encounters

Fan Encounters...
Do you have an encounter with Plus ONE that you'd like to share with us? We'd LOVE to see it and put it up on the site! E-mail it to Erica and Ali at: [email protected]

Ali's encounter from May 3rd, 2002:
This was the first time I'd ever met Plus ONE! We went to the church a few hours early. We hung out by the doors on the way to the busses, and Jeremy came out! So we ran up to him!
Us: Hey Jeremy!!!
Jeremy: Hey!
Me: Can we get a picture and your autograph???
Jeremy: Sure!
Us: Thanks!
Jeremy: No Problem
Me: Happy Birthday Jeremy!
Jeremy: Thanks!
Natalie Grant (yeah she was there too!!): I didn't know it was your birthday today!
Jeremy: Yep it is!
Me: So what time were you born?
Jeremy: uh...I dunno it just happened! (LOL!!!)
Me: oh ok...
Us: Well, thanks! Bye!
Jeremy: Bye guys!

So then we were walking around, and we saw...JASON come out of the door!!! I was with Erica talking to some girls in the fan club, and my mom called us over cuz my sis and her friend found Jason! So when I ran over...
Jason: Hey Alison!
Me (looking suspicious): Hey...How did you know my name???
Jason: oh um
My sis: I told him!
Jason: No actually I'm a prophet!
[laughing]
Jason: So do you like my hair? I'm growing it longer!
Us: Um...yeah
My mom: We saw you on Life Today the other day!
Jason: Oh did you?
Us: yeah!
Jason: Yeah I called my mom that day and she was crying on the phone! She said, " Oh my baby!" and I said, [in southern accent] "Don't cry momma!" (awwwwww!)
Me: I really liked the song you sang on the show, I'd never heard it before!
Jason: Really? You've never heard "His Eye Is On The Sparrow"??
Me: nope!
Jason: Have you seen the "Sister Act II"??
Me: um, no
Jason: oh ok then! (lol)

So then Jason had to go to the bus.
Then we were just sitting there, and this car pulled up. Erica started freaking out cuz she saw Nate in the passenger seat! So we followed the car to another door, and Nate, Gabe, and Nathan got out!!! So we all ran up!
Me: Hey guys!
Guys: Hi!
Me: Can we get pictures??
Guys: Sure!
(When we walked up there was this other guy with Nathan, Gabe, and Nate. He said something about a girlfriend, and the guys thought it was HILARIOUS, but I don't know what he said, I didn't get the joke! lol! It was funny though! Nathan was shaking he was laughing so hard!)
Other guy: Hey I'm one of the Plus ONE guys too!
Us: Which one?
Other guy (pulls back skin by eyes): I'm Jeremy!
Me: We already met him over there! And you look a little different!
Nathan: Yeah with the mohawk and everything!
Other guy: aww man!
Gabe: Do you have a pen? I need a pen! (LOL)
Me: I have a pen!!!
Nathan: I'm Nathan!
Nate: I'm Nate!
My mom (balancing like 5 cameras): Sorry this is taking so long!
Nathan: That's ok we have all day!
Nate: So are you guys excited for tonight?
Us: YEAH!
Gabe: What if they said no???
[laughing]
Nate: ok guys, we gotta go, we'll be late!
Nathan and Gabe: oh yeah! Bye!
Us: Bye!
Me: See you in the meet and greet!
Nate: oh ok bye!

So that was before the concert! In the meet and greet a while later...
Me: This is for you, I made a board game for you!! (I handed him the game)
Gabe: Wow, a board game??
Me: Yeah!
Gabe: Cool! (Hands it to Nathan)
Nathan (showing Jeremy): Oh look! I must be the Hershey's Kiss! And look Jer, you're the penguin! (lol!)
Me (handing Nathan a HUGE Hershey bar): This is for you!
Nathan: WOW! Thanks! (he goes and puts it on the floor and comes back) Did I say thank you?? Thanks so much for all this stuff!
Me: You're welcome!
Me: Hey Jason can you sign your book for me?
Jason: Yeah sure! What's your name?
Me: Alison
Jason: How do you spell that?
Me: A-L-I-S-O-N
Jason: ONE "L"??
Me: yup!
Jason: Oh I get it! (LOL) [looks at all our stuff] WOW You guys brought a ton of stuff!
Me: Yeah we did!

So then we got pictures with the guys! And I was talking during the first one with Nathan so he was like, "Oh that's ok we'll take another one!" So I got 2 with him! :o) And During the concert, I held up my poster I'd made that said, "Chocolate Lover Here!!" and Nathan pointed it out and said, "Chocolate Lover right there! RIGHT ON!!!!!"

After the concert, we lined up along the curb to get autographs and see the guys again! When Nate came by, I asked him if Nathan and Gabe had gotten the guitar pics i had sent them in the mail. He said he wasn't sure but he's ask them. (yeah right! lol!) Then I asked him if he played guitar, and he said yes. So I gave him a guitar pic and he really liked it! Then Nathan came by and I asked him if he got the guitar pics and he said YES! So I asked him if he'd like another and he said, "Oh yeah if you have an extra cuz I'm always losing them!" (yeah i thought he said he was always USING them til Erica told me later! lol!) So anyway I gave him one and he said thanks (again! lol) and he signed my shirt, and OMW it tickles SO bad! lol! Then he smiled (that smile that melts you to the floor! lol) and said, "Nice seeing you again!" Then my mom said to him, "It's nice to see a fellow home schooler!" And he gave her this surprised look and he's like, "Not anymore!" lol! I thought that was cute. But anyway, it was the most awesome experience to meet them! They're so down-to-earth and easy to talk to! I wasn't nervous at all! (Even though i was a nervous wreck that I would chicken out and not say anything at all the day before! lol)

Erica's encounter May 3rd
(pretty much the same as Ali's, so I'll just tell ya what they said to me!! I was very quiet... kinda outa shock!)
Gabe, Nate & Nathan got out the car:
We all say hi,
Nathan: So what are all of your names?
Me: Erica (while shaking his hand)
Nathan: Hi I'm Nathan
Me: Um yeah I know! (ok I'm a dork life go's on!)
Then Nate was like "Hi I'm Nate" I think he just did it to make fun of me! LOL

In the meet & greet:
We give them all of their gifts, & I had this basket full of goodies for them, & Nathan took it & just looked at it, & said "WOW! Thanks so much" then he thanked us like a million times for eveything!
So I go up to Gabe & ask him to sign my pillow that I made (It had a yellow slug bug, with a picture of him me & Ali on it, I made 1 for all 3 of us)
Gabe: Wow thats like the kewlest thing I ever got! Thanks!
Me: Cool (ok I said I was a dork!)
*so we go to Jason*
Me: Hey Jason will you sign my book?
Jason: Sure, whats your name?
Me: Erica
Jason: How do you spell it?
Me: With a C (ok MAJOR dork here)
Jason: *looks at me like I have two heads* so um...?
Me: O sorry E-r-i-c-a (I said it so fast cuz I felt like a wierdo, I dont even know if he heard me but he got it right so...)

Outside after the concert, all of the guys (well except Gabe, cuz he used the old "gotta get a sharpie & never come back" trick! But don't worry next concert I'll be equipped with sharpies! mwahaha) came out to sign stuff & take pics. Nate & Nathan both remembered us & said "Its good to see you again!" AWW!!!!! So thats pretty much all!

Small Encounter from XidONtCARE06 (Thanks so much!!!):
(takin to gabe about the shirts me and my friend made for the concert)
Gabe: hey thats cool.. it must have taken a long time cuz thats a bunch of dots (pointing to their names on the shirt that were seperate dots and glowed in the dark)
Me: yeah it took forever!
My friend: yeeeah! and forever is a long time! ( ya know.. like the song? lol )
Gabe: *giggles a little*... yeah (looking at us like we're total freaks!) those are the best shirts!

Kathy's 2 encounters:
I have been going to concerts ever since I was little. I really wanted to see Nsync later last year but when I heard Plsu One was going to be in Waukasua, Wisconsin(it is near Milwaukee) last year. I didn't want to go to the Nsync concert any more. I went with my aunt, uncle and cousin Emily. We were in the balcony and we were screaming and singing, well me and Emily were. Everyone around us was looking very weirdly at us, it was kind of funny. You want to know another funny thing, I was trying to guess who was who(I got their cd like 2 days before) so I said that Jeremy was Gabe and vice versa, and Nate was Jason and vice versa. They sang all the songs that we liked. We had such a great time. Then afterwards we waited about an hour to get their autographs. When we finally got up there I found out that I was wrong with their names. We also talked to Jason for about a minute, the same with Jeremy and Gabe. We talked to nathan for aboput a minute and a half. We talked to Nate for about 3 minutes. Well when we were talking to Nate my cousin and I froze up. He had asked us our favorite songs. I of course said it wasd My Life, and my cousin waited like a minute and then said that she didn't have a favorite. He also made me blush too by saying that I'm cool. Then my aunt, uncle, and cousin saw them agian and (according to rumor) Plus One was walking around at that concert/festival. I think that is totally cool that they can do that. Plus One HAS CHANGED MY LIFE!!!! I used to listen to only non-christian music, now i only listen to them really. They couldn't have been a better influence on me, but all thanks go to the one and only God. For their talents and them wanting to share him with the world.

Lifest is a 4-day Christian music fesitival in Oshkosh, Wisconsin(my hometown)!!(This is quite long)
The day started off with seeing the guys from PC3 a.k.a. Paul Colman Trio. I watched a bus pulled up to the fence and I watched Jason Perry get out of the bus with a security guy and walk all the way across the fair grounds to the stage where he was going to do a seminar. He talked about how he turned his life around on October 31st, 2000. Then after his seminar we went to his spot where he was signing his books, but he would sign whatever you had with. I got two photos with him, he thought it was only one camera.(LOL) It was one for me and the other was for my friend. He put his arm around me !!!!! Then we saw Gabe and Nathan jump the fence and walk towards the back of the stage. It was so cool!!!!!! Then when it came to thier concert we got to the second row because the girls in front of us were total jerks, but I got alot of pics from it. Then two of our friends went to go save our spots for autographs. They had a live band it was so cool. They played Camoflage, You, I Don't Care, Kick Me, Under the Influence, Going Crazy, Start to Fly, and Forever off of Obvious. They also had Written on My Heart, God Is In This Place, Soul Tattoo, and Last Flight Out. They also did Smooth Criminal(originly done by Michael Jackson). Then I went to go get their autographs. I only waited 30 minutes minimum to get them. I had my shirt I wanted signed on. Just take a guess who was the first one that signed it!........... It was, one of my two favorites, Nate, I asked him "Could you sign my back." He said "sure" but then he said "Wait I don't want to sign your back". It was very jokingly. Then we talked for a couple more minutes during that time I had told him that they did a great job. Then it was Jeremy and I didn't want to talk to him that much, but I did say hi. Then it was Nathan we talked for a few seconds. Then it was Gabe and I told him that they did a great job too, he signed it Dabaski and I din't know until afterwards. Then the last was Jason and I was one of the last three to get his autograph!!! It was me, my cousin Emily and her friend Carisma. It was going to be only me and Carisma, but we begged Jason to sign Emily's shirt. I Think that Jeremy's hair style was so cool he has a mowhak and it looked so great. Nate hair is longer, Jason has longer hair too. I think that Gabe's hair was a bit too long. I was so happy about it. My dad was on the stage crew and said good stuff about us to Jason!!!! I love Nate Cole and Jason Perry and Plus One and will 4-EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really can't wait for the next time I get to see them, I hope it is at the Pure Pop tour, because I want to see Phat Chance and TRUEVibe too.

Ali's encounter in Holland MI, August 21st 2002:

We drove 3 hours to Holland MI, and when we arrived at the church, we weren't allowed inside til 4:00pm. (It was 10:00am!! lol) So we picniced outside the taped-off section and watched from behind the stage as it was being set up. At about 1:00pm some girls that were working there said that the guys would be there in 5 minutes. So we got signs ready and waited for the bus by the curb. Well, they showed up at 1:45! lol! They got their time zones mixed up and got lost on the way! But praise the Lord that they got there! lol! Then we found out that Jeremy was there the whole time but never came out! But anyway, we watched the bus park inside, and all the guys came out so we yelled for them to come over, but they didn't. They went straight to the sound check.
Nate went to the bus awhile later and the door was LOCKED! So we were yelling, "Nate C'MERE!!!" He kept shrugging at us and trying to pry the door open! Then he KICKED the bus door! lol! We all laughed including him! Some guy came over with a key and let him in! When he came back out we yelled to him again and he CAME OVER!!!

Nate (he was halfway to us): ok Bye guys!
us: NO!!!!!!
Nate: I'M JUST KIDDING! (LOL) But I can't stay long guys! Wazzup everybody?
Me (everyone was frozen just staring at him, and he looked really uncomfortable, so I said): Hey! Not too much! We've been here since 10 this morning, we got here before YOU guys!
Nate: Really? wow! Are you guys excited for the concert? (he ALWAYS asks this! lol)
Us:YEAH!!!
So he signed some stuff, and we told him about FRO, and he PROMISED to check it out and sign the guest book! (WOO HOO!) And we gave him some home-made cookies! Then he got yelled at cuz he left the sound check, so he ran back!
After the concert:
Jeremy came through the line pretty fast, so we told him about FRO and gave him his cookies. I gave him a Christian guitar pic and he loved it!
Gabe was actually talkative! We told him all about FRO and he was really interested. He loved the guitar pic too!
Nate LOVED the guitar pic! This is what he said:
Nate: Hey! Did you give one of these to Nathan or something? We have one of these in our house!
Me: Yeah!!!
Nate: oh kewl thanx!
Then Nathan came!! I gave him a guitar pic and this is how our whole conversation went:
Nathan: hey I have one of these! Was it from you?
Me: Yeah that was me!
Nathan: Oh awesome! I always use it!
Me (gathering up courage...lol): Is your earring real?
Nathan: Yep!
Me: Why did you get an EARRING?
Nathan: Uh, I've always wanted one, so I got one! (How am I supposed to argue with THAT?!?! lol!)
Me: Did it hurt?
Nathan: Yeah it hurt a LOT!
Then we told him about FRO, and he promised to visit and sign the Guest Book! (yay!) And gave him his cookies, and we got him to hold our FRO sign that we made! (You saw it on the first entering page as you came in!!)
Jason wasn't there. *sniff* They said it was for personal reasons, and I asked Nathan about him and Nathan said Jason's fine, that he's not hurt or anything! I also asked Nathan if there was anything we could pray for, and he said:
"Um, No thanks! I'm fine!"
LOL! It was so cute! But anyway, I had another great time meeting the guys! :o)

Ali's encounter in Ft. Wayne IN, Winter Jam tour, February 7, 2003:
We arrived at the venue a few hours early (as always...mwahaha) and parked our "PlusOneified" van (we decorated it with foam). We went in to go to the "bathroom"...and ended up setting up Natalie Grant flyers on almost all of the chairs (whew!). I went out to the car, and when I came back a very sleepy Gabe was standing there, looking around like he was lost. So I waved to him and yelled, "Hi Gabe!" to him. He came over and I held the door open for him. I asked him if the other guys were there too, or if he just got there.
Gabe (looks at me): No it's just me.
Me: Oh really?
Gabe (laughs): JK! No they're all here too.
Me: Aww you could be Plus ONE all by yourself!
(ok dorky convo, but it was cool walking in with him! lol) He had the coolest little red suitcase! haha! Then we walked in and met Erin and Erica, and Gabe asked me where the dressing room was(I guess since I knew where the door was I looked like I knew the place! lol!) I told him I had no idea where it was! lol. I pointed down a hallway and told him I guessed it was that way, so he said "ok" and walked that way.
Then we hung around and watched all the other band's sound checks, and then Nate, Gabe, and Jeremy came out. We went over and talked to them after watching and laughing at them be entertained by static electricity...(they thought it was the most hilarious thing to shock each other...*rolls eyes*). We got pictures with Jeremy and Nate (Gabe walked off somewhere) and they signed a few things. Then we gave them their FRO beanies we made them, which they loved of course... Then I pulled out my tape recorder and asked Nate some questions about a few of the songs he wrote for the radio show I was on promoting them. After all that, here's how the conversation went as I remember it:
He asked us how we were doing and stuff like that, then I said:
Me: Why do you have a heart on your shoe? (He had sneakers on, and on the white toe part he had a heart that looked like it was drawn on with a sharpie)
Nate: Oh, you know the band U2? Well, I liked their heart-shaped stage and I was bored one day so I drew the heart on my shoe! (lol!)
Me: Oh ok (while laughing)
So then Nate started chatting with some other people, so I went over to "interview" Gabe with my tape recorder. I was right next to him and I kept saying Gabe? Gabe? GABE?? (He was ignoring me haha) Then he turned and looked at me laughing. He said, I'm just kidding sorry!" Then I asked him if he would sign my cd and he said, "No, jk!" and signed it for me.
The sound check's music was SO loud, he was screaming into the tape recorder! haha! Whenever I started to ask him something, the music just got louder, so I yelled, "Hold on a minute until the music stops!" So he nodded, and then the music stopped, so I started to talk and the music started again. Gabe cracked up so hard! He was like, "HAHA! That was great!!" (I didn't think it was that funny, but hey! lol) After the tape recording stuff, here's some of our convo:
Me (trying to read a little patch on Gabe's shirt): What does your shirt say?
Gabe: Oh, it's not a Christian shirt! haha (It said, "The devil made me do it! LOL!)
Me: Oh I get it!
Then we took some pictures with him.
Me: So you're going to come and visit FRO and sign the guestbook right?
Gabe (sighs): Aww man I am the ONLY one that hasn't signed the guestbook yet?
Me: No, Jeremy hasn't either, but we're working on that one!
Gabe: Oh good! I will I promise! (ok Gabe, we're still waiting on that promise...haha)
So we chatted a while longer, and then Nathan came over with Christy, his girlfriend. We got pix with him and he signed some stuff. Then they had to leave for their sound check.
The show was awesome! Poor Man is the coolest song ever! After the show, we waiting in the autograph line, and they all remembered us. Nate said, "Hello again!" when we came through.
Nathan was next, and I asked him if he remember talking to me online because he had promised to make me "disappear" and he promised he would try it on Gabe before he did it on me (lol!). His face lit up and he said:
Nathan: Oh YEAH! I did say that didn't I? I was just kidding though! (lol! Like I really thought he was going to??)
Me: Yeah I know, but Gabe is back, so you can do it! haha!
Nathan just smiled and laughed. Gabe and Jeremy were just kinda quiet in line, but Gabe gave me the wierdest look when I was telling Nathan that he was here....haha. Then afterwards, I talked to Nathan a little:
Me: Hey Nathan! If I gave you a deck of cards, would you do a trick for me? (Hey, I came prepared with cards ok? lol)
Nathan: No sorry, I need a trick deck! haha!
Me: Aww man!
Nathan: But have you seen my coin trick? I can show you that!
Me: ok!
So he pulls out these coins, and he did something with them with his back turned to us so we couldn't see, I'm not sure what it was but he told these girls who saw him do it not to tell us what he did...lol! So anyway, he came over and asked for a volunteer...
Me: ME! (lol)
Nathan: Ok put out your hand. Now I'm putting these 2 coins in your palm, close your hand as tight as you can!
So I started closing my hand, but his thumbs were stuck in my hand! lol!
Nathan: No keep squeezing! Sorry I have these band aids on! (He had a band aid on his knuckle)
So i squeezed my hand closed again. He took his thumbs out of my palm, blew on my hand, waved his hands around in the air, and told me to open my hand. When I opened it, only 1 coin was left! Pretty clever!
Me: COOL! Now will you show us the secret?
Nathan: Haha, no! (LOL!)
So then the guys had to leave.*sniff* It was another fun encounter! =)