05-06-98

THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS ISSUE ARE JUST THAT. OPINIONS. THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY BASED ON FACT. THEY COULD ALL BE FULL OF CRAP. OH, AND PLEASE REMEMBER TO MAKE SURE YOUR POST HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE VIOLENT FEMMES. THIS IS **NOT** THE REGGIE WHITE NEWSLETTER! ************************************************************************ TOUR DATES THIS WEEK: May 9 - WestFest, Charles Ives Center, W. Connecticut U., Danbury, CT gates open at noon (O,P,T) DOES ANYBODY KNOW ANYTHING MORE ABOUT THIS SHOW??? ************************************************************************ The Quote Of The Day: on the motel TV I dig the evangelist he'll tell you all about that and then he tell you all about this -From Lies -Submitted by PLEASE send your VF quotes to ************************************************************************ ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS LETTER SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO ************************************************************************ WEB PAGES: Official: http://www.vfemmes.com Unofficial: http://vf.scopemag.com http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/6918 Past Tour Dates: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/1725/femmes.html Guitar: http://www.bucknell.edu/~wtorres/violent_femmes http://www.olga.net Une banane:Send in your top five faves each week to: HERE I AM: Tell me where you live for the Here I Am list. ************************************************************************ In Today's Issue: Drexel Info Was RE: Reggie White RE: Freak Magnet Promo RE: Freak Magnet Promo I've Heard Freak Magnet! Snopek News ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Drexel Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Drexel University Campus Activities Board's annual Spring Jam will take place on May 30th at Buckley Field beginning at 3pm. Admission is free to Drexel students and their friends (meaning you must be accompanied by a DU student) The festival includes free food, giveaways, and tons of free music, including the Drexel sidestage (bands including drexel students) The line-up is as follows: 3pm - Green Eggs & Spam - Philly cover band that does 70's tunes 4pm - Sneaky Rats (sidestage cover band) 4:30 - Flip Like Wilson - Philly's best rock cover band 6pm - Forever 27 - sidestage band featuring all original tunes of great funk. 6:30- To be determined - this will be the "opening act," if you will 8pm- Seven - sidestage band that is up-and-coming in philly 8:30 - Yolk - Sextet from Binghamton NY that is influenced by rap, rock, rhythm and more and then 10pm - Violent Femmes We are in the process of creating a web page (off of our main page) with all of the details and links... the address is http://cab.student-org.drexel.edu/springjam.html feel free to link to this page - it will be set up by Friday morning... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Was RE: Reggie White ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is in response to the person who wrote in a few issues ago and said that Gordon "swings both ways." I was very angry after reading that person's letter. They slammed Reggie White for claiming that homosexuality was wrong and then claimed that my friend Mr. Gano might have or has had homosexual tendencies. First, Gordon is happily married. He has a wife that he loves very much. Please let me repeat that for you who do not understand, a wife, not a boyfriend named brutus. Second you said that Gordon is "big on Jesus." I would go ever further then that after having had in depth conversations with him and his brother about this subject; I would claim that he is not only "big on Jesus" but rather that he is a fully devoted follower of Christ. Now one must put aside their feelings about the Christian faith when dealing with subject matter like this. Whether you personally belive that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is beside the point, because Gordon does and has believed this, and any person familiar with basic Christian doctrine would know that Christianity does not condone homosexuality. Now as for songs that Gordon sings that have references to homosexual behavior I would like to respond by telling you what Gordon said when interviewed by a British music magazine. He claimed that his songs although they may be written in such a manner are not always in the first person. He writes about other people while still using pronouns such as "I" Also He believes in the total depravity of man and writes many of his songs in frustration or anger to his depraved state, not necessarily having acted on these particular thoughts or feelings but simply in need of an avenue by which he may express his inner personal feelings. He may sing about certain things, but he would still call them immoral. Now that I have stated my opinion I do not want to be so arrogant as to belive that I absolutely know that Gordon is not or has never been Gay, however I would like to advise members of the list not to make outlandish comments about band members sexuality without deep investigation. Travis -Pat. Says: Travis, the person who wrote before only said that he "thought" those things about Gordon. It was just an impression he had, not based on any fact whatsoever. Now, many of us have read the article Gordon wrote about his marriage, and so since it is a matter of public record, we can say that yes, he is married. Any other conjecture about his personal life is, well, out of line. You are right, and what the band members do in their private lives is frankly NONE OF OUR BUSINESS. I can't stress that enough. I also have no idea what Gordon thinks of homosexuality, but I do know that the band has come out in favor of gay rights, and I seriously doubt Gordon would support something he felt was immoral. As far as the Christian position on homosexuality, I have heard that Jesus never said anything condemning it. I've been reading to check on that, and have yet to find anything. The Old Testament does cover it, but Christians have had no problem ignoring many of the 400-odd commandments in the OT; I see no reason why they can't let this one go, especially in light of the increasing evidence of biological causes for homosexuality. What I do see in the New Testament is a plea for compassion, understanding, and forgiveness, and I would like to believe that Gordon follows THOSE preachings to the letter, as should we all, Christian or no. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Freak Magnet Promo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm not sure I completely agree with you on the CD issue. If I received a copy of FM (even a CD copy) from someone, it wouldn't prevent me from buying the album when it comes out. Of course, that's just me, and I'm sure there are other people who would just never buy the album. But then, of course, what got most of us interested in the Femmes? For me, it was a several-generations-copied version of the first album. I made a copy and played it until it broke, then I made another copy. And when I got older, I bought the album legitimately on tape (along with every other Femmes album available at that time) ... and when I got a CD player, I bought them all again. So, if "Freak Magnet" is a good album (which I'm sure it is), the rogue copies of it will only increase the Femmes' fan base. Of course, all that could just be my elaborate justification for wanting a copy of it as soon as possible. :) Sort of on the same subject, I was thinking about which companies would best fit the Femmes for the release of Freak Magnet and the next few albums-- and the best I can think of would be Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records. They'd have her company's built-in production and distribution channels, but they could pay for a few more staff at RBR to work for them and still get a larger percentage of the profits from their albums and have more creative control. (Of course, all that would hinge on whether Ms. DiFranco would want to share her label.) Just a thought. --James # James Welborn (JW1560) # Webmaster, Vegas Deluxe <http://www.vegasdeluxe.com/> # Nevada's Largest Website ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Freak Magnet Promo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don't mean to sound like an expert record exec., but I think the Femmes' current problems rest almost soley on the group. How many labels has the group had anyways? I thought I had worked out a trade with Kendra. I had sent her a boot and then I did not get any response or any copy of Freak Magnet. Which is another thing. If I got a boot tape of FM, I would still buy the CD version if it was ever released. I don't think boot tapes of FM are gonna send the group into the poor house. And there wouldn't be a demand for so many boots if the group would stop making songs, and then not release them. And the comment on the Official site under 'What's Happening' asking for someone else to release the album who can spare the money. How freaking pretentious. Maybe the group should look into getting new management. Well there is one person who isn't going to waste any more effort or money in getting FM or any other albums the group makes and eventually releases. And if I get a boot of FM, I'm gonna make as many copies of it as I can. And if I don't get it, oh well. Mike - Ft. Lauderdale -Pat. Says: The band has not had as many US labels as you may think. I have my original vinyls packed away safely, so I am relying on the CD's, but the first 6 full length releases were all Slash (or Slash/WB). WDBS and AIU were Slash/ Reprise, and that is where I think the problems started. Slash was absorbed by Reprise, and I'd imagine that was accompanied by a changeover in management. At any rate, it looks like things changed over there as a result, and so New Times was released on Elektra (another Warner Co, BTW) Now, you know New Times was not a great success, despite the fact that there are truly some good songs on it. You can't count ROCK, because that was not an American Label. It's not uncommon for a band to have an American label for American releases, a UK label for UK releases, etc. etc. I think ROCK was just a way for them to record some great stuff while they were shopping for an American label. By all accounts, Freak Magnet has been postponed because Interscope did not give the VF the support they needed to make a success of a very good album, and so the band can not be blamed for sticking to their creative guns. You know, record companies in general have had a long history of chewing up artists and spitting them out, and the major complaint of most artists has been that they are not given creative freedom. Hell, even the Beatles left Capitol to start Apple. OK, so we have two labels (three, but one change was due to the merger) and then Interscope. Answer me this: in 17 years, how many different jobs do you expect you'll have? If your company was taken over by another, what do you think your chances of remaining with that company would be? As far as boots are concerned. I think we have an entirely different situation with Freak Magnet, in that it is not yet released, and there is no definite release date. In the interim, there is a real risk of illegal copies being made in bulk, and that could undercut the success of FM when it is finally released. We are not stuck in the stone age of mediocre quality cassettes here. True, every cassette I have ever received I have bought in vinyl or CD if I liked it well enough, but nowadays, CD recorders are easily available, and scanners can reproduce covers and liner notes. Anyone with a lack of scruples and access to both of these machines could make a successful little business for him or herself. While it is true that most of us on this list are collectors, and will buy any and all versions of an album as we find them, this is NOT TRUE for the majority of record owners. I myself have a couple of illegal CD's (not of the VF), and you know what? I like them very much, but have not bought the 'legal' release. What for? I already have a high quality copy which will never wear down. OK, in my defense, they are copies of KTS recordings, and so are boots of boots. I got them for 10 bucks apiece, and KTS was selling them for about 25. Now, as far as Kendra is concerned, I hope that the two of you will come to some other agreement. Nuff said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've Heard Freak Magnet! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Something amazing happened today! I've been calling everyone I know about the promo disk for about a month. I just wanted to HEAR it - you know we've been waiting so long now... I have been resisting the urge to email those folks who've said they already have it and ask for a copy. It was so hard! I wanted one in the worst way, as I'm sure we all do, BUT I have been forcing myself not to ask. Pat, I agree with your post Monday! The last thing the band needs is hundreds of copies floating around slowing sales when it IS released. We cannot do that! Today was my lucky day! I think it was because I looked so pitiful (I got Doc'd at the show in Atlanta Sunday and my lip looks just lovely). Yesterday I went looking for the CMJ Liz told us about Monday (no luck) but I started talking to this guy and ended up talking about Freak Magnet and he got this kinda sympathetic look on his face and called this wonderful, wonderful girl over named Karen. Karen had snagged the stores' PROMO copy the day it came in! She brought it in to work with her today. I've heard it! Can you believe it?! It is just incredible. I completely lost track of time and ended up taking a 2 hour lunch (which my boss was none too thrilled about). One song took my breath away - Requiem - I think I went back to it three times. And there are two tracks with Pierre Henry - the last, called Reckless Stones opens with the Didge I believe and I think I remember the shakahachi (sp?) on Happiness Is. Positively 4th Street's a fun track as well as Mosh Pit. I mostly skipped thru Bad, Rejoice, Freak Magnet, Nothin, & Wanna See Her Again as I have already heard them live. So I mostly listened to the last 2/3's of the CD. I was struck by the full, heavy sound of this disk. I don't know who engineered it but it's well done - strong vocals, very strong vocals, and crisp, clean, powerful instrumentals. I think it was Requiem where Brian's playing sitar (very nice) but Gordon's guitar comes in loud and clear in just the right places. Eventually I had to give the disk back to Karen and go back to work but I just wanted to share this with everyone and tell you that it never hurts to call and ask. The only thing I can say at this point is our boys seem to have cast their lots with a bunch of fools if Interscope has held this disk for creative reasons. I don't know what else we can do to feel better except irritate the crap out of Interscope. Cheryl's right - their email seems to be up and running again but I haven't gotten a response. If anyone else knows of something we can do to help please let us know. It is definitely worth the wait everyone! Don't lose faith! I'll leave you with this - hope I remembered it correctly. from Happiness Is... I don't know what one means by happy... I'm happy spasmodically... Deana ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Snopek News ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Talk about fringe benefits... I work at a little subshop in Milwaukee, just started about three weeks ago. Today at work, Sigmund Snopek came in and dropped off a copy of his new CD (which my boss helped sponsor) and I gave him a big fat sub and chatted with him for awhile. Once again, I must say, Sigmund is a really cool guy, and I think it's sad that outside of Milwaukee he is viewed mainly as a part time backup musician for the Femmes (although that in itself is a fine accomplishment...). Anyone who doesn't know much about the guy should check out his website: http://www.charmrec.com/sig He's been around a long time and has done some really phenomonal stuff. And anyone in the Milwuakee area who comes to Gold Coast subs on North and Prospect (for all of you fans, it's right across from the Oriental Theatre, where the Femmes used to play outside of all the time... Look at the pictures in the layout of "Add It Up") when I am working (I have a goatee and a shaved head. My name is Jack.) and mentions this list will get a half priced sub... -- Yrs Truly, The Rev... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~