I remember being in high school with all my brothers in metal (aka. My dorky friends) and being so stoked to see our favorite bands. It was also nothing for us to wait around after the concert out by the tour bus for sometimes two hours for the bands to come out from backstage. There was always that rush of thoughts going through my mind. Are they gonna be cool? Are they gonna be assholes? Are they gonna chat with us and hang out? Then all of the sudden there they were, coming out of the backstage door towards us.
I’ve had the extreme pleasure of meeting some of my favorite bands this way. Henry Rollins, Pantera, Ugly Kid Joe, Skid Row, Babylon AD, Green Jello, Testament, The Black Crowes, Dave Matthews, Saigon Kick, Quiet Riot, The Allman Brothers Band, Neko Case and countless others. Some were cooler than others. Some were just flat out assholes. Babylon AD was one of our fave metal bands from LA and when they played in Atlanta, after their show they came out, hung with us, took pictures and gave us all guitar picks and were cool as hell. Neko Case was great and we had a great conversation about thrift shops and folk music and The Black Crowes were humorous and posed for pictures while talking about everything from baseball to the best places to grow weed in the country. The guitarist for Saigon Kick was a real asshole and Gregg Allman looked at me, smiled and said “Hi there” and kept on walking past me to the backstage door. I could go on with all these stories and hell, they might even get their own entry someday. Anyways, the point to all of this is that I got to experience meeting these people and they were all unique experiences. With a little patience and a bit of waiting and some time, you can meet just about anyone you want.
These days, bands are taking the fun out of this experience and making a profit off it and I really don’t know how I feel about it. So all my life I have wanted to meet KISS. They are lifelong idols of mine and a band that I’ve always wanted to meet and just have the opportunity to thank them. Meeting bands of this status is hard because of the size of the venues they play at. Bands of this size don’t just hang out to meet their fans but guess what? For a price, you can go backstage and get 5 minutes of their time (if that).
This is a phenomenon that has taken me back a bit. I don’t understand what would make a band think that they are so mighty that their fans should pay extra money to have the privilege to meet them in person. I saw that for $1,000.00, you can meet KISS in person, get ONE photo, I think ONE thing signed and you get some other crap like a t-shirt, a gift certificate to their online store, etc. $1,000.00 fucking dollars! No shit. KISS isn’t the only one to do this. Bands like The Jonas Brothers, Motley Crue, Rob Thomas and others are charging the ridiculous highway robbery cost just to give you, the fan, the privilege to meet them. Hell, I even saw that the metal band Anvil who has made a huge comeback since their documentary “Anvil: The Story of Anvil” came out is charging something like $60 bucks (on top of the $16.50 ticket price) just to get to meet them. $60.00 to meet Anvil? Hell, those guys should be happy if anyone is even waiting out back to meet them for free.
I just don’t understand this concept. It almost makes me have a serious lack of respect for these bands. I could never in a million years think that I would think of myself as so godlike and grand that I would have people pay to meet me and have five minutes of my time. It’s obvious this concept works because people buy them up and line up like creepy ass fanboys/girls to do so. I think it just goes back to this idea of appreciating the fans for helping you live the good live and live life like a rock star.
The fans are hardworking people. Some of them work day jobs , some have families and they give you their hard earned money that allows you to live the good life. Is it too much to maybe step outside for a bit and thank them, shake a few hands, take a few pictures and hear a few stories? I have met some of my favorite musicians and had the opportunity to thank them for inspiring me and for making the music that is part of the soundtrack of my life. I’d say that 95% of them were amazingly gracious and nice people who were genuinely appreciative of what their fans had to say to them and they reciprocated their appreciation. Those are the artists I will always support because of their sincerity and the fact that they took the time out to meet their fans. Again, I know it’s hard for a band as hugely popular as KISS to do this but to charge your fans $1,000.00 to meet them is, to me, a slap in the face. It’s like they are saying, “Hey, we only want to give you the time of day if you are privileged and have a disposable income that allows you afford to pay $1,000.00 to have a picture with us”. Its like you’re not a “real” fan or deserving of their attention unless you can afford it. Sorry, but I call that pompous, arrogant and insulting.
So would I even pay to meet any of my favorite bands? No, I wouldn’t. I don’t feel that paying for the experience is sincere. As much as I despise that concept, I will continue to support the bands that I love. I refuse to pay to meet them. I will park my ass by the backstage door and I will hang out for a couple of hours with my Sharpie and my album covers and I will give it my best to make the experience my own. The last time I saw Henry Rollins, he came out into the crowd by the bar where he stood for about an hour talking to people, taking pictures and signing books. He was so gracious and he was a really cool guy who took his time to show his appreciation to the people that came out and helped him sell out a spoken word show. I had him write an entry in my journal that night and he got a kick out of that. Ya know, you can’t put a price on that kind of experience and I didn’t even have to pay for it.
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