Got to meet Gilby, Slash was untouchable

During the Sturgis Rally, Gilby Clarke and his band (just a basic trio) played two free shows at a Easyriders Saloon. He did a selection of songs from his three solo albums along with KOHD. Dead Flowers was listed on his set list but they didn't actually play it the evening I saw them. Sad to say, the crowd was very small. Gilby came out after the show. He signed a photo and a "Gilby's Garage" shop towel for me, along with the cover of my Spaghetti Incident cd and my copy of Gilby's album Rubber. Nice guy, very approachable.

Then the skies opened up and I ran all the way back to my vehicle with the photo under my shirt.

The same night, Slash (and Myles, etc.) played at the Buffalo Chip. Even though I had an all-access backstage lanyard (radio announcer working on a film crew-I had all the bases covered! lol), there was NO getting close to Slash. I saw him walk very quickly past me from his bus to his dressing room, but he pretty much radiated a "don't bother me" aura. Security was really tight around his dressing room. No autographs or photos per Slash, according to security.

Later, Gilby showed up backstage! He and his buddies were hoping for seating in the VIP section. At first the guy wasn't going to let him, and Gilby said "well, I'm gonna be playing a song with him so..." Then, while the security guy was checking with someone higher up the chain of command, Gilby saw me and walked over. We talked about the girls in the Miss Buffalo Chip competition, the bad weather that night, and his solo albums. The the security guy came back and I got ditched. haha

I love Slash but can't stand Miles and after about four songs, I went to find my wife and we bailed. I'd already gotten Slash's autograph back in 06, so Gilby was actually the priority for me, as I'd never met him. Turned out to be a cool, approachable guy.