Helios Creed News No. 3 April 2004

 
Hey from Krazee Cyn

As always, things have been KRAZEE since the last newsletter!  I've been through the ups and downs (here lately) with H - there is always
something going on to deal with!  In the words of George Harrison, "you know, it don't come easy."  Any self-employed artist or person living from paycheck to paycheck knows that!  H is a self-proclaimed starving artist as he is not embarrassed to admit it.  We covered royalty issues in the last issue and how little artists actually make from CD sales.  Merchandise seems to be one way an artist can actually realize a small profit.  A couple of years ago H asked me and my hubby, Toxic Tommy, to help manage him and we have been brainstorming since.  On a small scale, we have been very successful, so it's time for us to move forward.  Here's the scoop:

 
We've sold out of H's CD stash on e-Bay!  Toxic Tommy and I still have over one hundred 2003 Tour t-shirts for sale.  I haven't had them on e-Bay for over a month, so I promise to get them back on soon!  In the meantime, if anyone would like to order one they can contact me.  We still have a few grey and blue ones left in a couple sizes, and tons of black ones in all sizes!  They are $10 each.  But, there is bigger and better stuff to come.......

 
I've mentioned that Toxic Tommy and I will soon have other Helios Creed items for sale.  We've talked about offering copies of impossible to find CD's like "The Last Laugh" and "Dark Matter I" with new Toxic Tommy cover art. We are checking into the legal technicalities of making that happen.  More exciting, H also has some unreleased and live music we will be putting together for a CD in the very near future!!!  We've talked about possibly by-passing the record companies or just shopping around until we find a deal H can live with!  Several record companies have expressed interest, but they won't talk numbers with us until they receive the samples of the music (imagine that).  We are working on that now.

 
It looks like I may also finally be getting some videos together for sale! There is a lot of live footage from the Dark Side tour, I have about
8 hours of interviews and other stuff I shot with H, Toxic Tommy and myself two years ago, a short film, and hours of more recent footage, to work with. I have the equipment and skills to do it (I have three movies under my belt), but I have either become technologically illiterate or
everything is incompatible with the XP computer I bought -you think you're upgrading and nothing works.

 
I bought all of this new equipment two years ago - computer, dvd burner, movie camera, movie making software to replace stuff I had that actually worked. It sux!  I wanted the stuff I did for H to look good so I spent thousands of dollars upgrading.  However...even my older movie camera was superior so I still use it!  It's been frustrating.  But, hey, I'm on the right track - I almost have the stand alone DVD burner working (the software appears to be outdated - my friend Ben tells me they've improved a lot in the past two years!).  Are there any computer geeks out there familiar with XP and Movie Shop Pro for XP who might want to offer me some sorely needed advice regarding the language compatibility problems?  If so, I'd REALLY appreciate hearing from you!  I blew my budget on the damn equipment and have no money left to pay a tech!  I'm determined to get some DVD videos done!!

 
On the Chrome Front

I'm sure most of you Chrome fans already know that Chrome was listed in Mojo Magazine as the fourth best post-punk band in the world in a recent issue. They had a little write up about the band if you haven't seen it yet. H can't remember when it came out, but it was within the last six months we think.  I know he told me about it around the first of March.  That's all I know about it, so, on to more news!

 
From the Fans

Thanks for sending e-mails, etc. to me for H!  I forward everything to H and he really appreciates hearing from his fans!  John Matthews sent us an interesting e-mail about Helios Creed dreams he has had.  Thank you John. John started a website at www.famousdreams.com which features his two dreams about Helios and a sketch he did of "his impression of Helios."  He welcomes H's fans to take a look at his site!

We've also had many requests for photos.  This newsletter has a few photos attached.  These photos are not to be reproduced without permission!!!  Photo credits: Helios live 2003 photo taken by Debbie Kennedy, Wash. D.C. at Baltimore, Maryland show; heliosb+wphoto photo taken by Bill Roth of  Chrome in studio circa 1980's; and  H_KC photo of H and Krazee Cyn taken by me at home in 2002.  My thanks to Bill Roth and Debbie Kennedy for the photos  and permission to use them in the newsletter!

 
Straight from H

"My latest news is I got busted from a dirty urinalysis. - THC - so, the King can't smoke pot (I was knighted by "Honky" as the King of Marijuana -  in "Smoking Weed With Helios Creed).  So, it's up to people like you to get this shit legalized for medical use.  I've been told by no less than 3 doctors, one in Hawaii and two in California, that I should smoke weed instead of using any other prescription drug, because everything is so toxic for my liver (as you probably know I have Hep C).  Here in Kansas where I live, they live in the medieval times and I definitely and am at the end of my rope. Things seemed to be going really well for me until this.

I had a bit of promissing news on the royalty issue with Touch and Go discussed in the last newsletter.  Fabianne Wisse (Damon's wife)
contacted me (through a friend) and said she was going to claim the royalties (held by them for Damon) and share a portion with me, as she knows I had done most of the writing, performing and promoting of the CD re-release.  Not only that, Damon died owing me about $165,000 (Manfred of Dossier had given it to Damon for me and I never saw a penny of it); Fabianne knew this and said she wanted to help, but......I haven't heard anything since and that was over a month ago.

 
I'm still working on the new record without any record company backing, so it is coming along slowly.  I'm looking for a better recording deal on the next CD after the way the past few have worked out (or should I say, haven't worked out).  I am plagued with equipment problems topped by financial ones!

 
But, this is old news......nothing has changed much since you last heard from me.

 
Spiritually and psychedelically I still have faith in my fans.  It's not unusual that shit should come down on a guy like me because I am trying to make the world a better place.  Throughout history, it seems that anybody who tries to do this always pays a price.  I mean, look at John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Jesus, John Kennedy and Martin Luther King -- anybody that tries to change the system gets fucked and it is impossible to go against the grain.  Not that I am in their league or anything, the point is I've been trying for 35 years to go against the grain and my record has been pretty good up until now. Nowadays things are just getting harder.  Those who dare to take a stand against fascism, bullshit and narrow-mindedness stand alone.  That's the history of our world.

'If you stand by me, I will always stand by you' - that is for the people who simply buy a CD from me and appreciate it!  That's how I feel.   And why do I feel this importance to my life - because I support psychedelia which is the only counter-culture movement which has never faded and very few people support this counter-culture.  Some of my oldest fans belong to this underappreciated niche.  My music is very important to them spiritually.  They have connected to my music and it is a bridge for them.  I hear this from fans all the time.  Without them, there would be no need for me to go on. It keeps me going.  Other than that, I don't feel my life is any more important than anyone else's.  It's not the money.  There is no money when it comes down to it, it's the spirit of the people who have a symbiotic connection with me that make it all worthwhile."

Wrapping it Up

From H - "I love you all and couldn't do it without your support.  I want to thank each and every one of you from my heart."

From K.C. - Until next time!  Check e-Bay often for new Helios items (handle - toxictommy69) or e-mail me with orders.  If you've received
this newsletter from a friend and want to be added to the mailing list - e-mail me at cynthiaobrien@hotmail.com.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Helios Creed & Krazee Cyn