Roger Waters: In The Flesh SPECIAL SECTION How Three Fans Managed To Meet Roger Waters... In The Flesh So Ya Thought Ya Might Like To Go To The Show by Mike McCartney I was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend two shows on Roger Waters' latest tour of the East Coast this summer. I travelled across the continent from Vancouver, British Columbia to Quebec City, Quebec and then Montreal, Quebec to see two fabulous shows of this great tour. Normally, seeing the shows would have been enough. But being this close to one of the four musicians I admire most, I had an urge to attempt to say a few words to Roger himself as well as get the typical autograph. Lucky for me that after the Quebec City show, I did get to say a few words to Roger and get my ticket stub autographed by the man himself. I know I'm not the only person who would like this opportunity, so here are my tips for getting an autograph and face-to-face meeting with Roger and or the band as the 1999 tour progresses and the 2000 spring tour is planned. The venue turned out to be a very important factor. The two shows that I attended were in two entirely different types of venues. The first show, in Quebec City, was at a small outdoor amphitheatre, while the second, in Montreal, was at a typical 1990s style Basketball/Hockey arena. First off, let me say that if you are attending a show at an arena your chances of catching a glimpse of Roger and the band after the show are highly reduced. Most arenas have underground parking beneath the arena. Therefore, the bands' tour buses and shuttles back to the hotel usually park there, and board there. By the time the buses and/or shuttles get to an area where the public can see, they are already in top gear and heading to their next destination. TIP#1 - Attend a show at a venue that is not an arena. Try to attend a show in an outdoor venue, or small indoor theatre/hall. The venue in Quebec was outdoors, which meant that the backstage area emptied near the exterior of the venue. My party and I pin-pointed this area prior to the show, so that after the show we could immediately return to this area. In my case every member of the band exited right in front of me into shuttles and or vans. This area will always be gaurded by a few security guards so be patient and friendly. TIP#2 - Don't piss off the security guards. When you arrive at the designated exiting area be friendly with the security. Don't be coy about why you are there. Let them know you just want to try and get an autograph or a picture. Make sure that when they ask you to move somewhere, you do it. In the end being friendly will make the security much more courteous to your wishes, if at all possible. In my case there were approximately three or four security guards. The guards asked us to move a few times, which we complied and did. We struck up conversations with these guards as well. When Roger and the band finally did come out, the guards let us know and told us to stand single file and be patient. Roger was more than happy to give everyone there an autograph and a few words. When we exited the show, there were about 50-100 people near the back stage area, however, as time ticked on the crowd dispersed to a much more manageable number. TIP#3 - Patience is a Virtue By the time things started to happen and the various members of the band started to exit, there were only about 20 people waiting still. When Roger finally came out that number was about 15 people. It's common sense that Roger wouldn't want to have to give autographs to a large crowd of people, especially with only three to four security guards. Wait around for a while after the show. We waited approximately an hour and a half until Roger came out. One thing that I wish I had thought of before the show was to bring something special to get autographed. In the end I settled for a ticket stub, still really cool, but a CD cover or photo would have made the autograph that much better. TIP#4 - Bring something that you would like to get autographed. When Roger finally did come out he autographed everything that the people waiting put forward. A friend of mine had two CD covers, two pictures, a program and a ticket stub, all which were autographed. Another guy brought several pictures, 45rpm sleeves, and a pick guard from a Fender Jazzmaster Bass guitar. Be smart with what you bring. My intuition tells me not to bring RoIO covers, post-Waters Floyd albums, or 100 items to get signed. Bring 1-3 things which are easy to sign. As I said above, I was told to wait in a single file line so that Roger could autograph something for everyone. While I was in line I began to panic, thinking, "What am I going to say to him?" The trick, I figured, is to have something quick to say which can elicit some sort of response. TIP#5 - Think before you speak. I think if I were Roger I wouldn't like answering questions that he may or may not know the answer to. "Hey Roger wasn't that gig on June 5th, 1971 in Berlin fabulous?" No. What I settled on I am very satisfied with. Instead of asking him a question at a time where he is being very courteous to begin with I just said, "Roger thanks for the great show, and thanks for doing this, I really appreciate it." Unlike many of the people in front of me who only got a nod or smile to their words, Roger looked up at me after I said that and said, "You're very welcome". I think a quick question would have also been okay, like my friends, "Any setlist changes tomorrow night Roger?" One thing I think that fans forget is that Roger doesn't have to do this, nor does he probably want to do this. He's doing this as a favour to the fans and to say thanks for coming to the show. I can tell you that my impression of Roger's mood during the autograph signing session was one of extreme professionalism, and maybe a bit of nervousness. Coming from so far away to see the show, and getting this opportunity to meet Roger I really did want more than the autograph, I wanted a quick picture. Many other people had the same idea as me but they weren't really getting any good shots. Most of the pics I saw being taken were with Roger's head down and signing something. TIP#6 - Ask Roger if you can take a quick photo. When my ticket stub was being signed I politely asked Roger, "Would you mind if I take a quick picture?" He smiled and looked up and I got my photo. (Unfortunately the photo didn't turn out that well). When I finally had my autograph and picture, I was definitely on cloud nine. It was one of the greatest moments of my life, having devoted so much of my life to the appreciation of Pink Floyd and its members. TIP#7 - Don't get discouraged. If I hadn't gotten the autograph or to see Roger after the show, I'm not sure how I would have felt. However, if you're not one of the lucky ones, just remember the show you just saw and don't forget to appreciate the night you've had already. (Bob) Close Encounters Of The Floyd Kind by Patrick Keller Whether by sheer luck or just plain coincidence, within the span of less than a year, I was able to meet both David Gilmour and Roger Waters. Okay, so “meet” is stretching it a bit, but I doubt you know many people who can say better. I remember hearing the phone ringing, but not feeling any strong desire to roll over and pick up the receiver. The ringing stopped quickly enough, and from the sound of things, my roommate had gotten it, so satisfied with the state of things, I rolled back over and attempted to go back to sleep. No such luck. There was a quick knock on the door, and my roommate said that there was a some woman on the phone. Keep in mind, this was about 7 a.m. on a weekend, and I am notorious for not waking up before noon unless I have to, woman or no woman. “Hello? Is this Patrick Keller?” She had a thick British accent. At this hour, I wasn’t even sure of that, but I had two choices and I picked one. “Yes.” “Patrick, this is the BBC. We have David Gilmour on the line. You submitted a question... Would you like to ask him?” I practically fell out of my bed. I gave them another affirmative answer, figuring if one yes had gotten me this far, who knows what two might deliver. Unfortunately, I was having trouble remembering what the question was I had submitted, having done so months ago. Back in November, Colin Turner had posted to Echoes that the BBC was soliciting questions for an interview with David Gilmour on their 'Pop on the Line' program. I hopped over to the web site and tried to think of something to ask David beyond the usual, “When’s the Floyd gonna tour again, man?” In fact, I tried to avoid the Floyd altogether. I knew David is a recreational pilot, so I typed in a question along those lines, and promptly forgot the whole thing. Flash forward months later, and there I was, about to be on the phone with the man himself, and I couldn’t even remember what it was I had typed in the first place. Luckily, the producer reminded me. I had asked whether the accident involving John Denver had affected David’s flying habits at all. Ah... it was all coming back to me. So here I was, about to converse with one of my musical heroes, and I had asked him about... John Denver? (Embarassment is a running theme here, as you will discover.) Then the producer said that she would also like me to ask him who the voices were during the “liftoff” section of "Learning to Fly". Why had they given me someone else’s question to ask him? Again, my memory failed me. Turns out that I had submitted both questions, but I didn’t figure that out until after I had already hung up the phone. But I’m getting ahead of myself. They put me on hold, and I got to listen to some music and some other questions, and then the producer got back on and told me that my number was almost up, so to speak. I was still groggy but hyperaware, in impossible and unfortunate combinations. Even though my part was practically scripted, I was sure I was going to flub everything. Finally, the host announced that they had “Patrick from the States on the line,” and it was time to ask my question. The following transcript fails to capture any of the sheer awkwardness of my attempt at asking David a question, but it will have to do... My comments are in brackets. Lynn Parsons (the host): From the album Momentary Lapse of Reason, Pink Floyd, "Learning to Fly". I apologize for fading it early. We have so many calls to get through. David Gilmour my guest on Pop on the Line and a question about that track now from Patrick in the States. Hello, Patrick. Patrick Keller: Hi! [Gosh... If that sounded like it reads, I must have sounded like a dweeb.] David Gilmour: Hello. PK: Nice to be talking to you, Mr. Gilmour. DG: Yeah. [He sounds really enthused, doesn’t he?] LP: What’s your question, Patrick? [“Get on with it!”] PK: I was just wondering if, if the accident with John Denver has affected your flying habits at all? DG: Ah, no, it hasn’t, to be honest with you. Um, there are accidents we read about, constantly. Um, but the numbers in terms – in percentages of the actual people that fly is very, very small. I don’t know what the final outcome on the inquiry on that accident was, but it sounded like there were a number of things that he did wrong, and these things happen, I’m afraid. But I hopefully won’t be making any of those sort of mistakes. I mean, that was a kit plane taken out of a box and screwed together, and I think his license was out-of-date and... from what I heard... sue me if I’m speaking out of turn, but, it sounded sort of kind of a foolish mission to have embarked on. LP: Patrick, you have another question, too? PK: Yes, uh, just quickly, I was wondering who is it that’s talking during the middle section of that song? [“that song” being "Learning to Fly"...] DG: Ehm, I – Nick Mason is doing it, I think, with a chap who was our sort-of flying instructor. [Dang it! I knew that. It’s in the Echoes FAQ, ferchrissakes! Oh well... Now we have a definitive answer.] PK: Okay. It’s just one of those things I think that’s always, uh... [And here is where I completely lost use of my tongue. Didn’t have the slightest idea how to finish my sentence.] LP: Of interest to you? [Lynn to the rescue!] PK: Yeah. [Duhhh...] LP: Patrick, thank you very much for your call. And then I was put back into “limbo,” where the producer thanked me for my call and that was that. Then I went into my roommate’s room and had to hold myself back from hugging him for waking me up. He said he wasn’t going to wake me up, but since the woman had an English accent, he thought it might be important. (“Mr. Keller, the Queen needs you. It’s a matter of world peace!”) My meeting with Roger Waters couldn’t have been more different. And this time, I have my father to thank for it. My home is several hours away from Chicago, where I had tickets to see Roger perform on the second night of his ‘99 “In the Flesh” tour. My father insisted that instead of trying to drive home from the venue in the middle of the night that I just get a hotel room and stay the night. And as luck would have it, there was a hotel right across the street from the venue. What luck! The concert, it goes without saying, was spectacular! The version of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" was a jaw-dropping highlight, but it was all over too quickly. However, rather than retire to my hotel room immediately after the show, I decided to hang around outside the venue to see if maybe I might get a glimpse of Roger or the band. It was either that or raiding the mini-bar in my room, so the choice seemed obvious. It was a beautiful, balmy summer night (how’s that for irony, huh?). People were huddled in various groups, both near the buses and the various exits. No one was sure where or even if Roger might show up. However, there was a slow build of band-related activity around this truck that was parked in the parking space closest to the venue. The truck was gorgeously hand-painted with artwork from The Wall, complete with pink neon running lights and a license plate that said “P FLOYD.” At first, a photographer from the venue came out and took some photographs. Then a few other official people showed up, but no one really paid attention. And then a familiar face snuck past the crowd and started peeking at the truck. Slowly people started to recognize that it was Jon Carin, who played keyboards for the last two Floyd tours and, strangely, was playing for Roger on this tour as well. I didn’t want to mob the guy, so I approached him when there weren’t too many people around. A big surprise during the show was that Jon played a lot of guitar. He even plays a mean pedal steel guitar during the aforementioned "Shine On". I complimented him on his playing and told him that it was the highlight of the show for me, and tried not to sound like I was kissing up. He seemed genuinely pleased that someone had noticed. We chatted a bit, and he was very friendly about things. We talked about the show, his life and the Floyd, and I asked him if working with Roger meant no more playing with Dave, and Jon replied, “No, no. I asked him and Dave encouraged me to do this. He gave his blessing.” I also mentioned the Ames show on the ‘94 tour that I had attended. Most people will be disappointed but not surprised to learn that there is nothing in the pike with the Floyd boys, as far as Jon knows. We talked a little more besides that, but it was mostly chit-chat. At this point, I was fairly certain that meeting Jon Carin was as lucky as I was going to get. Rumors were flying that Roger doesn’t give autographs. As I’m not much of an autograph hound, I didn’t mind. After some more milling about, Jonathan Park came out to admire the truck. Park designed the show for Roger, and has worked with Roger (and the Floyd, prior to Roger’s exit from the band) back as far as the seventies. He even helped design the Wall show! (In the Shine On book, there are some conceptual drawings for the Wall show by Park’s former company, Fisher Park.) Jonathan was very polite, answered all sorts of questions. He said he would have liked to have done a sequence for "Three Wishes", but hasn’t had the chance. Yet... (Wink, wink.) Then, to my utter surprise, came the man himself. Roger walked out flanked by security guards, and people really swarmed around him. He examined the truck for a while (with a big smile on his face), signed the hood (!!!) and then took a seat inside of it while flashbulbs went off everywhere. I kept my distance (not wanting to be a part of the problem), but slowly order came out of the chaos (er, KAOS?) and it became apparent that joining the throng was the only way to have any interaction with Roger. A line was formed and I sneaked into it. Finally, Roger’s personal security guard (a man with whom I had a brief but unpleasant encounter about a half an hour earlier) pointed at me and said, “You’re next.” I staggered up to the cab of the truck and said hello. Roger made brief eye contact and signed my tourbook. While he was doing that I managed to ask him a sputtering question about a mutual friend. Honestly, in the heat of the moment, the only thing that would come to mind that related to the situation in hand was that I knew a guy that engineered the radio show Roger just did about the tour as well as the Wall show in Berlin. Later, I kicked myself good, because I should have asked about the upcoming album or the opera, but nothing came to mind when the moment arrived. (Some journalist, huh?) However, Roger’s manager, Mark Fenwick, who was standing on the opposite side of the security guard, said he remembered my friend and that he was a nice fellow. Nice to hear, but not very consequential, eh? All in all, Roger was very amicable, though when he was signing autographs, he seemed to be in “business mode,” not really in the mood to talk I guess. Generally, though, he seemed very happy, and is much taller than you would expect. The other thing that stood out is that he looks really tan. (It’s weird the kind of things that stick with you...) Still, man, I MET ROGER! So, like I said, “meet” might be slightly inaccurate, but it’s the best I can do. And, all in all, it’s not such a bad thing to have, is it? (A quick thanks to Dave Ward for transcribing the Pop on the Line interview. A full, non-editorialized transcript is available to interested parties. E-mail me for a copy. Portions of this article have appeared in altered form on Dave Ward’s waterstour.cjb.net site.) More of Patrick's writing can be found at http://home.earthlink.net/~blansten/ or gern.cjb.net) Roger Waters: Nine Years Later, But Who's Counting? A Stream-of-Thought Recollection by John Valenzuela Jim Ladd (right) and me outside a local diner in the Hamptons before the interview.   I'll admit it, I have a pretty cool job. Sure, it's mostly desk work, phone calls, contracts, licensing, etc., but on the days when that stuff isn't going on–i.e. the traveling days, the field work, the visiting cities to do an incredible amount of work in an extremely short amount of time–that’s the stuff I like. And when you add that it's for a band or artist that I truly enjoy as a fan, that’s when it's all worth it. Yes, it's very long hours, weekends and holidays, it doesn’t pay great, behind the scenes isn't nearly as glamorous as in the scenes, and more often than not it's some band that, as a fan, well, I’m not. All this went off to the side when my company agreed to do a radio show with Roger Waters. Suddenly, I could live on the small salary, I didn’t mind working the holiday weekend, I looked forward to the plane trips, and who cared if I got very little sleep? Hell, it's Roger Waters; an opportunity like this only comes around–well, for me anyway–every nine years. I say nine years because it was nine years ago–almost to the day–that I had the pleasure of engineering The Wall In Berlin broadcast for American radio. That was the first time I ever met Roger Waters. At that point in time, Roger was regarded as a difficult person, not very nice to people, and still very bitter of the Pink Floyd divorce and custody battle. I was pleasantly surprised when I met him in Berlin, as he was kind, friendly, and courteous. Well, at least he was to me. Maybe the fact that the fate of his concert broadcast rested on my shoulders made him warm up to me. Maybe it was because I was introduced to him by Jim Ladd. Maybe it was because he was so preoccupied with the production going off smoothly that he just didn’t have time to be nasty. Or, maybe he was truly a nice person, but still trying to escape the crushing effects of, as he puts it, the weight of the numbers. Whatever. Roger was cool to me then, and at that moment in time, that’s all that mattered. The show went on, albeit a couple of technical problems and one problem child, and the radio show went off splendidly. We all celebrated after the show at the hotel, and late that night (or was it early the next morning?), I said my thank you and good-bye to Roger Waters, not knowing when our paths would cross again, if ever. Me in Roger's library waiting for him and Doyle to finish their golf game.     That was nine years ago. Jump forward to April 1999. I’m in New York City engineering the world premiere broadcast of Tom Petty’s new album–ironically called Echo–with host Jim Ladd. By this point in time, the rumors of Roger touring were flying rampant, and as a follower of the Internet Floyd fandom, I was up on all the rumors. Roger's web site quote 'Roger Waters to tour in 1999?’ had been there for months. People had attempted to contact his management. There was already venue speculation. But you see, at this point it was all the world of the Internet Floyd fans, the geeks like you and me who want a daily report of what did the boys (all five, thank you) do today? (Come on, if there was a ‘today the boys did...’ web site, you’d check it daily, just like I would.) So Jim Ladd pulls me aside to tell me Johnny, I spoke with Roger Waters last week. I don't know if you know this, but Roger's going to tour this summer. I knew, Jim. So, Roger wants to do a radio show around it, and he wants me to host. I want to have you guys (the SFX Radio Network) produce and syndicate it. Uh, gee Jim, let me think about this a mo–YES! HELL YES! I’M IN! Of course, my boss had to say yes. He's a big Floyd fan, and said yes without hesitation. His boss had to say yes. Doubt he's a Floyd fan, but he knew we could make money off it, so he said yes. (Sad, but more often than not, it comes down to will it make us money? or we gotta do a friend a favor). Anyway, HIS boss, the big boss, had to say yes. He's a big Floyd fan–I think his favorite song is “Sheep”–and was into it too. Green light. Go. Make it happen. I'll try to condense this part. Fourth of July weekend I was supposed to fly to Denver to put Blues Traveler live at Red Rocks on the air, then fly to New York from there to meet up with Jim Ladd. John Popper from Blues Traveler got sick, shows canceled, but I still flew to Denver and did some great camping with an old friend from high school. So Trevor, guess what? After this, I’m flying to New York to tape an interview with Roger Waters. John, you suck. I mean, really, Roger was the guy that we spent our high school years lying on someone's floor late at night, reaping the benefits of Mother Earth’s medicines, and playing Pink Floyd at unnecessary volumes. And now I was going to his house! Can you say Wayne's World? We’re not worthy! "Waiting... waiting..."   Jim and I stayed in New York City, but Roger's house was out in the Hamptons, about a 2 1/2 hour drive. So, Jim and I spent the early part of the day in the back of the town car en route to Mr. Waters’ estate. This was a great opportunity for me to really talk shop with Jim, and I learned a lot. Los Angeles seemed to be the best night of the Radio KAOS tour. Andy Fairweather-Low is the comedian of the Bleeding Heart Band. That story about Jim handing down the two-foot joint at the beginning of The Wall at the LA Sports Arena is true. The KAOS stuff Jim did on the album was, for the most part, improvised. The voice that goes 'I want to be home with my monkey and my dog' is Jim's wife, Shelly, and yes, she does own a dog AND a monkey. It was all good, and I think in this time, Jim came to realize that I was no casual Floyd fan he was dealing with. I don't know if he thought 'great, this will really help the show' or 'oh f*ck, I've got one of those obsessive Floyd idiots producing the broadcast'. I’d like to think I fell somewhere in between; one of those f*cking crazy Floyd fanatics that will greatly benefit the show. Roger's estate on Long Island is, as you could imagine, amazing. Beautiful grounds overlooking a bay, big lawn, gravel driveway, trees; total Great Gatsby image. I found out later that he rents this estate when he has to stay in the New York area. So we get there, and Roger is running late. Apparently, he was playing golf with Doyle Bramhall and hadn't returned yet. So, Jim, myself, and Roger's tour manager, Andrew, tour the house to find the best room to tape the interview. We chose the library. I set up the mics and the deck, checked levels, then we waited for the man to arrive. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. I think it was two hours. Andrew was starting to become genuinely worried. He said sometimes Rog is a bit late, but never this late. But then he arrived. Nice, big Chevy Suburban with all the fancies included. Rog steps out. Pink golf shirt, collar up, khaki slacks, very golf chic. “Hi Jim, I’m so sorry I’m late.” “Roger, this is Johnny Valenzuela, the producer of the radio show.” I knew that, after nine years, he wasn't going to remember me from whoever. “Hi Roger, nice to meet you.” I'll reestablish myself later. Roger says OK, quick shower and then well get on with it. Fine. No problem Roger. What am I going to say, no? The interview went very well as expected. Jim Ladd has a rapport with Roger Waters that would make any other DJ green with envy. They laughed, they reminisced, they got serious, they took jabs at each other; and all the while I sat on a couch across the small coffee table getting it all to tape. They got off on a long tangent about Kosovo and for a moment I almost felt like I might have to reel them back in, but Jim–being the consummate professional he is–realized it too and steered them back. If you heard the final broadcast, you heard the ending moment of this tangent: Roger Waters and Jim Ladd during the interview. This was how it looked from where I was sitting.   Roger: You're so argumentative. Jim: I am, look, it's–hey wait a minute, why is it me who's argumentative? Hold on! I’m just asking the question! Roger: Have a nice day. Jim: Fuck that question. Fuck that question. It was this kind of moment that reminded me of how priceless of a place I was currently seated in. Here's another moment that didn’t make it to the final broadcast, but it was so funny, so classic, I just have to share it with you: Jim: Among the extraordinary body of work that you've created, there are two albums at least–and arguably more, but just for the sake of discussion–two albums have become absolute masterpieces–both critically and the audience–and that’s Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. I know this is going to sound like a dumb question but you know, I'll edit it around to make me sound really brilliant later, so I’m just going to ask it. Do you ever sit back and go, fuck man, I wrote Dark Side Of The Moon? It seems like such an extraordinary accomplishment and I’m not talking anything about sales or anything like that, but...you wrote Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall. Roger: Yeah. Jim: That must–if everything else went away, that’s got to give you some satisfaction? Roger: Yep. Jim: I asked for that, all right, didn’t I? Roger: Sure did. (All right, that’s all you get for now, but I hope to–with all appropriate parties’ blessings–post the entire transcript one day.) At 10 p.m., we were about 90 minutes into the interview and decided that we would break for dinner. Oh, and by the way, we’d be joined by a few boys from the band. So there I was at dinner with Roger Waters, Jim Ladd, tour manager Andrew, and band members Andy Fairweather-Low, Graham Broad, and Andy Wallace. Remember what Jim said earlier about Andy Fairweather being the comedian? Man, no kidding. Andy had us in hysterics most of dinner. They were all so happy to spend time with Jim again–remember, it had been 12 years since the KAOS tour–and it was as if a moment of time hadn't passed. It was truly one of the most incredible moments of my broadcasting career. And trust me, Roger's quite a funny man too. Everyone had their digs at everyone, myself included. I've never been one to sit back and watch the action, and after the first bottle of red wine, I felt comfortable enough to chime in when necessary. One great moment from the night: earlier, Roger had mentioned that he almost included "Corporal Clegg" to the set list. I said to Roger, “You know, Roger, you oughta really reconsider "Corporal Clegg" to the set list.” Roger responded, “You know, if it weren't for the kazoo section I think it would work.” I said “Well, there'd be a brief moment where 8,000 casual fans would go ‘Huh, okay’ but 2,000 die hards would have an orgasm.” Andy chimed in, “Well hold on, hold on. I’m hired as a guitarist, and I'll be daft if I’m going to tap into my superlative kazoo skills so that 2,000 people can have an orgasm.” The table breaks out laughing. Roger says, “Well, there you go then.” Another great moment was Andy's recalling of their first rehearsal together. “I mean, we show up, hello, been twelve years, how are you all, haven't played together in over a decade, ok then, let’s start with "Dogs". Right, one, two, three, four....” Dinner ends at about 11:45. I pick up the tab (or should I say my company picked up the tab), and we head back to Roger's house to finish the interview. Roger begins part two by reading a poem he's written. It's a summary of his feelings after watching so much about the Kosovo war on TV. He said we could use it on the radio show, but in the end it didn’t make it. And I’m sorry, I can't publish it here, but hopefully that'll come soon. Anyway, Jim interviews Roger for another hour. We finally wrap up sometime after 1 a.m. As I’m packing up, Roger plays us some excerpts from his opera, Ça Ira. I know zero about opera, but it sounds like, well, an opera. And I think it's really good too. The parts he played us were dark and dramatic. And oddly enough, I can't say that there was any hint that it came from the same mind that gave us Dark Side and The Wall. No, in fact, and again remember I know nothing about opera, but it sounded like a quality, serious, bona fide, real opera. I can't wait to see a production of it. After that, as we just hung for a moment in the library, and Jim stepped outside for a smoke, it was me and Rog, 1:30 in the morning, just the two of us. God, there was just short of a million things I wanted to ask him. Well, I'll hit one and see what happens. “Roger, one of the most highly debated subjects amongst my fellow Floyd friends concerns the '77 tour.” “And what's that?” Roger and me after the interview (about 1:30am).   “During "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" the story goes that you shouted numbers during the final verse, and the numbers were different each night. What was that all about?” “I don't remember.” “You don't remember yelling them, or you don't remember why?” “I don't remember why.” Well, there you have it. No resolve on that one. I still wonder if he said I don't remember because it was 1:30 in the morning and he was tired, if he didn’t want to answer the question, or he truly didn’t remember. Oh well. “Hey Roger, I know it's late, but how about a photo?” No problem. Jim snaps the photo, then we head for the car. We say our good-byes, our thank you's, and for me, I'll see you at Jones Beach. I think we got back to the hotel at 4:30 a.m. I had a 7 a.m. flight. I think I slept for 30 minutes. I couldn't sleep on the plane because, hello, I just spent the evening hanging with Roger Waters! And yes, a few weeks later I caught his shows at Jones Beach and at Wallingford, CT (which I still contest that this was one of the 10 greatest concerts I've ever seen). Now, hopefully, it won't be another nine years before our paths cross again.