Meet and Greet – Page 4

Gavin DeGraw Acoustic Cafe May 24, 2011

Katie May 27, 2011 0 Comments

96.5 TIC had an Acoustic Cafe Tuesday afternoon at Black Bear Saloon in Hartford, CT. Acoustic Cafes are always pretty small and intimate, and this one was no different.

Shortly after I arrived, Gavin arrived and went in to the room where the stage was for soundcheck. Once he was finished, we were all brought in to the room where the stage was and a couple of minutes later Gavin was introduced and took the stage.

Previously, I had never seen Gavin before and he was on my “Life List” as a must see and I have to say, he did not disappoint. He did 3 songs – Chariot, Not Over You and I Don’t Wanna Be.

After the set we got photos with him. Gavin’s arm is in a sling but he was still shaking hands and hugging everyone the best he could 🙂

This acoustic cafe win was part of a Double Play – so I am also going to be on the list for David Cook’s acoustic cafe in a couple of weeks!

Meet and Greet Other Event

Big Apple Comic Con – Part 2

Katie May 25, 2011 0 Comments

As soon as I got my VIP stuff I got in line to get my autograph from Tom Felton. He seemed to be talking to everyone so we had plenty of time to get photos of him while we were waiting. It took about a half an hour to get up to him, which wasn’t too bad of a wait at all.

We had 3 photos to choose from and got to choose if we wanted it personalized or not. I chose to get mine personalized because I like to see how people make their ‘K’s. I have to say, Tom’s K was pretty fancy! He was totally sweet and called everyone by name as we got up to him. He was talking to the girls in front of me about the last movie and how it will be the best one, but it is bittersweet because it is the end. (I’ve been saying the SAME thing!) He called me lovely and asked how I was doing and thanked me for coming and he also asked me if the autograph he did was ok LOL I like how he also added “Draco” on the autograph – he didn’t on the girls in front of mine.

Next up was 12:45 for the photo-op. Somehow I managed to be about the 5th person in line for the photos. He had taken off a plaid shirt he had on before I got to him in the autograph line, but put it back on for the photos. The room was SO hot, I got in there and he was fanning himself with his shirt and I was like “It is so hot in here!” and he just turns to me and goes “YOU’RE RIGHT!” and we took the photo and chatted a bit and he thanked me for coming down and I thanked him for being there and told him it was nice to meet him.

He was honestly so, so nice. Not that I expected anything less. I used to get teased in college because I had an I <3 Draco shirt that I would wear to classes and everyone would be “why do you like him? he’s so bad!” haha But Tom is absolutely wonderful and my favorite from the series so I was glad that I got to meet him first. I am not sure that I’ll go back to this Con again – but I’d probably consider it long and hard if Ron Weasley was there… (he is my 2nd fave)

About an hour later I went back and my photo was ready and waiting – I thought it would come out pretty icky because we were both sweaty and gross, but the cameras were amazing and it doesn’t look too bad at all!

After that I decided to head home – all the waiting in line was just too much for me, but I am quite proud of how well I handled the situation – especially since waiting for all the VIP stuff separated me from my brother for most of the day.

American Idol Concert Meet and Greet

Siobhan Magnus at Mohegan Sun

Katie May 21, 2011 0 Comments

Friday night Siobhan Magnus performed at Mohegan Sun as part of their “Reality Check” series where they have reality stars come for a performance and a signing. Siobhan did 4 songs – 3 covers – Blonde’s Maria, Melissa Ethridge’s I’m The Only One and Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. Then she did a short Q&A with the crowd (Jacob was her favorite this season – she wants Lauren to win because she didn’t think there would ever be another female winner…) She finished the set with her single Beatrice’s Dream.

I was pleased to see that she took the stage wearing her “I <3 Hanson” shirt! I had on a Hanson shirt too – in hopes of starting a conversation with her – and it worked! When I got up to meet her she said she liked my shirt and of course I said that I liked her shirt too! We chatted a bit about various Hanson things and I got her to sign an extra photo which I will be giving away through a TWITTER contest so stay tuned for more details on that! (Details coming in the next day or so.)

Concert Meet and Greet Photos

Mat Kearney Acoustic Cafe

Katie May 20, 2011 4 Comments

Thursday, Mat Kearney did an acoustic cafe for TIC 96.5 at Up Or On The Rocks in Hartford, CT. Wednesday afternoon they posted up 30something pairs of tickets on their online contest page, so I traded in a few points to be able to go.

I had gotten there a little late, but things weren’t ready yet when I got there. I was instructed to head up the stairs so Mat could do soundcheck, and he walked in the door seconds after I had passed it. We hung out upstairs for a little bit and then we were told they were ready for us downstairs.

Usually, acoustic cafes at this venue have an opening act but for Mat there was not one. He mentioned how he didn’t know how many songs he was supposed to sing so he just kind of kept going and going and played a 40 minute set! (Not that anyone was complaining!) Before a few of the songs he told the stories about how they came about, which was pretty interesting. For example – his parents met when his father got a job in Hawaii and his mom was working as a Mermaid on a glass bottom boat. The story of his father’s life is told in the song “Rochester” and the song “Hey Mama” is about his wife, who he met at Anthropologie.

He also talked a bit about how some of his songs have been on Grey’s Anatomy and once he didn’t pay attention to the write up of what scene the song was going to be used for and the song “Crashing Down” ended up being used in a scene with a log victim and was taken very literally as crashing down.

After his set, we got to take photos with him and chat briefly. He was really nice to everyone and I am looking forward to seeing my picture with him! (Professional photographers took it so it will not be posted for a week or so!)

Unfortunately, the lighting in the room was VERY dark so I only got a few decent photos when I finally decided to bite the bullet and use my flash for the sake of the blog and the scrapbook!

Hanson Members Only Event May 14, 2011

Katie May 18, 2011 0 Comments

Saturday night was Hanson’s Members Only Event in Tulsa, OK. It was being held at Cain’s Ballroom, but it was seated and a small crowd to keep things intimate. Rather than playing on the stage, the band was playing on the floor and there were several rows of chairs and then some risers in the back.

I was lucky enough to get a front row spot – which at first I was excited about, but then I realized just how intimate the whole thing was and it was kind of awkward haha. But I enjoyed myself just the same. (Actually, I think the awkwardness came from the fact that it was being FILMED)

We were right in front of Zac’s drums, so I was pretty excited… and then they walked out and Taylor sat at the drums and Zac went to the piano. They tricked us like this once before too… they had some technical difficulties right at the start, the “robot” that goes “click, click, click” was not working and they said how usually to kill time they sing someone happy birthday – so they sang happy birthday to whoevers birthday it was. Then they sang the Stevie Wonder happy birthday song. Then Zac sang some of Jimmy Crack Corn and I kept asking my friend Keena “do these songs count for the setlist?” because I had a pad and paper on my lap to keep track of the songs since we were not supposed to use phones or cameras. (Although, that rule didn’t seem to be enforced)

Once they got all the technical glitches out of the way, they played for us songs from “Facing the Blank Page” which is the EP you receive for being a Hanson.net Fan Club member in 2011. The way this EP came together was interesting – they decided to live stream to the fans their writing/recording process and basically each song came together in a day!

They played Sonny Get Your Gun and then after the second song, Sunny Day, they went in to a cover of Cecelia. They also had us doing a LOT of clapping and then stomping and clapping at the same time which I could not really do. My hand eye coordination is lacking and then throwing in trying to do something with my legs too? Forget it! But I tried, and that is what matters! Then they did the rest of the EP – Time Baby Take It, Bittersweet and Get Out Of My Heart. Taylor was on the drums with Zac on the piano/guitar for 2 songs.

After the EP songs they said they went in to the vault and would play some rarer songs. Zac played guitar and they all came out around one mic to play Live Forever, which was a song on a previous Members Only CD. They took it back and did Next Train, another rare song to hear live and finished off the Members Only songs with Coming Back For More.

Then they played a few songs off their latest release – Shout it Out – Waiting For This, Thinking Bout Somethin and Give a Little. They finished out the set with The Ugly Truth from the Van Wilder 2 soundtrack and then left for a brief break before it was time for Q&A.

Nothing too interesting in the Q&A but they confirmed a US tour, South American Tour and European dates pretty much… they also said they are looking to do a 5 of 5 in Australia but would want to have Shout It Out released there around the same time and that the earliest opening they have would be January – but that would be summer in Australia so it might work out.

There was a lot of talk about what to do when you get flack for still liking Hanson and they basically said to “not give a sh*t” about it and “at least they’re not Lady GaGa!” (I cheered a lot when Zac said that) and a guy requested that they sing the National Anthem. They had mentioned they were out of practice and kind of skirted the request, but after the last question Taylor whispered something to Zac and Zac said “Taylor wants to sing the National Anthem” so they all huddled around a mic and did it. It was amazing. Their 3 part harmonies are perfect and to be that close was just… really really awesome!

After the show we went out to Denny’s to grab some dinner w/ some friends which was a lot of fun. I was being ridiculous though because I was SO tired!

American Idol Meet and Greet

Danny Gokey M&Gs available

Katie May 13, 2011 0 Comments

The easiest way to meet Danny Gokey when he hits the road this summer, is to purchase a M&G by making a donation to his foundation – Sophia’s Heart.

For each show there is only 30 M&G passes available – so act quickly to make sure that you will get the chance to meet him!

A lot of shows have just been added as available so be sure to head over to https://www.sophiasheart.org/meet_greet.php and see if your show has been added!

Meet and Greet

Apolo Ohno Book Signing Providence, RI 11/5

Katie November 7, 2010 0 Comments

Friday I decided to head to Apolo’s signing in Providence, RI. He was also signing later in the day in CT, but I wasn’t sure if that was going to interfere with my plans for the evening or not.

I ended up leaving the house a half an hour later than I had wanted, but made pretty good time and was set to arrive in Providence at around 11:30 and the signing began at noon. But once I crossed into Rhode Island they were doing some work on I-95 which ended up pushing my arrival time to 11:45.

Then, once I got near the mall, I could not find the parking garage entrance for the life of me. Finally, I ended up finding it and got a spot and ran inside to Borders. The line didn’t appear to be that long, so I was confident I would be able to get a signature. I bought my book and was given a Yellow wristband and told to get in line.

Apolo didn’t end up showing up until a little after 12 and then I assume went to do some press quickly before walking by us to get to the signing podium.

The line ended up moving really fast. The woman behind me in line had asked at the register how everything was going to work and was told that there were 4 colors in front of her (I was the last of the yellows, she was green) and that he would sign the whole book store in an hour because he could sign 250 books in an hour! While we waited in line we debated on if he would just scribble out an ‘A’ and an ‘O’ or if he would sign out his full name. We were pretty sure it would end up just being initials.

The line ended up wrapping through the store a lot more than I thought it had originally, but it was moving SO fast. Within a half an hour I was up at the podium.

And I was being rushed to move forward. (Which is why this picture is so crazy and blurry!) They had told us not to take any photos at the podium, but Apolo was signing my book still so I figured I’d be waiting there anyway for him to finish so I wouldn’t be holding up the line. That is when I took the photo at the top of this post. I am glad that came out good because my others didn’t!

After he signed my book he looked up and I told him “Thank You” and he said “Sure. Take Care.” And I was ushered away. There weren’t that many more people behind me and by the time I went to the car to put the book in there before heading back to do some eating and shopping, it appeared that everything was GONE. No sign of there being a signing there at all!

I can not even imagine signing 250 books (or more! I think he tweeted he did 600 in New York!) in an hour. My arm would fall off after probably 10!

I can’t wait to start reading the book – but since I am doing NaNoWriMo again this year, it probably won’t be until December at the earliest. (Although probably later than that since I have a couple others in the queue first!) Since all my free time will be used to get to 50,000 words by November 30th! (I am at 10,000 so far, hoping I can continue to stay on or ahead of schedule!)

Meet and Greet

Hanging out with Ashlyne Huff

Katie October 22, 2010 0 Comments

Earlier today I was sitting around and not doing much (though I had much to do, as evidenced by the to-do list currently sitting in front of me) and I saw Ashlyne Huff tweet that she would be at KC101 and wanted to meet people.

I debated going – it said she’d be there at 12:30 and it was going to take me to about that time to get to the radio station, first I said I wished I knew sooner to have planned on going but then I decided to just be spontaneous and hopped in the car and drove.

The station is only 20-30 minutes away so even if I missed her it wasn’t like I would have gone hours and hours out of my way.

I arrived and no one was there! I went to the door and no one was around to let me in so I called to see if someone would let me in, and no one was answering. Then someone opened the door and I told him I was there to see Ashlyne. He had NO idea what I was talking about and went to get someone else while I was standing in the lobby. Someone else came out and I explained that Ashlyne had tweeted for fans to come down, but if she didn’t have time I understood, I was nearby and decided to come by. He told me to have a seat and told Ashlyne I was there and then he said she’d be right out to see me.

Then she and her manager who were in the station area with some DJs turned to wave. Her manager is Ned, Honor Society’s former manager. They came out from the station room and went in another room to take photos and Ned told me they’d be out to see me in a couple minutes.

Ashlyne signed a photo for me and we took a picture together and got to chat for quite a while. It was just me, her and one of the KC101 night DJs, while Ned talked to the DJ John Mayer about sports. I had told her that I was an Honor Society fan and saw her open for them twice, she had asked if I was at the Toad’s show and I said no, NYC and Boston so she was like “Oh you hit the big ones”. I also mentioned I was looking for a job and had an interview on Monday.

Then Ashlyne had to go, so we walked out together and she said “Good luck again with your interview!” and then Ned started asking all sorts of questions and told me that I had to tell them “I won’t let you down” and then I’d be guaranteed to get the job. He also told me to tweet Ashlyne to let her (and him) know if I ended up getting the job or not!

Being spontaneous worked out and when I got home I saw that Ashlyne had tweeted thanking me for coming out. I hope she got a turnout at her stop at Kiss957 studios too! She’s a sweet girl and her EP is amazing – can’t wait for more music. (A new single will be coming out in January and Ned said they’d keep me informed on touring and everything else she would be doing)

Meet and Greet

I’m Meeting John Mayer tomorrow!

Katie August 6, 2010 0 Comments

I spilled the beans in the comments a couple of posts down – but for those of you who haven’t seen the comments – yes I am meeting John Mayer on Saturday!

96.5 TIC was doing an Acoustic Cafe with him and I was listening and trying so hard to win. Then I went to KC101’s website and saw that they were doing a Lounge 101 with him. There is a contests page on KC101s website that either no one enters on, or they REALLY like my username, because I tend to win 90% of the items I enter for on that page. Over the weekend I entered I believe 2 contests they had on there for Lounge 101 and concert tickets to his show (even though I already have 7th row)

On Monday, KC101s facebook said to hurry and get entries in because they were picking winners that day. I wasn’t sure if they would call them that day, but I kind of forgot about it after that.

Tuesday at just about noon the phone rang. For some reason – I knew exactly what the call was just by looking at the caller ID. (A random number that was not in my phone) It was one of the guys from KC101. He first said I won tickets to the Mayer show. I was like.. yeah.. ok.. because I knew all the Lounge 101 contests were tickets to the show (which I didn’t care about) and tickets into the Lounge 101. THEN he said I also won my way into the private intimate performance with John! I don’t know HOW, but I contained my excitement on the phone.

I went to the radio station to pick up everything – I wasn’t sure if we’d be meeting John at first and didn’t want to get my hopes up – but the form with my top secret show info says that Mayer’s photographer will take our picture with John.

I could not be more excited and I keep trying to forget about it because I don’t want to hype it up so much that when I am in front of him I won’t speak (although that will probably happen anyway!) but I had to share the good news 🙂

Lounge 101 will be my 8th Mayer concert (he is scheduled to perform 3 songs) and then the show later that night will be #9. Which is kind of pathetic numbers considering my first show of his was in 2002, but that’s ok.

Meet and Greet

Honor Society Verizon Signing 7/20

Katie July 23, 2009 0 Comments

I picked up my cousin at 11 and we made great time, getting to the Verizon store by 12:30. We hung out in the car until 1 because at first it was rainy and we didn’t want to wait the whole time. Verizon people were giving out VIP passes for various contests, but unfortunately we didn’t win any.

They also were giving out Jonas soundcheck passes and tickets to the NYC FUll Moon Crazy show. Didn’t win those either.

Around 2pm the guys showed up and slapped hands with everyone at the barricade. Then we were instructed to line up and wait to meet the guys. Of course, I was getting more and more sunburned by the second!

We finally got in, and our security friend from Boston recognized me and asked how I was doing and commented on my sunburn. “It’s from waiting for these guys! I’ve been working on it since Saturday” I said and him and Jason laughed.

Jason was first, then Alex, who had his head down but then looked up and was like “oh hey!” and then Mike and Andrew. I talked to Andrew a bit about how I was going Tuesday and Wednesday with Lauren but we probably wouldn’t get to chat on Tuesday because we had no M&G; and that Wednesday we’d hang for sure to see them and he was like “welllll.. if you want to stay after Tuesday..” and I said I didn’t think we could because Lauren had work and he seemed kind of bummed. Gotta love Andy.

We went and put our autographs in the car, and proceeded to steal the vinyl posters from around the barricades. We got 3, one for me, one for my cousin and one for Lauren. Now to figure out where in my room to hang it…

Then the guys came back out to take pics and we got right up to Alex when Andrew showed up, so we got a picture with him and then next thing we know we lost Alex. Then we tried for a pic w/ Jay but got one w/ Mike instead. And then they had to go 🙁 But, 2/4 isn’t bad considering we weren’t being all that aggressive trying to get them.

Then we picked up some McDonalds for lunch (at like 4 pm lol) and headed over to the venue! More on that later!