3 Feet High and 45 Minutes Late

De La Soul is from the soul.

Last night the legendary hip hop trio descended on Pittsburgh for a show at Margarita Mama's. Many thanks to my boy DJ Zimmie not only for the tickets but for the best part of the night. Zimmie did the opening 9-11 spot and I know he was holding back so he wouldn't overshadow DJ Prince Paul, but even Zimmie lite was better then the extended hour and 40+ minutes of "taking it back" and "going in the gutta" randomness that Prince Paul dispensed. The KOOL dancers that were backing Zimmie up were priceless. For a moment, it was In Living Color and he was SW1 and they were his Fly Girls.



Maybe it was the music Prince Paul played (there were some good selections), maybe it was the guy standing next to me telling me every five minutes "Prince Paul is a fake man, hes making that music on his laptop, he ain't really DJing (unless there is button on Serrato called "Overscratch Every Song" I have to disagree), but it could be the guy in the corner of the stage with his eyes closed looking like he sucked a lemon then decided to imitate a bad 80s metal video. What was he thinking? Maybe if I close my eyes hard enough and make this face I can at least not look like a total douche bag in my own mind? Stop trying so hard buddy, being over zealous because you know the words to "Jump Around" and "Slam" does not make you more down with the hip hop crowd.

De La was supposed to go on at midnight, they went on closer to 1 am. At this point, we had to stay because it would have been defeat to leave before but about 30 minutes into their set the combination of smoke and bad outfits from the patrons (I think I saw Pat Benetar there) got to us and we had to bolt.

The show was good, the sound was crap (at one point the speakers on the left side of the stage blew)and my ears are still ringing but I was glad to see a good turnout for a barely publicized event. I wish I could have held out for DJ Zimmie's closing set.


DJ Zimmie. Verse-Chorus-Mix. Verse-Chorus-Mix.

Remixers-R-Us

I'm a mixer , you're a mixer, wouldn't you like to be a mixer too? (sung to the Dr. Pepper theme)

I do my best to keep up with the good music blogs because I've been realizing that the underground DIY new generation of "give me Ableton, and I shall remix" producers are kicking ass. With the abundance of DIY (Do It Yourself) acapellas floating around has given rise to a bumper crop of slamming' homemade reconstructions of everything from the latest hip hop tracks to classic eighties oddities.

Although self-remixation (yes I made that word up) has been around since the invention of the bootleg I believe it was the recent mash-up craze that gave rise to these new producers. Having mashed practically every conceivable combination of tracks in the musical blend-o-matic to both good and bad results, the only logical progression was to start crafting their own remixes. Do a search on Google for an artist and it will return a myriad of results for both commissioned and DIY remixes. What this means is that alongside the mixes the labels paid oodles of cash to have done you will find any number of homemade remixes by known and unknown producers. The era of the remixer elite is slowly coming to an end. Don't worry, I'm not heading out to pasture yet.

In the meantime support the purveyors of electronic candy and eat all you wan't, it's sugar free...

Hype Machine
Palms Out Sounds

I'm Holding Out For A Hero...

I was talking with my fiance this morning about music and I realized that although there are talented musicians and songwriters out there today, something is missing. Where are the musical heroes today that remind us of Eddie Van Halen, Herbie Hancock, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, or Ray Charles? Name one guitarist in a band today that has the sheer talent, presence, or staying power of Pete Townshend or Jimi Hendrix. I'm listening.

Bands are disposable, singers are a product of the producer, drama and scandals matter more then talent, and selling ringtones is more important then stadium seats. Norah Jones and John Mayer have good voices and talent but they aren't going to be remembered the way the great singer songwriters such as Carole King and Billy Joel are. In my opinion, much of the problem with music is just that, the lack of music. Where are the great horn players of this generation? When I see Salsa bands using keyboards instead of live musicians then I know that shit has really hit the fan. I mean, The Roots could clean up in the hip hop world just making albums for producers to sample since they're one of the only true African American bands in existence. The last Dave Matthews Band album, produced by 50 Cent producer Mark Batson was riddled with blandness given the fact that they embody some of the best musical talent around and it just made me shake my head. Bring Quincy Jones and real musical orchestration back.

Why the hell is Akon on a record with Michael Jackson as he is in the remix he did for the 25th Anniversary Collection of "Thriller"? I heard that on XM today and it almost made me throw the receiver out the window. I mean, Michael has done duets with Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, and was part of USA for Africa, and now the best he can do is Akon? I realize that Akon is in the top percentage of most played artists on radio, but does that actually mean anything today? So is Britney Spears and Lil Wayne, which both makes me feel like taking a pencil and stabbing myself in the ears. Frickin' Paris Hilton is making records and Tommy Lee is a DJ. I rest my case.

In closing to Paul McCartney; Sir Paul meet Mr. Prenup, Mr. Prenup meet Sir Paul.

Master Of Your Domain

When are they (the plug-in software community) going to come out with the "Bob Clearmountian Mastering Suite" plug-in? To expand on an earlier posting, part of the other flip side of 15 year old producers and pro applications in everyones hands is the sheer amount of tracks being released on a weekly basis. Obviously these are not all stellar tracks but back in the day when labels had to pay for things like manufacturing, mastering, artwork and distribution they were selective about their releases. Now that anyone and their mother can essentially be a label and put content on a digital store these online outlets are inundated with literally hundreds of new releases each week which makes searching for new tracks overwhelming. Where the whole mastering factor comes in is with so many new releases and the low cost per unit, paying money to master a track with a commercial mastering plant is a costly gamble. Let me explain:
Let's say you have a new track called "Bass Spanker" and you're only doing a digital release of this one track with an instrumental version as well. On iTunes it's going to sell for .99 cents per download which Apple gets a cut of around .10 cents leaving you with .90 cents per download. If you go through a digital distributor knock another .10-.20 cents per download and let's round it off to say .75 cents per download coming back to you. This doesn't take into account any manager or third party fees. Let's assume you're the label and the sole writer so that .75 cents is all yours, awesome. Now let's say you had to spend a few hundred dollars to master the release. How many tracks do you need to sell before you have recouped your mastering costs?

$250.00 mastering / .75 per download = 333 downloads

Thats just to cover mastering so you haven't seen a profit. Sell 500 downloads and you just earned yourself a hefty $125.00 profit. There are other variables for other releases such as working with other writers, vocalists, or producers in addition to releasing another artists record which can alter that .75 cents you would normally get by half or more. So how do you justify commercial mastering for a track that or may not even break even? This has led to the revolution of self-mastering, mostly via plug-ins such as those offered by Waves or the stock plugs offered on the hosts DAW. Given the fact that the majority of producers are NOT mastering engineers this has led to an increase in the decrease of the quality mastered product. Its a struggle for mastering houses to find the niche in the new model where physical releases are fewer, singles outweigh full lengths, and budgets get lower and lower. Many offer reduced rate online mastering in a "B" room ("A" rooms are reserved for big budged projects) but even that may be cost prohibitive leaving many with the option to self-master or go without mastering altogether. It seems every month magazines such as EQ, Future Music, and more have articles and even entire magazines devoted to the subject of mastering. But of course an article won't give you golden ears or a 1-2-3 step on how to master YOUR track but it should at least make you more aware on how important it is. But until Mr Clearmountian puts his DNA into a plug-in many of us will still be heading to that Waves L3 for some afternoon track slamming. You can also check these links out:
Auto Audio Mastering System - As the name suggests, it's an auto mastering system yielding pretty good results. You can analyze any source material or use one of the presets and of you go. The GUI is pretty daunting but it's quick and painless once you get the hang of it.

Har-Bal Visual Mastering System - Website says "This superior method of EQ'ing and harmonic balancing gives Har-Bal it's distinction as the premiere spectrum analyzer for the most important step in the CD mastering process. It truly separates an amateur recording from a professional recording and removes the need to test your CD's on different systems and environments." I say "Harder to figure out then your VCR's flashing 12:00."

Digital Sound Labs Mastering - DSL is an online mastering solution for musicians and independent record labels around the world.They dedicated mastering facility that understands it is not always possible for the average musician to purchase high priced studio time by the hour.
This is an opportunity for you to achieve the same quality that is given to some of today’s major artists, but at a much lower rate. They charge $99 for an entire CD up to 80 minutes or $15 a song...

The Business of the Music Business

Lately I have been talking to artists and producers wishing to release tracks on my label and realizing how uninformed they are about the business side of the industry. I realize that unless you're in a circle that would put you in contact with music biz insiders this information is not general knowledge, but it should be. The information I'm talking about are things like performance affiliations for writers like BMI and ASCAP, copyrights, trademarking your name and logos, royalties, advances (or lack of these days) and back-end income, recoupables (anything a label shells out on your behalf such as promotion, artwork, multimedia, even meals to discuss you are recouped by the label before you get any money).

Where do you go (no plug intended) to fnd this information? The majority or publications on the bookshelves are outdated, most Internet sites want loads of money to view documents. A friend of mine and the person who released my first record Curtis Urbina actually holds seminars on the music business. Curtis is one of the few industry moguls who has been there through most of the eras of this industry and hasn't fallen victim to the changing models over the past decade and has embraced them. I say this because much of the industry has waged war on the Information age and are losing. MP3s are not the enemy. The Internet is your friend. Get past the notion that physical media and distribution has given way to digital download stores, iPods, and ringtones. Making money in this business has been primarily transformed into a model that anyone with the motivation, Internet savvy, and content can persevere just as much as a larger label. Radiohead proved it. The music industry isn't about board rooms with execs smoking big cigars anymore, its about initiative and good products. All the major label money in the world can't save Britney's career. If you have good music and can secure a proper digital distribution deal you're golden.

So how do you learn all these things? Its hard if you live in a city void of any real music industry but chances are you can find someone like myself who has been there done that and would be willing to share their experiences with you. Hit people up on MySpace. Check sites like BMI.com to learn what your rights are as a writer. See if your local colleges offer any courses on the music business.

It is important to understand that everything you write whether it's just a simple ambient track or a major production, if you're releasing it to the public you have to secure your rights so that any money derived from the sale or performance of your music finds it's way to you. Even if you put it on MySpace, you need to secure your rights.

If you have questions, feel free to contact me...

Old Man Techno

One certian producer friend of mine after reading my bio thought of this fun little ditty of a moniker for me. I suppose I really can't be bitter seeing as I released my first record in 1990 under my techno alter ego Euphoria on Quark records. Good times. That was back when it was pretty much techno and house and you couldn't confuse one or the other. But that is a whole other post...

Technologic

No this isn't another Daft Punk posting. I just got off the phone with an old friend and former band mate from our late 80's New Wave technopop group Reverse. He recently purchased his first keyboard in awhile and wanted some pointers since we had the same model. It got me thinking about technology and how the process has and hasn't changed over the last few decades.

If you look at hip hop, they've been producing on MPCs since they first came out, and still do it to this day. Check out a super cool book called "Behind the Beat: Hip Hop Home Studios" by Raph. MPCs and ASR10s still rule the studios of many Hip Hop producers, although they are hooked into Pro Tools rigs running through SSL mixers.

My first studio consisted of an Atari 1040ST, Yamaha RX11 drum machine, a Casio CZ-101 synthesizer and my Simmons electronic drums. I struggled to try and duplicate tracks like "Axel F" and "Just Can't Get Enough". By the late 90's living in NYC I had walls of synthesizers and racks of effects and modules. Managing a used music and computer store allowed me to get all the coolest vintage gear as well as some newer gear at greatly reduced prices. It got to the point I was spending more time tweaking knobs then I was making music. Now in 2008, I have my Korg Triton and Roland Juno 106 hooked into my Apple Mac Pro desktop running virtual emulations of many of the synthesizers I used to use. Plug-Ins are just easier. Theres the whole issue of convenience, you have the functionality of total recall whenever you go back to a mix, they are usually fully automatable and assignable to a variety of hardware controllers, and they're much cheaper and more reliable then much of the gear they emulate.

And with the slew of workstation software such as Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, and Reason you can get into production at almost any budget. Which in a way sucks for many of us. Back in the day, you had to spend upwards of $6-700.00 on one of the few commercially available music applications. There was Cubase, Logic, and Pro Tools and they weren't widely crackable and you had to be a serious producer or hobbyist to get into it. So those that were producing were part of a community. Labels relied on them. DJs expected great things from them. It was an elite club.

These days, any 13 year old with the Internet can download some pirated version of one of these applications or go to Wal-Mart and buy some $40.00 whack program like eJay (which essentially provides you with generic pre-made loops in a variety of genres like Dance, Techno, and Hip Hop)and make tracks and post them on MySpace or the Internet. This is great for kids to have that creative outlet. Except when an A & R from a label wants me to do a mix on speck because his 15 year old nephew is doing a mix as well, or because professional production tools are in the hands of 500% more people then a decade ago they are willing to do it for free to get their name out it really changes the playing field of music production. Especially for people who want to make a living at it. When you had no choice but to buy a mixer, studio speakers, keyboards and sound modules, effect units and all the cables and learning it was an art unto itself. When everybody and their mother can make professional quality tracks on their home PC it becomes the musical equivalent of playing soccer on your Playstation versus going to a field and getting dirty with a bunch of teammates for real. It's not the same without the bruises and grass stains. At least they haven't come up with a plug-in for those; yet.

Patrice Rushen - Remind Me (DJ Strobe Mix 2008)

Soulful and bumping house music. Produced by yours truly




If you don't have flash or want to download this, then "Right click, save link as..." If you want a high quality MP3 then email me.

Patrice Rushen - Remind Me (DJ Strobe 2008 House Mix)