You never know whom you're going to meet in Asbury Park these days. Once Upstage Magazine moved to the downtown area, we found ourselves face to face with a man generally regarded as one of the world's "experts" on Liza Minnelli and Judy Garland.

Scott Schechter, who like many in the Asbury artist community moved to Asbury Park in the last few years from Manhattan has just released, The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook - his second book. The first dealt with Liza's mother, Judy Garland.

Mr. Schechter first got hooked on the pair while growing up in Philadelphia. Back in 1974, Schechter says a local television station began showing old Judy Garland movies.

"I lived near my school," explains Schechter. "On the days when the local television station would show Judy movies, my mom would let me come home for lunch and not go back to school. I could stay and watch the movies as long as I kept my grades up... She was obviously a cool mom."

His love of her movies led him into collecting record albums and memorabilia and basically learning all about her that he could. It's a borderline obsession that helped created his first work, Judy Garland: The Day-By-Day Chronicle of a Legend.

As with many fans, Judy Garland helped lead them to her daughter. Although, Scott treats them as separate legends.

"I don't think of one and then automatically think of the other," he said. "I think it's like a left brain, right brain kind of thing. I almost have to remind myself that they're related - that they're mother and daughter. They're two completely separate entitites in my mind. They just happen to be related. I think they're the two most talented human beings I've ever seen."

The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook takes you on a tour through her entire body of work. Scott jokes that he's been working on the Scrapbook for about 30 years, but it's easy to believe just how dedicated he is to Liza when you take a look at the wonderful photographs he's accumulated through the years. There are over 200 photos in all, including 136 in color. Some of the photos, like one of her father as a young man, truly impressed Liza herself.

The book is presented like one of Liza's smash Broadway musicals, including an Overture (the Introduction); Act One (Overviews / Chapters on each decade of Liza's life to the present); Intermission (Chapters on "The Liza Look," and "Everybody Loves a Winner," focusing on Minnelli's major awards); Act Two (More detailed Chapters on the star's output in each media -- Broadway, Movies, TV, Records, and Concerts); and even Exit Music (a Chapter on collecting Liza's work on DVD and CD, and the online sites devoted to her).

Another special feature is the book's Foreword, which has been written for The Liza Minella Scrapbook by Minnelli's musical mainstay: her arranger, accompanist, collaborator, and confidant, Billy Stitch. Stritch has headlined in every famed nightspot throughout the country. Recently he has served as Minnelli's musical director on her 2004 U.S. tour.

The book truly got started about two years ago in the fall of 2002. Scott's book on Judy Garland had just come out and he was talking with his agent about what to do next. Scott felt that the next logical step would be to do something on Liza's career and he imagined it in a scrapbook form. As luck would have it, Citadel Press had been publishing a series of scrapbooks by entertainers like Cher, Elton John and Barbra Streisand. Once one of the people high up at Citadel saw Liza perform at a show in Florida in February 2003, the deal was on and Liza had picked up another fan.

"There have been other books on her in the past, obviously, but they've always concentrated on her personal life and not her career," added Schechter. "The ratio has always been off. There would be all of this text and all these pages on her personal life and just a tiny bit on her triumphs and her incredible career. And this book is just the opposite."

"Liza has been open about her life and the trials and tribulations that she's faced but okay that's enough! We don't love her because of her trials and tribulations and her problems. We all have problems. As I like to say, 'I don't deal with problems, I deal with solutions.' And she's of that mind set too, which people don't give her credit for. She's been very pro-active about getting help and finding out information about her illness. She has a disease of chemical dependency, but that's not what she's about. She's about her work and her artistry and sharing her gifts with the world, which she's been doing for forty years now."

Scott Schechter has devoted thirty years of his own career to researching the careers of Minnelli and her mother Judy Garland, earning his status as the premiere Minnelli-Garland historian. TV shows Schechter has produced or consulted on include A&E's recent 2-hour "Biography" on Liza, and the similar 2002 "E! True Hollywood Story." The many CDs he has produced, compiled and written liner notes for include "Liza Minnelli : Ultimate Collection" -- which the star enjoyed so much she raved about it in her latest concert souvenir program -- along with "Judy at Carnegie Hall : Fortieth Anniversary Edition" and "The Judy Garland Show : The Show That Got Away". DVDs of Garland's entire 1963-64 TV series were the result of Schechter's efforts beginning back in 1998, including his conception of the 2001 "Songs For America" disc benefiting the American Red Cross immediately after 9-11. Schechter's previous book Judy Garland : The Day-By-Day Chronicle of a Legend was acclaimed by the LA Times, Liz Smith, and the Hollywood Reporter which stated "It's the most complete retrospective yet published on a celebrity ... Schechter's research is as thorough as a Nobel scientist."

Mr. Schechter is part of a growing community of artists in the Asbury Park area. The brother of Scott's partner owns a business in Asbury Park and had been after him for years to come work for him. About two years ago they were finally ready for a change and visited the town.

"We loved the area right away," said Schechter. "We loved the people we met. It's one of the best things I've ever done."

Above all, Schechter hopes that this book will put the emphasis back on Liza's career and off of her personal life. "Forget the tabloids and come back to the cabaret ol' chum because life is a cabaret. And see what she's about."

Of course, there's also the matter of a little dream that he's had. After following her career for thirty years, he just might be due for a little payback.

"A dream of mine is getting her to Asbury," he said. "I've schleped all over the place to see her... So, let her come to me this time!"