ScarletPlanetMoon wrote:frank wrote:we are shortly announcing a scheme that is going to allow some hang out time, not kill me, and raise cash for charity...
We're not going to have to pay to see you are we? For charity or not, my budget is stretched enough without that just to say hi... (You could of course come out to see the queue if you get the time) Also, when's this announcement? I need to book trains etc for Manchester, and if I know I'm gunna be able to get a train that gets me home earlier than 3am, that's be great
And that isn't meant to sound as bitchy as it seems

I'm sorry, I've been biting my tongue for days, but I have to take issue with this. That's a bullshit statement, through and through. Here's the deal (all this coming in the announcement as well, which you, y'know, could have waited for). There's no way I can do my regular hangout thing when there's more than 10,000 people coming to a given show. Also, with my back / health generally, I've realised lately that one of the biggest tolls on me on tour is spending 2 hours standing in the cold shaking hands with strangers. It's really draining. That said, I don't want to hide out from the people at shows, I never did before and I don't want to change that side of what I do, it's not how I think of myself. So we have a conundrum. How to make this work for everyone? Well, why not have a soundcheck hangout; 100, maybe 150 people come down, we sell tickets for maybe £5 or £10 and all the money goes to a charity (probably Shelter). That way, as far as I can see, the most people are satisfied, and we also raise money for a great cause.
I also have to say that, while, as mentioned, I don't want to be removed from my audience, in recent years I have started to get a little tired of the sense of entitlement to a hangout some people have. If you buy a ticket, you buy a ticket to see me and the Souls give our all, musically, on stage, and we do that. If we cross paths before or after the show, great, cool, lovely I'll hang out and be nice and all the rest. But I've had people say I've ripped them off because I didn't meet them, stuff like that, and it's bullshit. My insistence on being a normal person also extends to having nights where I'm tired, sick, hanging out with old friends, or just not feeling sociable.
Going back to the question in hand, yes, this is the best way to do things, and if you don't like it, don't come to the fucking hangout, simple as.
Shows? All of em.
"He's like an Uncle, I like him but I don't want to listen to him all day."