RHIANNON'S STORY

I met Dave Matthews yesterday! My idol, the reason I am the music fan I am. I always thought the day I got to meet him would be at some state fair in about 30 years. I can barely put this experience into words but I'm going to try (if nothing else for my own sake, to remember every single detail). 

Let me start with a little background ... In high school, my wonderful friend Katie told me I should really get some DMB CDs even though I wasn't a huge fan of the "radio hits" so I did. Which led both Katie and I to the cities for college and of course, our first DMB show ever. I was super excited and got to the show much too early. We happened to have one of the roadies come up to us, upgrading our horrible seats to 2nd row! And from then on I was completely obsessed. I have been to 18+ shows all over the country ... Alpine every summer, the Gorge in Washington, and everywhere in between. As you can see below: 

Which leads us to last week ... I get an email from Cities97 saying they will be giving away 3 sets of meet & greet passes on the radio (its not everyday they do meet and greets, especially for a radio station)! I immediately email my friend Lisa, winner of ALL THINGS from Cities97, telling her she better listen. We even discussed before hand who she would take with her (I was assuming her husband would get first dibs, but she assures me I would get to). So I'm at work listening to the radio, I hear the DMB song being played and I start calling away. I don't even get through once. I don't really want to hear who won because its probably someone who could care less. But I keep listening ... did they just say "LISA QUAST?!?!" If I only had a picture of me holding that radio, and my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it!!! I was going to get to meet DAVE MATTHEWS. Words can't express how I felt at that moment ... Like passing out, having a heart-attack, extreme giddiness, sweating, pacing, jump-up-and-down, complete joy. Good thing I had a few days to calm down! 

On to the big day. We meet at Glicks for dinner (who are we kidding, I can't eat). But I do need a beer to try and calm down a bit.  Thank goodness for such excellent friends. They are used to me by now and I'm glad I can be entertainment for them. What do I even say?!? How can I possibly put into words what their music means to me? I can't ... all I know is that that the word "obsessed" or "I love you" can't come out of my mouth. I've met a lot of musicians lately and it was all practice for this day. Meet and greets can be uneventful and much too quick so I was prepared for that. We go backstage into a lounge area which had leather couches and lava lamps, a very cool vibe. Notice how I'm the only one with a perm-a-grin on my face. 

There were probably about 25 people around and we were all just waiting (probably the most nerve racking part for me). And then Dave enters. He was quite funny ... loudly proclaiming he needed to check his fly to make sure his zipper was up before anyone took any photos! He also said something about Thanksgiving/turkey but I don't really remember what that was about. He works his way around the room and decides to sit on that coffee table right in front of me. The people sitting right next to me paid $3800 to meet Dave. Crazy! Literally crazy because they didn't bring anything for him to sign or seemed all that excited. And then its my turn. 

Me *very enthusiastically: "Hi Dave, I'm Rhiannon"
Dave: "Rhiannon"
Me: "Like the Fleetwood Mac song?"
Dave: "Haven't heard it" (guess he's not a fan)
Me: "It was very popular around 79"
Dave: "Ah 79 ... good year, good year". 

I was still sitting down at that point and I asked him to sign my CD. He kneels down, leans on my leg, and asks me how to spell my name. I'm surprised I even remembered how to myself! I was not even aware other people were in the room at this point.  Then comes the photo. The one thing I REALLY wanted. And for future reference, this is the 100% fool-proof way to cheer me up, just tell me to look at this picture. I still can't believe it happened.  There is more. Lisa didn't get a picture with Dave and I felt like I didn't really get to tell him what I wanted to say. So we waited for him to finish with some of the other people and got a picture together. Here was my chance, now or never ... "I just need to tell you that I am HUGE fan". Nodding in typical Dave fashion he says "Thank you so much". "I am a fan of music because of you. It started with you and I just wanted to thank you SO much for that". And although Dave has probably heard this thousands of time, he looked at me like it was the nicest thing he has ever heard and says "that's very kind of you". I think he actually appreciated it! Then he gives ME a hug. I was glad I had the opportunity to tell him those things ... not only a relief for me but feelings that a lot of DMB fans wish they could say and may not get the chance. 

I couldn't have dreamed it any better if I tried (and you all know I thought about it enough!). He was just as funny, quirky, and down-to-earth as the Dave you see on stage. No different. I often wonder how all these amazing meetings keep happening to me. I've just been a good fan. Nothing more than that, just a fan for the right reasons. If there is one thing I've learned, artists appreciate that so much more.   HUGE thanks to Lisa ... your phone dialing skills are beyond IMPRESSIVE. You need to buy a lottery ticket! 

And now for the answers to your questions ...
"What are you going to do NOW?!?!?!" 
-> I still have the rest of the band to meet!
"Can you stop going to DMB shows?"
-> No way, I'm more of a fan today that I was before.