I was totally exhausted, spent, numb, and couldn’t move one muscle to get up –even to talk to Bruce.  I just stayed there motionless, slumped and sunken deep in that leather den-like easy chair.

So Bruce knelt down beside me on my left to talk.  He told me that all kinds of people had been coming up to him and telling him all the things I had done to make this happen.  He said that he couldn’t thank me enough, that he was working so very hard to get this done—to reach a certain place for himself and the band.  He said I had no idea how hard he was trying and just wanted me to know what that night meant to him.  Then he picked up my left hand, said “thanks man,”…and then he kissed my hand.

It was a great moment for me.  Because it wasn’t about the celebrity thing, or the rock star thing, it was just guy-to-guy stuff—a guy truly thanking another guy for something real and tangible.  I’ve been blessed to experience some of those kinds of moments with great musicians and artists who have given me so much musically, and it’s made me fill so good and complete inside, like what I did really mattered—that what I did in the world really mattered.

Also, I’d never been kissed by guy before that (except my dad of course), so that was a big deal—and hey, let’s tell the truth here, it was f*ckin’ Bruce Springsteen!!!

Anyway, I’m feeling great inside now, but then something dark and sinister starts to creep into my mind.  Coburn had gone back to the studio to host the show—and chances are he read a lot of that stuff from the General Manager’s script!!  Holy sh*t!  I wanted this to be a clean show (hardly any talking in between songs, as was the norm).  I knew KMET would want to re-air the show and that I had to get copies of the show to Jon, Bruce, and some people at the label!  But I didn’t want them to hear any interruptions–AND ESPECIALLY NOT THAT STUFF!!!  There was only one thing left to do,…and somehow I had to muster enough energy to do it, and, to do it THEN, at 5 AM!!

I grabbed Gus (KMET’s amazing engineer) and we nabbed a bit of that famous record biz recreational drug and went back to the KMET studios where they had been recording the show.  I said, “Gus, we have to edit this, I don’t want anyone hearing all that extra chatter.”  So, we got verrrrrrrry awake and began editing like fiends!  We came to a part where there was some talk over the drums.  Gus said he could get it out–I was not convinced.  I said, “Gus, if you blow this everyone will hear the drums go off the beat for a split second and then they’ll know we edited the original broadcast! And, NO ONE can ever know that!!!”  And, no one ever did, until now that I’m writing this.  Gus looked at me with all the confidence of years of being an expert tape editor, and with tons of extra confidence brought on by a drug that makes you feel totally invincible and like KING KONG, and said, “Don’t worry Rap, I’m really good at this stuff,…I could do it in my sleep.”  One last hit, and the razor blade (which had been used for both endeavors) sliced through the master tape!!

I held my breath, it was really a “holy sh*t” moment.  In a minute (as he added the white splicing tape) we would be heroes or,…I’m off to “very embarrassed land”.

He runs it through, and we hear Max’s drum fill—P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

We started jumping up and down and down like we were on Pogo Sticks!  Woo-hoo, and thank GOD!!

We made copies of the “new and improved” live broadcast for EVERYONE.  And whoever has that original tape, there is so much white splicing tape on it you’d think it was wounded in a battle (I guess it was, really).

KMET re-ran that version of the show and I believe the subsequent bootleg that came out was made from one of my tapes (or there may even be two bootlegs—never really knew much of that world, I’ve just enjoyed the good ones!).

The thing is, that until this writing (although, I did tell this story on Dave Marsh’s SiriusXM radio program last December), NO ONE, not Jon, not Bruce, nor anyone at Columbia has ever known this story—they all thought that it all went off without a hitch!

Really somethin’ huh?

One of the best nights (and early mornings) of my life~

~Rap