Last Friday Soundbites received an e-mail from Anne Candela, Anne E. DeChant's manager, scolding us for not announcing that DeChant was chosen to play the Lilith Fair date at Blossom. Ms. Candela did not want the note published as a letter to the editor, which we will respect. However, Soundbites would like to reply to some of her questions and comments.
Ms. Candela, you say you're HORRIFIED (your caps) that we would neglect this story? Does that mean your face was actually stricken with terror, like those poor kids in The Blair Witch Project? Wow — who knew we had that effect on people?
You want to know what is going on down here at the paper? Lots of stuff. We have computers and copiers and fax machines and other cool things. We talk on the phone. We type. We play Parcheesi.
You cannot stress your complete disgust that we have literally SHUNNED the best entertainer in this TOWN? Stuck on the concept of "complete disgust," we wondered if it's possible to be "partially" disgusted. Say you go on vacation, come home, open up the refrigerator, and catch a whiff of a foul-smelling object. If you were only partially disgusted, would you grimace but not remove the spoiled foodstuff from the fridge? Sumthin' to think about.
When this woman makes it — AND WE CAN SURELY BET SHE WILL — it won't be because of us? That's right, it won't be because of us. We're not paid by the artist to advance her career. That's what a manager does.
It's a TRAGEDY, a TRAGEDY that the rock and roll capital of the world doesn't support its own people? A tragedy is the death of a child or a plane crash. Not running a press release would fall under the category of "disappointment" or "bummer."
DO WE NOT KNOW ANNE E.? We have seen DeChant perform. Enjoyed the show. And then we hatched an elaborate plan to thwart her career.
MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!? That's thirteen exclamation points. You really are flummoxed.
JANE SCOTT!!!!! MADE IT A POINT TO CALL YOU AND GATHER INFORMATION REGARDING ANNE? Bully for Jane. All her years as a rock journalist, and she's mastered the art of reading a press release.
THANK GOD FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE THEIR HEAD IN THE GAME? Yes, and thank God for strawberries, sunsets, and puppies, too.
YOU JUST WANT US TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE NOT MISSED OUR BLATANT DISPLAY OF IGNORING ANNE, AND YOU ARE NOT VERY HAPPY ABOUT IT? Point noted.
It sounds like a fall release from Miramax Films: The King, the Dentist, and the Side of a Hill.
Dr. Richard Magovich, a dentist in Strongsville, wants to build an Elvis Presley theme resort in Leadville, Colorado, an old mining town southwest of Denver. Magovich acquired the land eight years ago and has long dreamed of building a resort on the eighteen-acre site on the east slope of Copper Mountain. If constructed, the resort would be called Heartbreak Hotel. "There's no other person that could have a hotel named after him," Magovich says.
The dentist/entrepreneur envisions a 400-room hotel, restaurant, pool, Elvis bellhops, a karaoke lounge, and visits by the Flying Elvises, the sequined parachuting team. Elvis music would waft through the halls all day, every day. Magovich says that he has spoken with Elvis Presley Enterprises about licensing the King's image, and "they're excited about the prospects."
Magovich hopes Leadville, which is just twenty miles south of Vail, will become a vacation destination. According to a report in The Leadville Chronicle, Heartbreak Hotel faces "substantial obstacles" because of the land's mining history. (The phrase "goopy yellow residue" was used.)
Magovich is moving slowly with his monument to the King. (Here's hoping the suites are done in jungle motif.) "We just thought this would be a unique reason for people to visit us," he says. "And if it completely flops, we still have the hotel."
They can walk down the street and not be recognized. When they renew their driver's licenses, no one asks for an autograph. But their stories are music history. They're producers, whose careers have been hunted and gathered into book form by Cleveland writers Eric Olsen and Carlo Wolff and Billboard scribe Paul Verna.
To celebrate the release of The Encyclopedia of Record Producers, there will be a producers reception/lecture/book signing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Wednesday, August 25. Expected to attend are Bob Keane (Del-Fi Records), John Boylan (Boston, Charlie Daniels), Canton resident Don Dixon (R.E.M., Matthew Sweet), Rob Fraboni (Dylan, Clapton, the Band), Rupert Hine (Rush, the Fixx, Tina Turner), Tim Palmer (Robert Plant, Tears for Fears), Ron Saint Germain (Bad Brains, Living Colour, Sonic Youth), and Marty Thau (New York Dolls, Ramones, Blondie), among others.
The authors and producers will speak between 6 and 7:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A. The book signing begins at 8. The event is free and open to the public.
Joe Keiper is adding five new bands a week to his website, www.cleveland-metal.com. He's up to fifty since he created the page in February. "When I was younger, I used to roadie for Attaxe," the 33-year-old Berea resident says. "Pretty much from then on, I was a big fan of the Cleveland scene. I didn't realize there were so many bands."
Cleveland-metal.com is essentially a warehouse of links to the bands' websites. Keiper hopes to add CD reviews, and he doesn't charge bands a fee to be listed. "This is for bands all over the state," he says. "Columbus, Akron, Cincinnati, and cities I've never even heard of."
The Midwest Mafia has a cameo in the upcoming film Jack of All Trades. In the movie, the band plays itself and performs. Locally, the Mafia plays the Sony Music Showcase Friday, August 20, at the Agora Ballroom. Sunday, August 22, there's a birthday party for Mafia member Phatty Banks at Peabody's DownUnder. Phatty, the Mafia, and Scratch Master L provide the tunes.
The Fifth Annual Daniel Montesanto Benefit concert is Saturday, August 18, at Dagwood's in Eastlake. Montesanto, who sang with the Fashion Police and Trip, was murdered in 1995. Performing are MGM Grand, 1988, Decade, and Universal Joint. Proceeds benefit the American Red Cross.
Toledo jazz quartet Ike Stubblefield & Is Not Was close down Wilbert's Bar & Grille Saturday, August 21. Joe Deninzon opens the show, which is the final hurrah for the eclectic music venue at its present location . . . Macaw is recording an afternoon show Sunday, August 22, at Shooters, for a future live release. Be there at 3:30 p.m. if you want to contribute cheers and applause . . . Drew Carey appears in "Weird Al" Yankovic's new video, "It's All About the Pentiums," a spoof of Puff Daddy's "It's All About the Benjamins." . . . WNCX-FM/98.5 Music Director David Jockers can add the title of assistant program director under his name . . . Soft Rock 102.1-FM has picked up Delilah, a syndicated radio host. The station calls her "a shoulder to cry on, a friend with advice, and a caring person who listens to people when they feel no one else cares." Awww. Delilah soothes the soul 7 p.m. to midnight weeknights. — David Martin
Send local music info and the distinction between my ass and a hole in the ground to [email protected].
