Posts tagged Avett Brothers

Meeting People You Admire - continued

Some time ago, I made a post about my recently devised goal to shake hands with people I admire. At the time I had met:

The Avett Brothers

And Alton Brown

In the last three weeks I’ve been able to knock a couple more off the list. Namely:

Comic writer, Matt Fraction, the story of which I detail in a post a little further down this page

And then, on Saturday, I was able to meet author Donald Miller

Miller was speaking at a local church and Sara and I waited around afterwards to meet him. Miller is a great writer and a seemingly neat guy. He writes a lot about growing up without a father and so his writing has meant a lot to Sara. She told me after we left that she wanted to say a lot more to Miller than she did, but was afraid she’d break into tears.

We thanked him for his writings and I thanked him specifically for some of the things he’s written about politics. He signed a book for us and posed for a picture. It was really nice.

So, the tally at present:

The Avett Brothers
Alton Brown
Matt Fraction
Donald Miller
Anthony Bourdain
Joel McHale

I’m also considering adding a few more names. This isn’t the kind of list that should ever really be complete, I think.

The Avett Brothers - A Confession

I have a problem. A daily struggle with passive-aggressiveness? Well, yes. But that’s not the one I wanted to talk about.

I have this problem that when a band I’m into gets famous, I kind of stop liking them. I honestly hate it about myself and am really trying to fight it. It’s prideful and stupid.

Take the Avett Brothers for instance. A few years ago I picked up one of their live albums at CD Central based solely on a poster in the store. I’d never heard them before but they had beards and a banjo, so why not, right?

A few months later Sara and I saw them in Louisville with about 100 other people.

As great as their album was, their live show was full of energy, fun, and completely joyous. We started seeing them everywhere we could.

At the Southgate House in Newport we staked out seats right above the stage:

A whole bunch of us got to see them at the old Dame before it got torn down. That was probably my favorite:

They also played the Kentucky Theater a couple of times. At one of these shows Sara and I got to meet Scott and Seth and told them we were using one of their songs in our wedding. They seemed genuinely flattered:

Two weeks ago, like a lot of folks, I watched the Avett Brothers perform on the Grammys with Mumford and Son and Bob Dylan. It was awesome. I loved it for The Avett Brothers because obviously performing on the Grammys is a big deal. Part of me was upset, though, because I realized the days of seeing these guys play in a tiny club with a handful of people were gone for good.

I think it’s fine to mourn the loss of an experience like that - but to actually quit liking a band because they become popular? That’s wrong for several reasons:

1. Somebody has always been a fan longer than you. I was at a CD release party for a local band recently and heard a kid in front of me say, “We liked this band before they were cool - remember when we first saw them a year ago?” I laughed inside because this guy obviously had no idea that this particular band had been around since 2003. Likewise, however much I might imagine that I was into the Avett Brothers “first,” there are hundreds of people who got there before I did. I didn’t discover them.

2. If I really love the band as much as I say I do, why wouldn’t I want them to have success? They brought me a lot of joy, so why shouldn’t I want to see them rewarded for that? Am I really that selfish?

3. It means I was into them more for what it said about me than for their actual music. If I stop liking their songs because I’m no longer a special little snow flake that listens to a band you’ve never heard of, then I’m a total douche and not really a music lover. My guess is that a lot of music snobs aren’t really music lovers as much as they’re just insecure and looking for some kind of badge to wear that verifies their specialness.

So, I post all of this as a confession and as, hopefully, a preventative measure. Anybody who reads this now has permission to question thoroughly if they ever hear me say, “Yeah, I’m just not into the Avett Brothers anymore.” If I can articulate the reason for my change in taste intelligently, then you have to leave me alone. But if I stammer around and don’t really say anything, then please wag your finger disapprovingly at me.

I also post the pictures above to remind myself of the good times I’ve had seeing the band - that alone should make me a fan for life.

Meeting people you admire

So, I decided a while back that I wanted to meet/shake hands with/talk to all of my… well, I don’t want to say heroes… that’s not really the word; more like, people whose work inspires me or that I want to emulate. Unfortunately, I came to this conclusion after already passing up opportunities to actually meet both Joel McHale and Donald Miller. Hopefully I’ll get another shot at both.

Proactively, I’m making plans, next year, to fly out to North Carolina for Heroes Con and meet Matt Fraction, my favorite comic book writer.

So who have I actually met so far? Glad you asked.

A couple of years ago, Sara and I got to meet the Avett Brothers and tell them one of their songs was going to be in our wedding. They seemed genuinely appreciative.

And now, tonight, I got to meet Alton Brown of Good Eats fame. I love that Alton Brown doesn’t just have a cooking show, but has a cooking show that combines comedy, science, and all kinds of other nerdy stuff. It’s not like anything else on TV. When I met Mr. Brown I told him that I create creative content for my church and that his work is a big inspiration for me. He told me he makes videos for his church too. That was a nice moment for me, let me tell you. Sara was at the side, taking pictures like a madwoman.

So here’s the list and where I stand. I’ve been in the same (sometimes very large) room with everybody on the list but Fraction, but the crossed out names are people I’ve gotten to shake hands with and thank them for what they do.

The Avett Brothers
Alton Brown
Matt Fraction
Anthony Bourdain
Donald Miller
Joel McHale

I’ll keep you updated.

weekend

Friday - Bought a copy of Donald Miller’s new book, To Own A Dragon. Don’t let the title fool you. It’s not a stupid Lord of The Rings fantasy book. It’s his observations on growing up without a father. It’s really good so far. Went to Lawrenceburg after that to see the nephews. Here are two things my 3 year old nephew said, “Don’t call me a weirdo!” and “No deal!”

Saturday - Ate one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a while at Alfalfa’s with Sara. Their fried potatoes are remarkably just like my late grandmother’s. After that went to CD Central for their 11th anniversary sale. Bought Sara the new Catpower and I did a blind buy on a band called the Avett Brothers. I was not disapointed. That night tried to go with Jennifer and Mike to see Inside Man. We couldn’t get four seats together, though, so we got a refund and rented Domino instead. I thought it was decent. The Domino meets Jesus scene was a little stupid - but Jesus was played by Tom Waits, so it gets a pass based on that.

Sunday - Was awoken at 2:45 am by BP, James, and Ian, making a drunk call. Bastards. Had a nice day at church - Sara was featured in a video that focused on her life at Crossroads over the past couple of years. She did really great. A lady told her she had a “hot little body.” Decided after church we would make empanadas for the first time ever. They turned out really good - except we used canned chicken and I thought you could tell.

I’ve never been a big fan of those blogs that feature some guy telling you what he does every day, but it appears I’m becoming that which I hate. Here are some other things that I hate that I’m becoming: fat, goth, a myspace fanatic, a cat lover, the Colonel. Just kidding. I’m none of those things and NEVER WILL BE!