I’m disturbed that the takeaway for so many of you is “fuck those guys.” That guy was rude to me, just a record store employee, and that isn’t flattering. But you can’t judge someone on a single interaction. This is more about me and my sensitivities than it is about the dude in Fastball.
One of my best pals today was a big Blake Babies fan when we were together. He met me backstage at a show, and I was apparently pretty rude to him. Who knows what I was going through - it was hard to be in that band. Anyway I’m grateful he gave me another chance when we met in the business. Now we laugh about it.
I want the takeaway to be that guy is a great songwriter, not that guy is rude to the record store staff.
i understand that someone can be having a bad day, but, even with what i call 'super-fans' (the ones who seem to have found out EVERYthing about you, somehow), i treat them with respect. after all: they like what you are doing.
plus, i had to overcome a horrible first impression by alex chilton, after the first time i met him - but, it was his apology that made that happen.
i was borderline on this band, anyway, tho. and, frankly, don't see much comparison with any album that you've done - ALL of which i find remarkable! (lately, i've been getting back into the Velo-Deluxe era).
if there is a nice guy in there, it is bound to come out.
The counter story to this would be when I met John K. Samson before a The Weakerthans show at B’Ham’s Bottle Tree Cafe. He was doing a Rubik’s cube by the merch table and we ended up having a 15 minute discussion on methods and speed cubing.
I used to be in Magic Platter all the time (even when there were 2 of them). Don and the team there were always so cool to me, which I appreciated. I saw Don in Nashville one day at the old Grimey's and it was goodl seeing him again. That strip mall is still there!
Great read! I completely agree with the lackluster radio play of the mid-‘90’s. And, of course, I just had to follow down the rabbit hole and listen to each of the three songs. Wow and yes.
I recently caught that The Cure’s - “Close to Me - Closer Mix” is possibly used in Geto Boys - “Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta” Ha!
Putting aside my feelings for Fastball. Regardless of music genre, I need to believe that at some level, good song’s & songwriting rise up. I cannot / don’t judge quality on radio-play.
Music is magic & personal, but these factors rarely have much to do with monetary success IMO.
Interaction with a creative one admires rarely results in a positive outcome in my (much younger) experience. Still music is indeed magical.
How fucking difficult can it possibly be to just be polite to people who are putting money in your pocket and saying nice things about your work? You have somebody in a pretty vulnerable moment there, fighting their anxiety/shyness/etc. to express their appreciation; if one cannot summon the empathy to simply smile, make eye contact, and acknowledge that with bare minimum grace, maybe they don't deserve to be listened to, maybe they should be in a cubicle getting their soul sucked out of their body 5 days a week like the plebians they can't be bothered to show a moment of kindness to.
i never really latched onto Fastball, even at the behest of some friends, but fuck that guy. first of all there is an unwritten obligation to be kind to YOUR FANS. it ain't a law, but goddam - they are paying your lousy rent! or trying to. any person unable to detect a collegial tone can fuck off, too. if you think i say this because, like you, i never reached that level of fame - well, maybe. i just believe that you don't bite the hand that put you where you are. and only a lousy person couldn't take a moment to acknowledge a true fan. sure, i get when someone interrupts your dinner and says "are you that guy?" -no, i'm not. but, it takes a real dick to not pass on kindness that was probably granted him, at some time.
but, here is the point: your story makes me never want to hear Fastball, again. because i wasn't on the fence to begin with. to me, Fastball reeked of the late 90's radio shite, you mention. i have a thing i call 'remarkable' - if a song hits me in a certain way. and, Fastball never had anything remarkable for me.
likewise, i ran into evan dando and nic dalton on the corner outside of the Middle East, one night already friends with dave ryan, i merely said "hello!". evan completely snubbed me just turned away; however, nic noticed that i was devastated and came over to apologize, and we became friends. i tried to not let it affect the way i thought about the music, but couldn't help it, in some ways. one gets tired of the same questions and shit, but anyone who can't remember when they were younger doesn't deserve the attention they are getting.
the bottom line is that a good song will always cut through everything. but, what happens after the good song, that takes work.
conversely, i remember skipping PE class to take the streetcar downtown to meet paul and linda in front of their hotel, as a kid. they were so kind and gracious, and wanted to know why we weren't in school! haha. or meeting joey molland, who wanted to have a legitimate conversation with anyone he met. these people counteract the assholes.
Evan is family to me and he’s truly a big-hearted guy, but I can’t count how many times I’ve watched him be awful to people who were so excited to meet him.
well, eventually, i came around to play a few shows with evan, and didn't mention ANY of the previous contact. he IS a big-hearted guy, but also substances have played a role. i don't consider that an excuse, tho.
That was an important record for me too - as the late 90s went from college rock, grunge and punk to Nu Metal and boy bands, Fastball, Lit, a few others proved to me that good rock music with big hooks was still out there. I really enjoyed the record before ATPTMCB and after it too.
I remember reading a tour diary in Guitar World back in, probably, 1996 of Superdrag, Nada Surf, and another band when all their first singles/hits were on the radio. When I read it as a teenager, it seemed kind of cool and glamorous, but when I looked back on it years later, after having done some touring myself, my reaction was more, "Oh. Huh." I don't think a lot of people realize how unglamorous and sometimes soul sucking touring can be, and everyone handles it differently. Fastball was a band I was bummed not to see have a long string of radio hits because they were onto something really good.
It's interesting--I came at Fastball from the opposite direction. I was a strange kid who exclusively listened to Oldies radio and doo-wop. If it postdated Altamont I didn't wanna hear it. I especially hated top 40 radio. But my sister listened to it, and I distinctly remember hearing "The Way" for the first time. And of course it was so retro and defiantly melodic that I loved it instantly.
Not sure I agree about Pachelbel. If we count I - V - vi as a Pachelbel rip-off, then yeah, but for my money you at least have to hit the iii after.
I helped them do live streaming during covid and they’re super nice guys. I forgot how many of their songs I recognized, but that one is a really good one. I’m sure Tony would love to talk to you these days, but you know that already. I like the raw honesty of this piece. I also don’t think “fuck those guys” is the right way to read this. I took away from it the dual edged embarrassment of the moment.
I’m disturbed that the takeaway for so many of you is “fuck those guys.” That guy was rude to me, just a record store employee, and that isn’t flattering. But you can’t judge someone on a single interaction. This is more about me and my sensitivities than it is about the dude in Fastball.
One of my best pals today was a big Blake Babies fan when we were together. He met me backstage at a show, and I was apparently pretty rude to him. Who knows what I was going through - it was hard to be in that band. Anyway I’m grateful he gave me another chance when we met in the business. Now we laugh about it.
I want the takeaway to be that guy is a great songwriter, not that guy is rude to the record store staff.
i understand that someone can be having a bad day, but, even with what i call 'super-fans' (the ones who seem to have found out EVERYthing about you, somehow), i treat them with respect. after all: they like what you are doing.
plus, i had to overcome a horrible first impression by alex chilton, after the first time i met him - but, it was his apology that made that happen.
i was borderline on this band, anyway, tho. and, frankly, don't see much comparison with any album that you've done - ALL of which i find remarkable! (lately, i've been getting back into the Velo-Deluxe era).
if there is a nice guy in there, it is bound to come out.
The counter story to this would be when I met John K. Samson before a The Weakerthans show at B’Ham’s Bottle Tree Cafe. He was doing a Rubik’s cube by the merch table and we ended up having a 15 minute discussion on methods and speed cubing.
Great writing as always John
I met the singer when we put out Ruston Kelly’s cover version. Cool guy.
Very cool. I talked to John and the rest of the band after a show in Cleveland. Total sweethearts, all of them.
I used to be in Magic Platter all the time (even when there were 2 of them). Don and the team there were always so cool to me, which I appreciated. I saw Don in Nashville one day at the old Grimey's and it was goodl seeing him again. That strip mall is still there!
Such a great vibe
Not sure if this was a hit but it def uses the PC changes: https://youtu.be/SbSGRMwAJGo?si=kr3xi5kGEmx6J45T
I did notice that!
Great read! I completely agree with the lackluster radio play of the mid-‘90’s. And, of course, I just had to follow down the rabbit hole and listen to each of the three songs. Wow and yes.
I recently caught that The Cure’s - “Close to Me - Closer Mix” is possibly used in Geto Boys - “Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta” Ha!
Which songs?
OOMH, Bad Things and Canon in d. Very cool that you picked up on that.
Just as Bad Things gave Scalzo credit maybe they both should give some to old Johann. Ha!
Putting aside my feelings for Fastball. Regardless of music genre, I need to believe that at some level, good song’s & songwriting rise up. I cannot / don’t judge quality on radio-play.
Music is magic & personal, but these factors rarely have much to do with monetary success IMO.
Interaction with a creative one admires rarely results in a positive outcome in my (much younger) experience. Still music is indeed magical.
💯 non-musician here. But loved this memory ❤️🔥
How fucking difficult can it possibly be to just be polite to people who are putting money in your pocket and saying nice things about your work? You have somebody in a pretty vulnerable moment there, fighting their anxiety/shyness/etc. to express their appreciation; if one cannot summon the empathy to simply smile, make eye contact, and acknowledge that with bare minimum grace, maybe they don't deserve to be listened to, maybe they should be in a cubicle getting their soul sucked out of their body 5 days a week like the plebians they can't be bothered to show a moment of kindness to.
I’ve forgiven the dude.
i never really latched onto Fastball, even at the behest of some friends, but fuck that guy. first of all there is an unwritten obligation to be kind to YOUR FANS. it ain't a law, but goddam - they are paying your lousy rent! or trying to. any person unable to detect a collegial tone can fuck off, too. if you think i say this because, like you, i never reached that level of fame - well, maybe. i just believe that you don't bite the hand that put you where you are. and only a lousy person couldn't take a moment to acknowledge a true fan. sure, i get when someone interrupts your dinner and says "are you that guy?" -no, i'm not. but, it takes a real dick to not pass on kindness that was probably granted him, at some time.
but, here is the point: your story makes me never want to hear Fastball, again. because i wasn't on the fence to begin with. to me, Fastball reeked of the late 90's radio shite, you mention. i have a thing i call 'remarkable' - if a song hits me in a certain way. and, Fastball never had anything remarkable for me.
likewise, i ran into evan dando and nic dalton on the corner outside of the Middle East, one night already friends with dave ryan, i merely said "hello!". evan completely snubbed me just turned away; however, nic noticed that i was devastated and came over to apologize, and we became friends. i tried to not let it affect the way i thought about the music, but couldn't help it, in some ways. one gets tired of the same questions and shit, but anyone who can't remember when they were younger doesn't deserve the attention they are getting.
the bottom line is that a good song will always cut through everything. but, what happens after the good song, that takes work.
conversely, i remember skipping PE class to take the streetcar downtown to meet paul and linda in front of their hotel, as a kid. they were so kind and gracious, and wanted to know why we weren't in school! haha. or meeting joey molland, who wanted to have a legitimate conversation with anyone he met. these people counteract the assholes.
Evan is family to me and he’s truly a big-hearted guy, but I can’t count how many times I’ve watched him be awful to people who were so excited to meet him.
well, eventually, i came around to play a few shows with evan, and didn't mention ANY of the previous contact. he IS a big-hearted guy, but also substances have played a role. i don't consider that an excuse, tho.
That was an important record for me too - as the late 90s went from college rock, grunge and punk to Nu Metal and boy bands, Fastball, Lit, a few others proved to me that good rock music with big hooks was still out there. I really enjoyed the record before ATPTMCB and after it too.
I remember reading a tour diary in Guitar World back in, probably, 1996 of Superdrag, Nada Surf, and another band when all their first singles/hits were on the radio. When I read it as a teenager, it seemed kind of cool and glamorous, but when I looked back on it years later, after having done some touring myself, my reaction was more, "Oh. Huh." I don't think a lot of people realize how unglamorous and sometimes soul sucking touring can be, and everyone handles it differently. Fastball was a band I was bummed not to see have a long string of radio hits because they were onto something really good.
The best work about the misery of rock touring in the 90s is Jacob Slichter from Semisonic, so you wanna be a rock n roll star.
I read some of that for a piece I did on here awhile ago. Some unbelievable stuff, especially about the promo budgets.
It's interesting--I came at Fastball from the opposite direction. I was a strange kid who exclusively listened to Oldies radio and doo-wop. If it postdated Altamont I didn't wanna hear it. I especially hated top 40 radio. But my sister listened to it, and I distinctly remember hearing "The Way" for the first time. And of course it was so retro and defiantly melodic that I loved it instantly.
Not sure I agree about Pachelbel. If we count I - V - vi as a Pachelbel rip-off, then yeah, but for my money you at least have to hit the iii after.
I helped them do live streaming during covid and they’re super nice guys. I forgot how many of their songs I recognized, but that one is a really good one. I’m sure Tony would love to talk to you these days, but you know that already. I like the raw honesty of this piece. I also don’t think “fuck those guys” is the right way to read this. I took away from it the dual edged embarrassment of the moment.
I used to have no opinion on Fastball. Now after reading this I hate them.