Rock stars solving problems

One of the interesting stories I uncovered during the writing to Gilly Frank was in regards to various tour difficulties Yes experienced in the early 1970s.  In one case, they had to cancel a show in Scotland because the van with their equipment broke down, and then the van that came to replace it also broke down, as did the third van.  In my mind, I can imagine this all playing out as an episode of some Spinal Tap style sit-com.

Actually, that would be an incredible sit-com, now that I think about it.  Just imagine:  It's 1971.  A rather eclectic prog rock group suddenly finds themselves rocketing to stardom.  The sit-com would follow their adventures.  Not like a mock-documentary, though.  I think that's over done, and would be too close to Spinal Tap.  No, just good storytelling, drawing on the rich heritage of rock history, with it's endless supply of bizarre antics and absurd situations.

Okay, so the other key event in Yes's history that I put into the book was that the first concert of their American tour in 1971 was cancelled because someone stole their sound equipment.  They had 9 shows scheduled for California for about a 10 day stretch, and the first show was cancelled because a bunch of their equipment was stolen.  That's a story that I love imagining - not the event itself, but the ripple effect from the event, the response from the band and the crew, the scramble to find replacement equipment, etc.

I think there's something interesting to explore with bands: when the persona that band members use on stage and in public is compromised by situations gone wrong, where responding as a rock star would respond doesn't do anything to solve the problem and only makes it worse.  On the other hand, responding in a practical way and getting things fixed might destroy your rock star mystique and diminish your image in the eyes of fans.