Re: The Rolling Stones at The Fonda Theatre LA Wed May 20
Date: May 22, 2015 02:35
This is to those who believe in conspiracy theories, and also those who do believe I do help some but not others with ticket information, easy access and so on.
Many have asked me for help in getting into Fonda, where they rehearse, what the do and so on. I get may be 100 e-mail every day, from individual fans, active and not active on IORR. Some I know, some could be my best pal, like my brother, others are total strangers to me. If you say it takes one minute to reply to an e-mail, it takes me an average of two hours just to reply to e-mail during Fonda days. But some times it takes 10 minutes to give a proper reply, so that is 1/6 of an hour by 100 that is 17 hours per day. Luckily I am a fast writer so I can do a proper reply in seconds.
IORR is known by the Stones and by industry and also by the people who work for the Stones. They know I can publish info that is intended for real fans. Every tour I get contacted by CBS, BBC, production crews and others who work inside or outside the Stones. The last contact I had this week was with the production crew that made the filming of fans about Sticky Fingers at the Fonda. I was contacted on a short notice, and I made it online immediately. It turned out this was one of the ways to get into the Fonda. Other ways were to meet other fans and find out where to buy online and what to do and so on. I am not important in this game, you the fans are important, so that you talk and respect each others and share information here online. Somebody do always have some information that is not really top secret still interesting to others.
Forget about the celebrities list. There will always be celebrities like presidents, kings, queens, mayors, Jack Nicholson (he is a great fan by the way) and so on. Let them drive their fine cars and sit on their balconies. They bring TV stations and they bring publicity so any band in the industry would love to have those in the crowd. And they don't take up space. There were plenty of fan space at the Fonda, may be not 50,000 seats, but several hundred real tickets for real fans. If you were not lucky, then don't blame anyone. Blame bad luck. Blame you did not go to LA. Blame your dog, blame yourself for not submitting your story. Blame youself because you did not make the Stones aware of the fact that you do deserve the ticket more than Jack Nicholson or even any other celebrity. But please do not blame me or any others on IORR.
There will always be times when a Stones fan needs to know more than others. Then it is better to stay on IORR and read the info there, than to hunt around on your own on Internet, or to ask your dog for the best advice on Stones tickets. It will wag the tail if you have food, regardless of industry contacts. I have been offered more than 1000 dollars for a ticket but I say nothing give nothing, I treat everybody equally and I don't take bribes. Sure a hundred million dollars might make a difference, or permanent staying in five star hotels for the rest of the lifetime the Stones are touring, but that is not my lifestyle.
I never told anyone where the Stones were rehearsing. I never do. I never tell what hotel they stay at, not even to best friends. I do always ask people to go to IORR, that is where I post. That is where a lot of fans are posting. If things are delicate I might post a picture or a hint so that you have to think a bit, I am sure everybody who needed to find Third Encore found out, some times I say you must be in LA four days before the tour start, other times I say you should not book a summer holiday away from home in June if you live in North America. These are all advices you may choose to understand or you may ignore.
Also this is not about me, I am just running this web site. It is about making relevant information available to relevant people - fans. There are so many fans here who help in with posting information on IORR. I am sure I could retire from posting on IORR today and things will go smooth without me. Many thanks to everyone who help out with all the small and big challenges you might have being a Stones fan.
I do understand it hurts to be outside a show where the band you love so much are performing such a great show, may be even in your home town. Also, it hurts when you crash your bike and you go head first in the street. I did that in Auckland, my fingers do still hurt, but really, I blame nobody except for myself. I could blame the shitty bike, the Auckland lack of respect for biking, or the bell on the bike that did not work, or the five Japanese girlks who blocked the biking path, or I could blame Japanese tourists in general. But it was really just me myself to blame. There isn't always somebody else to blame, like your neighbor, the government, NSA, IORR or whatever is around to be blamed. Take personal resposibility. I am on my own a lot, I can only blame myself. Even if the Amtrak traain I am on now is crashing, I can't blame others. Accidends happen. I could have stayed at home.
The Rolling Stones are doing 15 shows this summer. They handed out a taster for a few fans and invited guests in LA last night. I am on the train on my way to San Diego, for the real shows, the real fun, where my pulse can now be normal and I don't have to wake up at strange hours to check out e-mail, messages, queues for tickets and all of that. Enjoy IORR, enjoy the Stones, be happy and don't stay at home.
This band has still a lot more to give. They still sound amazing. Like Ronnie said in the Twitter interview on Monday - one day they might explode!
Bjornulf