Embarrassing moments in fandom
My best friend just emailed me and asked if it would be dorky for her to write a fan letter to her favorite singer. I told her she should see a couple of the emails I tried to send to Mike Scott, lead singer of the Waterboys. Tried because I don’t know if it was an email address he ever checks or actually uses.
So I’m obviously not the right person for her to be asking if it’s dorky or not.
Have you ever had dorky/embarrassing moments of fandom (that you’re willing to share)? Here are a couple of mine.
As a teenager I was really into a local band called Room Nine. They broke up before even releasing an album (and the singer went on to form Love Battery). Some friends and I went to see them open for a band called Gene Loves Jezebel. We got there early and wandered into the backstage area, hoping to meet them. The singer came up to us, asking what we were doing there, obviously about to kick us out, and a guy I was with attempted to bluff our way in by saying, “We’re with Ron.” Only problem? He was talking to Ron.
Even more embarrassing, I jumped on stage during their set and danced for their entire last song–because it was my favorite. The band was actually thrilled I bothered to do that, but I still get embarrassed just thinking about it.
Then there was the time I stayed with a friend in San Fran to go see U2, and we spotted them walking down the street. We stalked them for awhile, but Larry kept sending us mean looks, so we stopped. We managed to somehow get into the lounge of the hotel where they were staying, though, until Larry spotted us and had us thrown out. (We’d been able to meet Bono and the Edge the day before, so we weren’t too bummed.)
Teenage fandom can be excused pretty easily though. It’s the more recent moments that make me cringe–like whenever I get all excited over meeting someone in a band only a handful of people have ever heard of. And if I could ever meet Mike Scott, I think I’d just fall to his feet in a quivering heap. Sad, isn’t it? Since I know most of you are thinking, “Who in the world is Mike Scott?”
So, what embarrassing moments of fandom do you have to share? Or who would compel you into creating an embarrassing moment if you had the chance to meet them?
I could probably come up with lots more if I thought about it.
Posted on December 5, 2005, in Music, Pop Culture, To Avoid. Bookmark the permalink. 15 Comments.
Steve Evans
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John C.
Susan M
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Ben
Um, see here
Warning: it’s a Mormon site where I just compared the creator of a game I have wasted way too much time on to God. So you know.
Awesome, Susan! Alas, my embarrassing fan stories are more nerdy than embarrassing. For example, I fawned all over David Broder when I met him on the campaign trail in 2002. He seemed quite flattered that someone under the age of 50 recognized him, and he even asked me who I was and chatted with me for a minute or two. I’m still waiting for him to call me, though.
Wow, John, that’s so cool. The thought did cross my mind as I was writing my post that maybe Mike Scott would somehow come across it…
Tess, I have no idea who David Broder is, so I know you can relate to me!
I nearly ran over Admiral James Stockdale with my bicycle once. At least I knew who it was I was nearly running over. I also had a nasty run-in with Horatio Sanz over a taxi in Miami Beach… I yelled, “Horatio Sanz is stealing my taxi!” He laughed, gave me a thumbs up, and got in.
LOL, Susan. David Broder is a crusty old political pundit who writes feisty newspaper editorials and appears on shows like “Meet the Press” or, my favorite “This Week” (which, incidentally, was much, much better with David Brinkley, rest his soul).
Also, I met Billy Bob Thornton once. I was so taken aback by his real-life skankiness that I forgot to ask for an autograph.
One of the funniest embarrassing moments of fandom I can think of was one I witnessed, rather than created. I was there when a friend of mine, who’s a singer/guitarist in a band that was pretty well-known in their particular scene, met his musical idol, a singer/guitarist from the Seattle grunge scene that never got popular like some of the other Seattle greats did (Tad Doyle of Tad). Another woman there knew both of these guys and knew my friend idolized Tad, so she was trying to get my friend to go over and meet him, but he was too chicken. He kept saying, “No, I don’t want it to be like that.” But she must’ve said something to Tad, because he came up to my friend, stuck out his hand and said, “Hi, my name’s Tad.”
And my friend totally started gushing all over him. His exact words: “I love your music. I’m your biggest fan!”
At that point I had to walk away or I would’ve burst out laughing. Don’t get the wrong idea, I’d have been thrilled to meet Tad too, but it was just so funny to see my friend, himself a semi-rock star, freaking out and gushing like that at someone.
I met Thom Yorke from Radiohead after a concert and I wanted him to sign something but all I had was a Taco Bell receipt. When I pulled it out he made a face and said, “Eww, Taco Bell.” I explained that I’d driven to a different state to see him in concert and that had he played in Utah I would’ve been able to afford nice food instead of Taco Bell. He said, “Utah? Is that where Salt Lake City is?” and I replied, “Yes.” And then he said, “We’re going to be in Salt Lake City tomorrow…” and he paused for a while. I got all worked up about not hearing about the show in Salt Lake, then he continued, “We’re driving through on our way to Los Angeles.” It was clear he was having fun at my expense. I still nerdily persisted in asking if he wanted, since he would be in the state anyhow, to have dinner at my house to which he snorted and said, “No!”
This might make it sound like he was being a jerk, but really it was just me being a goofy fan and him teasing me for it.
Another funny story, that my friend related to me was that of her mother meeting Jeff Goldblum (the actor). She (my friend’s mother) and her husband saw Jeff amidst a group of people in NYC. They stopped so she could get an autograph, and she said, “You’re much handsomer in person!” And he grinned and squeezed her hand, at which point she squealed out loud and put her hand over her mouth. The whole crowd laughed and her husband just rolled his eyes.
Heh. Susan, you knew I couldn’t resist! My worst ever, and there have been many!, fandom event was in San Diego. We were going to see Alice Cooper. We got to San Diego quite early and thought we’d cruise hotel circle to see what we’d come up with. We hadn’t gone more than a half mile and found some big black limos and thought wow! it must be Alice and the gang. So we parked walked inside and tried to look like we belonged with the hubbub going on around us. It was much easier because my then boyfriend (now husband) had very long hair and was in a band and looked the part. We saw Micahel Bruce right away and asked how things were going? He was way cool. We rode the elevator up and got to the floor they were all staying on and milled about. We met Flo and Eddie who were doing part of the opening and then met Dennis Dunaway. I about had a heart attack when he asked me where he could find some really good mexican food! We talked for a bit and he picked out a place to eat and we parted company.
Okay now comes the dork of the year award – we walked down to Alice’s room. I was a seventeen year old flat chested naive girl. Standing next to me was a very skanky looking hooker. I didn’t realize at the time she was a hooker though. Alcie asked me what my name was and I gushed and told him I loved his music – that it was just so good! Then he looked at the hooker and said what about you? She said she had this book she wanted him to see. He told her to come on in and we baild. I told my boyfriend I couldn’t understand why she got to go in and really meet him. He then explained the facts. I have pics we took that day. Maybe I’ll post them.
My roommate during my freshman year in college was obsessed with Alicia Silverstone. He showed me a letter he wrote to her, complete with a picture of his German Shepherd (because he read an interview with her where she said she liked dogs). That was weird enough, but he talked like he actually had a shot with her. I am not proud of it, but I shared that letter with a couple of friends. It was too funny not to.
Unfortunately, I’m getting a bit old to be an obsessive fan, but I’ve always wanted to get on the stage during a Morrissey concert. There is always a flood of stage invaders during the last song (since no one wants to miss the rest of the concert). It is always amusing to see Morrissey fans crushed by the bouncers, but Moz always tries to at least shake their hands as they are hauled off.
I can’t think of one in particular, but my interactions with the objects of my adoration usually go something like this.
Me: “Hey, great show!”
Other: “Thanks, man.”
Me: “So…uh. That’s all I got” (Occassionally I’ll throw in something that uncomfortably reveals that I know way too much about the Other not to be some kind of stalker.)
Other: “Okay.” (With this look that says, then why are you still standing here looking at me. You’re creeping me out.
I also share Susan M’s tendency to get all excited about bands that no one else has ever heard of. Once I met one of the guys from a little band called the Foxymorons, and he said, “it’s you! You’re they guy we call ‘Our Fan’ because you’re like, our only fan.” That was kind of embarassing.
Oh, Greg. So happy I’m not the only one.
Glad to hear Thom Yorke doesn’t take himself too seriously.
And Ned, if you ever go for it, I hope I’m there with my camera.
I’ve got so many… It’s horrifying. Here’s probably one of my most painful ones because it has to do with someone so uncool. When I was a teenager I was obsessed with the film Harold and Maude. I read in an article that Bud Cort (Harold) had a brother who owned a clothing store in Rye New York. Putting 2+2 together (Bud Cort’s real last name is Cox), I did my research and found the name of the store. I called the guy up and tape recorded the phone call to see if his voice sounded the same. I told him I had picked his store at random to do an interview with for a “small businesses” project for my business class in high school. It was pathetic, but at the time my friends and I were ecstatic — we talked to Bud Cort’s brother! We talked to Bud Cort’s brother! D-uh.
Two:
1) My freshman year of college (1992) we saw David Byrne at the Triad Center in SLC. After the show we waited around the buses in the parking lot, assuming that his was the purple sparkly bus. We saw him slip into a nondescript gray bus on the other side of the lot. We all were pissed–except for my buddy, who had suffered severe brain trauma in a cycling accident several months before and, though by that point fully functional, had temporarily lost some of his social inhibitions. (Sounds nutty, but true.) So, he sauntered over and climbed right up the steps into David Byrne’s bus and asked him if he’d come back out and sign some autographs. Mr. Byrne graciously complied. He even hesitated to sign my tour T-shirt, which I had put on over my regular shirt, because he was very concerned that the ink might soak through.
2) My wife took our three boys (ages 7, 5, and 2) to see They Might Be Giants perform at a children’s festival in Cleveland. She didn’t know who else would be playing at the festivel, but turns out that in between TMBG’s two sets Chubby Checker, of all people, played. Afterwards, he was milling around the edge of the stage (it was an open, outdoor venue). My wife told our older boys to go shake his hand because he was really famous. Finally the 5 year old mustered the courage, but when he approached Chubby Checker started walking away. So my son just shuffled to catch up with him, then fell into stride beside him and slipped his hand into Chubby Checker’s. They walked along for a few paces, then Chubby stopped and chatted with him for a minute and gave him a hug, at which point my kid just turned and skipped away.
Well, as an update–my friend composed a very nice email to her idol, and sent it to the band’s webmaster, who passed it along for her. She just got a really super nice reply from the singer and we’re both on cloud nine.
I love the Internet.