Spokane Valley Slice reader Steve LaCombe shared this.

"My band used to play a joint in St. Maries, Idaho, the Riverside. The owner loved us. Truth be told, we were green and, well, we sucked. Time passes. The joint's condemned. Owner gets a job as manager at The Warehouse in a suburb of Sacramento. He offers us a two-week gig.

"We're jacked. After all, California. We go. We're still extremely green playing hard rock in an upscale restaurant/lounge for a week. We still suck.

"During the week, the manager gets fired, and so do we.

"Our set list contained songs from Night Ranger. Some of the band lived in a neighborhood close to the club. Jeff Watson heard there was a young band playing his band's songs at the club. He came down to investigate. We were in the process of tearing down our gear."

But the club had taped their performance.

"He watched and gave some constructive criticism. One of us invited him to our bus. He came out and we asked if he would sign the bus, which he did, right above the stairwell into the bus. He was extremely nice, considering how bad we hacked his music."

---

---