|
A quilter’s quest
to meet matchbox twenty.
(Yes, it
was successful! Here's the story.)
Junk mail anyone?
matchbox twenty was on an arena tour in the fall of 2000 and, through the fan club, I
bought tickets to a not-so-local show in Amherst, Mass. because that’s as
close to Connecticut as they were going to be. Since the band is a little quirky
and so was my quilt project, I thought they might like to see it. (And autographs
would be a nice touch on the finished quilt!) So, I wrote a letter to the band’s
"people," with a photo of my project, asking for a meet and greet
opportunity and…they ignored me. But luckily, the local newspaper was
interested in writing a story about my quilting. (I had recently placed as a
finalist in an international quilt show with another project - have a look
if you want to.)
An unexpected opportunity
So, ever the marketer, I used this unexpected publicity
opportunity to talk about my quest to meet matchbox twenty. When the article ran
(ten days before the Amherst show) I rushed a copy and another letter off the
band’s "people," hoping it would add some credibility to my request.
And when I called later in the week to follow up…I got voicemail. Things were
tanking fast…but I still had a few ideas.
A glimmer of hope
So I called the Mullins Center (the
venue where the concert was to be held) and I asked the box office if there was
going to be a "meet and greet." The box office transferred my call to
the marketing director, and…she liked my story. (Finally! Someone was
listening.)
She said there was a meet and greet scheduled, but it was being
handled by the record promoters. She promised to contact the promoters on my
behalf, so I faxed her my letters, article and a photo of the quilt. (Luckily
she was familiar with the CD cover.) I was to follow up with her in a few days
to see if she could help me out.
A lucky star
The next day (four nail-biting days before the
concert) I got an unexpected call from the band’s "people" who
informed me that they put me and my husband, Anthony, on the guest list for the
meet and greet! (And for weeks I was sure they were ignoring me!) Of course I
was thrilled, and Anthony could barely stand me for the next few days (he doesn’t
really understand, but he’s been very tolerant…).
I called Mullins Center to
let them know I was successful. I’m really glad I didn’t have to do anything
really obnoxious, like trample little children at the show as I pushed and
shoved my way to the front row. Or worse, snort like a pig on the radio or chain
myself to a billboard! (I do have standards, you know!)
| 