January 2002-April 2003: Behind the Weekend: Journey Past & Present and the Bammies Walk of Fame (part 4)

Panic and Deadlines
April 2003

April first -- our deadline for so many things. Most of the funds from our attendees had been received, the invitations to the band and other dignitaries had been mailed, the audio from The Lobster was in production, the street closure permit was issued, menus and deposits were set for the Hard Rock Café, speakers were lined up, and things seemed to be rolling along quite well. There was still a lot of work to do, but the reality of it was clearer -- three weeks to go and all seemed on the right track. Then we got a message from Rob.

In the process of designing the program, Rob had kept JT in the loop about what we were doing and JT had been so impressed with some of his designs that he wanted to use one for an official T-shirt for the band. GREAT NEWS... for Rob. Turns out the design JT liked was the same one we were going to use for OUR T-shirts. Less than a week to get the design to the printer and we have to change plans. Poor Rob was run ragged for a few days between his deadlines for JT and his deadlines for JPP. Things worked out in the end and we were able to use the design we had originally wanted as there were some differences between the official band shirt and ours.

Then Cheryl got selected to serve on a jury. Yikes! She had been making lots of phone calls for us and was now going to have limited access to a phone during business hours! I took over some of the bureaucratic phone calls dealing with the SFPD and other various entities. We needed yet another permit in order to have amplified sound at the Civic Auditorium! Meanwhile, my cell phone started ringing off the hook; it was the number that had been sent out with the invitations to various guests. By the middle of April I kept my phone in my pocket at all times rather than buried in my purse.

Mary Ann had been following up with Gibson and we finally got word from them about a week before the event what they would be contributing to our event -- an electric guitar for us to raffle off. Not quite what we had hoped for, but we'd make it work, we'd made everything else work so far. Leslie had also been successful in her endeavors. She managed to get a pledge for 10% of our costs from Dunlop Musical Supplies. Between the cash we had received and the guitar to raffle we felt we would reach the goal we needed to pay for the expenses associated with having a plaque made and an accompanying ceremony.

The big question now was just which of the former band members would be appearing. We knew early on that Aynsley Dunbar was all set to come and we suspected from the beginning that Steve Perry wouldn't attend. That left Gregg Rolie and Steve Smith. We kept getting different responses about whether or not Gregg would come until finally, about a week before the day, we knew that Gregg would definitely be in attendance. We had been optimistic from the start that Steve Smith would show up, but a last minute scheduling conflict popped up and he would be out of town that weekend. Disappointing to say the least. Now, we just needed official word from Steve Perry -- would he actually attend??

About a week before the event Cheryl received a call from the Department of Parking and Traffic. What was the status on the liability insurance for the street closure? Liability insurance? What liability insurance? This sent us in to a major panic. With out the insurance we couldn't close the street, if we couldn't close the street we couldn't have the event! Phone lines went into furious action as we made phone calls to get this very important detail covered. After some negotiation, IOM, the company behind the California Music Awards agreed to take on the insurance. When it this was all settled, I called Dennis to let him know the good news -- we were back on track and the event would happen as planned. Dennis took this opportunity to let me know his news -- he'd heard back from Steve Perry's representatives. Steve would not be coming. We had known from the start it was a long shot, but we'd remained hopeful that he would attend. A disappointing response for all of us, and the end of an exhausting day.

With all of this in hand, it was time to focus on the big day. The programs were at the printers, the fliers were nearly ready to go, the T-shirts were being made, and all the little details seemed to be coming in to place. But where was the plaque?? Cheryl and I took turns leaving messages for Don Rich, the artist designing the plaque. We HAD to have the plaque in the ground absolutely no later than Tuesday, April 22. There was an event at the Civic Auditorium on Thursday and we couldn't put it in while they were moving in on Wednesday or during the event on Thursday. I had gotten a call from Don earlier in the week saying that the pattern was nearly ready and when it arrived he would let us know so we could film the pouring of the bronze into the pattern. As the week progressed though, no call ever came. It was the Friday before the event and we had no plaque!

Saturday was the last official meeting day before the event. Time to put together the goodie bags for our attendees. The programs were delivered and looked fantastic. Name badges were laminated and a Journey lanyard attached. Everything was ready to go, but where were the T-shirts?! A delay in the printing meant they wouldn't be ready until Monday. We were going to have to load the box in someone's car and put the T-shirts in the goodie bags when we checked in to the hotel on Thursday! Our final meeting went smoothly otherwise, the only thing we're worried about now is where the heck is the plaque? It has to be in the ground in three days!

Bammies Walk of Fame plaque before it goes in the ground

Monday morning -- four days before the big day -- I finally get a call from Don. There had been a problem with the pattern and it wouldn't be ready until 2:00 that afternoon! I told him that the plaque HAD to go into the ground on Tuesday, would it be ready? He wasn't sure, so I got on the phone with Cheryl. Could we do it Wednesday? How big of a problem would that be with the Civic Auditorium? Cheryl left messages with her contact there and I kept Don posted. We knew we had a little wiggle room and might be able to get the plaque in the ground on Wednesday. It worked to our advantage that the location of the plaque was in front of a ticket window and not a door so any work that needed to be done wouldn't interfere too much with the event movers that were loading in for the trade show. When we didn't get a response, Cheryl finally left a message that we would be at the Civic Auditorium at 10:00 Wednesday morning and putting the plaque in the ground. Fingers crossed that it would be ready to go by then!

Part of the crew clearing out the hole in the cement

Tuesday afternoon, I informed my co-workers that I would be in after lunch on Wednesday -- I needed to go to San Francisco and watch a hole being dug. Cheryl, finally freed from jury duty, and I had agreed to meet at the Civic Center BART station by 9:30 on Wednesday morning and would pick up the permit we needed so that Don could put the plaque in the ground. When I arrived in San Francisco, Cheryl informed me that we didn't need to go by the Department of Public Works to pick up the permit - Nick, wonderful helpful Nick, would personally deliver the permit to us at the Civic Auditorium! We made the short walk from the BART station to the Civic Auditorium -- this is it, we finally get to see the plaque and it's really going into the ground. This was the biggest moment of the whole year -- everything that would come afterwards would be frosting on the cake (and there was LOTS of frosting!)

Time for the epoxy

Don and his crew arrived shortly after we did and promptly got to work, but not before showing us the plaque. It looked wonderful! Better than we had expected really. Watching cement being torn up is about as riveting as watching grass grow, but Cheryl and I sat and watched as the outline for the plaque was traced on the sidewalk and bit-by-bit the circle was cut out and the hole smoothed out. Cheryl and I tried to go over last minute details while we sat on the sidewalk and shouted over the nose of the drills in the cement. After this all that was left was for Cheryl to go to the Hall of Justice and sit through the hearing to get the PA approved for the ceremony. During the work, people would walk by and ask what was going on - and Cheryl and I proudly told them that Journey was receiving a plaque on the Bammies Walk of Fame. I was amazed at how many passers-by stopped to see what was going on and the positive response. It really was a cool thing! After about 2 hours of watching and waiting, it was time to put the plaque in the ground. The epoxy was put in the hole, then the plaque, and finally a cement rim to keep it in place. There it was, in the ground. I could hardly believe my eyes! Cheryl and I whipped out our cell phones and started calling the rest of the committee - "It's in the ground! It's in the ground! We really did it! It's in the ground!"

Mission Accomplished!
Journey's Bammies Walk of Fame plaque is in the ground!

I headed back to work and Cheryl headed off to get the sound permit. It was all down hill from here - the fans would be arriving tomorrow and we would be kicking it in gear playing hostess to 75 fans and the band, but our primary mission had been accomplished. Journey's plaque on the Bammies Walk of Fame was in the ground!

Artist Don Rich (center) and his crew
after installation is completed