on-reflection-digest      Sunday, August 1 1999      Volume 01 : Number 1798



gg: List Notice: Systems Upgrade
Re: gg: no GG: Re: Dynaflex
Re: gg: Ricky Martin.
Re: gg: no GG: Re: Dynaflex
gg: Aagghh!  Ricky Martin / Alice Cooper
Re: gg: no GG: Re: Dynaflex
[none]
Re: nongg: Renaissance
Re: gg: Ricky Martin.
gg: a visit with Dr.Blood
gg: Pat Boone
gg: IQ/Advent
gg:Ambrosia
gg: Pat Boone in a Metal Mood
Re: gg: deaf, dumb, and blind boy......
Re: gg: Jon Anderson belief / Tales
Re: gg: Flecktones
gg: GG: and Pink Floyd: and...progeny
gg: It's kinda fun to be extinct
gg: (no-gg) Ricky Martin.
gg: (no-gg) Ricky Martin.
gg: no GG: Re: Flecktones
gg: no GG: Re: The Flying Nun
Re: gg: IQ/Advent
gg: Re: no GG: Re: The Flying Nun
gg: Political Writing
gg: Here's the dope I know / Alice Cooper
Re: gg: Jon Anderson belief / Tales
gg: Vigevano and Wine Tasting, Part 1.
gg: Vigevano and Wine Tasting, Part 2.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 08:27:27 -0700
From: Bob Parker 
Subject: gg: List Notice: Systems Upgrade

Our server (darkwing.uoregon.edu) will be going through some major upgrades this weekend and will be down from 9:00 am PST on Saturday, July 31 through 6:00 pm PST on Sunday, August 1.  You will not be able to post or receive messages from the list during this period.

We'll be back bigger and better than ever in August.  See you at the Utopian Barge Trip.

Regards,

Bob Parker
List Administrator
On-Reflection

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 12:12:57 EDT
From: Underdub@aol.com
Subject: Re: gg: no GG: Re: Dynaflex

In a message dated 7/30/99 4:02:56 PM Central Daylight Time, 
adbenjamin@hotmail.com writes:

> Reminds me of an old roommate of mine in boarding school. Before putting 
any 
>  LP on, he would always flap it up and down repeatedly. As you might 
expect, 
>  Dynaflex media was his absolute favorite. (I still hear that "wappa, 
wappa, 
>  wappa" sound in my head as though it were yesterday.)

Did the above-mentioned roomie also wash his hands over and over and over 
and......
:-/
- -DD-

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 17:38:19 EDT
From: Claudio666@aol.com
Subject: Re: gg: Ricky Martin.

In a message dated 7/31/99 4:19:18 AM Mountain Daylight Time, 
mlp@god-of-thunder.demon.co.uk writes:

<< Ok, I know this has nothing to do with prog but this guy is putting music
 EVERYWHERE to shame! >>

ThunderGirl:  TURN OFF THE RADIO!!!!  You're welcome.

Claudio

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 12:20:22 EDT
From: Underdub@aol.com
Subject: Re: gg: no GG: Re: Dynaflex

In a message dated 7/30/99 4:36:34 PM Central Daylight Time, 
staffba3@gsd.harvard.edu writes:

> During the 70's Columbia and Warner Bros. were putting out very high quality
>  vinyl (the sound of these were especially clear), RCA was also very good.
>  Capitol, MCA, Atlantic and the Buddah group (including Charisma, Kama 
Sutra,
>  etc.)
etc. etc.
Thanks Bob for a neat round-up of this kinda info.  I never had it clear in 
my mind at the time.  But I sure am watching my Capitol GG LP's die right 
before my ears!  More and more I am getting distorted, buzzy places all over 
the LP's now that aren't scratches.  They seem to be places in the vinyl that 
have simply eroded - like pot-holes in the road.  Must be a chunk of an old 
Jimmy McNichol album label in there!
- -Dick Dammit-

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 14:05:57 PDT
From: "Mark Wendt - MTO" 
Subject: gg: Aagghh!  Ricky Martin / Alice Cooper

Mark L. Potts 

>AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 
>HHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!>>SOMEONE HAVE RICKY MARTIN KILLED!>

Um... You don't happen to have a little sister with a Livin' La Vida Loca 
*single* that she plays over and over incessantly do ya?

(My accuracy in these matters *is* amazing at times...)  ;-)

>Ok, I know this has nothing to do with prog but this guy is putting music 
>EVERYWHERE to shame!>

Perhaps Latin American pop music to shame a bit... But hey - *some* musical 
concessions have to be made to make a few million dollars every now and then 
- - right?  ;-)

My take?  His music is a bit boring perhaps - but well-enough done pop from 
a USA money-making Latin flavor point of view.  Personally I enjoy Tex-mex 
Tehano music better.  It has more true Latin character in its pop-ness!

>He should be stopped before it's too late...(preferably by ripping >out his 
>vocal chords)>>DEATH TO RICKY MARTIN!>>Thorlina>
>np= Alice Cooper; "School's Out">>

Alice Cooper - huh?
School's Out... Hmm... I'm surprised you didn't say he should be "blown to 
pieces"!

BTW - has anyone heard Alice Cooper's latest?  From what I hear he's a 
born-again Christian now - no joke!  His latest CD is a Christian oriented 
piece - quite theatrical with a comic book type fold-out...
Sorta like dramatic neo-prog but not as complex!  ;-)

Evidently he spent some time hanging out with Pat Boone during Boone's 
big-band metal cover gig...  They got to discussing things - he's been 
thinking a lot and suddenly he's spotted attending the Christian Baptist 
church that Glen Campbell attends!

AND, at the risk of *really* making you wonder if I've gone off the DEEEP 
END....

The Boone "metal" record *is* a fun one - the big-band arrangements are 
well-done... Cooper fans will want to hear "No More Mr. Nice Guy"... But the 
*real* laugher is how convincingly "Lounge-y" the songs "Crazy Train" 
(Ozzie) and "Paradise City" (Guns n' Roses) sound.  This really is a fun CD!

MTO!
:-)




_______________________________________________________________
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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 16:16:24 -0400
From: Bob Angilly 
Subject: Re: gg: no GG: Re: Dynaflex

This is partly foreign matter in the discs and partly tiny air bubbles (cause by
the steam from water or improper cooking).  This problem got much worse in the
seventies during the oil embargo which greatly raised the cost of raw vinyl,
delaying the release of many albums and resulted in other cost cutting measures
like the loss of gatefold sleeves and multi-colored record labels (Capitol, MCA
and other labels went to one color labels for a long while).  Foreign labels just
let prices go up and kept using mostly good quality vinyl.  In the eighties just
before the CD came into prominence good quality vinyl was back (although in a
limited way) and other improvements like Direct Metal Mastering  were used by some
major labels (although sometimes just for Promo copies, good quality to reviewers
and radio, crap for consumers).

Underdub@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 7/30/99 4:36:34 PM Central Daylight Time,
> staffba3@gsd.harvard.edu writes:
>
> > During the 70's Columbia and Warner Bros. were putting out very high quality
> >  vinyl (the sound of these were especially clear), RCA was also very good.
> >  Capitol, MCA, Atlantic and the Buddah group (including Charisma, Kama
> Sutra,
> >  etc.)
> etc. etc.
> Thanks Bob for a neat round-up of this kinda info.  I never had it clear in
> my mind at the time.  But I sure am watching my Capitol GG LP's die right
> before my ears!  More and more I am getting distorted, buzzy places all over
> the LP's now that aren't scratches.  They seem to be places in the vinyl that
> have simply eroded - like pot-holes in the road.  Must be a chunk of an old
> Jimmy McNichol album label in there!
> -Dick Dammit-

- --
Tickle me!  :-)
                                  Elmo
                           __   __
                         .'  '.'  `.
                      _.-|  o | o  |-._
                    .~   `.__.'.__.'^  ~.

                  .~     ^  /   \  ^     ~.
                  \-._^   ^|     |    ^_.-/
                  `\  `-._  \___/ ^_.-' /'
                    `\_   `--...--'   /'
                       `-.._______..-'      /\  /\
                          __/   \__         | |/ /_
                        .'^   ^    `.      .'   `__\
                      .'    ^     ^  `.__.'^ .\ \
                     .' ^ .    ^   .    ^  .'  \/
                    /    /        ^ \'.__.'
                   |  ^ /|   ^      |

------------------------------

Date: 
From: 
Subject: [none]



------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 18:26:52 EDT
From: Claudio666@aol.com
Subject: Re: nongg: Renaissance

In a message dated 7/30/99 9:35:35 PM Mountain Daylight Time, 
john_97223@yahoo.com writes:

<<  Speaking of Prog. rock ... what
 about Renaissance?  >>

Yeah, I'll admit to liking them in both incarnations (Illusion).  Saw 
Renaissance twice in small clubs and they put on a good show, sticking very 
close to the recorded works.  Annie's vocals were pure.  I stopped following 
them after "Novella" as it was getting a bit tired.  My biggest gripe, in 
revisiting a thread from a couple weeks ago, was that they didn't acknowledge 
the composers that they based their music on. (Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, etc. 
etc.)

I don't know  if I consider this prog, since a lot of their music was 
rocked-up classical, but it certainly fit in very nicely with everything else 
I was listening to at the time.

There's a couple of compilation CDs out "Tales of 1001 Nights" Volumes 1&2 
that make for pleasant listening, though of course they include their 
"greatest hits" like "Midas Man" that I skip over every chance I get.

I listen to Illusion more than Renaissance now.  I wonder if those are on CD 
somewhere??

Claudio
n.d. Ice water (in between beers you know)
n.p. Pink Floyd "Pulse" Disc 2 

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 12:39:21 EDT
From: Underdub@aol.com
Subject: Re: gg: Ricky Martin.

In a message dated 7/31/99 5:19:18 AM Central Daylight Time, 
mlp@god-of-thunder.demon.co.uk writes:

> SOMEONE HAVE RICKY MARTIN KILLED!
>  
>  Ok, I know this has nothing to do with prog but this guy is putting music
>  EVERYWHERE to shame!

It is astonishingly lame music...but......for 11 year olds.  The rest of us 
aren't supposed to like it.
- -DD-

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 12:30:34 -0400
From: astley@ica.net
Subject: gg: a visit with Dr.Blood

Hi Ant,

Mature Student visit with Dr.Blood to discuss the results of my recent bone
marrow test:

DB: I have good news..and I have bad news..

MS: give me the good news first..

DB: your test revealed nothing life threatening..

MS: oh thats great!...now give me the bad news..

DB: your blood count did produce some odd time signatures..

MS: what does this mean?

DB: it means that you are very vulnerable to socially unacceptable music
genre such as prog rock,fusion jazz,rio and many other types of
pretentious,pompous so-called music...this can be very addictive,it could
even result in an insatiable appetite for those past-it,over-the-hill-gang
called "Gentle Giant"

MS:Oh!no! not Gentle Giant..what can I do,you have to help me..

DB: well,you could listen to Phil Collins doing "a groovey kind of love",it
must be the PC version,the Mindbenders wont do..if you do this at 7.00pm on
the 2nd Thurday of every month for 6 months I'm sure this will help..

MS: is there any alternative?

DB: well you could take 200mg of vitamin b6 every day for 6 months..

MS: some choice...


Dave Sr.mature Student

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 18:54:37 -0400
From: "David and Stacey Shur" 
Subject: gg: Pat Boone

> The Boone "metal" record *is* a fun one - the big-band arrangements are
> well-done... Cooper fans will want to hear "No More Mr. Nice Guy"... But
the
> *real* laugher is how convincingly "Lounge-y" the songs "Crazy Train"
> (Ozzie) and "Paradise City" (Guns n' Roses) sound.  This really is a fun
CD!
> MTO!

I heard that Pat Boone metal album when it came out (is it 2 or 3 years ago)
and I was appalled.  I can't believe anyone would listen to it more than
once.  It is simply rock tunes set to the lowest level of cocktail swing.
At least Syd Barrett had an excuse...........    -David Eric

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 99 21:00:55 -0400
From: kiirja 
Subject: gg: IQ/Advent

Jerry sez:
>Well, this is good news. After dragging my feet for too long, I finally
>remembered to pick up Advent's first CD from Alan at NEARfest and I've
>been enjoying it since. Quite a nice debut effort! 

I agree!
I've finally had a chance to get thru some of my stack of 
recent acquisitions, and Advent hit the player last night.
Great great stuff! I liked the vocal harmonies very much.

kiirja
np: Brandnewbug Concertos

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 99 21:17:06 -0400
From: kiirja 
Subject: gg:Ambrosia

>What's the scoop on the release of the first two Ambrosia albums on CD?) 
Thats what *I* want to know too!
"I Wanna Know!" (that's the title of one of their songs,
for those of you unfamiliar with them)
I sent a message to them via their website and begged
them to release these albums. I think there are legal
issues. 

I was listening to my tape of SINT the other day and 
was just reveling in how wonderful, unique and brilliant 
that album is.

k.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 19:15:25 PDT
From: "Mark Wendt - MTO" 
Subject: gg: Pat Boone in a Metal Mood

>>The Boone "metal" record *is* a fun one - the big-band arrangements
are well-done...the *real* laugher is how convincingly "Lounge-y" the songs 
"Crazy Train" (Ozzie) and "Paradise City" (Guns n' Roses) sound.  This 
really is a fun CD! >> MTO!



I take it you don't care much for "coctail swing" music. ;-)

Of course the CD is not really *metal*.  But I believe the arrangements and 
musicianship are by no means "as low" as the genre can go!  Not that the 
*vocals* are sterling... But the actual instrumental performances are 
amusing and well executed IMO.



Ah - but many thought Pat Boone was a *crazy* diamond when he put this one 
out!  ;-)

BTW - Ronnie James Dio and Ritchie Blackmore play on the CD!  Go figure!  
Clearly worth digging out of the bargain bin IMO.

Highlight of the CD... "Love Hurts" makes a *very* convincing Jazz/Show 
Tune.

Not the highlight of the CD... "Stairway to Heaven" in 3/4 waltz.

MTO!
:-)


_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 21:18:30 -0400
From: Tomas 
Subject: Re: gg: deaf, dumb, and blind boy......

At 09:38 AM 7/27/1999 -0400, Richard Hilton wrote:
>At 7:36 AM -0400 7/27/99, Tomas blasphemed:
>>I thought TOMMY was painfully
>>silly; I can't listen to it without groaning and wondering HOW anyone could
>>think this was a "masterpiece"
>
>You thought this in 1968??????  Oh c'mon......

No, Rich,I didn't think it was silly in 1968, because I didn't hear it
until 1972!  :-)  But, I *did* think it was silly when I first heard it.  I
was weaned on Yes, and CLOSE TO THE EDGE had just come out.  A good friend
was really into The Who - had everything: QUADROPHENIA, MEATY, BEATY....,
everything.  I wasn't impressed with TOMMY when I heard it: thought it was
just an album of rock songs strung together with some filler material.

Listening to it again a few years ago at my brother-in-law's, I was struck
by how trite it was: a couple good songs (Like "Pinball Wizard", some very
forgettable songs, and lots of filler, which is repeated ad nauseum).

>I thought/think that "Tommy" is brilliant......and even more so when you
>consider it was recorded to 8 track.  The live versions on "Live at Isle of
>Wight" also kick some serious ass.

Well, anyone who put down 8-track then and did a good job was brilliant.
Maybe the engineering was good, but I didn't like the music.  I guess I
never caught on to The Who thing: the only album of their I really liked
was WHO'S NEXT.  Everything else was so 60s.

Now, Brian Wilson.....

>While we're groping for strangeness.....whaddya think of Keith Moon, Tomas?

No need to grope: strangeness is just within reach!

Well, I have to say I have mixed feeling about Keith.  His technique was
appalling: watching "The Kids Are Alright" is painful for me because of
this, especially when I'm trying to teach good technique to my students and
visitors to my drum web site.  The general imression is, "If it's good
enough for Keith Moon, then bad technique is OK for me, too."  Keith was
very lucky to overcome his bad technique by the sheer force of his will.

That being said, I think the work he did on WHO'S NEXT is remarkable: it's
the peon to over-the-top drumming (yet, it's also sensitive (and really fun
to play!)).  The over-the-top thing worked here, where is doesn't on some
other Who material.  His work on other Who songs, notably the early stuff,
is pretty so-so: not much different than other 60s drummer.  Keith flowered
as the Who matured.

I do think that Keith got lucky in his gig with The Who, because we
probably would have never heard of him if he was in some other band.  He
certainly would not have progressed to the style he found on WHO'S NEXT,
because it was Townsend's music which created the vehicle for Keith's style
to flourish.

He certainly deserves his place in rock history.  But I think if he were
starting out today he wouldn't have made it: too many great drummers to
compete with.


***************************************************************************
* Tomas                      *  "Tolerance is the virtue of the man       *
* West Chazy, NY  USA        *   without convictions."  - GK Chesterton   *
* tomas@slic.com             *   		                          *
***************************************************************************
* Howie Web:       http://www.howies.org/                                 *
***************************************************************************

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 21:36:04 -0400
From: Tomas 
Subject: Re: gg: Jon Anderson belief / Tales

Tnaks to Keri for the great Jon Belief Info.  I might also add that Jon is
very interested in spiritual from the Sun.  Tons of references in many Yes
songs.  Also, watch Jon in the ABWH AN EVENING OF YES MUSIC PLUS video:
his hand and body gestures when singing about the Sun are very interesting.

I also love his greeting to the Divine Mother right before he backs into
the flat before the show.

I think Jon is a very kind person, that he feels deeply about things,
especially love and music (which is probably why he is so dogmatic about
his music with his bands).  I'm sure the divorce with Jennifer really hurt
him.

At 09:23 AM 7/31/1999 +1200, Keri Ford wrote:

>This is a bit flippant and misleading. If you're interested in what Jon's
>spirituality is then check out the following link:
>http://members.aol.com/opiowrld/opiowrld.html
>There are a couple of interviews there and also a little bit about The
>Divine Mother, who is in the tradition of Sri Ramakrishna. My impression is
>that Jon has no set belief "system" he says in one of these interviews that
>it is changing all the time. He seems to me to be attracted to a kind of
>Universalism. If anyone else has read Yogananda, they would have discovered
>that Yogananda had nothing but respect for Christ and the same can be said
>of Sri Ramakrishna. Both had visions of Christ. There is no dichotomy in Jon
>putting Christian references/content in a work based on ideas derived from
>Indian Shastras. Jon also seems very interested in indigenous spirituality,
>on this site he talks mostly about American Indian spirituality. Another
>point he makes is his sense of the spirituality and healing power of music.
>I think this last point is particularly relevant to Tales. 


***************************************************************************
* Tomas                      *  "Tolerance is the virtue of the man       *
* West Chazy, NY  USA        *   without convictions."  - GK Chesterton   *
* tomas@slic.com             *   		                          *
***************************************************************************
* Howie Web:       http://www.howies.org/                                 *
***************************************************************************

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 23:48:46 -0400 (EDT)
From: mammienun@webtv.net
Subject: Re: gg: Flecktones

Try the double Live Art. The latest, Left of Cool is a little more
mainstream but definitely has more than it's fair share of 'moments'.
I've seen these guys a half a dozen times...great live act. And...very
fan friendly. All of my cds are autographed, even the one where
Futureman plays 'real' drums. Ez

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 22:53:09 -0500
From: DE Johnson 
Subject: gg: GG: and Pink Floyd: and...progeny

Claudio666@aol.com wrote:
>This is worth noting as one of the best moments in a parent's life.
>...Must've done something right somewhere...

Yes! Good work, man! Reminds me of what happened with my 6yo son 
yesterday. I reached into the glovebox, pulled out a tape, and 
popped it into the deck...my son yelled, "Yeay! Gentle Giant!!

...Is it, dad?" 

I smiled and said, "Yes...it is!"  

We proceeded to listen to FH with mutual glee as we headed for town... 



	CiViLiAN 
	

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 21:34:17 -0700
From: William Tindall 
Subject: gg: It's kinda fun to be extinct

You know, for a list we can't post to or receive from, o-r seems awfully unquiet...What's the deal, Bob?  I expected peace and quiet for a change, but all these Gentle Giant weirdos keep butting in.
	By the way, great story, Doug.  

Bill T

P.S.  That was an AbFab expose of Tales, Biffy.  Perfect.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 13:30:26 +0100
From: Bill OReilly 
Subject: gg: (no-gg) Ricky Martin.

>Julius
>this seems to be a rather severe reaction 

>Thorlina
>AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
H
>

I think you'll find this is not Thor but his daughter Thorette.  Even given the
exurberence of youth, the Ricky Martin phenomenom is getting very
irritating in the UK.  You can't turn on a radio or tv without hearing him. 
Would you believe that there were two people buying his cd at the cd
shop yesterday when I went into buy the new Scritti Politti album.

O'Reilly
np Anomie & Bonhomie - Scritti Politti

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 13:30:26 +0100
From: Bill OReilly 
Subject: gg: (no-gg) Ricky Martin.

>Julius
>this seems to be a rather severe reaction 

>Thorlina
>AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
H
>

I think you'll find this is not Thor but his daughter Thorette.  Even given the
exurberence of youth, the Ricky Martin phenomenom is getting very
irritating in the UK.  You can't turn on a radio or tv without hearing him. 
Would you believe that there were two people buying his cd at the cd
shop yesterday when I went into buy the new Scritti Politti album.

O'Reilly
np Anomie & Bonhomie - Scritti Politti

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 08:27:19 -0400
From: Alan Benjamin 
Subject: gg: no GG: Re: Flecktones

Hi,

Bob Taylor recently asked:

>I'm just re-discovering Bela Fleck, enjoying "Flight Of THe Cosmic
>Hippo" (thanks to ant) as well as "One Flew Over .."
>
>I was wondering where I might go from here, I know the band has put a
>lot more discs out?

You can't go wrong with _UFOTOFU_ and the self-titled debut, both featuring
the original lineup (with Howard Levy). The live one, _Live Art_, is also
worthwhile--but I would start with the others first.

Take care,


Alan

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
| Alan Benjamin                      e-mail: adbenjamin@earthlink.net |
| Advent Home Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~adbenjamin/advent.html |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 08:32:34 -0400
From: Alan Benjamin 
Subject: gg: no GG: Re: The Flying Nun

The mammiedude recently wrote:

>Marty..Mr. Benjamin et al may be interested to know that the Sherbs are
>available on cd but you'll have to look for them as 'Sherbet'. 4th...not
>that anyone cares..my group 'Slick Woody' will be playing our 1st gig
>tomorrow. It's a Polish wedding for which we did learn 3 polkas! Sunday
>we'll be playing at a fireman's field days. Get out the hoses! Our
>'format' is 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's rock 'n roll...we figure
>that should just about cover all the bases. 5th..What? There is no more.
>n.p. webtv muzak n.d. coca cola..I'm trying to stay alcohol free. It's
>my 6th day..ARRGGH! Later, Ez

Thanks for the Sherbs info. Also, best of luck with the upcoming gigs! (The
first one is already over--but I hope it went well!)

Take care,


Alan

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
| Alan Benjamin                      e-mail: adbenjamin@earthlink.net |
| Advent Home Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~adbenjamin/advent.html |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 08:36:22 -0400
From: Alan Benjamin 
Subject: Re: gg: IQ/Advent

Hello again,

Kiirja recently wrote:

>Jerry sez:
>>Well, this is good news. After dragging my feet for too long, I finally
>>remembered to pick up Advent's first CD from Alan at NEARfest and I've
>>been enjoying it since. Quite a nice debut effort! 
>
>I agree!
>I've finally had a chance to get thru some of my stack of 
>recent acquisitions, and Advent hit the player last night.
>Great great stuff! I liked the vocal harmonies very much.

Thanks a lot! I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed the CD.

Take care,


Alan

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
| Alan Benjamin                      e-mail: adbenjamin@earthlink.net |
| Advent Home Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~adbenjamin/advent.html |
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 09:20:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: mammienun@webtv.net
Subject: gg: Re: no GG: Re: The Flying Nun

The 1st job went very well. Thank you. I just wanted to let you know
that we are not a 'wedding band'...one of the gutarists was friends with
the groom so we played cheap and with the understanding that we would
only throw in
the polkas...no macarena or electric slide. We DID play White Wedding
and The Breakup Song. Think this might've been innappropriate?
Ez

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 10:14:19 EDT
From: SPBrader@aol.com
Subject: gg: Political Writing

Bill writes:

<< Would you believe that there were two people buying his cd at the cd
 shop yesterday when I went into buy the new Scritti Politti album.>>

How is that? I bet it isn't a shade on 'Songs to Remember'. Green Gartside 
has been disappointing me ever since that masterpiece.

Si

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 08:43:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: JohnEric 
Subject: gg: Here's the dope I know / Alice Cooper

From what I've been able to piece together, Alice (I still don't know his
real name) is a Christian ... but maintains his music as a business.  He
does not feel it is necessary to go "Contemporary Christian industry". 
The same can be said for Sammy Hagar, who is doing the same.  Cooper's
last studio album was superb, and as close to prog rock as anything he's
ever done.  It was called "The Last Temptation" and was worth every penny.
 I can relate to Cooper's attitude on the Western front of contemporary
Christianity.  I spent twenty years in a semi-alienated mode, directed at
the mainstream Christian church.  I've read, and experienced, a lot of
divergent material and personal events that challenged my upbringing and
beliefs.  the results are that I believe in a bigger God than before.  I
feel my roots are good ones, but somewhat shallow and paranoid concerning
other cultures and viewpoints.  Anyone who has been on the outside looking
in can never truly share the stepstool vantage view of the silver-spoon
believers.  Cooper and Hagar are forever linked with all of humanity, and
they appreciate more than many of the narrow-minded, spoiled, brats I grew
up with.

JEE


- --- Mark Wendt - MTO  wrote:
> Mark L. Potts 
> 
>
>AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
> 
> >HHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!>>SOMEONE HAVE RICKY MARTIN KILLED!>
> 
> Um... You don't happen to have a little sister with a Livin' La Vida
> Loca 
> *single* that she plays over and over incessantly do ya?
> 
> (My accuracy in these matters *is* amazing at times...)  ;-)
> 
> >Ok, I know this has nothing to do with prog but this guy is putting
> music 
> >EVERYWHERE to shame!>
> 
> Perhaps Latin American pop music to shame a bit... But hey - *some*
> musical 
> concessions have to be made to make a few million dollars every now and
> then 
> - right?  ;-)
> 
> My take?  His music is a bit boring perhaps - but well-enough done pop
> from 
> a USA money-making Latin flavor point of view.  Personally I enjoy
> Tex-mex 
> Tehano music better.  It has more true Latin character in its pop-ness!
> 
> >He should be stopped before it's too late...(preferably by ripping >out
> his 
> >vocal chords)>>DEATH TO RICKY MARTIN!>>Thorlina>
> >np= Alice Cooper; "School's Out">>
> 
> Alice Cooper - huh?
> School's Out... Hmm... I'm surprised you didn't say he should be "blown
> to 
> pieces"!
> 
> BTW - has anyone heard Alice Cooper's latest?  From what I hear he's a 
> born-again Christian now - no joke!  His latest CD is a Christian
> oriented 
> piece - quite theatrical with a comic book type fold-out...
> Sorta like dramatic neo-prog but not as complex!  ;-)
> 
> Evidently he spent some time hanging out with Pat Boone during Boone's 
> big-band metal cover gig...  They got to discussing things - he's been 
> thinking a lot and suddenly he's spotted attending the Christian Baptist
> 
> church that Glen Campbell attends!
> 
> AND, at the risk of *really* making you wonder if I've gone off the
> DEEEP 
> END....
> 
> The Boone "metal" record *is* a fun one - the big-band arrangements are 
> well-done... Cooper fans will want to hear "No More Mr. Nice Guy"... But
> the 
> *real* laugher is how convincingly "Lounge-y" the songs "Crazy Train" 
> (Ozzie) and "Paradise City" (Guns n' Roses) sound.  This really is a fun
> CD!
> 
> MTO!
> :-)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________________________
> Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
> 

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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 09:04:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: JohnEric 
Subject: Re: gg: Jon Anderson belief / Tales

OK, Keri, 'Silence' ... here goes ... I'll keep it brief.  
I feel God is best heard in the spaces between words ... when the mind is
silent.  Human kind's greatest powers are usually expressed by visual or
auditory communication, in both creative and reformative actions and
reactions.  God's voice comes more often than not as a "still small
voice", and so silence serves as the proper environment for tuning in to
it.  Why does God's voice seem this way?  In my opinion it is because
God's vocal chords are in everything God has already created, including
us, and is therefore best expressed through an inner thought, or the sigh
of the wind, or a crack of thunder.  A 'crack of thunder' you ask?  Well,
a peel of thunder is loud, yes, but it is more like God is clearing a
throat for the deep and resonant silence that follows.  Do you ever find
yourself thinking about deep feelings and concepts after a crack of
thunder?  It's as though the silence that follows carries a message.

JEE
 

- --- Keri Ford  wrote:
> Hi John,
> 
> Thanks for your great email, i really appreciate it. I hope you get
> something from that website. I'm glad I struck a chord there. Also I am
> always glad to see some broadmindedness in religion. I think it's great
> that
> you can basically be a Christian and appreciate the spiritual beliefs of
> others. I believe Christs message is universal, it is just impossible
> for me
> to believe that only the Christians have got it right and that God
> doesn't
> respond to inner sincerity, but only to believers in the right
> denomination.
> 
> I agree with you about silence. I would also be interested to have you
> expand on the idea of listenning and what that means to you, because it
> sounds intriguing but I'm not really familiar with that and so not sure
> what
> you mean.
> 
> Just to clarify my own position. I was brought up in an atheist family,
> I
> don't currently associate with any religious group, but I believe that
> this
> world and ourselves are a living breathing whole, this world is a great
> mystery. When we dive inside it, and inside of ourselves, there is the
> utmost joy and life(The Kingdom of God is Within). Life is not somekind
> of
> by product of matter or just an accident, it is fundamental to the
> nature of
> the Universe.
> 
> it is only in the last few years that I have really developed an
> appreciation of Christ, there are other spiritual religious figures that
> I
> admire also: Saint Francis, Sri Ramakrishna, Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi,
> Buddha. Actually i think we are all great Spiritual Beings, we've just
> got
> to come to know it.
> 
> Aint it funny what you come around to discussing from a Gentle Giant
> listserve?
> 
> Keri
> 
> 
> ----------
> >From: JohnEric 
> >To: Keri Ford , "GentleÝGiant" Group
> 
> >Subject: Re: gg: Jon Anderson belief / Tales
> >Date: Sat, Jul 31, 1999, 2:36 PM
> >
> 
> >Keri, from you're info on Jon A. it sounds as though I share his
> approach
> >... as far as I can tell.  I was raised in a Christian home, and never
> >really left my roots, with the exception of becoming broader minded and
> >anti-dogma.  I too enjoy the Native American view, as well as insights
> >from other cultures.  I believe we can learn a lot about the way God
> >interacts with everything within and outside us through listening, and
> >silence.  I often have trouble being quiet, but when I do I am rewarded
> by
> >amazing points of view.  I have discovered quite a few ancient
> manuscripts
> >that added more reasons for an open mind.  I believe I will check out
> that
> >site you mentioned, right now.  Thanks.
> >
> >JEE
> 


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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 19:21:49
From: Udi Susser 
Subject: gg: Vigevano and Wine Tasting, Part 1.

Hello  all!
Here is another infrequent note from the perpetual mandatory lurker from
over the hills. I just came back from my short European trip last week and
I’m sure you all want to hear about my wine tasting experiences in the wine
route of scenic Alsace... Well, the wine tasting was particularly good in a
little village near Colmar with the exceedingly unfrench name of
Voegtlinschoffen. A nice French bloke showed us into his living room and
opened a dozen or so bottles for us to sample... And sample we did... And
to music matters:
The week before that we were in the Prog festival in Vigevano, Italy. And
it was a great experience for us and for all the mosquitoes involved. (For
those interested, I can send photos of my many mosquito bites, still
impressive to this day...).
Day 1:
Vigevano is a nice little place near Milano. A short way away is the
magnificent Certosa Di Pavia, an extraordinary 13th-16th century church
which countless paintings, statues and even a strange 13th century
sculpture made entirely out of hippopotamus teeth! But I digress again...
The Prog festival took place in picturesque Vigevano, in the court yard of
a renaissance castle. The first day was quite full, I would assume due to
headliners Jethro Tull. However, having seen Ian Anderson and co. several
times already, I was there for something else... For the past year I have
been listening to a lot of Italian Stuff. Heck, I’m even on this list and
that must mean something... One of my favourites was and is Arti e
Mestieri, if only for the furious drumming of the aptly named Furio
Chirico, the driving fusion, a melodic violin and the heavy use of
mellotrons. So, the news of a newly reformed Arti e Mestieri came to me as
a very nice surprise indeed! They were the first act, and came on stage at
around 7:15. They were a blast. Furio looked like he’s in his 20’s, and
he’s built in a way that he could breeze through the next Mr. Universe
competition with ease. Well maybe not, but you get the picture. The aging
guitarist whose name I forgot was no less choppy. And he even made all
those tormented agonized faces that great guitarists are expected to make.
(A side note: Why can’t guitarists just be happy? On second thought, Eddie
Van Halen is always so sickeningly happy it sends me straight to my vomit
bag...). Anyway, they played just about all of Tilt and Giro di Valzer and
some other tunes I didn’t know. All with great precision, monstrous
drumming, and with such ease that they didn’t really look like a band that
was on hiatus for 20 odd years. All in all, it was the second best
performance of the entire festival. (For those who do not wish to read any
further: The best performance went to After Crying, hands down, but I’m
jumping the gun a bit now...). 
Second on that day were the Flower Kings. Now, I like Kaipa just like the
next proghead, but the Flower Kings struck me like a little too Neo and
clean. Don’t send me hate mail, I enjoyed the show, and the instrumental
bits were quite impressive. They seemed to be transfixed in a 5/4 mode
though, but what the heck, it’s a nice time sig to be in I suppose...  I
only wish they wouldn't sing. The choruses were poppy, out of place and the
words were, well, trite. Quite embarrassing actually. They should have
stuck to Swedish. I was going "please don’t sing, please don’t sing...." in
a quiet mumbling mantra mode... "Let Jon Anderson save the planet... On
second thought, don't even let _him_..." 
Anyway, next were Jethro Tull. A good show with good comedy bits and a good
selection containing even a bit from Passion Play, and My God for the first
time in who knows how many years... And just about all of  Stand Up (7
tracks!). He can’t sing anymore, but his Flute playing is only getting
better, and his knee seems recovered completely. And he's doing that big
balloon thing he did in the 70's again which is nice... 
End of day 1. 
We went to our comfy hotel in nearby Garlasco, had a little to much to
drink and ended up in a cold (freezing) bath.... But that is another story.
Day 2?
Next email.
Bye for now,
Udi.

N.P. The mighty (and young) Sotos from Bordeaux. 

Dr. Udi Susser
- ------------------------------------------
| Hilel St. 56/10   Phone: 972-4-8526446 |
|  Haifa 33728       Fax: 972-4-8526446  |
|   Israel            (the very same)    |
- ------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 19:22:16
From: Udi Susser 
Subject: gg: Vigevano and Wine Tasting, Part 2.

Hello again.
Part 2.
Day 2 was a long one with four bands lined up. Some very young Italians
called Fitzcaraldo, some older blokes called Egoband from Piza, the mighty
After Crying from Hungary, and the Italian Prog-gods themselves, Banco del
Mutuo Soccorso.
We arrived early the second day, just a little bit intoxicated this time
with some of the fine Liquor made in the Certosa di Pavia by some bored
monks. I got a few discs, including a few by After Crying, Townscream (an
After Crying offshoot band led by their former remarkable pianist Csaba
Vedres), Magma amd Arti e Mestieri.
And to the shows. 
Fitzcaraldo looked young. Honestly, they looked no more then 16. I don’t
know if they have any discs out. Or pubichair for that matter... Anyway,
apart for an anorexic trumpet player it was standard baby prog metal. Not
too bad. Not too good. I’ll wait and see how they’ll be after puberty...
Next were Egoband. The enigmatic singer / keyboard player does a good
impression (in English) of Gabrielfish. The rest do a good impression of
Marillion. And although they did it well, highlighting what is good in
Marillion, and omitting what is bad, they weren’t frightfully original, and
neoprog is not my kettle of fish. Fish? Get it? I’m so funny...
Next were After Crying. Never have I seen a live performance to surpass
this one. I don’t know if I ever shall. Maybe only when I get to see the
video of Gentle Giant 1974... (I need more free time... If anyone knows how
to abolish armies, suggestions are welcome to the above address... Yehuda,
I’m on my way!). Back to After Crying. They played material mainly from
their last two releases, "De Profundis" and "6", but they also played a
song from the first one Overground Music, and quite a bit from the second
one, Fold Es Eg. The atmosphere on stage was a Gentle Giant like one. They
were so casual and humourous, especially the bass and cello player Peter
Pejtsik, and yet they switched instruments with ease and played soooooooo
well. If you think Kerry Minnear can play the Cello, you should see Peter
Pejtsik.... This comparison though isn’t fair: these guys play in
philharmonic orchestras as a second livelihood. Pejtsik has a cello solo
piece called Stonehenge which had me floored and rolling in disbelief that
all this can be produced by a single cello. The really formidable bits
though were when they played the group compositions. The last one went on
for 20 minutes and had the crowd begging for more once it was finished.
It’s hard to classify this music. The different pieces are indeed very
different. They range from Bartokian classisist stuff, Emersonian keyboard
stuff and Crimsonian Frippy stuff. But not quite. Heck, just listen
yourself and find out.
Last were Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. They were what most the Italian
audience came to see. I only know 2 records: Darwin and Io Sono Nato
Libero. I suspect that I’ll seek some others out now. For the few of you
that don’t know, Francesco di Giacomo is a Singer with a capital "S" and
has a magnetic stage presence. He’s like a Pavarotti of prog. Operatic,
expressive, and, er, big. Very big. Vittorio Nocenzi is no anorexic waif
either... Anyway, they played for nearly 3 hours until 2:00AM, included
most of the stuff I know from the 2 aforementioned albums, and a whole lot
of stuff I don’t know, and the encores were the tear jerking and wonderful
750,000 ani fa l’amore and Tracchia II (probably sic).   

Bye for now,
Udi (going back to the army tomorrow... snif...).

N.P. Still the mighty (and young) Sotos from Bordeaux. 

Dr. Udi Susser
- ------------------------------------------
| Hilel St. 56/10   Phone: 972-4-8526446 |
|  Haifa 33728       Fax: 972-4-8526446  |
|   Israel            (the very same)    |
- ------------------------------------------

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End of on-reflection-digest V1 #1798
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