"Where Is The Little Colored Girl??"

Hello..
Long time no speak..
Sorry about that.
I''ve been off for the summer, so I decided to take it easy for a while. I haven't been home for the summer in a very long time, and it's been a rather strange one with the crazy weather and all that's been happening in the world.. The loss of some of our greatest musical icons..

The summer has become my favorite season of the year (sometimes autumn still wins out), but this summer with all of the rain and sad news brought out the introspective side of me. While I've been hard at work on a new record, I also feel strangely detached from music lately. I feel very passionately that this record is some of our best work to date, but still I've needed to take long breaks from recording to pursue other interests and to stop and reflect now and again..
Its been refreshing..
I've also discovered lots of new music which I'll share with you soon.

I got a dog this summer too, who I absolutely adore :-)
We rescued her from a shelter and she is an angel.. We've been going for long walks and getting to know one another..

On another note, it occurred to me recently that you guys don't know that much about my musical history, so I thought I'd share a funny story with you..

One of the things you don't know for instance, is that I have a great love for
standards and for big bands in particular. I'm a huge fan of all the greats.. Ella, Sarah, Billie, Nina, Dinah.. The list goes on, but I also listen to a lot Duke and Count and a few others.

The reason this is so is because of my grandmother. This was the music of my
grandmothers era.. She played it in the house all while I was growing up. She would sing her favorite songs to me and stand me on the coffee table to teach me how to dance.
As a kid I would sing an Ella Fitzgerald song just as easily as I would a Chaka Khan or Michael Jackson song.

A few years back I became completely obsessed with finding big bands in New York to hear and to sit in with.. I was unaware that there was whole movement dedicated to keeping the music alive and once I discovered that, I was ecstatic.. I dedicated myself right away to trying to establish myself on the scene, buying big band arrangements which I didn't realize are crazy expensive! I had a nice collection of vintage dresses, now I had a chance to use them.. It was an exciting time and I made a lot of new friends and learned a lot of new music..

The interesting and very cool thing about being a part of this scene was that when you went to a concert there was always dancing and the crowd would be a mix of people ranging in age from 20 all the way up to 70 and 80 year olds including the legendary Frankie Manning (the man credited with inventing the Lindy Hop), and Dawn Hampton (another incredible and much sought after dancer and singer in her own right).

In this way young people got to mix with people who actually were around in the 1930's and 40's and lived to tell about it, and believe me, these were great and often colorful stories to be sure!

In the midst of this I also met many great musicians and their wives and
girlfriends.. It was one of these musicians whose girlfriend Amy said to me one day, 'I want to introduce you to Les Paul'.



Now before I go on with the story, let me interject.. I am a Jimi Hendrix fan.. I LOVE this man... If there was anyone that I could go back in time and meet, there are a few but Jimi would be at the top of that list, ok?
Ok, so suffice it to say that I've read many books on Jimi Hendrix and in reading about Jimi, I learned a lot about Les Paul, inventor of the electric guitar, inventor of the multi-tracking tape machine, both of which revolutionized music and the recording industry forever..



(A little known fact, Les Paul tried to sign Jimi to his record company right around the time moved to England to record his first record.)

So back to the story.. My friend Amy had said she wanted to take me to meet Les Paul and more specifically, she wanted him to hear me.. Of course I was very excited and honored but I was starting to tour a lot so finding the time became difficult..

Eventually, I had a break one spring and was hanging out in the city to see one of my favorite big bands, the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra. Amy was there and said 'Hey let's run over and see Les, you want to?' And of course I said yes..

Now for some reason, I was wearing my hair in Indian styled braids then.. You know, 2 long Pocahontas plaits, one on each side.. Maybe I was just lazy but it was summertime and it was easy and saved me time but it made me look 12 years old.. :-)

Anyway, we get inside the club and go back stage before the show and Amy introduces me to Les and he was very nice, really nice, but of course he meets lots of people everyday, and he kept forgetting my name a little. Normally I would have attributed this to his being a little older but the man was so sharp and so witty, I mean he had such a hilarious sense of humor and you just know that no one is that funny or astute without having all their faculties straight. I'm sure he was just tired of having to meet and greet people that night, which I totally understood. I was still
very excited about meeting him none the less..

If you've never seen Les Paul, he used to do every Monday night at the Iridium night club in New York. I think he must have been doing this for about 20 - 25 years though it could be longer.. He'd play guitar along with upright bass, piano and another guitar.. No drums.. And he played beautifully, I mean I've never heard anything like it.. His touch, his phrasing, just beautiful.. I'd heard that he'd suffered a stroke several years back and couldn't play for a while and after he resumed playing he didn't think his playing was as good but I totally disagree. After seeing him that first evening, I bought a few of his records and I swear I couldn't tell the difference.

The club was packed and it was a who's who of famous guitarists and other musicians as well. I think the guitarist from Bon Jovi or Aerosmith was there.. In any case, Les told story after story, playing songs in between, and inviting various guests up to sit in.

Toward the the end of the set, he leaned over to ask the guitarist a question, to which the guitarist shrugged his shoulders. Then he leaned over and asked the pianist, probably the same question and he also shrugged..
He then leaned in to the mike and said, "I'd like to invite a young lady up right now, but I'm embarrassed to say, I don't remember her name... Is the little colored girl still here? There was a little colored girl backstage earlier, with 2 long plaits, are you still here young lady?"

As I looked around, I realized I was the only colored girl in the room and realized to my surprise, he was talking about me..
Hahahaha.. I had a good chuckle then got up and made my way to the stage..

As we hadn't paid to get in, Amy and I were sitting in the back of the club, so it took me a few minutes to get to the stage, all the while Les was still calling out for the little colored girl.. Then went into another story while waiting for me to come up (it really was that hard to get to the stage).

Finally, he finished the story, invited me up and said "Well young lady, tell us who you are" to which I replied "Hi everybody, I'm the little colored girl"... the audience roared!

Then I sang a song, and Les said it was wonderful and asked me to do another and then another, and then he said something I'll never forget.. He said, "You know Miss, I'd like to invite you back to do a whole evening featuring you on vocals with the band, would you like that?" And I said I would like that very much, and then I thanked him and left the stage..

My friend Amy said Les never let's people he doesn't know sing more than one song so I should feel honored, and I did..

That is my Les Paul Story..

We've lost some great ones this year.. But they will always be remembered for what
they gave us..

Thank you for reading..



Below is a partial list of famous guitarists who play a Les Paul guitar

Duane Allman - Sunburst, Goldtop
Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) - Junior
Martin Barre (Jethro Tull) - Standard Sunburst
Jeff Beck - Standard Sunburst
Fran Beecher (Bill Haley and His Comets) - Custom
Ariel Bender (Mott the Hoople) - Junior
Chuck Berry - Custom
Dickey Betts (Allman Bros.) - ’59 Standard Sunburst, ’57 Goldtop
Marc Bolan (T.Rex) - Standard Sunburst
Kix Brooks (Brooks and Dunn) - Standard
Buckethead - Custom
Bumblefoot (Guns N’ Roses)
Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) - Custom
Chester Burnett "Howlin’ Wolf" - Goldtop
Toy Caldwell (Marshall Tucker) - Standard
Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard) - Standard
Graham Coxon (Blur) - Custom
Charlie Daniels - ’58 Standard
Eric Clapton - Standard Sunburst, ’61 SG-style, Custom
Steve Clark (Def Leppard) - Standard
Bill Connors (Return to Forever) - Custom
Sheryl Crow - Special
Dave Davies (The Kinks) - Custom, Goldtop
Al Di Meola - Custom
Rick Derringer (Johnny Winter And, Edgar Winter Group) - Goldtop
Andy Dunlop (Travis) - Deluxe
Elliot Easton (Cars) - Goldtop
David "The Edge" Evans (U2) - Custom, Goldtop
Don Felder (Eagles) - Standard
John Fogerty - Custom, Goldtop, Standard
Peter Frampton - Custom "Black Beauty"
Ace Frehley (Kiss) - Custom
Robert Fripp (King Crimson) - Custom Black Beauty
John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - ’69 Custom
Noel Gallagher (Oasis) - Standard
Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead) - Goldtop
Billy Gibbons (Z.Z. Top) - ’59 Sunburst
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) - ’56 Goldtop w/Bigsby
Ray Gomez (Stanley Clarke) - Standard
Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) - Standard
Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) - ’59 Standard Sunburst
Steve Hackett (Genesis) - Goldtop
Kirk Hammett (Metallica) - ’68 Custom "Black Beauty"
George Harrison - Plain top Standard
Warren Haynes (Allman Bros, Gov’t Mule) - Standard, Les Paul 12-string
Jimi Hendrix - Custom
James Hetfield (Metallica) - Custom
Noel Hogan (The Cranberries) - Custom
James Honeyman-Scott (The Pretenders) - Standard
John Lee Hooker - Goldtop
Steve Hunter (Lou Reed, Alice Cooper) - Special
Davey Johnstone (Elton John) - Custom
Adam Jones (Tool) - Custom
Billy Jones (The Outlaws) - Custom
Brian Jones (The Rolling Stones) - Goldtop
Mick Jones (The Clash) - Junior, Custom
Mick Jones (Foreigner) - Custom, ’61 SG-style
Steve Jones (Sex Pistols) - Custom, Special, Sunburst
Terry Kath (Chicago) - Les Paul Recording
Danny Kirwan (Fleetwood Mac) - Custom
Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) LP seen in "Money for Nothing" video
Allen Lanier (Blue Oyster Cult) - Standard
Albert Lee - Custom
Frank Lero (My Chemical Romance) - Epiphone Standard
Alex Lifeson (Rush) - Standard, Custom
Kerry Livgren (Kansas) - ’69 Deluxe
Thin Lizzy (Scott Gorham - Deluxe; Brian Robertson - Deluxe; Gary Moore - Standard; Snowy White - Goldtop; John Sykes - Custom)
Steve Lukather (Toto, sessions) - Standard Sunburst
Harvey Mandel (Canned Heat)
Paul McCartney - Standard Sunburst, Goldtop (both left-handed)
John McLaughlin - Custom
Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) - Standard
Henry McCullough (Joe Cocker, Wings) - Goldtop
Bob Marley - Special
Sonny Mayo (Amen) - Custom
Steve Miller - Goldtop, Standard
Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) - Standard, Goldtop
Jimmy Page - ’58 and ’59 Standard Sunburst
Les Paul - a bunch of ’em, but especially the Les Paul Recording
Carl Perkins - Goldtop
Joe Perry (Aerosmith) - Standard Sunburst
Vicki Peterson (The Bangles) - Custom
Rod Price (Foghat) - Custom
Mick Ralphs (Mott the Hoople, Bad Company) - Junior
Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) - Standard
Randy Rhoads - Custom
Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) - Standard, Custom
Gary Richrath (R.E.O. Speedwagon) - Standard, Goldtop, Custom
Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (Blue Oyster Cult) - Standard
Mick Ronson (David Bowie) - Custom
Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd) - ’59 Custom
Todd Rundgren - ’61 SG/Les Paul
Carlos Santana - Special
Joey Santiago (The Pixies) - Custom
Joe Satriani - Standard
Boz Scaggs - Goldtop
Tom Scholz (Boston) - Goldtop
Neal Schon (Santana, Journey) - Standard
Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Standard
Slash (Guns N’ Roses) - Standard Sunburst
Earl Slick (David Bowie) - Custom
Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) - Standard
Steve Stills - Custom with Bigsby
Joe Strummer (The Clash) - Junior
Hubert Sumlin - Goldtop
Mick Taylor (The Rolling Stones) - Standard Sunburst
Johnny Thunders (New York Dolls) - Junior
Pete Townshend (The Who) - Deluxe
Ted Turner (Wishbone Ash) - Junior
Joe Walsh (James Gang, Eagles) - Standard Sunburst
Muddy Waters - Goldtop
Jeff Watson (Night Ranger) - ’56 Goldtop
Leslie West (Mountain) - Junior
Whitesnake (Adrian Vandenberg; Mick Moody; Bernie Marsden; Mel Galley)
Brad Whitford (Aerosmith) - Standard Sunburst
Nancy Wilson (Heart) - Epiphone Les Paul Ultra
Johnny Winter - Goldtop
Ron Wood (Faces, The Rolling Stones) - Custom
Zakk Wylde - Special
Neil Young - ’56 Goldtop painted black
Frank Zappa - Goldtop

Love To You..

“A long, long time ago...
I can still remember how
The music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while..

I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died..”
-Don McLean

When I was a very little girl, I would hear this song on the radio and it would make me cry. I didn’t understand why, I was too little to understand the concept of death or dying and I didn’t really know what to song was about. There was just something about “the music dying” that seemed awful and forever to me. To this day that song still makes me a little sad.



Hey guys,
Sorry I’ve been away for a bit. Been busy as you all know, working on new music but I felt like I needed to stop for a few days. The music just left my head. Feels like I can’t hear anything. The day I heard the news I was so stunned, hell everyone in the world was stunned, but I thought… in a day or so it won’t seem like such a shock. Even though it felt like I just lost a brother, it felt odd to be grieving so much for someone I’ve never even met. At first I said “I’m not going to watch any programs or news, or listen any radio stations playing his music, at least not for a while.” I taped a lot of stuff but I still haven’t watched, it feels too hard.

I can remember when Donny Hathaway died and feeling really sad but I was just a kid. I understood the concept of death better but up to that point I had never lost anyone close to me or been to a funeral. I knew it was a tragedy and though I didn’t understand how or why he died, I was very sad. Even though I was a kid, I somehow instinctively knew that music would be very different without him. Maybe that’s because I can remember the first time I heard Mr. Hathaway. It was Christmas of 1970. I was going to take my first plane trip to California to visit an aunt. I was going with my father and his parents and I was beside myself with excitement. When we arrived, the entire car ride from the airport to the house, all my aunt talked about were these two new artists that were making incredible, and really beautiful music. It was music for black people, young, hip, soul music for young, hip, beautiful black people. Of course that wasn’t exactly what she said but it’s how I remember it, it’s what she conveyed. It was music that people actually sat and listened to. It seemed to me, now thinking back on it, to be a new kind of blues if you will, very heady, dark and rich, their voices, both so soulful and so full of yearning. Those artists were Donny Hathaway and Al Green. During that vacation which lasted several weeks, there was no other music played in the house, and I mean no other music. But all of this was shaping me and I still remember it as one of the best Christmas’s I’ve ever spent with my dad and his family. Somehow listening to those two artists still remind me of my dad, so I was very sad when Donny died.

I also remember the day Marvin died. The shock of hearing of his death and how he died, I remember feeling ripped apart by that. Now I could really and truly relate, having begun to lose loved ones. I also knew that I would never be able to do anything with my life but music and was so completely engrossed in all things musical. More importantly though, I had met Marvin Gaye a few times and he was so very kind to me. Furthermore, not so long before, my childhood friends and I spent an entire summer dancing to Got To Give It Up. It was one of those records that defined a period in our lives and we never stopped playing it the entire summer long, literally. Now I knew music would never be the same.

Then three years ago James Brown passed and again we were all shocked and saddened. Where as Donny, Al, and Marvin might have been my mother’s music, James Brown was everyone’s music, young and old. You danced your ass off listening to James Brown, he kept it grimy, gritty, and soulful. It was soul of the rawest kind, not polished and beautiful but very honest and very real.

When I was a really little girl I was completely, and I mean completely consumed with two artists, one of whom was the magnificent James Brown. Now please believe me when I say this is the truth, my father played percussion with James Brown, (that’s not the part I want you to believe, though it is the truth), but before that, before I could even read, I could read the name James Brown, don’t ask me how because I don’t know. I just know that growing up in the St Nick projects, which is only a few blocks from 125th street (a major thoroughfare and shopping street in Harlem) we used to pass by the Apollo on a regular basis. If I passed that Apollo Theatre and saw the name James Brown on the marquee and my mother said we weren’t going I raised holy hell right there in the middle of the street. Now here’s something else I really want you to understand. You DO NOT have temper tantrums when a black woman is your mother, ok?? You just don’t do it, but that’s on the level, how much I had, not wanted, had to see James Brown. The funny thing is, and this is really funny, sometimes we would have tickets and my mother would be trying to explain to me that we were going to go but the show wasn’t that day or that he wasn’t even in town yet, he might be coming the following week or month but I would be standing in the middle of 125th street screaming at the top of my lungs and my mother would literally have to drag me away form the Apollo. After my dad started playing with him I got to see him often (which was made even better by getting to see my dad too) for as long as my dad had that gig, which wasn’t a very long time but long enough for me to have seen lots of shows.

I still don’t know why I was so mesmerized by James Brown but I suspect it might have been his dancing. I would stand on my seat and watch the whole show (I was only 3 or 4) and not move until it was over. I was star struck and I wasn’t the only one as evidenced by the many artists he influenced from George Clinton, to Jackie Wilson, to Prince, to Michael, speaking of which, the other artist I was obsessed with at that time was the Jackson 5 and particularly Michael.

Here at last was music, that even though everyone loved it, seemed perfectly geared toward black kids especially. In truth it reached all kids black and white, so much so that the Jackson’s white counterpart, The Osmond Brothers came quickly after. I was too young to remember Little Stevie Wonder, he was before my time, had I been a little older, I might have been daydreaming about Stevie but as fate would have it James Brown and the Jackson 5 are the ones who really struck me the hardest. Theirs are the first songs that I can actually remember besides songs I learned in school and the ones my mother would teach me.
My mother was a singer too and taught me many songs as a kid, particularly a lot of Doo Wop and Motown songs. I couldn’t read or write yet but I could harmonize with my mother and sing backup. I guess you could say that I already had the bug at that point, having seen my dad on stage and watching my mom singing. I’d be in the mirror, brush in hand singing with Michael, trying do the dance steps. When the Jackson’s were on television everyone in the building watched. Actually, if any black person was on television we’d all be glued to the tv, but Michael was different because he was this little kid, maybe 7 or 8 years old doing all this amazing stuff. though I was gonna’ marry him. No for real, I thought I was gonna’ marry Michael, I’m not joking.

I realized last week that for every phase of my life there was a Jackson or Michael Jackson record to go with it. All through my childhood and teenage years, even after I became an adult and was falling in love for real it was to a Michael Jackson song. Even my son became obsessed with Michael Jackson. I remember being absolutely mesmerized the first time I heard Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough. I would sit in front of the stereo and play that song and that album over and over and over again. I would study it. And then when we thought he couldn’t top himself he came back with Thriller. He looked totally different and we were all really surprised but we didn’t care. And then he outdid himself and everyone else by moon walking on the Motown 25th anniversary show.



My heart has been aching since I heard the news and hasn’t stopped. I feel like a fool but there it is. My sister in law told me when she goes to sleep, she grieves in her stomach for Michael. I know what she means. I’m trying to figure out why I’m so despondent over someone I never really knew. I wonder if it’s because it seems to me like he never got the to have the childhood he deserved and had to sacrifice so much of his whole life to be what he was to all of us. Or maybe I feel awful because it seems like he never got to have much happiness in his life, growing up with Joe Jackson for a father, then being harassed and torn down in his prime by greedy, shameless people who took advantage of him and did irreparable damage to the reputation of one of the greatest musical icons to ever live (now the kid comes forward and says Michael never touched him... disgusting). One of my closest friends says everyone on this earth feels exactly as I do because when Michael died our childhoods died with him. Beautifully said.. I think it’s that the music died.. at least for me.. for now.

Dear Michael,
No one in the world has ever been able to touch the hearts of so many and no artist has ever been loved more..
I hope you see..
God bless you.

Indy Star Adventures video log (ISA): ep1 (pt2)

Viv & Chris do an original tune called Sundown..

Ladies & gentleman, Jeremy Blake..

Jeremy Blake - Berkshire Fangs ('01)


Jeremy Blake - Berkshire Fangs ('02)


Jeremy Blake - Mod Lang ('02)


Jeremy Blake - Chemical Sundown ('01)


I'd like to, if I may, introduce you guys to some of the most visually stunning artwork I have ever seen (above).

I remember the first time I saw the movie Punch Drunk Love and being so in love with that movie for so many different reasons.
I thought the music was just magical, and oh so lovely.. so much so, that I bought the soundtrack the next day, particularly for the song "He Needs Me". To my surprise I discovered the soundtrack had been done by Jon Brion, who is my dream producer and at the top of my list as far as producers go (Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple, Rufus Wainwright, Kanye, Keane, Dido - all artists I love.. you can see him every Friday at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles).
I also found that the song "He Needs Me" was written by Harry Nilsson for the movie Popeye and was sung by Shelley Duvall. Harry Nilsson is one of my all time favorite artists for having what I think is one of THE most beautiful voices of the century (though I love them all, my favorite album is Nilsson sings Newman). The soundtrack overall though, just has an old world charm to it, and a little bit of a foreign film feel to it. It is a delight.

As for the cinematography, breathtaking.. I couldn't stop watching it. I love it when a movie grips me the way that Punch Drunk Love did, it wasn't just a sweet story, which it most certainly was, but the characters involved were all really kooky, and exuberant.. with Adam Sandler in a a way we've never seen him before and Emily Watson who was lovely and refreshing.

In my opinion, the past 10 years has seen a whole spate of films by a new kind of director, guys that want to tell a story in a whole new way and shoot film in a very different way, that to my mind, has made film so much more interesting and engrossing, directors like;

Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia)
Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore)
Michel Gondry (The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
David O Russell (I Heart Huckabees)
Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish, Edward Scissorhands)
The Hughes Brothers (From Hell)
The Wachowski Brothers (V for Vendetta, The Matrix)
The Coen Brothers (O Brother, Where Art Thou, Fargo)
Ryan Murphy (Running with Scissors)

But the thing that always set Punch Drunk Love apart for me was how visually stunning the film was. The film was literally interspersed with these out of focus, really colourful, beautiful shots and I always wondered how the hell they did that, I thought maybe they just make the camera go out of focus and that was what you'd see, these colourful shapes but I've asked people in the industry about this and they all say no.

I think I might have seen that film in 2003..
Fast forward to 2008..

I'm sitting in my Dr's office waiting to be seen and pick up a copy of the New Yorker Magazine. It was a special fashion issue and it had very beautiful clothes in it, all designed by relatively unknown designers. When I was ready to leave, I asked if I could take the magazine with me and they said yes. I carried it around in my bag for weeks. It was full of all kinds of interesting stuff but one of the last stories I read in it was the story of Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake.

Their story went a little something like this; 2 young and amazingly gifted artists meet in their early 20's in New York and find an immediate attraction between them. Before long they are inseparable, Theresa becoming a successful video game creator (Chop Suey, Smarty Pants, and Zero Zero), and Jeremy beginning to find his way in the art world. Theresa begins to write screenplays and the 2 eventually move to LA, where Theresa begins to shop her film ideas. Jeremy in turn begins to find his own voice and style through a somewhat new medium that he is partially credited with creating. I don't know that I really understand it, but it would seem that it is a kind of graphic design using film and computers. Some of the works he created are used in the film Punch Drunk Love (the ones I always wondered about). The 2 are beloved by many and seem to be at the center of their own universe when after 12 years together, the unthinkable happens, Theresa commits suicide. One week later Jeremy follows in her footsteps. Their untimely deaths rock the art world, film world etc.

It is possible I may not be telling their story correctly so I mean no disrespect to any who might read this having known the couple, nor do I mean for this story to be a downer. I just finally found the answer to a plaguing question and in finding Mr Blake, have discovered a brilliant artist who's work deserves to live on.. Let's celebrate him shall we?
You can see his works here http://www.ktfineart.com/artists/jeremy_blake/

Epilogue..
Sometimes being an artist is not at all glamourous, it is hard fucking work.. but if you love what you do and are good at what you do, there are rare moments of dreams being realized and of stunning beauty..
Sometimes that is enough for the artist, sometimes not..
What we hope, is that the beautiful works will live on..


Thank you for reading

“In many ways the work of a critic is easy, we risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves for our judgement. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read, but the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations and new… needs friends..”
-Ratatouille

Indy Star Adventures (ISA): ep2

Viv, Jen & indie artist J. Henry

Hey everybody,
Viv here with the next ep of the ISA.

Today I’m going to talk a little bit more about prospective managers.
Using The Secret and all the other principles I know to draw the right manager to me, lol, I’ve been spending time talking to people, asking questions, brainstorming, etc.
What I’ve been finding is that the best candidates are coming up in the most unlikely places.

Part of the reason for this is that most established managers in the industry are looking for a very established artist (mainly in record sales and or following) to work with, thereby missing out on the potential great artist that may unwittingly cross their path. Of course this is understandable, tried and tested is always preferable albeit not always available these days.

While most of us musicians and music lovers have heard nothing but how much the industry is changing for the last 3 or 4 years, and indeed it has changed greatly, I still think that it has changed in our favour (independent musicians). I think there are more opportunities available to indie artists than ever before, but it’s also harder to know what’s out there, when we probably have more artists making music now than ever before in the history of music.

Another reason to look in unlikely places, is that being independent, you can probably be better guided by someone who isn’t chained to outdated modes and ideals. Someone thinking completely out of the box at this time, is probably just the thing that’s needed, considering the fact that at this time in the music business, almost anything goes.. fresh ideas, new approaches and independent thinking are welcome.

With that, I’ll tell you about my 2 latest prospects.
Long shots to say the least, but two very different people who I believe with the right amount of hard work & vision could be absolutely perfect partners for steering this venture.

They are both women.

The first is a seasoned former exec with many years of experience in the music industry, having worked at Viacom, Sony, a few other companies I cant remember and lastly as the GM of a large independent record/management company. She quit because she didn’t care for the label heads business practices and modus operandi (INTEGRITY, gotta love her for that). She has an entrepreneurial spirit which she showed in opening up her own restaurant a few years ago (which means she has valuable experience in other areas of business), she’s funny, and smart, charming as hell and a true people person, which for me is an absolute plus since I’m a shy type. Plus she’s a go-getter so it’s almost a no brainer. The downside is she has a young family and lots of family stuff happening (which isn’t a downside for me at all, but could be hard to balance as a wife and mother). Still, she’s a woman who carved out a niche for herself in a predominately male run industry and climbed up the corporate ladder all on her own.

I should preface this next paragraph by stating that the second candidate doesn’t seem to want manage, or rather doesn’t know if she’d make a good one, although it’s pretty much what she does all day. Let’s just say she’s an amazing coordinator and/or orchestrator. She works in marketing outside the music business but has a deep and intuitive love for music and musicians. She is one of those keepers of the flames so to speak. It’s crystal clear to me, as it probably is to most everyone that come into contact with her, that she should be doing something in the entertainment industry, but just what that is, she’s still unclear about. Still she is one of those people that enters a room and will know a little something about everyone before she leaves it and what’s more, everyone that comes into contact with her wants to know her and enjoys her company as she is knowledgeable in just about everything. That’s a gift. You can call her up and ask for a contact to any person anywhere in the music business and she will either know someone or find someone who does. Now that’s what I call SPARK! Plus she’s a people person as well and has a natural curiosity and a sharp wit. The downside as I said earlier, is that she doesn’t see herself as manager exactly.

2 brilliant and accomplished prospective managers none the less.

Stay tuned and look for the first video blog next week featuring new music.
Thanks for reading,
Vivian

remember.. music can change the world.

Treat from the Video Vault..

This is me on tour with japanese composer & pop artists Ryuichi Sakamoto..
Also in this band are Everton Nelson - Violin, Hiroshi Takano - Guitar, Mori Toshihiko - Keys & Drum Loops, Chris Minh Doky - Bass.. Enjoy!

CINEMA - Favorite Films

Ok.. you asked for it but I must warn you, this is the condensed list - which is why I hate doing these.. It's impossible to narrow it down to just 10. I'll post more every so often..

01. Jersey Girl 1&2
02. War Games
03. Project X
04. Jerry Mcguire
05. Reign Over Me
06. The Holiday
07. Harry potter 1-6
08. Singles
09. Rush
10. Running With Scissors
11. V for vendetta
12. Matrix 1
13. The Godfather 1&2
14. Sleepy Hollow
15. From Hell
16. Sweeney Todd
17. Chocolat
18. Spanglish
19. Punch Drunk Love
20. The Royal Tenenbaums