This post could also be titled: "Clever is as clever does!" or "Things are not always what they seem!"As the legend goes, back in the 1980's when the rock group Van Halen was all the rage, they were notorious for a clause in their touring contract that demanded a bowl of M&M's backstage, but with all the brown M&M's removed.
The diva-like request seems like a perfect example of outrageous demands you might expect from pampered rock stars!
But, it turns out, David Lee Roth, Van Halen's lead singer, wasn't so much a diva as a bright thinker! And, so, for the rest of the story...
Van Halen performed dozens of shows every year and the band would arrive at a venue with nine 18-wheelers full of gear. Setting up for the show was complex and technical!
The show contract was a thick manual, filled with details explaining exactly how many voltage sockets should be placed at specific distances, etc., etc. Within the contract pages, buried in between all the mechanical requirements, was the little clause about the M&M's with the brown ones removed.
The M&M bowl was the quick way for David Lee Roth to check out the venue. Upon arriving, if Roth saw a brown M&M, he knew the stagehands hadn't read the contract carefully and he'd demand a line check, very likely finding issues. If the M&M bowl appeared sans the brown ones, it gave Roth the peace of mind that the specifics of the contract had been met!
So, instead of spending hours before a concert checking the ampersand of every socket and exacting every technical detail, Roth used the M&M's as a quick way to see if the concert hall was paying attention! In addition to being a hard rock musician, apparently, Van Halen's lead singer was an operations expert too!
