I needed to get a ticket for the Monday night show, and someone told me to
call a Yes fan named Steve Staub at La Cuesta motor inn. I called, and the
hotel operator connected me with a guest with a British accent (as you
know, fans came from all over the world for these shows). The person said
he would leave a ticket for me at the front desk.
When I saw Steve Staub at the concert that night, he denied having left a
ticket for me. I was puzzled, and wanted to pay the $50 to the person who
left the ticket for me. The next couple days, I talked to various people -
including Glenn Gottlieb of Yes magazine - to find out who left a ticket
for me, and even posted a sign at La Cuesta.
Wednesday I was eating breakfast, and Steve Howe and Glenn walked in.
After a few minutes, I walked over and said hi to Glenn, then introduced
myself to Steve Howe. "Ever so gently" was his effete response when I
extended my hand and said my name: "Erich Toll." "Erich Toll," he said.
"You owe me money." Glenn and I were both shocked to figure out that Steve
Howe, not Steve Staub, had left a ticket for me.
This could have all been a very funny coincidence. But not with Steve
Howe. I explained to him I was trying to reach a person named Steve Staub,
and never in my wildest dreams thought I had spoken to Steve Howe. I
didn't even know Howe was staying at La Cuesta. "You're full of shit,"
Steve said. He continued: "How could you not know it was me with a British
accent." I told him that fans cakme from all over the world, and I assumed
Steve Staub was from England. Nonetheless he remained very pissy and cold.
Here I was - a fan of almost 20 years - and he cusses me out and calls me
a liar for no reason. The whole restaurant heard this, and I was so
embarrassed and sick to stomach I couldn't even finish my breakfast.
He then refused my $50. I later asked a waitress to bring him the money,
and Glenn said Howe went through the roof. He even tried to cancel an
interview with Mike Tiano, blaming me?! The truly disgusting thing is that
Glenn knew I had been asking around for 3 days to find the person who left
the ticket for me, and probably told Howe. But do you think that fucker
Howe would apologize to me?
I'm a man's man, and I don't cry often, but I cried that morning.
Anyway, he's on my shit list for life. Every other member of Yes I've met:
Anderson, Squire, Moraz, Wakeman - was very friendly and cool.
Feel free to post or pass on.
Regards,
Erich
Ouch, Erich!
I can't imagine Howe being _that_ big of an asshole, but on the other hand,
why would you lie about it?
Steve's stock just dropped a few points, IMHO. Sad. Truly sad.
--
Eric Smith
esm...@oswego.edu
<http://www.oswego.edu/~esmith2>
I'm confused. Did you know Steve Staub beforehand (see below)?
> hotel operator connected me with a guest with a British accent (as you
> know, fans came from all over the world for these shows). The person said
> he would leave a ticket for me at the front desk.
>
The key question seems to be Who did Steve Howe think he was talking to?
Did he think he was talking to his "long lost brother" or a friend (who
then would have missed seeing the concert thus pissing off Steve). Or did
he know he was talking to Joe Yes Fan?
> When I saw Steve Staub at the concert that night, he denied having left a
> ticket for me.
If you didn't know him, how did you recognize him? Did a mutual
acquaintance introduce you?
> He [Howe] then refused my $50. I later asked a waitress to bring him the
money, > and Glenn said Howe went through the roof....
If he refused the money, it must have been unimportant. There must be some
other issue; e.g. ticket going to an unintended person.
> I'm a man's man, and I don't cry often, but I cried that morning.
I don't blame you.
Amazing story. Very disturbing indeed.
So other than that, how'd you enjoy the show ?
>Anyway, he's on my shit list for life. Every other member of Yes I've met:
>Anderson, Squire, Moraz, Wakeman - was very friendly and cool.
>
I would suspect that your not exactly #1 on Mr. Howe's list either.
Bummer :-(
Eric Smith <esm...@oswego.edu> wrote in article
<esmith2-ya0232800...@news.oswego.edu>...
> In article <19961114164...@ladder01.news.aol.com>, et...@aol.com
wrote:
>
>
> Ouch, Erich!
>
> I can't imagine Howe being _that_ big of an asshole, but on the other
hand,
> why would you lie about it?
>
Wow!! I hope Steve reads this, or someone tells him about it..I've heard
from lots of people how unpersonable he is..too bad..I too have had a bad
experience with him..we are not alone!!!
If you ever meet a duck...Steve Howe!
sorry, I just had to.
Just disappointing, and I assume it's true from the many posts on the
subject.
I met Alan White and he was very polite. Maybe Steve is going through
some personal sh*t......
I noticed Rick Wakeman's expression was not too chipper on KTA and I
know about his mother's illness and death....
Maybe Steve is going through something like this, no excuse, but some
people don't deal with stresses like these very well at all.
Just a thought.
Linda
Had to what?
Sorry, what he said.
>I met Alan White and he was very polite.
I agree, Alan is very nice to the fans.
>I noticed Rick Wakeman's expression was not too chipper on KTA and I
>know about his mother's illness and death....
Regardless of his expression on KTA, Rick seemed to be in good spirits in
SLO. A group of us Yes fans were sitting in the hotel lobby after the
Tuesday show when Rick came in and we all started to applaud, he turned to
us and bowed in a humorous fashion, as he raised up he gave us the "cut"
sign (like a conductor would) and thanked us. He then signed autographs
for everyone who wanted one, on top of having to sign a whole box of
posters for sponsors some assistant was pushing in front of him.
Then Steve walked in, knowing it was a group of Yes fans Steve managed to
stand in the opposite corner to retrieve his messages from the front desk.
One young female *brave* soul approached him and asked if she could have a
picture taken with him, he said "no pictures", then a guy walked up and
tried to shake his hand (wrong move) got the cold shoulder. I was safe
this time, thank goodness I had gotten Steve's autograph years ago,
besides I didn't want him to tell me "I'm going to come up there and kick
your F**k'in head in"... Oops!... that's another Steve in SLO story. Maybe
I will tell it some other time, you know I *will* be seeing him at the
Tower 'signing party' this Wed.
YESFAN1046 Ž
> I am really sorry to hear that Steve Howe can be quite a jerk. I have
> never met the man myself and will think better of him, endless he's a
> jerk to me personally.
>
> Just disappointing, and I assume it's true from the many posts on the
> subject.
>
> I met Alan White and he was very polite. Maybe Steve is going through
> some personal sh*t......
>
> I noticed Rick Wakeman's expression was not too chipper on KTA and I
> know about his mother's illness and death....
>
> Maybe Steve is going through something like this, no excuse, but some
> people don't deal with stresses like these very well at all.
>
> Just a thought.
>
> Linda
Wise words, Linda. I think that your assesment is probably the case. I
have met Steve Howe on a few occasions - every time he was very polite and
on one occasion he was especially talkative... we probably chatted for
nearly two hours at a hotel bar after a Yes concert.
I've had the good fortune (sorry, don't mean to brag here) of meeting
countless musicians because I've been in the music business for nearly
fifteen years. I've met the biggest to the smallest. Being in this
business it becomes kind of no big deal - after a few years of regularly
attending back-stage things and schmooze-athons the thrill wears off. Then
you start to realize that these stars that we idolize so much are just
people, with bad days and good days. There are many musicians that I've
met multiple times, and many examples of people that were incredibly
polite, if not downright friendly, on one day and moody or impolite on
another.
I know that I'm very fortunate to have these opportunities, and it gives
me a little more perspective than a lot of fans have. Many music fans get
very few chances to meet their idols, and thus can't believe it when they
meet up with a star in a bad mood. But while it's true that a person in
the limelight should be grateful to the folks that put him/her there, we
shouldn't forget that the stars have to go through this ritual on nearly a
daily basis - regardless of how they feel, physically or emotionally.
My philosophy is when I meet a celebrity in a bad mood... shake a hand,
say a kind word and move on, and wait for another chance. And don't be so
harsh in your judgements, folks!
Keith Fotheringham
yesfa...@aol.com wrote in article
<19961117045...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
> In article <328E0B...@earthlink.net>, Linda Dachtyl
> <lind...@earthlink.net> writes:
>
> Ive seen Steve perform several different times both with and without YES
and enjoyed it totally, but I have never seen him up close in person. I
have purchased most of his solo works + Asia + GTR + ABWH, all of his work
with Yes.
I have read several interviews he has givin including the recent NFTE
interview and
this is where I wonder if the guy really is a Jerk? I dont know....its
just a sublime
feeling that comes off his rhetoric and I wonder how much of a role this
has played
in the "somewhat fucked-up" 27 year history of Yes. Nothing personel
Steve.
Somebody set me straight.
Kevin
I met the band at SLO and I didn't find Steve to be as offensive as everyone
has been calling him lately. (Although he does sound very offensive after
hearing Eric's SLO experience). After the Wednesday SLO show, I waited
out back for the band to come out, hung out with Rick, Steve and Alan (since
they were the first to come out) for a little bit until they took off.
Jon was next to come out, and was in very high spirits. Steve came out much
later and seemed very preocupied with the packing of his guitars (in fact
he walked right by us to go put his guitar in the trailer), but he did
come back and signed autographs (he signed both my ticket and my TFTO CD).
One of us asked him to say hello on video to a friend of his that couldn't
make it to SLO, and Steve did... I mean, Steve didn't seem friendly, but
he wasn't unfriendly either... Just my 2 cents...
I'll be seeing him again this Wednesday at Tower Records (I won tickets! YES!)
and maybe I'll find out more about him then,...
Nate
: > I am really sorry to hear that Steve Howe can be quite a jerk. I have
: > never met the man myself and will think better of him, endless he's a
: > jerk to me personally.
: >
: > Just disappointing, and I assume it's true from the many posts on the
: > subject.
: >
: > I met Alan White and he was very polite. Maybe Steve is going through
: > some personal sh*t......
: >
: > I noticed Rick Wakeman's expression was not too chipper on KTA and I
: > know about his mother's illness and death....
: >
: > Maybe Steve is going through something like this, no excuse, but some
: > people don't deal with stresses like these very well at all.
: >
: > Just a thought.
: >
: > Linda
: Wise words, Linda. I think that your assesment is probably the case. I
: have met Steve Howe on a few occasions - every time he was very polite and
: on one occasion he was especially talkative... we probably chatted for
: nearly two hours at a hotel bar after a Yes concert.
If anyone cares at this point, Steve Howe was apparently on the warpath
from the first performance on, being pissed off generally about his mix,
his lighting, etc. He's a perfectionist.
Exactly. I have *never* known a hotel operator to mishear a name!
Especially one that sounded almost like 'Howe'. The very idea is jsut
preposterous, and I refuse to give it credence.
sarcasm OFF.
: Why would Steve Howe just leave you a ticket
: at the front desk without knowing who you are? What was the content of
: your conversation?
This part, on the other hand, is a legitimate question.
: > When I saw Steve Staub at the concert that night, he denied having left a
: > ticket for me. I was puzzled, and wanted to pay the $50 to the person who
: > left the ticket for me. The next couple days, I talked to various people -
: > including Glenn Gottlieb of Yes magazine - to find out who left a ticket
: > for me, and even posted a sign at La Cuesta.
: >
: How did you know who this Steve Staub guy was by sight if you had never
: seen him before? Who IS this guy Steve Staub?
Doesn't he play with Chris Dwyer?
: > I'm a man's man, and I don't cry often, but I cried that morning.
: >
: > Anyway, he's on my shit list for life. Every other member of Yes I've met:
: > Anderson, Squire, Moraz, Wakeman - was very friendly and cool.
: >
: Yeah, well, I hear Bruford's not exactly the warm and fuzzy type,
: either. It's not their responsibility to be "friendly" and "cool" all
: the time. I think Steve and Bill are the 2 most talented members of the
: band, with the exception of Rick. I hear Beethoven wasn't exactly a joy
: to be around either. Come to think of it, neither am I sometimes. Are
: you? So now it's Steve's responsibility to issue a personal apology to
: you so all other Yes fans don't think he's an obnoxious jerk. From the
: sound of it, your preconceptions about your rock & roll hero being
: shattered is probably a healthy dose of reality. Aside from the fuzzy
: details that make the premise for this little incident, which
: undoubtedly raise some suspicions with more than one reader here, my
: advice to you is to stop applying an inordinate amount of significance
: to this little episode and get on with your life.
: Sorry to sound hypercritical, but, in all fairness, you asked for it.
Well, are you a man's man or aren't you?
-S.
no man's man.
> When I saw Steve Staub at the concert that night, he denied having left a
> ticket for me. I was puzzled, and wanted to pay the $50 to the person who
> left the ticket for me. The next couple days, I talked to various people -
> including Glenn Gottlieb of Yes magazine - to find out who left a ticket
> for me, and even posted a sign at La Cuesta.
>
How did you know who this Steve Staub guy was by sight if you had never
seen him before? Who IS this guy Steve Staub?
> Wednesday I was eating breakfast, and Steve Howe and Glenn walked in.
> After a few minutes, I walked over and said hi to Glenn, then introduced
> myself to Steve Howe. "Ever so gently" was his effete response when I
> extended my hand and said my name: "Erich Toll." "Erich Toll," he said.
> "You owe me money." Glenn and I were both shocked to figure out that Steve
> Howe, not Steve Staub, had left a ticket for me.
>
> This could have all been a very funny coincidence. But not with Steve
> Howe. I explained to him I was trying to reach a person named Steve Staub,
> and never in my wildest dreams thought I had spoken to Steve Howe. I
> didn't even know Howe was staying at La Cuesta. "You're full of shit,"
> Steve said. He continued: "How could you not know it was me with a British
> accent." I told him that fans cakme from all over the world, and I assumed
> Steve Staub was from England. Nonetheless he remained very pissy and cold.
>
> Here I was - a fan of almost 20 years - and he cusses me out and calls me
> a liar for no reason. The whole restaurant heard this, and I was so
> embarrassed and sick to stomach I couldn't even finish my breakfast.
>
I've been a Yes fan since I was about 15, so that makes it about 15
years for me. Despite my love for the band, if ANYONE, including Steve,
told me I was "full of shit", I would tell them they were cordially
invited to have intercourse with themselves, but not in those words.
Maybe you should have said "oh, well, at least I got a free ticket to
the show! Hahahaha!". That would have REALLY pissed him off and he
would have embarassed himself in front of the whole restaurant. If you
ask me, Howe embarassed himself anyway, not you. Maybe you should wear
a T-shirt that says "I've been a Yes fan for 20 years so please don't
say I'm full of shit". Or how about "Steve Howe Cussed me Out Good at
Breakfast"?
> He then refused my $50. I later asked a waitress to bring him the money,
> and Glenn said Howe went through the roof. He even tried to cancel an
> interview with Mike Tiano, blaming me?! The truly disgusting thing is that
> Glenn knew I had been asking around for 3 days to find the person who left
> the ticket for me, and probably told Howe. But do you think that fucker
> Howe would apologize to me?
What the hell does Steve Howe need with $50? So the guy gets a little
intense. Jesus, I've been in arguments with some of my best friends
that were worse than that. Being on the road is probably a pretty tense
situation, anyway, and the guy probably thought you got his hotel room
numner and tried to scam a free ticket off of him, which is the last
thing he needs.
> I'm a man's man, and I don't cry often, but I cried that morning.
>
> Anyway, he's on my shit list for life. Every other member of Yes I've met:
> Anderson, Squire, Moraz, Wakeman - was very friendly and cool.
>
Yeah, well, I hear Bruford's not exactly the warm and fuzzy type,
either. It's not their responsibility to be "friendly" and "cool" all
the time. I think Steve and Bill are the 2 most talented members of the
band, with the exception of Rick. I hear Beethoven wasn't exactly a joy
to be around either. Come to think of it, neither am I sometimes. Are
you? So now it's Steve's responsibility to issue a personal apology to
you so all other Yes fans don't think he's an obnoxious jerk. From the
sound of it, your preconceptions about your rock & roll hero being
shattered is probably a healthy dose of reality. Aside from the fuzzy
details that make the premise for this little incident, which
undoubtedly raise some suspicions with more than one reader here, my
advice to you is to stop applying an inordinate amount of significance
to this little episode and get on with your life.
Sorry to sound hypercritical, but, in all fairness, you asked for it.
> Feel free to post or pass on.
>
> Regards,
>
> Erich
>
>
>Exactly. I have *never* known a hotel operator to mishear a name!
>Especially one that sounded almost like 'Howe'. The very idea is jsut
>preposterous, and I refuse to give it credence.
Anyone here ever see "Blame it on the Bellboy" ?
A line of the cheap stuff?
Rob
http://darkknight.net/~raindog - ku...@ties.org
I crucified my hate and held the world within my hands.
>
>
>Exactly. I have *never* known a hotel operator to mishear a name!
>Especially one that sounded almost like 'Howe'. The very idea is jsut
>preposterous, and I refuse to give it credence.
I feel the same way about those who listen to Drama and call it "good".
-Tom "awaiting the Panther attack" Adams
> : >
> : This all sounds pretty circumspect. "Someone" told you to call a Yes
> : fan named "Steve Staub"?? Who was the someone and who the hell is Steve
> : Staub? Why would the hotel operator connect you with Steve Howe when
> : you asked for Steve Staub?
>
> Exactly. I have *never* known a hotel operator to mishear a name!
> Especially one that sounded almost like 'Howe'. The very idea is jsut
> preposterous, and I refuse to give it credence.
>
> sarcasm OFF.
>
Actually, on the road no one in the band(at least that I ever worked
with) uses their real name at Hotel check in. The road manager goes to
the desk and checks in "Luis Sypher" "Dward Farquar" "Lion Inwaite" and
other assorted goofy names and as long as you're there, that's the name
you use for Bar tabs, room service, everything. Generally the crew
(backline, sound, riggers etc.) use their own names, but on very high
profile tours even the crew will use psuedo pseudi... fake names.
Scott "This is Larry Storch in 314, can I get some pornos up here?"
McDaniel
This is where you explain to us what exactly you find wrong with Drama.
Cal
--
We're always tidy even during football. r940...@student.anu.edu.au