It was backstage after the May 1998 "exile-tour" gig at The Palace...(where a Ridiculous Marylon Manson got on stage w/ Gary during "down in the Park" & RUINED the song as he sang along w/ Gary)...that was the ONLY down-side of the show...other than that, it was EXCELLENT!
Anyway, backstage, He was SOOO Cool & VERY kind and friendly.
My friend and I were NOT supposed to be back there(the security guy FINALLY let us in after we talked him into it.( I guess it helps if your friend is a really cute girl!) ...& with Gary's kindness, he invited us to hang out.
It was just Gary, his girlfriend/wife, his manager, the other band members, and just me & my friend!!
We all (the 9 or 10 of us) had drinks with him(for about 30-45 min,) & Gary & I ACTUALLY discussed Christianity, as I am a Christian, and we discussed some of the "contraversial lyrics" on his "exile" album..
I actually told him I disagreed with some of his views RE: the Exile cd & that I actually didn't like it as much, (because of some of the content on the CD that I disagreed with), & He was TOTALLY cool about it!! (as he is an agnostic/athiest)...
he actually COMPLIMENTED me on my courage for saying how I TRULY felt, rather than lie about it. he said ..."you know, It really takes balls to come out and say that, I respect that. Most fans who might feel the way you do would NOT even talk about it, or if they DID, they would probably lie and "sugar-coat" it by saying "oh yes, I really liked the new album etc', & not even bring up their REAL feelings, so I appreciate your honesty"....
He also said that He & HIS DRUMMER actually talk about religion/christianity a lot...as he said that his drummer was a Christian & "pretty much feels the same way that you do"...(I don't know if he has the same drummer now, as he did 8 yrs ago, as I only saw Numan one time in concert)
But gary laughed & joked, saying , " yeah, we "argue/dabate" about that stuff sometimes, as he(the drummer) is always trying to talk to me about God/Jesus......but I still love him anyway" and Gary and the drummer laughed about it. ...and Gary & I talked about other things too, of course...i.e. musical influences, how his "gig" went that night, etc. etc.
Now don't get me wrong, I am NOT some bible-thumping X-IAN on a soap-box, I don't go around "preaching" etc. I am REALLY, VERY open-minded, as I have friends who are Wiccan, homosexuals, Pagan's etc....and I LOVE them ALL!! (they all know how I feel, we just "agree to dis-agree" when it comes to that subject) ...and i have my vices etc. that would make some people think "there is NO way tht guy is a Christian!"
I just happened to talk to Gary(by pure coincidence, it was NOT planned) about that stuff ...I probably did it b/c my inhibitions were GONE, as I was GONE, & FLYING HIGH(because I was on Oxy-Contin(it's like morphine) for back pain from a car accident) and I didn't really care WHAT I was saying....... :-)
And I DON'T think Gary would of REALLY talked to me as long or as in-depth as we did, if I was NOT true to my heart, re: my views/beliefs.
Because, as he WAS very nice to us, it was not until we started talking about Christianity etc., that I noticed he really opened up & took much more interest in me & what I was saying...in fact, for a while, it was JUST the 2 of us talking...we had "tuned out" the others around us for a little while.
So, I guess the moral here is: ....no matter WHAT you believe, be TRUE to youself & be a genuine person and for the MOST part, if you do that, I think people(like Gary did) will respect you more for being real, & you can STILL be friends with someone DESPITE what either of you believe........ Just food for thought!
But anyway, ...it WAS killer meeting and talking with Gary!!
Grant
Anyway, backstage, He was SOOO Cool & VERY kind and friendly.
My friend and I were NOT supposed to be back there(the security guy FINALLY let us in after we talked him into it.( I guess it helps if your friend is a really cute girl!) ...& with Gary's kindness, he invited us to hang out.
It was just Gary, his girlfriend/wife, his manager, the other band members, and just me & my friend!!
We all (the 9 or 10 of us) had drinks with him(for about 30-45 min,) & Gary & I ACTUALLY discussed Christianity, as I am a Christian, and we discussed some of the "contraversial lyrics" on his "exile" album..
I actually told him I disagreed with some of his views RE: the Exile cd & that I actually didn't like it as much, (because of some of the content on the CD that I disagreed with), & He was TOTALLY cool about it!! (as he is an agnostic/athiest)...
he actually COMPLIMENTED me on my courage for saying how I TRULY felt, rather than lie about it. he said ..."you know, It really takes balls to come out and say that, I respect that. Most fans who might feel the way you do would NOT even talk about it, or if they DID, they would probably lie and "sugar-coat" it by saying "oh yes, I really liked the new album etc', & not even bring up their REAL feelings, so I appreciate your honesty"....
He also said that He & HIS DRUMMER actually talk about religion/christianity a lot...as he said that his drummer was a Christian & "pretty much feels the same way that you do"...(I don't know if he has the same drummer now, as he did 8 yrs ago, as I only saw Numan one time in concert)
But gary laughed & joked, saying , " yeah, we "argue/dabate" about that stuff sometimes, as he(the drummer) is always trying to talk to me about God/Jesus......but I still love him anyway" and Gary and the drummer laughed about it. ...and Gary & I talked about other things too, of course...i.e. musical influences, how his "gig" went that night, etc. etc.
Now don't get me wrong, I am NOT some bible-thumping X-IAN on a soap-box, I don't go around "preaching" etc. I am REALLY, VERY open-minded, as I have friends who are Wiccan, homosexuals, Pagan's etc....and I LOVE them ALL!! (they all know how I feel, we just "agree to dis-agree" when it comes to that subject) ...and i have my vices etc. that would make some people think "there is NO way tht guy is a Christian!"
I just happened to talk to Gary(by pure coincidence, it was NOT planned) about that stuff ...I probably did it b/c my inhibitions were GONE, as I was GONE, & FLYING HIGH(because I was on Oxy-Contin(it's like morphine) for back pain from a car accident) and I didn't really care WHAT I was saying....... :-)
And I DON'T think Gary would of REALLY talked to me as long or as in-depth as we did, if I was NOT true to my heart, re: my views/beliefs.
Because, as he WAS very nice to us, it was not until we started talking about Christianity etc., that I noticed he really opened up & took much more interest in me & what I was saying...in fact, for a while, it was JUST the 2 of us talking...we had "tuned out" the others around us for a little while.
So, I guess the moral here is: ....no matter WHAT you believe, be TRUE to youself & be a genuine person and for the MOST part, if you do that, I think people(like Gary did) will respect you more for being real, & you can STILL be friends with someone DESPITE what either of you believe........ Just food for thought!
But anyway, ...it WAS killer meeting and talking with Gary!!
Grant
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Phoenix
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Re: has anyone got the chance to "hang-out" with Mr. Webb(G. Numan)....I actually HAVE!!
Tue, January 24, 2006 - 4:22 PMthat's the deal. he really IS a nice guy. a regular "Jo". hell, his parents run the mail order end on Nu-World.
a lot of people had problems with Exile, mainly because a lot of people couldn't accept it as what it was: a WHAT IF scenario, as in "what if god and the devil were actually one in the same", which, while certainly going against a lot of people's beliefs, also held a wealth of material to write from.
possibly the lowest point of that tour was when Gemma had a miscarriage, and some "fan" took that as an opportunity to send a message to him telling him all about how it was god's way of punishing him for what he dared to say on Exile. afterward, Gary took all of his feelings from his and his wife's experience and released what is probably his most persaonl album to date, Pure. i have no doubt that you also didn't like the content on Pure, but his reaction is quite understandable. even someone with faith would find themselves questioning god after living through such anguish, and, possibly, especially having been brought up in a culture surrounded by the ever pervasive church of england... -
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Re: has anyone got the chance to "hang-out" with Mr. Webb(G. Numan)....I actually HAVE!!
Tue, January 24, 2006 - 9:23 PMactually, I have questioned my faith MANY times, especially when I was REALLY struggling to stay clean(after 5 yrs of heroin addiction)....I am happy to say though, that I've been clean for a little over 4 yrs now! :-)
But, I CANT BELIEVE THAT A FAN(and a VERY INSENSITIVE one at that) would ACTUALLY have the nerve to write such a LUDICROUS and ASININE letter, saying "it was your fault she had a misscariage, because God's punishing you for Exile's content",,,,,THAT IS HORRIBLE!! God does not do that kind of stuff just to PUNISH someone, ....that is truly a SHAME!!
I can't believe that a "fan" would do THAT to Gary and Gemma, (especially after what JUST happenned) AND while they are grieving TOO! :-(
It is THAT kind of SHIT, that gives us TRUE Christians a bad name, ....like i said in my previous post, it DOES NOT MATTER, what someone ELSE believes, ( i.e., Gary & I STILL had a great time talking...b/c I ACCEPTED/RESPECTED him JUST as he is & for whatever HE chooses to believe & Gary did the same w/ me, he ACCEPTED/RESPECTED ME for what I choose to believe)....he really IS a GREAT guy!! ...and I actually DO like PURE & Exile(as far as the music goes), because I STILL like the music & I STILL respect Gary for his freedom to voice HIS opinons & views etc....
and then He gets some MORON writing him stupid lies like that!
That IS a DISGRACE!!
Just Curious....How did you hear about this idiot writing him such a moronic letter???
anyway, he truly is a regular "JO" (the waiter) :-) ...I knew his dad managed him way back in the late 70's and 80's etc....but I had NO idea that his parent STILL do that stuff(running the mail-order) for him.....
that is REALLY COOL!! (I wish that I had parents like THAT)!!
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Re: has anyone got the chance to "hang-out" with Mr. Webb(G. Numan)....I actually HAVE!!
Tue, January 24, 2006 - 10:56 PMyay! you got the reference! ok, not that it was really obscure, but it could still have whipped right by someone.
the story about the 'message', as well as about his parents working the mail order were both fairly new in the "new" section of NuWorld when i first 'found' the site a few years ago. what that means is that they may be archived there still. or not. i'll have to admit i haven't checked in lately.
i'll also admit i haven't checked out the download from the new album, so i guess i have an excuse to head over there. i'm wondering what direction the album will take. musicwise, subjectwise, etc. have also been wondering for quite some time now if fatherhood will have any affect, ie: less alienation, in every sense and pun of the word... -
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Re: has anyone got the chance to "hang-out" with Mr. Webb(G. Numan)....I actually HAVE!!
Tue, January 24, 2006 - 11:06 PMok... guess i should update my own thoughts as far as fatherhood affecting it goes. the people he's working with are all familiar from the last album, but, more important than that, his second child was born october 18th... -
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Re: has anyone got the chance to "hang-out" with Mr. Webb(G. Numan)....I actually HAVE!!
Wed, January 25, 2006 - 5:22 AMyou know I would bet that fatherhood for gary HAS made him less ALIEN-ated....I didn't know he had a SECOND child ....Cool! ...and I AM curious to hear wht his new cd will sound like too!
what is so special about October 18th though?? -
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Re: has anyone got the chance to "hang-out" with Mr. Webb(G. Numan)....I actually HAVE!!
Wed, January 25, 2006 - 8:02 AMoctober 18th rules cause its my best friends birthday.... also, good job, starfucker.
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Re: has anyone got the chance to "hang-out" with Mr. Webb(G. Numan)....I actually HAVE!!
Wed, January 25, 2006 - 12:13 PMi just figured i'd include that (october 18) because it showed how long ago i'd checked in with NuWorld news. that's when she was born. -
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Re: has anyone got the chance to "hang-out" with Mr. Webb(G. Numan)....I actually HAVE!!
Wed, February 1, 2006 - 5:17 PMThat's a great story, Grant! I'm rather envious. I've always heard nice things about Gary.
Oh and congratulations on being clean. I know how hard it can be.
Oct 18 is my birthday too yeah
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