So, who's this Happy Rhodes? An FAQish Post to tell you.

[katefans@chinet.chi.il.us (Chris n Vickie)]

This FAQ was put together by fans from the Happy Rhodes mailing list.
We want to let the new readers of rec.music.gaffa know about Happy Rhodes.
Thanks in advance for your patience. The fact that not all Kate Bush fans
will be interested in or like Happy's music is duly noted within. As is the 
fact that many of the people on the mailing list are Kate Bush fans.

=============================================================================

Hello! Welcome all newcomers to Happy Rhodes.

{Who?}

Yes, it's her real name. Her full name is Happy Tyler Rhodes.
She's from Albany, NY, 26 years old, born August 9, 1965.
She's released 5 albums so far, the latest being _Warpaint_.
She is an unknown now, but (fans hope) not for long!

{Unknown?}

Happy does not yet have a recording contract. All her music has been
released so far on Aural Gratification, an indie label run by Happy 
and her partner Kevin Bartlett. Kevin started the label to release his
own music, then added Happy after they met.

{Why?}

Because he thought that her music should be made available to others.
The first 4 albums were recorded by Happy, all alone in the studio.
She played acoustic guitar, keyboards, sang and used lots of overdubs.
She produced them all herself and even engineered quite a few of
the songs, because she started out recording her songs while she was
an apprentice recording engineer.

Warpaint is more professionally recorded (she and Kevin took out a 
bank loan to make sure it was as high-quality as they could possibly 
make it) and uses more musicians, though it's mainly just Happy and 
Kevin. They also co-produced the album. It was digitally mastered
by Dr. Toby Mountain at Northeastern Digital Recording.

{Beginnings?}

In spite of her name, Happy was a very lonely child and has always been
a loner. She suffered from depression as an adolescent and teenager and
sought solace and help in the music she listened to (Kate Bush, Peter
Gabriel, Bach etc.) and in writing songs herself. She "wrote out" the 
demons in her mind, never guessing that the songs would someday end up
on albums that would be cherished by other people. 

{Why?}

Happy is an interesting, intelligent, singer/songwriter/musician who 
cares deeply about her music and makes music to last, music that matters.
Happy's lyrics can sear your heart and soul in their intensity and
introspectiveness. Her lyrics are very often dark and are nearly all
autobiographical, but they are almost all about emotions. Human emotions
are universal, so many of her songs might touch nerves in other people too.

{Why?}

Many of her songs are about depression, some are about suicidal feelings
and some are very cynical, but there are also songs about hope and light,
with a "you must love yourself before anyone else can love you" point of
view. Some of her songs tell stories and some are political in nature.
She does have a sense of humor, and it comes out in a few songs, but
most of her songs are very serious. Not that all the songs are slow,
dirge-like ballads. Many songs are fast-paced and very melodic. You could
enjoy the music and Happy's voice(s) without ever paying attention to the
lyrics. The lyrics add another layer to be fascinated by if you choose to
delve further, though. 

{Music?}

The music is lush and very difficult to classify. Songs that seem simple
upon casual listening become more complex with each additional hearing.

{Voice?}

Her voice is truly amazing. She has an incredible range, from very, very
high (not soprano, though) to a beautiful mid-range to a low, low (lower 
than Annie Lennox) voice.

{Live?}

Happy has played live in and around the Albany, NY area for many years.
She's rehearsing musicians for a tour but there are no details yet.

{Fans?}

Happy's fan base is small but rapidly growing and it's exciting to see how
she's progressing and to "be with her" at each step of her career from
now on. She's really only just begun, and we're looking forward to the
future. Happy Rhodes fans are very passionate about promoting her music.
Record companies have ignored her (and, so far, continue to) I think 
because they don't really know what to do with her. She can't be easily
put into a box and labled. We all think that it's extremely unfair
and wrong that she's unknown and obscure. We'd like to help change that.
It's only at a small grass-roots level at the moment, but will grow as
more people become aware of Happy, fall in love with her music, and care
enough about it to spread the word about her.

{Gaffa?}

Regular postings about Happy Rhodes have appeared in rec.music.gaffa
(Love-Hounds) for nearly 3 years now. The release of Warpaint in
April 1991 prompted many gaffa readers to try her music for the first 
time. Many of those people liked what they heard and went on to complete
their collection with the early tapes. As discussion grew to deafening
levels, it was pointed out to the Happy Rhodes fans that, no, not *every*
Kate Bush fan will like Happy's music, and could we please start talking
about Kate again? As many gaffians wanted to continue to talk about Happy,
but wanted to respect the wishes of those who had no interest, Jessica
Dembski created a mailing list dedicated to Happy and her music. The list
has stayed *very* active, and anyone is invited to join and contribute.
So far there are nearly 50 people subscribed to Ecto, and there have been
well over 500 messages in just over 3 months. 

We request that any comments or additional questions be directed there.

{How?}

To join the Happy Rhodes mailing list, mail request to Jessica at:

ecto-request@athos.rutgers.edu    To contribute: ecto@athos.rutgers.edu

{Goodies?}

GIFs, lyrics to all the albums and Ecto Archives are available from:

athos.rutgers.edu by anonymous ftp, in pub/hr

{Albums?}                         {Address?}  To order Happy's music:

The discography:                               Happy Rhodes
                                          c/o  Aural Gratification
1) Rhodes Vol. I  (1986)                       P.O. Box 8658
2) Rhodes Vol. II (1986)                       Academy Station
3) Rearmament     (1986)                       Albany, NY 12208
4) Ecto           (1987)
5) Warpaint       (1991)

1-4 are only available on cassette   (with Happy's artwork on the covers)
5 is on CD and cassette   (the cover is an award-winning portrait of Happy)
Warpaint has had a limited distribution, and you might be able to find it
in some stores, but the early albums are available only from Happy herself.

{Dinero?}

The CD is $13.99                 Postage for one CD is $2.00
The tapes are $9.99 each         Postage for one tape is $1.50
                                 Each additional tape is $ .35 apiece

(If you were to buy just the 4 tapes, the total postage would be $2.55)
(For the CD and all 4 tapes, postage would be $3.40)

{Wot?}

Price in English pounds is:
8 pounds per cassette (postage is included)
11 pounds per CD (postage is included)

{Er...}

Which one(s) to get? That's a toughie, because they're all excellent, *IOHO*.
There's a huge difference between 1 and 5, and the progression is evident
in the middle three. If you asked the people in the mailing list, you'd
surely get lots of different answers. One suggestion would be to start with
1 and 5, and if you like them, you will almost certainly like the middle
three. It's just about impossible to know what different people will like,
but those 2 will let you hear where Happy started and where she's at now.
No, I take that back. Her 6th album will (from hints we've gotten) probably
be very different from Warpaint. The songs for that album have been written,
but not yet recorded.

FYI, if you ask Happy to autograph the tapes and/or CD, she will!

{Etc?}

As noted, Happy is also an artist, and will soon be painting her first book
cover, a science fiction novel by Michael D. Weaver.

{That it?}

Almost. Though it's a bummer to have to mail-order music, Happy's music
is very rewarding and well worth the extra trouble. It is true that she
won't appeal to everyone, just as Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Jane Siberry,
and other female singers won't appeal to everyone, but you'll never know
until you hear the music for yourself. Tastes in music are wide and varied,
but we like her, and think it's possible that you (or someone you know) will
too!

===========================================================================

Vickie
katefans@chinet.chi.il.us