Tag Archives: Copyright

A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Copyright, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories

The “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” Effect – Another Progress Is Derivative Example

The history of metal and rock music occurred because of some serious copying. My favourite saying has always been that all “progress is derivative.” What I mean by this term, is that all the music we love is an amalgamation of music that has come before. In a lot of the cases, this amalgamation involved some serious copying. To use a common term that is banded about today, the history of music as I know it involved a lot of “stealing.”

Previously, I posted on “The Kashmir Effect” in hard rock and heavy metal music. This was my take on the legacy that the Led Zeppelin song “Kashmir” had on hard rock and heavy metal.

In this post, I am focusing on that descending bass line that I first heard on the George Harrison penned “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” The way that it descends is that it goes down by a whole tone first and then four semi tones in a chromatic progression. So if the song was in the key of Am, then the progression would be A – G – F# – F – E

Since the Sixties, that descending passage has appeared in countless songs that are all seen as classics in this day and age.

Recently it was “Trial Of Tears” from Dream Theater that triggered this study into the descending bass line.

So where do we begin. The beauty of progress in music never begins in one place. It begins in many places and then there is always a creator or an artist that starts to bring it all together.

In one instance, it all started in the fifties when an unknown folk singer by the name of Anne Bredon wrote a song called “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You.” By 1962, Joan Baez had popularised the song.

In another instance, in 1966, an American band called The Loving Spoonful released a song called “Summer In The City”, that had a verse riff in the key of Cm that descended.

Also in that same year, a British band called The Kinks released “Sunny Afternoon.”

Both songs have a lot of similarities, especially that descending bass line. Back in those days it was common for artists to release similar sounding songs across two continents, or for artists to cover a song that was popular on one continent and unheard of in the other.

In 1967, the mighty Cream released “Tales Of Brave Ulysses” another “progress is derivative” gem that featured a similar bass line to The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City” and a vocal melody inspired by Judy Collins’ version of Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne.”

Then in 1968 came “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” by The Beatles with a definitive guitar solo from Eric Clapton, who had more or less worked out a similar solo the previous year on the “Tales Of Brave Ulysses” song.

So at this point in time, you have two separate stages of music happening. The US “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You and Summer In The City” stage and The British “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” stage.

In 1969, another British band by the name of Led Zeppelin took these two stages and merged them together in their re-interpretation of “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”. A perfect example of progress being derivative.

That is how the language of music is learned. We imitate our influences. Some will call it “theft” and others will call it “inspiration.” In the end, there is a saying that goes something like “Talent Imitates, True Genius Steals.”

However, the “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” effect doesn’t end there. An American band called Chicago more or less copied the aggressive part of Led Zeppelin’s version of “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” for their song “25 or 6 to 4.”

It was just another song that proved successful using the same descending bass line that I will always know as the “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” bass line.

So moving on, in 1971, The Grass Roots released “Temptation Eyes”. Another song that proved successful that was tied up with the descending bass line and the “Summer In The City” groove established years earlier.

Culture is all about emulation. Copyright is about governments intervening and this is when Copyright started to become a force to be reckoned with.

Up until 1971, music culture had 11 years of unbelievable progress by copying what came before and making it better. Look at the quality of music released around a descending bass line.

It didn’t end there. I am sure there are many other examples in between, however to my knowledge the next time the “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” effect was heard occurred in 1975. At this time Styx released “Suite Madame Blue.”

The Eighties had a real pop element to it.

Then in 1993, I purchased an album called “Countdown To Extinction” from Megadeth. The opening track, Skin Of My Teeth had a chorus riff that reminded me of The Beatles classic. Dave Mustaine was well known for taking his influences from the Seventies and converting them to thrash and metal music. He even got a mention for the Kashmir influence in the song “In My Darkest Hour.”

Then in 1995, Oasis released “She’s Electric” and there it was again. The “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” effect was in action again in the Nineties after going largely unnoticed in the Eighties.

Green Day then released “Brain Stew” in 1996 and there it was again, the definitive descending bass line.

The following year, 1997 saw two releases that had the “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” descending bass line. This time is was progressive masters, Dream Theater and their song “Trial Of Tears”. Pop rock band Texas also had a song called “Black Eyed Boy.”

Remember songs are not created in vacuums.

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

The War Between Streaming and Black Box Revenue – Will The Record Labels Kill The Streaming Star?

The public has voted. It prefers streaming. The war is over. Case Closed. Maybe not.

Spotify pays millions to copyright holders. Now unless the artist is a DIY artist who controls their own copyright, most of the copyright holders are the major labels. So if the major labels are getting the millions each year for the blanket license to access their catalogues, where is that money going.

There is a term doing the round, called “Black Box Revenue.” This is the name given to income that the record labels collect that cannot be directly tracked to the recordings of a specific artist.

To put it all into context, streaming services pay the labels and upfront fee to access their catalogues. In addition, they then pay the labels royalties for each stream.

In time, this streaming system will be challenged by artists, much the same way the mp3 sales system was challenged by Eminem and other artists like Whitesnake, Rob Zombie and the band White Zombie.

In all of these cases, the artists said that their record label violated their contracts by counting a digital download as a sale instead of a licensing. Most artists get a royalty of 10 percent for the sale of a CD, minus a lot of deductions, while licenses pay a royalty of 50 percent and in most cases are not subject to any deductions.

When the same thing happens to the labels streaming revenue, the long-term viability of streaming services will be less than certain.

The main part of streaming that the critics and the record labels fail to understand is that it is a tool that is in place now, to PROVIDE REVENUE STREAMS later.

Of course the record labels and the executives in charge are all about the NOW, and a lot of their label rosters are designed for the NOW, so they don’t have time to allow things to grow. Spotify is growing in users, however the company still hasn’t made a profit after so many years in operation. The streaming system employed by the record labels that I mentioned above doesn’t allow it to make a profit.

Spotify wants to reduce piracy to ZERO. At the moment the critics of Spotify like Thom Yorke are complaining that it simply doesn’t pay enough. The truth is, creators have always been ripped off. However, if a song is great and it gets some traction, expect it to pay well.

Daft Punk passed 100 million downloads. The $700,000 that comes with that in streaming payments is enough for a band to live off, however artists see very little of the dollars paid to the record labels for the right to stream their content.

However with YouTube dominating in music, why do people need Spotify? Actually, Thom Yorke has no issues with YouTube, an unofficial streaming platform which is interesting. So I am thinking that Thom Yorke’s issue is with the record labels stake in Spotify.

Personally, I am quite content to listen to three songs on Spotify and get an ad break. I have no interest in paying for a package even if Spotify caps the limit of free songs I can listen to in a month. I will just move to YouTube when that happens, or to my iTunes library or to my physical collection of LP’s and CD’s.

What about the songwriters who write the songs? How do they get paid in the streaming age. It’s simple. They get paid, the same way everyone else gets paid that provides a service. Songwriters need to stop being greedy. What they need to do is hand in the song, get paid the agreed monies and off they go, writing more songs for artists. If a songwriter gets paid $1000 for each song they hand in, then they know they need to write 50 songs in order to earn $50,000. If one of the songs gets traction and gets 100 million streams, the songwriters should be using that as a piece of promotion and up their song writing fee. It’s simple business practices.

It is a revolution that we are experiencing.

Musicians can still make a living. Is it harder now compared to the past? My answer is NO. Musicians always had to work hard to get somewhere, that part hasn’t changed and it will never change.

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

Rock N Roll Lessons from a Clothing Billionaire and a D.I.Y band like Digital Summer

Article on Zara Billionaire

All of our Rock N Roll heroes should read the above article. For those that don’t want to click on the link I will sum up the lessons that all rock n roll and heavy metal super stars or wannabe superstars can take from it.

First the backstory, Rosalia Mera is the co-founder of fashion giant Zara. At the time of her death at 69, she was estimated to be worth around US$6.1 billion thanks to her stake in the Zara chain. 

Focus On The Core

The article has the heading “Embrace what you know best.” Back in the 1960s, Mera and her former husband, Armancio Ortega, started a small clothing business producing lingerie and dressing gowns from their home. Mera focused on her core skill of being a seamstress.

Bands start getting traction by focusing on an audience that is similar to their core influences. This becomes the bands core audience. These are the people that will spread the word every chance they get. This is what bands should focus on. Songs that cross genres are songs that exceed the hopes and desires of the hard core audience.

Finding A Niche

By focusing on the core skill to create music which is a sum of their influences, in time this will lead to a niche. For the Zara founders, this didn’t happen overnight. It took about 15 years before it exploded.

The L.A Glam Scene was a sum of its influences. On one hand you had the American Classic Rock influences of Kiss, Journey, Styx, Aerosmith, REO Speedwagon, Boston, Alice Cooper and The New York Dolls. On the other hand you had the British influence in the form of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Sweet, Mott The Hoople, David Bowie, Rolling Stones and Judas Priest. These two worlds collide, with the addition of The Sex Pistols punk attitude and the LA Glam Scene is born.

You need to be prepared to live in your niche until you get lucky. Lucky comes to those who keep at it. The more art you create the  more opportunity to succeed. It’s always something that you didn’t want to do that ends up breaking through. Nothing is a waste of time.

Everyone says Metallica’s breakthrough happened with the Black album. I say it happened with Metallica creating a video clip for the song One. Suddenly, you had them on MTV. This was something they didn’t want to participate in originally.

The reason why music exploded in the Seventies and the early Eighties is that record companies didn’t ask the band for a hit single. The bands got the money and the Record Labels hoped that the band delivered. That is why the gatekeeper model was born. The Record Labels needed to select people that they believed in. One thing is clear, the Record Labels steered clear of the creative process.

Get the name right

Zara was going to be called Zorba originally. Can you imagine that, a fashion label with a very masculine name. Can you imagine Queensryche as The Mob or Def Leppard spelt as Deaf Leopard?

What about Van Halen as Mammoth or Night Ranger as Stereo or just Ranger?

What about Bon Jovi as Johnny Electric or Aerosmith as The Hookers or Spike Jones or Led Zeppelin as The New Yardbirds or Lead Balloon?

If Dream Theater came out with the name Majesty on their first release, I would have been dismissive, as that name alone puts a preconceived notion of a Lord Of The Rings style band in the style of Blind Guardian or a Rainbow and Dragons band like Dio and to me, you can’t top Blind Guardian or Dio. However Dream Theater is perfect.

What about The Facebook vs. Facebook?

Getting the name right is crucial. Do your research? Get the spelling correct. Get it unique.

Lars Ulrich took the Metallica name from a friend of his who wanted to start up a metal fanzine. His friend provided Ulrich a list of names he was considering. Metallica is a combination of the words Metal and Britannica. The name stuck out so Ulrich recommended Metal Maniacs as the name of the fanzine and kept Metallica for himself. Motley Crue was going to be spelt to Motley Crew originally and then Motley Cru.

You need to be willing to adapt if the name is already taken. I am sure there are many of other bands out there that have had different names.

Art can last forever, so you need to have the name to last with it. To put it into prospective, does anybody remember who was the richest person in the Seventies. Of course not. Everybody with money has been forgotten after they die. However, ask anyone on the street if they remember John Lennon, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan, The Who, Keith Moon, The Eagles and so on.

Does anyone remember Al Coury? He was a record executive back in the seventies. He recently passed away, almost unknown by the masses. If I ask the question if anyone remembers the soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever” I am sure everyone will be saying YES. He was the person behind it, the mastermind. Those songs are forever, the artists are forever, however Al Coury is unknown.

In the current era, it will be the tech heads that will be remembered. They are the new artists like Steve Jobs with the iPod, iPhone, iMac and iPad.

Mixing friendship and business can be trouble.

The actual title was mixing love and business can be fraught. In the Zara example, Mera and Ortega created an empire, and had two kids during it. However by 1986, they separated. One stayed on in charge while the other became a board member.

In a band context, transpose the love part for friendships. All bands are a bunch of friends jamming with each other in the beginning. Then they start to get traction. Then they start to make money. Then they get outside influences. Then the arguments start. One person does more than the other, so why should the other person get the same amount of money and so forth. One person is the main songwriter however the other people in the band want to be credited as well.

Then there is still the mindset of the Seventies and Eighties were successful musicians are portrayed as rich, however that is so far from the truth. The musicians were in debt to their label, so they had to work and create to pay it all off, which meant getting even more into debt. So that leads to the current situation were musicians are not satisfied with their incomes. Everyone is always comparing themselves to others that are earning more.

Don’t Give Up Your Rights

Copyright was designed to protect the artist. However, as soon as the Recording Industry started to grow, business people came out from their corporate offices and stuck their claws into Copyright and now you have these same business people defending the copyright monopoly, while they are robbing artists and their fans dry. These same defenders of the copyright monopoly are laughing all the way to the bank while exploiting the system in a legal way.

Artists create not because they can make money off it as individuals, but because of who we are. We have been creative creatures from the start of civilisation. 

Be A Voice

The article had the title of “Use your power for good.” The Zara founder was a voice for topics close to her heart. In this case, it was questioning Government policies and trying to raise awareness on the loss of education services. Of course, the more money you have, the better the platform from which you can speak from. However, even a small artist can make a difference.

Piracy is a term that is screamed out by the rich corporations. However where is the voice of the artist on this subject.

The Live Business is overpriced and it needs a reset, however artists are blaming everyone else except themselves. The problem is, no wants to upset anyone.

The frequently heard notion that you don’t create culture if you’re not paid for it comes from those who exploit artists, and never from artists themselves. Artists need to speak up.

Enjoy what you have

Enjoy your life. Socialise, be seen. Life is too short, so enjoy your family. It’s not about the number of digits in the bank account.

Digital Summer to me is a band that enjoys what they have. They are professional musicians who also manage to maintain additional professional careers. Digital Summer is building a career without the support of a record label. When they began back in 2006 (before the explosion of social media), it was all about burning CD’s, passing them out and getting their name out. So when social media became the new marketing platform, the band took the same grassroots self-promotion into the digital realm. They know have established their name and they are still working hard to keep that name afloat.

http://hardrockdaddy.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/independent-artist-spotlight-digital-summer/

Read the above interview, it is essential reading for any DIY artist.

I really like the part when the band is talking about being on the road with signed bands. It was an eye opener to see bands with number 1 singles struggling financially. It squashed any perception they had of the rock star lifestyles and it made them realise that they can do all of that and still have the freedom and full control of the band.

The other part of interest is that the band is 100% fan funded. The professional careers the members have outside the band fund their home lives and the band career funds the band. Their latest album Breaking Point was funded via Kickstarter. They had a project goal of $25,000 and by the time the campaign was over, they had raised over $51,000. I have all of their albums, so you can say that I am a fan. The band is basically a machine running itself. Whatever money the band makes goes back into the band.

Another interesting part is the balance between their professional careers and touring. As the band answers, “it’s tough, but we make it work”. That is how it always has been for a musician. It’s a tough gig, how hard do you want to work at it.

One thing that I took out of the interview is the honesty of the band. This alone speaks of the integrity.

They formed a company called Victim Entertainment, that they use to publish anything that is Digital Summer. They have a business model that sets out what the individual roles are of each member. They even had feelers from other signed bands and Grammy winning artists asking if they could sign with Victim Entertainment. They answered NO, because it will take away from Digital Summer. Remember point one in this post, Focus on the CORE. I am sure other artists would have said YES, as the prospect of riches could be too much to ignore.

They have a substantial social media following. They even mentioned that the word of mouth from fans alone has brought them tons of new fans. Their social media presence brings in an income which they use to advertise and promote the band. That’s right kiddies, they are not spending their money on drugs, football team franchises or million dollar penthouses. They are spending it on the band.

Their focus was always the live show. That is why they have been on big tours. The final part of the interview is about what advice would Digital Summer give to other hard rock artists who want to remain independent. This is their answer;

Be ready to work your ass off!  The more you put in, the more you will get out. Never settle for promoting your shows on Facebook or text messages only. A lot of people don’t check that shit anyway (especially with Facebook constantly changing). Spend a little bit of cash, get some decent flyers printed, record a decent quality demo, and get your ass out there on the street and physically hand stuff out! You meet a lot of cool and interesting people doing this too.  Just remember, not everyone is going to like it, and some may put it down, but at least you’re getting your name out there one step at a time.

Know The Truth

Don’t get caught up in the saga of how artists will be paid. You are an artist so keep on creating. We live in a market economy. Everybody is responsible for finding a way to make money by providing value that somebody else wants to pay for.

Once artists start making some money from their art they will eventually become entrepreneurs. That means that you have to offer something which somebody else wants to buy. Writing a song and releasing it, doesn’t mean that people have to buy it to hear it.

Know the truth that business is business, and there is nothing that entitles an entrepreneur to sales. You need to work hard at it.

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Copyright, Music, Piracy, Stupidity, Treating Fans Like Shit

Queensryche – Operation Mindcrime

A telephone rings twice.   Nikki walks over to the phone and picks it up.
“Hello,” answers Nikki.
“Mindcrime, Mindcrime,” is the reply from the other end.
The music behind it sounds sinister.  In a panic, Nikki hangs up.  He is disorientated.  The words are strange and yet familiar.  His hands are shaking.  The phone rings again.  Don’t pick it up he tells himself.  Don’t do it.  What he is thinking and what he is doing are two different things.  They are out of sync.  He picks up the phone…

I added the above, in an attempt to describe how Operation Mindcrime (the song) begins.  It is a song written by Chris DeGarmo, Geoff Tate and Michael Wilton.  To be fair to Wilton, he has had his share in co-writing some Queensryche classics (Empire is one song that comes to mind immediately), however compared to the quality output of DeGarmo, it pales. 

In order to explain where Operation Mindcrime (the song) fits into the story arc, I need to back track a little bit.  Nikki, is a heroin addict who is manipulated into joining an underground organization dedicated to revolution (this is the Revolution Calling song).  At the head of this organization is Dr. X, a man who manipulated Nikki by feeding his heroin addiction, while at the same time brainwashing him in the process.  Whenever Dr. X says the word “Mindcrime” Nikki becomes his servant, his puppet, a catatonic mental state which Dr. X uses to his advantage, by commanding Nikki to undertake any murder that the Doctor wishes.

It just takes a minute
And you’ll feel no pain
Gotta make something of your life boy
Give me one more vein
You’ve come to see the doctor
Cause I’ll show you the cure
I’m gonna take away the questions
Yeah I’m gonna make you sure

A hit man for the order
When you couldn’t go to school
Had a skin job for a hair-do
Yeah you looked pretty cool
Had a habit doing mainline
Watch the dragon burn
No regrets, you’ve got no goals
Nothing more to learn

Story telling in music.  This song came out in 1988.  How relevant does it sound today.  Just think of all the current Islamic terrorists.  They are normal kids, from poor backgrounds, that are all looking for a place where they can belong.  They are perfect prey for the religious demi gods looking to turn them into weapons, to turn them into puppets and servants, so that they carry out their bidding. 

Here’s a gun take it home
Wait by the phone
We’ll send someone over
To bring you what you need
You’re a one man death machine
Make this city bleed

How many cities have bled from the actions of a few individuals.  Operation Mindcrime deals with death by assassination, in real life, death by terror is what we are confronted with. 

As much as Operation Mindcrime is a story, you can go as far as to call it a prophecy.  A vision of a future where the democratic governments, become far from democratic.  Where our Government elected officials serve the Corporations, instead of the people that voted them in.  The lyrics in Speak state the same, “the rich control the government, the media the law”. 

These days, people do more jail time and pay more fines for Copyright infringements, then people smugglers, then drug smugglers, then murderers and rapists do.   How can that be so?  The answer is easy.  Copyright is controlled by the Corporations, and who do the Corporations control, the Government.  The Government even granted the Corporations a Government granted monopoly. 

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Copyright, Music, My Stories

Danny Stag – Guitar World – September 1989

The interview below (in italics) appeared in the September 1989 issue of Guitar World.  It was written by Brad Tolinski.

Kingdom Come lead guitarist Danny Stag speaks with the humility of a man who knows he’s been blessed. ‘”It was a mind blower” he says, describing last summers’ Monsters Of Rock tour.   “Our U.S. debut was in front of 40,000 people.  Some bands only get to do that a couple of times in their whole careers, and many never get that chance at all.  We did a whole tour to those numbers.” 

We got short changed in Australia.  We never got these mega bills of super star bands.  I remember buying Circus, Metal Edge and Hit Parader and reading about the Monsters of Rock tour.  It had Kingdom Come opening, followed by Metallica, then Dokken, then Scorpions and the mighty Van Halen headlining.  Kingdom Come formed in 1987, taking musicians from various other rock groups that were paying their dues on the club circuit.  By 1988 they had gone multi-platinum with their debut and are playing to 40,000 people. It was this kind of ride to the top, that a lot of kids expected to happen to them once they formed bands.   When it didn’t happen within one to two years, they would call it quits.  

On the tour with Stag were some of rock s most lauded guitarists, including the legendary Edward Van Halen. When asked whether he found such fast company intimidating, Stag launches into an illuminating examination of his roots.  “I realized that I was the only a blues based player,” he says. “Rather than competing, I was playing in my own ball game. My tastes run more towards Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Jimi Hendrix.  People don’t usually think of Hendrix as a blues traditionalist, but I feel he was one of the masters, maybe the ultimate.” 

As an aspiring guitarist, this is what I wanted to read.  Who influenced the people that are influencing me?  Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Willie Dixon.  Back in 1989, I had never heard of those players.  There is that name again Jimi Hendrix.  His name just kept on popping up in interviews from the Eighties.   

Although one wouldn’t immediately detect the Mississippi Delta in the arena rock anthems of Kingdom Come, interludes like the funky acoustic intro to “Highway 6,” off their latest, In Your Face, suggest a refreshing depth and sense of history.  Stag is pleasantly forthright and even passionate about his music and his influences. However, he makes only brief mention of the band Kingdom Come is most often compared to Led Zeppelin.  How valid does Stag see those comparisons to be?

“I must admit, I used to scratch my head in disbelief when people compared me to Page.  He was an influence, but not a big one.  I really liked Zeppelin’s first two albums, but I didn’t care that much for what followed.  I think younger people are missing the Hendrix part of my playing because they aren’t as familiar with him as they are with Page.” 

“This Led Zeppelin/Kingdom Come comparison has been blown way out of proportion. Some of it comes from the way Lenny (Wolf, Kingdom Come’s vocalist) sings, but if you listen to Lenny and Robert Plant back-to-back you’ll find they don’t sound anything a like.  Plant’s voice has completely different tonal qualities.  Maybe we come out sounding like Zeppelin when everything is mixed with our drummer, who plays a monster back beat.  It’s hard to escape the fact that Zeppelin created certain hard-rock conventions that every band uses.” 

“But you could accuse Hendrix of ripping off Muddy Waters,” says Stag with increasing irritation. “Voodoo Chile is a lot like Water’s (I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man.  The Beatles were influenced by Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers.  The difference is, the Beatles and Hendrix did variations on the music they loved and their influences were more like tributes. Paying respect to your musical forefathers is part of a long tradition.   Ex-Zepsters Page, Plant and John Paul Jones, who’ve been openly hostile to bands like Kingdom Come and Whitesnake, should perhaps re-examine the condition of their glass houses.  It’s fairly common knowledge that Led Zeppelin brazenly borrowed, almost note-for-note, several Chess-label classics.”

“Whole Lotta Love, one of their biggest hits, was proven in a court of law to have been taken directly—without permission or subsequent knowledge—from a Willie Dixon tune.  After I read an interview with Page where he accused me of stealing from him, I wanted to do a solo album and call it Houses of The Bitter.  I’d record Whole Lotta Love, I Can’t Quit You and You Shook Me and write in huge letters who really wrote those tunes.  To be influenced like we’ve been is one thing, but to steal songs without acknowledgement is another.”

“I don’t know.  Maybe some of the bad blood started when a journalist misquoted me.  This guy told Page that I claimed to never having heard Led Zeppelin.  That’s obviously absurd and Jimmy would have a right to feel ticked off.”

Back in September 1989, this was a shock to read.  Led Zeppelin borrowing songs from other artists and passing it off as their own.  These days, I am older and wiser, but back then I was green.  They even stole the intro riff to Stairway To Heaven and failed to acknowledge it.  I have said it many times, musicians are the sum of their influences.  No music is created in a vacuum.  Kingdom Come is very similar to the hard rock version of Led Zeppelin and they hit pay dirt with that similarity.  The audience wanted Led Zeppelin to be around.  Since Led Zep was not around, other bands stepped up like Whitesnake and Kingdom Come to fill the void.  The audience lapped it up, sending these bands to the top of the charts.   

Stag sounds defensive but he doesn’t need to be.  His manic, hormonally charged soloing, aggressive pick attack and tightly would vibrato remain distinctive whether filtered through a single coil Strat pick up, a fat sounding Les Paul or a plain old acoustic Martin. 

“I never work out solos,” says Stag.  “I just wait til I’m inspired.  Then I have the engineers crank the music real loud in the control room and I go for it.  I just shut my eyes and improvise.  It’s like a short burst of emotion.  When you want to comment on something, you use the words available to you in your vocabulary.  Soloing is like that with me.  I’m commenting on what’s happening musically by reaching into my built up musical vocabulary of licks and scales and use whatever is relevant.  I don’t worry about how it’s going to work, it’s just a feel thing.”  

I used to read the comments from guitarists who said they never worked their solos out with a grain of salt.  My idol Randy Rhoads worked his solo’s out and he created masterpieces, Vito Bratta the same.  Solos are meant to add to the song.  This is what guitarists forgot towards the late eighties.  In saying that, Stag’s leads where good on the ear.  By having a musical vocabulary, he had that knowledge to work out the solos on the fly. 

To translate that feeling in the studio, Stag uses a 1962 Stratocaster with a bridge-position humbucker, in tandem with a 50-watt Marshall head. All of Stag’s Stage effects are by T.C. Electronics.  “My system is pretty simple. The 2290 has five effects loops, and they’re completely programmable.  Most of the time I just use a little delay panned so that two of my cabinets are dry and two are wet. I keep the dry cabinets so I never lose punch.  I have some parametric eq’s, but I only use them on one song and a couple of solos.  They help emphasize my single-coil sound.”

How minimal the set up?  That is what Rock N Roll is all about.  Plug the guitar into the amp, turn it up and bash away.  These days, the guitar rigs are a plethora of schematics. 

Now that Kingdom Come has comfortably settled into star status, what does the future hold for Stag?  
“I’d like to experiment more with sound, like the weird stuff Hendrix was doing on Axis: Bold As Love. I don’t really think you lose your identity when you change tone or pickups; it’s what ‘s under the fingers. You could tell it was Hendrix whether he was playing clean or whether his sound was balls-to-the wall.  Having sound is everything, but having a sound is not.  Kingdom Come is close to taking its place alongside the great bands.  We’re like a Deep Purple, a Rainbow or a Led Zeppelin. We might not be as original as those guys were in their time, but we have that kind of musicianship. We’ve got the depth.”

The interview appeared in the September 1989 Guitar World issue.  It was obviously done around April / May 1989 when the In Your Face album was released.  Kingdom Come called it quits in August 1989.  So by the time the magazine hit the newsstands, Kingdom Come was no more.  They left us with two magical albums.  In Your Face is a very under rated album and it deserves more attention than what it got.  However that is for another day.     

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Copyright, Music

Creative Accounting = Piracy Losses

There is an excellent post over at the excellent Techdirt that talks about DRM’s in gaming and how it really doesn’t stop people from copying the game, however what it does do is hinder the real paying customers.

The part that got my attention is the comments about the losses due to piracy.  I am one of those people who doesn’t believe the crap the MPAA, RIAA and others spin on losses due to piracy.  If a movie comes out that i really want to watch, i will take my family and pay $80 to watch it.  If a band releases a song or an album that is worth buying, i will buy it.  There are also the bands that i buy before i even listen to a song.  I have a PAY TV subscription, that doesn’t cater for my needs and timetable, however i still keep it.

The reason why I am mentioning all of this, is that there are millions of others that are just like me.  Fans of art.  Fans of culture.  However, we the FANS of art are ignored by the legacy industries and their stupid lobby groups.  We the FANS are the PEOPLE and we form the PUBLIC.  We the PUBLIC are not mentioned when the legacy industries try to extend copyright or pass stupid far-reaching bills like SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, CISPA, etc…

In the post, the Super Meat Boy developer mentions that, “Team Meat shows no loss in our year end totals due to piracy and neither should any other developer.”

That’s the whole argument in a nutshell.  How many profit and loss statements or balance sheets are issued that show a loss due to piracy.   How can the record labels or movie studios quantify accurately what a piracy loss is, so that it can be an audited item on a balance sheet.

Commentor Josef Anvil suggested the following;

Since lawmakers have swallowed the “loss” argument from the content industry and want to pass more enforcement, then they should walk the walk.  They should begin allowing companies to write off their piracy losses on their taxes every year. One year of that and we would see if governments actually believed in those “losses”.

Can you imagine that?  A few years back the MPAA stated that piracy losses amounted to $58 billion.  Imagine the taxman seeing that amount as a loss on a profit and loss statement from Disney.  I am sure it will raise a few eyebrows.  Do you reckon the losses that Bon Jovi will get on their new album What About Now is due to piracy or due to a really bad album? 

What about the losses Disney suffered on John Carter?  It’s funny that when a movie is really bad the talk about piracy disappears.  $200 million is a lot of money to lose.  Let’s blame piracy.  The money that EA Games is going to lose over its stupid DRM on Sim City. Let’s blame piracy.  The money that Bon Jovi is going to lose over its crap album.  Let’s blame the pirates.

I remember seeing that Transformers 1 (T1) and (T2) where the most pirated movies over Bit Torrent.  Guess what T1 made $710M and T2 made $840M.  T3 wasn’t even on any all time torrent list and it made $1.3 Billion.  Why is that?

Maybe because the people that downloaded a torrent of T1 and T2 became fans and paid to watch T3.  Maybe those little kids that downloaded T1 and T2 because their parents wouldn’t take them to watch it, became fans and are now old enough to go to the cinema on their own and watch it.

One thing is certain, piracy is a load of bullshit, designed by the lobby groups so that they can get stupid legislation passed that puts them back in control of the distribution.

 

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Music

PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia)states its an important win for artists

There is an article over at Computerworld about how the Federal Court of Australia “ruled that Internet simulcasts of radio programs are not broadcasts under the Copyright Act and therefore are not covered by existing licences granted to commercial radio stations.” 

The Federal Court believes that the a radio program transmitted from a “terrestrial transmitter is a different broadcasting service from the delivery of the same radio program using the internet.”

This is typical of the record labels still keeping one foot in the past and not moving with the present.  It is clear that the recording business survives by sales of recorded music.  Since recorded music revenues are not what they used to be compared to the glory years of the 90’s when everybody was re-purchasing their scratched LP’s or chewed up tapes onto CD, the labels have tried every lobbying/bribery trick in the book to get legislation passed that gives them back the control that the Internet has taken away.

Could this the labels secretly trying to kill off radio simulcasting so that the streaming services are all that remain, like Spotify, which the labels have a stake in.  As the Australian Copyright Council said, the decision “leaves open the possibility for new licences to be negotiated for content that is streamed by way of radio simulcast on the Internet.”

Based on the labels past experience, the labels will insist on a super high licence fees as they hate the current statutory cap on commercial radio who need to pay just one percent of their gross income.  Therefore i am sure the radio’s wont pay this new excessive rate and hence the labels will kill this promotional outlet.

“This is an important win for artists and labels whose music is used widely on the internet to help drive profits for Australia’s radio industry,” said PPCA CEO, Dan Rosen.

I wonder how many artists where signed up for this action.  I wonder how much of the new fees would go back to artists as the labels are renowned for their creative accounting practices.   And what artists are we talking about here, as most independent artists don’t get played on mainstream radio.

To me Radio should be the last thing up and coming artists should strive for.  PSY was broken by YouTube without any mainstream publicity.  He dropped Gangnam Style without publicity and the online world built it into the monster it became.  The mainstream channels just picked up the crumbs.

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Music

UK Stars want anti piracy action

Just yesterday, Torrentfreak ran a post which had the following (at the bottom of the post) letter;

Isn’t it funny how Robert Plant signed it.  Yes the same Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin who ripped off other artists and didn’t credit them in during Led Zeppelin’s heydey.  Just check out the brilliant documentary “Everything is A Remix”.  vimeo.com/14912890

And now Robert Plant wants a strong domestic copyright framework, so that UK creative industries can earn a fair return on their huge investments creating original content.  Its a bit of a double standard.

But the thing i struggle to understand here, is how stronger copyrights will benefit these people.  How will censorship of the internet and litigation benefit these people.

Will it stop piracy?  Will it even reduce piracy?  I don’t think so.

Dear Prime Minister,

As the world’s focus turns to the UK this summer, there is an opportunity to stimulate growth in sectors where the UK has a competitive edge. Our creative industries represent one such sector, which creates jobs at twice the speed of the rest of the economy.

Britain’s share of the global music market is higher than ever with UK artists, led by Adele, breaking through to global stardom. As a digitally advanced nation whose language is spoken around the world, the UK is well positioned to increase its exports in the digital age. Competition in the creative sector is in talent and innovation, not labour costs or raw materials.

We can realise this potential only if we have a strong domestic copyright framework, so that UK creative industries can earn a fair return on their huge investments creating original content. Illegal activity online must be pushed to the margins. This will benefit consumers, giving confidence they are buying safely online from legal websites.

The simplest way to ensure this would be to implement swiftly the long overdue measures in the Digital Economy Act 2010; and to ensure broadband providers, search engines and online advertisers play their part in protecting consumers and creators from illegal sites.

We are proud of our cultural heritage and believe that we and our sector can play a much bigger role in supporting UK growth. To continue to create world beating creative content, we need a little bit of help from our friends.

Yours sincerely,

Simon Cowell
Roger Daltrey CBE
Professor Green
Sir Elton John CBE
The Lord Lloyd Webber
Dr Brian May CBE
Robert Plant
Roger Taylor
Tinie Tempah
Pete Townshend

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