tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64951049994291476062024-03-05T19:25:11.455-08:00Elliot KnappElliot Knapp's Music-Lyrics-Poetry-Reviews-EssaysElliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.comBlogger165125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-53651400041403177522016-04-07T09:56:00.000-07:002016-04-07T11:44:40.730-07:00Someday We'll Look Back - Goodbye, Hag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgzcJvVEwq-UNTmGvqcnrLennfAH51dRJLE8QGpNUshFd-gjSm5u-VJwNZB15Q2nHNdNVqoPnM0h-YC01aTJgXqxemhwuFid-K9X62keN_1EK2sExF7jv5T5C0w0IM7Vrjv0GNGh7kjCY/s1600/IMG_0038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgzcJvVEwq-UNTmGvqcnrLennfAH51dRJLE8QGpNUshFd-gjSm5u-VJwNZB15Q2nHNdNVqoPnM0h-YC01aTJgXqxemhwuFid-K9X62keN_1EK2sExF7jv5T5C0w0IM7Vrjv0GNGh7kjCY/s400/IMG_0038.JPG" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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I imagine there are a lot of people out there asking, "What's the big deal about another old country singer passing away?" and what's a guy who spends his time creating and writing about weird avant-garde music that most people find unlistenable doing getting worked up about <i>country</i>, that annoying, corporate, assembly-line pop music from the radio? Well, it's because Merle Haggard was one of a kind--because great songwriting is great regardless of genre trappings--and because the man's music and story clearly have that special quality that touches people's lives. In remembrance of a singular musical figure, I'd like to say what his music meant to me by considering three of my favorite Hag albums.<br />
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I first heard Merle Haggard's music about 10 years ago, when my mom and I saw him open for Bob Dylan in Portland--what a show, which included a surprise stage appearance (but no performance) by that other Bakersfield luminary Buck Owens, who passed away not long afterward, and also included Dylan performing a delightfully craggy rendition of Owens' "A-11." Merle's brand of old-school, steel guitar-drenched Bakersfield country immediately struck a chord with me and I became an instant fan. A couple years and about 15 albums later, I was a devotee for life, for countless reasons.<br />
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<i>Branded Man</i> was my first Hag record--it didn't disappoint my expectations after seeing the man perform. While in retrospect, it's a relatively minor entry in his classic string of 60's and early 70's releases, the songs and performances demonstrate all of the things that make Hag so special--it's got that hard-edged Bakersfield sound that stands in stark opposition to the contemporaneous Nashville production, which sounds almost baroque in comparison, and it's got a wide-ranging set of songs that deal with heartbreak, drinking, and jail--those country music wellsprings that seem to never go dry. What sets Hag apart from other singers on these subjects, though, is his authenticity. Sure, as a performer he imagines himself into many characters and situations, but it's always clear that there's a passion and powerfully <i>true</i> emotional weight that's informed by his difficult upbringing, his troubles with the law, and his struggles as an imperfect human being. And those track titles! "Loneliness Is Eating Me Alive;" "Don't Get Married;" "Gone Crazy;" "I Made the Prison Band"--the song titles are stories unto themselves! And yet, there's so much more depth to these songs than crying-in-your-beer earnestness; Hag's wry wit is never too far around the corner, be it expressed as the hallowed country music trope of cheesy wordplay (e.g., the ex-girlfriend whose grasping, materialistic aspiration was riding in a "Long Black Limousine" and, after a fatal car crash, finally gets to, or turns-of-phrase like "if you're trying to break my heart, you don't have very far to go"), or in the carefree expression of lovesick madness that is "Gone Crazy." Through it all, it's plainly evident that Hag--the man who sat in the San Quentin pen serving time for armed robbery while a certain so-called "outlaw" performed his act for the prisoners--isn't just singing these words, he's living them. Even at this early stage, he proves through consummate songwriting that he can't be pinned down to a reductive conservative ideology, tackling the subject of cross-cultural relationships in "Go Home." I'd be remiss if I didn't mention those buttery smooth vocals--from the swooping highs to the reedy lows, there are valuable lessons for any singer to be gleaned from Hag's impeccable phrasing and his ability to wring emotion out of the simplest melodies. <br />
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Hag's second album, <i>Swinging Doors and the Bottle Let Me Down </i>may be a bit less sophisticated than <i>Branded Man</i>, but it stands tall next to Buck Owens' <i>Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat</i> and <i>I've Got a Tiger by the Tail </i>as one of the purest, hardest-hitting exemplars of the Bakersfield sound ever recorded. This is the record I reached for first when I got home yesterday--it's got two out-and-out hits in the dual title tracks, with that aforementioned wit present in droves (every track seems founded on a cleverly worded conceit), it's got that slinky steel guitar running roughshod all over all the tracks, and in between, it's stuffed with filler that's as good as any top shelf singles--an art that seems to have been lost since the 60's. The subject matter may be a little narrower in scope, but damn if that cracking snare and Hag jubilantly working his way through heartache and self-loathing isn't a recipe for a good time. As bummed as I was when I got home yesterday, this album reminded me that Hag's music has always been about good times for me--after all these years, "I Can't Stand Me" and "Shade Tree (Fix-It Man)" never fail to get me moving and singing along--and there's no better music to drive to, might I add.<br />
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Lastly, I'd like to point to 1971's <i>Someday We'll Look Back</i> as an album that exemplifies the depth of Hag's s songwriting, his influence on country music to come, and his broad-ranging appeal. By this time, his Bakersfield approach had become steeped with even more stylistic influences than on albums like <i>Branded Man</i>, incorporating western swing ("The Only Trouble With Me"), straight-up blues ("Huntsville"), folk ("Tulare Dust"), and Nashville-styled pop country ("Carolyn"). The incorporation of these influences not only speaks to the man's restless growth as an artist (heralded by his outstanding tribute albums, <i>A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (Or, My Salute to Bob Wills)</i> and <i>Same Train, a Different Time: Merle Haggard Sings the Great Songs of Jimmie Rodgers</i>), it prefigures the assimilation of mainstream music that, for better or worse, changed the face of country music in the 80's through to its present, abominable state (as Hag himself would and did say in so many words). Through it all, Hag pours his emotion, his sensitive worldview, and his imperfection as a human being into the songs and the performances. This album is heavy on the hardships of his upbringing and the uplifting forces of family and nostalgia, themes that are indispensably woven in the fabric of all of his greatest works. You can feel the grit of the dust and cotton fluffs on Steinbeck-ian tracks like "Tulare Dust," "California Cottonfields," and "One Row at a Time," as he sings about his family's tragic poverty, the failure of his father's attempts to migrate for economic opportunity, and, of course, the resulting troubles with the law that so often accompany such a background. The regret expressed by these song's characters is a real part of a complicated performer, but so is his enduringly optimistic outlook--as the title track refrains, "someday, we'll look back and say: 'it was fun'". Finally, this album gives us "Big Time Annie's Square," a song about what happens when a country boy tracks down his hometown sweetheart in a hippie commune. Hag's output from this period is peppered with songs that describe similar cross-cultural clashes, not least of which is "Okie From Muskogee," one of his signature and most controversial tunes. What always strikes me about these songs is that they're so much deeper, so much more empathetic they seem at first blush. He always acknowledges the seemingly insurmountable differences between conservative country folk and big city progressives and the tensions that caused (and continue to cause) so much friction, but he is always ready to see the commonalitiy we share as human beings, and that even the most serious beliefs and pride should be taken with a wink and a grain of salt--it is manifestly clear that Hag believed that love and respect can overcome cultural differences, and that a heterogeneous society is something to be celebrated in compromise, not pushed apart by division--a concept that seems woefully lost on contemporary country music's reprehensible patterns of widespread promotion of consumerism and in-song corporate product placement, shallow jingoism and nationalism, and angrily divisive, exclusionary expressions of cultural identity. It bears mentioning that these attitudes aren't limited to music, and that folks on <b>both </b>sides of the ever-growing cultural and political divides that dominate modern life would do well to learn from Hag's message of empathy and the pitfalls of ideological extremism. This might be pop music, but it's thinking-person's pop music, and the fact that a man like Merle Haggard had a mouthpiece to broadly express such a layered, authentic, and human outlook is a special thing indeed.<br />
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Like any great artist, Hag's challenges as a person are evident in his art--that's why it endures and has appealed to many kinds of people across the decades--even staunch advocates of the avant-garde like yours truly! I'm continually thankful to have this music--from which I've learned so much as a songwriter, performer, and human being--in my life, and I urge anybody who's scoffed at country music in its present form or written it off as shallow and not "for" people like them to give a classic Merle Haggard record a spin--you just might find out why the passing of this country singer really is a big deal to a lot of people: history marches on, a lot has changed in 50 years, and the world that shaped an artist like Hag ain't making them like it used to. Thanks for everything, Hag.<br />
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For further reading, check out past reviews of <i><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/03/merle-haggard-strangers.html">Strangers</a></i>, <i><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/02/merle-haggard-branded-man.html">Branded Man</a></i>, <i><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/03/merle-haggard-sing-me-back-home.html">Sing Me Back Home</a></i>, and <i><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/02/merle-haggard-someday-well-look-back.html">Someday We'll Look Back</a></i>.Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-82239590272088582622014-05-16T15:34:00.001-07:002014-05-16T15:48:52.002-07:00Paraprosdokian!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb391/ElliotGKnapp/Album%20Art/parapro_cover_zpscbb73326.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb391/ElliotGKnapp/Album%20Art/parapro_cover_zpscbb73326.png" height="392" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3975754331/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=none/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/paraprosdokian">Paraprosdokian! by Elliot Knapp</a></iframe><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/paraprosdokian"><b>Paraprosdokian!</b></a> </i>is Elliot Knapp's fifth independently-released studio album since 2010. Its 11 original songs
focus the wild creativity and avant-garde leanings found on 2012's <b><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/cheap-seats-at-the-cartesian-theater"><i>Cheap Seats atthe Cartesian Theater</i></a></b> and November 2013's <b><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/anadromous"><i>Anadromous</i></a></b> into tightly-composed pop songs that are no less
surprising, intricate, or unusual than Knapp’s previous outings. Knapp’s trademark eclecticism shines
across this music’s ethereal vocal melodies, otherworldly guitar hooks,
rhythmic counterpoint, and polished poetry, all of which are anchored to 11 intricate compositions of joyful
struggle, yearning, and passion, wherein the limit of cynicism and the potential
of dreams are blurred past the point of recognizability. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">While tracks like "<a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/track/hungry"><b>Hungry</b></a>" evoke a manic and undeniably twisted, funky reconstruction of New Wave sensibilities à la Talking Heads and The Cars, others like the buoyant "<a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/track/memory"><b>Memory</b></a>" find Knapp's trademark intricate guitar counterpoint wound into sparkling iridescence of uncategorizable provenance, rising from moody spaces even farther to an anthemic pitch on the swelling "<a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/track/left-wanting"><b>Left Wanting</b></a>," while elsewhere <b><a href="http://www.russkleiner.com/">Russ Kleiner's</a></b> uncanny breakbeats marry with edgy synth bass and angular post-punk guitar riffing on "<a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/track/the-secret-room"><b>The Secret Room</b></a>" to push Knapp's sound into untrodden corners of some future sound palette. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Paraprosdokian! </i>is available to purchase on Knapp's <a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/paraprosdokian"><b>Bandcamp</b></a>, <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/elliotknapp3"><b>CD Baby</b></a>, and iTunes as well as numerous other online marketplaces and streaming venues. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Music video for "I Live In Ballard," track three from <i>Paraprosdokian!</i>:</span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0QbxPfN7ytE" width="400"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Paraprosdokian!</i> was recorded, mixed and mastered by <a href="http://www.justinphelpsrecording.com/"><b>Justin Phelps</b></a> at Cloud City Sound in Portland, OR, with assistance from <a href="http://rohansforcinarecording.com/"><b>Rohan Sforcina</b></a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Russ Kleiner plays drums on all tracks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Elliot Knapp sings and plays all other instruments.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Album art designed by <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fpub%2Fmichelle-koelbl%2Fa%2F681%2F6b6&ei=lZR2U-uhEs3ZoATI24KgCQ&usg=AFQjCNGG9TPHttNnmLO60xCB8RPzh1mZQQ&sig2=1NgNrfc4hTga8hx2CJVB4g&bvm=bv.66917471,d.cGU"><b>Michelle Koelbl</b></a>. </span><br />
<br />Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-12961536240304049912014-01-28T08:33:00.000-08:002014-01-28T08:41:53.983-08:00Discoveries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb391/ElliotGKnapp/Album%20Art/treecutoutcopy_zps6caacb9d.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb391/ElliotGKnapp/Album%20Art/treecutoutcopy_zps6caacb9d.png" height="362" width="400" /></a></div>
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One of my most recent music projects was a charity release for my beloved <b><a href="http://www.seattle.gov/parks/environment/discovery.htm">Discovery Park</a></b>, located on the Puget Sound side of Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood. In short, it's an album-length <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_collage"><b>sound collage</b></a> of <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_recordings">field recordings</a></b> of an actual route you could walk around the park. The entire recording is here to stream, with more information on the collage as an art form and the ways the release benefits Discovery Park below.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3258013625/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/t=1/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 142px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/discoveries">Discoveries by Elliot Knapp</a></iframe>
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</style>Over the past six years, Discovery Park has been a constant
friend to me—I’ve spent hours running and walking, and exploring as many of the
hidden trails as I can find.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve
written countless poems, lyrics, and brainstormed ideas I probably never would
have come up with anywhere else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve seen birds and other animals I’ve never seen anywhere else in
Seattle, and I’ve even had a chance to photograph a few.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve always felt that, since it’s so
large, well-maintained and diverse in environment, Discovery Park offers an
experience unlike any other parks Seattle has to offer, and one that’s been an
absolutely vital contrast to the bustle, crowds and noise of urban life.<br />
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With <i>Discoveries</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, I
wanted to recreate in sound the experience of exploring Discovery Park, so this
summer I spent six days collecting field recordings of all of my favorite
locations within the park and the vast range of different sounds you can hear
when you’re there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, in the
modern classical tradition of musique concrete composers like <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Ferrari">Luc Ferrari</a></b> and
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Watson_%28musician%29">Chris Watson</a>, I edited, layered and composed the recordings into an hour-long
sound collage which, in the end, is made up of almost 50 discrete mono and
stereo recordings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><i>Discoveries
</i><span style="font-style: normal;">is organized as an actual linear journey
you could walk on the park’s trails, starting and ending at the visitor center
and traveling to all corners of the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Throughout the recording, you’ll listen to the birds waking up at dawn
in the woods and by the pond, travel through long grass, tall trees, across the
beach, over creeks, past the wastewater treatment plant, high above the shore
at Daybreak Star overlook, across the Wolf Creek marsh and back through the
woods during a characteristically-Seattle rainstorm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted the recording to really reproduce through sound the
unique sense of place Discovery Park has to offer—listening to </span><i>Discoveries</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, you can take the park with you wherever you
go!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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My other goal with <i>Discoveries</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is to not only recreate the </span><i>substance</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> of the park’s sounds, but also the feeling of being
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s something magical
about how it feels to sit quietly in a natural setting and simply </span><i>listen</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> to what’s going on around you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Living in city, we get so used to the
constant throb of mechanical noise that we have no choice but to tune out the
sounds of our environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
you’re in a place like Discovery Park, though, the relative quiet allows your
mind to decompress, and after a little while you start to realize it’s not
necessarily quiet at all—there are thousands of different sounds all happening
at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a musician, I
find that when you start listening to the sounds going on around you, there’s
almost always something musical happening, whether it’s a randomly orchestrated
chorus of birds, the ever-shifting rhythm of waves crashing on shore, or the
layered texture of wind blowing through hundreds of leaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stopping and tuning in to the subtle
sounds happening around you can be not only be entertaining in a musical sort of
way, but I think it can also be quite meditative in a way that clears your
mind, helps get the creative process flowing, and inspires ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s </span><i>this</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> feeling and experience I want </span><i>Discoveries</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> to offer as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may not be quite as good as a trip to the park, but
hopefully it can produce a similar effect.</span></div>
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As a thank-you to the park for all that it’s done for me and
continues to offer the people of Seattle, CDs of <i>Discoveries </i><span style="font-style: normal;">were offered for sale at a special “Pints for
Parks” event at The Noble Fir tavern in Ballard on December
11th.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the proceeds from the event (including a dollar from every pint sold) </span><span style="font-style: normal;">were donated to the park, and any continuing proceeds will also be donated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are still a few handmade CD packages left, and you can easily download the recording for free or with a donation of your choice from the Bandcamp link above. As with many
other publicly-funded projects, Discovery Park has a small staff and relies on
limited funds keep up with the park’s neverending maintenance and the
educational opportunities offered by the parks department, so your support makes a very real difference in keeping the park around for many years to come!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
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Elliot Knapp - Field recordings collected with Tascam DR-05 digital recorders July 14, 15, 19, August 18, 29, and September 24, 2013.<br />
Sound collage composed by Elliot Knapp October 22-25.<br />
Mixed October 30, mastered November 1 by
<b><a href="http://www.justinphelpsrecording.com/">Justin Phelps</a></b> at Cloud City Sound Studios, Portland, OR.<br />
Album art by <b><a href="http://revolveryoga.com/">Courtney Morgan</a></b>.</div>
Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-7239473515977089062013-11-01T11:01:00.000-07:002013-11-01T11:02:25.704-07:00Anadromous<iframe width="470" height="353" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elliotknapp/elliot-knapp-anadromous/widget/video.html" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"> </iframe><br />
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Here we are, just shy of a year since the release of<i> Cheap Seats</i>, to talk about the impending November 14 release of my next album, the all-acoustic collection <i>Anadromous</i>. It's already available for pre-sale on <b><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/anadromous">Bandcamp</a></b>, and you can also pre-order and support my other very soon-upcoming projects by viewing the <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elliotknapp/elliot-knapp-anadromous"><b>Kickstarter</b></a> campaign seen above! Don't blink...the next album, <i>Paraprosdokian!</i>, will be out in December...<br />
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<i>Anadromous</i> has been in development since I was finishing work on <b><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/cheap-seats-at-the-cartesian-theater" target="_blank"><i>Cheap Seats</i></a></b>. Where <i>Cheap Seats</i> attempted to state an abundance of ideas in structures as brief and elemental as possible with very little repetition, <i>Anadromous</i>
focuses on storytelling over simpler, one-guitar arrangements and
longer song structures with musical ideas that develop to be come subtly
more complex and knotty as the stories unfold. These songs come at a
time in my life when I am on my way into adulthood but close enough to
childhood that it's still fresh in my mind and dynamic in affecting my
worldview. Like an anadromous fish, I'm headed downriver to the ocean
for adulthood, but always feeling the magnetic pull beckoning me to
return to the stream of my origin. I'm on my way, but I've got a few
things to revisit first!<br />
<br />
These heavily metaphorical narratives
unfold with a sense of mystery and leave many questions unanswered,
delving into supernatural phenomena and unexplainable occurrences. For
instance, the lead-off track "Nobody Saw" sees my fiancée and me
transformed first into harbor seals, then into butterflies to disappear
into a world of our own, while numerous other songs revisit the
mythology of my childhood as dedications to family members. Though it's
punctuated by some lighthearted moments (like the poem in "Suspended
(Omgoi)," which I wrote when I was 15!) <i>Anadromous</i> is a
contemplative, somewhat spare album with typically intricate guitar work
that reveals subtle development and evolution across the sometimes
sprawling song structures. While <i>Cheap Seats</i> sought to display the potential of thick layers of rock coloration and counterpoint, <i>Anadromous</i> seeks to find just how much you can say with one instrument and one vocal. I hope you like it!<br />
-Elliot </div>
Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-28697851766405617752013-06-14T10:26:00.002-07:002013-06-14T10:26:56.312-07:00<iframe style="border: 0; width: 350px; height: 624px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3926762623/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/package=1285811905/notracklist=false/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/cheap-seats-at-the-cartesian-theater">Cheap Seats at the Cartesian Theater by Elliot Knapp</a></iframe>Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-9078696374718402013-04-30T12:42:00.001-07:002013-04-30T12:42:47.817-07:00Fred Frith and Ensemble Modern: Traffic Continues<br />
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<a href="http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb391/ElliotGKnapp/Album%20Art/TrafficContinues_zps6187cf30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb391/ElliotGKnapp/Album%20Art/TrafficContinues_zps6187cf30.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Although our man is credited as guitarist, this album plays more like a performance of <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Fred%20Frith"><b>Fred Frith</b></a> compositions than it does like a "Fred Frith album," as we may have variously come to understand what they might sound like. That said, the ensemble (which audibly sounds basically like classical instrumentation with a few subtle electronic elements) is fantastic, playing with virtuosity you'd expect from concert musicians, but also a zany freedom that firmly places them in a modern context.<br />
<br />
To my ears the compositions start off very strongly with some brilliantly knotty orchestrations and a vaguely conventional harmonic aesthetic. Evaluated through this type of lens, the disc loses some steam in the middle (around the beginning of "Traffic Continues II: Gusto", composed for and from audio samples of Frith's recently-deceased friend and Skeleton Crew bandmate, cellist Tom Cora) as it becomes more spare and quiet, then closes strongly with the final and longest track. It may be true that the quieter bits require a different sort of criteria for evaluation and may succeed by those standards, but for me the act of readjusting what I'm listening for has so far proven frustrating to the extent that I'm usually left with a feeling that I just heard a recording with some great parts and some that merely passed me by. I get the feeling that more effort could either yield more appreciation or a stronger sense that some of the writing is a bit too casual and reliant on free performances to carry the weight. Either way, this is inarguably the kind of music you need to let <i>act on you</i> before imposing any kind of sweeping critical judgment. Here's to more trying!<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00003GPFL/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00003GPFL&linkCode=as2&tag=elliknap-20">Get 'er</a></b><img alt="" border="0" class="dxuxvrvumkxqdlariptw" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=elliknap-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00003GPFL" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.
Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-80752974181636660932013-01-25T11:55:00.002-08:002013-01-25T11:58:54.849-08:00John Fahey - City of Refuge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb391/ElliotGKnapp/Album%20Art/cityofrefuge_zps61ba1c99.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb391/ElliotGKnapp/Album%20Art/cityofrefuge_zps61ba1c99.jpg" width="398" /></a></div>
<br />
In investigating Fahey's late period, I'm sympathetic with the fact that he felt dead-ended stylistically and was struggling to move beyond his signature American Primitive tropes into something a bit more...different and new. The issue seems to be just <i>what</i>, precisely, that new direction is, and Fahey's frustration is evident in the music.<br />
<br />
In spite of its recording date, <i>City of Refuge</i> most resembles 60's Fahey records like <i>Volume 6: Days Have Gone By </i>and <i>Requia</i>, with equal space and volume given to acoustic guitar and field recordings, found sounds and electronic sound sources. As with those other recordings, this approach either stands (<i>Days Have Gone By</i>) or falls (<i>Requia</i>, often) on how well those elements mesh with one another compositionally. The disc starts promisingly enough with "Fanfare," which sees an unusually (for Fahey) overdriven slide guitar layered on top of droning, industrial electronic sounds not unlike those produced by <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/10/keith-rowe-room.html"><b>Keith Rowe</b></a>, especially in his solo works. As the tracks play on, for me the impression builds that the compositions aren't very well thought-out, which is a serious stumbling block for an artist whose greatest strength is arguably his ability as a longform composer, not as an improvisor, which is what he appears to attempt on "The Mill Pond" and large portions of "City of Refuge I," plucking single notes against a throbbing background drone. While the proposition of a more spare approach to his guitar style is intriguing, the results here don't feel particularly well-realized.<br />
<br />
Elsewhere we are suddenly jolted out of the avant-garde soundworld back into more traditional Fahey territory, with guitar-only excursions like "Chelsey Silver, Please Come Home," and the dirge-like "City of Refuge III." The former hints at a new compositional twist on Fahey's slide style, with abrupt stops and rhythmic interruptions, but again it feels like he didn't thoroughly integrate the idea into the piece, or maybe it wasn't an idea after all and the performance is just choppy! Both songs seem to lack distinctive melodies or a feel other than "Fahey filler"--pleasant enough, but by 1997 we know what this man is capable of! To my ears, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsJ9skuYtX0"><b>Hope Slumbers Eternal</b></a>" is the best-realized piece on the album, blending a droning background that relates tonally to the minor slide guitar melody it accompanies, provoking an eerie, meditative atmosphere--most importantly, the electronics and guitar seem to combine coherently, which is mostly not the case with the rest of the experiments here. The album closes with the 19-minute "On the Death and Disembowelment of the New Age," which, as far as I can tell, contains no guitar (though it does keep alive Fahey's tradition of humorously long and barbed song titles). It's probably the most successful sound collage on the disc, but sitting at the end of a selection of noodly acoustic guitar pieces, it raises questions about what it's doing here, and why these songs all belong on the same album. There is some cool rhythmic phasing of a tambourine-like sound that kicks in around the 12-minute mark and lasts for several minutes, and the album closes like it opened, with a classic Fahey field recording motif--a lonely locomotive whistle. <br />
<br />
This is the kind of album that really gets under my skin--not because I think it's<i><b> </b>bad</i>, but because there's a palpable sense of frustration from an artist with specific ideas and a seeming incapability to fully realize them. Probably more troubling to me personally is Fahey's frustrated attempt to break beyond his established vocabulary as a guitarist--for a man who reportedly described fingerpicking as a "disease," he must have felt more than a little trapped. When an artist verges into atonal and pure sound territories, success seems to become as ephemeral as the compositional building blocks are abstract. I find it daunting to explore these areas as the measure of artistic success depends even more on an unquantifiable gut reaction, and the difference between good and bad is painfully difficult to control as a composer--but perhaps that's where the adventure lies! My next stop for late-era Fahey is another 1997 album, <i>Womblife</i>. While my hopes for a successful application of his challenging ideas are tentative, even unsuccessful attempts in this territory are rewarding and always thought-provoking.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000001FK9/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000001FK9&linkCode=as2&tag=elliknap-20">Get it here</a></b><img alt="" border="0" class="bsrietfhjdieytggzxjk" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=elliknap-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000001FK9" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.
<br />
<br />Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-5729220721726795402012-12-19T11:57:00.000-08:002012-12-19T11:57:07.348-08:00Song of the Week: "Turn South"Here's the next song of the week from <b><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/cheap-seats-at-the-cartesian-theater"><i>Cheap Seats</i></a></b>--track #4, "Turn South." <br />
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<br />
~~~</div>
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"<a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/track/turn-south"><b>Turn South</b></a>" </div>
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I can tell you what you’re doing is predictably sad</div>
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And point out all the wasted potential you’ve had</div>
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Believe me, I won’t point the finger any which way but out</div>
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I may as well go ahead and turn South</div>
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<br /></div>
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I’ll go on about the secrets that you’d better learn quick</div>
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And I’ll scoff if you suggest a method other than logic</div>
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Nobody’s impressed with what I’m talking about</div>
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I oughta go ahead and turn South</div>
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<br /></div>
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I’ll swear there’s something good in the alternative</div>
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I’ll bluff so hard I’ll claim that I don’t mind if I live</div>
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I don’t believe in all the shit that’s coming out of my
mouth</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I’d better go ahead and face South</span></div>
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<i>~~~ </i></div>
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<br /></div>
In terms of the album's concept, "Turn South" represents an early peak in conflict--it's about overconfidence and ego. By the time we've reached adulthood, it seems we are secure enough in the way our minds behave (and in the relationship between our minds and our brains) that it becomes just "the way things are" and there's no need to question that there may be other things going on behind the scenes that the conscious mind is unaware of. In this state, our elective preferences and opinions dominate to the point that ego becomes a caricature. Of course, this is a personal song with some scathing self-assessment. The phrase "turn South" relates to my much-explored interest in Daoist writings and classical Chinese religion--it's said that when the emperor achieves order in his kingdom and harmonizes the way of the human world with the way of nature and heaven, as a natural next step, he'll "face South"--as in, "attain perfection." Naturally, here it's used sarcastically (time to add the ever-popular self-loathing tag!). Along with "The Knack" and "Chrysalis (In Three Verses)," this makes up the hubristic peak from which a fall is inevitable.<br />
<br />
Musically, this is another example of what I'm short-handing "<a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/ITC%20%28intuitive%20through-composition%29"><b>ITC</b></a> (intuitive through-composition)," where one part is through-composed and the others are subsequently composed by ear to fit together as a sort of sloppy puzzle. Differently from other songs, though, this one doesn't really have a "lead" guitar part--there's the acoustic (trivia: the very first part I tracked over a year ago...talk about an ego-destroying experience), then the Telecaster (which plays a rhythm part in low-register octaves that somewhat overlap the acoustic) and finally the ES-335 (the last guitar part composed, which plays smaller intervals of thirds and fourths in the upper register). You'd better believe that things get <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Counterpoint"><b>contrapuntal</b></a>. <br />
<br />
This being one of the first songs I started working on, it's interesting to revisit because I had so many hypothetical goals and ideas about how the project would play out--for instance, I was hoping to avoid bass guitar entirely for the album, replacing it with bass clarinet and synthesizer where appropriate. Obviously that didn't work out, but this one has low register Moog and no bass guitar, which contributes to a sort of (attempted) "warped indie rock" feel. Also contributing to the "indie rock" feel is the eighth-note focus (so many staccato eighth-notes in indie rock...so many) and the absence of lead guitar. The verses modulate chromatically, which was easy to write on paper but you can bet was a bitch to record vocals for. The horn arrangement is another interesting thing to look back at--though it changes harmonically, the placement of the parts doesn't change, and I think it's one of the arrangements that fits best and most audibly in the overall mix...guess I got lucky early on, since not all of the parts work out as successfully. In the studio, this was the second song Drew recorded drums for, and the first really weird one. At first I was directing him to go "dancy," which turned out to be obviously not what I was hearing in my head. After a few false starts and a quickly-internalized lesson in communication, we settled on "jazzy" and Drew basically figured out that he could do whatever he wanted, blasting out some ridiculous fills in the song's ending (a show for which I was privileged enough to have front row seats). And so proceeded the rest of the drum tracking...Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-56690459240221624842012-12-12T14:39:00.000-08:002012-12-19T11:50:32.188-08:00Song of the Week: "An Unsettling Preposition"As promised, here I am introducing some material from <b><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/cheap-seats-at-the-cartesian-theater"><i>Cheap Seats</i></a></b>--it's
my plan to talk about one song per week. This is indeed a concept
album about the human mind, and though there isn't a specific "story,"
there is something of a narrative progression to the track listing. "An Unsettling
Preposition" opens the album, and while I won't be proceeding
chronologically with these weekly updates, this song is the perfect
place to start. Lyrics are listed below, followed by some thoughts about the song's place in the concept as well as some info about the words and music. Please take my introspection with a grain of salt; it's there for anybody who wants explanation or is interested enough to learn more about the details imbued in this work, but also as a tool for myself in moving forward artistically for my next projects. <br />
<br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GCFbN_6j5-M/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GCFbN_6j5-M?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GCFbN_6j5-M?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><span style="font-size: large;">*</span></div>
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~~~</div>
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<b>"<a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/track/an-unsettling-preposition">An Unsettling Preposition</a>"</b></div>
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<i>You’ve been on the understanding where the way is by the
will</i></div>
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<i>You say you use the fundamental features, not the flashy
frills</i></div>
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<i>It’s within reason’s pungent sound you sail without a doubt</i></div>
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<i>Though you were once upon a time so short these tools you
were without</i></div>
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<i>But I recall</i></div>
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<i>I’ve been in and out of context enough to lose the feeling</i></div>
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<i>I by no means know the meaning of a life without this
ceiling</i></div>
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<i>It’s been a while! </i></div>
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<i>But I recall</i></div>
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<i>We’ve been under these assumptions since I thought they’d
keep us dry</i></div>
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<i>You say we both agree that I am you and we are I</i></div>
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<i>You’re so sure!</i></div>
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<i>But I recall</i><br />
<i>~~~ </i></div>
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<br /></div>
"An
Unsettling Preposition" effectively sets the scene--amongst a lot of lyrics and poems that deal with duality, an anxious sense of questioning
and explorations-posed-as-dialogues, this song opens the proceedings with a
one-sided conversation directed at the complacent, passive,
comfortable (perhaps willfully ignorant) <i>self</i> of routine--the "me" that most of us experience, most of the time. The
speaking voice comes from a corner of the mind with a nagging sense that
certain day-to-day assumptions ("In conjunction with my brain, 'I'
consciously choose to act, then my physical body acts;" "Logic is a
clear map I use to determine and decide the course of my actions;"<b> "</b>My
reasoning mind and my physical brain are one and the same, always acting in
accord with my conscious free will;" and finally, "It's always been this
way") are perhaps <i>not quite</i> representative of the entire
picture. I think we forget that there was a time (childhood) when our
brains were soaking up sensory input like sponges--before we really had
any congealed sense of selfhood or the ego to behave with confidence
about it. Once this system is firmly in place and running like a
well-oiled machine fueled by memories of cause and effect, life is an
easy enough plate to keep spinning--but have you ever wondered about how
much sensory input (present and past) your brain is ignoring because it doesn't fit into
the framework whereby you've been routinely living your life for the
past decades? The lyric also posits that the "me" that sits comfortably
in routine and the "me" who questions and balks at such an anemic mind-life
just might not be co-existing quite as peacefully as the automatic mind would
prefer.<br />
<br />
Lyrically, I had a lot of fun with this one as a
sort of word game--the verses are built from prepositional figures of
speech treated as if the locations in question were actually physical. There's further punning happening with some homophones and imagery tied to the fact that I was looking out across the water from the Ballard Locks to the Olympics when writing the words.<br />
<br />
Musically, the song serves as an apt introduction for the rest of the album, displaying a concise structure (a much-abbreviated traditional verse/chorus structure with a brief breakdown and an even briefer sort of post-second-chorus bridge). It's a three-guitar arrangement, with one guitar (my ES-335 though a tiny 4-watt Hawaiian guitar amp that belongs to my friend Nick, complete with "mother of toilet seat" turquoise case) laying down rhythm riffs in the lower register and two other guitars functioning in tandem and a sort of "<i><b>intuitive through-composition</b></i>" (this ends up happening enough across the songs I'll go ahead and start calling it "ITC") in the upper register, where the Telecaster plays two-note chords, and the Firebird plays more of a liquid, distorted, single-note lead. This approach has allowed me considerable freedom in terms of partwriting where I'll attempt to to create detail-rich parts with minimal repetition that can be followed individually by the listener but also fit together as parts of a more singular whole. There's a sort of pleasing (to me) chaos in the fact that the parts can either fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, call and respond, blend harmonically, or be saying different things entirely at the same time, and it can all change from one bar to the next. So far I've achieved this by sitting down and writing one guitar part, taking care to leave at least some space rhythmically, then composing the second by ear, using the first as a general map of inspiration. Needless to say, it's an exacting, painstaking process and it's an enormous bitch to reproduce in the studio without extensive rehearsal (which I mostly didn't have time to invest in) but to the ear, the results are pretty unusual sounding with that sort of nearly-falling-apart groove that's been another big goal with the project. The track really came alive when <a href="http://www.russkleiner.com/"><b>Russ</b></a> tracked his drums, handling the odd-metered grooves and tempo shifts of the chorus section with aplomb. Moving forward, I see challenges in developing the ITC aspect so I don't end up continually repeating myself (though by its fluid nature it may take a while for that to happen), as well as in general arranging--there are bass clarinet/alto sax parts, backing vocals and some piano in the final verse that are only marginally audible--this may be partially a mixing issue, but it's certainly in my mind to pay attention to how many elements can exist in an arrangement before they're obscured by the others. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">* Yes, the YouTube videos have ads. Why? It's expensive to make music
independently...if my music is being played for free by YouTube users
and there's a way for me to make a tiny pittance in return for my
self-funded creative content, I'll take it. </span>Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-7127160298772237092012-12-09T11:23:00.001-08:002012-12-09T11:24:12.293-08:00Cheap Seats 11: Thanks! (I Couldn't Have Done It--Not Alone!)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh! It's The Noble Fir! With Ellen and Rick</td></tr>
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Ok! <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/12/official-release-day.html"><b>Official Release Day</b></a> for the album is behind us, as is the release party (I performed an acoustic set and released CDs to Kickstarter contributors, friends and family and regulars at <a href="http://www.thenoblefir.com/"><b>The Noble Fir</b></a> on Thursday). Before I get to the business of introducing some of the specific creative content on this album, I'd like to expand a bit on the album's credits and "thank you" section, as there are many people whose efforts helped bring the project to fruition. Though this diary entry comes out a bit long-winded, it's of paramount importance to me to give credit where it's due.<br />
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As far as the sounds recorded on the album, nobody played a bigger role than <a href="http://www.justinphelpsrecording.com/"><b>Justin Phelps</b></a>--he was recording, mixing and mastering engineer, and as I've mentioned <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/04/cheap-seats-3-day-in-studio.html"><b>before</b></a>, he played a crucial role in the quality control department. In addition to those technical roles, Justin was pretty much the first person I met after emerging from my creative cave--he's a hard-working, friendly guy, and the fact that he instantly took my artistic goals seriously was a hugely important boost to my confidence and morale. There's a lot of loneliness involved in making music independently, and it's connections like these that, for me at least, act as lifelines. Though we didn't always reach complete accord regarding my artistic goals (which is to-be-expected), Justin was always ready to constructively challenge and question my decision-making, which is an important part of the learning process for me as I move forward to my next projects--knowing how a sympathetic pair of ears hears ideas you may have thought you made clear is a good signpost to understanding how completely unsympathetic listeners might respond. Most importantly, I'm looking forward to teaming up with Justin again on my upcoming plans.<br />
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Sarah, of course, sits at the top of the thank-you list. I can't imagine what it's like to be subjected to another person's artistic ups and downs in close quarters, but she is always emotionally supportive even if it's hard for her to understand how high the stakes can be for me personally in the midst of these projects. Also crucial is having a stable, "real" life to return to from the peaks and troughs of the creative roller coaster. It's good to be reminded of your responsibilities and know how important the simple things are in life. Speaking of real life, my mom and dad have also been incredibly supportive throughout the process, hosting me in Camas for long periods while I commuted to and from the studio. While I'm sure my aesthetic path and career choices continue to mystify them, I know they appreciate how important and critical my current goals are to my happiness and I'm proud to have shown them how seriously I'm taking my current endeavor.<br />
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Rick and Ellen at <a href="http://www.thenoblefir.com/"><b>The Noble Fir</b></a> deserve very special mention, too. Ever since I burned them a CD-R of the <i>In Not-Even-Anything Land</i> material as I was finishing it up in summer of 2010, they've generously exceeded any expectations as patrons of the "arts," hosting not one, but two CD releases and always providing positive feedback and the warmth of friendship that allows labors of love to flourish. It was a great pleasure to celebrate this friendship in song, performing "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_FGgSgamCA"><b>The Noble Fir</b></a>" at the release party. In a more serious, "brass tacks" sense, the fact that they've also employed me at the bar since June 2011 has provided me with enough income and leave time to actually afford projects like this--the costs for this album would have equaled about half a year's worth of my previous income, and I'm extremely grateful for the fact that my job enables me to fund artistic projects of this scale while still maintaining a reasonable standard of living and savings--I take this privilege very seriously!<br />
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Working my way through the list, I again find cause to thank Nick and Cathy Manwell--I've been friends with them since Nick gave me a dollar when I was playing at 4th Avenue Coffee Shop outside the Liberty Theater in Camas back around 2002. Since then I've played countless hours of guitar with Nick and "borrowed" pieces of his gear for years at a time (it's his bass heard on the whole album). It was a real pleasure to get Nick involved in <i>Cheap Seats</i>--he plays lead acoustic on<i> </i>"<b><a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/track/chrysalis-in-three-verses">Chrysalis (In Three Verses)</a></b>."<br />
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In terms of the rest of the "band" heard on the album, much thanks is owed to the kinetic energy provided by drummers Drew Shoals and <a href="http://www.russkleiner.com/"><b>Russ Kleiner</b></a>. I've known Drew since he was an already-legendary presence on the Whitman College campus, playing for every band from the school's jazz band to r&b/hip hop group Love Child to his own solo stuff (releasing such unforgettable singles as "I Can Hear You Having Sex")--apart from a brief stand-in soundcheck appearance, we never played music together. So, Drew's appearance on eight songs here fulfills a goal I'd long had in the back of my mind. Additionally, Drew came into the recording process at a very early point (December 22nd of last year), so his willingness to take the music seriously and add some real bones to the fleshy mass I'd concocted was a huge boost to my confidence, which was quite low at the start of the sessions. I love how Drew's contributions acknowledge the complexity of the songs' meters but also aren't afraid to run rampant, enhancing the "nearly-falling-apart" feel with a free-flowing, intuitive groove. Russ (to whom Drew introduced me after his school schedule prohibited his return to the later sessions), somewhat contrastingly, approached his songs with a meticulous attention to the details--I was really surprised at how thoroughly he'd internalized the knotty meters of songs I'd not even bothered to chart for him--his energy and sympathetic attention to detail really shine through on his contributions, which were made in spite of a monumental cold (he went on antibiotics after our session). Finally, my friend Peter Bruckner provided piano for two album tracks and one <a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/track/well-be-all-right"><b>bonus track</b></a>, lending a lot of complex feeling with his jazz voicing knowledge, and providing some really choice melodic nuggets in the small spaces that were left by the time he came into the picture. Here's hoping I'll get to work with these musicians again! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chelcie (L), Michelle (R)</td></tr>
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Though they're further down this posting than they really deserve for their staggering team accomplishment, the post-production design team that created all of the album art and other visuals for the release deserve huge props for making this package something eye-catching and realizing of a concept I'd had in my...brain...for two-plus years. <b><a href="http://www.forelockforelock.com/">Chelcie</a> </b>(who sits both in the credits and "thank you" sections of the booklet, deserves enduring credit for acting as a sounding board for ideas, a confidant for hopes and fears and a companion/fellow traveler on the artistic path) contributed the hand-made collage and watercolors that grace the album art, as well as the watercolor image of my imbecilic grin that disgraces the deluxe package. Michelle Koelbl (who designed the whole package for <i>In Not-Even-Anything Land</i>) returned for some stellar typographic contributions to the outside cover. My brother Andy took a lion's share of the "odds and ends" that always crop up with this kind of thing, impressingly finding an attractive layout for the verbosity that is the inside of the CD jacket and the liner notes, as well as promptly responding to needs for posters, image manipulation, print layout for the deluxe package, and probably more time-consuming minutiae that I'm ungratefully forgetting (*brrriiiing*"Hey, I know you're at work, but can you do me a favor?"). Similarly, Courtney Morgan picked up numerous loose ends, creating the sweet brain graphic that appears a few times in the art and became a rubber stamp for the deluxe package, designing the t-shirts, and responding to numerous small design needs throughout the project. Finally, Johnnie Heinz hand-painted the menagerie of brains that sit quietly behind the lyrics in the insert. Again--I'll be a lucky man if these people continue to help me in the future!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This brother band is formed! Tentative band names include: Knappetite for Destruction and Knapp Kin.</td></tr>
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Finally, I need to round out this list with some people whose contributions are less measurable but no less important in sum--Patrick (whose djembe I've been using for something like 6 years) gets thanks for providing ongoing cheerleader support and continuing connection with an atrophied social life. Randy Parsons and Cody Green at <a href="http://www.parsonsguitars.com/"><b>Parsons Guitars</b></a> have continually serviced my guitars from basic setups to trouble-shooting to exacting custom work, all the while with professional attention to detail and reasonable prices. Ike's Auto Repair in Centralia replaced my truck's alternator within two hours when it failed in the middle of one of my many trips to Portland--talk about coming through when it counts! Professor Mitch Clearfield and his metaphysics course at Whitman must be credited with introducing me to many of the philosophical and cognitive science ideas and writings that form the conceptual basis of these songs and the album's overarching concept--these unsolvable problems still haven't let go of my imagination something like eight years later! Joel, Andy, Donny, Rick, Sandi and all of the interns at <a href="http://superdigital.com/cloudcitysound.com/index.html"><b>Cloud City Sound</b></a> and Super Digital provided a welcoming studio environment, friendly support and feedback and some especially professional studio and duplication services. Paul Davison provided inspiration for "<a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/track/adjacent-to-not-really-anyhow-time"><b>Adjacent to Not-Really-Anyhow Time</b></a>" in conversation on his <a href="http://www.stormcock.net/node/659"><b>Roy Harper Podcast</b></a>. Finally, there are all of the Kickstarter campaign contributors, supportive music fans and friends, family, artists, teachers and thinkers who provide a huge grassroots network out of which creative projects like this spring. I'm sure my frazzled brain has forgotten to credit specific contributions, but please know I am constantly thankful for the wellspring of energy that has brought this to fruition. One of the later lines on the album is "I couldn't have done it not<b>-</b>alone;" rest assured--when it comes to this project, "I couldn't have done it<b>--</b>not alone!" Thank you!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John gleefully brandishes his deluxe package CD.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/12/cheap-seats-part-i-new-album-go.html"><b>Cheap Seats Part 1</b></a><br /><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/02/cheap-seats-2-non-commercial-music.html">Cheap Seats Part 2: Non-Commercial Music </a></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/04/cheap-seats-3-day-in-studio.html">Cheap Seats Part 3: A Day in the Studio </a></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/05/cheap-seats-4-unhappy-accident.html">Cheap Seats Part 4: The (Un)Happy Accident </a></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/07/cheap-seats-5-mix-mix-stir-stir.html">Cheap Seats Part 5: Mix Mix, Stir Stir </a></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/09/cheap-seats-6-kickstarter-campaign.html">Cheap Seats Part 6: Kickstarter Campaign</a></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/09/cheap-seats-7-alicia-dara-interview.html">Cheap Seats Part 7: Alicia Dara Interview</a></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/10/cheap-seats-8-tyler-fortier-interview.html">Cheap Seats Part 8: Tyler Fortier Interview </a></b></span><br /><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/11/cheap-seats-9-anna-coogan-interview.html">Cheap Seats Part 9: Anna Coogan Interview </a></b><br />
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<a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/11/cheap-seats-10-chris-cutler-interview.html#more"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Cheap Seats Part 10: Chris Cutler Interview</span> </b></span></a>
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Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-77846673271489055112012-12-04T12:17:00.000-08:002012-12-04T12:20:15.668-08:00Official Release Day!It's been a long year and a whole lot of work putting together the music and visuals for this album, and today it officially drops! The CD and digital album are currently available on <a href="http://elliotknapp.bandcamp.com/album/cheap-seats-at-the-cartesian-theater"><b>Bandcamp</b></a>, where the music is also streaming if you'd like to have a listen.<br />
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I'm really excited about the limited edition deluxe package, which includes the standard CD issue as well as a handmade sleeve with pearl snaps (if you know me, you know my love of snap-button western shirts), a rubber-stamped brain graphic and hand-written lyrics and signature. I'm not hugely crafty, but I'm pumped at how they turned out. The watercolor was done by <a href="http://www.forelockforelock.com/"><b>Chelcie</b></a> (more on credits and thank-yous for the album soon).<br />
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And finally, there's the release party! Thursday night at 7 pm, I'm playing a short acoustic set at the beloved <a href="http://www.thenoblefir.com/"><b>Noble Fir</b></a>, and we're spinning the album afterward. It'll be a celebration of a year of hard work and hopefully the start of some more traction with what's been a pretty "underground" music career so far. If you found yourself on this site because of another artist I've reviewed, please do take the time to check out and possibly purchase my album--independent music takes a lot of work and a lot of money and it can't survive and grow without help. A couple more <b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Cheap%20Seats">Cheap Seats</a> </b>posts coming soon, then down to the business of introducing some specific tracks from the album.<br />
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Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-2462136106906799032012-11-19T12:22:00.001-08:002012-11-19T12:38:41.338-08:00Cheap Seats 10: Chris Cutler Interview<i>Today we've got the final interview of the <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Cheap%20Seats"><b>Cheap Seats</b></a> series, and one that I've been looking forward to since it was conducted all the way back in July (time flies when you're leading a double life!) inasmuch as it nicely caps the <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Interview"><b>interview</b></a> collection by not only encapsulating an independent musician's perspective, but also that of an owner and operator of an independent music label with a long career in <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/02/cheap-seats-2-non-commercial-music.html"><b>non-commercial music</b></a>. As a musician, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLCKNg9XbBU&list=LP7MQE901Cv7E&index=4&feature=plcp"><b>Chris Cutler</b></a> is perhaps best known as the drummer for <b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Henry%20Cow">Henry Cow</a> </b>and Art Bears, but like the other members of those groups his recordings and performances have spanned innumerable notable collaborations and solo projects that encompass and cross too many genres and ideas to even attempt cataloging them. In addition to his percussion skills, Cutler is an experienced lyricist, composer and writer/speaker on various musical topics and, finally, is the creator and operator of <b><a href="http://www.rermegacorp.com/">Recommended Records</a> </b>(ReR), which has released and distributed an eclectic array of music (most of which broadly falls under the experimental and avant-garde umbrella, and much of it falls in my "absolutely essential" category) since its creation in 1978. </i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB">How would you say the state of
non-commercial music (as a whole) in 2012 differs from when you first
entered the professional music world in the late 60's/early 70's?</span></span></i></h3>
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<span lang="EN-GB">In the late ‘60s there was a handful of
major labels and an almost non-existent independent sector. The idea that a
band could release its own LPs was not in the air (though there were a few
visionary exceptions, mostly in other fields—such as Sun Ra’s Saturn and Harry
Partch’s Gate V labels, though lacking any
general distribution, these were effectively invisible). And there was the
additional problem of distribution: you could make a record, but how would you
get it into the shops? A tiny monopoly of distributors dominated the market,
structurally tied into the needs of the majors; anything outside that was too
much trouble. So bands didn’t think of going it alone, instead they looked for
labels. And that meant major labels or their specialist subsidiaries. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">On the other hand, in the late ‘60s and
early ‘70s—through a complex set of special circumstances—both labels and
public were looking for novelty and innovation, and these are things that an
essentially parasitic music industry can’t manufacture, so they had to chase
after them instead, meaning that it was still possible for outsiders to get
into the game. In addition, there was a moderately healthy gig circuit
routinely programming new bands, and these were gigs that paid. Support groups
didn’t play for nothing then, or ‘pay to play’ as now; they got reasonable money.
So the sign-posted way to success was to get onto the ladder and climb up into
the system. And it seemed to work. So there was no thought—and no reason to
think—of finding a public in any other way. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">This picture has now changed beyond all
recognition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old patriarchy
has long collapsed and the few surviving major labels face ever-diminishing
sales, so they invest what they have in safe mainstream product or dirt-cheap
back-catalogue reissues. The old practice of ploughing a healthy percentage of
turnover back into speculative releases—testing the water and discovering new
talent—has long since devolved onto more energetic, less profit-oriented,
independent labels, the first batch of which emerged in the late ‘70s, part of
the mini-revolution that was Punk (swiftly followed by its more canny
beneficiaries, the New Wave). In that environment, if a band rose to the top, a
major could buy it up, thereby avoiding the cost of speculative research. And
occasionally an independent might be able to hang on to a success and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>edge a little closer to mini-major
status. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">In this climate, all but very mainstream
bands had to aim to be signed by independents or release their own records. The
independent marketplace expanded crazily throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, at the
same time fragmenting into a mass of disconnected and self-contained specialist
niche communities. Everything changed: a relatively inclusive mainstream
(<a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Captain%20Beefheart"><b>Beefheart</b></a> and Sinatra had coexisted on the Warner catalogue) fractured into a
major, hits-only, mainstream while a multiplying catalogue of subcultures
peeled away, disappearing from the general conversation altogether. So, as the
nature of the listening public changed, bands’ ambitions changed along with it.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Looking back, Henry Cow was extraordinarily
lucky: we, like many other bands of our era, having strayed across—or broken
through—the common-practice fences, had been pitched into the wild, uncharted
territories of extended electrification, new instruments, hybrid compositional
techniques, cross gen<span style="font-size: small;">re borrowing, radical recording practices, unfettered
improvisation and controlled noise… a relatively uncharted terrain. Most of
those territories are mapped now, so the sense of possibility and discovery has
inevitably dimmed. Of course, there are other <i>terrae novae</i>, but they are not—as
they were for us—in such plai</span>n sight. I hasten to add that that is not because
we were smarter; it’s just that we were just lucky enough to be active during
an untypical historical hiccup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The next musical breakthrough will come along in its own time, as they
always do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile,
consolidation, revival and minor modifications of existing forms will continue
to dominate a musical climate no longer particularly supportive of experiment
and innovation. In other words, it couldn’t be much more different now than it
was it the late ‘60s, or much harder to survive in.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="HTMLBody">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="HTMLBody">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Seeing
you mention the difficulty for present-day musicians to reach truly new
territory has really got me thinking.
Perhaps it's easier in hindsight to see this, but it seems that the
first innovations at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries
were still a part of the process that had been driving the evolution of Western
music up to that point--gradual abandonment of the accepted harmonic and
compositional rules. It seems like
eventually, both in the "classical" sector as well as in the popular
music world, the limit of rules that could be abandoned was pretty much
reached. It's difficult for me to
imagine that there really is any place for future musicians to go that's really
as unexplored or fundamentally fresh as what happened
in the early 20th century. </span></i></span></h3>
<div class="HTMLBody">
<br /></div>
<div class="HTMLBody">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
fundamentally fresh, perhaps not. Not yet. We are living through a paradigm
change, and those don’t come along very often—but—then, so were Machaut,
Palestrina, Monteverdi, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Sibelius et al, all of
whom were exploring writing and tonality, the new paradigms that they were
trying to come to terms with, and obviously there was still room for innovation
and development then - as now. We are at the beginning of a long phase of
discovery, mapping and excavation in which it’s not the abandonment of rules
and constraints that is important (because loosening and abandonment are
finite: when you reach no-rules or random structures [like Cage] you come to an
endpoint, a cul de sac…and all entropic heat-death universes are essentially
identical: life has stopped for them). On the contrary, it is through coherent
forms of organization that what is new will emerge. And that field is still
wide open. </span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Right
now we are mapping a major cultural shift as sound recording (a concrete memory
of actual sounds) competes with writing (an abstract memory of instructions).
In this I think our era exhibits some affinity with the thirteenth century Ars
Nova – 150 years of experiments that marked the overlap of biological memory (a
subjective, impermanent, but concrete, memory system) with writing (an
objective, permanent, but abstract, memory system)….. but I deviate, and this
is a vast (and I’m sure contentious) subject. For anyone interested I have
<a href="http://rwm.macba.cat/en/quaderns-audio/quadern_audio_chris_cutler/capsula"><b>written about it at some length here</b></a>;
it’s also the subject of an online radio series I’m in the middle of preparing
for the Museum of Modern Art Barcelona, the first episode of which is <a href="http://rwm.macba.cat/en/curatorial/probes1_chris_cutler_/capsula"><b>now online</b></a>.</span></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="HTMLBody">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Though
it's probably an impossible question, where is it that you think music
could go in order to break out of its current paradigm, assuming that paradigm
includes all of the 20th century's advancements? What sorts of musical particulars remain unexplored to their
fullest extent? In my attempts to
conceive an answer I imagine it would take some growth on the part of the
average listener, since few people's ears seem to have assimilated the
advancements of the early 20th century (i.e. dissonance, atonality, loose
structure, rhythmic uncertainty) to a point where they can even be considered a
place from which to go. Then again, there wasn't exactly a pre-existing market
for things like serialism, musique concrete or <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/AMM">AMM</a> when they broke onto the
scene...</span></i></span></h3>
<div class="HTMLBody">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Yes, we are all learning new vocabularies.
Some of us actively through the rarified activities of the experimental music
community; most of us subliminally through film and TV soundtracks, exposure to
other cultures and the accidental montages endemic in modern life. We are
living through a period of accelerated evolution in which a whole menagerie of
new musical life-forms is emerging, some to survive, some to disappear, some to
merge with others to form novel hybrids. That is a normal function of
evolutionary mechanisms, especially in periods following mass extinctions. The
result is a rich environment in which flexible and enduring forms emerge. But
it would be foolish to try to predict what these might look (and sound) like,
because it’s not just mutation and reproduction that are at work, but also
changing ecospheres (audiences and cultures). In other words, there are just
too many variables. Musicians make proposals and suggestions, explore and
report back. They do experiments and present conclusions in the hope that a
word, a phrase, a method, an insight will survive into the next generation and
add some contour to the shape of the future. And right now there are countless
territories to be explored. Knocking down the door was not easy, but figuring
out what to do next—in the changed conditions on the other side of the
revolution—is infinitely harder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Enough for those who want to get their teeth into.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">What do you think Henry Cow's career path
would look like if they were just starting out today instead of the early
70's? Is equivalent support like that provided to the band by Virgin
available from other sources, or are experimental groups on their own in terms
of funding and promoting their music?</span></i></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I shudder to think. It’s also an impossible
question. Henry Cow was contributing to a conversation that was current and, in
that context, was making fairly radical proposals. Anyone now playing the kind
of music we were playing then – as some of the new avant, prog and RIO bands
are <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">(</span></span>their labels, not mine) – is necessarily working on the ground of
nostalgia, not innovation: that conversation has long since moved on. What was
new then—and answered a pressing need then—is old hat now, absorbed, tamed and
superseded. So we’d need to look at the career path of a band whose relation to
the present was somehow analogous to HC’s relation to its present. And that’s
not easy, because in the ‘60s and ‘70s there was still a kind of mainstream,
and Henry Cow, though on its fringes, was a visible part of the general
conversation. Today there is no mainstream—and no shared language—just a set of
increasingly disconnected dialects, of which what we would once have called
experimental music is an isolated instance with no special privileges. A
contemporary Henry Cow would have to address itself, then, to a small,
self-selecting interest group through fan websites, Facebook connections,
free-to-listen downloads, niche concerts and specialist labels. It would have
little or no chance to participate in any more general cultural forum. I can
only think of one band in the last 10 years that has made a real innovation in form
and managed to cross over into the mainstream artworld, and that’s The Necks—and
they managed only by a hair. Such a transition would have been so much easier
in the early 1970s—and it would have happened much more quickly (The Necks
plugged away for 20 years before the wider world took any notice; and still
it’s only the fringe of the wider art world).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The support Virgin gave Henry Cow was
corporate; the label had budgets and connections; it was fully represented in
the mainstream press; it could afford expensive advertising and run a costly
promotions department. More importantly, it could afford to absorb individual
losses (for a while at least) by subsidising new or poorly selling bands from
the income of its hit-makers. An independent label taking up a C21 Henry Cow
couldn’t match any of this. At least in the 1970s major labels would get you a
hearing, even if they couldn’t make you popular—and they were ready to back a
lot of losers. But the losers had their day in the agora. Today you don’t get that
chance. You might get a label that cares about music before profit, but it
won’t be able link you to a mainstream public. It won’t have the reach. That
said, Virgin—other than getting us into the game—did very little for us. They
bankrolled our three studio albums (sending the invoices to us and taking the
money back from the royalties we never received); they got us good press, and
they put us into tours with Captain Beefheart, Faust and <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/07/kevin-coyne-marjory-razorblade.html"><b>Kevin Coyne</b></a>; otherwise
they failed to get us any work. We had to extricate ourselves from their agency
and get back to setting up our concerts ourselves. Likewise with recordings,
Virgin failed miserably to get good distribution for us, because their
licensees wanted <i>Tubular Bells</i>, not Henry Cow—which meant we were constantly
touring in countries in which our records were not available. So it wasn’t
quite all plain sailing back then either.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9TZhyphenhyphenUirfnnDasE4gJCr_ZZWSfnaLXOCfnhCPoH5kVLuzVWPfdFLNACjTX9-qSpbDmn3bAGnO_98xfXLq_5X_b1MxL0MeXnK8f92hEEhpuK4V2SCpUCczWUvrgnFhxgdN_g018UdiX0/s1600/cc+standard.TIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9TZhyphenhyphenUirfnnDasE4gJCr_ZZWSfnaLXOCfnhCPoH5kVLuzVWPfdFLNACjTX9-qSpbDmn3bAGnO_98xfXLq_5X_b1MxL0MeXnK8f92hEEhpuK4V2SCpUCczWUvrgnFhxgdN_g018UdiX0/s400/cc+standard.TIF" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-style: normal;"><i>Your record
label and distribution service, ReR, has been actively releasing and
distributing non-commercial music since 1978; what were your initial
impulses in deciding to create a specialist record label?</i></span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Someone had to do it. I set the label up
initially to release my own projects (Art Bears, News from Babel, the duo with
Fred Frith, & c.) because, after Virgin, I wanted no more to do with third
parties; I thought it would be better to control my own output and outcomes.
And once the structures were in place—most importantly the distribution
structures—I could see no reason not to extend the label to include music that
I liked by other people. After that, ReR grew as its catalogue grew, because
there’s substance in substance. But essentially, I did it because I could,
because I was inclined to, and because, politically and temperamentally, it
suited me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Do you find that today there's more or less of a need for intermediary independent music labels to help quality non-commercial music avoid marginalization? How have the hurdles facing such musicians changed or remained similar in the intervening period?</i></b></span></h3>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It’s too late to avoid marginalisation, but
intermediary independents are still useful, I think. Not everyone wants to
spend time and energy running a label. And, as I said, there’s substance in
substance: a label acquires a reputation for its taste and orientation. And the
cumulative weight of a catalogue helps everyone in it. On top of that, there
are economies of scale: one-stop distribution, promotional contacts built up
over time, a single administrative structure, shared overheads, and so forth.
Though that’s less relevant today than it was. Setting up a label in the
‘60s—not to mention setting up a distribution network—was a thinking problem,
and a practical nightmare. Today it’s pretty simple; all the machinery to
do-it-yourself is already in place. </span><br />
<br />
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>How have the developments in music digitization and file sharing in the past 20 years affected ReR? Do you find the specialist nature of your music encourages fans to support the artists and your label, or do sales still fall victim to file sharing, and what can be done to counteract this effect? </i></b></span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Sales are way down. How much that is do
with the diminution of interest in the kind of music we support and how much to
do with pirate downloads is hard to say. Perhaps the two are linked; perhaps
what’s easy tends to be undervalued? Looking at the massive devastation visited
on the industry over the last five years, I am sure that specialisation has
helped ReR survive. A lot of labels have gone down—and the passing trade has
all but dried up—but our core listenership has so far proved fairly tenacious,
and it seems still to be engaged seriously both with the music it likes and
with the culture of music itself as a communicative medium. It’s not background
noise or personal soundtrack, but critically integrated into their lives.
Bigger picture: all the high street music chains in England are out of business
except HMV, which is essentially bankrupt and is only staying afloat on credit
advanced to it by major labels who would otherwise have no hard media outlets
in the UK at all; and they are not ready for that, yet. So, as the shops shut
down, customers for our kind of music tend to come directly to us, and that
brings gains that offset some of our wholesaling losses (though frankly, not
enough of them). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It took six years, and a huge investment,
to make the 10 CD <a href="http://www.rermegacorp.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=RERHCBOX1&Category_Code=COW&Store_Code=RM"><b>Henry Cow box sets</b></a>, yet two days after they were released
everything was up for free on somebody’s share site. That was both depressing
(lack of basic morality) and self-defeating (after a while, no such projects
will exist to be pirated because labels will learn they can’t finance them and
won’t make them in the first place). But free is today’s acceptable norm… So,
what to do? Not much. We are setting up our own pay-to-download site (at FLAC
quality rather than MP3) but that’s about it. Nor am I inclined to do much
other than wait, and hope that quality will win out. For now, pirates and the
industry dominate the debate - with a lot of loud, faux-moral shouting and
posturing ensuring, between them, that no sensible, conciliatory voices can be
heard. Like George Bush and Al Qaida they need tacitly to conspire in order to
be sure that it’s their extremism that sets the rules of engagement. Civilians,
caught in the crossfire, as always, will pay the price.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="HTMLBody">
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Funny
you mention the Henry Cow box showing up on download blogs… I noticed shortly
after I purchased my set and was briefly engaged in an unpleasant and
unsatisfying exchange with the blog owner. What, if any, action do you and ReR take to attempt to limit
this sort of activity? Is it worth
it to request blogs to remove your material or is the inevitability not worth
fighting against?</span></i></span></h3>
</div>
<div class="HTMLBody">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="HTMLBody">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">First off, I don’t really look. The <i>Cow Box</i>
upload was something someone brought to my attention. In such cases, if I can,
I ask for things to be taken down, though that seems more or less never to
happen; most uploaders seem rather proud of themselves and fire back waffle
about freedom—though they still meekly pay their internet providers,
electricity suppliers and computer retailers, so I guess big corporations
aren’t touched by the freedom bug, just musicians and independent labels. In
their second breath the same people claim to love music. Perhaps they also
think two and two makes seven? Sometimes it plays differently though. When I
wrote to a site that had all the Recommended Quarterlies up for free and told
them that quite a lot of it was still in print, they immediately offered to
take everything down. We agreed in the end to leave what was out of print up—I
have less of a problem with that—though, ideally, artists should still, if
possible, be paid. However, in principle, I think keeping out-of-print works
alive can be seen as a public service. That said, site owners should still—and
easily can—ask before putting things up in the first place. Across the board,
upload behaviours seem mixed: some are sociopathic; some confused instances of
misplaced generosity; most reveal a combination of thoughtlessness mixed with
an inchoate recognition of the absence of a simple royalty distribution
structure to link into. Unhappily we live in a time in which the public’s moral
horizon has shrunk to embrace me, me, me and not much else; so progress in this
area is likely, at best, to be slow.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Do you remain optimistic that non-commercial music can generate an adequate source of income, paying for its own creation and affording its creators an adequate lifestyle, or should non-commercial musicians be satisfied sustaining their musical endeavors with a second, money- making career?</i></span></h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">No. Hopeful, not optimistic. A lot of
interesting music is already made by people with day-jobs. In America making a
living from music (unless you play at a lot of European festivals) is hard
unless it’s subsidised by regular employment in another field. But I don’t
think we should be satisfied with that. One can also decide to be poor and live
cheaply, which is what Henry Cow did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">What's your advice to today's aspiring
non-commercial musician? Across your years of experience are there
any constants in terms of avenues musicians can explore in order for
difficult music to be heard? Is there some sort of cadre of musical
intelligentsia to impress (here I'm thinking about artistic grants, endowments,
etc.) </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-style: normal;">and how do they
make their choices? What, for example, does it take for an artist to
become "recommended" by ReR?</span></i></span></h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">They don’t need advising, really. People
who have to do what they do, have to do what they do - and one way or another,
they will do it. The avenues are: get in touch with people who seem to belong
in the same world as you, make recordings and try to circulate them. Plug away.
And to impress—that depends on what world you are in. In the contemporary music
world there are grants and bursaries, residencies and commissions, but these
are not open to people in other fields. Funding bodies vary. Some are staffed
by artists and critics concerned with the work, others are staffed by
bureaucrats who need boxes ticked and don’t care about the work at all—in these
cases I can say that you need to say your project is aimed at the whole
community, involves children, ethnic, sexual and disability minorities, and is
educational and multicultural—otherwise you won’t get a cent. It was much
better under the Medecis. At least they understood the concept of quality and
wanted to support the best. Which, I suppose, is rather how ReR works. “Be
good, by my standards” is what it takes. That’s not democratic (I leave
democracy to actuaries and accountants) but at least it’s human.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-style: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">How do you personally seek out
new music?</span></i> </span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I keep my ear to the ground; I hear bands
at concerts; people send recordings to the label because they know who we are;
I read reviews and scour record shops wherever I go. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b><span lang="EN-GB">What have you been listening to lately?</span></b></i></span></h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">This week: Gloria Coates’ <i>Symphonies 1, 7
& 14</i>, Brian Woodbury’s <i>Town & Country</i>, The Beach Boys’<i> Smile Sessions</i>
box, Stockhausen’s <i>Aus den Seiben Tagen</i>, Walter Becker’s <i>Circus Money</i>, Takeshi
Terauchi & Blue Jeans, Kare Kolberg’s <i>Omgivelser</i> and Thelonius Monk’s <i>Big
Band & Quartet in Concert</i>. Nothing new there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: x-small; font-style: normal;"><i>As a musician,
what's kept you going across so many years of non- commercial music
making? </i> </span></h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">What else would I do? I’m lucky, I travel a
lot and I do a number of things I really like for a living. First and foremost
I’m a musician. Through the label and the distribution I get to create (or
support) new work without needing anyone’s permission, and to share things I
like with people who seem genuinely interested in them. Then I lecture and
write on topics that have fascinated me since I started to think about why
music takes the forms it does. It doesn’t really take much to keep all that
going, except the maintenance and acceptance of a very modest standard of
living. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
</h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-style: normal;">Are the musical
questions you've striven to answer the same, or are they evolving? </span></i></span></h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">They continually evolve in their
particularity - in their essence they remain the same. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">What's your next project?</span></i></span></h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">There are always about a dozen things on
the go, in various states of immediacy, so I’ll just go for the next
chronologically:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Writing: The second batch of one-hour radio
programmes on C20 musical ‘probes’ for the Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Concerts: A performance, with composer
Richard Barrett, of two Stockhausen pieces at the Festival of Light in
Birmingham. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">ReR: Finalising
three boxes: A 60<sup>th</sup> anniversary collection of works by composer and
performer Jon Rose; a set of 6 CDs, a DVD and book documenting the career of
the German band Cassiber (of which I was a member) and a 14 CD set of
experimental music coming out of Eastern Europe in the 1970s and early ‘80s. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/12/cheap-seats-part-i-new-album-go.html"><b>Cheap Seats Part 1</b></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/02/cheap-seats-2-non-commercial-music.html">Cheap Seats Part 2: Non-Commercial Music </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/04/cheap-seats-3-day-in-studio.html">Cheap Seats Part 3: A Day in the Studio </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/05/cheap-seats-4-unhappy-accident.html">Cheap Seats Part 4: The (Un)Happy Accident </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/07/cheap-seats-5-mix-mix-stir-stir.html">Cheap Seats Part 5: Mix Mix, Stir Stir </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/09/cheap-seats-6-kickstarter-campaign.html">Cheap <span style="font-size: small;">Seats Part <span style="font-size: small;">6: Kickstarter Campaign</span></span></a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/09/cheap-seats-7-alicia-dara-interview.html"><span style="font-size: small;">Cheap Seats Part 7: Alicia Dara Interview</span></a></span></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/10/cheap-seats-8-tyler-fortier-interview.html">Cheap Seats Part 8: Tyler Fortier Interview </a></span></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/11/cheap-seats-9-anna-coogan-interview.html">Cheap Seats Part 9: Anna Coogan Interview </a></span></span></span></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-1740582145848766862012-11-08T11:49:00.000-08:002012-11-08T11:55:03.061-08:00Cheap Seats 9: Anna Coogan Interview<i>The <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Cheap%20Seats"><b>Cheap Seats</b></a> train rolls on--this time we've got an interview with <a href="http://annacoogan.com/"><b>Anna Coogan</b></a>, a talented songwriter and artist working roughly in the Americana vein. A seasoned independent musician since her days with <a href="http://www.myspace.com/annacoogannorth19"><b>north19</b></a>, Anna now has three solo albums and numerous tours of the US and Europe under her belt, as well as a continuing portfolio of good press. I'm excited to interview Anna as her career has seen her begin as a regionally-successful artist and grow from national to international touring, not to mention the great leap she's taken from musician-with-a-day-job to full-time musician. Take it from Anna's experience--if you want to progress in the independent music world, you'll need to cultivate some perseverance. </i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvP8EpUuNOddqW-IOc0i-_W7S7hfSh8loS9c6yw-ujRkADAg7NzF6MMmsFx6vvFooL477ioh-Sc2JcPWa5hthya4aJ-CogKYTP2TwS18j4-OUTW4JczwHYPOrbNOiqmA8sQd8UalfKYA/s1600/566401_10151496750598332_93763673_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvP8EpUuNOddqW-IOc0i-_W7S7hfSh8loS9c6yw-ujRkADAg7NzF6MMmsFx6vvFooL477ioh-Sc2JcPWa5hthya4aJ-CogKYTP2TwS18j4-OUTW4JczwHYPOrbNOiqmA8sQd8UalfKYA/s400/566401_10151496750598332_93763673_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Marcel Houweling, taken at Roepaen Podium in Ottersum, NL.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">As a musician who's been doing this for a number of years, how have things
changed across your career, both in terms of how you make and release your
music, and in how you've attempted to promote and advance it? What are
some of the most valuable lessons/tricks you've picked up?</span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A lot of things have changed so much, and a lot of things have stayed the
same over the past ten years. I started playing at the most turbulent,
exciting, and vulnerable time in the music industry--right around 2002--and so
much has changed since then for everybody. Sometimes I kick myself for not
getting into it a few years earlier, but things work out the way they work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mostly I have learned how to treat it like a business, with a balance sheet
and a realistic view. What is going in (financially, emotionally, and
time-wise) and what is coming out? Are these things balancing out? How many
years of investment are you willing to make before you want to see some
returns? What kind of returns are you looking for?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The thing that seems to be most important is to hire a good team to help
promote you – and that can take years to find. But I think if you are good, and
you are relentless, and you tour your brains out and make records and videos
and send a lot of emails and show up on time and are polite and friendly to
people, eventually you will build a good group of people who care about you and
are willing to help you out, and that makes all the difference. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What's been the most difficult challenge to overcome?</span></span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tough question. I’m on the road right now for six weeks touring Europe and
the UK, so there are an awful lot of logistical challenges--airline tickets,
guitars flying in the hold, rental cars, etc. But those things usually sort
themselves out eventually. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think the hardest thing to overcome in general is your own head--music
can be a real mind f**k if you let it. The best days are when I don’t worry
about the future or the past, I don’t compare myself to others, and I can find
the clear headspace to write and practice or perform in peace. It’s essential
to remember why you got into it in the first place, and why you stay with it
through all the turmoil and chaos. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As a musician you've spent some time in a number of different locations,
eventually moving from Seattle back east, and touring regularly in the UK and
Europe. What motivated your decision to relocate and focus on touring
those areas?</span></span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I tour where there is work: right now there is a lot of work overseas, so
that’s where I go. I actually am doing some nice work in Seattle as well right
now--got a <b><a href="http://tripledoor.net/Calendar/Events/January-2013/An-Acoustic-Evening-with-Ian-McFeron-and-Anna-Coog.aspx?date=2013-01-12">Triple Door</a></b> show coming up in January— and do some regular touring
on the East Coast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I moved East
because of my husband's job, but I am a New Englander so it’s a homecoming for
me. I think most musicians have to tour if they want to make any income at all,
so the home base often doesn’t matter, as long as it is near an airport!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">How has booking changed for you, moving from a regional act to a touring
act? At this point, would you say you're still most successful in specific
places, or online/globally?</span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been involved in all levels of booking in my career to date, and am
indeed involved in all levels now. In the UK, I have the great joy to work with
an excellent agent, Bob Paterson. In Holland and Germany I have a wonderful
team of people, and I’m on my own in the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d say I do best in Northern Europe and the UK. The US is a
tough nut to crack as far as making a financially viable career, but I do have
regional work in the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and New England, and I plan to continue
touring as long as I can make it work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Your touring ensemble has ranged from a full band down to solo shows--what
sorts of challenges have motivated your road setup, and how have you settled on
your current line-up (just you and Daniele, right?)?</span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Certain things are driven by need and certain things are driven by want. My
duo with Daniele Fiaschi is a sort of once-in-a-lifetime combination where things are
just perfect sonically as a duo, and we really enjoy each other off stage as
well. It makes it a lot easier, because once you get past a duo the logistics
and cost increase exponentially. In the US, I generally tour solo, but am
hoping to put together a small ensemble in the next year. Touring solo is a
hard, lonely road, but I think it does make you a better musician in the long
run. I’m ready for a band, though, whatever the cost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">What's the best way to convert a new fan? How do you measure your
progress--record sales, live show attendance, Facebook "likes," etc.?
Do fans respond differently in the different places you've toured?</span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you will believe this, I am doing my best to forget about trying to
convert people. You can drive yourself crazy checking up on Facebook “likes” or
how many people are signing up on your email list or whatnot. It’s so
constantly changing that it seems hard to put your finger on what matters. For
a while, all that mattered was myspace “plays” and now no one even knows what
that means. I think things will change with Facebook, too, especially since they
started charging to “promote” band pages and make it impossible for fans to
post pictures, etc. Same with record sales, as they do seem to be universally
going down for everyone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It may be obvious but I am trying to focus on the things I can change:
practice, giving the best damn show I can, keeping my voice in good shape, and
writing. After that, there is not much I can do and I don’t want to go crazy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As far as fan response, touring Europe can be a crazy example of how
different cultures play into audience response. The Germans tend to get rowdy
and start clapping during songs, the Dutch sit quietly and listen intently and
clap politely,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>etc. I have also
driven myself crazy trying to understand audience response. Again: focus on the
music. Not much else you can do. You can’t force them to love you. Sometimes
things just click and you convert an entire room in one go, other times it
takes a lot more effort!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">In your experience, what does it take to break beyond a fanbase of friends
and family to one populated by people solely interested in the music?</span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, for one, I think it takes a ton of work and dedication and basically
hard headedness and “last man standing” mentalitiy. Other than that, radio play
seems to be the most important thing. My first band had a lot of <b><a href="http://kexp.org/">KEXP</a></b> backing,
and I’ve never seen things grow so fast. Once the initial blast of attention
wears off, man, you are back to the drawing board and back to the busting of balls.
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">What does it take to sell an album? What sells most for you, physical
media or downloads? For you, are recording sales the goal, or are
recordings more a piece of the overall puzzle in terms of promoting the music?
Have you reached a point where the recordings pay for themselves, or are
they a necessity you're willing to support yourself? Are people actually
willing to pay for the music, or do they expect it to be free? I recall a
while back you were doing a "pay what you can" thing; was that an
effective strategy?</span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I sell more physical records, and I sell most of them while touring. I
don’t think I’d say that the “goal” is selling records, but then again, it’s
really the only thing that pays the bills and gets your name out there, so
maybe it is. In a perfect world, I’d just make a million different recordings
and not worry about anything else, but recording is extremely expensive no
matter how you cut it, and it is a business, after all. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6495104999429147606" name="_GoBack"></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think most of my records do eventually pay for themselves, but it doesn’t
happen quickly! <b><a href="http://annacoogan.com/store/"><i>The Nowhere, Rome Sessions</i></a></b>, our new release, was made pretty
affordably, so I’m hoping we can pay it off in a year so, but usually it takes
longer than that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I stopped doing “pay what you can” a few years ago--I guess I just decided
that my work needed to have a value attached to it. It’s my life, I put
thousands of hours a year into it, and I need to be compensated. Occasionally I
will run a “pay what you can sale”--just to move some product or celebrate an
event. And I am always happy to give someone a discount when it’s clear that
they are in hard times, especially if they’ve taken the time to come to a show
or email me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As far as peoples expectations for free music: I’m not really sure, because
I don’t offer a lot of it right now. I think it’s a generational thing too--the
older generation is much more willing (and able) to buy records. But I do
believe that music as we know it won’t last if people aren’t willing to pay <i>something</i> for it. Good, talented, hard working people are leaving the business
in droves because they simply can’t pay the bills, and sadly, you can’t eat
art. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How important are production values when it comes to your recordings?
Do you think it's important to fans to have a polished, professional
recording, or are they willing to sacrifice production values for quality
content? Do professional production values manifest themselves in the finished
product in a way that justifies their cost?</span></span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think it depends. I always, always want my recordings to be professional--I’ve never liked releasing things that feel sub-par sound wise. That being
said, I’ve worked at a lot of levels, price-wise, to make my records.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My 2010 release, <b><a href="http://annacoogan.com/store/"><i>The Nocturnal Among Us</i></a></b>, was a huge endevour that may never quite pay for itself--we had an
amazing producer involved, two weeks at a studio, and mixed it at Jackpot
Studios in Portland, and I think the production quality is incredible. This
year, Daniele and I made a record in 2 days,
almost all live tracked, and it’s gotten more attention that any of my other
records. So you never really know. I think it’s nice to have a variety of
recordings out there--big, full band ones and smaller, live recordings, to give
people the full spectrum of what you do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">When it comes to promoting an album, what avenues seem the most successful
in getting the music heard? Do you do everything yourself, or do you get
help from anywhere?</span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From what I can tell, YouTube is extremely important, and I am a luddite
and thus extremely far behind on the music-video scene. But otherwise, I think
finding the market for your music is the most important, and starting there.
That might mean really spending a lot for your first record to see where it
sticks, then focusing future releases in that area. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most people I know start with a European/UK release, and I would recommend
hiring a publicist based in that area, and then release in the US depending on
how successful the overseas release was. Radio play on certain stations can be
extremely helpful, and of course it’s nice to get reviews, but it seems like
you really need everything--radio, video, press, touring--to fall together in
the right place and at the same time to make any impact in our over-saturated
internet crazy world. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">When do you decide it's time to head back into the studio? When you've got
all the songs written...when it feels right creatively...when you've got ideas
but not necessarily songs?</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am a business person, so I often make my recording descicions based on my
business needs. When I first signed with my agent, it was in January, and he
planned on booking me for October of that same year. He told me I needed to
have something to release, so I flew home, locked myself in a room for a month,
and wrote <a href="http://annacoogan.com/store/"><b><i>The Wasted Ocean</i></b></a>, which is my favorite writing to date. We made <i>The
Nowhere, Rome Sessions</i> because demand on tour was so high for a duo
recording.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure what will
motivate the next record--I really want to spend some time writing this winter,
and figuring out sonically what I want the next step to be. I’ve got a little
less pressure because now I have three solo records (<i>The Nocturnal Among Us</i> [2010], <i>The Wasted Ocean</i> [2011] and <i>The Nowhere, Rome Sessions</i> [2012]) to sell
for a while. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What keeps you going in the tough row-to-hoe that is the independent music
world? Where's your inspiration coming from right now?</span></span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s a really good question. A lot of times, I’m not sure what keeps me
going except for manic energy. I guess right now, I’ve got such an excellent
team of people involved and I don’t want to let anyone down and that keeps me
focused. I also try to remember how far I’ve come in the past 10 years, and how
lucky I am to get the opportunity to tour and play music for a living. Who
knows how long it will last, so I’ve got to enjoy it while it’s here. And
playing with someone like Daniele is always inspiring, so I want to keep on
writing so we can keep growing as an act.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?</span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My advice my be outdated, but I think getting off social networks and
woodshedding the shit out of your instrument is really the only way to make it
in the long term. Also keeping creatively fresh- making records, <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9za4h4OoEn0">videos</a></b>,
anything to keep the ball rolling--and that means spending a lot of money. So,
start saving now. And keep the day job as long as humanly possible, then jump
on in. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">What have you been listening to this week? How do you seek out new
music?</span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I haven’t been listening to much this week as it has been non-stop travel--literally trains, boats, and planes--although I have heard a fair amount of
Euro-pop on the radio. Normally I find music through the usual channels:
friends, NPR, and lots and lots of people that I meet on the road. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What's on the horizon for you musically?</span></span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The next three weeks I am focused on getting this tour taken care of, and
that’s about as far as my horizon goes…but when I get back, I’ll be turning my
attention to a January West Coast tour--(Triple Door on Saturday, January 12!)
and a bunch of other tour dates. I want to spend this year doing a lot of
practicing and writing, and see about releasing an album in a year or two. Plus
I’m building a teaching practice in Ithaca, which is a total joy and actually
has the potential to pay the bills. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/12/cheap-seats-part-i-new-album-go.html"><b>Cheap Seats Part 1</b></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/02/cheap-seats-2-non-commercial-music.html">Cheap Seats Part 2: Non-Commercial Music </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/04/cheap-seats-3-day-in-studio.html">Cheap Seats Part 3: A Day in the Studio </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/05/cheap-seats-4-unhappy-accident.html">Cheap Seats Part 4: The (Un)Happy Accident </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/07/cheap-seats-5-mix-mix-stir-stir.html">Cheap Seats Part 5: Mix Mix, Stir Stir </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/09/cheap-seats-6-kickstarter-campaign.html">Cheap <span style="font-size: small;">Seats Part <span style="font-size: small;">6: Kickstarter Campaign</span></span></a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/09/cheap-seats-7-alicia-dara-interview.html"><span style="font-size: small;">Cheap Seats Part 7: Alicia Dara Interview</span></a></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/10/cheap-seats-8-tyler-fortier-interview.html">Cheap Seats Part 8: Tyler Fortier Interview </a></span></span></span></b></span></div>
Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-85520170050229952022012-10-29T11:18:00.003-07:002012-11-08T11:52:37.106-08:00Cheap Seats 8: Tyler Fortier Interview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Today we've got</i> <i>the second installment of the handful of interviews I conducted for the <b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Cheap%20Seats">Cheap Seats</a> </b>series. I've written about my old school friend <b><a href="http://tylerfortier.com/">Tyler Fortier's</a> (<a href="http://tylerfortier.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tyler-Fortier/8876281135">Facebook</a>) </b>music <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/01/tyler-fortier-bang-on-time.html"><b>before</b></a>, and back in September I posed to him a series of questions similar to those in the last interview. Just as all of the other interviews seem to have turned out, Tyler's offers a unique perspective and an emphasis on some of the constant challenges independent</i> <i>artists face and strive to surmount (with many of which I can seriously identify) on a day-to-day basis.</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>As a musician who's been doing this for a number of years, how have things changed across your career, both in terms of how you make and release your music, and in how you've attempted to promote and advance it? What are some of the most valuable lessons/tricks you've picked up?</b></span></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b> </b></span></i></span></h3>
Over the years I have become more and more self-sufficient. Each new project has a lower cost attached to it. Releasing music is easy. Promoting music is tough. I'm burnt out and can't imagine releasing anything anytime soon. It's a lot of politics. It's all about who you know. It's like looking for a job--sending resumes (press kits) to every city your traveling to. There is probably a 10% success rate in that. And out of the hundreds of people who read a review or see your picture or are even slightly interested, maybe one person will go out of their way to come to a show or go listen to music online.<br />
<br />
Recently I've tried releasing digital singles because I wasn't having as much luck selling CDs as I wanted and going digital is a good way to keep overhead low. I hate digital though so it's hard for me to do that and I probably won't continue releasing anything just in a digital format. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>What's been the most difficult challenge to overcome?</b></i></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b> </b></i></span></h3>
Performing intimate lyrical based music in loud and obnoxious settings for people who don't give a shit. <br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>What's the best way to convert a new fan? How do you measure your progress--record sales, live show attendance, Facebook "likes," etc.?</b></i></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b> </b></i></span></h3>
I'm not sure. The best thing is seeing return people in your audience though, I know that. I don't measure my success because that's a fine and blurry line, but having people that were at a show 6 months ago come back the next time and say they've been loving the CD they bought is as good as it gets. <br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>In your experience, what does it take to break beyond a fanbase of friends and family to one populated by people solely interested in the music?</b></i></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b> </b></i></span></h3>
That's a tough one. I'm not sure. There has to be an emotional connection made somewhere but as to how to do that, I'm still trying to figure it out. <br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>How would you describe the Eugene music scene? How do you book your shows, especially when it comes to traveling outside your home base? At this point, would you say you're most successful regionally or online/globally?</b></i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b> </b></i></span></h3>
There is a lot of good music in Eugene. Mostly empty venues though from what I can tell. It seems like everyone is having the same battle with getting people out to listen. To book shows, I research a lot on the internet and then send emails or call depending on the venue. I'm probably most successful regionally, though that doesn't mean too much. I do appear to have a small fan base in the Netherlands area as well, judging from online sales. Great bands out of Eugene:<b> <a href="http://www.theroyalblue.com/">The Royal Blue</a></b>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/leolondon"><b>Leo London</b></a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kingdomcountymusic"><b>Kingdom County</b></a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-Stonecipher-and-The-Tall-Grass/127674473986988"><b>Tara Stonecipher and the Tall Grass</b></a>, <a href="http://scottaustin.bandcamp.com/"><b>Scott Austin</b></a>, <a href="http://mikesurbermusic.com/"><b>Mike Surber</b></a>, <a href="http://www.bethwoodmusic.com/"><b>Beth Wood</b></a>, and.....so many more but my mind just went blank. <br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>What does it take to sell an album? What sells most for you, physical media or downloads? For you, are recording sales the goal, or are recordings more a piece of the overall puzzle in terms of promoting the music? Have you reached a point where the recordings pay for themselves, or are they a necessity you're willing to support yourself? Are people actually willing to pay for the music, or do they expect it to be free?</b></i></span></h3>
<br />
I'm not sure what it takes to sell an album. I sell most of my albums at shows. Out of town shows, that is. I can't sell a CD in Eugene to save my life but I sell a good amount when I travel. I don't know why. Recording sales are not my goal, but I'm proud of my work and I want people to hear it and like it, and I want to be paid what I think I deserve for the work I and everyone who contributed put into it. People do expect music to be free these days. I feel like a sex worker most of the time, folding up my tips after playing with extra emotion because I needed to make some money tonight and maybe if I just sing this part with lots of gusto, I'll make an extra $20. <br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>How important are production values when it comes to your recordings? Your albums have spanned from lo-fi home recordings to more produced, professional products--do you think it's important to fans to have a polished, professional recording, or are they willing to sacrifice production values for quality content? Do professional production values manifest themselves in the finished product in a way that justifies their cost?</b></i></span></h3>
<br />
Production is the most fun part of making music for me. I'm always plotting the next big idea even when I'm still in the writing phase. It is very important. It is opening yourself up, connecting with a song on some unexplainable level, and understanding every word, guitar strum, and breath to the point that you know exactly what the song wants, what the song needs, and how to make that song sound how it was meant to sound even from the point of its conception in the pen-and-paper stage. I think certain songs need certain things and whether it is lo-fi or polished, the song will reveal itself to the producer in time. Fans or music listeners don't need anything. They just want a song they like and they don't care how it's done or what work went into it. People who like to dance want a fun beat to move to and people who like lyrics want to be challenged existentially. I think it is literally that black and white for a majority of “music listeners.”<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b> When it comes to promoting an album, what avenues seem the most successful in getting the music heard? Do you do everything yourself, or do you get help from anywhere?</b></i></span></h3>
<br />
I haven't had much luck in promoting my albums. Local radio here has been super supportive, especially <a href="http://www.klcc.org/"><b>89.7 KLCC NPR</b></a>. <a href="http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/"><b>Ninkasi Brewing</b></a> has been a big supporter as well and I have had great support from <a href="http://www.eugeneweekly.com/"><b>The Eugene Weekly</b></a>. As far as getting my music out to the masses though, I haven't had luck. Facebook is an awful way to do this, but it is the easiest way so I rely on that sometimes because I don't have time to do anything else. I think management is key for any serious musician. Everyone needs some knowledgeable cheerleaders on their team. <br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>When do you decide it's time to head back into the studio? When you've got all the songs written...when it feels right creatively...when you've got ideas but not necessarily songs?</i></b></span></h3>
<br />
I'm always in the studio (aka the spare bedroom in my house). This is where I record all my projects as well as projects for my clients. Sometimes I will record a song when I deem it “ready” or sometimes I'll record a song when I am stuck melodically or lyrically with it. Most of the stuff I don't keep, but I am always recording songs and thinking as a producer--how can I construct them to reach their highest potential? In the last week I've been working on seven songs that I have recorded in the last two-and-a-half weeks (two of which are mine).<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b> What keeps you going in the tough row-to-hoe that is the independent music world? Where's your inspiration coming from right now?</b></i></span></h3>
<br />
I don't have inspiration or hope as an independent artist, but I do have inspiration as a songwriter. The desire to always be better and never being satisfied with anything I do has been my inspiration and fuel for the last few years.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b> Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?</b></i></span></h3>
<br />
Don't let your ego get in the way and don't take anything too personally. <br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>What have you been listening to this week? How do you seek out new music?</b></i></span></h3>
<br />
My playlist this week has pretty much been:<br />
-<a href="http://www.joepugmusic.com/"><b>Joe Pug</b></a>'s first two EP's, a record by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trio-Dolly-Parton/dp/B000002LAC/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1351532791&sr=1-1&keywords=dolly+parton+trio"><b><i>Trio</i></b></a>, John Prine - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Common-Sense-John-Prine/dp/B000002I8K/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1351533930&sr=1-1&keywords=john+prine+common+sense"><b><i>Common Sense</i></b></a>, Van Morrison - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Saint-Dominics-Preview-Van-Morrison/dp/B000002GNL/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1351533948&sr=1-1&keywords=st.+dominic%27s+preview"><b><i>Saint Dominic's Preview</i></b></a>, Elvis Costello - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Armed-Forces-Elvis-Costello/dp/B0000009UT/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1351533971&sr=1-1&keywords=armed+forces+elvis+costello"><b><i>Armed Forces</i></b></a>, and in my car stereo is Saves The Day's first record: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Slow-Down-Saves-Day/dp/B00000BIB5/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1351533994&sr=1-4&keywords=can%27t+slow+down"><b><i>Can't Slow Down</i></b></a> .<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>What's on the horizon for you musically?</b></i></span></h3>
<br />
I'm putting my music on the back burner and starting to work specifically with songwriters on their songs in the role of a producer and mixing engineer. My debut as a producer was with Mike Surber, who released is debut full length this past June. I'm currently working on Scott Austin's first full-length, as well as some EPs for three other clients.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/12/cheap-seats-part-i-new-album-go.html"><b>Cheap Seats Part 1</b></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/02/cheap-seats-2-non-commercial-music.html">Cheap Seats Part 2: Non-Commercial Music </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/04/cheap-seats-3-day-in-studio.html">Cheap Seats Part 3: A Day in the Studio </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/05/cheap-seats-4-unhappy-accident.html">Cheap Seats Part 4: The (Un)Happy Accident </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/07/cheap-seats-5-mix-mix-stir-stir.html">Cheap Seats Part 5: Mix Mix, Stir Stir </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/09/cheap-seats-6-kickstarter-campaign.html">Cheap <span style="font-size: small;">Seats Part <span style="font-size: small;">6: Kickstarter Campaign</span></span></a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/09/cheap-seats-7-alicia-dara-interview.html"><span style="font-size: small;">Cheap Seats Part 7: Alicia Dara Interview</span></a> </span></span></b></span>Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-29127613401058147602012-09-29T11:59:00.000-07:002012-11-08T11:51:55.874-08:00Cheap Seats 7: Alicia Dara Interview<i>As part of the continuing <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Cheap%20Seats"><b>Cheap Seats</b></a> series </i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>I've conducted a handful of interviews with independent artist friends from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. So far, this series has focused on my own experiences making and promoting independent music, but the reality is that each artist interacts and responds to the challenges and necessities of the independent music world in his or her own unique way. In this first interview, conducted in early July, I'm excited to feature <a href="http://www.aliciadara.com/"><b>Alicia Dara</b></a> of Seattle-based bands <a href="http://www.thevolcanodiary.com/"><b>The Volcano Diary</b></a> (with Gus Palaskas and Dave Bush) and <a href="http://soundcloud.com/diamondwolf"><b>Diamondwolf</b></a> (with Glen Cooper). Alicia has been an active independent musician for over 15 years and brings a wide-range of experiences in the music industry to her ever-evolving mission as an independent musician. </i></span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtm4Y4oK6D-chHVkhwy7maA1ElrQI1k8K1-tfBi9Btdd2rgaVK9-LTFDsTbQQm-kBfmN20VtYDFYo5tPp1Ng4GD03QNGLcFpblG0ht7xlCsN5dHIyOeZkbVWyaw9kJiXH2Ry_AKPs_Vrk/s1600/DSC05077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtm4Y4oK6D-chHVkhwy7maA1ElrQI1k8K1-tfBi9Btdd2rgaVK9-LTFDsTbQQm-kBfmN20VtYDFYo5tPp1Ng4GD03QNGLcFpblG0ht7xlCsN5dHIyOeZkbVWyaw9kJiXH2Ry_AKPs_Vrk/s400/DSC05077.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alicia performs with The Volcano Diary</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>As a musician who's been doing this for a number of years, how have things changed across your career, both in terms of how you make and release your music, and in how you've attempted to promote and advance it? What are some of the most valuable lessons/tricks you've picked up?</i></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
The most awesome, fantastic, and nightmarish event in my career was the advent of the internet. I started way back in 1997, before FB, Twitter, Wikipedia, Reverbnation, and MySpace. There was email and there were websites, which weren't very interactive and tended to crash while listening to MP3's (remember them?) if you stayed on too long. Before that I had been making cassette tapes of my songs in my tiny bathroom on my friend's 8-track recorder. That bathroom was fully tiled and created the best echo/reverb effect ever. I'm still trying to find a plug-in effect that can beat it!<br />
<br />
I was raised by classical musicians who never touched a computer in their lives, so I had absolutely zero tech background to draw from as I slogged my way through the maze of the internet, and the various ways that the music business was working to stay one step ahead of it. I had had some radio play locally and on a few stations on the West Coast before internet radio but I was pretty frickin' pleased to discover there was some demand for my music online, on the early stations like mp3.com. <br />
<br />
Once mp3.com took off it was like the gold rush; everybody wanted a piece of the action, and the industry responded accordingly. I started making records on digital recorders in people's home studios, because all that recording equipment was suddenly affordable. I like being in the studio a lot, but I work quickly, and it was tough on my patience back then while everyone was learning these new programs called "Logic" and "QBase." I was quite grumpy during that era.<br />
<br />
These days when you Google my name you can find over 6 million results, which on a good day makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere. But the reality is that since music became "free" I know very few musicians who are able to make a living at it. I am fortunate enough to pay the bills through a combination of teaching, singing session work (adding my vocals to commercials and other people's music projects), and soundtrack work for film, TV, and Internet stuff. Live shows are my passion but they pay so little unless you're in a national touring band. Record labels--contrary to popular belief--are still very much alive, and they are the ones that sign and promote the bands you've heard of in the last 10 years. They also act as filters for music, though in many cases their taste is at best questionable and at worst horrific. <br />
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There are 2 things that I've learned over the past decade. The first is my great strength, which is that I can walk away from anything. If you mistreat me, if you disrespect me or my bandmates, if you do not honor the contract I signed or if you change it without informing my lawyer, I will take my toys and go home--and I will never look back. This saves me some headaches.<br />
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The second is that I am able to see into the future a bit and know which projects are worth my time and which ones aren't. I value my time. Granted, I get paid a great big hourly rate to sing on commercials, and I do that even when I don't really want to. But I also know in my soul how short this life truly is, and I (mostly) refuse to spend it on shit that doesn't make me feel sublimely on fire.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>What's been the most difficult challenge to overcome?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
The biggest challenge to overcome was adjusting to the lifestyle of being an independent artist. It took awhile, and it was a bumpy ride. Making music is its own reward; you have to love it more than being loved. Everyone around me was telling me to go back to school, get a degree, learn a trade or skill that would bring a mountain of cash to my door. But I look around at the world and I see an awful lot of lost souls with fat paychecks. I don't envy them one bit. <br />
<a name='more'></a>I can say this about myself: I know what I was born to do. I just had to get used to doing it!<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>What's the best way to convert a new fan? How do you measure your progress--record sales, live show attendance, Facebook "likes," etc.?</i></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
The best way to convert a new fan is in person after a live show. Barring that it's a combination of word-of-mouth, Internet exposure (including live footage of your shows and interview footage about your music) and the work of a good press agent to get you in the door. The Volcano Diary hired August Forte, at NOVO Arts in Chicago, to be our ambassador to the world for our debut CD in 2010, and he did a stellar job. I heard about him from a fellow musician who was interviewing me for his blog. I'll never forget the morning I woke up to a Google alert from a music site in Portugal, which had chosen us as one of the best albums of the year! Thanks to August we have fans in Russia, England the UK, Australia, Italy, and many others. THIS is what the Internet has to offer musicians! <br />
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We don't measure our success by Facebook "likes", we measure it by how our fans track us and what their online feedback is, and also what they tell us at shows. Right now The Volcano Diary has been playing a set of entirely brand-new music in preparation for our upcoming second CD. The new songs rock much harder because I play mostly my hollowbody electric on them, and I play a little bottle-neck slide as well. We weren't sure if our fans would follow us into that side of the dynamic spectrum, because our first record is stripped down and acoustic, but the feedback on our new songs has been off the charts, so we're psyched to get back into the studio with our man Steve Fisk and make our new record.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>In your experience, what does it take to break beyond a fanbase of friends and family to one populated by people solely interested in the music?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
In my experience it takes some outside help to catapult you outside of the usual base of friends and family. Find someone you trust, pay them well to help you, and get your money's worth from them. And don't forget to connect with other bands, ones that have label reps and press agents. Write to big venues in your town and ask if you can jump onstage and pay a quick 20 minute set on a Friday night before the ticketed show starts--make them an offer they can't refuse. <br />
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Take a chance and send out your record to all the music bloggers and journalists you admire. Finding your way through one of those filtration systems will help a lot. Our press agent August Forte got our song "<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a2acqghSGk">Freezerburn</a></b>" included on The Hype Machine blog, which helped us stand out in a big way.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>How would you describe the Seattle music scene? How do you book your shows? At this point, would you say you're most successful regionally or online/globally?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
I do most of the booking for our shows, because I've been in the business longer than my bandmates and I kinda know a lot of people. We consider ourselves to be a regional band with an international following. The Seattle music scene is incredibly diverse and generally made of quality stuff. In the past decade a bunch of local indie record labels (and our KEXP radio station) have become internationally known, which has brought a ton of industry to our town, the first big surge since the mid-90's grunge era. It's hard to break into the top of it without some serious hype behind you. The Volcano Diary has not yet cracked that ceiling but we're having such a good time it's kinda hard to care! We know who our fans are and we play for them. When they're ready to share us with a wider audience we'll be ready right back.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>What does it take to sell an album? What sells most for you, physical media or downloads? For you, are recording sales the goal, or are recordings more a piece of the overall puzzle in terms of promoting the music? Have you reached a point where the recordings pay for themselves, or are they a necessity you're willing to support yourselves? Are people actually willing to pay for the music, or do they expect it to be free?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
We've done mostly crowdsourcing to fund our recordings, and we've found it to be the perfect system for our particular fans, who like to be kept aware of what we're doing and how we're progressing. They know that what we do isn't free, that we work hard at it, and they expect to receive a quality product when they pre-purchase the record. It's a win-win for obvious reasons. Most of our sales have come from downloads, and lately we've been talking about not creating an actual physical CD for our next record, but just releasing it online through Tunecore and other sites. Seems to me that as long as you've got a barcode (which Tunecore adds) your record sales can be tracked.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>How important are production values when it comes to your recordings? You worked with producer Steve Fisk on The Volcano Diary's first album--will you be using a similar approach next time? Do you think it's important to fans to have a polished, professional product, or are they willing to sacrifice production values for quality content? Does the cost of a professional producer manifest itself in the finished product?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
Production value is of paramount importance to me, but I also believe in this thing called "vibes." My two best recording experiences were on my 2008 solo CD <b><a href="http://www.aliciadara.com/musician/"><i>The Secret Dream of Tigers</i></a></b>, which was recorded and produced by Jason Stazek at the now-defunct (and much much-missed) Chromasound label, and on The Volcano Diary's CD we made with Steve at his home studio in 2010. Those were two different recording scenarios but in both cases the guys cared enough about production values to take their time with everything, and to throw out what didn't meet their quality standards. Ultimately the quality of a recording is the responsibility of the entire team: producer, engineer, and band. The whole thing has to be expertly guided, so that no time is wasted. The band (or artists) has to be well rehearsed and ready to go, and the producer has to be able to see ten steps ahead, and keep order in the chaos. Both Jason and Steve are masters of this art. I have been extremely fortunate to learn from these guys! <br />
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Music is consumed faster than ever now, and we try not to think too much about that, because it'll break your heart if you let it. But I think fans respond to the same things that they always have: enough passion in the song, and enough volume and clarity in the mix to take it all in.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>When it comes to promoting an album, what avenues seem the most successful in getting the music heard?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
As far as promotion goes, I would say it is best to be completely open to everything, while still keeping your wits about you so you don't get scammed. Plenty of people tell you they can take you far in this business but without a solid track record and quantifiable results they should not be trusted. Do what we're supposed to do: harness the power of social media, collect a good group of fans, and treat them like gold! Give them free stuff, keep them informed every moth, and encourage them to interact with you. When they reach out to you for anything, whether it's a song request or a different t-shirt size or just to say 'hi', respond quickly and be authentic. Surprise them, too.<br />
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Figure out who you are as a band, translate that into your live show, and deliver it consistently. The Volcano Diary is an electro-acoustic indie band with melodic vocals and a wide dynamic spectrum. Our live presence has been called "sensual", "passionate", "spellbinding" and "dynamic". We are by no means the loudest band but we play our songs like it's the last night on earth. Our fan base keeps growing so I'm pretty sure we're doing something right.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>When do you decide it's time to head back into the studio? When you've got all the songs written...when it feels right creatively...when you've got ideas but not necessarily songs?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
Our first record was fully written before we went into the studio, but we wove the arrangements together as we went along. This time around we'll be going in with 14 songs, fully arranged, ready to play, and we'll probably pick 12 of them to release. We've been beta-testing them for our fans this spring and we're psyched to finish the writing and lay them down on tape! But we won't go into the studio without 14 good ones, and so far we're at 9. We're working on a theme for this record, and it's all about mythology and legends of the sea. Not just the Odyssey but also Japanese, Norse Celtic, and Russian traditions and myths. This stuff has influenced the guitar effects we use (which are alternately watery, stormy, and salty) and the way we sing our vocals (which are sometimes dreamy and sometimes brittle). We're allowing ourselves to swim out into the current and see where it takes us, so to speak!<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>What keeps you going in the tough row-to-hoe that is the independent music world? Where's your inspiration coming from right now? </i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
The thing that keeps me going in the music world is remembering that I am incredibly lucky to do what I do! I wanted this life and I've worked hard every single day to make it happen. I've never drifted, and I'm never bored. I literally bounce out of bed in the morning... it's crazy! My inspiration comes from all the amazing songs of other artists that find me, and the songs yet unwritten that are waiting to be discovered and explored. All my biggest influences are lifetime artists with amazing song catalogues. Songs are my religion. I live for them. Quality over quantity is what's right for me. I want to write some truly sublime songs before they burn my body.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
Four things: 1. Learn how to save your money! 2. Practice your instrument every single day, and finish every song you start. 3. Remember that in order to keep your creativity flowing you have to keep it balanced. Do something creative that is not musical. and read a lot. 4. Become politically active and civicly engaged. Take part in what's going on in your community. Don't react... respond...and vote vote vote! Speak up for yourself and the things you believe in.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>What have you been listening to this week? How do you seek out new music?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
I've been making a ton of Spotify playlists for my friends this week. Fiona Apple's new CD "The Idler Wheel" just came out, and I'm also obsessed with Joan as Police Woman's CD "The Deep Field" which came out last year. Meshell Ndegeocello's new record "Weather" is amazing, and Mark Lanegan's "Blues Funeral" is on constant rotation. I just discovered a guy named Sanders Bohlke who blows my mind, and I'm waiting for new CD's by The Black Angels, BRMC, The National, Bettye LaVette, and Bat for Lashes. New music usually comes to me though friends and fellow musicians. My taste is known cause I've curated a couple of CD compilations, including <a href="http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ppgnw/sex-positive-38198.htm"><b>the one I did for Planned Parenthood last year</b></a>, which features 18 Northwest bands and artists. The Volcano Diary's new single "Silver Tongue" is available on it as well. <br />
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I currently serve on the Board of Advocates of Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest, by the way. They call me their "resident musician"!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPfYR4nrJU7owa_Lrl94pyomyfL8muGKY5I9h2CW4mzxiwHskss3Itp4Yzb39ClVhvfB-Ztl5VXQDfzK7IhA9-YlN0K1eDmtKjWMDbDcaOLwhiluJXV3H6ao4BdfFzAkgTUaZ5cvG3lc/s1600/photo-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPfYR4nrJU7owa_Lrl94pyomyfL8muGKY5I9h2CW4mzxiwHskss3Itp4Yzb39ClVhvfB-Ztl5VXQDfzK7IhA9-YlN0K1eDmtKjWMDbDcaOLwhiluJXV3H6ao4BdfFzAkgTUaZ5cvG3lc/s400/photo-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alicia and Glen Cooper perform as Diamondwolf.</td></tr>
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>What's on the horizon for you musically? What's up with your new project, Diamondwolf--anything else coming up? </i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></h3>
I think I've never been busier! Currently The Volcano Diary is writing our new CD and looking for a new bassist. We've been playing some shows (featuring our set of all-new music) with our stunt bass player but we're taking some time off this summer to continue writing and concentrate on finding an official, committed fourth band member. I'm also stealthily working on a new solo EP, which I plan to give away to everyone who pledges during The Volcano Diary's Kickstarter campaign this winter. In addition I am also singing, writing, and playing in a brand-new project called Diamondwolf with my longtime friend Glen Cooper, an amazing local singer-songwriter. The Diamondwolf aesthetic is sexy, strummy, dark and dreamy. We're recording this summer and have been working on some songs for film soundtracks, which is our intention with this music. We collaborate with different producers so the tracks have an electic feel. We'll play our first live shows this fall and most likely release an EP this winter. <br />
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Other than that I'm continuing my pro-choice activism, and the volunteering I do for Planned Parenthood. This is an election year so the stakes are high. There's never been a better time to get involved and vote the shit outta this country!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyfkW9fvrXHAV_Mi5Ne_FTXt-_cjYRIkwmxvHsFDL0UuAXevub7HtHdpj_cZQzWO_RgYbs2fHouIttSPsicG573DjNwCICsgCXEwole-A_IBt12hhFi39D4p0Kmh5Oz5FUROjKDoFyt8/s1600/Me+and+Cecile+Richards+With+CD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJyfkW9fvrXHAV_Mi5Ne_FTXt-_cjYRIkwmxvHsFDL0UuAXevub7HtHdpj_cZQzWO_RgYbs2fHouIttSPsicG573DjNwCICsgCXEwole-A_IBt12hhFi39D4p0Kmh5Oz5FUROjKDoFyt8/s320/Me+and+Cecile+Richards+With+CD.JPG" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Association of America, endorses the benefit CD, <i>Sex Positive: A Benefit Compilation for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest</i>, a compilation of 18 Northwest bands and artists created by Alicia Dara. 100% of the proceeds go to the cause. Available now on iTunes and Amazon.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/12/cheap-seats-part-i-new-album-go.html"><b>Cheap Seats Part 1</b></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/02/cheap-seats-2-non-commercial-music.html">Cheap Seats Part 2: Non-Commercial Music </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/04/cheap-seats-3-day-in-studio.html">Cheap Seats Part 3: A Day in the Studio </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/05/cheap-seats-4-unhappy-accident.html">Cheap Seats Part 4: The (Un)Happy Accident </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/07/cheap-seats-5-mix-mix-stir-stir.html">Cheap Seats Part 5: Mix Mix, Stir Stir </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/09/cheap-seats-6-kickstarter-campaign.html">Cheap <span style="font-size: small;">Seats Part <span style="font-size: small;">6: Kickstarter Campaign</span></span></a> </b></span><br />
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Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-78808982465928592542012-09-26T14:16:00.002-07:002012-09-26T14:16:38.664-07:00Rodriguez - Cold Fact<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I first heard Rodriguez's 1970 debut <i>Cold Fact </i>back in 2008 at local record shop <a href="http://www.sonicboomrecords.com/"><b>Sonic Boom</b></a>--ironic, considering the store's typical "<a href="http://www.kexp.org/"><b>KEXP: The Record Store</b></a>" selection (to be fair, I've found some great jazz classics there, as well as those epic Betty Davis reissues). These days, Rodriguez is getting all kinds of press for <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19594333"><b><i>Searching for Sugar Man</i></b></a>, a new documentary detailing how the singer disappeared in the 1970's after recording two albums only to find out decades later that he'd become a star in South Africa and nobody knew where he was or what became of him. It's a fascinating story--so many quality artists disappear without ever achieving recognition in their heyday (or <i>ever</i>, for that matter), so it's pretty cool, if bittersweet, to see that someone actually <i>was</i> appreciated, even if it took decades for his art to be recognized. It's also nice that Rodriguez is actually still around to get his due (as well as tour and actually make some money from his music). <br />
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As for the music, it must be said that Bob Dylan casts a long shadow--Rodriguez is clearly heavily influenced both by Dylan's songwriting as well as his vocal delivery. "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_7u06P3ebU"><b>This is Not A Song, It's an Outburst: Or, The Establishment Blues</b></a>" is an awkward attempt at a talking blues in the style of "Subterranean Homesick Blues," there are several kiss-offs in the style (with added venom) of "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" ("<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMv9kjFp1gk"><b>Forget It</b></a>" and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLnGdyUN-IU"><b>I Wonder</b></a>," for example), and Rodriguez is one of legions of singers to adopt a mid-60's sneering Dylan inflection (though his underlying vocal talents are formidable).<br />
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To write off this artist for being indebted to Dylan, though, would be to pass judgment before giving his craft a chance. Besides, there's nary a post-60's artist who's not influenced by Dylan in some way--one of the greatest things about him is that his music showed aspiring artists that it was possible to make pop music that aspired to greater artistic depths in terms of songwriting, lyrical aesthetics and subject matter, without abandoning mainstream appeal. While Rodriguez doesn't necessarily create a completely unique style for himself, his songs exude careful construction.<br />
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There's plenty of great one-liners (like the "you're the coldest bitch I know" conceit in "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfYflOHqBB8"><b>Only Good for Conversation</b></a>") and Rodriguez's lyrical vision is often both emotionally direct and open to multiple interpretations. Coming in well after the flower power movement, there's a dark, disenchanted, urban and undeniably cynical edge to a lot of the words and attitude, as heard in the unsettling "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wZYfuWYmLQ"><b>Gomorrah (A Nursery Rhyme)</b></a>" and the brilliant "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNcIzQk5bEY"><b>Hate Street Dialogue</b></a>." What's more, Rodriguez has a real knack for concise, melodic song structures, a characteristic that's amplified by some great production choices--from a wet reverb on most of the vocals to the orchestrations that back many of the songs to the occasional psychedelic flourish like overdriven guitar or delay, the arrangements add tasteful depth to songs that probably could have stood alone with stripped-down arrangements. These, of course, exist in ideal harmony on the album's flagship track, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyrnXa90S6w"><b>Sugar Man</b></a>" a drug song that any songwriter would kill to have penned--from the hair-raising melody to the way it ambiguously seems to both endorse and caution against drugs.<br />
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Rodriguez was probably never destined to be a huge star, but his abilities are undeniable and this album is a recommended addition to the collection of any Dylan fan who's looking for other artists of a similar caliber and style. In light of the continuing <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Cheap%20Seats"><b>Cheap Seats</b></a> content posted here, I think a story like Rodriguez's is another piece of the puzzle that answers some questions and probably raises even more--people just might be out there listening, but you may never know. Is it worth it to make music even if no one recognizes it in your day? I like to hope there will always be thoughtful listeners out there just waiting for the right circumstances to lead them to music like this.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BKVWYG/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001BKVWYG&linkCode=as2&tag=elliknap-20">Get it here</a></b><img alt="" border="0" class="juwldaheciebqdjezyqf" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=elliknap-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001BKVWYG" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.
Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-42981600998034705392012-09-14T09:44:00.002-07:002012-09-14T10:49:00.214-07:00Cheap Seats 6: Kickstarter Campaign<div style="text-align: center;">
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I've started <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elliotknapp/elliot-knapp-cheap-seats-at-the-cartesian-theater"><b>a campaign on Kickstarter.com</b></a>, a website that helps independent artists like myself fund creative projects. As described in the video above, the campaign is meant to fund the CD duplication and promotion of my new album, <i>Cheap Seats at the Cartesian Theater</i>, the professional recording of which was funded out of my own pocket. There are some fun rewards, starting with digital and CD preorders of the album. Any contributions or help in spreading the word about the album and Kickstarter campaign would be greatly appreciated! I've put a lot of work into making this music the kind of stuff that readers of these blogs will enjoy, so I hope you check it out and find the money and effort I've expended worthy of a small contribution in exchange for the finished product, and help support more music to come!<br />
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More <b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Cheap%20Seats">Cheap Seats</a></b> content to come, including some interviews and thoughts on the brass tacks of independent recording.<br />
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<a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/12/cheap-seats-part-i-new-album-go.html"><b>Cheap Seats Part 1</b></a><br />
<b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/02/cheap-seats-2-non-commercial-music.html">Cheap Seats Part 2: Non-Commercial Music </a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/04/cheap-seats-3-day-in-studio.html">Cheap Seats Part 3: A Day in the Studio </a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/05/cheap-seats-4-unhappy-accident.html">Cheap Seats Part 4: The (Un)Happy Accident </a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/07/cheap-seats-5-mix-mix-stir-stir.html">Cheap Seats Part 5: Mix Mix, Stir Stir </a></b></div>
Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-8471027298093099102012-09-10T11:46:00.003-07:002012-09-10T11:46:58.267-07:00Love - Forever Changes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The past year has been so busy with recording and evaluating my own music that I've had much less time to listen to other people's sounds, which means I've focused a lot more on the "new" music I'm finding instead of revisiting old favorites. When I <i>do</i> get around to albums I've heard many times, the experience is often quite illuminating. Especially after doing so much critical evaluation of music on this blog, I sometimes realize that my "5 star" albums, upon relistening, aren't necessarily free from the kinds of things I might label as "flaws" in other music, and that ultimately, designating something "as good as it gets" rests on a certain feeling of affection or nostalgia toward the music, or at least an assertion that the great things in the music are so good that any "flaws" come across more as endearing idiosyncrasies. In other words (and yet again), it's all subjective! The fun part about analyzing music in writing is the disjuncture between personal preference and the fact that yes, we actually <i>can</i> (and <i>should</i>) identify and judge <i>specific</i> <i>characteristics</i> in the music that justify how "good" we say it is, but also that "good" will always be individual, and reading music reviews and blogs is ultimately most useful as a way of pairing others' tastes with your own to discover music you might enjoy. <br />
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<i>Forever Changes</i> is one of those albums that winds up on innumerable critics' top lists, but has somehow kept a much lower mainstream profile in comparison with its contemporary "classics." You never hear any Love songs on the radio or in movies etc., and you'll be lucky if you hear anyone talking about them outside of musicians and critics. And yet, pick up <i>Forever Changes</i> and give it time to work its magic and you'll most likely understand why it quietly persists as a milestone in psychedelic folk-rock and as one of the best albums of the 1960's.<br />
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Like many great albums, <i>Forever Changes</i> is so great because it's often a bizarre combination of unquantifiable elements. There's the fact that it's a much mellower affair than Love's previous two albums--the more garage-like electric sound of <i>Love</i> and Arthur Lee's aggressive vocal style on <i>Da Capo</i> mostly replaced by acoustic guitar and orchestral textures--and yet it's still insidiously edgy. There's the album's unique twist on psychedelia, which often takes the form of hard-panned instrumental tracks (the nylon-stringed acoustic is so far to the right it's almost gone!) and brief additions of reverb as well as arrangement choices like having the background singers say a different word at the same time. There's Arthur Lee's obvious magnetism as a front man, which twists together the role of a sort of tormented seer with a dark fragility, surprising poetic capabilities, an ability to distill the countless clashing emotions of the 60's into songs that are simultaneously emotionally gripping and ultimately ethereal, as well as being a larger-than-life historical legend, somehow more than fulfilling<i> Da Capo</i>'s thwarted potential here but quickly unraveling into mental and artistic instability (he was reportedly <i>sure</i> his death was imminent during the creation of this album) in the following years--still capable of creating good music but never coming close to reaching the same level of insight (especially lyrically) repeatedly on display here. And finally, in spite of Lee's dominant persona, there's the fact that the band was undeniably a collaboration, that Bryan MacLean's songwriting contributions and classical guitar contributions are as important to the album's success as any of the other elements, and that Lee's decision to disband the <i>Forever Changes </i>lineup soon after the album's release was a terrible blunder. <br />
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The distinctive characteristic that most people note about <i>Forever Changes</i> is the inclusion of orchestral arrangements, especially prevalent on the MacLean numbers--the balance is sweet and delicate on "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNcXFy8QTC4"><b>Alone Again Or</b></a>," "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck8nhq7Juak"><b>Andmoreagain</b></a>" and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbzmX0BDpC4"><b>Old Man</b></a>," songs whose optimism counterbalance some of Lee's desperate worldview with detours into romantic euphoria. Elsewhere, though, the strings and horns just as aptly provide a creepy, unsettling edge, as on the paranoid "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRILyCLHXDE"><b>The Red Telephone</b></a>" and robotically closing "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oy59FBl1u8"><b>The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This</b></a>" (gotta love those Dylanesque 60's track titles), as well as brilliantly cathartic, as on the Latin-tinged "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkbVosJFkpg"><b>Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale</b></a>" (which boasts some of the album's most sly lyrical conceits, with expected rhymes interrupted by staccato horns only to appear to begin the next line...until the instrumental breaks, that is) and the transcendent album-closing "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdELzBV9pyo"><b>You Set the Scene</b></a>." The cleverest part of the delicate arrangements is how well the rock moments stick out--"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qInF7WKOz4c"><b>A House is Not a Motel</b></a>" sounds like the heaviest rock you've ever heard, despite the fact that at least half of the song doesn't even have electric guitar, and the solo on "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TniztJYqsJ8"><b>Live and Let Live</b></a>" is insanely scorching because there's nothing "hard" to compete with it. Relistening I'm really surprised at how simple the arrangements actually are in comparison with the songs' complexity, usually consisting of just a standard two-guitar rock band with maybe a bit of piano and the aforementioned strings--the band's ability to make each part indispensable is a testament to the skill and care on display.<br />
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Lyrically, the album literally never lets up. While it's often difficult to discern what exactly Lee is singing about in each song, the impressionistic moments paint a collectively awe-inspiring picture of urgent searching, resultant disillusionment, distress, cynicism and ultimately grasping a fleeting sort of brilliant <i>something</i> that makes it all worth it...a something that might just be the absence of alternatives. Lee manages to toss out piercing one-liners right next to surreal scene-painting with the spontaneous force of a man possessed by something larger than his own conscious decision to create, and somehow manages to do so without completely slipping off the edge into incoherence. Despite the fact that the album is so very 1960's, his struggle and observations about the world's contradictions can't help but still ring true.<br />
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Perhaps this is the only truly great album Arthur Lee had in him, but its quality does seem to justify its singularity. Though it will likely always remain lauded but obscure, <i>Forever Changes</i> continues to humble me every time I revisit it--albums like this are something more than just old friends, comforting and diverting but always capable of teaching us something new.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015D3YX6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0015D3YX6&linkCode=as2&tag=elliknap-20">Get it here</a></b><img alt="" border="0" class="msteawnlanotfjczkwoy" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=elliknap-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0015D3YX6" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.
Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-36956427468847157892012-08-15T10:38:00.001-07:002012-08-15T10:38:25.260-07:00Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Shuggie Otis is one of those thoroughbred musicians--being the son of early R&B pillar Johnny Otis provided a host of life-long in-person musical inspirations and paved the way for a Mozart-like career beginning for the 15 year-old Otis when he co-billed on Al Kooper's <i>Kooper Session</i>. By his most "recent" full length, 1974's <i>Inspiration Information</i>, Otis had undoubtedly found his own voice, if not much of a commercial niche for himself.<br />
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Of course, great music doesn't go away, and today there's a lot of cult appreciation for Otis' music in the form of samples by major artists and healthy, in-print reissues of his albums. What I really like about <i>Inspiration Information </i>is the subtlety and variety. While there's a number of tracks that satisfy what you'd probably expect from a 70's soul album (the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDrVSiahGqw"><b>title track</b></a> and only single, as well as "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2qRHfctsAI&feature=related"><b>Sparkle City</b></a>" possess the low-end bounce and horn/organ instrumentation of the day), there are a number of songs that cut the funk with something more orchestral and moodier, and even more that fit neither here nor there when it comes to standard 70's soul fare.<br />
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Songs like "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WHrCKIj6do"><b>Island Letter</b></a>" and "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLgYEeXNLJw"><b>Aht Uh Mi Hed</b></a>" stretch the formula further out, spinning languid soul grooves whose strengths lie not in booty-shaking beats but in the subtle spaces between buzzing string arrangements and Otis' often jazzy guitar lines. This tendency becomes even more pronounced on the atmospheric instrumentals "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf9OqR919LY"><b>Rainy Day</b></a>" and "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmsU54CwskI"><b>Pling!</b></a>", the song where the music least likely demands a titular exclamation mark. "Pling!" also features one of the arrangement elements that makes this album distinct--Otis' experimentation with early drum machines here adds a subtle, forward-looking twist, while on the brief "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zasuSEknKzI"><b>XL-30</b></a>" (probably my favorite track) the drum machines and wonky organ grooves start to slide in a funky early electronica direction. Add to this fascinating experiment a couple more in "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCJOA90JkOo"><b>Happy House</b></a>" and "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhE5xvyr8to"><b>Not Available</b></a>," which both jump between smooth psychedelic orchestration and crisp funky R&B, and you've got an album--albeit a short one at 32 minutes.<br />
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It's easy to see why Otis has maintained a cult following in spite of decades of inactivity, with such idiosyncratic and forward-looking music, but it's also easy to see why big-time commercial success eluded him--there's far too much tempo variation here to make a successful funk album, and a reliance on instrumental tracks always alienates much of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowest_common_denominator"><b>LCD</b></a> pop crowd, which almost exclusively demands vocals singing simple lyrics. Interestingly, the 2001 CD reissue's addition of three tracks from <i>Freedom Flight</i> bolsters the album with more "songs" (including Otis' undoubted royalty annuity "Strawberry Letter 23") and more hooks, as well as a considerably more enticing cover that replaces the original's drab earth tones with bright, stylized colors. <br />
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0062EKY18/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0062EKY18&linkCode=as2&tag=elliknap-20">Get 'er here</a></b><img alt="" border="0" class="kmmhqfxibaxapjtttqdm" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=elliknap-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0062EKY18" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.
Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-37253647000289136132012-07-06T17:00:00.001-07:002012-07-06T17:26:15.510-07:00Cheap Seats 5: Mix Mix, Stir Stir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After a seemingly interminable two-month break after the end of recording (a day of righteous drum tracking), Justin and I are <u>mixing this record</u>. It's also worthwhile to note that it's been seven months since this album's first recording dates back in December and two years this week since I wrapped up recording for my last album in my parents' basement! Time, naturally, flies, and it's sort of hard to believe I've been working so long on a single project. <br />
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We've got two business weeks for mixing and at this point <b><a href="http://justinphelpsrecording.com/Justinphelpsrecording.com/Home.html">Justin's</a> </b>doing pretty much all of the work--I mostly sit around and do things like this while he sorts through the amorphous pile of tracks I heaped upon him, and after he works on a song for a few hours I chime in with some kind of verbal ingratitude like "the lead guitar isn't very audible, can we do something about that?" While I've got a musician's and seasoned listener's ears for mixing, Justin has a <i>professional's</i> ears and the skills to make things happen efficiently, quickly, and with an ever-present sense of each song's big picture.<br />
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The process starts with the drums; since the record contains recorded contributions from two drummers, it's possible to dial in the mixing settings for one drummer, apply them to every song recorded with those drums to save time, then tweak them minimally for each song. After that, Justin seems to work on the bass (if there is any) and so forth on to the guitars, horns, vocals and other instruments. To treat this like a mixing version of <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/04/cheap-seats-3-day-in-studio.html"><b>A Day in the Studio</b></a>, let's start by saying that "mixing" basically means arranging and adjusting the characteristics of all of the tracks that make up a song in order to make them sound cohesive, organized, and to properly represent the song's arrangement and most important elements in a way that's audible to the listener. The process involves things as simple as setting the volume and panning (whether the track's coming from the left speaker, the right, or a mixture of both) of each track (which can actually become quite complex when there's lots of tracks), but also encompasses things like <a href="http://sound.westhost.com/compression.htm"><b>compression</b></a>, equalization (or EQ; adjusting the bass, midrange and treble of a track to compensate for too much of something or allow two tracks with similar frequency ranges to coexist without covering each other up, a problem that can happen with dense arrangements like the ones in a lot of these songs), and all sorts of effects--commonplace ones like reverb and delay as well as more "proprietary" tricks of the trade.<br />
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In a nutshell, the fact that Justin's done this hundreds of times means that he has a method and a creative vision that form a solid launch pad for each song well before we even get to the point where I'm giving my own input. As with all of the phases of this project, mixing has been a real learning experience. I've gotten to hear the consequences of the arrangements I've made--sometimes things work great and there's space for all of the instrumental voices to sound audible and distinct, and sometimes things I thought we'd be able to fit in end up sitting atmospherically in the background, where they certainly contribute, but not quite as identifiably. It's also been instructive to see how Justin reacts as a listener to the ideas and concepts in the music--more than a couple of times ideas I've had regarding the mix have met with questions about why exactly it needs to happen. Not that there's some kind of creative struggle happening, but rather Justin's been quite helpful with providing feedback as to how well ideas I've had are actually audible in the music, and whether or not the things I want to do are actually making it easier for the listener to grasp the concept. Though I don't have a lot to do to make the mixing happen, I'm trying to learn as much as I can conceptually to use during my next project--there are a lot of things I could do ahead of time to make things run smoother, and and I have a better idea of what kinds of things will later become problematic.<br />
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Hopefully, I'll also be able to maintain the inspiration that naïveté brings--I want to remain focused on coming up with the weirdest, most distinctive ideas I can rather than thinking of the mixing process first--things have a way of working out, and everything can be fixed, in one way or another! Bottom line, this record's sound is a week away from being 95% complete...after we finish mixing, it's mastering, duplication and release! Stay tuned for more overarching <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Cheap%20Seats"><b>Cheap Seats</b></a> content (including interviews!), as well as details about preorder and release of this behemoth. <br />
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<a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/12/cheap-seats-part-i-new-album-go.html"><b>Cheap Seats Part 1</b></a><br />
<b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/02/cheap-seats-2-non-commercial-music.html">Cheap Seats Part 2: Non-Commercial Music </a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/04/cheap-seats-3-day-in-studio.html">Cheap Seats Part 3: A Day in the Studio </a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/05/cheap-seats-4-unhappy-accident.html">Cheap Seats Part 4: The (Un)Happy Accident </a></b>Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-84226597223903577852012-06-26T15:26:00.001-07:002012-06-26T15:26:47.238-07:00Kate Bush - The Dreaming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The Dreaming</i>--Kate Bush's fourth album, arriving less than five years after her debut--has got me thinking about a whole mess of different things. Approaching her music fairly indirectly (not having been around when the music was new [no real change there!], or being a hardcore fan, and not having much of an interest in 80's pop music) made for slow progress in appreciating it, but a couple of years have provided an enlightening and broadening experience in getting to know and learn from this music.<br />
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While I agree with most fans that <i>Hounds of Love</i> is her most distinctive and cohesive set, this album makes a close second for many of the same reasons. Partially fulfilling her move toward tighter pop structures and chic sounds of the day, the songs here continue to move away from the more traditional (especially piano-dominated) instrumentation of her first albums into an area where 80's synths and effects surround the songs' core piano parts and multi-part structures juxtapose wildly different styles within pop-length tracks, with Bush's multi-tracked vocals calling and responding in an often bizarre array of different vocal deliveries. Needless to say, these songs can come across as difficult to penetrate at first, a fact that's not helped by the fact that the late-80's CD reissue is in dire need of remastering, making the already-difficult songscapes even tougher to perceive because of the mediocre sound reproduction. <br />
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Nevertheless, this shit's awesome! What's especially interested me lately is the fine balance Bush strikes between weirdness, progressive and experimental complexity, and pop accessibility. When I say "<i>weirdness</i>" I mean things like singing in a weird voice (like those shrill backing vocals that nobody else has really done the same way), laying a really strange-sounding effect on a guitar line, or singing Australian narratives and utilizing native Australian instruments. Weirdness is a great attention-getter, and is a great way to make music distinctive and set it apart from the vast pack of musicians out there just trying to make something that sounds pretty and inoffensive in hopes that it'll appeal to the largest audience possible. However, weirdness alone isn't enough to keep my attention long-term. Really, the lukewarm feelings I get from a lot of today's music come from a feeling that <i>weirdness</i> and style often outweigh the actual content of the songs, music, lyrics etc. Not that every artist should be changing time signatures every two measures and shredding ridiculously difficult guitar parts for music to be considered good, but there's more to making some distinctive music than singing a tired indie breakup song in an overwrought plaintive voice over eighth-note staccato power chords. <br />
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What I love about Kate Bush is how well she backs up her weirdness with musical substance--every song has a discreet feel, be it narrative or more philosophical, and upon close examination it seems that every element of the song is carefully tailored to fulfill the song's conceptual promise, from playfully poetic lyrics to song sections that brilliantly channel Bush's twisting moods with shifting timbres and pacing (see "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojXm0VvvdJ0#"><b>Pull Out the Pin</b></a>," "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq-5TvY4BEA"><b>Night of the Swallow</b></a>") to vastly differing stylistic experiments between pounding, expansive rock like "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cIjariCM-c"><b>Sat In Your Lap</b></a>" and waltzing existential pop like "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3XAeg3B0To"><b>Suspended in Gaffa</b></a>." <br />
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Finally, I'm continually amazed by how poppy the music ultimately is--in spite of the fact that she's often reimagining and further developing a lot of concepts explored by then-and-now-villified progressive musicians when the genre was all but completely forced from mainstream interest, Bush manages to maintain a pure, sincere emotional core along with a buoyant conciseness that makes these songs accessible in spite of their complexity. Even more, she's still making new fans 30 years later in spite of the extreme 80's vibe, although that's a retro aesthetic that's still currently regarded as "ok" with today's young music fans. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that her visual aesthetic pretty much rivaled her musical one--if only today's pop songstresses could back up their audacious imagery with such equally challenging music! Anyway, good on KB for proving that great pop doesn't have to skimp on nuance, and for helping me expand into some new musical areas. This makes me want to check out some of her more recent work...<br />
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<b><a alt="" border="0" height="1" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000006MS3/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000006MS3&linkCode=as2&tag=elliknap-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000006MS3" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1">Get it here.</a></b>Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-19914386106470334872012-06-22T13:21:00.000-07:002012-06-22T13:21:01.714-07:00Tomasz Stańko - Music for K<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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These days, what's probably the biggest obstacle for Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stańko's 1970 debut is that it says "Polish Jazz" in the top left corner, leading to some reasonable assumptions that it's going to be some sort of fusion of polka or mazurka and American jazz, and some perhaps less justified assumptions that it'll be crap jazz because it's not American. Not only are both of these assumptions proven incorrect by the music contained in these (digital) grooves, an album like this provides key evidence of the roots of the compositional framework that British/European jazz fusion bands like <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Nucleus"><b>Nucleus</b></a> and <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Soft%20Machine"><b>The Soft Machine</b></a> utilized in the mid-1970's, but also that the narrative of jazz history in Europe is unjustifiably incomplete and marginalized in comparison with that of America.<br />
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Now, anybody in the know about this period of European jazz will probably acknowledge that I'm sort of getting ahead of myself by starting with Stańko's debut--many would cite Krzysztof Komeda's 1966 album <i>Astigmatic</i> as the most important illustration of the above points...in my own feeble defense, let's just say that this was the album I decided to review today for no other reason than that it's the one my eyes landed upon and seemed like a good one to write about. <i>Music for K</i> is indeed a tribute to the late Komeda, on whose watershed <i>Astigmatic</i> album Stańko also played trumpet, and who is credited with contributing heavily to the development of a distinct flavor of European jazz that started in the 1960's and has continued to present. Assigning credit is important but not as much as acknowledging a quality piece of work. Here the influence of Komeda (who also had extensive film score experience including Roman Polanski's <i>Rosemary's Baby</i>) and <i>Astigmatic </i>are felt both in a sense of cinematic drama and a tonal palette that trades much of American jazz's jubilant euphoria for a darker, more cerebral form of expression.<br />
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The opener "Czatownik" both recalls Komeda's descending chromatic piano themes and predicts the tangled melodies that the aforementioned electric fusion groups would favor, with alto and tenor saxophones blurting rapid fire unison themes with the trumpet before things start to get more shambling, with each voice separating into an upward call that again lines up for a dramatic fanfare. One of the things I really appreciate about this music is the shifting dynamics--things can go from blaring horns to sizzling quiet in an instant--the bass and drum interaction is prime here (check out that drum sound around 3:30)--and the piano-less lineup both points to the absent Komeda and allows for alternation between skeletal frameworks and a spotlight on the wind instruments' melodies, not to mention a huge potential for free playing, of which there is an abundance.<br />
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In trying to define the specifics of a "European" jazz sensibility, my instincts are to point at its richly developed classical tradition, which seems to be borne out in a predilection for ostinato (check out the gently pulsing reeds in "Nieskonczenie Maly," and their darker, more anguished and dissonant counterparts in "Cry") and song structures that seem more linear than the typical circular jazz structures (head, solo:, head). Things reach their freest and most intense in the 16-minute title track, which climbs a series of crescendos and mini-dips to a collective caterwaul, then steps back down across one of the album's greatest drum showcases to a squawking conclusion.<br />
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More than anything, the quality and energy of the playing on this album raises questions about the relative obscurity of the players here and severely shakes my confidence in a completely American-centric jazz narrative...we need better informational resources and access to more great music like this! On the plus side, if you're feeling like you've exhausted the available avant-garde American jazz and everything's sounding a bit too happy and boppy for you, maybe there's hope in the Old World's "new" jazz--who knows what else we're still missing!<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BDIYRW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=elliknap-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000BDIYRW">Get it here</a></b><img alt="" border="0" class=" giecvwvkbmcpcymaimbq giecvwvkbmcpcymaimbq giecvwvkbmcpcymaimbq" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=elliknap-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000BDIYRW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-38131497946713134842012-06-05T15:24:00.002-07:002012-06-05T15:24:51.438-07:00Davy Graham - Anthology: 1961-2007 Lost Tapes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Almost four years after Davy Graham's death, the folks at <a href="http://www.lescousins.co.uk/"><b>Les Cousins Music</b></a> are still working not only to preserve his officially-recorded legacy, but also to expand the scope and depth of his output, making it clearer for those who weren't there why the guitarist was the undisputed king of the 1960's English folk revival. Nostalgically packaged in a collage of images gleaned from Graham's personal scrapbook (and simultaneously displaying both spellings of the guitarist's first name he confoundingly vacillated between), this three-CD collection anthologizes no less than 54 tracks across more than 2 1/2 hours of unreleased recordings. Count me in!<br />
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It's a fool's errand to attempt a track-by-track analysis of an anthology so deep, so I'll attempt to convey some general impressions and reference tracks where appropriate. Having been a Davy Graham fan for several years, I think I'm finally starting to understand how, as <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Roy%20Harper"><b>Roy Harper</b></a> says, Graham "<a href="http://www.colin-harper.com/books/bert-jansch-davy-graham/"><b>never managed to turn his talent into a brand that people could go out and buy and enjoy</b></a>," yet every other guitarist from the same time period and beyond cites Graham as a towering giant of the six-string. After five years of absorbing Graham's studio output I'm still at a loss to recommend a single album of his that fully conveys and encompasses what was so revolutionary about his playing, and not having been there it's been hard to picture myself in that bright-eyed hopeful time and imagine myself at some bohemian party with Graham conjuring untold spirits out of an acoustic while everyone just sits and listens. Enter this anthology, which as far as I've heard does the best job this side of <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000024YGM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=elliknap-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000024YGM">After Hours at Hull University</a></b><img alt="" border="0" class=" fmrqrjgcwadenvgumvgf fmrqrjgcwadenvgumvgf fmrqrjgcwadenvgumvgf" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=elliknap-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000024YGM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> of recreating such a scene. The sound quality (especially on the first two discs) is almost exclusively of home/bootleg quality and most of the performances are solo, with Graham positively shredding in front of small audiences as he sends jazz, folk, blues and "world music" (before such a term existed) through a blender and we get to hear what comes out.<br />
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Since it's mostly just an acoustic with or without vocals, the sound quality isn't much of a bother--if anything, it enhances the intimacy of the performances, which find Graham energetically blasting solo performances of many of the folk and blues songs found on his albums as well as never-before-heard tracks. Throughout, his technique is astounding, transitioning as quickly as ever between lead and rhythm, melody and harmony, from style to style. Somehow the setting's informality allows the guitarist's hard-won chops to shine brighter with none of the studio adornments meant to commercialize his sound, and we instead get to hear him exclaim "Ah, fuck" after some imperceptible mistakes during a lightning-fast take on Leadbelly's "Fannin Street" with nary a missed note, as well as a verbal introduction to his classic instrumental "Anji" (there are two versions here, along with an unreleased track and album highlight "Anji's Greek Cousin") that details how he wrote the tune. While the live renditions of guitar-and-vocal folk/blues tunes present uniformly great guitar and often contain vocals that are superior to the studio versions, they also miss the mark when it comes to what made the guitarist unique--more than almost any other Graham album, this anthology conveys the
strange alchemy that occurred between Graham's musical influences, his
fingers and his guitar, and these discs present ample, undiluted evidence of what was possible when only these elements were on display.<br />
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Of the three discs, the third is probably the least essential, reflecting the diminishing returns that Graham's post-60's releases offer, yet it often sounds more vital than studio recordings from the same period. Though Graham's lifestyle choices and age would gradually slow his playing and attenuate his already limited vocals, we still get some surprisingly good representations of the more delicate British folk, jazz, medieval-sounding instrumentals and world folk music explorations he continued to make through the 70's and beyond. "The Gold Ring" shows his pull-off speed undiminished, "Sita Ram" and "Mevlut" pair his further eastern experiments with appropriate accompaniment, and "DeVisee Suite" shows a subtle, slower side to his playing that was all but absent in the early days. The final late-period tracks remind us that we're summing up the career accomplishments and contributions of a distinctive force in 20th century popular music. As with his 2007 swansong <i>Broken Biscuits</i>, the joy here comes less from marveling at jaw-dropping speed, but more from giving credit where it's due and appreciating that the man's muse was still active at the end.<br />
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While I still think it's impossible to recommend an accurate starting point for a prospective Davy Graham fan (it takes more than the average time investment to really "get" him as an artist), this anthology is a surprisingly worthy addition to even a modest Davy Graham collection. Unlike so many retrospective collections, it manages (with the help of Graham's considerable skill and restlessness) to make familiar songs sound fresh and new songs sound immediate and relevant to the further-broadening portrait available of Graham as an artist. <br />
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007INKKYI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=elliknap-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007INKKYI">Get it here</a></b><img alt="" border="0" class=" fmrqrjgcwadenvgumvgf fmrqrjgcwadenvgumvgf" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=elliknap-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B007INKKYI" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-75528028812236967872012-05-29T16:00:00.003-07:002012-05-29T16:00:49.316-07:00Cheap Seats 4: The (Un)Happy Accident<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signal to...1, 0 or some combination thereof</td></tr>
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The previous <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Cheap%20Seats"><b>Cheap Seats</b></a> installments have mostly focused on my own recent creative experiences as an independent musician recording a new album. Please permit me (in an effort to gradually expand the scope of the discussion to a realm that involves all musicians and listeners alike) to get a little bit macro. Today's focus is the single most powerful determining factor affecting the distribution of any artist's music as well as the top force that dictates the ebb and flow of today's commercial music marketplace--I'm talking about the advent and full scale implementation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_music"><b>digital music recording</b></a>. <br />
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I'm sure when Sony and Philips designed and released the first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD"><b>CDs</b></a> in 1982 they were mostly thinking about the obvious benefits CDs possess in comparison with the analog music media of the day--unlike vinyl and tape, CDs are sturdier and less easily damaged, are smaller and more lightweight, last much longer and are not degraded by use, and have ultimately become as inexpensive (or more) than the other available options. In the intervening 30 years, though, the simple twist of converting source analog audio recording data to the universal binary 1's and 0's of the digital vernacular has had far-reaching implications for the music world. On the consumer end, the introduction of CD-R technology first allowed easy copying of any audio files, while the increasing capabilities of home computers and the internet have gradually made the distribution of audio files (the size of which has more or less remained the same) easier and easier, providing music consumers with innumerable sources to acquire recordings for purchase or for free. This increasing broadening has significantly diminished the sales of traditional physical recording media, not to mention how it's made it more and more difficult for copyright holders to keep track of and protect their intellectual property. <br />
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On the "industry" side, not only has digital music technology changed the shape of music as a product, in the last 15 or so years it's also replaced analog recording as the most accepted method for the very <i>creation</i> of recordings. ProTools has both become the industry standard software for recording studios, but its relative ease of use and availability (as well as the availability of similar free and inexpensive recording software) has meant that the average person potentially has the ability to record and edit digital music in much the same way (and with many of the same tools) as a professional recording studio--and when the product's finished, the aforementioned home computer technology and internet advancements have made it possible for artists to distribute their recordings without any of the record label, distribution and promotional infrastructure that was compulsory before digital recording dominated the market. <br />
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Like most of the issues I'm trying to wrestle with in this series, digital recording is the quintessential double-edged sword. Music listeners now have unprecedented access to almost any music they'd like to hear--gone are the days when local record stores could only mail-order expensive imports of cult artists whose distribution was too poor to make the music widely available, and the realities of file sharing mean that most recordings can be found and downloaded for free without risk of punishment and regardless of the recordings' copyright status or availability for sale through mainstream channels. MP3 players allow consumers to consolidate a nearly limitless library of digital music that can be accessed instantaneously and portably (my personal favorite!). Up-and-coming artists are no longer necessarily forced to demonstrate popularity in order to make their first recordings (a chicken-and-egg scenario that imploded as often as it succeeded). It's never been easier to find out about and sample new music, and there's more music being recorded than ever before. <br />
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For the recording industry, the sword mostly cuts viciously in the negative direction--though digital music does offer even more avenues for sales, when offered the choice, "You can either pay us and download the recordings, or search Google and download the recordings for free," consumers have by and large chosen the second option. Promotional power still rests in varying degrees in the hands of record labels, but it's often limited in the case of independent labels and diminishing sales have scared the big labels into a policy of recording and promoting only guaranteed money-makers, which, as you can imagine, does little to further the spread of <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/02/cheap-seats-2-non-commercial-music.html"><b>non-commercial music</b></a>, impairing the strength of music as a product one degree of blandness at a time. For independent musicians, it may indeed be easier and cheaper to record music, but when it comes to standing out amongst a constantly-swelling sea of competition, there are few promotional tools that seem to be worth the time or monetary investment. <br />
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This is where the pros and cons of digital recording become even subtler. For cash-strapped musicians, free recording is often a deal that's difficult to pass up, but the benefits of using a professional recording studio (high quality microphones and other recording equipment that most musicians don't possess, and especially the technical expertise of recording professionals) are often noticeably manifest in the quality of the finished product. Then there comes the role of the recordings themselves--are they designed as a promotional device, to be given away at no cost to spread the word about the artist and hopefully convert more fans? Or, is the artist hoping to offer the recordings as a product for sale? I've heard again and again that music recordings "are free" and that the only way for musicians to make money these days is through live performance. While I don't want to diminish the value of live performance, this argument denies the fundamental fact that regardless of the recording, <i>somebody</i> is investing a certain amount of time and/or money into its creation, and investments with virtually no chance of return are utterly unsustainable. Since this entry is not supposed to focus completely on the financial aspects of independent music, I'll leave further development of those points for a later date. Additionally, the choice to give away recordings is a difficult decision for reasons unrelated to finances--what message does it send a potential listener if you're willing to give up the fruits of your hard work in exchange for nothing? There is an intangible degree of integrity lost when you tell listeners that your recording is worth...nothing...even when your decision is motivated by a desire to acknowledge the inevitability that your recordings <i>will be pirated</i>. In such a competitive music marketplace, I've repeatedly found that the most difficult accomplishment is to simply get people to <i>give your music a chance</i> and listen to even one song all the way through (let alone a whole album). Can unknown musicians afford to devalue their work at the very outset?<br />
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Likewise, for listeners, digital music has made it easy to react in a knee-jerk fashion, skipping or abandoning a recording if it doesn't instantly gratify our spoiled ears and robbing us of that crucial repeated exposure that so much great music <i>needs</i> in order to sink in and sound great to our often inattentive ears. Similarly, the art of a cohesively-crafted album has been all but lost in the mainstream, with consumers able to pick and choose tracks selectively without hearing them in the intended context. There is indeed more music than ever for listeners to choose from, but it's also becoming increasingly difficult to find out if it's actually <i>good</i> (of course, by "good" I mean relative to each listener's tastes and musical ideals). How does the average listener navigate the swarm of hopeful independent musicians without help and without becoming cynical? Do the types of algorithms that govern internet radio stations like Pandora actually succeed in steering us toward new music we'll eventually love, or do their fixed formulae actually rob us of the chance of hearing something new or different that might actually expand our tastes? On a hopeful note, there does seem to be a kinesthetic aspect to recordings that cannot be digitized--many people believe that the added dimension of a physical package that comes with a CD or LP isn't sufficiently conveyed by a digital scan of the album art, and the artistic possibilities that come with mixed media can enhance the music and facilitate the development of a special relationship between listeners and the musical <i>thing</i> they're holding in their hands that's simply not possible with an intangible digital file. Additionally, the "warm" analog sound quality, enhanced art and retro chic of vinyl records has recently experienced a resurgence among aficionados, probably for very similar reasons--still, the challenge of dealing with the rest of the potential market persists!<br />
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As an independent musician on the verge of releasing another recording, I wish I had answers to these questions--the more I think about it the more I realize that the digitization of music recordings is neither good nor bad, but that it's at its root a coincidental reality that further complicates an already complicated endeavor! Printed text will likely remain a viable physical product in books and magazines because it can simply be unpleasant to read text on a computer screen for extended periods of time; digital reproduction of physical art like paintings and especially sculpture never comes close to capturing the physical dimensions apparent in person; television and movies may be easily digitally-reproduced at home, but live theater, dance and movie theater screenings offer an experience that cannot be digitally reproduced to come anywhere close to the live experience. In our increasingly digitized world, recorded music has been the perfect victim of an unhappy accident insofar as it's easily reduced to digital form and sent down the waterfall into the world's digital information collective. The issues of promotion and the value of music recordings will be further developed later, but for now I pose these questions: What's your relationship with digital recordings? If you're old enough, how has your relationship with music changed as digital has become standard? Do you think the digitization of music recordings is a good or bad thing for musicians and listeners, and why? Comments welcome and appreciated!<br />
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<a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/12/cheap-seats-part-i-new-album-go.html"><b>Cheap Seats Part 1</b></a><br />
<b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/02/cheap-seats-2-non-commercial-music.html">Cheap Seats Part 2: Non-Commercial Music </a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2012/04/cheap-seats-3-day-in-studio.html">Cheap Seats Part 3: A Day in the Studio </a></b>Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495104999429147606.post-8797384555744748042012-05-16T14:53:00.002-07:002012-05-16T15:28:52.871-07:00Captain Beefheart - Bat Chain Puller<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been well over a year since I kicked off the reviews division of this site with a review of <b><a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Captain%20Beefheart">Captain Beefheart</a> </b>and the Magic Band's <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/2011/02/shiny-beast-bat-chain-puller-captain.html"><b>Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)</b></a>, and considering how much the Captain's work has continued to influence my approach to music and writing I'm surprised I haven't waxed poetic about any of his other classic albums. Technically, today still isn't that day--I'm here to gush about the "brand new" 2012 Captain Beefheart release, the lost 1976 first studio version of <i>Bat Chain Puller</i>, just released this spring (to disappointingly limited fanfare) on the <a href="http://www.elliotknapp.com/search/label/Frank%20Zappa"><b>Frank Zappa</b></a> record label and nearly exclusively <a href="http://barfkoswill.shop.musictoday.com/Dept.aspx?cp=971_54317"><b>available for purchase here</b></a> (which just might be why the album's gotten so little press).<br />
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To describe the genesis of this release briefly, Don Van Vliet decided in 1976 to return to the avant-garde and stage a creative comeback. Herb Cohen (Frank Zappa's manager) secretly used Zappa's money to fund the project and the two had a falling out upon Zappa's return from tour, resulting in Cohen's seizure of many of Zappa's assets, unreleased <i>Bat Chain Puller</i> masters included. Zappa eventually reclaimed his property through legal means, but by that time Van Vliet had re-recorded most of the material on his final albums. Since then Zappa, and now his widow Gail, have been busy enough managing Zappa's gargantuan legacy that the tapes have remained neglected in the vaults...until now!<br />
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With 10 of 12 tracks already appearing on Captain Beefheart albums that have been available for 30 years, the biggest worry with <i>Bat Chain Puller </i>is that it'll come across as merely supplementary to those "definitive" versions, or worse that it'll sound only partially complete in comparison to the later recordings. Thankfully, the disc falls prey to neither possibility, playing like the hazy, dream-like album-that-never-was that it's always been!<br />
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After listening to these different versions of familiar songs and becoming familiarized with the new track sequencing, I'm left with the strong impression that this album has an undeniably distinct feel, especially in relation to <i>Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) </i>in terms of its accessibility. Compared to <i>Shiny Beast</i>'s almost exclusively song-based program, this <i>Bat Chain Puller</i> is very much a venture split between songs, spoken word-over-music and pure poetry. Sure, it's still considerably more mainstream than the hallowed stuff of <i>Doc at the Radar Station, </i>but even compared with <i>Doc</i>'s orchestrated prickles, the poetry/music tracks here feel much more spontaneously arranged and the sonic palette more often unexpectedly drops down to just one instrument or Van Vliet's voice in some very effective instances. <br />
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Perhaps as expected, some of the material here isn't significantly different from later versions--the arrangement of "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaOiIyi12Uc"><b>Harry Irene</b></a>" (never one of my favorite later Beefheart tracks, but an important contributor to this album's accessibility) includes guitar, but otherwise isn't much different. The <b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bjK6YypIns">title track</a> </b>has its own subtle identity (further shaded by a third version here in bonus track form), bristling with kinetic motion (it's easy as ever to hear how Van Vliet originally pulled the rhythm from windshield wipers), more of an organic feel with cranked harmonica and just-barely-conflicting guitar layers (though the ever-important synths are still there) and outstanding vocal delivery (dig the the naked place he takes "their very remains and belongings"). Right off the bat, my highest hopes are kindled--one of my disappointments with later Beefheart albums is the marked reduction in the elasticity of Van Vliet's voice and additionally, in the case of <i>Ice Cream for Crow</i>, an overall dip in energy and compositional effort--here the Captain's voice still possesses a razor's edge and he takes enough risks that we can almost forgive him wasting the early/mid-70's trying to become a mainstream star. "Owed T'Alex" burns with a reinvigorated closeness that's magnified further on "Floppy Boot Stomp," where the band's joyous delirium pushes the vocals so close that it sounds like the Captain's ranting all the way inside your brain. <br />
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The most exciting aspect of <i>Bat Chain Puller</i>, of course, is the brand new material, namely the poetry/music hybrids "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX3JKc45z2M"><b>Seam Crooked Sam</b></a>" and "Odd Jobs." The former is a moody guitar/electric piano duet with Van Vliet's downbeat-yet-intense images spinning seemingly unrelated on top, while the latter is more of a full band piece with tunefully-spun vagrant imagery while the band shifts ever so slightly into what must be the first kernel of <i>Shiny Beast</i>'s "Tropical Hot Dog Night."<br />
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Evaluating these pieces has helped me identify a couple of the specific traits that make Captain Beefheart one of my top favorite artists--first, it's the way his poetry mirrors the music, flowing smoothly then stopping, jerking, suddenly rhyming or playfully riffing off of a phrase's connotations or expected syntactical outcome. Unsurprisingly, Van Vliet chooses words like paint colors on a palette, not necessarily concerned with their logical or expository value but rather their energy, emotional color, and the way they sound. When I hear these songs, there are countless unexpected images and feelings popping into my head, and I can't think of too many other poets in the popular music sphere who can achieve that. And yet, there's a strange logic or narrative to many of these pieces--what at first seems like incoherent rambling in "81 Poop Hatch," for example, gradually reveals itself to be an impressionistic panoramic scene including Van Vliet's beloved natural imagery as well as a view of his internal landscape--at least, that is, until he leaps mid-sentence to somewhere completely different; every piece seems to be at its root a rational enigma with unlimited emotional potential.<br />
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Secondly, the compositions here are a dazzling presentation of Van Vliet's painterly approach implemented in yet another aspect of the music. More than on any of his other albums we hear open, warm-sounding jazz harmony on songs like "Seam Crooked Sam" and "Ah Carrot Is As Close As Ah Rabbit Gets To Ah Diamond." Again, though, Van Vliet applies these combinations of notes intuitively and without regard to how theoretical rules say they're "supposed" to be used. Fragile, sweet harmony can dissolve into dissonant, minor darkness just as quickly as it can pursue a completely fresh melodic path, as evidenced on "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDUSbT2vWI4"><b>The Human Totem Pole (The 1,000th And 10th Day Of The Human Totem Pole)</b></a>," one of two album-closing commentaries on the human race's cumulative achievements (or lack thereof) and precarious current position on earth. Here he fuses this weird compositional approach with one of his more straightforward (yet most compelling) poems, sketching a partially-obscured picture of the skin-crawling, comical-yet-repulsive "pole," and delivering it all with a seething creepy mystery that trumps the <i>Ice Cream for Crow</i> version within just a few seconds..."the man on the top was <i>starrrrrrrrvinnnnng</i>" indeed! Now is probably an important time to laud the contributions of the rest of the band--this music certainly couldn't have been made without the conscientious talent and attention of the rest of the band, especially drummer/guitarist John French, who also performed a crucial "music director" role in transcribing Van Vliet's hastily-blurted musical ideas into a form that the other band members could understand and memorize--just listen to the through-composed spacious atmosphere as the song sputters out in a denouement that takes up over half the song's length. The idea that it's possible and even ideal to consent to the urge to compose and arrange notes and sounds in whatever way sounds intuitively best (regardless of the rules) is one of the important lessons I've learned from Van Vliet's music and attempted to apply to my own process. Though the difficulty of successfully communicating such an idiosyncratic method to collaborating musicians is challenging to overcome, the singular character of the end result can really be worth the sweat. It's also one of the few lessons any artist can potentially adapt from Van Vliet's work without necessarily ripping off his total sound wholesale--it's possible, no matter what Tom Waits tells you!<br />
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In the end, this album is like a gift sent from beyond Van Vliet's grave (though very real thanks are due to all of the living collaborators who finally brought this album to release). Amazingly, it never sounds unnecessary in comparison with the later albums--"Brick Bats" is the only song that sounds more unfocused than its later version, with a much looser guitar arrangement, less effective vocal delivery and a fun but meandering free jazzy end section made more effective in the shorter <i>Doc at the Radar Station</i> version. Nor does this earlier album obviate the ones that follow (except <i>Ice Cream for Crow</i>, which was always teetering on the brink of being a "completists only" release, especially now that two of its best tracks are revealed to belong to a more vital earlier work), with <i>Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)</i> still best straddling avant-garde and pop and <i>Doc at the Radar Station</i> best warping <i>Trout Mask Replica</i> poetic/musical craziness into a newer, mature and carefully-integrated form. Thankfully, we now have all three to consider as required listening--though the price of this CD is still uncommonly high (it cost me $27 including shipping and tax), it's worth the added expense and work it takes to track it down--let's hope there's some wider distribution on the way to make it a little easier to get the word out about this remarkable album's first issue.Elliot Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558753615945429022noreply@blogger.com1