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npjnpj View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 11 2008 at 11:39
In 1992 I was able to go to a Peter Hammill solo concert (and I mean solo - just PH, an electric guitar and e-piano) in Bremen, Germany.
 
I went with a mate, also a tremendous fan, and after the concert we were able to badger one of the roadies into making Peter come out front and have a chat.
 
At this time I realised that the plastic bag that my mate was lugging around actually contained a complete collection of all VdGG and PH solo CDs up until that time. There were A LOT!
 
Anyway, we had an interesting chat and during this time Peter actually signed most of these CDs, really nice of him considering that he seemed pretty knackered after the show.
 
But I still remember thinking that it was pretty cheeky, a true Energy Vampire request.
 
I'm tempted to enter the current competetion asking him if he still regrets coming out for a talk on that night. Big%20smile
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 15 2008 at 23:34
the Focus show was in a humid theatre (the Capitol ,now demolished) witha beautiful dome. RTF was amazing but Bill Connors was the guitarist and not DiMeola ! Van Leer was insane , bopping his head , constantly grinning (just like the videos) and Akkerman, whew! just blew everyone's mind . Because of the horrible humidity, the amps were picking up radio station frequencies which meant that in the course of some of their longer jams (of which there were so many) , one could clearly hear opera arias and orchestral sweeps that first made everyone laugh (Van Leer stating "you have 2 concerts in one!") and later had Jan kicking the amplifiers with Hendrix-Townshend fury! What I would have done for a digital camera or a cell phone
I never post anything anywhere without doing more than basic research, often in depth.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 15 2008 at 23:49
Not my story, not prog also, but a friend of my brother went to a Joe Satriani show many years ago. He was like 14 or something. The thing is, it was almost impossible for him to reach the concert. He missed the bus, had to chase it in a taxi until almost the next town, the bus left him very far from the concert place, etc. It was his birthday, so he had front row tickets. He got in time, and enjoyed the show evry much, until Satriani spat him right in the face while performig some stage movement. It was like a bucket of Satriani's fluid (or gel). I don't remember if he said something about vomiting or feeling like vomiting, but it was definitely most disgusting, so he left the concert. 
¡Beware of the Bee!
   
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 19 2008 at 21:29
I met Frank Zappa and had a nice conversation with him as well as giving him a tape I did with a buddy. There is more to that story but I prefer to keep that to myself... The year was 1977. I met Alan White of YES and on another occasion I met Bill Bruford. The Frank Zappa meeting was by far the most interesting.Wink
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 17 2008 at 07:33
About 4 or 5 years ago I was walking up the road with a friend, he's a jazz musician and knows loads of people.  We bumped into a chap that he knew and they chatted for several minutes while I stood by (as you do).  After we went on our way, he said "that was Elton Dean"
rotten hound of the burnie crew
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 17 2008 at 08:32
Being in NZ, we don't get many live bands here, let alone prog bands. But when Damo Suzuki toured with the Village of Idiots, I had a chat to him after the gig. He asked me if I had a cigarette and we talked of his touring, and Can and stuff. He was really humble and signed a tour poster that I ripped off the wall.

And then there's Jakob (NZ post rock). I wouldn't call them prog, but they're on the archives so I'll mention them anyway... I saw them 3 times last year. Awesome band.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 17 2008 at 11:54

As regularly at concerts at Kingston Poly in 1970 to 1972 - regret not attending a Cream gig there a few years earlier at half crown entrance - got to meet Yes in their dressing room after a gig. A couple a weeks before, that dressing room had been used as  a cloak room for an Island Records package tour  concert (included Quintesscence), so I wonder about the guitar cases when dumped our coats in this empty room  2  or 3 weeks later. After the show discovered it was now an occupied temporary dressing room. Mumbled something like 'Oh excuse us, great show', to which Jon Anderson, in what I remember as a Lancastrian 'Alan Ball' voice , replied 'Thanks very much'. We made our embarrassed apologies and left.

As a member of the ENTs team at Loughborough Uni 73 to 76, backstage spoke with Alvin Lee of TYA. Asked him why TYA didn't do the jazzy tunes as heard on Undead anymore. Reply: "Hey man we're not into the sort of stuff anymore". I ended the conversation. After a Just Us gig, Elton Dean explained to me what happened to Robert Wyatt wrt his career changing fall. Also stage managed Be Bop Deluxe's appearance before they became fully professional, but playing tunes for the future Axe Victim album. 
 
Since doing my radio show, the chance to meet and have long talks with favourite musicians has expanded. Allan Holdsworth is by far the shyest I've met. And most others are gentle people who are keen to talk.  Jeff Berlin (touring the UK with Larry Coryell at the end of the 90's), was charming and surprisingly humble, considering his reputation, giving me 30 minutes of his time. The best being invited backstage for band sound checks by Gary Husband for his first UK Force Majeure tour at Birmingham's Edgbaston Theatre. Met with Jerry Goodman (Q: who in your opinion is the best rock violinist, A: Me), Randy Brecker (very dry humour), and briefly with Matthew Garrison, Arto, Jim Beard. A real dream come true and with photos taken on stage to prove it. BBC Radio3 jazz prize winner for 2006, trombonist  Dennis Rollins and guitarist extraordinaire Gary Lucas have become pretty close friends. Gary sorted out a trip to Australia with Future Sounds of London from my garden, whilst taking a break from a Magic Band tour of the UK.


Edited by Dick Heath - April 24 2008 at 07:40
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 24 2008 at 04:10

So it was 1980?, Moving Pictures tour anyway and while  being a big Rush fan at the time, I was also a fan of the band opening for them named FM.  So I'm outside the sports arena in san diego after the show and I see the member of FM and I had brought one of their albums to get signed.  Now if you're opening for Rush you don't get a lot of fans who even know who you are much less bring albums, and the one I brought was a direct to disc copy.  So we talked for awhile and I told them I also had tickets for the Long Beach show in a couple of days,  they said see ya then.  So I show up early for the Long Beach show and run into FM again and they say, "Hey, We're going in to see Rush do their sound check, wanna come."   It was a lot of fun to sit there with virtually noone in the building, chatting with the band FM and watching Rush do their sound check.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 27 2008 at 05:12
I've got a fairly recent one...  from mere hours ago, infact!  Robby and I drove 6 hours up to Long Island to see Neal Morse play a solo acoustic gig...  aside from being very intimate (about 30 of us total) and uplifting, it was a very off-the-cuff show, and Neal started taking requests.  I requested "Lost Cause" from his self-titled solo album, and he said he's never played it live before...  but he'd try it!  A few times he stopped and asked for lyric cues LOL  It was amazing...

After the show, we talked to him a bit, and he was very pleasant and outgoing.  I've been a fan of his for all these years, but I wasn't prepared for just how charismatic he was...  not to mention his skill as a musician and vocalist!  My respect and admiration for him went up severalfold tonight.

Were any of you guys in attendance? 
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