bristol (03/11/83)
Shortly after 'Aja' was released, Fagen and Becker decided to take
Steely Dan on the road.
As Fagen tells the story, they contacted some
of the musicians that performed on the previous albums. Realizing that
most of these musicians had lucrative studio careers, Fagen and Becker
told each musician to name his price. Fagen and Becker agreed to pay
each musician his asking price. During the first rehearsal
the musicians started squabbling over their salaries. Fagen and Becker
decided that the tour was not worth the headache so they cancelled.
Becker and Fagen started out as songwriters trying to sell their
material to performers and record companies. They had very little
success so they formed Steely Dan to perform the tunes they had
written. They correctly assumed they would have more success selling a
band and its material. After Steely Dan was established, Fagen and Becker
could achieve a modification of their original objective, that is,
to work as performers and songwriters, instead of being musicians in
a band. Since Steely Dan, the band, was primarily a vehicle for Fagen
and Becker to get established in the music biz, it is not surprising that
Steely Dan evolved into studio band of two members and countless
sidemen. Nor is it surprising that they haven't toured since they released
"Countdown to Ecstasy", the last album that they had the appearance
of a band.
Gil Bristol
houxo!bristol
P.S. Trivia fans, do you know where the name Steely Dan comes from?