From: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org (mad-mission-digest) To: mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Subject: mad-mission-digest V3 #215 Reply-To: mad-mission@smoe.org Sender: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk * If you ever wish to unsubscribe, send an email to * mad-mission-digest-request@smoe.org * with ONLY the word unsubscribe in the body of the email * . * For the latest information on Patty's tour dates, go to: * http://www.spectra.net/~ducksoup/pattyg/patttyg.htm * OR * go to http://www.amrecords.com * then click "tour" and fill in the blanks :) * . * PLEASE :) when you reply to this digest to send a post TO the list, * change the subject to reflect what your post is about. A subject * of Re: mad-mission-digest V3 #xxx or the like gives readers no clue * as to what your message is about. mad-mission-digest Saturday, July 24 1999 Volume 03 : Number 215 Today's Subjects: ----------------- MM: SoCal folks [Pamela Pollock ] Re: MM: Patty of Letterman [UMCaner74@aol.com] Re: MM: Patty on tv [Grace Halverson ] MM: Killing Me Softly [Flakeybird@aol.com] MM: Re: mad-mission-digest--Celine [LMYERS2HOU@aol.com] MM: the band [Mooodeee@aol.com] MM: Re: mad-mission-digest--Celine ["Sarah Ann Stanley" ] Re: MM: the band [Mooodeee@aol.com] MM: Katie, Nikki's friend at Clutch Cargos ["Patty's Band" Subject: MM: SoCal folks For those of you in the Southern California area who are not aware, 103.1 actually began playing Blue Sky. Heard it this morning on the way to work. Very suprising, since they only song they've ever played is One Big Love. Wow, is there hope for this station? Nah, probably not... And I swore I wouldn't get involved in the debate (I'm much better at lurking), but...me thinks we're disecting the TV appearances a tad too much. While it is understood that Patty doesn't get that much TV exposure, an artist can not be expected to go out cold in the middle of a TV show, following the likes of Don Rickles no less, and give the performance of his/her life. I imagine it must be a jarring experience-nothing like doing a club date. Certainly not worthy of the minute deconstruction of late. I had fun just seeing her and her "much-talked-about band" play. And by God, someday I will see her live! Please, please please!!!!! Ok, back to my cave.... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 08:50:23 EDT From: UMCaner74@aol.com Subject: Re: MM: Patty of Letterman John, I'm not going to flame you at all, however I am going to say this. Don't judge Patty's live performance with the band by her television performances. One thing I've noticed about Patty's shows, is that she gets better and better as the set goes on. So does the sound. It's a shame that it takes awhile to get the sound right, but at Patty's shows it normally does. Usually, but the time the 3rd or 4th song kicks in, she's REALLY kicking butt. By the time the show is over, you really don't want to let her leave... Also, don't forget that when you're listening to the performance on TV, you are probably listening to it through the TV speakers which are not the highest quality to be listening to music through...when they originally made TV speakers, they didn't have rock 'n roll in mind. Unless you have it hooked up through your home stereo, it's not going to sound good no matter what. Acoustic music is ok through TV speakers, rock 'n roll is not. Also, like someone else pointed out. What you're hearing over the television is not the mix or the sound that everyone else is hearing that is actually THERE and in the live studio audience. They have different people who mix the television sound, and I'm guessing that these people have never even heard Patty Griffin, or her band before. So how are they supposed to know how to mix the band? I'm not saying that you should have loved the Letterman performance like I did... we all have our own opinions, but it's extremely difficult to go onto these shows, and ACTUALLY play the song live (which not all performers do), and make it sound perfect when you get limited sound check time, have only one song to play, and so many other variables to contend with. Sure, it would have been much easier had Patty gone on the show and played Every Little Bit. I can't decide whether I like Patty better w/band or solo, and I've seen her about 7 times each way. She would have most likely sounded "better" solo, because there are so many less things to worry about. I totally agree that the more of Patty's voice we hear, the better. In her solo performances, her voice was NEVER in the background, and to be quite honest, I never cared if I could barely hear her guitar b/c of her voice overpowering it...(this coming from a former guitar player..) To sum this up. Don't decide against going to see Patty perform live just b/c you weren't impressed with her live performance on television. I can't ever remember seeing a band play on one of these shows and thinking to myself...Wow, they're an AWESOME live band, I must go to see them someday... Ok, well that's enough out of me... Dave ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 09:17:04 -0400 From: Grace Halverson Subject: Re: MM: Patty on tv > >And I swore I wouldn't get involved in the debate (I'm much better at >lurking), but...me thinks we're disecting the TV appearances a tad >too >much. AMEN! HALLELUJAH! I agree. I have rarely seen a tv performance of an artist that I really liked. Something happens between the stage amps and my tv speakers that really distorts the "true" sound. I thought that Patty looked great, I liked the way she moved her hands, I did not think that it was awkward at all. (this is coming from a musician that has an awful time figuring out what to do with my hands when I sing without the guitar or piano). But, I agree that the vocals did not sound wonderful, though I think it is just the nature of tv performances in general. p.s. all this negativity cannot be good for us. maybe next time we should not pick apart every aspect of the performance, just because we can. ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 09:23:13 EDT From: Flakeybird@aol.com Subject: MM: Killing Me Softly Hello, Sharyn here. You guys are killing me with your gigs-from-hell scenarios. I was performing and during this particular song it crescendos and then has a sudden rest for about 2 beats. A 15-year old boy was in attendance speaking loudly to his friend to be heard over our crescendo when all of a sudden, the rest presented itself whereby the boy announced to the entire audience, "Everybody thinks I'm gay". I tried to lighten the mood after the song by thanking him for providing some comic relief. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not anti-gay. It's a shame that in our society, that comment is embarrasing. Comments on Letterman. I thought the mix was fine. I thought Patty held back on the first half of the song, (understandable in that kind of a nerve-wracking situation) and she needed more make up. I thought it was the best of the three performances, but I've changed my mind on Blue Sky as a choice of song because it's kind of static vocally until the chorus. Something like Wiggley fingers is exciting as soon as Patty sings "Never make a noise when I am kissing a boy". What I was extremely disappointed by is the amount of commercials that they aired just prior to the performance. I think a lot of people probably turned Letterman off. I'm sure this is the standard format, just that I usually fall asleep before 11:30 as I am a workin' gal. Hey, maybe I should share with you that finally, Patty-inspired grooves are creeping into my guitar work and I was able to rework a song that I wrote a long time ago and now it totally rocks. Thanks Patty and band!!! - -S ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 12:02:03 EDT From: LMYERS2HOU@aol.com Subject: MM: Re: mad-mission-digest--Celine In a message dated 7/23/99 12:37:22 AM Central Daylight Time, owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org writes: << Yes, her Deep Emotion stance really makes me feel what she's singing deep into the core of my soul. Patty could definitely learn a few moves from Ms. Celine! ;- >> I sure hope you guys are kidding. LOL Loretta (who has never had the opportunity to see Patty in person) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 10:08:04 EDT From: Mooodeee@aol.com Subject: MM: the band Dave, John et. al., I think the problem is the fact that her band members aren't virtuosos. They are raw talents, and young at that.... probably with a background in alternative or active rock. Very early on, when it was first announced that Patty would be getting a band, I made an effort to reccommend some players. I am based in Austin and so is she, so I thought it would be convenient. I talked to Troy about it and he suggested i call Mike Baker. So I contacted Mike Baker and he was a real brick wall. He never returned my calls. Given that i run a record label here in austin... (a Jazz and Rock label at that!)... i know some of the best players and virtuosos in the music industry, especially some new, rising talents that could play circles around most any non-jazz schooled player. I mean, talk about virtuosos...that's what my record label specializes in!! Well anyway, Baker didnt give me the time of day. So i automatically assumed that "wow, he must have gotten some incredible nashville players!" so you could imagine my level of expectation..... and then, even more my disappointment when i realized they were just regular guys. Well, i guess thats not necessarily a bad thing, because they are young and growing in experience, hungry and eager to please.... malleable. I guess it was just Mike Baker being rude. And that is unfortunate. When I first heard the band, I'm sorry, but to me they sounded like a Patty Griffin *cover band*.. striving to play exactly note-for-note like the record. I thought perhaps they decided on taking a more conservative approach, not taking any risks. After time, I began to realize they were just playing to the best of their individual abilities. >From what i have seen, they are at least good if not adequate, but every time I have seen them, they are missing out on one of the basic and fundamental principles of playing onstage with a vocalist... and that is, controlling the volume from the stage. Another is controlling volume while performing by using dynamics. And that is to be more mindful of the singer's register. When the singer is singing low register, lay back... except for the few little parts you want to emphasize... when she goes into higher, more powerful register... then build it up as high as she will let you go without passing her. She should be above all else. If they cant hear her in the monitors enough to follow that, then bring her up until they can. Reduce the stage volume. It's really that simple. As for Letterman and Conan... I know that at shows like Austin City Limits, once they have done video edits, they will let you come in and monitor the audio edits to make sure it meets with your approval. Does Letterman's crew let you stick around for the edits? Because on a finished product, you should always be able to work with the levels. Tell your promoter to put it in the contract. Evidently, it's an issue. ~Mimi in Austin ~Mimi in Austin ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 12:29:22 -0400 From: "Sarah Ann Stanley" Subject: MM: Re: mad-mission-digest--Celine > Loretta (who has never had the opportunity to see Patty in person) i was fortunate enough to see Patty perform live - for free! - at a local Harmony House (record store) in my area (Detroit, MI). It was during her tour with Lucinda Williams and she was doing an in-store performance and signing the morning of the Detroit show. She performed about 6 of her songs from Flaming Red and did them all with the band. But all with acoustic guitars and only a snare drum! She absolutely blew me away! I met her afterwards and she signed a poster that I had ripped off of the wall of her. She was very quiet and very nice to talk with - even if it was very brief! :::sigh::: i really want her to tour around my area. She was doing a show in Ohio, but it was cancelled.... time will do the talking, sarah ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "My choice is what I choose to do, and if I'm causing no harm it shouldn't bother you. You're choice is who you choose to be and if you're causing no harm then you're alright with me..." -- Ben Harper "Where does magic come from? I think magic's in the learning 'cuz now when Christians sit with Pagans only pumpkin pies are burning..." -- Dar Williams "The most important thing I could ever say to someone is sometimes I just breathe you in..." -- Tori Amos *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 20:54:30 -0300 From: David Lewis Subject: Re: MM: the band >I think the problem is the fact that her band members aren't virtuosos. I must admit that I really don't know what it means to be a virtuoso band member. When I think of virtuosos, I think of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Healy, Eric Johnson, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Maria Calas, Cecila Bartoli, Nadia Salerno-Sonnenburg, John Williams (the guitarists, not the conductor), YoYo Ma, Paganinni, Listz, Yehudi Menhuin, Buddy Rich, Neil Peart, Coltrain etc. I don't think you need to be what I would call a virtuoso to be a member of a great band... though I admit, I know very little about what it takes to be a member of a great band as I have only ever done the soloist thing. Still, I don't think you have to be the world's greatest improvisor or technician or whatever. As you say, you have to know how to play together, how to gel, how to lay back during other members solos and such, but I don't think you need to be a virtuoso. When you listen to an entire band full of virtuoso's what you end up with is Jazz :) Very dense :) (I love Jazz by the way). By the way... I might add Bela Fleck to my list of Virtuosos :) Anyway... didn't Patty's guitarist come from Nanci Griffith's Blue Moon Orchestra? If so, I would hardly refer to him as inexperienced. Anyway, as I say, I've only ever been a soloist and then, mostly in the classical world, so I don't know much about the popular music scene in Nashville/Austin etc. I still think the Letterman performance was fine. As for levels... I think the crunchy guitar parts are a big part of what makes that song. So I think the levels were ok. Personally... I would love to see Patty perform Long Ride Home, Nobody's Crying, We Are Water or some other jaw-droppingly beautiful solo on Letterman... now *that* would be awesome :) - ---------------------------- David Lewis Digital & Print Media Design dlewis@hfx.andara.com - ---------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 21:22:49 EDT From: Mooodeee@aol.com Subject: Re: MM: the band << . I would love to see Patty perform Long Ride Home, Nobody's Crying, We Are Water or some other jaw-droppingly beautiful solo on Letterman... now *that* would be awesome :) >> You are exactly right David!!... great choices!!!! But unfortunately, the way the dance is done, radio determines your hit...and when you get booked on Letterman and Conan because of your radio hit, you have to play the hit. Sadly, end of story. Patty is going to be around a LONG time... so I wouldnt worry that these freshman performances will ever be her last opportunities. There is plenty of time for development. As you can see, the next CD needs to have potential singles that are both passionate and well produced in a way that doesnt detract. It's GONNA happen,.. its only a matter of time... and a matter of finding not just the right producer, but the right producer for *her.* ~Mimi in Austin (...or the right promoter ;-) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 22:15:39 -0400 (EDT) From: "Patty's Band" Subject: MM: Katie, Nikki's friend at Clutch Cargos I have lost your email address. ------------------------------ End of mad-mission-digest V3 #215 *********************************