Celebrity-stalker or funny famous-people stories
My thanks to Anika Moa for giving me the day off yesterday. And interestingly she provides the link to today's blog. Well link is the wrong word, as there's no actual hypertext...but, segue perhaps...
Recently I picked up the latest copy of Incredibly Hot Sex with Hideous People - it's a 'zine you can scoop up around Wellington, put together by Bryce Galloway (aka Mr. Pudding, aka DJ $1 Record; I first knew him through his work as part of The Wendyhouse).
Issue 34, the latest one, is called Meeting Famousness, and Galloway, with help from contributors, collates sets of stories geared around meeting famous people, bumping into them. There are random sightings, strange stories, funny quips.
Randomly turning to a page to see what the issue was all about I spotted this one from a contributor named Maya Haetenschwiller:
I went to WOMAD in 2008. I was being a groupie for the Village of the Idiots, so got an all-access pass and could hang out with the cool kids. I was waiting for the artists' shuttle back to the hotel late one night with a bunch of people and someone was playing the ukulele. It was completely dark, so I couldn't see who it was. They were singing that Anika Moa song Dreams in My Head, but making it silly, like "I have all these poos up my bum" or something. I said "far out, that sounds heaps better than the original!" The chick stopped singing and yells out "f**k up, b*tch!" It was Anika Moa.
Always on the hunt for a possible blog topic, I picked through the rest of Incredibly Hot Sex with Hideous People - looking for stories relating to musicians. There was the tale of New Zealand cricket legend Ewen Chatfield running a teen over with his courier van in Tawa in 1988, as told by Stephen Clover ("He was long gone before I got over my surprise, as well as the awe associated with being knocked over by Ewen Chatfield, and realized that my leg was quite badly hurt and my bike was f**ked").
But I had to find the music ones...and there were some...
Like Galloway's story about Pavement: "At the start of the 90s I saw Pavement at Auckland's Powerstation. Later that night I turned up at the same party as the band. I got to meet Stephen Malkmus. I told him to get out of my chair, which he did."
There's a good story in there where someone sees Nick Cave in Tokyo, is starstruck and tells a group of friends. They, not knowing - or caring - who Cave is, start yelling "hey Nick, hey Nick!" The person is mortified as Nick Cave smiles in their direction.
So, it's a fun read and if you can find the 'zine, I recommend it. It also comes with a free CD, My Life with Madonna.
Now - we need to create a list of these stories...I'm sure, between us, there are a few. I've already used this blog to tell the story of the time I tried to climb on stage with Paul Kelly - but that doesn't count here. That's not a run-in, or a bump-in really; that's just me being stupid.
I also told the story of Katy having a bit of a blowout. I can't find the link to it - so I'll repeat part of it here:
My wife and I attended a Ben Lee concert.
Ben Lee had released the Awake Is the New Sleep album, which was well received. And some of his earlier songs (Cigarettes Will Kill You) are good fun too. So we were keen enough to check out the gig (and besides, in my case, it was work). When the show finished, Lee waited around to sign autographs and meet people.
My wife, not normally the keen-bean in such situations, decided (after a few bowls of loudmouth soup) to head up to Ben Lee and say hi. She did not have a CD for him to sign. She was not buying a T-shirt. No. She had something more important to say.
"I wrote a short story about you," she explained. He made something like a fish gulp movement and dry-throated a reply along the lines of oo-kayyyy. And that was it.
The thing is, she hadn't actually written a story about Ben Lee, she had just written a story after listening to his album a wee bit. It had been the trigger, I guess, or maybe the inspiration. But, clamming up in the face of celebrity (and after the loudmouth soup left her with an in but no out) my wife had, erm, blown it.
So I'm thinking - more of the stories like Katy's and less of the stories like mine (with Paul Kelly).
But if you have made a bit of a fool of yourself - in front of a famous musician - then by all means feel proud here in sharing the story.
But, also, has a famous musician made a fool of themselves in front of you? Or have you totally flipped your lid and become the moisty-palmed mouth-breather you never thought you were when you caught a glimpse of a celeb?
I'm lucky that most of the interviews I get are over the phone. It means I might sound stupid but at least no one sees me looking stupid.
Earlier this week I interviewed John Paul Jones - he's got a new band called Them Crooked Vultures. You might have heard about them? He also used to be in some other band I believe?
I mention this because, well, a) because I got to talk to John Paul Jones and b) because I am pleased it was a phone interview. It helped me hold it together and just do my job.
But have you been in a situation where you couldn't or didn't hold it together? Share your best/worst/silliest stories of hanging with the famous ones. Have you partied hard with a famous musician? Or clammed up asking for an interview? Were you invited out for drinks? Did you fluke tagging along with an entourage at a bar? Were you given free tickets because you served a musician in a store or restaurant? Or did you just wish you plucked the courage up to cross the street because you saw someone famous mooching about, but in the end you couldn't do it?
What are your tales of Meeting Famousness?
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No sensational stories from me, my celeb encounters have been pretyt low key.
I was browsing CD's in Real Groovy once when I noticed Jon Toogood next to me doing the same thing. Was stopped at the lights once with Shihad's Blue Light Disco EP cranked up with the windows down when I noticed Phil Knight walking past right beside the car. Not sure if that was cool or cringe:)
Brett Mckenzie watched me play Indoor Netball once. Okay so he wasn't watching me per se, but he was watching the game I was playing in. Also saw Ma'a Nonu playing Indoor a few times as well. Never got to play against him though.
Can't say I've seen a musician stuff up but my mate completely lost it when Hugh Jackman turned up to her work at Rialto Dunedin while filming for Wolverine-abandoned all those at her till and beat back her fellow co-workers to get an autograph. She even bought a little frame for it because he included her name and it comes out at every social gathering...
Sure, I was cheeky a monkey and drunk the Anti Nowhere Leagues beers, it made me popular, I stalked the MC5 around a hotel off ma nuts, it made me popular with the ladies, have set up interviews but not done them myself for fear of f***ing it up right royally, i'm a good organiser but it can be circumstantial bla bla, I asked the Exploited really stiupid questions like wat their favourite colour waz, i invited adrien body to a less then salubrious 80's party, i'm much more charming though as a drunk which i don't do, otherwise dutch courage can escape me, 2 sarcastic c i mean it all in jest lalala, 'isn't it ironic' and i'm just not cool, they shud change the name fame to respect, whos john paul jones....yes i'm a punk
Walking into Wong Kei, in Soho, in London, I literally bumped into Noel Gallagher. Awaiting a tirade I said 'sorry mate' and got a smile and a 'no bother mate' in return.
I met the old bassist from the roots (name is escaping me right now) he plays with Incubus and when we hung out with him he told me a story that involved a vending machine that sold undies on Japan....... woah.
I also met the dudes from Slum Village at their gig in Auckland last year, we ended up drinking with them in their hotel and getting the 411 on Badu, kweli, Common, Keys.. all of them. Dream come true (but I never let them know that.)
This year too, we knew some of the dudes helping out with Kanyes gig in Wellington and ended up hanging with Kanye's crew until the wee hours of the next morning. Kanye is incredibly short. Didn't ruffle my feathers.
Celebrity is just a perception based thing, it's no big deal meeting these people at all. I genuinely appreciate the talent of these people but would never sell-out to impress them or kiss their asses... We're all good at something.. keep it real.
I'm with Eta; "Celebrity is just a perception based thing, it's no big deal meeting these people at all."
My dad played drums for Roy Orbison once. Mum taped over the only record of the gig which was on VCR.
Alice Cooper came into my old work. He was such a nice man, cruising around in his American tourist attire complete with gym shoes and baseball cap. He bought a stack of B-grade horror films.
I stood next to Anika Moa at WOMAD when Sharon Jones was playing. I just wanted to share my Anika moment since everyone else seems to be doing that. Hi Anika. You are ace and so are your tunes.
@Udo #5 - reading your post piqued my memory as I had a "spot the celebrity in Wong Kei" moment as well. I had dinner there with friends and Sarah Jessica Parker was at the next table. Poor girl, I stared at her the whole meal because I wasn't quite sure if it was her. This was pre-SATC so she wasn't as hugely well known as she is now. I'm embarrased to remember now what a doofus I was.
I've met a few music types over the years, most have seemed a bit insular but content to talk to the little people.
The two incidents that spring to mind. The first was back when I worked for a staging company. A mate and I got jobs on U2's Love Town show in Christchurch, being young and foolish, we were atop a lighting tower when the band arrived to sound check. We downed tools and started dancing 100 feet in the air. Needless to say our higher ups were not impressed and we were almost given the boot.
The other was meeting Gaz from Supergrass, nice fellow, but a bit on the confused side. He was having trouble getting from the Town Hall to his hotel next door. The two are linked by an air bridge, but I suspect some other type of grass was impairing his judgment and I had to show him the way.
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Pulp 1998. I was lucky enough to know the Polygram rep whom I bumped into before the concert. She told me to meet her after the gig and she'll take us backsatge. Well, it was a great concert. It was the 'This is Hardcore' tour, my favourite Pulp album and they opened with 'The Fear', a delicious slice of paranoia and self loathing. We met the rep afterwards- there were about 20-30 others waiting around for the shake n fake. So, in walks the band everyone crowding around Jarvis whilst the others are ignored. Playing it cool, I hang back for a while until the rep grabs me and pushes me to the front to meet Jarvis- 'Jarvis this my friend M', Jarvis -a thick northern drawl 'Aye, I like your trousers man'! Wow, JC the ultimate style guru likes my tailor made pinstripes! We chat for about ten minutes, about clothes, Simon Hinkler from the Mission, surrounded by other fans. One guy even said, 'Do you remember a gig in London last year when someone yelled out "New Zealand rules"?'. Jarv just looks confused and says 'Who?'. After everyone has left and I've been talking to other band members, the rep says to us that the band are going out for a drink, do you want to come? So, there I am, in a bar with Pulp getting sloshed! A Brit Pop boy's wet dream. However, the occasion was slightly tainted by Richard Hawley (who was touring as their guitarist at the time) nagging me for cocaine! I said, 'Dude, I'm from Dunedin!'. He kept going on about me holding out on him and I must have some. Well, apart from that it was a pretty special night and I hope to repeat it next month when JC comes to Wellington.