It takes an American in Liverpool to
drive the vanguard forward. In the last few months, Rudy Simone has launched
a web-based record label, Phatlady, a cheap CD pressing service, Discus, released,
withdrawn, remixed and re-released an album - 'Personal Cloud', and bloody
good it is, too -, faced down the Lark Lane smackheads and moved house. She
somehow find time to rise to the Liverpool Now email challenge. This is the
outcome.
*how did a native new yorker come
to be in L17?
Well, I have just left L17, but I did enjoy being there
for one and a half years.. It sounds really corny, but i dreamt about the
area before I ever saw it, and wasn't at all surprised when i arrived in Liverpool
and ended up living there, first in a Buddhist Centre, then in a flat.
*why are there two different versions
of the CD?
Because I was being rushed to get it done, both by
other people and by my own impatience. there are very good reasons to wait
and take your time when mixing a record. also, you should listen to that little
voice in your head that says "that song isn't done yet - it needs re-mixing
" or something like that. (p.s. do not listen to the little voice when
it says "kill, kill").
*how far do you think the net is going
to eclipse traditional ways of buying music?
Well, Bowie just released his album on the net and
of course because he's Bowie the majors are going "see we released his
record, aren't we hip and trendy, and WE know that the Internet is the way
of the future, blah blah", but people like us have been doing it for
a while now and because we're not Bowie, people think we're doing it because
we CAN'T get traditional style release, i.e., shops etc. Even Bowie is saying
he's the first - huh?.
*what other local acts do you rate?
I don't go out much, because I am extremely bored with
live music. i would go if I heard a tune I liked or was recommended, but much
of what is out there is re-hash. i am craving a real good '30's style jazz
combo, some swing dancing, and i enjoy trance. I also am too cheap to pay
club prices for beer, and I don't have many friends - I don't know why....could
it be because I am a know-it-all?
*what aspects of Merseyside's music
scene do you find frustrating?
all of it
*three wishes - what would they
be?
that a million people will buy my album Personal Cloud
that a million people will buy my album personal cloud
that 1,000,000 people will buy my album personal Cloud available now from
www.PhatLadyRecords.com
or HMV, VIRGIN, or OUR PRICE merseyside.
*where will you be at midnight on
New Year's Eve?
Probably having a nervous breakdown, same as I do every
year.
*what sort of artists will Phatlady
be working with in future?
I don't know - but I will help people that have great
talent, and if they are kind - I don't like folks who are arrogant because
they can sing or play - big deal. Probably black or female just because they
make the music i gravitate to.
*if you weren't a multi-talented
pop person and record industry supremo, what would you be?
A neurotic fucked up housewife who drinks too much
and watches too many videos, or else a reporter or maybe Prime Minister.
*do you have a final message for
the Kids?
yes - see three wishes above.......also brush your
teeth at least twice a day and drink plenty of non-alcoholic and non-caffeinated
beverages, in addition to lots of caffeinated and alcoholic beverages. Also
girls who go out on cold nights without coats and walk around the streets
obviously freezing and hugging themselves look stupid - wear a coat for gods'
sake!!!
bye bye
bye bye, rudy... you can make her wishes
come true by visiting the Phatlady Records website and dowloading the samples, and buying MP3 or CD
versions of Personal Cloud. As fellow American entrepreneur Victor
Kiam used to say: "You'll be so glad you did."
