The PDFs of this issue can now be found at http://rhodeways.com Please keep in mind that many of the addresses, e-mail addresses, URLs or record labels aren't correct anymore. ======================================================= Rhodeways SPRING '97 THE INTERTNATIOAL HAPPY RHODES MEDIUM ISSUE 10 (Graphic Break) The Happy Medium... Hi All: Finally, issue ten is in your hands (insert Hallelujah Chorus here). Thanks to everyone for your undying patience and loyalty. Please show additional patience and loyalty while reading some of the fetchin' old stuff contained herein. Hopefully, your winter was not a total loss without some Happy. Be assured that she has been sending good vibes to you in place of cool bathroom reading material. The issue of continuing Rhodeways in the most economical way possible has been weighing heavily on me at this time when activities at Aural Gratification are at a minimum and new subscribers are hiding in the woodwork. I am working my hardest to keep the 'zine afloat and have no intention of abandoning it, but I do want to keep my readership happy and printing costs at their absolute lowest. Thanks to all who participated in the last Readers' Survey and voiced their opinions on the best ways to reduce costs at this time. As shown in the latest survey results on pages 6 & 7, you requested that subscription prices increase in order to reduce costs, which has been done. Subscriptions are now $18/U.S. and $20/ outside the U.S. (This may be a temporary subscription price increase, depending upon new members and subscription renewals. If this really puts a cramp in your style and affects your decision to renew, I'll deal.) I have also chosen to reduce the number of pages, as also requested by our survey responses, while retaining the same amount of information. This issue consists of 12 pages instead of 16, but is more condensed. You will now be afforded the opportunity to reduce your page-turning time while staring at the same amount of meat. You may also notice a change in the paper quality, which at the time of this writing, I have obviously not been able to view (fingers crossed). I have also scrapped the word processor and have entered the current century with a graciously-donated computer, which has made publishing Rhodeways immensely easier. Once again, thank you to everyone for your patience during this experimental phase. Stay tuned for some color and other cool stuff in the glorious future days when Happy is voted Prime Minister of the music world and subscriptions skyrocket. In this issue, we are finishing up the Paga'Net interview with Happy and letting you have a peek at some concert reviews. In addition, you will find lots of Web Site addresses to keep you busy for a lifetime, and some much requested lyrics... you know, your basic Happy mirth. 'Til next time -- Sharon Nichols, editor and stuff Free passes for entrance in the Heavenly Kingdom go to H.R., K.B, Randy Stevens, Bob Dreano, Aranae & Bear, Woj and Meth, Neile Graham, Jack Sutton Credits Cover photo: Bill DeMichele Photos pgs 7, 10: Aural G Photo pg 8: Meredith Tarr Drawing: Happy Rhodes (Photo) Oh, Aquanetta (from the Happy-on-a-Harley series) Happy - nings The Latest Word From Happy In light of the rumors concerning Happy's major label/record deal saga, here is her official word to Rhodeways readers: "There have been talks with an anonymous label, but due to differences, we went our separate ways. And the search continues. If too much time passes before I actually find a viable label, I'll try to find a way to release the [new] album myself. But in the meantime, I'm going to go ahead in writing and recording it." Happy has also recently mentioned that although she greatly appreciates hearing from her listeners, she asks that she not be mailed copies of anyone's own original music recordings or lyrics. Happv Collectables Auctioned In our last issue, we announced the auction of Happy's autographed Aspen, Les Paul Copy guitar with case that was used on some of her earliest recordings. Also on the auction block was an original Happy Rhodes painting. Both of these items were available for viewing on the Web at http://miso.wwa.com/-vickie/happy. High bid on the guitar was $450 and the painting went for $800. The high bidder of both these items prefers to remain anonymous. Happy and the Bon Lozaga Project As previously mentioned, Happy has been working with Bon Lozaga on a few tracks for his next solo release. She recently recorded "Perfection," with Caryn Lin on violin, and "Mercy Street." There is no release date yet for the album, but it is slated for summer. There are also plans for Bon to do a 3-day summer gig that may possibly include Happy and Caryn Lin for one or all of the shows. These shows may be in late June and hit Philly, Washington D.C., and New York City. Stay tuned for more details. Happy Rhodes Live Performances August 10--The Bottom Line, NY, NY Oct. 12--Tin Angel, Philadelphia, PA Oct. 25--Troy Music Hall, Troy, NY November 23--The Bottom Line, NY, NY March 15--Tin Angel, Philadelphia, PA Kevin Bartlett also performed: Nov. 2--Yorktown Faire, Yorktown, VA December 7--Starsend, Philadelphia, PA (Photo) One For The Rhode... The Conclusion of the PagaNet News Interview with Happy - - by Arenea PNN: You've done a lot of work in trying to integrate the darker elements of your own psyche and your own personality into a more well-rounded individual of Happy Rhodes. A happier Happy Rhodes! What do you have to say to that? It was a difficult thing to do, I'm sure. Happy: It's not done. It's still going on. PNN: I don't think it's over yet. But you've come a long way. Happy: Thank you. I think I have come a long way. I guess at some point in my life I started realizing how common it is for people to suppress anything that they think is dark. Anything that's socially unacceptable. And the rule tends to be that the more the darkness -- whatever y ou feel that is -- you suppress, the crankier human being you are, you know what I mean? It's like politicians. Right-wing religious fanatics. The more you think is icky, the more you want to hush up, the more you want to repress, suppress, the more it's going to fester. We all have it. It's unfathomable to me that any human being would have the nerve to say (affected voice) "I don't have any of that. I don't masturbate." (Normal voice) It's like yeah, okay Sparkey, you don't masturbate. I believe ya. But we all do that [denial thing], you know – [we] think the most important thing is to be accepted by other people. We really want acceptance. We want a bonding. We don't want to be out of place in society, because to be out of place in society has been proven to be a kind of hellish existence. Some people who have a good take on their own perceptions, can deal with that really well. Most people in this world can't. They wanted to be accepted -- me included. That's one of the reasons why I do what I do because people applaud. They say, "We like you." And I really need that, just as much as any other person. And it's one of the reasons I don't go walking down the street going (making awful face, sticking out tongue, shouting gibberish) you know, acting like a freaking idiot. I could, but I just know that people would go (affected voice), "Oh, don't go near her." You know? I want them to come near me, so I just walk down the street like a normal chap. PNN: Pretending To Be Normal. Happy: That's right. We all do. We all pretend to be normal. But some pretend more than others and I think that it gets out of hand. I think it's a really, really destructive thing to consider yourself a whole of two parts together, a light and a dark. We all are. It doesn't mean you have to go around telling everybody your fetishes or whatever, like "Hey, I like leather." Whatever, okay, keep that to yourself. That's fine. So that's what I try to do with myself. I try to look at all the things that, even if they are things I want to change, I don't ignore them. I don't deny I have them. I just say, "Yeah, that's part of me." I could tell off the top of my head five things that are really obnoxious about me. PNN: Things you'd like to change? Happy: Year. Or even not like to change. They're things about me. PNN: I think you're right. There are things about each of us that are or may be considered by other folks to be obnoxious, but they're things that help us maintain. Just to grab an idea off the cuff, I'd say you have a very quick wit and it's kind of biting. And some people might find that offensive. I think it's great, but some people might find it offensive. I wouldn't want you to change it for anything. I would think it helps you; it's like a defense mechanism. Happy: You're talking about on stage? PNN: Anytime. Just in your personality overall. Happy: Yeah, that's true. I don't know how I'd function if I didn't do that, you know what I mean? And onstage too. I was just talking to Kevin about this today. He's going "Man, when are you going on Comedy Central?" And it's terrible because I'm doing all this, you know (singing) "He dies, and she dies" (regular voice) and all this music that's really somber, and then I'm up there going, okay, "batta boom" (laughing). You know? Telling jokes and everything, "Where ya from? Okay..." But that is a huge defense mechanism because I want to reach out to people and the only way I can do it is by feeling like I'm picking on them in a loving kind of way. Kevin says that he thinks it's okay, because I get concerned about it. Not everybody's going to get it all the time. PNN: Well, you know, you can't take responsibility for everybody's reactions to you, you know... Happy: That's right, that's right. But I worry about that; I want to be loved by everyone. I don't want anybody to say, you know, she's such an ass! PNN: Everybody has that. Happy: I'm always, always concerned about how people are going to take things that I say -- always -- because I really care about people. It's not just that I care how they perceive me; I also care about them and their feelings. I always see other performers and other people in general [who] seem very graceful and very humorous without being obnoxious in any way, and I always wish I could be like that. But the fact of the matter is I'm just not so at peace with the world around me that I can just float through life so confident and secure that I can be graceful, not have defense mechanisms and not have quick witticisms and stuff. I can't do it. PNN: Don't you just sometimes come off with something without even thinking about what you're going to say before you say it? Happy: No, never. It's all calculated. Yeah! Of course. PNN: I know sometimes you probably go, "Oh wait! (reaching out as if to grab words coming out of mouth) Come back! I didn't want to say that! Happy: Absolutely. PNN: So this is something you've been working on very hard and you're still working on it. Happy: Part of the reason for that is just because...I think that Christians believe in Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ was supposedly a kind soul who was kind to Mary Magdalene when others weren't. I mean, that is the image right? That's the basic image of Jesus--treat others how you'd want them to treat you. And I believe in that. Not Christianity. I believe in that kind of image, that kind of concept. I think it all pays in the long run. If you're not sincerely feeling it, don't do it. Be true to yourself. But I really feel like I want to achieve that in my life. I want to understand people. I don't want to be so consumed with my own crap that I can't understand other people's crap. So, I've discovered that one way of achieving that is by paying complete attention to myself. Sounds ironic--that in order to be kind and compassionate to other people you should pay attention to yourself. But I think that's how it works. Because if you know all your own faults, you accept them and don't deny them all the time, then it's very easy for you to accept somebody else's faults. I've found it works for me anyway. I don't know if it would work for everybody, but man it works really well for me. If somebody says to me, "god, you know, one of the things that I really hate about myself is that I have these defense mechanisms; I have to be witty all the time, and make jokes and stuff," then instead of me saying (affected voice), "Oh that's terrible, well you're an ass, you should try to stop that," (normal voice) I'd say, "Oh, you shouldn't worry. I feel the same way." You know I understand that. I can understand a lot of things. I can understand the worst crimes being committed. People would call these people monsters, these other human beings that do really horrendous crap. It's not the horrendous crap that I understand; it's the people and where they come from and what makes them do the things that they do that I think I'm getting more of a handle on. I don't believe in heaven and hell. I don't have that burden of thinking that if I give any kind of compassion or understanding to what these people do, then I'm gonna burn in hell. It's more of a huge overview, a life experience type of thing, a value fulfillment kind of thing where they're going through this life doing this for a reason. It sucks if there were victims involved; it sucks for the victims. And if you want to take a big objective look at it, the victims have their role in it too. They're doing their thing. That's their purpose in this lifetime. You can't say that to everybody. You just can't, you know? But that's what I believe, and I don't say it without compassion for the victims or their families or anything like that. PNN: So you don't believe in heaven and hell, and you're not necessarily a Christian. How would you describe your spiritual path? Happy: I usually use the phrase "creating your own reality." It seems to be a nice concise way of describing what I believe in. I believe that there could be an all-powerful entity that we're all a part of, although that conceptually is a bit vast for me to even ponder. So I kind of just feel secure and safe in saying, "Yeah, okay, could be." But in terms of my own life, I feel like we get born all the time, physically speaking, and I think that we choose the lives that we have both before we're actually born and while we're living it. So, I don't think that death is a scary thing. I think life is a scary thing. PNN: Dying is the easy part. Happy: Dying is easy. Well...we don't know yet, really, I can't remember the last time I died, but I'm assuming it's not as bad as surviving somebody who's died. That is tough. PNN: That is tough. I've done it; most of us have. So you said you believe people are here to accomplish something -- they're here for a purpose. We all are here with a goal. Do you think that once we accomplish that goal, that's when we die? Happy: I wouldn't necessarily say that. I would say that we're here to accomplish a goal--the goal being working out some crap. That could be many things. It could also be as seemingly minimal as affecting somebody else's life. And you never know. I don't know what my goal is. But I've worked a lot of stuff out; I've given a lot of thought to a lot of things. I'm enjoying my life. I think I'm living my life in a good way. So, I imagine that I'm accomplishing a lot of things. And there also, in terms of reincarnation, there are things in my life that I have no idea why they're in my life and I can only chalk it up to reincarnational types of things, other life things... PNN: So those things that happen in your life that really have no obvious explanation... you think they have a reason for having happened the way they did? Happy: Yeah. I think things happen to people all the time and they're just not aware of the significance of the things. And I think once they die, they probably get an overview of it and go, "Oh man, oh that's what that....kewl! When I tripped over that sidewalk that day, and stubbed my toe, that's what... " PNN: We were talking about reincarnation and 1 was going to ask you about your song "The Issue Is." According to what you said in another interview, you saw someone collapse and die; her heart had stopped. And in that song, you ask the question, "Does conscience survive?" Do you think it does? Happy: Yes I do, but what I meant in the song was more from the point of view of the family members. I already did believe that at the time. What struck me so strongly about that incident was not that her heart had stopped. I was just kind of watching and I went, "Oh, bum, her heart stopped. That's pretty traumatic." But she had a boyfriend [with her]. He was rendered instantly impotent, in a manner of speaking, and started crying. I think her parents were there; it was some sort of family dinner with a whole bunch of her family there, and her boyfriend. These were young people. Her heart stopped, and nobody could figure out why. There was a nurse there, pounding on her chest and everything, and her family members completely fell apart. It was just like their whole world was just stopping and crashing. At that point, that's when it really hit me that the girl on the floor had the easy part. She was floating somewhere over her body going, "Oh wow, what's everybody doing?" And they're all falling apart. I mean, god, that kind of pain... I have a good friend whose father just died in his arms. He loved his father dearly. That's one of the pains I wish we didn't have to feel in this life. Okay, pain teaches us stuff, but I lost a father and I lost two of my cats within six months, and some people think, "Oh, well, your cats," but my cats are like my children. They have personalities and we're very, very close and I hate that pain. That's one of the things that I wish we didn't have to deal with. And I think it really questions your own mortality. You really realize how fragile we are, how quickly it can just go. Before I met Happy, just by listening to her music, I could somewhat sense the extent of feeling and personality there. Meeting her only verified my expectations. Her depth and c ompassion shine through with brilliant clarity in all her music, while witty banter, an exceptionally expressive face and refreshing candor combine to create a rare and unique individual in Ms. Rhodes. Paganet News would like to thank Happy for allowing us to take time from her busy schedule and tax her vocal chords for this interview, especially since she so generously gave of herself just prior to a show in Philadelphia. It was great fun, Hap... let's do it again sometime!--Aranea HAPPY RHODES IS VERSATILE VIRTUOSO Review by Michael Hochanadel Originally printed in the Schenectady Daily Gazette, October 26 1996 Troy -- When Happy Rhodes found some Linton High School classmates in her audience at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Friday, she jokingly summoned security to eject them. "I wasn't popular in high school," she confided, proclaiming herself "a freak of nature." Rhodes writes vulnerable, strong pop music of deep hurt and high hopes; about trying to belong, and to earn love. In her first area show in four years, she sang in a lovely strong voice, and her quartet played and sang wonderfully original support. Rhodes actually has three voices: a high register as ethereal as Kate Bush's, a powerfully declarative middle, and a low end that so closely resembles David Bowie that the effect was startling when Rhodes bravely sang Bowie's "Space Oddity." Otherwise, she generally sang original songs from her ten highly idiosyncratic and carefully crafted CDs. The show was carefully crafted, too; and since guitarist Kevin Bartlett collaborates with Rhodes on stage as well as in the studio, her show Friday had all the drama and atmosphere of the recordings. "All Things" started the two-hour set with droning effects from Bartlett's guitar, a quiet thrum of bass from Carl Adami and a percussion loop; but the real fireworks began when Rhodes and backing vocalist Kelly Bird united their voices. In "Save Our Souls," Rhodes sent her voice way up high for the first time, with Bird's curling around it, and the sound was stunning. For all the originality of the drummer-less arrangements -- "How It Should Be" and "Come Undone" were high points of ingenuity and energy -- Rhodes' band is really about singing. Rhodes was terrific all by herself in "Soon" while Rhodes and Bird duetted powerfully in "Summer." Richard Johnson was the toughest act possible to follow: the Chicago Symphony, the Spike Jones, the Merlin of the guitar -- like an American Adrian Legg, with more electronics and less talk. He made sounds on every part of his six- and 12-string guitars, sounds strange enough to make you scratch your head and wonder, "How did he do THAT?" But it was all intensely musical, not just tricks or noise. In "Catch and Release" for his young daughter, for example, you could hear crickets, bicycles, ballet class, Halloween, make-up, roller-blades, MTV, Barbie -- the whole world of girlhood. Johnson will give a guitar clinic at 10 a.m. today at Drome Sound. The concert was presented by Cloud Nine Cafe. Admission was $15. [Graphic Break] Rhodeways, P.O. Box 1233, Woodstock, N.Y. 12498 Phone/Fax: (914) 679-5795 e-mail: Rhodeways@aol.com Rhodeways is a non-profit organization which solely exists to promote Happy Rhodes and has the full support of Ms. Rhodes and Aurol Gratification. Subscriptions (four issues) are $18 in the U.S. and $20 outside the U.S. (U,S. Funds Only). Rhodeways welcomes correspondence, stories, photos and artwork. Issues #2-9 are available for $5 each: autographed issues are $10 each. Rhodeways is copyrighted 1997. Let Me Know You All, Just Like I Know Myself It's always wonderful when you take the time to let us know about you and what you'd like to see in our pages. Happy randomly selected one of our participants to be the winner of the flyer from the Tinker Street show (autographed by Happy, Kevin Bartlett, Carl Adami and Kelly Bird): Michelle Monette from Royal Palm Beach, Florida. Thanks to all of you who participated in our second Rhodeways readers' survey! 1.What is your name, sex, and age? Out of those that responded, our youngest reader is 21 and our oldest is 49. The average age is 34. There are two male readers for every female. 2. Are you an ectophile? 39% said yes,61% no. 3. Do you have an e-mail address? 51% of you do, 49% don't. 4. Would you like to be notified of all of Happy's performances? Just the ones in your area? Would you be willing to add one dollar to your subscription to pay for these notices? Would you like e-mail or postcards? 31% of you would like to be notified of Happy's performances in your area, 38% would like to be notified of all performances, and 31 % said they didn't need notifications. Of those who want notifications, almost all are willing to pay the extra dollar and would like postcard notifications even though they have e-mail addresses. Interesting. We will try to accommodate those who would like the postcards in the future; that is, when Happy's touring resumes. 5. To help support printing costs, would you prefer that we temporarily: a. change the paper quality or style of the 'zine? (i.e.: not use gloss stock, reduce number of pages, etc.) b. charge a few more dollars per year? c. put out issues less frequently? (i.e.: three times per year; your subscription would still include four issues) 69% of those who responded wanted the price increase. This was a surprise to me. 19% wanted a change in paper quality or style, and 12% wanted fewer issues per year. Many of you screamed "anything but C!" Since the price increase was requested by the majority, this will be implemented, possibly temporarily. If you haven't read this issue's editorial, however, please do so in order to see what decisions have been made and why. "You're the only contact I've got with Happy, I need more, not less." Matt Adams, Birkenhead, Wirral. UK "Your fanzine is great. I don't care what it costs...none of the die hards do." Tony Matern, Broomall. PA "I would pay anything for Rhodeways. I would hate to get only three per year." Wayne Rubenstein, Monrovia, CA 6. Have you seen Happy perform this year? Where? 75% did not see Happy in 1996; the other 25% did, Most of you saw her in PhiladeIphia; the others in Woodstock, and New York City. 7. When did you first begin listening to Happy? Comments? 18% said in 1992, 27% in 1993, 27% in 1994, 9% in 1995, and 19% in 1996. Radio provided the introduction for most of you, with many mentioning the Echoes program, friends who recommended Happy, other artists that are in the same genre, the internet, and music stores. "My enjoyment of Happy's music has so dwarfed my enjoyment of other music that I've only listened to three or four nonhappy cds since February." Jon Maloney, Anderson, SC "About three years ago, by accident, I heard a song on KOAI and was told it was Happy Rhodes. I went to Barnes and Noble and special ordered Warpaint, trying to hear that song. I ordered three more tapes trying to find that song with no luck. By then I had discovered a new artist that I liked but still hadn't found the song. I played that song I wanted over long distance to Aural Gratification and was told it wasn't Happy Rhodes. I now love Happy, but am still wondering who the other artist was." Michael Lyons, Richardson, Texas 8. Name your top three favorite music artists or groups (do not exclude Happy if she is one of your three). It's nice to know that 50% of you named Happy as your favorite artist. 19% of you named Tori Amos as your favorite, and 6% named Kate Bush. 94% of you, however, named Happy in your top three. Many, many artists were named as favorites. Some of the other most popular ones were Jane Siberry, Loreena McKennitt, Cocteau Twins, and the Beatles. "I simply can't mention two other artists in the same breath as Happy. She stands alone on a different playing field. How do you compare sunlight?" Tony Matern, Broomall. PA 9. What is your favorite Happy album? Favorite Happy song? 50% of you said Warpaint was your favorite Happy album. Runners up were Rearmament with 13%, Building The Colossus with 13% and Equipoise with 13%. Your favorite Happy song was "Save Our Souls" (21%). Others mentioned frequently were "Collective Heart," "Feed the Fire," "I Have a Heart" and "Words Weren't Made for Cowards." 10. Do you have any additional comments? "I would like to let Happy know how much I appreciate her ability and willingness to share her personal feelings, the dark and the light, with the strange others in the world like me. And I respect and honor how much she has grown in strength and wisdom, by whatever means. Also, despite the fact that I am a listener rather than a producer of music, it is a most powerful medium and a source of ioy and solace in my life. Finally, I am so grateful that such a wonderful artist is also so productive. Please don't stop when you get rich and famous.~ Jerene Waite, San Diego, CA "I must say that no artist in my lifetime has struck me so hard and sustained my interest--even above Kate Bush and 'some of my all time faves, this womal'1 stands taller. The complexity in lyric, tone, range, ambition, power: honesty, and even humor are worked and reworked in each piece. I see them as visual pieces probably because I am a painter, but there is, for me, a circular weaving and gentle carousel of voice and mood that seems to be very, very subtle reassuring but very much like a brilliant drawing or painting, knowing its energy, knowing its beginning and end, constantly unfolding and telling. There is so much more to this woman's work than I have heard written about or talked about in interviews. The psychological features are astonishing. I get really frustrated when I pick up a long awaited interview with her and someone asks her if she's a vegetarian, or about her monster voices or drawings. I want to know about her mind, her creative process. After years of studying her voice and music--and I do mean studying--as I paint, I have noticed a veil underneath the voice: careful. natural--I believe it to be natural-and feminine, based on intuit strength. A trance like state occurs in the music that. of course, has an affect on the listener. This does not, in my opinion, have to do with technical ability-form-content-practice...this is a born talent. It really upsets me a lot that other people don't know about this woman. Many people tell me to listen to Tori Amos and I will like it. But to be honest. I have none of the same responses to this woman's music, yet she is marketed on everything and her name is well known. I personally would like to know what we can do as fans and admirers to get this woman's work out of the small cafes and into the mainstream, Quite honestly, I don't see this kind of talent on the landscape except for a small handful of artists. And I think she deserves to be up there and recognized with them." Wendy Costa, Berne, NY "Throughout Rearmament, your voice, music and lyrics have a powerful effect on me. You bewitch me into another reality far from the physicaL You awaken my spirit and entrance me with your imagery, your emotion, and your depth. Then, when I am still recovering from the goose bumps I get during "Ally Ally Oxenfree," it's as if you give my soul a pinch, smile, and soar away." Jon Maloney, Anderson, SC "Just keep doing what you're doing. It really means a lot to all of us. I can't begin to tell you what Happy and her music mean to me. That also goes for Kevin as well and all of you that I've had the opportunity to meet that are involved with this fantastic thing that I'm glad to be a part of." Patrick Varker, Raleigh, NC Happy Rhodes Web Sites, Ect. I'm not too sure what the skinny is on all of these sites, but if you have some spare time to dig around for Happy stuff, check them out: http://www.timesunion.com http://www.ecto.org/ectoguidelrhodes.happy.html http://miso.wwa.coml--vickie/happy/faq.html http://www.tela.bc.ca/ecto/ http://www.ecto.org/listslecto/hrelindex.html http://miso.wwa.com ecto-reques1@nsmx.rutgers.edu (Happy's newsgroup) furia.com/happyrhodes.html rec.music.gaffa alt.music.ecto alt.music.altemative.female rec.music.tori-amos http://www.rahul.net/hrmusicldiscos/hrframe.html weber.u.washington.edu/~neilelectoguide/ectophiles.guide.html If you know of additional sites which mention Happy, or haue any corrections or updates on the above list, please drop us a line. [Picture Break] Happy autographs the Aspen Les Paul Happy, Happy, Joy Joy! Happy Rhodes Live At The Tin Angel, Philadelphia, PA. October 12 1996. Review by Merideth Tarr, Boonton, NJ On a Saturday evening this past autumn in Philadelphia, a group of Happy's biggest fans got together at the Tin Angel. a small performance space located in the heart of downtown, to see Happy play with Joy Askew opening. As always, it was a wonderful evening of music. Joy Askew is perhaps best known as Peter Gabriel's touring keyboardist and sometimes backup vocalist though she is a formidable songwriter and musician in her own right. Her latest album, Tender City, was released 0n Private Music earlier this year to rave reviews. I must admit to feeling a little awed at seeing Joy Askew open for Happy, since Joy's name has been part of my musical lexicon even longer than Happy's has, which is a very long time! I have seen her playing with Peter Gabriel and liked her solo music for quite some time now, so naturally I was quite looking forward to seeing her perform solo. She and her guitarist Julian took the stage just after 7:30, and played five really good songs. Askew, who looks just like Chrissie Hynde's long-lost waif sister and sounds quite a bit like Shona Laing, is now pronouncing her last name as-KEW, and mentioned that around the same time as she changed her name this year, she took up playing the guitar. Her playing was quite good, considering the brief period in which she's had to learn so far; however, she still had a keyboard on stage, which she played on a couple of songs. The early show audience gave her a good reception. Then around 8:45, Kevin Bartlett, Carl Adami, and Kelly Bird appeared on stage, followed by Happy herself, and the crowd went wild. The band launched right into "Look For The Child," followed by "Collective Heart." I must say that this is one song that really hasn't worked for me live, but that night everything clicked, and for the first time the bridge transported me to the same place as the studio version. Happy and Kelly's harmonies on "Save Our Souls" were literally breathtaking, and "Down, Down" was an amazing surprise. For "The Issue Is," as she has been doing at all of her performances this year, Happy employed a taped vocal loop, this time a prerecorded snippet from the film The Professional. This was followed by a rocking new song called "How It Should Be," which debuted this past July at the Tinker Street Cafe in Woodstock and bodes well for the next album. David Bowie's "Space Oddity" was a real surprise. Happy introduced it by saying she was kind of worried about how it was going to go, but it sounded great. After hearing this cover, I'm sure more people are going to revise their thumbnail description of Happy's voice to "Kate Bush and David Bowie singing a duet." Carl and Kevin left the stage for "Summer," which Happy and Kelly harmonized on beautifully, accompanied by Happy on guitar. The guys came back for "Jork," another wonderful new song, at the beginning of which Happy exhorted us all to dance. Had there been room, I think everyone would have done just that; it is a good song to groove to, and since it's possible to groove sitting down as well, we all made do with that. "Lay Me Down" and "All Things" ended the main set lushly and beautiful. though the synthesized drum beat that was supposed to accompany "All Things" didn't kick in until the middle of the song, at which point the band realized they weren't keeping the right time and spent the rest of the song trying to get in synch with the rhythm. The results weren't what the band had intended, but it sounded interesting all the same. The first song of the encore was Jon Anderson's "Soon," (one part of the "Yes Medley" on The Keep) which Happy sang alone on stage, accompanying herself on guitar. The rest of the band came back for a red-hot rendition of "Possessed," which was the cruelest of selections, since it just left the crowd wanting more. Fortunately for some of us, there was still more to come. Because there wasn't as much of a time consideration for the second show of the evening, both Joy Askew and Happy were able to do longer sets. Joy took the stage once again shortly after 10:30. The audience was a lot more vocal in their appreciation for Joy Askew this time, and she seemed to be having a better time as well. For Happy, everything seemed to click even better the second time around; she was much more self-assured on ~Space Oddity," ~Jork" was even smoother and funkier, and the drum beat worked great on "Lay Me Down." "Phobos" found it's way onto the set list, and the Duran Duran cover "Come Undone" was fun as always, though I don't think very many in the audience knew what it was. During the encore, Carl joined Happy after her solo ~Soon" for another new song, "Tragic," which is gorgeous and quite reminiscent of her very earliest material. not to mention there's a clear Yes element to it as well. As before, "Possessed" left the audience craving more, and as she had all night Happy treated us with a little bit of stand-up comedy between almost every song, which at several points had the audience laughing so hard that tears flowed. She is a brilliantly funny woman, and it was refreshing to see her comfortable enough on stage to let that shine through. 1996 has given Happy's East Coast fans a chance to see her perform more often than ever before. While rumor has it that this year's lineup will probably never back Happy up as an ensemble again. We can hope that 1997 will see an expansion of her touring radius so that more of her fans can share the unique experience of a live Happy Rhodes performance, which is certainly something that is not to be missed. [Picture Break] Happy and Melissa Matern at the Tin Angel, Oct '96 She Wants More AFTER YEARS OF INDIE RELEASES AND RARE LIVE PERFORMANCES, HAPPY RHODES IS S1NGING A DIFFERENT TUNE BY MIKE GOUDREAU (PRINTED FROM METOLAND, OCT 24-30, 1996) When we last left Happy Rhodes, she was content to let her career simmer along at a medium pace. An indie label, a slowly growing base of loyal fans and scant live performances were just her speed. Well, no more. Not that Rhodes plans to betray herself, her fans or her music anytime soon, but the vocalist-composer-producer with 13 years of recording and nine albums under her belt finds that she has changed--and that means her goals have, too. "There comes a point" says Rhodes, "when you've been doing it 10 years and your career is exactly the same. I don't need to be huge. I just need it to change." For years, Rhodes toiled in relative obscurity in Albany, recording albums on the independent Aural Gratification label that gained her fans around the world and adult alternative radio airplay but did little to build name recognition locally, mostly because she rarely performed live. Recently, after relocating to Woodstock a few years ago, Rhodes began to reassess her career, and she's making two major changes. First she won't be releasing her next studio album on Aural Gratification, the indie she's run for years with co-producer and collaborator Bartlett, and she's currently searching for a major- label deal. Second, she has been and will continue to play out a lot more. Tomorrow (Friday), Rhodes performs for the first time in the Capital Region proper since 1992 when her quartet take the stage at the Troy Saving Bank Music Hall. Rhodes has had interest from major labels for years, though her music, an often-ethereal style reminiscent of Kate Bush's which showcases her striking vocal range and the Rhodes-Bartlett team's lush arrangements, was never exactly Top 40 stuff. But Rhodes always resisted the more mainstream forces of the industry, and that, she believes, was because she wasn't ready to deal with them. "For years I kept my career at a level I felt I could handle," she says. "Now I've grown as an artist and a human being. For most of my life, I was pretty unsure as to what I could deal with with regard to people's expectations of me. "Dealing with people is not really my problem. The problem lies in people in some type of authority position telling you what you're supposed to do. When 10 people have to go have a meeting to decide what style your hair is going to be on the Letterman show, that's intense. When you have people placing that many demands on you, it's like being Miss America. I don't know that I can deal with it now, but at least I'm ready to try it now." When Rhodes first walked into Rensselaer's Cathedral Sound Studios as an 18-year-old, she was painfully shy, still essentially the young girl who saw herself as "too ugly, too tomboyish, too weird" to be liked by peers. She didn't want anybody to look at her while she sang. The hesitance to expose herself more or less stayed with Rhodes through the years, whether it came to her vow not to be objectified as other women in music are or her reluctance to perform live. You get the feeling that the walls, at least some of them, are coming down now. Rhodes has been working on her next album mostly by herself, and she plans to, for the first time, produce it herself. She's found a live band configuration that does justice to her sound without requiring a giant posse of musicians. Rhodes used to have a guitarist bassist, drummer. keyboardist and backing vocalists--an approach that not only was hard to coordinate in order to replicate her studio sound but was expensive. In Troy, Rhodes will sing and play acoustic guitar, accompanied only by Bartlett on electric guitar and effects, bassist Carl Adami and backing vocalist Kelly Bird. Ironically, though she's performing live more frequently, Rhodes has left behind the idea that she somehow deserves more from the local music scene. "I didn't perform an awful lot. and I expected an awful lot in return," she says. "I think I'm done whining about that. But I hope, just for remembrance's sake, people will consider coming to my show. Anybody who saw me before wouldn't have ever seen me like this." The coming months will bring more shows and a lot of work in the studio for Rhodes as she goes through the long, frustrating process of courting labels. She's trying to do as much as she can on the album before someone comes knocking, but Rhodes still must wait until that day comes to have the resources to complete the project. Her frustration is understandable when you consider that she's pretty much put out an album a year for a long time now, and her last studio record was Building The Colossus in '94. (Rhodes did release The Keep, a collection of live and unreleased tracks, last year.) But she believes that this approach will eventually yield the things that Rhodes is now finding that she wants. Rhodes doesn't so much want to be a household name--though she jokes about people stopping her in the grocery store and saying, "Hey, aren't you Happy Rhodes?" instead of, "Hey, aren't you Blossom?" She wants to do film scores and work with prestigious musicians. In some ways, Rhodes has come to the realization that she and her music simply deserve more. "On the grand scale, nobody knows I exist," she says. "I'd really like to feel that... I have this intense yearning for something more than what I have right now. I don't know. I'd like to find the answer to that. In the meantime, I know I'm in need of something. I think it might have everything to do with respect and nothing to do with fame." Ethereal Music of Happy Rhodes Continues to Be a Joy to Hear Live By Greg Haymes Originally printed in The Albany Metroland, October 26, 1996 Troy -- About halfway through her Troy Savings Bank Music Hall concert on Friday, vocalist guitarist Happy Rhodes sidled up to the microphone and whispered, "!t's ethereal time." That's something akin to Kiss--after blowing out an .hour of non-stop megawatt "rock anthems-declaring, "Now we'd like to rock out for you." After all, "ethereal" is what Rhodes does... and she does it as well as any of the other popstar fairy-queen divas to whom she is frequently compared, names like Kate Bush and Tori Amos. Five years ago, the Times Union featured Happy Rhodes on the cover of Preview, hailing her as one of a handful of Capital Region pop musicians with the talent to step into the national spotlight. And to a certain degree, Rhodes has fulfilled that promise. In just a dozen years, she's released nine lush and dazzling CDs of her haunting original compositions, earning her rave reviews, considerable air play and a rabid and rapidly growing following of fans. The problem with Rhodes is that until recently she has been somewhat reluctant to perform live, which is the traditional way to build a fan base. So it was quite a treat on Friday when Rhodes and her mini-band took over the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall stage for a concert of nearly two hours that spanned Rhodes' musical career. Rhodes--who moved from Albany to Bearsville, Ulster County, a couple of years ago-brought along a versatile coterie of musicians, including longtime "co-conspirator Kevin Bartlett on electric guitar, Carl Adami on bass and Kelly Bird on vocals and hand percussion. Occasionally, prerecorded rhythm tracks were added to the sound, but they were rarely intrusive, and for the most part the musicians were so supple that the beat big wasn't missed. Her music is lush yet edgy, ambitious, yet accessible, beautiful yet dark. The songs showcase Rhodes' extraordinary vocal abilities as her voice glides effortlessly from a deep, warm, wrap-me-in-your-arms lower register (utilized to best effect during a daring interpretation of David Bowie's "Space Oddity," her only cover selection of the night) to soaring angelic high notes. No question that Rhodes is more closely connected to Pink Floyd than Pearl Jam, but she's certainly no retro-dated art-rocker. There's an undeniably timeless quality about her best songs, especially the hope-filled "Collective Heart" and the pleading "Save Our Souls," which featured Rhodes' and Bird's voices to their best effect as they pingponged back and forth across the melody. Hopefully, Rhodes is ready to step into the concert spotlight with more frequency. Her songs and her voice deserve to be heard. Self-taught Arkansas guitarist Richard Johnson opened the show with an awe-inspiring solo set of fret board mastery that veered somewhere between Michael Hedges and Leo Kottke. Alternating between six- and 12-string acoustic guitar, Johnson was so amazing that at times you didn't know whether or not you could really trust your eyes or ears. His swelling opening take on "Oh Shenandoah" waS heartbreakingly gorgeous, and later original tunes like "Catch and Release," "Synthetic Blues" and "Tropical Nightmare," were mind-meltingly magical, as he created a torrent of music from every fret of the guitar neck (and beyond), a8ttacking with precision and passion from every conceivable angle. [Picture Break] Happy-Goes-Whee on the playground of her childhood Hold The Strings To The Fret I have received many requests in the past for the lyrics to some of Happy's songs that appear on the lyric-less CD The Keep and the favorite tune "Summer". Here you will find the words of your wishes. Life On Mars Sleepy eyes, oh, your daddy lies Look to the stars above Oh, sleepy eyes, all your teachers lie Look to the stars, baby, yes there's life on Mars Oh, sleepy eyes Throw away your fears if you dare Life is everywhere, Oh, sleepy eyes Sleepy child, all your dreams defiled Trust in the stars above Oh, sleepy child, life goes running wild Trust in the stars, baby, yes, there's life on Mars Oh, sleepy child Throw away your fears if you dare Darlin' life is everywhere, oh sleepy child Flash Me Up My whole life I've worked toward this to shower you with the passion of my youth Flash me on the big screen for to show you my potential I don't think you heard me very clearly the first time Did you hear me? Did you hear me? If I admit to all my madness, then so must you Awake and scared, I'm held at the bay and feeling the sting of the doubt of my promise Flash me up on the big screen for to show you my potential I don't think you heard me very clearly the first time Flash me up on the big screen for to show you my potential I don't think you heard me very clearly the first time Did you hear me? Did you hear me? If I admit to all my madness, then so must you Flash me up and show me who I am Bye Moon By Moon, I Sing, by moon, I cry By moon, I live, bye moon, I die On quarter moon, my harlequin is laughing at the heart within and deep inside this cloud of grey the hungry strange, I am the prey By star you wish, by god you pray By name I curse the light of day On quarter moon, my harlequin is laughing at the heart within and deep inside this cloud of grey the hungry strange, I am the prey By Moon, I Sing, by moon, I cry By moon, I live, bye moon, I die On quarter moon, my harlequin is laughing at the heart within and deep inside this cloud of grey the hungry strange, I am the prey Prey Of The Strange Introduce yourself I know you know me well, you're my love Introduce yourself, come on, come out I am the prey of the strange and he follows me, he's my love I am the prey of the strange Dark Thing, come out Stay in your place, show me your peaceful grace He is buried here, maker of my every fear He is my friend and my enemy, and I'm the creator of my love btt now he's wanting me to die, come on, come alive My anger stirs right here, I want to show you fear of my love the sides are no longer clear Dark Thing come out, come out He is here, He hears me Oh, Hand Of Mine Oh, hand of mine, wrap yourself around my neck Then, oh, give me life, give me life. Oh, hand of mine, hold the strings to the fret then, oh, give me life, give me life. Now there's a thing I don't control It festers in my soul It's not the heart, and it's not the mind It's a force of a different kind Oh, hand of mine, wrap yourself around my love Then, oh, steal his life, steal his life and oh, heart of mine, hold your music deep Then, oh, give me time, give me time Now there's a thing I don't control It festers in my soul It's not the heart and it's not the mind It's a force of a different kind Summer Oh, to feel the wind that rushes through those lips with an ever-quickening pace, will I always see that face Coming for my love to say, coming for my love to say. . . Go away, go away There are no words to say, when you look, I look away When in my mind I dream that you'd die to be with me but I won't let my weakness show, I will never let you know So leave me alone, let me alone Yes Medley (I Sleep Alone, Soon, Endless Dream, Hearts) You talk of love, you talk of trust But I can see I sleep alone tonight And where you go and what you do, baby I can't fight It's not easy to forget though yesterday is far away Yet still I can feel you clase as breathing You say you care, you want to know But I don't know, I deep alone tonight And in my heart I feel you care more than you believe I'll wait for you today and hope tomorrow takes you away This yearning for the change — I look up at the new life That I must find, I must find, I must find, I must find, I must find Soon, oh, soon the light Pass within and soothe this endless night I'll wait here for you, our reason to be here Soon, oh, soon the time All we move to gain will reach and calm Our heart is open, our reason to be here Long ago set into a rhyme Soon, oh, soon the light Ours to shape for all time, ours the right Hold your head up high you know, You've come a long, long way Tainted as a fugitive with nothing left to say Temptation may come, hope your vision doesn't stray in the name of God you might be forced away, forced away Moving forward to the only place you know Side-tracked by some indiscretion, changing as you go Temptation may come, hope your conscience doesn't hide the only trip you'll take is inside Hearing, talking, yes, I love you Set your heart, sail on the river Look around as you drift downstream Pouring souls into the ocean, take account of all you've seen One people together, freedom for today So easy the future, so see the children's way Love me, teach me, know me HAPPY AT THE TIN ANGEL, MARCH 15, 1997 REVIEW BY ROBERT LOVEJOY REPRINTED FROM ECTO -- USED BY PERMISSION Happy Rhodes was at her peak last night. Playing to a sold out Tin Angel, she was at once radiant, moving, very funny, and possessed of a voice that defies the laws of physics. Backed by the usual suspects, she delivered one of her greatest concerts to date. ' What was it that made this particular concert stand out? It's impossible to pick just one thing. For starters, she looked wonderful. Add to that a vibrant stage presence. Mix in a tight backup group. Then pour on the main ingredient - That Voice. Happy's singing reached new levels. The high notes were higher, the low notes were lower. There were more variations in phrasing and grace notes graced by the grace of great Greatness. [Ed. note: Wha?]. Happy has always been a fine comedienne, and she was at the top of her form. She would have had us rolling in the aisles, except the place was so crowded there were no aisles to speak of. At one point during the beginning of her encore, she and Kelly were enjoying themselves so much that they were having trouble starting the song! And that enjoyment was easily passed along to the entire crowd. Backstage after the first show, she was really up. And well she should be! I know I'm always raving about her live shows, but this one was extra-special. My hope is that she will someday be able to venture beyond Philadelphia and play shows where you live, gentle reader. What am I saying? Then I'd ,have to miss some shows!! Zooks, a conundrum (or is it a kettledrum?). Let the masses have Celine Dion. Let Jewel be the next "Overnight Sensation", Go ahead, America, ignore Happy if you must -- just let her keep performing in Philadelphia! You do this, and I promise never to move away from here, OK? -- Bob the still dazed yet rabid HTR fan [Graphic Break] Rhodeways WANT ADS Pen Pal Wanted: Tonya Turunen, Jakomacrkuja 1 H 76, 00770 Helskinki, Flnland Music Wanted: "1 have fun playing songs of Happy's with my guitar and songs of Kate on the piano. I'm searchlng for someone who has notes of Happy, Kate and Tori. Perhaps we could exchange some notes." -- MatthaS Menk, Schulstr. 23, 35579 Wetzlar, Germany