TheCapitalClinic

We have been speaking recently about the tough issue of labels as "micro businesses" not being able to sustain a business model once they extend the line-up of artists beyond a neat box that defines their "brand" that a time-starved and/or fickle consumer can relate to and financially support over a sustainable period. "Micro labels" seem to put a workable business model at risk when they stray too far in support of diversity. On the other hand, artists by nature...

Gavin Robinson [vocals/guitar/keyboard] and Tim Sturdy [keyboards], former members of Paydirt Theory, formed Boy Became King in June, 2007. BBK just uploaded some instrumental tracks that combine a signature beat that has you trippin' and, at the same time, an electronic metronome to slow u down. This integrated juxtaposition of fast and slow [mostly fast] cadences and tonal modalities reflected in all of this group's pieces is a compelling combination. BBK says that it is currently...

Velma produces an audio experience like no other. This is "cutting edge" experimental music that has been described as Maybe the ultimate answer to the following question: where can the avant-garde go without entangling itself into atonality or jazz? Carsten Sandkämper, SPEX Magazine, janvier 2002 (Allemagne) Fuzz readers may find this Velma Biography "instructive" or "confusing on purpose." It's best read while listening to the Velma audios uploaded at...

There has been a consistent theme developing throughout many of my blogs recently [and in the artists' responses following various threads on the same core subject]: the new music business model still needs the intermediaries but we still can't identify who/what/how this can be effected. Thus, for example, at my blog on the Inside and Outside of Art Beradley points out (i) the time it takes to focus on the "externalities" of the music business; (ii) the havoc that is...

Julie Christensen has uploaded a collection of her songs. This artist's long professional career and her passionate spirit are reflected in the virtuosity and diversity of her work. She has been described as having a chameleon quality. Yes, maybe so. However, while nuanced for the occasion, there is a distinctive element that remains constantly pure, rich, and signature Christensen: lyrical and thoughtful and, perhaps only to me, almost hynoptic in its melancholy. [Maybe memories of...

Bossbass just sent me a video link of a faux interview of System Of A Down's lead vocalist, Serj Tankian. This is a funny, but at the same time, serious video about all the aspects of "the music game" from lyrics, production and pizza's, to the role of sound engineers, music label executives, and A & R reps. The need for specialization and, thus, intermediation in music is evident in an increasingly complex society. [One man, even the versatile ST, simply cannot do it...

Dwayne Barker is a world-class guitarist and a prize-winning sound engineer. DB now dedicates his life to another calling, but still produces great music. He just uploaded three pieces that demonstrate his virtuousity and recording skills. I just added his Song For Mom to my "Epic" playlist that fits perfectly with the up-lifting, soul searching mood that I am striving for with this mix-grouping. Let us know what you think. NB: a note to readers of my reviews: the text of my...

Just been followin' bossbass around the site recently, which led me to Tim Sharpton and Babylon. Sharpton's songs are diverse and Babylon is a great name for the group TS uploaded at Fuzz. They all take me back to a less conflicted time in the American heartland and soul. The Babylon songs are different and distinctive at the same time. There is a unifying theme of a happier time in Babylon. This is not a bad time and place to situate ourselves [before the cacophony and darker...

Circus Earth, just asked a really relevant question at his blog, about how many artists have been approached by management, producer, or major/indie labels about a record contract that I believe has several dimensions, past, present, and future. I hope Circus Earth gets some meaningful responses as to the past that he can share with us at our Nightschool For Entrepreneurs. As for the rapidly-changing present, based on my experience with digital music communities to date, in terms of scale...

An increasing number of Artists are coming to Fuzz everyday. They range from seasoned professionals to untested start-ups. Over-all, the, so-called, "median Profile" [just a convenient statistical framing exercise put forward by me] seems to be as follows: (i) intrinsic/Inside: the quality of work being uploaded by Artists at digital music sites is good-to-excellent, sometimes "undisciplined" but with promise; and dedication to their artistic calling is...

jahbulon put me onto this Grand Rapids group. I am still climbing a steep learning curve about the "old" metal and here these guys already start to take me "beyond metal." To be sure there is still the "signature" metallish gut-wrenching vocals and heavy cadence, but now with a, to me, more honest urgency and another level of multi-genre interplay of cascading sounds - which notably makes it more accessible to "non-metal" fans [if such a negative...

Check out Lida who brings us some great Latin jazz and world from...Vancouver. Nice combination. Digging it all. I immediately added Lida's distinctive stuff to both my Jazz playlist and a new one, Nothing But Lida. This is up-beat jazz in modern Latina format, a different, Let's Stay Together, and the slight change of pace in Tu Esencia. Lot's of pleasurable listenin'. NB: a note to readers of my reviews: the text of my reviews at this site may change from time to...

I am completely taken with slide. Man, this piece has me slidin' all over! What a ride, I'm exhausted. Is that a little bit of Elvis in there? Whatever, it's uniquely 7beatstreet. Check out Dan Albury's "slide". You will not regret taking a wild slide ride. NB: a note to readers of my reviews: the text of my reviews at this site may change from time to time. As I listen for futher nuances in a song or body of work, I keep modifying or adding to my...

Wirm, wrote an intriguing blog today about life being like a cosmic movie and about "God's consciousness condensed into electromagnetic images." This blog thought triggered the following cascading thoughts in my own mind as I tried to relate what he was saying to "music as a cosmic experience". Of course, the analogy of life as a movie brings to mind Coleridge's articulation of the universal phenomenon that we are all given to, namely, the willing suspension of...

[Note: this blog was revised on January 31 at 7:30 am to add a Lefsetz observation about Starbucks losing its core value and putting its Brand Equity in jeopardy] Jeff posted a blog over the weekend about Music Piracy in China. In this connection he observed quite accurately, sad to say, that "Both in the US and China,...it's a cultural phenomenon whereby millions of kids feel that they are doing nothing wrong [in illegally downloading music]." Jeff goes on to describe the...

It's Sunday again. I'm sipping my coffee and doing some easy listenin'. This morning I am in my “epic” mood and have turned to my playlist of the same title. I have been reflecting on the nature of this site and what it is about this platform that draws me to it again and again. My thoughts about the nature of “platforms” brought to mind that most familiar of lines in Shakepeare's play, "As You Like It" [2/7], All the world's a stage [and I re-read...

Man, after wading through all the ranting about Marie Digby today, I found relief in the inspiring story and music of bassist, Percy Heath, and the Modern Jazz Quartet. I really needed this to relieve me of all the negativity I was reading about the state of music today after publication of the WSJ article. Bossbass, another bassist who contributes regularly to this site, put me onto this great 2003 interview of Percy Heath at age 80, about a year before Percy "finally went...

Today's center stage article in the Wall Street Journal about YouTube Phenom, Marie Digby has already caused a fire-storm of debate over the always nuanced question of "form vs. substance" in the life of a musician [and, truth to tell, between darkness and light that is the universal human condition]. Here are just a few of the issues that this unfolding story raise for us to consider at the Nightschool for Entrepreneurs: 1. Do the means ever justify the end if the alternative...

Effective immediately, I have changed the basic theme of my blogs at Fuzz from "On 'Disaggregating' the Music Industry" to Nightschool for Entrepreneurs. While the premises behind the former notion are valid and we still need to dismantle what's broken before we can fix it, it's time to concentrate more on the fixin'. So, why "Nightschool for Entrepreneurs?" As I reflect on the entirety of my experience to date with Fuzz [from meeting each member...

It's Sunday again when I'm given to speculation about things on the upside rather than downside. Over the past months [and years] while looking at the business side of the music industry, I see an entire ecosystem that has lost its compass, morally and economically. This lack of direction is creating both hardship and opportunity. At thecapitalclinic, I found that, by looking at the negative side of things, you can find the positive side hidden underneath and in contradistinction...