About Mike McGibney Expertise I can answer questions about individual members of the band or their vast array of session musicians, or about ANY song, even the extremely rare/unpublished. I can help with musical aspects such as chords/instruments used or with style of playing or about the history behind the band and in particular, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, the bands writers/arrangers.
Experience I am a huge Steely Dan fan, and have my own website on them. I also have a Steely Dan tribute band, and saw the real Steely Dan play at Wembley in 2000. I play all their music on bass and piano, and specialise in hard to get songs, mostly on mp3 format.
Organizations I play keyboards and do the arranging and transcriptions for a Steely Dan tribute band, and am a regular member on forums on the band throughout the internet.
Question In the liner notes of the compilation "Showbiz Kids" a letter from Michael Phalen to Roger Nichols is reprinted. Like many of Steely Dan's songs, this letter only reveals part of the story. My question is what did Fagen and Becker do to Michael Phalen that would inspire him to steal the master tape to "Aja"? He mentions in the letter that he was injured bad enough to call the paramedics to stop the bleeding.
Answer Hi Les. This letter is something that's never been explained fully. Whether he stole the tapes - or actually just took them for a genuine reason - DF and WB have jazzed up the situation somewhat. I cant even be sure that letter's real to be honest. I'm pretty sure that SD never resorted to violence, and that isn't true. I'm tempted to think the letter is a normal fagen/becker hoax - I'll have an ask around to see if anyone can throw more light on the subject. What might help you is the Dandom Bluebook - do a google search - It's a Steely Dan forum/guestbook. If you post the question there someone might be able to give you more info!
