thought this would be fun to post ~ This is the Kidrock that is a AWESOME MAN

like that song " baby I'm a real bad boy, but honey I'm a real good man ~
Kid Rock
Rock/Rap- "Bawitdaba", "Only God Knows Why", "Cowboy", "Picture" featuring Sheryl Crow, "Forever", "Bull God", and "Lonely Road of Faith"


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Date: June 29, 1999
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Celebrity Encounter Story told by Earl:
Robert Ritchie a.k.a. Kid Rock has made a name for himself by combining rap with the sounds of more traditional rock music and even country. In 1998, Kid Rock released his breakthrough album "Devil Without a Cause" which spawned hit after hit, boosting Rock to worldwide stardom. Kid Rock was touring relentlessly promoting this album and it just so happened that one of these stops landed at our annual Rockfest. Rockfest has become a favorite event for us every year and this Rockfest was our first experience attending the festival.

We had heard that every artist on the bill usually signed autographs in the Hastings autograph tent and considering the lineup of headliner Limp Bizkit, Fuel, Smash Mouth, Staind, Disappointment Incorporated, Kottonmouth Kings, Zebrahead, Shootyz Groove, and of course Kid Rock, we definitely weren't going to let a chance like this pass us by. So Sterling, friend Mr. Ao, and I were off to see if this "autograph tent" was all that it was cracked up to be.

Upon our arrival, we were delighted to find out that an autograph tent did indeed exist and that most of the artists were scheduled to sign, including the main acts Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock. It was a very successful day for us in terms of autographs and after meeting Limp Bizkit, there was only one artist scheduled to sign... Kid Rock! Since there was such a huge line for Limp Bizkit, they unfortunately had to cut off the line. This resulted in many fans getting pissed off and things weren't looking good.

It was so bad in fact that we thought a riot might erupt and we made sure not to flash our new Bizkit autographs to anyone. After the Bizkit left, people were still in denial and couldn't believe it until the autograph booth workers said Kid Rock was the next to sign. Tons of people around us started to boo and left angrily, I guess there is no substitute for the Bizkit these days. In this very line we met someone we would get to know very well in our future autograph outings, fellow collector Newt (as we like to call him). Since many fans were leaving the line, it only worked in our benefit because the line shortened drastically and now we would surely meet Kid Rock, that is if he showed up!

Thankfully the Kid arrived right on schedule and even brought a friend, his Lil' 3 Foot 9 rappin M.C Joe C. Kid Rock and Joe C. sat down and before long we were led in to meet them. The Kid is surprisingly very nice and quiet when we met him. I was expecting this big rock ego, but he definitely enjoyed meeting his fans. Kid Rock was also kind enough to disobey rules and sign one of our darker photographs with our gold paint pen, they are supposed to use the black sharpies provided by the event. Another rule Kid Rock broke was signing two things for me and I'm sure glad he did. He was just an all around great guy and all of us thanked him before moving on to his little friend.

Joe C. was also pretty cool to meet and he sure loved signing for fans. One girl in front of us unzipped her pants a bit so Kid and Joe C. could sign her panties. It was funny because Joe C. couldn't reach over the table , so he jumped off his chair crawled under the table and emerged to sign her panties. Then we were each able to get his autograph and with that came the end of our first experience with Rockfest.




Kid Rock is not a smug arrogant celebrity when it comes to signing for fans. We even saw a television show with him where he said he used to really love getting autographs of his idols when he was a kid. As a result he said he makes sure that he treats his fans with respect and remains approachable. We're also glad that Kid Rock brought along his little buddy Joe C., he was really cool. Thank you so much Kid Rock and Joe C. for everything! Keep on Rocking, Kid!

Update: Sadly a year later Joe C passed away, which came as a shock to all Kid Rock fans. Joe C will be greatly missed and we're so happy to have met this wonderful guy. Rest in peace Joseph Calleja!