Well here we go again. Gorgon vs. 'the world.'

There's more than enough of the 'in your face', ' I have all of this bling which you helped me to get but you don't have', 'and you can watch me flaunt it on your favorite reality TV program.' available to make the average 'need to get a life' person happy. I suppose one might also offer the same criticism of the 'meet and greet' premium tickets which audiences pay big bucks for and phenomena like the recent Rolling Stones ticket sale. I've managed to see the artists who interest me perfom live, at a reasonable ticket price, for some fabulous seats. If they can draw an audience in the face of high ticket costs, more power to them. In many situations, I vote with my feet, but I don't begrudge them their success in being able to pull those dollars out of our grubby little fists to pay for the product/services which they are selling, and showing off what we made possible. We've all borne witness to the material wealth of people in the music business in the manner of the company they keep, the clothes they wear, the properties they own, the automobiles they drive or are driven in. How an individual perceives and reacts to this is a very personal issue and one would have to dig down very deep to the actual roots of a negative response.

Many of these artists do 'give back' in philanthropic ways. They are also quite often quite business oriented in their thinking. Witness the very corporate, all business attitude of "Metallica" in protecting their work from access to the 'freebee needies' in our culture, Pearl Jam's reaction to their perception of Ticket Master's price gouging of their audience, Jaggar's firing of their manager years ago, taking over the band's financial interest and moving them to France to avoid the tax burdern of the UK, and Aerosmith's restaurant.

The understanding of the definition of a 'not for profit corporation' is something I will leave to your own devices to explore. With respect to locating these kinds of centers, I suggest that the kind of weather we have here in Florida is far more conducive to R and R on a year 'round basis, than what might be found in the UK. What other logistical considerations might also be involved from a business operating stand point are not available to me.

Clapton's capitalization of his persona to liquidate his property and have it work for the benefit of others is an advantage we've made possible for him and, more than likely, helped generate the cash on hand for the purchaser of that watch. The circular flow of capital at work.

We have amongst our own ranks, a collector of means who has elected to share his acquisitions and those of his collector colleagues with us. I know that without the nature of the 'engine of the world' which he became part of, his ability to assemble that collection might never have happened. For me, he is not flaunting any of this. I'm pleased to share his pleasure in his endeavor.

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"Another day in paradise!"

OK... Just to be clear...

The Treatment Center he 'founded' in Antigua rose from the private 10-acre estate he bought to live on as a recluse to beat his own addiction...

Second, Clapton has been in the News lately for 3 events;

His Guitar Auction at Christie's for $2.1M (most of the Axes were given to him by the Manufacturers)

His sale of a Gerhard Richter painting - Abstraktes Bild for $34.6M (he bought it in 2001 for $3.4M)

His sale of a Patek Phillip Platinum Watch for $3.6M (he bought in 1991 for $134k).

Only the proceeds of the Christie's Guitar auction were earmarked for the Crossroads Treatment Center.

The rest lines his pockets today... not that I have any issue with that... I'm no 1%er Class Warfare Guerilla.

So, to sum up; Clapton sold goods he acquired for $3.53M for $42.1M (a profit of $38.57M)... of that, $2.1M (or 4.9%) went to Charity... admirable to a point, but so much for his all-encompassing Altruism... (again... not that I have any problem whatsoever with that)

Don't get me wrong... I think Clapton's a Generational guitar player par excellance... no doubt, but the Vatican is hardly burning the Midnight Oil to Cannonize him, nor should they be...

Study his life... he was the 'illegitimate' child of an English mother and Canadian Flyer (a Man'about who never even knew Eric was his son), raised alongside his Mother by his Grandmother, who maintained that his Mother was his Sister until his late teens...

Despite this 'trauma', he really isn't a very nice guy... he absconded with several other men's wives (often adultering at the same time), fathered numerous 'bastard' and unrecognized children, indulged in practically every Vice known to Man.

We live in a complex society where it's getting really difficult to tell the real Good Guys from the Media-Manufactured 'Heroes'... just 'cause they can go to the hoop or play a fiery rift.

A healthy dose of 'Wake Up and smell the Dog do' may be in order here for some people...

cheers!

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'11 FSR Am. Vtg. Ltd. Ed. CAR '57 Stratocaster (SN# LE02639)
'14 American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster
'12 Telebration Empress Telecaster
'99 Deluxe Nashville Telecaster
'12 FSR Telecaster HH
'10 Heritage H-535
'99 Martin DC-1E
'13 Lanikai Tenor Ukulele

If I've got my facts right, he ultimately caught up with his father in Canada. The guy turned out to be a guitar player in his own right. The song 'My Father's Eyes' may have been inspired by that event.

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"Another day in paradise!"

At least he earned his money honestly, by using a talent he possesses without exploiting other people.

It reminds me of a scene from the U2 film "Rattle and Hum"; Bono said the difference between America and Ireland is this: An American sees a big house on the hill and says, "One day, I'll have a house like that..." An Irishman sees the big house on the hill and says, "One day, I'm going beat the crap out of that son-of-a-b----!" (I'm paraphrasing, I don't remember the exact quote).

Of course, Bono was speaking in generalities, but that's the attitude of some people. I see a guy who has a Ferrari and a watch that cost more than everything I own, and I think, "That's a cool car," or "Man, that's amazing," or maybe even "Man, that's stupid, tacky and extravagant," but ultimately it doesn't bother me, as long as the guy/gal got the money honestly.

But some people are jealous/bitter/angry/whatever at the "unfairness" of someone having something more than what they themselves can have. Well, that's the breaks in life.

The only time it upsets me is if the rich person got the money through dishonesty or exploitation of another person.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

So, Eric Clapton has money. Lots of it...

I admire him for his music ability and that his talents give others' jobs. Concert ticket sales, vendors at the concerts, the venues themselves, etc.

It's his money and I don't care how many Ferraris or art works he owns. He earned all of it.

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Sent from my K&E slide rule.

Either do i, until he starts behaving in a crass nauseating fashion ie. not keeping the details of his $5M customised Ferrari personal but instead giving the car showroom the green light to broadcast who was buying it and for how much and making sure all the press were there to photograph it.

As far as i'm concerned he can have a supermarket car park full of them, but i really don't want to read about his possessions orientated lifestyle.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

Then Don't read about it!! If it bothers you so much, ignore him and/or any news about him that comes across your newspaper/computer screen/television.

If you truly don't want to read about it, why do you seem to know every detail about this particular episode in his life?

I personally can't stand Yngwie (musically or personality-wise). Therefore, I ignore 98% of the info, news and chatter about him. BTW, Yngwie is also a very prominent collector of Ferraris, high-end (Rolex) watches and vintage guitars (all of which I learned during that 2% of not ignoring him ). The only thing I have against him (as far as his possessions go) is the lackadaisical and damaging manner in which he treats the rare, vintage instruments he has acquired...but ultimately, I don't let that douchebag, his possessions or his activities cross my mind very often, so he can't bother me.

You seem to have to obsessively point out Mr. Slowhand's quirks and piccadillos each time he's mentioned...we get it, you think he's a tool--move on already!

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

There's something very very deep working here and, IMHO, we should have done with this.

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"Another day in paradise!"