Monday, September 21, 2020

Waitin' On A Sunny Day


 

 

In two separate interviews, Elvis Costello in Billboard and Bruce Springsteen in Rolling Stone discussed among other things, the unlikely scenarios of ever getting on stage again. Bruce took it a bit further than Elvis by explaining, in so many words, that streaming a live performance from an empty room, does not give him what he needs to reach the levels of an exciting performance, but also, what about the other people? The crew, the lighting guys, the sound men? What will they do? Bruce also mentioned losing a year of his touring life, with a possible reality of 2022 for his next tour. He'll be 73.

 

Both BS and EC have new records ready for release. Springsteen's "Letter To You" comes out on October 23rd and Costello's "Hey Clockface" one week later on the 30th. Both also discussed plans for extensive archival work, with Elvis getting things started with a 6 LP version of "Armed Forces," to include three live Attractions performances, as well as new versions and visions for older recordings, including an expanded "Painted From Memory," the collaboration with Burt Bacharach. The Boss talks about a series of "lost albums" to finally see the light of day, as well as the second installment of "Tracks," the 1998 4-CD boxed set of non-LP tracks and unreleased songs. And, there is another solo album already "in the can."

Of course, not every artist has the ability to do what these men can do with their catalogues. I'm sure BS has been calling his own shots since the 1975 Time Magazine cover, while EC mentions finally owning all of his masters, with the exception of his Warner Brothers output from 1989-1996. (I hope EC doesn't change HIS name to an unpronounceable glyph.)

But what does the future hold for the artists who made most, if not all of their money performing live and selling at the merch tables? Is there something better than a live Facebook stream? 

About two or three weeks into lockdown, I was all over the internet, donating what little I had to various bands, buying shirts and hats, watching porch concerts, etc. It got old fast, and I ran out of money faster. The truth is, as much as I love The Iguanas from New Orleans, even if I lived in New Orleans, I would not see them every single Wednesday at their regular Circle Bar gig. And for all my cranky guy griping about late start times, bad opening bands, crowds, talkers and overpriced booze, I missed all of it. Sitting on my couch in pajamas watching a computer screen with a cocktail, just didn't cut it.

On the other hand, if all of my favorite artists released new music on a weekly basis, and by new I don't mean newly written and recorded music, but unheard music, I'd be happy to spend the equivalent of a concert ticket to own it and listen to it at my convenience. Is this something that is feasible? Does Todd Rundgren or Paul Weller or Pete Townshend have a stockpile of back catalogue that they feel is worthy enough to roll out on a weekly or monthly basis? The monthly Bruce/ESB live releases are quite popular. Should more artists get on board with this for the time being? Or how about indie artists? Do they? And if they did, would they want to bother? It might end up being a lot of work for little return.

So what then?

Is there a quick fix? Or, do we stand up, shoulders straight and look forward, with the hopes of the "new normal" being at least half as good as the old normal? Something's gotta give.

I've always listened to more music than most, but since March 10th, my listening has tripled. It has and continues to be, the only way for me. There is a lot of music to be heard, even if it isn't live, and I will continue this way of coping by collecting, filing and compiling until the stages are lit up and the arenas are packed nuts to butts once again.  It could be worse. It could always be worse.




13 comments:

A Walk In The Woods said...

I hear you. I love Rickie Lee Jones, and she had a streaming show a few nights ago on FB for $15. I passed - because I'm out of work (my last day was almost exactly the day in March you mention in your post) and because I've done it twice recently (Marshall Crenshaw and Emma Swift) and that's my allotment as an unemployed hobo.

I love live music. I mean, LOVE live music. I'm there when it's safe again. (And, when not wondering if I need to buy canned beans to feed my wife and boys instead)

But recorded music? Yeah. I'd love to invest in artists by just buying unreleased songs or LPs.

I hope more of them go that route, at this time.

And then - unlike cranky Van going against the scientific wisdom - return to full on touring when they can

Troy said...

Great post. I’m beyond thrilled to hear Bruce has a new ESB album coming out, and has plans to release “lost albums” and Tracks 2. I’m less enthusiastic about EC, but mainly because I rarely listen to all the bonus tracks, live versions, and demos included with all of his re-releases over the past 10+ years. Not sure that *more* of that will cause me to open my wallet, but that’s just me.

I’m with you that I have tried to support artists online during the pandemic, including buying albums from Bandcamp (espec on Fridays) or directly from the artists. I splurged and bought a deluxe package of the latest Jayhawks album, including a t-shirt, autographed album flat, and canvas bag that I didn’t need, but I felt good supporting a band I love. I also bought music directly from Buddy & Julie and Eric Lindell. Heck, I even pre-bought beer from a friend of mine who opened his own brewery in Austin; he needed the cash now and I will need the beer later (next time I make it to Austin). What can I say, we do what we can.

As for the artists who make most, if not all of their money performing live and selling at the merch table, unfortunately they are least likely to have a deep catalog of unreleased music to start offering online. The names you mentioned (except the Iguanas) have all been around for decades and probably aren’t hurting for money like newer or lesser-known artists. Yeah it would be great to hear more unreleased music from those big names, but we still need to figure out how to support the littler guys too. And yet I get that watching online shows doesn’t offer the same adrenaline that seeing the artist in person does.

I have written here before about one of my all-time favorites and friend, Michael McDermott. He has been doing weekly shows (Thurs evenings and Sunday mornings) on StageIt, and my wife & I have seen all of them except 3 or 4. He has a really great setup in his home studio and the video and audio quality are far superior to what I have seen on FB. His shows, which are offered as “pay what you can”, offer a wonderful sense of community as he has fans submit video messages of support & encouragement to all during this time. He mixes in those homemade videos with new songs, old songs, covers, alternate versions, you name it. His wife & violin player, Heather Lynn Horton, joins him for about half of the songs each week. I urge you all to check it out sometime. He is also releasing a box set of unrecorded songs from his 30 year career, which we have already pre-ordered and I cannot wait for. Between Michael, Bruce, and the upcoming Tom Petty expanded-Wildflowers, I think my head is going to explode with anticipation.

Shriner said...

For the first few months of the pandemic -- when they started -- I tuned in weekly to the Facebook live shows by Chris Von Sniedern, Grace Potter and Cliff Hillis. All of them were highly entertaining, professionally sounding and streamed without errors and great performances and I made appointments to listen to them before they expired (Grace Potter is exceptionally entertaining even though her original music doesn't do a lot for me...)

But then I just stopped. It wasn't because they weren't worth my time/attention or I got tired of repeated songs -- other things in life got in the way.

I just ended up spending those weekly hours reading (as my local library reopened), going to long walks when the weather got better or watching live sports when they came back. Luckily, I'm still working from home during the pandemic and I spend my time during the work day with my way-to-large music library on shuffle rediscovering a *lot* of stuff. (And I still listen to a lot of new music, too! I still love that Juniper album. Hah!)

My fear for the "smaller" artists is if they can't hold on another year -- people will just forget them for whatever is the latest thing and that'll be it for them because they'll end up having to quit music and do something else (if they can). The three I mentioned were just doing this for tips at the point I stopped listening, but for somebody like Robyn Hitchcock (whose streams I listened to, but were *not* recorded very well, so I gave up) seemingly doing this as their sole source of income -- I worry.

I really don't see many mid-to-low tier artists having a worthwhile back stock of listenable unreleased music or good-sounding live shows in the can to release for sale. I would guess most artists actually have released their best material on their official recordings. And not everybody had the foresight to be a Neil Young/Frank Zappa/Bruce, etc, to do professional recordings of their live shows, so I think those artists are more the exception than the rule.

I could be wrong, certainly. It wouldn't be the first time.





Sal Nunziato said...

One of the issues I had with the live streaming might be picking nits, but it's a factor regardless. The artists looked ill-prepared, confused or simply unhappy to be there. Understandable. This has been terrible! BUT...it doesn't change the fact that like A Walk In The Woods, I love Rickie Lee Jones. I've seen her a dozen times, dating as far back as 1979. I've been in an audience as small as 50 and as large as 5,000, and even though she could occasionally be a trainwreck live, she always seemed to want to be there. I paid for two of her streams and it was painful. Not necessarily the performance, but the vibe, the whole "what the hell am I doing here" vibe, that felt like a turn off from the first note. If YOU don't want to be there, why would we? And we are paying. NOW..that may sound insensitive, but as I said, it doesn't make it more appealing. I'd just as soon donate the $15 or $20 and not have to watch.

If this is going to work, many adjustments need to be made and fast. Quite frankly, I was pleasantly surprised by how the fake crowd sounds at baseball games were NOT a distraction but a real plus. It's something to consider. But to sit and stare at a phone is depressing enough. To pay for it, while the artist fumbles and rambles? This will never fly.

Sal Nunziato said...

Another thing:

Maybe the streams shouldn't be accessible to every one, every week. Todd Rundgren has been considering a virtual tour, which would mean actually traveling to the cities on the schedule and performing in the venue, with tickets being sold strictly to the city's fans that would have purchased tickets for the show, then, airing it on a password protected stream for those with tickets. It seems outrageous and impossible, plus there are definitely safety issues with the traveling, not to mention the small crew needed in each city to pull it off. It's almost as nutty as some of his records. But theoretically, it could make some of the money of an actual tour, assuming people pay for the ticket. That's the real issue. $60 to see someone in person won't fly for a stream. But maybe for $25-30, you'd get twice as many people in NYC that would show up at Town Hall.

Or not.

Shriner said...

I'm gunshy about paying for streaming concerts without some example of how it's going to sound. There were a couple of well-prepared-and-engaging artists I didn't mention above -- because their streaming sounded and looked so terrible so I never went back to see if they improved it.

So I'm less likely to even consider a one-off on-line show by somebody because of that. I might be missing out, but I'd rather miss out than be disappointed the entire time.

And I think the people that do it weekly are doing it either for the money or the need to get feedback from an audience because they are taking quarantine seriously (both valid reasons!) I don't begrudge them that at all.


Anonymous said...

I had to give up going to live shows long ago for budgetary reasons (still get to record stores once in a while, but usually with trade in hand). youtube has gotten me thru this, whether its Jorma Kaukonen's Saturday night stream, Todd Snider's live stream (he has some crazy eyes when he's not wearing that hat), David Sanborn's Night Music episodes from the 80's, old Austin city limits, or full album suggestions. I didn't know there were so many Steamhammer albums. My choice for supporting bands has been Bandcamp, esp. on Fridays when all proceeds go to the artist. X's latest album mad its debut on Bandcamp.

Sal Nunziato said...

"And I think the people that do it weekly are doing it either for the money or the need to get feedback from an audience because they are taking quarantine seriously (both valid reasons!) I don't begrudge them that at all."

Neither do I...except Shriner, you just stated you were gunshy based on sound. A Walk In The Woods stated lack of funds since being out of work. I said I wouldn't see a band in person on a weekly basis. I am sure there are hundreds of other reasons/excuses why people don't or can't or won't pony up and tune in. Does this mean artists shouldn't do it weekly? I guess not. But there needs to be a better way, some creativity both musically and financially, otherwise this will only get worse.

I paid $15 for Rundgren's first broadcast from home. It was a "variety show!" He showed bits of old concert clips, not one was full length, gave a tour of the island where he lives and demonstrated how to cut an onion properly. Talk about crushed. I put a bag over my head every time I passed the Todd record shelf for the next week until I got over it. Yet, he has his disciples who probably loved it and went out the next day to buy onions and tuned in for the next four shows.

I can't speak for the artists, fans or anyone but myself. I'd happily pay $30 twice a month to see my favorite artists give proper home concerts, something that lasted at least an hour, rehearsed, with strong set lists. But if you're gonna sit there, hair uncombed and twiddle away doing a few half-assed covers, there should be no charge. Again, aplogies for sounding insensitive. I really don't mean to be. I'm strictly talking from a money-making POV.

hpunch said...

I will always opt for a new album over a new tour.
The more unheard songs, new or archived, the better.
I miss live shows, but I sure don't miss the audience.
I hope masks can deaden the sound of them singing along one day.

Troy said...

For the Michael McDermott "pay what you can" shows, we usually pay $20 per show, and virtual tip him another 10. The shows are usually 80 minutes in length, so not too much and not too little. I know he needs the income and am happy to help. I know some who pay more and others who pay less, I just hope he is able to make ends meet during this time. He consistently gives us our money's worth in terms of performance and audio and video quality.

Sal, I'm sorry to hear you got such a bummer of a show from Todd R. I would have been irate.

Anonymous said...

I know people's mileage varies on Jesse Malin, but he's been doing live streams for tips on youtube, usually from different locations with lots of guests. his first week he did a great interview with Debbie Harry on what the 70's NYC scene was like.

Marcelo Romero said...

Sal, you bring up sone great points. I tell ya, I love your idea of a weekly release! Imagine if CHEAP TRICK opted to stream out a 'single-of-the-week'. Like you suggested, they don't have to be brand new tracks, but perhaps a Rick Nielsen or Robin Zander home demo of an old album track, or a live cover from tours past. That kind of dedication would keep the fans' embers fired up & bring in some $ into the band's coffers.👍

elroy said...

Lloyd Cole has a very good Patreon site where you can get a variety of things - dozen-song concert sets played "live" in his basement, unheard live or unreleased mp3s, and even chord charts and video guitar lessons on how to play some of his songs. Based on your monthly subscription level you get different levels of access. I wouldn't be able to subscribe to very many of these but for a favorite artist I thought I'd try it.