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Team MiG
By Stacy Swim
I was a member of Team MiG from its inception on the
MSN “Rock Star: INXS” message board on August
25th. I had been privately emailing Nancy
Marver-Ilhan (founder of Team MiG) when I informed her
I was attending a “Rock Star: INXS” taping
on the 11th of September. This was the week he
performed “Paint It Black” and “Kiss From A
Rose.” Nancy
requested that I somehow tell MiG about Team MiG. My
new friend Camille (whom I met on the “Rock Star:
INXS” message board) and I stood close to the
rockers. At an opportune time I loudly told MiG
about Team MiG. I said, “We formed Team MiG,
and we vote for you for all four hours!” That is all
I could articulate as I knew we were not supposed to
communicate with the rockers. Plus, as an
actress he is the only “celebrity” to ever
fluster me! When MiG’s beautiful blue eyes
were looking right into me, I became all flustered.
Back to the story... We were also not supposed
to wear any logos, but there are ways of getting
around rules! I had printed out from my computer
a sticker that said “Team MiG” and placed it on
the underside of my black leather cuff bracelet.
After I told him about Team MiG, I showed him the
underside of my bracelet. Here is what MiG said
to me, “Go Team MiG!” He even pumped his fists in
the air! Soon after that he performed, and
it was a privilege to be in the room. He does
light up the stage and is mesmerizing in person.
After the taping of the show was over, the
rockers were waving goodbye. MiG looked at me and
pointed to his wrist where his cuff was and I pointed
to my Team MiG sticker, then he blew me a kiss.
He finally knew about Team MiG!
I
am an actress living in the Los
Angeles
area
and to keep my creative juices flowing I am writing my
first novel. By the way, my “stage”
name is Stacy Swim.
Lucky
Girl
By Stacy Swim
Joelle was lucky enough to attend the first taping of
“Rock Star: INXS”. She wanted a preview of
the contestants before going to the taping, so she listened to them on the official show website
to hear their sound. What she heard from MiG
online did not impress her at first, but he
“won [her] over week after week during all the
tapings.” The first time she was lucky enough to
talk to him followed his performance of “Walk This
Way.” MiG’s first words to her were, “Thank you
so much sweetheart.” His “Walk This Way”
performance, “got lots of aahs from the audience for
just getting the words right. I am sure he gained a
lot more fans with this one.” Joelle talked to MiG
again after his performances of “Lola,” “Home In
Me,” and “Live and Let Die” to name a few.
Here is her take on some of MiG’s performances:
“’Lola’ was a take notice performance and began
the ‘MiG the Tart’ faze which I will never be
tired of... I think that he gained a truck
load of girl fans for the shirt thing and respect from
others because of the performance of that song.
“Baby I Love Your Way” was his best performance.
I was close to the front and screaming like a total
nut”
At first MiG just knew Joelle as the “girl with the
messages from Migcentral.” Week after week he went
out of his way to say something to her as he knew she
would deliver his message on the boards. MiG was
always “nice and sweet” to her, but good
fortune was shining on her the week of the top six CD
audio taping. The top 6 CD audio taping took
place after the performance show in which MiG sang
“Live and Let Die.” She was actually able to tell
him her name and get his autograph! Joelle felt
his performance of “Live and Let Die” was, “kick
ass and the audience loved it. This was a
comeback performance.” Joelle revealed that,
“every week his treatment of me and some of his
other fans that came to all the tapings made me
even more of a MiG fan.” As a tribute
[and in gratitude] to MiG, Joelle is
constructing a MiG Ayesa fanbook which she will give
to him. So far she has one hundred fan
submissions, but she would love to have more.
If you would like to contribute a submission please
email Joelle no later than
December
31st, 2005
to
joelle_cooper@hotmail.com.
Joelle is a twenty-six year old substitute teacher who
resides in
Redlands
,
California, USA, but
she is originally from
Kettering
,
England
.
He
Will Always Sign Money
By
Stacy Swim
(Donna
and MiG)
Donna was a huge INXS fan throughout the 1980s and was
excited to watch the show “Rock Star: INXS.” The
moment MiG sang “All Day and All of the Night”
with all of his stage presence, interaction with the
crowd, and dance moves, Donna was hooked!
From that moment on, she voted for him regularly,
motivated her entire office to rally around him,
downloaded photos daily, and put them up in her office
to keep the positive momentum going! Donna and
her sister had the occasion to meet MiG at the rockers
Universal Citywalk
Hollywood
promotional event on August 26th. Before the
sound check, MiG and the other rockers were hanging
out and waiting by the side of the stage. Donna
asked one of the security guards if they could meet
MiG, and he said sure and brought MiG over to them!
She told MiG what big fans they are, how much they
loved his voice, and how they thought he was the
nicest person in the mansion. He then took
pictures with them and gave them hugs! Donna wanted an
autograph but realized she had no pen. She ran
to the music store next door, borrowed a pen, and ran
back. All she had for him to sign was a dollar
bill, he laughed, and said, “I’ll always sign
money!” That dollar bill is tucked safely away in
her jewelry box! Donna’s impression of MiG:
"he
was a real gentleman, exactly what you saw on TV, and
a truly wonderful human being." Donna said
she only, “expected to see MiG from a distance, up
on stage and singing, but this night turned out to be
magical, truly exceeding our expectations.”
Donna Murphy resides in
Sunland,
CA,
USA
with
her husband and two boys, ages six and seven.
She is the office operations manager of Sandy
Corporation, an automotive training company, in Long
Beach.
New York
City
Meet'n'Greet on October 6th......these
are their stories!
By
Gisele Williams
(TeamMiG members
from left
to right: Andrea, Lisa, LeeAnn and Hedy squeeze in
tight with MiG!)
Andrea Wheeler
Andrea
was worried that she wouldn't be able to leave work
early enough to make the 25 mile trip into
Manhattan
by
5:30
. "This
is CRAZY, totally unlike me to do something like this
but then again, it's MIG!!" Andrea told me in a
recent interview. A fan of reality TV, Andrea
had first "met" MiG watching "Rock
Star:INXS."
By week two, MiG was her favorite performer!
Andrea joined Migcentral and later Team MiG. She
just couldn't get enough of him! Andrea had no
idea then that on October 6th she would be face to
face with this talented rocker!
When
asked about her initial reaction to seeing MiG in
person, Andrea exclaimed, "My first impression
was that I couldn't believe he was actually standing
there in the flesh!" and "He is so slim, if
I hug him, he's gonna break in half!" Not
surprisingly, MiG was very friendly and accommodating
to all the fans who wanted to talk with him, take
photos and get autographs. "I was rather
selfishly happy it was such a small group [about 25
people due to the short notice of this mid-week
gathering] as we all got quite a bit of time with MiG!!!
He treated everyone who was there as if they were his
only fan. What you saw on the various episodes of Rock
Star was the real MiG, funny, kind, caring, a little
goofy but with serious side as well". When
Andrea mentioned the show and its outcome, MiG assured
her that he holds no grudge and that INXS and Dave
Navaro were very complimentary to him at the finale. Unfortunately editing had cut all that from the show!
As Andrea watched MiG leave the Philippine Center
heading down
5th
Avenue, he was
stopped by someone to pose for a photograph. "Yay"
she thought, "The boy has arrived!!"
Andrea's
closing thoughts? "From various interviews
and personal interaction and what I have learned about
MiG, he is one of the few people who truly deserves
all of life's successes and happiness. I wish him
both."
Thirty-three
year old Andrea is a registered nurse, supervising the
pre and post-op area at an ambulatory surgery centre.
She lives in Rockaway,
New
Jersey
with
her hubby Mark.
LeeAnn
Bergevine
"Did
I meet him?? I touched him, hugged him, breathed
the same air as him!" laughed LeeAnn when I asked
her about meeting MiG in
New York.
LeeAnn
drove for four hours, picking up fellow Team MiG
member, Lisa who lives in Rhode
Island, before
joining Team MiG member, Hedy at the Philippine Center
for the meet 'n greet. She too had been hooked
on MiG from the very beginning of the "Rockstar:INXS"
show!
What
did LeeAnn want to share with fellow Team MiG members
about her meeting with MiG? "When you meet
MiG in person, you realize he is chiseled better than
DAVID! He loves cereal (Captain Crunch one of his
favs) and fruit..for Breakfast. MiG told me Marty gave
him the best-honest advice." She confided in
me that she's talked with Dino (Lovehammers) via computer
instant messaging (don't ask, she can't tell!) and
Dino confirms that Marty and MiG do keep in touch!
LeeAnn was kind enough to print and deliver the fan
letters we posted on the RSI board. “I had
about 40 or so...letters that is...he was just
thrilled....really just a real down to earth kind
hearted person!" And funny too, for when she
exclaimed that someone should pinch her because she
was dreaming, he did! "I have to say from
5-630 pm was one of the best hour and a halves of my
life." For more details of LeeAnn's
adventure in
New York, check
out her detailed post on the Yahoo message board: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/TeamMiGAyesa/message/4370
"Look
how many people MiG brought together, all from his
talent and charm...Mig will forever be in my heart, a
fan for life!"
A special message from LeeAnn:
"I would like to say a very big thank you to
Mig's Aunt and Denise his cousin and her brother...You
made me feel so welcomed like I was part of your
family and Denise you spoke to us like old friends!
What a pleasure it was to share tonight with your
family."
LeeAnn
Bergevine lives in North
Attleboro,
Massachusetts
with
hubby and three children, Brandon
15,
Kyle 13, and Alexandria
6.
Happy Birthday to LeeAnn who turned 37 Oct 30th.
She "does" Sales and Merchandising in the
Boston
area.
Diana
(MiG and Diana share a moment)
New Yorker, Diana had this to say about meeting MiG in
her hometown, " I tuned in to the first episode
of "Rock-Star INXS" since I remember liking INXS’s
music and rock genre back in the earlier days. I
saw MiG in his rendition of “Smells Like Teen
Spirit” and was drawn to the intensity in the
performance. I was entranced as the weeks
progressed! After reading his blogs on the
official RockStar MSN site, I knew MiG was very
focused and a special person.
First
impressions? "My first impression, I found
him to be kind, warm and genuine, yet also, extremely
full of sparkle and life. He has a way of making me
feel as if I was the only one in the room. There
is a magnetic aura about him. MiG is a
delightful conversationalist and he has impeccable
manners. I would like to tell all of you that MiG is
so witty, charming, charismatic, and just a great
all-around person. He really enjoyed speaking
with all the people who were there. He has great
communication skills. He is very photogenic and
has immensely expressive eyes, which coupled with that
grin of his, he just has this great presence."
"I
arrived at the event at
5:30 pm
and
when I entered, my eyes wandered to MiG Ayesa. The
first thing I noticed - his eyes and his personable
demeanor. There were a few attendees present
(later met some folks from MiGCentral, TeamMiG and
other supporters.) I greeted a member from
MiG’s group and then gazed in his direction. MiG
was just completing a conversation when he caught my
gaze. I walked over to him. We introduced
ourselves. I am so type-A and a life-long New Yorker
and now I cannot quite recall who said hello first. We
introduced ourselves with, “Hello, I’m
--------.” From then on, I remember that I just
talked and chatted away and could not contain my
enthusiasm and excitement. I told MiG that he has so
many loyal supporters and fans here and all throughout
the U.S.
He seemed very pleased. I asked MiG "if the right
offer came along and your schedule and timing allows
for it, would you consider taking part in the RockStar
Finalists tour?" His face lit up a bit and
there was that sparkle in his eyes. Then, he responded
that he will consider it, and give it some thought and
consideration. During the signing [of a photograph],
MiG said something very special that had me all smiles
and in a little chuckle once again. Wow, MiG is very
intrigued by photography. I feel that he is
enthralled by all things associated with photography -
cameras, equipment, devices, printers, photo paper,
etc. He is very fascinating and amusing on the
subject of photography. I gave him a glance, he
captured my gaze for one last time, and his face
echoed the emotion with those eyes and a huge grin,
and he signaled with his right hand - the goodbye hand
clasping. Of course, I reciprocated with one
last smile and that goodbye signal."
Diana
now knows what it is to be truly "weak in the
knees"! And when he looked into her eyes
"right through me and right into me" she
realized that she had also learned what being
"hot" was all about! Truly an evening
to cherish!
Diana
lives in
New
York City
and is a property manager in real estate. She
volunteers for civic causes and campaigns, enjoys the
opera (especially Wagner), and classical music
(Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Bach).
Stacy
Swim - Co-Editor
