Manurack
Nunavut Inuk
Wow, that's a diverse group of older musicians!
The Official Met Your Musical Heroes Thread.
- Thread starter Manurack
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Wow, that's a diverse group of older musicians!
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I TOTALLY understand this! I met Vai around the same time after somehow talking my way into being let up stage with him as part of a clinic. Was handed a JEM, shook his hand and then it was like "let's jam!". I was so stunned I basically couldn't play
Manurack
Nunavut Inuk
I TOTALLY understand this! I met Vai around the same time after somehow talking my way into being let up stage with him as part of a clinic. Was handed a JEM, shook his hand and then it was like "let's jam!". I was so stunned I basically couldn't play
Watch this guys! Patrick Souza jamming onstage with Steve Vai during a clinic a few years ago.
He basically plays like Vai and at the end, Vai calls him "MY SON!" lol he did a really good job jamming onstage with the master himself.
That was definitely NOT how I played
Was probably the same clinic tour though, cause the setup and backing track was basically the same.
I live in Baltimore. When I was a kid my parents frequently went to the Reisterstown Road Plaza which was this small mall in Baltimore city. That mall was a little ghetto but not too bad but you could always find some rather...interesting characters there. Anyways back then I was obsessed with Chaka Khan (still am. If I could have her voice for one day I'd probably be murdered for refusing to shut the fuck up) and as me and my mom went into this little raggedy discount outlet store, across the way I see this tiny woman in all black with a metric fuckton of red hair on her head looking through t-shirts. I mentioned her to my mother, joking "Who does she think she is, Chaka Khan or something?". As the woman turned around, even with those giant black sunglasses on, it was unmistakable. I tapped my mother frantically. I still remember going "Ma, that IS Chaka Khan!" Of course she told me it wasn't so I tried to get closer. She had a "body guard" (who was just some woman with her), and the person stopped me from getting closer, so I didn't get to actually speak to her.
She'd certainly gotten the attention of other people, because there's no way in hell someone like her walks in and you don't notice. Even if you don't know who she is you'd double take some tiny woman dressed in black who looks like the fiery goth version of Cousin Itt. She paid got in line, paid for her items, got in her limo that was out front and that was it. Some time later someone I know told me that Chaka apparently had a relative that lived nearby, elderly I think, and when she was in town she'd run errands for her.
People usually think I'm joking when I say I found Chaka Khan in a discount store at Reisterstown Road Plaza in Baltimore and to be honest if someone had told me that I'd think they were full of shit too, ESPECIALLY if they told me she was running errands for a family member...in a limo.
She's the only musical idol I've actually been near apart from a concert setting. But she's in my holy trinity of influences so 1 out of 3 ain't bad.
She'd certainly gotten the attention of other people, because there's no way in hell someone like her walks in and you don't notice. Even if you don't know who she is you'd double take some tiny woman dressed in black who looks like the fiery goth version of Cousin Itt. She paid got in line, paid for her items, got in her limo that was out front and that was it. Some time later someone I know told me that Chaka apparently had a relative that lived nearby, elderly I think, and when she was in town she'd run errands for her.
People usually think I'm joking when I say I found Chaka Khan in a discount store at Reisterstown Road Plaza in Baltimore and to be honest if someone had told me that I'd think they were full of shit too, ESPECIALLY if they told me she was running errands for a family member...in a limo.
She's the only musical idol I've actually been near apart from a concert setting. But she's in my holy trinity of influences so 1 out of 3 ain't bad.
MartinMoyan0
Member
I met Steve Vai two or three years back during EVO Experience, it was a nice chat with a group of 6 or 7 other guys. He was quite friendly and talked about everything, he surprised a little bit when I asked him if the end of "Die to live" was a kind of tribute to Satch´s "Summer Song" what he refused Lol, then he sign my JEM and gave her a name too
The first concert I ever went to was Fugazi in Portland, Maine sometime back in the 90's. My older sister was a student at USM and was part of the student group that organized the show in the University gym. They needed volunteers for stuff so my friend and I were signed up despite being high school freshmen. We got little "security" badges and stood around mostly stopping people from going off into the part of the gym that was closed off and directing them to the bathrooms. We got to meet the band before the show while they were hanging out and getting ready. Ian MacKaye took one look at us basically tweens with "security" badges and laughed and was like "oh yeah! go kick some heads in, guys!" I ended up spending a good part of the night letting their sound guy in and out of the side door when he wanted to go out and smoke.
Saw Cannibal Corpse and Brutal Truth at a small club in Portland. My friend and I were standing around outside after the show having a couple cigarettes before we left. George from CC and Kevin Sharp from BT both ended up out there hanging out with us for a bit. Both were really nice. I do remember that Kevin had a terrible cold that night and a couple days later, I had one of the worst colds ever and I'm pretty sure I caught it from him.
Right after I moved to NYC in '99, I ran into JG Thirlwell on the street in China Town. I basically just stopped him, shook his hand and told him I loved his music, then ran off before I came off as too much of a creep. He was wearing a Power Puff Girls backpack.
Lots of typical fan meet and greets that don't really stick out in my memory from years of going to shows.
Then sometime in 2013 or so my roommate went to a rich high school friend's party and was talking to the bartender who had a bunch of tattoos and looked cool or at least more interesting than all the finance douchebags that were attending the party. He turned out to be Gio Geraca, who was the current guitarist for Malevolent Creation and Ashes of Ares (he eventually left both of those). They hit it off and kept talking after the party. A few months later Gio and his girlfriend, who he'd been living with, split up. We had a small spare room in our apartment, so he moved in and was our roommate for six months or so. Great roommate to have since he was off touring pretty regularly and when he was around we would all drink whisky and jam or geek out about metal. We had started writing and recording a few songs and had plans to do more but nothing ever really came to fruition.
Saw Cannibal Corpse and Brutal Truth at a small club in Portland. My friend and I were standing around outside after the show having a couple cigarettes before we left. George from CC and Kevin Sharp from BT both ended up out there hanging out with us for a bit. Both were really nice. I do remember that Kevin had a terrible cold that night and a couple days later, I had one of the worst colds ever and I'm pretty sure I caught it from him.
Right after I moved to NYC in '99, I ran into JG Thirlwell on the street in China Town. I basically just stopped him, shook his hand and told him I loved his music, then ran off before I came off as too much of a creep. He was wearing a Power Puff Girls backpack.
Lots of typical fan meet and greets that don't really stick out in my memory from years of going to shows.
Then sometime in 2013 or so my roommate went to a rich high school friend's party and was talking to the bartender who had a bunch of tattoos and looked cool or at least more interesting than all the finance douchebags that were attending the party. He turned out to be Gio Geraca, who was the current guitarist for Malevolent Creation and Ashes of Ares (he eventually left both of those). They hit it off and kept talking after the party. A few months later Gio and his girlfriend, who he'd been living with, split up. We had a small spare room in our apartment, so he moved in and was our roommate for six months or so. Great roommate to have since he was off touring pretty regularly and when he was around we would all drink whisky and jam or geek out about metal. We had started writing and recording a few songs and had plans to do more but nothing ever really came to fruition.
Kaura
Je suis ketchup
Met most of the members of Periphery back in 2012. They did kind of an unofficial meet & greet in this small guitar shop in Helsinki before their first show on the tour with Dream Theater. I was in high school and skipped a history test just to see the band. Even got autographs from them on my Telecaster pickguard. Nolly told me to take a picture of it and post it on their Facebook page but sadly at the time I didn't have any kind of camera so I never took the pic and neither got any from the meet & greet. Still a cool memory and got me even more excited for the show later that night.
Only other instance I can think of meeting a guy from a band was when I went to see Volumes with my friend and we got a picture taken with the ex-singer (the one who always wore a bucket hat) at the lounge of the gig place where he and I think some of the other members of the band hung out after the show.
Only other instance I can think of meeting a guy from a band was when I went to see Volumes with my friend and we got a picture taken with the ex-singer (the one who always wore a bucket hat) at the lounge of the gig place where he and I think some of the other members of the band hung out after the show.
coreysMonster
Abrakadabro
Met Devin Townsend. Nice guy. Taller than I thought.
CerealKiller
Well-Known Member
My hometown used to host a guitar festival, and they organized a bunch of clinics and master classes. There I met:
- Michael Angelo Batio - super cool dude. I'm not so much into his music, but his clinic was really funny, and he was just nice to talk to afterwards.
- Paul Gilbert - he did some VIP packages for the 2008 tour, and I had a 1 hour lesson with him there pre-show. He was my guitar idol at the time, so this was a big deal for me. He showed me some cool things, and gave me some good advice I'll never forget. Also fucking big hands.
- Mattias IA Eklundh - a weekend of fun with Mattias, sort of a mini freak camp. He is just hilarious. I remember walking around my hometown with him, and my grandmother randomly showed up and greeted us.
- Guthrie Govan - another weekend of lessons, this time with Guthrie. I mean, I knew he was a great player before that weekend, but to watch him noodle around up close for several hours, he is just ridiculous. Also very nice to hang around, super calm, smoked a lot.
Also met Dave and Joe Haley of Psycroptic before a show once, and had a guitar lesson with Joe, while a friend of mine had a drum lesson with Dave. Joe showed me many cool things, and just a really good dude to talk to.
And I met Karl Sanders after a Nile show, but just very briefly when he came out to greet the fans.
- Michael Angelo Batio - super cool dude. I'm not so much into his music, but his clinic was really funny, and he was just nice to talk to afterwards.
- Paul Gilbert - he did some VIP packages for the 2008 tour, and I had a 1 hour lesson with him there pre-show. He was my guitar idol at the time, so this was a big deal for me. He showed me some cool things, and gave me some good advice I'll never forget. Also fucking big hands.
- Mattias IA Eklundh - a weekend of fun with Mattias, sort of a mini freak camp. He is just hilarious. I remember walking around my hometown with him, and my grandmother randomly showed up and greeted us.
- Guthrie Govan - another weekend of lessons, this time with Guthrie. I mean, I knew he was a great player before that weekend, but to watch him noodle around up close for several hours, he is just ridiculous. Also very nice to hang around, super calm, smoked a lot.
Also met Dave and Joe Haley of Psycroptic before a show once, and had a guitar lesson with Joe, while a friend of mine had a drum lesson with Dave. Joe showed me many cool things, and just a really good dude to talk to.
And I met Karl Sanders after a Nile show, but just very briefly when he came out to greet the fans.
StevenC
Needs a hobby
I totally forgot my IA story!
Again, Lorcan and I at Messe. Really groggy from a 3am start and sort of just in the door when they were opening, things not really properly set up yet. Find ourselves looking at a yellow Applehorn and somebody behind us says "Man that's a cool guitar". Turn around Mattias is standing there with a dumb grin on his face. Surreal.
oldbulllee
Well-Known Member
it's highly unlikely that any of you know who Nikola Vranjkovic is ( band was called Block Out). i got in contact through my sister while i was living in Slovenia, and he came there as a sound guy for another performer ( a big ex Yugoslavia band, the stadium filling sort).
the man invited me and my sister to his hotel after the show for a few drinks, even though it was 2 in the morning, and you could see how tired he was.
i remember being obnoxious and irritating with my fanboyism.
the guy really wanted to talk about fishing and a river boat he was building. and i insisted and insisted on irrelevant bullshit, such as: gear, sound, his poetry...
he took it quite graciously, even paid for our drinks.
the man invited me and my sister to his hotel after the show for a few drinks, even though it was 2 in the morning, and you could see how tired he was.
i remember being obnoxious and irritating with my fanboyism.
the guy really wanted to talk about fishing and a river boat he was building. and i insisted and insisted on irrelevant bullshit, such as: gear, sound, his poetry...
he took it quite graciously, even paid for our drinks.
ChrispyFinch
Well-Known Member
My favorite encounters have been:
Guthrie Govan - humble and gave each fan a few minutes of his time.
Jay Postones - had an extended conversation with him about some technique
Travis Levrier - had a nice convo about his signature jackson (GAS), his Charvel and his previous band, after an Intervals show
The whole of Protest The Hero - These dudes were a blast, they'll hang with just about anyone
Dustie Waring - very chill guy and gave his time to answer some trivial questions of mine
Devin Townsend - very humble and appreciative of the support, im honestly more of a fan of him than i am his music
Unpopular Opinion: Not a fan of Misha, I shook his hand after a show and before i could strike up some chat he sneered at me so i walked away.
I didnt think i was that ugly. On the other hand, Mark was a super nice dude but kept his eyes closed the whole time talking to me. (that last bit about mark was a joke).
Guthrie Govan - humble and gave each fan a few minutes of his time.
Jay Postones - had an extended conversation with him about some technique
Travis Levrier - had a nice convo about his signature jackson (GAS), his Charvel and his previous band, after an Intervals show
The whole of Protest The Hero - These dudes were a blast, they'll hang with just about anyone
Dustie Waring - very chill guy and gave his time to answer some trivial questions of mine
Devin Townsend - very humble and appreciative of the support, im honestly more of a fan of him than i am his music
Unpopular Opinion: Not a fan of Misha, I shook his hand after a show and before i could strike up some chat he sneered at me so i walked away.
I didnt think i was that ugly. On the other hand, Mark was a super nice dude but kept his eyes closed the whole time talking to me. (that last bit about mark was a joke).
guitaardvark
Well-Known Member
Devy is a gem. I met him at NAMM, and when I asked if I could take a picture with him, I asked if we could make stupid faces (because, y'know, it's Devin), and he said, "I'm not sure I could do anything else." That made 18 year old me's day.
When I met Misha, he was pleasant. He let me play his personal Jackson (this was at the Sonic Unrest Tour meet/greet), and he spent a good amount of time joking around with other fans. Mark was an absolute sweetheart and he gave me a big bear hug when I told him how his playing had influenced me. Jake was very, very quiet.
MFB
Banned
Steve Vai - Great guy, though his guitar tech is a GRADE A TURD
Sikth - Great guys
Periphery - Great guys
Alex Skolnick - Great guy
Dino Cazares & Burton - Great guys
Meshuggah and crew - Ice up their ass
Textures - Great guys
Sikth - Great guys
Periphery - Great guys
Alex Skolnick - Great guy
Dino Cazares & Burton - Great guys
Meshuggah and crew - Ice up their ass
Textures - Great guys
Fenriswolf
Well-Known Member
I haven't met any musical heroes, but I did met Ben Jones (Cooter from Dukes of Hazzard) at a car show before. I still remember how much it made his day when it wasn't my dad that wanted to meet him, but a 12 year old kid.
I also met John Schneider, but that was a deal where I stood in line over an hour to meet him, so he was about as meh as you would expect anybody to be at that point, but like with Cooter, he did pep up a little bit when a kid that was obsessed with Dukes of Hazzard met him.
I also met John Schneider, but that was a deal where I stood in line over an hour to meet him, so he was about as meh as you would expect anybody to be at that point, but like with Cooter, he did pep up a little bit when a kid that was obsessed with Dukes of Hazzard met him.
StevenC
Needs a hobby
Thomas Nordegg is a lovely man who is just incredibly busy.
groverj3
Bioinformagician
Hmmm... define "met."
If going to a meet 'n greet counts then I guess I "met" Petrucci at the last DT show I went to in Tucson. The attendance was pretty pathetic, but it was in Tucson and the venue was kind of out of the way despite being downtown.
My dad took me to a Michael Angelo Batio clinic when I was in high school. I had no idea who the guy was but my dad said "Hey, someone told me this dude is a 'shredder' you like that, right?" I don't think he's a musical hero but he signed a copy of No Boundaries for me.
I paid Dave Davidson for a lesson a week ago. In part of my recent attempt to get some outside perspective on my playing and strategies to maximize my practice regimen to get over my complete inability to improve literally anything. Does that count? He was a cool guy, and I can vouch for him being a world class guitarist. The dude just busted out tons of Jazz standards as examples, lol.
If going to a meet 'n greet counts then I guess I "met" Petrucci at the last DT show I went to in Tucson. The attendance was pretty pathetic, but it was in Tucson and the venue was kind of out of the way despite being downtown.
My dad took me to a Michael Angelo Batio clinic when I was in high school. I had no idea who the guy was but my dad said "Hey, someone told me this dude is a 'shredder' you like that, right?" I don't think he's a musical hero but he signed a copy of No Boundaries for me.
I paid Dave Davidson for a lesson a week ago. In part of my recent attempt to get some outside perspective on my playing and strategies to maximize my practice regimen to get over my complete inability to improve literally anything. Does that count? He was a cool guy, and I can vouch for him being a world class guitarist. The dude just busted out tons of Jazz standards as examples, lol.
Well he s not my hero.
A side kick i dont care for maybe
Just so you know during steve vai s last gig here Mr Nordegg standing backstage and kept talking abouthis fantasised sexual acts with artists (a young female bassist who would join vai on stage )young enough to be his grand daughter
He was also shooing away people who were clicking pics of EVO he himself kept in the open when steve vai was 100km away and not going to be at the venue a day before the show. (Vai didnt sound check , he came in and played the show directly the next day)
Mr Nordegg should be happy he made it out of that venue after pissing off a lot of people those 2 days.
