Debate on Paid Meet-And-Greets has been ongoing for some time now and we’ve always had mixed opinions.
In a recent interview with Canadian legend Jimmy Kay of The Metal Voice, Frank Marino spoke about the culture of “V.I.P Packages”.
He said:
“I won’t do this, but from what I understand, a lot of the guys that I knew, now they’re going out and they’re selling tickets to meet them, which is ridiculous, because I spent my whole life meeting everybody before and after every show I’ve ever done — for free.”
“You meet people — that’s what you do, right? You finished your show, and you go and meet people, like you’re a normal guy. But now they’re selling this thing. And in the old days, you couldn’t meet those guys even if you offered to pay them the money. And I’m thinking, what’s the psychology behind that? Guys standing behind a rope line, being let in two at a time and sitting on your lap like you’re Santa Claus. I find something screwy about that — that’s weird. The agents that we were [using to book the tour] this time even suggested it to me. The agents said, ‘And then we can add on the tickets for the meet-and-greet’ and all that. And I was, like, ‘No. What are you — nuts? I’m not gonna do that. That’s really hokey.’ ‘Well, everybody’s doing it. Everybody’s doing it.’ ‘Yeah, but I’m not doing it.'”
He continued:
“If somebody gives you a guest pass — some people do; they give it to you. ‘Hey, here’s a guest pass. Come back and meet Frank.’ And they come back and meet [us]. But [they don’t have] to pay for it. That’s ridiculous. Listen, I meet people anyway — I always did; I always do. Anyone that knows me will tell you that. They say, ‘Yeah, Frank is probably one of the most accessible guys in music.’ I’m the guy that if I’m opening the show, when I’m finished, I go sit in the hall. So I’m that type of guy. As a matter of fact, a lot of people in other bands used to be upset I would do that if I was opening the show. Especially at festivals. They’d say, ‘Why are you going out there?’ And I’d say, ‘I’m going there to watch the bands.’ They’d say, ‘You can’t let the people see you and think you’re just like them.’ And I go, ‘I am just like them. Why do you think you’re not just like them?’ Think about that. You don’t think you’re just like them. I think that’s a bad thing. Think about the mentality that goes with the guy that would actually believe what he just said.”
1 comment
Sounds like his fans are not dumb enough to fall for all the stupid extras. Think I’m paying to see Motley Crue in a Stadium? Hell NO, I saw them on their “FINAL TOUR”, that was good enough for me. Beside Def Leppard is the only one on that bill worth seeing. I rather see Joan Jett than either Poison or Motley Crue. Fans are turning into Sheep and Performers know it. So now they just see how much money they can squeeze out of them.