OPERATOR CONCERT REVIEW & PIC LINK - BAYFEST MOBILE, AL

Operator at Bayfest

Mobile, AL 10-06-07

Lineup: StereoHype, The Sunstreak, Top of the Orange,

Operator, H*ll Yeah, Flyleaf, Daughtry

Pic Link: View More Pics– Operator Album

We fight the insane parking at the store and there are exactly two CDs left on the shelf, whew… Operator is officially sold out at Wally World on Schillinger. What a madhouse but we survive the in and the out.

We get over by the Civic Center to park, I am all about the secure parking, and it's worth the $5. We walk blocks and blocks and more blocks… I am the smart one, I wear flat shoes.  We get over to the Region's Bank gateway and pick up our stuff and get inside. We are parched, the second stop the beverage center… of course in my stupidity (it is a Pepsi sponsored event) I ask for a Diet Coke. The lady looks at me. I look back… realizing my faux pas… I said Diet Pepsi. I don't think she was from the South, but everyone down here knows we call everything a Coke. If you are at a Pepsi counter and ask for a Diet Coke that translates to Diet Pepsi :)

We walked about six more blocks to the Pepsi Stage area. We noticed the merch booths and saw Operator had T-shirts, $20 bucks. Be sure to check out their merchandise, they are great looking shirts. I already had mine on… and it's a very cool one with the feather man on the back and the Operator logo on the front… and thanks to my sister Kelly I have a one of a kind beaded necklace sporting an Operator guitar pick. We find a spot by the stage under a tree on the curb – did I forget to mention it was hot as Hades? I am just glad the love bugs from the previous week had finally moved on, you have to live in the South to understand the chaos those useless insects create! Remember when at an event like this, stretch out the water… even when you are hot, port-a-potty in the heat only when absolutely necessary so you willingly dehydrate lol. We see a couple of other bands, StereoHype and The Sunstreak, they were signing the usual stuff, CDs, shirts, and midriffs… all the giggly girls were happy.  We soon see a couple of the guys from Top Of The Orange. A bit of background here, they are a local band out of Mobile with a 3 Doors Down tie. Matt Roberts' brother Darrell was originally in the band, later dropped out but has stayed close to them along with Matt who has helped produce their album. TOTO has a big local following, they sign our stuff and we made pics.

About 4:20 we go find the guys in Operator. Did I forget to mention we were melting in the heat, so we didn't look exactly the way we did when we left the house but we were presentable :) We see DP, get our greets in and he takes us over under the tent and we wait… don't want to barge in before the guys are ready, I don't want to see anyone naked lol. They have to go do a quick sound check, but DP had already finished so we sit under the tent with DP and we get into a great discussion. I had a lot of questions ready but said I wouldn't ambush him by himself but he said go for it so I did. We talked about everything under the sun except the kitchen sink, but I bet he could talk about that too with interest! We talked music, who would be his dream to play with dead or alive, their escapades on You Tube thanks to Junkyard and Donkey Kong, to which he said they have a lot of funny video, just need the time to get it up, so ya'll watch for it. Also, about them being pranksters and the prankees, I asked about how he got into Operator and his previous band Love Arcade. I can honestly say DP likes all kinds of music and can play any genre on the drums. He isn't locked into one style, even though rock is his job, and he is very diverse. We talk about first impressions and how music has made me brave an approach people I probably wouldn't have 10 years ago, all because we have the same interest in a band and if I hadn't taken that step I would have missed out on missing a lot of great people.  I ask if he prefers large venues or smaller club shows and he wants to go big… really big. So ya'll better catch Operator up close and personal now, if DP has his way he's ready to fill stadiums when that time comes. Also we discuss if a band can make it nowadays with just the music, we have become such and interactive society that videos (even though there isn't a television music channel worth a flip to play them on) are expected as a mandatory minimum requirement.  I ask about his new tats, he has the feather man and an angel on the upper arms. I said they need a contest or something to name the feather man but he already has a name, it's from mythology, but for the life of me I wouldn't be able to spell it, so I'll have to stick with feather man. If you ever get a chance to talk to DP, do it. He is a great conversationalist.

The rest of the guys in Operator are finally ready for us and we go in to see them. As we go in we first see Paul, who is always very gracious and I give hugs all around. I introduce my friend and how we are 3DD friends and I give her an introduction to everyone with a brief description on their personality and when I get to Johnny I don't forget to mention by the way he could kick our butt, lol, and anyone else's for that matter.  I notice some new ink so I check that out, nice work! I ask if it is ok to ask them some questions, they said sure, so I drag out my sheet and Johnny said I was prepared to which I said, always, to which Paul agreed.

I was interested in knowing if they rewound back to age 15 and given the Internet tools of today, would they have supported a band's online community, joined a message board, e-team, etc. After thinking a minute Paul said Pantera, throwing his support to his favorite of the time. Wade would have been too busy being 15 lol. I ask about t-shirts, some bands see it as selling out but I comment I hope they don't feel that way and to step back and remember when they were fans of bands and wearing their favorite t's with pride (so everyone wear your Operator gear to shows!) and what do they think when they see the fans wear their gear and at the same time repeat fans and familiar faces since they have went to some of the same cities more than once and they all had the same consensus, it is amazing to see the fans get into the music so much and singing along with them, and seeing the familiar faces is very special.  I explain my comparison to them of Linkin Park (read my Soulcrusher review blog), not style wise, just that when LP came onto the scene they really brought rock back, something new and fresh and I think Operator has that same quality in their music, filling in what has been missing in rock. They take it as a compliment.

I said to Paul that I know you are friends with Vinnie Paul and have jammed with him before but had any of them seen his new band H*ll Yeah play live yet and they hadn't. So we were all H*ll Yeah virgins, but not for long, everyone was excited to see them, they played their set right after Operator.

My main question to Johnny was - You built your name as an actor; your success has primarily depended solely on you, your persona, and talent. Was it difficult to put your trust into four other people who could make or break the image and name you had made for yourself? He said I was intense… lol. I said yep. To which Paul agreed :) lol. He has confidence in everyone to keep the band on track and he gave a long reply, too much to type, but he was very sincere, honest, and forthcoming with his answer, much appreciated.

We talk about censorship, as well as the Search With Operator Contest, to which was the occasion for this meet and greet. I said Prodege is really great to sponsor it and I hope they are getting a lot of hits and exposure because of it. I also mention we'll be going to the show in New Orleans at the House of Blues with Avenged Sevenfold Nov. 27. I make it clear, I always support the band by buying their CDs, and tickets to shows, and I put my money where my mouth is. While I was in New Orleans a few days later, I did indeed buy two tickets to the upcoming show. Johnny really appreciated the fact that people do support them where it counts; the sales are what can make or break them I think at this point in their careers. So everyone get out there and get your tickets to artist events!

My friend Christina was pretty quiet, I think she was taking it all in. That or she was worried Roxanne was going to skin her alive when she heard what all she missed. She was all smiles despite the possibility of being a corpse later lol. For the record Roxanne is still mad at her dad and us :)

We had taken up a lot of time, so I closed it up, as they had to do some other stuff before they went on. I ended the interview by saying I believe in this band, I don't endorse many bands, I don't have the time and said my mantra is 'I am either in or I am out, but when I am in, I go all out', and Paul I think agreed lol. Also, I thanked them sincerely for their trust to let me interview them and as I had promised in the beginning, I don't ask personal or prying questions, I am all business and dead serious as a fan and that fans don't have the right to know everything, so I always keep it clean and neutral, yet interesting. After all, you have to be prepared, who wants to be the meet and greet guest that just says, nice weather we are having or who are your influences. I tried to be interesting!

We made some pics, got our CDs signed, hugs and greetings all around. Then they are off to do band business and we wait in the shade.

Mike (who is king in my book!) got us taken care of for pics, between the stage and the barricade. So Operator takes the stage and the crowd is huge behind us. I didn't know how huge until HY was on stage and used the video screens later. I don't have the setlist, I was busy maneuvering left to right to get the photos for the fans, singing along and throwing a lot of horns. Sorry, just couldn't do 4 things at once so I stuck to the three things that mattered the most at the time. But they played songs from Soulcrusher and one I hadn't heard before. I think I surprised my friend Christina, she hadn't seen me at that kind of show before, she said 'that woman can move' lol. Johnny commands the audience on stage; he draws from his experience as an actor to make everyone feel like he is singing to them alone.Johnny conducted a contest on stage, whose side was loudest and Paul's side (I jumped over on that side lol) won both times. He had the crowd really singing back with Live Your Way, I think you can imagine to which line, a big crowd response lol. Ricki steps it up on the solos, I think he morphs into another space time continuum, 'lost in space' then comes out the worm hole on other side. Wade the bass man is providing the depth, lending the cavernous overtones throughout the songs with emphasis in the appropriate places. DP on the drums is nothing but a blur, full throttle 200 mph. Paul's many years of professional experience on stage is evident, he is comfortable and is all over the stage with ease, the ultimate guitar guru who always delivers. About 2/3 through the show security seen trouble brewing and knew they were going to have to bring some people over so we had to scoot down just a bit. And shortly thereafter they pulled a few over the barricade. The main security guy kept trying to ask me something but I couldn't hear, finally he motioned for me to turn around. He wanted to see the design on the back of my shirt. After the song and I could hear him, he asked if they had that shirt and the merch booth. I had to tell him no, all of the ones for sale didn't have any design on the back. But he liked the feather man.

Afterwards we waited in the shade. They really worked it hard on stage and deserved the cool down time. Then everyone is ready for H*ll Yeah and when they come out to go on the platform to watch we give props for their great set. We go down up front, it's the best place in the house to see the band and Vinnie Paul in action on the drums. They blew it up. If you haven't ever had thunder over your head, go see this band. I only am familiar with HY's songs that have been on radio but I am familiar with VP as a legend and knew we were having the experience of a lifetime. Just before their last song, it starts to rain and we made our way over to the tent and wait for it to stop so we can get ready to go. We see DP and Ricki really quick and didn't wait around. They all had visiting they wanted to do and we cut out after the rain stopped about 15 minutes later.

By now we are walking to the car about a mile away, I have to ask Christina how her feet are feeling… well those dogs are barking! And they are growling take my shoes off now please dang it lol. One more stop on the way home, to get a drink, all of the lines at Bayfest were long. I finally deliver my friend at her house I get home and am ready to collapse; in case I didn't mention it we were exhausted from the heat lol. It was my second Operator show and I am ready to do it all over again November 27 at the House of Blues in New Orleans. See ya'll there.

Thanks to everyone in the Operator camp, Prodege, and to the man of the hour, Mike, who went over and beyond. A special thanks from Christina and I to Johnny, Paul, Ricki, Wade, and DP for the ultimate concert fan experience.  And never forget, if you believe, others will believe too.