This mask is produced by REIDIC Sweden (DIC stands for Dick Drott)
SWEDISH FANS WENT OVER THE OCEAN!!!
Mark bitten by dog - concerts cancelled!!!CATASTROPHY!
Swedish Fans missed the opportunity to see GRAND FUNK Live........
See these wonderful pictures from the tour......
A LOT OF SYMPHATY FOR THE SWEDISH FANS - READ THIS STORY:
From: Jimmy G. <JimmyG@monmouth.com>
November 1st 1998 21:54
The Saga of Sault St. Marie:Well Folks...We're back from SSM and here's the story: Liz & I left on Friday at 4 AM for an early flight out of Newark, NJ. We
met up with Alex Baltovski at the airport. We flew into Detroit then got
on a nice twin prop. to our final destination...the Chippewa Falls
"International" Airport. There was one stop in between. Turns out Brian
"Funkin' Fish is on the same plane...there's also a person who works for
the band on the plane, I'm not saying who. So we arrive at the airport,
a deserted stretch of runway with weeds and grass growing up from the
cracks, and get our rental car. Me, my wife Liz, Brian, Alex and the
band person piles in the car and drives up to the Kewadin Casino. It's
about 1 PM. After checking in, we're mulling around downstairs by the
concert hall, when we get the word that there might not be a show
tonight. This, of course, is not good news. So we hit the restaurant,
and over at the next table is Kuch, and a few other people. So then we
get the bad news...both shows are being canceled because Mark had an
accident. Major bummer. A few minutes later over walks Dick Drott from
Sweden...he also had heard the news, and I'll never forget what he said,
" You know, if my heart did not stop now...it never will." I can't fully
express to you guys how bad we all felt for these fine people who came
over from Sweden, and at the same time, hoping that Mark is OK...the
range of emotions we felt this weekend was just to much.
All I could think now was about Shock, Stan and Tia who were on there
way up and all the other fans coming up.
Next...Part 2...The Swedish Roadkill Gang and the USA Roadkill gang team
up and take over the in-house bar for an evening of drinking, partying
and GFR music.It's about 4 PM or so now, so we head to the bar, there stands Don
Brewer talking to Dick, Peter, Tomas, Tony, Mats and Bernt from Sweden.
He's signing some autographs and taking some pictures. We chat briefly,
but you can tell he's disappointed and in a hurry...he has to go pick up
Sunny at the airport...and she knows nothing about the canceled shows.
Don said that all of the remaining shows are up in the air. He left, and
that was the last we saw of him. So we're all in the bar drinking...and
I must tell you, if you ever party with the Swedish Roadkill gang, get
prepared to drink lots and lots of beer and an interesting substance
called "Yeagermeister". Any way, Brian Funkin' Fish decides to go get
his GFR CDs that he brought along. Greg Whirley and his wife are also
there showing some pics. In walks Stan, Tia and Shock...I could tell by
the look on their faces that they knew. We ask the people in the bar if
we can take over the disco/DJ setup; she's says OK but he comes in at 5,
plays for an hour, then he's back at 9:30 PM. Well, the DJ did show up
at 5, but never did get to play 'cause by then, the party was
rollin'...we had the Red album cranked up on the DJs system and the
beers and Yeagermeisters were flowin' easy. Andrew Petropoulos show up,
so does Craig and Nancy....I think.
As the night went on, we got louder and louder and started dancin' and
playin' those air guitars and drums....it was an awesome sight to
behold...when some of the pics come back, you'll see what I mean. We
took the floor...we took the bar...we took the waitress, a gal by the
name of "Sally",...well, this girl was partyin' hardy..she was ...
well...let's just say I was getting some dirty looks from Liz.
As for the Swedish group, these are the nicest guys you could ever
meet!!
About 10 PM or so, we had our oncore...Closer To Home...and it was just
awesome...everbody standing...singing....air guitaring....I had a great
time...we all had a great time.Next...Part 3...Six people pile in a car that seats 5 and we drive to
Petoskey.So it's Saturday now, and Stan & Tia & Shock decide to ride back to
Detroit with Greg Whirley and fly out of there..so they check out and
leave.
So a little later, Liz and I and Brian Funkin'Fish are sitting in the
lobby area having some snacks. In walks Stan, Tia and Shock...they
changed their minds. So now, what can we do today. We decide to drive
down to Petoskey..we know Mark Farner lives there...it would be cool to
get some pics by the city sign, etc., so that's what we do. So me, Liz,
Shock, Stan, Tia and Brian pile into Shock's rented Ford Contour...six
people, room for five. So we put Liz on the center console..she's small,
and Shock lets here sit on his jacket to cushion her buns, but if you
pull that hand break up too far...she would be in a world of hurt.
On the way down, about 1/2 way there, we pass two old railcars, and
what's on them..."Grand Trunk Western." So Shock does a quick "U" turn
and pulls into a little boating area across the street....we need some
pics. There's a guy sitting in the lot with his wife or girlfriend, so
Stan and Talk ask him if he'll take out pictures by the train. He's says
yes, so we all run across the highway and do the photos.
We finally get to Petoskey and take some more pics by the city sign.
It's about 4:30 PM now and we're hungry, se we drive around downtown
Petoskey looking for a place to eat...we pass by several places and
decide on this one particular place...it looked good from the outside.
We go in..and it's nice, kind of like a bar/restaurant, get a table, and
proceed to tell out waitress about our last few days. Anyway, we tell
her what happened, you know about Mark Farner getting hurt and about how
he lives in Petsokey, and she says, " Oh, his son is out back working in
the kitchen." Now, if you could have seen all of our faces...keep in
mind us going to this restaurant was purely a chance thing...we had
absolutely no idea Marks son worked there. To protect his son's privacy,
I am not going to go into details...like what restaurant and what
happened after that.
So we're done eating, and we drive back to SSM. One problem...Stan, Tia
and Shock have checked out...now what, well, stay in our room!!
And that was fun. Liz and I haven't laughed so much like that in a
while.
But who was that snoring all night??That's it folks....let's all pray that Mark gets better and we can see
the guys a few more times.---------------
Canceled? Man, that must have been the worst
disappointment all times. First all the Euro
tours got canceled one after the other. Now that
you guys were coming to them, because the weren't
coming to Europe, bang!!! An other cancelation.
Bummer!Gee, I don't know if I could have handeled a
cancelation like that. Oh well, life goes on.Nico
---------------
Hello all,Just back from S.S.M. I won't go into much detail about the weekend,
especially Friday night...a little fuzzy...but upon speaking to Don B at
the Kewadin I asked about the rest of the tour and he couldn't really say due
to the fact we all did not know the extent of Mark's damage. I am sure we
will hear something soon. I did in fact ask about Danville show, as I have tx
for that as well, and he wasn't very optomistic about it, but again that was
when all of this news about the dog bite was just coming in. Don did say they
would more than likely try and reschedule the missed dates. Lets all be
positive and hope for the best.Brian(not Bill) "DrUnKiN" Fish
P.S. Be very careful when partying with Swedish GFR Fans!!!
And a special "Thank you" to all RK & FS members who helped make what could
have been a very dreadful weekend turn into one of the most memorable ones
of my life (except later on Friday night...whew... too much Jagermeister!!!)
-----------------
I feel so bad for the guys who flew over for these shows.
And other people who here in the USA that flew or came a long way. You guys
must feel like crap. You deserved to see the boys. But fate is a weird
animal....it bites when you least expect it.Danville Duck???
-----------------
Photos: Dave Powell, Omaha Nebraska USA 1998
