Because we were going to be using a
house band, most of the usual Mariah Carey
band members were not able to come. We
were able to bring our background singers
and Mariah’s usual MD, Eric Daniels. Eric
had to transcribe the music for the house
band and chart it out; see page 34 of this
issue to play the exact piano part Eric
used. Ray Chew was the MD for the event
itself, and the house band did a great job
with “Hero” as well as the rest of the stars
they played behind at the Neighborhood Ball.
Of course, security was very tight. We
each had to send a photo, and copies of
all of our identification, for the Secret
Service to thoroughly clear us to be in the
Neighborhood Ball. Since I was going to
be backstage at the same time as the
President, I underwent even more
scrutiny, and once the show began, I
wasn’t allowed to leave my station until
the President and Vice President left the
ball. I was impressed with the professionalism
and skill of the Secret Service. I had
a chance to speak to a couple of them,
and made a point of saying, “Take care of
him, okay?” One of the agents actually
got a little emotional and told me, “Of
course. He’s our President too.” That
really got to me.
We had a few hours the day before the
show to rehearse and camera-block with
Ray and the house band. There were two
stages in the room, one for the house
band and various artists, and the other
stage for Stevie Wonder and the other
artists doing “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”
— Maroon 5, Jay-Z, and several others.
Rehearsal went fine, and then we got in
the vans to go back to our hotel in Falls
Church, Virginia, since everything in town
was booked. The DC police were in the
process of closing down most of the
streets for the Inauguration, so while the
trip in took 20 minutes, it took almost
three hours to get back out.
On Inauguration day, we were told that
once we got in the building where we were
playing, we couldn’t leave; I was
disappointed not to be able to see the
inauguration in person. We did get to the
gig in time to watch it all on TV, though.
The show was broadcast on ABC, and
there’s nothing like being on live TV to get
the old nerves going. Thankfully, nothing
went wrong and Mariah was happy. Backstage,
I was about ten feet away from the
President. What a great night! This was
one of those times when I can’t believe I
actually get paid to do this.