Sunday, August 24, 2008

Frank TV was on the air in Springfield, Illinois, last night as comedian and impressionist Frank Caliendo was in concert at Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois at Springfield. He has his own sketch TV show, Frank TV, on TBS and you can see him doing many of his impressions (John Madden, William Shatner, George Bush) as the national spokesperson for Dish Network.

Caliendo arrived via the university's transport van at the venue at 7:45 p.m. just as his manager had promised about an hour earlier. As soon as he exited the van, he made his way towards me and greeted me with a big hello. I asked him for a photo and said I'd take it myself. As I lined up the shot, his manager was in front of us and said, "Wow, that's a better job than I'd do." Frank then gladly signed three 8 x 10 photos (one as George Bush, one as John Madden, and one as Robin Williams), plus a photo he took with my friend, Mark, earlier in the year. His manager was impressed with the Bush photo and asked where I obtained the print. Before I could say a word, Frank said, "Duhhhhhh...you ever heard of the internet?" And we all laughed.

Earlier in the afternoon, I was in downtown Springfield for the Barack Obama rally featuring the first appearance with his vice presidential candidate, Joe Biden. A crowd estimated at 35,000 packed the grounds of the Old State Capitol and the surrounding streets. Lines to gain entrance to the grounds were four to five blocks long. For a moment I thought I was in Manhattan. I decided not to get in line, and instead waited until after the event had concluded before entering the Capitol grounds.

As the crowd began to thin, I caught up with CNN's Senior Political Correspondent, Candy Crowley, as she made her way from the media bleachers to the media work area. Even though she was pressed for time, she stopped to take this photograph and chat for a few seconds. I told her I remembered her from her days covering politics for the Associated Press. She said, "Wow, you have a good memory. That was a long time ago...almost twenty years ago."

I also got a photo with Major Garrett, the Congressional Correspondent for the Fox Noise...uh, I mean News Channel. He was sweating it out (see the photo) during his live shots as he wore a navy blazer over his long sleeve shirt. Garrett also took a moment between live shots to visit with me and take this photograph.


Thursday, August 14, 2008

As promised...here's another update from last week.

Last Thursday, I took a road trip to St. Louis as it was "celebrity central" that day. First up was a stop at the Ritz Carlton for a shot at Tom Petty. Although Petty left via the garage on his tour bus and Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench ignored me, I did manage to grab photos with bassist Ron Blair and drummer Steve Ferrone. Both were coming back to the hotel following an afternoon walk and apparently a trip to a music store (see microphone that Blair is holding).

My next success was a meeting with Stacy Ferguson a.k.a. Fergie as she arrived at Lambert St. Louis International Airport following her cross country flight from Los Angeles. She gladly signed two items for me and the other collectors as she waited on her luggage to arrive. Fergie was in concert the next night at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. I asked her about her role in the upcoming movie, "Nine," and she replied that she was heading to London next week (this week) to begin pre-production work on the flick. Check out the size of those sunglasses...they were the size of dinner plates.

Later in the evening, I returned to Lambert to catch jazz saxophonist Dave Koz as he arrived via American Airlines from Los Angeles. He was in concert the following night at The Pageant in St. Louis. Koz was surprised to see so many collectors greeting him upon his arrival. He signed a photo of us from a previous meeting in St. Louis and took this new photograph. And, he signed lots and lots of autographs for the other collectors.

I also scored a signed CD and CD cover from Alice Cooper as he was departing the Four Seasons hotel for his show at The Pageant. He made a quick exit from the hotel to the waiting transport van; however, he did sign while sitting in the back seat of the van. Alice had broken a couple of ribs the week before and didn't feel like getting out of the van for the photograph.

I also caught up with Billy Bob Thornton as he was walking to his bus following his show at the Ameristar Casino. Unfortunately, he ignored me as security walked him to his tour bus. I waited about 30 minutes thinking he may hop off, but the bus started up and headed out of the garage to his next stop in Kansas City.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Just back from a quick and successful trip to St. Louis.

I caugh
t up with rocker Joan Jett as she and her band mate/manager, Ken Laguana, arrived on their flight at Lambert St. Louis International Airport from New York. As she waited for luggage, Joan signed a couple of 8 x 10s and posed for this photograph. She signed 8 x 10s and albums for other collectors, but passed on the request to sign pick guards. Laguana said, "We've been burned on those before, so she's not signing any."

About 30 minutes later, I was at the Argosy Casino in Alton, Illinois, to get an autograph on a photo from a previous meeting with comedian Gilbert Gottfried. He was in concert for the second of two weekend shows. My friend, Mark, was able to secure comp tickets for us, and we were able to enjoy his 50-minute routine which was "over the top!" I still hurt from laughing so much. Following his performance, Gilbert signed autographs at his merchandise table. He remembered our previous encounter and gladly signed the photo and an 8 x 10 photo of the Aflack Duck (he does the voice). Since it was a casino, I couldn't get a new photo inside. Gilbert said meet me outside when I leave and I'll be happy to take a new photo. True to his word, he stopped for this photograph and even thanked me for waiting.

Stay tuned for another update on this past week's activities.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of a friend, I was treated to a once-in-a-lifetime experience this past Thursday.

My friend does security for several major country music stars, including Toby Keith. Keith was in concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on July 31. The friend, who should probably remain anonymous, met me at the front gates and escorted me to the backstage area for behind the scenes look at the show. In addition to checking out the maze of tour buses (Keith has three opening acts), I got to hang out on the side of the stage during a portion of Montgomery Gentry's (one of the openers) set. From there, I got to see the dressing room complex. Then, about 8:45 p.m., he escorted me back to the dressing room complex for Keith's meet and greet. About 200 people made their way through the line as Keith posed for photos with each. Each person also got a pre-signed 8 x 10 photograph. As the meet and greet wrapped up, my friend led me over to Keith for this photograph. I mentioned to him that my secretary at work was related to Tim James, the songwriter who wrote the song, "My List." I had a copy of the CD single which James had already signed. My friend got Keith to sign the disk just as he left the dressing room for the stage. To wrap up things, my friend escorted me to the soundboard and to check out the first three songs of Keith's set.


After departing the venue, I headed to Lambert St. Louis International Airport to meet actress/singer Idina Menzel as she arrived on her flight from New York City. She had a
concert the next night in St. Louis. Menzel won a Tony Award for her role in the Broadway play, Wicked. She gladly signed an 8 x 10 and posed for this photo.






Earlier in the afternoon, I stopped by Vintage Vinyl in University City to get autographs and this photo with the Ting Tings. Jules and Katie had just gotten in from Chicago after filming their latest video. They treated those in attendance to a brief three-song acoustic set before sitting down to sign CDs, poster, and photos.




This afternoon (Sunday), I took a "Free Ride" to St. Louis to meet rock-n-roll legend Edgar Winter as he arrived on his American Airlines flight from L.A. He was making his way to the Decatur Celebration today for an afternoon and evening performance. Edgar had just wrapped up a month-long tour last night as a member of Ringo Starr's All-Star Band. While he was waiting for his luggage to arrive, he took a seat and gladly signed a couple of 8 x 10s and then posed for this photograph.

Back in Jacksonville, I visited our local tatoo establishment, House of Ink, where I met actor/singer Jake LaBotz. LaBotz is on a tour of tatoo parlors as spreads his brand of rock and blues music. He played the role of Reese in the 2008 version of Rambo. LaBotz gladly signed one of his compact disks and posed for this photograph.