& Esplanade - July 7, 2001 - Boston MA
has to work that day so I get to see the city alone (I was a little nervous).
I got into line at the CBS studios around 2 or 2:30. There were only a
couple people ahead of me. One of the girls (April?) was showing pics of Joe
so we started talking. At about 3:30 or so, we were led inside to a waiting
area in the building. We waited for what seemed like hours. Finally we were
led into the studio and the 4 of us (April, Bridget, Michelle and myself) got
front row seats for the taping. Where we were sitting, Eman was directly in
front of us. Now this is before I became a fan of his. I just thought he
was a good-looking guy, but I was there for only Joe. We sat thru the taping
and after the taping, Joe sang If I Run Into You during which we were able to
take pics (talk about the paparazzi). After the taping, the 4 of us went
outside and decided to wander around to see where Joe might exit the
building. So we walked around, talked to the driver of the equipment van and
finally decided to wait by the door we had gone in thru. So, we
waited...then Joe's drummer comes out, then the guitarist and bassist, then
the female drummer but no Joe. We ask if he's still there and he is. Then a
little while later, someone from up by the other entrance shouts that Joe's
coming out. We run up there just in time. =-) After Joe took some pics
with people and left, everyone else left too. The 4 of us, another girl from
another country and Eman were left standing outside the studios. So we start
chatting with Eman. We talked about the taping, the show at the Supper Club
a few days before and a bunch of other stuff. I asked him if he knew the
story behind the song Mrs. Callahan and so he told us and mentioned that at
the show on Tuesday, Joe was a little uncertain about doing it and that Joe
was crying during the performance (isn't that sweet?) We're all standing
around chatting when a phone rings...a few of us check and I noticed that the
light on Eman's was blinking so I told him. A couple seconds later he got
off the phone and said it was his g/f and she was on her way (or something to
that effect). We talked about what we thought the next single should be and
he told us he was working on his own album and that a song of his had been
featured on the Teaching Mrs. Tingle soundtrack. Finally we ask for
autographs and since I didn't have my CD with me, I had him sign a little
piece of paper..."Kim, Thank you...Emanuel Kiriakou". Then he dug into his
guitar case and got a few guitar piks. He gave 4 of them out and then to the
5th girl he gave the ID tag from MTV's TRL from his guitar case. When his
g/f drove up and got out, he introduced us as "Joe's Bravehearts" and said
his farewells.
Fast forward about a month and a half...I'm in Boston at the Hatch Shell.
We're all there by 7a.m. some of us having been there since 6 or 6:30 a.m.
While I was sitting around, I decided to make some signs. Conveniently
I had brought along some poster board and markers (it wasn't planned now was
it?). Sometime after lunch...2 or 3 maybe we notice activity on stage. I'm
laying down trying to catch up on sleep I lost the night before. Suddenly
someone mentions that Joe's on stage. I jump up, grab my camera and go to
the barrier. We proceed to watch the sound check for Joe's portion of the
show. We are given a sneak peak of one of the musical surprises and at one
point, Joe even said "Pretend we're not even here". After Joe left the
stage, Eman and several band members stayed up there. I decided to hold my
sign...which said "Eman, Remember Me? NYC May 18, 2001. After a while, I
(and a few others) notice Eman and another band member (keyboardist maybe?)
looking towards the audience, pointing and talking. Then they start walking
off the stage...silently and then not so silently we're all saying "turn
right, turn right" so that they'd come in our direction. They did. They
bypassed all the other fans along the barrier (and there were a lot) and came
directly up to us. They pointed to my sign and said that it was what had
drawn their attention and wanted to know what it was all about. Eman said
that he did remember me and then he talked with us for a little while. The
other band members took our cameras and took pics of all of us, our signs and
Eman. Then I had him sign the pic I had taken with him in NYC. He signed it
"NYC Girls Rule!!" Although I'm from CT, it's all good. =-) He signed a
few more things for people and then left. In retrospect, I think I should've
had him autograph the sign but, hey, they say hindsight is 20/20 don't they?
Last Update: August 16, 2001