[Cailin]

Of course, NAMES would be great, but it’s okay if you won’t.

I know you’ve met everyone Thor, so my list is hardly impressive, but these encounters were certainly very special to me. 🙂 I also don’t want others to feel bad who haven’t had any meet-and-greets. I’m not more of a devoted fan than anyone else on here, I just happened to be in close proximity to unique film music events at one time in my life.

I got to say hi, and shake hands with James Newton Howard after a concert at UCLA (he was carrying his sleepy kid in one arm, and shook my hand with the other).

At the same concert, I got a picture with Alan Silvestri in the audience during intermission and gushed to him about my favorite score of his, Van Helsing. The camera flash was off, so the picture is blurry, but I don’t mind – such a fond memory. 🙂

There too, Michael Giacchino had just conducted and debuted a suite from his score to The Incredibles, and I said hello and probably said something like “great job”, as he exited past me in the aisle after the concert. I did not know who he was yet, since he really hadn’t done any movies so far, except for that one. Just a young guy at the beginning of his feature film career – oh to see him now!

I had a friend working on a book about film composers, and he took me to his follow-up interview with Christopher Young. We met Chris at his studio in Culver City, so I got to see his jack-o’ lantern collection in person. It definitely made quite the impression, floor to ceiling! I got a picture with him there and he also gave me an autographed copy of Sweet November, which I had never heard at that point. But I told him I really enjoyed The Shipping News a lot. He must have thought I’d enjoy Sweet November too. Which of course, I do!

I went to a CD signing event at Creature Features in Burbank. Nearly ran over David Newman in the nearby neighborhood, trying to find parking. There were many composers there with a video game or horror genre specialty (which isn’t my main area of listening). But I was delighted to meet Lee Holdridge, and also David Newman there, who both signed CDs I brought. I said hello to Bear McCreary, and I’m pretty sure Tyler Bates was there too. But I really wasn’t familiar with either of them at the time (this was 20 years ago!). But I was excited to meet John Ottman who had just scored Superman Returns (BIG Superman fan here!). He autographed my copy of Usual Suspects, and also signed a Superman Returns poster for me that hangs on my living room wall today. We got a picture together too. I wish I had taken many more pictures at that event, but I was just so nervous and excited to be there, surround by many of my musical heroes. John Powell was supposed to be there, but had to cancel last minute. It would have been wonderful to meet him!

I met and got a picture with Mark Isham in the lobby of the 35th Anniversary Varèse Sarabande concert in San Pedro. There were other composers there too (like Hans Zimmer, John Debney, Brian Tyler, Christopher Lennertz, Danny Elfman, John Powell, and Cliff Eidelman…Christopher Young and Michael Giacchino were there too) but I wasn’t able to see or meet anyone else up close.

Other than that, I’ve breathed the same air as John Williams, so to speak, as in I saw him conduct at the Hollywood Bowl, but he was so far away, it probably doesn’t count.