The "Other" Dark Matter SUCKS

[Decker]

In regards to my post above, I went searching for the following letter from Mr. Russ Estes. Russ wrote this open letter to Art Bell in the aftermath of the Harley Bryd mess I detailed above. This is a FYI.

Decker

“AN OPEN LETTER TO ART BELL”



I have just read the Hieronimus & Co. Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 11, and I must admit that I am a little shocked at the Art Bell perspective of the “Harley Byrd Incident.” It seems that Mr. Bell’s memory is as flawed as Harley Byrd’s background. I could recap that fateful day but it would be redundant because Don Ecker recalled and reported it with 100% accuracy.

The portion of the Hieronimus Newsletter that I am responding to is headed up by the bold quote, “DON ECKER HAS IT IN FOR ME.” First off, the comment “But (Ecker) had someone call me first about Harley Byrd” is way off base. I am that someone and it was my idea to call Art Bell and inform him of the quality of the guest that he was having on. If we are going to get it right, I faxed him and he called me. The so called “Barrage of calls” was a Barrage of one!

I must admit that it is flattering that my one contact with Art Bell is considered a Barrage. But my massive ego is truly deflated that he couldn’t even remember my name and has to call me a “Surrogate” of Don Ecker. Art, in case your memory of my name is as flawed as your recollection of the Byrd Incident let me remind you, it’s Russ Estes.

I would like to add another fact to this bubbling pot of misinformation. I called Art Bell as a professional courtesy. After my 27 years in the media, on both the performance and production end, I had the misguided feeling that a host who had a 345 station audience might want to know about the credibility of a guest that he was presenting. In the course of our one conversation I offered to share any and all information that I have on Mr. Byrd, the offer was rejected and I was accused of having a personal agenda. I told Mr. Bell that my only concern was that he know the background of his guest. Art did ask if I would come on the air and confront Harley, I declined.

I understand that Art Bell didn’t know me from Adam... or at least that is what he led me to believe. For that very reason I mentioned the names of a few people who were on the Harley Byrd Hit List,

Jim Delattoso, Eric Beckjord, and Don Ecker. I also mentioned that both Don and I had received junk mail and death threats from Mr. Byrd and had reported him to the L.A.P.D., The U.S. Mail, and the F.B.I.. That was the only time that Don Ecker came up in the conversation.

Anyone who has read the articles written by Don Ecker in UFO Magazine or who have listened to him on the radio show, UFO’s Tonight certainly knows that Don has no need for a mouthpiece or a surrogate.

Yours in facts not fiction,

Russ Estes

 

[storge]

Since I don't do facebook nor facebook drama, I'd like to update my impressions to date here.

Regarding what has been said above:
1). Hoaxland never got a "free ride" by Art Bell, that's part of their danse macabre: Bell plays skeptic to Hoaxland. Same game as 10 years ago.
2). Wade, are you sure you're NOT Bigfoot? I think it's a damned good idea. Did you catch the Dorks Mutter where Bell had Linda Mouldy and How on, and they played dueling Bigfoot tapes? The funny part was, Bell had a better-sounding copy of the exact same thing Mouldy and How played, and it was basically her recording, from back in the day. She scooped it, anyway. Wonder why her version became so degraded?

Impressions on shows after my last comment:

Hogue was very testy on the air, but was one of the better guests, believe it or not. Bell tried to make him get around to a point every now and then, and Hogue resisted. It was interesting and wasn't bad radio. As for the facebook drama, who cares.

The only other semi-good guests were the ghost-bustin' gals a few nights ago, not because they revealed some occult truth or anything, but because they had a good sense of humor and Art Bell was also in good humor that night.

The best show to date was when Art Bell did his Open Lines as only he can, and couldn't resist making it "Time-Travellers-Only" halfway through.

Art Bell had to learn how to pronounce Tracy Torme recently. He had some Torme associates on who talked about him quite a bit. To his credit, Bell only said "Torm" once and then got it right.

Art Bell said he's in touch with Ed Dames somehow and wants him back on (see my list of future guests above).

In sum: Art Bell remains Art Bell, nothing less, nothing more, and does excellent radio, despite some really poor guests. I expect he will change over the coming years and things could go any number of ways depending, if he sticks with it for a while this time. I half-expect him to announce his retirement every other show, or maybe make the announcement profitable for once by using it to drum up interest, but so far he seems happy to carry on.

On the C2C vs Art Bell drama: Ignorey stole a guest the other night and scooped the Art Bell show, and there's been some weird stuff from the C2C side, such as initially dropping Art Bell's name from the end credits, then reinstating him, then dropping him again. The Ghost-Bustin' Gals said the C2C producer Tommy Danheuser (spelling?) told them he would drop their scheduled appearance if they went ahead and went on Art Bell. They went ahead and did it anyway. Technically C2C and Art Bell shouldn't be in competition because they "air" at different times, but... this is the internet age, so I guess it's all about branding and getting there first, not schedules.

It is my impression Art Bell is very attuned to what is being said about his new show across the internet.

On Hale-Bopp and the Two, omg there's a Saturn-like bogey at 12 o'clock! Here's my considered judgment: Art Bell was perfectly willing to cultivate "comet madness" in the classical sense, but can't be blamed for the mass suicide/homicide of the cultists. BBC did a very unkind dramatization of Bell and Strieber as culprits in the deaths (in which Strieber sounds like a flaming gay man, oddly enough) and since no one really knew about Heaven's Gate BEFORE the event, it was convenient for the media and the public to put the blame on "comet madness" fanned by Bell and co. It was a simple narrative to explain the emergence of a wholly-formed cult no one knew about. Except I knew about them. I met them. A few others wrote about them, in a very narrow field of study, UFO cults in America. They were part of the general milieu Bell offered, because before they did their "astronaut training program" recruitment, they used to tramp around the western US claiming they were stranded time travellers down on their luck, and could you spare a dime, or give them a lift, or donate some food so they could get back to their own time? There was a general convergence of urban myths and legends: Art Bell exploiting them for entertainment and awe, Bo and Peep for petty cash and new recruits.

The Heaven's Gate story took on new dimensions when subjected to the usual treatment by conspiracy theory: they told Sean David Morton they were doing cryptology for the NSA, and the next week, there they were, all dead of barbituate overdoses in their San Diego ranchhouse. James McCanney says the same thing, that they were doing classified work for the NSA and were killed because they knew too much, just as other people involved with comets have been killed, presumably to protect the "comets are dirty snowballs" paradigm against the cornucopia awaiting those who embrace the Electric Universe. Rense claims he debunked the "Saturn-like object" photo as soon as it came out, while McCanney claims the object was there for real, and was even described in an academic paper presented at some NASA conference.

The truth is--and I tell you this as someone who bumped into these odd people when they were still alive and kicking--they were crazy, they were a cult and they induced their odd world-view into new recruits, a combination of Pamela Stonebrooke's reptillians, Star Trek:TNG and classic saucer lore. They were doing webpage design for private clients, not cryptography for the NSA, before their mass suicide/homicide, and were making good money from this, much more than your average cult can expect, and perhaps the money was too good, back then when HTML was considered somehow very arcane and not an activity in which mere mortals engaged, and they or their surviving leader decided they were getting too bogged down in materialism and needed to move on to The Next Level before they lost focus. Another possibility, just speculation on my part but it's happened before in other cults, is that some of the members started asking difficult questions, or even spoke out to other members about what a sham the whole thing was, and the leader decided to wrap things up while things were still good and he wasn't doing hard time. They were crazy and it was only a matter of time before they tried to board the mothership en masse, with or without the etheric whisperings of Art Bell from the high desert.

Whatever you accuse Bell of, no one ever accused him of being consistent. Sometimes he'll let a Greer ramble for hours without interruption, other times he'll interrupt every few minutes. Sometimes he cares about a guest's credentials and sincerity or history of lying, other times he'll overlook all that in the interest of entertainment. And he is entertaining. But he's no Don Ecker.

Sorry for a long post, I haven't been around here for a while and don't know when I'll be back.

 

[Fcseven]

Seems like Bell is a drama magnet. I was researching Ted Gunderson the other day and learned a little bit more then I wanted to about Art Bell.

 

[trainedobserver]

Anyone notice that C2C left SiriusXM and then the various youTube channels mirroring the daily broadcast were all taken down? Searches for "Coast to Coast AM" yields videos with "Coast to Coast AM Alternative" in the headline containing Art Bell's Dark Matter programs. While you can see where C2C wants to sell subscriptions, it seems like they have really opened a door for Art Bell.

Ooops. Looks like C2Cdaily came back online about 8 days ago. They have been taken down consistently and may not stay up.

 

[owlman]

Has Art actually been taken to task about the Dark Matter name steal, or even acknowledged that its 'borrowed' ?

 

[Decker]

Has Art actually been taken to task about the Dark Matter name steal, or even acknowledged that its 'borrowed' ?

Not to my knowledge. I wrote Bell and he never acknowledged my note.

Decker

PS But then I never thought he would.

 

[exo_doc]

C2C AM is no longer available on Youtube either, past or current episodes. No matter what you type into the search...if it contains the phrase "coast to coast", Dark Matter will pop up. I used to listen to C2C and really miss it.
The old Art Bell was a much better host than this "new Dark Matter" one, which has a massive black hole-like sucking action.

Does anyone know if Art Bell had all those C2C episodes removed, or blocked? Or even what actually happened?

 

[JGerard]

Does anyone know if Art Bell had all those C2C episodes removed, or blocked? Or even what actually happened?

Hey, guys, I found your site by Google-ing "Art Bell Dark Matter Sucks" and that says it all. I think all "cease-and-desist" orders were and are done through Clear Channel Communications paralegals on behalf of its client, Premiere Radio Networks. Enforcing U.S. copyright. Clear Channel holds a legal office, from what I remember, in Texas. They are authorized corporate-copyright enforcement agents commissioned to shut down illegal streams, which they did and will do.

Art Bell, unlike what many of his fans may think, owns no intellectual-property rights to his former "Coast-To-Coast AM" broadcasts. Then, perhaps, he felt he could use his followers as tools to assist in his losing battle. He lost.

Know Premiere offers some "Coast Insider" paid-subscription service for accessing its archives of the programs it produces. Any streams operating outside of that venue are being informed to stop -- or face legal action. These people don't threaten. They promise. They have every legal right to protect their intellectual property -- and that's that. Bell's fans often fail to see that, then learn the error of their ways.

Bell, from what I understand, gave up his rights at the time he recorded those shows and has no legal basis to tell Premiere about the disposition of his previous programs. He's learned the hard way. Earlier this year, he attempted to shut down "Somewhere In Time" airing on Saturday nights through Premiere affiliates. He even took to the Internet to gripe, without telling his legion of followers he has no legal right to do that. He failed, with Premiere -- no doubt -- telling him to take a flying leap. Which he did.

I advised against any network hiring him after that. But Sirius did, like fools, now saw what that got him. He's quit "Dark Matter" and also turned on Siruis XM the same way he turned on Premiere. It hate to say I told people so, but I told them so. Bell won't last if he returned to radio. And, in six-short weeks, he didn't.

I further comprehend he's been held to a two-year non-compete contract with Sirius. That means he cannot broadcast in any manner for that time period, or face legal action. I understand the decision to uphold the non-compete came from the top at Sirius and Bell is out of luck. He can try to fight it legally, but it would cost a lot of money and take a lot of time. He's apparently let it go. Because he lost once more, which happens every time he takes on companies who once employed him.

But, to make it worse, his followers -- in all their wisdom -- took to insulting Sirius and bombarding them with hateful rants about the non-compete clause in his contract. Brilliant work behind the "Free Art Bell" vendetta! I advise that can only make it worse and those who claimed to support Bell were among those that locked him out and ensured he'll be idle on talk radio until at least mid-year 2015. When he'll be 70 years old. And be further the worst for wear, career wise.

So much for the heralded return of Art Bell. I feel strongly he made numerous excuses for leaving Sirius and they know it. So he's out. All the way out. I knew he'd do something like that -- and he fails to disappoint people in the end.

In all fairness, Bell is a has-been and his time has come and gone. There's no reason anyone should feel he can hold his own in today's times. There's a number of good, cool up-and-coming "alternative-talk radio" hosts and people who should get attention from broadcast companies. Not someone like Art Bell. In all respect. I'm just trying to be practical.
-30-

 

[Bob Watson]

Wow..an awesome insiteful post! Welcome to the paracast...

 

[Vance]

JGerard unfortunately supports my suspicions about the Art Bell implosion. I'll not pile on other than to say he clearly brought these things on himself.

 

[Decker]

I do know Art Bell a bit. My suspicion is that somewhere along the way Art began to "believe" his own hype. And, back in the day there is no doubt in this guy's mind ... Art was, rightfully so, on top of the heap. Lots and lots of bullshit ... but he WAS on top. No more ... like the above poster stated ... "So much for the heralded return of Art Bell. I feel strongly he made numerous excuses for leaving Sirius and they know it. So he's out. All the way out. I knew he'd do something like that -- and he fails to disappoint people in the end."

Decker

 

[Bob Watson]

It has been my belif that bell only did this to get his "pound of flesh.."this has always been about getting back at premier..look at every thing that has happened..before during and after his show airied..and the pattren emergas! I feel like I'm starting a conspericy theroy but this one may well be true...

 

[JGerard]

JGerard unfortunately supports my suspicions about the Art Bell implosion. I'll not pile on other than to say he clearly brought these things on himself.

Agreed. I have nothing against Mr. Bell. But it's the nature of the business. He turned against those once supported him -- and paid the price.

Like I heard on Fox-Sports Radio a couple of years back. There's a difference between the artist and the real business of contracts and copyright.

It was announced that songwriter and performer John Fogerty was successfully sued for U.S. copyright violation by a record label for a song he wrote -- his own work -- but released later as a solo single called "The Old Man Down The Road."

As it turned out, from what I understood, that was a song he wrote years before when he was with Creedence Clearwater Revival, but was never released. But he'd sold his rights to the label at the time, therefore giving them U.S. copyright over the work. Even his own work. But he got paid back then and contracts are contracts.

We heard the sports commentators ponder how someone can be sued successfully for something they wrote. I'll answer that. Simply. The person gave away their rights to their intellectual property under contract. Then, as I called into the hosts that morning and talked about such a situation, just be careful about signing away rights to your work. I know that very well. As the hosts agreed. The media people in power can be vicious and greedy. But if you get paid fairly for that, Heaven forbid, just take care of those earnings wisely. Please.

Again, I have nothing against Mr. Bell. But I know firmly he agreed to such a contractual agreement with Premiere when he hosted "Coast To Coast AM" in the old days. And was paid well for it. He holds no rights to stop "Somewhere In Time" legally and he knows it. Simply put, it doesn't belong to him.

If that wasn't enough for him, in all respect, I feel bad he needs more than what he got. Try working a real job for peanuts. I know he got paid very well at the time. Premiere Radio Networks aren't cheapskates. If that wasn't good for him -- well -- perhaps nothing will.

Yes, I don't mean to pile it on. Just note that there's two sides to every story and those Mr. Bell slams may tell you otherwise. In all respect.
###

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Speaking of John Fogerty, his original contract with his first record label, Fantasy, was screwed up, and he fought with them for years for the rights to his own work. Even when he was doing well as a solo act with new stuff, it was quite some time before he'd perform any of the Creedence material in public. But he is clearly a hard-nosed taskmaster, and you can get that from his interviews. To him, the rest of Creedence, which included his late brother Tom, was just a backup band that played what he wanted note for note.

But he's a rock and roll original and a terrific songwriter and singer. If you want to see what he's up to, you can check here:

John Fogerty

 

[JGerard]

But he's a rock and roll original and a terrific songwriter and singer. John Fogerty

Very true. Not even being from the Deep South, he still captured the spirit very well in his music. His tunes are always great bumper songs, for sure.
-30-

 

[Gene Steinberg]

He's from Berkeley, CA.

 

[DaveM]

Speaking of John Fogerty, his original contract with his first record label, Fantasy, was screwed up, and he fought with them for years for the rights to his own work. Even when he was doing well as a solo act with new stuff, it was quite some time before he'd perform any of the Creedence material in public. But he is clearly a hard-nosed taskmaster, and you can get that from his interviews. To him, the rest of Creedence, which included his late brother Tom, was just a backup band that played what he wanted note for note.

But he's a rock and roll original and a terrific songwriter and singer. If you want to see what he's up to, you can check here:

John Fogerty

I seem to recall a story when Fogerty's old record label tried to sue him. In the courtroom Fogerty broke out a guitar and started to play some CCR tunes on the stand. I guess the jury was made up of Creedence fans and they voted in Fogerty defense.

 

[JGerard]

Well, in all respect to Mr. Art Bell, himself and his obsessed fans, they learned a valuable lesson. Like the current state of "Coast To Coast AM" or not, the program will continue on with what they do because they have major backing from Premiere Networks and those who hold power wield it.

Of course, we know it's nothing but an overnight infomercial that no longer carries the edge it once had. It's a platform for fraud artists, charlatans, supposed mediums employing cold-reading techniques even I know how to do better , psychics, "New-Age" carnival hacks, "snake-oil salespeople," numerologists, fortune tellers, palm readers, "faith healers," holistic medicine "curers," bitter and nutty conspiracy theorists and the like who have failed in real life but have found a niche to hawk their wares unchallenged. That is, unless those of reason, logic and ration disagree and make an informed, intelligent counterpoint and disagrees.

Then host George Noory or John B. Wells will defend the guest regardless, mock the counterpoint -- and worse, accuse them of being dark and evil. The guests always represent the "light and truth" of the world, as the program will advance, and any intelligent person who can offer an effective counterpoint will lose.

OK. It's their little world and they rule it. Like some private hell. John Milton's Paradise Lost fiction personified. It's better for these people to rule in hell than to serve in heaven. Like a cult who indoctrinates the ignorant or the gullible into "buying" their goods or services or else be condemned. We get it. I understand that. Know that Bell tried taking that on recently and failed. Miserably. But I advised against his bitter approach to that situation and -- and I hate to admit -- was proved right.

Forget the name calling. Forget calling the modern "Coast To Coast AM" out. Just stick to a solid, well-researched, basically PG-rated approach to alternative-talk radio subjects and don't try to slam the "other programs" and prove your merit by doing better. Move on. Quit the childish behavior, please. We all know the modern "Coast" sucks. Don't discuss that. Be better.

In my view and my view only, I saw even a formerly big player like Art Bell himself even fail to adhere to that. His return, in my view only, was full of hostility, bitterness and the "I'll show you" mentality of a child. Had Mr. Bell handled it better, I feel, he would have done better.

In all respect, all. He proved to me what he did sure didn't work. That's all I state. In all respect. I knew it would fail -- and, despite myself -- it did. That's a lesson to those who think trashing "Coast" can get them the recognition and following -- especially from major-media radio companies -- they may seek.

In my view only. Admitted.
-30-

 

[Double Nought Spy]

Like a lot of other people in Show Bidness, Bell is his own worst enemy. He had a hell of an opportunity on Sirius (just look at what clowns like Howard Stern have managed to do there) and what did he do? A half-assed rehash of his old shtick, with the same crooks, nutcases, and fools he brought us fifteen years ago. Not too hard to see where that was going to end up.

A lot of us realized what he was all about when "Dr. Reed" was exposed. Bell was either not man enough to admit he'd been had by a con artist, or the ratings were just too good, so he turned on the people who debunked "Reed", who happened to be his own fans! After that, it was painfully obvious to anyone paying attention that Bell was all about Show Bidness. Nobody forced him into any of his retirements; they were all his own decisions. Now he's so envious of the people who took the show he abandoned and made it even more successful that he just can't stand it. It's time for him to go find something constructive to do, and enjoy his retirement. Even if he has left a bridge or two unburned (which I doubt), I don't think any reputable media outlet would touch him with a stick now.

I have to admit that I was hoping he'd stay unretired long enough for "JC" to call in with some of his demented rants.

 

[PCarr]

I noticed the other day that Martin Willis' Podcast UFO is now on DMR. I kind of like Martin, although his audio quality is sub-amateur. I wonder if money changed hands?