Tuesday, August 31, 2010


Here's George Clinton, "the Atomic Dog," at Saturdays' in-store signing at Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, considered by many to be the innovator of "funk" music, was signing copies of his new release before his evening concert at Chaifetz Arena.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

"You can't get them all" was the motto for last Friday's adventure in Springfield, Illinois.

Veteran rockers Cheap Trick and Blondie headlined the Grandstand at the Illinois State Fair. Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry stopped to pose for this photo and sign a Blondie CD as she left her hotel to board the tour bus for the ride to the fairgrounds.

Drummer Clem Burke was right on her heels. He gladly stopped to sign the CD and pose for this shot (proudly displaying his purchase at local music store, Recycled Records, earlier in the day). He also picked up a copy of George Jones' autobiography on the trip to the store.

Cheap Trick bassist Tom Petersson was next out the door. While posing for this photo, Blondie guitarist Chris Stein left from another door. Before I could get to him for a photo, he was on the bus. Arrgh! Guess he'll have to wait for next time.

Guitarist Rick Nielsen stopped "very quickly" to sign an 8 x 10 and pose for this silly shot. As he was signing, vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Daxx Nielson hopped into the transport van. You can catch Zander "mugging" for the camera in the background.

Unfortunately, rain canceled Cheap Trick's performance and cut Blondie's set by 20 minutes.

Sunday, August 08, 2010

It's been a busy weekend with the performers at the Decatur Celebration.

The weekend started with a Friday afternoon meeting at the airport with the former lead vocalist of Foreigner, Lou Gramm. Gramm visited with our group and signed my Head Games CD and the posed for this shot. I'm glad to see Gramm still recording and touring after his bout with a brain tumor.

Today I batted a thousand as I got photographs with all six performers at the Decatur Celebration.

Here are two of the original members of the southern rock band, The Georgia Satellites. Rick Price and Rick Richards. They especially enjoyed sharing the story of hitting a wild turkey on their trip from southern Georgia to Illinois.

Rap took center stage next as I got to "bust a move" with Grammy winner Young MC. He really liked my photograph and added the "bust a move" inscription to the glossy.

Tone Loc was sharing the bill with Young MC this afternoon in Decatur. While it was hard to recognize his much slimmer figure, the distinguishable voice was a dead giveaway. The "Funky Cold Medina" and "Wild Thing" artist put down his bags to sign a CD and pose for this shot. Love that voice :--).

Christian singer Francesca Battistelli stopped for this shot as she made her way to the Christian Music Stage at the Celebration. Battistelli, who swept a ton of Dove Awards (Female Vocalist of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year) in 2009, is expecting her first child in a couple of months.

Who was first group to have four top ten singles from their debut release? If you guessed Expose', you win today's prize. The original three ladies are back together, touring a bit, and even have plans to record a new disk. Ann Curless and Gioia Bruno chatted with us for about 10 minutes while waiting for the third member of the trio Jeanette Jurado. Ann and Gioia especially loved looking at my 8 x 10, a shot of the group from the 1990 Grammy Awards. They signed the photograph, and then Jeanette finished it off when she arrived to meet the group. Before they departed for the show, the gals were very gracious to pose for the above group shot.

I wrapped up the afternoon talking with Charlie Daniels as he exited his tour bus to get ready for tonight's show. His first words off the bus were, "how long you been waiting out here?" Then Charlie apologized for making me wait. What a great guy. He gladly signed an 8 x 10 of our last meeting (Illinois State Fair-Springfield) and then posed for this new shot. He thanked me and even worked in a couple of "God bless yous" before walking into the hotel to prepare.

Monday, August 02, 2010

You know how things happen when you least expect them? Well, tonight was one of those times. I scored a photo with one of the founding fathers of rock-n-roll, Chuck Berry!

Normally, Berry is camera shy and usually refuses to pose for the camera. Tonight was an exception. He seemed in a great mood while attending an event at St. Louis City Hall honoring Devon Alexander, current WBC and IBF light welterweight boxing champion, and St. Louis native. As he worked his way through the crowd, he stopped to pose for those who asked. As I asked him for the photo, I thanked him for all his great music. He extended his arm for a handshake and the photo.