How could Sheryl Crow get it so wrong and then so right?
Earlier this year she released an album with old wave publicity in every print medium known to man and it went straight into the dumper, it's like it never even came out, which inspired Mr. Tuna Ketchup, @TunaCatsup, to tweet:
"Oh man, @SherylCrow must be rolling in her grave right now..."
This was in response to Sheryl's old duet partner Kid Rock announcing he was running for Senate.
And what did Crow say in response to the man with a grand total of 323 followers?
She tweeted:
"Dude. I'm still alive."
And then that was retweeted a hundred thousand times.
Funny how she's getting more attention for a knee-jerk reaction on Twitter than all of that old school publicity advertising her new album. She ain't old, she's not only reading on Twitter, she's posting! She's breaking the baby boomer rules, which are you must complain about your cheese being moved forevermore, hate Spotify, YouTube even more, and be consigned to the dustbin of history.
But then it gets better. Sheryl wrote a song about it!
Come on, how great is this? Rather than sticking to her hermetically sealed LP, playing by the rules, which are you release a bulletproof album every couple of years and nothing more, she instantly wrote a song, recorded it and posted it on YouTube. WAY TO GO GIRL!
You participate. You do until you get lucky. Or retire.
But the thing is you can never underestimate inspiration. It's the bedrock of creativity, the essence of art. It's when you're jolted alive with an idea and you've got to lay it down that you do your best work.
And I'd love to tell you this clip is genius, but it's a rough work in the studio with less than perfect recording, but...
Sheryl seems absolutely genuine. None of the fakery that she perpetrated in her press run. And when she picks that electric bass... She does more for the cause of women in the arts than any complaining about country playlists and glass ceilings. She's an inspiration to women.
But even better is the song.
"I certainly was confused
When I saw your tweet today
How when I see the headline
I'll be rolling in my grave"
This is the opposite of the Max Martin paradigm, where you create music in a vacuum, perfect it until it's shiny and inert and perfect, to the point where you can only admire it, where it doesn't breathe. And Sheryl's speaking to a specific person, as opposed to making the lyrics generic, like every other wanker out there.
"If Kid Rock runs for Senate
I wouldn't be surprised
But not over my dead body
Cause Dude I'm still alive"
She's sticking to the theme. That she ain't dead, while interweaving the inspiration for the tweet, Rock's run.
"Dude I'm still alive
Dude I'm still alive
I'm like Gloria Gaynor
You know I will survive
No matter what's online
Fake news or lies
Dude I'm still alive"
We love musical references in conversation and music. And Crow is not living in the past, she's online, like the rest of society, unlike too many classic rockers.
"Maybe Mr. Ritchie
Can fix some things for us
Like making sure Detroit is set
To make an electric bus"
A viewpoint. Rock is conservative. The right wingers can't stop bitching about electric vehicle subsidies when in the rest of the world, the march to electricity is heating up.
"At least the guy's not 90
In his 32nd term
But a pole in the Lincoln bedroom
Is bound to make people squirm"
We hate the aged out of touch running our government.
And you've got to love someone with a sense of humor.
"I like a President who's smart
And handles women with respect
Who doesn't tweet on the toilet
But perhaps from the Reagan desk"
Whew! She has a viewpoint, she's taking a stand, in a world where knee-jerk Republicans will attack anyone with a contrary viewpoint. But Sheryl knows if you're not creating, if you're not being honest, you might as well be dead.
"I'm sorry for Jeff Sessions
Seems they're dropping like flies
As for Comey, Sean and Reince
Dude, at least you're still alive"
A twist on the concept, she's not the only one facing death, surviving.
You've got to love it.
Now she just needs to keep doing this.
All you perfectionist heritage acts, afraid to fart in public, afraid of getting it wrong, afraid of riling any potential customer, you're nearly dead. I thought you were a musician. Doesn't it pain you to play the same damn tracks to an aged audience? Sure, you're getting paid, but money isn't everything.
There's a ton of inspiration in this world. Participate and you'll experience it.
And maybe you'll get lucky, like Sheryl Crow. Maybe you'll make a dent in the universe.
"Dude, I'm Still Alive!" (posted on Twitter no less!): https://twitter.com/i/web/status/891112633809723392
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Saturday 5 August 2017
Friday 4 August 2017
Noel Monk's Van Halen Book
http://amzn.to/2ucxYJF
"How I Made It: Bob Lefsetz went from failed music manager to one of the most influential voices in the industry": http://lat.ms/2uc7b04
We put them in a movie. Then I was their lawyer. Then I became part of the management team.
I rescued their debut by getting Duane Baron to remix it, standing up to the band and telling them the initial mix was substandard.
And then I got fired.
I know where Noel Monk is coming from, but needless to say he had a lot more success in the game.
I've never read a book quite like this.
Most rock tomes are either fawning stories by those not involved, building their heroes up as they tell the "true" story...
Or they're written by the heroes themselves, detailing their flaws but emerging at the end as the stars they believe themselves to be.
I've never read one written by the manager. Who lucked into the gig. After being the road manager. You see, the original manager, foisted upon the band by Warner Brothers, one Milton Berle, didn't show up. That's half of EVERY job. Sure, there's little reason to fly off to the middle of nowhere to go to the show, but your charges, the band, want to know that you care, that they're on your radar.
We all want to know people care.
Which is how Noel Monk got the gig. By being competent and listening. After paying dues at the Fillmore East, Woodstock and on the road with the Sex Pistols. He got that tour managing gig from one Carl Scott. Which convinced me to buy the book after reading this story in the sample chapter. I'm intrigued by the behind the scenes guys. And Scott gave Monk the tour managing job for Van Halen, and the rest is history.
A knock-around band with a terrible deal whose record Noel did not even listen to before taking the gig, he just trusted Scott, who he believed was overhyping him, until he heard the music.
Now it's hard to explain what it was like, before cell phone cameras, before MTV.
It was the wild west.
Sure, radio was important. But so was the road, you had to go out and convince fans one by one. Which is how it all started with Van Halen, opening shows for $750 a night. Even though their album exploded out of the box. Although this rarely happened, most times it was a long hard slog, until by seeming spontaneous combustion, you finally blew up, became a ten year overnight success.
Now, you succeed instantly or you fail. And you're rarely rich. And all the perks of being a rock star have evaporated.
That's right, you went on the road and did drugs and got laid. Constantly. Worst thing that could happen was a paternity claim, in this case dashed. Other than that...
You were on your own. You could do whatever you wanted. Destroy hotel rooms, act like an asshole, it didn't matter, you got away with it.
Which is why rock stars were gods. The rest of us had to play by the rules. They did not. And never ever underestimate the power of sex. Never.
You could be the shyest guy in the world, but if you were in a hit band...
Hell, Noel tells the story of roadies lining up for blow jobs, dozens of them, so the two girls could get backstage passes. And don't shoot the historian, it was a different era, but the funny thing is the girls were willing.
We were all willing. Before we got smartphones and became stars in our own movies.
Before that?
You had to slug it out in the trenches. And the people who succeeded were often unsophisticated. All they could do was this one thing. And unlike today, they hated promoting themselves. Sure, Van Halen was helped by David Lee Roth, the preening peacock who never found a mic or a camera or a mirror he disliked, but the rest of the band had no time for it. They thought the music spoke for them. And to a great degree it did.
Now it rarely does.
So the band goes on the road and blows headliners off the stage, and a year goes by and they have to cut a new album, and then go back on the road. They repeat this formula over and over again, with the LPs getting successively worse. And then Noel got them time off to record a classic LP that jumped out of the gate and made the band ubiquitous. Even months after release they played "1984" over and over again at the Rainbow, where Blackie Lawless and I spent every single night.
Yup, all the rumors are true. The debauchery, the laughs, the money, the fun...
You needed no college degree. You just had to have someone in the band with talent and a record company that cared and you were on the highway to heaven.
As well as hell.
You gain success and the fighting begins, fueled by more drugs and more alcohol.
So if you're looking for gossip, you'll find some, but this is not that book.
Yes, Eddie Van Halen taught Michael Anthony every note of his bass solo.
But even more interesting, the three others squeezed Anthony out of songwriting royalties, and Michael made no fuss, he just signed the proffered document. Anthony made no trouble and it worked against him. If you're just doing your job, you're screwed. You've got to interact, you need face time, or else you're forgotten.
As for Alex Van Halen?
Well, he was Eddie's brother. Even though they fought. And it was Alex who put the knife into Noel's back, he was related to a superstar manager by marriage, this is always the beginning of the end. Want to know how to lose a band? Send them out with an act with a better, more together manager. But you don't even need that, you see musicians talk and the world runs on gossip and if you're not getting closer you're getting farther away, keep your eyes open.
Eddie Van Halen is the guitar talent of a generation, but give him time off and he has no idea what to do with himself. He needs to play. And tinker in his hotel room. Take his guitar apart and put it back together. His axe was his first love. Other than Valerie Bertinelli, who is not quite the sweetheart she's believed to be. She can toke up, she can snort. Then again, by the early eighties everybody was, why should she be any different?
As for David Lee Roth... Everything said about him seems to be true. A raving egomaniac. But one with a flair for lyrics, stage antics and promotion. You don't have to have the best voice, you just have to be a star.
But the meat of this book is the grueling work of making it and then trying to stay there. Albums cut in three weeks, gigs done for the money. Living inside the hurricane with little perspective on life.
Then again, there are all those fringe benefits. The ones that normal rich people cannot get. Believe me, groupies are not lining up in Silicon Valley...
Warner Brothers forgets to pick up the band's option. And when Noel tells Mo this, Ostin says:
"Listen Noel. You are a new manager. You don't know what you're talking about. Now sit the fuck back down in your seat and shut the fuck up."
And Mo had the best rep of any music executive. But as someone once put it to me, even Mo had sharp elbows.
And the stories of fighting bootleggers, with both the courts and physical intimidation. This was the era when you got paid in cash, could carry around hundreds of thousands of dollars in your briefcase, because you couldn't trust the promoter, this was not Live Nation, a public company.
And it takes a while for the band to realize all the perks are being charged back to them. All the limos, the parties, all the things you think the record company is doing out of the goodness of its heart...it is not.
There are some good aphorisms and lessons in the book.
1. "It's amazing the way your world contracts when you go out on the road with a band." Noel didn't even hear Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours," he was too busy on the road.
2. "What is it they say about sports? It doesn't build character; it reveals character. The same is true of life on the road." It doesn't change you, it just peels away the layers of protection, you find out who people really are. And it can be really hard to get along with them.
3. "All of this came in handy when dealing with large segments of the music business, where tenderness is usually rewarded with an ass kicking." I learned this early, when Bob Krasnow called to do a number on me. They only respect you if you can stand up for yourself and dish it back. You cannot make it unless you do this, nice guys do finish last in the music business, no matter what you've heard. It's a street business, if you can't play hardball, you're gonna sit on the bench.
4. "Behavior that almost any normal person would consider depraved was part of the musical landscape and could be found on every tour of every notable rock 'n' roll band of this era."
Bingo! That's it! That's why you should read this book!
If you're an oldster, who was around back then, you'll recognize the era, you'll nod your head, you'll contemplate how different it is today.
If you're a youngster, this will give you a real, unvarnished version of how it was, forget the myths, this is reality.
Do the band members come across as angels?
No, but if you know talent, they never are. I'd say the band emerges relatively unscathed. Do you know how hard it is to form an act, stay together, get a deal and achieve stardom? Nearly impossible. It's not for the timid, it's not for those who play it safe, it's for one-minded, less than fully-formed individuals who need to grasp that brass ring to fill a hole inside that can never truly be filled, despite being convinced that it can.
So if you're looking for gossip, there's more than a bit, and some true stories undercutting the rumors, but that's not a reason to buy this book.
Yet if you're a fan of Van Halen, it's hard to put down.
But if you're thinking of working behind the scenes, click to buy immediately.
Van Halen still tours.
Noel Monk has not managed a successful band since.
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"How I Made It: Bob Lefsetz went from failed music manager to one of the most influential voices in the industry": http://lat.ms/2uc7b04
We put them in a movie. Then I was their lawyer. Then I became part of the management team.
I rescued their debut by getting Duane Baron to remix it, standing up to the band and telling them the initial mix was substandard.
And then I got fired.
I know where Noel Monk is coming from, but needless to say he had a lot more success in the game.
I've never read a book quite like this.
Most rock tomes are either fawning stories by those not involved, building their heroes up as they tell the "true" story...
Or they're written by the heroes themselves, detailing their flaws but emerging at the end as the stars they believe themselves to be.
I've never read one written by the manager. Who lucked into the gig. After being the road manager. You see, the original manager, foisted upon the band by Warner Brothers, one Milton Berle, didn't show up. That's half of EVERY job. Sure, there's little reason to fly off to the middle of nowhere to go to the show, but your charges, the band, want to know that you care, that they're on your radar.
We all want to know people care.
Which is how Noel Monk got the gig. By being competent and listening. After paying dues at the Fillmore East, Woodstock and on the road with the Sex Pistols. He got that tour managing gig from one Carl Scott. Which convinced me to buy the book after reading this story in the sample chapter. I'm intrigued by the behind the scenes guys. And Scott gave Monk the tour managing job for Van Halen, and the rest is history.
A knock-around band with a terrible deal whose record Noel did not even listen to before taking the gig, he just trusted Scott, who he believed was overhyping him, until he heard the music.
Now it's hard to explain what it was like, before cell phone cameras, before MTV.
It was the wild west.
Sure, radio was important. But so was the road, you had to go out and convince fans one by one. Which is how it all started with Van Halen, opening shows for $750 a night. Even though their album exploded out of the box. Although this rarely happened, most times it was a long hard slog, until by seeming spontaneous combustion, you finally blew up, became a ten year overnight success.
Now, you succeed instantly or you fail. And you're rarely rich. And all the perks of being a rock star have evaporated.
That's right, you went on the road and did drugs and got laid. Constantly. Worst thing that could happen was a paternity claim, in this case dashed. Other than that...
You were on your own. You could do whatever you wanted. Destroy hotel rooms, act like an asshole, it didn't matter, you got away with it.
Which is why rock stars were gods. The rest of us had to play by the rules. They did not. And never ever underestimate the power of sex. Never.
You could be the shyest guy in the world, but if you were in a hit band...
Hell, Noel tells the story of roadies lining up for blow jobs, dozens of them, so the two girls could get backstage passes. And don't shoot the historian, it was a different era, but the funny thing is the girls were willing.
We were all willing. Before we got smartphones and became stars in our own movies.
Before that?
You had to slug it out in the trenches. And the people who succeeded were often unsophisticated. All they could do was this one thing. And unlike today, they hated promoting themselves. Sure, Van Halen was helped by David Lee Roth, the preening peacock who never found a mic or a camera or a mirror he disliked, but the rest of the band had no time for it. They thought the music spoke for them. And to a great degree it did.
Now it rarely does.
So the band goes on the road and blows headliners off the stage, and a year goes by and they have to cut a new album, and then go back on the road. They repeat this formula over and over again, with the LPs getting successively worse. And then Noel got them time off to record a classic LP that jumped out of the gate and made the band ubiquitous. Even months after release they played "1984" over and over again at the Rainbow, where Blackie Lawless and I spent every single night.
Yup, all the rumors are true. The debauchery, the laughs, the money, the fun...
You needed no college degree. You just had to have someone in the band with talent and a record company that cared and you were on the highway to heaven.
As well as hell.
You gain success and the fighting begins, fueled by more drugs and more alcohol.
So if you're looking for gossip, you'll find some, but this is not that book.
Yes, Eddie Van Halen taught Michael Anthony every note of his bass solo.
But even more interesting, the three others squeezed Anthony out of songwriting royalties, and Michael made no fuss, he just signed the proffered document. Anthony made no trouble and it worked against him. If you're just doing your job, you're screwed. You've got to interact, you need face time, or else you're forgotten.
As for Alex Van Halen?
Well, he was Eddie's brother. Even though they fought. And it was Alex who put the knife into Noel's back, he was related to a superstar manager by marriage, this is always the beginning of the end. Want to know how to lose a band? Send them out with an act with a better, more together manager. But you don't even need that, you see musicians talk and the world runs on gossip and if you're not getting closer you're getting farther away, keep your eyes open.
Eddie Van Halen is the guitar talent of a generation, but give him time off and he has no idea what to do with himself. He needs to play. And tinker in his hotel room. Take his guitar apart and put it back together. His axe was his first love. Other than Valerie Bertinelli, who is not quite the sweetheart she's believed to be. She can toke up, she can snort. Then again, by the early eighties everybody was, why should she be any different?
As for David Lee Roth... Everything said about him seems to be true. A raving egomaniac. But one with a flair for lyrics, stage antics and promotion. You don't have to have the best voice, you just have to be a star.
But the meat of this book is the grueling work of making it and then trying to stay there. Albums cut in three weeks, gigs done for the money. Living inside the hurricane with little perspective on life.
Then again, there are all those fringe benefits. The ones that normal rich people cannot get. Believe me, groupies are not lining up in Silicon Valley...
Warner Brothers forgets to pick up the band's option. And when Noel tells Mo this, Ostin says:
"Listen Noel. You are a new manager. You don't know what you're talking about. Now sit the fuck back down in your seat and shut the fuck up."
And Mo had the best rep of any music executive. But as someone once put it to me, even Mo had sharp elbows.
And the stories of fighting bootleggers, with both the courts and physical intimidation. This was the era when you got paid in cash, could carry around hundreds of thousands of dollars in your briefcase, because you couldn't trust the promoter, this was not Live Nation, a public company.
And it takes a while for the band to realize all the perks are being charged back to them. All the limos, the parties, all the things you think the record company is doing out of the goodness of its heart...it is not.
There are some good aphorisms and lessons in the book.
1. "It's amazing the way your world contracts when you go out on the road with a band." Noel didn't even hear Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours," he was too busy on the road.
2. "What is it they say about sports? It doesn't build character; it reveals character. The same is true of life on the road." It doesn't change you, it just peels away the layers of protection, you find out who people really are. And it can be really hard to get along with them.
3. "All of this came in handy when dealing with large segments of the music business, where tenderness is usually rewarded with an ass kicking." I learned this early, when Bob Krasnow called to do a number on me. They only respect you if you can stand up for yourself and dish it back. You cannot make it unless you do this, nice guys do finish last in the music business, no matter what you've heard. It's a street business, if you can't play hardball, you're gonna sit on the bench.
4. "Behavior that almost any normal person would consider depraved was part of the musical landscape and could be found on every tour of every notable rock 'n' roll band of this era."
Bingo! That's it! That's why you should read this book!
If you're an oldster, who was around back then, you'll recognize the era, you'll nod your head, you'll contemplate how different it is today.
If you're a youngster, this will give you a real, unvarnished version of how it was, forget the myths, this is reality.
Do the band members come across as angels?
No, but if you know talent, they never are. I'd say the band emerges relatively unscathed. Do you know how hard it is to form an act, stay together, get a deal and achieve stardom? Nearly impossible. It's not for the timid, it's not for those who play it safe, it's for one-minded, less than fully-formed individuals who need to grasp that brass ring to fill a hole inside that can never truly be filled, despite being convinced that it can.
So if you're looking for gossip, there's more than a bit, and some true stories undercutting the rumors, but that's not a reason to buy this book.
Yet if you're a fan of Van Halen, it's hard to put down.
But if you're thinking of working behind the scenes, click to buy immediately.
Van Halen still tours.
Noel Monk has not managed a successful band since.
--
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--
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Thursday 3 August 2017
Re-Frampton
I have goosebumps just reading the review. He comes anywhere near the SF Bay Area, I'm there!!!
Kim McAllister
_______________________________
Great writing Bob. I've said it before and I'll say it again when you are writing about music you are passionate about there are few who are better. Somewhere up above the late great great Dee Anthony is smiling!
Merck Mercuriadis
_______________________________
Thanx, Bob. Did not know this one ("Boot It Up"). I'll have to check out the album. He's playing his ass off on this.
Kevin Kiley
_______________________________
Frampton has always delivered the goods. In April of 1992, at the height of the recession, Frampton was the last show we put on before closing our doors on my club in New Orleans, Neo Beach on Lake Pontchartrain at West End Park. We knew this would be the last of the hundreds of shows we had put on; that night we went out in a blaze of glory. Frampton sold out the room and put on a show no one in attendance will ever forget.
Frank A. Gagliano
_______________________________
I worked with Peter when I was at Rogers & Cowan PR. One of the nicest people you will ever meet in this, at time, ruthless business. I was at his house with rock photographer Mark Weiss looking to do a new "unglamoured" PR photo. Peter never liked those cutie-boy photos and who can blame him.
Peter had not shaven that day and was wearing a Maui T-shirt and shorts. Mark took a photo of Peter leaning on his kitchen counter. It turned out to be a PR photo he loved. We then took more photos with his dog Rocky.
Mark recently saw Peter at a show here in NJ. Mark gave Peter a copy of the photo of him and his German Shepard Rocky. Peter said he was the best dog he ever had and to get this photo, it was almost as good as getting his guitar back - almost.
Peter is a player and anyone who thinks he is not, is way off-base.
George Dassinger
_______________________________
I know he will appreciate this! Someone else I follow on Twitter that's great to his fans.
Jim Lewi
_______________________________
Met Peter Frampton and Ian Anderson on the same day while on a business
pitch to the R&RHOF+M about eight years ago.
One was a super nice and unbelievably friendly guy.
The other one plays the flute.
William Nollman
_______________________________
That's very, very nice !
Andrew Loog Oldham
_______________________________
I saw Frampton last March and wasn't expecting much. I was blown away. He owned the stage, he owned the audience, and if he wasn't having the time of his life, he should quit music and start a career in acting.
I'm only sorry you didn't get to hear the band do their cover version of "Rebel, Rebel." It was killer.
A lot of people forget that Frampton is not just a pop star from the past, but has always been a lyrical and extremely talented guitar player. If anything, his playing has gotten better over the years. So has his singing. He's the real deal - a musician.
Craig Anderton
_______________________________
You are spot on Bob. Would love to hear him play Nowhere's Too Far but he never does.
Jeff Sacks
_______________________________
I still recall the goosebumps I felt seeing Peter at Queens College in early 1976 and before that at the WNEW Xmas Concert and the Calderone in Hempstead and the Schaefer Festival in Central Park's Wolman Rink, later opening for Rod the Mod and the Faces at the Nassau Coliseum (all 1975). And I so agree with your comments on the Studio version of "….Sun." He did a rocking version at the Beacon when he reprised the entire Alive LP but he also added a great version of Nowhere's Too Far (For My Baby) which did not but should have made the Alive.
Corey Bearak
_______________________________
His show in Boulder a few years back was really good, so I'm disappointed I can't go see him now that Peter has gone Full Libtard. Lots of artists seem to mistake the privilege of having their fan's goodwill into mistakenly thinking we give a flying fuck what their religious and political views are. I guess when people tell you that you are great long enough and you have the shrill "Maxine Waters" option installed you have no self control. Pity, because Steve Miller is going to miss out too, I would have liked to see him but Peter fucked it up. He's always welcome to kiss my ass left cheek first though.
CJ in LA
_______________________________
Glad you liked Peter's show. We've been digging it every show day as he has been opening for us all summer. Peter is a player and sits in with us on some blues songs and he and Steve trade choruses. It's very cool to hear. Hope you can catch the show at the Greek next week.
Kenny Lee Lewis
_______________________________
gave me chills to read Bob.
Gary W. Mendel
_______________________________
I always thought Frampton was the bees knees.Pretty boy guitar player from The Herd joins with the greatest Rock & Roll voice ever: Steve Marriott. Leaves the madness creates the biggest live album ever, comes alive and survives being Billy Shears in the Bee Gee Sgt. Pepper debacle! He now wakes up the anesthetized every time he picks up his guitar.
This is good news for all bands that denounce the tele- prompter and the obligatory video backdrop of climate change!
Vive le Rock.
Thank you Bob.
Michael Des Barres
_______________________________
Bob.....he's one of those guys that because of the Live record got pigeon holed......he's actually a great player and songwriter and strange it took this long for a lot of people to notice......kind of like Billy Gibbons in many ways
Chris Apostle
_______________________________
Here's my experience of Peter Frampton's concert at Anaheim Stadium in the summer of 1977 (pics attached).
Being an Aussie on holidays it was a mind blower – 50,000 people, many acts and Peter at the finale after 7 hours of California's best bands.
Burnt into the memory banks.
Love your blogs …
Rob Allan
Red Rock NSW Australia
_______________________________
I saw Frampton in '86 in Wildwood, New Jersey. I was shocked at how great he still was then, I'm not surprised to hear this. He's a true musician, with the sense of pride the great ones have...he still has it! He was also great on Howard a few months back!!
Bob, keep up the good work, you are reaching more folks than you probably realize.
Love your blog!
Jonathan Kutz
_______________________________
Great take on Frampton!
I was a huge Humble Pie fan.
Then I saw him back in the day, on the original "Frampton Comes Alive" tour.
Recently saw him at a shed show........and just like you said, he is all about the MUSIC.
GREAT show.....GREAT musicianship....
He talks a lot to his audience......stories, jokes, all very natural and sincere.
And, he did a very moving tribute to George Harrison as well.
I've been telling everyone, that Frampton is the best rock show of the year.
Thanks for highlighting Frampton, and also a little shout-out on Humble Pie!
Matt Mav
_______________________________
Peter Frampton doesn't get the recognition he deserves, but I guess that's what can happen when you're an overnight success (after working your ass off for years) Have you heard the story of his Les Paul Custom that was on the cover of FCA? That story is worthy of a movie!
Keep up the good work Bob, you're the keeper of the flame.
Michael Kimball
_______________________________
Fuckin A Bob.
Kurt Lambeth
_______________________________
WOW
So loved this Bob - gives me hope indeed. I was completely sold - and then - I Don't Need No Doctor!!! OMG - an all time fav and Frampton soared on the live version.
Peter van Roden
_______________________________
Check out Hal Willner's "That's The Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonius Monk", the track "Work", a duet between Peter Frampton and Chris Spedding. 1984. An astonishing track. It will forever change whatever preconceptions you had about Frampton.
Rich Arfin
_______________________________
I've seen Frampton in 77 or 76 can't remember exactly. Also seen him a couple more times over the years and bought some of his albums. No one can duplicate the amazing double live album. It was a time and place when all the stars were aligned. That being said he is a great musician and artist who keeps being true to his art form. I love it and I'm sure many others would if they went outside the box a little. Thanks for your review of a great evening.
Kind regards,
Rob Ahlgren
_______________________________
Your so lucky Bob!
Lisa Montez
_______________________________
Now that sounds like a concert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Katie Bradford
_______________________________
Wonderful write up, review. Will be listening to Frampton today on Spotify at work !
Steve Anderko
Syracuse NY
_______________________________
Great recap!! I saw Frampton a couple years back and he blew me away. He could have coasted on "Baby I love your way", " Show me", etc. for decades but he's still growing and still delivering 4 decades after his biggest hits. The real deal!!
Bill Tibbs
_______________________________
A lovely story for sure, wish I had been there. Peter played his first show in Phoenix in March of 1976, as part of the Star is Born movie, starring Kris and Barbra. Bill Graham produced the show. They needed a full stadium to get the shots you see in the movie, you know, where Kris really blows it and rides a bike up on the stage.
Early on, he called me at my other job which was at Arizona Waterbeds, and asked if I could have Peter, ZZ Top or the Winter Brothers, which would I pick to headline, and why?
ZZ had just played there, the Winter boys, while incredible, I just didn't feel, and Frampton just had released this new live album, which I just loved. I had a feeling. Instinct, correct, as the album went to #1 right after the show played at the end of March.
70000 people came to Sun Devil Stadium at $3.50 a head, as they didn't want to take any chances of not selling it out. In addition to Frampton closing, there was the LA Jets, Graham Central Station, Montrose, and Santana. Not bad for $3.50!! Plus, you HAD to be there by 9 am or you wouldn't get in, because of lighting and the shoot, etc.
Kris and Barbra were something together then, like fire and gas, but they did an amazing job. Jon Peters did a number on everyone, which I think was his way, but a lot of people weren't happy with him. But he did make a great movie.
Frampton was incredible and totally knocked the place out. they had never played a place this big and met it head on. I was a huge Humble Pie fan, but this guy took it to another level. We enjoyed many good times after that. Bravo to him for his great shows, still, and for you reporting it so well.
Greetings from Amsterdam!
Danny Zelisko
_______________________________
Bob,
Your praise of Frampton is so on point my friend. He is/has been one of, if not the best, performer I've ever seen!
I began going to see him live back in the Frampton's Camel days. Actually saw a whole bunch of other artists I would have never been interested in as a result, at the time Frampton was always the opener.
He once opened for Humble Pie ( he was third on the bill) @ the Philadelphia Spectrum possibly 1974(?) my friends and I were absolutely positive he would come out and jam with HP but alas it was not to be.
I also had the pleasure of seeing him at what used to be Glassboro State College, now Rowan University, in South Jersey play to a not so full auditorium mere months before his "Comes Alive" breakthrough.
Which leads me to the recent "meltdown " headlines which according to a few close friends who have had to pleasure of working for him at one time or another, are total Bulls**t!
The last time I saw him play was about ten years ago in Atlantic City NJ at a casino, the show was as you witnessed recently, filled with long guitar jams and lots of deep cuts only a real fan could appreciate yet done with such enthusiasm that those "not in the know" had little choice not to enjoy themseves.
About the 4th song in he began " Show Me The Way" and from my vantage point off to the side toward the front I noticed he was troubled by something in the very front 2 rows. He stopped the band and asked two women why they were standing, blocking the people behind's view and chatting! Apparently the women, who it is doubtful had any idea who Frampton was were trying to decide what they wanted to drink! I will venture to say their husbands were high rollers and they had their tickets compted.
When Frampton heard ( from one of them) what was going on he said " how about this: you sit your asses in the seats and I'll make sure you both get a drink?" The audience went crazy, he handled it better that a stand up taking care of a heckler. He then said to the audience "I want everone to see the show so asses in the seats from here on out okay?" He then kicked back into Show Me the Way RIGHT WHERE HE LEFT OFF!
He has no peers live and I'm even counting the Stones, his energy his obvious love of what he does make him #1 in my book. Rock On, Peter, and thanks for the show review Bob!
Cheers
Tom Gillam
Austin Texas
_______________________________
I just got the right's back to Fingerprints and we are re releasing for Christmas. I wish it was out NOW!!
Thank you thank you thank you Bob. This means so much to me and everyone concerned.
I'm speechless.
Many, many thanks
Peter
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Kim McAllister
_______________________________
Great writing Bob. I've said it before and I'll say it again when you are writing about music you are passionate about there are few who are better. Somewhere up above the late great great Dee Anthony is smiling!
Merck Mercuriadis
_______________________________
Thanx, Bob. Did not know this one ("Boot It Up"). I'll have to check out the album. He's playing his ass off on this.
Kevin Kiley
_______________________________
Frampton has always delivered the goods. In April of 1992, at the height of the recession, Frampton was the last show we put on before closing our doors on my club in New Orleans, Neo Beach on Lake Pontchartrain at West End Park. We knew this would be the last of the hundreds of shows we had put on; that night we went out in a blaze of glory. Frampton sold out the room and put on a show no one in attendance will ever forget.
Frank A. Gagliano
_______________________________
I worked with Peter when I was at Rogers & Cowan PR. One of the nicest people you will ever meet in this, at time, ruthless business. I was at his house with rock photographer Mark Weiss looking to do a new "unglamoured" PR photo. Peter never liked those cutie-boy photos and who can blame him.
Peter had not shaven that day and was wearing a Maui T-shirt and shorts. Mark took a photo of Peter leaning on his kitchen counter. It turned out to be a PR photo he loved. We then took more photos with his dog Rocky.
Mark recently saw Peter at a show here in NJ. Mark gave Peter a copy of the photo of him and his German Shepard Rocky. Peter said he was the best dog he ever had and to get this photo, it was almost as good as getting his guitar back - almost.
Peter is a player and anyone who thinks he is not, is way off-base.
George Dassinger
_______________________________
I know he will appreciate this! Someone else I follow on Twitter that's great to his fans.
Jim Lewi
_______________________________
Met Peter Frampton and Ian Anderson on the same day while on a business
pitch to the R&RHOF+M about eight years ago.
One was a super nice and unbelievably friendly guy.
The other one plays the flute.
William Nollman
_______________________________
That's very, very nice !
Andrew Loog Oldham
_______________________________
I saw Frampton last March and wasn't expecting much. I was blown away. He owned the stage, he owned the audience, and if he wasn't having the time of his life, he should quit music and start a career in acting.
I'm only sorry you didn't get to hear the band do their cover version of "Rebel, Rebel." It was killer.
A lot of people forget that Frampton is not just a pop star from the past, but has always been a lyrical and extremely talented guitar player. If anything, his playing has gotten better over the years. So has his singing. He's the real deal - a musician.
Craig Anderton
_______________________________
You are spot on Bob. Would love to hear him play Nowhere's Too Far but he never does.
Jeff Sacks
_______________________________
I still recall the goosebumps I felt seeing Peter at Queens College in early 1976 and before that at the WNEW Xmas Concert and the Calderone in Hempstead and the Schaefer Festival in Central Park's Wolman Rink, later opening for Rod the Mod and the Faces at the Nassau Coliseum (all 1975). And I so agree with your comments on the Studio version of "….Sun." He did a rocking version at the Beacon when he reprised the entire Alive LP but he also added a great version of Nowhere's Too Far (For My Baby) which did not but should have made the Alive.
Corey Bearak
_______________________________
His show in Boulder a few years back was really good, so I'm disappointed I can't go see him now that Peter has gone Full Libtard. Lots of artists seem to mistake the privilege of having their fan's goodwill into mistakenly thinking we give a flying fuck what their religious and political views are. I guess when people tell you that you are great long enough and you have the shrill "Maxine Waters" option installed you have no self control. Pity, because Steve Miller is going to miss out too, I would have liked to see him but Peter fucked it up. He's always welcome to kiss my ass left cheek first though.
CJ in LA
_______________________________
Glad you liked Peter's show. We've been digging it every show day as he has been opening for us all summer. Peter is a player and sits in with us on some blues songs and he and Steve trade choruses. It's very cool to hear. Hope you can catch the show at the Greek next week.
Kenny Lee Lewis
_______________________________
gave me chills to read Bob.
Gary W. Mendel
_______________________________
I always thought Frampton was the bees knees.Pretty boy guitar player from The Herd joins with the greatest Rock & Roll voice ever: Steve Marriott. Leaves the madness creates the biggest live album ever, comes alive and survives being Billy Shears in the Bee Gee Sgt. Pepper debacle! He now wakes up the anesthetized every time he picks up his guitar.
This is good news for all bands that denounce the tele- prompter and the obligatory video backdrop of climate change!
Vive le Rock.
Thank you Bob.
Michael Des Barres
_______________________________
Bob.....he's one of those guys that because of the Live record got pigeon holed......he's actually a great player and songwriter and strange it took this long for a lot of people to notice......kind of like Billy Gibbons in many ways
Chris Apostle
_______________________________
Here's my experience of Peter Frampton's concert at Anaheim Stadium in the summer of 1977 (pics attached).
Being an Aussie on holidays it was a mind blower – 50,000 people, many acts and Peter at the finale after 7 hours of California's best bands.
Burnt into the memory banks.
Love your blogs …
Rob Allan
Red Rock NSW Australia
_______________________________
I saw Frampton in '86 in Wildwood, New Jersey. I was shocked at how great he still was then, I'm not surprised to hear this. He's a true musician, with the sense of pride the great ones have...he still has it! He was also great on Howard a few months back!!
Bob, keep up the good work, you are reaching more folks than you probably realize.
Love your blog!
Jonathan Kutz
_______________________________
Great take on Frampton!
I was a huge Humble Pie fan.
Then I saw him back in the day, on the original "Frampton Comes Alive" tour.
Recently saw him at a shed show........and just like you said, he is all about the MUSIC.
GREAT show.....GREAT musicianship....
He talks a lot to his audience......stories, jokes, all very natural and sincere.
And, he did a very moving tribute to George Harrison as well.
I've been telling everyone, that Frampton is the best rock show of the year.
Thanks for highlighting Frampton, and also a little shout-out on Humble Pie!
Matt Mav
_______________________________
Peter Frampton doesn't get the recognition he deserves, but I guess that's what can happen when you're an overnight success (after working your ass off for years) Have you heard the story of his Les Paul Custom that was on the cover of FCA? That story is worthy of a movie!
Keep up the good work Bob, you're the keeper of the flame.
Michael Kimball
_______________________________
Fuckin A Bob.
Kurt Lambeth
_______________________________
WOW
So loved this Bob - gives me hope indeed. I was completely sold - and then - I Don't Need No Doctor!!! OMG - an all time fav and Frampton soared on the live version.
Peter van Roden
_______________________________
Check out Hal Willner's "That's The Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonius Monk", the track "Work", a duet between Peter Frampton and Chris Spedding. 1984. An astonishing track. It will forever change whatever preconceptions you had about Frampton.
Rich Arfin
_______________________________
I've seen Frampton in 77 or 76 can't remember exactly. Also seen him a couple more times over the years and bought some of his albums. No one can duplicate the amazing double live album. It was a time and place when all the stars were aligned. That being said he is a great musician and artist who keeps being true to his art form. I love it and I'm sure many others would if they went outside the box a little. Thanks for your review of a great evening.
Kind regards,
Rob Ahlgren
_______________________________
Your so lucky Bob!
Lisa Montez
_______________________________
Now that sounds like a concert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Katie Bradford
_______________________________
Wonderful write up, review. Will be listening to Frampton today on Spotify at work !
Steve Anderko
Syracuse NY
_______________________________
Great recap!! I saw Frampton a couple years back and he blew me away. He could have coasted on "Baby I love your way", " Show me", etc. for decades but he's still growing and still delivering 4 decades after his biggest hits. The real deal!!
Bill Tibbs
_______________________________
A lovely story for sure, wish I had been there. Peter played his first show in Phoenix in March of 1976, as part of the Star is Born movie, starring Kris and Barbra. Bill Graham produced the show. They needed a full stadium to get the shots you see in the movie, you know, where Kris really blows it and rides a bike up on the stage.
Early on, he called me at my other job which was at Arizona Waterbeds, and asked if I could have Peter, ZZ Top or the Winter Brothers, which would I pick to headline, and why?
ZZ had just played there, the Winter boys, while incredible, I just didn't feel, and Frampton just had released this new live album, which I just loved. I had a feeling. Instinct, correct, as the album went to #1 right after the show played at the end of March.
70000 people came to Sun Devil Stadium at $3.50 a head, as they didn't want to take any chances of not selling it out. In addition to Frampton closing, there was the LA Jets, Graham Central Station, Montrose, and Santana. Not bad for $3.50!! Plus, you HAD to be there by 9 am or you wouldn't get in, because of lighting and the shoot, etc.
Kris and Barbra were something together then, like fire and gas, but they did an amazing job. Jon Peters did a number on everyone, which I think was his way, but a lot of people weren't happy with him. But he did make a great movie.
Frampton was incredible and totally knocked the place out. they had never played a place this big and met it head on. I was a huge Humble Pie fan, but this guy took it to another level. We enjoyed many good times after that. Bravo to him for his great shows, still, and for you reporting it so well.
Greetings from Amsterdam!
Danny Zelisko
_______________________________
Bob,
Your praise of Frampton is so on point my friend. He is/has been one of, if not the best, performer I've ever seen!
I began going to see him live back in the Frampton's Camel days. Actually saw a whole bunch of other artists I would have never been interested in as a result, at the time Frampton was always the opener.
He once opened for Humble Pie ( he was third on the bill) @ the Philadelphia Spectrum possibly 1974(?) my friends and I were absolutely positive he would come out and jam with HP but alas it was not to be.
I also had the pleasure of seeing him at what used to be Glassboro State College, now Rowan University, in South Jersey play to a not so full auditorium mere months before his "Comes Alive" breakthrough.
Which leads me to the recent "meltdown " headlines which according to a few close friends who have had to pleasure of working for him at one time or another, are total Bulls**t!
The last time I saw him play was about ten years ago in Atlantic City NJ at a casino, the show was as you witnessed recently, filled with long guitar jams and lots of deep cuts only a real fan could appreciate yet done with such enthusiasm that those "not in the know" had little choice not to enjoy themseves.
About the 4th song in he began " Show Me The Way" and from my vantage point off to the side toward the front I noticed he was troubled by something in the very front 2 rows. He stopped the band and asked two women why they were standing, blocking the people behind's view and chatting! Apparently the women, who it is doubtful had any idea who Frampton was were trying to decide what they wanted to drink! I will venture to say their husbands were high rollers and they had their tickets compted.
When Frampton heard ( from one of them) what was going on he said " how about this: you sit your asses in the seats and I'll make sure you both get a drink?" The audience went crazy, he handled it better that a stand up taking care of a heckler. He then said to the audience "I want everone to see the show so asses in the seats from here on out okay?" He then kicked back into Show Me the Way RIGHT WHERE HE LEFT OFF!
He has no peers live and I'm even counting the Stones, his energy his obvious love of what he does make him #1 in my book. Rock On, Peter, and thanks for the show review Bob!
Cheers
Tom Gillam
Austin Texas
_______________________________
I just got the right's back to Fingerprints and we are re releasing for Christmas. I wish it was out NOW!!
Thank you thank you thank you Bob. This means so much to me and everyone concerned.
I'm speechless.
Many, many thanks
Peter
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Wednesday 2 August 2017
Frampton Rocks The Vilar
"Music is my food and life
Don't take it away"
I was expecting a greatest hits set.
I didn't expect Peter Frampton to be the savior of rock and roll.
There were blue-hairs in the audience. Well, wealthy ones, who looked like they'd cozy up to a horse but not a Les Paul. Patrons who go to all the shows. People who looked to have abandoned rock and roll with the advent of the Beatles.
So, Peter comes out with his acoustic, performs mellow tunes to satiate the assembled multitude and then exits to hosannas.
But this is not what happened, he positively WAILED! Didn't give the audience what it wanted, but what it needed. He illustrated what it was like to be a guitar god, from a different, long gone era, but in this case positively modernized for today!
The band hit the ground running with "Somethin's Happening," technically entitled "Baby (Somethin's Happening)" from the third LP:
"All right, somethin's happening
Hold tight, it might be lightning
Turn up the lights I feel like dancing"
He was doing the full shed show, after all, he'd graced the stage at a sold-out Red Rocks the night before, but instead of 9,000, the Vilar holds 575, and the audience was full of resort retirees with more money than fandom. But Frampton plowed on. Playing to those who cared and converting those who didn't. Shining the lights on them and getting them to sing the chorus as if they were at a rock and roll fantasy camp.
And the best part of "Somethin's Happening" is when Peter squeezes out those notes, which he did so exquisitely on his Gibson, my fingers were twitching and my face was scrunching just like it did when I listened along back in my bedroom in Fairfield, Connecticut.
And from there the show just rocked harder.
Until the fourth cut, when Peter gave them what they wanted, what they came for, "Show Me The Way."
But then the show took a left turn. Peter played a new number, "Saved A Bird," prefacing it with the true tale that inspired it and imploring the audience to clap after like it was "Do You Feel," getting them to practice beforehand, and they executed their job with energy and excitement after Peter performed the number he just "dropped" last week, and the live iteration superseded the recorded version.
And then, it's back to "Frampton Comes Alive!," right?
NOOOO!
Frampton went to the opening cut from his 2006 Grammy-winning instrumental album "Fingerprints."
"Boot It Up" reminded me of nothing so much as a Jeff Beck workout. But with twin guitars burning up the stage.
And then it occurred to me. This show was straight out of '69. Maybe '70 or '71. Back before the internet, back before diversions.
Before the show Frampton announced that you could take as many snapshots and videos as you wanted during the first three songs, but after that... The ushers policed this policy, no one was distracted.
And there were no video screens. Just a band on stage. MUSIC!
And when the mellifluous tones engulf the auditorium your mind is set free, your life is laid out before you, you contemplate where you were and how you got here but in this instance it wasn't nostalgia, but new music that was positively ALIVE!
In an era where everything is canned, there were no hard drives whatsoever. Just a five piece banging it out, it was akin to listening to a band in a basement, back when that's what kids did, get together and knock it out before they all became addicted to social media.
Listen to "Boot It Up," you've probably never heard it, but it's a one listen get:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3-z92hcXo0
And from there it was ANOTHER cut from "Fingerprints"!
I saw these acts when they were in their heyday.
I saw them on the comeback tour, maybe once more, but I cannot go again.
They've stopped being musicians and started being cardboard cutouts, vessels for your memories. They emerge in outfits and play their hits to prerecorded backup tracks and the whole thing is positively creepy. I may be old, but I am not dead.
Whereas Frampton doesn't wear a wig, he let his hair go white, he's still venturing down the path of rock and roll, being a musician, do you want to come along? HELL YEAH!
And after his tribute to Chris Cornell with a searing rendition of "Black Hole Sun," I started to wonder, was he EVER going to give the audience what they came for? NO! There was a high-amped take of "Money," and the version of "I Wanna Go To The Sun" was not the quiet one from the live album, but a take even more blistering than the studio version.
And after a rousing rendition of "Baby, I Love Your Way," the audience which remained, the blue-hairs were long gone, was up and swaying in a communal ritual that linked what was to what now is.
And then...
I thought he wasn't going to play it. Since he'd mentioned it earlier in the show, that's a harbinger of absence. And the whole presentation was a left turn, a journey down the road less taken, but then...
The last song on "Frampton's Camel," the longest cut on "Alive!," the one that dominated FM radio in the seventies but is rarely heard anymore except on the satellite, since it's over fourteen minutes long...
You know the descending riff.
And soon those not already standing got up from their seats. They had to pray at the altar of rock and roll, they needed to reveal who they truly were.
They didn't look the same. They'd experienced ups and downs. Were beaten down by the world, but when they heard this song they all felt like we who lived through the era when rock ruled do.
"Must have been a dream, I don't believe where I've been
Come on, let's do it again"
Seems like a dream from this distance, and I thought I could never do it again. But I'm standing there, part of the assembled multitude, watching the band trade solos (Bob Mayo!) and I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, rock can come back, at least for those of us who once believed. It requires us to pull on our boots and start marching, not forgetting where we we've been, but getting excited about where we're going.
He could have gone through the motions. No one's paying attention in Beaver Creek, Colorado. It's just another gig on the endless road. I've seen acts punch the clock for decades, on the fumes of what once was, burdened by who they used to be. But Frampton somehow cast aside the chains. He's all over Twitter, tweeting his political opinions when everybody is afraid to offend a single potential customer. Hell, I'll argue the debacle in Minnesota was good for his image, you see he's still a star and he still cares! We want those who believe in themselves, who want to give it their all, who want to surf the zeitgeist along with us, who have not forgone their sense of humor, who know their prowess on their instrument can motivate armies immune to the rantings of politicians.
You see, we feel like they do.
And we want to feel this way more. We want to get up off the couch, the only reason we're watching Netflix is because our musicians have let us down. But if a pied piper stood up and decided to lead, we'd follow them.
We couldn't help but follow Frampton last night.
CODA
I figured there'd be no encore. After all, Peter and his band had given it their all for almost two hours, and how do you follow up "Do You Feel Like We Do"?
But the house lights did not come on. The audience kept clapping and cheering. It resembled nothing so much as the Fillmore East. And then Peter came back on stage.
I figured for a couple of quiet numbers, you know, to calm the audience down and send them home ready for bed, some of those acoustic takes from the live album.
BUT NO!
"Four Day Creep" boogied into an over the top version of "I Don't Need No Doctor"! They were rockin' the Vilar. Just like Peter rocked the Fillmore back in the spring of '71, when I was there, when the headliner was Lee Michaels.
The double live LP was released that fall and Humble Pie became giants. It looked like the laugh was on Frampton, who announced he was leaving before it was recorded. But in music you don't play it safe, you go your own way, that's where the rewards are planted, on the road less taken.
And we walked down that road to nirvana last night.
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Don't take it away"
I was expecting a greatest hits set.
I didn't expect Peter Frampton to be the savior of rock and roll.
There were blue-hairs in the audience. Well, wealthy ones, who looked like they'd cozy up to a horse but not a Les Paul. Patrons who go to all the shows. People who looked to have abandoned rock and roll with the advent of the Beatles.
So, Peter comes out with his acoustic, performs mellow tunes to satiate the assembled multitude and then exits to hosannas.
But this is not what happened, he positively WAILED! Didn't give the audience what it wanted, but what it needed. He illustrated what it was like to be a guitar god, from a different, long gone era, but in this case positively modernized for today!
The band hit the ground running with "Somethin's Happening," technically entitled "Baby (Somethin's Happening)" from the third LP:
"All right, somethin's happening
Hold tight, it might be lightning
Turn up the lights I feel like dancing"
He was doing the full shed show, after all, he'd graced the stage at a sold-out Red Rocks the night before, but instead of 9,000, the Vilar holds 575, and the audience was full of resort retirees with more money than fandom. But Frampton plowed on. Playing to those who cared and converting those who didn't. Shining the lights on them and getting them to sing the chorus as if they were at a rock and roll fantasy camp.
And the best part of "Somethin's Happening" is when Peter squeezes out those notes, which he did so exquisitely on his Gibson, my fingers were twitching and my face was scrunching just like it did when I listened along back in my bedroom in Fairfield, Connecticut.
And from there the show just rocked harder.
Until the fourth cut, when Peter gave them what they wanted, what they came for, "Show Me The Way."
But then the show took a left turn. Peter played a new number, "Saved A Bird," prefacing it with the true tale that inspired it and imploring the audience to clap after like it was "Do You Feel," getting them to practice beforehand, and they executed their job with energy and excitement after Peter performed the number he just "dropped" last week, and the live iteration superseded the recorded version.
And then, it's back to "Frampton Comes Alive!," right?
NOOOO!
Frampton went to the opening cut from his 2006 Grammy-winning instrumental album "Fingerprints."
"Boot It Up" reminded me of nothing so much as a Jeff Beck workout. But with twin guitars burning up the stage.
And then it occurred to me. This show was straight out of '69. Maybe '70 or '71. Back before the internet, back before diversions.
Before the show Frampton announced that you could take as many snapshots and videos as you wanted during the first three songs, but after that... The ushers policed this policy, no one was distracted.
And there were no video screens. Just a band on stage. MUSIC!
And when the mellifluous tones engulf the auditorium your mind is set free, your life is laid out before you, you contemplate where you were and how you got here but in this instance it wasn't nostalgia, but new music that was positively ALIVE!
In an era where everything is canned, there were no hard drives whatsoever. Just a five piece banging it out, it was akin to listening to a band in a basement, back when that's what kids did, get together and knock it out before they all became addicted to social media.
Listen to "Boot It Up," you've probably never heard it, but it's a one listen get:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3-z92hcXo0
And from there it was ANOTHER cut from "Fingerprints"!
I saw these acts when they were in their heyday.
I saw them on the comeback tour, maybe once more, but I cannot go again.
They've stopped being musicians and started being cardboard cutouts, vessels for your memories. They emerge in outfits and play their hits to prerecorded backup tracks and the whole thing is positively creepy. I may be old, but I am not dead.
Whereas Frampton doesn't wear a wig, he let his hair go white, he's still venturing down the path of rock and roll, being a musician, do you want to come along? HELL YEAH!
And after his tribute to Chris Cornell with a searing rendition of "Black Hole Sun," I started to wonder, was he EVER going to give the audience what they came for? NO! There was a high-amped take of "Money," and the version of "I Wanna Go To The Sun" was not the quiet one from the live album, but a take even more blistering than the studio version.
And after a rousing rendition of "Baby, I Love Your Way," the audience which remained, the blue-hairs were long gone, was up and swaying in a communal ritual that linked what was to what now is.
And then...
I thought he wasn't going to play it. Since he'd mentioned it earlier in the show, that's a harbinger of absence. And the whole presentation was a left turn, a journey down the road less taken, but then...
The last song on "Frampton's Camel," the longest cut on "Alive!," the one that dominated FM radio in the seventies but is rarely heard anymore except on the satellite, since it's over fourteen minutes long...
You know the descending riff.
And soon those not already standing got up from their seats. They had to pray at the altar of rock and roll, they needed to reveal who they truly were.
They didn't look the same. They'd experienced ups and downs. Were beaten down by the world, but when they heard this song they all felt like we who lived through the era when rock ruled do.
"Must have been a dream, I don't believe where I've been
Come on, let's do it again"
Seems like a dream from this distance, and I thought I could never do it again. But I'm standing there, part of the assembled multitude, watching the band trade solos (Bob Mayo!) and I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, rock can come back, at least for those of us who once believed. It requires us to pull on our boots and start marching, not forgetting where we we've been, but getting excited about where we're going.
He could have gone through the motions. No one's paying attention in Beaver Creek, Colorado. It's just another gig on the endless road. I've seen acts punch the clock for decades, on the fumes of what once was, burdened by who they used to be. But Frampton somehow cast aside the chains. He's all over Twitter, tweeting his political opinions when everybody is afraid to offend a single potential customer. Hell, I'll argue the debacle in Minnesota was good for his image, you see he's still a star and he still cares! We want those who believe in themselves, who want to give it their all, who want to surf the zeitgeist along with us, who have not forgone their sense of humor, who know their prowess on their instrument can motivate armies immune to the rantings of politicians.
You see, we feel like they do.
And we want to feel this way more. We want to get up off the couch, the only reason we're watching Netflix is because our musicians have let us down. But if a pied piper stood up and decided to lead, we'd follow them.
We couldn't help but follow Frampton last night.
CODA
I figured there'd be no encore. After all, Peter and his band had given it their all for almost two hours, and how do you follow up "Do You Feel Like We Do"?
But the house lights did not come on. The audience kept clapping and cheering. It resembled nothing so much as the Fillmore East. And then Peter came back on stage.
I figured for a couple of quiet numbers, you know, to calm the audience down and send them home ready for bed, some of those acoustic takes from the live album.
BUT NO!
"Four Day Creep" boogied into an over the top version of "I Don't Need No Doctor"! They were rockin' the Vilar. Just like Peter rocked the Fillmore back in the spring of '71, when I was there, when the headliner was Lee Michaels.
The double live LP was released that fall and Humble Pie became giants. It looked like the laugh was on Frampton, who announced he was leaving before it was recorded. But in music you don't play it safe, you go your own way, that's where the rewards are planted, on the road less taken.
And we walked down that road to nirvana last night.
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Tuesday 1 August 2017
How To Promote If You've Had A Hit
STAY IN THE MARKETPLACE
Mystery is history. Remove yourself from the scene and you're forgotten. Your number one concern is satiating your fans. You do this by giving them news updates and new music. Music is primarily one-offs on YouTube and Soundcloud. An acoustic cover of a new hit or a classic can work wonders, people already know the song so they don't tune out and they love to pass these things on, potentially converting newbies. As for news... Unless you're a superstar, keep it under the radar and don't overdo it. Put it on your website and socials, BUT ONLY ONCE! Sure, if you're inclined to, post life updates and opinions on the social networks. But you must do it yourself, if you're employing someone to do it the audience can tell and it works against you. You don't want to look like you're working it. If you're a superstar, you want to play the gossip game, hopefully to your advantage. You also don't want to look like you're working it and you don't want to look bad. But when you've reached the pinnacle there's only one way to go, down, and it's a long, hard climb back up. So do your best to maintain your status until...
NEW MUSIC
It must be great, it must be a hit, or don't even bother. You want to keep up your momentum. A stiff can move you backward. Nobody knows anything, but you know when you've crossed the bar, when you've achieved greatness. Your heart pitter-patters after composing the song, or upon hearing the final mix. If you're not reaching this peak, don't double-down, take a break. Great art is based on inspiration, which comes at the strangest times, when you're in the shower, when you're reading the newspaper, the more you live your normal life the better chance you have of capturing lightning in a bottle. As for songs written by others... If you're in Nashville, if you're a superstar, you get the best, because the writers want to make money. But if you're not Luke Bryan, best to compose yourself, because you're evidenced in the song, it's personal, or try to work with outside people, those not part of the usual system. If it's pop, yes, there's nobody like Max Martin, but too many of these songs sound alike, they were made in a factory, and what draws people most is the outside cut, the different. Don't be afraid to take a chance.
ALBUMS
Forget it unless you're an oldster, if you've had hits in the past and are not gonna have one in the future. The album will garner you publicity, even though radio won't play it and no one wants to hear the new songs in concert. It's a circle jerk, the last remnants of an old paradigm. So, you can go for the low hanging fruit, or you can truly be a musician and try to play the game like the youngsters, try to cut a hit. Believe me, people will give it a listen. As far as gaining traction...
YOU NEED A TEAM
Nothing succeeds on its own anymore. You need a team of people lobbying the tastemakers. Go with a team that is excited about you, not the team that has the most success, they don't need you. But chances are you're already signed to a label anyway. In that case, make friends with the powers-that-be. Keeping your label at arm's length is a disaster. Have dinner with the President, take the promo staff out for a brainstorming session, send an e-mail when someone does something good. People want to work for those they know who are nice, it's no different in music than it is in any other walk of life. Your label is in the marketplace 24/7, they know who they can work, whereas you don't come to bat that often.
THE TRACK STIFFS
Happens more often than not, best to have something else in the pipeline, something that sounds different, that you also believe is great, give it a shot, but not until you're sure the prior track is dead. But that could be as soon as a month, even sooner. People have short memories, they forget the stiffs, as long as you subsequently have a hit.
TELEVISION
This is tricky. Because it means less than ever before and nothing is worse than playing a cut that has already failed. Don't expect much, but you can get lucky.
PRINT
Not as important as online, although the major news outlets are there too. DO NOT DO A TYPICAL STORY/INTERVIEW WHERE YOU SAY THIS IS YOUR GREATEST ALBUM EVER AND HOW... People ignore this stuff, they've seen it too much, it's just hype. Better to just have a squib or a quick review, or else a full interview that's more about you than the music. Best instance of this is the Father John Misty story in the "New Yorker," it's what "Rolling Stone" used to do, he came across as an individual, as opposed to part of the working combine. Also, it was OFF CYCLE! That's the new game, if you've got any traction, you want stories long after the new music has been released, both talking about its run in the marketplace and where your head is at. Front-load at your peril.
ONLINE
It's a cornucopia of outlets. Have your PR team service them all. You'd be stunned how many just print your press release verbatim.
RADIO
It comes last today. Even if you're a superstar. The action is all in streaming. Become a student of the Spotify charts, see what is working, how long the tracks stay on. Also note that oftentimes the most successful cuts sound completely different from the rest. You can get lucky, people can stumble on to your track on a playlist and get hooked, even if they didn't know you before.
PLAYLISTS
The new payola. Even if you're just paying a service. If you're truly a star, your team has a relationship with Spotify and Apple (and Amazon!) It behooves these services to make hits, it burnishes their image, evidences their power, but they're run by data. If you're not reacting, you're done.
TOURING
Don't become too invested in cleaning up on the road. The shorter the better. You want to be in the studio, you want to make records. If you have enough hits, you can work forever. Once you go on tour you're forgotten. Oh, the music press might publicize your initial date, you might get a review in every market, if you're lucky, it's just that the action is all in cyberspace, online, on streaming services. Out on the road you're in your silo, doing nothing but making dough. Unless, of course, you do something different, which almost nobody does. Best example is Phish's Baker's Dozen at Madison Square Garden, not repeating any song in a seemingly endless number of dates. Their fans can't stop telling everybody they know how great this is, it puts Phish top of mind. Yes, there's more than one way to play this game. But if you think taking a year to make an album that you publicize a month or more before release and then sell an eighteen month tour at the same is the game to be played, you're living in the past. The present rules, wake up and change, it's good for you!
Mystery is history. Remove yourself from the scene and you're forgotten. Your number one concern is satiating your fans. You do this by giving them news updates and new music. Music is primarily one-offs on YouTube and Soundcloud. An acoustic cover of a new hit or a classic can work wonders, people already know the song so they don't tune out and they love to pass these things on, potentially converting newbies. As for news... Unless you're a superstar, keep it under the radar and don't overdo it. Put it on your website and socials, BUT ONLY ONCE! Sure, if you're inclined to, post life updates and opinions on the social networks. But you must do it yourself, if you're employing someone to do it the audience can tell and it works against you. You don't want to look like you're working it. If you're a superstar, you want to play the gossip game, hopefully to your advantage. You also don't want to look like you're working it and you don't want to look bad. But when you've reached the pinnacle there's only one way to go, down, and it's a long, hard climb back up. So do your best to maintain your status until...
NEW MUSIC
It must be great, it must be a hit, or don't even bother. You want to keep up your momentum. A stiff can move you backward. Nobody knows anything, but you know when you've crossed the bar, when you've achieved greatness. Your heart pitter-patters after composing the song, or upon hearing the final mix. If you're not reaching this peak, don't double-down, take a break. Great art is based on inspiration, which comes at the strangest times, when you're in the shower, when you're reading the newspaper, the more you live your normal life the better chance you have of capturing lightning in a bottle. As for songs written by others... If you're in Nashville, if you're a superstar, you get the best, because the writers want to make money. But if you're not Luke Bryan, best to compose yourself, because you're evidenced in the song, it's personal, or try to work with outside people, those not part of the usual system. If it's pop, yes, there's nobody like Max Martin, but too many of these songs sound alike, they were made in a factory, and what draws people most is the outside cut, the different. Don't be afraid to take a chance.
ALBUMS
Forget it unless you're an oldster, if you've had hits in the past and are not gonna have one in the future. The album will garner you publicity, even though radio won't play it and no one wants to hear the new songs in concert. It's a circle jerk, the last remnants of an old paradigm. So, you can go for the low hanging fruit, or you can truly be a musician and try to play the game like the youngsters, try to cut a hit. Believe me, people will give it a listen. As far as gaining traction...
YOU NEED A TEAM
Nothing succeeds on its own anymore. You need a team of people lobbying the tastemakers. Go with a team that is excited about you, not the team that has the most success, they don't need you. But chances are you're already signed to a label anyway. In that case, make friends with the powers-that-be. Keeping your label at arm's length is a disaster. Have dinner with the President, take the promo staff out for a brainstorming session, send an e-mail when someone does something good. People want to work for those they know who are nice, it's no different in music than it is in any other walk of life. Your label is in the marketplace 24/7, they know who they can work, whereas you don't come to bat that often.
THE TRACK STIFFS
Happens more often than not, best to have something else in the pipeline, something that sounds different, that you also believe is great, give it a shot, but not until you're sure the prior track is dead. But that could be as soon as a month, even sooner. People have short memories, they forget the stiffs, as long as you subsequently have a hit.
TELEVISION
This is tricky. Because it means less than ever before and nothing is worse than playing a cut that has already failed. Don't expect much, but you can get lucky.
Not as important as online, although the major news outlets are there too. DO NOT DO A TYPICAL STORY/INTERVIEW WHERE YOU SAY THIS IS YOUR GREATEST ALBUM EVER AND HOW... People ignore this stuff, they've seen it too much, it's just hype. Better to just have a squib or a quick review, or else a full interview that's more about you than the music. Best instance of this is the Father John Misty story in the "New Yorker," it's what "Rolling Stone" used to do, he came across as an individual, as opposed to part of the working combine. Also, it was OFF CYCLE! That's the new game, if you've got any traction, you want stories long after the new music has been released, both talking about its run in the marketplace and where your head is at. Front-load at your peril.
ONLINE
It's a cornucopia of outlets. Have your PR team service them all. You'd be stunned how many just print your press release verbatim.
RADIO
It comes last today. Even if you're a superstar. The action is all in streaming. Become a student of the Spotify charts, see what is working, how long the tracks stay on. Also note that oftentimes the most successful cuts sound completely different from the rest. You can get lucky, people can stumble on to your track on a playlist and get hooked, even if they didn't know you before.
PLAYLISTS
The new payola. Even if you're just paying a service. If you're truly a star, your team has a relationship with Spotify and Apple (and Amazon!) It behooves these services to make hits, it burnishes their image, evidences their power, but they're run by data. If you're not reacting, you're done.
TOURING
Don't become too invested in cleaning up on the road. The shorter the better. You want to be in the studio, you want to make records. If you have enough hits, you can work forever. Once you go on tour you're forgotten. Oh, the music press might publicize your initial date, you might get a review in every market, if you're lucky, it's just that the action is all in cyberspace, online, on streaming services. Out on the road you're in your silo, doing nothing but making dough. Unless, of course, you do something different, which almost nobody does. Best example is Phish's Baker's Dozen at Madison Square Garden, not repeating any song in a seemingly endless number of dates. Their fans can't stop telling everybody they know how great this is, it puts Phish top of mind. Yes, there's more than one way to play this game. But if you think taking a year to make an album that you publicize a month or more before release and then sell an eighteen month tour at the same is the game to be played, you're living in the past. The present rules, wake up and change, it's good for you!
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The First Day In August
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"On the first day in August
I wanna wake up by your side
After sleeping with you
On the last night in July"
I play this song every year.
We knew Carole King wrote "The Loco-Motion." At least I did, it was one of the first 45s I ever bought, it was that MWAA sound of what I think is a saxophone, actually I just did a little research and Artie Kaplan said he overdubbed his sax five times to get that sound, the infectious one that made me make my mother rush to the discount store so I could purchase it. It spun on that box record player I owned, you know, the one with the heavy tonearm and speaker inside, that made the records turn grey if you played them enough. I was in fifth grade, before the Beatles broke, I remember buying "Monster Mash" at the same time, and I knew it was a novelty record, but I couldn't get over the lines "The coffin-bangers were about to arrive/With their vocal group, 'The Crypt-Kicker Five,'" it's amazing how one sound or one line can hook you. And this was before music was forever, I'd graduated from "Ruff and Reddy" records, tracks were only for then, it wasn't until the Beatles broke over a year later that we got the idea there was something more here, at this time music was just a business, sound like today?
Anyway, I remember "The Loco-Motion" having a blue label. I used to watch it spin on the record player. Why did we do this? I don't know! We were enraptured, we wanted to get closer to the music. And, like I said, under the title, it said "Goffin-King," whoever they were, but I soon learned. But their run was starting to end, and then it was 1971.
There was a previous LP that stiffed, and "Tapestry" was not an immediate hit, it didn't jump out of the box, but then word spread, maybe it was the single "It's Too Late," they don't make dreamy, heavy songs like this anymore, "You're So Vain" was similar, whereas today you've got to hit them over the head right away, then again "It's Too Late" was not that dissimilar, the hooky chorus came soon, and then back to that irresistible piano figure. And when there was a giant song on the radio and the act had credibility what you did was go out and buy the album and immerse yourself in it. And from the initial riff of "I Feel The Earth Move" you were hooked, these were perfect compositions performed with heart and energy, no one could pooh-pooh the album, and no one did in an era where everybody was deploring your taste, we all rallied around "Tapestry" and if they wiped history clean and re-released the LP today it too would go straight to the top of the chart, no, music doesn't sound like this today, but songs still rule and when your compositions rule, so do you.
"Tapestry" was followed up by "Music," released only ten months later, which seems kind of amazing, but the truth is the two to three year cycle didn't emerge until later in the decade, now it was still an album a year and you didn't want to miss Christmas, everything was faster back then, don't forget, the Beatles broke the paradigm of multiple LPs a year by going to one an annum, but even the then breaking Elton John put out multiple LPs a year.
And "Music" was not as successful. "It's Going To Take Some Time" and "Sweet Seasons" were mild hits, but the following LP, "Rhymes & Reasons," put out in October 1972, ten months later, was a relative disappointment, with no singles. King wasn't quite Alanis Morissette, with one big hit and then almost nothing of stature, but it looked like she was on a bad arc until two years and two albums later she had a gigantic hit with a different sound, the then ubiquitous "Jazzman" with the indelible Tom Scott sax solo. But I purchased "Rhymes & Reasons" and knew it by heart, you bought two LPs after the monster breakthrough, and it's this album that contains "The First Day In August."
There were winners on "Rhymes & Reasons," mostly "Bitter With The Sweet" and "Been To Canaan," but "The First Day In August" is the one that sticks in my brain, that I start thinking about in the middle of July, the peak of the summer on the east coast.
Not in California. In Los Angeles summer starts slowly, it creeps up on you. And the hottest days can be when the sun starts to set early, in September and October.
But when it hits August on the east coast you know summer's almost gone, you start thinking about school, you start thinking about fall, you start thinking about cold weather. Your mentality starts to change, from pure fun to a reflective state, like the vibe of "The First Day In August." Then again, if you're a rock star, and Carole King was, it's summer all year long, or it can be, if you choose. School is far behind you. Every day is a playday. Sure, you've got to go into the studio, make records, but that seemed like a privilege to those of us on the outside, and this was before the sheds, when everybody toured during the summer, rather you toured all year long, whenever it fit with the album cycle.
So, it was the first day in August after the album containing the track had been released. I'd had a dumb job all July, and now I was going to drive my sister cross-country to the promised land, to Los Angeles for graduate school. And I vividly remember sitting on the brown corduroy couch in the "new room" of the addition which had been built eleven years before in 1962 and listening to "The First Day In August" over the stereo. There was hustle and bustle, we were about to go on our trip, my mother and sister were conversing, but I was trapped in my reverie.
It was the first day in August.
YouTube: http://bit.ly/2vkDOYL?utm_source=phplist5960&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=The+First+Day+In+August
"On the first day in August
I wanna wake up by your side
After sleeping with you
On the last night in July"
I play this song every year.
We knew Carole King wrote "The Loco-Motion." At least I did, it was one of the first 45s I ever bought, it was that MWAA sound of what I think is a saxophone, actually I just did a little research and Artie Kaplan said he overdubbed his sax five times to get that sound, the infectious one that made me make my mother rush to the discount store so I could purchase it. It spun on that box record player I owned, you know, the one with the heavy tonearm and speaker inside, that made the records turn grey if you played them enough. I was in fifth grade, before the Beatles broke, I remember buying "Monster Mash" at the same time, and I knew it was a novelty record, but I couldn't get over the lines "The coffin-bangers were about to arrive/With their vocal group, 'The Crypt-Kicker Five,'" it's amazing how one sound or one line can hook you. And this was before music was forever, I'd graduated from "Ruff and Reddy" records, tracks were only for then, it wasn't until the Beatles broke over a year later that we got the idea there was something more here, at this time music was just a business, sound like today?
Anyway, I remember "The Loco-Motion" having a blue label. I used to watch it spin on the record player. Why did we do this? I don't know! We were enraptured, we wanted to get closer to the music. And, like I said, under the title, it said "Goffin-King," whoever they were, but I soon learned. But their run was starting to end, and then it was 1971.
There was a previous LP that stiffed, and "Tapestry" was not an immediate hit, it didn't jump out of the box, but then word spread, maybe it was the single "It's Too Late," they don't make dreamy, heavy songs like this anymore, "You're So Vain" was similar, whereas today you've got to hit them over the head right away, then again "It's Too Late" was not that dissimilar, the hooky chorus came soon, and then back to that irresistible piano figure. And when there was a giant song on the radio and the act had credibility what you did was go out and buy the album and immerse yourself in it. And from the initial riff of "I Feel The Earth Move" you were hooked, these were perfect compositions performed with heart and energy, no one could pooh-pooh the album, and no one did in an era where everybody was deploring your taste, we all rallied around "Tapestry" and if they wiped history clean and re-released the LP today it too would go straight to the top of the chart, no, music doesn't sound like this today, but songs still rule and when your compositions rule, so do you.
"Tapestry" was followed up by "Music," released only ten months later, which seems kind of amazing, but the truth is the two to three year cycle didn't emerge until later in the decade, now it was still an album a year and you didn't want to miss Christmas, everything was faster back then, don't forget, the Beatles broke the paradigm of multiple LPs a year by going to one an annum, but even the then breaking Elton John put out multiple LPs a year.
And "Music" was not as successful. "It's Going To Take Some Time" and "Sweet Seasons" were mild hits, but the following LP, "Rhymes & Reasons," put out in October 1972, ten months later, was a relative disappointment, with no singles. King wasn't quite Alanis Morissette, with one big hit and then almost nothing of stature, but it looked like she was on a bad arc until two years and two albums later she had a gigantic hit with a different sound, the then ubiquitous "Jazzman" with the indelible Tom Scott sax solo. But I purchased "Rhymes & Reasons" and knew it by heart, you bought two LPs after the monster breakthrough, and it's this album that contains "The First Day In August."
There were winners on "Rhymes & Reasons," mostly "Bitter With The Sweet" and "Been To Canaan," but "The First Day In August" is the one that sticks in my brain, that I start thinking about in the middle of July, the peak of the summer on the east coast.
Not in California. In Los Angeles summer starts slowly, it creeps up on you. And the hottest days can be when the sun starts to set early, in September and October.
But when it hits August on the east coast you know summer's almost gone, you start thinking about school, you start thinking about fall, you start thinking about cold weather. Your mentality starts to change, from pure fun to a reflective state, like the vibe of "The First Day In August." Then again, if you're a rock star, and Carole King was, it's summer all year long, or it can be, if you choose. School is far behind you. Every day is a playday. Sure, you've got to go into the studio, make records, but that seemed like a privilege to those of us on the outside, and this was before the sheds, when everybody toured during the summer, rather you toured all year long, whenever it fit with the album cycle.
So, it was the first day in August after the album containing the track had been released. I'd had a dumb job all July, and now I was going to drive my sister cross-country to the promised land, to Los Angeles for graduate school. And I vividly remember sitting on the brown corduroy couch in the "new room" of the addition which had been built eleven years before in 1962 and listening to "The First Day In August" over the stereo. There was hustle and bustle, we were about to go on our trip, my mother and sister were conversing, but I was trapped in my reverie.
It was the first day in August.
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Game Of Thrones Hack
It's an outdated business model. Pirates stole a Netflix show and the majordomos shrugged and said all episodes were available online, no biggie.
And it wasn't.
You don't fight pirates.
You fight their business model!
Which is why you never hear about P2P in the age of streaming. Scour the internet for files that take minutes to download? Never mind worry about viruses? When you can hear what you want instantly, on demand? Never forget convenience wins. Worried about people stealing your wares? Make it easier to buy them. Works every time. Remember when insiders said no one would pay for music anymore? Then yesterday Spotify announces it's got 60 million subscribers. Wait long enough and people figure it out.
But the fascinating thing is no one wants to steal and leak music anymore. Go back to the earlier part of this century, and that was a big crisis. In the era when the first week meant everything. Now the first week is a joke. Where is Katy Perry's album today? It's all about the longevity. Leaving the starting block fast grants you no advantage. The biggest hits of the year were not instant successes, they took time to develop, like "Despacito" and "Redbone."
But there's something more sinister afoot. Turns out people are just not that interested. When we had a cohesive business, one in which you knew all the players and all the records, when music was akin to MLB or the NFL, there was an excitement in a release. Now people are inundated with music and they believe they can wait for great to ultimately surface, and they're only interested in great.
But music does not drive the culture.
Who do we blame? No one? Or the labels that are enabling these niches. The acts playing to sponsors. Adele and Ed Sheeran dominate the landscape, yet no one follows in their footsteps, they may laud the songstress but they denigrate the troubadour, as if creating songs with melody you can sing along with is a crime.
But at least people have an opinion on Adele and Sheeran. The rest of the pile? Most don't care.
So the acts leak their own records. On Soundcloud, via mixtapes. They're satiating their fans with a constant stream of product, knowing that recording revenue is not the only one, if you can bond someone to you, you've got them possibly for life.
So Drake and the rappers are doing something right.
And the media is completely missing the boat. Thank god Bewkes is selling HBO, because its business model is flawed. Dripping out shows for water cooler discussion. It's funny, the Netflix shows start slower and last longer, they work their way through the culture, and today you don't want headlines, but hearts and minds. As soon as someone starts quoting statistics, ignore them. In an era of big data what we want most is that which touches us, that which we embrace. When we binge on Netflix or Amazon we feel we're on an individual quest and we can't wait to tell everybody about it. Whereas "Game Of Thrones" airs, an episode is talked about for forty eight hours, and then it's over.
So what we've learned is we're looking for mania, that which we can all pay attention to and have an opinion on. Isn't that what the web epitomizes? Everybody weighing in with their opinion? You want to enable this, you want to see it as paramount, you want to interact with your fans, not keep them at arm's length, you want to come down off your throne and be an Average Joe.
Well, not really. But in an era where everyone feels powerful online, if you puff yourself up you're a target.
So ignore the headlines, not because they're fake news, but because they just can't get it right. They report the stories in an old way. Focusing first on numbers, and headlines that are meaningless. Who knows what was number one on SoundScan last week, does SoundScan even matter? I can go on Spotify and find the true number one, and it's updated DAILY!
So know that we are in charge. We are the customer. And the customer rules.
We make hits. We spread the word. And eventually the business model comes to us.
And that business model is on demand.
We want it all.
And we want it NOW!
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And it wasn't.
You don't fight pirates.
You fight their business model!
Which is why you never hear about P2P in the age of streaming. Scour the internet for files that take minutes to download? Never mind worry about viruses? When you can hear what you want instantly, on demand? Never forget convenience wins. Worried about people stealing your wares? Make it easier to buy them. Works every time. Remember when insiders said no one would pay for music anymore? Then yesterday Spotify announces it's got 60 million subscribers. Wait long enough and people figure it out.
But the fascinating thing is no one wants to steal and leak music anymore. Go back to the earlier part of this century, and that was a big crisis. In the era when the first week meant everything. Now the first week is a joke. Where is Katy Perry's album today? It's all about the longevity. Leaving the starting block fast grants you no advantage. The biggest hits of the year were not instant successes, they took time to develop, like "Despacito" and "Redbone."
But there's something more sinister afoot. Turns out people are just not that interested. When we had a cohesive business, one in which you knew all the players and all the records, when music was akin to MLB or the NFL, there was an excitement in a release. Now people are inundated with music and they believe they can wait for great to ultimately surface, and they're only interested in great.
But music does not drive the culture.
Who do we blame? No one? Or the labels that are enabling these niches. The acts playing to sponsors. Adele and Ed Sheeran dominate the landscape, yet no one follows in their footsteps, they may laud the songstress but they denigrate the troubadour, as if creating songs with melody you can sing along with is a crime.
But at least people have an opinion on Adele and Sheeran. The rest of the pile? Most don't care.
So the acts leak their own records. On Soundcloud, via mixtapes. They're satiating their fans with a constant stream of product, knowing that recording revenue is not the only one, if you can bond someone to you, you've got them possibly for life.
So Drake and the rappers are doing something right.
And the media is completely missing the boat. Thank god Bewkes is selling HBO, because its business model is flawed. Dripping out shows for water cooler discussion. It's funny, the Netflix shows start slower and last longer, they work their way through the culture, and today you don't want headlines, but hearts and minds. As soon as someone starts quoting statistics, ignore them. In an era of big data what we want most is that which touches us, that which we embrace. When we binge on Netflix or Amazon we feel we're on an individual quest and we can't wait to tell everybody about it. Whereas "Game Of Thrones" airs, an episode is talked about for forty eight hours, and then it's over.
So what we've learned is we're looking for mania, that which we can all pay attention to and have an opinion on. Isn't that what the web epitomizes? Everybody weighing in with their opinion? You want to enable this, you want to see it as paramount, you want to interact with your fans, not keep them at arm's length, you want to come down off your throne and be an Average Joe.
Well, not really. But in an era where everyone feels powerful online, if you puff yourself up you're a target.
So ignore the headlines, not because they're fake news, but because they just can't get it right. They report the stories in an old way. Focusing first on numbers, and headlines that are meaningless. Who knows what was number one on SoundScan last week, does SoundScan even matter? I can go on Spotify and find the true number one, and it's updated DAILY!
So know that we are in charge. We are the customer. And the customer rules.
We make hits. We spread the word. And eventually the business model comes to us.
And that business model is on demand.
We want it all.
And we want it NOW!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/?utm_source=phplist5959&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Game+Of+Thrones+Hack
--
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Sunday 30 July 2017
Re-Ozark
Hi Bob,
I manage Jason Bateman & Laura Linney (in addition to Selena Gomez & many other artists).
I was blown away by what you wrote about "Ozark" and about character being more important than money.
I often wonder what I am doing here making people as rich and famous as possible. Fame, money, and power. That seems to be what most people want (in that order). And that's what I am paid to get for my clients.
But as I tell my kids, it's actually about relationships and connection, because many of the people I know who have hundreds of millions and are famous and powerful are deeply unhappy. So what's up with that?
I think the experience artists have creating and connecting is far more important than the ultimate result (not that I don't enjoy when they have a hit record or make a shitload of money or win an Oscar).
Anyway, I love Ozark too. But I now am a fan of yours and wanted to reach out.
That's it.
Hope u r having a great weekend.
Best,
Aleen
aleen keshishian | lighthouse management + media
9000 w sunset blvd. | suite 1520 | west hollywood, ca 90069
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I manage Jason Bateman & Laura Linney (in addition to Selena Gomez & many other artists).
I was blown away by what you wrote about "Ozark" and about character being more important than money.
I often wonder what I am doing here making people as rich and famous as possible. Fame, money, and power. That seems to be what most people want (in that order). And that's what I am paid to get for my clients.
But as I tell my kids, it's actually about relationships and connection, because many of the people I know who have hundreds of millions and are famous and powerful are deeply unhappy. So what's up with that?
I think the experience artists have creating and connecting is far more important than the ultimate result (not that I don't enjoy when they have a hit record or make a shitload of money or win an Oscar).
Anyway, I love Ozark too. But I now am a fan of yours and wanted to reach out.
That's it.
Hope u r having a great weekend.
Best,
Aleen
aleen keshishian | lighthouse management + media
9000 w sunset blvd. | suite 1520 | west hollywood, ca 90069
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/?utm_source=phplist5958&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text&utm_campaign=Re-Ozark
--
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