How would you like to be an executive producer at a promising new record company (or at least buy a tee-shirt that says you are)? What about having your own theme song? Have you ever wanted to have a concert at your house with a semi-famous singer-songwriter? And…how would you like to sing with me, despite your (possible) lack of talent, on my next big hit?
Okay, I know this blog is really not supposed to be about me. I am very happy about that…really. We have been talking a lot about politics, but because this is on a music site we touch on music too (like Huckabee's views on the Scissor Sisters).
As we all know, the music biz is in turmoil. A lot of folks are bummed out, losing jobs, and confused about what the next business model will be. But as an artist, I find this an exciting time. We can be pioneers and start having more control of our own careers. That's what I'm thinking.
A bit of history: I have put out 6 CDs and been on four labels –two disappointing majors, and 2 indies (both of which went bankrupt). My personal favorite CD, "Happytown" (on Atlantic) was discontinued, and since I don't own it, I cannot re-release it. One would think that after a couple of hits ("Supermodel" and "I Kissed a Girl"), that I would be living the high life or at least flying business class constantly. But I hate to tell you…I still live like a freshman. The record deals that I signed were not moneymakers...
Now, I'm not complaining. I have been blessed and have played music for over 14 years without having to have a real job - which is a good thing because I have no marketable skills to do anything else. And right now, I have a bunch of new songs and finally feel ready to do a next record.
The problem is that I don't have one of those nice big advances from a record company to pay for the studio, musicians, producer, marketing, publicity, etc. - much less the illegal payola.
So, I have come up with new business model:
You guys - well, fans and companionate friends - invest in me. You fund my next CD (digital release, 8 track cassette, etc.) in exchange for gifts, services and participation.
While chatting with my Republican brother (the only one in the family), even he agreed that the white-hot hatred that most of his brethren feel for Hillary... is a bit over the top.
But as soon as he got there, he said, "but it's the exact same thing that you all have for Bush. You either say he is evil personified or a complete idiot." Well, he had a point. Then I said something like, "Well, Hillary may not be my favorite pantsuit wearer, but she certainly didn't get us into an unnecessary war that killed thousands of Americans and many, many more innocent Iraqis (although some would say that she is responsible for her part in voting for it). And she has not single handed-ly taken the goodwill that we had from the world after 9/11, and thrown it down the tubes. I could go on, but I won't."
My new smart and thoughtful conservative friend, who we will name, "The Benign Conservative" (he has a sort of famous other career), is also bothered by Hillary's personal life. He says she is a terrible role model (for say, someone's daughter). After having been cheated on and humiliated several times, she still took the bastard back.
He does have a point, but I do find it funny when, all of a sudden, people on the right turn into ardent feminists. Personally, I think forgiveness is a great thing, but more importantly, I could care less what the White House couple do to each other. I just want someone to do a good job, or at least fair to middling.
Anyway, the benign conservative has given us at the Provocateurs his latest take on Hillary and her display of emotion last week. Next post, we will hear from
"The Weepies"
By The Benign Conservative
Heck, we all get them. I can watch Field of Dreams 100 times 100 and still get misty at the end. Heck, I know it's his dad and I know they are going to play catch. But this red-meat eating red stater can't help it. Or the Friday night shabbat prayer and blessing of the children, (I'm not Jewish but it still touches me deeply when I am invited for sabbath). Or talk of my sainted grandmother or my cursed San Diego Chargers. Tears are not a bad or evil thing but cleansing and human.
So why does the sight of Hillary getting vaclempt make so many people's teeth itch? Because the moments of emotion I describe are all external. For a President, (or their many wannabes), tearing up over wounded or deceased soldiers, the suffering of others or even how fast their children have grown is acceptable. Maybe even expected.
Hillary cried for herself. That a campaign is hard. Oh, so very hard. For her. The enemies, her enemies, are everywhere. The corn-husking morons of Iowa who are unable to see her as the clear and obvious presidential heir apparent. It was so very, very Nixonian. If you listened closely you could almost hear the faint ringing of bygone political self-pity, "Think of what you'll be missing: You won't have Hillary to kick around any more".
Unfortunately, it seemed to work. Women voted in record numbers in New Hampshire. Many in exit interviews noting "we saw the real Hillary". For what? Ten seconds. Then it was back to transformer woman.
And if the result was to unveil a self-pitying, paranoid politician why in the name of feminism did it work?
Thank you, Mr. Benign Conservative
I bet some of you out there have an opinion on this.
Side note: Curiously, how many of you have been cheated on? And if so, did you forgive or move on? Or, the other way around. I want to know. I'm not sure why.
Also, are you all going to watch the debates tonight? I bet they won't be as nasty.
Dust off your flannel shirt and pop "Singles" in the VCR. Is it the 1990's? Clinton and McCain?!?! I know McCain was a 2000 candidate, but it FEELS so10 years ago. Jeez. What is UP, New Hampshire???
A paradigm shift took place last week in Iowa. I know a lot of people felt it - what was that feeling? It was the weight of cynicism lifting off of their shoulders. Obama had stirred something up... just the idea of him is stirring. If Hillary were truly interested in the future of America, she would have signed on as a Mama for Obama right then and there. But no. She had to go play the "don't listen to those crazy kids" card in New Hampshire. And now we're back to 1996. Because you know what comes after another Clinton? Another Bush. God for-f**king-bid.
Bush, Cheney and Co have always struck me as perfectly cast for a McCarthy-era spy movie, in black and white of course.
They'd play the evil government conspirators who try to squash progressive thought and free speech, strip away the Constitution, build up the military and concoct a war for their own financial gain ... oh wait, that's not a movie.
Look, how could we NOT be cynical after the past 7 years? How could we NOT distrust politicians? It's just self-preservation at this point!
This isn't Hillary-bashing, by the way - I've always been pro-Hillary. I voted for her to be our senator when I lived in NY and always thought she'd make a good president. I still do actually. But after all the old skool politics we've been subjected to, isn't it time for something a little new?
Gary Hart gets to the crux of the issue in this morning's Huffington post. Casting all of the aspects of race and gender aside (amazing that we can even attempt that now!), he discusses the basic decision the Democratic party has to make this year (notice the radio silence on the McCain win? Its like, "yeah...and?"). As the so-called party of progress, do they take a leap or a step?
Anyway, I guess that's what we'll all be considering over the next few months... interesting times, huh? I was kidding about the flannel shirts, by the way. Lets not bring those back!
We begin with a video made for The Provocateurs from our favorite slam poet and storyteller: RIVES
Now about me... (it always comes back to me, doesn't it?)
I first picked up the electric guitar when I was 8 or 9. My first gig was in 6th grade with my band "The Igloos"(pretty great band name, I must say). The Igloos only knew two songs: "Hey Joe" by Hendrix and "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple.
As you can see, from the start I fancied myself a hard rocker, a shredder, a guitar hero (decades before the game). The problem for me, way back in the late 70s, was that it wasn't that cool for a girl to do it. The other girls thought I was weird, and though the boys liked me, it wasn't in the making out kind of way.
I wanted to be Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and George Harrison. As far as female role models...there were not many. Oh, we had Nancy Wilson from Heart, Joan Jett from the Runaways, and before them, June Millington from Fanny
...but that was about it. Oh, I forgot, Bonnie Raitt.
Despite it all, I continued to be the best "lead" guitar player in my town (um, neighborhood), long before I decided to do that singer-songwriter stuff. What a bore! Still, I have been known to put my amp on eleven, stomp on my favorite fuzz pedal (the Swollen Pickle) and...shred
Anyway, Rives' video got me thinking about how other "girls with guitars" might have felt... so I came up with some questions and found a bunch of friends to ask - They are: Kat Dyson (guitarist in Prince's New Power Generation and with Cyndi Lauper); Charlotte Caffey (the guitarist from the GoGo's); Kay Hanley (from LettersTo Cleo); Nina Gordon(of Veruca Salt); Tracy Bonham (singer, songwriter and musician); Wendy Melvoin (of Wendy and Lisa, Prince, and composer for the show "Heroes"); June Millington (from the legendary girlband Fanny), Marla Sokoloff (an actress, singer, songwriter and guitarist. She also makes really pretty custom guitar straps called Kiss My Axe); and Dayna Kurtz (a New York singer/songwriter, known for her unique slide guitar style).
My questions are:
How old were you when youfirst picked up the guitar? Was it electric? Acoustic?
KD - 9 years old....acoustic....
CC - I was 15, but I was 17 before I played an electric
NG - about 6 years old, 17when I played electric
TB - I was 5 when I learned A, D, and E - Kumbaya, was it? I didn't really teach myself guitar until Iwas 24. I started to rock out on electric at age 26. I found that distortion could hide the fact that I couldn't really play.
WM - I started playing guitar by default when I was six.
JM - I was just turning 13 when I first touched a guitar.
MS - 12, My first electric was a Fender Strat
DK - 12 - an acoustic guitar my big sister had begged for several years earlier and left in her closet- A Yamaha FG 110 acoustic. The action was so high and it was so hard to play, I thought bar chords were for the super advanced and had to work around it.
Did you get much support for playing from your parents and friends?
KD - My mom was all for it from day one...It took my dada few years to get into it. Theboys in my neighborhood used to tease me and say I was wasting my time. Thegirls used to be kinda jealous because their boyfriends were turned on at thesight of a girl rocking out!
CC - No, and as far as I remember, no other girls I knew played guitar.
NG - Totally. The acoustics were my dad's guitars, the electric was a gift from my brother
TB - Peers gave me much support. They said I had a certain "sound". I thought it was called "ham fisted" but OK, I have a "sound". In the 90's it was considered cool for a chick to play electric guitar.
WM - My older brother Jonathan at the time was playing drums and had some really interesting teachers come to the family house and give him lessons. I wanted so badly toplay the drums too, but my folks just didn't pay that much attention to my musical desires. They really just thought i was being competitive with my bro.Xmas of that year Igot a guitar...it was a Yamaha D7 or something. I just flipped out I loved it so much. The only time I remember not playing as a kid is when I broke my arm, at 10 years old, skateboarding down ours treet, chasing the older boys to keep up with this new fad... I failed. I had a cast put on that took me out of the game for 4 months... I lost my calluses, and grew black hair on parts of my arm, that never saw any. It took a total of 6 or 7 months before I played again and haven't stopped at all except for the occasional "I want to be a bass player" or "I want to be a drummer now" or "I want to produce now" faze.
JM - hmmm. Well, before Bonnie (Raitt) .... not a one, on guitar. I mean a woman on electric guitar didn't exist as a role model in the 60's ~ although now I know there were a few on the blues and country scenes, and I wish I'd known. So I and other girls in the band just made it up as we went along, out of sheer chutzpah you could say. As far as guys, Jimi Hendrix would have to be at the top of the list. Then there'd be Lowell George, who taught me so much and was a good friend and ally. And there were other guys whose names no one would know but who helped so much with licks here and there, and especially sounds. We all just really experimented a lot, there were no gimmicks then so it was pure tone and understanding the intent behind every note you played. I mean, get it out there.
MS - My mom thought it was another phase because I had already attempted a few other instruments but all my friends at school thought it was pretty bad ass. At least I think theythought that ;)
DK - I was considered pretty weird regardless. It helped a little, I think. Not with boys, though. Nothing helped with that till my boobs came in. And even then, I was pretty much thought to be a freak, and not in a good way. My mom loved it. I think my dad liked it until it became clear that I wasn't going to stop and do something more sensible like get a graduate degree or marry a lawyer. Then he worried.
Who were your role models?
KD - Odetta (my mom loved her; she was the first black female guitarist to play Carnegie Hall; Marianne Faithfull (for hersongwriting) also, Wes Montgomery, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Rolling Stones,Led Zepplin, Yes, Carlos Santana ,Allan Holdsworth, Jon Scofield; and for rhythm and funkiness: Sly and the Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield; all of the James Brown guitar players and last but not least, Tower of Power.
CC - there definitely weren't any girls-but my idols were John Lennon, Jimi Hendricks-way into Led Zepplin and Jimmy Page-my first 2 concerts were The Beatles in 1966 and Led Zepplin in1969 (their first tour) -so that pretty much set the stage right there..
TB - My role models on guitar were and still are George Harrison, Jonny Greenwood, Thurston Moore, and Joey Santiago of the Pixies.
JM - Back in the Day - there were no all-girl bands to emulate, heck there were no girls on any of the cool instruments. But from the family, pretty much the women - my mother Yolanda and my beloved aunt Cora. They adored anything we did, which is more valuable than people think. Peers? We didn't have peers. As I said, we were making it up as we went along. So when we bumped into other girls who played, naturally we were all supportive of each other. One girl was Addie Clement who was in the California Girls out of Palo Alto but joined our band the Svelts (Sacramento). And then there was the band Birtha whom we met in L.A. when we already had a record deal. They got one subsequently, and we hung out a lot, were all girlfriends. Their guitar player was kick ass, seriously, but they never got the attention we did somehow. They were great, tho (and their bass player is the woman singing on "Running On Empty" with Jackson, which was at least a decade later).
DK - My world was seriously rocked by Joni Mitchell, especially. Also, her use of open tunings helpedsolve my cheap warped guitar problems, as you can do less and sound like more in an open tuning. I still mostly play open tunings today. In high school, I was desperate for girl musicians -I loved Joni, Heart, Rickie Lee Jones. I remember in the 80's buying absolutely anything with tits that wasn't bullshit pop, because it was still so damn rare. The Eurythmics, The Motels, Tina Turner's comeback, Til Tuesday.
What was your favorite song to play on guitar?
KH - My go-to song when I have a Gibson Les Paul and a super loud amp to play it through is "LuckyGuy" by The Muffs.
NG - favorite first song to play as a kid was "Keep On Singing" by HELEN REDDY!!! So corny, it hurts to admit it...next favorite was "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac -- phew! Way better.
WM - When I was 12, I was taking lessons when my teacher at the time asked if there was any song I would like to learn.Well, I said yes to "Amelia" by Joni Mitchell - from her Hejira record, not realizing that it was open tuned and that my teacher was not a fan. He went home that week to learn the song and then feebly taught me his rendition. I played it his way till I was 16 and then discovered open tunings on my own and happened on that particular tuning from a song. I was writing at that tender age, and my world changed forever. Guitar playing has never been the same since for me since...
JM - "Stop! In the Name of Love" (nice piano chords, it was the first time I realized you could play a chord with its third in the bass), anything super-funky like "In the Midnight Hour" or "Hold On! I'm Coming", even "Walking the Dog"; Beatles Beatles Beatles; girl group songs - "Heat Wave", "Dancing in the Street", "Somebody to Love" by the Jefferson Airplane (Addie played all the leads, I didn't get off strictly rhythm 'till we got to L.A. and she quit the band - yipes!) and "Sunshine of Your Love" were both great tracks to learn when they were still hits, just an absolutely rollicking time; "Do You Believe in Magic", wow, and a shuffle too; you had learn to do songs like "Louie, Louie", that basic rock thing, but we didn't stay on them long as everyone else was doing them and the 3 chords didn't really hold our interest - what set us apart was the ability to do the vocals that girls sang, or turn gender around on others ... boys didn't switch it around too much like that; and of course a good ballad always tore my heart out, we loved them. Examples would be "To Sir With Love", "Alfie" (I know, not a guitar song but we did it anyway, and learned a lot), "I'm On the Outside (Looking In)", "Baby I'm Yours", Walking in the Sand", "Our Day Will Come" by Ruby and the Romantics, and "Walk On By" - what a track!!.
And why did you want to play guitar in the first place?
KH - I started playing guitar because I was in my first band and was restless to write songs on my own as opposed to having to wait for band rehearsal nights when the guys would strum the chords for me. This was 20 years ago and I'm still not very good.
JM - I had no choice. The minute I heard one at the convent in Manila (7th grade, a few months before we moved to California) I was hooked, smitten even. I knew immediately that it was a force bigger than I and could't resist, it consumed me ~ it was rock 'n roll destiny!
MS - Because Joni did. I also really wanted to write songs about how much my parents sucked andplay them in a band to embarrass them.
DK - I don't know if girls pick up a guitar for the same reasons boys do (to get laid, to be cool). It felt like pretty uncharted territory at the time, but Ifeel like it kind of saved my life, in retrospect. It gave me a similar kind of confidence and grace that playing sports gives to other girls.
I have brought this up more than a couple of times at dinner parties when the conversation lags: "Can you name any actors or actresses in the last, say, thirty years who have successfully transformed themselves into good singers, musicians or songwriters?"
Most people are at a loss to come up with anyone.
Or, they come up with confusing answers like "Jamie Foxx." But was he a comedian, an actor or a musician first? I went on Wikipedia, where all the secrets of life can be found, and discovered that he studied music at Julliard. So Jamie doesn't count. He's a cool throwback to the days when actors had to also be song-and-dance men, like Sinatra.
It's easier to answer the question the other way around, musicians to actors: How about Tom Waits, Kris Kristofferson, Bjork, Ice Cube, Cher, Mos Def, John Doe and Mark Wahlberg, to name a few (Madonna not included).
But when I think of actors-turned-singers, I think of Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy (with "My Girl Likes To Party"), Keenu Reeves (Dogstar), David Hasselhoff, and my favorite…Steven Seagal. And don't forget the tabloid-celebs-with-record-deals: Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton.
Okay, my friend Michelle has just reminded me of one actor-turned-musician whose music career has eclipsed her acting one: Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley).
I know there are more. Can you all help me?
For fun, I'll leave you with a quote from Steven Seagal:
"I don't consider any actors to be real musicians… I'm probably going to get in trouble after saying that. I think Jeff Goldblum is the only good musician."
Michelle’s note: This post hits a little close to home for me. In my day job as a songwriter-for-hire I’ve actually worked with quite a few of the “celebs-with-record-deals.” Maybe I’ll write about that for our next post? Also, some recent examples I thought of… Mini Driver, Juliette Lewis, Billy Bob Thorton and Jared Leto. Oh, and I LOVED Lyle Lovett in The Player.
Jill: Michelle, will you please tell that story of the unnamed but obvious starlet with drug problems?
I just saw a clip of Mike Huckabee on Face the Nation yesterday morning. I like his demeanor- his easygoing manner. He seems like such a nice guy.
And, he has a sense of humor-as opposed to Giuliani whose only funny moment in the campaign, so far, was wearing the red vest in his Christmas ad. It was not intentionally funny, I think. Huckabee also seems more of a populist than your average creepy greedy tax cutter. And, Huckabee did have a more humane stance on children of illegals (well, compared to the other Republican hopefuls). Although in the last few days he has flip-flopped and has become more hard line, tying the Bhutto assassination to illegal immigration.
Okay, so he doesn't have foreign policy savvy, but he can hire someone who does…like Bush did (yikes!).
So what's my problem with Huckabee?
Well, I am not usually a one-issue kind of person, but I do have one test:
How one feels about… the gays.
I think it says a lot, no? And, my stance has some leeway. For example, if I have to, I'll accept Edward's statements about not being ready for gay marriage. But he is against a constitutional amendment, as well as against job discrimination and "don't ask, don't tell". And, he is fine with civil unions.
Huckabee has gone far and beyond the usual "marriage is just between a man and a woman". Here is a good quote from 1998 that Russert brought up:
"It is now difficult to keep track of the vast array of publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations—from homosexuality and pedophilia to sadomasochism and necrophilia.”
I love how he compares, say, boring lesbian couples that have been together for years, to going all the way with a dead person. Here's another one from back in the 1980s where he believed we should quarantine Aids patients:
"If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague..."
And another:
"I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk."
Okay, so these are his religious convictions, and some say I need to be more tolerant. But, is that like being tolerant of Mel Gibson's dad's church where they believe that the Jews are still responsible for killing Christ?
And, I so wanted to like this man from Hope Arkansas…like the other ex-governor from Hope.
So, do any of you have any predictions for Iowa? I have no clue like everyone else, but I'll just take a stab: Edwards and Romney? No, I just can't commit.
Oh, here is a very short old song of mine on the evils of the gay agenda:
1. I am going to eat better: My dietary habits have not changed since I was 8. Sure, instead of a Butterfinger, I will go for a, say, a Cliff Bar, but it is basically the same sugar crap -- but not as tasty. I skip meals (usually breakfast), snack A LOT, drink Diet Dr. Pepper and like to eat right before I go to bed. I also eat out too much. It's expensive and not as healthy as eating in, they say. But... I have kitchen phobia. I don't cook, and think if I did, I would be terrible, and no one would want to be my dinner date. This is all gonna change. Maybe I will by a cookbook. Do you guys have any good easy recipes for special needs cooks?
2. I am going to get more sleep: I average 6 hours. I like to stay up late and read. It's my no worry peaceful time. The problem is that I like to get up early. The morning is also my no worry peaceful time. The bigger problem is that the rest of the day sucks; I am tired, spacey and cranky. Plus, the crystal meth is just not as fun as it used to be.
3. Better work habits: More time with pen and paper and less time writing on my computer. When I start on my computer, I say to myself, "oh, before I get to songwriting, why don't I check my mail, then go on a couple news sites, then a couple of blogs, then go on Wikipedia to read up on, for example, who are famous Scientologists." Before I know it, two hours have passed and I am too tired to write a song. Plus, I didn't get enough sleep.
4. Be brave and face the DMV: I have a Denver driver's license and have not lived there since 1987. It's part laziness, but mostly fear of having to take the test again, especially the driver's one. I don't know why it frightens me so, but it does. So, I made an appointment for next week at the Hollywood DMV. Wish me luck.
5. Finally put out my next CD: I have been holding out for too long and have been a bit tentative. Will it be as good as my last one? Will I be heartbroken again? My last two CDs (which I am very proud of) were on two labels that went bankrupt. Sure, a lot of folks heard them: I toured tons and did what I could do on my own, but they were never properly promoted and marketed. I will be recording it in February -- yikes!
6. Be a better person: I will try to be less self involved, more active in the community (maybe feed the homeless with my new recipes), be more tolerant of people with different political views (hmm, that's a tough one), and live life with less fear and with more love and adventure.
Happy New Year to each and every one of you.
Oh, here is an old song of mine that is sort of applicable:
Part blog/part variety show hosted by singer/songwriter Jill Sobule with her fellow Provocateur, Michelle Lewis. Featuring lots of special guests, original music and videos. Formerly on Yahoo Music Blogs but ended up being too cool.
