Stef's Knee Deep in Atlanta, Georgia - Update 1/27

[SCTigerCock 171]

We went back up to the 45th floor, and I got on FF to check in. No, I did not pay for internet, my trusty Virgin Mobile plug in worked fine.(Thanks Steve for the recommendation) A little slower than normal, but free. Take that Westin!! :hah:

I don't know why, but this made me LOL...

:clint:

[stefa70 205]

Great update! I'll try to keep up while I'm on the road.

My first thought when I saw this picture was good they got arrested for making bad fashion choices. :rofl2:

Oh darn, I forgot you were traveling today! Drive safely and let us know when you get there. :heart:

I don't know why, but this made me LOL...

:clint:

Maybe because you have a sick mind?

[SCTigerCock 171]

Maybe because you have a sick mind?

No "Maybe" about it.

:rofl2: :flush2: :rofl2:

[stacktester 78]

The Shriners are funny. They have got to be the goofiest folks in any parade. They are really good guy's though that help a lot of kids.

[BouncingTiggers 98]

WHAT?? No ZBB or Fried Green Tomatoes? Get the movie, you can probably buy it at Walmart for $10. It's just girlie enough that your wife will love it, yet funny and dark enough for you. Unless you like chick flicks, and that's ok too, I won't judge you.

Hey remember I'm up here in MA. I don't think they allow that kind of music in this state.

I'll see if I can find the movie on Netflix. You love it enough to go see where it was filmed that's good enough for me.

I agree, keep the old Steve, especially if this new Steve is anti- #88

The old steve will show again eventually. These new years resolutions only last a few days anyway.

[stefa70 205]

No "Maybe" about it.

"Maybe" that's why I like you. :cheers:

The Shriners are funny. They have got to be the goofiest folks in any parade. They are really good guy's though that help a lot of kids.

I'm worried about you Donnie. You've posted 2 replies that have been nice. Are you OK?

The Shriners are definitely great guys! :heart:

The old steve will show again eventually. These new years resolutions only last a few days anyway.

:banghead: Crap! I guess that means we will be hearing about Jr soon! :banghead:

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

Stef,

I don't know much about the Zac Brown band, but I am REALLY enjoing this trip report!!!!!

Heidi

[kampfirekim 260]

First of all... I love Fried Green Tomatoes. The movie AND the food. "The secret is in the sauce." ;D

Second of all.... I am not entirely convinced I needed to see the young man in overall shorty shorts with orange cowboy boots, but, to each his own. It was interesting... I have to admit that! :rofl2:

Third of all... Looks like a great trip and lots of fun was had. :yay:

[stefa70 205]

It's time!! The time that I have been waiting for all week. Time to head to the arena.

Our original paperwork had said to meet at the arena at 6:15 to be escorted to the eat & greet at 6:30. When we picked up our ticket package, the paperwork in there said to meet at 5:15 to be escorted down at 5:30.

Around 4:15, we started our journey, down 45 floors, and a little more than 1/2 mile to the arena. As soon as we got there, we saw this parked outside.

What could be better than a Jack Daniels bus with the ZBB painted on the side? :jumpforjoy

We were told to meet at the will-call window. What they didn't tell us was that there are about 10 of them!? Trevor went to one of them and asked the guy behind the window. (Only 2 had people in them at this point)

Trevor: "Is this the will call window?"

Guy: "For what?"

Trevor: "Zac Brown eat & greet"

Guy: "Yes"

I knew we could not be the only ones meeting there, but it was only abut 4:45 at this point, so we had a bit of a wait. We decided to walk down towards the CNN building.

We chatted up a super nice security guy working out front and watched Atlanta P.D. cuff and stuff quite a few people who would wander out of a little bar next door, and by wander, I mean stumble!

Around 5:00 we walked back up to the arena and saw a couple of other folks sporting the same yellow hotel wristbands, the fuzzy bar access sticker and the eat & greet wristband. They too were kind of roaming around looking for a clue as to where we where supposed to be meeting.

Finally a guy came out and started hanging signs.

The excitement is building!! We show our tickets and wristbands and were led inside. We were told if we had floor tickets, we were to go to one table and get a blue wristband to be allowed into the pit.

When we got our blue wristbands, we were told to go to another table to be show ID and get a black wristband (if over 21) to be allowed to drink at dinner.

After being weighted down with wristbands, we were told where to wait. About 100-120 people were there for the eat & greet. Now we just had to wait to be led downstairs. The concert didn't begin until 8:00 pm so the arena wasn't technically open yet. We stood and waited, and stood some more. People around us were starting to moan and groan. We heard a lot of "We could have stayed at the bar another hour!"

Finally at 6:15 the HLIC (that's Head Lady In Charge) greets us and informs us that we will be headed downstairs around 6:30.

:banghead: So the original paperwork was right! I don't know why the paper we were given at the hotel told us an hour earlier, or whose fault it was, but everyone was kind of aggravated. We are tired of standing, hungry and thirsty!

6:30 rolls around and HLIC comes back. She explains all the rules. Rule #1, no pictures or autographs during the eat and greet. Zac wants this experience to be as much like a family dinner as possible, they do not feel, nor act, like stars, and pictures and autographs take up too much time. They do not want cameras in their face while trying to eat and socialize. Security will be watching!

If you're obsessed familiar with the ZBB, you know that by security, she means Massif. Here is a picture of Massif, he is on the right.

No problem HLIC!!!! :eek:

We are now led to the bowels of the Philips arena, and put into a single file line. After everyone was settled in, Chef Rusty comes out and tells us what is on the menu, including a couple of Zac's recipes.

The line starts to move though a single door where we are greeted by a security guard and ZAC!! Followed by the entire band! Each one saying hello and shaking your hand.

Off topic for one second: I had debated on what to wear all week. I know concerts can get hot and sweaty especially in the pit, but it was also 40 degrees outside and I had to walk home. Do I wear a sweater and jacket? What if I get hot? I don't want to hold my jacket all night! Finally I decided a sweatshirt was my best bet, with a tee shirt underneath. If I got hot, I could strip the sweatshirt and tie it around my waist. So, guess which one I wore?

People came up to me all night saying they loved it, and I watched each band member look at it and giggle (as they bent down to shake my hand)

And for any ladies that think Zac is a nice looking man, I am here to tell you, he looks 10 times better in person!! Beautiful blue eyes, gorgeous smile and much thinner in person than he looks on TV. I am still hot and bothered when I think about it. While I love Jimmie Johnson as a NASCAR driver, Jimmie is not my kind of guy, in reality. I'll take a good ol country boy any day, over a pretty boy.

Ok, where was I?

After shaking hands with the guys, we were given an appetizer which consisted of a small biscuit with some kind of pork, cavier and horseradish sauce. I was hesitant about the whole caviar thing, but it was excellent! We were also served a cucumber wedge with some kind of lobster salad on top, which was also fabulous.

Sorry for the lack of food po*n, but see picture above. I wasn't taking any chances with Zac's bodyguard!

We found a seat and Trevor went to the bar for drinks. He chose the Landshark Lager (which was good, tasted like beer ^-^ ) I chose the Honey Jack & coke, which was great!!

Zac came up, grabbed a mic and said "Hey", something about "piss-fire", "enjoy the food and drinks, and sorry about the no autograph or picture rule, but it takes up too much time and makes me feel like a monkey!"

The line formed at the buffet and we were probably about 50 people back. I saw a line of 8 or 10 people form in front of Zac (And Masiff, who stood diligently behind him) I told Trevor I was not missing this opportunity, just pile the food on his plate and I would share with him. Who really cares about food when you're standing in a room with Zac Brown? I grabbed my jack and coke and got in line. I was 3 people back, watching him interact with the different personalities. Instantly, my nerves were gone. He was very genuine and soft spoken and almost acted uncomfortable not knowing how to make conversation with us.

I listened to the girls swoon him, the guys B.S. him and then it was my turn!

You guys all know I love men! Men of all shapes, sizes, ages, colors, it doesn't matter. I knew I was going to take a different approach to this meeting.

Me: "Hey Zac, I'm Stef, nice to meet you"

Zac: "Hey Stef, nice to meet you"

Shook hands

Me: "This is a great thing you do, I'm thrilled to have this opportunity"

Zac: "I'm happy to have you. This is my favorite part of the show, just hanging out and meeting with the fans"

Me: taking a step closer to him "Well it's great to meet you, but I didn't just stand in line to meet you!"

Zac: "Really?" with a devilish grin...I think he was a bit nervous about what I meant by that.

Me: "I think it's only appropriate that the littlest person in the room, meets the biggest person in the room" pointing to Masiff

Zac: "By all means!!" Now he's laughing, and looking relieved that I wasn't star struck by him. He smacks Masiff and says "She

wants to meet YOU!"

Now Masiff's face lights up, as nobody has even glanced his way. He's just doing his job! He bends over and cups my hand with both of his and is smiling from ear to ear.

I can hear Zac behind me laughing and saying to someone "Look at her!" I'm sure it was quite a sight to behold.

Zac: "you want to hit him? go ahead!"

Masiff: "Go ahead, right here!" while tightening up his stomach

Me: "No, I don't want to hit you, you're a bit bigger than me!"

Zac asked where I was from, and we all shared a good laugh. We shook hands again and I went back to the food table where Trevor had just picked up his plate. I grabbed a plate and fell in line. Two of the band members were helping to serve and I joked with them. The food was phenomenal! Pork, Beef, Mac & Cheese, Zac's pocket knife slaw, a black eyed pea salad, some kind of potatoes, collards, biscuits and some kind of peanut butter chocolate dessert.

At 7:45, Zac came back on the mic and told us that he had to get ready for the show, thanks for coming and hoped we enjoyed it.

It was a great time!! So relaxing. Never once did you feel like you were in the company of music stars. I would do it again in a heartbeat!!

After dinner, we headed upstairs for the concert. The opening acts had just started and the place was packed. We made our way down to the pit and proceeded to get our groove on.

Next up, some concert pics and the good and bad of Southern Ground Artists.

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Wow, Stef! I'm star-struck just reading along!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hey Stef!

Happy New Year.

I am just now getting caught up on a week's worth of reading here on FF.net.

Great report.

As you know, the TCD gang are huge fans of Zac Brown.

I think I told you that my youngest sister went on a couple of fan cruises with ZBB, and she owns a dress made out of PBR cans.

I would love to do the eat and great one day.

Zac's body guard reminds me a lot of Big Rob, who was the JoBros body guard when they went on tour. I have a great photo of me and him somewhere.

You want to know something funny? There was a time before bowl bids were announced that there was speculation that FSU would be playing Auburn at the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, and I actually priced Atlanta hotel rooms for NYE weekend this year. That would have been funny if we both ended up in Hotlanta for NYE!

I am looking forward to the rest of your report!

TCD

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Sounds like a GREAT meal and a fun time!!!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

That is cool!!! I love the shirt you wore. Didnt know you had one. We have a pic of Anna and that shirt from our trip. Hilarious!

The dinner sounds like a great time. Do they do that often or was it just a NYE thing?

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Wow, what a blast!! I'm sure they never met anyone quite like you!

[stefa70 205]

Wow, Stef! I'm star-struck just reading along!

Rita, I thought I would be star struck but you honestly can't find a nicer group of down to earth guys. I have loved their music for a couple of years, but now I love them as people too.

Hey Stef!

Happy New Year.

I am just now getting caught up on a week's worth of reading here on FF.net.

Great report.

As you know, the TCD gang are huge fans of Zac Brown.

I think I told you that my youngest sister went on a couple of fan cruises with ZBB, and she owns a dress made out of PBR cans.

I would love to do the eat and great one day.

Zac's body guard reminds me a lot of Big Rob, who was the JoBros body guard when they went on tour. I have a great photo of me and him somewhere.

You want to know something funny? There was a time before bowl bids were announced that there was speculation that FSU would be playing Auburn at the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, and I actually priced Atlanta hotel rooms for NYE weekend this year. That would have been funny if we both ended up in Hotlanta for NYE!

I am looking forward to the rest of your report!

TCD

Welcome back stranger! It seems like you've been gone forever. You missed Christmas, my B-day and New Years! :popo:

I probably would have :wetpants: if I had run into you in Atlanta, and you would have been positive that I was stalking you.

Sounds like a GREAT meal and a fun time!!!

It was great Carol. To be honest, I wasn't expecting such great food.

That is cool!!! I love the shirt you wore. Didnt know you had one. We have a pic of Anna and that shirt from our trip. Hilarious!

The dinner sounds like a great time. Do they do that often or was it just a NYE thing?

I saw that picture of Anna and wish that you'd bought it and we could dress alike! :heart:

He does the eat & greet at most of his concerts, but getting the tickets for that isn't always easy.

Wow, what a blast!! I'm sure they never met anyone quite like you!

:rofl2: I did make quite an impression, and didn't stutter, trip, drool or otherwise act like an idiot. I really owe it all to him, he was such a sweet, sincere guy that it made it easy.

[stefa70 205]

I don't know how I missed these comments! Sorry :heartsmiley:

Stef,

I don't know much about the Zac Brown band, but I am REALLY enjoing this trip report!!!!!

Heidi

Thanks Heidi! I'm glad to have you reading along. Check them out it you get a chance, they are great!

First of all... I love Fried Green Tomatoes. The movie AND the food. "The secret is in the sauce." ;D

Second of all.... I am not entirely convinced I needed to see the young man in overall shorty shorts with orange cowboy boots, but, to each his own. It was interesting... I have to admit that! :rofl2:

Third of all... Looks like a great trip and lots of fun was had. :yay:

KFK!!! Glad you popped in!

I now have fried green mators on my list of things to do (the food, not the movie, done the movie hundreds of times )

I told you those guys looked kind of strange, but I give them two thumbs up for team spirit!

Trevor and I both agreed that it was one of the best weekends we had in a long time. Everything just worked out perfectly.

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

OH LAWDY, you are a better women than me. I love Zac and he doesnt know it yet, but he loves me to... :rofl2: I would not have been able to maintain, I would have to had to wrap myself around his leg or something...

shew.

[stefa70 205]

OH LAWDY, you are a better women than me. I love Zac and he doesnt know it yet, but he loves me to... :rofl2: I would not have been able to maintain, I would have to had to wrap myself around his leg or something...

shew.

Well I didn't say that the thought didn't cross my mind, but even I have morals! It was only our first date. Next time, all bets are off. That's why I made friends with Masiff, I'm hoping he's gentle when he has to tackle me and pry me off Zac.

There is a method to my madness. >:D

[wanttogo 1]

Loving this report Stef.

For the record, I am pro-ZBB. And while I like them, INC REALLY likes them. I think they would put on a great show...especially since seeing them on an awards show a couple years ago doing The Devil Went Down to Georgia at a very fast tempo. It was an incredible performance!

And I am also VERY pro-Fried Green Tomatoes. The food of course. I saw the movie back in the day and it was fine and all, but was kinda a chick flick IIRC. But I LOVE me some fried green maters...especially with a bit of crunch from the corn meal. :heart:

That award show where they same The Devil Went Down to Georgia is where I first fell in love with them. They were amazing !!

[MicknMin...Holly 54]

Your meet and greet with Zac sounds amazing! I'm not sure that I would be able to get any words out of my mouth if I met him. I've heard from others that he is very down to earth, and your report definitely makes him sound that way.

BTW - about four years ago some tornadoes came through downtown Atlanta and blew out hundreds of windows at the Westin. The glass is some type of special glass and because of that they weren't able to get them all replaced until just recently. I wonder if some of the damage that you saw in the room was from the storms.

[kampfirekim 260]

KFK!!! Glad you popped in!

I told you those guys looked kind of strange, but I give them two thumbs up for team spirit!

Good call! And I'll give 2 thumbs up for their being confident enough in their manhood to wear them. ;D

[stefa70 205]

BTW - about four years ago some tornadoes came through downtown Atlanta and blew out hundreds of windows at the Westin. The glass is some type of special glass and because of that they weren't able to get them all replaced until just recently. I wonder if some of the damage that you saw in the room was from the storms.

Hey Holly, glad that you mentioned that. It's great when people comment as it makes you remember things you would normally forget. (I can't remember much at this point other than Zac's beautiful face)

The hotel did have a neat display in the lobby of the old glass that they used for the windows, and then the much thicker glass they replaced it with after the tornado. It also said that the whole building was swaying 2 feet in each direction, which it was meant to do. Just reading that made me nauseous! When I read the reviews of the hotel, they did have a lot of bad reviews around that time as I guess it took them quite a while to replace the damaged windows. I would imagine that they couldn't just go to the local Home Depot and replace them. But no, the "damage" we had wasn't really damage, just normal wear and tear that happens in a hotel room.

[stefa70 205]

I'm going to try to wrap this report up today!

First some background for anyone not familiar with the ZBB.

Posted on Southern Ground Artists page.

MAY 12TH, 2011

ZAC BROWN LAUNCHES SOUTHERN GROUND ARTISTS LABEL

Goal to Be Atlanta’s Incarnation of Stax

Zac Brown is bringing his roots to the masses with the launch of his record label Southern Ground Artists, Inc., dedicated to developing, introducing and promoting some of Georgia’s brightest rising stars.

Brown’s label comes out of a devotion to giving talented artists a voice. “I’d like to think there’s a movement coming out of Atlanta that’s like [Memphis-based soul label] Stax was, back in the ’60s,” he said in an interview with The Tennessean. “The Wood Brothers are one of the best live bands you’ll ever see, and we just got Sonia Leigh’s record finished, and I’m super proud of it. There’s Blackberry Smoke coming onboard, and Nic Cowan and Levi Lowrey, and all the people that love our music will love their music, too, I feel confident.”

Anyone that has been to a concert before knows that there is always an opening act or two. We were treated to 6 opening acts, all signed by Zac to his new label. Normally people would know that if a concert is slated to begin at 8:00pm, with 6 opening acts, you would not see the headlining band until around 10:00pm.

Well, Zac is smarter than your average bear (and compassionate) He, himself, introduces every new artist and does at least one song with them.

The order of appearances:

Dugan

The Wood Brothers

Sonia Leigh

Nic Cowan

The Wheeler Boys

Blackberry Smoke

By the time we made our way down to the pit, Dugan was onstage and Zac was walking off after playing a song with them

Dugan is apparently very new, as I couldn't even find any information on them on the world wide web. They were ok. The lead singer and the drummer are brother and sister, she was a little screechy for my taste.

We were about 15 feet from the stage entrance, so I had the pleasure of watching them all enter and exit. Here Zac is waiting to come on.

My quality of pictures is not what I would have liked them to be, but #1, I am 4' 10", which puts a lot of heads in my shots, and #2, the lights played havoc with my camera!

Next up were The Wood Brothers. Not sure what this guy is playing, but it was pretty neat. These guys are good!!!

Check them out for a minute, if you have time. This is one of the songs they performed.

I just realized that this will have to be multiple posts to get the full music effect. Apparently I can only post so much media at once. Please bear with me.

[stefa70 205]

I guess that was too much! Here are The Wood Brothers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upn7EDWqNxI

[stefa70 205]

Next up was Sonia Leigh. She is quite well known now as they play her "My Name Is Money" on CMT quite often.

The whole ZBB came out and played with her.

Keep in mind, this was the outfit I met Zac in. Might I add, he is HOT?! He later changed into his New Years outfit, but I preferred the casual look.

If you're not familiar with Sonia, here she is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YMh_aEhuIo