Ivan May

Okay then. I can't wait to post more often on the Music Player Network, and I applaud the many users on this site who are desperately trying to keep this wonderful forum up and running for just as long as they can. Until then, I'll see you guys in 2 and 2, as the late Chuck Woolery used to say...

I've only been a member of the great, concerned Music Player Network forums for just 2 years now, but it's been a hell of a ride. So many great users have come in and out of my life and I'm glad I got to post and make a lot of new friends here. Till we meet again...

Animotion is an American synth-pop band from Los Angeles, California, best known for the songs "Obsession", "Let Him Go", "I Engineer", and "Room to Move". Formed in 1983 from the remnants of a retro science-fiction band called Red Zone, they signed a record deal with Mercury Records in 1984 and released four studio albums. The group originally broke up in 1990, but reformed in 2001, releasing their most recent album in 2016. The group has a sound that has often been compared to bands like Berlin, The Motels, The Human League or Missing Persons. The group's male lead singer, Bill Wadhams, is clearly a Phillip Oakey clone, while the female singer, Astrid Plane, sounds like a cross between Teri Nunn and Joanne Catherall. Their song Obsession, was written by former Detective singer Michael Des Barres, and Holly Knight, an increasingly talented composer who apparently worked on some of Pat Bnatar's early recordings. It clmibed to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became an increasingly catchy song of theirs. During that period, Wadhams appeared in print ads for hair care products. The self titled debut, Animotion, also came out in 1984, and featured backup work from sometime Rufus bassist Dennis Belfield. Wadhams even played guitar and keyboards on some of the tracks himself, and the album itself, which was rereleased in Canada as The Language of Attraction, omitting the song "Turn Around". It also went gold in Canada. The groups second single, Let Him Go, climbed to #35 in the US. Following the departures of Antonelli and O'Brien, Smith became an official member of the band, along with new drummer Jim Blair, prior to the recording of the follow-up album, Strange Behavior (1986). It featured Richie Zito as producer, additional drumming from Mike Blair, and was also the last album to be released by Casablanca Records in the US before that label folded. While several singles were released from this album, its success in the US paled in comparison to the debut album, whereas the band became very famous in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and South Africa, thanks to the LP's single "I Engineer", another Holly Knight composition which was co-written with Bernie Taupin and Mike Chapman. "I Engineer" reached the Top 20 (and sometimes as high as the Top 5) in those countries, whereas it failed to reach the Hot 100. During 1986 and 1987 Animotion toured extensively, appearing alongside such performers as Phil Collins, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Genesis, Howard Jones, INXS, and Simply Red. In the midst of recording their third album, Animotion went through personnel changes, as all three of the remaining founding members (Ottavio, Plane, and Wadhams) departed, along with Blair. The split was not amicable; Ottavio and Plane (who by this point were a couple, and later married) were fired from the band at the behest of the management, while Wadhams' departure was the culmination of a refusal of the record label to allow him to continue to write songs for the band (on their first album he had served as principal songwriter and, along with Kirkpatrick and Smith, had performed the same role on the second), a condition which he felt uncomfortable with. Actress/dancer/singer Cynthia Rhodes replaced Plane as female lead singer, and former solo artist/Device member Paul Engemann replaced Wadhams as the male lead for Animotion's second self-titled album, informally known as "Room to Move" (due to the success of this song) to distinguish it from their first LP. Incidentally, Engemann's former band, Device, had also included Holly Knight (co-writer of "Obsession"). By the time of this third album's release, only Kirkpatrick and Smith remained officially in the "band" along with Rhodes and Engemann, and a slew of session musicians contributed to the recording. The single "Room to Move", a remake of a 1988 song by the group Climie Fisher, became a radio hit in April 1989, and the band's second Top 10 hit in the US, climbing to #9 in the US, and aided by its inclusion in the movie My Stepmother Is an Alien. However, the album itself did not crack the top 100 on the charts, and Animotion broke up afterwards. Rhodes later starred alongside Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the film Dirty Dancing, and eventually retired from acting in the late nineties after marrying singer and songwriter Richard Marx and raising his 3 sons. They divorced in 2014. They reformed in 2001 and their most recent album was released in 2017. Several of the original members reunited on February 8, 2001, in response to a request from Alex Hart and 94.7 NRK Radio Station in Portland, Oregon, performing for a sold-out crowd. Plane, Wadhams, Kirkpatrick, and Smith have continued to perform as Animotion since this time; with drummer Kevin Rankin joining them in 2002, and Bill's son Chris Wadhams joining as bass player in 2011. Bill's brother, Tad Don Kirkpatrick also plays in Rod Stewart's band. When he is unavailable, Portland, Oregon guitarist Kevin Hahn deputizes in the position. They have performed many shows with A Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, Berlin and the Motels in recent years. In the summer of 2005, Ottavio made a guest appearance alongside Plane and Wadhams who appeared as Animotion in the American version of the TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time, performing their hit "Obsession" and a cover of Dirty Vegas' "Days Go By". In 2014, Wadhams heard a remix of "Obsession" by a Colorado DJ named Joman. After reaching out to the DJ, Joman offered to remix new material from the band. Wadhams sent a recording of "Raise" and the remixed product was used to obtain a record deal with Invisible Hands Music in London. After 26 years, the band—featuring core members Plane, Wadhams, Kirkpatrick, and Smith—released a new album entitled Raise, which was released in 2016 in the UK and a month later on January 20, 2017 (as Raise Your Expectations) in the US. Joman's rendition of "Raise" along with Animotion's classic "Let Him Go" are featured on the album. A music video, directed by producer Chuck Kentis' son Noah, was made for the song "Last Time": it features a mix of live-action and animated elements. The album cover was created by Jay Vigon, who created Animotion's original logo and the logo for Prince's film Purple Rain. The band's original drummer, David "Frenchy" O'Brien (born May 23, 1947 in Worcester, Massachusetts), died on January 13, 2019, at age 71. In January 2023, a US show was announced: the band played at the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena, California on May 20, 2023, but haven't done anything since. If you guys like Animotion, please let me know.

I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life. Go ahead with your own life and leave me alone!

gayle has, as you can tell, customized this Telecaster, in an orange finish and with a maple fingerboard on a maple neck. It has lots of stickers attached to it (Gayle presumably added some stickers on it and/or a roadie added it on there.) I am not sure if this is a vintage, first edition Telecaster, but it might be a reissue or newer American Standard like Telecaster. Fender is known for making several reissues of their old guitars. Gayle has also opened up for artists such as AJR, Tate McRae, Taylor Swift, and Pink. Her new hits include Dumbass, her first single released in 2020, as well as the song ABCDEFU, released in 2021 and which was nominated for a Grammy.

Rest In Peace Linda LaFlamme. White Bird is one of my favorite songs by Its A Beautiful Day, and I actually own their debut album. Gonna have to play it in her memory tonight.

The biggest mistake I ever made was purchasing a copy of Solar Power by Lorde. I waited so long to purchase it after hearing it was her first studio album in 5 years, and what aggravated me about the album was the sound quality. It had some good songs on it, but the audio quality was very 'muddy' for my tastes. I eventually stuck it in a cutout rack and since then, I've never missed it. I've also learned never to make a mistake again when purchasing an album I love.

Have a happy friggin' election day, everybody!

I would really love to go, but I live in Georgia. Maybe I can convince my family to save up some money and time and energy and go to that concert. I guess only time will tell...

Box Of Rain has always been one of my favorite Dead songs. Lesh apparently wrote it in memory of his father, who was dying of inoperable prostate cancer and wanted his only child to write him a beautiful song as he knew he was going to die. And it worked really well. RIP Phil Lesh.