Message 63/116
Date: 06-Aug-03 @ 02:45 PM -
RE: RIAA wants you!
Influx said:
I get annoyed by the Ani thing...one of my ex's dragged me to a show, and the merch was still like $25 for a shitty shirt, CDs were $21 or so...
---------------------------------------------
I have to weigh in on this a little bit. Being from Buffalo, I hear a lot about Ani and her comings and goings. What I can say is that she pumps a ton of money back into the community. She still lives here, in her home town. She runs her business out of Buffalo. She just shelled out like $3 million or something like that to buy and restore a landmark church that was crumbling to the ground, and our city council was too fucking stupid to figure out how to save it. They literally had the street closed on the churches block for years because the were afraid the steeple was going to fucking fall off the church. She's setting up all her companies in that building, creating jobs in the city, and paying taxes in a place that's lost like 40% of its population over the last 10 years.
So she isn't hiding behind anything. Of course she plays the game.. What artist doesn't? Once you make the decision you're going to live off it you have no choice. Like Mick said, you have realities you need to think about - medical expenses, retirement, supporting a family, etc.. It's nice to know that she gives it back when she knows she has a surplus...
As opposed to Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls who took his money and split to LA, or some of these rappers who have one hit song and buy a fucking grage full of Bentleys.
-Craig
PS - sometimes she's even sighted at people's gigs or in various bars downtown..