Monday, 21st February 2005

12.11

World HQ.

From ET…

Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 22:00:41 +0000
From: Richard Rees Jones
Subject: Re: Fripp and the weariness of touring

Sallak wrote: "Has Mr. Fripp considered venues where a quiet, concentrated audience can be more reasonably expected?… And venues where a more "classical" audience mindset is the norm will, in all likelihood, result in quiet attention and focus."

Is it your idea that these performances would be open to the public, and advertised as such? If so, I can assure you that such performances wouldn't provide Fripp with any more of a conducive atmosphere than a rock gig would. Any gig where Fripp or King Crimson are advertised as performing will automatically attract the kind of audience Fripp wants to get away from, whether it's staged at a 'classical' type venue or not.

And, even if these performances are only open to students or faculty or whatever, they would still attract the kind of students Fripp doesn't want to play in front of. Nice try but it's no answer.

Long experience inclines me to agree with Richard. Anyone who feels the right to behave as they want in one location, regardless of others, is likely to behave as they want in any other location, regardless of others.

Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2005 14:12:33 EST
From: IanSharwood
Subject: Mr Fripp and Live Performance Retirement.

… I am not fully conversant with the actual date Robert started live performance but I would assume it was in the early to mid 60's. Let us assume for arguments sake it was 1965. It is now 2005. Forty years on and off the road, bearing in mind the destructive mental forces at work in this particular industry, is more than one could possibly expect. Let the man alone to make his own decision... Have a rest and relax; you have earned it.

Thank you, Ian, but rumours of my retirement are greatly exaggerated.

I began playing guitar on December 24th.1957, performed in public occasionally in 1958-60; firstly, as part of Kathleen Gartell's Corfe Mullen School of Music; secondly, in a concert troupe organised by Dorene Enterprises. In early 1961 my guitar teacher, Don Strike of Westbourne, advised & encouraged me to join a band. As a direct result of this, The Ravens (Gordon Haskell, Tino Licinio & Graham Wale) debuted in a field by West Moors railway track in July 1961 for the village Youth Club. This was the first time for me that playing music & playing music in public became synonymous. So, for 44.5 years, public performance has been the centre of what I considered a musician to be & to do.

17.38 News today: a significant date, that had been left open, has been set. This galvanises the ongoing organisation of stuff & space.

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