Hey, Do You Play In A Band?

[Bluewine]

Fortune and Fame has passed by many of us. That's not a big deal, occasionally we're out and about and someone recognizes you. YAY!

Share your brief brush with fame where someone local recognizes you when your not performing.

Blue

Edited June 4, 2019 by Bluewine
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[Heathy]

I was once in a department store and a guy came up to me saying he recognised me from a gig that was around 15 years prior. He went on to say how much he enjoyed it, and listed off several of the songs we did.

It did feel good.

[Heathy]

Another one!

While I was waiting to go in to a job interview, a couple of guys who worked there recognised me from a gig I had played in that town. When the interviewer turned up, she saw me in conversation and getting on really well with a couple of current employees.

Maybe it made a difference - I got the job!

 

[Bluewine]

If I'm out at  the local market mainly Aldi, occasionally a local will say, " Don't you play guitar with Maple Road?"

My favorite story took place in 1971. My band won first place in the annual High School "Band In". Winning was a big deal, we went on to a State competition and the prize was $500.00. That was a lot of cash for a bunch of 16 year olds in 1972.

 

A week after the competition I was in. New York City at famous Manny's Music and some guy came up to me and recognizes me at congratulated me on the win. I thought I was Star for the rest of the day.

 

Blue

Edited June 4, 2019 by Bluewine

[NikNik]

I was recently mistaken for bake-boy Paul Hollywood. In my be-mulleted years,  Paul Young. And before that, in my shaggy-perm heavy metal days, Jim Morrison, even though he had been off this mortal coil for over a decade. 

Never been complemented, years later, about my bass or guitar playing....😧

[Twigman]

At a bureau de change in Athens airport - the teller knew exactly who I was and told me she was coming to the gig the next day.

[peteb]

I used to be in a reasonably well known local band about 30 years ago, so sometimes people of a certain age (usually about 5 years younger than me) might vaguely recognise me or realise that they used to watch the band I was in once they start to get to talk to me for a while.

More recently, I played at a blues festival in the Orkney Islands about 8 years ago, which involved us playing a tiny gig on one of the smaller islands and getting a ferry back to the ‘mainland’ (i.e. the biggest island) first thing in the morning. Half way through the crossing we could suddenly hear the band’s music blaring out on the ferry PA. It turns out that the guy sailing the ferry had been at the gig the night before and had looked up the website to find some of our music. We were invited up onto the bridge to watch him dock the ferry, which is not something you get every day. 

[Bluewine]

Signing CDs for people at gigs always seems awkward to me. If I ask for a signature they better be famous.

Blue

[Passinwind]

7 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Fortune and Fame has passed by many of us. That's not a big deal, occasionally we're out and about and someone recognizes you. YAY!

Share your brief brush with fame where someone local recognizes you when your not performing.

 

Local? Dozens, at least. Many know me from my years mixing club sound, others usually from seeing me in fairly high profile local winery or festival gigs on bass, and then a whole lot more from when I was running open mics.

I had a German guy I'd never seen before come up to me one time on the sidewalk in my home town and start singing one of my old original tunes.

I've also had quite a few strangers at NAMM recognize my face and/or my name, mostly folks who hang on Talkbass, but the last time around also from Facebook users.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Passinwind

[Steve Browning]

5 hours ago, Twigman said:

At a bureau de change in Athens airport - the teller knew exactly who I was and told me she was coming to the gig the next day.

Well you had just given her your passport!! 🙂

[BassTractor]

12 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Signing CDs for people at gigs always seems awkward to me.

With you there. Have never done it and will never do it.

 

12 hours ago, Bluewine said:

If I ask for a signature they better be famous.

The opposite for me. I'm not even remotely interested in anyone's signature if they're famous, but if a friend releases something and wants to give it to me and make it personal through a little text ("Happy birthday, Bert" or similar), then I'd appreciate.

Ha! In the 80s, when I tended to play with some famous people, not because I was good but because I was available, I broke the ice a few times when saying hello the first time, by handing out deliberately shoddy pieces of paper with my signature on, and when they asked what that was, I shook my shoulders and said I thought they probably wanted my signature. Loud laughter followed.
This was max ice-breaking deluxe coupé, but the second time already felt artificial, so I dropped it after that.
Nice to remember that first time though. 🙂
 

Edited June 5, 2019 by BassTractor

[Twigman]

1 hour ago, Steve Browning said:

Well you had just given her your passport!! 🙂

No I hadn't

[Maude]

5 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Signing CDs for people at gigs always seems awkward to me. If I ask for a signature they better be famous.

Blue

This seems very weird for me as well. I use a stage name, (not through my choice, I set up facebook for band related stuff and used a different name and the bands started using it), and the first few times I didn't know whether to sign my real name or 'stage name', especially as I don't have a signature for the stage name. It was like being a kid again and choosing how to do a signature. It still seems odd signing setlists, posters, cd's, etc. 

[Trueno]

A young guy asked me if I did bass lessons. I wasn't sure if he was asking whether I gave lessons or wanted to take some... heh! heh!

[Twigman]

Another slightly related story.

As some of you may know one of my bandmates is in a global DJ act and is significantly more famous than I am ( 2xgrammy award nominee).

When we were in US, touring with SL&G, we were walking down the shopping street in Santa Monica. People kept coming up to us and were asking me if they could have a selfie with him. I think they assumed I was his minder or something. My response was always "why don't you ask him?" after which I was elbowed out of the way so they could get their selfie. I'll wager none of them even knew our band exists.

[Naigewron]

Got recognised by a cashier at a grocery store once; she'd been at our album release gig a few weeks earlier. I was playing drums, so it's especially impressive that she recognised me considering I usually spend most of my drumming gigs at the back of the stage, obscured by smoke and other band members.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Naigewron

[bassace]

Don’t be silly, I’m a bass player.

[FinnDave]

Happened to some extent in Germany recently - but we were the main band at a festival in a small town, and the audience were mostly equally distinctive - long hair and tie dye shirts. Often bumped into people while walking around town who told me they had enjoyed the previous night's set. The best part was seeing people I didn't know wearing Grateful Dudes T shirts - we sold about £450 worth of them over the three days of the festival.

[Trueno]

FinnDave has a good point. I never looked very rock'n'roll in my civvies. I looked more like a civil servant in search of a cup of tea and a kitkat.

I had the opposite experience once. I went for a pee at half time in a venue. I was in my stage gear and had a sax sling round my neck. There was a guy there who didn't even know there was a band on. I told him they weren't worth watching and the sax player was really crap. He eventually came in during the second set and tried to chat up my missus.

[Nicko]

Walking through a shopping centre in Doha I was approached by a couple of guys who wanted to tell me how much they'd enjoyed the gig the night before - about 50 miles away from Doha - mind you there wasn't much inbetween apart from some dust and a few camels.

[operative451]

Back in about 2000ish my band got 'demo of the month' in kerrang. 

I was on the train and a kid recognised me and asked me to sign it...

I felt silly. I hadn't actually practiced my autograph!

[Monkey Steve]

When I depped with a band at Christmas, on the way out of the back door of the Underworld a fan stopped and asked the whole band to sign two posters for him.  I stood to one side, assuming that he wouldn't be after my autograph, but he was very keen to include me, more so when it was pointed out that i was only helping them out and this would be the last of only two gigs that I'd be playing.  They've got to be the most collectable rarities for fans of the band...although, the posters are slightly less collectable than the pizza box with the set list on it that the soundman at the previous night's gig in Manchester had asked us all to sign for him

The band played the Garage a couple of months ago, and I met the lead guitarist for a few beers ahead of the show, and he got stopped by some fans on the next table. He's always happy to chat, and as the conversation goes on and the fan says that he always tries to come and see the band when they play in London, he asks them whether they recognise me?

"Er...yes, maybe, aren't you in [insert name of obscure death metal band here]?"

No

Fame, so fleeting

Edited June 5, 2019 by Monkey Steve

[Lozz196]

I still find it strange that people want to have their photo taken with me/the band, or want us to sign merch they’ve bought. We’re 3 grumpy middle aged blokes with faces like gorillas derrières, and we all have real jobs so although I’m now used to it happening I’m still not sure as to why.

[Crusoe]

I played the lead role in the school musical when I was in sixth form and got recognised by a couple of kids whilst walking down the street a few days later. Sadly fame never really beckoned after that.

[Trueno]

Fame is overrated. Would you really want to be recognised when you're in Boots buying your Anusol Plus?