Going to a concert is one thing, but you want to be one of the fans who gets to interact with the band. You want an autograph, you want to shake hands, you want a few minutes to gawk at them like they’re animals in the zoo. As much as you want that, it can be weird and uncomfortable for the artists, depending on the artist. Deicide’s Glen Benton, for example, has some very specific feelings about enhanced fan experiences and VIP meet-and-greets.
In a recent interview with Prescription Punk Rock (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), Benton explained first how much he hates charging fans for autographs:
”I was having this conversation with the guys in the band the other day, ’cause we were talking about meet-and-greets and doing that kind of stuff. And I’m just not a fan of the whole charging fans for a signature. I give a fan a signature out of kindness of my heart, not because I wanna make money off of them. The fact that they’re a fan and they listen to our material… I know things are different — most people get [music] for free now — but I still can’t come to terms with that, to charge somebody for my signature, especially a fan… And it makes me feel kind of weird.”
So it’s good to know that Benton doesn’t charge for autographs. But, when it comes to meet-and-greets, you might not be so lucky if you’re looking to meet the frontman:
“[Late RUSH drummer] Neil Peart, I’ve seen an interview with him, and he felt uncomfortable in those situations, and I just feel the same way, man. I just don’t like being put in those positions where I’m sitting at a table and people are gawking at me like I’m in the Jim Rose Circus or something. I guess I’m just too real and too deep for that kind of shit. To me, I think it’s — pardon the expression — I think it’s a poser kind of thing. That’s for posers. And Steve’s [Asheim, DEICIDE drummer], like, ‘I feel the same way. I feel like I wanna climb out of my skin when I’m in those situations.’ And like I say, I’m just not into that kind of thing. ‘Cause I’m up there, if I’m wrangled into these things, I’m thinking to myself as I’m up there and everybody’s saying all the compliments and everything, and I think to myself, ‘Man, if they can only see me when I’m outside mowing my grass, washing the car and cleaning the bathroom. If they could only see me now.’ So that’s kind of how it makes me feel uncomfortable, ’cause I don’t think of myself like a rock star or anything like that. I just don’t put myself in that [frame of mind]. I can’t. I really don’t. I can’t relate.”
That does sound fair. It would be understandably awkward for some people to have fans gawking at them like that, and I can see why Benton might not be comfortable with that. Maybe they can have AI handle the fan meet-and-greets for them like they do their album covers.