-pie and I would love to have him in class.    Although, now that I think about it---being his teacher might not be the best thing because all I would want to do is talk Beatles with him.  Haha!

King has been a Beatles fan since he was two years old.   He only wants to listen to Beatles music and he is learning to play Beatles songs on the guitar.    His bedroom is full of Beatles items.      Why does he like the Beatles so much?    Well--this is what he said in a recent interview, "I like them because they have good music."  "They make music that's loving people, and don't want to hurt people."

King mom, Cali, has been battling breast cancer for the past 13 years and has recently learned that she also has ovarian cancer.   My heart just breaks for her, and I pray that she remains strong and is able to pull through this with the help of the right doctors and medication.     Cali, wants to make memories for her young son.   So she got tickets to see Ringo in concert with King at the recent show in San Jose.    Well---somehow phone calls were made and she was able to pull the right strings to get to go backstage and meet Ringo Starr!!  Whoo hoo!!!  Way to go King and Cali!

When King met Ringo, he said  "Hey, brother, give me a hug."   He told the young man that they were now brothers.  And how he went from having zero brothers to four.   Then Ringo allowed to play his drums!   Ringo asked Cali how long had King been playing the drums, and when he heard that it was his very first time playing them, he couldn't believe it.

What a sweet story and what a memory for this boy to have of meeting one of the Beatles with his mom.   I am sure that it is a memory that King will cherish for his entire life.   The mother and son are going to see Paul McCartney in San Fransisco next month and King got special permission to miss the first day of 1st grade to attend. 

Paul Limo watching --- What to expect

Part of what I like to do with this blog is to explain what happens in events that seem to be a "secret" in the Beatles community.    I personally get frustrated by the lack of information that appears to be out there (pun intended) about some pretty basic things.    So I try to tear down the walls of secrecy and get the information available to other fans.    In Kansas City I  waited for the "limo watch" for Paul and I thought I would let you all know what to expect if you wanted to "limo watch" in your town.

First of all, Paul does not arrive in a Limo.   Everyone calls it "limo watching," but really it is "SUV watching."    What happens is that Paul rides in an SUV (although who knows....it might be a Limo) into the venue.   He will roll down the window and wave to the crowd.   In total it will take about 10 seconds.


Paul usually drives into the venue around 5:00pm the day of the concert.   So you need to get to the venue around 4:00pm and your first task is to figure out where Paul's car will be entering the venue.  This really isn't that hard of a task because most venues only have a few choices and security guards standing around will most likely tell you the correct location.   Or you can just look for a small gathering of people wearing Paul t-shirts.


The next task is to pick a side to be on.   This is always a hard decision.   What side will Paul be on?  Will Nancy (or someone else) be on the other side and you won't see Paul at all?   Pick your side and wait---and wait---and wait---

Eventually a man named Brian will come out  Brian is Paul's security manager.   He has worked for Paul for a long time and has said that Paul won't let him retire until Paul retires.   Brian will inform the crowd of what time Paul is to be arriving.   He might also tell you how many more minutes until he arrives.  

Brian is the short man in this photo

Before Paul comes, you will heard the police sirens.   Yes----Paul McCartney is escorted by the police to the venue.  So, you can hear that he is arriving.    As I said, the entire thing only lasts a few seconds, but it is extremely exciting.  And if you are lucky (like I was) you can see him and get a few good photos.  

I had my camera set to where it took 5 photos at a time in hopes of getting a few good shots.   There were some people in front of me, but I was able to lean way over to the side and get my photos right before he went inside.  

Here is some advice:  there is no reason to bring albums to get signed.  Paul is not going to stop the car to sign anything.  Also there isn't any reason to bring a huge sign that you hold up over your head.  Paul most likely will not have the time to read it and it just blocks the view of other fans.


It is extremely exciting to see Paul waving and to experience the entire thing and it adds to the fun of the concert!  Have fun!

 

*All photos were taken by Sara Schmidt.  Please ask before you use any photos elsewhere (I always have said yes)