Rolling Stone Q&A

I love Brian...he's my hero and his music is a huge part of my life. But I'm really not liking what I'm seeing. One thing is keepIng his distance from fans, but to keep saying what he's saying just isn't cool. Like people have said before, people aren't like "yo brian! Be my bestie!", people just want to meet someone who's had a big impact on their life. A simple picture with him is more than just a picture for some people. "And with this pen I thee wed from my heart to your distress"...he's chosen this career. People love him. His music is the soundtrack to people's lives. He just wrote a record about it. "Theres nothing like another soul that's been cut up the same". We relate to this music. Gaslight has helped me through a lot, and it really bums me out to see him saying these things. The fans are what make an empty room fill up and make magic (giggity). I'm kind of distracted so I probably repeated things and messed things up but yeah, it does bother me and this is the kind of thing that makes me stop listening to a band. I'm not saying I'm going to stop listening to them, cause they're really special to me, but I dunno, yeah haha.

The bottom line is he needs to calm down or this band ends being jug anoter band that comes, does its thing and fizzles out.

He should be more like, y'know...Bruce. Haha. Or Frank Turner.

NicholasHorror wrote:

I love Brian...he's my hero and his music is a huge part of my life. But I'm really not liking what I'm seeing. One thing is keepIng his distance from fans, but to keep saying what he's saying just isn't cool. Like people have said before, people aren't like "yo brian! Be my bestie!", people just want to meet someone who's had a big impact on their life. A simple picture with him is more than just a picture for some people. "And with this pen I thee wed from my heart to your distress"...he's chosen this career. People love him. His music is the soundtrack to people's lives. He just wrote a record about it. "Theres nothing like another soul that's been cut up the same". We relate to this music. Gaslight has helped me through a lot, and it really bums me out to see him saying these things. The fans are what make an empty room fill up and make magic (giggity). I'm kind of distracted so I probably repeated things and messed things up but yeah, it does bother me and this is the kind of thing that makes me stop listening to a band. I'm not saying I'm going to stop listening to them, cause they're really special to me, but I dunno, yeah haha.

Pretty much agree with all of this.

Geez, why is this guy being such a jerk now. I never even stood and waited to talk to the guy so why does he have to be an ass to all his fans?

At least we still have the BENNYster who truly seems to care about the fans and knows that we have helped them a little bit in putting them where they are at today.

We all know Brian is no Joe Strummer, and no one is expecting the level of dedication that Strummer had towards his fans and people in general. But to keep coming out in interviews even when it's not a part of the question asked of him is becoming tiresome and almost insulting to a fan such as myself and others on this board.

I'm wondering, when Brian says they want to be a huge band, does he really understand what he is wishing for? And if he is struggling with the very minor fame they have now how on earth could he cope with Bono fame? haha

Someone will come along and say people are blowing this out of proportion but I refuse to turn a blind eye to his seemingly negative attitude toward the fans. If we weren't digging the music he'd be playing to empty halls and hammering nails into roof tiles for a living.

White Man In Hammersmith wrote:

We all know Brian is no Joe Strummer, and no one is expecting the level of dedication that Strummer had towards his fans and people in general. But to keep coming out in interviews even when it's not a part of the question asked of him is becoming tiresome and almost insulting to a fan such as myself and others on this board.

I'm wondering, when Brian says they want to be a huge band, does he really understand what he is wishing for? And if he is struggling with the very minor fame they have now how on earth could he cope with Bono fame? haha

Someone will come along and say people are blowing this out of proportion but I refuse to turn a blind eye to his seemingly negative attitude toward the fans. If we weren't digging the music he'd be playing to empty halls and hammering nails into roof tiles for a living.

This.

I think a lot of people are assuming Fallon - at 32 - has worked things out.

It's a a big assumption as he clearly hasn't and, if he is like the rest of us, probably never will.

Maybe less is more is the way to go in interviews though?

naa always enjoy a good interview! just as people have said bringing this crap up when its not even a question is just insulting as a sane minded fan not hoping for a candle lit dinner.

IrishNameAndAnInjury wrote:

I thought this was a good interview. I really don't understand why people think Brian is coming off so badly. Just because he doesn't want to hang out with fans in his downtime and be everybody's best friend doesn't mean he's being a jerk. Maybe he just likes his personal space and wants to keep his life off the stage as private as possible, which is probably getting more difficult all the time.

srsly, this thread is fucking ridiculous, and this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about. i don't even know what to say, it's just all so fucking ridiculous and petty.

Here they come, take cover!

Well he's certainly getting what he wants: a disconnect from fans. Like it or not, chief, but the way your public persona is perceived has something to do with how people view your band. Bono is both a positive and a negative example. Dave Grohl is a positive example. Oasis was a negative example. It does matter. No, I don't claim to know Brian as a person (and frankly, I don't want to) but I know his public persona, and his "celebrity" self is a jackass.

steph wrote:

IrishNameAndAnInjury wrote:

I thought this was a good interview. I really don't understand why people think Brian is coming off so badly. Just because he doesn't want to hang out with fans in his downtime and be everybody's best friend doesn't mean he's being a jerk. Maybe he just likes his personal space and wants to keep his life off the stage as private as possible, which is probably getting more difficult all the time.

srsly, this thread is fucking ridiculous, and this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about. i don't even know what to say, it's just all so fucking ridiculous and petty.

Well, its not fucking ridiculous at all. I don't really give a shit. Not once, have I gone searching for him to talk to him for five minutes. I don't even care if I ever meet the dude. I already have numerous best friends and I don't need Brian Fallon to be my bff. He must have some ego if he thinks we all want to be his lover and best friend. I just care about the music and the songwriting. I just don't need to hear negative things about us whenever there is an interview. He is just pulling this all out of his ass. I don't need to be grouped in the group of fans who expect him to eat dinner and sing kumbuya with.

saltandburn1967 wrote:

steph wrote:

IrishNameAndAnInjury wrote:

I thought this was a good interview. I really don't understand why people think Brian is coming off so badly. Just because he doesn't want to hang out with fans in his downtime and be everybody's best friend doesn't mean he's being a jerk. Maybe he just likes his personal space and wants to keep his life off the stage as private as possible, which is probably getting more difficult all the time.

srsly, this thread is fucking ridiculous, and this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about. i don't even know what to say, it's just all so fucking ridiculous and petty.

Well, its not fucking ridiculous at all. I don't really give a shit. Not once, have I gone searching for him to talk to him for five minutes. I don't even care if I ever meet the dude. I already have numerous best friends and I don't need Brian Fallon to be my bff. He must have some ego if he thinks we all want to be his lover and best friend. I just care about the music and the songwriting. I just don't need to hear negative things about us whenever there is an interview. He is just pulling this all out of his ass. I don't need to be grouped in the group of fans who expect him to eat dinner and sing kumbuya with.

Spot on dude.

steph wrote:

this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about.

yes.

White Man In Hammersmith wrote:

saltandburn1967 wrote:

steph wrote:

IrishNameAndAnInjury wrote:

I thought this was a good interview. I really don't understand why people think Brian is coming off so badly. Just because he doesn't want to hang out with fans in his downtime and be everybody's best friend doesn't mean he's being a jerk. Maybe he just likes his personal space and wants to keep his life off the stage as private as possible, which is probably getting more difficult all the time.

srsly, this thread is fucking ridiculous, and this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about. i don't even know what to say, it's just all so fucking ridiculous and petty.

Well, its not fucking ridiculous at all. I don't really give a shit. Not once, have I gone searching for him to talk to him for five minutes. I don't even care if I ever meet the dude. I already have numerous best friends and I don't need Brian Fallon to be my bff. He must have some ego if he thinks we all want to be his lover and best friend. I just care about the music and the songwriting. I just don't need to hear negative things about us whenever there is an interview. He is just pulling this all out of his ass. I don't need to be grouped in the group of fans who expect him to eat dinner and sing kumbuya with.

Spot on dude.

Hell yeah bro! Same thing goes right back to him. He doesn't know each and every one of his "fans" so he can't assume as to why I listen to his music and what I get out of it.

steph wrote:

IrishNameAndAnInjury wrote:

I thought this was a good interview. I really don't understand why people think Brian is coming off so badly. Just because he doesn't want to hang out with fans in his downtime and be everybody's best friend doesn't mean he's being a jerk. Maybe he just likes his personal space and wants to keep his life off the stage as private as possible, which is probably getting more difficult all the time.

srsly, this thread is fucking ridiculous, and this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about. i don't even know what to say, it's just all so fucking ridiculous and petty.

I agree with both of you. I feel like I have read some very different interview than most of you. Weird and ridiculous thread indeed...

See, here's how I see it.

inarticulate wall of text:

SubconsciousRitual wrote:

steph wrote:

this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about.

yes.

Except it's not, AT ALL.

He's talking about fans who expect more than what is reasonable. Something we do not expect.

Harbortown wrote:

SubconsciousRitual wrote:

steph wrote:

this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about.

yes.

Except it's not, AT ALL.

He's talking about fans who expect more than what is reasonable. Something we do not expect.

exactly. so if he's only talking to the irrational, unreasonable, psycho, hero worshipping fans, then why are people here who don't put themselves in that category getting their panties in a bunch???

steph wrote:

Harbortown wrote:

SubconsciousRitual wrote:

steph wrote:

this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about.

yes.

Except it's not, AT ALL.

He's talking about fans who expect more than what is reasonable. Something we do not expect.

exactly. so if he's only talking to the irrational, unreasonable, psycho, hero worshipping fans, then why are people here who don't put themselves in that category getting their panties in a bunch???

Because it's still kind of an arrogant, off-putting vibe to give off. It's simply not nice.

He rarely drinks and does what his wife tells him. I'd say he's a bore to hang out with anyway!

steph wrote:

Harbortown wrote:

SubconsciousRitual wrote:

steph wrote:

this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about.

yes.

Except it's not, AT ALL.

He's talking about fans who expect more than what is reasonable. Something we do not expect.

exactly. so if he's only talking to the irrational, unreasonable, psycho, hero worshipping fans, then why are people here who don't put themselves in that category getting their panties in a bunch???

Because it's not like this is happening to him on a huge scale and he is seemingly lumping all fans into his new "you don't know me and I don't want to know you" attitude that is coming across as highly arrogant.

The only person "getting their panties in a bunch" is you, effin and blinding haha chill

It really is an off-putting vibe to give off. A couple months ago he was calling their last tour the "Thanks For Getting Us Here" tour, and now it's like he's adding to that, saying "now see ya!". Like I said before, Brian's the man and an excellent musician. Gaslight means so flipping much to me, and many many more people as well, so it comes across as being, like Harbortown said, arrogant, and simply not nice. It must be annoying having people run up to you constantly after a show, wanting pictures and autographs and a ton of stuff. Tim Tebow said something regarding athletes who don't consider themselves role models - whether you like it or not, you have people looking up to you and admiring what you do. You do something that can easily make someone's life better. Why fight it? Why push people away? Brian has touched so many lives, and he has the power now to continue to grow and add to the 'platform' he's built for himself. So what if weird people come up to you after a show asking you to be their best friend? Just laugh it off, say whatever and walk away. There will always be "weird" people who love your music. "There's nothing like another soul that's been cut up the same"...I mentioned this line before...these people who idolize you and see you as a hero...why do you think you're they're hero? Sometimes it's more than just music. Yeah you're singing rock songs and touring the world and whatnot, and not curing cancer, but you really can change people's lives for the better and make this world a better place for some people. I've dealt with depression for a while now and I can honestly say one of the only things that has really helped is listening to Gaslight. Just think back to when you were a kid and you were lonely, depressed, anxious...whatever. How did those songs make you feel? Think about how much they affected you and everything in your life. That's why you're people's hero. That's why people love you and that's why people get upset when you say things like that.

Wow, I don't know how that ended up being a letter to Brian, but that's pretty much how I'm feeling haha. Sorry for the rambling!

steph wrote:

IrishNameAndAnInjury wrote:

I thought this was a good interview. I really don't understand why people think Brian is coming off so badly. Just because he doesn't want to hang out with fans in his downtime and be everybody's best friend doesn't mean he's being a jerk. Maybe he just likes his personal space and wants to keep his life off the stage as private as possible, which is probably getting more difficult all the time.

srsly, this thread is fucking ridiculous, and this attitude a lot of fans here have towards him is exactly what he's talking about. i don't even know what to say, it's just all so fucking ridiculous and petty.