People idolize Don? I would say they have respect for his work. Respect well earned.
I don’t expect the entire world to be into autographs but I do find it amusing when people put others down for collecting autographs. Even discounting autographs, seeking them out often leads to interesting interactions with musicians. It gives one the pretext. For example, many years ago Jorge Ben played at the Birchmere and after the show we were ushered backstage group by group and got to hang out with the man himself. Being from Brazil he rarely has performed in the US and was genuinely touched to meet us. Yes, he signed my record but that was the least important thing about the exercise.
Or the time I drove up to NYC to see my favorite musician Andres Calamaro at Irving Plaza and got backstage where I got to hang out with Andres for a bit and talk among other things about Bob Dylan’s chances to win the Nobel. A few years later he did…
Or the time I was at the 930 and standing outside hoping to meet Peter Hook and Thatguy saw me and a few minutes later lo and behold Hooky came out.
And like that dozens of stories.
Fact is you have to put in the time and often go home empty handed and that deters many people from seeking autographs. But speaking only for myself I can say chasing autographs has been very rewarding. Wish I had started earlier….
