[kj] Getting in touch w/ jaz and his likelihood of responding

[Darren A. Peace]

No clue about snail mail. I have an anecdote, though, which gives an insight
into why I like "Outside The Gate" as much as I do.

I used to live in Cheltenham, and was coming out of Music Market one day
when I bumped into Jaz. After being rather startled (he was wearing a cape
and a ferocious expression), we got talking and it turned out he was in
Cheltenham to visit his mum, but didn't need to be there for a few hours. We
ended up going to the pub, the Beer Gardens and the Holst museum, buying an
Occult book in Waterstones that he knew had a KJ bit in it (he scrawled all
over the page how they'd got everything wrong) and stalking around the town
upsetting the residents. He was very interested to hear that Youth had
worked with Stock, Aitken & Waterman on the Brilliant LP (now there's a
misnomer), and said he'd get in touch again with him. I also play the
violin, and we talked about that - I've always thought Nigel Kennedy is an
irritating tit, and we argued about that for a while.

This was just before "America" was released, and when I offered him a lift
to his mum's house, he pulled a cassette out of his pocket and asked if I
had a tape player in the car. Er yes, I was forced to admit, as it had just
chewed up my Unperverted Pantomime. This is the new Killing Joke LP, he told
me. Did I want to listen to the single? No, I replied, as that was coming
out in a week or two. I wanted to hear the meat of the LP, as I wouldn't get
to hear that for a few months. I had a guided tour of his selections :
"Outside The Gate", "The Calling". "My Love Of This Land" and "Stay One Jump
Ahead" (thankfully not the rap mix), played on the shitty deck in my Mini,
with commentary from Jaz, although he was sensitive enough to let me listen
to the tracks before asking me what I thought. I thought, and think, that
they're great. Bite me.

It was a superb way to spend a summer afternoon, and I've never been able to
dismiss OTG, partly for that reason, and partly because of the insight he
gave me into the circumstances under which it was recorded (nothing new
these days, as it's pretty much all out in the open, but I had no idea at
the time). I'd not been in contact with him since I wrote to the band from
school asking for the lyrics to the first LP - we exchanged a fair few
letters, which I was able to read with some trouble, as his handwriting was
even worse than mine. Jaz & Geordie used to go fishing in the river near my
school, it seemed, although I never bumped into them there.

Getting back to the point, he gave me his then address on the King's Road,
after telling me that he was careful giving out his details as he had "got a
lot of nutters after him" (!). It was a long time ago, but he was open to
contact with people who weren't likely to badger him. I think, based on the
times I've met him since, that his tolerance has diminished further, but if
you've got something interesting or valuable to tell him or ask him, I'm
sure he'd take the trouble to reply. I don't have an address, although c/o
Plastichead or equivalent might work.

Oh - for those people I'm doing things for and haven't emailed you directly
- I'm getting married again on Saturday and am fucking off for a fortnight
immediately afterwards, so please bear with me!

Darren
Hungerford, UK

-----Original Message-----
From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net] On
Behalf Of B. Oliver Sheppard
Sent: 12 June 2008 17:37
To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)
Subject: [kj] Getting in touch w/ jaz and his likelihood of responding

Okay, the ultimate fanboy question:--

Is Jaz wont to reply to letters he gets from serious fans? I ask because 
I get the impression, especially after seeing that screwy documentary 
cli, that he is the kind who would a) reply to sincere letters without 
much ado, or without much care for being above that sort of thing, or b) 
completely blow letters off and never reply to them.

I aks because in the early to mid 90s before this crazy Internet thing 
took off I'd write band members in some high profle bands and was always 
srprised at the number that would take the time to write me back, 
especially Ian MacKaye of Fugazi, whom I hae several letters and 
postcards from. Since the dawn of the Internet this phenomenon has declined.

This is also partly why I made fun of the $70 USD auction of a Penny 
Rimbad letter on eBay. To me, it is not that unusual for folks -- 
especially anti-establishment, grassroots=types -- to keep in touch with 
"fans."

So, anyne have any experience with how good Jaz is at responding to 
sincere snail mail?

-Oliver
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