| |
 |
INDEPENDENT SYDNEY BASED RECORD LABEL - SHOP |
 |
|
Welcome to the Fog Blog #3
"Revolutionising the music industry... every Thursday"
Doom and Gloom
Is it really that bad out there? Certainly if you were in Sydney last week the weather conspired with all the doom sayers that the end of the music industry is nigh. People are being laid off, sales are shrinking and there seems no end in sight. Major labels are losing experienced staff and new artists are choosing to bypass them all together in favour of a more DIY approach.
Does this spell the end for the music industry? In all honesty, there are far more qualified people out there to answer this question than I, although I would say it is the end of an era. An era that spent too much money on the wrong type of acts and not enough on the ones that could develop and sustain a career. Now they wonder why the market doesn't want to play their game
anymore... but the market will always want music. It's a human need. People have just found a more engaging way to experience music that brings them closer to the artist without feeling like they're being ripped off all the time with high prices for an album that only contains ONE song that they like.
It's not the end of music though...
just a massive shift in the power base.
And it's great.
|
You Can't Spell Star Without A&R
Oh dear...you know the feeling you get when you've walked into a gig and something just doesn't seem right? The "manager" is just a little too excited to see you. The door person obviously hasn't heard of the concept of a door list and the "exclusive industry showcase" that you've just entered somehow has the look and feel of a high school eisteddfod. You meet the band. They all seem very nice and excited that you've come to see them,
although their "manager" is still being overly-friendly...
You get a free drink from the bar, take a seat near the mixer and watch the "crowd" mingle near the stage. You realise everyone in the place is actually trying not to look at you. You're the "Industry Guy" and you're gonna sign the band... the expectation in the air is palpable. You check your watch and wonder where the other "Industry Guys" are... you know, the ones who said
that they were coming too?
The "manager" comes over to tell you how "excited everyone is that you are there, please have another drink, yes, they will be on shortly, they really are very talented you know". So you nod politely. Pretend. Have another drink. Check your watch again. You know that no-one else is going to turn up.
You decide to keep an open mind.
Finally they come on. The "crowd" goes wild. There is a lot of screaming. The lights are blinding, the sound is ear splittingly loud and the band are jumping around like the high school kids that they probably are. But you know after one verse that it is awful. Not just a little awful... the sort of awful that gives appalling a bad name.
You somehow hang on until you hear your favourite five words in the world, "This is our last song!"
Gulp down your last drink, make an inconspicuous move towards the door... down the stairs and you're in the car park trying to flag down a taxi. Just as you're getting in the "manager" taps you on the shoulder, "So, what did you think?" And it's at this moment that you see the lead singer standing behind the "manager". He has tears in his eyes. And just as you get into the taxi, the singer turns to the "manager' and says, "Oh dad, he hates us".
It is kind of like going to this gig... but worse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtoNzGoFNk
|
On The Cutting Edge
That's right, here at Foghorn, we're on the cutting edge. It's so sharp, we have to wear protective clothing in the office. Frankly, it's an OH&S nightmare. And for those of you who read last week's blog (yes, both of you), you can read the following article and wonder, just a little, where they go this idea from. And for those of you who didn't read last weeks blog,
I suggested an near identical concept...
but it's OK, I'm not bitter...:
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Choruss-The-Next-Phase-in-Digital
|
|
What's On The Gramophone, Grandad?
This week in the office, we have been enjoying the following high quality musical recordings.
|
8 Ball Aitken "Rebel With A Cause"
Click on the image
8 Ball hails from Queensland and plays the best swamp n' country blues that we've heard in years. Dressed like a cross between Bill Gibbons and an Allman Brother (not sure which one... maybe Duane) 8 Ball plays a guitar shaped like flames and sings about the swamp... and breaking up... and drinking... and cowboy movies. Stand out track "Outback Booty Call".
|
Sharon Jones "100 Days, 100 nights"
Click on the image
I'd marry Sharon. Seriously. If you were lucky enough to catch her recent tour you will know that she lights up the stage like a female James Brown, only without the cape. Check out the awesome "I'm Not Gonna Cry".
|
Paul Appelkamp Self Titled EP
Click on the image
Paul used to play in a band called Freetown. We came across them when they appeared on the last Home Grown Roots album. This EP was produced by the wonderful Genevieve Maynard, but it's Paul's musicianship and songwriting that wins the day. I hate to even mention them in the same sentence, but Jack Johnson ain't got nothin' on this guy. Stand out track, "Red Paint"...
but they're all really good.
|
This week's gratuitous photo of
David Lee Roth.....
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
