What would you do if you ran into a member of the band?

Hey guys... I haven't posted here in a while but I thought this might be an interesting topic to discuss.
On Friday, Brian Fallon came into my store... I recognized him immediately, but I wasn't able to say anything to him.
I've met him a few times before and in my mind I really wanted to talk to him, you know, just say "hey" and acknowledge that I'm a fan...
But this got me thinking... would that have been appropriate? I don't suppose he'd be bothered if I recognized him and casually said hello, but then again... he's just a normal dude shopping.
I wonder what I would have done if I were the one to help answer his questions about the product he came to look at...
I figure it'd be a bit "unprofessional" or even "rude" if someone were to be like "OMG I LOVE YOUR MUSIC RAHHH!!! So what brings you to the store today?"

This whole situation amused me a lot, because one of my coworkers is a former member of the group Blue Monday... A lot of teen girls come in and freak out when the recognize him... I kind of felt like I was in their shoes (only... I didn't stand in a corner and stare at Brian, freaking out).

So, what do you think you'd do if you saw one of the guys randomly, outside of the concert atmosphere?

Wow. That's really cool. Brian isn't the kind of guy who likes the spotlight, so he would probably be a little creeped out if you were like "OMG I LOVE YOUR MUSIC RAAAAAH", but at the same time he's super friendly and so I'm sure would respond well to "Are you Brian Fallon? Can I just say that I absolutely love your band?"

But yeah. I donno what I would do. Probably just stand there trying to get the nerve up to approach him. Or kidnap him to try and get horrible crowes info ^_^

CluckyB wrote:

Or kidnap him to try and get horrible crowes info ^_^

LMAO that's priceless.

That's an interesting situation. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have mind if you talked to him but I guess he'd respect you even more for leaving him alone.
I often find myself playing conversations in my head with guys from bands and whenever I meet sb it turns out to be completely different ;o) It didn't happen lot anyway since I don't want to bother them too much and end up not talking to them at all most of the times ....

Something like: "Brian? Hey man, I'm sorry to bother you, but I just have to tell you how awesome you and your band are. Your music really means a lot to me man." And then see where it goes from there depending on his reaction ;D

Scenario's never work out in practice though, I think it's better to go with the flow. Life is characterized by chances and opportunities I believe, and especially the ones you miss or fail to take because of fright. I've had that too many time before and I'm done with that so I suppose I'd have the balls to say what I just described =P

CluckyB wrote:

Wow. That's really cool. Brian isn't the kind of guy who likes the spotlight, so he would probably be a little creeped out if you were like "OMG I LOVE YOUR MUSIC RAAAAAH", but at the same time he's super friendly and so I'm sure would respond well to "Are you Brian Fallon? Can I just say that I absolutely love your band?"

But yeah. I donno what I would do. Probably just stand there trying to get the nerve up to approach him. Or kidnap him to try and get horrible crowes info ^_^

Haha, I wouldn't actually have done that whole "RAHHH" thing...
I suppose I rationalized the whole thing and was like... well, I've met him before. There's no need for me to bother him when he's doing his thing...
But I'm still like, darn it! I wish I could've helped him!

At the Birmingham show last year, Brian was on his own in the town centre and I was on my own, and as soon as I saw him I ran up to him, leaped on him and he practicaly fell over! :')
He didnt seem like he minded and ended up talking to me for atleast 10 minutes.

oh_megan wrote:

At the Birmingham show last year, Brian was on his own in the town centre and I was on my own, and as soon as I saw him I ran up to him, leaped on him and he practicaly fell over! :')
He didnt seem like he minded and ended up talking to me for atleast 10 minutes.

Ha wow. Picturing this in my head

loazis wrote:

Something like: "Brian? Hey man, I'm sorry to bother you, but I just have to tell you how awesome you and your band are. Your music really means a lot to me man." And then see where it goes from there depending on his reaction ;D

Scenario's never work out in practice though, I think it's better to go with the flow. Life is characterized by chances and opportunities I believe, and especially the ones you miss or fail to take because of fright. I've had that too many time before and I'm done with that so I suppose I'd have the balls to say what I just described =P

Whoa. Something deep. I like it!

You guys are my only friends so I just had to get it out...

oh_megan wrote:

At the Birmingham show last year, Brian was on his own in the town centre and I was on my own, and as soon as I saw him I ran up to him, leaped on him and he practicaly fell over! :')
He didnt seem like he minded and ended up talking to me for atleast 10 minutes.

That's kind of frightening. Even after shows, when band members are standing outside, EXPECTING to be approached, I always say hello and ask for permission to start a conversation (unless people are lining up taking turns; then there's no need to ask if the person has a minute). I also ask for hugs before even leaning in, because unless you personally know someone, I feel like it's pretty wrong to just randomly move into their personal space, let alone grab/hug them without permission.

In OP's situation, for me, it would depend on a few things. If he was alone, I'd probably simply mention that I love his music, and only continue if he pushed things further. If he was with family/friends and clearly interacting with them, I'd keep my distance. My personal rule tends to be that if someone is clearly with family or friends and obviously not planning to meet fans, I stay way back. I even do that with people in bands that I know on a more slightly personal level; if they're with friends, I stay away unless I am called over.

I spent many years concentrating on a few bands whose fans were downright creepy ("hacking personal family websites" creepy, "posting family videos of the singer's young nieces" creepy, "tracking down homes and photographing every outside inch" creepy), and it was that kind of bullshit that eventually made me say enough is enough and get the hell out of Dodge. These were bands that simply could not meet fans because all of these little girls would SCREAM INCESSANTLY and then run up and tackle them. Which was sad, because some of the bands could pull off meeting people if they had several hours to wait after a show, at which time they could go out and meet the few calm, mature fans who stuck around. They'd express a lot of disappointment over not being able to safely meet fans. So I guess, because of all that, I am extra careful with how I try to stay respectful of boundaries.

I've always loved gaslight fans because of this. I have never witnessed anything creepy. The worst was an extremely intoxicated adult woman falling against Alex L. and asking if he was waiting in line to meet "that guy" (Brian). She eventually pieced together that Alex was in the band as well. The look on his face was PRICELESS; he looked at us with this look of "uh, a little help, guys?" and all I could do was laugh. He was terrified but it was hilarious. But so far, everyone at the shows tends to be awesome, and I have made SO many friends.

I usually say "Hi...it's a pleasure to meet you".....it usually is

I guess it depends how many times I've met them. I've met Craig Finn like 4 times and at the thrid felt comfortable enough to have a proper conversation and ask a favour as explained here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/mar/03/hail-hail-rock-n-roll. The first time is always kinda "OMG I LOVE YOUR MUSIC" but now I'm a little older, I wouldn't be so fanboy-ish. I guess a note of appreciation on the music and perhaps a couple of questions about the lyrics or the gear.

I think I would talk to Brian about Hackettstown, the story of how a Hackettstown record sotre worker bought the first Clash album for him, and just some of my hometown places in NJ to see what he had to say about them. The dude seems to have stories about everything. I would just like to get him going on something that you could tell interested him. I saw a video of him talking about tuna noodles to some girls and calling it some NJ pasttime or sometimg. But yeah, I've yet to meet any of them, and I'd really like to. But like you, I'd probably get choked up and say nothing. Alex L was 2 feet in front of me while I was waiting in line in Atlanta for their show just strolling by, but I just stared like everyone else. Nobody even muttered a "Yo Alex!" Should've, though. They all seem cool, just so long as you don't get all sappy about hhow much you love them.

oh_megan wrote:

At the Birmingham show last year, Brian was on his own in the town centre and I was on my own, and as soon as I saw him I ran up to him, leaped on him and he practicaly fell over! :')
He didnt seem like he minded and ended up talking to me for atleast 10 minutes.

you seriously ran and leapt up onto him? he must be better at dealing with fans than i could imagine, that would be over the limit even for me! and i'm nowhere near famous.

like most of you guys ive met brian at show so its kind of like a hello type thing, but seeing one of them on the street or whatever that would be crazy. im not sure what i would say i think i would just try to casually say that im a fan and then say what are you doing in a small city like this?

i work at the hard rock cafe in orlando. and last time they were in town, the whole band minus brian came in for lunch. i was lucky enough to be their seater. well get this, so im walkin them to their table, askin how the tours going, they're being real into the convo, and then out of no where, great expectations comes on our music player. lmao! so i sat them, talked for a few, and then left em alone. later that night i went and saw them play and one of em waved at me. pretty cool.

SkullyScott wrote:

i work at the hard rock cafe in orlando. and last time they were in town, the whole band minus brian came in for lunch. i was lucky enough to be their seater. well get this, so im walkin them to their table, askin how the tours going, they're being real into the convo, and then out of no where, great expectations comes on our music player. lmao! so i sat them, talked for a few, and then left em alone. later that night i went and saw them play and one of em waved at me. pretty cool.

That is awesome. I would kill to be their server haha.