The "I (fill in blank) for (uber famous person)" Thread!!!

[bout to crash]

I missed Joe Pesci by like an hour at the liquor store I worked at in NJ. The cashier who served him was like 6'4 and standing on a platform, and apparently this was their entire exchange (imagine this convo in two very heavy NY accents, obviously):
"You Joe Pesci?"
"Yeah. You really that tall?"
"Yeah."



I'm so mad I missed that.

Did your friend get stabbed in the neck and then beaten down with a baseball bat? Exactly. So it wasn't Joe Pesci.

Actually he went missing and was found in the meadowlands a few weeks later.......

[JayOctavarium]

If we are going into just people we've met personally or by separation..


I've hung out with Kalen Chase, the albino who toured backing vox for Korn for a while.

I've met Davey Johnstone, Elton John's guitarist. Fun Fact: His daughter is cute. Too bad she was slightly underage the few times I met her.

Bjorn Englen... I've chatted with him a few times. (played bass with Yngwie, Uli Jon Roth, Dio Disciples, etc)

I've met and chit chatted briefly with Ryo from Spocks Beard.

I've chilled with Beardo (the C list rapper) a few times.

I've met Adam Levine's siblings once or twice.

I've personally know the drummer from KSM (Former Disney band).

And I think I've met Nikki Sixx. I honestly don't remember...  But I do know I've met his kids. His son is an ass if I recall correctly.


Source: My best friend went to, and then taught at a rock orientated music school in Agoura Hills, CA. Most of these people taught at or have enrolled in the school.

[Fluffy Lothario]

I saw the Emperor of Japan (his procession of cars and such) three days ago. I didn't even know it was him until I asked that evening.

I once ran into Cliff Curtis (the guy who plays the lead in Fear the Walking Dead) at The Warehouse (the NZ equivalent of Walmart).

I once worked with a teacher who was a childhood friend of Hamid Karzai, Bush's puppet President of Afghanistan.

And finally, Tom Cruise changed my aunt's tyre.

[Orbert]

And finally, Tom Cruise changed my aunt's tyre.

Of all those, this is the story I want to hear.


Thought of another "brush with greatness" story.  My wife and I went to Toronto for a weekend many years ago.  Stayed at a nice hotel downtown.  The first morning we got up, there was a huge commotion in the street outside, loud enough for us to hear from the fifth floor.  We looked out and the street was literally full of people, mostly screaming young females.  New Kids on the Block (boy band from the 80's) were staying in the same hotel, and were just arriving.  Ever seen 60's footage of The Beatles and how everywhere they went, there was a huge screaming mob of females?  It was exactly like this.

Later, we went down to get some breakfast, and it was completely stupid.  The lobby was full of photographers and fans, all hoping to catch a glimpse of them.  I'd heard of New Kids on the Block, but had no idea that they were this big, or they were in Canada anyway, for a while.

"I (waited) for (New Kids on the Block) so I could get some fucking breakfast"

[Kwyjibo]

I once jammed with Chris Aylmer (who played bass in Samson along with Bruce Dickinson before he joined Maiden). He was a genuinely nice guy, played better guitar than me and had a terrible dialect so that he was very hard to understand. At least for us non-english speakers.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

[Celebrity Jeopardy Sean Connery]
I filled the blank for your mother, Trebek!  HAR HAR HAR HAR
[/Celebrity Jeopardy Sean Connery]

[The Trooper]

One of my coolest ones. Me and a bud were at a Whitesnake/Motley Crue concert in the late 80's at the arena in Jersey. In between the bands we went to grab a bear, We are just standing there and two guys standing next to us are doing the same. They kind of looked familiar so I say to my bud, dude that's Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. So we start talking to them and sure enough it was them. We talked for about 15 minutes and they even purchased us a beer. It was pretty cool. Funny thing too is nobdfy else recognized them.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Please tell me Gene Simmons was drinking beer.  Because it would make his entire "I've never had a drop of alcohol" line complete bullshit (I never believed it anyway, but still).

[Fluffy Lothario]

And finally, Tom Cruise changed my aunt's tyre.

Of all those, this is the story I want to hear.

The movie The Last Samurai was filmed almost entirely in Taranaki, where I come from. At the time, my aunt had just bought a new car. She'd gone to see my grandad, who lived elsewhere in the region, and was driving home when she got a flat tyre. Because it was a new car, the wheeljack was somehow different than she was used to and she didn't know what to do. A convoy of trucks happened to drive past. The last one stopped and Tom Cruise got out and changed the tyre for her. Penelope Cruz and their kids were with him too. They chatted for a bit, they got signatures and then they left.

[The Trooper]

Please tell me Gene Simmons was drinking beer.  Because it would make his entire "I've never had a drop of alcohol" line complete bullshit (I never believed it anyway, but still).

yep sure was

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Outstanding.  I always figured that was nonsense on his part.  There was an Ace Frehley bio that came out many years ago, where he recalls tales of Paul being completely drunk off his ass, and may have mentioned Gene having a drink or two (I can't remember, really).  It's good to hear someone confirming this.  For as much as I love Kiss, I never believed Gene's holier-than-thou "I don't drink or do drugs" bit.

[Stadler]

Outstanding.  I always figured that was nonsense on his part.  There was an Ace Frehley bio that came out many years ago, where he recalls tales of Paul being completely drunk off his ass, and may have mentioned Gene having a drink or two (I can't remember, really).  It's good to hear someone confirming this.  For as much as I love Kiss, I never believed Gene's holier-than-thou "I don't drink or do drugs" bit.

Life-long Kiss fan (though, perhaps, not as dedicated as you.  ;0) and I've always found that sort of hard to swallow as well.   Especially for someone who is a) an epicurean, and b) as "disciplined" as he claims to be.   You'd think he would enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, etc. etc.   Though it would make the stance against Ace and Peter harder to take, though wouldn't it?  (For the record, I'm sort of in Gene and Paul's camp on this one; you have to be ersponsible for your actions, and if you choose to live the rock and roll lifestyle, you do so at the whim of your compatriots). 

[Stadler]

Here's one that isn't me personally:

"I played bass for Adrian Smith and Nicko McBrain." 

My friend (I've known him since we were in elementary school) was somewhere in the Caribbean (logic would say the Bahamas, but I don't know that to be true) and was at a club with his wife (who is superhot; think "blonde Cindy Crawford") having a drink.  Coming back to the table he stopped at the little stage in the corner to check out the bass and guitar that were there (he plays mainly guitar, but has been in bands since high school).   Guy walks up and says in a heavy Cockney accent, "you play bass?" and he says "Sure!" and goes and sits down.  Little while later, Cockney guy and his friend walk up to the stage and Cockney guy taps my buddy and says "C'mon, mate".  At that point, he recognized the friend (who wouldn't?), and so he pounds his drink and goes up there.  The other guy sits down at the drums, my buddy puts on the bass, and Cockney guy puts on the guitar and steps up to the mike.   Adrian Smith (Cockney guy) then turns around and says "Blues in C" and Nicko McBrain (the drummer friend) kicks it off, and they played for about 45 minutes. 

No Maiden, just jamming.   I can't remember if this was '91-92 timeframe, which would have been just after Smith left the band, or '98'-'99 timeframe, which would have been just around the time that Smith was in talks to rejoin the band.  One thing he did say was that it was hard for him to play, because he kept watching Adrian play; he said it was actually distracting to watch someone that good playing three feet from you. 

[Orbert]

And finally, Tom Cruise changed my aunt's tyre.

Of all those, this is the story I want to hear.

The movie The Last Samurai was filmed almost entirely in Taranaki, where I come from. At the time, my aunt had just bought a new car. She'd gone to see my grandad, who lived elsewhere in the region, and was driving home when she got a flat tyre. Because it was a new car, the wheeljack was somehow different than she was used to and she didn't know what to do. A convoy of trucks happened to drive past. The last one stopped and Tom Cruise got out and changed the tyre for her. Penelope Cruz and their kids were with him too. They chatted for a bit, they got signatures and then they left.

Awesome! 

[Calvin6s]

I lived in Hollywood for a few years and had a knack for having more than "sign this" meetings with celebs I cared about (although not uber famous, more like kinda).  You go from starstruck to starnumb quickly.

[JayOctavarium]

A couple years ago... Charlie Dominici caught a ride with a DTFer to a DT show in Anaheim (Dramatic Turn... Tour). He was just chilling in the lobby chit chatting with a couple of people.  My buddy saw him when he was taking a piss and called me to head over. It was crazy how like... hardly any one recognized him.


Also ran into to Derek Sherinian at the Black Label Society Unblackened show / DVD shoot a few years ago. Derek was playing keys for Zakk and was hanging out of the venue before the show. Gave my buddy and I so much shit because we were wearing DT shirts at a BLS show.

 

[bosk1]

Running into celebs in and around Malibu when I was in law school at Pepperdine was fairly common.  But nothing really notable to discuss. 

Some of my music-related ones:

Got to sing onstage with the then-current members of Y&T in 2007.  Joey Alves, one of the original members of Y&T got onstage with a group of friends to jam some old songs in 2003 or so.  Have met those guys a bunch of times.

DT, obviously.  And that has led to meeting Matt Guillory and Frank Aresti. 

Met the members of Queensryche once at an aftershow, but conversations were relatively short and it was a weird encounter.  Not sure whether to even count it.  But it was definitely more than the "run through the line meet and great" type deal, so I'll mention it. 

[Calvin6s]

One thing I've noticed is they almost always seem smaller in real life.

[lonestar]

Got to sing onstage with the then-current members of Y&T in 2007.  Joey Alves, one of the original members of Y&T got onstage with a group of friends to jam some old songs in 2003 or so.  Have met those guys a bunch of times.

C'mon, gotta post the video man....

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

That was a classic. You guys did War Pigs, right?

[lonestar]

I thought it was Mean Streets. I know Hef has the video or link....I think he does at least...

[hefdaddy42]

Do I?

I will see what I can do.

[bosk1]

That was a classic. You guys did War Pigs, right?

Best part was Dave's "I seriously can't tell whether this dude is serious or not" response. 

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

[axeman90210]

The biggest one for me is probably making food for James Gandolfini. My family's restaurant was the location where they shot the last scene of the Sopranos, and I met the actors who played Tony, Carmella, and AJ (no Meadow  ). I actually spent most of my day cooking and re-cooking the food that everyone was eating because it took so long to set up each different camera angle, that every time they started filming again the extras needed fresh food. James Gandolfini caught on at one point and started hanging out by the grill in between filming so he could snag some extra fries and whatnot Super nice guy though.

Michael Strahan and his family were regulars for a while when they first moved to the area and their kitchen was getting redone, so I made him chocolate milkshakes a few times. I also sold Easter candy to Whoopi Goldberg once or twice. Both of them were also very nice.

I'm still bitter that I wasn't there the time Stephen Colbert stopped in 

[OpenYourEyes311]

Picked up former Boston Bruin Craig Janney in my cab one day. Dude was hammered in the middle of the day at a stripclub on Cape Cod. He spent most of the ride on the phone with Jeremy Roenick, and once he was off the phone he was complaining about how much his back hurt. Wicked nice guy, though. Signed my B's hat I happened to be wearing at the end of the ride.

Also have hung out with Ray Bourque, Terry O'Reilly, Cleon Daskalakis, Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid while at a couple Bruins games.

[Calvin6s]

The biggest one for me is probably making food for James Gandolfini. My family's restaurant was the location where they shot the last scene of the Sopranos

And I thought the bar was set too high on the OP with former Presidents, but this might have topped it.  We aren't just talking about a Sopranos episode (which is cool by itself), but the infamous Sopranos location.

Half of the names dropped in this thread, I have to Google.   

[Prog Snob]

The biggest one for me is probably making food for James Gandolfini. My family's restaurant was the location where they shot the last scene of the Sopranos, and I met the actors who played Tony, Carmella, and AJ (no Meadow  ). I actually spent most of my day cooking and re-cooking the food that everyone was eating because it took so long to set up each different camera angle, that every time they started filming again the extras needed fresh food. James Gandolfini caught on at one point and started hanging out by the grill in between filming so he could snag some extra fries and whatnot Super nice guy though.

That's really awesome and can corroborate that comment him. I know someone who was really close with him and his family. I was told he was one of the friendliest and most generous people he ever met.

Here's my list.

I once sold Method Man a Halloween costume for his kid. (back when I was working at Party City)

I have interviewed Mike Portnoy and Ray Alder.

I was standing next to Jason Mewes at a Highway Nine (formerly Sam Hill and Mr. Reality) show.

I gave subway directions to the Austin Pendleton. (The stuttering lawyer from My Cousin Vinny)

I was bought a beer by Shane Spencer. (former New York Yankee)

When I was working for a lawn irrigation company a few years back, we serviced Robin Quivers' (from Howard Stern) house.  She was uber friendly.

[bosk1]

Oh, another one that comes to mind:  Frank Hannon was on the same flight as me.  I was already seated when he was boarding.  The line backed up, so he was stuck just standing there a few paces from me.  After a few seconds, I recognized him.  We briefly made eye contact and I smiled and did a discreet wave.  He immediately averted his eyes, and I could tell he wanted to remain incognito instead of having fans come up to him on the plane, so I let him be.  I have heard from others that know him (he is local, after all) that he is shy and does not really like public attention, other than when he is on stage. 

Oh, and at the end of the flight, one of the stewardesses was carrying a Les Paul guitar case from the front of the plane and was looking around saying "who does this belong to?"  I was like, "OH, OH! I KNOW!" 

[TAC]

So you took his guitar??

[bosk1]

[hefdaddy42]

Oh, I forgot.  In 1995 (I think it was 95), the Penthouse Pet of the Year was a feature dancer at a local club.  You might say that I met her.

I don't remember her name, but whomever it was. 

[Calvin6s]

Oh, I forgot.  In 1995 (I think it was 95), the Penthouse Pet of the Year was a feature dancer at a local club.  You might say that I met her.

I don't remember her name, but whomever it was.

I feel like paid "meet and greets" were off the table.   

[axeman90210]

The biggest one for me is probably making food for James Gandolfini. My family's restaurant was the location where they shot the last scene of the Sopranos

And I thought the bar was set too high on the OP with former Presidents, but this might have topped it.  We aren't just talking about a Sopranos episode (which is cool by itself), but the infamous Sopranos location.

Half of the names dropped in this thread, I have to Google.   

I still get an involuntary twitch whenever I hear Don't Stop Believing, they had that song on a loop throughout filming

[hefdaddy42]

Oh, I forgot.  In 1995 (I think it was 95), the Penthouse Pet of the Year was a feature dancer at a local club.  You might say that I met her.

I don't remember her name, but whomever it was.

I feel like paid "meet and greets" were off the table.   

lol Some money definitely changed hands.

Or hand.  MY hand.  Not her hand.  Her, well, something else.