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edensdad

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591
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Brooksville, FL, USA
Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater - Humble, Funny, personable. In the 30 minutes I observed him (in line to meet him) and the 5 minutes I spent talking to him, I could be friends with the man - I liked him.

Pete Willis - First Def Leppard guitarist - drunk, obnoxious. Met in line at DisneyLand, CA, 198?

Les Paul - Really nice man. I was in a music store playing of all things, a Les Paul. This old man sat down and listened to me for about 10 minutes smiling and nodding, complimented me, and left. When he went to the other end of the store I was told who he was.

Ozzy - he has his moments. . . I met him during a nice one.

Neil Peart - amazing, humble.

Yngwie - wild and aloof.

Ronnie James Dio - Nice guy - tired from a show, took the time to talk to a stranger outside - me.

Bobby Brown (Whitney's hubby) - A**hole at first, nice later. He saw my guitar and started yelling "guitar man - play something" in the Boston Subway (Red Line to Harvard Square) I was carrying my acoustic in it's case. I took it out and started playing You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC - he started rapping over it - we had fun for about an hour in the park drinking beers and playing. I didn't believe who he was until I saw a picture later.

>^..^<
 

tommyindelaware

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wilmington , delaware
Colin said:
Maybe we should just talk about the positive encounters and refrain from slaggin on these guys?

I have met Steve Morse several times and each time he was very fan orientated. Interestingly the last time we spoke (at a DP concert) I asked him if would ever consider putting a quilt top on his guitars? His reply was "No, I like the way poplar keeps the sound neutral"
I also had the chance to drive Eric Johnson around town and at lunch I asked him if he would ever do a signature model? His reply was "No, I prefer older guitars"

I'm glad they changed their minds :) (not that I would buy a EJ strat)
Colin

i don't think the y2d thing was steve's idea initially....
 

Tim O'Sullivan

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Christiansburg, VA
I met Luke at the Red Lion in Twickenham many years ago (1998 I think!?) at the Sunday Jam session. He was introduced to me by a mutual friend. My friend asked if it was ok if his friend 'Steve' could borrow my guitar. When I went to the other side of the bar, my jaw dropped! He was a really, really nice guy and smiled at my VH T-Shirt. He signed my old guitar, and even watched me play as I jammed with the house band. He clapped my solo's!! :D

He asked if he could play, and I handed him my guitar, but the pub had been getting lots of hassles from the residents, so they said no as it was 6.01pm! (they had to finish at 6pm) Luke said 'F**k it man!' and went back to his pint! When I told the jam organisers who it was he just refused to play, they kicked themselves!

Luke was in London producing a Jeff Beck Album at the time by all accounts.
 

brentrocks

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Paw Paw, MI
EVH...it was a short meeting, but he did sign a pic i took of him in '93 (very cool) he was nice for the short time we had...also had pic taken with him and the band.

Great White....Actually have met them 4 times. Super cool, easy to talk to. Mark Kendal is an awesome guitar player!

Tesla.....Frank Hannon is awesome! Jeff Kieth was super nice!!! Troy Lucetta was really shy....really nice guys too!!! Met these guys twice!

Jackyl....Crazy Mothers!!! Really cool though.

Damn Yankees....Very nice. Ted is a crazy man!! Jack Blades is about 4 foot 4 (not really) and a squril!

Ace Frehley....Super nice....smaller than i thought he would be, one of my hightlights, next to EVH!

Queesryche.....F****n' A******S!!!!!

Traci Guns...Really cool

Warren diMartini and Bobby Blozer....Blotz was really nice, Warren was tired but did take the time to give me a sig...really cool though

Sabation Bach....oh my god! one of the coolest!!! he would have signed the kitchen sink if i would have brought it....loved to talk, super tall, like 6-6!!!!
 

JT1

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May 10, 2005
Messages
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Satch a few times. He's very mild mannered, happy and sincere.
Via. Hell of a nice guy. Likes to talk about stuff.
All the guys in Foreigner. Ate with them after the show. Great time.
Blackfoot. I know them.
Peter Criss. Hung out and played at my house for a couple days. Intense.
Neil Schon. Very nice guy.
Yngwie. Personable but elusive. Into himself.
Billy Sheehan. Very likeable.
Stu Hamm. Good guy.
Mike Love. Wierd.
Yoko. Ha, what can you say?
Forgot a lot of people I've met over the years but these stick out.
 

shamus63

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Aug 8, 2005
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San Mateo, CA
I almost forgot to mention Mike Inez (AIC, Heart, Ozzy)...a fellow high-schooler and friend/jammer (guitar at the time) from my LA days (around early '82).

I used to go to his parents' house, and we'd jam Ozzy/Sabbath/VH...whatever. Who knew he'd hook up w/Ozzy less than ten years later?

I haven't seen or heard from him since late '87, but it fits this thread.
 

edensdad

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Nov 27, 2004
Messages
591
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Brooksville, FL, USA
lameduck said:
details, details...

I saw/met Neil at a drum clinic in Massachusetts back in the 1980's. My drummer and I were huge into RUSH. There were tons of people, so it was like shake and sign, next. I was expecting a huge kit and lots of rock star aura, but what he did was play a little 5 piece and focused on odd beats and repeating patterns - like the same 47 beat pattern repeating. He seemed really interested in teaching us instead of blowing our minds.

He was amazing to watch - I think my drummer felt like quitting after that. Like I did when I saw Stanley Jordan - you see someone at that level up close and realize - I suck. But then you realize they didn't get there in a day, pick up your instrument and keep learning.

Even though I'm a guitarist, three of my favorite musicians are drummers - I usually watch the drummer most at the concerts I go to. It's like with the guitar you know what he's doing even if you can't replicate it exactly.

>^..^<
 

jazzbo jim

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Feb 4, 2005
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634
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Great White North
Well,, 1st one's not rock, but..

Brad Paisley Nice guy-met him twice. Signed two of my teles. He actually wanted to talk about the "nuts and bolts" of each axe..pickups etc...pretty cool.

Steve VaiSuper kind and a good sense of humour-He had a good laugh when I told him that I saw him 20 years before with Zappa and thought to myself.."this guy's going places!"

Alan Holdsworth-Backstage at the tralf..ultra cool. We had a beer with him, talked 'till we had no more to ask/tell him AND he even let us play his guitar!!!! (A Charvel at the time)

Kim MitchellA Canadian guitar icon..met him a few times. We have mutual friends. He Just signed my "Stripey" EVH strat a few weeks ago. He's a major EVH and Vai fan.
 

akozols

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Nov 3, 2002
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122
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Lansdowne, Pa
I worked as a part of the "change over"crew for for Spectrum in Philly. We set up the stage and unloaded the bands trucks. Since we were backstage, we got to see the artist walking around before the show and going to and from the stage. Most were cool and down to Earth.

The only wierd one was Barry Manilow. We were TOLD to turn our backs and face away from him when he walked by. We weren't allowed to look at him.
 

tommyindelaware

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Dec 24, 2002
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Location
wilmington , delaware
that's REALLY out there !!!!!!


akozols said:
I worked as a part of the "change over"crew for for Spectrum in Philly. We set up the stage and unloaded the bands trucks. Since we were backstage, we got to see the artist walking around before the show and going to and from the stage. Most were cool and down to Earth.

The only wierd one was Barry Manilow. We were TOLD to turn our backs and face away from him when he walked by. We weren't allowed to look at him.
 

kbaim

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Red Rock Country
akozols said:
The only wierd one was Barry Manilow. We were TOLD to turn our backs and face away from him when he walked by. We weren't allowed to look at him.

Funny, Sterling asked us to do the same thing at the Open House when NorM walked by.

:D
(LMAO)
 

brettlingle

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Sep 9, 2005
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Location
Gilbert, Arizona, United States
fogman said:
The Jeff Beck thread made me think of the idea of this one.
How many of you had the opportunity to meet someone famous (preferably in the music business)? How was there persona? Where they cool? Lame? Losers? Awesome down to earth dudes???

I didn't get to go to the open house, but I can tell that the EBMM artists are totally down to earth nice guys! (even Lucious! ;) )

My only brush with musicaly fame was meeting Kim Mitchel.
All I have to say is, for someone who isn't that "big", what an Arse!!!:cool:

1.Survivor- Guys were all really nice.
2.Don Dokken- One of the coolest famous guys I ever met,very humble.
3.Mick Brown- Kind of cool,seemed irritated with me asking for autograph,was more interested in talking to a big breasted female hanging around.
4.Quiet Riot-Every guy in the band is an asshole end of story,and they sounded like crap.
5.Skid Row- Guys are all really nice.Skid Row with new singer BTW.
6.Blackie Lawless- Biggest dickhead I ever met. There was a kid asking for an autograph and he told him that he doesn't sign autographs for free and that he could buy one at their stand.
Brett Lingle
 

shamus63

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San Mateo, CA
akozols said:
The only wierd one was Barry Manilow. We were TOLD to turn our backs and face away from him when he walked by. We weren't allowed to look at him.

I would have told him to kiss my @ss as I turned my back!
 
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ripley

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Jan 25, 2005
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monster island
let's see if I can remember...

al di meola: has god complex and wears really tight pants.

les claypool: threw something at me and my girlfriend. but didn't mean to and said he was sorry

mike portnoy: maybe he was having a bad day... but it was a very unplesant experience.

steve buscemi (creepy little guy from fargo?): actually ran away from me on a subway platform in NYC.

bill frisell: nice guy. very quiet.

frank gambale: nice guy. I didn't know he had shaved his head so I was surprised.

michael manring: very nice guy. gave impromptu lesson

michael hedges: same thing. traded me autographed cd's and posters for the t-shirt I was wearing

jonas hellborg: very quiet, but nice guy.

shawn lane: wow.we had a 45 min. conversation about the most bizarre stuff. then he let me play his guitar through his stage setup and help with soundcheck.

janet jackson: horrible experience.

EVH: ugh. bad, bad experience. I was working soundcrew for a show they were doing at an ampitheater in the southeast. christ he was a jackass. and the show totally sucked.

oh, god, I met clay akin (spelling? - from american idol) too: what a f#%&ing moron. he made me want to kill my television with an axe then bury it face down at sunset.

and that actress andie mcdowell called my girlfriend a "pig" and made her cry. so I told her that I "loved her in Hudson Hawk... it was the BEST movie!" she gave me the finger and stormed off.

oh, I met the guy who played macgiver (spelling). he put his luggage down to sign something really stupid for me in an airport... I wish I could remember what it was. god, it might have been the inside of my passport or something. I wish I could remember.

and I've met a boatload of japanese rock stars who's names I really coulden't spell out in english correctly. all nice and a little crazy.

and that's all I remember at the moment.
 
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mcvinyl

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Oct 4, 2004
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Brisbane Australia
I've only met one Rock Star:

Colin from Psychotherapy : Talk about a Rock Star personality, he doesn't let you look him in the eye, if you're leaving the room you have to walk out backwards so that you don't show him your back. He will only speak to you if you call him sir.

He always thinks he does better sound than the sound engineer.

I even heard a rumour that he wouldn't be in the wedding photos of one of his family members.

:D
 

koogie2k

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Moyock, NC
mcvinyl said:
I've only met one Rock Star:

Colin from Psychotherapy : Talk about a Rock Star personality, he doesn't let you look him in the eye, if you're leaving the room you have to walk out backwards so that you don't show him your back. He will only speak to you if you call him sir.

He always thinks he does better sound than the sound engineer.

I even heard a rumour that he wouldn't be in the wedding photos of one of his family members.

:D

Wow....I would have showed him my back with a little bit of extra scenery if you know what I mean.....hehehehe.....;)
 

SteveB

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Pittsburgh, PA
Careful, mcvinyl! I think that Colin bloke posts here sometimes. But if he really IS that way, he probably has all of us on his 'ignore' list anyway... ;) :D
 

Hookpunch

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Jan 27, 2004
Messages
344
ripley said:
let's see if I can remember...

al di meola: has god complex and wears really tight pants.

les claypool: threw something at me and my girlfriend. but didn't mean to and said he was sorry

mike portnoy: maybe he was having a bad day... but it was a very unplesant experience.

steve buscemi (creepy little guy from fargo?): actually ran away from me on a subway platform in NYC.

bill frisell: nice guy. very quiet.

frank gambale: nice guy. I didn't know he had shaved his head so I was surprised.

michael manring: very nice guy. gave impromptu lesson

michael hedges: same thing. traded me autographed cd's and posters for the t-shirt I was wearing

jonas hellborg: very quiet, but nice guy.

shawn lane: wow.we had a 45 min. conversation about the most bizarre stuff. then he let me play his guitar through his stage setup and help with soundcheck.

janet jackson: horrible experience.

EVH: ugh. bad, bad experience. I was working soundcrew for a show they were doing at an ampitheater in the southeast. christ he was a jackass. and the show totally sucked.

oh, god, I met clay akin (spelling? - from american idol) too: what a f#%&ing moron. he made me want to kill my television with an axe then bury it face down at sunset.

and that actress andie mcdowell called my girlfriend a "pig" and made her cry. so I told her that I "loved her in Hudson Hawk... it was the BEST movie!" she gave me the finger and stormed off.

oh, I met the guy who played macgiver (spelling). he put his luggage down to sign something really stupid for me in an airport... I wish I could remember what it was. god, it might have been the inside of my passport or something. I wish I could remember.

and I've met a boatload of japanese rock stars who's names I really coulden't spell out in english correctly. all nice and a little crazy.

and that's all I remember at the moment.

That Andie McDowell story is priceless - good comeback - what the hell did she call your girlfriend a pig for?

Steve Buscemi - just ran away from you?

I didn't have anything to add but since we are drifiting into celebrities -I met the writer Neil Gaiman at a book signing -I took my stepson to get his copy of Wolves in the Wall signed.

At first I was freaking annoyed at the book store staff because I was in line for 3 hours. As it turns out the long wait was Gaiman's fault, instead of just signing he actually talked to my stepson and drew little cartoons in his book for him. He did this for everyone. I later checked his blog and he was there almost 8 hours.
 
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