someone did an interview with me a few weeks ago.
i thought it was cute so i posted it.
enjoy
When the local Chicago rock band, Kill Hannah, released a new album last month, two girls attending an in-store performance by the band asked Jyn Radakovits for her autograph. The casual observer could consider autograph signing a normal occurrence at a band's record release and it would have been, if Radakovits was a member of the band. "It was weird. I don't know why they did that, why they wanted my autograph. I'm not famous." She said. Jyn Radakovits may wonder why fans tend to hold her in high esteem but her history with the band combined with her willingness to help make her among the most well know in the Kill Hannah fan community.
Jyn Radakovits first heard the band Kill Hannah in 1997, while watching the music video television program JBTV. Then a college freshman majoring in journalism at Lewis University, she was inspired to learn more about the band not only because she liked the music but also because she was looking for a story to write. After contacting the band and attending a concert, she began a relationship with the members that made her their semi-official writer. Recalling the experience, Radakovits laughed and said "It started off as me trying to make a buck and developed into a 'while you're here'situation." Radakovits did not know that the favors she was doing for the band then, including contributing to their press kit and several reviews, would develop into even more favors that would become an enormous part of her life.
Once becoming a devoted fan of the band, Radakovits joined the Kill Hannah Internet message board. Through the message board she become friends with many fans and, on a whim, decided to have a party before an upcoming concert. The party was a starting point for what would become the Kill Hannah street team. The street team eventually became a group of over 2,000 fans that helped promote the band and Radakovits was its leader. The position on the street team made her well known through out the Kill Hannah fan community.
Radakovits became even better known when she was elected by popular vote to be a moderator for the message board even after refusing a nomination (the moderator is the person who reviews all comments made on the message board to eliminate hateful language as well as to provide and correct any information about the band). She held the position of moderator for a few years, until this past fall when a mutual agreement with Kill Hannah's record label, Atlantic Records, allowed her to step down.
"It was really stressful. I would spend three to four hours a night cleaning things up [on the message board] and get a call late at night and get yelled at for something. It was why didn't you do this and why is this still on there There was a lot of miscommunication and things not getting said from the management." Radakovits stated.
Despite her release from the position of moderator, she is still an active message board member. "I still do a lot on the boards though. I'll flag something that needs to be looked at, try to help out." Radakovits' comment about trying to help is typical of her relationship with the other fans. She offers assistance to any fan in need whether it is to send hard to come by merchandise, provide transportation to shows or even a place to stay for out of town fans. Kelly, a Kill Hannah fan and message board member, recalls, "Jyn offered me a ride to a show and she doesn't know me-that's dedication!" Radakovits explains her willingness to help is based on the fact that she can help. "I think that's one of my flaws, I let myself get into things" referring to her inability to deny help if she can even when she does not have to. She also cited the people in the Kill Hannah fan base for her inspiration to help as well.
Radakovits, who is now a music journalist and manager for another band, states that the fan community is very close and the closeness is exclusive to Kill Hannah, "I am really into the local [Chicago] scene and I have never seen this with any other band." She speculates that the fans tend to be so close to one another for a few reasons including similar economic/family backgrounds among the younger fans, similar musical tastes outside of the band (such as the Smashing Pumpkins, the Cure, the Smiths and My Bloody Valentine) as well as a background based in the arts for the older fans. "I've made a lot of friends from knowing the band." which is a statement that includes the band members themselves.
While many people would never devote so much time and energy to a band that most people have never heard of without getting paid, Radakovits has her rewards. Along with many great friendships and aesthetic perks (more Kill Hannah albums), she receives other things that surprise her such as job offers. "I got a job offer from a magazine in Germany because I know Mat" she laughs. She also said that she would never understand why so many of the other fans hold her in such high esteem. To many Kill Hannah fans Jyn Radakovits is a person to look to when in need and admire for her helpfulness. She struggles to remind them that, in her eyes, she does not deserve their praise because she is just like them; she is just another fan.
i thought it was cute so i posted it.
enjoy
When the local Chicago rock band, Kill Hannah, released a new album last month, two girls attending an in-store performance by the band asked Jyn Radakovits for her autograph. The casual observer could consider autograph signing a normal occurrence at a band's record release and it would have been, if Radakovits was a member of the band. "It was weird. I don't know why they did that, why they wanted my autograph. I'm not famous." She said. Jyn Radakovits may wonder why fans tend to hold her in high esteem but her history with the band combined with her willingness to help make her among the most well know in the Kill Hannah fan community.
Jyn Radakovits first heard the band Kill Hannah in 1997, while watching the music video television program JBTV. Then a college freshman majoring in journalism at Lewis University, she was inspired to learn more about the band not only because she liked the music but also because she was looking for a story to write. After contacting the band and attending a concert, she began a relationship with the members that made her their semi-official writer. Recalling the experience, Radakovits laughed and said "It started off as me trying to make a buck and developed into a 'while you're here'situation." Radakovits did not know that the favors she was doing for the band then, including contributing to their press kit and several reviews, would develop into even more favors that would become an enormous part of her life.
Once becoming a devoted fan of the band, Radakovits joined the Kill Hannah Internet message board. Through the message board she become friends with many fans and, on a whim, decided to have a party before an upcoming concert. The party was a starting point for what would become the Kill Hannah street team. The street team eventually became a group of over 2,000 fans that helped promote the band and Radakovits was its leader. The position on the street team made her well known through out the Kill Hannah fan community.
Radakovits became even better known when she was elected by popular vote to be a moderator for the message board even after refusing a nomination (the moderator is the person who reviews all comments made on the message board to eliminate hateful language as well as to provide and correct any information about the band). She held the position of moderator for a few years, until this past fall when a mutual agreement with Kill Hannah's record label, Atlantic Records, allowed her to step down.
"It was really stressful. I would spend three to four hours a night cleaning things up [on the message board] and get a call late at night and get yelled at for something. It was why didn't you do this and why is this still on there There was a lot of miscommunication and things not getting said from the management." Radakovits stated.
Despite her release from the position of moderator, she is still an active message board member. "I still do a lot on the boards though. I'll flag something that needs to be looked at, try to help out." Radakovits' comment about trying to help is typical of her relationship with the other fans. She offers assistance to any fan in need whether it is to send hard to come by merchandise, provide transportation to shows or even a place to stay for out of town fans. Kelly, a Kill Hannah fan and message board member, recalls, "Jyn offered me a ride to a show and she doesn't know me-that's dedication!" Radakovits explains her willingness to help is based on the fact that she can help. "I think that's one of my flaws, I let myself get into things" referring to her inability to deny help if she can even when she does not have to. She also cited the people in the Kill Hannah fan base for her inspiration to help as well.
Radakovits, who is now a music journalist and manager for another band, states that the fan community is very close and the closeness is exclusive to Kill Hannah, "I am really into the local [Chicago] scene and I have never seen this with any other band." She speculates that the fans tend to be so close to one another for a few reasons including similar economic/family backgrounds among the younger fans, similar musical tastes outside of the band (such as the Smashing Pumpkins, the Cure, the Smiths and My Bloody Valentine) as well as a background based in the arts for the older fans. "I've made a lot of friends from knowing the band." which is a statement that includes the band members themselves.
While many people would never devote so much time and energy to a band that most people have never heard of without getting paid, Radakovits has her rewards. Along with many great friendships and aesthetic perks (more Kill Hannah albums), she receives other things that surprise her such as job offers. "I got a job offer from a magazine in Germany because I know Mat" she laughs. She also said that she would never understand why so many of the other fans hold her in such high esteem. To many Kill Hannah fans Jyn Radakovits is a person to look to when in need and admire for her helpfulness. She struggles to remind them that, in her eyes, she does not deserve their praise because she is just like them; she is just another fan.