From The Inside
A Backdrop to the Music of My Life
by
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Taking special note of the crossover among certain producers, engineers, session musicians and even studios used by various bands or artists I’d admired provided further insight and intrigued me beyond the music. And as an optimistically budding drummer at the time I was even further inspired to dig deeper; to see what may lie ahead in a potential life of music for me…
According to Daniel Levitin’s This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, multiple-trace memory models suggest that music you’ve listened to is cross-coded with events of the times when you listened to it. That is; music is linked to the events and the events are linked to the music. For me, both before and after music became a more significant part of my life, this theory rings true as certain songs bring to mind specific memories just as random memories elicit songs from specific times…
It was rather inspiring to have met musicians from a band I was somewhat fond of, yet had only occasionally seen on albums or in videos. And to meet them just hours before they were to take the stage added another layer of excitement to the experience…
That 1985 encounter clearly stirred in me a curiosity about what was possible and an offshoot of my involvement in music took hold. The eventual moments of artist interaction, from small local shows to some of the biggest events in music, would soon complement my budding stick collection. And although the meetings were relatively few and far between at the time, as I learned my way around they eventually became more frequent. A variety of guitar picks, setlists and backstage passes would in time be added to my mix of memorabilia and help create what I have come to alliteratively term my mosaic of musical memories…
Though it was satisfying enough just to have been at Live Aid; essentially the center of the music world on that day, given the scale of the event and the number of artists on hand, it wasn’t long before I was thinking about ways to infiltrate the fortress. Occasionally drifting among the crowd to people-watch I found my attention being equally divided between the acts onstage and any potential opportunities to get backstage. The first prospect was rather obvious and, as such, I knew it was equally unlikely to be successful. But I sided with the old proverb, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”…
Milling about backstage when Mick came on, Kevin and I soon found our way to the televisions set up in the Hard Rock tent and caught a few minutes of the MTV broadcast of his performance. Admittedly, it was a bit strange and perhaps foolish to be watching on television a rock’n’roll icon of Mick Jagger’s stature when we were at the show. But under the circumstances it made sense and soon paid off well, albeit fleetingly, for me…
My search was essentially limited to the inner corridor; the business area beneath the seats which runs the entire circumference of the Spectrum and where all offices, locker rooms and media rooms are located. Passing several offices and open doors along the way, including Flyers and 76ers offices, I saw nothing of note. That is, until I came to one door with an entrance hall leading to a room at the far end. I stopped and looked in — fewer than twenty feet away on a sofa with his guitar on a stand next to him sat Eddie Van Halen…
The moment, albeit brief, was absolutely complete with regard to my level of satisfaction and delight; though contained under the circumstances. And in a bit of irony, only after I thanked him and he continued on his way to the FOH sound board did I realize that after nearly three decades as a Rush enthusiast, upon finally meeting him I never even shook his hand…
At that point he seemed determined to give me the Four-Star treatment; asking if I had seen his drums yet, trying to find a stick for me and even offering his business card — the last thing I expected a professional drummer to have. It included all the usual specifics (Billy Thunder Mason / Drummer / Tim McGraw) along with his email address, home address and cellular phone number. Needless to say I was surprised, but I accepted it and tucked it into my pocket as he continued to show me around… >
Former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron’s five-piece set of Natural Birch Yamahas — one of the most appealing finishes I would see all summer — was situated center stage on a low-level riser and complemented nicely by an array of gleaming Zildjian cymbals…
Perhaps the most notable feature of the kit on this day was Bun himself. As he sat on his throne tuning some heads I took the opportunity to introduce myself and shake hands with the man I had first seen in concert more than twenty-eight years prior. We briefly discussed his new drums (with bassist Tom Petersson and singer Robin Zander standing nearby) and I mentioned having seen Cheap Trick for the first time in 1981…
He was extremely receptive; shaking my hand as I reached between the cymbals when I stepped onto the riser, and we launched right into a discussion about drums (as drummers are obviously wont to do), the early days of learning his craft and his time with Brad. He soon signed a stick for me (Vater - Power 5A - Hand Selected Hickory - Russ, Thanks! Take care, Ben Sesar) and, as Brad had come out by this time, invited me to stay for the soundcheck…
I’m not sure whether it was the potential challenge of a new arena, the possibility of catching a soundcheck or just an opportunity to add another chapter to this book. But the lighted words beckoning to me from outside Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center late that day — KISS Tonight 8 PM — quickly found me taking the long way home…
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About the Book
In 1978, when music found its way into Russ DiBella’s life largely by way of external circumstances, a natural progression of sorts began to unfold which would eventually marry his affection for words with a nascent interest in drumming and lyric writing. What began as a teenage rite of passage — his first rock concert — would spawn a lifelong passion for all things music, manifesting itself in ways both deliberate and unanticipated. Part memoir and part backstage pass, From the Inside is actually written from the perspective of an outsider looking in — although very often and surreptitiously from within. With a detailed history of how music became such an actively integral part of his life (even before an awareness of his parents’ unintended influence) and an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at several concerts (to include a respectable gathering of drumsticks along the way), DiBella recounts with enthusiasm and occasional humility more than thirty years of experiences as admirer, accomplice and collector. Less a narrative about unofficial access to “rock stars,” From the Inside sneaks a peek behind the proverbial curtain to discover some of the inner workings of live concerts. Meeting drum techs, guitar techs and other assorted crew and band members and observing load-ins, soundchecks and even a few shows from the other side of the stage offers an intimate look at activities otherwise inaccessible to the typical concert-goer. Not wanting for moments of rock’n’roll flash, encounters with rockers Mick Jagger, Eddie Van Halen and Neil Peart as well as country artists Brad Paisley and Montgomery Gentry among many others provide additional insight and add elements of celebrity to this otherwise personal account. Clearly written with an appreciation both for music and those artists who’ve inspired, From the Inside is the story of a life examined through the lens of music.
About the Author
RUSS DiBELLA is a leisure-pursuit writer and musician with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications / Journalism from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). As an avid reader and writer who has written everything from inspired works of poetry, prose and song lyrics to the more unyielding requirements of professional documents and freelance feature articles (with a concentration on concert reviews) during the past twenty-five years, he offers this first book as a culmination of all his writing experiences to date. Professionally, DiBella has been in outside sales for nearly twenty years and resides in Southern New Jersey with his wife and twin daughters.