Unfortunately, a number of people did not receive the complete Mailbag as a result of a software upgrade that was needed for phpList. Therefore I am sending this missive again. Sorry to clutter your inbox.
Once again, you can also read past articles at: lefsetz.com/wordpress
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From: Alyssa Garcia
Subject: Covid and touring crews
Hey Bob,
I've been receiving your emails for about a decade. I had a music industry teacher in college recommend I sign up. He would actually read a lot of your letters in class. I ended up dropping out of school early when the opportunity to tour came along.
I skimmed through my emails but wondered if you've covered anything on touring crews right now or would be interested in it? I have to admit, I haven't read all your emails this year. My depression has been really bad so if you have covered this, my apologies. I would really love to put a spotlight on this issue. I feel like with the election, stimulus was thrown on the back burner and there just isn't any real help.
Everyone I know received their $1,000 from Crewnation and some people received $250 from the For The Nomads Fund. Don't get me wrong, the money was extremely appreciated but for an industry that holds up so many celebrities, why aren't more bands and artists doing more? Sure, some pop and rock bands took out PPP loans but I work in country music and the help seems to be less in our industry. I was lucky that my band paid me until the end of June, but my boyfriend was not a salaried employee and has been out of work since our tour was cancelled 2 days before we were supposed to fly to Europe.
Even now, I just don't understand why more isn't being done. Drop a piece of merch and all proceeds go to the crew. Host an online concert! Frank Turner is hosting one and all the money goes to his crew. All my industry friends are suffering. I've had friends kill themselves. I cry at least weekly because I don't know how I'm going to get through and I feel like I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm supposed to get my job back as soon as it's safe but no one can last that long!
The Ryman is hosting a benefit concert but the funds go to MusiCares, the Roadies Clinic and CMAF. None of those organizations are really giving out any relief, not like Live Nation did with it's Crew Nation campaign.
I receive $247 a week from unemployment. We've almost blown through our savings and will not have enough money to pay our bills come Jan 2020. I've applied for jobs and haven't had any luck. I had a career and now I'm trying to pivot to another and people aren't even calling me for an interview. I have so many skills that are transferable to other industries but no one is biting. I don't say all of this for pitty, I just want to shed a light on this and you reach a lot of people.
Stay safe out there and thanks for all the emails!
Best,
Alyssa
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Re: Group
Bob, as a psychiatrist I particularly appreciated this post. It should be a public service announcement for understanding the differences in training and expertise among the myriad of mental health professionals, and debunking misconceptions about treatment. Outside of urban (and suburban) areas there is still stigma about mental illness. Access to good care is extremely challenging and, as you mention, expensive. Good treatment is out of reach for most people. Our health system has a long way to go in making treatment widely available.
In many ways significant advances have been made in the understanding and treatment of psychiatric disorders. But the brain and mind are the final frontiers in medicine and really great discoveries are within reach, but sadly, probably not in your and my lifetimes. That being said, having access to good psychotherapy is immeasurable and life-changing. I’m glad you have benefitted so much from it.
Please continue being a poster child for good therapy. Especially now, almost everybody I know could use some.
Barry
Barry K. Herman, MD, MMM
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Re: Group
Thanks for highlighting the impact of good therapy, Bob. As someone who works as a psychologist for the touring music industry, I’ve watched therapy save many lives in the last decade. And as a long-time patient on the other side, it’s certainly saved my life.
Fortunately, the pandemic has brought mental health to the forefront, and I’m watching many people who never would have sought therapy previously now showing up, open to their own struggles and to seeking support. We’ve been running a free online therapy/support group for the music industry for 38 weeks already since the pandemic started, and it’s pretty amazing to watch how group therapy has become “family” for touring pros and artists across the world who are struggling through the pain and isolation in this difficult time. Keep waving the therapy flag, and hopefully we can help as many people as possible continue to find their strength.
(One correction to your post. You inaccurately differentiate between psychologists and PsyDs. They’re one and the same. Clinical psychologists can have either a PhD or PsyD degree, the former having a slightly more rigorous research training component. Clinically, they both receive similar training and internship experiences. Most of the country’s top psychology graduate programs, however, are all PhD and not PsyD. That being said, I’ve seen incredible therapists with all types of degrees and training. And what matters most is not the letters, but if it feels right to the patient).
Best,
Dr. Chayim Newman
Clinical Psychologist and Founder, Tour Health Research Initiative. Www.tourhealth.org
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Re: Group
Psychologists have PhDs or PsyDs in the state of California. The PsyD is a relatively recent degree that waters down the research component of the degree as relatively few Clinical Psychologists need the added requirements to do research. The key to a good/great therapist is post license advanced training like Psychoanalysis or Psychoanalytic Therapy. If there is a hierarchy PhD Psychologist would be above the PsyD but that hierarchy is a false characterization. For example Anna Freud a gifted therapist who is credited with the creation of child therapy had no advance degree.
It’s unlike you to get this type of information wrong. If you are trying to educate those reluctant to get into therapy there’s no need to add in misinformation.
Ken Seider
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Re: Group
I’ve had good therapy - individual and group - and yes, it changed my life for the better. The okay/“bad” therapy was merely a waste of time.
Tim Brunelle
Minneapolis
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Re: Group
Like I guess even yourself, I didn’t see that coming… This might have been one of the most important posts I’ve ever read from you and I’ve been a reader for more than 15 years. In my small, Atlantic Canadian, music business world, I’ve had a couple of very dear musician friends decide life wasn’t worth living, and it’s heartbreaking. I’ve also known civilians who’ve taken the same route, with the same effect for those left behind and wondering why?
I’d be a liar if I said the same thing hadn’t occurred to me during the darkest moments - to those on the outside looking in - of my life. I’m OK for the time being but who knows what the future will bring. I’ll be far more open to seeing someone about it than I was before reading this. Thank you.
Mike Campbell
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Re: Group
I’m in grad school studying to be a therapist, so it’s interesting you wrote about this topic. I decided to go back to school because of the state of our country and its people. We have a mental health crisis brewing in the U.S. that will take years and possibly generations to correct. So I’m with you on how critical the need is.
I lived in LA for two years and could not find one therapist who took insurance, so I ended up paying one out of pocket who was marginally talented. I’m from Seattle, so I was surprised by this because healthcare is accessible here and excellent. Most therapists in Seattle take insurance and the going rate is around $120 an hour, some psychologists even have a sliding scale. I think your experience with therapists in LA and NYC is a bit insular; those people are serving the rich of the rich, which excludes middle and lower income folks. Seattle is a wealthy place too, but hasn’t created that type of exclusivity in healthcare. And every other city I have lived in has had way better access to mental health services as well. It’s funny, lack of access to good mental health services was my least favorite part of living in LA, which is ironic because considering the countless people I met there who were justifying their coke addiction, I’d say the people of LA need therapy more than “normals” raising 2.5 kids everywhere else.
My advice? Hire one up here, they are all doing Telehealth sessions because of the pandemic anyhow.
Cheers,
Andrea Bijou
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Re: Group
Interesting topic....mental illness can be so difficult if not impossible to treat. People can be so damaged that it can linger for decades while you’re shackled having to drag it along through life. It’s ballast that can sink you. My take on an untreatable organic mental illness is you’re fucked!
I’ve been a consumer of mental health services and can testify that had I not had that available I would not be writing this email. I’ve learned to go see someone who’s been practicing at least thirty years or don’t waste your time nor money. It can seem like you never get better or more importantly relief.
Growing up in a family with a member mentally ill can seem normal. Your lack of care or love from that significant person allows you to not understand how to provide self care for yourself let alone a significant other.
Now decades on in my sixties I’ve learned to partially quell my inner critic, being able to identify and stay away from people who are themselves “fucked up”, exercise regularly, eat better, try to sleep better, drink periodically and stay away from recreational drugs that can make you paranoid. I thought I’d never get better, but I did.
We can start out with so little it may be impossible to catch up with the remainder of humanity. If you’re not chasing status or “stuff” then you’re always going to be on the outskirts so you’re treated differently.
But everyone has problems. If people tell you they don’t they are full of shit!
“Is my time up? We need to wrap it up...see you next at Thursday at 2 pm...” I know the drill.
Tim Pringle
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Re: Group
Thank you for your piece on mental health. You have touched on so many critically important real-world issues—if/when to seek help, what type of professional to pursue, what type of setting (i.e., individual vs. group), whether to seek/accept medication(s), what medication(s) to take, the social stigma that continues to influence decisions about whether and when to pursue mental healthcare, etc.—all of which highlight so much of the complexity that mental health involves. But perhaps most significantly, the most important aspect of your piece is that you very openly addressed the subject, the importance of mental healthcare and your own experience with it. As someone who has traveled around the country giving talks on the subject—presentations entitled "How to Talk to Someone In Crisis" and "Lawyering with a Healthy Mind", in addition to participation on panel discussion—I have been mindful that if I don't share my own experience with suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety and therapy, I can't expect anyone else to feel comfortable sharing their own experiences. After a long societal history of mental healthcare being addressed, if at all, in the quietest of whispers, we've started seeing many high-profile folks openly discuss their experiences with mental healthcare, which has started to create a safer-feeling environment in which to pursue self-care.
From 1999, when I was a volunteer hotline counselor at Los Angeles's Suicide Prevention Center, until 2018, the annual rate of suicide in the U.S. has increased 35%, and in light of the bad behavior that we've seen from our political leaders, which appears to be considered by many to be a license to behave badly, and translates into things like bullying, together with the pandemic and its continuing impact on jobs and the economy, all of which directly affect people's peace of mind, sense of personal stability and emotional well-being, mental health has never been more important, and more important to talk about, than it is now.
As the founder and head of a nonprofit suicide prevention and action foundation, LightHopeLife Inc., I offer myself as a resource to your readers if and to the extent that anyone feels that they need direction/guidance, and I'm including my cell phone number below for that purpose. Frequently, when mired in a difficult mental/emotional place, determining what the first step is toward the light can be the most difficult, which is commonly made all the more difficult by the reality that being mired in such a place saps one's energy, rendering it even more challenging to figure out the way forward.
With respect and gratitude for what you've just done,
Michael Rexford (partner at Manatt and CEO of LightHopeLife Inc.)
(310) 869-8442
Michael Rexford
Partner
www.manatt.com/Michael-Rexford
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From: Tish Iceton
Subject: “California sealed the deal”
‘California’ sealed the deal.
I quietly sold everything I owned, quit my job, didn’t tell anyone where I was going and headed to California. Joni told me ‘my problems would be gone and I would be free’. I landed in Santa Cruz. It was 1978.
(Being from Canada was a mute point to me)
No musician/songwriter had more influence on my younger self than Joni. I loved to quote “ I told you when I met you I was crazy”. “I can win my hand at poker but I’m a fool when love’s at stake” When your on a free teenage ride how can you NOT live by those lyrics?
In Santa Cruz I discovered my name was written in the California sand and my soul lived in each California ocean wave.
Today I own property on the California sand.
75th birthday at Dorothy Chandler 2 years ago was a must. Graham Nash leading us through a ‘Our House’ sing along - priceless. For any Joni fan a moment of magic. (Graham’s Songs for Beginners is a lyrical gem)
Larry Klein produces Melody Gardot’s new album. I first met Melody when I worked at a jazz station-we were presenting. She walked to the stage with a cane, wore dark glasses and she blew us away. Her story is amazing.
Music. The breath of life. Thanks for the Joni trip Bob.
Tish
Toronto
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From: Jo Faloona
Subject: Re: Bruce Allen-This Week's Podcast
Bob,
Thank you for having Bruce as your podcast guest, I’ve been working for him over 16 years and I even learned a couple of things. When Bruce talks about staying in the game as long as he’s winning-he means it! And you’re so right, he’s going to keep on winning. But what he doesn’t say, is that the drive to win is for his acts. He works his ass off for their success. He does not take a minute to celebrate, he rarely looks back to reflect – he just keeps moving forward ensuring there’s another win on the horizon.
It’s such an honour to work for this legendary manager. I’ve learned so much from him. I’m forever grateful for his belief in me and the respect & freedom he gives me to do my job. 75 years young with a drive & passion like no other, I have a feeling we’ll be doing this for a few more years to come!!
jo
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From: Larry Butler
Subject: Re: Richard Gottehrer-This Week's Podcast
Hey, Bob,
Listened to the Richard Gottehrer piece during my morning constitutional and thought I might put a finer point on an event he touched on - where (and how) he met the Rick Z Combo and turned them into the McCoys. For starters, it wasn't Columbus; it was Dayton.
In the summer of I guess 1965, the two Dayton Top 40s (WING and WONE) would inevitably have competing shows every Friday and Saturday night throughout the summer season. My band, Ivan and the Sabers, had been around town the longest and generally got the first call. This one particular night we were offered either of two shows:
1) to support the Strangeloves in a warehouse north of town for $100, or
2) to headline an amusement park ballroom south of town for $125.
Not only did the latter gig offer more money, but we could get free beer from the park concessionaires and there were girls aplenty. We took that gig and the Strangeloves support slot went to the Rick Z Combo.
Who knew that Gottehrer and friends ran a record company and were looking for bands? Missed our chance to be stars.
Larry Butler
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From: John Brodey
Subject: Re: Even More Covid
My close friend Fred Schepisi (film director) is Australian and Melbourne has always been his home. He is now living/stuck at his vineyard down on the Mornington peninsula on the ocean south of Melbourne. I asked him recently how they were doing with the pandemic there.
He said it has been a total lockdown. Forget coming in or leaving the country. He is in Victoria but cannot cross the border into New South Wales etc. There is also a restriction on how far you can travel from your home daily. In Melbourne it's about 3 km.s Rural areas higher. Just enough to get to stores. The exception is for medical emergencies etc. I asked what the penalty is for violating the orders...he said it's a $5000 fine. And they do pay a reward for reporting violators.
I then asked how long they expect the restrictions to be in place and he replied, until there are no new cases. How is it working? Even though Australia only a population of 25million, their death toll to date from COVID is 902! Of course we are bigger and have 14 times the population but if our death rate was the same as theirs, we would have only 12,628 deaths instead of 250,000.
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From: Bettye LaVette
Subject: Re: The Soft Coup
Oh ! Robert, Robert, Robert, Robert!
Did you See a movie called "Something Wicked This Way Comes" ?
We've got to have pussies and thank "goodness" we do.
Imagine a country, or world, full of dicks !
Your inciting , the pussies to " dissrupt be vengeful, cheat and lie.....act like a dick
Like the evil did to the town in the movie.
Don't you think, ( with your thinking ass ) we could find some way to make both of them work together ?
It would be the difference between fucking and screwing.
B
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From: David Stopps
Subject: Brexit
Hi Bob
Thought you might like to see all the bureaucracy that UK musicians will face after 1 Jan 2021 if they want to tour in Europe.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1326554078256656389.html
95% of the UK music industry voted to remain.
Love peace, live music and a vaccine
d
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From: sean brickell
Subject: Spencer Davis
SNIFF. . .
So, Spencer Davis died at 81. While I have many terrific musical memories of him through the decades, my favorite recollection was when he was an executive for Island Records in the mid-70s.
I was music editor for The Virginian-Pilot, and Spencer called. He was staying at a hotel next to the newspaper, in town doing advance work for a new Island artist named Robert Palmer, whose debut album was being released in a month.
Of course I walked to the hotel and met Spencer in the bar for a couple of hours of repartee. We talked about his career as an artist, what is was like working with Steve Winwood on classic tunes, and with Bob Marley at Island.
Spencer didn't hype. He told me Robert Palmer was going to be a huge artist and for evidence gave me an advance of "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley." He gave me his business card (which I still have) and told me to call and let him know what I thought after listening.
I was suitably knocked out, telling Spencer such. He arranged an interview at the venue following Palmer's upcoming concert, insisting I couldn't possibly do a story correctly without the live experience first.
Spencer was right.
For context, it was March, '77. Palmer, unknown to most that night in Norfolk Scope, was opening act on a bill headlined by ELO, with Journey in support. Palmer definitely not only held his own but won the crowd.
A year or so later when I was Mid-Atlantic promotions manager for Atlantic Records and Elektra/Asylum Records, my role model for how to do it best was what I learned through contacts with Spencer.
He also taught me a fun hotel game he said his bands always played whilst on the road. They bet on which elevator would arrive first. Seems simple, but he said during a tour, the debts could mount up.
Spencer was not only a genuine musical legend, but a superlative music person on many levels. And a helluva fun guy to be with as well.
Sniff. . .
Sean Brickell
Virginia Beach
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From: Saul Davies
Subject: Re: Big Hit Goes Public
Interesting.
I'm 55 years old, been making a living as a musician, writer and producer for over 30 years, I love Neil Young, Zeppelin etc but also BTS.
They're a revolution in the making. The dayglo positivity is totally infectious and I love it. I'm a convert, a fan. ?So are my fairly cynical kids ( my 13 year old daughter is mainly a Pink Floyd fan citing Live at Pompeii as her go to Youtube moment) but she also GETS BTS.... and she appreciates that they're not baring their pecs and arses to sell records...it's all about LOVE.
There is also some deep ART in what they do. Their videos reference Shakespeare and contemporary art works, their collaboration with Anthony Gormley was brilliant.
I'd rather this than old rockers moaning about not getting played on radio...
Keep up the good fight.
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From: Eric Bazilian
Subject: Even more Eddie
I know the news cycle has already moved past the passing of the most transformational guitarist of a generation, but I thought I’d give you this just for fun.
I met Eddie casually a few times in the 80s and early 90s, he didn’t know me from Adam but he was always friendly and ready to geek out on guitars and guitarists. Then in ‘96 I was re-introduced to him at the Warners Grammy party, the year I’d been nominated for writing One Of Us. The first thing he said was, ‘hey man, how did you play that riff’? I knew exactly what was going on in his mind... I wrote the song around a signature guitar part in E Minor. When I played it with Joan Osborne first the first time the next day I raised the key to F#, a better fit for her voice. The only way to play it comfortably and smoothly was with a capo which, unfortunately, I didn’t have with me at the time, so I was forced to stumble through it without one (which you can hear on the demo version on the 20th Anniversary release of Relish). So, when Eddie asked me how I played it, I knew that it hadn’t occurred to him to do the easy thing and he had toughed it out bareback.
I knew I had a once in a lifetime ‘teaching moment’ with a guitarist way out of my league so I paused a few seconds and gave him a one word reply... ‘capo’. I saw the flash of realization on his face before he smiled at me and said, ‘oh, no, man, it’s way cooler without one’. I smiled back and said, ‘well, it sure is harder without one’. He promised to show me how he did it next time we met which, sadly, never happened.
I doubt I’ll ever make a list of Greatest Guitarists but that smile and those seven words were, for me, the greatest affirmation I could ever receive.
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From: Eric J. Kuhn
Subject: Re: The Queen's Gambit
Bob -
In my spare time, I'm the co-manager of the number one chess player in America, Fabiano Caruana. He is number 2 in the world. Actually, last year, at 25, Fabiano went to the World Chess Championship, the first American since Bobby Fischer, in 1972. He eventually lost to Magnus Carlson but is one of America's greatest athletes most people don't really know about.
Chess is at the zeitgeist right now for a few different reasons, but the game has more players in the U.S. than golf or tennis. Technology (especially AI) has made it a more interesting game as players are competing and learning from computers and the game was recently considered to be part of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The players in it represent everything that is now: mindfulness, pattern recognition, smarts, and focus.
Hope all is well and talk soon.
Eric
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From: Liam Glass
Subject: Re: The Queen's Gambit
Hi Bob,
I just finished the show. Wow. Never have I seen chess so incredibly accurately represented... from the games to the behavior and even down to the social interactions between players at tournaments. My two chess coaches were first the legendary Miron Sher, who sadly passed away recently, and then second the incredible Bruce Pandolfini, who, along with Kasparov, closely worked on the Queen's Gambit (Bruce had a cameo as Ed Spencer, the tournament director at the end of the second to last episode). If not for Bruce, I don't think you'd have thought the story was real! I particularly loved that I could pause to analyze the board, then Beth or her opponent would (for the most part) play the sequence or tactic real chess players would.
I am now certain that I need to get back to playing chess competitively – and I have a new goal of achieving a FIDE Master title. My rating and play certainly have far to go, but I think if I work hard enough I can do it over the next few years (and Bruce agrees, with enough very hard work). I know chess must play a larger role in my life.
Best,
Liam
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arren Miller
I so enjoyed watching this – but it was so sad. He was not connected to his children – I was looking for the connection I had with my son skiing down the powder at Keystone last week. With my new POW skis from Parlor in Vermont (Bob – these are amazing…!!) I can finally beat the 9 year old down the hill – he’s on kids Fischer GS skis, so…
But god I love the style of the 70s ski world.
Skiing is super safe at Keystone. Everyone is masked (it is skiing) and the lifts are just you and your party – so Harvey and I were sitting on a chair for 6. Danger is in the plane getting there, and pre/post ski.
Why not wait a few weeks and we can get a vaccine.
Warren Miller wouldn’t have done that though…
Ross Mollison
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I grew up in Baltimore watching Warren Miller films and learned so much ski geography from watching them. I can name trails and ski resorts all over the world that I will never get to see in person! I moved to Boulder in 1991 and looked for an internship while attending grad school (broadcast journalism) at CU. When I realized Warren Miller Entertainment was based there I was determined to work for them. Somehow I got lucky and was hired as an Assistant to the Director (Brian Sisselman)... 2 days a week PAID!!! I was raking in $100 a week for work I would have done for free. Kurt was of course running the company but it was always so exciting when Warren would come to town. Hearing that crazy recognizable voice in the office was such a trip. I remember one day a guy dropped off his resume, printed on a pair of skis. My memory is that he didn't get hired, but his skis sat by the front desk for a long time.
I'm looking forward to checking out the doc, thanks for the reminder.
Allison Fell
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Thanks to Bob Gedes and Terry Bassett for helping to make him successful
Whitten Pell
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Re: Warren Miller
Wow!!! Bob!! A one two punch. You hit me with the band Boston and then my ski movie hero and right of passage Warren Miller !
You’re not allowed to ski unless you jam into, yes, a 2500 seat theatre and listen to Warren as much as watch!
I remember the days of him standing by the side of the stage and “live” narration! Not sure who else saw this. Does this make me old! Haha.
Greg stump kinda took up the banner for awhile and I remember my days in whistler making sure SEAL didn’t snowboard over my skis after penning the soundtrack to these movies which ultimately kicked off his career!
Skiing cancelled?? No way. My little mtn here in BC canada welcomes you my fellow planker... silver star ! See you on the backside! High desert dry powder. Just like you Utah days!!
Loving your posts these days.
Andrew Johns.
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Re: Warren Miller
we haven’t seen each other in a while. you sound like you are holding up well. i had been meaning to reply to this and then lost track. coincidentally, i watched the mountain time zone virtual premiere of ‘future retro,’ the new wm presents annual film on Saturday. they are doing a three-time-zone ’tour’ virtually. here is the link if you haven’t checked it out yet:
warrenmiller.com/press/calendar
it was fun and re-solidified the annual ritual. btw, tahoe and mammoth got a nice dump last week and it looks like more is on the way. fingers crossed that they all stay open without incident. i am optimistic. so, thoughts are turning to the first day out, which won’t be long now.
i watched the warren miller film ’ski bum’ a while back as well. i sort of knew his story - the trailer in the parking lot, the wind-up bolex, etc. it’s one of the great stories of chasing your passion into a career that you love. of course, as a kid growing up in San Francisco, warren miller, and the soon to be defunct powder magazine, were my windows to the world of high alpine adventure. and so, every year, my bros and i went to the premiere in the city or at marin civic center to get stoked for the season. it started around 1978 and it’s still going today. But, the real shift was in 1988 when ‘blizzard of aahhhs' was released. That greg stump movie changed everything for me and my generation. it was real, raw, unsweetened, and totally relatable. and you got to know the rippers who were shredding the big mountain lines. the best was seeing all these Tahoe and west coast hot shot compadres - and they all are - going to Cham and getting spooked...AND raising their games even higher. and the soundtrack music was way better. we all wanted to be extreme skiers.
in fact, when i started my career at EMI in the UK, i was expected to come back to the US and take on a domestic role at one of the US labels. but after three years in London, i got a chance to work at EMI Italy and did not hesitate. it might not have been the best career move, but i was in my early 20’s, had an opportunity to get to know my italain family much better, and was intrigued with the lifestyle aspect of that position. i had a 4 cylinder, diesel, front wheel drive volvo with snow tires, that could get like 600k per tank and crush any alpine pass in any weather. i can report that every ski area worth skiing in the alps is within 4 hours, and one tank of diesel, from milano!
my first and most regular stop was obviously Chamonix. yes, it's only a 2 hour drive from milano, but mostly because i had tahoe ski bum friends living there, and because of ‘bilzzard.’ it was a new world of climbing, ropes, harnesses, pieps, shovels, ice axes, crampons, randonee/tele skis, skins, and steep, wild, huge, mountains. in the alps, they live in and ski the mountains. i can’t explain what a combination of fear and euphoria it is and how much it changes your skiing. it was a revelation of the highest order. through the years of watching warrren miller and greg stump films, i was inspired to go literally everywhere - italy, france, switzerland, austria. all the towns and ski areas were exhilarating and new and exotic, but also ever so slightly familiar thanks to those films. so, thank you warren miller and greg stump for giving this scrawny little kid from north beach, SF a window to the world of possibilities and the inspiration to travel the globe in search of mountains to climb and new fresh lines to ski. and thanks bob for promoting the film and lifestyle to the masses.
tune ‘em up!
piero giramonti
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Re: Warren Miller
Nobody does nostalgia better than you. As for Miller, we are in distribution and we did work with Warren's films on DVD and Blu-ray back in the 90s. Didn't sell much but it was an honor being associated with the brand. I was introduced to Miller's work back in '75 when I sold the console stereo I won on a Canadian game show called Definition to my dad in exchange for some cash that I used on my first trip to Aspen which, back then, was a far far different place than it is today. Because you merely were there, it entitled you to have a beer with Bob Beattie at the bottom of Ajax, or hang out with Spider Sabich or Wayne Wong at Annie's. This was the coolest place on earth. Our apres ski was consistently a bar called The Slope which was a tiered deal with carpeting so you could slouch back and watch whatever the projector was running from Lenny Bruce cartoons to the early work of Miller. Being there, drinking it all in, you were part of a very cool club but what I remember most was the freedom. That's what Miller was preaching, simple unfettered freedom. And he did walk the walk.
We tried but the ski bum life got very expensive and although I had friends who were stockbrokers who swore they would give it all up for a room slopeside and a job waxing rentals....it never quite happened although they made enough dough to keep up with the lift ticket prices. A lot didn't and now when you go to Aspen, it's the domain of very wealthy grandparents and their grandkids. And very very old.
Sad. But as the new world order encroaches on our personal space, we can at least remember what it was like to live, even for a few weeks, by the words and wisdom of Warren Miller. We were offered distribution on this biopic and although we loved it, the virus has killed whatever plans we had to release it in the social halls of ski clubs populated by the aforementioned old white people. I would have loved to have seen the smiles.
Thank you again
Jonathan Gross
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I read your letter on The Warren Miller Documentary. Great piece. It really hit home for me, and I thought I’d share. I grew up in the Canadian Rockies, at a small ski resort called Silver Star. I’ve been skiing since I could walk, and almost every kid I knew growing up has gone on to be a professional skier or snowboarder. My neighbors have won gold, silver, and bronze, at the Olympics, and my best friends have won gold at X-Games numerous times. My Dad was a ski bum at Vail in the 70’s, and His Aunt & Uncle were two of the very first investors in Vail. They were given lifetime passes for them and their family, and a house on the mountain for their contribution. My Dad taught me and my brother everything we know. Growing up in the skiing world, amongst that caliber of skiers, brought a whole new appreciation to the sport. Pushing myself to ski with professionals on a daily basis, made me a fearless skier. I attended college at UBC in Vancouver Canada, just so I could skip school as much as possible and head to Whistler. Me and my friends would count down the days on a calendar until the new ski movies dropped each fall. Being friends with the pros, I would attend every ski movie premier in Vancouver and Whistler. It was a blast.
Skiing, music, and movies have always been my passions, and it was hard for me to pull myself away from the mountains, and head to LA to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter and in entertainment. Skiing is still a huge part of my life, and I make my way back to the mountains of British Columbia, and that small ski resort I grew up at, whenever possible.
Anyway, in reading the last lines of your letter, I was reminded of this quote I read on Newshcoolers.com one time, (skiing website/blog for the avid freestyle skiing community), and I’ve never forgotten it. I think one of my all time favorite skiers, Tanner Hall, said it. I’ll share it with you below.
Thanks for that letter, Bob. I think I’ll go watch another ski film now.
“A Skier: an escape from an overly cluttered world; an example of inovation at work; an inspiration to ski better this year than last; an answer to anyone who ever doubted that skiing and all it stands for can still provide one of the most exhilarating days on the planet; a reason to quit your job, sell your matching bedroom set, and move to the mountains once and for all; a motivational speech to anyone needing some twin tips and a fresh learning curve to revitalize their love for the sport; a few frames of A-roll footage for an up-and-coming filmmaker with a camera and a head full of fresh ideas; evidence that not every kid in the country is sitting around super- sizing himself on drive-through fries and xbox; an education for every person on a passing chairlift watching the sport evolve before their eyes; an expression of freedom like these insignificant string of words could never hope to capture.“
Best,
Magdalena Quintana
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Re: Warren Miller
Did you know I wrote the last two scripts that Warren read for Warren Miller Entertainment? Andy Bigford, with Max Bervy’s blessing, hired me for "Impact," (if I remember correctly), and I also ghost-wrote the next one (Warren’s last, before the final rupture with WME) and the next, the only one narrated by Jeremy Bloom. It was a good gig, even though I wasn’t in the credits, to maintain the illusion these were Warren’s words. The movies were all assembled well after the footage was shot; the film editor, Kim Schneider, would send me videotapes that I would write to. Kim was a class act in every way.
BTW, Warren was less than thrilled when instructed to read my script. It must have been like eating a bowl of burrs for Warren to read SOME NOBODY’S WORDS WHEN HE IS WARREN EFFING MILLER! I’m still amazed he endured another year of reading my swill.
We never communicated once during this gig. He wasn’t about to participate in the process of being shoveled into obsolescence.
Jackson Hogen
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Re: Warren Miller
Bob
Thank you so much for writing about my Dad and your shared history. It was so great to read all the comments of friends and fans of his films.
For my family we still have a big missing especially this time of the year with the holidays and the ski season bringing up so many beautiful memories of our life together.
All the best,
Chris Miller
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