As several photos have proven, I was at the Hedley concert in Estevan last weekend. And it was awesome. I was in the fourth row and seriously sang and danced my life away all night long. The band played all my favourite songs and I got a couple of waves from the drummer and bassist.
Seriously, just a great time.
I was also lucky enough to do the interview with Dave Rosin, Hedley's guitarist. Dave was a great interview, really well spoken and kind over the phone. Based on the interview, I'd probably say he is a nice guy. Which is awesome, because one always wants, I believe, that the members of one's favourite band are cool people.
However, I've been thinking that had Dave Rosin not been so cool, I would have been totally crushed and had an infinitely lower opinion of Hedley as a whole.
This makes me think of my other favourite band: Marianas Trench. The boys recently were in Regina and attended a concert at The Exchange. A girl I'm Facebook friends with got a couple of pictures with the band. The bassist, guitarist and drummer all smiled with at least false enthusiasm in her photos, but Josh Ramsay, the band's singer, made a super unimpressed face and looks like a jerk.
Seeing that photo has totally crushed my opinion of the band, excluding their music. But to see a singer clearly look uninterested during a photo with a fan really makes me question how he feels about his fans at all. He frequently beaks his fans online and answers their questions sarcastically. Marianas Trench's most recent CD actually features a song about stalker fans. And knowing all of this, I was still able to feel positively about the band. But this photo crushed me.
I can't imagine how horrible it would feel to meet your favourite artist, only to learn that he or she was a total tool. I'd probably cry in my bed for weeks at a time. Like imagine Justin Bieber was a jerk? How many little girls would be reduced to puddles of pixie sticks and tears at that realization? Just brutal.
So what I guess I'm saying is that celebrities need to remember who got them to where they are. Yes, you're talented and you probably work hard. But your fans buy your material, sell out your concerts and stalk your hotels. You should love us for our dedication, not scorn us and look superiorly at our camera lenses.
I'm pleased that Hedley seems interested in their fans, or at least weren't too cool to wave at the half-drunk 20-year-old clinging to the catwalk.
Tonaya Marr enjoyed her brief visit to Estevan. She was pleased to see Jordan Baker at the concert, and really appreciates that he isn't going to share the unflattering photos he snapped of her fan girling at Jacob Hoggard. If you have anything cool to send to Tonaya, maybe your concert picture, e-mail her at tonaya.marr@gmail.com or tweet her @TonayaMarr.
