From owner-mad-mission-news@smoe.org Thu Jan 21 18:58:08 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by smoe.org (8.8.7/8.8.7/listq-jane) id SAA12792 for mad-mission-news-outgoing; Thu, 21 Jan 1999 18:56:18 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199901212356.SAA12792@smoe.org> Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 18:49:17 -0500 To: mad-mission@smoe.org From: Mike Connell Subject: PattyG-News: A&M/Interscope/Motown etc ax begins to fall........ Sender: owner-mad-mission-news@smoe.org Precedence: bulk On the Sonicnet web site today............ Mike :-) http://www.addict.com/MNOTW/lofi Axe Falls Early At Universal/Polygram Labels Artist rosters and label staffing to be decimated at such labels as Geffen and Mercury. Staff Writer Chris Nelson reports: Universal Music Group, the largest of the world's five major music corporations, plans to lay off 500 staffers Thursday (Jan. 21), launching a significant reshuffling that will leave another 2,500 without jobs and hundreds of bands without record deals by the end of summer. While the bulk of pink slips are expected to be issued Thursday morning, a high-level source at one affected label said cutbacks already had begun Wednesday (Jan. 20). "Staffing issues are happening as we speak," the source, who preferrred anyonymity, said Wednesday afternoon. The layoffs are one of the first steps to integrate PolyGram and Universal, following the $10.4 billion acquisition of PolyGram by Universal's parent company, Seagram, in December. Under a massive restructuring plan, such well-known labels as Interscope, Geffen, Def Jam, Motown and Island will be fused into four new labels. Amid the reshuffling, some of the world's most famous bands may wind up on new labels. U2, for instance, are said to be leaving Island Records, their longtime home, to sign on with another Universal Music Group division, the new Interscope-Geffen-A&M, or IGA, group. U2 manager Paul McGuinness would not explicitly confirm that the Irish band, whose recent hits have included "Discotheque" (RealAudio excerpt), are jumping to Interscope. But asked if the band anticipated having to adjust to working with new label staff, McGuinness said, "Not really. Interscope is being headed by Jimmy Iovine, who is a very old and good friend of ours." (Iovine produced several U2 albums.) The biggest acts at the combined labels, such as rockers Hole and Marilyn Manson and country superstar Shania Twain, aren't likely to be significantly affected, but the future of some lesser-known bands is unknown. Folk-rocker Robbie Fulks, who is signed to Geffen, said Tuesday he is already making alternate plans, although he doesn't expect Geffen executives to decide his fate for three weeks, after label representatives have had a chance to see him perform near his home in Chicago. "I'm doing a combination of things to make money," said Fulks, whose Geffen debut, Let's Kill Saturday Night (RealAudio excerpt of title track), was released in September. "I'm going to go back into a [song]writer deal in Nashville, and do a little bit of roadwork when I can afford to. Maybe do some ad work and stuff like that, a combination of things." Universal chief executive officer Doug Morris and chief operating officer Zach Horowitz convened label heads in Los Angeles last week to discuss cuts in artist rosters and staff, according to an anonymous source close to the reorganization. UMG spokesman Bob Bernstein had no comment on the impending layoffs. The corporation apparently has said little about the reorganization even to its own staffers. Employees of PolyGram, Island and Def Jam claimed privately Tuesday that they had been given next to no information about the restructuring. A Geffen Records staffer who did not want to be named, said the general understanding at that label is that employees will be addressed individually Thursday about severance packages. "By 5 p.m. we have to be out of the office, and the new company will start Friday," he said. Top officials have fled Universal's labels in recent weeks. Onetime Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg, who two weeks ago quit the top job at Mercury Records -- which will become part of the new Island/Mercury label -- said last week he was not sure where he would land. "I'll be in New York, I'll be in the music business, but that's all I know right now," Goldberg said. The Los Angeles Times offered a glimpse Tuesday at cuts designed to save UMG $300 million yearly: Forty-five of 70 bands currently signed to Geffen will be dropped, and 115 of Geffen's 145 employees will lose their jobs, according to the paper, which quoted anonymous sources. At Mercury, 110 of 140 bands are said to be on the chopping block. At MCA, on the other hand, both the artist roster and staff are expected to remain largely intact. Sources told SonicNet Music News Wednesday that those numbers are largely accurate. One source familiar with the restructing plan said the artist cuts will unfold over several months. An unnamed staffer at Geffen said while there is no list of "cuts" and "keeps" at that label, popular groups such as Hole, industrial rocker Rob Zombie and Beck are guaranteed a home at Geffen, as are influential rockers Sonic Youth. Modern-rock bands Garrison Star and Remy Zero are also said to be on the Geffen short list. Staffers at the smallest labels in the UMG umbrella appear to be the least fazed by the restructing -- despite the fact that the Mercury-affiliated spoken-word label Mouth Almighty was told last month it will be cut loose. Ken Friedman, Director of Artists and Repertoire for Interscope subsidiary Nothing Records, said he doubts his label -- owned by Nine Inch Nails leader Trent Reznor and home to Marilyn Manson -- will suffer extensive damage. "I could be totally wrong," Friedman said. "But I don't think so." The biggest changes ahead for Tom Rothrock, who owns Bong Load Records with fellow producer Rob Schnapf, are likely to be whom he'll deal with at his sister labels. "The next release, from a logistics standpoint, will be going through a very different group of people," said Rothrock, whose label has released vinyl versions of albums by Geffen artist Beck. "But … the new people involved in the merger have a history of success." Philip Walden, executive vice president of Mercury-affiliated Capricorn (Cake, 311), said, "We're not going to be affected … The only surprise might be who we'll be working with." Industry veterans Goldberg and McGuinness said an unintended result of the restructuring may be a renaissance for independent labels, who can pick up artists left out in the cold. They said indie labels also will be able to take advantage of the UMG labels' expected reductions in new signings. "People often talk about bands being under the radar," Rothrock said. "The threshold of the radar is being raised as the corporations tighten up. Their radar is not going to go as low as it even does now." Rapper Chuck D (born Carlton Ridenhour), whose band Public Enemy has split from Def Jam, said he knows several bands that won't have a contract when the restructuring is complete. But he said, "I don't think it's bad for artists." Chuck D said he anticipates that some of those groups will take their wares to the Internet for direct distribution to consumers, an area of the business that he said the traditional industry has yet to conquer. (Contributing Editor Chris O'Connor contributed to this report.) [ Wed., January 20, 10:07 PM EST ] ************************************************* * The Patty Griffin/Mad-Mission@smoe List Homepage is at: * http://www.spectra.net/~ducksoup/pattyg/pattyg.htm * * Rachel Martin's Patty Griffin Lyrics Archive is at * http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/3079/patty.html * * Jerry Zigmont's Flaming Red - A Patty Griffin Website is at * http://members.tripod.com/PattyGriffin * * Katie Peterson's Patty Griffin Guitar Tabs Archive is at * http://members.tripod.com/~Lifey/patty.html * * DuckOfPrey or WhyADuck55 on AOL and/or AOL Instant Messenger From owner-mad-mission-news@smoe.org Sat Jan 23 19:40:20 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by smoe.org (8.8.7/8.8.7/listq-jane) id TAA08083 for mad-mission-news-outgoing; Sat, 23 Jan 1999 19:40:16 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199901240040.TAA08083@smoe.org> To: mad-mission@smoe.org Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 12:57:47 -0800 Subject: PattyG-News: Patty in San Francisco X-Juno-Line-Breaks: 0-2 From: G Perez Sender: owner-mad-mission-news@smoe.org Precedence: bulk 3/4&5 - Lucinda Williams w/Patty Griffin @ the Fillmore, San Francisco Tickets on sale 1/24 ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] From owner-mad-mission-news@smoe.org Mon Jan 25 13:11:10 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by smoe.org (8.8.7/8.8.7/listq-jane) id NAA01476 for mad-mission-news-outgoing; Mon, 25 Jan 1999 13:10:14 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199901251810.NAA01476@smoe.org> From: "Kathi Whitley" To: Subject: PattyG-News: FW: Patty w/ Lucinda dates Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 10:34:53 -0600 Sender: owner-mad-mission-news@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Here are the dates Patty will be playing with Lucinda: 1/26 - Lousiville, KY - Headliners Music Hall 1/28 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza 1/30 - Englewood, NY - John Harms Ctr. for the Arts 2/2 - St. Louis, MO - Mississippi Nights 2/3 - Madison, WI - Barrymore Theater 2/4 - Des Moine, IA - Hoyt Sherman Place 2/6 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre 2/8 - Bozeman, MT - Emerson Cultural Ctr. 2/9 - Missoula, MT - University Theater, Univ. of MT 2/10 - Boise, ID - Doubletree Ballroom 2/12 - Vancouver, BC, Canada - Vogue Theatre 2/26 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern 2/27 - Santa Ana, CA - Galazy Concert Theater 3/1 - Portland, OR - La Luna Lounge 3/2 - Seattle, WA - King Cat Theatre 3/4&5 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall From owner-mad-mission-news@smoe.org Wed Jan 27 22:39:18 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by smoe.org (8.8.7/8.8.7/listq-jane) id WAA26656 for mad-mission-news-outgoing; Wed, 27 Jan 1999 22:38:58 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199901280338.WAA26656@smoe.org> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 19:10:58 -0800 (PST) From: Heather Webster Subject: PattyG-News: Patty on "Party of Five" To: mad-mission@smoe.org Sender: owner-mad-mission-news@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Hey, did anyone watch Party of Five tonight. Well, I am only seen it maybe one or two other nights, but tonight, I happened to catch the last bit. Well, they played an amazing version of Peter Pan with only piano, I think, and our lovely Patty. Wow, I can't believe I didn't record it. It was so great, but I had no Patty fans around so I had to say, "That is Patty Griffin, the one I am always raving about who happened to sign a poster/flat for Flaming Red to me!!!" Okay, enough of that. If anyone recorded it and wants to trade for a live show or something else, I have many Patty boots thanks to Lamia, Steve, Jessica and a few others. Have a nice evening!! Heather From owner-mad-mission-news@smoe.org Thu Jan 28 20:11:55 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by smoe.org (8.8.7/8.8.7/listq-jane) id UAA24544 for mad-mission-news-outgoing; Thu, 28 Jan 1999 20:11:13 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199901290111.UAA24544@smoe.org> Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 20:05:12 -0500 To: mad-mission@smoe.org, mad-mission-news@smoe.org From: Mike Connell Subject: PattyG-News: Update on Patty Griffin tour dates (1 new show TOMORROW) Cc: Dan Stark , "Larry Greenfield", "Greg Dunn", Carolyn Salvador , RatsRebyc@aol.com Sender: owner-mad-mission-news@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Hi folks :-) I just got an email from Patti's....ooops ;-).....I mean Patty's management and wanted you to know of one new date on the Lucinda Williams/Patty Griffin tour and one update/confirmation. The new one is is *tomorrow night* in New York City, the confirmation date is the late February show in Los Angeles at the House Of Blues. Of course, as usual, nothing remotely close to me.......but I'll live :-) Mike :-) P.S. Here's a list again, including all that Kathi W posted the other night. 1/28 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza 1/29 - New Your, NY - Irving Plaza <---- new show added...TOMORROW night!! 1/30 - Englewood, NY - John Harms Ctr. for the Arts Kathi posted this the other night, but I can't find an EngELwood nor EngLEwood in NY, but there IS an Englewood in NJ.....anyone know if the show is in fact in NJ? 2/2 - St. Louis, MO - Mississippi Nights 2/3 - Madison, WI - Barrymore Theater 2/4 - Des Moines, IA - Hoyt Sherman Place 2/6 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre 2/8 - Bozeman, MT - Emerson Cultural Ctr. 2/9 - Missoula, MT - University Theater, Univ. of MT 2/10 - Boise, ID - Doubletree Ballroom 2/12 - Vancouver, BC, Canada - Vogue Theatre 2/24 - Los Angeles - House Of Blues <---- date confirmed (was previously posted as maybe the 2/23, but more likely the 24th...it IS the 24th) 2/26 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern 2/27 - Santa Ana, CA - Galazy Concert Theater 3/1 - Portland, OR - La Luna Lounge 3/2 - Seattle, WA - King Cat Theatre 3/4 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall 3/5 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall * The Patty Griffin/Mad-Mission@smoe List Homepage is at: * http://www.spectra.net/~ducksoup/pattyg/pattyg.htm * * Rachel Martin's Patty Griffin Lyrics Archive is at * http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/3079/patty.html * * Jerry Zigmont's Flaming Red - A Patty Griffin Website is at * http://members.tripod.com/PattyGriffin * * Katie Peterson's Patty Griffin Guitar Tabs Archive is at * http://members.tripod.com/~Lifey/patty.html * * DuckOfPrey or WhyADuck55 on AOL and/or AOL Instant Messenger