String Theory Media

when we measure the wrong things

Last spring, I moderated a panel at the Belmont/Leadership Music Digital Summit about the changing metrics of the music business. I hoped that the panel would convey that when industries change, the very measure of success often changes. Anyway, a good music/metrics story made it onto NPR's On The Media recently, and here it is. 

It features Duncan Freeman, founder of BandMetrics.com who was on our panel. The piece suggests that even if "the charts" once meant something in the pop music business, they mean little today. They've always been something of an illusion, a contrivance meant to serve the needs of an industry interested in getting us to consume a lot of just a few artists rather than ranging across the new and the old for a fulfilling listening life. Before SoundScan, the system methodically and negligently under-represented country and hip-hop. And SoundScan has been far from perfect. The whole Hit Parade concept has gone on to suffuse other industries such that who's on top, who had the biggest share or the biggest opening weekend has defined most of our public dialogue about our culture's art. And that's just a sorry place to be. Every real artist I've ever known wasn't aiming at a chart, and as a consumer, the charts have almost never influenced my purchases. The charts will be used one day to lobby for Rascal Flatts to go in the Country Music Hall of Fame, which would be a farce if they sold 100 million albums. The charts are used to rule out entire genres of American music for wider marketing and distribution and exposure by powerful entertainment companies. Anyway, check out the story.

new work: sam bush live in studio

We've had a couple of very busy months and it's been hard to find time to post, but at last we have some new pieces ready for public consumption. Here's an exciting performance mini-doc made with Sam Bush in support of his fantastic new album Circles Around Me. We shot seven songs straight with no fixes live at Cowboy Jack Clement's famous Nashville recording studio. Episode one of Sam Bush TV features the album's title track. Much more great stuff to come.

launching tomorrow: "music city roots" on WSM

I can't believe it's already here, but after many months of planning, we're set to launch the first new non-Opry live show on WSM-AM in more than fifty years. "Music City Roots: Live From The Loveless Cafe" will air Wednesdays from 7 to 9 pm from the new barn out near the intersection of Highway 100 and Natchez Trace Parkway just behind the world-famous Loveless Cafe. Opening night features Emmylou Harris, Mary Ann Kennedy and Pam Rose, plus new faces Annie Crane and Robin Aigner. There's no significance to the all female lineup; it just worked out that way. But we are excited about the talent this week, next week (Sam Bush, Mike Farris, etc.) and beyond. 

Music City Roots is a showcase for Americana music, including traditional country, innovative folk, bluegrass and anything else that's simply great. Eddie Stubbs will emcee, with a rotating cast of guest hosts introducing the music and yours truly in the interviewer's chair, attempting to pack career-defining interviews into five to six minutes. Then I'll be blogging about the show at www.musiccityroots.com. 

MCR is the brainchild of Todd Mayo, who previously launched Bluegrass Underground on WSM, and John Walker, sales manager and true believer in the power of good music and live radio. These guys have been extraordinary in their vision and tireless in their efforts to get this show launched. Besides that, WSM has made a commitment to broadening its playlist from classic country into Americana, and it's been extremely exciting as a student of the station's history and a believer in its future to see it embracing a timeless format where country music's yesterday, today and tomorrow sit easily side by side. Most exciting though is to see GM Chris Kulick and Program Director Joe Limardi commit to live music on the air, which is what made WSM great in the first place. 

My feeling is that with everything in chaos in the music business, the best thing all of us can do is go back to basics. America built a successful marriage of art and commerce in music during the mid 20th century, and it seems like it's time to go forward by going backwards, to real talent development, live performance, presentation, context and unbridled enthusiasm. Music City Roots is ready to try.

new work: sam & ruby

This morning WPLN aired my feature on Nashville duo Sam & Ruby, an enthralling pair of singers and songwriters who deserve and just might just find that elusive national audience. It's smart pop/folk melded with smoky soul, and it's very real. They'd sound great on Dave or Conan's shows. I'm just sayin'.

new work: steep canyon rangers

It's release day for a superb new album from the Steep Canyon Rangers, and we were fortunate to work with the band on this video profile covering their career, the new disc and their new tour with Steve Martin. Last month I attended the band's Mountain Song Festival in Brevard, NC, a lovely day and a half of music in the heart of the Blue Ridge. Whether backing Steve Martin on his banjo originals or playing their own stuff, this is one of the finest bands going, one that is starting to transcend the usual audience limits of bluegrass. Below the EPK is a one-shot performance of the new song Nowhere To Lay Low recorded in a dressing room of the Ryman Auditorium. Enjoy.

new work: rob ickes on npr

Rob Ickes is one versatile musician. He plays his dobro in expected and unexpected settings, from his esteemed band Blue Highway and as a member of Earl Scruggs' Family & Friends band to his modern acoustic trio Three Ring Circle. Yesterday on All Things Considered I focused on his new jazz standards album Road Song with Franklin pianist Michael Alvey. I don't think I've ever heard dobro and piano duets before, and it's a remarkable sound. Not mentioned in the story unfortunately are the contributions of singer Robinella, who chimes in with bluesy authenticity on three tracks. Road Song is a delicious album that's been a joy to live with. 

Hear my story HERE.

new work: brenda lee on wpln

This was certainly an easy story, because all I had to do was let the lovely and spirited Brenda Lee show me around her new Country Music Hall of Fame exhibit. But it sure was a treat. Here's the host intro and a link to the story:

A star by the age of 13, Brenda Lee became one of the most stylistically diverse and world-famous singers to ever come out of Nashville. Now she’s the latest member of the Country Music Hall of Fame to be featured in a close-up exhibit in the hall’s museum. WPLN’s Craig Havighurst recently took a tour, with Little Miss Dynamite herself as his guide.

LISTEN HERE

hot doc alert: any day now

Last night I finally got to see Any Day Now, the feature-length doc about Nashville's Ten Out Of Tenn, a collective of songwriting artists who've released three compilation CDs, embarked on three significant tours and generally bolstered each other's careers. The project works at a lot of levels. Economically, it's smart because it pools resources, like a bus, that would be out of reach of the artists individually. It's building a trusted brand and franchise by letting in only exceptional artists. It creates a whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts vibe that generates a lot of enthusiasm and passion. It re-brands Nashville as Music City for all, not just country.

And unlike almost every other artist development plan I see playing out in this new music business, TOT either got smart or lucky and had filmmaker Jeff Wyatt Wilson document the first tour. The result is Any Day Now, and I'm happy to say it's elegant, entertaining and important all at the same time. Wilson defines the personalities of the artists so that by the end we know ten distinct voices rather than a crowded stage. We learn just enough about how the group came together and how it threw together rehearsals and made the most of everyone's skills as musicians. We feel life on the bus, and if the artists spend a lot of time hamming for the camera, at least the filmmaker picked some damn funny bits to keep the levity up. Above all, the music is simply extraordinary. When did you last see a music documentary without a single weak song? And how did these guys pull together such rich arrangements of complex pop and rock songs in just a couple days? And what must these performances sound like NOW after three tours? 

A DVD is in the works. Here's the trailer:

Last note: It is my mantra, my soapbox speech, my self-interested marketing spiel that Nashville needs WAY more documentary about its music in this post TNN, post MTV, post radio world than it is making. Stop spending so much money on publicists to pitch your story to a dying print infrastructure and instead spend a little money making the story you want to tell in the medium of today and then send it directly to fans and fans of other artists like you. With Any Day Now, these savvy artists and their savvy behind-the-scenes folks have not only made a piece of art. They've made a giant and lovely commercial for what they are. And when historians rifle through the archives of Nashville circa 2008 one day, they'll find this film and say thank god somebody thought to do this.

new work: bluegrass at east tennessee state

Today the Bluegrass, Old-Time & Country Music Program at East Tennessee State University will be releasing this video profile. Please do share this link with anyone you know who has ties to the bluegrass community.

Bluegrass at East Tennessee State University from String Theory Media on Vimeo.

Up in the hills of East Tennessee it's no surprise to find bluegrass musicians, but a university program dedicated to its practice and preservation is a surprise indeed. Last winter, ETSU's bluegrass program asked us to document and explain what it is, what it does, and how it shapes lives. I shot for three days in Johnson City Tenn. in April and produced this 9-minute profile of a unique and special institution. Its instructors are remarkable musicians and educators, and it was a huge pleasure to work with Raymond McLain, Karen Sullivan and co. If you aspire to playing or managing professionally, check this out.

okay you talked me down

A couple weeks ago I freaked when I saw this graph in the NYT. A really smart-sounding guy named Andrew Dubber made me feel a lot better. He sayeth:

"The boom and bust pattern of each recorded music format adds up to an overall rise and decline of corporatism in the recorded music industries. Culturally, this could well be something to celebrate."

Indeed. That's what I meant to say all along...