Errors-To: ecto-owner@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 #818 ecto, Number 818 Thursday, 21 October 1993 Today's Topics: *-----------------* Re: Notes for Happy Julia Fordham FINAL MAIL ======================================================================== Date: Thu, 21 Oct 93 3:19:58 EDT From: WretchAwry Subject: Re: Notes for Happy Bob, the joyous, loving one, writes: > Hi all! > Albert's latest post gave me an idea: As we all know, Happy is not > with us, but she does appreciate all we do for her. If any of you have > questions you would like to ask her, why not post them? I'm sure that > either Vickie or I could make sure she received them. She could > answer them in her own time and get back to us later, if she wanted to, > or just file them if she's too busy. Been there, done that :-) (Not that it can't be done again, but I'll repost the first one so Ectophiles who weren't around at that time can see what she's already been asked.) This was sent to her and answered by her in late 1991/early 1992, so some of the information is out of date. Since then, she's 1) performed live on stage 3 times, in Albany once and twice in Philly. 2) re-released the 1st 4 cassettes on CD. 3) released Equipoise and RhodeSongs. 4) done a few radio interviews and live on-air performances 5) moved to Bearsville. Those are the main things. The interview is still very fascinating though. Packed with info, and from Happy herself. Enjoy... This is also in the archives (anonymous ftp hardees.rutgers.edu) in pub/hr/Interviews/QnA.91 and in the most recent, and next issue of Homeground, the Kate Bush fanzine. Here it is: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ From: katefans@chinet.chi.il.us (Chris n Vickie) Subject: Ecto/Homeground interview (long!) Date: Wed, 12 Feb 92 4:57:47 CST Jeff Abbott: Is Happy your real name, or a family nickname? The story of how I got my name has varied over the years. I've told different people different stories because some folks just don't want to accept my perspective on the matter. Well, here is the actual truth. I was born at Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. I was named Kimberley Tyler Rhodes. "Kimberley," after the Kimberley Diamond Mines that Cecil Rhodes discovered, and "Tyler", after Mary Tyler Moore, who was a good friend of my mother's when she was dancing with the New York City Ballet Company. However, the first time my brothers saw me, was when I was a day or two old, and still in the hospital. My brother Mark, could not pronounce the name "Kimberley", and I was an especially happy baby, so he decided it would be easier to call me "Happy". From that moment on, my family members never used the name Kimberley. I was forced, however, to use my "given" name while attending school. As soon as I turned sixteen, my name was legally changed to Happy Tyler Rhodes. As far as I'm concerned, it's the only name I've ever had. When people ask if it's my real name, I always say "yes". Mitch Pravatiner: Submissions for the questions-for-Happy project: Was the fully-named Happy Tyler Rhodes, perchance, named in honor of Happy Hotpoint, the elf character in the Hotpoint appliance commercials of the Fifties, which happened to be Mary Tyler Moore's first significant role on television? In the alternate, might she have been named for Happy Rockefeller, the first lady of New York State in the Sixties? (Only in Albany, methinks, could a baby girl run such a risk :-).) Well Mitch, I guess I just answered that one. David N. Blank: Out of curiosity, will you ever tour live, or will you follow in Kate Bush's footsteps to date (ie. one tour in her entire career, and that one is Europe only)? Kevin and I are currently auditioning players for a limited live tour. I'm certain that performing live will be a large part of my musical livelihood. I don't plan on ever being a large arena artist, and the performances won't be overly frequent, but I enjoy it too much not to do it. In terms of the near future, we plan on hitting only those cities where the radio airplay is heavy enough to attract enough interest for a live show. David N. Blank: 1) What are your influences? 2) Favorite artists? The biggest influence in my life was my father. Unfortunately, I had to grow up without my mother, but she had a good deal of influence on me when I got older. My father was a painter. He taught me what creativity was. He also had an intense love of music. He showed me respect for ALL life forms and he inspired me to dream big. My favorite artists are (in no particular order) Jon Anderson and (Yes), Queen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Bryan Ferry, and more recently, Martin Swan of Mouth Music. There are more, but these are the people whose albums I would run out to buy. Angelos: I noticed that some of the synth patterns in your songs (see Alice arise for example) have a repetitive simplistic structure reminiscent of Philip Glass. Are you a fan of his music? I wouldn't say I was a fan, and I certainly never had him in mind while composing, but I am fond of some of his work. Jorn Barger: Why are you holding your fingers like that on the cover of Warpaint? Crazy Glue accident. The photograph shows me painting my face with ficticious warpaint, as is done in Indian ceremonies before a battle. Jeff Abbott: Re: The flurry of Happytalk on rec.music.gaffa and subsequent flame war. It's nearly impossible to explain to someone about the net that they shouldn't take such things personally, and that these irrelevant little-minded flame wars sprout up all the time (I mean in groups, not just gaffa). You should try to look on the bright side; you now have your own mailing list, no small shakes for an artist without a record contract. What do you think about all that went on (good and bad) in gaffa? Hmmmm..........I didn't neccesarily take the negative responses personally, but I nevertheless felt badly about the ill will being flung about. All in all, I am honored to have received such attention and I'll never forget what you've all done for my music. Klaus Kluge: My opinion about putting the 4 tapes on CD: Yeah, thats great! I'd like to see them on CD. What is the status? Hi Klaus, Sag mir alle die Plane, die du fur das kommende leben hast.. Will you be physical again, or be a cosmic vagabond? That probably made no sense at all, but I try. We're not concentrating on the back-catalog just yet, but it's a definite plan. Even if the funds were available, we wouldn't have the time or energy to put into it right now. We're busy with radio, retail, and working out a live show to support Warpaint. I've also started work on the next album, so our hands are full for the time being. Klaus Kluge: Do you like to read, and what are you reading now? Favorite authors? Books? 'Phobos' and 'Wrong Century' gave me the impression that you're into reading SF. I do like to read science fiction. In fact, I read little else. I'm currently reading two books........Journeys Out of the Body, by Robert Monroe,(not SF, but as close to it as you can get) and the other is My Father Immortal, by Michael Weaver. I don't think I'm well enough read to actually have favorite authors yet, although Frank Herbert never disappointed me. My favorite books are not science fiction, but most people would consider them to be. If everything works out, you should soon be painting your first book cover, a science fiction novel. How did that come about and what are your thoughts about getting into this new venture? This came about when Michael Weaver asked me if I'd be interested in doing the cover for his next book. He liked what he had seen of my work. I was flattered and not altogether sure if I could do it. I don't actually think I have any place doing the cover art of a published SF novel. There are so many brilliant artists out there, who are more capable of the task than I am. I had considered it as a career, at one point in my life, but music seems to be the dominant force at play here. If the Art Department at Avon Publishing House approves me, it will be an exciting challenge and I'll do my best, but it probably won't become a habit. Gregory Bossert: Are there more monster paintings? When did you start painting? What is your favorite medium to work in? Oils, watercolors etc. Do you like painting and drawing more/less/as much as writing music? There ARE other gruesome looking critters lurking around the premises here. I started painting when I was about 14. My father was the catalyst. The reason I started painting monsters was because I didn't have to follow any rules, such as anatomical proportion. I always hated "rules" in art. I don't exclusively paint monsters anymore, but I'll never do a landscape. I prefer to use oils, but acrylics have their advantages sometimes. I love to create with a canvas, but honestly, a painting has never evoked the kind of feelings in me, that music can. Klaus: Were you inspired by the paintings of _H.R._ Giger? Indeed. Not only that, but two of my favorite movies are "Alien" and "Aliens". Gregory Bossert: What kind of equipment do you and Kevin use? (i.e. synths, computers sequencers, etc.) A tech question? O.K.......In our home studio, we use a Korg M1, Korg T3, Korg DW-8000, (no, Korg isn't paying us), Juno 106,(analog lives still),a Roland Octapad 2, occasionally we dust off the Sequential Circuits Six-Traks and Tom Drum machine and the Oberheim Cyclone. We have an Amiga computer and the sequencer we use is Dr. T's KCS V3.5. We have two Alesis Quadraverbs for effects, and a Soundcraft 200SR mixer. I didn't include the noise reduction units or tape decks... that might get boring. When we go to the other studio to do the actual recording, there's more equipment involved. Klaus: I noticed that "Phobos" goes into "Wrong Century" and between all the other songs there is a noticeable silence, so I'm sure it's on purpose. Did you have a specific intention in mind? Is there a connection between these two songs? We did this purely for audio-asthetics. There is no connection between the two songs otherwise. Klaus Kluge: Re: "Words Weren't Made For Cowards" "Are you dancing dead, maybe walking toast." What does "walking toast" mean? In America, there is a term used for those who've done too many drugs in their time...."Toast." I wasn't specifically addressing former drug-addicts in the song, just people whose brains are comparable. Jessica: I really want to know what you say towards the end of terra incognita. You're so sweet and kind, but I still won't tell you. Angelos: I would love to hear a remixed extended dance version of WRONG CENTURY!!! Any chance? I suppose if someone can do a dance remix of Queen's "Bicycle Race," then anything is possible. Jeff Burka: What inspired or brought about the titles to "Box H.A.P." and "Project 499"? Unfortunately, the lack of better ideas. "Box H.A.P." is meant to be the address to which I'd send a letter to myself, and "Project 499" is what my engineer replied when I asked rhetorically, "What shall I call this one?" Jorn Barger: Happy, your melodies and harmonies so often seem to have come straight down from heaven. Do you hear music in your head all the time? How do you keep from losing your best ideas, if you don't read music? Have you gotten any of your melodies from dreams? Thank you Jorn. I heard the violin line from "Lay Me Down" in my head days before I wrote the song, but usually the music comes precisely at the time when I'm ready for it (when I'm sitting at the keyboard or with the guitar). I like to think that if an idea is lost, then it wasn't destined to be my best. I don't RECALL getting any of my melodies from dreams, but then, RECALL is the operative word here. David N. Blank: Any duets forseen in the near future? If Mel Torme will have me. Seriously, the circumstances would have to be just right for me to agree to something like that......and the artist, someone I admire. What were your SAT scores? Tell us about your schooling. I left school when I was 16, at the start of eleventh grade. I never took my SAT's. I left because it was the right thing for me to do at the time. I was very unpopular in school, and I had my sights set on music. I got my G.E.D. the following year, in case I ever decided to torture myself with those kinds of social pressures again, and go to college. I'm not ashamed of my limited education,....and I doent think it afekted my abilaty too cumunikayt at al. Tom: If/when you do decide to tour and give us a chance to see you, will you do it with a full backup band, or would you concentrate on guitar and vocals? Any chance you'll make it out here to the west coast? I will have a full backup band. I will most likely do a couple of songs with just the guitar and my voice, but not a whole show. My main problem right now is finding someone who can manage most of my backing vocals. There aren't alot of singers out there who are willing to take a professional back-seat to someone else, and who can blame them? The west coast may very well be off of our list for the first tour, as our airplay seems to be heavier elsewhere. It's too expensive to travel that far for just a couple of shows. Perhaps that will change. Have you considered covering some of Kate's stuff? How do you feel about the constant comparison or your voice and hers? I'm not convinced that Kate's material would even be interesting if someone else were to sing it. Her material stands fine on its own, of course, but it just wouldn't be special....do you agree? I think someone should ask Kate how SHE feels to have my voice compared to hers. That would be interesting! I personally, would much rather be compared to Kate than say, Belinda Carlisle. Kirstin Hargie: Happy: All of your songs seem to be partly if not wholly autobiographical - did you think in your childhood that you could create such emotion laden songs with a power that can strike a deep chord in those who listen?? Certainly not. All I knew as a child, was that I wanted to be respected. I knew I wanted to be a performer, but the notion of music didn't come until later. I'm thrilled that people can get something out of my music. I have to attribute that to integrity and honesty. I've found that people aren't really as different as they sometimes seem. We all have joy and tragedy in our lives. So it only follows, that if I write something from my heart and stay true to myself, others will easily identify. Do you write your songs as a kind of catharsis of the past so as to say 'hey this is where I've been, look at me now.' Or do you write them to maybe let people that didnt go through the same types of experiences know what another persons world is like? I don't think an artist ever creates anything with an ulterior motive. The point is usually to filter whatever you're feeling through your craft. It is, then, a catharsis, but not necessarily intended for anyone but yourself...at least initially. I know that I have very powerful dreams that sometimes cloud my vision of reality i.e. I occasionally confuse the dream world with the real world - is this something that you are trying to illustrate in Dreams Are....is it something that happens to you?? In "Dreams Are...", I'm speaking of my aspirations, more than my literal dreams. We live in a nation where children are encouraged to shoot for careers that offer "stability." I've known alot of people who wound up becoming doctors and accountants, when all they ever REALLY wanted to be was a pilot, or a dancer. I decided at a young age, that my dreams (aspirations) would be my reality. You're talking about something completely different, and certainly no less interesting. Maybe you're not "confusing" anything, Kiri. A lot of your songs carry a somewhat anti-'normal' society message - what do you think of this great big (piggish) world we live in - or is it just a dream?? I think it makes me very sad sometimes, but as far as living in a physical world goes, it's definitely not boring. How often do you feed your cats? Depends on how many stray homeless people wander by in the course of a day. Actually, I don't keep track. They do, however. Do your songs hold any personal statements against society besides being against the constrictions of the societal norm, do you blame society for the inherent evil (if you believe in that kind of evil) in the world. I'm sure I'll always be writing songs dealing with my distaste for the standards society has set. Truly,the only judgement I have is for people who don't THINK things through on their own. As long as we're all willing to take at face value everything our government officials and advertisers have to say, then there's going to be injustice, insecurity, greed and "evil." I'll always have faith, that one day, people will give up their places in the comfort zone of apathy and go out and make change. I admire the folks who are already out there. Did you ever want to be a teacher?? Yup. Teachers are very similar to artists and politicians. We all delude ourselves into thinking we have something important to say and a new twist on how to say it. Your songs often pack a lot of fascinating, mystical, spooky material into a 4 or so min. package of brillance. Do you purposefully write with the intention of capturing the attention of those people that share a kindred spirit, are you trying to teach those "normal" people something out of the ordinary - i.e. to appreciate what's odd in the world?? I think I'm merely provoking thought. Granted, some people don't want to think when they're listening to music........they're the ones who are out there buying up all of the Paula Abdul albums. With five albums under your belt what is your next big goal?? Another album. When can we expect the next H.R. production?? I'm going to say next Fall......or perhaps Spring. What do you think of your status as the "holy ghost" of musicians?? What do you think of your cult-like following?? The "Holy Ghost" ........truly the coolest place to be in the Trinity. "Cult-like following" may be a little exagerated, but the fact that you can all (meet) this many different, interesting people through the common bond of music,....is magic. Gregory Bossert: what instruments do you play? have you had any formal training on any of them? what instrument(s) would you like to learn how to play? The instrument I'm most proficient on, is acoustic guitar, but I will also play keyboards, bass, percussion and anything else, if there isn't someone else available to do it. I've had no formal musical training to speak of. I'm sure eventually I'll try out a wind instrument and maybe cello. No small challenge. how long have you been singing (professionally and otherwise...)? what is your "range"? many of your songs feature complex overdubbed vocal parts; how do you come up with these arrangements? if you could sing with anyone, who would it be? I probably started singing because of Bach. When I was little, my father used to play a particular J.S. Bach album quite often. It was a challenge for me to try to sing along with all of the notes I was hearing. Later on, at around 13 or so, I started experimenting with vibrato. My professional singing career began with my first album. I honestly don't know what my range is. If I had been formally trained in music, I'm sure that would be different. I treat all of my backing vocals as I would instruments. If an arrangement needs something, more often than not, I'll use my voice to fill the void. Given my admiration for certain vocalists, I'd probably feel inadequately equipped to sing WITH anyone of stature, but my choices would be Sting, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Jon Anderson or maybe Roger Taylor of Queen. how do you write songs? do you sit down with a guitar, or at a keyboard, or just walk around humming? do you come up with words or music first? do you find writing songs easy or difficult? how many songs have you written, and how many have not been released? Sometimes I have a "feel" in my head. Just as "The Rhythm of the Heat," by Gabriel has a "feel." That's what I try to capture when I sit down at the keyboard,(rarely guitar anymore). Other than that, I usually don't have any idea what a song is destined to be. It just happens. I write the music first most of the time, and get it onto tape. Then I listen. More often than not, the subject matter and subsequent lyrics just pop into my head. I guess whatever the music makes me feel, dictates what the song will be about. It's effortless for me to write music, but not always so to actualize it. I've probably written close to 100 songs. 88 of which have been recorded. There are 23 songs in existence, that were recorded, but never released. And for very good reasons. your arrangement tend to mix elements from many musical styles (you've been to compared to everyone from Kate Bush to Joni Mitchel to the Legendary Pink Dots); how do you decide which instruments and sounds to use for a particular song? do you develop your own synthesizer sounds? do you spend a lot of time working on the sounds/effects while recording, or do you concentrate more on the performances? (or both -- it's kind of a silly question...) I don't spend hours looking for just the right sound. My main goal initially, is to get the parts down and worry about the sounds later. I usually can just tell what instrument will be most complimentary in a certain part, and get as close to it as I can. Later, when co-producer Kevin Bartlett and I get together to polish the songs, we take more time getting the perfect sounds. He's more meticulous when it comes to sounds and instrumentation, so I'm lucky to be working with him. Kevin and I both like to develop our own sounds. We have keyboards that have incredible factory presets and we like to take advantage of them, but alot of them have been over-used in recordings, so it benefits us to make our own. When I was recording the material for my first four albums, it wasn't apparent that other people would be hearing them. I cared more about the performance aspect. On "Warpaint" however, Kevin and I took great care in selecting sounds and effects. I personally spent hours getting the right effects for all of my different voices. This is rather new for me and it's a continual learning process. how do you go about recording your music? how much work do you do at home? when you work with other musicians, do you write out parts for them, or is it more of a collaborative effort? The bulk of the work is done at home. I write and structure the song, and get it as close to completion as I can. Then Kevin steps in and together, we go over the song with a fine-toothed comb. He adds whatever he thinks is missing and polishes up the tracks I've already laid down. We then take the computer and keyboards to the other studio and lay the tracks down onto tape, straight from the computer. Next, we do any live overdubs that are neccesary. Noone ever knows what the vocals will be like until I do them.......including myself sometimes. They're the last thing to go down on tape before we mix. My experience with other musicians is limited thus far. If I have specific lines for someone to play, I'll put it on tape for them to learn. Usually, however, a person has alot of room to play whatever they feel. If I confine a player to a specific part, it's usually just one particular melody line that only happens occasionally in the song. the production on "Warpaint" is much more complex than on your past albums. did the extra resources (musicians/better equipment/editing) change the way you wrote and arranged songs? will your (many!) future albums continue to grow more eloborate, production-wise? do you enjoy playing with musical gadgets and technology? I think having access to better equipment allowed me to do the things I'd always wanted to do on the previous four albums. My writing didn't neccesarily change, though. When I did the earlier albums, I only owned one keyboard and a guitar. That meant that I'd be forced to stop at a certain point in the orchestration, whether I wanted to or not. My songs never turned out the way I knew they COULD sound. This was an endless source of frustration for me. I was being catagorized as "folk" because of the acoustic guitar and overall sparse arrangements. I always knew that I was as far from "folk" as a person could be. I suppose more elaborately produced albums will be a natural progression for me, but certainly not a goal. The musical content is still the most important factor. I don't get all goofy over new and upcoming technical gadgets. If you put one in my hands, chances are I'll enjoy using it. I'm not afraid of modern technology, and seem to have adequate user-skills, but you won't hear me talking about the latest equipment at parties, and you won't see me in the music store every week, looking for "new" stuff to trade my week-old keyboards in for. do you have plans for (or interest in) producing a video? which song would you choose, and what would the video be like? I'm very interested in producing videos, although I've no specific plans. It's too early to tell if a video is warranted for "Warpaint," the album, but I might be inclined to choose the tracks, "Words Weren't Made for Cowards," and "Warpaint," the title cut. I think any videos I do, will have to "feel" like the songs they accompany. You probably won't be seeing any glamour models in lingerie or choreographed dance routines. Klaus Kluge: Which of your own albums do you like best? I know that many artists will always point to the latest release for promotional reasons. Not that I think that you are one of them, but I'm also more interested to get your answer from a different point of view. Try to answer it not from the artists view, but through the eyes and ears of Happy, the music lover. Which of your albums would you like most if they were by somebody else (a strange question, I know)? Can you take that remote viewpoint? I've always said that if I were hearing Happy Rhodes for the first time, and the album was "Rhodes Vol.1" or "II," I wouldn't pay much attention to it. The same really goes for "Rearmament" and "Ecto". There are qualities that I would appreciate, but none of those albums would ever be enough to capture me. I don't mean that to be self- effacing. I just know that the qualities I look for in other artists, are not present in my first four albums. "Warpaint," on the other hand, harbors a few of those qualities, so it's the obvious choice to date. Just a last minute answer to Martin's question; Being TOO aware of other people's opinions of one's music, COULD have an effect on how one writes in the future. However, I'd like to think I'm smart enough to know that I'll never please everyone. The only logical thing to do is please myself, and hope for the best. Well, that's all folks......It's been great fun and I thank you all for your support. It's meant the world to me. The Hap-ster ======================================================================== Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1993 08:35:06 +0000 (U) From: TalbotJ Subject: Julia Fordham About a year and a half after the release of the first album, they released a special edition (here in Germany). Identical cover to the first, but gold in color rather than green. The same songs + I believe one extra track + 4 or 5 live tracks... Johnny ======================================================================== Date: Thu, 21 Oct 93 08:38:22 +0100 From: Terry Partis Subject: FINAL MAIL Hi to everyone on the Ecto Mailing List, This is likely to be my last message over the ecto Mailing List, since I will be leaving this location at the end of October and although I may be popping in here now and again and will keep my Email address I will not be able to carry on receiving all the Ecto mail. But any information regarding new Happy CD's would be most welcome if you could keep me informed . I'm sorry I will not be able to send anymore Birthday greetings, but I'll be thinking of you all. VICKIE : If you are not going to do the 1992 Birthday and Gift projects, can you forward the cassettes and International Reply Vouchers to Doug Burks. There should be 4 x 100 tapes and enough vouchers to cover the return postage. DOUG BURKS : If Vickie does forward my tapes and vouchers on to you can you do me dubs of the 1993 HBP (3 tapes) and the Danish and Swedish Nordic Samplers on the other tape. I will occasionally be looking at my mail, so if this comes about and you need my address, let me know. GEOFF PARKS : I'd appreciate it if you could keep in touch re any new HAPPY CDs that may be made in the future, since I'd still like to have any future ones, Many thanks. JESSICA: I'll be sending a message near the end of the month to remove me from the list All the best to you all HAPPY LISTENING Terry === Only in your eyes lies your soul ========================= Happy Rhodes === _ __ Jolly Hockeysticks _ __ / `-' ( ,,, / `-' ( ,,, | I I ||||||[:::] Terry (Tel Boy) Partis | I I ||||||[:::] \_.-._( ''' (tgp@ukc.ac.uk) \_.-._( ''' With a smile and a song - I'm HaPpy Let me sleep awhile and dream of Avalon and the Beltane fires.................. ............................................our souls entwined for all eternity ======================================================================== 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)