Allegra
Refugee
I know that this story might not belong in the PLEBA section, but I thought that since it started here and effected a bunch of folks in here, I wanted to make sure that PLEBAens read this. It was just released this morning on Boston.com. I think it's an apology, but I'm not sure really why he's stopping by the Globe. I'll let you make of it what you want........
Even better than the real thing
April 20, 2007
For one weekend in March, Boston got caught up in a U2 fan frenzy thanks to Pavel Sfera , a 41-year-old Bono impersonator from California who was in town to perform at a birthday party and neglected to tell a few local restaurant owners that he was, in fact, not the real deal. The news reported that Bono was in town, dining in East Boston and on Tremont Street, and it certainly looked that way. Tonight, Sfera, a musician and part-time Bono look - alike originally from Yugoslavia, makes a local appearance again, this time for a party in Leominster hosted by WXLO-FM (104.5) . Sfera made time yesterday to stop at the Globe to talk about last month's madness (which he says earned him some hate mail from U2 fans), how he chooses to spread Bono's message of love (without forging Bono's signature), and how he never, under any circumstances, uses his Bono-ness to lure women.
MEREDITH GOLDSTEIN
Q You caused quite a stir last month. Did you expect that kind of publicity storm?
A I've been doing this professionally for two or three years now. Sometimes it was a spoof, pranks on Halloween. But I didn't know it would have such a profound effect in Boston. I suspect that U2 is such a popular band out here that Bono's second home is probably Boston.
Q I imagine the frenzy got you some good impersonating gigs -- like the one [tonight].
A Almost never. That kind of publicity almost never gets me that kind of work. Most of my work I get through my website.
Q It seems that sometimes you tell people you're an impersonator and other times you allow them to think you're Bono. You had the people around Boston fooled last month. How do you decide who gets to know?
A I never tell people I'm Bono. That is a given. I often tell people I'm not. In the middle of the conversation, they'll describe how they like "Joshua Tree" or want to know when my band's going to be on tour again . . . and I think to myself, "I don't have an accent. I'm not pretending."
Q So you think it's obvious to these people that you're not Bono but that they believe because they want to believe?
A The willful suspension of disbelief is profound. The celebrity draw in America is huge. Knowing full well I can create an ugly scene and have a mob scenario, for one, maybe two [people who want autographs] I sign, "All about the love," or "All about Jesus," or "Love every day."
Q But you never sign autographs with Bono's name.
A I don't sign the name. But I look them in the eye as I'm scribbling "Love every day" so that it registers. But if it's one- on- one, I say, "It's just someone I look like. I do it for a living."
Q So in a one-on-one situation, you'll always disclose you're not Bono. So that means you never use this look-alike thing to get chicks.
A OK, first of all, I can say hands - down I have five sisters. I can relate to women without all the [pause] -- I have lots of female friends. I am often a sounding board for their relationships, their marriages, their boyfriends, sometimes with their fathers or brothers. Work-related stuff. I'm on a spiritual journey with my life. I didn't want to do this Bono thing ever, even though I've been hearing it since 1979. You know what I'm going to tell you? You're a girl. You understand this just as well. I had a couple of sweethearts I really just loved, and I really love that when you really love someone you have this deeper care and respect and all these types of things. I don't see that in the bar scene. I still want to have some chivalry. I just don't get it.
Q So that's a no to the chick thing.
A I beg your pardon. I'm a little long-winded, aren't I. I guess I am like the real thing.
Even better than the real thing
April 20, 2007
For one weekend in March, Boston got caught up in a U2 fan frenzy thanks to Pavel Sfera , a 41-year-old Bono impersonator from California who was in town to perform at a birthday party and neglected to tell a few local restaurant owners that he was, in fact, not the real deal. The news reported that Bono was in town, dining in East Boston and on Tremont Street, and it certainly looked that way. Tonight, Sfera, a musician and part-time Bono look - alike originally from Yugoslavia, makes a local appearance again, this time for a party in Leominster hosted by WXLO-FM (104.5) . Sfera made time yesterday to stop at the Globe to talk about last month's madness (which he says earned him some hate mail from U2 fans), how he chooses to spread Bono's message of love (without forging Bono's signature), and how he never, under any circumstances, uses his Bono-ness to lure women.
MEREDITH GOLDSTEIN
Q You caused quite a stir last month. Did you expect that kind of publicity storm?
A I've been doing this professionally for two or three years now. Sometimes it was a spoof, pranks on Halloween. But I didn't know it would have such a profound effect in Boston. I suspect that U2 is such a popular band out here that Bono's second home is probably Boston.
Q I imagine the frenzy got you some good impersonating gigs -- like the one [tonight].
A Almost never. That kind of publicity almost never gets me that kind of work. Most of my work I get through my website.
Q It seems that sometimes you tell people you're an impersonator and other times you allow them to think you're Bono. You had the people around Boston fooled last month. How do you decide who gets to know?
A I never tell people I'm Bono. That is a given. I often tell people I'm not. In the middle of the conversation, they'll describe how they like "Joshua Tree" or want to know when my band's going to be on tour again . . . and I think to myself, "I don't have an accent. I'm not pretending."
Q So you think it's obvious to these people that you're not Bono but that they believe because they want to believe?
A The willful suspension of disbelief is profound. The celebrity draw in America is huge. Knowing full well I can create an ugly scene and have a mob scenario, for one, maybe two [people who want autographs] I sign, "All about the love," or "All about Jesus," or "Love every day."
Q But you never sign autographs with Bono's name.
A I don't sign the name. But I look them in the eye as I'm scribbling "Love every day" so that it registers. But if it's one- on- one, I say, "It's just someone I look like. I do it for a living."
Q So in a one-on-one situation, you'll always disclose you're not Bono. So that means you never use this look-alike thing to get chicks.
A OK, first of all, I can say hands - down I have five sisters. I can relate to women without all the [pause] -- I have lots of female friends. I am often a sounding board for their relationships, their marriages, their boyfriends, sometimes with their fathers or brothers. Work-related stuff. I'm on a spiritual journey with my life. I didn't want to do this Bono thing ever, even though I've been hearing it since 1979. You know what I'm going to tell you? You're a girl. You understand this just as well. I had a couple of sweethearts I really just loved, and I really love that when you really love someone you have this deeper care and respect and all these types of things. I don't see that in the bar scene. I still want to have some chivalry. I just don't get it.
Q So that's a no to the chick thing.
A I beg your pardon. I'm a little long-winded, aren't I. I guess I am like the real thing.
