Accidentally Like A Martyr

For the purposes of this entry in which I shall be discussing the recording process measured against the end result, I'll be talking of my own recording escapades over the last two or so

At the risk of sounding patronising, which I'm not (I save that for 'real life'), most people who listen to music and have no connection with musicians don't give any thought as to how a song actually comes to fruition. I certainly didn't until my early teens.

I have been asked by countless people where a song comes from plenty of times and it's such a broad question that any number of perfectly reasonable answers could be given. My answer has been the same ever since I began writing. It usually stems from a line of an overheard conversation or, more commonly, when I'm sitting out the back thinking of nothing in particular.

This is the embryo of the song. It may only be a few seconds in length but it's more than enough to run with. I get particularly enthused if a part of a bass-line enters me. It's a cakewalk once that foundation is there. Words have always come easily to me, infact I've never spent more than 20 minutes sitting with a pen & paper writing lyrics.

This doesn't mean that they come instantly. I may have been sitting on a notion for days, weeks or months. Finding words to rhyme & make sense have never been much trouble either. I DO pay particular attention to phrasing, emphasising particular words & even half-speaking some. Let's face it, a song is a story put to music. Bob Dylan and the late Warren Zevon are the best two for this by light years that I have encountered.

Sometimes my songs are from personal experience but I often swap from singing in the first person to singing in the second person. I often swap the gender of the subject of a song. Why? I have no idea. I guess it's just how a song was meant to leave me. I'm rather fond of the notion that pieces of music are floating around everywhere and every now and again 'converge' within someone who is able to convey them.

Once written and firmly entrenched in my head, the next step is to record it. To do so, one must have instruments, recording equipment, a place to record & the time to do it. I've had a small mixing desk and all of the necessary instruments for many years. One also has to know how to operate the recording equipment. Initially this is very time-consuming but after a while one gets the hang of what frequency will suit what vocal best or what guitar effect will suit a particular song best. My effects are very limited as I prefer that 'pub sound' so I can literally mix blindfolded....but not quite.

Once the song is recorded to the standard that I'm happy enough with, the next thing to do is to get it onto the internet. One needs a computer for this and some know-how about converting sound files. Again, more expense and time.

I've heard many songwriters prattle on about the weeks of torment & anguish that they subjected themselves to in order to 'capture' a song. Firstly, a song isn't there to be captured. It's either there or it isn't. Deliberately subjecting oneself to torment and anguish for the sake of a 3 or 4 minute song is either lunacy or a lie.

Due to the life that I've led I have plenty of horrific memories to draw on if I wanted to go down that road. I do throw snippets in now and again but always ensure the song has an upbeat and thought-provoking message.

So, to the casual listener, every song that you hear on the radio or on your iPod or wherever has an awful lot more go into it than the few minutes that you hear.

Every single song can't possibly have a price put on it. One download of 99c nowhere NEAR reflects the time and money spent on even making that song available to you to purchase. The fact that it has been made available for you to purchase instantly would have been laughed at not so long ago.

Irrespective of how quickly the internet can make this option possible, the fact remains that the songwriter & recording artist still has to put the same amount of time, money and effort in to getting their songs to the public.

This leaves many a musician the dilemma of how to price their music. Had my surname been Dylan I imagine I'd be selling an unfathomable amount of material at much higher prices. As it stands my surname is Findlay and I make every effort possible to make my material not only easily accessible but also as affordable as possible. Only recently I have made my commercial releases available as physical CDs at 'audiolife' at more than competitive prices.

Gone are the days of me making many songs streamable or free downloads. My songs are as important and as personal to me as any 'major' musician. I may not recall the entire lyrics of all of my songs but I can give you an in-depth description of what each song is about, why it was written & what it means to me.

So any song that you may hear from independent artists, bare in mind the time, money and emotional effort that goes into those 3 or 4 minutes.

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The Jugglers & The Clowns.

"You never turned around to see the frowns

on the jugglers and the clowns

when they did their tricks for you....."

One can interpret this particular line of Bob Dylans in so many ways. For the purpose of this entry I'll be borrowing it to use with regard to the music caper. It's so blatant that the frowning jugglers and clowns performing tricks are the musicians trying to make something of what they enjoy doing.

They do this for a number of reasons. Initially it's out and out enjoyment but listening to ones' own music wears pretty thin, to this writer at least, after a very short time. The next logical thing to do is to have others hear it. If enough people enjoy it then it's obviously worth pursuing further if one feels that need. This is where things begin to 'bend.' By bend I mean one can lose ones' focus.

Not many musicians start off with the notion of making a career out of it but when the remotest of possibilities of this becoming real occur, people tend to literally lose their minds. All of a sudden they begin to dress differently, speak differently, behave differently and worst of all treat people differently, depending on who they are.

I consider myself fortunate in that, ever since I was old enough to be allowed, I've always liked wearing drainpipe jeans, winkle-picker boots & truckloads of jewellery. My hair has varied from being down to my backside, shaved bald and even bleached white more than once. By the time I became known as a musician, no-one batted an eyelid at my appearance. Even now I can walk around the small town where I live and be 'normal.' This is, unfortunately, not the case in other towns and cities in Tasmania....so I don't leave here much.

The most irritating aspect that I find with some musicians is that they seem to think they're doing the world a favour merely by being present. We all know the sorts; the ones' who look around to see who's looking at them. I've been introduced to many such folks who overly-proudly introduce themselves. More than once I've replied, "Neither am I."

So us musicians, us jugglers and clowns, are performing tricks for whom? We're performing our little tricks for an unbelievably constipated mass. So congested is the internet that one really has no idea of who and how many people really dig our music.

Primarily we're performing for people who truly enjoy our music and enjoy it enough to purchase it and provide well-informed feedback that displays that they are actually listening. Some musicians are also doing their tricks for major distributors hoping that somehow, some major player will find their needle which is placed in a multitude of haystacks.

Far from being a frowning juggler or clown, I'm more than happy getting my music across to people who may get enjoyment from it. I have made it as accessible and affordable as I can for those who enjoy it enough to download it, infact just this week I have found an avenue for making physical CDs available. This happened one day prior to me being asked (again) if I had any CDs for sale. I was absolutely over the moon to finally be able to say "Yes."

I shall continue recording in the knowledge that there are a few folks paying attention and will also be continually on the lookout for cheaper alternatives for people.....happily.

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Positively 4th Street

If you're familiar with the Bob Dylan song "Positively 4th Street" then you have a fair idea of where this entry is headed. If you haven't heard the song, may I suggest brandy....and plenty of it....before reading further.

If you've read anything at all about me then you'll be aware of my 23 year long battle with alcohol abuse, namely vodka. It has cost me almost everything and has caused untold distress to those close to me, an avenue that I don't discuss.

Having pushed things as far as I could without actually dying by drinking two bottles of vodka daily for the majority of last five years as an 'active' alcoholic I have learned more than a thing or two. I never have and never will profess to being 100% sober. Putting a mountain like that in front of oneself is tempting fate.

One of the major things that I have learned over the last two or so years is that people rarely give genuine responses. It is almost impossible to gauge this on the internet, but not quite. I'll get to that shortly.

Returning to the title of this entry I temporarily re-discovered so many people who seemed to have vanished during my darkest times. In no way am I blaming them for this. Who would want to see a shuffling, bloated zombie who used to be the life of the party, whether it was a party or not? So far gone was I that I didn't notice. I rarely left the house and my phone was constantly off the hook. I was quite content (so I thought) listening to Warren Zevon, Dylan, The Stones an so forth at full blast with a cup of vodka in one hand, cigarette in the other gazing at the rather scenic view from my window.

On more than one occasion I 'woke up' to find myself in hospital, wondering why I had a beard and tubes hanging out of me. These occurrences became life-threateningly closer together.

It wasn't until a few months after I had moved back to my parents house in Stanley on Tasmanias' far North-West coast in April 2007 and was 'stable' enough to do something musical again that I began recording. Very soon after this I was doing rather well on the internet and was actually selling some physical CDs too.

Then came the 'friends' who had vanished all full of praise, pats on the back and so forth. I've never been one to manage compliments well; I get embarrassed. What else can one say to a compliment except "Thank you?"

Having played in bands since the age of 16 I've become almost immune to compliments and insults alike....almost. These long-lost friends really got up my nose. It takes a lot to irritate me to the point of responding but I have. Firstly I don't reply to them at all online. I also don't take their calls. Most commonly I respond in more than a few of my songs. It's usually a single line or word that only they will know about. This is generally followed by loud bleating almost to the point of hilarity. The wiser ones say and do nothing. I like that.

I was particularly annoyed when asked to attend a barbeque or some such gathering and "...play a few songs..." or "....can I have a copy of your new CD?" Is it just me or was I quite within my rights to remind them that I hadn't seen them for several years and that I wasn't a f***in' puppet?

As far as the internet goes, it's too easy to click a button to 'like' something or type a few words to that effect. Equally, it is just as easy to badmouth an individual without their knowledge.....for a while. Eventually, search-engines and 'Google alerts' trip people up without them even knowing. Anything written on the net can pop up at the most unexpected times.

Even something someone might say can trip them up internet-wise. Case in point: Just last week I was in the supermarket. A young girl who knows my parents but not me literally corners me and says (loudly), "I love your new album, Bob!" I could only assume that she was referring to "Catharsis." As a joke I asked her how much she paid for it (there is only one price). The dumbfounded look on her face and the deafening silence saw me shuffle off smirking in search of eggs.

It's all very well to congratulate someone but I guess my horrific experience with alcohol abuse has made me somewhat cynical and reluctant with regard to the actual sincerity of compliments. They're a terribly difficult thing to quantify. Those who know me know full-well that what may sound a rather negative blog entry is far from it. It's intent is to let people know that I still treat compliments with suspicion and at best, even at 42 years of age, I still do get embarrassed by them. Luckily not too many folks get to see me blush these days.

"Do you take me for such a fool,

to think I'd make contact,

with one who tries to hide

what it don't know to begin with." (Bob Dylan).

Silvio, Silver And Gold

"....Silvio, silver and gold. Can't buy back the beat of a heart grown cold...."

The simplicity and depth of this line from the Bob Dylan song "Silvio" still blows me away. "Why?"....I think I hear you think. Those true of heart musically can never be 'bought' into music that they don't believe in.

This is not to say that because your favourite band puts out a clanger that they should be burned at the stake along with anything else they've ever done. Every band puts out clangers. Even 'The Beatles' on side 4 of "The Beatles" (more commonly known as "The White Album"). 'Number 9' the track is called. Personally, I think it should have been called 'Bad Acid Trip.'

Less than two years later they were standing on top of the Abbey Road Studios, freezing, pumping out 'The One After 909' which is a classic rocker penned by Lennon back in 1959.

My favourite band, The Rolling Stones, have had plenty. On listening to the first four seconds of the 'Undercover' album I almost fainted in disbelief. They remain my favourite band because I believe in them musically. The law of averages dictate a certain amount of 'discrepancies.' Having said this, one mans poison is another mans wine....or something like that.

This....is where my grievances with so-called 'music distributers' begins.

Firstly, from a musicians perspective, they couldn't care less who you are....and they don't. Keep paying your annual subscription and they'll continue on their merry way, oblivious to the fact that you're even there.

They have their little subsiduaries such as Tunecore and the likes telling eager indie artists the benefits of this, that and the other....all of which are at a cost and from what I've seen and experienced aren't worth a damn cent. It's all fluff.

The next tier down from Tunecore and their buddies are the likes of ReverbNation and iLike. ReverbNation does provide great promotional widgets and stats but are constantly 'encouraging' artists to upgrade; in other words "spend money because we get a kick-back."

I find it out & out deception when my songs are placed on ReverbNation and iLike but I have not posted them for sale, as many supporters are led to believe. I have received more than a few angry emails accusing ME of deceiving supporters.

Listen up!!!....Those of you who have written these letters (those of you who haven't, have a read and a laugh)....ALL new releases are now only available via Nimbit. Surely that's not to hard to digest. Give it a couple of minutes; it'll sink in.

My material that IS currently on iTunes is in the process of being distributed via Nimbit. This way, exact release dates can be announced well in advance. This will continue to be the case as I find it's the right thing to do.

This is another cause of consternation. My latest album, "Catharsis," was released at exactly 9pm, A.E.S.T. by myself and IMGlobal©.....simply because we could. The album had, infact, already been released by iTunes several days earlier. Like previous iTunes releases, no notice was given. This sort of behaviour is downright rude and unprofessional.

I wonder if Celine whats-her-name or Robbie the singing English midget have these issues? I suspect not because they have large amounts of MONEY behind them and are making iTunes large amounts of MONEY.

Perhaps if indie musicians were shown the tiniest piece of courtesy I suspect they would not be leaving in droves, as I am aware they are, which is giving iTunes the perfect 'excuse' to increase their prices to $1.29U.S.

Instead of fessing-up to the downright obvious they will no doubt patronise the masses with feeble excuses leaving indie artists even worse off by being there. No doubt a large percentage of folks will blindly follow their fluff, gimmics & toys.

Sticking my neck out & keeping my songs at $0.88, I may well be doing as Bob Dylan said in 'Silvio,' but I have to in order to stay true to myself musically.

"....I've got to go; down to the valley only dead men know."

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Fakery.

Image via Wikipedia

Who would have thought the word 'fakery' could be used at all in a song, let alone be used with concise & devastating effect? Typically, Bob Dylan managed it in the song 'Sign Language' in the mid-70s. In this somewhat drunken & disheveled track, featuring Dylan, Ronnie Wood and Eric Clapton, he casually throws in the line "....was down by the bakery, surrounded by fakery...."

I didn't hear this song until the mid-8os but the term 'fakery' is a constantly used term in my vocabulary, albeit often mentally for reasons of courtesy.

Fakery is alive and well in all aspects of life but it's rampant in the music 'game.' It's so easy for artists and listeners alike to publically view their overwhelming approval of a band, an album, a song. When it comes down to it, most people can't possibly have the time to fully appreciate the multitude of material available to us....but the are drawn to the notion of being 'seen to.'

I imagine most indie artists have had the same giggles that I have when a compliment is passed by someone about a recent album. On further questioning it becomes blatantly obvious that the person hasn't listened to it. I stopped questioning quite some time ago to save time & to avoid embarrassing people.

Some months ago I made a bit of a 'big-deal' of a track, purely for research purposes. I made the track exclusively available in a site where listeners/song plays can be tracked. The song was no better or worse than any other. The compliments came flying in. I left the track where it was and noticed a massive difference between feedback received & song plays.

I let the song 'sit' for a week, then followed up the aforementioned compliments as best as I was able by asking what it was about the song that people liked. Overnight, song plays skyrocketed in direct proportion to the amount of emails that I sent out.

I imagine by now that most of my followers are now furious. Please don't be. I'm more than aware that you all lead busy lives and my musical endeavors aren't high on their list of priorities....& I certainly hope that they aren't. This is akin to me not being particularly interested in "Ethels Crochet Classes For Beginners."

Musicians themselves do likewise. Between writing, recording, performing, their personal lives we can't possibly be expected to give fully-fledged & credible support to fellow artists. I have a handful, all of varying genres, that I do 'follow.' They know who they are. It's all that time allows. I do keep in touch online with several more artists usually more on a personal level as well as I think that, not only are they good musicians, they are genuinely good people.

Rarely do I maintain close regular contact with followers as time on both sides doesn't allow. We are all aware of this. Even rarer, do I divulge my personal life in any great depth. No-one's that interested & those who are I find somewhat worrying, particularly when questions not relating to music are constantly raised.

This may all sound rather ego-centric. Those who know the first thing about me know full well that I'm not capable of this. I've always known how good my music isn't. I am finding that the "Bob Findlay Music Page" on Facebook is slowly but surely becoming more interactive. Myself & Haych Storm© attempt to keep wall posts regular and fresh in content. All feedback is really appreciated, however, expletives and divergence from what the page title suggests aren't encouraged & are often deleted. I'm sure there are other avenues for such activities.

Feedback on the music page seems more informed as opposed to on my regular wall where people tend to click 'like' & comment on a wall post that they clearly haven't read.

To quote the Keith Richards album title, "Talk Is Cheap." I guess that's why so many people do it.

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"Money Doesn't Talk, It Swears." (Bob Dylan)

The term "music has become a commodity" has been thrown about for many years. The fact is that music has always been a commodity.

The rapid advancement in technology has seen us bombarded at every turn to buy music. Every trick in the book is being used to the point of overload. Major companies in the music 'game' are abusing the listeners good faith and almost ridiculing serious independent musicians.