Advice on meeting band members

[Kazi]

I've had the chance to meet a few band members at this last Prog Power as well as just hanging out around concerts, but I always have a hard time figuring out what to say. I know they're normal people like everyone else, but that doesn't stop me from being intensely nervous when meeting them. What are some other things to try and bring up/general advice besides "your music is awesome!"

 

[The_Metal_Messiah]

Well, if you're a musician, you can always talk about gear or music theory. Or other bands. That's what I tend to do when I meet cool famous people lol

 

[AMBR]

Well, if you have any idea who you'd like to chat up ahead of time, learn something extra about their musical background; projects they've done, solo work etc. Then ask them questions about it. That should get the ball rolling. Musicians are no different then anyone else - most everyone likes to talk about themselves.

 

[booB]

I rarely talk to the bands unless I have something particular in common with them. Meeting band members just because they're band members has never interested me; I'd much rather talk to people I know from here or the PM board. I've had enough "forced" conversations with band members in the past, where I felt like I should talk to them because they're performing. I never know what to say either. It's always awkward.

You could always just resort to, "I love your music."

 

[zedowns]

Get hammered. They'll most likely be, too.

 

[Bear]

Drinking beers with them usually works for me heheh



Bear

 

[OrbWeaver]

I second the thought of learning something extra about the band/band member you're hoping to meet. For example, I have Stefan Elmgren's Full Strike CD, which Bjorn from Freak Kitchen was on. I of course, had him sign it, which got a very amused "WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU FIND THIS???" out of him. So then we (briefly) chatted about his drum style on that album, as compared to his drumming with Freak Kitchen.

I also asked Christer from FK about his horse tattoo, since I really like horses. He seemed somewhat suprised that I was asking him about his tattoo, but he seemed pretty happy to tell me all about it, anyway. And then I realized I was holding up the signing line, and tried to thank him and move on. Upon shaking my hand he noticed that it was very cold, grabbed it in BOTH of his hands and said "Your hands are cold!" To which we had a very brief discussion about that (I was worried about pissing people off in the line behind me) and it ended with him saying "But your heart is warm." I'm still not sure what that was all about, but the FK guys are my favorite people just because they were all very nice. Mattias chatted briefly with me outside of the venue and gave me a hug. He remembered me from the signing.

I (and two friends) ended up chatting for a good long time with Daniel from Sabaton, too, simply because my friend Mallory (the girl with the cutlass tattoos) absolutely LOVES Sabaton, and was terrified to say hi. So I went over to him and told him how my friend loves his band, but was too nervous to say hi, while dagny_t basically grabbed her and flung her at Daniel. Hee! Poor Mallory! But for much of the fest, we all hung around and chatted with Daniel. He was very sweet, and introduced Mallory to other members of the band, if they came by. He even told us some off-color jokes. Mallory ended up getting to hang out with Sabaton later on at the hotel, and they all took pictures with her, and gave her a t-shirt. She was absolutely over the moon when she got back to the hotel she was sharing with me and my friends.

dagny_t and I also pretty much pounced on DSO after their set. dagny_t found out that Anders, the bassist, has been to Colorado for awhile, which is where she's originally from, so they had some common ground there. She also chatted a bit with Annalouice about singing, and she gave Daniel, the other vocalist/guitar player a neck rub, mostly because he said he was sore from the flight over and I gleefully said "Oh, Jessica gives GREAT massages!" Mwahahahaha... I think we might have embarrassed the poor guy, but he was very gracious about our fangirling.

So it helps if you have friends who are pretty much fearless, and will force you to say hello to a musician you like, but it's even better if you muster up the courage to say hello for yourself. Most musicians seem to like it if you know about other projects they've been doing, or ask them about something that may be personal to them, like if they have tattoos, or something similar. And often times, they just seem to like hearing "I really like your music." Sometimes, the best thing you can do is just to let it show that you truly love what the band/musician is doing.

 

[SkiBumMSP]

My take on this whole thing?

First and foremost, if you genuinely liked a particular band's music and the set that they just performed, than by all means, if you get the chance, tell them so. These musicians, just like any other artist that I've ran across, really enjoys knowing that what they are doing is actually being appreciated. After all, why are they doing what they are doing in the first place? Yes, we could argue the money thing, but it seems from personal experience, many of these bands, at least in this particular scene, is doing it for the music first and if they make money off of it, that is bonus.

However, as others have already said, perhaps learn a little bit about them and ask about such things. When Saint Deamon was at Prog Power a couple years ago, I remember getting into a conversation with the bassist about skiing! Turned out he liked to ski as well. This was born out of simply asking them about their home country and what they like to do in their free time besides playing music.

I remember getting into some interesting chats with Sonata Arctica and Stratovarious about what it was like to tour and be on the road. I remember asking a couple members of Sonata Arctica if it gets old playing what seems to be the same songs over and over again. They said they really enjoyed doing it and getting to see the all the folks from the different localities and how they react to their music. And of course, certainly does not hurt to ask a band, especially one that you like, about any upcoming albums/projects. May get some interesting inside dirt on such things.

Sometimes, interesting things happen just by chance. I remember last year, running into a visibly nervous Anders from DSO backstage just before they were to get on stage for their set. He was genuinely concerned if the crowd was going to enjoy their set and music. All I can tell him is give it his best and let the music sell itself. I also told him that this is a pretty hardcore audience here and more than likely if he did a good job, the people will like it. Later, I was on the floor during the DSO set, and I can clearly see the excitement on his face when the crowd was really getting into it, especially when everyone was starting to chant "D.S.O! D.S.O!". Immediately afterward, again, purely by chance, I ran into him, and you think the guy was floating on cloud 9! I personally congratulated him on an extremely well done set, and told him it was probably the highlight of the night for many of those folks. Sometimes, just giving a little bit of encouragement and simply showing appreciation is indeed enough.

As for Sabaton, I remember being told by one of the members (I think it was the bassist, but don't recall off hand), that they were honored for me having help sponsor them for ProgPower. I told him back that the honor was mine for having to get to see them put on such an awesome set and that I was proud to have been able to sponsor them.

 

[DTJeff]

Yeah, it's a bit of a gamble. Sometimes I've found there's just not much to be said. Some of the musicians I've had the most to talk about and had the best times with weren't the bands I really loved. Manticora is the biggest example of this. I went to the JOP/CIIC tour for those two bands, and the guys from Manticora were so absolutely cool that by the end of the second night, we went out to eat with them at a local diner - really fucking cool. Sometimes I think that helps. Since I wasn't a big Manticora fan, I didn't get hung up on: "wow, it's them", and was able just to have fun and talk to them like normal people and normal musicians.

But sometimes I have managed to meet a few of my musical heroes and found them incredibly easy to have a conversation with. In the case of someone like Jon Oliva, he puts himself out their emotionally so much in his music that you already feel like you know him personally. I was really humbled by that experience, and he seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, I spent a lot of time talking about how profoundly his stuff has effected my life.

On the whole, I agree with a lot of what's been said:
A) If you meet them AFTER a show, talk about the performance - what you enjoyed about it or whatever.
B) If you have a knowledge of a band or musician, it's easy to ask them questions or talk about what's going on. When I met Gus G from Firewind, I talked to him about some of his side projects and guest appearances, as well as gear. Actually, he somewhat influenced my decision to buy an ESP guitar 3 months later.

But more than anything else, I think it's just important to relax. Unless someone has a complex, they don't want you to bow down to them and kiss their ass - but rather just pay them some compliments and want to talk to them as a friend or whatever.

 

[booB]

she gave Daniel, the other vocalist/guitar player a neck rub, mostly because he said he was sore from the flight over and I gleefully said "Oh, Jessica gives GREAT massages!"

You know, *I* had a pretty long flight to Atlanta too...

 

[sccaldwell]

I've had the chance to meet a few band members at this last Prog Power as well as just hanging out around concerts, but I always have a hard time figuring out what to say. I know they're normal people like everyone else, but that doesn't stop me from being intensely nervous when meeting them. What are some other things to try and bring up/general advice besides "your music is awesome!"

I'd go with simply introducing yourself (yes, tell them YOUR name, since you already know theirs), and tell them you loved their show/CD. Maybe ask them something about the music or show, or their instruments. If you play or sing, ask them for advice on something...they'll likely be glad to give it. Ask them where they're from, if you don't know. Ask about THEIR favorite bands/CDs. Ask what they do when they aren't making great music. Any hobbies?

Be aware of how interested they are in the conversation, or if they seem distracted or like they're ready to move onto talking to someone else (and if so, it might not be that they're bored with you, it might just be because 10 other people are obviously waiting to talk to them). Be interested, but don't smother them. No one wants a stalker.

Most importantly, IMHO, treat them like a normal person, because they are. Well...most of them, anyway.

Craig

 

[AngraRULES]

I really don't get the big deal, but maybe for some people it's just harder to do that. I wouldn't know what to suggest since I don't see a problem in doing this at all.

 

[Frode]

I really don't get the big deal, but maybe for some people it's just harder to do that. I wouldn't know what to suggest since I don't see a problem in doing this at all.

You always get by because you bring your nice girlfriends

 

[AngraRULES]

You always get by because you bring your nice girlfriends

Ugh, no comment. And for the record, it was only one, years ago.

On the other hand, I really want my lady to experience ProgPower, but after your comment, I'll think twice about it. I'm scared of you, Norwegian sharks.

 

[Guile]

Just don't act like a crazy/desperate fan and show some appreciation for his/her work. If the artist is not an asshole it will work perfectly! Another thing is to be authentic and honest, sounds crazy but pretenders are all around and "famous" people get a little skeptical about random people talking to them.

Or get drunk and offer some beers!

 

[ashaman7122]

Some good comments here. My feeling is that you wish to express your appreciation for what they do, but I try to get the band member to talk rather than just have me bludgeon them with my fan-boyism and leave.

I have found over the years that just simply treating them like a real person works best...and they tend to feel more at ease rather than "on display."

My general conversation starters:
How is the new album doing for you?
How has the tour been so far?
Is this your first time in the States? What do you think? What have you seen? Hope we've treated you right...?

Pretty basic stuff, but it will, at least, get the ball rolling into a natural conversation about something...

 

[J-Man]

All the bands that have played ProgPower have, in my opinion been very easy to approach and talk to., Especially Freak Kitchen, DSO, Rob Rock and his band, Redemption, and the members of Royal Hunt(Andreas Passmark, Marcus, and Maria). But the easiest band members to talk to that I have found, are the members of Nightwish, just flat out the niciest, most down to earth people.

 

[drmetal8]

My advice is to sneak up, put your arm around him/her, then start giving noogies with your other hand. As you do this, spout out something like "Wasssuppppp dawggggg!" You'll be a real hit, and they will love you for it. If they are from another country, talk about how much better the U.S. is than their country. If they are from the U.S., talk about how much better your state is than theirs.

Just kidding. Don't do any of that.

The best times I've had hanging out with band members were just chatting about music while having a beer and/or shots. I had a beer with Gus G., did shots with James Rivera, had a beer with Phil Kennemore and Vic Hix. Bonus points if you know who all those people are. So I guess alcohol is the key here. And in life, it usually is.

 

[nomisofsiman]

A lot of good things being said. Like most have said, the best thing is to treat them as a person. Musicians at progpower especially I find easier than most because you know they're all about the music, but the easiest musician I've ever had a chance to talk to was Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater. He was absolutely the most down to earth guy and had a great 10 minute conversation with the guy.

I would say this though, outside of saying they had a great show or if you know a lot about them, I would suggest it's not the best thing to feel like you have to talk to them even though they're there. Because if you don't know what to say/act awkward, they in turn feel awkward. I've witnessed this from some fan/musician interactions. Haha. I also don't like to just ask for an autograph. I find that desperate in lame; however, if you manage to have a conversation with them and ask for the autograph that's different. I much more value meeting band members than obtaining autographs to be honest.

 

[Jasonic]

I dunno, I never really had any desire to meet any band member to be honest.
I have met many over the years, but by chance, or circumstance.

I never really put musicians of bands I like on that "Rock Star" plateau.

I have been in bands and promoted shows over the years, so I have seen enough of the good and bad in people in the business. I suppose enough of it where I am almost afraid to meet someone who I have been a fan of for 20+ years (IE - Lemmy, Maiden, etc). It would kill me if I were to go up to Lemmy and he was a dick to me. Could be that he is simply having a bad day, but that interaction would be hard to erase.

I think most have it covered. Don't be an obnoxious fanboy or fangirl. People can spot a poser a mile away, so you don't want to come off as the "Look, a rock star! a rock Star!" fan who won't be into this music the next time the wind changes.

Off the top of my head, the coolest kats I have ever met have been Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley (Yes, being 100% honest) (Bruce Kulick was a major prick, though it probably didn't help that I had my LP copy of DYNASTY for him to sign! Ha!), King Diamond and Mikkey Dee, Glen Danzig (very quiet, but seemed cool), Phil Demmel (who was surprised that there was someone in the room who knew who the hell VIO-LENCE were!), and Chuck Billy.