From: kevin lane keller, kevinlanekeller@hotmail.com
Subject: brothers and sisters ...
Date: 2/23/2002 4:27:54 AM
To: seance@lists.no-fi.com



Posted this on Hotel Womb, but here you go ...

Although I appreciate the passion and interest involved, I think this debate 
this is a little unnecessary.  Without question, "official Church news" 
should be posted on the official band web site.  "Unofficial" news -- which 
by definition means that it is not something that the band authorizes, 
endorses, approves, or even knows about -- should be posted wherever and 
whenever someone wants to. The official band site should -- and I think will 
-- do a better job keeping fans informed.  It's just a case of trying to get 
it ramped up at the same time that a major world tour and everything else 
associated with AENT is happening.  It's harder than it looks to try to keep 
it all together, and this is basically a self-managed band these days, 
primarily through Tim and Jane's hard work (although the whole band also 
helps out in different ways).

In terms of my role, I help out too ... but I am not "the manager."  I 
already have about three full-time jobs as a teacher, researcher, and 
consultant.  In my so-called spare time, I try to help out as I can with the 
business end -- and put my 2 cents in on the music when I can -- but 
primarily as a "patron of the arts."  In terms of benefactors, I actually am 
surprised that there aren't more of them out there for rock bands.  It's 
common for other arts organizations such as symphonies, opera houses, 
theatre companies, etc. but perhaps for obvious reasons, that hasn't 
happened with rock and roll.  I think it will happen eventually, although so 
far it seems to be more like bands cashing in on baby-boomer nostalgia to 
play at lavish corporate gigs (is that you B-52's???).  In the case of The 
Church, I took matters into my own hands because, as you know, the world is 
a better place with the band making music.  With the state of music business 
today, you just can't take anything for granted.  It's a long story as to 
how I got involved and an even funnier story of which large multi-national 
indirectly actually paid for a lot of this (thank you's to ABOB are not 
quite complete ?), but we'll save that for another time ?

Which does bring me to the label.  I am obviously a huge advocate and 
partisan of the band and want them to get every break they can, but I do 
feel, by and large, they are doing pretty much everything that could be 
expected of them.  Do I wish they were doing more?  Sure ? but so do they.  
They have to run it like a business and balance the cost and revenues in the 
right way.  The Church has done well for them, but not to the extent that 
they could afford to bankroll multi-continent/years studio recording and 
extensive press and radio campaigns.  By stepping in, I made sure that the 
record was made in the way that the band wanted and received as more 
marketing than they received in years.  The band totally delivered, so it 
was clearly money well spent, n'cest pas???  I am sure most of you would 
have done the same if given the chance.  In any case, welcome to 2002, where 
it is damn hard to be a rock band interested in making great music.

So back to Seance vs. Hotel Womb.  I think way too much is being made of too 
little.  Both forums seem to be flourishing with loads of activities and 
postings, and I suspect that active participants look forward to getting 
their daily updates, especially now with so much going on.  On-line 
communities are great and the fact that people around the world can become 
friends and share their personal passions and interests is unbelievably 
cool.  Each format clearly has its pluses and minuses, and people tend to 
seek out what works best for them.  And inevitably they can get a little 
clubish, but I don't think there are cliques involved here.  It would be a 
waste of time to argue which is better, or more favored, or whatever.  I 
tend to favor Hotel Womb for my own reasons -- I like the bulletin board 
format and the privacy involved of not having to disclose an e-mail address 
-- but to each his/her own.  And now that I have blown my cover - heh, heh, 
heh, as they say -- then I can try to post to both more often, but I can't 
promise that will always happen.  As the broad Church community, we share so 
much more than we differ and we should all help each other out as much as we 
can or want to.  That's kind of the whole idea ?

So I say, let the show begin ?





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