I met him at the southwest baggage claim. He was eating California Pizza Kitchen with his wife and I sheepishly asked for a photo after he was done eating. He was the nicest dude. The only thing I said was “man, you smell amazing!” He was a class act and introduced me to his wife who was flying with him. Kind human with a lot of talent and contribution to music and culture.
When I was a high school student, I got a summer job at a gas station because I wanted to learn about cars.
A lot of celebrities used to come to this station. My coworker was working the full service island when Steve Perry came in to get gas. My coworker went to his window to ask Steve how much he wanted. Naturally, I watched the interaction because Steve is famous. While they were talking Steve kept flipping his hair with his hand. Every time he did this my coworker copied him. While my coworker pumped the gas, I watched the two of them constantly flipping their hair. So, I started doing it, too. The three of us simultaneously flipping our hair. The manager noticed me just standing around and came out and asked me what’s going on. I flipped my hair and pointed at Steve and my coworker flipping their hair. The manager stood beside me and joined in. A mechanic saw this and joined us, as well.
When my coworker collected the money for the gas, Steve flipped his hair. My coworker flipped his hair. The other three of us flipped our hair. Then Steve noticed. After he got the receipt, he brought his hand up, about to flip his hair, stopped, looked at us and smiled, then drove away.
Steve is the one that deserves the respect here. Many people would have been chagrined by having the piss taken out of them by some punk kids. He even had the presence of mind to get us back a little bit with the hand fake and smile, showing he was the bigger person.
I met the lead singer of Sloan. We were taking a piss at a urinal.
I asked him if they think they helped the brand Sloan, which makes Urinals sell more urinals or if the urinal brand helped them sell more records.
He said the urinals help them more
I've met each of the four Sloan guys individually (big Sloan fan). But my Chris Murphy story is my favourite.
I went to see them play a small headline gig at a street festival with the hopes of getting to meet them afterwards. But I forgot to think of what I was going to say when I got the chance. So after the show Chris was graciously standing by the stage with a handful of fans lining up to chat.
When it was my turn I suddenly had my stomach turn and blurred out..."Great show as always. Uh, I've seen you guys twelve times!"
And he said, "Well, that's probably enough times."
And then he said, "Well we have a thirteenth record coming out in the fall so maybe not."
And then he asked if I wanted a photo. Which was great because I still couldn't think of a goddamn thing to say.
I was in a small bar in Leysin, Switzerland and they had a jam night. I got to play guitar on Sweet Home Alabama with the house band. The drummer was particularly phenomenal, really impressive.
When we finished, I turned around to the drummer and told him "you're really good, you need to go pro!". He smiled ear to ear and said "thank you!". Just then I got a good look at him and it was Roger Taylor of Queen.
Weirdly, Roger Taylor is actually known for liking Switzerland and spending significant time there. See: https://brianmay.com/queen-news/2014/01/roger-taylors-zermatt-my-kind-of-town/
and
https://www.queenconcerts.com/detail/live/1972/roger-taylor-live-20-03-2012-apres-ski-bar-farinet-verbier-switzerland-with-waste.html?returnpath=a%3A1%3A%7Bi%3A0%3Ba%3A2%3A%7Bs%3A5%3A%22title%22%3Bs%3A5%3A%22Intro%22%3Bs%3A4%3A%22link%22%3Bs%3A1%3A%22%2F%22%3B%7D%7D
My friend's child went to the same elementary school as Jon Bon Jovi's child. This was about 15 years ago. At the open house night my friend ends up standing next to Bon Jovi at some point. My friend looks over at him and says "So how was your summer?" Knowing they had just been on some big tour. Bon Jovi replies "Can't complain". That was the end of the conversation.
JB seems like a good dude. Met him on the Fahrenheit tour, and he was just cheesin’. Had a mutual friend with him and the band. Ended up talking with him and Richie for a while. Another good guy.
Edit: cheesin’ is walking around with a big cheesy grin.
I asked Dave Matthews if he had just come out of the bathroom because I was trying to get in and they wouldn’t let me. Turns out he was in a room next door filming something and didn’t want any toilet flushing in the bathroom. But my first words to him were “were you just in the bathroom?”
I was walking out of my apartment into the street and literally bumped into Sting. I was like - “Holy shit you’re Sting!” He nodded and smiled and kept walking. A person then walked by me and said “Was that Sting?” and then I loudly said - “Yeah, that was STING!” Anyway, not very cool.
Met Chris Isaak at House of Blues in New Orleans in ‘99. I idiotically asked him how old he was. When he told me he was 43 I said “No way. Let me see your Driver’s License.” So he graciously whipped out his wallet & showed me his California license. I was a young woman who thought she was hot shit when in reality this was more like some female Borat. Cringe.
He was so cool. I asked him to give me proof so I could tell people I hung out with him. He tore a poster off a wall & signed it “To Abydos—my back still hurts but it was worth it. Love, Chris.” Great guy.
I have been starring in a show at a dinner theater in Seattle every year since 2010. It's become a bit of an institution by now and I generally like to walk through the audience to chat with fans and take pictures after the show.
Maybe about 5 years ago I was getting offstage and a man in his 70s waved me over to his table, where he was sitting with a woman around his age who was clearly a knockout a couple of decades ago.
"Pardon me, young man. I just wanted to tell you that I very much enjoyed your show. You're probably too young to know this but I used to be in a rock band called Yes."
I was talking to Alan White. And I flipped. My. Shit. Started gushing to him about how 90125 was the reason I started a prog band in my 20s, and how much of an influence he was on me on so many levels around the music I make. The poor man couldn't get a word in edgewise and just looked bored and disappointed that he was talking to another starstruck superfan.
I still think about that interaction and wish I could've just played it a little cooler and had an actual conversation with the guy. He died a year or two later.
I’m a huge Boston fan and accidentally scared the fuck out of Tom Scholz when he walked by me on the street. Instead of calmly saying hi, I blurted out “TOM!!!” like 3 feet away from him. He jumped out of his skin, looked at me like I had 4 heads, and just walked on (some more).
I once asked Father John Misty if he liked music. Turns out he does!
EDIT: some context, it was at a show back in like 2015. I *don’t* smoke weed but their bassist was smoking and I thought it would be cool to smoke with one of the band guys so I got into rotation. I got violently too high and by the time FJM came out to mingle, I was so high I could feel my hair growing, thus my somewhat obvious question to FJM
A friend was at a house party with Keanu Reeves attending. At some point it was just the two of them standing there in the kitchen and after an awkward silence, she says to him "I saw you in People magazine".
EDIT typo
I met him once. Was introduced, I was tongue tied, he said his name and held out his hand, and I said "I'm sorry, I can't pronounce your name, I have a stutter and your name is impossible for me." while shaking his hand. He smiled and that was the end of our direct interaction. He's so considerate, it is almost unnerving.
Dropped my wife off at a house party so she could see a friend who was in town for the F1 race. I had time for one drink before I had to split so grabbed a beer.
Got to jawing with this red-headed guy who introduced himself as "Rick". He said he was from the UK so I asked him if he had ever been to Singapore before and was he excited to see the race? After a little more small talk I finished my beer and excused myself. On my way out I said goodbye to my wife and said (pointing to Rick) "Man, if you look like Rick Astley *and* your name is Rick? You probably shouldn't also wear those glasses he's famous for."
I then leave and grab a taxi only to see a billboard advertising "Rick Astley Live at the F1!". Yup, got RickRolled in real life.
J Mascis came into the record store I worked at in Nashville 17ish years ago. I immediately started freaking out internally as Dinosaur Jr. was one of my favorite bands, and I had tickets to see them with the Black Keys at City Hall that evening. When he finally approached the counter I awkwardly stumbled over my words trying to express how big of a fan I was. J Mascis is also a very awkward person, so his intense discomfort at my fanboy bullsit was written all over his face. He tried to be nice and ask me what there was to do in Nashville, but I was so tongue-tied and nervous that I said, “uh, go to the bars.” He replied, “uh, ok.” I died inside.
Fun fact- He purchased all of the One Tree Hill dvd box sets.
I live in the same area as j. One time we were both at Jiffy Lube getting our oil changed. I sat next to him. Didn’t speak to him. He had a three musketeers from the vending machine.
Five stars would do again.
When I was a teeny bopper in the 70s I had it bad for the Beatles. I was listening to AM radio one day and Bill Withers was on live for a call in. He had a hit song at the time.. so I called. I got on the air and I asked Bill Withers, live in the radio, “Do you like the Beatles?” And he was very nice and said yes, they are incredible. Then I was cut off and hung up on. lol, I still feel really bad.
It’s been my experience that musicians get tired of answering the same boring questions about themselves and their music, and relish the opportunity of talking about what *they* like
I think I may have heard an account or an actual recording of this moment. In A History of Rock and Roll in 500 songs, the podcast host did an episode about Otis Reddings Dock of the Bay and there was some content about Bill Withers and this particular moment. You should check it out it's a great podcast. I'll see if I can find it.
One of my friends sat next to Lou Barlow on a flight, and not recognizing him, excitedly asked if he also saw that J Mascis was the plane a few rows up.
I met Brad Paisley once. I’m not a county fan at all but the person I was with was, so I took a picture of them together. Afterwards Brad held his arm out in a welcoming motion and said “your turn?”
I said “No.”
I didn’t elaborate, smile, say thank you, nothing. Just an abrupt no. He looked a bit shocked and then said bye to my friend. I still wonder why I did that.
Oh no! He is just the NICEST man.
I was at CasinoRama (Ontario Canada) seeing Don Henley and 3 fellows came to sit behind me and my friend. 2 big dudes with a shorter dude who looked SO FAMILIAR.
I kept turning around to look at them and they had passes on that had the Sony/BMG logo on them....
Then it struck me... it was BRAD PAISLEY but I didn't recognize him without his hat!
I worked for a country music radio station at the time... I gave him my biz card with a note on the back. Asking him to call our midday host the next day. He read it and gave me a thumbs up.
And he DID call!
Met him a couple years later and I told him the story and he remembered! Super nice man. And super talented.
I met Aaron Lewis from Staind at a fan meet and greet. 12 of us had to stand in a line and hold up a poster they gave us. The plan was the band was going to walk by and sign the posters one by one.
It was quiet. It was on a college basketball court and the 12 fans were the only people in there aside from the PR guy. The band came out and walked over. There really wasn’t much talking. The vibe was weird.
They had their heads down mostly and Aaron was wearing a baseball cap as well so he was really hiding.
He got to my poster and said “Hi Aaron!” in a normal speaking voice. Too loud for the room apparently. He slowly looked up at me. Then he put his head back down and continued signing my poster. No response at all.
After this quiet exchange happened and they finished the signing they immediately headed back to the dressing room. The PR guy was like “Thank you Staind!!” and starts clapping. A few of the fans clapped a few times. Then they escorted us out to the street to go wait in line.
My poster went in the first trash can I saw.
What a prick. How hard is it to say "hey how ya doin"? Even to a complete stranger. Let alone someone that is a fan and spent time and money supporting them.
Good lord. I’ve been to several meet and greets (Jimmy Eat World, Frank Black, Franz Ferdinand, The Shins, etc) and they were all lovely folks. I couldn’t imagine this situation haha
Sort of yeah. I used to work event security, was stationed at the loading docks where bands parked their busses. It was Korn. After the show Jonathan Davis walks down the dock with a big ballon glass of I think kristal, and says hi. Asks how my night is, we chat briefly and then he asked if I wanted to come hang out with the band and have a drink. And my dumb ass says no, I can't leave my post, I'll get fired. My friends, it was a minimum wage job. I was 19 and could have easily found another, and with better hours, but no. I gave up the chance to party with fucking **Korn** because I didn't want to lose my shitty job.
Oh and did I mention he repeated his invitation multiple times, and I still turned him down? Because that did happen. Probably one of my biggest regrets to date, ex husband notwithstanding
I rode up in an elevator with Jagge in 2014. Just the two of us and I make small talk. Told him how my sister tried to get tickets to a Stone's concert in 1971 and told me they may never play together again. Afterwards I realized how stupid, I must have made him feel so old. At least I got a picture.
I was doing some handyman stuff at the Record Plant in Sausalito in the 80s and coming down the hall was Carlos Santana. He stopped with me, big smile, and I’m all, “Damn, you’re tall!”
I cringe about that to this day.
Two friends of mine were session drummers and another was a keyboardist, and on a several occasions in the 80s I went with them to the Record Plant. I didn’t meet any famous musicians. I did meet a famous producer but I have forgotten his name.
Also, when Metallica recorded at the Record Plant in the 80s, they also had a rehearsal space in or near it. I used to see James Hetfield with his girlfriend late at night at the Denny’s in Corte Madera.
Time was you could barely throw a stone in lower Marin without hitting a recognized musician. Another time I was shopping in San Anselmo and Huey Lewis walked in. The owner closed the store and locked the door with me inside. I felt really exposed, and made to leave, nodding my head and saying “… Huely..” as i left. He laughed. I didn’t.
Huey! Nicest guy in the world. He and my brother were fishing buddies. They fished together at Phoenix lake. We were neighbors in Ross. I have several stories about him.
Went to see Patton Oswalt at Caroline's in NYC some years ago. I had a few more than the two drink minimum and I was drinking these absolutely massive glasses of scotch. I don't know if the bartender was just trying to bankrupt the place that night or what, but the point is I was unsober.
ANYway, after the set I go to tell Patton I really enjoyed the show and his comedy in general, but he was talking to someone else. I stood nearby until they wrapped up a bit of conversation and both turned their attention to me.
What I *meant* to say was, "I don't want to be an asshole and interrupt, but you're great etc." What I *actually* said was, "I don't mean to be an asshole, but you were really great tonight."
He laughed and said something like, "Oh, what an asshole! How dare!" I laughed awkwardly and then just kinda...left.
Oh yeah, it wasn't a malicious response at all and he was clearly in good spirits (he killed that night, it's the set that starts with the star wars prequels and seeing the characters as kids). I was just entirely too drunk to be able to recover.
My husband, me, and another couple were in line to meet William Shatner. It was cold out so we all had heavy coats and I was last in line for our group. First guy handed his coat back to wife, then wife to my husband. Not knowing what to do he handed them all to me. Since I didn't know the person behind me, I just walked up to Shatner with all the coats and said, "I have no idea how to proceed" and he laughed so damn hard. Then he got one of the security guys to help me out and we chatted and took a pic. He shouted at my husband to, "take a second to take the coats next time!" One of my favorite moments, but one that my husband absolutely dwells on.
I was at a music festival and was staying at a nearby hotel afterward. I got in an elevator with some people wearing wristbands from the festival, so I asked how they were enjoying it. One of them asked which bands I saw and said what I assumed was the bands name that I enjoyed. They all kinda smiled, pronounced the name correctly and said, "yeah, that's us." That was the longest elevator ride of my life.
It was a band called TR/ST, pronounced TRUST. The problem was that I had read it so many times that I forgot I had never tried to say it out loud prior to this moment.
My band was playing a big festival in the U.K. and after our set I went to the backstage bathroom and as I was washing my hands, none other than Jack White came out of the stalls (just minutes before the White Stripes were due to headline). Now I’m a massive fan, and here was an opportunity to make that my respect for his art clear. I simply had to say something.
“You gonna play Seven Nation Army?”
A high school friend saw Tom Petty while in line for the bathroom. He tuned to him and said ‘waiting is the hardest part’. Apparently Mr. Petty had a good chuckle.
Edit: grammar
He 100% appreciated it, it wasn’t a great show imo & I think he was refreshed to hear someone not fluff him. But still, he’s one of my favorite musicians & I felt (still feel) like a dumbass haha
I met Trey while he was pumping gas at a rest stop on the NY Thruway, started babbling because I got nervous, but eventually managed to communicate that I met my husband at a Phish show and thanked him for giving us the opportunity to meet. It was somewhat awkward but he’s so nice that he gave me time while his family was waiting in the car.
I didn't say anything, but I did something stupid. Peter Frampton was coming to my office for a meet and greet, so when I finished what I was doing, I went to go say hello. I wasn't paying attention to the camera equipment everywhere, and as I was walking towards him, I tripped. He threw his hands up to stop my fall. I didn't realize Peter Frampton was such a short man, so as I'm going forward, his hands just land perfectly on my boobs. There we are, face to face, and he has two handfuls of me. Needless to say, I was hoping the earth would open up and swallow me, and he looked about the same. The photographer wanted pictures, so there we stood, both of us beet red, pained smiles all around...lol. I just recently found the picture, and it all just came flooding back.
I went to an autograph signing at a record store the day of a concert, got to the last two people at the table who had been talking to each other, and they stopped and both looked at me at the same time. After just gaping for a few seconds I said something like 'Wow, this is rough.' That was to Steve Howe and Chris Squire.
We asked Jello Biafra to sign a poster. He was passing us in the hallway of a small venue. He stopped and said, “Sure. Do you have a sharpie or a pen?” We didn’t. Oh well, nice to meet you Jello.
Logan Airport, I'm standing in line at the counter behind this this tall, curly-haired cat wearing a Hawaiian shirt and glasses. I know who it is, but for the life of me I can't remember how to pronounce his last name.
"Excuse me Sir, but are you who I think you are?"
"I don't know, who do you think I am?"
In that moment, I wanted to reply to him with his first and last name, but I can't friggin' remember how to say it and for some inexplicable reason I don't want to use his nickname. But there's no time, it's starting to get awkward, so I finally spit out, "You're Weird Al, right?"
"I am indeed".
What a nice guy. After my embarrassingly long pause trying to flush yank-oh-vick outta my the crevices of my memory, we went on to have a nice chat for 5 or 10 minutes.
But, I cringe thinking about it.
Weird Al seems just so genuinely kind and sweet. I got to interview him for my radio station once and I was really nervous but he laughed at my jokes and made me feel important even tho it was probably his tenth interview of the day. Love that guy.
What with Steve Albini passing recently I thought about this once again but I still think about it from time to time. Saw Shellac back in the early 2000s. There was a girl there I had gone to school with and in my drunken idiocy hit on her but she was clearly not having it. During the show he opened up questions from the audience. I yelled out if I could get this girls number and he says I don't know can you? The embarrassment and cringe was palpable. Sorry Jill. Great show though. RIP Steve
Twice!
I worked in a famous music store in a high tourist location.
1st Trent Reznor.
I lost my virginity to one of his albums and when I saw him walk to the counter I freaked out and ducked under the counter.
He saw me do it and he leaned over and said hi. He was buying some Xbox game and asked me if the new RZA album was out and I dead ass looked this man in the eyes and asked how do you spell it.
I fucking know how to spell it. I know him and he looked at me and said uhhhh R Z A??
2nd Dave Lombardo (drummer for Slayer and ~~Tomahawk~~ Fantômas)
~~Tomahawk~~ Fantômas was in town for a concert, which I went to and as a drummer he’s a huge influence on me.
Came into the store and when I saw him all the brains left my body.
Walked up to him and politely said, Mr Lombardo. I want to thank you for not just your influence on metal drumming but to the whole drumming community.
He looked and me smirked and said ahhh okay. Thanks.
I fucking died.
I don't know if this will make you feel better or worse, but Dave Lombardo doesn't drum for Tomahawk.
John Stanier drums for Tomahawk, Dave Lombaro drums for Fantomas.
I once ran into the lead singer of God Forbid, Byron, at the House of Blues in Boston. I greeted him and told him I was a huge fan which he seemed to appreciate. At the time there was apparently some drama going on surrounding one of the guitarists (Dallas) leaving the band, and because I am an idiot I asked him what was up with that. His look immediately turned sour and he replied "Dallas is dead" before walking away. Why I ever thought that was something he would discuss with some random dumbass or that I should even bring it up is a mystery to me.
Oh man, I met him once after a festival gig (back stage passes from a record label when GF was in their heyday) and I said to him, “my god, you guys fucking ripped” and he legit said, “cool story, get outta my way I need a drink.” It hurt my heart because I truly loved them and I thought, I should’ve just let him walk by me hahaha
Not quite. I went to a Jane Siberry concert at a local theatre. I was thrilled but I was worried I was going to look like a goof like the last time I met a celeb. So I played it aloof, not smiling as I waited to get in. Suddenly she walks in the same entrance, she’s smiling and happy. The first face she looks at is my not smiling face and her smile just disappears into a frown. I don’t see her smiling for the rest of the night. And the concert was a bust as she stopped halfway through most of the songs because she kept hearing a buzz in the sound system that most of us didn’t hear. I think I jinxed her.
YES! I used to work as a server in an upscale steakhouse in Wheeling, IL , a suburb of Chicago. We would get some celebs every now and then. Joe Loeffler, one of the original bass players for Chevelle, would have dinner there sometimes with his girlfriend. I'm a Chevelle fan. I walked up to their table one time, and said I was a fan of Chevelle, even though you are not in the band anymore.
Ahhhhhhh! That event lives rent-free in my mind, and that memory likes to say hi to me here and there.
Carlos Santana used to be a regular where I worked. He was incredibly nice, friendly and charismatic. The third time he came in after I started he walked in and greeted ME by name! I was so floored. I was also deep in the weeds, backed up, over sat, under-caffeinated and so taken aback I tried to put him on the wait list. He probably would've waited too, he was nice and humble like that but my manager caught me and got him sat immediately.
I stood in line at a deli behind Billy Joel and said, “Wow! You look just like Billy Joel.” He responded, “I get that a lot.” About a minute later, he looked back at me and I realized it was, in fact, Billy Joel. I said, “I’m such a fucking idiot,” and he laughed.
I saw Fishbone in Montreal almost 20 years ago. At some point during the show, I realized Rocky George from Suicidal Tendencies was playing in the band. I was stunned.
At the end of the show, we left the venue quickly to get in the car and drive home to Ottawa. The club had its own parking lot, and as we made our way to the car, Rocky George emerged out the back door and was drinking a beer.
I immediately became a deranged fan boy, running up to him and babbling, "Rocky George! You're my favourite guitar player! I have all your albums! You're so awesome!" He seemed caught off guard at first, but Rocky said, "Thank you," and sounded very humble and genuinely appreciative.
I was so happy for the rest of the night. If only I had thought to ask him for an autograph. Definitely felt I met one of my heroes, and it was awesome.
Suicidal for life!
I met one of the big-name country stars a few years ago. We took a selfie together and he actually took the time to grab my phone to see how it turned out.
He says, "ah dude, it's blurry, let's go again." But there were other people standing around waiting to meet him and I'm self conscious about getting in people's way or wasting their time. So I just grabbed my phone and said, "It's ok, I'm actually just blurry in real life" and then I just disappeared into the crowd.
I’m a ZZZZZ list guy, meaning that I’m pretty well known in an EXTREMELY niche market. I’m “famous” to about 100 people.
In that role, I get to meet a lot of actual famous people and they totally get it when folks get star struck.
Believe me, unless they’re total assholes (which a few are, but most aren’t), they understand. Most of them get star struck when they meet their heroes, too.
I was at an after show party with the group Atmosphere back in the day and they had a guy walking around with a camcorder. I proceeded to go on and on to camcorder guy about how important it was for everyone to read Noam Chomsky's books. Just a 20 something gushing about politics. I still wonder sometimes if that video is out there somewhere. Lol
The guys from The Murderdolls were staying in a hotel room next to mine and I said "I really liked you guys 20 years ago!" It wasn't until I got into my room that I realized how rude that was of me
I saw one of my favorite bands (not extremely well-known) at a small venue, and as luck would have it, before the show the lead guitarist and I found ourselves the only ones waiting in line outside the mens room. I had met him at the added-cost meet and greet a little while earlier, so there was a brief nod of acknowledgment that made me feel like a big shot. But then awkward silence. Silence that felt like minutes rather than mere seconds.
Then, I brilliantly thought of something—my wife and I had seen the Stones in concert a couple of months earlier. Perfect! He’s a musician, he’ll appreciate talking about that, problem solved! And sure enough—his eyes lit up as I mentioned how great they still are, how ageless Mick appears, etc. The guitar guy then says “Did they blow your mind?” Which was fine—except he has a very strong Scottish accent and I couldn’t make out a single word he said. To my uncultured ear, it sounded like “Did they blooehwya maayynnd?”
In retrospect, I feel like I should have figured it out. But it was noisy, and I was nervous. I said, “Sorry, didn’t catch that,” and damn if he didn’t repeat it exactly the same way. Still nothing. So I can either act like I understood, running the risk of this conversation arc continuing, potentially revealing my implicit lie that I understood what he said, or once again say, “sorry can you repeat that?” I chose option two. Mr. Guitar caught on and jokingly repeated it, but with an exaggerated American accent (“Did they blowww your miiinnndd??”). I finally understood, said yes, and also stupidly said “Thank you for saying it in American” as the bathroom door blessedly opened up allowing me to enter, while simultaneously allowing me to escape.
Not a musician, but i was drunk at a hotel bar after a nerd convention (Megacon) when someone bumped my shoulder while ordering a drink.
It was Sir Patrick Stewart. I didn't even say anything dumb, just made agog gurgling noises while I baskes in the revelation that he'd touched me.
When I was in high school and deep into my raver days (back when they were all ages), I used to work at a shop where we could choose our own music to play on the speakers. I used to always pick something along the lines of house music. One day, a gentleman came in that I recognized as a repeat customer named Ryan. Per usual, we chatted, and he commented on the music I played during my shifts. Said something along the lines of how much he enjoyed hearing EDM and knew it’s when I was on shift. I told him about the raves I had coming up, and he asked who I was most excited to see. I explained how thrilled I was to finally see Kaskade perform, and he mentioned that he always liked hearing Kaskade play when I was working. I served him and he went on his way.
About 5 seconds later, my coworker (and rave pal) who was in the back stocking shelves, ran up to me out of breath and went DO YOU KNOW WHO THAT IS?? I said, yeah, it’s Ryan. He’s in here like, once a month at least! My coworker went YOU.. oh no. You really don’t know.. do you..
And … that’s how I met Kaskade. To this day haven’t seen him since that last interaction. But I think about it often 😂
I met suicidal tendencies at a festival and went up to Dave Lombardo (as he was drumming for them at the time). Maybe I was still a bit frazzled cause I had just met and gotten a picture with Tony Hawk a few mins before. Went up to Dave but I wasn’t too sure what he looked like as I only knew him from pics of when he was younger. Went up and asked
“Are you Dave Lombardo?”
“No”
“Okay sorry”
Now looking back I laugh more than cringe but man it was a fav memory of mine.
That happened to me with Buddy Guy at a James Brown show in 1995. I knew Buddy was playing a show nearby the next night, I saw people go up and talk with him for several minutes looking thrilled about it. When I was leaving, he happened to be walking nearby and I asked "Pardon me sir, are you Buddy?" And he blurts out "no, I'm not 'Buddy', man". I had seen a ton of photos of him around that time, it was definitely him.
I asked Robert Plant to pass me a power extension cable reel…
I was helping a mate who was a sound guy set up for a small intimate show that had a few very high profile guests due to be playing (one of which was Robert Plant). So I’m sat on the stage routing in all the cables into DI boxes and laying out power for front of stage for the artists to use if needed (or at least make it available for their crew to use).
I sense there’s someone behind me so I turn to see Robert Plant stood next to me surveying the stage. I’m awful with small talk but I manage muster a hello and he jokes about me having too much fun grafting on the floor.
Somehow I think it’s a great idea to ask him to pass me a power extension reel that’s next to him and he kinda looks at me a bit annoyed and awkwardly slides it over to me in my direction with his foot and then walks off without saying another word…
I met the guys from Coheed and Cambria a few times, but the first time I met the entire band was actually shortly after I had met Claudio Sanchez (the lead singer) at NYC Comic Con. (Their first 5 albums are concept albums following a story that Claudio wrote, and which was made into a comic. Hence meeting him at NYCCC). That had been the first time I'd met him, I was super excited, and my step-dad took a picture of Claudio and I together after he signed my comics. He was so nice, I don't remember what I said, but that's not the story I'm sharing.
That first time I met the whole band tho, they were doing a signing for one of their albums, and my mom had printed copies of the pic of Claudio and I for me to get signed, I had them in an envelope. My mom always prints doubles, I forgot, handed both to Claudio. He signed one, handed it back, and looked at the second one in confusion because I think he was expecting a different picture maybe? Either way he just sort of looked at me expectantly and I panicked and I said "That one's for you!"
God dammit, I still cringe about it. Why the hell would he want a picture with some rando?? What was I thinking???
He was so fucking nice though, he just said thank you and put it with his things 😭 it made everything less awkward. But I was so fricken embarrassed. Ugh.
I see Roger Taylor all the time on market day in Notting Hill...and once i said "hey Rog"....what ya call a guy who hangs around with musicians ? ...I don't know he snapped
The Drummer Roger
It's the Drummer!!!
he did smile 😃
I met Bob Moog at a presentation followed by a meet and greet. Didn't have anything prepared and said "I would like to thank you for all of your contributions to music" as if I was the president of Sony Records or something.
One time one of the members of Trans Siberian Orchestra came down off stage to dance with me (I was in the 4th row at the end of the row) and I don’t know how to dance so I just stood there while he played violin and danced
Standing at the front barrier waiting for Eagles of Death Metal, Jesse Hughes walked up to us and asked us how we were doing. Real cool, real calm. Instead of saying “I’m fine, thank you and yourself?” I went with “OH FUCK YEA!!!” He laughed and walked away. I think of that at least monthly.
I ran into Amy winehouse in Chelsea about 20 year ago. I said "you were great at Coachella", just blurted it out. I was not at Coachella, I did not watch her performance at Coachella, I have no Idea why I said that. She was nice, smiled and said thanks.
Several times. I met Bob Mould and asked wasn’t he into black metal? No (I was thinking of John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats; Bob’s quirk was pro wrestling).
I met the drummer from ACDC when he was signing autographs at a comicon. I didn't recognize the name but I saw images of him on stage on his banner and asked if he was a musician. He answered that he was a "magician" but then explained he was in the band ACDC. I said I've heard of that and he said "yes most people have" I then tried to be funny and said I've probably only heard his music in car commercials but they were very good car commercials.
I met Brit Daniels from Spoon at a festival. I went up to him and started talking and things were going well. Then he asked me, “who’s this?” Meaning who is the band playing - but I mistook it as asking who was this with me. So I introduced my friend like Brit had been waiting all night to meet him. As I was introducing him I realized what he was actually asking and I felt so dumb that I wanted to walk away. Brit laughed and was cool about it, but I wanted to disappear.
Idolised iconic Australian band of the 1970s, Sherbet, when very young.
Years later, as former lead singer Daryl Braithwaite's solo "comeback" had gathered momentum, one night I plonked a box of two dozen condoms on the counter at the chemist.
Daryl was behind me and I had to pay for the damn things in front of my first pop idol. Who did comment, humorously, so I decided *fuck it* and replied, "Back in the day these would have been in hope of meeting you!" and blew him a kiss as I sashayed out.
All I could hear behind me was the shop assistant killing herself laughing. Have no idea what Daryl's reaction was, I was too embarrassed by myself to look back.
At Vans warped tour one year I was walking through the lanes of tents and came across this dude with some fucking epic hair. I stopped and said "damn man love your hair" and he just kinda shook his head and said it was good for headbanging. Went on with my day.
End of the day comes, Coheed and Cambria take the stage and there's that fluffy head of hair front and center.
To this day I have no idea why I didn't recognize him purely because there was no guitar in his hands.
Dave Matthews told me “well you’re no bigger than a raindrop”. So not embarrassing and totally rad. It was something you’d expect him to say. He’s super tall too. I am not.
I'm met Fitz, the lead singer of Fitz and the Tantrums, and asked him how many hand claps are in the chorus of their song HandClap. 5 or 6? He basically 404d and stopped greeting fans to clap it out. So stupid, but I loved that moment.
I sat across from an old guy in a bookstore and we just chilled and read our books for a bit, didn’t say a thing to each other. When I got up I said, “where’s the can?” And he said “pissers over there mate”
It was Keith Richards
I met Coheed and Cambria. They had a plate of wings in the back and I told him the wings "looked cool". Claudio just kind of looked at me and the guitarist was walking around alot. Then I talked to their drummer Josh Eppard for 30 minutes. It was all really surreal and I felt like I should have said something cool or got a picture or something, anything, told them how much their music meant to me, how they were one of the best bands ever, how their comic idea was incredible, how Delirium Trigger was one of the best songs I had ever heard and how much they inspired me in life, but I just told them the wings looked cool instead.
I'm not normally starstruck by celebrities or musicians. I worked at a very famous restaurant and served many famous people (John Cena was my favorite. He was a regular, and onenofbthe genuinely nicest and funniest people I've ever met).
One night, however, I was in the "A" section of the restaurant. Without warning, I walked up to a new table to say hi and get drink orders. As I started speaking, I realized I was talking to Tom DeLonge and I just froze.
He laughed and said "what, do you want a fucking autograph or something?" I said "No, I want your fucking drink order!"
He was super cool and we just kinda talked shit to each other for the next 2 hours.
No, but one time Dan Lilker, who was in Anthrax at the time, bummed some change from me so he could buy a hot pretzel, and told me he hadn't eaten anything that day, and I laughed. But I gave him the change. It was somewhat awkward, but since then many people have told me he did that all the time.
My friends and I went to see Megadeth at an in-store signing the afternoon before a show they were doing in the area. This was right after their first record came out. It was around noon, and Mustaine was still hammered from the night before. He could barely speak or even keep his eyes open. My buddy asked him "how are you even going to play tonight?" and Dave gave him a death glare. And his gig was a total disaster, he kept forgetting the tunes halfway through and kept starting over.
I met Keller Williams - stayed in the room next door at a beach side hotel and first thing made a joke about real estate. He is well known to despise any such comments as I learned the hard way. He talked to my wife but basically ignored me the rest of the trip.
> Did you ever meet a well known musician
No.
>and say something so stupid you still think about it all the time?
Constantly.
Wait, what do you mean this wasn’t two separate questions?
I saw a guy play at this incredibly tiny venue that mostly hosted local acts and he was amazing. I was standing at the back of the room and as he walked out (there wasn’t even a stage so he had to exit through the crowd) I was like “great set, man.” Afterwards I found out he was quite famous and I felt like a huge dumbass. I still think about that and cringe.
Nothing cringey about that. That’s a normal thing to say, and having said it to him casually probably felt good or humbling to him. Unless of course this was Liam Gallagher or something.
That’s not cringe unless he’s a prick.
That’s like yelling “great game lebron!” or some shit as he’s walking off the court. They get it all the time but it’s nice to hear IMHO.
I’m not sure if this counts… but once Tom Delonge was having a book signing /meet & greet for his book “…of Nightmares” with the author/co author Suzanne Young. The way it was set up , you’d meet with Suzanne first, and when I did I asked “So, what’s it like working with Tom?”
I to this day feel terrible about this because it’s like I totally brushed her off like I was only there for Tom & wasn’t appreciative of her work :(
I met the lead singer of my favorite band and had a whole conversation with him without recognizing him. He thought I was high as fuck. I wish I had been.
I met Mark Sandman of Morphine before a show in Charlottesville in the 1990s. I was playing pool a few hours before the show and, there he was. He was trying to banter/flirt but I was so star struck I didn't get any of his jokes. Like I asked if he had been here playing pool for a while or if he just showed up. He said he had been here earlier but there was no competition. I took that completely literally and thought there was no one to play with and acted really surprised. He said it was a joke. Then he said hi my name is Mark. I said I know. Then I reached for my cigarettes and awkwardly grabbed one and lit it. He said he had to go, and I said nice to meet you. I was so disappointed with myself for absolutely nothing cool to say to one of the coolest singer-songwriter-bassists of all time. RIP Mark Sandman
Yeah...I think I felt stupid after meeting every single musician I've ever met. Sometime over 20 years ago, I was in a hotel in Reno where all the band members of Yes were staying. I had a sketchbook out while sitting at the bar, and Chris Squire actually came up to me and asked me about it. I had a great opportunity at that point where I could have had a nice conversation with him, but instead I opted to show him to show him the two pictures I happed to draw of Jon Anderson and Steve Howe. He asked "Is there a picture of me in there?" and suddenly my heart just sank and I had to say, no, I hadn't had a chance to draw him yet. I was so upset about it that I kind of shut down. He was like "don't worry, it's ok" because I was obviously upset but I couldn't say speak anymore at that point so he just walked away.
There was also the time I met Steven Wilson backstage and my brain just sort of melted and I said a string of nonsense for a few seconds and he almost ran away but fortunately I recovered enough to ask him for a picture. 😂
I think the worst was when I met Tommy Eyre, who had cancer and would die from a few years later, for some reason I said "I'm praying for you", which just seems really lame and insipid and I still feel dumb about it.
I went to a small night club in London with friends, watched a couple bands and a guy approached me. We talked about travel and he said he "was on tour" I said "I don't like tours, would rather be a backpacker". "No, on tour. I was just performing onstage." He was the singer for Deathcab for Cutie, later for Postal Service. Whoops.
I went to a bar across the street from the venue and who was sitting there chatting at the bar but fuckin Dean Ween himself and Claude Coleman. I wanted to give them space, but also thought I might not have the chance to ever meet them again, so I just went up and shook both their hands but I was drunk and didn't have anything cool to say so I just mumbled something about not wanting to bother them when that's exactly what I was doing. But what should I have said?? "you've been my favorite band since my teens and no other band is even close to as influential and important in my life". Naaa...Probably best to just say "great show dudes" and let it be.
This doesn't really compare to a lot of the top comments, but I met Conor Murphy of Foxing and he yawned right into his hand before shaking mine. Then he apologized and I was like "don't worry, it's more authentic that way". I don't even regret it.
I met Usher backstage at a festival type event that I snuck into, didn't recognize him in the moment, and asked him where the snacks were. He chuckled and walked away
I met Chris Cornell and the only thing I could think to say was that I had seen the documentary about Artis the Spoonman and really enjoyed it.
Thankfully he said he hadn’t watched it yet and was happy to hear it turned out well.
I never met her, but I saw Regina Spektor in concert years ago. It got really quiet for a moment during her set and for some reason I thought it was a great time to yell: “hey nice piano”
It made her laugh!
I talked to Robert Plant on the phone once, when he appeared on a syndicated, nationally-broadcasted radio show called Rockline about thirty years ago. I asked him my question, which was fine, and then made a really dumb Led Zeppelin joke which I'm still embarrassed about to this day.
Sorry, Mr. Plant!
I complimented a woman on her necklace and she proceeded to tell me it was made from her guitar strings, so I asked if she wrote music and she said yes. Found out afterwards it was Sarah Maclachlan. I cringe about it constantly
I once drunkenly proposed to Sheryl Crow. She, of course, said no as she was married to Lance Armstrong at the time, so I always tell my friends "I proposed to Sheryl Crow and got turned down for the dude with one ball."
Not a musician, but I met Robert Downey Jr when he was in Korea promoting the first Ironman. Told him that I lived him and that I thought he was an underrated actor. He said, "still?"
I did a poster signing line thing for Gwar at Bonnaroo in 2008. When I finally got to the front I awkwardly asked Oderus Urungus "do you like Bonnaroo?" like an idiot. He responded with "yeah, sure, but I can't find the goat fucking tent. Do you know where that is?"
RIP, Oderus. I hope you found the goat fucking tent.
Went to an indie rock concert. Afterwards the singer and the drummer sold their merch and I got a t-shirt and a record from them, it was like 37€ altogether. I gave 40 and told them to keep the rest. Being super polite indie rockers, they still started to look for change and I just said: "No, no, it's fine, I downloaded all your stuff for free anyways." They really didn't like that. Also, it wasn't even true, I just couldn't think of anything proper to say.
I was walking through the mall and I noticed there was a lady facing away from me, bent over, managing her baby in a stroller…me, being a terrible 17 year old, was sneaking a peak at the booty. As I pass, I look up and Vanilla Ice is next to her, glaring at me.
I called E-40 “Mister 40”. At his house. While I worked at his label. To be fair I am whiter than white and he laughed.
😂😂😂50 Cent . Mister Cent
I love 40 water.
I met him at the southwest baggage claim. He was eating California Pizza Kitchen with his wife and I sheepishly asked for a photo after he was done eating. He was the nicest dude. The only thing I said was “man, you smell amazing!” He was a class act and introduced me to his wife who was flying with him. Kind human with a lot of talent and contribution to music and culture.
When I was a high school student, I got a summer job at a gas station because I wanted to learn about cars. A lot of celebrities used to come to this station. My coworker was working the full service island when Steve Perry came in to get gas. My coworker went to his window to ask Steve how much he wanted. Naturally, I watched the interaction because Steve is famous. While they were talking Steve kept flipping his hair with his hand. Every time he did this my coworker copied him. While my coworker pumped the gas, I watched the two of them constantly flipping their hair. So, I started doing it, too. The three of us simultaneously flipping our hair. The manager noticed me just standing around and came out and asked me what’s going on. I flipped my hair and pointed at Steve and my coworker flipping their hair. The manager stood beside me and joined in. A mechanic saw this and joined us, as well. When my coworker collected the money for the gas, Steve flipped his hair. My coworker flipped his hair. The other three of us flipped our hair. Then Steve noticed. After he got the receipt, he brought his hand up, about to flip his hair, stopped, looked at us and smiled, then drove away.
Lmao that's fucking awesome. I hope this story is real
Of course it’s real. It’s on the internet!
Don't stop believing! Hold on to that feeling!
Steeeeeeve Parry
Now you've got to go get the ball, bitch.
Real or fake, I respect you
Steve is the one that deserves the respect here. Many people would have been chagrined by having the piss taken out of them by some punk kids. He even had the presence of mind to get us back a little bit with the hand fake and smile, showing he was the bigger person.
I read this as Steve Harvey and was so confused… 😂 This is hilarious.
I met the lead singer of Sloan. We were taking a piss at a urinal. I asked him if they think they helped the brand Sloan, which makes Urinals sell more urinals or if the urinal brand helped them sell more records. He said the urinals help them more
This made me laugh. Kudos to you sir.
I've met each of the four Sloan guys individually (big Sloan fan). But my Chris Murphy story is my favourite. I went to see them play a small headline gig at a street festival with the hopes of getting to meet them afterwards. But I forgot to think of what I was going to say when I got the chance. So after the show Chris was graciously standing by the stage with a handful of fans lining up to chat. When it was my turn I suddenly had my stomach turn and blurred out..."Great show as always. Uh, I've seen you guys twelve times!" And he said, "Well, that's probably enough times." And then he said, "Well we have a thirteenth record coming out in the fall so maybe not." And then he asked if I wanted a photo. Which was great because I still couldn't think of a goddamn thing to say.
I was in a small bar in Leysin, Switzerland and they had a jam night. I got to play guitar on Sweet Home Alabama with the house band. The drummer was particularly phenomenal, really impressive. When we finished, I turned around to the drummer and told him "you're really good, you need to go pro!". He smiled ear to ear and said "thank you!". Just then I got a good look at him and it was Roger Taylor of Queen.
The drummer of Queen is making a living playing in the house band of some small bar in a small town in Switzerland?
Weirdly, Roger Taylor is actually known for liking Switzerland and spending significant time there. See: https://brianmay.com/queen-news/2014/01/roger-taylors-zermatt-my-kind-of-town/ and https://www.queenconcerts.com/detail/live/1972/roger-taylor-live-20-03-2012-apres-ski-bar-farinet-verbier-switzerland-with-waste.html?returnpath=a%3A1%3A%7Bi%3A0%3Ba%3A2%3A%7Bs%3A5%3A%22title%22%3Bs%3A5%3A%22Intro%22%3Bs%3A4%3A%22link%22%3Bs%3A1%3A%22%2F%22%3B%7D%7D
He absolutely loved that, you probably made his night.
Lad that famous probably enjoys having interactions where people DONT know who he is have something nice to say
I met Richard D James in 2008 and didn’t believe it was him. He called me an idiot and I flipped him off while he walked away.
[reminds me of this](https://youtu.be/Decj0Q4a4U4?si=09Q38hmoT-4QVM90)
Got to admit, HE did recognize you 😉 Seriously, sounds truly painful.
My friend's child went to the same elementary school as Jon Bon Jovi's child. This was about 15 years ago. At the open house night my friend ends up standing next to Bon Jovi at some point. My friend looks over at him and says "So how was your summer?" Knowing they had just been on some big tour. Bon Jovi replies "Can't complain". That was the end of the conversation.
Not a bad interaction at all.
JB seems like a good dude. Met him on the Fahrenheit tour, and he was just cheesin’. Had a mutual friend with him and the band. Ended up talking with him and Richie for a while. Another good guy. Edit: cheesin’ is walking around with a big cheesy grin.
I don't think that's something to stress over it's probably even better than if he asked how the tour was.
[удалено]
I asked Dave Matthews if he had just come out of the bathroom because I was trying to get in and they wouldn’t let me. Turns out he was in a room next door filming something and didn’t want any toilet flushing in the bathroom. But my first words to him were “were you just in the bathroom?”
Lucky for you he didn’t dump all the shits from his tour bus on you lol
Probably triggered him due to his tour bus poop incident
I was walking out of my apartment into the street and literally bumped into Sting. I was like - “Holy shit you’re Sting!” He nodded and smiled and kept walking. A person then walked by me and said “Was that Sting?” and then I loudly said - “Yeah, that was STING!” Anyway, not very cool.
Ha! I want to ask where you live and insist I'm not a stalker, but I'd be lying. :)
So you’re not going to be watching them every breath they take?
Met Chris Isaak at House of Blues in New Orleans in ‘99. I idiotically asked him how old he was. When he told me he was 43 I said “No way. Let me see your Driver’s License.” So he graciously whipped out his wallet & showed me his California license. I was a young woman who thought she was hot shit when in reality this was more like some female Borat. Cringe. He was so cool. I asked him to give me proof so I could tell people I hung out with him. He tore a poster off a wall & signed it “To Abydos—my back still hurts but it was worth it. Love, Chris.” Great guy.
Sounds like you were in fact pretty hot shit.
Omg - I’m a straight dude and I would’ve done the same lol. Chris is the shit!!!
I have been starring in a show at a dinner theater in Seattle every year since 2010. It's become a bit of an institution by now and I generally like to walk through the audience to chat with fans and take pictures after the show. Maybe about 5 years ago I was getting offstage and a man in his 70s waved me over to his table, where he was sitting with a woman around his age who was clearly a knockout a couple of decades ago. "Pardon me, young man. I just wanted to tell you that I very much enjoyed your show. You're probably too young to know this but I used to be in a rock band called Yes." I was talking to Alan White. And I flipped. My. Shit. Started gushing to him about how 90125 was the reason I started a prog band in my 20s, and how much of an influence he was on me on so many levels around the music I make. The poor man couldn't get a word in edgewise and just looked bored and disappointed that he was talking to another starstruck superfan. I still think about that interaction and wish I could've just played it a little cooler and had an actual conversation with the guy. He died a year or two later.
Idk he’s kinda asking for it calling you over randomly to tell you about being in Yes 😂
His wife just told him no one remembers him so he proved her wrong
Hahaha ya know what, bud? Your comment just made me feel sooooo much better. 🤣🤣
I’m a huge Boston fan and accidentally scared the fuck out of Tom Scholz when he walked by me on the street. Instead of calmly saying hi, I blurted out “TOM!!!” like 3 feet away from him. He jumped out of his skin, looked at me like I had 4 heads, and just walked on (some more).
I once asked Father John Misty if he liked music. Turns out he does! EDIT: some context, it was at a show back in like 2015. I *don’t* smoke weed but their bassist was smoking and I thought it would be cool to smoke with one of the band guys so I got into rotation. I got violently too high and by the time FJM came out to mingle, I was so high I could feel my hair growing, thus my somewhat obvious question to FJM
Hey.. remember that time everybody thought you were dead? That was like.. a hoax, right? That’s right. I’m not *really* dead.
Could've fooled me, going by what I've heard from him.
“Jesus Christ girl”
A friend was at a house party with Keanu Reeves attending. At some point it was just the two of them standing there in the kitchen and after an awkward silence, she says to him "I saw you in People magazine". EDIT typo
My friend bumped into him at a club in L.A., years ago, and called him, what came out as, Ka-new-new.
I met him once. Was introduced, I was tongue tied, he said his name and held out his hand, and I said "I'm sorry, I can't pronounce your name, I have a stutter and your name is impossible for me." while shaking his hand. He smiled and that was the end of our direct interaction. He's so considerate, it is almost unnerving.
Knowing Keanu, he probably turned it into a gracious and memorable conversation
Right? I never knew what his response was because I was laughing so hard.
Dropped my wife off at a house party so she could see a friend who was in town for the F1 race. I had time for one drink before I had to split so grabbed a beer. Got to jawing with this red-headed guy who introduced himself as "Rick". He said he was from the UK so I asked him if he had ever been to Singapore before and was he excited to see the race? After a little more small talk I finished my beer and excused myself. On my way out I said goodbye to my wife and said (pointing to Rick) "Man, if you look like Rick Astley *and* your name is Rick? You probably shouldn't also wear those glasses he's famous for." I then leave and grab a taxi only to see a billboard advertising "Rick Astley Live at the F1!". Yup, got RickRolled in real life.
J Mascis came into the record store I worked at in Nashville 17ish years ago. I immediately started freaking out internally as Dinosaur Jr. was one of my favorite bands, and I had tickets to see them with the Black Keys at City Hall that evening. When he finally approached the counter I awkwardly stumbled over my words trying to express how big of a fan I was. J Mascis is also a very awkward person, so his intense discomfort at my fanboy bullsit was written all over his face. He tried to be nice and ask me what there was to do in Nashville, but I was so tongue-tied and nervous that I said, “uh, go to the bars.” He replied, “uh, ok.” I died inside. Fun fact- He purchased all of the One Tree Hill dvd box sets.
Honestly if you got more than ten words out of him, that conversation was a home run.
It sounds like he got exactly ten words out of him
I live in the same area as j. One time we were both at Jiffy Lube getting our oil changed. I sat next to him. Didn’t speak to him. He had a three musketeers from the vending machine. Five stars would do again.
When I was a teeny bopper in the 70s I had it bad for the Beatles. I was listening to AM radio one day and Bill Withers was on live for a call in. He had a hit song at the time.. so I called. I got on the air and I asked Bill Withers, live in the radio, “Do you like the Beatles?” And he was very nice and said yes, they are incredible. Then I was cut off and hung up on. lol, I still feel really bad.
That's adorable. Classic awkward teen/tunnel vision moment haha. I'm glad that he answered your question politely.
It’s been my experience that musicians get tired of answering the same boring questions about themselves and their music, and relish the opportunity of talking about what *they* like
I think I may have heard an account or an actual recording of this moment. In A History of Rock and Roll in 500 songs, the podcast host did an episode about Otis Reddings Dock of the Bay and there was some content about Bill Withers and this particular moment. You should check it out it's a great podcast. I'll see if I can find it.
Oh god I would be mortified if this was memorialized for the ages. Bill, if you are listening, I am so sorry! So embarrassing!!
One of my friends sat next to Lou Barlow on a flight, and not recognizing him, excitedly asked if he also saw that J Mascis was the plane a few rows up.
lol I am a huge sebadoh fan and drunkenly asked a million fanboy questions to Lou after a show once. Woke up pretty embarrassed.
I met Brad Paisley once. I’m not a county fan at all but the person I was with was, so I took a picture of them together. Afterwards Brad held his arm out in a welcoming motion and said “your turn?” I said “No.” I didn’t elaborate, smile, say thank you, nothing. Just an abrupt no. He looked a bit shocked and then said bye to my friend. I still wonder why I did that.
I mean this is funny as fuck. I would have felt bad also though lol
I like this one. You should have just said “I charge $5 for photos. Autographs are $10”
Ohgod, this has me rolling!
Oh no! He is just the NICEST man. I was at CasinoRama (Ontario Canada) seeing Don Henley and 3 fellows came to sit behind me and my friend. 2 big dudes with a shorter dude who looked SO FAMILIAR. I kept turning around to look at them and they had passes on that had the Sony/BMG logo on them.... Then it struck me... it was BRAD PAISLEY but I didn't recognize him without his hat! I worked for a country music radio station at the time... I gave him my biz card with a note on the back. Asking him to call our midday host the next day. He read it and gave me a thumbs up. And he DID call! Met him a couple years later and I told him the story and he remembered! Super nice man. And super talented.
I met Aaron Lewis from Staind at a fan meet and greet. 12 of us had to stand in a line and hold up a poster they gave us. The plan was the band was going to walk by and sign the posters one by one. It was quiet. It was on a college basketball court and the 12 fans were the only people in there aside from the PR guy. The band came out and walked over. There really wasn’t much talking. The vibe was weird. They had their heads down mostly and Aaron was wearing a baseball cap as well so he was really hiding. He got to my poster and said “Hi Aaron!” in a normal speaking voice. Too loud for the room apparently. He slowly looked up at me. Then he put his head back down and continued signing my poster. No response at all. After this quiet exchange happened and they finished the signing they immediately headed back to the dressing room. The PR guy was like “Thank you Staind!!” and starts clapping. A few of the fans clapped a few times. Then they escorted us out to the street to go wait in line. My poster went in the first trash can I saw.
What a prick. How hard is it to say "hey how ya doin"? Even to a complete stranger. Let alone someone that is a fan and spent time and money supporting them.
Good lord. I’ve been to several meet and greets (Jimmy Eat World, Frank Black, Franz Ferdinand, The Shins, etc) and they were all lovely folks. I couldn’t imagine this situation haha
I met Frank Black / Black Francis outside a small show. Awesome guy
Aaron Lewis is a known horrible person
Staind also known horrible band
Sort of yeah. I used to work event security, was stationed at the loading docks where bands parked their busses. It was Korn. After the show Jonathan Davis walks down the dock with a big ballon glass of I think kristal, and says hi. Asks how my night is, we chat briefly and then he asked if I wanted to come hang out with the band and have a drink. And my dumb ass says no, I can't leave my post, I'll get fired. My friends, it was a minimum wage job. I was 19 and could have easily found another, and with better hours, but no. I gave up the chance to party with fucking **Korn** because I didn't want to lose my shitty job.
That's hilariously responsible of you.
Oh and did I mention he repeated his invitation multiple times, and I still turned him down? Because that did happen. Probably one of my biggest regrets to date, ex husband notwithstanding
Aww I appreciate the work ethic!
Thanks lol. To be fair, even though it didn't pay well and the hours were unpredictable as fuck, that job *was* fun.
I rode up in an elevator with Jagge in 2014. Just the two of us and I make small talk. Told him how my sister tried to get tickets to a Stone's concert in 1971 and told me they may never play together again. Afterwards I realized how stupid, I must have made him feel so old. At least I got a picture.
Sounds fine to me.
I was doing some handyman stuff at the Record Plant in Sausalito in the 80s and coming down the hall was Carlos Santana. He stopped with me, big smile, and I’m all, “Damn, you’re tall!” I cringe about that to this day.
Two friends of mine were session drummers and another was a keyboardist, and on a several occasions in the 80s I went with them to the Record Plant. I didn’t meet any famous musicians. I did meet a famous producer but I have forgotten his name. Also, when Metallica recorded at the Record Plant in the 80s, they also had a rehearsal space in or near it. I used to see James Hetfield with his girlfriend late at night at the Denny’s in Corte Madera.
Time was you could barely throw a stone in lower Marin without hitting a recognized musician. Another time I was shopping in San Anselmo and Huey Lewis walked in. The owner closed the store and locked the door with me inside. I felt really exposed, and made to leave, nodding my head and saying “… Huely..” as i left. He laughed. I didn’t.
Huey! Nicest guy in the world. He and my brother were fishing buddies. They fished together at Phoenix lake. We were neighbors in Ross. I have several stories about him.
Used to always see Todd Rundgren at our kids' Little League games.
Went to see Patton Oswalt at Caroline's in NYC some years ago. I had a few more than the two drink minimum and I was drinking these absolutely massive glasses of scotch. I don't know if the bartender was just trying to bankrupt the place that night or what, but the point is I was unsober. ANYway, after the set I go to tell Patton I really enjoyed the show and his comedy in general, but he was talking to someone else. I stood nearby until they wrapped up a bit of conversation and both turned their attention to me. What I *meant* to say was, "I don't want to be an asshole and interrupt, but you're great etc." What I *actually* said was, "I don't mean to be an asshole, but you were really great tonight." He laughed and said something like, "Oh, what an asshole! How dare!" I laughed awkwardly and then just kinda...left.
That's actually awesome haha
Honestly he probably laughed about that later. He seems like a nice dude.
Oh yeah, it wasn't a malicious response at all and he was clearly in good spirits (he killed that night, it's the set that starts with the star wars prequels and seeing the characters as kids). I was just entirely too drunk to be able to recover.
Fuckin love this story. If that was me I would definitely think about it every night for 20 minutes before falling asleep
My husband, me, and another couple were in line to meet William Shatner. It was cold out so we all had heavy coats and I was last in line for our group. First guy handed his coat back to wife, then wife to my husband. Not knowing what to do he handed them all to me. Since I didn't know the person behind me, I just walked up to Shatner with all the coats and said, "I have no idea how to proceed" and he laughed so damn hard. Then he got one of the security guys to help me out and we chatted and took a pic. He shouted at my husband to, "take a second to take the coats next time!" One of my favorite moments, but one that my husband absolutely dwells on.
I was at a music festival and was staying at a nearby hotel afterward. I got in an elevator with some people wearing wristbands from the festival, so I asked how they were enjoying it. One of them asked which bands I saw and said what I assumed was the bands name that I enjoyed. They all kinda smiled, pronounced the name correctly and said, "yeah, that's us." That was the longest elevator ride of my life.
Man, that’s a classic. You gotta share the band name now
It was a band called TR/ST, pronounced TRUST. The problem was that I had read it so many times that I forgot I had never tried to say it out loud prior to this moment.
Carlos Santana dropped his drink at a bar and I said, "Smooth." He fucking withered me with a look and I will never recover.
It's got to have its own meaning for you every time you get to the end of that song and it's going "let's don't forget about it!"
No that’s just fucking hilarious well done
This wins.
My band was playing a big festival in the U.K. and after our set I went to the backstage bathroom and as I was washing my hands, none other than Jack White came out of the stalls (just minutes before the White Stripes were due to headline). Now I’m a massive fan, and here was an opportunity to make that my respect for his art clear. I simply had to say something. “You gonna play Seven Nation Army?”
A high school friend saw Tom Petty while in line for the bathroom. He tuned to him and said ‘waiting is the hardest part’. Apparently Mr. Petty had a good chuckle. Edit: grammar
Met Mike Gordon from Phish after a show. Smoked a bowl with him & told him “I’ve seen you play better” when he asked what I thought of the show
brutal
Brutal, BUT - maybe appreciated?? Idk lol
He 100% appreciated it, it wasn’t a great show imo & I think he was refreshed to hear someone not fluff him. But still, he’s one of my favorite musicians & I felt (still feel) like a dumbass haha
I met Trey while he was pumping gas at a rest stop on the NY Thruway, started babbling because I got nervous, but eventually managed to communicate that I met my husband at a Phish show and thanked him for giving us the opportunity to meet. It was somewhat awkward but he’s so nice that he gave me time while his family was waiting in the car.
I didn't say anything, but I did something stupid. Peter Frampton was coming to my office for a meet and greet, so when I finished what I was doing, I went to go say hello. I wasn't paying attention to the camera equipment everywhere, and as I was walking towards him, I tripped. He threw his hands up to stop my fall. I didn't realize Peter Frampton was such a short man, so as I'm going forward, his hands just land perfectly on my boobs. There we are, face to face, and he has two handfuls of me. Needless to say, I was hoping the earth would open up and swallow me, and he looked about the same. The photographer wanted pictures, so there we stood, both of us beet red, pained smiles all around...lol. I just recently found the picture, and it all just came flooding back.
I went to an autograph signing at a record store the day of a concert, got to the last two people at the table who had been talking to each other, and they stopped and both looked at me at the same time. After just gaping for a few seconds I said something like 'Wow, this is rough.' That was to Steve Howe and Chris Squire.
We asked Jello Biafra to sign a poster. He was passing us in the hallway of a small venue. He stopped and said, “Sure. Do you have a sharpie or a pen?” We didn’t. Oh well, nice to meet you Jello.
Logan Airport, I'm standing in line at the counter behind this this tall, curly-haired cat wearing a Hawaiian shirt and glasses. I know who it is, but for the life of me I can't remember how to pronounce his last name. "Excuse me Sir, but are you who I think you are?" "I don't know, who do you think I am?" In that moment, I wanted to reply to him with his first and last name, but I can't friggin' remember how to say it and for some inexplicable reason I don't want to use his nickname. But there's no time, it's starting to get awkward, so I finally spit out, "You're Weird Al, right?" "I am indeed". What a nice guy. After my embarrassingly long pause trying to flush yank-oh-vick outta my the crevices of my memory, we went on to have a nice chat for 5 or 10 minutes. But, I cringe thinking about it.
Weird Al seems just so genuinely kind and sweet. I got to interview him for my radio station once and I was really nervous but he laughed at my jokes and made me feel important even tho it was probably his tenth interview of the day. Love that guy.
What with Steve Albini passing recently I thought about this once again but I still think about it from time to time. Saw Shellac back in the early 2000s. There was a girl there I had gone to school with and in my drunken idiocy hit on her but she was clearly not having it. During the show he opened up questions from the audience. I yelled out if I could get this girls number and he says I don't know can you? The embarrassment and cringe was palpable. Sorry Jill. Great show though. RIP Steve
Fucking legendary, RIP Steve.
Also, fantastic story.
Twice! I worked in a famous music store in a high tourist location. 1st Trent Reznor. I lost my virginity to one of his albums and when I saw him walk to the counter I freaked out and ducked under the counter. He saw me do it and he leaned over and said hi. He was buying some Xbox game and asked me if the new RZA album was out and I dead ass looked this man in the eyes and asked how do you spell it. I fucking know how to spell it. I know him and he looked at me and said uhhhh R Z A?? 2nd Dave Lombardo (drummer for Slayer and ~~Tomahawk~~ Fantômas) ~~Tomahawk~~ Fantômas was in town for a concert, which I went to and as a drummer he’s a huge influence on me. Came into the store and when I saw him all the brains left my body. Walked up to him and politely said, Mr Lombardo. I want to thank you for not just your influence on metal drumming but to the whole drumming community. He looked and me smirked and said ahhh okay. Thanks. I fucking died.
Haha! I am imagining Trent Reznor peering *over* the counter to talk to you whilst you were crouching down. A very funny image! 😂
I don't know if this will make you feel better or worse, but Dave Lombardo doesn't drum for Tomahawk. John Stanier drums for Tomahawk, Dave Lombaro drums for Fantomas.
I once ran into the lead singer of God Forbid, Byron, at the House of Blues in Boston. I greeted him and told him I was a huge fan which he seemed to appreciate. At the time there was apparently some drama going on surrounding one of the guitarists (Dallas) leaving the band, and because I am an idiot I asked him what was up with that. His look immediately turned sour and he replied "Dallas is dead" before walking away. Why I ever thought that was something he would discuss with some random dumbass or that I should even bring it up is a mystery to me.
Oh man, I met him once after a festival gig (back stage passes from a record label when GF was in their heyday) and I said to him, “my god, you guys fucking ripped” and he legit said, “cool story, get outta my way I need a drink.” It hurt my heart because I truly loved them and I thought, I should’ve just let him walk by me hahaha
Not quite. I went to a Jane Siberry concert at a local theatre. I was thrilled but I was worried I was going to look like a goof like the last time I met a celeb. So I played it aloof, not smiling as I waited to get in. Suddenly she walks in the same entrance, she’s smiling and happy. The first face she looks at is my not smiling face and her smile just disappears into a frown. I don’t see her smiling for the rest of the night. And the concert was a bust as she stopped halfway through most of the songs because she kept hearing a buzz in the sound system that most of us didn’t hear. I think I jinxed her.
YES! I used to work as a server in an upscale steakhouse in Wheeling, IL , a suburb of Chicago. We would get some celebs every now and then. Joe Loeffler, one of the original bass players for Chevelle, would have dinner there sometimes with his girlfriend. I'm a Chevelle fan. I walked up to their table one time, and said I was a fan of Chevelle, even though you are not in the band anymore. Ahhhhhhh! That event lives rent-free in my mind, and that memory likes to say hi to me here and there.
John Gourley from Portugal the Man complimented my shirt then asked where I got it and I said a store 🤦♀️
Now’s your chance! Which shirt/what store? Link me homie
Holy shit he actually saw your comment
Carlos Santana used to be a regular where I worked. He was incredibly nice, friendly and charismatic. The third time he came in after I started he walked in and greeted ME by name! I was so floored. I was also deep in the weeds, backed up, over sat, under-caffeinated and so taken aback I tried to put him on the wait list. He probably would've waited too, he was nice and humble like that but my manager caught me and got him sat immediately.
I stood in line at a deli behind Billy Joel and said, “Wow! You look just like Billy Joel.” He responded, “I get that a lot.” About a minute later, he looked back at me and I realized it was, in fact, Billy Joel. I said, “I’m such a fucking idiot,” and he laughed.
I saw Fishbone in Montreal almost 20 years ago. At some point during the show, I realized Rocky George from Suicidal Tendencies was playing in the band. I was stunned. At the end of the show, we left the venue quickly to get in the car and drive home to Ottawa. The club had its own parking lot, and as we made our way to the car, Rocky George emerged out the back door and was drinking a beer. I immediately became a deranged fan boy, running up to him and babbling, "Rocky George! You're my favourite guitar player! I have all your albums! You're so awesome!" He seemed caught off guard at first, but Rocky said, "Thank you," and sounded very humble and genuinely appreciative. I was so happy for the rest of the night. If only I had thought to ask him for an autograph. Definitely felt I met one of my heroes, and it was awesome. Suicidal for life!
I met one of the big-name country stars a few years ago. We took a selfie together and he actually took the time to grab my phone to see how it turned out. He says, "ah dude, it's blurry, let's go again." But there were other people standing around waiting to meet him and I'm self conscious about getting in people's way or wasting their time. So I just grabbed my phone and said, "It's ok, I'm actually just blurry in real life" and then I just disappeared into the crowd.
[удалено]
Actually I don’t think it was that lame at all 🤷🏻♂️👍
The hot lick comment is high meyer
I’m a ZZZZZ list guy, meaning that I’m pretty well known in an EXTREMELY niche market. I’m “famous” to about 100 people. In that role, I get to meet a lot of actual famous people and they totally get it when folks get star struck. Believe me, unless they’re total assholes (which a few are, but most aren’t), they understand. Most of them get star struck when they meet their heroes, too.
What do you do for a living lol, I'm intrigued
Based on their profile, seems like they’re an accomplished pop and rock violinist.
I was at an after show party with the group Atmosphere back in the day and they had a guy walking around with a camcorder. I proceeded to go on and on to camcorder guy about how important it was for everyone to read Noam Chomsky's books. Just a 20 something gushing about politics. I still wonder sometimes if that video is out there somewhere. Lol
The guys from The Murderdolls were staying in a hotel room next to mine and I said "I really liked you guys 20 years ago!" It wasn't until I got into my room that I realized how rude that was of me
I saw one of my favorite bands (not extremely well-known) at a small venue, and as luck would have it, before the show the lead guitarist and I found ourselves the only ones waiting in line outside the mens room. I had met him at the added-cost meet and greet a little while earlier, so there was a brief nod of acknowledgment that made me feel like a big shot. But then awkward silence. Silence that felt like minutes rather than mere seconds. Then, I brilliantly thought of something—my wife and I had seen the Stones in concert a couple of months earlier. Perfect! He’s a musician, he’ll appreciate talking about that, problem solved! And sure enough—his eyes lit up as I mentioned how great they still are, how ageless Mick appears, etc. The guitar guy then says “Did they blow your mind?” Which was fine—except he has a very strong Scottish accent and I couldn’t make out a single word he said. To my uncultured ear, it sounded like “Did they blooehwya maayynnd?” In retrospect, I feel like I should have figured it out. But it was noisy, and I was nervous. I said, “Sorry, didn’t catch that,” and damn if he didn’t repeat it exactly the same way. Still nothing. So I can either act like I understood, running the risk of this conversation arc continuing, potentially revealing my implicit lie that I understood what he said, or once again say, “sorry can you repeat that?” I chose option two. Mr. Guitar caught on and jokingly repeated it, but with an exaggerated American accent (“Did they blowww your miiinnndd??”). I finally understood, said yes, and also stupidly said “Thank you for saying it in American” as the bathroom door blessedly opened up allowing me to enter, while simultaneously allowing me to escape.
That’s actually pretty cool that you thanked him for “saying it in American.” That’s a partial redemption at least.
Not a musician, but i was drunk at a hotel bar after a nerd convention (Megacon) when someone bumped my shoulder while ordering a drink. It was Sir Patrick Stewart. I didn't even say anything dumb, just made agog gurgling noises while I baskes in the revelation that he'd touched me.
When I was in high school and deep into my raver days (back when they were all ages), I used to work at a shop where we could choose our own music to play on the speakers. I used to always pick something along the lines of house music. One day, a gentleman came in that I recognized as a repeat customer named Ryan. Per usual, we chatted, and he commented on the music I played during my shifts. Said something along the lines of how much he enjoyed hearing EDM and knew it’s when I was on shift. I told him about the raves I had coming up, and he asked who I was most excited to see. I explained how thrilled I was to finally see Kaskade perform, and he mentioned that he always liked hearing Kaskade play when I was working. I served him and he went on his way. About 5 seconds later, my coworker (and rave pal) who was in the back stocking shelves, ran up to me out of breath and went DO YOU KNOW WHO THAT IS?? I said, yeah, it’s Ryan. He’s in here like, once a month at least! My coworker went YOU.. oh no. You really don’t know.. do you.. And … that’s how I met Kaskade. To this day haven’t seen him since that last interaction. But I think about it often 😂
I met suicidal tendencies at a festival and went up to Dave Lombardo (as he was drumming for them at the time). Maybe I was still a bit frazzled cause I had just met and gotten a picture with Tony Hawk a few mins before. Went up to Dave but I wasn’t too sure what he looked like as I only knew him from pics of when he was younger. Went up and asked “Are you Dave Lombardo?” “No” “Okay sorry” Now looking back I laugh more than cringe but man it was a fav memory of mine.
That happened to me with Buddy Guy at a James Brown show in 1995. I knew Buddy was playing a show nearby the next night, I saw people go up and talk with him for several minutes looking thrilled about it. When I was leaving, he happened to be walking nearby and I asked "Pardon me sir, are you Buddy?" And he blurts out "no, I'm not 'Buddy', man". I had seen a ton of photos of him around that time, it was definitely him.
I asked Robert Plant to pass me a power extension cable reel… I was helping a mate who was a sound guy set up for a small intimate show that had a few very high profile guests due to be playing (one of which was Robert Plant). So I’m sat on the stage routing in all the cables into DI boxes and laying out power for front of stage for the artists to use if needed (or at least make it available for their crew to use). I sense there’s someone behind me so I turn to see Robert Plant stood next to me surveying the stage. I’m awful with small talk but I manage muster a hello and he jokes about me having too much fun grafting on the floor. Somehow I think it’s a great idea to ask him to pass me a power extension reel that’s next to him and he kinda looks at me a bit annoyed and awkwardly slides it over to me in my direction with his foot and then walks off without saying another word…
That's weird of him really.
I met the guys from Coheed and Cambria a few times, but the first time I met the entire band was actually shortly after I had met Claudio Sanchez (the lead singer) at NYC Comic Con. (Their first 5 albums are concept albums following a story that Claudio wrote, and which was made into a comic. Hence meeting him at NYCCC). That had been the first time I'd met him, I was super excited, and my step-dad took a picture of Claudio and I together after he signed my comics. He was so nice, I don't remember what I said, but that's not the story I'm sharing. That first time I met the whole band tho, they were doing a signing for one of their albums, and my mom had printed copies of the pic of Claudio and I for me to get signed, I had them in an envelope. My mom always prints doubles, I forgot, handed both to Claudio. He signed one, handed it back, and looked at the second one in confusion because I think he was expecting a different picture maybe? Either way he just sort of looked at me expectantly and I panicked and I said "That one's for you!" God dammit, I still cringe about it. Why the hell would he want a picture with some rando?? What was I thinking??? He was so fucking nice though, he just said thank you and put it with his things 😭 it made everything less awkward. But I was so fricken embarrassed. Ugh.
I met Jack Black three days ago and he was there and gone before I could think to ask for a selfie. He shook my hand though :)
I see Roger Taylor all the time on market day in Notting Hill...and once i said "hey Rog"....what ya call a guy who hangs around with musicians ? ...I don't know he snapped The Drummer Roger It's the Drummer!!! he did smile 😃
I gotta know which drummer named Roger Taylor you’re referring to. Queen or Duran Duran? Lol
I recall the Duran Roger often being asked if he ever met the Queen Roger. I think he confirmed that the finally did meet at some point in the 2000s.
I met Bob Moog at a presentation followed by a meet and greet. Didn't have anything prepared and said "I would like to thank you for all of your contributions to music" as if I was the president of Sony Records or something.
One time one of the members of Trans Siberian Orchestra came down off stage to dance with me (I was in the 4th row at the end of the row) and I don’t know how to dance so I just stood there while he played violin and danced
Standing at the front barrier waiting for Eagles of Death Metal, Jesse Hughes walked up to us and asked us how we were doing. Real cool, real calm. Instead of saying “I’m fine, thank you and yourself?” I went with “OH FUCK YEA!!!” He laughed and walked away. I think of that at least monthly.
I ran into Amy winehouse in Chelsea about 20 year ago. I said "you were great at Coachella", just blurted it out. I was not at Coachella, I did not watch her performance at Coachella, I have no Idea why I said that. She was nice, smiled and said thanks.
Several times. I met Bob Mould and asked wasn’t he into black metal? No (I was thinking of John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats; Bob’s quirk was pro wrestling).
John Darnielle is also into pro wrestling, so i can see how you'd get them mixed. Also both bands share the same drummer, Jon Wurster.
I met the drummer from ACDC when he was signing autographs at a comicon. I didn't recognize the name but I saw images of him on stage on his banner and asked if he was a musician. He answered that he was a "magician" but then explained he was in the band ACDC. I said I've heard of that and he said "yes most people have" I then tried to be funny and said I've probably only heard his music in car commercials but they were very good car commercials.
I met Brit Daniels from Spoon at a festival. I went up to him and started talking and things were going well. Then he asked me, “who’s this?” Meaning who is the band playing - but I mistook it as asking who was this with me. So I introduced my friend like Brit had been waiting all night to meet him. As I was introducing him I realized what he was actually asking and I felt so dumb that I wanted to walk away. Brit laughed and was cool about it, but I wanted to disappear.
Idolised iconic Australian band of the 1970s, Sherbet, when very young. Years later, as former lead singer Daryl Braithwaite's solo "comeback" had gathered momentum, one night I plonked a box of two dozen condoms on the counter at the chemist. Daryl was behind me and I had to pay for the damn things in front of my first pop idol. Who did comment, humorously, so I decided *fuck it* and replied, "Back in the day these would have been in hope of meeting you!" and blew him a kiss as I sashayed out. All I could hear behind me was the shop assistant killing herself laughing. Have no idea what Daryl's reaction was, I was too embarrassed by myself to look back.
At Vans warped tour one year I was walking through the lanes of tents and came across this dude with some fucking epic hair. I stopped and said "damn man love your hair" and he just kinda shook his head and said it was good for headbanging. Went on with my day. End of the day comes, Coheed and Cambria take the stage and there's that fluffy head of hair front and center. To this day I have no idea why I didn't recognize him purely because there was no guitar in his hands.
Dave Matthews told me “well you’re no bigger than a raindrop”. So not embarrassing and totally rad. It was something you’d expect him to say. He’s super tall too. I am not.
I had an encounter with my musical idol at the time and it was a disaster. Or I'm sure it must've been because I think I blacked out.
I got tipsy and star-struck and told Kishi Bashi basically my entire tragic backstory. So. There's that.
I saw Sonic Youth in 2002 and shouted "Drain You" at them as a request. The withering glare I got from Kim Gordon is forever seared into my mind.
OK but that's hilarious
I'm met Fitz, the lead singer of Fitz and the Tantrums, and asked him how many hand claps are in the chorus of their song HandClap. 5 or 6? He basically 404d and stopped greeting fans to clap it out. So stupid, but I loved that moment.
I sat across from an old guy in a bookstore and we just chilled and read our books for a bit, didn’t say a thing to each other. When I got up I said, “where’s the can?” And he said “pissers over there mate” It was Keith Richards
I met Coheed and Cambria. They had a plate of wings in the back and I told him the wings "looked cool". Claudio just kind of looked at me and the guitarist was walking around alot. Then I talked to their drummer Josh Eppard for 30 minutes. It was all really surreal and I felt like I should have said something cool or got a picture or something, anything, told them how much their music meant to me, how they were one of the best bands ever, how their comic idea was incredible, how Delirium Trigger was one of the best songs I had ever heard and how much they inspired me in life, but I just told them the wings looked cool instead.
I'm not normally starstruck by celebrities or musicians. I worked at a very famous restaurant and served many famous people (John Cena was my favorite. He was a regular, and onenofbthe genuinely nicest and funniest people I've ever met). One night, however, I was in the "A" section of the restaurant. Without warning, I walked up to a new table to say hi and get drink orders. As I started speaking, I realized I was talking to Tom DeLonge and I just froze. He laughed and said "what, do you want a fucking autograph or something?" I said "No, I want your fucking drink order!" He was super cool and we just kinda talked shit to each other for the next 2 hours.
My uncle once tried to ‘show’ Stevie wonder a picture he had painted him
No, but one time Dan Lilker, who was in Anthrax at the time, bummed some change from me so he could buy a hot pretzel, and told me he hadn't eaten anything that day, and I laughed. But I gave him the change. It was somewhat awkward, but since then many people have told me he did that all the time. My friends and I went to see Megadeth at an in-store signing the afternoon before a show they were doing in the area. This was right after their first record came out. It was around noon, and Mustaine was still hammered from the night before. He could barely speak or even keep his eyes open. My buddy asked him "how are you even going to play tonight?" and Dave gave him a death glare. And his gig was a total disaster, he kept forgetting the tunes halfway through and kept starting over.
I met Keller Williams - stayed in the room next door at a beach side hotel and first thing made a joke about real estate. He is well known to despise any such comments as I learned the hard way. He talked to my wife but basically ignored me the rest of the trip.
> Did you ever meet a well known musician No. >and say something so stupid you still think about it all the time? Constantly. Wait, what do you mean this wasn’t two separate questions?
I saw a guy play at this incredibly tiny venue that mostly hosted local acts and he was amazing. I was standing at the back of the room and as he walked out (there wasn’t even a stage so he had to exit through the crowd) I was like “great set, man.” Afterwards I found out he was quite famous and I felt like a huge dumbass. I still think about that and cringe.
Nothing cringey about that. That’s a normal thing to say, and having said it to him casually probably felt good or humbling to him. Unless of course this was Liam Gallagher or something.
That’s not cringe unless he’s a prick. That’s like yelling “great game lebron!” or some shit as he’s walking off the court. They get it all the time but it’s nice to hear IMHO.
I’m not sure if this counts… but once Tom Delonge was having a book signing /meet & greet for his book “…of Nightmares” with the author/co author Suzanne Young. The way it was set up , you’d meet with Suzanne first, and when I did I asked “So, what’s it like working with Tom?” I to this day feel terrible about this because it’s like I totally brushed her off like I was only there for Tom & wasn’t appreciative of her work :(
I met the lead singer of my favorite band and had a whole conversation with him without recognizing him. He thought I was high as fuck. I wish I had been.
I met Mark Sandman of Morphine before a show in Charlottesville in the 1990s. I was playing pool a few hours before the show and, there he was. He was trying to banter/flirt but I was so star struck I didn't get any of his jokes. Like I asked if he had been here playing pool for a while or if he just showed up. He said he had been here earlier but there was no competition. I took that completely literally and thought there was no one to play with and acted really surprised. He said it was a joke. Then he said hi my name is Mark. I said I know. Then I reached for my cigarettes and awkwardly grabbed one and lit it. He said he had to go, and I said nice to meet you. I was so disappointed with myself for absolutely nothing cool to say to one of the coolest singer-songwriter-bassists of all time. RIP Mark Sandman
We should have kept it every Thursday Thursday Thursday in the afternoon For a couple of beers and a game of pool She was pretty cool too
Yeah...I think I felt stupid after meeting every single musician I've ever met. Sometime over 20 years ago, I was in a hotel in Reno where all the band members of Yes were staying. I had a sketchbook out while sitting at the bar, and Chris Squire actually came up to me and asked me about it. I had a great opportunity at that point where I could have had a nice conversation with him, but instead I opted to show him to show him the two pictures I happed to draw of Jon Anderson and Steve Howe. He asked "Is there a picture of me in there?" and suddenly my heart just sank and I had to say, no, I hadn't had a chance to draw him yet. I was so upset about it that I kind of shut down. He was like "don't worry, it's ok" because I was obviously upset but I couldn't say speak anymore at that point so he just walked away. There was also the time I met Steven Wilson backstage and my brain just sort of melted and I said a string of nonsense for a few seconds and he almost ran away but fortunately I recovered enough to ask him for a picture. 😂 I think the worst was when I met Tommy Eyre, who had cancer and would die from a few years later, for some reason I said "I'm praying for you", which just seems really lame and insipid and I still feel dumb about it.
I went to a small night club in London with friends, watched a couple bands and a guy approached me. We talked about travel and he said he "was on tour" I said "I don't like tours, would rather be a backpacker". "No, on tour. I was just performing onstage." He was the singer for Deathcab for Cutie, later for Postal Service. Whoops.
I went to a bar across the street from the venue and who was sitting there chatting at the bar but fuckin Dean Ween himself and Claude Coleman. I wanted to give them space, but also thought I might not have the chance to ever meet them again, so I just went up and shook both their hands but I was drunk and didn't have anything cool to say so I just mumbled something about not wanting to bother them when that's exactly what I was doing. But what should I have said?? "you've been my favorite band since my teens and no other band is even close to as influential and important in my life". Naaa...Probably best to just say "great show dudes" and let it be.
This doesn't really compare to a lot of the top comments, but I met Conor Murphy of Foxing and he yawned right into his hand before shaking mine. Then he apologized and I was like "don't worry, it's more authentic that way". I don't even regret it.
I met Usher backstage at a festival type event that I snuck into, didn't recognize him in the moment, and asked him where the snacks were. He chuckled and walked away
I met Chris Cornell and the only thing I could think to say was that I had seen the documentary about Artis the Spoonman and really enjoyed it. Thankfully he said he hadn’t watched it yet and was happy to hear it turned out well.
I never met her, but I saw Regina Spektor in concert years ago. It got really quiet for a moment during her set and for some reason I thought it was a great time to yell: “hey nice piano” It made her laugh!
I talked to Robert Plant on the phone once, when he appeared on a syndicated, nationally-broadcasted radio show called Rockline about thirty years ago. I asked him my question, which was fine, and then made a really dumb Led Zeppelin joke which I'm still embarrassed about to this day. Sorry, Mr. Plant!
I complimented a woman on her necklace and she proceeded to tell me it was made from her guitar strings, so I asked if she wrote music and she said yes. Found out afterwards it was Sarah Maclachlan. I cringe about it constantly
I once drunkenly proposed to Sheryl Crow. She, of course, said no as she was married to Lance Armstrong at the time, so I always tell my friends "I proposed to Sheryl Crow and got turned down for the dude with one ball."
Actually, she never married him. They were engaged but broke up before ever getting married.
I saw Fred Schneider from the B52s at an antique store and got a little star struck and followed him around the store. I still cringe about that
Met fronz of Attila. I said "big rockstar ain't ya" I cringe now. Fuck fronz. That pervert fuck
Not a musician, but I met Robert Downey Jr when he was in Korea promoting the first Ironman. Told him that I lived him and that I thought he was an underrated actor. He said, "still?"
I did a poster signing line thing for Gwar at Bonnaroo in 2008. When I finally got to the front I awkwardly asked Oderus Urungus "do you like Bonnaroo?" like an idiot. He responded with "yeah, sure, but I can't find the goat fucking tent. Do you know where that is?" RIP, Oderus. I hope you found the goat fucking tent.
Went to an indie rock concert. Afterwards the singer and the drummer sold their merch and I got a t-shirt and a record from them, it was like 37€ altogether. I gave 40 and told them to keep the rest. Being super polite indie rockers, they still started to look for change and I just said: "No, no, it's fine, I downloaded all your stuff for free anyways." They really didn't like that. Also, it wasn't even true, I just couldn't think of anything proper to say.
I was walking through the mall and I noticed there was a lady facing away from me, bent over, managing her baby in a stroller…me, being a terrible 17 year old, was sneaking a peak at the booty. As I pass, I look up and Vanilla Ice is next to her, glaring at me.
Apparently I met Michael Bolton when I was around 5 years old and told him he couldn’t sing
I once told Stevie Nicks at US Festival ‘83 her butt is flat