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(to Linford)

	Dear Linford, 
	I've wanted to write so many letters to you and Karin and to the band in
general so many times over the years, but I've never get around to it...
hopefully this "eavesdropping" of yours will help. :-)
	As far as signing with a label, well, I've got a fairly specific suggestion
that I'll get to in a bit but all in all it's obviously a tough question, and
speaking as one lone fan, I tend to feel both very enthusiastic and very
uneasy about the possibility at the same time.
	First of all, I can't get enough of Over the Rhine.  It's been a long time
since your latest records, or at least it seems that way to me when I'm
rabidly looking forward to a new release, and in that sense, when you
mentioned a record "that would get released in the next 18 months or so, and
then you would promote that record for a few years and if you were successful,
do it all over again," my heart sunk a bit.  My immediate personal reaction to
that is an awfully big groan, not because of the corporateness of the
situation but simply because, greedy as it may be, I don't want to wait that
long, and I'm sure I'm not alone there.  Conversely, the thought of OTR making
"two or three records a year" (!?) on your own has me leaping for joy just
thinking about it.
	Also there's the corporate issue, and I agree with those who've said you've
got to be fairly hard-assed about not giving up creative control, and not
losing the personality and homespun care that the band's been able to put into
its work over the years at the vegetable stand.  Though the thought of an OTR
song being played every 10 minutes on the radio is rather annoying (everything
gets spoiled a bit when it's TOO overplayed), I really don't see any problem
with OTR being some extremely popular sensation, even if you do end up in the
theoretically neon-feuled hearts of the "flourescent tits" crowds, but on the
other hand I do think it's important to be careful in terms of making sure
that executives and marketers aren't going to be controlling your content or
trying to tailor your vision with their own ideas about what makes a record
sell.
	At the same time, in the five-or-so years I've been a fan of Over The Rhine,
I've been recommending your music to friends constantly, and even though I
enjoy word-of-mouth promotion, and almost always running into one big problem;
I can't just suggest to people that they go out and pick up an Over The Rhine
CD the next time they're looking for something new, because your records just
aren't in most stores.... and even if all the older albums were available by
mail, mail order just isn't convenient for a lot of people.  It'd be great if
Over The Rhine's fanship could flourish & grow just by word-of-mouth alone;
and I truly believe that it COULD, if your albums were out there for people to
find.  But it's one thing to say to someone "this is a really great band, you
should check 'em out next time you see one of their CD's" and another thing
entirely to say "this is a really great band... no, no, you probably won't
find their CD's anywhere... but they're still really great nonetheless!"
	Of course, there're ways to get around that.  I've got my success stories.
When I went to Goshen College between me and two other students who were fans,
it only took us about two years (and a couple radio shows) to make you a
pretty darn well-known and well-loved band on that campus.  Here in New York
City that kind of promotion's a bit harder to spread around, but I saw you a
couple months ago with the Cowboy Junkies (except I actually didn't stay to
see the Junkies; no offense to them, but I was sick) too, and brought along a
few friends that hadn't heard of you before but were instantly impressed
(incidentally, I was that guy who kept shouting out "Poughkeepsie" so
obnoxiously, and thanks so much for playing it!).  And I've also gotten my
family into your music; even my parents, who rarely listen to anything non-
orchestral.  The other thing I tend to do  -- and in some ways I feel bad
about this, but I honestly feel it's a lot better than not spreading the good
word at all -- is make OTR mixes on blank tapes and send 'em to people; I've
probably made twelve OTR mixes over the past two years (and actually gotten
around to sending 8 of them)... and then, ideally (and in most cases) the
friend in question will say "hey, you're right, where can I order the rest of
their stuff?"
	So word-of-mouth isn't by any means a lost cause... but it'd be helped a good
deal by the (literal) accessibility that a major label would bring.  I just
really wish I could be able to recommend the band to a friend and know that
they'll be able to find an album somewhere.
	That's more or less where I'm coming from as a fan -- not wanting to wait a
long time for a new album, wary of the coporate world, but really wishing that
the back-catalogue were available and that the CD's could be found by average
joes and janes whose basic access to music is through chain stores -- and
here's my resulting suggestion, though it is only a suggestion and the bottom
line is that you & the band follow where your own hearts & souls lead,
wherever exactly that is:
	Give it one really big try, just for once (maybe AFTER putting out one more
album on your own, so we greedyfolk don't have to wait :-)).  If you can, make
just one album (or so) for a major label that you relatively trust not to try
to control your content, let them publicise you, cope with coroprate pressures
as best you can, see if you can hit the bigtime, embrace it, & get all the old
stuff rereleased so it's easy to find... and *then* go back to making records
on your own time, in your own way, and at your own frequency.  I'm thinking it
can't hurt too much to just give it a shot, reap whatever benefits come of it,
and if it doesn't work out (or maybe even if it does), ditch it & go back to
the homespun routine.  DON'T give up the vegetable stand, but, I'd say, even
if it means compromising the stand a bit for just a couple years, take this
opportunity to let that many other people know that the stand is there, if
they're interested in some really tasty veggies.
	That's my take on it, anyway.
	Thanks for listening,
	sincerely,
	your biggest fan in New York City,	
	Stefan d. Wenger