From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V4 #266 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Wednesday, August 12 1998 Volume 04 : Number 266 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Richard Shindell news and tour dates! [Michael Curry ] =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Garmarna=2C_Gjallarhorn=2C_V=E4rttin=E4=2C_JPP=2C_?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Susan_Court___=28long=29?= [] Re: ["Joanna M. Phillips" ] Re: Vrttin [Penta5@aol.com] Dollie De Luxe [Riphug@aol.com] MWABT!!!!!! [Matthew Levy ] MWABT in Burlington, MA/Marketing tips for samson [Angelos Kyrlidis ] MWABT [Stuart Myerburg ] Re: Drums?? ["J." Wermont ] Billboard [kerry white ] Re: Another another opinion on Dan Bern [Sherlyn Koo ] Anybody for #ecto? ["Xenu's Sister" ] Re: Anybody for #ecto? [Jeff Wasilko ] Drums ["Chris Stack" ] Re: [James Ryan Mitchell ] No more whimpering (was Re: ) [Philip David Morgan ] grrr. ["Jeffrey C. Burka" ] Re: MWABT!!!!!! ["Jeffrey C. Burka" ] MWABT [Neile Graham ] Happy's new CD in stores [MRL220@aol.com] OK Ecto-people NOW IS THE TIME ! ! [MRL220@aol.com] hmmm ["Jeffrey C. Burka" ] Re: hmmm [Jeff Wasilko ] Re: No more whimpering (was Re: ) ["Joanna M. Phillips" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 16:07:08 -0500 (CDT) From: Michael Curry Subject: Richard Shindell news and tour dates! - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 14:55:26 -0400 From: Young/Hunter Management To: richard-shindell-announce@shore.net Subject: RICHARD SHINDELL ANNOUNCEMENT - AUGUST 11, 1998 Hey everyone, It seems like ages since we've sent out a Richard announcement but, with the exception of a few highly successful appearances recently, he has been happily on hiatus for a bit. He's back in the swing of things now, though, and his most recent shows, (notably at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, where he took part in the "Friday Night Song Swap" with Greg Brown, Dar Williams, and John Gorka and also closed the festival with his solo set on Sunday evening) have gone really well and have even featured some new material. Thanks to everyone who came out the festival and to all who helped make last week's show at The George St. Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ just as successful! You'll notice that the upcoming dates are spread out a bit, though, as Richard is trying to spend a bit more time with his family, which I'm sure everyone understands and appreciates. Also, with the recording of Cry Cry Cry (the collaborative album of cover songs recorded by Richard, Dar Williams, and Lucy Kaplansky) "in the can", as they say (ie. finished!), Richard is also getting ready to go on tour with his fellow criers this December and early January 1999. The album will be out this October on Razor and Tie Records and, as you'll see on the tour schedule, the trio will be be hitting about 10 cities across the US. Hopefully, each show will feature an opener whose song they cover on the album but we'll tell you more about that as the tour draws closer. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and can make it to a few of the upcoming shows! - -Young/Hunter Management RICHARD SHINDELL - TOUR SCHEDULE http://www.richardshindell.com 8/15, Club Passim, Cambridge, MA, 617-492-7679 8/22, Schulyer St. Coffeehouse, Booneville, NY 9/26, Unison Arts Center, New Paltz, NY, 914-255-1559 9/27, Tin Angel, Philadelphia, PA, 215-928-0978 10/2, Our Time Coffeehouse, Garden City, NY, 516-541-1006 10/3, SUNY, Farmingdale, NY, 516-420-2000 10/9, Rosebud, Pittsburgh, PA, 412-261-4512 10/10, Happy Days Visitor Center, Peninsula, OH, 216-291-5695 10/17, Stamford Ctr for the Arts, Stamford, CT, 203-325-4466 10/18, Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA, 413-586-8686 10/24, Peterborough Players Theater, Peterborough, NH, 603-827-2905 10/30, Ten Pound Fiddle, E. Lansing, MI, 517-337-7744 10/31, WFMT, Chicago, IL, 217-328-2424 11/21, St. John University School of Law, Jamaica, NY 12/1, *Berger Center for Perf. Arts, Tucson, AZ, 520-327-4809 12/2, *South Broadway Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM, 505-268-0044 12/11, *Henry Mello Theater, Watsonville, CA, 408-426-7828 12/13, *The Troubadour, W. Hollywood, CA, 310-276-6168 12/26, *Emelin Theatre, Mamaronek, NY, 914-698-0098 12/31, *First Night Oakland, Oakland, NJ, 201-337-2093 1/2/99, *Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA, 617-876-4275 1/4/99, *The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA, 703-549-7500 1/15/99, *Rosebud, Pittsburgh, PA, 412-261-2232 1/16/99, *Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA, 215-572-7650 2/6/99, A Joyful Noise Coffeehouse, Lexington, MA, 617-861-0142 2/20/99, Stone Soup Concerts, Providence, RI, 401-781-7504 * CRY CRY CRY tour featuring Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 01:15:10 +0300 (EEST) From: Juha Sorva Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Garmarna=2C_Gjallarhorn=2C_V=E4rttin=E4=2C_JPP=2C_?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Susan_Court___=28long=29?= Hello Ecto, Something on my most recent musical experiences, concentrating on folk music... Last Saturday I visited a "world music" festival which was held in the countryside of southern Finland, near a nice little medieval castle. I've not been to many outdoor music festivals, little more than half a dozen, but it has rained every single time of those. This one was no exception, and rain poured down in wild, 20-minute torrents every now and then. In addition to that, a few practical arrangements really sucked, and I felt like strangling the idiots they had picked to introduce the bands, but despite all that, the overall atmosphere at the festival was excellent, not the least because of the very good musical offerings to be enjoyed. I'll skip right over the other Finnish/foreign groups that played during the day (even though some of them were pretty good), and concentrate on the main event: Garmarna. While several of the other bands had been met with enthusiasm, by the time Garmarna took the stage (after a lengthy delay because of technical problems), it was quite obvious who most people had come to see. And it actually didn't rain a drop while they played, which seemed almost miraculous for me. If the songs on their albums sound like menacing, mythological beasts prowling the shadows just beyond your field of vision, the live versions have got the critters seriously pissed. And they make a lot of noise when they roar. I had assumed Garmarna would be loud, and they were. Heavy guitars, heavy violins, heavy drums, and heavy "primitive samples". The already intense music from the records was turned into aggressive, fierce power folk that worked very well for me at least, even with the loss of some subtlety. What did come as a disappointment was Emma Härdelin's role. On the albums, her singing is an integral part of the music, but now it was trampled under the charge of the instruments (it wasn't physically inaudible, but she couldn't match the energy of the rest of the music), and she seemed almost lost at times, looking uncomfortable with being there and supposedly fronting the band. It's not like there was something horribly wrong, but she was the weakest link in the band... which is a shame as her voice can be truly beautiful, but that wasn't enough this time. When I commented on this to someone afterwards, he told me that Emma suffers from severe stage fright, which is why her live performance is so mild. (I don't know how exaggerated this claim is, but after seeing the show, I can easily believe there's at least some truth to it.) They played several new songs ("new/old" meaning "unrecorded/recorded by Garmarna", not "recent/traditional compositions") in addition to stuff from _Vittrad_ and _Guds Spelemän_. I'm one of those people who occasionally find it hard to appreciate live performances of songs they haven't heard before (I like to get to know a band through their studio work first), but there were a couple of very promising ones. Except for one song which was backed by a very typical-sounding techno drum loop (and which I couldn't quite appreciate, at least not yet), there was nothing to suggest a drastic change from the style of the previous album, unless they plan to get even heavier on record, too. Near the end, some technical failure with the samples prevented them from playing their re-rendered version of "Herr Olof" which (as we were told by Rickard Westman) is going to be the opening track for the forthcoming album. They ended the set with an absolutely rocking version of "Klevabergselden", but didn't for them to come back for encores, despite the wild cheering from the crowd. :( (It might have been the technical trouble, or that the organizers hadn't scheduled more time for them (grr...), or something else, I don't know.) By the way, for an example of the treatment most of the songs had been given, you could compare the two recorded versions of "Klevabergselden". The early recording from the self-titled EP goes much lighter on the guitars (and doesn't have the gloomy, sampled background at all) than the newer one that's included on the U.S. version of _Vittrad_. The live version was way louder and less polished, of course. So, it wasn't a completely divine (well, that would be the wrong word in Garmarna's case, anyway) show, but definitely not a disappointing one either. I'm really looking forward to the new album, which is supposed to come out (in Sweden) "around October". By the way, if anyone has happened to hear the new-ish debut album by the Swedish band Triakel (with Emma Härdelin as lead singer), I'd really love to hear some comments. Another band that I saw perform last weekend is Gjallarhorn, a Finnish folk music group from the Swedish-speaking west coast of Finland. Even though their music is based on the same Scandinavian ballads as Garmarna's, the sound of the two bands couldn't be much more different. Gjallarhorn are completely acoustic, and much, much mellower than Garmarna. Many of their songs have a dreamy sound, sometimes sounding almost ambient, while others are more dancey. Gjallarhorn played at the same festival as Garmarna, being the first performers of the day at noon. This appearance was partially spoiled by the heavy rain that started in the middle of it. Fortunately, I got to see them again on Sunday, back in Helsinki at a medieval fair, under drier contitions. The singer, Jenny Wilhelms, has a high, keening voice (beautiful, too, in my opinion, but some might disagree) that worked even better live than on record, especially on the more upbeat songs. And the band worked very well as a whole, too, so the show was very enjoyable. It just happened that they failed to play many of the songs I'd most liked to hear, but we got to hear many songs not on their first album (including, for example, an Icelandic tune that was pretty interesting) which was nice, too. I've had their debut album _Ranarop_ for a while now, and it's grown on me quite a bit. And my appreciation for the band grew considerably after seeing them live. Highly recommended if you like Nordic folk music. I tried to find out more about Gjallarhorn through Altavista, but didn't discover much. I did find a couple of reviews of their debut album, though. In case someone is interested: http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/feature/gjallarhorn.html http://www2.canoe.ca/JamAlbumsG/gjallarhorn.html Next up, a few comments on a couple of just-released albums I bought yesterday... Värttinä: _Vihma_ Metallic chimes and clanking noises that are soon joined by a thumping bassline and short, noisy bursts of samples is not how a Värttinä album is supposed to begin, but that's exactly how the title track starts off _Vihma_. Only after they start singing can the group be recognized, but after that the sound is of course quite unmistakable. After the rather unexpected beginning, the going gets more predictable, to the minor disappointment of me and everyone else who would have liked to see Värttinä get a little more experimental. Founder member/songwriter/singer Sari Kaasinen (now pursuing a solo career) has been replaced by another singer, Susan Aho. As the other members are very accomplished musicians, too, and many of them have a knack for songwriting, this isn't the devastating loss it might seem to be (seemed to me, anyway) at first. It looks as if she has taken some of the joyful spirit (and the liveliest songs) of the band away with her, though. The overall atmosphere on _Vihma_ is rather somber-toned as most of the songs are lamentations over something, usually the loneliness and uncertainty of life, even though this isn't always immediately apparent from the music alone. There are some new developments in the sound, like some minor "eastern"-sounding influences in the songwriting occasionally, some new production tricks, and the appearance of two Tuvan throat-singers (who I might have easily mistaken for some strange-sounding istruments if I hadn't read the liner notes) on three tracks, but basically _Vihma_ follows the path set by _Kokko_, combining the older, more traditional Värttinä sound with modern pop elements. I haven't listened to _Vihma_ enough times yet to be completely certain of my opinion, but at least at this stage I'm not as captivated by the songs as I am by the ones on _Kokko_ (which I really love). Despite the new touches here and there, _Vihma_ is still a "more of the same" CD. Not a classic Värttinä album, but pretty good nonetheless. A little detail: this time, the sleeve doesn't have a full translation of the lyrics, just a shortish poem that conveys the general theme and feel of the song. I think this is a reasonably good idea, as the longer translations failed to capture the magic of the original lyrics anyway. JPP: _String Tease_ This one caught me off guard, I didn't expect I'd like it this much. I'm not too familiar with JPP's earlier stuff, but after seeing them play live with the Swedish band Väsen a couple of months back (they performed over half of the songs on _String Tease_, I think), my interest was roused enough that I found myself buying the album now. At the core of JPP's songs is the very traditional violin Finnish violin music, but (at least this time, I've been led to understand that the earlier albums are more conventional) they've managed/wanted to freshen their sound with other influences, too, and partially break free from the mannerisms that often make this kind of music so very boring. Sure enough, there are many true traditional tunes on the album, too, but the highlights for me at least are the newer compositions by the band members. One of the best is the first one, called "Hale-Bopp", that features a very nice plucked staccato part, even if the main theme does sound a bit like a theme song to a bad TV drama series. There's also a three-part "Wedding Suite" which is a beautiful piece of music. Two of the songs are performed with Väsen, and many also feature the expanded JPP line-up, with up to eleven violin players. So, if you like traditional, instrumental folk, heavy on violins, then this is the album for you. I don't think it's possible to find any fault in the technical ability of any of the musicians, and the compositions are the best you're going to get from this genre. But if you're not into this sort of thing, you might well be bored to death. For me, this is an album I'm not going to play often, but I think I'm going to enjoy it when I do play it. While these albums and the excellent concerts might have easily made any other musical week for me, this time something outshone even them. Namely, Susan Court's _High Relief_, which seems to have set up permanent residence in my CD player, and only allows for short visits by Värttinä and JPP (and _Rearmament_, reminded by the recent thread. That one is in my top two of Happy albums, too.). I've found out about a lot of really amazing music in the last few months, and this one is right up there with the best of the lot. A huge thank-you to everyone who has been praising Susan here on Ecto. Everyone else, do check it out! Oh, and just in case there happen to be any Kate Bush fans on the list, the recommendation is even higher for you, go order this album now! That's (finally) it for this email... Juha n.p. Susan Court: _High Relief_ n.r. (just about to, anyway) the new Terra Incognita ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 18:18:00 -0400 From: "Joanna M. Phillips" Subject: Re: > From: Joseph S. Zitt > To: jeffrey c. burka > Cc: ecto > Subject: Re: > Date: Tuesday, August 11, 1998 2:10 PM > > And upon reading this, I figured the hell with waiting until the end of > the day, and ran across the street to Borders -- where they said that they > had it somewhere in the back but couldn't find it. > > Four hours until I hit Tower *whine* > > On Tue, 11 Aug 1998, jeffrey c. burka wrote: > > > > > oh my. > > > > just...oh my. > > > > jeff > > np: well, *duh* We don't have a car. I phoned all around Cincinnati today--no one has "Many Worlds Are Born Tonight". Borders said it might be in a bunch of boxes in back and to try back tomorrow. However, they are about 1/2 hour drive from us, so that is pretty useless. When I phoned MediaPlay, a salesperson said that yes, it was released today, but in their computer it just says "not available" with no further explanation. He was at a loss as to why it would say that. I think I called about a dozen different places. No one had it. ::sigh:: ::trying to decide if I should order it online or hope I might get it sooner somewhere around here...:: fleur ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 18:53:13 EDT From: Penta5@aol.com Subject: Re: Vrttin In a message dated 8/11/98 6:17:37 PM, you wrote: <> Hello Juha and all, Your review of the festivals, especially Varttina, has me jealous! I haven't seen them live in a couple of years. They were in the middle of a big N.A. tour and I caught them in Colorado. Sari was ill during that tour and did not perform many shows including that one. The group was not any the less for the subtraction, in fact, they were superb ! I wish Sari all success in her solo career but, I'm confident that Varttina will be just fine without her. If anyone on the list is not familiar with Varttina, I highly recommend that you pick up any of their cd's. I have several earlier discs of which Kokko is my current favorite. Regards, Anna (Currently on a local source Vihma hunt) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 19:04:10 EDT From: Riphug@aol.com Subject: Dollie De Luxe I desperately need your help! A friend of mine from Norway made me a mix tape with two songs from Norwegian duo Dollie De Luxe on it. I absolutely love them! They greatly remind me of Happy/Loreena. As I did some web-searching for their music, I noticed that their is supposed to be a forthcoming entry in the Ectophiles Guide to Good Music, so I figure that someone around here knows lots and lots about them and might be able to help me find their music on either cd (preferably) or tape. I'll take dubs, used, or new stuff....anything!! Please, please, please, please help me find Dollie De Luxe!!! Jill :D ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 19:21:55 -0400 From: Matthew Levy Subject: MWABT!!!!!! Hiya everyone. I had to come out of delurker mode (2+ years delurked...) to comment on MWABT. I just purchased it at Main Street Music in Manayunk (Philadelphia) and I LOVE IT!!! It has a perfect mix of ambient electronic and acousitic instrumentation which I thought BtC suffered slightly from. Happy's vocal harmonizing is brilliant! Right now I think my current fave is "The Chariot". It's one of the most beautiful, haunting songs I've ever heard. I understand "Roy" is the single being pushed. I just can't see it being a single though. The only thing 'mainstream' about it is the drum track. I would have loved to have seen a shorter version/radio edit of "Seranading Genius" as a single. Anyone wanna concur or argue against this? One other thing: "Ra Is A Busy God" has been getting a lot airplay on the "Echoes" radio show, hosted by John Deliberto (who wrote that great review someone posted a few digests ago). Is this the same version that was on the Rhodes/Bartlett album or a new version? Matt Levy ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 19:50:03 -0400 From: Angelos Kyrlidis Subject: MWABT in Burlington, MA/Marketing tips for samson Hi, Well I hopped on my car and drove down the Middlesex turnpike on my way to Newbury Comics to buy MWABT. Got there, no sign of it. Checked the new releases, checked the R's, checked the H's nothing. So I went to Tower. Checked the new releases, nada. Checked the R's and there was no Happy Rhodes insert. BUT, there was a blank insert with 3 MWABTs. (yay!) However, the CDs were $16.99 each (full price)! Now, that didn't do much for me (I drove 30 miles at lunch to get it, so nothing could stop me), but the average CD buyer is unlikely to fork out $16.99 for an artist they have vaguely (if at all) heard of and stumbled on by chance while looking for the latest Emit Rhodes or Ride CD. My suggestion to the Samson crew is to follow the Jewel/Rammstein/Marcy Playground marketing approach. Drop the retail price to $10.99 or less, start a promotion around MWABT, get it on the New Releases or featured artists racks, and wait for the tour. Get people to notice the CD and spread the word. Then when the masses start buying, recover the costs by charging full price. Not that I am complaining, but this is the first CD in maybe 6 years that I have paid full price for and I just had to vent. :P Will post more when I have had a chance to really listen to the CD. Cheers, Angelos ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 19:57:18 -0400 From: "Robert Lovejoy" Subject: Many Worlds Are Heard Tonight and i am once again transported to happybliss, the exquisite melodies unfurling all around me like a cool breeze on a summer night this is beyond this is before this is music and rapture and joy and when my head returns to my body i will write in more depth but for now many worlds were indeed born tonight this is so pretty... i like the melodic hook from Tragic Jorn is MWABT, but more so and more later uncle ecto, still hoping to be forgiven for speaking without thinking or was it the opposite? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 23:13:01 -0400 From: "Chris Stack" Subject: Drums?? Over the last few years I have noticed a some changes in my musical tastes (who hasn't?). One thing that is becoming constant is that if an artists arrangements contain much use of the standard rock drum kit, it usually leaves me cold. It doesn't matter if is skillfully played or not, I have come to feel that it is an ill-conceived instrument. While guitarists, keyboardists and most other musicians are progressing, using new sounds, most (I know, not all) drummers are using the same old sounds Buddy Holly's drummer wore out. There are some people who use them well, generally any of the drummers playing with Peter Gabriel and some others. My dislike tends to be proportional to the amount of cymbals used. Nothing trashes up an arrangement like a good ride cymbal. They take up way too much bandwidth for the amount of interest they provide. Don't take all this to mean that I don't like percussion. I love it. Taiko drums, Congas, Talking Drums, Marimbas, Drum Machines (as long as they don't sound too much like a drum kit), mutant synthetic percussion sounds....the more, the merrier. In my world, the perfect use of percussion occured on the Dead Can Dance "SpiritChaser" CD. Others good ones are Peter Gabriel's "Passion", or Vas's "Sunyatta" (REALLY, REALLY, GOOD,). I hope I haven't offended any drummers out there. These are only opinions. Anyone else notice similar changes in their tastes? ========================== Chris Stack cstack @ ix . netcom . com ========================== Understanding that which is at our door is the first step towards understanding that which lies beyond. -Hypatia ========================== ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 20:45:25 -0400 (EDT) From: Stuart Myerburg Subject: MWABT I have to echo a couple of other people's complaints about trying to hunt down Happy's latest. I anxiously visited 3 record stores during lunch today, and there was no sign of _MWABT_ anywhere. Finally, I had the employees hunt it down at Tower. At first, they were totally befuddled when I asked for Happy Rhodes. They wanted to know what kind of music it was (try explaining that!) and said they didn't think they carried her. Eventually, they found it in the back (!) since they hadn't even bothered to display it. In fact, the divider for Happy in the Rs which was there a couple of months ago had completely disappeared. Very frustrating. Anyway, at least I have it now. I can't really comment yet since the first half of the album is a little too dense for me to absorb in one sitting. But I already like the second half, so that's a good sign. Stuart np: _MWABT_ _________________________________________________________ Stuart Myerburg Information Services, Rollins School of Public Health http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~stuart _________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 17:50:20 -0700 (PDT) From: "J." Wermont Subject: Re: Drums?? Chris Stack wrote: > Anyone else notice similar changes in their tastes? Yes, I have. I used to feel exactly as you do, and disdained the standard drum sound in favor of congas, bongos, and other percussive sounds. But now I'm rediscovering an appreciation of the good old fashioned drum kit. They add a certain power and volume to percussion that many other kinds of percussion instruments can't do. Actually what I like best is a combination of the two types - the standard drums underlying an array of percussion sounds the way a bass line underlies a guitar. And I totally disagree with you about cymbals - I think they add a tremendous amount of mood and emotion to a song. Sure it can be overdone, but can't everything? Joyce ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 20:05:32 -0500 (CDT) From: kerry white Subject: Billboard Hi, Just finished reading the Aug 8th issue of Billboard. Looks like I just spent $6 on the HR MWABT ad for my scraqpbook. I found not 1 other item to buy the mag for. Madness takes its toll. Please have correct change ready. (stolen from a .sig in a ng) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 11:20:38 +1000 (EST) From: Sherlyn Koo Subject: Re: Another another opinion on Dan Bern Hey folks, Just to clear one thing up... Owen said: > perhaps not as small as one might expect. Dan Bern's association with > Ecto artists (Ani DiFranco produced and played on his new album, _Fifty > Eggs_, he toured with Ani and Dar Williams in Australia, Veda Hille is Actually, Dan had to cancel on that tour as apparently he was promoting "50 Eggs" in the states at the time. Jeff Lang, who is a phenomenal bluesy guitar god dude from the Melbourne area, opened most of the Australian Dar/Ani shows instead (also satisfying the local content laws in the process)... :) sherlyn =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= a+e=ig Sherlyn Koo - sherlyn@fl.net.au [Sydney, Australia] "Life can be so dramatic - but it was real at the time..." - The Waifs ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 20:26:40 -0500 From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Anybody for #ecto? Tuesday night 8:26pm Central Standard Time I'm on IRC #ecto for the first tiime in ages. I'm also listening to MWABT. I'm on EFnet, but also hooked up to Undernet in case someone showed up there. These are the servers I used successfully: EFnet: ircd.texas.net on port 6667 Undernet: us.undernet.org on port 6660 Vickie DIVX = GREED - Boycott Circuit City! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 21:50:42 -0400 From: Jeff Wasilko Subject: Re: Anybody for #ecto? On Tue, Aug 11, 1998 at 08:26:40PM -0500, Xenu's Sister wrote: > > Tuesday night 8:26pm Central Standard Time > > I'm on IRC #ecto for the first tiime in ages. I'm also > listening to MWABT. I'm on EFnet, but also hooked up > to Undernet in case someone showed up there. Come on folks, jump in! There's already 3 of us! Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 22:05:37 -0400 From: "Chris Stack" Subject: Drums Sorry if this is a duplicate post. I didn't see it show up in the Ecto-digest so I sent it again... =============================== Over the last few years I have noticed a some changes in my musical tastes (who hasn't?). One thing that is becoming constant is that if an artists arrangements contain much use of the standard rock drum kit, it usually leaves me cold. It doesn't matter if is skillfully played or not, I have come to feel that it is an ill-conceived instrument. While guitarists, keyboardists and most other musicians are progressing, using new sounds, most (I know, not all) drummers are using the same old sounds Buddy Holly's drummer wore out. There are some people who use them well, generally any of the drummers playing with Peter Gabriel and some others. My dislike tends to be proportional to the amount of cymbals used. Nothing trashes up an arrangement like a good ride cymbal. They take up way too much bandwidth for the amount of interest they provide. Don't take all this to mean that I don't like percussion. I love it. Taiko drums, Congas, Talking Drums, Marimbas, Drum Machines (as long as they don't sound too much like a drum kit), mutant synthetic percussion sounds....the more, the merrier. In my world, the perfect use of percussion occured on the Dead Can Dance "SpiritChaser" CD. Others good ones are Peter Gabriel's "Passion", or Vas's "Sunyatta" (REALLY, REALLY, GOOD,). I hope I haven't offended any drummers out there. These are only opinions. Anyone else notice similar changes in their tastes? ========================== Chris Stack cstack @ ix . netcom . com ========================== Understanding that which is at our door is the first step towards understanding that which lies beyond. -Hypatia ========================== ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 21:21:19 -0500 (CDT) From: James Ryan Mitchell Subject: Re: Well, if its either comfort or annoyance to anyone... The Best Buy where my brother works, here in the Darkest Suburbia of Chicago, had one copy of MWBT. Of course I only had $9, so I could only stand and admire, but there it was! James Mitchell ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 23:04:53 -0400 From: Philip David Morgan Subject: No more whimpering (was Re: ) Quickly, quickly... Judging by so many Ectophiles' frustration in finding the new Happy disc, I decided that I'm not going to bed whimpering.... I ordered it at Mass Music. http://www.mass-music.com/ $13 - not quite a bargin, but at least in stock. Philip David (now the wait begins) 8/11/1998 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 23:17:04 -0400 From: Jeff Wasilko Subject: Announcement: Boston Ectogather August 29/30 Hey folks! During the weekend of August 29/30, there's going to be an influx of Ectophiles into Boston (specifically Woj, Meth and Valerie). So, I'd love to get the Boston ectophiles together for an ecto-gather of some sort. I know there are at least 3 people on ecto in the Boston area now, but I've only ever seen Angelos (and I just stood in front of him at a concert)... So, Boston Ectophiles, untie! Drop me a note if you're going to be around that weekend and we'll see if we can schedule something! - -Jeff N.P. Happy! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 20:27:26 -0700 (PDT) From: David Liebson Subject: what else? Sounds like I was lucky to find an actual copy of MWABT on sale today. In any case, does anyone remember that taco Bell commercial from a while back, with Jack Palance being thrown through the window and saying "yummy" ? That's me. Nuff said. Perhaps more shocking, however, was Iris DeMent's "Wasteland of the Free" playing in this big, evil, nasty, national chain store that I bought MWABT from.... Also -- I wasn't able to buy the new Emmylou Harris album today. Anyone had a chance to listen to this one yet? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 23:38:12 -0400 From: "Jeffrey C. Burka" Subject: grrr. Well, I must say, it's not pleasant to see the posts from people who are having a terrible time finding MWABT. I feel incredibly lucky that I was able to score a single copy at 12:15 this afternoon. I'd hoped to get two discs, but was denied...6 times over (two olssons, one kemp mill, melody, DCCD, phantasmagoria) in looking for a second. So much for an 8/11 release date...worthless if you can't actually *get* the disc. Several people have commented "I was told they had it in a box in the back, but weren't sure where." Way back when, when I worked at an (ugh) Sam Goody, I don't remember *ever* having problems keeping all of the incoming stock put out on time (shipments came on thursdays and everything made it to the shelves that day; new releases appeared on their tuesday street dates...) So is this just a lot of gross incompetence? Good luck to all you folks searching. Trust me, it's worth the effort. jeff n.p. again, *duh* ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 23:46:40 -0400 From: "Jeffrey C. Burka" Subject: Re: MWABT!!!!!! Matthew Levy wrote: > Hiya everyone. I had to come out of delurker mode (2+ years > delurked...) to comment on MWABT. I just purchased it at Main Street > Music in Manayunk (Philadelphia) and I LOVE IT!!! It has a perfect mix > of ambient electronic and acousitic instrumentation which I thought BtC > suffered slightly from. On first few listens I, too, think I'll like this more than BtC, which is probably my least favorite of Happy's discs. Of course, that's sort of like complaining about KaTe's Lionheart; it's still a phenomenal disc, and I wouldn't dream of giving up my copy. (just thinking bout "Just Like Tivoli" can freak me out!) > Happy's vocal harmonizing is brilliant! Right > now I think my current fave is "The Chariot". It's one of the most > beautiful, haunting songs I've ever heard. "The Chariot" is indeed wonderful. > I understand "Roy" is the single being pushed. I just can't see it > being a single though. I have a bit of trouble imagining this too. "Tragic", I think (if I'm remembering correctly) was my thought of a good single. Or even "100 Years," which I gather has been getting some airplay. And I guess "Serenading Genius" would work. > One other thing: "Ra Is A Busy God" has been getting a lot airplay on > the "Echoes" radio show, hosted by John Deliberto (who wrote that great > review someone posted a few digests ago). Is this the same version that > was on the Rhodes/Bartlett album or a new version? First of all, it wasn't a "Rhodes/Bartlett album," it was the first of two Aural Gratification "ambient" samplers, featuring compositions by Happy, Kevin, David Torn, Bokeno, and others. Ambient 1 and 2 are basically instrumental, semi-ambient discs. Both are wonderful. "Ra Is A Busy God," the new version, is largely identical to the original instrumental but with the vocal tracks laid over it. I'm not sure I can speak to whether or not the structure is quite the same, as the new version has a fairly generic pop structure, and I'm not sure I ever tried to listen for such a structure in the original version. I always thought the title was pretty cool, and when I heard that a track of the same name would be on the new album, I wondered whether it would have lyrics, and if so, if they'd manage to live up to the title. They do. The imagery is wonderful. I'd definitely recommend the two ambient discs if you can find 'em (kevin or sharon, are they still available from AG?). jeff ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 20:59:09 -0700 From: Neile Graham Subject: MWABT Wow. Sonic bliss. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 23:59:22 EDT From: MRL220@aol.com Subject: Happy's new CD in stores I had to buy a few copies of the CD for a few people out of the country who e- mailed me (mostly Finland). I was pleased to find that Borders here (Chicago) had it but ordered two copies . The big Tower store here had about 8 copies and they were on sale there for $12.99. It was daunting to see that they had about a million copies of Liz Phair's new CD also out today.\ Marty ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 00:03:38 EDT From: MRL220@aol.com Subject: OK Ecto-people NOW IS THE TIME ! ! Go out and get Happy's new CD NOW. Buy an extra copy and give away. Let's help make this a successful release for her. Marty ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 00:08:44 -0400 From: "Jeffrey C. Burka" Subject: hmmm so did Happy pull a KaTe and drink tons of milk before recording those gravelly vocals on "Looking Over Cliffs"? (for those wondering what I'm talking about KaTe used a super- phlegmy voice for vocals on "Houdini", off _The Dreaming_). I've never heard Happy's voice sound like that, and I *love* it. jeff (wondering if ecto is about to overload smoe... ;-) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 00:16:28 -0400 From: Jeff Wasilko Subject: Re: hmmm On Wed, Aug 12, 1998 at 12:08:44AM -0400, Jeffrey C. Burka wrote: > (wondering if ecto is about to overload smoe... ;-) I was wondering the same thingm, but the new hardware from the fund drive is so much faster than the old stuff. Also, ecto is one of the smaller lists smoe hosts (with only 190 people on the regular list, compared to 850+ on torinews and 1200+ on jewel-news). Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 00:19:15 -0400 From: "Joanna M. Phillips" Subject: Re: No more whimpering (was Re: ) > From: Philip David Morgan > To: ECTO Mailing List > Subject: No more whimpering (was Re: ) > Date: Tuesday, August 11, 1998 11:04 PM > > Quickly, quickly... > > Judging by so many Ectophiles' frustration in finding the new Happy disc, I > decided that I'm not going to bed whimpering.... I ordered it at Mass Music. > > http://www.mass-music.com/ I didn't need much persuading. I ordered it too, after reading your email. And ordered Project Lo's "Black Canvas" while I was at it (since I hadn't gotten this yet). Wow, that RealAudio clip of Happy singing "Mercy Street" is yummy! fleur ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 00:29:03 -0400 From: "Jeffrey C. Burka" Subject: Re: hmmm Jeff Wasilko wrote: > Also, ecto is one of the smaller lists smoe hosts (with only 190 > people on the regular list meaning non-digest, or what? Y'know, after my post this morning, I decided to take the ectoSiG with me to work. At the end of side 1, Vickie reads through all the mailing list members while "Friend You'll Be" plays in the background. It doesn't take her too long to read through 'em all. Some names were real blasts from the past, but it's amazing how many of us are still around, almost 7 years later. jeff ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V4 #266 **************************