I Promise I Didn't Throw Any Underwear At Martin Gore

It's been 24 days since I met Mr. Martin L. Gore, founder of the Best Band on the Planet, Depeche Mode--which I've loved since I was 11.

Since then I've been trying to find some way to write about the experience without sounding like a total fan girl...which means that every day I say, "Today's the day I'm going to write about meeting Martin Gore without sounding like a total Justin Bieber-style tween"--and every day I'm unable to express myself like I'm a sane, mature adult. This is, you know, absolutely terrible because, ahem, I'm supposed to be professional...writing about serious things and, you know, using grammar and punctuation correctly. People are going to come here to this blog and be like, um, what in the hell is going on with this woman?

But now that the sun is about to set on the month of May, I figure I have to just get it out there. Laugh at me if you must, but...

OMG!!! I met Martin Gore! And whoooo mama, he is HAWT! And nice. And he shook my hand! And I wanted his outfit! And he has the best black clothes on the planet. And he signed my journal!!! And ZOMG, we have a picture together! And we were breathing the same air!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't be a hater over that last sentence. Sometimes the world absolutely needs more exclamation points, especially when it's Depeche Mode related. Besides, when Martin exhaled, I did indeed inhale. That's called breathing, so I'm not exaggerating.

Yeah, if you think my fangirling is ridiculous on May 31st, just imagine how off the hook this would've been if I'd written it on May 7th--which will now will annually be celebrated as the official Day I Met Martin Gore.

But how did this serendipitous happening come to be? Martin's a charitable sort of guy so he decided to do a DJ benefit for a music nonprofit called the Rockshop Academy. They're located where he lives in Santa Barbara, CA--which is just up the coast from Los Angeles.

I wanted to go to the benefit, but I could NOT see the forest for the trees because I was stressed out. I have a very busy work schedule, two kids that are on two different baseball teams, take piano lessons and swimming lessons, a husband who usually works weekends, no easy access to a reliable babysitter, a dog that regularly destroys my shoes...and so I didn't buy a ticket to the show.

By the time I decided that going would work out somehow, the show was sold out. What's stuck in my mind just as much as meeting Martin is the kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness of my friends and fellow Depeche Mode fans. One friend offered to watch my boys for me. Another super nice fan I'd talked to online but never met in person messaged me on Twitter to ask if I was going, and when I said no, she said she'd try to get me a ticket--which she actually did AND it was a ticket that included the VIP meet-and-greet with Martin. Still another fan asked me if I wanted to carpool up to Santa Barbara with him and another DM fan. My husband thought I was crazy. "Are you really going to get in a car with some people you only know from seeing them at Depeche Mode shows?" Yep, sure did, and it turned out just fine.

Once there, we met Martin in groups of people, and that's probably the only reason I didn't

a) faint
b) throw underwear at him, or
c) faint.

I don't usually get starstruck, but seriously, this was Martin Gore! I'm sure I sounded like an idiot when I told him, "You changed your hair! I like it!"

Instead of having him sign a piece of Depeche Mode memorabilia, I actually had him sign the inside of my personal journal...because--and this is going to sound cheesy to you non-fans but I don't care--Mr. Gore inspires me and I wanted to write where he's written. Here he is signing it:I realized this week that my name and phone number are also on the inside cover. I hope he didn't think I was trying to slip him the digits! (Psst, Martin: I wasn't. OK?)

We didn't get to have individual shots with him, but the official event photographer took group shots with us--that's Martin in the middle.
After the meet and greet, I had a ball dancing and hanging with my fellow fans while Mr. Gore DJ'd. Then I headed back to Los Angeles where I sat down and wrote in the journal I'd just had signed. Aww, heck, OK, here's what I wrote:

"You ever see a little kid on their first trip to Disneyland? How they get that super awestruck look in their eyes that says "OMG, dreams really DO come true?" Well, tonight I had a dream come true that had NOTHING to do with Mickey Mouse. Tonight, I met the man with the wings, Mr. Martin L Gore. Holy crap. I met Martin Gore! THE MLG! The same Martin Gore I made up a hashtag about. #MartinGoreIsTheBombdizzle. And wow, I probably came off like a complete idiot when I met him but that's OK because I'm smiling wholeheartedly for the first time in awhile. When times are tough, I need to remember that people I don't even know all that well, or don't know at all, are kind. There IS goodness and love in this world, even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes. And when you feel uninspired, just write "I met Martin Gore! I met Martin Gore!" over and over again.

I'm not sure what good karma I racked up to make it happen, but wow, I have memories for life!