Enjoy
Hi Darren,
This "covers" issue is quite ridiculous. It takes less than 10 minutes time in a 2 hour and 15 minute show. That's really nothing when you think about it. Some venues want nothing more than a 90 minute show. When that happens, Manic Depression is out of the set and sometimes Ray is gone too. The Ray song is about 1:45.......One bloody minute and forty five seconds. People are bitching about that? Well, too bad. If we can't take a MINUTE and do something that is FUN for us.......and by the way, from my perspective, people are dancing and smiling and grooving to it. Seems to me that the audience is digging it too. If there are people in the back that have their arms folded and pissed that DDY is not there---and they are looking for ANY reason to piss and moan---well, they are gonna find it. People will find a way to bitch about anything. If there's one thing I've learned in my almost 30 years of being a professional musician.....it's that you can't please everybody. It'll make you nuts and you'll die tryin'. From club bands to wedding bands to jazz combos to big name rock bands....there are always sour pusses shitting on what you do. I've done it all, man. It's art and it's sjective and it's subjected to tastes and criticism. That's life. This covers record absolutely friggin' smokes. It gonna rip faces off. BUT, we are gonna get slammed for doing it. Hey man, I Am The Walrus has gotten the most radio play here in the states for the band since '91. It was NUMBER 2 on the Media Base Classic Rock Radio Chat behind the almighty U2 at #1. It cracked the Contemporary Hit Radio (modern top 40) at # 50 300 radio stations added Walrus to their playlists. Feel free to share this info on your chat rooms. Though not "Brittany Spears" radio success, it's pretty impressive---and NO BAND from our ilk (Journey, REO, etc) has had that kind of success at radio in friggin' years. The industry has been knocked on it's ass by this....and we are back on a major label because of it. The first time since DDY pissed off the folks at A&M and he blew their deal. That being said, I think it's a good idea to take 4 minutes and play that song.
I know you're a die hard. That's cool....I'm a die hard with many bands I love. But you'd be surprised at how many people would have blank faces back when we did Lights, Sing For The Day, Half Penny, and any of the back catalogue that wasn't a "hit." You have to play the hits, man. There are more "part time fans that come for a good time" than die hards that want to hear the deep album cuts. It's a sad fact, but a fact it is. You don't think I'd like to change the set up a bit? But if we did, there would be more customers NOT returning because they "didn't know any of the songs."
At the same time, it's always a balancing act and as I said---you can't please everyone. All the songs that you listed will be touched on in the medley. Inow you and some of the die hards would like to hear them in their entirety, but along with playing the hits and taking 9 minutes for us to have fun and do something NEW for US (god forbid) it would be a 3 hour and 15 minute show. We can't do that 5 or 6 times a week. The guys would have no voices left.
You'll see. The shows are gonna kill and you'll have a great time. It's just music, man. It's fun and enjoyable----life enhancing. If you get caught up in the muck and the politics, it really becomes less fun. Then it's a job and a total drag. Again, like anything, it's a tightrope to walk.
I appreciate your enthusiastic support and I hope I've made some things clearer. I am looking forward to playing the UK so much---you wouldn't believe it. I really can't wait.
It's gonna be great!
Take care, Darren. See you over there.
Todd
