Lecture 12: wax.on wax.off - always among the best! yeah!
No rehearsal today. So, again time for me to watch some senseless TV. This time I watched the Team Handball World Cup quarter finals: Germany vs. Spain. And even though I am actually not German I found myself rooting for the Teutons. Wow! Not only did Germany win but again they won because of an outstanding performance by Germany´s goalie No.1 and World Handballer 2004: HENNING FRITZ.
He surely is this tournement´s MVP. HENNING FRITZ is by far the best darn Team Handball goalie around! I even believe he is the best darn Team Handball goalkeeper ever! Period!
Why am I so excited you ask? Well, a year ago our song "Santa is a Pervert" was part of this: Chirstmas CD compilation featuring 24 recordings by local "celebrities". You were supposed to listen to one track each day counting down to Christmas Eve. Some people contributed songs others poems and again others little stories. And guess who was with us on that CD telling a story about his favourite Christmas experience?
Right, goalie No.1 and World Handballer 2004: HENNING FRITZ!
Pete deBoer has a bootleg deck of Eno's Oblique Strategies in his studio. I'm sorry, but most of those are bullshit. They sound great but couldn't be less useful. Here's a strategy that works every time: know what you want to do, and make sure it gets done. Oblique Strategies might work if you have nothing in particular to say - they take the burdens of creation and problem-solving off the artist, thereby rendering him NOT-an-artist. If there's something you're desperate to express, you won't need those cards.
Here's a lightly-updated repost from my old blog. I suppose we could call these my Concrete Strategies:
One of the hardest lessons I've had to learn over the past 15 years is that being an artist and having a job are not mutually exclusive. The misconception is that an artist needs to devote 100% of his time to the art. I've tried that; it's not possible. First of all, you can't pay rent. Second, creating becomes work because it's your only alternative to inertia. Third, if you have unlimited time to create, the Peter Principle takes effect and the time it takes to complete your work fills the time available. So you get less done than if you operate under the urgency of limited time.
I think the idea that an artist should not have to hold down a job is a myth perpetuated by an industry that sells not music, or art, but the promise of luxury to desperate people. The targets/victims of this hoax may or may not be artists - but they are, unquestionably, people too scared and confused to get themselves jobs.
The other day a musician friend asked me how much my band charges for a copy of our demo. I told him that we charge nothing; the demo is free to anybody who wants one. He became visibly upset and asked me how I expected to recoup the obviously hefty recording expense. I told him that the point was not to recoup, but merely to put the demo in a better position to be listened to, since people cannot love your music if they never hear it. This was apparently not an acceptable explanation, as it did not include a mechanism to make enough money from demo sales to cover the costs of not having a job.
My friend finally came right out and asked me how I could afford to record in a pricey studio and not expect to make money back. I told him that I have a day job - two in fact - at which I work very hard. Boy, did he not like that answer. He told me that he felt having a job was counterproductive to making music. I explained that it is only because I work for a living that I can afford to make all the music I want. I love creating music so much - I need so badly to do it - that I will work overtime to pay for my habit. With this, he could not argue.
2005 was, in many ways, my most difficult year as an artist. The closer you get to "the dream," the clearer it becomes that it is, in fact, a dream. And I may never again be as close as I was that year... which is okay. I think I've seen enough now.
I had some precious downtime at work, so I took the opportunity to jot down a few things I've learned in a decade-and-a-half of creating and performing pop music. It could probably be a longer list but these are pretty much the essentials. If you're gonna read on, keep in mind that my experience is pretty comprehensive. I've been in the worst band in my high school; I've been a major-label sideman; I've had songs stolen; I've been hailed as the "next big thing" by Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famers minutes after their induction; I've played for 16,000 people and I've failed to pack the Continental. I've made a living at music, but the creative, moral and emotional sacrifices involved sent me scampering for an office job - and that had nothing to do with my stamina, conviction or devotion to the art. Or maybe everything to do with those.
Anyway, I figure if you want to do things right - or do the right thing - you should probably decide what that means. So these are some rules by which I've learned to play:
- Have a day job so that making music never has to be about making money. So that when ignorant or greedy people ask you to compromise, you can flip them off with a smile.
- Do things for the right reasons. Think about why you are doing what you're doing. If it doesn't add up, don't be afraid to stop and try something else. If it DOES add up, don't be afraid to keep going no matter what anyone tells you.
- Don't write for a record deal or a perceived target audience. Write because the music you really love, the music that speaks loudest for you, hasn't been made yet - and since nobody else has made it you'd better do it yourself.
- You can write for a girl, but make sure it's the right girl.
- Actually, you might get better songs if you break that last rule.
- Never intentionally stack the crowd. Never overhype a club gig or beg for an audience.
Two reasons:
1. You should not be playing for a deal. You should play because it's what you want and need to do, and because it's a privilege to be able to do it.
2. It's the band's job to win over an audience of strangers - not wank for friends. If you do your job, you'll have a room full of friends by the end of the night.
- Practice. It feels good to play; it feels even better to play well.
- Don't be afraid to change something in the moment.
- Play fewer notes than you can, slower than you can, but as hard as you can.
- Communicate with your bandmates about everything. If problems arise, respect them enough to discuss openly. Don't just assume they understand what they do that upsets or annoys you. Your bandmates are better than the family into which you are born - they are the family you choose.
- Don't half-ass your website. It's the part of your act that anyone can check out anytime - make it as worthwhile as everything else you produce.
- MySpace is fun, and having a bunch of cute teenagers kiss your ass is a nice ego boost, but it's no substitute for getting out there and making real fans.
- A "major" record label provides absolutely nothing you can't get from a day job, a game plan and hard work. And in exchange for that, they take things they have no right to take and make you work just as hard doing things you don't want to do. It's not worth it.
- Be prepared to give your music away. If people don't have it, they can't listen to it. If they can't listen to it, they'll never love it.
- Respect the people who respect you. Yes, even the ugly ones.
- Understand that art is expensive to create, and there is no shame in being your own patron. Spend money to make your music. Spend money to promote it. Don't expect to get that money back. Nobody owes artists a living.
- Don't make a record unless you are prepared to promote it. If you're not prepared to promote it, don't bitch about the unopened crates of CDs in your basement.
- Tell the truth. Don't lie in your bio; don't lie in interviews; don't lie on stage. If there's something in your backstory that bothers you, it's probably more interesting in itself than whatever phony-sounding nonsense you invent to cover it up. Almost any negative can be turned positive if you're just honest - for example, if you're worried about revealing that you're over thirty, just describe what you were doing all these years instead of "making it". Were you working hard? Having interesting experiences? Conflicts? Accomplishments? Frustrations? Chances are, whatever you say will resonate with the average fan - who has also spent his or her life working hard and not becoming famous.
Fun show from Crescent and Frost last night at Banjo Jim's. There are only two bands I leave my apartment to see: these guys and Uncle Monk. Nothing against all the other bands out there—my apartment is just really, really awesome. Believe me, if you lived here you'd feel the same way.
In order to get me out of this apartment, you either have to pay me or play some incredible music. Crescent and Frost deliver every time, for audiences of hundreds or less than a dozen, even when they're just kickin stuff around—like last night's show, which was a mishmash of covers and new tryout material. They are never not awesome. Maryann is the cleverest songwriter and the best singer I've met in person; Dan is a spectacular bluegrass guitarist, the perfect foil for Maryann's vivacious grace. They take the stage for all the right reasons, and the great time they have up there is infectious. Plus they write evergreen songs and play & sing them with soul-saving honesty and chops that could kill another band at thirty paces.
Last night I had the honor of being called upon to join Maryann and Dan on "When I'm With You", the Sparks cover we all recorded for my holiday CD. I haven't been in front of an audience since November, and that was a pneumoniac blur, so I was a little freaked. But it was fun, and the crowd "got" the song. And there were Crescent and Frost tunes before and after it! Can't ask for more than that.
Best of all, I now have a little 360° round-the-stage film in my head of what it's like to sing with Crescent and Frost. It's mine to watch forever, filed next to The Ramones and The Hanslick Rebellion.
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Speaking of the Rebellion, here are some dates to remember:
May 8
July 10
July 27
You'll believe a band with day jobs can tour!
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I can shed some light on one of those dates right now: the untitled Hanslick Rebellion iTunes-exclusive EP was mastered yesterday (by Eschatone inspiration KRAMER, patron saint of indie labels as architect of one o'the greats, Shimmy-Disc) for a May 8 release. It's six songs and the only way to get it is through iTunes. Look for the album cover featuring The Deli Of Life!
Hey critters.we have our album in the listening station at SLIPPED DISC RECORDS IN VALLEY STREAM ,LONG ISLAND.(516)872-0516.I thumbed through the saints new york dolls,and the flamin groovies.Too bad aint got no doe.Stop in and get a free preview of our album.Fridaynights show was ablast.Thanks to everyone that came down,and thanks for buying our disc!! Hope the new years been treating you right.
I gotta put my Eschatone hat on for a minute here.
Every day we learn that more things are possible for the label. New ways to promote our artists, new venues for releasing albums... we've found ourselves rethinking strategy over and over this past month as we assimilate all the new information. I think by the middle of next week, Eschatone's release schedule will look completely different.
HAPPY NEW YEAR CRITTERS! Had a blast last night at the MAGNETIC FIELD!!! The Swingin' Neckbreakers were somethin' else!!! They opened for the A-Bones and The Great Gaylord (who did a couple of songs with the 'bones)...Mike Mortician was there as was a host of other cool cats, like Lee, Teo, Devon, Faye, William, Eric Davidson, Tom Dash,that blonde chic at the door and an old school rocker named Bill who talked about the Sonics, the Kinks,the avengers, the Stooges and the Dead Boys' first show (with long hair and no bass player) in Long Island. He saw the Stalkers and totally dug them. I mentioned the Baby Shakes (who he's anticipating to see) and, of course, THE VISITORS (who he's heard of...) I told him "they're" playing at Ottos' on the 12th and that he shouldn't miss it. Too many Coronoas, maybe not enough.
Oh, and farewell to Mr. Dynamite himself, James Brown. If you want 2007 to be a good year, definitely check out the Swingin' Neckbreakers.Pick up our new album on FEB 13,or at our shows. Hopefully 2007 will bring us to you . See you on the road!
CART
