From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@ecto.org To: fegmaniax-digest@ecto.org Reply-To: fegmaniax@ecto.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@ecto.org Subject: Feg Digest V5 #44 Fegmaniax Digest Volume 5 Number 44 Thursday March 6 1997 To post, send mail to fegmaniax@ecto.org To unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@ecto.org with the words "unsubscribe fegmaniax-digest" in the message body. Send comments, etc. to the listowner at owner-fegmaniax@ecto.org FegMANIAX! Web Page: http://remus.rutgers.edu/~woj/fegmaniax/index.html Archives are available at ftp://www.ecto.org/pub/lists/fegmaniax/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's Topics: ------- ------- Stingray... and other sci-fi... Totally Off Topic 44? 8x10 Club - March 5, 1997 Re: tomorrows show in Baltimore Re: 8x10 Club - March 5, 1997 Re: Okay, *I'll* say it... (no RH added) Debacle in Baltimore - a message for NY and MA fegs Re: robyn at the cradle on 3/3 list submission? (fwd) list submission? Re: robyn at the cradle on 3/3 Re: robyn at the cradle on 3/3 Re: robyn at the cradle on 3/3 web reviews Bad Odds ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Mar 1997 23:11:48 -0600 From: LSDiamond Subject: Stingray... and other sci-fi... ><series??? For shame! No wonder the US is in a mess! >> > >Chicago area Fegs, or anyone who had access to WGN (channel 9) was treated to >these fab shows sometime around the late 70's and early 80's. I was in >Junior High at the time, but still watched before I went to school each >morning! Some of us Yanks turned out OK! well i like to think i'm one of those, but i know better.. ;) just kidding.. my dad has quite a large collection of those vids--Stingray, Thunderbirds, Fireball, Supercar!! who could forget that one!?! Captain Scarlet, Joe 90.... UFO * Space: 1999 (live action Gerry Anderson shows-though the acting is wooden.. ;) this is largely due to the fact that i grew up going to sci-fi conventions and he'd get one here and another one there, and i got to see those sorts of programmes as i grew up. no Scooby doo or Smurfs for this chic!! ;) LSDiamond ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Okay Okay i finally added some new links to my page. now will you PLEASE sign my guestbook??? *pitiful smile* http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1542 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 00:32:31 -0600 (CST) From: JH3 Subject: Totally Off Topic At 12:16 PM 3/5/97 -0500, Gary Assassin wrote: >OK, I'll admit, this IS entertaining. Can anyone tell me the odds on being >alive 11000 days, and missing all 7 NY shows because I will be out of the >country? I figured it to be 7/11000, but I was never good at probability >and statistics. If I'm not mistaken (I probably am) the odds on this would actually be far lower, calculated by taking the probability (as a fraction) that you'll be out of the country on any given day and then raising this to the power of (total number of Robyn-gig days), or 7. The number of days you were alive would be irrelevant except as a basis for determining the aforementioned figure. So, if you were out of the country, say, 1% of the total number of days within the given timeframe, you'd calculate it as 0.01^7 -- about 0.00000000000001, or 1 in 100 trillion. But to be fair about it you should base the first probability on roughly the number of days since the first Robyn appearance you missed, rather than the total number of days you've been alive. If you took a 2-week overseas trip every year since the first NY Robyn gig, the odds would come down to a mere 1 in 8 trillion (approximately)! Of course, real-world factors would also apply, such as how long the average overseas trip is (longer trips increase event dependency), what time of year you usually travel overseas, what time of year Robyn usually plays NYC, etc., all of which would decrease the odds, though to what extent it's difficult to say. Obligatory Robyn Content: What are the odds that Robyn will ever play in Peoria? Pretty durned slim I'd imagine, but it would be awfully nice of him (at least as far as I'm concerned) --John Hedges ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 97 22:51:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: 44? hey, wait a minute...according to a recent post, Robyn just did a show on his 44th Birthday. Is this correct? AP news service had him listed as 45 years old. I *thought* he was born on 3/3/52 (Glen, wasn't that the secret code you used for your pager?), which would indeed make him 45. Is this man we all look up to now getting eye-jobs and lying about his age? Please tell me he's not using Grecian Formula too! -russ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 02:48:36 -0500 (EST) From: Richard Plumb Subject: 8x10 Club - March 5, 1997 Here's the setlist, it's so late there will be minimal comments. Very good show. Opened with improvised reading from book later determined to be Raymond Chandler's The Last Goodbye Daisy Bomb (new song?, opener Dear Janes helped with vocals from the dressing room door) Madonna of the Wasps DeChirico Street Balloon Man 1974 I'm Only You Glass Hotel I Something You I am not Me You & Oblivion Adoration of the City (new song, title from an etching done by girlfriend) Freeze Only the Stones Remain e: Queen of Eyes Speed of Things Beautiful Queen (don't talk to me about) Gene Hackman (hilarious new song) Dark Princess (?) Clean Steve total time about 1:40 cheerio ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 00:20:19 -0800 From: Nick Winkworth CC: fegmaniax@ecto.org Subject: Re: tomorrows show in Baltimore On Tue, 4 Mar Conemaster Bayard enquired.. > a DC area contingent of 5 fegs is making the pilgrimage, and Gene is > trekking in from the outer reaches of maryland. Don't forget that camera Mr. b! have much fun. ~N PS Let me add my voice to the chorus of praise for the Glass Flesh CD. Talk about a labor of love. This is a real professional production, and if any Feglisters don't have at least two copies yet they should run not walk to the homes of Bayard or Mark Gloster ASAP. You won't regret it. (I *promise* I'll get something together for the next one, honest.) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 11:11:59 -0500 (EST) From: dmw Subject: Re: 8x10 Club - March 5, 1997 On Thu, 6 Mar 1997, Richard Plumb wrote: > Opened with improvised reading from book later determined > to be Raymond Chandler's The Last Goodbye as the bloke what claims to have identified the book -- long goodbye, actually -- i should point out that he wasn't reading from it exactly, but doing a sort of real-time mad-lib in which he would replace nouns and verbs from the original text with typically surreal variations of his own devising. he would also often go into little narrative curlicues that were completely original. i count it a gimmick to make his stories a little more spontaneous than they've been lately, and a damned good one at that. and lest ye all ascribe to me power i do not possess -- i wouldn't have picked up on the book had he not included the name marlowe. haven't found where my chandler's got to in order to confirm this -- found all the dash hammet and the jim thompson and was surprised not to find raymond in between them -- but i believe he was riffing on a beachfront confrontation between marlowe and the husband of the woman who hired him. or maybe the other way around. anyway, good show, and a thousand thanks to Rich for hieing us all safely there and back. d. - oh,no!! you've just read mail from doug = dmayowel@access.digex.net - and dmw@mwmw.com ... get yr pathos at http://www.mwmw.com/pathetic/ - new! frighteners,sundance,wilco,v salt,eitzel,faithfull,colorblind james ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 14:19:43 -0600 (CST) From: Truman Peyote Subject: Re: Okay, *I'll* say it... (no RH added) On Wed, 5 Mar 1997, Ross Overbury wrote: > > about astrology to know what his rising sign is, he probably knows the > > dates of the 12 sun signs as well. > > > > 13. Ophiucus. I'll shut up now, but I *had* to say that. Ross, I do hope you are aware that people have been shot for making remarks -less- smartass-y than that :). Love on ya, Susan ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 12:41:17 -0800 From: Nick Winkworth Subject: Debacle in Baltimore - a message for NY and MA fegs OK. What happened? All I can think is you were all brainwashed by secret cone rays. At least five Fegs. At least two cameras. How many Fegfotos for the web page? If you are holding any number of fingers to the screen right now, I have to tell you that you are sadly not correct. Sounds like Gene Hopsetter got some good concert photos, but failed completely to capture his ellusive fellow Fegs on celluloid ...and the usually reliable Bayard remembered his equipment but forgot to use it! :-( Now come on all you New Yawkers and Mass-of-chew-sets-ians. You can do better than *that*, right? Just snap a pic of the assembled Fegs (don't let them get away) ...with or without our birthday boy ...and pass the evidence to me for webbification. Enjoy your cones ~N ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 15:30:35 -0500 From: Bret Subject: Re: robyn at the cradle on 3/3 At 03:56 PM 3/4/97 -0500, you wrote: >well, as everyone pretty much knows how, yesterday was robyn's birthday >and he also happened to be playing at the cat's cradle in carrboro nc on >the same night. it was the first time that i had seen robyn and it was a >very very great show. a little mix of old and new and very enjoyable. It was a good show, and it was nice to finaly meet a few other fegs there, I was also lucky enough to be able to drive up to Richmond for the show the next night, far fewer people made it out to this one, same clothing (for those who were wondering) I didn't get the set written down, thought it was pretty much as the Chapel Hill show.......however, I did remember to take my Exploding in Ssilence picture disk.......he seemed to enjoy signing this one....... but only after I got it back from Virginia (Dear Janes) she for some reason fell in love with the picture of young Mr Hitchcock....... and speaking of Dear Janes, they were actualy enjoyable in Richmond, I might even go as far as to say good...... all in all, very enjoyable two days, any other thoughts on these two??? -----Bret now playing: The Boatman's Call --Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds ------------------------------ From: Terrence M Marks Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 12:59:28 -0500 (EST) Subject: list submission? (fwd) Terrence Marks Second Student in the Tendo Kasumi School of Philosophy -Seeking enlightenment through normalcy. normal@grove.ufl.edu ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 5 Mar 97 22:55:37 EST From: Ross Overbury Subject: list submission? Terry, you'll know what to do with this. I have a (#@*&$(%& corporate account. - from Acoustic Guitar magazine. ----------------------------------------- Some songwriters have a methodical approach toward composition, while others close their eyes and wade hip-deep into the stream of consciousness, dig through the muck, and pull up what might be called absurdist truffles. Clean the ooze off of 'em, and hey, look, it's a pop song! English songwriter and guitarist Robyn Hitchcock, an experienced navigator of that river of doubt and creative chaos, has been bubbling up strange and oddly appealing art-pop for more than 20 years, attracting an ever-growing clut following that's rabid for his very personal brand of eccentricity. Put it this way: anyone who obsesses about shellfish and can sing a lyric like "I wish I was a pretty girl so I could look at myself in the shower," while really bashing an axoustic guitar, isn't your garden-variety singer-songwriter. Hitchcock first received limited putlic exposure while he was the frontman for the Soft Boys, an Endlish art-rock band that released its first single "Wading through a Ventilator," in 1977. The band slogged its way through four years of commercial obscurity before calling it a day. A few years later, R.E.M. would cite the Soft Boys as an ifnluence, raising their status from marginal to seminal. In 1984, after releasing two overlooked solo LPs, Hitchcock began to front the Egyptians, a capable band and a vehicle that would eventually give the droll-speaking Londoner his biggest Stateside success. "Balloon Man" (originally written for L.A. girl group the Bangles), a single from 1988's Globe of Frogs, received a huge amount of airplay and introduced Hitchcock to the legions of sympathetic souls all over the U.S. In 1989, Hitchcock opened for R.E.M. on the band's Green tour and became something of a household name (abeit a surreal household). A few records and notable singles later (the Beatles-esque "So You Think You're in Love" from 1991's Perspex Island might have caught your radio ear), A&M dropped the nasal-voiced songwriter and the Egyptians disbanded. So goes the record boz. Free from the starchy constraints of a record label and unshackled from the cumbersome aesthetic of a rock band, Hitchcock began to write and record Moss Elixir, which would eventually become his 1996 Warner Brothers debut. "I wanted this record to be built around just the guitar and vocal," Hitchcock said, "whereas past records with the Egyptians all sounded very formal. All four of the A&M releases have the band. Almost everything has drums. It disn't sound like me as a performer -- it was more like, 'Here are the Egyptians, with Robyn Hitchcock as the featured vocalist." Hitchcock has always been at odds with modern record production. On Moss Elixir, he set out to rid the tracks of any kind of dense studio sheen and only add what he felt was necessary. "I think production should be the means of communication between the artist and the listener," he said, "It should enable the listener to grasp the music rather than coating the record with some sugary patina that you would want to lie back on the ground and lick off. I was very happy that Warner didn't push for a single that had a sound that would get on the radio." At first listen, some Hitchcock songs have a random quality, with phrases jammed together in nonsensical twists. Much of his past work has a biting sarcasm at ist spine, but a certain beauty, almost positivity, emerges from Moss Elixir. Hitchcock readily admist that he's in love, and it's obvious in songs like "This is How it Feels": This is how it feels and this is into you Sometimes it rips you up Sometimes it blesses you It's the way you love It's the way I am It's a sideways glance in a full-on world The last phrase epitomizes the shy intimacy that inhabits this record. "I think that *is* what it feels like," Hitchcosk said. "You're both facing the same way, and you check on each other as youadvance towards whatever brutality awaits you. As the world becomes more obscene and grotesque, it also becomes more beautiful. As the shadows grow darker, things also become grighter. Age has also changed Hitchcock's perspective on writing songs. Like many songwriters of his generation, Hitchcock has grown somewhat weary of the angst-filled yowlings of youth. "Rock'n'roll has always been so testosterone-driven," he mused. "You now, those sentiments like 'Baby, I'm riding a human fire huse' or 'Someone stop me before I come.' On the other side, there's always been that whining sentiment. I just think it's more graceful not to be so pissed off after the age of 40. "I think this is the most tender record I've ever made," hitchcock continued. "Neil Young still sounds tender without being weepy. I think Dylan, who really tore up the tracks for me when I was young, sounds miserable, and at times you wonder if he should still be singing. But the songs on [Young's] Harvest Moon touch you in a way that I was going for." Moss Elixir is not without some haunting surprises. Titles like "Sinister but She Was Happy," "Filthy Bird," and "You and Oblivion" give some idea of Hitchcock's darker shadows. It's evocative titles like these, in fact, that often start and spur along his writing process. "I tend to write lots of song titles down while I'm in motion," he said, "and eventually I come home to roost and pick up the guitar and start singing all these strange phrases. The songs come out of that; it's like a body that grows head-downwards. But sometimes you get the head and then the knees. It's not a very consistent thing. You can just get a load of skin with nothing inside that winds up being a song about nothing or just some articulated hangover." Hitchcock compared his craft with that of fellow Brit songsmith Billy Bragg (the two tourred the States together in late '96), pointing out how different writers can produce boldly different shapes. "Billy Bragg's third verse is there because of the first and the second.. His songs are stories that makes sense, whereas mine might run backwards, beginning in the third verse and ending in the first. "In the end, you don't know how it works," Hitchcock said, laughing. "Songwriting is really about the bling spots. The songs are like cars following you, but you can't quite see them. It's like trying to catch a fish that you know is in the water but is not entirely visible." Sometimes Hitchcock feels that it's not necessary to present the listener with the whole fish. "I suppose it's at the cost of being specific, but I'd like listeners to think that there's more in my songs that there's room for -- not that they're filled up with words, rather the opposite. It's what is suggested and not stated." Hitchcock's guitar playing is also a study in understatement. He has spent the last few years pushing himself to pare down the number of chords he uses in a song, concentrating instead on new, more interesting ways to glide through simple changes. Though not a virtuoso, Hitckcock employs tasteful acoustic figures all over Moss Elixir and some beautifully ringing electric work, especially on "The Speed of Things," a very Anglo-folky track. As a lad, Hitchcock shied away from the strintg-bending blues improvisation that was all the rage in England. Instead, he was attracted to the acoustic folk players: Dylan, Martin Carthy, Bert Jansch, and Robin Williamson stand out in his mind as some of the early influences. Strangely enough, he disn't start dabbling in open tunings until now. "After 20-odd years of playing guitar," Hitchcock said, "I thought it was time that I used some of the. I just wrote my first song using the old D A D G A D tuning." On the graceful "Heliotrope," Hitchcock employed an F G C G C E tuning that he was quite proud of. "I just sat there and fiddled with it until I thought it sounded right for the song," he recalled. On the subject of electric guitar, Hitchcock thinks the electric six-string should have been outlawed after Hendrix. After all the imitation, does he thing that Hendrix has turned over in his grave a few times? "I think he has probably been on a nonstop rotisserie, actually," Hitchcock responded. "There's definitely a sense of pwer you get from playing a loud guitar -- it's like pressing your foot on an accelerator. Myself, I've never gone for the phallic rush of it all." On stage these days, it's "Robyn Hitchcock, solo acoustic," with no band to lean on for backbeat and volume. It's not hsi first such outing, however. Hitchcock remembered his first solo tour in 1990 to support Eye, a solo record he made while still in the Egyptians. He played a 65-date tour of the U.S., traveling with only his girlfriend and a guitar. "At first, I kept looking down at my acoustic guitar for the volume switch," he said, "but I began to get more confident. The thing I muss most about having a band is not the bass and drums, but the backup singing and the harmonies. I wish you could open a suitcase and pull out the harmony vocals. "It's really sad for bunches of men over 40 to go around together, though," Hitchcock added. "either you do it because you're making millions of dollars or because you're in some punk band that has been offererd gigs in France. Otherwise, after a certain age, you just don't want to go around with your legs tied together anymore." After weathering 20 years of band breakups, old and new record labels, the rigors of touring, popularity, and obscurity, Hitcockck's carreer is moving into yet another phase. A&M just put out a best-of compilation, and much of his early work stands a chance of finding a new audience now that Rhino Records has released a nine-album retrospective. Hitcockck has also recorded some singles for the tiny-but-hip K-Records in Olympia, Washington. On a cinematic front, Jonathan Demme, director of Philadelphia, Silence of the Lanbs, and the hugely popular Talking Heads concert movie Stop Making Sense, has been filming live Hitchcock shows lately. Demme was intrigued by Hitcockck's music and especially by the strange stories that punctuate his live gigs. Hitckcock's live is quite a story in itself: a tale of an iconoclastic singer-songwriter and carreer musician who has touched many, almost to his own surprise. "I think some artists project a very wide shower of light with their music," he said. "The light hits lots and lots of people, but because it's so spread out, it might not make a lasting impression. I think my appeal is like a narrower beam of light, not unlike a laser -- it either hits you and affects you very strongly or just misses you completely." ----------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 16:10:32 -0600 (CST) From: Truman Peyote Subject: Re: robyn at the cradle on 3/3 On Thu, 6 Mar 1997, Bret wrote: > It was a good show, and it was nice to finaly meet a few other fegs there, So how come we didn't get any pics, huh, huh? Are Nick and I the -only- people curious to see what other fegs look like? > my Exploding in Ssilence picture disk.......he seemed to enjoy signing this > one....... > but only after I got it back from Virginia (Dear Janes) she for some reason > fell in love with the picture of young Mr Hitchcock....... The reason probably is that the young Mr. Hitchcock was quite a looker. One might even say drool-worthy. The old one isn't so bad, neither :). Incidentally, my laddie friend bears a striking resemblance to the young(er) Robyn circa IODOT, only quite a bit shorter (then again, many people are quite a bit shorter than RH). Odd, that. Especially since I knew and was attracted to him long before I became a Feg. > any other thoughts on these two??? Yeah. When's Robyn going to hit Chicago again? I mean, c'mon. Johnathan Richman's been here twice in the last six months, why not Robyn? John Cale is skipping us on his current tour as well. Bahstahds! :) Love on ya, Susan ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 17:56:07 -0500 From: Bret Subject: Re: robyn at the cradle on 3/3 At 04:10 PM 3/6/97 -0600, you wrote: > > >On Thu, 6 Mar 1997, Bret wrote: > >> It was a good show, and it was nice to finaly meet a few other fegs there, > >So how come we didn't get any pics, huh, huh? Are Nick and I the -only- >people curious to see what other fegs look like? aaaaah, there are photos, however, they were stolen by the 'men in black' and at this time being rescued by Jill, and some of her friends, so we will have to wait until that point to see them. >> she for some reason >> fell in love with the picture of young Mr Hitchcock....... > >The reason probably is that the young Mr. Hitchcock was quite a looker. I expeted this response from 'certain' people here (you know who you are) >One might even say drool-worthy. ahhhhh to enforce my point. thanx (you still know who you are) >The old one isn't so bad, neither :). and now there is no doubt.. (we know who you are as well) > >Incidentally, my laddie friend bears a striking resemblance to the >young(er) Robyn circa IODOT, only quite a bit shorter (then again, many >people are quite a bit shorter than RH). I never thought of Robyn as a tall person........... funny that you should mention that, I met a guy about 5 years ago that looked sounded and acted exactly like a young Hitchcock......almost unerving....... have fun..... -----Bret now playing: Boatman's Call -- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 18:08:55 -0500 From: Bret Subject: Re: robyn at the cradle on 3/3 At 05:54 PM 3/6/97 -0800, you wrote: >Hi, Bret, you were one of the guys that threw radishes, right? yeah, old habbit......he's not nearly as responsive to it as he used to be, but not something I'm in a hurry to stop..... My brother >and I talked to you while waiting for Robyn to come out after the show. I remember someone asking me if I tossed radishes, and then speaking to some people about Danny and Richard Thompson (no relation) I suppose you were the earlier of the two? >I'm glad you got to see him in Richmond, too; where did he play? played at the Flood Zone.....decent club.........sound was much better than Cat's Cradle, but no sofas......... I thought >the show at the Cat's was incredible, having only seen RH on a Mountain >Stage bill with like 6 other bands. I think it's cool that so many people >your age (I, alas, will never see 30 again!) are coming to see legendary >performers like Robyn Hitchcock (you can be legendary at 44, right?) I'm not *THAT* young :) but agreed, I am one of the younger fans at some of the shows I've been to, but I have been a fan for around ten years so Robyn's music has been around me for a while........ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 1997 21:34:36 -0500 (EST) From: mr bean jeans Subject: web reviews fegs, if no one minds, i'd like to put the reviews of the recent shows up on the web site -- the start of a live music archive section fegMANIA!, i hope, with setlists, reviews and the like. so, i've been saving the posts with setlists and reviews and i will be contacting people who have posted them to make sure it's kosher to use their words. for those who will psot reviews in the near future, please indicate in your post if it's okay for me to include it on the website or not. that'll save me the time to ask you. thanks! woj ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 21:27:23 -0800 From: Ferris Subject: Bad Odds >OK, I'll admit, this IS entertaining. Can anyone tell me the odds on >being alive 11000 days, and missing all 7 NY shows because I will be out >of the country? I gifured it to be 7/11000, but I was never good at >probability and statistics. You would probably have to base it on the total number of days you wouldn't have been able to go. Still, even if you disreguard ten years of your life for your being too young/sick/trapped under heavy objects that's 7 shows out of 7348 days, or the odds of: 1.15 (to the 27th power) to one against that you would be busy or incapacitated those seven days in a row. I think. Talk about suck. -ferris -- "Ferryboat Bill, won't you please come home? You know your wife has married a midget's son And that's the shott and long of it." -Lou Reed ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The End of this Fegmaniax Digest. *sob* .