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There is no set format here. This is the page where we throw all our odds & ends, our raving, wandering, obsession filled delusions that border on deranged lunacy to the sincerity of heart on your sleeve, off the cuff remarks. Mostly replies to Questions Asked Not-So-Frequently. Some interesting, others not. But that, is entirely up to you!

Check out G.Gone's column Click here to read this month's column
featured monthly in Pop-Culture-Corn

July '00 - Peter Frampton: Guitar god, or worthless wanker?
June '00 - Introduction.

The Gift Of Talent.
(Part I)

    This past week the gift of talent was presented to me in two different forms, by gifted people with musical talents.
    On Wednesday night, 8 Grammy Awards were bestowed upon Carlos Santana, a long overdue, just deserves tribute to a man whose musical talents are not only timeless, but endless. I did not watch the Grammys this year, as in all years previous, but must admit to wishing I had, if only to see the Grammys snub the money making machine that is the corporate creation of instant teen pop idols. Granted this is nothing new within the music industry, in fact it dates back all the way to the beginning of Rock 'n' Roll in the '50s when it was payola that got the latest single to become a "Hit". Through the years the music "Industry" has always paid to take what's "hot" and recreate it into something that we (all too willingly) want to buy back from them. This "investment" system spawned the likes of bands, from The Monkees, Menudo, & The New Kids On The Block, to such recent varieties as The Spice Girls, and Backstreet Boys, with many countless, faceless others in-between. But never before have we been so inundated with the corporate sponsored dreck that is todays teen pop idols.
    It is a tribute to the Grammys sense of artistic commitment and their acknowledgment of musical talent (attributes we've wondered about for years) that only one major award went to a representative of the preprogrammed, prepackaged, Next Big Thing music sensation factories and that was the New Artist Award which went to Christina Aguilera. Of course we all know the track record of past winners don't we ;-) (Can you say; Milli Vanilli?).

    But, the Grammys and the 4 major music companies are missing out on something here. There are resounding effects of what's been happening in the music industry over the past few months, starting with the Times-Warner/AOL merger, continuing with the Times-Warner/EMI merger, and right up to Wednesday nights embracing of a 52 year old guitarist who should have been honored over 25 years ago.
    The fact is: Never before has the music industry been faced with losing sales to an older demographic. As the 4 major labels scramble to find, train, fund, and sell the next teen idol smash sensation to the easily led masses of the impressionable youth market, they are in fact experiencing a drop in profits related directly to the 25 and older crowd that is now hitting the Internet in search of the next musical revolution. Many so called industry experts will tell you how the future of music is on the Internet, which is true, but their findings are pointing to the same demographic that is the target of "Corporate Rock 'n' Radio."
    What they are failing to see is that the future of music on the Internet is here. It's here and it's now, and it's not being driven by the allowance money of idol worshipping teenyboppers, but the hard working, salary earning, credit card carrying public that is the Adult market ranging from the mid-twenties to the mid-fifties. The generations that spawned Elvis/The Beatles/The Sex Pistols/ and Nirvana are not settling down into the nice "Adult Contemporary-Easy Listening" categories that have always been associated with that specific demographic, they are tossing away conventional wisdom. Instead of standing up and being counted as a secondary market in the music industry they are continuing to rebel, attempting to force an alternate independent industry that will allow music to present the talents of truly gifted Artists to be available to everyone without the monetary trappings (influence) of the 4 major labels. The funny thing is that a lot of the '60s & '70s (even '80s) generation adults are having a hard time not only convincing the music industry of this, but themselves are well.

My point being;

In the press release accompanying the Time Warner/AOL - EMI merger it is stated that:
(Quoting an Associated Press article [without permission from anyone!] ) -

Time Warner's merger deals with America Online and EMI were hatched separately, but they both help advance a common goal: bringing music to the Internet.

Time Warner's Chairman and CEO Gerald Levin has been saying for months that the music business would be the first big winner from opportunities in promotion and distribution offered by the Internet.

& finally,

"Music, out of all our businesses, is the one that will benefit most from the Internet and the digital revolution," Levin told a London news conference via satellite from New York.
To be sure, Time Warner's blockbuster merger with Internet leader AOL, announced just two weeks ago, is expected to be a far greater catalyst in bringing music and other elements from Time Warner's media warehouse online. AOL's 22 million subscribers offer a giant market to be exploited.

Exploited. The 4 major record companies have now realized that they are late in conquering the next music revolution. The musical revolution that is taking place on the Internet, not just by the teenyboppers who are currently fueling their idolmaking machine, but mainly by the people who were weaned on the quality rock of true master artists whose gifted talents have shone through the years and burned brighter then all the "Next Big Thing/Teenage Sensations" put together.
And for these people, you people, I say; "Make a stand. The music revolution starts here. Turn off your radio, don't listen to what you are told to listen to, bite the hand that feeds you. The music IS out there, don't wait for it, go out and get it, don't let it pass you by. For if you sit idly by, the industry that has historically destroyed every happening that has ever engulfed the music scene will ultimately do the same to this one as well. They will buy it, repackage it, and sell it back to us without ever once giving a damn about the music, the artist, the talent, the gift. If allowed to, the 4 major record companies will reduce the web to the same diluted preprogrammed consumer market formulated format as everything else that has been left in their wake -"

The Gift Of Talent.
(Part II - A&R)

A few weeks ago I received the following email:
--------------------------------------------------------

Join MTV for an inside peek into the exciting world of boy band
star-making! You're invited to watch MTV's first original movie, the
story of the pop singing sensation 2gether and their rise to the top!

2gether premieres commercial free this Monday February 21st at 8pm,
7pm CST. Only on MTV!

For a free preview of 2gether, double click on the attached MTV
email.**

Your favorite songs from the movie are available on CD from TVT
Soundtrax. To listen to tracks from the album, click here (edited for
your protection!)

Special Limited Offer: Fill in your friends and win a free 2gether CD!
Just forward this email now to three friends and cc:
contestentry@247media.com.
But hurry, only the first 100 to do so will win!
-----------------------------------------------------

OK, I quote: "boy band star-making!" "pop singing sensation" "rise to the top!" "commercial free"
"free preview" "Fill in your friends and win" "forward this email now to three friends" ad nauseam.

This smacks of everything I wrote about in Part I. What ever happened to good old fashion A&R men? For the those of you not familiar with A&R, it stands for "Artists & Repertoire". Whether or not the 4 major record companies still employ A&R men is a mystery to me, but from everything I've seen/heard lately it seems as though the Artists & Repertoire divisions of these companies have turned into the idolmaking departments. In my opinion they have taken the money they use to spend to have representatives comb the highways and byways in search of talent to sign, and are now spending/investing it in hiring teen models who can be sculpted and formed into the next teen pop sensation (see email message quoted above).

It's much easier now to create the "Next Big Thing" instead of discovering it. Of course, in the past the record companies would spot a "trend", a "movement", a "shift" and frantically send their A&R men into the field to try and find (& sign) any band who resembled, sounded like, came close to whatever/whoever was currently toppling the status quo of the time. This in an effort to cash in. A lot of times this backfired on the music industry giants as their costs to find, sign, produce, distribute and promote the next wave of soundalikes ultimately outweighed the actual profits. Now they can control their costs while tailor making their next superstars to not only fit the mold constructed by their corporate entities, but also to adhere to Madison Ave. standards of controlled demographics with tie ins to merchandising. "Don't worry if the music is mediocre, and the discs sales aren't up to par, we'll still recoup our expenditures and then some on the T-shirts, lunchboxes, posters, back packs, etc..."

Again, lost in the wake is the true artist with the gift of talent. This is where the Internet comes in, this is where the record companies who feel that music on the Internet is ripe for the taking are mistaken...

    Think about it, in the past some local band with the gift of talent would hit upon some sort of chemistry and get a local following, maybe press a single or two, get some airplay on a local college station, pool their resources, work day jobs, gig a lot, and finally get enough money together to press an album. They do their best to sell it at their gigs, the local ma & pa stores, send it around to radio stations, music publications, record companies and hope for someone to call. Hope for an A&R man to notice them. But, most of the time the radio stations, and music publications which are controlled by advertisers and the quest for the almighty dollar would ignore them because they were not the latest "hot thing." The same for the record companies, if an Artist/Band didn't have the "sound" the "look" that could sell at that given moment they would be a "risk" to sign and thus dismissed without so much as an after thought. Ad revenue RULES in Corporate America. So these local bands who may be creating some awesome music just can't keep it going long enough to catch a break and eventually the everyday problems of real life crash down upon them as they realize that they need to make a living some how and it's not going to be by selling a couple of hundred records to the local die hard fans...
    But now the Internet has taken all that and suddenly given them instant global exposure, now an Artist/Band can get their music out there to fans all over and perhaps that allows them to press that 2nd and 3rd disc, perhaps that allows them to continue to create and perform their music along with their day jobs, because now they can earn a little more, and who knows, perhaps one day enough people wanting a musical revolution to free themselves from the slag heap of Corporate Rock 'n' Radio will buy their disc and help to make them successful enough for them to not only reap the benefits, but to spread their musical artistry, their gift of talent to more than that handful of local die hards.
    This scenario is what the Record companies are afraid of, this is why we saw the recent mergers of AOL, Time-Warner, & EMI. The INDUSTRY is finally realizing that they stand to lose millions...no Billions in music/Ad revenue due to the Internet and the Independent music revolution that is currently gathering steam. They are running scared and know that they can not stop it, so they must conquer it, but alone they can't accomplish it, they have to merge to be big enough to even have a chance. This isn't a move to "bring music to the Internet" as I reported previously, but a move to control it, not for the music, but for the MONEY! I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few more music mergers on the horizon.

Now where was I?...oh yeah, if the record companies would rather spend their money creating "pop singing sensations" then having A&R men, well, IndepenDisc and myself will fill that void for you. Allow us to be your A&R men as we traverse the Internet and the clubs in constant search of Artists and Bands with the gift of talent, speaking of which...

    The second gift of talent that was presented to me last week was a live show that I attended.
On Thursday, the night after the Santana coup at the Grammys, I went to The Wetlands in NYC to see the band Crenshaw. Hailing from Washington D.C. this was their first opportunity to play the Big Apple and they made the best of it.
    Being the first of three bands that night the band took the stage to a sparse crowd at first, but the audience grew as they wound their way through a tight 50 minute set of songs from their first disc "add the good", and their latest release "the mack sessions" as well as several "New" songs. As the floor of the club started to fill it was obvious to see the effect Crenshaw was having...Heads were boppin' and bodies were groovin' to the tight rhythm of Jon Melzer's bass -perfectly highlighting the driving force of Michael Allenby's dance friendly, enthusiastic drumming. Michael's brother Dan, fronting the band with his smooth, "lay-it-out-for your-ears-to-enjoy" vocals and acoustic guitar playing of progressive rhythms, blended seductively with Jon & Mike's funky backbeats - highlighting lead guitarist Tad Howard's amazing style of Steely Dan inspired, jazz laced, wah-wah pedal sojourns into sounds that not only captivated and mesmerized, but allowed the body and soul to dance together with joy and gleeful abandon.
    Two highlights of the set for me were "pass it over" a song about fathers and sons, which was played with Dan & Mike's father in the crowd. And a new song called "wall to wall" a killer tune that had the now packed club moving in such unison that it resembled waves rippling. Afterwards I urged the band members to do something with this soon (i.e. a single?) it would be a shame not to bestow this song upon others, for here was truly a gift. For more info click on Crenshaw.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Carlos Santana for the years of music he has given to me and the world. I would also like to thank Crenshaw for continuing the tradition of sharing the gift of talent. And I, in return shall try to help to spread it even further as IndepenDisc and I strive to be the *Real* A&R men of the Internet Music Revolution!

Why I Don't Drive Down Thunder Road.
By: G.Gone

"G.Gone calls it as he saw it from the heart of the Punk/New Wave movement that at the time was looking to overthrow exactly what Springsteen was anointed to conquer."

This article has was published in the Oct. '99 edition of Pop-Culture-Corn as part of their Bruce Springsteen Feature. You can read it along with others by clicking here: PCCMAG

    Woodstock, is that you?
    (a review of the Guinness Fleadh).
    by: G.Gone

In a few weeks there will be a music festival held in upstate NY to commemorate the 30th anniversary of "Woodstock". A big corporate sponsored mega dose of industry capitalism packaged and sold to us as a "celebration" to honor the legacy from which it derives it's name. But, it's name is the only thing it has in common with that eventful August weekend in 1969, when what started as an arts & music festival thrown together by a couple of budding entrepreneurers, became the largest symbol of counterculture in America's history. A once in a lifetime event, whose spontaneity will never be repeated no matter how much money is spent in an effort to do so. The reality is; the sponsors of this years attempted re-creation know this. They're not interested in reliving the Peace, Love, and Harmony of Max Yasgur's Farm. They're relying on us, the consumers, to hand over our money so that they can profit from our desires to be included in something we missed the first time around.
Not me, I'm not buying it.

    In fact, what I did buy took me by surprise. I've just had my Woodstock without even realizing it (or for that matter attempting it). On Sat. June 26, 1999 I attended this years installment of the Guinness Fleadh (pronounced Flah). Sure it was a corporate sponsored event held for the purpose of making money, but it didn't hide behind false pretenses and borrowed titles. It told it like it was; An Irish festival promoting music, culture, and heritage.
    Trimmed down from it's original 3 day 1 city beginnings of several years ago, the current 1 day 4 city (not counting a stop across the pond) tour was a well designed package that more than accomplished its intentions. New York was the final stop in the USA for the festival, which I attended with a friend.
    I can sum it up in 4 words: Heat, Beer, Music, Sex.

The Heat: Being a triple H (Hazy, Hot, & Humid) day with temperatures holding steady in the mid-90s, there was no way to escape the heat. Those that tried to by consuming mass quantities of Guinness soon found the blazing sun high in the cloudless sky an omnipresent evil beating them down until they lay prone in the burnt grass and dusty baked ground. Criticism #1 - Festival planners did not have the foresight to set apart an area for either sprinklers or mist-ers. Perhaps their take on such an amenity was the would be mud byproduct and the mess that could ensue (flashes of Woodstock?). However, two troughs with 5 waterfountian heads each was not the answer for approximately 50,000+ people seeking relief. Another negative was the $3.00 price tag for a bottle of water. Those smart enough to pace their alcoholic intake along with alternating their beer consumption with other fluids, combined with timely visits to the water troughs for a body splash down, were able to enjoy the day in comparable favor to that of one spent at the beach.

The Beer: Guinness and Harp as well as some other non-alcoholic brew that I didn't pay any attention to for $6.00 a pint. So, how did I start my day? In pure festival fashion; at the "pour your own" tent. My friend and I received instructions on how to "pour the perfect pint" of Guinness. Successfully completing the 5 minute course we happily headed off to peruse the concessions. Along with many other well staffed pre-poured beer tents (most attended by pretty girls in soaking wet Guinness T-shirts!), there were food stands galore with plenty of variety to choose from; Irish, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, American, etc. Criticism #2 - No picnic tables (if there were, we never saw/found them). We had to "enjoy" our lunch (& dinner) sitting on the ground wherever we were able to find enough grass cover. Aside from that, the food was exceptionally good and reasonably priced while the beer was more delicious than it had a right to be.

    The Music: With 31 Artists on 3 stages delivering continuous music for over 12 hours, it was virtually impossible to catch everything. Some bouncing around was the order of the day and if there wasn't anyone you planned to see playing at a certain time, then it was hit or miss. A brief synopsis of the Artists we saw;
    Lucinda Williams (Main stage); This country rocker and her 5 (?) piece band started slowly. After a few songs Lucinda invited Elvis Costello on stage for "Drunken Angel" & "Greenville" from there they flat out rocked, closing with a blazing 15 minute rendition of "Joy" where everyone took the obligatory solo. Very enjoyable, Highly recommended.
    Blink (Small "Village Voice" stage); I received a brief 'Blink' bio from the guy to my left (couple of movie soundtracks- blew him away last year, etc.) but none of this prepared me for the fierce onslaught of these guitar heavy rock maniacs. Midway through the first song ("Will You Die For Me" - I think was the name) as the lead singer/guitarist's veins were bulging from his neck while pouring every ounce of energy into spitting out the lyrics, I wondered if he had the stamina to survive a whole set. Surely they would have to slow it down a bit. Wrong on both counts. 5 songs later a Mosh pit formed which grew larger and rowdier with each of the next 5 songs as the band and the moshers drove each other into a dynamic furry of energy and release through controlled destructive tendencies. A great set to pump up the day.
    Candy Butchers (Small (VV) stage): Formula power-pop from a trio who use 2 session men for accompanying horns every few songs. Nothing spectacular about them except for the money being spent on the corporate push to break these guys. Besides reminding us repeatedly of their name and the fact that their disc will be released on an unknown record label (which is actually owned by one of the 5 major labels) they also handed out free CD's. The fix is in, and I'm not impressed.
    The Saw Doctors (Main stage): A crowd favorite and deservedly so. The masses were singing, dancing, and crowd surfing from the opening bars of "Green and Red of Mayo" right through their set of favorites taken from "Sing A Powerful Song" (the 1997 US release of songs culled from their 3 Ireland/UK discs) and the newest CD "Songs from Sun Street". At one point as the entire crowd was jumping up and down in unison upon the heat baked clay of ground and grass, a cloud of dust began to rise until it nearly obscured the stage. Cause for more beer and good cheer.
    Richard Thompson (Medium "VH-1" stage): Maybe it was the good buzz we had going, or the long hike across the whole fairgrounds to get to the stage, but we found Richard Thompson (an artist we hold with the highest respect) uninspired. After 3 lifeless, boring songs we left back for the small stage.
    Luka Bloom (Small stage): He was Awesome. So captured was I by the intensity of his solo acoustic style, that I mentally made note to thank the girl who turned me on to him (Thank You DiDi!). We caught about 5 songs from his set, and as Eileen Ivers joined him on stage we reluctantly left to make our way back over the the VH-1 stage.
    Black 47 (Medium stage): For some unknown reason there was a delay. When Black 47 took the stage at 9:10 (approx. 15 minutes late) the sound was in disarray. Not quite loud enough to begin with (prompting the crowd to chant "Turn it up") and the horns and the Uilleann pipes were lost in the mix. Finally after "Green Suede Shoes" and "Reels" they seemed to have solved the sound problems. Boppin' & swaying to the Irish reggae version of Bob Marleys "Three Little Birds" we once again needed to navigate the crowd in order to get back across the grounds to the Main stage. A shame because Black 47 sounded to be delivering a smokin' hot set.
    Elvis Costello (Main stage): Elvis Costello took the stage with his long time pianist Steve Nieve at 10:00 PM. Starting with "Pads, Paws, and Claws" he ripped through a 20 song set of "Greatest Hits" (Alison, Veronica, Every Day I Write The Book), New soundtrack releases ("I'll Never Fall In Love Again" from Austin Powers, "She" from Notting Hill), and personal favorites ("Radio Sweetheart/Jackie Wilson Said", "New Amsterdam/You've Got To Hide Your Love Away"). Using just his voice, guitar, and Steve's piano Elvis wowed the crowd with his ability to Rock just as hard as he can croon. He turned "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?" into an Anthem that deserves attention. He melted the crowd with a sparse yet beautiful re-arrangement of "I Still Have That Other Girl" (His Grammy award winning song co-written with Burt Bacharach and featured on their "Painted From Memory" disc) which found his vocals in top form as they soared with more intensity then anybody there actually realized he was capable of. Closing with a disjointed version of "Pump It Up" for which he strapped on the old electric telecaster, Elvis looked to be enjoying himself as he and Steve couldn't quite get on the same page, bewildering and puzzling the audience to the delight of the beloved entertainer. The other Elvis and Frankie should have been proud.

The Sex: What can I say? Guys, Girls, Heat, Guinness, sweat & beer soaked sparse, suggestive, seductive, and revealing clothes was the order of the day. Combined with the crush of the crowd and you can see why it was a hotbed of sexual lust. Consider this; If you were there, you were a potential pick-up victim, and I mean that in the nicest way. Everyone there was friendly (some overfriendly), congenial, polite, nice, and considerate. Everyone was there to have a good time. Many times throughout the day I was reminded of the old CSN&Y song "Love The One You're With", because it seemed to be the theme of the day. Everyone was very touchy, feely. As people walked through the crowds it was not unusual (in fact it was common) to have hands run across your body. When people were crowd surfing it was more of a group grope type of thing that was not limited by gender, Guys crowd surfing were being grabbed by girls just as much as the girls were being grabbed by guys. I witnessed several girls jump into Mosh pits only to be felt up and down in ways people would think to be obscene, yet in the frivolity and spirit of the day, these girls enjoyed themselves without threat of physical repercussions. Those hot and horny enough to want greater physical contact did so out of the eye shot of the masses. Discretion may have been the rule of intimacy, but for everything else, it was anything goes, yet it was all conducted with a style and grace that could only put a smile on your face.

And after everything I experienced at the Fleadh, the blistering Heat, the fabulous Beer, the unforgettable Music, and the wanton Sexual atmosphere, I walked out of there with a smile on my face. Take that Woodstock '99.

Roll Away The Stones.

The Rolling Stones brought their "No Security" tour to my state recently. They played 2 sold out shows at an arena; capacity: 18-20,000 (depending on the seating arrangement). Ticket prices: from $90 to $125 each.
This got me thinking. I personally have avoided the Rolling Stones for over 2 decades now, the reason being a monumental show that I attended in 1978. It was just after the release of "Some Girls" & The Stones had a chart buster for the first time in years. So it was time for an all out Stadium tour. Well, just 1 week before graduating High School myself & a few buddies blew off the traditional Graduating class weekend party & set out for JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, a 4 hour train ride & a Road trip that changed the way I saw the world.

The following is an abridged account of that impact, written some years after the event....

> Just a week earlier The Rolling Stones had released "Some Girls". It quickly became their biggest selling album in almost a decade. The Stones, a legendary band that had faded into mediocrity, were still great to us. Many parties were held with The Stones on the stereo. Now to have the chance to actually see them, this was the ultimate. During the late seventies we saw a lot of bands in concert, but to get to see a legend was rare. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who, and The Stones toured infrequently, especially in our neck of the woods. So when we heard that The Stones were going to play Philadelphia, a four hour train ride away, and it was merely four days before graduation, it was a no brainer, we were there.

On the Friday two weeks after the Prom and the official start of the graduation party(ies), a short five days before the ceremony itself, the five of us hopped a train. The first thing we did after disembarking in Philly was to get a couple of Cheese Steaks (How could we not?). Then for convenience sake, we hit a local McDonalds to stock up for the long night of partying ahead. Being experienced in this sort of thing, we knew that a McDonalds hamburger would last longer and taste better after twelve to eighteen hours without refrigeration, than just about anything else. Each of us purchased a dozen burgers and then we jumped on the subway headed out to JFK Stadium. Even though it was only four o'clock in the afternoon on the day before the show, the subway car was filled with Rolling Stones fans.

Emerging from the depths of the subway terminal we were confronted with a sight that left us in awe. It was almost a feeling of Woodstock. I say almost, because as far as sheer numbers of people, this did not come close. (Later reports estimated the crowd at approx. 100,000). At four o'clock in the afternoon there had to be at least thirty thousand people already camped out around the stadium. After taking in our fill of this awesome sight we started towards the stadium gates. Winding our way through the massive amounts of tents, grills, kegs, blankets, and sleeping bags. Walking through this congregation of humanity one thing was evident, this was the biggest party we had ever attended in our lives. As far as the eye could see there was a party, spread out all over the stadium grounds and parking lot. From two and three people over here, to two and three hundred over there.

Another thing that amazed us was the presence of the sixties hippie generation. Why this was so amazing was the fact that up until that day, We, as social partying teenagers had never been privileged to be in the company of this monumental counter-culture. As we had entered our teens (around 1972), the hippie drug culture had all but disappeared. In reality though they had gone underground. Their numbers might have shrunk, and society in general may have rejected them, but they still thrived and they were here to carry on their message by simply partying with us. Cool.

And cool it was. I met up with Deb in the parking lot some time around seven o'clock and we spent the night together. We all partied most of the night. We walked all around, always getting invited to party along with any group we happened to be passing by. Everybody was mellow. Everybody was groovin'. I realized this description may sound a little out dated, but that said it all, Groovin'. Listen to the song by The Young Rascals of the same name, This was it.

Being without sleeping bags we crashed on the sidewalk surrounding the stadium. Then around seven AM, we experienced an event the like I have never been involved in since. Groggily something stirred me out of my party induced stupor, As I arose I noticed my friends arising as well. Suddenly we noticed not only were we arising, but it seemed as if every person there (now numbering at least sixty thousand or more) were arising along with us. That was mind blowing in itself, but not only was everyone waking up, they were quickly rushing the stadium gates. The spot we were in was directly between the majority and the gates. We had to move fast or within minutes we would be crushed. Gathering up what was left of our party materials we were swept up in the wave and carried along with it to the locked gates of the stadium. There we were left to stand shoulder to shoulder, chest to back, for the next four hours. Oh yea, I forgot to mention, as we slept it had begun to rain. So here we were, frazzled from the night of parting, soaked and miserable from sleeping on the sidewalk in the rain, and standing with sixty thousand or so others, who felt the same way, as more people gathered to get inside. What were we to do?, except party on.

Once inside we settled down on some benches about half way up on the side and waited for the show to begin. After a few no name opening acts, Peter Tosh got on stage, and began a Reggae set that was not well received by the crowd. With the exception of the song "Legalize It" a pro pot anthem, during which he tossed buckets of Ganja spliffs into the audience, he was mostly booed. Next up was Foreigner. Riding the success of their self titled debut album in '77, with the hit singles "Cold As Ice" and "Feels Like The First Time", they were about ready to release their second album "Double Vision". When they hit the stage, they ROCKED. From the first song to the last, for a full sixty-five minutes they blew the doors in. The Stones couldn't have picked a better band to open for them. Foreigner had whipped the soaking wet, over partied crowd into a frenzy. All the Stones had to do was get on stage and pick up right were they left off.

What followed was one off the most disappointing moments of my life. They Sucked. The Rolling Stones Sucked. They arrived by helicopter, ran on stage and began playing one of the most uninspired sets of music I have ever heard. The sound mix was horrible, Mick Jagger's vocals sounded wretched, Keith Richard's could hardly stand let alone play guitar. Ron Wood didn't even seem like he was playing, or for that matter, even interested in playing, and Charlie Watts just looked and played like he was pissed.

Fifty minutes, that's all, no encore, nothing, they were gone. The people were stunned. We filed out of JFK stadium dumbed and numbed.

My friends and I didn't say much to each other as we headed towards the subway. We didn't know what to say, the shock of disappointment was still too fresh. I said a long good-bye to Deb, never realizing it would be the last time I would ever see her. I was too blown away by the events of the last thirty six hours to even consider that remote possibility.

On the train heading home we mostly slept, not much conversing. I took to contemplating the subtle symbolic references we had encountered and tried to apply some coherent significance to them. Too much thinking for a too fried brain. I didn't come up with any sort of eye opening revelation that day. I eventually put it aside and slept. We slept the whole train ride home. Except for the one time that a "Man" came through the car and announced; "Hey Man, we're taking over the last car man, and like, we're gonna party, man. You guys went to the Stones, man, didn't ya's? Yea, crazy shit huh man. I can't believe they were that bad, man. So anyways, man, we're like gonna party our bummed-outness away, man. Come on back and join us, OK, man."
"OK, OK we'll see ya in a few minutes," we replied and then went back to sleep, man.

    Only with the wisdom of time have I been able to find the answers that I searched for on that train. We had been failed by our ideals. The real world didn't care about us, all it cared about was our money. Madison avenue had climbed into our pockets through our culture. Corporate America had infiltrated our ranks and was getting rich off keeping us oppressed.

    I was leaving the sheltered world of Childhood and joining the Real world in a few short days, and everything that I grew up with was dead on. It was not all some crazy mixed up scripted television movie of the week. It was real. The hippie drug culture and all their speeches, protests, both social and political, and the upheaval that ensued had been right. Why care about a society that did not care about us. The Establishment had failed us. It led us to believe that they cared about us, but all they really cared about was controlling us and our money. Here the parallel symbolism is the Establishment and the "Rolling Stones".

We watched the generation of the sixties try to withdraw from mainstream society and take care of themselves. Their view being; that any society that would force you to kill or be killed over something that you did not believe in, was not a society to belong to. So they tried to set up there own society. My generation thought they lost, gave up, but they didn't. They were still carrying on and they had come to the Stones concert to give us their support even if the Stones didn't.

My friends and I had chose not to party with the social circles of our school friends, secluded comfortably away from Adulthood and the awful realities of life. We went out and met it head on, we exposed it, and it was clear what we were getting into. Before graduation we knew the cold hard facts of the real world. It's all a game. A game that I did not want to be involved in, even though I was. I could see that I was about to be sucked into a life I was not prepared for. <

Sorry to be so overindulgent, but I needed to share this, so that people may understand my contempt for the Rolling Stones.

Every show means something to some one in some way, & every Artist who takes our money to perform for us, should always at least *TRY* to give us the very best they can. IMO, that's what separates an Artist from a mere entertainer out to make a buck.

Back to Top

In The Beginning...

It all started with this;

Dear Friends,

Ask yourself the following questions.

1. Do you seek an alternative to "Alternative"?
2. Are you tired of your radio?
3. Do you hate "Corporate" Rock?
4. Are you sick of "Over-hyped, commercialized, streamlined, connect the dots, MOR music" that is force fed and sold to you as the definitive "Next Big Thing"?
5. Do you want to "Bite the hand that feeds" you?
6. Are you a Rock-N-Roll "Outside-the-Lines-er"?
7. Do you wish to support one of your own?

That's how I began a review of "Burner". A compilation disc issued last year ('97) by the Independent label Home Office Records (You will find a link to the HO Records Home page, which includes my full review, on our Links page). The freshness of the music captured me.

Let's take a left turn here & add an aside for the interested parties that are not familiar with AOR & MOR formatted Radio.

AOR/MOR Radio

MOR stands for Middle Of the Road. A format favored by AM radio in the '60s & '70s.

AOR stands for Album Orientated Rock. A format used widely in the early heydays of FM radio, the late '60s/early '70s.

At a time when AM radio ruled the airwaves with their Top 40 singles filled MOR play lists, which were heavily influenced by payola, they owned the advertisers. FM in it's infancy couldn't beg, borrow, or steal advertisers at any cost, so they mainly struggled to stay alive. Most folded within a year or two, only to be replaced by another with equally high standards & hopes. Those standards & hopes consisted basically of not conforming to the industry standard of play for pay, but to throw away the "play lists, the singles, & the MOR format". They allowed their DJ's the freedom to play what moved them. Any cut off any album, thus the AOR tag. This began winning FM radio an audience.

Suddenly it was not unusual for an Album to go Gold/Platinum without the aid of a hit single. Advertisers began to notice, FM radio started to make money, a profit margin was found. And, lo and behold, Madison Ave. discovered a new marketing demographic. Of course they did what comes naturally. Over the course of the past two decades the advertising agencies of Corporate America have corrupted FM radio into a vast wasteland of MOR music preprogrammed to get you from one Advertisement to the next.

The death of AOR radio was hastened by the greed of monopolistic corporations that have no interest in the quality or artistic achievements of music.

Confirmed to me by a consultant of IndepenDisc, who heard the following while listening to Public Radio;

Radio Marketing

Essentially, once a new artist is found, a marketing firm is hired (one of just a few aimed at the industry) to solicit opinions from the listening public. As explained, they make random calls to about 100 people, play about 6 to 12 seconds of the song, and then ask on a scale of 1 to 5 what the listener thought of the song. The surprising result is that many listeners are polarized on songs. That is, the "good" songs solicit 1's AND 5's. Ultimately, this means these songs will keep some listeners tuned to the radio station while losing others. Since, as they caustically pointed out, radio stations are in the business of keeping your attention from one advertisement to the next, i.e., they are NOT in, nor do they profit from, the music business per se, their main interest is to keep the listener from jumping from station to station. Thus, the marketing firms continually recommend songs that fall in the "3" category; that way fewer listeners will jump ship. This means marketing firms, by their design, promote mediocrity.

The Creativity of Rock 'n' Roll
through the ages, as influenced by Big Business (A rambling ebullition).

In the 50s, a hand full of artists took the R&B, Big Band, Swing, Jazz, Blues, Folk, Country, Gospel, styles of current music, stripped them down to the raw essentials, Rhythm & Beat, added some hooks, some *modern* teen lyrics & let it Rock. From there it progressed, but as it grew & got better, it started to get a bit full of itself, while great Rock was still continued to be made by a select few, others who invaded (& inflated) the genre began to cause it to get a bit more involved/complex. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But it did however reduce the primal urge (if you will) of Pure Rock'n'Roll. Accordingly this stuff began to sell & the then fledgling Music Companies ran out & starting signing everybody & anybody who sounded like "Rock'n'Roll" in order to make *money*. In turn, flooding the market with impostors & poseurs. Others, in an effort to distance themselves (or perhaps keep up/stay ahead) of the pack, began changing their approach, to somewhat mixed results (Some good, some bad). My favorite example of this is one of Buddy Holly's last recordings "True Love Ways" A beautiful tender ballad full of emotional singing & lush string arrangements. What was he doing writing this in1959 (58?) This could have been written in '49, How could the *Godfather* (My term) of Rock, the writer of "Peggy Sue", be progressed into this non-Rocking song? My answer: See above.

Of course this cycle progressed until the Beatles/British Invasion period of the sixties, when once again Rock was stripped to it's bare essentials & "Reborn again" Repeat cycle until the late 70s & start again with Punk/New Wave, repeat cycle & start again with the early 90s Grunge/Alternative.

But with each cycle, the influx of band wagon jumpers is greater, the Greed of the Now GIANT Music Companies/Corporate/Conglomerates is greater & the unschooled/uninformed musical knowledge of the gullible mass market consumers is at it's largest in History, the only thing we can do is sit back & wait until the cycle restarts again. My guess puts it around 2002-2005 (every 10-13 years in my estimate).

Of course that doesn't stop us from trying to seek out & discover the bands/artists out there who are producing great music now, just going unrecognized by the mass public.

Which brings us back to the IndepenDisc Music Club.

A Brief Personal History;

I was raised on 50s & 60s Rock 'n' Roll, found an appreciation for most musical genre's. Then, stuck in the mire of the "progressive/arena" rock sounds of the 70s, I began to seek out alternatives. I stumbled upon the unfamiliar (at the time) territory of the English Punk/New Wave movement. It was at this time that I started to turn my friends on to (this) music that they had never heard before. The thrill and joy I experienced by "spreading" the music was unequaled. The euphoria I felt when I successfully managed to expand another's musical horizons was better than any artificial high.

Thus I continued to do so throughout the 80s & 90s. Unfortunately I have grown weary of the current direction and format of what I have coined "Corporate Rock 'n' Radio". I was raised on AM Top 40 with FM being the oasis of AOR programming. Nowadays AOR is non-existent as FM serves as the Top 40, disguised as "Alternative/Modern/& Classic Rock".

I found my refuge on the Internet. Joining music related mailing lists, and surfing music related web sites. I began trading music with people all over the globe, and found that there is a tremendous amount of people out there that feel the same way as myself. I also discovered the vast "Indie" field. As I made friends and began acquiring this music, I began exploring why most people are not as familiar with the "Indie" music that's out there (a field I myself was just beginning to learn about & explore).

A great majority of the answers were the same. In this "Fast Food" society that we live in, most people just do not have the time to pursue their interest in "hard-to-find" good indie music. Though they are interested in finding better music than what is preprogrammed for their ears, most of the time that search takes a back seat to the more important aspects of their hectic lives.

This last paragraph directly relates to, and confirms most of what is written above.

Finally, after hearing and witnessing this over & over, after partaking in lengthy discussions about this topic on several mailing lists, and chat rooms, I decided to take action. Driven by my "Purpose in Life" (To spread the joy of music), I rounded up several like-minded friends and the IndepenDisc Music Club was born.

If you have enjoyed what you've read, Please stop by here to the Tremens page often, for we will continue to update these musings at various intervals. If you wish to comment/respond to anything posted to this page, feel free to write us at: include the word Tremens in the subject line, and we just might post it along side our foray's into the written word.