The Time I Met...

Photo courtesy of AAP

BEASTIE BOYS Glenn G: Somewhere around 1988, one of, if not the first record that I ever bought was a copy of the Double A side of “Shake That Rump” and “Hey Ladies” by the Beastie Boys. I was quite young and it helped change my perspective on music. In fact this record was responsible for me deciding I wanted to be part of the music world. I was hooked on the Beastie Boys from that moment on and I guess they’ve always been my favourite band. As fate would have it, I ended up working in the music industry and, even more incredibly, I ended up with EMI music — the label that signed the Beastie Boys and that’ve released all their music since. My position is in the promo department which means that I have to meet our bands when they’re in Melbourne and take them around to their interviews and gigs. So, eventually (about three years ago now) the Beastie Boys toured and it was my job to look after them. I remember going to meet them for the first time and I was thinking: “I’m just walking in to meet up with the Beastie Boys - to stand in a room with them by myself to explain what they’re going to do today”. I thought I might turn into the shyest guy on earth around them and walking in there felt really surreal, but I think I kept it professional while going bananas inside. They were exactly as you’d imagine them to be — really nice and interesting. I did get to stand side of stage with them watching Snoop Dogg perform while his fried chicken was delivered though, so that was pretty cool. As tends to happen, I ended up taking a bunch of photos of other people with the band but didn’t get one myself unfortunately.

Photo courtesy of Sam O’Reilly

VANILLA ICE Sam O’Reilly: Flying over Bass Straight to go to Hobart a few days after the fateful gig, I wondered to myself whether I would care if the plane dropped from the sky. It was not a thought that arose from depression, more like a George Costanza cue to leave on a high note. Seriously, what does one do when they have hit their peak, lived their dream and have nothing more to aspire to? This is the problem I face right now in my life. Six days ago, I received an email notification on MySpace from the manager of Robert Mathew Van Winkle, aka Vanilla Ice, telling me that Vanilla needed a DJ for his gig at Melbourne V Fest because he had to rush home straight after the gig (which I later found out was for a booty call). I promptly cancelled all commitments and updated my Facebook status to “Sam O’Reilly is DJ Samurai Li aka Vanilla Ice’s DJ”. In January 08 I had the privilege of hanging with the Ice Man when the mate of mine, who was hosting the Melbourne leg of the Vanilla Ice tour, asked me to chaperone Vanilla, pick him up from the airport, take him to dinner, take him to the Casino to play Krapps. You know, chilling. Ice style. We got to know each other and got along really well and up to this point I rated that as the best three days of my life. I am clearly a massive Vanilla fan and have sung the words “police on the scene” more times than I have had roast dinners. Anyway, to commemorate his stay, I asked Rob (yeah that’s right, we are on first name basis) to sign my leg at the airport. I said adios, gave him a bro handshake and a slap on the back and rushed off to the tattoo parlor. I-C-E now sits permanently on my ankle. So there I was at 26 years of age, DJing and doing back up vocals for Vanilla Ice at V Fest. 12,000 screaming fans following my lead of the flying V (hand signal where you put the middle finger and ring finger up to form a V) and chanting “ICE …ICE …BABY”. To my left, the man himself introducing me to the crowd “Here is DJ Samurai Li, he’s from Melbourne y’all!” It was the greatest introduction ever.

Photo courtesy of Courtney D

PHARRELL WILLIAMS Courtney D: I’m going to begin by declaring that, from my perspective, the only celebrities worth meeting are rappers & hip hop megastars. Unlike other people like sporting heroes, actors (especially), comedians, writers, bands etc, the stars of the hip hop world don’t try and blend in or wear a stupid disguise or cover their face with a newspaper while drinking coffee. They realise that they are famous and that everyone is really excited to be standing near them and would love to have a hug and a photo taken. A few weeks ago I met the man who goes by the name Skateboard P. In lieu of a blow-by-blow recount, I thought it may be more insightful to share some first hand observations: - P constantly bumps his iPod. In the three hours I was around him his headphones were glued to da’ ear even whilst on the phone, cruisin’ the intranets and trying on clothes.   - P has, like, one million businesses. These include a bionic yarn company and an online bike shop. - P’s bodyguard Rob is super big, super friendly and super quiet. - P is the opposite of a diva i.e happy to eat in a food court. - P is not as tiny as everyone always says he is. - P was wearing yet to be released Louis Vuitton shades, the biggest diamond ring I have ever seen and what looked to be a Dior Homme leather jacket. - P is producing a feature film, ‘Voltron’ due for 2011 release. - P is currently putting himself through some sort of skin re-grafting surgery so he can get more ‘adult, sophisticated’ tattoos. - P isn’t fazed by packs of young Asian boys tricked out in Bape and Ice Creams fainting in his presence. - P loved my Chanel jacket. Yes, the day I met Pharrell was tres swell and an overall improvement on my day.

Photo courtesy of James Straker

J MASCIS – DINOSAUR JR James Straker: Well, I’m the third biggest Dinosaur Jr. fan in the world. I’m even the honorary president of J’s Big Muff - that’s a type of guitar pedal that helps create his band’s distinctive sound - museum. I have a plaque in his house in my honour. Anyway I first met J in Brisbane in 95 when the promoter wanted someone to take him to play golf. I’d never played golf before in my life but of course I wasn’t going to turn the opportunity down. I picked J up from the hotel and literally turned into a giggling schoolgirl. We were on the way to the golf course and by way of making conversation, I asked whether he’d gone to see Slayer the night before and whether he’d found it funny. In response, I heard this really quiet, very serious voice coming from the back of the car saying, “There’s nothing funny about Slayer”. I was devastated and convinced that I’d offended him within the first ten minutes of meeting him. So, we got to the golf course and I chose not to tell them I’d never played before. I went to tee off and my first attempt travelled two feet in front of me. I tried again and the next ball travelled further but directly to my left. I was forced to admit I’d never played before and told everyone to go on without me because I didn’t want to ruin their day. Right at that moment I heard the exact same voice from the car saying, “No man, you’ve just gotta keep trying”. So, I set up another ball, hit a great shot and I’ve been playing golf ever since.