I met Allan in 1987. We were backstage in Buffalo, NY. Allan was very nice to my friend and I. He was a little upset because his Synthaxe was not working properly that night. But, that didnt stop him from talking to us and taking a photo with us.
In 2009-ish, he was playing a small venue in Newcastle, UK, and my mate and I popped into a nearby pub for a quick pint before the show. The place was quiet and Allan himself happened to be propping up the bar on his own with a pre-gig glass of red wine. Not wanting to be in his face, we simply said we were looking forward to seeing him play and left it at that - but looking back I would've loved to have engaged with him more. The show, with Chad Wackerman on drums, was brilliant. RIP Allan.
I ran into former Welterweight boxer Ricky Hatton and I got star struck. I didn't ask for a picture or a signature or anything. With a boxer lol, imagine I saw a famous musician I'd probably shit myself.
I always sense I remember,I am a Boss n it's my first time I offer others to became a boss as a king 👑....why not??? All together 200+ ... To everyone don't agree it would not happen,if everyone agrees then will happen borever it needs....
I saw Allan Holdsworth twice at the 930 club in Washington DC back in the 1980s. You could go down and talk to artists between sets. He signed my ticket and he was super nice answering questions while he was changing strings. Me and my buddy were pretty drunk and I remember stealing some of the cold cuts the club had laid out for him.
Wealth is not the root to happiness. Holdsworth may not have been even vaguely wealthy but his riches were living his life his way with musical integrity
Hi Steve, I worshiped you. I bought everything you ever put out. Every album, CD, Video, DVD, football style Jersey with your name, Secret Jewel Box set, Concert tickets! Then we moved to West Babylon Long Island and you were doing a signing at Looney Toons records in my town and I said "Finally I get to meet him"! We stood outside on a long line in the cold for at least an hour and a half and slowly moved towards meeting my idol. Finally we got to the front and I got in front of you and I said "i have been waiting my whole life to meet you", and you pointed at me like you thought you were all that and a bag of chips and said "No, Ive been waiting my whole life to meet you" and then the handlers rushed us through taking the picture and moving along. Are you F#*king kidding me? I have met Allan Holdsworth myself and you are right, he was one of the most humble and amazing people on the planet, but please don't ever try to put yourself in that category! They have to grease your head to get you through the door! No longer a fan!!!!
Steve's dead on. I sat next to Alan Holdsworth in the bar at the NAMM show around 90. He was a really nice guy- Had a brew together, said have a good day. Cool Guy RIP
Very excited for a Holdsworth Documentary!! I met him in one of his last tours at the Iridium in Manhattan after a gig. He signed the back-cover of my guitar (I still have it!) and shook my hand. I will never forget the feeling of every bone in my hand being gleefully crushed in his catcher's mitt of a hand.
"That's the guy I wanna be. That's the kind of person I am going to be" Nah. You are egoist. Not even close. First you need to figure out how to lose your ego.
I wad lucky enough to meet Allan several times the first time a had a bunch of album covers of nearly everything he had recorded and i asked if he would mind signing some of them he told me to come over to the bar with him and said the least he could do was sighn them all and thanked me he was so humble just a beautiful human being i went again the following night and when he saw me he called me over i saw him many times after this and he was always happy to talk to me not only was i blown away by his musicianship but equally by him as a person.
I saw Alan Holdsworth in a club. I respect you more for enduring the tests of Frank Zappa. I want to share this- I went to a club in Denver called “Ebbett’s Field”- I was at a sound check for a little band called “Return to Forever”. A man tapped me on the shoulder and said, “My name is Chick Corea, what’s your’s. I think of that every day. Then, I saw them rehearse “Romantic Warrior” (which hadn’t been recorded yet. Me and about 10 people. The album was recorded soon after at Caribou Ranch near Nederland, Colorado.
Great story man...I love this about music and the guitar - I'm not going to go into how 9/11 had me so upset that i realized that i hadn't practiced in months..and I had this moment of clarity where I asked myself " If i was alone on an island..." but it, in affect, re invigorated my love for the classical guitar ( still a rocker) and somehow, someway, it changed the trajectory of my attention to create the worlds first Classical Guitar Cruise w/ David Tanenbaum ( who you may remember from SF conserv. of music ) and others...a guitar school at sea for 7 days from LB to the ' mexican riviera'. What I'd LIKE to share is that , when i was 12, i was in a record store in my humble little town where i bought my first album. It was "UK" with Allan holdsworth...when i shared it with my record listening friends they all made fun of me cause it wasn't ' ASIA, or STYX' , and i was ashamed and embarrsed to not fit in ( careful who you hang with)...to me he was the top of ' guitar mountain' ( where he'll remain) next to you of course :)). LOL. When I met Allan we were just ..hangin..talking like old friends...and we had this moment where we started talking about legato and guitar picks...and , at the same time...we offered each other our guitar picks...I still have the one he gave me today... a dunlop...( forget the size) and I gave him a pic I've been married to for sometime ( george dennis 1.3 mm sharp)...and since I'm here...I'll ask you - favorite holdsworth lead? Mine is probably " Devile take the hindmost". it sings... thanks for all your years of inspiration ~RONA ~ * PS.I'm seriously considering starting another event with electric guitar...dm me if you're interested. \../
Just stumbled upon this video. He really took to that mantra. I ran into him in LA a few months ago. Unbeknownst to me, he was recovering from some injury or surgery. He was gracious and kind. His record, Passion and warfare, was a mind blowing moment for me. I didn't know that someone could make a guitar sound like that. It is nice to see that he lives and plays in the same way-with intention.
I had an opportunity to buy Allan a beer on two occasions. Once at the Baked Potato, and another time at Iridium in New York City. Very nice and down-to-earth man.
I found this series extremely authentic and the guy who played Chapo is so Badass. Notice that none of the South American Actors and Actresses in the series spoke more than only a few lines of English. That itself is basass
I found a comment from Allan Holdsworth on a random video about him - I checked his account and it only had one video of him - he was in bed, and he just farts into the camera. 😅😅
Thanks so much; and especially for your help in figuring out the songs I didn’t know! I can’t wait to re-visit your channel and what you’ve been up to. Rush is the gift that keeps on giving throughout your life! ❤️
Got to shake hands with Holdsworth in the early 80's. He was playing in a bar in Philly. About 150 people there....he walked back to his private room through the crowd and everybody was in awe of him....I just stuck out my hand and said I want to shake those fingers. He shook hands!
