Fan Leaves No Stones Unturned
Time isn’t on Rick Anderson’s side. He should have been alive in the ‘60s. Instead, he’s just 27 yet hopelessly hooked on rock ‘n’ roll fossils who were churning out hits long before he was born.
The Rolling Stones.
This is a case of Generation X meets Generation Ex-Lax, although Anderson doesn’t mind.
“I was about 7 years old when I flipped on a radio and heard ‘Honky Tonk Woman.’ It was an instant addiction to their music,” he recalls.
“In high school I couldn’t tell anybody but my best friend that I loved the Stones.”
The Spokane Stones junkie returned Wednesday from Chicago, where he got his latest fix. He paid $95 to a scalper and joined a mostly middle-aged mob at the maiden concert of the Stones’ new “Steel Wheelchairs Tour.”
Sorry. The tour is actually called “Bridges to Babylon,” the site of the first Stones concert in 687 B.C.
“They’re definitely still the best rock ‘n’ roll band,” exclaims Anderson, still reveling in post-Stones excitement.
“Mick still jumps around from one end of the stage to another. I don’t know how he does it. Keith looked like he was so happy. He had a smile on his face the whole night.
“I can’t wait to see ‘em again.”
Anderson obviously can’t get no satisfaction from one measly concert.
An employee at Johnson Matthey Electronics in the Spokane Valley, Anderson plans to follow the Stones through fall and winter as they play Edmonton, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Seattle, Honolulu and Portland.
There are dark forces at work here that are not easily explained.
Anderson turned his north Spokane home into a Stones shrine crammed with Stones posters, Stones photographs, 90 Stones albums and other assorted memorabilia.
Stones. Stones. Stones. …
He adorned his living room walls with painted stars. There’s a lava lamp and peace signs and even a vintage Rolling Stones pinball machine that glows and chirps away in his bedroom. The contraption plays “Satisfaction” whenever a ball drains down one of the sides.
Considering his decorating skills, this next bit of information should not surprise anyone: Rick Anderson is a bachelor.
Girlfriends have come and gone, but you can’t always get what you want. Breaking up with a rabid Stones fan may have a lasting effect. “Every time one of my ex-girlfriends hears a Stones song they’ll have to think of me,” says Anderson, grinning slyly.
People my age have to appreciate the longevity of the Rolling Stones, who started in July 1962 and were considered the punkier, anti-Beatles during the psychedelic ‘60s. Early Stones music is hard-edged and great.
Alas, the Stones aren’t so menacing any more. In a TV interview I saw the other day, cadaverous Keith Richards looked as if he’d passed away but no one told him.
Watching 54-year-old Mick Jagger strut and prance is a little like watching Bob Dole give a speech. It’s nice to know they both can still take a stage and not break a hip.
Few of today’s youth really relate to the retro Stones.
Anderson found that out wearing his black leather jacket that has “Stoned” embossed in big letters on the back.
“The first day I wore it three people came up and tried to sell me drugs,” he says. “I had to tell ‘em it was a different kind of stoned.”
Life isn’t easy for a young Stones addict.
“I’ve taken some ribbing, but I’ve always been a huge fan,” he says. “I’ll probably still be a huge fan when I’m 80.”
Hmm. Jagger will be 107 then. His pouty lower lip will be sagging to his knees.
Anderson will still be in the crowd, though, cheering wildly for his prehistoric rock heros.
“The longer they’re around, the more grateful I am,” he says. “The Stones have survived. I’m thankful for that.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo