John Mayer

If you've never read the bio on John Mayer you should check it out.

Here's the thing that John Mayer does that makes him great. He gets better. If you listen to his "Any given Thursday" record and then listen to the latest live installment, you can hear the difference. As a listener you almost feel like you've watched the artist grow up, and grow into greatness. This is what happened with the Beatles right? We saw them become legends.

Most modern top forty acts are out to make a living, not to become legends. Jessy McCartney will never be a legend, T-Pain will not be a legend. Michael Jackson is a legend. Bands and acts that push the limits, that refuse to do just enough to get by, that connect with that innate desire in man to better himself, those are the legends.

Of course the acts I listed above played it safe in the beginning, they were undeniably good. They knew how to play by the rules. But once people were hooked they used their power to push music beyond it's limits.

This is what facebook did right? It played by the social network rules at the beginning and now is a the friendly giant of the internet. You know your in when apple is treating you like part of the family. It just keeps pushing the limits, it made a better chat system,a simpler aesthetic, a more intuitive tagging and link system, and then opened it up to its users to create what they wanted.

Hearing what your audience wants as opposed to telling them. What an interesting concept. But sometimes they don't know there is something better until you show them.
So show them.

j.

Sheryl Crow

Ok I went to the opening night of the SC tour here in Nashville last night. First of all I will say they only used about a third of the space in the Somet center and even that wasn't full, my section a few rows off the floor in the center was pretty empty.

Don't get me wrong she "rocked" the house but Nashville's a tough crowd. She moved pretty good for a 46 year old mom. Didn't sound bad either. She played a few more new songs than I wanted to hear but she played enough hits to keep my attention. NO FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST?! The encore made it for me...Stevie Wonders "Higher Ground".

James Blunt I have decided has no place in a room that size, maybe at exit in or a medium club ala "The bitter end" but not the somet center, he didn't have enough hits or a big enough sound to keep me for the hour ten he played...maybe that was part of the problem he played an hour ten. Last year John Mayer split the tour with Sheryl.

James Blunt is not John Mayer! Here again I say leave the audience wanting more. The guy played 4 songs after the radio single which is all we wanted to hear. If your an opening act you get 4 maybe five songs if you have a name, But not an hour and ten min. If your going to be up there that long you better at least play the roll or a Co-Liner and Introduce the next act or some thing.

I will say what got me the most was the light show. It was great. You the stage set looked clean like an I Pod commercial if the I pod came out in 1955. But then the pristine white stage turned out to be a bunch of lights, this was a nice mid concert surprise.

Fill the room your in...if your stage presence or voice can't carry past the coffee table, GET BETTER or GO HOME. Know your audience, know your venue. If it's a smaller venue people expect you to be personal, If your in a football stadium people expect you to be epic. In the words of the Beatles "Don't Let Me Down".
j.

One track mind

Where are the killer songs? The tracks you could listen to for hours and hours. The songs that change your summer, your mind, your attitude. They left when artists stopped worrying about pushing the limits and started enacting formulas.

Of course there are still some "artsy" bands out there. But with some of them the trade off for creativity with connectivity seems unbalanced. What do you have to offer the music world? I know you've got something. You are the only person who has your unique blend of music taste and life experience. Turn that into something mind blowing and you have a shot at breaking through.

Maybe there is a formula but it's not the one we've been using for the last fifteen years. Maybe the formula is Skill+talent+unique life experience+diverse musical influences=something unique and good.

One track thats all I want from you is one great track...then another and then another, but just give me one first. Show me you've got greatness inside...that there is a creative spirit in there. Not for yourself and not even for me, but for all of us. Because music needs it. Because history needs it's great sound track. Because your better than ordinary.

j.
j.

The Opening Knight....my thoughts on Batman

OK I went to the midnight showing, I got back at four am, and I'm still not sure what I think about this film. It had the explosions of an action movie, the angst of a drama, the heart of an indie film and the length of a documentary. Not to mentions the smattering glimpses of psychotic thriller.

None of which were awful just the amalgamation of all those parts was a bit dis-congealed. And by three am I was ready to be out of there. Great ending though, real inspiring almost made up for whatever else I didn't like.

It's not a kids movie (sorry Merrick) a little too dark I'd say. Probably not a good date movie either. This movie may have had a huge opening night, but I'm interested to see if it's the blockbuster they hoped for in the next few weeks.

j.

Stay in, lose, feel

and other things you can do with touch.

It's said the best way to know if a bill is fake is to study good currency. That when you are so familiar with what's good you'll spot the phony a mile away.

Being on the cutting edge is a tricky place. Some find the best way to do this is by immersing themselves in what's current and trendy and trying to push it to the next level. Others believe in becoming a recluse and taking the mad scientist approach.

I don't know the best way but I do know that it's not following the caravan of band wagoners. The people who made the money in the gold rush were the ones who made it there early, Before it became a rush. By that point the "market was flooded".

So there are the pioneers, the early adapters, and the followers. Of course followers are often responsible for colonization. And thats what has happened in the web and music world is that the pioneers have long since retired the early adapters have become distracted by indie flare and video games and the rest of those who still listen to terrestrial radio have colonized themselves in a community of jumbled "mix" that they don't even like that much.

I mean really do you like hearing little wayne next to colbie callet? Why do you think country does so much better than "pop 40"? Country for the most part knows who it is. Same with the alt rock. The pendulum is shifting and people are done being told what's pop, they are creating they're own genre boundaries...thank you Pandora and Satelite radio.

Stay in touch, lose touch, or feel the decision and definition is up to you.
j.

Cutting through the noise.

I heard some old sessions of DMB a producer friend of mine had from 1991, two years before they hit. The arrangement of ants marching was pretty much the same as the radio version save a few extended solos and a much better mix. These guys knew who they were and just did what they did so well it was undeniable. Sure Dave had influences but no-one was singing like that in 91, Coldplay wouldn't exploit the falsetto vocal thing until 8 years later.

I love discovering new music. I'm not trying to be elitist here, but I have a pretty harsh definition of new. At this point in the game I've got some bands that I love and I don't really have room for carbon copies of those bands in my i-tunes.

What was the last album you had to go out and by, or download legally? There have been a couple singles on the radio that prompted me to do some more research and check out the artists myspace or youtube but the last two records I really wanted were the John Mayer and John Legend live discs.

Of course I recognize there is a difference between being part of a genre and un originality.But what genre were the Beatles, Hendrix, Dave Matthews, or Afrika Bambata? These guys were undeniable. Is your act or business undeniable. I'm borrowing a phrase from Seth Godin here.

Hundreds of new bands come out every month on i-tunes and those are just the ones who do the work to get up there. What do you have that's going to cut through the noise and cause me to spend my hard earned money on your tunes? Heck forget that what do have that's going to get me to tell my friends about you so they go get your stuff, and go to your show.

Myspace is collapsing and "fare trade" music like noisetrade.com is on the rise. The facebook fan page will do well for a while if you treat people like fans and not consumers. People want to be part of your club and want to feel like they discovered you, they want to be the agents of the "grass roots" move. Please give them something worth there precious time.

j.

November Sky and August Rain

I wrote poetry a lot in high school, I was pretty good, I would even "help" the other students who had assignments for their English. Eventually I picked up an instrument and became a song-writer, but poetry was my first love.

It's funny how one passion can morph into another. We want to have it all figured out, have a 10 year plan. But usually a year or two into it that plan gets changed. I have a friend I talked to last night who has been planning on medical school since she graduated high school, has a pre-med deally from her four year school and now thinks she may want to go to Texas and do charity work.

The truth is we can't try to hard to figure out tomorrow. We can only head in that direction. Christian scripture suggests we, "worry not about tomorrows things, because tomorrow is able to take care of itself". It will happen whether we are there or not. Of course I am constantly championing having and "articulate vision, and manageable goals to get there". But I am also a firm believer in not being so caught up in the future that you miss today.

For old times sake I decided to try my hand a poetry again...this will be the sixth revision and at this point I have probably made it more of a song but there's always tomorrow.

spinning thread from suits and stitches
the hitch hiker packs and hitches a ride
into November sky.

counting riches as more than wealth
Every man a name for himself to make
have I to steal to take.

life's only 400 seasons
reckless resolve or your reason to stay
the fear of yesterday

Refreshing rain in August falls
so strange how long a man can stall, for what
avoiding rushing's cut

j.

The Secret Club

The road.

It's a season of weddings, graduations, and new beginnings. In the last three weeks I've seen three weddings, two engagements, and a graduation. I have been to VA, PA, NY, NH, and the ATL. Finally back in Nashville and hitting life at full speed. Watching your friends search for their first house, or decorating a hotel room for the first night is oddly normal feeling when your in the moment.

One of the weddings I attended was a Mexican wedding, it was one of the most positive culture experiences. Caught in a cacophony of bi-lingual banter I spent the weekend at the brides parents house. The house was never quiet, there was always food, and I finally put that college Spanish to work.

The thing that stuck out was the deep family connection. Every introduction consistently started with question one. "Where you from?" quickly followed with, "Do you have any family there?" No one asked what I did or what the weather was like there. And when I replied with a no, you could almost see the pity in there faces.

I wondered if I was missing something, if I should have a cousin close by or something. I realized it's that innate sense of community humans seem to need, it's why the get in relationships, join fraternities, religious organizations, the pta, etc. Everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves, to "belong".
Of course this is my pop psychologist coming out, but still, who didn't start a "secret club" in the third grade or sell cookies in a green sash or widdle sticks into bird houses.

So as an artist or marketer, thats what you need to target. Make people a part of your "secret club" give them videos or promotional offers that are tailor made for them. send them fan letters or email them for opinions on this falls product line.
get them emotionally invested and they will be fans/ customers for life.

j.