A Birthday Candle for Randy Castillo

This morning when I got up I did something I've never done before, for anyone: I lit a candle for Randy Castillo. Today would have been his birthday.

Randy Castillo was best known as the long-time drummer for Ozzy Osbourne, but, cool as that credit is, he was so much more than that. Ask anyone who was part of the L.A. music scene in the early 80's and 90's (or who grew up around it, as I did), and they'll tell you: Randy Castillo was a legend in the very best sense of the word. And people who knew him loved him, with a capital L.

Long before he joined Ozzy's band, when it came to drumming Randy Castillo was the L.A. "go-to-guy"...a fantastic drummer and true pro who was always happy to help out a friend on a session, or even a friend of a friend. Randy Castillo played on so many recordings, I'm convinced the majority of his work remains uncredited...most likely sitting in assorted boxes of long-abandoned demos and unfinished projects of various bands that never took off. Time may have altered my memory on this somewhat, but it seems like until he got sick, Randy Castillo was always either in the studio, or out on tour.

Growing up on the perimeter of the L.A. music scene, and later working in the industry, many people I knew, or their bandmates, or their friends, or their brothers, worked with Randy Castillo, but I never met him until around 1992. Ironically, it wasn't in L.A.; while I was on vacation, a friend who was going out to visit her boyfriend on an Ozzy tour called and invited me to go along, and we were on the road for two days.  I didn't know the band, so as someone who wasn't a relative, a groupie, or working with them, and was ultimately just tagging along, I was extremely conscious of intruding on the band's space. But they were all great, especially Randy Castillo, who treated me like one of the group and made me feel like a welcome little sister.

As there always is on the road, there was much hurry-up-and-wait during those two days, and during that downtime Randy and I usually sat  together, sometimes talking, but more than anything, just observing. For the longest time I wondered why a rock star of Randy's stature would be so nice to someone who clearly wasn't a groupie. It wasn't until after he passed away that I found out he had sisters.

As a visitor to the band's home on the road, it's not my place to invade Randy's privacy, especially since he's not here any longer, so I won't. I'll only say that Randy Castillo was a true gentleman who had the respect of everyone I met in their touring party. He had amazing, positive energy--a rare combination of humble and dynamic presence rolled into one. Around the time I met him I was reading about shamanism, and as I got farther into it, I realized that's the kind of energy he had. His energy was so warm that sitting next to him literally felt like sitting in the sun, even though we were in those cold, hard folding chairs so often found in backstage areas in those days. 

Our paths never crossed again, but because we had mutual friends and later, colleagues, I just somehow thought they would. When I found out Randy passed away from cancer I felt a huge sense of loss, not only for the music community, but knowing how much he was loved by people who knew him far better than I. 

The world needs more sunny energy like Randy Castillo's. That's why I lit the candle at 7:00 this morning. I wanted it to shine brightly, so I chose a votive candle that had maybe an hour or so left on it, in a clear glass holder that would reflect light all around the room.

I lit the candle, then I used the flame to light some Nag Champa incense. I don't know if Randy Castillo was into incense, but I always think of Nag Champa as creative incense (even though it's traditionally spiritual), because it's what I often burn when I write. In addition to being a fantastic drummer, Randy was also an amazing mixed media artist, so I lit it in honor of his creative spirit.

Now here's the weird, freaky Twilight Zone part: The Nag Champa went out, unfinished, not long after I lit it.

And that candle that looked like it only had an hour or two left on it? It's just after noon as I write this, and it's still burning brightly.

Here's hoping every musician who reads this lights a candle, too.

Happy birthday, Randy Castillo, and R.I.P. . 

 


© 2011-2013 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.



 



   

Concert Review: Adam Lambert / Orianthi/ Allison Iraheta Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, CA 7/28/10

by Randi Reed
 
Adam Lambert: 
 
Having been a cheerleader of Adam Lambert from his first audition on American Idol, it was easy to say yes when a friend asked me to come along to see his show at the Pacific Amphitheatre...
 
…but I also didn’t know what to expect. Would it be the pseudo electronica alterna-dance Adam of his current CD, For Your Entertainment? Would it be the guylinered, leather-and-black-nail-polished “Rocker Adam” my girlfriends and I all crushed over during his early American Idol episodes?

What about the music? Would it sound like the album, or would the arrangements be the slightly guitar-heavier sound of his TV talk show performances of late? So many questions! Between you and me, after years of working in the live concert business and seeing “the man behind the curtain,” it was nice not knowing what was going to happen going in.

Adam Lambert is so good at what he does, and has such a commanding stage presence, it’s easy to forget this is his first major tour as a solo artist. He has a beautiful voice, which has become clearer and richer since Idol. His stage persona morphs easily from slightly dark magician-esque court jester, to gay cabaret rave dance host, to concerned friend of teens who are worried about feeling like a freak…all while somehow seeming to remain uniquely himself.

Watching him, I kept forgetting that, musical theater experience aside, he’s still pretty new at this. In fact, in my notes I’d just written “Adam Lambert is the male Cher”--which is a good, cool thing by the way; Cher is a fantastic performer--when I was reminded of his newness by a far-too-long “quick” change, complete with empty stage. That would never happen to Cher. Why weren’t the dancers sent out? Since the long “quick change” seemed planned into the production, here the problem stems from poor planning in production design and stage management, not necessarily Adam Lambert. Unfortunately, Adam’s name is the one on the ticket.

Until this point, I’d almost forgiven him for the fact that the show’s opening intro--a recording of “For Your Entertainment,” his CD’s title track--went on too long and that his entrance needed reworking. The logical thing would have been for Adam to go live and pop out from somewhere unexpected on the line “I’m here for your entertainment.” But that never happened. Instead, we were left staring at an empty stage with a backdrop of Adam’s face (from the CD cover) as the song played on…an unnecessary disappointment, and a waste of precious set time.

Additionally, though his musical theater experience serves him well, it hinders his performance as a pop star when it comes to crowd energy management. He commands the stage, but has not yet mastered the crowd. He had them, then the spell--and its accompanying energy--was broken by the long quick change, and then again later by an awkwardly placed introduction of every dancer (individually, by name) in the middle of a high energy dance number that had the crowd dancing only seconds before.

These issues likely stem from the fact that musical theater requires its performers to ignore crowd distractions and keep going according to script. Conversely, being a great live pop or rock star requires paying attention to everything happening in the crowd and ad libbing it to your advantage. … It’s a tough switch, but with his talent, Adam Lambert can do it. Until then, a few changes to the production design could help him out.

Oh, and as for the guylinered, leather-and-black-nail-polished “Rocker Adam”? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss seeing this side of him live. But sometimes guylinered, leather clad rock and roll guys are a dime a dozen. Unique artists like Adam Lambert are needed in this world. Adam’s message that it’s OK to be different is especially important for gay teens…or for that matter, for anyone who’s ever felt awkward or out of place. And that’s every bit as cool.

Orianthi:

One has to give guitar phenom Orianthi and her team a lot of credit for pulling together an album and tour after what was undoubtedly a difficult blow, both personally and professionally: Orianthi was the guitarist for Michael Jackson’s ill-fated This is It tour, which was in rehearsals when Michael died suddenly.

Had Michael lived, Orianthi would still be out on that tour as I write this. Knowing what it takes for a relatively unknown to put together an album and tour--let alone having to suddenly switch marketing plans while dealing with the death of your boss--I have a lot of respect for her.

Orianthi has fast fingers, good stage presence, and an interesting look. She clearly has strong rock roots—influences of Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, and even a little Slash are evident in her playing. Yet interestingly, she comes off as cheerful, not angry. In fact, Orianthi reminds me in a way of a blonde Suzi Quatro, if Suzi Quatro had a chirpily happy stage persona, sang songs with poppy choruses, and wore white or pastel leather…or perhaps she's like a young Lita Ford, without the F-you attitude.

Much of Oranthi’s music is radio friendly, which her voice fits perfectly. She sings it well, though her voice isn’t unique…not bad at all (if anything, she makes it look too easy), just not unique. Her first single, “According to You,” has a good, poppy chorus with lyrics delivering a surprisingly serious, positive message against emotionally abusive relationships. The juxtaposition works well, making the song stand far above the rest of the songs in the set.

On the negative side, her guitar work was a distraction rather than a plus at times, being a little out of tune and a bit sloppy on a couple of songs that had a more demanding vocal. On “Give Me the Bad News” it was…well, perhaps writing the word “atrocious” in my show notes was too strong, but close. Her vocals were fine, though, so reworking the guitar parts a bit would do the trick here.

Overall, Orianthi delivered decent songs, good stage presence, and a good performance, but her set still needs a little work...perhaps reworking the order of the set list or changing some of the arrangements to vary the tempos. But ultimately, Orianthi seems a good, accessible “starter rock star”…especially for girls who are past Disney but who aren’t quite up to someone more edgy and angry.

Allison Iraheta:

One of the frustrating things about American Idol has been its skill at killing a good artist’s rock cred. Idol’s core audience tends to be frightened by anything edgy or angry, and the audience that would usually like the edgier contestants is kept away by the perception that anyone who’s been on American Idol can’t possibly be cool.

This, I fear, may be the nemesis of Allison Iraheta’s career: the girl is just too cool for American Idol.

With powerful stage presence and a flirty-cool rocker chick stage persona, she comes off wise beyond her years. Her naturally raspy voice sounded a little tour –weary, but it somehow works for her, and sounded edgy and cool rather than tired.

In fact, she reminds me a little of the Divinyls’ Christina Amphlett, but with her own unique vibe, and I can see her potential to develop a similar cult following. But then there’s that damn American Idol thing hanging on her back.

She performed a good set overall, with a decent band, albeit with some “help”: it bothered me that I could hear her voice on the backup vocals and not just on the lead. With her talent, Allison Iraheta doesn’t need to resort to such tricks, which only further lessen her credibility in the rock world…which is a shame, because without the Idol mark on her back, I feel she could be a contender to be huge in the rock world. (A colleague remarked, “Maybe she could change her name and start over to get rid of the Idol thing?”)

All in all, I enjoyed Allison's set and would see her again; frankly, I enjoyed her performance more than Orianthi’s. Aside from the vocal help, the only major flaw I could find with Allison Iraheta’s performance was that it came to an abrupt end; she ran offstage with nary a “thank you”, bow, or goodnight.

But first tours are for learning that sort of thing.

RR


Follow me on Twitter @MusicBizAdvice.



ETA 7/14: a broken Twitter link and to correct a typo in Alison's review.--RR




© 2010-2013 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.

Relief for Haiti: where to help

Update 6:30PM 1/18/2010: The allegations against Wyclef and his foundation have been proven false by several IRS tax experts who examined the documents for various media outlets. We've added Yele Haiti and its earthquake relief fund back to the list. 

Meanwhile, the Larry King special on CNN raised over $1 million dollars for the Red Cross and UNICEF in its first hour.
   
Update 1/18/2010: Some media reports are accusing Wyclef's foudnation, Yele Haiti, and its Hatian earthquke relief fund of imporoper use of funds. Wyclef strongly and adamently denies this. Until it's all sorted out, we have removed Yele Haiti and the Yele Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund from the list of charities below.

Meanwhile, tonight 1/18/2010 on CNN from 8-10P.M. EST Larry King is hosting a 2-hour special to raise funds for Haitian earthquake relief. Guests include Ryan Seacrest, Mick Jagger, Seal, Tea Leone, John Mayer, Susan Sarandon, Ben Stiller, Nicole Richie, Ashley Judd, Christina Aguillera, and more. 

Links and resources for Haiti Earthquake Relief
As always, we encourage you to check out any charities you may be interested in at http://www.charitynavigator.org/


CNN's website is loaded with the latest news and infomation about the quake and relief efforts. Must-see: Dr. Sanjay Gupta's reports. Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, is a CNN reporter who has been treating injured people in addition to filing excellent reports for CNN. At one point, fearing security concerns, a medical team in charge of a field hospital where Gupta and his crew reporting packed up and left, leaving Gupta to care for patients. Gupta trained his CNN crew to help, and all remained stable through the night.
http://www.cnn.com/
Twitter @Sanjayguptacnn


An extensive CNN web page list of charities and relief organizations can be found here: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/

President Obama has asked former Presidents Clinton and Bush2 to partner on Haitian earthquake relief as Presidents Clinton and Bush1 did successfully for tsunami relief. The organization's relief fund is here:
http://clintonbushhaitifund.org/

The William Jefferson Clinton Foundation website has information and resources, including phone numbers for family members to call to check on the status of loved ones, plus direct links to organizations accepting donations. Regardless of your political views, I recommend the Clinton Foundation because they have an established history of success working in poor areas to help alleviate diseases such as AIDS and Malaria. Because of this, the Clinton Foundation has resources and partners already in place which can be extended toward Haitian earthquake relief. Also, President Clinton is the UN Special Envoy to Haiti. http://www.clintonfoundation.org/haitiearthquake/

Doctors Without Borders was in Haiti before the earthquake and needs lots of help, as their own medical facilities, plus all the hospitals in Haiti were damaged or demolished by the earthquake:
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

The earthquake damaged / demolished UN relief facilities which had been in Haiti before the earthquake, and many UN personnel are injured or dead, so much help is needed. As Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, hunger is of particular concern:

UN World Food Programme
http://www.wfp.org/

Unicef
http://www.unicef.org/

American Red Cross has links to Haiti information / donations:The
http://www.redcross.org/

Or, you can donate $10 to the Red Cross via text by texting HAITI to 90999. 100% of funds will go to Haiti earthquake relief.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a partnership of all the Red Crosses and similar organizations:
http://www.ifrc.org/index.asp


Oxfam America is an affiliate of Oxfam International, which is an international relief and development organization that works with individuals and local groups in over 100 countries:
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/

MercyCorps is an organization dedicated to alleviating poverty and social injustice by helping people around the world build strong communities:
http://www.mercycorps.org/

Partners in Health partners with communities to bring healthcare and health information to impoverished areas:
http://www.pih.org/home.html

Celebrities working on Haiti earthquake relief projects 
Check their official websites or follow them on Twitter for information. Publicists / managers of celebrity clients feel free to email me a short blurb describing your client's Haiti earthquake relief involvement, along with publishable public contact information for the project (i.e., public website, verified public twitter or verified public Facebook) to muzbizadvc(at)aol(dot)com with "Client news Haiti" in the subject line. Please note that due to time constraints for this project, the client must be an already-established celebrity or well-established artist or band, and that the Haiti Celebrity List project is not a venue for promoting new talent. Because of the number of scams that are likely to arise from the Haiti tragedy, my policy is firm on this.

Larry King is hosting a 2-hour special on CNN Monday 1/18/2010 for Haitian earthquake relief. Guest include Ryan Seacrest, Mick Jagger, Tea Leone, John Mayer, Susan Sarandon, Ben Stiller, Nicole Richie, Ashley Judd, Christina Aguillera, and more.

Slash (former Guns 'n' Roses guitarist), is organizing a charity concert and is looking for 12 artists [with a draw--RR] who want to help out:
Twitter @SlashHudson

Wyclef Jean's foundationm Yele Haiti, has an earthquake relief fund. To donate $5.00 to earthquake relief, text YELE to 501501.
http://yele.org/
Twitter@Wyclef     

Alyssa Milano is challenging a corporation to come forward to match her $50,000 donation to Unicef's Haiti's earthquake relief fund:

Twitter @Alyssa_Milano

Lady Gaga is donating all her ticket sales and merchandise revenue from her January 24 Monster Ball concert to Haitian earthquake relief. Also on the 24th, all merchandise sales from Ladygaga.com will go to Haitian earthquake relief. 
http://www.ladygaga.com


House's Olivia Wilde is on the advisory board of Artists For Peace and Justice, which has been active in Haiti for some time and is now raising money for quake relief. Additional advisory board members include Maria Bello, Josh Brolin, James Franco,  Jimmy Jean-Louis, Natasha Koifman, Diane Lane, Michael Stahl-David, Oliver Stone, Madeline Stowe, Charlize Theron, and Peter Tunney.
http://artistsforpeaceandjustice.org/
Twitter @oliviawilde

Ben Stiller's foundation, the Stiller Strong Foundation, is an education foundation for Haiti's children. It was active in Haiti before the quake and is accepting donations for quake relief. Additionally, Ben Stiller took to the airwaves to rally donations for the Red Cross's $10 text donation program and is planning to run a 10K at the end of March to raise funds for Stiller Strong Foundation.
http://www.stillerstrong.org/
Twitter @redhourben

George Clooney is organizing and hosting the Hope For Haitian earthquake relief telethon which will air on MTV networks, plus ABC, NBC, HBO, and CNN on January 22 at 8-10P.M. EST.

Oprah's Angel Network has donated $1 million to the Red Cross for Haitian earthquake relief.

http://www.oprah.com/angel_network.html 
http://www.oprah.com
Twitter@Oprah

Quincy Jones is reworking and organizing a new recording of the hit single "We Are the World" with proceeds to benefit Haitian earthquake relief.

Tiger Woods has donated 3 million dollars to earthquake relief.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donated 1 million dollars to Doctors Without Borders. Their Jolie-Pitt Foundation helps with humanitarian causes throughout the world.

Craig Ferguson has publicly challenged Rush Limbaugh to make up for his insensitive remarks by "donating 1 million dollars of his own money to the Red Cross." 

Book review: Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful

Book review originally posted by me on Amazon.com earlier today, under my Amazon screen name Randi Reed "MusicBizAdvice Editor":


Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful

****" Great photography, something for casual or hardcore fans, and even a bit of practical advice for musicians"

How does a band sum up over 25 years worth of career that's spanned more than half their lead singer's life, thousands of concerts, and sales of well over 120 million albums? Not to mention survived more than 8 different music trends (at last count)and umpteen label management changes (10? 12?), while doing their own thing. By Jovi, this'd better be good.

Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful is indeed a very good anthology of a great career. Arranged by subject instead of the more predictable chronological order, it's narrated by the band members themselves and loaded with photos from a perspective rarely seen of the band, who publicly admit to not letting many people into their tight circle. There's much here to surprise the public, and maybe even a few hard core fans.

For one thing, this is not a picture book full of pretty, posed studio photographs of cute guys in the 80's. Although a couple of those are there for scrapbook purposes, the majority of the book's photos are either original, Phil Stern-style behind-the-scenes candids that were snapped for the book and its accompanying documentary (many of these photos are in black and white) or are photos of the band onstage. In both cases, the style and quality of the photographer's work shares equal billing with the subjects, with great results.

As a serious photography hobbyist, the photos on pages 8-9,13,15,43,126-27,and 137 are among my favorites, because I know how deceptively difficult they are to do. Because of this, my copy of Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful isn't kept with the other music biographies in my collection. Instead, it resides on a shelf of favorite photography books, between works by Phil Stern and Life Magazine: these are the kind of artist photographs I'd like to achieve.

When We Were Beautiful also contains snapshots from the band members' personal collections, photo session outtakes, and previously unapproved photos. Some of these are hilariously not so great...such as the series of an extremely sleepy/sleeping Jon Bon Jovi on a plane to Moscow in 1989 (page 48-49), complete with large red X's and thick lines drawn on the photos to indicate someone's disapproval (presumably management's or Jon's). Every major artist has marked-up contact sheets of unapproved, goofy photos in their files. Bon Jovi actually lets you see them.

The text shows the expected business savvy, tenacity, and personal growth of the individual band members, as well as their wit (David Bryan, page 59--drinking liquid while reading not recommended). But it can also be surprisingly revealing, such as on page 138. There's even an "Eeeeew"-provoking gross-out moment from, of all people, Jon Bon Jovi (page 142).

From a practical standpoint, for aspiring artists (and their aspiring managers and tour managers), the Backstage section is most helpful, especially Jon's wisdom on page 139. Pages 138-144, 150,152, and 175 are of special note...particularly page 152, which gives the reader something to think about.

Bon Jovi:When We Were Beautiful is certainly not the type of sordid tell-all that publishers and the media like to see from a rock band, so don't expect this book to get much media attention. Nor is it the bare-it-all autobiography a lot of rock fans and celebrity watchers may prefer. But by all accounts, Bon Jovi are guys who deeply respect their families, especially their kids, who don't happen to be in the spotlight. In Jersey parlance, ya gotta respect that. And ya gotta respect the band for doing it their way.

After all, it's worked for 26 years.

Verdict: ****

Want it? Buy it here:





Disclosure of Endorsements/Recommendations/Financial Compensation or Business Relationships per FTC Blog Disclosure Regulations in effect December 1, 2009: In the 90's I worked for a concert promotion company that presented many Bon Jovi shows. Since that time I've received no financial compensation or free product in direct connection with the band. I have, however, interviewed their recording engineer for MusicBizAdvice.com, and the MusicBizAdvice.com website sells Amazon products as an Amazon Associate.

Randi Reed
Founder / Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com

Springsteen gets his location wrong, media has a field day? WTF???

You'd think all my years in the music business would make me immune to the stupidity of some of the media, wouldn't you?

Surprise. At times, they're the gift that keeps on giving.

I refer to the media flurry over Bruce Springsteen greeting his audience with the wrong location the other night. The man said, "Hello Ohio!" to a crowd in Michigan. Horror of horrors (!)


For those unfamiliar with unusual punctuation marks, the above exclamation point in parenthesis denotes sarcasm. (Handy little guy, isn't it?)

What the media either doesn't know--or what the media may know full well but may be choosing to ignore in order to create a "story"-- is this:

Shouting out the wrong location happens to nearly every performer. It's an occupational hazard that comes along with faced-paced tour schedules, jet lag, and concert venues that often look a hell of a lot alike and are sometimes even named identically. Shouting out the wrong location doesn't even mildly qualify for my Music Business Blunders column on MusicBizAdvice.com, simply because it happens to pretty much every touring musician at least once. It happens to comedians, too.

A little embarrassing? Yes. But "left shame-faced", as some of the media, including the Mirror, reported? Puh-lease. "Shame-faced" is what the media should feel for reporting such a thing. (Google "Bruce Springsteen wrong state" and see what comes up: over 71,000 results as I write this.)

Anyone who's ever worked backstage at an arena has seen the temporary signage posted by the crew of that night's artist. In the production office, the dressing rooms, on the walls of the hallway leading to the stage, pinned to the fabric of the quick-change tents at the side of the stage, and sometimes even taped to mirrors and telephones are reminders: "You are in Phoenix, Arizona." "This is Buffalo!" "Cleveland!!!"

You can't tell me the media has never seen them.

But for the artist, who's accustomed to being on the road and makes his home on it for weeks or months at a time, it's like anything else that becomes familiar: after a while, you just don't notice it.

There's no offense intended, either to the town in which the mistake occurs, or to the audience. It just happens.

I can't count the number of times backstage when a musician or crew member, in the middle of a conversation, has asked me, "This is [such and such city], right?" Or, accompanied by a nervous laugh, a sheepish, "Where are we?" Most of them were stone-cold sober at the time.

But here's the most important, and in my opinion, the coolest, thing: Many musicians never forget a face, and a lot of them even remember the name that goes with it...

especially a reporter who exaggerates a common occurrence for the sake of creating a story.

(Oh, and psssst! By the way, Reporter, the correct name of the venue, which you bungled in the midst of your railing on Bruce, is The Palace of Auburn Hills. I'm sure the good people of Michigan would like to see that corrected.)

Cheers!






Disclosure of Endorsements/Recommendations/Financial Compensation or Business Relationships per FTC Blog Disclosure Regulations in effect December 1, 2009: In the 90's I worked for a concert promotion company that presented many Bruce Springsteen shows. Additionally, MusicBizAdvice.com website (and by extension, this blog) sells Amazon products as an Amazon Associate.

6 1/2 hour day for an H1N1 shot

After careful consideration--and a lot of discussion with friends in the healthcare industry--on Sunday morning, with CFIDS* symptoms flaring loudly, I got up at 4:30 A.M. to stand in line to get the H1N1 flu shot.

I don't usually get a flu shot, but this one is different. My reasons for getting the H1N1 vaccine are that I have a double-whammy risk factor (autoimmune disease + asthma), and because I can name four friends of friends who've died from H1N1. Since I'll be be exposed to large crowds at shows I'll be attending this winter and spring, the odds lean heavily toward protecting myself.

(Sidebar: The sickest I've ever been was the day after receiving a handshake from an artist's fan who informed me--after shaking my hand--that she'd dragged herself out of bed with a high fever because she couldn't stand the thought of missing the show. Then she ran off to the ladies' room to throw up. Thank God no one let her anywhere near the artist; it was a fast-acting bug with the power to cancel shows and put people out of work.)

By the time I arrived in line for the vaccine clinic a little before 6:30A.M., there were already a few hundred people in line...enough to pack at least a rock club. By the time the doors opened after 8, there were thousands. I couldn't see the end of the line, as it wound all the way around the block. I couldn't see the beginning of it either, or how far we'd have to walk to get into the building where the vaccination clinic would take place. My best friend, who went beyond the definition by coming with me to stand in line, volunteered for a front of the line reconnaissance mission. One of L.A.P.D.'s finest was standing at the entrance of the building to be sure no one cut the line, with more on hand for crowd control.

The lady in front of me had a cane. There were some elderly people (who came in teams of two, so that one could stand in line while the other sat resting for a while on a low wall across the street), and a lot of pregnant women, and many babies who'd been roused from their warm beds to stand in the California morning air, which, despite its warm reputation, can cut to the bone if there's a damp wind coming off the ocean. I couldn't help wondering what would become of the people who weren't well enough to stand in line for hours that day. There was no handicapped access, though I did see two healthcare workers helping an elderly lady to the vaccination room.

The people in line, for the most part, were not poor; just uninsured, like me, or in some cases they'd come in search of the vaccine because their regular doctor didn't have it yet.

Welcome to the U.S. healthcare system.

Not that I'm not grateful to be able to get the shot at all; I'm currently without a regular doctor and would probably be out of luck if I had to rely on a doctor's office delivery system. But my friends in Europe didn't have to go through this; they simply went to their regular healthcare provider, with no waiting, no fuss, no getting out of bed at O'dark:30 to stand in a long line around a cold football field. And everyone is covered. But I digress. Back to our U.S. vaccine clinic...

After a while, when the vaccine began to run low, pregnant women were pulled from the line and admitted first. The rest of us were asked to fill out questionnaires to determine our medical priority. It began to feel a bit like a poker game: he's 29, she's got such and such, autoimmune plus asthma beats a pair. My survival mode kicked in, and although I answered the questions truthfully, I highlighted the answers that would be most helpful in getting me in by marking them with a very large X instead of the checkmarks I usually use. I also hoped that the low grade fever I'm used to having, but which could bar me from getting the vaccine, would make a hasty exit. It did.

After a check of my paperwork by several of the clinic workers, I was admitted to the vaccination line. Autoimmune people are sometimes advised to get the "thimerosol free" version to give our systems less to try to deal with. But the clinic was running low on it, so I was sent to consult with one of the doctors. He said there was still a small trace amount of thimerosol in the "thimerosol free" version, which what with my flaring CFIDS symptoms, scared me a little. Then he said, in the direct manner I use when a client is headed for legal trouble, "You're autoimmune. You need to have this" which scared me more. Ahh, The Power of the White Coat. Attitude adjusted, and paperwork OK'd for "thimerosol free", I got my shot.

It was 11:00A.M.

*In the U.S., the autoimmune disease I have is called CFIDS or CFS and has a very vague diagnosis and treatment protocol which in the U.S. often focuses more on fatigue than on other, more serious symptoms of the disease. In the UK and Canada, what I have is called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.), which has a more specific diagnosis and treatment protocol that focuses more on the serious symptoms such as the cognitive, brain injury and respiratory aspects of the disease. Since writing this entry I've joined the campaign to change its name in the U.S., because eliminating the word Fatigue from its title would help provide better medical care, research, and funding for patients in the U.S., as well as better understanding of the disease by the general public.

Facebook Follies

Arrrgh! Over on my personal Facebook account, Facebook's automatic spam catcher has banned me from sending private messages. It's infuriating because I'm adamant about MusicbizAdvice.com staffers adhering to CAN-SPAM Act rules, and neither we, nor I, engage in it.

I also don't use Facebook's Friend Find function, nor do I contact random Friends of Friends that Facebook recommends. (Maybe Facebook is pissed off that I don't?) In my opinion, and according to my understanding of the CAN-SPAM Act, THAT would be spam. And, as those of you on my Facebook Friends lists know, I rarely send Facebook messages or event notices, choosing to keep in touch with Facebook Friends by using the Wall / update function instead.

Here's how it happened, so it doesn't happen to you:

The supreme irony is, the Friend requesters contacted me first, not the other way around...

So, rather than just rudely ignoring people, I responded to the Friend requests from people I didn't know by using the "send message" option to ask them to please join me at my business Facebook instead, "as this one is my personal account" and included a link to my business Facebook (the facebook.com/MusicBizAdvice account). I've been doing it this way over on MySpace for years with no problem, and it's led to a lot of great conversation and a few actual working relationships and friendships...which is how social networking was originally supposed to work, right?

I sent 10-12 of these responses today, with a total of a mere 25 since opening my personal account in June. (Facebookers usually find me via my /MusicBizAdvice account, so there's really not much message traffic from my personal account.)

In sending the responses, I was afraid of accidentally triggering the anti spam filter, so I made a point of changing the wording and personalizing each one. I manually entered the captchas properly. Facebook gave me a popup warning telling me to "slow down". So I did. Then Facebook banned me from messages anyway.

(Sidebar: Facebook was the first entity ever to accuse me of being a fast typist, by the way. I'm a decent writer, occasionally even a good one, but a lousy typist. Our staffers and my former employers will have a good laugh at that.)

Simple solution: If Facebook offered a "Confirm friend to other account instead" option in its Friend acceptance options, and allowed the Friend requester to check a box that opted them in to being transferred over, this wouldn't happen.

That way, people could leave their privacy settings open just enough that their actual friends and relatives can find them, thus ENcouraging use of Facebook, rather than DIScouraging it.

Another irony: Over time, for direct communication, I've been gradually using Twitter more and more. (Why send a "message" when you can talk with someone directly, at a faster pace?) At this rate--first Facebook's privacy issues, then Facebook's content ownership / licensing issues, etc.--my Facebook accounts are rapidly headed toward being used simply to garner search engine results, with very little actual one-on-one conversation (kind of like MySpace has become)...which is the very thing Facebook was trying to avoid when it was created.

That doesn't seem fair to those of my family, friends, colleagues, and readers, who do enjoy using Facebook. Who wants to be used? But even more than that, it's not fair to the whole concept of social networking.

Get it together, Facebook.