Nicest / most personable musician you've met?

It was, very eye opening and engaging. I learned quite a bit. Certainly more focused on him than any of my college professors giving a lecture

Speaking of, I went not only to see Herbie speak but also because it was an opportunity to get extra credit in a music history class I was taking that year. I'm not sure any of my other classmates went...

 

I hung out one night with Alan Vega (Suicide) and he couldn't have been nicer- what a cool NY rock dude.

Elvis Costello made a few appearances on a TV show I worked on and the staff thought he was the nicest guy ever- my friend introduced herself to him by saying "I'm Alison- with one 'l'" and EC grabbed his heart and swooned!

 

Rick Roberts and Blondie Chaplin at a Byrds 20th Anniversary Tribute show in Cleveland. Michael Clarke did not seem so friendly, but he thought I was trying to steal his girlfriend for the night.

 

I've met Adrian on the "Twang Bar King" tour and after a couple of Bears shows. Super nice guy, who was also good at steering the conversation to the other folks from his bands. The late Larrie Londin played on the "Twang Bar King" tour and he was a hoot. He really seemed to enjoy talking to the couple of drum nerds that were there by way of Adrian's Crimson membership and he talked a bit about that last Elvis tour and doing session work, it was a real treat. I was a genuinely bummed when he had died a few years later.

 

Good guy, I met him at a Nick Lowe show in Ann Arbor when he was in Nick's band . I also got to meet his mother and (I think) aunt who were at the show.

 

Mick Jones from The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite, Carbon/Silicon, et al.

Top bloke.

 

They were the nazz.

 

My avatar, Paul Gilbert, is one of the nicest guys in the world. I met him at the Ibanez booth at the NAMM show in Anaheim in 1994 and he couldn't have been more personable.

 

Al is a real good guy and has been willing to talk about music with whom ever as long as he can, before and after a gig.

 

Marshall played a show at Tickets in Amenia, NY in the mid 90's and shot the breeze with us afterwards for about 45 minutes. He was still jazzed about getting to play Buddy Holly in La Bamba!

 

Yeah Andy is a real class act. Had a vegetarian lunch with him when he was in NY to promote Nonesuch. Spent a great deal of time talking about Dukes of Stratosphear and his 60's influences

 

Robert Plant ( twice)really chatty friendly guy.
Also, Chris De Burgh he was really nice.
Jon Lord .. Another great bloke, giant of a man.
Brett Anderson..alright, spoke briefly in a bar.
Adam Faith...a nod.
Ewan McGregor ( not really musician/ though sings ) amazingly friendly bloke
Rory Gallacher..nice humble guy.
Zoot Money..he taked about Jack Bruce.
Dave Davies ( twice) Big smiling dude( think he was with his wife)
Pete Doherty. Fast walker , sweaty handshake, n tall, a bit paranoid, but nice.
Debby Harry..good listener, lovely smile.
Paul Rogers ..smaller than I thought, I mentioned FREE he then gave a (mr ) big contented grin ,being recognised I guess.
Henry Rollins. He was talking to some women journalist, i shouted ' hey Henry ' he looked a bit surprised, or more likely wtf.

 

Steve Morse.

During a break for the second show (Steve Morse Band), I met the entire band in the restroom when I went to take a leak. I guess we all had to take a leak at the same time

Forgot to mention that the rest of the band Van Romaine and Dave LaRue were also very chatty and funny. It felt like a high school restroom smoke break, without the smoke of course .

 

Gerry Halliwell.
No musician though.
Now sells men's fragrance.
Old Spice.

 

I met Vernon Reid at the store I managed, he was looking to get rung up and was very patient while I was trying to sort out why our modem wouldn't send out credit card transactions. It took a few minutes and when I got it worked out we talked a bit about their tour and how Doug Wimbush was working out. He signed my Jpn. copy of "Biscuts" and head back downtown.
I've met Jane on several occasions, the last time at the Ottawa Folk Festival in 2003. She was staying in the same hotel and sat next to my wife and I at a hootenanny kind of thing in a banquet room of place. We talked a little about a couple of the performers and about her set the next night.

 

Page Hamilton from Helmet. Not only very nice and friendly, but one of the more interesting people that I have met. Went out to dinner with him once via a mutual friend and he told us stories about living in Germany, scoring movies for Julie Taymor, and playing jazz and classical guitar. Not at all what his "hardcore" persona would suggest. He's also a huge baseball fan, which is a plus in my book. If you can talk to somebody about anything and everything outside their main gig, that's a personable guy.

 

Even though it's not my personal story (because I was born 20 years later!), my all-time favorite personable musician story is the time when the Mothers of Invention had an afternoon show which only a few people attended, because most of the college crowd would've been in school at the time.

Instead of playing, the Mothers went to the restaurant next door, brought back armfuls of snacks, and just sat and chatted with the few attendees for a couple hours!

There was another time with a similar situation (only a few attendees) where Frank and the gang sat in the audience and told the concert-goers to get up on stage and improvise a show. XD

 

Steve Rothery, guitarist for Marillion. Very appreciative guy and always full of good stories. Very nice guy.

 

In 2013 I lived on the same street as Townsend; Richmond Hill - Jerry Hall (in the house Jagger gave up in the divorce) was my neighbour, but Pete was only another minute further up the road.

We were both out shopping one day and he passed me on Richmond Green in a long grey overcoat. He clocked me smiling at him silently and gave me a great big theatrical "HELLO!" under his breath without my saying a word, as if he knew me. I never saw him again.

 

Admittedly I haven't met many notable musicians, but in my limited experience, I recall Tommy Keene to have been especially personable. The context I met him under may have have contributed--at the time, Tommy Keene was the lead guitarist for Paul Westerberg's touring band in 1996 supporting his Eventually album. Keene had released Ten Years After earlier that year, which I had purchased based on an enthusiastic review, and I loved it. Keene seemed genuinely pleased a fan took notice of his album on the Westerberg tour. Incidentally, I met Westerberg briefly afterwards when he passed me and a friend in a white limo, stopped, backed up, and chatted with us briefly. He was inebriated, but was able to give me an autograph, as did Tommy Keene earlier that evening.

 

I know the area and simply must ask: if you can afford to live on Richmond Hill, why the hell are you wasting your time with us losers?

 

I know the area as well and was wondering the same thing!

 

I had a similar experience, not at a tournament but at a course we were both visiting that day. Later he played his acoustic out on the deck after dinner, even taking requests at the end. I asked about Roy Orbison's "Only The Lonely" and before singing it, he took a minute and told us about Roy. You could just tell he was a huge fan. It is so sad though, his disease. Thanks for your post, seacliffe! That's how I'll always remember him too.

 

Homes in Richmond Hill are pretty well equipped with the internet.

 

wow. You're the first person I ever heard say that. I've never heard anyone gripe about MC (but he can be very caustic and sarcastic from the stage), but most people I know who have met him say he's been very quiet, and looking to get on with whatever else is at hand. I brought him a CD once of Marti Jones doing one of his songs with strings, he never smiled, but thanked me. I really have never had a desire to get him to sign anything. Marshall's brother was much more outgoing and was willing to freeze to death with me and the wife outside a club, telling us story after story of his brother's early tempestuous audience interactions.
At any rate, I am happy that he gave you so much time.