Whoooaaa-OH! …you’re invited but your friend can’t come.
October 30, 2010I’ve got no more tour dates booked for the rest of the year.
But I AM doing a bunch more concerts. A small series of them, in fact.
Though late to the party, I’m getting in on the wild world of VIDEO WEBCASTING, and I’ve set up a brand new, private website to do it through.
It’s not for everyone. Only a select group of people can be in this audience. Those elusive folks I’ve mentioned in previous posts: The People Who Care. Otherwise known as “fans”. :)
In order to gain access to this website, you must first take a very short quiz. The quiz is very simple, and it’s a cinch for anyone who’s stayed current with the music I’ve released. Once you’re in, you have access to exclusive material; in addition to the live webcasts, there are unreleased songs, photos (and before long: videos), as well as a discussion forum.
CLICK HERE TO SEE IF YOU POSSESS THE SUPERIOR KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED TO GAIN ENTRY
Now. I first announced this site about a week and a half ago, and since then, an impressive number of people have attempted to check it out.
Less than a third of them currently have access to the site.
I’ve received a growing number of… well, I guess you’d call them “complaints” from people who couldn’t pass the quiz. The common sentiments in these messages fall into two groups — there’s the first group of “hey, we’re friends; why don’t you just tell me the answer and let me in?”, and the second group of “I’ve been listening to you for years – just because I don’t know the answer to this, suddenly I’m not a ‘fan’?“
To explain: I’m going to use this site to debut my brand new material; some stuff that’s not even finished yet. It’s going to be intimate, and I want to play for people who really know where I’m coming from artistically; folks who have perspective and who are excited about getting a first-look at what’s to come. It’s a special thing, and I feel like I would have to explain too much if there were a lot of folks in on it who just “really like that song you do about the pretty people”. And I wouldn’t say it’s not for friends; I would say it’s not JUST for friends.
Now for a little story:
I was a HUGE fan of Tori Amos for over a decade. I mean, I was obsessive; I sought out imports and B-sides by her just to keep my collection complete. I have a LOT of her releases, and when I was in college and didn’t know anyone else who liked her, I still drove three hours to go see her by myself. I was a SUPER-fan.
But I was surprised to hear that she just put out a new album last month, because I don’t even have the one she put out before that, and it’s been out for over a year. I’m not even sure I know the correct title. I’ve heard the single that was promoted, but I just haven’t been a zealot for her like I used to be. I now have to say that I only have “most” of her records, but I don’t listen to her like I used to, and I’m definitely much more familiar with the songs she recorded eight years ago than the ones she’s putting out now.
I have to admit that if Tori started a “fans only” site that required a correct answer to a question about her newer material, I probably wouldn’t be able to gain entry, either.
So if it was important enough to me to get in on that, I’d probably have to set aside a weekend afternoon and get myself caught up or reacquainted with what she’s been up to.
In fact, I think I’m going to. ‘Nuff said. :)
