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fuzzygroove gave me the heads up on this article by Simon Napier-Bell which chronicles some pretty crazy stories about his life in the music industry - the good, the bad, and the ugly. He describes the medieval character of the music business and quotes an article in the WSJ that calls it the "last form of indentured servitude." I think most of us agree with these sentiments.
Nonetheless, before I'm tempted to embark on a diatribe about our industry, I highly suggest that you check it out - http://music.guardian.co.uk/pop/story/0,,2241769,00.html. It's a bit long, but well worth the read. While he is certainly frustrated by the way he and his artists have been treated over the years, he also offers hope that it is time that artists take control of their own careers given that the industry is rapidly changing. I agree and believe that NOW is a great time to be in music, provided that you are willing to do business ENTIRELY differently.
Nonetheless, before I'm tempted to embark on a diatribe about our industry, I highly suggest that you check it out - http://music.guardian.co.uk/pop/story/0,,2241769,00.html. It's a bit long, but well worth the read. While he is certainly frustrated by the way he and his artists have been treated over the years, he also offers hope that it is time that artists take control of their own careers given that the industry is rapidly changing. I agree and believe that NOW is a great time to be in music, provided that you are willing to do business ENTIRELY differently.
I had a chance to check out the Mary J Blige show at the Monster Cable event last night in Vegas. There were several thousand people at the show which was held at Paris and the Monster team held back on no expense putting it together - red carpets, models, goodie bags, cars, and even a pretty wild after-party.
I can't even imagine the price tag that Monster paid to host the event - whatever the case, it was a blast and they really know how to throw a party. Noel, Kevin, Seth, Melinda, and Lynne - well done!
Mary's eighth and latest album, "Growing Pains" which was released on Geffen last month has reached the number one slot on Billboard's R&B/Hip Hop chart. The album has sold over 800,000 units in the past two weeks according to Nielsen. It was the first time I've seen her "live" and it was a blowout. She has an incredible voice and works her ass off on stage. The R&B singer went through a 19-song set without a single break. Here's a copy of her set list which one of the roadies gave me.
She danced, strutted back and forth, and got the crowd moving right off the bat. It was really cool to see her in action from up close to feel the intensity of her singing and incredible passion for her music.
Mary has received 26 Grammy Award nominations and has won 6 in her career as a R&B and Soul singer. It really comes as no surprise as her performance was powerful. I was particularly surprised to hear her do a U2 cover of "One" which was great to experience.
There were times that she reminded me of Aretha, Chaka Khan, and N'Dea Davenport all rolled into one...
All in all a great night and some serious promotion for Monster.
I can't even imagine the price tag that Monster paid to host the event - whatever the case, it was a blast and they really know how to throw a party. Noel, Kevin, Seth, Melinda, and Lynne - well done!
Mary's eighth and latest album, "Growing Pains" which was released on Geffen last month has reached the number one slot on Billboard's R&B/Hip Hop chart. The album has sold over 800,000 units in the past two weeks according to Nielsen. It was the first time I've seen her "live" and it was a blowout. She has an incredible voice and works her ass off on stage. The R&B singer went through a 19-song set without a single break. Here's a copy of her set list which one of the roadies gave me.
She danced, strutted back and forth, and got the crowd moving right off the bat. It was really cool to see her in action from up close to feel the intensity of her singing and incredible passion for her music.
Mary has received 26 Grammy Award nominations and has won 6 in her career as a R&B and Soul singer. It really comes as no surprise as her performance was powerful. I was particularly surprised to hear her do a U2 cover of "One" which was great to experience.
There were times that she reminded me of Aretha, Chaka Khan, and N'Dea Davenport all rolled into one...
All in all a great night and some serious promotion for Monster.
My bro suggested that I check out an indie flick called "Once." It just arrived via NetFlix yesterday and I sunk into the couch to watch it. The description on the NetFlix cover was pretty lame, but I quickly realized that there was something really great about the film. Sure, it's got that "shaky screen" element of an indie (almost like it was being filmed by a camcorder), but it's really something all artists should check out. It's about a struggling musician (played by Glen Hansard) who repairs vacuum cleaners for his father and performs on the street to pursue his dream. While performing one evening, he randomly meets a migrant Czech worker (Markéta Irglová) and over the course of a week, they perform, write, and record music together. Without giving too much away, my advice: go rent it.
The other comment I'll make is that the music was really great. There was a haunting element to the music that often would build to this really powerful emotional (almost scream-like) point. I later found out that the actors wrote all of the music and they won a Grammy for the Best Song Written for a Motion Picture (by the way, that's not a reason enough to listen to the music...). There was just something about the songs that made my hair stand up.
There were moments in the movie that made me think, "Shit, this is why we started Fuzz." It was another reminder that it's brutally difficult trying to make it as an artist - barely making ends meet, dealing with failure, working hard, but with a little luck and someone who believes in you, there's a chance to pursue one's dreams - to follow one's passion through music. Don't expect the movie to completely blow your socks off, but the underlying messages are extremely powerful and inspiring... at least they were for me... and I think they will be for you too.
J
The other comment I'll make is that the music was really great. There was a haunting element to the music that often would build to this really powerful emotional (almost scream-like) point. I later found out that the actors wrote all of the music and they won a Grammy for the Best Song Written for a Motion Picture (by the way, that's not a reason enough to listen to the music...). There was just something about the songs that made my hair stand up.
There were moments in the movie that made me think, "Shit, this is why we started Fuzz." It was another reminder that it's brutally difficult trying to make it as an artist - barely making ends meet, dealing with failure, working hard, but with a little luck and someone who believes in you, there's a chance to pursue one's dreams - to follow one's passion through music. Don't expect the movie to completely blow your socks off, but the underlying messages are extremely powerful and inspiring... at least they were for me... and I think they will be for you too.
J
Maureen suggested that I check out this article by David Byrne about various options that artists (both emerging and established) have in this rapidly changing industry. Check it out at
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne.
I think it's a great read and something that every artist on the site should digest.
For what it's worth, here's the comment I posted at Wired:
First of all, I really enjoyed your article and I think that it does a great job of highlighting the new options that are available to artists as they ask themselves the fundamental question: NOW how do I pursue a musical career? Despite the continuous bombardment of bad news – deteriorating earnings of the majors, ugly layoffs and the masses of artists that are getting dropped – I think that it is actually a great time to be in the music industry, provided that an artist or business is open to doing things entirely differently. Most artists will tell you that they have never made money selling, as you put it, “plastic discs”. In fact, most artists’ income comes from the road – via sales of tickets (or a cut of the door) and merchandise. As you suggested, in the good old days, artists would go on tour to promote sales of the next album. Today, an increasing number of artists GIVE AWAY their music in order to promote attendance at live shows and get their name out there. The industry numbers are pretty staggering – according to eMarketer, global concert ticket sales and tour merchandise is expected to reach $23.5B in 2011, up from $16.6B in 2006. When you juxtapose this segment of the industry against sales of recorded music, which is flat to declining, live music as a life line for artists becomes even more interesting.
I also wanted to mention that as numerous artists are getting dropped by their labels, there is an increasingly growing “Artist Middle Class” that has emerged. Many of these artists have avid fans, tour on a regular basis, and are able to sustain a living in pursuing their careers as musicians. While I do believe labels can still currently provide much-needed marketing expertise, I strongly agree with your assertion that several artists have been highly successful in landing their band names on the tongues of the public and money in their pockets by taking control of their careers and running their music as a business – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is often the “poster child” example. The “DIY” movement that you discuss reminds me of the hardcore bands of yesteryear (the film “American Hardcore” is a great study in the DIY ethic), but now the effectiveness of tech-empowered artists who run grass-roots marketing campaigns via the web is stronger than ever. As the industry continues to evolve, I believe that there will be more and more cyber and street-smart artists that will retain creative and financial control, continue to develop innovative ways to promote their band, and preserve their dreams of authenticity by creating music for what it was intended to be: ART.
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne.
I think it's a great read and something that every artist on the site should digest.
For what it's worth, here's the comment I posted at Wired:
First of all, I really enjoyed your article and I think that it does a great job of highlighting the new options that are available to artists as they ask themselves the fundamental question: NOW how do I pursue a musical career? Despite the continuous bombardment of bad news – deteriorating earnings of the majors, ugly layoffs and the masses of artists that are getting dropped – I think that it is actually a great time to be in the music industry, provided that an artist or business is open to doing things entirely differently. Most artists will tell you that they have never made money selling, as you put it, “plastic discs”. In fact, most artists’ income comes from the road – via sales of tickets (or a cut of the door) and merchandise. As you suggested, in the good old days, artists would go on tour to promote sales of the next album. Today, an increasing number of artists GIVE AWAY their music in order to promote attendance at live shows and get their name out there. The industry numbers are pretty staggering – according to eMarketer, global concert ticket sales and tour merchandise is expected to reach $23.5B in 2011, up from $16.6B in 2006. When you juxtapose this segment of the industry against sales of recorded music, which is flat to declining, live music as a life line for artists becomes even more interesting.
I also wanted to mention that as numerous artists are getting dropped by their labels, there is an increasingly growing “Artist Middle Class” that has emerged. Many of these artists have avid fans, tour on a regular basis, and are able to sustain a living in pursuing their careers as musicians. While I do believe labels can still currently provide much-needed marketing expertise, I strongly agree with your assertion that several artists have been highly successful in landing their band names on the tongues of the public and money in their pockets by taking control of their careers and running their music as a business – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is often the “poster child” example. The “DIY” movement that you discuss reminds me of the hardcore bands of yesteryear (the film “American Hardcore” is a great study in the DIY ethic), but now the effectiveness of tech-empowered artists who run grass-roots marketing campaigns via the web is stronger than ever. As the industry continues to evolve, I believe that there will be more and more cyber and street-smart artists that will retain creative and financial control, continue to develop innovative ways to promote their band, and preserve their dreams of authenticity by creating music for what it was intended to be: ART.
Tonite I had one of those moments when I wasn't sure whether:
1) to give up guitar forever with the realization that I suck and will never achieve even the slightest semblance of a real player or
2) to spend the next 4 days (which we have off) to hit the wood shed and practice my chops for hours on end until my calluses fall off...
I'm sure many of you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about - it's that weird place between being pissed off that you will never be as good as the person you just saw playing and total inspiration and awe. It's kinda weird, but it's a feeling that keeps me in this endless cycle of practice. Anyway, I finally had the chance to check out the new Yoshi's on Fillmore in San Francisco and saw the Mike Stern show. He is one of my favorite guitarists - jazz trained at Berklee, incredible chops, and plays a Tele-style Yamaha solid body - not the norm for your typical jazz player. However, Stern is anything but typical with his fusion based playing and an extremely aggressive rock-forward style.
Before diving into the show, the new Yoshi's is truly great and I was really impressed with the whole set up. It's just a few blocks from the legendary Fillmore. There's underground parking and the whole layout was well thought-out.
In fact, everything was so easy, that I almost felt guilty. There was plenty of parking downstairs for a sold out show and it was totally safe with plenty of folks around. Parking was a little steep at $12 for self-parking, but it was better than taking the chance of doing the normal "park in the Safeway lot" scheme that we've all done when catching a show at the Fillmore down the street.
The place was really nice and they had some cool jazz-inspired art on the walls...
The Mike Stern Band is on tour promoting his latest album "Who Let the Cats Out" released on Heads Up last year. The lineup was:
Richard Bona on bass and vocals
Bob Franceschini on tenor sax
Dennis Chambers on drums
The show was incredible - INCREDIBLE - INCREDIBLE. For those of you not familiar with Mike Stern, he plays a unique rock-influenced style of jazz. Unlike most jazz guitarists who refuse to bend notes, Stern is not afraid to bend and even use distortion - I've heard him describe his sound as Bop 'n Roll - not my choice of words, but he clearly has a powerful playing style. He toured with Billy Cobham in his early 20's before Miles recruited him to play in his comeback band in '81. Man, the opportunity to have played with Miles Davis must have been incredible - he was 22 at the time. UNBELIEVEABLE!
Moving to his gear - tonite, he played through two Fender Twin Reverbs set in stereo and used (brace yourself) ONLY BOSS PEDALS. This was really surprising as Boss is known to have pretty generic-sounding pedals. It's even more interesting to note how he sets them up in line: DS-1 Distortion, chromatic tuner, DD-3 Delay, another DD-3 Delay, another DS-1 Distortion, followed by a PSM-5 Power Supply Master Switch. I talked to him later about his pedal set up and he explained that he always plays with a slight delay with one of the DD-3s and uses the other for longer delays. He also has another rig which he uses for his chorus effect.
As usual, my pictures are awful, but what can you expect from a camera phone... I believe that the band opened with "Tumble Home " from his new album. The technical chops of the band were incredible with some serious rock overtures combined with bebop lines. The last time I saw Mike Stern, he played with Victor Wooten on bass and Dave Weckl on drums which had a funkier groove. The line-up tonite was much more rock oriented. Stern plays with a heavy chorus/reverb-laden sound and has incredible control of dynamics when he plays. His choice of meshing jazz voicings/inversions to create an open atmospheric sound with a driving fusion-based reminder that he was once a serious rock guitarist keeps you on edge. I'm sure the old school jazz cats probably cringe when he does this, but for the rest of us, it's great. Speaking of which, Stern released an album called "Standards" where he goes through and plays several Real Book standards that most of us were forced to play in "jazz camp" in our past lives. A definite "must have" for your jazz collection.
Besides Stern, the real standout of the evening was the bass player, Richard Bona. I haven't heard of him before, but he is an extremely talented player. He plays a 5-string bass through two 4x12 Glockenkang cabinets (sorry, I didn't get around to checking the head...). If you are a bass player, you NEED to check this guy out. I later learned he's played with Pat Metheny, Bobby McFerrin, Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon, and even Chaka Khan. He had a few solos which were mind-blowing. He's also a great vocalist and will often accompany his solos singing either in unison or harmony.
Anyway, this post is getting out of control, but I highly recommend checking out the show tomorrow if you can swing it. You won't be disappointed. That's all for now...
1) to give up guitar forever with the realization that I suck and will never achieve even the slightest semblance of a real player or
2) to spend the next 4 days (which we have off) to hit the wood shed and practice my chops for hours on end until my calluses fall off...
I'm sure many of you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about - it's that weird place between being pissed off that you will never be as good as the person you just saw playing and total inspiration and awe. It's kinda weird, but it's a feeling that keeps me in this endless cycle of practice. Anyway, I finally had the chance to check out the new Yoshi's on Fillmore in San Francisco and saw the Mike Stern show. He is one of my favorite guitarists - jazz trained at Berklee, incredible chops, and plays a Tele-style Yamaha solid body - not the norm for your typical jazz player. However, Stern is anything but typical with his fusion based playing and an extremely aggressive rock-forward style.
Before diving into the show, the new Yoshi's is truly great and I was really impressed with the whole set up. It's just a few blocks from the legendary Fillmore. There's underground parking and the whole layout was well thought-out.
In fact, everything was so easy, that I almost felt guilty. There was plenty of parking downstairs for a sold out show and it was totally safe with plenty of folks around. Parking was a little steep at $12 for self-parking, but it was better than taking the chance of doing the normal "park in the Safeway lot" scheme that we've all done when catching a show at the Fillmore down the street.
The place was really nice and they had some cool jazz-inspired art on the walls...
The Mike Stern Band is on tour promoting his latest album "Who Let the Cats Out" released on Heads Up last year. The lineup was:
Richard Bona on bass and vocals
Bob Franceschini on tenor sax
Dennis Chambers on drums
The show was incredible - INCREDIBLE - INCREDIBLE. For those of you not familiar with Mike Stern, he plays a unique rock-influenced style of jazz. Unlike most jazz guitarists who refuse to bend notes, Stern is not afraid to bend and even use distortion - I've heard him describe his sound as Bop 'n Roll - not my choice of words, but he clearly has a powerful playing style. He toured with Billy Cobham in his early 20's before Miles recruited him to play in his comeback band in '81. Man, the opportunity to have played with Miles Davis must have been incredible - he was 22 at the time. UNBELIEVEABLE!
Moving to his gear - tonite, he played through two Fender Twin Reverbs set in stereo and used (brace yourself) ONLY BOSS PEDALS. This was really surprising as Boss is known to have pretty generic-sounding pedals. It's even more interesting to note how he sets them up in line: DS-1 Distortion, chromatic tuner, DD-3 Delay, another DD-3 Delay, another DS-1 Distortion, followed by a PSM-5 Power Supply Master Switch. I talked to him later about his pedal set up and he explained that he always plays with a slight delay with one of the DD-3s and uses the other for longer delays. He also has another rig which he uses for his chorus effect.
As usual, my pictures are awful, but what can you expect from a camera phone... I believe that the band opened with "Tumble Home " from his new album. The technical chops of the band were incredible with some serious rock overtures combined with bebop lines. The last time I saw Mike Stern, he played with Victor Wooten on bass and Dave Weckl on drums which had a funkier groove. The line-up tonite was much more rock oriented. Stern plays with a heavy chorus/reverb-laden sound and has incredible control of dynamics when he plays. His choice of meshing jazz voicings/inversions to create an open atmospheric sound with a driving fusion-based reminder that he was once a serious rock guitarist keeps you on edge. I'm sure the old school jazz cats probably cringe when he does this, but for the rest of us, it's great. Speaking of which, Stern released an album called "Standards" where he goes through and plays several Real Book standards that most of us were forced to play in "jazz camp" in our past lives. A definite "must have" for your jazz collection.
Besides Stern, the real standout of the evening was the bass player, Richard Bona. I haven't heard of him before, but he is an extremely talented player. He plays a 5-string bass through two 4x12 Glockenkang cabinets (sorry, I didn't get around to checking the head...). If you are a bass player, you NEED to check this guy out. I later learned he's played with Pat Metheny, Bobby McFerrin, Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon, and even Chaka Khan. He had a few solos which were mind-blowing. He's also a great vocalist and will often accompany his solos singing either in unison or harmony.
Anyway, this post is getting out of control, but I highly recommend checking out the show tomorrow if you can swing it. You won't be disappointed. That's all for now...