Listening to roots, carring for roots musicians

I just needed to drop in a note... I'll write something a little deeper as time permits...

There are a great many people out there who have made music for all of us, people who have given their lives to creating, performing, and sharing wonderful music.

These folks aren't the rap, rock, or country stars who are worried about what color Escalade to buy: They're worried about medicine, electricity, food, home, and clothing.

They need our help. They DESERVE our help.

Helping coastal Katrina victim musicians at http://musicrising.org.

Helping southern roots musicians at Music Maker http://musicmaker.org.

I got to listen to John Dee Holeman last night. WOW!

Music in surprising places - my first electric guitar

I love playing to things with strings. I love listening to things with strings. From a player's point of view guitar and bass are at the top of my list. From a listener's point of view, guitar and bass are up there, followed closely by the cello and bass violin. (I don't own a cello... I've thought about it a hundred times, though. They're so wonderful... maybe someday...)

An early musician's experience for me came from a huge desire to sing the music in my soul... I had dreams of music (still do). I just needed an outlet. I just needed the instrument(s) to let it all out.

Then there was the time I was about fourteen: I was walking home from downtown on a Saturday. I'm not sure why, but I ducked in to the local pawn shop. To my amazement, there was an actual electric guitar for sale at $25. I had some birthday money and some paper-route money. The guitar came home with me.

It was glorious. It was in bad shape. It was a dream come true. It was a cheap Silvertone with black rusted strings. It was perfect. I didn't have an amplifier. I was in music heaven.

The Silvertone opened doors in my mind. I cleaned it up, fixed it, restrung it, and played it just about every day. It was my little music-soul-playing device. And it couldn't have been sweeter.

My heart to the families and students of Virginia Tech 4.16.2007

I am sad. I don't pretend to have the right things to say. My heart goes out to you.

I want to express my thoughts as I do so often in my life - through music.

This tune is dedicated to all those kids whose lights live on in all of us, and those who survived:

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http://jimmybearpearson.com/vt/SleepWellTonightAngel.mp3.

Sleep well tonight, angels.

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P.S. First Exposure to popular music...

I think it is worth mentioning some history...

My first memories of popular recorded music were pretty simple. They were a joy, too. I remember (many, many times) riding along in the family's Mother Ship (that's one of those living-room-as-a-driving-BOAT station wagons of the 60s) with my mom - going who knows where to run who-knows-what errand...

The A.M. push-button radio spewing out scratchy low-fi music from the little speaker in the center of the hard metal dashboard. Purple People? Elvis. The Kingston Trio. Fabulous, multi-polyphonic Christmas music sung by unknown "orchestras."

The seats in the Mother Ship were vinyl. The smell of the hot car was of vinyl. The music blaring through the speaker was played from vinyl.

Plastic never sounded quite so good.

The evolution of listening

My parents used to listen to music through the radio. On rare occasion, live music would be played at local dance get-togethers - both parents (in their youth) lived in relatively small towns. The most common social exposure to music was sounds in churches or other places of worship.

The music that was played and enjoyed was fairly slow-to-change. Trends from New York, southern California, the deep south, and Europe took quite some time to make it to the ears of middle America. Even then, the number of tunes following new trends was quite small.

From a positive point of view, music was perceived as a much more valuable resource and entertainment item. The constant play/listening of familiar tunes gave comfort to those who heard the tunes so very many times.

The downside? They never got to hear Robert Johnson play the blues (just as an example). They missed a great deal of music...

Fast forward to today. Any of us with an internet connection (or transportation to a music store) can experience MASSIVE amounts of music from all over the world. In my parents' time, the only music heard on radio or at dances was music that was marketed by a very small group of people in the music industry. Today, huge amounts of music can be heard - music that hasn't ever passed over the desk of a big-time producer or record label person.

Granted, lots of the music that is out there is not music we would all enjoy hearing... but our choices are so much more wide, so much more rich, and more diverse than any time in recorded history.

Listening has evolved as much as (if not more than) music itself. Listeners have become accustomed to broad palettes, vast choices, and rapid change. We can now access and hear new-trend music within a day of its creation. How cool is that?

As a side note, people still listen to what they like, just as they used to... the stuff the listener likes gets repeated enough to stick in the heads of the listener... Even if it isn't an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot-bikini or a Flying Purple People Eater.

Public Radio Talent Quest - Calling all voices!

Now here's something interesting!

Public Radio is looking for the next set of great radio hosts! You should try!
http://www.publicradioquest.com/.

I've got my entry in! Give it a listen at: http://www.publicradioquest.com/audio/user/1606.

Vote for me, please? ! ? :-)

Does free music help music sales?

I've been asked, "Does giving away some of your music for free help music sales?"

I've thought about the answer to that question... The absolute, crystal-clear, unmitigated answer is, "yes."

But probably not like you might think.

Giving away music does not seem have a clear, numeric mark on CD sales, album sales, singles sales, or ticket sales. Rather, giving away music gives exposure to an artist/artiste.

Exposure is good. And, sometimes, exposure means marketable success. Sometimes, exposure means exposure - but with no other end result.

As always, many things are at play when it comes to sales success. What is the quality of the music? Has the music been exposed to an audience that is likely to accept the music? Is it the right time period for the music's flavor, intent, or texture?

Is there passion in the music? Is the music mindless commercial drivel, or is it music that the musicians were so into the music that they couldn't wait to play?

Return to the original question... does free music help music sales? If someone gets music from a free mechanism, and the music makes it through to the listener's heart, then the tune and the artist are set up to be a success in the listener's mind.

If the listener is likely to purchase music, and can get at non-free-for-use music, shows, or merchandise, something interesting happens: the user queues up stuff they've heard and liked for purchasing.

It then becomes a matter of what makes the listener happy.

Not the boardroom of a corporation.

Not the pundits in the radio stream (from success-is-dollars-only crowd).

It is a matter of what makes the listener happy. And if you can get in the ears of more listeners, you've got more chances to make a listener happy.

If you're trying for success in music sales, worry about the listeners first. The other stuff will fall into place in a manageable way if the listeners are happy.

Songbird Rox Yer Sox!

What a wonderful tool, environment, place, and experience for your ears.

Please give it a try. If you like finding and experiencing the music of the web, get a copy of Songbird here:http://songbirdnest.com.

You'll be glad you did...

The One Bear Band Chillin' On The Back Porch!

Jimmy Bear Pearson and the One Bear Band were captured on photo recently... a girl cub paparazzi snapped this photo of the band hanging out on a quiet weekend day in March.

Trying out my new SNOCAP Store! Give it a whirl!

Here's what my new store looks like. It really works! You can buy a single Jimmy Bear Tune at a time with this neat tool.

And no, the "label" doesn't get tons of the proceeds. I get most of the proceeds.

Cheers!

A Musician's View: LocksOfLove.org

One of my favorite development projects over the past 2 1/2 years: Grow hair to donate to http://locksoflove.com.

I've put up a simple page with some of the details of getting my hair ready to send off to Locks Of Love. You can read it and see pictures here:
http://jimmybearpearson.com/locksoflove.php.

Cheers everyone!

Music is for the ears, not the budget.