I MET THE MAN (MATT SMITH) HIMSELF:
So I’m working up at Target in Athens, Ga., managing the checkout lanes on a normal Tuesday night. I’m standing by our returns desk and in walks a guy who looks kinda familiar. I can’t place him at first, but then the thought crosses my mind: “is that Matt Smith, lead singer and founder of Theocracy?” (He’s from Athens)
I proceed to notice his Mirror Of Souls jacket.
It’s SO him!
I try and gain my composure for a minute and then boldly launch into the following question: “Excuse me, are you Matt Smith from Theocracy?”
He and his lady friend (girlfriend? Wife? Not sure…) both turn towards me as he answers in the affirmative.
At this point I’m like completely star-struck for a moment, as if I’m meeting Jesus or something. Luckily, I am able to stammer something along the lines of: “I love you guys’ stuff.” He, of course, thanks me. I start to feel a little more normal since I actually completed a sentence, even though I feel visibly nervous. I think Matt makes an observation about my name also being Matt (Target name tags – gotta love em).
He mentions that they just got done with a tour in Europe. I ask him how it went, and he says it went pretty good except for a string of shows where he had lost his voice due to very poor touring conditions. I respond with sympathy: “That must have been tough.” He agrees.
Then I tell him that I actually heard about the band in my Target. Someone came in wearing their T-shirt and I asked about it. The fan described the music as having some DT-esque elements, and so I checked it out.
“Cool,” he responds. A little bit of silence, and then he mentions that they’ve got the new album coming out later this November. I say that I’ve already heard the single and that I dig it.
His lady friend pipes up at that point and says, “Well, spread the word about the band.”
I assure her that I already talk the band up a lot on DTF and that there are a few pretty devoted followers already.
Matt interjects that he hasn’t been to any DT forums in a while but still occasionally browses MP’s.
It’s obvious they do want to get back to shopping, though, and so I kinda let the conversation end. They say that they’re actually shopping for a wedding gift for one of the band’s guitar players.
We part ways.
Man, how incredible! To me and my musical taste that was almost as significant as meeting Petrucci or Alex Lifeson. I only regret that I had no camera for a pic nor anything cool to get an autograph on (“Mr. Smith, could you sign my break schedule?” Yeah, that would have been massive douchebaggery). Oh well, he is just a human like me, so maybe I didn’t need an autograph anyway. He was so cool about the whole thing, though, just taking it all in stride – as if he gets recognized at Target all the time. Probably happy to know he’s got some U.S. fans out there.