Your Robert Fripp Moment

No, I don't mean tell us about that 21 Century Schizoid Man solo he played when you saw him back in '70, or how he brought you to a deeper union with the universe on his League of Gentlemen tour.

No, I mean actual face to face interactions with Mr Fripp.

Here's mine:

Sir Robert was promoting his newly released Exposure album. I heard about this because my fave radio station at the time, Rice University's KTRU 91.7 FM (hugely influential in opening my then 15 year-old eyes to all sorts music) had his new record on heavy rotation. Frippertronics was a thing. I was amazed. So I rode my bike out to Cactus Records & Tapes on W. Alabama St in Houston and watched him set up his gear and play for about an hour- just him, two Revox reel to reels, a mixer, fuzz pedal (I assume), a PA and his black Les Paul. And a stool on which he sat. Afterwards, all the fans lined up with their copies of Exposure for him to autograph.

Well, I had already purchased that record the week before, but had left it at home. I had no idea that one brought stuff to a "show" like this for the star to sign. I didn't want or need a second copy of Exposure, but I damn well wanted his autograph. So I hurried over to the record bins, which had all been pushed up again the walls to clear space for the performance, and grabbed the first Kimg Crimson album that I saw, although I had never heard of it. It was this one:
I quickly paid for it, removed the shrink wrap, and got in line with all the other fawning dudes holding various records in their sweaty little hands. When my turn came he hesitated a moment as I handed him the record. He then looked at me and shook his head with what seemed faint disapproval, and said: " I once played the guitar in this band. You should try something new." But he signed it (on the back) anyway, adding the "pp K.C." postscript that I never understood until later when I looked it up.
After all of these years I still feel like somehow I let Mr Fripp down that day. The last thing he probably wanted during that new phase of his career was for a fan to dwell on his past. But USA is probably my favorite KC album. And Exposure has become one of several keepsakes from my youth. Although now I listen to it on CD.

 

He did Frippertronics in Pittsburgh in a record store, in 1979. For some reason, I didn't go, even though I had been a fan of his for at least 5 years - since hearing Red and before that Starless and Bible Black. Like you I would have ridden my bicycle a couple of miles over there. So don't feel bad, at least you went.

 

My experience was silent but actually sounds like it was more fulfilling in a way. Three friends and I went to see him in a place called "The Kitchen" sometime around the mid-70's in New York. he was doing a one man "presentation" ("show" sounds too trivial) in which he played to himself via tape machines and loops he was creating on the spot. At one point, one of my friends-in following the particular piece he was spontaneously creating-said, "he's going to repeat the other melody now with a whole other tone (yes, i remember this word for word)"...he said this loudly and excitedly enough for Mr. Fripp to have apparently heard (we were only two rows in front of him, sitting on the floor and the entire room was literally no larger than a very small school cafeteria)...he looked up directly at us for the briefest of seconds with a quick smile and a nod. It was a magical little moment.

 

A buddy and I flew to Nashville from Detroit to see one of the "rehearsal" shows for their upcoming "ConstruKction of Light" tour in May 2000. As we walked to the venue a few hours before the show, to get a "layout of the land", Robert drove by us and pulled into the venue parking lot. My buddy said "I gotta go shake his hand!" I was quick to say, "No! Leave him alone! He doesn't want to meet you!" I ended getting my CD signed by his sister, Patricia, at the gig. She understands his hate for autograph seekers, and signed it "On the behalf of my brother Robert, Patricia Fripp". LOL.

 

Great stuff. Man I love .Exposure

 

Awesome story, Johnny Action! Fripp's reaction to the "USA" album is not surprising.

I've never met Fripp, but I have both KC and his solo work in my collection. Your story struck me because I used to have family in Houston and visited the city quite often. I used to listen to KTRU when I was there and frequented Cactus Records & Tapes as well as Sound Exchange, Soundwaves, and other music shops.

 

I've never met him but if I did I believe I'd overthink everything that came out of my mouth to speak.

 

My avatar wholeheartedly approves of this thread.

 

So I think I was at the same gig.. I think it was more like '77 or '78? If it wasn't at the Kitchen, then it was another Frippertronics thing around the same time in NYC. But in any case, not knowing any better, I trooped down there with my mint-condition import copy of Larks' Tongues in Aspic in its heavy plastic sleeve with hopes of getting it autographed.

After the gig, I waited around for an opportunity to approach him. I did so very politely, calling him "Mr. Fripp," etc. Wouldn't sign. I guess I persisted a little too much for his liking because he ended up snarling at me, getting kind of nasty about it. If I knew then what I know about him now, I'd have never bothered.

 

Had a good interview with him once. Asked about his being opposed to concert recording (at the time) and he said, "If you're making love with your girlfriend, you'd admit that watching the video would not be the same thing."

 

The KC double trio did an in-store signing, umm, drawing a total blank now, Tower Records on Sunset I believe? 5 of the 6 were very affable, chatty, guess who wasn't?

I don't think he ever once looked up, never interacted with anyone though at one point someone reached out to try and shake his hand and he recoiled in disgust. Closest to actual human contact I saw from him that day!

I was just drooling at being in the presence of Bill Bruford!

 

KTRU and Cactus Records...great thread in general but thanks for the memories! In the 80s I listened to KTRU a ton, even into the 90s. What a great station that was. Introduced me to the Church of the Sub-Genius too!

 

I have two stories. The 1st was back on June 10, 1979 when I was 20 I went to a series of Panel Discussions that were taking place at the Collective For Living Cinema in NYC. The panel that day was entitled "Commerciality, Mystique, Ego and Fame in Music" and it was being moderated by NY Times music critic John Rockwell and featured Fripp, Eno, Jerry Casale from Devo, Philip Glass and another person who I don't remember. This discussion was very interesting. I secretly recorded it and recently re-listened to it and towards the end of the discussion someone who got up to take a picture of the group was excoriated by Fripp saying: "Why must people listen with their cameras..." The guy who got up sheepishly sat back down and the entire place got dead quiet. I thought that Fripp was such a pretentious assh*le back then. And was not aware of his distaste for being photographed. I smiled when I saw the huge signs saying no photography during the recent King Crimson shows as I remembered that day in NYC. My 2nd story is that a few years later in the early 1980s, one of my close friends came back from a night of dancing in Manhattan and said she danced with Robert Fripp all night!!! She said he was very charming but nothing more come out of it as I think my friend thought he was out of her league. I guess this was the pre-Toyah days. Interestingly my friend looked a bit like Toyah back then.

 

And let’s not forget KPFT 90.1 FM “Pacifica.” So much new and cool music, from reggae and ska to local punk scene and Scott Sommers’ Avant Garde Program. “Deep from the heart of Montrose...”

 

I went to a show in 91 or 92 at the World Financial Center in NYC which featured Fripp solo and the California Guitar Trio.
Afterwards, there was an autograph session. I handed Fripp my copy of S&BB and asked him, “Uhhh, are the live Crimson albums going to be released on CD?”
Without looking up he told me there would be a live release within the next year. He looked up, unsmiling, handed me the autograph and immediately shifted his focus onto the next person in the line.
The live release he was referring to was the Great Deciever box set.

 

I saw him do Frippertronics in a small folk club in Cambridge Mass that year. It was amazing.

 

Interesting stories. I've never met and wouldn't go out of my way to do so. Interesting that these stories depict him being brusque but not rude.

 

That would have been Passim, in Harvard Square. Earlier in the day he did a record signing in the Coop, which was right across the street. He was quite entertaining during the signing, (he signed my copy of Exposure "Give Me Your Money"), and even signed a white Gibson SG for a guy who brought it in. I wasn't able to get in to Passim that night, but was outside on Palmer Street, by the fence that surrounds the little patio behind Passim's stage. Fripp saw there a bunch of us up there listening, so he had them open the glass door so we could hear better. It was a really nice night and a good memory.

 

Not mine, but people seem to like this story.

A known taper in the are went to see Fripp at some small place (sorry, don't know the tour) and took his gear, figuring he'd have a hard time taping, but he loved Fripp.
He stored his gear in a book that he had hollowed out and cut out pages. To his shock, Fripp was at the front door with the staff who were taking tickets and searching bags. Fripp saw his book and engaged the taper in conversation about the book and the author. Fortunately, Fripp didn't ask for the book and the taper (of course) passed the search and was able to tape the gig.

 

The League of Crafty Guitarists played Toad's Place in March 1990, which was a couple of weeks after the first Guitar Craft course I attended. I went to their dressing room to say hello to a few of the folks that I had just worked with, and Robert saw me, turned stone faced and disappeared. Not surprising, as that's how he usually is. I left and went back to my seat a few minutes later. Someone must have reminded him I was just on the course because no sooner had I sat down that I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was Robert. We spoke for a few minutes, until people realized he was there and started coming toward him. He quickly said goodbye and disappeared.

 

I've had a few interactions with Fripp.
The first was the summer of 1979.. The Frippertronics in-store tour at Peaches Records on Sunrise Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale, just a couple blocks off the A1A strip. This was my first time meeting Robert Fripp. This performance was captured on a Collectors Club disc. There were articles from in the Miami Herald, and a local S. FL. music magazine called The Rag. The performance was crowded to max capacity, it was both enlightening and magical.
c., 1979.

 

I was traveling last November and was staying at a hotel in the Roppongi district of Tokyo. My reservation did not include breakfast so most mornings I would just get a cup of coffee as I headed out for the day. On the last day I decided to have breakfast in the hotel. As I entered the restaurant I was asked if I wanted the buffet or a la carte menu. Since I'm not a big breakfast eater I chose the a la carte option and was told it's served in a different room, further back from the main dining area - this was totally fine with me.
As I sat down and got settled in, I noticed an elderly man at the table next to me having breakfast as well. He was wearing a sport coat and a tie seated at a table for four with a laptop off to the side. I was seated facing towards him. I kept thinking,"that guy kind of looks like Robert Fripp". Eventually his bill was brought out and he signed it with his left hand and I recalled an article where Robert Fripp stated he was naturally left handed but learned to play guitar right handed, so by now I was pretty sure it was him. I was tempted to take a picture with my cell phone but in Japan, the camera function makes a shutter clicking sound by default and while I could have disabled that, I thought it best to just let him have his breakfast in peace.
Soon the laptop was fired up and a picture of the current KC lineup on stage was the desktop image. All doubt was removed once David Singleton came into the room and they started talking business. A few minutes later, Bill Rieflin came in to speak briefly to RF - I hadn't been following the recent band to realize they were to be in Tokyo on tour.
I finished up and left and they were still talking business. On the way out I saw Rieflin and Mastelotto in the main dining room.
Later, I started thinking about posts Robert Fripp had made about public annoyances - calling twitchy people on the airplane "boobies", background music at restaurants as "noise pollution units", etc. and it made me wonder how he would view people having business meetings at hotel restaurants during breakfast

 

Fantastic thread.

Wish I had a more personal story. I saw him (and ProjeKCt 3) in a very small, cramped club in '99. Close enough to see him shake his head and say "is this Austin?" when some guy kept shouting in the room.

Also, maybe this headline will help to explain his odd behavior:

 

First time I saw King Crimson was on their 2000 tour in Cleveland, I was 20. Had been a fan of the band for several years at that point, and had got several of my friends into them as well, and we all drove up to Cleveland to catch their show. We were in line to go in the venue, and there was an elderly man gazing in and window shopping in the windows of a nearby furniture store. Someone in line with an English accent noticed him and called out "Robert..Robert!!" and the wizened man scurried away, presumably back into the confines of the venue. Not a face to face per se, and not much of a story, but the only time I saw him out in the wild.

That was somewhat soon after he had first dissolved the band (within 4 or 5 years?). It's too bad he tutted his disapproval at you over it. He must have really thought he wasn't ever going to reform the band at that point.

So what does the "PP-K.C." stand for?

 

The second and third meetings took place in NYC at The World Financial Center.
Robert Fripp, along with Trey Gunn & California Guitar Trio were playing two free concerts in the
large atrium. This was May 19th and 20th, 1992. I drove up from Pgh, to see my family and the shows. There was a signing after both performances. It was an amazing sight to see Fripp sitting there signing
so many times. I did not bring anything special from my personal collection, just some CD's I had in the car. The performances were excellent and powerful .. After the first nights concert, people lined up in the lobby atrium's small store that was selling CD's. This may sound unbelievable, but I saw this with my own eyes. The guy in front of me literally had an armful of Crimson/RF albums. I was certain that Robert would not be signing them all. He in fact, signed everyone of them for the guy. I was hoping to have a brief conversation with him, I had something to tell him and get my program signed.. after seeing that, I cut him a break and hoped to get the chance the next night.
c., 1992.