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When Roque Andres, Jr. is not working at a job site as a journeyman ironworker, or playing bass in Regina-based melodic death metal band Nox Umbra, or saving a life, the Saskatoon man is usually adding to his extensive collection of mementos from live rock concerts.
“Not only do I work with metal, I listen to metal,” Andres likes to tell people.
His collection of concert set lists, day sheets, itineraries, guitar picks, drum sticks, signed gig posters and signed photos is plastered on the walls and ceilings of essentially every room in his house, upstairs and downstairs.
“My entire house is a storage unit,” Andres said. “It’s just a shrine to live music because my favourite thing to do in life is going to a live show.
“With my friends, it feels like that show is the best place to be on earth at that moment.”
He estimates he has between 400 and 500 gig posters, about 200 set lists from concerts, roughly 300 to 400 guitar picks, and about 100 drum sticks. About 1,000 of his souvenirs are signed by performers.
“And I probably have enough tour shirts that I can wear a different one every day for a year and a half,” he said.
His collection includes mementos from performers who are known worldwide as well as souvenirs from local acts.
Impact of an Alice Cooper show
His obsession with live music began with his very first concert: an Alice Cooper show in the mid-1980s.
“If you’ve seen Alice Cooper, he sets a standard for live production, live shows,” Andres said, adding Cooper is his idol and he’s got two tattoos of Cooper’s signature.
His collecting began at local club shows, when he noticed that performers often left their set lists on stage after the show. Then he started asking musicians for guitar picks and drum sticks after their performances.
“That’s how it started and here we are. So now it’s out of control,” Andres said. “But it’s all a piece of history from that moment in time that I experienced. I love to hold onto those memories.”
The method
His approach to acquiring guitar picks is simple: “Catch them in the air while they’re flying at you,” or be willing to look for them on the ground.
He said it’s “a fine art” catching one in the air, adding he’s caught one in the crook of his elbow and one even landed in his ear.
Andres said the very first guitar pick he got from a live show was from Metallica frontman/guitarist James Hetfield at a show in 1989 in Saskatoon.
He also has picks from The Offspring’s Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, Slayer’s Kerry King, and Bryan Adams.
“You know, I love death metal, but Bryan Adams … man, one of my favorites,” Andres said. “He took a song request from me a couple of years ago and I nearly cried. So this one means a lot to me.”
He said his first drum stick came from former Extreme drummer Paul Geary when the band visited Craven, Sask., in 1992 on a tour with Adams.
Andres has since collected drum sticks from live shows of bands that include Iron Maiden and Skid Row.
His most unique item, the one he values the most, is an abstract painting Bif Naked made for him after he drew a collage of her and her band.
Vinyl albums of Black Sabbath’s Mob Rules and Live Evil, signed by all the band members at the time, are among the most rare pieces of his collection.
When it comes to seeking autographs, Andres said, “I’m a pretty good stalker, or ‘selective looker’ as my friend would say.”
He said he shows up at venues and makes his requests before the performers arrive, adding that most artists are generally pretty appreciative that he got there in advance and spent money on their show and merchandise.
He likes taking his own photos at concerts, getting them enlarged, and then having them signed by the artists when he sees them next — often giving the performer a copy and getting a positive response.
A friend of his once secured an all-access, backstage pass for four KISS shows in England in 2019, when he got to meet the band.
“It was the best moment of my life,” he said, adding he was also able to get some set lists and drum sticks.
He said he’s gone to a lot of metal festivals oversees with meet-and-greets. He used to send letters to friends back home with envelopes signed by members of various death and thrash metal bands, because he didn’t have anything else for them to sign.
Andres estimates he has now seen about 1,200 live rock concerts — including 43 Alice Cooper shows, 50 Bif Naked concerts, 33 Iron Maiden performances, and at least 25 shows by The Tea Party. He once saw 29 shows of Dream Theater on a single tour.
Souvenirs harder to come by
He said it’s getting pretty tough to snag a set list because people started collecting them and there can be 20 people at the end of a show, waiting at the railing and “screaming for three sheets of paper.”
His advice for others: be vigilant and say “please.”
“Just be chill and cool,” he said. “I’ve seen people just start screaming at the roadies. You don’t want to be that.”
“I’ve seen people punch each other. I don’t want to be that person.”
As for what’s next, he’s considering buying a bigger house so he can have more of his collection on display, since about half of it is in storage.
“I’ve only got so much wall space and ceiling space.”
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