When you meet musicians....

Music For Rhinos

.....from your favorite bands.....what do you say? Besides the obligatory, "thanks for the music," etc etc.

Was thinking about this today and it's almost like I wouldn't want to meet Ed and the rest of the fellas or any of my other favorite musicians because it's like, what the hell do you say?

Anyone here been fortunate enough to meet someone in a band they admired and not had this problem? Share your thoughts please.

tooktastic

I actually had this happen to me on the way back from PJ20. I was on a direct flight from Milwaukee to LAX on 9/05 and had a seat directly behind first class. I noticed that a few of the first class passengers had more tattoos than your average first clasers but didn't think anything of it....but when we got up to deplane I realized that it was the Queens of the Stoneage! We kind of walked behind them to the baggage claim and then they were just standing there waiting for their luggage like everyone else. I went up to Josh Homme, shook his hand and then told him that they killed it at PJ20. He told me thanks and that he was still hung over but they had a great time...probably his way of saying that he didn't feel like talking but he was polite. After that I saw a few other people approach him as well and he was cool to them too.

Great way to finish an unforgettable weekend. I figured this was deserving of my first post!

chimpat

I think that no matter what you come up with in advance, it always seems like you just kind of go with your gut once you're in that situation.

I've been lucky to meet some cool musicians I really like..... people like Ben Harper and all the guys from Rage Against The Machine. Highlight for me was a few years ago I got to tag along with a friend playing Bridge School so I met Neil Young, My Morning Jacket, Regina Spektor, etc. It was a really, really cool experience and even though I would have loved to ask a ton of questions we just ended up talking about normal stuff and thanked them for letting me attend.

I guess what I find best is that at the end of the day they're normal people and it's easier just to treat them as such.

goldrush

I know exactly how you feel, I'm not sure I would make any sense if I ever met any of PJ or Neil Young. I met Patti Smith a few years back and all I could think of saying was "Thanks for not ruining Helpless" (it was just after her covers album came out). She laughed and said thanks.

Adam Duritz on the other hand was such an easy guy to talk to. It was in 94 and they were still pretty new. He came outside after a show and chatted to us for ages. It was only a small group of us and he was really shy but he seemed genuinely interested in people's stories and us more questions than we could ask him! Really nice guy.

samjam

I know what you mean! It's always talking to someone who you really admire like that. Being as super awkward as I am, it has made for some interesting interactions with a few musicians:

I met Mike McCready after the Tres Mts. concert in NYC. I could have actually talked more, but was a little in shock and all I said was 'Thank you so much for a great show, it was awesome and I had an amazing time!' I think I was also mostly in shock because when he saw me he said, "Hey, I saw you!", referring to seeing me rocking out in the first row in front of him (that night he also gave me a pick), and proceeded to ask me my name so he could sign an autograph for me! I still can't believe that all happened. Wish I had said more especially because even with the very brief interaction I had with him, I could tell that he's just the nicest guy. Will never forget that day! Same with Dug Pinnick, that same night- what a nice guy! Just said 'thanks for a great show' and he replied 'thank you so much for coming' and stuck out his hand so we could shake hands.

Also in July of '10 I was able to shake Dave Matthews' hand outside Citi Field (I am a HUGE DMB fan), which was incredible. He literally just shook everyone's hand, as it was about 20 minutes til showtime, but as he came to me (and he, like Eddie, looks everyone in the eye), I just couldn't even muster out a thank you! I probably looked like a damn fool just staring back at him That same day I actually was able to meet Rashawn Ross, trumpet player from DMB, and had an actual conversation with him- super super nice dude!

One time it was actually not so awkward was when I met Glen Hansard before the EV solo Beacon show in June! He was a really nice guy and we just shared in some small talk. He also drew a caricature of himself as an autograph for me! Sweet stuff.

Last story I can think of is meeting the guys from Band of Horses after their free show at Grand Central. Was about 2 weeks after they opened for PJ at MSG, and I shook Ben's hand and told him he was great on Hunger Strike! Silly me didn't even mention anything about that night's concert BoH are one of my favorite bands, so I was a little shocked to just see them casually after the show too. But Ben gave me a huge smile and did seem very appreciative of my compliment!

capthowdy1027

My favorite story of me meeting a band was the very first time I saw GWAR live in 1997. We went behind the club after the show was over because we knew they usually met up with the fans afterwards. So I'm just standing there waiting for them to come out, holding one of their CDs so I could get it signed, and this dude walks up to me and says "How do you think we sounded tonight?". My automatic answer was "It was awesome!" Then I thought for a second and realized that he said WE. Anybody that knows anything about GWAR knows that they wear extremely insane costumes on stage, so I had no clue what so ever what they looked like in real life. So me being a dumb 16 year old I said "So are you in GWAR?!?!" He laughed and said "Yeah, I'm Balsac the Jaws of Death." I was shocked haha. So I bullshitted with him for a minute, he signed my CD and my shirt and was extremely nice. So after a minute I said to him "Ok I know this sounds stupid but I have to ask, is any of the other guys out here in the band too?" and he's just like yeah that guy, that guy, that guy, and that guy. I was basically surrounded by the whole band and had no clue what so ever. They all signed my stuff for me, and took tons of pictures.

That was only my second concert ever, my first being Metallica a few months before that. It was such a cool experience meeting a band for the first time. Pretty awesome for a 16 year old kid.

red mos

I just remind myself, that they are normal people. Honestly, I thank them for their music, even though, they have heard it 10000000000 times. It's really interesting to see where conversations go though when you just talk to them calmly. It depends on the circumstances, if there is a long line, and they are behind an autograph table, you might not get much personal time to talk or shoot the shit with the artists.

I've met a few: Biggest Name is probably Neil Young. Got to shake his hand and tell him thank you for the music. No autographs or pictures though, but Neil usually doesn't do that, so I already knew. Plus he wanted to go take a nap (this was about 5pm before the show. He looked super tired.

Some others:
Cross candian ragweed
Weird Al
Courtney Love
Glen Hansard
Toadies
Candlebox (only 3 members).

A couple of times the tour manager would take stuff to get it signed, but the artist didn't come out, (John Mellencamp)

marcos

Music For Rhinos wrote:

.....from your favorite bands.....what do you say? Besides the obligatory, "thanks for the music," etc etc.

Was thinking about this today and it's almost like I wouldn't want to meet Ed and the rest of the fellas or any of my other favorite musicians because it's like, what the hell do you say?

Anyone here been fortunate enough to meet someone in a band they admired and not had this problem? Share your thoughts please.

I get what you're saying about not wanting to meet Eddie or the guys as you sort of feel like anything you say might be stupid or something they've heard a million times before.

keeponrockin

I normally just shoot the shit about gear.

uninnocent-

I walked past Mark Arm last Saturday and only smiled and nodded hello. Couldn't think of anything to say.

kasedoug

Thursday prior to PJ20, I was fortunate enough to meet Kyp Malone, guitarist for TV on the Radio after their show at the Pabst Theater. Initially, I just wanted to say thanks for a great show as they were walking to their buses. Much to my surprise, Kyp invited myself and a few others to accompany him and their horn player Dave to a bar nearby.
They couldn't have been better guys and it was cool to hang out and chat for a while. Being from LA, I asked him about his favorite spots to visit when he comes to LA, places he likes to travel and how he spends his days on tour before they have to go to the venue, etc. I've been lucky to see them several times when they've toured through LA but a lot of the people I met at the Milwaukee show had never seen them live before (I was really happy for the people I met because they saw an incredible set). So I chatted with about the response from the crowd, especially in a place where they haven't been in a while (i.e. Milwaukee, the crowd was awesome). I also thanked him for playing two new songs I had really wanted to see live and had yet to witness. Having told them I was going to see them at the Hollywood Bowl at the end of September, he joked with me that by the time he saw me again in Hollywood, he would learn one particular song ("New Cannonball Blues") so that he didn't flub the lyrics.
Normally I'd get tongue tied with something like that but it was neat to hang out and chat like we were friends.

Music For Rhinos

kasedoug wrote:

Thursday prior to PJ20, I was fortunate enough to meet Kyp Malone, guitarist for TV on the Radio after their show at the Pabst Theater. Initially, I just wanted to say thanks for a great show as they were walking to their buses. Much to my surprise, Kyp invited myself and a few others to accompany him and their horn player Dave to a bar nearby.
They couldn't have been better guys and it was cool to hang out and chat for a while. Being from LA, I asked him about his favorite spots to visit when he comes to LA, places he likes to travel and how he spends his days on tour before they have to go to the venue, etc. I've been lucky to see them several times when they've toured through LA but a lot of the people I met at the Milwaukee show had never seen them live before (I was really happy for the people I met because they saw an incredible set). So I chatted with about the response from the crowd, especially in a place where they haven't been in a while (i.e. Milwaukee, the crowd was awesome). I also thanked him for playing two new songs I had really wanted to see live and had yet to witness. Having told them I was going to see them at the Hollywood Bowl at the end of September, he joked with me that by the time he saw me again in Hollywood, he would learn one particular song ("New Cannonball Blues") so that he didn't flub the lyrics.
Normally I'd get tongue tied with something like that but it was neat to hang out and chat like we were friends.

Good story. And I see obviously you've met Mike.

STAYSEA

It depends on the musician. Some aren't worth it, I promise.

benjs

goldrush wrote:

I know exactly how you feel, I'm not sure I would make any sense if I ever met any of PJ or Neil Young. I met Patti Smith a few years back and all I could think of saying was "Thanks for not ruining Helpless" (it was just after her covers album came out). She laughed and said thanks.

Adam Duritz on the other hand was such an easy guy to talk to. It was in 94 and they were still pretty new. He came outside after a show and chatted to us for ages. It was only a small group of us and he was really shy but he seemed genuinely interested in people's stories and us more questions than we could ask him! Really nice guy.

It's funny... Last week I met Neil Young walking down the street in Toronto, and I just completely froze up. I shook his hand, told him thank you so much for the music, and that it was great seeing him at the Pearl Jam show the night before... That was all I could manage but I wore a stupid grin the rest of the day and will remember that for the rest of my life

Cosmo

I just say what happens to pop up in my mind at that particular time.
Two of my favorite meeitngs were with Pete Townshend at the Hotel Cafe 'In The Attic' show where I was the only one in the sea of people seeking autographs and pictures who told him I just wanted to shake the hand of the person whose music helped make me who I am today, which he really appreciated... and Neil Young, who I told must have heard a million times about how his music has enriched their lives. He asked me my name as he shook my hand and said, "Well, that's the first time I've heard it from you, Cosmo".

Music For Rhinos

Cosmo wrote:

I just say what happens to pop up in my mind at that particular time.
Two of my favorite meeitngs were with Pete Townshend at the Hotel Cafe 'In The Attic' show where I was the only one in the sea of people seeking autographs and pictures who told him I just wanted to shake the hand of the person whose music helped make me who I am today, which he really appreciated... and Neil Young, who I told must have heard a million times about how his music has enriched their lives. He asked me my name as he shook my hand and said, "Well, that's the first time I've heard it from you, Cosmo".

Nice!

keeponrockin

The coolest I've met is Broken Social Scene at a radio thing they did. Brendan Canning invited me to the show later that day (I had an exam, couldn't) but they all took the time just to hang out and shoot the shit with me and a few friends after everyone else cleared out of the bar. Just great great guys.