Obviously Mills can be a pretty divisive issue, but it needs to be mentioned that last Christmas he played the Lost Christmas party with Luke Slater and Steve Bicknell @ The Bridge & Tunnel (which couldn't have held more than 200 people) for £5. It doesn't take a mathematical genius to see that he was playing that gig because it was going to be a fun night and a reward to the Lost devotees. He's been Lost's resident for ages now, and it wouldn't surprise me if it's closer to his heart these days than any place he would play in the states - if not the world. At this year's Christmas party, they charged £15 @ Plastic People, so it was still a lot less than he'd usually get paid given the size of the venue (they purposefully limited capacity to 200 tickets). If I remember anything about the night it's how much fun he appeared to be having. I mean he was on the microphone fer chrissakes! :)
In my mind, the perception that he is doing what he does purely for money has been thwarted entirely by these two examples. Having never seen him in the states until this year's DEMF, but having seen him 5 or 6 times in the last year and a half of living in London, I can totally appreciate the stateside frustration, but having seen the cult that Lost is here up close for a while - something that he is primarilly responsible for - you get a sense of why he wouldn't want to bother playing in the states. Re: expensive records, I think it's a bit of a piss take, but as was discussed at the time of the Peacefrog Private Pressings, it must be really frustrating for artists like Moodymann and Mills to see their recent work go for so much on Ebay/Gemm so soon after release. Look at the prices of the Every Dog Has Its Day records! Also, it really surprises me that no one ever complains about the price of Goya records. You can get a Soundslike records for £3.99 or a Goya record for £7.49. This is a stable of labels with their own distrobution, comparable only to UR, who charge more than any other UK labels I can think of. I think it's a trend that's only just beginning, and it really doesn't bother me that much. The market has shown that there is abundant demand at these prices, and the content justifies my £££. Tristan ======= http://www.phonopsia.co.uk [EMAIL PROTECTED]
