Well, Barb and I have been down here now for 4 days in gorgeous Orlando, Florida. And we've had a blast so far. The weather has been slowly scratching it's way up to the lower 80's, and the skies have been blue and sunny each and every day. Much nicer in shorts and tees than sweatshirts and insulated track pants back in Canada :)
On Tuesday upon arrival and checking into our Resort, we headed over to to grab bite to eat and take in one of our favorite destinations - The Hard Rock Cafe.
For any one that has not been to a Hard Rock - they are a music Junkie's version of the Smithsonian Museum and Disneyland rolled into one. Lots and lots of memorabilia to fawn over from guitars, drums, Rock Star onstage clothes, albums, drum heads, autographed items by the dozens or hundreds - all there to be seen, photographed and stared at in awe. The Corporation of The Hard Rock Cafe has employees who scour the world, attend expensive auctions, draw on contacts/friendships made, or in the most amazing gestures of generosity - have items donated to the Cafes. The largest item in the Hard Rock Cafes inventory at the moment is the original Beatles 1967 Magical Mystery Tour Bus.
After our afternoon lunch, Barb and I hooked up with a delightful young woman named K.T Bloedorn who took us on a VIP Tour of the bowels of the massive Hard Rock Cafe here in Orlando - the biggest one of the entire chain.
We were taken thru halls adorned with rare concert posters into a locked room that was done up entirely in white - with good reason.
The room was dedicated to the late John Lennon of The Beatles. It housed Lennon's personal items such as paintings, his large piano, and most intriguing of all - the love seat that was Lennon's favorite article of furniture that he spent many, many hours on writing material. The room is offset by a massive u-shaped white sectional that is the center-piece of the entire room. The setting up of this Lennon tribute was aided by John's wife Yoko Ono herself so it would be a precise representation of Lennon's furniture tastes and general mood of his room.
The room now is used as a VIP room for celebrities such as David Lee Roth, Brett Michaels, and many others who perform at the large 3300 seat performance venue deep within the Hard Rock.
We left the Lennon room with K.T and were escorted into the actual venue where some world-famous acts have performed small and intimate shows for the fortunate 3300 guests that attend. The seating is amazing and plush, the sight lines are to kill for from any spot in the venue - and the stage is both massive in size yet retains a dimension of being just perfect for a band and audience to be "close" to one another.
From here we were taken into the "Fun Room" - the room where many a celebrity post-performance party has taken place, and the one area of the Hard Rock that is the ultimate museum of both articles and autographs. The walls are all painted white, but it is very difficult to find a bare spot - black magic marker autographs from Kiss, Metallica, Van Halen, Poison, Slayer, etc adorn the walls on all sides. It is a friendly "requirement" from all the bands/artists to leave their names inscribed on these walls during the post-concert party - and they seem to have all obliged.
As I looked around the bowels of this large concrete blocked room, my eyes darted to numerous items of rampant interest. There was a cymbal of Carl Palmer's (ELP), a cracked China belonging to Vinnie Paul (Hellyeah, Pantera) from the night he performed with his brother Dimebag, who was murdered by a deranged fan, a large replica of an Electric Chair that was used by Alice Cooper on one of his many tours and/or Quiet Riot infamous "Mental Health" LP cover. A chair that David Lee Roth and Brett Michaels enjoy sitting in every time they frequent the Cafe, a Frank Zappa guitar case, and dozens more items that were absolutely fascinating to see. K.T went into depth about anything and everything we had questions for - including the story of her mentor. A man now in his 70's who has been with the Cafe since it's humble beginnings in the Seventies, and was the individual responsible for amassing most of the cherished items in the Hard Rock Cafe world collection.
We left this magical room and proceeded down a hall which was adorned with sealed glass posters that were originals from past decades and concerts. One of which was the famous Isle of Wright poster that had The Who and Hendrix amongst other legends on it for the famous concert. The comparison hit me right away - these posters would've hung in people's bedrooms, rec rooms, garages, dorm rooms, etc - only to be either thrown away when they were of no more interest to their owner, or lost/destroyed over the years. Quite similar to those of us that collected hockey cards and baseball cards from the 1960's and 1970's - cards that would be worth thousands now in pristine shape but have long since been lost or destroyed. Here in this hallway, all these legendary posters from the Wright Concerts to Bill Grahams Fillmore East & West had been carefully framed and preserved for all to see and enjoy at some time.
As we left this hall that was a conduit to a former time, K.T led us thru a door that opened up onto the stage we had seen earlier from afar in the venue. The stage had a black floor, black drapes that rose up some 60 feet and were topped off with a massive lighting truss across the roof line that ran parallel to the stage floor. As I stood there, I could see the "x' for marks for performers, the outlines of where the numerous monitors over time have left their silhouette on the floor, a perfect line of sight to every one of the 3300 seats, above me and off in the distance in front of the stage were the massive light cannons on pedestals that were follow spots for the stage performers. As I stood where The Beast might be in my dreams, the feeling was electric. A stage that seemed to rival the one I stood on in Hollywood at the Whiskey A Go-Go. This stage had it's stellar past performers as well ranging from Elton John, Vince Neil, Aerosmith, Weezer, Primus, Brett Michaels, and the list goes on.
The talent that has and will grace this stage is almost too hard for the mind to comprehend - but it seduces you in knowing that you are following the footsteps of world famous stars as you walk across the stage.
The tour sadly ended in yet another large hall that was adorned with the photo's of all the celebrities that through performance, donation, item, had become such an intrinsic part of the magic of The Hard Rock Cafe. We gave our thanks to K.T and turned to return to the Cafe proper - our lives enlightened by the treasures we had just been shown and a brief moment in time when Carl Palmer and I had use of his cymbal and Barb sat in Alice's favorite stage chair.
Mr. Lennon - your love seat is in the right place !!
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