Category: Superfan Etiquette -What we learned from Curt Smith
Being “this close” to a band as big as Tears for Fears requires some common sense and rules. We would love to believe we’re all past the hair pulling, clothes tearing stage or worse “the screaaaam” when we see them. But there’s always that one that can get the whole group in trouble. We want the band and their families to feel comfortable with us. Let’s be mindful of everything we do and say. You represent the band as a fan. Make them proud to know you.
Want to give a shout out to all of the fans that travelled to the shows this past weekend. Jen, KPC, Stephen, Sad, Dave, David, the list goes on. In particular, we had fans from Atlanta and New York that made the journey. Stephen documented his travel on Instagram. His primary reason for heading to Ontario was for the band and he ended up making a mini-holiday out of the trip. This post is dedicated to each of these great people who went the extra mile literally.
Well, Tears for Fears in Canada came and went so fast. These videos and photos were shared with us and brought to our attention aligning our joint efforts to highlight fans in Canada, many of whom repeated their experience from last year. As Sad mentioned, we always aim to support this band. We addressed concerns about this leg of the tour below. For now, enjoy these shares from both shows.
Speaking of experiences, we had some complaints this time around. In fact, we’ve had some unhappy travellers in the past few shows and this is due to encounters with some in the audience who may not be so loyal or understand our dedication to the band. We can’t stress enough how important it is for us to have a fan section so we can stand up and sing along without people around us telling us to sit down. Throwing things at us, hitting us and other behaviour toward Tears for Fears fans because we won’t sit down is not acceptable. Snoozing through a show is also rude. If you were hurt during a show, email us. We have a lawyer, security and have no problems pressing charges quietly. Everything is in place to do so. A music holiday shouldn’t be a horror show and those that find these measures extreme should be mindful of karma. We’ve been following this band for years and have never seen or heard of people being assaulted until late 2014.
One of the reasons we have this team and try to keep in touch with everyone is make sure all who are making such an effort to take time out of their busy schedules actually get decent tickets and can sit together. Many travel fans (aka anyone that travels to see the band outside their home state or even 3 hours down the road) could be spending that time making money or being with their families but instead are spending a chunk of change to go see Tears for fears. However, the passion runs deep and people want to pay their respects to the band that made us cry so to speak. Many take their whole families, this is their summer holiday or in the case of the reschedule, an impromptu trip. Many went with their spouses and made the show a date night (i.e. famous musician Ted Yoder). We deserve the right to stand and enjoy a show without being heckled or abused. Due to the horrible behaviour we encountered last year, some sat this tour out and have no intention of travelling again unless we can be close to the band each and every time. No more sitting in balconies or random out of the way places. That’s over.
We don’t expect to meet the band nor do we beg for those things to happen (at least not all of us). The times that it has happened have been miraculous and we’re grateful for the many times we’ve experienced that blessing. Still, there are hundreds of us and they can’t meet us all. This is a concert, not a fan conference. But we do feel that fans who travel deserve some decent respect. That isn’t always happening. The only way to ensure that is with a fan club section at a show or an organised VIP of which isn’t “officially” available. So we work extra hard to literally “mine” tickets, sometimes paying horrible prices that are 5x as much as market rate just to get everyone together.
We’ve managed to get decent seats at most shows so far …except Canada. We’ve never been able to really get great seats for everyone due to the fact that these are casino shows for the most part. We have no control over who gets on the front row. The casino often reserves those types of premium seats for their casino winners, etc. Or premium seats get “gifted” or rewarded to other people who are rarely hardcore fans. In the case of Friday’s show, two people in those seats fell asleep…and of course Good Man Curt noticed it…and called them out on it. We support his decision to do so.
Those seats could have gone to any one of the people who drove the long distance to see them or maybe another local fan who has waited years for these concerts. Not sure who those people were that slept. Maybe they were just really tired and didn’t feel well? Hope they are okay but in future we trust they’ll have the kindness to leave and hand over their tickets to someone behind them instead of sleeping through a band’s show. It’s just as bad as people who go to the front row and just sit there. Andye saw that happen at Duran Duran/Nile Rogers Chic too…it’s very disrespectful and a slap in the face to tons of fans who, again, went the extra mile.
Of all the good things that did happen, this tweet from Curt was one of them. He’s done it before (solo show Spring 2011). So Heaven be the faith that moves mountains allowing us to support this band in our merry travel fan way.
Cheers! Be safe, stand your ground. You paid for it!
-TFF Travel Fans
One of the many things that stood out were the number of people at the event who tweeted and repeated “I had no idea they sang that song!” iHeart put a face to our legendary Rock gods for those who’ve merely been “listening” without devotion. People all over the world were watching online, listening via the iHeart app (sponsored by Tmobile and Twix) and the awestruck faces were priceless as people made the connection. Those folks were outnumbered by the numerous hardcore fans singing with passion and a sway in their step. The crowd was very mixed in age. Seemed to feature a myriad of generations from older teens to grown-ups getting into the groove. They may not have been standing for all of the stars that weekend but people stood up for Tears for Fears and they showed their respect for a few more minutes after the set was over. THAT was epic!
ROCS taking out ear tech…crowd is screaming and applauding…
There is a lot of material from that night including Instagram clips of fans recording the songs to mark the majestic fact that they witnessed it in person as well as YouTube clips that captured the evening. We were told the show will rebroadcast on CW next month. You’ll get to see all of the featured stars and of course experience the magic that is Tears for Fears. It was an excellent set! Huge salute to the fans and audience that stood up and honoured our favourite band of all time.
And who can forget the Billboard interview that followed?!! HA!!! What did the Good Sir say? Watch and hold on to your big chair, don’t have a drink because it’s a chocking hazard.
Be sure to say thanks to all these great contributors! We’ve connected with quite a few. More to come! We’re on standby for fans who have travel info questions. You can email us on Facebook. We’ve had quite a few inquiries about age requirements for shows and meeting up. It looks like most people are with their spouses and families so we won’t hassle everyone to gather for group photos. We’ll plan something when we’re not so rushed.
-TFF Travel Fan Team
Well, that was one heck of a good time this past weekend. Huge thanks to all the travel fans, online party peeps and loyal interactive loves of the band who watched online and tweeted about it. Another grand thanks to all who posted videos and pictures. Hope everyone was able to access the video and found the travel fan notes useful. We had a good time all around. You can see pre-show sound check and other clips via Tears for Fears Instagram.
One of many neat shares from the band over the weekend…
Please enjoy these videos from Friday’s show at the gorgeous Silver Legacy Casino in Reno. Lots of funny and cute things happened between ROCS during this show. Toward the end of the (during Shout) Roland runs underneath Curt to the other side of the stage. It may not be a big deal to others but it was another fine example of how cute they are. Speaking of cute, the Reno front row crew on Shout were awesome! Listen to them having a blast during Shout. We’re giving them the superfan MVP for this show!
Break It Down Again
Mad World
Head Over Heels (be sure to leave her a thank you…very sweet set of fans)
*Had planned to combine both the Reno and Las Vegas show material but Las Vegas’ was so over the top, despite being a standard 5-song festival set, it really needs its own post. Stay tuned for those clips and feel free to share the link to the blog post on your personal pages and with other fans. If you decide to use the photos from any of our Travel Fan publications be sure to give credit out of respect to those who have travelled and spent their hard earned cash to provide and share their experience with everyone.
Most of you who are going to this show have your tickets already. Several more have confirmed they are going as well. So here are some extra details/a follow up from an earlier tweet we made about this show. This concert is to take place just shy of the Camp Bestival concert. While CB will offer a festive fun family atmosphere where it’s okay to get a little dirty, Newmarket Racecourses’ event is bursting with elegance…dress code and all. There are a ton of show packages much like CB. They boast individual and multiple ticket offerings such as:
-The Boys Party Package: Admission, Tote Voucher, Food & Drink voucher and 1 racecard
-The Girls Party Package: This one includes a bottle of champagne
-Newmarket Dining Packages: Each includes very nice dining
-Earlybird style packages: Offers tote voucher and more *Keep in mind one of our dear fellow travel fans has a premium seat available that you can buy directly from her. She’s reliable and picky about her seats so this is a good deal. Let us know if you want it. We’ll get you in contact with her immediately.
Official Flyer for the Newmarket Nights featuring Tears for Fears
Dress Code:
Treat it like an upscale wedding. No tennis shoes, athletic team jerseys or skimpy stuff. Seriously, this is a formal event and should be respected as such. So, invest in a nice pair of shoes, a really great shirt and snazzy trousers. Those from the Loli/JFashion community going to the show, you need not worry at all. Just open your outstanding Victorian closet and style away. You’ll be the talk of the show. If you need more info on what is expected, just send us a note and we’ll send you pictures. This is an incredible opportunity to have a lot of fun with fashion. *Note that fancy dress is not allowed within the Premiere Enclosure. Call and ask about that… in fact, if you’re worried about your appearance as it relates to your seating dial 01638 675500 (option 4) to get the official coordinate/clothing rundown.
Logistics:
Again, we suggest British Airways as the preferred air carrier. Virgin Air is our second suggestion as well as Korean Air if you can get a flight from your area. No, it’s not the cheapest option from the states but this is a long flight so you might as well fly in style with comfortable amenities.
Ground Transportation: Get a taxi from the airport. Download the local apps (e.g. gett.com) and schedule it so you’re not hanging around trying to figure out what to do.
Hotels: Stay on site (unless the Orzabal Family is having a slumber party 🙂 #ThatllBeTheDay #AndIfYouBelieveThat)
-The Jockey Club Rooms: jockeyclubrooms.co.uk (call for pricing)
-Bedford Lodge Hotel: bedfordlodgehotelmobile.co.uk (mobile friendly link)
*prices for BLH range from $400 USD to $600 USD per night or so depending on the type of room you get. It’s worth it given the amenities and proximity to the venue. It’s like staying at an English resort. If you’re going to Camp Bestival, you might want to find a room partner to decrease the cost of the “Newmarket Show stay.” USD only goes so far in the UK and prices can escalate into the thousands pretty quick if you’re not sharing travel.
Seeing TFF Live is an Experience
Getting to the Venue:
You can pre-order your ground transportation package. Note that on the concert night a train will pick everyone up at 4:15pm local time and return you 30 mins after the concert ends. Now…before you consider that, think of what you plan to do before and after the show. A lot of times fans (and sometimes the band) end up seeing each other before the show. As we know from photos and personal experience, you never know what opportunities will come about. Even if nothing is scheduled you want to be “available” for surprises so we suggest you arrange a car service or taxi from the venue to and from your hotel. The meeting point for your taxi is just outside Premier Entrance 1 when they pick you up after the show. Order your taxi in advance. Here are a few suggestions:
Food: You will not starve. There’s plenty of food at the hotel plus tons at the venue. Remember the show packages through the venue will have lots of food options. Again, another awesome opportunity to have some really rich, flavourful fare. #EnglishFoodies
Love this silhouette… rock on Good Sir… heck yes! #RolandAndCurtForever #TearsForFearsForLife
ROCS at Capitol Theatre by Lax
Meetups and Meet & Greets: We’re still gathering info on who is going to be there. If we have enough people to do a nice group photo in cool race day hats then it shall be. *We WILL NOT ask Roland or Curt (or Jamie, Charlton and other band members and road crew) to let us hang out pre or post show. All band interactions remain at their discretion. Sorry. We know some of you are travelling a very long way and spent a ton of money to make this happen but we do not manage meetings without unprompted permission from the rock royals themselves.
If you have any questions we’re available around the clock. Find us on Twitter, Google+, Facebook or leave a message for us via the blog.
*Info on Bunbury, the 3 day music festival in Ohio, is coming up…
This is dedicated to Ryan, our newest Travel Fan Team member. Ryan is based out of KCMO and helped us find all of the things we needed to make memories that will last a lifetime!
UptownTheatre
Writing these show re-caps never gets any easier because each show and each year outshine the previous ones. We go to these concerts more for healing than entertainment. Tears for Fears are a theraputic oasis for the soul. For the past week I’ve been relaying others’ photos and experiences at Tears for Fears extravaganzas. Today I’ll share mine. One of the shows I attended took place in Kansas City, Missouri. Up until I actually landed in KCMO I was referring to it as just Kansas. Weeks and months prior I had conversations via phone with Carolyn, the Travel Fan Team rep in the area, and she corrected me saying “Missouri…Andye, it’s Missouri.” I replied, “Ooops, sorry. I won’t do it again.” Then I said “Kansas…” again. She, again, corrected me and so did every person from the driver that picked me up to Carolyn’s travel pal, Ryan who showed us around the city. Later, Curt called it Kansas with clear intention of meaning “KCMO.” He later made it clear to everyone that he did indeed mean Missouri. So, lesson learned, when referring to Kansas City, you better include the state or risk being corrected (politely mind you – e.g. soft whispers in your ear) by the sweet gentle folks that live here. And gentle is an understatement…the people there are unbelievably kind and caring!
Why Kansas?
Kansas City, Missouri was named as one of the coolest cities in America…and it is! There’s a lot to do there. They have an incredible Plaza downtown that rivals the midtowns of several major cities in North America. The shoppes and prices are more than reasonable. The food is delicious and restaurants stay open pretty late, we even found a few at 4:45am in the morning on a Sunday night/Monday morning…crazy hours and awesome at the same time!
This was the city in which several decided to see a show together. One of our members is a police officer and took it upon himself to escort us to KMO as well as Tulsa, Oklahoma. We spent 4 long days together and bonded like you would never believe. None of us had really spent THAT much time with each other previously unless you count the times we were having cold ones with Captian Julian and a few band members, road crew, etc. post show at Sunset Station in Hendersonville Nevada, Thackerville’s Winstar Casino in Oklahoma, and the list goes on. Despite our limited interactions in person, we actually clicked FAST! Everyone, especially Bobby and his son Roland (yeah, he named him after Mr. Orzabal and was one the highlights of the trip) did whatever was necessary to make the midwest shows ultra fantastic and comfortable for fellow fans around them.
Gotta represent…Drummer Genius Jamie avaiators and Orzabal check plaid…
Travel Fan Fun
10am in the morning (yeah, we got about 6 hours of sleep), Carolyn and I are downstairs ready to roll and chat with whomever walked in the door of the hotel. And we did. We met all sorts of people and had numerous conversations. I should mention that the guy at the front desk saw my TFF tshirt when I checked in and just beamed as if he knew something. My goodness, were we staying in the same hotel? Then we all headed out to the Plaza where we got Bobby ready for the shows at one of the neat shoppes. I also grabbed a pair of Hello Kitty socks which had *anchors on them. The whole day we kept finding little signs of TFF that wouldn’t normally be present except during a tour. There were lots of symbolic things that happened or either we were hypervigilant. All of our adventures were broadcast via Persicope. Some have been archived on YouTube for later viewing. Thanks to all who joined in the live broadcast, we had 65+ viewers on some emissions. If you missed it, you can find them on YouTube…should be about 7 of the 12. Enjoy!
The Show
After visiting the venue earlier and making sure we knew where to park (coincidentally chatting with staff etc. wink wink) we went back to the hotel, changed quickly and rushed back to the venue. The parking lot, which had been completely empty 90 minutes prior was now completely filled with only one space open facing the backstage door. We took it! We sat in the car as it drizzled and watched crew working and doing last minute things while fans lined up the sidewalk, shifting around the local radio station’s live broadcast booth. Just like L.A. there was a guy on the corner beating a plastic bucket with a pair of drumsticks. Others were seeking tickets…and we were one of those people as we had just enough for the Travel Fans and not our newest inductee, Roland. A kind man handed over a ticket to him 20 minutes before showtime for free!! Whomever you are, HUGE THANKS!
Shared by a fan (someone send us her name) w/the Good Sir – the effects in the theatre were beautiful!
The Uptown Theatre is a gorgeous venue that looks a little bit like the Fox Theatre in Atlanta with its intricate architecture. It’s hard to tell if you’re in a cathedral or a music hall. I’d happily go to more shows at this place. All of the seats are pretty good. There’s space so you’re not really bumping up against your neighbour and that’s crucial at TFF shows because just about everybody is dancing. As mentioned I was in my little tiara representing TFF’s Rock Royals title that many of us (and a couple of music industry peeps) have placed upon them and unexpectedly received so many compliments. In ATL where I spend most of my time, tiaras are not uncommon. I was shocked people even paid attention. I used that opportunity to make new friends and get email addresses so we can exchange photos, etc. Then I got seated as I was too excited to stand around. I just wanted to get to the front where we were close enough (6 rows back) to the stage that the band could see us and interact with their returned peace signs and such. It was awesome! We also met a few travel fans who had seats on our row. :waving at Lady M:
Carina Round looked and sounded like a powerful angel…there are no other words to describe it. She outdid herself. It was unreal.. we made sure to show her a ton of love, from the time she walked out to the striking solo parts of Woman in Chains and BadMan’s song. She got a lot of love not only from those of us who follow her, but from the new fans in the audience…they adored her and showed it! She deserved it! Amazing job!
The band just stirred souls left and right. People were crying, people were picking each other up (no matter what their contrasting size) and hugging mid-song. They were having solo moments of their own by adding little supportive lines to the various songs. One guy just lost it and looked around singing at people with great force. Attendees did not mind the aisles, they flooded them where possible and rushed the stage. It was chaotic to a degree but still felt safe. Most notably, people. were. crying. I don’t mean a little tear, but instead that crippling cry where you can’t talk. Wives were holding husbands, husbands were holding wives and friends had their arms around each other. People just “had a moment” at the show. One person was local journalist Holly E. She blogged about her experience as well. She begins with…
“Concert footage in which fans are crying. I never understood it. Sure, the music is great and the band members are (sometimes) good looking, but weeping at a concert?
Last night I wept at the Tears for Fears concert in Kansas City. On and off, from the first strains of “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” through the encore “Woman in Chains” and “Shout.” Read More Here
*Holly is also a really cool person, one of those people you’ll just enjoy on many levels through her writing. Follow her @HollyEdgell.
And she wasn’t alone, again…Carolyn cried, strangers cried, the guy behind me could barely get the words to the songs out due to his emotion. I turned around and smiled at him, he was all verklempt with his daughter snuggled up beside him. It was a very emotional show and the energy in the theatre was different from past concerts. Kansas City, Missouri got more than a performance, they received a big ol’ Tears for Fears Concert Hug.
Pale Shelter – Curt sounds really good, listen and enjoy…
The Set List was similar to last year’s with a few songs switching places. I’ve abbreviated it as we do… Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Lorde intro then the majestic mesh into the original), SW, STSOL, PS, BIDA, ELAHE, Change, MW, MF, CTTH, AFTYAH, Creep – (Radiohead cover) BMS, HOH – Encore WIC and Shout
Drummer Genius Jamie’s drum solo was excellent and the crowd just lost their minds through the power of his talent. During Shout the crowd sang “the long version” intro loud and clear. Roland was sweet again and dropped the mic down so various individuals could sing into it. You know we all love that. I’ll never forget when he did that to me back in 2011. I’m still in complete awe. There were just all sorts of extras at this show, Skittles included. I think Curt threw a few.
Doc Martens Shout Outs
Another great moment that happened before the show was when Ryan talked about his own pair of Doc Martens of which he was wearing. We snapped a photo of them and then sometime later (not neccessarily related to our tweet) Curt sends his Docs tweet.
Then during the show Curt motioned toward his feet to reveal these saying, “Because I’m not in Kansas anymore.” It was clever and got a lot of laughs Very cute! During an earlier Periscope Travel Fan broadcast I talked about how I asked the gentleman that brought me to the hotel if this was Dorothy’s Kansas. I enjoyed hearing Curt referrencing The Wizard of Oz as well. It was also cool to have Manila Kooks like JW in the mix.
Eventhough I managed to write a bit about the show, so many parts of this particular part of the tour left me speechless and I don’t even know where to begin in detailing them. As always it’s just cool to hear from the band throughout the tour/talk to them via social and see Roland so animated and involved with Twitter (something of which for years we thought he’d never do until he surprised us back in March 2014). It was very important to us. At one point I was messaging with the Good Man Curt Smith as Carolyn was so worried as to why he hadn’t said “Kansas City, Missouri we are in you…” and he mentioned they were just getting in. I think I’m responding to Carolyn, but I was accidentally responding to Curt and told him to “…go on and get dressed everything is going to be fine…” or something. It was rather embarassing but funny in hindsight. Glitches will happen…
The above may seem like “little things” to other people but if you’ve been following this band for at least a year at mininum (though for most of us it’s been 90% of our lives) you “get it.” You know why the Docs tweet is important, you understand and even cherish the tears of your fellow fans. We just mesh…that’s one thing about the fans…most of us just “mix and gel” quickly. In the cases where meshing didn’t take place or is struggling to gel, societal ills are present and have nothing to do with the band. If you come to this fan world with a pure heart, you will meet your soulmates. Not necessarily your future spouse (although that isn’t uncommon) you will, however, make friends that will become family. That’s what happened on this tour. Friends became relatives, souls were stirred and combined. I could go on. But I’ll conclude with this; nothing, not Periscope, not YouTube or any streaming media compares to being PRESENT. This is why, even if it is for one show or all of them, fans travel all over the states, to and from various parts of the world to see this band and experience something so overwhelmingly majestic that it brings a crowd to tears…
Shoutout to the loyal people who waited outside the venue post show with hope in their grasp…
Big thanks to the people we met in Kansas City, Missouri! I have never been to a place so friendly…and I thought Toronto had the world beat! All of our loyalty and dedication is to the band and many hugs to the new travel fans that flew in from all over to be there. There’s no way any of this would work if love didn’t show up in the form of attendance!
Cheers!
-AA
*Nautical Anchors are a constant symbol in so much of TFF, CurtSmithOfficial and DelaQ.
More on the Kansas City, Missouri show from Timothy Finn
Dearest Fellow TFF Followers, Tears for Fears Travel Fans and friends!
It’s Andye here with a little love note to you all! I want to first thank all of the readers from around the globe. Over the summer, SK and I sat in L.A. and took a good look at the stats. We were well over 35,000 visits with people checking in from all over the world including parts of the Middle East, several nations in Africa, Italy, you name it. That is very encouraging and very helpful in our goal to provide information to all interested parties.
We get a lot of thank you notes from fans for providing the info and I appreciate each and every one. But be sure to pat yourselves on the back because none of this is possible without the slew of 70+ registered travel fans who come out to shows year after year. We can’t always go to the same show together but where one person can’t go, another will, bringing the Tears for Fears Travel Fan spirit to the forefront. Because our band fan activities have been mainly at shows, I’d personally like to take it up a notch and expand our gatherings (there’s so much more we want to do and host). Still, I’m grateful for the progress we’ve made in getting more people to concerts, sharing extra tickets and now doing larger carpools and spending more time together in person and online.
Thank you from Alisa. Big Hugs to her!
I have a list a mile long of contributors. All of the names mentioned in this blog, from Carri and Becky to Alisa and Rise, SheeShee, Lady J and Lady K, plus CH and Jenny WBDA are to be thanked. Each person has gone out of their way to make this group fun and exciting. The band has been very generous with their time, their families have been very sweet and tolerant plus we’ve experienced great responses and outreach from the venues and hotels like Loews Santa Monica who provided us an incredible 500+ sq ft suite overlooking the ocean in 2012 during Brit Week. Boy did we put on a performance out there on that patio in our Curt Smith tshirts and swimwear. Sometimes you just have to be there to see it. We’re just incredibly grateful. These are memories to last a lifetime.
There’s been a lot going on over the last 3 months, some noticable and some unnoticed. Carolyn is right, we are doing this as volunteers. We are not on anyone’s payroll and have not requested to be. We are human and have challenges like most. For example, a few of you know I’m attempting to organise fan travel and juggle local challenges. So, yeah it’s a bit much. I may not be able to do a whole lot of parties and gatherings at the moment but I trust that fellow fans will step in and help each other get to and from shows this year. Meanwhile, we’ll do what we can to get any info we receive on upcoming shows, airline deals, etc. If you are having a hard time getting to a show or just don’t know the first thing to do, feel free to send us email through our FB Travel Fan page or send us a tweet on twitter. We’ll do whatever can.
Let’s take these gatherings up a notch! #TFFIsFineWine
We are not “exclusive” so there is no initiation or crazy requirement to be a travel fan. If you show up, contribute a story/photo and have genuine love for the band you are in. Come by at shows (or if you see us in the lobby) and say hello, we are open to taking selfies/usies that can be posted to the blog to show everyone’s participation. The goal is to promote the awesome fun that Tears for Fears (Roland, Curt and Team) provide at shows; dancing and swaying in front of the fans. #ItsAllAboutTheBand!
We’re pretty laid back minus being kind of wild and always up for a party. So jump right in with friendliness and hugs! Also, thank you Lady K for the gift of the rice maker! I’ve been on the fence about buying one and now, problem solved #SushiEveryday! For those who sent the gift of macarons francaises from around the world, a separate blog was created to praise thoses delicious french desserts because they are THAT crucial. LOL!! Wishing everyone safe travels this #TFF2015 season and again, thank you tons for the love! Hugging everyone right back! #GroupHugs #TeamWork #TFFTravelFans
We are very happy that the band appreciates the fan teams. We received a tweet from Good Man Curt Smith. Thanks Marcio for capturing that awesome moment 🙂
All-Star cast supports Taylor Smith.This Sunday, 23 November, 2014 at Vitellos Restaurant, Curt Smith and several wonderful stars & supporters will lend their talents and love for an amazing cause, the recovery of the beloved Taylor Smith. We’ve had this young lady in our prayers for several weeks now. As mentioned in our annual #TeamCS holiday notice, sweet Taylor could use our help as she reaches 100% healing.
A part of the efforts will be a wonderful evening of ‘Thanks & Giving‘ for this worthy cause. We love to celebrate youth. We support them 100% and so do these stars, inclusive of the award winning Jason Alexander (many will remember him from Seinfeld, top broadway musicals and much more), Wilson Philips (another award winning music favourite of many of us), the awesome Asdru Sierra of OzoMatli and Joan Ryan. Together they’ll entertain fellow supporters of Taylor’s recovery. Curt will perform 3 songs.
Curt Smith will perform 3 songs alongside an All Star team supporting Taylor SmithShowing Support From Afar
The flyer is here. We ask all to be respectful and remember this is a fundraiser. You can send your support using this link or by reaching out to the Taylor Smith page on Facebook. Be sure to like Vitello’s restaurant on Facebook as well. Perhaps leave a kind message of support for the event. https://www.facebook.com/vitellosrestaurant
Many thanks for taking time to read, RT and share the donation link. We know that the Smith family (both Curt’s, Taylor and her family plus friends) will appreciate it. We look forward to her full recovery and to rejoice with her in the future. Blessings and peace be upon Taylor and all who support her.
Late October…a new ‘Roland Orzabal’ Twitter profile surfaces. Much like the others that seem to appear every few months, we ignored it thinking it was yet another impostor. But on the afternoon of April the 1st…our travel fan team members were pretty sure this was indeed the Good Sir Orzabal himself. By that Saturday morning he was tweeting about Tears and Kook’s New York Branch travel fan team lead Cammie, and her playlist. Also known as C. Horton, Cammie is the creator of the #SexDrugsOperaOrzabal Spotify accompaniment, her fan generated project for the book club that has formed online.
Between Sherlock Silver Kitty Carri D and Cam’s careful attention, we sat in various parts of the world with our chins on the floor. He’s. On. Twitter! As Mr. Nadal, one of two travel fan team leads in the Philippines tweeted, “I still can’t believe @rolandtff is on Twitter. It’s the end of the world and everyone is happy…” Let’s hope the next apocalypse is just as exciting!
Roland quickly got acquainted with his fellow loyalists, many of whom have been a part of his life for years as regular concert attendees and past TFF fanclub members. He began following several and joining in conversations with selfies, verification photos and pictures of his cat, Schro. We’ll leave it to you to figure out what Schro is short for.
Our top 10 Roland Moments thus far?
Roland’s First Twitter Selfie
10.The Mirror Selfie – Gasps went out around the world when this was tweeted. The intricate shells, the cultural decor, the floor to ceiling windows…absolutely stunning! For so many it was like looking at the reflection of a heavenly being! People reported they burst into tears, kissed their screens and held their iPhones and iPads to their hearts. It was truly touching.
9. Larousse Wine – Book published by Hamlyn – Noticed on the left side of the desk in the mirror selfie. Five hundred plus pages devoted to wine. For those who’ve already read (or re-read) Sex, Drugs & Opera, you know this book is right up Solomon’s alley. That got us going…got the succubus going too! 😉 8. The Silver Bones of the Orzabal Brothers /the Skull Masks 7. Roland’s First Hashtags: – Like proud fans we watched Roland navigate through Twitter his way, and tweet his first hashtags. #FridayReads (What Roland’s been reading), #MadWorldBook (Tears For Fears’ latest project), and #ElvisShouldPlaySka, a little joke about his Graduate days. And speaking of Graduate… 6. Sulking At The Mention of ‘Graduate‘ – Honestly, we’d love them to reunite for one show! According to Roland’s tweets, he seems amenable! 5. The Not So Bad hair Day – As if a bad hair day were ever possible for Roland. Either way, this wasanother awesome selfie that sparked other fans to tweet Roland their own photos… and somewhere, singing commenced. 4. The Inner Thigh Machine – He assembled it by himself via Twitter and by the end of the night finally figured out how it worked.
The Original Sleeping SeflieThe Wine Den Version
3. The Ultimate “Sleeping” Selfie – Supernatural creatures certainly know how to take great pictures of Roland! It turned into deco den for fans; we immediately grabbed it and started colouring it with fun things as if we were 3 years old! Instead of milk glasses and cookies we had wine and pasta.
2. The Free-Flowing Interaction With Fans – He’s been replying and spending lots of time with everyone online and we are all so grateful!! 1. The fact that he’s even HERE! Talk about party time out of bounds. Yes! We’re truly appreciative of every minute and he knows it…cause he retweeted it. 😉
What many fans are looking forward to are chats about the book. We’ve got two hashtags going, one of which is #SexDrugsOperaOrzabal (which was used during the Kindle release countdown. Lady Puppin of Brazil won the Kindle download. Para Bems a ela!). Roland also seems to have hinted about an SDO part II with the character Rosa getting a little naughty?! That should be good! It’s certainly an exciting time for all of us, a wonderful opportunity to interact with the Good Sir. And yes, this is all legit, the Good Man Smith said so himself!
As always we encourage everyone to follow @TearsforFears, @CurtSmith and now @rolandtff – feel free to follow us as well at @PapaSFans (dedicated to celebrating the band, all members, all events 365 Days a Year)
16 and 17 September are certainly anniversary concert days for many of us as well as a great anniversary for those who participated in the “Team Curt Smith” project of 2010 (described on the @papasfans twitter profile). We raised $1000 in about 3 weeks time to benefit a project in Haiti organised by TwitChange and a few community leaders in Atlanta. Only $600 or so dollars were accepted from our gift but we were very happy to help a great cause and win the prize which included a welcomed bond with Curt Smith of Tears for Fears of whom we have loved since our youth, some of us, since our toddler years.
Since then we’ve been contributing to various organisations and doing our part to make the world a much more enjoyable place for those near and far. Some projects have included small personal donations to the Tory Burch Foundation, Friends of Longacre Hall (that project is now changing to a different location), The Angel Tree program and anything else that we either saw on Curt’s fan page or something tweeted/brought to our attention through his social updates and friends.
Curt Smith has certainly helped bring out the best in us. We’re working hard to continue to give to charity groups, share what we have and be inclusive within fan land. We’re a happy, grateful kerfuffle of Kooks led by a great man, and an outstanding band with great minds and endless talent. Much love to Curt Smith, Roland Orzabal and the entire Tears for Fears team, through this band we’ve realised our dreams.
Cheers!
Thanks for reading!
Little Lady Diva Smith also celebrated a birthday this past week. Many warm wishes and many happy returns to this angel.
We’ve stayed pretty busy while the band prepares the new album and puts together a tour for later this year (tentatively October 2013). One of the fun things about being a 365TFF Travel Fan is that ‘the fun’ does not end on the last day of the tour(s). We keep it going all year round, online, at meetups and so much more…often the band is in tow in one way or another. They see just about everything we do…
Branding the Fans
Our official Travel Fan Tshirts have been a big hit around the globe. FYI: they are not for sale. These shirts are ‘production cost only items’ meaning travel fans and their friends pay for production of the item. We as Travel Fans are not a ‘for profit business’ making money from the band’s image. That’s illegal and rude. We appreciate Curt and Roland too much to engage in that type of behaviour. These shirts were cleared before production and we literally have to use our permission slip before companies will even create anything with the band’s name on it. We are grateful that they don’t allow reproductions.
If you are a travel fan and didn’t get your shirt, message us via the FB message tab (Tears For Fears & Kooks) for info on how to get one sent to your home.
Angie and Kath pose for pictures in the their travel fan tshirts – Location: Snow Hill, Bath UK (England)
~Musical Updates In BandFan Land~
Fan Robert O. and Julian Orzabal(Rolllie Sunshine’s younger brother) have been making music together. You may remember all of the songs that the two have been involved since November 2012 including songs dedicated to various fans. The work never stopped, they’ve got more material. Our moderator Andye explored and shared the recent tracks with fellow fans recently. Listen in:
Review: This is a refreshing change from anything I’ve heard the two of them do up to this point. I’m a big DelaQ fan and my friends and I were moved to tears after hearing Robert’s “Song for Andye” back in December. The lyrics to ‘All Together Now’ are true to life and describe kind of what we all discuss on facebook every day put to a trendy club-like beat. I could easily see this as a background for some sort of fan project or “global cause campaign.” It did get a few replays from me and aside from being family friendly, it’s got that Euro soft-pop feel that works on a number of levels. I like it. It’s cute and catchy.
Review: Dreams is much closer to the spirit of Julian’s past work. I really enjoy this one. Julian has an edgy side but you get his softer, quiet (slightly loving if I may say so) tone on this track. It’s a warm blanket for your soul on a day when you’re just not sure you can keep going in difficult times. Hear that line, “love is a lost memory to alcohol and chemistry…” Omg, what in the world has this person gone through? It’s a powerful song wrapped up in soft and comforting music notes. While I’m usually all about club beats and lively music, I know there is a time and place for pieces like these and that time is now. I’m currently cherishing this one.
*Hear other works by both artists on their facebook pages:
The tour will be here before you know it and so will Curt’s latest album featuring other members of Tears for Fears. It is a musical extravaganza in the works and more pleased we could not be…Like runners in need of water on a hot day, we are thirsty for their music. We love all of the material that the “Bath Boys” are producing and sharing with us. All of the updates, interactions and news have been a blessing.
In other news: Quick shout out to our travel fan team member, Cammie, on getting her MA recently! Even the band put their stamp of approval on that! All praise be to the Higher Power that our travel fan pals in the mid-west part of the states were spared during some tragic tornadoes. Carri, Lisa and Becky are all safe. Please note during bad weather we do ask that all members check-in so we can know you are okay or at least send for help in the event that it is needed. Follow us on Twitter (@papasfans) to interact and stay in touch. And always follow the band (@curtsmith) & (@tearsforfears).
Wishing everyone a great summer season as we perch for travel. It’s all about the band 365 days a year!
The Graduates -Cammie and friend pose for their MBA photo shoot…thanks to the Band for the Graduation love!
Tears for Fears Travel Fans 