- Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
Hey everyone, my name is Andrew, I'm a 19 year old Science and Technology student at James Madison University. I am currently out of a job at this moment, so I am living the American dream as a broke college student
I'm originally from a small town in Northern Virginia, where I still go home to visit my Mom, Dad, 16 year old brother and my Dog, Duke (named after my school's mascot).- How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
I like to think it was the day the Vertigo Tour DVD in Chicago came out in November, but I'm not sure if it was the exact date. Anyway, I was sitting in my living room at home 8 years ago and my dad came home with that DVD and popped it into my basements DVD player with the surround sound on blast. Next thing I know, the introduction to CoBL was playing full blast and I went down to watch with him. I ended up watching the entire show, and became a huge U2 fan that day. I remember the songs that most stuck out to me were New Years Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday at the time, and the Red Rocks versions of those songs became my first songs I ever purchased on iTunes (of 1000s). I then went on to buy the rest of the albums my Dad did not have from living in the late 80s-90s and share the collection with him downstairs in the same basement I became a fan.
- In your opinion, what has been U2's defining moment and why?
In terms of defining moments, probably the ZooTV Sydney show, where they finally hashed out all of the bad blood at the time and stuck together after the mishap the night before. But in terms of making it as a rock and roll band, I think the Rattle and Hum documentary helped cement them in to the history books, especially after the success of the Joshua Tree.
- Which member of the band would you most like to share a pint with?
Man, do I have to pick just one? If so I'd guess I'd have one with Edge. The man is truly a guitar legend, and I could probably have more of a place in the conversation then I would with Bono
- You play some instruments. Can you tell us one song (U2 or not) that you wish you had written? And the song you enjoy playing the most?
I do play guitar when I get bored or just become in the mood to play. I am not that good, I know basic chords, so I always go and try and have some fun and play songs that are simpler rather than complex. My brother is the real guitarist in the family, so my job is to learn some rhythms of the songs he likes and play with him. Right now, I'm still trying to master In A Little While (the rift, not the chords), but I believe my favorite U2 song to play is Wild Honey, the first song I ever learned to play on guitar. If I could have written one U2 song, it would have been Ultraviolet, just because it is a song about losing everything yet still wanting to be faithful to the one you love and holding on, something I do often. Other songs by other artists that I enjoy playing the most right now are My Winding Wheel by Ryan Adams, Amsterdam by Coldplay, and 1930 by The Gaslight Anthem.
- Which U2 song do you feel the most "attached" to, or means the most for you?
This ones a tough one cause I'm attached to a lot of them, but probably Bad. "If I could, you know I would, if I could I would let it go..." that quote probably sticks out to me more than any other quote in any other U2 songs, just because I always have trouble with walking away and letting things (especially relationships with people I care about) disappear.
- What is your favorite U2 bootleg, and why? Do you often listen to bootlegs?
I think it is one of the ones not really talked about much as being a great bootleg, but it is certainly my favorite, and that is the 12-05-05 show, the last of the Boston shows on the Vertigo tour. Being that my fandom started on the Vertigo tour, it is kinda natural that I list it as my favorite tour. This show, being the last of 7 nights in the city for the tour was special, and the band played some songs out of the back of the catalog they hadn't been playing much the rest of the tour such as Crumbs from Your Table (another favorite of mine), Until the End of the World to open the encore, as well as Instant Karma and Gloria. The added Christmas snippets in Beautiful Day are beautiful, and I was a huge fan of this version of Bullet.
- You're an active user of social networks such as Twitter. Do you think U2 could use them in order to connect a little more with their fanbase?
Actually, no. I feel like it would just disappoint fans, seeing that the day was day 659 in the studio would upset a lot of people, and as we are all impatient for the new album, I think we would be losing our minds even more if everyday we went to twitter and saw that the band was saying they were "close" to being done. They would never say how close close would be.
If anything, there should be one of those "Is the U2 Album done yet?" twitters that just tweet a simple "no" everyday
. also, if any of you would like to follow me on twitter, my username is @iAMFunk21.- How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
I feel like they are different in the fact that they have been around a whole lot longer than most of them (Bruce being the exception). If you look at the other bands I enjoy (Coldplay, The Killers, Muse, The Gaslight Anthem), they have only been together for about 10-15 years, give or take. I'm looking forward to seeing if these bands can take a mantle in the music industry and become just as big as U2 is/was worldwide later on in their careers, but with the decline of the Rock music industry, I don't know if it will happen.
- What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
I am an avid American sports fan, and love the fact that we are in American football season. While being a Washington Redskins fan is a tough life (especially this year), I still love them dearly and will root for them probably until the day I die. I attend many college sports functions yearly as well, and try to be an active member around my campus. I would love to start to travel a bit, and branch out and see the world. Two of my life goals are to attend not only a show of either U2 or one of my other favorite bands over in Europe, but also to attend Glastonbury. I would love to see another year with Coldplay-U2-and hell, maybe I'd stick around for Beyonce too.
Thanks for being my get-away to talk to other U2 fans the past few years, and I look forward to many more years to come. Now I'm off to study for some shitty American music exam that I am being forced by University to take
-
Thanks for this interview jmushouse!
Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
Poor me. Sorry! haha