Van Dyke Parks at McCabe's in Santa Monica tomorrow, March 30

[The Heartical Don]

Thanks so much, Justin, for sharing with us. Congrats on the wonderful mementos you've added to your collection! Would have come down from Santa Barbara but simply could not abandon my girlfriend's beloved animals since she is on the East Coast right now...they don't do well on their own and it would have been after 3am before I would have gotten back (if I'd gotten back at all)...ah, the vagaries of bad timing.

VDP is a treat to see in person and I will move heaven and earth to get there the next time he plays in SoCal.

Thanks, rn57, for that link to the Kennedy Center show.

Ontor--we await more from you!!

He really is the most friendly, generous, and accessible performer/composer/arranger/musician I ever met. Have seen him three times in concert, and two times in person after his shows. And I want to see him again, in Antwerp, in a good month. If I can't make that concert, the earth will explode in a nuclear blast sometime in May 2013.

[Mikie]

Cool autographs there, Justintime!

Looks like you must have impressed Brian when you had him sign that CD and/or you caught him on a real good day. His autograph is more than a scribble or like a little worm like he signs most autos. Looks like the way he USE to sign it back in the 60's and 70's! Congrats for seeing a great show and for getting Van Dyke's autograph too. That's one I'm lacking. Justin, did Van sign autographs after the show or did you just catch him backstage or elsewhere?

Thanks Mikie!...you're exactly right about the signature and I feel very lucky to have a nice one.  I have a couple other Brian sigs and like you said, they're just a "B" and a "W" with a couple squiggly lines after them.  I was lucky to get these.  Van was in the "store" area of McCabe's saying hello to people and taking pictures.  I almost missed him since he was getting ready to leave right as Tom McDermott was finishing his encore.  I stepped out of the performance just as Van was leaving.  He was gladly signing what  people had for him.  But it was just me and someone else who had things for him to sign. A young woman went up to him with two of his solo albums on vinyl and he gladly signed (and sketched something) on each.  She said she was a composer and said she really loved his work.  Van was very warm and extremely kind and just said: "Don't give up."  I thought that was nice.  I approached him and he generously signed my items.  I get the feeling he gets pretty tired of signing Beach Boys related stuff by now but he was very gracious about my two Smile albums.  I enjoyed the concert so much, I've already ordered a few of his CDs and the next time I see him live I'll be sure to have a few VDP albums on hand for him to sign!

He seems like a genuinely nice guy and definitely approachable for an autograph.  Hope you meet him soon!

Good story, Justin - thanks for taking the time.  Yeah, if Van ever gets up to the Bay Area, I'll be sure to try and catch up with him. 

[G.C]

The Kennedy Center appearance is still online, I think....yep, it is:

http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/artists/?entity_id=84944&source_type=B

Thank you!