Mailbag

Re: Woodstock 50

It has been a minute since I replied to one of your missives Bob, but I couldn't resist this morning.

Michael Lang is the original Billy McFarland. Step back from the cultural zeitgeist of the original Woodstock, I think the guy is 0 for 4 on producing festivals that put the attendee's interest ahead of his own. If the original Woodstock happened today Lang would have been shut down, been sued six ways to Sunday, and maybe even arrested for endangerment of the fans. When I watch those Fyre documentaries (I binged them both) it's good storytelling but it's really lucky that no one got hurt on that island with all that incompetence. Is Lang as disingenuous as McFarland appears in the docs, will McFarland make a living on selling Fyre merch and the lecture circuit talking about his debacle? There's some interesting parallels between those two.

Woodstock 50 was (past tense, it ain't happening) just an attempt by an out of touch Lang assembling a lineup with no point of view for a festival with no point of view. But today's fans see through that because they have a point of view and see the insincerity. Unfortunately for Dentsu they took Lang's bait but at least had the good sense to cut bait and their losses before it got really bad, or dangerous.

The festival scene is thriving, produced by those with vision, taste, and the capacity to produce. Coachella, Stagecoach, Electric Forest, EDC, Shaky Knees, Outside Lands. Dig deeper…Arcosanti…Lighting in a Bottle. Fuck Michael Lang, he might have been first but he and the Billy McFarlands of the world tarnish the work and accomplishments of those who have put up and lost their own money, persevered, developed and created great festival experiences.

Rick Mueller
AEG Presents

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Bob I fucking am a rockstar !:)

I loved what you wrote except for one part. I don't insult people I tell them the truth.

And though I am an oldster I do believe this "Me" generation needs to be introduced to quality songwriting and recording.

We need to focus less on social media and more on preserving the art of music. Anyone sitting on a panel educating kids on how to get their numbers up can go fuck themselves.

Linda Perry

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Subject: Re: CNNi

Hey Bob,

I rarely ever talk on the phone except to my manager, my son/ family and trusted friends.If they do not text or email and let me know what they need to talk to me about first, I do not pick up. 10 times out of 10 if someone calls and I do pick up, they want something or it is a solicitor! This cuts out a ton of bullshit. I know many people do not have this luxury, but for the more established artists that read this it may be helpful.

Rock on - Kid Rock

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Subject: Re: Virality Is History

I agree. I have subscriptions to major newspapers, to newsletters of various industries, to digests like Quartz and the Week, to people like you and others, follow so many on twitter and Instagram and subscribe to so many artists on Patreons I have lost count. But still I feel like I'm missing everything. Just learned an artist I love was in my town and I didn't even know!! So what do you think we should do? We still want to be connected. We still want to know what is happening. How do we find out about stuff? Or is the world so big it's no longer possible to know...

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From: Tom Ross
Subject: Fwd: Hollywood Writers Trace Friction With Agents to Wall Street

Bob, being the old dinosaur I am, I loved your point about how selling out to the "man" or Madison Ave used to be the end all to an artist career but no more! Today it is high in the profitability sheet for success. When I started representing talent in the late 60's, we actually had to convince many bands to face the audience and include and play to the fans as many bands were more focused on creating music within themselves and jamming all night together to grow their music. As audiences got larger and venues increased, that became easier to change but musicians were about creating music and evolving their sound more than making $$$. It's so different now and maybe just the same in politics as your article states but they have lost that moral compass! The writers' battle with the agencies is also about giving up control to profiteers as opposed to career advisors and long range clients. Cheers

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From: kim bullard
Subject: Re: Play It Loud At The Met

I'm having a geargasm just reading this. I wish I was there with you to enjoy it. Keith's Hammonds are there?? Whoa

A Hammond organ has a certain smell. It's the oil that keeps the tone wheels spinning, the wood, the dust, the musty shit that gets inside, and then the hot tubes that make the whole thing like an essential oil diffuser... you are damn right it's magic! My MacBook Pro rocks, and I regard it as an instrument of sorts, but it's not that kind of magic.

When I was working with Yes, their drummer Alan White was doing some retakes at a private studio Paul DeVilliers had in Burbank. Paul liked the snare sound, so very casually Alan gave him the snare drum. Then just as casually said IT WAS THE SNARE DRUM HE CUT "IMAGINE" WITH, with John Lennon. Fuck!! Just being in the same room with that drum for the next few months made me very happy. So you're right, musicians give their stuff away.

And yeah, for those of us who connect with this stuff, it's really hard to explain it to people who don't.

I can't help but feel a bit melancholy that these wild beasts are in a museum now, not out in their natural habitat.

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Subject: RE: Cherish

The Association is certainly one of the most under-rated band of the 1960s. They were all superior musicians, making music that was generally more sophisticated than the usual pop fare. When I was in a college rock band with my brother, we were lucky enough to land a gig playing at Leonard Bernstein's birthday party in Connecticut, and after we had set up our gear beside the pool in the back yard, the first song he asked us to play was "Along Comes Mary." We had to decline, not being up to the task of those difficult vocal harmonies. Later he told us that the Association's music was by far the most challenging he had heard that year.

"Cherish" was written by Terry Kirkman, who sang and played a number of wind instruments in the group. I consider it a beautiful piece of work, because of the fact that it's so skillfully layered. The first layer is pop confection, grabbing the ear with those harmonies and a really original title. After you live with it for a while, you begin to appreciate the nuance of the deeper layers of the song, layers that require repeated listenings to understand. To my mind, the very definition of a classic. Thanks for reminding us....

Best,
John Boylan

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From: Dan Navarro
Subject: Re: Cherish

I think the love songs that break through to deepest classic status, that
drill way below the surface, have something in common ‹ deep longing, not just heat, and not just sadness, but that mean ache, that torture you
refer to. That?s the shit, man. "Cherish", "Wichita Lineman", "Rainy Night
in Georgia", "My One and Only Love", "Unchained Melody", "God Only Knows", "I Can?t Make You Love Me," "Angel Eyes˛ (the Sinatra song, not the Jeff Healey/John Hiatt song), hell, even "At Last", which is not a sad song at all. I'd even put Blue Nile's "Easter Parade" in that bag. Itas that
ultra-deep quicksand pull. Makes it all worth it.

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Re: Virality Is Dead

Bob-

Longtime reader, first-time responder. I'm an independent concert promoter going on 40 years now. My clients are now only a few, and I work them nationwide. Without question, Facebook "boosted posts" are quietly putting radio and print out of business in terms of how to get the word out on a cost-effective basis. And you don't really need virality anymore in order to promote an artist or event.

I'm not talking Facebook "ads," but "boosted posts." Users see these posts from the artist's page in their newsfeeds and can share them organically, unlike "ads," which cannot be shared. I used to spend thousands of dollars breaking a show with print ads and radio. I won't mention the act or the market, but recently I spent $1000 on a print ad in a major metropolitan market and... in a literal example of the old saying... "Did 10 tickets." That's right. I sold exactly 10 tickets, not even covering the cost of the ad. I spent a fraction of that amount on boosted Facebook posts and did 500 tickets. And you wonder how the Russians spent only $100k on Facebook and turned an entire election in 2016?

Brian Martin

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Subject: Re: BTS On SNL

And you should go to the Rose Bowl show!!! Definitely!

Iwas on a break in October last year from a tour and was asked to fly to Europe/UK last year to help with the Tour Mgmt team.
I was blown away with the fans in the audience just as much as I was with the show. I was so happy to see that the entire show was drivin by the slogan and name of tour 'Love Yourself' and that the boys took time to address the crowd and really connect with them….when really only one of them speaks fluent English! 90percent of the audience bought the lights that are interactive…..and they are just as thrilled to watch 30 minutes of their actual music videos on the big screens prior to them even performing. It's crazy.

My favorite part is these fans study the culture, they learn what they are singing and what they are singing about and not just try to follow along phonetically. But what I love knowing is that the online groups for these guys also instill the "Love Yourself" mantra….and if that helps even just 30% of the crowd feel better? I'll keep supporting BTS. We all know we need that in our lives!

Angie Warner
Tour Manager

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Subject: Re: BTS On SNL

I had the distinct pleasure of being part of the very small team (PR people only) that introduced BTS to the US beginning in 2017.

It was a struggle to get ANYONE except for the small group of dedicated KPOP journalists that already were well aware of them to even understand what the fuck was going on.

I am not surprised by their success at all for many reasons but the most important one is the work ethic that they all have and share with their Korean team at Big Hit....and of course, "THE ARMY"

Make NO mistake Bob, that fandom is the thing that made all of this happen in the US. I have worked with many artists up and down the ladder of success and I have NEVER experienced the kind of dedication that their fans possess. It's not just sitting around chatting on Twitter about which member they love, etc, it is a strategic plan to make things happen for them that separates them from any other fandom.

Also, and this is the most important aspect of the songs they release, even though it's all in Korean, the US fanbase is NOT just Korean, it is a birth to death all ethnicities fanbase (go to a show to see it for yourself) that sits and translates the words to every song, then learns the Korean pronunciations and sings it all back to them at their shows. The songs are about love, alienation, depression, dealing with suicide etc. In other words they hit deep for the fans.

It's a magic formula and they won't go away soon. Seeing them on SNL and the cover of EW was something to behold for sure but again, when our team was slogging it out convincing US media, radio, TV and others it was a work project of the highest order.

I won't forget that work anytime soon, as it really was a team of THREE PEOPLE in the US at a PR firm working with the band, their Korean team and their "ARMY" to make it grow. I'm happy to chat with you more about this anytime. The story is just beginning for them.

"All the underdogs in the world
A day may come when we lose
But it is not today
Today we fight"
- NOT TODAY, BTS

ELLYN SOLIS

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From: Theresa Stewart
Subject: Re: BTS On SNL

And let's just talk a minute about the musical guests on SNL. Who do they think is watching ? My kids (teenagers and 20's ) never watch SNL. Those of us who are always home by 11:30 on a Saturday night want to see some good old fashion SNL that we've grown up with. I can't relate to some of the musical acts ? At least it's still funny some of the time. ?? And now I can't wait to see BTS sing!

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Subject: Re: Todd Rundgren's Book

Todd is a real person...
I met him when I was a kid in 1987/88 producing The Tubes for Jamie Cohen at Colombia.
He came into the studio in San Fransisco and didn't say anything to me but sat right behind me and all I can say is that I could feel him burning a hole into my back.
He was anything but cool and when he left everyone could breath again. I HATED him from that point on.....UNTIL one night in the mid 90s at the Greek.
I was side stage at a Ringo Starr concert and Don Was said...Stevie Do You Know Todd?
I smiled and he said Nice To Meet You Stevie
I was now a little successful and full of my own shit so I called him out.
I said Well We Met Before and that's when it god cool.
Todd's face got serious and he said Ohh I Remember That. He then like the real Man that he is explained where is head was then. He told me how he was feeling insecure at that time and how he had produced the record before that and that I was some young kid and he was getting old etc etc etc. It was all the normal shit we all feel but never admit.
All I could do was smile and love the guy. We had a couple laughs and from that point on charms or sins,wins or losses I have had nothing but respect for him.
Entertainers are usually assholes but Todd is a real dude indeed.

Stevie Salas

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Subject: Re: Nichification

"So everybody will have a story and only their close friends will know it. And everyone will be happier."

Exactly.

This echoes what I've been saying about music for some time...home recording isn't about making it, it's about making music. If your friends like it, if you like it, if you've been able to express yourself, then it has accomplished its purpose.

At one point in my life I was playing live dates 200 days out of the year. I did a ton of studio work, was involved in multiple albums (some of which sold very well), won an award for mastering, played Carnegie Hall, blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Now I get to do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want, with whomever I want. It doesn't matter if I record an Afropop song in French, and then follow that with something that sounds like Led Zeppelin. I don't care that my intros are too long for Spotify, or that no one does "concept" albums, or that writing songs that tell stories is out of favor.That's what I want to do, I do it, and the paltry (but highly appreciated!) 1,400 subscribers to my YouTube channel listen to it. In a world where some musicians have millions of streams, I have thousands.

So what? I've never had more fun making music, and that's what it's about. So I don't know if everyone's happier, but I sure am :)

Craig Anderton

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Subject: Good Vibrations

Actually Mike played a Tannerin, variant of the Theremin

Tannerin info available online

Probyn Gregory uses a Tannerin with Brian these last 20 years

Thanks for sirius show, letter and podcast!

Cheers, TS

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From: Rob Fraboni
Subject: Re: Re-Goats Head Soup

Hi Bob,

Sorry I'm so late with this but seeing these responses was motivating.

Glad that you brought all this to light.

There are many threads here for me.

Native Wayne, a dear friend, was right on, only he neglected to mention Andy Johns' contribution, which was significant in spite of the fact he was pretty strung out at the time. He still delivered. Bless him. (for Exile, too!)

The Stones came to L.A. in early '73 from Jamaica for a change of scenery to The Village Recorder for 2 weeks of Goat's Head Soup. Baker Bigsby & I cut 9 tracks of which 7 were used on the release. Starfucker & Heartbreaker were among those. Angie was an 8 track from an earlier recording in November 1972 at Olympic Studios. They went back to Kingston to finish & mixed at Olympic in London.

A favourite memory was from the first day of recording. Everyone had left except Keith. He decided to replace the bass on one of the tracks. He was in the control room sitting behind the console with the bass, started playing and stopped after 20 seconds, turned to me standing behind him saying: "I play til I make the right mistakes" I was starting to get who this guy really was...

A friend of mine, Mark Aglietti, the father of Nicolo Aglietti - my godson who founded Edward Sharpe & The Magneic Zeros, had rented Greenshade which was bext door to Casa Joya in Mamee Bay (Ocho Rios) where Keith & Anita were living - the place Native Wayne was referring to.
I was there the day Anita was arrested. It was a day or two after Keith had left for London for a few days.

Before he left, he came next door one day & asked if I wanted to go look at a house for sale. It was called "Point of View" (before he bought it. It had a 360° view).
Beauty of a place where we produced/recorded the first Wingless Angels record, which you should hear, btw.

True what Zimmern says about cooking shows. His Jamaican episode was great. Anthony Bourdain's, where he interviewed Chris Blackwell, was also good. I love Parts Unknown but thought it a bit provocative how he tried to paint Blackwell into a corner accusing him of stealing the local's beaches. Chris handled it gracefully & truthfully. What Bourdain didn't point out is how much Chris is in sync with the local community of Oracabessa & sensitively contributing & building it's future.

And yes, jerk is amazing, even more than goat's head soup, for me. I have for all these years gone to a jerk stand straight from the airport, before checking into a hotel. Bob, go to Jamaica! Special place. His per capita of musicians in the world, too...

Maybe getting a bit verbose here, but I must mention about the Minnesota Z's. When I was doing Planet Waves with Bob Dylan & The Band in late 1973, my dad's sister mailed me a letter with 5 b&w photos of a house. They had sold that house to the Zimmermans when Bob left for NYC to become "Bob Dylan". I waited til the tour in '74 to show them to Bob. At first he reacted like I was A.J. Weberman ("Where'd you get these!?"), but then I showed him the letter.

Bless you for your enthusiasm of life.

Cheers, Rob

Rob Fraboni

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Subject: Re: Goats Head Soup

While a journalist at the NME, my first Jamaican trip in December 1972, was to cover the Stones recording Goats Head Soup. The group and their entourage all stayed at Chris Blackwell's childhood home which had been converted to the upscale Terra Nova hotel.

Every day the Stones lazed about the hotel's verandah all afternoon politely drinking and telling stories. I sat with Bill, Charlie and some roadies as they shared anecdotes revealing Alexis Korner's thriftiness. (Often after a gig they discovered they owed Korner money for meals, strings, car rides, etc.)

The afternoon was a huge stall coz the Stones refused to record till after dark. Once in the studio, they continued the chummy convo avoiding any discussion related to why they were gathered there. Then one of the fellas would peel off from the group and enter the tracking room and begin noodling on his instrument. The minute he locked into a cool riff or a promising groove, the others mosied in one by one.
I saw them record Starfucker and Dancing With Mr D.

Once they hit a chord construction they liked, they would play it in a variety of tempos and musical styles.

You later mentioned Bob Marley's Burnin, Natty Dread and Live albums. While working as Chris Blackwell's right hand guy, i worked on all three of those lp's. My biggest contributions were: drastically speeding up Get Up Stand Up so the music was as insistent as the lyrics + i recorded the Live album over two nights at London's Lyceum Ballroom.

Im the one that ensured the audience was recorded well to allow the listener to experience the electricity in those shows.

Bless up,
Danny Holloway
Ximeno Records

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From: Jim Scordamaglia
Subject: Re: Your Best (& Worst!) Concert Seat-Sirius XM This Week

I've got a conflict with your Sirius/XM showtime so I can't call this in live but it's too good not to share...

In the Spring 1995 when Tom Petty's Dogs with Wings tour came through the New York area, I was 15 years old and obsessed with Wildflowers which came out the year prior. Me three friends (who I'm still friends with today) bought obstructed view tickets behind the stage for the MSG show for $10 each, convinced our parents to let us take the Long Island Rail Road in unaccompanied, and collectively had our minds blown by the late great and his Heartbreakers.

Two weeks later the tour routing had them coming back through the NY area, this time to Nassau Coliseum, and I had been talking to my dad about it incessantly since the MSG show so we *called* Ticketmaster and bought a pair of tickets so I could show him what I had experienced. We drove out to the arena and before the opening act, Pete Droge and the Perpetual Sinners, took the stage, we made our way to our seats. We were in the absolute top row, backs against the cinder block wall, at the far end of the arena. We sat through the opening act and when the house lights were up and the stage was being set up for Tom, a guy with long hair in a ponytail and an all access pass around his neck walks all the way up to us in the very last row and says, "Are you two together? Is it just you two?" My dad says, "Yeah it's just us, what's up?" Ponytail guy goes, "I work for Tom and he saves seats in the front for people at the back. Follow me." And he marches us all the way down to the floor, flashing his pass at every checkpoint, all the way down to the 10th or 11th row, dead center. "There are your seats. Enjoy the show."

I'll never forget the feeling. Still can't believe Tom Petty is gone. He meant a ton to me before that but to enable this magical moment between a kid and his dad...

Best,

Jim

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From: Rob Meder
Subject: Re: Corporate Hate

While Musk has delivered more than anyone ever thought possible we're obsessed with some (in the overall scheme of things) nit picky details. Can't see the forest for the trees I guess. Oh he said $35k where is the $35k Model 3. Ok it's $38k. Where is the $35k waaaaa. Who cares that the AVERAGE car price paid was almost $37,800. For a gas / ICE vehicle. I agree Musk's frustration is largely self inflicted. Don't give a time frame. Why bother. But actually doing what he says he's going to do, changing the world and fighting the incumbents / headwind the whole way... who cares if he's a few months or even a few years off. Anyone one else doing sweet fuck all?

Anyway. Let's hammer on the only American auto executive / American auto company that is showing the rest of the world we can lead again.
Ya the Germans are going to show us how it's done.
They suck at software though.. that's a problem. Try using voice command to do anything in a brand new BMW. Good luck. and in the OTA world? that's more than just a bigger problem than ever before. But as you always say - most people DON'T KNOW. They don't have a clue. So they listen to some pundit / analyst that's been wrong for the past 10 years on the subject that CNBC STILL has on.. playing the expert.

The JAG user iterface is a nightmare and they can't fix it? Why not? Tesla fixed an actual braking issue.. and it solved the problem without touching a car. They improved the car's performance 5% with OTA pushes. Incredible. The Audi had a software issue that delayed the cars launch for months... with no real word on what it was and how it was fixed. And now they're delayed another 6 months? If this were Tesla this would be front page news every day. they'd be hammered... the American car company that every one loves to hate on. Meanwhile the Audi headlines are 'audi can't catch a break'

200 mile range for the Audi. Cold weather that'll mean 160 miles - or less? Not great for heading to the country house Audi. Jag has a bigger battery, is 500 lbs (in auto that is massive #) and still less range. Considering the battery is the #1 cost driver - you can't ignore Tesla's huge advantage ...which looks to be getting bigger. Wait for the gigafactory. And Tesla has a DATA STRATEGY. Anyone else even know what that means? IF you read this week's autonomy and model S upgrade info... it's staggering what's being accomplished. I highly recommend the teardown guru - Sandy Munro talk about Tesla. He was a hater - but an actual expert. They do the deep work. And read his take now after getting into the details.

The Porsche looks promising ... Very. But let's see what they produce and when.

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Nice quote of yours featured in this article about streaming vs. radio.
thedataface.com/2019/01/culture/streaming-vs-radio

James Starace

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From: SAM COLE
Subject: Re: Stephen Marcussen-This Week's Podcast

Hey Bob
I was that tip and Stephen was a bagger in the grocery.
SC

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From: chris florio
Subject: Re: Woodstock 50

Just trying to cash in on a known brand. But it's much more like the movie Lethal Weapon 10, the sequel to the sequel of the sequel than anything remotely to do with Woodstock. The musicians at Woodstock we're trying to stop a war not take a fucking selfie with their dicks out. You can not compare the quality, impact of the musicians or the influence with this shit line up. Hendrix dead sold more than most of these momentary blips even on ITunes. No one will be playing that shit from those acts 50 years from now. That's the difference between quality and shit. Woodstock my ass.

Additionally...

The original Woodstock changed the world and was the polar opposite of capitalism. These bands have no message and are there for one reason.
I lived in NY, worked in the city and been to Woodstock over 2 dozen times and been to the surrounding towns as well. Frankly it is a unbelievable that in 2019 they would permit 50,000 people for 3 days where there is nothing. No towns, no airport, no hospital, no hotels, no infrastructure, no support, a 2 lane road, no food and water for 50K people and just hope for the best. An accident waiting to happen.

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Subject: Re: Woodstock 50

My mom and dad ran "Food For Love" the food and beverage concessions at the the original Woodstock '69. These were the 70 food stands that sold one million hot dogs, franks and cokes at Langs first fest. So the story goes by the end of the three days of peace, love and music there was only one concession left standing. Langs 'security' turned out to be a bunch of dealers with brown acid who took all the kids money and there was none left for food. My parents huddled together (I six months along in my mothers mescaline embalmed womb still vibrating from the dawn of Hendrixs' Spangled Banner) protecting the Hefty bags of 30,000 wet one dollar bills they cobbled together.

In Bob Spitz Woodstock expose' 'Barefoot In Babylon' there are 8 index mentions of my dad Jeff Joerger and in each one he is either 1) punching Mike Lang in the face or 2) threatening to sue him. My dad was no saint and this was his claim to fame all his life and it became my greatest heirloom - a story that still blows minds and one I can pass down to my kids and theirs. For all the flaws and bullshit I thank Mike for going out on a limb all those years ago, entertaining half a million souls and taking a chance on some crazy hippies like my parents to feed his hive. He created a legacy we all wish we were a part of fifty years later and you cant take that away from him or any of us. Keep pushing the envelope even if the acts and the world kinda suck. Theres always the 75th.

Peace and Love, Peace and Love.

Luke Joerger
Hastings Digital Studios LLC
www.hastingsdigitalstudios.com

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From: Philippe Saisse
Subject: Re: Tedeschi Trucks At The Orpheum

Hello Bob:

a few years ago, my dear friend and ex-band mate Pino Palladino invited me to one of his live gigs, the Herbie Hancock "Imagine" project with a cast of thousands, including Susan and Derek which were outstanding.
The next day, Derek invited us to the Tedeschi Trucks band gig at House Of Blues. At some point during one of Derek's incredible solos, Herbie turned to me and whispered: "That guy knows how to build a solo!!!". I thought that was the most extraordinary compliment anybody could have made about Darryl's playing, coming from a legend such as Herbie Hancock. I never got a chance to share that with Darryl… I think he would have appreciated it.

Please keep up the great work!

Philippe

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From: Rich Winter
Subject: Re: Tedeschi Trucks At The Orpheum

Thought you might like a random piece of trivia re: Space Captain. The couple that founded Lonely Planet named their company after what he thought was the lyric to the song. She knew better, but they liked the name, so stuck with it.

"Once I was traveling across the sky
This lovely planet caught my eye"

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Just a quick addendum to Luke's post. Happy to report that Lee Herschberg is still going strong , and I am forever grateful that he saw fit to hire me to work at Amigo ……. Those were the days…...

Mark Linett
M&B Audio

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Subject: RE: Streaming Killed The Gatekeepers

Spot on, Bob.

The new fear is cord-cutting and cable box replacements, especially in the form of Kodi, which is simple software on a simple (less than $25) computer, no more piratical than a recording device. Cable Boxes are losing the war to Kodi Boxes. Some say there are twice the number of Kodi boxes than there are Sky TV boxes in London.

The new Hollywood fear isn't the death of content control -- it's the gatekeeper's walls that are crumbling. There's money aplenty, but the flow through old channels is waning. Who needs cable or satellite when you've got access to the net. The "pirates" scaring gatekeepers today are those creating their own channels on data networks without kowtowing to filtering gatekeepers with limited dials. Cheddar or The New York Times or now Disney are pirating gatekeepers, tired of awaiting channel assignments from tired old limited cable menus.

The power of the press was once reserved for those who owned one.

Not anymore.

Marshall McLuhan was right: The medium is the message.

A slight correction: They killed the old gatekeepers, but it's still all about keeping gates. We're simply seeing a new breed of gatekeepers more agile, nimble than their predecessors, and they don't rely on artificial scarcity or FCC grants of monopoly to achieve their aims.

Jim Griffin

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