Brushes with Fame

Last update:  June 4, 2024

I have a semi-hobby of meeting famous people.  Here's a list.

Well-known musicians I played with

If it's not noted where I played with them, it was at Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp.

1. Ben Folds (and Darren Jesse, Robert Sledge) (met 1996, played 1998).  I was one of their early fans before they hit it big, so it was easy to hang out with them at their shows.  I'd been bugging Ben for a long time to let me play a song with them at a show, and he finally relented.
2. King Coffey (1997).  Drummer for the Butthole Surfers.  My band played a party where he DJ'd between our sets.  Knowing he was gonna be there, I'd brought my Independent Worm Saloon CD and he didn't just autograph it, he drew art all over it.  He also sat in with us on a song.  I was ecstatic.  He accidentally picked up one of my power supplies when he was packing up, so I had to go to his house the next day to pick it up, turned out he lived not far from me.  He didn't invite me in to do drugs or anything, but he was very cordial.  I ran into him again in the emergency room at the hospital in 2022.
3. Jack Bruce (2007) • Cream
4. Jon Lord (2007) • Deep Purple
5. Gary Brooker (2007) • Procol Harum
6. Bill Wyman (2007) • Rolling Stones
7. Alan White (2007) • Yes, John Lennon.  His obituary in the Detroit News (2022) improbably included a photo of him with me, as I was the least important person he ever played with.
8. Roger Daltrey (2008) • The Who
9. Joe Walsh (2008) • The Eagles
10. Slash (2008) • Guns n Roses, Velvet Revolver
11. Ace Frehley (2010) • KISS
12. Michael Anthony (2010) • Van Halen

Famous musicians I met but didn't play with

1. Paul Schaffer (1996)
2. Joan Jett (1996).  Her band came to the bar where mine was playing, after their show ended. 
3. East Bay Ray (1996).  Of the Dead Kennedys.  My band opened for his.
4. Vaden Todd Lewis (2007) • Toadies
5. Paul Carrack (2007) • Squeeze, Mike and the Mechanics
6. Tony Bennett (2009)
7. Lita Ford (2010) • The Runaways
8. Ringo Starr (2014) • Rory Storm & the Hurricanes
9. Paul McCartney • Wings

Not-as-famous musicians

1. Malford Milligan.  Saw him occasionally in 1987-88, as he was in a band with my nextdoor neighbor at my apartment complex.
2. Carrie Clark (1990s).  Fronted one of the most popular bands from Austin, Sixteen Deluxe.  We ran in the same circles, and she's my neighbor.  I played her guitar when I noticed it in a studio where we were recording (regrettably, I didn't think to ask first).  Ran into her today when she walked her dogs past my house.  Last time I saw her years ago I thought I bored her by telling her a long story but I was relieved today when I apologized for that that she didn't remember.
3. Guy Forsyth. (1990s)  Never met him, but we dated the same person (at different times), so that's a one-degree-of-separation deal.
4. Thor Harris (1990s).  He's notable as equal parts musician, builder, and plumber.  As a musician, he's been a member of some semi-well-known acts.  As a builder, for his own home he took and old home and transformed it amazingly, like something out of Lord of the Rings.  As a plumber, he's known for providing free services for low-income people and has been covered in the media for his work.  I met him in the 90s, he lives in my neighborhood, his niece rented a house from me, and he helped me with a plumbing project.  By sheer coincidence, when I took my father-in-law to a local hand surgeon, I discovered the surgeon is Thor's cousin.  Small world.
5. Xanna Don't (1996).  Opened for Devo, dubbed "The country queen of Boston" by the Boston Herald, appeared in Office Space.  I backed her on piano at a Ramones Hoot Night at Hole in the Wall.
6. Graham Reynolds.  A local celebrity musician.  Like with Guy Forsyth, I didn't actually meet him, but I dated his ex-girlfriend, so the one-degree-of-separation thing is kind of significant here.
7. Neil Murray (2007).  Bassist for Whitesnake, et al.
   
8. Mark Hudson (2008).  Ringo's bandleader.
   
9. Frank London or Matt Darriau (2009).  It's embarrassing that I can't remember which one.  I had dinner at his place with a mutual friend, and all I remember was that he was one of two wind instrument players on a certain song.

Actors and Entertainers

1. Patrick Duffy (1978)  Met the Dallas actor when that show was filmed in my hometown.
2. George Takei (1985) • Star Trek
3. Majel Barrett (1987) • Star Trek
4. Teller (circa 2006)
5. Dan Piraro (2007).  We've corresponded briefly over the years.
6. Martin Short (2009).
7. Sarah Silverman, William Shatner, Gilbert Gottfried (2015).  I didn't meet them, but I won charity auctions where they recorded my outgoing voicemail message.

Presidents

One degree of separation

Most rock musicians.  From having met a dozen or so famous rock musicians (see above), I'm likely around one degree of separation away from just about every other well-known rock musician.

Elvis Costello.  In 2/22 I took my father-in-law to a local surgeon, who I discovered founded the Musician Treatment Foundation, of which Costello is a board member.  (I'm also one degree away from Costello from having met Paul McCartney.)

Graham Reynolds.  An old girlfriend was also the former girlfriend of this local celebrity musician.

Guy Forsyth.  Someone else I used to date was the former girlfriend of this local celebrity musician.

Dr. Jane Goodall.  In the late 80s I worked on a public access TV show headed by Ann Koros, who is on the advisory board of the International Primate Protection League with Goodall.

Mike Judge.  The former girlfriend mentioned above had also been a maid for Judge, of Beavis & Butthead and King of the Hill fame.  I'm probably also one degree of separation away from Judge through Evelyn Hurley (mentioned above).

Rich Linklater.  Yet someone else I used to date, and lived with for a while, had previously dated this noted filmmaker.

Sandra Bullock.  The guy who painted our house says he painted Sandra Bullock's, too.  He wasn't expensive, though.

Doctors / Medical

Lesser-known, other

1. Rachel Bernstein (1967).  My cousin.  Had a non-speaking role in Orange is the New Black.
2. George Gimarc (1985)
3. Bob Bullock (1985).  Didn't meet him, but I got a letter from him.  When he was the Texas Comptroller, I had a problem with getting the sales tax tables I requested and he personally resolved it, for some reason.  He later became the Lt. Governor, and the Texas History Museum is his namesake.
4. Darin Adler (1986).  One of the developers of MacOS and Safari.  We were members of the computer club at university and he helped me with my programming homework once.
5. Nick Taylor (1988).  One of the top ten triathletes in the world, at the time we were roommates.
6. Rip Esselstyn (1988).  Created the Engine 2 Diet.  He came by all the time because he trained with Nick (above).
7. Tom Philpott (1990).  He, Scott Henson, and I produced a popular alternative newspaper in the 90s called Polemicist.  He went on to become an award-winning writer, notably for Mother Jones.
8. Frenchie Smith.  Legendary music producer (and musician).  He was a co-worker of my bandmate, and recorded our band (before he was legendary).
9. Katzen (1996).  She came to a venue where my band was playing.  Later, I ran into her when she worked at the shop where I got one of my tattoos.
10. The Enigma (1996).  He was married to Katzen (above) and I ran into him at the tattoo shop.
11. Princess Superstar (Concetta Kirshner, 1997)
12. Michael Shackleford (2000).  I contacted him looking for some slot machine info and he invited me to join him in Atlantic City to help with some research he was conducting, which I did.  Following that I did various work for him, and we essentially became business partners in 2004.  That ended in 2010, but we still do some business together.
13. Rhys Southan (2001).  We were housemates decades ago and have remained friends.  He's an award-winning video producer and had some pieces in high-profile outlets like the New York Times.
14. Joe Weisenthal (2001).  We were housemates, and I played the title character in a musical he co-wrote with Rhys Southan (above).
15. Evelyn Hurley (2001).  She appeared in movies after we met.  She was in Idiocracy, which we saw together.
16. Stanford Wong (Blackjack Hall of Fame) (2004)
17. Anthony Curtis (2004)
18. Jean Scott (2004)
19. Susan Polgar (first woman grandmaster in chess) (2006)
20. Jennifer Shahade (U.S. women's chess champion) (2007)
21. David Fishof (2007)
22. Ron Nevison (2010).  While he's not a household name, among musicians and industry people he's legendary.  As he either audio-engineered or produced albums by The Who, Bad Company, Jefferson Starship, Survivor, Heart, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, and Chicago.  He mentored my band at Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp.
23. John Payne (2010). Leader of the band Asia, but after its heyday.  He mentored my band at Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp.
24. George Gray (2011)
25. Bob Dancer (2011)
26. Steve Hassan (2014). One of the world's leading experts on mind control cults.  We met for lunch at a conference.
27. Richard Munchkin (Blackjack Hall of Fame) (2015)

Local movers and shakers

City Council, prior to City Council

    I knew or met five Austin City Councilmembers before they became councilmembers (Raul Alvarez, Brigid Shea, Chris Riley, Randi Shade, Daryl Slusher).  Also, when Laura Morrison successfully ran for City Council in 2008, I knew 10 of the people listed in her endorsement ad (17% of the total).

Friends & Acquaintances (If you expect to be listed here and you're not, it's probably only because I'm still building this list.  I try to add about one person per week.  Feel free to let me know if you want to be added now.)

My definition of a "local mover and shaker" is generally that the person has been covered by the local news.  My criteria for "acquaintance" is that they know who I am.

Amanda Jones.  Runs the funky Collection Rert art/event space.  She's my neighbor (and a carpenter, and installed a deck for me).

Amy Babich.  Well-known bicycling advocate.  I volunteered to run her website when she ran for mayor.

Andy McCauley.  We were Earth First!ers together in the late 80s early 90s.  He bravely locked himself to a fence once in protest of an environmental tragedy.  After we both moved on to other things, he became a tradesperson, we became neighbors, and he helped me with one of my rental houses.  He passed away in 2019.  The world is worse for it.

Bala Wong.  She was the general manager of KOOP Radio when I had a show there in the 90s.  I knew her from that, and we also hung out for a few hours one day circa 2007.

Bill Bunch.  Founder of the Save Our Springs Alliance, which leads the charge to protect Austin's waterways.  Have known him since the early 90s.

Bob Libal.  Notable as the former director of Grassroots Leadership, and his current (2022) run for Travis County Commissioner.  In 2002-03, we were both in a stage musical called Who is Jim Holt?

Brent Perdue.  We were both active in Earth first! in the 90s.  He was covered in the paper for his work with Ecology Action.

Brewster McCracken.  City Council member.  We interacted when I spoke at Council in 2006.

Brooke Moreland.  We were housemates at a co-op in the early 2000s and performed in a stage show together.  A few years later I saw her on a national news show as a commenter about transportation issues, and wasn't very surprised, because she always seemed very capable.

Bruce Todd.  Mayor of Austin.  We interacted in 2006. when I questioned him at a debate.

Cara Bertron.  As a senior planner in Austin's Housing and Planning Dept., she's sometimes quoted in the newspaper, such as this from 2021:  "The preservation field itself has really seen a major paradigm shift toward preserving communities, rather than just buildings; toward telling the full American story, not just the stories of wealthy white men."  We spent a day together in 2002.  It was magical.

Cedar Stevens.  Co-founder of the Austin chapter of Earth First!, and founding member of the House of Commons co-op, both of which I was also members of.  I've known her since 1987, longer than almost any other of my Austin friends.

Chepo Peña (1996).  Award-winning local musician and artist, probably best known as a member of 90s band Sincola.  He graciously played bass on a Ben Folds Five parody track I was recording.

Cindy Widner (1990s).  Fronted the band Happy Family, managing editor of the Austin Chronicle, and staffer at ICC Co-ops (where I lived and was a board member).

Danny Dolinger.  Local musician, until he moved away.  We performed together, were both members of Earth First!, and I financed his first album.

Dave Baker.  Co-founder of the Yellow Bike Project.  We knew each other before that and he helped me move once.

Dave Dobbs.  Noted transit advocate.  He passed in 2021.

Dan Gilotte.  Former GM of Wheatsville.

David Bryan.  He was the executive and legal directory of the Texas Human Rights Foundation and the national gay rights group in the late 80s.  I was his secretary circa 1991-92.

Edwin Lee.  Born in 1920, his "Lee's Shoe Shop" is listed on the plaque in Chestnut Pocket Park describing the thriving African-American community at the end of the old trolley line in the 1950s-60s.  He was my next-door neighbor for 14 years, and I became his guardian for the last year of his life so he wouldn't have to go to a nursing home, since he never married, had no kids, and at 96 had outlived just about all of his other family and friends.

Erica Nix.  She pops up in the Chronicle frequently for her (laudable) efforts to promote exercise.  We were housemates in a co-op in the early 2000s.

Ethan Azarian.  Acclaimed local musician and artist.  First met him in 1990 when he played at a show I organized.

Flynn Lee.  Ran for Travis County Constable, and seems to know everybody.  We were having lunch and he introduced me to the city's Fire Chief when she happened to pass by, and I noticed that the Travis County Sheriff attended his mother's funeral.  Met him when we both coincidentally looked in on an elderly neighbor at the same time, and we've been friends since.

Jennifer Gale.  Local eccentric and perennial political candidate.  We were on friendly terms, and I endorsed her for mayor (on merit).  She died in 2008.

Jerry Chamkis.  He was the engineer at KO.OP Radio and Free Radio Austin, but more important to those who knew him, he was incredibly charismatic and insightful.  He passed in late 2021.

Jerry Rogers.  Used to be in the newspaper now and again for his environmental activism.  We took a trip to San Francisco together, and he worked on my houses before he retired as a carpenter.

Jim Ellinger.  Founder of KO.OP Radio.  Definitely acquaintance, not friend.

Jim Hightower.  Former agriculture commissioner of Texas.  I never met him directly, but I was good friends with Jacquie Thomas, who was his speechwriter for a while.

Howard Lennet, former: president of the Jewish Community Center of Austin, general manager of the Inter-Cooperative Council, and program director at KUT (and back in 1976, one of the student reps on the University Co-op board of directors).

Kathy Mitchell.  Very visible police reform and civil rights activist.  We both worked on the alternative newspaper Polemicist in the early 90s.

Lee Gresham.  Local bike shop owner and former bike activist (so of course we ran in the same circles), covered in the media e.g. here.

Lee Nichols.  He's notable for having been a writer and editor at the Austin Chronicle.  We knew each other in college, and our daughters were on the same soccer team in school.

Marti Bier.  Aide to two different city councilmembers, and one of the first people in Texas to have a legal same-sex marriage.  We were housemates in the late 90s.

Michele Fitzgerald.  The only female member of Shrinovers, an associated act of the infamous performance art/music group Uranium Savages, featuring artist Kerry Awn.  She also ran a shop on S. Congress for a while.  She showed up at an estate sale I was running and wound up helping me evaluate the quilts, about which she's an expert.

Neal Tuttrup.  Frequently covered in the news for his environmental activism in the 90s.  Appeared in the Unforeseen documentary alongside others such as the Texas governer, Willie Nelson, and Robert Redford.  We've been friends since the late 80s.

Paul Minor.  Acclaimed local music and music booster, inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 2001.  A few years before that, in 1998, he recruited me to start a working cover band.  That didn't pan out, I don't remember why.  I still dig his CDs.

Paul Robbins.  A fixture of Austin's environmental community, so it was inevitable that we'd run into each other.

Randi Shade.  Former City Council member.  Had some conversations with her in the late 80s when she was the UT student body president.

Rich Malley.  Drummed for lots of well-known Austin acts including Happy Family and the Horsies, and recently (2021) Living Pins (with Pam Peltz of Ursa Major and Carrie Clark of Sixteen Deluxe).

Rob D'Amico.  Founder of the League of Bicycling Voters (now Bike Austin), and columnist for the Austin Chronicle.  We ran in the same circles when he started LoBV and he interviewed me for a story.

Robin Cravey.  Unsuccessful candidate for City Council in 2008.  He was also my lawyer.

Robin Stallings.  Director of Bike Texas.  His organization gave me some kind of award.

Roger Baker.  Active in various environmental groups, including as a board member of Save Barton Creek Association, and prolific local political writer.  We were in Earth First! together.

Stuart Gourd.  Ran for U.S. Congress in 2004, was a founding member of the House of Commons co-op and the Austin chapter of Earth First!, and is an amazing musician.  We were housemates 1989-90 (I still have his orange dresser that he left behind), and we co-founded a free weekly music show around that time called Club Whatever.  I was the treasurer for his Congressional campaign.  He publishes his music under a pseudonym, so I can't link to it, because that would out him.

Tim Hamblin.  Archivist at the Austin History Center, covered in the Chronicle for his work, including getting a "Best of Austin" award.  He's my neighbor and we attended his annual 4th of July party.  It also turns out that my friend Shannon has done a lot of work on his house.

Tom Wald.  We lived together in a co-op.  Once when he left town he asked me to keep his (foreign-born) girlfriend company, so I taught her a bunch of mildly insulting slang like "Talk to the hand" and "I'm not even trying to hear that noise."  He noted that she used it on him when he got back.  In 2022, he's running for City Council.

Will Wynn.  Mayor of Austin.  We interacted when I spoke at a City Council meeting in 2006.

Met or Encountered

Akwasi Evans.  Noted civil rights activist and publisher (1948-2019). I once bought some advertising in his newspaper and he left me a voicemail about the payment.

Amelia Raley.  Owner of Sweet Ritual.  We lived in the same co-op, but at different times.  Met her at Big Nonna's.

Bonnie Cullum.  She owns the Vortex theater.  I participated in a few shows there, as either an actor or musician.

Brigid Shea.  Former Austin City Councilmember and Travis County Councilmember.  Ran into her at a party in the early 90s.

Bruce Todd.  Former mayor of Austin.  We interacted when I asked a question at a public forum in 2006.

Chad Hopper.  Co-conspirator of the funky Collection Rert art/event space, and author of the World Salad comic.  He's my neighbor.

Chris Riley.  Former City Councilmember.  We were both bicycle advocates so we ran in the same circles.

Dr. Collette Pierce Burnette, president of Huston-Tillotson University.  In 2018 I wanted to make a significant donation, and a mutual friend arranged for me to deliver it to her directly.

Crazy Carl Hickerson.  Local eccentric, ran for mayor maybe ten times.  Met him in the hot tub at New Manor Apts. in the late 80s.  I asked what he did, and he stared at me wide-eyed and said, "You wanna buy some DRUGS?!"

Daryl Slusher.  Reporter for the Austin Chronicle and then City Councilmember.  He hugged me at a fundraiser in 1994, and a friend of mine became his aide once he got elected.

Dick Kallerman.  Board member of Save Barton Creek Association.  We both had radio shows at KO.OP.

David Garza.  Met this local musician at a theater show.

Girard Kinney. 

Glen Maxey.  The first openly-gay legislator in Texas.  I voluntereed for his campaign, but I didn't actually meet him until I ran into him outside a restaurant.

Jana Birchum.  Longtime staff photographer for the Austin Chronicle.  Talked to her when she shot an event I was at, then again over 20 years later when she was photographing the shopping surge at a grocery store (where I was a customer) at the beginning of COVID.

Ken Martin.  Well-known for covering Austin in various publications since 1981.  I was honored in 2003 when he emailed me out of the blue and asked "Where can I mail a check?" to support my bicycling advocacy work, noting, " I've been following your reports for years."

Leslie Cochran.  Austin's most famous homeless cross-dresser. Met him when he was hanging out behind a closed bagel shop and I was dumpster diving there.

Lisa Cameron.  "A legendary figure in the Texas psychedelic music scene", as one website says.  We were friendly during Cameron's cashiering days at Wheatsville.

Lloyd Doggett.  U.S. Representative.  Rode next to him on a bicycle ride where we chatted.

Lyman Hardy.  Award-winning and Emmy-nominated audio engineer, and before that, a member of popular bands like Ed Hall and Pong.  I used to see him decades ago when he cashiered at Wheatsville, and he graciously asked my band to open for his once (which opened a lot of doors for us), partly because my drummer was his co-worker.  When I ran into him in a music shop about ten years ago I tried to say hi but he brushed me off, I think he either didn't remember me or I offended him somehow, I accidentally do that a lot.

Mary Faithfull, executive director of Disability Rights Texas.  I met her when I made a large donation to the organization.

Molly Ivins.  I met the firebrand political journalist in the mid-90s at an all-night protest downtown against the "camping ban", which made it a crime for homeless people to sleep in public places.

Pam Peltz (1990s).  Member of the popular band Ursa Major, and more recently (2021) in Living Pins.  Knew her when she cashiered at Wheatsville.

Rachel Proctor May.  A writer at the Austin Chronicle, she and I both performed in a cabaret show in 2003.

Rick Perry.  I passed the former governor at the airport.  I regret not pointing and laughing.

Sam Hurt (circa 1987).  Acclaimed cartoonist, of Eyebeam fame.  Met him at a science fiction convention, and also in the UT student union.

Shudde Fath.  Tireless decades-long consumer and environmental activist, and first woman in Texas to win a sex discrimination case.  Celebrated her 106th birthday in 2022, then passed away in December.  Met her at an environmental protest decades ago.

Stefan Wray.  Board member of Save Barton Creek Association.  I think we first met in the 80s at a computer club.

Todd Baxter.  Back when I had a small business writing resumés, he came in to have his done, as a new UT grad.  When he came in, he fretted about including the Good Sportsmanship League as one of his activities, saying, "I kind of feel like if I included it, I'd have 'gay' written all over my resumé."  Recently, I had a different client who'd been the executive director of a national LBGT organization, so, without explaining that specifically, I told Todd, "Well, there was a guy in here last week who had 'gay' written all over his resumé."  Todd said, "Yeah?  Okay, leave it in."  He'd go on to become a Representative in the Texas Legislature.  Incidentally, he came in for his resumé on 9/11 (1990).

Todd Wolfson.  Acclaimed local photographer.  I interviewed him on a cable access TV show circa 1989 (and ran into him on the street circa 2011-12).

Wayne Gronquist.