"I'm a fan of many other bands, but the one thing that sets U2 apart from them in my opinion is not music (although that is a part of it) it is the fans. I have never come across a fandom that is so welcoming than U2 fans."
Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
Hello U2 Start! My name is Kelli and I am from St.Louis Missouri. I'm currently unemployed but I used to work in retail.
How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
It happened when I was 14 back in 1997. I was watching MTV and they were playing the Discotheque video. I hadn't seen or heard anything like it, I was mesmerized!
Also seeing this for the first time greatly appealed to my 14-year-old self!
I worked with my mom and dad that summer at the catering company they worked for just so I could buy POP, I remember playing that album on repeat for 2 weeks and going to the library and checking out everything I could get my hands on, but my fandom didn't really bloom until I watched UABRS and R&H the following year.
Does anyone in your family or one of your friends like U2? If so, did they introduce you to U2, or did you "convert" them?
My mom is a casual fan, I remember seeing cassettes of The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby around the house when I was like 10 or so. I saw her recently before the holiday and we watched U2IE in Paris and she absolutely loved it! She wants to see them if they come to St.Louis for SOE!
My boyfriend is also a casual fan, but a usual casual fan. He kinda doesn't really like the big 2 albums: The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby,
he likes The Unforgettable Fire and Zooropa! I didn't convert either of them, but I guess in a weird kinda way seeing those cassettes around the house did introduce me to U2 in a subconscious sort of way.
What does your U2 collection look like? What kind of stuff do you have and how is it organised?
I am what is known as "a broke U2 fan",
so my collection is little and does not have any rare items, but in that case I have two posters (Rattle and Hum and POP), about 6 shirts, two singles on cd (Discotheque and Last Night On Earth), one dvd (Popmart Mexico City), two books (U2 by U2 and U2 Experience) and one subscription gift given to me by a friend (Northside Story) I have all the albums digitally, but not all the physical formats (need Boy,October, No Line, The Unforgettable Fire, and Rattle and Hum) Did you ever have a special U2 experience like a live concert? Can you tell us something about it?
I have never seen them so I have yet to have a special U2 experience. I do have an experience, but it's not a good one, though.
In 2003 my grandfather was dying of colon cancer and one day I was at a video store and they were playing the Elevation live from Boston dvd and Kite was playing and Bono said "This song is about letting go of somebody you don't want to let go of, could be a lover, could be a father, could be a friend" I broke down crying right in that store. When my grandpa died in August of that year I played Kite at his funeral and there was not a dry eye in that church.
There are other U2 experiences but this is the only one that comes to mind at this moment.
Looking ahead to U2 in 2016, what are your expectations for their upcoming album Songs of Experience?
What are my expectations?....hmmm? Well, I would like less songs like Song For Someone
and a more experimental vibe like Zooropa but then I know that U2 now is different than U2 of the Zooropa- Passengers era. I just want it to be good like SOI. 
With regards to the continuation of the Innocence and Experience tour, what are your hopes and expectations for the Experience part of it?
This is going to sound a bit selfish, but I really hope they come to St.Louis because I've been a fan for 18 years and every year since high school I have not been able to see them (was too young for Popmart, Elevation I was in high school and had no money and no one to go with, Vertigo working, 360 working and IE the closest they were was Chicago and I had no money) but enough with my woes. I hope they take out some of the songs like Song For Someone
EBW (or, at least, play it like the EMA performance in 2014) Stage wise I hope they don't decide to ditch the screen for something else (my mom and I want to see Bono walking down Cedarwood Road!)
but if they do a total revamp for the Experience part I'm sure it will be amazing! How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
I'm a fan of many other bands, but the one thing that sets U2 apart from them in my opinion is not music (although that is a part of it) it is the fans. I have never come across a fandom that is so welcoming than U2 fans. When Bono says, "There is no them, only us" I feel it. I feel like I belong to a family, we might not agree on everything and have different views, but we are still a family that is united by our love of these four Irish men.
What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
I like to read (anything from history to autobiographies) play video games (which I am terrible at so I usually watch other people play them
) I'm a huge St.Louis Cardinals (MLB) and St.Louis Blues (NHL) fan. I like to watch movies and tv shows favorite shows are: Breaking Bad, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bottom, House of Cards, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Seinfeld, and The Sopranos. I don't play an instrument, but I would love to learn how to. I just don't think I would have the patience for it.
I just want to thank you, Remy and everyone at U2Start for picking me as the fan of the month! I've never been anything of the month so this kinda means a lot to me after having a somewhat crappy 2015.
Thank you for reading and I hope I didn't bore you
Thanks for this interview PopmuzikMofo!
