Meeting someone famous.

[Big Hoss]

In college longer ago than I care to admit, I used to manage a full service gas station in Tucson not too far from the mega bucks mansions in the foothills... While working there, going to concerts, and in school I met a few well known folks... If I recall, I met in this order...

Gary Spinrad A.K.A. Elviss Simmons. Was a classmate / friend in Jr. high school. (Okay Semi - regionally famous but whatever...)
Eldon Hoke A.K.A. El Duce from The Mentors. (RIP) From what I saw, he lived like he sang, hammered surrounded by skanks.
Jello Biafra.
Don't recall the individual names, but the entire band and what few crew they had for FEAR at an after concert party in the late 80s.
Gary Coleman (RIP). (He came into my station to gas up his blue Ford Escort).
James Doohan (RIP) Yeah I am a geek. I met him and the next two at a Tucson Trek convention).
William Shatner. My impression is his reputation is pretty accurate. Thinks too much of himself.
Marina Sirtis
Geddy Lee (At a Rush Concert in Phoenix. I was having trouble with getting my old VW bus started, he just walked up and asked if we needed help...)
Sir Mix A Lot. (Was visiting a friend in Oregon that was running a gas station up there, yeah seemed to be a trend back then... This was back in the Swass days... Mix A Lot's crew was touring and stopped to fuel up. Still have an autographed cassette tape somehwere... I was showing off some stereo work I had just finished on my old Toyota, I was thumping "Posse on Broadway" when they pulled in, needless to say a conversation got started...)
Mark and Scott Kelly (Astronauts, I live pretty close to that whole thing...).
George W. Bush. Came into a hardware store I worked while finishing college in TX. I don't recall if he was Governor yet, or just on the campaign at the time...
Dusty Hill. He lives around Houston. Bumped into him at a restaurant in the Galleria area.

Plus countless local "Hip Hop Stars" that are famous with a different crowd than I run with at car shows, and music shops in Houston... No disrespect for Hip Hop, just not my thing, so I don't know the people that well. I know Mix A Lot... Yes it's hip hop, but not really what these local guys are doing...

I know I have run across / met plenty of "famous" people. For the most part, I am unimpressed with celebrity. The only meeting I got excited about was Geddy and that is because I would LOVE to learn to play from him. Not to mimic his style, but to know what he knows, and go in my own direction I think would really help me as a bass player. Yes I wanted to play bass back then, I just couldn't afford to... (Lots of the concerts and conventions I went to were tickets won in radio contests, or dirt, dirt, dirt cheap shows...)

 

[Kevan Campbell]

I've been fortunate enough to meet Jason Newsted, Bill Dickens, Norm Stockton, Buddy Guy, Matt Murphy, Thomas Rhett and a few members of Sevendust (back in the 90's). All were very kind and gracious to fans, and Bill and Norm in particular were very open to talking shop and giving great advice. Class acts all the way, but I definitely didn't freak out or go crazy when meeting them...in fact I think Buddy Guy barely noticed me while signing my Strat for the cute brunette next to me.

 

[jtemple]

Got you all beat. I met Tom Lester (aka Jeb) from Green Acres. I also watched as they filmed "Jingle All the Way" at the Mall of America. Stood about 20 feet from the Governator. Almost met his stunt double. You can all be jealous.

 

[JamasC]

I work security in Nashville so I've met all sorts of country "stars"

Was behind a hotel, around the load in area, I saw this Aston Martin. It was all blacked out just amazing. This kinda thick blonde girl came out and unlocked the car so asked if she enjoyed it. Wa talke about cars for about 20 min she was very cool. Went inside and a guy is like ... Dude were you really trying to flirt with Kelly Clarkson? I was like who's Kelly Clarkson?

I've also tried to kick Jason Aldean out of a backstage area because he wasn't wearing credentials.
Had to ask Ron white to stop smoking his weed in the building. He was a blast to be around.

 

[kcole4001]

I think it was around 1980 that me and my cousin walked into a music store for strings. Right when we walk in all we could hear was this horrible noise coming from the second floor. After a few minutes it stops and we heard a huge round of applause (I thought they were happy it was over). People flood downstairs and we walk over to the counter. There stands this tall, thin guy that kinda looks like an old rooster with a diamond in his ear that could choke a goat and a Sherlock Holmes pipe. He looks at me and wants to known if I want a autograph and I said no, just strings. I thought he was going to punch me in the forehead until another guy took over and set me up with some Ernie Balls. I just didn't know who Ginger Baker was but I could see why Jack Bruce (RIP) didn't get along with him.

Not at all surprising.
Watch the film and realize why: Invalid Link Removed

It's pretty entertaining, I saw it on Netflix.

 

[kcole4001]

I met Kim Mitchell and Peter Fredette at a restaurant I worked at around 1995.

They came in and ordered and when they saw I recognized them (how could you not?) and was trying to figure out what to say, Kim said "No, I just look like him" and left it at that.
I said 'OK'
I figured he just wanted to be left alone, and that's fine, but it was definitely them.

 

[Bassbubble11]

I banged Debbie Harry.

 

[Dave44]

I've met and chatted with only a couple of big timers B.B. King and Hoyt Axton and both were beautiful humble ordinary people, who spent a small bit of their time to chat with their fans one on one. Hoyt just sat on the edge of the stage after his show swinging his legs and answering any and all questions and signing his autograph for everyone. Felt very special to me.

 

[Jack Butler]

I've met:

Glen Danzig
....

Who do you want to know more about?

I'd be interested to hear about what Danzig is like in person. I'm not much impressed by "celebrity" status, but he'd be an interesting dude to chat with I'd think. Or not?

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Years ago I was in a band that opened for a bunch of national acts, so I met a number of cats. Some guys were great, some not. Just peoples, ya know?

 

[Biggbass]

I've met and spent time with a lot of famous people...but here a few memorable highlights from days gone by;

had lunch with Jerry Stiller and Ann Meara and made it thru lunch with only one spit take
shot pool and drank whiskey with Ray & Dennis from Dr Hook & the Medicine Show when they had
their picture on the cover of Rolling Stone
Picked acoustic guitar with Richie Havens
shared a plate of potato skins with Kenny Loggins
Stayed up all night partying hard with Bad Company
had morning coffee and smokes with Stevie Ray
contemplated life events with Justin Hayward
pigged out on late night Italian food with REO Speedwagon
and
Was told "I've always loved your voice" by Diana Ross, which left me speechless...

but as SanDiegoHarry says...they're just people...once they get off stage they are just like everyone else...for the most part.

Ted Nugent once told me, "it's an act man....it's show buisness...you gotta have an act! But when I'm not on stage I eat Whoppers and put my pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else."

 

[Robroy]

Years ago I was in a band that opened for a bunch of national acts, so I met a number of cats. Some guys were great, some not. Just peoples, ya know?

Back in the early 80's I sold Hi-Fi and video gear in Bellevue Square (Microsoft country). Some lady came in and I sold her a fairly nice VCR. As a salesman I would ask people questions and kinda get to know them so I could steer them to what would probably best meet their needs. Anyway she asked me if I had ever seen All That Jazz. I said "not yet". It was kinda embarrassing because I'd never heard of her, but it turns out she was a fairly major player in that movie.

She was Ann Reinking. She was also a very nice lady.

 

[hintz]

I also met and spent some time with Mike Watt a couple times.

mike watt played at my old college (McNally Smith), he borrowed my fathers jazz bass, very nice guy, I really gotta find that picture!!!

 

[Robroy]

Just remembered another one. I worked at Jafco in Bellevue (again, Hi-fi sales) back in 76-78. One day a couple of chicks and a couple of guys came in together to buy a TV. They went out with a 17" Sony Trinitron. They were most of the members of a musical group from Issaquah called Heart.

Roger is part of the music Scene in Seattle and we talked from time to time (before I moved to KY) and we're still facebook friends. When we "re-met", I told him the story. "Oh, yeah, we've met before, Roger...".

 

[shawshank72]

Over the years I have opened for several famous musicians. I have also acted as a technical advisor for several benefit shows. During that time I have met:

Mark Farner (Formerly of Grand Funk Railroad)
Rick Derringer
Blue Oyster Cult
Vanilla Fudge
Jack Bruce
Paul Shortino
Billy Squier
Gene Simmons
Georgia Satellites
Marshall Tucker Band
John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
Steven Tyler
Joey Kramer
Billy "Thunder" Mason (Former drummer for Tim McGraw)
Doc Gibbs (Emeril Live Band)
Todd Rundgren
Christopher Parsons
Alan Parsons
REO Speedwagon

What was Billy Squier like if you actually got to speak to him?
Was a huge fan in my younger days.

 

[Dondabass]

Here's a few:
In 1974, my high school band marched in the Rose Bowl parade, and behind us were the Jackson 5 riding the Post float (remember those cardboard records on the back of cereal boxes?). My buddy and I snuck into their staging area and shared McDonald's french fries with Michael, Jermaine and Tito. I joke with friends that my band uniform inspired Michael's look.
Ella Fitzgerald kissed me on the cheek and said "It's up to you to keep this music alive". Still gives me goose bumps. She was the sweetest lady I ever met! I showed her to her dressing room which was just a practice room behind stage. I asked her if it was alright and she said "Honey, we used to change on the back of a bus...this will be fine". True class all the way!
B.B. King tapped me on the shoulder and ask me to move our band van that was blocking his limo.
Stevie Ray ran into me (literally) rushing to catch a plane.
Ritchie Havens, Arlo Guthrie (I live rather close to him), Meatloaf, I was in a pick-up band hired to back Chubby Checker,
On the jazz side, Maz Roach, Stan Getz, Steve Swallow, had lunch with Woody Herman,and favorite story is:
I was taking a jazz workshop for a week about 25 years ago and we were set up into quintets. On the second day, our piano player had to leave and Billy Taylor stepped in to cover...for the whole week!

 

[jnewmark]

I've met, opened up for, and got to sit in with some famous people like, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Big Walter Horton, Mack Rice, Ike and Tina Turner, Little Richard, to name a few. Most of them were more than nice to me, and easy to talk with. The only bummer time I had with meeting someone famous was Johnny Winter, who was rude, obnoxious, and a total diva. The most interesting famous guy I met was, believe it or not, Myron Floren, the longtime accordion player for Lawrence Welk, who talked my ear off about playing music, show business, and just life in general. A really sweet guy, who had a great sense of humor.

 

[FourNotFive]

I've run into a number of musicians and celebs over the years. Unless it is an official "appearance" I never ask for autographs or photos and try to just convey thanks and maybe talk about something unrelated to their fame.

Most amusing was (literally) bumping into Matt Dillon at CBGBs and reacting by shouting, "You broke my dose!" while several large men stepped between us and made it clear that I should move along...

The only time I was really starstruck was meeting Joe Strummer after a show on his last tour. My friends were chasing him around and started hounding him for a picture while he was clearly trying to sit in a corner and talk to friends. I was embarrassed, but he obliged:

My embarrassment turned to mortification later in the evening while we were drinking with his band (The Mescalleros) and the drummer suddenly shouted "Hey were did my socks go?" and my friend pulled them out of his pocket and sheepishly returned them. As a musician himself he should have known what a terrible thing it is to take a touring musicians pair of post-gig dry socks!

 

[Robroy]

I was in a not very good country band in Seattle. Our lead singer couldn't sing very well but she had connections with The Wolf radio station and got us some great gigs. I brought my daughter (19 at the time) into the band to do background vocals and some leads. She actully IS a good singer.

Anyway, about five years ago there were these two up and coming country singers that were touring Washington state and we opened for them at a western washington amphitheater. My daughter had the time of her life sitting in the big "limo bus" and talking with the guys. I had not been to KY yet and their southern drawl was a crack up. They were the real deal, Luke Bryan and Eric Church.

 

[Clark Dark]

I met George Duke and Stanley Clarke at the Keswick theatre in Abington PA, at Bass Day in 2000 I met Chuck Rainey, Anthony Jackson, Billy Sheehan, Dennis Chambers and Marcus Miller. Leonard Hubbard (Hub) formerly with the Roots is a close friend as is Ron Jennings (guitarist) another close friend who's been working with Bootsy since the album "What's Bootsy Doing".