An Artist that went too soon

It was almost thirty years ago. An attorney friend of mine asked me to take a listen to a singer/songwriter that he was helping out pro bono, that needed a manager. I just came off from a cautionary tale of my own as a manger who worked for two years to get a band a recording contract, only to see them replace me when they signed the agreement. Just another tale in the zillions of stories out there in the music business. Although I felt horrible from this experience, I was young enough to bounce back and still had the energy flowing through my veins to make a mark in the industry. So I said, what the fuck...let me check this guy out. So I head down to this shithole on the west side of NYC called SNAFU. A dive...truly. I met my attorney friend there and we sat down to wait for the artist to get on stage. A few minutes later, this guy walks over to the grand piano on the stage, sits down and starts playing. It was just him, no other players accompanying him. From the first few notes, I had that visceral reaction. I knew something great was happening. I sat through the set mesmerized. After the show I went backstage (if that's what you call it), and was introduced to him by my attorney. I shook his hand and said "I don't want to pressure you, but I would like to take you into the studio tomorrow night or the next night and just do some live demos. Would that be ok?" He said "Wow, yes!". So I did just that. I took him to a studio called Right Track where a young, new engineer was just learning the ropes, and he did our session. We probably laid down around 12 songs or so, and did a rough mix onto a cassette tape. One for the artist, one for me. I listened on my ride home later that night and was blown away. Early the next morning, around 7am, I got a phone call from the artist. He was listening to the cassette on his headphones and he was loving every minute of it. None of you would know this artist. His name is Don Yowell. A few weeks ago marked the 25th anniversary of Don's passing from AIDS complications. I'll get back to that later. Don asked me to manage him that morning when he called and of course I said "I would be honored." This marked a new two year period in my life that would turn out approximately 65 songs. I basically pulled Don away from the shithole he was playing in and I struck a deal with a friend of mine in Rockland County, NY, to record Don's songs. I had no idea of what to expect and neither did Don. My role as his manager called for me to pay his rent and phone bill, while I footed the bill for him to record. We must have spent every week in this studio in Nyack, NY, and Don went on a writing craze that was unbelievable. I felt that with my help Don was able to unleash his inner most feelings as a writer, and he crafted the most gorgeous songs one could imagine. The routine was this. I lived in Fort Lee, NJ at the time. I would drive down to North Moore street in NYC, which was downtown all the way on the west side along the water, pick Don up, drive back over the George Washington Bridge, up to Nyack, record, drive him home and then I went back again to Fort Lee. I was only 24 years old at the time, so it didn't faze me. Now I think back and say "holy shit!" At that time, the music industry was in its New Wave/Punk era, and I was shopping a very sophisticated artist. Don's music was very unique...think Joni Mitchell meets Laura Nyro meets Don Yowell, for he had his own very distinct sound, style and voice. I had a few industry executives who loved him, but were perplexed as to how to market him. The singer/songwriter era would turn around years later, but not then. I struggled demo after demo to get him placed, but to no avail. I became very angry at the industry executives and felt they didn't know what the fuck was good. All I heard was mostly shit coming out of the record companies, and nobody had the balls to sign this artist. It is now, as I mentioned, almost thirty years since I started work with Don. And a few years back I revisited his catalogue, spoke with his family who now own the rights, and told them I was going to finish what I started. I want him heard. I want his songs placed. And eventually, I want him to be released on his own so the world can hear what an amazing talent he was. I was thinking today about the 2000 Volkswagon ad that featured Nick Drake's "Pink Moon." All of a sudden, posthumously, Nick Drake started selling cds like hot cakes. Why? Because in a peculiar way, the world got to hear what a talented artist he was. I was into Nick Drake many years before, as I was into John Martyn and other English folkies of that day. I started thinking that perhaps this might be one way to get Don's songs out there...and who knows? Perhaps in a movie or an ad, someway, somehow, the world needs to hear him. Over the past couple of years, I had sent out some of Don's songs to various artists to take a listen. But again, with egos the size of the Earth, many artists cannot get past their own egos, even if they think the songs are killer. I was always about thinking outside the box, and how cool it would be for an artist to do an album's worth of material of an unkown artist. God knows we have tribute albums up the ass of famous songwriters, bands, solo artists, ad nauseum. How about something a little different? I've wanted to get Don's songs to Elton John, because he would do him justice. So I spoke with someone about 7 months ago who said she could get to Elton John easily. And, she was a Don Yowell fan when she worked in music publishing. So, after I send her five cd's of Don's songs, I have been chasing her for the past 7 months to get off her ass and do something...no return phone calls, no return emails, etc. Really, I fucking hate people!!! You know what, it isn't that I hate people, I hate the indecisiveness in the music business where everyone cannot make a fucking decision to save their lives...so they turn to putting out shitty talent, oh wait, I've said this all before, I don't want to repeat myself. Anyway, if I could hope for one thing in my business life it would be for Don to come back to life through other artists, or even through his won cd's...what a talent...what a guy...what a loss...what a shame.

Carrying and Passing The Torch

I'm a big believer in carrying and passing the torch, especially when it comes to music. What I mean is simply this...let's take folk music for example. I guess musicologists can essentially argue, and with good reason, that Woody Guthrie was our first real troubador, touring the country singing about political issues, life, labor movement, etc. He was our first folk singer, but certainly not the only one. And when a young Robert Zimmerman a.k.a. Bob Dylan, came from Minnesota to New York, to visit Woody as he lay dying on his death bed, it was a sort of passing of the torch. Woody listened to Bob's songs and gave him the thumbs up...that's all Bob Dylan needed. Woody Guthrie was our country's musical voice. So was Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Dave Van Ronk, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Eric Andersen, Fred Neil, Peter Paul & Mary, and shitload more. These are just a few names who launched the folk movement in Greenwich Village, NYC. Places like Folk City, Cafe Wha?, The Bitter End, etc., launched many a career. And over the years, albeit a much smaller audience, there are still folk artist, who I guess these days like to be described as singer/songwriters, who carry the torch. Recently a compilation was released called The Village. This intrigued me. It is basically a small collection of songs from the folk movement done by contemporary artists. It is an excellent collection, but there are so many great songs missing, that a collection like this should be done in volumes of releases. However, it proves one point...that somewhere in this country, there are still believers in what folk music had to say. People still feel the same pressures of life today, maybe more so, then years back. And don't get me started on the politics of today. The point is, that music carries forth what many of us think and feel. It is a way of expressing our frustrations, and if it doesn't cure the problem, it just might bring it to people's attention. Some may argue that many genres of music touch upon the themes of society and they would be correct. But folk music was the original train that crossed the nation. Today, acts are still around that shaped folk music, and newer performers like Rod Macdonald and Joe Jencks, among others, carry the torch forward. They even re-record old classics, like Joe Hill, a song many of you may remember that Joan Baez did at Woodstock. Although that song was written in the 1920's, it still has legs...and Joe Jencks just recorded it on his new album. We cannot go back and relive the glory days of Greenwich Village and the energy that was in the air at the time. However, we can still support the great troubadors of today, as well as yesteryear, by seeing them live, buying their cd's, downloading their songs, etc. I have felt that we as a country lost our voice. We have stood by watching the atrocities in Iraq, as if it was another day's news. During the was in Vietnam, we didn't stand by silently...we protested in Washington, D.C. and folk singers rallied at sit-ins and protests all across the country. There was an energy...there was a commitment to right the wrong...there was a time when we had a voice...let's not forget it. If there is something out there that is wrong, voice your opinions. Do your part and carry the torch in your special way...support our singer/songwriters...they have things to say and they should be heard.

Blood, Sweat, Tears, Love and CSN

I just picked up a 180gm vinyl recording of Crosby Stills and Nash live in L.A. It is awesome!!! This concert is not available on cd...at least not presently. If you are a vinyl collector, pick this up as well as Neil Young's 180gm Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere...gritty, but awesome sound. OK, back to Blood, Sweat, etc. There have been a handful of albums over my life that have affected me viscerally. What I mean by this is that when I heard these for the first time, I had a physical and emotional reaction to them. In other words, I knew something special was happening. Such was the case with two cd's that I revisited the other day, and I still feel the same way as when I heard them for the first time. The very first Blood Sweat & Tears entitled Child is Father to the Man, stands alone in a category by itself. This is true artistic genius and musicianship. Al Kooper, one of those artists I have been following since he was in the Blues Project, created and formed BS&T. However, his tenure with them only lasted one album's worth. But what an album it was. At this time, horns, jazzy rock arrangements, and very cool songs, made for what I would call one of my top five albums of all-time! The group Love featuring singer Arthur Lee (who died a few years back after getting out of prison from complications of leukemia), was a rock band from Los Angeles. They had a unique sound to them, but they created an artistic album of genius as well called "Forever Changes." This album was a departure for them musically, but the signs were there on previous albums...just very subtle. While to some these might sound dated, to me, great albums like great songs, never grow old...they get better and better with age. Like I said in another blog, blogging is a way of spewing...I mean, I can say what I feel, what I'm listening to, and even if I'm writing for myself, its a cathartic exercise in emotional release. I'm listening to the aforementioned CSN Live in L.A. as I write this and I can't help but feel buzzed about it. I have several other CSN live albums and cd's, but this one has an energy unlike the others...please seek it out. I would be remiss if I didn't repeat again, that with the holidays approaching, pick up Windham Hill's A Winter's Solstice. There are several out there and you cannot go wrong with any of them...they set a peaceful and relaxed musical mood, especially if its snowing or cold outside. Cuddle up with a blanket, a glass of wine, a great book, or whatever, and put this cd on. You will feel caught up in the season, no doubt about it. I live upstate in Orange County, NY. Never mind what the fuck are you listening to? When are there going to be a decent chinese restaurant up here? In Greenwood Lake, I stumbled on a chinese buffet featuring not only chinese food, but sushi as well. I went in for dinner alone and asked how much? They said $9.99 a person. I said, how much for the sushi? They said, that's the price for everything. I tried it and was blown away. The sushi was fresh and exotic combinations. Needless to say I took the family there and we visited them more than 40 times. I feared they would close because, hey, its fucking Greenwood Lake!!! And sure enough, they closed a few months back. Hard working people trying to make a go and giving people great food for a great price, and people in that town are too fucking stupid to realize what a golden thing it was. Oh well...I need a great chinese place...being Jewish and all...you know, we have been around over 2,000 more years then the chinese...which begs the question: What did we do without chinese food for two thousand years? If I don't blog again till after the holidays, peace, love and all that bullshit...