Mailbag

From: Peter Asher
Subject: RE: Rinofy-Sailin' Shoes

A Polaroid I took back in the day which I thought you might enjoy.

pic.twitter.com/pdxPhNrx

My favourite Lowell song of all was always "Long Distance Love". But
all of them great.

Peter

_________________________________________________

From: Gabriel Dixon
Subject: Re: Feature Creep

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your compliments on the 2008 album. I value your opinion, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Regarding my last release. Honestly, I'm not unsympathetic to your feelings on it. I took a chance with it, not because the 2008 album was criticized, it wasn't really, but because I needed to experiment with the album-making process to feel artistically vital and fulfilled. I also wanted to see what works for me and what doesn't. Now I know. I'm mostly proud of my last record, particularly the songs, but I may have made a mistake in placing trust with others above myself. It's a trap that some artists fall into after releasing a few recordings which are creatively satisfying to them, but not to "the masses." It's easy to throw up your hands and say, "I don't know what is good." "One Spark" is exactly the kind of record that I, with the input of a smart and well-meaning business team, decided to make. Yes, I'll admit I bit my tongue a few times during the recording and planning process, but what can I say? I'm glad I took a risk and did something different, rather than trying to reproduce the record I created in 2008. Hopefully, I take away the right lessons from the experience.

By the way, I agree with you about the iTunes update, although I don't know how much Steve Jobs' absence had to do with it. I mean, he didn't have a perfect track record either. Remember MobileMe?

All the best,
Gabe Dixon

_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

"I miss you, come back to me
I wish you'd come back to me"

That's the essence.

We live in a lonely, alienated world surrounded by messages from winners. You're not thin enough, not beautiful enough, not rich enough and if only you were like them, you'd be happy.

But they're just like you. With more questions than answers. Unhappy frequently. Afraid to show it.

So we look to artists to speak truth. That's why we revere them.

"But nobody heard
And the world turned
And the world turned
And the world turned"

Ain't that the truth. Almost nobody cares and almost nobody hears. You cry and if anyone hears you they run away. Or answer once and then lose your number. They don't want to be brought down.

This is the music that speaks to me. That which underlines, demonstrates and explains human truth.

Loneliness kills.

You can hate your spouse. You can feel crowded. But there's nothing worse than being disconnected and fearful. We cannot live without human connection. But after telling you who to be and how to act in school, you graduate and absolutely no one cares what you do. It's like walking out of prison with no rehabilitation. No one clues you in how life really works.

So you turn to a record to explain it, to ride shotgun.

And the records on the hit parade don't do it, they just make you feel inadequate.

Then there are tracks made seemingly only for you. That truly keep you warm at night.

Like Gabe Dixon's "And The World Turned."

Spotify: http://spoti.fi/11hKstL

YouTube: http://bit.ly/moH5hX

_________________________________________________

From: Jim Cregan
Subject: Tower Of Power and Little Feat story

Hi Bob,

Great to hear your reviews of Tower of Power and Little Feat.

I was producing an album (Not a Little Girl Anymore) for a British singer- songwriter named Linda Lewis when the Warner Bros Music show came to London. She was on Warners at the time so we were invited to the show. We were completely blown away as was everybody there. We were in the middle of recording an album at Apple Studios in Savile Row so whilst backstage I asked Lowell George and the Tower of Power horn section if they wanted to play on the record. Maybe they just wanted to see the studio, but they all said yes. They would have to come down around midnight which of course suited us fine. Lowell played on the first night arriving with just a Strat and an MXR compressor. He plugged straight into the console asked engineer Phil McDonald (Imagine) to add 2db of 3K and just played it in one take. "May You Never" (John Martyn) was the song and when I asked what payment he wanted he just said a gram or two of coke would do it...

Meanwhile T of P were in the next room scribbling charts for their contribution (Love Where Are You Now) but more interestingly they offered us a new song that they said they had written for Linda Ronstadt. They then proceeded to sing what became the title track and it was almost impossible to keep a straight face as these hairy guys sang, in perfect four part harmony, this beautiful song about not being a little girl anymore...

The great thing about those days was we could make decisions on the spot about what went on the record and also who did what. Complete artistic freedom.
And the camaraderie, the desire to join in and contribute meant so much to all of us. No wonder we loved our jobs. It's called playing music, not working it.
Keep writing to us Bob, we need you.

All the best

Jim Cregan
London

_________________________________________________

From: Bob Ezrin
Subject: Re: NYTimes: Censoring Myself for Success - K'Naan

http://nyti.ms/UL0fwU

K'naan is a true innocent. One of the very few. He's a poet whose words were set to the rhythm of his bare feet - and then was convinced that this is really urban music. He got caught up in a heady and seductive world - kind of like Drake has. They're both brilliant and genuine young men who grew up in Toronto in a "kinder, gentler" and in many ways more sophisticated country. They both succumbed to the allure of the Big Time. In Drake's case, he is able to put one part of himself forward and fit right in. But in K'naan's case the problem is that no part of him, nor the whole of him, fits completely anywhere in particular.

He is a complex child of a horrible war and a profound peace. Anyway, he believed everything he was being told. And yes he caved - because he would always believe what the "prophets" tell him because they know and do so much more than he. And he's Canadian which means he has an innate humility and the presumption of inferiority to powerful Americans - especially New Yorkers.

So I take this article at face value. And I believe him. I hear the shame here when he admits that he was an envious "fox" who was seduced by the apparently beautiful gait of the prophets - so much so that he was willing to engage in pretense and emulation in order to be more like them than like himself. And he deeply regrets this. Read this article again and hear the idealistic poet yearning for his innocence back. When I read it I wasn't cynical about it at all. I was moved to tears. But then again I have known him for a long time and I can take him at his word.

_________________________________________________

From: Dave Dederer
Subject: Re: Another Leno comment

Bob,

The Presidents were on Leno a few times in the mid 1990s. Every time we were on the show, Jay came to our dressing room -- alone, with fruit basket or other gift in hand -- to introduce himself and chat for a little while during the long hours between arrival and taping. We were also free to wander around the set as we pleased. I recall playing frisbee in the glorious LA winter sun (glorious if you're from Seattle) in the parking lot next to one of Jay's crazy cars.

The set felt like a warm, friendly and welcoming place, not typical for a TV or film production environment.

Contrast this with a visit to Letterman, where guests are sequestered in a tiny green room far from the stage for hours before taping, then held after the end of taping in another green room immediately adjacent to the stage while the halls are cleared after the show so Dave doesn't have to even see any of his guests, much less interact with them.

I didn't meet a lot people in the entertainment business willing to do what Jay did every time we visited his show, which was to take a minute to say hello and have a very human and real interaction.


Dave

_________________________________________________

Subject: Billy Joel and the Beach Boys

Bob,

I started as a keyboard player with the Beach Boys in the fall of 1974 ( after King Harvest kind of just petered out for the moment) . One of our gigs was a the Forum in Philadelphia, and the opening act was Billy Joel. As Billy Hinsche says in his post, nobody cared. Yes, Billy had had the hit with Piano Man, but the crowd was noisy and disrespectful and unkind. At the end of Billy's set, he said, well, thanks a lot, my name is Leon Russell, and I hope you've enjoyed the show, or some such thing. But he definitely said my name is Leon Russell. Of course, nobody in the crowd listened or cared or maybe even knew who Leon Russell was. But I did and I thought it was really funny, which drew me in as a Billy Joel fan immediately.

Just another little story from the road.

Ron Altbach

_________________________________________________

Subject: Re: Frequency

So true. I think if you go see live music, it's inevitable that you end up receiving an overwhelming number of shitty emails from promoters and venues, indiscriminately promoting acts of every stripe, often so packed with hideous formatting that it makes me think these people learned NOTHING from MySpace, never mind the more recent lessons of using data topersonalize the experience. I can't even be bothered to unsubscribe - TicketMaster, Live Nation, Goldenvoice, etc - instant delete.

But there's one or two that don't get my trigger finger quite so itchy. McCabe's and Largo, because good shows sell fast and I see a lot of shows at those two venues, but also The Troub.

The Troub - one of the oldest, and nowadays one of the best - but for reasons (or maybe it's just a reason) that's entirely its own. Actually, I can point to two reasons, but they're related.

One, the email tells you which shows are likely to sell out soon. That's amazingly helpful information sometimes, and can be just enough to light a fire under my ass when I'm on the fence. Or the opposite, if the artist isn't someone I want to see while fighting for sight lines and to preserve my square foot of space. But the soon-to-sell-out info is really just part of the charm.

Two, the emails have a paragraph or two of thoughts and personal input from the woman who writes them. Yeah, sometimes that can be a big "who cares," or T.M.I., but I think I just as often find the personal touch charming. There's a real person watching ticket sales, talking about recent shows, and trying to psych everyone up to get out there and buy tickets. now! Before they all sell out!

In this day and age of too many generic, worthless emails, even on topic that ostensibly are of real interest to me, a dose of humanity can go a long way.

Or it's a bot and I'm a sucker. But it's a damn good bot.

David B. Oshinsky

_________________________________________________

Subject: Re: Aspen-Day Two

Please publish this anonymously if you do so as I am locked into a long term deal with Ticketfly but I sell far fewer tix since I made the switch from Ticketweb whose events coexist on ticketmaster. Convinced that not being on ticketmaster has hurt my business.

Club owner

_________________________________________________

From: Stephen Tatton
Subject: Anecdote

Thought of you this past weekend at my parents' house for Christmas. My mom, who is 66, and could only loosely be considered "with it" in terms of tech and society in general said:

"You don't even need these services, if you want to hear something you can find it on Youtube."

HALLELUJAH!

So why can an out of touch mom who lives in the South Texas country figure this out and most of the world can't?

_________________________________________________

From: Larry Butler
Subject: RE: A Little More Lowell (And Little Feat)

Hey, Bob,

Re: Hunter Thompson's infamous quote about the music biz - it wasn't - it was about the TV business.

I did a little research on it a couple months ago for an article I was writing and came across this factual piece of background at About.com/urbandlegends (I love search engines, if you dig deep enough to get to the truth). The actual quote comes from:
"Hunter S. Thompson's book called Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the '80s (New York: Summit Books, 1988). There, toward the bottom of page 43...

"The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason.
Which is more or less true. For the most part, they are dirty little animals with huge brains and no pulse."

Exact quote. The full piece, clearly lambasting the business of TV journalism, was originally published as a bylined column in the San Francisco Examiner on November 4, 1985. It was not about radio, it was not about the music industry, it was not about show business in general nor about the corporate communications industry (though for all we know Thompson might well have agreed that the characterization fits equally well in every case). It was about television. Period.

As for the phantom tag line ("There's also a negative side"), it's nowhere to be found in the original article. Nice joke, but Thompson didn't write it."

Larry Butler

_________________________________________________

From: Robin Millar
Subject: RE: The Album

I used to be paid by all the major labels just to come up with running orders for their upcoming releases. This was the 1980s and the start of the over-long CD, the bonus tracks, remixes, hidden tracks and so on and so on.

It was the easiest money I ever made. I just used to put the best 3 tracks 1,2 and 3. The rest I'd write on the backs of business cards, shuffle them and deal them out.

In other words it didn't matter. First there were only ever 3 really good tracks and sometimes only two and sometimes only one. Second even in 1983 the attention span was ten minutes max.

You're right, once the concept of side 1 and side 2 disappeared with the CD the whole shape of an album was in my opinion already gone to dust. No shape, no respite, no break. The effort in coming up with a great running order for sides 1 and 2 was well worth it....and even then you were trying to sustain interest for 22 minutes before the listener got up, changed sides, lit a cigarette, made a phone call, put some more coffee on then dropped the needle again.

Funny how movies are getting longer though?

Cheers
Robin

_________________________________________________

From: H H Burnham
Subject: Unbelievable...or not?

Good Morning.

I just saw this in FaceBook this morning (I'm in London, why this is so early).

I don't know whether to be angry, horrified, or step back and realize I am just out-of-touch with reality.

Is this kosher? Sounds like slavery/abuse to me. He sounds like a complete twat.

"Digital Bear Entertainment and mixer/producer/manager Jordan Tishler are looking for a recent or soon-to-be graduate who wants a unique position in a high profile mix studio and artist management company in Cambridge.

You must be ultra reliable and trustworthy, supremely organized, have great communication skills, and be capable of self-motivation and independent work. The job requires at least a one-year commitment (better if longer).

This position is full-time and unpaid. Work hours are mostly daytime with occasional nights and weekends. Schedule flexibility is crucial and the expectation that you will earn money to support yourself during the weekday evenings.

You will receive daily, hands-on guidance from Jordan Tishler who is deeply committed to teaching and mentoring. You will participate in all aspects of ongoing business, and have lots of responsibility, visibility, networking, and creative input. You will be responsible for PR and marketing of the company, management of client scheduling and coordinating with other employees, supervising industry networking events, participating in artists' management needs, and above all else recruiting new talent!

Have a look at digitalbear.com

Sound like you? Email your resume to Jordan at info@digitalbear.com"

I hope you enjoy the holidays, Bob. I continue to push students here to read you...the 'Myth Buster' for the music biz they think they know. Thank you, as always.

A Very Happy New Year to you!

Hugo B

_________________________________________________

From: DAJiE Music Group
Subject: The business of illusions

TWITTER FOLLOWERS?

We all know the importance of image in the music business and having a strong online presence. Often it is how you are judged and how labels and industry taste makers determine your "buzz" or fan base. FUTURE STAR can build your value with our Twitter service. We are able to offer as many Twitter followers as you want to your account. You don't have to follow anybody back and we don't even need your password or access to your account. We can do as little or as many followers as you'd like! Let us set your page on fire and get you noticed today. This is a very popular service!

FACEBOOK FAN PAGE LIKES?

If you are an artist, company or brand that is looking to increase your social network image and buzz then Facebook is a great place to accomplish this. FUTURE STAR is able to sky rocket your statistics by providing you with Facebook "likes" on your fan pages! This is crucial for artists wanting to create hype and really have a strong online buzz. Remember, everything in the entertainment industry is about image and the way others portray you. If you appear to be a superstar, you will get treated as a superstar! Let us build up your Facebook presence today!

YOUTUBE VIEWS?

YouTube has become a necessity in today's times when promoting yourself. Whether you are uploading a new music video or any type of promotional video to YouTube, you still need to generate traffic which is better known as "views". These views are what create the viral buzz and superstar image you have been looking for. Hire FUTURE STAR today to increase the views on your YouTube videos. We can also provide channel subscribers and video likes. We have done this service for many artists and celebrities with great success. Many became featured videos and received YouTube honors on their channels! Results are guaranteed for our services as always so let's get started today!

INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS?

So you've got your Twitter, Facebook and YouTube covered and now they have to introduce a new social media platform to throw off all your numbers right? Don't worry you're in good hands with FUTURE STAR. We now offer Instagram followers to complete it all and give you that superstar look and image that you're after. The more followers on your page the more others will want to follow also. Perception is reality in the online world and especially the entertainment business!

_________________________________________________

Subject: Re: Feature Creep

Bob,

Thanks for writing this article about the iTunes 11. What a disaster, frustrating piece of shit. I am to busy to try and figure out what the hell is going on, Upgrade? That was a down grade. Horrible. Not even close to what it was. It's like a new language. Idiots. They have No clue what people want and need.
So thanks for article.

Kenny Aronoff


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25

To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25




--
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com --