Phoebe Snow: Last News

Chris Willman Music WriterDonald Fagen has responded to Aimee Mann on the matter of her being dropped from the opening slot on Steely Dan’s summer tour, saying that it was a decision he made because he “thought it might not be the best matchup in terms of musical style.” He also apologized for making the decision after Mann had already been announced and advertised for the tour, saying he didn’t realize it had gotten that far.The Steely Dan frontman did rebuff Mann’s suggestion — which had been stated with a question mark — that she’d heard suggestions the Dan camp didn’t think a female singer-songwriter was suitable for the tour.“Well, first of all,” Fagen says in a statement provided to Variety, “the idea that I would make any decision based on the gender of a performer is ridiculous. That’s something that would never even occur to me.” Fagen continues, “There was a communication problem on our end.