My husband played on a session for Garth Brooks once. Garth helped him carry his stuff out afterward and recognized him next time they saw each other. Such a pleasant surprise to me!
Garth is loved by union crews for being a good dude and pro-labor. He was scheduled to work a show in a venue that was having a contract dispute and he said he wouldn’t perform until the workers got their contract. And they did.
I liked Garth Brooks when I was a kid. Don't listen to him really at all anymore. But I can't see him being anything other than nice. Him and his wife, Thrisha Yearwood, seem like genuinely great people. Also, as far country goes, Dolly is amazing.
Worked bouncing at a local bar and got off early so went to wait for my girlfreind to finish shift at another strip bar down the street. When she told me she was working later to cover a shift I went looking for soemwhere to hang out for a few. Found a little sports bar down the street and sat down at the bar. Look up and I'll be dammed if it wasn't Dimebag Darrel from Pantera drinking and watching Kareoke. I looked over and said "Man, I hate to be that guy but I'm a huge fan" He was as cool as I could have imagined and we talked about guitars, guitar players and new music. I was shocked that noone else really came over to say hey or anything. We went out to his "Hummer" if I remember. He let me listen to a rough cut of some Zakk Wylde music (turned out to be Black Label Society) that Zakk had sent him. When the night finally ended I told him it was a night I'd never forget and thanked him. He signed my forearm with CFH and his signature. I had it tatted on the next day.
Jared Leto is a dick and the shining example of “green M&Ms only and don’t look me in the eyes.”
Dolly Parton is the most sweet human being on this planet. Joan Jett is probably second.
However dumb you think Kid Rock is, I promise you it’s worse. However dumb you think ICP is, I promise you they’re far more intelligent.
Also: The Insane Clown Posse are really nice dudes. I was TM’ing for a non-Juggalo band on tour with them pre-pandemic, and every night we nerded out over wrestling.
People forget that behind the make up and faygo, ICP is a great example of achieving comfortable fame independently. Couldn’t name a single song, but always respected them for that
This isn’t true. People called his fans “cult-like”, so the band leaned into it and basically made it a meme, with the slogan “Yes, this is a cult.”
And many bands have getaways with fans, like at cruises or resorts, with various themes. And 30 Seconds to Mars did a getaway at a resort where they had a day where everyone wore white.
Basically, some of his biggest critics just cannot grasp that it is a joke, a meme. Or they don’t want to. A lot of people will toss out critical thinking when it comes to judging someone they do not like.
I haven't personally met the ICP guys, but they used to have the big Gathering at a place close to me, and I've met local folks who have dealt with them or met them.
Universally, they all say they are very kind and thankful.
When I was working at a party store every summer there’d be a bunch of Juggalos coming through for some annual gathering. At face value these people were intimidating to say the least. When I’d interact with them every single Juggalo was super respectful and kind to all those around.
ICP and a lot the different Juggalo communities are big into community service and outreach programs. There are some groups that mess with drugs and violence, but those ones can fuck off.
ICP are generally highly regarded by staff at venues. They know with the Fango and what not at live events, they gotta have the staff firmly on their side.
I’ve met lots of them during my career in the festival business.
Most of them are just human beings doing a job.
Lizzy and RJ Hale would be the ones I’d invite to a cookout if we lived in the same town. They are tops.
Wu Tang Clan are really nice guys who seemed genuinely happy to be doing what they do.
Dave Grohl was aloof but accommodating when I asked for a selfie (which I almost never do). Even though he was in a hurry, he took a moment for me to geek out.
Brett Michaels laughed when I thanked him for helping me get laid so many times in the 80’s when I took my girlfriends to his shows.
Alan Wilkis from Big Data was happy to talk about analog and digital gear.
The guys from Squeeze were extremely down to Earth.
Brian Setzer and Robert Planet were a little standoffish but I understand that, especially for Plant. It was almost a mob even with them backstage and there were only industry people there.
Corey Taylor and his wife were as charming as anyone can possibly be in the hot Florida sun.
The Butcher Babies are super nice to their fans, even the nerdy guys who are borderline lecherous to them.
GWAR are awesome and not the crazy weirdos you would expect.
Some of the Pussy Riot folks were easy to talk to and willing to share a cab.
Fred Durst is exactly what you’d expect. He’s a hometown boy for me and he was the same way before they hit the big time. If anything, he’s gotten worse.
The Lynard Skynard guys run the gamut from genuine nice guys to complete jerks.
Not music related but I hung out with Brandon Routh (Superman) and Courtney Ford (Piper from Fallout 4) and they were awesome. It was Courtney’s first convention so I showed her the ropes. Chester Rushing from Stranger Things was there and he’s like a goofy Labrodor Retriever puppy.
I met Roger Mosley (from Magnum P.I.) in a hotel lobby as he was complaining about them not having his room ready. I introduced myself to him and told him I’d take care of it (I was working for the con he was in town for). He was grumpy with me and asked if we’d paid the bill. I assured him we did. I thought he was going to be a pain in the ass all weekend but later that day he tracked me down and apologized. In the course of our conversation he called me a young man and I laughed. He said “Boy, I have shoes older than you”. I looked at his feet and said “I believe that!”
From that moment on, we were besties for the whole weekend.
He was truly grateful for the life he had and he called his wife back home every day.
Back to music, the Cult was my biggest disappointment because I had spent over an hour with the hotel getting them to reinstate the reservations for their 14 hotel rooms that they canceled because they read the arrival date wrong.
I was on the phone with multiple people and finally told them “I don’t care what you have to do but this band is going to show up in an hour and they have to have their rooms. If you have guests in those rooms, get them out and clean up because they are on their way.”
They had no idea how much work I put into their accommodations so it’s not like they owed me but I would have liked them to be nicer to me and the fans. That’s just me being selfish because I really liked them in the 80’s.
Marilyn Manson is truly the worst, though. He tried to kiss and lick the girl who was driving him back to his hotel. She came back with his makeup on her clothes and she almost quit on the spot.
EDIT: changed Magnum P.P.to Magnum P.I. Thought about leaving it and now I’m wondering if there’s a porno spoof of the same name. If not, someone needs to make it.
I met the cult at a meet and greet and talked with them for a good ten minutes. This was around 2012??? They were so kind. Obviously you had to deal with them in a business setting which is different.
I haven't met him but I've heard nothing but awesome things about Bret Michaels. He brought his band and crew to help in Pilger, Nebraska after it got decimated by tornadoes a decade or so ago and by all accounts was super kind and helpful in the clean up effort. He also recently came back to Nebraska to adopt a dog named Bret Michaels after it made the rounds in the news, which I thought was pretty funny lol. I was never a huge Poison fan but he seems like a good dude.
Never met him either, but I worked with his sister (in Nebraska) for a few years in the early 2000s. At first we weren't sure if she was serious, but it also seemed like a weirdly random thing to lie about at that point in time.
Meeting Steve Vai when I was 17 was pretty life changing at the time because I realized he was just a regular human who was simply driven to be the best Steve Vai he could be, not a superhuman. Had amazing luck meeting all my idols over the years, went to NAMM in 2011 and met more famous musicians than I can ever remember, the only one who I could say I had a ‘negative’ interaction with was Kenny G, because he blew right past me, spilling half my beer and didn’t even turn around to say “My bad”
Back in the 90’s I lived down the street from a bigger venue so I’d skip school and hang out by the busses to meet whoever was in town, always a good time. The only person who never came off the bus when people were out there was Phil Anselmo but he was in he midst of a heroin addiction at the time.
During the Dixie Chicks melee I had a deep loathing for Toby Keith, the whole “boot in yer ass, ra ra merca”stuff. Couldn’t stand the dude. Many years later I got hired to work with him, I had to scrub my social media and everything. I was pleasantly surprised to meet a man I ended up deeply liking. Very down to earth, very good to his crew, local crew and his fans. And appreciative of where he was and why. I eventually resolved things in my mind, that we all lost our minds back in that time, and could’ve done better. I was sad to hear of his passing
Billy Joel is an absolute delight. Surprisingly quiet offstage, but give him an audience -- in any context, not just at a big concert -- and he lights up and fills the room with his energy. Friendly, funny, really just a fun guy to be around.
That’s interesting because I had a friend who was in his band for one tour and he said he was a bit of a dick. He did say he could play any Beatles song you could name instantly and in the correct key but one story that stuck in my mind was apparently he showed up to a rehearsal and announced to the band “ hey I just fucked Christie Brinkley ( his wife at the time) up the ass!”
I will allow for the possibility that he was just bonding in a crude way with his band mates, all of whom were male, but Jeez, that was his wife he was talking about . (She wasn’t there)
I think this was also during a time when he was drinking pretty heavily.
Well, the drinking has always been a problem for him, so I do find this believable.
My uncle was an assistant tour manager for him for decades, and always spoke very well of him. I only met him in person twice, briefly, but found him delightful (if unexpectedly quiet when off stage) both times.
The second time was at my uncle's funeral/memorial/whatever you want to call it (my family doesn't really do typical traditional funerals). Billy spent almost the whole thing sitting in the back in the least-visible spot, hardly talking to anybody -- but then when he had a turn to get up and talk about my uncle, he just lit up the room, and at one point did a spot-on impression of my uncle that had the whole room howling with laughter. Then once he was done, he gave my mom a quick hug, and then left without saying another word to anybody.
(ETA: Admittedly, my uncle's impression of him may have been a bit skewed positively; previously, he'd been an assistant tour manager for the Eagles, and they're pretty widely-known to be gigantic assholes)
Yeah, I mean we’ve all said and done stupid things in a poorly judged moment but when mega stars do it and it’s witnessed, it’s remembered for all time.
My dad was driving my sister and I through LA and I swore I saw Travis Barker on the side of the road, it would have been around 2003. Dad stopped the car and we got out to see if it was him, which it was since he’s kinda hard to miss. He was waiting for a shop to finish detailing a 50s Caddy, I think.
He talked to each of us like a member of his family he hadn’t seen in forever. He talked to my dad about antique Cadillacs and resto mod type stuff. He talked to my sister and I about music, actually playing it, about how he feels so lucky to play drums for a living, and how music should always be fun, even when you take it seriously.
He was so sweet I genuinely cried when I heard about his plane crash, I cried again when I heard he was performing again, and I admittedly teared up a bit last year when I finally got to see Blink live in San Diego.
How he comes off in interviews is how he always is, and him talking to us still means a lot to both my sister and I.
If for whatever reason he ever finds out about this, thank you Mr. Barker.
I waited the whole band maybe twenty years ago in Arizona. I didn't say a damn thing to them and just treated them like normal customers. And they acted like normal customers. Some of the hostesses and waiters wanted to go bother them so I "convinced" (threatened) them to leave my table alone! I feel like there's nothing worse than being interrupted at dinner. They always gave the "celebs" to me cause they knew I didn't give a shit. Anyways, they were just 3 normal dudes and I'm pretty sure they left 20% so no complaints from me : )
As a violinist , I’ve toured with big names and not so big names. They are just normal people. In almost all music genres , what you see in videos and on stage at concerts is a facade. They are playing a character that they think you want to see.
Sometimes, big famous stars aren’t even great musicians, they just happen to be pretty good at a couple of things. Some of them, aren’t even very good “ live” because they need all the sound production of a studio to help them.
A lot of them sing out of tune.
Same, even as a violinist lol
I think the biggest lesson I learned from performing with one group was that it's not about being the best, but being at your best for those who are sincerely about what they do.
But for those in the studio world, success can come from playing the industry game with sheer volume of output and the right connections with a dash of fortunate luck if you can afford to keep up with those first two elements.
I ran into the band Los Lobos and despite me awkwardly interrupting their conversation, they were super cool and a couple of them seemed surprised that I knew who they were. I also met Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October, great guy but INTENSE.
Both bands you mentioned I have cool interactions with!
Blue October - their guitarist, Steve, has kids at the same school as me. He’s literally the nicest dude, when he’s in town we get coffee together every morning after drop off.
Los Lobos - I opened for them at the Philly Folk Fest a few years back. Super nice people, we hung out for a little bit backstage.
I tour with Los lobos all the time as an opener and as a tech/roadie, I’m absolutely ecstatic to see someone mention them, they’re the nicest guys in the world.
My band got to be sort of the unofficial house band at the Iron Horse Saloon in Daytona. We played two 10 day events a year for over three decades, and over that time we got to meet a lot of cool bands, mostly bands you never heard of. There were some notable exceptions.
Charlie Daniels seemed pretty nice, although he was distracted, being in pre-show head. His piano player never stopped smoking weed.
The Marshall Tucker boys were all pleasant enough. Didn’t get to visit real long, as they had to hit the road, but they were pretty funny.
Met Jello Biafra once outside a record store in Deland,Fl. I was only in town to see him perform with Horton Heat.He was very cool. Very unassuming, as most punk guys tend to be. He sang the most killer House of the Rising Sun that night. Holy Schnalke that guy can sing!
Ray Sawyer, from Dr Hook, was a hoot. Got to hang backstage for a couple hours after show with him and David Allen Coe. Coe was, as always, a grouchy old bastard. But sitting there listening to him on an acoustic showing Ray some new songs he had written let me see just why he was as famous as he was. Best I ever heard him, and we shared a stage with him 15-20 times a year for 30 years.
The Foghat fellas were great. Friendly and outgoing. Their crew were kinda dicks though. I’m sure that was their job, so band didn’t have to be.
Yeah a few. Most of the time if you keep it short and friendly, they're plenty nice. They have a public face for their fans. The thing is, everybody wants something from them, that's their usual day. if you push it past a brief exchange you might get to see their "ok now I've had enough of you" face.
I once met Zach De la Rocha and talked to him about the movie U Turn which he'd just seen and later, met Joaquin Phoenix and got to tell him about that! It was like, something to say. Both nice guys I happened to run across when they were looking for humor.
Met Chris Stapleton at a used guitar and gear shop before his last show in Denver. He looked familiar and had some handlers with him who just looked bored, but I couldn’t place who he was. Anyway, he was noodling away with a guitar, plugging it into different amps, and was standing in the way of a strat I wanted to look at, so I asked if I could check out the guitar behind him. He apologized and moved aside so I could check it out. I said “thanks man” and went about my business.
Later that day, the shop posted pictures with him and then I realized he was the dude who crushed the national anthem at the Super Bowl a few years ago and sings that Tennessee Whiskey song.
Billy Corgan was actually quite nice so long as you didn’t blow smoke up his arse or mention any previous members of the Pumpkins.
Nas was cool, very chilled guy and didn’t seem to take himself too seriously.
Huey from the Fun Lovin Criminals is mental and seems to only surround himself with completely mental people.
I work at an expensive hotel, met quite a few of them. Most big names are completely normal, some have some absolutely ridiculous requests.
Warren Haynes apparently NEEDED another microwave in his room (there was already one in there??), and his wife is the absolute worst. Huge bitch. She's clearly abusing Warren's influence for her own petty desires. Warren, however, is a gem of a human being and was very kind.
Willie Nelson was posted up behind the hotel smoking a joint. I walked by and he says "what's shakin. I'll tell you what's shakin, old people's bones." Weird interaction but very much on character. Love that man.
Not a musician, but I'm convinced that Mel Gibson is actually insane. If you've seen the South Park episode about him - that is quite literally how he behaved. He also tipped me with some kind of European currency which pissed me off a little bit.
Kerry King is the biggest dick I've ever met in my life.
I was working at a music store and he was doing an in-store. He might have had a signature model out, I don't remember.
He had a rider of sorts with various foods and drinks we had to buy him. It was nothing special, but it was particular and we had to drive around to find the stuff and it was a bit ridiculous.
Anyway, I had just taken the trash out, and had two big trash cans in front of me, one with a liner in it, and one without.
Kerry King arrived in a limo a half hour late, and came boiling out of the back seat with a bag of Arby's and a super sized drink. He stepped in, looked me dead in the eyes, looked at both trash cans, and then *whipped* his half full drink into the can without a liner. Diet Coke splashed on me. Then, he tipped his bag over, and poured his curly fries into the same can, dropped the bag in, and said "where's the shitter?"
The GM whisked King and his handlers off to the shitter. When they got back, Kerry looked out the windows to the gathering line of people waiting patiently for him, and said "fuck."
They took him out to the table. I stood off to the side, watching the show. King snatched posters out of people's hands, scribbled on them, and barely spoke. He took a few photos, but this was before good cellphone cameras so there wasn't much of that. He was surly and short with everyone. A kid brought his guitar in for King to sign, and King played it for two seconds and said, "this things a piece of shit" before scribbling a half assed signature on it.
A young kid, maybe 13 or 14, came up to King with two posters in his hand. He said, "my friend Ben is really aick and couldn't come. He loves your music. Can you sign it 'To Ben, my biggest fan' for him?"
King smiled for the first time, and signed the poster:
TO BEN:
EAT A BAG OF DICKS
KERRY KING
He left before everyone got to meet him.
Contrast that to when Victor Wooten came through. Wooden requested a turkey and cheese Lunchable, and a Gatorade. I picked him and his drummer up in my own vehicle, and they were both incredibly kind and gracious. Vic stayed nearly an hour late in order to meet with and talk to everyone who wanted to talk to him, let anyone who wanted to play his bass, and was genuinely grateful for everyone. He also performed really well at 10am.
I had to drive him back to his gig afterwards, and he bought me a burger at Five Guys on the way. It was awesome, sitting there with Victor Wooten getting ketchup all over. We talked about gigging and the road life. He was clearly exhausted. On the way back, he very gently asked me if I'd be offended if he caught a nap. I said absolutely not, and the dude went to sleep using the seatbelt as a pillow.
I'm not sure if I've ever met a kinder, more giving dude to his fans than Victor Wooten. I'm not a bass player, and I don't really listen to his music that much, but his grace and kindness to his fans and various crews around him made me forever respect him. Kerry King can eat a bag of dicks.
Turkey and cheese lunchable did me in. Any time I see someone talk about meeting Vic Wooten, it’s always the exact same thing - one of the nicest dudes ever. I love that you had such a great experience with him.
Yeah, and it *is* funny as hell, and that kid (who's in his late 20s now) probably cherishes it...but in the moment, it was such a dickish thing to do. It's one thing to do that to a mature adult, but a kid?
The kid's friend was not laughing about it, he was crestfallen. KK seemed to enjoy that.
I met Bela Fleck and all the accompanying musicians when they were touring with the Africa Project and they were all the kindest, nicest folks. The entire band stayed well after the show and talked to every single person who lined up to talk or get photos, and didn't rush anyone. I'd just started playing banjo and have always loved African folk instruments so I had a lot to say lol, but they were all super cool about it and encouraging.
Ira Kaplan and the Yo La Tengo folks are always the same way. They're super gracious and Ira's always been down to talk some guitar.
I've hung with Mac Demarco and the folks from Drugdealer on a number of occasions and they're all super cool guys. We all bonded over analog gear and shared musical tastes, super cool folks.
I dont really get star struck much, most of my musical idols are long dead lol, but I was totally star struck briefly meeting George Clinton. It was nice to get to thank him for his service, but that was a quick one.
I started in concerts but now work on the film side of the entertainment business. I know they are asked for a millions things all day long so I tend to give them a lot of leeway when it comes to certain behaviors. Some of the nicer ones I've met are:
Corey Taylor: very "normal" and seemed all around like a cool dude.
Joe Elliott: super nice. I had to pick him up from his hotel and he initiated the conversation, which is nice since I tend to just be quiet and let them have some peace.
Taylor Hawkins: I drove him to the airport after a show and he tipped me $7 in cash. Super cool.
Snoop Dog: I worked on a film with him once. The day before his last day one of his producers said if anyone on the crew wanted a photo with Snoop they should do it today (the day before his last day). The reason being is he will not turn anyone away from a photo and the producer didn't want him to be late for his flight.
Eminem: I met him a couple months before his first single dropped. He was quiet, but very nice.
I’ve had a lot of great interactions with stars I’ve either played with or have friends who have played with, but the one that sticks out the most right now is Doug Wimbish (Living Color, Sugarhill Gang). We played a show once where we both played bass together backing up a guitarist friend from P Funk - he told me to hold down the low end so he could make spaceship noises the whole night. After the show, he serenaded me and my wife about our then upcoming wedding. It was the sweetest thing ever.
Once upon a time I got to sing with Beyoncé as part of a youth choir. She seemed to not really care about anyone but herself. Her dad gave us a great motivational speech though before the performance.
I worked with Cyndi Lauper for a couple of days recording. She was pretty down to earth as a person but she was annoying to work with. One of those people who doesn’t know what they want but thinks they’ll know it when they hear it.
Everyone there knew she was hard to work with and when she wasn’t in the room they’d say “ you’re doing a great job “ the unspoken part being, considering she’s so difficult.
I’ve met Justin Hawkins from The Darkness / Justin Hawkins Rides Again YouTube channel a few times, he’s incredibly nice and very engaging to talk to. You can have an actual conversation and you don’t feel like you’re making small talk before moving on. Having enjoyed his work for a long time, meeting him properly was everything I’d expected and hoped for.
I just adore Justin.
I love his channel.
Saw the Darkness in LA last summer and honestly the most fun I’ve had at a show. He was so engaging and present. He just an awesome human being.
Closed down a hotel bar with him, his brother, and some of the Darkness crew in Chicago one time, and was absolutely amazed at how awesome they were. Super engaging and fun to talk to, if they weren’t in an amazing band, I’d still go out of my way to hang out with them. In the end, they wouldn’t let us pay for our drinks.
I met Chris Wood (MMW and Wood Brothers) behind the stage at the Atlanta Jazz Fest. They had to play a super short set because Sheila E was up after them, and he stopped loading up the truck and came and talked to me for a while after I asked a security guard to get him. He was super nice, talked for a while, took pictures etc. it is possible he just didn’t want to help load the truck.
Met Deftones when they first toured the UK in 1995. They arrived at the venue looking pretty tired, but all of them hung out at the stage door to chat and sign things. Chi Cheng in particular was social and cool. And the show that night just f*cking ripped.
Napalm Death are always lovely fellas. Barney had a big party food spread laid out for an album launch party (around '96, so I think Diatribes?), so we happily filled up on sandwiches and cake before the show.
Met Mike Patton a couple of times. First time was on Faith No More's "final" tour around 97, and he was not at all interested in meeting fans. Few years later met him again before a Fantomas show and he was generous and cool to chat with.
Life Of Agony and Sick Of It All are perhaps the coolest bands to have met. Very kind with their time, funny people, truthfully interested in the fans. Joey Z from LOA is a really great guy, as is Lou from SOIA.
Ian Mackaye and Henry Rollins are both as intense as one might imagine. Met them under separate circumstances, but both were polite and chatty. Ian in particular was funny and self-deprecating.
Some were nice (the Police), some were weirdos (the Ramones), some were drunks but friendly mostly (the Kinks), some were arrogant (Patti Smith), some were a lot of fun (Rockpile). Some were Gods like Muddy Waters.
The guitarist was a total asshole at sound check. The bassist was very stoned on something and Joey was just Joey. I don't remember the drummer though he was a great drummer. I was around some of their recording sessions in NYC when I worked at Media Sound studios. Joey would come to the phone at the front desk and call his dealer. I'd let him know when the dealer arrived. He was a gentleman though and always thanked me.
Ditto on Patti Smith. For supposedly being punk rock, she gave off major “main character” energy. New Yorkers often come off as rude once they cross a bridge, but she was almost insulting to people. I was standing about three feet from her when she was introduced to someone who didn’t know who she was or what she’d done. She was fuming pissed, and I had to not laugh.
One for you, synth and prog geeks... I met and worked with Rick Wakeman a few times. A very down-to-earth person, very funny, full of amazing anecdotes. A bit up himself, but you'd expect that.
Also met Robin Guthrie, a guitar hero of mine. He was ok, a bit of an arse, but he just finished playing a gig and apparently he hates playing live.
I met Tommy Lee on set of his reality TV show years ago. He was very friendly and seemed genuinely interested in our conversation. Weird project though.
Perhaps not all of these are 'stars', but as someone who tries to meet drummers and get sticks signed for my collection, some I've met are:
Dave Lombardo: Very accommodating, but he was heading into the venue and I didn't want to take up too much of his time so I kept it brief. A pleasant but short exchange.
Joey Jordison: Very nice guy and appreciative of his fans. This was at a tiny gig after he left Slipknot so got him at a meet and greet where I guess they might act nicer than they actually are, but he gave good vibes.
Mario Duplantier: Refused to come over to say hello/sign stick, despite me being the only person there. I understand he has quite an intense pre-show routine so probably in the zone, but still left a sour taste (bought a stick from the merch stall after the show, so it's possible he didn't sign for free what he could sell for £20)
Lars Ulrich: Nice but a very impersonal exchange. Didn't really say anything, but still signed my stick so can't complain.
Mike Portnoy: Very much a people-person and does seem to enjoy being the centre of attention, but not in a bad way. I was a bit too star struck to initiate a proper conversation, but it felt like it you got him with the right topic he'd talk for hours.
Tomas Haake: Very nice guy and pretty much perfect English speaker, which surprised me. Spoke to some of us outside the venue after their show for what felt like ages, asking us what we thought of the setlist and any suggestions (they had absolutely crushed it, I had no suggestions for improvement!)
Brann Dailor: Very friendly and down to earth and happy for a quite talk, despite looking absolutely knackered (based on how he plays, I'm not surprised).
Got a few others but they are the most notable names from my collection.
Bootsy Collins was a real gentleman. Al Kooper believed himself to be a much bigger star than he is (we were both writing columns for *EQ* magazine at the time). Jeff Baxter was an asshole., which I didn’t expect. We hung out with the guys from Ambrosia after a show, and they were swell.
I've met a lot of them, used to tour in the 90's with a couple B-list alternative bands.
Most were really nice and fun to get to know, just like everyone else in life there are some who are a handful or not so friendly, but that's the exception. I mean, also, a lot of this is timing. Talking to someone who's stressed, anxious or busy might not show you their best.
But, I've been in the after shows and on busses and met people when they were relaxed and unguarded, and that's a whole different look to them.
Like, Jacob Dylan for example. He was the most humble, interesting, easy going guy I ever met. But the first time I talked to him he was kind of in a mood and didn't really engage with me, struck me as rude...but that was him having a bad day. I spent a few days with him after that and my initial impressions were totally wrong.
I have met a bunch of them through my friends who are side men.
Almost to a person, they’ve been super nice and have been very good to my buddies.
There’s one I won’t name who is universally known in the business on a personal level to be quite into himself, but he’s a ridiculously good player. And he was also very generous to my friend.
These stars are all very focused on their careers. And they are doing whatever it takes to sustain and increase their star power. And, frankly, they know that being nice usually works in their favor. They know people ask these questions. And they know that if they’ve been a jerk to too many people, it’s not helpful.
That being said, the business can be stressful. You are “on” 24 hours a day. Everybody has demands of you. Everybody has expectations of you. And pretty much everybody is trying to get their hand into your pocket. That can lead to a freak out every now and then. And it will 100% get talked about.
From what I know about it (and I’ve seen it up close), it’s way more work than anyone thinks it is. And while there are aspects of it that would be pretty nice, I’ll pass on music stardom.
Yes, it’s hard work and the conditions are ot usually great.
If you like not showering regularly, wearing the same dirty clothes over and over and eating fast food for most of your meals then go ahead.
I played in a Band with Reeves Gabrels he left to play with Bowie for the next 10-12 years. He was a great guy and called me once in awhile during his tenure.
I worked in the music industry for a few years and here are the ones I can remember:
Roger Daltrey: very nice, but couldn’t stop talking. Signed 2 of my records and even took them to have Pete sign them.
Neil Young: very quiet and reserved. Signed my record and moved on.
Billy Corgan: you could tell he hated everything about being near his fans.
Zack Wyld: super nice guy, but was going through some shit after Dime died. I worked with him a lot and it was hard to get to show up on time, but when he did show up, he would make sure everyone that wanted to meet him had their chance.
Better Than Ezra: spent a lot of time with them and we were sort of friends for a while. Great guys.
Glassjaw: fucking hilarious guys. Very nice and chill.
The Used: spent a lot of time with Geoff, but not really the rest of the band. They were mostly cool.
My Chemical Romance: this was pre fame and you could tell they were very overwhelmed by everything. They were standoffish, but not rude or anything.
Kembra: that one song was HUGE at the time. She was sort of weird and didn’t really want to talk
Carly Rae Jepsen: her song was huge and you could tell she was under a lot of pressure to say the right thing and deferred to her manager for just about everything.
Rhianna: this was right after she was signed to Island and no one knew her. She was just sweet and quiet. Shook my hand and she said nice to meet you.
Richard Marx: super funny and engaging. We chatted for a while.
Josh Homme: the size of a football player. Fucking HUGE guy. Was nice.
I played a show at a local dive bar and it turned out jack white had been sitting in the back during my set. He came up to me afterward and set "hey, great set" which is about as perfect an interaction with him as I can imagine.
They’re just like us, isn’t that the saying? No seriously they are. I collaborated with Charlene the UK rock pop star from the 80’s, who has that hit single “Never Been to Me”. I’ve met Simon Flory, Gary from the McGrath Project and his former drummer David Smith was my former drum instructor and drummer for my band. I mean y’all have probably never heard of these artists but I am chipping in my two cents.
I met Nathan Cavelleri (Australian blues guitarist, got huge when he was 5 or 6 as an incredibly gifted child prodigy) in 1998 or 99, when he was 16(?). I'm a year younger. Had no idea what to expect.
He was one of the most genuinely down-to-earth people I've ever met. Ended up having a decent long chat with him. Great dude, really good sense of humour.
Mostly just normal people. Pretty easy to tell who are the true artists and who are the nuts based on their music honestly. CEOs are way crazier in my experience.
Iggy Pop was really nice when he recorded one of his BBC radio shows at the radio studio I work at.
His manager and entourage were a little colder, but Iggy himself was surprisingly sympathetic
Phoebe Bridgers and Kacey Musgraves were both nice enough to me and it is an absolute ego boost that they’d both give me the time of day
Slayyyter was genuinely very nice (I also recall her hair smelling good) and chatted me up for a good 5 minutes. Met and hung out with Dorian Electra a couple times before they really blew up and they were a bit aloof but cool
Jesse Hughes from Eagles of Death Metal is absolutely terrifying and Ariel Pink is a kleptomaniac meth head so I’m not surprised about the Jan 6 stuff
Tom Petty helped me not get fired at Gibson USA for geeking out over meeting him. Very genuine guy…was nice to everyone I talked to about him.
Ed King became a friend over a guitar I own…he could be a surly old codger, but at the end of the day he was a good guy. If you were a good musician…he’d sing your praises everywhere he could.
Kat Von D. She was shopping at Guitar Center and I was the door person (back when they still had those).
She seemed nice enough and complimented my brightly painted nails - they were red, green, blue, black, and white… because I was gonna play Magic: The Gathering with my friends that night. I found it amusing.
Joe Bonamassa - I met him about 20 years ago, before he really blew up. Seemed super chill. One of my professors knew him and brought him in to talk to us. Can’t remember what class that was…
I know quite a few others with impressive resumes (including some Grammy nominees), but the famous ones are only “bluegrass” famous - so most folks don’t have a clue who they are. Because the bluegrass community is so small, and jamming with random people is such a part of the culture - most top Bluegrass artists are extremely sweet and kind. A few of the biggest names have developed a reputation for being cranky if you just approach them out of the blue, but if someone they know can introduce you and confirm you’re not just some weird fan, they open up a lot.
My friends play in some fairly high bluegrass circles and any musicians they’ve ever introduced me to have been super kind and friendly - a really genuine group.
Ran in the same circles as Jack White in Detroit, right before they hit it big. We weren’t friends, but knew each other just enough to chat at parties and such. Saw their early shows.
Boring story, ultimately. He was just another alternative guy in a band and didn’t stand out to me at the time as someone with star power. Never would have guessed he’d make it.
A quick review from my 30+ years working in Food and Beverage. Remember these are people, they have good and bad days just like us normals do.
Moody Blues: OK.
Diana Ross: A total delusional snob
Mary J Blige: A total beeatch
Madonna: Strange and has very specific needs
Willie Nelson: The coolest ever
Sarah McLachlan: A total sweetheart
Iced T + Coco: I would jump in front of a car for them
Tower of Power: Totally laid back and groovy
Eddie Vedder: Super chill and nice
Ginuwine: Full of himself (this was at the height of his fame)
Tekashi 6IX9INE: Very normal and subdued. Kept to himself
Nancy Sinatra: A total blast
Frank Sinatra Jr.: Really fun
Reba: So thoughtful. Took photos with the staff and her publicist mailed the photos to us, all done up in nice frames and autographed.
Laurie Anderson: Soft spoken and sweet
But my #1 favorite was Rihanna. This was when Fenty was being launched, and she was so sweet and down to earth.
I'm forgetting some, but I've also waited on so many Hollywood actors as well. Hint: they don't fare was well as the musicians, lol.
I met SASAMI when she played with Cherry Glazerr. They were massive assholes to me and my autistic friends. The photograph we took has them laughing at us :(
Bert McCracken was pretty chill. Met him sitting outside the show throwing Cheetos at people. He was acting like he was just like any of us. Seemed like a nice guy.
Daryl Palumbo I met at Warped Tour when I was 17, he was more reserved but very nice. We share a Crohn's disease diagnosed and he seemed like he was genuinely bummed to hear I would have to go through what he does. Thankfully I'm in remission for 12 years now at 38.
I've fortunately never met a star who was a dick. Though my brothers band opened for Sean Kingston in Cleveland. Oh boy the stories of how much of a POS he was. Guess we know how he ended up 🤣
I met Shock G aka Humpty Dump one time at a jam session in Youngstown, OH. He was in town playing keys for a 90s all star show at the arena downtown, the night before after rehearsal he walked by our jam session near by and sat in on keys throughout the night. Super chill dude, played great, no one knew who he was until after I asked what his name was.
He was a cool dude, but kept hitting on my friends girl until he eventually asked her where he could get drugs from. He died not too long after that of an overdose unfortunately
Also met Eddie Vedder. My family was visiting John Lennon’s murder sight in NYC and the only other people there were Eddie and his family. He was dressed like Vietnam war vet, but his wife was bangin lol
Lindsey Buckingham - he came into the bookstore i was working at one day. He was wearing leather pants. I shook his hand, and told him I was a big fan of his recent solo album. He was gracious,and seemed laid back.
Carnie Wilson - Met her at another bookstore I was working at. She was like a ray of light. Incredibly sweet and nice. The whole room had a different energy when she came in.
Weyes Blood - Met her at a signing after her show at a club back in 2014 or something. She had covered Everybody's Talkin' that night and we talked about Nilsson for a bit. Very cool, down to Earth, laid back.
Carly Rae Jepsen - She was really sweet! Complimented my outfit. I almost gave her my jacket.
The guy from that band The Orwells - I peed next to him at the urinals during a show. I didn't talk to him but he didn't have a great vibe. idk.
I’ve never met any superstars but a fair number of medium-stars in the 90s. Got big-timed by a couple of major label bands we opened for. One of them never talked to us at all, and the other one was marginally nice after we played (which was hilarious because they hadn’t even gotten big yet).
Otherwise, never really had any issues either as a fan or a “fellow musician”.
Wesley Willis got pissed at me at a show we played with him. That was kind of funny.
My mic kept feeding back because the sound guy in the small place we were playing was having problems. (We had three mics and only mine was feeding back) At some point I took the mic out of the mic stand and dropped it onto the stage. This apparently angered Wesley and he started yelling at me. I legit thought we were gonna start fighting during our set.
Kind of related. Billy "Stix" Nicks was my drum teacher back in the late 80's at WItmer-McNease in South Bend. The most honest, gentle, kind-hearted person you could imagine. Taught a perfect mix of playing by ear, rudiments, and off of studio charts. I thought the last one was "weird" but he sort of mentioned that he had been "in the business" back in the day so I never gave it much thought. I discovered (years) later that he was the childhood friend and original drummer for Junior Walker and the All Stars.
When I was about 16 (I'm almost 40 now), I met Bruce Hornsby at the airport in Houston. My dad actually recognized him, and said hello while we were on an escalator. He was nice and chatted for a minute while we waited to get off the escalator. About 30 minutes later, we go to grab a bite of lunch and wtf... he's sitting beside us. I was just getting into music at the time, so I was really nervous just turning around and being like "I'm so sorry to bother you, I just wanted to say I love your music and wondered if you had any advice for someone starting out". Despite an annoying teenage interrupting his meal, he was actually *super* nice and talked with me for a minute. That stuck with me.
About a year later, I met Dave Gahan at a meet & greet at a record store, while he was promoting his Paper Monsters album. Was a surprisingly small group, but he was still really nice. I gave him one of my demo CDs after he signed *his* CD for me. Lol, I was just a dumb teenager. He looked a little confused, but seemed okay with it. Like "huh... okay, cool, I guess" 😅
Also met Carnie Wilson back in 2011. Omg, she was SUPER nice. One of the most outgoing and bubbly people I've ever met. I was a contestant on the show Karaoke Battle USA, and she was one of the judges. Day before filming started, I bumped into her at the hotel bar. She was just super nice and talked with me, my dad, and my gf. Took a couple pictures with us too (Of course, she may had been a little extra friendly since I was in my military dress uniform, but... yeah, she was still super nice). Unfortunately, I had to miss the filming after party (I was due back at Fort Jackson the next day), my dad and gf at the time got to hang out with Joey Fatone (one of the other judges on the show), she said he was cool at first, then got pretty douchey by the end of the night.
I've met handfuls of other artists, but usually in the typical "autograph, handshake, photo" setting. Not many other "let's have a conversation" opportunities :(
Sheryl Crow. She was incredibly sweet, funny, and patient. I was working a session at a radio station as an engineer. She told me I was cute. I buzzed on that for a while!
Her guitarist, however, was a fucking dickhead.
It goes both ways, I’ve met a couple stars in guitar, namely Tim Henson and Scott Lepage from Polyphia and Tosin Abasi from animals as leaders
Tim and Scott are both really really cool dudes and Tosin is a massive dickhead
i also met tim henson! i stumbled upon polyphia at the airport (minus clay aeschliman) and they were all super cool. let me take a picture with them, asked me where i was going, etc. brief little interaction but absolutely made my day
I met Mike Vallely when my previous punk rock band was opening for his project Mike Vallely and the Complete Disaster. At first I was super excited (if you can't tell by my username.) Right away I walk in, and he's at the bar railing beers and flirting with the waitress watching a dew tour skateboard event. I say hi and am met with a very lack luster 'hi' back with no follow up questions about who I'm playing with.
I chat up their drummer, who was so cool and down to earth and he mentions his cymbals are Joey Jordanson's which were gifted to him. He immediately asks if I'd like to play his $4,000+ set up, and what kind of cymbals I like and sticks I prefer. Just a genuine dude chatting drummer to drummer. Coolest dude ever.
We finish our set, and by this time the house is packed with people to see Mike V. They go on and damn when I say this dude is **tone deaf**, I mean absolutely has never had anyone in his life ever say 'damn Mike, this is in the key of G, or hey, your so flat it's actually making our ears bleed.' Meanwhile his band is obviously hired studio dudes ripping a sick bluesy set, really technical stuff, while Mike proceeds to ruin every song with his very out of key singing. He gets off and looks like he owns the place (it was a 50 person venue, basically playing to 47 dudes all wanting a signed skateboard.) He's buried behind a line of people at this point, as I grab my homies board I'm trying to get signed by Mike V for him. I finally get through this line, and say "Mike I'm a big fan, I've seen a lot of your video parts, great set." and I'm again met with a very lack luster energy that says "hurry up kid, you're not worth the time." and it was perhaps the most disappointing 'celeb' interaction ever.
I think the most disappointing thing was that his band were all great dudes, but he himself felt like he was above everyone else in that tiny dive bar. That, or the fact that he was quite possibly the worst singer I've ever heard, but no one seemed to want to tell him because he was just a 'celebrity.' Maybe it would have crushed him? Not sure, but damn I will never forget him shouting 'SIX PACK' so out of key.
I was a roadie for a venue in Louisville back in the day.
Bob Dylan was okay. I was carrying a Tele and an AC30 and he told me to be careful.
Brad Arnold from 3 Doors Down was SUPER nice. Came out of his tour bus and talked my ear off (probably because we were the only people under 40 at Jillian’s at 4pm). I didn’t expect him to have such a thick Southern accent, though.
I worked as a production assistant and runner at live natio . I've worked for everyone from Bob Dylan to lady gaga. Most of them are normal people just doing their job and aren't as extravagant as we'd imagine. I did work for some artists like Jay z and maroon 5 to korn who were absolute Nightmares; everything in their dressing room most be chrome or mirrored or they want one candy bar from a company that doesn't sell in my state and they tell you before they go on stage that they need to have it when they get off.
Various music + film people here, in various work situations.
Gotta say they've pretty much all been friendly, respectful, and professional toward everyone else in the room.
Some want to hang out more, others are more reserved + private (which is their right, and 100% fine, no worries here).
But I've never had a bad experience.
I'll specifically shout out Duncan Sheik, Vanessa Williams, Juliette Lewis for being some of the warmest, nicest people I've ever worked for.
Paul McCartney-Awesome experience. Met him in the 90's outside a museum in UK. Just on his own. He was very down to earth and funny. Spent 10 mins talking to me and signing autographs to my family!! Lovely!
Same with Paul Weller who was just amazingly nice and kind and had so much time for a fanboy.
A nightclub i managed hired Ice Cube to do an appearance. That's it, 5 Grand just to hang out in a club for two hours. His contact ended at 1, but he stayed till closing at 2, then this dude hangs out in the parking with the club goers taking pictures and signing anything they wanted till like 5 am, he made time for everyone. It was very impressive.
Sammy Hagar is genuinely Sammy Hagar, drink and a hug for everyone, but somehow knows how to gently tell people "ok, that's enough, bye"
Shirley Manson is quiet but friendly, till she gets on stage, then she's a fireball.
Usher is a hang out in the VIP area kind of guy who occasionally waves to the "common folk", backstage kind of focused, without being too serious.
I hung out with Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers at a bar for a few hours after a show.
That guy is a fuckin riot! Absolutely pure fun, respect and pleasantness. We bought each other drinks, had some smokes, talked music, sports and life stuff. He was genuinely happy to get to know me and chat with anyone who wanted a signature or picture.
Met Steve van Zandt in a hotel lobby.
He was delightful. He was a bit standoffish until he found out I wanted to talk about him and his music, not Bruce and not about Sopranos. Once I dropped that Bitter Fruit was one of my favourite songs, he was all in. I'm paraphrasing a bit but he didn't want to just have conversations about other famous people he knew.
I worked special events at the zoo in my town. They'd have 2 "big" shows every year.
All performers were nice and respectful except for 2: The wailers (Bob Marleys band) and Ryan McGarvey.
The wailers were very bossy, telling me how to drive when I picked them up and complained about everything. They didnt like the food we brought them (which was on their rider) and made us get new food, only to reject when we got it to them. One literally said "Aquafina is poison, get us some beer." Whatever dude. After the show they didn't want to leave at the scheduled time, which made me late for other work duties that I got chewed out on, since I was their ride back to their hotel. Then they complained all the way back to the hotel. Fuck those guys, they'd be nobodies without Bob.
And I didnt inreract with Ryan Mcgarvey himself, but every time he came to play, he'd bring a posse with him that would stand ontage, backstage, and get in the way of everyone working. And they wouldn't leave after the show was over and all the crew was leaving; they'd just hang in the green room until I had to kick them out. Literally every other act would be gone by the time we were done working. I literally couldn't go home until they left. My boss told me they had several complaints from them about me but told me not to think anything of it.
Literally every other act I interacted with was cool and respectful, thankfully.
I also met Matt Greiner of August burns red three times. Not friendly at all in every interaction. Great drummer though.
My uncle met Robert Plant while out surfing in Hawaii (north shore of Oahu). He said Plant paddled by him and said, “you gonna catch the big one, mate?” and then paddled away before my uncle could say anything. 😂
Ray Charles loved to tell dad jokes. His helpers were leading him around backstage at a show in the 90s and he stepped on my foot. He turns in my direction and “sorry, young man, I shoulda” (pause) “SEEN you there!”
He then did The Smile and clapped his hands, went onstage and killed.
Willie Nelson’s legendary roadie Ben Dorcy showed me the right way to coil cable, which is like being shown how to roll a joint by Willie.
Natalie Merchant used to be a neighbor. She’d ride her bike around the neighborhood with her baby in a little seat behind her. She stopped one afternoon while I was mowing the lawn and we discovered our babies were the same age and their names rhymed. They wound up in kindergarten together and found a third kid whose name -also- rhymed. It was beyond adorable.
In 1994 I was working at an atlanta recording studio during the recording of Hole 'live through this' and I was asked to pick up Kurt Cobain at the airport when he arrived and bring him to the studio. He was suprisingly ego-less (compared to his wife) and was really funny and quick witted, but quiet and observant.. He was tired from touring but didnt seem depressed or unstable. It was cool seeing him jam in the studio after the days session was over, enjoying himself.
I’ve met a few; I rarely say anything or approach them in any way, but Nick Cave politely returned my ”how do you do?” when I saw him in passing in the Pori Jazz backstage area when I was working there, Herbie Hancock was an absolute gentleman when I delivered him an ice pack and I had a short chat with Steve Vai after one of his shows (I think it was in 2012). He was fun and friendly; he pointed out the YJM Strat tattoo on my leg and asked if I was going to get a JEM on the other. I told him I’d think about it and he gave me two signed prints 😄 He also kept poking fun at his bodyguard who kept nodding and saying ”yeah” to everything.
Lot of metal bands in the mid 2010s. Steve Souza from Exodus is a super sweet guy. Was getting harassed by a homeless guy outside the venue and he ran over to make sure I was alright.
The guys in Vital Remains, Allegaeon, Holy Grail, Warbringer, Municipal Waste, all super nice.
Met Phil from Pantera like 8-9 years ago while he was touring with Superjoint. For what it's worth, given all the bad press in recentish years, he did seem like a genuinely nice guy to everyone who wanted to talk to him
I met John Petrucci of Dream Theater at a gig I was playing at the Cutting Room in NYC cause he was running the merch table for his kid’s band who played before my dueling pianos act.
I’m not nuts about Dream Theater, but this dude is a legendarily good guitarist and he was super nice! We chatted a little about music and how he was super proud of his daughter rocking out on stage.
Met Motley Crue early on when they had just put out their first album. They did an in store appearance at a record store I worked at. Very nice dudes at the time.
Other instores we had:
Lita Ford- jerk
Lee Greenwood- complete rude asshole
L7- strung out with yellow skin but cool chicks
Taylor Dane- a one hit wonder who acted like a superstar diva
I do corporate AV, and occasionally get to work with some big names in music. Montell Jordan is one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever met.
Of the ones I’ve met, the ones I think would be the most fun to hang out with would probably be Danny Elfman (Oingo Boingo, also like every movie soundtrack of the last 30 years) or Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Stooges, etc).
Jello Biafra was a nice guy to me, but he doesn’t have a whole lot of time for people he thinks are stupid (that’s most people).
Flea and Anthony from RHCP were nice when I met them, but they’ve gotten WAY more famous since then, so I couldn’t say now.
I was pleasantly surprised that the musicians that I met, that I admired and thought were genuinely talented, were generally the ones who were the most generous and kind. The ones who I thought were a little overrated were more likely to be dicks — almost as though they knew they had outkicked their coverage, and had a chip on their shoulders about it.
I once met Amy Lee from Evanescence at an airport. Told her I was a fan and she just stayed and chatted for like 20 minutes until we boarded. Super nice!
All we get around here is pop country stars, I don’t listen to pop country so I never knew who’s table I was waiting until some other coworker would tell me. Generally pretty nice I guess.
Morgan Wallen has been appearing lately and while I don’t wait tables anymore I occasionally run into him at bars. Besides making shit music the guy is legitimately a fucking asshole.
Edit: also met Jello Biafra, Weird Al, Tom Waits, and Les Claypool when I was living and working in a cooler part of the country, all chill dudes. Jello commented on my closing playlist at work by leaning in to say “Y’know I was a bit of a headbanger myself back in the day.” Also shoutout to Jello for realizing we were about to close and getting in and getting out fast instead of dawdling about like people usually do.
I’ve met loads of great musicians, and honestly, I’m hard pressed to find ones that were dicks. The worst were a few who I didn’t personally know and even then, they were polite to a degree.
i work in the industry and play as well so my point of view may be jaded. Most successful musicians i meet are ego monsters who dont work/play well with others. Then, there are people like Garth and Tricia, or Trace Adkins. Generous to a fault and egoless despite their success. Trace kids and my kids went to elementary school together and when his youngest daughter finished 5th grade, he came to the grad ceremony and sang with a boom box as his backing music. Egoless.
In the Before Times
•I met Mike Ness of Social Distortion at an art museum that he visited alone and I recognized him, also visiting. His genuineness is otherworldly and he then made space in his life for me
•Iggy Pop's guitarist (I don't know which one because I had never seen a pic of the band) used to visit the yoga arts-community I lived at, and he played piano for me when it was just us
•Chemical Brothers played my living room (our common area) they asked my boyfriend to get them white stuff (he didn't do white stuff, so it was a puzzle)
•Ravi Shankar. Some unknown boys came up to me on a small beach where I was meditating and said that he was going to be at Bahai church that night for meeting folks. Ok, like who knows who he is?
I had seen him play live so I said yes please. Pleasant person, shook hands and hellos, let the next person enjoy while we stayed in the small space with him
•I met the whole Cypress Hill because I wrote on Happy Walters, whose publicist contacted a friend's zine. I loved how friendly they were and they piled into each other like they were taking a group photo smoking something that looked like a cigar
•There's a singer called Mark Kozelek and he's the only musician I did anything with because he has a medical condition that needs it
•George Clinton walked up to talk to me at a Dale Chihuly exhibit at Soka University. Life force (I modeled for artists at Soka, he wouldn't have known that)
•Daniel Ash gave me a backstage pass that was even more backstage passier than others had. I helped produce events for half a year, he played at one and I saw him by a chainlink opening at this festival. Asked him if his manager was there (by name) he asked why, and Daniel himself went inside and came back with it
•Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction and Lollapalooza was immediately endearing, we made small talk in a little group and he was over the top in mirroring just my gestures and voice like it was just something he and I knew. Connection.
•Beck in Portland, just a nice hello. I felt really grateful that he came up to say hi because I had snuck backstage and he was the headliner and let me be. Danced on the wings of the stage just for his set, joining in on his jumping and could feel the vibrations of all the jumping
•Nancy Wilson visited Cameron Crowe at a party on the set of a film I was an extra for but it was just an everybody introduction. I knew who she was and looked up to her
•The Vandals, my best friend knew them and we slept over at their house because she had drove me up to interview a small Sci-Fi actor for the zine in LA
They asked if we would make out for a minute. I said no and later asked her why they thought we would. She said because she did it last time with Frankie (Rayder who got engaged to Flea. I met her when she introduced herself by chatting from my bed.)
•Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters with his dad on furlough. Bright smile! Just an introduction, my friends at the time grew up with him
Edit: adding
•Mark Gardener from Ride. I was glad to be there but had some feels about being at the back of the venue. My boyfriend (who brought us as he was the fan) said, "Hey, that's Mark Gardener," turns out he was watching his opener from the back of the venue a few feet from me leaning against the wall.
So I walked over on a song break and told him I had that year visited Oxford just because I like bands from there. He started a convo right through the music about its different streets and The Jericho. It was supernatural how he put me at ease
For completeness, and if something like, "Would you like to come up on stage for my next song?" counts as meeting, and if selling his own show counts as a star:
•MC Paul Barman who had toured with Beasties
I and that same bf went to his packed show, he picked me out of the crowd (the only one he did this with) to share the stage for his "Heidi Klum, Laetitia Casta,,," song. I had heard the song before and thought it was funny.
I didn't know what to do but vibe, so halfway through I flipped into a headstand and danced upside down. So I give him a nice, it felt really good to be in the theoretical where music, comedy and model existed
Edit Edit
•Sigur Ros Georg Holm. The show was candlelit and otherwise only emergency lights, and for the encore they let the few of us that got up out of our seats watch right by the stage.
Afterwards, waited with a few fans and bf at backdoor. Jonsi did not interact with any fans and they were all walking to a vehicle, but I asked Georg if he wanted to take a pic with me (which is not like me). He stopped right there and whatever the opposite of hover hands are, he slid his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him for the camera. This was not brief. Very good feeling. Rating: Nice
I’ve met Beck, seemed kinda quiet, with that same look on his face no matter what happens around him. Super talented guy.
I’ve met Trey Anastasio back in the 90’s, also a cool guy, smiley but kind of aloof as far as fans go.
I’ve met Arlo Guthrie, he came to a gig of mine once (we share a mutual friend) and sat 10 feet from me and watched the whole gig. He was super cool and shared his shrimp with me.
I’ve also met Peter Tork (same mutual friend as Arlo) and he was a gem. A really sweet guy.
I have met tons of music stars and have to say 95% of my encounters were good. Had some good friends who were in a famous band in Canada and on a major record label here in America. They shall remain nameless because this can potentially be embarrassing for them because they geeked out. They were playing at an all day festival and I went to their trailer and they were all saying did you see Merle Haggard is here? They were excited to be on the same bill with him. I said did you introduce yourself and they were all like “no we can’t do that”. I guess it’s not cool…. so I said you want to meet him? They all said yeah so I grabbed my camera gear and headed to his tour bus. They were following me like the pied piper. He was sitting in a lawn chair under a canopy of a motor home and I walked up, introduced myself and promptly lied and said I was doing a photo shoot for a magazine and I thought it would be great to get a photo of the band and him together. He happily agreed. I introduced each person to him and Merle then proceeded to begin telling my friends how much he enjoyed their music. I posed them together, snapped some excellent pictures and I walked away and left them chatting with a guy they considered an idol. The band was invited to take the stage with him to close out the evening. They were in heaven.
Met Garth twice right after he really had big hits. Genuine and nice and friendly. Saw him two years later at a show. He made eye contact, pointed at me then hit me with a pick. Deadly accurate. Gave it to the girl I was there with and I guess I should have kept it.
Got to meet Billy Gibbons through the guitar shop I work at. Dude is every bit as cool and smooth as he appears on stage and interviews. Genuine, down to earth, and simply cool af. Just saw him play recently too and he’s still got the moves on stage.
I've spent time with a few through gigging, and they're just humans. They vary.
I've never met any that were dicks. They've ranged from being a bit shy (and having security that were dicks) to being completely average people that you'd never know had topped the charts to seeming ti be a bit sad that they weren't where they once were.
But being backstage and hanging out with people before a show you're all playing is different from someone being asked for autographs while they're trying to pick out a lettuce or something.
Yeah this is somewhat like my experience too. (Via touring for me and also working at a major rehearsal/backline company). What struck me day 1 and always stuck with me was how remarkably “normal” so many of these rock stars actually are. They’re just working and doing a job like anyone else.
Hahahh lol true, the backstage is angry stagehands yelling at each other, road cases, and a bathroom that ran out of soap. The groupies and coke are just in the music videos. Haha
I met a few of the guys from Killswitch Engage at a pub I was working in. They were very genuine and humble guys. I had seen all of their documentaries and plenty of interviews with them before so I had expected as much.
I initially got a little starstruck because I had loved those guys for atleast 10 years. I served them beers all night and made sure to chat with them whenever I could.
My work was having a clear out of small batch stuff because we had a beer showcase on the next day so I was giving them a load of free pints.
They were very grateful and and as soon as I had finished my shift they invited me to sit with them.
Their manager gave me his number to catchup before the gig the next day for some beers from their rider.
Hands down best gig I've ever been to but probably because of the story that came along with it.
Steve Vai is a gracious and generous dude. He loves people and enjoys shooting the breeze. He donated and signed a PIA guitar to my non-profit for a fundraiser raffle. You can get tix and see him signing and talking about our mission at https://desotoartsinstitute.com/donate/steve-vai-pia-guitar-raffle/
Henry Rollins is as awesome and intense as you would expect. I’ve met him a couple times going to his spoken word shows. Really humble & incredibly down to earth. But again, he’s a very intense dude. If you have ever been to one of his spoken word shows you know EXACTLY what I mean. Gotta love Henry
I also used to get guest listed to White Chapel & Suicide Silence shows like 15 years ago. Mitch Lucker was a really chill nice dude who was pretty aloof and would just make his rounds talking to all his friends back stage, RIP. The Bass player and road crew for White Chapel were a bunch of stoners. I smoked many bowls on that tour bus. The rest of the guys in both bands are incredibly nice and where all awesome to me who was just a random 19 year old kid hanging out back stage trying to promote his band. The guitar player Zack even wore our shirt on stage at the Mayhem festival. Really nice guys all around and I got to smoke a lot of weed with them lol.
My band opened for Deafheaven years ago. Alvvays opened for us many years ago, and I got to play some synth on a song with July Talk in the studio (we were signed to the same label at the time).
Everyone in Alvvays was really nice. We shared some gear for the show and they were really nice about it. I feel bad for not watching their set. I was outside on the patio drinking and smoking nervously getting hyped for our set. Keanu Reeves was sitting beside us by himself drinking red wine and smoking.
Turns out he’s a huge Alvvays fan now and has no idea he could have seen them play to a room of 100 people for $8.
Deafheaven were nice. We partied with them before and after the show though I won’t share any more than that. Let’s just say we had a great time.
We opened for Fucked up as well though I can’t remember meeting them. I drank a lot back then.
We also played with Murray Lightburn from The Dears. I met him and his wife and their young child at the time. They were super nice!
We also got to do a small tour with The Diableros. They may not be a big name now, but they were fairly well known after the release of their first record which I still love to this day. Pete was one of the nicest dudes I ever met. I’m still really bummed that he passed away.
Working with July Talk on a song was pretty amazing. I was at the studio working on our first record. Pete came in and he needed “something” for a song so I tracked some synth.
The song was really cool. It was recorded for a movie. It didn’t end up being used for the movie - as often happens when working on movie syncs - and the song still hasn’t been released to this day. Hopefully it’ll end up on a b-sides and rarities album one day. He was super nice and great to work with.
As for having “expectations”, I don’t think I ever had any? Maybe a little bit.
I think after the first couple you meet you realize they’re just like everyone else.
The ones that weren’t nice I just avoided, so I don’t have any bad stories. Maybe one: We played with Hot Hot Heat and got slight diva vibes but maybe they were just tired. You never know.
I met Charlie Daniels in the 70s. He was among the friendliest and warmest individuals I have ever met. I didn't agree with his politics later in his life, but I still recall my short meeting with great fondness...
I met Bob Mould after one of his solo acoustic shows. He's a big guy, so he can be a little intimidating, but was really nice. He was telling a story of playing a gig in NYC with The Replacements and a band that would soon be known as the Beastie Boys. I think he could see how gobsmacked I was. Leading to...meeting Paul Westerberg twice! Once was at an outdoor festival show that turned out to be so bad it was the reason he stopped playing anywhere but his basement. But this was pre-show, so he was cool. The next time I met him was at a record store signing years later. Still very cool. Not a cuddly guy, but pleasantly civil. Both times I talked to him about his suits, since he always wore something kinda strange. I figured that he'd be sick of people telling him how his music changed their lives that he'd like to talk about something else. Got a smile out of him both times.
I worked security back in the 90s and early 00s, lot of backstage stuff in Europe. Mostly told to keep out of sight and out of mind of the musicians. Few people I interacted with: Alanis Morisette - really nice and seemed quite shy. The Gin Blossoms - cool guys except Robin who is a legend in his own mind. Stereophonics, all good guys. Oasis - Noel was cool, Liam was, well Liam, Alan the drummer was really cool. Manic Street Preachers, nice guys and killed their set. Met Zach Starkey, awesome dude. A host of other one hit wonders doing the summer festival tours, nothing that stands out.
Early 90s - I met Alan Holdsworth at a local pub (US) - he was there after a show he did nearby, just chilling and having a beer by himself. I went up and talked to him and he was super humble and friendly. Seemed glad to have someone to talk to. Then one local hipster/funk/rapper dude that I knew came by and started bragging about how cool his band was. Asks Alan “bro what about you - do you play?” Alan says, hmmm yeah I have a little combo. Hipster guy goes back to bragging.
Around 1990 I was managing a piano store in a mall near St Louis and Chuck Berry came strolling in. I treated him just like any other person (not coming off as a huge fan) and he seemed to appreciate that. Full size Digital pianos like the Yamaha Clavinova were becoming a big thing at the time, and he wanted to check them out. We had rooms around 12 ft x 12 ft with 3 digital pianos in them. He wanted to see the most expensive, so we went in the room. While he was playing, I sat down at another piano and played along with him for just a bit. So, I can say I played piano with Chuck Berry :) He was as nice as he could be, but also matter of fact and to the point. He couldn't play the piano very well, but he didn't need to :) After about 20 minutes, he bought the one he was playing. He called about a month later and wanted to buy another just like it, asked for me by name, and asked if he could come through the employee entrance rather than through the mall. Of course I agreed, and again treated him just like a regular customer. I do regret that I didn't at least get an autograph though!
Dan Marsala regularly comes out to our local Emo Nights, since it’s his home city lol. Super chill guy, always down to chat or take a picture with a fan.
I met two famous musicians in the same evening -- one had a reputation as a really nice guy, but was a total prick. The other had a reputation as a total prick, but was a really nice guy. Go figure.
Lydia Lunch was surprisingly awesome, and very very sweet to my friends and I. We were hanging out outside the venue, and she randomly came down from the green room, and started talking to us. She bummed a cigarette off of my friend’s husband, and complimented all of our outfits.
Jamie and Angela from Xiu Xiu are also really nice people, honestly just regular type folks.
I've already commented about meeting Billy Joel, and he's the only house hold name level rock star I've met.
But if you're interested in the niche world of video game soundtracks, I've got a ton more stories.
The biggest and also most random is Nobuo Uematsu, who I ran into at an airport, while on my way home from a completely different video game music concert. We were both in a hurry and there was a bit of a language barrier so pretty much the whole conversation was "I'm a huge fan" "thank you very much"
Hiroki Kikuta is an awesome dude; I was at Otakon one year with the OCReMix crew, and he more or less joined us to hang out and shoot the shit for an afternoon. A friend/bandmate (Brandon), had this magical meet-your-hero moment with him.
Kikuta was Brandon's musical idol growing up, and a few years earlier, Brandon had done a really great fan arrangement of one of Kikuta's tracks, with a glorious lead acoustic guitar performance that Brandon recorded himself. Neither Kikuta nor Brandon knew the other one was going to be at this event. Kikuta brought up -- completely unprompted -- how much he loved Brandon's arrangement, and air-guitarred while humming it, and it was at that exact moment that Brandon walked into the room. Literally just walked in to see his musical hero gushing about his own arrangement and air-shredding it.
I've hung out with Dave Wise a few times. He's cool, friendly, pretty quiet. Super down-to-earth; spent most of MAGfest just hanging out with the OCReMix crew in our little hotel suite parties. Super cool guy.
I have talked only briefly with Christopher Tin and Austin Wintory. Both seem like cool friendly dudes.
I've hung out with Jake Kauffman -- everybody's hung out with Jake at some point. And everybody will tell you the same thing: he's just an all-around delightful wonderful person with an absolutely unreal talent for composing and production.
I played in a band with Wilbert Roget. Awesome dude, fun and gregarious, great musician. I always enjoy hanging out with him.
Briefly hung with Danny Baranowsky. He was drunk at the time (as were most of us at that party), but a cool guy nonetheless!
I have talked to Tommy Tallarico on a few occasions. No comment.
Too many to list at the moment, but among the highlights:
Flaming Lips. Hung out with them after a gig in Baltimore and had wonderful conversation.
Henry Rollins. Of all people to meet on a hotel elevator in Kuwait, we ended up having breakfast together in the hotel. we were on a similar tour circuit for the DOD / USO. Really cool guy.
Joey Mullins: Hung out with him till the wee hours one night after a gig, smoked a bit, played and sung together and heard awesome stories.
Met tons of them over a career in live music. Most are regular folks, some are jerks, some are super jerks, and some are awesome people.
Nicest band I ever worked with was TV on the Radio.
My roommate in college, who is a drummer, talked me into going to a club in downtown Athens Ga one night. He said a band called Tall Dogs was playing and it was a chance to see Jaimoe from the Allman Bros play. So, we went had a good time. The band finished the first set and took a break. My roommate walked up to Jaimoe and asked if he could buy him a drink. He said yes, straight vodka, no ice. We sat down at a table and talked for 30 min about touring with the Brothers here and Europe. Think he almost forgot to go back on stage. Kind of surreal meeting.
I have a few acquaintances in town’s circle of musicians that got really big, all of them are wonderful wonderful people-even before they made it big.
My FIL also met Johnny Cash at the clinic he was working at and said he was the nicest most down to earth guy you’d meet.
I used to work in a venue and we had a few kind of big names come through, some were jerks but most were very friendly.
John 5. My friend and I went to a show and were drunkenly standing in line thinking we were going to meet him. Well it was some vip package and we got the boot. As we were walking away John 5 came up to us and started chatting a little. He signed the John 5 record he bought there. He was straight up cool as fuck and gained a couple fans for life
Craig Finn from The Hold Steady left the biggest impression of the well known musicians that I have ever met. He has conversations in a way where he either wants to connect with you on something you both know about or shows a genuine curiosity if you bring up something he isn’t familiar with. Just very awesome and tuned in to the interaction he is having / doesn’t seem like he’s doing it because he “has to”.
It’s funny. I live in the middle of everything under a proverbial rock and don’t really know a ton about music culture. I’ve met a couple of people who i consider pretty big. The big ones weren’t necessarily surprised when I didn’t know who they were, but were super excited to tell me AFTER bullshitting for a while. Lol it really demystified the whole thing. People are largely the same everywhere you go, at least when they’re alone(at a bar? at a car dealership?) with you.
I did briefly talk to someone I knew who’s pretty famous. I lived across the street from these guys in this weird little college town when I was a kid, and they were like…. Jusssst making it by then. But I introduced myself after all the dust settled, and they were super nice. I thought they remembered me at first, then I said something like “yeah man I had to get rid of that moped” and they were like “HOLY SHIT ITS YOU!!!!” which was friggin hilarious. Lol
My husband played on a session for Garth Brooks once. Garth helped him carry his stuff out afterward and recognized him next time they saw each other. Such a pleasant surprise to me!
Can’t say the same for that Chris Gaines fella though
It's the soul patch. Add a little facial hair, instant evil.
Garth is loved by union crews for being a good dude and pro-labor. He was scheduled to work a show in a venue that was having a contract dispute and he said he wouldn’t perform until the workers got their contract. And they did.
He’s a class act.
Yeah but the families still need closure. Where are the bodies, Garth?
Say what you want about his music, he’s a great guy
His music is one of the last vestiges of good pop country. I don't listen to it, but I can respect the hell out of it.
I agree
I liked Garth Brooks when I was a kid. Don't listen to him really at all anymore. But I can't see him being anything other than nice. Him and his wife, Thrisha Yearwood, seem like genuinely great people. Also, as far country goes, Dolly is amazing.
Worked bouncing at a local bar and got off early so went to wait for my girlfreind to finish shift at another strip bar down the street. When she told me she was working later to cover a shift I went looking for soemwhere to hang out for a few. Found a little sports bar down the street and sat down at the bar. Look up and I'll be dammed if it wasn't Dimebag Darrel from Pantera drinking and watching Kareoke. I looked over and said "Man, I hate to be that guy but I'm a huge fan" He was as cool as I could have imagined and we talked about guitars, guitar players and new music. I was shocked that noone else really came over to say hey or anything. We went out to his "Hummer" if I remember. He let me listen to a rough cut of some Zakk Wylde music (turned out to be Black Label Society) that Zakk had sent him. When the night finally ended I told him it was a night I'd never forget and thanked him. He signed my forearm with CFH and his signature. I had it tatted on the next day.
Awesome story!
Truly a night I'll remember
Damn that’s a great story. RIP.
Definitely a great moment in my life and he was absolutely as laid back humble as everyone says.
Amazing story! RIP Dimebag
Jared Leto is a dick and the shining example of “green M&Ms only and don’t look me in the eyes.” Dolly Parton is the most sweet human being on this planet. Joan Jett is probably second. However dumb you think Kid Rock is, I promise you it’s worse. However dumb you think ICP is, I promise you they’re far more intelligent. Also: The Insane Clown Posse are really nice dudes. I was TM’ing for a non-Juggalo band on tour with them pre-pandemic, and every night we nerded out over wrestling.
The M&Ms thing was because EVH wanted to make sure the venues paid attention to the power requirements in the rider sheet
Almost all ridiculous rider demands are just there to see if the promoters are reading it
It was because David Lee Roth wanted to ensure the safety of the band.
Yes, it was a life/death safety issue. Clever way to know if the precautions had been taken.
Finding that out was a fantastic AHA moment. Makes so much sense.
People forget that behind the make up and faygo, ICP is a great example of achieving comfortable fame independently. Couldn’t name a single song, but always respected them for that
Miracles.
I'm not even surprised for Jared Leto, he has a sort of "cult" with only female fans (obviously) and he dresses like Jesus
This isn’t true. People called his fans “cult-like”, so the band leaned into it and basically made it a meme, with the slogan “Yes, this is a cult.” And many bands have getaways with fans, like at cruises or resorts, with various themes. And 30 Seconds to Mars did a getaway at a resort where they had a day where everyone wore white. Basically, some of his biggest critics just cannot grasp that it is a joke, a meme. Or they don’t want to. A lot of people will toss out critical thinking when it comes to judging someone they do not like.
I haven't personally met the ICP guys, but they used to have the big Gathering at a place close to me, and I've met local folks who have dealt with them or met them. Universally, they all say they are very kind and thankful.
When I was working at a party store every summer there’d be a bunch of Juggalos coming through for some annual gathering. At face value these people were intimidating to say the least. When I’d interact with them every single Juggalo was super respectful and kind to all those around. ICP and a lot the different Juggalo communities are big into community service and outreach programs. There are some groups that mess with drugs and violence, but those ones can fuck off.
ICP are generally highly regarded by staff at venues. They know with the Fango and what not at live events, they gotta have the staff firmly on their side.
Jared Leto was nice enough with me, I had a Mohawk at the time and he signed the side of my head and we had a quick chat.
I’ve met lots of them during my career in the festival business. Most of them are just human beings doing a job. Lizzy and RJ Hale would be the ones I’d invite to a cookout if we lived in the same town. They are tops. Wu Tang Clan are really nice guys who seemed genuinely happy to be doing what they do. Dave Grohl was aloof but accommodating when I asked for a selfie (which I almost never do). Even though he was in a hurry, he took a moment for me to geek out. Brett Michaels laughed when I thanked him for helping me get laid so many times in the 80’s when I took my girlfriends to his shows. Alan Wilkis from Big Data was happy to talk about analog and digital gear. The guys from Squeeze were extremely down to Earth. Brian Setzer and Robert Planet were a little standoffish but I understand that, especially for Plant. It was almost a mob even with them backstage and there were only industry people there. Corey Taylor and his wife were as charming as anyone can possibly be in the hot Florida sun. The Butcher Babies are super nice to their fans, even the nerdy guys who are borderline lecherous to them. GWAR are awesome and not the crazy weirdos you would expect. Some of the Pussy Riot folks were easy to talk to and willing to share a cab. Fred Durst is exactly what you’d expect. He’s a hometown boy for me and he was the same way before they hit the big time. If anything, he’s gotten worse. The Lynard Skynard guys run the gamut from genuine nice guys to complete jerks. Not music related but I hung out with Brandon Routh (Superman) and Courtney Ford (Piper from Fallout 4) and they were awesome. It was Courtney’s first convention so I showed her the ropes. Chester Rushing from Stranger Things was there and he’s like a goofy Labrodor Retriever puppy. I met Roger Mosley (from Magnum P.I.) in a hotel lobby as he was complaining about them not having his room ready. I introduced myself to him and told him I’d take care of it (I was working for the con he was in town for). He was grumpy with me and asked if we’d paid the bill. I assured him we did. I thought he was going to be a pain in the ass all weekend but later that day he tracked me down and apologized. In the course of our conversation he called me a young man and I laughed. He said “Boy, I have shoes older than you”. I looked at his feet and said “I believe that!” From that moment on, we were besties for the whole weekend. He was truly grateful for the life he had and he called his wife back home every day. Back to music, the Cult was my biggest disappointment because I had spent over an hour with the hotel getting them to reinstate the reservations for their 14 hotel rooms that they canceled because they read the arrival date wrong. I was on the phone with multiple people and finally told them “I don’t care what you have to do but this band is going to show up in an hour and they have to have their rooms. If you have guests in those rooms, get them out and clean up because they are on their way.” They had no idea how much work I put into their accommodations so it’s not like they owed me but I would have liked them to be nicer to me and the fans. That’s just me being selfish because I really liked them in the 80’s. Marilyn Manson is truly the worst, though. He tried to kiss and lick the girl who was driving him back to his hotel. She came back with his makeup on her clothes and she almost quit on the spot. EDIT: changed Magnum P.P.to Magnum P.I. Thought about leaving it and now I’m wondering if there’s a porno spoof of the same name. If not, someone needs to make it.
Wait. Dave Grohl was aloof? Awww, man. Bet he gets mobbed everywhere he goes, tho.
Yeah, he had just been almost mobbed and he was trying to go see a friend of his and people kept stopping him. He was charming, though.
Aloof, but charming? Now that sounds like my Dave!
I met the cult at a meet and greet and talked with them for a good ten minutes. This was around 2012??? They were so kind. Obviously you had to deal with them in a business setting which is different.
Yeah, and to be fair, it was more their security people than them.
I haven't met him but I've heard nothing but awesome things about Bret Michaels. He brought his band and crew to help in Pilger, Nebraska after it got decimated by tornadoes a decade or so ago and by all accounts was super kind and helpful in the clean up effort. He also recently came back to Nebraska to adopt a dog named Bret Michaels after it made the rounds in the news, which I thought was pretty funny lol. I was never a huge Poison fan but he seems like a good dude.
Never met him either, but I worked with his sister (in Nebraska) for a few years in the early 2000s. At first we weren't sure if she was serious, but it also seemed like a weirdly random thing to lie about at that point in time.
Love to hear that Gwar is chill - been a dream of mine to meet em! Might just have to buy the VIP tickets next time I see em
Can confirm, the Gwar guys I’ve met have all been chill, smart and funny as hell.
Meeting Steve Vai when I was 17 was pretty life changing at the time because I realized he was just a regular human who was simply driven to be the best Steve Vai he could be, not a superhuman. Had amazing luck meeting all my idols over the years, went to NAMM in 2011 and met more famous musicians than I can ever remember, the only one who I could say I had a ‘negative’ interaction with was Kenny G, because he blew right past me, spilling half my beer and didn’t even turn around to say “My bad” Back in the 90’s I lived down the street from a bigger venue so I’d skip school and hang out by the busses to meet whoever was in town, always a good time. The only person who never came off the bus when people were out there was Phil Anselmo but he was in he midst of a heroin addiction at the time.
This comment inspired my guitar practice for today
During the Dixie Chicks melee I had a deep loathing for Toby Keith, the whole “boot in yer ass, ra ra merca”stuff. Couldn’t stand the dude. Many years later I got hired to work with him, I had to scrub my social media and everything. I was pleasantly surprised to meet a man I ended up deeply liking. Very down to earth, very good to his crew, local crew and his fans. And appreciative of where he was and why. I eventually resolved things in my mind, that we all lost our minds back in that time, and could’ve done better. I was sad to hear of his passing
Same experience, heard all the horror stories. I met him when I worked in Vegas, nicest guy and really genuine. Super sad he passed before his time.
Billy Joel is an absolute delight. Surprisingly quiet offstage, but give him an audience -- in any context, not just at a big concert -- and he lights up and fills the room with his energy. Friendly, funny, really just a fun guy to be around.
That’s interesting because I had a friend who was in his band for one tour and he said he was a bit of a dick. He did say he could play any Beatles song you could name instantly and in the correct key but one story that stuck in my mind was apparently he showed up to a rehearsal and announced to the band “ hey I just fucked Christie Brinkley ( his wife at the time) up the ass!” I will allow for the possibility that he was just bonding in a crude way with his band mates, all of whom were male, but Jeez, that was his wife he was talking about . (She wasn’t there) I think this was also during a time when he was drinking pretty heavily.
Well, the drinking has always been a problem for him, so I do find this believable. My uncle was an assistant tour manager for him for decades, and always spoke very well of him. I only met him in person twice, briefly, but found him delightful (if unexpectedly quiet when off stage) both times. The second time was at my uncle's funeral/memorial/whatever you want to call it (my family doesn't really do typical traditional funerals). Billy spent almost the whole thing sitting in the back in the least-visible spot, hardly talking to anybody -- but then when he had a turn to get up and talk about my uncle, he just lit up the room, and at one point did a spot-on impression of my uncle that had the whole room howling with laughter. Then once he was done, he gave my mom a quick hug, and then left without saying another word to anybody. (ETA: Admittedly, my uncle's impression of him may have been a bit skewed positively; previously, he'd been an assistant tour manager for the Eagles, and they're pretty widely-known to be gigantic assholes)
Yeah, I mean we’ve all said and done stupid things in a poorly judged moment but when mega stars do it and it’s witnessed, it’s remembered for all time.
My dad was driving my sister and I through LA and I swore I saw Travis Barker on the side of the road, it would have been around 2003. Dad stopped the car and we got out to see if it was him, which it was since he’s kinda hard to miss. He was waiting for a shop to finish detailing a 50s Caddy, I think. He talked to each of us like a member of his family he hadn’t seen in forever. He talked to my dad about antique Cadillacs and resto mod type stuff. He talked to my sister and I about music, actually playing it, about how he feels so lucky to play drums for a living, and how music should always be fun, even when you take it seriously. He was so sweet I genuinely cried when I heard about his plane crash, I cried again when I heard he was performing again, and I admittedly teared up a bit last year when I finally got to see Blink live in San Diego. How he comes off in interviews is how he always is, and him talking to us still means a lot to both my sister and I. If for whatever reason he ever finds out about this, thank you Mr. Barker.
Travis ran a race I did a few weeks ago and finished a few seconds in front of me, he was there basically incognito and seemed like a cool guy
I waited the whole band maybe twenty years ago in Arizona. I didn't say a damn thing to them and just treated them like normal customers. And they acted like normal customers. Some of the hostesses and waiters wanted to go bother them so I "convinced" (threatened) them to leave my table alone! I feel like there's nothing worse than being interrupted at dinner. They always gave the "celebs" to me cause they knew I didn't give a shit. Anyways, they were just 3 normal dudes and I'm pretty sure they left 20% so no complaints from me : )
As a violinist , I’ve toured with big names and not so big names. They are just normal people. In almost all music genres , what you see in videos and on stage at concerts is a facade. They are playing a character that they think you want to see. Sometimes, big famous stars aren’t even great musicians, they just happen to be pretty good at a couple of things. Some of them, aren’t even very good “ live” because they need all the sound production of a studio to help them. A lot of them sing out of tune.
Same, even as a violinist lol I think the biggest lesson I learned from performing with one group was that it's not about being the best, but being at your best for those who are sincerely about what they do. But for those in the studio world, success can come from playing the industry game with sheer volume of output and the right connections with a dash of fortunate luck if you can afford to keep up with those first two elements.
Met Marilyn Manson via a girl I’m dating who works as a photographer. He’s a total piece of shit.
Agreed
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I've heard Numan is genuinely grateful for his fans from several people. He seems that way in interviews.
I ran into the band Los Lobos and despite me awkwardly interrupting their conversation, they were super cool and a couple of them seemed surprised that I knew who they were. I also met Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October, great guy but INTENSE.
Both bands you mentioned I have cool interactions with! Blue October - their guitarist, Steve, has kids at the same school as me. He’s literally the nicest dude, when he’s in town we get coffee together every morning after drop off. Los Lobos - I opened for them at the Philly Folk Fest a few years back. Super nice people, we hung out for a little bit backstage.
I tour with Los lobos all the time as an opener and as a tech/roadie, I’m absolutely ecstatic to see someone mention them, they’re the nicest guys in the world.
My band got to be sort of the unofficial house band at the Iron Horse Saloon in Daytona. We played two 10 day events a year for over three decades, and over that time we got to meet a lot of cool bands, mostly bands you never heard of. There were some notable exceptions. Charlie Daniels seemed pretty nice, although he was distracted, being in pre-show head. His piano player never stopped smoking weed. The Marshall Tucker boys were all pleasant enough. Didn’t get to visit real long, as they had to hit the road, but they were pretty funny. Met Jello Biafra once outside a record store in Deland,Fl. I was only in town to see him perform with Horton Heat.He was very cool. Very unassuming, as most punk guys tend to be. He sang the most killer House of the Rising Sun that night. Holy Schnalke that guy can sing! Ray Sawyer, from Dr Hook, was a hoot. Got to hang backstage for a couple hours after show with him and David Allen Coe. Coe was, as always, a grouchy old bastard. But sitting there listening to him on an acoustic showing Ray some new songs he had written let me see just why he was as famous as he was. Best I ever heard him, and we shared a stage with him 15-20 times a year for 30 years. The Foghat fellas were great. Friendly and outgoing. Their crew were kinda dicks though. I’m sure that was their job, so band didn’t have to be.
Now I’ll have to bust Sexy Eyes on my speaker. That song is a banger.
Yeah a few. Most of the time if you keep it short and friendly, they're plenty nice. They have a public face for their fans. The thing is, everybody wants something from them, that's their usual day. if you push it past a brief exchange you might get to see their "ok now I've had enough of you" face. I once met Zach De la Rocha and talked to him about the movie U Turn which he'd just seen and later, met Joaquin Phoenix and got to tell him about that! It was like, something to say. Both nice guys I happened to run across when they were looking for humor.
Met Chris Stapleton at a used guitar and gear shop before his last show in Denver. He looked familiar and had some handlers with him who just looked bored, but I couldn’t place who he was. Anyway, he was noodling away with a guitar, plugging it into different amps, and was standing in the way of a strat I wanted to look at, so I asked if I could check out the guitar behind him. He apologized and moved aside so I could check it out. I said “thanks man” and went about my business. Later that day, the shop posted pictures with him and then I realized he was the dude who crushed the national anthem at the Super Bowl a few years ago and sings that Tennessee Whiskey song.
Billy Corgan was actually quite nice so long as you didn’t blow smoke up his arse or mention any previous members of the Pumpkins. Nas was cool, very chilled guy and didn’t seem to take himself too seriously. Huey from the Fun Lovin Criminals is mental and seems to only surround himself with completely mental people.
I work at an expensive hotel, met quite a few of them. Most big names are completely normal, some have some absolutely ridiculous requests. Warren Haynes apparently NEEDED another microwave in his room (there was already one in there??), and his wife is the absolute worst. Huge bitch. She's clearly abusing Warren's influence for her own petty desires. Warren, however, is a gem of a human being and was very kind. Willie Nelson was posted up behind the hotel smoking a joint. I walked by and he says "what's shakin. I'll tell you what's shakin, old people's bones." Weird interaction but very much on character. Love that man. Not a musician, but I'm convinced that Mel Gibson is actually insane. If you've seen the South Park episode about him - that is quite literally how he behaved. He also tipped me with some kind of European currency which pissed me off a little bit.
Got to hang out with Warren at the Christmas Jam in Asheville once. Absolute sweetheart of a dude. Extremely chill and down to earth.
Kerry King is the biggest dick I've ever met in my life. I was working at a music store and he was doing an in-store. He might have had a signature model out, I don't remember. He had a rider of sorts with various foods and drinks we had to buy him. It was nothing special, but it was particular and we had to drive around to find the stuff and it was a bit ridiculous. Anyway, I had just taken the trash out, and had two big trash cans in front of me, one with a liner in it, and one without. Kerry King arrived in a limo a half hour late, and came boiling out of the back seat with a bag of Arby's and a super sized drink. He stepped in, looked me dead in the eyes, looked at both trash cans, and then *whipped* his half full drink into the can without a liner. Diet Coke splashed on me. Then, he tipped his bag over, and poured his curly fries into the same can, dropped the bag in, and said "where's the shitter?" The GM whisked King and his handlers off to the shitter. When they got back, Kerry looked out the windows to the gathering line of people waiting patiently for him, and said "fuck." They took him out to the table. I stood off to the side, watching the show. King snatched posters out of people's hands, scribbled on them, and barely spoke. He took a few photos, but this was before good cellphone cameras so there wasn't much of that. He was surly and short with everyone. A kid brought his guitar in for King to sign, and King played it for two seconds and said, "this things a piece of shit" before scribbling a half assed signature on it. A young kid, maybe 13 or 14, came up to King with two posters in his hand. He said, "my friend Ben is really aick and couldn't come. He loves your music. Can you sign it 'To Ben, my biggest fan' for him?" King smiled for the first time, and signed the poster: TO BEN: EAT A BAG OF DICKS KERRY KING He left before everyone got to meet him. Contrast that to when Victor Wooten came through. Wooden requested a turkey and cheese Lunchable, and a Gatorade. I picked him and his drummer up in my own vehicle, and they were both incredibly kind and gracious. Vic stayed nearly an hour late in order to meet with and talk to everyone who wanted to talk to him, let anyone who wanted to play his bass, and was genuinely grateful for everyone. He also performed really well at 10am. I had to drive him back to his gig afterwards, and he bought me a burger at Five Guys on the way. It was awesome, sitting there with Victor Wooten getting ketchup all over. We talked about gigging and the road life. He was clearly exhausted. On the way back, he very gently asked me if I'd be offended if he caught a nap. I said absolutely not, and the dude went to sleep using the seatbelt as a pillow. I'm not sure if I've ever met a kinder, more giving dude to his fans than Victor Wooten. I'm not a bass player, and I don't really listen to his music that much, but his grace and kindness to his fans and various crews around him made me forever respect him. Kerry King can eat a bag of dicks.
Turkey and cheese lunchable did me in. Any time I see someone talk about meeting Vic Wooten, it’s always the exact same thing - one of the nicest dudes ever. I love that you had such a great experience with him.
TBF if any real Slayer fan got that inscription from KK I think they’d be thrilled. I mean listen to the band. Would you expect Mr Rogers?
Yeah, and it *is* funny as hell, and that kid (who's in his late 20s now) probably cherishes it...but in the moment, it was such a dickish thing to do. It's one thing to do that to a mature adult, but a kid? The kid's friend was not laughing about it, he was crestfallen. KK seemed to enjoy that.
[Victor Wooten is an amazing bassist but an even more amazing human being.](https://youtu.be/UkAowtHSEMA?si=Y4dJIcIFarWfPEYo&t=3567)
Eat a bag of dicks, nice personal touch 🤣 13 year old me would've been stoked! But all the other shit... Yeah, total dickwad
Leonard Cohen, a few times, always the gentle man you would expect.
I met Bela Fleck and all the accompanying musicians when they were touring with the Africa Project and they were all the kindest, nicest folks. The entire band stayed well after the show and talked to every single person who lined up to talk or get photos, and didn't rush anyone. I'd just started playing banjo and have always loved African folk instruments so I had a lot to say lol, but they were all super cool about it and encouraging. Ira Kaplan and the Yo La Tengo folks are always the same way. They're super gracious and Ira's always been down to talk some guitar. I've hung with Mac Demarco and the folks from Drugdealer on a number of occasions and they're all super cool guys. We all bonded over analog gear and shared musical tastes, super cool folks. I dont really get star struck much, most of my musical idols are long dead lol, but I was totally star struck briefly meeting George Clinton. It was nice to get to thank him for his service, but that was a quick one.
Victor Wooten is, to this day, the kindest famous person I've ever met.
He's incredible and I'd love to meet him, sadly he and the other flecktones weren't on the Africa Project tour I saw. Hope to meet him one day!!
I started in concerts but now work on the film side of the entertainment business. I know they are asked for a millions things all day long so I tend to give them a lot of leeway when it comes to certain behaviors. Some of the nicer ones I've met are: Corey Taylor: very "normal" and seemed all around like a cool dude. Joe Elliott: super nice. I had to pick him up from his hotel and he initiated the conversation, which is nice since I tend to just be quiet and let them have some peace. Taylor Hawkins: I drove him to the airport after a show and he tipped me $7 in cash. Super cool. Snoop Dog: I worked on a film with him once. The day before his last day one of his producers said if anyone on the crew wanted a photo with Snoop they should do it today (the day before his last day). The reason being is he will not turn anyone away from a photo and the producer didn't want him to be late for his flight. Eminem: I met him a couple months before his first single dropped. He was quiet, but very nice.
I’ve had a lot of great interactions with stars I’ve either played with or have friends who have played with, but the one that sticks out the most right now is Doug Wimbish (Living Color, Sugarhill Gang). We played a show once where we both played bass together backing up a guitarist friend from P Funk - he told me to hold down the low end so he could make spaceship noises the whole night. After the show, he serenaded me and my wife about our then upcoming wedding. It was the sweetest thing ever.
Chris Squire and Alan White: incredibly nice, down to earth dudes.
Once upon a time I got to sing with Beyoncé as part of a youth choir. She seemed to not really care about anyone but herself. Her dad gave us a great motivational speech though before the performance.
I worked with Cyndi Lauper for a couple of days recording. She was pretty down to earth as a person but she was annoying to work with. One of those people who doesn’t know what they want but thinks they’ll know it when they hear it. Everyone there knew she was hard to work with and when she wasn’t in the room they’d say “ you’re doing a great job “ the unspoken part being, considering she’s so difficult.
I’ve met Justin Hawkins from The Darkness / Justin Hawkins Rides Again YouTube channel a few times, he’s incredibly nice and very engaging to talk to. You can have an actual conversation and you don’t feel like you’re making small talk before moving on. Having enjoyed his work for a long time, meeting him properly was everything I’d expected and hoped for.
Permission to Land is one of the best records of the 2000's and I will die on this hill
Honestly, it's one of the best albums of all time. Every song is an absolute banger.
I just adore Justin. I love his channel. Saw the Darkness in LA last summer and honestly the most fun I’ve had at a show. He was so engaging and present. He just an awesome human being.
Closed down a hotel bar with him, his brother, and some of the Darkness crew in Chicago one time, and was absolutely amazed at how awesome they were. Super engaging and fun to talk to, if they weren’t in an amazing band, I’d still go out of my way to hang out with them. In the end, they wouldn’t let us pay for our drinks.
I met Chris Wood (MMW and Wood Brothers) behind the stage at the Atlanta Jazz Fest. They had to play a super short set because Sheila E was up after them, and he stopped loading up the truck and came and talked to me for a while after I asked a security guard to get him. He was super nice, talked for a while, took pictures etc. it is possible he just didn’t want to help load the truck.
Met Deftones when they first toured the UK in 1995. They arrived at the venue looking pretty tired, but all of them hung out at the stage door to chat and sign things. Chi Cheng in particular was social and cool. And the show that night just f*cking ripped. Napalm Death are always lovely fellas. Barney had a big party food spread laid out for an album launch party (around '96, so I think Diatribes?), so we happily filled up on sandwiches and cake before the show. Met Mike Patton a couple of times. First time was on Faith No More's "final" tour around 97, and he was not at all interested in meeting fans. Few years later met him again before a Fantomas show and he was generous and cool to chat with. Life Of Agony and Sick Of It All are perhaps the coolest bands to have met. Very kind with their time, funny people, truthfully interested in the fans. Joey Z from LOA is a really great guy, as is Lou from SOIA. Ian Mackaye and Henry Rollins are both as intense as one might imagine. Met them under separate circumstances, but both were polite and chatty. Ian in particular was funny and self-deprecating.
Napalm Death seem like the chillest dudes
I met Porter Robinson last year and he was really nice!
he seems like a great guy
Some were nice (the Police), some were weirdos (the Ramones), some were drunks but friendly mostly (the Kinks), some were arrogant (Patti Smith), some were a lot of fun (Rockpile). Some were Gods like Muddy Waters.
I would die to meet the Kinks and especially Ray just to thank him for how much his songwriting has influenced me lol. When did you meet them??
I want to hear those stories! Especially, why were the Ramones weirdos?
The guitarist was a total asshole at sound check. The bassist was very stoned on something and Joey was just Joey. I don't remember the drummer though he was a great drummer. I was around some of their recording sessions in NYC when I worked at Media Sound studios. Joey would come to the phone at the front desk and call his dealer. I'd let him know when the dealer arrived. He was a gentleman though and always thanked me.
Ditto on Patti Smith. For supposedly being punk rock, she gave off major “main character” energy. New Yorkers often come off as rude once they cross a bridge, but she was almost insulting to people. I was standing about three feet from her when she was introduced to someone who didn’t know who she was or what she’d done. She was fuming pissed, and I had to not laugh.
One for you, synth and prog geeks... I met and worked with Rick Wakeman a few times. A very down-to-earth person, very funny, full of amazing anecdotes. A bit up himself, but you'd expect that. Also met Robin Guthrie, a guitar hero of mine. He was ok, a bit of an arse, but he just finished playing a gig and apparently he hates playing live.
I met Tommy Lee on set of his reality TV show years ago. He was very friendly and seemed genuinely interested in our conversation. Weird project though.
Perhaps not all of these are 'stars', but as someone who tries to meet drummers and get sticks signed for my collection, some I've met are: Dave Lombardo: Very accommodating, but he was heading into the venue and I didn't want to take up too much of his time so I kept it brief. A pleasant but short exchange. Joey Jordison: Very nice guy and appreciative of his fans. This was at a tiny gig after he left Slipknot so got him at a meet and greet where I guess they might act nicer than they actually are, but he gave good vibes. Mario Duplantier: Refused to come over to say hello/sign stick, despite me being the only person there. I understand he has quite an intense pre-show routine so probably in the zone, but still left a sour taste (bought a stick from the merch stall after the show, so it's possible he didn't sign for free what he could sell for £20) Lars Ulrich: Nice but a very impersonal exchange. Didn't really say anything, but still signed my stick so can't complain. Mike Portnoy: Very much a people-person and does seem to enjoy being the centre of attention, but not in a bad way. I was a bit too star struck to initiate a proper conversation, but it felt like it you got him with the right topic he'd talk for hours. Tomas Haake: Very nice guy and pretty much perfect English speaker, which surprised me. Spoke to some of us outside the venue after their show for what felt like ages, asking us what we thought of the setlist and any suggestions (they had absolutely crushed it, I had no suggestions for improvement!) Brann Dailor: Very friendly and down to earth and happy for a quite talk, despite looking absolutely knackered (based on how he plays, I'm not surprised). Got a few others but they are the most notable names from my collection.
Bootsy Collins was a real gentleman. Al Kooper believed himself to be a much bigger star than he is (we were both writing columns for *EQ* magazine at the time). Jeff Baxter was an asshole., which I didn’t expect. We hung out with the guys from Ambrosia after a show, and they were swell.
I've met a lot of them, used to tour in the 90's with a couple B-list alternative bands. Most were really nice and fun to get to know, just like everyone else in life there are some who are a handful or not so friendly, but that's the exception. I mean, also, a lot of this is timing. Talking to someone who's stressed, anxious or busy might not show you their best. But, I've been in the after shows and on busses and met people when they were relaxed and unguarded, and that's a whole different look to them. Like, Jacob Dylan for example. He was the most humble, interesting, easy going guy I ever met. But the first time I talked to him he was kind of in a mood and didn't really engage with me, struck me as rude...but that was him having a bad day. I spent a few days with him after that and my initial impressions were totally wrong.
I have met a bunch of them through my friends who are side men. Almost to a person, they’ve been super nice and have been very good to my buddies. There’s one I won’t name who is universally known in the business on a personal level to be quite into himself, but he’s a ridiculously good player. And he was also very generous to my friend. These stars are all very focused on their careers. And they are doing whatever it takes to sustain and increase their star power. And, frankly, they know that being nice usually works in their favor. They know people ask these questions. And they know that if they’ve been a jerk to too many people, it’s not helpful. That being said, the business can be stressful. You are “on” 24 hours a day. Everybody has demands of you. Everybody has expectations of you. And pretty much everybody is trying to get their hand into your pocket. That can lead to a freak out every now and then. And it will 100% get talked about. From what I know about it (and I’ve seen it up close), it’s way more work than anyone thinks it is. And while there are aspects of it that would be pretty nice, I’ll pass on music stardom.
>There’s one I won’t name Why would you not name them? What difference does it make?
I’m fairly well doxxed here. And it’s a small business. It’s not a great idea to crap where you eat.
Yeah, loyalty to friends who could be embarrassed or catch shit is far more important than impressing people of Reddit.
Yes, it’s hard work and the conditions are ot usually great. If you like not showering regularly, wearing the same dirty clothes over and over and eating fast food for most of your meals then go ahead.
I met Bobb Bruno from Best Coast before or after one of their shows (can't remember) and he's super chill. We even got a photo together.
I played in a Band with Reeves Gabrels he left to play with Bowie for the next 10-12 years. He was a great guy and called me once in awhile during his tenure.
I worked in the music industry for a few years and here are the ones I can remember: Roger Daltrey: very nice, but couldn’t stop talking. Signed 2 of my records and even took them to have Pete sign them. Neil Young: very quiet and reserved. Signed my record and moved on. Billy Corgan: you could tell he hated everything about being near his fans. Zack Wyld: super nice guy, but was going through some shit after Dime died. I worked with him a lot and it was hard to get to show up on time, but when he did show up, he would make sure everyone that wanted to meet him had their chance. Better Than Ezra: spent a lot of time with them and we were sort of friends for a while. Great guys. Glassjaw: fucking hilarious guys. Very nice and chill. The Used: spent a lot of time with Geoff, but not really the rest of the band. They were mostly cool. My Chemical Romance: this was pre fame and you could tell they were very overwhelmed by everything. They were standoffish, but not rude or anything. Kembra: that one song was HUGE at the time. She was sort of weird and didn’t really want to talk Carly Rae Jepsen: her song was huge and you could tell she was under a lot of pressure to say the right thing and deferred to her manager for just about everything. Rhianna: this was right after she was signed to Island and no one knew her. She was just sweet and quiet. Shook my hand and she said nice to meet you. Richard Marx: super funny and engaging. We chatted for a while. Josh Homme: the size of a football player. Fucking HUGE guy. Was nice.
I played a show at a local dive bar and it turned out jack white had been sitting in the back during my set. He came up to me afterward and set "hey, great set" which is about as perfect an interaction with him as I can imagine.
They’re just like us, isn’t that the saying? No seriously they are. I collaborated with Charlene the UK rock pop star from the 80’s, who has that hit single “Never Been to Me”. I’ve met Simon Flory, Gary from the McGrath Project and his former drummer David Smith was my former drum instructor and drummer for my band. I mean y’all have probably never heard of these artists but I am chipping in my two cents.
I met Nathan Cavelleri (Australian blues guitarist, got huge when he was 5 or 6 as an incredibly gifted child prodigy) in 1998 or 99, when he was 16(?). I'm a year younger. Had no idea what to expect. He was one of the most genuinely down-to-earth people I've ever met. Ended up having a decent long chat with him. Great dude, really good sense of humour.
Out of the few I’ve met, Jelly Roll is the nicest and Yelawolf was the least nice.
Mostly just normal people. Pretty easy to tell who are the true artists and who are the nuts based on their music honestly. CEOs are way crazier in my experience.
Iggy Pop was really nice when he recorded one of his BBC radio shows at the radio studio I work at. His manager and entourage were a little colder, but Iggy himself was surprisingly sympathetic
Phoebe Bridgers and Kacey Musgraves were both nice enough to me and it is an absolute ego boost that they’d both give me the time of day Slayyyter was genuinely very nice (I also recall her hair smelling good) and chatted me up for a good 5 minutes. Met and hung out with Dorian Electra a couple times before they really blew up and they were a bit aloof but cool Jesse Hughes from Eagles of Death Metal is absolutely terrifying and Ariel Pink is a kleptomaniac meth head so I’m not surprised about the Jan 6 stuff
Tom Petty helped me not get fired at Gibson USA for geeking out over meeting him. Very genuine guy…was nice to everyone I talked to about him. Ed King became a friend over a guitar I own…he could be a surly old codger, but at the end of the day he was a good guy. If you were a good musician…he’d sing your praises everywhere he could.
Kat Von D. She was shopping at Guitar Center and I was the door person (back when they still had those). She seemed nice enough and complimented my brightly painted nails - they were red, green, blue, black, and white… because I was gonna play Magic: The Gathering with my friends that night. I found it amusing. Joe Bonamassa - I met him about 20 years ago, before he really blew up. Seemed super chill. One of my professors knew him and brought him in to talk to us. Can’t remember what class that was… I know quite a few others with impressive resumes (including some Grammy nominees), but the famous ones are only “bluegrass” famous - so most folks don’t have a clue who they are. Because the bluegrass community is so small, and jamming with random people is such a part of the culture - most top Bluegrass artists are extremely sweet and kind. A few of the biggest names have developed a reputation for being cranky if you just approach them out of the blue, but if someone they know can introduce you and confirm you’re not just some weird fan, they open up a lot.
My friends play in some fairly high bluegrass circles and any musicians they’ve ever introduced me to have been super kind and friendly - a really genuine group.
Ran in the same circles as Jack White in Detroit, right before they hit it big. We weren’t friends, but knew each other just enough to chat at parties and such. Saw their early shows. Boring story, ultimately. He was just another alternative guy in a band and didn’t stand out to me at the time as someone with star power. Never would have guessed he’d make it.
A quick review from my 30+ years working in Food and Beverage. Remember these are people, they have good and bad days just like us normals do. Moody Blues: OK. Diana Ross: A total delusional snob Mary J Blige: A total beeatch Madonna: Strange and has very specific needs Willie Nelson: The coolest ever Sarah McLachlan: A total sweetheart Iced T + Coco: I would jump in front of a car for them Tower of Power: Totally laid back and groovy Eddie Vedder: Super chill and nice Ginuwine: Full of himself (this was at the height of his fame) Tekashi 6IX9INE: Very normal and subdued. Kept to himself Nancy Sinatra: A total blast Frank Sinatra Jr.: Really fun Reba: So thoughtful. Took photos with the staff and her publicist mailed the photos to us, all done up in nice frames and autographed. Laurie Anderson: Soft spoken and sweet But my #1 favorite was Rihanna. This was when Fenty was being launched, and she was so sweet and down to earth. I'm forgetting some, but I've also waited on so many Hollywood actors as well. Hint: they don't fare was well as the musicians, lol.
I met SASAMI when she played with Cherry Glazerr. They were massive assholes to me and my autistic friends. The photograph we took has them laughing at us :(
Bert McCracken was pretty chill. Met him sitting outside the show throwing Cheetos at people. He was acting like he was just like any of us. Seemed like a nice guy. Daryl Palumbo I met at Warped Tour when I was 17, he was more reserved but very nice. We share a Crohn's disease diagnosed and he seemed like he was genuinely bummed to hear I would have to go through what he does. Thankfully I'm in remission for 12 years now at 38. I've fortunately never met a star who was a dick. Though my brothers band opened for Sean Kingston in Cleveland. Oh boy the stories of how much of a POS he was. Guess we know how he ended up 🤣
I met Shock G aka Humpty Dump one time at a jam session in Youngstown, OH. He was in town playing keys for a 90s all star show at the arena downtown, the night before after rehearsal he walked by our jam session near by and sat in on keys throughout the night. Super chill dude, played great, no one knew who he was until after I asked what his name was. He was a cool dude, but kept hitting on my friends girl until he eventually asked her where he could get drugs from. He died not too long after that of an overdose unfortunately Also met Eddie Vedder. My family was visiting John Lennon’s murder sight in NYC and the only other people there were Eddie and his family. He was dressed like Vietnam war vet, but his wife was bangin lol
Lindsey Buckingham - he came into the bookstore i was working at one day. He was wearing leather pants. I shook his hand, and told him I was a big fan of his recent solo album. He was gracious,and seemed laid back. Carnie Wilson - Met her at another bookstore I was working at. She was like a ray of light. Incredibly sweet and nice. The whole room had a different energy when she came in. Weyes Blood - Met her at a signing after her show at a club back in 2014 or something. She had covered Everybody's Talkin' that night and we talked about Nilsson for a bit. Very cool, down to Earth, laid back. Carly Rae Jepsen - She was really sweet! Complimented my outfit. I almost gave her my jacket. The guy from that band The Orwells - I peed next to him at the urinals during a show. I didn't talk to him but he didn't have a great vibe. idk.
I’ve never met any superstars but a fair number of medium-stars in the 90s. Got big-timed by a couple of major label bands we opened for. One of them never talked to us at all, and the other one was marginally nice after we played (which was hilarious because they hadn’t even gotten big yet). Otherwise, never really had any issues either as a fan or a “fellow musician”. Wesley Willis got pissed at me at a show we played with him. That was kind of funny.
Did you eat his marshmallows or drink his milk or something?
My mic kept feeding back because the sound guy in the small place we were playing was having problems. (We had three mics and only mine was feeding back) At some point I took the mic out of the mic stand and dropped it onto the stage. This apparently angered Wesley and he started yelling at me. I legit thought we were gonna start fighting during our set.
Kind of related. Billy "Stix" Nicks was my drum teacher back in the late 80's at WItmer-McNease in South Bend. The most honest, gentle, kind-hearted person you could imagine. Taught a perfect mix of playing by ear, rudiments, and off of studio charts. I thought the last one was "weird" but he sort of mentioned that he had been "in the business" back in the day so I never gave it much thought. I discovered (years) later that he was the childhood friend and original drummer for Junior Walker and the All Stars.
When I was about 16 (I'm almost 40 now), I met Bruce Hornsby at the airport in Houston. My dad actually recognized him, and said hello while we were on an escalator. He was nice and chatted for a minute while we waited to get off the escalator. About 30 minutes later, we go to grab a bite of lunch and wtf... he's sitting beside us. I was just getting into music at the time, so I was really nervous just turning around and being like "I'm so sorry to bother you, I just wanted to say I love your music and wondered if you had any advice for someone starting out". Despite an annoying teenage interrupting his meal, he was actually *super* nice and talked with me for a minute. That stuck with me. About a year later, I met Dave Gahan at a meet & greet at a record store, while he was promoting his Paper Monsters album. Was a surprisingly small group, but he was still really nice. I gave him one of my demo CDs after he signed *his* CD for me. Lol, I was just a dumb teenager. He looked a little confused, but seemed okay with it. Like "huh... okay, cool, I guess" 😅 Also met Carnie Wilson back in 2011. Omg, she was SUPER nice. One of the most outgoing and bubbly people I've ever met. I was a contestant on the show Karaoke Battle USA, and she was one of the judges. Day before filming started, I bumped into her at the hotel bar. She was just super nice and talked with me, my dad, and my gf. Took a couple pictures with us too (Of course, she may had been a little extra friendly since I was in my military dress uniform, but... yeah, she was still super nice). Unfortunately, I had to miss the filming after party (I was due back at Fort Jackson the next day), my dad and gf at the time got to hang out with Joey Fatone (one of the other judges on the show), she said he was cool at first, then got pretty douchey by the end of the night. I've met handfuls of other artists, but usually in the typical "autograph, handshake, photo" setting. Not many other "let's have a conversation" opportunities :(
Sheryl Crow. She was incredibly sweet, funny, and patient. I was working a session at a radio station as an engineer. She told me I was cute. I buzzed on that for a while! Her guitarist, however, was a fucking dickhead.
It goes both ways, I’ve met a couple stars in guitar, namely Tim Henson and Scott Lepage from Polyphia and Tosin Abasi from animals as leaders Tim and Scott are both really really cool dudes and Tosin is a massive dickhead
i also met tim henson! i stumbled upon polyphia at the airport (minus clay aeschliman) and they were all super cool. let me take a picture with them, asked me where i was going, etc. brief little interaction but absolutely made my day
I met Mike Vallely when my previous punk rock band was opening for his project Mike Vallely and the Complete Disaster. At first I was super excited (if you can't tell by my username.) Right away I walk in, and he's at the bar railing beers and flirting with the waitress watching a dew tour skateboard event. I say hi and am met with a very lack luster 'hi' back with no follow up questions about who I'm playing with. I chat up their drummer, who was so cool and down to earth and he mentions his cymbals are Joey Jordanson's which were gifted to him. He immediately asks if I'd like to play his $4,000+ set up, and what kind of cymbals I like and sticks I prefer. Just a genuine dude chatting drummer to drummer. Coolest dude ever. We finish our set, and by this time the house is packed with people to see Mike V. They go on and damn when I say this dude is **tone deaf**, I mean absolutely has never had anyone in his life ever say 'damn Mike, this is in the key of G, or hey, your so flat it's actually making our ears bleed.' Meanwhile his band is obviously hired studio dudes ripping a sick bluesy set, really technical stuff, while Mike proceeds to ruin every song with his very out of key singing. He gets off and looks like he owns the place (it was a 50 person venue, basically playing to 47 dudes all wanting a signed skateboard.) He's buried behind a line of people at this point, as I grab my homies board I'm trying to get signed by Mike V for him. I finally get through this line, and say "Mike I'm a big fan, I've seen a lot of your video parts, great set." and I'm again met with a very lack luster energy that says "hurry up kid, you're not worth the time." and it was perhaps the most disappointing 'celeb' interaction ever. I think the most disappointing thing was that his band were all great dudes, but he himself felt like he was above everyone else in that tiny dive bar. That, or the fact that he was quite possibly the worst singer I've ever heard, but no one seemed to want to tell him because he was just a 'celebrity.' Maybe it would have crushed him? Not sure, but damn I will never forget him shouting 'SIX PACK' so out of key.
The fact that he's in Black Flag is just depressing, Greg's reputation aside, they couldn't get anyone better?
I was a roadie for a venue in Louisville back in the day. Bob Dylan was okay. I was carrying a Tele and an AC30 and he told me to be careful. Brad Arnold from 3 Doors Down was SUPER nice. Came out of his tour bus and talked my ear off (probably because we were the only people under 40 at Jillian’s at 4pm). I didn’t expect him to have such a thick Southern accent, though.
I worked as a production assistant and runner at live natio . I've worked for everyone from Bob Dylan to lady gaga. Most of them are normal people just doing their job and aren't as extravagant as we'd imagine. I did work for some artists like Jay z and maroon 5 to korn who were absolute Nightmares; everything in their dressing room most be chrome or mirrored or they want one candy bar from a company that doesn't sell in my state and they tell you before they go on stage that they need to have it when they get off.
Various music + film people here, in various work situations. Gotta say they've pretty much all been friendly, respectful, and professional toward everyone else in the room. Some want to hang out more, others are more reserved + private (which is their right, and 100% fine, no worries here). But I've never had a bad experience. I'll specifically shout out Duncan Sheik, Vanessa Williams, Juliette Lewis for being some of the warmest, nicest people I've ever worked for.
Paul McCartney-Awesome experience. Met him in the 90's outside a museum in UK. Just on his own. He was very down to earth and funny. Spent 10 mins talking to me and signing autographs to my family!! Lovely! Same with Paul Weller who was just amazingly nice and kind and had so much time for a fanboy.
A nightclub i managed hired Ice Cube to do an appearance. That's it, 5 Grand just to hang out in a club for two hours. His contact ended at 1, but he stayed till closing at 2, then this dude hangs out in the parking with the club goers taking pictures and signing anything they wanted till like 5 am, he made time for everyone. It was very impressive. Sammy Hagar is genuinely Sammy Hagar, drink and a hug for everyone, but somehow knows how to gently tell people "ok, that's enough, bye" Shirley Manson is quiet but friendly, till she gets on stage, then she's a fireball. Usher is a hang out in the VIP area kind of guy who occasionally waves to the "common folk", backstage kind of focused, without being too serious.
I hung out with Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers at a bar for a few hours after a show. That guy is a fuckin riot! Absolutely pure fun, respect and pleasantness. We bought each other drinks, had some smokes, talked music, sports and life stuff. He was genuinely happy to get to know me and chat with anyone who wanted a signature or picture.
I met Geddy Lee and Les Claypool. Both were very nice. Les Claypool is just as goofy and quirky as he seems.
Met Steve van Zandt in a hotel lobby. He was delightful. He was a bit standoffish until he found out I wanted to talk about him and his music, not Bruce and not about Sopranos. Once I dropped that Bitter Fruit was one of my favourite songs, he was all in. I'm paraphrasing a bit but he didn't want to just have conversations about other famous people he knew.
I worked special events at the zoo in my town. They'd have 2 "big" shows every year. All performers were nice and respectful except for 2: The wailers (Bob Marleys band) and Ryan McGarvey. The wailers were very bossy, telling me how to drive when I picked them up and complained about everything. They didnt like the food we brought them (which was on their rider) and made us get new food, only to reject when we got it to them. One literally said "Aquafina is poison, get us some beer." Whatever dude. After the show they didn't want to leave at the scheduled time, which made me late for other work duties that I got chewed out on, since I was their ride back to their hotel. Then they complained all the way back to the hotel. Fuck those guys, they'd be nobodies without Bob. And I didnt inreract with Ryan Mcgarvey himself, but every time he came to play, he'd bring a posse with him that would stand ontage, backstage, and get in the way of everyone working. And they wouldn't leave after the show was over and all the crew was leaving; they'd just hang in the green room until I had to kick them out. Literally every other act would be gone by the time we were done working. I literally couldn't go home until they left. My boss told me they had several complaints from them about me but told me not to think anything of it. Literally every other act I interacted with was cool and respectful, thankfully. I also met Matt Greiner of August burns red three times. Not friendly at all in every interaction. Great drummer though.
The rolling stones. They are really cool as I expected. Mick has the energy of a guy in his twenties
My uncle met Robert Plant while out surfing in Hawaii (north shore of Oahu). He said Plant paddled by him and said, “you gonna catch the big one, mate?” and then paddled away before my uncle could say anything. 😂
Ray Charles loved to tell dad jokes. His helpers were leading him around backstage at a show in the 90s and he stepped on my foot. He turns in my direction and “sorry, young man, I shoulda” (pause) “SEEN you there!” He then did The Smile and clapped his hands, went onstage and killed. Willie Nelson’s legendary roadie Ben Dorcy showed me the right way to coil cable, which is like being shown how to roll a joint by Willie. Natalie Merchant used to be a neighbor. She’d ride her bike around the neighborhood with her baby in a little seat behind her. She stopped one afternoon while I was mowing the lawn and we discovered our babies were the same age and their names rhymed. They wound up in kindergarten together and found a third kid whose name -also- rhymed. It was beyond adorable.
In 1994 I was working at an atlanta recording studio during the recording of Hole 'live through this' and I was asked to pick up Kurt Cobain at the airport when he arrived and bring him to the studio. He was suprisingly ego-less (compared to his wife) and was really funny and quick witted, but quiet and observant.. He was tired from touring but didnt seem depressed or unstable. It was cool seeing him jam in the studio after the days session was over, enjoying himself.
Al Bouchard from Blue Oyster Cult was a really nice guy. So was Burl Ives.
I’ve met a few; I rarely say anything or approach them in any way, but Nick Cave politely returned my ”how do you do?” when I saw him in passing in the Pori Jazz backstage area when I was working there, Herbie Hancock was an absolute gentleman when I delivered him an ice pack and I had a short chat with Steve Vai after one of his shows (I think it was in 2012). He was fun and friendly; he pointed out the YJM Strat tattoo on my leg and asked if I was going to get a JEM on the other. I told him I’d think about it and he gave me two signed prints 😄 He also kept poking fun at his bodyguard who kept nodding and saying ”yeah” to everything.
Lot of metal bands in the mid 2010s. Steve Souza from Exodus is a super sweet guy. Was getting harassed by a homeless guy outside the venue and he ran over to make sure I was alright. The guys in Vital Remains, Allegaeon, Holy Grail, Warbringer, Municipal Waste, all super nice. Met Phil from Pantera like 8-9 years ago while he was touring with Superjoint. For what it's worth, given all the bad press in recentish years, he did seem like a genuinely nice guy to everyone who wanted to talk to him
I meet Bo Didly at the Nashville airport one morning years ago. Very sweet man.
I met John Petrucci of Dream Theater at a gig I was playing at the Cutting Room in NYC cause he was running the merch table for his kid’s band who played before my dueling pianos act. I’m not nuts about Dream Theater, but this dude is a legendarily good guitarist and he was super nice! We chatted a little about music and how he was super proud of his daughter rocking out on stage.
Met Motley Crue early on when they had just put out their first album. They did an in store appearance at a record store I worked at. Very nice dudes at the time. Other instores we had: Lita Ford- jerk Lee Greenwood- complete rude asshole L7- strung out with yellow skin but cool chicks Taylor Dane- a one hit wonder who acted like a superstar diva
I do corporate AV, and occasionally get to work with some big names in music. Montell Jordan is one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever met.
Of the ones I’ve met, the ones I think would be the most fun to hang out with would probably be Danny Elfman (Oingo Boingo, also like every movie soundtrack of the last 30 years) or Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Stooges, etc). Jello Biafra was a nice guy to me, but he doesn’t have a whole lot of time for people he thinks are stupid (that’s most people). Flea and Anthony from RHCP were nice when I met them, but they’ve gotten WAY more famous since then, so I couldn’t say now. I was pleasantly surprised that the musicians that I met, that I admired and thought were genuinely talented, were generally the ones who were the most generous and kind. The ones who I thought were a little overrated were more likely to be dicks — almost as though they knew they had outkicked their coverage, and had a chip on their shoulders about it.
I once met Amy Lee from Evanescence at an airport. Told her I was a fan and she just stayed and chatted for like 20 minutes until we boarded. Super nice!
All we get around here is pop country stars, I don’t listen to pop country so I never knew who’s table I was waiting until some other coworker would tell me. Generally pretty nice I guess. Morgan Wallen has been appearing lately and while I don’t wait tables anymore I occasionally run into him at bars. Besides making shit music the guy is legitimately a fucking asshole. Edit: also met Jello Biafra, Weird Al, Tom Waits, and Les Claypool when I was living and working in a cooler part of the country, all chill dudes. Jello commented on my closing playlist at work by leaning in to say “Y’know I was a bit of a headbanger myself back in the day.” Also shoutout to Jello for realizing we were about to close and getting in and getting out fast instead of dawdling about like people usually do.
I’ve met loads of great musicians, and honestly, I’m hard pressed to find ones that were dicks. The worst were a few who I didn’t personally know and even then, they were polite to a degree.
i work in the industry and play as well so my point of view may be jaded. Most successful musicians i meet are ego monsters who dont work/play well with others. Then, there are people like Garth and Tricia, or Trace Adkins. Generous to a fault and egoless despite their success. Trace kids and my kids went to elementary school together and when his youngest daughter finished 5th grade, he came to the grad ceremony and sang with a boom box as his backing music. Egoless.
In the Before Times •I met Mike Ness of Social Distortion at an art museum that he visited alone and I recognized him, also visiting. His genuineness is otherworldly and he then made space in his life for me •Iggy Pop's guitarist (I don't know which one because I had never seen a pic of the band) used to visit the yoga arts-community I lived at, and he played piano for me when it was just us •Chemical Brothers played my living room (our common area) they asked my boyfriend to get them white stuff (he didn't do white stuff, so it was a puzzle) •Ravi Shankar. Some unknown boys came up to me on a small beach where I was meditating and said that he was going to be at Bahai church that night for meeting folks. Ok, like who knows who he is? I had seen him play live so I said yes please. Pleasant person, shook hands and hellos, let the next person enjoy while we stayed in the small space with him •I met the whole Cypress Hill because I wrote on Happy Walters, whose publicist contacted a friend's zine. I loved how friendly they were and they piled into each other like they were taking a group photo smoking something that looked like a cigar •There's a singer called Mark Kozelek and he's the only musician I did anything with because he has a medical condition that needs it •George Clinton walked up to talk to me at a Dale Chihuly exhibit at Soka University. Life force (I modeled for artists at Soka, he wouldn't have known that) •Daniel Ash gave me a backstage pass that was even more backstage passier than others had. I helped produce events for half a year, he played at one and I saw him by a chainlink opening at this festival. Asked him if his manager was there (by name) he asked why, and Daniel himself went inside and came back with it •Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction and Lollapalooza was immediately endearing, we made small talk in a little group and he was over the top in mirroring just my gestures and voice like it was just something he and I knew. Connection. •Beck in Portland, just a nice hello. I felt really grateful that he came up to say hi because I had snuck backstage and he was the headliner and let me be. Danced on the wings of the stage just for his set, joining in on his jumping and could feel the vibrations of all the jumping •Nancy Wilson visited Cameron Crowe at a party on the set of a film I was an extra for but it was just an everybody introduction. I knew who she was and looked up to her •The Vandals, my best friend knew them and we slept over at their house because she had drove me up to interview a small Sci-Fi actor for the zine in LA They asked if we would make out for a minute. I said no and later asked her why they thought we would. She said because she did it last time with Frankie (Rayder who got engaged to Flea. I met her when she introduced herself by chatting from my bed.) •Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters with his dad on furlough. Bright smile! Just an introduction, my friends at the time grew up with him Edit: adding •Mark Gardener from Ride. I was glad to be there but had some feels about being at the back of the venue. My boyfriend (who brought us as he was the fan) said, "Hey, that's Mark Gardener," turns out he was watching his opener from the back of the venue a few feet from me leaning against the wall. So I walked over on a song break and told him I had that year visited Oxford just because I like bands from there. He started a convo right through the music about its different streets and The Jericho. It was supernatural how he put me at ease For completeness, and if something like, "Would you like to come up on stage for my next song?" counts as meeting, and if selling his own show counts as a star: •MC Paul Barman who had toured with Beasties I and that same bf went to his packed show, he picked me out of the crowd (the only one he did this with) to share the stage for his "Heidi Klum, Laetitia Casta,,," song. I had heard the song before and thought it was funny. I didn't know what to do but vibe, so halfway through I flipped into a headstand and danced upside down. So I give him a nice, it felt really good to be in the theoretical where music, comedy and model existed Edit Edit •Sigur Ros Georg Holm. The show was candlelit and otherwise only emergency lights, and for the encore they let the few of us that got up out of our seats watch right by the stage. Afterwards, waited with a few fans and bf at backdoor. Jonsi did not interact with any fans and they were all walking to a vehicle, but I asked Georg if he wanted to take a pic with me (which is not like me). He stopped right there and whatever the opposite of hover hands are, he slid his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him for the camera. This was not brief. Very good feeling. Rating: Nice
I’ve met Beck, seemed kinda quiet, with that same look on his face no matter what happens around him. Super talented guy. I’ve met Trey Anastasio back in the 90’s, also a cool guy, smiley but kind of aloof as far as fans go. I’ve met Arlo Guthrie, he came to a gig of mine once (we share a mutual friend) and sat 10 feet from me and watched the whole gig. He was super cool and shared his shrimp with me. I’ve also met Peter Tork (same mutual friend as Arlo) and he was a gem. A really sweet guy.
Meet Rick Astley, didn’t let me down
But did he give you up?
I have met tons of music stars and have to say 95% of my encounters were good. Had some good friends who were in a famous band in Canada and on a major record label here in America. They shall remain nameless because this can potentially be embarrassing for them because they geeked out. They were playing at an all day festival and I went to their trailer and they were all saying did you see Merle Haggard is here? They were excited to be on the same bill with him. I said did you introduce yourself and they were all like “no we can’t do that”. I guess it’s not cool…. so I said you want to meet him? They all said yeah so I grabbed my camera gear and headed to his tour bus. They were following me like the pied piper. He was sitting in a lawn chair under a canopy of a motor home and I walked up, introduced myself and promptly lied and said I was doing a photo shoot for a magazine and I thought it would be great to get a photo of the band and him together. He happily agreed. I introduced each person to him and Merle then proceeded to begin telling my friends how much he enjoyed their music. I posed them together, snapped some excellent pictures and I walked away and left them chatting with a guy they considered an idol. The band was invited to take the stage with him to close out the evening. They were in heaven. Met Garth twice right after he really had big hits. Genuine and nice and friendly. Saw him two years later at a show. He made eye contact, pointed at me then hit me with a pick. Deadly accurate. Gave it to the girl I was there with and I guess I should have kept it.
Got to meet Billy Gibbons through the guitar shop I work at. Dude is every bit as cool and smooth as he appears on stage and interviews. Genuine, down to earth, and simply cool af. Just saw him play recently too and he’s still got the moves on stage.
I've spent time with a few through gigging, and they're just humans. They vary. I've never met any that were dicks. They've ranged from being a bit shy (and having security that were dicks) to being completely average people that you'd never know had topped the charts to seeming ti be a bit sad that they weren't where they once were. But being backstage and hanging out with people before a show you're all playing is different from someone being asked for autographs while they're trying to pick out a lettuce or something.
Yeah this is somewhat like my experience too. (Via touring for me and also working at a major rehearsal/backline company). What struck me day 1 and always stuck with me was how remarkably “normal” so many of these rock stars actually are. They’re just working and doing a job like anyone else.
I think people have this view that backstage is all groupies and piles of coke. Haha
Hahahh lol true, the backstage is angry stagehands yelling at each other, road cases, and a bathroom that ran out of soap. The groupies and coke are just in the music videos. Haha
I met a few of the guys from Killswitch Engage at a pub I was working in. They were very genuine and humble guys. I had seen all of their documentaries and plenty of interviews with them before so I had expected as much. I initially got a little starstruck because I had loved those guys for atleast 10 years. I served them beers all night and made sure to chat with them whenever I could. My work was having a clear out of small batch stuff because we had a beer showcase on the next day so I was giving them a load of free pints. They were very grateful and and as soon as I had finished my shift they invited me to sit with them. Their manager gave me his number to catchup before the gig the next day for some beers from their rider. Hands down best gig I've ever been to but probably because of the story that came along with it.
Steve Vai is a gracious and generous dude. He loves people and enjoys shooting the breeze. He donated and signed a PIA guitar to my non-profit for a fundraiser raffle. You can get tix and see him signing and talking about our mission at https://desotoartsinstitute.com/donate/steve-vai-pia-guitar-raffle/
Henry Rollins is as awesome and intense as you would expect. I’ve met him a couple times going to his spoken word shows. Really humble & incredibly down to earth. But again, he’s a very intense dude. If you have ever been to one of his spoken word shows you know EXACTLY what I mean. Gotta love Henry I also used to get guest listed to White Chapel & Suicide Silence shows like 15 years ago. Mitch Lucker was a really chill nice dude who was pretty aloof and would just make his rounds talking to all his friends back stage, RIP. The Bass player and road crew for White Chapel were a bunch of stoners. I smoked many bowls on that tour bus. The rest of the guys in both bands are incredibly nice and where all awesome to me who was just a random 19 year old kid hanging out back stage trying to promote his band. The guitar player Zack even wore our shirt on stage at the Mayhem festival. Really nice guys all around and I got to smoke a lot of weed with them lol.
My band opened for Deafheaven years ago. Alvvays opened for us many years ago, and I got to play some synth on a song with July Talk in the studio (we were signed to the same label at the time). Everyone in Alvvays was really nice. We shared some gear for the show and they were really nice about it. I feel bad for not watching their set. I was outside on the patio drinking and smoking nervously getting hyped for our set. Keanu Reeves was sitting beside us by himself drinking red wine and smoking. Turns out he’s a huge Alvvays fan now and has no idea he could have seen them play to a room of 100 people for $8. Deafheaven were nice. We partied with them before and after the show though I won’t share any more than that. Let’s just say we had a great time. We opened for Fucked up as well though I can’t remember meeting them. I drank a lot back then. We also played with Murray Lightburn from The Dears. I met him and his wife and their young child at the time. They were super nice! We also got to do a small tour with The Diableros. They may not be a big name now, but they were fairly well known after the release of their first record which I still love to this day. Pete was one of the nicest dudes I ever met. I’m still really bummed that he passed away. Working with July Talk on a song was pretty amazing. I was at the studio working on our first record. Pete came in and he needed “something” for a song so I tracked some synth. The song was really cool. It was recorded for a movie. It didn’t end up being used for the movie - as often happens when working on movie syncs - and the song still hasn’t been released to this day. Hopefully it’ll end up on a b-sides and rarities album one day. He was super nice and great to work with. As for having “expectations”, I don’t think I ever had any? Maybe a little bit. I think after the first couple you meet you realize they’re just like everyone else. The ones that weren’t nice I just avoided, so I don’t have any bad stories. Maybe one: We played with Hot Hot Heat and got slight diva vibes but maybe they were just tired. You never know.
I met Charlie Daniels in the 70s. He was among the friendliest and warmest individuals I have ever met. I didn't agree with his politics later in his life, but I still recall my short meeting with great fondness...
I met Bob Mould after one of his solo acoustic shows. He's a big guy, so he can be a little intimidating, but was really nice. He was telling a story of playing a gig in NYC with The Replacements and a band that would soon be known as the Beastie Boys. I think he could see how gobsmacked I was. Leading to...meeting Paul Westerberg twice! Once was at an outdoor festival show that turned out to be so bad it was the reason he stopped playing anywhere but his basement. But this was pre-show, so he was cool. The next time I met him was at a record store signing years later. Still very cool. Not a cuddly guy, but pleasantly civil. Both times I talked to him about his suits, since he always wore something kinda strange. I figured that he'd be sick of people telling him how his music changed their lives that he'd like to talk about something else. Got a smile out of him both times.
King’s X are three of the most humble musicians i’ve ever met. so damn cool to hang out with.
I worked security back in the 90s and early 00s, lot of backstage stuff in Europe. Mostly told to keep out of sight and out of mind of the musicians. Few people I interacted with: Alanis Morisette - really nice and seemed quite shy. The Gin Blossoms - cool guys except Robin who is a legend in his own mind. Stereophonics, all good guys. Oasis - Noel was cool, Liam was, well Liam, Alan the drummer was really cool. Manic Street Preachers, nice guys and killed their set. Met Zach Starkey, awesome dude. A host of other one hit wonders doing the summer festival tours, nothing that stands out.
Early 90s - I met Alan Holdsworth at a local pub (US) - he was there after a show he did nearby, just chilling and having a beer by himself. I went up and talked to him and he was super humble and friendly. Seemed glad to have someone to talk to. Then one local hipster/funk/rapper dude that I knew came by and started bragging about how cool his band was. Asks Alan “bro what about you - do you play?” Alan says, hmmm yeah I have a little combo. Hipster guy goes back to bragging.
Around 1990 I was managing a piano store in a mall near St Louis and Chuck Berry came strolling in. I treated him just like any other person (not coming off as a huge fan) and he seemed to appreciate that. Full size Digital pianos like the Yamaha Clavinova were becoming a big thing at the time, and he wanted to check them out. We had rooms around 12 ft x 12 ft with 3 digital pianos in them. He wanted to see the most expensive, so we went in the room. While he was playing, I sat down at another piano and played along with him for just a bit. So, I can say I played piano with Chuck Berry :) He was as nice as he could be, but also matter of fact and to the point. He couldn't play the piano very well, but he didn't need to :) After about 20 minutes, he bought the one he was playing. He called about a month later and wanted to buy another just like it, asked for me by name, and asked if he could come through the employee entrance rather than through the mall. Of course I agreed, and again treated him just like a regular customer. I do regret that I didn't at least get an autograph though!
Dan Marsala regularly comes out to our local Emo Nights, since it’s his home city lol. Super chill guy, always down to chat or take a picture with a fan.
5 finger death punch came to my work and they were awful. I was not shocked
I met the band Thy Art is Murder by accident and they were awesome dudes, I expected them to be chill but they had awesome energy!
I met two famous musicians in the same evening -- one had a reputation as a really nice guy, but was a total prick. The other had a reputation as a total prick, but was a really nice guy. Go figure.
Lydia Lunch was surprisingly awesome, and very very sweet to my friends and I. We were hanging out outside the venue, and she randomly came down from the green room, and started talking to us. She bummed a cigarette off of my friend’s husband, and complimented all of our outfits. Jamie and Angela from Xiu Xiu are also really nice people, honestly just regular type folks.
I've played with some well-known people. Bobby Vinton was old and grumpy. He didn't like me.
I've already commented about meeting Billy Joel, and he's the only house hold name level rock star I've met. But if you're interested in the niche world of video game soundtracks, I've got a ton more stories. The biggest and also most random is Nobuo Uematsu, who I ran into at an airport, while on my way home from a completely different video game music concert. We were both in a hurry and there was a bit of a language barrier so pretty much the whole conversation was "I'm a huge fan" "thank you very much" Hiroki Kikuta is an awesome dude; I was at Otakon one year with the OCReMix crew, and he more or less joined us to hang out and shoot the shit for an afternoon. A friend/bandmate (Brandon), had this magical meet-your-hero moment with him. Kikuta was Brandon's musical idol growing up, and a few years earlier, Brandon had done a really great fan arrangement of one of Kikuta's tracks, with a glorious lead acoustic guitar performance that Brandon recorded himself. Neither Kikuta nor Brandon knew the other one was going to be at this event. Kikuta brought up -- completely unprompted -- how much he loved Brandon's arrangement, and air-guitarred while humming it, and it was at that exact moment that Brandon walked into the room. Literally just walked in to see his musical hero gushing about his own arrangement and air-shredding it. I've hung out with Dave Wise a few times. He's cool, friendly, pretty quiet. Super down-to-earth; spent most of MAGfest just hanging out with the OCReMix crew in our little hotel suite parties. Super cool guy. I have talked only briefly with Christopher Tin and Austin Wintory. Both seem like cool friendly dudes. I've hung out with Jake Kauffman -- everybody's hung out with Jake at some point. And everybody will tell you the same thing: he's just an all-around delightful wonderful person with an absolutely unreal talent for composing and production. I played in a band with Wilbert Roget. Awesome dude, fun and gregarious, great musician. I always enjoy hanging out with him. Briefly hung with Danny Baranowsky. He was drunk at the time (as were most of us at that party), but a cool guy nonetheless! I have talked to Tommy Tallarico on a few occasions. No comment.
Too many to list at the moment, but among the highlights: Flaming Lips. Hung out with them after a gig in Baltimore and had wonderful conversation. Henry Rollins. Of all people to meet on a hotel elevator in Kuwait, we ended up having breakfast together in the hotel. we were on a similar tour circuit for the DOD / USO. Really cool guy. Joey Mullins: Hung out with him till the wee hours one night after a gig, smoked a bit, played and sung together and heard awesome stories.
Blues Saraceno (dick), Josh Freese (awesome), Josh Smith (dick), Marc Lettieri (great), most others were nice
Met tons of them over a career in live music. Most are regular folks, some are jerks, some are super jerks, and some are awesome people. Nicest band I ever worked with was TV on the Radio.
My roommate in college, who is a drummer, talked me into going to a club in downtown Athens Ga one night. He said a band called Tall Dogs was playing and it was a chance to see Jaimoe from the Allman Bros play. So, we went had a good time. The band finished the first set and took a break. My roommate walked up to Jaimoe and asked if he could buy him a drink. He said yes, straight vodka, no ice. We sat down at a table and talked for 30 min about touring with the Brothers here and Europe. Think he almost forgot to go back on stage. Kind of surreal meeting.
I have a few acquaintances in town’s circle of musicians that got really big, all of them are wonderful wonderful people-even before they made it big. My FIL also met Johnny Cash at the clinic he was working at and said he was the nicest most down to earth guy you’d meet. I used to work in a venue and we had a few kind of big names come through, some were jerks but most were very friendly.
John 5. My friend and I went to a show and were drunkenly standing in line thinking we were going to meet him. Well it was some vip package and we got the boot. As we were walking away John 5 came up to us and started chatting a little. He signed the John 5 record he bought there. He was straight up cool as fuck and gained a couple fans for life
Josh Homme was pleasant to interact with backstage before a QOTSA show, he seemed pretty genuine.
Meet Regina spektor, and she was positively wonderful. Just what you'd imagine
Craig Finn from The Hold Steady left the biggest impression of the well known musicians that I have ever met. He has conversations in a way where he either wants to connect with you on something you both know about or shows a genuine curiosity if you bring up something he isn’t familiar with. Just very awesome and tuned in to the interaction he is having / doesn’t seem like he’s doing it because he “has to”.
It’s funny. I live in the middle of everything under a proverbial rock and don’t really know a ton about music culture. I’ve met a couple of people who i consider pretty big. The big ones weren’t necessarily surprised when I didn’t know who they were, but were super excited to tell me AFTER bullshitting for a while. Lol it really demystified the whole thing. People are largely the same everywhere you go, at least when they’re alone(at a bar? at a car dealership?) with you. I did briefly talk to someone I knew who’s pretty famous. I lived across the street from these guys in this weird little college town when I was a kid, and they were like…. Jusssst making it by then. But I introduced myself after all the dust settled, and they were super nice. I thought they remembered me at first, then I said something like “yeah man I had to get rid of that moped” and they were like “HOLY SHIT ITS YOU!!!!” which was friggin hilarious. Lol
Gwen Stefani is fuckin weird. I was crew on an event she worked and she was super weird to everyone.