Something is Happening Here - But You Don't Know What It Is - Do You?

Revenue is down yet profit is up...
The Music Industry is in trouble. Global revenue fell to below $15bn in 2014. Surf the Internet and you can find story after story, page after page, and blog after blog telling the woeful story of revenue loss for the record industry. Around 25% of revenue is spent on A&R and so the message is that there is less and less investment in new artists each year as revenue falls. The narrative is presented of the brave knights of the record companies fighting the illegal download dragons.

Only 15% of us go to gigs regularly. Teenagers are not buying music CD’s anymore, accounting for only 7% of the CD buying population (although apparently for us oldies the habit dies hard, as over 50’s make up 61% of the CD buying population!)

Headline News: Music Industry in Crisis. 

Bottom line: No investment in new music because of fall in revenue.

But here is a slightly different look at the data from Jonathan Band and Jonathan Gerafi, at policybandwidth in their report ‘Still Profitable After All These Years…’ Taking Sony as an example (and the basic trend is the same with Universal and Warner), they point out that the Record Label Operating Profit in the 10 years from 2004 rose from $186 million to $361 million, their Record Label Operating Profit Margins from 3.90% to 8.43%.

The Average Industry Operating Profit Margin for record companies in 2013 was 7.26% (up from 4.04% in 2004). Brand and Gerafi offer a comparison, in the construction industry it was 3.25% (up from 2.67% in 2004), in Mining it was -1.20% (down from 10.20% in 2004) and in Transport 4.89% (down from 7.44% in 2004).

Band and Gerafi conclude by asking, if revenue is down yet profit is up where are the record companies saving money? It seems to me that even though CD sales are down and revenue is down the labels are still making a decent profit  - this rather implies that the squeeze on investment in new talent is purely to increase profits!

For the love of music and not the love of money...

Personally I hate the idea that of my hard-earned cash spent on a CD, about one third goes to the record company and less than half of that goes to the artist. Imagine another world. A world where the artist was paid and all involved in the music were paid and there was no massive profit! Imagine a world where my hard-earned cash invested not in the record company but in new artists and encouraging established artists to push the boundaries!

Welcome to Malt’n’Music and in particular to a gig by Blair Dunlop. The organisers have asked me to step into the shoes of MC and I as introduce the evening I proudly proclaim that we are a not-for-profit organisation who plough everything back into the next gig. Well the next gig has a starting float of (wait for it… drum roll please…) £9.32!

If you have read other blogs about Malt’n’Music gigs you will know that I wax lyrical about community, troubadours and the meaning of real music. All this is true about this gig. Peter Aldridge, the support act, plays a consummate set of laid-back thought provoking original material proving that there are superb songwriters who write for the love of music and not the love of money. 

Blair Dunlop is the professional performer who sidles up alongside the audience. He tells us that he has a little bit of local knowledge gleamed from an ex from these parts and then proceeds to beat us over our heads with stunning tune after stunning tune. By the end of the evening everyone is his best friend, as he performs with such warmth, depth and feeling, and we start to ask ourselves if we have found a long lost brother! And then there is the fine ‘Blair Dunhop’ beer to enjoy back at The Lion!

Once again the community has come together to hear a sublime evening of music and we make no profit! Does the artist get paid? Yes.  Does the venue get paid? Yes. Do the PA guys get paid? Yes!  This is music without a fat profit. Music without a massive cut taken by the industry. Music with soul, because it is owned by the artist and not by faceless, tone deaf, industry grey suits.

The deep movement of music...

People ask me why I make a 400 mile round trip just to go to a gig when I could see the very same artist in London? The answer? Well, truth be told it is partly to meet up with friends – life is too short not to take the opportunity to be with people you care about. But it is also because as one of the people who started Malt’n’Music it is in my bones. It is because I love being part of a group who are promoting great music.  

But most of all I make the journey because I love the moment when the main act is playing and I stand at the back with the Malt’n’Music guys and we survey the scene. We see the delight on people’s faces, the joy of their feet tapping, the careless clapping along, and we know that the music is bringing the community together, that it is deepening people’s experience of life and making people realise they are glad to be alive. The depth of experience that comes from a community, gathering together to receive a traveling minstrel far surpasses that of a gathering of disparate people at an anonymous venue, massaging the ego of someone else’s manufactured superstar.

And when you experience that feeling and know you have played your part in making it happen, you don’t need payment, you don’t need thanks. You know that what has been created has an eternal quality, and no developer digging up the field around your village, no broken relationship, no crass Government Policy, no stupid dispute with the neighbour, no speeding ticket, no overdraft, no grievance at work, no question about life, the universe and everything is going to change the truth of what has happened, as the deep movement of music within the soul transforms the heart.

Don't ask about the crow - its a very small village.... 

Gig: 46 of 50

Date of Gig: Fri. 5th February 2016

Venue
Village Hall, Moulton

Artists 
Blair Dunlop

Peter Aldridge

Running total of artists seen 94

The problem with an unbeatable superlative

Words are overused more quickly...

It is a football cliché, when the manager in the post-match interview says ‘I couldn’t have asked for more. The lads gave 110%’. We know what he is trying to say, but the simple truth is you can’t give more than 100%!

In our world of constant communication, we have a problem. We seem to have used up our language! More accurately perhaps, we have used up the number of superlatives we have at our fingertips. I have a lot of sympathy for the world, as I am finding it hard to keep describing the experiences that I am having at these gigs without falling back on the same old, tired words. It’s not that this generation is better, more creative, or more expert than any other and therefore, more deserving of the superlatives. It’s simply that we have so many ways to communicate in our social media generation that words are overused more quickly. 

As well as that, we also seem to be on a constant quest to have to find the ultimate performer in their field. No longer are we happy with a good performer, they have to be greatest. No longer are we content to see the second or third best, we have to see the best and tell the world in overused superlatives that we have! 

So to expand our language we have inverted the meaning of words to cunningly invent a whole new set of positive adjectives. Bad started to mean good, sick started mean ‘well good init’, wicked started to mean well you get the picture… And somewhere in amongst all this inverting to reinvent language the term ‘shit hot’ was coined.

As Jon Gomm takes to the sage at the Jazz Café in Camden he thanks the support act Matt Stevens and informed us that he is a ‘shit hot’ musician. I am certain that Gomm wasn’t listening to Stevens’ set, because if he had been he wouldn’t have described him as ‘shit hot’. His set, relying so heavily on his loop pedal, was beset with tuning and timing issues. I had been looking forward to hearing Matt Stevens. As the man who inspired Malt‘n’Music (see other blogs for an explanation of Malt‘n’Music) he has taken on the status of a legend within a certain circle of my friends. There we go again, falling into the superlative trap – he’s not really a legend, more infamous!  I’m sure it just wasn’t Stevens’ night. He is a great musician but tonight it just wasn’t happening for him.

To give Stevens’ his due he was fun, and carried on trying to entertain despite the setbacks and broken strings. The  crowd did respond, but he's wasn't ‘shit hot’. At best his set could be described as ‘luke warm shit’ and that is a horrible thought, as well as being far from a superlative!

Quite literally he demands that we listen...

Jon Gomm on the other hand is so good he was shit burnt to a frazzle! No loop pedal, all the sounds and rhythms made on each beat, hammer on, pull off, stretch, strum, pick, bend and retune! If you have never seen Jon Gomm then check out Youtube and watch in awe as you see a true master of guitar playing. He is the sort of guitarist that makes me want to give up and perhaps that the ultimate ‘superlative’ to give him. He makes me recognise that the sound I get out of my guitar is only a fraction of what is possible!

 
He is the sort of artist that demands that the audience listen to him. Quite literally he demands that we listen. Tonight, as on other nights, I see him tell off a section of the audience who are talking during his songs. It takes me back to being disciplined in the Headmaster's Office at school as I am stood in the section that he singles out for the reprimand. What he couldn’t know is that we are under attack! In the space of a couple of songs two mobiles come crashing from the balcony as people are straining to get their camera closer to the stage and capture the action. ‘Honest Sir! We are only helping people find their SIM cards and batteries that have explored over the floor!’

The rant has the desired effect as everyone maintains a respectful silence as he plays the rest of the set. We remain silent even as he tunes between each song. One heckler during his incessant tuning inquires as to which tuning he uses. He responds quickly, pointing out that he uses different tuning for each song and then added a little advice, ‘if there are any guitarists out there’ (as if the venue isn’t full of us) ‘a word of advice - don't use different tuning – it’s too much hassle!’

Even as a drink spills over the balcony onto my head...

The easy banter this evening is totally different from the last time I saw him when he seemed far more on edge. As he chats to the audience tonight he talks openly and honestly about being bi-polar. The respect for him as an artist has been palpable at every Jon Gomm gig I have been to as people recognize he is a rare talent. Tonight there is an extra sense of this admiration as people become more aware of the whole person behind the songs. Not that they are always the easiest songs to listen too, but they are always amazing to behold performed live.

As is becoming common at gigs now-a-days he finishes with a totally acoustic song: Gloria. It is hard to hear in this size of venue, but as one the audience strains to hear the woeful tale of first love across teenage cultures. Not one of us dare risk the wrath of the headmaster and talk! Even as a drink spills over the balcony onto my head I simply silently sidestep the drips and continue to enjoy his closing song.

Adverts for companies like Stub Hub show images of gigs which are meant to evoke the impression of having the time of our lives. The once in the lifetime gig. The image that defines our gig going forever. It might be to state the bleedin’ obvious, but there is only one ‘once in a lifetime’ gig – the clue is in the description! It is the same problem as the overuse of the superlative – we are sold the fallacy that our next gig will be the best; it will be that once in a lifetime gig. Until, of course, the next one. Don’t get me wrong I don’t want to pay to see rubbish but not every gig is going to be the one. That doesn’t mean however that a gig that falls short of the greatest gig of my life could not still be a wonderful experience.

So was this the best gig I've ever been too? Was this the best Jon Gomm gig I've ever seen? I’m not even going to answer those questions!

He didn’t give 110%...

No, it doesn't compare with first time I saw him for the sheer amazement of not quite believing what I was seeing or hearing. It was not as intimate as the gig in the cellar of the Dry Bar in Manchester (or was it Night and Day?) with nine other people. However, the venue is far better than the last place I saw him, and he himself is in a far better place than the last time I saw him.

The simple truth is that it is a great gig. He is a shit hot musician, and I leave having experienced a supreme talent. No, he didn’t give 110%, but he gave us his all, and quite rightly, many superlatives will be used to describe him.

So I leave on a high and on the journey home resolve once again to sell my guitars…

Gig: 30 of 50
Date of Gigs: Wed. 21st October 2015

Venue
The Jazz Cafe, Camden

Artists
Matt Stevens

Jon Gomm

Running total of artists seen 64

Foliage and Favours in Beetroot Fields

Cocktail of excitement

I have seen British Sea Power five or six times before and in a number of venues. The first time I saw them was in quite possibly the worst venue in Manchester, with no clear line of sight and horrendous sound. Warwick Arts Centre was the last venue I saw them in, complete with its comfy seats and half time ice creams served by cinema style attendants! I have seen them as a support act, at a whisky festival and sharing the stage with a Brass Band!

The reason I am so looking forward to tonight is three fold.

Firstly, they are celebrating 12 years since the release of their first album. The album that I bought on spec after reading an article on the band in a discarded paper on the train on my way to work - an album I ultimately fell in love with. Few things in life are more rewarding than taking a musical risk and it paying off! Tonight they will play this first album in its entirety. The fact that they are celebrating 12 years, when most other bands wait until 15 or 20, is a little glimpse into the maverick mentality of Cumbria’s finest! Further glimpses can be found in the album’s title ‘The Decline of British Sea Power’ - surely not the name of a debut album - and in the track names ‘Apologies to Insect Life’ and ‘Favours in the Beetroot Fields’! This is British Sea Power and we have got used to it.

The second ingredient in the cocktail of excitement is that this is my first visit to the Roundhouse. I have mentioned elsewhere in this blog the joy of going to venues that had hitherto only ever been a name on the back of a tour T-shirt. The moment I walk into Stephenson’s old engine shed I sense history, as the modern stage lights illuminate the old iron pillars. The dry-ice is a nod back to the golden years of steam, and out of the ether it is possible to hear the magnificent music of brilliant bands who have graced (and disgraced) the Roundhouse stage in decades past. I sense it’s the perfect setting for tonight’s gig.

The umbrella in the cocktail is that my gig-buddy from Malt‘n’Music is down south for the gig. The first time we met - over a whisky and darts in the Moulton local - he was wearing one of his many British Sea Power T-shirts. To make conversation I said something inane like ‘So you like British Sea Power’ and I saw different emotions sweep across his face. Firstly disbelief, that someone else had actually heard of them. Secondly joy, that here may be a kindred spirit. Thirdly uncertainty, that I may just be taking the mick. And finally, a realisation that no longer would he have to go to see them on his own! Finding a new gig-buddy is always a very special moment.

Bo Ningen are at full throttle when we walk in. I don’t think I have ever seen as much energy or hair from a support band before and I have been to a fair few heavy rock gigs in my time! But this is Japanese Acid Punk and they power through their set, which turns out to be the perfect opener to the gig.

Blank looks on work-mates faces

Once the Bo Ningen gear is cleared off the stage the usual activity of roadies continues - tuning guitars, adjusting mic stands, tuning the same guitars and adjusting the same mic stands again. All this along with the lesser seen activity of adding even more foliage to a stage already adorned with half a forest, two herons, a couple of owls and a kestrel! There is a wonderful moment as one roadie adjusts Hamilton’s mic stand and dislodges the branch of a local tree. In one swift movement he tears a length of tape with his teeth and reattaches the leaves with a look that says ‘Why can’t they just smash up guitars like they used to in the good old days of rock?’

But this is a Sea Power gig and the fans, all 1700 of them, have paid to see one of the most original, freethinking, non-conformist bands in the industry today. This means wildlife on stage and an expected glimpse of Ursine Ultra (she’s an 8 foot bear to the uninitiated) but no hope of mega-stardom. A very good friend said to me this week ‘They must be big to play the roundhouse’. They are not massive, but they are the sort of band who elicit a tremendous loyalty from their fans. Once you are hooked you remain hooked despite the derision of friends or the blank looks on work-mates faces when you talk of your plans for the weekend… This gig is full of real fans who know every word of every song and who recognise that greatness is not the same as popularity.

As the band take the stage and from the opening strains of ‘Men Together Today’ to the last chords of ‘Lately’ I’m reminded of hearing this album for the first time.  I listened to it again and again because I knew I loved it. I also knew that I didn’t really get it all - but thirsted to. I am reminded how I wanted to devour more of this strange, weird but ultimately delightful band. 

  
Hung like a wooden horse

12 years on and the album hasn’t aged – they have played for 50 minutes and it seems like five as they go off before the second set. The final ‘Decline’ song - ‘A Wooden Horse’ – is not played the absence is not explained it is just left hanging. The second set is classic Sea Power. There is crowd surfing from the drum-beating Eamon. Ursine Ultra appears on the stage only to reappear in the audience. The crowd are chanting ‘Easy, Easy’ as the intro to ‘No Lucifer.’ And there is the wonderful natural sense of humour between the brothers Yan and Hamilton when Yan’s guitar falls silent. All this leads in a crescendo to the stirringly triumphant ‘Waving Flags’ and the beautiful power of ‘The Great Skua’

Returning for the encore, Yan declares, ‘This is the one we forgot’ and the concert finishes as the album does with ‘A Wooden Horse’. The truth is that there has been no decline of British Sea Power. They have built on their first album and generated an impressive body of music and a dedicated fan base. They have developed a flair for the bizarre, and a tight and explosive stage show.  They continue to produce strange and wonderful lyrics. Tonight is a joyous celebration of all of that. A celebration of their capacity to do things differently.  I only hope I can be there when they celebrate the album’s 23rd anniversary!

Gig: 12 of 50

Date of Gig: Sat. 13th June 2015

Venue
The Roundhouse

Artists
Bo Ningen

British Sea Power

Running total of artists seen 31

Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some form a band...

Er… excuse me lads you do know we have a support act to fit on that stage….

The trick with Wille and the Bandits is to make sure you book a solo artist as the support! There may only be three members of the band but once their equipment is set up on stage you struggle to find a spot for another mic stand! Good job that Josh Healey was booked - a singer-songwriter, one man, one guitar, he just about fitted on the stage!

Booking Josh was a good move for another reason too  - his support set was quite simply beautiful. His natural rapport with the audience the perfect segway to his finely crafted acoustic songs, delivered with a purity and control of voice that defy his age.

It all about the sum of the parts….

In my last blog I was extolling the virtue of Dan Patlansky, and I would still urge everyone to catch him live, but tonight was different. Patlansky’s bassist and drummer, while essential to the gig, were only really on stage to showcase the great talent of Patlansky. Matt and Andy are no foil to Wille - they are an integral part of the sound that is Wille and the Bandits. The sound is fuller, more powerful, tonally richer and prone to greater light and dark than Patlansky’s.

The first time I saw this incredible band live I kept finding myself counting the band members on stage, because I just couldn’t believe that this wonderwall of blues-rock that was assaulting my ears was made by only three musicians. 

Watch Matt’s fingers moving quicker than most lead guitarists on his 6 string base, or Andy’s syncopation with one hand and a driving rhythm with the other and you realise this is no average rhythm section!

Add Wille’s husky blues voice, incredible slide guitar, and stunning songwriting and its is no surprise that Wille and the Bandits are far greater than the sum of their exceptional parts.

Mission from God

I’m back up in Cheshire, a flying visit, for another Malt’n’Music night. This is the second time that Wille and the Bandits have played in Moulton. The first was a brilliant night that quite simply blew the village away. It blew the band away too, they were keen to come back - maybe it had something to do with the Bandit Ale at the Lion!

‘I’ve always wanted an ale named after us’ quipped Wille. ‘It’s the pinnacle of a musician’s career, we can retire now.' Please don’t. There are millions of so-called music lovers who need to be saved from the over-produced mediocrity of commercial music. It’s a mission from God.

There was only one phase on people’s lips. ‘Better than the first’. Hard to believe, but they were tighter, more energetic and powerful than the first time (and Wille was ill). 

Malt’n’Music in every sense 
At previous Malt’n’Music gigs the audience have hung back like worshippers at church, congregating safely close to the exit! Tonight they were drawn forward, the sheer intensity of the music pulling people closer to its source. There was barely room for the Malt’n’Music team to find a path through the crowd to keep Wille plied with cough medicine for the soul (or whiskey to you and me!). The perfect cure for man-flu!

I could have talked all night...  
This truly was Malt’n’Music not just because Single Malt was soothing the vocal chords of the lead singer but once again the community turned out to support live music in the village. What people often don’t realise is that live music is a partnership, a relationship and a dialogue. Too many audiences demand to be entertained without giving anything to the event, to take and only give back once they feel gratified. The Malt’n’Music crowd had always been aware that bands feed off audiences just as much as audiences feed off bands. 

As the set progressed the atmosphere grew and deepened as band and audience, responding to each other, gave their all. The crowd were tremendous singing, dancing, cheering and having a wonderful time. Such a vibe from the audience can’t fail to ascend to the stage and as the band finished the last song, the simply sublime ‘Angel’, the smiles on their faces said it all – Once again we were blown away and once again so were they. No wonder in their latest tour email Wille and the Bandits declared ‘including a long awaited return to some of our favourite venues including:- The Malt 'n' Music Club’

Even the vicar wants them to play louder…. 
So just how good are Wille and the Bandits? Go. Go and see them for yourself to find out just how good, but before you get the chance here are a couple of indications from the gig; 

1. As they returned to the stage for the encore Wille announced ‘this is for all the Dire Straits fans in the audience.’ People went wild - that’s how good they are. No-one normally admits to being a Dire Straits fan!

2. After the gig the local vicar, only a few years from retirement, was asked what he thought. ‘Not loud enough’ came his reply - that’s how good they are. Even the vicar wants them to play louder! (I told you they are on a mission from God!)

Life is too short

I had to head straight back down the M6 so was unable to stay for the legionary Malt’n’Music after show party. If last time was anything to go by the Lion would be full, the Bandit beer barrel empty, and the morning very early…

Was I shattered as I crawled into bed? Yes! Did I regret the feeling of being barely alive the next day at work? No! Would I do it again today? Without hesitation! Life is too short not to experience such evenings they are gifts from God.

Gig: 7 of 50

Date of Gig: Sat 2nd May 2015


Venue
Village Hall, Moulton


Artists
Josh Healey
Wille and the Bandits

Running total of artists seen 21

Magical Musical Mystery Tour...

Malt'n'Music...

Earlier this week I sat on a London bus on the way to a gig and got the bright idea of going to 50 gigs in my 50th year - to get to the first of the fifty I have to use a train and head 200 miles north.

Project Jam Sandwich are playing in a Village Hall in Cheshire - I've never seen them live, I don't own any of their CD's (their first EP is due out soon!) - I'm not sure about the name -  all I have to go on is one youtube clip but I know that the 400 mile round trip will be worth it!

I'm going back to my roots...
The Cheshire village was home for 5 years before moving to London and is still home to many great friends. Malt'n'Music is a group I used to part of and have put on gigs in the village for the past couple of years - and each one has been brilliant - so I am happy to travel to see old friends and set a bench mark for the next 49 gigs this year with one I know will be hard to beat...

Stuart Swarbrick opened the night with a beautiful set of acoustic blues and folk. At times its hard to believe that there is just him playing - his arrangements of Beeswing, Stained Glass and 1952 Vincent Black Lightning were highlights of a fantastic set.

Project Jam Sandwich are all highly accomplished musicians in their own right – if reading their award littered CVs wasn't proof enough or the fact that they all met while studying at Royal Northern College of Music - you only have to listen to them to appreciate their technical excellence but also how in tune with, each other and, their chosen instruments they are.

The arrangements of traditional songs from around the world that Project Jam Sandwich present are full of tonal light and shade, individual brilliance balanced with harmony. They often say it's what the best musicians don't play that makes them great - Project Jam Sandwich use of silence and space sucks the audience in with almost audible gasps of breath!

Yet this gig will be hard to beat for more than the fact that we were treated to truly gifted musicianship...

Shake my moneymaker

Music is a gift for the world. 

Not a commodity to be sucked dry for the wealth of a few. Commercialism has systematically ripped the heart and soul out of the music world - wanting to control what we listen to, buy and ultimately go and hear live... ( In Defence of Manchester Pirates - prettyasapoetspen.blogspot.co.uk)

World music is not promoted, not considered a moneymaker - but here in this quiet Cheshire village on a Friday Night the best part of 100 people turn out to listen.  They have never heard of Project Jam Sandwich and as the band take the stage you can sense the uncertainty in the room - but through the magical musical mystery tour of world music - the audience are converts and the standing ovation at the end of both exquisite sets says it all!

This was not just a wonderful night of live music - this is a triumph.

Music has gone back to it's roots (sing with me... to the place of my birth, back down to earth) no souless suits walking away with a fat profit, no musical hype, no next big thing, no breeze block stadium, no clichés from the stage, just real and talented musicians bringing an ethereal experience to the community. 

That is why I knew this gig would be hard to beat because people were discovering music they didn't know they liked and that kind of joy and atmosphere is a rare and beautiful thing.

There's a beer with my name on...
And after the gig the band head across the road to the award winning local - The Lion - and enjoy a pint of Project Jam Sandwich Ale (even get to pull their own pint!) and chat with those they have just entertained - now that is community, that is what music is all about - bringing a community together, entertaining that community and lifting the spirit to a place above the ordinary and mundane not tarred by profit and loss but made wonderful by melody and chord.

Gig: 1 of 50
Date: 6th March 2015

Venue
Moutlon Village Hall

Artists
Stuart Swarbrick

Project Jam Sandwich (projectjamsandwich.com)

Promoters
Malt'n'Music (maltnmusic.co.uk, malt-n-music.blogspot.co.uk)

It has been said before, and by Malt'n'Music, that there are only two types of music - Good and Bad! (malt-n-music.blogspot.co.uk)
Malt'n'Music is a non-profit making organisation that promotes GOOD live music for the local community.

Running total of artists seen 2