“I was pretty concerned about the show. A few minutes later, we hear a knock… We answer the door to see Adam standing there”: Mike Sullivan of Russian Circles on the time Tool's Adam Jones saved him from rental amp hell with a random act of kindness

The music industry has no shortage of horror stories about headlining acts treated its openers like dirt, denying them a soundcheck, shenanigans with the PA, and so on – but it is not always like that. Sometimes the headliner saves the day.

Mike Sullivan of Russian Circles can attest to that. On Instagram, Sullivan recalls a night at London’s Brixton Academy, in 2007, when the Chicago-based prog metal instrumentalists were supporting Tool, and Sullivan’s guitar amp anxiety – and thus his pre-show anxiety – was spiraling out of control.

At the time, Russian Circles were touring their debut album, Enter, which had just hit record stores the previous year.

They were greenhorns to all of this touring business. Brixton Academy, supporting Tool, this was a big deal. This was also the first time Sullivan had ever used rented gear, and trying to get an electric guitar sound out of it it was impossible.

“I was unfamiliar with the rental gear and for some reason, I couldn’t get a single sound out of the amps during soundcheck,” writes Sullivan.

Time was not on his side. Nor were the venue’s rules.

“Being a union-run stage, we were forbidden to make any noise after a certain time,” he continues. “But I was allowed to keep messing with the amps as long as I didn’t make any noise. I twisted some controls and switches but ultimately left the stage with zero confidence the amps were working at all.”

Russian Circles (Live at dunk!festival 2016) [Full Performance] - YouTube

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But Sullivan had Tool guitarist Adam Jones looking over him as his guardian angel. Jones got wind of Sullivan’s predicament. Sullivan was stewing in the dressing room. The clock ticked towards showtime. His nerves were getting the better of him. Then there’s a knock at the door.

“We answer the door to see Adam standing there,” writes Sullivan. “He politely introduced himself and inquired about the amp situation.”

Little did Sullivan know it but Jones was there to save the show – or at least put his amp worries behind him.

“He offered to have his guitar tech setup his backup amp rig behind mine,” recalls Sullivan. “This gesture was one of the most kind and thoughtful experiences of my life. Ends up that my last-minute tweaking of my rentals was successful and I was able to play the set with those. But taking the stage, knowing Adam’s amps were there as a safety net, completely calmed my nerves.”

Jones was already a hero to him for his playing but Sullivan says the experience set an example for him and the band, and he thought he’d share it to mark Jones’ birthday on 15 January.

“I’ll never forget Adam’s personal kindness,” he continues. “To this day, my bandmates and I use Adam’s humility and generosity as a yardstick for our own behavior. I already looked up to Adam as an artist and player but to know he is equally kind as he is talented, makes me value him even more.”

If any musician feels themselves succumbing to cynicism about the music business, about being treated shabbily by headliners, stiffed by promoters, ground down by the bruising economics of it... well, maybe Sullivan’s story can offer a bit of hope.

Also, it isn’t the first time that the kindness of friends – and strangers – came to the rescue of the band.

Russian Circles - "Gnosis" (Official Video) - YouTube

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In 2021, booked to open for System of a Down, Russian Circles got a heap of gear stolen. There were a couple of Gibson Les Pauls, some amps, bass guitars, and even the synths were stolen, which was a problem because they had the presets on them for performing tracks from Gnosis.

Sullivan didn’t panic this time. He put the call out for “anything with humbuckers” and the good folks in Chelsea Wolfe’s band lent him some guitar cabinets and a Dunable Gnarwhal that ended up being his favorite guitar. Hiwatt came out of nowhere and offered him a backline.

This is not just a story about kindness coming to the rescue, it’s also a lesson that not all rented gear stories go bad. This affair ended up changing Sullivan’s rig for good.

“They hit me up and said, 'Hey, sorry to hear about what happened – how can we help? Do you need to borrow some gear before the final shows?’” said Sullivan, speaking to Guitar World in 2022. “Normally I don't take people up on those kind of offers, but I needed gear, you know? There was no way around it. So I was like, 'You know what, let's try this.'

“They set me up with a local rental company that had Hiwatt gear and it absolutely blew me away. The minute I plugged into those amps with my pedalboard, I was shedding gain pedals right and left, just because it sounded so good through the amp. I would probably have never played Hiwatt and fallen for it so hard if not for that experience.”