A Whole Weekend of American Stamp

So, sometime in 2003, I was emailed by David from the aforementioned Rachel Stamp about a tour they had been approached about doing in the states. The lineup at the time included Pigface, Dope and a group called Tubring. After careful consideration, I told David that while I wanted them to jump on ANY tour that would get them here, I was unsure of how well Rachel Stamp would fit on this tour. I had seen Dope several times before and seen Pigface once and the crowds weren't the same kind of people that I would see at Rachel Stamp gig, so I wasn't sure how well it would work.

Later, he told me they had accepted the tour and while I still had my reservations about it, I was so happy to think that I would be seeing Rachel Stamp and David again. 3 years had already felt like an eternity, so it was due time.

When the dates for the United II Tour were first released, I was devastated. Portland wasn't anywhere on it. They were set to play the Pound in San Francisco then straight to Seattle the next night before heading out of the Pacific Northwest altogether. I immediately started to express my heartbreak all over the internet, when my friend Billy, who lived in Oakland told me that he would get me down to San Francisco for the Pound show so that I could see David at more than just the Seattle show that I was bound and determined to make it to. I was ecstatic, I trip to the Bay Area and another Stamp show to boot.

As the time drew near, the tour dates changed. Suddenly, now... San Francisco. Portland. Seattle. I called Billy to let him know in case he wanted to withdraw his offer and to my delight, he didn't. So now, THREE shows were in the plans for me. I couldn't wait. One whole weekend of Rachel Stamp, friends, roadtrips, great music.... Couldn't get any better.

So after a couple days hanging with friends in San Francisco and Oakland (still, another story for another time), the night of the show finally came. David texted and told me that they had arrived at the venue so Billy and I headed down. When we got there, there were still people lined up at the door and it didn't appear to be open. Suddenly, I could HEAR Rachel Stamp playing AS people were finally being let in. I was steaming mad as I stood at the back of the line unable to see the band I was actually there for because they waited so long to let the crowd in. When I finally got in, I ran and dodged the scattered crowd to get myself straight up to the front, where I was face to face with David and Rachel Stamp for the first time in three years. I don't remember how long it took David to notice I was there, but I do remember that my eyes welled up with tears at the sheer joy of the moment.

After the set, I hung out with David for a bit until I had to turn in for my early flight back to Portland.

At the Portland show, I got down to the Roseland nice and early and there were rumors abound of a wedding set to take place during the Pigface set and I was asked to go find some flowers. So I packed up some of the band and drove up to Fred Meyer where I picked up the flowers and David's favourite ice cream and took them back to the venue before the show began.

We returned for the show and I was enjoying Rachel Stamp when some douche started to heckle them. I was mortified. I had been telling them all these years how great Portland would be to play and here we were... nearly empty Roseland and a drunk douche heckling the band. But David rolled with the punches quite well and the rest of the set went on just fine. After their set, I took David and Will over to Everyday Music to poke around for some new tunes. David was on a mission to find a rare record by Jobriath and Will just poked around all over the store picking up things here and there. After Dope and Pigface were done, we all decided to roll down to Dante's for their Sinferno "Burlesque" Night. This was the first time I had been to Sinferno so at the time, my idea of what it was... well... it was entirely different from the reality of what Sinferno is. David and I had the idea that it would be a classic burlesque show, but as we sat down, there was a girl sitting naked in a kiddie pool pouring a gallon of milk over her head. We were perplexed as to how that could be considered burlesque. We stayed and watched a few of the firedancers before we decided to call it a night.

I left for Seattle in the late afternoon the next day and got there to the Fenix Underground in time to catch Rachel Stamp's soundcheck. Afterwards, I hung out on the bus while David put his makeup on and got to meet many of the Pigface members for that tour. One of them picked up a copy of the Mercury and started reading some of the funny ads in the Alternative Personals section. She stopped suddenly and started giggling... We all looked at her and she reads the ad that got her laughing... "Do you like to eat ass?" We all bust up laughing and then David pipes up "They can't print that!..... Can they???" and he gets up to look for himself and we continue to laugh at the ad being read to us.

After Rachel Stamp's set, we all joined a friend of Will's at a little diner near by for a meal. We came back in time for Pigface's set and enjoyed the rest of the show. Afterwards, we posed for photos and talked to various folks in the crowd. I had a lengthy conversation with Martin Atkins about the Pacific Northwest and tried to talk up En Esch but gave up after realizing that he intimidated the crap out of me. We all took some photos together (even En Esch literally popped his head into one)
before heading downstairs to play some pool and talk. I had some time to speak to Shaheena for really the first time ever. Got to tell her the story of how we all met and how I came to love Rachel Stamp and we talked about how great it would be if Rachel Stamp could tour the states more often for many reasons. Finally, bus call came and I said a bittersweet farewell to my friends and drove away into the night.

The whole weekend came and went in a blur of happiness and laughter and 7 years later, I still wish I could replay that weekend over and over again.

Dancing at the Metro...

I only had to see one photo of Rachel Stamp to know that they had to be something I would like. During 1999, I had a lovely little hobby of going to Tower Records on a regular basis... and sitting on their little futon couch reading the imported magazines, Kerrang being one of my favourites. Kerrang was the magazine that featured the bands I actually cared about... Coal Chamber, Amen, Machinehead..... Pretty much all the bands on Roadrunner Records that the local magazines didn't much publicize. Anyhow, several times when looking at these magazines, I kept reading about this Rachel Stamp. But, no matter how great their glam look, I still wanted to hear them. So, I'd look in the Imports section of Tower while I was there everytime... to no avail. I finally found a website at some point that featured short clips of their songs. I chose one titled "Pop Singer" and within seconds of hitting play, I knew I loved this band. However, I literally only had about 3 songs to listen to and they were all short clips. So, my knowledge was still very limited.

Fast forward to April 1st, 2000... When my flight touched down at Gatwick airport in London, England. I was there to live for a semester of school and live with a host family. When they came to pick me up, they asked if there was anywhere in particular I wanted to go.... I told them I wanted to see the Tower Records... So off to Piccadilly Circus we went... Now, this Tower. This Tower was EPIC. THREE FLOORS of Tower Records. And on the lowest floor... there it was. Rachel Stamp "Hymns for Strange Children." I was floored. After so long of turning up dead ends, my first request of London was granted within an hour. I bought it and went to tour my new home for the next few months.

A couple weeks later, a group of us in our class were trying to find a club to go to. Using the Time Out, I was searching for clubs and found one that scored high with me. Metro. Cheap admission, cheap drinks... and boasted Thursday night music like Motley Crue, Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses and the Doors. I was in. Thursday night came around and we showed up a little before 10pm, when the club opened. We were handed flyers that would grant us the £1 admission. On this, it stated "DJs David and Robin Rachel Stamp" My heart stopped. I looked up at the person handing out the flyers and asked "Is this just their DJ names or is this ACTUALLY guys from Rachel Stamp?" She smiled and said, "It's really the guys from Rachel Stamp." I was elated. What luck! Of all the clubs in ALL of London...

After what seemed like hours, I finally spotted them. They walked in and couldn't be missed... with David's green hair and Robin's blonde and pink hair, they illuminated in the blacklight. At this point, I just was trying to find the nerve to approach them and figure out what on earth I was going to say... Finally, I yanked out the foil from my pack of cigarettes and wrote a note. Realizing it was gonna be hard to explain while shouting over the loud music, I figured this was my best choice. I wrote something to the effect of being from America, being a fan and do they have any shows coming up? I walked up to the DJ booth and handed the note to David. He turned away from me in order to bring the note into the light for him to read. As he is reading, he jumps with joy and whips around to see me again, a giant grin on his face. He then tells Robin that I'm from the States and I'm a fan. Robin tries to call bullshit, but I explain that I read Kerrang at home and listened to their songs online. Later, David played Guns N' Roses' "My Michelle" in my honor (as that is my real name, for those who don't know.)

Over the course of my time in London, I spent nearly every Thursday in the glowing lights of the Metro, hanging with David and Robin... During the month of May, I found out they had tour dates across England... I went to two of these gigs. One in Bedford and one in Farnborough. Which if you speak to anyone in England, are basically the styx. At least, Farnborough. The Bedford show included a little band called AntiProduct, with the singer, Alex Kane, reminding me greatly of Johnny Rotten in demeanor and appearance. After a great set from them, Rachel Stamp took the stage. Both Robin and David acknowledged me in their own ways (pointing and thumbs up) and I got to meet the lovely Shaheena Dax and the awesome Will Crewdson, who round out the rest of the group. Robin signed my cd "This hotel wasn't free..." which if you've been paying attention, is referring to the GN'R song that David would play for me at the Metro.

At the Farnborough gig, I didn't get to see them off stage and actually ended up being stranded there overnight. But it was worth it completely. When they were done with their short tour, they came back to Thursday nights and Metro... One night after, I was standing with David and one of the other Metro DJs waiting for our busses/minicabs to go home. The other DJ was talking about how he usually hated American tourists because they always just wanted to hear the Doors all night and never requested anything else. I stated, "But I don't! I request stuff like Buckcherry and GN'R!" David pipes in, "Yea, but I don't think you're actually American. I mean, I know you were born there, but I think you were actually British the whole time." Thus stating probably one of the greatest compliments of my life. As anyone who knows me knows... I'm a britophile. I love everything British and am part English in my ethnic heritage.

A huge part of my time in London WAS Rachel Stamp. I love them to this day and will never forget the amazing time I spent with them in their native country... When they came to mine... well, That's another story for another time.

I miss them all sincerely, especially David, whom I bonded with the most. I hope I won't have to wait too long before we hang out again!