1. Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month May 2009 is user u2met86. Eddie, as his real name is, is living in New York and 22 years old. Eddie's experienced his first U2 gig as a 5-year old, certainly a reason to ask him some U2 questions.

    Every fan of the month has an interview with us, you can read our interview with u2met86 in this topic:


    Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
    My name is Eddie Quiñones. I'm 22 years old, a recent Yale University graduate, living at home with my parents in New York City and half-assedly looking for "real" work.

    I work part time as a counselor at an after-school program with children, 7-10 years old.

    I've also done some freelance writing at www.TammyCamp.com. Here's a piece on basic free Mac DVD audio rips, including my Rattle And Hum story:
    http://www.tammycamp.com/2009/05/08/dvd-audio-ripper-for-mac.html

    Your first U2 gig was something special, can you tell us anything you know about that day?

    Achtung Uniondale 1992-03-09:
    http://www.u2start.com/bootlegs/1992-03-09/Uniondale,%20New%20York%20-%20Nassau%20Coliseum/

    I was 5 and a half years old in Kindergarten. A family friend got 2 tickets for me because he promoted events at a famous New York City club and he knew I was a fanatic even then. On the way, my mom and I had to stop at the dentist for a quick follow-up appointment, and when he heard we were going to a concert he gave me a packet of earplugs, saying "here you should have these, it's gonna be loud."

    At the show, while the Pixies were opening, some strange A-hole wearing a bandana forcibly kissed my mom as he walked past the row where our seats were located.

    We left after the main set and missed the encore because I didn't know what the encore was or how it was built into every show. My mom said, "This is where the crowd claps and asks for another song" and asked if I wanted to stay or go. I got nervous and asked to go home.

    What is your favorite U2 show?
    Although there were 4 finalists for this question, I chose 1992-08-16 - Washington DC, "Calling The White House," because that show got me "U2started," so to speak.

    It was March 6rd, 2007 - 3rd year at university. I was searching YouTube for live versions of "Bad" and stumbled upon a version I had not seen before. The quality was excellent and Bono got picked up and spun around by a drunk fan. In the Info section there was a link and description for U2start.com so I ended up here.

    Once I learned how to register and download, I heard the rest of the show and loved all of it - Angel of Harlem w/ bongos, the acoustic Still Haven't Found, a rare SBS on ZooTV, an Ultra Violet that I prefer over Zoo Dublin, Shine Like Stars during WOWY, Desire, and the entire Achtung suite at the beginning.

    What does your U2 collection look like? What kind of stuff do you have and how is it organised?
    A neat stack of U2 albums on my bookshelf, live DVDs stacked next to it, iTunes Library organized by "Album By Year." A couple of Tour Books (ZooTV, Elevation, Vertigo) that I may eventually sell on eBay since those physical objects don't particularly represent much to me.

    What do you think of the new U2 album and it's reception in America?
    At first, Magnificent and Unknown Caller leapt out at me and I disliked the rest. When U2 played on Letterman I warmed up to Breathe. Then after about 15 complete listens, I came to love every track start to finish.

    As for its reception in America? I didn't really expect it to make a huge dent, honestly, because there's not much hit potential, and GOYB had a lukewarm reception.

    It's hard for any artist to be the public's darling for a long time. Every legendary artist has a few collisions with the mainstream in their lifetime. Contrary to popular assumption, this has less to do with how "objectively good" the latest album or single is and more to do with the trends of the time and how well the band's career arc fits in with culturally accepted archetypes.

    For instance, U2 had their "rise to the top," their "mega-stardom," their "ironic twist" where the fame gets to their head, and the 90s "fall from grace / massive hangover." Their "big comeback story" / re-ignited love affair with America started with Beautiful Day and pretty much ran out of steam by City Of Blinding Lights. I don't know the public expects after this (reunion greatest hits tours?).

    While I don't expect the mainstream to truly accept them again for a while (if ever again, at this point), I think no less of them and believe they are playing at their current potential.

    What do you think of U2's music on a composing level, 'musically'?
    My short answer is "I love it." I like the overall feel of their songs, even when the structure is very simple, as it often is.

    My personal favorites are the ones that loop 2 chords, usually I-IV, back and forth (ALL of Bad is like this, and short parts of Streets, The First Time, and When I Look At The World are like this, too).

    I gush over Larry's military-style drumming; I like how he plays with parallel hands focused on either the snare or a single tom, rarely with hands crossed like most traditional rock drummers play (Angel of Harlem and Silver & Gold are exceptions).

    I love Adam's usual BUMM-ba-da-bum-bum picking pattern, and I'm a big fan of Edge's late 80s tone (Stratocaster 4th pickup) and the 3/8 delay strumming pattern found in "Until The End Of The World" and in the chorus of the Elevation version of "The Fly."

    How does your U2 360 tour look like?
    I've committed is a mortal sin: I didn't buy tickets for the upcoming American leg. I'm broke and "trying to be responsible for now." I believe they'll return to America a second time this tour, and if they don't I'm not worried because I don't have too many memories of shows I've physically been to. I become more attached to the live DVDs and the great bootlegs instead, so I know I will have those.

    If you could enjoy dinner with three other people,living or dead, who would you choose and why?
    Bono - The first human being I ever encountered who opened my eyes to dreaming big in life, to moving masses of people emotionally, and to making a difference.

    Anthony Robbins - Most dynamic speaker I've ever heard in my life. Transformed my paradigm from just "drifting" along intuitively in life to taking responsibility, consciously making decisions & setting goals. Helped me understand how the mind works in a practical way, and he made me realize that no matter what situation we're ever in, we can feel totally fulfilled by choice.

    He's also helped a ton of people. Helps people overcome emotional effects of tremendously painful experiences like rape, suicide contemplation, depression, learned helplessness. Has helped the homeless, prisoners, children in the middle east, etc. He's coached top pro athletes & various world leaders in government. And he started out poor with no university education.

    Eben Pagan - Another brilliant "self-help" genius. Taught me that "failure" and "problems" are 2 concepts that do not objectively exist in the world, but were invented by human beings. Started out dirt poor with no formal education but rose to prominence as an Internet entrepreneur building a successful company called "Double Your Dating."

    What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
    I sing and play rhythm guitar. During secondary school and university I played both solo and in a band, and that was the main activity I was "known for" so to speak. I completed a few original songs and played a ton of cover songs.

    My original song "Walking" can be downloaded here:
    http://rapidshare.com/files/239482825/Walking__mp3_.mp3

    The first gig I ever played in public, I opened for Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta back then) on January 9, 2004 at Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in NYC. We did theater together in high school, and she created & hosted an Open Mic night, back when she was writing "normal" jazzy pop ballads on piano.

    (By the way, Lady Gaga is classically trained in voice and piano, not a lot of people know that. But that didn't get her signed to a major label, so she evolved her style several times as needed to advancer her career.)

    I'm into self-help / business material: Tony Robbins & Eben Pagan mentioned above, as well as Brian Tracy & other business / marketing authors like Robert Kiyosaki, Dan S Kennedy, Joe Polish & Tim Ferriss.

    I love American grunge, dance, and pop music from the 1990s.

    I love old school video games, SNES & Sega Genesis (Street Fighter 2, The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past, and Super Mario World are my 3 favorites).

    I also enjoy playing sports, especially basketball, volleyball, and baseball.

    What do you think of Bono's charity works?
    I'm 100% supportive of it.

    U2 opened my eyes to embracing the possibility of actually helping people around the world who desperately need it, instead of being cynically annoyed by it like most "regular people" in my life.

    I understand how so many middle class folk in the first world can be cynical and get angry at some rich, pompous rock star who constantly bugs them to spend their hard-earned cash on poor people in Africa, because it can be a struggle just to get by, to keep a job and stuff.

    But once I understood just how poor 2/3 of the planet is, and how as little as $20 can give an actual human being access to clean drinking water for 20 years, or how a few US dollars for mosquito nets can save lives from the threat of malaria, my perspective changed transformed.

    People who claim that Bono just wants more fame and credit obviously must not realize how invasive and hollow fame must be. After a single year in the spotlight, let alone 30 years as the most famous man on earth, his craving for public recognition was over-satiated.

    All it takes is reading one interview to find out that he believes God is going to judge him in eternity for how he helps or neglects those in need. And that kind of motivation will light a fire under your ass.

    Plus, he's not the only one. All rich entertainers and billionaire entrepreneurs (Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett) take up massive-scale philanthropy at some point because they realize that with that level of wealth comes the responsibility to do some structural good for the many who desperately need it. And that mindset is affecting the culture at large in a positive way.

    Thanks for this interview u2met86!

    Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it
  2. Bloody fantastic Eddie

  3. Nice interview, well done
  4. Nice one Eddie 5 years old and already a fanatic...how cool
  5. Great, fascinating read Eddie. I love this part:

    Originally posted by Remy:

    U2 opened my eyes to embracing the possibility of actually helping people around the world who desperately need it, instead of being cynically annoyed by it like most "regular people" in my life.

    I understand how so many middle class folk in the first world can be cynical and get angry at some rich, pompous rock star who constantly bugs them to spend their hard-earned cash on poor people in Africa, because it can be a struggle just to get by, to keep a job and stuff.

    But once I understood just how poor 2/3 of the planet is, and how as little as $20 can give an actual human being access to clean drinking water for 20 years, or how a few US dollars for mosquito nets can save lives from the threat of malaria, my perspective changed transformed.

    People who claim that Bono just wants more fame and credit obviously must not realize how invasive and hollow fame must be. After a single year in the spotlight, let alone 30 years as the most famous man on earth, his craving for public recognition was over-satiated.

    All it takes is reading one interview to find out that he believes God is going to judge him in eternity for how he helps or neglects those in need. And that kind of motivation will light a fire under your ass.



    Well-said.
    Are you still going to continue playing music in the future?


  6. I was going to write the same *g*.

    Nice interview....and it always amazes me how ppl can talk about a song's structure with the guitars and lines etc. - Maybe I could, too, if I learned to play an instrument.
  7. Such great interview, Eddie... Highly deserved, mate. Go on
  8. Every month I'm opening this topic over and over again hoping that I'll see interview with myself and still no success.

    Great interview BTW even though I heard for this member for the first time. Shame on me.
  9. Originally posted by Yogi:Every month I'm opening this topic over and over again hoping that I'll see interview with myself and still no success.

    Great interview BTW even though I heard for this member for the first time. Shame on me.


    So you think someone will interview you without you being aware of that?
  10. Great stuff Eddie, and an awesome insight into a long-time member.