Chicago Tribune Article: "Fleetwood Mac, Revisited"
 

Fleetwood Mac, revisited
Lindsey Buckingham sheds solo wings to become part of ban

Greg Kot, Tribune rock critic
Published June 20, 2003

Connoisseurs of eccentric studio mavericks think Lindsey Buckingham is slumming by playing in Fleetwood Mac. His oddball touches--layered, androgynous vocal choirs and finger-picked bluegrass-style guitars--dominated his lost 1992 solo gem, "Out of the Cradle." They're also sprinkled throughout "Say You Will" (Warner), which reunites four-fifths of Fleetwood Mac's multimillion-selling '70s lineup: Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie (but not Christine McVie, who has retired). A national tour brings Mac to the Allstate Arena Thursday and Friday. In an interview, Buckingham chatted about why he had to abandon his solo album to make the reunion work:

Q. You told me in 1997 you had a solo record 90 percent done and that you did not envision your reunion tour with Fleetwood Mac at the time as a long-term deal. What changed your mind?




A. I was very anxious to get back to the solo work, but by the time I did, the climate was getting scary over at Warner Brothers, because AOL had bought Time-Warner, and the people who I had good relationships with were already gone. The people who were left didn't like my solo album, so I thought I'm not gonna put this out here now. They were more interested in me putting out an album with Fleetwood Mac. It was a tradeoff for me, because it broadens out the audience but it also broadens out the purity of the intent of the solo work. But the vibe was good, and Stevie's songs were good, so I thought, why not?

Q. What arethe main differences from past incarnations of the band?

A. The obvious thing in terms of the three songwriters was that Christine was absent. I had quite an assertive guitar style on the album Stevie and I did before joining Fleetwood Mac in the '70s, but as soon as we joined the band, there was a big exercise in adapting, because John as a bass player is very melodic and fills up space, and Christine can fill up space with the keyboards, and there was not a lot of room for me to maneuver as a guitar player. It was an exercise in adapting down, down to even changing the type of guitar I wanted to play, because it didn't fit the sound of the band. Without Christine, everyone has 33 percent more room to maneuver. Another thing is that you have a different dynamic with just Stevie and myself doing the writing. You have a clearer kind of picture, this exchange of songs between the two of us, which becomes the subtext of the album, the sense of how circular this little journey has been, and now here we are at the beginning of a phase that if hopefully we keep making each other happy, there is this sense of promise. We'd like to break the cliche of rock 'n' rollers burning out by the time they're 40.

Q. The tensions within the band in the '70s produced a lot of great songs about relationships and break-ups. Now that everyone's getting along, how has that affected your creativity?

A. The tension that was going on was a musical soap opera, and became part of the appeal of us as a group. It was a kind of voyeurism that had nothing to do with the music. I'm not sure that kind of negativity and denial we had to go through was necessarily any better for the music. It certainly was better for the image, and the overall story. But we've all become better musicians and gained a certain amount of confidence that we didn't have back then, both as players and as people. For me, specifically, we're melding the more personal, eccentric "Tusk" approach with the group-minded "Rumours" approach, which feels unprecedented. There is tension, but it's a different kind. The mantra now is to build trust and to appreciate how we mesh together, even though we're all very different as people.

Q. Among the first words on the album are you singing, "You can't plant no seed/Where there's only greed." Tickets for Fleetwood Mac's tour exceed $100. Care to comment on that apparent contradiction?

A. [Laughs] I certainly don't have any say in ticket prices. I certainly haven't chosen to have any say in it.

Q. Why not?

A. Honestly, if you'd asked me six months ago what's the average price of a concert ticket, I wouldn't have been able to tell you whether it's 40 bucks or 100 bucks, because that's just not a part of my awareness. It is unfortunate how expensive it has become. The idea of that song ["What's the World Coming To"] is about the corporate trickle down that makes it more difficult to be an individual. I understand what you're saying about the equation between ticket prices and the use of the word "greed," and, yes, what we're doing is part of the corporate machinery, but I would question whether there is really a contradiction there. We are part of a large-scale band that cannot pretend it is anything other than that.

Re: Chicago Tribune Article: "Fleetwood Mac, Revisited"
 

PUHLEESE :rolleyes: Do I see LB spinning it a little? Just say it - we want to make a bunch of cash and that is the way it is. Note: I have no problem with that concept and hope one day to make a pile-o-cash myself!!!! :laugh:

Re: Re: Chicago Tribune Article: "Fleetwood Mac, Revisited"
 

I see the same thing. Spinin wheel got to go round! $$$ :nod:

Hmmm... If nothing else, this shows how the people in this band are pretty spoiled. Not to know that tickets are hovering around $100 smacks of indifference to the experience of the common man and woman.

No wonder his more recent songs have more of a philosophical bent about the state of the world. If he wanted to pull a Springsteen and get right in the thick of it, he might actually have to find out that people are paying ungodly amounts of money to see him play and that a lot of these people may have lost jobs or taken pay cuts in the past year or so.

No, Lindsey, that kind of answer will not do. Saying "I don't know" is a cop-out.

Excellent points. I really hate to bring the fan club up (since it seems to creep into all of our other conversations as well) but I can't help myself. Before I couldn't imagine them being so naive as to not know what was going on, and I was angry about what seemed to be an utter indifference on their parts... but considering that Lindsey doesn't even know the damn ticket prices (and you know Stevie has no clue either, and John couldn't care less), I don't see how we can assume that they know anything about the JT fiasco.

Either way you look at it, it's complete apathy from them. It's very disheartening.

Okay, I agree with the criticism here, but let's be fair. Lindsey (and the rest) has always been a bit of a cocky, arrogant artist. And very Arty, too. (stevie too, although she's very kind and accessible for those who worship her....;) ).
So this quote about 40 or 100 bucks, I will never exept that from anybody, but it doesn't surprise me out of his mouth. These people are not on the face of this earth. they are above it a couple of inches. Let them stay there. But don't expect any sense when it comes to the things you need a normal human perspective for.....

Don't get me wrong I adore them, as much as you, as a band....

gerald:p

Well, I will say this - for the last AHI benefits, SN has said she personally made sure the upper levels were more afforable so the kids in school could afford to go. She purposely made it more accessible for them. She also said The Dance tour tickets were expensive because it cost a lot of $$$ to take FM on the road, which is sort of what LB said above. Again, I have no ill will with them, I say just call a spade a spade and get rid of the spin :cool:

He is full of crap
 

They charge $150 because that is what they want to charge to make their $200,000 a peace per show. They could charge $40 if they wanted to be less greedy. LB is pleading ignorant to something he is completely in the know about. I am sure they know about the fan club fiasco as well. No way they don't at this point - they just do not care.

Agreed, and also to add, I think everyone knows what they're getting into when they make the decision to see a Fleetwood Mac show. To paraphrase Lindsey, they're a big band who expect big returns. Sad but true.

I agree - but I think it is a little darker than that. For those of you familiar with the silent era of movies, there were three great directors, Cecil B. DeMille, D.W. Griffith, and Eric Von Stroheim. DeMille and Griffith are widely known to this day.

However, like LB's guitar playing and overall production of music, Eric Von Stroheim's direction could be as close to flawless as you will ever get. The problem was Eric Von Stroheim would go four times over budget and take years longer than originally planned to complete a picture. He also insisted on everything being authentic even though it would not read on camera (e.g. underwear for a period gown, real money in a cash register that was not even an intergral part of the scene, etc.). He also was known to do over 100 takes of the same scene when even the most trained eyes could discern no difference in the takes. Finally, he had a perverse sense of humor and insisted on directing the actors in this way. The end result was usually a brilliant body of work that bordered on perfection but it would never play in a theater because it was: (1) four hours long instead of one and one-half; (2) cost four times as much to shoot as originally planned; and (3) the subject matter was often too far into left feild and was censorable due to its perversity.

Sound like anyone we know :cool:

Something else to consider...
 

No doubt it costs way more for Fleetwood Mac to put on a show these days, and much of that is Fleetwood Mac's choice. For Pete's sake, they've got an entire second band backing them up! And they all need to get paid too, as well as paying for those projection screens and what is probably a huge road crew.

Of course those ticket prices are also supporting Mick's silly drum vest, a very lovely spread of food and drink backstage, and all of Stevie's costumes, which you know are stupid expensive. I resigned myself long ago to the fact that these guys are terribly pampered and out of touch with the real world. And I frankly doubt any of them are all that concerned with the fan base, other than it being a means to perpetuate themselves. Oh, I know some of you have met Stevie, and say how great she was and that she REALLY cares about her fans, but I still don't buy it. I'll never forget reading that interview she did with Courtney Love (was it in Spin?) how she mostly spoke about only wanting the finer things and knowing she was too good for JC Penny's. I was so disappointed and it forever changed my opinion of her. The fact that she actually said those things in an interview is only further evidence of how out of touch she is. The rest of them, I figure, are much the same to one extent or another.

But then, what the hell, those tickets are selling, and maybe I wouldn't be any better if I were in those shoes (custom made platforms, please)... :shrug:

Okay so Lindsey wasn't exactly forthcoming in his answer. He did crack a smile when the reporter hit him with that question. However in my humble opinion, you guys are sounding like a bunch of Socialists. If he can get that much for a ticket, then more power to him. If you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to pay it. I know if I had the talent he does, I would sure like to get paid whatever the market will pay. I don't begrudge him or Fleetwood Mac. They paid their dues. They have a lot of overhead to deal with. Anway, it's none of our business when you get down to it. They are a great band and don't come around that often, so I don't mind shelling out the big bucks to see them in action.

I see your point. But, that was not the point I was making. My point was that I found LB's answer that he did not know how much tickets costs silly and that it is obvious he has some idea based on the spin-o-rama he spewed :laugh:

Again, I am all for making a pile-o-cash off of the willing and freely paying public. Its not like we need Fleetwood Mac the same as we need inexpensive water or free air - but then again . . . . :cool:

And - not only did he get my $125 plus the $48,987,988.99 Ticketmaster service charge, I bought him and the rest of them a drink in Atlanta. See - he's getting more money out me by the second! :cool: :laugh:

Re: Something else to consider...
 

I remember that interview... I didn't see anything necessarily "out of touch" about Stevie's comments there.

The entire vibe of the interview was "girl talk," with Courtney and Stevie dishing about men, and glamour, and all the trappings of rock and roll life. :)
So Stevie very honestly said that she likes the finer things in life, and that she's very grateful that she's able to afford those things.

And I think a lot of people have felt like that at various times in their lives... buying clothes in a "bargain store," while wishing they could afford something fancier.

Me? I feel that if I can't find it at a bargain store, then I don't need it. Growing up in a town where the main source of income was a steel-mill that closed when I was 11, I saw a lot of people (including my parents) out of work, and scrimping and saving to buy necessities... so I always have pangs of guilt when I spend money on something "frivolous."
But hey, I certainly don't begrudge someone else the luxury of spending their money on what they wish.

And in Stevie's case, she gives a lot of money to charities, performs benefit concerts, and has given over the royalties to some of her songs for friends with financial problems... so despite her love for "the finer things," she is generous with her money. :)

I agree with Johnny, not to mention that Stevie has made clear she'd rather rummage for clothes in an attic chest that get them off the fashion runway. And if she'd prefer to have Blackdress custom made to buying it off the rack at Penney's, more power to her. She's earned the money. I don't think that by saying this is what she likes that she's disrespecting the people who are happy at the bargain bins.

- Jake

well..
 

the steep ticket prices has kept me in check.. i've been to only the D.C. show. It was a $144 well spent, because my favorite band made me feel young again.. I'm still enjoying the boots from the tour... it's so good to know that Fleetwood Mac still has the live magic... but $125 a ticket is steep. I'm sure it's expensive to tour.. but then our band loves to spend a lot of $$$ to be as comfortable as possible on tour.. if my $144 goes to help make Stevie more comfy in an expensive hotel.. then be it.. she is still out there on tour making beautiful music in her high top reaboks.... I do hope they return to the East Coast, as I would love to hear them again..

i heard 'Say You Will' on 94.7 yesterday.. D.C.'s classic rock station.. they played a rock block from FM - Oh Well, Rhiannon, Say You Will (album version), and Don't Stop.. it was good to hear the new one on the radio.. sounded classic! :-)

Strand - have you ever seen an episode of Young Indiana Jones Chronicles where Indy has to fo persuade a crazed European-accented film-maker to wrap up the shoot. Sounds like they based him on that von Stronheim character. Thanks for the info.

Well, beside the fact that I'm a convinced socialist, this point of view doesn't put anything extra to the discussion: Lindsey himself has started it by singing "you can't plant no seed where there's only greed....so sorry tusky57, but we didn't start the fire....:rolleyes:


gerald

I admit it would be nice to see them only, let's say $10 a ticket like back in the old days! However, more to the point---
Lindsey's own lyrics actually get him out of the apparent pickle he is in...to wit, "you can't plant no seed where there's only greed" is a double negative and really means that you CAN plant a seed where there's only greed! Now I will stand back and begin to accept apologies from the budding socialist, shackin'up. ;)

:laugh:
Lindsey is more clever than we thought! ;)

I am pretty sure that was based on Eric Von Stroheim. Pretty much every crazy European Director is. Interestingly, Eric VS is the director that caused Gloria Swanson (one of my all time fav's ) to break up with Joe Kennedy (father of Pres. John Kennedy). That is actually quite a story :laugh:

Right On!
 

This tour is ridiculously high-priced!! NO ONE needs to be that pampered on tour. It's time for Fleetwood Mac to start giving back to its' fans. How many people can't afford to go that would go and see the band play?! I'm sure it's quite a few. If the band were doing it for the music they would make sure the prices were much cheaper. It's just all a bunch of bullcrap in my opinion. I'm so glad the interviewer called Lindsey on that. Lindsey is part of that corporate structure that he hypocritically slams in WTWCT. Practice what you preach buddy!! But I still think you're one hell of a guitar player!


Joe

Can't leave this one alone...
 

Rock bands are, in a way, like royalty-or like it used to be anyway. They have little connection to the common people unless thay decide to go out there and have contact with them. Lindsey stays holed up in a studio for months on end. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't know a ticket price-that's just how out of ordinary life he is. They all have accountants and managers that take care of all that sort of mundane stuff for them. Not that that necessarily excuses them-it's just how it is.

jwd I see your point. Lindsey is trying to have it both ways and then when someone had the balls to call him on it, he did the old song and dance routine---threw up a lot of dust and hoped to skate through to the next question and maybe nobody would notice. If I where him, I'd forget about writing a song like that. I think he tried to be like a John Lennon and be a populist to the masses. Stick to the more personal stuff like Stevie does. You can't get into too much trouble there. There is nothing wrong with being rich and raking in a ton of money. He earned it. That is the american way. By the way, that would be a novel idea to write a pro-greed song. Ha ha!

Touche, touche trackaghost!!! Give me forty lashes with a wet noodle, then have a beer on me! :laugh: Bill

It's obvious from Lindsey's comments that he is in it just for the money, just like the other band members. I think Stevie summed it up on the All Access show with "This isn't about art, it's about finances." Now, you can spin that statement and twist it into some relationship bull**** but, as Strand said, a spade is a spade.

Lindsey has said it himself: the reconvening, even for a new album, is about money. He couldn't release his stuff unless it was under the Mac name, so he released it under the Mac name. Whether or not the music is good, it doesn't matter; it was put out for money.

His comments about the ticket prices are just a bunch of malarkey. "I don't know anything about ticket prices." Yeah, even though you're in the entertainment industry and make your money off of ticket sales, you don't know anything, Lindsey. Please. This band is becoming sad.

The music is great, but the people making the music leave a lot to be desired in the moral arenas. Their attempts to cash-in are disgusting and reprehensible.

Also, the god otherwise known as Tom Petty doesn't ever charge more than $60 a ticket. Yet he has publically stated that even with such low ticket prices, him and his band each take home millions. Take that, Fleetwood Mac!

PS: I'm sure my comrades would agree (you know who you are!): Fleetwood Mac should fire their PR people and put Edina in charge! :laugh:

Wow, some of you have gotten uncharitable in your assessment of Lindsey's truthfulness. I don't even think it's all that unusual for artsy types (whether commercially successful or not) to distance themselves from the business end of operations. It's not what interests them. They'd rather be writing their music or their literature or painting their art. All that other stuff is for the managers and the accountants.

As for his statement that he was unaware of ticket prices six months ago, I don't think that's surprising, either. When do you think was the last time Lindsey Buckingham shelled out from his own wallet to see a concert? I wouldn't be surprised if it was in a year with the first three numbers of 197. He probably knows better now, but six months ago?

Intentionally or unintentionally, these people live different lives than us. It doesn't necessarily make them elitist. (That would come from them believing they are better than us, instead of more fortunate.)

I don't like shelling out all that money, either. But I'll do it as a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

As for Stevie's desire for the finer things, my mother loves the finer things. I found out why when I was in high school. She grew up in the depression and went to school every day in the same dress. The other kids made fun of her. When she got older and actually had the money, it meant a lot to her to be able to buy nice dresses and things. I saw my mom in a whole new light, and it wasn't that she was shallow and materialistic. Perhaps after having struggled to get by as a waitress while hoping to make it as a musician, Stevie yearned for something better. Now she has the means. Anyone want to deny her some creature comforts?

Being ignorant to ticket prices and the price that is put on your music is just that: ignorance. It is simply ludicrous to think that these people know nothing about the prices on their music. It's a ridiculous statement. Personally, I don't buy the "artsy" argument. Artsy types know the price put on their products just the same as we do, trust me. When they say they don't, they are purposefully playing out the mystique of being an artist. Plus, you can't make your money off your product without knowing how much the product is.

Lindsey was caught contradicting himself and tried to spin his way out of it. Plain and simple.

And they make the impression that they are superior to us; no one assumes that. $1,200 for a meet and greet? Over a hundred for tickets? The whole JT and fan club fiasco? C'mon! Maybe they don't necessarily think that they're better than us, but they obviously think they're hot **** to be able to command such high prices.

The real question is: why is it so much more expensive for FM to tour than it is for other bands? Does it have anything to do with all the little perks they demand while touring? Without demanding such high prices, would they have such perks? No. They know how much money to charge and then some. They've been in this business long enough to know these things. Ignorance as an excuse doesn't work.

What all of this makes me wonder is what is WTWCT REALLY about? I think it's just a bitter song about the "unjust" treatment Lindsey got from WB for an album he was never going to release anyway. It has nothing to do with greed or the state of the world; it's all about Lindsey's unfair treatment.

What goes around comes around.

That's about the most senseless -- and I'm trying to be polite here -- assessment I've read on these boards about ticket prices. How do you figure it's none of our business? Are we not the consumers?

Carne, I meant by saying it's none of our business not about how high one has to pay to get a ticket (of course you should), but about how they spend the money they get from you buying said ticket! Or, for that matter, if they "really need" all that money, since they are rich already. I'm tired of people whining about other people who are better off then they are. I suggest they get off their butts and go make a pile of cash themselves which usually means get a skill that is marketable---such as playing one mean guitar!!!

Wow - this thread certainly has become interesting!!!!!!

I have said before and will always say - the correct price for anything that is non-essential to human life is what the market is willing to pay. In this case, the "market" for a FM concert is most of us fans and "we" apparently are willing to pay the asked price because the concerts on this tour are either sold out or close to it. In fact, most statistical models would indicate they could have charged 20% more, which is $150, for the same seats and left the other lesser priced seats the same price and gotten the same result in the end. So, FM clearly has not gotten the price of the tickets too expensive from a solely economic point of view.

A couple of people have argued that this is too greedy and have asserted a moral argument here. I, however, am unsure there is a significant moral point of view here (e.g. no one will starve, die, etc., if they do not see FM in concert). Leaving my apparent love for the band and my incessant concert going ( :laugh: ) aside, FM clearly is an optional product in that not being able to see them live is not like being unable to afford food, water, etc. So, it is sort of like not being able to buy a $500 Versace belt when you cannot afford to see FM live. Is Versace immoral for charging $500 for a belt? I say no, they are not. In fact, I think if someone wants to pay $500 for a belt, so be it, despite my personal views on the subject. Remember, freedom of choice must work both ways to work at all (i.e. who am I to tell anyone how to spend their disposable income? ). Moreover, companies like Versace, Prada, etc., obviously have found a huge market that is more than willing and apparently able to pay for their non-essential services. Are they immoral for this? I say no. Are they greedy? I again say no because people are willingly paying for their craft, which can also be defined as art, even though I amy not like some of it, etc. Like FM, no one is forcing anyone to buy their non-essential product.

Having said that, does it suck if you cannot afford a $500 Versace belt and really, really want one. Yes, it does. Moreover, at what level does the greed stop? I am sure there are some people who would say FM is being greedy at $60 at ticket. Therein lies the rub.

P.S. I LOVE economic arguments, perhaps because in the end there usually is no one correct answer :laugh:

OK, fair enough. I don't give a crap what they do with their money. But I do care how much ticket prices are, and I find it somewhat disingenuous for a band member to claim he/she doesn't know, or has nothing to do with ticket prices.

I agree with Sugar that this band doesn't really give a crap about the fans. Plain and simple.

Now someone is finally saying something sensible.

Also, it isn't so much that they're charging so much, it's the manner in which they are doing it. Look at Tom Petty and then look at Fleetwood Mac. Who's in it for the money and who's in it for having a good time and pleasing fans and loving music? We all know what Fleetwood Mac is in it for. Like Stevie so eloquently put it:

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT ART, IT'S ABOUT FINANCES." :nod:

If they are only in it for the money, than how do you explain those charity concerts Stevie gives in Phoenix every year? And even Lindsey plays in them from time to time. I know they can't rival Mother Theresa but cut them some slack, please!

I still think there is far more to that line than VH-1 showed. I think she was mimicing someone based on her delivery and body actions when she said it. She could also be talking about anything from the current plot of All of My Children to her arguing not to sing Dreams in favor of another song on tour. Until we see the whole segment, we will never really know.

Assuming she meant that she is in it only for the money, I say more power to her for having the nads to say it. :cool:

I tend to agree with you.

There is no hypocrisy between what he wrote in WTWCT and the ticket prices.

Lindsey said: "I understand what you're saying about the equation between ticket prices and the use of the word 'greed,' and, yes, what we're doing is part of the corporate machinery, but I would question whether there is really a contradiction there. We are part of a large-scale band that cannot pretend it is anything other than that.

He frankly admitted it, which is why he said there isn't a contradiction in what he sang and what the tickets cost. He copped to it. Fleetwood Mac as a business is very much a part of the corporate world.

As for whether or not he really knows what ticket prices are like...I can easily believe he doesn't. I can also easily believe that he could know if he wanted to, but chooses to keep a distance from those issues. This is a guy who has continually discussed his extreme distaste for "the machinery" of being in a mainstream band for going on 25 years. He's rarely, if ever, enjoyed anything about the business end of the music business. His career is marked largely (though not entirely) by artistic choices that were not the most brilliant business choices because he tends to marry himself to the art and divorce himself from the rest. His answer, while certainly not the most inspiring thing he could have said, and not the smartest way to conduct "business", is, I think, at least honest.

Although I see your point about LB not knowing about the actual price of the tickets, etc., I still think he must have had some clue given the vast production that he admitted this venture is.

However, LB's own comments contradict him having no interest in the accounting side of it all. He is the one that said more than once that doing The Dance tour certainly would give a boost in interest and therefore help the commercial marketability of his then upcoming solo project. Remember, as great as that record was, LB lost money on OOTC and the subsequent tour. He also said he offered to put up the money to make SYW a double CD. Finally, I am sure his manager had to get approval from him regarding his per concert fee before agreeing to it. So, I think he clearly knows a lot about the commercial aspects especially when he is with FM (as opposed to solo) and there are other fish and their shark managers in the sea with him and his own shark(s) :laugh:

I do think, however, they are all great artists that realize that to compete, they have to be commercially viable - I do not slam them for this in the slightest as it is the way of the world :laugh:

I'm not saying he has no sense at all. ;) Of course he's aware that he's got a much higher profile in FM than on his own.

But I'm not sure how his offering to absorb any losses for making SYW a double CD supports your argument. If anything, to me, that indicates again that he was thinking with his heart about the music he wanted to put out, not about what the "smart business move" was to make. Single CDs do sell better than doubles and his offering to personally absorb any losses says he was willing to lose money. Is that a smart business move? ;) In relation to the decision to cut the album from 2 CDs to 1, Mick said (paraphrasing), "Lindsey is focused on the art and I understand that too, but at some point, I can be at least practical." This says to me that he thinks Lindsey is impractical and focused on the art too much in situations where he believes business decisions need to be made.

:laugh:

I am not saying LB is smart in business. In fact, there is a bunch of evidence is to the contrary :laugh: As you correctly noted, LB seems on most levels to care about the music, etc. In fact, I think both LB and SN care very much about the artistic value of their music. I was just addressing your argument that LB is removed from the business aspect and concentrates mostly on the art. I think SN and LB are very aware of the business aspects of making music, which includes ticket prices. In fact, I praise them for being able to work in this scheme.

I just think the reporter in the article hit the nail on the head when he said, LB, I find it strange that you complain in the song about record company's being greedy and then you charge $125 for most of the tickets to your concerts. I think the implication was LB and FM are perceived as greedy and hypocritical because they are living like royalty on the backs of their fans and then have the gall to call other's greedy when it suits them. I guess the implication is there is a distaste for FM to live in such a way. I do not share that distaste because, as I mentioned earlier, if people are willing to pay for it - more power to them. Moreover, all musicians make money off of their fans and, as I mentioned earier, it is somewhat impossible to have everyone agree on where to draw the line over which they must cross to be perceived by everyone as not being greedy.

I wasn't referring to Stevie necessarily, I was referring to the band as a whole. Stevie is the most in-tune with the fans and she knows the business because, unlike the others, she didn't stop being a part of it after The Dance. She knows prices. And I'm sure that Lindsey loves being a part of fundraising for such a good cause; that's not disputed. But that doesn't disguise everything else like Jonathan Todd, the fan club, ticket prices, and willingness to sell-out.