[Dixielandjazz] Fame

[Jeanne Brei]

Oh, John, I really must disagree -- I think there are varying levels of fame
and I believe that Steve Barbeone, John Farrell, Bill Gunter and Bob Romans
are all famous in their fields and if Steve says he's locally famous, he
probably is. Many people base their decisions to go to certain festivals
based on which musicians are going to be there -- and those musicians must
enjoy a certain level of fame in order for that to happen.
    Besides, by your definition -- Bob Hope isn't famous because he used to
schedule trips to China-- where no one knew who he was--so he could walk
down the street and not be bothered by strangers. There will always be
somewhere on the planet or in the galaxy that someone will not know you --
and it doesn't matter who you are -- Even Muhammad Ali isn't that famous --
it's been so many years since he was in the news that I bet he could go to a
public school in America and most of the kids wouldn't know who he is.
    Fame is the recognition that others give you -- and when you go to the
Sacramento Jazz Festival and see hundreds of fans cheering on a Dixieland
band or a zydeco band or a swing band at the Ramp - know that that level of
fame is just about right for what you do. When you go to festivals, everyone
knows who you are -- and many ask you to autograph your recordings -- that's
what I call a comfortable level of fame. Personally, I wouldn't want to be
as famous as Madonna and have to worry about camera lenses peering at me
outside of the bushes everywhere I go -- or as the Duchess of York where the
paparazzi crawled on his belly for miles to get the images of her
toe-sucking affair. It's fun to be "locally" famous -- or "famous in your
field" but why anyone would want to give up ALL their privacy and be
"mega-superstar" famous for the rest of their lives is beyond me. Besides
when the superstars do concerts, normally you can't hear any of the music
because the audience is screaming so loudly!
Jeanne Brei
Tin Pan Alley Cat Entertainment
Las Vegas, NV
http://hometown.aol.com/jmbrei/myhomepage/resume.html

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Farrell" <stridepiano at tesco.net>
To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 9:20 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Fame


> Ah, the fleeting mantle of fame and the self-delusion of many who strive
for
> it. I do hope that the following will not be construed as unkind sour
> grapery, it is simply my take on a few aspects of fame.
>
> Steve Barbone said :
>
> "We are fortunate enough to be relatively famous in our territory. Our
> players get recognized walking down the street."
>
> Fame, like pregnancy, is an absolute condition - you either are or you are
> not, a person cannot be relatively pregnant or relatively famous. As for
> being recognised walking down a street in one's home territory, I'll bet
> that happens to most listmates but it does not confer fame upon them.
>
> Frank Sinatra was famous, so were Al Capone, Julius Caesar and the
Beatles.
> Steve Barbone is not famous, neither are John Farrell, Bill Gunter and Bob
> Romans. Lots of undeserving people imagine themselves to be famous, indeed
> here in the UK a TV programme is being aired soon featuring a few mediocre
> nonentities described by the announcer as "celebrities". Why? Because they
> appeared as contestants on a crappy game show!!
>
> Go to darkest Africa, ask the people there if they have heard of Mohamed
Ali
> and you will almost certainly find that many of them have. Now ask them if
> they have heard of Steve Barbone, John Farrell etc. - Q.E.D. - that's the
> real test of fame.
>
> Kipling once described triumph and disaster as impostors, he should have
> included fame too.
>
> John (my grandkids think I am famous) Farrell
> stridepiano at tesco.net
> http://homepages.tesco.net/~stridepiano/midifiles.htm
>
>
>
>
>
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