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Last week, several people reported seeing U2 singer Bono out and about in Portland. It didn't seem entirely possible—he lives in Ireland, for one thing, and didn't have any obvious business in town, musical, humanitarian or otherwise—but it didn't seem totally impossible, either: He was in the United States earlier this month, and Paul McCartney was just here. Maybe he flew in for the show? I mean, he's Bono. Anything is possible with that dude.
There wasn't a lot to go on, other than a couple anecdotes, and the photo above, taken at downtown Saturday Market. At a glance, the guy resembles Bono, and certainly seems to be going out of his way to project "I am Bono" to the world, which is precisely the sort of thing the real Bono would probably do. Upon closer examination, however, certain features (the hair, the nose) appeared a little…off. It's a remarkable facsimile—like, a really good Madame Tussaud's job—but clearly not the real, living, breathing thing.
As it happens, in the U2 fan community, this isn't an uncommon occurrence. Most of the time when a Bono doppelganger turns up somewhere, it turns out to be one guy in particular: Pavel Sfera,"The Leading Bono Tribute Artist," who's fooled everyone from foreign dignitaries to concert audiences. I contacted Sfera through his website to ask if he was in Portland last weekend. The next day, I received this response: "Good morning. Thank you for your email. It was I who was visiting Portland. Have a buddy of mine I visit every couple of years or so."
OK, that solves that. But I had to know more about his mysterious ways. What kind of person goes out of their way to make people think he's a rock legend? To paraphrase one of our commenters, who the hell cosplays as Bono? Sfera, who lives in Los Angeles, agreed to answer a few questions via email.
Willamette Week: So do you always go out dressing like Bono?
Pavel Sfera: No, I do not always go out dressed like Bono. As a matter of fact, it doesn't take much for people to stop me and immediately go into a conversation as if they are meeting Bono himself. This includes my recent trip to Home Depot in San Diego, where I'm dressed in torn jeans, an American flag patterned bandana and torn shirt while buying PVC pipe fittings for my aquaponics system I'm building at home. Many of the staff came up to me to thank me for my music and charity work. Does one stop them and say, "I'm not who you think I am" or something thereof? My answer is, I used to. But I'm not going to burst someone's moment when "Bono" needs 10 1-inch PVC elbows and PVC glue at Home Depot. Now I would just say "thank you" and that "everyone has the ability to inspire and make this world a better place" The glasses are not a rock star's Clark Kent moment separating him from Superman. My times to dress up as Bono is for work with my U2 tribute band and with clients who've hired me for all sorts of events.
I understand that you resemble him no matter what but with those glasses you must know people are going to think you're him.
I have several pairs of glasses I like wearing. I like the lighter tinted pairs in general. The 2003-2008 Emporio Armani models were my favorite. I still wear them—decent tint for UV protection and they fit well. The newer Revo's that Bono wears don't work with me well. Too dark and heavy. I used to wear yellow tinted glasses for years in the early '90s, no Bono styles at all. My eyes are sensitive to light. I would wear tinted glasses even at night while driving to minimize the glare of oncoming traffic. I don't particularly like wearing dark-tinted glasses because the clarity is too shaded and my eyes get a shock every time I take them off during the day. People will occasionally stop me regardless of glasses, but Bono has a signature look that includes trademark tinted glasses.
It must be exhausting to go out in public like that all the time. What do you do if you feel like not being Bono for the day?
I feel like "not being Bono" every day. But being associated as a lookalike of Bono actually is not usually exhausting at all. Most people go on about their day and not notice me at all. It's usually when I'm traveling or at a restaurant or any other public setting where people are chilling and people-watching where it's common for me, as a lookalike, to get noticed—signature sunglasses or sans. However, I try to be gracious, kind and friendly with everyone. Occasionally I'll get an asshole of both genders who haven't approached me for a chat who feel compelled to tell people, "It's not him," when I'm merely going about existence not bothering anyone. I'm usually pretty chill about it. But if people want to talk or take photos, I allow that to happen. If someone screams out of their car, "In the Name of Love," I'll give them a thumbs up or a peace sign. Why not? It's a moment we shared, regardless of whether or not they know that they saw Bono.
I understand playing the part in a professional or performative context but why go out and trick the public by playing coy about your identity?
I'm not a trickster. There has to be a definitive line of decorum with regards to interconnecting and exchanging with the public. I myself never say I'm Bono, as I'm not. For obvious reasons, I don't need that kind of attention or energy out there. "Tricking" people in not in my personal make up. I don't find any of that kind of behavior appropriate. Being one of 11 children, we were often goofballs in the way we exchanged in our conversations. I can't take that out of me. So, I will analyze every encounter and respond appropriately. Sometimes being coy can be fun. Having the "is it or is it not" moment can create some fun excitement and an innocuous buzz for any establishment. I've been to restaurants with friends only to come out to dozens of fans wanting photos, etc. In our selfie-driven world today, it's bound to happen.
As for the [incident at Exiled Records], the shop attendant said to me, "You look familiar." My response: "Yeah, I get that often." "Do you sing in a band?" he asks. "I sing in a band." "What kind of band?" he asks ruefully. I say, "We do U2 music." Then he stares real hard, studying me, not knowing if he knows who I am or thinks I look like someone he should know. My buddy was finished scanning for albums and said, "Let's go, Bono!" At that point, I said to the attendant, "Don't listen him, he's crazy." And we left. No harm, no foul. Now, my buddy is a consummate goof—one reason we've been friends for almost 20 years.
What do you get out of it?
I get lots of out connecting with people. I was horribly shy as a kid and in many ways, I still am. I do recognize that in today's society, people are skittish about reaching out and trying to establish human contact, even if it's just conversation. I'm saddened by that. Lots of fear. But, when they see someone they recognize as a celebrity, whether it's the real deal or not, there's an excitement that comes along with that. And they often feel that because they "know" the person, that they're somehow allowed access to chat with them. If I'm approached, a conversation often ensues. There's a lot of really cool and interesting people out there in this world I would otherwise never get to know unless the conversations have started. Most people who, regardless if they have asked for certainty, come up and want to take a photo. That's pretty much it. No questions, no real conversation. Others will approach me and ask, "Are you Bono?" If the moment is right, I'll playfully say, "Maybe," so as to wait for the next question. Or most often, I say, "I'm just a guy who looks like him." That starts another conversation, but often, people still don't believe me. That's a majority of the time. I'm not going to beat them over the head to convince them that I'm not, but I'm happy to leave the moment with uncertainty as long as there is no foul. Believe me, I've showed my driver's license, passport, etc., and people were still convinced I was Bono. What to do? Go on about my day!
But I will say one thing that is very powerful. I think it's important for people to connect. We all have some association to who we are that people recognize us. I'm not typically known as Pavel the photographer, Pavel the aquaponics guy, Pavel the guy that just bought a used white Prius or Pavel the humanitarian. I have been known as Pavel, the guy with the truck who can help me move next Saturday. But it's often Pavel the Bono guy. That's fine for me. As long as we get to sit down in some metaphorical fashion to break bread and have tea together. I've broken some wonderful bread with many a folk! I'm in contact with many of my former clients as they have got to know me as Pavel, not me as "Bono."
There have been occasions where I've gone to live shows of friend's bands to be asked by band members to come up and do a U2 song or any song that we mutually know. I do oblige. Am I dressed like Bono, ready to perform? No, but the glasses do add a hint of the celebrity uncertainty. As Pavel performing as Bono, yes! Have a moment I say.
People in our comments section reported speaking with you, and your friends referred to you as "Bono." Do you ask them to play along?
My visit to Portland was an important one. My friend has been dealing with demons, and I was there to visit and support him. My trip to Portland was not one to admonish him for incidental infractions like calling me Bono in public—especially considering that his demons sometimes blur him with the lack of boundary definitions. In my case, almost exclusively, none of my friends or associates are to address me as Bono in any setting where there are people who don't know me. I don't like to be called anything I'm not. But I've been called lots of things. Pavel is Paul in the Anglicized world. But I do speak other languages and people call me the equivalent of the name. I'm cool with that.
I've had some occasions in the past where people have called me "Bono" in public settings, including very famous celebrities, corporate heads and people looking at making all sorts of connections. I'm not comfortable with it at all. It's a tough situation and sticky. People who've clearly and blatantly fabricated meetings and dialogue with me that were inconsistent with facts. I don't need the moniker nor the public repercussions. In this case in Portland, I didn't castigate my friend who addressed me as such. Perhaps three or four times he did so over my four days visiting. But if he went up to someone and said, "Hey, I've got Bono over at my table" or something thereof, I'm not afraid to correct the infraction immediately. Who wants that kind of energy? Not me.
Do you ever feel bad deceiving people into thinking they just met a rock legend?
If I don't intend to establish any premise that I'm Bono, I don't fret over the moment of a celeb meeting. Harming people would trouble me. Deeply. But I do what I can to avoid that. Should I purposefully go out in public to show no hint of Bono-ness? Really? No! Too much work. Wearing a pair of sunglasses seems to be enough.
I do not have control how people see me. I'm not begging for attention, so I don't usually get it. But there are scenarios where people take photos of me then post them on social networks claiming I'm Bono. That is something I have zero control over. People will tell me blatantly that they intend to post the photo op of being with Bono. I can't police people. Normally I do ask them that if they intend on doing such, that they should at some point soon thereafter acknowledge that the photo was with me, a lookalike, not the real thing.
Please note, that in my contract with clients, I have in bold letters that they are not to mislead, imply, state or otherwise allude to me as being "Bono from U2." I've had to cancel contracts with people because they wanted to exclude that clause. I don't want nefarious intent involving my presence as a persona. I've had it before and it's extremely awkward.
Did anything else happen in Portland that we did not report?
Nothing else to note of happenings during my stay. I love Portland. I should have bought there in 2001 when I wanted to. People there are cool, the weather crazy, the greenery is lovely and the beer is abundant. Plus you got Flying Pie Pizza. Yum!
My friend has ghosts in his house. Woke me up. Again. My friend and I bonded like brothers, especially in the moment in his life where he needed a non-judgmental and deeply caring friend. Was I successful in breaking through and providing a pastoral presence? Yes and no. Demons don't sleep even when think we're sleeping ourselves.
Willamette Week