Chalkhills Digest Volume 4, Issue 131
Date: Friday, 28 August 1998

         Chalkhills Digest, Volume 4, Number 131

                  Friday, 28 August 1998

Today's Topics:

     A Wake in Your Streamers... and a shameless plug
                   Got My Mojo Working
                    MODERN-TIME NEROS
                         X Wires
                  Re: The Little Express
                       Re: The Jam
                   Re: 5 XTC Mysteries
                  Re: scott thunes - xtc
              Oh sure, once I sound exotic.
                        My Opinion
                      Polish a drum?
                      Re: Astrology
                    Favorite XTC Album
                          Jam TV
                     The Jam rules!!
       Australian Music - The House Is Too Crowded
                    Re: XTC Biography
                Filling the creative void
                       Bruce Foxton
                     Opening remarks
                    negro problem/xtc
                       time to kill
                      Stop dissing!
                     Keneally Speaks!
                        Re:The Jam
                     abbey originals

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    Chalkhills is compiled using Digest 3.6 (John Relph <relph@sgi.com>).

The cheap guitars, too young for the bars at the hop.

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

From: JudeHayden@aol.com
Message-ID: <69c5f533.35e2f5ef@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 13:35:40 EDT
Subject: A Wake in Your Streamers... and a shameless plug

Hey chalksters-

Just got my copy of the Chalkhills Originals 98 cassette in the mail
yesterday, and I just wanted to say how great it sounds and what a nice job
everybody did.  I don't want to mention favorites, though I certainly have
them, because every song on it is interesting and well done.

Oddly enough, I seemed to notice a lot more Todd Rundgren influences than XTC
on my first listening.  Isn't that ironic, Alanis...

And speaking of original music, I still have copies of my band the Bees' 11
track debut CD entitled "Lemonade Stand Still Life", just finished last
December.  While only XTC-ish in a couple of spots, overall it's still melodic
guitar pop.  Special chalkhillian price is $9, including shipping (slightly
more for non-US).  Anyone interested please contact me off-list.

Thanks!
Jude

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

Message-Id: <199808251940.VAA09907@mail.knoware.nl>
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 21:43:27 +0000
Subject: Got My Mojo Working

Dear Chalkers,

For those of you who are unwilling or unable to spend lots of $$$ on
an expensive imported magazine i've put the XTC Song Stories book
review & picture from the UK magazine Mojo on my website.
( http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/book.html )

yours in xtc,

Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse
 http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/
     or http://come.to/xtc

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

Message-Id: <v03102801b2080d00d031@[165.227.110.102]>
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 23:52:11 -0700
From: Richard Pedretti-Allen <richard@tactics.com>
Subject: MODERN-TIME NEROS

The whole Chalkhills' Children project sounds better, looks better and
works better every time.  With increased pride in each subsequent
release, I am proud to say (even after a setback like Peter's hard
drive spitting bolts and springs and belching an acrid plume skyward)
that I am hereby ANNOUNCING THE SEPTEMBER 24 RELEASE OF

"CC98 - MODERN-TIME NEROS"

I will not be checking email until September 4, so please don't write
asking me to reserve you a copy of the tape or ask questions about
sending cash... that is your chance and while it has worked, I assume
no responsibility.

Anyway... get your envelopes on deck and mail them on September 1.  I
will move August postmarks to the VERY BOTTOM of the stack.

TO ORDER    "CC98 . MODERN-TIME NEROS"

Mail your check and mailing label to:

	CC98
	3389 Creighton Place
	Santa Clara, CA 95051-1501
	USA

Send an adhesive mailing label (use a diskette label!) with YOUR
COMPLETE ADDRESS, so that I can stick it to your package.

Please address the LETTER to "CC98" so that it easy to sort from our
other mail.

Pick the place closest to you to determine your cost. If you know that
it costs more, send a bit more (for instance, if it costs 10% more to
ship it to your hometown of Boogerglob, Yugoslavia instead of the
England, please add it).

The general increase in unit cost is because I will only be getting 100
tapes made instead of 200.  I still have 50 of CC96 and 62 of CC97
tapes and interest has slowed greatly.  I don't want to stock these
things until 2002.  Any non-linear steps in price are due to postage
costs.

Quan - United States
1..........$5.65
2..........$10.00
3..........$14.15
4..........$18.90

Quan - England
1..........$7.60
2..........$13.30
3..........$18.80
4..........$24.90

Quan - Japan
1..........$7.60
2..........$11.70
3..........$19.20
4..........$22.90

*_______________ORDER FORM_______________

quan.

____ Chalkhills' Children '96

____ Chalkhills' Children '97 - Don't Ring Us

____ Chalkhills' Children '98 - Modern Time Neros

If you order all three tributes, thank you, thank you, thank you!

*__________________________________________

With any luck, here is the schedule.

Cassettes dubbed: 21sep98
Packaging: 23sep98
Release shipment: 24sep98

Cheers, Richard

home: richard@tactics.com
work: rpa@lucent.com

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

Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 11:10:01 -0700 (PDT)
Message-Id: <199808261810.LAA22817@mando.engr.sgi.com>
From: John Relph <relph>
Subject: X Wires

"Gerardo Tellez" <gtellez@access1.net> asks:
>
>PS: Does anyone know what the real name of the second song off of White
>Music is? Cross Wires or X-Wires?

It's hard to say.  The cover of the original UK LP lists the song as
"X Wires" whilst the label of the same LP lists it as "Cross Wires".
Which is correct?  Perhaps the name that is listed in the new book
"XTC: Song Stories"...

	-- John

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

Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 11:20:35 -0700 (PDT)
Message-Id: <199808261820.LAA26782@mando.engr.sgi.com>
From: John Relph <relph>
Subject: Re: The Little Express

Amanda <LadyCPlum@aol.com> asks:
>
>Does anyone have any idea when the next Little Express is coming out???????

No.  I wrote to them a few months ago but have received no reply.
I know June and Peter have cut back because Chalkhills provides the
latest in news, but I thought they were going to concentrate on
in-depth interviews (they are friends with XTC) and photographs.
Based on past issues I would think the new issue should come out
about the same time as the new LP.

	-- John

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

Message-ID: <35E452B1.6875@staff.prodigy.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 14:23:45 -0400
From: Jim Samuelian <james@staff.prodigy.com>
Subject: Re: The Jam

> From: "BOB O'BANNON" <BOBANNON@IMAweb.com>
> Subject: The Jam
>
> >>>The Jam I still miss;
>
>         Me too. (Over time, however, XTC waged a successful campaign to
> overthrow the Jam as my favorite band).

To this day, The Jam remain one of my favorite bands.  I never liked the
Style Council either, except for a few singles, like My Ever Changing
Moods.  Weller's solo stuff is great.  Apparently there's a 5-CD box set
of Style Council coming out in the UK soon (a 5-CD box on the Jam came
out last year).

> But while we're on the subject, I wonder what Rick
> Buckler and Bruce Foxton are up to these days?

I think Bruce plays in Stiff Little Fingers now.  Rick has a totally
un-music-related job, can't remember what exactly...

>         Hey, anybody know what's going on with Elvis Costello? Seems
> he's been silent longer than usual.

New album with Burt Bacharach (!) due end of next Sept.  There's an
article on it in the new Rolling Stone.

Other cool 80's: The Replacements, Billy Bragg, Echo & the Bunnymen,
Sonic Youth, The Psychedelic Furs, Miracle Legion, early U2
(Boy/October), Joe Jackson, Police, blah blah blah...

Jim

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

Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 11:30:51 -0700 (PDT)
Message-Id: <199808261830.LAA24758@mando.engr.sgi.com>
From: John Relph <relph>
Subject: Re: 5 XTC Mysteries

John Irvine <jirvine@bellatlantic.net> asks:
>
>2.  Did XTC ever play non-LP songs live?  I'm thinking mostly of Take
>This Town, Punch and Judy, Tissue Tigers, Smokeless Zone, Limelight, and
>other kickin' songs I'd love to hear live.  Any bootlegs out there with
>these songs?

XTC used to play the "Fireball XL-5" theme regularly.  They played
"Looking for Footprints", "Heatwave", "Hang on to the Night" and
"Bushman President" regularly.  And of course they played "Blue Beret"
during their 1989 Acoustic Radio Tour.

But none of the songs you mentioned, as far as I know.

	-- John

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

Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 11:48:11 -0700 (PDT)
Message-Id: <199808261848.LAA26452@mando.engr.sgi.com>
From: John Relph <relph>
Subject: Re: scott thunes - xtc

Luis Reynaldo <halloffame@ctv.es> asks:
>
> En los creditos del album
> Skylarking aparece un tal Scott Thunes y seria feliz si resultara ser el
> bajista que estuvo con Zappa durante varios anos pues es un tipo que me cae
> especialmente bien.

and I thank Harrison Sherwood <sherwood@intermetrics.com> for his
loose translation:
>
>(Question is, is the Scott Thunes in the credits of Skylarking the same as
>the bassist who played with Zappa?)

As Harrison pointed out, Scott is mentioned in the credits of _Oranges
and Lemons_.  According to The Little Express, Scott Thunes and Mike
Keneally were visitors to Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles while XTC
were there recording _Oranges and Lemons_.  There is a photo in The
Little Express.  Mike Keneally also played guitar on a version of "My
Train is Coming" which was never finished.

	-- John

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

Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980826134133.0093f6c0@mail.cmact.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 13:41:33 -0500
From: Andrew Stevens <astevens@multimedia.com.mx>
Subject: Oh sure, once I sound exotic.

That's when I get responses to my sporadic posts.

So anyway, Amanda said:
>
>Andrew Stevens-Fan de los Crash Test Dummies? Bueno! Por favor, habla ingles.
>(Hope I spelled that right.) No comprende'!

And then, Ken Herbst <ken@bamadvertising.com> sez something about heading
to the beach, Corona and lime in hand.

Sorry Amanda, I'm not especially a CTD fan. I'm not agin 'em, either,
though. All I said was that, in response to "Hall of Fame Records"
<halloffame@ctv.es> question about spanish speakers (and readers and
writers, too, I guess) on chalkhills, well, there was me, and I remember a
couple of posts from a CTD fan person with an .mx address.

Of course, then Harrison Sherwood comes along and whups my candy ass with a
well wrote (and almost certainly accurate) response in pretty damn fine
castillian. You know, Sherwood, it's not sporting to be that proficient in
more than one tongue. I'll bet you do have to pee a lot. Ha! Ha! So there!
Or rather, !Ja! !Ja! !Lero lero candelero!

Andrew

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

From: MFa2707621@aol.com
Message-ID: <42df5761.35e45a9f@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 14:57:34 EDT
Subject: My Opinion

Chalkers,

Well, I just had to get my opinions out on a couple of subjects.  The first
subject is the whole Duran Duran thing.  I listen to Duran Duran and any 80s
"pop" band when I want to relax.  We need music like this.  I listen to some
groups and performers people would probably gag over.  I love Cliff Richard,
ABBA, The Spice Girls and Olivia Newton-John.  I love this kind of music, and
I don't like people bad mouthing this type of music.  If I had to choose
between Duran Duran and XTC I would definitely pick XTC, because their music
is a lot better.  But if I have a stressful day sometimes I want to listen to
something like Duran Duran.

The next subject is someone asked why XTC isn't popular with the general
public.  Well, I think XTC might be too smart for most people.  Some people
don't want to think about the "message" of the song.  That's why bands like
Hanson and The Spice Girls are so popular.  That's my observation about it.

I just wrote to VH-1 about the Behind the Music thing, but I haven't heard
from them yet.  I highly recommend that you write to them about it.

Bye for now.

Molly

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

From: Kate_L_Burda.ALDRICH@notesgw.sial.com
Message-Id: <8625666C.0071749A.00@notesgw.sial.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 15:47:21 -0500
Subject: Polish a drum?

I had Black Sea in last night, and noticed (why now, after all the
listenings I've given it!) the phrase "...war is polishing its drum, peace
plays second fiddle".  I understand the peace/fiddle part, but not the drum
one.  Is this some sort of old battle-related phrase?  Do people really
polish drums?  Or, is Andy just being Andy and writing stuff we'll keep
marvelling over?

Amused & bewildered,
Kate

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

Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 18:40:21 -0400 (EDT)
Message-ID: <199808262240.SAA21816@repulse>
From: Scott Kennedy <scott@axcelis.com>
Subject: Re: Astrology

I've bveen reading, but haven't contributed to Chalkhills in a while. I am
breaking the silence to say that I find it very sad that anyone believes,
even remotely, in astrology. Just to be non-PC, I will even go so far as to
say that they are a huge idiot. And I mean that personally. Sounds harsh,
but for cryin' out loud, SOMEONE has to speak the truth.
On to XTC; I heard senses working overtime on the radio, and almost wept.

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

Message-ID: <19980826225824.1038.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "vince friel" <vfriel@hotmail.com>
Subject: Favorite XTC Album
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 15:58:24 PDT

Hi folks,
This is my first entry to this site so...hi.
Well my favorite XTC at this time is Skylarking. For all the dribble
that came out in 1986 it was refreshing to hear a band redefining pop
music. This album is not only great musically but it's fun to listen to.
Todd Rundgren did a great job on the production as well as the
arranging. If you haven't played Skylarking in a while, go back and
really LISTEN to it . Listen to the playing and the string arrangements,
the great hooks, killer harmonies. Man XTC managed to take all of their
60's influences and made an album that didn't sound like a Beatles rip
off but
something that stands along side the Beatles in stature. In a decade
known for bad cheesy metal hair bands, and bad techno, or pondorous
college rock bands, hearing a band with true musical style and ability
was like a breath of fresh air.
Well that's my 2 cents, or 2 pence, or whatever the monatary
denomination is in your sector of the planet. Have a good one.
Vince

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

Message-ID: <19980827014734.28725.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "Bob Crain" <bobcrain@hotmail.com>
Subject: Jam TV
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 18:47:32 PDT

>From: "BOB O'BANNON" <BOBANNON@IMAweb.com>
>But while we're on the subject, I wonder what Rick
>Buckler and Bruce Foxton are up to these days?

Buckler and Foxton wrote a book about their time in The Jam a couple of
years back (Weller was not impressed, from what I read in the press).
Foxton is now in Stiff Little Fingers with the original SLF singer Jake
Burns. They rock incredibly live, and I highly recommend them to all
lovers of music.

>From: BPeschel@heraldonline.com (Bill Peschel)
>Harry wrote
>
>>Also, what are the chances of VH1 here in the states making a Behind The
>>Music show on our boys?  I would think XTCs story is more fascinating
>>then Ozzy Osbourne's even to people who've never heard of them.
>
>To which I say;
>
>I agree. Most of them have been pretty interesting, but they just showed
>one on Ted Nugent, that made him out to be Elvis in a loin cloth ("Four
>decades in the music business! A wild man on stage and in his
>politics!")

A VH1 show about XTC would be so great I'd probably get a TV to watch
it!

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

From: Robert.D'Aprile@metagroup.com
Message-ID: <8525666C.00673EDE.00@metagroup.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 14:42:01 -0400
Subject: The Jam rules!!

Bob, saw your post on Chalkhills ... couldn't agree more on the Jam ... I
eagerly awaited every release post-Setting Sons ... my first favorite,
Butterfly Collector ... can't get myself to buy the box set since I already
own all the Jam records on CD, including both Live CDs and Extras, I can
live without the demos on the ffth CD in the box ... as for a tribute
album, I can remember hearing there was one done, to coincide with the
release of the box set ... and yes, oasis was supposed to be on it ...
check the web, I'm sure one came out ...

Bob D'Aprile

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

From: Iain_Murray@hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au
Message-Id: <4A25666D.000B9139.00@ncc-notes.hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au>
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 12:18:48 +1000
Subject: Australian Music - The House Is Too Crowded

The following is an article written by Marcus Casey for the Sydney Daily
Telegraph newspaper on August 27th. Let me assure you that Australian music
is *not* so strong that we should be dismissing artists like Neil Finn this
easily....

Iain

                    *Too Crowded for Kiwi Finn*
     He called Australia home for 12 years, producing some of this
country's finest pop musical moments in two of its favourite bands across
more than a dozen albums - but the Australian Record Industry Association
has decided Neil Finn is a New Zealand ring-in, and therefore ineligible
for this year's national music awards show.
     ARIA board of governors chairman Peter Rix said the decision announced
yesterday had been hard to reach and left "an ache in my heart".
     "But my belief about it all really is that we can't be all things to
all men - we've got to draw the line, and cop the shit that's going to come
as a result of it", Rix said yesterday.
     Cop it they will. Finn's label EMI expected his solo album *Try
Whistling This* (which made its debut at #1 on the ARIA charts) and single
*Sinner* to feature heavily in the finalists being announced in 10 days.
EMI general manager Michael Manos would not comment, nor would Finn's
manager Grant Thomas, but Rix stated that Manos was furious.
     Finn moved to Melbourne with Split Enz in the early 1980s, and in 1986
formed Crowded House, which won eight ARIA awards including Best Australian
New Talent, Best Australian Album, and Best Australian Group. When Finn
moved back to Auckland in 1993, the band was still considered "Australian"
because its other members were locally-based.
     To qualify for an ARIA award, the artist has to permanently reside in
Australia for six months of the year (*this hardly seems "permanent" to me
; a loophole, perhaps?*  - Iain) or carry an Australian passport. Finn
failed both these tests.
     "We considered trying to bend the rules in some way because Neil has
always been a part of the ARIAs", Rix said. "In the end, the decision was
no we can't".
     Finn is on tour in the US. One friend described the decision as
"horrible", but wanted to let Finn speak for himself.

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

Message-Id: <v04011700b20aba245aa4@[134.32.48.236]>
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 08:46:32 +0100
From: Stephen Varga <varga@ferndown.tt.slb.com>
Subject: Re: XTC Biography

On Tue, 25 Aug 1998 00:57:41 EDT Molly Wrote:

>I just got Chalkhills & Children the book by Chris Twomey. Is this book
>>accurate, or is it full of lies?  I don't think it's full of
>lies, but I'm not sure.

This book should be as near to 100% accurate as you can get. Looking at the
acknowledgements, Chris Twomey utilised the full range of resources
available to him including the band themselves (who checked the book for
any errors), their immediate families, friends, producers, Virgin reps, fan
clubs, roadies etc etc.

With such a comprehensive range of resources, there was in fact a lot of
information which had to be left out or censored. It will be interesting to
find out in the Neville Farmer biography whether we get any more info on
the 1979 affair between Colin Moulding and Debra Robertson - not to be
salacious as Chris Twomey pointed out, but the fact this was going at the
same time as Making Plans for Nigel became Colin's first big hit in the UK
charts and what must have been going on in poor Colin's mind at the time.

Most of all, we got very sketchy details regarding Ian Reid's financial
management and general treatment of the band which could not be published
in the Chalkhills and Children biography in great detail at the time for
legal reasons. Now that several more years have passed, I hope that Mr
Farmer has been allowed to expand on this a little more. The band's
treatment by Virgin has also been described by Andy as "criminal" so I hope
that now the band have extricated themselves from Virgin that the dirt can
now be fully dished !!!

Stephen Varga

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

Message-Id: <v04003a05b20ae992b053@[208.240.250.142]>
From: Ken Herbst <ken@bamadvertising.com>
Subject: Filling the creative void
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 11:02:14 -0600

>Swindon. Lovely wretched Swindon. Who would believe something as
>lovely and intoxicating as XTC would come out of such a reportedly
>dreary place?

This seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Cities like Los Angeles and New York are jam-packed with folks from
every little backwoods burg in America. Seems to me that growing up in
a place with too much stimulation and ready-made entertainment can
sometimes stunt your your imagination. Creativity often arises when we
as individuals respond to the unfulfillment of life around us.

Who would believe something as lovely and intoxicating as the B-----s
would come out of such a reportedly dreary place [as Liverpool]?

      :)          Ken Herbst

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

Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 17:57:28 +0100
Message-Id: <VA.00000077.1d7cc2d3@champie>
Subject: Bruce Foxton
From: Richard Horrocks <champie@fat.compulink.co.uk>
Organization: Cunning Developments

> Bob O'Bannon enquired:
> I wonder what Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton are up to these days?

Don't know about Rick, but Bruce is still active playing bass with
"Stiff Little Fingers".

<BLATENT PLUG>
He and guitarist Jake Burns also do some work on music for computer
games, providing the soundtrack for our first two pinball simulations
"The Web" and "Timeshock!".
</BLATENT PLUG>

It's quite weird working with people you used to buy records of when
you were a teenager, Bruce's bassline on "Down in the tube station at
midnight" is one of the first I learnt to play, and is still one of my
alltime favourites.

Champie

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

Message-ID: <19980827215131.8462.qmail@hotmail.com>
From: "nick riddle" <nriddle@hotmail.com>
Subject: Opening remarks
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 14:51:30 PDT

I've been silent long enough. Hello all.

Andy Miller warned me about you, and he was right. But having
acclimatized myself to the debates and the - if you will - idiom of
Chalkhills, I think I'm ready. So here goes. My thoughts are these:

1. Swindon's not as bad as Slough.
2. Dave Gregory's departure will be mourned by all right-thinking
people, if only for the brill stuff he came up with on Oranges and
Lemons.
3. The Avengers movie is every bit as crap as most people suspect.

These, then, are my musings. Incidentally, I'm a Brit living in
Bloomington, Indiana, and there are two bands guaranteed to make me feel
homesick: XTC and The Divine Comedy.

'til next time,

Nick Riddle

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

Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 09:41:51 -0700
Subject: negro problem/xtc
Message-ID: <19980827.094152.19110.0.deuchars@juno.com>
From: deuchars@juno.com (jim d deuchars)

hey chalkfolk,

Our lads showed up in the 8-27-98 Los Angeles Times!

In a quick blurb about an upcoming Negro Problem gig, An NP tune (I
believe it was called "Submarine Down) was described as "...a song that
would make xtc proud".

		't's'all,

		deuchars

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

Message-ID: <35E64672.1009@gte.net>
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 22:56:07 -0700
From: Randy Hiatt <rhiatt@gte.net>
Subject: time to kill

Hi ,

Just a bunch of thoughts and reactions...

Minister of Propaganda said
I was not criticizing Swindon in the slightest, nor were the
members of my family, really.

Swindon tends to get treated like Lourdes, tread softly.  Andy himself
said there were "a few" places worse.

Jeff said:
It's music... it has a beat...
time signatures aren't all that out there... much of the music follows
basic song structure rules... there's hugely competent playing going
on... but WHY, because I like XTC, do a lot of the people that I've
associated with since think I'm some kind of nutcase for digging it?

A friend of mine (one of my bass players no doubt) had an interesting
explanation why he was only politely listening to the XTC I'd buy him or
loan him (rather than gobbling it up like I do).  He said:  "It's like
they are really into comic books or something, they should do kids music
because their stuff sounds like they never grew up."  Being
argumentative I wanted to say something intelligent like
"Uh Uh!!" (with that whiny voice) but realized he was kinda right and
that's why I like them!  They are youthful and commercial pop music is
sorta childish compared to meat eaten, male oriented, rock music (sorry
dom if your a Vegan).

and...

why doesn't a cool little pop tune like "Mayor Of Simpleton" just get
overplayed to hell on the radio?

Must be their management or distributors fault.  Peter Gabes goofier
tunes (Big Time, Sledge Hammer)  get all kinds of air play... it's about
$$  Gabe does a lot of other stuff which needs visibility.  XTC sit
around and make albums, no tours, no world causes... no way to make the
all mighty buck off of them (so why spend any $ promoting them).  It's
hard to buck the system.

Molly says:
I don't listen to anybody except myself.

Rob said:
we shouldn't really speculate on past, present & future, (of XTC w/Dave)
though a reconciliation would be nice.

Rob, I will never give up hope, time heals all (or I'll have to kick
some butt).

Bill Peschel wrote:
All I can remember about him is one hit ("Cat Scratch Fever") and
politics so right-wing it makes G. Gordon Liddy look like a
tree-hugging, chardonnay-sipping limousine liberal.

His arrogant "rock god/alpha male" attitude is why many like him have
made it big in the business.  Our "Boys" take another road and reap the
rural rewards (well someday they may reap a rural reward).

ika fue wrote:
XTC is mentioned in the movie "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss"

Is this a new movie?!  Tell me more.

Jstrole@aol.com said:
I, too saw The Avengers and found it quite entertaining.  I was
disappointed that the Verve Pipe song was missing from the final cut.

I saw Uma (I mean The Avengers) and wasn't sure which tune was the Andy
tune,  was it cut from the US version as stated above?  That was the
real reason I went (sorry Molly... oh ya she's not listening).

Ralph said:
In my opinion the 1970s were the most important decade in
so-called rock music.  I realize that this is a dangerous
statement to make considering Disco is associated with the
70s, but that was an anomaly in an otherwise mind-boggling
creative decade.

Our age is showing but your right.  Art Rock or Prog Rock was at full
tilt as well.  To me the 80's were sterile and the 60's weak on
technique.  The 90's made a comeback.

Steven wrote:
Sorry about this, but "Have a Cigar" was the PF song covered on that
Primus CDEP.

Does this have anything to do with Clinton?

Jdmack01@aol.com wrote:
". . .Marillion vocalist Steve Hogarth.  Steve has just put out a new
solo album called Ice Cream Genius.  Included in his band are guitarist
Dave Gregory of XTC,..."

Is it good?  It's news to me.  Tell me more.

MARK G. CUEVAS wrote:
I am happy to announce that "Awaken You Dreamers" is now shipping.

Got it!  It's great, thanks Mark and Jeff for all the efforts putting
this together.  Good art work too.

Paul Rogers wrote:
A bit of news on Clockwise (all major XTC fans and Chalkhillians). First
however, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who took me up on the
offer of the Clockwise CD.

Good stuff guys!  Thanks for the CD.  I'm passing it around.  Hope your
new deal gets you "out there".

and he also said:
To all the artists out there I want to say - that neither
recompense nor recognition make you an artist. Rather the daily struggle
to find a way to keep doing what you love puts the meat on the bones of
your art and fleshes out your creative dreams - Paul Rogers. Keep
striving!!

Paul, you misspelled Starving.

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

Message-ID: <C4D3F9980FD4D111892B00805FBBF5D19B17B0@MAILSVR1>
From: "Lieman, Ira" <ilieman@lernerny.com>
Subject: Stop dissing!
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 09:26:19 -0400

I know, I know, I sorta started it but that usually means I have to finish
it .

<explanation> Oh yeah...I just started a new job, this is a new e-mail. Yay!
</explanation>

I wanted to share an acquaintance's opinions, but that turned into World War
Three here. I don't like it when I hear people dissing New York City (8
million New Yawkas can't be wrong) so we should limit our disparaging
remarks about Swindon...especially since it seems like maybe three or four
Chalkheads have been there in total. I sure feel better. You?

XTC content: Now that I finally have a CD-rom that I can play cds on, I'm
reabsorbing Mummer. Aah. :)

-i

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

Message-ID: <35E6B95A.27C44C95@intermetrics.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 10:06:17 -0400
From: Harrison Sherwood <sherwood@intermetrics.com>
Subject: Keneally Speaks!

Howdyfoax!

As a followup to Luis' query about Scott Thunes in the liner notes of "Oranges
& Lemons" in #128, and my coming across the Frank Zappa "Mup" story in the
Chalkhills Archives (see "It Loosens Something," #130), I emailed Mike
Keneally yesterday, just to see if I could get a confirmation and perhaps a
reminiscence or two. He's just winding down his tour with Beer for Dolphins, a
busy guy, and I certainly never expected a response as quick and thorough as
this one. Mike, one suspects, is Awreetus-Awrightus.

> Hi Harrison!  Keneally here, in the passenger seat of a large Budget rental
> truck heading from Dallas, TX to Durango, CO.
>
> The "Mup" story, is related in your email, is accurate.  When Scott Thunes
> and I met Dave and Andy in Birmingham (by the way, it was a couple of
> friends of mine, Kris Jeter and Glenn Norris, who prepared the "Mup"
> drawing adorning Gregsy's wall - it wasn't a friend of Scott's, so that's
> the one inaccuracy in the "Mup" story in your email), we were informed that
> XTC would be inflitrating Los Angeles later in 1988 to record an album.
> The album of course ended up being "Oranges & Lemons."  Scott and I spent
> as much time as we could spare attending the sessions.  I lived in San
> Diego at the time and would drive up on the weekend to visit, often
> accompanied by my wife Viv and my brother Marty, both of whom are also
> namechecked in the liner notes (Marty is referred to as "Affable Mart," a
> play on words on "Affable Mort" which was a band Marty and I had at one
> time).  The band were being put up in very pleasant apartments near the
> studio during the sessions, and I would virtually live in Dave's apartment
> for days at a time.  We were thanked in the liner notes for being around
> all the time and providing non-weasel friendship, a commodity in short
> supply in Los Angeles.  I did play guitar on one song during the sessions,
> a Dave Clark Five-style raver called "My Train Is Coming," which was, I
> believe, the only tune attempted during the sessions which was never
> released.  I don't think any overdubs were attempted on the tune - it was a
> live-in-the-studio track with me and Gregsy on guitars, Colin and Pat on
> bass and drums, and Andy on vocal.  It is one of my most precious memories.
>
> There you go!
>
> All the best,
> Mike Keneally

And there, indeed, we go! Thanks, MK! San Diegan Hillsters can catch Mike and
BFD this Sunday at Humphrey's (with Jethro Tull -- woo-woo!!). This appears to
be the last gig on the tour, which started in June and has swept the nation
much like the Mudshark. Check Mike's toadully awesome web site at
http://www.moosenet.com/keneally.html. Buy a t-shirt!

Harrison "make a baroque noise here" Sherwood

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

From: RiknBkr@aol.com
Message-ID: <6232217e.35e6ba9e@aol.com>>
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 10:11:42 EDT
Subject: Re:The Jam

I think it was Chris who wrote:

>>>The Jam I still miss; The Style Council sounded like a young white
guy with a limited voice trying to do classic soul and not quite
succeeding. Paul Weller's 90's solo material has been a distinct
improvement, but nothing compares to The Jam at their peak; I was even
more into them than XTC in the early 80's.<<<

It was Bob who wrote:

>I've always been somewhat surprised by the relative obscurity into
>which the Jam seems to have fallen. I don't see them cited much as
>influences among groups today, even though much of the alternative
>scene, from Green Day to Blur to Oasis, owes a lot to them. Do you
>ever see Jam flashbacks on MTV? And how 'bout a Jam tribute album?
>That's a project that is long overdue.

I loved the Jam before I heard XTC from about 1979 and still do to this day.
When I met Paul Weller in the early 80's he told me that he thought XTC were
too "mechanical".  I was a bit bummed by that statement and this was right
after ES was released.  I didn't pursue the argument though, too much into
hero worship.

I can't listen to Green Day or Oasis because they sound like a Jam copy band
(even though I was in one myself) and they're both one dimensional.  At least
Blur has a bit of XTC and Kinks thrown into the mixture, so they're more
tolerable.  I have seen a Jam history bite on 120 minutes that lasted about 1
min.  There is a tribute album out there, I've heard about it although its
either in production or its done.  Have you picked up the 5 CD box set that
came out last May? Ahh.... Rickenbacker & Vox heaven.

>...I wonder what Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton are up to these days?

Don't know about Buckler, but Foxton is playing bass for Stiff Little Fingers.
SLF is now a three piece, what a coincidence...just like the Jam.  They've
released a recent CD (import I think, and I don't know the title) where
there's a live version of Smithers Jones.  Pretty Rock & Rollish version, I
may add.  I still like the original though.

Well, back to lurking....

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

Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 11:10:10 -0700 (PDT)
Message-Id: <199808281810.LAA15805@intergate.sonyinteractive.com>
From: Bob Estus <bestus@intergate.sonyinteractive.com>
Subject: abbey originals

Hill o' Chalk,

I received my Chalkhills Originals tape in the mail. The entire tape is
magnifico with the exception of one track. It wasn't the poor fellow's fault
though... His glasses were *so* fogged that he tromped right through the
gathering, with dripping tentacles and queasy organs, not knowing the
Costello tribute was down the hall. :^) Just jiving you of course
Harrison... Your contribute' was a sweaty pinnacle of humid achiveivement!

I heartily recommend the tape. Reel to reel it's the most listenable
(loosely falling into the family) of XTC tributes. The most apparent
similarity between these songs is their ability to gaff your brain with
hooks the size of uh... giant squids.

It's only fault, the heavy *other* than XTC influence, should be ignored in
favor listening to a fine sampling of music from some of XTC's most talented
phannies. That said, Mark Cuevas probably comes the closest to an XTC
pastiche :^) with his multi-textured "Molly Grey".

To rub noses and pick favorites would be pointless because if asked I would
have something very nice to say about each song. Although today's are a tie
between Jason Garcia's "The Great American Public" and Eric Day's "What does
the Devil Want With My Soul". Very cool stuff.

hands all clapping time,
-Bob

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

End of Chalkhills Digest #4-131
*******************************

Go back to Volume 4.

29 August 1998 / Feedback