First off... the actual location of the Birthday Bash hasn’t been known to us for two months, by design. It was NOT at the Airport Marriott, though there was a really amusing rumor that it was being held in the Stones River room there right down the hall from Rock N Pod (which I also attended and enjoyed very much). That rumor took on extra life when someone showed up this morning with boxes of pink cupcakes and pink balloons. Turned out to be a birthday party for an elderly family, LOL. I do want to apologize again to Rick for being unable to talk about the Bash. There will be another time, I’m certain. Thank you so much for being understanding and cool. Loved meeting and getting to know you. You rock, my friend!
We were promised something special, and around 6:30 received a text to the actual address with instructions to come on down. Turned out to be SIR Studios, the same location that Speedball Jamm was to have occurred in. We waited in the lobby for a few minutes as we listened to someone in the back wailing loudly on a guitar, then were invited into a room down the hall. We walked into a darkened room cast with streaks of light from a few colored bulbs, and there on the stage with a big smile on his face was VINNIE VINCENT himself with a big grin on his face and wailing on his Carvin double-V guitar! HOLY SHIT!!!
We gathered up front with a LOUD reaction of approval. Talk about a freakin’ adrenaline rush! I kid you not... I was standing about 4 feet in front of him and his hands and fingers were FLYING on that fretboard. I’ve never seen Vinnie play live before so pardon my lack of a better comparison, but at several points his movements reminded me very much of the Vinnie from his instructional guitar video in the way his pick hand is just a blur and he rocks forward and back as he kicks out the f’in jam. So rest assured... I can absolutely put to rest ANY thought that Vinnie can’t play anymore, or at least can’t play lead. FALSE!!! This was definitely the Vinnie we know from KISS/VVI on guitar.
Vinnie shredded up a storm for about 10-15 minutes, then greeted us all and invited us to eat and drink up. He greeted us individually, and when he asked my name, I gave him my real first name. I was surprised when he smiled and identified me by my FB screen name “John Clayton”. I gave him a big hug.
About that food... wow! What a spread. I asked him who had catered, and he mentioned that he prepared it all himself because he wanted it to be perfect for us. I was stunned... Vinnie Vincent made dinner for us! It was awesome!!!
Damn... what an unforgettable evening. More to come. Wanted to give VVFF the scoop first, though I haven’t checked to see what our friends are posting on Facebook yet.
