Kaley Cuoco of "The Big Bang Theory"

Having met actress Kaley Cuoco of the hit television show "The Big Bang Theory" several times over the past 2 or 3 years, she is always sweet, signing autographs and posing for pictures with her fans.  Fortunately, in the past it has been in rather low-key situations, with not many other collectors around, so we have been able away with multiple autographs.  Tonight,unfortunately, the word was out among collectors that Kaley would be around.  When Kaley actually showed up, it was extremely overwhelming for sure with 25-30 autograph collectors and paparazzi waiting.  It became quite hectic and Kaley even politely asked everyone to line up and she would sign one each.  Of course, with collectors this never happened and after signing 3 or 4 autographs, Kaley would see that it was becoming chaos and stop signing.  After a little prodding from collectors, she would attempt to calmly sign autographs once again and the scene would repeat itself with it evolving into chaos amongst pushy collectors, once again.  This happened three or four times and we weren't going to contribute to the rudeness of the situation.  It just wasn't a good situation and it was a perfect example of why keeping your mouth shut and some things to yourself when it comes to collecting autographs can be a good policy.

Autographs From Dennis "The Worm" Rodman

One thing that you can say about former NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman is that he is always entertaining, on the court and off the court.  After a basketball career that saw him play for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, LA Lakers and the Dallas Mavervicks, Rodman has gone on to build a career in Hollywood.  In addition to appearing in films and on television, Rodman even had a wrestling career for some time.  Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011, Rodman has recently released a book and was in LA doing the obligitory press appearances to promote it.  After one such appearance, we waited for Rodman to leave the studio.  Holding up our photos to get his attention, Dennis spotted us and had his driver pull to the side of the driveway.  He rolled down his window and signed for the group of 15 or so of us waiting.  While everyone did not get an autograph, I would estimate that he signed 10-12 autographs.  We managed to snag 4 11x14s in the ensuing scrum so these will make an awesome addition to our collection.

Sir Charles, A Gentleman When It Comes To Autographs

Basketball Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley was always one of the more colorful characters during his playing days in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and finally the Houston Rockets.  Nicknamed "Sir Charles" he truly is gracious when it comes to autographs.  I first met Barkley close to 14 years ago at a celebrity golf tournament.  Barkley took time to sign for fans after every hole until he noticed that some over-zealous fan had inked his shirt and he now had a ruined shirt with blue Sharpie marks on the sleeve.  Understandably, Charles was upset and then somewhat jokingly but somewhat seriously asked us autograph seekers, "Who's going to pay for my shirt?"  At that point, Charles started collecting a dollar from each autograph seeker when he signed an autograph for them.  As a multi-millionaire, Barkley could easily afford a new polo shirt but it was just the principle of the matter and "Sir Charles" was teaching all us, even those not responsible for the Sharpie marks, a lesson.  Even though I was not the one who committed the autograph collector faux paus, I quickly realized with my friends that a Charles Barkley autograph on my basketball card was a "steal" for the low "price" of a dollar.  We excitedly greeted Barkley with a dollar in hand at the next few holes.  Eventually, Barkley quit collecting our dollars and went back to simply signing for free and we all walked away with well over a dozen autographs each.

About a year ago, I met Charles Barkley and it was nice to see that even a decade since I had last met him that he was still a great signer.  My partner and I each walked away with multiple Barkley autographs.  So when Barkley was appearing on a television program, we decided to try and secure his autograph once again.  Quite a few cars left the studio lot but eventually, a black SUV made it's way slowly down the driveway, slowing as it approached a crowd of roughly twenty autograph seekers.  The window rolled down and Charles Barkley began to sign an autograph for each person in line.  When it became my turn, Charles took my blue Sharpie and autographed an 11x14 I had from his playing days from the Phoenix Suns.  Barkley was talkative, saying hello to each collector as they approached him and responding, "You're welcome" to each person's thank you.  This is not always the case either with a lot of celebrities.  Some might sign an autograph for a collector but say nothing at all, even when you speak to them.  Barkley is definitely a "fan-friendly" guy who interacts with his fans.  My partner secured an awesome 11x14 of Barkley and his All-Star MVP Award from the 1991 NBA All-Star game.  Two things that struck me about this autograph encounter were the following.  First, that the assembled group of collectors actually maintained order and stayed in a single-file line while Barkley signed autographs.  By maintaining order, things did not get hectic and every collector was able to walk away with an autograph.  Secondly, with autograph collectors and the inherent greediness, no one really "doubled-back" to the end of the line and attempted to sneak through and procure a second autograph from Barkley.  Even when a celebrity politely states that they will do "one each" there is always someone, and usually someones, who will disregard the request and still try to get more than one autograph.  This time, there only was one younger collector who snagged an autograph earlier at the front of the line and then held up a basketball shoe once Barkley signed for everyone in the line.  Barkley obliged this second request but that was the only person that ended up with more than one autograph per person.  It's always a good day when you can add an autograph from one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA and even better when it's a pleasant experience.  When it comes to seeking to obtain an autograph from Charles Barkley, you get both.

The Legendary Alan Parsons

Sound engineer Alan Parsons is a legend of the music business, being involved in the production of such iconic albums as The Beatles' "Abbey Road" and "Let It Be" and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon".  In the 1980's his band, The Alan Parsons Project scored top 40 hits with the songs "The Eye In The Sky" and "Don't Answer Me".

At NAMM 2013 Parsons appeared at a booth and signed autographs.  We were tied up with another signing so we got to the booth just as Parson's time was ending.  One of the booth's workers informed us that the line was cut off and that Alan was already running over his scheduled time at the booth.  Being veterans of collecting autographs, we stuck around anyways and weren't about to give up.  Parsons was remaining seated at a table, with no line, so we knew that all hope was not lost.  Our persistence soon paid off and we were able to both get a photo with Parsons and eventually each scored an autograph from him.

Mikkey Dee at 2013 NAMM

Mikkey Dee was at NAMM this year signing autographs at the Remo booth.  Currently the drummer for the heavy metal band Motorhead, Dee also performed on Don Dokken's 1990 debut solo album "Up From The Ashes".  Mikkey is a good signer with an every letter and legible autograph. 

Dave Krusen: Pearl Jam's First Drummer

2013 will mark 22 years since Pearl Jam's debut album "Ten".  What many casual music lovers may not realize is that the drummer on that album, Dave Krusen performed on the recording sessions for the album but was out of the band by May 1991.  Krusen went on to rehab and was dealing with personal issues by the time "Ten" was released in August 1991.  Pearl Jam pressed on and cemented their status as one of the biggest alternative rock bands of the 1990's and ultimately, one of the greatest bands in the history of rock 'n roll.  Krusen went on to join the band Candlebox and various other music projects.  He is still quite active in the music business.

NAMM is a great music trade show with meet and greets, signings, etc. with various musicians and band members.  Able to pass through the aisles unnoticed filled with serious music fans, Dave Krusen was browsing from booth to booth throughout NAMM show.  We approached Dave Krusen and asked if he would sign some autographs for us.  He was quite obliging, autographing anything  everything that we put in front of him.  He also is quite talkative and even will talk about his time with Pearl Jam, as he has remained on good terms with his former band mates.  We initially met Krusen on Thursday and when we ran into him again two days later on Saturday, he excitedly remembered us.  He genuinely seemed happy to see us and even talked to us for a good 10-15 minutes about music and Los Angeles, since he lives in LA, as we do.  He mentioned that he someday hopes to move back to Seattle, where he grew up.


If you get the chance to ever meet or see Dave Krusen perform, I highly recommend that you seize the opportunity.  We've met many celebrities and musicians throughout the years and Dave Krusen is among the nicest you will ever come across.  It's a thrill when you get to meet celebrities that you are fans of but the experience is all the better when it's a positive experience.

"Do You Believe In Miracles?"

ABC Sports broadcaster Al Michaels uttered the infamous phrase, "Do you believe in miracles?" as the 1980 USA Hockey team scored their final goal.  Against considerable odds, the USA team surprised everyone, winning the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics.  Jim Craig was the goalie for that team so we were excited when we found out he was coming to LA for a press conference in January 2013.  Having not previously met Craig, we did not know what to expect.  Upon meeting him, Craig agreed to sign an autograph for each of us but insisted on personalizing our photographs.  We did not mind since they were going straight into our collection.  Besides adding our names to his signature, in a nice gesture he also added, "Believe" and "USA Gold".  I tried to flip a second photo on Craig but he put the pen down on top of my photo and turned away.  We did end up getting photos with him so all-in-all it was a score!