I've been a fan of Cheap Trick since about 1982.  I remember hearing some of their popular songs on the radio before that, but I believe that is when I bought Live at Budodan on cassette.  After that, I was hooked.  Then we finally got MTV and watching their live performances and some of their crazy video's made it even better.  I continued to buy their albums:  Dream Police, Next Position Please and One on One.  Finally I got to see them live in 1985.  They opened up for Heart and the next…

Even though I review hundreds of space and aviation autographs every month for clients including RR Auction, JSA, SGC, PSA and others, I always enjoy looking at cool items. Every once-in-a-while something comes along that really knocks me out of my chair... and this X-15 multi-signed photo is one of them.

The X-15 set altitude and…

A couple of interesting autographed items have popped up from Lou Gehrig.

Howard Henderson is a 92-year-old who was 12 when he was given a baseball glove signed by Gehrig.

He had met a number of big name folks, including Ethel Merman and Jimmy Durante. His father Ray was a songwriter, and apparently Gehrig’s wife Eleanor wanted to write songs. The boy went…

I was first made aware of Kenny Wayne Shepherd in the early 90's when people were talking about this young guitar phenom.  I bought his first CD a few years later and was pleasantly surprised.  In 1998, he opened up for my favorite band Van Halen (yeah it was the tour w/Gary Cherone on vocals).  I was in the 7th row on the floor and was blown away at his musical ability and guitar tone.  I actually caught one of his guitar pics too!  I bought a couple of other CD's over the years but always…

I remember as a kid reading a Sports Illustrated story on Reggie Jackson. The baseball Hall of Famer had an impressive collection of 28 cars (years later I read that his garage burned down and they were destroyed).

We all drool over Jay Leno’s car collection, but for autograph and memorabilia collectors, we sometimes like cars for other reasons. They joked on Seinfeld once when Kramer bought a car that was supposedly owned by Jon Voight.

I remember driving into…

There were a couple of cute comic strips this week that were autograph related. In the great Bizarro, by the talented Dan Piraro (who I had the pleasure of meeting at a party, and a week later buying an autographed copy of his book at Comic Con) – his strip had a woman coming home and showing her husband a picture. She is saying, “Guess whose autograph I got today?”

The man is looking at it and says, “Pt Sjk?”  (now at this point in the comic strip, autograph collectors are…

I was really sad to hear of the passing of a true comedy legend Rik Mayall who passed away on June 9th, aged 56.

As part of the 1980's alternative comedy wave that turned British comedy on it's head, he was a shining light and a true star. He and his partners in crime did to the comedy establishment what the Sex Pistols did to music! It was that revolutionary and fierce!

With his characters Kevin Turvey from the series 'A Kick Up the Eighties' and The Dangerous Brothers they…

Tony Gwynn and Kasey Kasem had something in common. Both dealt with lots of hits.

I worked in radio a long time, but never met Kasem. I met Gwynn, who passed away the day after Kasem, on several occasions. He was always a class act.

One bit I did on the radio was calling the San Diego Padres and trying to convince them to let me throw out the first pitch. After…

If you want to make your wife happy on her birthday, a gift from Tiffany’s works. If you want to get one of the wealthiest NBA players something for his birthday, apparently something from Tiffany worked. No, not the store – actress Tiffani Amber Thiessen.

It’s always fun when stars talk about being thrilled by an autograph they received. Usually it’ll be a baseball…

I love when famous people have stuff stolen from them. They’re often able to bribe the thieves into returning it with a meeting and an autograph.

San Francisco Giants right fielder Hunter Pence, who was acquired in a trade with Philly in 2012, had a customized motor scooter which he wrote a few blocks from home, to every home game. It was stolen outside a restaurant on…

A quick wrap-up on some autograph thingies in the news this past week.

Most recently, that would involve the story of Brad Pitt being punched in the face at a screening of Maleficen, which stars wife Angelina Jolie (a disappointing movie, my review here: http://fox5sandiego.com/2014/05/29/maleficent/). He was signing autographs outside the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, while she was posing for photographs when…

Director of such films as The French Connection and The Exorcist, William Friedkin continues to be the most generous of book, DVD and memorabilia signers at the many stops and shops that he has been appearing at.  Below is a photo taken May 17, 2014 at his 3rd stop in 2 years at Dark Delicacies in Burbank, Ca.

As long as you purchase anything that he is directly related to and currently promoting, especially his book "The Friedkin Connection", or the Blu-Ray of The Exorcist, Mr.…

In the early ‘80s, my parents got me a subscription to a magazine called Basketball Digest. I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread (side note: if bread never became sliced, what would be the thing we compare something really great to?)

As a basketball lover, I anxiously awaited its arrival each month. One month, they put all the addresses in of…

It's come to this.  Former Major League ump Al Clark is signing his new book.

http://fairlawn-saddlebrook.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/al-clark-signing-copies-of-new-book-this-weekend

Clark did time for selling bogus baseballs with his own COA. (And even had the distinction of being prosecuted by Chris Christie).…

Julien's Auctions is scheduled to auction Lot 685, a band-signed "Beatles '65" album at Saturday's…

It’s about time I tackle this subject. I must admit, though…I’m doing so with lots of second-hand stories and editorializing. It’s also after midnight (no Clapton reference intended). I’m a little tired and just typing off the top of me head!

A…

On May 3, 2014, Caspert Auctioneers & Appraisers held an auction of baseball memorabilia that was initially confiscated by the Bergen County, New Jersey's Prosecutors Office.…

Two autograph things in the media recently that I thought I’d share. In the Union-Tribune in San Diego, they did an interview with Goth, alt-rocker David J (from the bands Bauhaus and Love & Rockets). His real name is David John Haskins, but he goes by his stage name. And he’s…

I’ve got some bad news, folks. I’ve been saying this for the last 8 years but…autographs are going to be harder and harder to get. It’s a mix of so many things. Paparazzi snapping pictures, or fans snapping pictures – and not knowing how their own cameras/cell phones work. That means the celeb you want a signature from has to spend even more time standing around being…

Hello everyone! I am just now getting into building a music collection, and have for the past couple years tried to get some albums autographed by the bands that I would go and see at our Summer Concert Series in Woodstock, GA. So far, I have gotten autographs by Steve Boone and Joe Butler of The Lovin' Spoonful and Doug Gray of The Marshall Tucker Band, who each both put on one heck of a show. But what I run into when trying to find albums for some of the bands that I plan on going to see…