Joe Bonamassa has paid tribute to beloved actor and former neighbor Sir Patrick Stewart, revealing that his apologies for playing guitar so loudly always fell on deaf ears.
Best known for portraying Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek franchise and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, Stewart enjoyed a decades-long career on screen and stage. Following news of his death at 86, Bonamassa recalled an unexpected personal connection with the actor: They were once neighbors.
The electric guitar hero grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, making the encounter all the more surreal. Like many in the artistic community, he took to Instagram to share his memories of Stewart.
“This is a huge loss,” he writes. “As a massive fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I grew up knowing him as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. It was my favorite show. Patrick Stewart was an actor's actor that went way beyond Star Trek.
“On a personal note: In a former life Patrick was a neighbor of mine. He lived in the house across the street from me and was the nicest, most humble movie star I have ever encountered.”
The story appears to date back to an earlier chapter in Bonamassa's career, before his current home became the guitar-filled gear museum known as Nerdville.
“He always made a point to say hello and ask me how the music business was,” Bonamassa continues. “I would apologize for the loud guitar playing and we would have a laugh. Rest in peace, Sir.”
It's a charming glimpse of Stewart away from the screen: a neighbor who took an interest in a young musician's career and never seemed bothered by the sound of electric guitar practice coming from across the street.
That's perhaps just as well. Bonamassa has since become known for his enormous live setups, including an ultra-expensive rig that has accompanied him around the world. On one occasion, he even suffered temporary hearing loss after cranking his equipment too loud.
Tom Morello has also paid tribute to Stewart, thanking the actor for his “brilliance” and “humanity.” The former Rage Against the Machine guitarist made an uncredited cameo in the 1998 film Star Trek: Insurrection, briefly sharing the screen with Stewart.
Stewart was also an eloquent advocate for the arts. During a speech delivered to the Oxford Union, he described art as “part of the human spirit; an unquestionable expression of who we are.”
“Art,” he added, “is one of the ways in which we say, I am alive, and my life has meaning.”
