Tips to meet your Favorite Rock band before or after a Gig when playing In Dublin

ronan45

Anyone any tips for how to get to meet the band before or after a gig? Is there a set time for sound checks? Do they allways use the back entrance? I would love to get a pic or an autograph off the lads from the Cult, I love this band. Anyone know what hotel they are staying or what clubs they would go to after.

The Cult, Academy (Formerly Spirit), 14 Jun 2011
The Cult, Academy (Formerly Spirit), 15 Jun 2011

lord lucan

I've never done the whole hanging around to meet a band thing but i did notice at the Academy before that bands seem to arrive through the front door. I was there to see Loaded a couple of years ago and was out having a smoke in front of the venue when Duff turned up in a Séat Ibiza and just strolled through the front door!

ronan45

OH well ill do that for sure then! Thanks guys, Do they bring their equipment and all in the front? Well if any other die hard Cult fans are out their and want to accompany me pm me .
Hmm maybe there is a bar near the door that will keep me warm ha ha:D

giant_midget

We used to hang around the outside of the SFX years ago before the gigs with a bag of cans and always met the bands...memories of that place, amazing gigs in there!!

Motley Crue

From personal experience I've always found there are three ways to meet the band (the more of these you tick the better your chances)

1. Know the venue and area intimately
2. Know someone in the fan club or street team (if relevant)
3. Understand the basic respect you need to have when approaching a musician

Most venues have stage or staff doors, and most of the loading/unloading will be done from there, and in 99% of cases the main loading doors will be behind the front of the building down a small back alley. At some point, between 1pm and 5pm, the band will arrive at the venue (most bands, headlines or main support, performing on touring schedule and playing an average of 9pm stage time at night, will arrive by 5pm to the venue) and (unless they have a hotel next door to the venue) it's most likely they will (for financial reasons) be using a tour bus to travel around, live on and sleep on.

They will most likely exit this bus and make a be line for the door. Unless they see you, and again remember respect, you will not be noticed and they will be eager to have dinner.

Most venues provide dinner for an artist, and the soundcheck is linked with this, either they will eat just before or just after soundcheck and sometimes you'll end up speaking to a member of the band who is holding her desert at the same time (Marta Peterson I'm looking at you). Some venues are huge inside so an artist will gladly sit back and do nothing, while other venues are so small that they will be forced to remain on the tour bus until it is virtually showtime.

When a band is playing the same venue over a succession of nights then a hotel stay is inevitable, and it also gives the manager a chance to hoover the bus and open the windows to get out that smell etc....in terms of a hotel, look for a moderately priced, clean and local hotel - do not assume Dave Mustaine will book the most expensive sweet he can find, instead Premier Inn will suffice. If you do decide to stay in the hotel lobby remember that you can be ejected by the staff if you haven't got a reservation and that staff can lose their jobs for telling you where the band are staying or for acknowledging their existence in the hotel in the first place. Most times a manager will book them in, under his name and the company card, and the rooms will be randomly given to each member.

Anyway, if all goes well, most artists will relax in the run up to the show (so they will most likely not come out to meet fans before the show unless they're on route to soundcheck or coming back out to grab something from the bus)

The best time for you to meet them before the show is before soundcheck, not afterwards, and it is preferable that you just have one or two other fans there since the less fans the musician sees the more likely he is to speak with you for any length of time.

Fan clubs are astonishingly well informed, well certain members are, since most bigger groups (like the Stones, AC/DC, Metallica, Lady GaGa) have a road crew that will - at some point or another - befriend a member of the fan club and drunkly blurt out the plans to where the band are staying and how you can meet them. I will warn you now, the likes of Metallica staying in a huge hotel is very rare, and catching them checking in for a night's sleep after the gig (since someone will probably check them in beforehand) is not going to be easy

On the other hand, street teams (distribute some flyers and get a free ticket to the gig that night) are more akin to smaller bands, and it really helps to either get involved with the street team (and meet the band informally) or to know the person on the street team and ask if you can help out on the night. Again, should you like the band, this will more than likely lead to an informal meeting. However, Street Teams are rare for bands who expect to be mobbed at every venue

Finally, understand that whether your speaking to Alex Bailey or Joe Elliot these men are just musicians, and have a job to do - that is, performing everyone in the venue and not just for you. Most artists don't mind stopping for a chat before a gig with fans (the less fans the better being honest) but remember this is still their day job, and as much as they truly love the fans for their support, they're not machines - delays, bad weather, politics, missing home and everything else can have an effect. In some cases its just best to hope they're able to speak to you and if they don't it doesn't mean u should tell your friend that they were all complete assholes who have no respect for their fans.

One last important thing, remember that every member of the band is important, and leaving once Corey Taylor has signed all his autographs and given all his hugs is kind of insulting to Jim Root...I've seen it happen, and these guys have feelings too

stateofflux

ronan45 wrote: »

Anyone any tips for how to get to meet the band before or after a gig? Is there a set time for sound checks? Do they allways use the back entrance? I would love to get a pic or an autograph off the lads from the Cult, I love this band. Anyone know what hotel they are staying or what clubs they would go to after.

The Cult, Academy (Formerly Spirit), 14 Jun 2011
The Cult, Academy (Formerly Spirit), 15 Jun 2011

don't expect a chat off astbury, maybe duffy tho...

GoldenTickets

ronan45 wrote: »

Anyone any tips for how to get to meet the band before or after a gig? Is there a set time for sound checks? Do they allways use the back entrance? I would love to get a pic or an autograph off the lads from the Cult, I love this band. Anyone know what hotel they are staying or what clubs they would go to after.

The Cult, Academy (Formerly Spirit), 14 Jun 2011
The Cult, Academy (Formerly Spirit), 15 Jun 2011

There are a few good ways to go about securing a meeting or autograph with an artist before or after a gig, and some of the advice above is somewhat helpful in that regard. However, as a seasoned band stalker I can tell you that there are two near foolproof ways of getting to meet your hero(es) and having a chat / getting stuff signed. They are as follows:

• Getting a job on the band's crew
• Joining the band

If you can do either of these things you're well on your way to securing that elusive facetime with the artist you so revere. Good luck to you!

scudzilla

When moved over here 5 years ago i took a job for 2 weeks with SEGI, was doing night security at the point, just to tide me over till my main job was ready.
Week went like this

Monday : 6pm - 8am Arrived and a band were setting up, was Pearl Jam

Tuesday : 6pm - 8am Pearl Jam did a full 2 1/2 hr set in rehearsal for full Euro tour, after they left i had a little bang on the drums etc. Met them all, got a signed 10x8 & a Tour itinarary book (wit all phone numbers, hotels etc)

Wednesday : 6pm - 12 pm Worked the gig, checking wristbands for pit access, let soooo many people in without them

Thursday : 6pm - 8am Just did fcuk all as Point was empty

Friday : Resigned ;)

ronan45

stateofflux wrote: »

don't expect a chat off astbury, maybe duffy tho...

True Mate, My Brother met them after a show in Canada won some meet and greet thing, Astbury never even made eye contact or said a word, Duffy seemed a bit embarressed by it and was very talkative. Jim Morrison Complex lol :eek:

Motley Crue

for some reason I seem to have double posted, so em, look below

Motley Crue

scudzilla wrote: »

Tuesday : 6pm - 8am Pearl Jam did a full 2 1/2 hr set in rehearsal for full Euro tour, after they left i had a little bang on the drums etc. Met them all, got a signed 10x8 & a Tour itinarary book (wit all phone numbers, hotels etc)

You have told this story before, but don't worry, it has such quality that it is worth speaking about and it is worth boasting about again and again. I never tire of this one.

Didn't you mention that one of the band members was skateboarding around the arena?

GoldenTickets wrote: »

• Getting a job on the band's crew
• Joining the band

And I suppose we should add to that

Getting a security job for the venue (and a shift on the night in question and getting in the right place - I know someone who spent Metallica in Manchester guarding the disabled lift the entire night)
Becoming a Journalist/Broadcaster who can access Press Tents at festivals