KARLA TALLAS - SHARED TREASURES MY LIFE WITH(OUT) AEROSMITH | Page 5

Las Vegas, 1999 (Photo: Karla Tallas)
Las Vegas, 1999 (Photo: Karla Tallas)
they have already performed in Prague twice. I
thought they were joking with me. Luckily, 1 week
later I got my visa, so there was nothing else what
could stop me from going.
I couldn’t sleep the night before my flight – I simply
couldn’t wait for this kind of adventure. “D Day”
arrived on May 2nd, 1999, and for the first time
in my life I flew such a long distance alone. Some
people warned me to be careful at the US airport
and not to speak that much, something I usually
love to do, because they could send me back home.
Nothing like that happened and I safely made it to
Las Vegas.
I finally arrived at the glittering Hard Rock Hotel in
Las Vegas. I hadn’t seen any place like it before. A
huge building full of bars, restaurants, shops and,
what was of course the most impressive item from
the first moment on, a ton of stuff collected from
famous rock’n’roll icons. I couldn’t stop staring at
the guitars on the walls, all the clothes, and there
was also a bike from Axl Rose. Rock music was on
everywhere and it brought me to tears to listen to
“Stairway to Heaven” while walking into the hotel
elevator for the first time. By the way, AEROSMITH’s
video clip for the song “Full Circle” was recorded
by the swimming pool at this hotel. Aero Force
One members were directed to a room where we
introduced ourselves to the crew and got some
surprises like a travel package bag, official T-shirt,
stickers, photos and our tour pass. You couldn’t
miss the room because AEROSMITH’s songs from
their live album “A Little Soul of Sanity” welcomed
us right after we stepped out of the elevator. We
were 89 Aeroheads from all over the world. Most
of the people came from different parts of USA
and Canada, but many of them were from Japan,
some from the UK, 1 girl from Italy who I shared a
room with in every city, and just me from the Czech
Republic. The first evening we had a welcome party
at a nice hotel bar.
The first show took place on May 3rd at the
Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Thanks to our
membership in Aero Force One, we got exclusive
seats in the front rows. It was the first time I had
experienced a rock concert from a reserved seat.
In Europe, we mostly have places for standing,
especially in the main area in front of the stage.
I had never before been as close to the band as I
was that night. I of course risked taking my camera
with me, something that wasn’t allowed. Back then,
it was even stricter than it is now. I was ready. I
took some extra batteries and extra film with me
that I hid in my bra.
We couldn’t stop talking about what an outstanding
show we saw in Vegas and couldn’t wait to see the
next one in 2 days in Phoenix. But a horrible surprise
was waiting for us. We got the news that the show
scheduled for the Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion
was canceled due to illness of two band members.
Luckily our AF1 crew was trapped in a sun-dipped
desert with a pool. We blasted AEROSMITH on
high volume all day long poolside. We tried to
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