The Loft Whereabouts

[Guest Speed Racer]

but ultimately there are no real "rules";

 

Yes there are - the rules of decency. I don't see there being any real moral fuzziness on that one.

 

we all reserve the right to make asses of ourselves, and when you reach a certain level of fame, it's to be expected. Just don't shoot anyone.

 

What you need to understand is that while your intentions are clear to you, they are not clear to artist whose space you are approaching. All of the examples you listed above involved deceased artists or places in the public domain. The members of Wilco - or any band - have NO expectation of privacy when you approach them in the alley of a venue, nor in a restaurant or other public arena, but the gall, immaturity and sense of entitlement needed to track down an artist's private property (and please don't try to pull any 'renting v. owning' crap) is nearly incomprehensible to me - I don't care if it's a studio or not, really.

 

Yes, if you happen to be passing The Loft and happen to recognize it as such, a photo outside is goofy, but not wrong. How you would 'stumble' upon it without trying, given my knowledge of that neighborhood, is beyond me.

 

Fame, no matter the level, does come with a decreased expectation of privacy. But just because you as a fan acknowledge that does NOT give you the right to encroach upon an artist's life. Saying, "they're famous, they should expect it," is no justification for immature behavior.

[lessthanIthink]

I end up passing the Loft often on my travels around Chicago. Stalk me and you will eventually find it...

 

LouieB

 

Hmmm....I think I'll just stick with photographing myself outside your office.

[Guest Jesus Etc]

Clue = IP

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Instead of the Loft, why not visit some other Chicago celebrity houses?

 

Such as Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan's house, and while your there (getting chased away by his private security guards) you can go just around the corner and see Barack Obama's house! See how nervous you can make the Secret Service agents parked outside...

 

 

 

Gotta say Google maps are creepy

[yankee]

Instead of the Loft, why not visit some other Chicago celebrity houses?

Barack Obama's house! See how nervous you can make the Secret Service agents parked outside...

 

 

Hey, one of my coworkers lives next door to Barack (he filmed is holiday greeting in her living room). There's definitely plenty of secret service in the neighborhood, and not just parked outside in obvious places.

 

I'm sure lots of people on this board know the location of the loft. Even though I assume people just ask out of curiosity, I think it's cool that people seem cautious about sharing this information. Jeff and the other guys are so accessible, but if fans bug them too much, they might get more distant. Giving them some space actually brings them closer to their fans, you might say.

[Wendy]

... The members of Wilco - or any band - have NO expectation of privacy when you approach them in the alley of a venue, nor in a restaurant or other public arena, but the gall, immaturity and sense of entitlement needed to track down an artist's private property (and please don't try to pull any 'renting v. owning' crap) is nearly incomprehensible to me - I don't care if it's a studio or not, really. ...

 

 

I love you Speed Racer because you put into words exactly how I feel on this topic.

 

Go to the show, meet the band when they most graciously avail themselves to you after the show, but leave them alone in private time.

 

We can geek out pretty much all we want here at the forum, but some of this is IMO (and I'm not alone) crossing into creepy/stalker/entitlement territory. And that's wrong. Other similar threads have been closed as A-Man rightfully pointed out, and for the sake of continuity, I'm putting this one to bed.

 

And I'm going to bed, too. Hopefully I'll dream about tomorrow and being with the band and the fans ALL TOGETHER in one room at The Riv where we can connect with our common ground - the music we love, the fanstastic live performances of songs many of us have never heard performed live. This is so exciting to me, I hope it's great for all of you, too.

 

See you at the show!