DOES A LIVE PERFORMANCE EQUAL RADIO AIRPLAY?

This band is the reason for this column

BOOGIE COMPANY

Facinating question, isn't it? The argument could be that if
you don't go and see a band live, should you play them on
the radio?

In my 61 years, of course beginning in my teens and through
my long journey on the radio and involvement in many
other facets of the music inDUSTry, let's just say I've been
to at least a thousand shows.

Sound like an exageration? Nope. Been to at least that many.
From tiny clubs, showcases in the weirdest of places, to the
big halls, arena's and theatres, I've done it. Believe it.

So, since I returned to Phoenix near 3-years ago from Los
Angeles, I have only been out to a handful of shows. I
went to see New Model Army for the third time just when
I came back to the desert. I saw Joan Jett 3 times in 2006,
first at the annual Ostrich Festival, then the Warped tour,
and capped it off at the Marquee Theatre.

My son Russell and I also went to see Queensryche perform
"Operation Mindcrime 1&2" at the Dodge Theatre.

That's it so far.

Why do I stay away from shows and club performances
nowaday's? Quite simple. At this point of my life, I'd like to
have a life.

With that in mind, two weeks ago I attended a music
conference with Managers, A&R representitives, Concert
Promoters, Marketing Strategists, Record Labels, and
musicians from 37 different countries being present for
four days of networking, panels, performances, and just
general usual stuff that goes on at such events.

It was the fourth annual Musexpo held this year at the Hyatt
on Sunset Boulevard, and the House of Blues, directly across
the street from the Hyatt hotel.

I really went to L.A. (home) to see friends, golf, and catch a
Dodger game at the stadium. As most of you know, I took the
weekend off from my radio shows.

The conference was something I did because I am more about
networking, learning new things from the panels, and maybe
finding a gem, without going out at night to the showcases at
the House Of Blues. I kept my word. No live shows.

See, what I do on the radio is every week craft a "show" of music
from my vast library and new music that is sent to me in large
quantity's. It's a lot of work which I enjoy doing.

I am a presenter and programmer of music to entertain you. That's
what I do. My responsibility is to listen to all sent, and decide what
fits for the day's I program leading up to showtime.

A live performance at this stage of what I do is pretty much not an
important part of what I do. A CD or MP3 is what I have to go by.
I use two CD players in the KUPD studio, not a computer. The shows
are live, so once in awhile you will hear me fuck up. :-)

I run the board so it's my fault if something goes wrong, except if the
equipment itself has a problem. Than, not my fault.

Okay, so you see the band above. They are from a small country
called Estonia, south of Finland and east of Russia.

On the first day of Musexpo, there was a chaotic noisy luncheon
at the Saddlecreek Restaurant next to the Hyatt.

The above band Boogie Company played a couple of songs to a
loud audience, talking, eating and pretty much in a large part
ignoring the live performance. Par for the course.

The sound system was not good, and the band who flew all the
way from Estonia to be noticed and hopefully get some love
from A&R types, labels, and whoever would show interest, were
probably not recieving what they had hoped for.

When they finished, I walked over to Andrus, the lead singer of
this Rockabilly style band (who did a cover of Rammstein's song
"Amerika"), and handed him a card with all my info.

Later on Andrus saw me and handed me a CDR of that song. As I
drove back to my hotel (not the Hyatt), I listened a few times and
was pleasantly surprised. It rocked! It sounded way better than
the live performance. Again, I reiterate, the conditions for them
sucked.

So the moral is; if I had judged by their live offering, I might have
never discovered a group that is damn good, and I have been
playing on the radio since. New songs have been sent, and I will
continue to program them on my shows.

I don't know if the band has gotten any offers from labels in the
States, nor do I know if anyone else has shown interest. I sure hope
they get some love because they are very good on disc, and they are
also very good live as seen on their video's.

Chalk up that one luncheon as a blip in their quest.

For me, if I hadn't asked for music, I suppose my audience (you)
would never even know about them.

Look, I've seen scads of great shows in my lifetime, from Bowie,
The Stones, Led Zeppelin, oh shit, name a band or an artist and
most likely I've seen them. Maybe not everyone, but a lot, bet
on that. From huge names to names you will never even hear from
again.

Lately I just want to live a private life, I don't drink (haven't for
years), and just don't feel like going out. If I do feel it, I will.

Remember, a good recording is what my tools are.


RESPONSE BACK


Dear friend Johnette Napolitano

From the other side: I would like to say I've always thought of live
playing as a 'sketch' in b & w and the studio as a palette of 'colors'.

They're 2 different mediums altogether. Live conditions are erratic
and unreliable and that is just the nature of it and if you think at
this age it's a bitch to go to a show imagine someone
telling you you have to GO ON at 1:00 a.m. ! AS IF!!! But a show is
just that, a show in the moment and if something doesn't work you
play around it, etc., if the sound isn't right for the moody ones,
you stick to the harder ones, or whatever sounds best in the room, or
the mood of the crowd, etc.

Anyway it's a very simple equation: many more people have purchased
Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd and Coldplay records than have ever seen
them live. They are 2 different mediums.

A live performance is of the moment and not meant , in my opinion, to
be appreciated wholly and properly outside of that context. In making
a 'record' (the dictionary definition helps here)
I am concerned in sending the intended emotion and message of the
piece:, illustrating it sonically to the truest of my ability to be
understood for posterity...for all time. It's sort of like a chicken
and the egg question but if you look you'll find the egg came first,
and you went to the show to check out the chicken who laid it.

Ok that's enough with the feeble reaching for metaphor.

Love J

Thanks J. I think my point is in your 3rd paragraph.