Ask a music scene micro celebrity

[mikebarr]

Any thoughts on the aspect of capturing a performance as opposed to isolated, overdubbed style of many recordings today.

[electrical]

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What's your motto?

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It's easier to apologize afterwards than get permission first.

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What does every girl really want?

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Another pair of shoes, someone to call a whore and a reason to cry.

[electrical]

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Do artists mostly come to you to with work, or do you ever actively seek out a band you'd like to record with?

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I am uncomfortable putting a band on the spot, so I virtually never approach bands about wanting to work for them. If a band is interested in having me work on a record, they probably know how to find me (FT medium stakes stud tables).

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Favorite album of all time?

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Stooges Fun House

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Best concert moment?

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Saw Flipper in the fall of 1981, and they finished their set with a song called "the Wheel," inviting everybody on stage to sing along. My buddy John Bohnen and I did likewise, and since the vocal mics had crowds around them, he started singing into the mic on the guitar amp. Not to be outdone, I stuck my head in the bass drum and sang into the bass drum microphone. That was pretty loud.

[electrical]

A guy who doesn't want to be associated with the theft of intellectual property sent me a question privately, and I am posting it here on his behalf.

And don't ask me who it is. He's already got sand in his vagina about copyright and I don't want him further irritated.

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A friend recently suggested that perhaps bands should just accept that there is a new paradigm. People are going to copy their music, and the way that they're going to make their money is from touring, merchandise, etc. You made a comment that suggested to me that you might agree with this. Care to comment?

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My long experience with bands and musicians has taught me that they understand their place in the world pretty well. They also understand that music is (always has been) free to consume. If you play your radio, it costs nothing to listen. If you walk by an open window while someone is playing an album, it costs nothing. If you stand outside a club and listen, it costs nothing. Music is free. Musicians often sing and play informally (get this!) just for fun.

Records, concert tickets and the use of music in commerce -- those things cost money.

The primary relationship that drives all parts of the music business is the relationship between a band and its audience. Record retailers, labels, producers, managers, lawyers, promoters and other parasitic professionals all subsist on whatever money they can siphon off of this fundamental relationship. Mechanical and broadcast royalties (the royalties supposedly "lost" through file sharing) are the part of this transaction that is least efficient in getting money to the artist because most of it is siphoned-off by the rest of the music industry. Of a $15 sale, the average band stuck on a major label may not receive a single penny, and amortized over the life of a release may receive (after all the other players take their rake) a buck or so.

I should note that entrepreneurial independent labels that operate on a profit-sharing model can be an order of magnitude more efficient, and that one of the efficiencies is the lack of promotional outlay required because fan file sharing does the promotion for free

In short, these "lost" royalties are a huge part of the revenue stream of the institutional part of the mainstream music business, but a miniscule part of the income of a band.

Almost universally, bands and musicians are happy anyone is interested in their music enough to become a fan, and they know there are many opportunities to do some business with such a person that may or may not involve selling him a particular record.

They also recognize that a download by someone unwilling to buy a record is not a "lost sale," because that person has made it clear that he is unwilling to buy a record. You haven't lost a sale, you've made a fan for free. Fans eventually want to buy records, concert tickets and other things.

A single sale = a small bet.
A lifetime fan = a huge pot.

[electrical]

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What can you tell me about a Croatian band called SexA? I heard that you had wanted to work with them at some point in the past. Were you involved with them in any way (friends/collaborations?) Can we expect anything from you and SexA in the future?

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I had two excellent Sexa records, a single, "Pussy In the Sky With Diamonds" and the album No Sleep Till Pussy. At some point in the 90s they moved to Rotterdam, I believe, but stayed together, although I don't know of any more recordings.

[iggy]

This is a great thread and you are awesome.

[retake]

hail great burghers of poker, this lowly music dork is sorry for the intrusion



question 1.

Did you create your guitar sound specifically to fit an idea of what your music should sound like, or have you always played in a similar way?

question 2.

Do you still work seven days a week to keep your Studio running or are things getting a bit easier?

question 3

For how long would you feel happy to leave your cats on their own?

question 4

The new stooges 12" here in Europe features a black sticker on the front saying "recorded with steve albini", and a web address on the back saying "Go here to buy Stooges ring tones". If you could change one of these things, which one would you choose to remove?

question 5

Do your question and answer sessions at gigs attract more antagonistic questions than genuine inquiries, and if so is that really the point?

[mikebarr]

Could you please reply to this? It is partly for institutional purposes but mostly for my own studies.

Any thoughts on the aspect of capturing a performance as opposed to isolated, overdubbed style of many recordings today. I feel the comfort of not only the performers but also utilising the dynamics between musicians is paramount. Do you agree with this?

[angeldustone]

Regarding your opinons on reverb: How do you feel about a vocalist who desires to have a heavy amount of reverb on their voice when recording vocals. Will you suggest/implement adding it to their headphone mix but NOT laying it to tape?

I ask because in my limited engineering experience (and own personal singing experience) I've found that a fair amount of reverb can make a vocalist more confident and/or can influence the actual performance for better or worse going to tape (i.e. holding notes longer than they would if hearing a completely dry vocal through headphones). A good example would be with say Jeff Buckley who had a tremendously strong and powerful voice, but seemed to frequenlty request reverb on his voice during live performances.

Have you come across this type of thing and if so, what are your opinons on the topic. Thanks in advance.

[No Fizzle]

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There are a lot of under-appreciated roots/country guys out there. I would suggest Johnny Dowd and Buddy Miller, and for crazy playing, nobody beats Junior Brown. In the Waylon/Willie/Merle triumvirate, I always liked Willie's personality more, and he wrote better songs.


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Junior Brown is incredible...I've been a fan since I saw him on some late night talk show 10 years or so ago. I'll have to check out Johnny Dowd and Buddy Miller.

Dale Watson is very good, even if his new CD sounds ALOT like old Cash. Worth a listen if you haven't checked him out yet.

I think the accepted breakdown is Willie > Waylon > Merle of those 3. Actually I never really cared much for Haggard unless he was singing with Willie. Blasphemy?