Jump to content

Meet & Greet


TimmyChunks

Recommended Posts

Thought I'd throw this out there since I'm sure a few of you folks have been lucky enough to do this- what is their meet and greet like? I have an opportunity to participate in one before one of their club shows (it's a non profit and the money goes straight to a great charity) in the next few weeks. They don't advertise them or sell to the general public (thankfully- I've heard those types of meet and greets are brutal and really a cattle line to fork over money). However, apparently for sponsors and large charitable donors they do hold these for a small group before shows. Through their promotor and venue liaison I can provide a large charitable donation for access to a meet & greet. Now, I've been lucky enough to meet them by chance before and they were great. But I'm afraid that the meet and greet will be different- I don't want 20+ years of love for the band ruined by them being in a mood and going through the motions. Are they generally warm and enthusiastic for these charitable meet and greets, or are they impersonal events where the band is clearly annoyed and wants to get it over with as soon as possible? (and I can totally understand why they would feel that way-they're trying to get ready for a show and probably tired- can't blame them for being human!).

For perspective, I would love to be able to: tell Billie about how I learned how to palm mute while playing guitar by listening to Uptight/ 86 endlessly and practicing all night when I was a kid, and listened to Kerplunk through headphones when I was 14 past midnight so my parents wouldn't ground me, etc.

What would be awful is: get in line, the guys clearly think this thing sucks and is a waste of time, pose for picture, get out of here!

What have your experiences been like? I feel really good about the charitable aspect- what I am afraid of, honestly, is meeting them in this format and being disappointed overall that they're really just not into this sort of thing.

I know, it's unpredictable, but a general sense of your experience would be great. Honestly, if they don't like this stuff then I am happy to make my charitable contribution, enjoy the show, and not meet and greet with them...just don't want to meet with them when they're in a foul mood and have it sour my fanhood!

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very few people have ever complained about meet & greets, except for the fact that they don't them very often. It can be rushed, you won't get to have a great in-depth conversation most likely. But it's still an opportunity to exchange a few words and actually see the people who have inspired you in person. The first time I met Mike, it was after a Foxboro show, and it was literally just a handshake and a quick hello. But that was also unexpected. 

And to show how out of the loop I've been, I didn't realize they were doing any meet and greets???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Andres said:

Very few people have ever complained about meet & greets, except for the fact that they don't them very often. It can be rushed, you won't get to have a great in-depth conversation most likely. But it's still an opportunity to exchange a few words and actually see the people who have inspired you in person. The first time I met Mike, it was after a Foxboro show, and it was literally just a handshake and a quick hello. But that was also unexpected. 

And to show how out of the loop I've been, I didn't realize they were doing any meet and greets???

Thanks for the insight! Yes, they are, but I'd call it more of a private meet and greet...they aren't publicized or advertised. I only found out through a close friend who runs a philanthropic firm. On this club run they're holding them for large charitable donors who are willing to provide a donation for a worthwhile cause. They reached out to a few of their top supporters.

Rest assured it's a charity that's very worthwhile. The donation for me isn't really the issue- I just have this paralysis about being able to meet them in this setting- I imagine they'll be great but wasn't sure if the organized type of meet and greet was a turnoff for them. It seems like they don't do this very much, or when they do it's pretty low profile, so hopefully the experience will be genuine and memorable!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, that's really cool! You've already met them before and they were nice so why wouldn't they be this time? :) I wouldn't worry about it! Just try to start a conversation right away so you don't get rushed out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, AmyxLongview said:

Wow, that's really cool! You've already met them before and they were nice so why wouldn't they be this time? :) I wouldn't worry about it! Just try to start a conversation right away so you don't get rushed out.

Agreed! I already know they're solid people and good to talk to...I am just nervous (as I think any one of us would be)  because this would be a more organized or "formal" get together and they might not be as genuinely nice as they were the last time (which was an accidental meeting, totally unexpected with no expectations)- I just haven't done an organized meet and greet before and while I could see the experience being fun, I could definitely see some artists treating the whole occasion as a nuisance. And I worry that if I get the "nuisance" treatment it might ruin the night- or my feelings as a fan! Maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe one of the folks here that has been part of one of their organized meet and greets will help me worry less!

And yes, I'm probably overthinking it- of course they'll be cool- I doubt they'd give charitable donors a "Bieber" type of rude reception. Hopefully someone here has done this type of thing with them before...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, TimmyChunks said:

Agreed! I already know they're solid people and good to talk to...I am just nervous (as I think any one of us would be)  because this would be a more organized or "formal" get together and they might not be as genuinely nice as they were the last time (which was an accidental meeting, totally unexpected with no expectations)- I just haven't done an organized meet and greet before and while I could see the experience being fun, I could definitely see some artists treating the whole occasion as a nuisance. And I worry that if I get the "nuisance" treatment it might ruin the night- or my feelings as a fan! Maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe one of the folks here that has been part of one of their organized meet and greets will help me worry less!

And yes, I'm probably overthinking it- of course they'll be cool- I doubt they'd give charitable donors a "Bieber" type of rude reception. Hopefully someone here has done this type of thing with them before...

 

I've never done this type of thing but I'd sure like to! I'm wondering how much is considered a "charitable" donation, and who you would have to contact for this kind of thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't think GD did meet & greets - i would never pay for a meet n greet - would have love to have done a meet n greet (if it was free) with Ozzy though - that guy cracks me up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, TimmyChunks said:

Agreed! I already know they're solid people and good to talk to...I am just nervous (as I think any one of us would be)  because this would be a more organized or "formal" get together and they might not be as genuinely nice as they were the last time (which was an accidental meeting, totally unexpected with no expectations)- I just haven't done an organized meet and greet before and while I could see the experience being fun, I could definitely see some artists treating the whole occasion as a nuisance. And I worry that if I get the "nuisance" treatment it might ruin the night- or my feelings as a fan! Maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe one of the folks here that has been part of one of their organized meet and greets will help me worry less!

And yes, I'm probably overthinking it- of course they'll be cool- I doubt they'd give charitable donors a "Bieber" type of rude reception. Hopefully someone here has done this type of thing with them before...

 

Don't worry, Billie has made it clear he's not Justin Bieber :lol:

I did an organized meet and greet with another band and it was great, they were really friendly and into it. Good luck with yours! Hopefully you'll get a picture too :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, I've spoken with the philanthropic organization and clarified things- here's how everything works. It's really interesting and overall I think it's really cool:

-first off, Green Day absolutely does not hold general meet and greets. And they would never hold one for profit, ever. I was told that they tell show sponsors (radio stations, etc.) that it will just not happen as part of a sponsorship or for a for-profit endeavor.

-however, a lot of huge musicians and celebrities that are generally very private (Pearl Jam, Richard Branson, Green Day, Johnny Depp, for example) will absolutely spend a little time with folks that contribute heavily for philanthropy. Sometimes, the artist insists that the benefactor is a specific charity. Sometimes they just want the money to go to a good cause. But either way, they are willing to donate a little time for a lot of money to a good cause.

-here's how it generally works in this case- if a huge artist comes to town, and they're known to be supportive of charitable endeavors, their management team will contact one or two leading charitable organizers in the area (or vice versa) and discuss logistics regarding a potential fundraising activity (very similar to political fundraising, except very much more so limited to select high contributors).

-as such, from what I know, here is what GD is doing- they're spending a little time with some charitable contributors in each city to raise money for a good cause. This is awesome. Apparently, if people are willing to donate huge amounts to charities that they feel are worth supporting, then they're going to reciprocate by thanking the donors.

-how do we as fans get involved? Well, it's both easier and tougher than one would think. If you're heavily involved in charitable efforts in your city, and they're coming to town, reach out to the head of fundraising for your local organization. This is how I know about it. What's the tough part? It requires a huge amount of fundraising to make this type of meeting happen. My friend mentioned that one of the top fundraisers with his charity contributed $50k to have lunch with a huge touring front man recently. Good result for both sides- a lot of money went to a great charity, and the donor got to meet his favorite musician (this was someone on the level of Bono or Springsteen). Now, I'd be shocked if GD raised this much at any specific location, but keep this in mind- if you had a chance to have lunch with BJ, Mike, or Tre...seriously, that type of experience would be worth a huge donation to the right charity. Just a little heartwarming behind the scenes stuff I've learned over the last couple of days. Heartwarming, really- nice to see great causes getting very much needed help in a very quiet and unselfish way.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

if you had a chance to have lunch with BJ, Mike, or Tre...seriously, that type of experience would be worth a huge donation to the right charity.

 

just saying... a huge donation should be worth it because of the cause, not because you can talk to some people that happen to make some music. it's not realy "unselfish" if you expect some benefit for it. the only unselfish people in this are green day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, Semi-automatic lonely boy said:

 

just saying... a huge donation should be worth it because of the cause, not because you can talk to some people that happen to make some music. it's not realy "unselfish" if you expect some benefit for it. the only unselfish people in this are green day.

Who actually gives a fuck if you do it for selfish reasons or not? It doesn't make a single difference to the money that goes to the charity.

 

I do kinda wonder why they don't advertise it more. Get fans to start fundraisers for a specific cause, and the top 10 or 20 fundraisers get a little m&g. Misha Collins (actor) organises something similar for his charity, and the top 15 fundraisers get to join him in various places to build much needed schools or community centres. I think it's a cool idea. The motive for giving to charity literally doesn't matter to the charity who get the money no matter what.

It's really cool to know that the guys do something like that. And I hope you have a great time! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Semi-automatic lonely boy said:

 

just saying... a huge donation should be worth it because of the cause, not because you can talk to some people that happen to make some music. it's not realy "unselfish" if you expect some benefit for it. the only unselfish people in this are green day.

Yes, it may have been ambiguous when I was writing, but to clarify I meant that it was unselfish on the artist's part. But there is also altruism on the donor's part- there's a combination of incentive here- there's the experience of meeting a great artist, and there's also knowing that money is going to a great cause. For those folks that have an annual budget for charitable contributions, it's kind of a nice overlap of giving and helping out, and also enjoying a nice perk as a result.

And about the "talking to people that make music"- well, it is a bit deeper than that. Say, for example, you or I donated to a great charity and also as a result we had a chance to have a nice lunch with Eddie Vedder (which I've been told happens and raises a huge amount of money). At that point, you're benefiting from having most likely a deep conversation with someone who's shaped a musical genre for over a generation. You'll probably come away with some really interesting and compelling insight that you may (ideally) apply to your life afterwards. It's more than sitting across a table and looking wide eyed at a celeb; the donating artist has a chance to connect with fans and hopefully feels great about the experience and the money raised, and the contributor leaves with some really interesting insight from a musical genius and in some cases might have a new perspective on certain things...and might also become a recurring donor to the cause as well. Win/ win, and highly worthwhile.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...