I didn’t want to post this because I didn’t want to claim “sour grapes”, but I decided I could benefit from the opinions of friends and others on this matter. Perhaps music is a young man’s game where you can make the same sound (s) over and over again and repeat the same “lyric” (s) without embarrassment or rancor. It is easy to despise what you cannot get is the moral of the Aesop fable from which sour grapes comes and perhaps it’s true I lack the talent, ambition, good looks and or drive to make it in the world of perpetual youth. I’d look like a fool shuffling around any stage with my underwear showing trying to make my pear shaped body jerk and twitch in some “exciting” fashion. Neither abs of steel, long floppy down hair, chaps, dark sunglasses, an inordinately large timepiece, a hat or trousers worn backwards, a cool name (like Spike), or the picture of Dorian Grey will make me any more marketable in this time of cultural famine (but maybe a Mohawk would do the trick. Everybody looks cool in a Mohawk, Grace Jones and Sonny Rollins did, but I digress). I don’t mind looking foolish for entertainment’s sake. I don’t like posing, pretending to be hard when in reality I’m a suburban softie, or pretending to be aloof when I can be just as star struck as the next guy. Unapologetically, I find solace (?) in the traditional forms and styles of my peers and forbearers. I appreciate Ellington and Basie, I loved Weather Report and Passport (though some of that music has paled over time); I still love Miles. Music has informed my life and I am on the verge of embarking on what might be the initial phase of a long delayed career as a writer, producer, and performer. Like anyone, I’d like to succeed in my endeavor. Looking at the potential audience and their “tastes” I know my success will come by the grace of GOD. Quincy Jones seems to get this new crew of talented stars and its audience in a way I don’t. Maybe he and I will have an opportunity to discuss art and audiences in the future, but for now I must rely on all of you. Music, always the seat of rebellion, has been co-opted by American Idol. We seem to be having too good a time to worry about the lives we lead outside the concert hall (both patrons and performers). I hope you can tell me something I don’t know; how I can maintain my focus in the face of tremendous odds; how I can accomplish my goals of success and service to GOD.

It's easy to get caught up in what everyone else is playing and listening to. I think it's crucial to concentrate on:
a) what YOU do well
b) finding the audience that will appreciate what YOU do

Also, talent accounts for nothing if you're not persistent. This may not make you a star, but it can be a path to fulfillment as a musician. You may even find a way to make a living from it! There are thousands of people around the world earning a living from playing music that nobody will ever hear on "Idol" or commercial radio.

As for serving GOD and QUINCY, I'll leave that to someone with better connections.

Cheers,
Andy

adde65 has it right. Be yourself and play the music that you love, that will pull you through and give you energy for the course. Sour grapes??? No, just some truth.

I'm a big Passport fan. Don't hear much about them here in the States. I've got all of their stuff from the first album up through the 80's.


The rise of the vocalist over the instrumentalist apparently brought about by the musicians strike of 1942. I saw an interesting program about it on PBS not too long ago and found the same info on Wikipedia, so I assume the story is true.

From Wiki:

One unexpected result of the strike was the decline of the importance in popular music of the big bands of the 1930s and early 1940s. The strike was not the only cause of this decline, but it emphasized the shift from big bands with an accompanying vocalist to an emphasis on the vocalist, with the exclusion of the band. In the 1930s and pre–strike 1940s, big bands dominated popular music; after the strike, vocalists dominated popular music.

During the strike, vocalists could and did record without musicians; musicians could not record for the public at all. As historian Peter Soderbergh put it, ”Until the war most singers were props. After the war they became the stars and the role of the bands was gradually subordinated.”

Some critics see the defining moment in the shift to be Sinatra’s performance with Benny Goodman and his Orchestra at New York’s Paramount Theater December 30, 1942. Sinatra was third–billed on the program and although he was America’s most popular singer, Goodman had never heard of him. Goodman announced him and the audience roared and shrieked for five minutes. Goodman’s response was, ”What the hell was that?” Once Sinatra started to sing, the audience continued to shriek during every song. As a saxophone player said, ”When Frank hit that screaming bunch of kids, the big bands just went right into the background.”

The other major cause of the decline of the big bands is World War II itself—and the resulting loss of band members to the military, curtailment of traveling by touring bands because of gasoline rationing, and a shortage of the shellac used to make records.

First, don't worry about the trends or the money. If you were really interested in making money you would have pursued a different talent than music, like being a writer, painter, or actor. [cue laugh track]

For me, being a musician on tour would be a horrible experience to be avoided at any cost. I'm no fan of the highly limited travel I have had to do, why would I want to add more? Recording studio or bust! Not everyone wants to succeed in the same way. What's your definition of success?

Rebellion in music vs. American Idol? Who cares? Rebellion against what, and what does any musician hope to gain from that? There are many wonderful songs in the world that deal with appreciation rather than rebellion so that it isn't really an attitude EVERYONE needs.

Getting to play music with the ridiculous/funny description of performers you mentioned and being rewarded for it is kind of like winning the lottery. It's not a sound business strategy to plan on.

As for serving God with your music and work while being a success? My attitude is that if I have something to be happy about then I'm successful that day. Even if I'm not happy at the moment I can recognize something to BE happy about. An attitude of praise to God for the good in your life can help get you through trying moments with grace. That *is* about life outside of the concert hall (or recording studio, or practice room...), but if you cram that into your performance it can't do anything but help.

I'm sure I haven't said anything "new" but perhaps this is a reminder that can help your focus.

Oh, and go for the hair...Mohawk all the way.

Ah, the perennial theme of 'the conflict between the needs of the artist and the demands of the society in which he finds himself'... and one that I suspect most of us have had cause to consider with regard to ourselves, from time to time - I know that I certainly have on more than one occasion - perhaps it is actually a part of the nature of what we are and what we do that it causes us to reflect on it in such a way. It seems likely to me, anyway. And there are plenty of honourable precedents - Ovid, Oscar Wilde and D.H.Lawrence in literature, for example... not to mention Miles and the guys in Weather Report.
I agree with Andy, you just have to be kind of singleminded and impervious to the influence of what other people are doing - while remaining aware of it, of course.
(And it's the doing that's important.)

Be like Bing: "accentuate the positive..." (although perhaps that reference might be a trifle obscure nowadays)

Be like Jiminy Cricket: "...and always let your conscience be your guide."
(I'm almost sure that he didn't have a mohawk, though...)

Oh, i could go on for hours, but for now, how about - when I play, I Pray. It's all to God, the Divine Vibration. As for rebelliousness, the Producers told Frank Zappa, "No Commercial Potential". He found an audience (Touring can make you Crazy). Also, remember Rule#62: Don't take yourself too seriously.

"The present day Composer refuses to Die" - Edgar Varese

Peace, Marty

The older you get the more likely you are to adapt the "reverse-mohawk" look.

As far as "American Idol" goes, don't get me started. I wonder sometimes if the Nielsen Ratings are just a big scam, a form of social control. When I was growing up (speaking of rebellion) musicians literally had the power to change the world. Wha happened?

Things got rearranged. Is it the inevitable result of the easing of restrictions on monopolies that took place in the '80s? Talk about "too big to fail." Isn't that the definition of a monopoly? The M word. Individuals' rights becoming so narrow that music is devalued in the process.

"We got to get ourselves back to the garden"... "power to the people" and all that idealistic stuff is truer now more than ever. Take heart and keep on tapping. This too shall pass. One person's "joyful noise" can make all the difference, the rising chorus unlimited.

One thing resonates in me - never confuse musical talent with celebrity.

Countless experiments have been done disguising a (celebrity) virtuoso in a public place and having them busk. Nobody notices them until they remove the disguise - then a crown gathers. So the question can be asked - do these people that gather in this situation actually hear what is played?

I believe that it is God that determines who really 'hears' what you play - it is Him who taps people on the shoulder and gives them 'ears to hear' Him (through you). Align your will with His and He will give you your distinct sound, as He created you as an individual. By all means seek advice, learn your craft and hone your skills so that you can effect your unique voice through His influence, but don't chase a 'formula' that doesn't really exist. You do your bit and let God do His.

Just my thoughts.

Blessings all,
Sam

But the wonderful thing about technology is that individuals' rights are being amplified. In the beloved American Idol example, their regular shows get 20 million viewers and the finales often draw 60 million.

It means, for the biggest spectacle in the industry, 93% of America isn't watching the regular show and 80% won't see the finale. Compare that to ANYTHING on TV in the 60's or 70's.



The fact that businesses have greater freedom to form monopolies doesn't interfere in any way with iTunes, likely to be the next big music behemoth. What did I see on Harmony Central a few days ago? An ad for a seminar by people who sold 400,000+ songs on iTunes called something like "Making it big without a label." They don't need to tour. They don't even need to perform live. Maybe they do so by choice, but for the exposure and cash it's all about marketing for the net and their own creativity as musicians. When was something that idealistic ever possible in the industry before?