CreedFeed Community - Mark Meet&Greet Article!

This was posted by Frankie at CreedPit:

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/200...db6000df1c0.txt

True believers
About 1,000 fans flock to Lansing to see Creed guitarist.

BY PHIL ROCKROHR
Times Staff Writer

LANSING -- They came from as far as Madison, Wis., and Paris, Tenn. You might say their creed was evident.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, they started lining up in front of The Music Lab, 17805 Burnham Ave., and around the corner onto 178th Street.

By 5 p.m., about 1,000 rock music fans filed through the modest-sized store to meet Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti.

"It was good, really cool," Tremonti said after the event. "It's awesome because we've been off the road for a long time. I've not been able to get in contact with fans, so it's cool to see where everybody is at."

Jon Hoffmann, 15, drove 2 1/2 hours from Brookfield, Wis., with his band mate, Connor Ashpole, 14.

"When I first started getting into Creed in 2000, my dad bought me my first guitar," an elated Hoffmann said. "I learned one single Creed song and played it over and over for hours. (Tremonti) is the only reason I started playing guitar.

"I always wanted to meet him. This is, like, my life goal."

Like many other fans, Hoffmann respects Tremonti and the band for its musical ability, positive lyrics and open expression of its Christian values.

"They're a rock band that is clean-cut," he said. "Their lyrics are uplifting. Every song is not depressing. They helped me through depressing times, since I'm a teenager."

Paralegal Holly Holland, 29, drove nine hours from Paris, Tenn., to meet an Illinois friend and four Wisconsin friends.

"I'm here for their music," Holland said. "Every girl I'm here with today is a big fan of Creed. It was definitely worth the drive."

Michelle McGrath, 18, a freshman at Indiana University, drove a total of seven hours from Bloomington to her parents' house in Elkhart and then to Lansing.

"Their music has done a lot for me," said McGrath, a communications and culture major. "It's a spiritual thing. I was in a rough time, and really got into music and my life was better."

Some fans may not have driven as far, but perhaps went to greater lengths to get closer to their idol. Owners of Tremonti SE guitars, custom-made by the sponsor of Saturday's visit, Paul Reed Smith, were able to meet privately with Tremonti before the general public.

Jake Kiester, 17, of Lansing, plunked down $450 on Friday just for the privilege.

"I thought he was one of the nicest people, like, ever," said Kiester, a senior at Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing. "Most rock stars are, like, sign autographs and get out of there. He took the time to ask what you thought of the guitar and if you liked it."

Kiester, who has played guitar for about a year, brought a couple Creed songbooks with guitar tablature to the event.

"He checked to make sure they were right," he said. "That was pretty cool."

Fans who visited after 4 p.m. also were treated to a surprise visit by Dan Donegan, guitarist for the popular heavy metal band Disturbed. Donegan, who lives in Orland Park, also plays Paul Reed Smith guitars.

"I've known Mark for a couple years now," he said. "We met at a Sevendust show downtown. We were both in town checking out the show."

Both Tremonti and Donegan signed autographs and posed for photos. Each said his respective band hopes to release a new album by next fall.

Neal Barnhart, owner of the 25-year-old Music Lab, said Saturday's fans were the largest crowd to attend an event at the store. The next biggest group came out for Anton Fig, drummer for talk-show host David Letterman's studio band.

Between the day Tremonti's visit was announced two weeks earlier and Saturday, the store sold about 12 of the guitars bearing his name, Barnhart said. Typically, it sells about two a month, he said.

"We had people buying guitars with credit cards over the phone so they could have a VIP autograph session," Barnhart said. "One girl from Madison bought one and she doesn't even play."

Perhaps the most dedicated fan was Lansing police Officer Patrick O'Brien, who provided security at the event in exchange for a beef sandwich.

O'Brien waited until Tremonti posed for dozens of photos and signed hundreds of autographs before asking for his own.

"I'm a Creed fan," he said, smiling. "I just like rock music."

Hey CollectiveSoul you got mentioned! :D
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