Band/Crowd Interaction

GuyWhoLikesProg

New Metal Member
Mar 1, 2005
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It seems as though the setting for this show is going to be a pretty intimate one, which makes me wonder about the chance I'd have of being able to get some interviews with some of the band members. I do some writing for an online CD store/webzine, and the webmaster would be really damn proud of me if I came back from Atlanta with some stories/interviews :cool: .

Anyway, does anyone here have any good stories/experiences from past years concerning interaction with the bands that they would like to share?
 
My favorite ProgPower experience was last year at PP5. I was staying at the Best Western Granada Suites Hotel and went down to the breakfast room on Sunday morning around 8AM. Not a soul was there except a family with a couple of kids in the back. I grabbed a plate and stocked up and sat to eat. No sooner did I do that then in walks Timo Kotipelto of Stratovarius! I continued eating while he got his breakfast. When he went to find a table he came over to me and asked if I could join him. I didn't realize I was wearing a Kotipelto shirt at the time until later that day. WOW!!
 
I don't know about doing "interviews" but historically (I've been going since 2), most of the bands are very accessible and quite willing to talk to you, and you have plenty of chances over the course of the 3 days. Some guys seem to either need their sleep or their privacy or both, but for the most part, they tend to hang out to some degree.

You're certain to have a "story" or two, that's for sure. Have you read some of the accounts from years past? There's been some crazy shit, and some really cool shit, and some really cool crazy shit as well. :D

S
 
GuyWhoLikesProg said:
It seems as though the setting for this show is going to be a pretty intimate one, which makes me wonder about the chance I'd have of being able to get some interviews with some of the band members. I do some writing for an online CD store/webzine, and the webmaster would be really damn proud of me if I came back from Atlanta with some stories/interviews :cool: .

Anyway, does anyone here have any good stories/experiences from past years concerning interaction with the bands that they would like to share?

I would think you would have to set up interviews in advance. Otherwise you will have probably quite a few opportunities to talk and even hang out with alot of the bands.

Bear
 
Last year I didn't spend any time at all mingling with band members, but there sure are enough opportunities. I must have passed by Urban Breed several times, Jon Oliva a couple more times, and I saw Timo as he was checking into the Granada(the funny thing is that Sean was having the get together then and no one but me recognized who he was!)
 
The_Q said:
My favorite ProgPower experience was last year at PP5. I was staying at the Best Western Granada Suites Hotel and went down to the breakfast room on Sunday morning around 8AM. Not a soul was there except a family with a couple of kids in the back. I grabbed a plate and stocked up and sat to eat. No sooner did I do that then in walks Timo Kotipelto of Stratovarius! I continued eating while he got his breakfast. When he went to find a table he came over to me and asked if I could join him. I didn't realize I was wearing a Kotipelto shirt at the time until later that day. WOW!!

So what happened? Did you say "yes", "no" or just ran away?
 
Anyway, does anyone here have any good stories/experiences from past years concerning interaction with the bands that they would like to share?


Who doesn't? \m/

I'll give ya this one... my drummer, sitting at the pre-party last year, talking shop with Wacholz from Savatage for an hour! They just accidentally mentioned, "Oh, so you're a drummer?" and off they went into all kinds of blabber about brands of cymbals, how to muffle tom heads, recording, blah blah blah.... I just walked away and let em yakk it up. You drummers, man.... it's like an underground guild or something!!!
 
There certainly are plenty of places to talk to band members. Many of them are very accessible. Some of the bigger ones aren't though.

Going to IV, my wife and I rode the Marta from the airport and these guys get on. I said to my wife, "They've got to be with one of the bands, I just don't know which." They eyed my PPIII shirt and took up positions across the aisle. I didn't talk to them, I because I didn't know who they were. They were talking a different language that I took for one of the scandinavian languages or German. Later we realized it was Emppu, Tuomas, and Marco from Nightwish. Then later we ran into Tarja coming off the elevator in the Grenada. She was with some other people, but I was kinda shocked, so I didn't notice anybody else. It was one of those things where I was trying to figure out if it was her. She's much shorter than she looks up on stage. ;) Of course, that was shortly before the show, so I didn't bother her.

When Evergrey is there, you will always have a chance to eat breakfast with Michael if you get there about a half hour before breakfast ends. He's a riot. He swears his head off. It makes some of the families eating breakfast a bit put off. ;)

Last year, my wife and I rode the Marta back to the airport standing next to Dreamscape. We didn't bug them though. They appeared to be off to sight see.

In the venue, you can pretty much talk to most of the non-headlining bands. I've talked to Jon Oliva, Urban, Andy Franck, Vanden Plas members, Circle to Circle members, Dreamscape members, etc. Most of them were willing to stand there and chat as long as we wanted. Of course, they might not have been as willing if my wife wasn't there. ;)