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 Robert in Vienna, Austria - June 1993 Robert and I first met on November 29, 1992 in Nurnberg, Germany after the Metallica show. He was looking for someone to drive him back to the train station. So, I drove him back. Robert had long hair back then! (well it was kind of long.) When we met again in May 1993, we met as if we never had seen each other before. After a short while, he recognized me but I didn't recoginize him. He had cut his hair very short. This was the last part of the huge tour for the Black album and Hannover was the 1st gig of it. I arrived the day before the show, and met my friend, Maxim, a guy from Bielorussia who was so happy just to be here. You can't imagine how happy he was. It was a dream for him to come to Germany to see Metallica. Robert was working for the local staff, tearing off tickets at the entrance. It's safe to say now that Robert let us in for free. He told us he wanted to go to the other shows in Germany (Dusseldorf, Manheim and Nurnberg) and that he had rented a car for those shows. I told hime that was not necessary 'cause he could come with us. Maxim had decided to ride with me to the others shows instead of by train. We decided to meet up the next day at 12 pm the day after the concert. The show was brilliant and at the end, Maxim and I were waiting outside for the band. There were not many people, probably only 15-20. Unbelievable, James came to us asking about what we had thought about the gig. We also saw Lars and Tony Smith (former Tour Manager & former MetClub Founder/President) who put us on the guest list for the rest of the shows. THANK YOU!!! I had followed Metallica for a large part of their 1992 European Tour. I was paying for each ticket (I was about to go back home because of the lack of money). Fortunately, after seeing me at so many shows, Lars asked Tony to put me on the guest list, so the end of 1992 was so nice! Thank you Lars! Thank you Tony! I think many fans should thank Tony Smith for what he has done for the fans. He was nice to everyone! Tony is a great, great person. So in Hannover, I wanted to see Tony for the guest list and as usual he has been fantastic. I asked him for 3 tickets per show (for Maxim, Robert and myself). Tony said "ok" without any problem. I can say that we had many good nights, dreaming about Metallica. 12:00 pm the day after the show, Robert arrived a bit surprised that we were still there. He didn't believe me when I said he could come with us by car. He came to the meeting place but thought we would have already been gone. So he cancelled his car reservation and we all went to Dusseldorf. First we went to his flat as he has to grab a few things. We saw his father but we didn't talk much 'cause he only speaked German and my German is very basic as was Maxim's. Robert explained to us that his father was ill and that he was taking care of him a lot.
 Robert and Marc Louis Werchter, Belgium - July 4, 1993 (last show of the Black Album tour) So let's go to Dusseldorf!!! Immediately, we all got along very well. It was strange to me to have people in my car because I was use to going to Metallica shows by myself. I traveled to Metallica shows by train, hitch-hiking, bus, and my car...Metallica was my life. But this time there were three people in my car, but it was so nice to remember those moments...I have tears in my eyes... So we got to Dusseldorf, parked our car in a huge parking lot, and went to the show. Thank you Tony for the tickets and the aftershow passes! The show was very good but sadly there was no aftershow that night, but we did talk to James through the fence and Maxim got to shake hands with James. Maxim almost had a heart attack he was so happy. Robert, Maxim and I went back to our car...well at least we tried to go back. We couldn't find out car! It was impossible to find, so someone must have stole it. We searched and searched, but no car. To make things worse, we were all in wet t-shirts (it rained during the show) and it was cold even though it was May. Fortunately, we met other fans. They were also cold, but one of them started a fire in a bin. That was good for all of us! We eventually fell asleep...and all of a sudden, Maxim appeared and said he found the car. It was at the end of the world at the very last parking spot and since it was so dark we didn't find it. We were very happy after we found the car!!! Next up was Manheim, Germany. We arrived day before the show. We slept in our car at the venue's parking. More than just music, Metallica builds friendship between people. What a nice thing to have - a Russian (Bielorussian), a German and a French touring together and becoming true friends. The morning of the concert was sunny, we were joking and playing football. A German guy had a ball (Robert did not love football so much). There was this other guy with a megaphone shouting "Fahren sie gerade aus, wieder fahre, fahren sie gerade aus." We laughed all day after seeing and hearing him. And every time we saw each other or talked to each other, we always referred to this guy in Manheim. What a laugh for us!
 Robert and Marc Louis Werchter, Belgium - July 4, 1993 (last show of the Black Album tour) Robert had a great sense of humor. We both loved laughing at silly things. We had this thing of calling "emergency" for the other each time he said some bullshit. For example, he said something stupid and instead of laughing, I said "emergency please" meaning to come take this guy he's crazy. We both burst out of laughing like crazy people! We were both on our same planet when we were doing that although I am sure no one understood us or our sense of humor. You're gone my friend...you're gone...I can't believe it...I'm sad...so sad you left... After Manheim, we went to Nurnberg for the next Metallica show. At the aftershow we saw Jason. Maxim was so happy to talk to him about music, basketball, et. That was the last show for Maxim. We drove him to the train station and he was headed back to Bielorussia. He kept in touch by writing letters until a friend of Maxim's wrote me and said that Maxim had left home because of the terrible Bielorussia police. A few weeks later, the friend that wrote me had to leave Bielorussia. No news of anyone since. Sad... Since I had exams at my University, I went back to France. Robert and I met again in Basil, Switzerland almost a month later. We were so happy because it was like we never quit. We were brothers. Robert hitch-hiked to Basil because he couldn't afford a train ticket. This was another part of Robert's personality - he was thrifty, not stingy, not at all, but he was always short of money. He simply did not have much money. Robert calculated everything - every sandwich, every drink. He had to be thrifty. After Basil was shows in Turin, Italy and Vienna, Austria. After each show, we went to the aftershow and we were so pleased to meet the band. Then we went to Paris and we stayed a few days at my cousin's house before we went to Belgium for the 2 last gigs - Torhout and Werchter. At the last show in Werchter on July 4, 1993, the band invited on stage the crew and some fans who followed them on tour so help them sing one last song - "So what". What a memory!!! The tour was finished and everyone had to go back home. Robert left with some of his German friends (Alex and the twins who were very friendly too). Their car was already full! But he told me "You know...all of our trips, this is nothing compared to what I have to do when I get back home. In a few days I have to go to Romania by car with my father, so long..." As almost everyone knows he was native to Romania.
 Robert and friends Werchter, Belgium - July 4, 1993 (last show of the Black Album tour) After that, we still kept in touch. In 1994, me and my friends (Cedric from France, David Ma., David Mu. and Claude from Switzerland) decided to go to United States for the summershit tour. Robert had been to the US before and travelled all over the US with a flight pass. We drove around 800/900 kms (500-560 miles) with our van and then picked up Robert at the airport where he was waiting for us for hours! we called him "Reisinger the hitch-hiker". After several days he came and travelled with us. Robert was still the same - always laughing and thrifty. We felt sorry for him, we couldn't believe he had such a discipline. Do you want to know how to go on a diet? Answer - go on tour with Robert! We helped him but many times he didn't want our help. He was keeping most of his money for records and cds. This tour was brilliant, many good memories...We took the plane in Miami to come back to Europe exept for Robert, because of his special pass he had to get on a plane in Atlanta, so he had an 18-hour bus ride from Miami to Atlanta! After the 1994 Summer Shit tour, we kept in touch, but Robert was begining the "German Powerwolves" chapter and it was taking up most of his time. We did see each other in August 1995 at the London Astoria 2 club show, but he was very busy with all his German friends. We just talked a little bit. In 1996, because of my job, we didn't go to the same part of the Metallica European tour. However, I remember that we crammed into my friend's (Alex) car to go to England. We had a full car - bags everywhere again. It was nice to be together again. But, Robert only stayed for a few shows and went back to Germany. At the end of this tour, I felt it would be my last big tour, because I was less addicted to Metallica. But for Robert, it was the exact opposite - more and more Metallica. In 1999, we met up in Milan, Italy. He was working the MetClub booth. I was very happy for him because he was sort of part of the crew. Robert explained to me his situation "in the crew" was a bit special. He continued to work the MetClub booth at Metallica shows. One day that he was not on tour with Metallica, he called me and said that he was working on an exhibition in Hannover and that he could talk on the phone for free - what a surprise! We talked for 45 minutes...it was like we never quit...we always talked and laughed about the same things - "gerade aus...", "emergency", "Reisinger the hitch-hiker"...always laughing... I invited him to my wedding in August 2001, he couldn't come but he called me the day before. What a shame he didn't come, because all of my family, friends and my very special friends from the van (from the 1994 US Summer Shit Tour) were at my wedding...but not Robert. And of course some Metallica songs were played at my wedding. We had so much fun. Metallica is very good music for a wedding! We met in Paris in June 2003 for the fantastic 3 club shows in one day. I noticed that Robert had put on some weight and had problems with his leg. We talked but not that long. He was busy, amd I didn't want to annoy him while he was doing his job. Six months later, Metallica came back to Paris. We saw each other briefly. I stil felt very, very sad for him because of his problem with his leg. He was still limping. I felt so sorry for him.
 Robert in Paris - June 1993 On June 23, 2004, Metallica played Paris...again! 5 concerts in a year! I didn't see him. We just talked on the phone. The MetClub booth was on a place I couldn't go with the ticket I had. Unfortunately, that was the last time I talk to him... He did a tremendous job for Metallica, I hope they recognized it. Robert was very intelligent, funny and open to people. I'm not surprised of the number of storoes from fans who met him and made friends with him. He spoke many languages. His french was not too bad. He liked to learn the french slang words and when we first met, he would write the slang words on his arms and his back so that he could remember them. Although, when he wrote slang words on his arms it was for fun cause he knows them very well. You just have to tell him once and he remembered it for life! I think often to him, to him then to his funeral...hard to realize... Robert, we miss YOU Marc from France |
