“The self-incrimination, surviving self-esteem, & genuine appreciation of life that is woven through all the lyrical lines & music are an artistic time capsule & one that should be opened again & again." ~EarBuzz.com
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Last update: Saturday, June 17, 2008
Gael Digital Media: The Very Short List of Talented Label Artists Today
I’m often asked is there any commercial label artist that I enjoy listening too. There are a few non-indie artists that I do enjoy but, it is a very short list these days.
Paramore puts on a great live show as it’s very high energy and they have a lot fun with their shows. While they are still a young band their music and style is still maturing and developing. They do know how to rock and really kick ass. Hayley Williams has a strong voice, good range, power and much better control then her contemporaries. Make no mistake that Paramore’s path is driven by the band and not just Hayley’s passion, she does drive the bus though.
I’ve always had a special spot for Mazzy Star as their dreamy ethereal rock sound is unique. They have protected maintain their artistic style and sound with a passion, which has generated a loyal base of listeners. While they’ve been quit for the last 10 years or so, as their last album “Among the Swan”. I’ll still look forward to the next Mazzy Star release.
Katie Melua at 23 is perhaps the most talented, interesting and artistic label artist around today. With her third album “Pictures“ released in 2007, her song writing is starting to rapidly mature and it’s her best album to date. Her live shows are incredible, her voice is stunning, her vocal range is remarkable (though she doesn’t seem to show it off as much as I’d like), her vocal power is very impressive (one of the few artists that can deliver a song that fills the Royal Albert Hall without amplification), her delivery is from the heart and with passion. She’s also a fantastic musician. Katie is the one current label artist that has the potential, drive and understanding of the music business to be around for a long time with or without a record label. She is also a very professional artist in that she takes her her music career very seriously and is perhaps the least spoiled, easiest to work with/for major artist in the world today. When it comes to her art and live shows, she is very demanding and very much in control. She tells her label what she is and is not going to do and when she is going to do it. She’s not afraid to take risks nor is she one to shy away from a new experience. Yes, as Katie has become a dear friend over the last few years, I might be a bit prejudice in my opinions. But, as I always tell people, go and see her perform, before you form an opinion. Because, you never know your uneducated first opinion might be wrong. The last thing I’ll say about Katie is she has tapped a market that buys music, Her first two albums has sole worldwide more then 20 million copies. Is Katie a super star music celebrity well she said it best when she said, “No! I’m just a working artist who happens to be a bit of a workaholic and love to perform. The show must go on. Oh! that sounds so camp doesn’t it?” A bit of trivia for you, Katie holds a Guinness World Record for the deepest concert ever performed. At 303 meters below sea level (almost a 1000 feet), the concert was performed at the bottom of one the Statoil Troll-A Gas platform’s legs. The platform is in the North Sea off the coast of Norway.
This is my personal list of label artists that I enjoy listening too. Like I said a the beginning it’s a very short list.
BTW, on a personal note to one of my readers. I’m not and I don’t need to be paid. But, I do have an idea that I might write about in detail one day. A comparison two opposite styles with similar passions. A critical look at the musical works of Jen Bye and Katie Melua, two artists that could learn a great deal from each other. If I could figure out some way to lock the two of you in a room together for a few days. Seriously, though I think it would just take an introduction and a friendship would be instantly formed. I think the result would be no less then remarkable, after all two of the most talented and gifted artists in the world today exchanging ideas and becoming friends. Would end up in taking both to a newer much higher level in their artistic endeavors.
This entry was posted on February 24, 2008 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Digital Media and Music Industry.
As always, peace & mysteries...
"Tomorrow" nominated for the 2008 IAIA Golden Kayak Awards!
“Tomorrow ” has been nominated for Best Alternative Pop Rock Song in the 2008 Independent Artists Company’s Golden Kayak Awards! Not only that, “Invincible” is ranked @ #11 the Alternative Pop Rock genre with “Dirty Secret” a ways back but holding on @ #64.
The IAIA (International Academy of Independent Artists) is a group of artists (IAC Prime Supporters) who nominate and vote for their peers, to recognize musical excellence in the past year. Click here to view the list of nominees.
On April 6th, there will be a broadcast to announce the winners. “the kayak represents the journey of the indie one artist navigating down the river towards destiny”
As always, peace & mysteries...
Danny Bonaduce, scary stage parents, their spoiled brats and Jen´s music. All this only on VH1.
Ah yes, reality TV keeps keepin’ on. The upside you ask? VH1 licensed 4 of my tracks for the new show “I Know My Kid’s A Star” which premiered Thursday, March 20, 2008. Hosted by Danny Bonaduce in search of Hollywood’s next child star, it’s full of lots of drama, fighting, crying, vomiting, tantrums and even some F-bombs. And that is only the parents! So if you’re a reality show junkie (you know who you are...Cari...) or just morbidly curious, don’t be afraid to tune in or set your DVR. Click to watch the promo & hear “Heaven ” during a sentimental moment...
As always, peace & mysteries...
Gael Digital Media´s Indie Music Review: Jen Bye
Indie Music Review:
Jen Bye: "Less Than Perfect For This World" by Gael Digital Media
I approved a comment for one of my posts the other day, while I needed a break in editing a video, I was working on. I was really kind of surprised, I’m going to say right up front, I love Jen Bye ’s music and yes, I’d classify myself as a fan of her work. I’ve seen her perform live on many occasions and whenever, I have to go across the desert to California I make a point of going to see her perform. Yes, I have scheduled meetings based on when Jen and other indie artists that I enjoy are performing, in what ever city my meetings take me to.
In my post I was made a point of two wildly different extremes. Signing Paris Hilton to a recording contract and signing Jen Bye to a recoding contract. Read the original post here, I’m just glad Jen took my comparison in the spirit it was intended and found it amusing. So, much so she posted it to her my space blog page. I’ll make no secret that I’m a huge fan of real indie music. I even go out of my way to promote indie music and artists to the point of giving my CD’s to friends and businesses contacts that like the music from the artist, I just go and purchase the CDs again while at a show or from CDBaby.com . I’ve lost count on how many copies of Jen’s CDs I’ve given away over the past few years. Right now in fact I have to buy another copy of Jen’s new CD “Less Than Perfect For This World”, I gave my copy to a friend that fell in love with it, after listening to it, while it was playing in my office. I enjoy spreading my love of indie music far and wide and to everyone that listens.
A truly incredible talented writer, singer and artist, is the best way to describe Jen Bye. Her music is fresh, real and performed with passion. The tracks of her CDs are clean, well mixed, they retrain an energy that is reflected in Jen’s live performances. I don’t believing in comparisons that one artist is like another, has each artists is different and what I might get from it you may get something different from it. Like comparing Andy Warhol to Monet. While both are famous artists with many classic works. Jen and her music is more akin to Monet then Andy Warhol. I think Claude Oscar Monet would enjoy the comparison and agree as much as some of you will, no doubt.
Jen Bye’s new CD “Less Than Perfect For This World” is a refreshing breath of artistically passion that weave a journey through Jen’s soul and passions. Listening to the tracks on the CD is a journey that might show you something about yourself. As for the appeal of Jen’s music, you’d be pleased to know that Jen attracts music lovers of all ages and her shows are a tribute to her wide appeal. I’ve had friends that I’ve given her CDs to tell me, that their kids fond the CD listen to it and then put Jen’s music tracks on there iPods. Most people that have fallen in love with Jen’s music from a CD that I’ve past along may never get the opportunity to see Jen perform in person but, they do become enlightened to the world of indie music in a very real and amazing way.
While you’re picking up “Less Than Perfect For This World” don’t forget to grab a copy of her first disc “Jen Bye ”. As an independent artist buying Jen’s CDs and going to see her show supports Jen and doesn’t go to support the profits of the multinational Record Labels that squeeze the artists to enhance their bottom line.
Learn more about Jen Bye and her music at www.jenbye.net
As always, peace & mysteries...
"Mexico" jumps from 43 to 36 on the KIAC Big50
For 8 weeks, "Heaven" held it's ground on the Big 50. Starting at 46 moving up to 19!!. After finally dropping out, "Mexico" jumped in! Now in it's second week ranking at 36.
Stop in and visit the Independent Artists Company!
As always, peace & mysteries...Glasswerk National Review: "Uber Alles California!"
Glasswerk NationalWritten by Ant Standring
"Uber Alles California! Jen Bye (JB) is a godsend with the voice of an impish cherub with a tiny chip on her shoulder. She plays piano and guitar with an ease that astounds and perfectly suits her calm vocals..."
"Delivering her conflicting tales of loathing and loving, her trial and triumph enduring soul is exposed with a syrupy smugness not heard since our dear old Alanis Morissette (who coincidentally (?) swears like a sailor too) hit the scene."
"...a fantastic set of songs that resound oh so many great bands and female vocalists before her that it's practically impossible to find anything disappointing amidst her music. Bravo JB!"
**Excerpts. Full Review available here
As always, peace & mysteries...Album Review by the MusicManor
Written by Greg Debonne, Musicmanor.com
Taking five years to figure out who you are before presenting yourself to the world can be a good thing, especially if the goal is to offer the truest essence of yourself. With "Less Than Perfect For This World", Los Angeles based recording artist Jen Bye discovers there are still sadnesses to overcome, recriminations to redress, and memories to resign. Five years isn’t enough time; and the desire for perfection is a sanctified endeavor that lasts forever. Yet the woman with a dangerous heart succeeds in making herself better; and all of her imperfections become poignant reflections on this well crafted record of songs that goes for beautiful songwriting over shock value or a falsified image of what a female Rock ‘n Roll artist is.
Opening Bye’s full length debut is “Heaven”, a song that shows not all has been black and white in this artist’s life nor in herself as a person. It’s not without irony that Bye can be broken as much as she can hurt somebody else. “And everything you said filled up my crazy little head; and I hung on to every breath. I fell so hard beside you in my bed” is the same girl who as a woman turns to confess her self-imposed lack of vulnerability from the past; a brittle armor dissolving into dust that never shielded her from much anyway. “And I’d do anything to cleanse you of my sting; and I will turn around and leave if you’d be better off without me.
"Less Than Perfect For This World" traverses between hard core sensuality, self effacing doubt, and the disintegration of past hurts so profoundly felt by the listener only because Bye chooses to peel back the layers covering her soul, revealing bruises healed by time and a sense of grace that comes with age and personal evolution. What makes Bye’s new record powerful are the places she takes the listener; places of different vantage points from which and within the audience can feel the songs. Sometimes you’re taken back into the past as though it’s in the thick of a painful present. Sometimes the feeling is retrospective like an old faded photograph in the mind that never seems to fully decay. All of it’s real and none of it is.
If "Less Than Perfect For This World" is the expression of a woman who lost herself and grabbed 99% of her spirit back to turn it into songs of a different kind, the other 1% Bye has yet to find shows itself as a detour in “Arse”, a slight regression back to an image that’s more in line with who this artist may have been, creatively, at one point, but is thrown into the mix of "Less Than Perfect For This World" not so much as an indication of what’s still less than perfect, but rather as a shameless, personal acknowledgment that who you were or even who you pretended to be is as much a direct line to who you are now as what the potential is for you to be in the future. Where “Arse” is dirty and driving, where it’s a diversion on a boulevard of brazen sexuality, justifying its self-demeaning pleasure in a reversal of pussy power that’s perceived more for emotional preservation than what’s true in actuality, the rest of the songs on "Less Than Perfect For This World" are picturesque narratives that sometimes play like individually short movies, threading together all the less than perfect fractures of living. You’re the person who watches with your ears; or you’re the person who’s experiential. Which one you are depends on the song. Sometimes you’re both. The songs are Jen Bye’s, but they’re every bit the listener’s songs as well. They’re right for a world that’s less than perfect and, by extension, right for all the people who are less than perfect for it.
Songs such as “Anyone” and “Mexico” are two very different reels with an underlying, albeit maybe distant connection to one another in that they represent abstract stages of finding relevance and realness in the world. Some of those stages are beset by confusion, sadness, even deterioration. Going through them is prettier than the hell of looking for what’s lost and never coming back. Even then, sometimes the surroundings have lost themselves. What remains is a shell of the vitality that once permeated the air and brought everything to life; or as Bye sings on “San Francisco”, “Now I’m not trying to run away. There’s just nothing left to make me stay. There’s too many demons and too many years.”
Bye isn’t without sentimentality as evidenced in her songs. The material is interwoven with sorrow and regret at regular intervals. As developed in an emotional sense as the record is, as ripe for a brighter tomorrow as Bye seems to be, "Less Than Perfect For This World" won’t take away the feeling inside. In fact, the effect is the opposite, regardless of whatever that feeling may have been at one time or even what it is now. Yet Bye’s delivery exudes a certain acceptance and strength of character that eases the pain. A combination of hurt and frustration that finds its way to a bittersweet light, "Less Than Perfect For This World" is the record of an artist who’s found herself, not that of a 20-something woman searching for an identity.
Production-wise, Bye’s debut is an exercise in less is more. Casually wrought, it’s not, but the effect is natural. There are spaces in between the elements with excellent separation in the mix. Overall, the ambience is open, not constrictive or deadened. "Less Than Perfect For This World" is fully produced without being overproduced. By the same token, the instrumentation and production ambience can shift from track to track in a focused conception of each song’s story without breaking up the continuity of the record. All of it’s done without cheap flavor-of-the-month production tricks nor self indulgent arrangements.. Rather, in large part, this fine debut relies more on interlocking acoustic and electric guitars of various tones, some fine piano parts of simplicity, drums and bass that serve the songs and, most notably, soulful vocal performances.
"Less Than Perfect For This World" may not expand beyond main genre lines, but neither is it monochromatic in style, either. "Less Than Perfect For This World" is a pop/rock record in essence. Just as pop/rock is a generalized header under which different sub-genres fall, so it is that Bye displays a broad range of sounds on a set of songs that only could have come from someone who has lived them.
--Greg Debonne, The MusicManor
All lyrical excerpts © 2007 She Wolf Publishing (ASCAP)
"Heaven" rises to #22 on the KIAC Big50
Now in week 7, "Heaven" has proven to have a little staying power and is holding strong at 22. Joining me is my friend Carrie Wade also moved up to 42 with her track "Needles in the Waves".
Stop in and visit the Independent Artists Company!
As always, peace & mysteries...Jen compared to Paris Hilton???? There IS a music biz crisis.
Apple, Tesco 'most to blame' for Music Biz Crisis?In an story reported on The Register's website (read it here) the writer's story is on a report by consultants Capgemini for the Value Recognition Strategy working group. While the report has not been made public, the writer Andrew Orlowski conjectures that the report suggest that Apple and Tesco and not P2P file sharing pirates are to blame for the woes of the music industry in Britain (which is mirroring the rest of the world).
The music industry World Wide is having a sales and profit crisis. The sliding sales are not a result of unbundling tracks from albums, which Apple was not the first to do with iTunes as Andrew Orlowski reports, the by track model was first done by the Napster store which opened before iTunes. The author of the piece would have us believe that Apple did this with iTunes first. Intresting that the author of the report sighted by Andrew Orlowski doesn't take into account changes and consolidation in music industry itself and the decline of the retail music store caused by the music industry's attempt to control what the stores sold and marketed. These two factors alone currently share most of the blame, as does the fact, in a lesser portion, that the music buying public is tired of being force fed a diet of music celebrity BS while, real talent is often left to self promote, self publish and self release.
The so called, Indie Labels use to be an outlet for great talent, today most of these Indie Labels are just churning out the same low budget, no talent crap that the Major Labels are churning out. I'm not saying that their are no, talented artists signed to Indie or Major Labels, there are some great Recording Artists signed to a label. The problem is all about ROI (return on investment) for all the labels big and small that are not 100% releasing artist owned. We'll look a two Recoding Artists, the first is Paris Hilton, the second is Jen Bye. You are a record label (indie or major). You can sign only one new recording artist from the choices presented. Paris Hilton has no experience and no real talent, Jen Bye has lots of experience and is a excellent musician, singer and song writer. Well the ROI is simple you'd sign Paris Hilton because she is a known celebrity with instant celebrity status, an instant name. Which translates to a much higher ROI. Jen Bye while a great talent has a much lower ROI. Jen is not a celebrity and few people outside her fans know who she is or would connect her to anything celebrity related. With Jen, it would cost the record label much more money to promote her recordings then it does to promote a celebrity that can generate press for months by showing up some place and flashing a bit of crusty well used crotch.
A recording label is a record label (even so called Indie labels) if it not 100% owned by the artist(s) who's recording are released by that label. Sticking the term Indie in front of it, does not make the recording label any less of an artist rip-off machine. The indie label artist contracts are no less gouging to the recording artists then a major labels' contracts. In fact, in most cases indie labels rip-off and gouge the recording artists more then the major labels do.
The Internet is really starting to slowly shift the balance for music buying and the way music is marketed and who and how it's marketed too. Radiohead aside the fact is the you can be a fully independent recording artist and still find fans all over the world to market your music too. As digital media content improves in quality more of the digital content will be focuses on the independent artists. There are already a number of Internet delivered digital media programs (podcasts) that feature and focus on independent recording artists such as "Not MTV" and "Dinner with the Band" as their are many more independent artists then there are signed artists the seeds are being sewn for many more digital media programs that do nothing but, focus on independent recording artists. Digital media content providers like Revision 3 and On Networks are currently the ones to watch in this regard. As video based digital media delivered over the internet takes off expect independent artists to get much, much more exposure. As this happens all recording labels will have to change their business models to keep from becoming a real dinosaur. A music labels currently need all the retailers they can get physical and virtual to slow the erosion of music sales. They also need to be focused on listening to their customer. Ringles and Flash drive based music singles and albums are flash in the pan failures. Kids don't want gimmicks they want instant, cheap, easy to access, high quality, DRM free, and they only what to buy the tracks they like. If the music labels can't deliver it, they will get it elsewhere on the internet.
This entry was posted on October 19, 2007 at 11:14 am and is filed under Digital Media, Pod Casting and iPod. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Album Review by EarBuzz.com
Jen Bye 's lucky 13 tracked CD, "Less than Perfect for this World" launches into "Heaven", and immediately establishes the musical genre as alternative/pop/punk professionally produced, poetically written, and sung/arranged with a touch of influence from Vega and Colvin. Her vocal arrangements are musical and compelling - and the highlight of many of the tracks as the timbre of her voice cuts through and is mixed with tremendous presence and power. She sings, 'I haven't been to heaven in years and it hasn't been the same since'. We hear thousands of songs and CDs and it's rare to come across as compelling an album that demands as much time to listen. This is a complete work - with a satisfying and substantial window into Bye's artistry and attitudes. The self-incrimination, surviving self-esteem, and genuine appreciation of life that is woven through all the lyrical lines and music is an artistic time capsule and one that should be opened again and again.
Track 2, "Invincible", is an artistic and compelling confessional of the dysfunctional life she survived through her own esteem as invincible, as Bye writes, 'they tell me that I need a shrink, when all I really need is a stiff drink, and no one can read my mind cause my own thoughts confuse me all the time. . I know I can be a bitch but most of what I say is a load of shit."
Track 3, "Arse", is a punk/angst filled gem with a guitar sound that we drool over. Jen sings, 'he only wants me and I only want him for his piece of ass' as Bye turns the gender cliché table around in straight-ahead rock/punk fashion.
Tremendous production - listen to the drums and introduction to track 5, "Caught Up in Between", the snare, if it's ok to notice these things, is recorded perfectly. .we love the snare. The tune itself has another cool vocal arrangement in the chorus - and the musical highlight is the slightly psychotic crybaby lead guitar. Bye uses some musical dissonance with finesse to make a point of how 'I think about you every time'.
Track 6 ["Mexico"] is a poetic and beautiful dedication to a former relationship with memorable chorus, vocal choices, and line, 'I miss you more in Mexico, then I ever do back home, I miss you more in Mexico, cause its safer here to shed my tears cause you can't see me cry'.
Track 8, "Lollipops and Candy Canes" makes depression sound fun as Bye sings repeatedly how she's so depressed, panned left, then right, and you're so depressed. .and 'de doot doot doot'. The point being, even though the good 'ol days are gone and missed, it's ok. .de doot doot doot.
The following track is a brooding western sounding musical departure from the rest of the record. "Desert Man" is a crushing emotionally charged story of searching and discovery, 'take me down to the water's edge so I can be naked in the sun. . I'll dive in and hold my breath'.
Track 10, "Necessary Evil", is chaos and musical exploration that combines psychotic passages and sweet sugary keyboards and lyric lines - the most ambitious on the CD.
Almost like a religious hymn Bye starts her dedication to the city of "San Francisco" with majestic piano lines ala Elton. 'I can feel the current in my blood, and San Francisco is calling me back home'. Gorgeous with pure value of a sincere love for the town, void of all the angst that occupies most of the record.
The final track is a sweet song "Birds of Paradise" dedicated to Heather and ends with the kindest of treats, a child's phone greeting on a voice mail, "leave a mystery, peace out".
All songs written by jen bye © 2007 SheWolf Publishing (ASCAP)*
As always, peace & mysteries...
“Less Than Perfect For This World”