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Latch Music's Ezine #25

"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.

In This Issue

Article: "The Internet Musician 2002" by Dave Latchaw
Guest Artist: Lucas Pickford - Bass at it's best.
Featured Web Site: Lawgirl.com
Featured Web Video: Michael Ward
CD Pick: Keith Jarrett "Sun Bear Concerts"

The Internet Musician 2002

by Dave Latchaw

This month begins the third year that Latch Music has published a monthly e-zine directed towards musicians, students and fans of music. The e-zine and web site have been a fun challenge and an interesting experience. The only reason that I've been able to explore being an Internet musician is because my wife, Margery, took on the editing and webmaster duties when she had to retire from being a professional cellist. The more we have learned about the Internet, the more we realize that there is always something new to learn. Progress can be made on the Internet if one can be persistent and put in the time needed. Anyone who has the patience to be a musician probably has the patience to tackle the Net. A web site should always be a work in progress, it's like making music that way. I still enjoy it as much now as I did when we first decided to become serious about exploring the Internet as a platform to deliver my musical ideas to an expanded audience. The landscape of the Internet keeps evolving and the potential is ever expanding, especially with more broadband connections being accessible to greater masses of people.

Our experience at this point in time is that The Independent Internet Music Biz World is going to be very similar to The Regular Record Biz World, which is a blessing and a curse at the same time. Marketing and distribution are the key factors. It is of course tedious and time consuming to learn the bizz side of the Internet. It would be easier to have "people" to do the marketing of one's music, so more time could be spent on the more satisfying creative process. But, unless you get a great record deal that might not happen, and even with a record deal you can't be sure that you'll get appropriate record company support for marketing and distribution. A record deal is not a guarantee of success. If the company doesn't do the marketing and get your recorded music into every Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, and so on, potential fans won't find out about it. A record deal is of absolutely no help to an artist if people can't find your music.

The Internet Musician has to set time aside to be proactive in learning marketing and distribution, and make a plan that is going to work for them in their cyber adventure. I have seen many colleagues be discouraged by their music not having the success that it deserves. I am fortunate to have my wife help me, but if you don't have the help it will just take more time to get your Internet thing together, it can still be done. When you do the bizz things for yourself, your success or failure is up to you. With management and a record company, so many factors about your career are out of your hands. This can be immensely frustrating, especially if nothing seems to be happening. To be successful, you have to look at yourself as a your own record company with all aspects of the bizz getting attention. In this age of instant gratification, some want to throw their music up on different sites like mp3.com and think that they will have their music stand up against all others. You may get noticed at first and have some success, but sustaining a consistent level of interest is the trick. Think about how much time has gone into learning and evolving your craft. You can't expect to have similar success with the Internet unless you take the time to learn how it works and how to draw people to your music. There is a lot of material available that can help musicians educate themselves. An "Internet Music Marketing" search at amazon.com will turn up many ideas, there's endless material available online. Of the material we found online, we think Bob Baker's book, "The Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook" is really good, so we decided to become an affiliate.

I am more convinced than ever that one needs their own site to use as a jumping off point. You have to be willing to make mistakes with your site, there is so much to learn that there will always be things to improve. If you don't go for your own site at some point, it will never happen for you. Of course a web site will never be perfect due to the ever changing and evolving nature of the Internet. Sites like sitepoint.com, bravenet.com, and webpagesthatsuck.com are a few of the great places that have loads of ideas to improve one's web site and to help keep up with current web site trends.

Even if you are a bit "known", the Internet is a great place to let new people check out your efforts. The most important aspects of a site are that your visitors have an easy time finding you, have an easy time getting around on your site, and that they get content that is worth their time and will get them to come back. I think Carla Bley and Steve Swallow are excellent, but they could generate a lot more interest to their site if it was easier to get around on. The design could put off the impatient surfer looking for content. I have always been into Van Halen and David Lee Roth, but davidleeroth.com has one interesting video on the homepage, and absolutely no other content. The surfer may stop by once and then be on their way, never to come back. Besides providing your music, the more you can get the interest of the ever impatient surfer, the more likely they will keep coming back. The more they keep coming back, the more you can get them to check out new music, dates you are playing, and so forth.

The Internet is constantly changing, but there could not be a better place for worthy independent artists to get their craft to the masses. It just takes time to develop it. If you believe in your craft, liberate yourself and get your efforts out there. Good luck to all of us!

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Lucas Pickford

#1 Where on the Internet can people find out more about you and your music?

The best place to find out about my music is of course at my web site www.lucaspickford.com but I also have a monthly column at http://www.basslinks.nl which is a great resource for bass players. I also contribute articles to www.bassreview.com.

#2 Who are the bass and composition influences that have inspired your style of playing and writing, and why?

Probably my biggest influences on the bass are Jaco Pastorious, Anthony Jackson, and Marcus Miller. Of course there are many others but those guys are the 3 big stylistic influences that really come out in my everyday playing. I also credit players like Paul Jackson, Gary Willis, Ron Carter, Eddie Gomez, Charlie Haden, and Stanley Clarke as being big influences on me. As for writing, I'd say people like Miles, Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, and Herbie Hancock are big influences on my writing. I also love the music of India.

#3 With your father and grandfather being artists also, how have they influenced you and your own artistic directions?

My family on both sides are all artists. My dad and his father of course but also my mother's parents. My mother is a writer. My grandfather on my mom's side is a drummer and worked playing shows in New York his whole life till he retired. My grandmother is an old Greenwich Village poet and artist who hung with the likes of Charlie Parker, Sinatra and boxer Willie Pep. So the arts are in my bloodline I suppose. I just had a natural proclivity for music and the arts. Especially as I get older my dad becomes more and more of an influence. Not just at music but in his extended knowledge of literature, painting and even the sciences. I guess I was just destined to be a starving artist (smile).

#4 How does your interest in Physics, Philosophy and William Burroughs carry over to your music and musical activities?

As I alluded to, my interests in philosophy, physics and like all go hand in hand with my interest in music. Too many musicians today have no knowledge of even the other art forms like literature and painting much less the sciences. I like to encourage cats to learn about the other art forms and draw on them for inspiration. Music has become too much like sports in America with an emphasis on win, win and achieve achieve. My dad said to me once "Music is not a horse race". Kids are told over and over again to go out there and get famous. It's like today in America the worst fate that can be had is that one does not become famous. It's insane. I'm not saying that people shouldn't pursue success and fame. It's just that it isn't going to happen to everyone and yes, life can have some scrap of meaning even if one resides in obscurity.

#5 How do you feel about the music of India and it's importance to the improvising musician?

The music of India is my greatest pleasure these days. I have become so inspired by the enormous wealth of amazing music that culture has produced. I sort of snuck in the back door by hearing groups like Shakti and then was led into classical Indian music. The level of virtuosity in their music is astounding. But along with technical brilliance they have the purest sense of melody. By doing away with chord progressions and relegating the improviser to playing on a specific raga or scale, he is forced to produce melodic variations by the dozens. With no chords, only a drone holding you up, you are able like in modal jazz, to plumb the depths of the particular scale and find the real heart of the music. I really recommend jazz guys get hip to the music of India and use it to inspire their playing.

#6 What importance has transcribing music had on your musical development, and with all the great transcriptions on your site, which has been the most challenging and why?

Transcribing is invaluable. It is the greatest tool I know of for gaining insight into the inner workings of the great master players. It encompasses ear training, rhythm, and notation as well. By transcribing or just studying transcriptions, it's as though you are taking a private lesson with that musician. All his knowledge of chords, scales and rhythm are right there for you to study. As far as which one was most difficult, they are all hard! One that comes to mind that was particularly hard though was the John McLaughlin tune "Pasha's Love". There are some hellish lines in that one and lots of odd meters as well.

#7 On your disc "Blown Fuse", what experience do you want the listener to get from the recording?

Well listening to music is such a subjective experience. I guess what I was going for on Blown Fuse was like a little journey through various fusion influences I had. Everything from Weather Report to Shakti to Headhunters. I kind of wanted to take people on a little trip through those styles and recall the glory days of 70's era fusion. It was a labor of love really.

#8 What future projects should readers look for from you?

Right now I am at work on a new CD that will feature a lot of Indian influence as well as the whole Drum and Bass funk/jazz bag. I'm into cross pollinization of music. It's all World music now. Rigid genres are a bore. Mixing and matching is where it's at.

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Lawgirl.com

Everyone who is creative should educate themselves about legal issues pertaining to their craft. Lawgirl.com is the web site of entertainment and new media lawyer Jodi Sax, where one can find information about a whole range of musical and other artistic legal issues. There is information on copyright basics and copyright registration, with links to the appropriate government copyright forms for a variety of artistic endeavors such as dramatic works, film, graphic art, multimedia work, paintings, screenplays, song and musical composition, and more. One can also find information about trade marks, also with links to the appropriate government forms. Jodi Sax does an interesting interview with Brian McPherson, a Los Angeles attorney who has represented several alternative bands and written the book "Get it in Writing, A Musician's Guide to the Music Business". It's easy to get wrapped up in our craft, but remember you also want to make money and not get scammed! Take some time to protect your yourself, check out Lawgirl.com today.

Michael Ward

**Update - September 2003**
Unfortunately, this video is no longer available.

Contemporary jazz violinist Michael Ward has established himself as a New Orleans mainstay and worldwide touring musician. He leads this funky groovy band in a wonderful performance at The House Of Blues French Quarter in New Orleans, made on August 10, 2000. It's not very often you get to see a violinist lead this type of contemporary groove band. The band is tight and connects well with the audience. As technology keeps improving, more and more artists are going to want to explore web broadcasting to reach more people and generate interest in coming to their shows while on tour.

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Keith Jarrett
"Sun Bear Concerts"

There are many great musicians in the world. Keith Jarrett is one who hangs at a level above the pack. Keith has released many great recordings where he displays his wide range of capabilities. In November of 1976, Keith performed five concerts in two weeks while in Japan, completely baring his musical soul. The cities he visited were Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo and Sapporo. The "Sun Bear Concerts" is the collection of those great concerts with Keith doing spontaneous piano improvisation covering a whole spectrum of styles such as gospel, impressionistic, romantic, folk, and free. Keith must surely look at the five-concert series as a complete work because he never released the concerts as individual recordings, which caused a ruckus in the music bizz world. He would have made more money at the time if the concerts had been packaged separately. The "Sun Bear Concerts" were digitally remixed in 1989. In 1994 Sun Bear Concerts: Piano Solo (LIVE) was released, with various moments from each concert. However, I think one should check out the whole package to really appreciate Jarrett's mastery of improvisation. The full five-concert release is one of the few box sets that I first owned on vinyl and thought was worthy of owning in compact disc format. The "Sun Bear Concerts" is a must for anyone who studies and digs improvisation at its best.