It was 1992 when we heard that David Coverdale and Jimmy Page were in town recording an album together. David Coverdale was the singer of a band called White Snake. Jimmy Page has been my idol for many years. He’s the guitarist for what I consider to be the best band in the world, Led Zeppelin.
My cousin Frank and I decided to frequent the bars downtown Vancouver in hopes of bumping into them. The closest we came was at Club Soda. That used to be a fun nightclub downtown. It seemed like the whole club was there for the same reason because every time the door opened, I swear the whole place stopped doing what they were doing and looked at the door to see who came in. Van Halen were in town to do a concert that week. When the door opened one time, in walked drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony. Maybe they were there to meet Jimmy too.
We found out later that that very same night, Jimmy Page was at the Town Pump in Gas town. He went on stage to play to a very small crowd. He’s obviously didn’t hear the same rumour about Club Soda that the rest of us heard.
A couple of weeks later, I was at a new friend’s house telling this story. I showed Allison and Jim the two pictures I was carrying with me in case I bumped into Jimmy Page. They were pictures of Led Zeppelin paintings I had done.
Allison said she knew someone who knew someone who knew someone, and would give them a call. Once I got home and sobered up, I forgot all about it. But a few days later at work, Allison called and said her friend knew Jimmy Page’s guitar technician. He said I could send those pictures to the guitar technician, along with a short letter, and he would give them to Jimmy Page. Apparently, Jimmy Page likes that sort of stuff.
Wow. I called a professional photographer to take the pictures for me.
Unfortunately, the photographer took forever, and by the time I called Allison back she said that Coverdale and Page had left Vancouver and were finishing the album in Florida. Ugh. But she made a couple of phone calls and got the guitar technician’s hotel address in Florida. I shipped the two photos, the letter and the original Jimmy Page painting… and waited.
Over the weeks, I got some reports back:
The guitar technician got the stuff, figured the pictures would be basically stickman drawings, would throw them away and say that Jimmy Page loved them. But when he looked, he was pleasantly surprised. He waiting for a “good” day to present them, which turned out to be at a barbecue Jimmy was having at his home for the crew.
Jimmy Page loved the painting so much that he hung in the studio while they finished recording the album.
Then Jimmy said to the technician, “what should I do? Should I write him back?” This was before cell phones and texting.
The technician said, “if you really want to freak him out, call him.”
I was in the process of getting my house ready for a move. My parents and sister were in town from Toronto to help. It was 2 weeks after my Canada Day trip with Spinal Tap. My family just left to go to the store. I was left home alone… when the phone rang. “Hello?”
“Could I speak to David Zuvic?” (said with an English accent).
“That’s me.”
“This is Jimmy Page.”
Total shock. The only thing I could come up with was, “No it’s not.”
“Yes, it is.”
Oh wow. What else could I say? “Hello”.
We spoke for about 20 minutes. He went over my letter. Asked all about me. He loved my art and asked what I wanted him to do with it. I asked him to sign the pictures and send them back. If he’d like, he can keep the painting. Which he did. It’s hanging in his house in Florida.
Now I was torn in two opposite directions. On one hand, I wanted to stay on the phone with him as long as I could. On the other hand, I wanted to hang up as soon as possible so I could tell everyone I knew.
When I did finally hang up, my family came home. I told them what happened. They stood there shocked for a moment and then my sister hit my dad in the arm. “Why did I go to the store with you?”
I’ve got the signed photos back. I gave one to my sister Samantha. I wish I had a third one to give to my brother Mladen, but I was keeping one for myself. If you can’t see what he wrote, it was “David. You certainly captured the elemental force.” I didn’t take a picture of Samantha’s signed photo, but it said something like, “David, keep on Rockin and Rollin. Jimmy Page”
I have to admit, I was pretty scared of the possibility of meeting my idol. One of the reasons was that I was terrified that I’d have nothing to say. But the other reason was that I was worried that he could turn out to be a complete jerk. I’m happy to report that he really was a nice guy.
He said that he would take care of me when Coverdale Page toured Vancouver, but unfortunately, they never did. But I can still say, a major item in my bucket list is taken care of.