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Experiences with Per
31 replies
Perismyhero said on April 15, 2006 09:58:
I was just wondering how many ppl have actually met Per, n what was he like if u hav?
Perismyhero said on April 15, 2006 10:07:
Really? My big dream is to do alot more with him than drink beer n talk, but I spose I shouldnt get into that, lol.
Sparvogamarie said on April 16, 2006 10:07:
I met him, um, 7 or 8 times I think. Sometimes he wasn’t so nice, sometimes he was.
Santi said on April 16, 2006 15:49:
I have never, and I guess I prefer not to.
Not that I have anything against him, but if I met him, what would I say? I’d hate to look stupid in front of him, or even worse, that he would sound stupid in front of me! :D
I mean, in case you would meet him what specific questions would you ask? For example, the person who replied above said “about Roxette”. Well, now, that’s very broad, isn’t it? What would you exactly say?
Perhaps something like: “Is Roxette releasing anything new sometime in the future?”. Won’t you agree with me that he can expect such a question from any journalist just about any day and that maybe he’s sick and tired of replying to that?
And about remembering the past of Roxette... I don’t know, to me it looks so pointless. We all know what happened, there are hundreds of interviews published and that stuff.
If you’re the kind of person who’d like to state how important Roxette is for yourself and your personal development or whatever... Do you think he personally cares about that? Do you think he went telling that to his heroes when he was younger?
I don’t know, he’s quite out of reach, doesn’t live in the same world as I do and I prefer to think that there’s some kind of “magic” in the creation of a Roxette song, which is what I ultimately care about.
So what about you, folks? Can anyone please reply to my questions as well?
Nati80 said on April 16, 2006 19:51:
If you’re the kind of person who’d like to state how important Roxette is for yourself and your personal development or whatever... Do you think he personally cares about that? (Santi)
Why not? I think he knows that many of us have grown up with Roxette’s music. He should be proud of it.
I have never met Per, but I really want to meet him and Marie to say a big THANK YOU to them.
animalkingdom said on April 16, 2006 20:28:
@ Santi
Having a bad day? That writing seems almost hostile...! Pff!
Anyway, I’ve “met” him twice or three times. Don’t know if one of those occasions really count...
Never really talked to him, just said hello and so. He was nice.
Kiwein1 said on April 16, 2006 21:39:
I have met him several times. He is professional and nice and signing and taking pictures, that’s it. He hardly looks at the ppl while talking to them, he always seems to be in a hurry. I don’t count the signing sessions though.
Perismyhero said on April 17, 2006 05:32:
Yeah see I read this web page a lil while back which was dedicated to Per n yet at the same time FULLY bagged him out saying he was all these terrible things like ’arrogant n selfish’. I dont kno if the page is still available but there was a pic of Per with his wife and baby in it. Anyhoo yeah, so I thought to myself ’wot couldve possesed this person to write a page all about Per, when theyr clearly a fan of his music, just to attack his personality? did Per do somthing to this person?’ When thinkin to myself I conclude that becoz he’s the writer of such beautiful lyrics he MUST b a good person. Am I wrong?
Yeah n as for what Santi was saying, Id like to giv him a big thanks, ask a lot of questions bout his younger, pre GT n Roxette days, not that it matters, but just coz its interesting, n also wot he thinks of music these days n the world in general, just try to suss out the type of person he is I guess, coz its hard to kno based on other ppls opinions, even if it means asking the same q’s a lot of other ppl do. but realistically I cant see myself getting a chance like that anyway. I was just wondering if anyone had any really good or bad exps with him.
Sparvogamarie said on April 17, 2006 06:01:
Woo poor Santi, I almost feel sorry for you for feeling that way. I get what you’re saying though, it feels like there’s nothing to say. I think it’s nice if you can get 2 minutes to just chat, even about nothing. I’ve had short talks with Marie, once she started a conversation about the cover of the Sparvöga single! It was a simple thing but just really nice to be able to talk to her. I’ve never had a conversation with Per but I saw him chatting to other fans. I don’t think he really gives a damn if you look a bit silly Santi, he meets 1000s of fans and they all act stupid.
And you know what? I think they are genuinely touched if you tell them how much they have meant to you. I know that Marie has read letters and then gone to the fan and told them how special their letter was. I once told her how much she meant to me and she held my hands and looked into my eyes with such a sweet look on her face. They’re not robots and they have feelings.
Perismyhero: I don’t know the page you are talking about, but there are some joke sites like Do you want fries that are not serious, was it one of those? Otherwise, perhaps that person was angry at Per. Per and Marie can be sweet and nice, but not all the time and I’ve had good and bad experiences with both of them. I can imagine if your only meeting was a bad one, you will develop a bad image of them.
Perismyhero said on April 17, 2006 07:10:
yeah Im pretty damn sure that person wasnt writing on a joke page, they prob just had a bad exp with Per, thats really sad.
Sparvogamarie said on April 18, 2006 09:16:
I haven’t seen the site and I don’t know the person so I can’t answer for sure. Per can come across as a little rude sometimes, like sometimes he won’t answer when you speak to him or he’ll refuse a photo in not such a nice way. I had better experiences with Marie, but I also saw bad days from her too. I think some fans have such high expectations that they are shattered when P & M are not perfect and smiling, and they get very angry. So maybe that’s what happened. Per and Marie are a LOT nicer than most celebrities, not that I’ve met many but I’ve heard stories of certain celebs being just plain rude.
kristallhjarta said on April 20, 2006 03:41:
My $0.02 - I agree with Santi, though I’d probably have put it in less harsh terms. It reminds me of something Eddie Vedder said when Pearl Jam first got famous – basically that when fans listen to music, instead of letting it touch them they often try to reach out and get inside the artist. (I’m paraphrasing.) Music becomes a kind of religion and the artist a messiah - you think your life will be better if you “touch” him, and if he fails to live up to expectations, you lose faith.
It’s pretty sad, really, and I’ve seen it first-hand. Years ago I spent a few weeks on tour with a popular band and the fans were just nuts with their demands - sign this, pose for that, answer this, blah blah. If you do the math it’s really quite insane – try dividing one musician into enough parts to feed 50,000 rabid fans. Even Jesus would’ve been stumped.
From the sidelines it was almost as dizzying, but what bugged me most was when they were accosted during “off time”. One time in particular I’ll never forget - the lead guitarist was dealing with some heavy personal issues and was spiralling into depression. Most fans were unaware at the time, and on the day in question, when we were having lunch in a public place, some got pretty jaded because he just didn’t have the mental energy to deal, and “Please, not now” was apparently translated as “I hate you, menial fan”. It just burns me up because he was one of the sweetest, gentlest guys I ever knew and he genuinely loved playing for the fans. (I’m not suggesting that all musicians are “nice but misunderstood”. MANY have layers of “jerk” underneath. I’m just saying - two sides to every coin, but sometimes it’s best left unflipped. When did the music itself stop being enough?)
As for me, it’s quite possible that I’m Per Gessle’s biggest fan, but just knowing he’s out there is good enough for me. I probably wouldn’t turn down a chance to be personally introduced, but if I pass him on the street - does he really need to know I exist? Will this knowledge improve his life by any degree? I think not.
Just my opinion. Yours may differ. :)
Sparvogamarie said on April 20, 2006 04:59:
Well said kristallhjarta, you are so right about how things can get really crazy on tour. I can really understand how celebrities start to hate fans because they are everywhere and always push the limit. I remember my friend talking to Pelle Alsing, and he was saying they were SO sick of a particular group of fans who followed them to every hotel and airport that it made them all crazy.
But I can say that Per and Marie are generally pretty tolerant and nice to respectful fans. If you approach them politely and say hello, 98% of the time you will get a friendly response. No it won’t change Per’s life if you say hello and he will forget you in 5 seconds, but won’t you get a good feeling from the fact that you met your hero and said hello? If it’s just not important to you, that’s cool, some fans just enjoy the music. Like I adore Alanis Morrisette for example, but I have no real interest in meeting her. But it was important for me to meet Marie. I don’t know why, I think it was more personal because she’d been a part of my life for a long time and helped me when I was young. Anyway I’m really glad I met her, especially now when I probably won’t get another chance!!
kristallhjarta said on April 20, 2006 05:35:
“If it’s just not important to you, that’s cool...”
It’s not that it wouldn’t be important to me. Of course it would - just in the “right” circumstances. Per is, quite honestly, my hero. In the “Look Sharp” days he was simply a crush, but in later years I grew to fully appreciate him as a musician. I’m really not a fan of pop music in general but for him I make the exception. I even taught myself Swedish over the last few years so I could understand and sing along with my GT albums, so I think Per’s place in my heart is pretty well established. And if that doesn’t say it all, this probably will:
http://www.last.fm/user/daisyglaze/charts/&charttype=overall&subtype=art...
Thanks for agreeing on the other points, though. By the way, I’m a pretty big fan of Marie too! It was the Ballad & Pop Hits DVD that did it. I watch it at least twice a month - I absolutely LOVE that collection.
Sparvogamarie said on April 20, 2006 09:41:
I know exactly what you are saying kristallhjarta (love that name btw), you do want to meet Per but only in the right circumstances. I can fully support that because I’ve been in that situation - in 2000 and 01 I was a bit of a “groupie” and I met Marie quite a few times. But I only ever wanted to meet her after concerts when *she* chose to come out. After a while I did go to a few hotels, and she was good about it so it seemed ok.
But a couple of times I saw Rox in private situations - walking down the street, at the train station, I even rode on a train with them! And it was very clear that they did not want to be bothered. I passed Marie on the street a couple times and just said hi and kept moving. So I know what you mean, you wouldn’t want to meet them in a restaurant where it might be uncomfortable. I used to live near Marie and I stayed away from her area because I didn’t want to be in the situation of wanting to talk to her and maybe bothering her. I ended up bumping into her once, I said hi and that was it, but I had been worried that if I saw her I’d get too excited and “jump” on the poor woman. Lucky I controlled myself hehe! But like Santi said, you get scared you’ll say something stupid!
denny said on April 20, 2006 23:43:
Hm... many interesting poit of views... Imagine this... One day, I get the chance to visit Sweden and I accidantally bump into one of them on the streets. That would be my one and only chance in life to ever get to say hi in person. And, I don’t know why but I know that it would mean a life to me. But on the other hand, I’m one of those who is affraid not to push it too far, especially when seing that maybe it’s not ’their day’. I really dunno what would I do... I’m not sure I would forgive myself for not taking the chance. But if they would be rude, I wouldn’t take it offencive... What do you think?
The same goes for example, going somewhere on tour and waiting in front of their hotel...
But in my case, meeting them once would be enough.
Sparvogamarie said on April 21, 2006 04:51:
That would be a hard situation to be in Denny! I think if you saw them on the street you could just say hello and see how they react. If they seem happy, then maybe you could say something about being a big fan or ask for an autograph. I’m not sure about Marie but I’ve heard of many fans who have asked Per and he’s happy to do it, even on the street. As long as you are respectful, Per and Marie are nice about autographs.
kristallhjarta said on April 21, 2006 14:35:
Denny - in that situation, I’d say go for it without going overboard, and hope for the best! :)
Sparvogamarie - good advice. Thanks for the compliment on my username. I created it a while back for my first Swedish journal, and oddly enough the english version was based on a gift from the guitarist I mentioned above. Ironic!
ncurran said on April 21, 2006 14:45:
Ive found both Per and Marie to be very nice in person. Marie is VERY shy, and I am quite shy as well, so it was pretty difficult. I would like the chance to have a bit more of a conversation with her, but I doubt it will ever happen. Per is not so shy, but the thing is that when you meet them outside the stage door of a concert or outside their hotel, its not exactly a conversation inducing situation. You might get an autograph or a picture, and a quick hello and thank you but thats about it.
I had quite a long conversation with Per at the fan party in Karlstad, but then we’d both had quite a few beers and it seemed like more of a natural situation...i would like to have that kind of chance with Marie.
I dont see a problem with fans waiting backstage or outside hotels/radio or TV stations. After all, they are working at these times. If I met them in the street, I would be tempted, but I probably wouldnt speak to them, or maybe just a quick “Hi Per, Hi Marie”, but thats it as I think its a bit rude to interupt them on their time off, especially if they are with their families. Ive never understood how someone could wait outside their houses for example.
kristallhjarta said on April 21, 2006 17:23:
ncurran - in ’work’ situations - i.e. concerts, meet ’n greets, etc - fan interaction is the whole point, but I’m not so sure about hanging around their hotels... (Maybe I read “I’m With the Band” at too impressionable an age.. haha...)
For the record though - I wasn’t knocking anyone for wanting to meet their heroes/idols/etc. It’s just that I’ve read accounts of fans meeting Per and saying he was rude when it may just have been that they intruded at a bad time, rather than in a situation where he invited them in, so to speak. I, for one, wouldn’t turn down an invitation. ;) Anyway, that’s my last word on this. You get the point. :)
Perismyhero said on April 28, 2006 01:23:
ncurran u had a CONVO WITH PER???! Wot did u talk about???! Tell me all the details!
Majdy said on April 28, 2006 02:57:
I hope I’ll never meet Per, because I might kidnap him and keep him for myself :)
Majdy said on April 28, 2006 02:59:
But I wanna met Marie and have her sign my Roxette CD if she doesn’t mind of course.
Sparvogamarie said on April 28, 2006 07:43:
LOL Ncurran I remember you, Per was soooooooooo drunk and trying to talk to you but he forgot what he was saying halfway through.
Here’s a little tip that I picked up during the Roxette tours: the more drunk Per and Marie are, the nicer they will be. We used to say that all fans should carry some vodka to slip into Marie’s coffee to make her be nice. I met Per several times and he wasn’t that nice until he’d had about 5 beers, then he was a real sweetie!!!
ncurran said on April 28, 2006 13:04:
@Sparvogamarie, Yeah he was certainly at least a little tipsy, but then so was I so it was OK.
@Perismyhero, Cant remember too much about the conversation (for the reasons stated above!), but we talked a bit about Roxette’s (lack of) success in the UK. I congratulated him on a great show (it was after the Karlstad concert). I was also telling him about the concerts I had been to before on the Joyride, CBB tours. I also talked to him a bit about when they visited Scotland. He said that after the summer joyride tour in Glasgow they had taken a trip to Loch Ness. Thats about all i remember.
Also had quite a long conversation with Li from EMI, she was lovely!
davidc4 said on April 28, 2006 13:21:
never met him but i guess if i did i would just tell him i thought he was a great songwriter and musician
oh...and that run to you is one of the best songs they have ever done
Baby-C said on April 28, 2006 22:46:
I’ve met him several times.. but I still wait for the day when I actually will have the currage to start a real conversation with him. I know it’s not hard if you just have something intelligent, or even something not so intelligent, to say to get the conversation started.. but.. well.. I’m such a chicken, so we’ll se when that day comes. I feel it’s getting closer though. Now.. 10 years after I met him for the very first time.
@ncurran & sparvogamarie: I was at that bar in Karlstad aswell, and a friend of mine also had a short conversation with him about.. something. Don’t remember what. But I didn’t dare. I just asked him if I could take a picture and ofcourse I could. Though.. he didn’t make it easy for me, since he jumped up and down on a small step by the side of the bar where he spent most of the time in that bar. And oh.. btw... it wasn’t anyone of you who took his beer bottle after he left the building, right? I remember that nobody wanted to leave the place before Per did... atleast I didn’t.
A perfect ending on a perfect night on a perfect day...
Sparvogamarie said on April 29, 2006 06:43:
Yeah I got a photo with him too Baby-C, it was the only time I dared to ask him because he always said no to other fans when they asked for photos. But he was so drunk and therefore so nice that night so I asked, and he was super nice about it and put his arm around me and everything! Its a great photo but I looked stupid and I was wearing a stupid hat so I can’t show it to anyone. I was wearing a cool shirt that says “You’re my Idol” that I found in Germany and Per read it hahahaha, and I was like “No the shirt is to Marie not you” hahaha!
Per was always nice to me after that night but I only ever had eyes for Marie. He would come up to me and ask if I wanted an autograph and I’d be like “No thanks” and then run to Marie. Now I feel bad, I should have talked to him!
harriej said on April 29, 2006 07:34:
I met him shortly at the promotion party of “Mazarin”.
Per is a very relaxed man, no star-behaviour at all.
He takes time for the fans, gives them some time to take a picture, answers questions.
Nice person in real life !
Much better then most artists, who can not be reached at all by the fans.
Sparvogamarie said on April 29, 2006 07:42:
I think there is a huge difference in their personalities depending on where and when and how you meet them. Obviously at something official like a meet-n-greet or a release party, they are “on” and you will get the friendliest personality from both of them. I’ve never had a meet-n-greet with Per but I’ve heard he’s really funny and outgoing. I mostly met him outside hotels, he just signs and gets out of there. Marie is pretty friendly at hotels unless she’s tired or sick. Per is ok on the street, but Marie is not. They’ll also act differently if they know you, Per used to totally ignore me until he started to recognise me, and Marie was a little cold at first. She will stay cold if you disrespect or stalk her!!!
christian said on April 15, 2006 10:04:
I never met Per. My big dreamis to drink a good Swedsh beer and talk with him about roxette.
Cheers
Christian