Rocking With The Monsters On The Mountain

With an invitation in hand to come and check out the 2022 Monsters on the Mountain music festival, my ‘Jedi behind the lens’ friend Brian (B Man) and I made travel arrangements and the day of could not get here soon enough.

We would be flying into Knoxville, TN and then had a ride pre-arranged to get us over to Gatlinburg, TN where the event would be held.

The Monsters on the Mountain is part of the Monsters of Rock Cruise family which I have been a part of since 2018. Any gathering with this group of like-minded rockers is also a reunion of old friends with the guarantee of both getting our rock on for multiple days, but also the promise of meeting new friends along the way.

This was my sixth Monsters of Rock Cruise produced event and it was as much fun and kicked ass just like the previous five events have.

Travel day finally arrived and we had a 9:30 PM flight out of a local airport I had never flown out of in 52 plus years of life in this town so that alone was kind of a cool way to start the adventure. Throughout the day I had seen on the socials of other event attendees having travel chaos so I kept hope alive that we would not suffer the same fate as miserable as others were having.

Late flights, lost luggage and gear seemed to be the norm this day. Alas, we did end up having flight delays that had us departing after the time we were originally scheduled to land so we really felt bad for whoever was on the other end of our flight waiting to pick us up for the forty five minute drive to the hotel.

After a long day at work and a very delayed flight, my tiredness was instantly evaporated the moment we met our chauffeur extraordinaire, Will. Not only was he gracious and understanding about the delay we could just tell how much fun he was having interacting with all those who got to ride in his ‘free candy van’.

Great conversation was had up to the point where Will said he was a retired policeman, to which I had to ask if he had ever tazed anyone? His answer was not only comedic gold, but B Man and I are still laughing over it a week after the event and I am sure will be forever. Will said “I tased all those mother f*ckers!

I made them ride the lightning” Holy hell that was the laugh we needed at such a late and tired hour and made the ride that much more fun as he took us through a back road adventure we
could have never found on our own – to the point I was thinking ‘where the hell are we?’ Already a new friend had been made!

As we arrived and tried to check into the hotel at 1:45 AM, the guys in Autograph were at the desk struggling with the desk clerk to find their reservations.

Alongside those guys was Caleb, the axe slinger of Nerd Halen who is a new friend from the most recent Monsters of Rock Cruise so it was great to already be in and among my rock brethren.

Our new tase happy friend figured out that the Autograph
band’s reservations were actually for a different hotel and he soon invited them into the ‘free candy van’ and away they went leaving Caleb, B Man and I to chat for a few minutes before we finally got the keys to our room and went and immediately passed out.

Before I begin to describe the awesomeness that this weekend event is and was, B Man and I want to express our thanks and gratitude to the behind the scenes staff who make this event happen. The people the fans do not see (much of at least).

The stage production staff, the sound and lighting team,
the security group, the caterers, fellow photographers, the drivers who got us safely from and to the airport at all hours of the day and the Monsters staff as a whole.

There is tireless dedicated work before, during and after an event like this and there is no way it can be successful without the people who make it happen. Many thanks to everyone we interacted with, broke bread with, laughed with, rocked out
with and just enjoyed the company of our fellow rockers!

Day one of the event had B Man and I eating breakfast at one of the over abundant pancake houses in the area. Then back to the hotel for a preflight check of our camera gear before we made the half mile trek down to the Gatlinburg Convention Center. Literally as soon as we step foot in the venue the reunion commences right away as familiar faces are everywhere.

After doing a quick walk through of the empty main stage arena and vendor area we make our way to the “Summit Room”, which is another stage ‘venue’ as well as the location for all of the photo experience meet and greets that B Man and I would be photographing.

After checking out a little bit of the Tango Down set, the first of what turned into twenty eight performances seen, we make our way back to the massive main hall with two side by stages.

Actually there was probably room for there to be three stages across the massive presence, but logistically with everything happening behind the scenes two stages did make more sense. The side by side stages were set to allow the maximum amount of rock and viewing in the least amount of time and space.

As part of the ‘Production’ team for this event B Man and I also took some time to figure out access to both side and backstage as we had access to photo from literally anywhere as long as we were not interfering with any given band’s performance. So it was a necessity to get those routes figured out as soon as we could to allow for maximum photo potential.

When the daily schedule was announced and Nerd Halen was listed as what I perceived to be the opening band of the event, both B Man and I were elated to find out they were actually the closing band of the day. We thought this would mean possibly a longer set, but each band had the same out of performance time.

It was just we were both blown away by Nerd Halen on the 2022 Monsters of Rock Cruise and even with some of my favorite heavyweights of rock scheduled for this day, Nerd Halen was
the band I was most looking forward to seeing.

As a seasoned concert going dude and a knowledgeable
Chief Metal Officer, I simply cannot stress enough just how amazing Nerd Halen is live. Their flavor of the iconic and anthemic tunes of the mighty Van Halen mixed with the humor that only (lead singer) Hal Sparks can deliver I savored every second and note of their hour long set.

Caleb rocked the house right in front of both B Man and I more than once, and was beyond appreciative of the photos we shared
directly with him and the band after the weekend. Super great guys in this band and totally the highlight show of the whole weekend for me, even though it was still only the first day.

Another musical highlight for me this day was seeing Tom Keifer’s Band. The amazing depth of his emotion as he screeeeeeeeeeams his heart out on “Nobody’s Fool’ gives me goosebumps as I write this because I saw him express that exact same passion a few weeks ago in Fort Myers, FL on the Sonic Slam Tour. https://www.rocketsports-ent.com/sonic-slam-2022-tour-sends-shock-waves-in-fort-myers-florida/

In addition to Nerd Halen and Tom Keifer’s Band the day ended after seeing sets by Extreme, Quiet Riot (including the return of Rudy Sarzo), Richie Kotzen, Kip Winger acoustic, Autograph, Lillian Axe, and Tango Down. What an incredible first day musically.

For the photo experience sessions this day I had Nerd Halen in the afternoon and Autograph in the evening. These sessions are incredibly fun as it gives us photographers extra time with the bands as we get sorted out who will be where in the photos and for me it is a literal laugh fest the entire time – especially with comedian Hal Sparks, the lead singer of Nerd Halen.

Hal kept telling everyone to “say hi to Kip (Winger) at the next photo station as they left our station – it was comedic gold as the guys in the band a few times wondered how many people were actually saying ‘Hi’ to Kip and something I’ll never forget! For the evening session, I got to share with the guys in Autograph how they were the first band I ever saw live, opening for Van Halen back in 1984 and I proudly showed off my ticket stub to the show
and they all exclaimed how cool it was that I still had it.

Our second day started again with breakfast, and we found a really picturesque stream not too far from the café that we ate at. We respectfully stayed at a distance as a couple were exchanging their wedding vows at the exact spot B Man and I wanted to get a few captures from. Soon after man and wife became one, we moved in and snapped our shots then headed off for day two preflight check.

As we departed the hotel, we encountered the guys in Lillian Axe, who B Man had done their photo experience the day before and I had on the 2022 Monsters of Rock Cruise. They were on their way to Germany for some shows and were gracious enough hanging out to enjoy a friendly chat with us as for as long as they possibly could before Will and his ‘free candy van’ arrived to whisk them to the airport.

We also encountered both Caleb and Hal from Nerd Halen who were also on their way to the airport headed to Texas for a show that night. We thanked them for an outstanding performance the night before and all shook hands farewell with me mentioning how Florida NEEDS a Nerd Halen tour.

B Man and I make the trek to the Convention Center and by now we were familiar with the layout of the venue and the quickest routes from in front of the stage to both side and backstage that the metal media gods had bestowed upon us. After our first photo experience session of the day we found some
time to go out and wander the streets close to and around the Convention Center.

Upon returning to the comforting air conditioning of the Convention Center we spent some time browsing and paying closer attention to the wares the rock vendors had on display. We got the chance to chat with my friend Tom, one of the curators of the Wentworth Gallery which manages the art display that has accompanied every ‘Monsters’ event I have attended.

I met Tom on the Monsters of Rock Cruise in 2018 when an afternoon snack turned into a conversation with the gentleman seated next to me and an instant friendship was had.

After seeing Tom on the most recent Monsters of Rock Cruise, he
read my review after the fact where I mentioned B Man and I playing mini-golf aboard before the music started for the day. Tom asked me “Where the heck did you find mini-golf aboard the ship?” Once I found out Tom would also be aboard the 2022 Cruise to the Edge (another Monsters sponsored cruise), B Man and I made sure Tom was able to carve out some time to play mini-golf with us.

The three of us had a great laugh when Tom mentioned how insane the local mini-golf course looked but we all knew
that would have to be for a later adventure as B Man and I literally had no play time on either side of this event.

Soon after returning from our venture into the city, B man and I discovered the patio area and stage. Immediately walking out onto the patio, I do not recall which one of us said it first, but one of us commented how it smelled like the Pride Festival (an event B Man and I covered together earlier this year).

It is an inside joke between him and I how at that Pride show we never went more than a few minutes without smelling someone burning the Devil’s lettuce. Funny thing is that was the one and only time the whole weekend we made that inside joke.

The musical highlight for me this day was seeing Stephen Pearcy. It had been since August 9 th, 1991 since I had seen Ratt and I have always been and forever will be a fan of this band. I held out so much hope that Ratt was one of the surprise last-minute additions to the 2020 Monsters of Rock Cruise, but alas that was not to be.

Thirty one years in between shows and seeing this man perform with his backing band instantly took me back to my musically formative teenage years. Wow did his show ever kick ass.

Sending much love after the fact (there were many thank yous at the time of) to the spicy ginger who went out of her way to re-arrange the photo experience session photographer schedule when I mentioned how much of a highlight seeing Stephen Pearcy would be – sending hugs from here to again show my appreciation! My camera and I thank you!

More rock was had as this day held fantastic sets by Queensrÿche, Stryper, Dangerous Toys, Enuff Z’Nuff, Cold Sweat, John Corabi acoustic, and Cody Parks & The Dirty South with their funky blend of ‘country metal’ as we continued to see more old friends and all the while still making new ones.

For the one photo session I did today I had Cody Parks & The Dirty South who had just performed moments before. I got to share how much I enjoyed their blend of country and metal and found out Cody (their lead singer) was local to my area, having played several of the beach bars I had frequented years back.

What a small world as B Man and I shared how we often go out to John’s Pass in Madeira Beach to do animal and sunset photography and Cody joined in the chat with how much he loved the laid back beach vibe out there and my reply was how “…we live in paradise”.

Our third and final day had us back for breakfast at the same pancake house as our first day. Walking back to our hotel, I could see in the distance some wording on a hotel marquee that I couldn’t quite read in the distance, but upon getting closer it made me stop and take a photo.

It did not quite register at first, but upon re-reading someone (probably a drunken, long haired, Devil’s lettuce induced, rock n roll hooligan) had changed to the wording to read “I Lick WAP” – well, B man and I had a great laugh over who, when and how the change was made and especially we laughed at the owners who were probably wondering why their local one-off motel was all of a sudden trending on social media.

I recall thinking that while I could not recall what the sign said in the days before, if anything, because the other side was blank, who carries those letters around to even do something like this. After our final preflight check, during our trek to the venue we noticed the newly erected sign was down.

From the moment we arrived at the Convention Center, while we had the whole day still in front of us sadly we knew it would be time to say goodbye to friends old and new because this day would go by in what seemed like an instant. “See you on MoRC 23” was the realization of the next time our rock family would all be together again. Social media and texting keeps us in touch, but I much prefer the person to person interaction, especially in an environment that we all enjoy so much.

I cannot pinpoint a specific musical highlight this day as I was savoring every note of every band knowing the event was steadily drawing to a close. Cody Parks & The Dirty South playing outside on the patio, Vixen totally kicking ass, Kix commanding the stage and Firehouse absolutely rocked out.

I was completely wiped out by the time Night Ranger took the stage to close out the main stage fun. My feet hurt so bad from so much walking that I planted myself to watch and just enjoyed their set, taking not one single photo (which I now regret as my feet eventually grew back after several days rest).

My photo experience sessions this day were with Nelson in the afternoon and The Hot Summers in the evening. As fast as the crew tries to funnel people through these photo experience sessions we photographers always take that quick second to look after a shot to make sure everyone’s eyes are open and nothing wacky happened to the camera’s settings since the last shot.

This one guy I thought his eyes were closed so I called him back for a second photo. That second photo his eyes looked like they were closed too, but more than likely he had joined in a Devils lettuce session out on the patio earlier. The Nelson brothers asked to do a third shot with him and asked me for a three count (instead of a two count) and as I said “Three”, they both closed their eyes for the photo.

One other funny moment occurred at the Nelson photo experience, after we were done and a few people who had waited patiently outside after their turn to come back in to hopefully have a few minutes with the guys in the band(s) and possibly get items autographed.

As I am putting my camera away, a guy comes up to me and says “Hey man, I’m friends with (I do not recall the name he said) and we used to hang with you guys after you played back in the day at (again I do not recall where he said)…” It took me a second to realize he thought I was part of the band, even though I am wearing a clearly marked “Crew” shirt, I had my camera in my hand and I was the one who just took his picture with the band minutes ago. Well we had a laugh, I pointed him over to the right group of people and I jokingly wondered if maybe it was time to get a haircut.

Sadly we exited the venue for the last time (this year at least– hint, hint, bring Monsters on the Mountain back to Gatlinburg in 2023 please!) and with an 8 am flight on Monday, it was a 5:15 am pick up time for us and both B Man and I hoped for another ride in the ‘free candy van’ with Will.

Well, it was another Will who provided this ride’s entertainment as DJ Will of KNAC.com fame was in our group with early flights. This time thankfully there were no flight delays or anything and B Man and I arrived back in St. Petersburg. We stopped and had breakfast, then we each went our separate ways and soon after
arriving at my house literal total exhaustion grabbed hold of me and the next thing I know it is more than five hours later after I woke up.

It is a total first-world problem to be that tired after having so much of a fun, head banging and kick ass weekend but I would not trade the recovery time it took me to get back to feeling like myself and I seriously cannot wait to do it again next year (but with a day or two on either side of the festival to explore the area).

It was a fantastic weekend. We got to spend time with some amazing and incredibly talented people, musicians, photographers and support crew. We got to rock out with some of the legends of 80’s hair metal as well as exploring bands both new and old I was not familiar with, to the best tribute band I
have ever seen.

I already miss my “Monsters” peeps and while I have enjoyed seeing other photographer’s work from the event and reading their words of how kick ass of a time they had I am
already counting down the days until we can get our family back together again!

Additional Photos By Randy Cook