lloyd cole

I met veteran singer songwriter Lloyd Cole after his Nov. 2006 gig at the Mod Club Theatre in Toronto. He was autographing CDs after the show and I was one of the last to go up to get one (since I was hanging out at the bar with friends instead of dutifully lining up). But once i finally did join the queue, I found out that the CDs were completely sold out! Dang!! So I got a photo and a wee chat with Mr. Cole instead. Nice fella.

rick mercer

I met Canadian TV personality Rick Mercer in October of 2006, after a taping of his CBC show "The Mercer Report". But then, he greets everyone after the show so it's not like this was much of a coup. But I think he's a great talent, so I was happy to get a snap of he and I together.

sinead o'connor

I met Irish songstress Sinead O'Connor after her Dec. 2005 Kool Haus concert in Toronto. I was there with a music industry pal, and when she was invited to go backstage i came along too. Turns out I was the only bloke there with a camera, so all the A&R record people were asking me to take pics of them with Sinead. So by the time I got my pic with her (and my pal Karen to the right) Sinead was plumb smiled out I think.

Momus

I've met Scottish songmeister Momus several times, but this was one of the few times where there was a camera handy. My pal Jaymz Bee took this photo when we were backstage just before Momus's gig at a small club in Waterloo Ontario (during the fundraising Stars Forever tour). Momus (aka: Nicholas Currie) is far from being a household word in the entertainment industry so he's always easy to approach and have a chat with.

Other celebrity run-ins include:

Nick Cave - I met him backstage afer his gig at the Kool Haus in Toronto (and of course my digital camera was in for repairs! Arghh!). Nick tolerated me patiently, but he made it very clear that my time in his presence was going to be limited. After a few minutes he pointed to an attractive blonde woman across the room and said "I'm going over there now."

Burl Ives - I went to Burl Ives's house in Washington state because my friend Jaymz Bee and I (and his band at the time - The Look People) were all in Vancouver, and since Jaymz had a standing invitation to visit Burl if he was ever in the area, three of us drove across the US border to Burl's private oceanside estate. There we met his wife, had some cookies, watched a bit of TV and Burl even shared a dirty limerick with us. A unique day indeed!

Donny Osmond - A friend of mine worked for the publicity department of the theatre company that was producing Joseph & The Amazing Techniclour Dreamcoat (here in Toronto) and Donny Osmond was the star. He was also doing celebrity appearances around town and that day my pal was taking him to sing the national anthem at the Blue Jays baseball game. She had an extra ticket and so I came too. And at one point all the press agents and MLB people were off doing something, and there I was - alone with Donny in a moment of total silence. I didn't know what to say to break the ice, so I started talking about the show he was in. I said something to the effect of: "I heard that Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote that show when he was in his final year of high school or something! Can you imagine accomplishing so much at such a young age?"..... then it dawned on me who I was talking to. Oy!

Harry Belafonte - The same friend who took me to the baseball game with Donny Osmond also got me into the concert Harry Belafonte was doing in town. It was probably one of his last tours (I don't think he sings much anymore) but we did all get to go backstage and meet the man himself. Just a handshake, and a hello, but it was a "Day-O" I'll always remember.

Tori Amos - I was working at the nightclub where Tori was performing and so I got to weasel my way into the aftershow meet and greet party the record label was throwing for her. I tried to make some flirtatious remark and she smirked along with me, but after a handshake and a smile the publicist was calling "next!..."

PJ Harvey - I saw what I think was her first Toronto appearance and the show was a blast. She's always amazing in concert. Afterwards I was hanging around the upstairs bar of the club with some pals, having a few bevvies, when suddenly this tiny little dark haired pixie-strumpet wanders by us, and i realize it's PJ. I stopped her, congratulated her on her show, made a bit of conversation and let her be on her way. She's just a wee, wee slip of a thing. I was amazed actually since she's a huge presence onstage!

Ben Harper - I watched his band rehearsing for their appearance on the Open Mike w/ Mike Bullard show (I worked as a prop artist on set) and inbetween songs I introduced myself and admitted I was a big fan. I'd seen Ben already twice in concert and was happy enough to meet him, but I was struck by how much he really, really looks at you (with those intense eyes of his) and how he actually seemed to be interested in meeting ME as well. Not something you feel when meeting most celebs. Then he insisted on signing the CD his publicist had given me, and then got his whole band to sign it too. Unfortunately it was the "Burn to Shine" CD (which isn't really that good) but it was a memorable meeting none the less.

Lauren Hutton - I had snuck into first class once (this was pre-9/11) on a flight leaving Nassau going to New York City, and just before take-off this rather attractive older woman gets on board and sits directly in front of me. I knew I knew her from somewhere, and after a while I figured out it was Lauren Hutton. After the flight she was one of the first off the plane, but she was walking with a cane, and dragging a large duffel sack piece of luggage behind her. I saw this as my opportunity and so I caught up to her, asked her if I could help carry her bags, and she said yes (she's no fool). As we walked along I asked her if she was indeed Lauren Hutton (affirmative), and what she was doing in Nassau (promotion), and so on and so on. Then she went her way and I went mine. Mine was to the luggae carousel. Hers was to a pay phone to call her agent and bark into the phone: "Where's my hire car? I'm here waiting at the airport!" (I stayed within earshot for a bit). The coda to this tale is that on my way back to Nassau (after a fun-filled week in NYC) I saw Miss Hutton on the cover of Vanity Fair. I bought it, naturally, and when I read the article I discovered that very recently Lauren had been in a horrific motorcycle accident. It nearly killed her, but in the end it only left her walking with a cane for several months. That explained a few things.

Parker Posey - Parker was in Toronto for the International Film Festival (for the movie "Daytrippers" i think) and I was at a festival party one night and I saw her on the dancefloor. So I sidled up to her, and started grinding away right next to her. She seemed not to mind, and she smiled, and she said "hi", and I said something vaguely comprehensible I'm sure (I LOVE Parker P. so this was a pretty charged moment for me). But all to soon (as is wont to happen with celebs) a publicist swooped in and rushed her off to meet some movie industry lizard or something. Ah well...

Sarah McLaughlin - I met Sarah through a pal of mine at one of CFNYs big outdoor summer concerts. We were all in the roped off VIP area (I was so connected back then) and he introduced me to wee a cute lass named Sarah from "out east". Sarah wasn't quite the household word she is now, but we met, said a few words and not much more. She seemed nice enough. But years later i ran into her at the New Music Seminar in NYC, and she was rocketing to stardom. We were both in the trade show convention centre and when I saw her she actually recognized me first and said "oh, hi. I met you through Mark, remember?" and I agreed. i said I had heard (which I had) that she was doing a private showcase concert later that night. Her hawkish publicist (always nearby) chimed in immediately and said "Yes she is, but it's for international press only!". But Sarah - bless her - turned around and said, simply but emphatically, "Put him on the guest list." God I loved that moment.