Hi all,

I'm not really a fan of Farner's self absorbed whining, but I was shocked to see
the decrepit
condition of his website. In fairness, Steve Lisuk is/was grossly overworked but
has done a
superb job of holding Farner's on line presence together. The site, like
Farner's career,
seems dead in the water, accompanied by a spate of " sorry, but..." posts from
whomever
was last running the thing. That's been a staple of Farner's website; big
announcements
about stuff that never happens, or is decidedly underwhelming when it does.

Like many GFR fans, I cannot think of my high school years without Farner's
superb
writing, singing and playing. But the last decade he has come across as bitter,
selfish
and short sighted. The "new" GFR is a fine outfit, but hardly a substitute for
the original 3
piece band. It just seems to me that all the way along, from Terry Knight, to
Craig Frost,
Andy Cavaliere and now Don and Mel, Farner burns his bridges too easily and
makes
himself seem like a martyr. Now, I'm certainly not saying that the above named
people
were saints, but we all know that GFR could have walked away from Knight free
and clear
had they waited a few months for his contract to expire. Craig Frost was treated
like crap,
and Farner's self destructive rage directed at Mel and Don has proven to be
really foolish
in light of the new band's substantial success.

Simply put, I'd love to see Mark onstage or in the studio and doing what makes
him happy,
with or without Don and Mel. But someone has to get through to the lad that he
is his own
worst enemy, and has alienated a lot of people for no particularly good reason
than his
pride. I've met Mel and Don and had brief discussions about this, and they have
not an
unpleasant word to say about Mark. Could someone tell me what's up with Farner
and his
website. Email me at rockstar_records@.... Is he ill ? I certainly hope
not.

BTW...I am a long time professional musician myself, and a consultant to
companies and
agencies about dealing with employee behavorial problems & substance abuse. I'm
also a
public safety Chaplain ( but I'm Jewish, not Christian ) and a licensed
counselor. I have no
axe to grind, just a wish for the musicians I care about to have happy stable
lives doing
what they truly love.

Mbd