We’re All In This Together

I’ve been doing some recording in my apartment lately.  I have an Mbox and a couple of mics.  Nothing fancy, but it does the trick.  Due to the fact that I am predominately a guitar player, there is a lack of percussion instruments laying around…unless you count bottles of pills and tupperware containers. (Boxes of Quaker Oats also make for great shakers. Who knew?)  It’s been fun.  Some of these songs have been written recently and some I have been kicking around for a couple of years.  Some have words and some don’t.  I am not really worried about what they turn out to be.  I am just making music, and I love that once I am done with a mix I can upload the kitchen-ette orchestra for all of those interested in partaking via your laptops.  Pfriends on Pfilm has not only triggered ideas for a more interactive live performance…it has made me rethink the way I record in the “studio”.  I am looking forward to trying new things sonically. 

I have been getting ready for SXSW this past few weeks.  Some very gracious people are taking care of my flight, so I don’t have to drive this year.  I fly in on the night of March 10 and I will be there until March 16.  I’ve got shows on March 11, 13 and 15 and I have RSVP-ed to every showcase I’ve been invited to.  There’s no chance I’ll get to attend all of them, but its always good to cover your bases.  Some of the parties have free food and drinks.  I’ll probably make those a priority.  I’m looking forward to the festival this year, because I think Shawn and I finally started to get the hang of things last year.  I’ll write about my adventures on here each day.

In the mean time, I’m looking for a place to stay while I’m in Austin.  If you know somebody, please get in touch.  Thanks.

Pfriends on Pfilm is almost over… 

We got back from The Third Floor in Fredericksburg, VA last night and parted ways, until the Apple Store show on Saturday. 

This tour has been incredible.  Pete and Brad have been so gracious with their time and creativity.  We’ve had some good times hanging out too.  Lots of stories for sure…like getting pulled over 3 times in 2 days…once for umm…pulling over to the side of the highway on the border of MO and IA to make a “rest stop”.  [I asked them if it was illegal, and they said "No, but can we see some ID, please?"] 

People have left some pretty cool comments on Myspace and Facebook about the show, which has been really encouraging to all of us. 

If you’ve seen Pfriends on Pfilm, please talk about it with your pfriends. Spread the word.  If you live in the DC area, come out to see the last two shows at the Apple Store in Tysons Corner on Feb. 2 at 7pm and The Black Cat on Feb. 6 at 9pm.

Also…

We’ve been talking. 

This is not the end of Pfriends on Pfilm. 

More on that later.

Brad, Pete and I are four days in to the Pfriends on Pfilm tour.  Friday’s show at SOTA was a great send off.  Lexington on Saturday and Mt. Pleasant last night were amazing as well.  I am so happy to be doing this. 

Response has been very positive.  There are some clips on Youtube of the SOTA show, which is nice…cause I haven’t been able to watch it myself.  Too busy singing, playing, etc. 

After playing with our good pfriends All Get Out, Baumer and Darling, We Made It at The Village Tavern last night, we drove for a couple hours towards Franklin, TN.  I drove, while Pete and Brad watched some Flight of the Conchords on Brad’s Mac Book Pro.  Needless to say, it helped keep us all awake.

More later…on to the next show.

The preview for Pfriends on Pfilm is a featured video at www.thedroponline.com. Head over there and check their great new site.

Also, my version of O Holy Night has been included in Elephant Hug Records 3rd Christmas Album. They’ve got some other FREE Christmas music by some cool indie artists there. Have a listen.

I may take some pictures tonight at rehearsal so you can get a sneak peak at the PfonPf process. If so, I’ll post them at all the various webbistations.

Well, all the dates for the Pfriends on Pfilm tour are booked.  Rehearsals are going great too.  I’m really excited to bring this show to you. 

I sat down with T. Clair and Into the Hill a few days ago (he at his laptop, and me at mine) for a chat about my musical meanderings, the upcoming tour and a look into the pfuture.

Go here and check it out. 

Into the Hill will also be coming to my show at Uncle Freddy’s Gallery just outside Chicago on January 26 to capture the performance on video.  So those of you who are not in one of the cities we’re coming to will be able to get a peak at what its like.

Speaking of peaks, Brad Wolf at SOTA has been working on a “trailer” for Pfriends on Pfilm.  Be on the look out for that in the next week or two at Myspace, Facebook, Virb and every other corner of the web I have staked a flag.

I just found out about Amie St.

Its a site where you upload your songs, they start out for free and increase in price as they gain popularity.

Pretty cool idea.  Check out my profile here. 

The new resources just keep coming.  Bring them on, I say.

I saw T Bone Burnett, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss last night on Charlie Rose. The video isn’t available yet, but when it is you should find it and watch it. I’m interested in hearing Raising Sand - the record they all worked on together.

When asked about the music industry, T Bone Burnett said(paraphrase) that live music is becoming more important than recorded music. He even said he’d like to start producing shows.

Now that would be cool to see.

I recorded a new song in Tuscaloosa, AL at Wildfire Recording Studio on my way through town in October. It’s called My Love Remains. I’d like you to have it, and I like to know what you think of it. You can download it here. I’ll also put it up on iLike, so you can listen on Facebook. It will be one of a few new songs I will be playing on the Pfriends on Pfilm tour in January. I’m meeting with Brad and Pete tonight to work on the tour plans some more. It’s going to be pfun.

Last night, I saw Charlie Rose interview Jay-Z.  It was inspiring and informative.  Check it out. 

Towards the end, they begin to talk about the state of the music industry(about 48 minutes in).  Jay-Z says the majors became ”so successful and full of themselves” that they didn’t see the writing on the wall, bawking at the digital frontier.  Now, they are paying the price.  It’s interesting to me that Def Jam is a part of Universal, which is run by Doug Morris. A while back, I saw this interview on PBS.  I think I blogged about it too. It pissed me off.  He basically said guys like me will always need guys like him.  To me, he is the epitome of the old record company executive that sits in his office, worrying about how to keep the money and power he has collected from slipping through his fingers.  It is inevitable, how ever it happens.  Those things do not last. 

Mr. Morris is in a spat with Steve Jobs and i-Tunes.  Jobs said of Morris, “He’s the last of the great music executives who came up through A&R. He’s old school. I like him a lot.” 

I want to know what he really means by ’special’.

I wonder if Jay-Z ever had a disagreement with Doug Morris.  Maybe they get along.  I don’t know.  It is clear from the Charlie Rose interview that Jay-Z understands everything is changing.  The ship is sinking.  Maybe Morris is like the captain of the Titanic.  He knows they are going under, but he is going to stay at the helm.  Who knows what goes through his mind?  I guess I’d be angry too, if the system my whole career was built on came crashing down. 

My show on Friday at Room 5  with Theft was cool.  Saw some familiar faces and some new ones. 

After that, I headed to San Diego to stay with some friends.  I had a house show in Malibu cancel on Sunday, obviously because of the fires.  Even though I don’t like days off, it was nice to have some down time.  I saw some of the aftermath of the fires while driving around.  It’s pretty crazy how an entire hillside can completely burned and there will be one house standing in the middle of it.  My friend Tad (Disaster Recovery Solutions : First Response Team) drove all the way from Long Island to CA to help.  Right now he’s on an Indian reservation clearing debris so they can rebuild. 

Last night Theft and I played at Greene Records in Santa Ana.  It’s owned by members of a great band from SoCal. I think places like that will ride the wave and still survive the changes in the music industry because it is run by fans of music for fans of music.  They carry a lot of great vinyl too, so when I get around to pressing some records I’ll ask them to carry some of mine.  You should check out their site and buy some music from them.

I’m off to play eVocal in Costa Mesa soon. Gypsy Lounge is tomorrow. 

The old record industry is over.  Agreed? 

CDs are over. 

Honestly, I’d rather press vinyl.  It’s more interesting to look at, and it will look better on someone’s shelf. 

The days of millions of dollars lining the pockets of record company executives are gone.  Some labels are embracing change.  Others are digging their heels in, and actually think they can still keep control.  My hat is off to the ones looking to the future, but I don’t feel sorry for the stubborn ones. 

I don’t know what exactly is going to happen when all of the dust settles, but I do know that getting in a van and going out on the road to play songs for people still works.  Sure, social networking sites help…but it doesn’t matter if you have 200,000 friends on Myspace if you’re just sitting in your home town trying to “start a buzz”.  Good luck with that.

Music licensing for film and TV is definitely something worth pursuing, but even if I don’t end up on the sound track to your new favorite 20-something drama right away, I have no plans to slow down. 

So, keep coming to see me play, tell your friends and I will keep getting in a van(or rental car) to play songs for you.