A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH PAUL MCCARTNEY!
(BELATED Happy Birthday Paul!!!! (It was yesterday, yes, but I was not on the internet, sawwy.))
One of the great idols of my life...and I found myself standing less than 2 car lengths away from him once and didn't have the guts to say hi...Well...actually..I've actually come up with the most plausible reason I did not, and it might help me deal with many years of daily regrets for not having done so...
(How much is Paul my idol? I've got a CUSTOM German-made PAUL MCCARTNEY STYLE HOFNER BASS WHICH I RECORD WITH AND HE'S MY MENTOR ON BASS, HE IS. (Listen to my new single, "Queen of the People's Hearts (Sweet Princess Di)" and you'll hear it!
Here's what happened:
Every musician needs a day gig for financial support before he/she makes it big, and my day gig in 1993 was - among other things - being a disc jokey (we were called "announcers" please! LOL) at a CLASSICAL music radio station in New York City - in fact the nation's #1 commercial such station, WNCN 104.3 FM (one of my fans was Robert Redford! - he called me one day and I met him on the set of "Quiz Show" - that's a story for another time!)...
Anyway, I was doin' my show and - this was the ONLY time I'd ever done it - I felt the need to drop something off in the office during my show...and I turn to my right, and who do I see in the lobby? PAUL AND LINDA MCCARTNEY!
OMG!!!!
(Paul had written his first Classical piece, his Oratorio, which we were premiering on our station.)
I was stunned and immobilized for a few seconds...This was during a commercial break, mind you, and commercials didn't last that long and I had to get back to my mic...PLUS they're talkin' to my PD (program director), Mario Mazza, who was a great guy - and big supporter of me - but when he got MAD...look out! So I was thinkin' three things:
"Mario'd KILL me if I interrupted their conversation...
"And what'd I say? I'd blabber out something fan-sy stupid Paul's heard a billion times!...
"And - OMG - my commercial's ending!"
And it was the final realization that made me turn around and go back to my booth, but I've regretted not being bolder for many years since.
God Bless you Paul - you're not only godly, musically, but a very nice person and you've done so much GOOD in this world, helping other musicians, promoting good causes...HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND HERE'S TO MANY MANY MORE!!!
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