The Birth of the Bitches
The early part of 1993 is when the Moody fan base really got into
full swing (and when I first got on line too, with this group anyway.
(I actually pioneered early BBS‘s back in 1978 in college, and it was
nutty then too. People will write anything when they think no one can
see them). When A Night At Red Rocks showed on PBS that
Spring, it REALLY grew to wild and crazy proportions.
1993: March 19, 20 first weekend with the Moody
Bitches. By this time I have found many more friends in the Bay area,
and have a very lively correspondence with over 30 pen pals from all
over the country (and some in the UK too). I may have even started
doing a generic letter by this time, which I eventually called
*Vibrations from the Underground*. Wow did that get out of
hand eventually. I didn’t tell any deliberate lies, but I sure got
fed some wild bullshit. Some was so far out I published it as a joke,
and people took it seriously.
Anyway the rest of the Moody Bitches and I got rooms in
Caesar’s. I think we had about five in the room that weekend. Boy was
there some booze, weed, cocaine…….. I couldn’t do drugs as I was
still subject to pee tests for the US Navy, but I DO drink, and I
did. I got so wiped out Friday night, that in the morning, rather
than face the raging hangover I was suffering, I crawled to the
Caesar’s store, bought a swim suit, and hid in the hot tub the rest
of the day, attempting to turn into a prune. It was really dirty too,
which will tell you how dedicated I was.
Some of my hot tub behavior was driven by my room mates
behavior, too. Now mind you, I’m usually pretty mellow, but my stuff
was all over the place, I HATE disorder, and several of my roomies
could talk about nothing but how various Moody crotches were bulging…
that sort of thing. Sailors I am used to this from, it’s a high art
in the Navy. This was just crude, overt lusting with no finesse. I
wasn’t sure how to deal with it (remember I‘m about as hooked as I
can be on MY own favorite Moody), so I found some place else to be
other than the room. Blblblb.
One of our number, Lisa was a Scorpio. God love ‘em Scorpios
are charming, sensitive, kind people to know as friends, but when
they get their minds set on a sexual encounter, they are impossible
to get off that track. Lisa was determined to have carnal knowledge
of Justin that weekend. She had relatives in the mob there in town
too, so this was no light fantasy!
I think it was Friday night, I got word that some of my
friends were up "waiting for the Moodies" on the top floor. So I took
the elevator up, the doors swung open, and there were four of my
friends, one of them lying on the rug (she was writhing about trying
to pop her back). I poked my head out of the elevator. "Can I bring
you a sleeping bag?" I asked politely.
"Hey John just popped out of his room, wearing a fluffy
white bathrobe! He saw us and popped right back in!" The poor Moodies
were essentially trapped in their rooms, unable to get to the soda or
ice machine, without encountering fans. On one level, they really
should have just gone to the machines, carrying a cricket bat to
whack offenders. At the same time, it really wasn't right of my
friends (I was shocked that John was so nice and DIDN'T call
security). I'm proud to say I didn't stay long, and at various
intervals during the night, I rode the elevator back up, and
continued to urge them to decamp. I think it was later that same
weekend on Sunday that Lisa actually DID corner Justin at the soda
machine, and (finally fed up) he called security on her. Served her
right. At another Tahoe weekend, Lisa tried to forge backstage passes
too, and really annoyed a rather hot-headed John O'Keefe, then
security manager. She was bribing the maids to let her look in their
rooms. I was getting an education into fan behavior in one helluva
hurry, all right.
This was also the weekend, Lisa talked me into going
cruising in South Shore on the California side. It’s a cute little
town, not much then, but we did go to the grocery to pick up
supplies. I mentioned Justin liked to work out. "Let’s go find some
gyms, I think there’s one down here" Lisa commented. She knew the
town better than I what with family there. We found a gym, there was
no car outside ("ah he’d have a limo parked outside if he was there"
Lisa commented) but we went in anyway, just to prowl around.
You guessed it, Justin was in there working out. I almost
fainted. The place had an odd design, there was a gallery that ran
over the work out machines, so you could watch from above (kinda
kinky if you ask me) and as I cringed back, I handed the camera to
Lisa, motioning for her to do what I didn’t have the courage to do,
that is snap a shot so we would believe it ourselves later. She stood
there brazenly watching him. I finally recovered my camera, and
muttered I was going out to the car. I turned around, and (you
guessed it) practically walked into Justin in his pink work out togs.
He muttered something in a thick Brummie accent, and I just dashed by
him with my hand over my face, muttering back "we’re stalking you"
and after getting turned around in the upper gallery, managed to
bumble my way out of the place and down the stairs without breaking a
leg in the process.
I sat in the car until Lisa got done trying to corner and
talk to Justin (he had a few pounds on her, and gave her the brush
successfully…. no shrinking violet!) He finally got into the limo,
and escaped, and as I followed it out of the parking lot, Lisa said
"hit the gas!" which was just what the limo driver was doing.
NOOOooooo. I slowed DOWN. Ice, traffic, I wasn’t about to road rally
with a limo down Main. The limo gunned rapidly onward, and I
sometimes flash back to that moment when someone mentions the
paparazzi scenario and Lady Di. How the hell can anyone speed after a
limo for just a few photos? Why do limo drivers RUN??? I LIKE Justin,
he’s a person, not a thing. Fan behavior is INSANE. It’s not
appropriate! It’s not safe!!!
Anyway Justin got away that time, and has several times
since too, and can keep his privacy, so long as he‘s safe. The
weekend wound down, we spotted the side singers and Gordon running
around a few times, and Lisa and I finally drove home. About half way
down the mountain, Lisa breathed heavily "we should have gotten his
towel". I almost drove over a cliff!
~