I'm with the band

backstage demeanor is ideally thus: loose arms at your side, no wringing of hands or clutching of elbows. do not put your arms behind your back or rock from side to side on the balls of your feet. you are hanging out. you are just spanning time with people who happen to be very famous, influential, legendary and cool. that's all. sure they can play guitar behind their heads and with their tongues, but you're cool too. you're just not famous, legendary or influential. the toughest trick is not staring. of course you cannot stare, but you want to look, so the pull is difficult to contend with. it's best to look up and around and at the legendary and cool in brief snatches. when you catch their eyes, it is essential to smile, then look away. basically you're not gonna get to look at them as much as you want and you have to accept that early on because it is imperative above all else that you don't appear to be a non-speaking starer. the good news is if you are successful at not annoying or making nervous the influential and famous, then you will be asked back into the inner circle, perhaps multiple times and that's when you can get some more looks in.

the best thing you can do, is start up conversation. don't ask them what they think of your town and try not to gush too much about how you love them. go about it in a circular manner. ask them what they think of the warm up bands, and did they pick them themselves? if they're sonic youth, they'll say they really like them and yes they did pick them, then you can say, "Oh, well i really loved so and so who opened for you in 1997, which was such a great show, GOD i loved how kim went crazy dancing to Dirty Boots, i had insane fun that night!" there, now you've gushed but in a conversational manner.

one thing you don't expect to happen is that you might get in a fight with the legendary, the cool, the influential. what you won't expect even more is that this is the best kind of encounter you can have. there's really no way you can pick this fight without being a dick, it has to be a result of just plain good luck based on a casual comment you make about music most likely. just stand your ground and pay attention, don't be scared and don't cry...remember you are cool too. what's remarkable about this is that you just had an argument with a musically historical figure. in a way, you have incorporated yourself into history. rockin! and you have a kickass story to tell for years.

xo