Do “celebrity” (or perhaps “notorious”) politicians count? I got to know former Senator Larry (Wide Stance) Craig back when he was a freshman congresscritter from Idaho’s 1st district. In fact, we’re distantly related (by marriage, not by blood).
Back then, when he was home from D.C. he would drive around his district holding informal “meet your rep” affairs in small-town coffee shops and grange halls. I was also working around the state at that time and it was surprising how often we’d end up in the same town. The meetings were frequent enough that my standard greeting was “hi cousin!”, and he would usually respond in kind. At the time, he was generally well-liked…a home-town boy who’d done well, and in fact a very congenial and likeable fellow.
SS
I was on vacation with a few of my friends at the Outer Banks of North Carolina sometime in the early 1990’s and we decided one night to go to a little comedy club. There were 3 comics, 2 were fairly forgettable, the third was insanely funny. It was Darrell Hammond. I clearly remember trying hard to remember his name as I was sure he’d be big in the future.
There used to be a gay bar in Pasadena back in the seventies that featured a singer that played guitar and sang lots of Joplin - Melissa Etheridge. Also saw a wild psychedelic bus on the 10 freeway on the way to work once in SoCal before the Partridge Family came out but didn’t notice who was in it.
In 1995 just before KISS: Unplugged was released, I went to a listening party for it at a small club in North Hollywood and noticed a guy dressed up as Ace Frehley circa 1975, and found out that he was in a local tribute band. Turned out to be Tommy Thayer, who ended up replacing Ace in 2002.
Speaking of KISS, I saw Judas Priest open for them in 1979, just before they hit big in the U.S.
I almost went to high school with Tony Hawk, but he moved away before I moved into the neighborhood. A lot of people had middle school yearbooks with him in it.
Seen a number of female singer/songwriters early in their career, but that’s because my wife and I tend to see a lot of them, and some percentage are successful. One particularly lucky club for us is Chicago’s beloved Schuba’s. A very small room that could hold 200 people if they’re all standing and don’t have any major issues with personal space.
We’ve seen Tori Amos there touring Little Earthquakes, Sarah McLachlan touring Touch, Imogene Heap touring Speak for Yourself, KT Tunstell touring Eye to the Telescope and many others.
It’s great to see someone in a venue small enough that you can talk to them afterwards, or even buy them a drink at the bar (like the late, great Kirsty MacColl who we also saw at Schuba’s. It really is a wonderful place.)
Oh, yeah – I’ve mentioned it on the Board before, but didn’t above:
I was in two different musical theater productioons with Erland van Lidthe de Jeude, who played the leader of the fordham Baldies (Terror) in Philip Kaufman’s The Wanderers and the Big Bald Guy that Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor got put in a cell with in Stir Crazy (Grossberger). Erland was a helluva singer, but when Grossberger sang in that film, I knew it wasn’t Erland – it wasn’t his voice. Evidently there was some union restriction, and , since erland wasn’t a member of the appropriate union, he couldn’t sing in that film. He did get to sing when he played Dynamo opposite Arnold Schwarzeneggar in The vRunning Man, but there’s so much noise you can’t hear him very well. Sadly, Erland died before that film was released. he was only 34:
If you look close, you can see him wearing his MIT “Brass Rat” in Stir Crazy. Erland was coaxed out of his “retirement” to play Miles Gloriosus ion A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He was the best Miles Gloriosus I ever saw. when he said lines line “Everyone stand back – I take large steps!” it made perfect sense.
I also saw Jeff Dunham before he was big. He was giving a free show in the student union at UNC-Greensboro in '88 or '89. I wandered by, saw a guy holding his woozle and sat down to watch him perform. Very funny.
I saw Dave Chapelle at a small comedy club in Madison, WI, before he really hit it huge. I don’t remember the timing (so he might have already been a comic of some renown somewhere), but it was definitely before his show on Comedy Central. He commented on the fact that he and my friend were the only black guys in the place during his set. Very funny guy.
My second year at Marquette University, big local Milwaukee band The Gufs were giving a free concert so long as you stood in line for tickets. I was near the back, and one of the last few that scored some. Opening for them was this up-and-coming band, Matchbox 20. They went on to bigger and better things, obviously, while The Gufs? Not so much.
I remember the Pointer Sisters came to perform at my high school in Nashville, Tennessee in the early 70’s. As I remember, that was the old gym, which would be like 70-71.
I saw Bette Midler and her piano player was a guy whos claim to fame
was writing “you Deserve A Break Today” and “I’m Stuck on Bandaids, 'Cus
Bandaids Stuck on Me.” Name was Barry Manilow.
Many years ago, I was an undergrad at the University of Georgia. A friend callled me up to ask if I wanted to go to the chapel and blow two bucks on a duo of indie folksingers. I thought about it, and decided to just stay in and read.
Years later, I would join a conversation in an online forum and relate the tale of how I passed up the chance to see the Indigo Girls.
I saw the Stray Cats about a zillion times in a small club. More like a bar. And they were known as the Tomcats back then, or sometimes Brian and the Tomcats. They were a local (Long Island) band, and a good one. They never really clicked outside their town – couldn’t land gigs in Manhattan clubs. Then they took off for London, and the rest is history.
Yes, obviously a typo. A brutal typo.