Dorothy's daughter was in St. Charles, Missouri, last Thursday and Friday to open the new Lindenwod Center for Fine and Performing Arts at Lindenwood University.

Liza Minnelli was the featured star for the school's new facility. She performed to nearly sold-out crowds both nights. I met Liza as she returned to the Ameristar Hotel following her Thursday night show. Although the show ended at 9:45 p.m., I didn't see her until almost midnight. My guess is she enjoyed dinner after the show. Nonetheless, she waved me and other collectors over to her car as she arrived at the hotel. She was in a great mood and took a few minutes to chat with everyone and take photographs. We asked her to sign, but she said to give all our items to her assistant and she would sit down and sign everything once she got to her room. About 15 minutes, her assistant came down with all our signed items.

In between the show and waiting for Liza to return to the hotel, I made a quick trip to University City to catch singer-songwriter Tift Merritt at Blueberry Hill. Talk about the right timing . . . she was meeting and greeting fans at the side of the stage as I walked inside. Tift gladly signed two 8 x 10s for me and posed for this photograph. She took time with each fan to visit before signing their autograph and posing for photos. Tift especially enjoyed one of the photos I had from last year's South by Southwest Festival.

On Sunday morning, I met up with a couple of members of the rock band, Styx, as they departed Lambert St. Louis International Airport. Ricky Phillips was first to appear and he gladly stopped to sign a compact disk and pose for this photograph. About an hour later, I spotted vocalist/guitarist Tommy Shaw at the check-in line. I waited until he was finished with his flying arrangements before asking him to sign my Shaw/Blades Influence compact disk. I then asked for a photo which he was glad to do. I was pleased he was in a great mood because I had heard from other collectors that he could sometimes be difficult. It wasn't the case Sunday morning. And . . . right before he took his place in the security line, he reached in his front pocket, pulled out a Tommy Shaw Styxworld.com '08 pearl guitar pick and placed it in my hands. Thanks, Tommy!

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.

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.

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

I caught 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.

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.

Loretta Swit, best known for her role as Major Margaret Houlihan on the television series, M*A*S*H* was in St. Louis Saturday evening for a benefit for Stray Rescue St. Louis. When we arrived, the 71-year-old actress was taking a break in the courtyard at the event. She had remembered us from a previous encounter at a jewelry convention (she designs and sells jewelry and had given us a bracelet) and walked us into the charity event to show us her animal artwork. She gave us detailed descriptions on several pieces. Loretta then happily signed a M*A*S*H* dvd and insert and posed for this photograph.

A little earlier in the evening, I met the guys in the band, One Republic, as they arrived via Frontier Airlines on their flight from Denver. They were scheduled to play Live on the Levee later in the evening. They currently have a top ten hit, "Stand and Stare," after scoring another top ten single last year with "Apologize." Each member signed their CD, "Dreaming Out Loud," although their tour manager initially kept us away from lead singer Ryan Tedder as he sat on the baggage carousel awaiting his luggage.

The Reverend is in the house!

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and R-n-B legend Al Green is in St. Louis tonight to perform at the Fox Theater. I met Reverend Green earlier this morning at St. Louis Lambert International Airport as he arrived on his American Airlines flight from Chicago. He was in great spirits as he playfully hid behind a post to avoid me and several other autograph collectors. The Reverend was especially excited to see I had his newest disk, Lay It Down, for him to sign (The new CD is vintage Al Green...track four, "No One Like You" is my favorite cut). He punctuated his excitement with a couple of "oh yeahs and hallelujahs" and a little dance after signing each autograph. And, he gladly posed for photos with us as he waited for his luggae to arrive.