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FROCK 'N ROLL FANTASY
My Life And Times With AC/DC, Van Halen, Kiss...
By Susan Masino
I know there were a lot of people excited about AC/DC's return to Madison for the first time in eleven years, (Kohl Center May 1), but I don't think
anyone was as excited as I was. You see, the first time I met AC/DC was the very first time they ever played in Madison, at the local club, The Stone Hearth. It was the same day Elvis died, August 16, 1977.
I was just starting out as a "rock journalist," writing for a local paper called The Madcity Music Sheet. I didn't actually review their show
that night, I was sent there just to help out the promoter. But I did get to hang out with the band, and I saw my first AC/DC concert, live and up close. Needless to say, I've been a fan ever since. At the end of
the evening, I gave my address and phone number to one of their roadies, Barry Taylor, and we began a three year correspondence.
Later that year, I became the associate editor of The Emerald City Chronicle, and from 1977-1979 I interviewed AC/DC, Kiss, Cheap Trick, Ted Nugent and
Van Halen. It was an exhilarating time to be a journalist, and twenty years later, I am releasing an ebook about my escapades, entitled "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy-My Life and Times with AC/DC, Van Halen, Kiss..."
The book is an enhanced CD that you can read in your computer. It also features over sixty rock photos, many never before published. Plus a thirty minute
audio (MP3) interview with AC/DC from December 4, 1977, including the infamous Bon Scott. You can purchase a copy of the book by stopping at Music Go Round in the Whitney Square Mall or online at
www.susanmasino.com.
An excerpt from "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" Chapter 1 - Divine Intervention
One afternoon, while I was driving by the paper, I suddenly decided to pull over and
go in to see if I could pick up another assignment. No one was there but Gary, the editor. It was Tuesday, August 16, 1977. The radio was buzzing with the sad news of Elvis's death.
Gary said he didn't have any assignments for me, but that someone from Stardate Productions called and wanted a volunteer to come down to the Stone
Hearth to put together the dressing room and act as a general gofer for the evening. They had booked a band from Australia, and needed some help. The perk was that I could see the show for free,
plus invite a guest. I was going to spend the evening alone anyway, so I agreed to go. As I was walking out the door, I asked Gary what the name of the band was and he replied, "AC/DC."
Chapter 2 - AC/DC: Let There Be Rock
I got down to the club around four o'clock and was immediately sent out to the liquor store to buy some Blue Nun wine for the singer. The road crew was
setting up, but the band hadn't arrived yet.
The Stone Hearth was a large rectangular bar with a loft with seats on one end and a loft made into a dressing room on the other. The stage was in
the middle along the back wall across from the front door. It definitely wasn't a fancy place. The large carpeted area smelled like stale beer.
After I got back from the store, I helped set up some deli platters and stocked the large garbage cans full of ice with sodas and beer. Since I
had the time, I got a promotional kit from the representative from Stardate, and sat down to read about the band. Their pictures weren't very flattering and their bio said they had been "causing brawls from one
end of Europe to the other." I was suddenly wondering what I had gotten myself into.
As I watched the road crew work on equipment, I overheard one roadie trashing the great U.S. of A. and I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I promptly
walked over to him and said if he didn't like the place, the airport was a short drive away! We immediately got into a debate about how soft (in his opinion), we Americans were. That we sent our children
to school with calculators and such.
Then he introduced himself: his name was Barry Taylor and he had been on the road with the band for a while. This was their first trip to the United States.
We really hit it off and continued to talk on and off all evening. As I noticed the band starting to arrive, I quickly ran upstairs to make sure the
cheese slices were lying straight. I didn't want to piss anyone off! Quietly they starting filing into the room as I started backing my way out of it. I told them I could be found downstairs if they needed
anything, and to help themselves to the food and drink. Just then a surly looking guy with dark hair and tattoos up and down his arms walked in, walked right up to me and yelled, "Sit!" I
immediately sat down on the first available object I could find, which luckily was a chair. Then he poured two glasses of wine, walked over and handed me one and said, "Hi! I'm Bon Scott, you must be Sue."
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