This is one of the true but strange events that I have experienced in my life on this planet.
It was June 1999 in Hollywood, California, on a Saturday night. I was in the Madareus band and we were recording the drum tracks for our next 5 song EP demo available for purchase on my product page. Bassist Keith had been renting a house in Hollywood and had a garage at the rear of the property. Keith soundproofed the garage and set up a rehearsal and mini recording studio, it was quite a nice setup.
Keith also had 2 roommates in the house, as living in California, especially Hollywood, is extremely expensive. Her only roommate, Chris, had been there for a while, but they had just had a new guy who moved in a month earlier. The house had 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and 2 bathrooms. The new guy Greg had rented the living room for (it wasn’t a big space). Greg seemed like a strange guy and now I know why and so do you.
Greg was taking different kinds of drugs, acid, heroin, whatever, he apparently abused it and had a mental disorder because of this. Well, what comes Saturday nights after “Cops” (@ 8pm) is correct (@ 9pm) “Americas Most Wanted”! This genius who had spoken to me multiple times and seen me in the studio for a month, apparently forgot who I was. Well, in “Americas Most Wanted” there was a fugitive killer on the loose who was last seen in Iowa (I think he was). This escape happened a week earlier, otherwise the guy had been in an Idaho prison for 3-4 years. Greg calls LAPD and tells them that the killer who got away is ME!
Around 10pm we stopped playing in the garage / studio and Keith (bassist) and Mark
(guitarist / vocalist) and I were talking about how the recording was going and other things related to the band. This was my first night off from work in about 3 weeks, so I wanted to go home. I opened the study door and I was talking to Mark as I was leaving, so my back was looking out onto the driveway, and my forehead was still facing the study. Now when I used to leave the studio, I always carried my handbag with me. A bag of drumsticks is approximately 8 inches wide and 12 inches long, almost like a soft-shelled handgun holster. So I finished saying whatever I was saying, shut the door and when I turn around, there are about 15 LAPD officers with guns in hand pointing at me. They weren’t yelling at all, but just a few decibels lower telling me to drop the bag and put my hands on the wall. I did what they told me and asked what was going on in the garage. They made me open the study / garage door and step back; to stay at least, Keith and Mark were also shocked.
Once the police looked inside the room, around the yard, and into the house, the tension dissipated. When the cop looked into my stick bag, he laughed a little, turned to me and asked if I knew what was going on. I looked at him and asked him if the music we were playing was that bad. A couple of policemen laughed then and he said “no, we were actually outside enjoying the free concert.” Police told us that Greg called LAPD after seeing me profiled on Americas Most Wanted, and told the tip line that “the newly profiled RED HEADED killer was in his garage playing a stolen stereo very loud.” The police seemed relieved when all was clear and so were we (wouldn’t you have been?).
The only thing he had in common with the fugitive murderer was red hair … The police showed me the description of the guy who was 6’4 “, stocky, with tattoos on his arms and back, and a haircut. half of my back among the other multiple differences.
Of course Greg left at night after calling the police to look for some drugs. GOOD GUY, HUH? Needless to say, Greg was kicked out of the house the next day!