Time really does fly when you are having fun… I wanted to mark today by re-posting my very first GFM posting from one year ago today as well as provide some links to a few of my favorite rants and reviews.
You know this journey for me all began on Twitter. In the Summer of 2009, I began to notice some intriguing tweets from @grownfolksmusic, then a dialogue began between us and then as is often said: the rest is history.
Social Media is a tool and just like any other tool you will have persons who will use that tool to build and others who will either have no purpose at all or can unfortunately use the tool for destructive purposes.
I feel very fortunate to be aligned with a team of folks who are committed to the preservation of the rich musical heritage of great music of all styles and genres, throughout the ages, with an eye for highlighting those artists who embody that legacy in our contemporary musical conversation.
This certainly is no easy charge and with the sheer volume of musical output today we may miss some gems and sometimes we may highlight something that you disagree with, but at the end of the day please know that GFM puts the music first. No wannabe celebs here, there’s too music to listen to for that, there’s still too much work to be done to insure that subsequent generations aren’t even further disconnected from their musical heritage by market forces. Yes it’s that serious. I’m not anti-industry, I’m just anti-mediocrity. So whoever aligns themselves with the mediocre and tries to pass that off as music I will be critical of.
Finally, I really want to extend my most heartfelt thanks to the entire GFM Staff for being gracious enough to provide me with a forum for all of my rants and raves, providing me with a platform to get to know some amazing artists all over the world through the reviews and interviews that I have been assigned. Sometimes I think my family feels that I have a somewhat Snuffleupagusesque online life where they often chide me about who I allegedly interviewed… all thanks to GFM!
This has been a great 365 I cannot wait to see what the next 365 will bring…
First post for GFM August 27, 2009
The purpose of this post is to begin a discussion that I believe is long overdue. I’m talking about the scarcity of “bands” in Grown Folks Music over the last two decades. First let me begin with how I’d like to define “band” for the purposes of this discussion. Band – A self-contained musical ensemble comprised of singers, musicians and often writers, that functions with the sole purpose of advancing the musical identity of the group through live performance, recordings etc.
First for a point of clarity, I’m speaking about the scarcity of bands [as I have defined them] in the mainstream. There are numerous fantastic bands in every section of this country creating new and vibrant music that would clearly be defined as Grown Folks Music. As we continue this dialog there will be ample opportunity to highlight these wonderful groups and bring them to a much deserved, and wider audience. But I want this discussion to begin with a look at the broad media and musical consciousness of 2009.
Let’s begin with a simple exercise: Name three bands that you consider to be Grown Folks Music, who have had major visibility (songs charting, videos shown daily etc.)in the last decade. Okay you probably can name at least one. Now repeat the exercise for the decade of the 1990’s on back to the beginning of the recorded music industry. Do you notice a trend? What do you believe are some of the factors for the decline in the marketing of bands vs. solo artists or vocal groups? Are these factors social? Economic? What part has technology played?
Having played in numerous bands, I realize the difficulty in maintaining a cohesive unit of players over a few months let alone decades. But the fact remains although it is a struggle it can be done. Rolling Stones? U2? It’s not just the fact that these bands continue to tour because fortunately there are Grown Folks Music bands from bygone eras that continue to tour incessantly to this day. I’m sure I’m not the first person to draw this comparison but I often think of the P-Funk Allstars as a brown version of the Grateful Dead. P-Funk like the Dead has never needed a record out to draw hundreds of thousands of fans. But I digress. What’s most important in the discussion of groups like U2 and The Rolling Stones is that they continue to be relevant in the mainstream consciousness. That doesn’t happen by accident.
I’m really interested to hear your thoughts and opinions on this matter. Now remember at this point in our dialog we are starting at the broadest point possible. In other words, look at an artist that has a very broad appeal and ask why is there not a band equivalent in appeal to that artist. As you work through the exercise above (in the third paragraph) you will find that there have been moments where you have had bands with the same amount of appeal and there will be decades like this one where there are few bands with mass appeal. You may also find that there are decades where there is an inverse relationship and you will be hard pressed to find an artist or group with the mass appeal of a band.
Have fun and please drop us a line, we look forward to hearing from you. Now you’re with the band.
Some favorite rants and raves over the past year.
First interview I conducted ever in life and for GFM
Meshell Ndegeocello Interview
First review I wrote ever in life and for GFM
City Lights Vol. 2-Shibuya
First phone interview for GFM(I was a little nervous, Chinah Blac was so cool I was instantly at ease)
Chinah Blac Audio Interview
One of my many rants
Mac vs. PC
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
Hope you have the old guy getting choked up over here! You and Carl have made me feel so at home in the GFM fold and the fact that you all have reserved a corner office for me at the complex speaks volumes(lol!).
I feel the same way, what would I do without you all, you have introduced me to so many great artists over this past year that I am so very hopeful about the future of this music that we love.
P.S.- I took it easy on the bubbly, I just mixed red and green kool-aid.
Many, many congrats “Professor”!!! It has been a complete joy in working with you not just as a writer but as family in this thing we call music!! Musically, I’ve learned a lot from you and I’m still swimming in the depth of some of your post! What would we do without you?!?
P.S. – Don’t drink too much! You might mess up and play Souljah Boy in one of your FB mixes! 🙂
Now this is the roundtable discussion that I’m longing to have because you have hit on such salient points here Rick. We often leave out the socioeconomic factors that have played such an integral part in the development of this music and in a lot of ways the devolution of the music.
Truth be told James Brown was the Godfather of Soul but without that band and key musicians at different points in time would the legacy of James Brown be as far reaching? That could be up for debate, but as you point out when the musician, the band, the group that collective energy became disposable that began the downward spiral.
We don’t model enough for kids coming up. A band should not be an anomaly. Playing an instrument should not be the exception. Even for those folks out there who make beats, if you really want to make beats even better learn how to play an instrument and not only that learn how to play that instrument with other people. The same goes for singing, learn how to sing solo and with a group. Two very different skill sets.
You know I could go on…
Ivan,
We have had this discussion a number of times over the years. Ricky Vincent spoke in detail about it in his novel “FUNK”. How is it a decade(the 70’s), which could be argued as r&b music’s most prolific period, have the most influential bands ever peak and die out by 1985? Then only to turn around and watch the 90s and 2000-2009 produce the “most” one hit wonders ever!
Interesting right. Well let’s re-cap. Remember when “bands” had horn sections? Once the labels saw how technology was advancing they began to lean on band leaders. “You really don’t need a horn section!” or “Costs are getting high…we’re gonna have to cut your budget. Use this new keyboard to do the horn parts!” Take note to how people didn’t respond to Stevie Wonder’s material the same way as before when he got buried in technology. More food for thought. Why is it when ever an r&b band has a hit the lead singer shortly thereafter is always asked..”when are you gonna do a solo record?” Mick Jagger didn’t do his first solo record until 1985!
I could go on and on. But in a nut shell. R&B music is viewed as being disposable and is pushed as always having to provide “escapist entertainment”-(non message music). So labels aren’t going to invest the $$$ needed,when they can get cheap labor. “We” have played our part in allowing that to happen. If we supported(with our $)and “demanded” more bands instead of these fly by night singers we’d have more Mint Condition’s, Brand New Heavies, Living Colour’s and Tony,Toni,Tone’s.