And share your stories.

Eve - She was walking around in Sam Goody in 2001. She was tired and had a bunch of nobodys following her acting stupid. She had red hair, blue jeans a red shirt and was short! She looked liek a little gil .. I had thought she was a teen at first. She looked very sleepy. I brought them over to the dvd section and she proceeded to look through some drama movies.

R. Kelly came in2 Sam Goody in 2000 on his tour with a yellow shirt and white pants with this other dude. We closed our doors and he was there by himself cracking jokes and actin a fool. He was not bad lookin in person and was quite a charmer. He wrote his autograph on napkins for us and left.

MC Shan - I havent really seen him since 1991 but he was my first encounter with any celeb. He came into our room and I thought he was LL Cool J because he had a all black Addias aoutfit and a black Kangol hat. He gave me and my brother a dollar and asked how we were doing. Then he showed us his "Jane Stop This Crazy Thing" single signed and stuff, told us to stay in school or soemthing and kissed us on the head.

Prince - Invited us all onstage at Paisley in 2004 and played the bass by me in a brown vest..dungaree jacket and pants and a cowboy hat...I never seen him wear that ever again he was smiling and talking to the band mambers back and forth.

Pharrell - saw him in the Quest in Mpls for the Nerd Show. he was being guarded by two guys but got around the bar area. I was like "d--- he is fine as hell" not knowing it was him really because I expected him to be a bit taller. He shook my hand and I thanked him for his work and he just gave me a head nod.

your turn!

Upclose were Ashanti(2x), Charli Baltimore(2x), Ice-T, Busta Rhymes(3x) he liked one of my former co-workers, and would ask for her, Ben Vereen(got autograph), and MJ (as usual too many bodyguards)

Luther Vandross - backstage after a concert in Dallas in 1997 or 1998. He was tired, sweaty and didn't want to be bothered. He looked different since he has sweated his makeup off and he looked like the average 40-something. He was trying to be nice to the backstage fans and professionals, but you could tell he was not in the mood. He was nice enough to shake my hand and say hello, though.

Cherrelle - She was probably the nicest and realest "celebrity" that I have ever met. It was in 1998 at an outside concert meet and greet. We all had a great time talking and chatting about the world, her past and her future. Extremely nice person.

Tevin Campbell - Met him at an instore meet and greet when "Back To the World" came out. I complimented him on the album and he was very appreciative. I asked if he was going to work with Prince again, and of course, he said "yes, we are working on a few things" (a lie of course). He was friendly, though.

Destiny's Child (original line up) - I met them when their first album dropped. They were straight up hood chicks and not used to doing radio promo tours. You could really tell that Beyonce was the real star, even then. They were really friendly and could not say much but "thanks", "uh huh", etc. They took pics with everyone. I lost mine, of course, but they were really nice overall.

Deniece Williams - Met her at the radio studio. Really sweet and nice person. She was talking about what God had brought her through in life and growing up in Indiana. Sweet person for sure.

Patti Labelle - Wild, crazy and sweet as can be. She called everyone "sugar" and "honey" and signed anything you put in front of her. She looked beautiful and was really sweet. I met her backstage after a concert. After that meeting, I became a real fan.

Brian McKnight - He was much taller in person than I expected. I met him at the radio station. He came in, played a few songs live on the air. He was ok, but was pretty stuck on himself. I met him when his "Anytime" album dropped. He was really starting to blow up at the time and his head was really getting bigger. He was much taller than I expected. He really did look like a young Nat "King" Cole. I did manage to get him to sign my cds for me.

En Vogue - They were definitely the sweetest group of ladies ever. I met them at a benefit when their EV3 album dropped. I asked them about Dawn and Terri said that she had decided to go solo at the time and they wished her well. They did a good job of not showing any tension and signed every cd for me. Very sweet ladies for sure.

Stevie Wonder - Met him on his last tour. Got a backstage pass to meet him and take a photo. I knew he was a real down to earth cat, but it was beyond magical when he sat in the room and played "Rocket Love", "Hey Love" and "I Won't Complain" (gospel song played by a local musician and Stevie sang). Man, that was a special moment that I will never forget. Steve took pics with each of us and joked and had tons of fun. He was a big guy, but it was so cool to be in the presence of greatness.

Tom Joyner - I've met him several times and he is a friendly person, but that's only to listeners. He is pretty rude and up front behind the scenes. He looks the same on television that he does in person. I know 2 people that work for him and they both say he's nice, but doesn't take anything off of anybody.

That's all I can think of for now.

Giggilo Aunts

Chante Moore - A few years ago at HMV. It was worlds aids day and she made an appearance.

Alicia Keys - I met her on many occasions during her concerts, she digs my mom.

Tone, Toni, Tone - A few years ago, when they opened up for Janet Jackson.

P. Diddy - At the black Expo here in NY a long time ago - he was just an ass!!

Stephanie Mills - She was so sweet. I also met her at the black expo.

Terrence Howard - He and one of my brother's are good friends and I met him in my bother's house in Cali.

Anita Baker - Backstage at one of her concerts.

shorttrini said:

I've heard several people (in and out of the industry) say how Diddy is a real ass. They say he's cool if you have something for him, but if you aren't "anybody" he doesn't want anything to do with you.

daPrettyman said:

You hit the nail on the head about Diddy... Oh, Chante kissed me!! I wanted to die!!

paisleypark4 said:

She wasn't tired sweetie.....she was high!

shorttrini said:

The black Expo, do you mean at the Javitts Center?

shorttrini said:

I have read every single story and the funniest ones are the snobby ones

I forgot Stokely from Mint Condition very warm and welcoming guy. He even seemed to be humble about his success. he was there to watch Keyshia Cole perform on her first tour. He said he was a big fan of hers

Res Met her four years ago @ Amoeba. She was nice, but kind of caught off guard.

Mary J. Blige Met her @ my former job. She was really into high-waisted denim, which is the department I worked (denim.)

Britney Spears
Jennifer Lopez

Pino Palladino - I didn't know it was him, until he was at the counter buying his denim! His real name is Guiseppe!

Lenny Kravitz
Kanye West
Morrisey My co-worker got his signature tatooed on his right arm.

Stevie Wonder
James Murphy
Christina Aguilera
Bow Wow
Nas
Pharell Williams
John Taylor
Brandy
Flea
Beck
Robbie Williams
John Mayer
Mario
Sam Sparro
Patti Smith
Scott Storch
Will Young

Rihanna She's more beautiful in person IMO.

And yes, Sean Combs is a real ass!

And does Naomi Campbell count?

Oh yeah! I saw Courtney Love @ an LCD Soundsystem/M.I.A. shows four years ago. When she was in her reeeeallly bad phase. She looked like a ghost.
[Edited 4/7/09 10:40am]
[Edited 4/7/09 10:42am]

Gave Terence Trent D'Arby a high five

that's about it

I've seen several artists up close

but by far the most memorable one was Van Hunt

Thibaut said:

I met him several times and talked to him a lot.

I also spent some time with Mother's Finest and some members of Prince's bands from the late 80s to mid-90s.

I am friends with some local artists nobody here knows.

There are many artists I have seen close up in person including Prince and Elton John.

thekidsgirl said:

!!!

Yeah, I've met a few famous folks...after concerts mostly.

In particular:

John Blackwell: he did a couple of drum clinics here in Sydney. At the last one in 2007, I complimented him on his awesome drum solo. He thanked me & tapped me on the shoulder.

Mike Scott: Again, he was at the clinic with John. He saw my Prince "Gold Experience" T-Shirt and said, "that's a nice shirt, man. People will pay you big money for it." Then he pretended to tackle me.

Amp Fiddler: Met him at the end of his concert in 2008 in Sydney at Hyde Park. Told him it was the 2nd time he rocked da house. Again he thanked me & signed a couple of CDs for me.

Patrice Rushen: She had just done a show with Lee Ritenour & Melvin Davis. Got her to sign a CD. It was an honour to mee both her & Lee, but especially Patrice. She was real nice.

Alice Russell:Met her back in January at Hyde Park. She's real petite. She signs autographs in her own unique way.

Prince: I never met him, but I sat 2 rows from the stage when he toured here back in 2003, so he was about five feet in front of me for the entire show. I hate to be cruel, but the first thing I noticed was just how short he was.

I was definitely in awe of him, though.

Maceo Parker: Never met him either, but I did see him up close when he toured last year. I tried to get an autograph, but no dice. He seemed like a real A-hole though. Maybe he was just having a bad night.
[Edited 4/7/09 16:30pm]

ElBessoNegro said:

Guiseppe is just "Joseph," in Italian and "Pino" is sorta like Joe. Hence, Pino.

Another abbreviation is Peppe.

I met cameo backstage before and i actually talked to
larry blackmon, tomi jenkins, and nathan leftenant.
Larry is cool as hell and very approachable. I remember
talkin to nathan several years ago and i said yall still tight
as hell. He was smoking a cigarette and he said hell yeah dude
you don't think we gettin old on you.

I've seen confunkshun up close in person as well
as the barkays. I got to shout out at larry dodson
very briefly after a show. I've seen the gap band up
close and got to speak to ronnie. I've also got 3rd
row seats for a mint condition show last year.

Also tyrese and whodini.
[Edited 4/7/09 20:01pm]

anc282 said:

Didn't know that! Thanks for the information.

He was a cool guy. Reminded me of a gentle giant sort.

John Blackwell - at a drum clinic

The Almighty - at a signing session

Thunder - at an aftershow meet and greet

Joey Jordison (Slipknot drummer) - at a signing session


Not a very impressive list, but then I'm not that fussed about meeting my idols. I'm happy to not burst the fantasy bubble.

I met John Blackwell at a drum clinic in Columbia, SC. He walked by before it started and I told him he's one of the baddest out there. He was real humbled by that shook my hand and said thanks. Besides makin the house lights flicker playin his drums, he does a great impression of Larry Blackmon who he said likes to use use big words he can't understand and of course our hero he referred to as "Mr. Nelson". The coolest part of the clinic is when he said how he got the gig with Prince. So he jammed with Larry Graham and Prince and they were about to leave when he started playin the intro to "777-9311". Prince stopped turned around and said "No one has ever gotten that right...Now can you play it with the claps?

diamondpearl1 said:

The first time i heard of john blackwell was ironically at a cameo show
at the old characters club in Columbia. I was like cool a native columbian
playing drums for cameo. That's where i got to meet cameo backstage after
the show. Larry, Tommy, and Nathan were all cool and down to earth.
I actually chatted with tommy the longest while he was cooling out with a
beer. During that show i knew i saw a familiar face on the stage playing
trombone with them. It was frank thompson of the barkays.

I bought andy bell a beer once in a gay bar in chicago, a Heinken actually.

ElBessoNegro said:

Wow. Very cool.

Prince.
George Clinton.
Ingrid Chavez.
Michael B. (He's an artist to me, dammit. And damn funny too.)
Margie Cox
Lady Miss Kier. She was gorgeous, but there was a 'lil too much weed floating around for my tastes...
Saint Etienne.
La India. Almost went into cardiac arrest. I have my old friend Luz to thank for this.

And, i'm not proud to say this...but Michael Bolton (back when he was popular from stealing old soul classics (early 90's) - he was a major prick).

Gladys Knight and the Pips in the baggage area of Orlando airport late at night. They looked very old with no stage makeup on.

Reggae legend Toots Hibbert in the Dallas Ft. Worth airport- we talked about a 1970 show in Chicago that I attended where he and the Maytals did a 12 minute set before they were chased off the stage by the whiskey bottle throwing crowd.

I don't know whose good idea it was to have them open for the Charlie Daniels Band but that was totally wack.

I sat next to his keyboard player Charles Farquharson for the whole flight and we had a great time talking about all the top reggae tunes he's played on over the years. They were returning to the US from an opening stint for The Stones in Scandanavia.

Quincy Jones
Andre 3000

ElBessoNegro said:

and

The ones I can think of at the moment...

Jimi Hendrix
Frank Zappa
Stanley Clarke
Marcus Miller
Victor Wooten
Bootsy Collins
Foley
Vernon Reid
George Clinton
Bernie Worrell
Kash Waddy
Steve Winwood
Bill Withers
Todd Rundgren
Steve Vai
Prince
Morris Hayes
John Blackwell
Renato Neto
Rhonda Smith
Herbie Hancock
Branford Marsalis
James Moody
Shelia E.
Linda Ronstadt
Azar Lawrence
Nat Adderley
Nancy Wilson
Roy McCurdy
Walter Booker
Muddy Waters
Chaka Khan
Beyonce
George Duke
Dr. Lonnie Smith
Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste
Joey DeFrancesco
George Benson
Allan Holdsworth
Jimmy Haslip
Mike Stern
Dennis Chambers
Soulive
Bernard Purdie
Nefty Santiago

...Just 2 nights ago, Jon Reshard (bassist that you'll be hearing about, believe me).
And because of him, possibly Greg Howe tomorrow night.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431
[Edited 4/8/09 23:19pm]