Category Archives: A to Z of Making It

A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Copyright, Music, My Stories, Piracy, Stupidity

Sharing Music via Word Of Mouth

I got a 8GB USB stick of music given to me recently by a musician friend who told me that I need to check out the bands on the stick. When I was growing up we used to these kinds of trades on cassettes. Back then we had an hours or hour and a half worth of music. Today 8 gigs worth of music is about 270 songs at 320kbps. Yep, that is how it is done today. People have no respect for copyright law and why should they. For all of us, copyright is present on songs that we like from when we are born and it looks like it will still be in place on the same songs when we die. Is that a law that should be respected?

So I am listening to a few of the bands. “Dirty Passion”, “Degreed”, “Riverside”, “Denial Method” and “Devilicious”. Yeah I know, I caught the same trend as you, most of them start with the letter D.

Anyway, I am trying to put my head space into the same head space as the guys in the band. They obviously want to be in music. They want to be in a band, so they form a band. They write some music, play some shows and spend a lot of time and money to record an album.

THEN WHAT.

What is the plan after that?

Do they wait for all the reviews to talk it up and hope that someone from a label is going to pick it up and promote the hell of it?

Do they promote it via social media and hope that people will buy it, because that is what people needed to do back in the Nineties to get music. Yep, we needed to pay for it, and a high price at that.

However, the same fans don’t want to pay for it today. Okay, let me rephrase that. Fans of music will only pay for what they want to pay for. The bands they like, the songs they like will still get supported. It could be via an iTunes purchase, via an Amazon purchase, via YouTube views, via Spotify streams, via concert attendances and so forth.

So any new band starting out needs to face two hard realities;

1. People will pay for what they want to pay for

2. Getting your message/name out is still hard.

Bands/Acts don’t realise that going viral or hitting the top is all based on the music. The whole marketing shenanigans comes after. Bands need to start with a great tune.

Producer and manager, Marty Thau just passed away and in a 2009 interview, he spoke about what he looks for in artists.

“I’ve always believed there is a fine line between abstract and pure accessibility and that is what I’ve always looked for. An artist who can be abstract and conventional at the same time and, most importantly, reach people. That’s the magic we all seek. It’s called originality … and, of course, it’s still about songs. That’s the starting point.”

For example, I like Machine Head. I like the tarot idea of the four different covers they will be utilising for their Record Store Day contribution. The marketing and the hype behind the release is top-notch. Now if the song “Killers and Kings” is a dud, it’s not going to bode well. The songs are the starting point for everything.

In relation to the vinyl revolution, stats from Billboard.com show that vinyl sales are growing each quarter. In the end the percentages they are talking about is small change in the sea of billions. It’s a hobby thing. I will be purchasing the four editions of “Killers and Kings” purely as collector items. I won’t even play them.

The thing is vinyl never went away. During the Nineties when everyone went to CD’s, it was the Second Hand store that exploded. Any store that stocked vinyls, would be busy as hell. That is when I picked up, 700 plus vinyl records. Between the years of 1992 and 2002, i more or less purchased the whole seventies and the eighties. All for a price less than $5. I even picked up “Quiet Riot II” with “Randy Rhoads” for $10.

During that time, the press and the recording business ignored vinyl, however in 2014 they trump it up. Isn’t that typical.

I digress. Going back to the post, just because a band or an act does make it, it doesn’t mean that the whole world wants to listen to it or own it. It all comes down to time, which a lot of people don’t seem to have. So people will only revert to music that they want.

The reason why pop music thrives is that the audience shares it. From my own experiences, metal and rock fans are very divided. There is an elitism running through the ranks. Because of that elitism, you don’t get that same sharing experience. When I say sharing, I am talking about the sharing of links to the songs, like Spotify sharing or YouTube sharing.

So what about the bands I listened to.

Dirty Passion – Into Wonderland
Released in 2012

They are from Sweden. “In Wonderland” is their second album. The band formed in 2007. Facebook shows 13,000 likes.

So how is it?

It’s melodic rock with a Guns N Roses “Appetite For Destruction” type swagger merged with some Skid Row attitude. The vocals are raw. The songs that stood out on first listen are “Into The Wild”, “When Darkness Falls”, “Shadowland”, “Make It Last” and “Light Of The Candle”.

Would I recommend it?

Yes, it was an enjoyable listen. They won’t achieve world domination, however they will have a career in the niche they are in. The lyrical themes in the songs sounded a bit cliché, however they can only get better.

Degreed – We Don’t Belong
Released in 2013

They are from Sweden. Like “Dirty Passion” this is album number 2 for them. The band formed in 2005 and Facebook shows 1500 likes. Based on the likes, “Dirty Passion” has worked harder to build their social media presence.

Their bio states the below;

It took 5 years of hard work to even get noticed and a bunch of shameful proposals to get where they are today but these 5 guys know how hard you have to work to get what you want and they won’t stop until they get just that, what they want.

Isn’t that the nature of the recording business. Exploit the artist. Some are so hungry for fame, they will allow it. Other artists are smarter and if it means a smaller fan base, then so be it. As long as they did it their way.

So what about the album?

They released an album of twelve tracks however six ended up being a good listen. The standout tracks are “Black Cat”, “What If”, “Inside Of Me”, “Blind Hearted”, “Coming Home” and “We Don’t Belong”. It’s modern alternative rock, mixed with melodic rock (especially around the keyboards).

It is way more polished than “Dirty Passion” with a clear emphasis on arena rock choruses and pop sensibilities. The guitarists wail on the album. Really dig the song “Inside of Me”. It’s got that Imagine Dragons/Coldplay feel.

If I had to pick between “Dirty Passion” and “Degreed”, “Degreed” wins. They walk the fine line between staying true to melodic/hard rock and pop music, filtered with progressive and guitar heroics.

Denial Method – The Surface and The Vision
Released in 2008.

They are from the US. It is their first release and their Facebook page has 90 likes. It’s hard to ascertain if the band has broken up. After hearing their debut, it’s easy to see why the band could be broken up. Only two tracks are worth a mention. You see when you play in a crowded modern alternative rock scene you need to be a touch different, a touch special, a touch unique to stand out.

“The Silence” is a decent track. It is in the vein of bands like Earshot, Breaking Benjamin and 10 Years. That is also the reason why it falls down. Much like in the Eighties. All the bands that came out and started to sound like Motley Crue, Guns N Roses and Metallica, where are they now. Maybe having the guitar hero solo in it, would have made it different and unique enough to stand out.

“So Many Days” is another decent track. I love the acoustic however this song just sounded too strummed.

Moods.

What happened to them? Fingerpicking, single notes arpeggios, little flamenco guitar fills. Let the song breathe. Extend it.

So if I had to place “Dirty Passion”, “Degreed” and “Denial Method” it would be “Degreed” first, “Dirty Passion” second and “Denial Method” third.

Devilicious – The Esoteric Playground
Released in 2012.

They are from Sweden (seriously what a scene in Sweden). It is their 2nd release and their Facebook page has 1,195 likes.

They are basically a metalised version of The Cult. And I dig that

“Succumb”, “Hollywood” and “Post Mortum” all have this Black Sabbath vibe.

So if I had to place “Dirty Passion”, “Degreed”, “Denial Method” and “Devilicious” it would be “Degreed” first, “Dirty Passion” second, “Devilicious” third and “Denial Method” fourth.

Riverside – Shrine Of New Generation Slaves
Released in 2013.

They are from Poland and this is their sixth release. Their Facebook page shows 55,518 likes. I really enjoyed 2005’s “Second Life Syndrome” and 2007’s “Rapid Eye Movement” however after that they just fell off my radar. Blame the internet for allowing bands to release so much music.

Riverside are a damn good progressive rock band. There is a simplicity in complexity when it comes to their music. They know how to take the complex and make it simple, setting moods and letting feel lead the way. Don’t expect anthemic arena rock choruses with Riverside. There is none.

“Shine Of New Generation Slaves” is a brilliant exhibition in Pink Floydism prog. To like Riverside, you need to be in the mood. A “Dark Side Of The Moon” mood. Relaxed and mellowed.

My friend shared these bands with me and that is how we still get the word out today. Word of mouth.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/marty-thau-dies/

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A to Z of Making It, Music, My Stories, Piracy, Stupidity, Treating Fans Like Shit

The World According to Nikki Sixx

“When you spend nine months working on an album, all the work that goes into it and recording it, mixing it, mastering it, then you release it and it falls on deaf ears.”

“I’d rather work on two songs under that plan (exploring the idea of placing their songs in films, or signing sponsorships deals through integrated marketing with other types of companies that want to use their song specifically to reach tens of millions of people) than do eleven songs that only reach 100,000 people.”

Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue said the above in a recent interview.

The album format is dead and buried. People just don’t have the time to sit down and play an album from start to finish over and over again anymore, especially when there is so much other content out there to consume.

So what is this telling us. It all depends on which side of the argument you sit.

The record labels and the RIAA will say that this is what happens when people pirate/copyright infringe. They will call for stronger copyright enforcement.

Sociologist would say that sales of recorded music have declined due to the rise of other desirables, like apps and gaming in general. Look at the sales of the “Halo” games series by Microsoft. “Halo 4” made $220 million in 24 hours. Overall, the whole series has grossed over $3.4 billion. Have any rock bands reached that many people?

“Angry Birds” caused an app sensation in 2009, “Candy Crush” caused a bigger credit card sensation in 2013 due to its innovative in-app purchase system. What about the recent free game “Fluffy Bird”? It was free and it got downloaded 50 million times. Then the creator just pulled it.

Fans of music will still listen to music, however music now has to play on a crowded field compared to the Eighties. We had music on terrestrial radio, LP’s, CD’s and Cassettes. The profit margins on these items were huge for the record labels.

In 2014, we have music on LP’s, CD’s, on iTunes, on streaming sites, on Amazon, on terrestrial radio, on internet radio, on YouTube, on various other downloading sites, both legal and illegal. The profit margins vary from high to low on the various ways we consume music.

In addition, we also have television on Free to Air, Pay TV, Internet TV. We have movies on streaming sites, at the cinemas, on pay TV channels, on DVD’s, on BluRays, on various other downloading sites, both legal and illegal. We have Games on PC’s, Consoles and Apps. We have books electronically and on paper. We have Facebook and Twitter to connect. More time is spent on these sites than listening to actual music.

Fans of Motley will say this is a product of the times. It’s a singles market. Daft Punk released an album, however it turned out that it was the song “Get Lucky” that people actually wanted. The single format works well for pop music.

However, metal and rock fans are still stuck in the album ideology.

Dream Theater released an album without a decent single and after six weeks, it’s US sale run was over. However, they are happy to do that every two years. They know that their livelihood is touring.

Protest The Hero organised distribution deals with other labels for “Volition”, however it was all for nothing, as the 8000+ hard core fans already had a digital version of the album via the Indiegogo Campaign. It’s just a shame that the perks still haven’t arrived, almost 5 months after the release date.

Other fans will say, that Motley Crue should release something worth buying and that they will buy it. Motley Crue released “Sex” in 2012. Since I am on the Motley Crue email list, it was offered as a free download for 24 hours when it first came out. I went and downloaded it. It is classic Crue and a great song to add to the set list.

James Michael from Sixx A.M. also released a single called “Learn To Hate You” in November, 2012. It only has 116,034 views on James Michael’s YouTube channel, while Motley Crue’s “Seek” has 108,038 views on their Motley Crue Vevo Channel and 449,397 views on a user channel called Lachi James.

So from reading Nikki’s views on new music, I believe now that the release of “Sex” from Motley Crue and “Learn To Hate You” from James Michael was an experiment in how can an artist release a song and reach millions of people.

How many people would have acted quickly enough to download the song as a freebie within the 24 hour window?

How many people from a certain city would have purchased the song via iTunes after hearing Motley Crue perform it on the Kiss tour while they were in that city?

How many people would have downloaded the song illegally?

How many people viewed a YouTube post of the song?

How many people streamed and shared the song?

If a band wants to monetize and have reach, they need to create and keep on creating. They need to release everything on YouTube and Spotify and iTunes all on the same day. It is better for the band to control the YouTube releases than allowing others to monetize their content.

So what is happening with Sixx A.M.?

The new album has been talked up a fair bit by Nikki via his Facebook posts. New music for them has been in the pipeline for a while. So is it because Sixx A.M is classed as a new band, radio will play them. Terrestrial radio is dead. That format is dead. The opportunities are all on line now.

I consider Nikki Sixx a musician. A musician by definition is someone who creates music. And that is what musicians do when they are hungry. It is all about the music and only the music. But, once they reach the top and start focusing on the trappings, the music part starts to fade away as the focus moves to keeping what they have attained.

Musicians took risks and stood for something. They made money, they blew money, they did drugs, they made money again. Rock stars did it their way. That is why we flocked to them. That is why we became fans. They represented an attitude, a sense of freedom that connected with us.

As a fan of Motley Crue, I am disappointed that there decision to make new music is because on money and reach. The people that want new Motley Crue music will get it. So why don’t they service those fans.

And the Final Tour. Serious. They just finished touring. Kid Rock did a tour with $20 concert tickets. His risk paid off. All his shows sold out and those $20 ticket fans got converted into Kid Rock fans. Digital sales increased. Merchandise sales increased. Streams increased. Kid Rock went on that tour without a guarantee that he will be paid. He played the game without a safety net.

However, no one is keen to follow in his lead. Everyone wants that contract from Live Nation, the cash up front, the guarantee. The artist, along with their managers, agents, enablers, handlers, the pet dog and whoever else is attached to the entourage, want the money first and to leave the onus of recouping to the promoter.

Come on Crue. Put all of your issues aside and record a decent amount of music and get it out there.

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/motley-crue-no-final-album/

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A to Z of Making It, Music, My Stories

Rock Star Lifestyle, The 2014 Way

In an interview over at The Guardian, will.i.am mentioned an important point about the current rock star lifestyle. He said that he had made more money from his Beats Electronics equity stake than from the sales of the Black Eyed Peas song “I Gotta Feeling” which has the honour of being one of the most downloaded songs on iTunes.

To put it into context, if you go over to the RIAA Gold and Platinum Database, you will see that the digital release of “I Gotta Feeling” was certified on June 29, 2012, 8 x Multi-Platinum, That means 8 million in digital sales in the US alone. Let’s assume that all of those sales came from iTunes. That is $8 million dollars in sales. Apple takes in 30% which comes to $2.4 million dollars. That leaves $5.6 million for The Black Eyed Peas. For just one song. Of course the record label will take a large portion of that $5.6 million and the remainder will be split between the songwriters, the band members, the manager, the producer and so on.

Will.i.am further stated that “Our music sells other people’s hardware, and it’s a hard pill to swallow.”

This is reality. It is a reality that a lot of musicians do not get in this age, especially the ones in hard rock and heavy metal.

Sure sales of recorded music have declined. In all honesty, how much did bands rely on sales of recorded music as a source of income. And let’s not confuse the generous advances that the labels gave only to claw back that same advance with a lot of creative compound interest.

Look at the above example from will.i.am. Even he states that the money earned is a fraction of what he can NOW make from other ventures. This is what MUSIC has allowed him to achieve.

An artist starting off today needs to realise that music is in competition with technology. Whereas the kids from the Eighties spent their money on cars and music, the kids of the two thousands spend their monies on technology like iPhones, tablets, laptops and other IT style gadgets and they expect to have music on these devices 24/7.

The new rock star lifestyle according to will.i.am involves sleeping about four hours a night. The rest of your time is spent on the vast number of projects you are associated with. For will.i.am, this involves is his own self-funded i.am+ consumer electronics business. It involves serving as Intel’s director of creative innovation. It involves creating and co-founding the Coca-Cola company’s EKOCYCLE recycling strategy. It involves founding and hosting the TRANS4M conference. Way down on the list of activities is the writing, producing, recording and performing of music.

Are the metal heads understanding this? A career in music is not about getting together, drinking a few brews, smoking some green and jamming. There is a lot more to it. Music is the ENTRY. You write a great song or a great album that connects with people and you have one foot in the door to take on other projects.

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A to Z of Making It, Music, My Stories, Piracy

A Metal Heads Guide To The Key Of Music Success

The technology of today allows for convenient costless copying and transportation of large chunks of data across the internet. Before the rise of streaming, people were still given a raw deal when it came to digital music and forced to overpay. In Australia, an iTunes song costs between $1.69 and $2.69. This price remained the same, even when our dollar was stronger than the US dollar.

Then the ACCC, our competition watchdog launched an inquiry into these geo-blocking price restrictions. Apple went in front of the commission and stated that they didn’t set the price for music in Australia and that the price was set by the Record Labels. It was found by the Commission that there should be no reason why Australians should pay more for software and music. However, nothing has changed in relation to the prices.

When music is offered in a convenient and low-cost legal alternative, the rate of piracy drops because most people do want to support artists and the various research out there points out that is the case.

For example, let’s look at TesseracT, the band. They released a great album in “Altered State”. It didn’t sell huge amounts in the U.S, so based on the record label success model, the album is a fizzer. However, the band knows that touring is where they make their money. And that is what they are doing. Musicmetric data showed (before it went behind a pay wall) that TesseracT’s music was downloaded the most in North America via peer-to-peer Torrent networks. So guess which area’s TesseracT have toured?

Yep, North America. They are touring there again from March and April 2014. The previously toured North America between September and October 2013. Coincidence. Maybe.

In relation to Spotify, they have a combined album stream count of 1,705,734. What this means, is that if you tally up all of the album songs shown in their popular list you will get to that number.

Go on YouTube and you see that the “Nocturne” (OFFICIAL VIDEO) by Century Media Records has 302,002 views. My favourite track from “Singularity” on the Century Media Records channel has 260,817 views compared to the 130,835 on Spotify. These numbers matter. Especially for a band that plays to a niche market.

What about the band Volbeat? They fall on all sides of the equation. They are one of the most streamed metal bands out there, plus they are downloaded a lot via peer-to-peer networks and in addition to all of this, they are still selling albums in the U.S. Their “Outlaw Gentlemen And Shady Ladies” album was released on 5 April 2013 and as at 29 January 2014, it is still selling in the U.S.

Yep, that’s right, in an era were physical sales of recorded music are non-existent, Volbeat has been selling consistently for 42 weeks straight. Prior to the release of “Outlaw Gentlemen And Shady Ladies”, their previous album “Beyond Heaven, Above Hell” was still selling up to and past the release date of the new album.

From a record label point of view, this is pure gold. They have a band that can consistently sell albums and Volbeat has been doing that each week for the last three years in the very competitive US market.

That is why they are hitting the U.S market again for the third time, this time with “Trivium” and the best DIY independent band out there in “Digital Summer”.

Look at their song “Still Counting” on Spotify. It has 21,193,159 streams. On the YouTube channel of Tomas Grafström “Still Counting” has 11,725,300 views.

My favourite song “Fallen” has 12,392,089 streams. On the VolbeatVEVO channel, “Fallen” has 4,583,706 views.

“Cape Of Our Hero” from the new album has 5,838,326 streams. On YouTube, “Cape Of Our Hero” has 2,999,070 views on the VolbeatVEVO channel.

Another band that is doing great numbers both in actual sales, streams and peer-to-peer downloads is Skillet. The album “Rise” was released on June 25, 2013 and at this point in time, 31 weeks after that, it is still selling. That is what the labels want, bands that can sell week in and week out. What does the band want? They want people to listen to their music.

To compare to the current mainstream rock band, none of these bands come close to Imagine Dragons. “Night Visions” came out on September 4, 2012. 73 weeks later, the album is still moving physical albums. At this point in time the album has sold over 1.8 million copies in the US. The main songs are high on Spotify’s streaming chart. They are also very high on the peer-to-peer download lists.

Seriously their Spotify numbers are insane. “Radioactive” is at 172 million streams compared to 128 million views on YouTube. “Demons” is at 73 million streams compared to 50 million views on YouTube. My favourite “It’s Time” is at 75 million streams compared to 59 million streams on YouTube.

Music is now a game of data. The key to any artist is not how many albums or songs are sold. The key is this;

ARE PEOPLE LISTENING TO YOUR MUSIC?
ARE PEOPLE SHARING YOUR MUSIC?
ARE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT YOUR MUSIC?
ARE PEOPLE DOWNLOADING YOUR MUSIC?
WHERE ARE THESE PEOPLE LOCATED?
MUSIC IS A RELATIONSHIP BUSINESS. DO YOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THESE PEOPLE?

If you answered YES to the first question, move on to the next question. If you haven’t answered YES to the first question, take a step back and start writing more music.

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A to Z of Making It, Music, Unsung Heroes

Lifers

If you want to have a career in the music business “Lifer” is a term that you need to get used to. You need to be in it for life.

Look at Mike Portnoy. He is a lifer. He lives and breathes music. In his youth, he worked in a record shop and substituted his pay for records. It shows his life commitment to music. Since December 2010, he has pushed out new music on a consistent basis and he has toured non-stop behind that new music. I can’t say I like everything from the bands that Portnoy is involved in, however he understands the current music business. And as much as the metal and rock bands don’t like it, the music recording business is not about releasing an album of 10 songs or more every two years and then touring behind it.

The recording business is about releasing music consistently. Capturing that spontaneity. When music is too thought out it loses its soul. It becomes processed. Even though I am not a big fan of “The Winery Dogs”, I do appreciate the soul of the songs, that loose feeling that anything could happen. This brings to mind a quote from Kevin Shirley who was the producer on the Dream Theater “Falling Into Infinity” album. He loved the original solo take that John Petrucci did for the song “Hollow Years” because it had this spontaneous feeling to it that fit the mood of the song. However Petrucci didn’t like it because it wasn’t precise enough and of course, Petrucci ended up re-doing the solo section to make it precise.

Going back to Portnoy, in 2011 he was involved in the Adrenaline Mob EP, the Neal Morse “Testimony 2” album as well as a tribute album to The Beatles (with Paul Gilbert, Neal Morse, and Kasim Sulton) called “Yellow Matter Custard – One More Night in New York City”.

2012 saw the release of the Adrenaline Mob album “Omertà”, the Flying Colors self-titled debut album as well as another Neal Morse album called “Momentum”.

2013 saw the release of a covers album from Adrenaline Mob called “Covertà”, as well as the self-titled debut from The Winery Dogs. In addition, live releases came out from the “Portnoy, Sheehan, MacAlpine and Sherinian” 2012 tour called “Live In Tokyo” as well as the Flying Colors 2012 European tour called “Live in Europe”.

2014 will see a new Transatlantic album called “Kaleidoscope” as well as the new BigElf album that Portnoy played drums on called “Into The Maelstrom”. Also in the pipework’s is a new Flying Colors album and a live release from “The Winery Dogs”.

In amongst all the studio time of the official releases, Portnoy was on the road, touring. That is a lifer to me. He implored Damon Fox from Bigelf to carry on when he thought about throwing in the towel and even stepped up to the plate to play drums. That is a lifer inspiring another musician to also become a lifer. It’s contagious.

What about bassist, Marco Mendoza? Who you say?

The first time I heard Marco was on the Blue Murder album “Nothin But Trouble” released in 1993. He then fell in with John Sykes, appearing on “Screaming Blue Murder” in 1994 and then on John Sykes’s solo album in 1995 called “Out Of My Tree.” He also appeared on the 1997 albums “Loveland” and “20th Century Heartache” and “Nuclear Cowboy” released in 2000. That year also saw a Thin Lizzy (this is the version that John Sykes put together in 1994,with guitarist Scott Gorham, keyboard player Darren Wharton and drummer Brian Downey. After a few one-off concerts, the band toured more consistently from 1996 until 2000, with Downey being replaced by Tommy Aldridge) live release called “One Night Only” as well as his involvement with David Coverdale’s solo album “Into The Light.”

Real musicians are lifers. He hasn’t had that hit single or appeared on that hit album, but that doesn’t make Marco any less successful.

He spent time with Ted Nugent, went back to John Sykes, then jumped ship to Whitesnake, while still continuing with the John Sykes Thin Lizzy project up until 2009. That project then became Black Star Riders. In between he appeared in Lynch Mob and their Smoke and Mirrors album in 2009. He is going to tour Australia with the band “The Dead Daises” led by former Noiseworks vocalist Jon Stevens.

Would you say that Marco Mendoza has been successful at his music career?

Marco has played with two of my biggest guitar influences in John Sykes and George Lynch. He is a great vocalist and from watching the live Whitesnake DVD from 2006, he hits those highs that Glenn Hughes did in “Burn”.

He has never been without a decent sized gig and if he is, he has his little solo band and his jazz three-piece project that play the bars and the clubs. The bottom line is that he is working non-stop. He is a lifer when it comes to music. That is why he is still around. While record labels whine about the lack of recorded sales in a society where streaming has won the war, Marco is the definition of the long hard slog to have a musical career. A lifer. Excellence is the key. That is why he is in demand. He fits in well, is professional and he doesn’t have a social media presence.

You want a career in music, prepare to be a lifer.

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A to Z of Making It, Alternate Reality, Copyright, Music, My Stories, Piracy, Stupidity, Treating Fans Like Shit

Chaos + Disruption = The Music Business

It’s a chaotic and disruptive time in the music business and with chaos comes opportunity.

On one side you have COPYRIGHT. And that can be broken down into a lot of other little chaotic categories like infringement, the length of copyright terms, copyright monopolies, the lack of works entering the public domain and so on.

The public domain is culture. Keith Richards once said, ‘you can’t copyright the blues.’

Culture is built and expanded by sharing stories and building on the works of others. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and all of the sixties greats like Hendrix, Clapton and Beck used this concept. They built off the blues.

However copyright law and its real purpose got hijacked by corporations and everything changed. Instead of culture being built up in the works that the public creates and shares, the public is now faced with copyright corporations locking away works that should be in the public domain by now. These works that should be in the public domain do not benefit the original creators in any way, however they are beneficial for the few copyright monopoly gatekeepers.

For culture to thrive once again, it is important to respect the public domain.

Then on another side of the music business you have the RIAA who continually push lies out into the world, so that technology companies can do something to protect crap business models. Did you know that the global music industry sent it’s 100 million takedown notice to Google, to remove search links to certain sites. It looks like the RIAA doesn’t get it.

So if a person types in “free mp3” in Google Search what should Google return?

Sites that have free mp3’s or sites that the RIAA want Google to point to when that term is typed in. Maybe when that person types in free mp3, they want a free mp3 and have no interest in paying.

Then you have the ISP’s on another side that are caught up in the middle of all this as they offer the service that provides internet access to users. According to the RIAA and the record labels, the ISP’s allow “copyright infringement” to happen, therefore, they need to do something about it to help out the music industry. In Australia, this is heavily disputed, however in other parts of the world gradual response schemes are in place.

Then you have the technology companies trying to offer low cost services to fans of music. However, low cost to a fan means high costs to the RIAA and the record labels in licensing fees. This is before the new service is even allowed to trade. If the new service starts to trade without licensing in place, expect them to be litigated into submission.

Have you noticed that artists have not been mentioned anywhere as yet. That is how far the music business has come, where the actual music is only a small part of it, however it should be the major part of it. For the business to thrive, you need great music.

I was looking back to some of the releases in 2013 that I liked. Two of my favourites are “Protest The Hero” and “Coheed and Cambria”.

“Protest The Hero” and “Coheed and Cambria” are working to the “Keep your fan base close” mantra. Both of the bands moved from major labels into a DIY independent mindset, realising that their fans are king.

Exceptional fan service is the key driving force behind a bands success. I expect “Coheed and Cambria” will get a lot more fans purchasing the next super deluxe package for the new album because they did such a great job with “The Afterman” releases.

“Protest The Hero” on the other hand have fallen into the fan funded conundrum where the perks always arrive later than expected for international fans. I live in Australia and I am still waiting for the perks to arrive. The band have been clear with their information, advising that it will take 6 to 8 weeks.

It’s good old business 101, “treat your customers right and they’ll stay with you forever”.

Then you have bands like Five Finger Death Punch, Avenged Sevenfold, Dream Theater, Stone Sour, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Volbeat, Alter Bridge and TesserAct that have label deals.

Should those bands go independent like Protest The Hero or Coheed and Cambria. It all depends on a person’s definition of success and hard work. Going independent means that you need to build a team around you like any business start-up.

What are the benefits of going independent?

The lesson is simple. Selling your artistic freedom and independence as a “success” strategy can bring lucrative rewards. But it’s not always the best move for your career, as you are also selling off important data to the record label. The record label doesn’t want to know your fans or connect with them. They want you to do it, so that the label can make money of that relationship and then pay you a percentage of it.

Coheed and Cambria moved over 100,000 units of their deluxe “Afterman” editions. At $60 (I think it was $68, however I will use $60 for the example) an edition, that comes to $6 million in revenue. If the band was on the label model, what percentage would the band see from that $6 million.

The music market/business is filled with acts trying to make it. It is going to take a huge effort to stand out amongst the rest. Music is a lifer game. It is a slow and steady approach that builds careers.

Artists should be looking at development. With each song release, artists should never be afraid to try things out. Even try out new technologies that make it very easy for their fans to interact with them and their music. In a company, this is called research and development. Investing in your career is never a mistake.

The artists have the power to make the record labels redundant, purely to be used as a distribution arm if needed, however with the rise of streaming technologies, even this arm can be in danger of disappearing. Bands like Coheed and Cambria, Protest The Hero and Digital Summer have seen the recorded business side of things and have decided, hey we can do it better. That’s what great businesses are made of.

So in all of this chaos, who will rise and who will fall? Time will tell, however if you compare music to technology, you will see only a select few rise to the top. Smartphones and tablets is all Apple and Samsung. Amazon has online shopping cornered. Google is the king of search. Spotify will win the streaming war. Facebook rules social media. iTunes rules the mp3 and app market. Will the same fate happen in the music business?

2019 Crystal ball predictions;

Coheed and Cambria – will get bigger and bigger. Their style is unique, so expect them to keep to that style, sort of like how AC/DC releases music in the same style or Iron Maiden.

Protest The Hero – proved to themselves that they still matter. Will get bigger and more crazier. The future of progressive metal.

Machine Head – will still be bigger then what they are. Robb Flynn understands the internet and understands the change that is coming. He will make sure that Machine Head rides the wave all the way to the shoreline, while Adam Duce circles in the undercurrent, ready to litigate the band into submission.

TesseracT – will become the next Pink Floyd.

Digital Summer – are one of the hardest working rock bands around like Twisted Sister and Dream Theater. They will get bigger as they are lifers.

Avenged Sevenfold – will become the new Metallica.

Five Finger Death Punch – I have a feeling that they will break up after one more album.

Shinedown – will be bigger than what Aerosmith ever was.

Volbeat – will remain relevant in their niche genre.

Metallica – will still be relevant in the same way the Seventies act remained relevant.

Dream Theater – will still tour and do a lot of side projects, however they will be replaced by TesseracT and Protest The Hero.

Black Veil Brides – will take over the void left by Motley Crue and Guns N Roses.

Trivium – will deliver an astounding progressive technical metal album.

Killswitch Engage – will remain relevant in their niche genre.

Alter Bridge – The world needs Led Zeppelin to continue. Expect Alter Bridge to fill this void. They have one of the best vocalists of the modern era in Myles Kennedy. Marc Tremonti is a prolific writer. Call his Creed project, “The Yardbirds” and Alter Bridge as “Led Zeppelin.”

Bullet For My Valentine – will deliver their own version of “Master Of Puppets” and “The Blackening”.

Lets see how it pans out.

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Anthem (We Are Trivium)

Matt Heafy was asked to describe Trivium in three words in an interview;

“First word–kinda smart about it–would be Trivium. The second word would be metal. These are individual words, not to be connected, by the way. And… lifestyle. Because, the way I look at the metal scene, it isn’t just a genre that you turn on and off. Metal is a lifestyle that is meant to be eaten and breathed, and to rectify people who enjoy it. In the U.S. it’s not so much this way…metal is… I’m not saying that it isn’t respected here, but it isn’t respected the way that say, Germany or South America looks at metal, where it is legitimately a cultural way that people live. There’s a small population in this country that does that, but I would like to see that enhanced.”

I was listening to “Vengeance Falls” on the way in to work today. I haven’t cranked it in about 5 weeks. Man, those opening four tracks I really dig. Metal is a lifestyle is what Heafy said, and when done right it is only style.

Trivium has never had it easy. They basically grew up in the eye of the public. Seriously, Matt Heafy was only 17 when Trivium released “Ember To Inferno”. At one stage Trivium was hailed as the future of thrash, while at the same time they where also called Metallica copycats.

With each album release it is like deja-vu for Trivium. People slam it, people love it or people just cant decide.

When “The Crusade” came out, everyone blasted the vocal melodies because they sound like James Hetfield in style, phrasing and tone. If it wasn’t the James Hetfield vocal melodies, it was the lack of screaming in the vocals.

This is what Matt Heafy said in an interview with the Phoenix New Times blog about their albums;

“And every album has been received bigger or smaller in certain territories. “Ascendancy” for example did incredible well in the UK and the U.S., and didn’t really do anything anywhere else. “The Crusade”, as far as the popular mind went, wasn’t well received in the UK and the US but it opened the doors for us in Europe. “Shogun” wasn’t anything that was really talked about when it first came out, but nowadays people hail it as our best album. “In Waves” blew the doors open for us in Germany, and “Vengeance Falls” blew the doors open for us in Japan. With every record we have a different faction of fans who appreciate it. It’s refreshing I would imagine for the fans that we’re a band that never releases the same record twice.”

One thing is clear; Trivium is not afraid to try things out and I like that. Every album is different in a way, and every fan has a different favourite album. There is no unanimous favourite album amongst fans.

I’m a fan of all their albums as they all have something different or special about them. It is like the fan is taken on the Trivium journey/odyssey of trying to find their sound. As a fan it keeps you interested, and they never diverge too far from their core feel which is always heavy/thrash/melodic metal. They are doing a good job at it and they always produce some pretty tough songs.

“Ascendency” has “Pulling Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr” which is just epic, along with “A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation”.

“The Crusade” has “The Rising”, “Tread the Floods”, “Anthem (We Are Fire)” and “The Crusade”.

“Shogun” has “Down From The Sky”, “Into The Mouth Of Hell”, “Throes Of Perdition”, “Kiruste Gomen” and of course the epic masterpiece that is “Shogun”.

“In Waves”; I would only skip probably 3 songs on that whole album and that’s the special edition.

All albums have a different feel to them, yet are still brutal in many ways. They are definitely one of the main Heavy Metal players of today. Hopefully for the next album they take on a Prog approach, I think that would be pretty special. Heavy + Thrash + Prog. I’d be pre-ordering that for sure!

I will finish the post with some final words from Matt Heafy from the recent Revolver issue (Dec 2013/ Jan 2014);

“Our skin has toughened and now we just do what we want to do, whenever we want to do it.”

Keep on doing it.

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Semi Obscure Bon Jovi Songs – Part 2

It’s a new year and a new day, however for some insane reason I am listening to old music. I just back from a water theme park called Jamberoo Recreation Park on the south coast of New South Wales. Switched on the computer, went to YouTube and started listening to some Bon Jovi demos.

Jon Bon Jovi back in 2007, described the song writing process as different people getting together for different reasons to make one big soup. Everybody involved adds a little ingredient by taking a little piece of this and a little piece of that and a little piece of another thing.

RIVER OF LOVE

It never made the “New Jersey” album and it is a tragedy that it didn’t get fleshed out and recorded properly. It’s got a basic foot tapping riff that sticks with you from the outset. For those keen fans, you will hear the riff groove re-used in “Save A Prayer”.

“Pretend I’m Valentino and you’re the beauty queen
Pretend we’re in some movie instead of faded jeans”

Does “Captain Crash and The Beauty Queen” come to mind to anyone? Each Bon Jovi song tries to capture that message of escaping from your current surroundings.

“River of love and a full moon high”.

Even in its demo form it has warmth. The music needs no tricks if it’s real.

Listen to the “Raise Your Hands” reference in the interlude. You could write a whole song based on that riff. Wait, they already did. Progress is derivative.

By the way, this is nothing like the “Richie Sambora” version that appeared on his “Stranger In This Town” album.

JUDGEMENT DAY and GROWING UP THE HARD WAY

Both songs begin with that whole “Na Na NaNaNa” in the same vein as “Born To Be My Baby”, “Rosie” and “Hide Your Heart” from Kiss. Both songs also share the same riff. Both songs are written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.

As with “River Of Love” these songs were recorded for the “New Jersey” album and they failed to make the cut. When a band is at their peak, they are able to churn out some great songs. The motivation is there to keep the machine rolling to see if the first round of success can be repeated. Writers from all walks of life also want to get their name in.

“On Judgement Day
You walk through the fire
Nowhere to run to, no one to blame
Hey, Hey, Hey
Winners and losers, sinners and users, will all have to pay
On Judgement Day”

What a great chorus. In the end, that is it, we all have to walk through the fire. If our life was lived to our expectations there is no one to blame except ourselves.

They should have kept “Born To Be My Baby” as an acoustic song and then brought in one of these songs into the mix, however that was not to be. Especially when the label decided against the double album idea put forth by the band.

In “Growing Up The Hard Way” the verse melody and the phrasing was re-used for a certain song called “Hey God”. Remember my catch cry, “Progress is derivative.”

“Growin’ up the hard way, learnin’ how to live with the pain,
The weight of the world on your shoulders,
I guess that’s just the price that you pay.
Growin’ up the hard way, it’s gettin’ harder every day,
Lying in a bed made of fire,
Praying to God for some rain.
Growin’ up the hard way.”

This song reminds of the saying, “you live and die by the bed you made”. The main characters in this song made choices. One ended up on the streets, running away from an abusive family and the other ended up at the morgue. Guess they didn’t learn how to live with the pain.

In relation to the three demos mentioned above, I really thought that they would have seen the light of day “officially” when Bon Jovi released “100,000,000 Fans Cant Be Wrong” Box Set.

IF I WAS YOUR MOTHER

It is written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. It’s a Bob Rock production so of course the sound is huge. Richie’s song writing input on the “Keep The Faith” album was limited as he was out touring on his solo record, however when he did contribute it was of high quality.

Man, this song is heavy and it has got some serious groove. What a great vocal melody. I saw them play it live on the “Keep The Faith Tour” and it rocked hard. The lyrical themes let this song down. The subject matter is weak and that is what stops it from being a powerhouse of a song.

On the Bon Jovi Vevo channel the song has had 482,316 views. Compared to other songs, it pales, however it is a cult favourite.

LETS MAKE IT BABY

“Let’s Make It Baby” reminds me of “The Doors”. It is written by the Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child song writing team. It didn’t make the “New Jersey” album, however the bass line was used again in “Diamond Ring” (which was originally written for the “New Jersey” album however it was officially released on the “These Days” album.

“Lets Make It Baby” had to be written so that the Child, Sambora and Jovi could end up writing “Bad Medicine.” It was the stepping stone.

Various posts on the internet state that the original “New Jersey” album was supposed to have the following track list;
Disc 1
1. Love Is War
2. Let’s Make It Baby
3. Judgment Day
4. River of Love
5. Now and Forever
6. Growing Up the Hard Way
7. Does Anybody Really Fall in Love Anymore
8. Rosie
Disc 2
1. Homebound Train
2. Wild Is the Wind
3. Living in Sin
4. Blood o Blood
5. Backdoor to Heaven
6. Love Hurts
7. Stick to Your Guns
8. Love for Sale

Of course it is absent of four dead set classics in “Lay Your Hands On Me”, “Bad Medicine”, “Born To Be My Baby” and “I’ll Be There For You”. Also missing is “99 In The Shade”.

There is an “unofficial” argument that happens in music circles. One side argues that it is all about “Quality Not Quantity” when it comes to songwriting, while the other side argues that “Quantity Makes Quality”. I sit on the side that argues that quantity makes quality and it is obvious that Bon Jovi also sits on that same side.

WEDDING DAY

It is a derivative version of “I’ll Be There For You”. “Wedding Day” was written for the “These Days” album, however it didn’t make the final cut. As with “I Want You” similar themes from this song were also used for “Always”. It is written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.

The song is like a sleeper demo hit on YouTube. Various channels have it up. One channel called “Bonjocifanlol” has 247,578 views for the song. Another channel called “Paganini Jovi” has 93,474 views. Another channel called “ladybonjovi2007” has 69,230 views. Combined this is 410,282 views from three YouTube channels. Compared to an officially released song, like “If I Was Your Mother” having only 482,316, the “Wedding Day” numbers are pretty good.

Then the comments from various YouTube users show their connection to the song:

One user wrote that their childhood sweetheart married another guy and they are now listening to the song and thinking of all the happy days they had, however there is a sadness in their soul right now.

Another user wrote that they got married to this song, which is bizarre as the song is not really a song to play on your wedding day as it talks about a lost love.

Some of the lyrics made it into another Bon Jovi song called “Janie Don’t Take Your Love To Town”.

“If I aint smart enough to say I’m sorry
Just because the words got in the way”

It is a song that deserves to be re-recorded and given the full production treatment. That is what Bon Jovi should do for 2014. Go back and flesh out some of these gems in the studio and share them with the fans each fortnight. I am sure there are 26 songs in the archives, that can get this treatment.

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Headed For A Heartbreak

Blame Beavis and Butthead. Blame Grunge. The truth is a bit more complex.

Winger was good. Real good, however the band suffered the same unjust fate as all the other Eighties bands. Billy Squire made one ridiculous video with a pink top. A pink top that was recommended by a plethora of enablers, including record label execs. And just like that an amazing voice, with a catalog of songs was gone.

Winger had Kip Winger. A Playgirl pictorial was too outlandish and as glam music was committing suicide by cloning itself over and over again and despite Kip being a great musician, Beavis and Butthead came along and trashed the band. Metallica threw darts at Kip Winger while they recorded the “Black” album.

“Headed For A Heartbreak” is a hell of a good song. On the “Official Winger” YouTube channel the song has 1,506,304 views. On the “80’s Metal Videos” channel it has 347,590 views. On another channel, a live version that appeared on MTV has 245,624 views. On Spotify the song has 173,229 streams.

The song is written by Kip Winger, however it is the performances from the band that captured the imagination and connected on all levels. “Madalaine” was the first single and it failed to get traction. The the track “Seventeen” came out and interest in the band started to grow and while it softened all the hard heads to Winger, it was “Headed For A Heartbreak” that sealed the deal commercially. This business model worked well during this time. Who knew that in 5 years time the band would be headed for a heartbreak.

MTV was king of the airwaves and most people owned little music. The CD’s remained expensive so people only purchased with they really loved or saw as great. Then we would go to the show to hear the songs. Now we only have time for the best. When an album is released we can cherry pick what we like and in a lot of cases it isn’t the single that the record label decided to go with.

People are quick to blame piracy for all the issues currently happening in the music business however the truth is that the audience has outgrown the album format. Why should that outdated format work for us, especially when we can go on YouTube or Spotify to get the hit song we desire.

The audience is king today. Not the artist, not the songwriter, not the record label or the producer. That is why the cycle is so fast. Albums come and by three to four weeks they are gone. Except the real good ones. In the eighties, the big effort was marketing and getting people to buy the record. Today it is all about getting people to listen to the music over and over again.

Winger’s debut didn’t come from out of nowhere. Kip Winger did his time as a songwriter and studio session musician working very closely with Beau Hill who would of course go on to produce the first two Winger albums that went platinum. It is during those studio sessions that he came across Reb Beach. It was still going to be another 4 years before the self titled Winger album was released.

So Winger did time with Alice Cooper’s band, recording and writing two albums. Then in 1987, he left to form Sahara which would go on to become Winger after Alice Copper suggested it.

Guitarist Reb Beach is a graduate from the esteemed Berklee College of Music. He also did his time in backing bands and studio work, until he met up with Kip Winger and started writing demos.

Drummer Rod Morgenstein was the most experienced. Active since joining jazz fusion legends “The Dixie Dregs” in 1974, he was a very accomplished drummer to bring into the fold.

Keyboard player and back up guitarist Paul Taylor was the x factor. He was the touring keyboardist for Aldo Nova during his “Fantasy” success. He did his time with Alice Cooper’s backing band at the same time with Kip Winger and played on the “Constrictor” and “Raise Your Fist and Yell” albums.

Winger like Night Ranger was a pseudo super group of musicians that connected on all levels and it’s important to mention this point to all the wannabe musicians out there.

Another important point to mention is that the songs that made up the debut album were written during a 3 year period by musicians that had experience and that had lived. I rate Winger the same as White Lion, however Winger did have a better all star team, whereas White Lion had Vito Bratta and to some extent Mike Tramp.

Winger is a band that has the songs that you can play forever. In a world that is suffering from information overload, Winger produced a body of work that we can all continue to listen to. Go on Spotify and check them out. Go on YouTube and check them out. Focus on the music and not on the pretty boy images put out there in the video clips.

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John Sykes

How do you follow-up “Still Of The Night, Bad Boys, Give Me All Your Love and Is This Love”?

You don’t. You change tact and form a super group with musicians that have some real rock credentials.

Forming a new band or going solo (depending on how people see the Blue Murder project) after being fired from Whitesnake before the huge success of the 1987 self-titled album, John Sykes believed the world was his oyster. Surrounded by the expertise of John Kalodner and a big money offer from Geffen Records, he believed he would have instant success now that he could play by his own rules.

However that was not to be. The Blue Murder self-titled debut got stiffed from the outset, due to the Geffen label bosses doing everything to please David Coverdale. David Coverdale even threatened to withhold the next Whitesnake album if the label didn’t pull its marketing of the Blue Murder project.

The self-titled Blue Murder album is a classic album. It was an accumulation of who John Sykes was at the time. Can’t say much about the pirate swash buckling image, however the music was epic and majestic. The songs. First class.

It is a shame that it is not on Spotify, however the follow-up “Nothin But Trouble” is on Spotify along with a folk band called Blue Murder. If you don’t own or haven’t heard it before, go to YouTube and you can hear the full album in a high quality stream.

Released in 1989 it was produced by Bob Rock. It kicks off with “Riot”. There is so much intensity and drama in this song and I remember when I heard John Sykes’s vocals, I was like damn, this guy can sing. I couldn’t believe that John Sykes considered getting someone else to do vocals.

It contains the majestic “Valley Of The Kings” which ironically was co-written with Tony Martin. Of course, if you listen to the Black Sabbath album “The Headless Cross” with Martin singing, you will hear a lot of similar melodies to “Valley Of The Kings”.

“You’re workin’, slavin
Into death every day
Set us free”

Depending on how people view a 9 to 5 job, not much has changed since the time of the Pharoah kings.

How heavy is “Ptolemy”? What about that groove!

“Black Hearted Woman” is co-written by with Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin and it is a derivative version of “Children Of The Night” and “You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again” from Whitesnake.

“Out Of Love” is the result when John Sykes combined “Is This Love” and “Looking For Love”.

“Billy” is the Thin Lizzy influence coming through.

It’s nine songs and no filler, however this great album was still eclipsed by the work that John Sykes did with David Coverdale.

Look at the track list to the John Sykes “Bad Boy Live” CD, and you will see “Bad Boys”, “Crying In The Rain”, “Is This Love” and “Still Of The Night” on the track list. Those songs still get played live by Whitesnake and by John Sykes.

Listening to Blue Murder it doesn’t sound dated. The music has lost none of its power in the decades that have passed. That is the power of the riff and John Sykes was damn good at creating an awesome riff.

The album is heavy without being bleak. You can listen to it while driving and you can listen to it in the comfort of your home. It reminds me of a time when music ruled.

It is such a shame that the Blue Murder album got stiffed by David Coverdale playing record label politics and it’s follow up “Nothin But Trouble” got stiffed by the record label playing grunge politics. While “Nothing But Trouble” didn’t have the same impact has its predecessors, it is still a very satisfying album and it’s a John Sykes album I still listen to today.

“You promise heaven, but hell is all I see
(Mojo rising on the wind)
If there’s a lord above
Come rescue me
(Mojo rising on the wind)”

Any song that starts of with the above lyrics has my attention. “Cry For Love” is another derivative version of the “Valley Of The Kings”, “Crying In The Rain” and “Still Of The Night” style that John Sykes is renowned for, however it doesn’t sound like a forgery.

“We All Fall Down” is Thin Lizzy heaven and this track would have satisfied all fans of Thin Lizzy in John’s vocal delivery and lyrical style.

“I Need An Angel” is one of the best power ballads that John Sykes has composed.

“Runaway” is a clichéd lyrical theme however there is nothing clichéd about the song and it’s delivery.

“Dance”, “I’m On Fire” and “Love Child” are no different to “Sex Child” and “Jelly Roll” from the debut.

All of these songs can stand on their own. Anyone that listen’s today, cannot help but nod their head and tap their foot, because the music is so good!

It’s the guitar work, it’s hypnotic, it’s majestic, it’s all riff-a-delicious, it’s heavy, it’s melodic and it’s passionate. It’s like Sykes didn’t care who was paying attention, he was just going to go off and do his thing. If he wanted to chuck in a 2 minute guitar solo, he would.

So it is 1994 and John Sykes is without a record deal. What does he do next? He goes solo. In a gatekeeper controlled market, interest in John Sykes was still high in Japan and Europe. The U.S market got pushed onto the grunge and alternative band wagon. Hard Rock fans had to pay top dollar for imports to satisfy their musical needs. What can I say, the people who run the record labels are complete idiots.

In 1995, “Out Of My Tree” drops. I didn’t hear this album until Napster hit in 1999. I couldn’t justify paying the $80 for it in Australia, just because it was a Japanese import. So when Napster hit the Australian shoreline, John Sykes was the first name I searched out and to my delight, I found all the songs that made up the “Out Of My Tree”, “20th Century” and “Loveland” albums.

“Soul Stealer” opens the album with a very sleazy and groovy riff. Again it is derivative and it is perfect. There is a swing and it’s infectious. “I Don’t Want To Live My Life Like You” is next, with it’s very punky Sex Pistols vibe and super catchy chorus.

“Standing At The Crossroads” channels the spirit of Jimi Hendrix. Following that is the slow “I Don’t Believe In Anything”. It sounds psychedelic, very Beatles like and it sounds like it came from an era when everything on an album didn’t sound the same. It’s not a glam rock or pop metal power ballad. It is jazzy and the bass line is even funky. You believe that Sykes truly feels it. It’s structure is classic rock all the way, with a verse, chorus, lead break, back to the chorus and we are only half way through the song.

The piece de resistance is “Black Days”. It harkens back to the classic rock riffs that John Sykes creates. The groove behind the music is undeniable. It gets the foot tapping and the head tapping. It’s got a small drum solo, a classic Sykes solo and a slow, “Whole Lotta Love” style breakdown, before building up to that epic riff. Then we get a classic outro complete with Sykes soloing over a repeating vocal line and the drums building it up nicely until they are in a double time frenzy.

“Jesus and Mary” has an ascending riff like Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”. The lyrics let the song down in my opinion as the music is so good.

“Do Or Die” is a derivative version of “We All Fall Down” and “If You Ever Need Love” is a derivative version of “Is This Love”.

John Sykes even reformed Thin Lizzy as a tribute to Phil Lynott however some of his best work is on albums that have more or less been wiped from the map. Everyone should check those albums out.

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