From Radiohead to Taylor Swift - the people of Reddit share their greatest band anecdotes
Alexandra Pollard

12:46 8th December 2015

Let's face it, people get a strange kind of pleasure from hearing that famous musicians are actually complete arseholes in person. "He... spat in my direction and then punched me in the face," - that kind of story. But the thing is, there are plenty of celebrities - in the world of rock, metal and pop - who are genuinely nice. Even, apparently, Axl Rose.

Don't take our word for it though - bands have more of an incentive to be nice to us, in case we write mean things about them all over Gigwise - take the word of the good people of Reddit.

Here's a load of Reddit users' answer to the question, "Who's the nicest musician you've ever met?"

  • Queens Of The Stone Age: "I met Queens of the Stone Age last year. I was at the venue early before the band even arrived because a friend of mine was working there at the time and invited me in. When the bus arrived, Josh Homme came into the office to say hello to all of us. I, of course, became super dweeb and nervously said a few things to him about being one of my heroes, etc... After the amazing show, I was standing in the hallway and up the stairs comes Josh. He then proceeded to walk right up to me and tell me that he really appreciated what I said earlier and that it meant a lot to him." [–]rougeheart

  • Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith: "I did a shoot when he re-united with a local band called Toby Redd for a show. I set up some cameras to tape the band while they caught up and had some chow at a local Italian place. I waited at a nearby table, out of their way, I was dead broke at the time and at some point they noticed I didn't have any food and they all got up and brought me over some good chow. I thought it was pretty thoughtful and pretty kewl." [–]AtreidesMedia

  • Regina Spektor: "She is the one of the nicest human beings I've ever met. She takes time with every fan after her concerts and is all smiles. She accepts gifts and gives hugs and she's just the best." [–]Kettlebot

  • Radiohead's Colin Greenwood: "Colin Greenwood and I sat smoking cigarettes and chatting for an hour at a party once. Super interesting guy and obviously down to Earth, as I was just a guy at a party he met." [–]NailsNathan

  • Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland: "Damn, this is coincidental. My honest answer is Scott Weiland. I saw STP live in 2009 and at the end of the concert they threw guitar picks out into the audience. I was right at the front and was 13 at the time, and a lot of people around me got one but I didn't. I guess he saw me looking sad or something, because he grabbed one of the security guys, gave him a pick and told him to give it to me. Didn't really interact with him, but I think it's pretty cool that he went out of his way to do that." [–]SparkyPingPong

  • Tom Waits: "Tom Waits was super cool. I met him randomly at a small show in SF for a local band and he was not at all bothered by my talking to him. He even gave me advice on how to quit smoking (hint: you quit drinking)." [–]moneyhands

  • Ludacris: "Ludacris was pretty cool, even though I ran into him after a long show. I tried to shake his hand, he tried to fist bump me, I didn't realize and just stood there grinning with my hand outstretched. He finally relents and shakes my hand. And that, my friends, is my Whitest Moment™." [–]BigBizzle151

  • Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose: "A lot of people would have a hard time believing this one, but it's got to be Axl Rose. I know a lot of people like to shit on Axl, and nearly as many people refuse to believe he's not an asshole in real life, but my experience with him literally could not have been any cooler than it was." [–]MrF33n3y

  • Deftones: "I was 16 and had gone to a local venue to see my favorite teenage band the Deftones. There was a crowd around their bus before their show. Chino came off the bus and was mobbed by people trying to get autographs. I somehow made it up to him, pulled out my bowl and said, 'You want to smoke a bowl?', he said, 'Let's go'." [–]soupisashittylunch

  • Taylor Swift: "I met Taylor Swift at an airport in Cleveland a couple of years ago. She's just as sweet as she appears, and talked with me for about five minutes. Pure class." [–]malleus__maleficarum

  • Black Flag's Henry Rollins: "Hands down Henry Rollins. Met him several times after shows and he is always super cool. He actually makes it feel like the privilege is his for meeting you and is just grateful that you took the time to come out and see him perform." [–]popjconnell


Photo: WENN