Ahhh...Rise. Summer 1979.
I mean, my whole life I had wanted to visit the A&M lot. My parents even tried to buy me A&M stock for my birthday to get me interested in business (today I am a business show host on TV); I'd met Herb and interviewed him once by then; collected A&M stuff for a long time, though not in an over-the top way.
Anyway, time came. A buddy and I accompanied my former roommate and his bride on their wedding trip (!) to LA, where I had arranged for tickets to a Tonight Show taping (where Johnny Carson actually addressed me during his monolog)...a taping of "Taxi"...and a visit to the A&M lot.
When I called to confirm that morning, the person on the other end said the guy who was supposed to take me around was out sick...so, sorry..."we can't accommodate you."
I had to explain that NO...NO...I really want to see the place. I've been waiting my whole life for this.
Headed out and had breakfast at a restaurant up the street on LaBrea and at the appointed hour, we walked through the gates and were on our way. Our guide was gracious and my colleagues put up with me. The studios, the lot, the offices. Herb's parking space --- H Alpert --- was vacant, but there is a Polaroid of me crouching over it and smiling.
I remember the hallway to a recording studio had a sun-faded gold record of "Whipped Cream" and other LPs hung high overhead. And I remember how rich and warm the feeling was in the studio and in engineering. The wood was dark and inviting.
The place where I SHOULD have had my picture taken was the A&M "Rise" painting, which was painted on an exterior wall of a building on the lot.
I mean, my whole life I had wanted to visit the A&M lot. My parents even tried to buy me A&M stock for my birthday to get me interested in business (today I am a business show host on TV); I'd met Herb and interviewed him once by then; collected A&M stuff for a long time, though not in an over-the top way.
Anyway, time came. A buddy and I accompanied my former roommate and his bride on their wedding trip (!) to LA, where I had arranged for tickets to a Tonight Show taping (where Johnny Carson actually addressed me during his monolog)...a taping of "Taxi"...and a visit to the A&M lot.
When I called to confirm that morning, the person on the other end said the guy who was supposed to take me around was out sick...so, sorry..."we can't accommodate you."
I had to explain that NO...NO...I really want to see the place. I've been waiting my whole life for this.
Headed out and had breakfast at a restaurant up the street on LaBrea and at the appointed hour, we walked through the gates and were on our way. Our guide was gracious and my colleagues put up with me. The studios, the lot, the offices. Herb's parking space --- H Alpert --- was vacant, but there is a Polaroid of me crouching over it and smiling.
I remember the hallway to a recording studio had a sun-faded gold record of "Whipped Cream" and other LPs hung high overhead. And I remember how rich and warm the feeling was in the studio and in engineering. The wood was dark and inviting.
The place where I SHOULD have had my picture taken was the A&M "Rise" painting, which was painted on an exterior wall of a building on the lot.