| re: Conas | |
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Posted by: |
Conas 12:53 pm UTC 10/24/10 |
| In reply to: | Conas - rockfenris2005 09:21 am UTC 10/24/10 |
| Ryan, I was enthralled by that story and thanks very much for posting it. I remember hearing about the encounter with your high school principal a long time ago, it's a fascinating story indeed. You have been posting on the Rockman for 11 years? Wow, you have contributed so much to this forum. It's a pity that your demos on Realm of Dreams have been lost. Your version of "Confessions of a Vampire" was the first thing I listened to 5 years ago. I also liked your version of "Only when I feel". It's a pity you closed down "Radical Wizardry" too. I always visited that website, and I was a member of your forum too. It was always a great place, what happened to the member "Hero"? Is he still around? > Ohhhhhhh I've had THE most colourful history on this > forum! > I remember back in my first year of high school, which was > the year 1999, when I first had access to the internet and > the first thing I did was search "Meat Loaf" and "Jim > Steinman". That's how I found "Dream Pollution" and I > immediately thought it was a terrific website, like an > experience, like listening to one of the albums and gazing > fondly at the cover art. > And back then, it had a really awesome section with > pictures called "The Gallery of Despair". It's still on > the old version of the website on Internet Archives and > you should check it out, just to see the artwork. It's a > page with 3 of Jim's lyrics, basically, "Everything is > permitted", "The future ain't what it used to be" and > "Unsettled scores". > > As I said before, Jim led me to Andrew Lloyd Webber and > Musical Theatre so imagine how surprised I was when I saw > the announcement that Michael Crawford (My God, the > Phantom Himself) starring in "Dance of the Vampires" which > was actually going to open on Broadway in April 2002. And > I hadn't even heard any of the music at that point. > And then 9/11 happened...On the day of 9/11, that's when I > began writing my play which I've been working on for > almost 10 years now. > So, of course, I was hugely excited about "Vampires" and I > wanted to go to New York to see it if it was still open in > 2003 or 2004. > > At first, I posted on a message forum at Neverland Hotel > then I discovered the Rockman, at the worst possible > point, the most turbulent period in Jim history on the > web, IMHO. The opening of "Dance of the Vampires" on > Broadway when the critics COMPLETELY TRASHED IT (picture > it like the big stunt scenes in "Blues Brothers", it was > ghastly) and Jim hadn't even turned up. It was a terrible > time. > That year, in high school, the Principal asked to speak to > me and he said "do you want the good news first or the bad > news?" And I said "The bad news, please, sir." "Alright, > I'm very concerned that you wagged 200 classes this > semester, very concerned indeed, but the performance you > put on at the Talent Quest is, without a doubt, the most > amazing performance I have seen in 25 years. I don't know > what to do with you, Ryan.” > And I WAS NOT LIKED ON ROCKMAN. I was 16 years old and a > loud-mouth, the most emotional teenager I had ever met > (haha) and I took everything seriously and there was no > subtlety, and anything that possibly could have offended > me was pointed out and addressed, and I did it in the most > confronting way. And, DESERVEDLY, I went through a > gauntlet. > > Over the years, it quietened down. Jim worked on > "Wuthering Heights" and Ray released "The Confidence Man" > CD. After "Vampires" folded, Michael Crawford was cast in > "The Woman in White" and he had this song called "You can > get away with anything" which I thought was hilarious for > so many reasons. > AND MEAT & JIM ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WERE GOING TO RELEASE A > BAT 3. My God (again) and how exciting that would have > been for so many of us. > But then Jim was sick. Then "Over the top" in New York > premiered 2 new songs, "Not allowed to love" from Batman > (I still remember the awe I was in when I heard that > recording) and "What part of my body hurts the most" which > surely must have been from Bat 3, surely??? > Then Meat went out on tour in 2005 and premiered another > new song "Only when I feel" which was then later played at > "Over the Top" but so much better and so much more > livelier than Meat's version, IMHO. > Then there was the troubling news that Michael Beinhorn > would be producing the 3rd Bat album, but never fear, many > of us were still under the impression that Meat would > still be recording Jim's new material. I mean, surely, he > wouldn’t have done anything other (I still believe in him > so much back then. And I will always remember us meeting > in HMV Melbourne in 2003 when he was promoting CHSIB.) > > THEN DESMOND became the producer of "Bat 3" and I must > admit I found that slightly worrying because I was never a > Desmond fan and I didn't think he would be able to > interpret the Steinman sound with all the subtlety it > needed. I thought it would just be like white wash (And > sure enough, it was.) > THEN IT WAS ANNOUNCED that there would be NON-STEINMAN > TRACKS on the album and I...I WAS FURIOUS and I begged > Meat on MLUKFC not to go through with it. It HAD to be > with Jim. And we actually FOUGHT over PM, Meat shouting at > me and me rebutting every single argument he threw at me. > But there was nothing I could do. Pudding said I didn't > have a heart when I mentioned this story somewhere on the > net before, but I do and my heart was literally ripped out > of my body and stomped on and crushed into an oozing > slurry just as the album was about to be released. How > could Meat have done to this to us & Jim? I don’t care > what his excuses were. He should have walked away and not > done it. (And I know I will argue with others about this > until the end of time and I don’t want to get into it > again, PLZ.) > > But, no, never gotten over it, even though I tried to give > TMIL a chance when I listened to it, hoping it might just > be good. But no, it was a horrible disappointment, but > it's also a lot more listenable than "Hang Cool Teddy > Bear". > > 2007 WAS THE WORST YEAR OF MY LIFE, BAR NONE! It was so > horrible. I don't even want to get INTO IT but it was just > so, so, so awful, on Rockman, and everywhere else. > It picked up in 2008 and 2009, but 2010 is the best state > the board has been in since 2006. That was when we had the > board that was like MLUKFC and I just remember it being > really happy and positive back then. It was an awesome > time. I came home from town when the new DVD store had > just opened having bought all these bargains, and Jim was > blogging, and everybody was buzzing about it on the new > forum. If there's a Rockman in paradise, that's what it > would be like. > And 2010 is coming back around to where we were in 06. > > So yeah, thought I'd post that... > > And you are part of the Rockman Legend, Conas, so NEVER > STOP POSTING. > > Ryan. | |
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