my 2 and a half cents
Taking a cue from Hey Chris and Dan, I wanted to post some of my thoughts on some things that have been bugging me lately. It's really sad to see fans of Fall Out Boy quickly turning their backs on the band being pretty hostile to new fans. While shows are going to be different than they were years ago, the band is still the same four guys. They still care incredibly about their fans and are probably the only I band I know of that appreciates their fans so much - both new fans and old. It upsets me to see fans of the band not welcoming new fans to our community. Fall Out Boy fans are usually some of the nicest, most dedicated and amazing people I've ever met. The amount of creativity and passion that everyone that loves the band has is amazing and constantly impress the band and everyone associated with them.
However, when people who have recently heard about the band try to become a part of this, they are not greeted with open arms. This is not something I would expect from Fall Out Boy fans. It's not fair to make a fan feel unwelcome because of how or when they found out about the band. Everyone who is a Fall Out Boy fan had to hear about them somehow. Whether this was from a friend, a website, a sampler, a video, a commercial, a store or a concert shouldn't matter. To say that fans who hear about Fall Out Boy by watching TRL are not as good a fan as someone who started listening to them years ago takes away from the amazing sense of community that the band has with its fans.
There is no way to draw a line that says "okay, everyone who listened to the band before this date is a true fan, and those who didn't are not real fans." Anyone who loves the music, the lyrics and the amazing people that are Fall Out Boy is more than welcome to listen. So please treat all other Fall Out Boy fans with respect.
And to anyone who just picked up their CD, saw their new video on TV and to the new fans who will see the band for the first time on TRL on the 3rd, welcome to the Fall Out Boy community - I, for one, am glad to have you here.
-Adam
adam@fueledbyramen.com
aim: fueledbyadam
However, when people who have recently heard about the band try to become a part of this, they are not greeted with open arms. This is not something I would expect from Fall Out Boy fans. It's not fair to make a fan feel unwelcome because of how or when they found out about the band. Everyone who is a Fall Out Boy fan had to hear about them somehow. Whether this was from a friend, a website, a sampler, a video, a commercial, a store or a concert shouldn't matter. To say that fans who hear about Fall Out Boy by watching TRL are not as good a fan as someone who started listening to them years ago takes away from the amazing sense of community that the band has with its fans.
There is no way to draw a line that says "okay, everyone who listened to the band before this date is a true fan, and those who didn't are not real fans." Anyone who loves the music, the lyrics and the amazing people that are Fall Out Boy is more than welcome to listen. So please treat all other Fall Out Boy fans with respect.
And to anyone who just picked up their CD, saw their new video on TV and to the new fans who will see the band for the first time on TRL on the 3rd, welcome to the Fall Out Boy community - I, for one, am glad to have you here.
-Adam
adam@fueledbyramen.com
aim: fueledbyadam