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What’s the deal with Eddie Bo and Aaron Fuchs Tuff
Just wanted to hear what happened. I thought I remember reading somewhere that aaron basically tricked Eddie into siging of sole rights to him.If true, the recent push by Tuff City (anyone get that email?) of Eddie's material while he's waist deep in a dead city is kinda 
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K in Canada.
, K in Canada.
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If Mr. Bocage don't see dollars on this I will send a mass e-mail out to all who get the Tuff City updates letting them know
- All Music Guide
The All Music Guide's latest "Editor's Corner"
spotlights a classic release from Funky Delicacies,
awarding it four and a half (out of five) stars
DEL CD/LP 0006
Eddie Bo's "The Hook & Sling"
Available now at www.tuffcity.com
View the Editor's Corner at allmusic.com
or read the full article here
It would be no problem for college stations to do it, but... aah, I would actually sit in for 24 hours and do it myself, to help out. A lot of us have radio roots, if we could all do it, it would be great. I don't know.
Yes, Aaron Fucks tricked Eddie. It was a soulless move that was only one in the line of AF's business deals. It's pretty ugly that Fuchs is trying to cash in on an 8-year old release; the man is hyping in the wake of this tragedy. AF doesn't care about Bocage's loss of home and property; he's too busy milking the NOLA flood for all he's got.
Funky 16 and Pickwick 33 can attest to Fuchs and his business.
A friend told me he talked with Eddie Bo about Aaron Fuchs a number of years ago, probably the mid- to late 90s. He said that Mr. Bocage was really positive about Fuchs, describing him as a great guy, etc. My friend then asked Bocage about the "Piano Riffs for DJs" album that Fuchs had put out under Bocage's name. Bocage apparently had no idea what my friend was talking about-- he seemed not to know that there was any such release-- and my friend dropped the subject rather than pressing him on it.
There's very little that Fuchs won't do to line his wallet... A relative of Howie Tee has mentioned about workin' for Fuchs and Tuff City back in the '80s; instead of the plush office job he anticipated, he was movin' and stackin' boxes - Fuchs, intrigued by the growin' popularity of rap @ the time, started askin' about what breaks were popular and widely admired; armed w/ this information, he went about purchasin' masters/licenses, as evident w/ the Honeydrippers and 'Impeach...'... Yes, he's been in the game since the '60s (writin' liner notes I believe), but that doesn't preclude him from bein' one shady and sheisty mofo...
I replied, asking him if he has contributed to the NOLA relief effort in any way.
No answer as of yet.
K.
Apparently he shafted Spoonie Gee at least as badly Eddie Bo, who had already been shafted by Al Scarramazzo, and Fuchs compounded the fuck.
Wax Poetics headz might know the deal! But I guess then the lawyers will start getting twitchy
Could somebody PLEASE paste the WP Bocage interview? Because I don't have $40+ (going rate) for the old issue.
just got it too.
i thought it was beyond bad taste. it made me quite angry.
no need to bust into the stories around on him but definitely a lot of bad blood in the air about him, especially in new orleans. he's fucked over more than one new orleans artist. and get the goddamn liner notes right, plus good to make sure you have all new orleans artists on new orleans comps.
Anyone heard this? There's a far stupider fuckup in there. Mac error tone. Sloppy or what?
K.
I've gotten similar emails from him, a month later after no payment... like "Oh, sorry, my paypal address was all screwed up... give me your email, and I'll pay right away"... and then payment comes a week later. What gives man!!!!
If he's really fucked these New Orleans artists like the rumors say, the dude has some seriously heavy karma riding on his shoulders.
K.
Nohijack, but this shot of the Midnight Movers Unltd is pretty sick!
These guys are looking pretty fuckin rugged! Too bad it's on that trash label.
I think that's what pisses me off about Fucks, too - he has all this shit I want to buy and hear, all that Eddie Bo ish, these dudes, Robert Parker - and not only do you not want to buy it because he is a worm, but the shit is so budget ass to begin with, he just pisses on everyone, the artists, his customers...damn.
It's sad, cause in this age, someone on a site like this, who is interested in and cares about the artist, could take this stuff and do it right, and sell it to the people who actually want it, to the benefit of the artists more than anyone else - but dudes like this have shit sewn up and just bottomfeed for four-figure returns on penny-ante garbage product...damn.
I say we enlist The Disruptor, and let him use The Smasher on him!
In general, I agree-- not only does he sound like a reprehensible dude, but his product is wack. One big exception was the recent Merda/Black Mer-Da CD reissue. "The Folks from Mother's Mixer." Not only were both of their albums on the CD, it had excellent liner notes about the otherwise pretty mysterious group and a number of photos. The graphic design was typical Tuff City bullshit, though, and I understand that the first run of CDs had a pressing flaw so that it's tricky to find. Nonetheless, I highly recommend it, even if it means giving Fuchs dollars.
In addition to the human toll, as well as ruined homes, clubs and
studios, and lost wages, some of the Crescent City's rich musical
history has doubtlessly also been washed away by Katrina. Aaron Fuchs
of the New York record label Tuff City estimates that half of the 250
or so reissued records in his catalog is music from New Orleans. After
releasing recordings by better-known artists like James Booker,
Professor Longhair and Eddie Bo, he had a line on scores of obscure
gems on tape stored in closets and packed in suitcases.
"There's no place that has more lost good music than that city," Fuchs
says. "There was so much music that was recorded that was deemed to be
'too New Orleans' when it came out. Most were four-song sessions in
those days. So the two songs that were put out were the ones that
sounded like the rest of the country. And the two that didn't come out
had like the rumba and all those cross-rhythms that are perfect for
our modern, post-hip-hop years. I was on the verge of all kinds of
findings. It's like I had just raised the Titanic and someone came
along and sank it again."
I GUESS FUCHS CAN'T GET HIS GRUBBY HANDS ON THAT NEW ORLEANS MUSIC ANYMORE....WHAT A SLEAZE BAG. ...AND YES, I KNOW EDDIE PERSONALLY, AND FUCHS RIPPED HIM OFF. IT'S TRUE....SAD TO SAY.
Aaron was the Soul charts editor for Billboard before starting Tuff City. He's notorious for fucking the careers of several artist, most notably the Cold Crudsh Brothers. they released " Fresh, Fly, Wild & Bold" on his imprint via Profile. there was a kicker that once the record reached a certain sales plateau that CC$ would become Profile artist. After the record sold 25k, Aaron pulled the plug, thus ensuring that the greatest true school group wouldn't see the success they deserved. Dude is a scumbag of epic proportions.
Fuchs is a weasel, and runs a shitty (in all respects) reissue label.
A cursory look at the credits on the Eddie Bo reissues would suggest to me that Fuchs has to share the blame for fucking over Eddie (and God knows who else) with Al Scrammuzza, who, for some strange reason appears as the "author" of almost everything on the 'Hook & Sling' CD.
My take on this has been that the dealings were sketchy back in the day (how many of Eddie's great records have someone else - sometimes his wife - credited as composer), and that sketchiness has unfortunately rolled over into the reissue game. I get the impression that whatever paper contracts exist in regard to publishing of much of Eddie's early music are probably convoluted.
That said (I got those e-mails too), attempting to capitalize on the disaster in New Orleans is as fucked as it comes, and the guy ought to be ashamed of himself (though that seems unlikely).
I'm hoping that a benefit, specifically for Eddie Bo and his family gets started at some point. He lost his house and all of his belongings (including apparently some masters) in a house fire back in the 80's (I think), and apparently his family's house and restaurant were both destroyed by Katrina. The man deserves a break...