PSA: Don't Bite!!!

I must admit UTFO had it right. In fact many, many artists(not all) of that era of music and previous eras and quite possibly even up to the beginning of the 21st century had it right. What happened? Can all this be blamed on the proliferation of production tools that now has made everyone a “producer” and every bedroom a “studio”?

One thing that I know for certain is the technology is innocent, it will only do what you program it to do. But what happened to the pride in having your own personal, identifiable sound? Berry Gordy loaned out the Funk Brothers once, and only once. He had to protect the sound of Motown. That sound was what the entire company was built on.

But now it seems like it’s ok, just to plug this in here and use this same sound there because we know if we use these certain elements it’s going to be a hit. Musicians, writers, producers etc., listen up: “Guard your sound like you would guard your grill”. Yes we all have influences, but at the end of the day we are all individuals who should have something unique to say. Whatever you do write it, but don’t bite it!!!

Ivan Orr

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.

www.grownfolksmusic.com