From: owner-believers-digest@smoe.org (believers-digest) To: believers-digest@smoe.org Subject: believers-digest V5 #213 Reply-To: believers@smoe.org Sender: owner-believers-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-believers-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk believers-digest Friday, October 26 2001 Volume 05 : Number 213 In Today's believer's digest: ----------------- "Noodling" [TYEPAT@aol.com] SW book in honour of new CD [Simona Loberant ] Music and money [Rjabalos@aol.com] A plea for Peace ["Chuck Ellingson" ] Susan Werner, Christian singer? ["Sally Green" ] Cole Porter ! ["Ron Rosen" ] 'Cuz she needs to know The New ["Ron Rosen" ] Re: Susan Werner, Christian singer? [Sherlyn Koo ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 06:56:05 EDT From: TYEPAT@aol.com Subject: "Noodling" Sherlyn wrote: Susan also said something about how she likes Yamahas because they're more suited to "noodlers" like herself. I don't know if she was kidding about that - self-perceived noodler or not, her piano playing is nothing to sneeze at. "Noodling" is a term musicians use for the extensive finger work some of them do. Like when there seems to be an endless amount of notes inserted melodically where one note would be sufficient. (boring but sufficient!) It's a "must" technique for jazz players. Just thought I'd clear that up! :) Pattye HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 22:19:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Simona Loberant Subject: SW book in honour of new CD On several of the other lists I belong to I noticed that the fans commemerated a new CD by putting together a book for the artist filled with contributions from the mail listers. I thought that this might be a nice way to show SW that we appreciate her music and appreciate that she hoofs it around the country playing 200 dates a year. I know that only a handful of people have heard the new album. But this is not particularly about the album. Suggestions are how you first heard of SW. Your first SW album and/or song.... how you were affected. YOur favorite SW song(s). Your favorite or first SW performance. Funny or poignant stories that have to do with SW in some way. Anything like that. Also photos (scanned or sent in the mail... my address is below) or artwork (such as a portrait, or collage or something based on the music or even soemthing that you created that you would want to give SW).... anything like that. I am going to see SW in concert the first week in December and will put the book together in a really elegant scrapbook. You can email me letters, thoughts, stories and photos. I will print everything out on fancy paper thru my fancy new printer. Or you can send me stuff via snail mail. The only thing is that I would want a significant number of entries into this book since it would be chintzy to have only a handful of things in it. I will pay all the costs of materials such as paper and the book itself and will do a charcoal portrait of SW to adorn one of the pages as my own contribution. There is not much time if I am to give it to her in December so please contribute something, anything and everything! Email me privately about your contribution since I don't want the list to be clogged up. I will keep a record of everything I get sent and try and put up a virtual book on my webpage so that other people can see what was contributed (if you don't want yours on my site then just tell me and I won't put it up there). This could be just a wonderful way to show our admiration for this world class musician. Tell your non list friends that they are welcome and very wanted to participate in this project. I really, really, really hope you all will contribute to this and I think it will be great. If you want to send anything by snail mail my addy is 423 Whitney Ave # 3 Pittsburgh PA 15221 I trust that the people who read this list and archives are all good people who won't stalk me!!!! :0) I can't wait to read the hundreds of entries I hope I shall get very soon! luv, Simona Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 09:17:42 EDT From: Rjabalos@aol.com Subject: Music and money In a message dated 10/25/01 3:42:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time, owner-believers-digest@smoe.org writes: > Way > > Did it ever occur to anyone that susan's career is going exactly the > way > she wants it. A lot of brilliant musicians aren't concerned with "making > it > big" or "huge record deals". A lot of times the baggage that comes along > with that type of "success" is very much undesirable. IMHO the less > business > mixed in with art, the better the art. Especially the business of music, > it > can make for a very inclimate environment. > I appreciate susan's way. When she's in my vicinity I go see > her...pick > up the latest cd...speak with her after the show...have her sign the > cd...tell her how brilliant she is...go home and tell everyone I know how > fabulous she is...listen to the cd nonstop for weeks. If she ever decides > to > stop touring, I'll miss her. > She gets to make a living at what she loves. What more could anyone > ask > So what you are saying is that Susan DOESN'T want a record contract and is happy she has no distribution deal for her new CD? That she enjoys playing 200+ dates a year, often in half-empty venues, and spending most of the year on the road and away from home to pay her bills? That of the tens of thousands of people who see Susan live in concert every year and the thousands of people who visit her website, there are only 200 members of the Believers List? There are many people who feel that art is art and business is business and never the two shall mix. I don't think Susan is one of them. I think she is extremely frustrated that after all her Herculean efforts over the years writing and touring and pouring her heart and soul into her music she has not broken out to a greater level of success. She's very human, deeply sensitive, and most of all very competitive and it must sting her to see people who used to open her shows (like Dar Williams) go on to not only commercial success but critical acclaim. Music and money are always linked in this country. You pay to see Susan, she doesn't perform at a theater or bar near you for free, and some promoter or venue owner is going to make a buck trying to sell you some stale beer, a watered down drink, or a bowl of bad chili along with your concert ticket. The artists I know love their art almost how parents love their children. They are proud of what they do and want as many people as possible share in their creation, to bring joy, comfort, happiness, and release to as many fans as possible. Sure, not all are in it for the bucks-----but the dollars do help pay the rent and are THE most objective measure of success. If people are willing to spend their hard earned money on what you create, they must like it a whole lot, yes? Anyone who believes in the romance of the traveling musician (like Susan) should read a recent piece in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, published about three months ago. (I'll try to find the citation.) The financial pressure on these "tour to survive" musicians is extreme and crippling. Most have no retirement accounts (like 401Ks or IRAs) or medical insurance or other employer perks fans like us take for granted. And aside from all the money issues (which are substantial) is the sense of personal failure that all the sacrifice, hard work, traveling, compromise, and persistence often in the long run is eventually for naught, even when the fans and critics applaud the artist but the marketplace with its dollars does not. Susan's wonderful music is fantastic and beautiful art. But it is business people who bring Susan to us and the world and I often doubt the depth of their vision or their ability to execute their ideas----assuming they have some. HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 16:21:44 -0500 From: "Chuck Ellingson" Subject: A plea for Peace Rjabalos@aol.com writes: "The financial pressure on these "tour to survive" musicians is extreme and crippling. Most have no retirement accounts (like 401Ks or IRAs) or medical insurance or other employer perks fans like us take for granted." I've tried to keep mum, but... I really feel that you are being too presumptuous, Rjabalos. Maybe SOME believers take these perks for granted, but in these ever-increasingly difficult economic times, I don't think many of us do (or should). I respect the content of what you have to say and the way your passion for Susan and for her work inspires you to say it, but I wish you would lighten up just a little, PLEASE. Words like, "I often doubt the depth of their vision or their ability to execute their ideas----assuming they have some." might, I feel, be better directed elsewhere. Many of us, Susan's fans and friends who only get to see her once or twice (or more times... ;-) to Sherlyn) a year don't have as much pull as the people by whom these messages might be better read, i.e. her business personnel. Have you written to them directly and offered your assistance or helpful criticism, Rjabalos? I love the camaraderie of this group. I DON'T want to start a flame war or exchange of any more hurtful words. Please accept this message in the positive light in which it is being offered! If I may, Id like to express my wishes that we return to posting the usual commentaries, set lists, reviews, fashion critiques, etc PLEASE! Peace, Chuck _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 21:54:45 -0400 From: "Sally Green" Subject: Susan Werner, Christian singer? http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1477801010 Is there another Susan Werner who is a Christian singer, or did Susan have a previous genre before? - --Sally sallyagreen@hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 20:56:06 -0700 From: "Ron Rosen" Subject: Cole Porter ! I had Midwestern Saturday Nights on in the car before and the version of Cole Porter from that album came on. Although Cole Porter is probably the one song I've heard Susan do live the most, I was completely blown away by the MSN version. It's just so soulful and Susan's piano is backed by accoustic bass and jazz drums. It was great to rediscover a great version of a great song. HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 23:17:27 -0700 From: "Ron Rosen" Subject: 'Cuz she needs to know The New Brown is the new black. 50 is the new 30. In my world... Susan is the new Beatles. HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 23:31:27 -0700 From: Sherlyn Koo Subject: Re: Susan Werner, Christian singer? Hey folks, Sally wrote: >http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1477801010 >Is there another Susan Werner who is a Christian singer, or did Susan have a >previous genre before? Looks like another entry for the "alter ego" section of Susan's site... - -sherlyn - -- Sherlyn Koo - sherlyn@fl.net.au "It really is that simple, It really is that fragile" - Peter Mulvey HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ End of believers-digest V5 #213 ******************************* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------- This has been a posting from the Susan Werner believers-digest To unsubscribe send mail to Majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe believers-digest" in the body of the message