Arsenio Hall 1992 - going way back for a great memory! BY the BFF: Krystal Mignone

It’s quite funny to think back on the differences between being a NKOTB fan the first time around and now. For instance, we used to have to actually sleep outside to get tickets for things. Word of mouth was usually how you found things out, not twitter or the internet. And the media had a strong disdain for our five bad brothers from the Beantown land. They had been compared to Milli Vanelli and were routinely thought of as puppets. However, one individual in the media always gave the guys a forum and supported them as artists – Arsenio Hall.

Arsenio was the “cool” late night guy, way before late night guys were hip and current. He catered to a different demographic, one very similar to NKOTB. So it made sense that the guys would appear on his show multiple times. One appearance in particular was more significant than the others. On February 5, 1992, the New Kids on the Block took time out of their World Tour to fly from Australia to LA to defend themselves against lip synching allegations. Now it had been a year since we had seen them, so when sources in LA leaked that they would not only appear on Arsenio but that he would devote the entire show to them, we knew we had to go to support them.

We drove from San Francisco to Hollywood three days prior to the show because we knew the line for tickets would be long. We arrived at the studio to find only a handful of other fans ahead of us. We were in a good position, now we just had to live on the streets for three days! On the second day, representatives from the show came outside and asked us to go home and come back on the day of the show. They offered us a deal. If we went to a taping of another show on their lot, they would let us have early and guaranteed access to Arsenio. We jumped at the chance.

On the day of the appearance, we were led to a separate line and got seated first inside the studio. We ended up in the second row, right on the aisle – perfect seats. During his monologue, Arsenio took note of our shirts. We had given Donnie (and Danny) shirts the previous year that said “NKOTB Still Kickin Ass”. The shirts were inspired by the guy’s performance on the American Music Awards in 1991 where they debuted the remixed rap for Games. Danny had even worn the shirt on their previous Arsenio appearance in 1991. Needless to say, they became our standard uniform at NKOTB-related events. So when Arsenio saw them, he came right into the crowd to talk to us. Our friend Linda is the one he spoke to and she represented all the “older” fans quite well. And by older, I mean fans who were actually the same age as the guys!

She spoke eloquently and defended the guys citing examples and reasoning refuting the accusations, something I’m sure the mainstream media never anticipated. Arsenio was literally right next to us. It was definitely a surreal moment. He moved on throughout the crowd and even spoke to Maurice Starr (their former manager). They went to the commercial break and we all started to get antsy. We KNEW the guys were up next.

They performed Whatcha Gonna Do About It and Danny managed to send a not-so-subtle message to the naysayers by grabbing his crotch. It was clear from the start of the song that the guys were amped up. They were there to prove themselves even though they already had more commercial success than practically any other band at the time. It was obvious they were “really” singing throughout the performance. Donnie even injected a new rap, written on the plane, to specifically answer the allegations. That addition elevated their energy and ours. They segued into The Right Stuff which brought the audience to another level of hysteria.

The studio was buzzing but we all had to calm ourselves because the guys were there to speak, defend themselves, “justify their careers, and save their dignity”. We needed to let them have that forum while trying to contain our enthusiasm.
Arsenio had a good time teasing the guys with past performance clips but he also gave them the platform and latitude to tell their side of the controversy. We could tell there was a certain level of frustration for the fact that they even had to answer the claims, but at the same time these were guys who grew up having to fight for everything they had. There was no way they were going to take this lying down. So they told the real story of who made the allegations and explained it was all about money. When you’re at the top, people want a piece of the pie. As anyone who had seen their show then (or now), you know they’re singing live; bad notes are hit, they forget lines, new ones are ad-libbed and it’s a spontaneous production. They are there to entertain and they’ve had to use backing tracks for certain things but they are always singing live.

They ended the show by performing If You Go Away, the first time a U.S. audience had heard it live as ironic as that sounds. As further proof of their side of the argument, some of the vocals were a bit pitchy. Completely understandable as they had just flown half way around the world.

The fans left the taping with a deep and profound sense of pride for all of the guys. And there was no doubt that the allegations were warped and unfounded. It was unfortunate that they had to go to the lengths they did to defend themselves, but at least they had an ally in Arsenio who provided the avenue for them to set the record straight.

Here is a video of the opening of the show! He starts to talk to our friend at 3:10. You can see both Krystal and I during his interview with her! Krystal is right next to her! Yikes we were young!!

Am I really cruising???

Two weeks until the 3rd annual NKOTB cruise and I am actually going to be on the boat this time!!! Hard to believe it is almost here! Even harder to believe Krys and I will be sailing this time!

Cruise #1 - when we first heard about this back in 2009 we laughed and thought this thing was gonna suck. Even Jon (at the time of talking to him about it) wasn't very excited about going. We laughed, made jokes, etc... THEN the cruise happened and it turned out that everyone, including Jon, had an amazing time and loved it! Soooooo, now we were pissed at ourselves and had to get on that damn boat!

Cruise #2 - we were all ready to go! Krys, who is the expert computer guru, getting all of our tickets and such in the past, was going to be in Australia when the tickets went on sale, so it was now up to me to book this cruise! Since I don't use credit, I had all of Krys' info with me and ready to go. Well, this is the year of the effed up computer system and problems galore. I was on the computer forever trying to book the cruise. Hours and hours! I finally got through, put in all the info, hit the button, and waited and waited and waited and finally got confirmation that it went through! Or so I thought :( Turns out Krys' credit card was not approved because it was being used in Australia at the same time it was being used in the US. A big red flag for the credit card company. So, alas, we did not get a ticket on the boat. I actually cried. We got on the waiting list. And waited and waited and waited. They finally called us in like March of 2010, but we ended up declining. The wind had been taken out of our sails and we just thought, forget it. Then we had to endure all of the tweets and posts about how awesome the 2nd cruise was. And so it was decided that we would get on that third cruise come hell or high water!!!

Cruise #3 - We were bound and determined to get on this boat. We spent hours and hours flip flopping about what cabin choice we wanted, how much we should or should not spend, etc... We were driving ourselves nuts up until the day we were going to buy tickets. At the appointed time Krys got on the computer (I was on the phone with her at the time), she was super nervous, but low and behold, she click click clicked and all of the sudden we were on the boat? WTF? Had that just really happened? And that fast? She called and made sure the charges went through on her card and YES WE WERE ON THE BOAT!!!

Getting ready for the cruise - so as all of this is happening, I get laid off from my job. Not the best timing, but with teaching baton and unemployment insurance I was going to make this work! The plan was to not buy anything new for this cruise, I was just going to wear clothes I already had, etc... I would only buy a few things that I might need. I wouldn not worry about the theme nights at all, shoot I wasn't even going to particiate in them!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I turned into a crazy person, albeit, a frugal crazy person!

I ended up buying a new bathing suit and cover up, new shorts and t's, some flip flops, a floppy hat, a dress (although I needed that for a wedding anyway) and a bunch of other crap! Then the themes were announced and I again became a crazy person, deciding to participate in all 4. I justified buying the PJ's by telling myself I could use those for many many years to come after! For Red Carpet I would just wear the dress I already bought for the wedding (which I am)! For pink night I only bought a new shirt and finally for 80's didn't go to overbaord just got a shirt and made some neon bracelets!

I went to Wal Mart and Target and bought all kinds of stuff like sunscreen, shampoo, etc... Of course in total sent way more than I had planned, but I can use everything I bought all summer long, so that is good right???

So now it's two weeks away and I am super excited and can't wait! I not only get to see my 5 favorite guys, but I get to see so many wonderful women that I have met over the last 3 years! This is going to be a trip of a lifetime!!!

More to come after the cruise!