Brothers (book) by Alex van Halen

My B&N AVH signing thoughts.

It was a VERY good day! All of the travel went better than expected, and we got in line around 10:45-11am. By that time, the first line had been filled, so we were directed to a second line. However, just as we found the end of that one, it too was full, and off we went to start line number three. We were told that there had been 500 tickets sold. We estimated that we were in the back half of the line, maybe around 300. They scanned our tickets, and put wristbands on us. There was excitement in the crowd, but it was calm. Everyone seemed happy to be there. There was a scattering of VH related shirts, but not overwhelming. I did spot one Cabo Wabo shirt as well. The makeup of the crowd seemed to be middle aged white guys between 50 and 65 yrs. There were a minority of women, but it was mostly guys. The weather was better than your average October day, and no-one minded standing in line outside.

They started letting people in around 11:30a. After 12noon, people started trickling out of the store with books in hand. The first thought was, wow the book is smaller than expected. But that negative thought was canceled out by the staff telling us that he (Alex) was doing great, and that he was taking a lot of time to interact with everyone in line. (thus the line would be moving slower, but we didn’t care) We also got updates from a couple of people that had been in line early, with them telling us that it was “totally worth it”. We found out that the books would not be personalized, but that you’d get photos with Alex! We had all expected that Alex would be behind a table, books would be pushed in front of him, and you would get a chance to take a photo of him signing your book. But no! Someone would take your phone, and then photos of you with him! The excitement continued to build.

Sometime after 1pm, we got to the door and were let in. We went up an escalator, and were handed the book. This gave us a chance to thumb through the book while waiting in the inside line. We could see an area that was curtained off, and had lights set up. That must be where Alex is. The line slowly progressed, and we turned what ended up being the final corner. We could see the curtain, but still didn’t know we’d be going inside of it right there. Then the mood took a slight turn. We were told that Alex talk going to take a short break. Turns out that we were within 15 people at that point. Argh! The wait is killing us….

The break was indeed short, and about 10 mins later the game was back on. Things started moving quickly at this point. The person managing the curtain opening was letting in 2 or 3 people at a time. There was 3 of us in my group, and I mentioned to her that we’d all like to go in together, and she confirmed that this would be okay. Like I said it was quick. There was between 5 and 10 fans inside the curtained area. You got to see Alex interact with the few people that had been in line ahead of you.

I was SHOCKED that Alex was sitting down to sign each book, and then standing up to shake hands with, and take photos with every single person! Given the information in the recent Rolling Stone story, I never expected him to be sitting down and standing up for every one of the 500 people in line!

There were very few other people in the curtained area. His wife (Stine) was there, but I didn’t recognize anyone else. I was asked for my book and phone, which I handed over. Then it was a blur. I have no idea how my book got to Alex, or who got my phone. I was in front of the MAN HIMSELF watching him sign the book. I uttered my carefully remembered sentence to him, which he really seemed to appreciate. He thanked me (I think, it was all a blur), I got a handshake, and stood by him while someone took several photos. It was all over very quickly, yet time seemed to slow right then as you took it all in. I gathered my book, and phone, and turned to take photos of the people I was with and their interactions with Alex, but was ushered out of the area instead. They cut off my wristband, and that was it. We were left to collect ourselves and find our way to the exit.

Inside the curtained area, it was like being in a religious place. Tones were hushed, and respect was shown. It couldn’t hardly have gone any better. The smiles were huge, and some people were visibly shaking. It was way more than I expected.

Much thanks to the staff at Barnes & Noble for how well they handled everything. Much thanks to Reverend Al for doing this. Much thanks to the people I was with, that added to the experience. And finally, much thanks to “Loud Dave” from the Dave & Dave Unchained Podcast, with whom we sat down with afterward to enjoy lunch and wide-ranging conversation with.

Captured today (release day) on Amazon. It’s also #11 out of all the books sold on Amazon.

Very cool Ron, any chance you would post a pic of you and Al?