| Author | Message | ||
     kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 110 Registered: 05-2005 |
Who is the most famous rock star you have ever met - you must have spoken to them, not just been in the same space as them. Mine are Edwyn Collins, Vudi from AMC, all the Cocteau Twins. Can anybody beat the guy from this board (Randy?, Guy?, Jeff?, sorry can't remember) who met Gene Clark? | ||
| Wilson Davey Member Username: Wilson Post Number: 16 Registered: 05-2005 |
"Most famous" is probably a bit of a misnomer but I think I know where you're coming from ! Martin Fry of ABC walking quickly down Sheffield High St: I said Hello, MF said "Hi there" which I thought was just great. Phil Oakey of the Human League back in the early 80's apologised when he stepped backwards and onto my toe in a small but packed Bradleys records in which we were both rummaging. Edwyn in the mid 1980's, had a chat pre-show, there were no tickets left so he put me on the guest list !. Ron Sexsmith a couple of times. He always comes out to sign and chat, a great guy. Spoke (very briefly)with Grant, Adele and Glenn after the Barbican show (and Tracy Thorn !). I usually get tongue tied/talk gibberish, I now have a strategy whereby I say "thanks for the great songs" as an opener...it's usually as far as it gets as I then grin like a berk while they sign a CD cover or say "Thanks" in return. My then future wife was in London in the late 70's and bumped into Malcolm Mclaren and Paul Cook, they wouldn't sign so my future Mother-in-Law verbally berated them both into doing so and described Mclaren as looking like a scared old woman when he ran-off ! Doesn't beat the Gene Clark meeting but it's a great (and true) story.... | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 142 Registered: 04-2005 |
Mine are all pretty small-time. I had a 10-minute chat with Ira Kaplan before a Yo La Tengo show in NYC. I spoke to Robert Fripp for about a minute while he was signing autographs at a Tower Records. I met and briefly spoke with Kristin Hersh a couple of times before/after shows in Seattle back in '03. And for a few months, I worked at the same company--a long-since-defunct dot-com--with Marcy Mays, who was the singer/guitarist in the Ohio band Scrawl, which got some good press in the '90s. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 179 Registered: 10-2004 |
small-time for me too. the only noteworthy person i met was sean o'hagan, from the high llamas, but more importantly (for me) he was the guitarist in microdisney, who are one of my very favorite bands. he was incredibly nice and he even got me and my then-girlfriend on the guest-list for the show they were in town for. but he kinda got annoyed with my barrage of microdisney questions, when he really wanted to talk about what was happening with the high llamas at the time, which was at the peek of their career (back in '98). let's see - i got to meet the parents of metallica's late bassist cliff burton in a local mexican restaurant, way back when i was a heavy metal obsessed 11-12 year old adolescent. i was a huge metallica fan, and i happened to be wearing a metallica t-shirt when his parents motioned me to come to their table and talked to me about him. what was especially sad about this was that at that point in time, cliff burton was on the very european tour on which he died when their tour bus overturned. i met momus (aka nicholas currie) after one of shows. he thanked me for being the only person to *not* give him tapes and cds of their music. and i met sara cracknell and pete wiggs from saint etienne at a record store appearance several years ago. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 178 Registered: 03-2005 |
I'm vastly too chicken-hearted to approach any of my heroes. It's Guy who met Gene Clark. | ||
| abigail law Member Username: Abigail Post Number: 38 Registered: 06-2005 |
when i worked in a record shop in cambridge in the early ninties mark e smith came in and bought a couple of records (some obscure rap record if i remember rightly). the fall were playing at a local venue that night and i asked him to dedicate a song (assuming he'd tell me to fuck off) to me and my friend who were going along. i can't be sure if he actually did dedicate a song to us but i'm convinced he mentioned us before playing middlemass (though he could easily have been talking about the weather or nuclear physics for all the sense he was making). I also met iggy pop once when i was very drunk and, according to a friend who was with me at the time, i told him his solo stuff post the idiot was rubbish. | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 114 Registered: 05-2005 |
so abigail, you dont rate lust for life, or were you so drunk you forgot about it?? | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 133 Registered: 05-2005 |
Met wuite a few heroes, famous peopls but this was quite interesting, funny somebody mentioned Edwyn. When Edwyn Collins made a comeback gig in July 1986, I was a mere nipper, travelled al the way to London's Bloomsbury Theatre to se the good man, I was on the guset list thanks to me knowing Malcolm Ross and his wife Syuzen, and after the show I stepped out into the bar and saw Liz Fraser and Robin Guthrie, I'd always loved The Cocteau Twins, Liz was tiny, but then I was led back to the back stage area and it was like a scene from The Postcard Records book, there was Edwyn, malcolm Ross, Zeke Manyika, Paul Quinn, Alan Horne, David Weddell josef K bass player, (who I used to quite like a drink with when I was down in london visiting Syuzen,), Barbara Shores, who used to manage Del Amitri but she was ivolved in Postcard piblicity etc, Paul Heard (M People!), who later played in Orange Juice, there were a few other Postcardpeople too, people I'd seen whom I did not know, Dennis Bivell (produced The Slits LP), Chris Taylor from Roachford the drummer, phew, it was a night packed with my heroes, I was only 18!! | ||
| kevin Member Username: Kevin Post Number: 115 Registered: 05-2005 |
Spence - nice Cocteaus story. I am originally from Grangemouth and the Cocteaus are the same age as me and we all used to drink in the same pub, and had (still have) the same mutual friends. The original bass player Will Heggie is married to my sister. Small world! | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 34 Registered: 04-2005 |
Blagged my way back stage in Melbourne in ’86 to meet the G-Bs, on the strength of knowing Malcolm Ross. Which wasn’t strictly true at the time. However there was a pretty awful atomsphere in the dressing room, so I didn’t stay long. The 2 performances I saw were excellent but there was certainly a tension in the air, which manifested itself on stage. Interviewed Grant in Edinburgh a year later, and he was very interesting and open. I tagged along with a music journalist friend, who knew almost nothing about the band, so I ended up asking all my fan questions. I tried in a clumsy way to explain how much the band’s music meant to me and he was not patronising at all, saying that he understood as he had musicians like Dylan who had made an big impact on his life. I worked in one of Edinburgh’s finest hotels in Edinburgh in 82/83 and met some famous figures. Witnessed the shambolic ending of the Associates at close hand (featuring Martha of the Muffins in a bathrobe), who booked in for a week before their festival appearances, which were eventually cancelled. The evening Madness were in the hotel was a memorable experience; at the peak of their success, last night of the tour, party in the lobby all night long, inviting fans in and a real nice bunch of people. The next morning the tour manager said to me ‘The boys want to say thanks for last night. And for turning the other eye to certain substances being smoked!’ Not really a rock star, but checked in Stephane Grappelli to the hotel and he was a charming man, as well as a real legend. Was once hanging out (‘man’) with Miracle Legion (Mark Mulcahy’s old group) in London’s Columbia hotel, when Donovan arrived. Been in Frank Black’s dressing room in Glasgow after a gig, and the talk was all about golf courses in Scotland. ‘Phew! Rock’n’Roll’ as Jeff Bridges once exclaimed. Not that I could listen to his records now (‘Layla and assorted love songs’ being a notable exception), but Eric Clapton’s concerts in the 1970s in the Glasgow Apollo were great gigs. I met him in a hotel lift and ended up going to a bar with him. He was very down to earth and had an almost alarming lack of input into what he was doing. He seemed to have had no say whatsover as to the venues that he was playing or his record that had just come out. His manager told him what to do. And back to Malcolm. As Spence said in another thread, a very nice man as well as being an incredible guitarist. I played in a band with a brother of his and was almost overwhelmed to be practicing in a bedroom where Josef K once practiced. I also interviewed him and his wife once, in a pub, when they had their ‘High-Bees’ band. Some great stories, with fairly scandulous mentions of the drug habits of various Edinburgh musicians. Hmm, wonder if I still have the tape! Malcolm came to a Go-Betweens gig in Glasgow with a group of us, the ‘Rachel Worth’ tour I think. I peed in a urinal next to Davy Henderson (Fire Engines/Win/Nectarine No.9) once. And was with my mum in a Chinese restaurant once, when she said ‘That man over there. Isn’t that whats-his-name from that band that your brother likes? Maybe I should get his autograph?’ It was Mark E Smith, and I persuaded her that he was probably not going to like having his meal disturbed. Is that enough? | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 136 Registered: 05-2005 |
Wow! | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 96 Registered: 02-2005 |
Yes, I had the pleasure of a brief chat with Gene Clark back in 1975. I won't bore you with a long list, but I worked at Maxwell's in Hoboken from '79 - '88 and met and interacted (to some extent) with most of the bands who played there. | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 97 Registered: 02-2005 |
One story that’s salient to this forum. I have talked with Robert Forster a couple of times… he seems to enjoy engaging well-wishing fans after his shows. We had an enjoyable chat after his solo acoustic in-store performance at Other Music and another time outside Maxwell’s (long after I stopped deejaying there). But the first time I said “hi” was outside the old Knitting Factory on Houston Street in November 1988 – the day King George I was elected president. Robert, Grant and Amanda were doing a short acoustic tour of the US in support of 16LL, the KCRW session was recorded a few days later. My wife and I met him out in front of the club in the early morning hours (I was very drunk) and when we bid adieu Robert gave my wife a kiss worthy of Rhett Butler! Really, he grabbed her around the waste, dipped her down and planted a long passionate wet one. My blood pressure’s rising just thinking about it! Last June, my wife chatted with Robert after their show at Southpaw. I kept an eye on them, but his manners have improved in the ensuing 17 years. She gave him a talisman (a Buddha, I think) for good luck on the flight they were taking down to North Carolina the next day in a little prop plane (which he was apparently nervous about). | ||
| abigail law Member Username: Abigail Post Number: 39 Registered: 06-2005 |
kevin at the time i think i was under the impression that the idiot came after lust for life thereby making myself look an even bigger fool than i already was i've also just remembered bumping into (literally) nick cave on brighton palace pier about 10 years ago | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 98 Registered: 02-2005 |
Here's another one... I’ve met lots of people on the music scene, but this happened at the wedding of a friend of my wife’s. I was talking to the bride’s brother at the reception and he said, “Oh, yer Zena’s husband… Francis tells me yew’ve gotta huge recurd collection. Lemme ‘troduce yew to Uncle Malcolm, he was in some kinda wacky rock band back in da sixties.” And he proceeds to introduce me to Malcolm Mooney, original lead singer of Krautrock legends, CAN. I don’t know who was the most shocked; me at meeting Malcolm Mooney at a wedding, Malcolm at meeting an American in 1990 who had actually heard of CAN, or Francis’ brother, that I had actually heard of kooky Uncle Malcolm’s "wacky rock band from da sixties." We’ve remained friends and see him every year or two, usually at gallery openings and exhibitions; he’s a painter and taught at the same public school as the bride’s mother. They were family friends, not related. | ||
| Paul Wright Member Username: Wallaby Post Number: 19 Registered: 05-2005 |
As described elsewhere on the board, I drunkenly insulted the Go-Betweens and Tracey Thorn just before a brilliant gig in Leeds. But also, I spent an evening chatting to Wreckless Eric in a bar he was playing in Rotterdam. Place about the size of my front room. Maybe smaller. Lovely guy - tea-total now. And when I used to work backstage at Uni I got to meet Elvis and Shane McGowen. I said to Elvis "the toilets are down there on the left". And to Shane I said "the toilets are down there on the left, where Elvis has just gone". Do you think they remember? | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 99 Registered: 02-2005 |
Here's another non-Maxwell's one that amuses me. I went to a Stereolab gig at Irving Plaza with a friend. We had met up after work and he was gonna check his backpack so I told him to wait until I bought the groop's tour single from the Merchandise Stand so I could throw it in his backpack for the duration of the show, that way it wouldn't get banged up. So I run upstairs and see the 7-inch single, "Free Witch and No-Bra Queen" on display and when I see the price I blurt out, "Seven Dollars!?!" in mock-shock/disgust. The kid behind the table nervously darts his eyes to his right and I look over and there's Tim Ganes standing there with a silly apologetic grin on his face and I say, "And worth every penny, I'm sure." I buy the single and Tim comes over and starts a conversation with me, apologizing for the jacked-up prices, but telling me that the gangsters running Irving Plaza skim 25% off the Merch proceeds, so the groop had to boost them up. I shrug it off and then he starts asking me about record collecting and what I like to listen to and we get a little conversation going and I could tell that he was really eager to pass some time before the show with a Stereolab fan and like-minded record collecting geek. But the problem was that my buddy was cooling his heels downstairs waiting for me to check his backpack. So I talked for a minute, but told Tim that I really had to run down to give the single to my friend to stow away during the show, but Tim keeps talking and it was like I ended up brushing him off. I mean, I love Stereolab and there's nothing I would have enjoyed more than to shoot the sh*t with Tim Ganes. The conversation could have taken an interesting course too; we have some mutual band-friends, I knew the woman who used to do their lighting, but I'd already left my buddy standing downstairs for too long as it was, so I had to split. Of course, Tim was gone when we came back upstairs a minute later.  | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 13 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've also met Tim Gane two or three times when he played with the Mc Carthy. Nice people. I've spoken a little bit with the drummer of REM before a concert in a little club in Germany, I've given a bottle of 'hard' alcohol of my hometown to Bjork and her sugarcubes's friends and I've paid a belgian beer to Robert Forster after a concert in Bruxelles (also a nice guy this Robert...). | ||
| Michael Leach Member Username: Mike_l Post Number: 15 Registered: 05-2005 |
I met Robert once; on what turned out to be an historic occasion, of sorts. It was 92, I believe, and I was hanging out in a friends 2nd hand record store in the Elizabeth st mall in Brisbane when in he walks, asking if we knew any guitarists, as he's planning to record a solo album in Brisbane. We got him to sign a few copies of 1978-1990, and mumbled about a couple of bands of local bands who didnt suck, in our humble opine...etc I understand now he must have then gone to Rocking Horse records, heard about COW, hooked up with them, and Calling from a country phone was born.... | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 35 Registered: 01-2005 |
I have met Robert and Grant twice. Once after the June 1999 show in Pontiac, MI and after last years show at the Abbey Pub in Chicago. I have talked with Robyn Hitchcock a half a dozen times. Julian Lennon once back in 1999 at the same venue R&G played at in Pontiac. And the original Gang of Four in Detroit last year. Most of these envloved staying an hour or more after the show. The first time I met Grant and Robert after the Pontiac show, they invited a bunch of us backstage and Rob was handing out Heinekens! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 137 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've always admired Teenage Fanclub, and after a fab show at Birmingham Academy I shouted to Norman Blake from about 15 yards away, " can I shake your hand?" and he came all the way over leaving the people he was talking to and shook my hand!! Nice bloke, wonderful man, wondeful group! | ||
| Rob Robinson Member Username: Rsub8 Post Number: 27 Registered: 05-2005 |
Guy, you left out some salient details from the “Rhett Butler” incident. Yes, there was lots of alcohol consumption involved. That got started in the Knitting Factory lower level (for those who don’t know, this was the much smaller and more intimate original Knitting Factory up on Houston Street) around a table with Grant and Lloyd Cole; I recall (and my memory is fuzzy also about this) that Robert Vickers was there, as well. I think that was my first encounter with the Australian custom known as the “shout.” Which basically mandates that with five people at the table, five bottles of beer (each) are consumed in a relatively short time. I did witness the “Rhett” kiss, and it seemed to me more like a dry, spitless “stage kiss,” although you might have taken it in from a better angle (and you had reason to have greener eyes). I begged off at that point because, basically, the beer had taken its toll. But it was a great evening. I had a chance to talk with Lloyd Cole in 2001, after a show in Philadelphia, and he remembered the incident! | ||
| Peter Collins Member Username: Tyroneshoelaces Post Number: 68 Registered: 05-2005 |
I met Elvis last year in Rhyl, north Wales | ||
| fsh Member Username: Fsh Post Number: 70 Registered: 05-2005 |
Are you sure of this? I don't think Rhyl is in North Wales? | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 18 Registered: 01-2006 |
I passed Bono on the street in Dublin a few years ago, but i won't go there... | ||
| fsh Member Username: Fsh Post Number: 71 Registered: 05-2005 |
Me too, he was with Gavin Friday. But it doesn't stop me from going to Dublin. | ||
| XY765 Member Username: Judge Post Number: 19 Registered: 01-2006 |
wow fsh, double whammy....respect.. | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 100 Registered: 02-2005 |
Well Rob, I never asked if Robert's kiss was "wet" or "dry" but it was certainly overly-dramatic and hammy as hell! And of course, very funny. As much liquor as we'd consumed that night, I can picture that sweeping, back-arching smooch as vividly as if it happened last Saturday. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 161 Registered: 05-2005 |
I once met Frank Bough... | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 162 Registered: 05-2005 |
he was a wanker... | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 176 Registered: 08-2004 |
Gavin Friday, Bonio & 2 other people in the same street. I hope you were wearing crash helmets. | ||
| Mark Leydon Member Username: Mark_leydon Post Number: 38 Registered: 05-2005 |
Jimmy Page. Early one evening in 1992 at the entrance to Earls Court Tube Station (the Earls Court Rd side). He was hanging round there as I exited the station on my way home from work. I did I double take because he was a god to me throughout my teenage years. Plucked up the courage and ended up having a pleasant five minute conversation with him. He couldn't have been nicer. I've bumped into a few of my heroes over the years. Accosted Lindy Morrison after one of the Ed Keupper shows at the Vanguard in Sydney last year. She was lovely. I was a gibbering idiot. Told her how I was living in the Wentworth electorate and had voted for her in the last federal elections (and not just on the strength of her drumming with the GBs!). But the nicest guy I've ever met in the music industry is Rory Gallagher - also when I was living in west London in the 80s. A really gentle soul. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 42 Registered: 04-2005 |
"Frank Bough was a w*****". Billy Connolly too. Back in my Edinburgh hotel days (see earlier tome), I had the mispleasure to encounter him. He was extremely arrogant and swore at a waitress that had the temerity to ask for his autograph. She had been a fan since his Humblebums days (ask your dad) and told me afterwards that she put his records in the bin. I suppose it is the issue that all artists doesn't have to be nice people, for us to appreciate their work. But it helps! And how did you get that rude word into your post, Spence? The same term had to be censored in mine to get it posted! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 175 Registered: 05-2005 |
they all knew I'd sucumbed to the ale!! they thought, "poor sad get, all he can do to satisfy himself is to be rude and swear on a fairly laid back msg board!! - we'll let him off!!" I must apoligise to anyone I may have offended. I must admit though, it was all meant in jest. Like most things on this great msg board - not to be taken too seriously and too much to heart. | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 101 Registered: 02-2005 |
You're right Andrew, it does help. I too have a hard time listening to music by somebody whom I've seen behave badly, but fortunately that's a rare occurance. I worked at a club for almost ten years... saw maybe 1000 bands "behind the scenes." It was very rare to happen upon a band member or road manager who was outright obnoxious or arrogant. They weren't always perfectly happy campers - life on the road on a shoestring budget can be very stressful - but the club treated the bands with respect and simple courtesy goes a long way. | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 102 Registered: 02-2005 |
Here’s a fly-on-the-wall tale of an artist I’ve never been able to listen to after witnessing his behavior behind the scenes. There was a great club in my college town called Ruby Gulch (Champaign-Urbana, U of I). Ry Cooder was booked to play; this was 1974 or ’75, long before he was anything approaching a household name. The day of the show I stopped by for an afternoon beer and a marathon game of Flying Carpet (retired pinball wizard here). I was alone with the bartender and after an hour of maintaining the max 15 replays I was about ready to abandon the machine. Just then the front door swung open and there (cue: Ennio Morricone soundtrack) silhouetted in the late afternoon light stood Ry Cooder, guitar case in hand. “Oh, this is cool.” I thought. “I’ll get to hear his soundcheck.” The bartender came out to welcome Mr. Cooder with outstretched hand. Ry did not offer his hand in return. “Have you checked into your hotel yet?” The bartender asked. “The soundman lives just around the corner, if you want to do a soundcheck now he can be here in a couple of minutes.” Ry Cooder didn’t respond and an awkward silence hung in the room for several seconds. Finally Ry spoke, “Is this it?” he enquired. “Whaddaya mean?” asked the confused bartender. “I mean, IS THIS IT? Is this the whole club?!” demanded the irate musician, gesturing towards the roughhewn road house that had hosted everyone from Gene Clark to Steve Goodman, Elvin Jones to ‘Sugarcane’ Harris. “Well… yeah,” said the barman with a touch of pride. “My manager must have made a mistake,” said Ry, “I don’t do clubs anymore, I just do concerts.” And with that he spun around and walked out onto the street, never to be seen again. ***** I've never seen a musician act as contemptuously as Ry Cooder did that afternoon and I've never listened to his music in the three decades since witnessing that episode. | ||
| Rob Robinson Member Username: Rsub8 Post Number: 28 Registered: 05-2005 |
What a spoiled brat. It's difficult to listen to artists who've behaved badly, and that account takes the cake. A definite Spinal Tap moment. | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 103 Registered: 02-2005 |
It really was appalling behavior. Ruby Gulch was a nice club and booked great music. There was a steady stream of Chicago Blues artists making the three-hour drive down to the club - Otis Rush, Hound Dog Taylor - but it wasn't good enough for Ry 'effing' Cooder. I saw Rahsaan Roland Kirk there, Roger McGuinn, lots of good music. The night was sold out; two sets of 200 tix each and what did he spend the evening doing instead, watching TV in his hotel room? Obviously, he was an ambitious guy and has succeeded in a big way with soundtrack work and Buena Vista Social Club and such. But if he had a gripe with his management he should have taken it up with them, not punish 400 fans and renege on a contract with the club to make his point. He's a world class douche bag in my book. | ||
| Peter Collins Member Username: Tyroneshoelaces Post Number: 73 Registered: 05-2005 |
Rhyl is indeed in north Wales. Denbighshire, to be precise. So there! | ||
| Wilson Davey Member Username: Wilson Post Number: 38 Registered: 05-2005 |
yeah, Rock on Rhyl, "The seaside town they forgot to close down" | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 15 Registered: 03-2006 |
I met Bruce Springsteen backstage, just as Born To Run was coming out...helluva guy...completely nice, humble, cool...I'm not tall myself (5'10"), but Bruce seemed distinctly diminutive...Around the time of Born in the USA though, I think he started pumping all that iron, and it somehow, increased his stature. Maybe it just made him stand up straighter... When I met him, he was very patiently and calmly greeting a crowd of fans and well-wishers, who were neatly lined up backstage. You really do become tongue-tied and say dumb things...The only thing I could think of to say was "Dylan's been in the area, too". Like the Boss cared...but, he graciously replied, "Oh yeah? That's cool". It would probaby not be surprising or shocking to tell you he puts on an amazing show. I also met Paul Simon in a little Cajun place, Mulate's, in Breaux Bridge, La. TALK about short...he only came up to "tit-level", but was still super nice...and, I have to acknowledge, he gives a hell of a concert...The crowd (in a Lafayette arena) was so into "You can call me Al" that he played it twice in a row... And, finally, I met Marshall Crenshaw when he was opening up for Hall and Oates...Marshall's brother, Robert, also his drummer, struck up a conversation with my girlfriend. I shamefully hung in the background till he got us backstage. Marshall was also super nice. I stupidly and too loudly said "We're here to see you, not Hall and Oates" in earshot of his drummer. Which was a shame,not only for the rudeness, but it wasn't even accurate or in good taste. Hall and Oates, whether or not they're your cup of tea, are musically quite excellent. | ||
| Rob Robinson Member Username: Rsub8 Post Number: 32 Registered: 05-2005 |
This being not in the same league as those mentioned here, I (still) have a couch that could be labelled “Ron House Slept Here.” The Great Plains (Mk. 1) crashed in my apartment near Chicago when they played there. First, they arrived in my living room. Scoping out the situation, Ron immediately said, “I'm going to sleep here” (on the couch). There was no argument from Matt, Mark, etc... They all had to crash on the floor... Nice. Now, straying off-topic... Besides “rock stars,” because of my work, I’ve met several Nobel laureates: Linus Pauling, Roald Hoffman, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer. (see http://nobelprize.org for more info on these folks.) The father of a sometimes drinking buddy (Burton Richter) also is a Nobel laureate. Burton discovered some new subatomic particle. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking... So what... I would tend to agree. But, I have to say that I felt much more intimidated in the presence of these guys than any other famous rock folks I’ve met. Even over several beers (in someone’s home, as happened once - Roald Hoffman...). Here’s a little tidbit of a story: Gerd Binnig could be a little bit of a goof-ball. I had witnessed some bizarre antics on a few occasions. This time, on the last afternoon of a technical conference in Baltimore, I was blowing off steam in the hotel bar (a Hyatt or somesuch 30-story monstrosity on the waterfront). Who wanders in but Gerd, wearing a tattered (big holes), plain white T-shirt, looking very much like a refugee who was, well, “living outdoors.” I motioned to the bartender, and asked, “would you believe that man over there won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1986?” She glanced at Gerd, then without a word, spun around on her heels. After that, she wouldn’t serve me any more drinks, dammit! (I was on my first beer.) Sometimes truth can be harder to swallow than fiction, I guess. | ||
| Geoff Holmes Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 67 Registered: 05-2005 |
I always end up talking to artists if I can or am drunk enough. Robert got a full earful from me when I could barely stand at Bulli last year poor thing! I've met the Church a number of times. Steve Kilbey is improving with age..he used to be a total prick! He can tolerate fans now! Marty actually approached me when he did a gig in Wollongong last time...probably because the place was nearly empty! I have even talked to Donovan briefly which was really cool!!! | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 112 Registered: 02-2005 |
This is a second-hand story, but it’s funny… A friend of mine met Bruce Springsteen at a big music biz party. He was a really nice guy and when he found out my buddy was from Hoboken he offered to give him a ride home at the end of the night [Bruce was interested in seeing the town because he had an upcoming video shoot at Maxwell’s for ‘Glory Days’, directed by Hoboken-local John Sayles]. They got separated during the course of the evening and Michael didn’t expect to see him again, but Bruce was very gracious, tracking him down when he was getting ready to leave. They went down to the garage and Michael prepared himself for the high-speed ride of his life when the parking attendant pulled up Springsteen’s vintage muscle car – a souped-up Camero or something. Bruce gave the attendant a big tip and they got in. It became immediately apparent that Bruce was a terrible driver. He lurched up the parking ramp and they almost got into an accident pulling out onto the Avenue. The whole ride home, through the Lincoln Tunnel (missed the exit) and into Hoboken, Bruce was an utterly hopeless granny behind the wheel. He was the slowest driver on the road and he narrowly-avoided a couple more fender-benders during the short 15-minute drive. Michael said it was so painful, he couldn’t wait to jump out of the car when they got to Maxwell’s. The point is that Springsteen didn’t grow up racing 386-Hemi’s in the backstreets of New Jersey any more than you or I. He’s an artist. | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 24 Registered: 03-2006 |
Highly amusing - I wonder if it's better, in fact, to NOT meet your favorite artists...it would probably help keep the idealized vision intact, plus, it would help guard against the cringe-worthy things that inevitably leap out of one's mouth... | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 113 Registered: 02-2005 |
At least in Springsteen's case (and I know other people who've met him) he seems to be a very decent guy. I mean, 'Born In The USA' was at the top of the charts when that episode took place and he tracks-down a complete stranger at a big industry event just because he promised the kid a ride home... that's pretty cool. I've read how he could be fairly manic in the studio, really trying the patience of his band. But we're also talking about an artist who awarded all of the E-Street band members royalty percentages on the albums they played on even though he's the only one under contract to Columbia. Sure, he can afford it and I'm not that big a fan, but he sounds like a real stand-up guy. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 227 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yeah hats off to Mr Springsteen, even though his dancing in the dark moves were terrible!! | ||
| Hardin Smith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 26 Registered: 03-2006 |
Another "star" encounter comes to mind, mainly for its embarrassment potential...a coupla years ago my girlfriend and I were going to see Elvis Costello at the Wiltern in L.A. (Great tour - the one he did with just him and Steve Nieve)...we stopped to eat at El Cholo, an excellent Mexican restaurant. As we were enjoying our meal, who walked in but T-Bone Burnett (brilliant singer songwriter and, now, hotshot producer of many greats, including EC) with his wife, Sam Phillips, and a guy, who I now realize must have been the artist Joseph Arthur, who Burnett also produced. The embarrassing part is that apparently I was staring so hard at Burnett and company, trying to work up my nerve to go talk to him, that he asked the waitress to seat them someplace else...I'm not completely certain that's why he moved, but sadly, it seems the most likely interpretation. I saw him and his party in a booth, on the other side of the restaurant and, if I'm not mistaken, he gave me a real "f___ you" look, as I walked out. I felt distinctly like George Costanza. |