blog: This Is What God Thinks
Win Phish's New Live Release: At the Roxy
November 3, 2008
The winners have been picked, and this contest is now closed.
State of Mind is giving away 6 copies of Phish's upcoming live release‚ At the Roxy. The luckiest winner will also receive the '93 retro logo t-shirt in the size of his/her choice. Just fill out the form below by Nov. 17 and sit back and wait.
Here's what you'll win...
Brand new 8-CD box set‚ showcasing three complete shows - fully mastered soundboard recordings‚ with six sets of music‚ featuring seventy-eight unique songs with three special guests. Recorded Live February 19th‚ 20th and 21st‚ 1993‚ this run at the intimate Roxy Theatre in Atlanta‚ Georgia set the stage for many classic tripartite celebrations to follow. With the second show's near-instant legendary status cemented among fans due largely to a non-stop thriller of a second set which included feats of rock and roll greatness‚ including a sit-in by a spurious Gene Simmons‚ At The Roxy captures a magical moment for Phish and their audience during a period of peak songwriting and experimentation.
Over three nights‚ the band showcased the full spectrum of their talents from ballads to blues‚ from master composition to fearless improvisation all simmered and served to a small crew of jubilant participants in a near perfect environment. At the same time‚ the quartet was experimenting with their acoustic‚ bluegrass side that peaked over the next several years and provided a perfect baffle to the intense‚ psychedelic rock of Rift-era Phish.
The 8-CD box set is the first complete multiple-show release since Hampton Comes Alive and the 1998 Island Tour. This collection simply must be heard.
Song of the Day: The Who - "Pictures of Lily"
November 3, 2008
One of my earliest memories is "playing guitar" with a broom to "Pictures of Lily‚" doing the windmill‚ pretending to be Pete Townshend. It was my first favorite song. It's about masturbation.
I didn't know it was about masturbation. I didn't even know what masturbation was. I was about four years old.
My big brother Jim got me into The Who‚ way back then‚ and tonight we're going to see them in D.C. In honor of this‚ here's an oldie but goodie. And to bring us to present day‚ here's a newie and goodie‚ "Endless Wire‚" off The Who's 2006 release Endless Wire. If you don't know this album‚ check it out. It exceeded even my expectations‚ a dyed-in-the-wool Who fan. It's truly great.
Pictures of Lily
Endless Wire
Visit The Who
State of Mind is 4 Years Old Today!
October 29, 2008
Yes‚ it's true! The first issue of State of Mind was born four years ago today.
It was Halloween weekend when we got it back from the printer. We were a little over two months removed from the final Phish concert at Coventry‚ and it was five days before an election. I can't help but notice the similarities of the times‚ except everything seems to be (cross your fingers) heading in a better direction this time.
Looking back at our first issue‚ it's pretty amazing: The Slip were the cover story‚ Dana Monteith wrote about Michael Hurley for "Musicians on Musicians‚" and there were reviews of Bill Frisell's Unspeakable‚ JFJO's Walking With Giants and Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose among others.
Like we said last year as we were turning 3‚ as unbelievable as it sounds‚ after 28 issues‚ we still love music. Thanks for reading!
Here are some songs in celebration...
The Slip - "Get Me With Fuji" from 6/12/04
Michael Hurley - "Be Kind To Me"
Dana Monteith - "Unmarked Trunk"
If You Have To Ask... [The Interviews] Part 3: Kevin Calabro of HYENA Records
October 28, 2008
This interview is the third installment of the interviews from the "If You Have to Ask…" article that appeared in Issue #28 of State of Mind. You can read that article (page 10) here. Check out the first installment‚ with Reed Mathis‚ and the second installment‚ with Marco Benevento.
Kevin Calabro is the proverbial man behind the curtain. As head of HYENA Records‚ he makes his career championing great music. Having put out recent albums by the likes of Marco Benevento (Invisible Baby) and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (Lil' Tae Rides Again)‚ he's as keyed into the shift happening in jazz right now as the artists who are making the music. The music industry is a notoriously dirty world -- one that boxing promoter Don King famously renounced as too troubled for even his participation -- so Calabro's job is a rollercoaster of enthusiasm and logistics. Late in our conversation‚ he apologized for sounding overly cynical about the current state of music‚ culture and the industry thereof. I honestly didn't know what he was talking about. There's a certain urgency to what Calabro knows and chooses to speak about here‚ but the moral is not grim. If anything‚ the trouble he's confronted is merely a sign of something truly exciting taking form. It's all like a toddler learning to walk‚ I suppose -- bound to take some knocks along the way.
Our conversation began on the topic of "jambands":
Kevin: It's interesting because I know those guys [Marco‚ JFJO] for the most part are not very comfortable being called jamband artists.
Josh: Yeah. It almost seems like a pejorative term. One that critics levy against instrumental artists to dismiss them as self-indulgent.
Exactly. Those guys‚ whether it be Marco‚ the guys from JFJO‚ Skerik... those guys are musicians who have really studied music and have the chops. Then again‚ I've worked with pure jazz artists who are always trying to get into the jam scene. It's weird -- when you're in the jam scene‚ you want to get out‚ and when you're in the jazz scene‚ strictly playing straight jazz gigs at dinner clubs‚ you're dying to play for crowds that are young‚ have a little more energy and might let you stretch out a little bit.
David King echoed that when I talked to him‚ that idea of jazz artists feeling boxed in playing straight jazz clubs. While festival kids might not have the same refined listening‚ they have this refreshing energy. These scenes‚ though‚ seem to be a bit in conflict. There are all these issues of how you book a tour and who you try to play for.
It's interesting. With HYENA‚ what I try to do is just put it out there and get it in front of as many people as possible.
How does that manifest? What outlets are you going to?
I'm going to all of them. I go to JamBase as much as I go to Downbeat. Jambands.com‚ Signal to Noise. I'm always trying for Rolling Stone and Magnet -- magazines that tend to cover more indie rock. To me‚ I listen to a really wide range of music‚ everything from Iron and Wine‚ Devendra Banhart‚ Drive-By Truckers‚ to Steven Bernstein‚ Nels Cline and things like that. Especially now‚ in 2008‚ when everything is wide open for people to listen to on the internet‚ I think there's a lot of heads out there that are not pigeonholed into listening to one genre of music. The thing that Marco's doing might appeal to a jazz audience as well as people who listen to Sigur Rós.
Yeah‚ I was thinking about this last night [at a Marco Benevento Trio show]‚ listening to them do the Invisible Baby stuff‚ getting really heavy‚ taking things at super-slow tempos‚ like sludge-metal tempos‚ and they're adding this jazz element to stuff that would appeal to Goth kids.
Yeah. Going back to the jambands thing‚ the jam scene gets a really rough rap particularly because of kids that are going to see bands like String Cheese or moe. -- not to dis those bands -- but some of the kids tend to be there a little more for the party and the drugs. Unfortunately‚ a lot of the stuff on HYENA gets lumped in there. If those indie rock kids were actually hearing it and not just holding a bias against something that might have jam connotations‚ they'd find some really frigging good music.
I think that's the issue‚ that people don't listen‚ especially in the indie rock world. Not to dis the indie rock world‚ but posture and image go such a long way.
Yeah.
And that's essentially antithetical to everything an improvisational musician does. It's not about who you are when you walk on the stage but what's happening on the stage. You could be in a basement with your best friends or on a stage with strangers and you're still going to be doing this thing that you do.
Just in terms of approaching that world‚ you've got the real hardcore indie rock kids who are very much into image and they don't take a chance at listening to stuff‚ and then you've got... well‚ if you take the audiences and divide them down the middle‚ everything that falls off to one side is with the indie kids and then there are the jam kids there partying who sometimes tend to be kind of frat-y. But in the middle there's all this good music and no one has their ears open.
That's exactly what sparked my interest in this whole thing. Obviously it's the role of the writer or the label boss to play the genre game‚ while the musician is better off staying out of that‚ but it seems like there is this new scene ballooning within both of those that doesn't have a particular name‚ and it doesn't seem like this is getting recognized.
When did we really start hearing about the jam thing? It was after Garcia died. The Dead dissipated‚ there were the tail years of Phish‚ and then you started hearing the "jam" genre manifesting itself.
Only within the past few years. Dean Budnick wrote a guide to jambands in the late '90s after he'd been covering Phish for a while and‚ obviously‚ up until that point Phish was the gold standard in that scene‚ but nobody called them jambands. It's like jamband wasn't even a word until Phish disappeared.
But now‚ it's kind of gone through its thing and it's breaking off into this other thing that has a lot to do with strong songwriting and musicianship‚ draws from a lot of places and is improvisational. To take Marco for example‚ one thing I've been going to the press with is that he's an amazing songwriter. He's almost writing indie rock tunes but playing them with this finesse of a jazz musician.
ON "JAZZ"
There ought to be a vocalist on Invisible Baby. It's so sing-songy‚ so melodic and accessible. In this sense it sounds like pure jazz to me. Jazz in the way it was originally conceived of. Taking source material from the Great American Songbook‚ Cole Porter‚ show tunes -- stuff that was meant to be sung -- and then taking this improvisational approach to it. Even what I see Marco doing with the post-rock stuff is pure jazz in its method.
I would pretty much agree with that. In terms of marketing‚ that's a hard message to convey. I'd almost rather say it's rock being approached by jazz musicians.
The jazz musician these days is so much freer to move within the classic genres and within rock‚ West African music‚ reggae... There are all these other idioms that are fair game‚ and why isn't this being covered in Downbeat?
I think Downbeat has been starting to do a pretty good job of recognizing it. It's coming along‚ I think. I'm more interested in trying to find a way to get the kids to come along. Marco shouldn't be playing for 100 people on a Wednesday night. He should have people there really listening. But maybe that's the way it's always been. I always hear stories from guys I know who were back there in the day and saw Monk at the Five Spot; there were‚ like‚ 15 people there.
One of the really critical aspects of that burgeoning bebop scene was that these virtuosic musicians were all drawing on the same source material‚ writing incredible tunes‚ and were all playing with one another. The idea of the band has kind of overtaken that idea of collaboration in the jazz scene‚ and that's partly why this Marco project is so interesting to me‚ because it's bringing together musicians from three of my favorite bands [The Duo‚ The Slip‚ JFJO].
The whole residency was based on that idea. It was really cool to see Billy Martin playing with Calvin Weston and Marc Friedman.
That sounded great.
Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't‚ but it was more about the spirit of it. I do‚ however‚ think there's something to be said for the band thing in jazz. The music being such a conversation‚ the better those musicians get to know one another‚ the further they're able to push it out there. And I also like the idea of the improvisational stuff being built out of compositions‚ because‚ for the listener‚ there's less fog to wade through.
ON THE MUSIC BUSINESS
Is it harder from your end of things to push a collaborative project like this as opposed to an album by a band that has that name recognition?
It really depends. I feel like we've had a lot of success with Marco. We're pushing the idea of Marco more. Then we've got JFJO‚ who've been a band forever‚ and it's still really difficult. I think the jam thing particularly made it tough for Jacob Fred. They are so much more than that. I don't have a genre to call them‚ but I think they're making earth-shattering‚ mind-blowing music. It does make it really hard to find a consistent‚ commercially -- I hate to use that word -- viable audience and not always be scraping by. Does that make sense? I guess I'm just saying that it's nothing new. It's true for super-creative instrumental musicians; they don't fit easily into a category and they don't always get the recognition they deserve. It's a really old story‚ but it is frustrating to be working with these guys for so long‚ knowing how hard they work... and I think we do make progress‚ slowly.
Does it get frustrating‚ feeling like you might just be treading water?
It does get discouraging‚ but for us‚ there's really no other choice. It's what we believe in and how we live. These guys don't ever compromise‚ and I don't want to speak for these guys‚ but I think it's true for any artist that they want to play for a large audience.
What would the ideal scenario be then‚ if you could just revamp the entire process? If everything went right‚ what would that look like?
If everything went right and I was still being realistic about what this all is -- I think if you look at bands like Charlie Hunter‚ The Bad Plus‚ or even Tortoise‚ some of these bands do have some degree of commercial success -- I think in an ideal world we could comfortably spend $20‚000 making a record‚ sell 20‚000 records and these guys could tour 3 or 4 times a year in front of 250-300 people a night. Just right there‚ it would be enough for everyone to be comfortable. It wouldn't be like MTV Cribs -- popping the most expensive champagne‚ hanging out at strip clubs -- but it wouldn't be like treading water either. It's kind of amazing. It might sometimes be perceived differently by the audience‚ but‚ speaking for the label‚ we're getting by month-to-month. I'm working 16 hours a day a lot‚ taking on artists outside of the label sometimes. It's probably not that different from being a music journalist trying to write about this music. Maybe it's harder.
It's the same issue. As I'm trying to cover the musicians that are really interesting to me‚ I'm not finding a ready-made scene. All of this stuff seems to be going on between the cracks in a way. It's so primary to so many people but only tends to get recognized as a subset of something else most of the time.
It's really important that we all stick together and spread the word and bring the new generation along. You've got to put your money where your mouth is in a way. Support music‚ and donate to your local NPR station. It's true‚ though‚ because those are the only conduits to get this out there. All the other big media outlets are on total lock-down. Thank God for David Fricke‚ though. Otherwise‚ nothing but middle-of-the-road rock music would get through to Rolling Stone‚ and that was a magazine that was founded on great music.
Yeah‚ and populist ideals and progressive politics.
I've got to give it to Rolling Stone‚ because they do tend to promote progressive politics.
I was just going to say‚ I think the political coverage is actually better than the music coverage a lot of times.
Oh‚ God‚ yes. I wouldn't subscribe to the magazine if it weren't for the politics. But it's frustrating. Why is the music coverage so whack? They could at least balance it a little bit.
Yeah. The romantic in me says‚ "If only people could hear the good stuff. If we weren't being force-fed then everyone would understand..."
I think that's sort of true. It's going to be interesting to see how everything continues to shake out though. Five years ago we could release a James Blood Ulmer album or an album by Skerik or someone and could comfortably sell 5000 copies. Over the last three or four years with file trading and the torrent sites‚ we've seen a difference. We've seen the sales just disappear. It's also because a lot of the record stores we used to use to get the music out‚ whether it was independent or Tower Records -- which did carry a really wide selection of music -- have disappeared. Now we can't sell this music to people.
Do you think the future is just digital downloads then?
We considered that but really prefer to be old-school. There's just something really appealing about having a physical CD‚ having the artwork and the complete vision and statement without losing the sound quality in mp3s. It's just something about the tangible thing. But unless something really changes in the next few years‚ we're going to have to deal with the fact that music is going to be totally digital. I can't stress how important it is to go out and buy music. Of course I'm going to say that‚ speaking from a label standpoint‚ but we provide a very valuable function for an artist. I know there are people out there who make this argument‚ like‚ "Well‚ dude‚ when everything's free it's‚ like‚ easier for people to discover shit."
Yeah‚ I think there is that argument. Especially for bands that are more live-oriented and are going to be touring regardless. Once upon a time it was "tour to promote a CD‚" but has it kind of flip-flopped to the point that the CD is almost subordinate to the tour‚ if someone's going to be playing out regardless?
That might be part of it‚ but I've found that you're much more likely to get coverage if these bands have a new CD out. Just because a fan has technology to steal music doesn't mean that it's right. If the artist wants to release that music for free‚ that's the artist's decision. Making a good record is absolutely an art form‚ and it takes money to do it properly. Sure‚ recording got cheaper with Pro Tools and people are doing home recordings in their bedroom‚ but there's still something to be said for going into a recording studio and making a record with the right microphones with the right amount of time‚ letting the band work out arrangements. All of that takes time and money‚ and people need to respect that.
Returning for a moment to that notion that if everything's free then everything will be exchanged and the word will spread‚ what do you think about the Radiohead [In Rainbows] thing? Is that viable if you're not an international superstar like Radiohead?
No. I don't think it is. In a lot of ways I think Radiohead kind of took advantage of the situation and did a huge disservice to artists who are where they were 10 or 12 years ago. It was interesting to watch happen and it got them a lot of press and of course it was their choice...
A choice that was only viable because they had struggled to build up the empire that is Radiohead‚ in a way.
And I do find it interesting that guys like Trent Reznor and Jeff Tweedy‚ who I love‚ have come out and sung the virtues of giving music away‚ but those guys are already built on major-label money. They would probably still be scrapping it out if they hadn't had $100‚000-promo campaigns put behind them. And it is interesting‚ some of that music I mentioned before -- Charlie Hunter‚ The Bad Plus -- it got exposed because a major label came along and put real money into it. Those are opportunities that a lot of these other bands have never had.
How do you find the artists that you end up putting on the label? HYENA runs the gamut.
I just keep my ears open. If something strikes me that I absolutely love‚ then I go with it. People I know in the industry bring stuff to me sometimes. Believe me‚ there is so much good music that I wish I could be putting out‚ but I'm only able to do maybe 10 percent of it. We just have to be super careful. We've gotten to the point where we have a core roster now and it's my intention to see those artists develop out of HYENA. We have had records like this one by Grayson Capps‚ who's from New Orleans‚ and I literally discovered it in the Louisiana Music Factory. I thought the cover was cool and was like‚ what the fuck‚ I'll buy it. I brought it home and fell in love with it. Then there's someone like The Brakes‚ who an intern turned me on to. Then‚ someone just mailed me a John Ellis demo‚ and it turned out he was playing with Charlie Hunter.
He's one of those guys who can really straddle that fence between the jazz world and whatever you want to call this other scene.
Yeah‚ he's an incredibly inspired player. I just feel like HYENA has survived strictly out of stubbornness. We're just going to do our thing and work with artists we believe in‚ banging our heads against the wall until the wall falls down. Going back to what we said earlier‚ how we market our stuff‚ we don't have big budgets to really do the proper amount of advertising but we're trying to get it into as many ears as possible‚ hoping folks will come out to see the band‚ buy the music. I hope all this doesn't sound too cynical. It's just that creative music takes longer.
No. I think that's necessary. There's this inspired kernel of music at the core of this whole thing that's just beginning to blossom‚ but it is still in a problematic phase of it all. There's going to be some cynicism.
Yeah. There are actually some great creative musicians who are very successful right now‚ and I think those guys help pull along some of this stuff‚ like the My Morning Jacket guys. The Black Crowes have always been cool about that too. There are a lot of musicians you can point to that have been really helpful.
Visit HYENA Records
Song of the Day: My Morning Jacket - "I'm Amazed"
October 27, 2008
I keep imagining myself celebrating New Year's. It's at Madison Square Garden and I'm full from a delicious vegan meal at a great NYC restaurant. I've got on a fabulous dress and my hot pink boa‚ there's a huge smile on my face‚ and I'm swaying with my arms raised in the air. My heart feels like it's squeezing because I'm overtaken with the fullness of the music coming from the stage‚ or really just music in general… or maybe life in general… and I'm surrounded by my friends. We're drinking wine and laughing and the whole thing feels huge but really intimate.
My Morning Jacket ends and we're all smiley and silly and laughing and gather our stuff and stumble out to the street where there are cops all over and drunk people and loud people and signs of that thing we've all seen on TV‚ the ball dropping‚ but we've never actually been to and we're so happy that we've never felt the need because there's always been great music happening somewhere. We walk a bit and head down into BB King's where the Duo and Surprise Me Mr. Davis are doing their NYE show‚ and I do the whole arms-in-the-air-heart-squeezing-loving-life-drinking-wine-laughing-with-friends thing all over again.
And when I imagine that part inside MSG‚ this is the song that's playing…
(Oh‚ and when I imagine this‚ Jim James is fully recovered from his Iowa City fall. Thank God!)
Visit My Morning Jacket
Win Phish's New Live Release: At the RoxyNovember 3, 2008
State of Mind is giving away 6 copies of Phish's upcoming live release‚ At the Roxy. The luckiest winner will also receive the '93 retro logo t-shirt in the size of his/her choice. Just fill out the form below by Nov. 17 and sit back and wait.
Here's what you'll win...
Brand new 8-CD box set‚ showcasing three complete shows - fully mastered soundboard recordings‚ with six sets of music‚ featuring seventy-eight unique songs with three special guests. Recorded Live February 19th‚ 20th and 21st‚ 1993‚ this run at the intimate Roxy Theatre in Atlanta‚ Georgia set the stage for many classic tripartite celebrations to follow. With the second show's near-instant legendary status cemented among fans due largely to a non-stop thriller of a second set which included feats of rock and roll greatness‚ including a sit-in by a spurious Gene Simmons‚ At The Roxy captures a magical moment for Phish and their audience during a period of peak songwriting and experimentation.
Over three nights‚ the band showcased the full spectrum of their talents from ballads to blues‚ from master composition to fearless improvisation all simmered and served to a small crew of jubilant participants in a near perfect environment. At the same time‚ the quartet was experimenting with their acoustic‚ bluegrass side that peaked over the next several years and provided a perfect baffle to the intense‚ psychedelic rock of Rift-era Phish.
The 8-CD box set is the first complete multiple-show release since Hampton Comes Alive and the 1998 Island Tour. This collection simply must be heard.
Song of the Day: The Who - "Pictures of Lily"November 3, 2008
I didn't know it was about masturbation. I didn't even know what masturbation was. I was about four years old.
My big brother Jim got me into The Who‚ way back then‚ and tonight we're going to see them in D.C. In honor of this‚ here's an oldie but goodie. And to bring us to present day‚ here's a newie and goodie‚ "Endless Wire‚" off The Who's 2006 release Endless Wire. If you don't know this album‚ check it out. It exceeded even my expectations‚ a dyed-in-the-wool Who fan. It's truly great.
Pictures of Lily
Endless Wire
Visit The Who
State of Mind is 4 Years Old Today!October 29, 2008
It was Halloween weekend when we got it back from the printer. We were a little over two months removed from the final Phish concert at Coventry‚ and it was five days before an election. I can't help but notice the similarities of the times‚ except everything seems to be (cross your fingers) heading in a better direction this time.
Looking back at our first issue‚ it's pretty amazing: The Slip were the cover story‚ Dana Monteith wrote about Michael Hurley for "Musicians on Musicians‚" and there were reviews of Bill Frisell's Unspeakable‚ JFJO's Walking With Giants and Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose among others.
Like we said last year as we were turning 3‚ as unbelievable as it sounds‚ after 28 issues‚ we still love music. Thanks for reading!
Here are some songs in celebration...
The Slip - "Get Me With Fuji" from 6/12/04
Michael Hurley - "Be Kind To Me"
Dana Monteith - "Unmarked Trunk"
If You Have To Ask... [The Interviews] Part 3: Kevin Calabro of HYENA RecordsOctober 28, 2008
Kevin Calabro is the proverbial man behind the curtain. As head of HYENA Records‚ he makes his career championing great music. Having put out recent albums by the likes of Marco Benevento (Invisible Baby) and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (Lil' Tae Rides Again)‚ he's as keyed into the shift happening in jazz right now as the artists who are making the music. The music industry is a notoriously dirty world -- one that boxing promoter Don King famously renounced as too troubled for even his participation -- so Calabro's job is a rollercoaster of enthusiasm and logistics. Late in our conversation‚ he apologized for sounding overly cynical about the current state of music‚ culture and the industry thereof. I honestly didn't know what he was talking about. There's a certain urgency to what Calabro knows and chooses to speak about here‚ but the moral is not grim. If anything‚ the trouble he's confronted is merely a sign of something truly exciting taking form. It's all like a toddler learning to walk‚ I suppose -- bound to take some knocks along the way.
Our conversation began on the topic of "jambands":
Kevin: It's interesting because I know those guys [Marco‚ JFJO] for the most part are not very comfortable being called jamband artists.
Josh: Yeah. It almost seems like a pejorative term. One that critics levy against instrumental artists to dismiss them as self-indulgent.
Exactly. Those guys‚ whether it be Marco‚ the guys from JFJO‚ Skerik... those guys are musicians who have really studied music and have the chops. Then again‚ I've worked with pure jazz artists who are always trying to get into the jam scene. It's weird -- when you're in the jam scene‚ you want to get out‚ and when you're in the jazz scene‚ strictly playing straight jazz gigs at dinner clubs‚ you're dying to play for crowds that are young‚ have a little more energy and might let you stretch out a little bit.
David King echoed that when I talked to him‚ that idea of jazz artists feeling boxed in playing straight jazz clubs. While festival kids might not have the same refined listening‚ they have this refreshing energy. These scenes‚ though‚ seem to be a bit in conflict. There are all these issues of how you book a tour and who you try to play for.
It's interesting. With HYENA‚ what I try to do is just put it out there and get it in front of as many people as possible.
How does that manifest? What outlets are you going to?
I'm going to all of them. I go to JamBase as much as I go to Downbeat. Jambands.com‚ Signal to Noise. I'm always trying for Rolling Stone and Magnet -- magazines that tend to cover more indie rock. To me‚ I listen to a really wide range of music‚ everything from Iron and Wine‚ Devendra Banhart‚ Drive-By Truckers‚ to Steven Bernstein‚ Nels Cline and things like that. Especially now‚ in 2008‚ when everything is wide open for people to listen to on the internet‚ I think there's a lot of heads out there that are not pigeonholed into listening to one genre of music. The thing that Marco's doing might appeal to a jazz audience as well as people who listen to Sigur Rós.
Yeah‚ I was thinking about this last night [at a Marco Benevento Trio show]‚ listening to them do the Invisible Baby stuff‚ getting really heavy‚ taking things at super-slow tempos‚ like sludge-metal tempos‚ and they're adding this jazz element to stuff that would appeal to Goth kids.
Yeah. Going back to the jambands thing‚ the jam scene gets a really rough rap particularly because of kids that are going to see bands like String Cheese or moe. -- not to dis those bands -- but some of the kids tend to be there a little more for the party and the drugs. Unfortunately‚ a lot of the stuff on HYENA gets lumped in there. If those indie rock kids were actually hearing it and not just holding a bias against something that might have jam connotations‚ they'd find some really frigging good music.
I think that's the issue‚ that people don't listen‚ especially in the indie rock world. Not to dis the indie rock world‚ but posture and image go such a long way.
Yeah.
And that's essentially antithetical to everything an improvisational musician does. It's not about who you are when you walk on the stage but what's happening on the stage. You could be in a basement with your best friends or on a stage with strangers and you're still going to be doing this thing that you do.
Just in terms of approaching that world‚ you've got the real hardcore indie rock kids who are very much into image and they don't take a chance at listening to stuff‚ and then you've got... well‚ if you take the audiences and divide them down the middle‚ everything that falls off to one side is with the indie kids and then there are the jam kids there partying who sometimes tend to be kind of frat-y. But in the middle there's all this good music and no one has their ears open.
That's exactly what sparked my interest in this whole thing. Obviously it's the role of the writer or the label boss to play the genre game‚ while the musician is better off staying out of that‚ but it seems like there is this new scene ballooning within both of those that doesn't have a particular name‚ and it doesn't seem like this is getting recognized.
When did we really start hearing about the jam thing? It was after Garcia died. The Dead dissipated‚ there were the tail years of Phish‚ and then you started hearing the "jam" genre manifesting itself.
Only within the past few years. Dean Budnick wrote a guide to jambands in the late '90s after he'd been covering Phish for a while and‚ obviously‚ up until that point Phish was the gold standard in that scene‚ but nobody called them jambands. It's like jamband wasn't even a word until Phish disappeared.
But now‚ it's kind of gone through its thing and it's breaking off into this other thing that has a lot to do with strong songwriting and musicianship‚ draws from a lot of places and is improvisational. To take Marco for example‚ one thing I've been going to the press with is that he's an amazing songwriter. He's almost writing indie rock tunes but playing them with this finesse of a jazz musician.
ON "JAZZ"
There ought to be a vocalist on Invisible Baby. It's so sing-songy‚ so melodic and accessible. In this sense it sounds like pure jazz to me. Jazz in the way it was originally conceived of. Taking source material from the Great American Songbook‚ Cole Porter‚ show tunes -- stuff that was meant to be sung -- and then taking this improvisational approach to it. Even what I see Marco doing with the post-rock stuff is pure jazz in its method.
I would pretty much agree with that. In terms of marketing‚ that's a hard message to convey. I'd almost rather say it's rock being approached by jazz musicians.
The jazz musician these days is so much freer to move within the classic genres and within rock‚ West African music‚ reggae... There are all these other idioms that are fair game‚ and why isn't this being covered in Downbeat?
I think Downbeat has been starting to do a pretty good job of recognizing it. It's coming along‚ I think. I'm more interested in trying to find a way to get the kids to come along. Marco shouldn't be playing for 100 people on a Wednesday night. He should have people there really listening. But maybe that's the way it's always been. I always hear stories from guys I know who were back there in the day and saw Monk at the Five Spot; there were‚ like‚ 15 people there.
One of the really critical aspects of that burgeoning bebop scene was that these virtuosic musicians were all drawing on the same source material‚ writing incredible tunes‚ and were all playing with one another. The idea of the band has kind of overtaken that idea of collaboration in the jazz scene‚ and that's partly why this Marco project is so interesting to me‚ because it's bringing together musicians from three of my favorite bands [The Duo‚ The Slip‚ JFJO].
The whole residency was based on that idea. It was really cool to see Billy Martin playing with Calvin Weston and Marc Friedman.
That sounded great.
Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't‚ but it was more about the spirit of it. I do‚ however‚ think there's something to be said for the band thing in jazz. The music being such a conversation‚ the better those musicians get to know one another‚ the further they're able to push it out there. And I also like the idea of the improvisational stuff being built out of compositions‚ because‚ for the listener‚ there's less fog to wade through.
ON THE MUSIC BUSINESS
Is it harder from your end of things to push a collaborative project like this as opposed to an album by a band that has that name recognition?
It really depends. I feel like we've had a lot of success with Marco. We're pushing the idea of Marco more. Then we've got JFJO‚ who've been a band forever‚ and it's still really difficult. I think the jam thing particularly made it tough for Jacob Fred. They are so much more than that. I don't have a genre to call them‚ but I think they're making earth-shattering‚ mind-blowing music. It does make it really hard to find a consistent‚ commercially -- I hate to use that word -- viable audience and not always be scraping by. Does that make sense? I guess I'm just saying that it's nothing new. It's true for super-creative instrumental musicians; they don't fit easily into a category and they don't always get the recognition they deserve. It's a really old story‚ but it is frustrating to be working with these guys for so long‚ knowing how hard they work... and I think we do make progress‚ slowly.
Does it get frustrating‚ feeling like you might just be treading water?
It does get discouraging‚ but for us‚ there's really no other choice. It's what we believe in and how we live. These guys don't ever compromise‚ and I don't want to speak for these guys‚ but I think it's true for any artist that they want to play for a large audience.
What would the ideal scenario be then‚ if you could just revamp the entire process? If everything went right‚ what would that look like?
If everything went right and I was still being realistic about what this all is -- I think if you look at bands like Charlie Hunter‚ The Bad Plus‚ or even Tortoise‚ some of these bands do have some degree of commercial success -- I think in an ideal world we could comfortably spend $20‚000 making a record‚ sell 20‚000 records and these guys could tour 3 or 4 times a year in front of 250-300 people a night. Just right there‚ it would be enough for everyone to be comfortable. It wouldn't be like MTV Cribs -- popping the most expensive champagne‚ hanging out at strip clubs -- but it wouldn't be like treading water either. It's kind of amazing. It might sometimes be perceived differently by the audience‚ but‚ speaking for the label‚ we're getting by month-to-month. I'm working 16 hours a day a lot‚ taking on artists outside of the label sometimes. It's probably not that different from being a music journalist trying to write about this music. Maybe it's harder.
It's the same issue. As I'm trying to cover the musicians that are really interesting to me‚ I'm not finding a ready-made scene. All of this stuff seems to be going on between the cracks in a way. It's so primary to so many people but only tends to get recognized as a subset of something else most of the time.
It's really important that we all stick together and spread the word and bring the new generation along. You've got to put your money where your mouth is in a way. Support music‚ and donate to your local NPR station. It's true‚ though‚ because those are the only conduits to get this out there. All the other big media outlets are on total lock-down. Thank God for David Fricke‚ though. Otherwise‚ nothing but middle-of-the-road rock music would get through to Rolling Stone‚ and that was a magazine that was founded on great music.
Yeah‚ and populist ideals and progressive politics.
I've got to give it to Rolling Stone‚ because they do tend to promote progressive politics.
I was just going to say‚ I think the political coverage is actually better than the music coverage a lot of times.
Oh‚ God‚ yes. I wouldn't subscribe to the magazine if it weren't for the politics. But it's frustrating. Why is the music coverage so whack? They could at least balance it a little bit.
Yeah. The romantic in me says‚ "If only people could hear the good stuff. If we weren't being force-fed then everyone would understand..."
I think that's sort of true. It's going to be interesting to see how everything continues to shake out though. Five years ago we could release a James Blood Ulmer album or an album by Skerik or someone and could comfortably sell 5000 copies. Over the last three or four years with file trading and the torrent sites‚ we've seen a difference. We've seen the sales just disappear. It's also because a lot of the record stores we used to use to get the music out‚ whether it was independent or Tower Records -- which did carry a really wide selection of music -- have disappeared. Now we can't sell this music to people.
Do you think the future is just digital downloads then?
We considered that but really prefer to be old-school. There's just something really appealing about having a physical CD‚ having the artwork and the complete vision and statement without losing the sound quality in mp3s. It's just something about the tangible thing. But unless something really changes in the next few years‚ we're going to have to deal with the fact that music is going to be totally digital. I can't stress how important it is to go out and buy music. Of course I'm going to say that‚ speaking from a label standpoint‚ but we provide a very valuable function for an artist. I know there are people out there who make this argument‚ like‚ "Well‚ dude‚ when everything's free it's‚ like‚ easier for people to discover shit."
Yeah‚ I think there is that argument. Especially for bands that are more live-oriented and are going to be touring regardless. Once upon a time it was "tour to promote a CD‚" but has it kind of flip-flopped to the point that the CD is almost subordinate to the tour‚ if someone's going to be playing out regardless?
That might be part of it‚ but I've found that you're much more likely to get coverage if these bands have a new CD out. Just because a fan has technology to steal music doesn't mean that it's right. If the artist wants to release that music for free‚ that's the artist's decision. Making a good record is absolutely an art form‚ and it takes money to do it properly. Sure‚ recording got cheaper with Pro Tools and people are doing home recordings in their bedroom‚ but there's still something to be said for going into a recording studio and making a record with the right microphones with the right amount of time‚ letting the band work out arrangements. All of that takes time and money‚ and people need to respect that.
Returning for a moment to that notion that if everything's free then everything will be exchanged and the word will spread‚ what do you think about the Radiohead [In Rainbows] thing? Is that viable if you're not an international superstar like Radiohead?
No. I don't think it is. In a lot of ways I think Radiohead kind of took advantage of the situation and did a huge disservice to artists who are where they were 10 or 12 years ago. It was interesting to watch happen and it got them a lot of press and of course it was their choice...
A choice that was only viable because they had struggled to build up the empire that is Radiohead‚ in a way.
And I do find it interesting that guys like Trent Reznor and Jeff Tweedy‚ who I love‚ have come out and sung the virtues of giving music away‚ but those guys are already built on major-label money. They would probably still be scrapping it out if they hadn't had $100‚000-promo campaigns put behind them. And it is interesting‚ some of that music I mentioned before -- Charlie Hunter‚ The Bad Plus -- it got exposed because a major label came along and put real money into it. Those are opportunities that a lot of these other bands have never had.
How do you find the artists that you end up putting on the label? HYENA runs the gamut.
I just keep my ears open. If something strikes me that I absolutely love‚ then I go with it. People I know in the industry bring stuff to me sometimes. Believe me‚ there is so much good music that I wish I could be putting out‚ but I'm only able to do maybe 10 percent of it. We just have to be super careful. We've gotten to the point where we have a core roster now and it's my intention to see those artists develop out of HYENA. We have had records like this one by Grayson Capps‚ who's from New Orleans‚ and I literally discovered it in the Louisiana Music Factory. I thought the cover was cool and was like‚ what the fuck‚ I'll buy it. I brought it home and fell in love with it. Then there's someone like The Brakes‚ who an intern turned me on to. Then‚ someone just mailed me a John Ellis demo‚ and it turned out he was playing with Charlie Hunter.
He's one of those guys who can really straddle that fence between the jazz world and whatever you want to call this other scene.
Yeah‚ he's an incredibly inspired player. I just feel like HYENA has survived strictly out of stubbornness. We're just going to do our thing and work with artists we believe in‚ banging our heads against the wall until the wall falls down. Going back to what we said earlier‚ how we market our stuff‚ we don't have big budgets to really do the proper amount of advertising but we're trying to get it into as many ears as possible‚ hoping folks will come out to see the band‚ buy the music. I hope all this doesn't sound too cynical. It's just that creative music takes longer.
No. I think that's necessary. There's this inspired kernel of music at the core of this whole thing that's just beginning to blossom‚ but it is still in a problematic phase of it all. There's going to be some cynicism.
Yeah. There are actually some great creative musicians who are very successful right now‚ and I think those guys help pull along some of this stuff‚ like the My Morning Jacket guys. The Black Crowes have always been cool about that too. There are a lot of musicians you can point to that have been really helpful.
Visit HYENA Records
Song of the Day: My Morning Jacket - "I'm Amazed"October 27, 2008
My Morning Jacket ends and we're all smiley and silly and laughing and gather our stuff and stumble out to the street where there are cops all over and drunk people and loud people and signs of that thing we've all seen on TV‚ the ball dropping‚ but we've never actually been to and we're so happy that we've never felt the need because there's always been great music happening somewhere. We walk a bit and head down into BB King's where the Duo and Surprise Me Mr. Davis are doing their NYE show‚ and I do the whole arms-in-the-air-heart-squeezing-loving-life-drinking-wine-laughing-with-friends thing all over again.
And when I imagine that part inside MSG‚ this is the song that's playing…
(Oh‚ and when I imagine this‚ Jim James is fully recovered from his Iowa City fall. Thank God!)
Visit My Morning Jacket
new to state of mind
Shows: moe.
Shows: Yonder Mountain String Band
Shows: Grand Point North 2014
Shows: Catskill Chill 2014
Shows: moe.down 15
Shows: Gov't Mule
Shows: Umphrey's McGee
Shows: Newport Folk Festival 2014
Shows: Widespread Panic
Albums: Phish - Fuego
Shows: moe.
Shows: Yonder Mountain String Band
Shows: Grand Point North 2014
Shows: Catskill Chill 2014
Shows: moe.down 15
Shows: Gov't Mule
Shows: Umphrey's McGee
Shows: Newport Folk Festival 2014
Shows: Widespread Panic
Albums: Phish - Fuego
random awesomeness
Shows: Bitches Brew Revisited
Blog: Camp Bisco 8: Win a Pair of Tickets
Shows: String Cheese Incident
Albums: Califone - Roots & Crowns
Magazine: State of Mind - February 2006
Features: Conversation with Mark Karan
Shows: Cornmeal
Shows: Medeski Martin and Wood
Shows: Wilco
Shows: Pitchfork 2009
Shows: Bitches Brew Revisited
Blog: Camp Bisco 8: Win a Pair of Tickets
Shows: String Cheese Incident
Albums: Califone - Roots & Crowns
Magazine: State of Mind - February 2006
Features: Conversation with Mark Karan
Shows: Cornmeal
Shows: Medeski Martin and Wood
Shows: Wilco
Shows: Pitchfork 2009