SILENT FORCE Singer Says American Fans Are More Demanding Than Their European Counterparts

February 17, 2004

SILENT FORCE frontman D.C. Cooper (ex-ROYAL HUNT) recently spoke to Pittsburgh's The Tribune-Review about the differences between the American fans and those in Europe and Japan, where Cooper is said to be looked upon as "a heavy-metal superstar."

"The music programs in schools (in Europe) emphasize music to a higher degree," said Cooper.

"They try to turn kids on to more things. They put music more in children's lives when they're in school," he continued. "Here, it's, OK, go to music class where Mom and Dad have to pay $35 for a plastic recorder. If the kid picks it up, good, if not, oh well. But over there, it seems like it is a part of life."

"When you go to a concert hall in Japan, there are always people waiting for you," Cooper said. "They won't crowd you or stick a camera in your face — they let you come to them."

In 1999, when the Japanese stock market collapsed, Cooper says fans showed up to wait for him even though they could not afford tickets.

"That's the kind of stuff that hits you in the heart," he said, adding that he tried to get people on the guest list, but there were too many to accommodate.

Cooper thinks some American fans demand more than just a run-through of a band's greatest hits. At shows in the U.S., there are guys he calls the music police, striking belligerent poses with arms crossed.

"They stand there and it's like they're saying, 'C'mon, impress me,'" Cooper said. "Because there's so much music that's been done so many times before, they want to see something new. Even if it's a band they've known for years, they want to be wowed and amazed.

"But in Europe, it's always like an event. It seems people enjoy it from absolutely the start to finish, from the opening band all the way to the end. Usually, ticket prices are higher, a lot higher than they are here in the United States, depending on what country you're in. They really want to see the whole show from start to finish. They want to feel the vibe from beginning to end." [Read more]

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).