DOCUMENT: Crime

Secret Of Ashlee Simpson's Success

Pop singer's backstage rider reveals pickle relish requirement

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Secret Of Ashlee Simpson's Success

APRIL 8--This Ashlee Simpson gal really cracks us up. The singer's most recent backstage concert rider, which you'll find below, describes her four-piece band's "orchestration" thusly: "Drums, Bass, 2 Guitars, and pre-recorded sequences operated by the drummer." Along with keeping the beat, Ashlee's poor bandmate also has to press the play button (an indignity never suffered, of course, by Max Roach, Charlie Watts, or even the Spinal Tap drummers). The rider also includes the 20-year-old performer's dressing room demands, which include a jar of pickle relish and a "Ubiquitous Deli Platter with appropriate condiments. We're pretty sure someone besides Ashlee came up with (and spelled) the word ubiquitous. Simpson's rider, which was updated a month after her "Saturday Night Live" lip sync debacle last October, also requires Throat Coat tea, a favorite of singers who actually sing. Perhaps Ashlee should also make sure that promoters lay in a supply of AA batteries for orchestration purposes. (9 pages)