Have you met any of your idols?

[LabyrinthShredder]

I've been lucky enough to meet several of my idols:

Allan Holdsworth
Devin Townsend
Frank Gambale
Al Di Meola
Paul Gilbert
Scott Henderson
Greg Howe
Tony MacAlpine
George Lynch
TJ Helmerich
Gianluca Ferro
Ola Englund
Javier Reyes
Chris Broderick
Chris Poland
Oz Noy
Jeff Loomis
Billy Gibbons
Rusty Cooley
Shane Gibson

Here's a shot of me and Holdsworth (he was waiting in line for a brew at NAMM this year):

And another with Devin and Gianluca:

[vwelch01]

Who have I met...
1. Rik Emmett a couple of times. One time a friend and I were the last ones to talk with him during a meet and greet. He was super nice. I talked to him about best practicing methods. He shared with me three different projects he had coming out.
2. B.B. King after a show.
3. Frank Gambale after a show. In 1990 a send him a cassette tape asking some questions. When I seen him later that year I told him about the cassette. Him remembered getting the cassette and was impressed. He sent me a signed 8x10 and answered my questions when he got back home. Super nice guy.
4. George Lynch at a guitar clinic. He was nice but got angry at a guy in the crowd for being rude so he stopped and told the guy to stop being rude. It was funny.
5. This past April Dave Menniketti of Y&T. He can still sing and play great!
6. Dave Hulbek from Molly Hatchet. The band was the Dixie All-stars. I help bring in their gear and set up. Nice guys.
7. Eddie Money. Meet and greet. He was so high I felt bad for him.
I am sure I am forgetting some folks but it has been fun

[Brian Johnston]

Met Billy Cox (Hendrix bassist)... that's it, lol. Aside from musicians, met Elizabeth Taylor and Arnold Schwarzenegger... maybe they play a bit of guitar and they count I work with someone who is cousins of Leonardo DiCaprio, although I never met him. OK, I'm getting off on a tangent.

[TL60 Dude]

I met Alicia Witt so I think I win

[img][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/Triton76/witty_zpsohzvl83p.jpg[/img][/IMG]

[MarshallTSL]

Top Four:

Brian May
Alex Lifeson & Geddy Lee
Nancy Wilson

[fatfretty]

I drew Floyd Kramer's blood and ran some lab work on him ( didn't know who he was at the time.). I ran some labs on Mickey Spilane just before he died, I had the dubious honor of running the E.R. blood alcohol, and urine drug screen on George Jones when he ran into the bridge abutment, lacerated his liver back in 98, and nearly bled out at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. I didn't know it was him at the time because he was registered under an alias, it was only after I gave my notice to Vandy in advance of my relocating to North Carolina that I was told who the alias belonged to because if the D.A. was going to prosecute Mr. Jones, I was going to have to appear in court as an expert witness and explain how we derived our blood alcohol results. I also ran labs every morning on Tammy Wynette as she was in the ICU at Vanderbilt earlier that same year. Met Tommy Lee's mom at the hospital lab in Bullhead City AZ as she was getting some labs drawn, then ran her lab work (She loathes Pamela Anderson Lee by the way). Ran some lab work on Wynton Marsalis at a reference lab in Greensboro NC.
Non lab related, I met Joe Bonamassa and got one of his picks, and an autograph after he performed a kick ass show in Greensboro NC a few years ago. Met, shook hands with and got an autograph from John Mayall after his show in Highpoint NC.

[Doctor Doug]

Got to meet and hang out with Steel Panther when my band opened for them. They were all super cool guys. Really nice and down to earth!

[John B Jr]

I need to start hanging out with LabyrinthShredder. It seems like he could tell some great stories. For five years, I worked for a concert promoter, ok THE concert promoter from the 90's, Bill Graham. I met him a number of times and he was sort of a cult figure but I didn't idolize him until the helicopter malfunction that took his life. I also quit the job at that point though.

I briefly met a number of guitar heroes, Phil Collins, the boys from INXS, and really one of the coolest people I can imagine, Harry Belafonte. I wasn't a fan until I saw his show. Nobody seems to enjoy their job more than him except maybe Jimmy Buffet. Harry was the coolest, most down to earth star.

Along the way, I worked as a roadie; part of the local crew - as opposed to actually being on the tour for a number of stadium shows.

Rewind the VCR to the Monsters of Rock gig in Oakland. "Backstage" was just the bleacher seats behind. The stage was set up just beyond the warning track so about ten yards from the first row of seats. When I got there, the rest of the crew was sitting about 20 rows back but I sat alone in the first row behind the drummer to hear the music through his stage monitors. There was a cooler full of strange beer right there and great sound but no view. I thought I had it going on.

Then came the end of the Scorpions' set. You know what happens right behind the drummer at the end of a stadium show? You know why everyone else was so far back? I found out. BOOM BOOM, out go the lights! The pyrotechnics pretty much blew up in my face. I'm sure the other roadies were waiting for me to jump out of my chair. Anyways, a few minutes later, one of the real roadies asked me if I was alright. I said "What?"

[dvlsadvc8t]

Got to meet and hang out with Steel Panther when my band opened for them. They were all super cool guys. Really nice and down to earth!

Same here. Got to meet the guys this past Saturday night.

[TMatt142]

I've met three. First one I was only 12 I think, maybe a little older. I'm looking out my bedroom window (we lived in a cul-de-sac) and up drives a limo next door. Some real tall long haired dude with a monster fu-man moustache gets out with a blondie and goes inside my neighbors house. Few hours later Jimmy (neighbors son) comes over and says "hey, wanna meet Ted Nugent?" I still have "Cat Scratch Fever" demo version. Our neighbor was an exec for Casablanca records. That was pretty cool...
In Highschool took my guitar to a signing at a local record store for Joe Satriani (surfing w/the alien tour). Super kind man who loved the art work I had done on my guitar.
In college, I was at the local footlocker checking out the latest sneaks when some tall lanky dude struts in, long hair, skinny jeans etc... Thought he was goofy but he said "Hey" and went about his business. Come to find out it was Chris Robinson from the Black Crows. That was just before their stuff blew up on the radio...