So American Idol is changing the performance schedule in order to do another Lennon-McCartney night.
Another night of butchering the Beatles. Heaven help us...
When the first one was announced, the eternal optimist in me had high hopes that a contestant or two might rediscover a lesser-known gem, rearrange it, and have a performance as good as David Cook's amazing "Hello" a couple of weeks ago.
After seeing the performances, I came to my senses.
As every decent musician knows, Beatles songs are something you sit around playing and singing at home with your friends on acoustic guitars.You don't dare actually sing one in public, because no one will ever do them as well as they did, so you can never really make them your own.
Not even the best of the best will go there, other than as a fun encore at the end of the night (often with a playful McCartney-style headshake in acknowledgment). Or at a tribute event for one of the fallen Beatles. In other words, those that dare perform them in front of an audience know the deal: those songs, and the Beatles' performances of them, were perfect.
So it's reeeeeeally awkward watching the less-than-the best use those songs to try to get their careers happening.
All I can say is...if they must, I hope they go deep into the catalog.
You can read more about song selection and choosing cover songs here.
Although it's been out for a while now, this week I finally read Nikki Sixx's book, The Heroin Diaries
.
Excellent book...It's a very brave book that explains addiction better than anything I've ever read. I highly recommend it for anyone who, like myself, has had friends or loved ones who have struggled with drug or alcohol addiction.
It should also be required reading for every artist manager or aspiring rock star.
If you're unfamiliar with the book, The Heroin Diaries came from Nikki Sixx's personal diaries from 1986-1987, the height of his drug addiction. It also coincided with the height of Motley Crue's career. He had vowed to himself to document everything in his journals...and he did, warts and all.
Nikki Sixx is donating proceeds from the book and his band Sixx: A.M.'s accompanying The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack to a music program he's started at Covenant House called Running Wild in the Night. Very cool.
More info can be found at MySpace.com/HEROINDIARIES, and at Nikkisixx.net.
This post is dedicated to Bob Timmons, who helped many people, including Nikki Sixx, get clean and sober.
Disclosure of Endorsements/Recommendations/Financial Compensation or Business Relationships per FTC Blog Disclosure Regulations in effect December 1, 2009: In the 90's I worked for a concert promotion company that presented many Motley Crue shows. Since that time I've received no financial compensation or free product in direct connection with Motley Crue, Nikki Sixx, or their associated companies. MusicBizAdvice.com (and by extension, this blog) sells products, including books and music, as an Amazon Associate.
Hi Everyone,
When I'm coaching someone in live performance, and in articles I write over at the main MusicBizAdvice.com site, I often refer to specific artists, songs, or performances as an example to get the point across...
...And since the beginning of MusicBizAdvice.com 10 years ago, we've wanted to implement video examples into the site by including video of artist's specific performances. Until recently, performance royalties and bandwidth expense made it impractical.
Therefore, we give you The MBADC Performance Coach. You'll find it in the left-hand menu over at MusicBizAdvice.com.
When you click on it, you'll find links to video clips, along with what you can learn from each performance, and what to look for that made us cite it as an example. (Where applicable, you'll also find a link to the MusicBizAdvice.com article in which we've cited it as an example.)
Each clip, and each artist, has something you can learn...whether or not the artist is in your musical genre, or whether or not you even like that particular artist. It's all about learning from the best, and expanding your creativity.
More links to video are coming weekly, as we find them. In most cases have specific performances in mind, so it sometimes takes a little while to track it down and find the best version.
In fact, as soon as I post this I'm off to continue the search for a clip of this one band that...well, I'll leave that for you to see later.
Make something great happen today,
Randi Reed
Founder / Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com
Hi Everyone,
I just spent about 20 minutes deciding whether or not to post this...
Usually I keep my professional life separate from my politics, so I try to keep this blog reflective of that. But as someone who lives with a chronic illness, the debate on healthcare in America is driving me crazy. I cannot stay quiet, and I will make use of my favorite swear word (in a way that filters will accept, but believe me, I'm thinking it):
It is f'ing ridiculous that in America, using equal time and effort, I can get a rock star on the phone easier than I can get an appointment with a physician with a good track record in treating my immune system disorder. (And that's with a close relative in the healthcare industry. I'm one of the lucky ones.)
In fact, I'll go one better: I can get a meeting with a rock star more easily than I can get the above-mentioned doctor to take my appointment.
For those who may mistake my meaning, that ain't bragging. With all love and respect to my colleagues and contacts, I think it's f'ing disgraceful.
And you know what? Although I can't speak for them, I'll bet Bono, Jon Bon Jovi, and Bruce Springsteen would think so, too.
(I'll spare you the email: No, I don't know them, and no I can't get you tickets.)
I'm half tempted to call one of my media contacts to see if they'd take me up on the challenge. But I already know the outcome, so half of the experiment would be an exercise in exhaustive frustration. And I really need that energy for keeping the CFIDS disease monster in check.
So instead, I encourage you to send the link to this blog to everyone you know, and to every politician you know. And encourage them to really think: Is this the kind of country, and the kind of healthcare system you want?
I love my country dearly, but friends in Europe with comparable incomes who have similar immune system diseases are doing far better financially. Hell, they can even afford really nice vacations to relax, and they're given a paid month off in which to do it!
The above-mentioned physician, a rock star in his field with a proven track record, won't see anyone without verifiable proof of $1.5 million in expendable cash. (Insurance won't approve the tests he needs, and most of the treatment isn't covered.)
Makes you think, doesn't it?
(And because someone always asks--or makes assumptions based on my profession...Before I got sick, I didn't smoke, rarely drank, didn't do drugs, and worked out every day.)
Thanks for indulging me. Meanwhile, never give up on your dreams: you may need those millions to pay for your healthcare!
All the best,
Randi Reed
Founder/Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com
(Edited to change to smaller font 3/13/2008)
On Tuesday night (8/14) I went to an acoustic show at the Wiltern LG: Aaron Lewis of Staind, with Lo-Pro opening. Powerful vocals happening all around, and I had a great time.
Lo-Pro opened the show. The lead singer has an amazing voice…especially on the first song of the set. Decent songwriting, too…The last song of the set was especially strong. Overall, I liked Lo-Pro a lot. (I’d give you song titles, but it was too dark in the venue to write down lyrics to look them up. If band or management will kindly zap me the L.A. set list, I’ll edit in the song titles. The Email address in the Contact Us section of MusicBizAdvice.com will reach me.)
Aaron Lewis was great, too. As much as I like Staind, it was refreshing to hear him sing stripped-down versions of the songs. As a singer he really is underrated, and sometimes the production on the CDs hides the excellence of his voice.
A few highlights of Aaron Lewis's set:
There was an awesome version of “Please” with a great vocal that had Aaron hitting that perfect spot in his voice.
“Let It Out” was great, too.
Lyrically the songs are especially strong. His writing is very brave, with lyrics that tear your heart out, and he sings them that way, too. “Something Like Me” was a real standout in that respect, as was “Zoe Jane”.
“Reply” was very touching as well. (Actually in my notes I wrote “AWESOME!!!” in huge letters.)
There were some funny moments, too…A dead-on impression of Neil Diamond singing “Love On the Rocks,” and a verse and chorus of Kermit the Frog’s “Rainbow Connection”…in Frog voice.
And, Aaron noodled around on Van Morrison’s “Moondance,” too...which actually suited the mellow side of his voice really well and was a nice surprise (for the audience, too—they got really into it).
Overall, a very cool show, in one of the most beautiful art deco theatres in the U.S. .
Impresario noun. 1. producer or promoter of commercial entertainment ventures. 2. entertainer; showman.
Many people in Hollywood think of Merv Griffin as the guy who created Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. I think of him as one of the last old-style impresarios, because of the new talent The Merv Griffin Show spotlighted. A young model/singer named Whitney Houston. A young actor/stand-up comedian named Jay Leno. A bodybuilder named Arnold Schwarzensomethingorother. Another was a young stand-up comedian named Jerry Seinfeld (who later did an episode of Seinfeld that had Kramer decorating his livingroom with the old Merv Griffin Show set--complete with Merv’s theme music). If Merv thought you had talent or you were an entertaining guest, he told people, and you got work.
The impresario in Merv didn’t go away with his talk show. As a game show producer, Merv discovered a fresh-faced 19-year old host with a potentially high Q-Rating. That 19-year-old would later go on to host a wildly popular, highly-rated primetime show. His name? Ryan Seacrest, of American Idol.
But the thing I liked most about The Merv Griffin Show was that he had an innate ability to combine the old with the new. In the early 1970’s, many of the stars and behind-the-scenes players from Hollywood’s Golden Era and the Golden Era of Broadway were still alive...and Merv brought them onto his show to reminisce, clear up long standing rumors, and tell great stories about their legendary studio bosses . (David Niven, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Adela Rogers St. John are some of the guests who come to mind.)
I’m glad he invited them, because their appearances on The Merv Griffin Show gave me the passion for Hollywood history I still have to this day. At the time, no one knew this but my parents, because it just wasn’t cool to be watching a show that my grandma liked. But every day after elementary school, I couldn’t wait to get home to see who was on Merv’s show. I can admit it now: It was thanks to Merv Griffin that I knew about the Cocoanut Grove, the Ambassador Hotel, and the Strork Club, that Arthur Treacher wasn’t only a place that sold fish and chips, and that the Copacabana wasn’t just the name of a Barry Manilow song.
Thanks, Merv.
R.I.P. Merv Griffin 1925-2007
