small-time name-dropping

Yes, suffice to say, I am _the_ biggest small-time namedropper. I'm in The Chemistry Experiment! Rargh. It's funny, though, because it ties in with the fact that nobody understands anything I say, due to it always being a bad pun on a lyric by, er, The Telescopes or something. I used to find this really annoying, but now I take as much glee in the fact that people think I'm just gibbering as I would if they actually got the joke. Ah, Christ, I'm drunk, this probably sounds really arsey. I know Bob Tilton! hehehe.

Really? I wonder if the good Doctor approached the lawyer about having his brother sing on Kevorkian's jazz album.

I put up a bunch of mid-90's indie rockers on my couch as well.

Fifth-rate star connections? I got 'em

I went to high school with one of Will Oldham's brothers. Ethan Buckler (King Kong), Drew Daniels (Matmos) and Kip McCabe (Dianogah) graduated from the same school, and David Pajo (Papa M) attended briefly, all before my time.

Bob Nastanovich (Pavement) and Jason Lowenstein (Sebadoh) used to live near my parents' house. The summer before I left for college, I was an ice-cream man and sold them lots of ice cream.

I went to college where Donald Fagen and Walter Becker met (and Chevy Chase once sat in on drums with them, don'tchaknow). At the time I was there, I booked a lot of shows and met a lot more semi-famous people in the indie world (which is like saying "world famous in Poland").

I sat on a plane once (from Phoenix to Dallas) with Henry Rollins and his band.

I once had an opportunity to run over Ethan Hawke with a friend's car, but declined.

I attended Laurie Anderson's 50th birthday party at her apartment, and Lou Reed was there (he's really short).

And to wrap it up, just the other day I saw Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) droppin' his kid off at school.

Kermit danced around the shop with glee when he came in to collect it.

I had a career's advisor (Kinky King) whose wife is first cousins with John Cale. I understand he is loath to attend family gatherings back in the Valleys.

It was a big room, mind. Manchester Apollo, I think it was called.

I once sat on the table next to Stephen and Gillian from New Order in Pizza Hut in Bath. They had deep pan pizza and a lager EACH!

Also, somewhere at home I have a Christmas card from Andy Partridge (XTC). It wasn't actually sent to ME, but that's another story...

I sometimes work at a company headed by Barbara Bach's sister (and Ringo's sister-in-law, duh).

I waited in line at Pep Boys on Hollywood Blvd. right behind Ruth Buzzi. She's from Stonington, Connecticut, near my hometown, and I wanted to say hello but she shot me an evil look.

I bought lunch at KFC behind Tone Loc.

I worked for about two weeks at a photo agency in New York with John Woo from the Magnetic Fields and a guy from Railroad Jerk. They were both really nice.

I opened a backstage door for Rivers Cuomo once. He was trapped back there. I saw him struggling with the door for a few minutes and went over to help. He didn't say thank you.

The guy who played Spike on Happy Days works in the art department on some of the commercials I've worked on. .

So it's an obvious joke, but I'm imagining Mr. Merritt unleashing a balletic orgy of violence with a submachine gun while birds fly about to an acoustic rendition of "Love is Lighter Than Air."

Not that you're joke isn't really funny, Ned.

My favourite experience with name dropping, however, was a conversation I got into over breakfast with my significant other's parents. Turns out that his mom sold her apartment in 60s NYC to John Fogerty, hung out with the Black Panthers, appears in the Woodstock movie, hitched to Vermont, took a plane chartered by Ken Kesey and the gang, and somehow ended up in the Yukon practising buddhism. His dad ran a club in the Yorkville district of Toronto during the sixties...at this club, he got Led Zepplin to perform, and Jimi Hendrix was all lined up to play until he got stopped at the border for drugs. How he ended up in the Yukon was even more foggy...

Now that's what I call good name dropping.

I think if you're gay and you live in a North American city, you've probably seen and spoken to a drunk Rufus Wainwright at some point in the past three years. He gets around. My friend Lisa lost her virginity to Jeff McDonald from Redd Kross about 20 years ago. They still don't acknowledge each other at parties, it's sad.

As the Nedtopia threads on That Other Board confirmed, we apparently walked right by him on Saturday night in a bar. Somehow I missed the golden opportunity to do something about it then and there. (Current approach -- to borrow a line from Dee Plakas of L7's father and shout in a hoarse Greek accent "I DID NOT RAISE YOU TO BE A ROCK AND ROLL PARTY BAD ASS!")

-As a kid growing up near Princeton, I used to sneak into the university to use their computers--and spent time talking to the crazy hobo guy who was always roaming around the computer cluster and mumbling to himself (a man I later found out to be uber-genius John Nash, the subject of 'A Beautiful Mind'..)

-One of my college suite-mates moved out to the Pacific Northwest after she graduated, and found a cheap house to live in out there-- she didn't realize until after she moved in that she was living with Negativland.

'sides that i've bummed a smoke from ian astbury, had a long conversation with denis johnson, watch jarvis from pulp pick up on very young girls, got drunk and demanded gowan to sing 'strange animal', met neil young when i was a young bastard and i dream of hanging out with eugene o'neil every night.

My friend was smoked up by Silverchair in some motel in Ohio. Yay for him.

My ex went bowling with Ed Harcourt and band. Yay for her.

A former housemate claimed one of his aunts is married to Bob Dylan.

I have waited 20 years to mention that.

In the eighties I worked as a waiter in an Italian restaurant on the King's Road. Bob Geldof, Paula and kids used to come in all the time. Bob was an incredibly obnoxious arsehole, the very epitome of "don't you know who I am" bad behaviour, shouting at waiters because the cappuccino wasn't hot enough, insisting on a plate of pasta for their pet poodle, despite the fact that it's against the law, etc. etc. What a prick, I will never buy any album of his on principle (and on good taste grounds).

In another London restaurant I served cabbage soup to John Huston, who was lunching with Anjelica. I served coffee to Wim Wenders... there are probably more but that's all I can think of for the moment... oh and I also visited Edmund White in his Paris flat (we have a mutual friend) - he was very chatty and friendly.

today i met a builder whose daughter goes out with krs-one’s son.

great revive

I was strolling through an art fair on Boston's north shore some years back and chatted with one of the vendors who turned out to be JOEY SANTIAGO!!!('s brother.)

He looked a lot like him.

My former co-worker’s brother has been Lenny Kravitz’s guitarist since 1991

Notable musicians whose musical offspring I have met:

Michael Schenker
Don Airey
Ted Milton of Blurt
John Bradley of The Specials

I did a moving job for Billy Corgan's wrestling company

I used to work with the wife of one of the fellas from Racey

I helped Laurence Fishburne find the tomatoes in a Whole Foods

I once saw an ophthalmologist who is the husband of former US commerce secretary Penny Pritzker

I used to see Trent Reznor at the dogpark when he was living in New Orleans. He had a Weimaraner. Also, he told my ex she "looked great" when she was about 8 months pregnant.

My mother drew John Wayne's blood when he had open heart surgery.

She said he was a dick and only wanted a man to draw his blood but none of the guys who tried to could get anything, so she ended up doing it and succeeded. He said something like "Ya did good".

She still thought he was a dick.

I helped Laurence Fishburne find the tomatoes in a Whole Foods

― pj, Monday, March 4, 2024 8:42 PM (thirty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i once was at a party in college also attended by laurence fishburne's son

I once watched two episodes of Perry Mason with Richard Wilbur.

when i was applying to universities in 1988-1989 i was also searching for a way to pay for them. so in the spring of april 1989 i drove from pittsburgh to the carlisle (pennsylvania) barracks to undergo a physical examination toward a us army rotc scholarship

(i don't know what i was thinking either)

the male nurse who performed the various tests looked and spoke exactly like deadpan comedian steven wright. and his nametag said WRIGHT. so at the end of it, 17yo me couldn't help but ask him if he were related to the comedian

he paused for a moment, then said 'never heard of him'

Matthew Barney’s production designer was my landlord and occasional housemate

housesat for the guy who styled Dame Edna’s wigs.

Think I’ve mentioned this before at one point, but as a toddler I was babysat by David Hasselhoff’s sister.

As a young teen, I was gonna be alone with my sister for the night, and my mom asked her son's college-age friend to hang with us / "babysit." I resented it, and was kind of nasty to him (like, "Why don't you just leave, we don't need you here!"). Anyway, he later became a Detroit-area rock guy of minor renown and a fairly robust discography – both solo and in a group with more famous guys. (won't drop his name, even here, lol)

today i met a builder whose daughter goes out with krs-one’s son.

krs-two?!

xp *her FRIEND's college-age SON (lol, mangled that)

duglas and chloe from bmx bandits came to look at our house when it was on the market a few years ago

A woman I work with is the daughter of Boney M's guitarist (Boney M in their pomp btw).

Steve Diggle out of the Buzzcocks once tried to chat up my wife in a bar.

I once shared a table at a pub quiz with Gaye Advert and TV Smith. They were in a different team though.

my wife went to school with jamie dornan but he was a couple of years younger than her and they never interacted

I’m starting up a new radio show with ILX’s NickB… I did some small-time name-dropping in the blurb for our show: https://www.totallyradio.com/shows/special-treatment#_DJ%20Profile

I met Overend Watts from Mott The Hoople at a quiz in a village pub; he was doing a sponsored walk from Land's End to John O'Groats. Ian Hunter had just approached him about reforming the band for a few gigs, but he wasn't sure if anyone would be interested. We all got very excited about it, and urged him to say yes. A few months later, after Mott's reunion gigs had been announced, Ian Hunter gave an interview to The Word, where he said that Overend Watts hadn't been too sure about the idea until he stopped off in this little village pub...

tl;dr: I reformed Mott The Hoople!

Not small-time in my book

Wow

Talk about a way to roll way the stone.

I had breakfast with Astrid Williamson.

Stayed up all night watching James Brown videos on Youtube with Jon Auer.

I snuck into a Blur gig pretending to be part of Radiohead.

People I rang up at the cash register when I worked at a bookstore:
Kathleen Turner
John Stewart
W.S. Merwin
Erykah Badu
Arlen Specter

I've met a handful of lowercase-f famous people but probably the most starstruck I've ever been was when Greg 'Principal Blackman' Hollimon showed up to a karaoke night and hung out and sang with me and my people.

Also, my most recent ex is Freedom Williams's niece. Things that make you hmmmm indeed.

One time, I saw Daniel Roebuck in deep conversation with somebody while standing outside the Party City in Atwater Village.

I used to regularly compete in bar trivia against a team featuring Jesse Bradford. I guess you'd say we were rivals since almost every week either we won or they would. However, their team almost always pushed the rules by having 7 or 8 people on their team when the supposed maximum number of members per team was 6. Our team was a consistent 4 people with an occasional fifth.

one summer day my Mom called me out of the blue to ask if I knew of the band Explosions in the Sky...I was like "yeah, how do YOU know of them?"...well apparently one of the guys from the band was staying in her building over the summer. she asked if I wanted to meet him, I said sure, he was nice but I don't actually remember what his name was (I don't really know them that well, oops)

About 20 years ago, was visiting the parents and was talking to a friend of my mom who had stopped by. She started bragging about her daughter in NYC, and how she was friends with a famous musician. So I took the bait and asked, and she said "wait", and started rifling through her purse, producing a stack of snapshots (ed note: wow, no smartphones). She flipped through pictures of a rooftop cocktail party, cursing slightly, cuz she could only find a picture of a bald guy from the back, but very pale and very bald. But it was enough for me to guess Moby.

your mom's daughter is Natalie Portman????

Once I was at a bar and an older fellow a few booths down bought us a round of drinks. It turned out he was Seamus Heaney.

Nice.

My partner's ex shagged a Bay City Roller.

Not so nice.

Maybe 15 years ago, I had a very nice post-show conversation with Paul Westerberg. It was one of the highlights of my music life, but you might be surprised how few people in the wider world know or care who Paul Westerberg is.

I rode the Toronto-to-Hamilton bus once with Ryan Gosling's sister.

Tavi Gevinson once babysat for us. iirc, she was pretty inexperienced and surprised my daughter could talk.

When I worked as a cashier in one of the cafeterias in Newark Airport about 30 years ago, I met Lars Ulrich (came rushing up seeming very...stimulated...and asked where the Taco Bell was) and Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley, traveling together.

When I was in junior high, we had a very small study hall. The teacher pretty much just let us hang out and play records. One day I brought Rush's Hemispheres. She looked at the inside of the jacket and said, "Oh, I know these guys." Turns out she was from Canada and had een a high school classmate of Geddy and Alex.

*been

Paget Brewster let me cut in front of her in line at the grocery store once because i only had one item, and we made some small talk while waiting.

Miranda July overheard me saying to my kid at another grocery store, "I wonder where the string cheese is?" and she materialized from out of nowhere and pointed it out, -- "here it is" -- and then vanished just as quickly.

After the first big anti-Iraq War march in London I ended up in a boozer in Mayfair. I sat down at a table where Andrew Lincoln and his wife/ girlfriend and his parents were sitting and had a long chat, mostly with his parents. After they'd left and I was standing at the bar waiting to be served, Sean O'Hagan (Microdisney/ High Llamas etc) came in and we got talking. Then the bar got locked down by the police because they said there was a riot going on outside (there wasn't). So I ended up spending a few hours with Sean and his party while he regaled with gossip about Brian Wilson and Arthur Lee and bought me several pints.

When I was doing some animal-related work I got to hang out with Jane Goodall, Roger Fouts, and (interestingly) Linda Blair.

Music-wise, I often bump into Don Zientara, as well as Skeeter from Scream.

I once gave Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon directions. I also stood on Brian Eno's toe while leaving a Jon Hassell concert.

Notable musicians whose musical offspring I have met:

Ted Milton of Blurt

i have also met Ted Milton's son. He gets aroud, eh?

My partner's ex shagged a Bay City Roller.

in the early 1970s my mother taught a soon to be Bay City Roller, who was complicit in setting her classroom on fire.

It was while recovering from that toe injury that Eno came up with Discreet Music.

I grew up across the street from a guy who was a roadie for Willie Nelsen

My friend’s dad says he helped Hoyt Axton write Joy to the World

He was also good friends with Michael Landon so my friend and I got to play little league team extras in the background of a Highway to Heaven episode.

It was while recovering from that toe injury that Eno came up with Discreet Music.

ha ha!

Fun fact: Hoyt Axton's mother wrote "Heartbreak Hotel."

I once gave Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon directions

Turn left on Murray Street, take Starfield Road to the Expressway to Your Skull on-ramp?

I accidentally gave Mary Hansen (RIP) of Stereolab a "flat-tire" when she and Laetitia were walking into a crowded club where they were playing a show circa MAQ or ETK. I apologized profusely and she had a witty sense of humo(u)r about it. Miss that gal.

i'm very saddened by this news.

at the show chris mentions above, just before prolapse went on i gave mary a flat tire (dislodged the heel of her shoe by a clumsy step) right by the bar as i was walking behind her. i apologized profusely and she was very kind about it.

i was reminded how much i enjoyed their music this past march when i saw them.

i feel very sad for mary's friends, family, and bandmates.

― gygax!, Wednesday, December 11, 2002 2:04 PM (twenty-one years ago)

(she was kind and witty!)

(also that's when I found out she was an Aussie once hearing her speaking voice, I'd always assumed she was English)

Euros Childs from Gorkys Zygotic Mynci once barged into the cubicle where I was taking a slash, minutes before he was due on stage. The situation was tactfully handled.

Must hate your office

I had better seats than Laurie Anderson & Lou Reed twice--at a screening of Ladislas Starevich animation and a Richard Foreman play.

taking a slash

I had to google this.

I believe he was in Guns & Roses

xp Me too

“taking a slash” googlers, I am sorry for your disappointment.

Seems like it should mean something dirtier

Euros Childs from Gorkys Zygotic Mynci once barged into the cubicle where I was taking a slash, minutes before he was due on stage. The situation was tactfully handled.

― mike t-diva, Tuesday, 5 March 2024 19:18 (four hours ago) link

the original "Amber Gambler"

I think I told this story in another thread, but a colleague of mine was once sitting in the men's room stall at the office when someone tried the door. Thinking that this person would realize that the stall was occupied, my friend said nothing. The intruder tried again, so hard that he forced the locked door open. My friend found himself staring up into the face of Newt Gingrich.

my grandad apparently used to drink with Charles Haughey in the 50's.

I saw Lou Reed shopping at Tower Records on 66th and Broadway with an entourage of young men that dressed just like him. I was 16/17 (1990) and too scared to talk to him because of his grumpy reputation.

I sat next to Weird Al at a brunch

I worked with a woman who dated Weird Al! They were still friends.

I spent some time at Michael Peterson's* house when I was a kid. My dad who is as big of a surfer as you can get spotted him during a rare public appearance and struck up s friendship with him and his mother. We went to the local McDonald's together, dad took some photos and the owner of the McDonald's gave him $200 dollars for copies of them as said owner is a big 60's/70's surf freak too (cool old surfing posters all over the walls there/original framed beach-boys surf period vinyl/stuff like that). Went to his house in the gold coast a few times with my dad as they hung out. Still got a few classic "morning of the earth" shirts signed by him. One has basically faded away to nothing though.

*best surfer of the 70's. Famous police chase. Lotta "fear and loathing in last vegas" sortable stories attached to thr guy

Participant in one of the most pleasing single-fin cutback shots caught on camera.

https://surfd.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Morning-of-the-Earth-Feature.jpg

Atom Egoyan sat to my left at a TIFF screening of Malle's Le Feu Follet, his wife was to his left. There were plenty of empty seats in the theatre.

...and Canadian director John Paizs (of Crimewave "fame") sat behind me at another.

I met Gabby Giffords at a screening of her documentary. One of the most . . . luminous people I have ever met. Monica Lewinsky was also in attendance.

Oh jimbeaux I kinda like Monica. She didn't ask for all the stuff that unfolded. I never met her, but knew a man who dated her. His name is, alas, Jake Tapper.

Strom Thurmond's daughter was in my AP Government class in 12th grade. There were some discussions that were slightly uncomfortable.

People tell me that Jared Leto was in my chemistry class but I have exactly zero memory of him.

I think I was exactly between the Cheney daughters.

That is probably more information than I should share, but I don't care anymore.

I am definitely on Monica's side. She's made a good life out of a bad situation and grown far past being a punchline.

One of my favorites: a friend of mine went to high school with Marge Taylor, as she was then known. Her assessment of the future Congresswoman: "Completely unremarkable."

Yeah my major problem about the Monica situation is that Bill received but did not, apparently, reciprocate. Bad form, dude.

(Apologies if that is too crude for this very erudite forum.)

Marshall Crenshaw’s mother had been an English teacher and the student newspaper advisor at my high school; she left before I arrived, though was still spoken of (as “Mrs. Crenshaw”). Not even a direct encounter, I guess…

I went to college with a guy who later became the frontman of an alt-rock band known more for their videos than their music; and a woman who went on to sing in a mystical folk/indie band (I just learned from Wikipedia that the first guy produced one of their albums).

very Brooklyn!! i talked to Dana Delany once which was one of the best moments of my life.

XP It's not name dropping if you don't name names (Damian from OK Go and Becky from Lavender Diamond?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C7fcD5rhDc

I like to keep the mystery alive...

oh wrong clip, sorry flag away

People I rang up at the cash register when I worked at a bookstore:
Kathleen Turner
John Stewart
W.S. Merwin
Erykah Badu
Arlen Specter

― President Keyes, Tuesday, March 5, 2024 7:56 AM

Once while working the register at a bookstore, a customer approached, and I thought This guy has Hollywood hair. I checked his credit card - it was Steve Zaillian.

i peed next to van dyke parks in a club in los feliz. we exchanged small talk as we did our business, then went our separate ways.

i bumped into billy bob thornton outside a terminal at logan airport and told him i liked his music. this was not exactly true; i hardly knew his music. he flashed a big smile and thanked me.

i stood next to failed democratic presidential candidates al sharpton and general wesley clark at separate delis in and around penn station. al was smooth as fuck and exuded all kinds of charisma. wesley, a military man to the end, asked the guy behind the counter multiple questions about where exactly he should stand after placing his order and who, and how, he should pay. i did not see the need to make small talk with either of them.

When I worked at a record store I sold sound of silver to a guy who looked like James Murphy, whose name was James Murphy (he showed me his driver license) and had a sassy attitude like the LCD James Murphy does in his music. I’m still not completely sure it wasn’t LCD James Murphy, he was being very ironic.

A friend of mine got my laser disc of Days of Heaven signed by Terrence Malick. (The special effects company he was working for was pitching to do FX on The Tree of Life.)

xxp oh yea, one time i went to cash my payroll check & got in line behind al sharpton, he is a larger than life presence for sure

My partner's ex shagged a Bay City Roller.

Trying to decide if this is more or less impressive than Martin Skidmore’s ex-wife shagging a womble.

Anyway my sister in law worked at the late, lamented John Smiths bookshop in Glasgow. She’d use her staff discount to get CDs for me which I’d collect from a mildly disgusted Stephen Pastel.

Depends on whether either of them did the deed 'in character'

xpost

Melissa Joan H@rtr is from my hometown and her dad was my dad's lobster guy when she was on Sabrina.

ENBB, just want to say that "her dad was my dad's lobster guy when she was on Sabrina" is a rather interesting turn of phrase.

Even just the idea of having a personal "lobster guy" is, to me, amusing.

that lobster man in full

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNmFiZjBjZmUtOTdkYS00YmU0LTlkMjItMjZiZTk1YWJlMjRkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDYyODAzNQ@@._V1_.jpg

(Yeah, you probably meant a seafood supplier, but my mind immediately goes to a hybrid man who has claws and antennae and such.)

That reminds me that my aunt worked for a meat co-op that Dusty Rhodes was a member of in the 70s or 80s. He apparently always showed up wearing a fur coat and with an attractive blonde on his arm. Even though she never saw him wrestle, she can still do a credible impression of him.

When I worked at a record store I sold sound of silver to a guy who looked like James Murphy, whose name was James Murphy (he showed me his driver license) and had a sassy attitude like the LCD James Murphy does in his music. I’m still not completely sure it wasn’t LCD James Murphy, he was being very ironic.

A friend of mine won a prize for his costume at a Halloween party in NYC some years ago, which was awarded to him by James Murphy. My friend later discovered this was actually a guy dressing up as James Murphy.

x-posts He had a lobster guy because he had a restaurant/was a chef and her dad literally just sold lobsters at Hart's lobsters! Should have just let you think the above though lol.

My former bandmate's youth pastor was the main guy from popular Grammy-winning Christian rock band Casting Crowns, who I have come to understand are like the Pearl Jam or maybe the Arcade Fire of so-called praise music

xxxp The woman who used to cut my hair’s partner did lots of editing work for MJH’s prodco (apparently she and her husband produce tv movies and stuff that she’s in). They would fly him to the east coast to be on the film sets

Oh, and in the 90s I very briefly met Molly Ringwald at an anti-seal clubbing protest organized by PETA at the Canadian embassy. She was very nice but she didn't stay long

Xp All good, ENBB. I enjoy ambiguity when it comes to hybrid humans/sea creatures.

Old, and probably terrrible, joke: which of these does not belong: a lobster, a flounder, and a Korean man who has been run over by a bus?

The answer is: the flounder. Because the other two are crushedAsians.

xposts - Huh! I met her a few times when I was in HS but just v casually.

A woman I grew up with is making a name for hersef as a director and has been dating T1m R@bbins for the last few years which is weird to see on IG.

i heard Molly was sort of a b to some folks at a previous workplace so always look for that in interviews now but you know what they say, everyone has bad days

Huh! I met her a few times when I was in HS but just v casually.

Was she actively filing the Nickelodeon show while she was in school(?)

*filming

No - she left public school while filming Clarissa and did the tutors on set thing but was around every now and then since her dad still lived in the area.

I went to college with a guy who later became the frontman of an alt-rock band known more for their videos than their music; and a woman who went on to sing in a mystical folk/indie band (I just learned from Wikipedia that the first guy produced one of their albums).

The dude I am sorta dating did Gary Coleman’s computer homework in high school

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNmFiZjBjZmUtOTdkYS00YmU0LTlkMjItMjZiZTk1YWJlMjRkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMDYyODAzNQ@@._V1_.jpg

lol sorry bizarro, just wanted to see that again

the other day i mentioned to someone that i had met mario andretti as a kid, and someone else standing there was like 'oh yeah, i've met him too"

i stood next to dominic palermo of NOTHING as he puked into a garbage can during the (mind-melting) SLOWDIVE reunion tour show in philly

Oh yeah, back when I worked in a bookstore in the early 00s, there was a bunch of buzzing activity around the magazine section. I went over to see what was up and saw Jennifer Lopez browsing. I turned around to go tell a co-worker and Ben Affleck was standing behind me, giving me a glare. I think they were filming that Kevin Smith movie Jersey Girl at the time.

are ya fond of me lobster

while working the register at a bookstore

George Lucas came into the bookshop I worked at and bought a bunch of The Art Of Star Wars type books to give to the production artists on the Star Warses he was making, so they’d know how to make it look Star Warsy. But it was the weekend and I wasn’t there.

Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant came into the record store I worked at in the 80s, it took me a few minutes to recognize them. At first, I thought they were homeless people.

And, in many ways, they were.

At a charity I worked for, one of our sponsors was an actress called Anastasia Griffith (who was once on the verge of becoming big but never quite made it) and, to raise money for the charity, she organized a gala premiere for this dull straight-to-video film she'd starred in. I can't remember who was at it - apart from Gaby Logan and her husband - but I did talk to Steven Berkoff, who was also in the film. Can't remember what he said or I said though.

- en route for a quick few days in NYC we had a short flight to dublin. small plane. daniel o' donnel was in first class i.e. the front seat with a small curtain across the top of his chair. once we arrive in dublin, i needed to go for a wee, yeah, was in the urinal next to me. no words were exchanged.

- about 10 years ago i had a day in Skipton. wandered into a print/art shop in a small rennovated walkway. fella doing all the prints etc turned out to be Tony 'Terrorvision' Wright.

My great-aunt (who died right before I was born) was friends and penpals with Flannery O'Connor.

I lived in a rooming house that billed itself as having Kurt Vonnegut’s toilet.

Some of these aren't really small names. I worried MJH was pushing it.

I have a few that I like without worrying if they fit the thread.

I briefly went to college with roger waters son.
I sat behind Norman Mailer and Louis Theroux on flights.
Frank Whaley sat a few rows behind me at the movies in NYC.
Through work about 15 years ago I attended a roundtable event on AIDS that Bono was a part of. There was prob about 30 people in the room Weird to be in such a small group with someone that famous.

I like the writer ones. :)

Oh, yeah. I went to school with Hunter Thompson's son. He was involved with the ex-girlfriend of a friend of mine and would occasionally show up at parties.

My stepmother's English teacher had also been the English teacher of Tennessee Williams.

My father claims to have dated Joanna Cassidy in high school but I don’t believe it.

He also accidentally knocked over Donny Osmond coming out of an elevator in Toronto in 1976 - this is actually true as I saw it happen.

my grandparents were undergrads at College of the Pacific (now University of the Pacific) when Dave Brubeck was an undergrad there and got to know him a bit.

I met Andrew W.K. once through a friend of mine whose band was opening for him. I think it was only because the band name was "Iron Pizza". Didn't get to chat much but he was super nice. What stuck with me is how HUGE he is. he's like 6' 3" and incredibly muscular. no wonder he got to marry Kat Dennings.

I ate cheeseburgers with Rob Lowe's brother

omg @ Michael Stipe and Natalie sighting that's a big one

i told Helena Christensen i love her work!

Gloria Estefan is a very distant relative, the niece of my godmother. Her son went to my elementary school. As the Miami Soind Machine exploded she still attended the bigger family parties. I remember her as a good mimic and after a couple glasses of wine as a person with a bawdy humor.

stop that's too good

I once shook hands with a shirtless Stipe, but I don't consider that "insignificant" or applicable (as both he and I were working, and we all know that celebrity sightings only "count" if the celeb is not "on the job"...)

(sorry, "small-time," not "insignificant"... had to scroll up)

There is a Michael/Natalie track called ""Photograph" that has been key for us; as far as I can see it mainly appeared on a pro-choice compilation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSUguPOMGo

I ate cheeseburgers with Rob Lowe's brother

Only astronauts edition:
I rode in a limo with John Glenn but I’ve got no recollection where we were going or where we came from or even what US state we were in. Best guess is Ohio.

I also met Judith Resnick at an event when I was 9. It was definitely in Ohio.

RIP to both of them.

I once shook hands with a shirtless Stipe, but I don't consider that "insignificant" or applicable (as both he and I were working, and we all know that celebrity sightings only "count" if the celeb is not "on the job"...)

― Hippie Ernie (morrisp), Wednesday, March 6, 2024 10:37 PM (nineteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

SNACK

Did you pick up a shirt that said Wear A Condom and say “Sir, you dropped this.”

Ha ha ha

I ate cheeseburgers with Rob Lowe's brother

Once I was asked on a small regional flight with a 1-2 configuration to switch my seat from the single seat to the aisle side. I did so without asking (a short flight) and only took this because the passenger was sleeping and I figured it wouldn't hassle them.

https://imgur.com/a/9NuePsE

Oh shoot, well flag away. It was Rob Lowe.

i shared some drinks and conversation once with clifton collins jr and monica keena.

xp That was worth the right-click!

I once shook hands with a shirtless Stipe

I went to the same pavement show as stipe at the 40 watt in Athens. It was the brighten the corners tour. Didn’t notice him until exiting.

Wow that's cool. Did they play "Camera" or "Picket Fence"? They did at this '94 show there (which happens to be one of the best live shows I've ever found online, by anyone)

my life ☹️

Rob lookin' fine as per usual!

Comics and sf cons can make this sort of hobnobbing pretty easy. I chatted with Stan Lee for a few minutes in Atlanta in '78, chatted with Jack and Roz Kirby in Dallas in '86, and Isaac Asimov sat next to us at the costume contest at Worldcon '89 in Boston. My wife chatted with him briefly before the show started and got his autograph. There's a similar thread to this one somewhere because I've told these stories before but not in this thread.

My father took me to a horror movie convention once when I was about 12 or 13 and I got to talk to Tom Savini. He (my dad) made fun of me later because while I was deeply engaged in talk of horror movie makeup, I was standing about two feet away from Elvira, who didn't even cross my radar.

I’ve told this story before on here – one night, in the late ‘90s, I ran into a music writer / musician I knew, coming out of a bar in the West Village. I asked him if he was going to the Yo La Tengo show down the street… he paused and introduced me to James, the bassist, standing next to him (he was hanging with the band pre-show).

love that

Marcia Cross liking my tweet once is better than ANYTHING in person in my life TBH

Did they play "Camera" or "Picket Fence"?

No clue I was about 18 and drunk.

I also worked and was friends with Bill Doss, one of the elephant 6 founders. One of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

I've met Julia Louis-Dreyfus' father. My dad knew him.

Clare Torry, who sang on Pink Floyd's "Great Gig In The Sky", spent the night at our house, years before we moved in (it used to be a B&B).

great vocal

Hate it (controversial music opinion alert).

that’s awesome Heez, in every photo of Bill Doss I’ve seen he looks like the happiest friendliest dude.

my back surgeon (a friend of my parents) was Townes Van Zandt's first cousin

Marcia Cross liking my tweet once is better than ANYTHING in person in my life TBH

lol what did she do to piss off Chachi?

Mike Score of A Flock of Seagulls was extraordinarily rude to me (and several other people) while waiting for an interview to start in 1988. Actual quote: "Don't you KNOW WHO I AM?".

Ivan Novak of Laibach was extraordinarily nice to me (and several other people) while waiting for an interview to start a few years later.

Rob L on a plane v good. Reminded me that I flew on a similarly small plane from CT to NYC with Michael Richards during peak Seinfeld which seemed huge at the time.

One of my high school history teachers cousin is Dr. Frank from the Mr. T Experience.

NO

Oh wait i thought you said Dr Frank was your teacher lol.

That is still very cool though! I was a big fan when I was in high school.

heh, it was a catholic high school and my history teacher was very conservative so he seemed a bit sheepish about the association, but he did once hook up a classmate who was a superfan with some merch and signed CDs.

sometime around 2008-2009 a friend an I were looking to rent an apartment together in Boston and we found this listing around Union Square. We arrive about 10 minutes before our showing and are just sitting outside on the stoop as the property manager is finishing up showing the place to another potential renter. The manager and the client are making some small talk within earshot of us and we both hear the manager asking the client if they watch television. The manager starts going on to this incredibly sweet story about how one of his children is on television and how proud they are. The client asks what show and the manager says "her name is Amy and she works on this show Saturday Night Live." My friend and I, who had been going to the Del Close Marathon for years now at that point, suddenly give each other this look of "wait, that's Amy Poehler's dad!"

We didn't end up getting the place, but I've always been touched by how genuinely sweet and proud her father was at bringing her up to complete strangers he was showing an apartment.

lol what did she do to piss off Chachi?

I took a film class from a dude who worked on the California Love video

Why am I calling him a dude, that is so disrespectful. He’s a scholar ffs.

One of my school acquaintances did hair and makeup for the Wonder Woman movies

One of my former co-workers worked on a High On Fire music video when she was in college. She was very surprised that I knew who they were and was a fan as she thought they were just some nobodies. Apparently Matt Pike was surprisingly charming but smelled bad.

that was apparent to me already!

that’s awesome Heez, in every photo of Bill Doss I’ve seen he looks like the happiest friendliest dude.

― brimstead, Thursday, 7 March 2024

Like I could go on for hours about how cool and nice he was. This was the early 2000s, when he was split from OTC. A lot of musicians worked at the GOS lab because you could bolt and go on your and come right back to your job. They were all making like 8$ an hour so it was the first time I realized being a big indie dude didn’t add up to much financially.

He was maybe 12 years older than me and I was very nervous around him at first. He was super sweet. We talked a lot. After I left he started touring with apples in stereo, he would get me backstage passes and stuff. I miss him a bunch but glad he got to do that big pitchfork fest before he passed.

tim raines retweeted me once after i tweeted about his HOF induction

ashley monroe commented on one of my instagram posts after i shared a pic from a live gig of hers i attended

related to ENBB's post upthread, a friend of mine went to school with David Gilmour's daughter.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ej-MuvHWoAAsfmO?format=jpg&name=900x900

I just saw Rory McGrath in Cambridge Station, he has aged a bit and has gone completely clean-shaven, but I'm positive it's him because I've seen him around Cambridge on three previous occasions.

If you don't know who Rory McGrath is, there is no need for you to find out.

mark s can tell you everything you need to know

10 years ago I had a garage sale and I posted preview pictures of what I was selling to Twitter. One of the pictures was of the Nov 23, 1963 San Diego Union Tribune with a giant JFK assassination headline. The one person who liked the photo was Keith Levene of PIL.

Sweet.

I helped John Paul Jones order a drink this weekend

Huh. You'd think he'd be fairly well-practiced at that by now

Probably used to get servants to do it in the old days. By the way, many of these name-drops are hardly small-time, this one being a case in point.

My girlfriend's dad produced REO Speedwagon's 'Hi Infidelity'.
If anybody has any questions about the birth of the Midwestern power ballad, I'm here for you.

I used to live in the same street as a pre-fame Chas Smash. Later, Alvin Stardust moved into the same street too, although Chas was in Madness by then so they weren't there at the same time.

So Chas had moved up in the world while Alvin was on his way down. That's show business!

How do you know I wasn't living on the Bishop's Avenue?!
(it was in fact W!nd3rm3r3 Road, N10)

Alvin was doing the Rock Gospel Show by that point, so yes a move down in the world.

My girlfriend's dad produced REO Speedwagon's 'Hi Infidelity'.
If anybody has any questions about the birth of the Midwestern power ballad, I'm here for you.

― mr.raffles, Thursday, March 28, 2024 8:25 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Who was the friend who heard it from a friend who...

many of these name-drops are hardly small-time

I think it's the triviality of the context as well as the lack-of-fame of the name that makes it small-time.

Yeah, like "Jimmy Page once stepped on my foot" is a big name but a small time interaction.

The bassist from Metallica was once on our flight from the Bay Area to L.A. (not Jason Newsted, the newer guy). He was just chilling at Southwest waiting for his boarding group to be called with everyone else… I think he was even holding a guitar case.

Xp. “ I was in a mid sized southern town. A jazz and experimental music fest was happening. I was at the bar next to the hotel a lot of headliners were staying at. An older guy stood next me. When the bartender asked me for my order, I deferred to the older guy out of respect. When I returned to my table my friend said ‘Dude, was that fucking John Paul Jones?’ I discreetly looked up what John Paul Jones looked like in 2024 and determined that it was in fact him. At least enough to my satisfaction to post the interaction to music board.” Is how how it really went down. But there are a bunch of writers here, so I tried to be concise.

I saw Nick Lowe at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition last year, also the antique shop around the corner is run by John McCoy, the scary bald guy with the aviators who played bass in Gillan.

And Mammoth

A few years ago a charity I was working for was offered some pro bono “digital change consultancy”. I phoned up the guy to discuss exactly what that would mean and it was Rudy from A.R. Kane.

I once sold drugs to Andrew Wyeth (literally, was working at a pharmacy down the street from his house).

The guy from spoon was once in my apartment.

I used to live in the same street as a pre-fame Chas Smash

Was his house in the middle of your street?

The guy from spoon was once in my apartment.

Presumably in the kitchen, one hopes.

Presumably in the kitchen, one hopes.

No, the bedroom

oh you've heard this story

I once went for a ramble with my then-girlfriend around Land's End and Sea Cliff in San Francsico. We were walking through a unfamiliar, expensive-looking neighborhood and saw someone approaching walking a small and silly-looking dog. My girlfriend said something snarky about the dog. I looked up at the owner, Kirk Hammett.

I bought a property from Jim Reid of Jesus and the Mary Chain, although I never met him.

I have met him but haven't bought a property from him (he was quite pleasant, if very introverted)

Ditto.

I once rode the bus next to Studs Terkel.

Lol I just realized this was ILM. So we're talking music? I was once waiting for my friend in his living room when Beck walked in, sort of gave me a look, then disappeared into the kitchen.

what did Beck know

that’s pretty next level

I was at my friend’s house and he played me a message Beck left on his answering machine.

my father's best friend is masta ace's father-in-law.

speaking of phone messages, in the 90s, al jourgensen left a message on my answering machine once looking for my girlfriend's friend who was a stripper and who used to follow collective soul and nelson around the country.

i was working in a used record shop + morrissey was in town for two nights. boz boorer came into the store + did the most expected thing ever: he looked at rockabilly 45s. i recognized him but didn't say anything. he was really pleasant, actually. after paying, he was on his way out the door i flippantly smiled my biggest smile, waved, + said "tell steve i said hey!

he got that half embarrassed look on his face, laughed nervously. "cheers" was all i heard before he was gone. lol.

John Porcellino called me directly when I was a teen to apologize for being so late delivering assorted King Kat comics and Spit N a Half stuff. I was able to tell him how much his comics meant to me and how they inspired me to do my own semi-surreal autobiographical comic. That was probably the peak of small time encounters.


Missed encounters:
apparently one of the guitarists from Pearl Jam shopped at the record store I worked at from time to time but I had no idea what he looked like

MC Hammer showed up at the movie theatre I worked at on my day off

10 years or so ago, some rapper I never heard of had just left the bar at the California Pizza Kitchen when I sat down

One of the dudes from Green Day was eating in the booth across from me in some diner 10+ years ago


Parents encounters:
My folks hung out with Clem Burke backstage when he was touring with the Eurhythmics and he was apparently a very cool down to earth nice dude

Narada Michael Walton handed my mom his drumsticks (in the audience) after Return to Forever (I think it was them) ended their set

My dad’s best friend was at the Winterland show for Frampton Comes Alive, he was a loud drunk and you can probably hear him whistling or heckling at some point. He was also at one of the shows on Todd Rundgren’s back to bars and you might be able to hear his drunken hollering there too? Not sure if it was the same Todd tour but there was one time where he went to Todd shows in a row and would shout out the punchlines for all of Todd’s banter between songs.

My mom ran into Jerry Garcia and Marry Balin (separately) wandering the halls of The Fillmore. She told Marty that she loved his songwriting, not just his voice, and I guess he was really touched by that.

Nelson???!!! Wow

My dad’s best friend was at the Winterland show for Frampton Comes Alive, he was a loud drunk and you can probably hear him whistling or heckling at some point. He was also at one of the shows on Todd Rundgren’s back to bars and you might be able to hear his drunken hollering there too? Not sure if it was the same Todd tour but there was one time where he went to Todd shows in a row and would shout out the punchlines for all of Todd’s banter between songs.

the realest irl sidequest is inserting yourself into live recordings. that man lives forever through those records. hero.

[threadjack]

(yes, i may have screamed extra loud at the slowdive reunion show + might even have located my obnoxious caterwauling on bootlegs of said show for my own amusement. so what.)

[/threadjack]

lol that reminds me, my friend stupidly shouted out “souvlaki space station” in between songs during a Mojave 3 in store set in like 2000

My dad’s buddy from the Navy is the singer on “Rhythm of the Rain” (The Cascades)

that is so awesome. i was just listening to them the other day. that song and that album are just amazing. perfect really.

my dad almost got into a fight with jaco pastorius once.

my dad also ate his lunch on the stage while elvis did his soundcheck before being on the ed sullivan show. he would often sit in the back of the theatre and eat his lunch with the mcguire sisters.

xxxpost I've always wanted to be on a live album! Closest I ever got was talking too loud at a Cocteau Twins show, at least according to the bootlegger behind me, who said he'd give me a tape if I would please just be quiet the rest of the way.

When my dad used to go to Celtic games regularly there was a handsome big guy from Edinburgh known as Big Tam who was often there too. Better known later on as Sean Connery.

Because, y'ken, if ye need a big hat, 'tis because ye hae a big... heed

Excuse me?

I bought a property from Jim Reid of Jesus and the Mary Chain, although I never met him

the realest irl sidequest is inserting yourself into live recordings. that man lives forever through those records. hero.

A former girlfriend of my father's claims to have been an audible audience member in "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh."

the lead track on this live album is named after me because i was so drunk and loud in the audience...true story!

https://www.discogs.com/release/3138280-The-Hat-City-Intuitive-They-Must-Be-Clapping-For--Me

Visited a Barney’s and it was just me alone with Pusha T and his road crew. “y* told me to come.”

Passed Michael Shannon leaving the Jesus Lizard at the Metro. I assume everyone eventually bumps into him at Chicago gigs.

I worked for a travel company that went to bits of West Africa. I was flying to Cape Verde on a proper budget airline once when the voice came over the tannoy saying 'hi, I'm Bruce Dickinson and I'm your pilot for this flight'. I turned to the person next to me and said 'lol, must be him off Iron Maiden' but got zero response and dropped it without further thought. At some point, I found out that Dickinson had indeed flown a few commercial flights and had worked for that particular airline.

1) I would 100% have said hello.
2) I often lay awake and gnash my teeth at the sheer range of puns left unsaid in that shabby off-white interior.

Phil Mossman, who now plays in LCD Soundsystem, was my first and only guitar teacher. He was the first person I ever heard say 'take coals to Newcastle'; I didn't know it was an idiom, and he was bemused by my massive overreaction.

Famous people seated at the next table:
* Pat Benatar (brunch in Malibu, pregnant)
* Roy Wood (fish restaurant inside a pub, Ashbourne)
* Preston from The Ordinary Boys (lunch at The Savoy, silly silver pumps)
* Christopher Biggins (lunch at Nottingham Playhouse, expressing bewildered bemusement at being frozen out by Bobby Crush)

Also:
* Rebecca Adlington dancing at a Hot Chip gig (and loving it)
* Rupert Everett with his shirt off at Trade
* Su Pollard on the dancefloor at a Nottingham gay club in 1983 (big flailing energy)
* Peter Hook in Hebden Bridge, at a performance of Lust For Life by Katie Puckrick, Clem Burke, Glen Matlock, Kevin Armstrong etc (normcore fleece, charisma dialled right down)
* Craig Revel-Horwood holding court at the bar in a Nottingham gay pub (charisma dialled right up)

my sister in law cleans mr bean's holiday house

I worked a Saturday job with Claire from Steps for a while.

Rupert Everett with his shirt off at Trade

nice

I was once having breakfast in Annapolis and seated behind me was... Michael Steele.

the lead track on this live album is named after me because i was so drunk and loud in the audience...true story!

https://www.discogs.com/release/3138280-The-Hat-City-Intuitive-They-Must-Be-Clapping-For--Me

― scott seward, Saturday, March 30, 2024 6:34 PM

hero.

behind me was... Michael Steele.

Republican or Bangle?

combining a couple of recent ones, I once ate breakfast in a cafe in Muswell Hill while William Reid was at a nearby table

who now plays in LCD Soundsystem

if it helps make this even more small-time, he stopped playing with them about 18 years ago

He left in 2011 but sure.

In my early 20s in DC I hung out with Ian Mackaye probably half a dozen times without realizing it was him. He was a friend of a friend and we’d get dinner and see gigs every so often. I knew of him as a historical personage but I personally didn’t mess with Dischord/Fugazi stuff so I didnt recognize him and it never came up, I just thought he was an old scene head. He was super friendly and fun to talk to, and it wasn’t until I put the pieces together a few years later that I realized it was likely bc a dude like that must be able to spot it immediately when someone doesnt know who they are and must appreciate the respite from the usual topics/questions

I ended up getting sushi with some friends instead of staying to the end of Lolapalooza in Chicago in the 00s and one of the friends-of-friends that joined us was Beth Liebling of Hovercraft. I think she didn't mind leaving early since her ex-husband Eddie was playing the headlining spot

I once set up an in-store promo for Peter Case.

I worked at Bomp/Alive/Total Energy when those MC5 tapes from John Sinclair were being reissued in the mid-90s. John (sometimes with Wayne) would stop by the office and we'd all go for lunch. John carpooled with me and skunked up my car enough to give me a contact high for a couple of weeks. Good times - RIP beatnik Santa Claus.

At the North End Pizzeria Regina on a weekday night about eight years ago, Steven Tyler sat in the booth next to our table, along with two women who I'd guess were industry scarf/leather top hat/distressed denim consultants. I think they were catching a bite before Janet Jackson at the Garden. A lowkey but very Bostony hum rippled through the restaurant, with a few customers going to the booth for a quick audience with the saint, but mostly they got to dine in peace. I did manage to snap some pix from behind a chili flakes shaker.

Some friends of mine lived next door to the Young Ones House, so Ken Bishop's Nice Twelve recorded their parts in front of their outside wall. One of them now lives next door to Ken Pustelnik of the Groundhogs and his mum once invited Lol Tolhurst to her barbecue to be nice because he didn't really get on with any of the neighbours.

Dale Griffin of Mott/Peel sessions fame worked in my local pub, pre-fame.

My son's friend invited him round to "Auntie Sue's" for dinner one night and now he's really good friends with both her and her best pal, and they go to gigs together. They're the girls from the Human League.

My daughter was at one out of Idles' wedding.

I'm the guy that shouts for Especially For You on the Arab Strap live album.

A late 70s-era photo of my brother and his mates headbanging was used for the cover of a NWOBHM compilation.

I once told Beverley Knight I wasn't sure where the guy with the key to let her into the studio upstairs was.

I once (actually twice) played in a band with someone from the Alabama 3.

I was in a conversation group with Dave Brock from Hawkwind, although I don't think I said anything to him. Later, I did say hello to Arthur Brown.

The guy from Ozric Tentacles once glared at me.

Tom Baker intimidated me at a book signing, age 7.

Ooh, I’ve met Beverly Knight and I’ve had a beer with the drummer from Alabama 3.

Mark Burgess is here at this fairly empty bar. (Chameleons cancelled a gig across the street

My brother got a nod from iggy at Miami Intl the other day

Our car was hit this week by the daughter of a Happy Days cast member.

whoa!

Yesterday over lunch, in the light of new research, I was able to tell my mother that she was married to someone who was married to someone who was married to someone who dated someone who was engaged to Muhammad Ali. She didn't look much fussed either way.

I'm sorry I'm just catching up but the "Hello Muddah" thing takes the fucking cake.