• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Meeting someone famous.

#101
petrus61 said:
I've had the pleasure to meet the following at work:

Tony Levin
Chris Wood
Larry Grenadier
Norah Jones
Meshell Nndegeocello
One of the Dixie Chicks
Dave Holland
Warren Haynes
Matt Abts
Alan Rubin (trumpet for Blues Bros)
Gail Ann Dorsey
"Larry" from Perfect Strangers
Uma Thurman

To be fair, I think all of them more or less live or have houses or record locally, so it's not that strange. Also, most of them are only "famous" by musician standards. The only ones I personally had been star struck with were Dave Holland and Tony Levin, who are both very friendly and humble dudes.
Click to expand...

I live up the road from you, and you are correct, most of them and a whole slew of others live in the Hudson Valley. It's like Williamsburg North around here right now. :) I've lived here for decades and have been playing gigs for 23 years but have somehow never met Levin. Go figure.

My list of people I've met in person, which is limited by my CRS, includes:

Bob Babbitt (SUPER cool guy, I got to call him AT HOME and then get a picture while he was on tour with the Motown band a few weeks later)

Gail Ann Dorsey (ran into her at a music store in Kingston)

Cassandra Williams (sold guitar strings to her at another music store in Kingston where I used to work)

Living Colour (the Doug Wimbish lineup...agreed, he's an awesome down-to-earth guy)

Watt (another super cool guy)

Angelo Moore ("Y'all got some energy for white folks!")

Pat Martino (total sweetheart)

Bo Diddley

Most of the people in the Northeast punk/ska scene during the '90s. Most were cool...the others had started believing their own press releases.

Ryan from Matchbook Romance is an old buddy. I slept in his parents' guest room for a few nights after I lost my lease on an apartment after college.

My mother has you all beat...she went to college in Ohio with Ed O'Neill, AKA Al Bundy.

EDIT: Oh! I forgot Harry Benson, who photographed The Beatles.
 
  • Like
Reactions: petrus61
#102
As I think back on things, I havn't met to many "famous" bassists. Michael Anthony at NAMM. I did however spend 3 days at NAMM in Anaheim, CA with Dimebag Darrel and Vinnie Paul at Cheetah's with Dan Donnagan at our table!! Strippers and Rock Stars are a blast to hang around. Had dinner with CC Deville and Bill Conklin. Spent 3 days wandering around with George Clinton and his wife. Spoke with Coolio for about 3 hours at NAMM one year (Still have his home phone number somewhere). Not to mention I have played bass with Jenny Jessup (first female banjo player on Hee Haw) and Dicky Betts. Played bass for Tom Constanten of the Grateful Dead and Bob Bralove, Vinney Wellnick, Melvin Seals from the Dead/Ratdog/Jerry Garcia Band.. Probably a few others. (sorry about really bad spelling)
 
#103
N
KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
I live up the road from you, and you are correct, most of them and a whole slew of others live in the Hudson Valley. It's like Williamsburg North around here right now. :) I've lived here for decades and have been playing gigs for 23 years but have somehow never met Levin. Go figure.

My list of people I've met in person, which is limited by my CRS, includes:

Bob Babbitt (SUPER cool guy, I got to call him AT HOME and then get a picture while he was on tour with the Motown band a few weeks later)

Gail Ann Dorsey (ran into her at a music store in Kingston)

Cassandra Williams (sold guitar strings to her at another music store in Kingston where I used to work)

Living Colour (the Doug Wimbish lineup...agreed, he's an awesome down-to-earth guy)

Watt (another super cool guy)

Angelo Moore ("Y'all got some energy for white folks!")

Pat Martino (total sweetheart)

Bo Diddley

Most of the people in the Northeast punk/ska scene during the '90s. Most were cool...the others had started believing their own press releases.

Ryan from Matchbook Romance is an old buddy. I slept in his parents' guest room for a few nights after I lost my lease on an apartment after college.

My mother has you all beat...she went to college in Ohio with Ed O'Neill, AKA Al Bundy.
Click to expand...

Ha...now that you mention punk, I forgot to add Daryl Jenifer and Dr.Know.

Small world!
 
  • Like
Reactions: KUNGfuSHERIFF
#107
ZBirdV8 said:
I've met:

Glen Danzig
Ozzy Osbourne
Slash
Obituary (John Tardy, Donald Tardy, Terry Butler, and the guitarist whose name exscapes me at the moment)
Rob Zombie
Bobby Liebling (Pentagram)
Frank Ferra (BANG! lesser known but had a minor hit)
OTEP

Who do you want to know more about?
Click to expand...


How were Otep? saw them at an ozzfest, I think 2002. hadn't heard of them before that and loved them!
 
#110
For me...
Leo Kottke (I ran his sound at a concert. Very down to earth guy)
Curtis Stigers (Worked the stage crew and sat down and chatted for a while)
Ruth Buzzy ('70s Movie Star)
Tim Butler (Psychedelic Furs, Really nice guy, talked bass shop)
Johnny Kazian (Google him. Hollywood stuntman.)
Davey Hamilton (Indy Driver)
Scot Alexander (Dishwalla - Sold him a pedal board the other day lol...)
Montel Jordan (Ran his sound)
Dr. Demento (RIP - What a cool, Nutty guy)
Tony, Tone, Toni
Sir Mix a Lot & Posse (Larry, Kid Sensation At our teen age night club in Ariz.)
Michael Damien


All of the folks mentioned were very nice bar none. All willing to just sit down and "Shoot the Breeze". I'll probably edit this this a couple of times adding more. I'm old and my brain forgets shi... stuff.
 
#112
A girl I used to hang out with showed up at my place back in '99 w/ Michael Bruce from the original Alice Cooper group. He ended up staying at my place for the week waiting to catch a plane back home to Texas. Hell of a nice guy!
 
#113
I had a smoke with john abercrombie once before his gig.

I was in line behind Don King at mohegan sun once. He was buying a really big tv at the discovery store I think.
I was with my grandad and he was talking tons of poopie about him loud enough for him to hear us(hes old). I was so embarrassed
 
#114
Damn, I feel like a noob.....

I have only met one bass player in my life....

I think his name was something like....John Francis Anthony Pastorius III
weird name- have you guys ever heard of this guy? JK

Stage crew at the UC Berkeley Jazz Festival in the the spring of 1980.

He had a frisbee and was playing in the Greek Theatre.... as interested in his frisbee
as he was in the concert.

He was very intense and was very, very alive with energy....


We got to dup the dry ice in the mist machine for Weathereport's opening tune!!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Spirit of Ox
#115
During my time at Disney World:

Talked with Kenny Baker and his wife for about an hour.
Talked with Arlo Guthrie for about an hour after a show at EPCOT.
Talked with Joe Perry for a few minutes.
Gave David James Elliot directions to EPCOT.
Loaded Warwick Davis & family onto a monorail.

All friendly and polite people, especially Arlo. My non-Disney celebrity experiences were getting to play with Ira Sullivan for a couple of hours at a friend's house (talk about pressure!), and when I was hired for the band to play Phyllis Diller on/off stage during a two-week run at a local theater. We were lucky enough to get to spend several hours with her in between shows during that two weeks. She was pretty wild on stage, but just a sweet little old lady when not in the public eye, and she was nice enough to sign my Ibanez too. Wish I'd gotten Ira to sign my Foundation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Steineronbass
#116
During my time as a struggling, but determined musician in Nashville, I worked part-time for a guy who ran a custom case company. We did work for practically every pro-audio company on the planet... as well as a wide variety of artists, so there was a steady stream of notables through the shop.

Sting (though I never met him personally, we built all the cases for his infamous portable recording studio)

Shania Twain & Mutt Lange
Lyle Lovett
Smashing Pumpkins
Keb' Mo'
Don Gibson's bassist. (sorry, can't remember name, but had a very cool bass and was very nice)

As for bassists... the best known would probably have been Edgar Meyer, who had an incredible studio nearby. Also Victor Wooten, as we built cases for all gear the Flecktones carried. Actually the last case I built was a suitcase-sized box to hold Vic's giant pedalboard. Stenciled his trademark yin-yang on every one. Super-nice guy... one day after seeing my bass standing in the lobby for an after work gig, and realizing I was a player, he offered some words of encouragement, and then completely unsolicited, gave me a promotional copy of his newest cd. (at the time, it was "A Show of Hands" - yes, I've still got it)
 
#117
Famous pp I have met included:

Actors/Sports
Muhammed Ali (1977 and he was already showing 'punch drunk')
Joel McHale (actor & comedian)
Elton John (man is he ever short)
Hugh Laurie (I was a little tipsy and he was not happy with me)
Kasey Keller (fmr goalie Seattle Sounders)


Musicians
Sergio Mendez
Victor Wooten
Spyrogyra (all of them)
Chick Corea
BossaCucaNova (all of them)
Horace Silver (a GOD to me)
Joe Henderson
Eric Marienthal
Poncho Sanchez
Rocco Prestia, David Garabaldi and TOP
Rippingtons (all of them)

I dunno, just too many others in the music sphere....

They're all like the rest of us, pants on one leg at a time.
 
#118
I covered boxing in Las Vegas in the 90's and have met countless famous fighters. But most interestingly, while living in Vegas, I became friends with Dana Plato (from the 70's sitcom Different Strokes). I was also picked up hitch hiking by Carly Simon when I lived on Martha's Vineyard. My brother went to Berklee and was friends with Paula Cole. The three of us would hang out, but that was several years before she became famous.
 
#119
image.jpg
Here's the pick guard framed in its glory.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rickwebb and JeromeH
#120
I've met several famous people, although much of the time it has been by accident. Limiting this to only bassists, I've "met" Leon Wilkeson (Lynyrd Skynyrd,) and Dale Peters (James Gang.) I use the word "met" very loosely, though. In the case of Leon Wilkeson, I was there in the same room with him, but so were a lot of other people. In the case of Dale Peters, my first band once opened for the James Gang.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JeromeH

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back