Being a fan and having a true friendship--can the two co-exist?--a discussion- Page 3

[staticradar]

Posted: 5/23/06 at 8:41am

I think it's possible...

I know it's not the exact same thing, but one of my really good friends I met because I was, and still am, a HUGE fan of his band's. I met them at a gig, after e-mailing back and forth with a few of the band members. At the gig I hung out with the band and got to know the lead singer and the drummer very well. The drummer is now one of my dearest and closest friends and I still keep in contact with the lead singer as well. But the thing is I now seperate them from the band. When i hang out with my drummer friend we don't normally talk about how awesome he is at a gig or what the bands up to, I'll ask about his wife or what movies or tv shows we like etc, normal friend things. I must admit when we first started hanging out it was hard to seperate the two, but now it's easy and I love him dearly with or without the band. Also I get the added perk of rough mixes when they are recording albums and signed copies of new albums and EPs before the general public etc. But even without all that I love him to death and wouldn't trade our friendship for a million cds.

It's also cool that on my birthday he'll usually call me up and get the band to sing happy birthday too me lol, he knows I'll always be a fan, but I'm also a good friend.

So yes it's possible, you just have to turn off fangirl/boy mode when you're around them. And also know that they aren't really a friend until you know them outside the setting. I wouldn't consider myself friends with the rest of the band, maybe the lead singer to a certain extent, but the other members I rarely talk to. They know my name and if they saw me they'd smile and give me a hug, but I wouldn't call them friends by any means (mostly because I can't stand one of the members lol)