penningtron wrote: Tue Aug 09, 2022 11:42 am I rarely approach people and it's been ok the few times I have, so I'll share one of a friend without much internet presence..

He's a massive John McEntire fan: Tortoise, The Sea and Cake, Gastr, Stereolab.. all of it. I think he even played in a band with a vibraphone player at one point. Anyway, he one day worked up the (possibly liquid) courage to tell JM that his music was important to him, the reason he owns a vintage Slingerland drumkit, etc.

JM does a shrug/meh gesture and goes back to reading his phone.
......

I did speak briefly to JM on the phone once. Charismatic is not a word I'd use to describe the experience.

jfv wrote: Tue Aug 09, 2022 1:22 pm I'm happy to say that I don't have any negative stories to add here. I have had a chance to meet members of bands such as Poster Children, Pavement, Archers of Loaf, Grifters... plus FM Steve... (folks I consider my idols) and they were all awesome.

So I was like, every one of the Pkids is a lovely human so it's a bit weird to hear this about John the drummer from Tortoise, but it's the other John the drummer from Tortoise who was in Poster Children.

joe_lmr wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 1:17 pm So I was like, every one of the Pkids is a lovely human so it's a bit weird to hear this about John the drummer from Tortoise, but it's the other John the drummer from Tortoise who was in Poster Children.

Doug from Tortoise is nice I know first hand. I wouldn't even judge JM too hard from that story: maybe he takes a while to warm up or doesn't handle fanboys well, but my friend was pretty crushed as he's repeated that story to me several times, heh.

About ten years ago I met Henry Rollins after a spoken word show in Flagstaff. I asked if he was ever going to put another band together. He replied that all his time was taken up with the spoken word thing. I mentioned that Jello Biafra does spoken word and still plays with bands. Rollins sneered, "Well, Jello gets to play with the MELVINS!" I'm still not sure who that insult was directed at.

This one punk kid kept asking Rollins questions about how his song lyrics related to Communism or some dumb shit. Rollins gave him dismissive answers but the kid persisted. Finally a clearly irritated Rollins turned to the kid and said, really quietly and really intensely, "Listen, man. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about and you're really starting to piss me off. And you don't want to see me when I'm pissed off. If I were you, what I'd do right now is just turn around and get the fuck away from me."

The rest of us looked at the kid like, "Oooh dude! You made Rollins MAD!" as he slunk away.

tonyballzee wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 2:10 pm ...This one punk kid kept asking Rollins questions about how his song lyrics related to Communism or some dumb shit. Rollins gave him dismissive answers but the kid persisted. Finally a clearly irritated Rollins turned to the kid and said, really quietly and really intensely, "Listen, man. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about and you're really starting to piss me off. And you don't want to see me when I'm pissed off. If I were you, what I'd do right now is just turn around and get the fuck away from me."

The rest of us looked at the kid like, "Oooh dude! You made Rollins MAD!" as he slunk away.

I wonder if there are bands/artists that just happen to cultivate a following they really can't stand. I'm trying to think of specific examples. Perhaps that's for another thread?

Geiginni wrote:I wonder if there are bands/artists that just happen to cultivate a following they really can't stand

With any band, especially a good-to-great one, they are going to get a subsect of annoying freaks obsessing over every little thing they do. I should know! And I'd bet that often bands don't have the energy to discern a knob (hi), from a shy, awkward fan who just wants to say hello or thanks.

Yes. Since Ween were dragged under the jam band umbrella, their crowd has become full of the WORST degenerates. Like, the dregs of Phish fandom. From what I've heard, they can't fucking stand them.

Geiginni wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 2:52 pm

tonyballzee wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 2:10 pm ...This one punk kid kept asking Rollins questions about how his song lyrics related to Communism or some dumb shit. Rollins gave him dismissive answers but the kid persisted. Finally a clearly irritated Rollins turned to the kid and said, really quietly and really intensely, "Listen, man. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about and you're really starting to piss me off. And you don't want to see me when I'm pissed off. If I were you, what I'd do right now is just turn around and get the fuck away from me."

The rest of us looked at the kid like, "Oooh dude! You made Rollins MAD!" as he slunk away.

I wonder if there are bands/artists that just happen to cultivate a following they really can't stand. I'm trying to think of specific examples. Perhaps that's for another thread?

Black Flag and Dead Kennedys definitely voiced their contempt for a large section of their audience.

Geiginni wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 2:52 pm I wonder if there are bands/artists that just happen to cultivate a following they really can't stand. I'm trying to think of specific examples. Perhaps that's for another thread?

I had heard that rappers Mos Def and Posdnuos (of De La Soul) were known for being ... let's say "dismayed" at how white their fanbase were, and showed it at concerts.

But I only heard that from a single source, years ago, so not only might it not be true, it may be that even if it was once true they may have changed their minds about that.

tonyballzee wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 2:10 pm This one punk kid kept asking Rollins questions about how his song lyrics related to Communism or some dumb shit. Rollins gave him dismissive answers but the kid persisted. Finally a clearly irritated Rollins turned to the kid and said, really quietly and really intensely, "Listen, man. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about and you're really starting to piss me off. And you don't want to see me when I'm pissed off. If I were you, what I'd do right now is just turn around and get the fuck away from me."

The rest of us looked at the kid like, "Oooh dude! You made Rollins MAD!" as he slunk away.

This is so funny. Like a comic strip.

Years ago I went to a multimedia performance of Phil Niblock's The Movement of the People. The space was small, so he was just sitting in the audience with his laptop. The whole thing was pretty mesmerizing. Anyway, I was passing Phil on my way out and attempted to thank him for the performance. He completely disregarded me, instead, asking one of the organizers "so where's the wine?".