Guest Book

Judge for yourself. Derek listserv archives are at http://lists.netspace.org/archives/derek.html One of the amazing things about the Derek listserv, and why I post there as much as I can (aside from dTb having become my favorite band over the last few years) is that the tone there -- just like the last few years' music of the dTb -- is generally relentlessly positive. Whenever the fans learn the underlying facts of all this, it may well turn out to be "cheesy" and "low." For my part, I'm not sure I really WANT to know, and as with most things that I'm passionate about but aren't really that important (really important would be the plight of women in certain nations, my family's health and happiness, and Bun E. Carlos' back condition), why not look at the happy / bright side? As a dedicated Pollyanna / Goody Two-Shoes, let me just say a couple quick things: 1) When I first started seeing dTb -- and the opportunities to do so in Charlotte and the SE have been many -- whatever my reaction to them was, I took enough of my friends and talked to enough people in the clubs and on the street to get the sense that -- however nuts a certain hard-core of Peachheads was about them -- they were perceived as this really great bar band, with potential. In the last couple years, they've crossed the bridge from that to becoming a wonderfully diverse unit that's demonstrated time and again that they can play ANYthing. The addition of Kofi Burbridge (what an amazing musician and an unsung hero in that band) was a big BIG part of crossing that bridge, but so was Javier. Like or dislike his vocals, Kofi and Javy were integral in moving the band -- or at least the perception of the band -- to where they're at now, which is TOTALLY not where they were a few years back. They're on the verge of potentially major success. They're on a big label -- for better or worse, something the rest of our beloved Peachhead bands aren't or choose not to be. (Being Pollyanna, I say they CHOOSE not to be! Yeah! And I'm glad they're not! Yeah! It's indentured servitude, no joke.) Sum up: association -- mutually beneficial. 2) The official announcement says -- and I'm willing to take it all at face value until shown otherwise -- "Columbia Records debut CD scheduled for summer release featuring guest vocalists Solomon Burke, Ruben Blades, and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, among others." Uhhhh...didja get that list? I don't know what y'all know about these or the other vocalists, but it's been credibly argued that Solomon Burke is THE greatest soul singer of all time (not by me, but you know, by people who know that kind of stuff). Ruben Blades is a world-renowned salsa singer, a national hero in Panama, a Hollywood star and, well, from a Boston review of a few years ago: "Reviewing a Ruben Blades concert is kind of like reviewing the Grand Canyon. It's breathtaking, it's like nothing else in the world, people flock to see it, and what the heck are you going to write about it that hasn't been written already?" (more at http://www.amherst.edu/~dshender/ruben.html ). Eddie Vedder on Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: "In the tradition of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, his nephew, and prodigy, Rahat carries on the Qawwali message. The vocal spiritualizations of the Qawwali singer is an art that has spanned seven centuries. I hope Rahat will touch us in the way Nusrat has and continue on the Ali Khan legacy." (more at http://www.legacyrecordings.com/rahat/). So...how awful is THAT? And how long in advance did everyone know about this thing...I mean, what, you get the news a week ago and line up genuine Stars of World Music to be on the record of a -- in the Big World outside Peachdom -- unknown young band with a quick phone call? Well, maybe...I dunno. I would say that having any of these folks on the record vastly increases the possibility that one or more songs - or the entire record - could be a WORLDWIDE hit. As much as I loved Javier's singing, THESE names get educated music fans and curious shoppers to pick up and impulse buy the record, and we all already know how great the MUSIC and MUSICIANS are!! Whoa!! 3) Which leads to these two points: The "rock band as integral unit with all unchanging members" being part of the publicly perceived artistic legitimacy of a band is an archaic model for musical success. See, as exhibit # 1 that old fogies like me can relate to, the resurgent success of Santana. The brand is "Santana," not the members. Think more of a jazz model...singers come and go, players (hopefully -- Yonrico is my personal Elvin Jones) stay pretty much the same, it's the John Coltrane / Miles Davis whatever model. Long as it says dTb, it's the brand. And, as an unidentified record exec said in "Mansion on the Hill," No one expects the band to stay together but the band and the fans. 4) Lastly, Columbia and dTb's management should be presumed to know what they're doing. Heck, I'm just a small-time lawyer fella, but I know how to contractually obligate someone if you WANT to. Given the astonishing sum of money it takes to produce and promote a major label release, you HAVE to assume that someone's (at the executive / legal / managerial level) right on top of that. Ever read a music industry contract? Think about it. Hence, whatever, it'll be ALL GOOD. Except that my family'll have to pay more and sit waaaaay back instead of seeing them at the Visulite. Which is fine by me. Go dTb, rah rah rah!!! Conquer the world in 2002!!!!