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From Eric... Mondays are usually bad enough as it is. But on the morning of April 11th, my long-time friend Gerben Kok from Holland notified me that our friend Robert Reisinger had taken his life the day before in Hannover, Germany. Robert was 30 years old. It was so hard to believe at first, and it definitely took a couple of days before it fully sank in. I got in touch with Niclas Swanlund right away, and there was no hesitation for either one of us - within a few days we would be making one last long roadtrip in memory of our long-time friend Elvis. There was no question in our minds that he would have done the same for either of us. Although people from one end of the world to the other knew Robert, I realize that most of the folks reading this probably didn't get a chance to ever spend time with him. Our main goal here is to simply let you know what kind of a person Robert was, and what a tremendous loss he is. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who has done more for Metallica fans than Robert. With the notable exceptions of long-time Metallica tour manager and Met Club founder Tony Smith and maybe Niclas, Robert was hands-down one of the band's biggest supporters ever. He poured his every ounce into helping out fellow fans the world over, for the better part of the last 15 years. Robert was the most hardcore road dog I've ever met. After working your way down a very short list of several veteran crew members, I'd be willing to bet that Robert attended more Metallica shows than literally just about anyone.  Remembering Elvis Amsterdam, April 2005 I flew down to Costa Rica on Thursday to pick up Niclas and head to Europe. We were in Amsterdam by Saturday morning, where Gerben drove us a couple hours to Arnhem near the Holland/Germany border. A few more hours by train, and we arrived in Hannover for the funeral services on Tuesday. The services were quite emotional - there wasn't a dry eye in the place. In addition to Robert's many friends that were in attendance, eulogies were read from folks such as Tony Smith, Jason Newsted, Rob Trujillo, and Anthrax's Charlie Benante during an indoor service. From there, there was a procession out into the cemetery - as we were slowly walking, Niclas leaned over to me and whispered it was as if Robert was leading his last Meet-and-Greet - it was definitely a very sad walk. And if you've never tossed a handful of dirt on a loved one's casket, let me tell you - it's one of the most gut-wrenching experiences you'll ever have. Nevertheless, Niclas and I were both extremely glad we took the time to attend and pay our respects. It was a long trip back through Amsterdam, Newark, Houston, Costa Rica, Houston again, and finally back to Virginia on the following Friday, but it was quality bonding time well-spent remembering Elvis. We were constantly reliving old fun memories of him, and we gained plenty of fresh new road stories from the trip. It was also good to catch up with other old European friends, albeit under sad circumstances. Finally, I just want to say thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue of EFI. And an extra special thanks goes out to Norman and Silke Sommer, who took care of so many arrangements for Robert as well as Niclas and I; and Scott Hall of St. Germany, who was also instrumental in laying Robert to rest. He was special to all of us.
 This sign was behind the bar in a place we stopped for drinks in Amsterdam - we definitely picked the right place to stop in From Jeff... This special issue of EFI is dedicated to our good friend - Robert "Elvis" Reisinger. In case you didn't know him, have never met him, or didn't know who he was, hopefully the stories and pictures in this issue will show you how much he was loved and how much he loved Metallica. After Eric told me that Robert took his own life, the sadness didn't really sink in until later that same night when I was flipping through my Metallica scrapbook, looking at pictures and reliving the many memories I had of Robert. Although I was not as close to Robert as Eric, Niclas, Gerben, and others, he was still a very good friend of mine, and I will miss him very much... Thanx to everyone who contributed to this issue. 
(December 5, 1974 - April 10, 2005) |
Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) |
