Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
My full name is Andrew Bruce Clark, (i get the Jackson 5 jokes all the time), im 19 years old and living in Adelaide with my mum, dad, sister and dog. I've just finished my first year at Uni, where i'm studying a degree in Civil and Structural Engineering, its fairly hard but the end result should be worth it. Teaching is another career i'm interested in, i'd want to teach senior students maths, chemistry or physics since they were my favourite subjects and seniors wouldnt dik around like junior kids. Apart from Uni i've got a part time job at Officeworks which ive had for about a year now (for those who dunt know, we are basically like a K Mart but we sell stuff like office furniture, stationary, PCs, printers, etc,etc) I work in the technology section which sells the pcs, printers, software, etc. It's a really cool place to work and all the staff there are great, people think i'm lying when i say i love work, but i actually do love it. When it comes to me and U2 i am definatley an obsessed fan, but who isnt?, before U2 i wasnt really into music but thats all changed now, i wouldnt be able to live without it. I don't really have any religious beliefs, all of my values/ principles have come from either my parents or life experience. I dun't take anything too seriously and like to have fun.
Did you ever have a special U2 experience like a live concert? Can you tell us something about it?
I've only been to one U2 concert it was the Adelaide show of the Vertigo tour, and it was by far the best day of my life to date. The whole day was an experience i will never forget. I went with my mum and a mate, and we stood about 2 metres away from the b-stage that came out from the main stage, so we got to see the boys right up close when they would walk by. The set up was mindblowing, with the massive screen at the back of the stage and the light show. But the highlight of the night for me was during one song, Edge stopped right infront of where we were standing and continued playing guitar for a while. We all went nuts, i was just starring at him as he played, then for a second or 2 he made eye contact with me, that moment was the highlight for me and the closest ive been to one the the band members. Next time they tour Aus i wana see them in more cities cuz they r so AMAZING live.
Do you read U2 books? What is your favorite, and why?
U2 books are the only books i read, generally i dunt like reading. I have U2 by U2, which i gave up on after a few hundred pages. But my favourite book would be one i got a few days ago for christmas, its called "U2: the stories behind every song" and its exactly that. I've only read up on a few songs but its very interesting and informative, i highly recommend it. Before getting the book i had no idea what Lemon was about, but its a song about Bono's mother. He was shown an old home video of his mum and dad, and in it she was wearing lemon.
Where do you most prefer to listen to U2?
In the car when i'm all by myself, i can have it as loud as i want and sing along with the songs, my voice is freindly to other people's ears. Just recently i put sum U2 songs on a pc at work and played em through sum speakers so that the whole store could hear the songs, it was pretty cool seeing some customers sing along to the songs.
What is your favorite U2 song to play on guitar?
I love playing any U2 song, once u get it right it feels soo rewarding and u never hear that song the same way again when u listen to it. Beautiful Day and Vertigo are good to play cuz everyone knows them so u always get a reaction from the people ur playing to. But when i'm playing by myself i love to play the live version of Kite like the boys did in Aus, the extended solo is nuts. The Fly, Mysterious Ways, One, Elevation, SYCMIOYO, Pride and Sunday Bloody Sunday r sum of my others favourites to play. I gona start uploading sum covers on youtube soon, just need to find a good camera.
When you're forced to leave to a deserted island and you can take only one U2 album with you, which would it be?
I rekon i'd have to take Achtung Baby just because i love every song on it from start to finish and it is insanely good. All That You Can't Leave Behind would be more fitting though since im leaving for an island, and its songs are a bit more uplifting the the AB songs, which would be good since im about to be all by myself for a long time. If Tom Hanks had of had ATYCLB to listen to during Castaway he wouldn't have needed Wilson
. So I'll change my mind and go with ATYCLB, its still an excellent album which i rate just behind AB. One other thing, does this island im going to even have electricity and a CD player???? or do i have to take my own stereo and a few hundred D size batteries to keep it going?What is your favorite U2 videoclip, and why?
I really like the film clip to All I Want is You its a great song and it has a really good story to it, with the small man liking the lady who is already in a relationship, and how he buys her a ring..... then he climbs the ladder and falls, so u think he's dead cuz they r showing a funeral, but then he apppears at the end and throws the ring into the grave, so i assume the lady he likes is the one who died (can someone confirm this cuz it confuses me). Anyway its a great clip, i also like the version of Stuck in a Moment which is set like a NFL game where Paul Hewson keeps missing the goal.
From a student of structural engineering's point of view, what do you think of U2's most challenging stages like ZooTV or U2360? Do you look at it from another perspective as other fans?
When i first saw the ZooTv/360 stage i think i would have been amazed just like any other fan would be, but then i started looking at it like a structural engineer would, looking at the joints, thinking of the different forces on each member and how its transferred into the ground, boring i know, but the stage really is a great structure. I haven't been able to see it in person yet but hopefully that changes in 2010. Hopefully i'll have my Degree in 3 years time, just when U2 are looking to design a new stage HINT HINT
.How did you hear about U2start?
Late 2008 i downloaded this torrent of random live U2 shows and one of the shows was from Melbourne 18-11-2006, this concert brought back so many memories of the Adelaide gig i'd been at 2 days earlier and made me determined to somehow find a recording of U2 live from Adelaide, instead of drooling over the crappy Youtube clips like i had been for the past 2 years . So i did a bit of googling and found what i was looking for on this site, i couldnt believe it, i signed up as a member and downloaded the bootleg straight away, (it took a while cuz of the slow net i had back then), when it was finally done i treid to play it but it came up with sum message saying i needed sum winrar program to extract the file, i was thinking 'oh shit its not gona work', i got back on this site and had never been so happy so see a FAQ page in my life
and the Adelaide bootleg was played continuously unitl i finshed my U2 Ultimate Live CD.What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
Away from U2 i am still really into music, i play guitar and have just started playing drums too, they r fooking hard things to play. Muse would probably be my 2nd favourite band after U2, followed by KOL, Coldplay, Pearl Jam, INXS, The Killers.
I am really into sport, i love my AFL, football, tennis, cricket and golf...GO U SPURSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Apart from music and sport i like hanging out with my mates, watching movies, playing ps3( if u got a ps3 add me) and laughing
Thanks for this interview Andrew_C!
Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
hopefuly its U2's decade.