Baby Boomers Are Fans, Too

Fan Clubs No Longer Just For Teens

(CBS)  The same baby boomers who have swollen the ranks of "Star Trek" fan clubs are turning their sights on rock music.

Increasingly, middle-aged people are seizing the opportunity to join rock and roll fan clubs, reports Early Show contributor Lisa Birnbach. And their participation has turned some fan clubs into big businesses.

Sheryl Crow has quite a following of middle-aged moms who find themselves behaving like teen-agers during live performances.

"It feels like I've gone back to my teen-age years and I'm reliving like a middle-aged teenagedom," says a woman who wanted to be identified only by her first name, Phyllis.

A fan club explosion has taken place, in part, because of the Internet. Web sites are a marketplace for everything from concert tickets and memorabilia to gossip and photos.

Jody, a mother of two and Sheryl Crow fan, sees it as an escape and has even started to take guitar lessons.

Reuben, another fan club member, sees it is a way to keep young. "I think it kind of keeps me looking young or acting young so yeah, it's quite a thrill," he says. "When you're online you can find out about all of these activities, concerts or even tapings on TV."

It's the level of devotion that separates these people from the average fan and many artists take notice.

"I think sometimes you forget that there are real people out there that really lock into what you say," says pop singer Sheryl Crow.

"We're just real hands-on with our fans," says Hootie and the Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker. "I sign a lot of autographs. They always go, ‘Are you tired of that?’ I'm tired of it when they don’t ask. Our fans are more like friends."

"The Internet has made everything a lot easier for fans because before you had to do everything through mail," says Rucker. "We haven't put a record out in three years and everyday you know, there's still 200, 300 people on this thing talking and you just go, 'Wow, that's crazy!' I check it sometimes, just to see what they're saying. Just 'cause you care what your fans think.”

It's certainly not a one-sided relationship.

"On my birthday, the fan forum took up a collection and donated money to my children's home in my home town," says Crow. "I just thought how cool it is that, just of their own volition, they created this birthday present for me and it was a donation to the orphanage there."

Some fan clubs actually generate big business. The Dave Matthews Band has a fan club with 80,000 members, paid staff and annual take of more than $2 million in dues. But most fan clubs are run by fans who struggle to make ends meet.

For a lucky few, fan clubs provide access to the artists they admire. Several ardent fans traveled from Boston to see Rucker on the plaza outside the CBS Early Show studio last week.

"I love it, " says Rucker. "I mean these guys are great. They can show up at any show and know they could get in. They usually buy the tickets, but if they don't have any, we could probably hook them up. I mean when you've been to as many shows as these guys have been to, you deserve to be treated well, you know."

Most of the online rock and roll Web sites allow you to participate for free. If you want to become a full-fledged member with personalized CDs, posters and email alerts about concert tours, you'll usually pay about $30 a year.