One of the stipulations of the contract was that they were to arrive on Thursday and have Friday to rest before the show on Saturday. Paul had different travel arrangements, due to family issues, and Roger wasn't able to make the show due to impending nuptials The Bandidos hired Bobby Trimble to fill in for Roger. So, with those changes, it was just Malcolm, Neil and Carlos arriving at SFO.
Malcolm and Neil arrived first, after a bit of a delay. First thing when they arrived they asked where they could smoke. I was very grateful that they were smokers since at the time I had a 2 pack a day habit. My journey to quitting is going to be for another blog.
I had spoken to Malcolm on the phone but had never met him. I had seen them in Vegas a few years ago, but didn't get the chance to talk to them, so the airport was our first meeting. I had helped them by picking up their merchandise for the show at Viva Las Vegas, and had them ship their new CDs to sell at the show to me so they would avoid customs issues. They were very sweet and thanked me personally in their new CD notes. That was a very unexpected surprise...ok, back to the story...
As I said, Neil and Malcolm arrived first, and about 45 minutes later, Carlos arrived. We made a stop at In-N-Out Burger on the way to the hotel. Seems most people that don't have In-N-Out in their towns have to go there when they visit California, or anywhere else there is an In-N-Out. After the burgers, I took them to the hotels and informed them I was there at their disposal if they wanted to go out that evening, which of course they did. I suggested Forbidden Island Tiki Bar in Alameda, and the plan was, they would rest up for 2 hours and I'd meet them in the lobby.
I lived about 40 minutes drive from their hotel, and knew it was pointless to go home before meeting them. I thought about visiting my friend Jess at her work, but after a couple phone calls I had to return, I realized I didn't have time for that. One hour before we were supposed to meet up, I was wandering around the lobby waiting. In the brief time I had to get acquainted with everyone before we went to the hotel, I had surmised that Neil was probably sitting in his room watching shitty TV. I picked up the house phone, called his room, and sure enough...I could hear the TV on in the background and he was awake. He was also up for coming downstairs and having a cigarette ("tabs" he called them...that is northern English slang and we decided in SF he couldn't call them "fags") and hanging out in the bar with me to keep me company. I think that was when I decided that I would force BFF status on him.
We were joined by the other Bandidos that were stateside and headed over the bridge to Forbidden Island. Jess (or "Jezza" as Neil fondly calls her) met us at the Bar. Neil knew Jessica from her time living in London.
Here are some pics from that first night:
Malcolm, Carlos and I
Neil and "Jezza"
Carlos and I at Forbidden Island
After a night at Forbidden Island, I made grandiose plans to pick up Neil and Carlos at 9 AM and take them site seeing in San Francisco. Obviously, 9:00 meant 10:30 with a 45 minute drive from home, after being out until 2 AM. Malcolm had been to SF a few times, so he took a pass. Malcolm wanted to meet Paul's flight and visit his friend Patti. Tanya came along with me since she grew up in SF and would be a good tour guide.
The boys at the Bridge
Carlos in front of the birth place of Bruce Lee
I fell asleep on the way back to the hotel...a 10 minute drive. I wasn't quite recovered from Viva Las Vegas yet, and the late night...who am I kidding, I'm just old and fall asleep at improper times leaving myself open to having myself photographed while drooling.
Friday night was the BBH "Pre-party" Record Hop at the hotel. Neil was my "tab" buddy all night. Every 45 minutes or so, we'd look at each other and know it was time for a "tab."
Saturday was a very busy day, as you know from my prior post. I'll skip to Sunday, when Tanya and I took Neil and Carlos to Alcatraz.
It was raining horribly that day. I blame Neil...he brought the shitty weather from England. Here's some snapshots of Alcatraz:
This is a faux background disguising the pouring rain which you can see on Neil's shirt...this photo made us laugh so hard...Neil looks like he's snuck into our photo and Carlos looks like a cutout of himself
Guess where they are?
After a wet afternoon at Alcatraz, we hit Mel's diner and then Forbidden Island again. There was a Zombie party going on, we all had turns being eaten alive by the walking dead. Jess came out and met us again, as did Malcolm's good friend Steve.
Jezza and the Neilster
Steve being eaten by a Zombie
Tanya, Neil and Jess
The dollar bills stuck the ceiling are a tradition started during WW2. Outgoing sailors and soldiers would stick a dollar bill with their name and date on it for luck. It signified that they would be returning from war and when they did they would have money for their first drink.
Neil got a little grogged out
Tuesday after the show, Neil and Malcy came down to San Jose to visit some record shops and visit me at work. It was really great to see them again, and Tanya, Rachelle, and their hubbys joined us for dinner.
Neil and I outside of Time Zone vintage:
We picked a winner when we went to dinner at the Hukilau
The boys had a little bad luck the day they were supposed to leave. The Icelandic Volcano erupted and they were all stranded here for 6 days! It was horrible for them, but I did get to visit with them at their hotel (prison). They finally made it home, and Neil and I have kept up our friendship via facebook and the great packages he sends with music and other goodies. I found a rare tiki mug and some other junk I've sent him. I hope to visit and meet his lovely wife if and when I get to go the Rave (hopefully next year!)
If you haven't heard Carlos and the Bandidos, please check out their page! There are more pictures of their trip here and you can hear their music: Carlos and the Bandidos
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