Signed in stranger

Happy 1997! If basic tracks start going down now, we stand a chance of seeing one more SD album this century! Hey here's an idear, maybe DF & WB could create the world's first album entirely in e-bonics (phonetic spelkling). hmmmm.

lovebob

Yo! wazzup? y'knowwhaIsain'? I'm stressin'on the REAL DEAL, when my home boyz is layin' down new phattrax for da masses, yo! y'knowwhaIsain'? I sittin' quite phat in the NYC-tip yo! Runnin' up&down the Avenues, checkin' out for the GrandMaster Fagen, hopin' the cat is layin' down the new word, y'knowwhaIsain'? A Fresh disc this century? WORD? I got my 40, but I'll chill 'till the thrill is here and is DA BOMB! yo! I'm out...

YGK-brotha-man

To Mr. Your Gold Keith:

Racist.

From me to you.....

I have ten images created from a video of the Dan's Letterman appearance 10/95 that are available AT NO MONETARY COST.

Email me if you want to check them out and I'll forward them to you.

If you know of a cyber-location to put them, let me know that too.

You gotta see the "Canine Donald" jpeg!!

Laters...

maj.

To A Black Man:

Misguided, Bleeding-Heart Liberal Dullard.

Look, bro, I've many black friends who speak this way, and me with them, and they have no problem with it. They actually appreciate that I can identify with that style. Hence, I am making no judgements about the style, but if you have this deep seeded need to call me a racist, then so be it - but you'll just be, simply, 2+2=5, otherwise known as "wrong".

peace out,

YGK

To Mr. Gold Keith:

My calling you a racist has nothing to do with my political persuasion which happens to be registered Independent, voted Dole for President. So your "liberal" tag is wrong. But I'm not surprised that you would lump all people of color into the "bleeding heart liberal pack." It's standard operating procedure for racists. So is the I'm not a racist because "A lot of my friends are black " response.

I've heard them all and it just makes me sad, especially since I thought Steely Dan fans were above the whole black/white thing. Just like Becker and Fagen seem to be color blind in their selection of players. But I guess I was wrong.

Black Man,

I was with ya there for a while but... You thought Steely Dan fans were above the whole black/white issue? You're gonna call somebody racist for some lighthearted African American phraseology? (okay, so it wasn't very funny... that's never stopped anyone around here before, just read some of Kinky's idiocy).

Sounds like if you're not actually a card carrying bleeding heart liberal, you're at the very least a member of the politically correct gestapo... Lighten up.

To the person behind the Al Sharpton Posting:

I don't believe you were with me at all. Your "politically correct gestapo" comment as well as the fact you chose to post under the Al Sharpton alias shows that you wish to portray blacks in a Come on, you know that Al Sharpton does not represent my attitudes or those of 99% of my people.

I think this poster is really Your Gold Keith. Your dig on Kinky gave you away. You seem to have so much animosity for those who seem to irk you. I'm sorry you're such an angry person, but please keep it to yourself.

ahh, the new year's just begun, and already we have more ranting and rancor here than you could shake a stick at.

nonetheless, i must agree that it's pretty damn tiresome having to be so inordinately careful about what i say, to avoid offending various groups, cliques, ethnicities, or whatever. it's almost impossible to joke about the characteristic and very interesting differences we all have without being labelled a bigot. (granted, i got upset before about some silly remarks about the u.s. south. it happens.) i do think that the label of 'racist' is often used altogether too lightly.

i've been a victim of real race hatred, and i don't think that mimicking the speech patterns of a certain ethnic group, on its own equals racism. granted, i don't think it's that amusing either.

by the way, Keith, that should have been 'deep-seated.' just thought you'd want to know.

happy new year everybody.

peace,

rabbit

Does anyone know if Gary Katz is producing their next album? Not slighting Mr.Becker, but in my opnion something was a little different on Kamakiriad. Just different, thats all.

hi & happy New Year to all!

BMG sent me a catalogue again (they want me back,baby!) and I read it this time. The senior music editor listed his 6 all-time favorite albums(inviting us to do the same) and guess what 2 of them were?

Okay, they are: Nightfly and Aja. 1/3 ain't bad!

Ruby, new&happy owner of Nightfly

hi & happy New Year to all!

BMG sent me a catalogue again (they want me back,baby!) and I read it this time. The senior music editor listed his 6 all-time favorite albums(inviting us to do the same) and guess what 2 of them were?

Okay, they are: Nightfly and Aja. 1/3 ain't bad!

Ruby, new&happy owner of Nightfly

pardon my doubledog post

RUBY; I LOVE your doubledog-postings. And that´s not the only thing I love with you honey.

NewFan; No, it´s not about smoking heroin, it´s about smoking opium, that´s a big difference.

Maxine; everything´s OK?

STal; now I know, embarrassment for my country, like Ricki Lake is for USA? Or Mc Carthy? And I´m going to make a CALL today. To my brother, is that OK for you?

clas

I sure hope Gary Katz is involved in some way in the crafting of the new album. I truly believe he made the boys what they are today.

JON; You´re damn right Jon, and Roger Nichols has a great part in it as well. But if you listen to Rosie Velas album Gary Katz´s producing there sucks.

The Strapping AbbaBaby

Hey, good to see things are back to their usual rolicking good time.

Got the box set (finally!) and, unfortunately, the flu for my holiday. (Watched the ball drop from the couch. Toasted with ginger ale.) Ruby, good to hear you managed to score the Nightfly as well.

Until there's something else to say, Maxine

They don't need Gary Katz anymore and haven't needed him for some time now. Walter and Donald know enough about producing records now to do it by themselves. Walter has a fine resume of producing CDs for jazz and other artists and Donald has also proven himself. I'm sure they'll do just fine on their own record.

I think Gary brings something valuable to the Becker and Fagen collaboration..and that's a second opinion. I'm sure Donald and Walter get carried away with things when there's no one around to provide some sort of perspective. I think that if you would have had Gary involved on Kamakiriad, you might have heard the following:

Donald: So what do you think, Gary?

Gary: I think your vocals are too far back in the mix. And you might want to bring in some other guitar players, too. You want me to call Larry?

And on 11 Tracks:

Walter: So what do you think, Gary?

Gary: I think you might be overdoing that drum machine stuff. You want me to call Steve?

If you notice, Donald & Walter's record sales and radio airplay of their new stuff tanked without Gary as producer. He definitely has commercial instincts that Donald and Walter apparently don't have.

BlackManDanFan: You remain grossly Misguided. The violins on your shoulder are !screeching! I'm sure you're probably into this whole PC thing. Well, that's your choice and I won't judge it. You're an independent, too? Well, so am I. At last - common ground.

Obviously, you don't know me and for what I stand. That's excusable. If you did, I'd bet you'd retract that statement of my supposed racism. (Should I call you a racist because it seems that you feel that all White people are racists?)

hey, did you ever hear of the phrase, "Imitation is the most sincerely form of flattery?"

and oh yeah, I was never, nor will ever post as Al Sharpton. (My PC is @work, and I left at 5:15 EST yesterday - so, once again, you are 2+2=5)

Chill the fuck out...

Ruby Baby: Welcome back - New Years OK?

Maxine: How about those S....?

rabbit: Happy New Year - glad to see we share a strong distaste for the PC movement

BTW - I think Kinky might possibly be Al Sharpton....

peace, love and harmony,

YourGoldKeith

SKINNY MAN; I´m surprised to read such an intelligent post from a male on this site. I agree with you. 100%. I think Katz, Fagen, Becker and Nichols together is a must for a new successfull CD.

LARS; Got a CALL from the old statarlängorna, you forgot your Mellotron there. And they say that there´s some kind of bum wandering around the place, looks like an old hippie. He says his name is Tommy Rander. They don´t know what to do with him.

(what did you say about my mother? how does she spell her name? carol, carole?)

The Strapping AbbaMaybe

Judging by Gary's track record with production efforts for other artists (see 10cc, Root Boy Slim, Love and Money, Eye to Eye, etc.), I don't think D&W are missing too much with his "commercial instincts".

Ambrose: I think it's unfair to blame the failure of the 10cc and other projects on Gary's production. They failed the songs the artists wrote and performed weren't that good and didn't have commercial appeal. On the other hand, Donald and Walter's writing and performances are always superior so there's no song quality or performance issue to start off with. And with Gary helping them out with a "second opinion", I think Becker and Fagen made it to the next level that talent alone wouldn't have been able to get them. It's like coaching a sports team of superstars. You wouldn't want the players to be coaching themselves. They'd probably win a lot of games, but probably no world championship.

Fun debate. Let's keep this up.

SkinnyMan: Gary Katz Produced one the worlds most beautiful albums in AJA - now I don't have my Gaucho in front of me, but who did that one? - but that was the late 70's, and we'll have to wonder if Gary still "has it".

In that I love AJA so much, I certainly wouldn't mind having Mr. Katz on the producing front.

YGK

I believe some people bring out the best in each other, as Skinny Man said. I'm willing to bet it gets very intense sometimes and they need a break from each other,too.

Please get better & try and hang on Maxine! (echinacea & C with the boxed set is very good for what ails)

YGK: NewYear's fine. Et tu?

and a hug to Clas, stay warm okay?

Ruby

SKINNY MAN; If you continue to write such intelligent postings I don´t need to be here anymore. But maybe Maxine and Ruby will be sad if quit so I´ll stick around. Bravissimo Skinny Man! Halleluja!!

MAXINE; Sorry to hear that you got the flu on your holliday. I´m very sad about that. Krya på dig! Lilla flicksnärta!! Här kommer Stora Stygga Vargen!

The Strapping Jabba Habba

I think the "fresh perspective" thing is more valid in the case of a solo artist, who needs to bounce ideas off someone else. But D&W have each other to bounce their ideas off of. That's more than enough perspective, in my book. They've never been interested in whether something "sounds like a single", and they shouldn't be. All they should care about is whether something works or not, to their very capable ears. If their sound is outdated or irrelevant today, no producer in the world will be able to save them. I don't believe Gary has any more ability than anyone else to get them commercial success. They either have it or they don't. The only reason his SD productions were so successful was because, as Skinny notes, of the quality of the B&F music, nothing more, nothing less.

skinny man--thank you so much for the commentary. i must concur, especially with the remarks about the drum machine thing. i mean shooting for consistent playing is admirable, but there is a fine line between consistent and mechanical. maybe if gary katz had had a hand in the production of 'kamakiriad,' there would not have been quite the (to my ears anyway) disagreeable profusion of sequenced percussion and keyboard parts. the album is about a futuristic, bug-like vehicle, so the rigid, machine-like drum thing works, at least for a little while, but it gets begins to grate after a few tracks. kills the groove, too.

ambrose--you're not a drummer, are you? lots of musicians listen to dan because of the immaculate writing, recording, AND playing. and perfect, machine precision does not equal quality playing. it's that indefinable 'feel' provided by folks like steve gadd and of course the inimitable jeff porcaro. it's a groove that no amount of editing drum machine high-hat notes, or even 'humanizing software' can deliver. all the drum machine on ''kirad' is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. if gary katz can fix that, they DO need him. badly.

peace,

rabbit

skinny man--thank you so much for the commentary. i must concur, especially with the remarks about the drum machine thing. i mean shooting for consistent playing is admirable, but there is a fine line between consistent and mechanical. maybe if gary katz had had a hand in the production of 'kamakiriad,' there would not have been quite the (to my ears anyway) disagreeable profusion of sequenced percussion and keyboard parts. the album is about a futuristic, bug-like vehicle, so the rigid, machine-like drum thing works, at least for a little while, but it gets begins to grate after a few tracks. kills the groove, too.

ambrose--you're not a drummer, are you? lots of musicians listen to dan because of the immaculate writing, recording, AND playing. and perfect, machine precision does not equal quality playing. it's that indefinable 'feel' provided by folks like steve gadd and of course the inimitable jeff porcaro. it's a groove that no amount of editing drum machine high-hat notes, or even 'humanizing software' can deliver. all the drum machine on ''kirad' is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. if gary katz can fix that, they DO need him. badly.

peace,

rabbit

sorry about the double posting. still figuring out the 'reload' thing.

rabbit you have a twin

rabbit you have a twin

Hey Ambrose, Check out ³...the quality of the B&F music, nothing more, nothing less...² of Caves of Altimira before and after Katz got his hands on it, and tell me that he brings nothing to the table as a producer. Secondly, the discussion has nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not"... Gary has any more ability than anyone else to get them commercial success...² What is being talked about is his considerable influence in creating a certain type of sound, which happens to be one of the paramont roles a producer is called on to play. In listening to a lot of the pre-SD stuff out there, I strongly feel that Katz and Nichols qualify to be full-fledged members of the entity we call Steely Dan.

I took the liberty of copying Skinny Man's introduction, but added my own ideas about what would have been said if Katz was involved with the solo projects.

"I think Gary brings something valuable to the Becker and Fagen collaboration..and that's a second opinion. I'm sure Donald and Walter get carried away with things when there's no one around to provide some sort of perspective. I think that if you would have had Gary involved on Kamakiriad, you might have heard the following:"

On Kamakiriad:

Donald: Gary, I don't like that bass player, make sure he's out of here in 5 minutes, and don't pay him.

Gary: But you've used him on the last 3 albums!

Donald: I don't care, it's your job Gary, you'll think of an excuse.

And on 11 Tracks:

Walter: So what do you think, Gary?

Gary: I think you might be overdoing that drum machine stuff. You want me to call Steve?

Walter: Who asked you? Now go to 7-11 and get me some more of those Macadamia nuts, and get a Coke for Kawai.

"If you notice, Donald & Walter's record sales and radio airplay of their new stuff tanked without Gary as producer. He definitely has commercial instincts that Donald and Walter apparently don't have."

"They got a name for the winners in the world, I want a name when I'm GoldKeith..."

Happy New Year to You, too, Kink!

Sorry I left you out...

ygk

Rabbit: In case you've forgotten, it was Gary Katz and Roger Nichols who pioneered the use of drum machines with "Wendel" which was used on the Gaucho album. So Gary obviously didn't mind using it. (I hate drum machines too, by the way.)

Jon: I think B&F had much more to do with the evolution of "Caves" than Gary did.

Kinky has given us the most accurate description so far of Gary's role in SD music. Namely, booking the players who B&F wanted for the sessions, making sure they showed up on time, kicking them out when they were no longer needed, and making sure the fridge was stocked with food.

Kinky: Pretty funny stuff. Hopefully Gary contributed more to the Steely Dan experience than just being a hatchet-man and glorified secretary. If not, well, the illusion has been shattered.

Interestingly, I doubt seriously that Mr. Katz would've suggested to Mr. Fagen to lose the bass player on Kamakiriad... After all, it was Mr. Becker's outstanding command of the low end that contributed a great deal of what is so extraordinary about Kamakiriad... see "Snowbound". Oh that's right, that was covered already.. about a month ago.

Mr. Kannon - You seem to have the inside scoop, once again. Am I far off on the other things, or are macadamia nuts just growing all over the place these days? BTW, have you ever considered changing your name? Maybe shortening it up a little?

RABBIT; There´s no drummachines on Kamakiriad is it? I love Beckers guitarplaying on that CD but for the bass... no (look, three dots). (learn kids)

And listen to Gaucho for example, the sound is like a fantastic architecture, and I belive that it has to do with both Katz and Nichols.

RUBY; I am warm, hotter than July, got a sun you know...

Got my Radar on

Hell, my sternum hurts but my analyst says it´s all in my head. Brainghosts. She´s a nasty little woman. Well, what have that to do with Steely Dan? Not a shit I suppose.

Where´s Josie?

KINKY; where´s Josie?

shit, I bumped into Stevies piano

Ha ha ha

The drums on Kamakiriad are a combination of a drummer playing drums *and* a machine playing edited samples of the drummer playing the drummer's drums to replace the sounds of the drum machine.

Edd

EDD COTE; Is it the same thing on Nightfly and Gaucho? And what the hell is it good for? To get a steady rythm I guess but what the f**k... now I´m pissed again. I never heard them on stage... yes I have, at Letterman, and that sounded like steady rythm for me. That drummachinemanipulation is paranoia. What do you say Edd?

Oh, I´m so pissed, were´s Donald? Maybe I´m going to make a CALL.

My sternum...

The Lacking AbbaJabba

PS Edd; what are you doing upp early in the dawn?

I can´t spell, I know. Upp = up, upp is swedish and means up.

Maxine; How are you?

I´ll soon be back.

The Immortal & Mr. Katz are a must to put out a "Steely Dan" album.But then I used to think Skunk & /or Larry C.or Steve Kahn were neccessary to put out a "Steely Dan" tour. Q Roseland,Roseland,Roseland,Pacaic,Ocean State Theater.........

For anyone in my area, check out Straight Up tonight at 10, at the Sam Adams Brew Pub in Philadelphia (16th and Sansom Sts.). They do great versions of Dirty Work, Rikki, and Reelin'in the Years. Also do a mean Allman's 'Jessica', Santana's 'Black Magic Woman', and Yes 'Your Move/All Good People', and 'South Side of the Sky' (only band I've ever heard do Yes, other than Yes, of course!).

And the brews are quite tasty! Come join me for one! :)

Just checking in. The S.F. 49ers lost today, proving that there is a God. Now, can we all get along?

If a drum machine gives an artist the sound the artist wants, then its' the perfect tool for the job. Who am I, or you, or anybody else, to second guess?

The advantage to a drum machine is everything is tweakable. Swap samples, push and pull, adjust velocities, etc. And it's all entirely repeatable.

I've worked with enough drummers who's idea I've pushing was to play faster that having a "drummer" that I can depend on is heaven-sent. Not to mention my machine never shows up late, borrows money, or spills beer on my rack. (In all fairness, I have worked with a couple drummers who were absolutely wonderful.)

I've never understand the anti-drum machine position. Technology dumped a ton of new tools on musicians. Use 'em as you see fit. Or not! The artist is the only one who gets to decide if the recording is right.

interesting discussion here.

ambrose--i really don't know that much about the development of the drum machine, or 'wendel.' i can hear what sounds like recorded drum loops in some of those tunes. could it be that katz and nichols put together some of that new technology stuff at the behest of an artist we all know whose demands for consistent playing border on the legendary?

clas--yes there is drum machine on 'kamakiriad.' tons of it. i guess there really are people who can't tell the difference. amazing.

edd cote--the drum sounds on ''kiriad' are very cool. but i'm talking about the 'feel' (or i guess the lack of it, actually) of the playing. i'm talking about 'groove.' naturally the live drumming on the cd is nothing but tasty, as one would expect on music from someone like fagen.

Greetings from a belgian Dan fan! I haven't read through all of this archive, 'cos I'm a bit too tired to take this all in one sitting, but allow me to jump in on the "drum machine" debate.As no current sequencer offers a resolution that's fine enough for DF's purposes, what he actually does is run the audio signal from each drum sound off his drum machine/sampler/whateverÉ through an individual digital delay unit. This allows him to offset every instrument's timing by milliseconds, enabling VERY precise adjustments to the feel of a drum groove. The equivalent of doing this with a real drummer would be to ask the poor guy wether he "could play that hi-hat just 2 milliseconds earlier"...Can one hear a difference of 2 milliseconds? IMHO, one can. I've tried a similar technique as the one I've just described and was quite amazed to find that I could hear a difference in the groove.Wether a song eventually benefits from these meticulous groove adjustments is another issue. I prefer The Nighfly's smooth grooves over Kamakiriad's cerebral perfection anytime. Moreover, I can recognize the cheesy keyboard presets on the latter from a mile off, which is a shame, considering DF's superb taste in keyboard sound during the SD area (and on the Nightfly).

OK this is a bit long but hey, it's my first entry!

Luc

Luc: welcome, hope you enjoy your stay. I'll agree, definitely too much to take in one sitting. Best to take small bites.

Drum machine thoughts: if as my examples DF's Kama sounds were enhanced and WB's 11TOW ones weren't, I'd vote enhanced every time. There's something about a human keeping time vs. a computer that gives it the element of heartbeat, reality, pulse, whatever you want to call it...

Sue: the band sounds great, now if only they were on my side of the keystone. It would be nice to hear Yes covered, especially if it's good.

Clas: I'm better, thanks.

It's been my understanding from some of Mr. Nichols articles in E.Q.'s magazine that the use of drum machine(s) in Steely Dan recordings was strictly click tracks. Yes they spend some time working with drum tracks and milleseconds of delay to lay down a great groove to work with but the actually recordings were only the great drummers and their own inner voice that appeared on the records. But that could be my own opion. Secondly, i was only wondering if you could hear a difference between Kamakiriad and previous Dan recordings, as far as producers.

Dug: True, SD never used drum machines as such. I was referring only to the technique used on Kamakiriad.Maxine and Dug: In as far as this might have been obscured in my previous posting, let me clearly state I prefer the real drummers anytime. I was just documenting my personal fall from disbelief regarding the procedures involved: whereas I previously thought shifting instruments around in steps of milliseconds equalled veering off into the realm of black magic, I became aware that you can actually hear this stuff.What still puzzles me is how the whole crew of Roger Nichols, DF and WB these days take on a very remote, no-nonsense stance vis-a-vis recording, putting the emphasis on *convenience* (digital recording, machines instead of musicians, etc.). One the one hand this obviously ties in with who they are (or at least my image thereof), one the other hand these are the guys that took the warm, analogue '70's sound to its apex. I guess that sort of happened "by accident", since they obviously had to stick with the tools that were available at that time, the fact that they managed to squeeze all these great sound out of it being not entirely unrelated to the staggering amount of talent these gentlemen have displayed in the field of writing and recording music. I deem it also safe to assume that my bewilderment towards their current attitude stems from a profound lack of experience with the *in*convenience of '70's recording gear (the infamous Denny Dias story about the Arp Soloist massacre springs to mind).As far as producers go, I never quite figured out where Gary Katz fitted into the picture, but I think I caught a glimpse of a vivid debate on that going on in these pages some time ago, so I guess I'll catch up on that first.

Belgium out.

Macadamia nuts? I didn't know they grew in 7-11's.. BTW, 7-11's are growing all over the place these days.. Name duly shortened upon request.

Lester: and as of today, I no longer have to find something gold to wear to work, oh, say, three weekends from now.

At least I don't have to hit Zeke up for N'awleans accomodation...

BELGIUM; PUH! I must say that youre english is better than mine my Belgium Pal. I guess my hat is too flat but it take hours for me to read and understand your postings. But it´s clear as water that you know a lot. I am one of those old men who was recording in studio on the time of analogies, and that was hell. But at that time it was´nt that paranoic chase for a steady rythm. If it sounded like music it was music to us (the band). But I guess the reason why you can listen to, and enjoy for example Gaucho today is our fellows pedantry with both steady rythm and the other musicsternums.

What the hell, I love their music. Does´nt matter if its Nightfly or 11 Tracks. And for me are the lyrics 50% of the joy of listening to them.

Maxine; I am glad that you are better. I am also better today, my sternum don´t hurt. Does your sternum hurt sometimes? It´s a hell with sternumpains, ask me. Did I tell you about my analyst? She says it´s all in the head, she´s a squeesie little woman, she got... hell and don´t think you´re interrested anyway.

Ruby, are you with me?

The Snapping AbbaBaby

Shit, I forgot this;

EDD, I agree with you.

Mr KATZ; I thought you where at The River Sound. Anyway, a question; You and I share the same bodykonstitution, long and skinny, do you suffer from sternumpains now and then?

The Stapler AbbaBaby

PS, I think the lyrics are 80%, I should´nt be such a fan if the lyrics just where about love and baby please.

Happy New Year everyone,

Nice to see that this place has not changed with the begining of a new year.

Count me as one who hopes that Gary Katz is producing a new Dan release. Both D&W are excellent producers but when you self produce you tend to miss possibilities outside the direction you started the song out in. I think D&W would produce a great album but with Gary there it can be even better

DCB

LUC; do you mean that Nightfly don´t have any drummachine - or whatever? And for the keyboards on Kama, I think the Fender Rhodes sounds great. But the strings on On the Dunes pisses me off, but on that song it can´t be any drummachinedigitaldelay-things?

I really liked to hear the "Arp Demolation" -story. Please tell us!

Got to walk the dog

PS; Ruby; I like your graphics

Skinny & Ambrose: The Dan is a US band with a greater following in the US than abroad, right? 10cc is a British band with a larger following in England, no? Both bands barely register with audiences outside of their homeland, for whatever reasons.

As for the Dan's sound being approapirate for the current day, how are the sales of Decade? Is it still one of the best-selling catalogue discs? Ahead of Abba?

Sue: had I known in advance of Sam's in Philly, I'd surely have come over to spill beer on you. Maybe next time.

Letterman images are still available......

Any more news(non)news on that Boston benefit show??

Katz and Nichols are members of Steely Dan.

"....worldly wise I realize that everybody's crazy......"

Betz: where are you mon??

maj.

maj--guess we'll have to wait for the new disc to see if Katz and Nichols are indeed still members of Steely Dan. But based on the fact that Katz wasn't involved with Kamakiriad, 11ToW and AiA, and Nichols was mysteriously not involved with the tour last summer, I'd say it's far from definite.

I believe the "Wendel" was a drum sample device Roger Nichols invented that was triggered by a live drummer, hence he got the feel he wanted as well as the consistent sound D&W wanted. It was not a drum machine. This technology is very outdated now but still sounds great. It's hard to say how much Gary Katz had to do with the sound. He may have been more a record company representative present to keep the project under control. My reading of the history seems to imply that the ones who were actually in the studio for all those endless hours included D&W and Roger and whatever musicians they were tracking. Roger had a huge role in the sound and don't forget about the mix down engineer who was I believe, Eliot Schreiner. He contributed a major part to the sound and I would like to see his talents brought back.

Max: I'd be happy to help. If you only knew the tight grip the NFL has on the hotel community here. Unbelievable.

Saw the '94 show in Dallas. The sound was awesome. Donald introduced Roger to the crowd.

Along with Gary and Roger, Michael McDonald must be a part of the new one.

Jazz Fest is coming up. Call for hotel info. now.

Later, Z.

Sad news: A few days ago, musician Randy California drowned while swimming off Molokai in Hawaii. He was 45. Long ago and far away, Randy showed Walter Becker his first blues licks.

RUBY; Listen to New Frontier, listen to fast, high note butterfly thing that goes thru the whole song. That´s Wendel.

ZEKE; I heard about the boat that crashed into the Hotel and the Mall. Are you well?

clas

Happy New Year Everyone!

Majordude: Make that -non- news re: the Boston show. If I recall correctly, the rumor was that the benefit show would be held on February 7th at the Fleet Center. In actuality, it will be a totally different show featuring Kenny G and Tony Braxton. Just FYI.

Walter/a citizen: I am very saddened to hear about the passing of Randy California. How lucky we all are for the meeting of Walter and Randy way back when.

Later, Beautiful Survivor

Some of the younger readers may be interested to know that Randy California's other, less important, claim to fame is the guitar solo on the late '60's garage band hit "I Got A Line On You" by Spirit.

Edd

Long live Dr. Sardonicus.

Citizen: It's always a sad day when one of music's own passes, because in the business, there are so many people influencing one another, even if in the smallest way. But thank you for letting us know.

Zeke: fortunately, I don't have to worry about it - my hometown boys will be watching, not playing. So much for "one for the thumb."

Dude: you've got to curb your beer-spilling habit, it's getting to be a problem. We'll have to sign you up for BSA...

Maxine

Clas, if it's on "The Nightfly", then it's gotta be Wendel II. This was The Immortals second pass at the famed rhythm machine.

JM; off course, thanks.

RUBYBABY; That butterfly on New Frontier is Wendel II.

Smacking AbbABaby

Spirit Guitarist Missing, Presumed Dead

Jan. 6 [14:00 EST] -- Randy California, founding member of the influential jazz-rock group Spirit, is missing and presumed dead after being sucked into the surf off the coast of Molokai, Hawaii on Thursday [January 2, 1997].

The guitarist, who was born Randy Wolfe, was pulled in the sea by a strong undertow on Thursday. Witnesses report that California pushed his 12-year-old son, Quinn, out of the current, saving the boy's life, before being dragged in himself.

California got his start playing alongside Jimi Hendrix, and eventually formed Spirit with his step-father, Ed Cassidy, in 1967. The group released a steady stream of 16 albums from its inception through 1991

CLAS: I gave a listen to New Frontier. (how did you know I was interested?) Wendel#2 must be that cool little thing I hear that lends continuity yet allows for a wide range of variations in every dynamic of the music. Keeps it flowing. I wanna start moving...U R a slapping/strapping Nordic for sure!

Randy California played guitar on an album called "Reelin' In The Years", vol.1 from the eighties. One of those various artist type things. Do you think THE SONG had anything to do with the title? (It wasn't on the album) May Randy be in heaven playing for Him.

Major: I must learn to decode. I will, and thanks!

RubyBaby

Looking for a local forecast on the way home from work today, I heard a couple of minutes of the G. Gordon Liddy show on the valley's AM station. Tonight, the G-man was interviewing Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. Did anyone hear the whole thing? Anything interesting discussed? I doubt the Dan came up much, if at all, but it's interesting that both have links to D+W.

Recently saw the top 10 list of tour grosses from this past summer, and SD wasn't there. The story said that with the exception of Kiss and the Eagles, acts from the Seventies played to a lot of empty seats, but that's not how it appeared to me in Camden. Anybody have access to Pollstar who can tell us the final figures? Inquiring minds, and all that. . . .

Looking for a local forecast on the way home from work today, I heard a couple of minutes of the G. Gordon Liddy show on the valley's AM station. Tonight, the G-man was interviewing Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. Did anyone hear the whole thing? Anything interesting discussed? I doubt the Dan came up much, if at all, but it's interesting that both have links to D+W.

Recently saw the top 10 list of tour grosses from this past summer, and SD wasn't there. The story said that with the exception of Kiss and the Eagles, acts from the Seventies played to a lot of empty seats, but that's not how it appeared to me in Camden. Anybody have access to Pollstar who can tell us the final figures? Inquiring minds, and all that. . . .

sorry

sorry

"So please make mine a double, Sam. . .

Well, first off happy new year, except for the fact that Gingrich just got re-elected...well, it was between he and Gephardt, so I suppose that we can't have a good outcome, can we? Ah well...so it goes. Anyway, I recently got a copy of the 2nd Arrangement, and, though it is an excellent song, I like Third World Man more though. It was such a great ending (at least for a while) for Steely Dan. I fully expect the majority of you to completely disagree, but I really don't give a damn anymore...

Wont you pour me a Cuban Breeze, Ruby?

Mornin all, As far as I've understood, the Dan tour should be put in the catagory with Kiss and the Eagles.

Ruby, nice to see you back...Happy New year.

The D&W connection with GG Liddy was they funneled funds from CREEP to Liddy and Hunt during that time period. Walter was actually Deep Throat. Hope that clears it up for you. Amanda...if your out there maybe that will add a new clarifacation to the song "Kings"

DCB

Are those guys recording the new album yet? Any word on the studio musicians they're using? I can't wait!!!

B.R.

"Everybody knows that it's scary out there when you jump to the Wet Side."

Hank: Pollstar reported that Steely Dan, in terms of moolah, ranked 35th place out of 50 acts in 1996. They raked in $9.1 million skimolies playing 30 shows in the U.S. (I'm not sure if they tallied in Europe and Asia as was done with The Eagles).

This report would refute Walter Becker's errant claim to his manager (check out the official site which is not supposed to exist anymore) that the band was not only broke after the tour, but owes in excess of $700 grand due to the extravagant expenditures of management.

Of course I know it's a joke, dammit.

MajorDude: Those Letterman images are so cool! Got #9 up as a background. What was it that DF was singing during that close-up? Cotton caaandy, maybe? BTW: thanks for helping me learn how to unzip! It was fun!

Yours truly, RubyBaby

Concur on all thoughts on Randy Califorinia- it's uncanny how fate takes so many of the unique talents often early and of course tragically- but apparently nobly and courageously, why would we expect any less of the likes of Mr. California. Well I guess we're all ready for the SD '97 Agenda-? Q

Hello my Scurvy Brothers and Sisters! Long time no post. I have been lurking, however. As to WENDEL, the revolutionary (at the time it was invented) thing about it was that all the drums were meticulously multi-sampled to re-create the natural differences not only in velocity amounts, but also the different *areas* on the snare drum that sound slightly different from one to another. A snare sounds much different when struck in the very center of the head than it does slightly off center or especially toward the rim. Nichols tried to emulate all those nuances. As to DF's legendary ears, he claims to be able to hear the different *clock rates* from one sequencer to the next. My sequencer divides a quarter note into 480 equal parts; so far I've been able to hear differences down to 10 "ticks". If DF can hear the difference in 1 tick, then he is indeed worthy of the pedestal I've placed him on for so long. Wanna hear an amazing snare hit that is soooo laid back it should be a crime? Right after DF says "So fine, so young" (for the first time), the snare on beat 4 is so wickedly late that it's in the back yard. And it's something that only an incredibly sensitive piece of high tech gear could have played. And it's name is Bernard Purdie. PEG: I've come back at your urging.

EDD COTE; Very interresting. Could you explain for me what a tick is?

Cold runnings from a snowy Stockholm

Wowwwwwwww!?! Walter is Deep Throat, huh. That explains everything.

No problemo, Ruby.

Good story, Steve

I can't believe Walter is Deep Throat.

maj.

man, that video is el-supremo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

as we move through the mystic passage that leads from childhood to man and/or womanhood...and/or womanhood...we hear voices beckoning from without and within...alien...terrifying...and at once alive with sweet possibility...if you listen hard, maybe we can here those voices right now...

Ruby: since the Letterman song was Josie, I don't think Donald was singing "cotton candy" on pin shot #9.

Critic,dear, pin shot#9 is of Walter Becker on guitar. Can't tell if it's bass or not, but it is a stringed instrument. The close-up of Donald Fagen is #7, I think. So...what part of Josie do you think he's singing at that moment? Curious I am.

They only did 1 song?? Letterman's a time hog.

Ruby

majordude...it's true...Al Haig told me

DCB

"Looks like a game crowd"

not a gamey crowd...

HiHo! Looking forward to a great 1997 with a new cd before Century's end?

Day late (I'm reading last year's papers - been busy on some projects) kudos to Michael Brecker, Horace Silver, Don Grolnick, and Eliot Schneider for Grammy nominations. Also in the Best Historical Album category: the Complete Columbia Studio Recordings: Miles Davis and Gil Evans, I don't know about you all, but I'm rushing out now to get this...been waiting for this: Saw a special on either PBS or BET a few years ago on Miles Davis. Included were some extended clips of Miles with Gil Evans' and some of the best jazz I've ever heard.

Intersting discussions on drum machines/samplers and Gary Katz' influence on the band (Kinky; your best post). My 2 piasters: Katz of course produce all 7 SD releases and co-produced The Nightfly. I think his influence was profound early. Listen to Beck and Fagen The Early Years, then "Can't Buy a Thrill" especially "Turn That Heartbeat Over Again" Then listen to one of the Eye to Eye Cds Katz produced. It's obvious that Gary Katz played an integral part of the Dan SOUNDSCAPE. Have WB and DF "outgrown" him? Maybe. Both WB and DF have shown they are both excellent producers (China Crisis, Wyndam Hill, NYR&SR, etc.). But should they alone produce the new Dan release? should a physicain diagnose themself?...should an attorney represent himself?

last line: replace himself with him/herself or themself... or put in you favorite PC or PI phrase

Complete Birth of the Cool rules. In addition to Gil's tranquil arrangements and Miles' fragile solo musings is the deft, lyrical touch of a young Gerry Mulligan in the arranger's chair. Pure heaven.

DCB: ...or have you ever seen WB and Al Haig in the same place?

Does anybody know what DF says at the end of "Only a fool would say that"?......plus, what's the consensus on WB's "11 tracks of wack"? I just picked up ALIVE IN AMERICA and BOOK of LIARS is awesome. Is the rest of the album this good?

Steve: yeah! I don't remember what else I said...it was 3 a.m., after all.

"11 Tracks of Whack" is awesome. It takes a few listens to get into it, but after that, its brilliance hits you over the head (whack!!!) like you wouldn't believe.

Make sure you pick up the Japanese import version of "11 Tracks" rather than the domestic version so you can get the bonus single "Medical Science". A very most excellent song. I hope he does it live on the next tour. You can order it by mail order from most independent CD stores.

DrMu you may be right...besides I always thought there was a Haig infuence to "Junkie Girl"

DCB

DrMu: do you really have the Eye to Eye stuff on CD? If so what is the label #, etc. I have those two records on LP but thought they had never been released as CDs.

Ambrose, Sorry about the slip of the keyboard. I have their 2nd release (Shakespeare Stole My Baby) on vinyl, too. I don't know if those releases were (re)mastered for release on CD format

The Letterman shots are catalogued in chronological order from the introduction of the Dan and CD through #10, the finish. At the break, they cut into Deacon Blues which can be heard at the return from the commerical break.

I'll try to reconcile the stills with the video to provide a caption of each shot. John G. has graciously offered to host the images on his site, so I'll send them his way. Captions to follow tomorrow, or hwaddeveryh....

Now if I only had the video, the re:video, I could do some stills of that too. Hmmmm......

maj.

Clas: So, you heard about the crash. Shit Happens! The boat crashed 75 yards from a casino boat. I've play blackjack on that boat many times. I don't think I'll be back for a while. The River Walk is totaled.

Steve: Right on!!

Wierd how so many musicians go way to early in life.

New Years Eve laugh. I spent my New Years Eve day moving into a new building. (Some big shit in our co. decided this was a good time to move.) To make a long story short, I ended up in a bar where "Three Dog Night" was playing. Whoa!! What a time warp!!!

Trying to contact Marie Laveau on the new CD

Z.

I guess it's Pacific Time at the Guestbook, but "here at the Midwestern world" (in Illinois) it's already Donald Fagen's Birthday! (Jan 10). So Happy Birthday Mr. Fagen! ..and mucho thanks for all the happiness you've brought us over the years.

Let's all be sure to go out tonight and have an extra round in honor of the Man.

I finally got somewhat of a page going, but every time I upload it, the images don’t come in. So, I took it down and put up a full size pic of <Walter> that I took in Orlando in 1994. (I'll be surprised as hell if this attempt at a hyperlink works.) If someone would be kind enough to HELP me figure out how I get my pictures up instead of those damn icons, I would really appreciate it.

Well, I've been informed that some browsers indeed did not accept my hyperlink, although mine did. So for those of you in that category here's the address to the 1 picture I have there: http://www.asan.com/users/petefogel

Again, I really do have a page but am having a few problems. If you have any solutions, please, let me know, this is really frustrating!

I've already heard some feedback, thanks, BTW. But I figured that I should just put the whole page up since it might be easier for someone to figure out what the problem is. It might be that there are too many images or something, but I just started creating the thing today and haven't figured out how to add additional pages. So the WB picture is gone and the outline of what I'm trying to do is there. http://www.asan.com/users/petefogel

Again, thanks for the responses, I really could use the help!

Ruby; you got a touch of Monday Weld... no, shit, Tuesday Weld! On Letterman when the commercial is coming on you can hear the first chord of the next song, It´s a Eb maj7, so what they play during the break is Deacon Blues.

Distant Post From Across The Sea

PS, thanks Maxie, it was good to hear!

Happy 49th to DF. Let's hope the new record appears before he starts collecting social security.

Crasher/Capricorn One: Have a happy, alright?

when I saw the '96 tour, I suspected kranz sucked on guitar - but after seeing the video, I know kranz sucks on guitar - awful!!

Amen, DanNut, on both counts.

Pete, maybe the photos need to be re-uploaded as binaries. Looking forward to seeing them!

Concur on Kranz sucking. I watched in amazement as post after post testified to how marvelous this guy was. And I thought, as a veteran attendee of 8 Dan shows, he just wasn't fun to listen to.

Was Zingg that much better? Or Waddddenius?? At least Kranz has cool hair. And who cares about anyone else's guitar, but Walter's? Next tour, ditch the other guitarist. Walter plays everything. And they can afford to hire another hot chick backup singer. One with big breasts, please. Shake it!!!

I agree with Gangster. Walter's guitar is the highlight anyway. Whoever else they put up there is of little consequence.

In my view, Walt's guitar playing was in top form on the '96 tour. His playing on "East St Louis Toodle-oo" was phenomenal. I loved the guitar interaction betwixt Walt and Krantz on "Midnight Cruiser" and "Don't Take Me Alive" (they played the shit out of the DTMA in Hartford). Walt also tore up "Jack Of Speed"... outstanding soloing IMHO. So, maybe Krantz's contributions were just overwhelmed by Walt's? They have such different approaches to the instrument. Does this mean Krantz sucked?

At the Jones Beach and Hartford shows, Krantz's guitar kept distorting to the point where at times, I couldn't make out one note from the next. I attribute this to the location of my ears with respect to a) the sound system, and b)the soundboard (obviously the soundman hears a different concert than a good deal of the audience hears). The decisions of the soundman with respect to amplitude, tonality, and other factors effect what you hear as well. It was tough to hear a lot of what Krantz was laying down from my perspective. Hell, I don't recall hearing Tom Barney at all. So what means "Krantz sucked"? More detail please...

...and how about his tight pants? Oooooh!

Walter's guitar sound in 96 sounded much better, much fuller, than previous years. Case in point: listen to Countermoon/Teahouse from St. Louis 93. During the extend-o-jam with Walter and Zingg trading licks with Donald on keytar (the best live Donald jamming BTW,IMHO), the sound out of Walters axe doesn't hold a candle to Zingg's. Is it just a mixing thing? During 96, Walter was sounding much fuller. Maybe it was the biscuits.

Still laughing a bout that "high hat so late it was in the backyard" comment.

1 more thing: #8 was when Donald was singing the word, "pride", as in "pride of the neighborhood". I watched the clip ten times last night, I was so mezmerized that I couldn't make out the others. Will try again.

maj.

maj. -- it's the snare that's in the back yard. Had to listen on my way home from work last nite, and, sure enough, it's way late. Now I understand why that song feeeels so slow, yet really isn't.

Steve Cox -- thanks for pointing that out.

PRIDE of the neighborhood. Thanks,Maj. I kneeded to know. (I'm baking bread).

Thanks for your suggestions, I've tried them all. Now I'm ready to throw the computer out the window! If this will help on your suggestions, you should know that the first time I uploaded the page, one of the graphics came in, but since then it's nothing! Also, the Netscape icon at the bottom, which my web builder automatically inserted, doesn't even come in. So I don't think I've done anything wrong.

That's why Walter, or whoever, calls it HTML HEll, Pete.

That's why Walter, or whoever, calls it HTML HEll, Pete.

steve cox--right on. the ultimate in sophisticated rhythm technology.

drMu--thanks for the perspective. i need to go check out some of the other katz production and see what the 'katz sound' is all about. has dan indeed outgrown him? if 'kamakiriad' is any indication, i hope they don't think so. don't get me wrong, i love the record. it has some totally righteous stuff on it, but it just doesn't measure up to my 'dan standard.' it's very easy for an artist to get too close to their work, and a good producer can do wonders for developing a more wide-angle perspective. 'macro' versus 'micro,' i guess.

just a little note to gloat about a little 'lp friday' action tonight..... yeah. which dan to choose....... and i only get a side, unless i use my 'album card.' if only my buddy akira were here, we could dominate the proceedings with dan........

peace,

rabbit

SEE!?

Oh, by the way, "Hello."

ps--happy birthday, mr. fagen. i guess that means i'll have to use my album card for a dan disc, now. thanks so much for the cool tunes.

peace,

rabbit

BABS: Just seeking to fulfill my quest to learn The Rhythm Of Life. RABBIT: I agree vis a vis self-production. I think most artists should let someone else produce. There definitely is a Katz sound, and Eye to Eye is an example. I personally think he was missed on Kamakiriad. My fave is "On the Dunes". Later I found out out that it was written around the same time as Nightfly. Hmm... I think I see a pattern here. CLAS: A tick is just a word for the resolution that a sequencer has. If the clock of a sequencer divides a quarter note into 480 equal parts, each of those divisions is a tick. love's not a game for three.

Count me among the many who wish Donald a very Happy Birthday. I think I'll seal my Thermasuit up tight and go play in the snow now!

Well, I think I finally figured it out. So, you can try to click here and if that doesn't work, I'm giving up.

CLAS: the Arp story is on "http://pathfinder.com/steelydan/denny's.html". Just thought everybody would have read that one by now...

Pete: Way to go! I have a thing for pictures of Walter playing the guitar & the one of him at the Georg is great! The sky is awsome,too. And the one at the Wembley is another work of art. You got Donald at just the perfect moment. I think your efforts were well worth it.

And you didn't let that bad computer win.

RubyBaby

I've held it in as long as I can. What is the deal with the skin-tight pink dress the gal is wearing on the Dan Cam? Is that one of the Mrs's? The severe lack of resolution matters not when it comes to seeing each curve, rib, crevice, etc. etc. etc.

You go, girl!

You said "deep throat." You also said "whack." Honestly, I don't have "11 tracks," but I'll buy it soon. I just really don't care for Book of Liars. I heard My Waterloo and thought that was kind of silly, too. But I am a Dan fan looking for more Dan. I like Kamakiriad, particularly Florida Room and On the Dunes, but the Nightfly is a better album, and I'm all for Katz producing the new one. Please find it in your hearts to forgive Wayne Krantz for not being Larry Carlton. Where's the love, man?

snakehips: no it is not one of the Mrs's. It is not even one of the misses. (although they are occasionally the same thing).

dearest dressmaker: how would YOU know, and how might I find out???

anyone out there have a handle on a release date (year???century????) of the new cd ???????

can't hold my breath much longer and i'm aching, man.

almost forgot... willing to pay lots of green stuff for a promo poster of gaucho or aja. e-mail me if you know something...

Somebody please tell me what the're chanting in "Show Biz Kids" something like 'Lot's Wages' or Las Vegas.

O-miami: I thought it was "Out-rageous..." Don't know for sure. My four-year-old daughter loves the line "they got their Steely Dan t-shirts..." like you, mommy, she says! Take care.

I'm still suffering from post-tour, pre-new CD depression and am badly in need of some visuals of the boys. Anyone know where I can get posters, pics, etc? A rarity, I know. Thanks!

"Go to Lost Wages, Lost Wages. Go to Lost Wages, Lost Wages..."

Edd

Haven't logged on for a week or so and the first thing I read is of Randy California's death! MAN. I got a chance to meet Randy in '91 (Rockola was opening for Spirit) and he was a really nice guy. Kinda spacey in the hippy sort of way one might expect. He still played really really well and his vocals......well,... he played really well. I couldn't bring myself to ask him about the Becker connection. It just felt wrong. I did confirm a belief I always had that "Mr. Skin", lyrically speaking, had something to do with his step dad drummer Jack Cassidy. I still love alot of that Spirit stuff especially "Natures Way" and "Fresh Garbage"

ANYWAYS..... Here's what's going on. Do to rumours of some really low air fares comming up, there is a good chance that ROCKOLA will be heading for the big apple in the next few months. I would like very much to turn this into an opportunity to bring The Steely Damned to the east coast as well.

Problem #1 I can't support such a "tour" (mini tour would be more accurate) on two shows at Le Bar Bat. What I need from you east coast denizens is some ideas as to places a 13 piece tribute to SD would be welcome, in areas in and (more importantly) around Manhatten. For example, Long Island, Conneticut(sp) New Jersey... anything within striking distance.

problem#2 Feedback as to whether or not enough people would pay a decent size cover charge ($10 - $20) on a weeknight to witness such an extraveganza. (Or is this just a SoCal phenominon?)

Problems#3-#100 coming soon.

lovebob

not my chloe: don't understand your questions. But I forgot to add last time that although the lady in the pink dress is neither one of the Mrs nor one of the misses, chances are you have heard of her before...in a musical kind of way.

Philadelphia eagerly awaits the Steely Damned.

Hank(s), Sue, we have a mission.

Just recorded the first half-hour of my radio program Friday and while the song has nothing to do with career planning, I played "I Can't Function" in honor of the passing of 1996. The show topic this time is New Year's Resolutions For Your Career". Anybody have one to pass along -- like spend less worktime surfing the net perhaps?

Listening now to Teahouse, I requested it on WBZC. The DJ gave a surprisingly thorough intro of Donald, SD, including early band names like Bad Rock Band etc... How cool is that?

maj.

Maj: New Years Resolutions for work -- procrastinate and delegate. I'm tired of working so hard.

Maj: My New Year's resolution for my career is to get one (i.e. finally quit this job.) Looks like it might actually happen in '97.

Lovebob: long time no...I still owe you that entertainment paper, haven't forgotten. And I'd pay the cover charge, but then again I'm slightly insane.

Maxine

PEG: Trisha is nominated for 3 Grammy Awards, including Country album of the year. just thought you'd like to know....

dressmaker: sorry I wasn't clear. free associating, I guess. I was wondering how you know who the gals are. My only two suppositions are that You ARE either DF or WB, or that You ARE the lady in pink.

An obvious follow-up to my question - how do I become a lady in pink? (I wasn't being critical of her dress - just envious)

Love, chloe

I added another page of pictures to my SD Picture Page. I've received a lot of good feedback so far, and appreciate the comments and ideas. Although a few of these shots have appeared on some of the recent SD albums, most of them have never been seen before. I literally have a closet full of pictures, so I plan to change them a couple of times a month, I'll keep you posted when I do.

Steve Cox: I heard about the nominations on the radio - great news! Thanks for keeping me posted.

I found a bootleg tape of the S.D. '76 tour rehearsals. Side 1 is a soundboard with Night by Night, Green Earrings, Kid Charlemagne, My Old School, The Fez, F.M.(instr.) and a couple of others. Side 2 is all decent quality audience boots(I think) from '74. One of these is from the Manchester show(I have never seen this available before).

Side 1 is very interesting. Donald vocals on these tracks are very laid back, as if he were singing from a Laz-Y-Boy. I believe the guitarist is Larry Carlton and the drummer might be Purdie...maybe not. Can anyone give me more info. on which musicians are playing on this gem? Also I have been searching for the Gaucho outtakes. I have never had the pleasure of hearing Kulee Baba or The Second Arrangement. Is this available on CD? Where should I concentrate? Goldmine? Conventions? Used record stores? Please help!

m.e.

Gals and Pals, hallo!

I´m sorry, wrong chord, it´s a Dbmaj7. Perfect pitch? Me?? Look at Donald (at Letterman) when they´re playin Josie, in the middle of the song he´s lost on the chords and just pretending to play! Maybe he should get back to that selfmedication; one Valium and a Brandy before entering stage? Calm down a little bit over here eihhh?

OH MIAMI; Lost Vegas, Lost Vegas.

Lester The Nightfly; ABout Book Of Liars, listen to the LYRICS man! Walter is outstanding when it comes to lyrics!

STEVE COX; I must say thanks to you! I´ve been listening to Gaucho for about 16 years, and I´ve never noticed that Purdies late snare! Fantastic. That´s why they call him the swinging metronome!

Audi and out

Gosh, maj.©, thanks for the vote! and such nice words to boot! Is your bass in yet?

New Year's resolution for my career: Infect LAN with audio virus that plays DTMA intro on PC start-ups.

I would pay $20, loveb., but only if you play I Can't Function.

lh.

A belated New Year to everybody, I see there's been a lot going on since I last read. Where's December's archive? Moray Eel, I've got the Gaucho outtakes if you feel like trading, e-mail me if you're interested in an copy: u6b88@cc.keele.ac.uk Also, the "new" songs: Jack of Speed, Wetside Story and Cash Only Island all seem to be puns. Does that mean we'll have a disc full of 'em? Anybody got any ideas for other cheeky titles? Well, it's good to be back, hope '97 brings us the Elusive. One more thing, did WB do any shows to promote 11ToW? If so are there any recordings lurking about?

moray eel-- I've heard that purported tape of '76 tour rehearsals and am very skeptical about its authenticity. First off they didn't have any tour rehearsals in '76, the closest thing would be the aborted tour supporting Aja in '77. And that singer really doesn't sound like Donald at all, to me. It sounds like a Steely Dan cover band. As for the Gaucho outtake stuff, I have seen some in Japanese import CD catalogs, so they do exist on CD.

Frozen rain --- Walter did only one solo show that I'm aware of, a couple of years ago at a blues club somewhere in the Bay Area, I think. But it wasn't really to promote the album, it was more of a benefit thing, I think. haven't heard of any boots of it.

Hey, has anyone else noticed that all the songs D&W have written together the last few years, that we've heard live, have three-word titles? Fall of '92, Jack of Speed, Cash Only Island, Wet Side Story. Is this a trend?

Ambrose: Thanks for the reply. The vocals sound like Fagen's nasal croon(very similiar to his live voice in '74), but are very laid back.

If this is a cover band, the guitarist does a very convincing rip-off of mid-'70's Larry Carlton. The Kid Charlemagne solo is electric.

But I am somewhat skeptical too, because I've heard that plans for a '76 tour were quickly dropped.

Finally, I don't think Gary Katz will be needed on the next Dan album either. I think Gary's biggest contribution to Steely Dan was getting them a contract with ABC records. And Donald has indicated that the '80's technological breakthroughs have basically automated Gary out of a job. "THOSE DAYS ARE GONE FOREVER...OVER A LONG TIME AGO...OH YEAH..."

m.e.

That '76 Tour rehearsal tape is actually a SD cover band from the early 80's called Beau Bolero, from Connecticut.

Greetings Dan-Heads!

Pete: Anything exciting/Danrelated happening at LBB?

maj@: Steely Damned in Philly? When? Sounds like a road trip?

YGK

YGK: read boblovesbob's post, about 2 or 3 before MajorDude's, for more info the THE Steely Damned.

"Jane, stop this crazy thing!"

boblovesbob: it may be too far out, but maybe, just maybe, you could book something at the knitting factory. It's a downtown, fringe-jazz club, however, they do support big bands. Pete Fogel, couldn't we get The Damned into another locale in the Apple? I don't book clubs, but there's something that could be done... hey, howabout the Limelight? Peter Gatien could use the money, especially now, eh?

I'm up for a NYC Damned Tour, bob, there are plenty of spaces to play, it's just a matter of logistics...

The money is no problem for something of quality (try $15, instead)

Wow - great concept, bob, keep me posted...

YGK

I'm game for trades.

LH: Do you remember how long it took for me to come around after running into you at GSAC, the vice grip handshake worthy of Christopher Walken, the cool New Jersey summer breeze that carried the sounds of Krantz at the tail end of Glamour Profession. Fogel and Jive hanging four rows ahead, to the right. Man, what a night!!

Bring it on Donald. Bring it on Walter. I'm fucking ready for some new shit. Wheeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww!! Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

BTW, the new recording's title will only be one word.

Got a new scanner. Someone say, "CYBERDON".

maj.

Does anyone know the working title for the next album?

Pete: Your page looks great! I was trying to figure out what that V.I.P. thing with the Alive in America logo was. Was that a show I didn't know about? Also, those two big pictures on the 2nd page of F+B, what shows were those from? I'm ready to see some more.

Been a while since posting.... but I've been lurking... it's somewhat distressing hearing the news about Randy California... he was a hero of mine.... when his solo LP came out, Kapt. Kopter and the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds, it made an impression on me that I'll never forget!!! Although, upon reflection, not anywhere near as much as when Aja came out.... when I heard on the radio that Aja had just been released, I couldn't get to the store fast enough!!!! It was much better than I had been hoping for! I ramble...

Pete!! killer pix!! it sure would be nice if some of them there pictures could be downloaded.... or is there a sanctioned manner in which one might acquire something suitable for framing??? Lost Wages...

Babs and Maxine--I'm with you on the resolutions. Plain and simple, work sucks! My job mimics a Dilbert cartoon. And those are the good days!

Maj, lovebob, YGK--If the 'Damned' comes anywhere near Philly and/or Manhattan, 'I will be there, yes, I'll be there'(provided the Maj promises not to spill any beer on me)! I've never been to the Knitting Factory, but a friend of mine who lived in the Apple for a while always raves about it. New York magazine describes it as "The Disneyland of downtown music, with three floors, two stages, two microbrew-bearing bars, and some of the biggest names in now music". Close to me, how about Six Shooters Cafe or the Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantic City? The Hard Rock just had a Springsteen tribute band last week. Also, the cover should be no more than $15, especially if the show is in Manhattan, where just about everything is pricy to begin with.

The idea is tres cool, keep us posted!

'You do his 9 to 5, drag yourself home half alive...'

Pete,

Back in '79, '80, '81 or thereabouts, I used to frequent a somewhat infamous Rock & Roll club located on the Yale campus in New Haven, CT called "Toad's Place"... One "Beau Bolero" used to play there at least once a month or so. They were excellent... Very true to Dan form. Great guitar solo's. The lead guitarist had an uncanny knack of reproducing all those fantastic guitar parts almost verbatim. I remember seeing the bass player/lead singer for this band at the '93 Dan reunion tour in Hartford milling around in the lobby after the show. I'm not surprised folks mistake recordings of these guys playing Dan tunes as being the Dan themselves. They were a virtual replication. Another great CT based band that played a lot of Dan tunes from around this same era was "The Simms Brothers Band". They released and album or two of their own material that was exceedingly Dan-esque.

I added yet another page to my web site, this one is more of a slideshow of much larger shots. You can access it through the main page. It will take a few minutes to load, but you can see the pictures come in while you're waiting. Once they're loaded, they'll continue to change. You may only be able to access it with a Netscape browser, but since I (well, actually Shari) has only been working with this computer stuff for about 3 days, I could be wrong. If you check it out, let me know if this kind of thing is worth doing. Thanks.

Clas - I've heard that Janne Frisk passed away during a bowlingmatch. Correct? I've always thougt that he was one of the major influences to modern pickin´. Besides that there´s a rumor that ROCKOLGAS coverband on HepStars - HIPSTERS- lookin' for gigs in the Åmål-area. Any suggestions?

Sue: I hear you on the Dilbert scenario. In fact, I sent email to Scott Adams with an anecdote; we'll see if it ends up being spoken by the pointy-haired boss.

Lovebob: BTW, forgot to mention that that cover charge I'd be willing to pay would be in NYC, not anywhere around here. About the most I think people'd pay for a band they *know* is $10. (Some of them yinzers are cheap...) But where there's a will, there's a way...

Pete: I dig the picture page! Give us mucho more - it looks like a couple of the roving pix are from Orlando too - especially the first one. Have any Orlando '96 pix or Palm Beach?

thanks

Fez

snowbound let's sleep in today

they got their steely dan bathrobes...

Sue: keep us all posted for the Philly gigs of anything interesting.

One never knows when good music will inspire a road trip from the apple.

ygk

hey red -- I think they beat out the thai-tailored tuxedo jackets by a mile. You?

white: yeah, and much softer, too.

loveboob: I've got an idea. Fly down south and do a show in New Orleans. Hey, airfare is cheap! The weather is a little warmer.

On another note, I'm looking for the sheet music on Stephen Stills CD "Stills Alone". Any help is appreciated.

Bored. Zeke.

Happy New Year, brothers & sisters...[has the statute of limitations expired on that yet?] Let this be the year of a new Dan album.

In said new disc, I'm hoping to hear the 90's Dan big band sound I have come to love. Soloists get space but are given structure. Counterpoint between instruments of the 50s and the 90s. The unholy offspring of Jeff Beck and Art Pepper. It's the same sound I heard last summer in the live Green Earrings & Home At Last--complex, r&b-rooted, but tight and listenable enough that, with the correct alignment of the planets, a hit record could (but not necessarily will) emerge from the mix.

Are the Patriots really in the Super Bowl?

My Tuna's the Pearl of the Quarter.

Pete: I love your pictures and the slide show. More is definitely better!

Not My Nancy: Yes, indeed, Tuna and the Patriots are going to The Big Dance in The Big Easy on Jan. 26th. One way or another New England will be there, yes we'll be there!

Later, Beautiful Survivor

Hell, I think things around now is a little bit to friendly. It makes me puke. It´s like a D-Hollywood-love-you-daddy-shit-movie. Come on!

WHITE; I don´t give a shit about your tux. Could´nt care less kid.

PETE Fogel; I don´t give a shit about rockolga, what has that to do with the real thing? Use the phone, and thanks for the Metalleg that you promised to send but never showed up. Talk is easy. Typicall US-manér.

TOMMY RANDER; AHHH, so your with me you little socialistic brother from the seventies, or are you a capitalist now? An owner of restaurants and racehorses? Betrayer. I bought all your bullshittalk back in the seventies but you can´t fool me today. Go fuck yourself fuckhead. Fuck! (It´s OK. Al Pacino says it all the time, and in movies. Little children can hear, uhhhhh)

About Janne Frisk; His excellent pickin´ was a great inspiration to both George Benson and George Wadenius. Wadenius use to tape all Hep Stars-gig back in the 60s and then go home and practice. Good for Fagen.

STaL; A question; why must 3 year old girls have to where bra´s when they´re bathing, in the sea, in USA? Moral Majority?

RASPUTIN

SCREW YOU CLAS, don't act like the the you hate us americans because we know all non-americans are green with envy. Go log on to some viking sausage site!

Hey Clas, what do you want to talk about, you gorgeous hunk of a Swede, you. I'm Amerikan, but I hate those happy Hollywood movies too.

Clas: You're an asshole. How can you not give a shit?

Clas: Smoke My Big Fat American Dick!

NotMyNancy: You said, "The unholy offspring of Jeff Beck and Art Pepper" - ooooohhhhhhhhh, the things you say. Pure Brilliance. What else springs from your wonderful mind?

Fellow Dan-sters: Don't allow yourselves to be baited by Swedes.

ygk

(or people from Connecticut, either)

1. Clas-less, go piss out a window... Or better yet, go dive out one. In addition to being a heavy breathing stalker of women, you're also a pedaphile... Let us know the next time you're planning to visit our faire country, we'll be happy to "discuss" these idiotic pronouncements of yours.

2. YGK, did you not just bait all who hail from the Nutmeg State? Practice what you preach...

CT_Yankee: duh! Why don't you go hang out in Bridgeport for some like-minded "conversation".

Actually, the slur was intended for my good Friend Kinky - no real offense intended.

Respond no more to our little twit contributor from the eastern hemisphere, and perhaps our little twit will become bored and will go smoke a big fat swiss dick.

Beautiful Survivor--shouldn't we staking a pot of baked beans or a cup of T tokens or something on the Pats? We need to find some cheesehead Dan Fans to take the other side.

Notice that Luther Vandross was named to sing the National Anthem at this year's Super Bowl? Yet another year SD is passed over. The injustice of it all. If they could make the bridge from Cara Mia take off like a 747, imagine what they could do arranging The Star-Spangled Banner.

Well, by this time next year, they'll have a hit CD, and President Clinton, (who owes them one, for using Reelin') will make sure they are invited. Not to say they'd accept, but they'll be the first choice, anyway.

The popular press says that America's tired of the current pop scene and is looking for something new. Maybe America's ready to come back to wholesome harmonic mindbaths, to quality. We can only hope.

What's up with the new album? When I saw the boys live in Minneapolis (a nearly religious experience in itself) they did a new song "cash only island" and said they hoped the new album would be out by Christmas. Citizen Steely Dan was in my stocking -- but not the new album I had been hoping for.

One of you guys with an inside track to Mr. Steely dan must surely know when it's due out.

CLAS: All right... You want it, You got it!

I cannot believe a Swede would accuse Americans of being typically "All talk, No action". This from Sweden, a country that sat on their ass in comfortable cafes, while 5 millions Jews were being slaughtered a couple hundred miles away in Nazi concentration camps. Your country should be ashamed of itself. Meanwhlie, the U.S. sent its young boys (including my Grandfather), half way around the world to die, so that lazy ass, cowardly countries (Sweden and Switzerland) could live in the freedom they now enjoy...Without being surrounded by Nazis! Everytime you walk down Gestapo-free streets, you should be singin' "The Star Spangled Banner" buddy.

U.S

CLAS: I'm not done with you yet.

What is with the Snappy ABBA Baby thing?

The only thing "snappy" about ABBA is how quickly they vanished from from the music scene!

And please keep the other Euro-Trash-Swedish bands like Roxette and ABBA in your country. We don't want them here. They are poisoning the airwaves of the world and ears of young children.

By the way, Wadenius is (honestly) the worst guitarist Steely Dan has ever used. He sucks!!!

---------------------- Uncle Sam's Stink List ---------------------- Bjorn Borg Georg Wadenius Roxette Stefan Edberg ABBA and the Swedish Hockey Team...(if you want to see the 1996 World Cup Championship Trophey, its in the U.S. baby!

P.S. And if you are hell-bent on looking at the breasts of 3 year old girls - stay in your own damn country!

The reason I love Steely Dan so much is their ironic, sarcastic lyrics about the false US-society. You kids obviously don´t listen to the lyrics. And theirfor don´t understand one thing about the Dan-greatness. And one thing; all your homeless, drugaddicted, poor people is the part of your capitalistic equation that don´t make any sense.

And for the answers of my post; you all seem obsessed with sucking other mens dicks, men fucking themselves in their assholes. A very rich language.

About Abba and Roxette; if you want them to stay in Sweden why do you by their records? Come on kids, if you want to have a discussion, try to be a little intelligent. (I know there´s a lack of intelligence in US but TRY!)

A simple advice to all of you kids; listen to the lyrics of Beckers Hat Too Flat. that song is a superb critic to your false, stupid society.

PETE FOGEL; When can I get those Metal Leg-issues you promised to send?

VIVA CUBA!

The Nordic Strapping AceOfBase Baby

Not My Nancy: Not a bad idea! Actually, a bucket of -chowdah- might also make an interesting bargaining chip. Just think: Cheeseheads vs. Chowderheads - we'll see what happens!

Everyone: Judging from yestarday's posts, it looks like we're in the midst of a full Countermoon. Spitewinds are threatening, [posters] all beware!

Outta Here, Beautiful Survivor

hello geezers 'cross the water. Further to PETE FOGEL's rather turse mail, I must concur that the pisstaking is certainly one of the key elements which makes The dan just so effing cool. that and of course the fact that you used the best and most expensive musicians in the business.

The question I really wanna know is was the partnership really true, or was there a large Fagen-dominance throughout? having been yards from them when they did Wembley, London last fall, Becker's guitaring did shine well, but Don's vocals are undoubtedly the driving factor of the bands eternal cool.

How do I subscribe to Metal Leg? I've been trying for months but to no avail. I keep dreaming also of the Second Arrangement, the song that never was. I wonder how it went.

Surely KC is their best alltimer? However, live Black Cow was the one that did it. stomping bass!!!! what did you guys think?

Larry Carlton, crazed christian? maybe! fucking great player? damn right!!!!!

laters pretzelmen

jimmy the boy

Halloo,CLAS! You look MMMMarvelous,darling! At great personal risk of being flamed to a crisp, you livened things up a bit! Hell, you're more American than some Americans I know. My fav is not K of the W anymore. It's Here@theWesternWorld. I think it's the keyboard parts.

Jimmy the boy: You forgot to mention Donald's outstanding,vibrant personality that drives the cool of the Dan, as well. It's just dominant enough to want to produce the next album maybe.

hi, rabbit!

RubyBaby

Clas: You're a pisshole and a pedophile. No wonder your most sucessful women end up turning into porno queens, being molested by sleazeballs like yourself in their 3rd year of life. Pedophilia might not be a crime in socialist utopias such as your homeland, but if you were in the U.S., I'd castrate you myself, and feed your balls to my German Shepherd.

clas--get a clue, dude. the dan aren't projecting twisted american society into their lyrics. they're projecting twisted *human* society. are you trying to tell me there are no drugs or prostitution, no crime in sweden? that kind of stuff exists everywhere in the world.

i'd like to point out that your society is just as false and stupid as ours, but not nearly as interesting.

but i guess it is kind of complimentary for you to notice the particular flare we bring to our brand of sleaziness. i guess if you had that kind of imaginitive talent for criminal behavior in your country, bands like abba would have cooler things to sing about than dancing and 'true love.' (although the song 'money, money money'.....)

to be fair, i actually kind of don't mind abba, but clas you shouldn't shit where you eat, my friend. your country would not exist without this ruthlessly capitalist, corrupt, and endlessly fascinating country called the u.s.a.

not to mention the fact that without all the sick behavior here in the 'land of the free,' there would be no cool dan lyrics to enjoy, either.

ruby--hi!

peace,

rabbit

Long Live Capitalism!!

"....please take me along when you slide on down...."

You're right on, Steve. "Babylon Sisters" sings.

Doin' my part to spread the Dan,

maj.

Hello, everyone. Nice to finally be back at school after a long winter break. Haven't visited back here in a while now. It seems like a lot of the dan pages aren't staying up, or not going up for that matter. What the hell is the deal with www.steelydan.com?

Anyway, just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents again here and wish everyone a happy new year and a happy .

Now, anyway, on one last thing, I, being the music fanatic which I am, picked up about a dozen CDs over the winter break period and would like to share a few with you as a recommendation. Here are some cool CD's I picked up:

-Charlie Hunter Quartet-Ready, Set, Shango Hunter plays 8 string guitar, being half bass, half normal guitar, and does it all simultaneously!! It is great to hear and fascinating to see. Very good album. The tenor player is phenomenal!

-Horace Silver Quintet-Song For My Father A must for the jazz fan

-Earth, Wind and Fire-I Am Everyone needs disco in their music library. Everyone.

-Soundtrack to Blade Runner Bitchin' movie. Bitchin' CD. Vangelis composes and performs some scary, empty synthesizer 'ramblings'.

-Jaco Pastorius-The Birthday Concert Great opening tune and great solo performance by Jaco on America, The Beautiful. Great band, including Michael Brecker and Bob Mintzer.

Well, that's it for me. Gonna procrastinate my homework a bit longer and then watch Sportscenter. I love school.

More to come.....

Ben

PETE FOGEL; Thanks for your email. That was big words coming from a man that built his whole pseudocareer in Steely Dan´s shadow. I saw you outside Lone Star Café, crawling around and begging people to buy your bad made fanzine. Groupie, get a life!

R.O.C.K. ; Pedophil? Don´t project your own fantasies on me. I was just asking why little girls in USA have to hide something they don´t have. And about castration, I doubt that you have the right weight and strongness to castrate me. (and I guess my Great Dane will eat youre little dogs balls as an entré) And pornoqueens? There are no such thing as a swedish pornoqueen I believe. Give me a name.

RUBY, hey snakehips, you have seen me, the muscleman. Short and heavy built! I got something for you! Hold on!

And there are faces in the shadows, of the men that sell the guns...

PETE FOGEL; Thanks for your email. That was big words coming from a man that built his whole pseudocareer in Steely Dan´s shadow. I saw you outside Lone Star Café, crawling around and begging people to buy your bad made fanzine. Groupie, get a life!

R.O.C.K. ; Pedophil? Don´t project your own fantasies on me. I was just asking why little girls in USA have to hide something they don´t have. And about castration, I doubt that you have the right weight and strongness to castrate me. (and I guess my Great Dane will eat youre little dogs balls as an entré) And pornoqueens? There are no such thing as a swedish pornoqueen I believe. Give me a name.

RUBY, hey snakehips, you have seen me, the muscleman. Short and heavy built! I got something for you! Hold on!

And there are faces in the shadows, of the men that sell the guns...

UHPS! Sorry, doubleposting. First time ever.

Forgot to ask Ruby; you mean WJAZ? Please don´t write in code, I´m a fool when it comes to codes. Here At The Western World is a wonderful song, but what are the lyrics in the beginning? "Here at the ???? they welcome you, with sausagers and beer..." Please kiss and tell baby!

I read in an interview that Book Of Liars is about the corrupted US government.Wonderful lyrics.

And there are lives in the balance, children under fire...

Lou Chang is back

hello Ruby, all is quiet here, how's it with you???

Talkin' of Fagen's cool, his performance on stage was quite intenese. It has to be the best Ray Charles I've seen since... well ray Charles. He certainly dug it the most and really sank into the depths of Dan-ness. It was quite obvious that he missed gigs more than we were led to believe.

Becker on the other hand was very reserved, as though he was concentrating to hard. He seriously focused on his playing, as though he had something BIGGGG! to prove. which he did. He has for some while been in the Fagen warp-trail. but his playing shone and he did a very good job of giving the chat to the crowd.

The most disappointing things live I found were

a.The KC guitar solo was nowhere near the quality or slickness LC's, DZ's or GW's (I've forgotten who guitared with WB at Wembley)

b.They should have saved Babylon till last and given it knock out punch

c.They picked Wembley arena for the gig - shite shite shite venue. the audio quality was fucking crap. Surely they should have known.

the best things were

a.Black Cow - sooooo good - gooing feeling inside

b.DF's & WB's entrance to Do It Again - very slick

c.My Old School - there last song - we actually danced!!!!!

I only wish I could have seen them with Drew Zing. why did he leave after the '93 tour - answers anybody??????

You know, Clas raises a few valid points. Especially the one regarding "rich" language. Come on guys and gals, can't we do better when flaming this guy than telling him to suck your dick?

Hey Clas: I've got a theory. Perhaps the reason why Sweden has never had ANY good rock bands is because your society is so fucking BORING?

Just a theory.

Peace, StAl

PS. Call me anytime……

PPS. Great Job Pete, I mean Shari...:)

Clas: It's an independent station

Couldn't find the right words to say about the drummers vs. Wendell debate, but was recently inspired by Charlton Heston's last line in Soylent Green. I appreciate the technological expertise behi but -

DRUMMERS ARE PEOPLE!!!! DRUMMERS ARE PEOPLE!!!!!

Clas: On your native land's contribution to world culture we have:

-Seka (porn queen) -Swedish Meatballs -Abba -Ace Of Base

Pissing out of a window, doesn't count. You stole that from the French. So that's about it. I guess I can see why you have such an inferiority complex. I still don't see why you have this obsession over topless 3 year olds. You are one sick fuck, Clas. Thank God you're over there and not here.

Clas, that couldn't possibly have been me crawling around outside. You see, I was the booking agent at the Lonestar and I was too busy inside doing my pseudojob so assholes like you could finally see Fagen play live.

Bob Tedde: good luck going East.. NYC dan fans go see The Steely Dammed--they have some great chops! You'll enjoy how they do Aja. Come back to SF, Bob! Whoever wanted to know what's at the end of "Only a fool would say that" its the Spanish for the same phrase "solomente un tonto dicearle".

CLAS,you Nordic Redwood! Standing next to Pompe, you make him look like a puppy!

Lido,baby. Down at the Lido, they welcome you...

Jimmy: You brought out some great memories for me! I had the priviledge of being at the Hollywood Bowl. I have no complaints or dissappointments about the band at all! I spontaneously danced to a couple of tunes, being the only one in my area having that much fun. So I turned to see if I was being a pain in the *** to the guys behind me, ready to appologize and sit down, but they were dancing with me! They said they loved it!! That was long before My Old School. Everyone finally got up off their duffs for that one!

In case my significant other ever reads this: Thank-you for your indulgence that evening. It was an awsome date! And thanks for singing Babylon Sisters @ various airports to break the tension. Works every time!

Ruby

CLAS: I meant to tell you that I agree with you. The people who feel the need to cover a 3-year old's chest in the first place are the ones with the dirty minds.

Hey, you didn't happen to see a naked Emperor strolling by, did you? Do you know that story?

RB

Near my house is sign on route 80 for Exit 67 - Green Street/Hackensack. We need to get a picture of that on one of these sights.

Route 80 at exit 67, hmmm..... I bet I know where to find Lucky Henry this weekend.

Problems with the scanner, stay tuned for Cyberdon.

"....when I find it you won't hear from me, it's around the corner, one, two, three..."

If you recall a recent discussion on the writing techniques of Walter and Donald, this last lyric comes to mind.

mine-or-whirled: you there boy?

tk

...I live night by night...

R.O.C.K.; Read Rubys post and you´ll see what I mean about that bra-thing. And ask Maxine, if she´s still around, if there was any heavy breathing during our short conversation. I know your filthy mind.

PETE VOGEL; I still think you´ve built your life on a pseudcareer in the shadow of Steely Dan. Why did you never get any interview from the heroes in your fanzine? And ten bucks is a little too much to pay for something I will put my dogfood on.

STALPHONSO; What do you know about Sweden? Not a shit. We do have some great bands here. Do you want me to send you some records?

BABS; I´m sorry, I missed your post yesterday. I want to talk about your favourite Steely Song.

They sell us the President the same way / They sell us our clothes and our cars / They sell us every thing from youth to religion / the same time they sell us our wars / I want to know who the men in the shadows are / I want to hear somebody asking them why / They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are / But they are never the ones to fight or to die / (Jackson Browne - my US-hero)

Have you ever seen a squonk"s tears? Well look at mine...

keep yer Abba, Clas, just gimme them Argyles, or Cardigans, or whatever the hell that snappy band's name is.....good to see your English is better. Has Sweden found pepper yet?

PETE FOGEL, excellent pics, man. Good vibrant colors, what type of scanner you got?

...recently one of my most annoying habits has been to sing old SD songs a la Wierd Al Yankovic - you may be surprised to know that "Do it Again" fits exceedingly well in a snappy polka beat...

"...you go back" [accordion chord] "jack" [another chord] "do it again" [driving accordion solo]..........rudy

Clas: You're a real spermburper. Metal Leg was a blast when it was around. Where's your fanzine, Pissboy? Where's your website? It seems that the only thing you offer this world is criticism, negativism, and pools of urine. There's a saying here in the U.S. that says "Those who do, do. Those who can't, criticize." I'd translate it in to Sweedish or Finnish or Denmarkish or whatever the fuck language you understand, but it's not worth the effort. Why don't you take your self-hating inferiority complex and shove it up your ass, get back to your kiddie porn, and shut the fuck up.

Swedish porn is good. That's one thing, clas

Swedish porn is good. That's one thing, clas

RUDY: The Do It Again Polka? So outrageous! Next, one could try the Spike Jones treatment, with lots of SFX.

CLAS: You have completely misinterpreted the lyrics of Steely Dan. Donald and Walter are not Socialists! I repeat, Donald and Walter are not Socialists! If they were, they wouldn't charge $40 bucks for a concert ticket. You are trying to make sense of a foreign langauge (with a lot of slang), a quarter of a century later from halfway around the world. You are way off base.

You are wrong to believe that Steely Dan = Karl Marx + Jazz Chords.

The lyrics are generally about the cultural contrast between New York and Los Angeles, CA. They describe growing up in N.Y., where there was a lot of artistic activity taking place(in music and literature) and then moving to L.A., where everything was superficial...based looks, style and flash...without any real intellectual substance.

Don't fool yourself! Donald and Walter were not adding music to The Communist Manifesto. Also, you contradict yourself constantly- #1. On Jan. 15, you claimed not to care about Rockolga(sp?) because it didn't have anything to do with the real thing. Then you asked for Steely Dan fanzines from Pete. ---It is too bad that you will never receive these, because issue #27 contains an advanced copy of the new Steely Dan album titled, "Sweden Bites the Big One."

#2. In you Jan. 16 post, you didn't care for the "colorful language" of the posts (i.e. ...men fucking themselves in their assholes), but in your previous post(Jan. 15)you addressed TOMMY by saying, "Go fuck yourself fuckhead! Fuck!"---You appear to be in an argument with yourself...and losing!

Please don't send any records of Swedish bands. They all stink! They have no funk! They have no soul! This is why no Swedish bands have ever had more than 5 minutes worth of popularity in America. Please send that trash to the landfill.

U.S.

P.S. I really feel sorry for you. It must be horrible working all day in a country, where the government takes 80% of your wages- THAT YOU WORKED FOR- in taxes. This is why the world has rejected The Socialist Experiment.

Question 1:Does anybody know anything about DF or WB music videos? I've seen three: New Frontier, Snowbound, and Tomorrow's Girls (with Rick Moranis). Were there others? Surely they must have made a video for I.G.Y.

Question2? Didn't WB do the guitar solos on "Black Friday"? Why bother with other guitarists? Is that an intentional Duke Ellington riff during the BF solo? ("...missed the Saturday dance.")

Question 3: What are the words to the bridge in "Barrytown"?

Roy.Scam: In the beginning we recall that the word was hurled Barrytown people got to be from another world

What's with all this Swedish crap? Isn't this the Steely Dan Guestbook? It's not the Swedish Music Online Chatroom!!!

Geez.

Anyway, DID SOMEONE ASK FOR A CHEESEHEAD?!?!?!?!?!?

The Packers will DOMINATE the Super Bowl and make it look like the Patriots are Brownie Troop #319.

GO PACKERS!!!!!!

WOOOOO!!!

Okay. I'm done.

Ben

Roy.Scam: I know of four videos-New Frontier, Century's End, Snowbound and Tomorrow's Girls. I have never heard of an I.G.Y. video. As for Walter, I like his playing on Black Friday too, but rumor has it that he takes an extremely long time to record solos. One bar at a time I guess.

m.e.

roy.scam: I know of four videos: New Frontier, Century's End, Snowbound and Tomorrows Girls. I have never heard of an I.G.Y. video. As for Walter, I like his playing on Black Friday too, but rumor has it that he takes an extremely long time to record solos-one bar at a time, I guess. And I'm not sure if he has the natural speed of a Larry Carlton.

m.e.

UncleSam; Eh... I have listened to Steely Dan from the beginning of their career. So I have followed their music for about 26 years. Off course Fagen/Becker are no socialists, neither am I (I must admitt that) because if I was, I would live like I learn. Sweden is and have never been a socicialistic country, maybe it have been a mix of capitalism and socialism. But no longer. And communism and socialism is not the same thing. Fagen and Becker live in USA (I don´t say America, that would include Canada and southAmerica) and for US-people like them, USA is the world. So they write about the US-society.(as you said) Sweden is a small country, 8-9 million people. But it´s not a boring place. Is German a boring country? Italy? Denmark? India? Sweden have a rockscene that is wellknown all over the world. But I must admitt that for me, swedish rockgroups that have an internationall career are very boring. They write music for kids, but that make sense because the kids are the ones who buy records. Steely Dan is a rare group, there is nothing like it, not even in USA.

And for the taxes; I have an own company and I pay 33% in taxes, off course if you are very rich the more tax you pay, but normally it´s about 30-40%) And I have my car on the firm, every CD, sheetmusic, film, I buy, I do it on my firm. (sorry, was´nt any good english there but I think you understand what I mean) So I am a pretty lucky capitalist.

So I still think that Steelys lyrics is ironic and sarcastic to US-politics, and also, as someone above said, about human society. But don´t tell me that they include the whole world in their lyrics. For them, as for any other US-citizen, USA IS the world.

PETE VOGEL; So you want credits for taking back Fagen on stage? As far as I know it was Libby Titus. Maybe you where the erranderboy at Lonestar, but if it has´nt been you it would have been someone else. You´re like the whore that gave Hugh Grant a blowjob and then became a celebrity.

In and out (sorry Ruby, not that...)

PS Rudy, you really think my english is better now? I am glad to hear that, that´s the reason I write on this book, to improve my english (smoke my fat dick, asshole, spermaspruter... no spermabrusher.. hell, I don´t know.)

Whoever it was who wrote that US saved Sweden during worldwar 2, I must ask; Was it in the same braveness you sent soldiers to Vietnam to kill innocent woman and children? Why don´t you send your "brave" army to Rwanda/Burundi? I think I know the answer; There´s no money to make there, and there´s no oil either.

RUDY; found our pepper? Don´t know what you mean.

And there´s a shadow on the faces / Of the men who send the guns / To the wars that are fought in places / Where their business interest runs /

far out. As a swede this whole discussion about our litte country sounds crazy. You dont know ANYTHING about Sweden but that doesn´t stop You from telling us ALL about ourselves. Is that something common in US? I mean that you dont have to know anything to "contribute" in a discussion. Besides that I cant see why You draggin´about Sweden when it´s Clas You dont like. Come on children - when it comes to stupidity we can fill this guestbook for years with american history and present- but who cares? And for the hosts boringtheory - well who are the ones that looks most bored - your fellow americans above or Clas?

Oh, Cles, yuoo neece-a Svedeesh mun. Hefe-a yuoo beee dreenking egeeen? Tell me-a ebuoot yuoor fefureete-a Steely Dun sung.

moray eel: who cares how long it takes Walter to record a solo, as long as it sounds as good as it does?

IS THE GUESTBOOK SUBSIDISED BY THE SWEDISH TOURIST BOARD NOW? GOD...

Pissboy (clas),

In your drunken madness, you have failed to tell us why we should give a rat's ass about your country. You always attack the U.S. with your spermgurgling self-appointed international moral guardian bullshit, yet still fail to refute the facts that the only exports of consequence from sweeden are:

-Seka -sweedish meatballs -abba -ace of base

There's another American saying you might want to have translated. It's "those who can defend, defend. Those who can't are just a bunch of pussies."

In Sweden's defence, The Cardigans are good, but only because they don't pander to the hypocrisy of the mass market. Found out today that Do It Again and Dirty Work are on the s/track to Mask and Do It Again crops up on Air America too. I always thought that SD would suit a David Cronenberg film...

Lars - There is one thing I know about Sweden. It has the highest suicide rate in the world. No wonder, after listening to your friend Clas the last few days, I can see why.

Oh, and Clas - I'm just wondering how it's possible that you would come all the way to New York City (or just happen to be there) to see Donald play at an unannounced, unadvertised club. Out of all the clubs in the city, you just stumbled upon the one where DF was playing? Or did you just read about it in the Sweet unauthorized biography? You also claim to be so wealthy, yet stayed at a YMCA, which, in NYC, is just a kinder name for a homeless shelter. You are so far out of the loop that you get all your information from Brian Sweet's book, which I have told you before is not very accurate.

One other thing. If you are such a big, well read Steely Dan fan (that came ALL the way to NY to see Donald, let's not forget), how come you didn't see ONE show when they played in your own backyard in Europe? It seems to me, Clas, that you really don't know a damn thing here. The only thing you do know is how to memorize Sweet's book. Clas, you're not fooling anyone.

clas--'For them, as for any other US-citizen, USA IS the world.' what the fuck is that supposed to mean? there are plenty of us who interested in and aware of what goes on outside our country. certainly here in houston there are plenty of narrow-minded hicks inflicted with tunnel-vision, but i'll bet you don't exactly have a shortage of those kind of folks there in sweden, either. these overly-broad statements you keep making about 'everyone' in the USA are not just irritating, they're idiotic as well. would you *please* cut that shit out?

i have to admit that the US is a lot more isolated from the rest of the world than european countries, but that's geography. the only other developed country in our part of the planet is canada, and they're culturally indistinguishable from us most of the time.

you complain about americans being too focused on their own culture, but what about you? you seem awfully obesessed with the USA too. it's not our fault that we have better movies/music/pop culture/whatever than most other countries in the world.

if our culture is so crap, why are countries like YOURS importing it by the truckload? why are you posting here on this board, practicing your ENGLISH (which is pretty good by the way)--so you can communicate better with all the 'stupid and false' americans?

shit, clas, just because most of the swedes i've ever met have been drunken assholes does not lead me to make a statement like: 'that swedish guy, just like every swede, is a drunken asshole.'

one more thing--bringing up that senseless war in vietnam does not change (and actually has nothing whatsoever to do with) the fact that the allies, including the USA, saved your swedish asses from nazi germany. sweden would've been swallowed up just like the rest of europe.

lars--right on. but i think swedish history could probably furnish a FEW examples of stupidity too. i said it before: stupidity and dishonesty are not uniquely american qualities. we just just bring a uniquely american style to them.

razorboy--right on, man. let's talk about something more interesting. we could start insulting each other again--even that would be more entertaining than clas's ignorant, judgemental pronouncements.

r.o.c.k.--'spermgurgling self-appointed international moral guardian bullshit'? wow, i'll have to write that one down.......

peace,

rabbit

ambrose: I care! I am trying to live long enough to be able to hear a new Dan studio album. I need my fix! I am being duped into buying Steely cover bands marketed as the genuine article-bad junk!

m.e.

SWEDES EVERYWHERE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Discussing the relative merits of Sweden vs US on the STEELY DAN GUESTBOOK?

uh, test....

Uh, sorry.....

Good thing I checked tonight. Lately I've been so busy I go days between reading this damn thing.

StAl

testing

hey what up foos! Clas, for your information Al Pacino is hella smooth and you're all a bunch of crakheads! Peace out foos! Much luv Dr. Brain! YEAH!

hey what up foos! Clas, for your information Al Pacino is hella smooth and you're all a bunch of crakheads! Peace out foos! Much luv Dr. Brain! YEAH!

KINKY; The time I spent on YMCA was in year 1980. The year I saw Fagen at Lonestar was -92 or -93. It was a damn cold winter. I was sittin on my hotelroom (a more expensive one this time) and reading Village Voice. I saw this small add that said that Fagen and little Big Band was playin at Lonestar the same night. I ran fourteen blocks and bought tickets. Fagen was a little stiff that night, forgot some lyrics but it was THE night of my life. Why I could´nt see Steely in my own backyard was because I had so much job to do, I could´nt turn around and ask someone else do my job. About wealthy; for me wealthy means that you can live a good life on your own business. I´m not a millionaire. I am sorry if I have missunderstood that world. SO, Kinky, you where wrong. Again.

SO, back to apes;

ROCK; Whatever you say IQ

NICE GIRL IN AMERICA; No, I have not been drinkin, but it seems like you have. You seem so stupid so I can´t understand what you are doing on a STEELY DAN GUESTBOOK. You can´t possible understand anything about the Dan. You can´t possible understand anything, I believe.

audi and out

steely dan bathrobes are cool. just figured i'd share.

amanda

Who is Clas? An under intelligent protozoaic, who's need to feel accepted by the Dan elite is repellent, or merely a 'scandi' prick who has the adhesive qualities of a neo-nazi orator with a speech impediment.

Either way, his patriotism is admirable, but can all swedes please eff off so that the dan discussions may continue. Do not think that I'm a 'swede-o-phobe', I am not but this trans-atlantic dissin' is tiresome. Face it Clas, Sweden offers, and has always offered little to the world of true rock & jazz.

i mean, names such as Larry Karlsen, or Bernard Purdiersen, or Jan Hodder, or Walter Bech are liklely to ever make an impression on the music seen.

Mind you, i do hail from the nation that gave you all Oasis!!!!! Now they are shite, and I'd rather listen to Abba anyday than that Manchester bollox.

We also have a band over here, although they may have broken up now, called Deacon Blue. They were, and still are, so fucking crap. It really does get to us British dan guys when third rate acts do things like that. and of course the band claims to have been sooo influenced by the dan. well if that's the case, why do they sound so fucking shite?????? I mean they are really, really, really, really fucking bad!!!!!!!!!!

mind you, thy ain't as bad as ace of bass!!!!!!

Stop singing the merits of Sweden and talk sense. Maybe the rest of you guys can stop encouraging my euro-comrade (yeah right) and take time out to make him just a tad less of a 'nordic-idiot/asshole'

Laters pretzelmen (and women - oh how PC!)

Jimmy the boy

Oh one more thing -

Rabbit, you seem to be relatively skilled in prose! Nice one, geezer!

jimmy the boy: Amen. Amen. And Amen.

moray eel, i hear you on the long wait we must endure. but i wouldn't blame walter's guitar solos for that. how about, start with the fact that d&w live 5,000 miles apart and don't get together that often. and think about donald and roger nichols dissecting a drumbeat into nanoseconds. personally, i wear my dan patience like a badge of honor. remember, walter once said he likes to think that steely fans can keep it up the longest.

Amanda - Thanks for sharing your bathrobe story (this goes to red and white's posts from a few days ago, as well). But, one question, what the fuck are you sharing? That you have no tact? Why don't you all tell us about your bathrobes, where you got them, and how we can get one. I know you wouldn't just be going on here to tease us, now, would you? You know Amanda, you're just so cool, you really are.

Clas - Here in the good old U.S. of A. we have a story about a boy who cried wolf. Now let me translate this into Swedish - This boy lied so much that when he finally told the truth, no one believed him. Sound familiar, Clas?

I just accept the fact that there will never be a new Dan studio disc and that way if they do get together a record a new one it will be a gift. Besides I do not have the patience of ambrose.

Hey amanda welcome back. I think Steely Dan Slippers are OK too.

DCB

Yeah, too fucking right Amanda!

I agree with Kinky. I want to know where I can get bathrobes and hats and I want to know now!!!!!!

Sort it out woman!!!!!!

laters pretzel girl!!!!

jimmy the boy

Clas and all those who criticize the US are simply full of envy.

The USA is the greatest country in the world. Period.

Where else can you expell a six year old from school for sexual harrasment (He dared to kiss a schoolmate !!!)

Where else can you suspend a student for drug possesion (She was carriyng Advil on her purse!! What was she thinking!!)

Where else can you sue ANYBODY for ANY REASON, and get away with it.

See, this is THE LAND OF THE FREE. Look at OJ. He is free, isn't he. Q.E.D.

So Clas. I will exercise my God given right to tell you to shut up and let us enjoy our FREEDOM.

Joe

Going back a little ways, the thread was whether Gary Katz should produce the new CD.

Taking it in another related direction, should the Art Crimes tour band be used for the CD? If not them, then who should D+W use?

No doubt they *can* play, but at Camden this summer, Beasley's and Krantz's solos sounded to me too much like the keyboard and guitar equivalents of that bleating clarinet solo on WB's "Girlfriend." Based on what I heard on AIA, I'd rather have Bernhardt and either Zingg or Wadenius, than Beasley and Krantz.

if i knew where you could get one, i'd tell you. but i don't know, so i can't. sometimes it's fun to be tactless... i know you understand, kinky.

amanda

Hank Silvers is right. Bernhardt is a world master and Drew Zing is probably the finest session guitarist out there now. Well there is Ritenour and of course Khan, but Carlton don't do sessions no more so he's out the frame. Zing is my man. I cannot say that I am totally convinced of Wadenius. He didn't do it for me too much and I found his KC a bit lacklustre. Zing's rip-off of Carltons 3wm was fucking brilliant, especially complemented by Erskine's slick snare. Top hole!

I heard a rumour that Zing was thrown off the '94 tour group because he used his Steely Dan appearance for marketing purposes! i hope this isn't true because DF & WB would have behaved a tad uncool to do such a thing. Perheps someone knows why? If they could tell me, I would be grateful!!!!!!

Jimmy the boy is leaving now

Laters pretzel types!

Haha, said the clown ... Y'all made my day. I was lying on my back laughing today. You have been so hot lately. Luuuv these flames. Huh.

Clas: how about Atomic Swing? and Jonas Hellborg (especially with Shawn Lane - I heard them 2 years ago at the Musikmesse Frankfurt, that was really hot)? ahem, you had some fun lately. Mi 2.

R.O.C.K: what mastery of rich language thou hast. 'm amazed ... And: Po' li'l da'ling, can't have 'em beasty ole' Europeans shut off from the internet. Oh, oh. No, I also do not have a home page. So sorry about that. Do you? Cheer up, man! Don't be so pissed! Oh, there's that pee word again ...

Uncle Sam: Hey, man, I even paid almost 80 bucks for each of the two shows in Germany. Plus a railroad ticket Stuttgart-Hamburg at 250! And would and will anytime again. But you're not very knowledgeable when it comes to socialism. Strike the big red words in your little black book a little harder next time.

Everybody: hey, it's the fun factor you gotta be after !!!

Ruby darling: hey hello! big hugs! keep smiling! have a raisin good time!

Jimmy,

You are absolutely right on with your comments on AIA 3WM. Dreeewww Ziiiinnggg and Erskine are wicked and so slick it should have been a crime...and Berhardt with that threatening piano A real highlight of that release!

lowercase, lowercase, you rubbed your bathrobe in our face...

jimmy--thanks for the nod. and you're right. oasis is pretty shite.

does anybody have any idea why d&w have never worked with steve lukather? he's played with everybody else in that circle, and he does have a pretty unmatchable command of the instrument.

george--where are 'atomic swing' from? not *sweden* god forbid.....

peace,

rabbit

Y'know, Clas, for someone who can barely speak the language, you sure know how to stir up the locals. I'm away for 2 months, then I check in to see Clas the old rooster still dominating the GB -- excellent.

No pasaran.

That video is excellent! Rikki, Movies, Black Cow, the new stuff, etc.... Worth the price of admission.

it's high time the boys come out with that fucking cd so you morons stop arguing about who's more morally and mentally inept between the americans and the sweedes.

i thought this site would provide intelligent conversation about steely and their music...

might as well have landed on the better homes and gardens page.

this sucks.

I was at your average, second hand type college music store, complete with vynil, rarities, and almost every album you were never looking for yesterday, and I saw a very interesting Dan album I had never seen before.

It was apparently from some California station, since it had the label Westwood One on it. It was a two record set of a Casey Casem type of guy introducing two of their songs each side and playing some interview snippets here and there.

Has anyone ever heard of this? It was a two record set for 20 bucks. Can anyone give me some more information on these records?

Thanks a lot, and please tip your waitress.

More to come....

Ben

Home: With a modicum of effort you would have found some good discussions of Dan-related topics. With this kind of medium, some noise is unavoidable. Why don't you learn to use your SCROLL function/key/icon? You might even check out the Archives (use that scroll, again). It's like anything else worthwhile, you might have to actually put in some work! Do you have anything to CONTRIBUTE, or are you just one of those WHINERS without the guts to show us what you know or are curious about? Besides, get real, if we we're all like the Dan, we would spend months composing and editing each of our POSTS. Does it look like we do that?

Amanda: Does your's have the cool SD Art Crimes logo on it like mine? Musta taken Dave a full WEEK to stuff all those tubes.....

Kinky: Bite US

StAl

Oh yeah, Home@last -- we've been there already. About a year and a half ago there was some intelligent discussion about the band.

Where the FUCK were you?

StAl

Tough life!

Just seemed like yesterday when all I cared about was if how I could get a passing grade in Music Theory by making only 3 of the 5 8:00am classes in the Music Bld., which was about 2 miles from my apartment, and it was winter term at a northeastern school that playboy magazine wouldn't rate in the top ten party schools because "Professionals shouldn't be rated with amateurs!" It'd been nearly a decade since I heard Dr. Wu, and fallin' for a sound that over 25 years later still calms the insanity that is prevalent in a head that never stills. To this day, all major life challanges, i.e. 1st job out of college, death of a brother, decision to go to Berklee, marriage for the first time at 37 years old, and many others have been prefaced/assisted/comtemplated with the help of, in particular, AJA. Although I never quite understood what it would be like to be Languid and Bittersweet, I'm sure that's the way I've felt. That's Dan. Tonight, as I await news of ultimate importance, I surprised myself by bypassing AJA, for I can't get the phrase "perfection and grace" timed out of my mind.

As a long time reader, and second time poster in the Dan Guestbook, I respectfully await any words of wisdom, because I've truly spent the last Piastra I could borrow.

St Al, let me guess, you were "white", and Rudy was "red" (or vice versa). It looks like we're going to have to hear about those bathrobes as much as we did your 3rd row center seats and champagne. Didn't your mama ever teach you not to brag? I mean, Amanda's just a kid, what's your excuse?

But in all sincerity, Rudy really deserves the grand prize. Has anyone seen his homepage lately? I don't think I've ever seen a more pathetic display of groveling in my life! I guess I was right a while back when I said you were probably just using your SD link to solicit your services. But, really, Rudy, you've got to be kidding!

Long time no sea, as the retired sailor said.

KINKY; I know that saying, it´s a swedish one. We also have a saying that is; - Vad är det som är långt, brunt, skrynkligt och luktar prinsessa? -Prins Bertils långfinger. Translation; If you think you are smart, you´re not smart.

Lucklets Pestedrian: I can make my self understood in english. Can you make yourself understood in Swedish? No, did´nt think so. It´s 2 -1 in my favour then.

lollapalooza

CLAS: is that really a Swedish phrase? man, you need some serious wit treatment!!!!! I don't think I have a long nob, I do have a long nob!

somehow, I don't think so. Then again, I'm not Swedish!

RABBIT: yeah, Steve Lukather is pretty damn good. I've seen Toto three times now, but they seem to be somewhat slated by the musical press. I have to confess that I have never ben to fond of their song writing. It seems to be the case that up until 1982, all they did was brilliant, and ever since all they have done is mediocre. A couple of tracks which do stand out are 'Jake to the Bone' from KOD, and 'Dave's Gone Skiing' from Tambu. Both are instrumentals, but are damn fast and clever.

Lukather's most impressive work as a session artist, i would say, was either on Quincy Jones' 'The Dude' or of course MJ's 'Thriller'.

Toto is obviously a 'bit of fun' as far as the musicians themselves are concerned. I find it hard to believe that Paich, Phillips, Lukather and Pocaro the younger, need the royalty income, given that they are some of the biggest names on the LA session circuit, but they should try harder to write more complex songs.

With the input of Paich, who is very much an ex-Dan man, they should be cooler. I mean what is 'I can't stop loving you' or 'Pamela', naff stuff to the extreme. Bring back the slick style of 'Georgy Porgy' or 'Hydra'.

Jeff Pocaro, now that was a serious loss back in 1992. He died one month or so before i was going to see them in London. Devastation. Still Simon Phillips ain't bad, even though he's is a tad rock-pile-ish!

I think that the Dan never recruited SL because he has a tendency to jam it a bit too hard. But his background stuff is very cool, see QJ's 'The Dude' once again. That's is where i feel his forté is. His solo's are great but lately he just keeps axe-ing through songs. Cool it Steve.

Laters pretzel geeks

Jimmy the boy

yeah, that's the one.... i had to have a friend help me get the damn thing out of that tube... and can you imagine all those fedex slips? oy vey...

amanda

ambrose: Count me in as a member of the Dan Patience Club. Do you have any spare badges lying around and can you send one my way?

Later, Beautiful Survivor

Clas: I'm not competing with you, I'm complimenting you; without the new album, SOMETHING's gotta hold my interest in this deteriorating guestbook. Keep it coming, man.

BTW, I dig 'Lives in the Balance' too. If you like that sort of progressive political thing, check out Bruce Cockburn's "Wish I had a Rocketlauncher". Anyway, I speak another language as well, so that makes it 2-2.

Re: the Lukather thread: As someone already mentioned, I doubt if the Dan would be interested since Luke seems to be heavily into guitar pyrotechnics. Saw Toto a couple of years ago and the way he was playing I felt like he was trying to prove something. Super-hot, jaw-dropping licks but somehow incompatible with SD.

Clas: Is Seka really Swedish?

regarding steve lukather, donald once said that "steve lukather doesn't do anything for me." so he must have been slightly uncomfortable when he had to actually play with lukather at the jeff porcaro tribute concert a few years ago.

beautiful survivor: before you get your badge, you have to demonstrate the ability to "keep it up the longest." this must be officially certified by the badge committee, of which i'm the chairman.

you guys bragging about your steely dan bathrobes are pretty pathetic. hey amanda, are you usually naked when you put on your robe?

I doubt that DF would have been too pissed off, having to play with Lukather at JP's tribute gig. I would have thought that the emotion of the occasion would have seen to that.

But Lukather does axe it far too much, and that is no doubt the reason why DF thought the way he did.

But, lukather can been just as subtle and refined as any of the usual Dan alumni. if only he did it more often.

anyone got a SD hat they would like to give me!!!!!

Jimmy the Boy

Eric: I seem to remeber that Playboy issue. Wasn't that Lehigh University? The Dan was always popular there.

eric: you went to Ithaca, too? wow, whatta scream!

Check out Lukather on Eye to Eyes's "Shakespeare Stole My Baby", though. Any self-respecting Dan fan would most likely love his playing.

Steve Lukather is obnoxious!

eric: that was one of the best things I've ever read. If you find a new/better/easier way to wait for news, let me know too, OK?

watching&waiting4afriend2playwith, Ruby

It's unfortunate that much of the Guestbook activity has degenerated into this running feud between the "Americans and the Swedes." At the risk of sounding preachy, I've always felt that music is a universal language that transcends national culture and politics--that's the profound beauty of Steely Dan's contribution. It doesn't matter what we think the lyrics mean. To me, it's the emotional state that the music puts us in. All other considerations are side-effects and trivial.

To my fellow Amercians: Let's be tolerant; the world sees us as both the best and the worst of mankind. The fact that Sebelius that was Swedish more than justifies any abuse they may heap on us. The fact is, Sebelius and Steely Dan belong to everyone.

To the Swedes: Contrary to what you may believe, most Americans are not provincial, jingoistic blockheads who believe that the USA IS THE WORLD and that our culture rules. We freely admit that our culture produces a lot of junk. And, we'll even admit that our cultural root are derivitive. So, when you look at America, try seeing it as a DNA sample of the world population that grew into something totally unique. Then try to remember that there's a little bit of Sweden over here, too.

Sorry for the sermon, but you guys make a lot of noise when you fight. Incidently, did anyone who caught SD live last summer here them do the tune "Jack of Speed" from their soon-to-be-released albumn?

here's a question: does anybody else out there have rickie lee jones' "flying cowboys" (produced by wb)? it's been around our house for quite a while, and i got it out over winter break only to find that after a few listens, it really grew on me. and "satellites"... i could listen to that one all day long.

mr. lapage: i think "soon-to-be-released" might be a little overoptimistic, but maybe that's just me.

amanda

ME (laying down your Jackson): You have no idea just how obnoxious Lukather is. Have you heard some of the band names and/or song titles he's given to some of his non-Toad-O projects...(live only, of course)? It makes "Bitch School" from Spinal Tap seem like Amy Grant.

As for who's better....Swedes or Americans....I don't really give a fuck. You shouldn't either. Get over yourselves. Just change the subject. By the way, Roxette blows, too.

Hank: For new Dan recording, gimme the "platoon" style that I've loved for all these years. Find the best talent for each song. Lawson for the steady ones, Chambers to mix it up. Barney stays put. Beasley for the "live" effect, but Bernhardt for the precise solos. More Donald solos, I think you'll agree, ala Countermoon/Teahouse jam on St. Louis 93. I liked the Art Crimes band as a touring band, but in the studio is another matter.

Who was that, a few months back, bragging about the oh-so-great demo version of "I Got The News" and to not even bother looking for it 'cause it can't be found? Who was that I wonder??

As for the bathrobes, do what any self-respecting Dan fan does: Make One For Yourself!! (Mine is crimson, BTW). Geez....

maj.

ambrose: If by "keeping it up the longest" you are referring to Dan Patience, I have a number of references (friends, family, spouse) who will attest to my ability to practice the aforemetioned patience.

If, however, you are talking about something else, - anything- else (...you know how people talk...), then I believe I am in a different league from you, in which case I may need to consider withdrawing my request for a badge - oh well, happy chairmanship.

Later, Beautiful Survivor

"They got the shapely bodies,
"They got the Steely Dan bathrobe. . .

Hey Gang,

Looks like the more things change the more they stay the same. Been months since I was last here and I swear the same conversation is going on...continue...

Ruby, I'll be yourfriend2playwith, wanna listen to some Moody Blues? But don't tell your S.O., next thing you know he'll be singing "I'm just a singer in a rock and roll band" instead of "Babylon Sisters"!

Keeping the bathrobe on, Paul C.

Ditto the vid. Wish AIA had the same spark.

ambrose: I would also like to receive a badge of honor from the Dan Patience Club. But I want it right now! No more waiting!

To the topic of the next album's musicians...I would love to hear Pat Methany play on a Dan album. Drew Zingg(2 G's) is also excellent, but I would bet that Walter will do most of the guitar work. Does anyone miss the sound of Denny Dias? I sure do. For drummer I would pick "rhythm master" Chambers. I wish Donald would throw the drum machine down the stairs and smash IT! For piano: Fagen of course, w/ a couple BIG, LONG SOLOS ala Do It Again or Your Gold Teeth(YGT is Fagen right?).

m.e.

yeah, Methany is well cool. I am a serious Zingg fan big time also. i am not sure if I miss Dias that much. Maybe I do but I was much more into the Skunk. Raw chops you know.

Dias will never bend a string, a fact that Pete Fogel beat me own in his stumpe me game.

Other guitarists, Ritenour maybe or what about old steve Khan. He served Fagen proud on True Companion.

Drummers, I stick by Erskine, Chambers, or perhaps Richard Bailey? Gadd goes without saying. Wendel must die!!!!!

Michael Omartian or Paich on keyboards, Bernhardt on piano, Fagen can assist. why play when there is someone better. Use the voice and your pen Don. Don't go glory hunting!

B w/o no name - watch it - Luke is good, just misguided

Hank s - damn funny bathrobe lyric!!!!!

Laters pretzel flavours

Jimmy the boy

Howdy, Gang!!

I haven't stopped in for awhile, as I have been out of the country--no, I did not go to Sweden, but would love to some day.

I "thought" this was St. Al's webpage for Steely Dan music & lyrics, NOT politics.

By-the-way, I am STILL looking for the elusive "Live in St. Louis" concert session recording of the 93-94 tour, if any of you have it, and would like to trade for some of mine, please e-mail me.

Additionally, I am excited about SD's return to the studio as you gotta know the next CD will be GREAT.

If any of you have any good sound board recordings of the recent tour, I would be interested in it--one without so much damn "crowd noise" as, was the case in the "Live in LA--Book of Liars" recording of a few years back.

Cheers and Salude!!

Your TexDan friend,

Michael Packard

Does anyone know if Drew Zinng has any solo albums out? If so, how are they..

thanks

fez

I miss Rick Derringer's style. He added something good. The best combination: WB,DP&RD.

Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing a photo of Dean Parks on the albums. Is there a picture of him on anything SteelyDan?

Y'all wanting medals: why not ask for a bathrobe,instead? I would.

PPPaul: I WAS real moody yesterday, hence the MoodyBlues. (nice catch!) I don't recall seeing you bbbefore, but OK, you can play w/ me! As for my S.O, he admits to occaisional lurking only. (He once called this page "Ego City")

Ruby - play@your.own.risk

Ruby Baby, I thought you were miiiiiiiiiiinee!

KINKY, glad to read you still sneak over to my site. But c'mon - how ELSE am I supposed to get what I want...ESP? I guess you'd prefer I pine away in (relative) silence like yerself and chortle heartily at anyone with the BALLS to try and get what they want - sorry, girlfriend, I don't play like that.

Be nice now, Kink, and watch as the rest of the world grabs your piece of cake. [I was "Red"? sorry, wrong guess. AGAIN.]

rudy, shameless huckster

cool portfolio rudy. hope you get their website gig. very sexy, yet classy.

fan - Although Lehigh has a great wrestling team, and

Your Gold Keith - Ithaca in the winter is a beautiful site to behold,

Penn State was where I did my stompin' down the avenue.

Ruby Baby, thanks for warmth. You've helped me keep the faith!

-eric

i don't think i've seen pictures of him on dan stuff, ruby... i do have pictures of him, though, not that that makes a difference...

amanda

Let me just say this about the Bathrobe thing. It was not my intention to even mention this. After all, it happened over a month ago. However, Kinky opened a door I just couldn't avoid walking through. Call me glib, call me a chump, call me lucky. Anyway, if you don't like it -- again -- that would just be TOO FUCKING BAD.

StAl

RubyBaby: I would love to receive a Steely Dan bathrobe, but I live at a nudist colony and clothing of any kind is strictly forbidden. They even confiscated my Steely Dan jockstrap, which I might add, had a picture of Dean Parks on the front.

ambrose: I received my badge of patience yesterday. Thank you! But I am still waiting on my Steely Devotion Medal of Honor. I think I have found the perfect spot to hang it.

St. Al: How many music guestbooks do you maintain? Zappa, Dan, etc.....

m.e.

YGK- hands off dude...you'll get over it!

RubyBaby- Yes, once before I was here, and you caught my eye. I think it's so cool that the only cover tune that the D has done (to my knowledge) is your handle. I think the D did it way better than the D that did it first, but of course that was 20 years earlier.

Walkin' between the raindrops, Paul C.

LUCKLESS P; I don´t know if Seka is a Swede. I have never heard of hear. The only porno I´ve seen is Max´s. I guess it´s USA-porno. really good. What I remember, it was such a long, long time ago...

MR. LA PAGE; Sibelius was a Finlandia hipster.

AMANDA; Yes, I have that Rickie Lee Jones CD; but my favo is HORSES, I guess it´s about her daughter. Wonderful song. Listen to the piano, it´s great. And the organ that sneakes in.

Long time no seed as the retired farmer said. ( Funny? No.)

Moray eel relates: >They even confiscated my Steely Dan jockstrap, which I might add, had a picture of Dean Parks on the front.>

Oddly, the same damn thing happened to me... I had to replace the thing, so I now own a Closet Kinky Supporter... Trouble is, the strap keeps on crawling up my ass.

After having taken a peek at Rudy's shameless huckster page, I have to agree with Kinky: get a grip, man!

Paul C: aren't you forgetting East St Louis Toodle-oo as a D cover song? But maybe you meant D as Donald and not the Dan. And the original Ruby Baby wasn't the 1962 Dion version but the Drifters' version back in the 50s. But maybe that's the original D you had in mind!

well, i think rudy's shameless plug is funny! makes me want to do my own shameless plug for the album photography.

amanda

A CRITIC (but then, everybody's a critic): sorry you don't like my tactics. Grip THIS.

A brother's got to get along somehow. rudy.

Hi,everybody! I read something the other day on this page that's been patiently waiting in some corner of my mind, vying for my attention amidst a bunch of other stuff. Kind of like when you get something stuck in your teeth, eventually you MUST do something about it. Well, here it is:Jimmy says,"Fagen can assist. why play when there is someone better. Use the voice and your pen Don. Don't go glory hunting!" What did Mr.Fagen ever do to deserve that kind of treatment? Listen to the early SteelyDan songs, where there's no question about who's playing it and how magnificent it is. He plays with soul & just the right amount of intensity in each and every case. I truly believe that the decisions made by Those Who Know Best to hire Michael O,David P, etc. were wise. When does a project ever reach it's full potential in an efficient manner by spreading the key players too thin? But to insinuate that DF is not as proficient on the keys, or has such a narrow band of flexibility in working with others is insulting!

YGK once said that piano music is poetry. Where is the poetry without the poet? I hope DF is playing a lot on the next cd.

Ruby, in the song, remains elusive. But if she were ever to be captured, and really belong to anyone, it would be to Donald Fagen - who brings out the Ruby in every woman.

RubyBaby

Ruby Baby,

Sorry to disagree with you, but ALL keyboardists who have played on Steely Dan or Donald solo projects are better players than Mr. Fagen. They don't do that lame Ray Charles and extreme grimacing thing on stage, but they are much better players hands-down.

We think you have to separate technically great players like Michael Omartian or Joe Sample from stylistically great players like Donald. While Donald might not have the "chops" that some of the other players have, he brings a certain attitude and style to his playing that is often much more appropriate for a particular tune than anything those other players can come up with. And he knows better than anyone which is right for each song. The writer is often the best interpreter of his or her own music, even if they're not as technically solid as others. That's why Donald has chosen to do some parts himself, like on The Nightfly's title track. Chops aren't everything.

Maybe Donald doesn't have the chops, but he sure has some canines!

Listen to Donald on the live stuff, he's the one holding down the rhythm, on the Fender, in the background, making the Dan swing.

Check out the beginning on Reelin' live, almost any version. Lay it down, Donald!!

Laters, maj.

What about what DF lays down on "Fire in the Hole?" He puts doen at least 4 different "choppy" but not sloppy rhythms during the solo. It just about the best part of Can't Buy a Thrill.

ln 1: e=w

Clas: Jackson did a special not long ago on the Disney ch. "Lives..." (hey dude, count em') was sung with Crosby and Nash doing backup and Lindsey on this wierd guitar. Frickin' awesome. Very good video, check it out.

Any Grammy fans?? What the hell happened to the Grammy's?? Does anyone remember Ricki Lee Jones winning the big one?? I think Bob Dylan sang "Serve Somebody" that year. If Don and Walt were honored, would they show??

This page was much more exciting when SD was touring.

Anyway, the Super Bowl is here. YeeeHaaa!! (yawn) The big music show is Hootie. Lame. The BIG SHOW in the big easy coming up is Sheryl Crow with the Wild Flowers. YeeeHaaa!! (yawn)

One more note. Hey its been a while since my last post. In 1979 there was a concert called "Day of Rock and Roll" in the Super Dome. For $13.50 the bands included, Van Halen, Heart, Sammy Hagar, Boston, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, and a few more I can't remember. What the hell happened to the concert business. Money, Greed. Ketal One has taken it's toll. seeha. Z.

1. Anyone here ever see Heavy Metal? Is it any good? How is the rest of the Sndk?

2. How could I go about finding a copy of 4 trax from SD on the 'net? I really gotta hear Dallas and STWW!!

3. Go Packers.

4. Chicago Blackhawks suck.

Mas tarde......

Ben

Shit, what I meant with this Maxs Porno Video-thing was; I have not seen them, it was a neighbour to me who had a brother who had seen one and he said that the one he saw was pretty good. So when the neighbour said to ME that he had a brother who had seen a US-Porno-Video and it was good, I said that I don´t care about such shit. I hope that you all, specially Ruby, understand that I don´t look at such things. OK, once in Frankfurt I saw a naked woman in a window but I looked the other way the fastest I could.

ZEKE; So you mean that there´s a video out with that Jacksonshow? I´ll go downtown today and see if we have it here in Sweden. Thanks!

RUBY; I am sorry to say that I disagree with you about that fagen-musician-thing. My opinion is that I don´t think he´s very good on the keyboards. If you look at the video with Barnard (?) when he and fagen plays a few tunes it´s very obvious that Fagen is a singer/songwriter, not a good musician. Very stiff, very dull chops.

CLAS: I was gonna ask you what you thought! Okay,if I come over, and you pop in the video, you could explain it to me. If you're not too busy. Maybe Pompe will let us sit on that sofa. What are chops, anyway?

mr.moray eel: I've sometimes wondered if I could hack it in a nudist colony. I mean, the heating bills alone would stress me out!

PPPCCC: 1stly, I'm not acquainted w/ earlier versions of RubyBaby, but I do believe you about DF's rendition being better. Would he ever do a cover that wasn't superior? 2ndly, what makes you think YGK has his hands on me? Or that he'd get over it??

GoPackers

Ruby

Clas & Zeke - When I was younger I lived in Paris. In july one summer I saw Jackson Browne and Ricki Lee Jones the same week. Ricki was that stoned so they helped her to the chair behind the piano. I loved that. My god, it was 15 years ago!

I saw there concert twice last summer, once in Camden and also in Holmdel. Those new songs are great, but when is the new album coming out? I am 18 years old and would love to hear from other young Dan fans. Are there any out there? Today's music sucks. There's nothing out there like Steely Dan!

Dr Mu : no i'm not just a whiner, but thank god this page got back on track since my last post...i was about to give up. I saw SD in Saratoga Springs back in 93, and it just the concert of a lifetime... ...chills down my spine (Gaucho sax intro) ...tears in my eyes (Deacon Blues) ...dancing like a fool (My Old School) Had to drive 6 hours to get there, but worth every secondof it. could kill myself for missing the last tour, but the closest venue from my place was toronto (yeech!), and by the time i found out, tickets were up to 250$ a pop in the nosebleeds!!

Since you are so knowledgable, can you answer this : has there ever been promo posters of SD albums ? do you have any idea how i can't get my hands on one (willing to pay BIG time!!!)

how about that...an 18 year old deep into SD !(Hi Kate!) just when i thought SD was strictly for old farts like me, along comes a fresh wind of youth. Bravo! (Kate...tell your friends.There was nothing like them at the time, and nothing even close since !!)

Lars: I caught Rickie Lee at the Jazz Fest several years ago. She looked clean. She did a few songs with Dr. Jawn that night. The only problem, she stopped several songs midway and chewed her sound-man's ass out, right on stage. I had back-stage passes, and tried to meet her, wrong.

Z.

To those who are belittling Fagen's abilities: Blasphemy! Sheer blasphemy!

FrozenRainMaker: Are you Home at Last? I hope the delay didn't cause you any trouble. Items of interest are being produced as I type this message.

RubyBaby: Ya know, we have discovered all kinds of creative ways to keep our bodies warm down here. The motto is, "A Colony That Plays Together, Stays Together". I gotta go now, the Co-Ed Ring Toss Tournament is about to begin.

"HERE AT THE NUDE RANCH... ABOVE THE SEA..."

m.e.

What is all the chatter about DF's talents as a keyboardist? Jolly G, time to fly at half mast over your comments. I think RRRubyyy comes closest to identifying the real issue: DF is a perfectionist whose drive for perfection has allowed a man with disputed talents (as indicated by this page) to a achieve something that most of will never attain. He has a huge following, fervent fans, commercial success,(need I continue)....all of which is more than most musicians of supposedly more talent can say. Not too mention he plays keyboards way better than I ever will...

RubyBaby, my cybervision is 20/20, the comment to YGK about his hands is relative to future action not past action. And as far as his getting over it goes, he probably won't but that encouragement is just what he needs!

A Critic, isn't the D for Delightful?

Undersea by rail, Paul C.

Long time no seal as the retired eskimoe said.

RUBYBABY; If Pompe dont let us to sit in his sofa, I´ll MAKE him let us. What do you want to drink? Chicory Coffee, Coors, Vodka...? If you want Coors you have to bring it with you. We don´t have it here. (Hell, I can´t wait, when are you coming?) I will explain everything for you Ruby, Fagens dull chops, the magic moments in life, about Fire In Venice, Snow In Madrid, Chinese Whispers... but dont ask me to explain what a chop is in english.( the same that a lick is on a guitar? I think my swedish friend Lars can explain it for you.)

RUDY; Right ON! You are a true artist! What programs do you work with? Illustrator, Photoshop, Corel Draw...?

LARS; I´ve seen Rickie Lee twice in Stockholm. I don´t know if I´m so much into her these days. She was better in the beginning. But I think Jackson is good, even if he never shows up with a new The Pretender again. What about that Hipster thing in Åmål? Tell me.

I hope Donald Fagen doesn't read this guestbook. If he finds out that "his fans" are telling him..................... 'Don't go glory hunting' with your 'dull chops'<> ........perhaps he will quit the music business altogether.

maybe obsolete, another white guy on the street.

LUCKLESS PED; I forgot to say thanks to you! I´m going downtown right now and buy that CD with Bruce! Clas

Concerning the Fagen's chops issue: I'll take style over technique anyday.

lovebob

Well, if you think he's not a good piano player, you must admit he can play a mean melodica. But then again, I'm not complaining.

Just to let you know, I added some new pictures to my page.

FOGEL: Now them's some cool pics. One thing: are you using Netscape's palette (216 colors)? It looks like some of them pics would be better served if the colors were tweaked JUST a bit. Lemme know if I can elaborate for you.

CLAS: nice of you to say so, thanks....I use Photoshop and Illustrator - that's about it. Gifbuilder for the animations.

"I hope Donald Fagen doesn't read this guestbook. If he finds out that "his fans" are telling him..................... 'Don't go glory hunting' with your 'dull chops'<> ........perhaps he will quit the music business altogether."

Yeah, I doubt that. The Don's got better things to do than to take someone else's opinions as a career move.

rudy

re Fagen the piano man - I would like to put it like this : there are very few piano-solos on Dan´s works. The best (?) is on Ruby Ruby, but I dont remember if its Fagen who´s playin´.

zeke: Ricki Lee was clean! why didn´t you meet her at backstage?

clas: to me its quite opposite - Jackson Browne hasn´t done anything since Runin´on empty and Rickie Lee´s best is Pop Pop. I admit that her first (the one with Chuck E) is good too. Well, Hipsters cant afford doin a tour at the eastcoast with just one gig at Åmåls Folkets Hus so they are lookin´for more gigs in the area. They are doin the intro to Cadillac just as Christer Pettersson (is it him????) did. By the way, we must have attended the same concert c:a 13 years ago!! Joni Mitchell at Stockholm´s Konserthus.

Home: Welcome aboard. Pete Fogel might know something about those posters.

Amen about the melodica.

lovebob: re: style over technique - amen to that. A lifeless but technically accurate solo doesn't quite get the heart pumpin' like a stylin' (albeit less-fancy) one. (p.s. - I'm now a "keyboard owner" as well - what a trip.)

Maxine

I just want somebody to please tell me when the next steely album is due out. The boys are teasing all of us good citizens. I've been jonesing for some new stuff since the concert in Hartford, Conn. in 1996. Did anybody happen to see that one, and if so, what did you think of the acoustics?

For Christ's sake guys. I did not mean to start a topical debate, or upset yous.

Look, I seriously enjoy DF's playing on the early stuff, plastic organs right on. But as we move into albums no. 3 and onwards, the stuff they wrote was so bloody difficult to play, they had to recruit the best to do it.

fagen himself admitted that they were writing extremely tough charts that required the absolute best from the absolute best. They also had to use others, usually one of the keyboardists, to chart the arrangements for the various sections they had. Because the original chart was so fucking hard to play.

To add to this point, being a pianist and having looked at a few Dan songbooks, the charts are all wrong. I could play them with not a great deal of practice. It should have taken me days.

I also was very priviledged to see the Dan back in September. Now Fagen was fucking great, but he was not playing to the extent of Bernhardt for example, (the name of the guy on the UK tour has slipped my mind). His performance was outta this world and he really dug it all.

Like I think he's a shit player, come on guys!!!!!!!

fagen always adds a touch of wierdness or unusualness to what he plays on. This is not a criticism. It is one of the key factors that make the dan stand out.

But if you look at the progression from when Fagen played lots, the songs were not mega-complex, very complex yes, but not mega. As the band evolved into the elite group of the history of the world, fagen started to play less, recruit more and write mega-complex charts. Baddabing!

of course I want to hear him play too, but not at a sacrifice to the writing which comes first and formost. I believe that's a fair point. He can't really shout at himself when he fucks up for nineteenth time in one session. But he can at David Paich!!!

So all you Jonnie/Lonnies, Majs, Ouchs, Bobs and of course Rubys, relax. Do you really think that I am a fagen-keyboard hater??? Get real and wake up. Think audiophile and get with it!!!!!!!

Rudy, you are damn right. I don't think Donald give's a shit as to what I say or think. If he plays keyboard solo's on every track of the new album cool. And they'll probably be fucking brilliant and I will have to suck shit. mind you I would like to hear him chop an ivory or two.

by the way, Donald has masses of chops, who ever said he didn't!!!!!! But chop's are not everything.

Clas, please do not agree with me on anything. i never said Fagen was a bad musician. You can't be a fucking brilliant wirter and be a bad musician, you div!!!!! And Fagen is a great player. It is just that there are people who are better. The elite. That is what SD are about!!!!!

am I forgivven for your distress Ruby??????

laters

pretzel unhappy folk!!!

Jolly Roger

I did not mean to be quite as harsh as that but never mind.

You are spot on with the Ray Charles thing. Mind you I thought he was great on stage. You obviously didn't.

he just dug the night!!!!!!!!

were you allowed to dance??? None of us were!!!!!!!!!!!!

laters pretzel ray charles impression hater

I'll take take Donald's knowledge of song structure and chord progressions (and of course, chops!) any day thankyouverymuch!

Super Bowl highlight: ZZ Tops' "Legs" while surrounded by 500 dancers, who made it real difficult to concentrate on the musicians, unfortunately. Anyone notice Paul Schaffer back there jamming with the "Blues Bros."? Now there's a man with chops! (just kidding). Who let him in, anyway?

"..Step One...we are helpless over Steely Dan chord progressions..." --md.

Ego City, indeed.

Funny Paul Schaffer should get a mention.

Chops? I think Paul has chops galore. He's never failed me with his ability to absolutely nail whatever song he was covering. Some years ago I saw him do "Like A Rolling Stone" with Dylan and if I closed my eyes I could swear it was Kooper on the B3.

Unfortunately, I think that's as far as he goes. He can cop anyone else's lick, but doesn't appear to have an original thought in his head. My guess is he could pull off something like the organ part to "The Fez" or "Walk Between The Raindrops" with his eyes closed.

A human sequencer...

Edd

ZEKE; I went downtown to see if there where any video with mr. Browne. I could´nt find any so I went to the information desk. I asked where mr. Brownes videos where. The man answered that they don´t have any videos with mr.Browne. Do you know what I told him? -SMOKE MY FAT SWISS VAN DYKE, MORON! That´s what I told him.

SAN FRANSISCO KNIGHT; I don´t know who I agree or not agree with kid. I just think Fagen is a bad musician. But he´s a creative songwriter, that´s another deal. I am a creative songwriter but a bad musician. Not as bad as Fagen but bad.

LARS; I think I can book a few gigs for Hipsters in DalsLånged och Bengtsfors. Is that OK? But tell mr. Pettersson that he have to count to thirteen on the HiHat after he smashes the snare... he use to miss that. How the hell do you know that I saw Joni at Stockholms Konserthus 1984? She opened the show with Free Man in Paris... chainsmoking. You must tell me!

Audi

LUCKLESS PEDESTRIAN; Could´nt find that Cockburn either.

"...Step Two...we believe that a higher being can restore us to sanity.." Hmm. Highly unlikely.

Clas - I was thinking of concerts and you mentioned Joni in earlier posts thats it. The only thing about that concert that disapointed me was that I lacked Jaco Pastorius. That husband of hers was a poor copy.

Is it still possible to talk about pianos and Fagen. Ok, now I know that it was that Greg phjkdlöd+fkj who played the solo on Ruby Baby but that doesn´t make things better - I WANT more piano-solos! And why are there so few sax-solos. Phil Woods and Wayne Shorter please come back! Eh, I think that Phil passed away latley?

LARS; Yeah, more pianosolos, and on real pianos (grand pianos). Is he dead, Woods? Oh, I did´nt even no he was sick.

Yeah, that machohusband of Joni was a typicall Pastorius-copy. As someone said; If you could copyright style, Jaco would have been the richest cat on earth. Did you read the book about his life? I always laugh when I think of a story in that book; Weather Report is on tour in Japan. One night a naked Jaco can be spotted running a motorcycle through Tokyo with a dead squirrel under his arm. Finally he crashed into the hotellobby. And look at the bassvideo he made. That man was a geni. In the end of the video he´d had two beers and he´s totally whacked out. Crazy man. I love him.

I love you too Ruby, clas

IMHO, walter's singing voice is to male rock singers what marianne faithfull's is to female singers. they've both been to hell and back in their personal lives, and their voices reflect that, thus making it perfectly suited to the music they write.

"my broken english is more better now..."

You people that are complaining about Fagen's keyboard ability are talking out of your ass. Afterall, how many of you killjoys can even tell us which tunes DF played on? And don't look to the album credits, most of those are wrong too. 95% of you couldn't tell the difference between Victor Feldman and Michael Omartian, or David Paich and Donald Fagen. And anyone saying that DF's playing in concert wasn't good, must have been at the concessions purchasing one of those overpriced T-shirts.

M.E. & PPPaul - Get back to work, you're late.

Edd: Hilarious comment about Paul Schaffer. I think he's the only one of the original Letterman band who hasn't played with the Dan or DF. I heard he has a cousin who is the "Rikki." Weird, huh?

I seem to recollect Paul Shaffer playing along with our boys during their Letterman appearance.... I wouldn't be surprised if the standard contract for guest music performers on the Letterman show includes a provision allowing Paul the right to play along during their song....

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are composer-songwriters, first and foremost. I think even they would say the reason they surround themselves with monster players is to have their songs fully realized in the best possible way.

Why is it that so many Jazz/fusion shredders - keyboardists/guitarist/drummers put out albums of their own with tunes written by others or forgettable originals? Writing was never their main area of focus.

While these master musicians were locked away doing scales, studying harmony and learning how to solo over altered changes, DF and WB were honing their talents as writers. As soloists, they hold their own in a live setting - and they seem to be getting better with each passing tour, but comparing them to their hired guitarists and keyboardists is silly. They're there for a reason.

On the flipside, it's not as if Zingg, Wadenius or Krantz as well as the other featured soloists are immune to playing bum notes - they've played plenty over the past few years and all have certainly had off-nights.

Pete Fogel: Keep the pictures/captions coming. They're excellent. Question: Were you upset when your name was misspelled in the liner notes of the Citizen Steely Dan box set? Or was it another inside joke?

S.F. Knight,

The bad Ray Charles impression thing just annoys the piss out of me. White guys can't boog, so don't try to fake it. It's like those American Bandstand Re-Runs on VH-1. Fagen should play the onstage role of smug laid-back rebellious white boy hipster, not a wanna-be black so bad funk boy. It's more fitting and less laughable.

Jolly

P.S. Did Fagen play keyboards "On The Dunes"? Not too shabby on second thought.

Hey, ya'll!

1. Congratulations to all the Packer fans, and especially the world champion Packers themselves.

2. Hey, don't dis Paul Schaffer. He's one of the smartest piano players around, and he DOES, repeat, DOES definately have some fucking incredible chops, as he has displayed them on the show, and on many appearances with Marian McPartland on Chicago radio. The only thing you can hold against him is his wardrobe, but not his playing. He's damn good.

More to come.....

Ben

Hey, Jolly Roger

it's interesting that you should say that. maybe the slick 'chet baker', don't give a fuck about you, pissed off aural assassin image would suit Fagen's stage presence more than the neck straining , teeth gritting, cranium girating badass, fist to the ivory alter-ego that he portrayed at Wembley in Sept 96. (and by all accounts, various gigs in the States too).

Still, I did like it though!!!!!!!

Beast w/o a name: I hate you for being so damn reasonable. In a way you have more or less covered exactly where I was coming from, but in a much better way.

you are quite right about players turned writers also. For instance, Larry C has written great stuff, but also a large amount of dirge, likewise Paich (with Toto primarily) and Steve Gadd.

Ruby: if you're out there, have you cooled down yet???? Let's end this and start afresh!!!

Clas: do you like people being rude about you???

Oh I forgot!!!!

Jolly: i cannot recall if DF palyed keyboards 'On The Dunes' as it were!!

Maybe Fogel will post the answer!!!! Hint!!!!!

Do people still think that I am some 'Fagen-on-the-keyboards' - phobe!!!!!

Laters pretzel poppy seed

Alright.

I have no idea whats going on. I just sent an e-mail directly to Clas because I don't have the first idea about how this deal works, but I guess I just found out.

I have questions that need answers. Someone please help me.

1st: I am haunted everywhere I go by "Razor Boy". Not the man so much as the song. Who's the man with the mellow mallets? Is it the big man himself? Is it Victor Feldman? What other mysteries lurk beneath this melody's marimba-esque mystique. What were the influential forces which allowed this sublime phenomenon to take place?

2nd: Gold stickers on CD packages proclaiming "Newly remastered by artist". Different than unmarked packages? Better? Was Katy Lied setback miraculously rectified?

Okay, I have tried to stay out of the fray on this one, but at Kinky's request, here is my two cents on this topic.

Fagen is an excellent piano/keyboard player. He has incredible timing and a very good technique.

All right, his solos are basically right-handed (his left-hand will generally play an extremely simple base line). BIG DEAL. Many top pianists choose to solo with one hand. It's just the style he adopted.

And granted, Don isn't the world fastest player. WHO CARES? Speed has very little to do with musicality. You know, Walter isn't the Worlds Fastest Guitarist. In a battle of notes per minute, Yngvie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani would blow the pants off Mr. Becker, but personally I would much rather listen to Donald or Walter do a very tasty solo than listen to some guy trying to do velocity acrobatics on his instrument.

Is Donald the best pianist in the the world? No way. Is he good enough to play on his own album? Abso-FUCKING-lutely.

If you doubt Donald's versatily listen to the outtro solo Donald plays at the end of Your Gold Teeth---its excellent... or listen to the live Madison Time solo on the NYR+SR---very delicious.

The "Don't go glory hunting" comment may have been a bit harsh. Fagen basically lived in seclusion for a decade. In the ' 80's he made Salman Rushdie look like the modern Dennis Rodman. I really don't think Donald is interested in "glory hunting".

And finally, I do believe that Donald cares what people think about him. Everyone does. Do you know that after the first few concerts in '93 Donald wanted to call off the tour? He felt that the audiences reaction was so lackluster that he considered scrapping the tour. The problem was an in-ear monitor that blocked out the cheers from the crowd. Sorry my rant went on so long. Two cents? More like a buck-fifty.

m.e.

Inflation strikes again...

Another sabbatical been and gone... Just been poring through the last week of post. Some interesting stuff. I think Kinky has a good point, in my eternal tone-deafness, I can't always distinguish what is what, but I know what I like and DF is way up there, no matter how modest he and WB get when it comes playing on albums. I'd sure be interested in album cover prints if they're about... Although I expressed an interest in seeing Metheny on a new album, I wonder now if that would be a good thing, his sound is too unique (to me anyways) and might distract from the tunes. He works beautifully with Hornsby but on reflection I don't think he's the ticket for our boys. Also are there any boots of the first Wembley show last September? Contact me, if you have... u6b88@cc.keele.ac.uk. Until later...

Pehhhhhgg....lovebob's package (everything they say) is in the mail, with some added incentives, I hope. (No, it's not ticking.)

moray eel: Right On! As far as Donald keeping rhythm on the Fender, check out Jack of Speed (any version).

DOC: How've ya been? Looks like it's your guys turn this year...

None but the brave, lh.

Some years ago Paul Schaffer released an album called "Coast To Coast". Supposedly zipped about he country to play with some of the best. The list of credits read like a "Who's Who In The Chop Shop."

It was, in no uncertain terms, one of the most boring releases I've heard. It sounded like a well-produced collection of jams recorded by a bunch of garage artists with no clue as to what they were going to play, so they went for the least common denominator.

I finally swapped it for a copy of Dolby's "Aliens...", a transaction which I felt made the original deal for Manhattan look only fair.

Paul would be perfect for a Steely Dan tour, *if* they wanted to recreate the albums on stage.

Edd

Hey Clean Willie, cop another handle if you don't mind... This seat's been taken...

My $0.02

Fagen is God. The Ray Charles thing is just Fagen's way of feeling the "Groove"

Becker is one hell of a guitarist - groovemonster

Schaffer sucks. He plays with the feeling of a milkcow

Zing is by far the best of the add-on guitarists to play on the last 3 tours.

Pete Fogel's page is great.

Just my opinion. Please don't flame me because of differing opinion.

Fez

If I had a year to come up with an organsolo (Maxine) I think I would do it better than Fagen. And remember; the Record Company pays for the studiotime.

SAN FRANSISCO KNIGHTS; No I dont, and noone is rude to me.´But I wonder why you mention me in every post you write? Get off my back stupid child.

eric: I don't think SD was talking to JoePa about bad sneakers when he decieded they had to be black only. I think the Blue Band should do a real rocking My Old School at the next Rose Bowl. Anything would be better than that Fleetwood Mac thing the USC band is was still doing (and poorly) at the Kickoff Classic last year. I need to find that circa 1976 Playboy. I still think the month after the list of top party schools was in, a letter to the editor from a Lehigh fraternity was answered that they did not consider proffesionals.

Luckless: Check back in the Archives around the end of July, early August for complete posts about the Meadows show in Hartford. I think eveyone agreed that the accustics at the Meadows was better than at Greatwoods the night before. Except at Hartford, DF's keyboard wasn't working for the first 30 minutes and had to be replaced.

eric: I don't think SD was talking to JoePa about bad sneakers when he decieded they had to be black only. I think the Blue Band should do a real rocking My Old School at the next Rose Bowl. Anything would be better than that Fleetwood Mac thing the USC band is was still doing (and poorly) at the Kickoff Classic last year. I need to find that circa 1976 Playboy. I still think the month after the list of top party schools was in, a letter to the editor from a Lehigh fraternity was answered that they did not consider proffesionals.

Luckless: Check back in the Archives around the end of July, early August for complete posts about the Meadows show in Hartford. I think eveyone agreed that the accustics at the Meadows was better than at Greatwoods the night before. Except at Hartford, DF's keyboard wasn't working for the first 30 minutes and had to be replaced.

http://steelydan.com/

I don't think so....

Moray eel: You are right of course. The Fagen is good enough to play on his own album. But that is not quite what i meant.

To all: who think I am a complete tool. Can we drop this. On reflection, to say 'don't go glory hunting' was stupid and written from a position of non-importance. I admit my garaloussness got the better of me.

i certainly did not set out to make an ass of myself by implying that Fagen can't play. I did not say that. Fagen is a great player and exciting too. But there are better players who could serve his charts better than he can. he admits it himself, or has done. He's undoubtedly a much finer player now than he was twenty five years ago.

Anyone who says Fagen can't play is a cretin. Anyone who says Fagen is the best player in the world is wrong. He is undoubtedly the finest song writer (plus WB of course) in the world.

i do wish now though, that I had never said the 'glory hunting' bit. I feel a bit of a wanker.

Clas: foxtrot oscar

laters

suicidal pretzel

jimmy the boy

Lucky Henry: YES!!!!! It's hard to be humble when you're a Jayhawk!

Everybody else: did you ever wonder why the Muppet master, Jim Henson, chose the stereotypical image that was portrayed by the Swedish Chef??

Steely Dan.com

ummmmmmm! That's good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...and, not ONLY is Fagen a hell of a performer, but if you watch the Homespun video he made with Bernhardt back in '93, you get a real good look at the genius BEHIND the tunes. How he takes basic 12-bar blues and works it, like a true artist in his medium, into the glorious melodies we all know and love. Screw how fast anyone plays - Fagen's thinking all the way, and that's what counts.

rudy

following on from Rudy's very recent posting......

who the fuck judges how good a player is, keyboard or any instrument, by the speed at which he can play!!!!!!

surely, as Dan fans we should be a little beyond such 'air guitarist' bollox!!!!!!!!!

FUCK HOW FAST FAGEN PLAYS. he is a good player. who the hell said he was no good because he was not very fast, what a tosser!!!!!!!!!

laters

pissed off pretzel

And a nice job it is, guys. Congrats to WB + DF, plus all those who helped get their site up and running.

Gives us all something new to talk about besides nationality, ethnicity, stupidity, and musicality (covers the gamut, methinks)

Maxine

My $ .02 worth:

Don puts a curious spin on everything he does, both vocal and keyboard, that is a great part of why I remain facinated by the music. As for guitarists, I saw Drew Zingg play with Boz Scaggs last year. He was great, lots of feeling, with a soul for the music, not a showboating guitar-bater. Too bad he wasn't with the Dan during last year's tour.

The opinions expressed here are mine and not those of all of you.

Beast: well, we think D&W hold their own as soloists in a studio setting too, not just live. Plenty of evidence for that on Kamakiriad, like Walter's brilliant guitar solos and bass line on Snowbound, and as someone else mentioned, Donald's piano on On the Dunes. Kamakiriad and 11ToW are really great examples of how truly gifted D&W are as musicians. Walter does all the bass and all the guitar solos on both records, and DF plays all the keyboards on Kamakiriad, so at least we don't have to wonder who did what.

rudy: I concur re: Homespun video. Not only is it a treat to see how many great Steely Dan tunes blossomed out of blues progressions, but to see D.F. solo (proficiently) on the piano in such a sparse setting.

Also - many thanks for grabbing the reins on the official homepage. Looks real good.

S.F. Knight: Thanks for the acidic praise.

Welcome baaaack!

Once again, that's SteelyDan.Com.

Greetings Dansters. Just returned from Asia and talk about Banyan trees...Chinese music..up on the hill they think I'm okay..or so they say. The CD on my player right now is the new one by CURTIS MAYFIELD called New World Order very cool sublime funk. Also over the break bought SD Live in America. Now I dont wanna start any wars here but dont you think the big endings(can you hear the drums Fernando?) are a little over the top? There are some nice moments I quite liked Walts vocal on Book of Liars...Other news from down under drove through Muswellbrook two nights ago nearly stopped to photograph it for you people over there in DisneyLand but..also listened to Gaucho closely the other day it realy is a very strong album in particular Glamour Profession jumped out and grabbed my ears ..bye now Kanga

And then there were two...what're the rules re: handles on this guestbook? I thought I was Luckless Pedestrian, now there's a luckless pedestrian 2 coming out of Connecticut. Hmmm. St.Al, help us out here.

Those who argue about Fagen's technical dexterity are missing the point.

lp

Now when are you going to record that new fucking album??!!???

Yesssss.. it is there. at: http://www.steelydan.com/ Nice work guys!

For those that can't manage that, try '206.83.176.62' - make it your mantra.

Who cares about the new album... they've got to get the artwork settled first... almost sucked in by 'newalbum.html' and 'artwork.html'.

And, if you can't warm to Walter's New Year Resolution No.1, try No.12 - it works.

Richard&kangaroos

PS Thanks for the colourful invective jimmytheboy. Like a sharp knife through a really whiffy fart.

Hi all, checking in after a while. My beloved Grandmother has been quite ill, and passed away yesterday; albeit she's in a much better place now. I'm attempting my first batch of home brew tomorrow, and provides all goes well, it will be dedicated to her.

Lively conversation re: Donald's keyboard talents; I must agree with Lonnie/Johnny, Kama does show its' worth. I dig K to drive to, I usually pop it in on my commute home from my Wednesday raquetball match. My faves are 'On the Dunes', 'Florida Room', and 'Teahouse'.

And Paul Shaffer--Sure, he can copy (the keyword being copy) anyone's tunes, but, Bleah! Boring!!!

I've decided to adopt the above moniker as my alter ego.

'I know you're a special friend...'

Who cares about artwork you asshole, I want a new album now!!!

Danny Boy, OK-Whoop, and other fine DanFans out there with similar sentiments:

If you want to congratulate anyone for the website, please toss your eloquent thanks here: I'm the one who did all the work.

But..... I cannot help but detect some teeny small bit of dissatisfaction in your bouquets, no matter how well-hidden it is....and I live to serve. So in keeping with your insightful and gracious advice, I'll make sure to pass on to W the news that the 10 mins. he spent over the last 2 months writing for the new site was an idiotic waste of time, a horrible mistake---didn't he realize he can't make an album and do that, too? Oh yes, I know *he* thinks it's been going gangbusters out there in Maui but what the fuck does *he* know? He might as well toss all those tracks out the window immediately, right this instant--useless and contaminated as they are by not having received his full and proper attention and effort. It's time to educate him to the brutal reality of things. Hell, if he had his way, he'd spend a whole 20 mins a week on the website--and then where'd we be? I'll have to tell him there can be none of that. There are some people who know his business a juuust a taaaad better, Mr. Schmarty Pants, and they are not about to allow him to take part in any activities which any idiot could see are obviously inimical to the creative process. Clearly, he has a thing or two to learn about that creative process, and he's damn lucky to have such insightful, intelligent, and devoted fans who can tighten him up on that score--and not a minute too soon, either.

And as for having a little fun-? Well, he'll be informed that this too is an irrelevant and ill-conceived notion. According to the contract he signed with abovementioned insightful, intelligent, and devoted fans (cf Section III: Paragraph 20): "During the calendar period during which the Principles are engaged in the creation and/or production of Aural Product (AP), all activities not directly pertaining to said AP (heretofore referred to as "Play" or "A Life") shall be limited to no more than the following: Two congugal visits with spouse per week (missionary only: no foreplay), and: Four smiles, one grin, three frisbee tosses, and one and a half (1.5) hugs exchanged with children (biological progeny only). Bowel movements are allowable within established Medicare Guidelines. The two 20-minute breaks allowed during the workday shall be free for Play activities at the discretion of the Principals, with the limitation that said activities are constrained to those that directly further the production of AP - e.g., backing up computer sequence files; tuning the piano; sharpening pencils. Such discretionary Play activities may not be related to social contact of any kind outside those already established within the primary and legal family unit, and under no circumstances shall such contact be established or maintained with the intended audience of the Principals' lifes' work. Nor shall such Play activities include: any incidental writing; explorations or expressions of spontaneous wit or humor; development of character, narrative, or plot of fictional or quasi-fictional people and worlds; or aesthetic considerations of any kind, visual or otherwise; the expenditure of those and related constellation of traits are the proprietary domain of The Company only, and are not to find expression anywhere but in exclusive and direct service of the AP itself."

It's a good thing we have that Contract on file to remind him of how and why he should get to work: god knows the incentives of wealth and fame are not enough, and his need for achievement. productivity, and the satisfactions of creative expression are virtually nonexistant. And they say Contracts are counterproductive!

And if reminding him of his binding contractual obligations doesn't make him see the light, I'll just pass on to him the amount of appreciation he has earned for his personal involvement so far, and the quality of fans for whom he has squandered his precious and finite artistic fluid. I am certain that even if all else fails, this will be sufficient to return things to where they should be, to The Good Old Days: the consumers of sundry APs shall revert back to an amorphous blob of nameless, faceless mouthbreathers worthy of little more than commercial predation and contempt, and the Principles revert to producing sundry AP with all the expansive joy, relish, and pleasure that they enjoyed circa 1979. Oh, yeah, I remember things didn't work out too awfully well back then---but then they didn't have YOU for all this guidance, encouragement, appreciation, and insight.

So on behalf of everyone involved, I extend my heartfelt thanks; with your feedback and help, the Dan Universe will become a far better place in which to live. Rest assured your voice has been heard--but please don't stop now; we desperately need you to make it all Come Out Right.

Re: "they didn't have YOU for all this guidance, encouragement, appreciation, and insight." Wow, didn't realize WB was actually *taking* my advice - now do you see, Walter, why that tie was a better way to go?

SD Web Drone: remember, some of us are appreciative of *both* efforts and don't feel the need to rush anyone with anything. Oh, and I appreciate the sarcasm, too. Hell, I'll appreciate anything at this stage.

LH: Doesn't step three say something about a CAR?? Where's MD's analysis when we need it...

Maxine

SD WEBDRONE: What WERE those Medicare Guidelines you mention in Paragraph 4...? Seems that I had misplaced that contract....you got a copy?

rudy

Roux-Die!!! Roo-Dee? Rudy. Can't you answer yer emails? Send me your snail mail address else I drop that tape into StAl's bag! Don't tell me u didn't know. Cheerio.

All: No I wouldn't want to hear the Lukather on an SD album. Nor that Malmsteen (barf ...) guy. I don't necessarily like to hear the world's fastest fingers or the junkest dive bombs. Gimme Dean Parks or Jay Graydon or Drew Zzzingg. Or someone. Prob'ly anybody they'll let it play! Plus: last not least all we can have from WB and DF as I not only enjoy their writing but also their playing. Be it technically perfect or imperfect as it will.

"we're gonna park in the street ..."

Webdrone: Hey! They can do what they want to when they want to!! OK? They just need to measure the pulse of this guestbook crowd and realise the bucks won't start pouring in until they get that factory rolling!!!

Y'know, folks, the subject is rather dull. We're debating in a vacuum on the whole solo issue. We all love their music, period.

So, in an obvious stab at changing the subject.....

For those of you keeping track:

Out of Steely Dan's 67 song catalogue (1972-1996 - including the 3 new songs previewed on the tour), the following are SD songs not yet given a 90's makeover onstage:

(Note: Royal Scam, Fez and Parker's band were all abbreviated into medleys - Aja and Bad Sneakers, onetime medley inclusions, later became full treatments).

Here's the list:

Dirty Work* (I don't know who they'd get to sing the verses) Kings* Only a Fool Would Say That Fire in the Hole* Brooklyn* Turn That Heartbeat Over Again Razor Boy (Pete F. - I'll bet you've been begging for this one) Boston Rag* Your Gold Teeth Show Biz Kids King of the World Pearl of the Quarter Night by Night* (they should definitely dust off this one) Barrytown Through With Buzz With a Gun Charlie Freak Monkey in Your Soul Rose Darling Daddy Don't Live in That NYC No More* Dr. Wu* Gold Teeth II Any World* Throw Back the Little Ones Caves of Altamira* Haitian Divorce* Everything you Did* Here at the Western World* I got the News* Gaucho* Time out of Mind My Rival

I've marked the tunes I would like to see them have a go at.

What are yours??

Pete F: Have any of these tunes been rearranged, rehearsed only to be abandoned prior to or during any of the 3 tours??

I think the SD WebDrone's POST is significant not only for it's entertainment value, but also it does indicate that da boyz are putting in the effort to get this opus finished. So let's leave 'em alone!!

on that note: Beast...Yes, I'd love to hear live Dr.Wu and Your Gold Teeth II.

Hey Doc: Yes, we all understand that the Pulse of The Guestbook tells them everything they need to know, it being the rich and unbiased sample that it is. And since making liquid the bucks (so that they may better pour in) is and always has been their Numuro Uno priority, the sum total of the rhymes and reasons why they do what they do (and how and when they do it), they would be well-advised indeed to listen to the 2-50 or so model consumers who are so severely frustrated and in such a horrible mood that they are on the verge of never buying another Dan album again.

Step 3: "Cop some free tix for the SD show from the radio station van in the parking lot, do two jello shots with (what was his name, Hank?) and fuck steps 4 thru 12, man, we're seeing the Dan!"

I'd like to see Walter play 18-holes of "where the hell am I?" in twenty minutes. Twisting up a fatty would take ten.

maj.

SDWD: Huh? Speak for yourself. Later.

SDWD: hope you realize that not everyone on the guestbook thinks you are putting in too much time on the Web site. It looks great, and it's good to hear that work on the new album is also going gangbusters. Yes, there are those of us on this rich sample of Americana who know you guys can walk and chew gum at the same time.

Beast: Peg was also in the medley at one time before it got the vocal treatment. And I vote for Dr. Wu for future live work.

SDWD,

I'm glad you'll set the boys straight on this having a life thing. They've been so out of touch, they've lost contact with the new global marketplace. Times have changed. It's that international competition thing. If D&W don't get that album out and get it out soon, some teenager, woman, or prisoner in a Mexican or Asian-Pacific sweatshop will do it for 25 cents a day, a bowl of rice, and no benefits. The bridge to the 21st century is a drawbridge, and those who aren't at the front of the line will find themselves stuck on the landing.

"...since making liquid the bucks...is and always has been their Numuro Uno priority..." .... I can see it now: "CENTURY'S END: The New Really Greatest Hits of Steely Dan (We Mean It This Time!): Re-re-re-re-mastered and Rearranged Hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s Because Frankly We're Completely Out of Ideas".

maj.: VIN The Shotman!

SDWD: That vaingoriously vinegary post back there must have taken you a long time, eh?

I suppose I, too, would want to take credit for handling such a worthy website.

You have my praise - if you really give a shit.

Lonnie-n-Johnny: When was Peg in a medley? Before the '93 tour? NYRSR?

Beast: Peg was in the medley for the first few shows of the '93 tour, Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh at least, before they changed the set list. Those first few shows had a dramatically different set list.

Beast -- of course I give a shit; thanks. The vinegar? About 10 mins to ferment, I'd estimate. About 9 minutes more than the endeavor deserved.

The east coast had Vin the Shot Man, and the west coast had Geoff that Port Guy. How 'bout the middle?

Man oh man, I love those drums in DoItAgain! They call to me...

Knight of SF: what's to forgive? You're entitled to your opinion and I'm entitled to mine. But you took some time&effort to clarify and I believe that when you said "Don't go gloy hunting!" you were just being exhuberent! See what exhuberence on this page does?

So,knights really don't leave a lady in distress - Forgiven!

CLAS: What a cool host! I'll have whatever you're having. [re:when am I coming?] All I can say is that I'm rackin' up the miles, babe, and someday I will be there, yes I'll be there! BTW, great explaination of CHOPS!

PPPaul: your cybervision scares me. But your thoughts on doing the most with what you've got (DF, for instance) are inspirational! What's your first SteelyDan experience?

RubyBaby

rant, rant, rant.....

to the web drone: not ALL of us expect work on the new album to preclude a "life" for our boys... there are plenty of us out here who know that the album will come when it's good and ready, be it next month, next year, or even on into the new millenium (though certainly we WANT it as soon as we can get our hot little hands on it). and i think most of us are aware that the web site has not been restored in lieu of work on the new album, though there are an outspoken few who seem to think otherwise. anyway, thanks for all your work. i for one missed the site while it was gone.

amanda

Anyone in the New York area may be interested in knowing that '94 SD guitarist Georg Wadenius is playing with his new band, Ge Wadoka, at Irving Plaza Tuesday, Feb 4th.

Speaking of SD musicians, for those of you who were unable to purchase a European tour book last year, I've added some pictures of the Art Crimes '96 Orchestra.

StAl: Yeah, but mine doesn't fit

To the Web Drone, who asked you?

Definition of Drone: noun. 1. a male bee, characteristically stingless, performing no work and producing no honey, 2. A loafer, sluggard. verb. 1. To make a continuous low, dull humming sound, 2. to speak in a monotonous tone.

Hmmm....

O Kurly Headed one, isn't it your nap time?

Ruby, I have my blindfold on, but I'm listening! My first SD experience? I have SD experiences on several planes, from seeing a performance to my first memory of hearing one of their songs...My very first SD memory is hearing "Do it again" at my neighborhood pool on AM radio when I was 12. I, too love the drums!

Paul C.

Web Drone...I agree, but do you think they'll understand words like congugal?

Kid Charlemagne

web drone--just when i was going through vitriol withdrawl, you stepped in, just in time to save me. thank you so much. what, did they have a massive invective sale at your local sarcasm-mart? did you get it all half-price?

holy jesus, i'm going to have nightmares about that, man.

lessee, is there a really big, quasi-intellectual word i could use here that means 'complete overuse of sarcasm until it reaches a point of over-the-top redundancy never before conceived by the human imagination'? hmmmmmmmmmm.......

peace,

rabbit

Kid Ch. I got 'conjugal', but had to look up 'inimical'.

SD Web Drone: Hallelujah, oh happy day - the SD Web Site is back in all its past and future glory! Thank you!!!

To those who feel that D & W should be focusing -all- of their energies on putting forth a new album, consider this: the face of creativity contains many facets, and I for one am most happy to see evidence of this on such things as a Website and all they choose to include on it. You go guys!

To those who question Donald's abilities as a keyboard player, I would like to direct your attention to the video he made with Warren Bernhardt. He describes songwriting as his -main gig, how he got started-. The keyword is -songwriting- my friends, and in light of this fact, I think this pretty much nullifies any debate anyone may have on his playing abilities, and I think we can all agree that his songwriting abilities are second to none, period. I will say that if people were to come along and tell me that -my- keyboard playing reminded them of Donald's, I would take that as high praise and be greatly complimented.

Later, Beautiful Survivor

Beatiful Survivor; I have that video. Fagen plays stiff, he is not tight and his chops are dull.

RUBY! Äntligen back! I was breaking like the waves in Malibu.

Dyed-In-The-Wool

Re: Songs dropped from the early portion of the '94 tour: I am more than a little curious as to why True Companion was A) a part of the early '94 setlist in the first place, and 2) why it was dropped.

My guesses would be A) it didn't get a good enough audience response, 2) D & F didn't like the way it was sounding live, or III) both. perhaps the all knowing Web Drone could shed some light on this one for me. The performance of TC at the '94 Pittsbu was fan-fucking-tastic.

lovebob

ps maxine!!! thanks for the package! Now all i need is to have you do some re-con work for me! Can you e-mail me your phone# (if you already did (ever) I don't know where it is. And if you never did, I promise not to call you at 3am, ya?

rgh show

BOB TEDDE; Call MAXINE? Man, you must be crazy.

Just picked up TISkyway single for £2 at last! Can't seem to get onto the new site, is there any reason for that? Plus I think Haitian Divorce and Caves of Altamira would work great live...

Clas: Bob and I have actually met, and are on a little better terms than you and I were when you called me UNASKED. That's all. I don't get upset with folks unless they've given me just cause, but I mentioned in email that all's forgotten, right? I've dropped my grudge, so can you drop the rest? Thanks awfully.

Beast w/o a Name: Jonesin' for Fire in the Hole, Gold Teeth II, Dr. Wu, King of the World. Also, I'd love to hear Aja live (missed those tours). Caves & HD too.

Maxine

SDWD: Dead on about the ridiculousness of the claim that SD needs to work hard to empty the pockets of the nutcases on this board. Hell, Donald & Walter could release a CD of farts cut in the studio during the recording sessions, and these bozos would camp out all night at the record store to buy it, call in sick to work, listen to it once, and jump on this board trying to identify whose fart was whose.

for example:

"from our friend clas: i really like georg??? farts because he's from sweeden. drew zinnnnggg? farts sound like robot computer and he's ammerican capitalist pig. donald's farts have no chops. warrennnn? farts have better left-cheek feeling...."

If I were Donald & Walter, I'd record the album, send out all the musicians who worked on it to spread the word on how great the music is, and the titles of the songs. Then post a notice on the website that because of all you assholes on the guest book, we've decided to erase the album and spend the rest of our days surfing the web, having dinners with our friends and watching our kids grow up. Have a nice life.

Psyched: wonderfully caustic. but could you turn that thing down?- thanks. it was hurting this nutcase's eyes.

SDWD: Dead on about the ridiculousness of the claim that SD needs to work hard to empty the pockets of the nutcases on this board. Hell, Donald & Walter could release a CD of farts cut in the studio during the recording sessions, and these bozos would camp out all night at the record store to buy it, call in sick to work, listen to it once, and jump on this board trying to identify whose fart was whose.

for example:

"from our friend clas: i really like georg??? farts because he's from sweeden. drew zinnnnggg? farts sound like robot computer and he's ammerican capitalist pig. donald's farts have no chops. warrennnn? farts have better left-cheek feeling...."

If I were Donald & Walter, I'd record the album, send out all the musicians who worked on it to spread the word on how great the music is, and the titles of the songs. Then post a notice on the website that because of all you assholes on the guest book, we've decided to erase the album and spend the rest of our days surfing the web, having dinners with our friends and watching our kids grow up. Have a nice life.

psyched: you seem like a wonderful person... and what a fabulous idea. i love all the kind vibes i feel on this board.

amanda

MAXINE; Do you have NO sence of humor? You are so touchy. And did you think I would RAPE you through that damn phone? You can be a bitch if you want, i don´t care. Nej nej.

LARS; Did you notice that Phillinganes solo on Ruby Ruby are built on Kinks old You Really Got Me.

RUBYBABY; Honk your horn and be careful on that B!

The backslapper

Went channel surfing the other and landed on of all things, The Disney Channel. There was a live concert by Art Garfunkel, who, by the way, still has a fantastic if not overly earnest voice.

Playing keyboards was none other than our old pal Warren Bernhardt - also sounding great. Too bad Art doesn't write songs like his old partner. Otherwise, he would have had a thriving solo career as well.

LH: Yes, Vin the Shotman, I remember it now. He had a plastic shotglass hanging from a chain around his neck. High-potency liquid too.

So here's the final text on Step 3:

"Cop some free tix for the show from the radio station van in the parking lot, do two "brown" shots with Vin the Shotman, and fuck steps 4 thru 12, man, we're seeing Steely Dan!"

And now for a flashback to the summer tour:

If you recall, majordude and his roving eye attended the Camden NJ show at which I spotted a few "famous" persons, namely Ed Feldman of the Furniture Guys Show and Don Tollefson, a television news personality. Since then, I have held Tollefson in the highest regard for his sense of excellent musical taste. I suggested later that it would be great to list the "show biz kids" seen at Dan shows, an idea that someone else also must have thought to be a good idea.

Back to the present: Tollefson does a program on Fox29 called "Good Morning Philadelphia" although today it was more like "Good Morning Medford, New Jersey" because the crew was in Medford, my hometown, to do their show live. So I knew Tollefson was going to be in my neighborhood. "...the plan was set, the plan was done..."

Last night I prepared a special "Welcome To Medford" package for Tollefson complete with some Walt-dog biscuits and aural candy of the type I knew would sound "familiar" to him. I presented him with the stuff during a commerical break. Mind you this is at 6:30am this morning. I don't get up that early for just anything.

Later in the Village Coffee Shop we talked. He said that he's a big fan of the Dan and that the Camden show was a great, great show. He promptly put the package in his coat pocket to enjoy later on, along with a smooth retsina, no doubt. He was done for the day.

All in a days work. I'm still working on Feldman. I have an antique porcelain bathroom sink from 1904 that needs some attention and Feldman looks like like game for a trade.

"...we'll be clean when that work is done, eternally free, and eternally young, oooooowwwwwwww..."

the maj.

Maj: which Furniture guy is he - bandana man?

Clas: I have a great sense of humor, ask me again. Maybe throw a joke or two in; I'll start laughing now... HA,HA,HA...

Maxine

M: Try and remember what you said 'bout a month ago....

cheers

Maj:

Thought I'd let you know in case Feldman doesn't work out - I had quite a bit of experience with refinishing porcelain back in college, 'course that was mostly toilet work...

(A damn nice gesture to the Fox29 guy, btw).

Bodacious Suegirl:

IM(RFH)O, any Bovine moniker is a damm good thing. (and was sorry to hear about your Grandma)

Beast:

Count 1 (one) vote for 'My Rival'. (but the boys would have to pay up for a good timbale player).

mWorld

To the Nordic: How's the sternum? I meant to ask you before: Where did The Two make those handprints - the ones right beneath Eddie Van Halen and Les Paul? I could have guessed which hands belonged to whom. And whose nifty shoes are those on the right?

Ruby

Maj--I also saw Tollefson at the Camden 'House of Blues' show (Buddy Guy, Joe Cocker, et al). As far as other celeb Danfans, I heard somewhere that Elizabeth Vargas (sits in sometimes on the Today show) is a big fan.

mW--Thanks, your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Bodacious:

Celeb fans. Read in magazine Teri Hatcher (girl from Lois & Clark) named "Aja" as a favorite song.

Non-Fan: Howard Stern. Always rags on them when anyone mentions their name. Word he uses to describe them: homos.

Maj Dud: I see you live an incredibly exciting life. After all, you got up at 6:30 in the morning to see a local TV anchor man just because he went to a Steely Dan concert. And Walt-dog biscuits? You sound like one disturbed person.

Whew... I used to really look forward to lively exchanges with my friends (you know who you are)on this page. Maybe Cabin Fever has some of you in it's grip. Everyone is armed with a flamethrower these days. Be cool. ...just my 2 piasters

I loved the Babylons Sisters backyard drum by BPurdie story you told. I heard it. Love it!

Got any more?

R

Fellow Guestbookers,

I just re-read Steely Dan Web Drone's post (read: Walter's post for you Clueless fucks out there) and there must be a lot of pressure on the guys with this new album. You can tell from his choice of words as well as the fact that he responded with such an exhaustive reply. This guestbook fan bitching must have triggered some sort of a breaking point.

Note the part where he says something to the effect to the fans that if we want things back they were in the good old days, he could do that. Ignore us. Steely Dan never used to give a fuck about their audience, fans were facesless, deserving of contempt, and if they bought their music, he'll take their money and not say thank you.

Now in the new days, he's gracious to his fans, he gets a kick out of seeing all the different faces drawn together by his music, builds them a website, posts cool pictures, he tours every year since and what do the fans do? They start acting like the annoying fuckheads he and Donald were avoiding all throughout the 70's and 80's. People, grow the fuck up. What a bunch of ingrates.

I'm off this board forever. If Donald & Walter decide to give their fans the big kiss-off because of the loudmouth fuckups on this guestbook, I'll be somewhere else.

Walter: Release the album whenever the fuck you and Donald want to release it. I'll find out about it, when it shows up in my local record store. Not from the insiders on this guestbook. Time to become a civilian again. Good luck.

1980 was a long time ago. I'm sick of waiting for new music. The fans need an album now!

So everyone now knows that *he*, the drone, is W. Could ouch be D?

Right ON D! For Drone that is....

Pete: I'm on the same diet you are buddy.... It's the thought that counts

Beast: Regarding Night by Night. I've been saying that for 3 years. Personal favorite on Pretzel.

So I'm in a supermarket the other day and at the checkstand are 2 young guys talking about -- guess who. Anyway, they're apparently having this semi-intelligent conversation concerning the validity of Walter Becker's contribution to the music of Steely Dan. You see, one of the idiots is taking the TOTALLY un-informed position that Donald=Steely Dan, PERIOD.

Fucking dufus!

So here we are. I'm overhearing this conversation, without a real opportunity to slide in my $.02, you know, casually, without coming across like I was eavesdropping (which, as you can imagine, I MOST certainly was). However, the smarter one, the one sticking up for Walter, was doing an OK job. He still didn't know shit. If only I could have cornered these 2, what I coulda said....

So what would you have done. I know it doesn't happen much. Perhaps you've been at a bar and overheard a conversation about a subject in which you had INFINITELY more knowledge of the topic, than did the participants. But yet you feel akward barging into the conversation, lest you feel like a buffoon.

All I kept thinking to myself was "Where's that KinkySoInSo fellow when you need him".... Should I have butted in? What was I supposed to say -- "Don't you talk about my pal Walt like that"? Or, -- "I'm StAlphonzo from the Internet and I maintain a GB about the band"?

Big FAT HAIRY DEAL.

Boy, did I want to though....

On a different note. Just wanted you let know that I've updated the Cool Links page. Look for the symbol next to any new links. Check out Bjorn's chord page. Here is a 15 year old kid from Sweden who decided to throw some charts up on the web. Nothing satisfies me more than to see the generation spanning this band is capable of. Reminds me of another band that you know who really digs....

Peace,
StAl

stAl, three dots... remember? I got work to do, can´t sit here and count dots.

RUBY; About my sternumpains; last week, I think it was monday afternoon, the pain was´nt so bad. Then again at , I think, last saturdaymorning I had a hell, I had pain all over the sternum. This morning it´s OK, but you´ll never know. But I am an optimist because when I think; -This can´t be worse, I say to myself, -Yes it can.

Polkadots and moonbeams

StaL: Three dots, remember. I got work to do, can´t sit here and count dots.

RUBY; Last monday my sternumpains was heavy, friday it was Ok but on saturday morning it became worse again, I had sternumpains all over my sternum. This morning it´s the worst sternum morning I´ve ever had. But I´m an optimist, when I think it can´t be worse I just say to myself -Yes it can! Clas

Clas: hey, you are onto something with that Kinks thing. i had never noticed that before. Nice one...

Moray eel: I hope Ouch is not! If he is, He probably thinks I'm a complete c**t. Likewise, *he* probably has a contract on my head!

Ex-stranger: Feeling a bit cheezed!!! Look, some of us are never gonna be able to let DF & WB know just how in awe of them we really are. Therefore, this page serves us a small purpose. It's not as though we're camping outside their apartments or slashing our wrists through their car windows.

But, I will say that, much as I need a new Dan album, I am prepared to wait a while. If they brought one out every year, the exclusivity would be lost. I like that lost in time feel it gives me.

SD have never really been into that 'contract term' thing. We are delaing with an era here, not s scheduled release.

You guys, take your time.

Ruby: thank you for the vote of confidence. exhuberence, good word and I feel better now!! Talkin' of Babylon Sisters, it was the first SD track I ever heard. My father, infact, started me off when I was 13.

Hatian Divorce took about three years to appeal to me. Wierd heh? but now I love it as much as all the others. Doctor Wu is great too. Phil Woods has just released a new CD. Should be worth £15, UK price!

My b'day over the weekend, by the way. 26 no less. I have treated myself to a new set of Tannoy monitor's and a new amp. I auditioned them using AIA, Royal Scam, some Joni Mitchell and some Woody Herman. My wife went fuckin' ape when she saw the bill. Still, she don't understand.

Could someone please help me find a copy, preferably CD, of the Woody Herman/Stelly Dan performance. I have only heard the bands cover of Kid C on a jazz station here in London, but the HMVs and Towers do not seem to have it. Please help!!!!!

laters pretzel alter-egos

jimmy

Correction:

Steely Dan, not Stelly Dan. Oh deah, what a prick!!!!!

SAN FAN FRANSISCO KNIGHT; Now you´re talkin! And three dots...

STEVE COX/BOB TEDDE; I´m about to buy a new sequencerprogram (PC), with a damn high resolution. Any suggestions?

RUBY; In HOLLYWOOD, and if the shoes where neat it must have been mine or my wifes.

a skinny man with blue swede shoes

St Al -- you were probably right to mind your own business there, but it made me think of the scene in the Woody Allen movie when some fool in a queue is misinterpreting Marshall McLuhan, and McLuhan himself steps forward to set the fool straight. In a way, I wish the two kids at the store had known who was listening to their discussion.

Duuuuude! -- Dedication is an admirable quality. And at 6:30 a.m., no less. The Loyal Fandom salutes you!

Can anyone tell me what the gettysburg speech is for kinda dialect, is a southern or midwestern?

clas

Speaking of Woody Herman, he and his orchestra are playing not 10 minutes from my home, at a local high school tomorrow night. I'm hoping for a Dan cover a la Hoops McCann's Babylon Sisters. Whatever they do this looks like a job for Little Mickey and the Hat Too Flat. All seats including orchestra ($18.00) are still available. If anyoone's interested, lemme know. This may be worth blowing off a planned hiking trip to the Catskills...

Beautiful: I meant to offer my condolences as well. Is it too late?

St. AL: I woulda said: "Are those guys still around!?" (i.e. play dumb).

lovebob: Diddencha get MY package?

This Moody Bastard here, lh.

Thanks Hank.

Hwhaddeveryh you say, Dummie, do you ever leave your shoebox at the bottom of that closet? Doin' my part to send good vibes to W+D.

Let's just say there's more going on here. The plan is set, the plan is done.

maj.

Maj: good karma? rewarded richly later in life? that sorta thing? yup.

YGK: didn't forget, don't misinterpret. :) how are ya?

Max

LH: It will be amusing to see if Woody Herman actually shows up tomorrow night, since he died a couple of years ago.

To whoever was asking about the Herman CD of Dan covers, the only place I've known to carry it (and this was a couple of years ago) is a place called Acoustic Sounds in Salina, Kansas. Sorry, don't have the number handy but I think they're on the Web too.

M: Just didn't want to see you get caught in the caustic fray.

M OK - shaved my noggin' - grew the goatee - havin' photos done for the press kit - we're goin' shoppin' soon - hellooo Geffen, MCA, etc. I'll send you a copy when dubbed...

may need some b/u singin' soon on the new trax ...

Oh yeah, I'm sick (physically), but I'm also sick of the Posters who think that they can actually influence D&W and their new album, it's timing, it's content, etc.

It seems to me that anyone who appreciates the Dan would realize that Donald and Walter, albeit jaded characters in their own right, have functioned and will continue to function with their brand of integrity and class. So criticize if you must. Speculate. Cheer. Groan. But don't for a minute think that what we say here in the GB will influence the outcome of the new album. Remember, folks, THEY are the artists, not we, at least in this forum.

BTW Walter, if you read this, if my perception of you is that you are a wee-bit sensitive to criticism, then allow me to encourage you to just give the critics the bird and just PLAY. (If, however, my perception is incorrect, then just ignore all of this)

We, your loyal FanDom, PATIENTLY await your next work...

*peace*

YGK

all drivel aside, anyone else into Dave Brubeck? I am going to see him Sunday the 3rd in Clearwater, FL....can't wait

Hi Amanda

later

fez

I was at steelydan.com yesterday, reading The Root of All Evil when, ironically, the tune Money(sung by the Babys)came on at the same time! I have one question for Walter: Will you still have a song to sing when the RazorBoy comes to take your fancy things away?

I hope so!

more lyrics come to mind: Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose (K.Kristoffersen) (i'm pretty sure)

something else: Every time I push the Random button on my stereo, it plays the 1st track ANYWAY just to let me know the machines are winning. Does this happen to anyone else, or is it just me?

RubyBaby

ruby;Well, I installed my new scanner today, then the internet did´nt work, but now i´m here, i´m winning. Nice to hear your voice!

audi

fezboy - I'm quite mad about Brubeck myself! Should be a great show. I wonder if he still plays Blue Rondo a la Turk? One of my personal favorites.

Jon - I was able to fit ALL of "Falcon"... It's in the mail.

Anyone attending any of the Michael Brecker Quintet with Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Joey Calderazzo and Jack DeJohnette shows at Birdland in NYC next week? This has gotta be the hottest friggin' quintet going these days... i.e. "Tales From The Hudson".

Laters,

JM

Morons - how many times do I have to tell you that I am NOT WB (or DF: or anybody famous).

Cheezus-H....

YGK: Are you trying to crawl right up W's ass for a measly bathrobe? Jeez...

CLAS: Thanks! Call anytime. Well...not ANYtime! Feel free to have a drink too,if you want.

Did you ask ST.Al? Bet you didn't.

Nej Nej!

Ruby

razorface: no, shithead, just a friggin' album...

I'm skeptical that W or D would actually POST here, except for fun at someone's expense - and that's OK. However, they would actually be able to read and interpret the King's English unlike SDWD. As the GB sinks into a spiritual, moral decline, I'm reminded *again* of the immortal words of Pete Townshend; "This ain't no social crisis, this is you having fun." Ciao

Hide in here. Hide in here. Help, I'm Whacking Up!!!!!!!!!!

SD DRONE: You're famous in MY one good eye....

FEZZY: Brubeck still kickin? would love to see him too...would have to have the Quartet with him, tho...

rudy

SDWD: you're famous 'round these parts. The official site looks great, thanks to you. AND I happen to think your 'singed buns' post was quite funny. But then, I am considered by some to be nearly as deranged as the Maj.

Re: JMurtha's post--the Michael Brecker Quintet is also in Philly at the TLA on Tues. 2/11. There's 2 shows, at 7 and 9:30, tickets are $27.50.

lovebob, what's the story on the Damned coming to the East Coast?

And to all the people bitching about the new album: Good things come to those who wait.

Back to my Cabernet...

Lucky Henry: Wow! I would love to see that concert! I can't believe it. Woody Herman has been resurrected from the grave and has decided to go on tour. I would gladly pay $18 to see that show! I wonder how sharp his chops will be...probably not too sharp considering he hasn't had a lot of practice the last several years, rigor mortis, etc.

m.e.

Are you all happy?

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