RockStar Success Stories: Inspirational Stories of Success by Extraordinary "RockStars" - Softcover

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Craig Duswalt is a professional speaker, author, radio host and creator of Craig Duswalt Marketing---How to Achieve RockStar Status in Your Industry. His background includes touring with Guns N’ Roses, as Axl Rose’s personal assistant, and Air Supply, as the band’s personal assistant. Craig has written six books, and speaks to corporations, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and colleges on how to stand out from the competition. www.CraigDuswaltMarketing.com

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It was July 1983. I had just graduated college---State University of New York at Oswego. I was a business major with a theatre minor, but I was very involved in theatre. I had starred in numerous college productions in my junior and senior years. Acting was in my blood forever.

My first job out of college was at the Westbury Music Fair in Long Island, New York. Westbury Music Fair was a 3,000-seat, in-the-round venue that housed plays and intimate concerts. I was a backstage runner, a gopher, the bottom man on the totem pole. When acts came into town, I would pick them up at the airport. Or, I would pick them up at their hotel, and bring them to the gig for sound check. And I always had to make sure they had what they needed backstage.

I only held this job for about a month, because I was about to meet someone who would change my life.

The Australian pop band, Air Supply, came to Westbury Music Fair to do two shows---one on Friday night and one on Saturday night.

What I did not know at the time was that Air Supply had just fired their band assistant because of excessive drug use.

I worked the show on Friday night, getting drinks, supplying towels, etc. I met the two lead members of the band, Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell, as well as their security guard, Bob Street. Nothing special, just “Hi!” and some small talk. But I was working my butt off that night, running around for everyone---but always with a smile and a positive attitude.

The next day I found out my mom and her friend had tickets to see Air Supply that night. I wasn’t supposed to work that night but because my mom was going I asked my boss if I could come in again to work the second show.

Two weeks earlier, out of nowhere, knowing that Air Supply was coming to town, my mom said to me, “What if they ask you to go on tour with them, would you go?”

I said, “Who?”

“Air Supply, what if they ask you to tour with them?”

I said to my Mom, “And why would they do that? You’re crazy! Where do you come up with this stuff?”

I never gave it another thought.

I arrived at work about 2:00 p.m. to help get things ready for the Saturday night show. At about 5:00 p.m., Air Supply arrived to do a sound check. Once again, there were casual hellos from the band members. But Bob Street talked to me a little about my interests, and how I liked working at Westbury. About a half hour later Bob and the band went back to the hotel to rest before the show.

The concert was sold out.

As I got the backstage area ready, the excited crowd took their seats. About an hour later the warm-up band took the stage. I peeked out from behind the backstage curtain, and saw my mom and her friend in the audience.

Air Supply arrived through the Stage Door entrance. As the band members went to their dressing rooms, Bob Street pulled me aside and asked me how much I made working at Westbury. I told him about $150 a week. (Don’t laugh. Back in 1983, $150 a week wasn’t bad).

Bob said, “Do you want to quadruple that?”

So many things went through my mind at that moment, one of them being, “What the hell does he want me to do to make $600 a week?”

My mind went to some very dark places. But I was 21 years old---and I was thinking to myself, “Hell, whatever he says, I’ll do it.” I wouldn’t really, but that’s what I was thinking.

So I said, “Hell yeah… doing what?”

I was told that they needed a person to take care of the band and their backstage area while they were on the road. They liked the way I worked, they liked my positive attitude and they loved my energy, so they wanted to offer me a job to join them on their world tour.

I was in shock. I think I said, “When do I leave?”

Bob said, “Come to our hotel tomorrow to iron out the details with our tour manager, John Slattery.”

We shook hands and he went into a dressing room. I stood there dumbfounded, wondering what the hell just happened. Did I just get a job touring with one of the biggest pop bands in the world?

You bet I did.