"I want to tell you, my head is filled with things to say." Boy this has been a thrilling week and I've be anxious to tell you.
Every person has a dream. ET dreamed of home. Pinocchio wanted to be a real boy. Bing Crosby...a white Christmas. As many of you already know, my dream came true this week. On November 19th, 2014 at 10 AM, I got to meet Sir Paul McCartney.
I woke up Tuesday morning and did what every 22 year old does once they get out of bed...check Facebook. Perusing through the previous night's posts, I came upon a post from Paul McCartney's website. Paul has a new single coming out and was giving a private talk to musicians the following morning in London. They advertised that if you posted which instruments you played, you would be entered to win a chance to attend the talk. I entered the contest thinking that this would be the closest I'd probably get to being able to see him. Paul seems to avoid Cleveland like the Plague. About 20 minutes later, I received an email from the website saying that I was invited to the attend the talk. I'm pretty sure the tenant below me heard my jaw hit the ground. At first, I didn't believe it. Through corresponding, I my doubts were put mostly to rest and my heart leaped to the skies. I was seeing Paul McCartney in person!!!
I quickly booked a overnight bus, which was horrible, to London. The secret venue was music studio/office. It was small and only 30 people were invited. I got to the venue early and was first in line. Thoughts were racing in my head. "What question would I ask him?", " Well I get a picture with him or shake his hand?", "Maybe he'll sign autographs." I tried not to get my expectations too high. Before we were let in, I talked with Paul's publicist and web designers. I told them about the program was doing and they were baffled because they had never heard of it and were amazed. Once in, I got a front row seat! Five feet, at most, from where Paul would be sitting. His security told the audience that he wasn't doing any autographs or pictures so we were not allowed to take pictures at all. Kind of a bummer.
My disappointment rapidly disappeared as he walked out. I was surprised he looks much better than photographs of late. He is tall and VERY skinny. His hair doesn't look so bad in person too. He talked about his new single "Hope for the Future" and songwriting for about 45 minutes. He discussed how he approached this single as it was the main theme for a recently released video game. He prefers songwriting on guitar rather than piano. For him, his favorite kind of songwriting is when the music and lyrics come to him simultaneously. When that happens, he knows it'll be a good one. He addressed how he creates songs without the ability of reading music. That was interesting considering he's been playing music for over 50 years and writing songs without writing it down on sheet music.
For the last 15 minutes of the hour, he opened it up to the audience to ask questions. Although I was nervous, my hand shot up hoping to be called on. Audience members asked him about writing "Blackbird" and how he wrote it modifying the beginning of a Bach tune. Someone asked when he sits to write a song, if he knows what style of song it's going to be. He replied no and that during the process of creating the song, the style naturally takes shape. He offered some funny stories about writing with John and other collaborations. Unfortunately, my dream of asking him a question did not come true. He said goodbye and headed out the door leaving the rest of starstruck. For those of us that still had questions we had an opportunity to video record our message in which Paul will answer at a later time. Fingers crossed he replies to mine!
Afterwards, I headed to Harrod's department stores which was absolutely beautiful. I didn't buy anything because I'd have to sell my future firstborn child to afford even the smallest of gifts. It was a crazy, yet amazing 24 hours. Unfortunately, I can't post any pictures of the event the press took on here due to copyright. I can post the pictures I took leading up to the event. If you would like the pictures of the back of my head with Paul, email me and I'll email them to you. I have to say, I look quite good in them....
Every person has a dream. ET dreamed of home. Pinocchio wanted to be a real boy. Bing Crosby...a white Christmas. As many of you already know, my dream came true this week. On November 19th, 2014 at 10 AM, I got to meet Sir Paul McCartney.
I woke up Tuesday morning and did what every 22 year old does once they get out of bed...check Facebook. Perusing through the previous night's posts, I came upon a post from Paul McCartney's website. Paul has a new single coming out and was giving a private talk to musicians the following morning in London. They advertised that if you posted which instruments you played, you would be entered to win a chance to attend the talk. I entered the contest thinking that this would be the closest I'd probably get to being able to see him. Paul seems to avoid Cleveland like the Plague. About 20 minutes later, I received an email from the website saying that I was invited to the attend the talk. I'm pretty sure the tenant below me heard my jaw hit the ground. At first, I didn't believe it. Through corresponding, I my doubts were put mostly to rest and my heart leaped to the skies. I was seeing Paul McCartney in person!!!
I quickly booked a overnight bus, which was horrible, to London. The secret venue was music studio/office. It was small and only 30 people were invited. I got to the venue early and was first in line. Thoughts were racing in my head. "What question would I ask him?", " Well I get a picture with him or shake his hand?", "Maybe he'll sign autographs." I tried not to get my expectations too high. Before we were let in, I talked with Paul's publicist and web designers. I told them about the program was doing and they were baffled because they had never heard of it and were amazed. Once in, I got a front row seat! Five feet, at most, from where Paul would be sitting. His security told the audience that he wasn't doing any autographs or pictures so we were not allowed to take pictures at all. Kind of a bummer.
My disappointment rapidly disappeared as he walked out. I was surprised he looks much better than photographs of late. He is tall and VERY skinny. His hair doesn't look so bad in person too. He talked about his new single "Hope for the Future" and songwriting for about 45 minutes. He discussed how he approached this single as it was the main theme for a recently released video game. He prefers songwriting on guitar rather than piano. For him, his favorite kind of songwriting is when the music and lyrics come to him simultaneously. When that happens, he knows it'll be a good one. He addressed how he creates songs without the ability of reading music. That was interesting considering he's been playing music for over 50 years and writing songs without writing it down on sheet music.
For the last 15 minutes of the hour, he opened it up to the audience to ask questions. Although I was nervous, my hand shot up hoping to be called on. Audience members asked him about writing "Blackbird" and how he wrote it modifying the beginning of a Bach tune. Someone asked when he sits to write a song, if he knows what style of song it's going to be. He replied no and that during the process of creating the song, the style naturally takes shape. He offered some funny stories about writing with John and other collaborations. Unfortunately, my dream of asking him a question did not come true. He said goodbye and headed out the door leaving the rest of starstruck. For those of us that still had questions we had an opportunity to video record our message in which Paul will answer at a later time. Fingers crossed he replies to mine!
Afterwards, I headed to Harrod's department stores which was absolutely beautiful. I didn't buy anything because I'd have to sell my future firstborn child to afford even the smallest of gifts. It was a crazy, yet amazing 24 hours. Unfortunately, I can't post any pictures of the event the press took on here due to copyright. I can post the pictures I took leading up to the event. If you would like the pictures of the back of my head with Paul, email me and I'll email them to you. I have to say, I look quite good in them....
Moseying with celebrities continued on Saturday when I attended the Birmingham Comic Convention. I've never been to a Comic convention and the Bond girls of "Goldfinger", celebrating 50 years of the film, were there to sign autographs. Being the ultimate James Bond fan, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet them. They are in their 70's and 80's so it very well may be my only chance.
Another crazy 24 hours. I got there early and had to stand in line. I stood next to a guy dressed as The Joker while we waited to enter the building. Once I got in, I headed straight to the Bond girls. The first person I met was Shirley Eaton, the girl painted gold in the film. I introduced myself and told her I was a big fan and that she was my favorite Bond girl as a kid because she was killed with gold paint. She was really sweet, funny, nice, and was touched by my childhood admiration. We talked about the movie for a couple of minutes until the lineman said I needed to move on. My first Bond autograph!
The next Bond girl I met was Pussy Galore, Honor Blackman. At 89, she was happy to see a young "handsome" fan compared to the traditional fans that ask for her autograph. I handed her my record to sign and noticed Shirley Eaton's autograph with the words " To Mark, with Love." Honor scoffed and said "Shirley's signing 'love', trying to win everyone's heart." Pussy signed 'Love' as well. And to add, she let me get a picture with her. What an "Honor"....
The third and final autograph I got, there were about 8 bond girls altogether, was Tania Mallett (the sniper from Goldfinger). I think she looked the best of them all. When I introduced myself she knew I wasn't British and I told her I was from Ohio. She was very interested in the recent blizzard of the Midwest. We talked for a couple of minutes and I asked her what her favorite part of filming was. She looked up with a smile and replied, jokingly, " When it was over." I told her how James Bond, particularly Goldfinger, is a big part of my family as I remember watching it with my father and grandfather together as a kid. After talking with her, she was quite touched and made a note of my story to tell to her family.
Another crazy 24 hours. I got there early and had to stand in line. I stood next to a guy dressed as The Joker while we waited to enter the building. Once I got in, I headed straight to the Bond girls. The first person I met was Shirley Eaton, the girl painted gold in the film. I introduced myself and told her I was a big fan and that she was my favorite Bond girl as a kid because she was killed with gold paint. She was really sweet, funny, nice, and was touched by my childhood admiration. We talked about the movie for a couple of minutes until the lineman said I needed to move on. My first Bond autograph!
The next Bond girl I met was Pussy Galore, Honor Blackman. At 89, she was happy to see a young "handsome" fan compared to the traditional fans that ask for her autograph. I handed her my record to sign and noticed Shirley Eaton's autograph with the words " To Mark, with Love." Honor scoffed and said "Shirley's signing 'love', trying to win everyone's heart." Pussy signed 'Love' as well. And to add, she let me get a picture with her. What an "Honor"....
The third and final autograph I got, there were about 8 bond girls altogether, was Tania Mallett (the sniper from Goldfinger). I think she looked the best of them all. When I introduced myself she knew I wasn't British and I told her I was from Ohio. She was very interested in the recent blizzard of the Midwest. We talked for a couple of minutes and I asked her what her favorite part of filming was. She looked up with a smile and replied, jokingly, " When it was over." I told her how James Bond, particularly Goldfinger, is a big part of my family as I remember watching it with my father and grandfather together as a kid. After talking with her, she was quite touched and made a note of my story to tell to her family.
The convention was packed. I did see a couple of talks that were put on. The first was actor Cary Elwes from "A Princess Bride." He was hilarious and shared so many funny stories from filming. He told us how he broke his left toe on 4th day of shooting. If you watch you can see he's light on his left foot in most of the film. He was great with the audience and brought people on stage, took questions, and was very thankful for his fans. His appreciation of his fans was touching because I feel that most celebrities detest fans and want nothing to do with them.
Another celebrity I got to hear talk was Tom Felton, known as Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter. He's doing a documentary on fans and came to ask the audience questions and share their experiences. He began by saying how all morning he went around dressed as The Joker interviewing fans asking them questions. He admitted that no one recognized him behind the makeup. He showed a picture of his costume and sure enough...It was the same Joker I stood in line with while waiting to get into the convention. I waited 45 minutes and had no idea Tom Felton was next to me. He spoke for an hour and, like Cary, was really appreciative of his fans. The girls went crazy for him. I made it into his video footage so I'll keep you updated on when it's released on TV.
Another celebrity I got to hear talk was Tom Felton, known as Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter. He's doing a documentary on fans and came to ask the audience questions and share their experiences. He began by saying how all morning he went around dressed as The Joker interviewing fans asking them questions. He admitted that no one recognized him behind the makeup. He showed a picture of his costume and sure enough...It was the same Joker I stood in line with while waiting to get into the convention. I waited 45 minutes and had no idea Tom Felton was next to me. He spoke for an hour and, like Cary, was really appreciative of his fans. The girls went crazy for him. I made it into his video footage so I'll keep you updated on when it's released on TV.
Everything happened to so quickly. However, these are moments I will never forget for the rest of my life. I'm still going over everything in my head, trying to take it all in.
Mark Musings:
I only have one this week and It is the air of Liverpool. I know it's an odd topic but interesting nonetheless. Because the city is located on the river, and the climate is damp, the air is very fowl. It's not fresh and I can certainly tell the difference. Talking with my teacher, he told me that because the air is so fowl and damp, everyone in Liverpool has a nose blockage condition. In fact, they are even born with their nose partially blocked. I certainly can't wait to come home and breath some fresh, Ohioan air!
Trivia! 5 people voted and 4 got it right. Octopussy is the film. Only in a Roger Moore Bond would you find 007 in a crocodile submarine.
In honor of Thanksgiving, this week's trivia is:
Mark Musings:
I only have one this week and It is the air of Liverpool. I know it's an odd topic but interesting nonetheless. Because the city is located on the river, and the climate is damp, the air is very fowl. It's not fresh and I can certainly tell the difference. Talking with my teacher, he told me that because the air is so fowl and damp, everyone in Liverpool has a nose blockage condition. In fact, they are even born with their nose partially blocked. I certainly can't wait to come home and breath some fresh, Ohioan air!
Trivia! 5 people voted and 4 got it right. Octopussy is the film. Only in a Roger Moore Bond would you find 007 in a crocodile submarine.
In honor of Thanksgiving, this week's trivia is:
I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the holiday and spend it with the ones you love. Save the shopping for Friday. Oh let me know who wins the annual Eukanuba dog competition. I'll be in class so be sure to save me a slice of Pumpkin Pie!
Peace & Love,
Mark
Peace & Love,
Mark