Small insight on the financials

[pitkin88]

BS. There have always been "meet and greets." In the past they were exclusively for local media and record company morons and their friends who exchanged rubbing elbows with celebrity for some positive spin on the show and maybe a few more plays on the radio. That sold tickets and records that made the "sell outs" a few bucks. These days nobody is listening to radio or buying records so the "sell outs" have to collect that money where ever they can.

You are confusing two different things. Meet and greet (fleece) cons the fan into thinking the artist gives two shits about them. They care only about your $. It's sad and the least rock n roll thing anyone could do. I don't know who is more pathetic the artist or the punter. The dam n thing nearly have Demi Lovato a breakdown. All these people shuffled in after an exhausting show to get an agonizing smile and a pic. It's horrible.

[pitkin88]

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/rpyj ... r-everyone

Interesting read on greed.

[nrc]

You think Alice has been cutting his head off for 40 years because it's high art? No, he's delivering what fans want. That's how he got where he's at. Thirty years ago fans wanted rock star gods that were above the masses. Today fans what to feel like they have personal connection. Pay your money and step right up for your photo and autograph. Eight bucks even buys a folding chair.

Nobody thinks he's charging $600 because he cares about them. Ok, not unless they're twelve. Fans want to meet the artist and feel like they have a connection. It's about how they feel, not him. That was an opportunity that used to be reserved for industry jerks and other celebrities. Now it's just good business to extend that opportunity to "real fans".

[Cold Room]

You think Alice has been cutting his head off for 40 years because it's high art? No, he's delivering what fans want. That's how he got where he's at. Thirty years ago fans wanted rock star gods that were above the masses. Today fans what to feel like they have personal connection. Pay your money and step right up for your photo and autograph. Eight bucks even buys a folding chair.

Nobody thinks he's charging $600 because he cares about them. Ok, not unless they're twelve. Fans want to meet the artist and feel like they have a connection. It's about how they feel, not him. That was an opportunity that used to be reserved for industry jerks and other celebrities. Now it's just good business to extend that opportunity to "real fans".

Have to agree with you. If there are idiots....ahhh "fans" who want to pay outrageous sums of cash for two minutes with Alice (or whomever)....the artist would be stupid not to take their money. Greed? Hell yes....that's how you get three (more?) homes, and a garage full of expensive cars.

[mr.barlow]

I would never pay one cent to meet ANYBODY.

In the old days it was FREE!

This is the new normal and I don't blame Alice one bit for cashing in on it. I however would never pay to "meet and greet" him.

What kind of "connection" is anyone going to make with a 71 year old rock star who knows nothing about you in 2 minutes? What kind of connection is anyone outside of the business going to make with Alice (or any established star) if you spent a week with him?

Trust me--he's heard it all. How much you love "Trash", how much you love "Dada", how he impacted your life, the "I sleep in a casket too" and similar idiocy. To be honest---if I were Alice I'd charge double the going rate just to have to listen to the same old crap every night---especially at 71 years old!

I was once at an after show back in the 1980s and there was a guy a insisting he knew "Vinny". The security said no pass no access and the guy kept at it saying "I graduated with Vinny--we go way back--he told me to tell you to let me back". The guy was dead serious. Finally the guy got really pissed and started screaming "Vinny Vinny--we went to school together". It's no wonder Alice never came back stage that night. This is the type of crap he deals with on a daily basis. Again---he should double his prices!

[nurserozetta]

Trust me--he's heard it all. How much you love "Trash", how much you love "Dada", how he impacted your life, the "I sleep in a casket too" and similar idiocy. To be honest---if I were Alice I'd charge double the going rate just to have to listen to the same old crap every night---especially at 71 years

trust me if you want to have any meaningful conversation with a celebrity talk about something different.

Many years ago I met Jason Newstead at LAX in the lounge , I spoke to him for about 15 minutes about ... mountain bikes and riding , when he left we fist bumped and he said words to the effect “ thanks for not talking business brother” as he walked away he turned and gave me the thumbs up, very cool .

The only time I’ve met Alice was during the trash tour at a record store signing in Sydney, it was free , again I asked him did he still run , because I was a marathon runner , I guarantee I got a couple extra minutes than the guy saying “I love Poison “

[pitkin88]

I met him when he was signing Trash at Tower Records ( I think ) in NYC in 89. I asked would he mind autographing a can of Budweiser along with the album and he said " of course ".

[Daggers & Contracts]

You are confusing two different things. Meet and greet (fleece) cons the fan into thinking the artist gives two shits about them. They care only about your $. It's sad and the least rock n roll thing anyone could do. I don't know who is more pathetic the artist or the punter. The dam n thing nearly have Demi Lovato a breakdown. All these people shuffled in after an exhausting show to get an agonizing smile and a pic. It's horrible.

I once did a Corporate M&G with the band A-Ha (1 hit wonder) but, it was a night out + free tickets. Shuffled into a backstage bunker room w/beer on ice but not much else. Beer was Heineken but no opener! Carried an opener on my keychain so, I became the bartender. The band showed up at the doorjamb & signed a few autographs but as I recall never entered the room!

[mr.barlow]

How times have changed:

Once I ended up backstage at a Carly Simon concert. A long story but I had an all access pass and was able go anywhere I wanted. Prior to the show there was a room with all types of food, booze and lots of beer.

I grabbed a beer, went out of the room and leaned against a wall and lit up a cigarette. As I lifted my head this absolutely gorgeous woman walked by, smiled at me and said "hello". She went over to some people for a chat and to my surprise came back over to me to talk (I actually thought I was going to get the twenty questions of why I was there). She asked my name, how I was doing, etc. She was as genuine as genuine could be. I told her the story of how I ended up backstage with an all access pass. (quite a fantastical story--but true). We had a few laughs, she gave me a hug and told me to enjoy the show from the stage. She made sure I was able to stand in the wings for the whole show. That person was Carly Simon herself.

She made sure to find me after the show too to ask how I liked the concert. I'll never forget her or her kindness.

My how times have changed!

[del]

You are confusing two different things. Meet and greet (fleece) cons the fan into thinking the artist gives two shits about them. They care only about your $. It's sad and the least rock n roll thing anyone could do. I don't know who is more pathetic the artist or the punter. The dam n thing nearly have Demi Lovato a breakdown. All these people shuffled in after an exhausting show to get an agonizing smile and a pic. It's horrible.

I once did a Corporate M&G with the band A-Ha (1 hit wonder) but, it was a night out + free tickets. Shuffled into a backstage bunker room w/beer on ice but not much else. Beer was Heineken but no opener! Carried an opener on my keychain so, I became the bartender. The band showed up at the doorjamb & signed a few autographs but as I recall never entered the room!

Small correction here. A Ha were anything but a one hit wonder and sold at least as well as Alice has but more on a global basis. They also scored with a James Bond theme precisely because of their profile globally.

I'm not a fan of paid meet and greets either but I certainly don't criticise those who stump up the cash for it. If you have the cash then it's up to you. If you thought it value for money then nobody can beat it. I've seen YouTube clips of Alice backstage and read some of the stories posted on here before. Strikes me that he gives better value for money than many others you read about.

Anyway two of my examples.

1. Met a member of Hawkwind once (just after Lemmy left) in the street on a Sunday afternoon of a gig in Glasgow. He was looking for an open bar which was almost impossible back then. We told him we knew of one and for entertaining him for a couple of hours and buying him three pints of lager we got back stage passes. As it turned out we were the only folk back stage. We were given plenty of time to basically hang out have a drink with the band and take photos. The catering was basic, a crate of lager a plate of sandwiches and crisps. We even got to take a couple of cans of lager home with us so effectively we came out in profit over the day.

2. Motorhead gig at a fairly packed Glasgow Apollo in 79'. Lemmy did a meet and greet with a difference After the support band he basically came round from back stage into the foyer and walked up to a few of us for a chat. Stood with us and about 10-15 other folk for a good 15 minutes and quizzed us about the music we liked. Refused to speak about leaving Hawkwind but when a couple of us mentioned being fans of Alice he did talk about meeting them when the band were in the US. Said it was something he was told he had done rather than something he remembered. He then gave us a few Motorhead button badges, explained the background to one of the biker patches on his jacket, signed half a dozen autographs and said he had better go as he was late for the show. Great guy. Actually met Phil Campbell, Motorhead's last guitarist at Alice's last gig in Glasgow. He was sitting right behind me with his son. Another really nice guy.

[Babysquid]

How times have changed:

Once I ended up backstage at a Carly Simon concert. A long story but I had an all access pass and was able go anywhere I wanted. Prior to the show there was a room with all types of food, booze and lots of beer.

I grabbed a beer, went out of the room and leaned against a wall and lit up a cigarette. As I lifted my head this absolutely gorgeous woman walked by, smiled at me and said "hello". She went over to some people for a chat and to my surprise came back over to me to talk (I actually thought I was going to get the twenty questions of why I was there). She asked my name, how I was doing, etc. She was as genuine as genuine could be. I told her the story of how I ended up backstage with an all access pass. (quite a fantastical story--but true). We had a few laughs, she gave me a hug and told me to enjoy the show from the stage. She made sure I was able to stand in the wings for the whole show. That person was Carly Simon herself.

She made sure to find me after the show too to ask how I liked the concert. I'll never forget her or her kindness.

My how times have changed!

Wow! That’s amazing! What a lovely story and what a nice person Carly turned out to be!
I had a pass for U2 at Wembly when I was about 14 or 15 (my friends aunt sold Bono an ironing board or something). Never met the band but I literally bumped into Bjork and made her drop her drink. I offered to buy her a new one but she giggled and pointed out that all the drinks back stage were free.

[tuneylune]

Trust me--he's heard it all. How much you love "Trash", how much you love "Dada", how he impacted your life, the "I sleep in a casket too" and similar idiocy. To be honest---if I were Alice I'd charge double the going rate just to have to listen to the same old crap every night---especially at 71 years

trust me if you want to have any meaningful conversation with a celebrity talk about something different.

That is the truth...have found that if I take the time to think of an interesting topic that isn't about the business, find it gets a better response and a little more time. Also being polite helps as well. Have paid for things at conventions, but have set limits and don't think I could shell out the $$ for a Meet and Greet

[mr.barlow]

Here is a sample of some "meaningful conversation""

Fan: Hello Alice
Alice: Hello
Fan: I'd like to ask you a question about Peter, Paul & Mary
Alice: Ohh...so you're into Bible Study too?
Fan: (quizzical look on their face)--Uhhh...no
Alice: Well you asked about Peter, Paul & Mary
Fan: I mean the group that did "Puff The Magic Dragon"
Alice: I never did a song about dragons---I think you have me confused with Ronnie James Dio
(at this point the camera flashes)
Assistant: Next please.

As the fan walks away the assistant says "Now don't forget to have a bologna sandwich and a few pickle spears. We want to be sure you get your money's worth.

[killer wolf]

can never understand why threads like this always degenerate into people telling others they should feel ripped off for spending their money on something they wanted, and revealing that the star doesn't intimately care about the punter. i bet these people still tell wrestling fans it's not real.

[Cold Room]

can never understand why threads like this always degenerate into people telling others they should feel ripped off for spending their money on something they wanted, and revealing that the star doesn't intimately care about the punter. i bet these people still tell wrestling fans it's not real.

Well....if they felt they were GOING to be ripped off, they wouldn't do it in the first place. If they feel ripped off AFTER a ''meet & greet''...you call that an "expensive learning experience".

Personally, I am all for Alice $Meet & Greets$. The more cash he can make off these people, the more dough Shep gets, and the sooner Alice might do a full album with the original band and/or a short tour with them. So.....KEEP ON SPENDING THE $$$ FOR THAT 2 MINUTES AND A PHOTO!

[patrick]

I would ask him about ..Gary Cooper :-)
recently I saw an old schoolmate back and as we were talking about the past in high school, he said : we never understood why you were a fan of ...Gary Cooper !
Neither did I

[Saint&Sinner]

I have never met Alice, a friend of mine did , this was back in the early 2000s and it was free and more of an accident than anything else, nice and polite but superficial (obviously)
I can't say i would ever pay to see/meet anyone. Maybe if i had money to burn? sadly that will never happen so unlikely to find out!
The odd thing is the bands that need the money (smaller club level) always do meet and greets for free! I don't bother with most as i am sure they either have better things to do or there are more hardcore fans who care. But a couple of bands i do like to speak to like metal church (specifically stet howland these days - being my fave drummer ever) and i always have time to meet Blaze Bayley

Anyone who enjoys paying, fair enough. Not for me but if you have the cash so what. My only issue is that it prices the casual/young fan out of the market. Where as before you would be rewarded for dedication/ingenuity now its just $$$
Also i dont like that it kinda forces seated gigs so they can offer the front row. This is the bane of my gigging life. gimmie standing anyday!