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Re: Letters to musicians

junodog4 — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 10:37:22 GMT

Author: junodog4

Posted: 07/25/2012 14:37

One thought I had - Are you writing them for your own purposes, or do you expect a reply? To me, these are two separate goals.

Another thought - some artists that you respect for their music might not be the most engaging or courteous letter writers in the world. It ties to the 'who would you like to have a beer with?' discussion. Those who are fans of Syd Barrett - could you imagine having a beer with him back then? It would be interesting...perhaps... or he could fail to show up, be completely random, or completely disengaged. I'd argue that while Vanilla Ice is a bit of a joke, he'd probably be a good laugh over a beer. A great artist does not necessarily equate with a great conversationalist. Likewise, a great artist might not reply with a great letter.

This sounds really interesting. I'm curious to hear how it works out. I say go for it.

Re: Letters to musicians

Charicature — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 06:21:11 GMT

Author: Charicature

Posted: 07/25/2012 10:21

Jhereko wrote:

Here's an example of a telegram I wrote to Billy Joe Armstrong:

Quote:

Dear BJA [STOP]
PLEASE STOP [STOP]
Sincerely Jhereko[STOP]

Telegram jokes still funny, since 1839

Was this before or after Western Union stopped its telegram service about 5 years ago, thus permanently ending the telegram industry? 😉

Re: Letters to musicians

Facetious — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 00:27:02 GMT

Author: Facetious

Posted: 07/25/2012 04:27

I chatted with Solex once on Facebook. Other than that, I don't think I've talked to any musician.

Sometimes these artists' official websites have info on how to contact them, either by letters or online. You could give it a go, and see if they respond.

Re: Letters to musicians

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:29:04 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/24/2012 22:29

Here's an example of a telegram I wrote to Billy Joe Armstrong:

Quote:

Dear BJA [STOP]
PLEASE STOP [STOP]
Sincerely Jhereko[STOP]

Telegram jokes still funny, since 1839

Re: Letters to musicians

Romanelli — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:26:29 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 07/24/2012 22:26

In most cases, unless you are dealing with an asshole, the musicians I know with any kind of fame at all just want to be treated like everyone else. I would suggest that if you do write, don't ask for anything in return. Don't ask for a reply, or a picture, or an autograph. And don't sound desperate...don't gush all over them. Gushing is for 12 year old girls with crushes on anyone in skinny jeans who looks at the camera.

If you DO get a response from someone having done it that way, it will likely be more out of appreciation that you took the time to say, "hey...your music moves me" rather than "you rock...send me your guitar and let me do you on the bus. We need to hang when you come to my town!".

But really...be respectful and low key, and don't ask for anything in return.

Re: Letters to musicians

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:22:08 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/24/2012 22:22

Great responses so far 😄 The idea is becomming more and more tempting. I don' think any of them are on a Paul McCartney level but I suppose it is what they feeling at the time they are getting the letter and how they felt about the content.

Which brings me onto... would there be any do's and don't's to this? Anything we haven't thought of so far?

Re: Letters to musicians

musicmanstu — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:11:46 GMT

Author: musicmanstu

Posted: 07/24/2012 22:11

paladisiac wrote:

as far as i can remember, i've only tried once to contact an artist, and my email was promptly replied to. That was Greg Gillis of Girl Talk. Good luck seeing a reply from paul mccartney. AKA, keep expectations realistic!

Re: Letters to musicians

GeevyDallas — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:30:08 GMT

Author: GeevyDallas

Posted: 07/24/2012 21:30

You're a Cribs fan I do believe,Ryan Jarman replies to an awful lot of tweets,you'll probably have success doing it that way.I have no idea about the letters part though.

Re: Letters to musicians

paladisiac — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:26:51 GMT

Author: paladisiac

Posted: 07/24/2012 21:26

as far as i can remember, i've only tried once to contact an artist, and my email was promptly replied to. That was Greg Gillis of Girl Talk. Good luck seeing a reply from paul mccartney. AKA, keep expectations realistic!

Re: Letters to musicians

CellarDoor — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:12:58 GMT

Author: CellarDoor

Posted: 07/24/2012 21:12

Ian Curtis is dead. DEAD !

Re: Letters to musicians

musicmanstu — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:58:41 GMT

Author: musicmanstu

Posted: 07/24/2012 20:58

It depends on the artist/person you are contacting. I will say this...You may end up being really disappointed if one of your favorite artists doesn't take the time to respond. That would be a letdown. Remember, these people have seen all sorts of behavior from their fans, and it all depends on their mood what their response will be. I've been very lucky...my favorite band Judas Priest was very cool to me when I met them backstage in Dallas. But give it a shot...why not.

Re: Letters to musicians

junodog4 — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:50:49 GMT

Author: junodog4

Posted: 07/24/2012 20:50

http://boingboing.net/2010/03/10/little-billys-letter.html

Letters to musicians

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:19:09 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/24/2012 20:19

So I have been thinking about sending letters to musicians lately. The ones on my chart mostly and I'll write about positives things and favorite songs etc. These letters would be going to my favorite artists basically.

Now I haven't done my research (or begun at all as a matter of fact) so is there anything I should I expect? Looking at my top 100 chart, do they look like a bunch of people who might reply back? I'm not demanding a response although what chances do I have of getting any?

Being a highly sentimental person who finds second hand antiques fasinating, finds awe when seeing in person a letter which was wrote in a time like the 1800's, sees mountains and thinks how they have been the same when people from past ages saw them, etc, doing this would really mean a lot to me. To know that something I have written has reached these people who wrote the music I listened to would be great. To actually get to hold something that they themselves touched would be so special to me. It means they saw what I had done and then replied. Really. What more could I want from them?

So how should I go about this? Should I go about it? What chances do I have of it reaching them?

Should I send an empty letter with return address or would that come across too demanding?

Would they appreciate any gifts?

Would you ever do anything like this?