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What A Show!
Article by Steven R. Rochlin
Click here to e-mail reviewer
It is with a touch of melancholy that i write this article only moments before posting Enjoy the Music.com's October issue of the Review Magazine. On (literally) my very last thread of sanity due to the excessive workload of September i find myself enjoying Spyro Gyra's first album (released in 1976). Memories of watching them perform live on the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida beach fills my head. From enjoying Bach performances by great orchestras and James Brown at Woodstock '99 to ZZ Top rockin' the Hollywood Sportotorium.... Then there were jazz greats such as Brubeck to the hard-core techno sound of the Chemical Brothers... Where have the years gone?
With 54 show reports now online who was to guess a little site called Enjoy the Music originally available at ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/enjoy_the_music/ would some day be over 1,700 Web pages with nearly 3.5 million words and partnered with some of the most respected audiophile magazines available in the English language? If Enjoy the Music.com™ was a printed book it would easily fill over 7,000 pages! i still find myself yearning for something more. Like the unquenchable thirst or the need to drive around the race track just 0.25 seconds faster than the time before, it is a flame that may never be extinguished. The proverbial Eternal Flame of Life.
With each passing show i have to contend with endless rumors of my own demise, or worse still, being harassed by other writers who seem to feel that Enjoy the Music.com™ is too "this" or "that" and how we need to do something different. While some points made are taken to heart and changes made accordingly, most tend to be nothing more than what appears to be jealousy rearing its ugly head. It seems their comments are more along the lines of Shakespeare's Macbeth "I have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." My lines in the play would be closer to "The service and the loyalty I owe. In doing it, pays itself."
Within the past 32 days Enjoy the Music.com™ has published two Review Magazines with well over 70 evaluations, three show reports, 15 pieces to the Industry News page (not our usual 50, but we did have a few shows to attend), updated the Hi-Fi News, The Absolute Sound, The $ensible Sound, and Audiophile Audition sections, plus gave you a look into Peter Gabriel's Real World facility and an exclusive tour of Ferrari's manufacturing plant... just to name a few things. Please keep in mind 100% of the aforementioned show reports and all of the Webmastering is done by yours truly. So why on G-d's green Earth do i have to endure the harassment of other magazine writers as i did from one journalist during my recent European trip?
Frankly, i do not. As this editorial will be much to do about much doing, the guilty party can bugger off and is hereby given notice to leave me alone. Furthermore, his comments to others about me will be swiftly dealt with through the proper channels. The sad state of affairs is that his comments have only further made himself the fool, as many others at the show have asked me what is his problem. My guess? He needs to find a different job/industry. It deeply and truly saddens me that this is probably the angriest person within the industry. If i felt half of what he did, it would be time to retire and find new digs in a brighter part of the world.
Speaking of new digs and retiring.... Allow me to first say that no, i am not retiring and Enjoy the Music.com™ is not going out of business anytime soon. There, got that nasty rumor out of the way. As for my new digs, they are coming along nicely, thank you. Just waiting for the Grandfather clock i have commissioned, the large humidor, special Wedgwood from Harrods, and a few other bits. As for music... naturally the four stereo systems are now singing lovely songs (such as Spro Gyra now playing through my beloved Linn Classik and Reference 3A MM De Capo system in this room). On a more personal note, this October joyously marks my 14th year of being a close friend of Bill W. with no slips or oops.... one day at a time.
In the end i would like to close by saying thanks to everyone within the industry. Seeing both new and longtime friends while traveling the world creates joy within my life. Odds are there will be a week's vacation taken in October to allow me to rest up before some (planned) major Website changes occur. Our family's place (literally) on the beach in Florida is a top contender there. Have a wonderful October everyone. The high-end audio industry... what a show! Peace, love and understanding. Of course in the end what really matters is that you...
Enjoy the Music ("Red Rain" by Peter Gabriel right now right now),
Steven R. Rochlin
"...I am standing up at the water's edge in my dream
I cannot make a single sound as you scream
It can't be that cold, the ground is still warm to touch
This place is so quiet, sensing that storm
Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
Well I've seen them buried in a sheltered place in this town
They tell you that this rain can sting, and look down
There is no blood around see no sign of pain
Hay ay ay no pain
Seeing no red at all, see no rain..."
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