Contest winner Kim meets the band

10/10/2009 9:20:46 AM | DEFLEPPARD.com

Out of the 10 contest winners of our DefLeppard/YouTube contest (see this post), Kim Lusk from McKinney, TX was the ninth one to collect her prize (two tickets, a backstage tour and meeting with the band) when she went to the band's show in Dallax, TX on August 21. Here's her report.

"My dream of meeting and hanging out with Def Leppard has finally come true! On the day of our backstage tour with the band, I felt as if I was 13 years old again. If someone had told me 26 years ago that this experience was going to happen to me, I would not have believed it. Back then my bedroom walls were plastered with posters and magazine photos of Def Leppard, and their music was always being played on my jam box - still is, but now on my CD and MP3 players. At that time, meeting the band seemed like one of those dreams that we, as fans, think about and hope will happen, but we never really know if we will be lucky enough to experience."

"As soon as my husband David and I heard about Def Leppard coming to Dallas, we marked the date that tickets would go on sale so that we were sure not to miss out. David typically takes care of buying the tickets, so as soon as the purchase was made, he called me to let me know things were all set then we both asked for the day of the show off from work. Several weeks later, the YouTube contest was announced on DefLeppard.com, and we decided we had to enter. We figured we had nothing to lose and if we won, we'd have the experience of a lifetime given what the prize for the 10 winners would be. We've never done anything like this and we really were not sure what we were going to do at first. Funny thing is, I can remember playing air guitar with a broom or tennis racket singing along whenever the band's videos were on MTV, and when I was listening to them on my jam box in my room many years ago."

""ME AND MY WINE" has always been one of my favorite songs - and I love the video - so it seemed that this should definitely be a candidate for one of our contest entries. We shot the video in one weekend. Since this was a lip sync contest, I was a bit nervous about how realistic it would look. We specifically decided to try and recreate the original video and have it be as close to the band's version as possible. We were very tired when we were done, but it was well worth the effort. When I woke up the next day, I watched the finished product and thought WOW it's really good."

"The next day, we went online to see the videos that were submitted by other fans for the contest. We had some really good competition. Both of us were nervous and we didn't know how our videos would hold up against the other submissions. The deadline for video entries came and went. When we didn't hear anything right away, we assumed that neither of our videos made it. Later that day, we received an email telling us that 25-30 videos were to be chosen and that the band would select 10 winners. We wondered if the band would see one of our videos. We found out the next day that our version of "ME AND MY WINE" was selected by the band. We were both so excited! For days, we kept asking ourselves, could this really be happening to us?"

"August 21st is a day we will always remember. Crew member Matt called me at 8:40AM, letting me know what time to be at the venue. We connected with Matt near the band's buses and 18-wheelers. We still couldn't believe what was about to happen. Matt introduced himself and asked if we were ready. He was such a wonderful host and took the time to show us where it all begins - the trucks and loading area. We got to see the inside of the trailers that haul the gear and equipment, and the holding area at the venue where all the gear is prepped. Matt also showed us around the entire stage, from behind the stage facade to the front of the thrust. We met several crew members who were awesome to hang out and talk with. As hard as these guys work, they still made time to chat with us, answer questions, and help us feel right at home. It was great learning how they all work their magic at every show to make sure the band sounds and looks awesome on stage."

"We were walking around the stage and got to talk with Rick Allen first. He explained the set up for his drums, showed us the area beneath the drum riser, and joked for a bit with us. He has such a great sense of humor. He also showed us a couple of surprises inspired by the stuffed Pink Panther in our video. We had some roaring good laughter about those "surprises". We then met Phil who showed us his awesome collection of guitars, answered our questions, and took pictures with us. It was really cool being in his area of the stage where his guitars and gear were stored. We met Viv and talked for a bit then we took photos with him."

"Since I'm a bass player, and Sav is the reason I picked up a bass guitar over 20 years ago, I was especially excited about getting to talk with him and thank him for being such an inspiration to me. We talked about the various brands of basses he's played over the years, we compared calluses on our fingers from playing bass, he gave me a guitar pick and he posed for pictures with us. I got to see his union jack bass up close and personal. I found it interesting that he is now playing Jackson basses. In the back of my mind I kept wondering if I was going to wake up realizing it was all just a dream. I even asked David to pinch me. How many people get to meet their idols in their lifetime?"

"Joe came over to us and told us how much he loved our video. Words almost cannot express how excited we were to hear him talk about how much he liked it and how impressed he was with how he thought it was almost spot on to the original. We also joked about how long it took them to do the original and how much longer it took us to do ours. It was really cool talking to him and taking a picture with him. We couldn't believe this was happening to us. David and I felt like Wayne and Garth, and we were wondering who would do the obligatory "We're not worthy" first!"

"The time for sound-check came, and the guys hit the stage. We were simply ecstatic about being there on the stage with them. It was incredible seeing pre-show prep and we were so excited about meeting the band. We remembered what it felt like to show up early for a show and hearing them do their sound check and wishing we were inside watching it happen. Well, no more wishing for us because there we were! We appreciate the band spending time with us to show us all of their gear, talking with us about our video, and signing items that we brought with us. The guys were very generous with their time!"

"Before we knew it, show time was upon us. After Cheap Trick's set, Matt escorted us onstage where he announced us as one of the winners of the YouTube video contest. It was an incredible feeling standing there on stage in front of almost 20,000 people. It's about as close to fame as we'll ever get, and let me tell you…..it felt so good! We briefly met Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and Tom Petersson too. How cool is that?"

"Matt was a great host, and he made us feel like honored guests of the band. He asked us if we enjoyed the experience and if it was all that we hoped for. David and I told Matt that it was simply incredible. At the time, we almost couldn't express ourselves because we were so happy and still so shocked that it all really happened. I think I smiled so much during the experience that it explains why my face was still hurting the rest of the weekend. I cried many tears of joy in the car on the way home that night after the show."

"We cannot thank Matt, DefLeppard.com, the crew, and Malvin enough for helping make this an experience we will never forget. Most importantly, we want to thank Joe, Sav, Rick, Phil, and Viv for letting us get to see what it's like to be one of the greatest rock bands in the world. We appreciate you selecting our video as one of the winning entries for the contest. My dream finally came true thanks to all of you."

"Rock on!"