I told him he should call it "Squeaky Wheels get the Grease."

to: superego@io.com

Thanks. I plan on using several of these quotes and some from our prior conversation. I may or may not say you e-mailed them, I have yet to decide. So if it's cool to keep that point of info between us I'd appreciate it. Thanks for all the insight....

Andy

At 05:06 PM 2/18/98 -0600, you wrote:
Thanks for calling on me for this story. i have alot to say about it.

First off, Andy, this first question is completely off the record and between friends:

Do you find fault in what I do?

I just wonder sometimes why it is such a joke that I am an effective marketer of my craft. Actually, the truth is I understand completely why no-one likes a salesman, and it's quite an unwieldy cross to bear. the statesman calls me a "tireless self-promoter" and then lauds my songwriting. I am proud of both accomplishments. It's in the lyrics of My Bad if you listen.

I am curious what the rest of the damnations quote was. I think it would be unfair if it trailed off in an ellipses after "I'm no Paul Minor..." I think Amy & Deborah admire my skills the way I admire theirs. They got some mouths on them too, believe me.

I would hope she said "Well, I'm no Paul Minor, but I do an o.k. job of it."

Now for the quotes regarding "getting press: "

"Thank God she's not me," said Minor, "If I had HALF the talent and charisma of those ladies, PLUS these communications skills, Superego would be as big as the Spice Girls."

Every other band that you mentioned has people working overtime within the organization to insure the band gets mentioned and their mugs get on the cover. I have the unfortunate burden of being in the position where I got nobody except "yours truly" to do that dirty work. I actually adopt cheesy pseudonyms sometimes, just to draw a line between the band and the promotional dept. Ethan from Orange Mothers goes by the name "Jack Thunder" when he books shows.

It's really the last, necessary step in the ultimate "Do It Yourself" plan. We recorded our albums and built the free-for-all from scratch, now I market our CDs and our gigs from scratch at the grassroots.

Every opportunity I have had to witness the slow-witted machinations of the bigtime music business has encouraged me to adopt the attitude that the only person I would trust to handle our biz is the same guy who wrote the songs. I bet Ani DeFranco knows how to send a fax, if you know what I mean.

Like the tree in the forest or the painting on the coffeeshop wall, what's the point of making art if you don't shove it in people's face or at least ask them to consider it? That's what promoting and marketing music to the public is all about.

I wouldn't have the confidence to sell it if I didn't believe in it. The best salesman is the one who truly believes in the product. I am really proud of our new album, and i love the free for all, so who better to promote it. I am superego's biggest fan, which makes me the best man for the promotion gig.

As far as the press and the clippings, I look at it like sports. i measure our press kit weekly to see how thick it is. It's about 30 pages right now, and I am just now starting to work on some stuff outside Austin. I love adding pages to the scrapbook, and I have some good friends like Doug Cugini, owner of the hole for 30 years, who recognize the good business in that and give me lots of positive reinforcement. He keeps interesting statistics on "best bets" columns, you should ask him about it at 302-0677. Doug's idea of encouragement is to call me names like "bastard" and ask me who I "blew" to get the mentions. But I love it cause it's like another prize marlin on the trophy wall every time. My dad calls and says 'You hit a home run today on pg. 4 of XL." What Little Leaguer wouldn't love that?

Austin is a strange little microcosm. I decided recently I don't even give a damn about selling records or playing clubs or being on the radio in Houston. It just doesn't matter to me anymore. But in Austin, the pond is so small and there are so many big talented fish, it's like the song goes, "If you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere."

I'm a good writer. i used to write for the Chronicle and Texas Monthly and sometimes it feels like I still do when I open up a column and it's my verbatim press release, with the punctuation slightly changed (usually for the worse).

If someone wrote a book on how to get NATIONAL press, I would study it like a bible (or at least the AA handbook) and try to learn and grow from it because my skills apply only to Austin, TX. There's only like 5 names on my media database, and you're one of them.

My whole secret is this powerbook here. I got it for roughly the price of a 76 stratocaster a couple of years ago, and it's made communication such a fun pastime. I carry it to work with me and plug it in to a phone line once in a while to check my e-mail and send shit out there.

Sometimes, In a moment of insecurity, I will wonder aloud why people so often criticize my p.r. efforts as self-aggrandizement. Then I remember the name of the band is super "ego." It's just a gimmick, an easy angle. You gotta have something that they can write about even if they have never heard you. Just like the Portland weekly that wrote about how it would be advantageous in Texas to have a big head, just for the shade. Or like the Damnations being handsome sisters, it has little if anything to do with the music, but it makes good copy.

Getting notoriety with the rags in Austin is like shooting fish in a barrel if you got a modem and something interesting to say. I just try to have an intriguing idea to talk about once every few months, and then I get on the horn. When I am not typing, e-mailing, faxing, and uploading webpages on my laptop, I'm writing songs, recording albums, and booking gigs. It's what i do. I purvey music.

If you're not down with that, all I can say is "My Bad."

See my webpage if you want any more ramblings. I've said enough, but I will be glad to say it again for the tape recorder if necessary.

By the way, great story idea. It writes itself.

sincerely,

Ron Impala Nickel $ Dime Records CEO Alterego