The Memory Remains

Eric and Elvis filming at the Fillmore - May 2003
(picture courtesy of MetOnTour.com)

After hearing about our loss of Robert, I spent the day flipping through old photos, reliving all of the many memories I have of him. There was never a time when I was around him that we didn't share a long laugh together. He was the nicest guy you could ever hope to have as a friend.

Robert was the ultimate road dog. I'll never forget the time he returned his "Korean white trash" rental car 2 months after renting it for the entire leg of a US tour. When the leg finished in Texas, he took it back to the original rental place in Florida, with 18,000 miles on it, overdue for no less than six oil changes...

He NEVER complained about any hardships of being on the road, and he had the most amazing sense of humor. If a problem came up, he would just keep a permanent smile on his face and deal with it the best he could.

Gerben "Big" Kok and Robert "Elvis" Reisinger

By far the attribute I'll remember most about Robert was his completely selfless attitude. On countless occasions, he pulled every string at his disposal (and some beyond) to quietly get a few extra people into a Meet and Greet so that they could meet the band for their first time. For the last couple years, he spent his days on the road slowly hobbling around enormous outdoor festival sites around Europe, covering literally miles of ground during the course of a showday, barely able to even walk due to a bad foot injury he sustained a few years ago. He was in constant pain walking around, but you could always see him out there, happily ferrying Clubbers to Meet and Greets, carrying supplies out to the Met Club booth at the far end of the venue, etc. All the while, never complaining. Totally selfless attitude.

His sense of humor was undeniable. When he didn't know the English word for something, he always had a hilarious way of getting his point across. I saw an earlier post (on Poor Posting Me) in the Robert thread about "gigbot"...the term is actually "gig butt". I remember one time many years ago he was telling Steve Wiig and I what a bad case of gig butt he had that day. He said it was particularly bad because he had "...those things in my underwear.....uhh, what do you call those lines when a car stops real fast?" Me and Steve suddenly understood and both shouted out..."SKIDMARKS!!" One of those had-to-be-there moments I guess.

Elvis and Eric filming the Pre-Show - Italy 2003
(picture courtesy of MetOnTour.com)

MetClubbers in San Francisco for the S&M Shows - April 1999
Elvis on the far left, VA Fuel heads past and present
across the back - Jeff, Eric, Paul Judd, Nyk Englander

Robert was always about helping out fellow Tallica fans. I remember when he showed up for the '98 US summer tour. He literally came over with just the shirt on his back. I took him shopping at K-Mart for a few packs of underwear and a pair of jeans. At the end of the tour, he just threw out the dirty clothes and his only baggage home on the plane ride back to Germany were boxes and boxes full of tour merchandise and American souvenirs for his friends back in Europe.

Robert was the most hardcore Club worker ever. He would follow entire tours on his own dime for months at a time, driving all night long, catching rides in the back of trucks, etc, then waking up at the ass crack of dawn, immediately hurrying off to meet with the local promoter rep to find a spot to set up the club booth for the day's show. Rather than sleeping in a bit in the morning and getting started around 10 or 11, Robert would be up at first light with the riggers to go sort out an endless slew of Met Club problems.

When he wasn't out on a tour, he was running one of the most successful and oldest local chapters in existence - German Power Wolves. Robert was organizing huge fan conventions and working with record company folks on album release parties 10 years ago, long before the idea caught on in the US. He spent literally thousands of dollars of his own money on such events. Completely outgoing, selfless guy. There's that word "selfless" again.

One fond memory I have is during a tour back in the 90's. At the time, Shania Twain had just hit it really big and we were all totally in love with her (you had to be there at the time). I think it was after a show in North Carolina one night - we pushed really hard on the drive afterwards to make it all the way home to my house in Virginia so we didn't have to fork out money on a hotel and we could sleep in on the day off the next day. We got to bed around 5 or 6 in the morning - I was sleeping upstairs in my room, and Robert, Gerben, and Wiiglet were crashed on the floor downstairs in the living room. I got up around 10 or 11 and wandered downstairs to see if anyone else was hungry and wanted to go for a bite to eat. Steve was still sound asleep (I think he spent that entire tour asleep!), but Robert and Gerben were actually sitting up awake like zombies watching TV - they had found a videotape full of Shania Twain footage they had stayed up all night watching. Another had-to-be-there moment I guess.

Robert was also a very humble guy. He never pulled any power trips. The only time he would "abuse" his tour priviledges would be at a restaurant or something on days off, in a very humorous situation. When we would be ordering a sandwich at a Subway restaurant, he'd slide out his laminate and perform one of his infamous, sly "lammy flashes" in an attempt to get the girl behind the counter to add more toppings to his sandwich - "I'm even a first-year member of the Subway Club...see, here's my membership card." Or the time when we got a big picture with all of the waitresses at a Hooters restaurant. The list of good times just goes on and on.

So many memories. They just keep coming back to me as I remember more and more of the time I got to spend with him.

Gonna miss him so darn much.

RIP my good friend,
Your American Asshole friend from Shitty USA

I thought I would dig up some old tour stories involving Robert. Some of my fondest memories of him are from the summer of 1998 when Metallica toured the U.S. Below are some excerpts from some old tour stories I wrote for Killing Time, the newsletter for the defunct local MetClub chapter, Chapter of the Mad.

June 29, 1998 - Newport News, VA
On a day off between the Bristow, VA show and tomorrow's Va Beach show, we (Myself, Steve Wiig, Gerben "Big" Kok, and Robert "Elvis" Reisinger) hit the local import CD shop and the Euro guys are amazed at how much bootlegs cost over here. Next stop - K-Mart, where Robert buys himself a bunch of clothes, including the infamous Hero jacket. We also stock up on various beverages and stuff for tonight's Chapter of the Mad party. We got back to my place around 5:30 and people already start arriving. James Richardson gets in from NOVA, and we're off to Hooters for dinner. We have an outstanding waitress named Nicole. After plenty of food, we discover that All-Access laminates also work at Hooters...get a big group picture with the Hooters girls wearing laminates and holding up the chapter banner. ("Move over...*I* want to have my arm around Nicole!" - Big Jeff)

Hooter girl #1, Steve Wiig, Hooter girl #2, Hooter girl #3, Mad member
Jimbo, Elvis, Nicole, Jeff, Gerben, Eric, Hooter girl #4, Scott Wiggins, and Mark Robeson

We head back to my place where the alcohol begins to flow freely. People start to head out around midnight, but some people are just getting started, as James pulls out a bottle of Jagermeister...just try to picture a roomful of Metallifans sitting around drinking watching Shania Twain videos...enough said.

Drinking Jagermeister and watching Shania videos at Eric's apartment
Jimbo, Mark, Elvis, Gerben and Steve

June 30, 1998 - Virginia Beach, VA
We pull into the VIP lot at the amphitheater around 2. Head in and help set things up. Robert, James, and I accidentally smash a lighting fixture at the entrance trying to hang up the MetOnTour banner. Damage, Inc! Tonight is especially fun, as we're running a special contest to win a used drumhead signed by the Starhanger himself. Swiig is kind enough to pose with all of them for a group picture. The winning girl is announced to a rousing roar of cheers from the crowd of people gathered in the Club tent. Swiig poses for a nice picture with her and signs some autographs before heading up to the stage to be a rock star.

Wiigy with all of the contest participants

The group of Club members gathered is thrilled to hear that everyone is going to get a Pre-Show pass tonight. We go to the Pre-Show, see Jason. We got front row seats tonight, but security is the most anal I've ever seen - we're not even allowed to touch the metal footing of the front barricade. So we basically had to stand 3 feet from the barricade for 2 hours...could have been so much better, oh well. We all snagged various items - sticks, picks, wristbands, etc. Went to After Show, watched Jason draw all over a little kid's shaved head. [Ed. The little kid happened to be the son of a girlfriend of one of the guys from Sevendust.] I saw the hottest female we've ever laid eyes on - she was flagged to win the Swiig contest earlier, but didn't show up for the drawing. As we are going out to the car, there's Swiig hugging the girl....what a Starhanger. He makes up for it though by bringing out a carton full of leftover beverages from catering. Finally get back to my place around 2 and hit the sheets.

July 1, 1998 - Columbia, MD
We pack up the cars, and head off to Baltimore around 10. We arrive at Merriweather Post around 2 in the afternoon. Find the backstage parking area eventually, and hook up with Niclas. We set up the Club booth and take care of some other assorted little jobs. We grabbed by some Clubbers waiting in line outside the gates, who tell us that Club tickets haven't been brought down to Will Call. Niclas and I track them down, and as we walk past the 98-Rock guys setting up, they ask if we're with the fan club, and if we'd like to be on the radio. Swiig and Niclas are asked to do the live interview, while Gerben and I stand by and pose for some pictures with the MetOnTour banner. Niclas inadvertently mentions the name of the '94 tour ("Summer Shit") on the air, and we find out later from people who were listening in their cars that he was cut off at that point...we had a good laugh upon hearing that. The Club booth is in a really lousy spot tonight, but we make do. There are a large number of Clubbers looking for passes again, we accomodate about 30 of them. Go to the Pre-Show with Robert - the guys are in a hurry tonight as they were late arriving, and they have some interviews to do with MTV. The venue is very small tonight, so we're looking for a tighter show. Got 4th row seats, but notice there's a block of seats in the front row that are empty. Nonchalantly slip into them, and security is none the wiser. (What kind of person gets front row seats then doesn't come to the show?)

Front row at Merriweather Post Pavillion
(Picture courtesy of MetOnTour.com)

This show is definitely the best we'd seen so far on this tour. The stage is very low, and close enough to slap hands with the guys during the show. Very cool, 100 times better than the Va Beach show the night before. Jason hands us some water during the set which is much appreciated. After the show the Swede reaches over from the stage and gives us a fistful of setlists. The security guy right in front of us says that some of the crew guys just told him they recognize our faces in the front row from previous shows - very cool. Security has a bunch of leftover water bottles stashed up front, and they give each of us one. VA Beach security should take a lesson from these guys... Go to the After Show, which is held inside this time around - much nicer. Jason comes out and spends a long time signing things and taking pictures. In a really good mood. James and Lars are seen lurking, but don't emerge for autographs. Closer inspection reveals the Starhanger monopolizing their time...that figures...Jason signs a setlist for me, making sure to circle the Bass Solo and Fight Fire, cause "that's where the money's at!"...Catering gives us a bunch of Cokes and stuff and we finally leave around 1 a.m. I've got a few days off now before flying out to Cincinnati to do the Googol contest thing....looking forward to it a lot!

Elvis working at the Club booth - Cleveland 1998

Dan, Elvis, Googol Tour winner, and Gerben - Cleveland 1998

Me and Elvis, Tommy's Joint in San Francisco

Me and Elvis, Tommy's Joint in San Francisco

Aftershow party - Detroit 1998
from left to right: Me, Elvis, Chris, Fredrik, Gary, and Frank the merch guy

Result of too much alcohol - Gerben getting "closer" with Elvis at the Detroit '98 Margarita After-Show Party

July 30, 1998 - Dallas, TX
Jeff and I flew from Virginia to Chicago to Dallas...uneventful flights. We are immediately stunned by gorgeous Texas women in the Dallas airport. "If that girl was my daughter, I'd be in jail." We make a very long trip to the Alamo rental car place just outside the airport, where we pick up our pricey compact for the weekend...

Rental Agent: "Who do you work for?"
Jeff: "No one. Unemployed college graduate."
Rental Agent: "Where are you staying?"
Jeff: "Earth."
Rental Agent: "Do you have a phone number where we'll be able to reach you?"
Jeff: "No."

Meanwhile I check my answering machine for directions to the Metallisoccer game taking place that evening somewhere in Dallas. No dice - man, I'm gonna have a word with those Euro-trash losers. :) Head out, find a hotel room for $24.95. Real nice - wallpaper peeling everywhere, huge bugs, sandpaper for towels, mirrors all over the walls. I checked my answering machine again for soccer directions, still nothing. (Later find out they called with directions 15 minutes later. D'oh!) We give up on the soccer match and head to local mall to kill time. We bought a birthday present for Jaymz and have it gift-wrapped. The giftwrap girl doesn't understand us at all. That's ok, we're 5th year members dammit! She gives us directions to the Dallas Hard Rock Cafe. About half an hour later, we are driving lost in the projects and we pull into a "Diamond Shamrock" I ask a big black guy working there where the Hard Rock Cafe is, and all I get in return is a mean look and "Man, I don't fuck around with white music!" I beat a hasty retreat to the car and we eventually find it on our own. The waitresses are terrible, but the food is good though. Several people ask if we're with the crew. Score free stuff!. Afterwards, we end up bumping into Chris Barr from Toronto, who was on the contest bus a couple weeks ago. Then we head back to hotel and crash early.

July 31, 1998 - Dallas, TX
We get up and head to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast/lunch at 10. Score lots of food with cool coupons. Return to mall, kill time in the arcade...I still rule all at Galaga. We head to venue at 12:30. Wander in and find the Swede, hook Jeff up with a working pass. Set up Club booth, kill a couple hours in catering with the Euro-trash boys. It is 108 degrees according to the thermometer, but it doesn't feel that bad, though. No humidity, but it feels like about 90 degrees back home. We don't watch the show that night, perhaps just because we're comfortable where we are, watching all the chicks go by at the concession stands. Jeff meets a porn star. She claims to be a friend of Ron Jeremy's...there's more to tell, but let's keep this a PG-rated newsletter.

Jeff with Ron Jeremy's friend

We go to After-Show, Jason shows up as usual. Jeff spends the whole time fantasizing about a girl nearby. After a while she gets up and has Jason sign her chest. As she comes by, we ask her to pose with the Chapter of the Mad banner. "Sure...I guess you want me to take my shirt off?" Reply - "Uh...okay!" :) We hang out for a while longer, snag some stashes of posters the record company left behind. :) One of the truck drivers invites us to a stack of leftover pizzas in catering. Then we make our way out with the Euro-trash just as the band's motorcade is leaving. We then drive about 3 hours towards San Antonio, and grab a room in Austin and crash around 5:30 am.

August 1, 1998 - San Antonio, TX
Jeff and I are up and out of the room by 11:30 or so. We get our very first meal ever at Whataburger....what-a-ripoff! We double back to the hotel to make sure the Euro-trash is awake, and then we're off towards San Antonio. Nearly get in a wreck trying to find a bank for the Euro-trash guys...gotta hit Subway for them too. We become proud first-year members of the Sub Club. We arrive at the "venue" around 2...some venue...it's just a big open field with a stage...very hot and very dusty...and no shade! One thing I discovered on this trip, don't ever take your kids to their swimming lessons in a Port-o-John when it's 105 degrees out, it sucks!!! We trry to stay cool in catering, grab a forklift to carry Club roadcase across the desert and steal a tent from nearby, so we've finally got some shade to work with. According to the "Big" Kok, it's Evil's night...things are looking "UP" as 2 of the flyer girls Robert has landed are F-I-N-E.

It's almost time for Tallica to hit the stage so we give them their passes and Jeff and I mill around to watch the show. It's quite a different scene from all of the amphitheater shows. This one is just like a Lollapalooza show, but a longer set. The boys go on very late, about 9:30-9:45. Jeff has an urge to hit the mosh pit, so I hold onto his stuff as he just totally drills some unsuspecting kid in the back...6'-4", 275 lbs hitting you at speed can't feel very nice, but he pays the price as 4 other big guys nail him right back, leaving his clothes in shambles and his knee gushing...that's enough moshing for one night. The show eventually ends, and we meet up with the two flyer chicks. We find out the band is doing a runner for some reason, so there will be no After-Show for the first time on the tour. The flyer girls are disappointed but we promise we will make it up to them with free stuff and passes on the next tour. Gerben and I escort them way out to their car, where there is gridlock in the parking lot, so we end up hanging for an hour or two till traffic dies down. They head for Dallas, and it was a good thing they didn't stay with us because we end up hitting every exit on the highway all the way to Houston looking for a room. NO VACANCY...NO VACANCY...NO VACANCY...we must have checked 30 stupid hotels. Gerben and Robert are getting very upset. "Are we on the fucking moon or what?" "America sucks! The USA sucks!" "I'm just stopping here and sleeping in the car!" We finally find one at 5:30 am on the outskirts of Houston and crash HARD around 6 am.

August 2, 1998 - Houston, TX
We stumble out of bed around noon and head to the venue. It was very nice to be back in an amphitheater with some shade. We're definitely returning here next tour. The last show of this leg winds down, with no surprises in the setlist. We go to the After-Show, and head into the meet-n-greet with a couple of local girls...Jason eventually comes out and does his thing. Afterwards we raid the coolers in the empty first-aid tent. After stocking up on plenty of drinks, we say our goodbyes to the Euro-trash. They are great guys. We take Robert's friend ("of COURSE!") to his hotel near the airport, and Jeff and I crash at a Comfort Inn down the road. We only get charged for a single room, but there are two beds in the room, a nice surprise...crash around 3 am.

Niclas, Elvis, Gerben and me - Houston 1998

Elvis, Daniel and Gerben - Houston 1998

We are rudely awoken at 7 am by the alarm clock, return the car, catch a shuttle to the airport, and make our 10:30 flight to Chicago. Phew! The flight is about half an hour late though, so we miss our connection at O'Hare and as we make it to the gate, the jetway is being pulled away from our plane. About 10 other people are in the same boat, but they still won't let us board. Jeff feels like going postal. We're informed we'll be placed on the next flight which leaves in 4 hours. They give us a whopping $5 to eat lunch on! That doesn't go very far towards feeding me and Jeff at airport prices. After 4 hours, they announce our plane is late arriving. Then they say the plane at the adjacent gate is blocking our plane from being able to park...more delays...our plane finally gets parked, only for the maintenance people to find out the aircraft has a problem, and it can't be fixed!!! Now we have to wait for a new airplane to arrive for us, and of course they send it to a gate at the other end of the concourse, where there is already a plane parked waiting to go to Salt Lake City. We eventually get on our replacement plane and taxi to the runway where the pilot shuts down the engines and says we can't take off because the sky is saturated with other flights at the moment. After another 30 minutes, we finally take off, 7 hours behind schedule and finally get home around midnight and crash hard...

September 11, 1998 - Phoenix, AZ
We end up in a brand new black '98 Mustang with 1000 miles on it as our rental car. We head to the venue, hook up Jeff with a Working Pass, and catch up with the Swede. We unload a stock of porn on him, and he is grateful. We basically help out with a bunch of stuff all around the venue for a few hours. Jeff drives the German Euro trash out to a computer store to buy a cheap laptop, it ends up taking them 3 hours. I get asked to do an interview on a local radio station. All goes well until I tell the guy on the air that I'm not on the crew. I bring the flyer people in and get them set up and finally catch up with the other Chapter of the Mad guys. I run the booth for a while, help the Swede escort all the Clubbers to the Pre-Show meet-n-greet with the band. Jason and James show up, as usual. Lars sneaks by wearing a hat, going unnoticed by everyone as he returns from his jog. Kirk walks by and gets sucked into participating. The show eventually starts and I just wander around, taking in the sights...I witness a guy about as beat up as I've ever seen at a show. His entire head wrapped in bloody bandages, ribs taped, and one arm in a sling. I head to After Show, it takes quite a while for Jason to make his appearance, but he patiently talks with everyone eventually. Then we set out for Las Vegas around 1 am-ish. We drive about 3 hours to Kingman or Kingport or something like that out in the middle of the desert, crash around 5 am. We've now been up for about 28 hours straight!!!

September 12, 1998 - Las Vegas, NV
We get up around 10:30, and continue on towards Vegas. We cross the Hoover dam at the border. That place is awesome! We reach the venue in Vegas around 12:30 or so. Tonight is a general admission show in the baseball stadium for the minor league team in Vegas. We head in and get Jeff a pass, do the usual pre-show setting up routine. We struggle for about an hour getting the MetOnTour banner hung perfectly high up on the lighting tower. We wouldn't want the Swede to be disappointed in us. I take the Swede and Ben, one of the lighting crew, downtown in the 'stang for a quick gamble and some website pictures. We get to New York-New York with about 5 minutes to hang out...

The Hoover Dam

The Swede takes a quick picture of the casino floor, then realizes his batteries are dead...boy, I'd like to smack that boy all the way back to his own country! I throw a few quarters in the slots, and the Swede manages to lose $60 on one spin of the roulette wheel. We've got all of 25 minutes now to make it across town through traffic and back to the venue before doors open, or there's gonna be a lot of PO'ed Club members. My skillfully trained MetOnTour driving abilities get us back with about 2 minutes to spare. I help run the club booth for a while and help escort folks to the Pre-Show again. The band is late arriving tonight. James and Jason do the usual signing/picture thing with everyone. Jeff, Robert, and I film the show from the lighting tower, one camera for the whole show, and another for each of the pyros. It's an outstanding view of all of the lovely females, who love to wave up at us. No After Show tonight (hmm, I wonder why!). Jeff and I head out for San Diego around 12. After about 30 minutes, we stop at a Burger King for food, only to find out it's in the middle of a giant casino so we eat, then spend about 20 minutes gambling. Then we continue on to Cali. We pull over at a hotel just south of L.A. around 5:30 in the morning and crash hard (again)!

September 13, 1998 - San Diego, CA
We get up around 11, and finish the last 45 minutes or so to San Diego. It's a brand new amphitheater, but it's in the middle of nowhere, about 3 miles from the Mexican border. I get Jeff a pass, and do the daily setting up ritual. There's a lot more chicks at this show than the last two, but still nothing will ever top Texxxas. We do the usual booth-thing, then the Pre-Show. I'm glad to get away from the booth, where Jeff and Mirko are dealing with a drunken psychopath. James and Jason do the Pre-Show. We got some good-looking flyer girls tonight, but they are very cold...this prompts Robert to later state the quote of the weekend: "Not all flyer girls can be good flyer girls." We head into Production just as Jerry Cantrell is finishing up his set. Niclas gets us set up with his video camera on stage right behind Gio. This is Jeff's first time watching a show from on stage, so he's pretty stoked. About 35 minutes into the show, the battery cuts out...way to go, Swede! Local security is horrible tonight. This one kid gets up onto the far wing of the stage and actually goes unnoticed for about 10 seconds. He is soon pummeled by Zach, Graham, and Gio all at once though. He winds up taking quite a beating. Jerry Cantrell joins the boys on stage for Four Horsemen. After the show, we head onto the Swede's bus to kick back and check out the video footage from the night. The camera right behind Lars' head turned out great. We head to After Show and hang with the Mad guys one last time. Jason comes out eventually, then we all go our separate ways.

Jeff and I head out for Phoenix, one LONG drive when you start out at 1:30 in the morning. Sometime during Jeff's shift, I wake up to see that we're at a drug checkpoint in the middle of the desert. "Where are you guys coming from?" "A Metallica concert..." "What's in the trunk?" "Dirty clothes." "Oh, ok. How was the show?" We continue on, and reach Phoenix just after sunrise. We grub at a McDonald's and return the 'stang to the rental car place. We check in for our flight, and sleep in the terminal for about 4 hours. We board the plane evetually. For some strange reason, the stewardesses think we're part of the Metallica road crew, and we get double meals, etc....pretty cool! We land in Philly again 4 hours later, with another 1.5 hour layover. We take in some Monday night football for a while, then we take off for Baltimore. We got some new stewardesses for this flight, and they also ask if we're on the Metallica crew. The last crew must have said something to them on their way out. We land after 30 minutes or so, get the baggage, and drive off towards home. We finally get home 4 hours later around 2:30 am.

Last show of the summer tour - San Diego 1998
Elvis, Simon, me, Jeff, Mirko, Jameson and others