Sunday, July 30, 2006

They must be Zootopians... (Rocko)

For those of you that don't know, last April when the Devils were supposed to play in Hawaii, but didn't because of the postponement, I went with my wife Hollie on a holiday in Maui. We already had it booked, and there was no way I would not go. So we went and had one of the best vacations of our lives. We never get to spend enough time together as it is, and for her constant understanding about my relentless touring and being away from home so much, we decided to go anyway - as we had been there 3 times before. Maui is our favorite place to go and relax after a long tour.

So there we were - on the east coast of Maui, just coming back from a long hike in a state park that leads to a magnificent place called The Seven Pools. It is a naturally occurring set of waterfalls that is beautiful beyond description, just look it up on the internet! After we had been there and were almost back to our car, we were walking along the last bit of path that runs parallel to the only road in or out of the place, when we heard the screech of tires and a woman exclaiming "There's Rocko!" I have to admit that I was startled, but I turned to my wife and said "....they must be Zootopians...".

They pulled over and we had a pleasant chat for a quite a while. Of course they wanted to know anything I might know about when the rescheduled shows, and specifically Hawaii. I couldn't tell them anything official, as even I had not gotten confirmation from anyone yet, but I thought I could give a devilish clue, without violating any confidence. I told them a tale of the first time I ever came to Hawaii.

I was working for The Scorpions in 1991, and we had just finished our tour in Japan. The last show was December 7th, 1991 - 50 years to the day of the Pearl Harbor attack that started World War 2. After the show I was in Tokyo, and I went out for to a bar with the promoter ( a Japanese man named Nori) and the sound man for the Scorpions ( a German man named Horst). We were having a great time together when it suddenly occurred to me that it was a monumental anniversary, and how ironic it was that 3 men from 3 countries that used to be such fierce enemies 50 years earlier, were now such good friends. Would our parents have believed it?... Maybe not.... but we agreed that we must do all we can to make sure that we never let it happen again. That night I flew from Tokyo to Honolulu, but after crossing the International date line it was December 7th again, and I flew in over Pearl Harbor to land at the Honolulu airport at 6:30 AM, almost exactly 50 years to the moment of the attack. It was an emotional moment that I will never forget.

This all relates back to the "Girls from Canada" because I told them this story and then said "...wouldn't it be amazing for me to make that same journey (...flying from Japan to Hawaii) on the 65th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day? I never said that's when the show would be, but I gave them a Devilish wink and said "...now don't tell anyone what I have told you". ....To my surprise, and I might add - to my relief, none of these fine ladies ever leaked this information to anyone! So thank you to them, and all of you, for keeping the faith for us. All the best to you!!!!

Love - Rocko


Original post and replies in: Rocko and the Devils - Guestbook Archives - Page 3