U2start.com | Fan of the month May 2010: EyesWithPrideB3

Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month May 2010 is user EyesWithPrideB3. Matt, as his name is, lives in Chicago and guitar playing is one of his hobbies. Read along for the interview we had with Matt!

Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
My name's Matt, and I live in the south suburbs of Chicago, IL, about 25 minutes away from the edge of the city. I'm a student- senior in high school- getting ready to go study at a university next year.

How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
When I was very young, I used to raid my dad's CD collection to find things to listen to, mainly over summers. The only U2 CD he ever had was "The Joshua Tree", and I fell in love with the first half, up to "Running to Stand Still". A few years later, when I was about 13, I asked my uncle to recommend me more U2. He gave me "Achtung Baby" and told me it was the best they'd ever written, and he doubted they would ever top it. Upon first listen, I HATED the album. Then I hit a sort of rough patch when I was 14, losing a lot of friends and not doing too well in school, and I found myself always putting in Achtung. It got me through that whole year, and I've never had a stronger connection with an album. From there, I bought "Vertigo//Live in Chicago 05", and connected with bits and pieces of their catalog through that setlist, until I finally reached out and started buying the albums.

In your opinion, what has been U2's defining moment and why?
It's a hard one for me to place, to be honest. I think their recognition as the biggest band in the world after "The Joshua Tree" was released and toured for was probably their biggest peak ever, but I think the ZooTV tour was what made people see more than what originally met the eye. The mark of true genius in music is, just when you think you've seen it all from a band, in terms of evolution, they completely blow you away. I don't know of any other bands that have built such a remarkable career for themselves and been majorly successful, and then turned around and revamped their ENTIRE image and sound, and TOPPED what they had before.

Can you tell us one song (U2 or not) that you wish you had written?
Sometimes I feel like when I listen to "With or Without You", I feel the poetry in the lyric, combined with Edge's signature riff, Adam's foundational bassline, and the consistent build of Larry's drumming, is all too good to be true. That's a masterpiece of song in 4 respects, right there. But lately, my lyrical interest has been more in John Mayer, particularly "Heartbreak Warfare". I write lyrics in the similar style that JM does- very to the point, no-horsing-around type of directness, and I feel like I imitate him more than anyone else. When I listen to "Heartbreak Warfare", I feel like everything I've ever wanted to craft into a song of hurt has been completely outdone by him in those 4 minutes, and with 2 simple chords, back and forth. I'd say "Heartbreak Warfare" for sure.

We know you play guitar as one of your hobbies. Which Edge's signature riffs do you like the most?
"Until the End of the World" is a great hook that I love to launch into more than anything else, but as a guitar player, it feels great to play with my delay settings until they literally mirror what The Edge is playing on a recording. My most rewarding accomplishments in playing along with great Edge lines are "The Electric Co.", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and "With or Without You". I've tried to accomplish "Streets" several times, but the delay configuration to get it to sound perfect takes 2 opposite settings through 2 effects, which I unfortunately don't have.

Where do you most prefer to listen to U2?
Right where I'm sitting right now, actually, in front of my computer. I'm a frequent bootleg listener- I think I'm running at 82 shows right now- and this is where I come to unwind and listen to my shows after school.

Which member of the band would you most like to share a pint with?
Difficult question. The Edge is my favorite member of U2, because he's so calm and collected onstage during the technical songs, and always seems to be headtripping in the music. I feel like I would be able to relate to the emotion that a song can encompass you in when playing it live.

Which U2 song do you feel the most "attached" to, or means the most for you?
The song that turned U2 into my favorite band- "Bad", from Rattle and Hum. After I had gotten into "Achtung Baby" and had collected more of their stuff, they still weren't really my favorite band- they were just up there. I bought the R&H DVD one afternoon and popped it in, and during "Bad", after the second chorus, when the film starts to play in slow motion, I saw the ferocity with which The Edge was playing guitar, and how he could barely even keep his two feet on the ground through such an intense and powerful moment of music...he almost appeared to be elevating. As the shots panned through the different members of the band in slow motion, something just connected with my heart. I felt like I understood WHY they were making music, and why I was listening to it, and what it really meant to me.

What is your favorite U2 videoclip, and why?
Something really hits me when I watch the "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" video. Something about Bono sitting on top of that huge statue, and still seeming like he's under a pile of rubble while he sings with such passion. My favorite parts, though, are when U2 helps the other fake band play the song for the video...I'm sorry, I wish I could explain how I feel about those scenes, but they just sort of take me away and into the moment. It's powerful.

What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
Listening to U2 bootlegs is how I unwind after a long day, or when I just want to relax and take myself away for awhile, so I'm frequently listening through shows and imagining I'm at the venue I also love being optimistic. Happiness is what gets me through, a lot of times, even if I have to fake it to myself, convincing myself that I'm happy when I really may not be inside. It tends to brighten people up, which makes me feel better about myself too. I love having my friends quiz me about U2, shouting out random dates of random years and seeing if I can name what leg of what tour the band was on- sometimes, which show .

Thanks for this interview EyesWithPrideB3!

Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.

alexandra_t

14 years

Nice interview Matt.

Can I ask one more question, what are your top 5 favorite video or audio bootlegs? (for those who just started collecting them

)

drewhiggins

14 years

Excellent answers to some great questions there Matt.

Andrew_C

14 years

Originally posted by Remy:Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month May 2010 is user EyesWithPrideB3. Matt, as his name is, lives in Chicago and guitar playing is one of his hobbies. Read along for the interview we had with Matt!

I also love being optimistic. Happiness is what gets me through, a lot of times, even if I have to fake it to myself, convincing myself that I'm happy when I really may not be inside. It tends to brighten people up, which makes me feel better about myself too.

very good read

do u like baseball at all?

Risto

14 years

Thanks Matt for all your reviews and the great interview

LikeASong

14 years

Well, Matt, what can I say? ...........

MattG

14 years

Originally posted by alexandra_t:Nice interview Matt. Can I ask one more question, what are your top 5 favorite video or audio bootlegs? (for those who just started collecting them )

Such a tough question... Here's what I'll have to go with, currently:

2001-10-25: New York, NY
1987-04-29: Rosemont, IL
2009-07-07: Milan
1992-06-11: Stockholm
2001-05-16: Chicago, IL

My top 5 rotates frequently, as I get in the mood for different tours. No PopMart on here now, for example, but when I get in the mood for that, 1997-08-28: Leeds gets thrown in there. Same with shows like...

1989-12-30: Dublin
1992-05-22: Milan
1987-07-08: Brussels

Video bootlegs I tend not to download as much- they're soooo time consuming for my machine to handle, and they take an extra long time to burn, and my software really isn't great either, so it's pretty much usually about a week-long process per getting a show to a DVD. Here's what I've enjoyed the most of my selections though-

1984-11-21: Dortmund, Germany
1993-08-28: Dublin, Ireland (video sources aren't great, but it's a monumental show)
1998-11-02: Santiago, Chile
2001-10-10: South Bend, IN
2005-03-28: San Diego, CA (first night of the Vertigo Tour)
2009-09-12: Chicago, IL
2009-09-13: Chicago, IL
^^The first night in Chicago for camera angle, but the second night for a better performance and better quality.

MattG

14 years

Originally posted by Andrew_C:[..]

very good read do u like baseball at all?

I love baseball! Chicago Cubs all the way, baby!

MattG

14 years

And thank you for the kind words everybody, it was a fun interview!

JohnnyVOXX

14 years

Nice interview Matt!!!!
great read!!!!

emiel

14 years

great interview ...

alexandra_t

14 years

Originally posted by EyesWithPrideB3:[..]

Video bootlegs I tend not to download as much- they're soooo time consuming for my machine to handle, and they take an extra long time to burn, and my software really isn't great either, so it's pretty much usually about a week-long process per getting a show to a DVD. Here's what I've enjoyed the most of my selections though-

1984-11-21: Dortmund, Germany
1993-08-28: Dublin, Ireland (video sources aren't great, but it's a monumental show)
1998-11-02: Santiago, Chile
2001-10-10: South Bend, IN
2005-03-28: San Diego, CA (first night of the Vertigo Tour)
2009-09-12: Chicago, IL
2009-09-13: Chicago, IL
^^The first night in Chicago for camera angle, but the second night for a better performance and better quality.

I understand that very good, the same with my computer. I have only one bootleg from your list - Santiago, 1998 (great concert, no doubt) another DVD from South America that I have is Sao Paulo 1998.01.31 (Mysterious Ways with fan on stage was so funny) And my favorite not a show, but moment with fan on stage is from Las Vegas 2001.11.18, where girl is playing guitar along with Edge and Bono is coming up with lyric about her, awesome performance.

Thanks for answer, I'll try your favorites

Fan of the month May 2010: EyesWithPrideB3

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