Tag Archives: music industry

While the Band is Playing: Chris Constable Pt. 1

February 11, 2016 pharoutmagazine@gmail.com

Unlike other careers people choose, the music industry is one of the strangest anyone does. Although nothing is guaranteed in life, the path to become a doctor, engineer, accountant, etc., has been traveled by many before and is a reasonably safe journey. When you enter the music industry, there is no path. You only have a vague map to your destination, whatever tools you have with you, and off you go. When you talk to others that have entered the music industry, they can only tell you what worked for them. Sometimes that will work for everyone or it will only work for them. Sometimes you have a guide to point you in the right direction or you won’t have anyone. Sometimes you just throw your hands in the air and see where the wind takes you. It takes a certain kind of person to take on a business like this.

So this is an on-going series for those who are working in the music industry and for people trying to break into it.

While the Band is Playing

by Jesse Davidson

Today’s interview features recording engineer Chris Constable. Along with engineering credits on Kamasi Washington’s debut album The Epic and for Fitz and the Tantrums, Chris has served as the Director of Operations for Slate Digital and the Associate Director of Career Services at SAE Institute in Los Angeles.

JD: How did you get started playing music and then eventually moving into recording?

Chris Constable: I started at the age of three or four. My mom started taking me to music classes. I was kind of forced to play piano for a long time but I ended up thanking my mom for it later because the music theory knowledge carried over. The ability to play keyboard in some shape or form really helped when I started taking music theory classes. Started playing guitar when I was thirteen and then the jazz band in high school. The band director graduated from North Texas and was a vibraphone player. He was steeped in music theory knowledge. Went off for a summer and did a Berklee Music summer program. Started really playing at open mic in Atlanta, which is where I was living at the time when I was sixteen. The guy who ran sound for them moved and I ended up running sound for that. I found that I enjoyed that side of things somewhat. Then I graduated…well actually I didn’t graduate I GED’d out. My dad’s job moved back to the Antelope Valley at Lockheed and that’s how I ended up there.

From there, I went to Antelope Valley College and started taking classes around the Commercial Music program. Started hanging out with Laura Hemenway, Dennis Russell, Jeff Bretz and all the people who were running the program at the time. I started playing in the jazz band under Lee Matalon and playing in Test Flight with Dennis, Laura and that whole crew. Through that, ended up playing in Morpheus Trip. Through that, I met Nate Dillon and ended up playing in Dead Rats and ended up doing a lot with No Exit Records. All of us had our computers and we were all building our own PC’s and shit like that. We built them and them stuck an Echo Layla card in it, we had some inputs, got some cheap mics and started recording local bands. We worked on bands like Zero Box and The Kris Special. Kris Special and Dead Rats I think are the only two we did that are still going. Dead Rats is technically still a band. Whenever we’ve all got the time and have a reason to do it, we get together and do stuff still.

Through that, I met up with this guy named Hector or “Dr. Ramirez”. Hector ran a studio way out on the East Side(of town). Way out past Avenue I and 90^th East or some shit like that. He had an actual MIXPlus rig with three 888’s and a control 24. He had a serious Protools rig and a separate live room. He saw how much Nate, myself, and everyone else at No Exit had done for the music scene that he decided to give back to us and record our album for free. As we were working on that, Hector and I became friends and one day he said, “Look dude, I’m a drummer and I can get pretty good drums sounds but I have no clue when it comes to guitars. If you can come dial in guitar tones for me, I’ll teach you about engineering and Protools. So I started doing that and I fell in love with the process of making records and engineering. It was right around that time Laura brought John French, Captain Beefheart’s drummer, into Test Flight. John came in and listened to some of the songs we did, gave us some feedback, and then did a bit of a clinic. We all went to Denny’s afterward, John and I hit it off, and that’s when he told me he was getting The Magic Band back together. Originally, Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) requested they get back together for a party. Apparently, Matt is a huge Captain Beefheart fan. It makes sense if you think about how slightly twisted The Simpsons was for its time. It went well enough that The Magic Band was signed to Proper Records, an English label and were getting together to go on a tour of the UK. John wanted someone to both run Front of House and do live recording. Going back to your question, I’ve gotten into the industry the same way I’ve gotten into everything else. If you don’t know how to do something, say yes and figure it out. Did I know how to run a recording rig at the time? Not really. He was running a MOTU rig and Digital Performer. I had never seen the software before so I had a week to bone up on it really quickly and let him know what we needed. We used stuff that was all in house at different venues. Sometimes all I got was a stereo bus two-track and sometimes I got full direct out multi tracks. That was also where I learned how to really advance a show. What actually goes into an input list, figuring out how your signal flow is going to be and working with the house sound crew in advance to make sure everything runs smoothly. I did all that before I ended up going to the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Arizona (laughs).

JD: Wow (laughs).

“That’s kind of how the industry is. You learn as you are going and throw yourself into things that are above your skill level. And if you don’t, you’ll never make it”

CC: I was in an odd position at school because I went in knowing more than almost anyone else there. I already had a pretty good knowledge of Protools; I knew my shortcut keys and a fair amount about signal flow. The reason I chose the Conservatory was small class sizes. They wouldn’t have more than twelve students per class. When it came to hands on time, you had twelve people and a board with 60 channels. In engineering, that is so insanely important. You learn so much by actually doing that by anything out of textbooks. Especially now with things opened up through Pensado’s Place, all the Facebook groups and people doing YouTube tutorials. All that stuff is out therefor you to learn from for free nowadays. The thing you miss and the reason I went to school was the studios were open 24 hours a day. I purposely took the afternoon class so I wouldn’t be at school until 3pm to 7pm. go grab dinner, come back, and hang out while other people were in the studio. No one wanted the 3am-9am sessions so I would book those. I’d be in the studio doing whatever; I didn’t care what it was. I’d find someone to record or check out tapes because the first four months of the program was still analog and two-inch tape.

JD: Did you learn how to edit on tape?

CC: They didn’t get into editing which was the odd thing. This was about 2005. By that point, Protools had taken over enough that no one was editing on tape anymore. You might do minor edits on tape but that’s about it. Everything was going into tape and then being transferred over to Protools. By 2006 or 2007, everyone was on Protools. Tape machines were not getting used much anymore. After I graduated, I started working at Sonora Recorders near Atwater in 2006. At that time, we still had a Studer (tape machine) in house. It was set up and wired in but pretty much was only used when chasing Protools.

There’s something about mixing to tape. It does a cool thing and it’s one of those things I tried to describe to clients and I never could. They’d ask me, “If we go to tape, what’s it gonna do? How is it going to sound different”. It makes it sound like a record. That’s all I can tell you. I’d play a reel for them and they’d go, “Ohhhh…I get it.” It’s indescribable and something you wouldn’t notices unless it’s AB’d. That’s how a lot of things are. Engineers, especially those who have been doing it a long time, were struggling with this entire thing of everyone listening on ear buds, out of tiny iPhone speakers, laptops and then throwing boom on it so it’s loud enough. Then it’s slammed and limited so it’s brought up by 10 db. No one is really sitting down and listening on Hi-Fi systems anymore especially as vinyl went away. Before, it was hard to skip tracks. You had to get up, pick up the needle and find the gap between two tracks. Now, it’s truly all about convenience. That’s all people care about.

So, a lot of us struggle with the “Why am I doing all of this?” Why am I obsessing over the phase relationship between my overheads? Going through all these weird little things to get this amazing sound and then going to tape. All these things that 98% of people listening won’t notice.

JD: That’s kind of how I feel where the whole industry is at now with artists, engineers, and any sort of company involved with it. Everyone has taken a hit because of convenience. People can say, “Why would I want to see a show when I can look up that band’s concert on YouTube for free? I just want to stay home”. Everyone is kind of going through a “Why am I doing all of this?” moment.

CC: Right. There’s also a flip side to that. As things get pushed more and more digital and everything becomes more convenient, the thing people are still are willing to pay for and do make a difference are experiences. Which is part of the reason Gaslamp was so smart to do the Gaslamp Killer Experience. With just a DJ spinning, there’s a certain level of creativity to it with the way they mix things and effects they use. But really, you are going for the experience of a ton of people packed into a room and giving off certain energy. He decided to take that to the next level and that’s what the Gaslamp Experience is about. Taking it to the level of a live band where there is three string and horn players, a percussionist, a bassist, guitarist, and an Oud. The guitarist, Amir Yaghmai, plays the weirdest instruments I’ve ever seen. Last show I saw, he played some weird instrument he brought back from Turkey. It looked like a guitar but with four doubled strings. I’m looking at it and I noticed some of the frets were an inch wide, some were a quarter-inch wide, and some were a half-inch wide. I asked, “So whole steps and half steps?” He said, “Whole steps, half steps, and the little ones are quarter tones.” When I asked him how he wrapped his brain around that, he said, “I haven’t yet.” (laughs). That’s kind of how the industry is. You learn as you are going and throw yourself into things that are above your skill level. And if you don’t, you’ll never make it. It’s the only way to do it is going at it full bore. When someone asks, “Can you do this?” You say yes. Then they’ll say, “Great. See you next week.” Then, spend that whole next week studying your ass off and learn how to do it.

JD: Yeah exactly. I haven’t been in the industry that long but everything I’ve gotten is from jumping in and seeing what happened. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t but if it does, great.

CC: There’s two secrets or keys to getting work in this industry. One is always being available and sticking around. The other is being willing to take on things you don’t quite understand yet. If you can do both of those things and stay around for long enough, everyone I know who is good and has stuck with it is also working. The only people I know who aren’t working didn’t stick it out. It takes a long time and it’s not a quick thing. I’ve been doing it for ten years and I’m still out hustling gigs. My phone doesn’t ring off the hook, you know? I just worked on Kamasi Washington’s album this year (The Epic) and the response on it has been really good. Fantastically so because it’s a great record. He did something that is totally actually making something new out of Jazz.

JD: Totally. He’s making something new but still keeping it edgy and not going in Smooth Jazz direction.

CC: Right. He’s not going Smooth Jazz at all but it’s also not Bebop and it’s not Free Jazz either. It’s in this completely different category. He called the record The Epic, which for one reason, it’s a three CD 180 minute thing.

JD: That’s pretty ballsy for a first album.

CC: It’s extremely ballsy. Now you gotta realize that might be Kamasi’s first album as far as him doing a record. But, he did all the string arrangements for Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly album and he’s playing all over that record as well. The guys that he grew up with are Tony Austin, Miles Mosley, Thundercat, Ronald and Steven Bruner. He’s been apart of the Flying Lotus crew and Brainfeeder for a long time. Those guys have been playing together since high school or before. They grew up together and went to the same colleges. A lot of them went to UCLA. The ones who didn’t went to CalArts and they were still getting together and playing. Then Kamasi threw the West Coast Getdown, which was basically Kamasi, Ryan Porter on trombone, Miles Mosley on upright, Cameron Graves on piano and Tony Austin on drums. Through that, they did a residency at Piano Bar where they appeared every Wednesday and Friday night.

JD: Wow.

CC: Literally, every Wednesday and Friday night for two and a half to three years. And the Piano Bar is tiny. It gets packed really easily. The stage area is small and there is already a baby grand up there. These guys were packed in tight and were used to being within two ft. of each other every Wednesday and Friday for three years.

JD: You don’t have a plugin for that.

CC: No. There is absolutely not. They know what each other are thinking before the other one thinks it. They are this entity that is always on the same page and does some insane stuff. So I’m really glad to see them getting all the credit for it and ait was a really fun record to work on.

What they did was the group went into King Sized Studios and they started it off in December of 2013, I think it was. At that time, I was Associate Director of Career Services at SAE Institute, which is an audio school. I had already knew Miles and Tony and brought them in to do clinics at the school and stuff like that. Miles called me up and wanted me to get an intern there because they all had stuff for their albums. By the time all was said and done, they had over 120 songs. They just decided they were going to book out the room at King Sized for a month because any studio is happy to have to have a room being used everyday of the week. From being the Studio Manager at Sonora for while, when someone calls and asks the studio for a month, you’re going to give them a bit of discount because otherwise, you’re trying to fill everyday. They went in the course of a month, still doing Wednesdays and Fridays at Piano Bar, went in every single day, recorded 121 songs and walked away thirty days later with the basic tracks done. On average, they cut about four songs a day.

Kamasi then had all the basic tracks, he was still working on the songs, he was working on To Pimp A Butterfly, he went on tour with Chaka Khan, and was doing a bunch of other stuff. In the background, he was working on all the string arrangements and choral arrangements and did all those himself. As it turned out, Tony was a great engineer. He engineered almost all of the basic tracks. Kamasi called me up because Tony wasn’t available to engineer for some of the string sessions. He was able to be there the first day and we ended up cutting a whole other song. We tracked the thing live like…an insane little set up. Three horns, piano and keyboards, upright bass and electric bass, two drummers, Patrice Quinn on vocals and everyone cutting live.

JD: All in the same room?

CC: Not in the same room. Fortunately, the room at King Sized is set up that there is a large enough ISO booth. Piano and horns were in an ISO booth. Patrice, I just put in an Airlock between the studio proper and the control room. The drum kits were set up facing each other at opposite ends of the room. It ended up turning out great. That happens when you have great players. If we didn’t have really great players, that never would have worked. Then, we cut all the string stuff.

In talking with Kamasi, Tony and Miles about what we were going to do for the sound of the strings, Kamasi told me he really liked the string sound on all the Marvin Gaye stuff. He said he wasn’t sure that was the sound he wanted for this record but he really loved that sound. I went online and found Bob Olhsson who engineered all that stuff. Bob is 1) an extremely nice guy. 2) Has a memory like no one I’ve ever met. He has a mind like a steel trap. There is this whole post where he goes off and says exactly how he recorded the Marvin Gaye strings. Straight down to, “It was an Octet. We had these pieces and these pieces. I set them up exactly like this. There were KM-86’s on the Cellos two ft. from the sound hole and slightly to the left. No EQ was used on anything except for a 2db bump at 100hz with a shelf…” I don’t know if he just took really good notes on every single session but I kind of doubt that because that wasn’t really done back in the day. You’re talking studio bands that would come in and ram through everything.

JD: Yeah. They would only do like one or two takes.

CC: Yeah. They set up and were going and going all day. Now I’m sure this was probably used for more than just Marvin Gaye. My guess is part of the reason he remembers that is once you find out what works; you kind of don’t vary from it as long as you’re in the same room. The room at King Sized was a little smaller and configured differently than the room Bob used so I played around with it. Of course, the studio didn’t have eight KM-86’s. I don’t think any studio has eight KM-86’s anymore. So I went with what I could. 86’s are great because they’re side addressed. They stand up and you can aim more easily in some ways. So I went with what we had. There were a pair of 451 B’s, a pair of KM-84’s, and a pair of Josephson E-22’s I’ve never used. They’re omnidirectional and actually ended up as part of a make shift Decca Tree, which I’ll get into in a second. I think the other ones were the Oktava Mods. The MK-12’s

So, I set up with that stuff and ran through a Neve console. Not the same console he was running through but whatever. It was a nice vintage Neve. Did the same bump at 100hz he did on the cellos. The room we recorded in was not quite as live as the room all those other strings were recorded in. So, (snaps) click up about 2db at 7.5 or 10khz. Basically, on the top end of the 1081. Again, talking with your client and knowing what’s going on, Kamasi didn’t know if he wanted to be married to that string sound. So, the other thing I did was set up a makeshift Decca Tree. It’s a classic way of recording strings. Every classical recording is done this way. There is always a Decca Tree flown for string stuff on just about any film session.

A Decca Tree is three omnidirectional microphones spaced out in an equilateral triangle usually hung above the conductor’s head. I figured out approximately where a conductor would stand and flew the two Josephson E-22’s and a U87. If there had been another small diaphragm condenser there, I probably would have gone with that. But again, you work with what you have. In order for it to be a correct Decca Tree, it would have had to be three of the same mics. The classic thing to use on them is M50’s. Beautiful Neumann omnidirectional mics but we didn’t have the budget to rent them and the studio didn’t have them. The studio didn’t have three of anything because everything is in stereo and generally you go with two microphone techniques. Everything I do happens that way.

Interviews

The Figures of Funk: Victor Orlando

October 4, 2015 pharoutmagazine@gmail.com

“If you don’t work, you can’t eat”-James Brown

And the people who have keeping the funk alive have been doing just that. Working tirelessly in bars, dance halls, and venues all around the country to make a living. This new series is about documenting and paying tribute to those who have pioneered it and are keeping it alive. These are The Figures of Funk.

By Jesse Davidson

In this edition, we caught up with percussionist Victor Orlando between sets at the Xen Lounge in Studio City.

JD: Can you give us a bit of background on how you got into the music industry?

VO: Hey! My name is Victor Orlando. I’m a percussion player. I started about 42 years ago from high school. Went from there to playing in local bands. Got good at what I was doing at home in Dallas, Texas. Then I came out to California and moved to Canada. I started playing with a band and stayed there for a year. Came back to L.A. and got with Buddy Miles, Billy Preston, and some real heavy weights. My name started getting around so I kept doing it and doing it. Ended up playing in Yarborough and Peoples and the Gap Band for about fifteen years or so. Basically, I’ve got the title now of “Percussionist to the Stars”. I’ve played with Chaka Khan, Bobby Womack, LL Cool J. Quite a few people.

JD: That’s awesome. I noticed in the club after the show, you were right on it with meeting people and saying hi to the crowd. Is that a skill you’ve honed over the years? Has that played a role in how you’ve got introduced to so many bands?

VO: Well I try to do something different from the stage and from me as a person that other bands do so that the audience, big, small or medium, can remember where they were and who they were with. So I try to shake everybody’s hand, meet ‘em, make sure they are taken care of, sell CDs or T-Shirts if I have to., and make sure they are happy with what we just did. And as the lady (a show attendee) said inside, “You guys are amazing. You do stuff no one else does.” That was the point I was trying to make. We don’t just play eight songs then sit in a corner and eat, then re-appear for the second set.

JD: Absolutely. That really comes across. When you’re playing live dates, how does that approach differ for you from the recording studio?

VO: As long as I have a date, I’m pumped and I’m happy and pushing toward that date for performing live. Whether it is tomorrow or the 8^th of November. That’s the big date. We are here every Sunday but that’s my birthday party so I’m pushing toward that. For every Sunday, I’m pushing to make sure we do as good as we did last week. But when I go into the studio, just call me up and send me an MP3 of the song. I have 42 year old ears. They can hear whatever you are trying to do. I’ve been called a “one take Orlando” and nothing is changed or I’ll go in and put a ton of stuff down and now you can cut, splice, and edit what you want. But I’ll play as many different things as I’ve heard and it works that way.

JD: As far as recording, I’ve read in interviews that you didn’t get credit on different albums or songs you’ve recorded. What are you some ways you’ve learned to avoid those pitfalls in the industry?

VO: It’s hard to follow up on people that can’t follow up on themselves. So, I’ve lost a credit with Billy Preston because they didn’t follow up and get it right and I didn’t either. I lost a credit with Gap Band and they didn’t follow up. But then I look up on IMDB and other sites and go, “I did that album?” because I’ve done so many over the years. Unless it’s big, I don’t really care. I just put my music and playing out there. But the one weird thing is, I know my playing anywhere. If I hear it somewhere, I’ll say, “Whoa, that sounds like me. That sounds my lick.” And it was. I know my stuff.

JD: Yeah. That’s interesting getting into drums and percussion because it takes a more trained ear to hear a specific sound on those instruments instead of guitarists or vocalists, which is easier to hear.

VO: Exactly. I’m on one of Tupac’s albums and I didn’t get a credit for that one. I went back and listened to it and found which tracks I was on. When I told tem they said, “Oh something happened, we’ll get it on the next shipment” Really? You’re going to make a whole other shipment just because you left my name off? I’m not stupid. (The song “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” comes on in the background). Thank you for the experience. I know it’s me and that’s all that matters. I got my little pay for it and I know I’m on that album. But that happens.

JD: Yep. Ain’t no stopping you now.

VO: That’s right. That’s not going to stop me from where I’m going.

JD: I’ve had the good fortune of playing with you on a gig and I’ve seen you let loose when you get into your zone and you’re not thinking about playing. Can you describe what you’re feeling or thinking during that process.

VO: If the drummer is laying what he needs to lay, I can get on my spaceship and go. Be it funk or latin or whatever. I am in that zone. But if he’s back there, I call it, building a condominium on his drumset and I can’t do anything. People don’t know it but I can’t enjoy playing because other things are not in sync and not happening. Over the years, I learned how to go on and shut everybody down and do it myself and I’ll get more fun out of it that way. I’m gonna give everybody there due. But if I’m doing it, I don’t want you all in my lane. But if they are, I’ll just close everyone’s lanes and play by myself. I may even ask you to leave the stage because I’m going in the zone on my own, which I rarely do. But I can be more creative that way. I can do other things and not have worry about anyone come in and mess it up because I’m painting a picture. Be it a small one (an eight bar solo), a big one (a 32 bar solo), or be it a portrait where nobody is playing where I’m just doing the whole frame, outline, the picture, the colors, and then I present it to you.

JD: When you are painting a picture, do you find that you pull variety of influences into it that are both musical and non musical?

VO: Unconsciously, I am. It’s all embedded in me. So if I’m going somewhere, I may be playing 50 rhythms and don’t really know where I’m pulling them from. But if you separated them, you could ask how I did that. I don’t know. I just know they went together and they felt good. You can split them up and categorize them but I just played them.

JD: Just to wrap up with one last question, Do you have any advice for younger musicians or artists getting into the music industry?

VO: Best way to have longevity is to listen to everything because you never know who is going to call you up to play. You never know what gig you’re going to get. I’ve got Chinese gigs, Asian gigs, Indian gigs, Bollywood gigs and Persian gigs because I listen to all sorts of music. Once you listen to everything, you can play anything. It doesn’t have to just be percussion, it can be on any instrument. It’s great to be a funk musician but since funk is not riding the wave it rode in the 80’s, you need to get a paddleboat that can ride some other waves and be good at that. So younger cats, listen to everybody, create your own style, play with everybody, and form a passion for everything you are doing. That’s going to get you more than money, gigs, recording, touring etc. The passion for what you do is what gets you a lot farther than being stuck up and selfish. That’s the best thing to do. Just keep playing and don’t have any barriers.

Thanks Victor for spending time with us!

If you’d like more info, check out http://www.victororlandomusic.com or the videos below

Interviews

My Ambition: The Blue Flame Mega interview PT. 1

September 12, 2015 pharoutmagazine@gmail.com

In a two part interview, we sat down with rapper and entrepreneur Blue Flame Mega about his career in the music business, his various projects, and his views on society.

Along with his music and business, Blue Flame has also worked for many different companies including Priority Records and has worked as a runnner/engineer in Dr. Dre’s studio. He currently runs C.O.KE. Magazine (Creating Official Kings Entertainment), has a public access TV show, and his label GuerillaMoneyGangRecords.

Here’s his story:

JD: What is your background and how did you get into rapping?

BFM: Okay. My name is Blue Flame Mega. That’s what they call me in the rap world. Initially, I started doing music because I worked for a company called Priority Records. They put out rappers like Ice-Cube, Heltah Skeltah, Mack10, and Master P, etc. Basically, a range of different artists that made their brand prominent through the hip-hop industry. Through people like Dave Weiner who runs Strange Music West and Brian Shafton who runs RBC records. These people were whom I looked up to at the time. I was working there delivering mail to everyone’s office and it grew from that to seeing that they had a marketing position open. I was about 17 at the time and Marvin Watkins (former A&R VP for Priority Records) asked me if I was interested in the job. I said, “Nahh, I don’t have any type of background in marketing.” He said I wouldn’t have to do much and showed me what the job was. I said, “That’s easy. I can do that.” Being seventeen, I had a lot of energy.

Just by seeing the artists and their street team selling records, back then they were actually selling records, it sparked something in me where I felt I could do this. Part of it may have been the alpha male syndrome where I felt that I could be the big dog too. I was promoting artists like the Westside Connection and a variety of others. Listening to their records, I realized it’s not that hard to do. Basically, you’re just telling a story. Then when I would see them in the office, they were different then the record made them sound. The record made them sound like these super hard dudes fighting against the police and all that shit. In the office, they were humble, nice, and the total opposite of what I heard on the record.

JD: They are playing a character

BFM: Exactly. That’s when I learned, there’s a business to this. It’s not really rap per se. Yes there are rappers and they are rapping about a story. But the story is not necessarily theirs. It’s probably the story of someone who is locked up right now and they’re using his story to proclaim themselves to a title. That’s why at the time I said I could do that. It’s like acting. I can act. (Laughs) So that’s how it all started and from there, I did all kinds of things. Worked for a number of different record labels. Seeing how the inner workings went because I was noticing that the rappers were broke. Their label heads and all the marketing people had money. The rap made the company money but the rappers themselves were broke. Then I started seeing the fakeness of it. Rappers were going to people to have their raps written, buy fake chains, and having wardrobe people tell them what to wear. I said, “This is too easy!” That was around 1996 and I said to myself, “I’m going to make a business out of this.”

JD: I was recently watching an interview with Warren G about the music business and he talked about the same type of thing with rappers being broke. Not getting royalties on some of his biggest hits. It’s amazing seeing how many ways you can get taken advantage of.

BFM: For sure! For a while, that was the business of music to get ripped off. But today, it’s changed a little bit. That’s why I like the Internet. I notice the old rappers; they hate the Internet because they don’t understand it. But you have to understand getting 100% of your royalties (laughs). There is no way you can’t understand that. For example, recently I was with the Dove Shack and they had a major hit in the late 90’s called “Summertime in the LBC” and they had me doing websites, EPK (electronic press kit), and things of that nature for them. They were asking me how much I was expecting to get paid. I hold a high value on my time and I guess it didn’t meet up with their budget. I said to them, “You guys had a hit record. You should be able to afford my services. Even with me lowering my services to accompany your budget. What’s the hold up?” It came down to the fact that they told me they’re not millionaires. They didn’t have anyone getting royalties for them and didn’t understand publishing. So I told them to call their lawyer. They didn’t have one. Then I asked who was doing their publishing through the company that put your record out. They didn’t have that anymore. I said, “Wait, I’m confused. To me, this doesn’t make sense.” That could be because I wasn’t out in the era of when it was okay to be taken advantage. In today’s times, we don’t need record labels. If we do the hard work and…I wouldn’t say make good records because a lot of the music that’s being played aren’t the best but they’re the most popular per se. So as long as you are independent, have a good popular record, and semi-business minded, your going to walk away with 100% of everything. Versus someone who signs with a major and leaves with a fraction of a dollar.

BFM: They both have their advantages and disadvantages. A major label can establish you as a major artist. Even if you get dropped, you still have a major name. Unless they purchased your name (laughs). As long as you’re about your business then I don’t see why you wouldn’t make even if you were dropped from a major label today. Post 90’s, I can’t see being broke today. Even 360 deals, I still can’t see it. Yeah the record label made 360 degrees of your money. But, they put you on a platform to make more money then you did as an independent.

JD: Yeah that’s interesting thinking about being independent and trying to stick out or possibly making a fraction of a dollar per record but trading that for exposure.

BFM: That’s the business we’re in. We’re playing the game so play to win. That’s what I tell artists today. Just play the game to win. For whichever side of the coin you’re on.

Stay tuned for PT 2. of our interview tomorrow

If you’d like to check out Blue Flame Mega and his endeavors, check out the links below

Blue Flame Mega

Luminaghti Records

C.O.K.E Magazine (Creating Official Kings Entertainment)

Interviews

The Figures of Funk: Larry Kimpel

September 8, 2015 pharoutmagazine@gmail.com

“If you don’t work, you can’t eat”-James Brown

By Jesse Davidson

On our first interview, we talked with GVR Records and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly bassist, Larry Kimpel.

Here’s a short bio:

Larry Kimpel is the Founder of GVR Records and its President/CEO. His songwriting, arranging, and production skills have proven invaluable to the label from a creative output standpoint. Larry started his musical career on piano at the tender age of five years old and from there he turned to the bass guitar as his weapon of choice. He has worked with countless Major artists such as Frankie Beverly & Maze, Anita Baker, Boney James, Rachelle Ferrelle, Alanis Morisette, George Duke and Steve Perry of Journey fame just name a few. (taken from GVR Records)

JD: Can you give us some info about getting your start in the industry?

LK: If you want to go all the way back to the very beginning, my first professional job, if you will, was with my high school band director’s big band. Which was quite a learning experience early on. He recognized that I had talent and he wanted to cultivate that. The band consisted of all his friends who were all doctors, lawyers, etc. My director’s name was George Hunter and they were called George Hunter and the Moonlighters because of their jobs during the day. That one was the first. It really was a learning experience, not only in music but also about how to carry myself as a man.

The next was my introduction to the studio scene in Chicago and that was also through him. Along with his big band, he was also a studio session musician as a saxophone player. He could play all of them baritone, tenor, alto, and soprano. He called me in for sessions with Gene Chandler, Jerry Butler, and Shirley Bassie, who was the lady that sang the Goldfinger theme. I was eighteen and around all that which was pretty cool. I kind of got in on the tail end of the Chicago recording scene. You saw the movie Cadillac Records?

JD: Yeah

LK: That was based on Brunswick Records and I got to see first hand some of that part of the industry before that went away. After that, I got into a group called Aura. We played at a club in Chicago called The Burning Spear opening up for The Staple Singers. A couple months later, Pops Staples tracked me down and called me. At first, I thought it was a joke but it was him and he asked me to audition for the group. I got the job and worked with them for about five years. That was my first outside the country and national stuff I did. It was a very cool introduction. I never had problems getting paid and dealing with people who were unscrupulous. I saw it happening but wasn’t involved with it. Pops was a very shrewd businessman and very good to his musicians. We were young guys so he was our mentor or patriarch if you will. Keeping us in line and teaching us how we needed to handle ourselves on the road. Even in the studio I was mentored.

JD: What was the audition process like for The Staple Singers?

LK: They had a band studio that they invited me to come to and told me to bring a drummer. The first guy I called his name was Ed Gosa and he didn’t answer the phone! (Laughs) So I called my buddy Dana Goodman, who was at home, and he went down with me. When we got to the studio, there were some other guys playing before us. I can’t remember the bass player’s name. One thing that I remember about him was that he was very good but it looked like he didn’t care about being there. He was slouching in his chair. Then we came in and played. I’m still good friends with the drummer as well as the keyboard player (Michael Logan) who were there and they told me later on that when we sat down with our instruments they thought, “Oh, well these guys are gonna get it.” (Laughs). We wanted to be there and we were hungry. So we got the jobs. I think we were the only other people auditioning that day, as far as I know.

JD: That’s great. It’s really cool that Pops Staples took you both in and mentored you. Especially being such young guys, there are so many unscrupulous things about the business; it’s good that he taught you how handle yourself.

LK: That’s very true. One thing that he showed us was that we never left town unless we had the money (laughs) For touring, we would rent a station wagon and put all the instruments in the back. Pops wouldn’t leave the city of Chicago until he got a call saying, “The money is in the account. You can go.” (Laughs)

JD: Along with finding good mentors, how have you learned to navigate the business and communicate with various business people?

LK: That’s a good question. A lot of things I’ve learned through the years, number one, is to be as prepared for the job in advance. I always say you get out of whatever job that you put into it. So always be prepared, have your equipment straight, and also have what you get out of the gig in mind. If you need to communicate with someone, do it in a professional manor. Business is business regardless if it’s music or anything else. How you handle people is the same across the board. You need to be assertive and say what you need. Also, know what you need when you’re negotiating a gig. You want it to be a win-win for everyone concerned. You don’t want to take advantage of anybody but you don’t want to be taken advantage of. It’s a tightrope you have to walk. If people try to take advantage, you have to decide for yourself, “Well, this is not being cooperative with me. But I do really need this gig.” Chances are that if it happens once with someone, it’s going to happen again. It’s like that Kenny Rodgers song; you got to know “when to walk away and when to run” (laughs).

JD: (Laughs) Exactly. When I was taking a class about the music industry in my Commercial Music Program at Antelope Valley College, we had a guest speaker named Benjamin Wright (arranger for Motown, Justin Timberlake, etc.). When asked about how to approach the music industry he basically said to approach it like you need to pay your rent with it. By approaching it that way, you will probably play and sing more soulfully as a result. Would you say that’s true?

LK: That’s interesting. I know Benjamin and have worked with him periodically through the years. He’s pretty much spot on with that. You have to be hungry. What is your clear-cut goal? Are you doing this for a living? Are you doing this for a hobby? Most people who go to school for music, want to do this for life. Like the young man who auditioned before me, he could really play but looked he didn’t want to be there and didn’t care. That’s a problem. You have to figure out what motivates you or as they say nowadays, “What’s your why?” Why am I here? Why am I doing this? I’ve talked at LA Music Academy and a couple other schools and asked other bassists, “Why do you want to be a bass player?” Most of them sit there and are quiet. They don’t really have a clear-cut concrete reason. They’ll say, “I love the bass”. Well that’s something. But you have to take it a step farther. What are you trying to accomplish with music?

With anything you do that’s worthwhile, ask yourself why you are doing it. When you have a reason behind it, you can march toward that goal. Otherwise, it’s just not there. Backtracking, when you do an audition, you’ve got to give it 110%. You have to make yourself memorable in a good way. Not slouching in your chair (laughs).

JD: Since you’ve been in the industry a long time, what do you think has helped you stay in good health, working and maintained a good reputation?

LK: It sounds trite and cliché but I just do my very best. After a while your reputation precedes you and people know what to expect. The band I tour with right now is Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. He’s built up his reputation for his live shows. Early on he was doing two shows a night for six nights a week. He developed a very strong live show. Now, years later, there’s still an intensity that is unparalleled, bar none, in R&B music. So he’s built up this reputation to when people by a ticket to see Maze, they expect that. If you do things the right way, people expect it of you and rightfully so. That’s how it gets built. It’s mostly word of mouth. People begin to talk about you. They’ll talk about you negatively and positively. For me, fortunately, it was mostly positive. When I get called, people expect a certain level of professionalism, musical prowess, intensity, integrity, and intensity and I provide that every time I go out. There will be times where you have a bad night or a bad show but the audiences don’t need to know that.

JD: With your label GVR Records, what are the differences between running your own business and being an independent musician?

LK: Owing your business is a completely different animal. I never knew all the things you had to go through and have in place to own a real, live record label. Being in the business as long as I have and being around record company people, you have no clue the amount of work it takes to go into it. It really is another animal. I’m the A&R person for my label so I deal with the artists. It’s a good place for me because I like to help people achieve what they need to achieve. But, it’s very time consuming and challenging to keep everyone happy. The challenges of the industry now are such, especially being a Soul/R&B label, are getting that music out there to the people looking for it. But it’s been a rewarding transition for me. I’m still producing, playing, and recording. But also, having the desire to bring other artists to the forefront that need to be heard, that’s rewarding for me. It really is.

Artists on the GVR roster include:

Nico Ross, BrokenToiz, Gene Van Buren, THE C.I.T.Y. The Soul Hustlers, The Anti-Job, Markay and Daneigh, Rodney Taylor, Kimaya and Larry Kimpel.

If you would like a full bio on Larry, click here or visit GVR Records

Interviews

While the Band is Playing: Mac Skinner

July 14, 2015 pharoutmagazine@gmail.com

So this is an on-going series for those who are working in the music industry and for people trying to break into it.

While the Band is Playing

by Jesse Davidson

In this edition, we had a chat with Mac Skinner, General Manager of Two-Rock amplifiers. For those unfamiliar with the brand:

Two-Rock is the boutique amplifier performance leader. Since our founding in 1999, our expert team of amplifier artisans has consistently delivered fully transparent, touch sensitive tonal performance at the very highest level of the industry. It’s hand wired, point to point excellence relied upon by leading artists like John Mayer, John Scofield, Eric Gales, and Matt Schofield – and the performance standard by which all other high-end amplifiers are judged. (Two-Rock.com)

photo_bi-onyx-50w_1_large — Two Rock-Bionyx

We talked over the phone about his story in the industry.

JD: How did you get your start?

MS: It’s kind of interesting how it all came together. I’ve always played music growing up either with childhood friends or playing clarinet and saxophone in a jazz band. Then I left music behind for a bit when I went to college in ’94. I sort of tinkered around and dropped out of college. I tried to figure out what I was doing and where I wanted to go. When I finally made a decision I said, “ I don’t want to live in the restaurant industry the rest of my life. I want to finish my degree.” So went back to school asking myself, “What’s the one thing that’s always been a staple in my life?” and the answer was music. It always has been. So when I went back, I finished my music degree.

JD: Where did you go to school?

MS: Sonoma State. Around that time, I had made a ton of friends from my first time at college. One of those friends was a buddy of mine named Chad. We were roommates and hung out together. He couldn’t drive at the time so I would drop him off at work, which was KNM Analog Designs (the company that owned the Two-Rock brand) at the time. One day, sometime around December, the owners of KNM, Joe and Bill, wanted to go to the NAMM Show. They asked Chad if I could drive him and all the gear down to L.A. for the show and they’d pay me $500 and I would have my meals paid for. After that, there was a potential Guitar Center deal with the company that never panned out. But, they were worried about taking large amounts of orders and had asked me to come on and do piece work at the time. Little self-assemblies here and there.

Being at college, having some time, and doing solder work, gave some time to do it on my own. I started as a 1099 and within about a month, I didn’t just want piecework, I wanted to start building amps. I stayed late one night and built an entire amp. Much to Chad’s dismay, who was kind of my “supervisor” at the time (laughs). But I built the whole thing from start to finish. It had two problems but the thing fired off. That was the start of it. We moved into a new shop and for the next three or four years, I built amps. From start to finish and from the ground up. The chassis prep, building circuit boards, the entire amp assembly, shipping and final assembly. Somewhere in there, Chad left to start his own cabinet company, which became a full time job for him. So I took Chad’s place as the lead builder. About that same time, the owner’s of Two Rock were starting to feel burned out and I started taking on more responsibilities. The rest compounded from there and they sold the company to Premier Builder’s Guild. I was sold along with the company and became General Manager to run all of the production in this facility. Like I said, I always wanted to be in the music industry but I just never knew I’d be in the manufacturing of musical instruments (laughs).

JD: That’s awesome though. It seems like you just went with the flow of things for the most part.

MS: Yeah. The cool thing about Two-Rock is it was always an entrepreneurial business from the start and I always thrive in that sort of environment. And when you can stand by the product and you know it’s a good product. It doesn’t take much to put all of your heart into it, you know?

JD: Absolutely. As far as going to school, you met someone there that hooked you up with Two Rock. Many young musicians and industry professionals’ debate about whether they should go to college or go straight into looking for work. What do you think that college provided for you that you otherwise wouldn’t have?

MS: Well I think that’s a multiple part question. First of all, the connections I made in college and the amount of work I did in college with the musicians I was around helped shape who I am now. I really wanted to be a recording engineer. I wanted to sit behind a board and I wanted to have my own studio or work in a studio. Then I realized, I was supporting myself too and that wasn’t going to be easy. Because I’d probably end up as an intern, be working for 3 years with no money, get coffee for the bands and clean the studio (laughs) and I didn’t want to be that guy.

But the cool thing was, I was around enough musicians at the time that I got tons of recording experience on my own. I did a lot of work in that field but I became so busy with Two-Rock that I never had the ability to keep up with the changes in gear. This would have been around 2002-2003 and advances in recording came really fast after that. And my sessions became increasingly out of date (laughs) I just couldn’t keep up with it. So that said, being around all of that music, the musicians I was around, recording guitar amp after guitar amp, and listening to different styles from jazz, metal, rock country, folk etc., gave me the ears to be able to hear, from amplifier to amplifier, what sounds good and what doesn’t.

So if anyone were to ask me if college were a waste, I’d say no. I don’t necessarily have a ton of connections from college in the industry I’m in now although I do have some. Even the people I was around, I still run into from time to time.

JD: Yeah it’s a small world, right?

MS: Absolutely. I think college gave me the ability to communicate effectively too with people like artists and what they’re after. Not just in a studio but live performances as well. And all the makings therein.

JD: With all these people you’ve met and formed connections with, how do you stay in contact and maintain a good reputation with them?

MS: Well it’s hard to say because I’m so busy, it’s really hard for me to maintain a lot of contact. If it’s someone I work with closely, I try to reach out at least once or twice a month. If not, every six months or so. I have a high profile artist that I try to reach out to. I don’t much time to reach out to him very often but I try as much as I possibly can. Everybody is trying to get their stuff in the hands of somebody famous so the high profile artists don’t tend to contact back very often (laughs). But there are some I maintain relationships with. Matt Scohfield and I are really close. I leave him be for the most but he can call me up in a minutes notice and say something like, “Hey, I need something in New York in five days. Can you help me out?” and I’ll bend over backwards for him. And most of the artists and professionals that I deal with in the industry know that. I think follow through is important. I give everyone my email and phone number to make sure that I’m always accessible.

JD: Is there similarities between being a general manager at Two-Rock to being on the other side of the business as recording engineer or an artist?

MS: Well I don’t just manage Two Rock but I also manage the production facility that builds Two-Rock and Tone King.

photo_falcon_6_large — Tone King: Falcon

As for the similarities, its funny, I had one of my managers come to me and say, “I want to take a class at the JC and what should I take?” He doesn’t speak English very well and I said, “What you really need is to take an English class because the ability to communicate effectively is key.“ It doesn’t matter what business you’re in. To be able to talk to people and able manage employees, an artist, a band, whatever. You have to be able to communicate well and you have to do it respectfully. You have to really set aside ego or any other bad personality trait that may come in the way of communicating effectively. Put that aside, be honest with yourself and be honest with the people you deal with. And that’s probably the biggest similarity.

JD: Any last bits of advice for young musicians or people looking at breaking into the industry?

MS: Follow your dream and work hard. Hard work pays off. I’ve worked my ass off and made pennies to get where I’m at and that hard work paid off

If you’d like more info on Two Rock and Tone King, visit:

http://www.two-rock.com

http://www.toneking.com

http://www.premierbuildersguild.com

Interviews

While the Band is Playing: Inside the Music Industry

June 28, 2015 pharoutmagazine@gmail.com

So this is an on-going series for those who are working in the music industry and for people trying to break into it.

While the Band is Playing

by Jesse Davidson

In this edition, we will be interviewing Paul North. Paul North is currently a tour manager for the UK Subs and runs a vinyl selling and tour service business called North Records in the UK. WE caught up with Paul after the UK Subs recent West Coast tour in America.

JD: Can you give you give us some background info about yourself and how you got into the music business?

PN: I’ve always been a music fan, I saw the Damned/ Adverts when I was 14 in 1977. I consider myself lucky to work for the bands I watched as a kid. I had pretty high-end retail positions when I was very young. I got a job with a record company in London but got sick of living down south. I moved back to Blackpool where there was no work available and I started to sell records full time. I started selling records at punk festivals and from there started driving band, selling merch and learned from there. I haven’t had a proper job since ‘89.

After the show in Berlin. Charlie Harper (Center). Michael Schenker (below). — After the show in Berlin. Charlie Harper (Center).

JD: Did you have a mentor or anyone to help you out?

PN: Not especially but your always learning when you’re both selling records and working for bands. My dad had no idea what I did but he was self-employed and was always there just to have a chat or lend me cash if I needed it. He was a calming influence on me.

JD: I’ve been checking out the North Records website and I’m really intrigued by it. Can you tell us about it and take us through the day to day of running the business?

Our mail order business is shit. Because, neither me or my business partner have enough time to dedicate to it as we are always working away for our bands. We update it as much as we can but I have lots of vinyl customers I can call up. So most doesn’t get online. We spend a couple of days a week on it, which is all we can do. My job is to find new stuff. Ig (my business partner) puts it on eBay or our site. We account every 6 weeks and split the profit after costs. Very DIY!

JD: You and the UK Subs were really cool and professional when I had the chance to work with you, which is what I admire in bands that come through town. What are some ways you feel have helped maintain that reputation with you and the band?

PN: I have a few simple rules.

I only work for people I like.

I don’t work for arseholes.

I only work for bands I would watch as a fan.

We are on time. We do our job as best as we can do.

If you do those things, you won’t go far wrong.

Oh and be honest with the bands. Keep them informed and get them as much rest as possible.

JD: It seems out of any form of music, punk is one of the most unpredictable and wildly exciting forms to work in as a musician, sound engineer, tour manager, etc. What are some pros and cons you’ve experienced working in it?

PN:

Pros:

(+) It’s the best form of music.

(+)There’s less industry nonsense.

(+)The vast majority of people are cool especially with the smaller bands I tour with; where the promoter feeds us and puts us up at his own place. Usually, at his expense. I don’t think that happens in other genres as much..

Cons:

(-) Well there’s not much money for bands

(-) USA and UK venues don’t treat bands well (there are exceptions).

(-)Van breakdown issues are the worst and can destroy a tour financially.

But as a rule, even after a bad tour/gig, you can’t wait to do it again.

On the way to a gig. Lots of this on tour.

JD: How do you manage the stress that can come with being a tour manager and business owner?

PN: I work or have worked for the following bands

Cock Sparrer

Buzzcocks

UK Subs

TV Smith and the Bored Teenagers

I have the best job in the fucking world! If I have a bad day, I think of all the people doing normal jobs. I feel ok then!

JD: After meeting you, I was reminded of Ian, the tour manager character from This Is Spinal Tap. Is there a lot of similarities between the movie and what you experience on the road?

PN: You won’t believe this but I’ve never seen it! But everyone says I should and it’s very relevant! I’m sure it is and one day, I’ll watch it!

JD: Do you have an advice for young people entering into the music business?

PN: Be brave. Give up everything for your band at least until you’re 30! Get one honest organized person to look after money, etc. Split money evenly between band members, the crew, and the manager. Be the absolute best you can be on the stage and not be an arsehole off it!

JD: Thanks again for taking the time to talk with us and for playing in Lancaster!

PN: Well touring the west coast with the Subs was a challenge! But we came through relatively unscathed, and the vast majority of people and promoters we met were great.

We had a ball! Thanks to all!!

If you’d like more info on North Records, check out

http://www.northrecords.co.uk

Interviews

While the Band is Playing: Insight on the Music Industry

June 10, 2015 pharoutmagazine@gmail.com

Unlike other careers people choose, the music industry is one of the strangest anyone does. Although nothing is guaranteed in life, the path to become a doctor, engineer, accountant, etc., has been traveled by many before and is a reasonably safe journey. When you enter the music industry, there is no path. You only have a vague map to your destination, whatever tools you have with you, and off you go. When you talk to others that have entered the music industry, they can only tell you what worked for them. Sometimes that will work for everyone or it will only work for them. Sometimes you guide to point you in the right direction or you won’t have anyone. Sometimes you just throw your hands in the air and see where the wind takes you. It takes a certain kind of person to take on a business like this.

So this is an on-going series for those who are working in the music industry and for people trying to break into it.

While the Band is Playing

by Jesse Davidson

In this edition, we sat down with Sean Gilmer over lunch at Mi Ranchito on Palmdale Blvd. Sean is a live sound engineer at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center, a recording engineer, song-writer, producer, and musician in the band Lamarche.

Dallen Jimenez (left), Meredith Lamarche (center), Sean Gilmer (right)

How did you get your start?

“I started with piano lessons when I was about 6 years old. I took lessons from a lady named Joyce Garrett, who was really instrumental in my music career. She had directed gospel choirs and played piano. Then I started to take more trained piano classes and play in classical concerts. I was playing by ear mainly. I wasn’t a great note reader. Then by the time I was in high school, I just played in bands from the D.C area. It was the Go-Go scene so I played in Go-Go bands through most of my teenage to young adult life. That was my heart.”

Like Chuck Brown and Trouble Funk?

“Yeah like Chuck Brown, Trouble Funk, Rare Essence, E.U. (Experience Unlimited), and it goes on. There were different stages of that type of music, which I considered what most people knew to be more commercial. We did that for years. Playing in bands like that for parties and different concerts. Then I got in a Top 40’s band and sang Top 40’s music with a big twelve-piece band. I went to college and played music in a smaller band called Three Way that was doing really well. We started producing for people and had a group we produced music for. Then I went back home and decided to get into engineering because I wanted to stick with the music industry. I felt like if I could be an engineer, I would at least be near it and I would always hear music. So I decided to either go to New York, Tennessee, Atlanta, or L.A. I ended up flying from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles to follow the big dream in ’97.”

“I went to school and worked with engineers Doug Kern and Steve Miller. I also worked with John Barnes who was the musical director for Michael Jackson. I got to work in his studio as an intern and learned how to use a lot of equipment. Stuff like drum machines and different keyboards I liked. Then it was like ‘Let’s build a studio!’ and my partner and I built a studio called Plugs Entertainment in North Hollywood. We worked with artists that are fairly well known. There were a lot of facilities around us and artists would record in them for their label. But they wanted to record stuff that wasn’t on their label. They would work on tracks or record with other artists they couldn’t normally work with. It was just a cool spot. This was the place I told you about that got robbed.”

Yeah.

“It was a real sketchy thing. Whoever robbed us didn’t want us to be in North Hollywood, let’s put it that way (laughs). I ended up moving to Palmdale and continued the dream of recording and did some solo work. I’ve recorded probably 100 songs on my own and put out about 10 of them. I also did some music with Raptile who is an artist in Germany. “

When you first started out, you also played worship music with your family, right?

“Yeah. We sang at different religious events. I would play keyboards. My dad plays guitar. Basically it was just piano and singing. Over the years, my dad has evolved into this big musical director for the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. Every year, they have a huge event and I would go. That’s where I met Meredith (the singer of his current project, Lamarche.). We started working on songs and we became real close. We’ve been going to this event every year and it is our ninth year attending. About three years ago or four years ago, she came to California and told me she wanted me to produce her. We were working on something and I played keys, she sang. The first time we met, it worked out. The second time we met, she said, “ I got a show for us”. I said, “What?” She said, “Yeah I booked us on a show”. She wanted to do a whole concert with just her vocal and piano and I suggested doing an acoustic group. We found a guitar player and I played percussion. And that was the origin of the group.”

That’s awesome. Did you attend college for music or did you just end up going that way?

I went to Tuskegee University as an Electrical Engineering major and I changed majors to Business Administration.

Has the business knowledge you’ve gained in college helped you navigate in the music industry?

In a lot of ways, it has. And in a lot of ways, it hasn’t. The music business is different from other businesses. There are basic techniques like marketing and how to manage money that help. But overall, the music business is so different. There’s some shady things, not shady things, and things can just happen on luck. People can get opportunities handed to them because they know people in certain places. Almost everyone I know that’s a star has someone in their family that’s a star. They were all helped by someone because originally, it was really expensive to get things recorded. People could charge anything to do whatever in the music business. You can’t charge anything you want for a cup of horchata. There’s only gonna be one price. But for engineering, you could charge whatever you want. If I could have re-thought what I would have done, I would have take music entertainment or law. But that wasn’t really what I wanted to do; I just wanted to play (laughs).

(Laughs) That’s the good thing about working as a tech is that you can still be near music. Can you talk more about your experience in recording engineering?

Yeah. When I was working at West LA Music (a music store in Hollywood), because I had helped build my friend’s studio, I could refer them there. It was called Platinum Sound and I was working there. as a producer lets say. People would come in and ask, “Do you know where there is a facility we can use an SSL (console) with 2-inch (tape)?” And I’d give them my card and get them over there. We had people like Missy Elliot, Mya, and B2K. We also had a bunch of different engineers that came through. It was amazing to hear all these things first hand. You learn a lot of techniques because everyone does things differently. And what you might work or sometimes it doesn’t depending on what kind of music it is. Even so, some things can cross platforms. Even in rock now, you hear mixes that a hip-hop producer would make because artists want a big bass or snare sound. It’s different from the rock we knew of because things are recorded differently and there are new types of equipment. Something new comes out everyday.

Definitely. It’s funny to hear about how all these things just came into your path and you just took advantage of these opportunities.

All of them were lucky situations. There was an engineering school and my friends in school. All of them graduated and went out and started working. I was still friends with them and they helped me with different things. Then working in West LA Music on Cahuanga, everyone came to that store. Artists would come through because it was kind of hidden and underground.

Anyway, when I told you I was in a group called Three-Way. In that group, we wrote and produced music for people. One of the groups that we wrote songs for, they always got these shows. They were like a Boyz 2 Men type of group. Every time they would show up, they’d show up in a limousine! Everyone would be trying to figure out who they were. We were in Tuskegee, Alabama and they would do that every time they played. Someone from that group told me, “If you act like a star, people will treat you like a star.” So I kind of took that idea when I came to California. I went to the Los Angeles Recording Workshop. It’s now called the Los Angeles Recording School. That’s where I learned how to splice tape and all that good stuff. A lot of those guys in my class were really smart and ended up getting really good gigs. So my friend and I decided to start our own business. We found a guy that did construction, started buying equipment we needed, and took our time. We knew the world was going digital even though everything was analog at that time. So the first console we bought was a Mackie DAB. Then we had the blueprints made up and built the studio ourselves on Camarillo in North Hollywood. That’s how Plugs Entertainment was created. How we got popular was that I took the idea of that group I knew in Tuskegee who acted like stars. We found a guy that had a limousine service. He was my neighbor and had nowhere to store his limos. He had to keep moving them because of street cleaning and he couldn’t park in places on certain days. So we told him he could park them in our garage at our studio. Provided we could use those cars. Then we started advertising big and said if you’re an artist, we’ll pick you up in a limo and drive you to the studio. Our first clients were The Intoxicants from New Orleans and we picked them from the airport in a limo and drove them to the studio. They were so excited, man. We became kind of popular because of that. Anytime we had something big we wanted to do or even just going to the club, we never drove. He was driving us (laughs).

What year was that?

1997-1998. We would just go to these big clubs and mingle with people. We’d give them cards for Platinum Sound or Plugs Entertainment. We just kept going and we met artists but mainly producers. A lot of them were around my age and easy to talk to. Many of them were from Washington D.C so we had a lot in common. We went from studio to studio and helped each other out, sharing sounds and ideas. I did stuff for films I never got recognition for but it was fun. I learned a lot because I got to use equipment I didn’t own.

That’s awesome. When you were going through hard times, is there any advice that has helped you through those times?

That’s a hard question to answer but I can tell you this. I have had times where I thought I had an idea and it worked for a time. But the music industry is changing continuously. You always have to be thinking ahead. A lot of people my age didn’t think of the digital world and they totally got stuck. They only knew how to do one thing. So I would say stay on top of technology. The other thing is to learn how to manage your money. That’s probably the most important thing. The second most important would be understanding contracts. If you’re going to be an artist, you need a lawyer. There were so many things I was supposed to be paid for but I never was because someone got the one up on me. Someone will always get the one up on you. But the main thing is, if you’re going to be in charge of your own stuff, make sure you’re actually in charge of it. Because someone could end up getting 50% of something you did that had nothing to do with the song, which is not nice. Or 100% in my case (laughs).

What I’m talking about was a deal through Universal where I worked with some guys that were apart of LA Confidential. One of my friends was in LA Confidential. I made a song with him and it got placed in the Lawrence Fishburne movie Biker Boyz as credited as LA Confidential had produced the song. But I produced it and I never got paid for it. And that happens. Right after that, there was another opportunity for a Paris Hilton movie called The Hillz and my partner and I knew what to do that time to negotiate the proper deal. You have to know what you are getting into and how to get your dues (laughs).

To find out more info on Lamarche or Sean, go to http://www.facebook.com/LaMarcheBand

http://www.reverbnation.com/seangee

Interviews

While the Band is Playing: Insight on the Music Industry

February 20, 2015 pharoutmagazine@gmail.com

Unlike other careers people choose, the music industry is one of the strangest anyone does. Although nothing is guaranteed in life, the path to become a doctor, engineer, accountant, etc., has been traveled by many before and is a reasonably safe journey. When you enter the music industry, there is no path. You only have a vague map to your destination, whatever tools you have with you, and off you go. When you talk to others that have entered the music industry, they can only tell you what worked for them. Sometimes that will work for everyone or it will only work for them. Sometimes you guide to point you in the right direction or you won’t have anyone. Sometimes you just throw your hands in the air and see where the wind takes you. It takes a certain kind of person to take on a business like this.

So this is an on-going series for those who are working in the music industry and for people trying to break into it.

While the Band is Playing

by Jesse Davidson

In this edition, we will be interviewing Jarod Woznik. Jarod currently is a songwriter and founding member in pop/indie band THE VENNS, a touring member (guitarist) for Daisy De La Hoya’s rock/alternative project BLACK STAR ELECTRA, and also tour manager for Australian brother-sister rock band, SATELLITE SKY.

(Bio below pulled from http://jarodwoznik.com)

Jarod Woznik is a distinguished American Guitarist, Co-Writer, Producer and Manager. He has had the fortune of being groomed and directed from The Steve Miller Band (Multi-Instrumentalist) – Kenny Lee Lewis, and has got to meet and work with several legendary artists.

Throughout it all, Jarod has remained an enigmatic original. A guitarist without the compulsion for fret board pyrotechnics, Jarod’s distinctive tone, skill, and his let the music do the talking style has launched his career in the music scene.

How did you get your start? What were your first opportunities?

Well…I am definitely not one of those child prodigies that started making music while in my mother’s womb [laughs]. In fact I didn’t even pick up an instrument until I was 15. All through high school I practiced, played in comical punk bands (I even had the Mohawk, spikes and all), and started my own record label (which failed miserably, probably due to thinking punk bands could ROI), but it was all fun. Sadly to say, my first real live show was paying to play at the Whiskey a Go Go, but man what a night. I started just like everyone else, in a garage playing a guitar with the G string out of tune.

Did anyone mentor you on the business or were you on your own?

Towards the end of High School, I happened to visit a music store looking for a piece of gear. I don’t know how it happened, but the stars & planets aligned and the person that ended up helping me was the Artist Relations manager Kenny Lee Lewis, which I found out later he happened to be the guitarist of The Steve Miller Band. Funny enough, while putting my info in the computer it turns out we lived 5 minutes from one another so he offered me guitar lessons. For the next few years Kenny groomed and directed me on my path in the Entertainment Business.

What is the best way you’ve found to network with other musicians and industry professionals?

I have found that the best way to network is by going out to events, concerts, seminars and meeting musicians and industry professionals in person. Sometimes a friendly introduction on social media site works too!

In many ways, musicians, artists, managers, engineers, etc., are independent contractors. What are things you feel have best maintained your reputation and career in the music business?

The way I look at it is, if you are good at what you do and don’t have personal issues (or a pain to work with), people will want to work with you. As I’ve built my circle of friends and connections over the years, I’ve realized that one’s reputation is only as good as what people have to say about you. Someone may ask a mutual friend about work and they recommend me, and vice-versa. I believe in Karma.

From a business perspective, is being a musician different from being a manager or producer or are they similar?

In my shoes they are very much similar because I’ve worn all of these hats and sometimes have to wear them all at once. They definitely have different roles but the business perspective is relatively the same of figuring out a way to make a living by doing what you love.

Is there any pieces of advice that have stuck with you and changed your perspective?

I have always been a DIY person. My perspective on certain issues and concerns in the industry have changed over time, but I definitely think that staying up to date and constantly learning and being the best you can be is vital to succeeding in today’s market.

Do you have any advice to young musicians trying to reach their goals?

Go soak up as much information as you can, do it yourself and be the best you can be. There is always something to learn. I still enjoy going to seminars and expos! I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes…

“Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens” – Jimi Hendrix