From: les@jmdl.com (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2000 #40 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk JMDL Digest Saturday, January 22 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 040 The Official Joni Mitchell Homepage is maintained by Wally Breese at http://www.jonimitchell.com and contains the latest news, a detailed bio, original interviews and essays, lyrics, and much more. ------- The JMDL website can be found at http://www.jmdl.com and contains interviews, articles, the member gallery, archives, and much more. ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Two more coupons for Barnes & Noble - NJC ["Alan Lorimer" ] P.S. to Wally [Kate Tarasenko ] Re: LACE Transcription ["Kakki" ] God go with you. [Richard Rice ] The songs of Joni Mitchell are not... [Richard Rice ] wally [Kleronomos@aol.com] TTT poster ["Chuck EIsenhardt" ] Gloomy Sunday [Leslie Mixon ] Re: Autograph Hounds (Minus Zero) NJC [CaTGirl627@aol.com] Re: joni and anger [CaTGirl627@aol.com] Sandra Bernhard's Favourite Singer JC [julius.kalcevich@ac.com] Most depressing song (NJC) [FMYFL@aol.com] Re: Sandra Bernhard's Favourite Singer JC [Jerry Notaro ] NJC-ukulele lessons [DARICEM@sfpl.lib.ca.us] Re: LACE Interview - Part 3 ["Kakki" ] Re: Dear Wally ["rick novosel" ] Re: Gloomy Sunday ["Mark T. Domyancich" ] Re: LACE Interview - Part 4 ["Kakki" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 19:08:00 +1100 From: "Alan Lorimer" Subject: Two more coupons for Barnes & Noble - NJC 1) Save $10 on an online purchase of $40 or more at www.bn.com Coupon claim code: CATTNET Offer ends 15th March 2) Save $5 on an online purchase of $25 or more at www.bn.com Coupon claim code: C3QUVYZ Offer ends 29th February Alan ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 00:39:44 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Fw: Henry's Gallery News Here is an update on the upcoming Henry Diltz and Gary Burden special on The Learning Channel and also information on ordering an expanded video or DVD of it. The special will feature the photographs associated with Joni's Blue album. Kakki ************ Henry's Gallery Feedback - http://www.powernet.net/~peterb Hello to everyone from Henrys Gallery. It's time to update everyone on recent events. 1.Due to our site visitors comments we have forever reduced the price of our CD ROM to $19.99. Those changes have now taken place on the site. 2.Many of our visitors have been asking about the release of our 90 minute film, "Under The Covers" which has been on the market only as a bundled item along with Austin Powers in the new JVC DVD machines. The good news is we are planning to offer it on the internet in the near future. The film covers most all of the albums that Henry Diltz and Gary Burden (art director) worked on together with CSNY, CSN, Doors, Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Webb, America, Mamas & Papas, Mama Cass, Steppenwolf, Woodstock 69, John Sebastian, Lovin Spoonful, Hollies and more. This home video version has lot's more content than the TV show. If you are interested in getting a copy of this in VHS or DVD please e-mail me back and we will send you more information about the project. 3. The Learning Channel Special program is now in the final cut stage so I can tell you that the one-hour show will be broadcast on February 26th at 9:00 PM on TLC. Once again, we will have no suicides, drug overdoses or general bad trips. Just alot of fun and music. The show will include a lot of footage and photographs no one has seen before(as Glenn Frey says on the show, 'These are not photos, these are evidence." and includes, Mama Cass, (Dream A Little Dream) CSN, (first album) Joni Mitchell, (Blue) Jackson Browne, (First Album) CSN&Y (Deja VU) Doors, (Morrison Hotel), Eagles, (First Album & Desperado) David Cassidy (The Harder They Fall) and more... Gary, Henry and I are very happy with the way the TV show has turned out. It would be great if everyone who lives near someone else on this list got together and made a party out of the broadcast since it is on a Saturday night. Any suggestions? Well thanks for listening (or reading) and we wish all of you the kindest of thoughts. Peter & Henry, Henry's Gallery ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 01:51:38 +0000 From: Kate Tarasenko Subject: P.S. to Wally By the way, you almost ruined the Internet for me! Just like others here, my very first web search was for "Joni Mitchell," and when I found the Breese site and proceeded to spend the rest of my workday checking it out (and then the rest of the work week), I was ecstatic -- just astounded. My all-time favorite artist, and here she was in amazing electronic glory. I couldn't believe it! Interviews, photos, paintings - -- I was in e-Heaven! And I kept saying to myself, "Yeah, THIS is what I was hoping to find -- THIS is EXACTLY what the World Wide Web was created for!" But I think I can get an "amen" when I say that, as I subsequently discovered while surfing and trolling other sites on the 'net, I had to slog through lapsed links and goofy graphics and just plain crap that wouldn't even load properly. "This guy got the Joni site right," I mumbled. "What the hell?" To this day, I can't find another site on the 'net about anyone or anything that has such an immense bounty of comprehensive and accurate information, plus the sheer abundance of obscure treats. You really set the bar high for musicians' (and all other) websites to follow, Wally. Way to wwwhup-ass! Kate in CO ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 00:53:03 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: LACE Transcription Lindsay has done a tremendous job in producing this transcript. Thank you so much, Lindsay. Thanks to Shelley, too, for reformating the first installment. The rest of the transcript has now been reformatted and will be sent soon. Lindsay and I discovered that there was a second interviewer on the tape. Joni also makes reference to another person present who she calls "Jill" who is from Saskatchewan and who works at a museum in Saskatoon. After some sleuthing around, Lindsay and I are guessing that "Jill" is actually a person named Gilles Hebert, who is listed on as the Director at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon where Joni is scheduled to exhibit this summer. (Per Mendel website). We also think that Hebert may be the second interviewer with Joni at LACE. I'm going to try to see if I can get more information or confirmation on this. I tried the email address on the Mendel website but it didn't work for me. Maybe Evian can get more information locally ;-) For the transcript we are going to assume for now it is Hebert and will make a correction later if we learn differently. Kakki ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 03:11:10 -0500 From: Richard Rice Subject: God go with you. God bless you, Wally. In times of facing mortality, one is reminded of how little we know about death and equally how little we have learned about life. One generation after another, we repeat the same mistakes: fail to learn how to love, appreciate life, the earth, all our god given gifts. Here and there we kind of get it right. And every small right is so luminous and grand, it is magnified greatly and carries us on. Ultimately, it is our reverence for life, our search for the way to make the most of it, to embrace it fully, to cherish it completely, is why we are here. I don't know the answers. Heck, I don't even don't know all the questions. But I do think we know which direction to face and how to take the next few small steps. We even have the courage to step that way. As blind as we are about life, death remains an even greater mystery. Do we live on? How? Where? Why? Only the dead get that answer, and even then I am not sure. The only certain thing about death is, it is nothing like life. As for your death Wally I pray for angels, and god and heaven; that they will embrace you and ease your transition. It is a journey you take with all our love and blessings going with you. As for your life, what a wonderful gift you have been! I am certain you have made the hearts of so many deeply blessed for having you in their lives; family and friends and even strangers. Your life, and life's work has done well. And continues to do good. This is a remarkable, remarkable legacy to take with you in your passing. A rare and precious thing. I never saw you eye to eye, or shook your hand, heard your voice, laughter or tears, but I am deeply touched by you and grateful to you for all you have done. Your example has answered many a question about how to do life. And I gratefully thank you. Heart and humor, Jim. Best to all of you. John. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 03:55:02 -0500 From: Richard Rice Subject: The songs of Joni Mitchell are not... Hi all, Interesting thread: depressing songs. For me, none of Joni's songs are sad or depressing. There is a melancholy to them, and sometimes a 'weariness' in her voice, but none of them are particularly sad for me. By the end of Sire of Sorrow, I am always energized by its poetic beauty. It is too gorgeous, too lush musically, to beautifully constructed to ever see it as depressing in my eyes. The questions asked hereare the hard ones. For her to face them and our futilities is a mark of courage and character. Courage could never be taken for a sad thing. Even River is just too beautiful to be depressing, especially the live version where she sustains her vocalizing of the melody without a breath or pause. That melodic movement is gorgeous beyond belief. And I must be among the rare ones who sees 'Ethiopia' as a minor failure because it lacks real emotional depth or feeling. The words and sentiments are right, but there isn't the 'honesty' in the notes, as one finds in Blue; there is more of a surface kind of pathos to the song. While I find none of her songs in any way depressing, I do find certain chord movements ABSOLUTELY heart wrenching. The opening chords to 'Borderline' just tear through me. The song itself, by its structure and internal beauty always leaves me uplifted, but man o man those opening chords are brutal. On that rare occassion I am down, I often 'hear' that movement in my head. Even a song that is generally uplifting, like 'Yvette in English' begins with an arrangement that heard unto itself is remarkably sad in tone. And where she EVER heard the cheerfulness in the chords of 'Magdelene Laundries' is just beyond me!!! It's her chords and chordal movements that are at the heart of Joni's genius. Something about the layering of those notes upon each other, and how they move and resolve that make her music richer than anyone's in contemporary popular music. They are so illustrative and emotive. Everything else feels almost sing song by comparison. And while she has the gift of melancholy in her chords like no one else, she also has the ability to produce movements that are absolutely exhilarating they are so positive and beautiful. Certainly, Refuge of the Roads builds with each and every verse. By the time she gets to "I pulled off into a forest" the repetition of the linking chords just has my hairs on end enjoying the beauty of that melodic passage. Guess I am not a primary colors kind of guy. Jazz me up some melancholy beauty, Joan. I'm in a pretty good mood. j. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 10:46:48 -0000 From: Chris Marshall Subject: RE: Wally's Health On Saturday, January 22, 2000 2:09 AM, Mark or Travis [SMTP:mark.travis@gte.net] wrote: > Suemac wrote: > We would > > have never come together if it wasn't for Wally's vision. > > This is the plain unvarnished truth. Wally is the pioneer that > pointed the way for the rest of us. I, for one, will always be > grateful to him. Thankyou Mark & Sue, you found the exact words that I was so struggling to come up with. Wally, through his site, opened my eyes to so many things Joni -- and now so many good things "NJC" too. My thoughts are with you Wally. - --Chris Chris Marshall Secure Systems Integration Ltd Web: http://www.secure-si.co.uk/ Tel: +44 (0) 7970 459 553 Fax: +44 (0) 1954 201 741 E-mail: chris@secure-si.co.uk PGP key: http://www.secure-si.co.uk/chris/pubkey.txt Fingerprint: 49F7 5132 C599 6ADC 47E7 844E A612 3F53 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 07:54:30 EST From: Kleronomos@aol.com Subject: wally How fitting that the OFFICIAL Joni Mitchell website is homegrown, rather than being done by some P.R. firm. Like Joni's music, it came from the heart, from love, not from the pursuit of glory by some package-master. Someone said "dreamweaver." Yes, that's it. It is hard to understand sometimes when people suffer, certainly when people with great good in their lives. I find great comfort, a refuge, in the Word of God, in the promises of God, and in hope of life everlasting, not by works, but by His grace and kindness. So as others have said, I lift my aching heart for Wally's situation to the Father, not in anxiousness, but in peace. Philippians 4:6 and 7 Be careful [ or, "anxious" ] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. There is coming a day when suffering will cease, but love will never cease! I look forward to that day, but even in this present time, with all the troubles that seem to surround us, we can have the peace "that passes all understanding." We're a diverse group, Wally, but I think it's safe to say that all our hearts and prayers are with you at this time. Your love has touched our lives, and our love is with you. Thanks to Leslie for keeping us informed. We're spread all over the world, but you're there, and we're grateful for the support and encouragement you minister to Wally, too! With much love, Dan NP: early morning silence ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 09:58:21 -0500 From: "Chuck EIsenhardt" Subject: TTT poster There is a Taming the Tiger poster (a single copy, mind you) listed for sale at www.alibris .com. This is not the poster of the cover painting, but the one where she is holding the cat. It is 18"x22" and listed as 'near-fine' condition. It's $17. They also list a copy of 'Anthology' which is a *whole lot of sheet music for $14. Search on Joni as 'author'. but thinking of Wally... ChuckE ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 08:13:38 -0800 From: Leslie Mixon Subject: Gloomy Sunday Hi Mark: Gloomy Sunday was the cause of multiple suicides in Budapest, Hungary and was banned from that country during the 1920s-30s. It was played by gypsy bands, a gypsy cafe sort of experience. A violin player friend of mine told me (he's in his 70s) that they'd play it in a key and take it down a step and then they'd play it lower still and they'd keep doing this to get a "sinking" feeling. Billie Holiday does a great version of this song. This is indeed an appropriate topic for me these days. Leslie ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 11:14:10 EST From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: Re: Autograph Hounds (Minus Zero) NJC In a message dated 1/21/2000 3:37:50 PM Eastern Standard Time, cateri@hotmail.com writes: << The best thing about winter is remembering how we bitched in the summer about how hot and humid it was and think, aaah, those were the days. Catherine, I remember sitting at my computer in the summer and the sweat pouring off...ah those were the days. I LOVE it WARM! I do agree with you that when the snow freshly falls and everyone is snowed in and it is sunny out, it IS gorgeous! See I am sure some places have greaat winters. But I feel the PA winters are crappy. We get alot of freezing rain and snow mixed with slush. So the snow is not deep and it is just cold and miserable out. Catgirl ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 11:17:49 EST From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: Re: joni and anger In a message dated 1/21/2000 4:02:54 PM Eastern Standard Time, dgrowe227@yahoo.com writes: << I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't get involved in any more Alanis Morrissette discussions, but I find myself unable to resist. First of all, Alanis' anger never struck me as anything but a contrived and cliched schtick -- since her material flatly refuses to consider even the slightest possibility of her actions contributing to her suffering. Sure she whines at high volume about what a victim she is ... but that's not anger, it's carefully practiced stagecraft. >> Don, I don't know if Alanis anger is staged but I do agree that she plays the victim and her songs. Isn't it ironic? Catgirl ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 11:21:21 -0500 From: julius.kalcevich@ac.com Subject: Sandra Bernhard's Favourite Singer JC Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing a show of the comedienne Sandra Bernhard, as part of a speaker's series in Toronto, entitled "Proud Voices" which strives to encourage sexual diversity (other speakers have been Greg Louganis, Congressman Barney Frank.) (For those of you who are unacquianted with Sandra Bernhard, Sandra jumped into the spotlight in Scorese's movie "King of Comedy", had some sort of relationship (?) with Madonna which eventually soured, appeared in two very successful one-woman broadway shows, had a recurring guest role on Roseanne....etc....very much a "celebrity" in the sense that more people are aware of who she is, than what she has done. Needless to say, she is an incredibly hilarious performer, who is known for her "no holds barred performances.") The first Joni moment of the evening was only 10 minutes into her performance- Sandra was commenting on Canadian female singers, starting with jabs at the Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Anne Murray. However her voice turned deadly serious when she mentioned Joni Mitchell, and said three times that she is one of "Canada's greatest exports", which was received with somewhat thunderous applause (honestly the applause of the 1000 strong crowd was rather "thunderous" and spontaneous to her homage to one of Canada's fav. daughters). This lead into her discussing how few singers can create totally organic art and stay true to their muses, citing her pals Chrissie Hynde and Marianne Faithfull as two other's who haven't totally capitulated to commercialism. Nevertheless one could tell that she was using Joni as the best example of an organic artist who has kept her vision. Further into the show, someone asked Sandra "what are the differences between Canada and the US", at which point she instantly sang the three words (she has a very rich textured singing voice) "Canada oh Canada" straight from Case of You- quite a few people in the audience instantly picked up the reference to Joni, and cheered loudly, which confused many of those who had no idea where she took those 3 words from. Someone also asked Sandra, "Who is your favourite singer, specifically who inspires you, and would you mind singing one of your favourites?". She was rather touched by this, and said that is a lovely considerate question, and that she promised to end her performance with a song by her favourite singer. At this point, I guess I don't have to mention who she chose to sing...none other than our Joni. She launched into an a capella version of "For Free" which literally brought the house down. You could have heard a pin drop as everyone was transfixed as this 6 foot marvel in a chocolate brown Helmut Lang suit, belted out "For Free" with such reflection and beauty- her rendition definitely had the world-weariness of a sexual renegade who has survived 25 years in the cut-throat entertainment industry, which added a little depth to Joni's original recording on LOTC (i.e. it was more MOA than LOTC.) My apologies for this rather longish post, but I thought that everyone might be interested in knowing that another Joni fan is out of the closet- should anyone get the opportunity to see her perform, I would highly recommend it- and more importantly, if she opens the floor to questions, we now know one of her favourite topics.... Julius K. (in Toronto) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 11:49:40 EST From: FMYFL@aol.com Subject: Most depressing song (NJC) Beth Nielsen Chapman's "Say Goodnight" is the most depressing, yet beautiful song IMO. I can't ever listen to this song without crying. you are everthing you want to be so just let your heart reach out to me keep my light in your eyes say goodnight not good-bye Jimmy ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 13:47:05 -0500 From: Jerry Notaro Subject: Re: Sandra Bernhard's Favourite Singer JC Funny you should mention her today. Last night her Without You I Am Nothing was shown on American cable television. I've seen it many times and it is so brilliant. Very underrated movie and performer. Jerry (thinking of Wally all day) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 13:05:28 EST From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: JONI BIO AVAILABLE!!!! WHOO-HOOO! Hello Gang, I was checking ouit Barnes and Noble.com and YES the bio book IS AVAILABLE!! It is by Klaus Kertess!! You can try using one discount coupon for the book and then another for the BSN cd. Here is one coupon addy that I got in the mail. I don't know if it will work but it is worth a try!!!! The book cover LOOKS beautiful and their are tons of pictures of her art and her. Catgirl WHOOO-HOOO!! *CTENOFF* ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 15:04:00 -0500 From: waytoblu@mindspring.com Subject: Wally Breese The Lord bless you and keep you, The Lord lift his countenance upon you. And give you peace, and give you peace, The Lord make his face to shine upon you. And be gracious, and be gracious, The Lord be gracious unto you. Amen, amen, amen, amen, Amen, amen, amen, amen. love and peace, Victor ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 12:26:45 -0800 (PST) From: zapuppy2@webtv.net (Penny) Subject: Re: JONI BIO AVAILABLE!!!! WHOO-HOOO! Catgirl wrote: <> Sorry to inform, this is not our Joan. This is that other famous artist, Joan Mitchell. Here's a quick link to read. http://www.butlerart.com/pc_book/pages/ joan_mitchell_1926.htm WhooooBoooo! ;-) Penny :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Grace dies when it becomes us verses them......Philip Yancey ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 16:11:12 EST From: Siresorrow@aol.com Subject: Re: Sandra Bernhard's Favourite Singer JC In a message dated 1/22/00 11:29:24 AM Eastern Standard Time, julius.kalcevich@ac.com writes: << Someone also asked Sandra, "Who is your favourite singer, specifically who inspires you, and would you mind singing one of your favourites?". She was rather touched by this, and said that is a lovely considerate question, and that she promised to end her performance with a song by her favourite singer. >> this was a wonderful post. thanks for taking the time to write it. pat ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 14:12:42 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: LACE Interview Part 2 Interview with Joni Mitchell at LACE - 12/21/99 (Rene Ingle from KCSN) Q. Do you feel flattered about an opportunity to actually have an exhibit? This one's up -- it doesn't seem for us like a long time but up for three weeks until the -- just right at Christmastime. A. I try not to feel flattered about anything (laughs) wherever possible. Q. If I tell you I have a favorite painting -- A. To me, flattery is like a form of insincerity. If somebody likes something, you know, I kind of get all -- you know, I like to please. You know, that's a little different. If something really -- if you enjoyed it, that would give me pleasure. But that's not flattery, is it? Q. Good. We'll redefine it. A. Flattery is kind of like an ego stroke, isn't it? Q. I wouldn't think by intent. I certainly didn't think of flattery that way when I presented it. A. Maybe I'm just weird though. But I mean like I received a lot of honors in recent years, and they -- they didn't seem like honors. I wasn't flattered. They were disturbing - most of them (laughs). Q. So as opposed to flattered you were embarrassed? A. Yeah, I found it really embarrassing because they didn't seem to -- nobody seemed to know the real virtue or value of what was being awarded. It just seemed like kind of like arbitrary so that I would say would be flattery, you know, like it looks good to others. Flattery is kind of a superficial kind of thing. It looks good to others. "You should be flattered!" - people are always saying that to me. Why? You know? Don't you know Aesop's Fables? (laughs) I was raised on Aesop's Fables, like, you know? Q. Give me the one that applies. A. Okay. "The Fox and the Crow." Q. Okay. The fox comes along is looking for something to eat and up in the tree there's a crow. And the crow has got a big piece of cheese in its beak, and the fox says, "mmm," he wants that cheese, so he says, "What a beautiful bird you are! What shiny black feathers! Why, if the voice you had were as beautiful as the color of your feathers, you would be the most beautiful bird for miles around!" So the crow opens his mouth and goes "SQUAWK" and drops the cheese (laughs). Q. And that is flattery. A. That's flattery. Q. And that was manipulative too. (Music up, "A Case of You" from "Both Sides, Now.") (Rene Ingle) : We're with Joni Mitchell at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, "Tri-Annuale Part 2, Amy Adler Curates Joni Mitchell" runs through Thursday, December the 23rd, at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. And you can call for information at (323) 957-1777. Q. Did you feel, Joni, that you needed to scramble a little bit when Amy called you and asked you, or did you have all the work -- enough work ready to give her a choice of to present in this exhibition? A. Well, she came and selected from, like I said, about 50 pieces of this particular period or whatever -- it's periods within itself, but -- Q. It's all 1990s. A. Yeah. This started in about '92 or '93, I forget. In the early '90s decided to stop painting abstractly, and I'd abandoned the brush for rolling materials, and I decided to go back to the brush and personal subject matter. And she came and looked at a lot of pieces, and some of them that she selected I reworked in the time between she selected them. Like "The Little Bathers," I repainted that from top to bottom. I went to go in on one little detail and ended up redoing everything, and I think it improved. Sometimes you can lose the image completely. I mean, I could have destroyed it before the show. Q. These are young kids in "The Bathers" and you were actually -- A. These are my manager's children at my summer place in Canada. Yeah, so it's a documentary. We have the annual Middle Point Wiener Roast with the children and now that my children have come back to me and my grandchildren, you know, we've incorporated them so it's kind of a late summer gathering. It's a nice time. So that's a memory of August in Canada. Q. You touched a little bit when you talked about Newman? A. Barnet Newman? Q. Yeah, about the political in artwork. Your work seems very personal. A. Yeah. Q. Do you ever try to impart some -- A. No. Q. -- social perspective in your work? A. No, no, because I feel that concern in my writing. If I did that in my painting I'd go cuckoo (laughs). This is an old farmer's trick, you know, like summer following. Once I -- I paint after I finish a record, generally, with the incentive of the decorating the package, but it gets -- so I go from big ear to big eye, you know, and your eye develops and once you get your chops up, your eyes start getting better. People start breaking down. You'll be having lunch with somebody and mentally you're mixing colors, you know, like on the side of their face. You know what I mean? You just get compulsively into doing that. So while it is oiled and working if I have time before I have to go into prep which is a whole other mentality -- that's more like politicking -- and even though I am somewhat of an ambivert now, like I have a balance I would say between the introspection that's necessary to be creative and the extroversion that's necessary to exploit yourself for performance. There were times in my life where those two were not in such good balance, either, because of the thrust of the industry that doesn't take into consideration the mental stability of the artist, and they'll say, "oh, artists are crazy," but if you look at the gauntlet that you have to run through, you know, as a recording artist, it's very unstabilizing. A lot of people die you know, one way or another. (laughs) They don't make it from one end to the other. And I think that the painting -- that the idea of crop rotation, since I come from wheat farmers, you know, giving part of it a rest. Even Winston Churchill knew that.Painting for him was a chance to shut off his intellect. It comes down to synapses, like (making electrical buzzing noises) red in the upper left hand corner, (making electrical buzzing noises) blue in the left, you know, I forget I have a body. I go into a normal -- I forget to eat. It's very obsessive, to me, the painting, but it's a great escape, and it's very good for mental equilibrium. Q. It seems in recent years that performing is rarer than it once was; does that afford you more time to paint? A. No, it just means that the process is, you know, I've taken on more and more of the work myself. If you want things done right, you have to do it yourself. I do everything to fight against what I, you know -- systematic mediocrity (laughs). I mean if I could dispense duties to others, I would, but until I find the proper team, you know, I'm constantly working. You go through the writing leg which takes its time. The last album that I made was two years in the making because I don't write music. I could read music when I was seven and eight, but I haven't used that so I've lost the ability. The best way, then, for me to write music is hands-on by layering in the studio, and the last album was two years in the making and then there was an exhausting period of prep output following that and then I did tour it. And, you know, I've had a lot of disease in my life, and I'm puny, basically. So all of these phases are very stressful. The painting is generally a de-stressing process for me. It's a celebration, you can see from the images, it's a matter of holding onto precious outings. Like, for instance, this painting here. This -- Gilles and I come from -- he's deep in Saskatchewan, he's not from there, but he's working with the museum there and I come from this area. This is a town on the bleakest strip of road. Anybody locally will tell you, (voice characterization) '__________ from Prince Albert to North Battleford, eh?' You know, but -- and this was 40 below, and I'm telling you, it was the most -- I was enchanted with the colors of the blues, of the lilacs, and the shiny snow and the loose, drifty snow that I've never seen the local painters back home paint. Have you, Gilles? (Gilles' response inaudible) Winterscapes? Have you? Because you've seen more of the local work than I have, but anyway it wasn't an image that I'd seen, and I thought, you know, God, look at this, it's so beautiful. And so I took a lot of snapshots with a paper camera, and I tend to paint Canada a lot in L.A. Q. Is this the province that you're from? A. Yes. Q. And you're from Saskatchewan? A. Mm-hmm. Q. And can I in some way assume that there's a good bit of memory that goes into this? A. Oh, yes. Q. Escape as well -- A. Yeah. Q. -- and that this is a theme that you grew up with - that picture? A. Yeah, you've lived with it and you, you know, you feel it. You feel it when that road was plowed in the morning and nobody drove down it all day and you get to get that tone it's just across the glassy ice that's underneath. You know, stuff like that is like sense memory. It's not that much in the -- the print was taken with a panoramic paper camera so also I didn't crop it. I let go of it like a rubber dollar bill so the vantage point, you're up with the birds. You'd have to be standing on top of the car to get that vantage point. Do you know what I mean, Gilles? You've elasticized the landscape. You've taken a cinemascopic image and compressed it in so the vantage point is up in the air like you're hovering above a car hood there. Q. You know, one of the other things that's very striking about the work is the way the work is framed, and it certainly -- I think shows each of the paintings in this exhibit and there's 16 in all -- A. _________________(laughs). Q. Is that how you -- A. These frames are expensive! (laughs) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 14:31:39 -0800 From: DARICEM@sfpl.lib.ca.us Subject: NJC-ukulele lessons Here's a link to a few ukulele teachers...more may be added www.menehune.com/hula.html Darice ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 14:31:42 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: LACE Interview - Part 3 Interview with Joni Mitchell at LACE - 12/21/99 (Neil Ingle from KCSN) Q. I actually asked you at the opening reception, because we came by to see the show that night, whether you make the frames yourself, and you mentioned the framemaker that you engaged to create them. A. Well, they're sort of antiques, a lot of them, because the work is of a bygone era in a certain way, but historically, they're incorrect. I never really liked the way the French Impressionists -- I don't like French frames of that period. (Inaudible portion.) Q. And that's a vase with yellow roses. Is that actually in your home? A. It was a desperation. I finished this last album and now I was required to decorate the package. And I said, "what's my deadline?" And they said, "two weeks ago." I said, "come on, you know." Q. This is the album you're putting out for next year? A. In order -- it's very romantic and in order to get a Valentine's Day release -- I said, "you mean you're not going to put it out for Valentine's Day? You've got to put it out for Valentine's Day! It's so romantic. You have to give me a realistic release to push on everybody so they gave me two weeks." So I had two weeks and I had to, you know, first I did the front which is the self-portrait. And the reason I -- I didn't know what I was going to do, but they like you to put your picture on the cover. So, you know, okay, so I figure -- they said, put your picture on the cover, that's what people -- they know you're a fine artist, Joan, but put your picture on the cover. So I see this picture lying around, and my drummer, Brian Blade, said, "oh, I like that picture." I was in my early 30s. And I looked at it and the fold of the sleeve had a heart in it. The way it -- I went, heart on the sleeve, that's romantic, that'll do! So I grabbed it, and then I had to put jowls in it, you know, I had to age the face a little. Q. Let's come back to this painting, but let's go look at that self-portrait. This will be on the cover of the new album. Does the cover have a title already -- the album have a title? A. "Both Sides, Now." Yeah. The album before it was recorded was conceptual. It's the arc of a romance, and the closing song is "Both Sides, Now." So we knew that much. We knew that the material was extraordinarily romantic. It's one of the most romantic albums in life that was ever made. Don't you think so? I mean it's 71 pieces and the most beautiful arrangements -- Q. Like full orchestra? A. -- lush. Q. Your arrangements? A. No. Vince Mendoza. Very romantic. Q. And "Both Sides, Now" is an older song of yours. Have you written new songs for this album at all? A. No. There's only two of my songs on it. It's all standards. Q. And the other song of yours besides "Both Sides, Now"? A. "A Case of You." Q. "A Case of You." And other songs that you use on the album? A. It starts with "You're My Thrill." And I don't know the authors on all the songs, I only know the artists that I know them from. Billie Holliday songs -- smitten, you get smitten, right? Then it goes to another James song, "At Last ..." -- you celebrate it -- "At Last, My Love Has Come Along." Then another more obscure Billie Holliday song nothing "Comes Love, Nothing Can be Done" which is sort of light and philosophical and a very Duke Ellington-ish, Big Band arrangement, 22-piece orchestra for that one. Then it goes to "You've Changed" (laughs) because immediately you get smitten, you celebrate it, and then there's a little bit of talk about comes love and nothing can be done, and then you've changed, and then (nose-dive noise) and then you take a quick toboggan to the pits, right? And then it kind of ends philosophically with "Both Sides, Now," I really don't know love at all, but it's a very romantic journey that everybody's taken and, you know, it's got a little humor, and the arrangements are just gorgeous and everybody played over-the-top well, you know, like, and I was in good voice and I took to the genre like, you know, I was raised on it and never had a chance -- it was gone by the time that I came to make my own music and besides I was trying to be progressive as we art students try, you know, like I mean -- no, I won't even say "trying." My natural direction was to make original music. But anyway. Q. This painting which is the first thing when one arrives at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions -- A. Is the cover of the new album. Q. Is the cover of the new album -- and what greets you at the entrance when you arrive at the gallery, and I wouldn't have noticed a heart on the sleeve. A. Pretty clever, but that's why I painted that image I was grabbing a thought, and then he said, well, what are you going to paint on the back? So I said, well, we'll paint it from behind, so that didn't make the exhibit because it was still in the framer's. Q. But that will be the back album of the cover of the album -- A. The back cover and the bottles and the No Smoking sign (laughs). Q. Is that a cigarette in your right hand? A. It just grows there. It smolders there all the time. (laughs) Q. (Laughs) and you said that this was taken from a photo in your 30s? A. Yes (inaudible). Q. So you aged yourself a little bit although you still look 30-ish. A. Oh you're very sweet - I'm a grammy, you know (laughs). (Music up "Comes Love") Q. So how many total of these paintings end up being used in this upcoming release? A. Well, as many as I could do in two weeks. So I did this one and then, you know, they said, okay, what are you going to do on the back? Okay, I'll paint it from behind. Okay, so they went out and they got -- I said, just go out and get me a picture of a bar with a green glass shelf. I want a green glass shelf and a lot of bottles. So they got a model, a big, fat guy with an old hat, right, who was my stand-in. So I had nothing to do the back of my head from so I had to do it by tactile feeling the back of my head, you know, and I did it by ink-blotting it. I put the canvas next to this and copied that shape, you know, like over here and just by copying your negative space like that and then put the other edge on the other side and copy the negative space. And then I filled it in from instinct, right. Q. And on the cover of the album, will it be presented in a frame? A. No. Q. No, the frame is just here. Who was this person -- A. It depends on which package now. The Valentine's Day release is going to be very special, and it will come out first. It comes out in a grosgrain -- like a chocolate box, like a round taffeta box in kind of an aubergine, like a purplish (inaudible) gray and it'll have the four images in there framed, printed, and all the cards _________ it's a sassy little package. But on the CD because it's a square you've got to bleed to the square this time rather than the continuity of the last two projects which were framed because this is a little different. (Inaudible.) Q. Okay, and did you have this frame made specifically for this? A. Yes, I picked it. Q. And who is the frame maker that you mentioned to me? A. Jerry Cohen(?). He fought me on this one. He said, "no no, no." He wanted to put the same one as on Donald over there. I said, "no, it's too butch, you know." He said, "oh but this is too Mafioso." (laughs) But, anyway, I ended up going with it. Does it make you want to order a pizza? (laughs) Or shoot somebody? (laughs) Take out a contract? (laughs.) Q. No, I actually have a very different feeling about it. I'm curious as to what's in the glass, and it makes me want just to have an aperitif. A. Actually it's cranberry juice. Q. And it may actually compel me to start smoking too. You never know. There's a certain glamour to smoking. A. Isn't there? I've spent my whole life looking at the world through all of that pattern going around in front of my eyes. (laughs) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 14:40:42 -0800 From: "rick novosel" Subject: Re: Dear Wally Dear Wally Like so many of us on the list, yours was the first site I ever visited, the first one I ever bookmarked, and the one I visit more than any other. There is no other I've found that has the elegance, grace, and beauty of jm.com. But it's the love you have for Joni that makes it so special, a love that illuminates every pixel on the site. I feel like I'm being given a gift every time I visit. Wally, thank you for sharing your love with us, thank you for bringing us together. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Love and peace Rick ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 16:57:11 -0600 From: "Mark T. Domyancich" Subject: Re: Gloomy Sunday Here's some interesting info from snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/gloomy.htm NP-Joni-2/16/76-Don't Interrupt The Sorrow Mark Domyancich Harpua@revealed.net At 8:13 AM -0800 1/22/00, Leslie Mixon wrote: >Hi Mark: > > Gloomy Sunday was the cause of multiple suicides in Budapest, Hungary >and was banned from that country during the 1920s-30s. It was played by >gypsy bands, a gypsy cafe sort of experience. A violin player friend of >mine told me (he's in his 70s) that they'd play it in a key and take it >down a step and then they'd play it lower still and they'd keep doing >this to get a "sinking" feeling. > >Billie Holiday does a great version of this song. > >This is indeed an appropriate topic for me these days. > >Leslie Mark Domyancich Harpua@revealed.net http://home.revealed.net/Harpua ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 14:54:40 -0800 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: LACE Interview - Part 4 Interview with Joni Mitchell at LACE - 12/21/99 [Rene Ingle from KCSN] Q. Let's go back to the vase with the roses that's across the room. A. Well, let me tell you them in order. First there was that one, then there was the idea to do the back. What are you going to do on the back? Well, I'll do it from behind. But then I thought, well, there's got to be something romantic. Well, so it would have to be a kiss. So I didn't really want to put myself in the plot of this romantic art since I didn't write the songs, and I wanted people to see themselves in it, and I thought by casting my kiss into the plot, it throws it back on me whereas these songs are not -- you know, I'm singing them as if they're my own, but maybe that's not a good idea. So I looked at a lot of 40's kisses, but they're all very pose-y and kind of censored, you know, like maybe a little on the twin-bed side. Q. This is not a 40's kiss. A. This is not a 40's kiss, you know, but also the landscape because in the old songs, emotions are described by clouds coming and going, you know, "hmmm, the sky is blue, the sky is gray," "Stormy Weather" -- so much of the old songs -- I mean even Clouds, "Both Sides, Now," which was one of my first songs begins with clouds because, as a young songwriter, I thought you have to deal with clouds in songs. They always stick a cloud in or take it out. So I thought, let's get the clouds of the way in the first stanza. So, anyway, this has got a lot of assorted clouds. You've got the dark cloud and then you've got, like, these little Budgie birds, these little innocent pink birds kind of flirting with each other up there, and then the sky is opening out and, God forbid, there's a hippie rainbow coming down (laughs). Q. This is definitely earlier in the middle of the relationship. A. "Shame on her! She's put a rainbow in the thing." But, anyway, there's a kiss in the front which is really good-natured and a lot of fun so that represents the celebratory beginning of this record which is two songs long and the rest of it, you're dealing with the relationship for (laughs) is the way it goes. Q. You could liken this to the honeymoon? A. Yes, like this is the honeymoon, right. And then Klein, my husband, my ex-husband, said, "Joan-Joan," you know, like, because he's very liberal about me using the boyfriend as a model here, but he said, "you're going to -- I like to think this album is about us, you know, like you're going to limit peoples' vision by putting a leading man in there." I said, "look, okay, I'll get you in there some way." So then it was my birthday. And this bouquet of yellow flowers came only they were very formal, very French with -- very even and then with a rose head shorter length around the bottom of the pot and it was three days after my birthday and I still didn't have a clear image and I thought oh - roses are romantic. I'll do the roses. And I pulled them out and I put them in kind of a wild bouquet and I finished the painting but where the picture frame is in the lower left it looked like a weeping elephant. You can still see one eye here, you know, like here's the eye and the tear and then there was a kind of a nose that went over there and it was bothering me so -- and then Klein levied this criticism and I said, "look if I have two -- what if I put the picture of you with your tongue hanging out from our first Christmas together with my Christmas socks up around his ears, right? Then there's no -- it's not about one guy, you know, it's just about, you know, the beginning of romance." So I did that for the musical director and got rid of the weeping elephant at the same time (laughs). Q. Would you acknowledge certain artists that you feel you draw on for inspiration or as models as painters? A. Well, in this particular one, I got out -- Manet did a striking bouquet of mixed flowers but with a yellow rose. So I laid it out. It's in a glass cylinder, and the (inaudible) in the glass, a beautiful thing about that painting. While I was painting it, these flowers -- I worked 18 hours on this painting. All but the picture with Klein in it was done in a straight 18-hour stint because the flowers were dying as I worked. I did the broad brush first, and then I, you know -- this is not answering your question, but I'll get back to you just before I forget this -- when I looked up I started with the flowers and I worked my way down and did the scarf and the candle and everything, and when I looked up, all the flowers were dead and the Monet -- or the Manet -- book was, like, lying on the floor with all his flowers were kind of perky, and I thought in this way you preserve a bouquet, you know. I mean, to watch them wilt in the course of working with them was really kind of something, you know. And again as a symbol of romantic love, the rose is perfect, you know, (laughs) because it just doesn't last very long, you know? Q. This "Tri-Annuale, Part Two, Amy Adler Curates Joni Mitchell," is through the 23rd of December. The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturdays and it opens at 12 noon until six P.M. and Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibits is located at 6522 Hollywood Boulevard, and the phone number for information or directions is (323) 957-1777. And you promised that you would get back to this about more of your influences as far as painting goes. A. Well, I'm still synthesizing them, I think. It's this period just as the brush stroke was liberated and color was liberated that I like, but I like smoked-down colors, you know, like to wear. Kind of stony gray and everything, so they're not as vivid, although we did kind of pick these as beads to set one another off in terms of color. Color for the collection was part of the consideration during the curating stages. Q. Did you have a hand also in the placement -- A. Yes, oh yes. Q. -- of the painting? A. Oh, yeah. Not in the -- and I told them to hang them high because I tend to draw a crowd and I was afraid when a lot of people got in here, you wouldn't be able to see them because Gilles picked up, they're hung a little higher than the traditional hanging height, and I thought, why -- oh yeah, I remember I'd given a cue, just hang them just a little high. It was a squash here, you know, that night - Q. And you populate your paintings to a fairly high degree. I'm actually quite taken with this painting. A. Mm-hmm! Q. -- that has you face-to-face with a deer with some people in the background. A. Run in the middle and tell me what you think is unusual about this painting. I wonder if you'll pick up on it. Q. The deer actually -- A. Look a little closer. There's a sweet spot on it kind of like an echo, right about there. Q. I get the sense that the deer is not in the same plane that you're in. I don't know if that's part of it. A. The thing that Gilles and I were talking about that interests me about looking at this, because a painting should make you want to look at it again and again, and the thing that makes me look at it again and again is that you have two eyes but they don't belong to the same creature. One eye belongs to the deer; one eye belongs to the person, which is me in this case. You know, my eye is looking -- he's standing in the middle of the painting in the normal viewing position. My eye is looking past you on your left at something. The deer is looking -- Q. -- looking at you. A. -- is looking towards me so something is happening behind you to your left. Both of the animals -- me animal and deer animal here -- are calm, but there's a suspension of, you know, like an impending kind of feeling. He's going to take his cue from me and so instead of the movement taking place only on the flat surface of the painting, it seems to have a volume that sticks out that I don't recall seeing in another image, because the two eyes belong to two different creatures. I think that -- Q. That's very interesting and I do as I look at it a little more my first reaction as well is somehow confirmed both by looking at it and by how you describe it and the deer in looking to you for a cue does seem to be a little behind you in my -- in the way I sort of see the perspective. A. He's forward, I'm back, but, yeah, he's -- he's forward and then -- I have no depth perception. Q. Well (laughs)? A. I'm one-eyed (laughs). Q. You're closer to me. A. Both the creatures are one-eyed. (laughs) You know, so any depth that you get in these is the way I see the world which is in terms of flat theatrical things set back anyway. Q. Does this come, by the way, from your imagination, or was this actually a chance encounter with a deer -- or not so chance? A. This is in Japan an hour before I had to go on stage, and standing behind me are Wayne Shorter and Miles Davis' last girlfriend, who was a French girl, who is a philosophy teacher, and Wayne and a herd of little deer that bowed to you. We were so intrigued you'd walk up to deer and they'd bow to you and the people actually were the crowd that was lining up for our concert all along the edge of the lake and they were thick. I eliminated a lot of figures. So this was a composite of several different things and then there's a lot of the magic -- you throw away your source material at a certain point anyway. It's only used as a preliminary sketch and then you're going for a painting, you know, like otherwise, it's just an exercise. It's got to do something to compel you to look at it that a snapshot doesn't. You can get a certain amount from a snapshot, but a painting's got to be more than a snapshot, you know. But, for me, because it's personal it reminds me -- over across the lake is this enormous Golden Buddha, and they hadn't had a festival of music on these grounds -- this was a Buddhist garden for over a thousand years. At that time they invited their enemy, the Chinese, to perform at the foot of the Golden Buddha. This was an international show with Japanese artists, and British artists, Bob Dylan, and myself, and Wayne Shorter, and their "Miles Davis" and, you know, the far-out pink horn, electric-horn guy, that only knew one English word, the F-word (laughs), you know, so it's -- I did two paintings from this, one of Ana Shorter, who is really behind me with deer all around her all dressed in white. Ana was, unfortunately, lost -- Q. In that airplane accident -- A. -- in that airplane accident, so that's the last day that I spent with her and Ana's is quite a beautiful -- to me -- I have that one in my dining room so this is a documentary. It's another piece of memorabilia for me. ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2000 #40 **************************** Don't forget about these ongoing projects: Glossary project: Send a blank message to for all the details. FAQ Project: Help compile the JMDL FAQ. Do you have mailing list-related questions? -send them to Today in History Project: Know of a date-specific Joni fact? - -send it to ------- Post messages to the list at Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe joni-digest" to ------- Siquomb, isn't she?