From: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org (shindell-list-digest) To: shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: shindell-list-digest V2 #96 Reply-To: shindell-list@smoe.org Sender: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk shindell-list-digest Friday, June 2 2000 Volume 02 : Number 096 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [RS] t-shirt - Shindell's List [Rongrittz@aol.com] [RS] falcon ridge [SoccrDawg@aol.com] Re: [RS] t-shirt/ no not fame!!! [Rongrittz@aol.com] [RS] My take... [Kerry Bernard ] Re: [RS] falcon ridge [Vanessa Wills ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 22:03:04 EDT From: Rongrittz@aol.com Subject: Re: [RS] t-shirt - Shindell's List Um, I think the suggestion was made tongue-in-cheek . . . I certainly know that *I* wasn't serious when I suggested it. RG << Is anyone else offended by this idea? I am. It is essentially a play on words, i.e. a joke based on Shindler's List. I feel there isn't really any room to make jokes about this particular subject, and my dead ancestors concur. I would not wear anything with this slogan out of fear of the proverbial lightening bolt. I also would not want to offend/hurt anyone else. Some people a little closer to the holocaust live with its effects to this day due to its devastating effects on their parents and grandparents. There is no room for humor here. I don't think Richard would approve either. His current album reflects a great sensitivity to the effects of tyrants on individuals (Abuelita, You Stay Here). You may say I take this all too seriously, but failure to take these issues seriously, is always the beginning of the end for one culture or another. >> ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 23:05:30 EDT From: SoccrDawg@aol.com Subject: [RS] falcon ridge hey, i was wondering if CampDar also encompasses richard & lucy's fans as well since there seem to be a lot of crossovers or if there are also seperate camps for them. just a late night thought. time for bed now! hope everyone is having a wonderful week! ..nicole btw, any idea when a final decision will be made on the t-shirt/pin thing? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 23:14:20 EDT From: Rongrittz@aol.com Subject: Re: [RS] t-shirt/ no not fame!!! << As to the possible fame of Mr. Shindell. I am sad to report that I think fame is already happening to Dar. She is not playing any small venues on her next tour (at least according to a recent Dar-list post). I am afraid Richard will not be far behind. I feel extremely fortunate to have seen them both in small venues more that once. >> Wow, you make it sound like fame is a bad thing. In and of itself, it's not. It what the artist does to GET there . . . or what happens to the artist AFTER he/she gets there . . . that can be dangerous. For example, if an artist allows him/herself to be repackaged specifically in ORDER to be "famous," well, that's bad. See: Mary-Chapin Carpenter. Or, if an artist strays from the pure, heartfelt music that first gained him/her popularity because a niche audience is no longer sufficient, and opts to go for a blander, more homogenized, more "pop" sound, well, that's bad. See: Nanci Griffith. Or, say an artist gets his/her start thanks in part to the support of, oh, a rabid internet following, and has a management team that knows, appreciates, cultivates and communicates with that fan base. Well, if, for example, said artist was to change management companies and said communication was to totally dry up for an entire year, well, that would be bad. Off the top of my head, though, I can't think of any examples. ;-) But just because an artist starts to play larger venues -- and in Dar's case, this ain't exactly Madison Square Garden we're talking here -- is no reason to fear that they've gotten tangled up in what Joni Mitchell once referred to as the "star-making machinery." I think that asking a performer to continue to *only* play coffeehouses and other small venues just because you want to maintain a level of intimacy and contact and To Be Able To Sit Close, well, that's not fair to the performer. In any case, none of these scenarios are likely to happen to Richard anyway. After four albums he's still playing the 500-seat Bottom Line, the 60-seat Turning Point, and the 25-seat Blixt Cabin Concerts. I seriously doubt whether we'll ever have to fight 10,000 other people for a good seat at a Richard show. At the end of the day, this IS Folk Music we're talking about. RG ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 23:31:06 -0400 From: Kerry Bernard Subject: [RS] My take... When I was hired at Young/Hunter Management, the company represented 4 artists: Chris Smither Peter Mulvey Richard Shindell Dar Williams I was already smitten with Dar and Richard; I'd not heard or heard of Chris or Peter. When Charlie and Carol offered me the job, they asked if I'd rather work in Carol's office (in Boston) or in Charlie's office (then in Northampton). Although I knew Charlie better than I knew Carol and although it was obvious that Northampton was where most of the Richard/Dar work was done, while Boston was where most of the Chris/Peter work was done, I chose Boston. I had a handful of friends in Boston, there were more places to see live music here, and after growing up in a fairly small town, I wanted a taste of the big city. Boston it was. Working in Carol's office, I was quickly introduced to the music of Chris Smither and Peter Mulvey. And I was blown away. I couldn't believe there were these 2 incredible musicians I'd not heard of and I was thrilled to be working with them. They are also 2 of the kindest, most considerate men I've ever met and I love them both to bits (when the dog I'd had since I was 10 years old passed away earlier this year and I was in the office alone, crying like a child, Chris brought me flowers and consoled me; whenever Peter has a successful show or a fun interview, he calls and leaves me adorable messages thanking me for my hard work and telling me he's going to take everyone at Y/H out for a wildly extravagent dinner when he makes his first million... and that, if we're lucky, he'll even be able to "Super Size" it :). One thing I've noticed, though, is that loving any one of these artists does not mean you'll love the others. It doesn't mean you WON'T, but it's all a matter of that wonderful thing called "individual taste". In my opinion, they're all brilliant. Sure, you may think I'm biased, but they are. Thing is, they're brilliant in different ways - each with their own strengths and unique characteristics. What I've noticed (and stick with me here... :) is that people who like Dar are more likely to listen to Richard than Peter, in much the same way that people who like Chris are more likely to appreciate Peter than they are to like Richard. Part of the reason, I think, is that, although Dar and Richard are certainly respectable, above-average guitarists (especially in Richard's case - watch that man GO on "Shades of Grey"!), Chris and Peter are guitar *wizards*. They're known for this (Chris for his mind-blowing bluesy fingerpicking and Peter for his low, alternate tunings and thick, percussive style). Similarly, while Chris and Peter can both weave a captivating story when they want to, this is something that Dar and Richard positively EXCEL at. They can paint a visual picture and tell a tale like very few songwriters can. Chris and Peter are more abstract in their songwriting, while Dar and Richard are more literary. They're all poetic, but in very different ways. And they're all gifted musicians but, again, in very different ways. So that's my take on the whole thing. You may think it's wishy-washy but I think it actually makes a lot of sense. Like one, like 'em all, I don't care. Appreciating one does not ensure appreciating another, but it doesn't preclude it, either. But I'll tell you one thing - there's not a talentless one in the bunch. Kerry :) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 00:16:58 -0400 From: Vanessa Wills Subject: Re: [RS] falcon ridge Ooh, I would be a big fan of a CampRichard--or maybe we could call it "Sparrow's Point," or "Reunion Hill," or "Camp Paterson"? Not that I know how any of this works, anyway. I know, it's cheese. So sue me. Vanessa, who will be attending her first FRFF this July! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ------------------------------ End of shindell-list-digest V2 #96 **********************************