10.56
DGM HQ.
From the nephew of an old Band Buddy of mine from 43 years ago…
Before I go any further, I appreciate how busy you must be and all I ask is for a moment of your time. My uncle has often mentioned you when we talk music but I have never felt it an appropriate time to contact you until now.
I have been involved with music since I got my first drumkit at 14. I also begun to teach myself guitar then. My long term partner and I met back in 1989 when we were both 15 and had a dream of music together. We now have three kids and are a bit more older and wiser, but the dream still exists.
I have travelled through the usually unusual kind of musical history playing in various bands etc. In 2000, due to the high level of musical creativity around us, I taught myself the basics of music publishing and we set up an independent music publisher… I`m still here writing, producing and trying to get the music out there in an almost impossible business.
I`m aware that in reality there is probably little you can help me with. Still, I am an opportunist and ever the optimist, so I figure why not give it a go. Perhaps if you listened to the music it may give you a picture and a feel for where I am coming from. I would happily send you a cd. Alternatively I have various myspace pages where you can sample some music…
From the reply…
i don’t do this anymore, but your uncle is an old & valued pal. i appreciate your position, because it’s not very far from my position - the position of the working player.
for those who love music, better to do it as an amateur or semi-pro. the semi-pro can always go fully pro, and can pay the bills until then. the pro has to take work that they would often rather not, because the roof leaks & the children are hungry. from my view, you can compromise on the money, the people you work with, the conditions you work under, but you must never compromise the music.
the industry is in turmoil & confusion, and there are advantages & disadvantages to this. the disadvantage is, few of the conventional ways of succeeding seem to work anymore. the advantage is, few of the conventional ways of succeeding are available anymore. this is good - they always sucked & involved even more difficulties if you became successful.
the one fundamental, which has always governed my own work, is this: playing in public. if you can play superbly & exceptionally, people will listen. if you are a superb writer & a superb player, life is possible. if you are a lousy writer & superb player, play someone else’s material. if you are a great writer & a feeble performer, find a superb player to play your material. if you are good at both, with good luck, travelling downhill with the wind behind & many years available, you might succeed; but more likely, have a great hobby: music is its own reward.
i went to london at 21, hated it, lived poorly & cheaply, practised 4-8-12 hours a day, went on the road for 35 years, had no personal life that anyone would recognise as such. i am regarded as successful. i also have a wonderful wife that, now i’m 61, i would like to see on a regular basis.
no complaints: but the drive & directed force that is necessary to overcome the inertia of the world & its inhabitants come with a price. if you can pick up the tab, fine. but, if we follow our passion, and are true to what we see to be real & necessary, we have already succeeded; particularly so when we have a loving family.
12.34 My morning work: addressing the formation of the GCIRP; reading a draft intro to an academic overview of the world of Guitarscape.
13.07 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6897178.stm
Are free CDs killing music? By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine
Prince has sparked an outcry by giving away his new album in the Mail on Sunday. Many weekend newspapers are now sold with a CD or film enclosed. Forget downloads, are free CDs killing music?
An online public comment that follows…
Who really cares if there is a shift in balance on who makes money? Music artists whether good or bad (as long as they are well known) have been making too much easy money for too long, as have the record companies. They are only whinging because their share of the pie is smaller. Peter Lodge, Wigan
I am sure that Mr. Lodge is well informed on the history of income distribution in the music industry; otherwise he wouldn’t have posted, had he not been well-informed. So, I ask: which whinging artists does Mr. Lodge have in mind, please?
My own comment on pie-sharing: I ask it be transparent, equitable, straightforward, accurate & honest, and that those presenting the accounts be themselves accountable; noting that my own history of record statements (and the withholding of such), over a 39 year period, suggests this is exceptionally rare. Actually, the only statements I have received that meet the above criteria are those I receive from DGM.
16.08 What’s that? I…
II…
Alex & Robert are in soundWorld II checking RF & The LCG recordings from Buenos Aires for a future Mr. Stormy’s Monday Selection.
At my feet I…
II…
The power unit was usefully marked by Eno as my personal property, while working on the Unreleased Works Of Startling Genius at Brian’s studio in London.
17.02 E-flurrying on the final stretch. Inter alia, e-letters regarding our audit of EMI & re-mastering the early Fripp & Enos for next year.
Soon, off home via Wilton.
21.13 Bredonborough.
Mr. Romain, of Romain’s Emporium of Wonder, Delight, Antiquities & Curiosities, was dressed for Summer when I visited. Halfway home, the weather changed. The turning to Birdlip…
Now home! Yippee!
"Understanding is simple. Knowing is complicated."
