HW: beat.dead.horse.com

[K Henderson]

Hi Folks...

I really don't want to be posting this at all, given that there's so much
stuff already written here that I can't even wade through it myself, and
here I am adding to it.

But I feel compelled to respond to my own response at least on a few matters.

First off, I wish to apologize to Rik (Rx) as I rather acted like - "Who is
this guy and what can we expect from him?" - when in retrospect I do
remember seeing his name appear here before occasionally (I'm still in the
dark about what cy-b.org is though, and how they became affiliated with HW),
and his recent posts have been very reasonable and helpful to understand the
exact situation.

Of course, I, like Paul M. (and presumably a majority of folks), read the
heading of the 'letter' to mean that it was directed towards Mr. Gilham and
just cc'd to DS, and don't know why those names would be switched on any
copy. (That's not how it's supposed to be done, is it?)

Well, whatever, it seems as though cooler heads are prevailing and hopefully
tomorrow the sun will arise over the smoke in Afghanistan.

Additionally, I don't support the idea that this Public Relations fiasco
(limited basically to ourselves and those who happen to stroll by the WWW
archive, so it will quickly pass) is a big enough event to even think about
doing anything silly like: selling everything I own in protest, or saying
that any member(s) of the band/management is now so criminal or hated to
think that boycotts should be emplaced.  And that works the other way too -
I don't agree that anyone is so virtuous and untouchable that anything
without their contribution tarnishes the good name of the band.  Of course,
those individuals who persist in bootlegging material and intentionally
misusing/misrepresenting the name Hawkind should always be fought against.
I'm not even going to try to assume I know who those people are (we all have
our guesses, but can we be absolutely sure *they're* the ones?), but we'd
like to see the efforts of the Hawkwind management/lawyers go against
*these* people first and foremost.  HW.com I still contend wasn't remotely
the right place to fight that battle; it was still a petty argument IMHO
'cause I imagine that indeed it was the 'advertising' of Nik events that
spurred the letter's creation.  But I guess that's all water under the
bridge now...

I can only speak for myself, but my strong statements condemming the
'letter' were primarily based on the following...
1. While not knowing Mr. Gilham personally (although I think we probably met
at the Beehive briefly, but then I met a lot of people I don't remember -
that's the fault of the English ales, not that you weren't all memorable!),
I've had enough email correspondence/dealings with him to know that he ain't
out to hurt the band - that everyone agrees with I can see.
2. We, the fan, don't understand why that if certain individuals are so
'taboo' for the healthy operation of the band, why the hell are they either
'rehired' or brought back on board for special events?
3. Some of us remember the stink made over the Codex, and thought, "Oh no,
this looks like the same thing all over again."
4. Some of us are quite cynical when it comes to things like lawyerspeak
(which shouldn't be used in discussion of all things Hawkwind), and that
'letter' just doesn't seem to fit that which we think the group should be
about.  Some of us have spent like $20,000 on Hawkwind in our lifetimes, and
have this strange idea that we 'own' a piece of the band in some respects,
and so it's almost like that letter was coming from 'us' as well.
5. As was my point in my initial fit of pique (whatever that is), I have
always been dismayed at a perceived (perhaps misguided) lack of attention by
the band and its management to properly present new and reissued material
into the marketplace to drown out the flotsam and jetsam that is the bane of
our existence (*Another* Yuri Gagarin???).  I know it's difficult to thwart
these no-good opportunists, but I'd just be happy if the really good things
that are magic to everyone's eyes are kept IN PRINT at least.  I can't
believe for one moment that a record company couldn't be encouraged to
re-release certain things in sufficient quantities to make a profit.  Yeah,
I may not appreciate how much effort it takes, but it should be the number
two priority, the first being the next album/live tour that will happen.
Oh, yeah, some of us get a little sceptical of things actually happening as
planned in the HW camp...but after twenty-plus years, we learn to expect
that and just enjoy that which comes to pass with the enthusiasm it brings.

Now let's get back to the one topic we can all agree on - Jerry Falwell *is*
a complete idiot!

Grakkl (FAA)