If you’ve been to a rock show, you’ve seen them.
You know, the fans who show up wearing a somewhat faded, just-a-bit-over-the-top T-shirt plus plenty of buttons, baubles and other bling. Ever notice they’re always carrying a plastic bag full of CDs for the band members to sign, yet those fans never stay for the show?
“There’s always a particular kind of fan like that who shows up wearing a strange T-shirt and carrying all of your albums,” Hay said from his tour bus in Omaha. “They always say, ‘You’re not as tall as I thought you were,’ and ‘I’m your number-one fan, I think. … Maybe number two.’ ”
What sets Hay apart from those of us who see these fans and just observe is that he turned such lines into a foot-tapping song that pokes good-natured fun at himself as well as those fans. The song “Pleased to Almost Meet You” is one of the songs on his just-released album, “American Sunshine.”
It’s a seemingly ideal name for the album because — corny as it sounds — Hay has spread plenty of musical sunshine to America for more than two decades now. Many know him as the front man of the ’80s mega pop band Men at Work who had etched the words to “Down Under” and “Who Can It Be Now” into our eternal memory banks.
Then he was a modern-day acoustic troubadour, playing clubs to showcase the way he originally wrote those songs — a million musical miles away from the poppy playlist pleasers they were molded into for MTV.
His peers have always lauded Hay, but now, once again, a new generation has discovered his music and style. If you’re a fan of Zach Braff and “Scrubs,” you’ve likely seen Hay flashing that kid smile and those ever-expressive eyebrows on episodes.
He’s the first to give nods to Braff for helping to reignite his fanbase by including his song “Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You” in the 2004 movie “Garden State.”
It’s little wonder Hay’s loyal fan base — young, old and in-between ages — arrive at clubs ultra-early and stay long after the roadies begin packing up gear. What is it about this songs that work?
“I don’t get too analytical about the songs,” Hay said. “I think this [album] is quite a bit better than the last. … As we get older, we hopefully get better at what we do.”
Lucky for music-lovers, that’s certainly true in Hay’s case.
