Privacy Editorial - Winds of Change

As I sit here on a cloudy Sunday morning, wondering what to write to sum up Privacy’s existence for the last few months, Styx plays "Come Sail Away" on the radio beside me, and I hear the nameless, faceless guitar solo -- I realize it is nameless and faceless only to me. Something I have learned over the past five years is that there is a fandom for everything. It’s like something my dad used to tell me a long time ago - turn on your radio to any station, any time of day, and flick the dial around till you land on something that you find absolutely disgusting. Then consider this: somewhere out in the world, that is someone’s absolute favorite song of all time. Hear those drums? Someone out there knows that drummer’s birthday. Hear that audience singing along? Someone out there remembers that day as the best day of their entire life. It’s interesting, all the different things we find to mark our territory and define ourselves - the things we believe in and the things we love.

I’ve only been a Duranie since 1990, and it’s never been boring. From 1990 to the middle of 1993, my Duranie experience was one of fresh perspectives and discovery, as the early albums were new to me as well, and I discovered Missing Persons at the same time. In 1993, getting on the Internet connected me to other fans and even more discoveries, as I quickly filled up shelves with audio and videotapes, began this fan club and entered a new world. It is a closeknit and cliquey world, and sometimes it can be rather frightening, but most of all it’s connection, it’s bonding - it’s having something in common that allows you to move beyond Duran Duran into true friendship - for some of us the closest friendships we have ever had. When the talk turns back to Duran, as it inevitably occasionally does, my somewhat outsider status reasserts itself, though I can relate to most of it. Most Duranies I have met started out as teens in the early 80’s and have never been anything else. I was 23 when I joined the fold. Somehow it isn’t the same...yet it is.

Light returns to the eyes of 29 year old women who tell the stories of how, when they were 13, they became a Simon fan forever, or a teacher discovered their fan fiction and gave them encouragement to be a writer, or they used their infatuation to fuel their artwork and create. I’ve heard stories of people who listened to one particular song over and over, slowly yanking themselves out of suicidal depressions. I’ve heard stories of going to concerts, meeting the band for the first time, dancing to "Save a Prayer" at a prom, finding a box of pins at a flea market, getting kicked out of school for having champagne pink hair like Nick and naming children "Taylor" whether a husband knows why or not. I’ve seen tattoos. I know one woman who seems to have the entire Sing Blue Silver documentary memorized and can recite it right along with the tape. I’ve heard of band employees whose names can be found in ancient Star Hits Duran Duran pen pal columns.

For me, it’s all a lot more recent than that, but my own fandom at 13, when I was totally infatuated with Neil Giraldo and the entire experience of Pat Benatar and her band, helps me to understand. I, too, wrote the fan fiction and I had songs that yanked me out. I, too, read articles over and over, memorizing interview responses and building these strangers up into role models. I, too, have translated lyrics into French for school assignments. I, too, shrieked when the camera lingered on a certain guitarist’s biceps and passionate green eyes, and I remember, with my friends, dissecting a certain video for clues of the latest waxing or waning of the Pat/Neil relationship. I even wrote my high school term paper about Pat’s life changes and how they expressed themselves in her music. I have enjoyed Duran concerts, but nothing tops the 2-plus hours in a tiny St. Louis bar in October 1997, staring up at Pat and Neil from the front row as they rocked the house, my heart in my throat and my emotions plain in the tears on my face. And I remember when I was 12, proudly wearing my blue satin Shaun Cassidy jacket to school, and wishing, with my friend, that somehow ABBA would visit our school music show, see our talent, pick us out of the crowd and whisk us away to be backup singers.

So yes, I understand Duranies. I even have my favorite moments in Duran concert videos, my memorized Duran interview responses, and my own Duran fanfic. Being a Duranie has totally enhanced my life and added new dimension to it in ways I never thought possible. I only hope that everyone has something that they believe in and enjoy this much.

Letters

 Now THAT is a hard one! Let's see. Noticeable One is rather fun. The Right Now one has some interesting synth-like tonalities to it that earn it a spot. I rather like the intro riff to Face To Face (actually I love that whole song) and the guitar work in Boy I Say To You, particularly live. And Give has two distinctively different solos - they almost sound like they are played by two different people. I know I'm probably leaving out some really good ones.

 Does Warren do email? If so, I would love to interview him about the genius work he had purveyed. I would really love to ask him "just what were you playing from the 23^rd to the 27^th second of 'Ass Man'?" I believe his new album is the most innovative collection of guitar solo music to ever be released. He has taken the instrument to a new level. I bought the CD last week and have remained in awe! I even woke up in the middle of the first night that I bought it and was thinking "jesus, he is an absolute genius." NOBODY, to the best of my knowledge, has EVER played the instrument this way – beautiful – Viva Machine Language!

 To the best of my knowledge Warren does not do email, but he will read your question when he gets this issue of Privacy. Maybe I can include it in an upcoming Q & A on the website.

 Hi! I went to Duran Duran's show in Las Vegas. That was great! It was the first time I saw Duran Duran and Warren in a live show. Did you figure out that Deja View (Machine Language) is on Patrick O'Hearn's Indigo album? And part of Deep Sleep is also on Patrick's Metaphor album. --Rintaro

 Greetings – My name is Randy Allar, and I host a fusion radio show in Cleveland. Thanks to Frank is amazing and receives air on the show. I have been trying to dig up more on Warren and the different fusion-type releases available. I also get numerous requests for "Thanks to Frank." I interviewed FZ back in '88 or '89 and ran the interview on the station. I would love to have Warren make a visit on the air as well. My email is fusion@alltel.net. The station website is www.wcsb.org. We also broadcast on the Internet. When I play the disc, I get calls from fans of Warren letting me know they dig it. I also get calls from listeners wanting to know who it is and where they can get it.

I popped in Spring Session M today on the way to work. I wanted to see what, if anything, was on the net about one of my favorite "growing up" bands. Your site is freakin' great! Thanks for putting it together. It seems like hardly anybody I knew growing up listened to these guys. I had their tapes because CD's weren't the 'thing" yet! I wore Rhyme & Reason out!! It seemed like the perfect tape to listen to while sunbathing by the pool. I'm a musician and in my own band, and I've always admired the prowess of Terry Bozzio. Thanks again. James Staubes, Atlanta, GA

 Hey - I hope you print this, and don't use my name because I don't want to get in trouble -however, I got this bootleg of an earlier version of Medazzaland, and now I am outraged, speaking as a Warren fan. The original "Midnight Sun" was SO SO SO SO SO much better. Why did they do that to it? He had the most awesome solo; it made me cry. and the ending chorus was so powerful and emotional, and the bass (sorry if it was one of John’s that Warren did, and I feel like a traitor if it was but I have no idea) was SO much better. I’m not talking technique - the entire bassline changed. It was so great before. What a phenomenal song it was! And now I can't even listen to the "real" version. Why did they DO that?????

 I don’t know. I’m equally frustrated about it. Maybe we’ll get the original version as a "remix" on a CD single someday. The solo is beautiful, I totally agree, and I even agree about the bass.

 I just ran into your web site via yahoo. I just wanted to say I saw the Missing Persons with Dale Bozzio on Aug. 1, 1997. I even dubbed the show on mini-disc. I even saved my ticket stub! Also, I heard a rumor that Dale appeared topless in Penthouse a while back. I didn't see anything in your FAQ about it, so I thought I'd ask!

DD/FZ/MP News

WARREN'S SISTER (STEPHANIE): Warren's mother also posted the following on AOL along with that message: "Would really appreciate it if you would all keep Warren's sister in your thoughts and prayer....she is having cervical spine surgery on Tuesday, so, if you would...Save A Prayer. Thanks"

WARREN INTERVIEWS: Check out Warren in the following: AE In Flight Entertainment, Bite Me Ezine, Café 80's On-Line, Daily Insider, Detour, New Orleans Gambit Weekly, Goldmine, Lexicon, Mike, Mix, New York, Nickolodeon News, One World, PlayGirl, Request, Rolling Stone Online, Sacramento News & Reviews, Smug, SW Networks Radio, Teen People, New Orleans Times Picayune, VH1 Online, Westwood One Radio, Wireless Flash, Yeah Yeah Yeah.

CONDOLENCES TO SIMON: According to several interviews done recently, Simon has now revealed that "Michael, You've Got A Lot To Answer For" was written for and about INXS member Michael Hutchence, contrary to comments he had made prior to that. On an INXS fan site, someone wrote on Nov. 25, 1997 about Simon's tribute to Michael at the Cleveland show, saying that he "broke down on stage and started crying, mentioning that Michael was his 'best friend' in the music industry. He talked about what a beautiful and caring person Michael was, and urged the crowd not to forget Paula and their baby, Tiger."

CHUCK NEWS: Privacy sends condolences to Chuck Wild, whose sister, Betsy Chinnery, recently passed away from cervical cancer. Chuck's been very busy lately and sent the following info for you: "I'm now back in Hollywood, writing and producing songs for a new artist, Greg Wood, who's a terrific singer/songwriter. Greg has major interest from Arista, Interscope and several other labels, and will likely have a major record deal shortly. I'm also composing music for a third LIQUID MIND album, to be called Balance, for release on February 15, 1999 on Chuck Wild Records. The first two albums, Ambience Minimus and Slow World have sold really well in about 1000 new age bookstores, and Slow World is being sold now through the huge "Harmony" catalog (goes to 10 million homes), so I'm very happy about that. Both albums are still available through Backroads Music at +1 (800) 767-4748 if anyone wants a copy. I've just had a song recorded by popular Belgian singer "PEARL", who is on Byte Records in Europe. She's very popular in Europe and the song is called "YOU'RE THE ONE I LOVE," and will likely be a single. Danish artist Trine Rein, who is on EMI Records in Europe is also recording a dance tune Michele Vice & I wrote, that one is called "MORE". I've recently consummated a foreign collection agreement with Warner/Chappell Music, by which they administrate and collect foreign royalties on my three publishing catalogs. I think that's about it. We just had a small earthquake as I was writing this to you, the first one I've felt in some time, just reminds me how vulnerable Los Angeles is to earthquakes!

WES NEWS: Wes Wehmiller's band, "I, Claudius," has been playing a few shows in the LA area.

Back In Time: Canarsie Days

Hi, My name is Ralph Ventre (a former Canarsian). Warren and I used to live one block from each other (I was on east 93^rd, and he was on east 94^th street in Canarsie). When we were kids we used to all play stickball, basketball, etc. When I was about 14 Warren had a band (at that time he used to play at Canarsie High School Battle of the Bands, in which they won). We all (kids around the area) hung at Warren's house to hear Warren and his drummer, Vinnie Aguster, jam all day. I would sit on drums, then Jay, then my brother Charlie (who happens to play still and sounds like Neil Peart from Rush) - it was GREAT! Basically we all grew up together. When Warren hooked up with Zappa, all Canarsians were very proud of him (local boy makes GOOD). I remember when Zappa was at Warren's house and ALL our friends were outside waiting to get in. When I drove by, I saw all the commotion and knew Zappa was there, so I parked, and before I knew it, me and my brother were invited in (seeing Warren and Zappa was really KOOL). Most of his closest friends never made it in.

 "I'm the most proud of this record. I didn't even know it was there." (Warren)

The inspiration for Roadrage came about due to Bandai Records of Japan. "I was going to release the ambient albums on Bandai," he says, adding that they suggested that he put together another rock album like Thanks 2 Frank, which they liked. He couldn't believe he had nine songs - an album. It took him two fourteen-hour days to go through all the material and make the tapes. "This is the most emotional, spirited, fiery guitar playing that I've ever done," Warren says. "Nick did all the art, all the logos...for Roadrage, TV Mania, Lo-Fi, Designer Fruit, all of it. It is SO cool. I'm really glad to have Nick involved with this project." Even though many of us have tapes of the shows and have heard most of this material, Warren promises "You have NEVER heard it like this. This sounds like it was recorded in a studio."

Lo-Fi: Warren and Nick have been concentrating on their new label, Lo-Fi, shopping it around. "We've been working our asses off," Warren points out. "It's something we really want to share. I'm very into this label." Warren says that they have signed two bands to Lo-Fi – bands which he says are both left-of-center and commercial, as well as prolific and talented.

Designer Fruit: Besides this, he and Nick have been working on another new label with Allen Kovac, called "Designer Fruit." "We're going to be producing a lot and signing a lot," Warren says. "Our days have gone from being 10 hour days to being 21 hour days." Designer Fruit is just in the beginning stages, with three prospects that Warren and Nick are helping by listening to their songs and going through their material. "There's a British band that does a lot of Zeppelin/Radiohead kind of music, also early Bowie," Warren said. He also mentioned scouting some bands from Brazil as well as "a girl band from New York" that they haven't signed yet.

Touring: "I loved it; it was a lot of fun," Warren says about the fall 1997 US Duran Duran tour, though he says he would rather have young bands from Lo-Fi out there performing while he and Duran Duran would stay in London and make records. "As much fun as [the tour] was, the creation part of it is the most fun. He mentioned the possibility of doing some shows from London that would be broadcast around the world on satellite as a less expensive way of touring. "Everybody's getting older," he said, adding that they all have families. He doesn't see much point in "going out, being 40-something and prancing around. It's very retro, very nostalgia." On the last tour, he noticed that "a lot of songs we wanted to play, people didn't know. They just wanted to hear the hits," adding that he would have been a lot happier going out playing songs off Roadrage, which is the kind of stuff he wants to play. "I could do that when I'm fifty!" he said. "I've been going through a lot, personally, with this album, working ten-twelve hours a day." He says that he can't see Duran touring again in the near future "unless we make serious, serious money," but they will promote the next album however they can.

"What's In The Future?" (from TV Mania's "Mirror Mirror"): "I'm going to be releasing records about every six-eight months," Warren says, "with Roadrage out in October (1998)." He estimates that The Blue will be released around April 1999 and Trance Formed around October 1999. But we certainly don't need to worry about Warren running out of material any time soon or getting caught up with himself by releasing previously recorded material. "I've written twenty new songs in the last three months," he states confidently. His 21-hour days might be catching up with him, but he's taking a week off soon to catch some World Cup Brazilian football and relax.

I have to admit, I've been looking forward to this one. While I really dig Machine Language, this is more my style. This CD fills in the gaps for those of us who loved his 1994-96 solo shows so much and wanted to be able to hear them clearly (as opposed to all the bootlegs that floated around). With Thanks 2 Frank and Roadrage, you now have a fairly complete portrait of Warren's solo shows that are so breathtaking, even if you haven't had the chance to see one.

Overall, I must say that this album ranks right up there with Thanks 2 Frank as a must-have for any fan of Warren's. The only thing that could have made it even more fantastic would have been if he could have recorded "Watermelon in Easter Hay," but since Gail Zappa has stated her wish that the song never be recorded again by anyone, he could hardly do that (you can find it on several bootlegs from the Dec 1993-Feb 1994 part of the 1993/94 Duran tour and it is well worth the effort to do so). While Thanks 2 Frank had, in my opinion, two types of songs, generally speaking, this CD is much more diverse. The older album had some songs that were bluesy, rocking, crisp and clear, hot stuff, and then it also had some more melodic, brooding and textured songs that ended up being the ones I preferred (such as Galactic Ballerina, Orgasmatron, Tardinha, Indian Time Zones, etc). On Roadrage, we are treated to both sounds and more.

Two of the songs on this album showcases Warren's talent in the first way that the world was introduced to it: with Zappa music. Transylvania Boogie and Willie The Pimp are both Zappa classics that Warren was more than able to execute. The former was recorded live in March 1996 at Tower Records with Joe and Wes, who proved themselves more than capable of handling the job. The latter song was recorded live at the Stone Pony show (July 1994), with Warren's Canarsie buddy Jon Kiebon on vocals, Jay Cuccurullo on drums and Nick Beggs on bass. Having been privileged to witness this performance, I must say that even though I had never heard the song, it was something special to behold, and all the spontaneity of that night was captured in this track.

There are two totally-solo cuts on the album: Suddenly Spring and A Little Exit Music. Suddenly Spring shows us a new side of Warren (unless we've been following Duran Duran over the last few years) and is a beautifully arranged, acoustic guitar bouquet of sound. A Little Exit Music ends the album with one guitar figure repeated over and over in a weirdly frenetic and delicate way, backed by a lower part that returns you right to the root of the song at every turn, and then toward the end, the whole thing gets skewed into something even more strange.

Something that I was quite pleased to see is that the three new songs that Warren added to his live shows in 1996 have been captured for posterity on this album. Hearing these songs shows you how Warren's musical mind has grown and changed just since 1994. Whatever You Say, Mac and Roadrage are sheer masterpieces, especially Roadrage, which is moody and dark enough to please anyone. I must single out Wes for praise for his bass work on this song, too. The Beating is something that I wasn't sure at the time was an actual song, seeming to be a way for Warren to work out his sound and test his equipment, but I remember being totally fascinated by it. Duran fans will recognize this jagged, echoey sound from the song "Silva Halo" (Medazzaland), though he toned it down a lot before its use in the Duran song.

Perhaps most exciting to me and other Missing Persons fans is the inclusion of In-Flight Entertainment, which we were introduced to at the 1994 Stone Pony show (it was then titled "Discoveries"). At that time, Warren told the audience that Missing Persons used this song to warm up. This song blasts into orbit with Chapman Stick bass by Nick Beggs, and Steve Alexander handily fills the Terry Bozzio slot, even getting a long and frenetic drum solo. This all works together and folds into a blasting, euphoric sequence of chords on Warren's guitar.

The showcase of the album, in my opinion, is Ordinary World (recorded live with Joe and Wes in March 1996). As all of you know, Warren wrote the majority of this song and contributed it to Duran Duran, giving them their first top 5 hit in years. The way Warren performs it with his own band, in his own way, will send chills down your spine as you hear all the passion and honesty that has always infused this song and you begin to realize that the lyrics and vocals only carry half the load. In Warren's instrumental version, shared with you here, Warren's guitar fully orchestrates every shred of emotion in the song as you journey from the delicate beginning to the soaring middle part to the roaring climax and right back to a satisfying, gentle end that leaves you feeling as if you have experienced the ultimate performance of the song.

At any rate, Warren's talent is phenomenal, and we're all so lucky to have the honor of experiencing it. My hope is that he continues to record music like this and share it with the world.

Privacy Moves Online

Even though I am no longer publishing paper issues, you can get your fix on Warren info. Just go to the following places:

Privacy Web Site: This is where you will find info about the club, which is now free and not really a "club" anymore, technically, since there is really no reason to join or subscribe to anything. All sorts of questions are answered here.

Privacy Issue Archive: This is where you will find all the back issues, in their online format - all the way back to Issue 1 (Sep/Oct 1993). Plan to stay a while! Or, feel free to print them off and read them at your leisure.

Privacy Paper Issues: If you would like your very own copy of the paper edition of issues 1-25, all you have to do is ask. The paper issues have artwork, cartoons, photos, the weird page decorations and other things that I cannot reproduce online (such as long article reprints that we do not have permission to put online). If you see something that you want, I would be happy to sell you that issue for $5. Send the money, and your request, to Privacy, c/o Cyndi Glass, PO BOX 593, Vincennes IN 47591 USA

Warren Cuccurullo Mailing List (cuccurullo@egroups.com): this is my newest project - and it’s totally free, even to me! A mailing list is an interactive discussion list on the Internet, and it works through email. All you have to do is subscribe to it, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Go to http://www.egroups.com and search for "cuccurullo" to sign up. Then, send messages to cuccurullo@egroups.com to communicate with other fans of Warren. And yes, I did this on purpose - yes, you DO have be able to spell his name right. Any news that I hear about Warren will be communicated instantly to people on the mailing list. (UPDATE - this is now the "cuccurullo" Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cuccurullo)

Privacy; The Warren Cuccurullo Web Site: This is the place to look for all the Warren information you could want. The main page (the URL above) is a basic home page with a list of all the pages to explore. There is a "News" page for the latest news and updates, a complete biography of Warren, information about his solo career and albums, his discography, graphy, and the one and only original Warren Cuccurullo FAQ. There's also a page of sound clips, some photos, articles by me and Gary, and a page of articles, interviews and online chats that Warren has done. The site also has a guest book where you can share your comments and thoughts about Warren or the site.

Missing Persons Web Site: Structured much like the Warren Cuccurullo site, this one is a home for the Missing Persons fan. The main page is the intro to the site, with a list of the pages and an essay about MP’s music. It also has a band history, pictures, some sound files, news, a "Where Are They Now" page, Dale's tour dates, a complete discography, a list of their videos and collectibles, lyrics, and the Missing Persons FAQ, along with a guest book.

When you finish up with something, maybe you end up with a few large trash bags. I, being a packrat, have three large boxes. I have every letter anyone ever wrote to Privacy, all the original articles people wrote, all the photos, all the questionnaires, contest entries, faxes and all sorts of miscellaneous stuff that refuses to be categorized, along with another box of fanzines, computer disks, etc. And glue sticks. I think there are fifteen or sixteen of them here. That’s the question I keep coming back to - even the most packratty of packrats could never justify keeping these things. I never used them before starting Privacy, and I really don’t know what I would ever use them for again. And this folder full of clip art, Privacy guys, insane borders and smiley faces? Sheesh.

As most of you have probably read the accompanying letter with this issue or heard the news from my website or Tiger, I’d imagine your reactions are pretty varied. Maybe you don’t care one way or the other, or maybe you’re ticked off. Many of you probably saw it coming before I did. The simple truth of the matter is that unless you are independently wealthy or have some kind of extremely well-paying job, it’s close to impossible to put out a quality fanzine, and by quality I mean not only well-done but timely. I have tried to make it worth your time to read the zine, even if it didn’t have glossy pages, color photos or tons of Duran info, and if I may be so bold, I’d say I succeeded.

Still, even in the fanzine's first year of operation, problems crept up, from financial concerns to a lack of time to work on the zine. Also, I will be honest - I’ve never thought it very healthy to have only one interest in life, and though I do tend to throw myself rather wholeheartedly into my pursuits, I’ve never been one of those people who have let an obsession get out of hand - no, I always have three or four good obsessions going at once, to the detriment of nearly everything else in my life. It is, however, very frustrating to be hampered by financial concerns and unable to get something to where it should be. For every one of you who might have been disappointed in Privacy’s ability to get issues out on time, trust me, that was twice as disappointing for me. I did not get into this to make a profit - all I ever wanted was to break even, and I never did. A few of you may remember that for the first couple of issues, I didn’t even charge anything. Then came a couple years of steadily increasing credit card debt. A year or so ago, I raised international rates and cut back to quarterly publication, and even that didn’t solve the problem - and then I decided to cut back to 15 pages maximum, a decision that I did not end up being able to stick to, probably because I thought it was wrong.

There have been a lot of changes lately, and I think that they are for the better. In the summer of 1997, I created the Privacy website, along with websites for Warren and Missing Persons, and a couple of months ago, I reluctantly made the decision to stop producing paper issues - it was kind of inevitable, since issue 24 sat in a cubbyhole under my desk for two months, all pasted up, and I never could find time to copy and collate it and that didn’t really matter anyway, since I had no money to mail it out. I remember when other fanzine editors urged me to get word processing programs, and I insisted on manual pasteup, because doing it this way was FUN. I gradually got into using Word, and as I have worked on converting files over for the online back issue archives, I can see some of the magic and fun going out of the issues - right about when I started using Word and stopped relying so heavily on manual pasteup. Still, one of my fondest memories of these past few months is digging little rubber shirt stars out of a folder and gluesticking them next to a border that made me howl with laughter, all the while watching a six-episode videotape of "SeaQuest." - even at the end, I didn’t convert totally, and I imagine I’ll use up most of my clip art crap with this issue, simply because I have the freedom to do so.

Maybe an effort like this requires one to be single-minded. The trouble with being single-minded is that it makes you put all your eggs in one basket, and then when something happens to the basket, you end up with nothing. A friend who shall remain nameless misunderstood when I told him this, and he reminded me of all the fun times I have had because of Privacy, not to mention a trip to New York to see Warren’s solo shows. That is so totally not what this is about. I am sure I'll have even more fun times, but that is not why I'm running Privacy or the website, and it never was. It has to do with expression and creation, and feeling like a part of something that is bringing, for lack of a better term, joy to the world. Perhaps this is too corny for you, or you think I’m full of it. It doesn’t really matter, because it’s the truth. Doing the paper issues used to be the culmination.

Today, doing the paper issues drags the rest of it down. It casts a shadow over everything else and delays more important things, like interviews that I could and should be doing but put off due to being ashamed that they will not run for months and will be out of date by that time. Today, I can do an interview, transcribe it, and have it up on the web site in a matter of hours. I remember sacrificing part of a story to keep an issue under a certain weight. That kind of thing destroys the purity of it all, and the pure fulfillment that putting the issues together gave me was the reason that I kept going - not the perks and passes, though I will admit those are a fun reward for the hard work we fanzine editors and webmasters do. It all began to seem futile, and that is when I realized that I was breaking my first rule - I was letting the quality of the zine suffer due to my own problems. That is when I knew it was time to stop. This is what I am talking about. I think I can get some of that joy and energy back.

Fortunately, disbanding Privacy itself was never a possibility or even a consideration. The very moment that I decided to stop publishing the paper copy issues, all sorts of new opportunities opened up for Privacy. Back in 1993, it was a necessity to have paper issues - that is just the way it had been done ever since the beginning of the fan club business, back when film stars of the 20’s and 30’s had eager fans who paid to read about their favorites. In 1993, most people didn’t even have email yet. The World Wide Web was there, but it wasn’t the everyday phenomenon that it is today. That has changed, and today it is ironically much easier to convey information and news online than it ever was via paper issues. I have always said that Privacy would be here for Warren forever, and that is not changing. Privacy is still here.

Most importantly, the burden that hung over my head is gone. The paper issues, formerly the focus of 95% of my effort, became only about 25% and now are gone altogether, though you can still buy old issues if you want (I will always keep the original pasteup dummies to photocopy new ones at your request - and there is no degradation of quality as that is how they were always produced anyway). I no longer have to worry about how I’m going to afford to mail the issues, or when they will finally get into your hands. All I have to do is update a website. Privacy has gone from having Warren’s only fan club to being that and much more - a loyal and dedicated web site, with a mailing list that allows instant communication with the fans. It’s much more flexible and free, and it opens up time and energy for other things, such as more interviews and Q&A’s.

So yes, I do allow myself a bit of regret, but most of the time I feel only relief and excitement about the future of Privacy. What once was only a magazine is now a web site, a mailing list and an online fanzine. Privacy has finally been unleashed!

As I begin to gather my thoughts to somehow explain the meaning of PRIVACY In The Universe As We Know it, I listen to the Patrick O’Hearn CD METAPHOR. Can it be that I am looking for a METAPHOR to somehow explain the CONCEPTUAL CONTINUITY within my writings that have been brought before you in PRIVACY: The Send it in Paste it Up Journalistic Adventure. Yes indeed, PRIVACY has taken itself to a written online format and maybe a METAPHOR is what is needed to somehow simplify the representation of this product in its new text online format.

PATIENCE MY FRIEND: While I’ve never looked closely at the release schedule of the last 25 issues, I’m sure at times waiting for the next issue of PRIVACY was like waiting for a Duran Duran release. For quite some time there have been many DD related websites and other electronic media outlets that could quickly spin their verbiage far quicker than a mailed fanzine. Most of what I’ve read in PRIVACY was well worth its between-issue wait, but I can project that the new online medium will enable PRIVACY’s editor to deliver the goods in a more up-to-date fashion. Mailmen will just have to wonder what it is that is contained in other large mailers that travel round the globe from Vincennes, Indiana.

CROSSING THE DIVIDE: The text that you read will now be jumping at you as if it has just come from some Universal Vehicle. In Star Trek I believe only six people could be transported from The Starship Enterprise to some destination with unknown circumstances. The number of inhabitants and places that PRIVACY travels to may be limitless.

PEACE BE WITH YOU: As the Chicken Cacciatore cooks away, I can think of how I once waited 8 hours on line for Frank Sinatra tickets. The show wound up being canceled and I was never able to attend the rescheduled show which very well may have been his last NY engagement. Somehow, I hold onto the thought of my time spent on that day as if it was a piece of history within his legacy. I hope that the chairman of the board is watching over this new adventure and can somehow spiritually host some of these writings. I see him at a large dinner table waiting to share in a meal with the readers of PRIVACY. We are what we eat. The meal is served.

THE WOMEN OF LACHAISE: Will PRIVACY: The Send it in Paste it Up Journalistic Adventure be put to rest? Will it have a resting place? Can we have a marble sculpture made of the logo and have it placed in the Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France? I now think of a movie entitled The Moderns. A character who was a critic wanted to escape his life, so he planned his own death. He didn’t really die, but everyone attended his funeral and thought he was dead. Up from his grave rose a ghost of another character who had died in the film. This character gave his own definition of art. He said if someone took a shit on a piece of canvas and he paid a million dollars for it, that it was worth a million dollars because that is what he paid for it. I ask you...what is art?

DRIVE: This is audience participation time. Consult the Thesaurus of your choice and indulge in the following process. Take 5:33 and write down whatever comes to mind. Send us a transcription of your adventure.

LET TRUTH PREVAIL: Much of what exists on the Internet can be scrutinized. There are most certainly tons of hobby dens with jaded representation of commercial product. May PRIVACY ring true and help further the development in making Cuccurullo a household name.

IMAGES IN STONE: The 26 issues are now available for your viewing pleasure. Take time and enjoy what is now and what is to come.

ALL QUIET NOW: Life brings us many obstacles. These last few weeks of my life have led me to choose a new path. I can feel the power of a positive direction. While change has a sense of uncertainty a meditative calm captures over me.

FAITH AND ENDURANCE: Music is the best!

GARY: Now. The whole blues scenario. You know. She's Underneath the Lawn…

IKE: Ha Ha haaaaa Ha.

GARY: The way many were introduced to Ike as a live vocalist. There was this monster vocal in a tune like Bamboozled By Love.

IKE: Right.

GARY: And there's plenty enough of guitar work on the Tinseltown Rebellion material and maybe I could remember those wild shows I saw as an adolescent teenager but I'm searching. When I listen to this live material I find myself asking 'where is the Ike Willis guitar sound?'

IKE: Going towards '80 and up Frank started letting me open up a little more as far as my own particular sound is concerned.

GARY: 78-80. Did you take a solo?

IKE: Uhhhhhhh. Once.

GARY: What tune?

IKE: Umm

JAY: Suicide Chump

IKE: I think Suicide Chump was one of 'em. Yeah. Suicide Chump was one and I think...no, no, I think that was it because I wasn't he wasn't gonna let...

JAY: He let you do a blues solo though.

IKE: Cause that's the thing. At first I never got a chance to do any solos except for a blues tune

JAY: Right

IKE: ...and I am not a blues guitarist. I don't. I'm not….

GARY: What guitar did you use?

IKE: Ummm

JAY: That was the Strat I think.

IKE: That was the Strat. Oh, you remember? There was this kid in Providence. That kid in Providence that Joey Psychotic brought to me with that Strat. Remember that maple one? This kid wanted to sell it, so I bought it from him on the spot. A three bolt mid seventies Strat and I started using that because I'm a Strat player really and I started using that exclusively. You know...and a little more edge and a little more volume, but the thing is, because I'm still playing all the rhythm guitar parts and stuff, I just started going towards a fuller sound, plus my amp setup changed. I got an endorsement from Acoustic when they started making there Boogie type amps. I brought those in, and Frank fell in love with those, so he ordered a bunch of 'em, but I had an endorsement so I got Frank another endorsement with Acoustic on those. So it just changed my whole sound. I was playing through that for my dirties, and for my cleans I was playing through a Fender Super Reverb with the four twelves. That and the four twelve JBL Marshal type. I started to expand more then and Frank started giving me more solos.

GARY: O.K. I want to get on and speak a bit about what Warren did and Denny did in a compositional aspect. When we listen to tunes like Peaches en Regalia we know Warren's or one of the popular sounds that he used in the Zappa's band. All those names of famous Italians.

IKE: Sure.

GARY: I had friends that were fooled. They actually thought that Alvin Lee and Al DiMeola were playing.

IKE: And Conlan Nancarrow. You see, Warren was actually our first. Officially our first stunt guitarist, OK? He was like our first stunt guitarist BECAUSE...

JAY: Pre-Vai era.

IKE: Exactly. Because when he first got in the band, it cracked us up that Warren could actually do Frank's solos exactly and get the tone and all that so there would be tunes that Frank would like. You know Frank would.

JAY: Dirty Love. He did a solo in Dirty Love (meaning Warren)

GARY: Oh yeah, Dirty Love

IKE: Yeah. He played exactly like Frank, basically….

JAY: Cosmic Debris.

IKE: Yeah, Cosmic…

JAY: All the blues type ones.

IKE: Frank really wanted to concentrate on extended solos. We were doing stuff like Easter Hay and Frank would stretch out his solos for like 10 to 15 minutes and whatnot...but, like, the shorter blues tunes like that, Warren would be Frank.

GARY: Oh yeah.

JAY: Those 8 bar solos and 16 bar solos....

IKE: Yeah, Warren would cover those.

JAY: ...and do Frank's solo off the record.

GARY: That's actually Warren on the record if you listen to Joe's Garage.

IKE: Denny would cover the slide. Power slide and stuff.

JAY: Oh, yeah.

IKE: And you know…Denny was the best… Fantastic.

GARY: There is no better…in my opinion there is no better than the slide solo in Bamboozled by Love.

IKE: NONE. NONE. I mean NONE. Denny bar none is the best slide player.

JAY: On Bongo Fury he did...

IKE: Advance Romance. Yeah, Power Slide. Power Slide.

JAY: That was early seventies.

IKE: 70...actually that was '75. 'Cause I saw that show. The first show I ever saw I was at college. A freshmen during the Roxy Tour, and then I saw Bongo Fury Tour the next year.

JAY: Wow.

IKE: Yeah that's when I was a sophomore with Denise and …

JAY: Who's playing bass on that?

IKE: Tom (Fowler).

GARY: I've been listening to Frank's music since '67 (Thank God for my older brother). I was only born in '62.

IKE: Damn.

JAY: How old are you?

GARY: 34. I was only old enough to go to a show in '78. When I saw Tom Fowler with Banned From Utopia. It was like Wow. The first Zappa LP I purchased on my own on the day of its release was Roxy and Elsewhere. When I saw Tom Fowler, regardless of the 40 odd Zappa shows I've seen. THE sound...

IKE: Roasted. Roasted.

JAY: Like Jaco man...

IKE: Tom and all the Fowlers...they're even ten times better than…

GARY: Can you guys remember? Did the Fowlers ever do a show for Public television? I can remember back to the early seventies where there was this family. A whole family.

JAY: The King Family?

GARY: It wasn't The Partridge Family.

JAY: The Osmonds?

IKE: It wasn't The Osmonds??????

GARY: Noooo. I think it was the Fowlers.

IKE: Well there's five Fowler brothers. There's five Fowler brothers and the father Bill who is the editor of Downbeat magazine.

JAY: (Inaudible)

IKE: Yeah, that's Bill. You see, he was like Segovia's last guitar student before he died so...

JAY: Wows O.K.

IKE: Yeah, wow. Bill is Bad.

GARY: The father's into music too. That's it That's it...I remember this family had their father playing with 'em, doing all this wild jazz. They did a show that I saw on WNET. PBS.

IKE: Not surprising. Not surprising cause all of them are excellent virtuoso musicians. You know, all that stuff and et cetera. I mean it's amazing….. Hey fellas, what time is it? How much time we got 'cause we have a show to prepare for.

JAY: It's quarter to eleven.

GARY: Quick. OK, Jay, we are going to talk for a minute on your tryout for the Frank Zappa Band

JAY: Wow, OK. I had short notice about the audition.

GARY: What year?

JAY: I was twenty one. '82.

IKE: The Euro Tour.

JAY: The night before I was over my friends house rehearsing to the Black Page and whatever else I could possibly practice in 5's and 7's and all kinds of odd meters and stuff like that. I was in really spent shape when I got off the plane...who picked me up? Were you there?

IKE: Uhhh...

JAY: Ray.

IKE: I could have been, cause we just finished recording Valley Girl and all that stuff.

JAY: I think you picked me up. Thomas Nordegg, you, and Ray, and I was told that Frank did not want to hear me tomorrow after getting a good night sleep but now. I was like totally spent. So I go to the studio and he was really cool with me. Really trying to make me not feel nervous and everything. We jammed for a while and then he threw Alien Orifice at me. Everybody was giving me the thumbs up behind Frank's back, and we're jamming with Tommy Mars and Ed Mann and...

IKE: Scott?

JAY: Scott wasn't there though. We played for three to four hours then he gave me Herb and Mo's Vacation and Alien Orifice, and [told me to] go in this room. He had this one room in the house with all the stones in the wall...

IKE: Yeah, yeah

JAY: With a forty foot…All that echo. I'm in there with Steve and he was going over this one measure with me which now I can't even... It's very simple, but before it freaked me out. There was two groups of sevens and one of the bars was...

IKE: You're talking about...yeah, you were telling about this the other night

(Muffled Jay's above response)

JAY: It was grouped four, three, three and four, (Jay proceeds to play this pattern on the table) and I couldn't grasp it then. So when I left the room, Steve told Frank I did well or whatever the hell that happened, and Frank said to me 'how long would you need to with this chart and this chart and this chart? How long would you need to learn this?' [So I said] 'Honestly speaking, Frank, and I will speak honestly, I would need seven days not sleeping at all 24 hours a day if I could stay awake.' (LAUGHING), and that was it, and he said... Steve told me he never heard Frank say he was sorry, but Frank said I'm really sorry, but after having Vinnie who could read the charts… (inaudible- muffled by Ike's response) then he got Chad.

IKE: Yeah exactly. Chad came in and he could hammer 'em down.

JAY: He did say 'I wanna hear you in six months.' At The Ritz Chad was playing and backstage he wanted to talk to me. I had four or five beers, and I was like 90 lbs., so I was like plastered, you know, and he asked me 'so what do you think of Chad?' I said 'He's great. He's like Vinnie and Terry in a blender.' He said 'Yeah, kinda, that's a good analogy.'

IKE: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

JAY: He said 'I want you to know that you are really progressing though. From 18 to 21 there is a phenomenal difference. Just keep doing what you're doing.' That's my story.

GARY: Let's talk about two present projects. One- we'll talk about your brother's new label, Lo-Fi Records, and we'll also talk about Ike's upcoming Muffin Records Production, Dirty Pictures. 10 Years. Business as usual?

IKE: Yeah Ahhhhhrrr. 10 Years. Shit. Most of that stuff I even wrote 10 years before I even recorded it.

GARY: (Chuckle)

IKE: Yeah. Actually, the thing is, like I was telling you upstairs, the whole thing with Enigma Records (Ike's previous solo album was initially released on the Enigma Label) they basically just did a P and D deal on it. Printing and Distribution. They didn't do much of anything as far as promo and publicity and stuff was concerned. I still sold something like 20 or 30 something thousand units which is not bad for no publicity at all. Basically it was like word of mouth.

GARY: Grace Jones liked it.

IKE: Yeah, well, yeah. I did a movie with Grace called Vamps

JAY: I saw that.

IKE: Yeah, she was like a vampire and stuff. I laid down a couple of tracks on Grace, and she really dug it and stuff like that. She gave me a lot of encouragement. Plus she's just a knuckle head anyway. She was great…

GARY: (Interrupting) Now the last project 10 years ago had a lot of LINN drum on it. (note: What I meant to state was the keyboard sound of that era. Keyboards back in the early 80's like the DX7 created a fabric of NON ACOUSTIC REALITY. While keyboards were entering into a new era, the productions that used them made this statement which I refer to as the NAR. The LINN Drum was another instrument of the early 80's that literally changed the stamp on modern drumming)

IKE: No, no, nooo, it actually had only one track with LINN Drum.

GARY: Only on Resolution?

IKE: Only on Resolution. Yeah it only had LINN Drum on Resolution and Arthur (Barrow) and I recorded that ourselves. Me and Artie.

GARY: So that is just an extra track

IKE: Yeah. Artie and I recorded that at another studio. At Giorgio Morodor's studio. That's just me and him, but everything else is live drums and live...

GARY: Were they electronic drums?

IKE: No, no.

GARY: For some reason, maybe it's just the change in the sound of recording technologies, and it is 10 years ago. The sound of the DX7 and hearing what vibe tracks sounded like on a DX7.

IKE: Right, right.

GARY: Yeah. It created that certain sound.

IKE: Yeah…No, I had a straight...straight regular instruments. Five men in the studio.

GARY: So that's mostly straight recording.

IKE: Oh, yeah. Every tune, that's how I record. I take the band in the studio and we nail out the tracks live.

GARY: And the new project...

IKE: Same thing.

GARY: The musicians?

IKE: Total analog. The new musicians are: Tony Britain on lead rhythm guitar. Stu Gerson on bass, and background vocals, Jeff Albiani on keys and synthesizers and Ryan Buxon on drums. We've just got a five piece. We got five piece, and I'm doing all the lead and background vocals, harmonies. You name it.

GARY: And you will be in New York with this?

IKE: Oh, yeah. That's the first gig. The first gig is at The Wetlands. I just talked to my label. I just talked to Reinhardt (Praues) the other day, and he said it looks like the beginning of December, and The Muffins are gonna be opening up for us.

GARY: Oh, great.

JAY: Try to get a hold of me if you can. I'd be interested…

IKE: Yeah. We'll still be around by then because we are gonna start on the East Coast and work our way down. Work our way over and end up on the West Coast. So it's like 45 dates.

GARY: To see you perform with Jay tonight is gonna be a pleasure. I've see Jay perform with Warren.

IKE: Yeah, well, we've never played before together until last night and it was like very very cool

JAY: They're …(Guessing he's gesturing about his hands) Ouch!!!!

IKE: Is that from last night?

GARY: Blistered. Hands with the Hammer?

JAY: Hole in The Hands. I've been playing tabla drums. I haven't played drums in (what sounds like 6 years).

IKE: Jerry and I never played together, before so that was, you know, that was, that was, that was...

GARY: Have you heard Warren's stuff? Thanks to Frank. Machine Language.

IKE: Yeah. The boys were laying some of that stuff on me over the last week. Like I said, Warren and I had been out of contact for quite some time. The next thing I knew he was with Duran Duran, and I could never see him then 'cause he's over in London all the time.

JAY: He was just in town also. He left last night.

IKE: Yeah he checked into the hotel as M________ B._____. Beautiful, beautiful.

JAY: Yeah, at The St. Regency. He said that he will probably come back around Christmas time and do a show with you or something.

IKE: Yeah, or Frank's birthday. I plan on doing that. That's probably going to be by the end of the tour.

JAY: Like the 26^th or the 27^th , something like that?

IKE: Let's see, Frank's birthday is the 21^st of December so...

JAY: So within 10 days of that.

IKE: At least.

JAY: Alright, cool. Cause Warren is in town…

IKE: We'll all be posted on that so...the boys will keep me posted on just exactly when the gig will come down. Plus the fact, when the tour starts and all that stuff, then I'll have my itinerary all dashed out.

JAY: Right.

IKE: Then everybody will know. Everybody will know (cough cough) Oh I gotta stop.

GARY: Thanks, Ike

IKE: Ohhhh...you are very welcome.

GARY: Jay, tell us a little bit about LO-FI Records.

JAY: Warren and Nick Rhodes of Duran have a production company. They are producing the Duran Duran record, and they are called TV Mania. They also have a band called TV Mania. Together, collectively, Nick and Warren have a record label called LO-FI records… and they are looking for acts.

GARY: Are they looking for distribution or are they looking for more artists?

JAY: I will have to ask my mom. I know they are looking for a great new band. You know...cutting edge alternative group. So if you can find me one with a great singer, OK. I know guitar players and all that, so it needs a great vocalist that writes lyrics. I'll be the drummer and we'll get them signed. GABISCHE?

Dale Bozzio Tour Report

Other Comments:

"I had the opportunity to meet with Dale Bozzio on Friday, April 19, 1998, and she told me that they (Missing Persons) had just signed a new recording contract that day and that they were going back into the studio. I didn't ask how many of the original members of the band were involved, but the album will be released as "Missing Persons." –Mark Bentley

"I saw Missing Persons tonight. Actually it was Dale and her hired band, but it was great. It sounded just like the same Missing Persons music of the 80's. Dale was great, she stood around after the show and talked to everyone and signed autographs and took pictures. I don't know why the other members of the band want her to stop touring under the name of Missing Persons, after all, it was her voice that made the band what it was. Dale was great, and she treated the fans great. I wish her all the luck in the world. I took a ton of pictures at the show." –Jeffrey

Well, this is it for the paper issues, folks. From now on, Privacy is totally online, so be sure to check the web site a lot to keep up with the latest news: http://cglass.vinu.edu/wc.html

Keep in Touch!

All Time Thank You

In this, Privacy's last paper issue, I need to thank so many people who have made things possible over the past five years. Top of the list of course are Warren and Ellen Cuccurullo, as well as Katy Krassner, Left Bank Management, Levine Schneider, all the Duran fanzines, clubs & websites, Slam International, CVC Collectables, Vincennes University, Duran Duran, and all the fans who have been members of and subscribers to Privacy. Thanks for believing in me and supporting me as I continue on in the online-only format.

I especially want to thank some special fans of Warren's who have been integral to this fan club over the years: First of all, the original members: Rhonda Corcoran, Justin Scott, Malinda McCall, Stef Bergman, and Tracey Davenport. Also some fans who contributed articles, information, unique perspectives and friendship over the years: Gary Titone, Dana Detrick, Christy Roettger, Barbara Burtchett, Manon Wortel, Mandy Jones, Kelly Wright, and K.C.M.

Thank You

Specific thanks for this issue: Warren & Ellen Cuccurullo, Gary Titone, Ike Willis, Jay Cuccurullo, and Chuck Hauger. This issue was brought to you by Fastball's "The Way" and a much needed vacation in Gatlinburg, TN with the best Chix in the universe.

Birthdays

July: Mayko Cuccurullo, Linda Theado, George Bettencourt, Richard John, Tracy Sandoe, Nika Stevens

August: Justin Scott, K.C.M., Coneathea Smith, E.Beth Moore, Shawn Fletcher

September: Patrick O'Hearn, Chuck Wild, Dana Detrick

Overheard

"I love 'Bittersweet Symphony' by the Verve" – Warren in The Dutch Go Duran fanzine, from Modern Rock Live.