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Cathy's Coconuts Autograph Signing Review November 4, 1998
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At 10PM November 3rd, I was on the net (at the Hanson Hotel), and I
suddenly read "November 4th- Hanson appearing live at Coconuts Music
store in Manhattan, NY at 4PM to sign autographs". Boy did I SCREAM :) I
ran down to my parents and begged the daylights out of the to let me
go... and at 5AM on November 4th, they finally said "ok". I was soooo
happy, I was crying. WELL, at 7AM, my dad dropped me off at the bus
station here in New Jersey, and I boarded it ALONE and left to the city.
Yes, I went all by myself into NYC to see Hanson, it was really awesome.
After getting stuck in 2 hours of traffic (I was SO impatient, I was
like "AAAhhhh, get this damn ting moving! I gotta see Hanson!"), I
finally arrived at the port authority bus place in the city & I headed
to the Coconuts music store at 6th Avenue & 51st Street (I found this
addy on the net). I was wearing flared jeans, new adidas sneakers, and 8
layers of shirts (my "I Love Taylor" shirt was on top of course, hehe),
and I had a red/maroon vest-jacket over it. Yes, I wore 8 layers... I
felt like a pudge but it was FREEZING outside! I found the Coconuts
music store, and there were only about 50 fans sitting there. I got in
line and talked to some fans (the girl who got Zac's drum sticks on
Rosie) and some other cool people. It was only 9AM, and we had to wait
until 4PM to meet Hanson (we waited 7 hours out in the COLD sidewalk...
it was definitely worth it though!). I met this really cool girl from
Queens, NY, and it was her first time seeing Hanson ever (not only does
she get to finally see them live, she gets to meet! Cool huh?) I brought
a sleeping-bag for us to sit on, and it also held our place in line. We
counted down each our of the day and we just hung out.
Finally 4PM came, and there were about a thousand people lined up to
meet Hanson! We all anxiously awaited for them to arrive, and guess
what? They were 1 hour late! Oh boy, we were SO impatient, everyone was
freaking out, hehe. Everyone was like "where the heck are they?!?" but
supposedly they got stuck in traffic. By 5PM, a big dark van pulled up
to the door and there was a roar of screaming. Ike, Tay and Zac jumped
out and ran in the doors of the store. The crowd surged forward and
everyone was squooshed like a pancake. Security let about 10 people in
at a time, and I was in the 4th group of people to go in. We walked in
the store, and across the room there was a large green desk with "Live
From Albertane" pics/signs everywhere (they were there to promote it),
and there sat Ike, Tay and Zac (Ike was on the left side, Zac in the
middle, and Tay on the right side). Actually, Zac was not sitting... he
was like leaning over the table with one leg on his chair, just hangin
around & signing people's cds. Fans walked up one at a time to meet &
greet them, we went from Isaac down to Taylor, then we were forced to
leave.
My turn to meet them came, and I calmy & coolly walked up to Ike...
while walking towards him I could tell he recognized me, just his facial
expression, hehe. I said "Heeey!!" then Ike smiled & was like "Hey, itz
you again!", I laughed. He signed my cd cover, gave it back to me, and I
looked at Zac, but he was talking to the fan before me. I put my hand
out in front of Ike, and he shook it :) I smiled & thanked him. Then I
cruised on over to Zac, and let me tell you, he is SO cute! He has
gotten so big & mature, aahhh! Hehe, Zac put his hand out & said "Hey!"
so I shook it (he squeezed my hand so tightly, I thought it would fall
off, hehe! And he wouldn't let go, we shook up & down like 7 times,
hehe, I didn't know what to do) and while shaking I said "Heeey Zac, it
nice to meet you", he was smiling. He took my cd cover, signed it and
handed it back to me. I smiled & thanked him. That was my first time
actually meeting ZAC, I was SO happy! Then I went over to Taylor and I
was a little shy, I don't know why. He looked at me with this face like
'oh I know her' and he smiled & said "Hey!". He noticed my shirt, and he
had this grin on his face, hehe, I was basically speechless, I was
blushing really bad. I handed him my cd cover. He signed it really big &
weirdly, it rocks! He handed it back to me and turned around to look at
something. I only had a few seconds left, and I wanted to talk to him
more so I said "Hey Taylor!" and he turned. I was like "Here, I made
this for you guys" and I handed him this card I made, he smiled &
thanked me. Then a security dude called him and he was like "What?!" and
by then I had to leave :( I walked away, went through the curtains and
started tearing from happiness. Although this was very rushed (it was
sorta like sign it-sign it-sign it-BYE), it was still AwEsOmE. I think
it was VERY sweet of them to do this for us fans, do you realize how
many times they had to sign their name that night? Ugh, it must have
sucked (I could tell they didn't like being there, who would?!). I don't
think they realize how much it meant to us fans. For us to be able to
meet & greet them, itz like a dream come true. I really appreciate how
they did this, and I hope they will do it again. I have my autograph
framed :)
Oh yeah, absolutely NO pictures were allowed (which suuucked),
but at least we got autographs. I REALLY wanted a picture, but it was
prohibited. Oh well, I'll always remember this experience, and the
autograph is just AmAzInG!!!
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