I’ve heard that Roger Waters has been signing on his current tour.  He was making a stop in Columbus two months before his stop in Cleveland.  So three of my friends and I made the trek down to C-bus to try and get Pink Floyd’s bassist/singer and songwriter.  We arrived early and there were already four people there.  Within an hour, the line grew to 50.  Another hour went by and there was easily over 150.  After talking to some people and overhearing people talk while in line, it seems that some people went to a homeless shelter and offered to pay the homeless to stand in line and get items signed.  I overheard two guys saying “These guys came and got us out of our tents.”   When Rogers arrived, I somehow was 11th in line when I was 6th when I got there.

There are two sides to this situation.  On the one side, you are paying someone for their time - about 2 to 2 ½ hours.  I think the offer was 20 bucks.  The other side is that you are getting something that has way more value than what you are paying for, a signed Dark Side or The Wall is going for over $300 on ebay.  Also, I think this is just morally wrong.  These “dealers” are not only exploiting the people that they are paying (I also heard the guy did not end up paying them, he took the albums and left) but they are also exploiting the kindness of Roger who is taking his time out of his day to sign for his fans.  

I think Roger is going to shut it down pretty soon.  When the tour started, he would sign anything- guitars, drum heads, posters, and albums.  As time went on, he started limiting items that he would sign.  It was albums only when I saw him.  He also refuses to sign for kids, which I think this is a good thing.  It makes me sick when parents drag their kids out to get something signed when clearly they do not want to be there or even know who the artist is.  Roger sat in the back of the SUV and signed 1 item each.  He did switch markers, depending on the item.  He didn’t say a word, even after I thanked him for signing for me, it seemed like he just wanted to get through the signing before he went into the venue.   For the 150 or so people in line it took about 20 minutes for him to sign for everyone.  His security was very clear, “no posters, no musical instruments and no kids.”  You also could only bring one item up and all bags had to left on the ground.  

What do you think- is it ok for people to pay homeless guys to stand in line and get things signed?  Sure, I wish I got a few things signed, but I am more than happy having the gatefold of my “The Wall” album signed.  I'm going to frame it up, along with my Nick Mason signed drum head and hang it on my wall.