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You opened for WHOM???

Back in days of yore, Green Day, No Doubt, Offspring and Blink 182 all opened for my old band! Of course, they all went on to fame and fortune and we, uh . . . did not. We also played with many of the other bands in that genre that were around back then -- Bad Religion, Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise, the first Warped Tour, etc.
 
Maybe this doesn't count. I've never opened for anybody but I used to work on film sets in the sound department.

One of the biggest jerks I ever met was Shirley McLaine. A total diva and working in Canada was so beneath her. She asked one crew member where he was from and he said he was from Winnipeg. She said, "Really? You seem so intelligent." She wasn't joking.

She also slapped her wardrobe person.

She had a flunky go around the set to ask who wanted an autographed photo. That flunky had to put up with a lot of verbal abuse from the crew that day.

Most of the celebs are were quite decent. Some of the standouts: Sir Ben Kingsley, Robin Williams, Bill Pullman, some others that I can't think of right now.

Usually the bigger they are, the less insecure they are, so they're less likely to be jerks. Usually but not always.
 
U2
Funkadelic
Beach Boys
Ministry
Duran Duran
Billy Idol
Jefferson Starship
Fishbone
Cheap Trick
Bon Jovi
Til Tuesday
Neville Bros.
Grinderswitch
uuhhh, I'm blanking out.

On yeah, Matthew Sweet
Simon Townswend
Martha and the Muffins
the bus boys
The Shakin' Pyramids
_____________________
Uncle Tupelo
The Elvis Bros.
Plasticland
The Guffs
and Lowen and Navarro opened for us.



THAT list is pretty cool.....nice!


how much fun was that?

al
 
The last band I was in opened for some notable metal bands.

Deicide (multiple times)
Dying Fetus
Mortician
Goatwhore (multiple times)
Cattle Decapitation
The Chasm
Origin
Soilent Green
Played in the first annual Southern Slam Fest in SC back in '05

Scheduled to open for 1349, but our drummer suddenly "couldn't make it"
Almost opened for Cannibal Corpse, but they don't allow local bands to open for them
 
The Grass Roots
Pure Gold from the PBS TV Rock & Roll shows twice with another one coming up
Working on opening for a few other large acts for the near future but can't list them yet.
I sang with Jason Ringenberg from Jason & The Scorchers on a song
Our drummer toured with The Buckinghams for a short time.
We were recently asked to be the back up band for a Temptations, Drifters, Coasters, & Platters show but we were already booked.
 
Some of the Bay area guys will get this one: MIRV. I was playing drums for a band at the time. They were not very nice guys. We had our stuff set up on stage and were waiting for showtime. They roll in and tell us to get it off so they could do a soundcheck. I was miffed at the time, but after reading interviews with them years later about how they were eating microwaved bread and potato sandwiches on the road to get by, I actually felt bad for them. Great band btw. Kehoe used to come in and drink at the Max's I used to manage.
 
A year and a bit ago we supported The Damned cos we recorded a cover of machine gun etiquette on our DIY demo, kinda a lame gig though cos it was full of middle age people who were punk when they were out the office and all that, kinda depressing. The goth band with a drum machine that played after us were pretty funny so that kinda made up for it :p

Back in days of yore, Green Day, No Doubt, Offspring and Blink 182 all opened for my old band! Of course, they all went on to fame and fortune and we, uh . . . did not. We also played with many of the other bands in that genre that were around back then -- Bad Religion, Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise, the first Warped Tour, etc.

Crickey, that's quite a list...
 
My pop-metal back in the day opened for (seperate shows) XYZ, Lillian Axe, Britny Fox and McQueen Street.
XYZ was a one hit wonder that recorded "Inside Out". They stood at the bar an hour before sound check for their acoustic set bashing the gear and the looks of the opening band (not acoustic) and Milwaukee in general. I had my stuff set-up before they ever got there an was having a beer as the guitarist and drummer finished their prep. The guys in XYZ had no idea that the guy sitting next to them was the bassist in that opening band UNTIL they walked up to the stage and asked if they could use our stuff to do a half dozen electric tunes, my band mates were stoked, they were like "Yeah! Cool!" and then they looked at me still standing next to the bar and asked if I was cool with it, HeHeHe, I said "F&%# No, those guys are Dix". XYZ spoke not a word more to us. Now that was funny!

Lillian Axe was much bigger and better band than XYZ, with more albums and far more talented. We opened for them at SHANK HALL in Milwaukee (Yup, the Spinal Tap-esque SHANK). They were awesome guys; in fact, the drummer was endorsed by Tama and my drummer played Tama; their drummer gave mine over $200 in hardware just 'cuz!

Never met Britny, just nodded.

McQueen Street was another one hit wonder with a tune called "In Heaven", but we opened for them at the height of there 15 minutes of fame. Great show and very nice, humble guys - they looked exhausted, but took the time to chat with us anyway.
 
I've actually opened for some bands that was huge,at one time or another.Me being from W.V.,I know what you guys are thinking....Who'd you open for,Emmit Otters Jug Band???Gut-busting laughter ensues...

Not a bad list,considering my geographical location:

.38 Special and David Allen Coe-(The guys from .38?Couldn't have been any cooler.D.A.Coe??Different story.I believe he was still packing the smell of the person he killed,way back in the day.The King of Body Odor!!Straight drunk.)But....I DID get to hold a Dean "Rebel Flag" Razorback that 'Dime had given him.Cool.

Great White/At the W.V.River Regatta-We were on the bill w/several bands.We went on after "The U.S.Air Force Band"Awesome guys,awesome band!!Talk about a great stage show!They had the"Blue Angels"flying overhead!!After we played("Mystery Box"),Great White finished up the show.Awesome!!Mark Kendall,the guitarist,great player.Really cool guys.Made us feel like we belonged.Frankly,we did belong.

Johnny Paycheck-A modern-country band I played in years ago backed him.This guy was a flake.A drunk.A ragin' alcoholic.After listening to him ask us for 3 straight songs,"What key is this in?"Our guitar player got on the mic and proceeded to spew a line of cuss words at him that would make a sailor blush.Well deserved,if you ask me.

Featured Act:George"no show"Jones/Venue:"The Coalfield Jamboree"(Dear God,I can't believe I'm telling this)-Anyhow,the local radio station sponsored a contest to see who would open for ol' George.Well....We won.........wow.......Here's the kicker:After the show,we were hangin' out backstage,and ol' George is doin' his usual (fake smile) meet'n'greet shtick,you know signing autographs and whatnot.Our guitarist asks Mr.Jones to sign his Martin D-35,with a black sharpie marker.He (Mr.Jones) turns to me and offers to me,"Son,would you like me to sign your bass,too?"We're talkin' about my baby,my Tobias!Well,I acted pretty quick and grabbed an old set list out of my case.Just ain't a country fan,guys.

Pat Traverse-Our band opened for them.Awesome,awesome,awesome!!!Wanna hear a brutal,kick-your-ass bass player??Check out the one and only,Mr.Mars Cowling.The club we were playing was maybe a 7 min. drive to my house.Mars really loves the instrument.We got to talking,ends up,he rides w/me to my house to check out one of my Jazzes.Now that's cool!!Great band.

Blackhawk-Another country band.Nothin' to write home about.