He doesn't go to meetings and he's on antidepressants and this podcast is so riveting it will make your lips smile and your ears orgasm.
I'm rushing out to the beach for Felice's family reunion, and then off to Fullerton for the rehearsal dinner for my nephew's wedding, but I cannot help but tell you about this podcast. Because it's so damn good, it's life itself.
Speaking of good, that's what Alec Baldwin is here. Because he's in his element. Unlike interviewing musicians... He asked Peter Frampton how many albums he had before "Comes Alive," whether Humble Pie ever played in the U.S... We know those facts cold.
And Alec knows most of Dave's story cold.
But not all of it.
He majored in radio and TV because there was no foreign language or math requirement. These are the choices we make in life, based on arbitrary obstacles that we do not want to face.
And he got a gig at a TV station as the late night booth announcer... I don't think the younger generation remembers what a booth announcer is. I barely do.
But when he came back to Ball State, Ole Duck Lips was famous.
And he gave up the TV gig to go on radio. His boss said he was finished in show business. That's something you never forget. Someone in power telling you you're finished, because you made a bad choice. That separates the men from the boys. It's usually too disheartening to go on. I remember the first day of law school, which I didn't want to attend anyway. The career counselor told us if we were here to get into the entertainment business, to drop out immediately, the odds were insurmountable. This almost made me do it. I really didn't want to go to law school. I'd just run out of options. Ski bumming had no future and I'd caught the world's worst case of mononucleosis, now what? And I certainly would have dropped out if it hadn't been the worst snow year on record, look it up, 76-77 in Utah... Everyone thought I was lying until last year, when it was the second worst ever in Utah...hell, the worst ever in Colorado. And the professors kept saying to never use outlines, they were the enemy. But I employed them after giving up the books to pursue a woman and ended up in the top 15% of the class... Because it's not the hours you put in, but how you do on the test. Kind of like those 10,000 hours Gladwell talks about. They're meaningless if you screw up at the major league tryout, if you blow the audition. I memorized the Gilberts in sheer fear and desperation and aced the tests. I knew what was important.
And Dave moves to L.A. to write sitcoms. He talks about how clueless he was. That he didn't know there was a template. That he really couldn't do it. That's what I hear all day long, especially in L.A... "Oh, I could do that!"
Right, you've got no idea.
And then he got his chance on Carson. And here's how it works... You either kill or you're done. It was just that simple. Talk about pressure.
And from there Dave lives somewhat of a charmed life. Within three appearances, he's guest-hosting "The Tonight Show." He and Merrill Markoe create his own show, which he thinks everybody is waiting for, but they're not. That's the arrogance, you think everybody is waiting for you, when you show up they're gonna drop everything and pay attention. You've been woodshedding off the grid and now you've arrived. Huh? Most people just don't care.
And then all Dave does is work. Because he's afraid not to. He forestalls kids, almost his entire social life, because he believes if he doesn't work, he'll fail. He believes this attitude caused him to have a quintuple bypass.
And Dave doesn't hang with the rich and famous, because what would he say to them, what do they have in common? He's on TV every night, that does not make him a member of the club... As a matter of fact, the club members are suspicious of him.
But now he's got a kid, and his social life is dictated by the kid, and...
Dave didn't want to be a standup comic from a young boy. And unlike Jimmy Kimmel, it wasn't like he never stood in the lone spotlight. Dave's a weird hybrid...of comedian, grumpy uncle and ten year old who wants to upset the apple cart.
Oh, you'll learn a lot of inside info. The restrictions put upon "Late Night" by Carson's team. No monologue, no orchestra, no jokes about Bob Hope becoming a drug addict.
But you'll also learn that Dave likes nothing more than banter. When you give it back to him, play along. He doesn't want you to let the ping-pong ball fall to make him feel good, he wants to engage in a game!
This is a story. That's honest. Thinking about it later, you'll realize how much Dave left out, but listening you feel like the guy who invented modern late night TV, which is about sketches and gags as opposed to serious conversation, a comedy show, knocked on your front door, sat down on your couch and told you his story. He's so present, so there, so into it, he laments when it's done.
Podcasts were supposed to rule half a decade ago. But they're only coming into their own now. Because no one knew the format. Kind of like they tried to sell you a personal computer to handle your recipes...huh? Turned out a computer was a communication tool, once the Internet burgeoned everybody had to have one to connect... Who knew?
Turns out podcasts are everything society says is gone. Long form entertainment for people who want to take the time to get really deep into a subject. Traditional media is ruled by ratings, producers are so worried you'll flip the channel, they keep trying to dazzle you, there's no depth. And the commercials! I'm done with them. I never ever listen to terrestrial radio... Why? Give up all that time of my life? Podcasts are akin to the radio of the sixties, when we'd put on the nascent FM stations and let them play all night. When we felt we were buddies with the deejays, when we felt we were part of a secret club.
Listen to this Letterman podcast. You'll feel like a member of a secret club. On one hand, you want to keep it to yourself. On another, you want to tell everybody you know, about this listening experience, it's FANTASTIC!
P.S. You've got to hear the story of Alec Baldwin auditioning for "Knots Landing"... We're not prepared for our dreams to come true, we don't even have a frame of reference...
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/heresthething/2012/jun/18/
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Saturday 1 September 2012
Friday 31 August 2012
Mailbag
RE: BILLY JOEL
____
Hello Bob,
Thanks for pointing me to the great Billy Joel interview with Alec Baldwin. Two pure products of Long Island as am I. Guys like us learn the gift of gab while endlessly riding around on the Long Island Expressway with our pals looking for something to do. One night in 1967 that's exactly what I was doing when I found myself sitting in some deserted joint in Hicksville (The Place?) and The Hassles came out and opened with a note for note spectacular version of Gimme Some Loving and the guy who sang lead and played the Hammond B3 was just unbelievably good and immediately raised the bar for all the Long Island cover bands of the time. And that was the first time I heard and met Billy Joel.
Later on in the early seventies we were momentarily linked when my first album Aquashow came out and Billy and I were featured in a Newsweek article called "A Pain in the Suburbs" - I had a song called White Middle Class Blues (which is probably more apropos today than it was then) and Billy had Captain Jack from The Piano Man. Anyway, they put my photo in the article but Billy went on to sell a gazillion records. And he deserved to. I remember sitting in his apartment one evening and him telling me he had an idea for a new song and he sat down at the piano and played a bit of New York State of Mind as the the boats were passing on the East River below us. A moment fit for Rock Dreams ...
He is, and remains, a fine, fine musician and, in my humble opinion, an excellent lyricist. I opened quite a few shows for him "back in the day" (that's what my 22 year old son Gaspard calls the early days of my career) and the way he connected with his public while glued to that piano bench and the energy that created was explosive. It was his sincerity, humility and awesome talent that worked magic then and still does, in this moving interview. Alec asked all the right questions and did his homework. Bravo!
Been living in Paris, France these past 22 years and really enjoy your letters. It's like getting a message in a bottle, found on a distant shore, and they often bring me right back to an essential moment in the history of this music we continue to love and long for and that I am proud to be a small part of.
Sincerely,
Elliott Murphy
______________________________________
SO glad you wrote about this. I've been a closet Billy Joel fan for years (though I have covered All For Leyna live before), and my wife is a huge fan.
I listened to this podcast and then listened to it again. Billy is totally compelling, charming, human and self-aware. And he talks about all of what I consider to be his best songs. "Summer, Highland Falls" is still one of the greatest. Listen to his vocals on the Songs From The Attic version; truly gorgeous. And then for him to then describe the song as an "ode to manic depression," it sealed the deal for me.
Sometimes when one listens to an interview with an artist one admires it can tarnish the whole thing. This was the exact opposite.
Steven Page
______________________________________
RE: Billy Joel On The Alec Baldwin Podcast
Bob:
Cold Spring Harbor is a lost gem. It is likely that the lp's title was inspired by percussionist (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck, Bogert, Appice) Carmine Appice's place in this idyllic (Long Island) north shore town, which was a local music (the Hassles, Barnaby Bye, Twisted Sister, Good Rats anybody that played My Father's Place in Roslyn) hang. Cold Spring Harbor was recorded on a malfunctioning machine at Hempstead's UltraSonic Studios, where WLIR became famous for broadcasting a series of weekly (Tuesday) live concert broadcasts. I was PD at the station. As a measure of how angry Billy really was over the product that was released, he cold-cocked me after I asked why it sounded like a bunch of Chipmunks covers... Mr. Joel was an accomplished Golden Gloves boxer and to this day I remember the look on his face right before my lights went out.
Cold Spring Harbor is a lost gem that deserves a Joel sanctioned digital re-master at the correct speed - with the original orchestration restored.
Paul W Robinson
______________________________________
(I think you know this) the Tropicana was originally Sandy Koufax's Tropicana, with an autographed baseball as part of the sign.
Harold Bronson
______________________________________
"Billy Joel: I was glad I did it at the time because I needed to use my own musicians. I didn’t want to use session men. I didn’t want to use studio players. I wanted my road band. It was a Long Island band and we were doing great on the road. We weren’t selling any records but the crowds were going crazy. We were blowing headliners off the stage. The Doobie Brothers, everywhere we played, The Beach Boys â€" we would get better applause than them."
Bob,
Not sure which Beach Boys' tour he's referring to, but the one I recall being on back in the mid - '70s (when he was rep'd by Chip Rachlin, long time agent for The Beach Boys), Billy quit in the middle of the run (I think after the show at Pine Knob, Detroit) because he got tired of being distracted and hit in the head by all the killer beach balls that sailed through the air during his set. Going to his hotel room after I got the news, I tried talking him out of the decision since it was during a tough economic touring season and I enjoyed his opening set so much (Carl Wilson was also very supportive of Billy and his band), but his mind was made up. As I recall, he vowed to never be the opening act for anyone ever again and, to his credit, I believe he stuck to that decision.
Later,
the "other" Billy
Billy Hinsche
______________________________________
______________________________________
RE: JAY LENO
____
Back before I got all kinds of lucky and won an Academy Award I used to run into Jay at Claudio Zampolli's on Van Nuys Blvd where Jay and Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar and tons of gear heads would get their gray market Lambos and Ferraris serviced. I gotta say that Jay Leno was the only guy who treated a $5 an hour assistant engineer on Scarface and Cop I and whatever Bruckheimer/Simpson things were goin' on like a human being. Who cares what a bunch of crippled up show business mental cases say? Jay's alright. The haters? Who cares? Life is short. Be happy, Tom Whitlock
______________________________________
I Love Jay Leno. Each time I was on the show with an artist he remembered me and always made it a point to come up to me and ask how I was doing. At one point he said to me we were standing on the stage. "You're here so much you should be working here." Well the head of audio heard that and soon brought me in and started training me to sub on the show as an mixer and which I had the pleasure of doing for about 4-5 years whenever I wasn't on tour with someone. Jay loves cars and I had a couple of nice ones. He was leaving the lot after taping and gave me a compliment on one of my cars. He didn't have to, it was just two guys who like cars vibing for a sec. I was totally surprised and didn't even see him along side my car as I was doing something else while waiting to exit my parking space. He's a good dude. He's not "Hollywood" and good for him. More people would do well to follow his example. Treat everyone as cool as they deserve to be treated. Do the work and shut the fuck up.
Kenneth H. Williams
Production Manager / Audio Engineer
Widow Nikjamdra Productions
______________________________________
As someone who owned a comedy club in the 80's and hired Jay Leno several times, I can affirm that there is no harder working comedian, and no one more deserving of success.
Jay and I discussed his work ethic one day when I was taking him back to the hotel after we did a TV promo for his show on the local noon news. He stated that he believed that to be a successful comedian, it was about training his brain to think funny, and to do that he must write comedy for hours every day... Read the newspaper and write jokes about the news and personalities of the day.
Jay never hung around the club after the gig, he was intensely focused... do the act, analyze the results, and write, write, write. And every night he had new material relating to the day's headlines. I was impressed then, and I remain impressed with his work ethic now; and the results speak for themselves. I often tell wannabe comedians, musicians, and actors, about Jay's dedication to achieving his dream.
By the way, all of the other top acts of the era, the ones who hung out to get drunk and get laid... Most are forgotten, none have achieved the career Leno has.
Jay Leno might not be the edgiest, or the funniest, but he is the Bob Hope of his generation, and that's an amazing accomplishment. Decades of success at the top of the game in entertainment is rare, you have to respect this man... And he is a genuinely nice and humble individual.
And yes, each time Jay played my club, he delivered... Two sold out shows every night, 60 minutes of solid laughter, and a happy club owner that made a bunch of money.
Frank A. Gagliano
______________________________________
Bob,
A friend of mine toured w/Jay for a few years in the 80's. He opened for Jay. They shared rides and Jay to this day remembers my friend and takes his call.
Years later, my friend went club side and into radio... and has had a good run and still going. Years after he left the road, 1989, Jay was hired to do the Indiana State Fair. My company had the giant screen IMAG (and had a 5 camera, 2 (giant) video screen setup which allowed for 3-5,000 more tickets to be sold) and we had to talk to Jay about "using the cameras." BTW, he sold the place out big time.
Impressed, he said he would take advantage of the video/camera/screen set up which was new to outdoor shows at the time. Boy did he.
Furthermore, he was picked up in a shit car by a runner. Sat in a green room under the stage that smelled like hell. Scanned the Indy Star newspaper to localize the show. And, spoke directly to all of the people passing by the room just wanting a glimpse of Mr. Comedy.
Jay's show was a home run. He bid ALL of us goodbye one by one, got back into the shit car with the same runner and disappeared into the night.
No complaints. No show biz crap. Just a pro doing what he was hired to do and then some.
I don't like the Tonight show frankly. But I respect Jay and his team of writers. Good people in showbiz. And a great memory.
Bill Edwards
______________________________________
He used to come down to The Beverly Garland Hotel after taping the Tonight Show And do a 20 MIN monologe in front of a corporate band gig I used to do. He said he always wanted to keep his stand up act fresh even though he was hauling in that Tall cake from NBC.
Kenny Lee Lewis
______________________________________
Hi Bob,
You are right on the money about Jay. In 1973 we signed on with Jay's manager, Gerry Purcell, (Eddy Arnold, Maya Angelou...)
whose old-time philosophy was you had to work every night for years before you developed enough to possibly become a star.
With Dancing in the Moonlight on the charts, we did an East Coast college tour, in a Chrysler station wagon, with Jay as opening act.
There was a cancellation somewhere in Georgia and Gerry filled it by booking us into a Southern Baptist Church.
I still remember Jay doing Elvis imitations for the audience of 10 to 16-year-old African-American kids.
It didn't matter to him. He was working.
I've still got a poster from St. Bonaventure - King Harvest and Jay Leno - $3.00 Admission.
At those prices I don't know if Jay was actually getting paid for the tour!
Anyway, he deserves everything he's got.
He's one of the nicest guys we ever had the pleasure to work with.
Rod Novak
King Harvest
_______
From: Bob Lefsetz
To: Rod Novak
Tell me the story of "Dancing In The Moonlight"!
_______
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your email.
First of all, let me say that I appreciated your heartfelt remarks about Larry Hoppen, who was an old friend of ours, and part of the Dancing in the Moonlight story.
Second, I'm incapable of writing a short story so I apologize in advance for this saga.
Ithaca music in the mid 60's was influenced big time by Buffalo soul bands and WUFO with disc jockeys like Eddie O'Jay and George "Hound Dog" Lorenz who helped to bring "race music" into mainstream AM radio. There was a bunch of us going to school in Ithaca and we were all heavily into the "Ithaca Sound" strongly influenced by artists like Wilson Pickett, Wilmer Alexander Jr. and the Dukes and Little Bernie and the Cavalliers. We all played together in one band or another from 1964 to 1969. The bunch included Larry Hoppen and Sherman and Wells Kelly. Sherman wrote Dancing in the Moonlight. Wells, his younger brother, later played drums with lots of names including Harvey Brooks, Bonnie Raitt, Clarence Clemons, Orleans,.. and was doing a tour with Meatloaf in London when he died way too young. http://www.orleansforever.com/wellskelly.htm
Also in our band of friends was Huey Craig (AKA Huey Lewis), Eric Blackstead, who later recorded and produced the Woodstock album, and the future King Harvest - Ron Altbach, Doc Robinson, Eddie Tuleja, and myself.
I also have to mention our friend Ricky Jay the Magician, who did magic gigs and had a music club in Ithaca. http://articles.latimes.com/print/2011/jun/01/entertainment/la-et-book-20110601
In the mid 60's Sherman got beaten almost to death in St. Croix, V.I. and barely survived. A lot of his music afterward took a look at the dark side of life i.e. Jumby Queen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmSJDpA-iGM&feature=plcp
In the late 60's he wanted to write an upbeat tune to balance out the negativity.something to celebrate the simple innocent joys of life. He came up with Dancing in the Moonlight. He definitely succeeded. You wouldn't believe how many comments we still get from people who tell us how that song helped them thru some really bad times in their lives; soldiers in Iraq, cancer patients, teenagers going thru tough times. We get 12-year old girls saying this is the song they want to have played when they get married someday. It still amazes me. I think it has become a classic because, for three minutes, it allows one to imagine living in a Utopian world. Bottom line.it just makes people feel good.
As an aside, 2 or 3 years ago I believe it was WCBS in NYC that had listeners vote on their top 500 favorites of all time. On Memorial Day weekend they played down from #500 to #1. Late on Sunday someone emailed us that they had just played DITM at #24. Another surprise is that 50% of our European listeners today are between 12 and 20.
Anyway back to the story:
In 1969 Ron was studying classical piano with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and got me a job playing sax with Nancy Holloway, an expat African-American singer who was famous in Europe. He also got Eddie to come over to start a band and "bring the Ithaca sound to France". Wells joined us in 1970 and brought a copy of Boffalongo's (Larry, Sherman, Doc, et al) recording of Dancing in the Moonlight which had failed to make it in the US. We added it to our repertoire and recorded it a couple times on albums (We did many unsuccessful singles and 11 unknown albums in France ranging from American folk music to Greatest Hit's of 1970). Wells later returned to the US and started with Orleans
Meanwhile we had written and recorded the score to a movie (Le Feu Sacre) which inaugurated the Cannes Film Festival in 1971 and with a new drummer, we were the featured band at the Whiskey A Go Go in Cannes for 2 weeks, where we met Ringo Starr and Maurice Gibb who, over a period of weeks discussed producing us with Robert Stigwood.
Doc then joined us in Paris. His voice on DITM really seemed perfect for the tune. We recorded it again in the smallest studio in Paris where Doc recorded the lead vocal in the stairway (since they didn't have any echo or reverb), and pulled a scrub brush out of a utility closet to add a little soft percussion to the intro. Jack Robinson, our producer from Criterion Music, came up with some arrangement ideas and the record was scheduled for release in Europe.
We were regularly playing French casinos and Paris nightclubs and got a nice break opening for BB King at the Olympia. It went really well and shortly after that we were invited to showcase in London by Ashley Kozak (Donovan's manager). Every record exec in London was there when our drummer showed up drunk and could hardly stay on his stool. We went back to Paris drummerless and pretty depressed and found out that DITM was becoming a big flop.
We decided to take some time off for a while and figure out what we wanted to do. Unbeknownst to us, our record company leased the master to Perception Records in NYC on the last day of MIDEM that year. By late 1972 it was starting to get play in the Seattle area thanks to Jack Robinson. By spring 1973 it was in the top 20 nationally. It stayed on the charts for 20 weeks! We all came back to the US and moved to Olcott, NY near Buffalo. Our French company had unloaded a strange bunch of tunes we had recorded for various projects which Perception released as the DITM album. Contractually free in the US, we were offered tons of money to do a real album with Clive Davis, Ahmnet Ertugan and the other majors. We were broke, but decided to stay loyal (for almost no money) to the little company that made the hit, hired Gerry Purcell as our manager, recorded a follow up single, and went on tour with Jay Leno. Shortly after our 2nd single, "A Little Bit Like Magic" came out, Perception started getting ready to file for bankruptcy.
So we ended up playing the bars of Olcott and western NY until Kip Cohen called from A&M Records and said they wanted to sign us. Moved to LA, recorded with producers like Jeff Barry, Jimmy Guercio, Kenny Nolan, Steve Cropper, but never got another hit. In 1976 we packed it in and the four of us went to work with the Beach Boys for a couple years. In 2007 we did a PBS special and that was it until this summer on July 14th (Bastille Day) when we did a 40-year-reunion concert in Olcott, NY for an estimated 3200 people.
So Bob, that's the Dancing in the Moonlight story with its cast of characters and international intrigue. As if this isn't enough, I've added our bio below which includes some other characters like Jacques (Kiki) Morali, a friend from Paris I recorded with who created The Village People. The 60s and 70s were great times to be in the rock and roll business. We met a lot of great people along the way, had too much fun, not enough money, were usually broke, but got to play a lot of rock and roll. It sure is a pleasure to be alive and sitting around 40 years later looking at how it all played out - sometimes tragic, sometimes better than we ever could have imagined.
Thank you for asking.
All the best,
Rod Novak
PS. Attached is the Jay Leno poster. Two dollars advance purchase. Three dollars at the door!
BIO:
It all started in Ithaca, NY in the mid-60s, when the four core King Harvest members showed up at Cornell University for an education and found a college where there were 53 fraternities - that's 53 opportunities to play fraternity parties, and for musicians, too much to let pass by...
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____
Hello Bob,
Thanks for pointing me to the great Billy Joel interview with Alec Baldwin. Two pure products of Long Island as am I. Guys like us learn the gift of gab while endlessly riding around on the Long Island Expressway with our pals looking for something to do. One night in 1967 that's exactly what I was doing when I found myself sitting in some deserted joint in Hicksville (The Place?) and The Hassles came out and opened with a note for note spectacular version of Gimme Some Loving and the guy who sang lead and played the Hammond B3 was just unbelievably good and immediately raised the bar for all the Long Island cover bands of the time. And that was the first time I heard and met Billy Joel.
Later on in the early seventies we were momentarily linked when my first album Aquashow came out and Billy and I were featured in a Newsweek article called "A Pain in the Suburbs" - I had a song called White Middle Class Blues (which is probably more apropos today than it was then) and Billy had Captain Jack from The Piano Man. Anyway, they put my photo in the article but Billy went on to sell a gazillion records. And he deserved to. I remember sitting in his apartment one evening and him telling me he had an idea for a new song and he sat down at the piano and played a bit of New York State of Mind as the the boats were passing on the East River below us. A moment fit for Rock Dreams ...
He is, and remains, a fine, fine musician and, in my humble opinion, an excellent lyricist. I opened quite a few shows for him "back in the day" (that's what my 22 year old son Gaspard calls the early days of my career) and the way he connected with his public while glued to that piano bench and the energy that created was explosive. It was his sincerity, humility and awesome talent that worked magic then and still does, in this moving interview. Alec asked all the right questions and did his homework. Bravo!
Been living in Paris, France these past 22 years and really enjoy your letters. It's like getting a message in a bottle, found on a distant shore, and they often bring me right back to an essential moment in the history of this music we continue to love and long for and that I am proud to be a small part of.
Sincerely,
Elliott Murphy
______________________________________
SO glad you wrote about this. I've been a closet Billy Joel fan for years (though I have covered All For Leyna live before), and my wife is a huge fan.
I listened to this podcast and then listened to it again. Billy is totally compelling, charming, human and self-aware. And he talks about all of what I consider to be his best songs. "Summer, Highland Falls" is still one of the greatest. Listen to his vocals on the Songs From The Attic version; truly gorgeous. And then for him to then describe the song as an "ode to manic depression," it sealed the deal for me.
Sometimes when one listens to an interview with an artist one admires it can tarnish the whole thing. This was the exact opposite.
Steven Page
______________________________________
RE: Billy Joel On The Alec Baldwin Podcast
Bob:
Cold Spring Harbor is a lost gem. It is likely that the lp's title was inspired by percussionist (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck, Bogert, Appice) Carmine Appice's place in this idyllic (Long Island) north shore town, which was a local music (the Hassles, Barnaby Bye, Twisted Sister, Good Rats anybody that played My Father's Place in Roslyn) hang. Cold Spring Harbor was recorded on a malfunctioning machine at Hempstead's UltraSonic Studios, where WLIR became famous for broadcasting a series of weekly (Tuesday) live concert broadcasts. I was PD at the station. As a measure of how angry Billy really was over the product that was released, he cold-cocked me after I asked why it sounded like a bunch of Chipmunks covers... Mr. Joel was an accomplished Golden Gloves boxer and to this day I remember the look on his face right before my lights went out.
Cold Spring Harbor is a lost gem that deserves a Joel sanctioned digital re-master at the correct speed - with the original orchestration restored.
Paul W Robinson
______________________________________
(I think you know this) the Tropicana was originally Sandy Koufax's Tropicana, with an autographed baseball as part of the sign.
Harold Bronson
______________________________________
"Billy Joel: I was glad I did it at the time because I needed to use my own musicians. I didn’t want to use session men. I didn’t want to use studio players. I wanted my road band. It was a Long Island band and we were doing great on the road. We weren’t selling any records but the crowds were going crazy. We were blowing headliners off the stage. The Doobie Brothers, everywhere we played, The Beach Boys â€" we would get better applause than them."
Bob,
Not sure which Beach Boys' tour he's referring to, but the one I recall being on back in the mid - '70s (when he was rep'd by Chip Rachlin, long time agent for The Beach Boys), Billy quit in the middle of the run (I think after the show at Pine Knob, Detroit) because he got tired of being distracted and hit in the head by all the killer beach balls that sailed through the air during his set. Going to his hotel room after I got the news, I tried talking him out of the decision since it was during a tough economic touring season and I enjoyed his opening set so much (Carl Wilson was also very supportive of Billy and his band), but his mind was made up. As I recall, he vowed to never be the opening act for anyone ever again and, to his credit, I believe he stuck to that decision.
Later,
the "other" Billy
Billy Hinsche
______________________________________
______________________________________
RE: JAY LENO
____
Back before I got all kinds of lucky and won an Academy Award I used to run into Jay at Claudio Zampolli's on Van Nuys Blvd where Jay and Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar and tons of gear heads would get their gray market Lambos and Ferraris serviced. I gotta say that Jay Leno was the only guy who treated a $5 an hour assistant engineer on Scarface and Cop I and whatever Bruckheimer/Simpson things were goin' on like a human being. Who cares what a bunch of crippled up show business mental cases say? Jay's alright. The haters? Who cares? Life is short. Be happy, Tom Whitlock
______________________________________
I Love Jay Leno. Each time I was on the show with an artist he remembered me and always made it a point to come up to me and ask how I was doing. At one point he said to me we were standing on the stage. "You're here so much you should be working here." Well the head of audio heard that and soon brought me in and started training me to sub on the show as an mixer and which I had the pleasure of doing for about 4-5 years whenever I wasn't on tour with someone. Jay loves cars and I had a couple of nice ones. He was leaving the lot after taping and gave me a compliment on one of my cars. He didn't have to, it was just two guys who like cars vibing for a sec. I was totally surprised and didn't even see him along side my car as I was doing something else while waiting to exit my parking space. He's a good dude. He's not "Hollywood" and good for him. More people would do well to follow his example. Treat everyone as cool as they deserve to be treated. Do the work and shut the fuck up.
Kenneth H. Williams
Production Manager / Audio Engineer
Widow Nikjamdra Productions
______________________________________
As someone who owned a comedy club in the 80's and hired Jay Leno several times, I can affirm that there is no harder working comedian, and no one more deserving of success.
Jay and I discussed his work ethic one day when I was taking him back to the hotel after we did a TV promo for his show on the local noon news. He stated that he believed that to be a successful comedian, it was about training his brain to think funny, and to do that he must write comedy for hours every day... Read the newspaper and write jokes about the news and personalities of the day.
Jay never hung around the club after the gig, he was intensely focused... do the act, analyze the results, and write, write, write. And every night he had new material relating to the day's headlines. I was impressed then, and I remain impressed with his work ethic now; and the results speak for themselves. I often tell wannabe comedians, musicians, and actors, about Jay's dedication to achieving his dream.
By the way, all of the other top acts of the era, the ones who hung out to get drunk and get laid... Most are forgotten, none have achieved the career Leno has.
Jay Leno might not be the edgiest, or the funniest, but he is the Bob Hope of his generation, and that's an amazing accomplishment. Decades of success at the top of the game in entertainment is rare, you have to respect this man... And he is a genuinely nice and humble individual.
And yes, each time Jay played my club, he delivered... Two sold out shows every night, 60 minutes of solid laughter, and a happy club owner that made a bunch of money.
Frank A. Gagliano
______________________________________
Bob,
A friend of mine toured w/Jay for a few years in the 80's. He opened for Jay. They shared rides and Jay to this day remembers my friend and takes his call.
Years later, my friend went club side and into radio... and has had a good run and still going. Years after he left the road, 1989, Jay was hired to do the Indiana State Fair. My company had the giant screen IMAG (and had a 5 camera, 2 (giant) video screen setup which allowed for 3-5,000 more tickets to be sold) and we had to talk to Jay about "using the cameras." BTW, he sold the place out big time.
Impressed, he said he would take advantage of the video/camera/screen set up which was new to outdoor shows at the time. Boy did he.
Furthermore, he was picked up in a shit car by a runner. Sat in a green room under the stage that smelled like hell. Scanned the Indy Star newspaper to localize the show. And, spoke directly to all of the people passing by the room just wanting a glimpse of Mr. Comedy.
Jay's show was a home run. He bid ALL of us goodbye one by one, got back into the shit car with the same runner and disappeared into the night.
No complaints. No show biz crap. Just a pro doing what he was hired to do and then some.
I don't like the Tonight show frankly. But I respect Jay and his team of writers. Good people in showbiz. And a great memory.
Bill Edwards
______________________________________
He used to come down to The Beverly Garland Hotel after taping the Tonight Show And do a 20 MIN monologe in front of a corporate band gig I used to do. He said he always wanted to keep his stand up act fresh even though he was hauling in that Tall cake from NBC.
Kenny Lee Lewis
______________________________________
Hi Bob,
You are right on the money about Jay. In 1973 we signed on with Jay's manager, Gerry Purcell, (Eddy Arnold, Maya Angelou...)
whose old-time philosophy was you had to work every night for years before you developed enough to possibly become a star.
With Dancing in the Moonlight on the charts, we did an East Coast college tour, in a Chrysler station wagon, with Jay as opening act.
There was a cancellation somewhere in Georgia and Gerry filled it by booking us into a Southern Baptist Church.
I still remember Jay doing Elvis imitations for the audience of 10 to 16-year-old African-American kids.
It didn't matter to him. He was working.
I've still got a poster from St. Bonaventure - King Harvest and Jay Leno - $3.00 Admission.
At those prices I don't know if Jay was actually getting paid for the tour!
Anyway, he deserves everything he's got.
He's one of the nicest guys we ever had the pleasure to work with.
Rod Novak
King Harvest
_______
From: Bob Lefsetz
To: Rod Novak
Tell me the story of "Dancing In The Moonlight"!
_______
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your email.
First of all, let me say that I appreciated your heartfelt remarks about Larry Hoppen, who was an old friend of ours, and part of the Dancing in the Moonlight story.
Second, I'm incapable of writing a short story so I apologize in advance for this saga.
Ithaca music in the mid 60's was influenced big time by Buffalo soul bands and WUFO with disc jockeys like Eddie O'Jay and George "Hound Dog" Lorenz who helped to bring "race music" into mainstream AM radio. There was a bunch of us going to school in Ithaca and we were all heavily into the "Ithaca Sound" strongly influenced by artists like Wilson Pickett, Wilmer Alexander Jr. and the Dukes and Little Bernie and the Cavalliers. We all played together in one band or another from 1964 to 1969. The bunch included Larry Hoppen and Sherman and Wells Kelly. Sherman wrote Dancing in the Moonlight. Wells, his younger brother, later played drums with lots of names including Harvey Brooks, Bonnie Raitt, Clarence Clemons, Orleans,.. and was doing a tour with Meatloaf in London when he died way too young. http://www.orleansforever.com/wellskelly.htm
Also in our band of friends was Huey Craig (AKA Huey Lewis), Eric Blackstead, who later recorded and produced the Woodstock album, and the future King Harvest - Ron Altbach, Doc Robinson, Eddie Tuleja, and myself.
I also have to mention our friend Ricky Jay the Magician, who did magic gigs and had a music club in Ithaca. http://articles.latimes.com/print/2011/jun/01/entertainment/la-et-book-20110601
In the mid 60's Sherman got beaten almost to death in St. Croix, V.I. and barely survived. A lot of his music afterward took a look at the dark side of life i.e. Jumby Queen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmSJDpA-iGM&feature=plcp
In the late 60's he wanted to write an upbeat tune to balance out the negativity.something to celebrate the simple innocent joys of life. He came up with Dancing in the Moonlight. He definitely succeeded. You wouldn't believe how many comments we still get from people who tell us how that song helped them thru some really bad times in their lives; soldiers in Iraq, cancer patients, teenagers going thru tough times. We get 12-year old girls saying this is the song they want to have played when they get married someday. It still amazes me. I think it has become a classic because, for three minutes, it allows one to imagine living in a Utopian world. Bottom line.it just makes people feel good.
As an aside, 2 or 3 years ago I believe it was WCBS in NYC that had listeners vote on their top 500 favorites of all time. On Memorial Day weekend they played down from #500 to #1. Late on Sunday someone emailed us that they had just played DITM at #24. Another surprise is that 50% of our European listeners today are between 12 and 20.
Anyway back to the story:
In 1969 Ron was studying classical piano with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and got me a job playing sax with Nancy Holloway, an expat African-American singer who was famous in Europe. He also got Eddie to come over to start a band and "bring the Ithaca sound to France". Wells joined us in 1970 and brought a copy of Boffalongo's (Larry, Sherman, Doc, et al) recording of Dancing in the Moonlight which had failed to make it in the US. We added it to our repertoire and recorded it a couple times on albums (We did many unsuccessful singles and 11 unknown albums in France ranging from American folk music to Greatest Hit's of 1970). Wells later returned to the US and started with Orleans
Meanwhile we had written and recorded the score to a movie (Le Feu Sacre) which inaugurated the Cannes Film Festival in 1971 and with a new drummer, we were the featured band at the Whiskey A Go Go in Cannes for 2 weeks, where we met Ringo Starr and Maurice Gibb who, over a period of weeks discussed producing us with Robert Stigwood.
Doc then joined us in Paris. His voice on DITM really seemed perfect for the tune. We recorded it again in the smallest studio in Paris where Doc recorded the lead vocal in the stairway (since they didn't have any echo or reverb), and pulled a scrub brush out of a utility closet to add a little soft percussion to the intro. Jack Robinson, our producer from Criterion Music, came up with some arrangement ideas and the record was scheduled for release in Europe.
We were regularly playing French casinos and Paris nightclubs and got a nice break opening for BB King at the Olympia. It went really well and shortly after that we were invited to showcase in London by Ashley Kozak (Donovan's manager). Every record exec in London was there when our drummer showed up drunk and could hardly stay on his stool. We went back to Paris drummerless and pretty depressed and found out that DITM was becoming a big flop.
We decided to take some time off for a while and figure out what we wanted to do. Unbeknownst to us, our record company leased the master to Perception Records in NYC on the last day of MIDEM that year. By late 1972 it was starting to get play in the Seattle area thanks to Jack Robinson. By spring 1973 it was in the top 20 nationally. It stayed on the charts for 20 weeks! We all came back to the US and moved to Olcott, NY near Buffalo. Our French company had unloaded a strange bunch of tunes we had recorded for various projects which Perception released as the DITM album. Contractually free in the US, we were offered tons of money to do a real album with Clive Davis, Ahmnet Ertugan and the other majors. We were broke, but decided to stay loyal (for almost no money) to the little company that made the hit, hired Gerry Purcell as our manager, recorded a follow up single, and went on tour with Jay Leno. Shortly after our 2nd single, "A Little Bit Like Magic" came out, Perception started getting ready to file for bankruptcy.
So we ended up playing the bars of Olcott and western NY until Kip Cohen called from A&M Records and said they wanted to sign us. Moved to LA, recorded with producers like Jeff Barry, Jimmy Guercio, Kenny Nolan, Steve Cropper, but never got another hit. In 1976 we packed it in and the four of us went to work with the Beach Boys for a couple years. In 2007 we did a PBS special and that was it until this summer on July 14th (Bastille Day) when we did a 40-year-reunion concert in Olcott, NY for an estimated 3200 people.
So Bob, that's the Dancing in the Moonlight story with its cast of characters and international intrigue. As if this isn't enough, I've added our bio below which includes some other characters like Jacques (Kiki) Morali, a friend from Paris I recorded with who created The Village People. The 60s and 70s were great times to be in the rock and roll business. We met a lot of great people along the way, had too much fun, not enough money, were usually broke, but got to play a lot of rock and roll. It sure is a pleasure to be alive and sitting around 40 years later looking at how it all played out - sometimes tragic, sometimes better than we ever could have imagined.
Thank you for asking.
All the best,
Rod Novak
PS. Attached is the Jay Leno poster. Two dollars advance purchase. Three dollars at the door!
BIO:
It all started in Ithaca, NY in the mid-60s, when the four core King Harvest members showed up at Cornell University for an education and found a college where there were 53 fraternities - that's 53 opportunities to play fraternity parties, and for musicians, too much to let pass by...
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Rhinofy-New Traditionalists
Once upon a time, KROQ was truly the ROQ Of The 80's. It morphed overnight from the best free format station in Los Angeles into an outlet that played all those English new wave cuts KMET and KLOS refused to spin, like Human League's "Don't You Want Me" and Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," it became the secret hideaway of L.A.'s hipsters, in a matter of years it was the dominant station in town, able to break a record nationally, all due to the long forgotten programming work of one Rick Carroll. Hell, KROQ was the most valuable station in the nation! It's part of how Mel Karmazin made his name, running Infinity Broadcasting. And for every career band started on KROQ, like Depeche Mode, there were many one hit wonders, like Toni Basil.
No, don't tune out! This isn't about that hit, it's about another track, that got a plethora of airplay on KROQ and has been almost completely forgotten, "You Gotta Problem." I'd hear it on the station and swoon. Be energized. Who was this Toni Basil? Who knew she'd been around forever as a choreographer, I thought she was some English chanteuse, this was long before Wikipedia, never mind the Internet. Then I finally bought the latest Devo album and there it was, albeit entitled "Pity You"...who knew!
This was when the band was on a downswing. They were hipster favorites just a few years before, with their robotic cover of "Satisfaction," never mind "Uncontrollable Urge," "Mongoloid," and "Jocko Homo." They were all over late night TV in their yellow hazmat suits, but then the act got old. This was before MTV truly brought them to the masses, with "Whip It." This was the lull before the tsunami, the calm before the storm, and "New Traditionalists" is uneven, but it's my favorite Devo album ever, because of the peaks!
1. "Pity You"
I'm not enough of a forensic listener to tell you exactly what all the sounds on this track are. But I think that's either synthetic drums or some kind of effect that is so endearing you just want to hear it again and again, like the phasing on "Itchycoo Park." Then there's that buzzsaw guitar. And the bass, played on a keyboard..?
Pity you, you never get no satisfaction. But you keep going back, day after day, hour after hour, from where you came for more of the same. That's the essence of music, you get hooked on a track and play it ad infinitum.
I love "Pity You." Especially when it breaks down at 1:13. It's like a western, if a western were filmed on Mars!
This is an orgy of sound. Exquisitely built. It sounds just as modern as it did thirty years ago. It's timeless.
2. "Love Without Anger"
This is one of those tracks which is reversed. The chorus comes first. But it's the verses that hook you. And that amazing break at 1:20.
"Barbie and Ken in a great big fight
Seems Ken forgot to make it home one night"
Huh? Irreverence, it's the spice of life.
How'd they come up with this stuff?
Meanwhile, the ultimate message is a universal truth, which so many try to deny, to their detriment.
There's no love without anger! No ongoing relationship without fights! If there's no antagonism that just means someone's holding their complaints inside and one day when you think things are going along swimmingly your boyfriend, girlfriend or betrothed is gonna unload on you and leave.
So fight now!
3. "Beautiful World"
This is the one everybody knows, because years later it was featured in a rerecorded version by Target. And insiders laughed, because they flipped the message of the song, you see it's not a beautiful world! At least not for me.
"It's a beautiful world we live in
A sweet romantic place
Beautiful people everywhere
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say
It's a beautiful world
It's a beautiful world
It's a beautiful world
For you
For you
For you
It's not for me"
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Alienation, isolation and depression have been wiped off the map. We're now a nation of winners. If you've got any questions, any complaints, we don't want to hear them. Just go out and shop and be happy.
4. "Going Under"
"Think you heard this all before
Now you're gonna hear some more
I know a place where dreams get crushed
Hopes are smashed but that ain't much"
Oh, just another loser complaining he was dumped.
No!
This song is so bizarre in concept that you almost can't fathom it from this distance. Never forget that this was the era where Sparks had a KROQ hit with "I Married A Martian."
"I'm going under, I'm going under.."
And where is he going?
"To a place where all the mutants go"!
With girls with four red lips... It's a three and a half minute sci-fi adventure!
4.a. "I Married A Martian"
They couldn't get any traction as Halfnelson, so they changed their name to Sparks, and I always used to see Ron Mael at Jerry's Deli...
Eventually they had a hit on MTV with Jane Wiedlin entitled "Cool Places," but this is the first cut that truly entranced me by the act...
"I married a Martian
I'm going to Vegas
It isn't for pleasure
I'm getting a quickie divorce"
Huh? This always cracked me up completely, I couldn't wait for this part of the track.
"I married a Martian
Boy am I sorry
I don't recommend it
To anyone in their right mind"
As if you were considering it... But this was back when everybody wasn't part of one big homogeneous monoculture. There was us...and them. We had KROQ, we had stuff like this. The artists, and that's what they were, weren't pandering to their audience, they were on a wild excursion to the limits of their ability to express themselves.
4.b. "Sex Dwarf"
And the hoi polloi think Soft Cell only had one hit. This was gigantic on KROQ, and was as bizarre as "Going Under," and "I Married A Martian" above.
4.c. "Make A Circuit With Me"
And then there were meaningless trifles on KROQ like this. A one hit wonder by the Polecats. Incredibly infectious, the rest of the stations couldn't test any limits, they could only play that which sounded just like everything else they were spinning, kind of like Top Forty radio today.
And the track that got all the airplay was the opening cut, "Through Being Cool." And "Jerkin' Back 'N' Forth" and "Race Of Doom" were cool too.
So pull up these cuts and remember, when you were all about testing limits as opposed to funding your 401(k), when you listened to music not as background, but foreground, when you respected artists instead of having contempt for them.
It was a glorious era.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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No, don't tune out! This isn't about that hit, it's about another track, that got a plethora of airplay on KROQ and has been almost completely forgotten, "You Gotta Problem." I'd hear it on the station and swoon. Be energized. Who was this Toni Basil? Who knew she'd been around forever as a choreographer, I thought she was some English chanteuse, this was long before Wikipedia, never mind the Internet. Then I finally bought the latest Devo album and there it was, albeit entitled "Pity You"...who knew!
This was when the band was on a downswing. They were hipster favorites just a few years before, with their robotic cover of "Satisfaction," never mind "Uncontrollable Urge," "Mongoloid," and "Jocko Homo." They were all over late night TV in their yellow hazmat suits, but then the act got old. This was before MTV truly brought them to the masses, with "Whip It." This was the lull before the tsunami, the calm before the storm, and "New Traditionalists" is uneven, but it's my favorite Devo album ever, because of the peaks!
1. "Pity You"
I'm not enough of a forensic listener to tell you exactly what all the sounds on this track are. But I think that's either synthetic drums or some kind of effect that is so endearing you just want to hear it again and again, like the phasing on "Itchycoo Park." Then there's that buzzsaw guitar. And the bass, played on a keyboard..?
Pity you, you never get no satisfaction. But you keep going back, day after day, hour after hour, from where you came for more of the same. That's the essence of music, you get hooked on a track and play it ad infinitum.
I love "Pity You." Especially when it breaks down at 1:13. It's like a western, if a western were filmed on Mars!
This is an orgy of sound. Exquisitely built. It sounds just as modern as it did thirty years ago. It's timeless.
2. "Love Without Anger"
This is one of those tracks which is reversed. The chorus comes first. But it's the verses that hook you. And that amazing break at 1:20.
"Barbie and Ken in a great big fight
Seems Ken forgot to make it home one night"
Huh? Irreverence, it's the spice of life.
How'd they come up with this stuff?
Meanwhile, the ultimate message is a universal truth, which so many try to deny, to their detriment.
There's no love without anger! No ongoing relationship without fights! If there's no antagonism that just means someone's holding their complaints inside and one day when you think things are going along swimmingly your boyfriend, girlfriend or betrothed is gonna unload on you and leave.
So fight now!
3. "Beautiful World"
This is the one everybody knows, because years later it was featured in a rerecorded version by Target. And insiders laughed, because they flipped the message of the song, you see it's not a beautiful world! At least not for me.
"It's a beautiful world we live in
A sweet romantic place
Beautiful people everywhere
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say
It's a beautiful world
It's a beautiful world
It's a beautiful world
For you
For you
For you
It's not for me"
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Alienation, isolation and depression have been wiped off the map. We're now a nation of winners. If you've got any questions, any complaints, we don't want to hear them. Just go out and shop and be happy.
4. "Going Under"
"Think you heard this all before
Now you're gonna hear some more
I know a place where dreams get crushed
Hopes are smashed but that ain't much"
Oh, just another loser complaining he was dumped.
No!
This song is so bizarre in concept that you almost can't fathom it from this distance. Never forget that this was the era where Sparks had a KROQ hit with "I Married A Martian."
"I'm going under, I'm going under.."
And where is he going?
"To a place where all the mutants go"!
With girls with four red lips... It's a three and a half minute sci-fi adventure!
4.a. "I Married A Martian"
They couldn't get any traction as Halfnelson, so they changed their name to Sparks, and I always used to see Ron Mael at Jerry's Deli...
Eventually they had a hit on MTV with Jane Wiedlin entitled "Cool Places," but this is the first cut that truly entranced me by the act...
"I married a Martian
I'm going to Vegas
It isn't for pleasure
I'm getting a quickie divorce"
Huh? This always cracked me up completely, I couldn't wait for this part of the track.
"I married a Martian
Boy am I sorry
I don't recommend it
To anyone in their right mind"
As if you were considering it... But this was back when everybody wasn't part of one big homogeneous monoculture. There was us...and them. We had KROQ, we had stuff like this. The artists, and that's what they were, weren't pandering to their audience, they were on a wild excursion to the limits of their ability to express themselves.
4.b. "Sex Dwarf"
And the hoi polloi think Soft Cell only had one hit. This was gigantic on KROQ, and was as bizarre as "Going Under," and "I Married A Martian" above.
4.c. "Make A Circuit With Me"
And then there were meaningless trifles on KROQ like this. A one hit wonder by the Polecats. Incredibly infectious, the rest of the stations couldn't test any limits, they could only play that which sounded just like everything else they were spinning, kind of like Top Forty radio today.
And the track that got all the airplay was the opening cut, "Through Being Cool." And "Jerkin' Back 'N' Forth" and "Race Of Doom" were cool too.
So pull up these cuts and remember, when you were all about testing limits as opposed to funding your 401(k), when you listened to music not as background, but foreground, when you respected artists instead of having contempt for them.
It was a glorious era.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
Previous Rhinofy playlists: http://www.rhinofy.com/lefsetz
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Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
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Thursday 30 August 2012
Billy Joel On The Alec Baldwin Podcast
VIRGINIA
"Come out Virginia, don't let me wait
You Catholic girls start much too late"
There was a real Virginia. Who never gave Billy the time of day... Until she saw him onstage performing. Not when he was "Billy Joel," just the keyboardist in the local band.
Remember local bands? There used to be clubs, like the Action House, Bar Mitzvah parties, school dances. And there would always be a live band performing the hits of the day. No one had a deejay. You spun records at home! Nothing could replace the feel of live music.
But suddenly there was no place to play and no one was good enough to perform and the records were all made by machines anyway.
Billy's taking piano lessons for years. Then he's asked to join a band. He's not quite a pariah, yet he's anything but a hero.
Then he takes the stage.
That's why so many musicians did it. For the babes.
And you might be a tech hero, a rich banker, but you can never compete with a successful musician, because he channels truth from his soul!
I figured Billy picked Virginia's name out of a hat, but no, she was real!
ATTILA
There were the Echoes and the Hassles and record deals but very little traction. Sick and tired of bands, Billy formed a duo with his drummer entitled Attila, and it was dead on arrival. He moved to L.A. to escape.
Failure is not only de rigueur in Silicon Valley, but in music too. You think you've made it, you've got a record deal, you're on late night TV...but you're nowhere.
PIANO MAN
He only played in that piano bar for six months. And the record was a turntable hit. That's what's so fascinating, Billy's a student of the business, like his old cohort Elton John. They learned how everything worked, they had managers, but truly, they were in charge of their own careers.
THE TROPICANA
That's where Billy lived in L.A. It's gone now. But the hotel had a famous coffee shop attached, entitled Duke's, and every time you went a rock star was there.
The Tropicana was a dive.
But the kids back in Hicksville didn't know this. He'd send postcards. They thought he had it made in Los Angeles.
But Billy couldn't wait to get back.
Because everybody in L.A. was full of shit.
That's true.
Billy says how everybody in La La Land is "a producer." Billy says we all produce something! But these people usually produced nothing.
But that's what I love about L.A. It's the anti-east coast. Where you went to college, who your parents are, that's all irrelevant. What's most important is what kind of car you drive...and that's just phony enough for me!
In other words, you can move to L.A. and be whoever you want to.
But that does not mean you're gonna be a success.
COLD SPRING HARBOR
It was mastered at the wrong speed. You've got to hear Billy do an imitation. Can you imagine the first album under your own name being a disaster? Most people would quit. Actually, Billy did, that's when he went underground and worked at the piano bar in the Wilshire District.
STREETLIFE SERENADER
Billy had no material. Other than "The Entertainer," which I believed stiffed because it sounded so much like "Piano Man." The label forced him into the studio, to follow up "Piano Man."
But having said that, all the songs Billy deplores, I like.
TURNSTILES
So Billy takes matters into his own hands. He produces himself. He gets total control, he gets to use his own band, but he doesn't get it quite right.
Yet, "Turnstiles" contains "New York State Of Mind." And when you hear Billy perform this at the piano, you'll get chills.
Billy didn't know it would become a standard. Sometimes you write from your gut, and you find out what you have to say is what everybody else is thinking.
"Say Goodbye To Hollywood" was just that... Screw L.A!
"Summer, Highland Falls"...that's where he lived when he moved back, on the Hudson.
"Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)"... Do you know the version from "Songs In The Attic"? When Billy went back and rerecorded his early material, supposedly live, after he'd made it? God, listen to not only "Miami 2017," but the aforementioned "Summer, Highland Falls," "Streetlife Serenader" and "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid." This is my favorite Billy Joel album. Because it's not a victory lap, Billy sings like he's got something to prove, that he's more than the Piano Man, that he matters.
And he does.
Turns out "Billy The Kid" is riddled with inaccuracies. He went with what rhymed.
But the best is the story behind "Miami 2017." New York was going broke. Billy wanted to move back to see it. This song was written for his heirs, to tell them what it once was like before the lights went out on Broadway... "Miami 2017" is not a sci-fi fantasy, it's real, written when the President told New York...Drop Dead!
THE STRANGER
It all comes down to Phil Ramone. Billy had seen his name on many a record, but primarily as an engineer. Billy decided to give Phil his chance, as a producer.
And this is a bit of a rewrite of history, Phil had produced with Paul Simon, but not alone, he didn't get sole credit. Phil was hungry and Billy was too.
You think you're best off working with the name. But usually you're better off working with the up and comer. Who needs it just as much as you. Who'll put in the time, who cares.
Phil made the album. Literally.
He was the coach. Who said when to play and when to take a break and eat Chinese.
And since Phil was classically trained, he made suggestions, he rearranged entire songs... "Just The Way You Are" sounded nothing like you know it before Phil got his hands on it.
THE NYLON CURTAIN
His hardest album to make and his favorite.
And it contains his favorite unsung track, "Surprises," which Billy plays so well and is my favorite from that album too.
AN INNOCENT MAN
An homage to what was. To hear Billy detail how he ripped off Frankie Valli and Little Anthony and the Imperials is to detail how work is truly done. Truly, they were an inspiration.
RELATIONSHIPS
This podcast is not as good as Billy's appearance on Howard Stern. There's not quite the passion, not quite the edge.
But Stern's broadcast was spectacular!
And you wish Alec Baldwin would shut up. He knows too little of what Billy's talking about and is constantly trying to draw conclusions which are oftentimes inaccurate and cut Billy short.
But one thing about Alec doing the interviewing that's important, the focus on relationships, since Alec had such a bad one with his ex.
Billy's been married three times.
And he's not gonna go to the altar again.
Because...
Maybe he just didn't give enough. Music is a "harsh mistress" according to Billy. He couldn't turn it off. Even when he was with his exes, relaxing, oftentimes he was not...he was thinking about changes, he was working, music was number one.
And right now it is not. He's not performing and he's not writing. He's sick of sharing, he's living for himself.
But Billy shares so much of himself, so honestly in this podcast, that even if you're not a fan you should check it out.
And if you are... You'll swoon. Because this is the story from the guy who wrote the story.
Episode #21, Billy Joel: http://wny.cc/OCCAvl
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"Come out Virginia, don't let me wait
You Catholic girls start much too late"
There was a real Virginia. Who never gave Billy the time of day... Until she saw him onstage performing. Not when he was "Billy Joel," just the keyboardist in the local band.
Remember local bands? There used to be clubs, like the Action House, Bar Mitzvah parties, school dances. And there would always be a live band performing the hits of the day. No one had a deejay. You spun records at home! Nothing could replace the feel of live music.
But suddenly there was no place to play and no one was good enough to perform and the records were all made by machines anyway.
Billy's taking piano lessons for years. Then he's asked to join a band. He's not quite a pariah, yet he's anything but a hero.
Then he takes the stage.
That's why so many musicians did it. For the babes.
And you might be a tech hero, a rich banker, but you can never compete with a successful musician, because he channels truth from his soul!
I figured Billy picked Virginia's name out of a hat, but no, she was real!
ATTILA
There were the Echoes and the Hassles and record deals but very little traction. Sick and tired of bands, Billy formed a duo with his drummer entitled Attila, and it was dead on arrival. He moved to L.A. to escape.
Failure is not only de rigueur in Silicon Valley, but in music too. You think you've made it, you've got a record deal, you're on late night TV...but you're nowhere.
PIANO MAN
He only played in that piano bar for six months. And the record was a turntable hit. That's what's so fascinating, Billy's a student of the business, like his old cohort Elton John. They learned how everything worked, they had managers, but truly, they were in charge of their own careers.
THE TROPICANA
That's where Billy lived in L.A. It's gone now. But the hotel had a famous coffee shop attached, entitled Duke's, and every time you went a rock star was there.
The Tropicana was a dive.
But the kids back in Hicksville didn't know this. He'd send postcards. They thought he had it made in Los Angeles.
But Billy couldn't wait to get back.
Because everybody in L.A. was full of shit.
That's true.
Billy says how everybody in La La Land is "a producer." Billy says we all produce something! But these people usually produced nothing.
But that's what I love about L.A. It's the anti-east coast. Where you went to college, who your parents are, that's all irrelevant. What's most important is what kind of car you drive...and that's just phony enough for me!
In other words, you can move to L.A. and be whoever you want to.
But that does not mean you're gonna be a success.
COLD SPRING HARBOR
It was mastered at the wrong speed. You've got to hear Billy do an imitation. Can you imagine the first album under your own name being a disaster? Most people would quit. Actually, Billy did, that's when he went underground and worked at the piano bar in the Wilshire District.
STREETLIFE SERENADER
Billy had no material. Other than "The Entertainer," which I believed stiffed because it sounded so much like "Piano Man." The label forced him into the studio, to follow up "Piano Man."
But having said that, all the songs Billy deplores, I like.
TURNSTILES
So Billy takes matters into his own hands. He produces himself. He gets total control, he gets to use his own band, but he doesn't get it quite right.
Yet, "Turnstiles" contains "New York State Of Mind." And when you hear Billy perform this at the piano, you'll get chills.
Billy didn't know it would become a standard. Sometimes you write from your gut, and you find out what you have to say is what everybody else is thinking.
"Say Goodbye To Hollywood" was just that... Screw L.A!
"Summer, Highland Falls"...that's where he lived when he moved back, on the Hudson.
"Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)"... Do you know the version from "Songs In The Attic"? When Billy went back and rerecorded his early material, supposedly live, after he'd made it? God, listen to not only "Miami 2017," but the aforementioned "Summer, Highland Falls," "Streetlife Serenader" and "The Ballad Of Billy The Kid." This is my favorite Billy Joel album. Because it's not a victory lap, Billy sings like he's got something to prove, that he's more than the Piano Man, that he matters.
And he does.
Turns out "Billy The Kid" is riddled with inaccuracies. He went with what rhymed.
But the best is the story behind "Miami 2017." New York was going broke. Billy wanted to move back to see it. This song was written for his heirs, to tell them what it once was like before the lights went out on Broadway... "Miami 2017" is not a sci-fi fantasy, it's real, written when the President told New York...Drop Dead!
THE STRANGER
It all comes down to Phil Ramone. Billy had seen his name on many a record, but primarily as an engineer. Billy decided to give Phil his chance, as a producer.
And this is a bit of a rewrite of history, Phil had produced with Paul Simon, but not alone, he didn't get sole credit. Phil was hungry and Billy was too.
You think you're best off working with the name. But usually you're better off working with the up and comer. Who needs it just as much as you. Who'll put in the time, who cares.
Phil made the album. Literally.
He was the coach. Who said when to play and when to take a break and eat Chinese.
And since Phil was classically trained, he made suggestions, he rearranged entire songs... "Just The Way You Are" sounded nothing like you know it before Phil got his hands on it.
THE NYLON CURTAIN
His hardest album to make and his favorite.
And it contains his favorite unsung track, "Surprises," which Billy plays so well and is my favorite from that album too.
AN INNOCENT MAN
An homage to what was. To hear Billy detail how he ripped off Frankie Valli and Little Anthony and the Imperials is to detail how work is truly done. Truly, they were an inspiration.
RELATIONSHIPS
This podcast is not as good as Billy's appearance on Howard Stern. There's not quite the passion, not quite the edge.
But Stern's broadcast was spectacular!
And you wish Alec Baldwin would shut up. He knows too little of what Billy's talking about and is constantly trying to draw conclusions which are oftentimes inaccurate and cut Billy short.
But one thing about Alec doing the interviewing that's important, the focus on relationships, since Alec had such a bad one with his ex.
Billy's been married three times.
And he's not gonna go to the altar again.
Because...
Maybe he just didn't give enough. Music is a "harsh mistress" according to Billy. He couldn't turn it off. Even when he was with his exes, relaxing, oftentimes he was not...he was thinking about changes, he was working, music was number one.
And right now it is not. He's not performing and he's not writing. He's sick of sharing, he's living for himself.
But Billy shares so much of himself, so honestly in this podcast, that even if you're not a fan you should check it out.
And if you are... You'll swoon. Because this is the story from the guy who wrote the story.
Episode #21, Billy Joel: http://wny.cc/OCCAvl
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Wednesday 29 August 2012
Scooter In The New Yorker
"Teen Titan": http://nyr.kr/OcTMVf
Do you know Jerry Perenchio?
I doubt it. But he was once a successful talent agent who promoted the Billie Jean King/Bobby Riggs television match and then bought and sold Univision... That makes him a billionaire. And you've got no idea who he is. But that all comes down to his corporate philosophy, you never talk to the press, hell he fired one of his bigwigs when they did, even though the resulting press was positive! Rules are rules.
Then there's Shep Gordon. Alice Cooper was a wannabe on Frank Zappa's label and then Shep got involved and made him a superstar. Then Shep did the same thing with Blondie, the band was languishing on Private Stock, now they were on Chrysalis selling millions of albums. I saw Shep at the IEBA conference a few years back, they were giving him and Alice lifetime achievement awards. The only words Shep spoke were to introduce Alice, saying he'd continued to be his manager for all these years by knowing who was the star.
I've got no idea why Scooter Braun agreed to do this piece. The only people who read "The New Yorker" are erudite east coasters. Maybe that's who he wanted to impress, the local boy college dropout who did good. But you can never impress these people... Because you didn't go to the right college and don't go to the right events, it doesn't even matter how much money you've made, you're outside.
Not that this mistake isn't common. David Geffen gave access to Tom King, a "Wall Street Journal" writer, helping him pen a biography. Too late, he realized his mistake. "The Operator" came out and Geffen's career has been tainted ever since. The choices Geffen made made him appear to be a monster, something which insiders suspected but never confirmed, but once it was in print... And unlike "The New Yorker," everybody in the business read "The Operator."
Now more people than east coast intellectual snobs read "The New Yorker," but it plays within its own walled garden. There's essentially no upside to being in the magazine. And as someone who handles talent, doesn't Scooter know that there's no such thing as a totally positive article? That that's not how they do it? I usually say no. Especially since I'm in the same business, I'm a writer. I'm not gonna look good. Couldn't Scooter say no? Be happy being an uber-manager?
No.
But if you look beyond the self-centeredness and the delusion that he's a kingmaker who's gonna last, and the bending of the rules that all these people commit, hell, someone e-mailed me a great quote the other day from Honore de Balzac, "Behind every great fortune there is a crime.", ain't that the truth, it's clear that without Scooter, Justin Bieber is nowhere. I'm not talking now, I'm talking about when he was making YouTube videos in Canada.
The article focuses on social media, how Bieber was broken. But that's missing the point. The real point is the media was manipulated. Now that's in the article too... As well as the short life of most teen phenoms. But the point I want to make, which is referenced minimally in "The New Yorker" piece, is that the manager is the most important part of the game.
Look at history. Whether it be David Krebs or Cliff Burnstein or Terry McBride in his heyday. Aerosmith was a nonstarter without Krebs and his partner Steve Leber. Def Leppard already had stiff albums in the marketplace when Cliff and his partner Peter Mensch took them over and the band went stratospheric. And Barenaked Ladies were a backwater novelty act until Terry hatched the plan that made them stars. Sure, the acts had talent, but it was the managerial expertise that broke them through.
And don't read this article for tips, believing you can become Scooter Braun. Great managers are born, not made. Scooter lies about growing up with African-American brothers, can you lie about your college degree? David Geffen did. There's no handbook you can study that will make you a great manager, and signing and keeping talent is a skill unto itself... Ever notice that nobody leaves Irving Azoff? He may kick them out, but everybody else stays...because they've never found a better advocate.
So much smoke has been blown about Justin Bieber that the truth has been obscured. He's just another teen act, destined for the dustbin. Exceptions are extremely rare. Remember when they said the Jonas Brothers were forever?
But hustlers are forever.
Scooter Braun is a hustler. No different from the men who created Hollywood, who created the music business.
And one thing a hustler knows is to never reveal his tricks.
The fact that Scooter Braun did shows me he doesn't truly understand the game, that he's too focused on today, not tomorrow.
We don't need any of these acts. You're privileged to work in the entertainment business. You fight to get in, and keep fighting to stay in. And if you think you know everything, you're headed for a fall. Geffen and Azoff are exceptions. Lifers are not the rule. Usually, you're kicked out. But you don't realize it until it's too late, when everybody has been whispering for eons behind your back. Perception is everything, and you're perceived to be a has-been.
So read this article. It's well done.
But it will have minimal impact, other than amongst people in Scooter's circle. You see "The New Yorker" prides itself on being above the fray, the last, most important word. And it's damn good, but now you've got to fight for your attention. And "The New Yorker" does not. If newspapers can crash, "The New Yorker" can too. It's got no web strategy, and the target audience of a piece like this is almost completely unaware of it. Self-promoting Howard Stern rags on Jay Leno and it's all over Radar and the HuffPo... There are 6,260 hits on the Google News alone, check it out, Google "Howard Stern Jay Leno NBC". Now Google "Scooter Braun New Yorker" in the Google News...757 results. Get my point? A good manager would see "The New Yorker" is not prepared for the future, is losing ground as it's coasting along oblivious.
Scooter Braun would never let this happen.
Nor would Geffen or Azoff.
But they're fighting for their piece of the pie every damn day. They're not self-satisfied old schoolers who believe they're entitled to their piece.
No one's entitled to their piece anymore.
Especially teenage pop stars.
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Do you know Jerry Perenchio?
I doubt it. But he was once a successful talent agent who promoted the Billie Jean King/Bobby Riggs television match and then bought and sold Univision... That makes him a billionaire. And you've got no idea who he is. But that all comes down to his corporate philosophy, you never talk to the press, hell he fired one of his bigwigs when they did, even though the resulting press was positive! Rules are rules.
Then there's Shep Gordon. Alice Cooper was a wannabe on Frank Zappa's label and then Shep got involved and made him a superstar. Then Shep did the same thing with Blondie, the band was languishing on Private Stock, now they were on Chrysalis selling millions of albums. I saw Shep at the IEBA conference a few years back, they were giving him and Alice lifetime achievement awards. The only words Shep spoke were to introduce Alice, saying he'd continued to be his manager for all these years by knowing who was the star.
I've got no idea why Scooter Braun agreed to do this piece. The only people who read "The New Yorker" are erudite east coasters. Maybe that's who he wanted to impress, the local boy college dropout who did good. But you can never impress these people... Because you didn't go to the right college and don't go to the right events, it doesn't even matter how much money you've made, you're outside.
Not that this mistake isn't common. David Geffen gave access to Tom King, a "Wall Street Journal" writer, helping him pen a biography. Too late, he realized his mistake. "The Operator" came out and Geffen's career has been tainted ever since. The choices Geffen made made him appear to be a monster, something which insiders suspected but never confirmed, but once it was in print... And unlike "The New Yorker," everybody in the business read "The Operator."
Now more people than east coast intellectual snobs read "The New Yorker," but it plays within its own walled garden. There's essentially no upside to being in the magazine. And as someone who handles talent, doesn't Scooter know that there's no such thing as a totally positive article? That that's not how they do it? I usually say no. Especially since I'm in the same business, I'm a writer. I'm not gonna look good. Couldn't Scooter say no? Be happy being an uber-manager?
No.
But if you look beyond the self-centeredness and the delusion that he's a kingmaker who's gonna last, and the bending of the rules that all these people commit, hell, someone e-mailed me a great quote the other day from Honore de Balzac, "Behind every great fortune there is a crime.", ain't that the truth, it's clear that without Scooter, Justin Bieber is nowhere. I'm not talking now, I'm talking about when he was making YouTube videos in Canada.
The article focuses on social media, how Bieber was broken. But that's missing the point. The real point is the media was manipulated. Now that's in the article too... As well as the short life of most teen phenoms. But the point I want to make, which is referenced minimally in "The New Yorker" piece, is that the manager is the most important part of the game.
Look at history. Whether it be David Krebs or Cliff Burnstein or Terry McBride in his heyday. Aerosmith was a nonstarter without Krebs and his partner Steve Leber. Def Leppard already had stiff albums in the marketplace when Cliff and his partner Peter Mensch took them over and the band went stratospheric. And Barenaked Ladies were a backwater novelty act until Terry hatched the plan that made them stars. Sure, the acts had talent, but it was the managerial expertise that broke them through.
And don't read this article for tips, believing you can become Scooter Braun. Great managers are born, not made. Scooter lies about growing up with African-American brothers, can you lie about your college degree? David Geffen did. There's no handbook you can study that will make you a great manager, and signing and keeping talent is a skill unto itself... Ever notice that nobody leaves Irving Azoff? He may kick them out, but everybody else stays...because they've never found a better advocate.
So much smoke has been blown about Justin Bieber that the truth has been obscured. He's just another teen act, destined for the dustbin. Exceptions are extremely rare. Remember when they said the Jonas Brothers were forever?
But hustlers are forever.
Scooter Braun is a hustler. No different from the men who created Hollywood, who created the music business.
And one thing a hustler knows is to never reveal his tricks.
The fact that Scooter Braun did shows me he doesn't truly understand the game, that he's too focused on today, not tomorrow.
We don't need any of these acts. You're privileged to work in the entertainment business. You fight to get in, and keep fighting to stay in. And if you think you know everything, you're headed for a fall. Geffen and Azoff are exceptions. Lifers are not the rule. Usually, you're kicked out. But you don't realize it until it's too late, when everybody has been whispering for eons behind your back. Perception is everything, and you're perceived to be a has-been.
So read this article. It's well done.
But it will have minimal impact, other than amongst people in Scooter's circle. You see "The New Yorker" prides itself on being above the fray, the last, most important word. And it's damn good, but now you've got to fight for your attention. And "The New Yorker" does not. If newspapers can crash, "The New Yorker" can too. It's got no web strategy, and the target audience of a piece like this is almost completely unaware of it. Self-promoting Howard Stern rags on Jay Leno and it's all over Radar and the HuffPo... There are 6,260 hits on the Google News alone, check it out, Google "Howard Stern Jay Leno NBC". Now Google "Scooter Braun New Yorker" in the Google News...757 results. Get my point? A good manager would see "The New Yorker" is not prepared for the future, is losing ground as it's coasting along oblivious.
Scooter Braun would never let this happen.
Nor would Geffen or Azoff.
But they're fighting for their piece of the pie every damn day. They're not self-satisfied old schoolers who believe they're entitled to their piece.
No one's entitled to their piece anymore.
Especially teenage pop stars.
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Jay Leno On Jay Mohr
Everybody hates Jay Leno. And if you listen to this podcast, you can see why.
You see Jay's all about success. He doesn't want to be one of the guys. He just wants to be a comedian.
He's not the most talented and he's certainly not the best looking, so what does he do? Work!
It's been well established that he continues to do standup while hosting the "Tonight Show." Turns out he works three times a week. Not for the money, but to keep the muscle in shape. If you don't go up regularly, you get uptight, a stray cough or heckle can distract you. Furthermore, as someone who doesn't write a single thing down, by doing his act so often, Jay remembers it. It comes out fluently. As for his nightclub act... It's different from the "Tonight Show," it's better, it has to be, because people expect more when they pay. As for paying, Jay will lower his price in Vegas to sell seats. Something you'd never get a rock act to do, especially if the promoter's Live Nation, they figure the public company can take the hit. But when you do your show and seats are empty, or they're papered, you know who's hurt? You!
That's another thing Jay says, he never took a gig for the money.
Oh, Jay Mohr gets Leno to clarify this. And the point is it's not about the money, it's about the gig! If you want to do it, if you think it'll help you get ahead, go for it. The money is irrelevant. Jay tells the story of becoming the permanent host of the "Tonight Show," when Johnny Carson was still on...
Jay got a call from the agent of one of the other acts being considered for the gig. This agent said the competing comedians had banded together, that they were going to insert a most favored nations clause, that no one would do it for less than $25,000 an episode.
Jay wouldn't play ball. He said he was going to ask for $512 an episode. Scale. He got the job.
Now this may stick in your craw. Then again, Jay is not one of the guys, he doesn't want to hang with you, he just wants to work...and people deplore him for this.
Jay didn't want the money, he wanted the show!
And then Jay references the late night wars, you remember this, when his producer Helen Kushnick put restrictions upon which shows you could do and when if you appeared with Jay. Jay says he was watching TV and he saw a competitor at a Lakers game... He felt the host's monologue the following night would suck. And Jay taped it and watched it and it did! Because instead of staying home and doing the work, Jay's competitor lived a life.
And Jay doesn't go on vacation either...
Like I said, the longer you listen, the more you get this is the guy everybody complains about.
Then again, are showbiz friends really friends? Rock stars give me the time of day, but they're not really my friend. Steven Tyler invited me to the Bowl, to sit right down front, but he didn't invite me to the afterparty, where he hung with Johnny Depp until 2 a.m. You see I'm not a member of the club.
And the club's members are constantly changing, based on who's hot. Do you really want to fight that hard, to stay in? What if you need someone to pick you up and take you to the hospital, to talk you down off the ledge, who you gonna call? Not one of the rich and famous, certainly not if you were hot ten years ago and are cold now.
Jay knows who he is. And he's not apologizing for it.
As for making it...
Jay never had a day job. He felt it would take away from his comedy career. Even though he was busted for vagrancy twice on Hollywood Boulevard, even though he slept in the alley behind the Improv in New York. You see Jay needed it that bad. Hell, he said if anybody can put in seven years, they'll make it. But they can't change the act because they're burned out on it, they can't change direction, they've got to keep on going... Most people can't take the abuse, can't put in the effort, because no matter how big you are, there's always someone who thinks you suck, and being on the road is not fun for anybody, certainly not after the first few years. Hell, it's especially lonely if you're a comedian.
And Jay told a bunch of stories about gigging at Mafia joints and playing strip clubs and all the lousy gigs he once had. And fascinatingly, he spoke of taking a chance... All the comedians who ruled in Boston but never left, because their acts wouldn't work in Hartford, they were too Boston-specific. It's hard to leave your comfort zone, but that's what it takes to make it.
I knew Jay Leno was gonna make it. Because I saw him at the L.A. Improv back in '78 and he killed. You see Jay was funny. Not so much because he was naturally funny, but because he worked for it.
And Jay makes a fortune, but by many people's standards, he's not reaping the rewards. He doesn't have a slew of houses, doesn't holiday on the Riviera, he just does this. Well enough to keep his gig.
We're going through a comedy renaissance. The old goal of enough recognition to get a sitcom is done. Because those deals are not as prevalent and they don't pay so well. The oldsters are horrified, because not only are opportunities fading, if you go on the road to build up your "special," there's someone with a phone shooting you and your material is up on YouTube the next day.
In other words, the old comedy model is broken.
But it still pays to be funny. You just do it on "Funny or Die." You post a zillion YouTube clips to build your audience. You appear on one of the many comedy podcasts, where fans are listening, addicted. It's not just Marc Maron anymore, but Jay Mohr and Jimmy Pardo and Julie Klausner... The comedians are working for free, this is where they get recognized, and the beneficiaries are...you and me, the audience.
Listen to this Jay Leno podcast. To hear his work ethic. He went from having no place to sleep to being on TV five nights a week. There were no tricks, no mirrors, no parents in the business. Just hard work.
And you've got to applaud him for that.
Go here: http://www.jaymohr.com/mohr-stories.php
Click on "Mohr Stories 78: Jay Leno", the podcast will start playing in the window below... Leno begins at 2:30.
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You see Jay's all about success. He doesn't want to be one of the guys. He just wants to be a comedian.
He's not the most talented and he's certainly not the best looking, so what does he do? Work!
It's been well established that he continues to do standup while hosting the "Tonight Show." Turns out he works three times a week. Not for the money, but to keep the muscle in shape. If you don't go up regularly, you get uptight, a stray cough or heckle can distract you. Furthermore, as someone who doesn't write a single thing down, by doing his act so often, Jay remembers it. It comes out fluently. As for his nightclub act... It's different from the "Tonight Show," it's better, it has to be, because people expect more when they pay. As for paying, Jay will lower his price in Vegas to sell seats. Something you'd never get a rock act to do, especially if the promoter's Live Nation, they figure the public company can take the hit. But when you do your show and seats are empty, or they're papered, you know who's hurt? You!
That's another thing Jay says, he never took a gig for the money.
Oh, Jay Mohr gets Leno to clarify this. And the point is it's not about the money, it's about the gig! If you want to do it, if you think it'll help you get ahead, go for it. The money is irrelevant. Jay tells the story of becoming the permanent host of the "Tonight Show," when Johnny Carson was still on...
Jay got a call from the agent of one of the other acts being considered for the gig. This agent said the competing comedians had banded together, that they were going to insert a most favored nations clause, that no one would do it for less than $25,000 an episode.
Jay wouldn't play ball. He said he was going to ask for $512 an episode. Scale. He got the job.
Now this may stick in your craw. Then again, Jay is not one of the guys, he doesn't want to hang with you, he just wants to work...and people deplore him for this.
Jay didn't want the money, he wanted the show!
And then Jay references the late night wars, you remember this, when his producer Helen Kushnick put restrictions upon which shows you could do and when if you appeared with Jay. Jay says he was watching TV and he saw a competitor at a Lakers game... He felt the host's monologue the following night would suck. And Jay taped it and watched it and it did! Because instead of staying home and doing the work, Jay's competitor lived a life.
And Jay doesn't go on vacation either...
Like I said, the longer you listen, the more you get this is the guy everybody complains about.
Then again, are showbiz friends really friends? Rock stars give me the time of day, but they're not really my friend. Steven Tyler invited me to the Bowl, to sit right down front, but he didn't invite me to the afterparty, where he hung with Johnny Depp until 2 a.m. You see I'm not a member of the club.
And the club's members are constantly changing, based on who's hot. Do you really want to fight that hard, to stay in? What if you need someone to pick you up and take you to the hospital, to talk you down off the ledge, who you gonna call? Not one of the rich and famous, certainly not if you were hot ten years ago and are cold now.
Jay knows who he is. And he's not apologizing for it.
As for making it...
Jay never had a day job. He felt it would take away from his comedy career. Even though he was busted for vagrancy twice on Hollywood Boulevard, even though he slept in the alley behind the Improv in New York. You see Jay needed it that bad. Hell, he said if anybody can put in seven years, they'll make it. But they can't change the act because they're burned out on it, they can't change direction, they've got to keep on going... Most people can't take the abuse, can't put in the effort, because no matter how big you are, there's always someone who thinks you suck, and being on the road is not fun for anybody, certainly not after the first few years. Hell, it's especially lonely if you're a comedian.
And Jay told a bunch of stories about gigging at Mafia joints and playing strip clubs and all the lousy gigs he once had. And fascinatingly, he spoke of taking a chance... All the comedians who ruled in Boston but never left, because their acts wouldn't work in Hartford, they were too Boston-specific. It's hard to leave your comfort zone, but that's what it takes to make it.
I knew Jay Leno was gonna make it. Because I saw him at the L.A. Improv back in '78 and he killed. You see Jay was funny. Not so much because he was naturally funny, but because he worked for it.
And Jay makes a fortune, but by many people's standards, he's not reaping the rewards. He doesn't have a slew of houses, doesn't holiday on the Riviera, he just does this. Well enough to keep his gig.
We're going through a comedy renaissance. The old goal of enough recognition to get a sitcom is done. Because those deals are not as prevalent and they don't pay so well. The oldsters are horrified, because not only are opportunities fading, if you go on the road to build up your "special," there's someone with a phone shooting you and your material is up on YouTube the next day.
In other words, the old comedy model is broken.
But it still pays to be funny. You just do it on "Funny or Die." You post a zillion YouTube clips to build your audience. You appear on one of the many comedy podcasts, where fans are listening, addicted. It's not just Marc Maron anymore, but Jay Mohr and Jimmy Pardo and Julie Klausner... The comedians are working for free, this is where they get recognized, and the beneficiaries are...you and me, the audience.
Listen to this Jay Leno podcast. To hear his work ethic. He went from having no place to sleep to being on TV five nights a week. There were no tricks, no mirrors, no parents in the business. Just hard work.
And you've got to applaud him for that.
Go here: http://www.jaymohr.com/mohr-stories.php
Click on "Mohr Stories 78: Jay Leno", the podcast will start playing in the window below... Leno begins at 2:30.
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Tuesday 28 August 2012
Rhett Walker Band
This album is INCREDIBLE!
I'm reluctant to write about it. Because of the influx of hate I'm gonna get from people who think Nickelback is meritless and are still laughing at Creed. You see this is not that different from those bands. But Lynyrd Skynyrd was not that different from the Allman Brothers, they too, like Marshall Tucker, could be dismissed as southern rock...but they were so much more than that!
You see that's the political game, working the refs. To the point where Democrats are gun-shy and won't say anything negative about Republicans without criticizing Dems too...otherwise there's a tsunami of abuse.
And I'm gonna get abused here too. By the art rockers, the musos, the people who believe if it's successful, if it sounds like anything else, if it's solidly in the pocket of a genre, it must be crap.
But if you're not one of those people. If you like rock music. If you like power chords, dynamics, changes... If you like nodding your head, putting on an album and letting it play from beginning to end, putting you in a mood wherein the rest of the world does not matter, THIS IS FOR YOU!
The fact that this album has had zero impact flummoxes me.
Then again, it's Christian music.
Not that you'd know that if I didn't tell you.
Christian music is usually bad rock and roll from ten years past, the same way country music is seventies California classic rock. But this is something more, it's not so self-congratulatory, not so solidly other that we mainstreamers can't pay attention.
I'm not ashamed of being part of the mainstream. I'm not ashamed of saying I like what many other people do. I don't get my jollies by putting down other people's taste just because what they like is popular. And this is mainstream music. Just like Nickelback is mainstream music. And they're bigger than just about everybody else.
Not that I'm endorsing Nickelback, but they're getting the last laugh, and if you don't think "How You Remind Me" is a phenomenal record I hope you're not planning to be an A&R person, I hope you're not planning to be involved in any role where picking music is crucial.
Unfortunately, Nickelback has not been as good since. I've been disappointed by their new music, but I am not disappointed by Rhett Walker. How did people this far off the radar make something this good?
I would have completely missed it if Al Kooper hadn't put Mr. Walker and his band as the number one pick in his playlist last week. I got it instantly.
Now if Atlantic were smart. If Universal Republic still had its chops. One of them would immediately make a deal for this album and run it up the charts. This is exactly what the audience is looking for, they just haven't heard it yet.
Rock music has lost the plot. It's either so hard, so metal, that most people aren't interested, or it's so soft, so indie, peopled with bad voices and weak production that other than fans, everybody laughs. There's a reason Bon Jovi is so big.
And that comes down to "Slippery When Wet," which is fantastic.
But that album had cowrites with Desmond Child and was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, absolute blue chips. Whereas you won't recognize a single person involved in the production of "Come To The River." Take a look: http://bit.ly/U8QvL0
There's not a loser on this album. I'm not exactly sure where to tell you to start. Maybe with the track Al picked out, "Get Up Get Out." This is what Al said:
"Well, this is loud enough to rattle the dishes and get your attention and that makes a good opener. Rhett WAS a wild man, but switched to Christian music (!). Listen as I may, I can't REALLY find any of THAT in this track. This just simply ROCKS! No bible necessary."
http://bit.ly/PgBKm3
Or maybe begin with the opening cut, "Gonna Be Alright."
Sure, it's got the blasting guitars, but when it breaks down and the band starts singing "whoa-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh, it's gonna be all right," you're gonna look at your computer monitor in shock, you're gonna throw your arms in the air and sway back and forth like you're at the gig. These are the moments we're searching for. When we're completely gripped by the music and taken away, possessed.
And listen to Rhett's vocal. Boy, this guy can SING!
I didn't have to play this album five times to get it. I didn't have to tap my foot, waiting to be hooked. I was enthralled IMMEDIATELY!
Now I have no idea if they're any good live. I know that it takes forever to make it these days. And unless you've got a certified Top Forty smash, your climb to the top doesn't spike like a hockey stick.
But I do know that the great unwashed, working day jobs, getting high, just looking for a little satisfaction, would gravitate to this. Would play it at parties. Go to see the band live. Play it in their pickup trucks, their minivans, on their boomboxes down by the river...
Can the music live up to the hype I've just given it?
ABSOLUTELY!
Check it out.
If you're all about fashion, if you revere Anna Wintour and David Byrne and Beck, you can pass.
But if you live in your jeans and believe "Back In Black" is one of the best albums ever made...YOU'RE GONNA BE IN HEAVEN!
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/MAbuVp
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I'm reluctant to write about it. Because of the influx of hate I'm gonna get from people who think Nickelback is meritless and are still laughing at Creed. You see this is not that different from those bands. But Lynyrd Skynyrd was not that different from the Allman Brothers, they too, like Marshall Tucker, could be dismissed as southern rock...but they were so much more than that!
You see that's the political game, working the refs. To the point where Democrats are gun-shy and won't say anything negative about Republicans without criticizing Dems too...otherwise there's a tsunami of abuse.
And I'm gonna get abused here too. By the art rockers, the musos, the people who believe if it's successful, if it sounds like anything else, if it's solidly in the pocket of a genre, it must be crap.
But if you're not one of those people. If you like rock music. If you like power chords, dynamics, changes... If you like nodding your head, putting on an album and letting it play from beginning to end, putting you in a mood wherein the rest of the world does not matter, THIS IS FOR YOU!
The fact that this album has had zero impact flummoxes me.
Then again, it's Christian music.
Not that you'd know that if I didn't tell you.
Christian music is usually bad rock and roll from ten years past, the same way country music is seventies California classic rock. But this is something more, it's not so self-congratulatory, not so solidly other that we mainstreamers can't pay attention.
I'm not ashamed of being part of the mainstream. I'm not ashamed of saying I like what many other people do. I don't get my jollies by putting down other people's taste just because what they like is popular. And this is mainstream music. Just like Nickelback is mainstream music. And they're bigger than just about everybody else.
Not that I'm endorsing Nickelback, but they're getting the last laugh, and if you don't think "How You Remind Me" is a phenomenal record I hope you're not planning to be an A&R person, I hope you're not planning to be involved in any role where picking music is crucial.
Unfortunately, Nickelback has not been as good since. I've been disappointed by their new music, but I am not disappointed by Rhett Walker. How did people this far off the radar make something this good?
I would have completely missed it if Al Kooper hadn't put Mr. Walker and his band as the number one pick in his playlist last week. I got it instantly.
Now if Atlantic were smart. If Universal Republic still had its chops. One of them would immediately make a deal for this album and run it up the charts. This is exactly what the audience is looking for, they just haven't heard it yet.
Rock music has lost the plot. It's either so hard, so metal, that most people aren't interested, or it's so soft, so indie, peopled with bad voices and weak production that other than fans, everybody laughs. There's a reason Bon Jovi is so big.
And that comes down to "Slippery When Wet," which is fantastic.
But that album had cowrites with Desmond Child and was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, absolute blue chips. Whereas you won't recognize a single person involved in the production of "Come To The River." Take a look: http://bit.ly/U8QvL0
There's not a loser on this album. I'm not exactly sure where to tell you to start. Maybe with the track Al picked out, "Get Up Get Out." This is what Al said:
"Well, this is loud enough to rattle the dishes and get your attention and that makes a good opener. Rhett WAS a wild man, but switched to Christian music (!). Listen as I may, I can't REALLY find any of THAT in this track. This just simply ROCKS! No bible necessary."
http://bit.ly/PgBKm3
Or maybe begin with the opening cut, "Gonna Be Alright."
Sure, it's got the blasting guitars, but when it breaks down and the band starts singing "whoa-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh, it's gonna be all right," you're gonna look at your computer monitor in shock, you're gonna throw your arms in the air and sway back and forth like you're at the gig. These are the moments we're searching for. When we're completely gripped by the music and taken away, possessed.
And listen to Rhett's vocal. Boy, this guy can SING!
I didn't have to play this album five times to get it. I didn't have to tap my foot, waiting to be hooked. I was enthralled IMMEDIATELY!
Now I have no idea if they're any good live. I know that it takes forever to make it these days. And unless you've got a certified Top Forty smash, your climb to the top doesn't spike like a hockey stick.
But I do know that the great unwashed, working day jobs, getting high, just looking for a little satisfaction, would gravitate to this. Would play it at parties. Go to see the band live. Play it in their pickup trucks, their minivans, on their boomboxes down by the river...
Can the music live up to the hype I've just given it?
ABSOLUTELY!
Check it out.
If you're all about fashion, if you revere Anna Wintour and David Byrne and Beck, you can pass.
But if you live in your jeans and believe "Back In Black" is one of the best albums ever made...YOU'RE GONNA BE IN HEAVEN!
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/MAbuVp
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Monday 27 August 2012
Mailbag
From: Chip Monck
Re: Cleanup Work
Alice.
Forget it..
You have the talent, to compose, to write, and to perform or you do not..
No one can teach you that, certainly not a school or college, it comes from the heart.
And years of work on a skill, that you support, as best you can
It's no fun..Don't throw money at it, as it is a too easy out.
Nurture and support, and there are times to say nothing.
Atta a Girl..
Chipper
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
Dear Bob,
I can understand Alice's angst, about her son. My unsolicited opinion, is that whilst the benefits of the actual music degree are debatable, time spent at college studying music, can be highly beneficial. It may not immediately be apparent, but may become so. As you know, you have time at college, in a more or less friendly environment, to scheme and plot your plan of attack. Meanwhile, you're learning valuable skills. I finished school at the end of 1972, and decided to take a year off and become a rock star. I sang in a few bands, and formed my own. We went nowhere. I had been accepted into university, so to please my parents, and lick my wounds at my unsuccessful attempts at rock stardom, I enrolled in an arts degree, including some music subjects. Whilst at university, I wrote a lot of songs, did many busking and solo gigs, saw as many shows as possible, and plotted and schemed. At university, I met important collaborators, who formed part of Men At Work. It still took a further four years to cut through and make a mark with my band, but those years at university were crucial to what happened after. I believe that talent and tenacity are key ingredients for lasting success, but what's the rush, stay at school for a while, enjoy yourself. As you pointed out, life is long.
All the best,
Colin Hay
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
For Alice Tamkin (and you too if you want Bob),
My name is Ed Toth. I play the drums for the Doobie Brothers. I went to the University of Miami graduating with a Bachelor of Music in 1994. Does this matter? Ultimately I think it does. The ultimate question to your son is....what does he want to do? For me it was always about playing music for a living. PERIOD!!!! Nothing less would be tolerated.
I started young and began putting in my 10,000 hours. Upon graduating high school I realized there was no way I was going to college because my family couldn't afford it. So I stuck around southeastern Connecticut (where I was born and raised) and worked various jobs (record store, hospital janitor, marine supply warehouse) so I could play at night in a cover band. We played a lot. It became part of my 10,000 hours. In 1990 with really no money saved, I applied to a few schools to see if I could get in. I got in the one I wanted to get into. The University Of Miami. Realizing I could apply for financial aid as an independent, (I was 20 years old at this point) I locked down enough to pay for one semester. I landed in Miami on my 21st birthday with a suitcase full of clothes, a suitcase full of "stuff", and only 100 bucks in my pocket. I didn't even bring drums (!) and I was going to music school! The pattern of finding loans and grants (and waiting tables) continued one semester at a time, until I managed (with a hefty loan bill) to graduate in 94.
In 1996, I had moved to Boston and was working for Borders Books and Music, playing music here and there but ultimately being frustrated. I ended up at a gig by small time independent band called Vertical Horizon and while I was there I ran into a cat named Jason Sutter who I knew from my Miami days. He told me that VH was looking for a drummer. I auditioned and got the gig. We went on to tour the country, sign to a major, record a multi platinum album called Everything You Want, and had a #1 hit with the title track. We did award shows, countless interviews, endless touring, made videos and even squeezed out a really good follow up before being dumped by our incredibly confused label. Did I enjoy it? Hell yeah. But ultimately none of that stuff mattered. I was playing music for a living.
During that period I was often asked "how did you know you'd made it?" My answer was always the same. The day I quit my retail job to make music full time (and for less money mind you) was the day that I made it. Everything I listed above after "getting the gig" was just bonus stuff for me. Ultimately, I wasn't happy in VH and I left. Shortly after making this decision I was approached by Doobie drummer Mike Hossack, who was a Vertical Horizon fan, to audition for the drum chair vacated by the premature death of his drumming partner Keith Knudsen. I have been doing that gig for 8 years now. When I'm not doing that, I play around Nashville, I play jazz with my Dad and have a fun band with a friend named Tim Bradshaw (from David Gray's band) called Cooper (www.gotcooper.com) No more award shows, no more radio station visits, no more videos. And I couldn't be happier.
All of the above.....is as a result of running into an old college buddy at a gig. Would it have happened for me otherwise? I'd like to think so. But this is the way it did happen. Does the degree matter? It's different for everyone. For me it does. I use the skills I learned studying on a daily basis. More importantly, the relationships I have with people from that time helped get me where I am. I've often wondered what would have happened if I stuck to my original plan which was to graduate high school and move to L.A. But why waste time wondering what if? I live in a modest house, drive a Honda Civic, my kids go to public schools, and I can go places without anyone having a clue who I am or what I do. And that is all fine with me because....I do what I've wanted to do since I was 4 years old. I play music.
Sincerely,
ET
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
At least he's heading to SUNY Purchase....where they have a truly great Modern Dance program - SO much better than Bennington (where it all began). My incredibly talented Missus (not just a great publicist) got her BFA in Modern Dance there.
Tell him to get a dancer for a girlfriend, and then he can live off her income.
Oh, wait.....
Hugo Burnham
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
Bob,
Re. Alice Tamkin's 18 year old son. I sincerely hope that his goal is NOT as stated: "to be a rock star". That is as shallow goal as I can think of. To learn skills...musical chops, song writing, musical arranging recording studio craft, and the all important personal skills that make future peers want to work with you...these are valid reasons for schooling. The goal should be to become a great musician, a great communicator. And you should have something to say...literally with words as well as in that much more subtle way with the notes you play. If you can really move people, the star shit will take care of itself.
None of the "rock stars" I've built instruments for over the years got into it to be rock stars. They did it for a love of the music and a love for the audiences that they bond with when playing. Stardom, for them, is a side effect of excellence in art and craft. It's not that they don't enjoy some of what comes with stardom...money, companionship, etc., but when they get home off the road, they still pick up their guitars or sit at the piano for the basic joy of the music itself.
Rick Turner
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
Bachelor of Music degrees can be a good way to get a general musical education, but in themselves they are almost totally useless. I went all the way to Ph.D (studying the history of rock music mostly, which is simultaneously hilarious, awesome and sad) and I make a living today mostly as a freelance guitarist/singer around Toronto. Nobody cares that I went to school. But I did learn how to think through musical problems, and I can read music decently the odd time that it is demanded. Hey, I'll be able to play Beck's next album!
Colleges are in the business of making money like everyone else, and they will take as many students as they can. Almost all of those students do not have a realistic chance of making a living in music, even in the formerly safe province of music teaching, a job increasingly akin to stagecoach driving. The supply simply outstrips the demand.
Mike Daley
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
Hi Bob, I manage to keep afloat playing gigs, producing, writing songs and music for film/tv and occasiional workshops and teaching. I tell my young TAFE (read 'college') students that I teach very early in the piece that music is a tough, tough, tough, tough game and if they want to be in it they have to wake up every morning and say to themselves "I'm right, they're wrong.... and fuck them".
I also tell them that ultimately they will either (a) die deluded or (b) eventually realise that there is a better life doing something else and retire hurt or in the rarest of circumstances (c) they'll actually get a seat at the table with all the other success stories. All the musos I deal with in this strange busines are still there 'cause they love music, pure and simple. Tooraloo...
Brendan Gallagher
www.brendangallagher.com.au
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
You have to be careful about what you say. You obviously know litte or nothing about formal music education. Dont underesimate the power you possess.
Please forward this note to the mother who sent you the worried note:??
To the worried mother:
Ignore the iresponsible advice this guy just fed you. ??SUNY PURCHASE is a fine performing arts school; the best undergraduate program for music in the SUNY system. Getting a higher degree at the best possible professional school wil give him skills that will further whatever goals he winds up having. It will change his life in ways that otherwise would not be available to him.
I went to CalArts (BFA) and SUNY STONYBROOK (MA); both for music composition. I was an award winning composer for twenty years until I decided to teach. I currently am a public school music teacher (NYC). I am an excellent teacher, and never went into music education degree program. You can become a music teacher without it. DONT WORRY. He may wind up taking some Education classes to become certified (I beleieve its 12 credits or so in NYS). THERE ARE NO MUSIC ED REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME CERTIFIED. THANK GOD.... What a waste! ??If your son is passionate enough, his enthusiasm will be his best friend. TRUST ME. His life may not be an easy path, granted, but its the life of a musician. And there is nothing more fullfilling than dedicating one's life to music.
Feel feel to contact me for advice
Regards,
Ivan Salinas
ps- I am a parent as well. One just finished her college education, and another who is about to start.
____________________________________________
Subject: the mother w/ the aspiring music student
Bob,
I'd appreciate if you could forward this to Alice, the mother of the 18 year old who wants to study music at Purchase.
I have two music degrees, and I think you gave her good advice, but let me share my perspective on the whole academic music thing. I have a Bachelor's degree in jazz studies from Indiana University and a Masters in classical guitar from Manhattan School of Music. The Bachelor's degree--totally worth it. I learned a ton, and really, a music degree is as valuable as any liberal arts degree if you get it from a traditional university (like IU as opposed to a conservatory ie Juilliard/Curtis/MSM). Plenty of music graduates go on to law school, hedge funds, whatever. You're not closing any doors that an English degree wouldn't close. Goldman even used to recruit right in the lobby of the music building. Not that I gave a shit, but they were there.
My masters...while I honed my chops quite a bit in those 2 years, you don't really expand your brain at all in a conservatory setting. Nor do you gain much as an artist in terms of the life experience that will fuel songwriting and self-expression. With the exception of a few fantastic professors that I learned a lot from, I spent my time in grad school shedding--something that could have easily been done on my own without the hefty price tag. My original goal was to get a doctorate and enter academia as a music professor, but these days, that's almost as much of a crapshoot as becoming a rockstar. You're more than likely to end up teaching guitar at a community college in Kansas (not that there's anything wrong with Kansas...even those jobs are competitive). As for using that conservatory degree in practice--If you want to be a jazzer, you'll end up playing plenty of pop/rock to pay the bills. If you want to become a classical soloist, or even a member of a major orchestra, all I can say is good luck. That truly is NFL-level competitiveness.
So here I am, a rock n' roll singer/songwriter/guitar player, trying to do the best work I can and hoping people start to notice someday. A "wannabe" as you put it, struggling like everyone else. I'm damn proud of the 2 records I have out, but I make my living teaching guitar, playing as a sideman, and I sell a few records here and there. Outside of the classical and jazz worlds, most musicians I know don't have degrees from music schools, and in the end, nobody really cares where you went to school. "Can you play" and "Are you professional, reliable, and cool to be around" are the only things that matter to anyone I know.
But back to the question of whether this Alice's son should go study music or not....if he is anything like me, he's going to do what he wants to do. I had plenty of people tell me not to study music, or at least get a music education degree. But I wanted to play. So I did, and luckily my parents supported that decision. Since I was old enough to turn on the radio, there's never been anything else I wanted to do but be a musician. The thing you could do for your son would be to explain to him that rock stardom shouldn't be the goal. He should realize that "making it" can be a lot of things, but becoming the Beatles isn't one of them. Not anymore. If "making it" means doing a bunch of things to cobble together a living, and get a chance to play a lot of music, he's got a shot. If you're worried about him getting a job out there, a music degree is a hell of a lot better than no degree at all.
One last anecdotal factoid seems relevant. In the indie singer/songwriter world in NYC, there are a few handfuls of professional sidemen that play with a lot of local artists--singer/songwriters/cover bands/etc. The average amount they charge for a rehearsal and a gig is around $100, and there are a some guys that do that almost every night. Do the math, and that is a reasonable amount of money. They aren't getting rich and it ain't cheap to live in New York, but they are working and paying their bills. Some of those guys go on to get work on major tours with major label acts. Others grind it out as journeymen. For some reason, of all the music schools that feed people into the city, I meet more people from Purchase on the sideman circuit than just about anywhere.
In any case tell him to enjoy music school! You never get a chance to hang around with musicians and just play all day again without worrying about career or networking or paying the bills or all the other bullshit that comes with adulthood. Plus you never know who your friends in college will become. No better way to make those connections that might come back to your advantage 10 years down the line. My last advice would be to get a minor in english or history or philosophy or science....you gotta know about the world to have anything interesting to say with your art. Music school, for those lucky enough to afford it, is a great chance to learn who you are as an artist, get your chops together, make bonds with other young musicians, and have a good time doing it.
Jeff Litman
Singer/Songwriter/Multi-Instrumentalist
____________________________________________
My daughter is a music therapist. She works with children with cancer. She was trained at Berklee and did her internship at Mass. General, and brought music therapy back home to Idaho. I hear so many stories about how music makes its way through pain and fear and reaches into the hearts of those children, helping them to heal or just to get through the day. Yesterday she had a two year old with a week to live trying to bob her head and dance to the music she was singing.
The doctors ask for her now. They prescribe music therapy to strengthen the kids' breathing by making them sing, to heal their brains by making them move and think, to soothe their bodies and minds by making them dance and laugh, to get through a procedure without using drugs by distracting and calming them with her harp or guitar. Sometimes, because of the connection she has made with the children through music, they ask for her to just be with them - she is the only one who can comfort them.
I know that you will get that.
I always appreciate hearing what you think. Thanks for being real.
Lynda Johnson
____________________________________________
Re: Neil Diamond At The Greek
Hey Bob,
Thank you for your review of Neil Diamond's show. I thought you nailed it. He is truly a great artist.
I had the personal good fortune of working with him on both 12 Songs and Home Before Dark. Having played guitar for many prominent artists, from Adele to Beck to Johnny Cash to Tom Waits, I was still awed and amazed by his ferocious commitment to the fine art of songwriting. He was ever willing to dig deeper and explore that very personal (and universal) truth of humanity and distill it down to it's most basic and beautiful form. He would work tirelessly, until he knew the song was the best it could be. Sometimes he would still be working into the night, long after the band left the studio, and he would be there working the next day when we arrived. And man, he can still write, just check out Save Me A Saturday Night, or Evermore. There were so many great songs on those two albums. It was such a rewarding experience for us sidemen.
But nothing prepared me for Neil Diamond the performer. Neil really understands that it's about more than just his own personal ego. His commitment to his fans is just as great as his commitment to songwriting He is a true showman. The ultimate pro. When I went to see him at Madison Square Garden in 2009, I was floored. He and his band were so into it. He worked the whole room. And the audience was so appreciative and happy. It was one giant lovefest.
Music trends come and go, but good songs last forever. Neil should be a shining example for all of todays younger artists. It's all about good songs and respecting the fans. And if you give it your all as a performer, like Neil does every night, the fans will follow you forever.
-Smokey Hormel
____________________________________________
Hey Bob -
First, I want to thank you for posting my initial email. I was happy to see tweets that my story inspired a few others.
I read the "no namers" response and just want you to know I stand by my story 100%. I never mentioned the agent's name and feel this is an unjustified personal attack. My integtrity means the most to me, and Ive never 'stiffed' anyone and have honored every contract. I entered the music biz with zero connections and am now a full-time musician through hard work and investing money in my career when necessary. Proud of what I've done in 3 years, and the only way I'll be disappearing anytime soon is if the "no namer" kidnaps me :)
Sincerely,
Mikey Wax
____________________________________________
Re: Samsung & Armstrong
I've been keeping up with your thoughts since I was a young audio engineering student in Minneapolis back in 2005. My music biz teacher claimed you wrote the gospel, so of course, I tuned in. That description still holds true.
Thanks for keeping it so real. Don't ever stop.
Signed,
Geoffrey LeMond (yeah)
____________________________________________
it was allan parker on hurdy gurdy man
I was there
Peter Noone
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Re: Cleanup Work
Alice.
Forget it..
You have the talent, to compose, to write, and to perform or you do not..
No one can teach you that, certainly not a school or college, it comes from the heart.
And years of work on a skill, that you support, as best you can
It's no fun..Don't throw money at it, as it is a too easy out.
Nurture and support, and there are times to say nothing.
Atta a Girl..
Chipper
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
Dear Bob,
I can understand Alice's angst, about her son. My unsolicited opinion, is that whilst the benefits of the actual music degree are debatable, time spent at college studying music, can be highly beneficial. It may not immediately be apparent, but may become so. As you know, you have time at college, in a more or less friendly environment, to scheme and plot your plan of attack. Meanwhile, you're learning valuable skills. I finished school at the end of 1972, and decided to take a year off and become a rock star. I sang in a few bands, and formed my own. We went nowhere. I had been accepted into university, so to please my parents, and lick my wounds at my unsuccessful attempts at rock stardom, I enrolled in an arts degree, including some music subjects. Whilst at university, I wrote a lot of songs, did many busking and solo gigs, saw as many shows as possible, and plotted and schemed. At university, I met important collaborators, who formed part of Men At Work. It still took a further four years to cut through and make a mark with my band, but those years at university were crucial to what happened after. I believe that talent and tenacity are key ingredients for lasting success, but what's the rush, stay at school for a while, enjoy yourself. As you pointed out, life is long.
All the best,
Colin Hay
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
For Alice Tamkin (and you too if you want Bob),
My name is Ed Toth. I play the drums for the Doobie Brothers. I went to the University of Miami graduating with a Bachelor of Music in 1994. Does this matter? Ultimately I think it does. The ultimate question to your son is....what does he want to do? For me it was always about playing music for a living. PERIOD!!!! Nothing less would be tolerated.
I started young and began putting in my 10,000 hours. Upon graduating high school I realized there was no way I was going to college because my family couldn't afford it. So I stuck around southeastern Connecticut (where I was born and raised) and worked various jobs (record store, hospital janitor, marine supply warehouse) so I could play at night in a cover band. We played a lot. It became part of my 10,000 hours. In 1990 with really no money saved, I applied to a few schools to see if I could get in. I got in the one I wanted to get into. The University Of Miami. Realizing I could apply for financial aid as an independent, (I was 20 years old at this point) I locked down enough to pay for one semester. I landed in Miami on my 21st birthday with a suitcase full of clothes, a suitcase full of "stuff", and only 100 bucks in my pocket. I didn't even bring drums (!) and I was going to music school! The pattern of finding loans and grants (and waiting tables) continued one semester at a time, until I managed (with a hefty loan bill) to graduate in 94.
In 1996, I had moved to Boston and was working for Borders Books and Music, playing music here and there but ultimately being frustrated. I ended up at a gig by small time independent band called Vertical Horizon and while I was there I ran into a cat named Jason Sutter who I knew from my Miami days. He told me that VH was looking for a drummer. I auditioned and got the gig. We went on to tour the country, sign to a major, record a multi platinum album called Everything You Want, and had a #1 hit with the title track. We did award shows, countless interviews, endless touring, made videos and even squeezed out a really good follow up before being dumped by our incredibly confused label. Did I enjoy it? Hell yeah. But ultimately none of that stuff mattered. I was playing music for a living.
During that period I was often asked "how did you know you'd made it?" My answer was always the same. The day I quit my retail job to make music full time (and for less money mind you) was the day that I made it. Everything I listed above after "getting the gig" was just bonus stuff for me. Ultimately, I wasn't happy in VH and I left. Shortly after making this decision I was approached by Doobie drummer Mike Hossack, who was a Vertical Horizon fan, to audition for the drum chair vacated by the premature death of his drumming partner Keith Knudsen. I have been doing that gig for 8 years now. When I'm not doing that, I play around Nashville, I play jazz with my Dad and have a fun band with a friend named Tim Bradshaw (from David Gray's band) called Cooper (www.gotcooper.com) No more award shows, no more radio station visits, no more videos. And I couldn't be happier.
All of the above.....is as a result of running into an old college buddy at a gig. Would it have happened for me otherwise? I'd like to think so. But this is the way it did happen. Does the degree matter? It's different for everyone. For me it does. I use the skills I learned studying on a daily basis. More importantly, the relationships I have with people from that time helped get me where I am. I've often wondered what would have happened if I stuck to my original plan which was to graduate high school and move to L.A. But why waste time wondering what if? I live in a modest house, drive a Honda Civic, my kids go to public schools, and I can go places without anyone having a clue who I am or what I do. And that is all fine with me because....I do what I've wanted to do since I was 4 years old. I play music.
Sincerely,
ET
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
At least he's heading to SUNY Purchase....where they have a truly great Modern Dance program - SO much better than Bennington (where it all began). My incredibly talented Missus (not just a great publicist) got her BFA in Modern Dance there.
Tell him to get a dancer for a girlfriend, and then he can live off her income.
Oh, wait.....
Hugo Burnham
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
Bob,
Re. Alice Tamkin's 18 year old son. I sincerely hope that his goal is NOT as stated: "to be a rock star". That is as shallow goal as I can think of. To learn skills...musical chops, song writing, musical arranging recording studio craft, and the all important personal skills that make future peers want to work with you...these are valid reasons for schooling. The goal should be to become a great musician, a great communicator. And you should have something to say...literally with words as well as in that much more subtle way with the notes you play. If you can really move people, the star shit will take care of itself.
None of the "rock stars" I've built instruments for over the years got into it to be rock stars. They did it for a love of the music and a love for the audiences that they bond with when playing. Stardom, for them, is a side effect of excellence in art and craft. It's not that they don't enjoy some of what comes with stardom...money, companionship, etc., but when they get home off the road, they still pick up their guitars or sit at the piano for the basic joy of the music itself.
Rick Turner
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
Bachelor of Music degrees can be a good way to get a general musical education, but in themselves they are almost totally useless. I went all the way to Ph.D (studying the history of rock music mostly, which is simultaneously hilarious, awesome and sad) and I make a living today mostly as a freelance guitarist/singer around Toronto. Nobody cares that I went to school. But I did learn how to think through musical problems, and I can read music decently the odd time that it is demanded. Hey, I'll be able to play Beck's next album!
Colleges are in the business of making money like everyone else, and they will take as many students as they can. Almost all of those students do not have a realistic chance of making a living in music, even in the formerly safe province of music teaching, a job increasingly akin to stagecoach driving. The supply simply outstrips the demand.
Mike Daley
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
Hi Bob, I manage to keep afloat playing gigs, producing, writing songs and music for film/tv and occasiional workshops and teaching. I tell my young TAFE (read 'college') students that I teach very early in the piece that music is a tough, tough, tough, tough game and if they want to be in it they have to wake up every morning and say to themselves "I'm right, they're wrong.... and fuck them".
I also tell them that ultimately they will either (a) die deluded or (b) eventually realise that there is a better life doing something else and retire hurt or in the rarest of circumstances (c) they'll actually get a seat at the table with all the other success stories. All the musos I deal with in this strange busines are still there 'cause they love music, pure and simple. Tooraloo...
Brendan Gallagher
www.brendangallagher.com.au
____________________________________________
Re: Cleanup Work
You have to be careful about what you say. You obviously know litte or nothing about formal music education. Dont underesimate the power you possess.
Please forward this note to the mother who sent you the worried note:??
To the worried mother:
Ignore the iresponsible advice this guy just fed you. ??SUNY PURCHASE is a fine performing arts school; the best undergraduate program for music in the SUNY system. Getting a higher degree at the best possible professional school wil give him skills that will further whatever goals he winds up having. It will change his life in ways that otherwise would not be available to him.
I went to CalArts (BFA) and SUNY STONYBROOK (MA); both for music composition. I was an award winning composer for twenty years until I decided to teach. I currently am a public school music teacher (NYC). I am an excellent teacher, and never went into music education degree program. You can become a music teacher without it. DONT WORRY. He may wind up taking some Education classes to become certified (I beleieve its 12 credits or so in NYS). THERE ARE NO MUSIC ED REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME CERTIFIED. THANK GOD.... What a waste! ??If your son is passionate enough, his enthusiasm will be his best friend. TRUST ME. His life may not be an easy path, granted, but its the life of a musician. And there is nothing more fullfilling than dedicating one's life to music.
Feel feel to contact me for advice
Regards,
Ivan Salinas
ps- I am a parent as well. One just finished her college education, and another who is about to start.
____________________________________________
Subject: the mother w/ the aspiring music student
Bob,
I'd appreciate if you could forward this to Alice, the mother of the 18 year old who wants to study music at Purchase.
I have two music degrees, and I think you gave her good advice, but let me share my perspective on the whole academic music thing. I have a Bachelor's degree in jazz studies from Indiana University and a Masters in classical guitar from Manhattan School of Music. The Bachelor's degree--totally worth it. I learned a ton, and really, a music degree is as valuable as any liberal arts degree if you get it from a traditional university (like IU as opposed to a conservatory ie Juilliard/Curtis/MSM). Plenty of music graduates go on to law school, hedge funds, whatever. You're not closing any doors that an English degree wouldn't close. Goldman even used to recruit right in the lobby of the music building. Not that I gave a shit, but they were there.
My masters...while I honed my chops quite a bit in those 2 years, you don't really expand your brain at all in a conservatory setting. Nor do you gain much as an artist in terms of the life experience that will fuel songwriting and self-expression. With the exception of a few fantastic professors that I learned a lot from, I spent my time in grad school shedding--something that could have easily been done on my own without the hefty price tag. My original goal was to get a doctorate and enter academia as a music professor, but these days, that's almost as much of a crapshoot as becoming a rockstar. You're more than likely to end up teaching guitar at a community college in Kansas (not that there's anything wrong with Kansas...even those jobs are competitive). As for using that conservatory degree in practice--If you want to be a jazzer, you'll end up playing plenty of pop/rock to pay the bills. If you want to become a classical soloist, or even a member of a major orchestra, all I can say is good luck. That truly is NFL-level competitiveness.
So here I am, a rock n' roll singer/songwriter/guitar player, trying to do the best work I can and hoping people start to notice someday. A "wannabe" as you put it, struggling like everyone else. I'm damn proud of the 2 records I have out, but I make my living teaching guitar, playing as a sideman, and I sell a few records here and there. Outside of the classical and jazz worlds, most musicians I know don't have degrees from music schools, and in the end, nobody really cares where you went to school. "Can you play" and "Are you professional, reliable, and cool to be around" are the only things that matter to anyone I know.
But back to the question of whether this Alice's son should go study music or not....if he is anything like me, he's going to do what he wants to do. I had plenty of people tell me not to study music, or at least get a music education degree. But I wanted to play. So I did, and luckily my parents supported that decision. Since I was old enough to turn on the radio, there's never been anything else I wanted to do but be a musician. The thing you could do for your son would be to explain to him that rock stardom shouldn't be the goal. He should realize that "making it" can be a lot of things, but becoming the Beatles isn't one of them. Not anymore. If "making it" means doing a bunch of things to cobble together a living, and get a chance to play a lot of music, he's got a shot. If you're worried about him getting a job out there, a music degree is a hell of a lot better than no degree at all.
One last anecdotal factoid seems relevant. In the indie singer/songwriter world in NYC, there are a few handfuls of professional sidemen that play with a lot of local artists--singer/songwriters/cover bands/etc. The average amount they charge for a rehearsal and a gig is around $100, and there are a some guys that do that almost every night. Do the math, and that is a reasonable amount of money. They aren't getting rich and it ain't cheap to live in New York, but they are working and paying their bills. Some of those guys go on to get work on major tours with major label acts. Others grind it out as journeymen. For some reason, of all the music schools that feed people into the city, I meet more people from Purchase on the sideman circuit than just about anywhere.
In any case tell him to enjoy music school! You never get a chance to hang around with musicians and just play all day again without worrying about career or networking or paying the bills or all the other bullshit that comes with adulthood. Plus you never know who your friends in college will become. No better way to make those connections that might come back to your advantage 10 years down the line. My last advice would be to get a minor in english or history or philosophy or science....you gotta know about the world to have anything interesting to say with your art. Music school, for those lucky enough to afford it, is a great chance to learn who you are as an artist, get your chops together, make bonds with other young musicians, and have a good time doing it.
Jeff Litman
Singer/Songwriter/Multi-Instrumentalist
____________________________________________
My daughter is a music therapist. She works with children with cancer. She was trained at Berklee and did her internship at Mass. General, and brought music therapy back home to Idaho. I hear so many stories about how music makes its way through pain and fear and reaches into the hearts of those children, helping them to heal or just to get through the day. Yesterday she had a two year old with a week to live trying to bob her head and dance to the music she was singing.
The doctors ask for her now. They prescribe music therapy to strengthen the kids' breathing by making them sing, to heal their brains by making them move and think, to soothe their bodies and minds by making them dance and laugh, to get through a procedure without using drugs by distracting and calming them with her harp or guitar. Sometimes, because of the connection she has made with the children through music, they ask for her to just be with them - she is the only one who can comfort them.
I know that you will get that.
I always appreciate hearing what you think. Thanks for being real.
Lynda Johnson
____________________________________________
Re: Neil Diamond At The Greek
Hey Bob,
Thank you for your review of Neil Diamond's show. I thought you nailed it. He is truly a great artist.
I had the personal good fortune of working with him on both 12 Songs and Home Before Dark. Having played guitar for many prominent artists, from Adele to Beck to Johnny Cash to Tom Waits, I was still awed and amazed by his ferocious commitment to the fine art of songwriting. He was ever willing to dig deeper and explore that very personal (and universal) truth of humanity and distill it down to it's most basic and beautiful form. He would work tirelessly, until he knew the song was the best it could be. Sometimes he would still be working into the night, long after the band left the studio, and he would be there working the next day when we arrived. And man, he can still write, just check out Save Me A Saturday Night, or Evermore. There were so many great songs on those two albums. It was such a rewarding experience for us sidemen.
But nothing prepared me for Neil Diamond the performer. Neil really understands that it's about more than just his own personal ego. His commitment to his fans is just as great as his commitment to songwriting He is a true showman. The ultimate pro. When I went to see him at Madison Square Garden in 2009, I was floored. He and his band were so into it. He worked the whole room. And the audience was so appreciative and happy. It was one giant lovefest.
Music trends come and go, but good songs last forever. Neil should be a shining example for all of todays younger artists. It's all about good songs and respecting the fans. And if you give it your all as a performer, like Neil does every night, the fans will follow you forever.
-Smokey Hormel
____________________________________________
Hey Bob -
First, I want to thank you for posting my initial email. I was happy to see tweets that my story inspired a few others.
I read the "no namers" response and just want you to know I stand by my story 100%. I never mentioned the agent's name and feel this is an unjustified personal attack. My integtrity means the most to me, and Ive never 'stiffed' anyone and have honored every contract. I entered the music biz with zero connections and am now a full-time musician through hard work and investing money in my career when necessary. Proud of what I've done in 3 years, and the only way I'll be disappearing anytime soon is if the "no namer" kidnaps me :)
Sincerely,
Mikey Wax
____________________________________________
Re: Samsung & Armstrong
I've been keeping up with your thoughts since I was a young audio engineering student in Minneapolis back in 2005. My music biz teacher claimed you wrote the gospel, so of course, I tuned in. That description still holds true.
Thanks for keeping it so real. Don't ever stop.
Signed,
Geoffrey LeMond (yeah)
____________________________________________
it was allan parker on hurdy gurdy man
I was there
Peter Noone
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Final Newsroom
http://bit.ly/QnkKP6
Politics is kind of like the entertainment business, everybody's friends, it's one giant club, where lifers favor loyalty more than truth and you're not a member.
I don't know what's going on in our country. Facts seem to have gone out of the window and education is no longer revered. It's like the world's gone topsy-turvy. He who can stand on the mountaintop and shout long enough wins. The goal isn't to graduate from college and become a valued member of society, to build edifices and effect change, but to get on television and be famous for your antics, all the while being paid to show up at dance clubs amongst the inebriated masses.
And there's little truth and honor amongst our media enterprises. They're all just jealous they're not bankers. As for the drivers of said companies, the executives, they're so overpaid you'd think they're solving world peace. Did you see that Spotify is paying $30 million a year in salaries? Isn't that like giving a struggling band ten mil a year for effort? (http://nyti.ms/MRm8rY)
And conventional wisdom is art has no power.
Then you wake up to a video like the one above.
I haven't seen confrontation like this in the twenty first century. I haven't seen someone in power nailed to the carpet on national television forever. You know why? If you do, you're excommunicated from the club, you never get a second interview, being friends is more important than being right.
Chris Matthews's son is on "Newsroom." Don't ask me what character, you won't recognize him anyway, he's not one of the leads. But he sits around the table, he's on the show. And I'm sure his proud papa watches. And you cannot watch and not feel slimy, not if you're a newsman. It's kind of like watching a fictionalization of the music business, delineating the myriad ways the labels rip off the artists, then going on TV and declaring you love the artists! They're like your children! As if you'd steal from the piggy bank of your progeny.
I didn't catch this video live. It was e-mailed to me.
And now I'm passing it on to you.
That's how it works in this new connected world.
Unfortunately, we end up with echo chambers of misinformation, right and left, informed and uninformed. The story is out there, but it's twisted so badly, it oftentimes has no effect.
Then it does. Like with the Arab spring.
People are hurting. And billionaires are duplicitous.
That's what this election is about. Do you care about your brethren, are we all in this together, or is it every man for himself, and what's mine is mine.
I'll make it simpler, do you believe in the welfare state or not? The Republicans don't and the Democrats do.
Come down on whichever side you want, but at least be honest about it.
Our whole nation is dishonest.
And then there's a TV show on pay cable pointing this out, striving for the truth, and what does the media-industrial complex do? Decry it! Say it sucks! You know why? Because they don't have the balls to do the same thing, they're so inured to the way it is, they can neither lobby for nor recognize change. They're part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Everybody thinks you've got to reach everybody to effect change. This is completely untrue. You've just got to reach somebody. You've just got to bang the drum. You've just got to get the note perfect. And the whole world can change.
That's the power of art.
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Politics is kind of like the entertainment business, everybody's friends, it's one giant club, where lifers favor loyalty more than truth and you're not a member.
I don't know what's going on in our country. Facts seem to have gone out of the window and education is no longer revered. It's like the world's gone topsy-turvy. He who can stand on the mountaintop and shout long enough wins. The goal isn't to graduate from college and become a valued member of society, to build edifices and effect change, but to get on television and be famous for your antics, all the while being paid to show up at dance clubs amongst the inebriated masses.
And there's little truth and honor amongst our media enterprises. They're all just jealous they're not bankers. As for the drivers of said companies, the executives, they're so overpaid you'd think they're solving world peace. Did you see that Spotify is paying $30 million a year in salaries? Isn't that like giving a struggling band ten mil a year for effort? (http://nyti.ms/MRm8rY)
And conventional wisdom is art has no power.
Then you wake up to a video like the one above.
I haven't seen confrontation like this in the twenty first century. I haven't seen someone in power nailed to the carpet on national television forever. You know why? If you do, you're excommunicated from the club, you never get a second interview, being friends is more important than being right.
Chris Matthews's son is on "Newsroom." Don't ask me what character, you won't recognize him anyway, he's not one of the leads. But he sits around the table, he's on the show. And I'm sure his proud papa watches. And you cannot watch and not feel slimy, not if you're a newsman. It's kind of like watching a fictionalization of the music business, delineating the myriad ways the labels rip off the artists, then going on TV and declaring you love the artists! They're like your children! As if you'd steal from the piggy bank of your progeny.
I didn't catch this video live. It was e-mailed to me.
And now I'm passing it on to you.
That's how it works in this new connected world.
Unfortunately, we end up with echo chambers of misinformation, right and left, informed and uninformed. The story is out there, but it's twisted so badly, it oftentimes has no effect.
Then it does. Like with the Arab spring.
People are hurting. And billionaires are duplicitous.
That's what this election is about. Do you care about your brethren, are we all in this together, or is it every man for himself, and what's mine is mine.
I'll make it simpler, do you believe in the welfare state or not? The Republicans don't and the Democrats do.
Come down on whichever side you want, but at least be honest about it.
Our whole nation is dishonest.
And then there's a TV show on pay cable pointing this out, striving for the truth, and what does the media-industrial complex do? Decry it! Say it sucks! You know why? Because they don't have the balls to do the same thing, they're so inured to the way it is, they can neither lobby for nor recognize change. They're part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Everybody thinks you've got to reach everybody to effect change. This is completely untrue. You've just got to reach somebody. You've just got to bang the drum. You've just got to get the note perfect. And the whole world can change.
That's the power of art.
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Sunday 26 August 2012
Neil Diamond At The Greek
I'm not exactly sure what I saw.
I expected the nearly dead, the same audience that went to see Simon & Garfunkel back at Staples in '03. People living on Medicare and fumes who could barely stand. A celebration of the old, the way it once was. But last night was positively 2012, but in a parallel universe, one in which old rockers don't lament the passage of the good old days and punk rock never happened, never mind electronic music.
All of today's touchstones, from TV singing competitions to the electronic drums present on every Top Forty hit, were absent. There was no rapping. No nod to being au courant. It was like it was unnecessary. That being Neil Diamond, and being a Neil Diamond fan, was enough.
What was astounding, other than Neil's portrayal of "Neil Diamond" and his refusal to have a sense of humor about himself, was the sheer number of hits. I tuned out in the seventies, when he went schmaltz, but there was almost no number I did not know. And it seemed like everybody else in attendance knew every note. Even though there were people in their thirties and forties who weren't even alive when "Hot August Night" was released.
You remember that double album, don't you? With Neil dressed in denim and seemingly stroking... And there was the big hair and... You either owned it or never heard it. Back in the day before music was free and if you purchased it, you played it until you knew it.
So there's a fourteen piece band. And a sixteen piece string section. And if you've been to a show with this many players, other than a Philharmonic performance, some classical exercise, you're lying. It was like all the complaints of the industry didn't matter. There was no bitching about the reduction of record sales, the banality of radio, the inability of oldsters to have new hits. It was just a straight out assault.
And the audience loved ever minute of it.
It's kind of like going to see Ozzy, when he sprays water on the audience...it feels so good! For one moment in time you can forget about your troubles, the rest of the world, and just exult in the joy of the music.
Now I'm not saying there weren't some sappy numbers, but have you listened to "Solitary Man" recently? The production sounds dated, but it's positively today, the memories in your brain, of love and loss and the feeling that you just may be alone forever. "Solitary Man" sounds like a western, as if Paladin came riding over the ridge, it's haunting. It's more punk than all the wannabe crap the tattooed and pierced set is putting out in its search for instant wealth and fame.
And you're in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame just for writing "I'm A Believer." Neil said it was number one around the world, remarked how that felt, all I can remember is waiting for the record to come on the radio, the breathy Micky Dolenz vocal, it was the soundtrack to the season, and it's never been forgotten.
And the early hits, "Cherry Cherry" and "Kentucky Woman"... This is Elvis, just a guy and his guitar. Without the extraordinary range and the twisting sexual moves, but with the same emotional wallop. This was the power of rock and roll.
And just like Elvis never forgot his gospel roots, the musical highlight of the show was "Holly Holy." Beginning with a slow waltzing beat as if something's about to be thrown off the Tallahatchie Bridge, the performance then amped up, all the players wailed and the congregation swayed from side to side in reverie.
I'm not saying that I didn't like "Holly Holy" on the radio, but given the ability to stretch out and emote live the song becomes an affirmation of life and perseverance...
"Sing
Sing a song
Sing
Sing a song of songs
Sing
Sing it out
Sing along
Sing sing sing sing
YEAH!
YEAH!"
YEAH! Forget school, forget bills, forget heartbreak, forget politics, just go to the show and sing along as your problems evaporate into the sky. I know it sounds stupid, it's hard to understand sitting passively there on the couch, but if you were there you wouldn't have been able to resist jumping to your feet, throwing your hands in the air and looking back at your life and thinking how music has ridden shotgun the whole way, and that Neil Diamond was there too, a big part of it.
Of course, the piece de resistance is "Sweet Caroline." Not a single person was on his bum, everybody was standing and singing, the din was no less than that of the prepubescent cries at a Taylor Swift show. With this melody, failure was erased and optimism returned, with all your positive memories intact.
And "Crunchy Granola Suite" was fulfilling in a way this cynic could not comprehend. Because that's the power of music, some sit too hip, decrying everything that's popular, then others don't deny themselves the power of sound, the pleasure of something that might fly straight down the middle but feels so good!
And Neil had us sing "Happy Birthday" to his mom and he had us all competing to make the most noise and to say there was no cheesiness would be to imply a Big Mac would still taste good without all the trimmings. Yes, you truly wondered where Neil was coming from sometimes, but then you forgot this and continued to enjoy yourself, along with a sea of humanity you'd probably have little in common with outside the venue.
And there were patriotic moments and sappy moments and it was all one big American tribute to the past and what made our lives so great but...
Neil Diamond truly was great. And still is.
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I expected the nearly dead, the same audience that went to see Simon & Garfunkel back at Staples in '03. People living on Medicare and fumes who could barely stand. A celebration of the old, the way it once was. But last night was positively 2012, but in a parallel universe, one in which old rockers don't lament the passage of the good old days and punk rock never happened, never mind electronic music.
All of today's touchstones, from TV singing competitions to the electronic drums present on every Top Forty hit, were absent. There was no rapping. No nod to being au courant. It was like it was unnecessary. That being Neil Diamond, and being a Neil Diamond fan, was enough.
What was astounding, other than Neil's portrayal of "Neil Diamond" and his refusal to have a sense of humor about himself, was the sheer number of hits. I tuned out in the seventies, when he went schmaltz, but there was almost no number I did not know. And it seemed like everybody else in attendance knew every note. Even though there were people in their thirties and forties who weren't even alive when "Hot August Night" was released.
You remember that double album, don't you? With Neil dressed in denim and seemingly stroking... And there was the big hair and... You either owned it or never heard it. Back in the day before music was free and if you purchased it, you played it until you knew it.
So there's a fourteen piece band. And a sixteen piece string section. And if you've been to a show with this many players, other than a Philharmonic performance, some classical exercise, you're lying. It was like all the complaints of the industry didn't matter. There was no bitching about the reduction of record sales, the banality of radio, the inability of oldsters to have new hits. It was just a straight out assault.
And the audience loved ever minute of it.
It's kind of like going to see Ozzy, when he sprays water on the audience...it feels so good! For one moment in time you can forget about your troubles, the rest of the world, and just exult in the joy of the music.
Now I'm not saying there weren't some sappy numbers, but have you listened to "Solitary Man" recently? The production sounds dated, but it's positively today, the memories in your brain, of love and loss and the feeling that you just may be alone forever. "Solitary Man" sounds like a western, as if Paladin came riding over the ridge, it's haunting. It's more punk than all the wannabe crap the tattooed and pierced set is putting out in its search for instant wealth and fame.
And you're in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame just for writing "I'm A Believer." Neil said it was number one around the world, remarked how that felt, all I can remember is waiting for the record to come on the radio, the breathy Micky Dolenz vocal, it was the soundtrack to the season, and it's never been forgotten.
And the early hits, "Cherry Cherry" and "Kentucky Woman"... This is Elvis, just a guy and his guitar. Without the extraordinary range and the twisting sexual moves, but with the same emotional wallop. This was the power of rock and roll.
And just like Elvis never forgot his gospel roots, the musical highlight of the show was "Holly Holy." Beginning with a slow waltzing beat as if something's about to be thrown off the Tallahatchie Bridge, the performance then amped up, all the players wailed and the congregation swayed from side to side in reverie.
I'm not saying that I didn't like "Holly Holy" on the radio, but given the ability to stretch out and emote live the song becomes an affirmation of life and perseverance...
"Sing
Sing a song
Sing
Sing a song of songs
Sing
Sing it out
Sing along
Sing sing sing sing
YEAH!
YEAH!"
YEAH! Forget school, forget bills, forget heartbreak, forget politics, just go to the show and sing along as your problems evaporate into the sky. I know it sounds stupid, it's hard to understand sitting passively there on the couch, but if you were there you wouldn't have been able to resist jumping to your feet, throwing your hands in the air and looking back at your life and thinking how music has ridden shotgun the whole way, and that Neil Diamond was there too, a big part of it.
Of course, the piece de resistance is "Sweet Caroline." Not a single person was on his bum, everybody was standing and singing, the din was no less than that of the prepubescent cries at a Taylor Swift show. With this melody, failure was erased and optimism returned, with all your positive memories intact.
And "Crunchy Granola Suite" was fulfilling in a way this cynic could not comprehend. Because that's the power of music, some sit too hip, decrying everything that's popular, then others don't deny themselves the power of sound, the pleasure of something that might fly straight down the middle but feels so good!
And Neil had us sing "Happy Birthday" to his mom and he had us all competing to make the most noise and to say there was no cheesiness would be to imply a Big Mac would still taste good without all the trimmings. Yes, you truly wondered where Neil was coming from sometimes, but then you forgot this and continued to enjoy yourself, along with a sea of humanity you'd probably have little in common with outside the venue.
And there were patriotic moments and sappy moments and it was all one big American tribute to the past and what made our lives so great but...
Neil Diamond truly was great. And still is.
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