An Affair of the Heart

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By the time you read this, I will be gearing up to be on my way to Malibu California to attend the premier screening of An Affair of the Heart: The Journey of Rick Springfield and his Devoted Fans, a documentary filmed over the last year, two years in the making. I'm one of the folks featured in the film, maybe not a 'devoted fan' in the fanatical sense of the word, but certainly a lifelong one.  Rick still holds a special place in my heart because he was my first teeny-bopper crush; his posters were the first ones I papered my bedroom walls with. I eagerly saved up 35 cents every month to get the latest issue of Tiger Beat or 16 Magazine because I just knew he was the centerfold. If you asked me then what songs he sang, I couldn't have come up with the title of a single one ( this was many years prior to Jessie's Girl). I've always felt that Jessie's Girl becoming a #1 single was vindication for all the teasing I used to take from my friends because Rick wasn't cool enough for them while they were listening to music they considered more progressive. Not that what they were listening to wasn't good; it's just that I preferred the way Rick wrote about everyday things that applied to what was happening around me . It resonated with what was happening in my life and reflected what I was feeling.

All I knew was that in a sea filled with perfect, androgynous teen idols(  boys barely more than a few years older than I was at the time) Rick was different.  He was ten years older than most of the cast of 16 Magazine and Tiger Beat,  had a bumper crop of thick, dark chest hair...and an earring. And, he was exotically Australian when most of his musical peers were boys-next-door from the USA.

I seriously think it was the earring that got me...a dangly beaded number that hung rakishly from his left ear lobe. Maybe the significance of that minor detail is lost on some of my younger readers, but in the early 1970's, men did not have earrings (unless they'd crossed the Equator on a ship) or other visible piercings, so therefore, a guy sporting an earring just because he could was big news. It announced he was a 'bad boy', a potential troublemaker in the eyes of all fathers who were specifically paying attention to what their teenage daughters were doing. That dangly little number has been replaced by a rather sedate, small gold hoop these days, and the chest hair mysteriously disappeared over a decade ago. Rick, however, still rocks the stage at an age when most of his contemporaries have retired.. The fan base has grown over the years to include grandmothers, mothers and daughters, and at any concert you can see male and female fans from several generations now, rather than the teens who populated the seats when I was first smitten.
 
Fans travel cross country to attend shows now that  the core of them are old enough to hold down jobs which allow them to afford the luxury. Going to see Rick Springfield concerts has become a destination and a goal for many of them. I never had the time off from work, or the money to travel around the country, and I'm not sure I would have gone more than a couple hundred miles to a show anyway, but kudos to those who can and do. It's just not my cup of tea and doesn't have the right feel for me, so that's not a judgement. I'd rather just go to a show and enjoy myself without all the worry and extra expense of major travel.

Going to Malibu, to the first screening, is an awesome opportunity. It will be the first time all seven of us who were featured in the film will meet, and that will be exciting. There will be a private pizza party on Saturday for the cast which I'm going to miss because I will be literally on my way to LA that night and can't change travel arrangements I made six weeks prior without incurring major penalties from the travel broker, and frankly, I'm disappointed to the only one not there, but...we'll all be together Monday night for the party and screening ( which is also a major fundraiser for the movie). Independent films are really tough to fund. Most of the time they're pay-as-you-go projects. Rick has done a lot of work behind the scenes with this project, and he's is  doing an acoustic set that night, which I'm  really looking forward to, and there will be a Q&A session hosted by MTV VJ Martha Quinn, and a lot of celebrities and industry insiders. It's the first time he's seeing the movie, too.

I like LA, I used to fly in and out to work there when I was a tour production assistant in the 80's and 90's. There's a lot to see and do, and I adore the historical aspect of Hollywood's Golden Age. I wish this trip was going to be a little longer and there was a bigger budget, but it is what it is, and I'm happy to be able to have a day to go around locally and maybe get down to the beach. I really want to see some sea lions, I've never seen them in the wild. I'd like to do a little day trip to shop. I always try to find a reasonably priced pair of earrings where ever I go ( my version of buying souvenirs). I'm not much for celebrity watching since I'm not star struck, but I can get into a little sight seeing on a day trip....and finding a really cool place to have a cup of coffee. Memories of my years touring with JD include all the nifty and cool places we found to have coffee and meaningful conversation.  Maybe I can hang around long enough to have a nice dinner and see one of those beautiful sunsets Malibu is famous for since I'm missing out on the party the night before.

I often joke about Rick being my Rock Star Muse. His music is my 'dirty little pleasure'. It's always loud - and sometimes pretty raw. I adore complicated electric guitar riffs. The fact that at 62, Rick is still serious eye candy doesn't hurt. The combination is irresistible.

So...I won't be posting anything new for the rest of this week, probably not until after I get back next  Tuesday. There will be lots of photos and a post or two to catch you up on what's happened in LA LA Land.