The Grammy's - Do They Matter?

No.
Well, that's the instant thought. But is that really the case? I'm not so sure. They've had their day in their current format, but could they be transformed?

The UK's Barclay's Mercury Music Prize has the right idea. We in the US need to take note. Perhaps the Grammy's should focus on music development? Well there aren't too many other vehicles left.  How about if every presenter needs to have sold more than ten million tracks, ensuring that they were the hook for advertisers? Each presenter then introduces an act with genuine potential that has sold less than 500,000 tracks. They play two songs together, one from the new act and one from the established. Perhaps even with a nice link between the two?
Grammy Nominee Rob H with fellow Stoat, Vince 

Also, the Grammy's is out of step as the judging panel is faceless. I know a bunch of them, and while quite nice, most are over 40, and not always qualified to vote on every category. So perhaps it could be broken into genre with relevant judges, critics, bloggers and artists responsible for choosing each award?
While I really quite like her entertainment factor and ballsy attitude, I just don't trust Lady Gaga to vote for Judas Priest's Dissident Aggressor (no kidding, the 1970's classic is up for best live hard rock performance this year!!!!!).
Wouldn't it be interesting if the process of the judges making their decisions could be webcast or televised leading up to the event. Perfect for Twitter too.
And then when it comes to the event, the main genre judges are televised at appropriate points in the show, or even better simultaneously on the web, explaining how they had come to their decisions - something we never get to hear about! If done right, this could attract not only music afficianado viewers, but also the Idol audience. 

Social media will undoubtedly be shoe-horned into tonight's performances, but how about if the acts were given a budget to enable them to magnify their own outreach, and a brief to cross as many genre boundaries in the most creative ways? Surely this would be interesting to today's audience - a combination of credible creative marketing as well as good music. And it would certainly make the whole event much more credible. Perhaps it would also encourage more sponsorship which could be tied directly to acts rather than the show?It could mean that the event could be less glitzy and less contrived to attract advertisers. Not a bad thing.

And finally, in the light of these thoughts, the big question....did "the Tull" deserve the heavy metal Grammy a few years back? - Absolutely! Perhaps Hawkwind or Gentle Giant will win tonight. Good luck lads!

The (Mighty) 'Wind live 1972



Judas Priest Fans - Heavy Metal Parking Lot 1986

The Future Of Music

Yesterday, the Department of Justice approved the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The result could be a huge boost for music folks like us, or it could be a threat to our love and passion.
Whatever happens, this is probably the biggest thing to happen in music since file sharing appeared, and it will change the landscape.
On the plus side, the new company, Live Nation Entertainment will tie artist management together with touring and merchandising, digital marketing, content development and more, which can't be a bad thing for an artist (unless you are one of The Stoat's label pals that is).
The downsides are several. First, as a consumer marketer, I think it will be tough for the new entity to switch from a business focus to a consumer focus. The labels actively helped the
demise of retail, and for many moons believed that they could create a direct and emotional link with music buyers, but this has not been truly realized. This merger will have the same challenges, and today more than ever, consumers are wary of giant companies. One way for LNE to avoid this would be to structure itself around the consumer rather than around the artist, looking at the needs of the buyer and using its assets accordingly. But this will be culturally challenging, costly, and take time.
In addition, new music across all genres is the lifeblood of the industry and vital to consumers. But in a company of this size, how will attention be given to acts? As the industry has spiralled downwards and sadly labels have let most of their creative talent go and absorbed their indie wings, they have had to wrestle with the same problems. Why will it be different at LNE?
The message to LNE is to stop thinking about the beauty of a vertically integrated company and its attractiveness to shareholders. Guys- start WITH the artist and the consumer in mind and work backwards. Let's put the developing talent and the fan first once again.

The Stoat's Top 10 Albums Of 2009

A little late in coming, but here's The Stoat's pics from 2009

10. Brad Paisley - American Saturday Night
Nothing World-shattering about it. Just a great contemporary country record that represents what the genre is really about today. One of the few I bought on day of release
9. U2 - No Line On The Horizon
I didn't like it for months, and then it clicked. You've got to give Bono and the chaps credit for carrying the flame for the rock genre and being to important to so many. Carry on lads
8. The Dead Weather - Horehound
With Alison Mosshart from The Kills, Jack White reignites his darker side very nicely
7. The Answer - Everyday Demons
I love this band. Everyone who grew up on Zep and The Oo needs to have The Answer in their lives. The UK loves them. The US needs them.
6. Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses - Roadhouse Sun
Young, fresh, contemporary Americana with a raw bite. A wonderful record that makes you want to be part of the jam at Ryan's house on a Friday night
5. Black Crowes - Before the Frost...Until The Freeze
A real comeback record, in terms of its mature writing and heartfelt performance
4. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
Another great record demonstrating a position of maturity yet maintaining a very wide appeal
3. Porcupine Tree - The Incident
This record is mesmerizing. To me it's Pink Floyd's Animals (my fave Floyd record) meets Tool, and a fine example of today's ever-ascending prog genre
2. Tom Petty
Petty can never do wrong in my book. I have always loved him and relate many different periods of my life to his songs. That's why this fabulous live retrospective is unmissable in my book.
1. Pearl Jam - Backspacer
It's taken me years to really "get" PJ. But this record has it all - aggressive 2 minute ditties through to absolutely wonderful acoustic ballads to which 40 year olds can truly relate.

Porcupine Tree's wonderful "Time Flies" 

Folks Over 50 only Buy Susan Boyle Records

I'm fed up with the media's generalizations about who consumes what music. Does it matter you ask? Well, yes it does, because music is a cultural gauge of society, and despite it's significant sales decreases, it guides many  other less sexy business categories in how they develop and market their products.

Over the past five or six years, we have repeatedly read how artists such as Michael Buble have "saved" the music industry and enabled the 50 plus market to regain it's interest in music. Of course this year, this has become a constant press story through the phenomenon we know as Susan Boyle.
Now I have nothing bad to say about Miss Boyle. Her meteoric rise has proven that a staggering 3 million records can still be sold in 6 weeks! Good for her. What I do have an issue with is how everyone over 50 is labeled as knowing nothing about music and effectively waits for a SuBo-like release before they can show their sheep-like heads in the music aisle at Best Buy.
Los Angeles and New York have young populations hip to all things hip. But in more earthy cities such as Seattle, Portland and San Francisco, and especially in creative rural areas like Sonoma County, there exists a different kind of hipness. There, mature music fans truly scour for what's happening out there and support a much broader range of credible music to a much greater extent than younger, fickle urban audiences. And, shockingly, they use a combination of new and traditional media, especially radio.
Take a niche radio station like Healdsburg's The Krush. This small station knows how to pleasantly inform the 50 plus market to stay totally relevant by supporting acts that would attract a smaller audience that would be twenty years younger in L.A. or New York.

Last night the Krush sponsored Chuck Prophet at Petaluma's Mystic Theater. It was a sell-out and the average age was about 55, with older folks well into their 60's. Not all vinyl-obsessed guys either, couples for the most part who sang along with every word. Last year I saw 500 people pack into a small rural community center for Todd Snyder, also driven by the Krush. These musically-active folks listen out for new music, share it between themselves and interact with the artists on the web. And they're not restricted to the highly creative Sonoma region. They are in many parts of our country. They are an important, but little recognized part of the backbone that keeps many acts alive, yet they are certainly not in the label's "15-35 sweet spot".
So let's not absorb the media's generalizations. Let's recognize this group's importance and spread the word. With more label attention and less media generalization the industry has a rare opportunity to recognize the mature audience's vital place in bringing high quality, new music to the fore.
 Chuck's Video for the way-too-catchy Freckle Song

John Picciuto - California's Own John Entwistle

As far as really good bass players go, they aren't that easy to find. All too many folks pick up the bass at a young age, thinking that it will be easier to play versus that 6 string devil of an instrument, the guitar.
On January 3rd 2010, the world lost one of the great bass players and probably the nicest musician who ever trod the boards, John Picciuto.
John was born in 1952 in New Jersey, where as a teenager, he started mastering the bass in the styles of The Who's John Entwistle, Cream's Jack Bruce and Paul McCartney. He saw many shows in New York including The Beatles' last tour and the Who's first Stateside performances. Of all of his influences, Entwistle was his primary inspiration, and John soon found himself to be a natural player as his fingers sped up and down the neck of his Fender P's and Rickenbackers.
After playing in New Jersey bands including Trigger, The Monks and the beautifully named William and The Conquerors (it was the late 60's/early 70's after all!), he was approached to join Looking Glass, who had just had a hit with Brandy (You're a Fine Girl). He toured with Looking Glass in the 70's, headlining shows, as well as opening for The Kinks, The Beach Boys, The Pretenders and many more. Looking Glass eventually broke up and several of the members went on to form the amazing and underrated guitar rock band, Starz. John decided to take time out from his music and focus on his family and career.
He played periodically through the 80's and 90's, but it was not until 2000, that he reignited his complete passion and focus for performing. By that time his three daughters had grown up and John needed to fill a void in his life.
It was also at that time that John responded to an ad I'd placed in L.A's Recycler. It read "Bass player needed to play Who, Beatles, Zep. Must like classic rock and enjoy a good pint of ale and a chat". Within about 5 hours of the posting John responded and joined The Stoats. He blew the rest of us away with his playing, personality and constant enthusiasm. We played together for 10 years, performing all over California from San Diego to Sonoma. I also had the chance to take John on his only visit to England in 2006, where we saw The Who at the Isle of Wight.
During this time, John had various undiagnosed health issues. By the time it was discovered that he had a rare form of cancer, it was too late to provide treatment.
His friends and bandmates supported him until the very end. I had the honor, along with Vince and Aggy, to sit with him watching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show DVD, 4 days before his passing. Even then, you could see the passion he had in his eyes for music, and the true friendship and love he provided to his friends and family.
John's memorial will take place on Saturday 16th at the Unitarian Church in Pasadena. He will be missed by many but his energy will continue to radiate and make us all better musicians and nicer people.
John Picciuto - we will always love you.