Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 27, 1990 TAG: 9003272320
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER
SOURCE: ROBERTA GREEN SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: CHR LENGTH: Medium
Their recent concert at the Roanoke Civic Center was to a packed house of screaming fans. However, there's at least one youth for whom the New Kids were more than just a rock phenomenon.
Jo Beth Rogers, a 17-year-old special education student at Christiansburg High School, may never forget this concert. Not only did she get to see her favorite group in concert, but she also got to go backstage and meet the New Kids in person.
"She eats, sleeps, drinks, lives New Kids on the Block," said Teresa Mullen, Jo Beth's mother. "She got the tickets for a Christmas gift, although getting them wasn't easy. It took 40 minutes [our phone has an automatic redial feature] for the call to go through."
By all accounts, Jo Beth had no idea that backstage passes were to be presented to her at the Civic Center by the concert promoter.
"Backstage was wonderful," Jo Beth said. "I had my picture taken with them. Donnie's [Donnie Wahlberg] my favorite; he's kind-of cute. I got to talk to them, shake their hands and hug them. I was just in love with them. I screamed all night long at the concert. And I told my friends all about it."
"Once we were backstage, there were about 50 people and a receiving line," her mother said. "Some had won passes through the radio station, some school children were there because their teacher had written a letter about how they had used the New Kids to learn math. It was quite an experience."
All of this was made possible through the efforts of Jo Beth's teacher, Kim Eveline, who accompanied Jo Beth and Mullins to the concert.
"Because she just absolutely loved them, it was worth a try," she said. She tried a Roanoke radio station, then the civic center where she obtained the name of the promoter, Gerald Scott of Washington.
"When I called him, he gave me his fax number and told me to write a letter and send Beth's picture. He supported the idea from the very beginning, but I was not sure that it would all work out."
When Jo Beth returned to school after the concert, word quickly spread about her close encounter with the New Kids on the Block.
"She was a real celebrity at school," her mother said. "The girls were standing around to see the pictures of Beth and the New Kids."
Her teacher added: "There must have been 20 girls around Beth in the lunchroom, screaming when they saw the pictures and heard the story."
by CNB