by Mike Errico | Mar 4, 2012 | So Good
I was very lucky to get hooked up with Angie through a mutual friend. A little out of the blue, really – he’d never mentioned other writers, so I was particularly interested in what caused him to connect us. He just said it was a gut reaction, which is the best answer. She lives in the UK, we emailed back and forth a little, swapped mp3 files while she toured with Goldfrapp, and then Peter Gabriel. “Count to Ten” is our first cowrite – one of many more I hope. She did backgrounds on “Wander Away” by recording them in a studio in England and shooting them back here. The first time I ever saw her, she was on stage at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. She was in silver pants, with a white keytar, synth-battling another band member in a strobe light. I wish I could make that kind of first impression more often. Today this video surfaced, with Angie working with Peter Gabriel. Enjoy. Hear our song, “Count to Ten”:...
by Mike Errico | Feb 15, 2012 | Uncategorized
[I read something on Digital Music News this morning, and felt the need to add my voice to a debate that, in my opinion, needs to be reframed in order to be understood.] ——– I’m an “Unsuccessful” Artist. And Here’s Why Things Have Never Been Better I was inspired to add a different perspective to David Lowery’s SF MusicTech Summit talk I read on Digital Music News this morning. (“I’m a Successful Artist. And Here’s Why Things Have Never Been Worse” http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120214cracker) I’ve only been broke – truly, guitar-sellingly broke – twice. The first time was when I was on a label. The second was when I licensed a record to a different label. The problem was not labels, and the solution was not to avoid future labels. It was to tune out all preconceptions and move instinctively, based on my strengths, while bolstering my weaknesses. Lowery is an artist finding a way, and I get his frustration, because I live it, too. In his argument, he sets up a comparison between the old model and the new, comparing iTunes to labels, gross receipts vs. touring receipts, etc. As I read, my eyes glazed over, not because it was right or wrong, but because I’m finally far enough out on my own limb to realize: 1) There is no “new model.” There is Chaos, and Chaos is not a model. We artists cannot treat it as such. Pointing out looters in the middle of a riot is an exercise in unenforceability. Do the looters know this? Oh, yes. 2) The proponents of “new model” are not hatched, fully formed,...
by Mike Errico | Feb 14, 2012 | So Good
One of those moments when I realized that music is even bigger than I thought. Side note: David Gilmour is one of my all-time favorite guitarists. Here’s another reason...
by Mike Errico | Feb 4, 2012 | So Good
The seventh and final chapter of “But Beautiful,” by Geoff Dyer deals with Art Pepper. My guess is that Dyer put him last because he seems to embody so much of the other six players – his sound has hints of each, and his life had chaos and jail and tragedy to burn. ~FIN~ There is an afterword that discusses the major themes in jazz history, and also includes a great discography that I’ll be listening through, perhaps over years. I didn’t know some of these players, but I know them now, far better than I would have by simply listening. I’m going to miss this book. You really should pick it up. More video accompaniment to the jazz artists in Geoff Dyer’s “But Beautiful”: http://www.errico.com/tag/but-beautiful/ More So Good:...
by Mike Errico | Feb 3, 2012 | So Good
Chapter six of “But Beautiful,” by Geoff Dyer finds a way into the void of Chet Baker’s tone, vocally as well as on the horn. He’s just…gone, ghost like and out of frame. A glimpse. More video accompaniment to the jazz artists in Geoff Dyer’s “But Beautiful”: http://www.errico.com/tag/but-beautiful/ More So Good:...
