Year 1998
December 14, 1998
Dear Friends,
Last night at his house on the beach in Santa Monica, our friend Bob Procop hosted his annual benefit for the Los Angeles House of Truth, an interim shelter for homeless and abused women and their children. His dedicated support has doubled the capacity of the shelter and this year's affair has provided the funds to not only buy all the necessary furniture for the new building, but also all the sheets, towels and other household needs we all are accustomed to using in every day life. The new facility will provide shelter for an additional six families for up to 1 year. Often times the families need that long to recover from the trauma of homelessness and abuse.
Michael Cartellone, Paul Taylor, Tom Lilly and I performed an acoustic set, complete with songs we performed this summer on the road as well as lots of Christmas songs and as the night progressed, we basically attempted anything that was tossed out as a request, including Hotel California, Free Bird, and many more. It became one of the finest sing-alongs I have ever had the pleasure of leading.
Kevin Costner helped as co-host and it was a great experience to once more feel a part of this great cause. I wish you could have all been there.
TS
December 12, 1998
Dear Friends,
Jeanne and I just returned from Las Vegas where we attended the première of STAR TREK: INSURRECTION with our friends Marina Sirtis and her husband Michael Lamper. It was the coming together of two larger than life phenomenon--STAR TREK and Las Vegas. You might imagine that these two worlds could hardly occupy the same space and you are quite on the money. The crowds were bulging outside in the frigid air as we walked down the red carpet from the limo to the theater at BALLY'S where the screening took place. They were all a little confused seeing Michael Lamper and me, considering they were all expecting STAR TREK cast members. After Halloween, I am getting used to seeing this look on fans' faces. But for Marina, F. Murray Abraham, Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden and all the other cast members, it was, as Marina put it, as if SHE was a rock star. The place went up for grabs as she passed through the gauntlet of fans to the waiting media stations. She stood there in the 45 degree night air in a strapless black mini dress and did one camera interview after another while the three of us civilians decided to wait inside. If you believe chivalry is dead, you should have seen all the black coats and jackets being offered up by stars and attendants as she made her way inside. But Marina, the star, looked every bit the part as she refused and opted for the look, and no one complained--she did look stunning.
In the green room we were introduced to the cast and their families as we snacked on the finger sandwiches and drinks. Lots of Paramount execs and writers and assorted other behind-the-scenes folk filled the room. Before getting on with the evening, the photographer was able to assemble the entire cast for a group photo (and I thought getting 4 or 5 band mates to stop for a photo was difficult). We then made our way to the seats. I loved being the guest, watching the heads turn to catch a glimpse of Marina as we found our row.
After a couple of obligatory speeches and introductions (the Paramount exec oddly mispronounced some of the cast members names) the theater went dark and the movie began. I have to tell you, I know how I feel waiting to see how my few seconds of music is used whenever it appears in films. To be there while successful actors see their work for the first time in its completed form made me that much more empathetic. They have no way of knowing for sure how much of the work they did will make the final edit until they see it in the general release. We were all proud to see how much screen time Marina got. She looks great and her character has grown even more than on the previous film. The movie itself was as fresh and original as any other STAR TREK film that preceded it. Bravo!
Afterwards we all went by limo to the HILTON where an after show party was held in the STAR TREK attraction there. It was closed to the public and when Michael and I realized the ride was as well, we grabbed an attendant and went in for a private show. After seeing the film and being there among the cast it was not difficult at all to suspend my disbelief and buy into the whole experience. We were given the full show, which involves at least 25 actors in uniform and character who walk you through a real life experience on board the starship ENTERPRISE.
It was one exciting moment after another. And when Jeanne and I finally got up and around the next morning, we felt as if we had a hangover the entire day--ironic since neither of us has had a drink of alcohol in years!
My thanks to Marina, Michael and the cast. STAR TREK remains as vital to the entertainment industry as ever.
TS
November 26, 1998
Dear Friends,
I know you may have heard that Uncle Ted is retiring. Well, that may be true as far as certain aspects of his amazingly busy life over the past 25 years, but I can tell you that he is still saving some time for The Damn Yankees. We are days away from signing to a record label to record a new DY CD next year. Let's face it, The Damn Yankees gig is not exactly what you would call a "Job" if you know what I mean!
TS
November 14, 1998
Hi everyone,
Having been home now for a week or so I am getting caught up on all the things that build up while you are away for a month. Among some of the business has been working with Keith Marks (you know Keith) in my studio going through all my multitrack "writing demo" tapes. As a solitary writer in the studio I have a bad habit of not labeling my tapes (I prefer the recording part over the documenting--boring and tedious to me) and so if I never get around to mixing the tracks, I can wind up with lots of songs lost in the hundreds of feet of unlabeled tape.
JY had been nudging me for quite some time to get Keith to sort through the tapes to locate some of the songs he and I wrote on previous writing sessions. And that is what we did. As a result we now have 6 more songs to add to the collection we are considering for next year's STYX album. It is funny. We were both saying "Ooh, what is this?" and "Hey, what is that?" as we discovered the tracks. It is really quite boneheaded to risk losing a good song just because you are too obsessed to stick on a label and write down the title and even add the date. But I tell you, when you are in the midst of creating something, the LAST thing you want to do is switch to busy work.
There is always tomorrow. Hope springs eternal. I can change. Really. Um hm.
Tommy
November 12, 1998
Dear Friends:
Thanks for taking Kim's survey. It was very enlightening. I was surprised to see the statistics regarding your ages and your preferences for the various facets of Kim's page. I am in agreement with you on what a good job she does keeping the site updated and how quick she updates once I send her something new. There are major record companies and other high profile business who take an agonizingly long time to get their sites up to date. Kim rocks!
Now that I know what you like here, I will be focusing more on "The Latest News" section.
Thanks again and enjoy CRYSTAL BALL...
Tommy Shaw
July 29, 1998
Dear Friends:
Thank you for making last night's chat a great one. It was fun for me to have such close contact with you all and I look forward to the next one.
See you online!
Tommy Shaw
April 7, 1998
Hello friends!
This morning, Afsoon Kia, artist and World Music Promoter was the final participant in the recording ofmy new album. She played the castinettes on a moody rock song that has a dark and worldly feel, which sheaccentuated with her performance.
As I write, the engineers are in conference with local digital mixing wiz-kid, David Cole on how to best utilize all the technology we have in The S.H.O.P. Tomorrow we begin the mixing process. In than three weeks, we will be handing this off to the record company who will be manufacturing it and getting it to your local record store a few weeks after that...
IT IS ALMOST FINISHED!!!
Tommy
February 18, 1998
Hello friends!
I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not an oncoming train. As each day comes to a close, we in the studio are getting more and more excited by the fact that the album is coming into focus. By that I mean that the rough tracks we have been molding, performance by performance, are starting to sound finished. It is like a puzzle. When you get enough pieces together, you start to see what the big picture is, and then it starts feeling as though the pieces are easier to find as you get close to the end.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kim and Richard for all the fine work they do in keeping this site going. It has really grown and continues to develop more and more as a personal information platform, that connects us in a way I have never experienced.
I look forward to the day when you all can hear what we are doing here in Los Angeles! See you soon,
Tommy