No Venue for Arena Rock

“Heard the roar of the crowd, he can picture the scene, put his ear to the wall, like a distant scream, he heard one guitar, just blew him away”. These lyrics from Foreigner’s Juke Box Hero capture the connection that happens for every musician or music lover at some point. There is something magical about the connection that is made when music moves beyond just simple sound and becomes a life altering experience. However, as technology has advanced and the music industry as a whole has changed, we are witnesses to the death of the arena rock era.

Although many great things have come to life from the incredible evolution in music technology, one of the most tragic casualties may be the concert experience. Music promoters and bands used to NEED concerts as a channel to promote their music. Concert tours were an integral part of the strategy for several reasons: they generated direct revenue through ticket and merchandise sales, they created awareness for songs on the current album leading to additional record sales, but more importantly it allowed artists to personally connect with their fanbase and generate loyalty. If an artist was able to successfully develop a persona that was larger than life and connect with listeners on a personal level, they came away with a loyal fanbase guaranteeing future sales. Loyalty would drive fans to own entire collection of albums from their favorite artists even before hearing any of the songs, and regardless of the overall quality or critical review. A loyal fanbase provided the band with leverage and allowed them freedom to explore creative ideas with their sound and style without having to worry about delivering a home run every time.

Radio airplay was and is an important way for bands to cast a wider net and expand their fanbase. However, only the 1 or 2 singles that were released would get any significant airplay. Radio stations could rarely be counted on to dive deeper into the album tracks unless the band was legendary or the album skyrocketed in popularity. I use the band Hardline as an example. They were released in 1992 and even had some star power with Neil Schon from Journey on guitar. But, since Grunge music was increasing in popularity, Hardline did not receive the kind of airplay that would have made them superstars had they entered the scene 5 years earlier. Additionally, nothing guaranteed how long the song would stay in regular rotation. Frequency of rotation was dependent upon a variety of factors, but often not long enough to allow the album to really catch on. Many people need to hear more than just 1 or 2 songs that they like before they make the decision to buy an entire album. I have a two song rule. I will not buy an album unless there are 2 or more songs that I know that I like. It was at the live concert where the underground, grass roots movement of rock and roll thrived. It was the only venue with which a band could guarantee that all new material would be heard by their target audience. I can’t count how many albums I went out and purchased after seeing a band in concert.

The rock concert was also where fans could get a preview of soon to be released material. Many artists wrote music on the road and would often work in new music at their concerts to generate some excitement, or get a feel for the response. If you were privileged enough to hear it, you earned the right to brag to all of the poor saps that missed the show about how much the new songs rocked. This added to build-up of anticipation towards the next album’s release. During the 70s and 80s many bands were built and sustained through this type of underground promotion. Led Zeppelin, built much of their incredible following underground. They toured like road dogs, and although they had very few Top 40 hits, all 9 records were Top 10 in sales, with 6 hitting #1. They are just one of many other bands from that era that enjoyed high record sales while being blasted by critics and getting little initial radio play.

The rock concert is also where many new bands would get their break. Being added as a warm up band for bigger acts was a golden opportunity to be recognized on a large scale. Van Halen came up playing the clubs in Hollywood, but they became stars when they were invited to open for Black Sabbath on the Never Say Die tour. Ozzy has said in interviews that he was embarrassed at how badly they got their asses handed to them by VH every night on that tour. Van Halen headlined the following year. Some up and coming bands that I remember seeing: Iron Maiden opened for Judas Priest, The Babys opened for Journey, Loverboy opened for April Wine, Night Ranger opened for Sammy Hagar. The list is long of bands that gained significant popularity by opening up for established bands.

… when I was in high school, in the early 80s, my friends and I would plan out our concert “schedule” as soon as the dates were announced. We would make plans to attend together, and even get their early to “wait” in line… the concert equivalent of tailgating. Concerts were a social statement that entitled you to instant acceptance from fellow fans, whether you knew them or not. We would wear our concert t-shirts to school the next day with pride as a banner promoting our favorite music, and separating ourselves from the poor bastards who missed the show. Not a day went by where our favorite bands or music in general was discussed.

The arena was where musicians became larger than life. Especially through the 70s and 80s where musicians consciously developed a band image, created unique individual personas, and took pride in putting on a show… not just a live version of their music. The concert is where our favorite stars appeared to be within reach. Somehow being that close to musicians who wrote the music that moved us made our regular life a little more exciting.

When the 80s ended, music changed. Star power started to fade, guitarists stopped playing solos, singers dropped melodies to levels that anyone could sing, and extravagant outfits were replaced with t-shirts and jeans. Larger than life rock stars were replaced with ordinary everyday people and concerts were no longer events that couldn’t be missed and became just another form of entertainment.

Today, promoters no longer need the concert and are not underwriting massive tours in the way that they used to. Unless you are a super relevant and rising pop star, there is little chance that your record label is putting you on a national tour. Bands, especially classic rockers, are left to join forces just to create enough of a draw to fill enough seats to allow them to stay out on the road doing what they love.

Another death nail for arena rock is the ungodly increase in ticket prices. Unlike today, twenty years ago concerts were cheap! I saw KISS in 1979 for $7 and tossed in a concert shirt for another $5, a few months later I saw Journey for $10. Today, that tab would be around $60-100, and then add in tax, a venue change, and the satanically evil Ticketmaster’s “convenience” charge to buy them online (btw, if its convenient for the buyer AND for Ticketmaster, shouldn’t that be free?). This price point is very much outside of the expendable income range of most teenagers.

Technology has leveled the playing field. Studio time is no longer a limitation, as digital recording advancements have made it easy and affordable for anyone to produce quality recordings right in their home. Promotion has never been faster or easier as it can now be done entirely online. New videos can be instantly uploaded to YouTube, and mp3s can be made available for fans on a bands website or social media pages within hours of the completion of production.

Unfortunately, not only has technology taken the magic out of the live music experience, but it has ironically caused people to become less social. My friends and I would wait in line for hours before the show and easily make friends with the whole line. Now, concerts can be experienced with surround sound and YouTube, and all in the comfort of your own home. Why go to an arena when someone has undoubtedly uploaded footage to YouTube? I can now even watch old concerts that my friends and I actually attended!

Don’t get me wrong, people still love music. However, there is less loyalty to bands, and the magic that made them larger than life has faded. In the next post, I will go off in a full-fledged rant about how the entire industry has changed, and what the future could look like for musicians and music lovers.

Goodbye Album… Welcome Single Oriented Rock

Listeners experience rock music in ways that have changed dramatically in the last five years. Gone are the days of deep pocketed record labels ruling the music industry. Their formula of turning musicians into big stars, generating anticipation for the next album’s release, and then creating excitement to catch the big World Tour that follows no longer applies.

Along with that dies the dream of every aspiring musician, as was encapsulated in the lyrics of Jukebox Hero by Foreigner… “he’s got stars in his eyes… he’ll come alive tonight”. The dream went something like this… musician puts a band together long enough to generate some chemistry, writes music that is interesting enough to get the attention of a record company, releases an album, gets financial backing, goes on tour to support album, and builds a big enough fanbase to ultimately enjoy fame and fortune. That dream has changed dramatically today for bands and the entire music industry due to breakthroughs in technology and the monumental shift in the behavior of music listeners. The legacy for music of this era is filtered by an audience with real time expectations who want only what they want, and exactly when they want it. This change will end up leaving its mark on the song writing process itself. To understand where we are we headed to, lets look back at where we came from.

In the 50s and 60s, music promotion was based entirely on the release of a single. Although most bands or artists would also put out an album, sales were measured in number of singles sold. Artists were measured by achieving Gold Record certification from the RIAA for sale of 500,000 singles. This meant that an artist was signed by a record label and paid to write music. It was the responsibility of the label to generate public interest by getting radio stations to play the released single. Once the song started to gain some popularity the sales increased and started to generate enough interest to promote a tour. In this scenario, the band and label were also able to leverage the B side of the single to generate additional exposure for deeper tracks on the album. One song that comes to mind that proves the value of this was “Hey Hey What Can I Do” by Led Zeppelin, the B side to the “Immigrant Song”, which was a radio hit without ever being officially released or appearing on an album.

All of this changed in the late 60s with the invention of FM radio. The FCC made it illegal to simply duplicate AM station content on the FM band, so station owners were challenged with finding new and innovative formats. This created the environment for the rise of Album Oriented Rock radio stations which presented a new concept for filling FM airwaves. The DJs were given the green light to play songs outside of the officially released singles, and even songs that were longer than the typical 2 ½ to 3 minute length that was normally a restriction for radio play.

This significantly increased the exposure to songs that were deep into the album. The artists were able to build a strong fan base as now the habit had changed to owning the entire album instead of just the singles. The change in the trend towards the purchase of albums was recognized in ’76 as the RIAA added Platinum certification to for 1M in sales for singles AND albums. The first rock album certified Platinum was The Eagles Greatest Hits in that year. Often songs were written specifically for radio, and may be more pop sounding to appeal to a wider audience or have less instrumentation. Often the true sound or character of the band would be revealed in these deeper cuts. If singles had remained the standard the best songs would have remained undiscovered by most people.

This brings us to today… the computer age. With the invention of modern digital recording technology, and the accessibility of the Internet, anyone can now produce studio quality recordings. This means that it is no longer necessary to tap into a record labels deep pockets to promote. Music can be sold online, and performances can be uploaded to YouTube for promotion. Instead of running out to the record store, the vast majority of listeners now purchase their songs by downloading of iTunes, Amazon, Zune… or even illegally off of the Internet. The standard is once again back to measuring by the single unit. In ’05, the RIAA added Digital Downloads (even ringtone downloads) to their awards.

However, because we have now returned to measuring by singles again, and this time without a B side, this could have a negative impact on music. I believe that the regression of influence and resources that record labels provided could have a profoundly negative effect on the quality of music that is produced. If an artist and Record Label understand that success is measured one single at a time, there will be an increasing amount of pressure to reach the widest audience every time. This means much less experimenting with new ideas and more leaning on tried and true techniques such as catchy, cliché lyrics and pop sounding musical hooks. This is especially true for new bands, whose entire career could end up being limited to one single. If the single bombs listeners may never give them another chance. Artists used to have the security of a multiyear contract that would ensure income and allow the freedom to focus on new and creative song writing ideas. It could be that music lovers will not see the type of creativity again that came out of the late 60s, 70s and even 80s.

In the next couple of posts, I will rant about the change in the concert experience and the Death of Arena Rock, and also look at the pros and cons new frontier of the music industry.

Foreigner with Kelly Hansen is classic rock that keeps on rolling

I had the chance to see the current version of Foreigner twice recently, one at my company’s convention and also with the United in Rock tour at Dodge Theatre here in Phoenix Arizona. I was very impressed with both shows, these guys still can bring it. Actually, I felt bad for Styx. Foreigner took the stage after a solid Kansas set and rocked the crowd so much that it seemed that they were too tired to react to the strong show that Styx put on. I guess at this age demographic, it pays to be the early band instead of the headliner.

The addition of Kelly Hansen was a stroke of genius for guitarist, and only remaining original member, Mick Jones. Its rarely very popular when a band replaces a legend like Lou Gramm, or as Boston is facing adding former Stryper singer Michael Sweet to replace the late Brad Delp. However, Hansen is more than up to the challenge. He sings all of the classic Foreigner songs with power and finesse, and even nails many of Gramm’s vocal nuances. He actually sings these songs with enough respect that if you didn’t know better would think that they are his own. Hansen was strong back in the hair band days with Hurricane, I remember seeing them open for AC/DC in the sweltering heat of Compton Terrace back in the 80s. But fronting a band in the classic rock genre seems to be a better match for him.

The rest of the band is equally impressive. With the addition of ex-Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson, Thom Gimbel (keyboard, sax, guitar), and Michael Bluestein (keyboards), are blessed with a very strong group of backing vocalists. Along with drummer Jason Sutter, these guys are a very talented and energetic band who really seem to be enjoying themselves. Pilson was reported to have said that this is the best band that he has ever been in, and watching them it is evident. Actually, the weakest link in the band is Jones. Although he has never been noted as being a great lead player, you give him a pass knowing that he is the mastermind behind all of these great songs.

If you get the chance to catch them on tour in support of the new material on their new cd Cant Slow Down, do it! It will take you back to the good old arena rock days.

Bang, Bang, You're Terry Reid... not Robert Plant

I was reading about the formation of Led Zeppelin, and stumbled upon a very tragic story of poor decision making. If you are an aspiring lead singer dont model your career decisions after Terry Reid. Reid is a singer from Huntingdon, England who caught the attention of Jimmy Page as he was looking to build the members of his new band the New Yardbirds, which became Led Zeppelin. Reid had already signed to open for the Rolling Stones, so he passed and suggested Robert Plant. However, later that year he also turned down the offer to replace Rod Evans in Deep Purple. This position would eventually be given to Ian Gillan. Plant and Gillan went on to become legendary rock singers, and Terry Reid? He has managed to release 10 albums, but to date has never achieved any significant fame. Well, the name of his first album kind of sums it up "Bang, Bang, You're Terry Reid". Mental note: if an up and coming legendary rock band offers you a lead singer position.... take it!

Led Zeppelin with Full Symphony - John Bonhams Drumming

The last post in my review of the Music of Led Zeppelin show at Dodge Theatre in Phoenix Arizona answers the questions "How would Zeppelin sound in front of a full symphony”… and for the love of God, "Who could come close to matching the Great Bonzo's drumming?"

The question of how it would sound to add a full symphony to the music of Led Zeppelin vanished after the first song. If full orchestration could add to the hard driving rhythm of Immigrant Song, then I knew that this was going to be a great experience. The symphony added fullness to the sound that was most likely missing in Zeppelin’s actual live performances. I always wondered how Page and Jones could possibly reproduce all of the components that were composed into Zep songs. Nowhere does the addition of the orchestra seem so natural than with the classic song Kashmir. I imagine that when Page wrote the music for this song he probably heard it this way. Another surprise was the excellent violin playing of Allegro, who covered several of Page's lead parts.

The final question of who could duplicate John Bonham ended up being the biggest surprise of all. Drummer Powell Randolph was amazing! See the solo for yourself. Much like Cintron, Randolph successfully captured the abstract essence of the style of Bonham, and executed an incredible reproduction of the drum solo for Moby Dick. He sounded to me like what I would imagine Bonham might have evolved into today. Having seen some of the best drummers ever, Neil Peart and Steve Smith come to mind, Powell Randolph was better!

Overall, the sound of Dodge Theatre was the only negative. If you get the chance to see Windborne’s Tribute to Led Zeppelin, or their tribute to Queen, Pink Floyd, or Eagles… do it!

The Music of Led Zeppelin

Last Friday I saw the Music of Led Zeppelin with Brent Havens and Windborne Music. Here is my review, that I will break out over the next four weeks since I had WAY too much to say about it :).

Its a Friday night... the lights dim... the hum of the string section tuning for the show... and a guy with long curly hair takes the stage belting out the iconic "Ah-ay-ah ah" from Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. But instead of Robert Plant, who has sworn off singing Zeppelin songs, its Randy Jackson... and NOT the one from American Idol, the one from the 80s band Zebra.

For all of us musicians who consider Led Zeppelin a formative influence, this is as close as we will ever get to seeing their music performed live. I remember the day that John Bonham was reported to have passed away. I was 15, a junior in high school and was mortified to hear on the radio that my favorite band's drummer had just died. I mean, we were in the process of planning how we were going to pull off a road trip to see Zeppelins recently scheduled concert in Los Angeles in support of In Through The Out Door. That was the last time that Zeppelin would ever be involved in a World Tour.

Until now. The live music of Led Zeppelin has come back to life with the help of Brent Havens and Windborne Music. Before seeing this show, I had many questions and a few reservations about seeing a cover band performing one of my favorite bands music live. Who could possibly sing Robert Plants vocal parts? Who could possibly reproduce Jimmy Page's style on guitar? How would Zeppelin sound in front of a full symphony. And, for the love of God, who could come close to matching the Great Bonzo's drumming? Over the next four weeks I will answer those questions.