August 29^th 2002. Joy and I went down to the Southgate House in Newport, KY. to see Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers in concert. This would be the first time either one of us had seen them in concert. As long as I’ve been a fan, I never got to see them. Neither as The Refreshments, or as The Peacemakers. We got there five hours early, and sat down at the bar. The owner of the Southgate House remembered us from when we were down there a month earlier to get our tickets, and we were sitting there talking to him, the bartender, and another employee. We were telling them how big of fans of the band we were. A few minutes later the bar’s phone rang. The owner left to answer the phone, only to return a couple minutes later and inform us, "Your boys just called. They’ll be here in a few minutes." ‘Cool’ we thought, maybe we could go back behind the bar and snag some autographs after they loaded in. The owner sat back down and asked, "How would you like to go down, and let them in when they get here?" I couldn’t believe what I heard. Did he just ask me what I think he asked me? I replied quickly before he could change his mind, "YES, YES I DO!" The owner and the other employee led us down to the ballroom and to the back door, and told me, when they get here, open the door and let them in. I kept looking at Joy as if to ask, ‘Is this really happening?’ Joy went down onto the ballroom floor and got us a table, as I leaned against the door in dire anticipation. A couple minutes later, I hear a bus pull up out back. I opened up the door and peeked out side. Parked in the alley was a huge tour bus, with Hope & Madness Tour 2002 in a little window above the windshield. All I could do was smile. A couple members of the road crew started loading in as I held the door. I started to wonder where the band was. When Steve Larson stepped off the bus. He nodded and said "Hey," as he walked past me into the club. I was floored. The guy was loading in his own equipment. After all the gear was in, the crew started setting up. Joy and I sat at the table and watched. We couldn’t believe no one had come down to ask us to go back upstairs yet. A few minutes later Steve came back in and started talking to the road crew. He turned and started walking back to the stage door, when Joy encouraged me to get his attention. We both called his name, and he turned around. I walked over and shook his hand and told him I was a HUGE fan, and asked him if he could spare a couple minutes to sign some autographs and take a picture. He said sure, and came over to our table and started signing. And boy did he sign! I took down a boatload of stuff for the band to sign, and he was the first victim. I’m pretty proud of myself, because I impressed him. I have a CD-single of a song from his old band Dead Hot Workshop, and I brought the incert for him to sign. He couldn’t believe I had it. After signing everything we had for him, (I swear I gave him a wicked case of writers cramps) we took a picture together. After the picture, we expected him to go back out to the bus, or leave, but to our INCREDIBLE surprise….he sat down at our table, and there he stayed for over a half hour talking to us. We talked Peacemakers, Dead Hot Workshop, and he gave Joy and I cards to order his new solo CD. He was so nice, and generous to us. We can’t thank him enough. Steve got up and got on stage and Joy and I got to watch him and the road crew do sound check. By this time Joy and I were constantly looking over our shoulders waiting for someone to tell us we had to go back upstairs now that the band was here. But, guess what. IT DIDN’T HAPPEN! As a matter of fact, the bartender and the other employee kept coming down and checking on the two of us and to see if we needed anything. A while after sound check, people started filing into the ballroom for the show. Local band Jimmy Joe & The Rambling Ramblers started the show. These guys oooooze old school county, in the style of Hank Sr. They were good, just not my kind of music. After their set, Shurman took the stage. These guys were awesome! The Peacemakers couldn’t have chosen a better band to compliment them on the road than Shurman. After about four or five songs, the lead singer asked for people to get out of their seats and come onto the floor. Well, you don’t have to tell me that twice. Joy and I got up from our table, and went right down, FRONT ROW CENTER! The crowd followed our lead and filed in beside and behind us. Shurman’s set ended, and their lead vocalist came over and thanked Joy and me for being the first to get up. Then came the moment I’d been waiting so long for. The Peacemakers were going to take the stage! Roger came out onto the stage, walked past everyone else who had his or her hands outstretched, and walked right to me, and shook my hand. I WAS FLOORED! They opened the show with the song Horses, and it was non-stop from there. I couldn’t believe the interaction between the band and the crowd. People were yelling out requests and the band was playing them. (Little flash back here) When I first got The Refreshments, Fizzy Fuzzy Big And Buzzy CD, I made a sign featuring a line from the song Nada on the disc. The line says ‘I tip the bottle and bite the lime’. Well, I took the sign down with me in hopes to get it autographed. But after noticing all the requests being taken I held the sign up. Roger saw the sign, smiled, gave me a thumbs up, and said they’d do the song. The show kept going and going, and still no Nada yet. I was starting to worry. After the bands last encore, Roger came up to me, pressed his guitar pic into my hand and apologized for not playing Nada, they ran out of time. He told me he owed me. A while later the singer of Shurman came up and thanked Joy and I again for coming up to the stage, and how they appreciated our energy. We told them we’d see them again in Detroit on Saturday. A bit later the Peacemakers, (minus Danny, who had family in the area he left to visit) made their way back into the bar to meet the fans. We caught back up with Steve who thanked us again for coming out. Then Roger came in. He was swarmed almost immediately. He was blowing us away with his power of total recall. Fans were coming up to him, and he’d remember them from past meetings. (Actual quote to a fan from that night…Roger: "We’ve met about three years ago didn’t we? But not here." AND HE WAS RIGHT!) Finally it was Joy’s and my turn. Roger was so courteous to us. He apologized again for not doing Nada. I told him we’d be at the Royal Oak MI. show in a couple nights and they could do it for me then. He said ok, and even signed on the ‘I tip the bottle and bite the lime’ sign ‘Glenn I.O.U. Nada- Roger Clyne’. Since I had more stuff for Roger to sign than Steve, I only had Roger sign half of the stack I brought. He also took pictures with Joy and I. After we said our ‘see you laters’ to Roger, we headed out to where the bus was parked to hit up P.H. Naffa for autographs and pictures. Like with Roger I only had P.H. sign half since I knew we’d be seeing them two nights later. P.H. and I also got to talk drums. He has these gold fleck DW’s that I’d give my left leg for. After that we said our ‘see you Saturday night’s’ and left. The next day we got the pictures developed, and I had the one of Roger and me blown up to an 8x10, hoping to get it signed the next night. Saturday we get up to Royal Oak, MI. and we start walking around the theatre the band was playing that night, and who do we run into as soon as we round the corner by the tour bus? Danny White, the only hold out from Thursday night. Joy and I snagged him right away! We got our pictures taken and the autographs from Danny we needed. And yes, he was just as kind and humble as the other guys were. After giving Danny the same writers cramps we gave the rest of the band Thursday night, we let him go, and we headed back around to the front of the theatre. But, before we got there, we ran into P.H. rounding the corner. He remembered us from KY. We said hi and asked if they were going to be out again to sign after the show, and he assured us they would be. The show started, Shurman came on and totally rocked out just as hard as they did a couple nights earlier. After waiting for what seemed like an hour after Shurman’s set, the Peacemakers came out to start their set. P.H. started playing a very familiar song. I smiled and held my sign up high, because I knew what song it was. Roger walked up to the mic, looked down (the stage was six foot of the ground), saw me and the sign and smiled. As promised, the song was Nada. The show was just as incredible as the Newport show, with a variety of songs that weren’t played on Thursday. After the show we went back around behind the theatre to wait. P.H. was the first to come out, and he finished signing the left overs I had from the other night, and he also signed the picture we took together. He thanked us for traveling so much to see them. We assured him that wouldn’t be the last time they saw us. A bit later, Steve came out. Again, he remembered us. Since he signed EVERYTHING I had for him Thursday, the only thing I had left for him to sign was the picture of the two of us together. Before we left him, he thanked us for coming to see them, and told us "You guys are good fans, and you’re good people too. Thank you." Wow! I was blown away. Just when I think these guys can’t get any cooler, Steve says something like that. We promised him we’d meet again, and waited for Roger. Roger came out, and again, was immediately swarmed. When he got around to us, he looked at me and said, "We started off the show tonight with Nada on purpose just for you, cause I owed you." Wow again! And I know he meant it, because Joy got Roger’s set list after the show, and the first set song on it was Nada. He then signed my 8x10 of the two of us (which is now sitting on top of my entertainment center), and the remainder of the stuff I had from Thursday, and we said our adios’s. I will never (if in the area) miss these guys in concert again. Not just because of the music, but just cause of their attitude towards their fans. I would have always been a fan forever anyway, but those two days just cemented it. I have a bad habit of putting rock stars/musicians on pedestals, and then get burnt by them later on, and I have to admit this was a grave fear of mine going into this. I’m glad I was so wrong on this occasion. These guys treat their fans the best. They seem to really WANT TO interact with their fans. Every other band out there should spend a day with these guys and learn how to treat their fans. Thank you Roger. Thank you P.H. Thank you Steve. Thank you Danny.