My 5 Favorite Spaces

This Week I’m Dropping Five of My Favorite Resources & Tools I Regularly Rely On to Bring both Efficiency & Effectiveness to My EntreMusicianship. Through Several Years of Honing Creative & Productive Habits, I’ve Found These Spaces Work Best for Me. Although I Am Sure You Have a Toolbox of Your Own, Here’s My Five Faves:

REASON 9

Although I Also Employ Sonar Platinum, Vegas Pro 11, Sound Forge Pro 10 & Acid Pro 7 (For their Amazing Beat Mapper!) as Needed,  Reason has Long been My First Choice for Writing & Production. Reason is Completely Customizable & Intuitive and I’ve Never had a Need Reason Could Not Handle. It’s Fast, Powerful & Practical!

HOOTSUITE

The Efficacious EntreMusician’s Social Media Presence Must Be As Concise as it is Impactful. Hootsuite Allows Me to Schedule & Post Across All Platforms & Groups Seemlessly. Although the Paid Version Allows Limitless Engagement On Each Stream, I Chose My Three Most Popular Spaces to Post to and allowed the rest to remain Peripheral. Thank God I Have Michaela on My Team to Keep Me Consistent!   (Follow, Friend & Connect!!)

EVERNOTE

I Admit to Being just a Toddler on Evernote. There’s So Much To Learn & Do on this thing!

I Use It to Write Lyrics, Record Thoughts, File Dreams, Keep Key Contacts, Doodle, Design and Shape Stuff! I Love It’s Flexibility & Availability, No Matter What Device I Reach For! There is Also A Paid Version for Power Users.

THE INDIE BIBLE

The Best Way To Describe How I Use Indie Bible is as a Networking Platform, which I don’t believe was David Wimble’s purpose when he created it. I’m Happy to Say I was One of His First Customers. IB’s Main Purpose is to be the Premier Place for Indie Bands & Artists to Find Gigs, Radio Stations & Other Outlets to Showcase their Music – and Trust Me, It is a Wealth of Information. The challenge SounDoctrine faces is that we are in such a Tiny Genre, there aren’t too many places for us to Upload Our “Originalternativefunkjazzfusion!” 

But IB is packed so full of resources, we utilize the Information as a Springboard to Help Other EntreMusicians, Most of Whom Reciprocate which Turns It Into A Major “Win-Win”

THE BUZZ FACTOR

Another Ocean of Invaluable Information is Bob Baker, whom Every EntreMusician MUST Check Out. I Cut My Teeth on his Ideas, Advice and Non-Traditional Suggestions. Bob’s Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook Should Be On Your Bookshelf and His Blog Will Provide You With The Nutrition You Need To Soldier On!

I Truly Hope You Could Benefit from The Spaces I spend The Most Time On & Offline. I’d Be Ecstatic to Know Where You Hang Out & What You Use to Get The Job Done! So Reach Out and Let Us Know!

I Was Listening to Russell Donnellon’s incredible “Since You Asked” while writing this entry!

Ask Yourself The Hard Question!

Let’s Pretend for A Moment…

Say You’ve Invented a Brand New Universal Tool. Its Purpose is to Be An Important, Indispensable Standard that People of All Races, Ethnicity and Cultures will Appreciate & Enjoy!

This Tool Can Be Used In Your Home, Business, Car, Place of Worship or On Your Mobile Device while You’re On The Go. You Know that People Are Going To Love & Appreciate It, Once they are Aware of its Availability  and Affordable Price.

You Own the Patent to this Tool and have Trademarked the Brand Name. Although You Do Not Own the Various Patents to the Equipment & Software You’ve used to Develop This Fantastic Gadget, You Have Patented  & Control the Unique Processes by which Your Tool is Designed & Manufactured. You Are Aware that a Few “knock-offs” may be developed overtime, but Your Methodology Ensures that You Will Become & Probably Remain a Market Leader.

The Next Step is to Partner with a Distributor who can Help Market, Promote and Get Your Tool into as Many Hands as Possible. You Make What You Feel is A  Great Deal with a Company with a Global Reach and Does Not Impede on Your Exclusive Rights & Control over the Manufacture of Your Magnificent Tool.

Overtime, You Notice that This Distributor’s Profits have begun to Eclipse Your Own. For Every $1000 You See, They have made $10,000 and in some cases and in a few regions much, much more, due to their ‘bundling’ of Your Tool with Lesser Quality Devices. Heck, They’ve even Developed a Subscription Model whereby the Customer is able to Use Your Tool As Many Times as They Wish, Without Even Purchasing It.

To Some Extent, You May Not Mind the Creativity of The Distributor’s Concept. After All, Your Tool is Available Everywhere & Absolutely Everyone is Using it and Appreciating its Functionality. Your Tool is a Bonafide Hit!

The Problem is You’re Not Getting Paid What You Know Your Tool is Worth – and – If It Were Not for Your Tool, The Distributor would Never, Ever See the profits they currently enjoy.

So, You Try to Re-Negotiate, Only to Discover that this Very Rich, Very Smart, Well Connected Distributor has successfully lobbied certain Members of Congress, The DOJ, Other Well Established Government Officials and even Similar Minded Partner Distributors to Enforce Laws & Practices that Keep the Big Bucks Rolling In for Them while You’re Left Counting Pennies.

However, Remember that because You Own the Patents, Trademark and the Manufactured Tool itself, which The Distributor Needs to Sustain their Business, You Have A  Crucial Decision to Make.

Would You:

A) Keep Things the Way They Are, Grateful That Your Tool Is A Worldwide Sensation, Even Though You’re Being Robbed Out of Fair Compensation?? (In Fact, You Are Planning to Make More, Perhaps Better Tools to Send Them to Rob You With)

Or…

B) Remove Yourself & Your Tool from The Agreement and Begin the Painstaking Process of Becoming a Niche Distributor where Less People May Be Aware of Your Tool, But You Earn Higher Profits with Each Sale? (the additional profit affords you greater opportunity to improve your marketing)

 

Obviously You Understand that I am Talking About Songwriters and Their Songs.

I Sincerely Desire for Every EntreMusician to Answer This Question Truthfully.

Before You Do, However: Check Out These Two Articles:

STREAMING NOW MAKES SONY $25 MILLION A WEEK

SIRIUS OWNER SAVAGES SPOTIFY BUSINESS MODEL

I Have Had Hundreds of Conversations with Artist/Musicians at All Levels and Each Answer Varies to the Point where I Needed to Simplify My Approach by Presenting a Different Business where the Creator & Manufacture Must Look At The Bottom Line to Determine Whether of Not He/She Could Remain In Business or Close Their Doors.

Music is Such An Emotional Tool that Fame Often Overshadows Fortune. An EntreMusician Can End Up Eating Bread Sandwiches while Everyone is Singing Their Songs… 

 

I wasn’t listening to any music while composing this blog post.

7 Reasons Why P-Funk is its Own Genre

Last week we explored 6 Reasons Why  Motown is its Own Genre and what EntreMusicians can learn from their stellar examples. Today we open up the can of Maggot Brains and uncover the stanky P-Funk that only continue to get stronger!

1) Crazy Wisdom. Both Words Aptly Apply to the visionary George Clinton who has been able to juggle Multiple Concepts, Rhythms, Personalities (as many as 60 simultaneous band members) & Record Labels and remain Active, Relevant and Viable at 75 Years Old.

Yes, he’s also equally endured Multiple Business Failures, Drug Use and Almost Inappropriate Everything, but just when you think he’s going to Lick His Wounds from a Rocking Chair, He’s Back On Stage, Leading the Charge for The Funk of it.

2) Uncanny Innovation. Early On, George surmised that the quickest way to get the attention P-Funk needed was to separate from the Motown Melting Pot and Trash the Suits and eschew Doo Wop after a few years of trying to fit in. Taking a cue from Hendrix, Clinton formed Funkadelic and put the guitars on the front burner. Enter Singers, Horns and the first Major Bass Line to be dominated by a Moog.

Experimentation took center stage as the band destroyed traditional ‘verse-hook-chorus-bridge’ composition and pursued The One, first and foremost, using whatever sounds were available and took studio production to extreme levels.

3) Comedic Cast of Characters. Every Member of P-Funk was a Star and George arranged for most everyone to Shine by creating multifarious acts within the band. From Eddie Hazel to Bernie, Bootsy, Glenn Goins, Gary Shider, Bigfoot, Catfish, Junie, Skeet, Fratengelo, The Brides, Horny Horns, Parlet, Blackbird, Hamp, Boogie, Fuzzy and On & On, You Cheered for Each and looked forward to their Contribution to the Funk.

George introduced Imaginary Characters into the dramedy which held as much (or more) court as their human bandmates. Dr. Funkenstein, Sir Nose (and Sir Nose, Jr.), Mr. Wiggles, Star Child, Sir Lollypop Man (alias The Long Haired Sucker), Casper & Bootzilla (who were actual aliases of Bootsy) extended the Imagination and Mythology of P-Funk.

It’s a little know fact that George’s production of The Red Hot Peppers’ “Freaky Styley“ that truly put the rockers on the map. His offshoot groups like Jimmy G & The Tackheads, various guest appearances with artists like Xavier and Thomas Dolby and P-Funk’s long standing association with Prince help solidify their into the souls of Funkateers forever.

4) Expanding Narratives. Along with the creatures, real and imagined, are the vivid stories of a Chocolate City & its Vanilla Suburbs,an excursion through Downtown Bimini Road, the humiliation inflicted on Sir Noze utilizing the Bob Gun, the Essence of the Flashlight, the horror of America Eating its Young, Vietnam atrocities outlined in the Electric Spanking of War Babies, the sterile work ethic of the Children of Production in Dr Funkenstein’s laboratory and ultimately, the Landing of The Mothership continue to engage those new to the notion of Funkadelica.

5) Vital Visuality. Cementing the P-Funk Brand are the Neo-Psuedo, Part Comic Book/Part Novel Album Covers, designed by Pedro Bell and Overton Lloyd which carried over to the Chaotic Circus-like Concerts, where the clothing ranged from the Diaper Laden Shider to any number of Indians, Furry Space People, at least one Indistinguishable Animalistic Alien and a Sheet Wearing Clinton dominating the Stage.

6) Enchanting Motifs. Stopping the Show and shouting “Think…It Ain’t Illegal Yet!!” for 37 non-stop minutes reminded You of Where You Were and Why You Were There! “Gagagooga, gagagooga, gagagoogaga!” “Ha da da dee da hada hada da da!” “One Nation Under A Groove, Gettin’ Down Just For the Funk of It!” and countless chants uttered under the breath of bankers and executives in boardrooms, is foundational to the genius of P-Funk! You Can’t Help BUT Sing Along.

Equally Disturbing are the Infinite Infectious Bass Lines guaranteed to move ANY Head & Foot within 15 Feet! You Can NOT Resist (Even if You Don’t Particularly Appreciate the Song!) You Simply MUST Move! And With the Ever Present Spiraling Squigly Synth Lines Hypnotically Weaving Repetitive Motifs In & Out of the Groove, it’s Irresistible!

7) The One! Finally and Equally (if not most) Important is the P-Funk Approach to The One! Adapted from James Brown, who also accented the eagerly anticipated ‘3,’ P-Funk Stomped The One So Hard & Nasty, They Had to Write a Song About It! The One is the Nucleus of Every P-Funk Anthem.

A Famous George Clinton Chant is “It Would Be Ludicrous to Think We Are New To This, We Do Do This, This is What We Do!” Which is Precisely Why We’ve Been Diggin What’s Been Done for Decades and Why P-Funk is its Own Reward and remains in a Category of its Own!

I was Listening to George Clinton’s “R&B Skeletons in The Closet” while Composing this Blog.