Very interesting piece in The Guardian today about recent album sales figures in the US! This is certainly something I have discussed here before, but it is certainly yet another indicator of a nail in the record industry's proverbial coffin. But I really don't see this as doom and gloom, the industry has changed, and it is all about changing and innovating within. In a sense, it feels like we have almost gone full circle.....remember it that in the 50's and 60's that the single was king. Elvis, the Beatles, Motown etc was founded on single sales not albums. Albums came later. I think that the situation we have today is one were we need to refocus on writing sh*t hot songs again, not worrying about filling 80 minutes of medium with mediocre fluff and with the social distribution channels open to us today, it is really possible to generate an incredible following for an excellent work. It is also important to remember that with models 'you' the artist are in control much more than you would be working in the traditional record industry model, something else to embrace.So, find you audience, connect with you audience, give your audience what they want, and I am sure that they will repay your work....and remember audiences don't have to be large as a loyal and engaged audience is worth just as much, if not more!Having said that, as I type this, I am currently listening one of the best albums of all times, Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies!EnjoyPeaceNeil
When it all goes wrong and how to deal with it! Gig Nightmares
So we all know things can go wrong at gigs, and on the whole, no matter how prepared you are with the best gear it still happens.If you think about it, a gig is a very complex beast, and with each connection, piece of cabling, power source, light, pedal, you are adding to the complexity of the system and also adding another point of failure. Having said that, even if you just plug a guitar straight into an amp, there is still the possibility that it won't work…it could be a bad lead, valve, pickup or you could break a string.Now I have been doing this for more years than I care to think about, I have had so many things go wrong over the years, and as such I like to think that being a good boy scout, I am always prepared. But the point is how much back up is the right amount. I appreciate that if it was a tour like U2 or Iron Maiden, each element has redundancy built into it, there are two or maybe even three items taken, each which can be easily switched to given a point of failure. But what about us guys at the other end of the spectrum? How many amps is it feasible to take with you for example? Should you have a back up for every pedal?The answer is a relative to the situation. On the whole, my backup situation is a
- back-up guitar (always on stage ready to go),
- a very cheap Behringer GDI-21 direct box with amp modeller (as an amp replacement),
- strings and a couple of leads.
That pretty much ensures that I can play a gig in the worse case scenario. (Main guitar has a fault, amp has a fault, wireless has a fault). I would hope that pedal wise they all won't break at the same time, but I guess it is a possibility (I hope I am not tempting fate!)So it was a complete shock that at a gig on Saturday my amp started making the strangest of noises, a really nasty horrible distortion, of course this happened at the exact moment we had to be out of the sound check. I didn't have any time to really get to the bottom of it. I took my logical approach and worked through the signal chain quickly. Guitar directly in to amp, fine (although quiet), amp into first pedal fine, amp into other pedals (fine), amp in to Nova System…distortion.Okay, so I took all the pedals out and guitar plugged into Nova system …distortion. Hmmm and over all level was low. Unfortunately at that point we had to leave the stage. In my head, it was either Power tube issue or Nova Issues (but what!) Fortunately, the venue was close to home, and we weren't on stage for a couple of hours, so I went home to get another amp (otherwise it would have been the Behringer!).Due to the nature of the event, I had to wait until the moment we went on stage to switch amps. Anyway, just before starting, quick strum on guitar showed that there was at least sound with the new amp. Four notes into first song, nothing!! Okay, so before going on, I had changed batteries in my wireless pack. Unfortunately the ones I had picked up were dead!!! So quick change of batteries (yes I did have another back up) and I am back in action….but no, the amp (the new one) was still distorting!! Okay, so it had to be the Nova system, so quickly taking it out of the loop and leaving only distortion pedal and a wah, that was my gig….but we got through!! Oh wait a minute, then the wireless IEM packed in as well, batteries were fine, but was dropping out like crazy!! So out with the monitoring too. Now that was one fun gig!!Having backups certainly took the stress out of the situation, I knew that I could put on a show regardless, just not ideal. Having said that having other units fail at the same time was very frustrating and obviously sod's law! The lesson to be learnt from this is about being systematic in your approach to trouble shooting. If I have had more time, I would have been able to find out the point between the Nova system and my amp which was causing the problem.Roll forward to the next day, Guitar into amp, no problem. Check valves (no problem), Nova into amp….PROBLEM. Check levels, all fine, check input gain structure…PROBLEM…..yes the problem was somehow the input gain was being very sensitive to the guitar pickup and causing horrible overloading into the amp. I have been running this set-up for nearly two years with no issue, and without changing the setting. But it had changed slightly, a ghost in the machine? Again something I would have checked eventually had time been on my side, but a relief that it was nothing terminal (dead valves!).I love my valve amps (as you know if you read this blog), but when something like this happens (even though it wasn't necessarily their fault in this occasion), it makes you realise and remember how fragile those little light bulbs actually are and how temperamental they can be. A case for solid state perhaps? Given that I played a show on my backup amp, with two pedals, it also goes to show that nobody in the audience could give a flying monkey if you are using valve or tube! So I might consider solid state again…..maybe….nah!It is also a relief to see that it happens to the best of us! Steve Vai's amp blows ampLesson :
- Have a back up of enough gear to allow the show to continue (not a back of every element. This will relive your stress.
- Prepare for everything going wrong at once
- Take a systematic approach to fault finding (work from one end to the other, breaking the system down into testable chunks)
Good luck!PeaceNeil
Massive Attack V Adam Curtis Manchester International Festival 2013
I am not sure how to review this, because when I left the venue I was pretty much speechless! I am very, very rarely blown away by something but hand on heart this was one of the best experiences I have ever seen/had. Sure there has to be a caveat or two, and yes I may have some bias (which I will explain) but...wow, wow and WOW!
Mayfield Depot
Firstly, the venue of Mayfield Depot was inspired, I am truly passionate about the aesthetic of urban decay, I love brutalist architecture and concretism, along side the architecture of the industrial revolution. Fortunately, living in Manchester I am surrounded by exquisite examples of old factories, industry, dreams of an industrial metropolis, some of which has now been regenerated, but a majority where nature is reconquering the industrial dreams of the past, a return to form. A fleeting reminder that decay comes to us all, and the earth will subsume us all in the end. But it also represents the human spirit of the dare to dream, buildings and monuments to achievement, to challenge and solve social problems, to follow Sci-fi-esque dreams of futuristic living (Fritz Lang's Metropolis for example and the rebellion against art deco), yet failing and creating social decay and misery. This is in contrast to the architecture of today, with it's disposable ethos and short redundancy lifespan..... lifeless glass boxes on steel frame constructions, all personality removed, the call centre approach to living, shallow construction, cheap materials, no self-determinationism just a temporary throwaway construction, with thin walls, and lifeless laminate.
I have always wanted to go to into Mayfield depot, having spent endless hours viewing it from platform 14 at Piccadilly station. I am enthralled and fascinated by urban exploration, yet is isn't something I haven't really ever done (probably because of the potential illegality of it....and not having the time), so I am a passive viewer through sites such 28 Days Later and totally in awe of the spaces (and the people who capture) photographed. Needless to say, I was totally enthralled by the space, it was perfect, from the old signage, random ancient graffiti to the intricate Victorian brick work.
I am so inspired, and I just have to put on a multimedia experience in this venue, this is my new goal...watch this space!
Massive Attack
So, my Massive Attack bias comes from the fact that they formed a large part of the soundtrack to my life in London. Providing the perfect balance to the endless commute, traversing the overland railways from New Cross in the South (when I was at Goldsmiths), the decay of the North London Line from Gospel Oak to Willsden Junction in the west and Islington in the east to the daily commute through the deep tunnels of the Northern Line from Kentish Town to Moorgate, Liverpool Street or Tottenham Court road. Massive Attack was the perfect tempo'd soundscape, floating above the clatter of tube train bogies against steel track and points. The passing of floursence of stop after stop, creating the tinted expressions of people's hope, despair, dreams, love, hate, anger and thoughts, against the cold glass windows. Keeping me safe from harm.
Without wanting to spoil it for anyone, I think those going thinking this is a Massive Attack gig will be disappointed, those going will an open mind will be taken totally by surprise!! The music was perfect for the narrative, sometimes providing a joyous soundscape against the images of hope of people in Communist Russia (The Archies - Sugar Sugar) juxtaposed against the haunting nature of Nirvana's version of 'where did you sleep last night' was something to behold and will stick with me for a long long time.
Adam Curtis
My biggest bias is probably in relation to Adam Curtis, I love his film work and without is probably my biggest influence in my day job as a film maker, I would love to be able to produce such well argued, thought provoking, self-revelatiory films, using such powerful imagery. Again, as explored above, I love cold war imagery and in particular the film aesthetic of the 50's and 70's, along side the realisation of the power of fear, and the construct of the growth of capitalism, neo-conservatism and globalisation, creating 'norm' people based on statistically based data analysis of the past, thus managing all risk.....'if you liked that, then you will like this'.
I am now going to go back and watch each of his films again especially, The Century of the Self , The Power of Nightmares, The Trap: What Happened to our Dream of Freedom and All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace.
I am not going to post to much of a review as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who is about to see it. But as a feat of art and technology it was immense, the message which whilst drawing on Curtis's work of the past, is strong and clear through out, with a personal touch, there is humour in the despair, and despair in the hope. There is a strong sense in the hope of the past, and the more recent culture of fear (Blair/Clinton era politics), the notion that analysing the past will keep us 'safe from harm' in the future, yet results in control by fear. He touches again on his idea that any deviation from a statistically correlated 'norm' is something which can be 'fixed', usually by the use of drugs such as prozac, the endless categorisation of disorder into a treatable problem. Rather than take risks, challenge the norm, challenge society, the neo-con ideology of managing risk through computational methods such as game theory, which led to the global financial collapse, when fear was removed, because risk was managed, packaged and syphoned off failed. When the owners of the 'data' started to manipulate it to their own means (Enron), the system collapses in on itself, and there are no longer any 'heroes', who put their own lives on the line for the bettering of society (the scientists who encased the reactor at Chernobyl in a cement sarcophagus, who knew they would die a horrible death), rather is it is a about self betterment, yet we are always comparing ourselves against a 'norm' provided by the 24 hour rolling media, trying to sell us 'product' or lifestyles which are the norm. The narrative in-dispersed with humorous, harrowing, amazing, haunting, engaging imagery and audio from the period, as well as following the stories of individuals through out. The story of Russians dreams of america, the first rock concert in Afghanistan, the dreams of ideal cities, the heroin trade which grew out of a fail attempt at bettering a country, the disney idealism, the death of New York in the 1970's, the lies of Donald Trump, casinos, the growing insanity of those who put the systems in place, the art of rebellion, and the images of the Taliban, all worked together to tell a powerful story.
All this with against the backdrop of Massive Attack basically doing cover versions, was truly something else, the russian song will inspire and haunt me for a long time, in it's beauty, simplicity and message.
Great art in my opinion is something which makes you think, grounds you in the moment, brings your life experience and hopes and dreams to the fore and inspires you for the future and makes you become a better person. This had it all
PeaceNeil
DON'T PANIC
I just stumbled across this post I wrote a while back on another site, not sure what I was on that day, but thought I would share it. I still stand by what I wrote, and also think it ties in with current changes in the creative industries as well.Enjoy!
DON'T PANIC :) We are living in interesting times! What we seeing, as I have been babbling on about for a while now, is the death (or should that be transformation) of the prevalent ideologies of consumerism and capitalism and a transition to a new period in human history (which tends to happen every 3 generations), more than likely we are entering a period of a technologically controlled Totalitarian dystopia. It is our 'Fin de siecle', brought on by having more stuff than we know what to do with and no worth or value from our peers, leading to boredom amongst the youth and celebrated decadence promoted at the norm. The lies fed to us by politicians and I am sad to say the media are so transparent that they induce cynicism in the populous. We are witnessing a change in the balance of power, a change in value systems, and a change in the basic humanity of large parts of the population. The false gods of commerce and entitlement are crumbling! (I'm not a socialist by the way, just a realist!)
PeaceNeil
What do we want from Music Technology?
As you may have noticed, I have posted quite a bit recently about Logic 10 (or Logic X), or perhaps that should be the lack of Logic. I kind of thought we would have had an announcement at WWDC on the 10th of the June, but there was none, and this is fuelling the fire that it has off Apple's radar. In July, it will have been 4 years and that is an incredible amount time in terms waiting for an update of any piece of software. So this got me thinking, what is that we actually want from music technology? I mean Logic 9 does more than anyone in the 60's/70's/80's could ever of dreamed of! The Beatles worked on a 4-track, Logic gives in an infinite number of tracks and the ability to move, quantise, correct, adjust by samples, add any effect you could imagine, add an orchestra, all from the comfort of my Laptop. But have I produced the next Sargent pepper? Nope!!We have access to amp modellers (I posted recently about this) which can create every single amp, effect, pickup configuration known to man, and this is an amazing feat for music technology. But, in this respect, why are we trying to model and recreate the past? Would it not be more fortuitous to try and develop something new? Or is it down to the musicians/creatives who continually try to push the boundaries of the technology we have. They aren't bothered that the their Line 6 model of a Fender tweed isn't an 'exact' replica, but it is a sound, which they can shape into something new! They aren't worried that they don't have every plug-in under the sun at their disposal, but take the tools they have an put move focus into the act of creation.Now, as I started this article about Logic X and how I am waiting for it, this makes me sound a bit like a hypocrite. So this is what caused me to start to wonder.....what is it that I want from music tech?In a sense, I think I have answered my question by wanting less perhaps. Maybe running 4 tracks on Garageband on an iPad, because that is all it can handle, will stop me thinking of what could be and make me actually work within those constraints. Maybe I just need one amp sound and make it my own, perhaps I should not spend a day going through 999 presets, but make one which is my own (okay I do do that!), but these aren't failings of music technology, they are failings of me and my inability to go with what I have. But then again, do you remember the days when a synth was a whole collection of knobs, limited to a couple of LFO's, Oscillators and the like? You could spend all day just tweaking, it was a very tactile experience, not looking at a screen with an million options, you would learn each feature inside out and yes you then thought of somethings you would also like, but on the whole you would create art. Now we have every option under the sun pretty much, and a million that we never thought of, I think this gives us what I call 'creative option overload' or COO for short and maybe it is time to fight back.....but what could music technology do to help us? Less perhaps?Okay, going back to me being a hypocrite, there are somethings I'd love in Logic.... in particular....better audio editing ...I mean it is 2013 now! But in hindsight, there isn't much, and I am perhaps caught up in upgrade envy. I am not sure....I mean if I am doing a sound project, I'll work in Digital Performer, as it has fantastic audio editing tools, it is just that it totally doesn't suit my way of working when it comes to composing (that is just me!).Do we need more options? Do we need simplicity? Do we need something 'new' without constant references to the past?What do you want from music technology??My parting thought is as follows....Make the most of what you have, push the boundaries, be experimental, drop off the internet and all the opinions that it brings. Believe in you, believe in your art, that makes it personal, that makes it unique.PeaceNeil
Do what you love (no excuses!)
I just re-stumbled across this today, it is a really powerful video and certainly makes you think (I hope). I guess it is easy to just say, do what you love and money will follow, but I certainly think there is a massive element of truth in it. Of course we can't do what we want all the time, but I think the words in this speech help at least make us think about what we should be doing, and how we could do it!Caution, there are a few naughty words....you have been warnedBe inspiredPeaceNeil
New music is rewarding for the brain
A very interesting piece and of course, I am an advocate of listening to new music! To quote the article on the BBC news website.
Using MRI scans, a Canadian team of scientists found that areas in the reward centre of the brain became active when people heard a song for the first time.
So, do you fancy some new music to reward yourself on rainy Friday afternoon?? Then you really need to check out thisPeaceNeil