The Submarines are widely recognizable for their jangling pop single,”You, Me, and the Bourgeoisie,” used in the recent iPhone 3G commercial. Others may know them as the artist-turned-producer and singer-songwriter from Boston who fell in love while working on an album, moved to California and started a band. The love story of Jack Dragonetti (a.k.a Jack Drag) and Blake Hazard (a.k.a. great grand daughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald) is really the bittersweet muse of The Submarines. The story goes that the couple broke up shortly after moving out West but Blake continued to record in Dragonetti’s home studio. The duo soon realized that the new songs that they were each writing were filled with sadness and longing for one another. They decided to rekindle their musical relationship which lead to The Submarines and eventually to marriage. Continue reading ‘Q To The A With The Submarines & Jay Sweet’
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Tom Biller
Jay Sweet recently caught up with the Biller in between recording sessions and asked him about the journey his career has taken thus far.
JS: When did you know you could make a living in music?
TB: I was asked to play guitar and bass on Fiona Apple’s second record. Getting paid was the last thing on my mind, happy to do it for free. A few weeks later I got a check in the mail for the session work. It wasn’t crazy money but more than I’d usually make in a week at that time. For playing a song?? Damn, I was hooked…
JS: How did you find yourself working on scores for films and producing?
TB: By accident… I started out running and assisting at a few studios in LA, learning how to engineer and make records. Then I started working with Jon Brion, who basically mentored me for awhile. We would go from a movie score to a record, always something different. Got a foot into both worlds… It was during that time my musicianship took a turn as well. Many great players around to get inspired by.
JS: When you look at a film such as WTWTA, what types of conversation do you have with the director/ creative team before you jump into making a score?
TB: In this case, I went in directly working with Karen O, who had many discussions with Spike prior, so we had a few ideas to knock around. We listened to a bunch of old songs— Daniel Johnston, Langley School Music Project, things like that. Gave us a clue to what the spirit should be.
JS: Give us an idea of what it’s like working with Karen O on a project like this. In some ways it may not seem like an obvious choice but having seen some of the film it makes perfect sense.
TB: Spike’ss films always have a reaction against the typical Hollywood b.s. I know that was a focus with Wild Things, we talked about that. So in some ways I think Karen was a perfect choice, someone different… like Max from the book.
JW: Being a music supervisor I’m curious about when you believe a scene is better suited for a cue track/ pre-recorded track vs. scoring to picture?
TB: In my experience, this usually comes from the director, taking cues from what mood he/ she’s trying to achieve. Most of the movies I’ve done have been all original scores. Sometimes we would get attached to a cue only for it to be changed in editing. But you have to have an open mind in this game. With someone like Spike or Michel Gondry, it was easy to trust their musical tastes and follow their lead.
JW: If you could work with a new composer what advice might you give them?
TB: Director wins, unless the star of the movie (who took a large cut in pay to gain some cred and decided he’s not ‘funny enough’ so has scenes edited so that the music underneath is no longer in time and out of arrangement.) wins!
“Your Big Break”
Throughout the course of the year I speak on music panels all over the country. I do it mainly for two reasons; the first is to connect with friends in the business—for many of us it’s the only time we ever get to see each other in person. The second is to hear what issues are really on the minds of the artist and managers still working the streets trying to find their “big break”.
Lately it seems that the issues aren’t about the usual publishing rights, collecting royalties or overseas booking agents. Instead, more and more bands are solely worried about their “big break” or, more pointedly, why it hasn’t yet arrived. In most cases it feels like the Q&A sessions are mainly artists or their managers simply complaining about the industry and how it’s working against them.
I’m here to help by telling you the truth.
1) The “industry” doesn’t care about you one way or another, because the “industry” isn’t a group of 10 people in some skyscraper chomping cigars giving thumbs up or thumbs down to each and every artist that comes across their massive mahogany desk. The industry is so completely fractured it should be obvious; no one is in control except the fans.
2) You are not owed anything. There are only 3 things that make you successful in music- practice, gumption and more practice. Sure, some music is made in an afternoon by some pimply pre-pubescent geek with amazing software but look at anyone who has a true career as a musician. They play relentlessly. It’s called hard work and, as trite as it sounds, it does pay off.
3) There is no secret playbook with all the shortcuts. If there was, you either couldn’t afford it or you’d probably have to sign the same deal as Robert Johnson at the crossroads to get it.
4) The age of the megastar musician is over. Coldplay is bad cheese, Madonna’s usual shock and awe is more schlock and yawn and the King of Pop is well… dead. Stop thinking success means playing arenas and being on the Video Music Awards. What percentage of musicians do you think actually makes enough money to sustain a full time career? Recalibrate your definition of fame and fortune to something that allows you to do what you love for people who actually care to listen.
5) Finally, and perhaps most importantly, just because we all love music doesn’t mean we can all be musicians. Not everyone has talent. Know when it’s time to trade in the guitar pick for a different career within the industry. (I proudly speak from first hand experience.)
Clearly, it’s a hard way to make a life, but guess what; these hardships make for good material. These trails and tribulations make you and your music compelling.
I’ve said this numerous times in these letters but the only real success comes from the fans or, better yet, the community that believes in you and your art. You know the ones who will spread the word; treat them like gold. They are truly the only “industry” that can give you your “big break.”
-Jay Sweet
Knowing that a manager handles the day-to-day business of a band while working towards the big picture, acquiring management is the one goal most emerging artists work towards. Nevertheless, many musicians never find the opportunity to get face time with a real life manager. Meet Marc Allan. Allan runs MOVE Management, a boutique music management agency representing the stylistically-varied talents of Steel Train, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Apollo Sunshine, Tom Biller (co-producer of the Where The Wild Things Are soundtrack and member of the LA indie rock band Afternoon) as well as Benevento Russo Duo. OurStage’s Editor-at-Large, Jay Sweet caught up with Allan and asked him to give some advice to the newbies trying to chart the industry waters without a manager as their beacon.
JS: As a manager of a newbie band, would you urge them to sign a record deal?
MA: As the manager, one of my roles is to weigh the options available to the band then counsel them with regard to my opinion of what the best option is to reach the band’s desired goals. Everything really depends on the goals of the act/team. Personally, I don’t like shutting off any option available to a band/artist that increases the act’s ability to reach their desired goals. And while many are ready to write off the entire major label system, there is still value there.
If you are a pop act (thinking more of Lady Gaga type act) or a hip hop artist with commercial aspirations, you need to seriously consider your label options. The labels are still probably going to be the best way to reach your goals because regardless of the way many of us feel, commercial radio is still a force in breaking an act (I mean selling hundreds of thousands to millions of records/tracks/albums, etc.) and the majors are still the gatekeepers of that universe. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that they have any interest in you, which is another bag altogether.
If you are a rock and roll band (pick your sub-genre at your own risk), you must determine how self-sufficient your organization can be. You need to see what kind of response you are receiving locally/regionally (and if you have developed enough, nationally) when you are playing live. There are many more alternatives available to you as an artist, and it is in your best interest to delve into all possibilities before jumping into the label world. It doesn’t do you much good to role independently if you can’t figure out how to plug into the utilities available to artists today. It also doesn’t do you much good if you have a vast knowledge of the social networking field, but can’t write a good song. So before we get too far, let’s remember that it starts and ends with the song.
The catch-22 is that, in many situations, by the time labels become interested in you, you may no longer need them to reach your goals. Isn’t this fun?
JS: Any tricks of the trade to spur good word of mouth about a band when they are trying to break into a new territory?
MA: I wish 
… Not to beat it to the ground, but if you have good songs and are going into a new market, that is your best weapon. Hopefully you have done the legwork before booking shows in markets/territories that you otherwise have no business being in. If supporting, hopefully you have worked with the talent buyer (or your agent has) to put you on a bill with a complementary artist with a stronger local draw. No shame in winning over a crowd and always better if they are willing to be won over. I don’t think of complementary as somebody that sounds like you, so all parties can still be creative when developing a bill when you are just entering a market.
Trading shows with strong bands from the territory is another method that has been used by plenty of bands when they are just getting out of their home markets. I know that plenty of the HORDE bands used this [method] along with their extremely dedicated fanbases to launch them into new territories back in the early 90s. Now, a method like this can be combined with effective use of social media to create the early makings of a groundswell.
I’ve noticed, over the past 3-4 years in particular, a significant increase in the amount of bands trying to pull off cross-country tours with a limited national footprint when they can’t really do the business yet. Obviously, you’ve got to get out there and get into new territories at some point, but now every band from (name any state) with 15 friends in Topeka (and half of them are bots) on MySpace/Twitter/Facebook thinks they can do strong business across the entirety of the midwest. It seems to have simmered a bit this year, possibly due to the general economic situation across the country.
Moral to the story? Know where your sound lies within the industry, find your audience and grow it. Bots don’t buy tickets to your shows. Make sure you are realistic about your draw!
Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, drummer extraordinaire and co-founder of the hardest working hip hop band, The Roots, talks with OurStage during a break from taping the Jimmy Fallon Show. Beside touring all over the world, The Roots also manage to be the house band for Fallon which has given ?uestlove recent insight into what it takes these days to make it in the music business.
OS: What advice would you give to a hip hop band that’s just starting out? Would you tell them to simply go out on the road and do as many shows live as possible, or would you tell them to hone their chops in the studio and build a fan base making mixes/demos/singles etc.?
?L: The answer will actually handle both of those together: I would insist that they rehearse for three to four hours a day. Real rehearsal. That is the key. This job with Fallon has forced us to do something that we’ve never ever done in our 17 years. We’ve never rehearsed. I know that’s weird to hear. We’ll do soundchecks, but that’s hardly rehearsal. It used to be where I considered Boise, Idaho, or St. Paul, Minnesota, as rehearsals, real shows would be L.A., New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Paris, major cities. What I’m finding out now is that with the show, that we have to rehearse hard for four hours, every day, we’re becoming better musicians, and we’re becoming way better songwriters. I feel like I’ve cheated us and cheated our fan base. All I can say is, damn, if we’d only rehearsed four hours every day since we started, we could have literally Lennon/McCartneyed the shit out of this industry. All our songs are based off a riff and a jam. If we really just applied that whole Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours of rehearsal thing, we’d be kings.
OS: It’s refreshing to hear you say that, because I feel artists just starting out feel that if they just play live all the time that their sound will grow organically.
?L: Having this job is making me feel like we’ve only been operating at 40% of our powers, when we could have really been kicking ass at 95%. Its gonna make you a stronger songwriter, socially it’s gonna make you stronger— well you still have to deal with the closeness of being in a band and seeing these people all the time, i.e. the social aspect—but from a creative standpoint, as a band, you will be better, and you know I’m not saying you’ll be the best in the world. I know Deerhoof puts rehearsal before performance, by no means of their imagination are they virtuosos on some David Murray/ John Coltrane thing, but you can tell that those guys practice and play together.
OS: It’s funny cause you mentioned Deerhoof, because I was actually spoke to them once about how hard they rehearse, it’s amazing how it all comes down to practice. Look at someone like Trey Anastasio from Phish. When that band was at its apex, it’s not because they noodled for 18 minutes on a song, it’s because those guys rehearsed, they said they would spend like 6 hours a day when their not on tour, just sitting in a room, they would play rehearsal games, they would turn off all the lights so you can’t look for visual queues, you have to listen. They would do this for hours. Trey felt that the whole dynamic fell apart because life got in the way. Kids, getting so big, interviews, tours, all the “distractions” that took them away from practice time as they got bigger— it may sound like we’re just improvising all this stuff, and a lot of it is, but really a lot of that improvisation comes from hours and hours and hours together in a room knowing where each other are musically.
?L: That’s why we do the Highline jam sessions as well. Tuesday, we played from midnight to four in the morning at the Highline. First of all, the pressure of practicing in front of an audience, that brings out an 7th sense that I didn’t know I had; that of an oppressor. The hardest thing about this gig is doing it each night. I guess I’m a perfectionist by nature, and I will say to all people that thought by taking this job and we were gonna phone it in from home. NO WAY! It’s funny when you mention the whole lights off rehearsal game, because we can’t all see each other during the show the way they have us set up, so this really does mean that we have to listen to each other. Which is always for the best.
