Unread postby -G- » 17 Jun 2011 16:06
KG:
Meeting the band (Not so easy)???
Sorry man, I laughed when i read that title ... that couldn't be the farthest from the truth. I've never worked with a band that has devoted so much time after their sets to meet their fans ... ask any of the Ambassadors that have been on here for a good while ... Except that one that keeps having the bad luck ... that one Ambassador that can't for the life of them go to a show when the meet and greets happen - so yes from time to time we can't do them for some reason, So KG your not alone. You are among the weird elite that this has happened to and i'm sorry for that.
First let me say that i'm glad you enjoy the shows never the less.
As the asshole who yells at everyone at the end of the night let me offer you our sincerest apologies. I'm sorry you didn't get to meet the band. I know this doesn't make it any better but let me shed some behind the scenes light into these two wonderful shows:
Jacksonville: I was not at the pre show meet and greet so i can't comment on that. It doesn't happen very often but yes the band has timed obligations at these shows. They are on a time schedule. They have to do press. And meet and greets and kiss babies and what not - so they are pulled every which way before the start of a festival. I'm sorry you weren't able to meet them at this meet and greet.
Jacksonville was hot. Jacksonville was a festival. Sick Puppies headlined that festival. Management didn't want the pups to sign afterwards. I repeat DIDN'T want them to sign afterwards. Luckily i was able to secure ten or so bicycle racks before the start of the show and convinced security and management that it would run smoothly because we had plenty of space to make it work, and plenty of sexy help to help me that day!
After the band played ... the Puppies did sign. They signed at Merch. Stamped or not. If you waited in the line ... we got to you. I wasn't paying attention to the show this day .... so i don't know if SHIM mention that they were signing at merch after the show or not. I wanna say he must have cause we had a very long line that day.
I had the world crew post flyers about that along the entrances and if you came to merch at any point in the day you would have seen the flyers announcing such.
Jacksonville would have been the idea situation to meet the band and i'm sorry you missed them. Let me point out how rare it is for a band to HEADLINE a festival and do a signing right afterwards. That never happens. But it did. Probably not helping you feel good about this situation but that's what happened with that show.
Orlando: Orlando was a very very very special case. I could be wrong but this might be the first time we come into a venue and there are THREE SHOWS THAT DAY. A show before us. Our show and a show after our show.
It's the later fact that lead to all the Chaos that night.
HOB management DIDN'T want the band to sign at the end of the night. DIDN'T because they needed to clear everyone out so they could start the next show (2 Live Crews DJ was spinning a special Memorial Day Set - something he apparently does there every year - he was quite good from what little i heard).
First of all, that HOB establishment isn't a particularly great place to do a meet and greet ... despite that we insisted on doing one. "What if we only sign for two hundred." "That's too much." "One hundred, i'll stamp the first one hundred customers, one hundred" ... - "NO!, what if we give you 75 wristbands and we only do 75 people, first 75 people who purchase something get to do the meet and greet". "Fine we'll take it."
It was either that or nothing.
Since that number was so small, and Tri-Polar Deluxe had just been release that week or the week before we decided anyone who purchases Deluxe gets a wristband. Simple as that.
Again anyone who came to merch at any point in the night would have seen the flier announcing such.
Again HOB staff put up signage that this was going to happen where ever they put it ... As soon as doors hit i was bombarded - Ok i guess people read the signs cause i had a long line and people asking to buy the CD. If i buy one will my uncle and his monkey be able to come to the meet and greet? No ... i think security will be really really checking for the wristband i tired to explain. They have a show after our show so if you want to meet the band you have to have a wristband. One wristband per deluxe purchased. What about my girlfriend she's cute and it's her first show ... whatever sure you try line on security later. sigh.
At the end of the night i think i had like five or six wristbands. Rather then they go to waste, I went on stage and told the techs to give these to shim and emma and have them toss them into the audience (in retrospective i should have held on to those). Whether they did or didn't i wasn't around to witness. But my intentions were for each and every wristband to be used.
At the end of the show regardless of wristband or not everyone and their mothers started to form around the merch side of the building.
The band was originally going to sign at merch. But Building security decided against it. So they got placed on the opposite side of the building and the tedious task of only allowing the chosen ones began. Children cried. Mothers wept. Monkeys flung poop (No really there were monkeys at that show). Everyone was upset that they couldn't get a wristband. By then it was too late. Every wristband was issued out and there was nothing i or anyone could do to make every single fan happy. Not with another band playing after us and the house needing to clear the place out. So they did. No wristband ... out the door.
(Side story ... the first eight people who came to merch at the end who bought a deluxe still wanted to meet the band - but at that point i had already given the wristbands to the techs. So i was like well the bands coming here anyways just stay where you are and you'll be first in line i'll just tell security not to kick you out since your already here ..... BIG MISTAKE ... So when the line got moved to the other side of the building ... i'm like ooupsie ... what do i do for these guys to make it right .. oh i'll walk them over to where they belong and explain to security that these eight are good ... BIG MISTAKE ... "you can't do this. This isn't how this was supposed to work ... they need a wrist band" - "EIGHT ... just this EIGHT ... JUST THIS EIGHT" ... BLAH BLAH BLAH ... and it was at that point WHEN I KNEW there was nothing else i could do. I was being counter productive to my own cause so i just let them do what they had planned)
Believe me i've heard about this show from various people. How we were assholes for limiting the signing to so few. That WE kicked everyone out. etc etc. Hate to blame someone else but in this case it wasn't our fault and we did try as much as we could. It's all funny in hindsight. I guess we will laugh about this one day ...
If you waited till the end of the night to come buy merchandise you were in that cluster of people that we just couldn't help at that point. I share this information with you so you can better understand what we had to deal with that night ...
Next time i suggest you come visit our merch booth early in the day ... maybe just maybe you if your lucky and all the cards are in your favor .. maybe just maybe you might be able to meet that damn elusive band.
Thanks for understanding.
G
The following commentaries are for entertainment purposes only. The view and opinions expressed herein are those of the demented individual and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Sick Puppies or any of their respective affiliates or employees. Parental discretion is advised. Look both ways when crossing the street and don't forget to wash your hands every time you use the restroom. In case of fire, stop, drop and (rock n) roll! Merching at the speed of light!
