British Invasion?

One of my favorite things is reading biographies and autobiographies of well-known musicians and performers. In the past few years I have read dozens. Most recently I read Paul Shaffer autobiography, "We'll Be Here For The Rest of Our Lives."

Paul is the band leader for the TV show "Late Night with David Letterman. " He also produces the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Concert each year. He was the original music director for "Saturday Night Live" and put together the "Blues Brothers."

He writes about a conversation over lunch with and Animals bass player, Chas Chandler. They listened to an interview with the producer Don Kirchner about Phil Spector. "'Phil was an artist,' said Don. 'We'd cut three sides for $1,500 - no problem. Phil would go in the studio and spend four grand on one song.' 'Stop the tape,' Chas exclaimed. 'That's why those Brill Building blokes lost their way. Do you know how much it cost us to make House of the Rising Sun? Fifteen dollars, with enough left over for pints all around. British Invasion, my rear.'"

I think that is where are again. With the big labels spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce a few over-produced homogenized songs that will pass a focus group. They have forgotten that rock & roll ( and country) is about communicating energy and emotion and not about Auto-tune, Pro-tools and how many tracks of over effected guitar tracks can be used.

Maybe it is time for an invasion by another country to teach us what we should already know. That spending $100,000 to produce a CD doesn't make it good music, or that spending $100 doesn't make it bad.

Andy's Music

This weekend my wife and I were in Chicago when we dropped by Andy's Music on the North Side. Andy's is an unique music store at 2300 W Belmont. The owner, Andy Cohn, has assembeled some of the most amazing and wonderful musical instruments from all over the world.

There are stringed instruments of every shape and size imaginable and some you would never imagine. The basement is of full of drums, cymbals, and percussion instruments from every continent.

From steel guitars to bag pipes and steel drums to wooden flutes of all types, I am sure they are somewhere in this wonderful old building.

I understand that Andy's has a another warehouse full of amazing instruments as well. Whether you are looking for a special kind of pick or a set of string for you oud; or maybe, like me, you just like to play instruments that you don't see everyday, Andy's in Chicago is your place.

Radio Programming

The other day was on a short roadtrip, about 45 minutes, so I decided to listen to a Contemporary Christian Music station. During that time they played quite a few songs with few interruptions, which was good. But without exception, every single song was a high tenor male voice, singing at the top of his range, accompanying by the same 4/4 bass beat and virtually the same drum pattern. All songs were approximately the same tempo.

In 45 minutes I didn’t hear a single female voice, a male bass or baritone, or any instrumental solos. I don’t think that creativity is gone from Christian music, but radio stations certainly show no creativity in their song selection. Secular pop stations are little different.

I presume the argument is that this is what people want to hear, but radio stations are all hurting because people are going elsewhere for music. I have a hard time feeling sorry for these radio stations, Christian or secular.

Sky Blue CD - "What Would Jesus Drive?"

The Sky Blue CD, “What Would Jesus Drive?” is done. We will have a CD Release Party and Concert this Saturday, October 17, 2009, at Homer’s Coffee House, 80th & Metcalf in Overland Park, Kansas.

We spent every other Saturday this summer in the studio, writing and recording. We had no budget, no time limits, and no bosses telling us what to do. It was a true labor of love.

I have always been a little uncomfortable with musicians calling themselves “artists” as is the norm in some circles. But with this CD I am beginning to feel that it might be a legitimate title. For one thing the songs are all original, well 8 out of the 10 are, and the other two are greatly altered. So we really did create something from nothing, which to me qualifies as art. The songs were all collaborations between Bob, Theresa, and me with Wes adding his part later.

Working with others, who are true artists, to create something that is new and original, that we think others will enjoy, was a true joy itself. As independent artists, we see the CD as a calling card. This is who we are, at least at this moment in time.

Occasionally in the music business somebody will sell an amazing numbers of records – perhaps millions. This is highly unusual and should not be considered a realistic goal except for a very few groups with huge marketing budgets.

For most of us, making a record that we are proud of, that we can point to and say, this is where we are musically and we want other people to hear it, is a legitimate goal.

This is not an ego thing. It is not reclaiming lost youth or trying to be something we aren’t. It is a group of artists working as a team to create something we like, that expresses a little bit of what we have to say.

Playing for free

I thought I would comment about playing for free. In business there is often a question of how much you give away and how much and when do you charge. Free samples has long been a successful sales tactic as long as you don’t give away the store.

In music, giving away a CD to get a gig or a T-shirt to a fan is always a good idea. Playing a couple of songs for free on a Sunday morning to get people to come to a paid concert Sunday night is also a sound practice.

I know from business experience that people perceive value based upon cost. We naturally assume that if something is free it must be worthless. Competing solely on price is a dead end for any business. There are many products that are desirable simply because they are expensive…$100 concert tickets? …$100,000 cars? There are some things that are perceived to be of little value because they are cheap or free, for example, ball point pens and free concerts.

Playing for a “love offering” or “passing the hat” is not playing for free if the audience understands that they are merely being given a choice as to how much they want to pay, and if there is a reasonable assumption that there will be a good attendance.

Sky Blue has decided that we will play if any of the following situations apply: 1. We get paid (more than minimum wage); 2. There is significant ministry likely (prisons, etc); or 3. There is an obvious chance to increase our fan base (opening for a national act). If none of those things apply, for example, playing for free to six people, we will pass.

What do you think?

Bob Jenkins - 12 Steps and a Winding Road

I just received Bob Jenkins superb new CD, "12 Steps and a Winding Road." Though certainly everybody would enjoy this music, it is aimed at a specific community of people with a background in addictions and recovery. The songs are poignant and true.

Since the days of Edison, the music business has had a problem in that the audience has been largely anonymous. It is very difficult to market even a well-known artist to the masses. A much better approach is to identify and target a very specific group. If you can identify your fans by name and address, it is even better. That is where the music business is today.

An artist needs millions of fans if they don't know who they are. If you have their names and e-mail address, a few thousand is plenty. If you know exactly what they want to hear, you are all set.

Bob Jenkins new CD is right on target. You can contact Bob at coloringmoses@yahoo.com.

Jim's Tips #18

Since I am longer producing 100 concerts a year, I don’t have as many suggestions for improving your show as I did when I watched people make simple mistakes night after night. But I have a few suggestions for becoming a better musician.

Always, or almost always, practice with a drum machine or metronome. I used to think I had a good sense of timing until I bought a basic Alesis SR-16 drum machine. I practice with it all the time now. Musicians I have known for years have commented about how solid my timing is. They never said anything before. Developing a good sense of time is one of the best things you can do for yourself as a musician.

Practice with a tape recorder or other recording device. Hearing yourself as others do can be a real eye-opener. It is also the fastest way I know to improve.

Play out as much as you can. My experience is that I learn about ten times faster in front of an audience than I do at home in my music room.

The nicest thing you can do for your fellow musicians at a rehearsal or jam session is to pass out a chord chart. Some cats can follow by ear, but most can’t. A simple lead sheet or chord chart will make friends in a hurry.