small-time name-dropping

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