Avril fans fooled by faux 'Prince'

While the shaggy-haired Fabled guitarist Tim Skerpon '03 may be a bona fide "rocker boy," he is not Avril Lavigne's famed "sk8r boy" as last month's joke issue of the 'Prince' reported. When the 'Prince' announced Skerpon's "romance" with the Canadian pop star, as well as Lavigne's acceptance into the Class of 2007, some students, fans and tabloids hungrily sought the inside scoop.

Some were more fooled than others. The London Sun's New York office sent two reporters to interview and photograph Skerpon shortly after the article ran. Arriving early one morning at Tower Club where Skerpon currently lives, the reporters summoned him downstairs, photographed him and told him that they wanted to talk to him about his "girlfriend."

Ladies' man

Young Lavigne fans also caught wind of the Princeton-Lavigne connection and began emailing Skerpon for details.

"Typically, I'll get every week two to three emails from 15-year-old girls asking if it's true," Skerpon said. He responds with short emails dismissing the claims.

Skerpon's terse responses and denials have led some tabloids to believe that he is hiding a juicier truth. So intense was the buzz through the tabloid networks, that on Feb. 3 the Philadelphia Inquirer finally printed that the rumors were false and had stemmed from a hoax.

The rumor was generally recognized as a joke in the music industry and not taken very seriously, said Hillary Siskind, Lavigne's publicist, who said she had only fielded one phone call on the matter.

Some students around campus were also taken in — at first.

One student said that his roommate, who had been very upset by an accompanying faux article announcing that Deans' Date assignments were due sooner, was relieved by the happy news of a pop star coming to Princeton.

Others were both surprised and disappointed that Princeton had admitted Lavigne, who did not complete high school.

"I knew she didn't even graduate — I was like, 'How could they accept her?' " Alexandra Gliga '03 said. Gliga said she soon noticed the online disclaimer that the article was a gag.

Accidental publicity

Skerpon, who knew nothing of the article before it was distributed around campus, said he has enjoyed the publicity. Students have seemed more excited to go to Fabled shows, he said, and the band has played up the joke. A sign proclaiming "I'm with Avril" now decorates Skerpon's amplifier, and the band often plays some covers of Lavigne's music for their fans' amusement.

Around the country, roughly eight new people signed up for Fabled's mailing list, which posts show dates and band information. While Skerpon hesitated to attribute all of the recent attention to the article, he said he suspects it has contributed.