“In Their Own Words” Kimba By SFL Music August 2, 2023 South Florida Concert Memories IN THEIR OWN WORDS We reached out to dozens of South Florida music personalities and industry veterans for their favorite South Florida concert memory. Stay tuned each month for many exciting stories! Want to share yours? E-Mail us at info@SFLMusic.com My Year of Magical Tyler’ing Given what I do for a living, I am lucky enough to have a slew of fantastic concert memories. Aerosmith has been my favorite band since I was in the single digits. That said, I knew my story would be one of Aerosmith – the task was to choose which one. Ultimately, it had to be the show from October of 1997. If you told me way back when what would happen, I would’ve laughed you right out of Carol City! The events that led to this night took the better part of a year, and it was more of what happened before, during, and after the concert, than the concert itself (although that as always, was stellar). I got to be on stage for the soundcheck! Steven Tyler would come over and sing to me and at one point, pulled his hair back and put his ear to my face. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, so I stuck my tongue in his ear!! Direct wet willie for Mr. Tyler. My seats for the actual concert weren’t horrible, but weren’t as good as they could be. Thanks to a lovely friend and a member of the band’s crew, I ended up front row center. The way the stage was configured, he mostly sang over my head. I’m not even sure he saw me standing right beneath him. Then, the band went into their song “Crazy.” Steven went into the harmonica solo stage left before tossing the instrument into the crowd. It took a rogue bounce and landed between the front-row fence and the stage. Everyone in the vicinity is clamoring to get to it and that’s when a member of the band’s crew jumps down to grab it. My friend who helped me get into the front row happened to be with me at the time and gestured to the gentleman to give the harmonica to me. He does, and I promptly shove it way deep in my pocket so no one tries to grab it from me. It was a phenomenal show, as always, and I was able to go backstage after the show. Steven sees me, walks up and being cheeky says, “Do you have my harmonica?” I proceed to whip it out of my pocket and the shocked look on his face said it all! He had no idea I had it. He autographed it for me and yes, I still have it. There’s a little bit more to this story and why it’s so memorable to me. If you’re interested, I have a podcast/Vodcast and I dedicate two episodes to the story. I suggest the Vodcast for these episodes because you’ll see the video from the band’s book signing, and photos from the soundcheck. You’ll also hear the interview leading up to both. You’ll find the Me Kimba: Radio Broad Cast audio version wherever you get your podcast on, and the Vodcast at YouTube.com/HerKimba I know I’m on the radio and promoted the band, but Steven did not have to do any of that. That he went way above and beyond, and gave me one of the best concert experiences of my life, shows you what kind of guy he is. Thanks for allowing me to revisit this memory! Kimba South Florida Radio Air Personality since 1987. A native South Floridian, Kimba is on-air at BIG 105.9, and has also been on 94.9 ZETA, 97.3 The Coast, and 101.5 LITE FM KimbaTyler@gmail.com | www.MeKimba.com Share It!
