Establishing an instantly recognizable identity can be the most elusive ingredient in building a career as a young musical artist. We see the difficulty every time we tune in to American Idol. Young artists competing for public recognition struggle every week to be whatever it is they think will keep them on the show another week. They adopt new hairstyles, change their demeanor, paint their nails, get a new tattoo and make the sort of unfortunate wardrobe choices that could easily backfire in any posh big city nightspot. No matter how well or badly these aspiring idols are able to perform, I always want to ask the question, “Who the hell are you anyway? I mean…really…who?”

Who Are These People

Now, we can talk all we want about artistic integrity and all of that sort of balderdash. But if you are a musical performer attempting to enter the professional ranks as a recording artist, the issue of commercial marketability is inescapable and must be addressed. Every public image, every word, spoken, written and sung, every video, every note produced is a commercial advertisement of your product whether you like it or not. You are perceived as being the sum of that which you allow to be put before the public.

In today’s marketplace, the highest priority is given to immediacy of product identification. When you go to the convenience store to buy a pack of breath mints, the box that looks the coolest will win every time. The mints might taste like horseshoe nails and there might be the most amazing breath mints only inches away in a plain brown wrapper. But by the time you realize you’ve bought the box instead of the mints your money is already on the way to corporate headquarters. This distasteful form of hucksterism has sadly become the engine driving public underwear-washing displays like American Idol. The contestants who are fortunate enough to make the show spend so much energy trying to be everything to everybody that we never really get a chance to know them. Am I seeing an artist who has average abilities in multiple genres, or am I watching a victim of multiple personality disorder unravel like Sally Field’s Sybil as she tries to decide on which of her sixteen personalities will be the flavor of the day?

It’s not that I’m knocking American Idol, nor do I wish to downplay the need for effective marketability. But if you think about it, of the many talented artists who have managed any sort of  post-Idol career, the most publicly accepted are the ones who showed their cards early on. Carrie Underwood has always been a wholesome Country Artist even though she had to prove herself relatively competent in multiple genres during her competition. Chris Daughtry is another example of an artist we felt we knew from the start. Adam Lambert on the other hand, could be one of the most impressive singers in the show’s history. But will his chameleon-like ability to transform into anything that serves the moment be an asset or a liability. Would true Country fans accept Adam’s interpretation of a Dolly Parton classic? Do die-hard Queen fans really take Adam’s performance with the band as anything more than a novelty. There’s no question that, purely on a technical level, Adam sings higher and louder than many of the great Motown artists. But would real Motown fans swallow an Adam Lambert remake of What’s Going On?Singing ability aside, you just want to ask yourself “Who the hell is this guy…really?”

There can be a wide gulf between great musical artists and great entertainers. Great artists can also be considered great entertainers but great entertainers are not necessarily great musical artists. Tina Turner and Elvis Presley are the epitome of the former while Sammy Davis Jr. and Wayne Newton are examples of the latter. Time and public acceptance will answer as to where Adam Lambert’s contributions will fall in this equation.

The Real Rod?

Two other examples of artistic multiple personality disorder spring to mind. I attended the American Music Awards a few years ago when Rod Stewart took the stage to perform a medley from his Great American Songbook album. You had to be a true blue Rod Stewart fan to keep your pre-show h’ordeuvres from making a curtain call. And Michael McDonald wouldn’t have lost one molecule of career luster had he let someone else make a spiritless remake of Motown classics. There are just some things that don’t need to be done. I admit that Stewart and McDonald were established superstars and had a right to do as they pleased. Established stars can remake themselves to varying degrees of success over the length of a long career. But for an unknown artist to morph across genres while compiling material geared to attract industry attention is a mistake.

The Dream Team

A good pal of mine mentors aspiring recording artists seeking fame on different web-based platforms like AKAmusic and Sellaband. His DreamTeam members are at the stage at which they must make the choices and decisions which will define their artistic identities to potential fans with whom they may never have personal contact. The era of booking a showcase gig and padding the house with friends and relatives is over. Music lovers can search the web and find the music they like from an ever increasing pool of talent. So, how should these artists proceed? How can one artist become the sought-after product desired over millions of others offered for consideration?

For these up-and-coming then, there is the question of what to do, what to do? The first thing I suppose is to decide what you are. Are you a singer, a songwriter, a pianist, a guitarist? Is there one aspect of your talent that holds court over the others? Does the interaction between your singing and playing embellish or detract from your performance? Are you ready to admit that there may be a difference between the genre that you enjoy as opposed to the genre in which you are most capable? Are you a Rock singer in an R&B body or is there a Country heart beating in your Alt-Rock chest? These are some questions that have to do with what’s on the inside and only you can answer them.

What’s inside will eventually make its way to the surface. So what condition is your outside in? Do you dress the part? And if you do, is it just a part or is this who you really are? Did you get a tattoo to show your individuality, or did you do it because you didn’t want to be left out? Do you take a magazine to the hairdresser to give an example of what you want to look like, or do you put a pair of underpants on your head to keep your hair out of your eyes as you hover over your laptop writing your heart out.

Appearing onstage can be a matter of playing a role, wearing a costume or playing pretend. But when all you have between you and your public is a set of headphones it makes being somebody more important than being Like somebody. And when a truly great artist hits that first note you don’t need to see a driver’s license or passport to know who they are.

Believe me when I tell you that I don’t have any answers. But I’m still left with one important question…Who the hell are you anyway?

Ah, the 50K question…seems I’ve stepped on a few toes with my last post so let me start by saying that I have no problem with any artist getting their hands on any amount of cash and making any type of recording they are able to in order to make this a more perfect world. Peace brothers and sisters, Peace.

However, I still firmly believe that the former standardized goal of $50,000 on Sellaband’s crowd sourcing music website had more in its favor than otherwise and here’s why I think this is the case:

First of all, some people seem to think that 50K is a lot of money. This is an erroneous assumption when it comes to producing, manufacturing and shipping a recording project. Let me try to put this in perspective as compared with the recordings one is accustomed to hearing in the mainstream media.

50K equals about one month of studio time at LA book rates. Very few hit albums are completed in such a short time frame.

50K will buy you the services of maybe four actual session players (musicians who make their living playing in the studio) for about ten days if you call in a few bigtime favors.

50K represents about one tenth the cash that would guarantee mainstream media placement. Think I’m joking? Here’s a challenge, give me $500K and I’ll get any Sellaband recording placed…and you can pick the artist.

Because of these factors, writing, producing, recording, manufacturing and attempting to promote a project for 50K is already an absurdity. Those who believe 50K to be excessive cite legendary productions or recordings that have achieved cult status which were accomplished on the cheap but most of these are exceptional artists who obviously knew what they were about. That is not at all to say that such an artist does not exist on Sellaband, but a system of standards should exist to serve the needs of a broad cross section of users and not the odd exception.

If I were to put into one sentence my first impression of Sellaband as it was when I first became involved, it would be this:

Sellaband provides previously unknown or unsigned artists an opportunity to interact with experienced producers in a professional environment for what may be their only opportunity at a real world studio experience.

What an artist makes of this opportunity is completely another matter. Perhaps all a band wants is a professional level recording which can be sold at club gigs, weddings and parties. Or a more career minded artist with eyes toward landing distribution on a higher level may wisely choose to record two to four examples of their very best material at the best possible quality that can be had for the budget.The reality that Sellaband does not have the resources to promote its own products renders any related discussion a futile exercise in wishful thinking. As my dear sweet grandmother liked to say, “Wish into one hand and shit in the other. Then tell me which one fills up first.”

Regardless of the motive, withholding cash from the production budget with thoughts of funding promotion is a mistake on two counts. First, the entire 50K wouldn’t serve to promote a whore house in prison. It just isn’t enough money to make anything meaningful happen. Second, for the more serious artist aiming at placement with a major, the production will require every cent of the budget if the recording has any hope at all of comparing favorably with the competition.

Finally, for the artist who has never “been there” so to speak, getting a chance to work on original material in a professional environment can be the culmination of hopes and dreams that once lived only in the realm of fantasy. If one takes the expensive idea of promotion off the menu and concentrates fully on the music, the process itself will be worth the tab. And if all you ever wanted to do was get into a studio and record your music for real, why would you sell yourself short? Why would you want to be in a hurry? Why wouldn’t you use every last dollar of that budget to buy yourself the fulfillment of those frustrating years twiddling at the old 4-track portastudio? Why wouldn’t you suck every drop of goodness out of that time and force them to drag you out of there with your fingernails clinging to the control room door jamb?

There are businessmen who drool when they think of the two weeks they will spend at an exclusive fantasy sports camp, a cushy African safari or an extreme but well-appointed sojourn among the Amazonian tribes. There are celebrities and rich bastards who have become addicted to a yearly stint in a luxury rehab facility. These experiences cost a ton of cash and the people who indulge themselves do so without much thought for the expense. Think about it. with the 50K budget model, musicians can avail themselves of an intense, real world recording experience…and the resulting product is not only debt free, but nobody gets hurt!

I know it’s a stupid question, but why would anyone sell themselves short just to get it done faster? Feel free to comment…this ought to be good. I can already hear the tomatoes smacking my computer screen.

When I was in my twenties I worshiped at the altar of funk. James Brown, Tower Of Power, Ohio Players…you get the picture. If they marketed action figures of funk musicians my toy box would have looked like the line-up at an Oakland barbeque and funk fest. From my perspective, country music was completely of, by and  for sequined, cowboy-hatted shit-kickers who lived in trailers with two cars parked on cement blocks in the front yard. If anyone had told me that The Ohio Players’ wardrobe was  as ridiculous as Porter Wagoner’s there would have been trouble.

But as a musician who earned the daily bread by making club crowds of many persuasions happy, I found myself in playing situations that didn’t always correspond with my personal tastes. That didn’t prevent me from being a smart ass and when a customer would request a country song, my witty answer would be, “Sure, what country?” Thankfully I grew out of my bias to discover that there was crappy music to be ridiculed in every genre and, as I gained further wisdom, great music to be cherished as well.

Over the years and during the time I managed The Band’s old haunt, Shangri La, I had the pleasure of getting to know and appreciate the work of some great rock musicians who had one foot planted firmly in a cowboy boot at some time in their career. I can also say that standing on the stage of the Grand Old Opry and playing to the 4,000 fans who fill the concert hall was one of the big thrills and chills of my playing career. Patsy Cline, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash have become as firmly ensconced in my iPod as my erstwhile funk gods and I feel no sense of disloyalty shuffling between What Is Hip and Your Cheating Heart.

Katie Thompson

There is an up and coming young country artist on Sellaband who answers my “Sure, what country?” dumb-ass question with a vengeance. Katie Thompson is a classic country singer/song writer from what is probably Nashville’s most remote satellite, New Zealand. Katie exhibits her own sense of style, opting for cocktail dresses over blue jeans as she leads her accomplished band through a repertoire of classic country tempered by her Kiwi upbringing.

Katie’s three original tracks on her Sellaband profile page indicate that she has the potential of becoming a household name not only in New Zealand but anywhere that hosts “Electric Slide” night. When she reaches the budgetary goal of $50,000 Katie will have the opportunity to go into the studio with the right people and the right toys to create an album worthy of her honest approach to writing and singing. Her vocal delivery is intimate in the vein of classic story tellers like Emmy Lou Harris and Patsy Cline. Katie doesn’t deal in pyrotechnics or phony gospel riffing. She just tells a story as if she were talking over the back fence and her fresh sincerity is her most engaging quality.

Tall Poppy is written and sung with the voice of a typical young person battling the slings and arrows of peer pressure as she develops a sense of self worth in a cruel world. The story, while common to anyone who hasn’t been raised by wolves, is nevertheless a persecution unique to each individual. Everyone coming of age in the world of schoolyard, fashion, teen dances and the required accoutrements associated with being “cool” has moments when they feel themselves too tall, too short, too skinny, too fat, too stupid or too smart to be considered acceptable by their peers. Katie’s angst laden lyrics ride over a deceptively cheerful rhythmic track but the darkness of the chord progression brings clearly into focus the pain of wanting to be accepted . The guitar playing on this as well as all three of Katie’s Sellaband tracks is not only well executed but tasteful and most importantly, relevant to the song.

Tall Poppy

Monteiths On Tap is a bit of fun and could very well be the hook that lands the big fish for Katie. One can quibble about product placement or the political correctness of glorifying the imbibement ( I think I just invented a word) all the way to the steps of their favorite house of worship, but what is a good old country song if not a paean of praise for either fast cars, faster trucks, loyal dogs and good beer? New Zealand’s Monteiths Brewery has stepped up to the plate in supporting Katie’s Sellaband journey and well they should. Who can say how many Monteiths empties land in the recycling bin the morning after one of Katie’s appearances at a pub pouring the “liquid gold?” Wonderful resonator guitar work on this track, while the feel of the rhythm section never strays from the “sawdust on the floor” vibe that just begs for another round.

The third track on Katie’s Sellaband profile is an introspectively dark recitativo of bittersweet goodbyes. The emotion of the song, as in the case of Tall Poppy, is one to which any listener can easily relate. I don’t like to repeat myself but here again the guitar work provides a perfect sense of yearning to Katie’s wrenching story. Katie’s song writing skills, while well down the path of becoming memorable, could do with a bit of soul searching here. She has great instincts and her topic choice is right on the money. But some of her lyrics, while not being brazenly cliche, could be more intimately powerful with a tweak here and there.

Song writing is an exercise in telling a story or conveying an emotion that can be related to by the broadest possible cross section of an audience. This is what makes a song popular, and why bother to put music before the public if popularity is not the desired result.The magic of masterful song writing lies in the ability of the writer to say something in a way that is familiar yet original. When Bob Dylan sings “The answer is blowin’ in the wind” we say to ourselves “Well of course it is. Who didn’t know that!” But inside we all know that we could never have come up with such a simple way to state the obvious. Economy and eloquence are bought and paid for in currency represented by reams of discarded lyric sheets.

Katie Thompson is deep in the process of honing her craft and this can be a critical phase in the development of a young writer. Staring at a page of lyrics with the unbiased eye of a supreme court justice and knowing what will go on an album and what will better serve as kindling for the grill is not a skill that comes easily. That process marks the difference between great songs that remain relevant for generations and about a gazillion MP3s on Myspace.

When Katie reaches her $50,000 budget on Sellaband, New Zealand, with a population of 4.3 million, will have cornered what might be the highest degree of success per capita on the internet crowd sourcing platform.  Katie Thompson’s success combined with Sellaband Hip-Hopper Maitreya will have made a strong showing for New Zealanders.  And with Katie’s Sellaband release, I’ll no longer be asking “Sure, what country?”