(are you britney fans so proud of me re: this blog entry title? you will be.)
I want to talk about the moment I met superstar Jools Holland.
As most of you know, I had a few dates doing support for Jools Holland and his incredible band. Four in the beginning of November, and the last one coming up on the 26th, at Royal Albert Hall (no biggie. I'm only waking up in a cold sweat every night) I had seen Jools around but been too shy to introduce myself. Since I am a star struck person, and emotional to a fault, I kind of had to come up with what I was going to say to him, so that I didn’t get paralyzed or start crying when the moment came. Here were my key points:
- -thank you for the most amazing opportunity (SO fucking thankful for real. easy to remember)
- -we absolutely love the show. (which we did, immensely. also easy to remember)
OK!! so 4th night rolls around, and I decide that I will find him after his show. I was already so nervous to see him, plus nervous for, oh I don't know, the actual show I was about to play for almost 2,000 people?
About 6 minutes before I was on, I am in the dressing room putting HUGE globs of hand sanitizer/antibacterial gel on my hands (i had just used the mens public bathroom, I couldn't find the ladies), and I hear Roger Goslyn (multi-talented musician that i borrowed from Jools) say “have you met Galia Arad?” and I think that he’s introducing me to someone in the band, and I turn around, hands dripping with a water/gel like substance, and there I see Jools Holland standing there, with his hand out to shake mine. I felt my heart drop to the floor as I extended my MYSTERIOUSLY SOAKING WET COLD NERVOUS HAND, and all I could think was KEY POINTS, GALIA, KEY POINTS, and then I went off- like a dog in a rabbit race, into the most awkward monologue of thank yous. He was incredibly gracious & early on in my spell he had asked me if I had gone on stage yet. Unfortunately for both of us, I was on a roll, and simply pummeled through his questions as I elaborated on/repeated/rephrased my key points. The worst part was, I heard him ask me several times- there I stood (was I still shaking his hand? please god no), fully ignoring his question. And then probably when I was inhaling for the next round, Roger finally squeezed in, “we’re on in 5 minutes”.
And then it was over. Jools left to get ready for his incredible show. And I got to perform for his fans. and the truth is, there really is no way to thank him properly for that.
JH & his band do the most joyous and uplifting rendition of Enjoy Yourself (it's later than you think) and I was lucky enough to see them do it after my first night with them. I was in the audience, feeling grateful and happy and excited, and the energy of the room was uncontainable. Fast forward to the 4th night, when I was weeping way before my bit had even started- bc the 4th gig was about to be over.
I am in Dublin now, working on writing and drinking pints, and having a little bit of a difficult time dealing with the fact that my time here is almost over. I also feel like I'm writing shite. And I'm back to the reception desk on December 1st, and i'll blink and Royal Albert Hall will be over.
But then today I was walking to get a coffee, and I was the only person on this little weird back road. and that's when I saw this graffiti'd on the garage. It was a little moment of magic, reminded me that shouldn't waste time worrying about how quickly time passes and what happens later, all things I can't control. I'm so glad I didn't miss this.
I think it's also a sign to say that it's time for a pint.
Sláinte, Galia