Sound Bites Dog

It's About The Music, Stupid.

Ah, the end of a decade.  Some humble thoughts for the New Year...

After 10 years of an internet-centric age, T-Bone Burnett famously said this year that musicians should steer clear of the internet.  Heh heh.  Let the backlash begin.  Some folks went berserk but I think his main point was to remind musicians of why any of this "newfangled" technology matters; the music.   I'm a big fan of the new tools, but if you have nothing to say and can't write a song, it's all for nada.   That being said, it sure is nice to be able to connect with your fans with the click of a button.   I agree with T-Bone in spirit, even though I'm pretty sure he's not suggesting that we go back to the days when we delivered upcoming tour dates via stage coach.

In a similar vein, recording engineer Bobby Owsinski recently blogged that 2011 will be the year of musicians getting realistic and I think it's already true.   I've heard a lot fewer musicians seriously discussing "getting signed" or becoming "rock stars."  Is this the end of hope or just the death of posers?  All of the cats who got into this because they thought it was a fast ticket to US Weekly and driving a Bentley... good luck (and by the way, it NEVER was, even when times were good... take a look at this chart).  Talented people deserve to make a living  but music is not a popularity or beauty contest.   

For anybody who cares about audio fidelity, it's been a painful decade.   It took a while for everybody to get used to the software, but I'm finally starting to hear mixes and records that sound great again.   All of the "analog" snobs (you know who you are) started off this decade saying they'd never sit in front of a computer screen all day or use amp-modeling technology. Ha ha.  Yeah, right.  Tom Petty's "Mojo" comes to mind (it was recorded and mixed entirely "in the box").   At this point it's like taking a stand against electric drills in favor of screwdrivers.   Or chocolate vs. peanut butter. Does it sound good?  If so, who cares how you got there?   The important part of anything is always the idea and craftsmanship.  That's it.   Just don't tell that to the boy with the most expensive toys.

Mastering has obviously had it's own challenges.  There's nothing quite as lame as the so called "Loudness Wars" that have marred this decade.  How many records were ruined because somebody was in the volume equivalent of a dick measuring contest?  Yes, I said it and I apologize to those of you who have more sensitive constitutions, but it's the truth.   I am, however, eternally optimistic. I'm finally starting to hear more musical approaches in the records that I'm buying.  Or at least that's all I'm listening to.   And more importantly, I didn't hear one client this year say, "can you make it louder?"  Right on. 

Onwards and upwards.  Have a great 2011 and as always, I'm grateful to be working with you guys.

 

 

The Silver Lining in a Bad Tour Summer

It's not surprising at all, 16 years after Pearl Jam testified in front of Congress about the insidiousness of the Ticketmaster monopoly (to no avail), proceeded by this year's merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, that we're staring down the barrel of the worst touring summer in recent memory. Higher ticket prices, fewer venues, and too many bands have put the squeeze on one of the last remaining sources of revenue left in the music business.

And yet, musicians are finding a way. I'm reminded of the old school, 80's punk days when bands had to find alternate venues to play (sometimes living rooms) because mainstream promoters and club owners just didn't get it. This new underground touring circuit was forged out of communities of like-minded people and worked out very well for bands like Black Flag, Fugazi, and many others of their ilk. It demonstrated the power of networking and niche before there was even the internet.

Fast forward to now: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Fans and artists once again find themselves working together to get the shows back on the road. Websites like http://dodiy.org/ are establishing networks of people willing to host shows at houses, backyards, galleries, you-name-it. Artists such as David Dyas, Scott Warren, Manda Mosher, and Matthew Ryan are filing into cars together, splitting the gas, and backing each other on stage, all without the traditional accoutrement or overhead. Homebound artists are hosting live online concerts through companies like Ustream. Even heavy-weights like LCD Soundsystem and Pixies are challenging the old-guard by brokering tickets directly to their fans with the help of Topspin (see below).

Pretty cool, eh?

Now I'm not saying DIY touring is easy and there's gotta be a 100 Woody Guthrie songs bemoaning the life of the traveling troubadour... but compared to the "old days", the resources available to you now are a veritable gold mine. Hell, the Honduran gov't has been overthrown with less.

Good luck. Have fun. Godspeed.

Additional Info on this summer's touring:

The Perils of DIY Touring: There Are Too Many Goddamn Bands (The Village Voice)

Hot Summer, Cold Economy, Weak Concert Sales (The New York Times)

Cancelled Tours Suggest Brutal Summer For Touring Acts (Billboard)

Catching Up and "Your Reputation and You"

Hola.  

I've finally made the switch from doing e-zines, which were incredibly labor and time intensive, to blogging (as if I wasn't already enough of a dork).  It's mostly just a formality.  I will continue to interview cool people from time to time and you can find all of the old e-zine articles and interviews under the E-zine Archive link (off to the left). Thanks for still tuning in.

It's hard to believe it's been 9 months since my last post and I haven't even been pregnant. Allow me to pull a Grandpa DeKline and say, time really does fly.   There's really too much to catch up on so I'll just do a couple of quick shout outs and move on... 

If you haven't already, please check out the digital release of Songs For Haiti spearheaded by the lovely and talented Shannon Hurley.  It's a record that I mastered pro bono benefitting the Haitian relief effort (via Oxfam America).  Yes, there's still a need.  And extra bonus, the album features tons of great artists like Peter Murphy, Steve Kilbey, Josh Mease, Sierra Swan, Kate Earl, etc.

I never thought my work would wind up on both NPR (Jesca Hoop's "Hunting My Dress") and Kanye West's blog ("Gold" by Teachers) in the same week. The world must truly be ending.  If you're looking for something to do while you wait for the four horsemen to ride down your street, check 'em out...

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On to business.

I'll make this short and sweet.  After having a couple of interesting conversations with managers and label reps in the last few months, I've been ruminating on the subject of "your reputation and you."

Back when I was a recording artist, I accepted doing business with sketchy people as a necessary evil.  I assumed that the people who promote artists have to do a certain amount of tall-tale telling in order to do their job.  And while some of this might be true, a little harmless exaggeration here, a whole bunch of hype there, it doesn't take long to realize that this technique can also be employed against you.  At best, they're white lies -just meant to ease the pain or grease the axial.  At worst, your rep is spewing all kinds of insanity around town in your good name. 

I'm not going to get into the specifics that prompted this semi-rant.  But I will say this, there's nothing worse than working with an artist whom I love and support and feeling like their representative is just plain "dirty." The cliche "guilt by association" is a cliche because it's true.  The people you choose to work with, regardless of whether they're spending money on you or the other way around, should continuously earn your respect and appreciation.  If not, find somebody else to work with.  

Yes, I know.  I'm a bit of a boy scout, but at least you know what to expect. 

I'll leave you with this: