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April 6th 2010, Guitar Center, Hollywood CA:The outside of Guitar Center was packed with fans and photographers today on a hot and sunny morning, and in the middle of it all was a microphone stand next to a table with a cement slab placed on it. This could have meant only one thing. Someone was getting inducted into the Rock Walk today. On this occasion it was none other than our beloved German rockers The Scorpions. It's beyond amazing that a band from Germany rose to popularity in such a huge way, and deserves every bit of the worldwide recognition they are getting.

There were barriers on either side of the table and the fans waited behind those for their heroes to come out. They had brought along all kinds of memorabilia in the hope of getting them signed by the band. I saw CDs, vinyl records, posters and even guitars with them. Some of them were proudly displaying their Scorpions tattoos to the cameras. There must have been close to 150 fans in total. I honestly expected a much bigger crowd than that. When I was nearing the venue, I was almost expecting the street to be blocked off. For some reason, noon on a weekday being one of them I think, it wasn't the case.

The music being played on a loop was of course The Scorpions' latest album 'Sting In The Tail'. A few of the fanatics in the crowd even started singing along to those, which goes to show how great a connection the band has with their fans, making them sing lyrics of songs barely two weeks old in this country. The time was drawing nearer for the ceremony to start. The excitement of the fans was increasing by the minute. It finally started, and started with a nice gesture. There was a charity donation made by Guitar Center on behalf of The Scorpions. After that there were a couple of introductory speeches in honor of the band. Special guests in the VIP gathering behind the table were recognized. These included the legendary Lemmy and Mikkey Dee from the band Motorhead and drummer Carmine Appice. Soon the band came out to a rapturous welcome as I started jostling for space in the ridiculously packed photographers' area.

It was nothing short of a zoo in there. But all the effort was worth it because standing barely a few feet away from us were Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Matthias Jabs, Pawel Maciwoda and James Kottak, better known as the 'Scorps'. The music was still playing but at a much lower volume. The band really seemed to be enjoying all the attention they were getting, and the look on their faces told it all. Klaus Meine in particular looked very cheerful and excited. He gave a short speech in which he thanked all the fans, expressed how important it was for the band to be among the inductees here and promised to bring the world tour to Los Angeles this July. The wet cement was already placed in the slab along with their names. The place went absolutely crazy as they put their hands into the cement, the imprints that are going to be etched in history forever, on the Guitar Center Hollywood Rock Walk. After this they posed for pictures for a good few minutes and the other guest stars joined in the fun as well. The band members were kind enough to oblige some of the fans in the first couple of rows by signing autographs.

I went up and had a closer look at the hand impressions on the slab. Whenever I look at the same thing on the Rock Walk itself in the future, I can proudly say that when this was actually done by the band, I was there to witness the induction.