We got to Chicago in the night again and went straight to the Day’s Inn hotel. Up early in the morning though to go meet Jerry Springer, we had a tight schedule and we needed to stick to it to get the most out of our trip to NBC. It was funny, we raced to the studios and Bill dropped us of outside and carried on driving as the traffic was bad and we were running late. The PR lady met us in the lobby, and we pretended to queue for a few seconds for the sake of the cameras only everyone in the queue thought that our cameras were the one that they are supposed to scream at and say there shitty little rhymes to which we found quite funny. Then they took us upstairs to the Springer floor and took us onto the set. We would be some of the first people on the new set of the new series.
We messed around on the stage took some photos and tried to find out what the show would be about the headed into the canteen for a well earned breakfast. While we were eating PR lady called us into Jerry’s office to shake his hand and ask him a few questions, I could tell he wanted to stay and chat but he is a busy man and his people dragged him away and we went back to the canteen for some more eggs and bacon where we got talking to the chef. He was fascinating, the guy loved his job and said he works 14 hour shifts 7 days a week cos he can’t get enough of cooking. We were called in when the show was about to start and strutted past all the punters who were now queuing upstairs to our centre stage seats and waited for everyone else to be seated. Then listened to the audience guys spiel about swearing control and taking an argumentative approach towards what you shout out cos this season was going to be different, unlike the other shows of its kind. We had spoken to Jerry in his office about Joel and Boppas musical talent and the fact that they had written a Jerry Springer song a couple of years ago in their band. To our surprise jerry came on and invited them to sing it on stage before the show to the audience, reluctantly Joel grabbed the guitar, Boppa totally stoked grabbed the microphone and they began. The song went like so:
The first verse went down reasonably, but they both looked at each as if to ask whether they should go for the second verse in front of an American audience, with a sly chuckle to each other they continued. They managed to squeeze the last few lines out of the song before the well known bouncer Steve and a few others rushed on, took the mic and ask them to go back top the audience.
The show began, firstly about some blokes dad who was cheating with the sons girlfriend, but when the son came out and told his dad he was happy for him and didn’t mind there wasn’t much of a story left. So they started a new one all about family members in the Klan. I thought I would struggle to be as enthusiastic about the show as you see on TV but I soon found myself uncontrollably jumping out of my seat, shouting abuse and getting quite wound up by what some of the wankers on stage had to say and how they treated this little kid that they brought out all dressed up a KKK robe and hat. At some points I was convinced it was staged but when the kid came out, there’s no way anyone could put on an act like that. He made the entire audience feel sorry for him. The show came to the usual end, you know, the final thought and crowd clapping and screaming almost to the point where they pass out. All the punters left and we waited for the crew and there was only one thing left that the girls for some reason really wanted to do, that was to meet Steve, While Chantal jumped on him we got talking to and left the studios talking to a group we had met sitting in the row of seats behind us.
We ask them to recommend a place for us to eat and they took us to a place in a shopping mall called the water tower. A place that pretty much had restaurants from all over the world. On the way in you get given a credit card type thing that swiped when you take food from whichever counter you decide to eat from then you pay as you leave the restaurant. While everyone else went all oriental I went for the double dessert option at the build your own pancake counter. It was the sickliest but most tasty desert I had ever eaten and I think well worth the three hours of feeling slightly sick afterwards.
After we had decided that we had all eaten far too much and we were in a mall, it would have been rude not to go on a shopping mish. Later that afternoon the bus dropped us off just out of town at a very popular place called the cotton club. An open mic place that was very serious about their music. There were people in the bogs warming up there voices people making sure they had the words down and everyone from our crowd and the guys that we met on Springer deciding what song they would sing. While everyone else had music on the brain I noticed the crew had started a tab at the bar and began my own private mission to get pissed. Bex’s song went well, Boppas rendition sounded good although he forgot the words and had to drunkenly repeat a few verses but I hardly noticed, I don’t think anyone else did to much then there was Sheryl. She chose a Whitney Houston number that a soprano choir boy squeezing his bollocks would have struggled to reach the high notes let alone a tone def drunk bird who was shivering with fear. Did I laugh? Yes along with the rest of the people in the bar.
We decided to head back to the bus, as we were all shattered and leave the crew to have a drink on their own. But as we got out of taxi’s we realised that the bus parked up after we had been dropped and our vague directions had brought us nowhere near the bus. I suppose if I wasn’t shitfaced I would have remembered they warn you not to wonder around unfamiliar cities in America on “Wish You Were here” but the girls moaning of possible muggings didn’t seem to bother us as we fell over walls and bounced of cars for two hours until we found the bus down some dark tree hidden road. They all exchanged emails and I can’t remember when they left or how they got home cos I passed as soon as I reached anything close to a lying down position.
Awoke at a beach type area surrounded by museums. The crew needed to do some shots of the bus driving through Chicago. I jumped straight off the bus as soon as we stopped in search of food, which I found in one of the museums. It was agreed that we would all buy those little light weight scooter things as we were beginning to park further and further out of town at each stop they would be handy to get to the shops when the bus isn’t moving. So we went back to the shopping mall we had been to the day before and Joel, Bop, Bex and I bought one. We dropped of some photos then headed out to a record shop called “gramophone records” to meet a female DJ called DJ Heather. This record apparently played a big part in the growth of house music in America And Heather defiantly seemed to know what she was talking about, she had a lot of interesting stuff to tell us and she played in global venues, Although it only seemed to interest me and Chantal. We interviewed her for a bit at the record shop. Then pre occupied with our new toys went into town to pick up the photographs and went to eat in her area of Chicago which was out of town and quite different to the pristine central area where the shops and malls were. We ate at a sandwich / salad bar then walked a little way down the street where we were expected at a local club. On the way bop and I began challenging each other to try tricks on the scooters which resulted in us on our assess a lot. We began getting pissed in the club and just as the place started to fill up and we were all getting in the mood the crew announced that they were tied and we had to leave for Nashville shortly. After Heather did a little presentation of CD’s and promotional gifts and said our goodbyes it was back to the bus and on the road again.
More 80 Raves
“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter One – The proposal
“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter Two – Ready for the off!
“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter Three – Miami
“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter Four – Daytona Beach
“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter Five – Myrtle Beach
“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter Six – Atlanta
“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter Seven – Woodstock“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter Eight – New York
“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter Nine – Niagra
“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter Ten – Detroit
“Around the world in 80 Raves” Chapter Eleven – Sandusky
“Around the World in 80 Raves” – Chapter Twelve – Rose Lawn, Wisconsin




















