A survey on The Cure fans--you wanna take part?

Hello,

I am doing a survey on Cure fan mentality: If there are things we all share in common, what exactly we all love about The Cure and if there is such a thing as the typical Cure fan. We have all heard lots of clichés, and now I want to find out if they´re true!
I am also planning to write an essay about the results in school, so I would be really glad if I got some responds before the end of February. I have to warn you, though: I do have a lot of questions! Just answer whichever you´d like to respond to. The ones I deem the most important are those I typed in capitals.
These would be the questions:

IN GENERAL…







→ HOW AND WHEN DID YOU GET TO KNOW THE CURE?

I heard them on college radio in 1982.





→ WHEN AND BECAUSE OF WHAT DID YOU TURN INTO A FAN

The music attracted me but Robert's superior linguistic skills kept me. In addition, I really enjoy Robert's interviews. He would probably be someone who would be incredible to sit with for a few hours and just listen to him speak about life. It is more than obvious he is very intelligent and I adore intelligent people. 


→ Do you consider yourself a die-heart Cure fan?

Hmm I have all of their albums and have been to see them 20 times. I flew to England twice just to see them. I drove to Pittsburgh 5 hours each way once, Philadelphia 10 times, New York City several times all by myself to see them and went to most shows prior to 2011 by myself to see them. I have 4 TBs of Cure bootlegs so I would think I'm a die hard fan but I don't collect a lot of the stuff other's collect. I have never been a "collector" of things. So you be the judge. 






→ What’s your favorite Cure-related memory? → Do you listen to The Cure every day?


My favorite memories are being right up front in 1984 to see them at Buffalo College. Sadly I did not get to meet them at that time. Another favorite memory is seeing them in England in 2012 for the first time with other die hard Cure fans. 

Yes, there isn't a day that goes by I don't listen to some Cure so yes every day. 



YOU



(I’ll be writing about what we, as fans, have in common, so this part is on your person…)







→ WHAT OTHER HOBBIES DO YOU HAVE?

I draw and paint, write stories, and I play the piano.



→ DO YOU DO SPORTS? DO YOU DANCE?
When I was younger I played baseball. I was the first girl on our local little league team at age 9. I love Baseball. 

Do I dance? haha Not well and not often. 


→ HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?

Hmmm, I am passionate, very impatient, caring, forgiving, semi-intelligent good taste in music (don't laugh)  annoying at times and very witty.  



→ HOW OLD ARE YOU?

Hmm normally this is an impolite question, naughty naughty,  but since I don't hide my age 53. 

→ Do you believe in gender differences?

Hmm not sure in what context you mean this. I'm assuming in thought process not anatomically. Yes, I think men and women view things slightly differently. I think most men are more black and white and most women are various shades of grey. I am not a typical woman though. I don't really fit most stereotypes. I found most Cure women don't actually fit the typical woman stereotype. The women Cure fans I know are brilliant, profound, and extremely interesting and not stereotypical at all. I love that most because historically I have always got along with men better than women but Cure women are the exception. They are fabulous!  

→ Are you “depressed”?

No. (this has always been an incorrect stereotype of Cure and Goth fans that we are all just one sharp knife away from suicide). I have times when I am sad but 99% of the time I am not sad. Life is too short to be depressed. I love laughing and making people laugh. I pride myself on my quick wit. Some appreciate it and some do not but...that is me. I got that from my dad who was an amazingly charming, funny, kind, and wonderful person. 

→ Do you do any music yourself?

Yes I have some on my soundcloud page. 

→ Are you married?

No

→ Do you have or want kids?

No an No

→ Do you prefer listening to CDs, to records or to downloads?

I usually listen to my music digitally but I have all of The Cure albums and CDs and occasionally will listen to them on my big stereo. 

→ What are your eye and hair colors? (Those are actually supposed to indicate certain character traits...)

My natural hair color is brown but my hair is dyed black. Eyes are brown. 

→ How tall are you?

5'2"

→ What kinds of clothes do you like to wear?


I wear black every day. I do have some dark purple, dark red, and dark green tops and one really gaudy ugly gold sweater for holiday parties and stuff (just dug that out yesterday) but 99% of the time I'm in black. I am not a fan of dresses and skirts. I prefer slacks. I am not a high heel person either. I like my Dr Martens or my TUKs. 






US



(what do we think of our own fan attitude?)







→ HOW WOULD YOU DRESCRIBE OUR GENERAL FAN MENTALITY?


I have found Cure fans to be some of the most interesting, brilliant, complex and amazing people. 






→ DO YOU AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS?





1. Robert says fans of the band are “generally very passionate” and “all beautiful and clever.”

Yes definitely.

2. Simon notes fans often “feel a bit alienated”.

I don't know exactly what Simon meant by this but I will assume he meant alienated from the main stream people and if this is what he meant then absolutely yes. I despise main stream radio, for the most part (once in a while a main stream song interests me but it's usually short lived) although my taste in music has always been VERY eclectic. I don't pigeon hole myself into only listening to Goth and Alternative. I love classic rock, blues, jazz, some pop. But in regards to other main stream things I am not trendy. I typically do not follow trends. I do the same boring things every day. haha


3. Many people are convinced most Cure fans are not that good in sports.

Read my baseball information again. I was actually a star baseball and softball player and won three championships. I'm not sure about other fans. I know there are a lot of TCC members who like Football both European and American. 

5. Psychoanalyst Catherine Lavaillant stated in the MTV icon show in 2004 that the Cure “helps [fans] with their adolescent issues”.

Hmm well I was 18 when I first started listening to them so It is hard for me to answer this question. I do think The Cure have helped adolescents in that they make it known it is okay to be "different" than the main stream. You don't have to fit into society's perfect little box. So I think yes then. 

4. We are all fairly obsessed with our very favorite band.

For some fans obsession is an understatement. haha




→ What else is there that you’re convinced we all share?

Although Robert has always said The Cure is NOT a Goth band, I do think there are a lot of Goth Cure fans (I am one of them although not as heavy Goth as some). Having said that I like dark things and I think a lot of Cure fans also like dark things. When I say Dark things I mean art, other music,  poetry, books, movies, etc... I noticed there are a lot of Cure fans who like Sci Fi, Super hero movies etc... I fit right in with that. 

→ Do you personally know other Cure fans? Can you connect with them?

I know a ton of Cure fans and adore them. I have met in person many of the TCC members and we have been friends since at least 2010. Some TCC members were friends even before that. 

→ Have you been to a Cure concert yet? If so, when was it? And what was it like?


20. The last one was December 3, 2016 at Wembley Arena in England. It was awesome as always. I am lucky. I can't say any of the 20 Cure concerts I have seen personally were bad. 




THE CURE MUSIC







→ WHAT´S THE BEST PART ABOUT THE CURE´s MUSIC?

It's extremely good! Also, Cure music does not follow patterns. It's different than other music. For example: Push Is 4:32 but Robert doesn't start singing until 2:24 and there is a small verse, a long verse, and another small verse. Robert doesn't follow patterns. He writes songs based on his feelings and thoughts and basically however the heck he wants to. The beauty of a Cure song.


→ What’s the first Cure song you ever heard, do you remember?

A Forest on College radio. 

→ Do you have a favorite Cure album and/or song? Can you tell why you prefer that song or record to all others?

A Forest is my favorite Cure song. It's hard to pick an album. I listen to Seventeen Seconds, Faith, Pornogrphy and Kiss Me the most. 

→ What’s your personal opinion on Lol’s leave in 1989?


I think if Lol didn't leave he would be dead. I think Robert saved his life by kicking him out. He had no choice. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to get better. I meant Lol last year and he was lovely. He was very sweet, funny, and was thoughtful about everything. I am glad he is in a better place. I also think we will see him make other appearance with The Cure in future.  








THE BAND PERSONA AND IMAGE







→ DO YOU ALSO CARE ABOUT ROBERT SMITH AS A PERSON?

Of course! Every time I read a celebrity has passed away my heart stops. I care about all of the band members. 

→ WOULD YOU SAY ROBERT´S CHARACTER IS SIMILIAR TO YOUR OWN?

I think Robert has this sarcastic side to him that I would absolutely appreciate! I do appreciate the fine art of sarcasm. I also think he is not materialistic which I appreciate.  

→ DO YOU CARE MOSTLY ABOUT THE MUSIC OR IS THE CURE IMAGE AS IMPORTANT TO YOU?

Although I appreciate Robert still wears the black, does his hair up and wears the make-up, the music is most important. 


→ DO YOU IMITATE THE CURE LOOK YOURSELF?

Hmm the closest I ever came is doing my hair like Robert's but usually no. 

→ If Robert Smith left the band, would you still remain a fan?

The Cure would not be The Cure without  Robert. 

→ Has Robert Smith or another band member sometimes been like an invisible friend to you?

No I don't think of them that way. 

→ Do you have a favorite band member?

It would have to be Robert. Although I would not like it if he suddenly went on his own or called the band Robert Smith and The Cure. Also, I think Simon is a very important part of the band. I am not sure the band could survive without him even if Robert was still there. 

→ Do you also enjoy watching Cure cover bands and parodies?


I think there are some good Cure cover bands so yes them. Parodies no. I don't like when The Cure are mocked or made fun of. 


I´m excited to see whether I´ll manage to really do this survey--looking forward to your replies! Thanks so, so much in advance!



PS I apologize for quoting people in other threads to ask whether they wanted to take part. I didn´t mean to annoy you.

Yes keep the survey here. I'm sure others may take the time to participate. It is a little long though so you might not get the response you are looking for but I hope my answers help.