Robert Lamm, keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Chicago, thought he could easily roam El Paso incognito.
But when the doors to the Sun Metro bus slid open he was surprised to hear the driver greet him by name.
"Hello Mr. Robert Lamm!" Sun Metro Coach Operator and longtime Chicago fan Ricardo Novoa, recalled saying.
Chicago was in El Paso Tuesday, March 13, playing at the Plaza Theatre.
Novoa was on Route 10, Tuesday afternoon, when he pulled up to a bus stop on Mesa Street and was beyond thrilled to see his passenger was one of the band's four remaining original members.
Lamm wrote many of the band's biggest hits, including "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?," "Beginnings" and "Saturday in the Park," to name a few.
He boarded the bus, commended the service and allowed Novoa to take a picture of him. Lamm was so impressed with the driver's customer service and hospitality that he gave him a backstage pass to the band's Tuesday night concert.
Still dressed in his Sun Metro uniform, Novoa attended the concert and was able to talk with various band members including drummer Tris Imboden, who Novoa has known personally since 2007. Imboden and Novoa took a picture together and Imboden gave him the drumsticks he used at the concert.
"Everybody in the band especially Tris, the drummer, was laughing so hard when Robert told the story [about] how I stopped opened the door and called him by his name," Novoa, a drummer during his free time, recounted. "He was so impressed. They're from out-of-town and I, as a Sun Metro employee, as well as a city of El Paso employee, am an Ambassador for the city."
It is refreshing to see a celebrity living a car-free life, and shows that if a Chicago band member can ride the bus, then everyone should consider giving Sun Metro a try.
