Be courageous and be brave, and in my heart, you’ll always remain forever young.
Sir Rod Stewart
As many of you who follow my blogs and Facebook posts have seen, my friend, Christy, and I have had some pretty amazing experiences at concerts all over the country. We’ve had a private meet and greet with Reba, a conversation with Harry Connick Jr., and been front row for Fleetwood Mac. We’ve played blackjack with the Cadillac Three, and Florida Georgia Line has stopped an entire concert to give me a signed guitar from the stage. As thrilling as all of these moments have been, nothing tops wine with Rod Stewart and what was to come afterwards. Let me explain.
When I found out that Rod Stewart would be filling in for Aretha Franklin right after Bonnie Raitt at Jazz Fest this year, I was pretty excited. I mean, I wasn’t a HUGE fan, but I certainly knew who he was and had somewhat grown up on his music thanks to my parents. Who doesn’t know “Maggie May,” after all? And anyone can pick Rod’s silhouette out of a crowd with that hair. I love Bonnie Raitt too, so I was excited that they’d be performing on the same stage back to back.
Y’all. Rod Stewart may be 73 years old, but his performance is one of the best I’ve seen…ever. His voice is still fabulous, he loves to interact with the audience, and his show is flawless. Every detail down to what color shirts the security team wears is meticulously planned out and executed. Rod moves all over the stage, does a ton of acrobatics with his mic stand, and obviously loves to perform. It’s what he lives for.
For whatever reason, Rod kept looking straight at me and singing to me throughout the show. As flattering as that was, and as much fun as I was having, it was incredibly awkward because I only really knew about half the words (FYI, I know them ALL now). Apparently Rod didn’t care though, because he had a guard hand me one of his coveted signed soccer balls and then invited us backstage from the stage as he was finishing up his set with “Do You Think I’m Sexy” and “Sailing.” To say Christy and I were in total shock is an understatement.
After the show was over, security brought us backstage where there was a party going on with Rod, his band, and his family. One of his insanely talented back up girls nailed a spot on Broadway, and Jazz Fest was her last show with the rest of the band. There was cake, wine, and lots of singing and laughing backstage. Rod asked us our names, where we were from, and if we could have a glass of wine and some cake (uh, duh!). He then proceeded to introduce us to his entire band, managers, and family.
As if THAT wasn’t enough, somehow Christy managed to have it together to hand Rod one of my business cards and explain to him that I was a graphic designer looking to get into the music industry (which, of course, is all 100% true). He then turned to me and said, “Oh really? Well. I need an album cover for my next album coming out this year. Want to have a go at the artwork?”
Holy. Crap. Y’all.
I honestly don’t even remember what I said, but it was along the lines of a blubbering “yes!” He handed my card to his manager, who told me she’d contact me with specs when she got back to her office at the beginning of the week, and we continued to talk about what they could do on their last night in New Orleans. We were back there for almost an hour, having wine and cake with the band. As Christy and I left, we could not believe what had just happened. Although I was excited about maybe submitting my artwork for Rod’s album cover, at this point, my hopes were not high as far as anything actually coming of that offer. Boy was I wrong.
The following Tuesday, Rod’s manager did in fact email me with specs and very vague directions as far as what Rod’s vision for the album was. She told me to create some mock-ups that were not necessarily complete designs, and that she would run them by the “artiste” for feedback before I continued. Needless to say, I was freaking out. This was REAL. I was going to get to work with Rod Stewart on his album artwork.
And that’s exactly what happened. Over the next two months, we went back and forth with a total of ten design directions. I’d send something in, a few days (or weeks in some cases) would go by, and his manager would get back to me with the vaguest criticism ever. Rod didn’t really know what he wanted, and it was not easy figuring out what his vision was (which, as an artist, I completely understand). He didn’t really know what it was, so it was definitely a challenge.
A couple months later, I got the email that I did not get the gig, but that my design was in the final running. As disappointed as I was, I do really like what he chose and think it suits the songs I’ve heard off the album thus far. It is a completely different style than what I usually do, so I’m glad he found someone that could make that happen for him. Much to my pleasant surprise, Rod offered to pay me for any time I had put into the project, and gave Christy and me tickets and backstage guest passes to our choice of show on his tour with Cyndi Lauper. She and I chose Nashville (the closest stop to New Orleans), and were basically treated like royalty as Rod’s personal guests. The show was fabulous, Rod was the nicest ever, and it was truly a night I will never forget. When he introduced me to his family, he told them that I “had done fabulous work on his album cover design” and that I “nearly had it.” I’m pretty sure that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. I gave him a copy of my book and one of my “bad hair day” mugs (because how much better does it get for Rod Stewart?), and he seemed to really appreciate them. He hung out with us for a bit before he had to go finish his warm up, and then we went back out to watch his set.
I’m honestly still in shock that ANY of this happened. I mean, Rod Stewart has every artist and graphic designer in the world at his fingertips, and he decided for some insane reason that he wanted to work with ME. Even though I didn’t actually get the final job, the experience of working with Rod was invaluable. It confirmed how much I love working in the music business and how much I want to be doing more of this work in the future. I loved every minute of this and hope that an opportunity like this one presents itself again.
I would be remiss not to say a few thank you’s at the end of this post, so here they are:
First and foremost, Christy. I would have never in a trillion, billion years have told Rod Stewart I am a graphic designer, let alone give him my business card. This is certainly not the first time you’ve pushed me to do something I didn’t think I could and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. You are constantly advocating for me not only as a wheelchair user, but also as an artist and designer. Don’t ever think that goes unnoticed. What would I do without you? Thank you.
To Rod’s two managers (not sure you guys want your names on here, so leaving them out, but you know who you are). Thank you both. I know there were a lot of emails back and forth between us, and you guys were kind enough to answer all of them and send them on to Rod accordingly. Y’all are class acts, and Rod is lucky to have you both working with him.
And lastly, to Sir Rod Stewart. Dude. Most amazing experience EVER. You’ve been so kind, and working with you has been one of the most rewarding opportunities I’ve ever had. Not only have I learned more about you through your autobiography (which is fabulous, by the way) and music, but I’ve learned a lot about myself along the way too. Thank you, Sir. I hope we meet again!
PS-Everyone needs to go pre-order Rod’s new album, Blood Red Roses. It’s going to be a great one.