I saw this comment over on a Rolling Stones board I post at and thought it was very cool and worth passing on. They were discussing a recent Brian gig.
Quote:
"The crowd at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center does tend to be sort of sedate.
Was Brian signing stuff in the lobby afterwards, or did you go backstage?"
"Yeah this is my third time at Cerritos now...first concert there...it's a very hoity-toity kind of place so it wasn't really a place for a rock and roll show, I think. Beautiful place but I've always found the auditorium to be a very weird room. Something about the square room and the placement of the stage...it doesn't sit well with me for some reason.
Actually, with the signed albums....I got there several hours before the show, hung around the back. Brian arrived with Jeff Foskett, got out of their car and said "no" to me and a small group of 3 or 4 guys. I was stunned. I've never seen Jeff act that way. He said loudly "We don't sign for Ebay" They went inside. The other guys...who I found out were sellers eventually left. I had nowhere to go since I was going to the show later that night...I decided to just stay out there and wait...maybe Brian would come back.
About half an hour later Jeff comes out again on the phone, he turns around to head back to the venue...I scream out if he would sign my SMiLE album. Jeff performs on that album, as you know. He looks over and begins to walk over and says sure. As he approaches me he looks around and says "sorry about earlier..I had to get rid of those ebay guys." We chit chatted about tonight's show...He then grabs my album says "gimme that" and walks back into the venue. Comes back a few minutes later and there it was a PERSONALIZED signature from Brian! I was too bashful to give him both my albums the first time...thinking it'd be too greedy....when he came back out he saw I had another one in my hand and although I wasn't even going to ask him to get that signed also but he just grabbed it...came back AGAIN....and got Sunflower signed. It was amazing."
I'm not surprised -- Jeff as well as the rest of the band seem like the best of blokes.....
This is a pretty telling scenario. I witnessed one a couple of weeks ago...outside a Beach Boys show...The guys have been generous autographing albums and treasured memorabilia...what seems weird is that some people have the colossal nerve to stand "outside" a venue where entertainers are performing, and are NOT ticket-holders to an event, and seek out autographs, in almost a flash-mob mentality, with tote bags looking for income-generating autographs...
If you are inside an event venue, you actually bought a ticket and are more likely to be a fan...if you are outside on public property, only, and not a ticket holder, which license to be inside the venue property, it may be more likely that you are an ebay-er. It is a pretty offensive concept. While chatting with a person outside a venue, on public property, behind a venue, recently, he was asked if he enjoyed the show, (because it was such an exciting one!) and he said, he had "not seen the show" but had some albums he bought at a yard sale. (Said he could not get a ticket!) Red flag! The albums did not resemble the same vintage, but, well worn and played ones that I have collected over 45+ years.
Not long after, when one of the Band members came out, a guy shoved a camera at me looking to take an uninvited picture. Fat chance. I guess his mother never told him, that is "Polite to wait until you are asked, or at least have permission." It was so offensive. My impression was that some people feel that they don't need boundaries and that they can exploit whomever they wish. It ruins it for everyone.
Good for Jeff!
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