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| Robin Goldstein backstage with Cheap Trick at the Shoreline Amphitheater, September 2, 2017 |
You can trace this photo directly to my unexplained decision to take up the ukulele in the summer of 2014. And working on the Newton and meeting Steve Capps in 1995. And Doug Sovern's twins running off with my guitar pick last month. And Ashdown House and my grad school roommate and dear friend Jim Lattin. And my unwavering certainty that the universe has a tremendous sense of humor and loves a great story, no matter how long it takes to tell.
Here is a
link to the album with all the photos I took at 107.7 The Bone/KSAN-FM's Bone Bash XVII at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.
And here's the story I originally shared on
Twitter that led to the photo. Please to enjoy.
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(i posted this on twitter the other day... many of you have heard much of the story before, but after i posted it Eddie Money started to follow me on twitter, so that fact alone seemed like a good reason to repost here!):
here’s a good story: in 1996 i was working at Apple on the Newton team. Cheap Trick was in town for a concert and Greg Kihn, morning man KFOX, brought them over to Apple for a tour.
a bunch of tables were set up in Caffe Macs to demo our products for the band, and i was in charge of showing the MessagePad 120. i was big into the whole Vans/checkerboard motif then (h/t to Steve Capps) and had customized my Newton with black-and-white checkerboard contact paper. the band arrived and went from table to table and when they got to mine Rick Nielsen stopped, stared at my Newton and said, “Are you making them like this now?” I said, “No, this is a custom job to match my shoes!” He laughed and reached into this pocket and pulled out a guitar pick and gave it to me. (later that day I ran into the band as they were being escorted through another lab by some execs. Rick saw me from across the lobby (my Vans probably gave me away), stopped the procession, and shouted, “Hey… isn’t that Robin Goldstein? Hi Robin Goldstein!!!” much to the astonishment of our execs - this still makes me smile, but i digress)…
in any event i’ve held on to that pick as a prized possession for over 20 years, but never got to use it as i didn’t play guitar. then a few years ago i stumbled across the ukulele and that lead me to the guitar and don’t let anyone tell you its ever too late to teach an old dog new tricks. then a few weeks ago i was at a party with Doug Sovern and a bunch of friends and brought a few guitars and ukes and we sat around singing and playing music and having a grand time. and every now and then Doug’s kids would fly by and steal a guitar pick and i looked at him and he said, “yeah they do that… they’re pick thieves… you’ll get them back”… but when i got home that night i realized i didn’t get them all back and was going to go online and buy some new ones when i thought, “i should make my own custom pick” and found InTune Guitar Picks and designed and ordered a custom pick (same type and thickness as the Nielsen pick) with the Schnauzer Logic logo and they arrived last night and I love them and 20 years later want to return the favor to Rick… so Rick Nielsen: if you happen to read this and please shoot me your address, i’ll throw a bunch in the mail for you and you can toss them out at a concert and confuse the hell out of some fans!
and always remember what some smart(ass) guys from Rockford, Illinois once told me: "Surrender, Surrender, But don’t give yourself away."
UPDATE/ERRATA:
1. The Newton was actually an MP130 (not MP120),
2. I know this because I found it in my office (and, of course, it still works!), and
3. Cheap Trick is going to be playing at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Sept and I've got myself a meet-and-greet ticket so there's a chance I may be able to present my pick in person! (I love it when a plan comes together!)
