Errors-To: owner-ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu Reply-To: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu Sender: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu From: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu To: ecto-request@ns1.rutgers.edu Bcc: ecto-digest-outbound@ns1.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto #600 ecto, Number 600 Tuesday, 8 June 1993 Today's Topics: *-----------------* Re: U2 Re: Suspended in Ecto Savage Rose Concert Report Re: The Ecto File! Plus from us "Sweet Relief" benefit album article Re: Hello Re: concert recordings ======================================================================== Subject: Re: U2 Date: Sun, 06 Jun 93 08:09:10 -0400 From: Michael Matthews >Hiya, yo >today I was told that I was an unwilling, unknowing and unasked listener >of the U2 concert that took place on Wednesday in the Frankfurter >Waldstadion. That stadium is about 10 km away from here, and what I say >(about un* listeners) is valid for regions even more (20 km and more) >far away from it: We all witnesse d the lowest 5 to 10 Hz of the >concert. Woommm! Woommm! Woommm! Woommm! Woommm! >Woommm! Woommm! >Woommm! Woommm! Woommm! Woommm! Woommm! ..... ... ... .. ... . . . Heh heh. It's even better in the stadium, although I doubt it was *that* loud. I was playing Actung Baby at work yesterday [yes, yes, I know, working on Saturdays... all I can say is overt$me), and one of my co-workers commented on how much base there was in it. He suggested we somehow label certain CDs "do not play when there is an important meeting elsewhere in the building." >Bye, >Uli ------ Mike Matthews, matthews@ectds.com (NeXTmail accepted) ------ Good news. Ten weeks from Friday will be a pretty good day. ======================================================================== Date: Sun, 06 Jun 1993 23:02:01 +1000 (AEST) From: anthony@xymox.apana.org.au (Anthony Horan) Subject: Re: Suspended in Ecto In apana.lists.rec.happy-rhodes, article <2c10b2d2@deepspace.NJ00802.sai.com>, you wrote: > Anthony, how goes the quest for Australian distribution? It's in the "patiently waiting" stage. :-) I spoke to Suzanne two weeks ago (can't wait for the phone bill for that one!) and faxed her the details of the two contacts down here. She was going to send the Sydney company a package directly, and send the one for Mushroom to me so I could take it in myself and enthuse. So I'm waiting for that to arrive; as soon as it does I'll move back into "aggressive plug" mode... :^) > -foop- Was that a squirrel falling out of a tree I just heard...? :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anthony Horan, Melbourne Australia - anthony@xymox.apana.org.au "Something about this place makes me lose a grip on time and space..." - Saint Etienne ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 17:51:33 MET From: brage@sphere.home.id.dth.dk (Jens P. Brage) Subject: Savage Rose Concert Report Hi! I've just been to the Savage Rose anniversary concert in Tivoli (their debut 25 years ago was on the same scene). I didn't really know what to expect from the concert: I rather doubted Annisette's (the lead singer's) voice would be able to handle a live concert after so many years. The setting for the concert was fairly good, it's an open-air scene in the middle of Tivoli (a old amusement park in the heart of Copenhagen) and the atmosphere was nice relaxed (hints of flower power in the air? :-)). I preferred to remain standing, ather than buying a ticket to the benches in front of the scene. As there was only 15 rows of benches, I was only about 20m removed from the scene, and I really prefer standing at concerts... I think Savage Rose is the most accurate band I've ever seen: The bells from the city hall was still ringing when the band went on stage. Then Annisette arrived, dressed up in a clown's outfit: Oversized boots and jacket and a big fluffy red and yellow dress... :-) She sat down on the edge of the scene, swung her legs and started to sing... The band is exceedingly good: Except for some rock/blues songs (which certainly rocked, but where the drums and bass tended to drown the rest of the band), the musicians were impressive; especially Thomas Koppel on keyboards and accordion and the guitar player (reminiscent of Gary Moore at his best). So how about Annisette's voice? Well, I was wrong: Her voice is still extremely impressive! ;-) Again, with the exception of the rock/blues songs, her voice was at the front of the music. Somewhat to my surprise, almost all the songs was in English: I was under the impression that all/most Savage Rose lyrics were in Danish (at least one song was a translation from a Danish song from the "Ild og frihed" ("Fire and Freedom") album). While most of the band took a break, Annisette sang a tune, the first half without any accompaniment at all and then just with piano backing, and she managed to almost blast away the audience! Wow! Probably the most impressive live singing I've ever heard... The music they played ranged over quite a few styles: Rock/blues (they played these as the first songs, probably in order to grab the audience's attention), classic inspired music (a couple of pieces from their most famous work, "Death's Triumph", a ballet) that sounds somewhat like a Bach organ piece with jazz rhythms and Latin American inspired music (my favorites). As I said, the atmosphere was very relaxed: The audience were smiling and having a good time, and many were bringing flowers for Annisette. One guy brought her a rose and got a hug and a kiss in return. :-) She ended the concert by saying that they weren't permitted to play any longer, but that she hoped we would be back in another 25 years... Savage Rose is releasing a double album tomorrow with live recordings and songs from the previus 16 albums... Jens P. Brage | And I looked up and there they were: Millions brage@sphere.home.id.dth.dk | of tiny teardrops just sort of hanging there. /\ | And I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. \SphereSoft | And I said to myself: What next big sky? ======================================================================== Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 18:32 EDT From: robert@deepspace.nj00802.sai.com (Robert Lovejoy) Subject: Re: The Ecto File! Hello ecto, and hello Martin! The Ecto File is a worthy database, and I should like to be included! Here are my relevant stats: Robert Lovejoy E-mail: robert@deepspace.nj00802.sai.com (main address) r.lovejoy1@genie.geis.com (backup address) Address: 108 Barlow Ave., Cherry Hill, NJ 08002, USA Phone: +1 (609)486-9181 Birthday: February 2, 1947 Passions: My Family (wife Wanda, sons Richard and Steven), Music, Bass and Bass Guitar, Any musical Instrument I can get my hands on, Photography, Reading, Well-adjusted color television, Mountains, Oceans, puns, open-mindedness, Champagne, good smoke, computers. There it is! Please include me in your updates, and thanks for posting the original list again! Bob L. ======================================================================== Subject: Plus from us Date: Sun, 06 Jun 93 18:40:21 EDT From: Angelos Kyrlidis Hi, To all gabrielophiles in ecto, Caroline Records has recently released 'Plus from us', a collection of the songs from various artists that inspired Peter Gabriel during his creation of US. It is a varied compilation ranging from Kudsi Erguner (the turkish Flutist) to Peter Hammill to Brian Eno. Not quite as continuous as 'Passion Sources' in terms of its sounds, but still a nice sampler of sounds. I saw it and bought it today, and like it enough to post about it. ObHappy. Tower Boston has *finally* moved Happy's CDs to the R section. They had a VI, a VII and an =P. My dad and I looked for the Warpaint bestseller bin for quite a while, but couldn't find it. They apparently sold out! Angelos +=====================================+ |'My ears have parasites'-hApPy RhOdEs| +=====================================+ ======================================================================== Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 20:45:53 EDT From: WretchAwry Subject: "Sweet Relief" benefit album article As promised: Re-printed without permission ======================================================================== Chicago Tribune "Tempo" Section Thursday, June 3, 1993 ANOTHER KIND OF HEALTH BENEFIT "Sweet Relief" comes to the aid of ailing singer Victoria Williams By David Rothschild In the Darwinian world of the rock-music business, it pays to be tough as nails. Traveling from town to town for months at a time, performing in smoke-filled clubs and living in strange hotels on a schedule that only a vampire could love, rock 'n' roll musicians put themselves at constant risk of illness--both mental and emotional--not to mention the frequent bodily peril of falling objects, faulty onstage electrical wiring, last-minute charter planes and overly enthusiastic fans. It's a long, unpredictable road to the top, even for a perfectly healthy person. When real-life tragedy strikes a rock 'n' roller, fellow musicians tend to respond quickly, with focus and compassion. Maybe it's because they sense the inherent vulnerability of their own state of managed chaos. Understandably, the plight of a peer strikes especially close to home. Which is the case with singer/songwriter Victoria Williams, whose talent and misfortune have inspired the upcoming "Sweet Relief" benefit album and fundraising project. Williams, 34, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative neurological disease, last spring during a stint as the opening act for Neil Young's solo acoustic tour. Williams had no health insurance at the time of her diagnosis and now faces a frightening and uncertain future of mounting medical costs and dwindling dexterity and numbness in her hands. Because Williams usually performs solo on guitar, the disease is striking at the heart of her livelihood. After attending a Los Angeles benefit for Williams last fall that featured performances by Maria McKee, T-Bone Burnett and Michael Penn, Sony Music administrative assistant and longtime Williams fan Kelley Walker decided to organize an East Coast fundraiser. The New York benefit featured guest appearances by Bob Mould, Marshall Crenshaw and Lou Reed, anong others, and raised $20,000. Afterward, Walker got together with Reed's wife and manager, Sylvia, and the two women set about compiling the "Sweet Relief" record. They took the project to Thirsty Ear Recordings, an alternative record label that recently signed a distribution deal with Sony. "Victoria has a lot of really good friends, so it wasn't as hard as it would appear to put this together," Walker said. "Everybody, from the studios to the managers, the attorneys, business affairs people--everybody wanted it to happen. They were very sympathetic because Victoria's one of their own, she's a product of this industry. I think that most of these people would have done it for anybody in her position." There's nothing new about benefit albums, but a really good one is rare. "Sweet Relief" is an unusually cohesive patchwork of Williams' idiosyncratic songs, performed by an impressive lineup that includes Reed, Matthew Sweet, Pearl Jam, McKee, the Jayhawks and Soul Asylum. The diversity and consistant quality of the performances on the "Sweet Relief" album are a testament to Williams' songwriting, which has a charming guilelessness that brings out the best in all those involved. The record is schelduled for release June 19. A music video of Soul Asylum's "Summer of Drugs" single off the album is also in the works. Proceeds from record sales will help defray Williams' mounting medical bills and finance the "Sweet Relief" Musician's Trust Fund, a committee- supervised last appeal for other musicians who find themselves in a position like Williams'. Although she has released two albums (1987's "Happy Come Home" on Geffen Records and 1990's "Swing the Statue" on Rough Trade), Williams, who was born in Shreveport, La., is unknown to mainstream audiences. She is, however, well-known and appreciated within the rock music community. "She has fans all around, which I think becomes obvious with this project," Sweet said. "I think for some people it's kind of an aquired taste to get into Victoria's sound. There's a childlike quality about it, but it has a real stream-of-consciousness effect. She reminds me of Van Morrison or someone like that. She has her own soulful thing that's really folky too, bluegrassy." Falling Through Cracks Once a street musician in Venice Beach, Calif., Williams has recorded or toured with a variety of musicians, including Young, Van Dyke Parks and the Golden Palominos. She just completed a 10-day tour as solo warmup act for the Minneapolis country-rock band the Jayhawks. Formerly married to singer-songwriter-guitarist Peter Case (Plimsouls, the Nerves), Williams has continued to plug away. "I feel so greatful, I really do," Williams said. "Because nobody would have ever heard those albums, they're both out of print and basically they've kind of resurrected those songs." Williams said she has also enjoyed the artists' interpretations of her songs. "Every time I hear another cut [from the album] it has been a high point. They've all really been delightfully suprising, I'm just so touched." Few working musicians without a gold or platinum-selling album can afford the high cost of basic health insurance. Typically, bands or solo artists are signed to recording contracts as independent contractors. Because they aren't full-time employees, they aren't eligible for coverage under a record company's major medical group health plan. Musicians unions and performance-rights organizations provide health coverage to members who generate a minimum yearly income, or who can afford to pay their somewhat reduced premiums out-of-pocket. But the costs are still over the heads of many working musicians. Asked if he is covered under a health plan, Lemonheads lead singer-songwriter and "Sweet Relief" album contributor Evan Dando admitted: "I don't know. I think I might have some. I'm pretty lazy. I don't like the whole idea of insurance very much. I don't know why, it just doesn't appeal. It's not something that people talk about much. What's really good about 'Sweet Relief' is, it's making people talk about it and realize the whole issue." Seattle's successful Sub Pop independent record label may soon offer its bands health care. Sub Pop's director of East Coast operations, Joyce Linehan, claims health care is high on the label's list of priorities. "When I talked to Victoria about what was going on with her, we started lamenting the fact that I had insurance and she didn't. It didn't seem right that the employees of the companies are all set, but the artists are sort of out there and they, more than anybody, need it. They're traveling all the time and, God forbid anything catastrophic should happen happen. At least this way, they'd be covered. It's really important to us." Obstacles to coverage If Sub Pop does institute a health-care program for its artists, it would be one of the few record companies to do so. The Cassandra Group is a Boston-based money-management firm that works exclusively with the arts community and non-profit entities. Dana Giacchetto, director of the Cassandra Group, is facilitating Sub Pop's entry into health insurance. "The insurance companies don't want to cover bands," Giacchetto said. "Insurance companies make you sign something that says, 'Have you ever done any drugs?' If you say no, you get sick and they say: 'You lied, forget it. We're not going to honor the claim.' This happens a lot." The perceived rough-and-tumble existence of the average, working rock 'n' roll musician is yet another obstacle to musicians' medical coverage. In addition to its work with Sub Pop, the Cassandra Group has been instrumental in the creation of the "Sweet Relief" Musician's Trust Fund. By Williams' request, the fund is being organized to provide emergency money to financially strapped musicians with medical problems. "The Cassandra Group can take care of the money, invest it in worthy causes, and it'll be there in case someone gets sick," Williams said. The trust's board of directors includes musicians and other music- industry people. "Generally speaking, it's set up to allow musicians to petition the board for funds when they have nowhere else to turn," Giacchetto said. "Everyone who's working on this--the lawyers, the accountants, the investment managers--I've demanded that they work for free. A lot of the time, you get these things together and they become marketing gimmicks for the labels and the money never gets to cause. So the key here is to make sure that the money gets to the people who need it." Staying 'on the sunny side' MS is a progressively debilitating disease that strikes the central nervous system. A flareup adds a heightened sense of randomness and vulnerability to an otherwise normal healthy outlook. That's why it's so poignant when Williams approaches her situation with childlike optimism, much as she approaches her music. "Stay on the sunny side, always on the sunny side," she said. Sometimes you can get really down about something, but it doesn't really help in the long run. You can ride it for a little while, but it doesn't really lead to anyting productive." She paused for a moment, then added, "Well, maybe you get a good song out of it." For more information about the "Sweet Relief" Musicians Trust Fund, or to make a contribution, write to the fund c/o Cassandra Group Inc., 715 Boylston St., Boston, Mass. 02116-2612 ========================================================================== "Be sweet, be free, every day is poetry" Victoria Williams -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Vickie "Fight for your right "My ears are lucky to hear vickie@pilot.njin.net to have a monster" TA these glorious songs" HR _________ "Imagination sets in, then |_ _ | _ The Happy Rhodes mailing list all the voices begin" KB |__|_ ||_| ecto-request@ns1.rutgers.edu -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ======================================================================== Subject: Re: "Sweet Relief" benefit album article Date: Sun, 06 Jun 93 23:07:22 -0400 From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu Many thanks to Vickie for taking the time to type in that long and informative article. I will forever lament the day I chose a cheap Pogues CD over a cheap Victoria Williams CD. That Pogues disc is available (albeit more expensively) in almost every record store I frequent. Jeff ======================================================================== From: boek@mullian.ee.mu.oz.au (Christopher Boek) Subject: Re: Hello Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 18:04:52 +1000 (EST) > >Hello ectophiles ! > Hiya, Philippe. Hiya Philippe from me too !!! > >I'm new to this mailing-list, so I must conform to the directives first : > > >I'm a 24 years old, 1.80 meters tall with a 41 shoe size (approx. > >27 cm, I don't know what's the common measure in the US). > > Assuming shoe sizes here in the US are given in inches (which is pretty > close for my feet), that's about a 10.5. > Well, the word from someone who used to work in a shoe department of a large department store, a 41 is approximately an Australian/British size 7, which is approximately a US size 8. Tell me I'm wrong. Go on, you just try it ... :) On this note, I don't think I've mentioned my shoe size in these parts ... I range from 9 - 10 depending on the brand (that's a British size), although if I had to limit it, I'd say 9. > >My main interests are, for computers : programming, graphics (image > >processing and 3D) and music (MIDI). My favourite computer is the > >Amiga (what else ?) :-) > Wow. I'm trying to get into MIDI myself. I have a keyboard and just got a computer (a PC), and will eventually be getting midi stuff for it. Meanwhile I have this groovy idea for making my DX7 approximate real sounds that I want to work on ... Chris. -- | ||| ||| | ||| ||| ||| | ||Christopher Boek - boek@mullian.ee.mu.oz.au | ||| ||| | ||| ||| ||| | || Dept Elec Eng Univ of Melbourne Australia | | | | | | | | | / "Anybody remotely interesting is mad in |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___| \_/\_/\_/\_/\__/(:*- some way or another" ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 07 Jun 1993 19:42:38 +1000 (AEST) From: anthony@xymox.apana.org.au (Anthony Horan) Subject: Re: concert recordings In apana.lists.rec.happy-rhodes, article <9306061152.AA01931@syrinx.umd.edu>, you wrote: > Anthony Horgan asks, re: Doug Burks: Eek! I've been renamed! :-) > >Do you have his e-mail address by any chance? How well is the concert > >recorded...? > > dbx@olympic.atmos.colostate.edu Thanks, I'll mail him. Doug, if you're reading this, I'll mail you. > >Wouldn't the digital Philly concert be an improvement in the sound quality > > a) there will *always* be a huge arguement over which is a better recording > process. Digital "loses" data, albeit minute quantities. Analog can be > less precise at reproduction _and_ can introduce unwanted sounds through > the recording and playback medium. Especially portable analogue recorders, due to the flaws of the cassette format. I'm a digital fan, and having just two nights ago made an annoyance of myself explaining my technical reasons why I like digital better to a bemused victim, I won't repeat the mistake here. :-) > the Ectophiles were sitting (3rd row center), but the recording equipment was > at the outside edge by part of the curved stone wall (I *almost* said "one > of the walls...;-) There's a joke that comes to mind here, but you've probably heard it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anthony Horan, Melbourne Australia - anthony@xymox.apana.org.au "Something about this place makes me lose a grip on time and space..." - Saint Etienne ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== The ecto archives are on hardees.rutgers.edu in ~ftp/pub/hr. There is an INDEX file explaining what is where. Feel free to send me things you'd like to have added. -- jessica (jessica@ns1.rutgers.edu)