Sink or Swim

I am lucky to have been involved in the Music Business during a time of incredible creativity & exponential growth.  I hear people complaining about the business “not being what it was” and to some extent I agree.  But there is more music around now than ever: more people are listening to it, and more people are MAKING it.  It’s a question of how you approach the new business model.  You can sink or swim - it’s your choice. 

True, there are going to be fewer "Music Millionaires" with the current state of the industry.  But people will always want to listen to music, and they will always want to go and see artists perform.  It really IS just a case of re-invention.  

The old model was broken anyway. The artists were not making the bulk of the money: the record labels had become a law unto themselves, and were robbing both sides - the public were having to pay through the nose for sub-standard product and the artists were obliged to hand over a huge proportion of their earnings to "promote" their product (and finance A&R department junkets).  It was only a matter of time before both sides found a way to circumvent the middle man.  

We are now looking at a system based on a Global Village Model: if you are enterprising enough, and have the ability to self-promote, you can actually make a living.  OK, it probably won't be millions, but let's face it, only a few artists really did that with the old model.  We just aspired to be like them.  We're looking at a virtual redistribution of wealth.  Maybe not such a bad thing: if more of us stand a better chance of actually making enough to live on, then how can that be anything but good?

So, you won't have your A&R man "holding your hand" through it all, but surely you can do this......?  Of course you can!  The day of the A&R man is long gone.  The last true great (musical) A&R man was Muff Winwood.  The age of the musically-adept record executive is in the past.  You're on your own, kid.  But it's an exciting prospect.  no?

Feel vs Technique

The age-old argument.
I'll start by acknowledging the incredible discipline & skill it takes to practice rudiments endlessly until you've perfected them almost in your sleep.  But, for me, pure technique for no reason leaves me empty, uninspired.

I am, and always will be, a "feel" player.  This doesn't mean I don't have technique, but the majority of my "practice" involves playing with other musicians, first & foremost.  I do warm up before a show, and I do practice rudiments, (although, truth be known, not as much or often as I probably should).

You could call me lazy.  One of my key concepts is to get the message across using the minimum number of strokes.  But I think there are drummers like that throughout Rock Music.  Bonham, for one.....  Nigel Olsson is another.  Even Steve Gadd (whose undeniable technique has been displayed on many occasions) is economical with his approach to a song.

Ringo Starr is, of course, the prime example of someone who was all about the song, and certainly not about showing off.  Were it not for that approach The Beatles would have sounded totally different.

So, I rest my case.  Keep it simple, stupid!

NAMM show 2012

Now the dust has settled on this year's NAMM show, I thought it was about time to write about my experience.

As usual, the background noise level was incredible.  One friend of mine was playing guitar through an amp and the "Noise Police" arrived with a decibel meter.  They told him he would have to turn down because his volume was 80db.  So he asked them to take a second reading, during which time he didn't play a note!  Guess what?  Still 80db! DOH!

I was on the NATAL drum stand for most of the show, which was incorporated with Marshall this year.  2012 being Jim Marshall's 50th anniversary of being in the Biz, this was quite a big deal.  In fact Natal had made a 50th Anniversary (limited edition of 50) drum kit, comprising the Marshall black Tolex covering and gold hardware.  It was a focal point on the booth.  I must say, from a personal point of view, I am loving these drums! I have a maple kit and I am continually amazed at its versatility and great sound, not to mention the hardware. The snare stand is the most versatile I have ever encountered. The hi-hat stands are responsive and adjustable, and the cymbal stands are solid & well finished.

I was put to work conducting interviews with various publications (both on line and printed). Music Radar just uploaded their NAMM report. All in all, Natal created quite a stir at the show.

One of the busiest stands in the drums & percussion section was that of my old friends Big Bang Distribution. Apart from the Ahead sticks (which I have been playing for some time, and love), the new Ahead Armor cymbal bag range (very exciting), their low-cost (and yet great sounding) Kasza cymbal line, they have a huge variety of great accessories for drummers.  But the most exciting new product was a collapsable cajon!  This full-size cajon, made in Barcelona, Spain, fits into a flat bag that is easily carryable, and yet sounds as good as any of the best cajons on the market!  Watch their web site for updates.

Brady drums were present with their usual selection of high-end, no compromise drums.  I managed to spend a few minutes chatting with Kelly Brady.

I was also able to visit with Axis Percussion's founder and innovator: Darell Johnson. He and I go back a way, and he was in his usual high spirits when I arrived at the stand.  I love his endless enthusiasm and keen mind.  He is truly one of the great engineering innovators of new drum ideas. Check out what they have to offer:  again, drum engineering without compromise or equal. I am still using a set of Axis pedals (double kick and hihat) from the early 1990's!

On Saturday afternoon I managed to meet with my old friend John Steven, who is with Behringer. He was very interested in what I thought of their latest foray into the drumming world: their electronic drum kit: the XD70 (and their entry level XD60LE).  I played the kit for a while, and found the response to be extremely "realistic."  They have separate drum & cymbal pads, each with their own unique feel. The controller is very logically laid out and sounds are easy to access.  The best part is it all packs away into an extremely compact space, making it easy to store, or (for my needs) transport to a gig.

Behringer are also about to announce a new range of high-end consoles, which include the ability to interface & record live shows direct from the console itself.  I'm very excited to see these when they become available.

I'll post more reviews as my brain gets to digest the enormous amount of data from the show.

To publicise or not to publicise...

Having been in this business for over 38 years now, I have become accustomed to a system that pretty-well relies on referrals for work.

I've had a manager: he did nothing but price me out of the market and annoy my existing clients (much of which I only found out later).  So I gave up that idea.

When I first moved to Nashville, I hired a publicist.  She did a lot of great work, introducing me to all kinds of people - none of whom ever booked me for anything!  In fact most of the time they crossed their arms and said: "I don't care who you are, it's going to take you 5 years to establish yourself in THIS town!" As a side note, I actually got the Trisha Yearwood 2000 tour by auditioning for the gig.  even then, I wasn't originally chosen (it went to a "younger person"). When things didn't work out with that person, I rushed in to fill the gap at 3 days' notice. I suppose it was some small testimony to my abilities at the time that I was able to walk into a gig like that with no rehearsal: simply 3 days of "woodshedding" the tunes, followed by a long sound check on the first show!

I have had an agent (I have one now, but mainly for photographic/acting jobs, which is another kettle of fish altogether).  My "agent" failed to get anyone interested in me in the slightest.

Looking back over nearly four decades of life as a professional musician, I can honestly say that just about 100% of my work has been through first-hand referrals.  In other words, the ultimate viral-marketing exercise.

I remember something one of my early benefactors (Muff Winwood, manager of Island Studios at the time) once said to me: "Never turn ANYTHING down!  You never know where it might lead."  And I took him at his word.  I did pub gigs, club dates, small demo sessions, cabaret backing gigs, anything I was offered.  Sure enough, within the space of 5 years my reputation had grown exponentially.  I was starting to get some high-end recording sessions, people were contacting me for tours.  In short, the word had spread.  By 1978 I was recording master sessions.  In 1979 I was offered a position in the the Tom Robinson Band: a time I will always cherish. We toured Europe, then the USA, and I gained an incredible insight into the workings of the Biz! Even though the band was tearing itself apart, I had the time of my life.

SO, by the late 70's I was experiencing life at the top end of the industry: major gigs, top sessions etc. I was on the books of several session "fixers" (as they are known in the UK - Union approved bookers who set up sessions for clients). By 1981, I had recorded sessions for Kate Bush, Judie Tzuke, the Tom Robinson Band, all of which had seen chart success.  All of these referrals were by word-of-mouth.

By 1983 I was one of the busiest session drummers in the UK.  I could work non-stop, if I chose.  Clients were "fitting me in" based on availability.  I was probably in the studio an average of 80 hours a week.

When I met Elton in early 1985 it was mainly because he had heard my work on Nik Kershaw's multi-million-selling "Human racing" album. Nik appeared as a guest on his "Ice on Fire" album, and during the session Elton asked Nik about me.  Nik gave me a glowing reference, and the rest was history.  I ended up recording 3 tracks for Elton in April of 1985. During those sessions, he asked if I would consider being in his band for a "little charity event I'm playing at Wembley."  That turned out to be Live Aid!  Later that year we went into rehearsals, and toured the world with that lineup for the next 18 months!

Basically speaking, all these referrals were almost exclusively by word-of-mouth. Of course, they were also "performance-based" - I couldn't get the work if I didn't have some ability to achieve what my client had in mind.

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Scrolling on..... to now(-ish).

The one thing I've never really been good at through all this is SELF-publicity.  Because the vast majority of what I did was based on third-party referrals, MY part was to simply do my job to the best of my ability.  The rest just slotted into place. My resumé simply spoke for itself.

But that is not enough in the modern-day chaos of Internet publicity, social media and viral-marketing.  So this old dog is learning a few tricks.  For me to tap the truly enormous market out there, I have to be pro-active about it.  This goes against the grain for we Brits!

I have a web site, two actually.  My "fan" site is www.manicdrums.com.  My work-related site is www.manicdrumsproductions.com. I also have FaceBook pages, both personal and a "Band" page, but I haven't really done much with either.  I'm also on Google+, MySpace (who goes there anymore?), LinkedIn, Plaxo (whatever that's worth) and Manta.  You'd think I would be flooded with referrals, but apparently it is not enough to simply HAVE these sites.  You have to work them - intelligently.  Which is why I am now learning all about how to drive people TO these places, and how to coordinate them to do the job for which they were intended.

This is one of the steepest learning curves I have encountered in almost 4 decades!
Back to work!!!