Music Appreciation

[Andrew.Glose]

Janek,

I've been noticing more and more that music these days, in a nutshell, is taken for granted. People can download anything they want, whenever they want, at the click of a button. And they can do it for free. People are very reluctant to spend $5 or $7 bucks on a live show. On something that is an art in itself: live performance. I started really wrapping my head around this concept when I started getting into production. While researching everything that goes into it, it occurred to me that we, as musicians and producers, put a lot of effort into our craft, art, and final product. We put a lot of thought into the fine points and getting it to sound right. And for people to give it two seconds worth of a listen and say, "Yeah, it's okay." I'm not speaking solely about my personal music, but for lots of instanced that I've found myself in. The amount of time, care, and effort that goes into producing a tune...all the details, sounds, etc...for it just to be brushed off? I know this is part of the nature about people perceiving music, but it's become disturbing to me. And I'm wondering, how am I going to help people get excited about music again? What part can I play, in not only doing that, but also being able to do it while making a living?

Have you ever had thoughts along this line? Or noticed anything like this?

On another note, I've got this idea that might help. It's an 'art showcase/party.' I'm aiming to get people excited about music/art. I plan on booking a few live acts (myself included) that are unique. Something that isn't in abundance at my location, such as electronic music, etc. Or even play someone's CD earlier in the party, then switch to live acts. These would be on a time slot, so each act would have an hour or so to do their thing. I'll also have artists/painters that want to get themselves exposed, and we'll display their art. All artists will pay a small fee for being able to showcase, which will go towards costs. I haven't thought of how much. There will also be an entrance fee at the door, so the artists can make money. I've yet to work out the details, or location, etc. What do you think? Any suggestions?

I'd like to hear your thoughts on all of this,

Andrew

[janekbass]

well helping to book live acts and artists I think is a great idea. Working on a community level to get people excited about music and art can do nothing but good and I commend you very highly for pursuing that.

As for the production thing....

yeah, it's true. Sometimes you spend months producing a song and mixing it just right and people listen to it and totally miss all of that. But really production for me is about the song. So if the song is strong you can take a band into a room and put it down with one mic and it'll sell a million copies. There have been songs bby damien rice and ray lamontagne that, while they haven't just been on one mic, they've been pretty stripped down and simple when it came to the production, and have sold many copies and reached a huge audience. My latest album was recorded on two mics live in one take in a dive bar in New York City, and I've had a great response to it so far. I doubt it will ever sell even 10's of 1000's of copies, but it's reaching an audience who dig it, and who will come out to a live show because they heard it.

I try to get things in perspective when I'm producing a record. I look at the music, the budget, the time frame etc... and then figure out what's best for the music within those parameters. It's a big juggling act, but as long as you don't lose sight of the song or the music it should come out great if you work hard.

Easy,

Janek