Have you met your Guitar Hero and did they live up to your expectation?

[PrincessSlayer]

Feel free to move this if there is already a thread.

I recently, after practically TWO decades met my guitar hero in Keith Urban the other night.
He didn't disappoint and gave me two MASSIVE hugs. We got to talk guitars for a bit and I made a joke about bringing my air guitar but hoping I didn't break any strings as I didn't have a spare set. He said "Oh great so they let you bring it in then?" I was like..."Uh... it's an AIR Guitar, Keith!".
He just about fell over backwards at missing the joke and said it would've been cool if I'd been allowed to bring my guitar (I bloody wish! Would LOVE an autographed guitar). He was so genuinely sweet and nice. I would have been devastated if he'd been a jerk I have been such a fan for absolute eons and I have not put my guitar down since. It really inspired me to be better at what I do.
I ended up getting a pick that night not sure if Keith threw it or one of his dudes did but it has his name on it so all good.
I was so close to the Guitar action it was amazing and they filmed a LOT of it for a doco that will be screening here later this year apparently. So excited!
Took this pic..


I also met multi-instrumentalist Dave Haywood from Lady Antebellum last year. While he doesn't consider himself a great guitarist I think he does ok and Lady A are my favourite country band. Before the gig I gave him a pick and said we should swap. I asked him to flick me one during the performance (I was blessed with amazing seats). I was in the mosh pit and he leant down and handed me one. Bliss. Got this pic off Google...

[jeb stuart]

i met doug martsch after a show once. shy but giving (pics with the girlfriend etc.) just came off as humble and nice. just what i expected. viva la built to spill!

[moonman2]

I got to (kind of) meet Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) some years ago after a Splinter Group gig.
He was exactly as I imagined he would be. - Totally reluctant to stand out from the rest and take the limelight etc.
After the gig, the group set up a table so people could go and buy Cd's and get autographs etc.
(I ignored the other band members and went to see Peter)
Peter stood aside from the table and hid behind a darkened ceiling post with a guy holding a torch while he shook my hand and signed my ticket.

I admire that guy so much.

[hemingway]

I met BB King in '96. I got a backstage pre-show invite through my job at the time, and a few of us chatted with him for half an hour or so. I can't remember a single word I spluttered. Lovely friendly guy. And very short.

[hemingway]

Also met Chuck Prophet many times when I used to follow Green on Red (what a band). He snuck me into a few sold-out gigs. Gent.

[stephent2]

I was in a beer line at a NAMM show concert, turned around and saw that Steve Cropper was right behind me. This was one of those deals where you buy tickets for your beers. I had twelve or so tickets, I was next in line to buy my beer and I bought one, turned around and thanked Mr. Cropper for his musical contributions and handed him the rest of my tickets, I told him they a small payment for all of his licks I stole.

He was very gracious, we talked for a few seconds and I was off. Seemed like a very nice guy, just like you'd expect.

[mickeydean]

Albert King, Albert Lee, Steve Morse, David Hidalgo, Arlen Roth, James Burton and just a couple of weeks ago Danny B Harvey. I got to play with some of them too. I hope they didn't notice the big wet spot in the front of my pants! Every single one of them were super nice guys.

[telex76]

Not exactly a guitar hero, but for sure a hero of mine, I've run into Merle Haggard a couple of times. He was "cool" and didn't bug me about it, and I retuned the favor. We just acknowledged each other and went about our business.
He was exactly as I expected him to be.

[Wrong-Note Rod]

I've met a few, but the kewlest was a one hour guitar lesson with Warner Hodges of Jason and the Scorchers, and he also plays with Dan Baird a lot. A great time, showed me a bunch of kewl licks, we jammed some, I even showed him a couple of things that he stole immediately!

[Doug 54]

I met Scotty Anderson in 2009. Nice guy!!!! Took the time to talk. I know he woulda spent mo time talking w me, but I didn't want to bug him.

Jeff Beck seems to have become less prima donna thru the years.


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[adeiderich]

1989 - 10am and was shooting craps at Bally's in Las Vegas over Christmas break. Chuck Berry walks up to the table with a very tall blonde escort. He rolls the dice a few times and is on his way. I didn't have the kahunas to even say hello to him but probably for the better. It was just cool to see the guy.

[Joe Baggadonitz]

'92 my band got to open for Johnny Winter on his "Let Me In" tour. We got to meet him on his bus after the gig. He was nice as can be, even said thanks for opening the show for him.

[BobbyZ]

As a kid my guitar hero was my older brother. I stayed the hell away from him because he only seemed to have two goals in life.
One was to be a great guitar player.(he is)
The other was to pull off the perfect atomic wedgie and by God this last Christmas he did.

[CyanideJunkie]

Met Zakk Wylde once. Very cool and down-to-earth guy. Shame he can't drink alcohol anymore...

[Jakedog]

Never got to meet mine. He's been dead for years now. Eddy Shaver. I've stolen so much from that guy. I've twisted everything into my own thing, but holy crap do I get inspired when I put on ANY record he ever played on.

I did get the next best thing. The last time I opened for Billy Joe Shaver (Eddy's dad if you're not familiar) I got to sit with him and talk about Eddy for quite awhile. Previous times I'd met him he wasn't really up for conversation about his son, so we'd talk about other things. I think his death was still weighing too heavily on him.

This last time though, was wonderful. He told me some great stories, and got an enormous smile on his face telling me about shows they'd played, and how much he always enjoyed his playing. When I told him that I've stolen most of what I know about electric guitar from Eddy, he patted me on the shoulder, looked me right in the eye and said "Then you must be a pretty smart guy".

I'm still waiting to meet my guitar hero second in command, Dickey Betts. I've heard conflicting reports on that guy. Some people say he's the nicest guy you could ever hope to meet, others are not so impressed... I hope I get to find out for myself someday.

[ADinNYC]

I've met many who were just ordinary non-ego-inflated nice guys.

A few who come to mind...

Steve Morse
Allan Holdsworth
Rusty Young
Tommy Tedesco
Redd Volkaert
Mike Stern
Frank Gambale
Scott Henderson
Joe Pass
Howard Roberts

[pondcaster]

Originally Posted by Wrong-Note Rod

I've met a few, but the kewlest was a one hour guitar lesson with Warner Hodges of Jason and the Scorchers, and he also plays with Dan Baird a lot. A great time, showed me a bunch of kewl licks, we jammed some, I even showed him a couple of things that he stole immediately!

WOW,... that is special. We got to "meet" Jason & Werner many years ago in Athens out front of the old 40 watt. They were loading in & we were killing time before the show. They were such nice guys, totally okay with our bothering them. Saw Dan open for them more than a few times, too.

[Jakedog]

Originally Posted by pondcaster

WOW,... that is special. We got to "meet" Jason & Werner many years ago in Athens out front of the old 40 watt. They were loading in & we were killing time before the show. They were such nice guys, totally okay with our bothering them. Saw Dan open for them more than a few times, too.

Haven't met Warner (yet) but have done a couple of acoustic shows with Jason. You're dead right, SUPER nice guy. Just a genuinely nice person, and lots of fun to talk to and hang out with. Even invited me on stage with him after my opening set for a couple of cover tunes at one of the shows. Great guy I would love to hang out with again.

[dman]

I saw Sonny Landreth back in November in Milwaukee. He will spend an extraordinary amount of time after the show talking to folks. As I was the last in line, he graciously spent about 15 minutes with me giving me some pointers on playing slide in standard tuning (what I play in) and talking about the importance of warming up and stretching before you play, especially as you age (I'm 62; he's 61) As Sonny told me "Man, you've GOT to stretch!" and then proceded to show me his routine.

Just an incredibly nice, affable man.

[ghostdad]

I met Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) in a food court at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. I was talking to this really old piano player guy playing ragtime tunes on an upright piano. Lee walked up with his son and asked the piano man to play "The Entertainer" because his son was learning the song. The piano man didn't know the song, even after Lee hummed a few bars!

So yeah, I told Lee that I was fan, etc. and mentioned a (Lee Ranaldo solo) show that I caught maybe a decade before when John Fahey opened, just a few months before his death. We talked about that for a bit.

Lee was super down to earth and easy to talk to.

I don't know what I was expecting, but yeah, cool guy.