I read an interview once with Gore Vidal where the reporter asked "Where are all the great writers today?" and Gore asked back "where are all the great readers today?"
While I agree with neither statement, there are great writers today, we may just not see them cause we compare to the past all the time, and great readers? How are we to know what is in another's mind? But I do think there is validity to both statements as well.
I was once at a concert in Portland watching the guy who wrote Louie Louie. I got into a conversation with a young man about music. We talked a bit about the length of shows. Myself? I would love to play 2 or 3 sets a night if I can. Music gets really interesting if you play and play and play. I had just seen Mahmoud Ahmed in a warehouse in Portland play 3 one hour and twenty minute sets. The energy in the room was higher at the end of the night than at the beginning. It ended past 3am. Now that my friends, is a show. I saw a friend perform last year at The Knitting Factory. She had just gotten a writeup in Pitchfork saying hers was the album of the year. Packed house, she was headlining. 22 1/4 minute show. Disappointed audience. Lotta moans and grumbling.
So while myself and this young man were talking I made the point that our grandparents partied way harder than we know how to. The music they dug, those bands worked. Duke Ellington, Basie, Chick Webb, Trane (he was known to play until the sun came up!), the attention span must have changed over the years for us in the United States. (Yeah, Mahmoud Ahmed is Ethiopian. There were about 12 hipsters there including myself and 200+ Ethiopians and Somalians eating up every lyric!)
So why the change? I said to the young man, "well think about it. Think about the first 18 years of your life. 1st grade through 12th. Your time is compartmentalized. How long is the average class? How long is the average musical set? At first you are into it, by the 40 minute mark you are WAITING FOR THE BELL TO RING! Ding, class dismissed, NEXT!"
I myself have done enough rock shows with 5 band nights where there is anxiety about getting enough bodies in there to get paid. This doesn't make for great bands or great audiences and certainly doesn't make for great experiences. What to do? I think saying no to opportunities that don't pay is a great start. You don't need the publicity a Monday night at a dump can give you. Shoot higher. Shoot for the stars you may hit the moon. Shoot for the treetop you may hit a window! Next is really work on the vision you have for your group. If you are satisfied playing 22 1/4 minute sets and that is what your audience can handle, great! Don't change a thing. But if you aren't start working on how those needs will be met and be vigilant. What kind of venues do you need to play in to be happy. What do they feel like etc.
More later!
While I agree with neither statement, there are great writers today, we may just not see them cause we compare to the past all the time, and great readers? How are we to know what is in another's mind? But I do think there is validity to both statements as well.
I was once at a concert in Portland watching the guy who wrote Louie Louie. I got into a conversation with a young man about music. We talked a bit about the length of shows. Myself? I would love to play 2 or 3 sets a night if I can. Music gets really interesting if you play and play and play. I had just seen Mahmoud Ahmed in a warehouse in Portland play 3 one hour and twenty minute sets. The energy in the room was higher at the end of the night than at the beginning. It ended past 3am. Now that my friends, is a show. I saw a friend perform last year at The Knitting Factory. She had just gotten a writeup in Pitchfork saying hers was the album of the year. Packed house, she was headlining. 22 1/4 minute show. Disappointed audience. Lotta moans and grumbling.
So while myself and this young man were talking I made the point that our grandparents partied way harder than we know how to. The music they dug, those bands worked. Duke Ellington, Basie, Chick Webb, Trane (he was known to play until the sun came up!), the attention span must have changed over the years for us in the United States. (Yeah, Mahmoud Ahmed is Ethiopian. There were about 12 hipsters there including myself and 200+ Ethiopians and Somalians eating up every lyric!)
So why the change? I said to the young man, "well think about it. Think about the first 18 years of your life. 1st grade through 12th. Your time is compartmentalized. How long is the average class? How long is the average musical set? At first you are into it, by the 40 minute mark you are WAITING FOR THE BELL TO RING! Ding, class dismissed, NEXT!"
I myself have done enough rock shows with 5 band nights where there is anxiety about getting enough bodies in there to get paid. This doesn't make for great bands or great audiences and certainly doesn't make for great experiences. What to do? I think saying no to opportunities that don't pay is a great start. You don't need the publicity a Monday night at a dump can give you. Shoot higher. Shoot for the stars you may hit the moon. Shoot for the treetop you may hit a window! Next is really work on the vision you have for your group. If you are satisfied playing 22 1/4 minute sets and that is what your audience can handle, great! Don't change a thing. But if you aren't start working on how those needs will be met and be vigilant. What kind of venues do you need to play in to be happy. What do they feel like etc.
More later!
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