Lonely London Lad: Recapping the Meet & Greet from August 21, 2010
Now that was a fun experiment - Holding a 12-hour LLL "love-in" in a microscopic town in West Virginia. I had no idea how many people would show up, nor how many LLL fans would make the trek. I was prepared to sit alone all day if necessary.
But I was pleasantly surprised.
Fans came in from as far as 5 hours away. Some even brought heartfelt gifts. One lovely fan from Pennsylvania, Pam, brought a box of artisan-crafted vegan cupcakes with LLL themes. There is even an edible crown with "LLL" inscribed on it. That was jaw-dropping, an overwhelming gift. Here is a picture:
Mitch (the fab chap with the LLL tattoo) and his charming wife, Tina, also came as promised, and also brought scads of gifts with them. Such nice gestures from these people who I've only known online. But gifts still paled in comparison to the thrill of actually meeting people from this online world. One woman came in and told me we were MySpace friends -- that was enough to have me introduce her to everyone around. I tried to give everyone I knew from here royal treatment.
People on the street also dropped in, hung around, listened, read my wall scribblings, viewed the art, had engaging things to say to me. And the passersby also bought things, to such an extent that I regained faith in the "brick and mortar" approach to selling music and merchandise. At the very least, I'm going to have a similar event soon. Planning is already in the works, mateys!
It was a real high to be able to spend HOURS talking to people, face to face, about our music, about them, and about everything and nothing. It really fit in with my ethos about why I'm doing all this, and was gratifying on a deep level.
I didn't take photos when the room was busy, as I was too busy talking to people. Some fans took photos, so I'll let them post them. I just have this photo to share, taken a few moments before the doors opened, as I was making final inspections and my son was moving about:
I want to thank all those who came, from near or far, and who tried to come but couldn't. Maybe soon we'll be able to meet (or meet again)!
Cheers!
Robert
