Making Music - Independent and Dependent

Recent events have reaffirmed my faith in "good musicians who work hard get heard." For quite some time, it seems like only boy- and girl-band spin-offs were able to make money and get tours.


Out Of State has been playing their own material (mostly) to all kinds of small and large crowds. All four musicians are excellent, the singer is a true young phenom, and the sound gets you going in a big way.

Find out about "Out of State." GIVE THEM A LISTEN!!!


They're getting gigs - gigs where they're just having a blast playing - and getting less than a few shekels for their troubles. At the end of the night, ask them how they feel... "The music is alive in me and I love the passion of sharing it."


I'm still worrying about those who can't afford studio time: They are very under-represented in the public for-play world. Maybe survival of the fittest is a good thing in business... just maybe.


How many George Harrisons, Bobby Dylans, and David Gilmours are out there right now recording on home systems - and making GREAT STUFF? LOTS of them are out there.



Listen. Ask around. Don't be afraid to listen to something that isn't "awesome overcooked loudness-clipped radio-playable stuff promoted by someone motivated by something other than the sound."


Have you heard the recordings of the Monterey geniuses like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and so many others? How would those acts fare in today's "if it's not in a studio, it isn't good enough to be music" atmosphere.



On a side note: I'm NOT (NOT) knocking studios. Technicians, producers, and professionals all over the world make the recordings we all remember - and make them timeless and wonderful. I'm not digging out against studios: I am saying that music made outside a studio isn't bad because it wasn't in a studio.


Listen, troll online music sites for indies, troll CD Baby (even if you never hear a single tune of mine) and other self-publishers... Therein lies the next Jefferson Airplane and Pink Floyd and Dolly Parton and Nirvana.



Tune in, open your mind, turn off the corporate labels, and set your soul free to some awesome music.


It's not even hard to find.