Most of the musicians are cool. I ran into Bleed from Within musicians when they were buying some beers, I got wet with former Ingested vocalist, needed to explain my t-shirt to Destroyer 666... They're all cool.
So far people have always responded positively. And it's a good conversation starter. There are several musicians I ended up having a few beers with and just talking for a few hours.
And I usually just tell them exactly that. "Hey, can I just shake your hand and tell you I appreciate your work? You've had a lot of influence on my life and I want you to know that". Stuff like that.
I have a list of people in life whose hand I want to shake at least once. Dan was on that list. I don't go out of my way to make that happen, but if an opportunity presents itself, I will try.