Well, this speaks to what I was asking about earlier...what Richard
meant when
he stated that he had to defend Billy Ficca for the last 35 yrs. But
this
doesn't make alot of sense to me. Richard says that Tom didn't care
for his
"jazz-crap" style of playing. But Tom has a love for jazz and wasn't
Billy
playing in a jazz band already when they urged him to come to NY and
join
them? So Tom would have already been familiar w/ his jazz-style of
playing,
no? It's hard to imagine that Tom wanted more of a rock-style
drummer when
Billy's drumming seems to go so well w/ the music.
Anyone else have any thoughts on this?
--- On Sat, 6/11/11, Phil Obbard<pobbard@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Phil Obbard<pobbard@yahoo.com>
Subject: (TV) Richard speaks on FB
To: "Marquee Moon Mailing List"<tv@obbard.com>
Date: Saturday, June 11, 2011, 5:45 PM
Lots of interesting TV history coming from Richard in a Facebook
thread on his
wall ostensibly about Malcolm McLaren.
For example:
"It was myself who decided to tell Terry Ork to speak to Richard
Meyers about
my
interest in forming a band with him. Hell (Meyers) worked at the
movie poster
shop Cinemabilia where Tom would come by to have lunch with Hell.
They were
best
friends, and had done the "Neon Boys" three song single a year
before. Tom and
Richard came down to visit me at my home, in the front room of
Terry's loft
and
I pitched it. We passed my guitar between myself and Tom and then
Richard
(Hell)
and Tom went near the door and whispered about it. They came back and
Tom said
yes. But Hell didn't want to play bass, especially with Tom, because
Tom acted
like a dictator, and Richard said that he didn't want to go through THAT
again.
I talked Hell into trying it, and then Tom and I talked about
drummers and Tom
invited Billy Ficca from Boston and let him stay at Tom's Lower
east-side apt.
The first week of rehearsals Tom took me aside and was frustrated at
Billy's
Jazz crap, and he said that he couldn't understand what happened to Bill
because
he used to be such a steady rock drummer, and he wanted to kick him
out. I
talked Tom out of it although a couple months later when Billy went
to visit
his
dad in Delaware we auditioned other drummers. I fought for Bill for
35 years.
And now since I quit in 2004, and the contract calls for three
members to use
the name, he HAS to use Bill and Fred to continue under the name
Television,
replacing me with his pal Ripp. Otherwise we would sue. Tom and hell
each
wrote
songs and I was in the middle and sang 2 gs, "Hot Dog and "What I
heard". -
Tom
sang 4 and Richard sang 4, and Tom was "musical director", but Hell
did ALL
the
Posters, and I kept the whole shebang from falling apart. And when we
started
playing CBGB's, Terry and I booked it for 2 and a half years. Chew on
THAT.
Now
that I have officially quit, I can speak the truth, because when we
were still
together I didn't want to contradict Tom for the band's sake. Now we
are older
and I can speak freely. Not with regret or remorse, but facts and the
truth
behind the scenes."
More (including Marty Thau?!)
at: http://www.facebook.com/richard.lloyd1/posts/167633229967890
--Phil
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