Captain Jack’s Top Five Bret Michaels Memories

With Brews & BBQ featuring Bret Michaels only 39 days away, I thought I'd share some awesome personal Bret Michaels stories.

I met Bret Michaels for the first time while Poison was gearing up for their reunion tour in 1999. This was a big deal, the rock scene had changed quite a bit and the question was were rock fans ready for this?

Did you know that Poison did their rehearsal for the reunion tour here in Rockford? I'll talk more about that in a bit.

In all seriousness, Bret Michaels is one of the nicest, most down to earth and thoughtful rockstars I've ever met. The extra mile he goes to make his fans happy is amazing. So here we go, My Top Five Bret Michaels Memories:

• Reunion Rehearsal at Metro Centre, Bret Up in Flames - So like I mentioned earlier, Poison did their reunion tour rehearsal in Rockford at The Metro Centre. I was part of a small group that got to watch the first ever full dress rehearsal. Lights, full sound, big voice introduction, pyrotechnics and the band played the first 3 songs of the set. A pretty awesome experience. It was like a mini-concert for about 50 people. Poison is intro'd, lights go up, the band starts and here we go!! Bret runs to the front of the stage as these towers of flames shoot up 15 feet. Bret was literally standing over one of these as it exploded. He jumped back just in time as the flame shot up. He burned some hair, part of his outfit and it scared the crap out of Bret and everyone there. Typical Bret Michaels, laughed and kept doing his thing.
• Don't Go Anywhere, Bret Wants You on Stage - I was in Milwaukee for a Poison show having a blast on the side stage. It was a great view and amazing sound at the show. I even had my own waitress, it was a fun night. Towards the end I went to use the bathroom and one of his guys grabbed me and said, "don't go to far, Bret wants you in like 5 minutes." I head back to side stage, Poison ends the night by doing a cover of KISS - 'Rock and Roll All Night'...with me on stage doing background vocals in front of 14,000 people. Still gives me a chill thinking about it.
• Bear Down, Chicago Bears - I went to The Fuel Room in Libertyville to see Bret Michaels. I had the full Bret VIP treatment which I'm always thankful for. We were in the upstairs VIP area to watch the show and these huge guys walk in. I'm a pretty big guy, these dudes made me look tiny. It was the entire Offensive Line of the Chicago Bears. Being a huge Bears fan, and maybe a little under the influence I made it my goal to bother all of them. I literally shoved Olin Kreutz  from behind as he was walking away. This is the guy that once hit another Bears player in the face with a weight. Brilliant. Later after the show, I was introduced to all of them as they all sat and looked at me like I was their next meal, whew! Thanks Bret!
• Go Ahead and Invite Everyone Backstage - Last summer Bret was scheduled to play OSD in Rockton, which if you fast forward to now is part of the reason why he is headlining Brews & BBQ Sept 5th. Anyway, the storms rolled in and the show was cancelled. Musicians on stage with electronics hooked up to them do not like lightning. So with no show to play, and a beer tent filled with fans to stay out of the rain here is how Bret Michaels brain works. "Captain Jack, go up on stage and please thank everyone for coming but we can't do the show in these conditions." He continues, "then let's grab everyone from the beer tent in groups of 20 or 30 and bring them backstage to hang out." That is Bret Michaels.
• Fly on the Wall, Watching Bret Be Bret - This is the Bret Michaels not many know, but I have had the pleasure of knowing for years. I was backstage at a show just hanging out as he did his meet and greet with the fans. There was a little girl on crutches, maybe 5 or 6 years old. There was obviously more to the story with this little girl, but I didn't hear all of it. The part I did hear and see was Bret down on one knee talking and hugging this little girl, making her feel like SHE was the rockstar. By the end of the conversation, there were tears shed and tons of smiles...Oh, and this little girl walked away with honestly THOUSANDS of dollars worth of merchandise, a guitar, everything her parents could barely carry. That is Bret Michaels.

On a side note not only is Bret an amazing guy, but he works with great people too. Bret's best friend and guitar player for his band Pete Evick, wrote an incredible book called "The Moments That Make Us" check it out here: Amazon

Brews & BBQ is Saturday September 5th at Settlers Park in Rockton, get your tickets at the link below and join us for the BIGGEST Labor Day Weekend Party in the Stateline. I look forward to making some new memories with Bret and all of you.