I always like hearing about musicians/artists that are moderately successful and real and nice on top of it. Most of the people I “idolized” when I was younger turned out to be unapproachable egomanaical control freaks behind it all, which I was rather disillusioned by, ultimately. I’d like to believe that one can be successful and still be a real and approachable person at the same time.

I do agree with what you’ve said about idolizing too–I was just not totally awake when I wrote my reply and couldn’t find the right word there.

manfiested in how i make decisions, this is why other music collectors look at me funny when i tell them how i met do-and-so backstage somewhere, but i didn’t even think to ask for their autograph. to me, talking with someone and shaking their hand, introducing each other by name and all, is a lot more personable and approachable than getting them to sign a memento. this is also why i’m not intimidated by people with notoriety were i to run into them somewhere.

granted, i wasn’t always like that, but between Alan Alda on the Tonight Show in 1992 talking about why he doesn’t give autographs (sam reason i don’t ask for them) and having myself twice pedestalled for something i never wanted to be pedestalled for (different things, but related to the same source), i learned how to unlearn the rule one learns young of being taught that stardom in any form is something worth prostrating oneself at the feet of the idolized.

actually, maybe i’ll get into a LJ posting about the whole Prefab Sprout/Paddy McAloon/Martin McAloon (brother of Paddy and bassist for the Sprouts)/Dave Brewis (producer of the Sprouts’ first album, guitarist of The Kane Gang and longtime friend of the McAloons)/Ketih Armstrong (founder of Kitchenware Records) thing sometime and how i ended up involved in the whole mess.

it’s been a long, storied thirteen years. i’ll own up to that.

Thanks for sharing. I’ll have to see if I can find his album to complete the experience. :)

i wasn’t being clear here. this was in reference to this 1997 and 2001 albums, Andromeda Heights and The Gunman. I Trawl The MEGAHERTZ sounds notably more genuine with a definite punctuation of sincereity.