Ah, DIY DVD

Here's a sentence you've seen countless times before in the history of this column: Eric Johnson is still working on his next official studio album. Well, it's a true statement, as is the following: Johnson is also "mining the archives one more time" looking for older live and rare materials to serve up to the fans, according to manager Joe Priesnitz. "If we don't do it," Mr. P. adds, "someone else will." Also true, and the only really amazing thing about it is how long it took over the years for bands like the Beatles to figure that out. Oh, and remember the DVD debacle Eric recently underwent when Capitol Records unexpectedly released a half-cocked version of his Ah Via Musicom in that format? Priesnitz says that the label is "cooperating now" with the artist and a budget for doing the DVD right is now in the process of being submitted.