smiled and said hello to will oldham a couple weeks ago at the imax film bugs.

Two really stick in my mind:

I was at Eid Prayers @ McCormick place when I was about seven or eight and I sat behind Muhammad Ali. I knew who he was at the time , but he was very immense and intimidating. I vividly remember him smiling and waving hello and not being freaked out anymore.

I got to shake Kurt Vonnegut's hand once.


Faiz

My older brother’s a gaffer/cinematographer in Canada and he’s worked on lots of dumb studio pictures. One night he took me out to the set of “The Edge” near Canmore, Alberta (in the Rockies). No one there, but I went into Anthony Hopkins’ trailer and looked at his personal possessions! He had 10 cds in a little holder on the desk. The only two I still remember are Miles Davis Kind of Blue and . . . The Best of Sting.

Anyway, he had some polaroids of himself lying around (no, he wasn’t naked) and I’ve got a picture of me holding one right next to my face, and b/c my hair was rather greasy and unkempt and I flashed a disconcerting smile, it’s a good picture and I’ve always meant to mail-stalk him with it.

My friends’ band opened for Fugazi once and I met Ian. He was swell of course. I don’t really remember the exchange though b/c my damn treeplanting foreman wouldn’t give me the day off unless I planted at least 2000 trees that day. So I did and then I drove 8 hours to the gig. I’ve always wanted to meet someone who might appreciate that. Like a hot girl who really gets off on guys who go to great lengths to see Fugazi.

I met Bill Murray at Busch Stadium during a Cubs vs. Cardinals game. This was probably in '93. I told him that Stripes was my favorite movie.

Hung out backstage with At The Drive-In in Paris a few years ago. Mike D from the Beastie Boys was DJ'ing between sets there. He looked really frail in person, but he was a really nice guy and showed me and my friend all the nerdy aspects of his setup.

I shook Bob Dole's lame hand once. I was like shaking a cold fish. He was still "holding" the pencil at the time.

I saw Anthony Kiedis at a Mars Volta show in Detroit last year. He was wearing a terrible disguise.

I went to a wedding in Auburn Hills, MI last weekend, and Carrot Top was staying at the hotel I was at. He was trying to go unnoticed at the bar, but people kept bothering him for pictures. Then I saw him again the next morning at breakfast, but I was too hungover to say anything. I wanted to give him shit for those phone commercials.

Oh, and Wesley Willis came to do a Halloween show in Houghton, MI a few years ago when I was going to school up there, but the party got busted for serving to minors. He wrote a song about it called "The Ghostbusters Got Busted." The guys who lived in the house were dressed like the Ghostbusters and had to spend the night in jail. Anyway, he came back up a few months later and he stayed at the house we were partying at. He kept asking for food, but all we had to give him was pretzels. He couldn't eat them because "they have too much sodiums." Then we unfolded the couch for him to sleep on, and it broke when he got on it. RIP Wesley.

He kept asking for food, but all we had to give him was pretzels. He couldn't eat them because "they have too much sodiums." Then we unfolded the couch for him to sleep on, and it broke when he got on it. RIP Wesley.

I think you win.

Here's a picture from that night:

n-eight wrote: RIP Wesley.

Awww. Wesley stayed at our home for valentine's day weekend in Urbana in, I'm guessing, 96-97 (?). The guy that was booking his tour asked if we could "wesleysit" for a couple of days. Seriously, it was one of the most draining and enjoyable experiences I'd ever had.

We had to get him markers to draw, "Alkaline batteries" for his walkman so he wouldn't have a conflict hell ride home and we made bologna sandwiches for him and he had a specific type of orange juice we had to get. He told us a bunch of really heartwrenchingly sad stories about how his best friend called him a monster and hit him (I think Mr. WW would be difficult to live with, I really don't blame his friend, but it was sad nonetheless).

He wrote a song or two for the band that three of us were in, stank up the sofa, slept in the nude under a blanket and doled out headbutts with dictatorial impunity (my roomie Orion triple folded his stocking hat to make a thicker layer of padding between Wesley's skull and his). Regardless, when O and I dropped him off at the train after the weekend and he waved bye to us, we both welled up and started missing his crazy ass immediately.

Three years later, I ran into him and he recognized me. Man that made my day. Anyway, Salut! Wesley. We miss ye.


Faiz

Years ago I went with a friend to see that band Cakelike who were unfortunately playing with The Kelly Deal 6000 and Sebastian Bach was there cuz he's friends with Kelly Deal or something. We stayed for a little bit of her set after Cakelike and I'm standing next to Poison dude. He turns around to look at me, he does the Hail Satan grit/rock/metal thing with his hand, and yells "IT'S JUST FUCKIN' ROCK!" While he is doing this a slew of spittle comes flying out of his mouth and covers my face.

I saw Hakeem Olajuwaun (sp?) in Radio Shack at this mall here in Houston. He got fucking mobbed.

I later got front row tickets for a Rockets game, and ended up getting most of the teams autographs after the game.

Can't really go too much into detail. I was a kid on both occasions.

Dave Pajo put his arm around me after a show. He came off the wrong side of the stage because someone was there he wanted to talk to and everyone leaving walked right past him, I seemed to be the only one who knew it was him. (it was a solo set too)

Or maybe I was the only one lame enough to approach him after for a photo (he may not be a celebrity but hes a megastar among my friends and I couldnt miss the chance).