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Miles Electric: A Different Kind Of Blue "It takes courage to leave all your security blankets behind and jump without a blanket" -- Carlos Santana on Miles Davis
Featured are interviews of musicians who were a part of this amazing transitional moment in American music, including Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Keith Jarrett, in addition to those who were profoundly affected by his innovations - Carlos Santana and Joni Mitchell, among others. When Davis released Bitches Brew in 1970, he opened up a new angle to jazz. Some critics accused Davis of selling out, while consumers kept his album on the top of the charts. To date, Bitches Brew is one of the best selling jazz albums of all time. Miles Electric: A Different Kind Of Blue examines the next step in the process -- performing live. Miles performed before 600,000 screaming rock fans at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. It was the culmination of a remarkable journey. A giant of jazz, Davis by the late Sixties started to look in new musical directions; challenged by what he heard in the streets and on the radio- and especially by Jimi Hendrix's music- he began to add electric pianos and guitars to his ensembles, incorporating rock and funk rhythms with jazz improvisations. This fusion resulted in masterworks such as In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew; it also resulted in controversy every bit as fierce as Dylan going electric, as musicians, critics, and fans argued over the future of jazz. Directed by award winning producer Murray Lerner, Miles Electric sits down with several of the performers who played with Miles, interspersed with footage from the concert. Lerner has brilliantly captured this amazing transitional moment in American music, adding contemporary reminiscences by musicians who were at Davis' side (Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Dave Holland, Gary Bartz, etc.) as well as others profoundly affected by his innovations (Carlos Santana and Joni Mitchell). The DVD has a running time of 73 minutes and is presented in 5.1surround sound. It will be available wherever video is sold on November 16, 2004 for a suggested retail price of $19.98. Extra features on the DVD include additional interviews. Eagle Rock Entertainment develops, acquires and produces music programming for a wide range of notable and high profile artists, which the company distributes on a worldwide basis. Eagle Rock Entertainment, Eagle Vision and Eagle Eye Media are wholly owned divisions of Eagle Rock Group, LTD.
Cat
Stevens Returns With Small Kindnesses
Yusuf Islam, known to millions as the British singer/songwriter and pop star Cat Stevens, has reconciled himself to his music. A long, personal journey led him to a small stage in NYC last night for the private screening for the worldwide release of his new DVD, Cat Stevens: MajiKat: Earth Tour 1976.
Not long after the MajiKat tour, Cat Stevens walked away from the music business and stardom, embraced Islam, and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. He shunned his pop star life, including those magical songs that captured the hearts of millions of fans and inspired many to embark on their own artistic journeys. So many of us loved that music, and it felt as if he were rejecting us, too. Photo: Promotional poster for Cat Stevens: MajiKat DVD Yusuf's new life, largely hidden from public view, was subject to speculation and at times, derision. Some thought he had become a monk, others thought he'd gone crazy, many were just plain mad that the star whom they had embraced could abandon everyone so swiftly and so completely. But Yusuf Islam did not become a monk or a cleric. He did not retreat to live alone on top of a mountaintop in some exotic land. He did not stop living life, and once was quoted in an interview as saying, "I wanted to stop singing about life and start having a life." Yusuf started living a different kind of life from that of a pop star, one in which he found meaning, substance, and direction through his newfound faith in Islam.
Yusuf currently lives in London, is married and raising a family of five children. He founded four schools in Britain for Muslim children so Muslim families can educate their children following their cultural and religious practices. He owns a Muslim-friendly hotel in London. He also founded a charity organization, Small Kindnesses, to rescue war orphans in countries like Kosovo, Bosnia, and recently, in Iraq. It is with Small Kindnesses that the screening opened. Noel J. Brown, President & CEO of Friends of the United Nations, welcomed the 90 or so Eagle Rock Entertainment staff, distributors, journalists, photographers and assorted associates to the screening. He informed us that today was also the launch of the United States branch of Small Kindnesses, a charity that has been endorsed by the United Nations. In his eloquent speech, Mr. Brown spoke of the great work that Small Kindnesses does, and the wonderful contributions that Yusuf Islam makes in the lives of some of our most helpless world citizens: war orphans. Following Mr. Brown, Yusuf's right hand man, Mohammed Kahn, spoke with a trembling voice of his experiences in Bosnia and Kosovo, of the helpless children and families... and of meeting a man called Yusuf Islam, who came over from Britain to help. Mohammed didn't know of Yusuf's former life, had never heard of Cat Stevens. When he learned of the former Cat Stevens and heard his music, Mohammed said, "I didn't see a different heart in Cat Stevens than the one I know in Yusuf Islam." When it came to helping victims of tragedy, Yusuf "didn't just sing about it he acted on it." Paul Hoeffel with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations came onstage to describe how Yusuf had come to the UN a few years ago about Small Kindnesses and his interest in forming a partnership with the UN to work with war orphans. Mr. Hoeffel explained that the UN works with thousands of nongovernmental organizations, large and small, to help with crises and disaster relief. The smaller organizations often have specialized, grassroots knowledge so critical to successful operations in countries at war. Calling disaster relief a "growth industry" because of the many conflicts around the world, he said that the UN depends on organizations like Small Kindnesses to create a network of aid and assistance. He called upon the creative community to participate, to help. He said that the UN and its network of charity organizations are looking for people who care, and suggested that people like Yusuf Islam can bring the creative community together to lend a hand.
At this point, Mohammed came back onto stage to introduce a man who was a hero to him from a completely different time, place, and world than for those of us in the audience who only know Cat Stevens. He asked Yusuf Islam to come to the stage. A slim, slightly hunched, middle-aged man in a light gray suit, rimless glasses and a wooden walking stick walked onto the stage. There he stood, with a neatly trimmed full beard and closely cut hair, both salt and pepper, a gentle smile and those dark, dancing, intense Cat Stevens eyes ... Despite his modest manner, this was a man completely at home on the stage, completely home with leadership. The baritone voice spoke softly ... The DVD project "is a combination of where I was and where I am ..." he began. "My music was a gift," he said, " and I hope it weighs in my good deeds ..." Yusuf held out his right hand, as if weighing his songs in the scale of righteousness. "I've heard stories of how my music has helped people ... even stopped suicides ..." he looked down. "This gift was given to me." It became clear to me at that moment that Yusuf Islam has finally brought his long private journey from stardom to rejection to reconciliation to a close. He has found the common ground that acknowledges the gift of his art, the gift of his faith, and his desire to live a life of value.
The photo of the young girl came back onto the screen and faded, and Yusuf asked Mike Carden, President North American Operations / Executive VP Eagle Rock Entertainment, to join him. We learned that Mr. Carden was not only the man behind this DVD project, but also is one of the special people who have adopted orphans, as well. A visibly moved Mr. Carden told us that he adopted two children and is in the processes of adopting his third, to the applause of the audience. He thanked the audience for coming to the screening, and for supporting the release of the "Cat Stevens: MajiKat: Earth Tour 1976 DVD. Realistically, at this point in the evening they could have showed me just about anything and it wouldn't have mattered, because I was so moved by what I had just witnessed. And then the show began. I'd never seen Cat Stevens perform live. I'll not go into any details about the performances on the DVD (we'll leave that to the DVD review), but I will say that I literally had to stop myself from clapping after each song! Cat Stevens earned the love of his fans. Hearing those songs brought goose bumps, remembering the melodies, those singable, wonderful melodies! Interspersed between performances, Yusuf Islam speaks about his career, his albums, his music, his life. And hearing the lyrics anew, in light of what we saw and heard ... I just can't explain what it was like. As I listened to the lyrics, I thought of the man who stood before us, weighing the value of those songs in his hand.
What is the meaning of art? What is the value of what we do as artists, songwriters, and musicians? Those are questions that Yusuf Islam wrestled with, and each of us wrestles with. Why was I gifted with the desire to create music? What are the responsibilities of my gift? I want to personally thank Yusuf Islam for bringing his personal struggle and journey to our attention through the Cat Stevens: MajiKat: Earth Tour 1976 DVD. He reminded me that who I am as a creative being is just as important as who I am in every other aspect of my life. Yusuf Islam has a story to tell that is important to us the creative community. Listen to his story, and then think about your own. Research Assistant: The Singing Rebel
The
Story Behind 'The Fly Jefferson Airplane' DVD
For the next several years, millions would take Donovan's advice. Jefferson Airplane, since their inception a year earlier, had quickly come to personify the cultural and societal revolution whose vortex was San Francisco-"heaven on earth," as co-founder Paul Kantner puts it in this, the first-ever Jefferson Airplane DVD collection. Jefferson Airplane was no stranger to firsts: The first San Francisco rock band signed to a major record label and the first to score with national hit singles and albums, the Airplane quickly became media darlings, spreading the news everywhere. They were unquestionably responsible for inspiring thousands of young people across the country to migrate to San Francisco for a taste of the free life. Due to their implicit status as spokesband of choice for the San Francisco scene, Jefferson Airplane spent a great deal of time performing in front of cameras-lucky for us because now, more than three decades after they went their separate ways, we can once again relive some of their most stunning performances. Jefferson Airplane was, first and foremost, a live band-their creativity manifested most spectacularly as they invented and reinvented their music in front of appreciative fans. The earliest known footage of the group in action-aired originally on a Bell Telephone Hour TV special-captures it onstage in August 1966 at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium, the mecca run by the late promoter Bill Graham, himself a defining force within the San Francisco music community.
The woman singing next to Marty on "It's No Secret" may not look familiar if you aren't already familiar with the intricacies of the Airplane's long and winding history. Signe Anderson was a fundamental element of the band's initial lineup, but she was gone by the second album, replaced by the one and only Grace Slick, considered by many to be the first true female rock star-and one of the most original and fascinating artists rock has ever known. Grace, as drummer Spencer Dryden puts it, "brought a commanding strength and focus" to the music. She was also one of the most beautiful figures in popular music, with a voice that could slice through steel. "Somebody To Love," a song she brought to the Airplane from her earlier band, the Great Society, became the Airplane's first Top 10 hit. The live version here, filmed at the epoch-defining Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, is a prime example of the powerful Grace's gripping charisma and unparalleled artistry at work. Monterey was, for the entire band, a moment to savor, perhaps the purest expression of the "peace and love" ethos of the times. And the group's Monterey performance of "High Flyin' Bird," a folk song they'd found on a Judy Henske album and played often-but never released on one of their own albums during their lifespan-is quintessential early Airplane. All of their propellers are spinning at full speed here, Grace delivering a spellbinding vocal during her section of the tag-team song. If there is one song that will forever be aligned with the name Grace Slick, though, it's "White Rabbit," with its snaking bolero rhythm and provocative, Lewis Carroll- inspired story line. "No one thought it would be a hit single," says Dryden, but in fact it has become a classic of the era, a fitting, enduring symbol of the psychedelic '60s. The Airplane performed "White Rabbit" virtually every time they stood on a stage, and when they were asked to guest on the hip Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour TV program in 1967, they brought it to the nation's living rooms during prime time. Some of the Airplane's numerous television appearances took place on programs that normally attracted a decidedly non-rock audience, however. Perry Como, an old- school crooner popular during the 1950s, must have been scratching his head in bewilderment along with the rest of his viewers as his RCA Records labelmates aired their trippy home movie-style, pre-MTV video of "Martha," a song written by rhythm guitarist/vocalist Kantner about a runaway he'd befriended. But no Jefferson Airplane television appearance was as charmingly perplexing as their return visit to the Smothers Brothers in 1968. Tom and Dick Smothers were, as Marty puts it, "brothers in arms," cool cats sympathetic to the rock bands of the day and open-minded enough to allow them leeway, much to the chagrin of their network. So when Grace, before heading out front to tear into a raw live rendition of the newest Airplane anthem, "Crown Of Creation," spied a table full of makeup and spontaneously smeared her face with the darkest brown she could find, no one tried to stop her. "You never knew what Grace was going to do," says lead guitarist Jorma Kaukonen in Fly Jefferson Airplane. "She was her own mistress." That controversial blackface incident, along with many other shocking Grace moments, has since gone down in Jefferson Airplane lore-now, finally you can see what the fuss was all about. "Crown" features a tandem vocal, but Grace once again takes the solo lead on "Lather," a tender, waltz-like ballad she wrote for Spencer upon the drummer's 30th birthday. In an appropriately childlike voice, Grace puts forth the then-radical suggestion that it's perfectly okay, even at such a ripe old age as 30, to remain young at heart. Incidentally, those who have scoured Airplane album credits may be interested in knowing that the fellow seen doing the "nose solo" in this clip from the Smothers Brothers' show is the elusive Gary Blackman, a friend of the band's who co-wrote some of its most memorable tunes. The next performance is nothing less than one of the all-time greatest visual records of Jefferson Airplane at work. In 1968 the Swiss-French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard began work on a political semi-documentary he called One A.M. (One American Movie). Godard, who felt that the Airplane best represented the youth revolution of the day, wanted the band in his film, and keeping to its somewhat militant spirit, he had the musicians set up their equipment-sans permit-on a hotel rooftop in midtown Manhattan at the peak of the working day. There, as harried New Yorkers below scanned the sky to see what the ruckus was, the Airplane unleashed the most incendiary version of "House At Pooneil Corners," the music "bouncing off the buildings" on this chilled November afternoon. The Airplane are simply on fire here-bassist Jack Casady looks and sounds positively ferocious, and both Grace and Marty are at their improvisatory, dueling best, having the time of their lives (yes, that is Grace doing a jig when it's over). The performance, which preceded the Beatles' famous Apple rooftop concert in London by months, culminates with the New York City police shutting down the kamikaze attack with threats of arrest. The Godard film was never released, but documentarian D. A. Pennebaker finished it up anyway, renaming it One P.M. (for One Pennebaker Movie). "House At Pooneil Corners" was a sequel of sorts to the earlier "The Ballad Of You & Me & Pooneil," and the live version of that song, originally aired on a program called A Night At The Family Dog, shows the band at the apex of its jamming powers. Casady's bass solo is a scorcher-then, just as it seems things can't possibly get more intense, Jorma Kaukonen unleashes an astonishing guitar solo that mows down everything in its path. By the end of the 1960s, as the war in Vietnam heated up and civil strife ravaged America, the Airplane, like many of their generation, had become more politically radicalized. But rather than take to the streets the Airplane-arguably the most popular and influential band in America by that time-made their point in song. "We Can Be Together" reflects that period, says Kantner in his Fly Jefferson Airplane interview, when "the flower children started growing thorns." The images that accompany the music here-in a promotional film produced by the Airplane's in-house light show man, Glenn McKay-are a reminder of the perilous, touch-and-go atmosphere in which this band created its crucial art. The end of that decade also marked the beginning of the Airplane's dissolution. Spencer Dryden was the first of the key members to leave, replaced by a young Pennsylvanian named Joey Covington. The band "felt we needed more power," as Casady puts it, and the formidable Covington had what they were after. The live version of "Plastic Fantastic Lover," from the 1970 public television documentary Go Ride The Music, produced by the renowned San Francisco music critic Ralph J. Gleason, features the band cranking it up to full velocity, while the clip of "Volunteers," one of the band's most poignant anthems, puts that song into its proper cultural and historical perspective. The Airplane was, says Kantner, "a creature of the '60s," and the group has rightly taken its place among the icons of that era. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored them by inducting Jefferson Airplane in 1996, and to conclude this collection, we flash forward to the induction ceremony in New York City, at which some of the group members saw one another for the first time in years. Jorma's solo rendition of "Embryonic Journey," the exquisite acoustic fingerpicking number that had graced the band's breakthrough Surrealistic Pillow album, retains all of its sonic breadth and startling beauty all these years later. The Airplane didn't always see eye to eye-that internal friction was in fact part of what gave their music its great strength-but in retrospect they acknowledge and understand what gave them their uniqueness and endeared them to millions, what made them such a fundamental part of a generation's existence. As the band's former manager Bill Thompson states, there truly was no other band like them. After viewing this video retrospective, whether you're a veteran fan or have just climbed aboard, you're bound to agree. Jeff Tamarkin is the author of Got a Revolution! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane (Atria Books)
Tony
Koretz Rocks Out
Tony Koretz is a man with a mission: to bring rock 'n' roll back to the table. Since first picking up the guitar at the age of 16, the New Zealand musician, singer, songwriter, and audio engineer has written and released music that just plain smokes with rock'n'roll fervor and passion, the latest collection of which can be heard on his 2004 release, Kicking Cans (Rocksure Soundz). Written, sung, and almost completely played by Koretz himself, with a little help from his brothers Nathan, Marcel, and Simon.
"I wanted to be the next Jimmy Page or Ritchie Blackmore," says Koretz about his musical upbringing. "When I was 16 years old, I took up the guitar, and saved up really hard to buy a nice acoustic guitar. It was an Australian handcrafted Maton, which I still love, as it has such a nice tone-it's the one I used on Kicking Cans. I decided early on that playing rock music was what I really wanted to do, so I bought a good instrument to start with, and began practicing really hard." He adds, "I never had any aspirations to be a vocalist at first, but I found I enjoyed singing while playing, so my music evolved into the singer, songwriter, musician format that I have today."
Listening to Koretz's work, you can almost see where his musical roots spring from. There's definitely a 70's guitar rock sound and feel to these songs, with classic prog rock influences like Yes, Styx, and Queen mixed into the musical notation. There's also a warm garage rock/bar band feel to the music, too, that makes the songs instantly accessible and intimate. There's such a strong, live sound to the album that one wonders how Koretz can work well when confined in a studio. "I love recording, but sometimes I like to get out and play live too," he says. "I go through phases. I might do a series of shows for a time, and then I re-trench in the studio and don't go out and play for a while. I find gigging exhausting, and it's a bit of a love/hate thing for me." He adds, "If I had a road crew to set up and tear down the gear for me, and a regular committed band, I would probably tour and play more."
In fact, one of the best songs on the album, is a love song: the opening track, "If Your Love Was A River." In this, Koretz sings, "If your love was a river/I'd dive right in/If your love was a river/I don't know if I'd sink or swim," all set against a background of fast-paced, prog rock guitar riffs and a wonderful, melodic chorus. Another stand-out tune on this is the title track, "Kicking Cans," where Koretz sings about "Coke cans, garbage cans, headphone cans, baked bean cans, can't cans, won't cans, tin cans..." - basically, it's about the refusal to settle for less than exactly what one wants out of life. Another great song, "Come Back Baby," takes the album into slightly different musical territory, with Koretz pulling out the acoustic blues licks in the beginning and blowing into full rockin' electric blues by the end.
The album's a fun ride all the way through, happy and hopeful and upbeat without being vapid or sappy-instead, this is upbeat music that sounds as though it's being delivered by a voice of experience, someone determined to not be brought down, not matter how tough things are.
He adds, "If I can encourage people to pursue their dreams against all odds, hold onto hope when all seems lost, help others in need and love 'all out' even if it costs, then I will have achieved something. But hey, in all honesty, as a musician, I would love people to enjoy the music, tap their feet, close their eyes, nod their heads in time to the beat, and play some air guitar when their mum or girlfriend ain't looking."
Willie Nelson & Friends: Outlaws And Angels All Star Concert
Recorded in May of 2004 at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles and hosted by famed actor James Caan, the star studded lineup of Outlaws And Angels includes performances by Kid Rock, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Carole King, Toby Keith, Shelby Lynne, Merle Haggard, Lee Ann Womack and many others. In addition to the powerful guests joining Willie onstage, the evening's performance is backed by an equally impressive house band including Nils Lofgren, Ivan Neville and Jim Cox, under the musical direction of Jimmy Rip. Bonus footage on the DVD includes a behind the scenes featurette as well as reahearsal and performance outtakes. Willie Nelson's career as a legendary country musician, political activist and humanitarian has made him an American icon. To pay tribute to Nelson in 2002, a variety of musical acts recorded Willie Nelson & Friends: Stars & Guitars concert in Nashville, Tennessee. That concert was proceeded the next year with yet another star-studded performance to celebrate Willie's 70th birthday entitled, Willie Nelson & Friends: Live and Kickin', recorded in New York City. Originally aired on the USA Network this summer, Willie Nelson & Friends- Outlaws And Angels is the 3rd all-star concert organized by Nelson and the first to be available on DVD in 5.1 Dolby Digital DTS Surround Sound.
DVD track
list: Eagle Rock Entertainment develops, acquires and produces music programming for a wide range of notable and high profile artists, which the company distributes on a worldwide basis. Eagle Rock Entertainment, Eagle Vision and Eagle Eye Media are wholly owned divisions of Eagle Rock Group, LTD.
Hungry
Lucy: Synthesizers and Fairy Tales
"I've been involved in music since I was like, 10 years old," says War-N Harrison of the band Hungry Lucy. "Most of my family's musical, so that's where I picked it from. It's just in my blood, I guess."
"It was pretty difficult in the beginning," admits Christa. "Warren just kept asking me to sing, and I kept saying no, and I finally did. Once I did , it seemed kind of fun. The first album was probably the toughest, just because I didn't know what I was doing. I had a real problem with stage fright, too," she adds. "At least, up until our third show, which was in front of over a thousand people! That kind of took it right out of me."
"There was just something about Lucy's story that struck a chord in me," says Christa. "Something about her waiting for her one true love to come back to her, even after death - I could kind of identify with it." The melancholy back-story of Hungry Lucy the ghost works well to explain what one can expect from the music of Hungry Lucy the band. Over the course of nearly six years, the team of keyboardist War-N Harrison and singer Christa Belle have released three bittersweet and dark albums, the most recent being 2004's "To Kill a King." "This album is about a bad relationship. I won't go into too much detail," Christa adds quickly, laughing. "It's about being stuck in a bad relationship when the other person is not a very nice person, but you feel compelled to stay." From track to track, the listener gets pulled through the details of this relationship, from the first track, where the narrator decides that she wants to end it, to the end - of both the album and the relationship.
Through this journey, we're treated to some truly exceptional musical numbers. In "Can You Hear Me?", a dreamy minimal synth-pop beat plays behind Christa's soft yet strong voice and War-N's barely-whispered, almost-menacing soliloquy of a person determined to be understood and heard, ending with the words, "No more." In "Fool," a stark voice opens up with the grim, "In this bloody pool, I see such a fool in me - how could I let myself believe in you?"
It's not all dark, though. Somewhere during the 10th track, "Stars" (directly after the telling instrumental interlude of "A Lifetime Remains"), the narrator makes a complete turnaround, reflecting on the hope she sees in the future of the children she sees crossing the street in front of her, no doubt making a connection with the purpose in her own life. She has determined to leave the "King" in her narrative, and to do it as bloodlessly as possible. "After so long, you just can't take it anymore, and you kind of have to dig and find your own personal strength and get the hell out of there," explains Christa of this section of the album. "I kind of wanted to convey the message that you kill the power and not the actual person, because that kind of makes them more miserable if they have to live with the bad things they did when it's all over." She adds, "We didn't really intend to do this as a concept album, and I know a lot of people think that we did, but it's just the lyrics I wrote seem to tell their own story."
"I'd been in a number of bands over the years, and they all had done releases through various independent label channels," explains Harrison. "Frankly, I got a little frustrated with it - I mean, on a smaller label, there's not that much money there, understandably, but then when it's spread among several bands, then the share of each band is even less. And I got to thinking that there's nothing that they're doing that I couldn't do myself, basically. So that's how we set out about doing it. No stone is left unturned with us, whereas with a label, they're somewhat reliant on what they can afford to do and what they're willing to do for one of the bands on their label. So unless there's a ton of money there, like with a major label, but my experience has been, if you want it done right, you've got to do it yourself."
Marianne
Kesler - The Acoustic Madonna
There are bands who focus on production, there are singers and bands who are occupied with finding radio hooks, and there are singer-songwriters who write from the inside and let success fall where it may. Marianne Kesler's new release, Green Room, is the latter (maybe with the pinch of "hooks" thrown in for self-satisfaction). The premise is acoustic, though she does not stick to the "rules" of folk or acoustic pop, most ably heard in the title track:
On every track there is an air of innocence that translates dewy-eyed girls who write poetry into the real world (and we're not talking the edited, shaky camera MTV version). The abecedarian, lucid vision of "Unrefined" is merely a soft beat, a few unplugged guitars and a voice giving clues into her uncomplicated yet intricate emotional lifestyle. Not crooned, but the voice is held not much higher than a whisper as she soulfully throws:
It is this blend of melodic, unsullied optimism that has kept Marianne Kesler in the studio and touring for exactly a decade. Her performance history is a literal Who's Where of festival work: Rockfest in NY, Rock the Park in CT, Rockledge Music Festival NY, Columbus Arts Festival, Inside Out Soul Festival in NH, and Woodstock in CT. Not to mention extensive tours in The Netherlands and Australia. She also frequents coffeehouses, cafes, churches and any place else they allow music from California to New Jersey.
It differs from her previous releases because, as she states, "there is more 'acoustic art pop' melded with the rock in Green Room, in contrast to the folk influences of my earlier albums. Also this producer finally hit upon the electric guitar sounds I have been searching for several projects!" Both the writing and recording took the better part of a year to put together. "I think the lack of time pressure allowed us to better serve the individual songs for once. We had very few parameters going into this project other than to make beautiful music."
This simple, honest view of observing life and people is where her style and lyrics come from. "Something happens, it triggers a thought process, and a song is born. I used to write totally personal songs, but now many are what I call 'collages' ... a little bit of me, a glimpse of you ... hoping people can see themselves in the reflection."
As anyone else in the field might say, her dreams for music are simple: "Just a bigger audience that really loves my music... instead of booking all the little gigs and praying that somebody shows up! Being asked to play, and having an audience that just loves what you do (so you can quit trying to please everyone or catch the latest wave) living out this crazy dream of making music! "I think Green Room is the closest I have ever come to capturing what I mean to say and how I want to sound! I actually enjoy listening to it... which as an artist is very hard for me to say about my own work. So with all this, I am truly hopeful that a whole new fan base will make its acquaintance and really fall in love with the music! "I really love what I do. If I could come to the place of being able to create music, as opposed to spending so much time on the business side of things, I would feel very fulfilled in that part of my life. I'd feel like I was doing just what I was created to do!"
Alicia
Keys: The Diary of Alicia Keys On DVD
As a singer, songwriter and pianist, Alicia Keys has raised the bar for female musicians and has been embraced by audiences of all ages. Fans now get inside the head of Alicia Keys and an exclusive look at this superstar with the DVD release of Alicia Keys: The Diary Of Alicia Keys. Containing footage that cannot be seen on any other Alicia Keys project, the DVD goes behind the scenes to capture the true Ms. Keys and her team craft her most recent album, The Diary of Alicia Keys.
Join Alicia and her crew onto the set of the "Girlfriend" video shoot and DIARY photo shoots. Get an up close and personal look at the different sides of Alicia, watch hilarious footage of fights on tour, rough crowds and clowning around between she and her team. Offering a backstage pass to all things Alicia, The Diary Of Alicia Keys is a must-have for any fan. A proud recipient of five Grammy Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award and countless others, Alicia Keys is a piano-playing prodigy whose multi-dimensional gifts emerged at the age of five. Alicia's natural talent blossomed into a rare mix of Soul/Hip Hop, Jazz/Classical and R&B flavors. Alicia grew up in New York, and began writing and producing her debut album at the age 14. In July 2001, Alicia Keys impacted the music industry with an incredible force as her first album, Songs In A Minor debuted at the top of the Billboard charts, selling over 235,000 copies in its first week of release. The release stayed at #1 for three weeks and ultimately catapulted her into international super stardom. Keys has since released her follow up album, Diaries, which has seen the same success, making Alicia Keys a staple in the world of music. Eagle Rock Entertainment develops, acquires and produces music programming for a wide range of notable and high profile artists, which the company distributes on a worldwide basis. Eagle Rock Entertainment, Eagle Vision and Eagle Eye Media are wholly owned divisions of UK-based Eagle Rock Group, LTD.
What Can
We Learn From Beyonce's Bottom?
Of course, we have all seen the videos of gangster type guys in hot tubs surround by nameless girls in bikinis fawning all over them. We have also seen the scenes in clubs where young men and women, looking like updated characters out of "Guys and Dolls," dance in a tough way. Yet the trend has gone further. I just saw the video for the new song "Soldier" performed by Destiny's Child, the group that features the young, talented, and sexually provocative Beyonce Knowles. In the video, Beyonce and her female band mates claim to be looking for a "soldier." A soldier, by their definition, appears to be a gang member. They claim that they want to have sex with just such a person. Here are the lyrics of the chorus: If his
status ain't hood Now, I don't pretend to know what she means when she says that this man must "carry big things," but she seems to be referring to weapons. When she says his status must be "hood," that means he must be from a poor neighborhood, and when she says he "better be street," that means that he must be one who spends a lot of time on the street. In other words, he couldn't be a doctor or a lawyer, or anyone with an office job. He has to be someone who basically makes his living on "the street." In other words, a criminal. This is further emphasized in the second part of the chorus: If his
status ain't hood As you can see, one of the requirements that these sexy young girls have for a man is that he "Gotta get dough." And they are not talking about someone in the bakery business. They want a guy who can bring them cold, hard, cash. And again, it cannot be from a legitimate business, because "he betta be street." Let's also consider the language here. First of all, we must realize that the ladies of Destiny's Child are all well educated and extremely wealthy. Beyonce came from a family that was anything but "street." Her father had the intelligence and business acumen to become the manager of her extremely successful group. Her mother had the sophisticated fashion sense to be able to create the costumes for the girls. This is not your stereotypical "ghetto family," yet look at the words sung by Ms. Knowles and company: I know some
soldiers in here (Where they at, where they at) "Where they at"? Are we to believe that someone of Beyonce's privileged background really says, "Where they at"? Are we to believe that she really wants a guy who will "take one" (ex. a bullet) for her? Are we to believe that she sees gangsters on the street and "wouldn't mind puttin' that" on her? In other words, she would like to have sex with some poor gang member she just eyed on the street? Could you imagine the outcry if a wealthy, white woman came out with a song using these kind of phrases, "Homie in the Dickies, in my zone tonight", "Oh he lookin' good, and he talkin' right"? Are we to believe that this is how Beyonce talks when she is on a photo shoot for a top fashion magazine, or when she is in the studio making recordings at $500 per hour, or when she is dining in Beverly Hills at the finest restaurants in town? What we are really seeing is a group of very rich people of color, pretending to be poor people from high crime neighborhoods, where a girl might actually need a tough guy to protect her from the other gangsters in the area. What we are seeing is a total fabrication! It is a new type of Hollywood image. If you think about it, this is nothing new. In the 1940s there were wealthy actors who made a lot of money portraying gangsters; Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney, to name a few. There has always been a fascination with outlaw types in American culture going back to Jesse James, and Billy the Kid. The difference is Bogart and Cagney were actors, and everyone knew they were just acting. In the case of Beyonce, and many other music stars of today, they are often well-to-do kids pretending to be poor gang bangers, and many poor kids look up to them and buy into the image they are portraying. If I were a poor boy from a tough neighborhood, and I wanted a sexy girl like Beyonce, I would think, "Wow, I guess I better join a gang, because Beyonce says her guy better be street." I would think, "I have to be able to get dough', take one' for a girl, and carry big things'." Isn't that the message here? Isn't the message also that I should speak in black slang, rather than try to speak in standard English, as Bill Cosby has been telling us to do? I should say, "Where they at," instead of "Where are they." I should say, "I aint checkin for him," instead of, "I am not interested in him." If I want to have sex with a girl like Beyonce, who walks around with her belly showing and shakes her round bottom in tight designer jeans while draped with fox furs, I had better become a tough gangster who steals money from people, gets into fights over turf, and carries big things (if you know what I mean). At the end of the video, we see the three Destiny's Child ladies holding evil looking Doberman Pinchers by tight leashes as the girls pose looking hard, like S&M dominatrixes. The message, once again, is that sex is violent and violence is sex. It is the ultimate merging of the two highest selling things in America. Now you don't have to go to one place for your sexual imagery and another for your violent imagery, now you can have "two, two, two images in one"! I hope I don't sound like I am being judgmental about this new trend. I am merely trying to point out that far from the trend turning back to an interest in great musicians who really play their instruments and can improvise and create imaginative landscapes of sound, the trend of sexuality, and now sex mixed with violence, continues to grow in today's American popular musical culture. By now, you might be wondering, "What does any of this have to do with Beyonce's bottom?" The answer is: NOTHING! Why are you so interested in Beyonce's bottom anyway?
Music Business : How I
Spent Six Months On The Road With Billy Idol
Hopefully, that's a catchy title. This is a great (and completely true and unembellished) story that highlights a part of the job description of being on the road. Many people outside of the music business want to hang out with Rock Stars (in some capacity OTHER than "Groupie"). Many of them think that by taking a position as a sound tech, lighting tech, stage carpenter, rigger, etc, they will get to "hang" with whomever they are on tour with. If this is your primary reason for getting into the tech side of the entertainment business, then you are in the wrong business. PLEASE, stay home. The entertainment business is for people with a passion for their job. The arena sized, touring road crew business where I work is a place where pros exercise their craft. They set-up somewhere between 1 and 20 semi-loads of gear in record time EVERY day, and they love that it's their job. Now, there are ways to hang with the band, and have it be ok, and I'll get to that at the end. In the meantime, let me tell the story that I allude to in the title. Back in the late '80s I was on the Billy Idol Whiplash Smile tour. We were playing 6,000 to 20,000 seat venues across the U.S. and Canada. I got the job in the way most people get cool jobs in the business... I got a call at home asking me if I could be on a plane the next day to replace someone they hadn't YET told they were firing.
After a couple months of this, we pulled into Philly at some venue where they have three levels of parking below the main space. Now, a confluence of events took place that led to one of the strangest encounters of my life, which I remember vividly to this day. First... Catering (where the food is!!) was located at the lowest level of the parking garage in some large room off to the side. You had to walk down and down and down the ramps and across the parking area and then up a small set of stairs to get to catering to get lunch. Second... A day or so before we hit town, they had a vintage muscle car show in this venue. Hundreds of old cars, perfectly restored, spotless, the pride of American manufacturing. Many of these cars weren't scheduled to be shipped home to their owners for a few more days, and so easily 50 to 100 of them had been parked in the lowest level (the most secure) of the parking garage. Third... The night before we arrived it had POURED down rain. I mean, POURED. Like, they got their annual rainfall in one night. Now, remember the parking garage? Guess what? It's well below grade right? Lets add one more factor here Poor Drainage! To adequately paint the picture, imagine a couple of million dollars of cars with about an inch of their hoods showing above the water, and catering on the other side of an impassable lake. What do you think was going to happen... The roadies and local crew were walking across the hoods of the cars to get to food, hanging from the sprinklers to make the hop between some of the cars that were parked a little farther apart than others. Now, I got up a hair late that day, and missed breakfast. So after we got the rig flown, I headed off to get lunch before focus not knowing anything that I just told you. I got to the bottom of the ramp, saw a car close by that wasn't underwater and noted that the hood was totally scratched. Then I saw a trail of dented hoods all the way across the garage to the stairs that led up to the door on the other side where food was. So, I did what everyone else had done. I hopped up on the first car, and grabbed the sprinkler and headed across the lake using the car hoods as stepping-stones. As I got on the first car, Billy appeared out of catering, and headed towards me, both of us using the sprinklers to steady our hops towards each other from car to car. (Now, I also noted that Billy's silver tipped boots were REALLY doing a scratch number on the cars, but with the dents and scratches that were already there, this was not really an issue.) We met about in the middle of the lake, on the hood of a BEAUTIFUL, bright orange, must have been mid '50s Chevvy coupe. It must have been a monster on the road. He was grabbing a sprinkler to pass me on the windshield side of the hood, and I was holding something like an electrical conduit to pass him on the radiator side. As we passed, I said to him "Hey man, how's it going?" (5 words), and he shot back, "Yeah... It's going all right." With that, he moved on to the next car towards the ramp, and I moved on towards the food. I was out with this tour for six months, and it turns out that was my ONLY encounter with him the entire time, and so even though I worked for him for a reasonable period of time, that was the only exchange I EVER had with him. (Wait, I saw him backstage at a Van Halen show in LA two years later. I said "Hi, I was on your Whiplash Smile tour," and he said "Cool.") I need to tell you that I don't lament that this was my only exchange with Billy on the tour, because the moral is that it wasn't my JOB to sit and chat with him. It was my JOB to hang the lighting rig every day, and I did that, cause well, I didn't want to get replaced like the guy I had replaced. The fact that I got to talk to him under fairly interesting circumstances doesn't change that I was doing my job. Now, the exception that I mentioned earlier... The larger the tour you are on, the less access you will have to the band. Of course, this means that smaller tours, you DO hang out more with the band, but it means you are hanging out with "lesser" stars. So, IF you want to hang with the band, go on a one-bus, or van/club tour as stage crew or even "merch girl," but always remember to do your job FIRST! (If anyone wants to know what happens to you when you DON'T do your job? Email me at John_Schlick@hotmail.com, and I'll tell you the story of Glitch, who went out with Hanzel Und Gretyl on a bus based club tour.)
Career
Strategies That Work And Don't Work
I know there are successful musicians out there, and I want to know how they got that way. No doubt we all want to know. |
Last
year, after that famous incident at the Super Bowl, I wrote an article
titled, "What Can We Learn From Janet Jackson's Breast?". In
that article I spoke about the sexual history of rock performance; how the
sexual emphasis started with Elvis and then grew and grew as each
generation pushed the envelope further and further, until finally Ms.
Jackson opened the envelope: baring her breast on television during a day
time, family entertainment event! While I did not take a position on the
morality of her display, I did question this trend of mixing sex and
music, and wondered when musicianship would again be admired.
So,
naturally the next day I was on a plane to Boston to head for the Centrum
in Worcester, 60 miles from the airport. I joined the tour, learned my
part of the load in, show, and load-out. The worthless guy was replaced.
In the very rare moments of free time I had, I tended to find myself
hanging out either with Duffy, (the guitar player for our opening act, The
Cult), Ian, (the lighting designer for the Cult), or Kenny Aaronson
(Billy's bass player), and occasionally with Janet, (Billy's wardrobe
girl, who also happened to have the bunk below me on the tour bus). But I
never really saw or talked to Billy.
