Every week the antiquated record industry trumpets its sales figures and the even more ancient media industry repeats them. And to say they're unimpressive is to say you took the family goat to prom.
Let's look at Imagine Dragons.
They're a top ten act selling 25,000 records a week.
25k a week? That's positively anemic in a country of 300 million. That's like asking us to be impressed that you made $2.50 at the lemonade stand. In a county where movies debut in the double digit millions every week, it appears the music industry is a joke.
But it's not.
Oh, you can point to the 1.25 million records Imagine Dragons has sold in nearly a year, but how impressive is that? When there used to be a diamond award given for ten million sales on a regular basis at the tail end of the last century...
Have people just given up listening to music?
NO! It's just that the industry keeps pointing people to lame metrics.
On Spotify, the supposedly rip-off system with no traction, Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" has been spun 122,988,750 times. Put that number in the paper, it'll wow people! It's almost unfathomable, it's got too many commas for most people to be able to interpret. And the band has another track at over 50 million and two in the 30 million play range.
These numbers are SPECTACULAR!
This is not your daddy's record business. Only it is. Everyone's pointing to the wrong number and the acts are complicit.
The press has declared Kanye West's new album a stiff, but on Spotify the tracks have 2.5 to 5 million plays. Now compared to "Blurred Lines," with 64 million, that's not much, but it certainly indicates traction. As for the other song of the summer? The radio edit of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" has got 74,122,609 spins and the album version has got another 26,335,533.
It's not whether someone buys it, but whether they play it. While "Billboard" keeps reformulating its chart, factoring in social media and a bunch of other crap, why not look to streaming services, which truly indicate popularity?
Same deal with YouTube, where "Radioactive" has 65 million plays. And that's impressive, but people conflate those numbers with television, with the MTV of yore, and they just don't register that much anymore, especially with a new viral video on a regular basis, which may have nothing to do with music.
And you don't see Calvin Harris's name on a regular basis in mainstream media, but he's got numerous tracks with double digit million spins on Spotify. "I Need Your Love" has got 56,435,679, "Sweet Nothing" has got 73,831,099. Maybe some insiders are gloating over his income, wherein he was rated as the number one earning deejay in "Forbes," but to think that's gotten mainstream penetration is to believe "Forbes"'s site has got the same following as TMZ. Then again, it was linkbait, they just did that report to garner virality.
But that's all about manipulation. Right now, these Spotify numbers are real. And important. And as soon as we stop vilifying these streaming services and start trumpeting their metrics, the sooner the rest of the world will take music seriously, the sooner artists will realize that there's a ton of money in music and it's worth it to take the risk as opposed to play the game because you can go straight to your audience and people are hungry for something new and different.
P.S. Don't denigrate Spotify, sign up! Get everybody you know to sign up! Then these numbers keep going up, up, up! And more money rains down on those who make the music, and isn't that your main complaint, that you just can't make enough cash? This is your salvation!
P.P.S. Yes, these are global play counts on Spotify, but it is a global business and the more we tear down the artificial national barriers and embrace the true reality of music dissemination, the better it will be for everybody, especially the artists.
P.P.P.S. "Radioactive" had 1,127,465 plays in the U.S. last week. You can see how many weekly U.S. plays a track had on Spotify here: http://charts.spotify.com/embed/charts/most_streamed/us/latest
P.P.P.P.S. You can add a Spotify Top Tracks widget to your site here: http://charts.spotify.com
P.P.P.P.P.S. Right now Spotify is the leader, only one service will win, whether it be Spotify, Deezer or MOG/Daisy/Beats. Everyone will gravitate to one, to share. The same way BlackBerry can't exist in a world of Android and iPhone, which are battling it out for supremacy themselves. You see you want to be where your friends are, BBM kept people on BlackBerry, iMessage is helping keep people on the iPhone and you build the platform and keep improving it, you grow or you die, that's Amazon's mantra, that's what's hobbled Apple's stock, that's what hurts musical acts. You think by repeating the formula you're sustaining, but the truth is you're dying.
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Saturday, 17 August 2013
Friday, 16 August 2013
Another Tooth Bites The Dust
Getting old is not pretty.
And it's pretty damn weird.
This week Nathan Hubbard disconnected from Ticketmaster. And I didn't care.
Don't get me wrong, Nathan's a friend of mine. I'm concerned for his future path. But once upon a time the shenanigans, the comings and goings of the music business, were my lifeblood. But now I know CEOs come and go, and very few are remembered. It's the way of the world.
Same deal with the records. So many of those albums I drooled over in the sixties and seventies will never be heard again. Certainly not after I die. Yes, you've got a better chance of lasting if you're an artist, but that does not ensure longevity.
Kind of like this summer's movies. I read a great article about them. How you can't even remember this summer's hits! It's not a whole hell of a lot different in the music business. Top Forty songs are fodder, they go up the chart, fall off, and deleting them from your hard drive is even easier than trashing the physical product. Then again, with streaming you never have to own it, you've got no investment, so if you abandon a record or an act...c'est la vie!
But when you're younger everything's so damn important. You're still figuring out how the world works. It's all brand new. Then it gets old, and you die. Would it be different if we lived to 120? Would the arc change, would we still be invested in the evanescent or...
The bottom line is you age and your body just can't do it anymore, never mind your mind. You've got aches and pains. And the reason the original band can't get back together is someone is sick. It's like we're all Yugos, built to fall apart, in a zillion different ways. And some people can't even afford a mechanic.
So I'm trying to figure out where I'm going. I ain't got time to waste. And there are plenty of people doing just that. What's important?
And I was contemplating all this when I noticed a sensitivity in my tooth.
Huh? Another one? I'm still not sure the one on the left side, fixed in Colorado, is copacetic. I've been chewing on the right side and then...when I brushed my teeth the cold water made me jump. When I ground my teeth...I got sensitivity. But I'm a hearty chap, I can tolerate pain. But when I was eating a salad for dinner last night and got the pain, and it returned when I went to brush my teeth, I wondered...did I need to do something about this?
I'm the king of anxiety. I'm going out of town next week. Is this just a fantasy, psychosomatic pain, that is here today and will go away?
That's what I want to believe. I want to believe there's never anything wrong, and if I just tough it out, I'll prove it.
But that's gotten me into a lot of trouble.
So I bounce between being unable to sleep, staying up until the crack of dawn when I can call the dentist, or forgetting about the whole damn thing.
The dentist... Mine is in Alaska, boating. He's not back until September. And his old associate started up his own practice, should I call that dude?
I became completely paralyzed. But when I crunched on a piece of cauliflower at Whole Foods and got the pain I felt I needed to do something. But I couldn't. So I called Felice.
Her issues are completely different. She can be calm, cool and collected. She said she'd go to the dentist.
So I decided to do this.
At quarter to four on a Friday afternoon.
He couldn't see me today.
He doesn't work on Monday.
I'm solidly booked on Tuesday.
Could I come at 8 or 8:30 tomorrow morning?
Huh?
I'm a late night person. This is like asking Tom Waits to do his act at 10 A.M...
But at least they were willing to see me.
I called Felice again.
I called back and said I'd come at 8:30.
But now they said 8 only.
Huh? What happened in three minutes on a Friday afternoon?
And I know not to push, but I asked again, and they said I could come today at 5, but I might have to wait.
SURE! I'll wait all day! Just don't make me get up in the morning!
And I didn't have to wait at all.
And at first the dentist couldn't find the pain.
But he had the wrong tooth. I had the wrong tooth. I told him it was the second from the back.
But it was in the rearmost position. And there was a crack. Deep and...
Got to give this guy credit, he gave me a whole education, and I won't bore you, but just get to the bottom line.
I either need a crown or an implant. And the odds of a crown working are 30%.
So he shaved down the tooth so I wouldn't grind it and sent me on my way, with an appointment in September and...I'm still in shock.
I'm always wondering. Did I play it right? Did I make the right choices, did I do enough research, would someone else say something different?
And don't bombard me with your guy or your snap judgment. I'm invested.
But that doesn't mean I won't keep contemplating the situation, keep running the facts and the possible scenarios through my brain like a PGA golfer analyzing yesterday's mistakes and trying to suss out tomorrow's cup placements.
So what does this mean? Do I have to give up trail mix?
I did. For months.
But I decided to go back. And it was the day I went to the market and bought some that I got this pain, Sunday ten days/two weeks ago.
I mean I don't smoke and I don't drink and I can live in denial, but...
Did you see that guy Allen Lanier, of Blue Oyster Cult, died? He smoked himself to death.
And I'm on this health thing more than anybody I know.
But I seem to have more problems than anybody I know.
Then again, seemingly everybody I know got cancer in the last two years. Oh, that's an overstatement, but it was prevalent, and as Led Zeppelin put it...your time is gonna come.
You're gonna die. Sure as shit. We used to love you, but it's all over now.
And some people are rewriting history. They coulda, if the world weren't stacked against them. Hey, the world's stacked against everybody. If you think the winners lucked out, you've never played the game.
And some delusionally still believe they're gonna win, even though they can't because they're either afraid or don't know how the game is played.
And some just invest in their kids. And I'm into that, we're all just animals after all, isn't that what David Byrne sang? Just as long as you don't go on pontificating how great your progeny are, I'm cool. Tell me you're watching TV with them, having a laugh, then I feel like I'm missing out.
And then there are some who try to deny aging. You know, they get plastic surgery and exercise ad infinitum, as if God and biology were listening.
They're not, just in case you're wondering.
And the one thing you don't want to do is miss out on opportunities, you don't want to live your whole life and end up with regrets. And the dirty little secret is it takes your whole damn life to do one tiny thing, just maybe. And too many people are trying to do everything and accomplish nothing.
But the closer you get to the destination, the less it means. Money, power, they're worth something, but not everything.
Hell, there was a great Steve Wozniak article in "New York" magazine. Kim Kardashian called him to do a favor for Kanye. Woz was game, but he didn't know who Kim was and had never heard any of Kanye's music. Yup, you think you're so damn important, with photogs bugging you at LAX, but the truth is most people don't care. If you're doing it to impress others, boy are you wasting your time.
So, we baby boomers want to believe we'll be young forever.
But this is not true.
But equally weird is we're living longer than previous generations. What do we do with the time when we don't want to hear the music, don't want to go to the movies and know that the younger generations, still beholden to the cardboard reality constructed by the media, have already written us off.
I'm trying to figure it out.
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And it's pretty damn weird.
This week Nathan Hubbard disconnected from Ticketmaster. And I didn't care.
Don't get me wrong, Nathan's a friend of mine. I'm concerned for his future path. But once upon a time the shenanigans, the comings and goings of the music business, were my lifeblood. But now I know CEOs come and go, and very few are remembered. It's the way of the world.
Same deal with the records. So many of those albums I drooled over in the sixties and seventies will never be heard again. Certainly not after I die. Yes, you've got a better chance of lasting if you're an artist, but that does not ensure longevity.
Kind of like this summer's movies. I read a great article about them. How you can't even remember this summer's hits! It's not a whole hell of a lot different in the music business. Top Forty songs are fodder, they go up the chart, fall off, and deleting them from your hard drive is even easier than trashing the physical product. Then again, with streaming you never have to own it, you've got no investment, so if you abandon a record or an act...c'est la vie!
But when you're younger everything's so damn important. You're still figuring out how the world works. It's all brand new. Then it gets old, and you die. Would it be different if we lived to 120? Would the arc change, would we still be invested in the evanescent or...
The bottom line is you age and your body just can't do it anymore, never mind your mind. You've got aches and pains. And the reason the original band can't get back together is someone is sick. It's like we're all Yugos, built to fall apart, in a zillion different ways. And some people can't even afford a mechanic.
So I'm trying to figure out where I'm going. I ain't got time to waste. And there are plenty of people doing just that. What's important?
And I was contemplating all this when I noticed a sensitivity in my tooth.
Huh? Another one? I'm still not sure the one on the left side, fixed in Colorado, is copacetic. I've been chewing on the right side and then...when I brushed my teeth the cold water made me jump. When I ground my teeth...I got sensitivity. But I'm a hearty chap, I can tolerate pain. But when I was eating a salad for dinner last night and got the pain, and it returned when I went to brush my teeth, I wondered...did I need to do something about this?
I'm the king of anxiety. I'm going out of town next week. Is this just a fantasy, psychosomatic pain, that is here today and will go away?
That's what I want to believe. I want to believe there's never anything wrong, and if I just tough it out, I'll prove it.
But that's gotten me into a lot of trouble.
So I bounce between being unable to sleep, staying up until the crack of dawn when I can call the dentist, or forgetting about the whole damn thing.
The dentist... Mine is in Alaska, boating. He's not back until September. And his old associate started up his own practice, should I call that dude?
I became completely paralyzed. But when I crunched on a piece of cauliflower at Whole Foods and got the pain I felt I needed to do something. But I couldn't. So I called Felice.
Her issues are completely different. She can be calm, cool and collected. She said she'd go to the dentist.
So I decided to do this.
At quarter to four on a Friday afternoon.
He couldn't see me today.
He doesn't work on Monday.
I'm solidly booked on Tuesday.
Could I come at 8 or 8:30 tomorrow morning?
Huh?
I'm a late night person. This is like asking Tom Waits to do his act at 10 A.M...
But at least they were willing to see me.
I called Felice again.
I called back and said I'd come at 8:30.
But now they said 8 only.
Huh? What happened in three minutes on a Friday afternoon?
And I know not to push, but I asked again, and they said I could come today at 5, but I might have to wait.
SURE! I'll wait all day! Just don't make me get up in the morning!
And I didn't have to wait at all.
And at first the dentist couldn't find the pain.
But he had the wrong tooth. I had the wrong tooth. I told him it was the second from the back.
But it was in the rearmost position. And there was a crack. Deep and...
Got to give this guy credit, he gave me a whole education, and I won't bore you, but just get to the bottom line.
I either need a crown or an implant. And the odds of a crown working are 30%.
So he shaved down the tooth so I wouldn't grind it and sent me on my way, with an appointment in September and...I'm still in shock.
I'm always wondering. Did I play it right? Did I make the right choices, did I do enough research, would someone else say something different?
And don't bombard me with your guy or your snap judgment. I'm invested.
But that doesn't mean I won't keep contemplating the situation, keep running the facts and the possible scenarios through my brain like a PGA golfer analyzing yesterday's mistakes and trying to suss out tomorrow's cup placements.
So what does this mean? Do I have to give up trail mix?
I did. For months.
But I decided to go back. And it was the day I went to the market and bought some that I got this pain, Sunday ten days/two weeks ago.
I mean I don't smoke and I don't drink and I can live in denial, but...
Did you see that guy Allen Lanier, of Blue Oyster Cult, died? He smoked himself to death.
And I'm on this health thing more than anybody I know.
But I seem to have more problems than anybody I know.
Then again, seemingly everybody I know got cancer in the last two years. Oh, that's an overstatement, but it was prevalent, and as Led Zeppelin put it...your time is gonna come.
You're gonna die. Sure as shit. We used to love you, but it's all over now.
And some people are rewriting history. They coulda, if the world weren't stacked against them. Hey, the world's stacked against everybody. If you think the winners lucked out, you've never played the game.
And some delusionally still believe they're gonna win, even though they can't because they're either afraid or don't know how the game is played.
And some just invest in their kids. And I'm into that, we're all just animals after all, isn't that what David Byrne sang? Just as long as you don't go on pontificating how great your progeny are, I'm cool. Tell me you're watching TV with them, having a laugh, then I feel like I'm missing out.
And then there are some who try to deny aging. You know, they get plastic surgery and exercise ad infinitum, as if God and biology were listening.
They're not, just in case you're wondering.
And the one thing you don't want to do is miss out on opportunities, you don't want to live your whole life and end up with regrets. And the dirty little secret is it takes your whole damn life to do one tiny thing, just maybe. And too many people are trying to do everything and accomplish nothing.
But the closer you get to the destination, the less it means. Money, power, they're worth something, but not everything.
Hell, there was a great Steve Wozniak article in "New York" magazine. Kim Kardashian called him to do a favor for Kanye. Woz was game, but he didn't know who Kim was and had never heard any of Kanye's music. Yup, you think you're so damn important, with photogs bugging you at LAX, but the truth is most people don't care. If you're doing it to impress others, boy are you wasting your time.
So, we baby boomers want to believe we'll be young forever.
But this is not true.
But equally weird is we're living longer than previous generations. What do we do with the time when we don't want to hear the music, don't want to go to the movies and know that the younger generations, still beholden to the cardboard reality constructed by the media, have already written us off.
I'm trying to figure it out.
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Rhinofy-Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)
And you wonder why we wanted to move to California...
"I used to live in New York City
Everything there was dark and dirty"
It's different today. People don't take L.A. seriously. The whole state of California, it's lost its position in the country's consciousness, except for maybe Silicon Valley. But once upon a time California was the repository of our nation's hopes and dreams, it's where you went to let go and be your true self. And despite all the bad press, about taxes and social problems...it still is.
You drive up PCH, you stand on the beach at Malibu...and you believe you've been delivered, you've finally made it to the promised land.
Once upon a time, young girls did not want to be Mariah Carey, boys did not want to be Justin Timberlake, they congregated together and sang the songs of the Mamas & the Papas.
Huh?
You see John Phillips was an amazing songwriter. Not that Lou Adler was not an amazing producer. They'd both already paid their dues, Adler with Jan & Dean and so many other SoCal acts, and Phillips in the folk scene.
And then came "California Dreamin'." Positively east coast introspective, it was a winter song about the free and easy life in the perpetual summertime of Southern California. This was the initial hit, the injection.
But unlike so many acts, the Mamas & the Papas were not one hit wonders.
The follow-up, "Monday, Monday," was almost bigger. Because we were primed, we were ready. It was at this point that girls and boys formed groups to sing the songs. At school assemblies...
You only wished you had the long hair of Michelle, who was suddenly bigger than any movie star. She did more for blondes than Marilyn Monroe.
And suddenly it was okay to be fat, if you had talent. Everybody knew Michelle was eye candy, that Cass was the real talent.
And at this late date, my favorite is the third in a row, "I Saw Her Again." A summer hit, it was cool and breezy and full of optimism and opportunity, just like June. Furthermore, it exploded out of the speakers. You have no idea how great we felt to be alive and hear this emanating from the speaker.
But at this late date, the one that I play most, that sets my mind adrift in its own private cocoon, is "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)."
I knew!
Not everybody did.
Not everybody on the east coast knew we were experiencing a revolution and we all had to get the hell out of there, that the world was blowing apart and was suddenly full of possibilities, and to experience them fully you had to be in California, where it wasn't only about what you thought, but what you felt.
"Young girls are coming to the canyon
And in the mornings I can see them walking"
We didn't even know it was called "Laurel," we didn't even know the topography of the L.A. Basin. We didn't know every rock star we adored lived in this crazy quilt of streets in the hills, smoking dope and making music.
"At first so strange to feel so friendly
To say good morning and really mean it
To feel these changes happening in me
But not to notice till I feel it"
Eureka! On the east coast you had to be self-deprecating, artifice ruled, sincerity was for pussies. But in L.A. you could just be yourself. It was something you felt when you landed at the airport, when you drove across the border, you shed your old skin and became someone new.
It was different. This was pre-Manson, pre-AIDS. If you wanted to get around, you stuck out your thumb. If you were under thirty and had long hair, we trusted you.
And we ruled. Our parents weren't wannabe hipsters wearing our clothing, rather they were completely clueless as to what was going on. It started with the Beatles, after the British Invasion the scene shifted to Los Angeles.
And at this point in time, you can barely go anywhere, the traffic's just that bad. The smog is better, but it's not good. Still, nobody's breathing down your neck, nobody's in your business. East coasters put it down, saying there's no substance, and they're right, it's primarily about lifestyle, but people think out here, for themselves, after all we're three hours behind New York, eight behind London, we're not taking our cues from anybody else, we're making it up for ourselves.
And the funny thing is if the Mamas & the Papas were on "Idol" or "X Factor" or "The Voice" today, they'd win. They were good-looking enough, charismatic enough, and not only could they sing, their material was better than anything on the hit parade. Today. Back then, giants walked the earth, they forced everybody to be better, there was no higher calling than being a musician.
And we knew it.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
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"I used to live in New York City
Everything there was dark and dirty"
It's different today. People don't take L.A. seriously. The whole state of California, it's lost its position in the country's consciousness, except for maybe Silicon Valley. But once upon a time California was the repository of our nation's hopes and dreams, it's where you went to let go and be your true self. And despite all the bad press, about taxes and social problems...it still is.
You drive up PCH, you stand on the beach at Malibu...and you believe you've been delivered, you've finally made it to the promised land.
Once upon a time, young girls did not want to be Mariah Carey, boys did not want to be Justin Timberlake, they congregated together and sang the songs of the Mamas & the Papas.
Huh?
You see John Phillips was an amazing songwriter. Not that Lou Adler was not an amazing producer. They'd both already paid their dues, Adler with Jan & Dean and so many other SoCal acts, and Phillips in the folk scene.
And then came "California Dreamin'." Positively east coast introspective, it was a winter song about the free and easy life in the perpetual summertime of Southern California. This was the initial hit, the injection.
But unlike so many acts, the Mamas & the Papas were not one hit wonders.
The follow-up, "Monday, Monday," was almost bigger. Because we were primed, we were ready. It was at this point that girls and boys formed groups to sing the songs. At school assemblies...
You only wished you had the long hair of Michelle, who was suddenly bigger than any movie star. She did more for blondes than Marilyn Monroe.
And suddenly it was okay to be fat, if you had talent. Everybody knew Michelle was eye candy, that Cass was the real talent.
And at this late date, my favorite is the third in a row, "I Saw Her Again." A summer hit, it was cool and breezy and full of optimism and opportunity, just like June. Furthermore, it exploded out of the speakers. You have no idea how great we felt to be alive and hear this emanating from the speaker.
But at this late date, the one that I play most, that sets my mind adrift in its own private cocoon, is "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)."
I knew!
Not everybody did.
Not everybody on the east coast knew we were experiencing a revolution and we all had to get the hell out of there, that the world was blowing apart and was suddenly full of possibilities, and to experience them fully you had to be in California, where it wasn't only about what you thought, but what you felt.
"Young girls are coming to the canyon
And in the mornings I can see them walking"
We didn't even know it was called "Laurel," we didn't even know the topography of the L.A. Basin. We didn't know every rock star we adored lived in this crazy quilt of streets in the hills, smoking dope and making music.
"At first so strange to feel so friendly
To say good morning and really mean it
To feel these changes happening in me
But not to notice till I feel it"
Eureka! On the east coast you had to be self-deprecating, artifice ruled, sincerity was for pussies. But in L.A. you could just be yourself. It was something you felt when you landed at the airport, when you drove across the border, you shed your old skin and became someone new.
It was different. This was pre-Manson, pre-AIDS. If you wanted to get around, you stuck out your thumb. If you were under thirty and had long hair, we trusted you.
And we ruled. Our parents weren't wannabe hipsters wearing our clothing, rather they were completely clueless as to what was going on. It started with the Beatles, after the British Invasion the scene shifted to Los Angeles.
And at this point in time, you can barely go anywhere, the traffic's just that bad. The smog is better, but it's not good. Still, nobody's breathing down your neck, nobody's in your business. East coasters put it down, saying there's no substance, and they're right, it's primarily about lifestyle, but people think out here, for themselves, after all we're three hours behind New York, eight behind London, we're not taking our cues from anybody else, we're making it up for ourselves.
And the funny thing is if the Mamas & the Papas were on "Idol" or "X Factor" or "The Voice" today, they'd win. They were good-looking enough, charismatic enough, and not only could they sing, their material was better than anything on the hit parade. Today. Back then, giants walked the earth, they forced everybody to be better, there was no higher calling than being a musician.
And we knew it.
Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/p6HcZ8
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Wednesday, 14 August 2013
E-Mail Of The Day+
Subject: Re: The Love Affairs Of Nathaniel P.
I opened up a record store I was working in one Saturday morning and Bruce Springsteen rolled in. No other customers came in so it turned into one of those cool and casual independent record store customer/clerk encounters.
He took awhile to carefully choose, but eventually bought a cassette of "Late for the Sky" because he "needed something to listen to when driving around alone late at night."
Good choice
Marty Bender
_______________________________________
From: Andrew Paciocco
Subject: Re: The Love Affairs Of Nathaniel P.
Jackson Browne guested with My Morning Jacket and played Late for the Sky last Saturday at the Verizon Amphitheatre in Irvine.
bit.ly/123KHbn
_______________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the piece on Buddy Miles, it was great to see. In 1969 my high school band played behind Buddy at Staples HS auditorium in Westport CT. After the show, to our amazement he hired my guitarist friend, Charlie Karp, and myself to join his new band...both of us 17 years old. His single, "Them Changes", was already a hit at that point...we went into the studio with him to record the rest of what would become the "Them Changes" LP, and recorded and toured nonstop with him for the next 24 months. My favorite track from that album though, was always "Dreams".
Buddy's band was an incredibly potent training ground. We arrived as suburban kids with a fair amount of playing ability, who were really wet behind the ears. When we left his band two years and four records later, it was as seasoned pros... largely due to some pretty serious mentoring activity by Buddy and some of the other band members - boot camp, chitlin circuit style. These were brilliant, seasoned players...guys like Stemsey Hunter (Electric Flag, etc) Marlo Henderson, and the late, greatly missed Andre Lewis. The link here shows the band at full power, in spring of 1971 in Helsinki, Buddy's vocal on it is absolutely incredible.
Buddy had been a teenage sideman too, with the Delphonics, Wilson Pickett, etc...when Mike Bloomfield recruited him for the Electric Flag, he was only 18. But he came from a world where it wasn't unusual to be great at an early age and boy, was he ready. Being onstage alongside him every night in 70-71 was some experience... the guy was a phenomena and I owe him a debt that I've never been able to even measure. Truly, they don't make em like that anymore.
Long live the B-Train.
- David Hull
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDaCtZm-gbc
_______________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Bob,
Got a fun B. Miles story for you... My band the stepmothers put together a series of concerts at California prisons in '78 I believe and one of those shows was at Chino Men's Prison.
We knew Charles Manson and Tex Watson were there, which was creepy, what we didn't know was: so was Buddy Miles. He was in for forging checks, or some cons told us.
We had invited a few more bands to join us on the (unpaid) bill (hey this was punk rock in the days when it was still kinda scary to most clubs in LA, and getting gigs anywhere was difficult for a lot of us, and we all wanted to play!, so we went for the captive audience), one of those bands was a Texas new wave rock band, freshly relocated to LA, called the Textones, fronted by Karla Olsen and (soon to replace Margo and become the new Go-Gos bass player just before they exploded and became the first LA band borne of the LA punk/new wave thing to make it) Kathy Valentine.
I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten who the other bands were. But once we heard Buddy was there we were all atwitter as to whether he would come see us all play. I guess he kinda sidled in at some point, keeping a low profile. At the end of the show Buddy came on stage, joined the girls on stage, flipped a regular right-handed guitar upside down, and just wailed on "All Along the Watchtower" (I believe) and put all us punks in our place. It was something to see. Then we left, he stayed.
Best,
Steve Jones
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I opened up a record store I was working in one Saturday morning and Bruce Springsteen rolled in. No other customers came in so it turned into one of those cool and casual independent record store customer/clerk encounters.
He took awhile to carefully choose, but eventually bought a cassette of "Late for the Sky" because he "needed something to listen to when driving around alone late at night."
Good choice
Marty Bender
_______________________________________
From: Andrew Paciocco
Subject: Re: The Love Affairs Of Nathaniel P.
Jackson Browne guested with My Morning Jacket and played Late for the Sky last Saturday at the Verizon Amphitheatre in Irvine.
bit.ly/123KHbn
_______________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the piece on Buddy Miles, it was great to see. In 1969 my high school band played behind Buddy at Staples HS auditorium in Westport CT. After the show, to our amazement he hired my guitarist friend, Charlie Karp, and myself to join his new band...both of us 17 years old. His single, "Them Changes", was already a hit at that point...we went into the studio with him to record the rest of what would become the "Them Changes" LP, and recorded and toured nonstop with him for the next 24 months. My favorite track from that album though, was always "Dreams".
Buddy's band was an incredibly potent training ground. We arrived as suburban kids with a fair amount of playing ability, who were really wet behind the ears. When we left his band two years and four records later, it was as seasoned pros... largely due to some pretty serious mentoring activity by Buddy and some of the other band members - boot camp, chitlin circuit style. These were brilliant, seasoned players...guys like Stemsey Hunter (Electric Flag, etc) Marlo Henderson, and the late, greatly missed Andre Lewis. The link here shows the band at full power, in spring of 1971 in Helsinki, Buddy's vocal on it is absolutely incredible.
Buddy had been a teenage sideman too, with the Delphonics, Wilson Pickett, etc...when Mike Bloomfield recruited him for the Electric Flag, he was only 18. But he came from a world where it wasn't unusual to be great at an early age and boy, was he ready. Being onstage alongside him every night in 70-71 was some experience... the guy was a phenomena and I owe him a debt that I've never been able to even measure. Truly, they don't make em like that anymore.
Long live the B-Train.
- David Hull
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDaCtZm-gbc
_______________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Bob,
Got a fun B. Miles story for you... My band the stepmothers put together a series of concerts at California prisons in '78 I believe and one of those shows was at Chino Men's Prison.
We knew Charles Manson and Tex Watson were there, which was creepy, what we didn't know was: so was Buddy Miles. He was in for forging checks, or some cons told us.
We had invited a few more bands to join us on the (unpaid) bill (hey this was punk rock in the days when it was still kinda scary to most clubs in LA, and getting gigs anywhere was difficult for a lot of us, and we all wanted to play!, so we went for the captive audience), one of those bands was a Texas new wave rock band, freshly relocated to LA, called the Textones, fronted by Karla Olsen and (soon to replace Margo and become the new Go-Gos bass player just before they exploded and became the first LA band borne of the LA punk/new wave thing to make it) Kathy Valentine.
I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten who the other bands were. But once we heard Buddy was there we were all atwitter as to whether he would come see us all play. I guess he kinda sidled in at some point, keeping a low profile. At the end of the show Buddy came on stage, joined the girls on stage, flipped a regular right-handed guitar upside down, and just wailed on "All Along the Watchtower" (I believe) and put all us punks in our place. It was something to see. Then we left, he stayed.
Best,
Steve Jones
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The MJ Trial
Ain't that America. Where if I've got a loss, you've got to pay.
It's not only this wrongful death lawsuit, it's jobs. Nothing can happen that I lose mine. I don't care if everybody has to overpay to ride in a horse and buggy, if I've got to sacrifice just the tiniest bit, it can't happen.
So what we've got here is a raging drug addict looking to solve his economic problems by playing way too many gigs in London. Then again, AEG has experience with residences in Las Vegas, most famously with Celine Dion. Is it AEG's responsibility to save MJ from himself?
That's why we've got all these warnings on products. So idiots who don't think won't be able to sue. Or, to put it another way, the monkey bars have disappeared from playgrounds because little Johnny fell and got hurt, even though he was walking atop them hands-free, and your opportunity for good, clean fun is now gone.
Is AEG a mercenary company always eager to make more money?
OF COURSE!
Welcome to America. That's what corporations do. But you don't want to reign them in because you delusionally believe that one day you too will rule the corporate behemoth, raking in double digit millions, if you just will yourself, believe in yourself enough.
Reigning them in. The government won't do it.
So it's left to individuals. Via lawsuits.
Now the tide has been turning for years, it's harder to sue than ever before, class actions have been limited, same deal with whistleblowers, all because a couple of people made a lot of money, most specifically lawyers and that woman who had hot coffee spilled on her lap, and the people who can't read the financial page who don't realize this is a drop in the bucket compared to the corporation's revenues get a hair up their tush and say it must be stopped.
Must be stopped. What exactly do you want AEG to do in the future?
That's what lawsuits of this type are about. Less about compensating the individual than changing behavior.
So, in the future, a concert promoter should try and convince you to not do multiples, because you might get sick and tired from overwork, you might O.D.
As for that throat problem you've got backstage? Start surfing the Internet, the promoter is not going to hook you up with the local specialist for fear he'll get sued down the line. Yup, when it turns out you've got a granuloma, you'll say the doctor caused it or didn't see it and you know who'll be liable? The promoter!
And while you're at it, bring your own food. And your own stagehands. The promoter's hands will be tied.
Of course the Michael Jackson situation is not a perfect fit.
Then again, superstar musicians die on a regular basis. It's a hard life.
And whose responsibility is that?
Caveat: I've neither gone to the trial nor researched the law here. I do not know how the evidence fits the statutes. For all I know, there's a possibility a judgment in MJ's favor can be rendered. As an attorney, I reserve judgment. But I will say all those people supporting Michael and ganging up on AEG...this is no more than hero worship. Your act can do no wrong. Furthermore, I don't see these people lining up to make sure the underprivileged underclass gets its due in court. Screw them, they're not FAMOUS!
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It's not only this wrongful death lawsuit, it's jobs. Nothing can happen that I lose mine. I don't care if everybody has to overpay to ride in a horse and buggy, if I've got to sacrifice just the tiniest bit, it can't happen.
So what we've got here is a raging drug addict looking to solve his economic problems by playing way too many gigs in London. Then again, AEG has experience with residences in Las Vegas, most famously with Celine Dion. Is it AEG's responsibility to save MJ from himself?
That's why we've got all these warnings on products. So idiots who don't think won't be able to sue. Or, to put it another way, the monkey bars have disappeared from playgrounds because little Johnny fell and got hurt, even though he was walking atop them hands-free, and your opportunity for good, clean fun is now gone.
Is AEG a mercenary company always eager to make more money?
OF COURSE!
Welcome to America. That's what corporations do. But you don't want to reign them in because you delusionally believe that one day you too will rule the corporate behemoth, raking in double digit millions, if you just will yourself, believe in yourself enough.
Reigning them in. The government won't do it.
So it's left to individuals. Via lawsuits.
Now the tide has been turning for years, it's harder to sue than ever before, class actions have been limited, same deal with whistleblowers, all because a couple of people made a lot of money, most specifically lawyers and that woman who had hot coffee spilled on her lap, and the people who can't read the financial page who don't realize this is a drop in the bucket compared to the corporation's revenues get a hair up their tush and say it must be stopped.
Must be stopped. What exactly do you want AEG to do in the future?
That's what lawsuits of this type are about. Less about compensating the individual than changing behavior.
So, in the future, a concert promoter should try and convince you to not do multiples, because you might get sick and tired from overwork, you might O.D.
As for that throat problem you've got backstage? Start surfing the Internet, the promoter is not going to hook you up with the local specialist for fear he'll get sued down the line. Yup, when it turns out you've got a granuloma, you'll say the doctor caused it or didn't see it and you know who'll be liable? The promoter!
And while you're at it, bring your own food. And your own stagehands. The promoter's hands will be tied.
Of course the Michael Jackson situation is not a perfect fit.
Then again, superstar musicians die on a regular basis. It's a hard life.
And whose responsibility is that?
Caveat: I've neither gone to the trial nor researched the law here. I do not know how the evidence fits the statutes. For all I know, there's a possibility a judgment in MJ's favor can be rendered. As an attorney, I reserve judgment. But I will say all those people supporting Michael and ganging up on AEG...this is no more than hero worship. Your act can do no wrong. Furthermore, I don't see these people lining up to make sure the underprivileged underclass gets its due in court. Screw them, they're not FAMOUS!
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Tuesday, 13 August 2013
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.
"Looking through some photographs I found inside a drawer
I was taken by a photograph of you
There were one or two I know that you would have liked a little more
But they didn't show your spirit quite as true"
"Fountain Of Sorrow"
Jackson Browne
"Late For The Sky" is my favorite album. Of all time.
Not at first. I liked this song, that I heard on the radio, but the rest didn't penetrate, not yet. It happened a couple of years later, when I had a brand new stereo and too much time on my hands. That's a funny thing about art, sometimes you're not ready for it, but it's there, waiting to be discovered when the time is right.
And it's not like Jackson Browne has the best voice. And it's not like the album contained a hit single. But it was mellifluous, and as you continued to listen it revealed its truth, which was all about relationships, life.
That's the funny thing about guys. They rarely reveal their inner dialogue. They speak with their buddies about tech and cars and shy away from vulnerability, that's what women are for. Wanna get in a guy's pants? Don't dress up like a Kardashian, don't even bother to lose ten pounds, just draw him out, get him to talk, listen and he's yours forever.
Or not. Because guys don't know how to manage. You're everything we want but if we're involved with you we're losing touch with who we once were and we keep wondering if your devotion portends a change in our lives that we will not be able to tolerate, that we'll never be able to get back to the garden.
That's what "The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P." is all about.
Or not.
I can't say I identify with the title character. A Harvard graduate with a slight belly who just sold his first novel and finds too many of the women in Brooklyn want him. Then again, they tell me women have become more aggressive in the years since I've gone to school. But when I was growing up not only could you still afford to live in Manhattan, your goal was to get straight out of Brooklyn. Still, there's so much truth in "Nathaniel P." that I just can't stop reading it.
Oh, it's one hot book.
But there's also backlash. Maybe because its author, Adelle Waldman, broke through, she gained success. Writer jealousy is the worst. And if you characterize a scene, you're inundated with the blowback of blowhards who tell you you just didn't get it right.
But there's something incredibly right about "Nathaniel P.," in its descriptions of relationships.
"Everyone I've ever known has wished me well
Anyway that's how it seems it's hard to tell
Maybe people only ask you how you're doing
'Cause that's easier than letting on how little they could care
But when you know that you've got a real friend somewhere
Suddenly all the others are so much easier to bear"
"The Late Show"
Jackson Browne
Nate actually had a hard time finding his niche. He straddled two worlds in high school, between sports and cool, and ended up nowhere.
In college, he fell in with the wrong crowd and it wasn't until he was almost done that he found his friends. You know college, that's where you make lifelong buddies, that's where you discover who you are.
So now, he finds he can screw the beautiful, get laid regularly, but too often they can't see the real Nate. That's what draws him to Hannah. She's real so he can be too. You don't want to be a blank slate, you don't want to be sans edges. It's your personality we're drawn to. Like Velcro, your sharp edges hook men, remember that women. Then again, what bothers Nate is when women get you but then start ruminating about it. Second-guessing themselves. This is when he's turned off.
"Now to see things clear it's hard enough I know
While you're waiting for reality to show
Without dreaming of the perfect love
And holding it so far above
That if you stumbled on to someone real you'd never know"
"The Late Show"
Jackson Browne
Hannah is not as pretty as Elisa. What will Nate's friends say?
Women... Wanna seal the deal? Make friends with your boyfriend's friends. Don't talk crap behind their back. Do your best. Otherwise, you might be abandoned. Worse, you run the risk of neutering your guy, sapping all the energy and personality from his bones to the point he becomes putty in your hands, but is positively dreadful in real life.
Not that breakups don't occur.
"Now the words had all been spoken
Somehow the feeling still wasn't right
And still we continued on through the night"
"Late For The Sky"
Jackson Browne
Are you gonna break up or stay together? The things we do for love. If you haven't had that late night discussion, too often fueled by alcohol, wherein you recite hurts and flaws and question whether continuing makes sense, you're not in a relationship, even if you think you are. Staying together is so hard. There are so many hurdles. You lose sight of what you've already built. Pay no attention to the people in the media, the celebrities who bed, wed and abandon. They're emotional basket cases, they make you look positively normal. Get older and connection becomes ever more scary. But the thrill of it keeps you going.
We read fiction for truth.
And it's there in "Nathaniel P."
"She was someone Nate liked, someone he was always happy to see at a party. Yet he inevitably ran out of things to say to her."
I remember meeting her for tennis, her passion. And when we went back to her apartment, with nothing left to say, I kept wondering how long do I have to sit here before I can bolt, without offending her.
You know, the people you see at parties you think would be just perfect if you were single. Then you are, and it never works. And even if you are single...you see someone across the room, you screw up your energy to make conversation...but it just can't be done. At first you blame yourself, you try harder, then demoralized, you give up. It's only much later that you realize it wasn't you but them.
"He felt like reading. Or fooling around online."
My two greatest passions! (Other than skiing.) What do you do when your girlfriend wants to talk or have sex or go out for an activity and you just want to be alone. How do you handle that? I'm not sure Nate knows either, but it comes up in this book.
"What began, after a few more minutes, to irritate him was that she didn't even attempt to be engaging - made no effort toward wit or color in her replies. Only an attractive young woman would take for granted a stranger's interest in the minutiae of her life."
I'm the world's greatest listener. And what bothers me most is after I've drawn you out, when you don't ask a single question about me, happens all the time. It's all me, me, me. It's worn me out. I've about given up going to parties and events because I don't want to be sold by everybody I run into. I have something to say, I like to talk too, if you want to be my friend, if you want something from me, listen! And then there are the people I just can't crack. They're looking over my shoulder for something better. The here and now is best. You can always dump me for better. When it appears!
"'It's actually amazingly annoying,' Aurit continued. 'But it's also kind of tragic. She must alienate people all the time without having any idea why.'"
So this is what I've learned in psychotherapy. You've got a golf bag, with fourteen clubs, which one do you wanna use? Losers just go through life blindly, hitting the driver or the putter. Not only is that no way to play golf, it's no way to live your life. If you're not reading situations and figuring out how to interact, you're home alone or losing more often than winning. I know you mean well, but if you want to get ahead you've got to work at it. You've got to question your personality, you've got to make changes. Not that you'll never make mistakes, but the goal is to make fewer of them.
And I could go on forever.
But the point is, there's a ton of truth in "Nathaniel P." Which is even more surprising because it's written from the male perspective by a woman. It's rare one sex knows what goes on inside the mind of the other.
And I was thinking of "Fountain Of Sorrow" because I first heard it in the fall, and the leaves just changed in the book, it set my mind adrift. That's how art works, it fires the synapses, it gets you thinking.
This is a guy's book.
You might classify it as chick lit. You might think it's too narrow, about the Brooklyn literary scene. But the personal is universal. And there's a lot of personal in "Nathaniel P." And the only thing that matters is the personal. Not the kind of car you drive or where your record is on the chart. That's what screwed up the movies, it became about special effects and action, human truth was squeezed right out. But it's evidenced in television. And when done right, it's evidenced in fiction.
Read this book.
http://adellewaldman.com
"The Love Affairs Of Nathaniel P.: A Novel": http://amzn.to/17hBkVr
"Late For The Sky": http://spoti.fi/dBwVZ3
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I was taken by a photograph of you
There were one or two I know that you would have liked a little more
But they didn't show your spirit quite as true"
"Fountain Of Sorrow"
Jackson Browne
"Late For The Sky" is my favorite album. Of all time.
Not at first. I liked this song, that I heard on the radio, but the rest didn't penetrate, not yet. It happened a couple of years later, when I had a brand new stereo and too much time on my hands. That's a funny thing about art, sometimes you're not ready for it, but it's there, waiting to be discovered when the time is right.
And it's not like Jackson Browne has the best voice. And it's not like the album contained a hit single. But it was mellifluous, and as you continued to listen it revealed its truth, which was all about relationships, life.
That's the funny thing about guys. They rarely reveal their inner dialogue. They speak with their buddies about tech and cars and shy away from vulnerability, that's what women are for. Wanna get in a guy's pants? Don't dress up like a Kardashian, don't even bother to lose ten pounds, just draw him out, get him to talk, listen and he's yours forever.
Or not. Because guys don't know how to manage. You're everything we want but if we're involved with you we're losing touch with who we once were and we keep wondering if your devotion portends a change in our lives that we will not be able to tolerate, that we'll never be able to get back to the garden.
That's what "The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P." is all about.
Or not.
I can't say I identify with the title character. A Harvard graduate with a slight belly who just sold his first novel and finds too many of the women in Brooklyn want him. Then again, they tell me women have become more aggressive in the years since I've gone to school. But when I was growing up not only could you still afford to live in Manhattan, your goal was to get straight out of Brooklyn. Still, there's so much truth in "Nathaniel P." that I just can't stop reading it.
Oh, it's one hot book.
But there's also backlash. Maybe because its author, Adelle Waldman, broke through, she gained success. Writer jealousy is the worst. And if you characterize a scene, you're inundated with the blowback of blowhards who tell you you just didn't get it right.
But there's something incredibly right about "Nathaniel P.," in its descriptions of relationships.
"Everyone I've ever known has wished me well
Anyway that's how it seems it's hard to tell
Maybe people only ask you how you're doing
'Cause that's easier than letting on how little they could care
But when you know that you've got a real friend somewhere
Suddenly all the others are so much easier to bear"
"The Late Show"
Jackson Browne
Nate actually had a hard time finding his niche. He straddled two worlds in high school, between sports and cool, and ended up nowhere.
In college, he fell in with the wrong crowd and it wasn't until he was almost done that he found his friends. You know college, that's where you make lifelong buddies, that's where you discover who you are.
So now, he finds he can screw the beautiful, get laid regularly, but too often they can't see the real Nate. That's what draws him to Hannah. She's real so he can be too. You don't want to be a blank slate, you don't want to be sans edges. It's your personality we're drawn to. Like Velcro, your sharp edges hook men, remember that women. Then again, what bothers Nate is when women get you but then start ruminating about it. Second-guessing themselves. This is when he's turned off.
"Now to see things clear it's hard enough I know
While you're waiting for reality to show
Without dreaming of the perfect love
And holding it so far above
That if you stumbled on to someone real you'd never know"
"The Late Show"
Jackson Browne
Hannah is not as pretty as Elisa. What will Nate's friends say?
Women... Wanna seal the deal? Make friends with your boyfriend's friends. Don't talk crap behind their back. Do your best. Otherwise, you might be abandoned. Worse, you run the risk of neutering your guy, sapping all the energy and personality from his bones to the point he becomes putty in your hands, but is positively dreadful in real life.
Not that breakups don't occur.
"Now the words had all been spoken
Somehow the feeling still wasn't right
And still we continued on through the night"
"Late For The Sky"
Jackson Browne
Are you gonna break up or stay together? The things we do for love. If you haven't had that late night discussion, too often fueled by alcohol, wherein you recite hurts and flaws and question whether continuing makes sense, you're not in a relationship, even if you think you are. Staying together is so hard. There are so many hurdles. You lose sight of what you've already built. Pay no attention to the people in the media, the celebrities who bed, wed and abandon. They're emotional basket cases, they make you look positively normal. Get older and connection becomes ever more scary. But the thrill of it keeps you going.
We read fiction for truth.
And it's there in "Nathaniel P."
"She was someone Nate liked, someone he was always happy to see at a party. Yet he inevitably ran out of things to say to her."
I remember meeting her for tennis, her passion. And when we went back to her apartment, with nothing left to say, I kept wondering how long do I have to sit here before I can bolt, without offending her.
You know, the people you see at parties you think would be just perfect if you were single. Then you are, and it never works. And even if you are single...you see someone across the room, you screw up your energy to make conversation...but it just can't be done. At first you blame yourself, you try harder, then demoralized, you give up. It's only much later that you realize it wasn't you but them.
"He felt like reading. Or fooling around online."
My two greatest passions! (Other than skiing.) What do you do when your girlfriend wants to talk or have sex or go out for an activity and you just want to be alone. How do you handle that? I'm not sure Nate knows either, but it comes up in this book.
"What began, after a few more minutes, to irritate him was that she didn't even attempt to be engaging - made no effort toward wit or color in her replies. Only an attractive young woman would take for granted a stranger's interest in the minutiae of her life."
I'm the world's greatest listener. And what bothers me most is after I've drawn you out, when you don't ask a single question about me, happens all the time. It's all me, me, me. It's worn me out. I've about given up going to parties and events because I don't want to be sold by everybody I run into. I have something to say, I like to talk too, if you want to be my friend, if you want something from me, listen! And then there are the people I just can't crack. They're looking over my shoulder for something better. The here and now is best. You can always dump me for better. When it appears!
"'It's actually amazingly annoying,' Aurit continued. 'But it's also kind of tragic. She must alienate people all the time without having any idea why.'"
So this is what I've learned in psychotherapy. You've got a golf bag, with fourteen clubs, which one do you wanna use? Losers just go through life blindly, hitting the driver or the putter. Not only is that no way to play golf, it's no way to live your life. If you're not reading situations and figuring out how to interact, you're home alone or losing more often than winning. I know you mean well, but if you want to get ahead you've got to work at it. You've got to question your personality, you've got to make changes. Not that you'll never make mistakes, but the goal is to make fewer of them.
And I could go on forever.
But the point is, there's a ton of truth in "Nathaniel P." Which is even more surprising because it's written from the male perspective by a woman. It's rare one sex knows what goes on inside the mind of the other.
And I was thinking of "Fountain Of Sorrow" because I first heard it in the fall, and the leaves just changed in the book, it set my mind adrift. That's how art works, it fires the synapses, it gets you thinking.
This is a guy's book.
You might classify it as chick lit. You might think it's too narrow, about the Brooklyn literary scene. But the personal is universal. And there's a lot of personal in "Nathaniel P." And the only thing that matters is the personal. Not the kind of car you drive or where your record is on the chart. That's what screwed up the movies, it became about special effects and action, human truth was squeezed right out. But it's evidenced in television. And when done right, it's evidenced in fiction.
Read this book.
http://adellewaldman.com
"The Love Affairs Of Nathaniel P.: A Novel": http://amzn.to/17hBkVr
"Late For The Sky": http://spoti.fi/dBwVZ3
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Why Is The Concert Business Booming?
2010. It scared the crap out of the acts.
Let's be clear, promoters give the lion's share of the money to the acts. Used to be the acts took it and said SAYONARA, but when nobody showed up...the money wasn't enough.
Wanna get fired?
Be a manager who has his act playing to empty seats. Nothing will kill your rep quicker than an empty house. It's the people in attendance, your hard core fans, who are spreading the word. If they look around the house and suddenly it's empty...they stop talking about you.
This is the exact same problem facing Apple. It was its hard core evangelists who spread the word. But now even the hard core is worried Larry Ellison is right. We've seen the company without Steve Jobs before. And what is Tim Cook telling us? TRUST US! What, to have more hits? Do you think Carly Rae Jepsen is gonna have more hits? As for the classic rockers, there's not a Top Forty station that'll play their new music, which in most cases is bad anyway.
So in 2010, fans decide not to show. Primarily because concert tickets were too damn expensive. You want how much to sit in the way back?
This isn't the seventies anymore. Where fans were thrilled just to be inside, who'd sit with their backs to the wall in the upper deck, happy. If you can sell the upper deck at Staples Center, you're the biggest star on the planet. No one wants to sit there, above the three layers of luxury boxes. Unless the seats are so damn cheap.
Scaling.
That's the first thing the acts caved on. Sure, you can charge a ton for up close and personal. But as you go back, prices have to drop. Doesn't matter how famous you are, what you did in the past, otherwise it's better to sit home and watch it on TV. Furthermore, with all the add-ins, it's rarely cheap at all back there. Which is why you've seen more all-in pricing in the back.
As for pricing in general?
It came down.
Because it's not about this year, but next. If you take all the money now and then no one comes back, how you gonna pay your mortgage, how you gonna afford private school for the kiddies?
Not that there are no longer guarantees. Sometimes sky high. But the deal is different. Everything's in the pot. All income. Platinum, sponsorship...
Furthermore, the acts provide tools. Content that can be used to sell tickets. Video clips that can be pushed out to mobile phones, to aid conversion.
Yes, acts are working on it, because this is how they make their living, not from record sales.
Furthermore, the fan is doing what the promoter was unable to achieve. Yes, while acts were pitting promoter against promoter, driving up costs, suddenly the fans said NO MAS! They were sick of being screwed. It wasn't a good deal any longer.
Suddenly, promoters and acts are on the same page.
They're all about selling tickets.
P.S. It's no longer about more. That was the job of the agent, GET ME MORE! Now it's about smart.
P.P.S. If Apple releases a cheap iPhone on September 10, the company has another chance. Otherwise, it's BlackBerry. You wanna know why? Because of what happened with the PC wars. It was all about software. Apple was saved in computerland by the Internet, where it was all about the browser, where the platform became unimportant. But if iPhone market share continues to shrink, appwriters will stop creating content for the iPhone, or will do so much later, driving people to Android. Yes, Apple has all the profits in smartphones today, but if you believe that guarantees profits tomorrow, you believe an act that overcharged and played to an empty hall has a long, profitable career in front of itself.
"Larry Ellison slams Google, hints Apple is doomed without Steve Jobs": http://on.mktw.net/1cJULMV
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Let's be clear, promoters give the lion's share of the money to the acts. Used to be the acts took it and said SAYONARA, but when nobody showed up...the money wasn't enough.
Wanna get fired?
Be a manager who has his act playing to empty seats. Nothing will kill your rep quicker than an empty house. It's the people in attendance, your hard core fans, who are spreading the word. If they look around the house and suddenly it's empty...they stop talking about you.
This is the exact same problem facing Apple. It was its hard core evangelists who spread the word. But now even the hard core is worried Larry Ellison is right. We've seen the company without Steve Jobs before. And what is Tim Cook telling us? TRUST US! What, to have more hits? Do you think Carly Rae Jepsen is gonna have more hits? As for the classic rockers, there's not a Top Forty station that'll play their new music, which in most cases is bad anyway.
So in 2010, fans decide not to show. Primarily because concert tickets were too damn expensive. You want how much to sit in the way back?
This isn't the seventies anymore. Where fans were thrilled just to be inside, who'd sit with their backs to the wall in the upper deck, happy. If you can sell the upper deck at Staples Center, you're the biggest star on the planet. No one wants to sit there, above the three layers of luxury boxes. Unless the seats are so damn cheap.
Scaling.
That's the first thing the acts caved on. Sure, you can charge a ton for up close and personal. But as you go back, prices have to drop. Doesn't matter how famous you are, what you did in the past, otherwise it's better to sit home and watch it on TV. Furthermore, with all the add-ins, it's rarely cheap at all back there. Which is why you've seen more all-in pricing in the back.
As for pricing in general?
It came down.
Because it's not about this year, but next. If you take all the money now and then no one comes back, how you gonna pay your mortgage, how you gonna afford private school for the kiddies?
Not that there are no longer guarantees. Sometimes sky high. But the deal is different. Everything's in the pot. All income. Platinum, sponsorship...
Furthermore, the acts provide tools. Content that can be used to sell tickets. Video clips that can be pushed out to mobile phones, to aid conversion.
Yes, acts are working on it, because this is how they make their living, not from record sales.
Furthermore, the fan is doing what the promoter was unable to achieve. Yes, while acts were pitting promoter against promoter, driving up costs, suddenly the fans said NO MAS! They were sick of being screwed. It wasn't a good deal any longer.
Suddenly, promoters and acts are on the same page.
They're all about selling tickets.
P.S. It's no longer about more. That was the job of the agent, GET ME MORE! Now it's about smart.
P.P.S. If Apple releases a cheap iPhone on September 10, the company has another chance. Otherwise, it's BlackBerry. You wanna know why? Because of what happened with the PC wars. It was all about software. Apple was saved in computerland by the Internet, where it was all about the browser, where the platform became unimportant. But if iPhone market share continues to shrink, appwriters will stop creating content for the iPhone, or will do so much later, driving people to Android. Yes, Apple has all the profits in smartphones today, but if you believe that guarantees profits tomorrow, you believe an act that overcharged and played to an empty hall has a long, profitable career in front of itself.
"Larry Ellison slams Google, hints Apple is doomed without Steve Jobs": http://on.mktw.net/1cJULMV
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Monday, 12 August 2013
Mailbag-Buddy Miles+
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Molly Hatchet
Come on, Bob -- the boys deserve at least a “second-rate†designation instead of third.
Fact is I tried to sign Skynyrd months before Al Kooper did, but my boss didn’t think they had any songs.
The ringer in Hatchet was Duane Roland, one of the three guitar players. He often took a back seat to group leader Dave Hlubek, but he was a faultless,
syrupy smooth guitar player who doubled every solo in the studio and never once looked at the neck of his instrument.
Check out the lead break on our cover version of the Stones’ “It’s All Over Nowâ€.
Duane plays precisely what Keith meant to play on the original. After Skynyrd, this was the best three-man guitar line I’d ever seen.
Their idea of relaxating after the session was to drink way too much Jack Daniels and clear the entire bar room. They were the real thing. Had to sign ‘em up.
Tom Werman
________________________________________
From: Andrew Mcinnes
Subject: Dillon
Bob,
How's it going? My name is Andrew McInnes. My partner, Kevin Kusatsu, and I own TMWRK management. We manage Diplo, Major Lazer, A-Trak, Dillon Francis, and a variety of other acts. I am glad you noticed Dillon. We have been managing him for several years. He took some time off to focus on music and it is starting to pay off. TMWRK has focused on the alternative side of dance and it feels like the paradigm is shifting. To quote our friend Adam Gill from Embrace "The weird kids are taking over". Having been a huge fan of 90's and early 00's hardcore and indie it feels like history is repeating itself.
We run an event series with Diplo called The Mad Decent Block Parties. There are 13 of them this summer. Last weekend we did 9k people in DC and 7k people in Ft. Lauderdale. We want to create a modern version of the Warped Tour (the warped tour from the 90's) where young people can come and expect to find new music that is great - site unseen. The goal is to create an experience. We want the Block Party to be the best day of your summer. That includes music with guitars and vocals btw. I recall going to the warped tour when i was 16, talking to girls, getting dirty, and seeing Eminem and NOFX - we aspire to emulate that in a modern form, both in front of and behind the fence.
It is all youth culture and youth culture is about experience and memories. The reason why Dillon's song will get him on base is because it will soundtrack those experiences for the next 12 months.
Today the block party has a sold out show at Williamsburg Park in NY. We sold 7k tix. The line up is Major Lazer, Matt and Kim, Dillon Francis, Flosstradamus, 3 ball MTY, Destructo, Rockie Fresh, Kito and Reija Lee, and DJ Slink. It is a nice day and I trust we are going to make the impression we want. BTW none of the headliners are signed to Major Labels.
The LA event is on 9/15. You should come.
Thank you you for writing about Dillon. We feel like you understand,
McInnes
________________________________________
Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Bob:
I know that there isn't much in the way of music that escapes you. I also know that everything comes from something. As Dylan famously noted, there are only 12 notes...:-).
But I haven't run into too many people who know this track by The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble, a group perhaps best known for being the group that the superb arranger Michael Kamen came from. It was released in 1969.
I love Buddy's song, too. But the track...well...you be the judge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MhRP30WTRQ
Best,
Jimmy Fox
________________________________________
From: Duane Hitchings
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles - Them Changes
THANK YOU SO MUCH for you well deserved recognition of Buddy Miles and his
song, "Them Changes". Here is a little history about the original Buddy
Miles Express and "Them Changes". I was the B-3 organ player in the original
Buddy Miles Express. The bass player was Roland Robinson. Roland and I were
hanging in his room one night (Buddy rented a house in Rhinebeck, New York
and Buddy called the house "Monkey Knuckles Manor""! We all had different
rooms. Jim McCarty was on guitar (guitarist with The Detroit Wheels), I
think Billy Cox or Billy Rich on bass and the "Sam and Dave" horn section â€"
a REAL horn section!! The house was down the street from Jim Hendrix's
house and 20 minutes from what would be Woodstock. Anyway, Roland played
this song on a album of "The "New York Rock-n-Roll Ensemble" (a string
quartet and also a band from the Julliard School of Music) one night in his
room. Roland heard a cello line that was on one of the cuts and it came from
some symphony as mentioned on the cover.. I think! Just as we were
listening to it for the 10th time, Buddy came into the room with a white
sheet over his head and body and a shotgun in his hand. WE FREAKED because
we were in what one would call "an altered state of mind" - 1970s ! Buddy of
course enjoyed our response! LOL! Buddy then heard what we heard and
freaked! Needless to say, we all started rehearsing a song based on what he
heard the next day. Buddy had his arrangement to it with other parts he
added and with his Lyrics, of course. We were to backup Jimi Hendrix in part
of his set at Woodstock. Jimi was starting to get into horns. He was
listening to Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago etc. He and Buddy were thinking
of doing a tour together and the band would come on the stage later in the
set as the "Electric Church Band" and play "Them Changes" for the first time! Well, we missed Woodstock for reasons left unmentioned â€" but a good
reason. Some other problems immerged and the band broke up. Jimmy McCarty, Roland and I went to San Francisco to start a band and a month later we heard "Them Changes" on the radio! At that point, we wished we had done
more to try to keep the band together â€" to say the least! BUT we were happy
for "B". He was literally a FREIGHT TRAIN on drums! There was NO doubt were
the downbeat was! He will always be missed! Duane Hitchings
________________________________________
From: Mark R. Soboslai
Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Hey Bob: Buddy Miles hired Charlie Karp as his guitar player during those early years. Charlie was then in high school in Westport and since then he has continued to play at a level few could ever match. Most recently, he and Danny Kortchmar have collaborated on a number of recordings as "Sloleak." Thought you'd be amused by the ironic coincidence that the guitar player who caught your attention actually lives in your home town of Fairfield today. Charlie is a genuinely amazing player. Also amazing is that he wrote some of those songs (particularly "I Still Love You Anyway") but he never got paid for all the years of royalties on his songs. You would think that would kill a guy's motivation to stay with it. But, like many true professionals, Charlie lives for the music. I have a ton of respect for him as an artist and as a person and everyone who has ever known him instantly realizes that he is truly a "major dude." M
________________________________________
From: akgmusic
Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
The organ player on Them Changes is Andre Lewis. He is another cat who would be HUGE in this current environment. He was in Zappa's band in 76 and the brains behind Maxayn and recorded three great ahead of their time records for Motown as Mandre. The only place to find those Mandre tunes (besides used vinyl) is youtube. He helped invent the Linn Drum which changed music. He was ahead of his time.
________________________________________
From: Gary Theroux
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Buddy did have another claim to fame -- as one of the two vocalists in the California Raisins ("I Heard It Through The Grapevine," #84 over a four week Hot 100 run in 1985). He also cut the great but forgotten single "Rockin' and Rollin' on the Streets of Hollywood" (#91 over a two-week run ten years earlier).
________________________________________
From: John Rhode (link from Jason Steidman)
Subject: Playboy After Dark-Buddy Miles
Playboy after Dark on YouTube--- Buddy plays "Them Changes" and "Dreams"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBIT0t9Zu_4
________________________________________
From: Robal Johnson
Subject: Fun Buddy Miles Story
It was so fun to see the legendary Buddy Miles pop up in my inbox. Great post and tribute, sir.
I actually got to meet Buddy just over ten years ago when I was tending bar at a Blues club in Durango, Colorado, where I went to college. It was definitely one of my favorite early jobs and it was where I decided that I wanted to make this music thing a career (the jury is still out on that decision!) Anyway, the manager tells me that we booked Buddy Miles for a weekend gig and I went berserk because I had just seen him take the stage with Phish at Madison Square Garden with Merl Saunders in '96.
So he shows up, a huge guy as it is, and at 7,000 feet above sea level he needed an oxygen tank, so I help him down the stairs into the green room. I tell him I'm a fan and he asks, and I quote, "how in the hell do you know who I am, boy?" and I told him I was at the Phish show. He replies with a monstrous belly laugh, "No s***, you were there?! Hell, I LOVE THE PHISH!" And we sat there rapping music for a good hour before he did a soundcheck. What an incredible guy with unbelievable stories.
A jamband from Vermont united a 21 year old white boy from New Jersey with Jimmy f***ing Hendrix' drummer in a small mountain town in southwest Colorado. God damn I love music.
Stay cool.
________________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Toured with Buddy 2-3 years. The real deal. Every night was different musically, the way it should be--you were flying by the seat of your pants and it better groove!!!! On stage it was, and always should be, about the "feel". Something that's completely lost today in my humble opinion. Creativity shouldn't be a liability.
Keep tellin the truth like your doin, that's how change is gonna come.
Doug Johns
________________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Hi Bob,
Love your writings and really enjoyed your take on Buddy Miles. You could say it struck a chord within since he taught me so much about music, playing and how to lay into a deep, deep greasy groove.
As a guitarist, I first played with Buddy in 1986 and toured with him from 1989-93 (plus a few dates afterwards) and loved every minute of the crazy, chaotic and surreal moments on and off stage. There are so many incredible road stories from those days and I often say I didn't tour with Buddy Miles, I "survived" Buddy Miles. From him selling a rented Mercedes for some, ugh, shall we say, other indulgences, to buying cheap day old bakery "decoy food" for the tour bus so as to trick Buddy from eating your good food. You see, Buddy liked to eat. A lot. And late at night, while everyone was asleep in their bunks, he'd search for something tasty to devour which was always the personal food that your per diems could barely could afford. So, we hid our "expensive food" in our bunks and put out the discounted decoy buffet for Bubby's bingeing. We all, including Buddy, slept better for it.
Or a border crossing where Buddy's anger caused the Customs and DEA dogs to be brought on board, gear and bus impounded, strip searches for some….. How about the motel stay in Chicago where Buddy checked the band in and then disappeared - for weeks, leaving us with the bill. Finally he called the front desk, from who knows where, and tried to pay the bill with a Visa number that had letters in it!!! 107AHTY34YUBM !! For payment, we gave the motel his drum set, they unblocked the bus and we all went home. A month or so later Buddy called up saying "Where are you guys? We got another tour starting up, let's go!" I said Buddy where are you at? He said "I'm at the Heart of Chicago motel where you cats were staying and it's a GREAT place!" After all that mess, they took him in, like so many people did for Buddy.
All the insanely crazy times were forgotten when the house lights came down and the audiences roared because this is where he thrived and made up for all other short comings. It was like Buddy always said "You have to get throughout the bitter to get to the sweet" He was right.
Of course he's from that incredible era of the 60's and 70's rock where authentic artists were ALL about the song and performance. He just LOVED to play music and our sound checks were longer than our shows and the shows where easily 3 hours.
Once he sat behind his drum kit, where his cymbals stands teetered from every hit, it was on. There was no exit, no in-ear monitor issues, no circus tricks and no turning back. With Buddy, you held onto his freight train pocket and lived the pulse of his groove and the audience lived it with you. You OWNED it with the people and the collective sweat plus the funky grease on the bottom of everyone's shoes proved it.
I've been fortunate to have played with many great artists and none of them captivated the audiences soul like Buddy did. It was ridiculous how effortless he made it seem. This was Buddy's church, his pulpit, his sermon and no one skipped out the back door for fear of God but rather for fear of missing Buddy's magic. Charismatic is too small a word for Buddy, he had immense Karazzzz-ma !!
And that's how Buddy lived, very close to and dancing on the edge of, well, everything. But the musics edge was his soul's balance point and truth. It seemed to give him peace amidst all the chaos he created elsewhere.
As a kid practicing guitar 10 hours a day I never thought I'd ever meet him let alone play his music together. I'm grateful he gave this Pringles and mayonnaise eating white boy a chance to not just be a listener but a participant and to feel something rare within the "music biz" - to actually feel music and be weightless in the visceral and primal power of sound and love.
So many beautiful home movies of Buddy Miles are in my heart. I close my eyes and see him counting a tune off with those drum sticks of thunder, then a huge smile rakes across his face as the stage levitates and the musicians led by his deep, funky groove takes flight… With the band and audience, as one, playing on.
Cheers,
Greg V.
gregvmusic.com
youtube.com/GregVmusic
________________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
One of my ALL TIME favorite LPs. Had it from the start. Still have my copy.
BTW, most of the album was produced by Buddy and Robin McBride, but Memphis Train was produced by Steve Cropper.
One of my favorite tracks is Paul B. Allen, Omaha Nebraska; I used it in one of my Hand Mixed Vinyl shows on Deep Tracks. Here's an excerpt from my commentary to the show:
"...And then there’s the song that got me started on today’s batch of All Hand Mixed Vinyl. It’s called “Paul B. Allen, Omaha, Nebraska.†Being an instrumental, there are no clues (of what the title means) to be found in the lyrics. It’s on the album Them Changes by the late great Buddy Miles. I’ve had this record since it came out in 1970 and I always wondered who “Paul B. Allen†was. Well this time, the Internet delivered. I found the Facebook page for Paul B. Allen III. So I sent him an email and he wrote write back. He said Paul B Allen, Senior was his grandfather. He and Paul B. Allen, Junior owned and operated Allen’s Showcase lounge, the hottest nightclub in Omaha in the 1950’s and 60’s. Greats like Fats Domino, Red Foxx, and James Brown all performed there. And it wasn’t just big acts. They like to nurture new artists as well, and among those was a young local guy by the name of Buddy Miles. Paul B. Allen III, by the way, is the lead vocalist of the current incarnation of The Platters...."
________________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Hi Bob,
My favorite William S. Burroughs quote is:
"Hustlers of the world, there is one mark you cannot beat: the mark inside."
If there ever was a poster child for that quote, it would have been Buddy Miles.
I met Buddy when I was 16 years old, it was the first time The Electric Flag came through Boston. He was not much older than I, but had already toured with Wilson Pickett. Although he was certainly street smart, he had an unbridled childlike energy that was infectious. He told me that he'd meet me at the venue The Flag was playing the day after the engagement ended, and we'd jam. Needless to say, I showed up, and he didn't.
The second time The Flag came through town, we did jam, and he gave me a card with his address on Selma Ave in Hollywood, and his phone number. I was to get in touch because he was starting his own band, and he wanted me to play guitar with him. I imagine I was not the only one to get Buddy's card, and needless to say, I never became part of The Buddy Miles Express.
Our paths crossed a number of times over the years. Yes, Bob, you're right, Buddy was a superstar in the making. However, it wasn't the failure of a label or management that held him back. Buddy simply couldn't get out of his own way, and wouldn't allow himself to become a success. While all he really had to do was show up and sing, there was always a hustle that needed to go down.
The last time I saw him, he showed up to my gig at The Mint, it must have been 1996. He sat in for half a set and started on drums, singing Texas. Then he pulled out a Stratocaster that couldn't have been manufactured earlier than the mid '80s. He launched into a tearful rant about the guitar having belonged to Jimi... you get the picture.
Man, the Honey Bear was an awesome talent, but like many others, the career he ended up with, he built himself.
Peter Malick
________________________________________
From: Linda Arroz
Subject: Re: The Amazon Effect
Hi Bob,
Funny you should write about Amazon. Just finished building an Amazon Fresh (AF) store for my client, The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills (CSBH). Worked for months with Amazon execs to get this up and running. They did a five year Beta in Seattle for this "Fresh" approach. Seems people in Seattle can't live without it. Every day the AF orders for cheese, gourmet foodstuffs and accessories at The CSBH get larger, especially since they opened up the delivery to all LA zip codes. Amazon's aim is to offer same day delivery, no matter what one orders, whether it be a grocery item, book or appliance, to their customers across the country. It's a behemoth, that's for sure and we upload a real time inventory to them every day at noon. There appear to be a lot of folks out there willing to pay the Prime membership, plus the additional annual fee, to avoid the hassles of driving around shopping for food and stuff.
Bravo to Amazon and bravo to the members who can afford to pay these fees. (my son, a bass player who was the guitar and bass tech for Megadeth's Gigantour, works in feature animation and loves the Prime perk of streaming movies, says it's better than Netflix, with more content to choose from...who knew?) Early adaptors pave the way for more access and lower costs down the road.
Meantime, I'm watching the growth of 3D printing...imagine printing out a part for something and fixing it yourself?
LA
________________________________________
From: Steve Lukather
Subject: Re: Album Sales Tank
If someone made an album remotely close to as good a record as Sgt. Pepper perhaps it would sell!
I have been so hopeful but kids will never make a record like this.
They are not GOOD enough to even come close to thinking of it let alone pulling it all off.
On a 4 track tape machine no less!! ( well 2 wild synched)
Vinyl DOES sound better!
I can tell you this...If Lawyers got f***ed like the musicians/songwriters have and had to litigate for 90% LESS money than they USED to make.. the recording business would be way different !
The world would be different since almost all poiticians are lawyers.
If it was harder to make records and you had to go back to REALLY learning how to play, write, sing and perform really really well then it would all be different.
Any moron with a computer can make a record and just cause you CAN does not mean you should.
I know every person reading has been handed what LOOKS like a 'professional CD' or an internet link by 3-4 people on their BLOCK cause 'so and so's kid has a band' would you listen and LIKE my page etc..
Come on.. really??
And it is 99.99999999999% s***.
Am I lying?
If I took an iPhone and made a film of me lighting farts out of my own ass with a cliche 'techo-electronica beat' I bet I could get a f*** load of hits on youtube and make nothing.
Then what?
No the real problem lies in greed or Entitlement and this idea that EVERYONE should be rich and famous.
It is everything that is wrong with the world.
No worker bee's.
Like is is shameful to have a real job.
Well the idea that if you work really hard and put in your 100,000 hours (10,000 is for pussy wanna bees) then MAYBE you might be good enough.
Gone.
"Give me -Give me- Give me and f*** you I deserve it! "
Thats what kids learn today.
Live at home till your parents die and you inherit it all. Unless you get into litigation with your family. Then the lawyers get rich again.
Yep the good old days..
They WERE the good old days never to be seen again.
I am so happy I lived thru the very best time in popular music.
Yeah call me old.
F*** you and Get off my lawn while your at it! haha
I am getting my Pepper album out right the f*** NOW !
Luke
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Come on, Bob -- the boys deserve at least a “second-rate†designation instead of third.
Fact is I tried to sign Skynyrd months before Al Kooper did, but my boss didn’t think they had any songs.
The ringer in Hatchet was Duane Roland, one of the three guitar players. He often took a back seat to group leader Dave Hlubek, but he was a faultless,
syrupy smooth guitar player who doubled every solo in the studio and never once looked at the neck of his instrument.
Check out the lead break on our cover version of the Stones’ “It’s All Over Nowâ€.
Duane plays precisely what Keith meant to play on the original. After Skynyrd, this was the best three-man guitar line I’d ever seen.
Their idea of relaxating after the session was to drink way too much Jack Daniels and clear the entire bar room. They were the real thing. Had to sign ‘em up.
Tom Werman
________________________________________
From: Andrew Mcinnes
Subject: Dillon
Bob,
How's it going? My name is Andrew McInnes. My partner, Kevin Kusatsu, and I own TMWRK management. We manage Diplo, Major Lazer, A-Trak, Dillon Francis, and a variety of other acts. I am glad you noticed Dillon. We have been managing him for several years. He took some time off to focus on music and it is starting to pay off. TMWRK has focused on the alternative side of dance and it feels like the paradigm is shifting. To quote our friend Adam Gill from Embrace "The weird kids are taking over". Having been a huge fan of 90's and early 00's hardcore and indie it feels like history is repeating itself.
We run an event series with Diplo called The Mad Decent Block Parties. There are 13 of them this summer. Last weekend we did 9k people in DC and 7k people in Ft. Lauderdale. We want to create a modern version of the Warped Tour (the warped tour from the 90's) where young people can come and expect to find new music that is great - site unseen. The goal is to create an experience. We want the Block Party to be the best day of your summer. That includes music with guitars and vocals btw. I recall going to the warped tour when i was 16, talking to girls, getting dirty, and seeing Eminem and NOFX - we aspire to emulate that in a modern form, both in front of and behind the fence.
It is all youth culture and youth culture is about experience and memories. The reason why Dillon's song will get him on base is because it will soundtrack those experiences for the next 12 months.
Today the block party has a sold out show at Williamsburg Park in NY. We sold 7k tix. The line up is Major Lazer, Matt and Kim, Dillon Francis, Flosstradamus, 3 ball MTY, Destructo, Rockie Fresh, Kito and Reija Lee, and DJ Slink. It is a nice day and I trust we are going to make the impression we want. BTW none of the headliners are signed to Major Labels.
The LA event is on 9/15. You should come.
Thank you you for writing about Dillon. We feel like you understand,
McInnes
________________________________________
Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Bob:
I know that there isn't much in the way of music that escapes you. I also know that everything comes from something. As Dylan famously noted, there are only 12 notes...:-).
But I haven't run into too many people who know this track by The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble, a group perhaps best known for being the group that the superb arranger Michael Kamen came from. It was released in 1969.
I love Buddy's song, too. But the track...well...you be the judge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MhRP30WTRQ
Best,
Jimmy Fox
________________________________________
From: Duane Hitchings
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles - Them Changes
THANK YOU SO MUCH for you well deserved recognition of Buddy Miles and his
song, "Them Changes". Here is a little history about the original Buddy
Miles Express and "Them Changes". I was the B-3 organ player in the original
Buddy Miles Express. The bass player was Roland Robinson. Roland and I were
hanging in his room one night (Buddy rented a house in Rhinebeck, New York
and Buddy called the house "Monkey Knuckles Manor""! We all had different
rooms. Jim McCarty was on guitar (guitarist with The Detroit Wheels), I
think Billy Cox or Billy Rich on bass and the "Sam and Dave" horn section â€"
a REAL horn section!! The house was down the street from Jim Hendrix's
house and 20 minutes from what would be Woodstock. Anyway, Roland played
this song on a album of "The "New York Rock-n-Roll Ensemble" (a string
quartet and also a band from the Julliard School of Music) one night in his
room. Roland heard a cello line that was on one of the cuts and it came from
some symphony as mentioned on the cover.. I think! Just as we were
listening to it for the 10th time, Buddy came into the room with a white
sheet over his head and body and a shotgun in his hand. WE FREAKED because
we were in what one would call "an altered state of mind" - 1970s ! Buddy of
course enjoyed our response! LOL! Buddy then heard what we heard and
freaked! Needless to say, we all started rehearsing a song based on what he
heard the next day. Buddy had his arrangement to it with other parts he
added and with his Lyrics, of course. We were to backup Jimi Hendrix in part
of his set at Woodstock. Jimi was starting to get into horns. He was
listening to Blood Sweat and Tears, Chicago etc. He and Buddy were thinking
of doing a tour together and the band would come on the stage later in the
set as the "Electric Church Band" and play "Them Changes" for the first time! Well, we missed Woodstock for reasons left unmentioned â€" but a good
reason. Some other problems immerged and the band broke up. Jimmy McCarty, Roland and I went to San Francisco to start a band and a month later we heard "Them Changes" on the radio! At that point, we wished we had done
more to try to keep the band together â€" to say the least! BUT we were happy
for "B". He was literally a FREIGHT TRAIN on drums! There was NO doubt were
the downbeat was! He will always be missed! Duane Hitchings
________________________________________
From: Mark R. Soboslai
Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Hey Bob: Buddy Miles hired Charlie Karp as his guitar player during those early years. Charlie was then in high school in Westport and since then he has continued to play at a level few could ever match. Most recently, he and Danny Kortchmar have collaborated on a number of recordings as "Sloleak." Thought you'd be amused by the ironic coincidence that the guitar player who caught your attention actually lives in your home town of Fairfield today. Charlie is a genuinely amazing player. Also amazing is that he wrote some of those songs (particularly "I Still Love You Anyway") but he never got paid for all the years of royalties on his songs. You would think that would kill a guy's motivation to stay with it. But, like many true professionals, Charlie lives for the music. I have a ton of respect for him as an artist and as a person and everyone who has ever known him instantly realizes that he is truly a "major dude." M
________________________________________
From: akgmusic
Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
The organ player on Them Changes is Andre Lewis. He is another cat who would be HUGE in this current environment. He was in Zappa's band in 76 and the brains behind Maxayn and recorded three great ahead of their time records for Motown as Mandre. The only place to find those Mandre tunes (besides used vinyl) is youtube. He helped invent the Linn Drum which changed music. He was ahead of his time.
________________________________________
From: Gary Theroux
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Buddy did have another claim to fame -- as one of the two vocalists in the California Raisins ("I Heard It Through The Grapevine," #84 over a four week Hot 100 run in 1985). He also cut the great but forgotten single "Rockin' and Rollin' on the Streets of Hollywood" (#91 over a two-week run ten years earlier).
________________________________________
From: John Rhode (link from Jason Steidman)
Subject: Playboy After Dark-Buddy Miles
Playboy after Dark on YouTube--- Buddy plays "Them Changes" and "Dreams"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBIT0t9Zu_4
________________________________________
From: Robal Johnson
Subject: Fun Buddy Miles Story
It was so fun to see the legendary Buddy Miles pop up in my inbox. Great post and tribute, sir.
I actually got to meet Buddy just over ten years ago when I was tending bar at a Blues club in Durango, Colorado, where I went to college. It was definitely one of my favorite early jobs and it was where I decided that I wanted to make this music thing a career (the jury is still out on that decision!) Anyway, the manager tells me that we booked Buddy Miles for a weekend gig and I went berserk because I had just seen him take the stage with Phish at Madison Square Garden with Merl Saunders in '96.
So he shows up, a huge guy as it is, and at 7,000 feet above sea level he needed an oxygen tank, so I help him down the stairs into the green room. I tell him I'm a fan and he asks, and I quote, "how in the hell do you know who I am, boy?" and I told him I was at the Phish show. He replies with a monstrous belly laugh, "No s***, you were there?! Hell, I LOVE THE PHISH!" And we sat there rapping music for a good hour before he did a soundcheck. What an incredible guy with unbelievable stories.
A jamband from Vermont united a 21 year old white boy from New Jersey with Jimmy f***ing Hendrix' drummer in a small mountain town in southwest Colorado. God damn I love music.
Stay cool.
________________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Toured with Buddy 2-3 years. The real deal. Every night was different musically, the way it should be--you were flying by the seat of your pants and it better groove!!!! On stage it was, and always should be, about the "feel". Something that's completely lost today in my humble opinion. Creativity shouldn't be a liability.
Keep tellin the truth like your doin, that's how change is gonna come.
Doug Johns
________________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Hi Bob,
Love your writings and really enjoyed your take on Buddy Miles. You could say it struck a chord within since he taught me so much about music, playing and how to lay into a deep, deep greasy groove.
As a guitarist, I first played with Buddy in 1986 and toured with him from 1989-93 (plus a few dates afterwards) and loved every minute of the crazy, chaotic and surreal moments on and off stage. There are so many incredible road stories from those days and I often say I didn't tour with Buddy Miles, I "survived" Buddy Miles. From him selling a rented Mercedes for some, ugh, shall we say, other indulgences, to buying cheap day old bakery "decoy food" for the tour bus so as to trick Buddy from eating your good food. You see, Buddy liked to eat. A lot. And late at night, while everyone was asleep in their bunks, he'd search for something tasty to devour which was always the personal food that your per diems could barely could afford. So, we hid our "expensive food" in our bunks and put out the discounted decoy buffet for Bubby's bingeing. We all, including Buddy, slept better for it.
Or a border crossing where Buddy's anger caused the Customs and DEA dogs to be brought on board, gear and bus impounded, strip searches for some….. How about the motel stay in Chicago where Buddy checked the band in and then disappeared - for weeks, leaving us with the bill. Finally he called the front desk, from who knows where, and tried to pay the bill with a Visa number that had letters in it!!! 107AHTY34YUBM !! For payment, we gave the motel his drum set, they unblocked the bus and we all went home. A month or so later Buddy called up saying "Where are you guys? We got another tour starting up, let's go!" I said Buddy where are you at? He said "I'm at the Heart of Chicago motel where you cats were staying and it's a GREAT place!" After all that mess, they took him in, like so many people did for Buddy.
All the insanely crazy times were forgotten when the house lights came down and the audiences roared because this is where he thrived and made up for all other short comings. It was like Buddy always said "You have to get throughout the bitter to get to the sweet" He was right.
Of course he's from that incredible era of the 60's and 70's rock where authentic artists were ALL about the song and performance. He just LOVED to play music and our sound checks were longer than our shows and the shows where easily 3 hours.
Once he sat behind his drum kit, where his cymbals stands teetered from every hit, it was on. There was no exit, no in-ear monitor issues, no circus tricks and no turning back. With Buddy, you held onto his freight train pocket and lived the pulse of his groove and the audience lived it with you. You OWNED it with the people and the collective sweat plus the funky grease on the bottom of everyone's shoes proved it.
I've been fortunate to have played with many great artists and none of them captivated the audiences soul like Buddy did. It was ridiculous how effortless he made it seem. This was Buddy's church, his pulpit, his sermon and no one skipped out the back door for fear of God but rather for fear of missing Buddy's magic. Charismatic is too small a word for Buddy, he had immense Karazzzz-ma !!
And that's how Buddy lived, very close to and dancing on the edge of, well, everything. But the musics edge was his soul's balance point and truth. It seemed to give him peace amidst all the chaos he created elsewhere.
As a kid practicing guitar 10 hours a day I never thought I'd ever meet him let alone play his music together. I'm grateful he gave this Pringles and mayonnaise eating white boy a chance to not just be a listener but a participant and to feel something rare within the "music biz" - to actually feel music and be weightless in the visceral and primal power of sound and love.
So many beautiful home movies of Buddy Miles are in my heart. I close my eyes and see him counting a tune off with those drum sticks of thunder, then a huge smile rakes across his face as the stage levitates and the musicians led by his deep, funky groove takes flight… With the band and audience, as one, playing on.
Cheers,
Greg V.
gregvmusic.com
youtube.com/GregVmusic
________________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
One of my ALL TIME favorite LPs. Had it from the start. Still have my copy.
BTW, most of the album was produced by Buddy and Robin McBride, but Memphis Train was produced by Steve Cropper.
One of my favorite tracks is Paul B. Allen, Omaha Nebraska; I used it in one of my Hand Mixed Vinyl shows on Deep Tracks. Here's an excerpt from my commentary to the show:
"...And then there’s the song that got me started on today’s batch of All Hand Mixed Vinyl. It’s called “Paul B. Allen, Omaha, Nebraska.†Being an instrumental, there are no clues (of what the title means) to be found in the lyrics. It’s on the album Them Changes by the late great Buddy Miles. I’ve had this record since it came out in 1970 and I always wondered who “Paul B. Allen†was. Well this time, the Internet delivered. I found the Facebook page for Paul B. Allen III. So I sent him an email and he wrote write back. He said Paul B Allen, Senior was his grandfather. He and Paul B. Allen, Junior owned and operated Allen’s Showcase lounge, the hottest nightclub in Omaha in the 1950’s and 60’s. Greats like Fats Domino, Red Foxx, and James Brown all performed there. And it wasn’t just big acts. They like to nurture new artists as well, and among those was a young local guy by the name of Buddy Miles. Paul B. Allen III, by the way, is the lead vocalist of the current incarnation of The Platters...."
________________________________________
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Buddy Miles
Hi Bob,
My favorite William S. Burroughs quote is:
"Hustlers of the world, there is one mark you cannot beat: the mark inside."
If there ever was a poster child for that quote, it would have been Buddy Miles.
I met Buddy when I was 16 years old, it was the first time The Electric Flag came through Boston. He was not much older than I, but had already toured with Wilson Pickett. Although he was certainly street smart, he had an unbridled childlike energy that was infectious. He told me that he'd meet me at the venue The Flag was playing the day after the engagement ended, and we'd jam. Needless to say, I showed up, and he didn't.
The second time The Flag came through town, we did jam, and he gave me a card with his address on Selma Ave in Hollywood, and his phone number. I was to get in touch because he was starting his own band, and he wanted me to play guitar with him. I imagine I was not the only one to get Buddy's card, and needless to say, I never became part of The Buddy Miles Express.
Our paths crossed a number of times over the years. Yes, Bob, you're right, Buddy was a superstar in the making. However, it wasn't the failure of a label or management that held him back. Buddy simply couldn't get out of his own way, and wouldn't allow himself to become a success. While all he really had to do was show up and sing, there was always a hustle that needed to go down.
The last time I saw him, he showed up to my gig at The Mint, it must have been 1996. He sat in for half a set and started on drums, singing Texas. Then he pulled out a Stratocaster that couldn't have been manufactured earlier than the mid '80s. He launched into a tearful rant about the guitar having belonged to Jimi... you get the picture.
Man, the Honey Bear was an awesome talent, but like many others, the career he ended up with, he built himself.
Peter Malick
________________________________________
From: Linda Arroz
Subject: Re: The Amazon Effect
Hi Bob,
Funny you should write about Amazon. Just finished building an Amazon Fresh (AF) store for my client, The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills (CSBH). Worked for months with Amazon execs to get this up and running. They did a five year Beta in Seattle for this "Fresh" approach. Seems people in Seattle can't live without it. Every day the AF orders for cheese, gourmet foodstuffs and accessories at The CSBH get larger, especially since they opened up the delivery to all LA zip codes. Amazon's aim is to offer same day delivery, no matter what one orders, whether it be a grocery item, book or appliance, to their customers across the country. It's a behemoth, that's for sure and we upload a real time inventory to them every day at noon. There appear to be a lot of folks out there willing to pay the Prime membership, plus the additional annual fee, to avoid the hassles of driving around shopping for food and stuff.
Bravo to Amazon and bravo to the members who can afford to pay these fees. (my son, a bass player who was the guitar and bass tech for Megadeth's Gigantour, works in feature animation and loves the Prime perk of streaming movies, says it's better than Netflix, with more content to choose from...who knew?) Early adaptors pave the way for more access and lower costs down the road.
Meantime, I'm watching the growth of 3D printing...imagine printing out a part for something and fixing it yourself?
LA
________________________________________
From: Steve Lukather
Subject: Re: Album Sales Tank
If someone made an album remotely close to as good a record as Sgt. Pepper perhaps it would sell!
I have been so hopeful but kids will never make a record like this.
They are not GOOD enough to even come close to thinking of it let alone pulling it all off.
On a 4 track tape machine no less!! ( well 2 wild synched)
Vinyl DOES sound better!
I can tell you this...If Lawyers got f***ed like the musicians/songwriters have and had to litigate for 90% LESS money than they USED to make.. the recording business would be way different !
The world would be different since almost all poiticians are lawyers.
If it was harder to make records and you had to go back to REALLY learning how to play, write, sing and perform really really well then it would all be different.
Any moron with a computer can make a record and just cause you CAN does not mean you should.
I know every person reading has been handed what LOOKS like a 'professional CD' or an internet link by 3-4 people on their BLOCK cause 'so and so's kid has a band' would you listen and LIKE my page etc..
Come on.. really??
And it is 99.99999999999% s***.
Am I lying?
If I took an iPhone and made a film of me lighting farts out of my own ass with a cliche 'techo-electronica beat' I bet I could get a f*** load of hits on youtube and make nothing.
Then what?
No the real problem lies in greed or Entitlement and this idea that EVERYONE should be rich and famous.
It is everything that is wrong with the world.
No worker bee's.
Like is is shameful to have a real job.
Well the idea that if you work really hard and put in your 100,000 hours (10,000 is for pussy wanna bees) then MAYBE you might be good enough.
Gone.
"Give me -Give me- Give me and f*** you I deserve it! "
Thats what kids learn today.
Live at home till your parents die and you inherit it all. Unless you get into litigation with your family. Then the lawyers get rich again.
Yep the good old days..
They WERE the good old days never to be seen again.
I am so happy I lived thru the very best time in popular music.
Yeah call me old.
F*** you and Get off my lawn while your at it! haha
I am getting my Pepper album out right the f*** NOW !
Luke
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Sunday, 11 August 2013
House Of Cards-4-6
"character: strength and originality in a person's nature"
New Oxford American English Dictionary
It's what you do when you lose.
Everybody's got a plan. But what happens when it goes haywire, when you hit roadblocks? Do you fold your tent or find another way, like water.
Water. Blocked one way, it will find another. And it doesn't care if you're awake or asleep, if the temperature rises or falls, it moves constantly. Like life.
That's what school is about. The separation of winners and losers.
I feel sorry for the underclass, going to the half-baked public schools where there's no money for a better path, never mind parents and teachers behind the scenes, pushing their students forward.
Yes, it's not about crying you didn't get 2400 on your SATs, but what you do when you don't get these results.
Don't worry about the winners, those who do achieve this number and go to Harvard or Yale. They'll fail. They won't make partner at the law firm, the hedge fund they're working for will close down, everybody meets adversity in their life, but what you do about it is the essence of your character. Sure, cry in your beer, complain to your buddies, and then pick yourself up and go at it again, it's the only way to win. And if you're not attempting to win in this world, you're gonna lose, it's guaranteed.
This is not an economy with guaranteed jobs. Hell, you're lucky if you can get food stamps. The safety net is eroding and it wasn't that good to begin with. You've got to be ingenious, you've got to find a way to keep moving forward.
And don't attack a problem the same way once again. If someone doesn't like your demo, don't send it along with a pizza. Ignore that person and make something happen on your own. Are you capable of that? Because that's what it takes.
What Irving Azoff has that you don't is he sees two steps ahead. Whatever he tells you he's going to do...that's already history, or just a stepping stone in the next project. That's why he's a winner. As for all you decrying his methods and personality...what did Don Henley say, "He may be Satan, but he's our Satan."?
And Michael Rapino... He was unafraid to go up against Michael Cohl, Live Nation's biggest shareholder. Fear is not acceptable at this level.
And yes, everybody's friends, just like Kevin Spacey feeds the protesters, if you can't get along with your enemies, you're going to have a very short shelf life.
But they don't teach character in school. It's something you get from your parents, it's something you gain from experience. If you're making up tales to explain your losses and disappointment you're missing the point. It doesn't matter if you got screwed, how it went down, you lost and now it's your job to win.
And winning rarely comports with societal standards, Howard Stern doesn't win awards, but he make more money than the rest of the deejays. And do you want the bragging rights of a SoundScan number one or a long career? Frequently, they're not the same thing.
If you're concerned about appearances, if you think the clock ever runs out, you've got no idea how the game works.
Character is built by adversity. It teaches you there's more than one way to skin a cat. And that just because you go hungry today, that does not mean you will starve tomorrow.
As for the acts... You don't want to meet them. Because they know these lessons better than anyone. Because it's almost impossible to make it. Talent? It's plentiful, dime a dozen. But the perseverance in the face of astounding odds, that's a different skill.
So many acts' histories are riddled with duplicity. They fire the manager who got them there, but the only way they can move forward is by upgrading. Sorry, but it's the act's one and only career, it must be done.
You've got to stand up for your rights. You've got to give to get.
Your goal is to get into the game and stay there.
Kevin Spacey knows that. At least his character in "House Of Cards" does. If I get one more e-mail, read one more report of a celebrity bitching about negative comments on Twitter and the general hate on the Web, I'm gonna laugh. It goes with the territory. It means people are paying attention. Get over it.
And sometimes you are wrong. Spacey's character is mocked by Bill Maher, correctly.
But Spacey neither complains nor fights. He knows it's just momentary chatter. That if you don't make mistakes you're not playing. That there's always another day.
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New Oxford American English Dictionary
It's what you do when you lose.
Everybody's got a plan. But what happens when it goes haywire, when you hit roadblocks? Do you fold your tent or find another way, like water.
Water. Blocked one way, it will find another. And it doesn't care if you're awake or asleep, if the temperature rises or falls, it moves constantly. Like life.
That's what school is about. The separation of winners and losers.
I feel sorry for the underclass, going to the half-baked public schools where there's no money for a better path, never mind parents and teachers behind the scenes, pushing their students forward.
Yes, it's not about crying you didn't get 2400 on your SATs, but what you do when you don't get these results.
Don't worry about the winners, those who do achieve this number and go to Harvard or Yale. They'll fail. They won't make partner at the law firm, the hedge fund they're working for will close down, everybody meets adversity in their life, but what you do about it is the essence of your character. Sure, cry in your beer, complain to your buddies, and then pick yourself up and go at it again, it's the only way to win. And if you're not attempting to win in this world, you're gonna lose, it's guaranteed.
This is not an economy with guaranteed jobs. Hell, you're lucky if you can get food stamps. The safety net is eroding and it wasn't that good to begin with. You've got to be ingenious, you've got to find a way to keep moving forward.
And don't attack a problem the same way once again. If someone doesn't like your demo, don't send it along with a pizza. Ignore that person and make something happen on your own. Are you capable of that? Because that's what it takes.
What Irving Azoff has that you don't is he sees two steps ahead. Whatever he tells you he's going to do...that's already history, or just a stepping stone in the next project. That's why he's a winner. As for all you decrying his methods and personality...what did Don Henley say, "He may be Satan, but he's our Satan."?
And Michael Rapino... He was unafraid to go up against Michael Cohl, Live Nation's biggest shareholder. Fear is not acceptable at this level.
And yes, everybody's friends, just like Kevin Spacey feeds the protesters, if you can't get along with your enemies, you're going to have a very short shelf life.
But they don't teach character in school. It's something you get from your parents, it's something you gain from experience. If you're making up tales to explain your losses and disappointment you're missing the point. It doesn't matter if you got screwed, how it went down, you lost and now it's your job to win.
And winning rarely comports with societal standards, Howard Stern doesn't win awards, but he make more money than the rest of the deejays. And do you want the bragging rights of a SoundScan number one or a long career? Frequently, they're not the same thing.
If you're concerned about appearances, if you think the clock ever runs out, you've got no idea how the game works.
Character is built by adversity. It teaches you there's more than one way to skin a cat. And that just because you go hungry today, that does not mean you will starve tomorrow.
As for the acts... You don't want to meet them. Because they know these lessons better than anyone. Because it's almost impossible to make it. Talent? It's plentiful, dime a dozen. But the perseverance in the face of astounding odds, that's a different skill.
So many acts' histories are riddled with duplicity. They fire the manager who got them there, but the only way they can move forward is by upgrading. Sorry, but it's the act's one and only career, it must be done.
You've got to stand up for your rights. You've got to give to get.
Your goal is to get into the game and stay there.
Kevin Spacey knows that. At least his character in "House Of Cards" does. If I get one more e-mail, read one more report of a celebrity bitching about negative comments on Twitter and the general hate on the Web, I'm gonna laugh. It goes with the territory. It means people are paying attention. Get over it.
And sometimes you are wrong. Spacey's character is mocked by Bill Maher, correctly.
But Spacey neither complains nor fights. He knows it's just momentary chatter. That if you don't make mistakes you're not playing. That there's always another day.
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Sightseers On A Mission
http://nyti.ms/19X2fLh
And you wonder why no one wants to work in the music industry.
I want you to click on the above link. Yes, take the time. That's the dirty little secret of the web, nobody ever clicks through, no one wants to waste another moment of their precious life digging deeper into what you think is important, we're all curators of our own lives and if we let you take control of the joystick we're gonna end up far from where we want to be.
Okay, are you there?
Just like the words say in the above left-hand corner, "Hover over photo for names".
These are the people running the world.
Jay Z, selling out to Samsung? Doug Morris, in a holy war with Universal? They're pipsqueaks on the road to nowhere, driving their Yugos as those truly in control blast by in their Teslas or their private jets.
This article is all bout charity:water. Which is a good mission. And too much time is spent saying they chartered a private jet. And to tell you the truth, the article is essentially unreadable. And misses the point. It's not about charity, it's about power.
I know some of these people. Mostly by accident. They found me, since I cover their beat, or I met with them at the Soho House and they introduced me to their brethren.
And the one thing I've got to tell you is not a single one of them has a boss. Not one! Not only do they do what they want to, they make it up along the way.
These are rock stars. Not those phony, over-marketed airbrushed people you see featured in media. Hell, most people have no idea who the folks in this photo are. And that's just the way they like it. Because fame comes with scrutiny, it deflects the mission.
And the mission is to change the world.
Do you think the contestants on "X Factor" are changing the world? Hell, even Simon Cowell, he of the many millions and impregnated girlfriend, isn't changing the world. These are the disrupters. Who believe nothing is sacred and fly around the world in private jets achieving their goals.
Oh, don't focus on the trappings. They don't. They don't have the time, because they're working too hard. One of the people in this photo flies private so he can get an audience with those who are otherwise unreachable. They tell him they're going here or there and he offers up his plane, says he's going that way, so he can get one on one time with the rich and powerful. Most of whom you don't know the name of. That's the difference between tech and entertainment. Entertainment is all about me, filling the hole of inadequacy by letting others know how much better you are than them. Tech too is about me, but it's mostly revenge. Against everybody who never took you seriously, who picked on you in high school, who wouldn't give you a date.
Interestingly, musical artists could be just as powerful as the tech elite. Even more so. If they only took up the reins. Instead, they're playing to gatekeepers. But Uber doesn't ask permission before it enters a market, it just goes there. And all Jay Z got for his deal with Samsung was some publicity and a wad of cash. Publicity fades, faster than ever these days, and the amount of cash involved is chump change to Samsung.
Once upon a time, the people in this photo wanted to work in the music business. Because that's where you wrote your own rules, where you could do it your way and make millions. Back when the labels weren't owned by conglomerates and concert promoters were independent. It was a giant casino game, driven by lanky men and women who could not be told what to do. Who thrived on sex and drugs and alcohol and told us all about their exploits. We wanted to be them. They sang about freedom, it was the ultimate goal. Now the ultimate goal is to work for someone else who tells you what to do so you can get paid and go on vacation and flaunt your wealth. Huh?
As for the people in this photo, they couldn't work in the music industry. They wouldn't be let in.
Oh, Troy Carter manages Lady Gaga, but he's invested in more tech companies than you can list. And Nathan Hubbard may run Ticketmaster, but he got an MBA at Stanford and if you think Ticketmaster is all about music, you've never heard of sports.
Music is a self-satisfied club run by baby boomers who are trying to eke out personal cash, even though they're oftentimes working for a public corporation. It's truly about me and there's very little giving back. Whereas the charity:water folks already have enough money, their goal is to mess with the system. Remember messing with the system? Whether it be Abbie Hoffman or Country Joe or the Jefferson Airplane or the Chicago 7/8, that's what smart young people did back then.
Instead, you do covers of hits on YouTube, even though these hits have the lasting power of a stick of gum. And then you spam everybody telling them to pay attention, ironically utilizing the services the charity:water people established. And then you complain that you can't get paid. That it's Daniel Ek's fault.
And before him it was Shawn Fanning. And then it was the fans and it was everybody but yourself. Ever think that you might be the problem?
Yes, music has more power than the money or thoughts of any of the tech elite. But it only works when it's independent, when it says something, when it becomes indispensable to the listener as opposed to radio fodder.
And it hasn't been that way for a very long time.
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And you wonder why no one wants to work in the music industry.
I want you to click on the above link. Yes, take the time. That's the dirty little secret of the web, nobody ever clicks through, no one wants to waste another moment of their precious life digging deeper into what you think is important, we're all curators of our own lives and if we let you take control of the joystick we're gonna end up far from where we want to be.
Okay, are you there?
Just like the words say in the above left-hand corner, "Hover over photo for names".
These are the people running the world.
Jay Z, selling out to Samsung? Doug Morris, in a holy war with Universal? They're pipsqueaks on the road to nowhere, driving their Yugos as those truly in control blast by in their Teslas or their private jets.
This article is all bout charity:water. Which is a good mission. And too much time is spent saying they chartered a private jet. And to tell you the truth, the article is essentially unreadable. And misses the point. It's not about charity, it's about power.
I know some of these people. Mostly by accident. They found me, since I cover their beat, or I met with them at the Soho House and they introduced me to their brethren.
And the one thing I've got to tell you is not a single one of them has a boss. Not one! Not only do they do what they want to, they make it up along the way.
These are rock stars. Not those phony, over-marketed airbrushed people you see featured in media. Hell, most people have no idea who the folks in this photo are. And that's just the way they like it. Because fame comes with scrutiny, it deflects the mission.
And the mission is to change the world.
Do you think the contestants on "X Factor" are changing the world? Hell, even Simon Cowell, he of the many millions and impregnated girlfriend, isn't changing the world. These are the disrupters. Who believe nothing is sacred and fly around the world in private jets achieving their goals.
Oh, don't focus on the trappings. They don't. They don't have the time, because they're working too hard. One of the people in this photo flies private so he can get an audience with those who are otherwise unreachable. They tell him they're going here or there and he offers up his plane, says he's going that way, so he can get one on one time with the rich and powerful. Most of whom you don't know the name of. That's the difference between tech and entertainment. Entertainment is all about me, filling the hole of inadequacy by letting others know how much better you are than them. Tech too is about me, but it's mostly revenge. Against everybody who never took you seriously, who picked on you in high school, who wouldn't give you a date.
Interestingly, musical artists could be just as powerful as the tech elite. Even more so. If they only took up the reins. Instead, they're playing to gatekeepers. But Uber doesn't ask permission before it enters a market, it just goes there. And all Jay Z got for his deal with Samsung was some publicity and a wad of cash. Publicity fades, faster than ever these days, and the amount of cash involved is chump change to Samsung.
Once upon a time, the people in this photo wanted to work in the music business. Because that's where you wrote your own rules, where you could do it your way and make millions. Back when the labels weren't owned by conglomerates and concert promoters were independent. It was a giant casino game, driven by lanky men and women who could not be told what to do. Who thrived on sex and drugs and alcohol and told us all about their exploits. We wanted to be them. They sang about freedom, it was the ultimate goal. Now the ultimate goal is to work for someone else who tells you what to do so you can get paid and go on vacation and flaunt your wealth. Huh?
As for the people in this photo, they couldn't work in the music industry. They wouldn't be let in.
Oh, Troy Carter manages Lady Gaga, but he's invested in more tech companies than you can list. And Nathan Hubbard may run Ticketmaster, but he got an MBA at Stanford and if you think Ticketmaster is all about music, you've never heard of sports.
Music is a self-satisfied club run by baby boomers who are trying to eke out personal cash, even though they're oftentimes working for a public corporation. It's truly about me and there's very little giving back. Whereas the charity:water folks already have enough money, their goal is to mess with the system. Remember messing with the system? Whether it be Abbie Hoffman or Country Joe or the Jefferson Airplane or the Chicago 7/8, that's what smart young people did back then.
Instead, you do covers of hits on YouTube, even though these hits have the lasting power of a stick of gum. And then you spam everybody telling them to pay attention, ironically utilizing the services the charity:water people established. And then you complain that you can't get paid. That it's Daniel Ek's fault.
And before him it was Shawn Fanning. And then it was the fans and it was everybody but yourself. Ever think that you might be the problem?
Yes, music has more power than the money or thoughts of any of the tech elite. But it only works when it's independent, when it says something, when it becomes indispensable to the listener as opposed to radio fodder.
And it hasn't been that way for a very long time.
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
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