We all have something that we are infatuated by. Whether it is a type of food, a place, a person, or music, none of us can wholeheartedly say that we are not crazy about something.

However, some people can take it to a whole new level. People have taken their love for musicians to the extreme. Getting tattoos of band members faces, spending hundreds of dollars on merchandise and following celebrities around are all signs of an obsession. The obsession infection has spread to West and three people have come forward to reveal their addiction.

Senior, Samantha Kessler has an admiration for the indie-rock Two Door Cinema Club. She began listening to their lesser known music in eighth grade and she began to rock homemade band merchandise. All of her friends were skeptical when Samantha arrived to school sporting handcrafted puffy painted shirts. Kessler said, “I really enjoyed their music and I wanted to express my individuality through their lyrics painted on my back.” Samantha saw Two Door Cinema Club in 2012 and this performance completely changed her life. The craziest thing that she has done for the band was sit outside of their concert venue for nearly nine hours in the cold in order to get in the front row. Her mission was accomplished that night and she was so close that she caught a band member’s guitar picks after the performance was over.

Junior, Natalie Cortez has had a not-so-secret obsession with the punk rock band, The Ramones for as long as she could remember. Her father listened to them as she was a child and this is where her infatuation could have spawned from. However, unlike her father who was just a casual listener of The Ramones music, Natalie has taken it to another level. She has watched every documentary on the band and knows everything there is to know about each member. Natalie Cortez said, “I am just fascinated with their talent and I love to jam out daily to their music.” She says that her first tattoo will have something to deal with The Ramones but she has not pinpointed exactly what she wants to get yet. She also owns a few Ramones band shirts, a couple posters and buttons, and of course, their entire discography digitally downloaded onto her cellphone.

Senior, Matt Arguin has had a lifelong relationship with Death Cab for Cutie, but they just don’t know it yet. His interest has run on the border of crazy since Matt bought physical copies of their entire discography, including a $250 vinyl box set that consisted of their discography. His room is plastered with Death Cab for Cutie posters and pictures of the band. He also got them to personally sign his box set when he met them outside of their Chicago hotel on their way to a radio interview in 2011. Arguin said, “The group was so nice to me when I met them a couple of years ago, they told me that they appreciated my love for them. They said that I had a really cool shirt on, which made me extremely happy and I still have the shirt. I think about that moment every time I wear it.” This experience took his love for them to another level and he is currently waiting for them to release new material.

Although having an obsession for a band may seem a little insane at times, as long as it is done legally and safely, it is completely harmless. Even though some fans spend hundreds of dollars on band merchandise, get tattoos of band member’s faces, and even following them around town, musicians usually are pretty cool with the admiration.

However, fans have been known to push the limits a little too far and this is where the fun and games ends. Samantha Kessler, Natalie Cortez, and Matt Arguin may have an obsession, but they would never do anything to harm the artists that they love so much.