#390058 - 07/21/05 04:10 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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MikeT156
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Registered: 06/27/04
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There might be a small correlation to what stars have to deal with when they wrap up a show and what local players have to do when a gig is over or just about over. How many times have you played somewhere, someone or a few people come in 10 minutes before close and keep yelling "One more time" when its time to "say goodnight" and the gig is OVER? I don't have a problem playing an encore for a crowd that has been there awhile, spent their money, and want to hear another song. For those that showed up for a night cap and want me to entertain them, they should have stayed where they were. 
Mike T.
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Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Suit case 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Mk III, Oberheim DMX, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist. Lots of Amps, mixers, PA speakers!
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#390059 - 07/21/05 04:13 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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Gus Lozada
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Originally posted by Tedster:
Well, I can tell you...I get approached for autographs all the time! Yup, people, mostly salesmen, wanting me to "autograph" contracts so they can put vinyl siding on my house, or new storm windows, or something. They might think I'm a dick 'cause I tell them all to jump in the lake.
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W o M
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#390062 - 07/21/05 08:25 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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Mark Zeger
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Originally posted by GTRBass:
For many artists (who aren't superstars) it's also a potential way to generate much needed tour revenue. Howard Jones used to do it near the merch table. If you bought some merch he would graciously sign it for you. King's X will do that too. Comedian Craig Shoemaker does a public M&G in a receiving line after his shows where you have to buy merch to get his attention. You buy a hat, DVD or CD, he shakes your hand and signs it for you. I'll bet he does $10K a night in merch alone!
I noticed Botti's tour manager and asked "Don't you hate this?", referring to the disorder. He said "No way...I get a piece of everything!"
:rolleyes:
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#390063 - 07/21/05 10:03 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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Murphman
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Two stories: I met Melissa Etheridge on her 'Brave and Crazy' tour. She was getting there, but nowhere near a household name yet. She was very gracious for the meet and greet, but when she approached the stage door, she saw a very large crowd between the door and her bus. She pulls out a Sharpie and says to the security, "Let's go." Signed every autograph! Maybe that's why she's kept her fan base for so long.
I was extremely lucky to meet Dan Akroyd and Jim Belushi after a Second City show last year (they were in the audience). I struck up a little conversation with them, and as I was leaving I asked if I could take a quick picture with my cell phone. Jim says, "If we start that now, we'll never get out of here." I nodded that I completely understood, and he thanked me for that. He appreciated that I didn't beg, which meant more to him than anything. I'm sure he deals with it every day, and I didn't say, "Come on, just one picture!"
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#390064 - 07/21/05 10:12 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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Barandine Vondenger
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Registered: 03/03/03
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Loc: Terra: area 223761-g
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I ain't famous or anything like it. I am however sometimes asked to Write my moniker on this or that, A ceedee of mine or a poster from a bar I played.
These folkes listen to me for four hours in a bar and maybe listen to my jams out in the car and they SEEM to KNOW ME. I'm out there smilin' and wavin' and BEING ON and folkes are enjoying themselves and we are all having fun.
I'm WORKING my ass off. But they're sangin' along and dancin' around and think I'm having as much fun as they.
When break time rolls around I want to have a bit of quiet for a few mo,mo's and invaribly someone will wish to HANG OUT and PARTY a bit and shoot the breeze. NO matter that I have NEVER seen this person before the job and have no real idea of his or her motivations, yet I HAVE TO be polite and easygoing and ON because I have OBLIGATED myself by showing up to work.
I never have signed an autograph book or ceedee or poster and I know I dissapointed the person by NOT doing so, yet I feel that if I did I would just get all(evenmore) big-headed and thank my poop did'nt stank.
yeah it's flattering and all but it's even more scarey to me when I'm surrounded by dronk folkes I don't know and they all want me to smoke this or drank that and hang out in the dark parking lot and PARTY DOWN. YEEHAW!
Mainly, I want to get paid and go rest.
I like meeting new folkes and seeing new places and hanging out for small talk and sending ceedees to far-away places I'll never see in person.
I can never remember anyones name when I come back to a job but everybody knows me and says hi man and I think: should I know this person?
I don't know how REAL STARS do it.
I'm not good at pretending to know folkes. I say: "I'm sorry I don't remember your name" a lot, and I see the hurt in the persons eyes from where I DON'T remember someone I met for two minutes last year in a dive I don't remember playing, located in a town I never heard of.
then they get miffed snd I can see it plain as day . NOW they HATE me cause I am HUMAN.
So no autographs. please.
Just say you enjoyed the show. that means a lot. To "me" anyway.
Oh yeah and buy TWO ceedees! ahahahaha!
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#390065 - 07/21/05 10:40 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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fantasticsound
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Originally posted by Murphman:
...I was extremely lucky to meet Dan Akroyd and Jim Belushi after a Second City show last year (they were in the audience). I struck up a little conversation with them, and as I was leaving I asked if I could take a quick picture with my cell phone. Jim says, "If we start that now, we'll never get out of here." I nodded that I completely understood, and he thanked me for that. He appreciated that I didn't beg, which meant more to him than anything. I'm sure he deals with it every day, and I didn't say, "Come on, just one picture!" 
Second, after John Candy died, Jim Belushi was talking about what a big heart Candy had. He said they would leave appearances, with a place to go and schedule to keep, but John just couldn't walk by the outstretched hands without a shake and a smile. They were late, everywhere. 
I have immense respect for those who take more than necessary time with their fans. I just don't understand why people fail to realize that just because they have one, little request means that a celebrity need always honor it. As though the thousands of other fans these people run into on a daily basis don't have on, little request as well.
While on tour in the Mideast, Mink signed autographs for an hour or more after shows. The military guys and gals were very interested in meeting them, despite being unknowns. The band felt it was their duty to honor as many meet & greet requests as possible because their audience were living in harms way in service to our country. By and large the service men and women were respectful of our need to leave when necesary.
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#390066 - 07/21/05 10:56 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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russrags
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Registered: 08/28/00
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Loc: Nashville,TN
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I work quite a bit with Leon Russell and he's one of the one's who will not sign. If you get a chance to see his show, you will see he has a hard time getting to and from the stage and during the show he will give blood for 2 hours. I've come to understand that "that's enough."
Many of these Artists get themselves all worked up in some delusional state thinking that they're like an animal in a cage in some freak show. I see them do it all the time.
I introduced Michael Jackson to my girlfriend at the time, and man he looked right in her eyes like he had blinders on & it was just the two of them .. it was WAY ABOVE the call of duty, I couldn't believe what a cool moment he made out of it.
I'm getting a kick out of watching "The Bobby Brown Show" once in a while. Such a huge difference between Bobby and the public vs. Whitney and the public !!!!!
I hang with Brad Paisley once in a while and from a bystanders prospective I can't believe how patient he is with his audience. I tell him after the "tourists" leave ... "man I don't know how you do it, I could NEVER do that." It's unbelievable how the public reacts much of the time.
Good topic,
Russ
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#390067 - 07/21/05 11:01 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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Brittanylips
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Registered: 12/15/01
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I don’t understand why people are so motivated to meet a performer for 3 seconds and get their autograph. The whole exchange is mundane and superficial. No one says “gee, let’s keep in touch, let’s have lunch.” No one genuinely communicates or gets to know anybody. There is nothing real in it for anyone. The fan will get to say “I met so and so and got their autograph” but so what? The exchange is contrived and has nothing to do with the star being a good person if they do it, or a bad person if they don’t.
If you’re a musician, there are tons of meaningful and legitimate things you can do as an adjunct to your music making that reach out to people and make an impact on their lives. There are also times when you meet artists for a genuine purpose and meaningful exchange. But a 3 second meet and greet is not one of those. It’s pure contrivance.
Put yourself in the position of the star: a constant stream of strangers who want to meet you for 3 seconds, have you sign something, and then disappear, like a swarm of mosquitoes constantly buzzing around, sucking a droplet of blood, and flying away.
Imagine if you were a baker, and thousands of customers were constantly flocking to you as you were leaving your store, not for a real conversation, but to meet you for 3 seconds and get your autograph. It might be fun at first, but then, if this started happening every time you left your store, or took a break from kneading dough, it would get tiresome. Regardless of your mood or schedule, you were required to accommodate a steady stream of autograph seekers who do the same thing, say the same thing, ask the same thing.
You say you want to go home, go the bathroom, go to a movie, drink your cappuccino? Tough. Sign, smile, and shake first.
And every fan would judge you based on whether you completed this superficial ritual with every single one of them. So what if you just met 10,000 fans and signed 10,000 autographs all in a row, and all with a smile. That one time, when you just want to go home and watch American Idol, some snubbed fan feels as if you’ve not just betrayed him, but betrayed some contractual agreement to be available for every human in the universe in return for your success, and writes a poison pen letter about you on the internet.
What? No time for 6 lousy people?
Well what if that was after 10,000 people served, 10,000 three-second meet and greets, all with a smile. And at that moment, you've just performed, have a stomach ache, and a friend you haven’t seen in 10 years waiting for you, or a child who needs to go the doctor. Or more importantly, it's down to the final 4 on American Idol.
No time for 6 lousy people?
Now you’re a shmuck. And for what? A superficial encounter with someone you don’t know, who doesn’t know you, who will not get to know you and you will not get to know them, but you will be able to say “I met this person” even though you really didn’t.
But now you have something even better. You now have carte blanche to write poison pen letters on the internet, and tell everyone that even though so-and-so may be a wonderful artist and may work to help improve people’s lives in a number of ways, you know that they are actually a jerk. Because you’ve met them.
I believe it was Mark Twain who said “to be popular is to have enemies.”
-Peace, Love, and Brittanylips
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#390068 - 07/21/05 11:09 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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Brittanylips
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Originally posted by russrags:
I'm getting a kick out of watching "The Bobby Brown Show" once in a while. Such a huge difference between Bobby and the public vs. Whitney and the public !!!!!
But at this point in his career, Bobby "I'm Whitney Houston's husband" Brown is fiending for a piece of the attention she constantly receives.
-Peace, Love, and Brittanylips
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#390069 - 07/21/05 11:31 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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PBBPaul
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I'm with Brittanylips. I've met and/or worked with a bunch of "famous people" and I've never felt like I had a right to intrude on them for a picture or autograph. What is an autograph? A souvenir? Proof to others that you actually met someone famous? Why are they so vital to some people? I've never quite understood it. I guess I'm just not starstruck. The most important meetings to me have been with people that most folks wouldn't care about like Sunnyland Slim, Hubert Sumlin, Papa Kinsey, Willie Smith etc. What I typically do (if anything) when I meet someone "famous" is shake their hand and thank them for what they have done for me or their industry or I congratulate them on their accomplishments. Then, unless they initiate further conversation, I leave them alone.
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#390070 - 07/22/05 01:40 PM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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trses335
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Registered: 09/21/01
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Loc: Deerfield,IL,UNITED STATES
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This is a great issue to discuss. I guess one way to look at it is: You wanted something (photo, autograph) from the performer and he didn't give it to you. Does this necessarily mean he was rude?
If he has the right to say yes to an autograph or photo, doesn't he also have the right to say no? Maybe the performer wants to be a musician and not a celebrity. Maybe it's best to listen and enjoy the music.
Many other good ideas in the above posts, also.
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#390071 - 07/22/05 03:57 PM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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Jeff Klopmeyer
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You know what scares me? When I've been approached for autographs.
Me. I'm NOBODY. Some guy playng covers in a bar somewhere. Modesty aside, I'm a good player and put on a pretty decent show. But I've seen a thousand guys like me. Occasionally I've stopped them between sets and told them I enjoyed their playing, sure.
But to have some guy walk up while you're trying to pack out, shakily holding out a pen and a bar napkin and going on and on about your show and your playing and blah blah blah... it's weird and spooky. I've pleasantly signed the stuff when this has happened, but at the same time I'm searching around for my bandmates with a "get me out of here" look on my face.
- Jeff
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#390072 - 07/22/05 04:14 PM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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GeorgeVW
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You know what gets really strange? When it's a little turned around. I was once accosted by a drunken Lester Bangs after a gig (and with a pretty crappy cover band, too) stumbling all over and telling me how great I was (I mean he was really drunk). I was a pretty devoted Creem reader at the time and loved the jousts he used to get into with people like Lou Reed, so this was an extremely surreal experience.
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#390073 - 07/22/05 04:17 PM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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JP11
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I think of celebrities as performing fleas...circus monkeys....court jesters. I don't advocate physical abuse (unless they're really asking for it), but lobbing verbal tomatoes at them is pretty much all they're good for.
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#390074 - 07/22/05 08:52 PM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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EoS
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Originally posted by Jeff Leites:
It's not like we were a crowd of hundreds of screaming teenage girls.
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#390075 - 07/23/05 08:12 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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russrags
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I signed an autograph one time !!!
I was recording Paul Rogers and he had Slash playing GTR with him. After the show there was a knock on the door of the remote truck. It was a really cute girl wanting Slash's autograph, she just "knew" he was probably in the truck !!! I invited her inside and told her that Slash wasn't on board, but I would sign his name and she could impress all her friends and show them that she'd met him. She thought about that one and smiled and said "OK," as she pulled out a piece of paper. I said "come on this is Slash he wouldn't sign that !!! Where would he want to sign??? She pulled out her boobs and I got out the Sharpie !!!
It was fun.
Russ
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#390076 - 07/23/05 08:25 AM
Re: Is it ok for a star to snub his fans?
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Flemtone
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Originally posted by JP11:
I think of celebrities as performing fleas...circus monkeys....court jesters. I don't advocate physical abuse (unless they're really asking for it), but lobbing verbal tomatoes at them is pretty much all they're good for.
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http://www.flemtones.net"Poor writing skills are the 60 cycle hum of the written word" -Brother Dave Brown
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