Re: (no subject given!)

[chrisw@miso.wwa.com (Chris Williams)]

>Would I buy the bootlegs?  You bet!
>Would I hold her to the standards of her best work?
>Heck no.  I know a demo when I hear one.
>Why would I want one?
>Because I crave the sound of her voice.
>Simple.  She should get the money.
>
>OR she could do as Paul Ringo and George
>just did for John: decorate the demos!
>Then she could sell them twice!

   Well, I think that it's the songwriting that she finds, for lack of a 
better word, immature. Well, of *course* it is! She was 14 when she wrote
most of the _Cathy Demos_.

>What Chris is saying rings true.  

   Thanks.

>Somewhere in the food chain, somebody is making bad decisions or no 
>decisions.  

  I feel strongly that the bad decisions are Kate's, fueled by her
own insecurities.

>Doesn't she have a manager named Hillary?  

  Did. Hillary Walker hasn't been her manager for years. The last time she
was called an "advisor".

>If the tours are that hard to set up, and the indecision is that pronounced, 
>it's Kate's doing and no one else.  She runs the show, period.  

   The indication that I got of Kate's intention to tour came from a person
in the offices of the biggest promoter in Chicago back in 1991. He told me
that they had been contacted by "Kate's people" about the Chicago Theater.

> But if she is happy with the results, so am I.  

   Sorry, but I'm not. I'm a fan, not a sychophant. What does a fan want?
Music. And no, it is *not* unreasonable to desire to see that music performed
live.

>If she isn't she is smart enough to figure out what to do. 

  Oh, she is definitely "smart enough." But perfectly intelligent people 
can be irrational.

>Consider the remark made by the fellow who worked for Prince when he said 
>she said "I'm not wanted over there."

  I was astonded when I read that. She saw the crowds wrapping around the 
block the first time she signed at Tower in New York. She had this comfirmed
the *second* time she signed at Tower. I have *no* idea what could have given
her that impression. It's possible that someone at Sony/CBS doesn't like her,
and gave her that impression.

  From what I've seen, she's *more* wanted here, than in England where the
great unwashed seem to think of her as a relic of the '80s.

>That's fear speaking and maybe just a touch of insecurity.  Normal but 
>unwarranted.  

   Especially unwarrented in Kate's case. I wish more of the yonger people
in gaffa could see the _Hammersmith_ in context. Kate *revolutionized*
rock stage performaces, taking off in the direction that Bowie had gone
and pushing it even more into theater.

   It's possible that the impossibility of topping what everyone has done
in the wake of _The Tour Of Life_ is what's stopping her. Now that every
female singer and her sister has done a show with dancers, costumes and
a headset mic, it whould look like *she* was immitating *them*, rather
than the other way around.

   Here's *one* place where Kate could take a page from Tori's book. All
Kate needs is a piano. Forget all the other stuff. Sure I'd love to see
a complete show with bands, but can you imagine the number of people that
she'd have to bring if she was wanting to cover her biggest songs?

   Piano (one for her, and an additional piainist.)
   At least two keyboardists (she bought two extra Fairlights for tour 
   purposes.)
   At least two guitarists.
   Bass (at least ten different bass players.)
   Drums and percussion.
   A uillean pipe player.
   Strings (a quartet at least, including one really great violinist.)
   Digeridu, bullroarer, strumta de porca, bouziki, musical bow, valiha 
and all that other odd stuff that Paddy plays. 
   An extra Paddy.
   A horn section
   A harpist.
   The Trio Bulgarka.
   Some backing vocalists.
   
>Yet it is true that if she wants to tour America, she better have realistic
>expectations of how many butts she can put in the seats to pay for it or 
>ramp back her expectations for what can be achieved in terms of the 
>production.

   I have no doubt that Kate can fill 1200-seat theatres in most of the 
larger cities in the US, based on her record sales. She has had gold records
in the US, and an artist who hasn't toured in sixteen years will pull a lot
of people in. And, YES, I DO believe that she can tour. Remember that recently
the both Steely Dan and Barbara Streisand toured. Anything is possible.

>Or she can plan a tour with someone like Gabriel who CAN put the butts in 
>the seats and introduce her to America, and then, she better have a dammed 
>good show.  

   Uh, that would be awful. We love Peter, but it's probable that we will
never bother to see him in concert again. Unfortuntly, the success of his
hit songs has put a lot of buttheads in the seats. We had the BOTH Bevis
and Butthead sitting behind us at the US tour. They were shouting for 
"Sledgehammer" all through the quiet songs.

>It's a challenge.  She can rise to meet it or blow it off, but as the 
>Great Gretsky says, "the shot you don't take, you won't make. So she 
>falls on her face once or twice. 

   It's very unlikely that she would. She *is* a brilliant performer.

>Get over it.  Every band in the world screws the pooch now and then 
>and sometimes a few times, but get the beat and the cadence, learn 
>the steps and rehearse the band, and show us your stuff with all the
>energy and love you can muster, and by god, we'll come.  

   She's a perfectionist. She has to learn to let go a little bit.  

>This is real time for real people. She has already proven herself 
>as a composer and a video artist.  In 1979 she proved she could 
>WOW the world.  If she wants to, she can do it again.  But she 
>has to want to and that, I fear, is what is at question here.

   She has indicated that she does want to, again and again.

>But I'll still buy the boots when I can.

   I'll buy the few that actually feature something new. Personally,
via the various tape projects, we have weakened the bootleg market.
If Kate isn't getting the money, no one should. So, bootleg the
bootlegs. Make copies of the bootlegs for all your friends.

--
Chris Williams of
Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
chrisw@miso.wwa.com
"How perfectly goddamn delightful it all is, to be sure." - C. Crumb