Me and Tony Iommi

[SG Lou]

Since this is a new forum, I'm transfering this from the old forum.....................

 

I’m in work, its a Saturday, May 19th 2007 and at approximately 12:30 my cell phone rings. I look at the number and have no clue who it is , so I answer it. “Hell Lou” It’s Mike, Mike Clement. We exchange greetings and than he asks me “I was inquiring If you are still coming tonight so I can make arrangements”

 

I answer back with a resounding “ You better believe it Mike, I wouldn’t miss this opportunity for the world”

 

“Right than, I’ll see you later”

 

That’s how my day started in the quest to finally meet my “Guitar Idol”

 

I arrive at the PNC Bank Art Center at around 5:10 pm and I explain to one of the parking attendant’s what’s going down and where can I park my truck.

The Attendant’s Supervisor tell me to “Follow the Bus Parking Area sign and there will be a Security Guard there to direct you”

 

Ok so now I’m at the Security Gate and explain to the guard why I’m here.

He directs me to park “over there” and that I should contact Mike.

 

I park my truck as I’m getting out the guard yells over to me , “Lou, Are you Lou Moritz?”

 

Yeah I answer him back. “Oh geez, I’m sorry. I should have looked on my list first. Your on the Guest List and have Back Stage Parking. Take this road down to the Tour Buses and someone there will take care of you”

 

I’m on my way !

 

Stop in front of the “Back Stage Lounge” and explain why I’m here. The guy looks at his sheet, directs me where to park and says “I’ll get a hold of Mike”

 

Gather my things, grab the guitar case, lock up my truck and start walking down the hill.

I see a guy coming towards me, when we’re within earshot of each other he says to me,

“Bloody good to finally meet you Lou, I’m Mike”

 

He explains to me what will transpire and we walk to the “Production Trailer” to get my “Credentials” and to leave the Monkey SG there for safe keeping until after the show.

 

While in the trailer he asks me if “We can take a look at the guitar”

I open up the case and all I hear is “Bloody Hell, that’s beautiful. Tony is going to Shiite himself when he see’s this”

 

I then get my "Creditentials" to grant me access back stage !

 

 

Tour Buses and Trucks line the road

 

 

 

So we shake hands, he’s off to finish sorting out gear for the European leg of Tour and I go on my way into the arena.

 

Show starts, Machine Head is ok, Megadeath was cool although I’m only familiar with two songs they played ( Symphony of Destruction and Peace Sells )

 

During the Machine Head set I take a walk back stage and Mike is showing me Tony’s amp rig and some of his guitars.

Mike than introduces me to Tony assistant and he explains to me how we will go about meeting Tony after the show and that he will get me when they are ready.

 

Tony's Guitar Tech, Mike Clement, posing in front of the Amp rack

 

 

Tony's New SG

 

 

The famous "Old Boy"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I go to the Arena area , have a bite to eat and some much needed Brew !

I have a couple of pints of Guinness ( 2 was enough at $10.00 a pint ) and than the lights go dark, Heaven & Hell is ready to take the stage.

 

They sounded FANTASTIC ! Songs from Heaven & Hell, The Mob Rules and Dehumanizer were played for a solid 2 hours. They finish up with the tile cut Heaven & Hell, say their “Good Night’s” and are off the stage. They come back for the encore “Neon Nights”

I stay until Tony finished the solo and I make my way back stage .

 

I run into Mike and he say’s to me “Well how did you like it?’

 

“Can you still the huge smile on my face?” I ask him?

“ I take it you liked it than Mike say’s”

 

Let me tell you, back stage at a major show seems to be utter chaos, although everyone knew exactly what went into what flight case or storage bin.

 

So I’m standing around, trying to stay out of everyone’s way and the next thing I know Bruce, ( Tony’s assistant ) is motioning to me and saying “Right Mate, you ready?, Lets go”

 

We walk down a flight of step, down a narrow corridor and stop at a door with a sign on it “ Heaven & Hell Tony Iommi”

 

Butterflies are dancing in my stomach as Bruce opens the door. There in front of me is the “Man” sitting on a black leather sofa.

 

 

“Hello” he say’s and I introduce myself. I set the guitar case down and we shoot the bull for a few, than as I explain to him why I’m here , about the guitar and all and Tony mentions how “Mike showed me pictures and told me you were bringing it down for me to see.

“Let’s have a look”

I open the case, pull the shroud back that covered the SG and say's he is totally impressed on how it looks.

He takes it out of the case, holds it up in front of him and he can’t believe it.

 

“Where did you get the decal. It’s exact to the original” he tells me. When I told him how I made it on the computer he just shook his head in disbelief.

 

So we talk about how I built it, where I got the parts from etc, etc he tells me a story on how his SG was once stolen from an airport and it was spotted a month later in a pawn shop. Needless to say he was glad that he was able to recover it.

 

I mentioned that Mike told me that the original was at the Hard Rock Café in NYC and how I went there and took reference photo’s. Tony said he never was there yet to see it , so I explained to him how it was displayed.

 

One of the other guys in the room mentioned about Tony selling it and Tony said,

“I can’t see it sitting in a box in storage, I would rather see it on display so people like this chap can view it. And beside, if I really want it back I can purchase it, that’s the deal I made with the Hard Rock Café”

 

We talked about his other guitars and I made mention about his White Strat.

He says to me “You know, Geezer saw that exact Strat in a shop back home and was going to buy it for me, but by the time he got back there to purchase it, it was already sold”

 

I ask Tony if I can get a picture of him holding the SG, "With Pleasure" he says to me !

 

 

 

As he’s checking out the SG, he looks down at me over the top of his glasses and with a slight smile on his face he say’s to me,

“You know there is one thing wrong with this?”

I ask him what it is and he says laughing “It’s not left handed”

 

Than I ask him if he would autograph it for me. I was so damn excited that I forgot to take the picture as he was signing it.

 

 

 

Of course a pic has to be taken with him !

 

 

He sits down on the sofa and starts telling me that Gibson was talking about releasing another Tony Iommi Sig SG, the same one that I made.

“2 damn years they have been talking about it, ( and here is probably the best compliment Tony pay’d me ) “Maybe you should show Gibson how its suppose to be done”

 

I felt 10 feet tall !

 

So we continue chatting and the door to his dressing room opens up. To my surprise Geezer Butler walks in. I say Hello, Introduce myself and he says hello back and we shake hands.

He walks right over to the case, looks at the SG and Tony say’s to him “What do you think, Looks great ha, just like my old one”

Now Geezer starts asking me how I made it, how long it took, where did I get the decal, etc, etc and I go through the whole story again………..believe me I didn’t MIND !

 

He picks the SG up and is checking it out so I ask if I can take a picture of him holding the SG

 

 

 

 

When I’m done photographing him he makes like he’s heading towards the door , with the SG in hand and says, “See ya, and thanks for the guitar”

 

I guess he liked it too !

 

While Geezer continues checking out the SG, I ask Tony if he wouldn’t mind signing the

pick guard of my Custom Shop SG.

“You got one of those too” he ask’s. “Sure I do, I told him. I have 6 SG’s at home”

“Almost as bad as me” he says

 

 

As he’s signing the pick guard he asks me “ You’re not going to sell these are you”

 

I tell Tony, “No way, I’m keeping these until the day I die”

With that Geezer jumps in still holding the SG, chuckling and says “If you die tomorrow, can I have it “

 

With that my visit with Tony and Geezer was over. I spent about 45 minutes with them and I had a ball. For famous Rock Star’s, they are 2 of the most down to earth guys you would ever want to meet.

I thanked both of them for their time and how much of a pleasure it was to meet both of them.

They both thanked me for bringing the Monkey SG and wished me luck and I was on my way !

 

Well there ya have it. I finally got to meet my “Guitar Hero” after waiting almost 30 years

 

I have to give Mike Clement a huge Thank You because if it wasn’t for him, I would have never gotten this chance !

 

Mike , If you read this , Thank You Mate !

 

 

My Prized Possesions

 

[GuitarGod319]

your a lucky guy.;) i wish i could meet one of my heroes.

[GKingN]

I remember reading this before, good story

[Spot]

Yeah, me too, what a great story!!! :D/

[ken361]

what up lou!

[saturn]

Great story.

 

Did Heaven and Hell play Lonley Is the World? That is my absolute favorite Iommi solo and one of the all time greats.

[guitar_randy]

Since this is a new forum' date=' I'm transfering this from the old forum.....................

 

I’m in work, its a Saturday, May 19th 2007 and at approximately 12:30 my cell phone rings. I look at the number and have no clue who it is , so I answer it. “Hell Lou” It’s Mike, Mike Clement. We exchange greetings and than he asks me “I was inquiring If you are still coming tonight so I can make arrangements”

 

I answer back with a resounding “ You better believe it Mike, I wouldn’t miss this opportunity for the world”

 

“Right than, I’ll see you later”

 

That’s how my day started in the quest to finally meet my “Guitar Idol”

 

I arrive at the PNC Bank Art Center at around 5:10 pm and I explain to one of the parking attendant’s what’s going down and where can I park my truck.

The Attendant’s Supervisor tell me to “Follow the Bus Parking Area sign and there will be a Security Guard there to direct you”

 

Ok so now I’m at the Security Gate and explain to the guard why I’m here.

He directs me to park “over there” and that I should contact Mike.

 

I park my truck as I’m getting out the guard yells over to me , “Lou, Are you Lou Moritz?”

 

Yeah I answer him back. “Oh geez, I’m sorry. I should have looked on my list first. Your on the Guest List and have Back Stage Parking Take this road down to the Tour Buses and someone there will take care of you”

 

I’m on my way !

 

Stop in front of the “Back Stage Lounge” and explain why I’m here. The guy looks at his sheet, directs me where to park and says “I’ll get a hold of Mike”

 

Gather my things, grab the guitar case, lock up my truck and start walking down the hill.

I see a guy coming towards me, when we’re within earshot of each other he says to me,

“Bloody good to finally meet you Lou, I’m Mike”

 

He explains to me what will transpire and we walk to the “Production Trailer” to get my “Credentials” and to leave the Monkey SG there for safe keeping until after the show.

 

While in the trailer he asks me if “We can take a look at the guitar”

I open up the case and all I hear is “Bloody Hell, that’s beautiful. Tony is going to Shiite himself when he see’s this”

 

I then get my "Creditentials" to grant me access back stage !

 

[img']http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v123/brucewayne131/heavenhell/CIMG1874.jpg[/img]

 

Tour Buses and Trucks line the road

 

 

 

So we shake hands, he’s off to finish sorting out gear for the European leg of Tour and I go on my way into the arena.

 

Show starts, Machine Head is ok, Megadeath was cool although I’m only familiar with two songs they played ( Symphony of Destruction and Peace Sells )

 

During the Machine Head set I take a walk back stage and Mike is showing me Tony’s amp rig and some of his guitars.

Mike than introduces me to Tony assistant and he explains to me how we will go about meeting Tony after the show and that he will get me when they are ready.

 

Tony's Tech, Posing in front of the Amp rack

 

 

Tony's New SG

 

 

The famous "Old Boy"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I go to the Arena area , have a bite to eat and some much needed Brew !

I have a couple of pints of Guinness ( 2 was enough at $10.00 a pint ) and than the lights go dark, Heaven & Hell is ready to take the stage.

 

They sounded FANTASTIC ! Songs from Heaven & Hell, The Mob Rules and Dehumanizer were played for a solid 2 hours. They finish up with the tile cut Heaven & Hell, say their “Good Night’s” and are off the stage. They come back for the encore “Neon Nights”

I stay until Tony finished the solo and I make my way back stage .

 

I run into Mike and he say’s to me “Well how did you like it?’

 

“Can you still the huge smile on my face?” I ask him?

“ I take it you liked it than Mike say’s”

 

Let me tell you, back stage at a major show seems to be utter chaos, although everyone knew exactly what went into what flight case or storage bin.

 

So I’m standing around, trying to stay out of everyone’s way and the next thing I know Bruce, ( Tony’s assistant ) is motioning to me and saying “Right Mate, you ready?, Lets go”

 

We walk down a flight of step, down a narrow corridor and stop at a door with a sign on it “ Heaven & Hell Tony Iommi”

 

Butterflies are dancing in my stomach as Bruce opens the door. There in front of me is the “Man” sitting on a black leather sofa.

 

 

“Hello” he say’s and I introduce myself. I set the guitar case down and we shoot the bull for a few, than as I explain to him why I’m here , about the guitar and all and Tony mentions how “Mike showed me pictures and told me you were bringing it down for me to see.

“Let’s have a look”

I open the case, pull the shroud back that covered the SG and say's he is totally impressed on how it looks.

He takes it out of the case, holds it up in front of him and he can’t believe it.

 

“Where did you get the decal. It’s exact to the original” he tells me. When I told him how I made it on the computer he just shook his head in disbelief.

 

So we talk about how I built it, where I got the parts from etc, etc he tells me a story on how his SG was once stolen from an airport and it was spotted a month later in a pawn shop. Needless to say he was glad that he was able to recover it.

 

I mentioned that Mike told me that the original was at the Hard Rock Café in NYC and how I went there and took reference photo’s. Tony said he never was there yet to see it , so I explained to him how it was displayed.

 

One of the other guys in the room mentioned about Tony selling it and Tony said,

“I can’t see it sitting in a box in storage, I would rather see it on display so people like this chap can view it. And beside, if I really want it back I can purchase it, that’s the deal I made with the Hard Rock Café”

 

We talked about his other guitars and I made mention about his White Strat.

He says to me “You know, Geezer saw that exact Strat in a shop back home and was going to buy it for me, but by the time he got back there to purchase it, it was already sold”

 

I ask Tony if I can get a picture of him holding the SG, "With Pleasure" he says to me !

 

 

 

As he’s checking out the SG, he looks down at me over the top of his glasses and with a slight smile on his face he say’s to me,

“You know there is one thing wrong with this?”

I ask him what it is and he says laughing “It’s not left handed”

 

Than I ask him if he would autograph it for me. I was so damn excited that I forgot to take the picture as he was signing it.

 

 

 

Of course a pic has to be taken with him !

 

 

He sits down on the sofa and starts telling me that Gibson was talking about releasing another Tony Iommi Sig SG, the same one that I made.

“2 damn years they have been talking about it, ( and here is probably the best compliment Tony pay’d me ) “Maybe you should show Gibson how its suppose to be done”

 

I felt 10 feet tall !

 

So we continue chatting and the door to his dressing room opens up. To my surprise Geezer Butler walks in. I say Hello, Introduce myself and he says hello back and we shake hands.

He walks right over to the case, looks at the SG and Tony say’s to him “What do you think, Looks great ha, just like my old one”

Now Geezer starts asking me how I made it, how long it took, where did I get the decal, etc, etc and I go through the whole story again………..believe me I didn’t MIND !

 

He picks the SG up and is checking it out so I ask if I can take a picture of him holding the SG

 

 

 

 

When I’m done photographing him he makes like he’s heading towards the door , with the SG in hand and says, “See ya, and thanks for the guitar”

 

I guess he liked it too !

 

While Geezer continues checking out the SG, I ask Tony if he wouldn’t mind signing the

pick guard of my Custom Shop SG.

“You got one of those too” he ask’s. “Sure I do, I told him. I have 6 SG’s at home”

“Almost as bad as me” he says

 

 

As he’s signing the pick guard he asks me “ You’re not going to sell these are you”

 

I tell Tony, “No way, I’m keeping these until the day I die”

With that Geezer jumps in still holding the SG, chuckling and says “If you die tomorrow, can I have it “

 

With that my visit with Tony and Geezer was over. I spent about 45 minutes with them and I had a ball. For famous Rock Star’s, they are 2 of the most down to earth guys you would ever want to meet.

I thanked both of them for their time and how much of a pleasure it was to meet both of them.

They both thanked me for bringing the Monkey SG and wished me luck and I was on my way !

 

Well there ya have it. I finally got to meet my “Guitar Hero” after waiting almost 30 years

 

I have to give Mike Clement a huge Thank You because if it wasn’t for him, I would have never gotten this chance !

 

Mike , If you read this , Thank You Mate !

 

 

My Prized Possesions

 

 

 

 

For some reason the photos you posted show about the size of my fingertip.Anyone get this?

[AS90]

You should have made Tony a guitar! Not TV Yellow though

[Ian Martin]

Great story, awesome photos, and nice guitars!

 

The best part is the photo of Tony signing the pickguard with the bucket of KFC alongside a glass of wine. :-)

[Brandenburg]

Tony isnt my favorite Guitarist BUT damn.. Sure would be kool to meet him though

 

Great story and a very good read..

 

Thx for sharing

[AS90]

Great story' date=' awesome photos, and nice guitars!

 

The best part is the photo of Tony signing the pickguard with the bucket of KFC alongside a glass of wine. :-)[/quote']

 

Not many people know this but Tony is really Buckethead

 

[LynyrdSkynyrd-14]

You should have made Tony a guitar! Not TV Yellow though

why not Tv Yellow

[AS90]

why not Tv Yellow

 

Ask Lou

[jetiii]

Wow great story Lou! You really have a pair of special guitars! One thing I missed is how you got in touch with them and they found out that you had made the Monkey guitar? Could you also explain your process of making the sticker on your computer? We love the sound of the Tony Iommi signature series pickups and put a black one in a 1991 SG Junior and another chrome one in an Ibanez RG270DX along with an Angus Young in the neck - Check out my son lilhendrix132 on You tube he is only 12 and plays in many of the videos with the Gibson guitar and pickups.

[Gibson CS]

Great story!

Whats the deal with that SG that looks burned?

[rjay777]

 

Not many people know this but Tony is really Buckethead :D

 

 

Shhhh, Buckethead is Slash.

[LPDEN]

Great story and you had the wherewithall and smarts to bring your Camera! Awsome!

[SG Lou]

Great story!

Whats the deal with that SG that looks burned?

 

It's not burnt. The "Old Boy" as it's know was left in a car/trailer down in Brazil during a tour and the heat blistered the lacquer and it crumbled off.

 

According to what Tony told me, Old Boy is his absolute favorite guitar to play.

[SG Lou]

why not Tv Yellow

 

It's an inside joke from the Everything SG forum.

[SG Lou]

Wow great story Lou! You really have a pair of special guitars! One thing I missed is how you got in touch with them and they found out that you had made the Monkey guitar?

 

A mutual friend was put into contact with Mike Clement when he had a copy of Old Boy built from Jaydee Guitars in the UK. John Diggins from Jaydee gave my friend Mike Clements email address to get info on the original and when I told him i was gonna replicate the Monkey SG my friend gave me Mikes email.

Mike helped me via phone and email on some of the details and I was keeping him updated with pictures and in turn Mike would show the pictures to Tony.

When it was completed ' date=' Mike showed the pictures to Tony, Tony commented on wanting to see it and the rest, as they say "IS HISTORY"

 

 

 

Could you also explain your process of making the sticker on your computer?

 

I enlarged and printed out a small partial picture I got of the decal, added in the missing pieces, made an ouline drawing of it and rescanned it into the P/C. I than used Microsoft Paint to add in all of the colors , resized it to fit the guitar and printed it out on White Decal paper.

 

This is what I started with:

 

 

This is the finished product: