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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Michael vg <govango@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Re: Fw: Message from TR |
| Date | Wed, 16 Nov 2005 07:43:25 -0800 (PST) |
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Applause, Cheers and more Applause!!!
michael vg
--- Josh Chasin <jchasin@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
>
>
> This was posted yesterday on TR Connection:
>
> Todd's message on the "New Cars"
> For the screamers:
>
> Now that the cat is out of the bag, or rather 'car is out of the
> garage', I should address the issues I would have dealt with had
> someone given me a heads up before we went public.
>
> There is a new cadre of 'fan' who has taken to constant second
> guessing of my motives and decisions. Their responses are usually
> Cassandraesque, rife with predictions of career death and loss of core
> audience. If results are not to their satisfaction, they threaten...
> what? To actively campaign against playing my music on the radio?
>
> Here are the facts. I don't know what kind of job you have, but I
> imagine that if you want to keep it you have to adapt to changes in
> your job description and to changes in the job market itself. And I
> don't know if you've heard, but musicians have notoriously brief
> careers. You can't do the job well on a part time basis, so you had
> better make a living at it. And if you want to keep the job, you
> better take advantage of whatever opportunities you have to work.
>
> You would have thought that 2004 was a big year for me careerwise, and
> in many ways it was. But the effort to bring the tour to the widest
> audience was not a profitable venture and I am still paying it off
> today. You would have thought that 2005 has been a nearly disasterous
> followup, and in some ways it has. But I erased the debts of last
> year, got caught up on my taxes and even vacationed for a couple
> weeks. Oh yeah, and I supported my family.
>
> So now an opportunity has arisen for me to pay my bills, play to a
> larger audience, work with musicians I know and like, and ideally have
> some fun for a year. The catch is, a lot of people have been counting
> on something else. Let's make this clear: the possibility of a Utopia
> reunion of any kind has always been extremely remote. We disbanded for
> specific reasons that a previous reunion attempt only exacerbated.
> Despite whatever enjoyment we got from playing the music for our fans,
> the reformation left a sour taste. It would be ludicrous to Spinal Tap
> our way through a tour so fans could be satisfied that we simply
> showed up on the same stage. That's a redefinition of Utopia I can't
> personally handle. No 'magic date' is so magical that it can transform
> such an ingrained relationship. It's not happening and we'll all have
> to live with it.
>
> The rest of the equation is obvious. I can take out a band of my own
> and slide inexorably into debt, or I can go out solo and take my
> chances. Except that's no choice. Most of my recent material doesn't
> translate to the accoustic guitar (let alone piano), so the act has
> become stale to the point that I won't accept any more gig offers for
> solo shows.
>
> So you see, if someone gives you an opportunity to make a good living
> for a year without violating your musical ethics (or HAVING to play
> Beatle songs), and throws in the ability to retain your own identity
> and perform your own material and possibly create new fans, well, what
> choice do you have, really? The schedule even gives me plenty of time
> to record a new solo project, so what's the problem? If my working
> musician's decision offends you, start calling the DJs and beg them to
> stop playing all that TR music that's in such heavy rotation.
>
> Otherwise, me and Kas and Prairie and Elliot and Greg will be playing
> parts of the country we'd never get to otherwise, and hope to see you
> all there when we do.
>
> TR
>
>
>
>
>
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