Mark Schmieder Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Anyone ever had a major tier player as a surprise guest at one of their gigs? At my jazz gig tonight, we recognized someone in the audience, who threw a few challenging requests our way, only to find out after the gig (when he came up to speak with us at length) that it was a well-known Bay Area drummer, who just played drums for Dave Mason's tour the past few nights. Out of respect for privacy, that's as many details as I'm going to give. This isn't about bragging; I'm just curious if anyone else has had this happen (whether or not it has resulted in them being hired by said musician for a later gig). Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Yes, there have been famous musicians in the audience when I have been playing. Very famous. And no, they have never subsequently hired me. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I've performed in front of famous musicians. They haven't hired me (yet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted July 29, 2013 Author Share Posted July 29, 2013 BTW it's happened to us before, but it was more expected the other times as it was during outdoor general public Farmer's Market gigs. Even famous people have to eat. :-) Of course I also live in an area with a LOT of famous people (SF Bay Area), and grew up in such a town as well (Concord MA), and in these sorts of areas people are respectful and neither gawk nor invade their privacy. It's also one of the reasons such people choose to live in such areas AFTER they've already gotten well-known. I'll be curious to hear from L.A. people as to whether the whole on-the-hustle atmosphere down there turns off well-known people from mingling with the lesser-known. I have some friends moving down to L.A. these past two years and coming up on the next year, and they're wondering how approachable people are (these are people who are hoping to "make it"). Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard W Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 I once had a dream in which I was playing on stage with the Beatles... "Everyone wants to change the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves." Leo Tolstoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted July 29, 2013 Author Share Posted July 29, 2013 Only once? :-) I've lost track of the number of times I have dreamt up entire Beatles albums with them present -- usually several in the same dream. Only once did I wake up fast enough and groggy enough to capture ONE of the songs (or the 30% I retained while desperately trying not to wake ALL the way up and lose access to those thoughts). I'm now better at waking up. :-) Totally O.T., of course. Back to the awake world now... Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuStudio Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 Sorry Mark, I don't get it...why not just say who showed up at the gig? If the guy is playing with Dave Mason and getting his picture taken thousands of times a night, I'm sure he wouldn't begrudge a mention on some public bass forum....especially if he was such an active participant in the audience as you portrayed. Just saying, I'm curious....why the mystery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted July 29, 2013 Author Share Posted July 29, 2013 It's my general policy. There were incidents earlier in my life that I learned from. Basically, I consider any interaction with someone to be private -- even if in a public venue -- unless given explicit information to share. Once burned, twice shy. Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Brown Posted July 29, 2013 Share Posted July 29, 2013 no..... "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flemtone Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I agree with Mark. Name-dropping isn't my thing, really - though many of us could do it, the fact that we don't is a pretty nice testament to those who post on this board. When folks come to see the 'tones, they're out to have fun, not carry their fame around to wave over their heads. We don't make a scene over them from the stage and they've all seemed gratified by that common courtesy. I mean, we're just a bar-band, so it's not like we've had The Who stroll in, but we're in a suburb of Manhattan that is pretty well stocked with 'notables'. To us, they're just folks in the bar to talk to between sets. That's all they want to be. If they want recognition, they'll surely find a better group than the motley crew that frequents a 'tones gig. Play. Just play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted July 30, 2013 Author Share Posted July 30, 2013 A few years ago, I was subbing "full-time" for a new wave band (not synth-based; all guitars), and we had one gig in this total dive that OSHA rightfully condemned due to rotting floorboards. There were only three people in the audience due to a screw-up in the ads that the club owner posted. The bandleader was all "I can't do this, blah blah blah" and I told him that the professional attitude is to play each gig like it's Madison Square Garden, and find someone in the audience to "play to" and connect with. Turned out one of the three guys was an A&R guy for Warner bros.; he'd seen the blurb and heard snippets and wanted to check us out for a potential signing. You never know! Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imogene Posted July 30, 2013 Share Posted July 30, 2013 I got Goose Gossage's (Baseball HOF 2008)autograph at one of my gigs. He's a player too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeronyne Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Tangentially related. Stewart Copeland sits in with Police cover band. "For instance" is not proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeronyne Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 VOP choir is going "Fly Away" when Lenny Kravitz shows up. "For instance" is not proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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