Name Dropping thread

[mjau]

OK, not sure if this even qualifies, but after a Wilco show in Virginia Beach once, the drummer (Ken something?) used my back to rest posters on so he could autograph them. Also, a homeless guy looking for a cigarette waltzed onto to their tour bus, and he never left it for the entire evening. Cool band...

And I played some basketball against the Chief himself - Robert Parish. My proudest moment.

And once, at a Mars Music store, I was trying out basses, and could barely hear myself because of someone else's playing. I kept thinking, "who is this asshole who is playing so damn loudly?", and turn around to see that it's Billy Sheehan giving some kind of bass shredding clinic.

[discs of tron]

the chief thing trumps everything else on this thread, imho. did he get you high?

[mjau]

High on life, and on basketball, and on being tall...but alas, not on anything else. He was exceptionally mellow, though.
It's time for a comeback, Chief.

[discs of tron]

it would have been cool to team up with the chief and kick billy sheehan's candy ass.

[andrew embassy]

I've been able to meet and become friends with some of the amazing people on K records, Jason Anderson (Wolf Colonel), Karl Blau, Kyle Field (Little Wings). We've partied up at my friend's cabin a bunch of times. Let me tell you, there's few things better than sitting around a fire on a beatiful lakeshore drinking whisky and singing with Karl, Kyle and Jason. Beautiful people.

[literati]

Poster Children - (I did a fanzine with two of them for a couple issues. The one that I pissed off Billy Corgan with. The Poster Children are some of the nicest rock people I've met, and they seemed to ooze integrity).

PC pretty much rules my rock world. I too was in Champaign back then - I think I remember that zine, even. Black-and-white 4 or 8 pager, I remember Rose (PC bassist) interviewing D'Arcy...

Rick Valentin (PC singer/guitarist) recorded my first real album, with my old band Bale. We camped out in his and Rose's living room for about a week. This was 11 years ago, and still if he sees me at the occasional Chicago shows, he'll say hey and ask how the music's going. Damn.

Their new one "No More Songs about Sleep and Fire" is the best thing they've done since "Junior Citizen," no shit.

Other rock stories...

I woke up one morning, stumbled to the shower in my bathrobe, and noticed three strange men sleeping in my living room. One of them looked up, said "Hey," and rolled over in his sleeping bag and went back to sleep. Whatever, I thought, did my thing, went to work. Got home later and my roommate is on the ceiling. "OH MY GOD! LOU BARLOW ATE MY CORNFLAKES!"

Apparently, the three men I stepped over were Sebadoh, who he met at a show the night before and invited them to stay over...

I was playing with this band in DC, we were staying in the Hyatt. (No wonder the tour made no money...) As we're packing to leave, the drummer comes up to me and asks, "Say Michael, did you notice that rather attracive woman in the lobby?" (Yes, he really talks like that.)

"You mean Lil' Kim?"

"Lil' Kim?"

"Yeah, you didn't see the entourage? R. Kelly's standing right over there, too."

Cheerio,
Literati,
occasionally known as Michael

[andrew embassy]

Also, my first real band in high school was "managed" by Ryan Agner who was a friend and "road manager" of Kurt Cobain's back in the early days (I'm from Aberdeen). By managed I mean 'sat around and drank beer with us while regaling us with stories.'

[I'm Painting Again]

Fatty Smith?? No shee-it!! Dish the dirt, immediately if not soonerer. Does it involve expanding waist lines, lard and broken service station weight-teller machines that begin to emit steam and start swearing vehemently? If so, I think I might've heard it. But tell it again anyway, cos I can totally vouch for its hilarity quotient.

OK OK It involves something different than the usual gluttany and weeping..lets just say it involves a high school age stalker and a weekend at a NYC hotel..I have mouse pads made from the pictures..

[bobbydj]

Now there's something. Blackmail via merchandise procducts.

[the-cruel]

Sort of a name drop: My friend John Monte just joined Ministry. He used to be in Mindfunk and M.O.D.

Met some cool cats when I worked at CMJ: Coldplay, Travis, Q-Tip, Gomez, Nikki Sixx, PJ Harveym Chemical Brothers....a few more. Awesome experience.

Used to know that fag from Puddle of Mudd, Wes Scantlin. Funny thing about him is that he's still basically playing the same songs he had 10 years ago.

The Get Up Kids owe my pal money from sharing a practice space, like, 6 years ago. They drank all his soda, too.

[soundguy]

I played frisbee with that guy from blind melon (the singer who od'd) before a gig on a soundgarden tour eons ago.

dave

[joeysimms]

I played horseshoes with Idi Amin, Cole Porter, John Sabastian, and Jackie the old guy from Benny Hill. Jackie and I won!

[joeysimms]

And I almost forgot: Farah Fawcett gave me a swirly once and then she let me give her one. Good times!

[bobbydj]

Swirlies are so last week Tom. Get with it dude. Fara only plays for ironies now.

[junokane]

Total dorko moment: In college, Cheap Trick and Heart came through town on a package tour...I went to the convenience store off-campus to turn in some bottles and cans and buy a bag of chips or something, turn around and there's Rick Neilsen and Tom Petterson! ...

Other run-ins:

--Also have done VO sessions with ... Dan Castalenetta...

Got a Cheap Trick story -- I was at the Gavin Report Convention in New Orleans when CT was gearing up to promote their s/t record on Red Ant. They are gods to me, and Rick Nielsen is one of my all-time favorites. They played a showcase gig at a little (maybe 500 cap.) club and I was foaming at the mouth, never even seen them before that.

I got my spot at the rail in front of the stage and basically acted the fool throughout the show -- kept my arms over my head like i was on a roller-coaster, yelling my fool head off. So Nielsen must have noticed me or something, because during "Mandocello" he starts duck-walking my way from the back of the stage. Getting closer, he really seemed to be heading in my direction. Closer. Zeroing in on me and I'm kind of freaking out. Then he's in my face, crouching down low, never stops playing, and during a bit of a guitar pause he unslings the mandocello and hands it to me. OH SHIT. i got to glory in it for about a second and a half before everybody around me attacked me for the guitar. Rick was back up and playing another gtr by then, and I was mobbed. A roadie waded in and battled the mando back from me and everybody else. Nice to be singled out as a blithering idiot superfan. I interviewed him (phoner) for a 'zine a couple years later and told him the story. He said, "I remember that gig. We'd been in Tokyo the day before."

And I saw Dan Castellanetta perform on the main stage at Second City in Chicago about 3 years before the Tracy Ullman Show (and then Homer S) days. He was hysterical, naturally. Richard Kind was in the cast, too, if you know your sitcom/movie comic character actors.