Notes

BON JOVI CAN'T SELL OUT AT HOME

Bon Jovi's "Because We Can -- The Tour" at MetLife Stadium | Goldstar: https://www.goldstar.com/e/69879

A. Some venues use Goldstar to pre-sell, not only to get rid of unwanted inventory.

B. Goldstar's position is that buyers were not going to attend the gig anyway.

C. Has Bon Jovi finally burned it out, by touring too often? Are we seeing the sun set on both classic rock and MTV heroes who've gone to the well at high prices too many times?


JAY BLAKESBERG'S RE-CREATION OF THE "SPORTS" COVER 30 YEARS LATER

pic.twitter.com/z3yNjVdHEW


CANNES: ZACH BRAFF'S KICKSTARTER FILM LANDS FULL FINANCING

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-zach-braffs-kickstarter-film-523352

The big boys always ruin it for everybody.

Then again, that's the nature of the Internet. Everyone's a scammer, bending the rules to add fake followers, trying to create viral action where there is none. Then the paradigm is burned out and people move on to be marks once again.

If you don't think Braff is a scumbag, then you haven't seen his bank account.

Yup, that's what Kickstarter has turned into, A PROMOTIONAL PLATFORM!


IS THE NEW DAFT PUNK SONG REALLY STEELY DAN?

http://youtu.be/6u_NiGTB6SA


AND SOME GEMS FROM THE MAILBAG

From: Berton Averre
Subject: Re: Huey Lewis On Marc Maron

"...And yes, Huey Lewis and the News were not hip..." translation: played really well; wrote good, tight songs with hooks; harmonized; showed up on time for gigs...

The older I get the more I despise the very concept of "hip". I guarantee, if you make a list of everyone in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who doesn't deserve to be there, they'll all have two things in common: an inability to sing and play in tune and a Hip Quotient going through the roof.
_______________________

Subject: Re: Are Foodies Quietly Killing Rock-And-Roll?

I gotta say, the line to get in to see Anthony Bourdain was 3x the size than Springsteen the next day for keynote @ 2012 SXSW.

Alec Pappas

_______________________

Subject: Day 2 JazzFest May 3

Mr. Lefsetz,

I thank you for your kind words yesterday. As a reader of your column/blog, I am happy to be mentioned, especially in the manner in which I was addressed yesterday. As a writer of instrumental music, it is hard to be understood at times, but I think you actually nailed it when you said you were transported(my word this time) to another place while listening. That's what I am up to. Just not in the mud.

Thank you for the entertainment and insight you bring us all.

Best regards,
Jerry Douglas

_______________________

From: Jeff Hanna
Subject: Re: Jazz Fest-Day Three

Jerry Douglas rocks !!

In addition to being a close friend, he played on the 2nd and 3rd Circle Albums..He's the Clapton( or Knopfler) of the Dobro... Astounding...AND tasteful !!

_______________________

Subject: Re: Emotion

Hello there Bob,

First of all I want to tell you what a breath of fresh air your letters have been for me since being turned onto them, and you a couple years ago. I sing in the vocal group Take 6. We've been in the music biz now for 25+ years. You may, or may not have heard of us, but we are an a capella, Christian Jazz group...never enjoying radio success on any real level, but enjoying the ability to tour for all of this time as many of our contemporaries have come and gone. I'd like to say that one of the biggest reasons has been because we decided long ago to make sure we would strive for excellence with everything we've brought to the market place. We realized being authentic to who we are has been a saving grace for us. We could've tried to "fit in"...be more radio friendly, pare down the chord structures a bit, but we KNEW that wasn't us! It wasn't always easy, or even popular within our band, but, being true has allowed us to still be together and LOVE what we do!

I'm writing all of this because so much of what you write about resonates with me/us in what we have seen, and continue to see in this business of music. There's so much out there, and the public is actually able, and astute enough to weed through and decide exactly what they want, or...don't want! When we are teaching young people about what it takes to be in this business, we always encourage them to take risks, to study, to be different, unique, and practice/study!!

Keep up the great, insightful writing. I may not always agree with everything you put out there, but that's not even the total point. You have a way of getting conversation started, and that.....can move mountains

Thanks

Claude McKnight
founder and lead tenor, Take 6

_______________________

From: Michael Laskow
Subject: Re: Emotion


When I was a complete noob in the music business I worked at Criteria Studios in Miami during the mid '70s. I once stopped Barry Gibb in the hallway and asked him "What makes a song a hit?" His answer was, "Emotion. It's always about the emotion."

_______________________

Subject: RE: Earthquake

So damn right, Bob! I live in an area of Monrovia that was threatened by the fire a couple of weeks ago. I made myself a bowl of cereal around 11am, opened the window, saw the smoke, took a picture (decided to hashtag #monroviafire), shared it through Hootsuite, then finished my bowl of cereal. By 11:15am, I was already flipping through images of the fire on Twitter and Instagram, befriending others that were experiencing the exact same thing at the exact same time. At about 4pm, ABC News tweeted the "breaking news". Psshh. Oh, and the news reporter actually tweeted me to see if they could come interview me. Over 5 hours in of watching this fire develop, I was already fatigued, so I passed on the interview for the "breaking news".

Tommy McCarthy

_______________________

Subject: Social Media Manipulation

in my humble opinion the music business is going nowhere until it weens itself off the PR manipulation. the music review is dead because of PR people, and as you say social media is just an echo chamber of what music publicists/record pimps feed to the music blogs and other outlets. folks might participate once in a while, but it's a post-trust business just like wall street. wall street has the government to keep it going and the music biz does not.

steven walcott
engine studios, brooklyn ny

_______________________

Subject: Re: Are Foodies Quietly Killing Rock-And-Roll?

Bob,

I couldn't agree with you more. Get in the van. Are you gonna f___ing play or are you gonna f___ing play?

-from a Dodge Grand Caravan

Black Francis, The Pixies

(Note: The reason I blanked the swear words is not because I'm a prude, but because if I leave them in this e-mail is gonna be flagged by spam filters and most of you won't be able to read it! You get the gist...)


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