From: shell@gandalf.Berkeley.EDU (Shelly Culbertson)
Newsgroups: rec.music.phish
Subject: Re: phish on MTV????
Date: 24 Jul 92 20:12:32 GMT
Organization: Dept. of Statistics, U. C. Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: gandalf.berkeley.edu

This morning at 8, just as I was leaving for work, Trey called.  He was
concerned about what people though about the band's appearance on MTV
yesterday, and asked me to post a clarification / explanation of how it
occurred.

It all started about a month ago, when they were first invited to make
the appearance on MTV.  At that time, they were told that they would not
be able to use their own equipment for the show, and their response was
that they wouldn't do it if they couldn't use their equipment.  Then about
a week ago, they were told that arrangements had been made for them to use
their own stuff, so, therefore, they could do the show.  At that point they
thought that the idea required further discussion...which didn't take place
until Wednesday, and by then it was too late to back out (though they hadn't
specifically agreed to it in the first place).  They had never seen the show
before, and weren't informed much in advance about the program...and, more
or less, it just happened.

Trey said it was sort of fun doing the program, but during Divided Sky
at the end, it just hit him -- "What are we doing here!?" - and he wanted
to offer this explanation, hoping that people wouldn't view their MTV
appearance as hypocritical in terms of the (artistic as opposed to
commercial) ethics that they try to apply to their work. 

Other mitigating factors include the fact that the show was totally
live in the studio - as far as they were concerned, they were performing
just as they do for a live audience.  This is still a far cry from producing
any sort of mass-market video clip (which they have no intention of doing).
He had also hoped that it would be an opportunity to present their music
to people who might not have heard it otherwise, but given that only
brief excerpts of their songs were broadcast, that goal could not have been
effectively accomplished. 

Trey specifically asked me to invite people to transmit any questions or
comments on the subject to him (you can post on the net or email to me),
and he will respond.

He mentioned that this was an example of what happens when they aren't
as careful as they'd like to be about the decisions that others are
making on their behalf.  Another example of this is the re-release of
Lawn Boy where, as some people have noticed, the track Lawn Boy is slowed
down compared to the original release.  This was not intentional, but
by the time they realized that it had occurred, it was too late to correct
it.

(Personally, I have very high regard for their ethics, and I am most impressed
by the degree to which they generally manage to abide by them considering
the enormous pressures of the industry and the huge demands on their time
and energy...in fact, Trey's concern over all of this just shows how much
they really do care.)

Shelly

ps.  I don't know if this was broadcast or not (since I don't have a tv
anyway), but Trey said that at one point (after the trampolines) the hostess 
asked him, "So, who's your inspiration, the Grateful Dead or Mary Lou
Retton?"  (eeeech!)  At that time he didn't respond, but in retrospect
he wishes he had replied with a question, "Who's your inspiration for
your show, Romper Room or Captain Kangaroo?  and who's your inspiration
for your clothes, Morticia Adams or Elvira?"...whew! 
Newsgroups: rec.music.phish