Re: Music Must Change

[Litgo@aol.com]

In a message dated 96-05-01 07:23:13 EDT, DylansMuse@aol.com writes:

>That he's going to be 51 in a couple of weeks doesn't dampen my enthusiasm;
>to the contrary, I delight in watching Pete mature. (I shudder to think what
>would have happened if he was still stuck in the role of spokesperson for
>teen angst!) He breathed new life into WGFA at the VH1 Honors with his
>masterful vocal performance and acoustic-guitar virtuosity.  His new
>arrangement of LMLOTD is stunningly beautiful, and I love the fact that he
>was pig-headed enough to sing it to a taped backing since that's the way he
>obviously felt it sounded best. [I hate to have to bring this up, but does
>anyone know whether Pete is drinking at the moment?  He seemed so sharp and
>focused Sunday night--not at all like the drunken mess he was during the
>PsychoDerelict tour.] "Now and Then" and "I Am Afraid" from his most recent
>studio album are achingly beautiful, and I love the snarl in his voice in
>"English Boy." 


According to an interview in Playboy from '93 (I think), Pete said he tried
drinking again on the 89 tour and again in 93 "to regain his soul" -- for his
son's sake.  He said he had paid his penance for being a bad boy in the the
late 70s/early 80s with drink, drugs and treating his family horrendously by
straightening up, stopping touring, working for F&F, etc. 

One passage I found particularly disturbing was where he got up in the middle
of the night, went to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of brandy, drank a glass,
waited a moment, and decided he didn't become a monster after a drink. This
was his justification that allowed him to drink again.


Litgo