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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Michael Carpenter" <Stagefright@msn.com.au> |
| Subject | Re: Elephantine Album Gestations |
| Date | Sat, 31 Jul 2004 10:30:58 +1000 |
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Ooh... this is my kind of discussion!! I always have a big bee in my bonnet
about this kinda thing. And feel obliged to preach about it to whoever will
listen!! So be prepared..
I've always wondered why it takes people so long to make records. Especially
major label, 'doing this for a living' people. I can only base it on my own
life, but if i didn't have to run a studio, earn a living etc, i'd do an
album every few months. I'd experiment with every permutation of creative
twist in my mind. Why? Because i'm a writer, and an artist, and because i
can. Isn't that enough reason? I get freaked out by artists when it takes 4
years between albums. Especially bands with multiple writers. Think about
it.. if there's 2 writers, and you also have to let the drummer and bass
player contribute a track each... you only have to write about 5 songs to
have an album ready. That means you can write 7 songs, ditch the 2 worst and
STILL have enough to have an album. I mean.. sheesh.. i've been running a
business, rasing a family etc, and i still wrote 5 songs last month...
I don't know why this bugs me so much. I guess being such a big
Beatles/McCartney fan i got used (in hindsight of course) to that level of
productivity. I remember i had this discussion with my good friend Mickster
way back when the Finkers were just getting started. He was all about
churning things out and getting them out there.. letting the artist find
themselves through their own records. We certainly achieved that with 2
albums and 2 EPs in i think about 3 years, before we stopped working
together. I love the work ethic of people like Steve Earle (i think he's up
to about 8 albums in about 9 years.. plus a book or 2 and a play and a few
hundred shows) or Ron Sexmith (i think he's up to about 7 albums in about 8
years.) And you know what.. these guys NEVER release sub-par stuff. I
believe that through their writing and recording, they keep their creative
life alive and it flourishes because of it. They feel more liberated to try
things and express the furthest reaches of their creative minds and as a
fan, i'm right there with them, and love everything they do because it does
just get better. Yes.. i know that life gets in the way. The Pyramidiacs
(another band i'm in) are notorious for this.. their last album was 2001 and
they've written and recorded a total of 2 new songs since (for a soon to be
released best of).. full time jobs, marriages etc get in the way. But these
guys are part timers.. and we still recorded the 2 new songs in three days,
and they're among the best the band has done. To me, full timers have no
excuse at all....
Now for me i LOVE that i'm connected with a label like Not Lame that
encourages me to record and release records. I know i'm in no risk of going
gold, but Bruce has always encouraged me to nurture my little fan base, and
to keep getting the stuff to them. He's always claimed it will make me a
better artist just to keep things coming out of me. And with my new album
'Rolling Ball' due in a few weeks, i believe it's my best work. i LOVE the
fact that every record i've released feels like a progression from the one
before. I'm pretty sure if i was on a major i'd have probably not had the
opportunity to release 5 albums in 5 years... and have 3 more projects due
in the next 12 months. People say i'm prolific.. i don't believe that at
all. I just think i'm still excited and keen to see what will come out of
me. I'm no spring chicken, and i wasted a lot of time in my 20's NOT
writing. I have a lot of ground to make up, and i'm not going to waste a
second now that i've been given the chance to have a creative life.
MC
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