Thank You Letter to VG/Ancillary Opinion Options

[redbeme]

Thank you so much to VG for his willingness to connect with his fans. We will never forget the FC parties and the op's at a M&G with you. Though more are willing to do this in the country genre vs any other, not all do, and for this I remain grateful. I fully realize that you may be tired or have other things on your mind after a concert or before a FC party, but you do it anyway. Allow me to be the voice of many with saying, thank you, it means so much to us!

I consider myself a sincere music lover of several genres and hopefully what I am about to say will be received in the context of my love for music and not a unwelcome opinion.

Of of my cursoriness about my fave genres, (rock and roll and blues) is the all to common lack of ability to connect with our fave artists. I am aware of the need for increased security measures in these days, but, it can and has been done by many and what VG does attest to that via his actions.

My perpetual top faves over the years has been Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton and Tom Petty. Of that list, it would only be Tom Petty that would have a rare contest for a M&G. To be fair, I am not sure who decides these things, management or the artists. I can't help but to ask myself, at what point does anyone decide to seemingly dissociate from the fans? Imho, what it FEELS like is that we are not important, other than to generate revenue. That said, gimme a break, I do not expect you to invite me over for cocktails. (Lol, though that would be nice and if it happened, I would forgo my girly "Cosmo" and request a bottle be plotted down, cuz this calls for whiskey!) Seriously, would love the chance for a "real" chat with any of my faves, including VG, but certainly do not expect it.

Okay Mr. Clapton, I will be seeing you 3/29 in Hollywood, Fl. You truly are iconic! I came to be a fan about 5 years after your seemingly shy self showed up on US soil. I long for your humbleness again! I wish I could tell all my faves that I do not consider myself "unimportant." I may be a minuscule representation of your adoring fans, but an important part of the collective heart/audience that you wished for from day one. Now that my faves have this audience, I wish they would at least open the window for opportunity for our to express our fanship, just as VG does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PV3hjtvx9Q

[Anna Leighton]

Vince always amazes me at how relaxed and how he shows each person the courtesy of getting the picture the signing answering the questions . I will never forget the man he turned the show over to last year .I just thought that was so unlike anything I had ever seen and I wondered how many others would have done the same under those circumstances .He is a very special artist and human being .He is my favorite and I have known from before the first time I met him that he would be just that person you see in concert .

Having never been to an Eric Clapton show I don't have a clue personally but he seems to have the same demeanor that Vince has and he invited Vince to those Crossroads and now Keith and Brad will be there this year so that in itself tells me Clapton knows who plays amazing guitar

[redbeme]

Eric is a truly amazing guitarist and fascinating person. Eric is likely to be one helluva guy, period, but he is an enigma to his fans. I wish that he would write a book, heck , wish VG would too.

He experienced a severe addiction problem and truly turned his life around. The guitar fest that VG has repeatedly be invited to is to benefit his Crossroads treatment center.

I have a great deal of respect for EC, but wish he was not so elusive. From the start of his career, he made it one of his life's missions to learn all he could about the blues and has spent extensive time through our delta region up through Chicago, taking in as much as he could learn about our blues for his interpretation.

[countrycrazy]

Country music is unlike any other genre with the willingness of its 'stars' to interact with their fans. No other genre will you find an event such as Fan Fair or even any of the other 'interactive' events that country music puts on for the fans to interact with its stars and the m&gs that fans have the opportunity to get with their favorite artists. Bill Anderson who was the one who came up with the idea of Fan Fair years ago. Bill and some other artists had gone overseas for a concert festival where the fans were able to interact with the stars. They got back and at the time the only thing they had was the Country Radio Seminar, which was, and still is, for the radio stations. Well, when fans heard about CRS, they decided to infiltrate Nashville to try and get some time with their favorite artists, which radio stations were also competing for, so on a plane back from this festival overseas, Bill Anderson posed the idea of having a festival just for the fans where they would not only get concerts, but also autographs and get to interact with their favorite artists....thus Fan Fair (now known as CMA Music Fest) was born.

A LOT of artists in other genres go out of the way to avoid the fans...in Miami a lot of Justin Bieber fans were upset when he didn't show up for a video shoot...but most country artists appreciate their fans and do anything the can to make sure the fans know that. There are some artists who do everything they can to avoid the fans and Fan Fair (I won't name any names, but there are some big artists out there who haven't put in an appearance at FF in ages), but others will show their appreciation by doing all day autograph signing sessions (Garth holds the record for almost 24 hours straight signing autographs, and I would have to put Taylor Swift second...I remember she did a marathon autograph signing session one year). Others, like Vince, may not do any 'public' autograph sessions, but hold fan club parties for their biggest fans...then you have those artists who will not only have booths that they sign at, but they also hold parties for their fan club members to make sure that their biggest fans can get up-close and personal. Throw in the up and coming artists who haven't yet gotten enough 'publicity/airplay' to have fan clubs but they set up booths so the fans that they do have, and future fans can get a look and listen to what they're doing. The whole thing makes for a one of a kind experience that you won't find in any other musical genre.

And I should say that Fan Fair isn't really a 'one of a kind' event limited only to Nashville. Like I said earlier, the whole thing got it start from a festival overseas, and I know in the past other states/cities have held events similar to Fan Fair (ok, so no fan club parties, but still the music, pictures and autograph signings), and now they even have country music cruises where fans can spend a whole week on the water with country artists (Grand Ole Opry Cruise, the innaugrual Country Music Cruise). And you also have Branson where most of the artists playing there will also do the same..put on a show, then come out and sign autographs. I have gotten many a meet & greet with Pam Tillis and Neal McCoy in Branson.