Well,
I leave for a few days and you guys actually start Talking ABOUT SOMETHING!!! Very good. Maybe I'll drop out for a few months and you can revitalize this discussion. I've been up to my favorite mountains, the Smokeys, and one of my favorite towns, GATLINBURG, TN. for the FIFTH ANNUAL SMOKEY MOUNTAIN SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL. It is definately coming together to be a pre-eminate songwriting event. There was some great things this year and I'll write about a few tomorrow. Right now, I'm pretty tired but will try to address some of what you are discussing. If I can pull it all together.
First of all, OD, while there were many copies of the people you mentioned, Patsy, Hank, etc. and some got deals, many many more got NOTHING. And over the past five-8 years it is becoming copies of very weak examples to begin with have brought the overall level of talent downward so now we are getting copies of copies, of NOTHING worth copying.
It is an overall symptom of a bigger problem, THE INTERNET, that often celebrates mediocrity. People flock to really mediocre movies, television, music, and worst of all, copy that. Pretty badly all the way around. Oh well, we can only hope that someone will once in a while break through, always hope.
It is an overall symptom of a bigger problem, THE INTERNET, that often celebrates mediocrity. People flock to really mediocre movies, television, music, and worst of all, copy that. Pretty badly all the way around. Oh well, we can only hope that someone will once in a while break through, always hope.
John Westwood asks:
"So you have been you and built an audience by doing something extremely well that is not a clone of someone else , where and how do you find the George Martin within the industry who is willing to take a risk?
"So you have been you and built an audience by doing something extremely well that is not a clone of someone else , where and how do you find the George Martin within the industry who is willing to take a risk?
John, you have to take a chance that it might NOT happen. LUCK is a HUGE part of this. But luck is when opportunity and preparation meet. Sir George had produced hundreds of acts for EMI. He actually was most comfortable producing the "GOON SHOW" with Peter Sellers. He felt he was more of a comedy producer than anything. He also recorded symphonies, radio shows, and then, as today, hundreds of singers, acts, noveltys, that went no where. That is what producing about. Record labels are about. Publishers are all about. Producing a LOT of things so that one or two pay off for all the others that don't.
As always TIMING was huge. The Beatles had been in Germany for a while getting really good at what they were doing. They had built a HUGE fan base in and out of England. They had a manager, Brian Epstein, that had a marketing mind and owned one of the most successful, trendy music stores, in the UK. And they fit a mold that Brian had been looking for, getting them to cut their hair alike, wear matching suits, etc. It was different than most of the "Teddy Boy's" had been, all copying James Dean and Elvis for ten years. It was the right time, right look, right group, right combinations of people, John, Paul, George, Ringo, all fit in just correctly.
And mostly their instincts as songwriters were dead on, but even Sir George didn't see that himself at first. He even had a different drummer at first because he didn't think Ringo was good enough.
As always TIMING was huge. The Beatles had been in Germany for a while getting really good at what they were doing. They had built a HUGE fan base in and out of England. They had a manager, Brian Epstein, that had a marketing mind and owned one of the most successful, trendy music stores, in the UK. And they fit a mold that Brian had been looking for, getting them to cut their hair alike, wear matching suits, etc. It was different than most of the "Teddy Boy's" had been, all copying James Dean and Elvis for ten years. It was the right time, right look, right group, right combinations of people, John, Paul, George, Ringo, all fit in just correctly.
And mostly their instincts as songwriters were dead on, but even Sir George didn't see that himself at first. He even had a different drummer at first because he didn't think Ringo was good enough.
So like everything, it worked, and it developed, worked even more, developed and worked EVEN MORE.
The difference between then and now, there are MILLIONS of Beatle Wanna be's in the pipeline and with so many, the public can't keep focused on anything for very long. If they were doing this now, it is doubtful, George Martin, the public, EMI, Parlaphone, etc. would have even stuck with them that long. The public would have celebrated them for a few days, then turned to something else coming up on their cell phones.
I believe a lot of this is cultural and just an evolution of a disposable culture. Think of our grandparents and THEIR parents and grandparents. Can you see any of them, out plowing behind a mule, driving a Conestoga wagon across a prairie, Living in a crowded tenement in New York City, driving a cab or working in a factory, having so much free time on their hands that they could be INSANE ABOUT A BAND? They were living life. Music was a background thing on the radio.
World War II, ended a lot of things and our parents had more free time and leisure. But they were still having to have jobs. Our generations were able to be even freer, and then the resulting generations are freer, what this means is that music is a disposable commodity. So while we get all wrapped up in it ,most people aren't.
So what will the future bring? I think there will still be special people out there. There will still be stars. But there will be more SHOOTING stars than long lingering stars. It will be disposable. Just like it is now. Will people be able to make a living from it? I doubt it. And that is part of it too. If you want to be involved you have to deal with realities.
People will adapt, they always do. They have to, or they die. The people who take this music stuff so seriously are going to find a difficult time of it. No matter how "GUNG HO" they are. They will have to find other ways to make ends meet. But if you are truely driven to do this, you find a way.
Last night, myself, Scott Southworth, and Heino Moellor had finished our second show of the day and were trying to round up all our "peeps" to go eat. I saw them talking to this woman and this guy in the parking lot. I went over and the woman knew me as well. She had this guy, (don't know if it was her son or what,) and she was telling all of us how great he was and we all needed to get to know him and help him. The kid, (probably 20) was all decked out in a big cowboy hat, pressed jeans, and shirt, etc. You know. Nashville forty years ago. He was talking about he was "REALLY TRADITIONAL" and you could tell by his twang, I am sure he is. He probably sounds just like Waylon Jennings, 1980.
I didn't get a chance to tell him what I thought his chances were and was not asked. Good. Because I would have told him this. If he is determined to do that, he is going to have to GO WEST YOUNG MAN. Because that stuff is gone and it is not coming back to Nashville. There are still plenty of pockets, New Mexico. Arizona, Colorado, and of course, TEXAS. It is out there. But MAINSTREAM Country listeners are not there any more. The fan numbers don't support it on a National basis. Because the CULTURE and their TASTES have changed. And all these outside people believe "Everything is going to swing back."
RIGHT.
I didn't get a chance to tell him what I thought his chances were and was not asked. Good. Because I would have told him this. If he is determined to do that, he is going to have to GO WEST YOUNG MAN. Because that stuff is gone and it is not coming back to Nashville. There are still plenty of pockets, New Mexico. Arizona, Colorado, and of course, TEXAS. It is out there. But MAINSTREAM Country listeners are not there any more. The fan numbers don't support it on a National basis. Because the CULTURE and their TASTES have changed. And all these outside people believe "Everything is going to swing back."
RIGHT.
And we'll all be singing about "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND" too.
Don't hold your breath.
The point is that young man is either going to have to face FACTS and REALITY, or he is going to have to MOVE where he can recreate that reality. It doesn't go backwards. Never has.
You see, Music has always ADAPTED. Elvis too music from the place Frank Sinatra, turned the Bobby Soxers on their ear, going far beyond where Bing Crosby took them, who took them beyond where AL JOLSON had taken them. It all adapted. Music does that. The culture does that. And it will again.
Songwriters once were separate from the artists. The the Beatles changed that. Then the artists BECAME the songwriters. There were no more JUST songwriters. Now the industry has changed again. And the era of making money from music has given way into the era of FREE music. Writers and artists have to adapt. They have to find their niche. They have to get their heads out of the stars and deal with reality. They will adapt.
Songwriters once were separate from the artists. The the Beatles changed that. Then the artists BECAME the songwriters. There were no more JUST songwriters. Now the industry has changed again. And the era of making money from music has given way into the era of FREE music. Writers and artists have to adapt. They have to find their niche. They have to get their heads out of the stars and deal with reality. They will adapt.
Or Die.
MAB
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