Fan Interviews Part 6 Natalie

RC: Hi Natalie, welcome to the Rock Chronicles, I will be asking

you a series of questions pertaining to Def Leppard, the new tour,

the new album and of course the Men of Def Leppard.

First, tell me bits about yourself, where do you come from,

what are your interests and what do you do?

Natalie: Hiya, thanks for the invite!
Well I'm from Metro-Detroit and still living there.
I've been in customer service, mostly retail, for 18 years.
I enjoy hanging out with friends and family playing games,
attending community festivals, listening to music and watching TV.
and movies.

RC: My first question for you Natalie is how did you become interested in Def Leppard?

What about them made you a fan?

Natalie: I discovered DL back in 1983 on MTV.
Like other girls, LOL, I thought they were really
cute and I could dance to the music. I stayed a fan
because of their long-standing friendship and their continued
efforts to give the world great music for the whole family to enjoy.

RC: With the new Downstage thrust tour kicking off, the boys are excited and

the fans are excited about seeing them again. What about the new tour do you expect

to be different besides the runway and them singing the new song off High and

Dry which everyone knows what it is now?

Natalie: Even though they're not previewing any new songs,
I believe they are gonna showcase, thru the older songs, the "new"
direction in sound for their upcoming album .

RC: At the shows, the excitement can get very intense and I often see fans getting

smashed and of course the popular crowd surfing. It’s not so common at a Lep show

and over the years, I’ve seen the fans of Def Leppard become a little mellower.

For this tour, do you expect the crowds will be a little more excited and if there are

instances where the crowds tend to smash fans, do you think more should be done

or more security put in the crowds to prevent people from getting hurt?

Natalie: I don't think DL fans are mellower, just more

Family-oriented. I think bad scenes happen when there's been
excessive alcohol- drinking. So perhaps there should be a cut-off time
for the alcohol sales at shows.

Which would give people a small chance to sober up during the headliner's
set.

RC: When I attended the Aerosmith show last time, they had a runway too and

there were several fans that got up on the runway and attempted to stand next to the guys

and one lucky gal got to dance with Steven during the song Walk this Way, two actually.

Do you expect fans to be doing that at the Lep shows and would you do it, if you got the chance?

Natalie: LOL! Ya never know who might give that a try.
But, I couldn't see myself doing that.

RC: With the new tour and it being just a tour to be touring tour, do you think that the

boys tend to get a little restless and want to entertain the fans because they love playing live

or is this perhaps a promotional tool or a little of both?

What I mean is, its obvious they love playing for an audience and I love them for it and

love seeing them play but with lack of publicity now days, I think its important that they do

tour as much as they have been so they don’t drop from the spotlight, would you agree?

Natalie: I might get in trouble here, LOL! But I am worried that DL are
"over-touring" the States. With each tour of summer-theaters they
"take away" anticipation for the AVERAGE fans. DIEHARDS will always be
excite IF they booked a tour in Australia, they would be playing an
arena or stadium because no one has had the chance to see them in like 15
years from what's been said on DL's own forum.

Whereas here they're kinda stuck with measly 15,000 seaters.
DL wants to be like Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones.
Both of them to my knowledge have only gone on tour when they had
a record to promote, even if it was just a "best of" collection.
In my mind, touring just to tour is what "one-hit" wonders do NOT
major bands like DL.

They NEED to make this the first and last time they do an

"extra" tour.

RC: In light of that, Joe said on Rockline that when they come back and do a world tour,

they will probably start with European dates because touring the US again would be

over exposure, do you think that? Do you think it’s possible to have TOO much Def Leppard?

Natalie: Unfortunately the management doesn’t really bother with lot
tour publicity because regular concertgoers are "used" to seeing DL on
their summer-theater rosters.

So they DO need to make us wait and hopefully they can build enough
anticipation to start booking arenas again.

RC: Now I want to ask you a few questions about the fan club and meet and greets.

Now Def Leppard has a new fan club that you pay thirty-five dollars a year for and you

get to purchase tickets before the general public BUT the one thing if you notice, the fan

club doesn’t have the 4 star and 5 star packaging. I mean ANYONE can get those if they

have the money to spend and it costs a lot.

Do you think that the packages should be for just anyone or should it belong to fan

club members only?

I mean, you don’t really get a whole lot except buying tickets before the public can, a t shirt

and exclusive diary entries from the band.

Aerosmith offers packages but they are only available if you belong to the fan club.

Do you think that Def Leppard should do the same?

Natalie: I think these "fan cubs" are money-grabs from the

MANGESMENT AND RECORD LABELS. I don't believe DL and other bands
have a lot of input in these things. Personally, I view artists'
official websites as the modern, and much more ethically run, equivalent
of fan clubs.

RC: Along the same lines, do you think the fan club should offer more like have the

packages exclusive to the fan club, offer meet and greets WITH the packages and a

photo op with Def Leppard and autographs?

The packages cost a lot of money and you don’t get a whole lot, except a good seat MAYBE

and I say maybe because if you get less than front row, you risk having a six foot tall person in front of you and then it’s no better than being fifteen rows back.

I am short and I can’t see half the time when I go to a show. I’ve asked this of another fan in a different way but I think it’s important the boys know what is lacking in their fan club. I love that they are doing it but what do you think about it?

Natalie: The only way I'd pay extra is if it was a charity auction.

RC: Since we seem to be on the subject, in your honest opinion, do you think the fan club is offered based on money? Do you think Def Leppard after all these years are in this for the money when it comes to the fan club and the VIP packages? Maybe they don’t get the royalties from the packages, I don’t know but surely some of it goes to them so do you think that Def Leppard are in it for the money or are they trying to offer the fans a better show?

Natalie: Like I said earlier, I doubt DL has very much input where
that's concerned.

RC: I’ve also asked this of other fans but I’ll ask you as well. Do you think the meet and greets should come back and if so, how would you do it if it were you?

Natalie: Meets and greets should be done thru either radio
contests or contests on the OS. That would be a lot fairer
for the fans that can't afford hundreds of dollars just for a
few minutes of the band member’s time.

RC: Anymore, I think the meet and greets have declined because for one, they don’t have a lot of time anymore and they’ve also had problems with stalkers. Do you think that if they were offered a secure environment with a maximum say 50 people per meet and greet, they might consider bringing it back? I was thinking, why not put this to a vote on DL.com, I am sure the fans would want it, what do you think?

Natalie: Absolutely! I'm sure if safety measures were taken
they would probably do more of them .

RC: Def Leppard has been touring with big name acts in the past three years, taking a bit away from their set since they share billing with these acts. Although there are a lot of bands that I like that have toured with them, I would like to see Def Leppard play a full set.

I am sure the fans would like to see that too so what if it were suggested that at least once a year, Def Leppard plays in say ummm 50 cities with the band of their choice and play a festival of sorts, have like six bands on the same stage within a week and all of them play a full set. What would you think of that?

They did something very similar in Burlington Iowa where I saw them. They had Def Leppard, Poison, Survivor, Cheap Trick, Trick Pony I think that’s their name and more. Anyway, they all played the same stage a day apart and it was great.

Natalie: That's sounds like an interesting idea.

RC: Who is your favorite Lep member and if you could ask him one thing, what would it be?

Natalie: Joe first, Phil second! For Joe, I'd ask If he still gets
nervous when he meets up with his own idols like Bowie? For Phil,
I'd ask what song or artist made him decide to go after being guitarist?

RC: I have asked that of all the fans but I think it’s important. Anyway, let’s talk about Joe for a minute. Joe is the lead man, front man for Def Leppard and the most talked about, the most photographed and the most interviewed.

Do you feel he gets too much of the spotlight, even though he is lead singer? I mean, the lead man is always going to get a lot of attention but I see Sav, Viv and Rick getting the least attention, at least when it comes to interviews, photos and stuff.

Natalie: I think they all have a love/hate feeling about that.

RC: I love Joe, don’t get me wrong but I was just curious. Now with Joe I have debated on whether to get into this or not considering he may see this but I decided to go for it. Joe has been quoted on the Official site as having hated Fan Fiction.

I don’t remember how long ago it was but he said something like people who write this stuff need to get a life and quoted some part from something he apparently read. You have read fiction. Do you think Joe has a point or do you think that perhaps Joe is just uncomfortable with being a character in a story?

Natalie: LOL! I view fan fiction as the internet version of romance novels.
Given that Joe is a man, I'm guessing that he has NEVER visited a Bookstore
and purchased & read a romance novel! If he did he would understand where
MOST of these stories are actually coming from. Yes there is a SMALL
percentage of writers & readers that have trouble with fiction and reality.

But those people usually get themselves BANNED from fiction sites because of that.
Most writers are just practicing their skills with a set of "characters" and timelines
that already exist which acts like their muse. Most readers are just choosing to read

fan fiction over other genres. NOONE with a HEALTHY mind takes these stories seriously.
Its just pure fun.

RC: Do you think maybe Joe just thinks it is too far fetched and some of it is I am sure but from Joe’s point of view, do you think the fiction is just something that Joe thinks is delusional? In other words, do you think Joe thinks that and would you agree with him or disagree?

Natalie: Yes some are pretty far-fetched, but those are either meant to
be humor or are badly-written.

RC: Switching gears, let’s talk about Sav. Sav has had to overcome some major obstacles in his life with his bells palsy and losing his father but he’s managed to recover almost completely from the bells palsy and looking at him, you wouldn’t know he had it. If he hadn’t recovered, do you think that would have hindered his career in the band considering he sings with them or could that have been worked around? I’d hate to see anything happen to any of them because they are all so sweet but do you think he would have even wanted to go on with the band if he couldn’t sing?

Natalie: I think DL would've worked around his difficulty.

RC: Do you think that perhaps Rick and Sav have something in common with overcoming a major setback that could have ended both their careers?

Natalie: Absolutely! Rick probably served as Sav's inspiration when he
started dealing with Bell's palsy.

RC: Speaking of Rick, what he does with Raven Drum is remarkable and it helps a lot of people. Do you feel that people who bid on the Raven drum auctions and win, do so to meet Rick and in hopes of meeting the others alone or do you think they also do it to contribute to a worthy cause or maybe a little of both?

Natalie: Probably a little of both.

RC: Switching gears again, Viv has gotten a lot of flack over the years because some still feel Steve’s loss and they feel for lack of a better term, offended that someone had to take Steve’s place when that is far from the truth. Viv is a wonderful man that is truly talented and he’s funny, sweet and caring and in my opinion a brilliant addition to the Def Leppard family. Do you think Viv will ever stop being called the new guy or will people finally accept him in the role as a Def Leppard member?

Natalie: Well, in my mind he is just as important at this point as Phil.
Some of the people that call Viv that also can't accept that fact that Phil replaced Pete!
Those people need to start living in the present.

RC: Do you think Viv was the perfect choice for the role he plays now?

Natalie: Absolutely!

RC: Let’s talk about the new album. There is a lot of speculation on the name and without even hearing the album, fans already wonder how the album will be. Would you vote for that name or give it something else? Does Sparkle Lounge sound anything like a Def Leppard album to you?

Natalie: Who knows, LOL! A lot of people were shocked by the title
Slang too! Whatever it is will end up being perfect for that record.

RC: Here I am judging it myself when I haven’t heard it but I am just getting opinions on what the fans feel about it. I would buy anything they put out because I love Def Leppard but let’s say with Def Leppard’s fan base and the style of music they play, if they were to suddenly go Country, would you continue to like them and buy their albums?

Bret Michaels of Poison has done a country album and promoted it on a solo tour so do you think Def Leppard could do one IF they wanted to?

Natalie: I can't imagine them doing country.
BUT I always thought they would do a great job with the blues!
A lot of their own idols in British Classic and Glam rock had some
blues in their catalogs. So it seems like a natural fit! Plus Viv
has already dabbled in it with his solo album!

RC: I will ask you a couple of more questions and then we’re done. Natalie, if the guys came to you and asked you to write a song with them or help them with something they did, could you do it and would you?

Natalie: I'm not really musically inclined,
BUT I'd be more than willing to give them my honest opinion
if they needed a "fresh" ear to listen to a track they were having
trouble with.

RC: Final question. What has been your all time favorite Def Leppard piece of history? In other words, what part of Def Leppard’s career do you remember most as being a true part of history that will be remembered decades from now?

Natalie: Hysteria really is their crowning glory!
Hopefully they will be blessed like that again!

RC: Thank you Natalie, for participating in this interview with me. This has been a Rock Chronicles interview with the fans part 6.