Sorry for this fairly long and sad one... On December 4th Mike Appelstein posted a comment saying that Scott should be here to see what a wonderful response the reissues are receiving and David Crozier responded asking: would this [these reissues] have happened if he were still here? This has been a question that has come up before and while its an emotionally difficult question to answer I do think an answer, inasmuch as I can give one, is in order. A few years prior to Scotts passing there were serious discussions with a great indie label out of Midwest (Ill not name them but say that they are great people, an iconoclastic label, and I love their work). Scott Miller and Scott Vanderbilt moved fairly far along in discussions but at some point some obstacles arose and the discussions petered out. Shortly after this happened Scott Miller and I talked about continued efforts towards getting the Game Theory catalog reissued. Scott asked me to take over the effort, entrusting me to do what I could to get things moving forward. He mentioned there was an inquiry from Light In The Attic but he had not spoken to Scott Vanderbilt about it. I suggested talking to great label out of New York I had reason to believe had a couple of fans among its owners. But there was no sense that this was pressing, or time sensitive, he seemed more content with having it off of his plate. We talked about it occasionally but really only when I had some thoughts or news to give him. And then Scott passed and like most of us I was stricken; I couldnt listen to the records for quite some time, much less speak of releasing them. In June I felt it was time I made sure that Scott Vanderbilt was aware of what had happened, I called Scott V. and he had not heard, he was speechless and distraught. Scott V. is very much uninvolved in music at this point in his life and had seen none of the press around Scotts passing. At the time I told him that any discussions of the records ever being re-released was going to need to wait until I was better equipped to handle it and Scott V. agreed that he, also, was going to need to process what happened and one day we could talk again but not then. Late in the year I approached and had some talks with the aforementioned New York label, they are very much fans and very much wanted to be involved but were faced with too heavy of a release schedule to give the albums the promotion that Scott Vanderbilt and I (and the label) considered essential to having Game Theory reissues succeed (we all agreed that the music is too important to be lost in a year already heavily scheduled with new releases from the label). During those discussions I received an note from Robert Toren asking me to contact Jonathan Segel from Camper Van Beethoven (a longtime friend of Scott Millers), Jonathan wanted to speak to me about Omnivore who were reissuing Campers Charisma label albums. I contacted Jonathan and once it was clear that the other label prospect was a thing of the past, Jonathan put me in touch with Pat Thomas (who I had known from his San Francisco days with his fine Heyday Records imprint). Pat had been Scott Millers Light In The Attic inquiry except that Pat worked for both Light In The Attic and Omnivore. Pat and I discussed what we envisioned and we were completely in sync; I put forward my terms (that the releases and promotion in no way capitalize on Scotts passing and that the albums see LP and CD release) and Scott Vanderbilts stipulation that the label demonstrate a strong commitment to do publicity for the albums, Pat didnt even need to discuss this with Omnivore, it was clear that the label were completely on board. From every exchange Ive had with the Omnivore thereafter my read has been that this is something theyve wanted as a label since before Scott passed. I quickly set up a conference call with Scott Vanderbilt and an agreement to release the albums was sorted out in less than a week. Omnivore is a label stocked with Game Theory fans with such enthusiasm for Scotts music that they are prepared to lose money putting the records out simply to have a chance to share the music that they love. Ultimately, the outcome is tremendously bittersweet; I have great confidence that if all of the principle parties had been aware of and in touch with one another while Scott was still with us, these reissues would absolutely have happened in his lifetime. I have come to understand that all of those involved in this project really wanted it to happen when Scott was still here but sadly without the links that eventually connected us, and without Scotts direct knowledge, lines of communication were never established in Scotts lifetime. Getting everyone together just didnt happen in time. None of us had any idea that time was an issue. Would the albums look the same? Include the same bonus tracks? I would have made my case for them as you hear them and Scott may or may not have agreed, but we would have worked things out. Of course its inevitable that our collective sense of loss is reflected in the liner notes, oral history and writings; it breaks my heart to have that loss permeate the albums but the loss is now indelibly linked to the albums for all of us. But we have made it clear that press contacts and interviews will not discuss Scotts passing directly. Scott very much wanted his music to be heard and enjoyed, the constance of his music in Shannons and my home in preparing the releases has forced a softening of that edge of loss the music carried a year ago, sometimes a song or a line will overwhelm me, but I appreciate again what Scott wanted to express and recognize that the music is there for me to love, even in the absence of my friend, our friend.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 02:26:41 +0000
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