Jonathan Todds Email No One Was Supposed To See: READ

[David]

Originally posted by tamaraluvsFM
Well I really hope that people are not turned away from the MAC due to a money hungry backstabbing creep. I love Fleetwood Mac and I have for a long time and I know that this will not draw me away, but it does make me watch more closer what I join, and who runs things. I am pretty cautious but I joined with the positive feeling that this should be ok cause its my beloved Mac. I just hope those new fans dont get turned off from JT, as he is not the FM voice, just some cockroach making money off of them.

But that's been the band's story for many years, & these fan club fiascos & "official" snafus are practically as old as the band itself, as any of us who joined the last three or four official fan clubs can attest to. Money-hungry backstabbing creeps have always played a large part in the methods the band uses to "interact" with the people who buy its albums --- I won't even use the word "fans" because I think as far as the band is concerned, there aren't any fans. You're merely part of the audience. I'm generalizing, of course, but there is great truth to this, despite the people who will say that they met so-and-so many years ago & were treated well. There are always exceptions, even in Fleetwood Mac's case. But the overriding rule across vast stretches of time has been one of utter neglect of the fan base if not out-and-out mistreatment & even fraud.

Out of the five members of the Rumours era, only Stevie Nicks has shown any gratitude for & even awareness of her fans, & even in her case it's been nothing to write home about, given the fact that she hired a sociopath to answer her fan mail for over twenty years. Some old members of the band seem happy in recent years interacting with their fans, like Bob Welch & Rick Vito, I suppose, but that willingness to interact could be attributable to current situation rather than lifelong inclination. Hell, at least we got some fine Q&As out of them recently. Did any of you truly enjoy the Stevie Nicks Q&A on her site? It was as lethargic & uncommitted as any of her early '90s concert performances. And Mick Fleetwood's real-time chat last year ... oh my god ... what a bozo idea. Ever been in an elephant stampede out on the African veldt? And surely some of you remember several years ago when Marty made a good-faith attempt to virtually turn this information goldmine site over to Carl Stubner. Stubner turned the offer down flat, after first agreeing to review a proposal. The reason? So that the band or Mick or whoever could start www.mickfleetwood.com --- a lovely place & a great success, too, which has done a world of good! (Toss that one up like the nux vomica it is.)

The best way to appreciate Fleetwood Mac is from a distance. It always has been. They have always been one of the most fan-phobic bands in the world, & there's nothing new under the sun.