A GREAT GUY and publicist I work with, Michael Hansen, tracked down the manager of blink-182. They were the band who said all those things about President Bush and his Iraq policies. Their manager confirmed that they said them and, also, that this was followed by huge boos, which didn’t upset the band at all. I was thrilled to hear that. I mean, I don’t make anything up for these columns. (Who would ever have to, for God’s sake, with the daily pageant of life in our country?) And I knew my friend, Jack, who told me the story initially, wouldn’t make it up, either. Hell, he didn’t even want to be there in the first place, he was just chaperoning his daughter to make sure she didn’t blow all her money at the Ecstasy concession.
Hansen mentioned that there was also another tiny, little bit of confirmation on the question: IT’S IN THIS MONTH’S ROLLING STONE. No kidding. The October issue, on the stands now, has a big piece, “Backstage with blink-182.” Their reporter was even at the concert with them on the fourteenth of September, the one I wrote about, and it’s in the piece, “F— you, George Bush,” and all sorts of predictably cheerful epithets. Isn’t that weird? Here I am trying to track down every popcorn vendor and security guard in Southern California who might’ve been at the concert that night, and the whole thing is in print on every stand in America. Oh, well.
Anyway, it’s still in order for me to say, again, to Buzzcocks, I’m sorry I said it was you. Before this, I didn’t know who you were, and, chances are, you don’t know who I am. But we’re both in the same business, and it’s a funny business, and, trust me, you never know, we might find ourselves working together on something someday, on stage, or TV, or film. If we do, fellas, after work, first one’s on me. Second one, too. I’ll bet we have more in common than most folks would think.
Now I’m going to rework the article with the correct info.
By the way, from the third drink on? It’s every man for himself.
Larry Miller is a contributing humorist to The Daily Standard and a writer, actor, and comedian living in Los Angeles.
