Misty's Blog

Recap of my Kevin Costner & Modern West week:

Well, it all started on Friday, January 30, 2009 when my sister, April and a friend, Mandy and I took a road trip to Des Moines, Iowa to see the band play. We drove 9 1/2 hours to get there, worth it all! We got to the venue 3 hours early in order to find it and get a parking spot. Once there we decided to get something to eat at the Bar & Grill at Court Center where the concert was being held. The doors opened at 7:00 p.m, so at about 5:40 we went to get in line and found that we were already at least 50 or 60 people back in line. Thankfully, since we were early enough, we did get to stand in line inside rather than out, since the temperature was in the 20's! As we're standing in line, my sister says, "hey is that one of the band members or something". I look up and there comes John Coinman, one of the guitarist and main song writers for Modern West. I said "hey John, how's it going?" He stopped and smiled and hugged me and said hello, then asked if we had talked before. I said "well, just on MySpace, I'm Misty". He said "okay, yeah, Misty, I remember you". I was thinking to myself, you so don't remember me, but he was super nice and stood there talking to us for a little while. We told him we were from Oklahoma, drove up to see the band play, etc. My sister said "hey, let me take your picture together" and John said "yeah, sure". So I was fumbling around trying to get my camera out of the case and John noticed my baseball inside the case that I was hoping to get Kevin to sign. He said "you got your ball with you, maybe you can get a picture with Kevin and get him to sign it" I said "yeah, I'm hoping so". So we took pictures together then he gave me another big hug and said he had to get going. It was a great experience and he was so sweet. Well, in all my excitement I completely forgot to ask John to sign my cd, go figure. So, the doors finally open and we are on our w ay inside .. We headed straight for the stage, while most people were heading for the bar. We were right up front in between John and Kevin, perfect spot. Finally, after suffering through the opening band (they weren't that great) it's time for Modern West to take the stage. The band all come out, then Kevin. I have to admit for about 2 minutes I was completely "star struck". I think every one of Kevin's movies flashed through my head in a matter of seconds and I just kept thinking to myself, "this is Kevin Costner, the man I've loved in the movies since High School, this is Kevin freakin' Costner!" I finally pulled it together and said "okay, relax, take it all in, enjoy yourself and have a good time". So I was good to go after that. The band was great, a lot of fun. They did seem to be a little tired though and we couldn't get Park Chisolm to smile all night! I sang every word to every song and that was a huge advantage. Several times during the songs, Kevin would look right at me and I would be singing every word with him. I think he enjoyed the fact that someone knew their music. One song in particular, Long Hot Night, he watched me through almost an entire verse and chorus sing with him. I didn't look away, I just kept singing and smiling right back to him. At the end of the chorus, he smiled and nodded at me, almost like a nod of approval. Best moment of the night! My sister and friend were grabbing my arm saying "he looked right at you and sang" It was a lot of fun. During their song "Down in Nogales", there is a line in the song that says "and a tall girl talking, in a long blue dress on her cell phone", so at the cell phone moment I held my hand up to my ear, you know with you pinky and thumb sticking out, like your saying to someone 'give me a call', and he saw me do that and smiled and nodded again. You know, it's just little moments like those that make life special. So, long story short, it was a great show, the band is finished, Kevin signs autographs and shakes hands. He signed my cd and my friend Mandy got him to sign a picture that I had printed of him. More great moments. We're still standing in the same place and the next thing I know I hear someone calling my name, "Misty, Misty". I knew immediately that it was John Coinman. That was another best moment of the night. I look over and he's on the side of the stage, leaning towards me and asks "did you get Kevin's autograph?" I said "yes, I did John, but I want you to sign my cd too". He said "you want me to sign it?" I said "yes, you". So, I slid my cd and a pen over to him and he signed his picture in the booklet, very cool. He slid it back to me and I thanked him. I couldn't believe he remembered my name for one and I was so impressed that he was truly concerned that I got Kevin's autograph that he looked me up after the show. That meant a lot to me. John is a great guy. Well, after that I found Teddy Morgan, Blair Forward and Larry Cobb and they all signed my booklet too. I asked Larry for a set list, he's the drummer, he was a sweetheart and went and found me one. We told them how much we enjoyed the show, then we left. As we were leaving, we rounded the corner and there was Bobby Yang the fiddler! We stopped him and asked for his autograph and my sister and friend took a picture with him. He put his hand on April's arm and said "bye sweetie", so needless to say, she's a huge Bobby Yang fan now!! We never could find Park Chisolm to get his signature. So that was the summary of our Iowa trip, more or less. Good times!

Next up, Modern West at the Wormy Dog in OKC, OK on February 3, 2009.

This time Randy, (my husband) and I went together. My sister April was going to go, but was sick and couldn't. Let me back up, the day started with Modern West doing a cd signing at the Wal-Mart in Moore, OK at 3 p.m. the day of the concert. My good friend Laura, who I met at a Bon Jovi concert last year, went with me. We got to Wal-Mart at 10am that morning and were 4th in line. It was a really fun day. KKNG radio station approached me and asked me if I'd like to be on the air live and talk about Kevin Costner. I agreed, talked to the DJ for a minute before going live, then we were on the air. He announced my full name on the radio and that I was at the Wal-Mart in Moore for the Kevin Costner & Modern West CD signing. He asked how the atmosphere and energy was. I said it was crazy and loud and people were really excited. He then asked, "so Misty, are you here for Kevin Costner the movie star, Modern West the band or just because Kevin is a really hot guy?" I told him "of course I like Kevin in all of his movies, but I really like the band, I like their music a lot". I told him we just saw them Friday night in Iowa and that was a lot of fun. He said, "so this is your second concert then?" I said "yes, and we're looking forward to it". He thanked me for taking time to talk to him, then said "just in case Kevin is out there listening do you want to blow him a kiss?" At first I said "sure", thinking he was just gonna give a shout out to Kevin for me or something, then he said "okay, go ahead and blow Kevin a kiss". I laughed and said "I'm not gonna do that" He laughed and said "ok, thanks, and have a good time at the concert tonight". Wal-Mart played the Modern West cd over and over all day long and I think we talked to everyone in line. The day passed very quickly and before we knew it, here came Kevin and the band. While I was sti ll in line, I look up and see John Coinman. He waves and says "Misty, we're going to get you a meet and greet in Austin with Kevin". I said "are you serious?" and he said "yes, look me up in Austin". He knew that I was going to four shows in one week from our conversations on MySpace (he actually did remember I guess!) So,we go through the line and the band is signing our cds and talking to us. I have a black and pink Superman shirt on and John, Bobby, Blair and Teddy all comment on liking my shirt! They have a song called 'Superman 14', so I guess they thought that was cool. I loved that they noticed it! Bobby Yang remembered me too and said "Misty!" when I got up to him in line! When I came to Park Chisolm, I told him he was the only one in Iowa that I couldn't find to sign my cd booklet. He smiled and said "oh, I'm sorry", very nice. Then he commented on my shirt too. We were told that Kevin wouldn't sign anything except their cd. Well, I had taken a picture of Kevin at the concert in Des Moines Friday night that I really liked, so I thought I'd just show it to him anyway. When I came to Kevin in line, he was signing my cd and I just showed him my picture and said "this is you singing Superman 14 in Iowa Friday night". He looked up at me, dropped his mouth open, smiled and sai d "let me see that". So, I give it to him and he looks at the picture, then up at me again and smiles and signs the picture and hands it back to me! Another great moment in my meeting Kevin Costner week! So, just like that it was over, but well worth the wait all day. We left Wal-Mart and met up with our husbands in Bricktown to eat a little something before heading to the Wormy Dog to get in line. Doors opened at 7 pm and we were there at 5 pm, and already there was a line and this time, we had to stand outside in the freezing cold. Doors finally open and we're in, front and center right in between John and Kevin again. The Paula Nelson Band opened for Modern West this time and they were very good, we enjoyed them. At one point during the opening act, I saw John Coinman come out and stand in the shadows at the back of the stage. I waved to him when he looked my way and he waved back, smiled and mouthed "hi Misty" to me. Time for Modern West to take the stage. The band comes out and John heads straight for me and shakes my hand from the stage and says "good to see you Misty". Another cool moment in time! Kevin comes out, everyone goes crazy and the fun begins. They put on a really great show, the crowd was fun and into it, and we all had a good time. The band seemed to be having a really good time, all laughing and smiling. Even Park Chisolm smiled this time! I sang along with every song again and John and Kevin noticed, both smiling and nodding. At the end of the show I asked John for a setlist and he was nice enough to give me one. That's all I was going to ask, but after he gave it to me he came and took it back and Kevin signed it and John and Blair both signed it and he gave it back to me. Really nice. Kevin is shaking hands again and signing things and he's standing right in front of me with his beer (Bud Light). I look up at him and say "hey Kevin, can I have your beer?" He ju st smiled and said "sure" and handed it to me! My whole group that was with me went crazy and tried to drink my beer, but I held on to it! I actually made it home with it too! Unfortunately, it was hot, so I didn't drink it, just kept the bottle for a souvenir! I also got to talk to John at the end of the show and gave him a hug and reminded him that I'd see him in Austin. He was very nice and said' "see you there".

Next stop: Austin, Texas at Antones on February 5, 2009.

Randy and I head out Thursday morning for Austin. It was much nicer heading South into warmer weather, than North to Iowa! Doors open at 7pm, so we headed down to the venue about 4pm. We were walking up the sidewalk and I see Teddy Morgan, guitar player, song writer/producer, out in the alley on his cell phone. We wave to him from across the street and he waves back. Kevin's tour bus was right across the street on the side of the building and the band's was parked in front. We were the second group in line, so we talked to the ones in front of us for a while. They said they were there when Kevin pulled up and went in about 20 minutes prior to us arriving, so we just missed him. We did however, get to hear the band warm up with 'The Sun Will Rise Again', very cool. The doors were even open, so you could peek in at them too. After they finished soundcheck, the girls in front of us were going around the back to catch a glimpse of Kevin. I decided to go with them, but after just a couple of minutes, Randy comes around the corner, waving me to come back around front, tells me Teddy Morgan is out there. So, I run back to the front and Teddy was waiting for me. He said "hi Misty" and gave me a hug. Randy had told him I'd be upset if I missed him and asked him to hang on while he went to get me, so he very nicely waited. I had my OU Sooners t-shirt on and he commented on that. I said "yeah, maybe not a good thing to wear down here in Longhorn country". He laughed and said "oh you'll be fine, everyone is nice here". So we talked about football for a while, then Bobby Yang came out. I said "Bobby!" and he said "Misty!" and gave me a hug. I loved how they remembered me, although I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. LOL!! I asked them if they'd holler at John for me because he told me to look him up in Austin. They said he should be right out after them. So they headed across the street to the bus and around the corner, here come Larry Cobb, the drummer and Blair Forward, the bass player. I said "hey Larry, hey Blair" and Larry says "hi Misty, how are you?" then he turns to Blair and says "Blair this is Misty". I introduced them to Randy, my husband, then thanked Larry for getting me the setlist in Des Moines. He said "oh, that was you?" I said "yes" and thanked him again. He said no problem and we stood there and talked to them for quite a while about any and everything. Then I look up and John Coinman is coming around the corner. He sees me first and waves and says "hi Misty". I wave back and say hi and go meet him and hug him. I introduce him to Randy and asked him if he was going to make that meet and greet happen for me with Kevin. He said "yeah, hang on just a minute". So, he gets his cell phone out and walks down the sidewalk a little, then tells me he'll be right back. We stand there talking to Larry and Blair some more and then I see John across the street waving for me to come there. The guys thought he meant them, so they started walking toward him, but he waved them off. I pointed to myself and he shook his head yes. I run across four lanes of traffic, hoping not to get smashed like Frogger and finally make it over to John, who is standing by Kevin's tour bus. He hands me an orange ticket and says "hang on to this ticket, it will get you and whoever is with you into the after party at the Four Seasons tonight". At that point I'm thinking this is too good to be true and I'm starting to have a hard time hearing because my heart was beating so fast! I said "really?' and he said "yes, and if you want to you can ride the tour bus to the Four Seasons with us". I'm seriously considering fainting at this point, but tried to remain calm. I thanked him and really thought that was the end of things, then John said "now come here". He started walking toward Kevin's bus and it was all happening so fast I could barely take it all in. They opened the tour bus door and I headed up the stairs. I look up and there is Kevin Costner sitting at a table! I couldn't help but smile so big. I pointed at him and said "Kevin, how are you!" He stood up and was going to shake my hand, but I just hugged him instead! He hugged me back and said "how are you?" I said "I'm great, how are you?" He said "very well". John was right behind me and said "Kevin this is Misty, she's here with her husband". Kevin said "ok, great, and what is your husband's name?" I said "Randy" and he said "okay, good". John told him we would be coming to the after party tonight and said "okay". It was kind of funny, but I think he was relieved to know I had a husband with me and wasn't just some nutty female fan!! I had rehearsed a hundred times what I would say to him if I ever got to meet him in person, really just hoping I'd be able to speak at all, but a funny thing happened, I didn't say a single one of the things I practiced! I was very cool though, didn't act like an idiot. Kevin was so down to earth, just like I thought he'd be. I told him we heard them at soundcheck a few minutes ago and they sounded great and in his funny sense of humor he said "well of course" and just smiled. He was every bit as cute and charming in person as he is in the movies! Had that cute little grin! I told him my sister and a friend and I took a girls roadtrip to Des Moines last Friday to celebrate my sister's birthday and that we drove 9 1/2 hours from Oklahoma to see them. He said "wow, did you have a good time?" I said "yes, we had a lot of fun and you guys did a great job". He said "thanks", then I told him we saw him in OKC Tuesday night and that I thought that was an even better time. I told him it seemed like they were having a really good time. He said "yeah, we did have a really good time, it was a fun crowd". I told him I thought the crowd was a lot better in OKC than Des Moines. He said, "well, I liked the crowd in Des Moines, I thought they were pretty fun". I said "yeah, they were, but they were also disrespectful while you were trying to talk and kept talking instead of listening to you". He agreed with me and said "yeah, you're right, they did". So he commented on my OU shirt and being from Oklahoma and I told him maybe it wasn't a good idea to wear in Longhorn country, but I had to "represent" anyway. He said "yeah, you gotta represent!". I told him I really liked the new songs the were doing, especially the one called "If You Don't Want Me To". He seemed like he couldn't remember which one that was for a minute, thought it was called something else. I said, "no, I think that's the name of it", Kevin thought about it for a minute then said "yeah, you're right, that's it". Randy cracked up when I told him about it. He said "you corrected Kevin Costner?, I guess it's not just me you correct!". Then I told Kevin I really like the song Saturday Night too and I asked for sure if that was an original of Modern West. He said "oh yeah, definitely an original". I said I hoped it would be on the next album and Kevin said "oh, I'm pretty sure that one will be". Then I told him I hated to admit to this, but at OKC I was the one that asked him for his beer. He smiled and said "that was you?" I said "yep, that was me, I thought why not" then I said, "but that beer was hot Kevin". He cracked up and said "well, why do you think I gave it to you, it had been sitting there all night". I agreed with him, then he asked "did you down it anyway?" I said "yep, sure did", but truth be told, I did not! I took one drink and remembered there's nothing worse than hot beer! I didn't tell him it was sitting in my fridge! I would have seemed like a whacko then!! The tour bus was full of guys, the crew I suppose, I didn't know any of them except John and Kevin. But they did ask me if I knew the lyrics to the songs. I said "yes, I know every word" and they like that and said "good". So that was about it. I told him I couldn't wait to hear them play that night and told him again that I really enjoyed their music and he thanked me again and I left. Here's the worst part of the trip. I didn't even ask him for a picture!! I have no idea why, since my camera was on my shoulder! One of the biggest regrets of my life so far! When I was getting off the bus, the camera guy asked me if he could film me later, talk to me about the shows I had been to and all of my experiences. I said sure, but never saw him the rest of the night. He was the same camera guy at the Wal-Mart in Moore that was filming the cd signing and he asked me there if we had a good time in Iowa and I said "yes, definitely". I got off the bus with John and gave him a huge hug and said "you rock John, thank you so much". He said "you're very welcome, you deserve it for coming to all these shows". We walked back across the street together and I talked to him about his own music a little bit. Told him I liked his song '41 Crosses' and he seemed a little taken back and said "thank you". He told us he'd see us at the after party and that he'd find us after the concert and tell us what to do. So I called everyone I knew while we were waiting in line for the concert and it made time fly by pretty fast. Poor Randy had to hear the story about five times while in line! It was the experience of a lifetime though and I was just living in the moment!. The concert was great, but went by too fast. When it was over John did come find us and said "we'll see you at the Four Seasons". I said "well, can we ride the bus?" He said "oh yeah, that's right, you sure can, but we're leaving for Dallas after the party so you'll have to walk back to your vehicle". I said "no problem" and he made sure Randy was going to ride the bus too. We waited for him to pack up his guitar and followed him to the bus. We got on the bus with Larry, Blair, Park, Bobby and John. We just all sat down on the couch and started talking like we'd known each other for years. For a minute it was just us with Blair and he was asking us if we liked the song Maria Nay, a new one they did. We said yes, and he told us that was his song, that he'd wrote it and he was very proud that they got to play it live. That was cool for him, and it was a good song. Blair also had his video camera running that he had been using the entire trip. He was recording me and asked if I was there for Kevin or for Modern West. I said "well, I like Kevin in his movies, but I really like Modern West, love your music". He asked us if we were having a good time on the tour, we said "yes". He recorded for a few minutes, so maybe we'll make a DVD or something. They asked if we wanted anything to drink, some wine or something. Randy said he'd take a Corona, I said no wine for me since I'd already been drinking tequila. John tried to find some tequila, said they had an awesome bottle that looked really cool and was some good tequila. He looked forever but couldn't find it, so he said "here try some moonshine". He asked me if I'd ever tried moonshine before. I said I had not and wasn't sure I wanted to. He gave me the jar because he couldn't find a glass and told me to take a sip. I took a very small sip and wished I wouldn't have! That stuff was indeed strong! He apologized for not having tequila several times, I told him no problem at all, that I didn't really need any anyway. We sat down together on the couch and just talked about all things. Larry Cobb asked Randy if he worked outside and Randy said yes. Larry asked him what he did and he told him he owned his own Plumbing Company. Larry said he was a general contractor and owned his own company, so they moved over together on the couch and talked construction and plumbing the rest of the night! I asked Bobby if he remembered meeting my sister on the sidewalk in Iowa and taking a picture. He said "yes, of course" and asked her name again. I told him April and asked him if he'd do me a favor. He said "sure, what is it?" I asked him if I called her on my cell phone if he'd talk to her. He just cracked up and said he'd love to. So I call her up and all I say is "I have someone here that wants to talk you you". She's like "okay.....". I hand Bobby the phone and he says "April, this is Bobby Yang". She's like "Bobby!!!" and they just start talking! It was so funny and Bobby was a blast, so funny to be around and talk to, kept you laughing. I talked to John about where Modern West was going next and about another album. He said they had a lot of life left in this one to promote still since people didn't really know about them that much, but that they are working on several new songs too. I just love John, he was so good to us the entire time and so nice to talk to. We talked about a lot of things, including new ideas I had for Modern West merchandise. Maybe they'll give me a job! We sat on the bus for quite a while waiting for everything to get loaded, then headed to the after party. It was a different experience for Randy and I. Nickelback's song 'Rockstar' kept playing over and over in my head. The line that says " I wanna VIP with the Movie Stars". I had to laugh to myself every time I thought about the fact that I was at a VIP after party with Kevin Costner! However, we did not talk to Kevin at the party. He was conducting some business and trying to eat and we didn't want to bother him. Once again, kicking myself for not getting a picture with him on his tour bus, stupid, stupid, stupid. I was trying so hard not to be just another fanatic fan and really just have a real conversation with him and I should have just seized the moment and asked for a photo! I really thought the after party would be more casual than it was, like maybe just the band and a few other people, so I thought I'd get to take a picture with him there, but I guess I've got a thing or tw o to learn about parties like that! We stayed there for a while, feeling out of place and awkward, then John told us the band was taking off for Dallas. Randy told John he loved the way the band was such a family and how they compliment each other and really take care of each other. John said thanks and told us that we were now part of the Modern West family too and how a lot of people don't make it in the family, but that they consider us family now. We thanked him for the invite and the great time all night and said we'd see him in Dallas for one more show. Hopefully he'll remember in the future that we're in the Modern West family! Time will tell. John was a man of his word to us the entire trip though, so I have no doubt he meant what he said.

Last stop, the Granada in Dallas, TX February 6, 2009:

We're living on three hours sleep and no food at all in the past 24 hours practically, so we stopped for some barbeque on the way to Dallas. We get there really early, and didn't want to get another hotel room for just a few hours, so we just hung out around the Granada. We saw the band arrive and head in to set up, then we noticed tons of guys, not girls, lining up waiting for Kevin's bus to arrive. They had pictures and guitars and all kinds of stuff for him to sign. We saw John outside, so we went to talk to him for a minute. I commented on how odd it was that the line was all guys and only two girls. He said many of them were ebayers looking to get a signature and sell it that very night on ebay. Sure enough, I checked ebay and there's the signed guitar and photographs. We didn't wait for Kevin, we went to the restaurant beside the Granada and hung out till close to concert time. When we did head over to get in line, we're walking up and out walks Kevin with a drink in his hand and his head down, just like he's another face in the crowd. A vehicle was waiting for him at the curb. He just breezed right through everyone and kept walking. We saw him right off, but didn't yell at him or say anything. You could tell he was trying not to be noticed. We knew that ball cap right away though. After he got in the car and took off, then it started dawning on everyone that maybe that was Kevin Costner?? Then the buzz started and people realized "yes, that was Kevin Costner" and he had just walked right past them! That was kind of funny. I didn't take my camera into the concert this time. I decided just to take it all in and enjoy the music without focusing on pictures and I had the absolute best time! We had a great spot where the entire band could see us and we could see them and we just spent the night singing along and dancing and waving at the guys! Every single one of them, except Kevin, wave d at us, said hi and knew who we were. That was a cool feeling. The crowd in Dallas was on fire and alive and by far the best crowd of all the shows we saw. That excited the guys and they did a great job and seemed to be having so much fun. It did seem like there were quite a few technical difficulties with the equipment and the AC wasn't working, but it didn't stop them from putting on a great concert and having fun. When the band was leaving the stage, the camera guy that I had been talking to throughout the trip found me from the stage and was telling me he was watching me and filming me! He was really excited and so was I. I don't know his name, but would love to find out, he was a lot of fun! Sadly, too soon, it was over, not only the concert, but the entire tour. I can't wait for some more dates and hope to see Modern West again very soon. They are a great group of guys and musicians.