Happy / Internet

[vickie@pilot.njin.net (Vickie Mapes)]

Vickie here. I hope no one gets the idea that my promotion of Happy is
in any way connected with "Marketing Strategy." I think most long-timers,
if they're into Happy's mucis or not, know that I deeply, truly and    
sincerely love Happy and her music. New people might not understand that
because they don't know me. All of my recommendations have come from
wanting to share the music I love so much with others who may love
it too, or at least pass it along to other who might enjoy it.

It's unfortunate that the author of that article dismissed what Happy
told her about the Internet and rec.music.gaffa and chose to call it
a "fan club" and a "bulletin board/BBS" but again, it's not Happy's
fault. The writer obviously couldn't see the difference and figured
that the readers wouldn't either, or wouldn't care. It's still interesting
that we'd get mentioned in *any* context at all in an article about
Happy. She tells the interviewers about us because she cares about
us, and appreciates our support. I don't know...I think it's nice
that Happy makes sure we're mentioned because you certainly don't
see most musical artists talking about their fans in interviews.

Ecto was born from gaffa. That link will always be there and may get
mentioned again in future interviews. Hopefully, the "Net" will become
better understood and we won't have to groan at the "bulletin board/BBS"
references very often. Happy does her part but the interviewer will write
it up any way they see fit, so she can't control the wording.

Anyway....Angelos mentioned that Happy has sold over 6000 copies of 
_Warpaint_ and that's true. However, I would imagine that less than 300
of those went to people on the net. I don't have an accurate count. The
majority of them went to record stores in Philadelphia and various
distributors around the country. I've never pushed Happy onto people in
order to make Happy money but rather to spread the music. Any money they
(Happy & Kevin) do make goes right back into the music. Remember, Happy
doesn't have a recording contract. She has no big company behind her
taking care of the bills. They *lost* money on the Albany and Philly
shows!     

Oh well, this is turning into a post *defending* my "starting a buzz"
about Happy on the net, and Happy making a few bucks off each CD sold,
after expenses, that she can put toward her next album. Never mind...I
don't want it to sound like that. I am very proud of bringing Happy's
music to a lot of people who do enjoy her. That's all I ever wanted to
do, and that's what I did. I'm pleased...

Vickie
katefans@chinet.chi.il.us  or
vickie@njin.rutgers.edu