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Hello!
Welcome to the maiden voyage of the Orleans Newsletter. (I’ll create a better name for this by and by but, for now, I’m more concerned about just getting it out there to you) Thank you for being here. We really appreciate it!
In this maybe not-so-brief inaugural issue, we’d like to make you aware of some things and bring you up to speed on others. Maybe a cup of coffee (or some other beverage of choice) is in order, assuming you’re willing to give us just a few minutes of your very valuable time.
Inertia meets Procrastination 101 —
The www.OrleansOnline.com site had become pretty much no-man’s land long ago, following the departure of our original webmaster. Alas, he ran afoul of the law and had to go away for awhile. Stuff happens.
After considering several options, we were pleased to engage the services of John Heithaus, an old friend of Larry’s. Actually, John is not really all that OLD; it’s their friendship that has some years on it :-).
John was soon to discover that the site had been written in some kind of web code that would be akin to you or I attempting to read Martian. Still, he was able to decipher enough to put together a new working version of OrleansOnline, after much hair-pulling on his part.
The problem then became that no one was really paying attention to developing the content of the site, so it basically sat there with not much reason for anyone to visit it. Kinda like a movie you’ve already seen … and once was enough.
Well, as it turns out, Orleans has a resident member who has had a lot of experience with Internet Marketing and writing website content — ME (Lance). Imagine that!
So, after much neglect, I recently turned my attention to the idea of developing the site and this newsletter, which has lead us to this email.
The Process Begins —
The first order of business was to gather the emails of those who might be interested in hearing from us and then “cleaning” the list so as not to bother anyone with unwanted “spam”. Thank you for agreeing to stay on this list. You made the cut! … but you can still “opt-out” any time you wish. We’ll miss you 🙁
Next, I wanted to find a classy way to deliver these missives. We came up with a local Nashville firm, Emma ( www.myemma.com ) and worked with them to create this flexible template. Hope you like it as much as I like working within it.
Inertia —
Then the inherent inertia of technology really set in.
The IDEA was (and still IS) to offer YOU, as a member of this list, some special perks and bonuses just for being here as we set sail anew. Those will include some FR*EE downloads of Orleans cuts from our secret vault that you simply can’t find anywhere else but here, as well as special super-discount pricing offers on CDs and such.
Well, to do that, we had to create a special hidden web page on which to deliver these things to you and you only, and that took some co-ordination between our webmaster, John Heithaus, and our CD distributor, Joe Reaguso ( www.FridayMusic.com ). Several weeks ago I told them both that this just HAD to be done “yesterday”, and they eagerly set about doing so.
Well, more code wrestling ensued and, by the time John had pinned his opponent, the window of time I had between tour dates in which to create the “copy” (the wording on the page all about the offers) had disappeared. Oh well …
And if you’re wondering if we’ve been busy, check it out on the Tour Diary page of the website , which also happens to be due for an update. Hmmm….
Procrastination —
Anyway, I can’t really blame technological inertia any more, and we’ve wound down the touring schedule for now. So why is it that your FR*EE downloads and special offers link isn’t in this email?
Because I just haven’t quite gotten to it … YET. But I PROMISE! I WILL get this project all set to go within the next week. THEN you’ll get another email with all the good stuff in it!
Yes, this has finally reached the TOP of my “to do” list … so keep an eye out for the NEXT email that comes from Orleans (the band). It will be well-worth opening … and it won’t have a long “the dog ate my homework” excuse story like this in it, either!
Other Items of Interest —
John Hall Running for Congress!
Although Orleans is about music, not politics, most of our fans are aware that we have always involved ouselves in socio-political-humanitarion causes of our choosing. None of us more so than John.
John has served on his local Saugerties, NY School Board as well as in the Ulster County (NY) legislature. Among other things, he was in fact THE driving force behind MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy), which created the No Nukes concerts and spearheaded that movement. As a result, there has been NO expansion of the US nuclear power program since the inception of MUSE.
Earlier this year, John made the decision to put his energy where his mouth was and dove head-first into the race for the US Congress seat in the 19th District of NY, where he now resides. On September 12th, he had a convincing victory in the Democratic Primary election, claiming more than 50% of the vote in a 4-candidate race; an election that saw DOUBLE the number of the previous record of voters come out. I guess people really care about being heard these days!
We applaud and commend John for taking the bull by the horns, as there are not many among us who have the will and stamina to do so. If the initial polls are any indication, it could very well be that soon we will be calling him “Congressman Hall”. So be it!
Rock & Pop Masters —
Check out Larry’s very cool “other band” at www.RPMConcerts.com
All hits, all the time! Edgar Winter, Robbie Dupree, Jimi Jamison, Dave Jenkins (Pablo Cruise), Joe Lynn Turner (Deep Purple), John Cafferty (Beaver Brown Band), Ronnie Hammond (Atlanta Rhythm Section), and so on and so on …
As for me —
Not only am I getting to do some of the RPM shows lately, but I am about to do some “subbing” for my bass-player friend, Mark Prentice, by temporarily replacing him in Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals!
www.FelixCavalieresRascals.com
What a cool gig! I don’t know about you, but I was a HUGE Rascals fan in the 60’s … especially being a Long Island boy, just like Felix … and I’m really looking forward to these gigs! (Mark, stay with Olivia Newton John as long as you like 🙂
Who is that masked man?
Be SURE to check out our newest returning bandmate, Fly Amero, at
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OK. That’s enough for one sitting. Next time I’ll clue you in to what’s going on with upcoming gigs, the PBS connection, the Fly connection, our soon-to-be-released DVD, etc …. Until then
Best wishes for wherever your path may lead you,
Lance Hoppen
(on behalf of all of Orleans)
PS — please forward this to ALL of your friends, so they may choose to signup and receive “the good stuff”, too! (see the one-click function at the top of this email)
