From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V9 #54 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Tuesday, February 25 2003 Volume 09 : Number 054 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] Need to sell Tori Radio City Music Hall Tix [music@allison.net] Nightclubs in trouble [Scott Burger ] [idm] Nightclubs in trouble [Scott Burger ] Grammys [MRL220@aol.com] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Grammys [Ellen Rawson ] New Chantal Kreviazuk [MRL220@aol.com] Re: Grammys ["Xenu's Sister" ] Re: Grammys [Sue Trowbridge ] re: d. mccarthy/c. hostess [Tamar Boursalian ] Re: Grammys ["Troy J. Shadbolt" ] Re: Grammys [meredith ] tomorrow at joe's pub in nyc (etc.) [meredith ] Vienna Teng at Borders SF yesterday [Joseph Zitt ] re: grammies ["Jack Sutton" ] Re: grammies [Greg Bossert ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 03:00:02 -0500 (EST) From: Mike Matthews Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ********************** Michael Curry (mcurry@io.com) ********************** *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Michael Curry Fri February 24 1967 Pisces Paula Shanks Mon February 25 1952 Pisces Brni Mojzes Fri February 26 1965 the vanishing boy Pamela Pociluk Fri February 28 1964 Pisces Peter Clark Thu March 04 1948 Pedestrian Tim Steele Fri March 08 1963 Pisces Matt Bittner Thu March 12 1964 Pisces kIrI Hargie Fri March 13 1970 Pisces Bob Dreano Thu March 13 1958 Pisces Randall K. Smith Sat March 15 1969 Pisces Jessica Skolnik March 16 Pisces Alan Sodoma Thu March 18 1965 LuckyLurker Richard Konrad Sat March 18 1944 Pisces Barry Wong Thu March 19 1970 Merlin Graham Dombkins Fri March 19 1965 Pisces Ian Young Wed March 19 1969 Squiggol Jeff Wasilko Wed March 19 1969 Pisces Geoff Carre Sat March 20 1954 Pisces John Stewart Sat March 21 1970 Aries Bob Brown Thu March 22 1951 Ham - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 01:02:12 -0800 (PST) From: music@allison.net Subject: Need to sell Tori Radio City Music Hall Tix Hi all, For reasons not worth explaining, I have ended up with waaay more tickets for Tori's Radio City Music Hall Shows than I can use. :( I would like to sell them for their face value plus the "Ticket Monster" charges. Here goes... Thursday, March 6 Section: 3rd Mezzanine Row: E, Seats 312 and 313 The total for the pair is $78.45. If you want to buy just one it would be $39. I'd prefer to sell the pair if possible. Friday, March 7 Section: Orch3 Row H, Seat 307 This one with charges is $60. There's just one ticket here and you sit next to me. I swear I don't talk or sing along though sometimes I get a little teery-eyed! :-) Please contact me via email: music@allison.net or leave me voice mail at (212) 769-6812 if you're interested in any of these tickets. Thanks so much!!! Allison http://allisontartalia.com http://cdbaby.com/cd/allisontartalia http://allisontartalia.com http://mp3.com/allisontartalia http://adoptaband.com/showcase/allisontartalia Make Haste! Records booking/info:(212)769-6812 BUY THE CD!: http://cdbaby.com/cd/allisontartalia ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 10:10:32 -0500 (EST) From: Scott Burger Subject: Nightclubs in trouble I am concerned for nightclubs. Richmond, whose conservative city fathers already hate nightclubs, had its daily paper run an editorial cartoon with Death waiting to pay a cover to get into a nightclub. Combine these latest tragedies with some of the already draconian, anti-youth laws going into effect and it does not take a genius to see that this industry is under the gun. Its too bad. Its a real shame, because with file-sharing and the major corporate labels losing tons of money (and not being able to pay all their lawyers), independent live music was poised to take on more stature up to this point. Now everybody is going to have to pay for more security guards and sprinkler systems. This is a great time to get involved and stand up in support of these small businesses. Go out this weekend and spend a few bucks at your favorite local muisc dive. Damn Great White. Thanks, Scott ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 10:10:32 -0500 (EST) From: Scott Burger Subject: [idm] Nightclubs in trouble I am concerned for nightclubs. Richmond, whose conservative city fathers already hate nightclubs, had its daily paper run an editorial cartoon with Death waiting to pay a cover to get into a nightclub. Combine these latest tragedies with some of the already draconian, anti-youth laws going into effect and it does not take a genius to see that this industry is under the gun. Its too bad. Its a real shame, because with file-sharing and the major corporate labels losing tons of money (and not being able to pay all their lawyers), independent live music was poised to take on more stature up to this point. Now everybody is going to have to pay for more security guards and sprinkler systems. This is a great time to get involved and stand up in support of these small businesses. Go out this weekend and spend a few bucks at your favorite local muisc dive. Damn Great White. Thanks, Scott - --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:01:43 -0500 From: MRL220@aol.com Subject: Grammys Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were a few good moments but overall it was a mess. And, did Nora Jones really deserve 8 awards? Her CD is OK but...8 Grammys ???? Hard to understand. I was suprised there were not any strong anti-war statements. Also, why was there no mention (even in passing) of the recent club deaths? What stupid show. Marty ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:21:52 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys - --- MRL220@aol.com wrote: > Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain > and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were > a few good moments but overall it was a mess. I'd heard that CBS was censoring the artists in terms of anti-war statements. http://www.drudgereport.com/cbs.htm The BBC pointed out right away this morning that Coldplay didn't say anything like what was said at the Brits. I wondered about 8 awards for Norah also. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:21:54 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys - --- MRL220@aol.com wrote: > Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain > and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were > a few good moments but overall it was a mess. I'd heard that CBS was censoring the artists in terms of anti-war statements. http://www.drudgereport.com/cbs.htm The BBC pointed out right away this morning that Coldplay didn't say anything like what was said at the Brits. I wondered about 8 awards for Norah also. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:21:56 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys - --- MRL220@aol.com wrote: > Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain > and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were > a few good moments but overall it was a mess. I'd heard that CBS was censoring the artists in terms of anti-war statements. http://www.drudgereport.com/cbs.htm The BBC pointed out right away this morning that Coldplay didn't say anything like what was said at the Brits. I wondered about 8 awards for Norah also. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:21:59 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys - --- MRL220@aol.com wrote: > Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain > and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were > a few good moments but overall it was a mess. I'd heard that CBS was censoring the artists in terms of anti-war statements. http://www.drudgereport.com/cbs.htm The BBC pointed out right away this morning that Coldplay didn't say anything like what was said at the Brits. I wondered about 8 awards for Norah also. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:22:01 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys - --- MRL220@aol.com wrote: > Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain > and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were > a few good moments but overall it was a mess. I'd heard that CBS was censoring the artists in terms of anti-war statements. http://www.drudgereport.com/cbs.htm The BBC pointed out right away this morning that Coldplay didn't say anything like what was said at the Brits. I wondered about 8 awards for Norah also. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:22:05 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys - --- MRL220@aol.com wrote: > Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain > and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were > a few good moments but overall it was a mess. I'd heard that CBS was censoring the artists in terms of anti-war statements. http://www.drudgereport.com/cbs.htm The BBC pointed out right away this morning that Coldplay didn't say anything like what was said at the Brits. I wondered about 8 awards for Norah also. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:22:03 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys - --- MRL220@aol.com wrote: > Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain > and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were > a few good moments but overall it was a mess. I'd heard that CBS was censoring the artists in terms of anti-war statements. http://www.drudgereport.com/cbs.htm The BBC pointed out right away this morning that Coldplay didn't say anything like what was said at the Brits. I wondered about 8 awards for Norah also. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:22:07 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys - --- MRL220@aol.com wrote: > Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain > and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were > a few good moments but overall it was a mess. I'd heard that CBS was censoring the artists in terms of anti-war statements. http://www.drudgereport.com/cbs.htm The BBC pointed out right away this morning that Coldplay didn't say anything like what was said at the Brits. I wondered about 8 awards for Norah also. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:22:09 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys - --- MRL220@aol.com wrote: > Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain > and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were > a few good moments but overall it was a mess. I'd heard that CBS was censoring the artists in terms of anti-war statements. http://www.drudgereport.com/cbs.htm The BBC pointed out right away this morning that Coldplay didn't say anything like what was said at the Brits. I wondered about 8 awards for Norah also. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:22:18 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys - --- MRL220@aol.com wrote: > Did anybody subject themselves to the extreme pain > and suffering that was the Grammys show ? There were > a few good moments but overall it was a mess. I'd heard that CBS was censoring the artists in terms of anti-war statements. http://www.drudgereport.com/cbs.htm The BBC pointed out right away this morning that Coldplay didn't say anything like what was said at the Brits. I wondered about 8 awards for Norah also. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:24:15 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Re: Grammys Sorry -- Yahoo went nuts. I'm hoping it stops that nonsense now. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:13:16 -0500 From: MRL220@aol.com Subject: New Chantal Kreviazuk She released her third CD "What If It All Means Somthing" in Canada. CD has been out there since late November and they say it will be released in the USA this spring. Its available from either Amazon or HMV. There are two versions. One is the regular CD and there is a special CD that has some additional notes and a video. This CD is not nearly as hard edged and raw as her first one. The second, Color, Moving and Still was deeper and a lot more lyrical and I always favored that one. The third CD is like Color, Moving. Her songs are lyrical and passionate. I am not sure she has made a great step forward with this CD. Its very likable. Every time I listen to it I like it more. I am just not sure it charts any new ground. The change from the first CD to the second was dramatic. Something happened...she mellowed out and it seems that continues on the new CD. Michelle Branch (yay...she got a Grammy) shares one song on the new CD. Color, Moving and Still may be her best effort but this one has much to speak for. Marty ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:02:52 -0600 From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Re: Grammys > > did Norah Jones really deserve 8 awards? Yes, yes she did. And if Ectophiles had discovered her before the rest of the country, we'd all be turning cartwheels in happiness for her instead of sniping at her success. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:57:00 -0500 (EST) From: Sue Trowbridge Subject: Re: Grammys On Mon, 24 Feb 2003, Xenu's Sister wrote: > > > did Norah Jones really deserve 8 awards? > > Yes, yes she did. And if Ectophiles had discovered her before the rest of > the country, we'd all be turning cartwheels in happiness for her instead of > sniping at her success. For the record, I heard her album several months ago and thought it was pleasant but a little too mellow for my tastes. However, if I was the world's biggest Norah Jones fan, I would frankly worry about her Grammy sweep. I mean, winning a bunch of Grammys the first time out often leads to career disaster. Milli Vanilli...Marc Cohn...Starland Vocal Band... Arrested Development...Debby Boone...even Shelby Lynne's follow-up to her best-new-artist-winning CD has sold fewer than 75,000 copies. OK, those Beatles kids wound up doing pretty well. So there are always exceptions. - --Sue ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 15:07:38 -0800 (PST) From: Tamar Boursalian Subject: re: d. mccarthy/c. hostess Donald G. Keller said: > I had been meaning to say that that's about the best description of Dawn > McCarthy I've ever seen, and I've tried my hand at it a few times myself. > ("Scarcely sane sprite"!) In a world of--how shall I say it--free-spirited > musicians, she is the freest. She can sing anything from blues to Celtic > folk to Middle Eastern improv to yodeling, and with great panache. Faun > Fables is a duo (with terrific guitarist and singer Nils Frykdahl) well > worth seeing. Nils was also one of the musicians who played on the Charming Hostess album. He's also in another band called Sleepytime Gorilla Museum along with Carla Kihlstedt (from Tin Hat Trio and Charming Hostess), Frank Grau (whom I know nothing about) and Dan Rathbun who was also in Charming Hostess and has been in bands with Nils since the mid '80s. Dan's an amazing musician. SGM is a lot more like Mr. Bungle than Charming Hostess, but if you like that sort of thing, they're worth checking out! - --Tamar ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:38:28 -0800 From: "Troy J. Shadbolt" Subject: Re: Grammys I actually appreciate that Norah did well; but historically, the Grammys have gone in a similar fashion where one person or band will be overly represented. And then there's always the "Best New Artist of " kiss of death. I only watch 30 minutes of the whole boring show; especially when they blew off the acceptance speeches for Nickel Creek and Chanticleer. - -troy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 20:50:41 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: Grammys Hi, Vickie responded: >Yes, yes she did. And if Ectophiles had discovered her before the rest of >the country, we'd all be turning cartwheels in happiness for her instead >of sniping at her success. I'm not a Norah Jones fan -- I find her music way too bland and expressionless -- but I am happy for her success. Every Grammy she won last night was one less award going to Avril Lavigne or whomever. Plus, Jesse Harris, who won with her as writer of Song Of The Year used to be 1/2 of a duo that used to get some press in these pages, called Once Blue. I'm happy for him. In particular, I'm encouraged because one of my all-time faves, Susan Werner is shopping an album of her original jazz "standards" this year. Hopefully Norah's success will pave the way for her to get signed and get the recognition she deserves. If the American public can be enchanted by Norah, they're just going to be blown out of their socks by Susan. =============================================== Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth =============================================== Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://muzak.smoe.org NEXT UP: Dorothy Scott, 3/16/03 =============================================== ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 21:05:50 -0500 From: meredith Subject: tomorrow at joe's pub in nyc (etc.) Hi, Just a quick reminder for the NYC-area ectophiles that Sloan Wainwright and Dorothy Scott are on the schedule for Joe's Pub tomorrow (Tuesday), 2/25. woj and I (and JeffW, if he has any clue at all what is good for him ;) will be there. Also, the next night (Wednesday) uptown at Makor we'll be at another cool show. Lalo (a.k.a. Laura Friedman) is a young vibraphone player whose music is basically jazz, but she certainly doesn't allow herself to be hemmed in by definitions. Jazz is emphatically not my thing, but I love what she does, and watching her play is mesmerizing. She is incredible. She'll be accompanied by bass and drums, and if her CD is any indication, it's going to be one hell of a show. I highly recommend this show to any and all within reach of Makor Wednesday night. =============================================== Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth =============================================== Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://muzak.smoe.org NEXT UP: Dorothy Scott, 3/16/03 =============================================== ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:24:07 -0800 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Vienna Teng at Borders SF yesterday > Also! Vienna Teng will be there this Sunday at 6 PM. (Fortunately, I'll have > gotten off work an hour earlier, so will be hanging out in not-working mode > for the show. Embarassingly, I have yet to hear her, despite being on her > home turf, so I'm looking forward to hearing her.) Her performance was really strong; the people sitting next to me said that the solo versions of the song were much more focused than the album. We had a good crowd; I'm terrible at guessing numbers, but all the chairs were filled and there wee people sitting on the floor and leaning on the bookcases. I didn't spot any local Ectophiles, but the only ones I'd recognize are Bill and Billie Mazur and Phil Hudson. Did anyone else make it? Oh, and when I was playing the disc on the overhead system today, a woman in France bought it and said that she just *had* to turn her friends at home on to it. That could be good... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 23:03:57 -0500 From: Philip David Morgan Subject: OT: Leslie Cheung movie song CD Good Evening, Ectomates: Sometime ago, someone on the list had asked me about any CDs by the actor Leslie Cheung [Kwok Wing], and in particular if any of them had the closing theme from Ronny Yu's cult fave _The Bride with White Hair_. As it turns out, that track is supposed to appear on a new compilation CD featuring quite a few of his movie hits. I got the news from the online retailer Yesasia , which is selling the disc for $12.95. Chances are good I'll pick it up myself soon. Philip David 2003.02.24-25 - --- The Polly Stephanson Project - swear your faithfulness to her... http://homepage.mac.com/pollyshows/ - --- "Now go back and finish your congee." ------------------------------ Date: 25 Feb 2003 15:22:54 +1100 From: Andrew Fries Subject: Emilie Autumn - Enchanted! Emilie Autumn continues to rack up brownie points in my book. First, because she made her entire new album "Enchant" available for download on her website (www.emilieautumn.com). Second, because the album is very good, definitely worthy of Ecto attention and support. Third, because she appears to be a Mac fan - I just found a set of Mac icons on her website. "Enchant" is now available for pre-order, and will be launched on Feb 26 in Chicago. If anyone lives near, this could be something to do... and everybody else, go and buy this album, y'hear? - especially if you already downloaded it! :) - --------------------------------------------------------------------- "I have always tried to live in an ivory tower, but a tide of shit is beating at its walls, threatening to undermine it." -- Gustave Flaubert - -- 13:09:00 up 7 days, 22:06, 2 users, load average: 0.03, 0.01, 0.00-- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 21:52:41 -0800 From: "Jack Sutton" Subject: re: grammies Hello The topic of Grammy's has brought up a sore spot in me that has been festering for some time. Perhaps some others on this list can relate? I know nothing about Norah Jones or a lot of the other artists winning Grammy awards and I have nothing against them and wish them the utmost success in their musical careers. However, like most of you, I'm familiar with artists that have as much and probably a lot more talent than most of the award winners in the Grammy's and yet are totally ignored by the Grammy's. If the Grammies were based on talent, not popularity, not record companies, not corporate sponsors, not celebrities, not a brain dead audience, then perhaps artist like Happy, Vienna Teng, Veda Hille and many other that we all know could some how draw their due recognition from a national audience. I consider the Grammy's to be corporate sponsored propaganda created by immoral corporations such as AOL Time Warner and others to generate revenues for their family of companies involved in the entertainment industry. These large corporations after all sponsor the Grammies and see that the awards go to artists represented by the record companies they own. Their massive audience is made up mostly people with no appreciation of music, or no burning desire to be the source of their own creativity. That may sound a little harsh, but I truly believe that if an individual is really interested and involved in a passion, then they will explore that passion far beyond the bounds imposed on them by the narrow confines of group psychology so well mastered by our Wall Street geniuses. So instead of being totally critical of the whole thing, perhaps there is a positive reaction that can be generated on a grass roots level. What about an ECTO awards program, an alternative to the Grammies, I'm sure we could generate many award categories, and vote on artists to include, and what a well spring of artist to choose from. Please, I'm not volunteering to head this up, but I would certainly join a group of people who may be interested in perusing this further. Jack Sutton Harmony Ridge Music www.hrmusic.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 22:32:03 -0800 From: Greg Bossert Subject: Re: grammies On Monday, Feb 24, 2003, at 21:52 US/Pacific, Jack Sutton wrote: > I consider the Grammy's to be corporate sponsored propaganda created by > immoral corporations such as AOL Time Warner and others to generate > revenues for their family of companies involved in the entertainment > industry. These large corporations after all sponsor the Grammies and > see that the awards go to artists represented by the record companies > they own. Their massive audience is made up mostly people with no > appreciation of music, or no burning desire to be the source of their > own creativity. > That may sound a little harsh, no, that simply sounds accurate, and fairly easy to document if you follow the money... > but I truly believe that if an individual > is really interested and involved in a passion, then they will explore > that passion far beyond the bounds imposed on them by the narrow > confines of group psychology so well mastered by our Wall Street > geniuses. certainly, though sadly the political and economic pressures exerted by corporate media affect even those creative sorts who don't buy into the "star maker machinery". with fees being added to blank media and electronics, legal and technical barriers preventing digital transfer of audio/video (and thus inhibiting professional-quality production for independent artists), and continued harassment of alternative distribution mechanisms (e.g. internet streaming, mp3 sharing), it's getting harder to give music away, let alone make a living as an independent artist. (and as Scott Burger pointed out, the tragic pair of club accidents in the last week means that local venues may be under real pressure, and unfortunately i suspect this is more likely to lead to closing clubs than improving them...) > So instead of being totally critical of the whole thing, perhaps there > is a positive reaction that can be generated on a grass roots level. > What about an ECTO awards program, an alternative to the Grammies, I'm > sure we could generate many award categories, and vote on artists to > include, and what a well spring of artist to choose from. > Please, I'm not volunteering to head this up, but I would certainly > join > a group of people who may be interested in perusing this further. while i'd certainly wish such an effort all the best, i have to say that personally, i dislike the whole concept of awards. yes, it's important to express our appreciation to the people who make great music/art/etc. but voting someone "best" always implies that others are, well, less good. plus the process tends to pigeon-hole artists into a few categories. i'd rather just acknowledge my favorite artist personally, either in venues like Ecto, or by writing them, or by buying their albums and going to their shows. plus, looking at the general apathy towards any number of political or humanitarian issues - -- e.g. there are over 10 million people set to starve write now in Ethiopia, and that's just one of many examples -- i'm wondering if more projects that don't actually produce anything (not even new music) are what i personally what to get involved in. before that sounds like a criticism of anyone else, let me note that in the last months i have written more letters for the Save-Farscape and -Firefly campaigns than i have for Amnesty International...! (we won't even mention how many hours i've spent talking about Buffy, even if recently it's been in tones of dissappointment...) and i do believe art is as important as anything else in life (and i include air and food!) but, over all, awards just don't seem to be worth the effort and attention they receive. but then again, i'm pretty much a curmudgeon these days -- maybe ecto awards would be fun. i'll just vote for everyone ;-) with a cranky foo and a glum little tah, - -g - -- "i've never been afraid to change the circumstances of the world" - -- Happy Rhodes - -- "except for bunnies..." - -- Anya ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V9 #54 *************************