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Post by maddogfagin on Dec 10, 2010 19:31:09 GMT
It is only right and fitting that, when the 100th edition of AND finally arrives, we should salute the endeavors of Dave Rees, Martin Webb and all the other contributors of the magazine. Till then, how about some memories of editions/cover discs/etc from days gone by. Overall, for myself and I expect many others, it must be the new friendships that have been made and the realisation that there are others out there with the same musical passion. The cover discs have been inspiring with the otherwise unavailable Tull performances and the musical contributions of the AND roster of artist. The articles and interviews with band members have been illuminating and the photographs of concerts etc. have been a delight. Finally, for now, the releases from the man himself Mick Abrahams. The album "Lies" from 1993 (AND CD3) was financed by the AND readership and below are the names from the CD booklet - and it's a corker of an album.
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Post by maddogfagin on Dec 13, 2010 10:26:56 GMT
A few weeks ago I spoke with Martin Webb about him writing an article for the Jethro Tull Forum on the history of "A New Day" and, exclusively for Forum members, this is what he has written. As it's quite extensive, I've split it into sections but I hope you will enjoy his reminiscences about the magazine. So to begin, here's part 1. The history of A NEW DAY magazine - through the eyes of Martin Webb
Back in the Year One In the mid-1970s Jethro Tull were massive news. Every tour was heralded on the front pages of Melody Maker and NME, and each annual (hah! - remember that??) album warranted a 5-page interview with Ian Anderson. Less than a decade later, in the days before monthly magazines like Q and Mojo and way before the internet, MM and NME had shifted their fickle focus to the next cool newbies, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to get hold of any information about Jethro Tull’s activities.
One man, a not-yet-portly printer from the rock’n’roll wastelands of Farnborough, Hampshire, decided that if you wanted something done you might as well do it yourself. Thus, David Rees decided to start a magazine devoted entirely to Jethro Tull. Now, DR – as he is universally known by his family, workmates, music biz associates, drinking buddies, creditors and adoring MILF entourage – knew that I dabbled in the odd bit of writing. I can’t recall now how we first got in touch with each other, but I do recall that we used to swap copies of those dodgy live cassettes which were advertised in the back pages of Sounds. Anyway, DR rang me up one day in 1985, announced that he was thinking of starting a Jethro Tull magazine, and asked if I’d like to write for it. My historic response was, “Let me see what the first issue looks like and then I’ll decide whether to write for you.” That was the only time I ever heard DR mutter “pompous tosser” under his breath – all subsequent occasions have been out loud, to my face, and not necessarily as polite as “tosser”. And, let’s face it, he had a point…
Looking back, that first issue was a rather scrubby, amateur, speculative, affair. But, in the absence of anything similar, I was impressed with both the content and the aims of the magazine – and it did offer a platform for my barely latent hankerings to waffle on in print about my beloved Jethro Tull. (And in retrospect I applauded DR for the title of the mag, which not only drew upon a phrase that had cropped up in a couple of Tull songs, but also reflected a forward-looking rather than nostalgic approach – unlike, for example, the subsequent and now defunct American fanzine Living In The Past. Not us, mate…) So I jumped on board as first mate to DR’s captain, little dreaming of the unchartered waters into which generally fair winds would blow us over the next quarter of a decade in what is, frankly, an already overstretched nautical analogy.
Interlude While DR is known as DR (natch), I am known as OW, standing for Old Webby. As injustices go, this ranks alongside Frank Lumpalard’s disallowed World Cup ‘goal’ against The Jairmans. I am a mere three years older than DR, and indeed look a decade younger than him. JT fans still express surprise on meeting me that I am not in my eighties, at least. Fact: DR is now 24 years older than I was when he first started calling me Old Webby.
Early Days Although issue 2 contained an interview with Dave Pegg, DR hadn’t met him face-to-face – he’d sent Peggy a list of questions, and the ever-obliging and fan-friendly Peggy had sent a cassette back with his answers. It was not until issue 10, after the inevitable fanzine staple articles about bootlegs and unreleased songs, peppered with DR’s thankfully short-lived obsession with the Oz band Mara, that we bagged our first ‘proper’ interview - the seeds for which were sown after a trip to Bedfordshire.
Up until then, although A New Day had been in existence for well over a year, I still hadn’t met DR. In those pre-email days, I would write an A4-sized article on a battered old typewriter, stuff it into an envelope and post it off to DR, who would reduce it to A5 to print it as per in the mag. But then in November 1986 I got a call from DR, asking if I fancied going to a Mick Abrahams gig in a pub in Dunstable. I did, of course, and we agreed to meet at the entrance to Uxbridge tube station. Ho, ho – Uxbridge tube station has two entrances, and inevitably we were each waiting at the other. Standing in the cold at Uxbridge station consulting my watch and cursing DR’s tardiness was to become a distressingly large part of my life – but that was all to come. In this instance DR eventually found me and we headed north on the M1. For the next hour all my attempts at conversation were met with either monosyllabic grunts or just silence. Blimey, I thought – the bloke’s a nutter. It was not until we’d got to the pub and had downed a couple of pints that I mentioned the magic word “football”, whereupon DR suddenly came to life and started talking. And, 25 years later, not much has changed…
Anyway, Mick played a storming gig, and we had a few words with him afterwards at the bar, in the course of which it became clear that he was a diamond geezer. My suggestion to DR was that we write down what Mick had told us and present it in A New Day as an interview – but to his credit DR showed the vision that had made him start A New Day in the first place and counter-suggested that we ask Mick for a proper interview. And Mick, being indeed a diamond geezer, readily agreed - the results of which appeared in issue 10, which is kind of the point where I think A New Day came of age. We interviewed Mick at length in his office, and then he took us off for lunch – which was the conversation that we should have taped. Also in issue 10 was an interview which I had conducted with Clive Bunker in the cramped dressing room of the late lamented Mean Fiddler club in north west London, where Clive was playing with the late lamented Poor Mouth. I went along on spec, blagged my way backstage and found Clive flat on his back relaxing before the gig. An equally diamond geezer, without any warning or preparation he willingly chatted away about his time before, during and after Tull, and our second interview was in the bag. Nowadays I wouldn’t dream of approaching an interview like that, partly because DR and I enjoy doing them together if practicable, and partly because it’s unfair on the interviewee to spring it upon them. But hey, we were only learning…Copyright 2010, Martin Webb and The Jethro Tull Forum.
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Post by maddogfagin on Dec 13, 2010 10:32:38 GMT
The history of A NEW DAY magazine - through the eyes of Martin Webb (part 2)Enter Ian Anderson, stage rightAlthough it had always been an ambition of mine to interview Ian Anderson, I don’t think either DR or I ever really thought it would happen; indeed neither did we even dream that he was aware of our humble little fanzine. Not so. Ian Anderson knows everything – and not only did he know about A New Day, he had been quietly monitoring its progress. Thus it was that in March 1987 DR was somewhat startled to get a message via Kenny Wylie that, if were interested, Ian would be available for interview. “If” ? The resultant interview filled the whole of issue 11, having been conducted in the oak-panelled study of Ian’s 16th century ‘Pophleys’ house near the village of Radnage, Buckinghamshire – the very same room where the Heavy Horses back cover band photo was taken. (He’s since moved to Wiltshire, so I haven’t just given his address away…) We were nervous of course, but Ian was relaxed on his own patch and with no other commitments that day, so it all went swimmingly well. Apart, that is, from one moment when the ‘phone rang, and Ian engaged in a 10-minute call with someone called Ed about recording some incidental TV music. When he put the ‘phone down he laughed and made a comment about us having one end of an exclusive ‘phone call on tape. “Was that Ed Skelding?” I inquired. Ian was taken aback, and his right eyebrow shot upwards. “And what else do you do when you’re not working for MI5?” he asked. I should have explained that having seen Channel 4 cameras at the 1986 Milton Keynes gig I’d written to The Tube to ask when Tull would be screened, and they’d passed the letter on to Ed Skelding who replied to say he was currently filming the Fish’n’Sheep’n’Rock’n’Roll documentary. But regrettably I didn’t, I just smirked, which could have had Ian thinking I’d got his ‘phone tapped. Stupid boy, Webb. But Ian continued with the interview, and we left in high spirits, blissfully unaware that on our exit we’d caused a CCTV security scare by stopping down the road to take a photo of the house and surrounds. On reflection, I suspect that whilst Ian recognised that a Jethro Tull magazine would be a good publication to which to chat about Jethro Tull stuff, equally he was keen to check us out to ascertain which side of the fine line between fans and fanatics we lay. Despite my Ed Skelding/house photo gaffes he must have recognised that we weren’t nutters or stalkers and did have some sort of serious amateur journalistic aspirations. And so began the start of an incredible journey into unchartered waters… oh, done that one. Spreading our wingsFrom that first meeting with Ian, which I had assumed would be the summit of my own amateur journalistic aspirations, DR and I progressed from being mere fans to being invited to help with the compilation of the 1988 20th Anniversary box set, and then writing tour programmes and generally helping out in all sorts of ways. And from that stemmed invitations to write for magazines such as Record Collector. For a while, Jethro Tull albums carried the details of A New Day, and worldwide readership at one stage was around 7,000. On the plus side, that enabled DR to improve A New Day from a scruffy b/w rag to a glossy colour mag – although still A5, and not too professional-looking. I do rather like the idea of our still being happy amateurs, even though DR does sometimes drive me mad with his erratic layouts occasioned by his trying to squeeze a quart into a pint pot. On the minus side, licking several thousand envelopes every three months meant that DR was unable to taste his beer until I presented him with a roller and tray borrowed from my office. Hmm, must remember to take it back before I retire. Interlude Favourite A New Day headline
In 1988 Jethro Tull played just one show in England, but undertook a tour of South America which included six shows in Brazil. DR came up with: “A Recurring Nightmare... England 1 Brazil 6”. (AND #17.) Genius. The Jethro Tull familySince those first interviews with Mick and Clive, we’ve conducted innumerable interviews with past and present Tull members, plus associates like Anna Phoebe, Ann-Marie Calhoun and Lucia Micarelli. And I am delighted to report that, absolutely without exception, they have all been really top blokes and blokesses (and, in the case of David/Dee Palmer, both). There is no real reason why any musician should be obliged to talk to us, but no-one has ever turned us down, and all have been most engaging and accommodating company. It would appear that, aside from being a bit of a whizz on one’s chosen musical instrument, the two prerequisites for joining Jethro Tull are a keen intelligence and a sharp sense of humour – the combination of which makes the task of chatting with these fascinating people, often over a beer, nothing less than a pleasure. And as for associates like Anna Phoebe, Ann-Marie Calhoun and Lucia Micarelli. - well, insert your own punchline. The only Jethro Tull members that have not been interviewed by A New Day [/li][li] are the late John Glascock, Eddie Jobson and Peter-John Vettese. In the latter two cases, it’s actually simply because we haven’t got round to asking them yet. We will. [/li][li] There are a number of interviews which are in the bag but which at the time of writing (Nov/Dec 2010) haven’t yet been printed The other bunch of people that we’ve had great pleasure in meeting, and drinking with, are Jethro Tull fans around the world. Too many to mention them all, but of legendary status in the A New Day annals are Terry The Innocent and Frank The Snowman. Our adventures around Europe over two decades would fill a book: Frank accidentally setting fire to the car at 80mph on a German autobahn, Terry trying to strangle driver DR at 80mph on a German autobahn – a lot of stuff happens on German autobahns – and a whole raft of hazier incidents fogged by a surfeit of beer and the lateness of the hour. We’ve also become good friends with the chaps from the German fanzine Beggar’s Farm News, the wittily-titled Italian fanzine Itullians, the Spanish Tullianos, the Czech Fan club, the Dutch Fan Club, and a host of Americans. Not many French, though. Interlude Top 3 A New Day-related memories
1. That first interview with Ian Anderson in 1987.
2. Being invited to the 2002 reunion of the original 1968 Tull line-up for the Living With The Past DVD
3. In 2007 being invited by Ian Anderson at Chemnitz Wasserschloss to take photos, for the whole show, from on the stage (see account in AND #91) [/i][/center] Copyright 2010, Martin Webb and The Jethro Tull Forum.
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Post by maddogfagin on Dec 13, 2010 10:42:14 GMT
The history of A NEW DAY magazine - through the eyes of Martin Webb (part 3)
Ian Anderson – the bloke But of course the person I’m most asked about is Ian Anderson – what’s he like? The answer is – it depends what day it is. He has always been very co-operative when it comes to A New Day, and always tries to fit an interview into his schedule if we request it. And he really is incredibly busy, and does run Jethro Tull Ltd without the need for managers. That means a lot of responsibility, and thus occasionally a lot of stress. So I have witnessed times when he has torn strips off promoters, crew and anyone else unfortunate to cross his path (including fans) when things haven’t happened to the standards that his own professionalism demands. There have been days when his focus on the job in hand has meant that he’s completely blanked me and DR. But hey, no problem – we were probably just off to the bar anyway. And there have also been other days when he’s appeared to be delighted to see us in some far-flung corner of the globe, and shown us once again that he can be the funniest guy in the world. And he’s not only good to A New Day – so many of the musicians we’ve spoken to, especially the younger ones, have enthused about how generous he is with his time, helping them understand the music business as well as music itself, and giving them opportunities to play and record at his own expense. In short, IA doesn’t suffer fools gladly – but, if you respect his professional position as leader of a high-profile and very busy band, and choose your moments to approach him (e.g. not ten minutes before a show when he’s ironing out a last minute hitch with a fellow band member) then the likelihood is that he will at least be civil to you and probably quite warm and humorous.
DR, & MW & AND Which does also beg another question – how on earth have a couple of loafers like me and DR managed to last 25 years without being banished from the Jethro Tull kingdom? The answer I think lies partly with our mostly managing to remember to show the kind of professional respect noted in the previous paragraph, and not make bloomin’ nuisances of ourselves backstage, but also with our showing, in print, a healthy degree of both honesty and irreverence. Our independence from the band is very important – we’re not an official fan magazine. Jethro Tull is by some way our favourite band ever – but A New Day has for the most part shunned sycophancy. If we don’t like an album, or feel that a stage performance hasn’t met the standards we’ve come to expect, we’ll say so. And with interviews, again we’re respectful, but not obsequious.
Interlude Three typical A New Day questions:
[To Martin Barre, AND #80]: Who would win if you had a fight with Ian Anderson?
[To James Anderson, AND #89]: Was there any sense of Ian being disappointed that you didn’t become a musician, and became a drummer instead?
[To Andy Giddings, AND #98]: “Divinites” was mostly you, wasn’t it... And of course, we’re useful, not only in our expansive (but not complete – blimey, some people do know some trivia) knowledge of JT, but in our ability to translate that knowledge and understanding into words and sentences with commas and full stops. Hence our being wheeled out every few years to contribute towards tour programmes and box sets etc. And I can tell you that Ian Anderson really does check everything himself. That was demonstrated again in 2008 when I side-stepped a couple of potentially tricky issues in writing the history of the band for the 40th Anniversary tour programme, and Ian emailed me back my draft with a couple of sentences added which addressed the issues, and his own part in them, head-on. So whilst A New Day is independent, occasionally DR and I do find ourselves working “for” Jethro Tull. And that’s never been anything but a pleasure – although I must admit it still feels a little surreal when the ‘phone rings and it’s Ian Anderson on the other end…
A New Day Records In the late 1980s DR set up his own record company, also under the name A New Day. The first, extraordinary, release was a live CD of the pre-Jethro Tull John Evan Band, recorded in 1966 with a very Lancashire-sounding Ian Anderson on vocals. Subsequent releases included CDs by the likes of Mick Abrahams, Clive Bunker and John Carter/Martin Barre, interspersed with less memorable efforts from not so much has-beens as never-weres, plus a couple of star-studded (well, Mick and Clive again, with Glenn Cornick no less) live nights at London’s 100 Club. But whilst I helped out here and there, mostly I stayed well clear of the record company. I figured that it would be sooner rather than later that DR and I would fall out big time over anything involving money. Good decision, given the number of business partners that the ever-uncommunicative DR has been through over the years.
The Future The last issue of A New Day was #99, way back in January 2010. That’s “last” as in “latest”. It does grieve me that DR has so many irons in other fires, what with Weyfest and, er, well, Weyfest, that he just hasn’t got the spare time of yore to knock out regular issues. But never fear, there WILL be an issue #100 eventually. In fact, there’s enough stuff written to take us up to #103 at least, and that’s without photographs. It just needs DR to get off his increasingly ample backside and direct his attention to printing the bloomin’ things.
(And when I say that there WILL be an issue #100, that wasn’t always so certain. Options we discussed were having an issue #99½ or jumping straight to #101… Ho ho.)
And the other project on an increasingly distant horizon is a book, compiling possibly all or perhaps the best of the A New Day interviews. Some two years ago DR and I – well, mainly me, actually – did a huge amount of work re-transcribing them all. The only thing we didn’t do was print it. It might yet happen.
Finale Why me, I sometimes think? How come I, a humble civil servant from Nowheresville, am in this amazing position of being on drinking terms with my favourite band, writing their tour programmes and taking ‘phone calls from their one-legged flute-playing leader? The answer is that DR had the gumption to start A New Day, and I had the energy and commitment to join him. It could have been any two fans, really; but we got there first – and stayed there. [Smug smirk.]
And finally, if you bump into either of us at a bar at a Tull gig, do buy us a Guinness, do engage us in learned discourse on the season’s chances of Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, but never, ever ask us about the variety of catalogue numbers of the multiple CD and vinyl versions of the Aqualung album (Germany, 2001 - still a painful memory for us both…)
Old Webby December 2010Copyright 2010, Martin Webb and The Jethro Tull Forum.
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tullist
Master Craftsman
Posts: 478
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Post by tullist on Dec 13, 2010 14:36:27 GMT
Wow, truly appreciated this. Became aware of A New Day at or near the start, even receiving a hand written letter from DR maybe a year later encouraging my participation, and cluing me in on the then forthcoming Crest of a Knave. The line about who would win in a fight between Ian and Martin might be the funniest thing I have ever read on a Tull board, and sounds to be precisely the sort of thing I would have asked, maybe I did. But part of the reason such a question would come to my mind is A New Day so long since answered pretty much every question I ever wanted to know about Tull that it would allow me to get down to the really good stuff.
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Post by maddogfagin on Jan 9, 2011 11:05:03 GMT
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Post by maddogfagin on Jan 9, 2011 11:08:52 GMT
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Post by nonrabbit on Jan 9, 2011 11:14:17 GMT
ah gorgeousness especially Nos 13 - 24 Thanking you both
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Post by maddogfagin on Jan 9, 2011 13:09:00 GMT
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Post by maddogfagin on Jan 10, 2011 15:03:22 GMT
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Post by maddogfagin on Jan 10, 2011 15:08:06 GMT
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Post by maddogfagin on Jan 11, 2011 18:52:57 GMT
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Post by maddogfagin on Jan 12, 2011 18:30:02 GMT
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Post by maddogfagin on Jan 13, 2011 18:37:38 GMT
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Post by maddogfagin on Jan 13, 2011 18:46:15 GMT
Bridgekeeper: STOP! He who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three ere the other side he see.
Bridgekeeper: What.....is your name?
Bridgekeeper: What.....is your quest?
Bridgekeeper: What.....is your favourite “A New Day” cover?
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tommie
Master Craftsman
Posts: 392
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Post by tommie on Jan 13, 2011 22:03:23 GMT
u r the best, Mad! U bring much joy with all ur stuff, To this here computer illiterate, u r me hero!
Seriously, really apprec ur contributions
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Post by maddogfagin on Jan 14, 2011 8:52:53 GMT
u r the best, Mad! U bring much joy with all ur stuff, To this here computer illiterate, u r me hero! Seriously, really apprec ur contributions Tommie, you're now on my Christmas card list.
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Post by carollover on Mar 30, 2011 16:59:21 GMT
I'm upset with Mr. Rees right now. I've been a AND subscriber since 1995 and renewed last March for another 5 issues. I haven't received issue 100 yet (I know it's out) and have emailed (several times) and snail mailed Rees to ask what's up. No reply. Hope you're all enjoying issue 100, maybe someday I'll get mine...or not.
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Post by dirtyflute on Apr 10, 2011 11:29:03 GMT
Yes, I've had the same problem. Mr Rees doesn't do email. Never got issues 98 and 99, but then 100 arrived out of the blue. Have sent two cheques which were never cashed in an attempt to renew my subscription and get another binder. And I've been subscribing since 1985!
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Post by trainspotter on May 3, 2011 6:27:19 GMT
Last issue I received was 95, but that was not the last issue in my running subscription. When I noticed issue 96 was out I sent a couple of e-mails, but never got any reply. I am not any die hard fan any more so I don't mind. It contained mostly out dated football news anyway. ;D
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Post by maddogfagin on May 3, 2011 8:13:15 GMT
Last issue I received was 96, but that was not the last issue in my running subscription. When I noticed issue 97 was out I sent a couple of e-mails, but never got any reply. I am not any die hard fan any more so I don't mind. It contained mostly out dated football news anyway. ;D I've read and heard about a fair few complaints about the non arrival of issues of A New Day similar to yours trainspotter and I'll be honest, I don't really know what's going on. If I hear anything I'll post it here but as I'm not connected with the magazine, apart from being a subsciber, it's difficult to know what's going on.
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Post by carollover on May 3, 2011 17:35:41 GMT
For what it's worth I sent Ian an email thru the Tull website. I said I know he doesn't have anything to do with the magazine, but it IS his picture on the cover and that Rees was taking our money and not delivering product. Maybe an astute businessman like Ian can a light a fire under Mr. Rees and tell him to quit ignoring us.
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kleynan
Journeyman
Thick as a Brick
Posts: 89
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Post by kleynan on May 20, 2011 23:29:16 GMT
Are they still active? Id love to get my hands on some of those issues.. being a somewhat recently converted tull fan It seems ive missed out on years of AND! Time to play catch up mayhaps?
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Post by carollover on Jun 15, 2011 17:52:40 GMT
Rees has updated his website for the first time in a year with a notice about tickets to Weyfest, and said you can save money on your AND subscription with a ticket. What an inconsiderate jerk. No mention at all to those of us who still haven't received an issue in ages (my last one was 99). If this big music fest is his top priority he should turn the magazine over to Webb and be done with it. But as it stands he's taken our money and hasn't given us anything for it.
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Post by maddogfagin on Jun 15, 2011 18:02:10 GMT
Rees has updated his website for the first time in a year with a notice about tickets to Weyfest, and said you can save money on your AND subscription with a ticket. What an inconsiderate jerk. No mention at all to those of us who still haven't received an issue in ages (my last one was 99). If this big music fest is his top priority he should turn the magazine over to Webb and be done with it. But as it stands he's taken our money and hasn't given us anything for it. And I reckon Martin Webb would make a fine job of it.
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Post by steelmonkey on Jun 15, 2011 18:34:13 GMT
yeah, since we have Tull forum/band schism, maybe it's time for a magazine split...let's call ours 'A New, New Day.
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Post by maddogfagin on Jun 16, 2011 7:44:20 GMT
yeah, since we have Tull forum/band schism, maybe it's time for a magazine split...let's call ours 'A New, New Day. While DR renames his as "An Old Day Now . . . . maybe?"
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Post by maddogfagin on Jul 18, 2011 12:14:25 GMT
Issue #101 of A New Day has now been published. Dave Rees has written an editorial which goes someway in explaining why there has been some "holdups" in getting this issue out and also some subscription increases. I've posted them here together with contact details should anyone want to try and get in contact with him re. back issues etc. This issue has interviews with Tull drummers, including Ian Anderson, Dave Mattacks, Marc Parnell and Scott Hammond together with Martin Webb's trips to foreign parts to see Tull.
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Post by steelmonkey on Jul 18, 2011 17:34:00 GMT
47 minutes? Rather short in the CD era,...but we know size doesn't matter...and I bet there's a bonus or two beyond the 47...maybe of the ian 'solo' or live variety...original war Child is only 37 minutes...at a time when single albums were usually 45 plus...and i don't remember feeling cheated by War Child!
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Post by steelmonkey on Jul 19, 2011 15:59:16 GMT
At Last (having waited ) Forever. Sweet Dreams come true It's the end of the drought as we know it. Stand Up (after you faint)
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