some of the people I know

I had to do a presentation when I was in grad school on music, and I started thinking about all the bands I'd seen over the years (and continue to see) and then all the famous people that I've met, so I thought I'd write a bit about that.
I think the first concert I even went to without the family (although we used to go to the 'tent' and I saw Herb Alpert and some other shows there) was Grand Funk Railroad at the Civic Center. I went with my friend (we didn't drive yet so we needed a ride).

I've always loved live music, which is why I still probably spend more time than I should these days in clubs like the Met. I have to say, I LOVE THE MET. It's like the old Lupo's...it's not huge, I know everyone in there, sound system is good, only downside is the neighbourhood is a little sketchy so you need to always go early so you can park in front or in the lot across the street. I got there late once and was sent to a back lot that was soooo scary I drove around until something in front opened up.

Anyway, the list of bands/musicians I've seen is very long and there may be one or two I've forgotten, some are just very famous, but local bands, I'll start with the list, in no particular order.

Grand Funk Railroad - several times, Alice Cooper - several times, David Bowie - several times, George Harrison, Rubber Rodeo, Route 44, Mark Knoffler, Dire Straits, The Monkees - several times, Mink DeVille, Queen, The Police (very early in their career), Herman's Hermits, Iggy Pop, The Grassroots, Yes - several times, Steppenwolf, Smithereens, Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, NRBQ, Deep Purple, The Lyres, R.E.M. (one time live at a David Letterman taping), J. Geils Band, Romantics, Mission of Burma, The Cure, The Cult, Beaver Brown/JohnCafferty (probably weekly when I was in college, but have seen him 2x in the last month now), Ted Leo - way way many times, The Kinks, Blue Oyster Cult, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lou Miami, The Young Adults - a ridiculous amount of times, The Schemers/Raindogs, many times, Spin Doctors, The Neighborhoods - regularly, Adam Ant, Doobie Brothers, Seals and Croft, Nilsson, Graham Parker, The Go Gos, Herman Brood, Flash and the Pan, Chicago, Three Dog Night, David Johansen/NY Dolls - used to pretty much follow him around, Rash of Stabbings, Patti Smith, Television, B52s, Devo, Talking Heads, Roomful of Blues (every Sunday night in college), Elvis Costello, INXS, Interview, Aztec Two Step, Ultravox, Nick Lowe, The Dead Kennedys, The Dead Boys - once was enough, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds (the only band I ever heard Randy Hein ask to turn it down!), The Ramones, Aerosmith - a few times, Love of Diagrams, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Kristeen Young, Robert Cray, Bo Diddley, KC and the Sunshine Band, The Cars - before they were famous (for a dollar!), Manhattan Transfer, Leon Redbone, Tom Waits, Alan Parsons Project, ELO, The Mundanes, HSR, Warren Zevon, The Tubes, The Cowsills, James Taylor, Johnny Cougar and the Zones (before he was better known as Mellencamp, and he sucked!), Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Sly and the Family Stone - he was 3 hours late for the concert, came on stage, did one song and walked off, Susan Tedeschi, Jim Carroll, Fleetwood Mac (before Buckingham/Nicks), Tommy Tutone, and I had tickets to see T Rex but he died before he got here.

There are only a few I wish I'd seen. I would have liked to see in their heyday Fleetwood Mac and the Beach Boys, but not now. I still would LOVE to see the Stones. The thought of going to a humongous arena to see a band does not thrill me though.

The music people I actually know, who are famous probably only in RI (and at that, maybe if you're a music person you'd know them) has come about more from doing all the filming I do at the Met and being involved with people like Bruce McCrae, aka Rudy Cheeks, once a local radio personality and a former (well and current) lead singer for the Young Adults, RI's premiere party band in the late 70s and Lupo's house band, who we saw (and continue see) every chance we get...they broke up a long time ago but played a 3 night stand as a reunion tour last May (and I was involved in the video, which unfortunately, will never see the light of day because they didn't like the way THEY sounded) and will be playing again on the 25th in the Tribute to Thom (Enright) who just passed away and has been in just about every freakin' band IN Rhode Island.

I knew John Cafferty in High School (as well as his band) and saw him last week and will on the 25th, Thom Enright was in his band as well.

Marty Ballou, look him up, one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet, been in tons of bands, very well respected musicians and one of my truly favourite people on the planet, he did a few dates with J. Geils recently, but plays the Met (and with the Young Adults) every chance he gets.



Dennis McCarthy, also a long time well known local guy, I harassed him into singing yesterday at the Jam.



Ted Leo, also one of the nicest guys you ever want to know, he married a girl from RI and used to play around here all the time, I got to know him from filming and though he's now in NYC (his wife got a job there) he still keeps his house here. The hardest working man in alternative rock.







When you get into not really celebrities so to speak (local or not), but people famous in their own realm of things, the most famous person I really know is Dr. Francis Collins. I met him through a genetic conference I go to from time to time, 15 years ago, his wife headed it. He would sit on the floor and play folk songs on Friday nights and do a sing a long. But I had known him before that. See when Bec was diagnosed, there was (and continues to be) no test. I saw this nice man on TV talking about genetic testing, so I looked him up and emailed him about the gene for what she had. He graciously answered me back. I had no idea who he was other than some 'nice man on the tv'. When I brought his email up to her Boston doc, he almost fell of his chair, he said, 'you wrote to the big guy!'. Dr. Collins is one of the people that decoded the human genome. He used to head the Human Genome Project at the National Institutes of Health, now he just runs the NIH. And I know him. He even sent me an autographed copy of the decoded genome because I told him someday he was going to win the Nobel prize and I wanted to prove that I really did know him.



At the NIH, there's the Office of Rare Diseases and that is headed by Steve Groft, who I also know. These people are proof that your tax dollars really work.

Bec went down there a couple of years ago because they are now looking for the gene for what she has, andwe got our genomes sequenced, as in the 5th and 6th people in the WORLD to have it done. Dr. Collins had introduced me to 'this guy Les', at the genetics conference one year, who turns out to be Dr. Les Biesecker, who runs the Biesecker Lab at the NIH!










Michael Waltrip, NASCAR driver. He took Bec right into his hauler and put her up on his knee and posed for photos and signed everything we gave him, on several occasions. Very nice and patient guy.








Sgt. Slaughter. Yup, I used to make his pants when he was the GI Joe action figure for Hasbro. Biggest guy I've ever seen in my life. Legs and neck like tree trunks. Well over 6'6" tall. And soft spoken, polite, with a little bitty wife.

Dr. John Opitz and Dr. Victor Dubowitz. Look them up. Bec saw them in Utah in the midst of our diagnosis tour. Dr. Opitz has syndromes named after him and was the editor of many research papers. Dr. Dubowitz also has a syndrome named for him and lives in Great Britain.



And then there's just the list of 'famous' people that I've met. I'm not going to go into every politician; it's so small here that my art work used to hang in my Senator's office (and now his son is the Governor). I used to work in the Mayor's office, who then became the Governor (I didn't work for him at that point). Our current Mayor goes to my church, so it's not like other states. I remember at one of the genetic conferences talking to someone from Texas who was all excited to meet their congressman. Ours all walk in every parade they can and we've probably shaken hands with them a few times. So who I've at least shaken hands with, if not gotten an autograph.

Davy Jones, who just passed away. I met him several times over the years, he was a very gracious soul. Peter Tork, also very gracious. Peter Max (the artist), I purchased one of his paintings and I got a photo with him, my painting is dedicated to me and drawn on/signed/says so on the back of it (so don't come here to steal it!) My mom has a letter written to her and signed (she died years ago) by Richard Nixon. I met when I was 6 skating in Rockerfeller Center Richard Chamberlain. I had a postcard signed by him (I had no idea who he was) but no idea where that would be. I have the genome signed by Francis Collins. I have some stuff signed by Jeff Gordon (though I've never met him). I also have a few NASCAR programs signed by many of the drivers. Jeff Burton, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, too many to list here.

So that's it for now, if I think of more, I'll just edit.