Belew off
:: Posted by JeffTruzzi on November 13, 2008

I am aghast at Robert Fripp’s reprehensible treatment of ’buddy’ Adrian Belew.
Robert is infinitely superior at compiling aphorisms than in living by them.

Sorry - I haven't heard about this - what's Fripp been doing to Belew?

This is all based on an interview with Adrian,
and comments from Fripp's Diary & Adrian's blog.

Old history:
Back in the 80's Belew discovered Kind Crimson had broken up from reading a Musician magazine article with Fripp.

When they reformed in the 90's, he similarly discovered it via the press,
and went to England to lobby for his old job (2nd guitar & vocalist) back.

New history:
Crimson played a month of limited live dates this September, in Chicago, Philly & NYC.

There were tentative plans to play the US west coast sometime next year.

A Fripp aid recently email'd the band as to their availability next May.
Adrian initially said he thought his Power Trio had some dates booked then.
Turns out he was wrong, and told Fripp so a few days later (with an apology).

By then Fripp said he had 'moved on' mentally and that re-constituting King Crimson was no longer an option.

That's why I said "Belew off."

The aphorisms refer to these ubiquitous sayings at the bottom of every page of the DGM website.

Here's a link to a Fripp diary page:

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And a quote:

"I've let go of this, the wheel has turned & i can't get back into it. perhaps for ade & tony & pat & gavin, all good constant players, Crimson is another version of what they do everyday. it's not like that at all for me. i have to be psyched, or in the Crimson story, f...ing p-syched. to get into a Crimson mindset is a huge undertaking for me, difficult to explain to anyone, including Toyah. it's like, everything else stops for the period. even to get ready for april-may, my focus remains engaged. so, i hadn't switched off from last august. then, for all the reasons we know below, i switched off & a different set of life-parameters come into play. not sure what the future holds, and that works well for me. but, the switch is off."

I cannot see what your problem is, Jeff. RF has made it quite clear on his diary pages the reason why the tour will not be happening. He chose to put it behind him and move on, he does seem to be a fast mover in terms of projects and doesn't let the grass grow under his feet in that respect, and I would think that Adrian Belew would be aware of this too. What we don't know is their personal relationship, so how can we make a judgemental comment on their behaviour towards each other?

Its down to RF whether he chooses to play or not, and he makes that very clear. The same as AP chooses not to play live. Its their choice, not ours.

...from Fripp's Diary 28 Oct:

And continuing hard reflection re: the on/off Crimson Celebration. From my e-mail to the Crims…

i let go of Crimson plans & re-directed my attention elsewhere. i was up for the Celebration, there was a momentum, there was a hold in my calendar; then it changed. there we are. that's what it is…

so, once again, a major re-direct of attention, more torments & twisting such as i know well from the Crimson life. following further reflection & consideration of the on-off-on nature of Crimsoning next Spring. having let go of this & moved on, i recognise & acknowledge that i've moved on.

so, the good news:

we've had a Celebration, and it was good. hooray!

the future is open & waits to be written. hooray!


...and from Adrian Belew's blog:

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2008

Life is very short Part II

the mighty krimson was supposed to perform on the west coast in 2009.
that was where we left things following our last night in new york city.
just before leaving for the power trios marvelous tour of 8 countries in europe

I received an email from krimson's strategic advisor mr. andy leff.
andy asked everyone for their schedules for may.
at the time I believed the power trio was booked in may,
which turned out not to be true (not yet)
and I said so in my reply to the members of the mighty krim.
somehow this was offensive and the whole tour
was called off because of my remarks.
for that I am deeply sorry.
I did not mean to offend anyone.

this morning I penned an email to robert with my apology
and my thoughts about the great adventure we've had thus far.
in so many words I told him I loved him and was very proud
of the work we have done together.

more importantly perhaps I said this,
"any time, any place you would like King Crimson to perform:
count me in. I will be there."

and there it stands.
doesn't mean krimson will tour again
but I certainly hope so.

POSTED BY ADRIAN BELEW AT 10:54 AM

...and here's the Belew interview:

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I'm sorry Jeff, I still cannot see what your problem is. RF isn't going to do the tour and that's it. Let it go, mate. And I don't think AB will change things by blogging. There will be more years and more tours. As long as Fripp, Belew, Levin, Mastellotto et al still produce music in whatever incarnation then thats a good thing, isn't it?

Have a listen to Live at the Shepherds Bush Empire 1996 and chill for a bit!

Whats your favourite KC album?

I have no problem with Fripp doing (or not doing) what he wants.
I just think he has treated Adrian shabbily.
And reprehensible behavior deserves comment, regardless of the status of the behavioree.

Ade made an honest mistake in scheduling and Fripp penalizes him (and the other Crimson bandmates) by canceling the tour.
That's not what a friend does.

A friend doesn't let you know your band has broken up through a magazine interview.

It's not about us fans.
It's about how you treat your 'band buddies.'

I'll get over it.
But how long will it take Adrian?


My favorite Crimson album is "Starless & Bible Black."


.

...but surely the fact that the tour was called off because of Belew's unavoidable non attendance (so it seemed at the time) shows just how integral Adrian must be to the 'classic' line-up if the tour's a non starter without him?

Maybe it's a bit of a back handed compliment or Fripp possibly threw his toys out of the pram cos it all wasn't adhering to his exacting standards?

However, he hasn't said "that's it- never again!" he's just mentally moved on to other things once he assumed a major player couldn't get on board...

Fripp's famously a bit odd & none of this has coloured my own opinion of the man...

'Classic' line up!!?? What about John Whetton, eh?

I'm hoping that Belew is more than aware of Fripp's idiosyncracies and this spat will not harm future Crimson tours. Not that it makes any difference here in the UK because Fripp will not tour Crimson here.
But if they do tour the US in the future I may fly over to catch a date or two. And I'll be sure to pack my camera (the one with the biggest flash)to get an action shot of Fripp during the intro to 'FraKctured' !

My favourite Crimson album this week is 'Lark's Tongues In Aspic'

I'm not that daft, I'll wait until AFTER the show for that

...i put classic in inverted commas deliberately- i personally prefer the 70's output & the 90's stuff- the 80's stuff lacks bite to my ears..

...favourite album is Red at the moment!

Going on the number of people posting on this topic I thought it may have been 'Three Of A Perfect Pair'

Boom.

erm


Tish?

I am going to say something outrageous. Belew is not as interesting a guitarist as he was in the 80s.
I would like to hear a different lineup for a new tour, how about Phil Manzanera

Phil Manzanera? That could work, given the Roxy background, but what is his latest stuff like, Miles?

Shall we go all out and start a Fantasy Crimson lineup? With the Barry Andrews link, could a certain A. Partridge, Swindon, be drafted in? Live, they could both (Fripp & Partridge) sit behind screens on stage. And AP's improv skills would fit in. Dunno about personalities, though!