This FAQ is broken down into three sections. The first section deals with questions pertaining to the Forum. The second deals with the  Banyan Tree website and the third are just general questions.

1. Forum disclaimer.
2. Rules of the Forum -- StAl's general philosophy.
3. Can I post HTML to the Forum?
4. Can I talk about topics other than Steely Dan or music in general?
5. How can I figure out what "handles" are being used
6. Anonymous Posting.
7. Even if I post anonymously can you (StAl) tell who is posting what?
8. Posting E-Mail Addresses
   

Under the Banyan Trees

1. Where can I find lyrics to the band's music?
2. Where can I find sound clips, MP3's, bootlegs, etc?
3. Where can I find out about upcoming tour dates/ past set lists?
4. Can I sign up for your mailing list?
5. Where can I find out about the meaning of a particular song or lyric?
6. Where can I find a link to [fill in the blank]?
7. Is this website affiliated with the band?
8. I've heard about The Complete Digital Steely Dan. Where can I get this?

General

1. Is Steely Dan really named after a dildo?
2. Are you (StAlphonzo) affiliated with the band?
3. Have you ever met Becker or Fagen?
4. What prompted you to start this website?
5. Can you forward [fill in the blank] to the band for me
6. How/why did you choose the handle StAlphonzo?

top

Q. Rules of the Forum -- StAl's general philosophy.

A. There very few rules on this forum. You cannot physically threaten, stalk, or harass another individual or group of individuals. If I find this is happening, you'll be reported to your ISP and possibly the local police depending on the circumstances. Beyond this one rule you're free to speak your mind. The use of adult language is frequent, as is the  reference to drugs, alcohol and other adult activities. If you're offended  by such things, please do not bother engaging. This is not a place for children. If yours are reading this, shame on YOU. There are a few rare times I will actually edit something out of the  forum. Typically these incidents involve someone "spamming" the forum with an advertisement or something completely off topic. If someone posts someone else's personal information, such as phone numbers, snail mail addresses, e-mail addresses I'll remove those at the request of the individual in question. If you make a mistake, please don't ask me to change or edit your post. I simply don't have time for this.

top

Q. Can I post HTML to the Forum?

A. No. For technical reasons I had to disable it again. Sorry.

top

Q. Can I talk about topics other than Steely Dan or music in general?

A. ABSOLUTELY! If all we talked about was Steely Dan I'd have shut this thing down a long time ago. For this reason, if you're coming to the forum expecting engaging discussion on nothing but Steely Dan and their music, this probably isn't the best place for you. Jim McKay's Dandom Digest does a much better of staying on topic for those who really need to scratch their Steely Dan itch.

top

Q. How can I figure out what "handles" are being used?

A. This is tough. I'd suggest looking through a couple of past archives.  However, if you choose a handle to post with and someone else is using it I'm sure they'll let you know, so give it a shot!

top

Q. Anonymous Posting.

A. Personally I hate anonymous posting. However, it is a fact of life on the forum. If you're easily offended or irritated by people hiding behind the veil of anonymity you're going to have a hard time here. The new script does afford me the ability to easily remove posts which are  deemed offensive or downright cruel. In the past I choose to allow these
type of posts to occur un-checked. As many of you know this allowed the old forum to develop a general bad vibe. I plan on taking a more proactive stance when it comes to the direction this forum will head and this includes making it a more friendly place for fans to gather. You should think twice before posting anonymous bile to the forum because it takes me all of 5 seconds to delete something it may have taken you 20 minutes to write. Anonymous posting of bile = a coward. Plain and simple. To suggest otherwise is simply warped thinking. Controversial posts are welcomed and encouraged, but is there any reason to be mean spirited?

top

Q. Even if I post anonymously can you (StAl) tell who is posting what?

A. Yes. This forum records the IP address of the poster. This information is only viewable by me. Keep this in mind when violating the (few) rules of the forum.

top

Q. Posting E-Mail Addresses

A. A word of advice when posting your e-mail address to the Forum.  Though avoiding SPAM nowadays is almost impossible, one way to reduce your vulnerability is to mask you address whenever you post to this forum (or any forum or forum). The simplest way to accomplish this is to place something inside the actual address. You will notice whenever I post  I always post my address like this: pat@NOBOTSbanyantrees.net. This will foil most e-mail harvest bots from sending SPAM to you because the address is not accurate. By simply removing "NOBOTS" from the address above you can send me a message, however, when a harvest bot grabs this address it will bounce because the bot isn't smart enough to recognize it isn't valid. I'm sure they'll eventually come up with smarter bot, but until then this method works OK.

top

A. Lyrics to the bands music can be found here.

top

Q. Where can I find sound clips, MP3's, bootlegs, etc?

A. RealAudio interviews of the band can be found on the Interviews page. I don't have any MP3's available on this website. I just don't have the space. Regarding bootlegs, yes I have a few. Yes I do trade. However, my collection of Steely Dan bootlegs is quite small. Part of what really attracts me to this band is the sonic quality of their music. Bootlegs simply fall far short of my expectations when it comes to Steely Dan. Therefore, my collection is small comparatively speaking.

top

Q. Where can I find out about upcoming tour dates/ past set lists?

A. Best place to stay informed of this type of information is on the bands own website. Be sure to sign up for their recently re-instated Newsletter. Otherwise, try Pollstar's automatic notification service. For past set lists check out Tomas Broberg's comprehensive "Giglist."

top

Q. Can I sign up for your mailing list? (updated)

A.  I will be starting a mail list very soon. It's sole purpose will be to keep regular users informed to changes which are specific to THIS WEBSITE ONLY, or other areas I feel might be of interest to the subscribers. It will not be used as a way of distributing or disseminating information about Steely Dan. For this purpose you should sign up for Jim McKay's excellent Dandom Digest.

top

Q. Where can I find out about the meaning of a particular song or lyric?

A. I'm the last person to ask. I quit trying to figure these guys out  shortly after I started. There is an excellent website hosted by Oleander called "Fever Dreams." Culled from various sources on the Internet, including The Forum, The Dandom Digest and the Steely Dan Usenet Group, Fever Dreams is a website dedicated to the discussion of the meaning of Steely Dan's lyrics.

top

Q. Where can I find a link to [fill in the blank]?

A. I no longer have the time to maintain the links page so your best bet is the Steely Dan WebRing or Google.

top

Q. Is this website affiliated with the band?

A. No. It amazes me how many people send me messages as if I was Walter or Donald. I have no idea where people get this idea other than the fact they don't take the time to pay attention.

top

Q. I've heard about The Complete Digital Steely Dan. Where can I get this?

A. The Complete Digital Steely Dan can be located here. Click on the Steely Dan Software link. For Windows users only.
 

top

Q. Is Steely Dan really named after a dildo?

A. Yes. Taken from the William Burroughs novel Naked Lunch.

top

Q. Are you (StAlphonzo) affiliated with the band?

A. No.

top

Q. Have you ever met Becker or Fagen?

A. Yes. In 1996 I was lucky enough to meet both Walter and Donald backstage at the Gorge show.

top

Q. What prompted you to start this website?

A. I've been a fan of the band's since I was 10 -- when I first heard Rikki Don't Lose That Number blaring out of my mothers little AM radio. In 1994 I saw them play live for the first time at the Gorge Amphitheater. Between this period of time the band was an enigma for me. I knew very little about them but I was so inspired by the Gorge performance I decided to find out everything I could about them. At the time the Internet was a  relatively new phenomenon for those outside of the academic world. Beside a single website (which is no longer around), the only thing I could find relating to Steely Dan was Jim McKay's Digest. I immediately joined. By the time I found out about Pete Fogel's Metal Leg he had discontinued it.  Shortly after I joined Jim's mailist, Joe Murtha made a new Windows program available to subscribers called "The Steely Dan Reader" (now  called The Complete Digital Steely Dan). He suggested to everyone if they wanted a copy they send him a self-addressed envelope and blank floppies and he would send out a copy. I figured why mail copies out when I could place it on my new personal website. Once I had the file on the web I figured I might as well create a site specific to the band and their music. The rest is history...

top

Q. Can you forward [fill in the blank] to the band for me?

A. No.

top

Q. How/why did you choose the handle StAlphonzo?

A. I picked up the StAlphonzo handle way back in 1993. I was listening to Apostrophe and I had just signed onto AOL. I was contemplating changing my handle when all of a sudden a news flash came across stating that Frank Zappa had just died. I was crushed, but it became instantly apparent what my new handle would become. I used this handle before I started this website so I figured what the hell... If you still don't know what I'm talking about, "StAlfonzo's (as it's actually spelled) Pancake Breakfast" is a tune off the Apostrophe album.

top