Getting stuff signed after show

[Slanders]

So after 30+ years of shows we've decided to try to hang around after a concert and get a couple pictures signed. Is there a standard protocol for this? Is it always in the lobby? I have no idea how to go about it, and I'd really like to get at least this one thing signed for my wife's aunt, who turns 90 in June and has become a fan through watching Spectacle.

The show we're attending is this Saturday at Caesar's casino in Windsor Ontario (Canada), if that helps.

I'd appreciate any tips.

Thanks,
Slanders

[Man out of Time]

So after 30+ years of shows we've decided to try to hang around after a concert and get a couple pictures signed.
I'd appreciate any tips.

Thanks,
Slanders

I cannot say with confidence how this works on your side of the Atlantic, but in the UK, Elvis typically leaves the theatre after a show by the Stage Door, and in my experience of more shows than I care to count, he will be happy to meet fans and sign stuff up to a point. He may be accompanied by a "minder". In the UK, this tends to be Paddy - a tall, now grey haired gentleman, who will make his views clear if he feels things or individuals are getting in any way out of hand. I don't know if Paddy travels still, but others may be able to tell you.

Elvis is usually happy to pose for photographs with fans (particularly young female fans), and will sign his own work (e.g. LP sleeves or CD booklets) or tickets etc. If you want stuff signed, take a decent pen, that you are sure can do the job. This may sound self evident, but I have seen pens not working because it was cold or damp, or because he was trying to write at an angle. Magic markers are good for this purpose. If your "pictures" are printed on glossy photographic paper, check that the pen you want him to use won't smudge or rub off as he signs or afterwards. Don't expect a very detailed or legible signature, as he has developed a shorthand style that gets the job done quickly - big on the initial capitals, but not so good on all the other letters.

If there were a large number of fans at the stage door (where a large number might be say in excess of 30), I cannot guarantee that he will sign stuff for all of them, so faced with a crowd, you may need to push your way to the front. Saying that your wife's aunt is a fan, may help your cause, as will some generally encouraging remarks about Spectacle.

If it is not obvious where the stage door is, look for the waiting limousine. Other band members can often be seen leaving the venue before Elvis, so look out for them too.

Good luck.

MOOT

[johnfoyle]

Good point about making sure you have a marker for the signing. Elvis is left-handed and ball point pens just do not work for him if the signing surface is being held up etc. , as happened to me after , I think, the second Metrople Orchestra show in Amsterdam.

[pophead2k]

I have also had good luck with EC (and SN) signing things. A prized possession is the EC/SN box set signed by both of them after their show at the Tower in Upper Darby, PA back in the late 90s. SN even signed a ticket stub the day after the show when I ran into him in a record store in Oxford, MS. Davey and Pete posed for pics while they were eating dinner at House of Blues in New Orleans. Nice fellows all!

[MOJO]

I just dealt with a signing request SF this week. Bring your patience and your own Sharpie. I was sort of losing it... but I think my sense of time is a bit off. I move too quickly during the day (job is intense), I think.

Wherever the buses and trucks are parked, would be a good place to hang out.. or near the stage door.

There was an good looking older guy who escorted Steve and Elvis out... Non-threatening, not like Paddy (just kidding).

Cool - Ninety years old and digs Elvis. Smart woman. Enjoy the show (RIP Levon)

[the_platypus]

Good point about making sure you have a marker for the signing. Elvis is left-handed and ball point pens just do not work for him if the signing surface is being held up etc. , as happened to me after , I think, the second Metrople Orchestra show in Amsterdam.

Really? I had no idea. Is it normal for lefties to play guitar right-handed? That's a little weird, no?

[watercamp]

Ask the people at the theater to point out the road manager and ask him if there is a possibility of getting an autograph. Look for the guys with the plastic "all access" passes, they know who the road manager is.

Always be polite and calm and above all else don't be drunk.

Good luck.

[bil1cat]

At the LA show a few nights ago i found out that it is better to get things signed before the show. Sound check was between 4-5 and one by one the band showed up. They were fresh and happy to sign. I had Elvis and Steve both sign the Box, and they also signed my almost blue along with Pete. Crowed before the show was only about 5 people.

[Jeremy Dylan]

Good point about making sure you have a marker for the signing. Elvis is left-handed and ball point pens just do not work for him if the signing surface is being held up etc. , as happened to me after , I think, the second Metrople Orchestra show in Amsterdam.

Really? I had no idea. Is it normal for lefties to play guitar right-handed? That's a little weird, no?

Most left-handers play right handed guitar. Trying to learn to play the opposite of 95% of all great guitarists is a gigantic pain in the ass, plus they make far fewer of them, so buying a great old lefty axe is a lot tougher than buying a great old right handed axe.

Paul Simon is left handed, and plays right handed. Same with Duane Allman, Ritchie Blackmore, Mike Bloomfield, Rik Emmett, Robert Fripp, Matt Sharp, Noel Gallagher, Danny Gatton, Duff McKagan, Mike Starr, Janick Gers, Tom Araya, Dave Lombardo, Joan Jett, Mark Knopfler, B.B. King, Gary Moore, Steve Morse, Joe Perry and Chris Rea.

McCartney plays left handed on lefty guitars. Hendrix played left handed by playing a right handed guitar upside down.

[watercamp]

Good point about making sure you have a marker for the signing. Elvis is left-handed and ball point pens just do not work for him if the signing surface is being held up etc. , as happened to me after , I think, the second Metrople Orchestra show in Amsterdam.

Really? I had no idea. Is it normal for lefties to play guitar right-handed? That's a little weird, no?

Most left-handers play right handed guitar. Trying to learn to play the opposite of 95% of all great guitarists is a gigantic pain in the ass, plus they make far fewer of them, so buying a great old lefty axe is a lot tougher than buying a great old right handed axe.

Paul Simon is left handed, and plays right handed. Same with Duane Allman, Ritchie Blackmore, Mike Bloomfield, Rik Emmett, Robert Fripp, Matt Sharp, Noel Gallagher, Danny Gatton, Duff McKagan, Mike Starr, Janick Gers, Tom Araya, Dave Lombardo, Joan Jett, Mark Knopfler, B.B. King, Gary Moore, Steve Morse, Joe Perry and Chris Rea.

McCartney plays left handed on lefty guitars. Hendrix played left handed by playing a right handed guitar upside down.

Really? I had no idea it was so common.

[Jeremy Dylan]

Yup. I'm a lefty, but I never really considered learning left handed guitar. It's just so much extra work - all the tabs are written right handed, if you were going to get formal lessons, you'd most likely have a right handed teacher, etc.

Plus, left handed guitars look super dodgy.

[wardo68]

Elvis signed happily when I approached him after a Hi-Tone show. Pete was talking with a few fans out front and otherwise unnoticed, so getting to him was no problem.

Outside the Letterman theater stage door Elvis signed a handful of things; a few people had album covers with them but I think he knew they were there by proxy for others to hawk their booty later on, so he ignored them. Davey was happy to be recognized, and signed. Steve apparently wasn't in the mood and just kept walking with Bill Flanagan.

[Little Fool]

Like Slanders, I have been attending his gigs for 35 years. It will be my 60th time seeing him next month, (I've got 4 UK shows lined up).
I have never met the man or hung around after a gig for a signing but recently this has been something that has crossed my mind, so maybe, after reading these posts I might give it a try. !!!

[Slanders]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I had purchased a pair of metallic silver Sharpie pens just for this purpose. I'll try to find the stage door at Caesars and hang out there. One other question - how much time are we talking between the end of the show and when he might appear to sign stuff? An hour, two hours?

Thanks again, and good luck to you, too, Little Fool.

[MOJO]

Oh, it's a casino show. Is it a hotel/casino? If so, they might be staying at the hotel. I ran into Elvis, Pete, and Steve on the casino floor at a show in Reno! Depends on the set-up of the casino. Maybe they have tunnels underground where they rub people out... Oh, wait i mean allow entertainers to escape the scene without freaks bothering them. You might want to chat with someone near the bus/stage area for some advice as to how/where to get it signed. As for time, I have no patience when it comes to standing/waiting around, so a half-hour feels like an hour to me. Good luck.

[MOJO]

Hey Slanders - Did you get your autograph?

[Slanders]

Hey Slanders - Did you get your autograph?

Sadly, no. I talked to a few security people before the show, and one guy told me that EC was staying at the casino hotel that night. So, no chance of hanging out by the stage door. After the show, everybody I asked "Any chance of getting something signed?" were like "He doesn't do that."

I thought about leaving a message at the front desk, which makes for a fun game of "What name would EC register under?" Napoleon Dynamite's a tad obvious, I imagine.

[johnfoyle]

This Facebook photo from over the weekend shows Elvis in signing action ; I think it's before/after the Wiltern show last week -

[MOJO]

Hey Slanders - Did you get your autograph?

Sadly, no. I talked to a few security people before the show, and one guy told me that EC was staying at the casino hotel that night. So, no chance of hanging out by the stage door. After the show, everybody I asked "Any chance of getting something signed?" were like "He doesn't do that."

I thought about leaving a message at the front desk, which makes for a fun game of "What name would EC register under?" Napoleon Dynamite's a tad obvious, I imagine.

Bummer. Maybe next time and a non-casino venue. Good thing you didn't go to the front desk and ask. I don't think that would be a good idea for some reason.

[Minerwerks]

I asked about this over at the Steve Hoffman forums the other night before heading to the Clearwater show (sorry, everyone, I actually forgot I had registered here way back). As I wrote there: He was in a hurry - the bus left immediately after - but he was gracious and even asked if he got to everyone. It totally blew my friends' minds that he actually came out and signed autographs, we all left happy.

Only a handful of people stayed out for autographs, and it happened really quickly after the show ended.
I had hoped to see Steve and Pete as well to get an autograph, since they have been a huge part of these recordings I get so much enjoyment from. Perhaps on the next pass through Florida - I won't be missing an Elvis Costello show in my neck of the woods again. I have years of ignorance to make up for (this was only the second time I've seen him).