• Random photos cluttering my desktop
• Some seen elsewhere but never on this blog . . until now!
• Some worthy of the Hall of Shameless Posing, some not
Some will say I have a big head. Hell, I will say that. At least if we’re talking in terms of physical size. I thought my noggin was large . . until I interviewed the living legend, Little Richard, at the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. The band Big Head Todd and the Monsters could use us.
And speaking of monsters (the art of the segue mastered early on as a DJ), in 1988 I found myself at Alpine Valley, a Wisconsin outdoor music amphitheater, or “shed,” for the opening of something called the Monsters of Rock Tour. Van Halen, fronted then by Sammy Hagar, was the headliner. Their label publicists were deployed to take pictures of all the rock press on hand and I received multiple exposures:
I also interviewed the opening acts, including an up-and-coming heavy metal band that didn’t yet have an army of publicists (so, no pix). I’d heard about this band and its fearsome reputation and was a little apprehensive when I stepped into their backstage trailer. I was sure they’d “out” me as not a terribly enthusiastic metal fan. But James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett of Metallica were friendly and forthcoming interviewees.
Speaking of Van Halen — Eddie Van Halen, his now ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli came by ABC Radio News in the 1980’s for an interview.
Michael J. Fox and I risked matching two-minute minors for elbowing, also in the ’80s — before the fellow hockey lover was diagnosed with Parkinson’s:
More violently, hockey’s Hanson Brothers went full “goon” on me when we did a CNN piece on the Slap Shot jokesters.
Remember Yakov Smirnoff, the Russian emigre who became known as Ronald Reagan’s favorite comedian? He’s poised for a comeback, given the state of US-Russia relations. A Washingtonian magazine profile a year or two ago said, “He considers both Trump and Putin to be well-intentioned heads of state who have been unfairly vilified by the media.” What a country.
Here’s a stack of musicians ‘n me:
Billy in Moscow 
Billy in NY
And a favorite: This shot, taken backstage at Live Aid, made it look like I was lecturing Letterman’s band leader, Paul Shaffer. He thought so, too, and when asked to sign it, did so appropriately:
Lastly, in the entrance-way to my apartment, I have many, many framed photos of me and the celebrities I’ve interviewed. It’s known as The Hall of Shameless Posing. Guitarist Billy Squire and his wife Nicole live in my neighborhood and attended a cookout I hosted some years back. As he was standing in the Hall, it occured to me I needed to have a picture of him in the Hall . . . in the Hall.
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Have to love the kids in the hall! You have posed with the best of them!