Latch Music's Ezine #13
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* "The Zine" content is contributed by Dave Latchaw and colleagues who use the Internet to promote their musical projects. You can check out previous issues at "The Zine" Archives.
- Article: "The Internet Musician 2001" by Dave Latchaw
- Guest Artist: Tom Wood - Groovy, ambient, rockin' electric violin.
- Featured Web Site: keneally.com
- Featured Web Video: Steve Vai
- CD Pick: Aerosmith "Just Push Play"
The Internet Musician 2001
by Dave Latchaw
One year after I wrote my first Zine article about musicians and the Internet, the Internet continues to be a great expanding vehicle for the creative. There are more MP3.com and Napster clones starting every day. These and other dot-com's will continue to change, disappear and appear from out of nowhere. Many will probably have lawsuits to deal with. Even with all that chaos, the wonderful thing is that the whole creative cyber world is still just in it's beginning stages. With more people moving to the expanded capabilities of DSL and cable modems, larger amounts of content can and will be consumed. Independent musicians, artists, writers and actors will all have more potential to develop and maintain an audience. Technology is making it easier for everyone to get their artistic endeavors out to the masses. There will be an audience for the whole range of artistic efforts. The hardest thing for the consumer will be wading through the huge quantity and finding good quality content.
I think that as far as the music side of things goes, there will be small independent labels attached to larger, more corporate sites. This will be mutually beneficial to the independent artist and the larger corporation. The corporation can promote the most "known" artists of their genre on their site, which will help draw people to the site. They will also need large amounts of content to keep an advertising revenue flow going. This will be achieved by getting lots of repeat traffic. The corporate sites will reward the artists that manage to bring the most traffic to the site. A lot of Internet consumers dig the "Flavor Of The Month" and like to stay current, so they will listen to music on the web a few times and then be ready to move on to the next batch of artists doing similar music. The Internet is going to develop a consumer with shorter attention spans and a never ending need for new content.
Independent artists that are producing music that can not be easily found at the corner music store, will have the most potential for economic success in the cyber music market. For example, the kind of music that doesn't get a lot of air time on the radio such as electronic, experimental, world music and so on, seems to do very well online. As with the regular record business, it is all down to numbers. I believe that this is the reason behind several of the success stories of musical artists on MP3.com and sites like that. The artists that have done well so far all have computers, technology and marketing in their background, some even more so than music.
What is the best way for an artist to succeed on the Internet? First, every artist needs to develop a following of some sort. Should we learn about marketing and web design themselves to create an Internet presentation, or hire it out? Do you handle the mail order processing of your music, or do you let a corporate site handle it? Either you do it and keep all the profits, or split the profits with the company that handles the shipping, pressing and the financial transaction of the sale of your music. Doing it yourself takes a lot of time and effort, but hiring everything out takes money. If corporate sites make their "behind the scenes" setup areas easy to use, they will draw more independent artists to their site. They will also need to offer incentives, (money works well), and of course potential for exposure will be a factor too. Each artist has to decide what is best for them. I think the whole cyber music scene is going to go through many growing pains yet. Everyone from investors to programmers and artists want and deserve financial compensation for their Internet efforts. I am optimistic that as time goes on, the division of funds will get sorted out. All companies that are web-based will have to keep tweaking their business model to make it work. It has to be financially viable for everyone. I also think that business models for the Internet will have to be fluid. I really don't see the Internet as ever being static, it will always be changing. The whole thing is a lot like Jazz, constantly evolving. It can be very time consuming to stay on top of all of it.
I think the independent artist will need to have their own cyber home base (website). If you decide to go that route and do it yourself, here are a couple of useful sites to aid in building your own site, Pagetutor.com and Web Pages That Suck. Artists that choose this direction will have a greater degree of flexibility to decide things like whether to let a corporate site handle the distribution of their music, or do it on their own. If the corporate site that is handling the distribution of your music changes a policy and you do not agree with it, you can take your site and your music and hook up with a different corporate site that is more agreeable to you. Independent artists should look at themselves as being a small business. To remain independent is to take action and start learning about every aspect of building, marketing and maintaining your own web presence, or pay someone to do it for you. One has to weigh the cost effectiveness, control of product, marketing and the time spent managing their site. Distribution to large numbers of people is the key to making money in any business, and I still believe that the Internet opens up that opportunity to everyone.
The artist that learns about the Internet and how it works will be successful. Take action and good luck to all of us!
Tom Wood
#1 Where can people find your information and music on the Internet?
They can find me at www.mp3.com/TomWood.
#2 How did you get started playing the violin, and what kind of training did you have?
I began playing the violin when I was 5. I was one of those little Suzuki kids. Twinkle Twinkle. I grew up in a musical family. I went to the North Carolina School of the Arts for high school. I have a degree in music from the University of South Carolina and I had 1 year of jazz study as a grad.ass. Also...at times I've practiced very hard.
#3 When and how did you first go electric with your violin, and what was the inspiration?
When I was 14 I picked up the live Led Zeppelin album. I can clearly remember hearing 'Whole Lotta Love' and wanting and wishing that I could bring that language to the instrument that I could already play. Suzuki method is based on picking things up by ear...so grabbing the riff didn't take long. And then the fun began...Wahoo! I can rock! I got super power! Thanks Jimmy! So began a process of making up violin parts to every album that came into my possession. Kansas, Jethro Tull, TOMMY BOLIN, Steely Dan, Jan Hammer, Herbie Hancock and on and on. No one was safe. 'What violin concerto? Right now...I'm guest violinist with Pink Floyd!' I played along with the radio too. It was always just my regular violin at first. I had to imagine the electricity. By the time I was at N.C.S.A. I had a contact pickup and an old digital delay. I've been collecting gear ever since.
#4 Who has inspired you and influenced your musical style and why?
I think I've been inspired and influenced by classical, jazz, and rock artists and composers mostly. It's hard to say really. There are some Mozart string quartettes that I have played thousands of times. Maybe some things soaked in. Nothing compares to Bach, Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Gustav Mahler. Maximum inspiration! I also really dig Prince, Metallica, and White Zombie. In 1987 I first heard Joe Satriani and that was it! I was studying jazz improv. at the time. Now where did I put that # 11? Giant Steps! Yeow! Joe took over. I bought a guitar processor and a 4 track recorder and a drum machine and started writing my own songs. Anyway, I suppose I've had a lot of influences. What if I'd never started playing along with records? What if Beethoven had never heard Haydn or Mozart? What if Brahms had never heard Beethoven? I think that having influences is unavoidable. Just is. We are all connected to those who came before us. Charlie Parker, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix...were an influence to many to say the least.
#5 How do you balance the demands of playing in an orchestra and doing your own more electric projects?
Sometimes when the orchestra is really busy it consumes my artistic energy completely. I may not see my project for 2 or 3 weeks. For a while I was working for a local band as well. I was burn't! So for now I work for the orchestra and I write and record with the rest of my time. Sometimes I have what I think is a very broad and rich experience. I work on my own musical efforts much of the day and at night go play the music of many of the greatest composers that ever lived. Balance.
#6 What kind of feedback do you get from orchestral musicians when they check out your electric work?
I have several friends in the orchestra who know of my other musical efforts and they have always been supportive. Many of my fellow musketeers haven't a clue. I suppose that it has never been a big deal to me to share that with them. They are my partners in service to Handel, Ravel, Gershwin etc. and I'm more interested in a reaction from the rest of the world. Most of all... my stuff has to get me off. One guy, a former orchestra member I thought was my friend, talked at the top of his voice for the better part of one of my songs. That was just rude. I think that's the only negative vibe I've encountered so far.
#7 How has the Internet changed your musical activities?
I'm pretty isolated here in Fort Wayne...so it's wonderful to have this new connection. Positive responses and new friends and acquaintances from around the globe. I'm still a beginner with the internet and as of yet no major changes in my musical life have occurred. But it sure is great to have a forum. I feel less alone anyway. Thank you Dave!!!
keneally.com
Mike Keneally is a master musician. He is a mainly self-taught guitarist, keyboardist, singer and composer. He was hired to be "stunt guitarist" and keyboardist in Frank Zappa's last touring group. He also tours with Steve Vai playing all the second guitar parts. (One of the few players that could hang with Steve!) Mike's website is a great example of what an artist can do to foster more interest in their creative efforts. The site is huge with many things to check out. There is short bio section, Mike and his band "Beer For Dolphins" at a glance. There is an extensive amount of information about Mike's music. One of my favorite things to check out is "1988 Was A Million Years Ago", which is transcriptions of Mike's audio diary from the 1988 Zappa tour. There are also diaries and pictures from other B.F.D. tours. There's a page where Mike outlines his gear set-up, and there is a section of short video and audio clips called sight and sounds of various Keneally items, which is great fun! Mike Keneally rules!
Steve Vai
Anyone who enjoys virtuoso progressive guitar playing is aware of Steve Vai. I discovered Vai and his amazing guitar work when I first heard Frank Zappa's recording "The Man From Utopia", (especially the track "The Dangerous Kitchen"). He was the perfect player for the demanding work of Frank Zappa. The first time I ever saw him perform was in the brilliant guitar movie "Crossroads", where he was the character Jack Butler. Steve Vai is an outstanding showman, and it is always a blast to watch him perform. When I was in the Scottish Rock Band "The Heat", we were always checking out Vai and his work with David Lee Roth. If you want to be able to do gymnastics on your axe and be a great performer, Steve Vai is who you should study. Truly a Jedi master! Click here to check out his music vids.
Related Sites
- Frank Zappa
- "Crossroads" movie trailer
- David Lee Roth
Aerosmith
"Just Push Play"
It's not often that a group of people can work through all the personal B.S. that is part of being in a "Band". Aerosmith is one band that has figured out how to do it. When I was playing in the Scottish Rock Band "The Heat", they were one of my favorite bands to study. Textbook writing for that rock/pop vibe. Great hooks with rockin' grooves, and they always put on a great show. The years that they've spent together have allowed them to really refine that whole Aerosmith vibe. This disc, "Just Push Play", is the logical next step in the development of the band. It's very cool to see a group this far along in their careers and still totally going for it. I really appreciate the do-it-yourself spirit that is part of this disc. Check out Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer in their newest effort.
Tracks for "Just Push Play"
- Beyond Beautiful
- Just Push Play
- Jaded
- Fly Away From Here
- Trip Hoppin'
- Sunshine
- Under My Skin
- Luv Lies
- Otta Your Head
- Drop Dead Gorgeous
- Light Inside
- Avant Garden
Click here to learn more about "Just Push Play"
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