Canonsburg backstage manager auctioning rockstar memorabilia
A Rolling Stone cover signed by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
This photo that is part of Sharon Ringeisen’s collection was signed by members of Aerosmith.
A signed photo from Stevie Nicks
Tom Petty jotted a note to Sharon Ringeisen on this photo.
A poster from an appearance by Rush at what was then known as Post-Gazette Pavilion near Burgettstown
Sharon Ringeisen read the famous and often facetious contract riders of bands like Van Halen for nearly 30 years. If she didn’t ask what was up with removing all the brown M&Ms from the green room’s candy bowl, the band knew the backstage manager wasn’t paying attention.
“I prepared the menu, went shopping, got all the bands’ stuff they wanted. A lot of it was mundane stuff – socks, underwear and, of course, the food. We were their home for the day, so our job was to make them comfortable and make sure all the details were taken care of,” said the 62-year-old Canonsburg resident and Baldwin High School graduate.
Perhaps the most bizarre demand in a musician’s rider – beyond goats and female escorts, which Ringeisen vows to keep secret – was Neil Young’s request for wheatgrass.
“Wheatgrass? This was 20 years ago, and I was like, what’s he going to do with that? He’s got other grass, I’m sure, but turned out he wanted to juice it. He gave me a glass. It tasted nasty, like a just-mowed lawn,” she said.
Working at regional pavilion venues like the former I.C. Light Amphitheater and First Niagara Pavilion since 1989, Ringeisen is hanging up her career in music and has posted up for auction hundreds of items she kept from her years rubbing elbows with entertainers.
“There are over 400 listings posted to the site, but we sent over 4,000 items. A lot were combined, so it was easier,” she said of the Backstage Auctions listing at http://www.backstageauctions.com/catalog/auction.php that runs through Sunday. The listings are diverse, with items from Dolly Parton to heavy metal rockers like Pantera.
Among the items are autographed photos, set lists and T-shirts from the likes of Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, The Who and Tina Turner. But she wasn’t exactly forfeiting those mementos. She’s kept duplicates of her favorite items, and is holding onto every backstage pass she ever issued. And, of course, the riders.
“My favorite band to listen to on stage was the Allman Brothers. I grew up with them. Some called us the Allman Sisters. We were a huge family backstage. It would have made a good sitcom. ‘The Backstage Caterers,'” Ringeisen said with a laugh.
Of her favorite artists to work with, Alan Jackson was easygoing. Making no demands of the staff, he retired to his dressing room or bus, often saying, “I know where to get stuff if I need it.” Country acts like Brooks & Dunn were kind and gracious, she said, but there were a few surprises that shattered perceived stereotypes.
“The guys with the masks and all the drums – Slipknot – they would come off stage and play with their kids. People don’t realize these guys are dads and regular dudes,” she said.
As for pilot scripts of that proposed sitcom, they probably wouldn’t reveal much thanks to Ringeisen’s promise to keep most stories secrect – a music culture quirk she’s sworn not to break.
“It’s like Vegas. I know everyone tries to get a good story out of me, but it really is like the ‘Sin City.’ What goes on backstage, stays backstage,” she said.