Talk softly, carry a big schtick

Portland, Oregon is chock full of bands. Get coffee anywhere on Mississippi Ave and you're likely to be served by someone in a band. It's actually pretty cool...music is alive and vibrant in the soggy Northwest town. Bands are taking chances and pushing boundaries. You're more likely to see a band made up of accordions, glockenspiels, violins and clarinets than you are a two-guitar, bass and drums band. Take Loch Lomond for example; they're emerging as one of Portland's sweetheart bands and they don't even have a proper drumset. They're great.

As with all music scenes, there is a tendency for bands to be born with all of the aesthetic of the trail blazers but none of the substance. It becomes a schtick. Think about all of the Beatles copycats. The psychedelic clones. The southern rock of the seventies. The countless punk bands. The new wave scene. The LA hair band scene. The Seattle grunge scene. Etc., etc. For every great groundbreaking band, for every cool music scene, there are a dozen more who jump on the bandwagon.

There are signs of this in Portland.

I have the honor of playing in The Dimes, a Portland band with a schtick. But it's not. The band's last record, 'The Silent Generation' is a concept album of sorts. Guitarist Pierre Kaiser found a cache of turn of the century newspapers stuffed under the floorboards of his house. Songwriter Johnny Clay decided to write songs based on the quirky stories in the papers. Sort of an indie pop history album. Through the process, Johnny found his voice. He is a genuine history buff, and he found a way to merge his music with his interest in US history.

Since making this connection, Johnny has become a prolific writer. The songs pour out of him and the inspiration is obvious to all of us in the band. It is entirely genuine. He loves it. It may seem like a schtick, and I guess it is; the band that only writes songs about obscure historical figures from the pages of history. The truth is, it's an honest artistic effort and it's very well executed. Johnny has a clear vision for his music and he is going to see it through.

The band is preparing to release a new album, 'The King Can Drink The Harbour Dry' this weekend with shows in Seattle, Portland, Eugene and Ashland, OR.


There have been some glowing reviews in the lead up to the release. There have been a couple reviews written by critics who are not impressed. Fair enough. For what it's worth, I am totally inspired by Johnny's commitment to his vision and I am honored to be involved in the project. The record is worth having in your collection, and the live show is worth braving the rainy weather to see. If you're in the Northwest come check out one of the shows, and if you're elsewhere spend a few bucks on a great record. Get all of the info at The Dimes website HERE

Last one standing

Wha-wha-what??!!!! It's been a month since my last post? Wow. I am sincerely surprised. A lot of things have happened in the past month. I met and opened for a few of my musical heroes, set up a writing/studio space to work in, played in Chicago...it's been a busy month! I could write a blog for each day, but I'll refrain. Instead, I'll post the blog that I just submitted to Calliope Epic as a guest writer. It will be featured when they re-launch their website...it isn't happening for a couple of days so I'm posting it here first.

"It's early. I woke up thinking about last night's show and couldn't fall back to sleep. What do you do when the venue stiffs you? Raise hell with the bartender? Make snide comments from the stage while the audience watches uncomfortably? No, of course not. Not if you want to be a professional.

My friend and mentor John Shipe once told me that success in the music industry is about being the last one standing. I'm not talking about 'fame and riches' success; you have better odds winning the lottery than becoming the next John Mayer. I'm talking about the 'pay your rent' success. The 'I don't have a day job' success. After years of working towards this goal I have finally achieved it. I am a professional songwriter and musician. Recently, a friend asked me how I was able to transition from being a part time musician to making my living at it. There are a number of specific things that made a huge difference, but the 'last one standing' idea is the one I'd like to focus on. It is key.

I've been stiffed by clubs a time or two. It feels awful. I can't bring myself to throw a tantrum or demand that the bartender pay me out of his tips; I'm always conscious of the manner in which I do business and the impression that I leave. So, I say "thanks for having me" and I suck it up and leave quietly. Thankfully it doesn't happen often. My consolation is that I can see past it when it does. These are the experiences that make musicians quit and become bank tellers or schoolteachers, and I know it. These are the experiences that, over time, knock musicians down. Sometimes, as John put it, you just have to be the last one standing.

The ability to stay upright is a huge unspoken factor in having a successful career. Sure, you have to develop your skills, build your network, make the phone calls, send the emails, etc., etc., but you also have to be able to withstand the pressure and conditions of the career. Sometimes that means sleeping in an airport. Sometimes it means spending 3 days in a motel room in Laramie waiting for a freak blizzard to pass. Sometimes it means driving several hours to play for a half empty room for no money. Sometimes it means pawning a guitar to pay rent. It means driving a shitty car, going for months without getting your broken tooth fixed, wearing socks with holes. It means eating a lot of rice and quesadillas, moving back to the parents' house, breaking up with girlfriends who don't understand. It means not buying gifts for Christmas and spending Thanksgiving in New York handing out samples of Airborne at the Macy's parade to make a few bucks. It means waking up at 4 am to catch the green line train to Midway because you can't afford to call a cab. It means asking for another favor from a friend who has been doing you favors for ten years.

The list goes on and on, and as I write this I realize how it must look. Who would voluntarily go through this? Me, I guess, and countless other musicians and artists who are making it work. So when someone asks me how to be a professional musician I tell them to practice their craft, get their business together, and be the last one standing."

School

Listen closely: if you are a fan of fantastic songwriting and intimate live shows, go see Slaid Cleaves.

I opened for him at the Tractor in Seattle last night. I felt good; played well, didn't forget any words, didn't tell too many long and boring stories...I finished the set feeling good about my offering, and the audience reinforced the feeling buy applauding loudly and buying a ton of cd's. Hot dog!

Then Slaid got up and it became clear that I was watching a guy who has mastered the craft. Every song was great. Not a single line out of place, and he set the songs up with perfectly told stories and anecdotes. When a performer is truly great they have a way of becoming invisible; you are engaged in the show without being distracted by the performer. It's smooth, seamless, dreamlike, and they don't do anything to wake you out of the feeling. By the end of the show I felt like I had received an education in the art of performing.

This sort of thing is not well represented by clips on YouTube. You have to be in the room.

Speaking of Youtube, I posted a video of Ten Cent Souvenir from last night's show.

Band assembly, live show broadcast...

It's been 6 weeks since the move to Seattle and things are progressing quite nicely. I'm in the process of putting a band together for the first time in a long while...very excited about it.

In an attempt to keep up with all of the online media stuff, I arranged to broadcast the September 20th Seattle show live at www.synclive.com. It's free to view...you just need to create a user account. You can do that and see the show details here:

http://app.synclive.com?show/32182

I hope you all tune in!

Earthquakes vid

Okay, so I'm late to this game. Here's my first attempt at a video entry. I'll do more of these in the coming weeks...

Years ago I went to see Ian Moore play at Sam Bond's in Eugene. I had opened for him once or twice and we exchanged a few emails, so we were somewhat acquainted. After the show he mentioned that he had to drive through the night because he didn't have a place to stay. I offered my floor and he accepted.

At the time I was suffering through a tough breakup. She moved out and took everything with her. All I had was a bed, a desk, a couple of chairs and an old rotary dial TV. The place was barren, like the home of a person who has sold everything of value to support a habit of some sort.

The only bit of decoration was a life size poster of Michael Jordan that I kept from my childhood days. I stuck it to the living room wall after the girlfriend left because it was comforting for some reason.

So Ian walks into my nearly empty place with a huge poster of Jordan staring down from the wall. I offered him some food...I had one sweet potato in the cupboard...he politely declined.

We started talking about Jordan's decision to come out of retirement to play pro ball again when every sports opinionator said he was washed up. Those guys were mistaken. Jordan averaged 22.9 points per game and proved them all wrong. Ian's take on it was that it was ridiculous for the naysayers to tell Michael not to play. He was the best player in the history of the game; even if he'd lost a little with age he'd still be a top player in the league. Who were these guys to say he shouldn't play?

This memory comes to me now as I watch highlights from Bret Favre's recent win...he came out of retirement at the age of 39 and he looks pretty sharp. Of course a lot of folks criticized his decision to play again, and they appear to be wrong.

This makes me think about the psychology of the various types of performers. Athletes, musicians...I think about the mental fortitude required to perform at such a high level. The public is so quick to find reasons to discourage. Even when you're the best in the world, it just takes a slight push to get the momentum of public opinion going against you. Every day that a performer goes to work he or she is required to prove his or her right to be there.

I can't exactly say that I am in Michael Jordan's position; the general public has not heard of me, let alone criticized me for my decision to do this work. Still, I'd like to borrow a few things from his approach: work towards mastery of a craft, work harder than the next guy, and pay no attention to anyone who says I shouldn't.

For the record, my parents have both been very supportive of my career choice.

The Fixer

Is anyone else getting excited about the new Pearl Jam record? I am. Years ago they won me over with their blend of old and new sounds, their well-crafted recordings and their outrageous energy. In an era when most frontmen were singing about cherry pie Eddie Vedder was a breath of fresh air. He seemed like a guy you could admire and hang out with at the same time. Interesting lyrics, heartfelt presentation...I really liked them. Over the years I followed them less and less. It seemed like the songcraft was drifting away from my taste and it was becoming less relevant to me.

Their new single, The Fixer, is fantastic. It has all of the elements I used to love with enough new stuff to keep me interested. I find myself in admiration of Eddie Vedder once again, and I absolutely love the way the band sounds. It's cool that the song was written by drummer Matt Cameron. It makes me think that Pearl Jam is a real band made up of guys who all like and respect each others contributions.

Cameron Crowe directed the video. It looks great and makes me wish I could see these guys in a small club. It's free on iTunes...check it out!

http://www.itunes.com/backspacer

Wage Slaves finale

Another week went by so quickly. Honestly, this whole year has flown by in a blur. I'm looking forward to a bit of time to rest and write in my new digs in Seattle.

The Sunday show at Mississippi Pizza in Portland was great. Some friends came out to support and I felt really happy to play for them. The set flowed nicely, I didn't forget very many words and I kept the awkward banter to a minimum. I tried a new approach to merchandise sales, too; I left a stack of cd's by the tip jar and told the audience to help themselves to a cd for whatever they could afford. When I was done playing the cd's were gone and the tip jar was full. Nice.

On Monday I taught the first day of a week-long rock band camp for kids. I've done this for a few years in a row and every year I have fun. The kids are totally excited to play some tunes with a full band and I'm glad to have a week to spend teaching the subtleties of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.

Another fun thing: Wage Slaves wraps up its season with episode 6 this week! Created by Chris Bolton, Wage Slaves is a web-based series about the baristas at the fictional 'Rose City Coffee'. Many of the songs on my record were used as the soundtrack for the entire series, and I make a cameo in a few episodes including the one this week. I've written a more detailed description in recent blogs but the best way to find out about it is to see for yourself.

Wage Slaves Episode 6 from Chris A. Bolton on Vimeo.