Graham Bonnet Band bassist Beth-Ami Heavenstone says she met the former Rainbow singer for coffee after they discussed music, work and their kids over email.
Heavenstone admits in the first part of Bonnet Band documentary All Day And All Night Long that she “didn’t know anything” about him before he got in touch via professional networking site LinkedIn.
She says: “I knew All Night Long and Since You Been Gone but I didn’t know anything about his rich litany of work. His email said, ‘I’m always looking for new bands to work with.’ I thought, ‘Oh, maybe he produces now.’
“Even though it was really casual for me, I was in two bands at the time and I sent him links to both, and he got back and said he liked it. We had a few back-and-forth exchanges. It was very pleasant and I liked the way he presented himself.
“In one of my emails I said, ‘It’s very difficult for me to find the time to do this. I’m a single mom with two children and one of them has autism.’ He wrote back to me, saying one of his children had autism too. That piqued my curiosity and I wanted to get to know him too.
“After a few more exchanges, we agreed to meet for coffee and I instantly liked him and loved his self-deprecating humour. He was just a geek and a goofball.”
Heavenstone joined the Graham Bonnet Band in 2013 after a 25-year career with all-girl rock outfit Hardly Dangerous and a seven-month stint in cover band Alternachicks.
Earlier this month, Canadian music website The Metal Voice announced they would be filming the Graham Bonnet Band on tour. The first part of the documentary is now online, featuring clips from their NAMM convention warm-up gig in Southern California, from in the studio, at rehearsals and on their UK tour with Evyltyde. It can be viewed below.
The group made the title track from their 2015 EP My Kingdom Come available to stream last month. Bonnet will also release a new album and an authorised biography later this year.
