SM-ART

Over the last seven years the intellect of artists has becoming increasingly apparent to me.  Now let me preface that with "true artists".  I'm talking about people who create from their very core, heart and soul.  True artists create because if they don't they will explode.  Passionate people with messages, muses, inspirations and emotions.  People who have owned the main art they were born with and then went on to find the other mediums they had the talent to work with that also successfully conveyed their thoughts and feelings.

Musicians, chefs and visual artists tend to also be mathematically adept.  Many will also be interested in history but that subject is also common in all art.  Creators, no matter how inspired, will research their subject and use that history to better flesh out their work.  Of course writers and actors possess a passion for language.  Music, acrobatics, dance, architecture and fine arts include a variety of sciences.  So it's pretty safe to say that true artists are pretty nerdy.  In fact if you look back at your K-12 days, the arts kids and the  smart kids tended to all sit together at the lunch table.  In fact a good number of us were both.

"But Kath' what about currently popular musicians or actors who, in interviews, come off sounding dumber than a box of rocks?"  I say, these are not artists.  These are manufactured products of large corporations.  People who have enough knowledge to read words off a page or follow a producer's directions.  Everything else is left to editors and engineers to clean it up for public consumption.  As far as visual art?  Most of what is in the mainstream is the product of a computer with templates and other people's art.  It's slick. It's bright.  But there is not substance or emotion there.  There is no intellect required.  It's just a higher level of "paint by numbers".

Today a friend of a friend posted a link to a Youtube video that really makes the point of this post.  The young man being interviewed has been called a lot of names.  He has been considered "just another stupid rocker boy" and a lot of other things that he even mentions in this interview.  He is a true artist because he's never let any of that stop him from sharing his emotions.  He has tapped into his other talents.  He has braved some really tough times to make art and share it.  He has been rewarded for his efforts.  He's also been blessed with the ability to speak eloquently about his vision and his journey.  Watch and I think you will agree

Hartford youth could use your help!

I received this email the other day.  If you can help, please contact these folks.  Anything any of us can do to help youth especially in the arts is a step in the right direction. 

  Zulu Camacho undergroundcoalition@gmail.com


We are opening up a Grassroots community center in the Parkville area near Stop and Shop New Park ave. We will be naming it L.X.Y.(League of Xtraordinary Youth) center of Health, Music, Art and Dance

We are asking for any help with office equipment, computers, tables ,art supplies anything that can help us fill in the space to better welcome the Youth and Community our mission is to develop a positive community of empowered youth, who will enact a positive change on society.

We will be doing this through Music, Technology, Dance and Arts. Please contact us if you can help us Thank you
undergroundcoalition@gmail.com

Artists' Survey - A new kind of "Occupy"

This is a call to artists, managers, producers, promoters, "road moms"-ANYONE involved in arts and entertainment.  I want you input on this.  Do not read this post because you want my blog to have hits.  NO!  This survey is to determine not only the viability of this blog but of a project I am seriously considering that will involve, basically?, the investment of a good part of my life right now.

Let me start with a statement of observation.  THE "OCCUPY" MOVEMENT IS NOT WORKING!  Why?  Because no one is working.  They're not even trying to come up with focus issues.  They're sitting on their asses in, albeit public, areas trying to piss off the cops and anyone who will notice them.  As a child of the 60's and 70's I now see why those protests worked.  Because there was a lot of other WORK going on in conjunction with sit-ins and marches.  People were writing their political representatives.  They were voting.  They were supporting businesses owned by minorities, women, whoever the latest FOCUS issue was about.  And they were FOCUSED.  Dr. King rallied the African-American contingent for their fight.  Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem pumped up the energy of the "girls' club" and charged forth with "womens' lib".  Stonewall is a remembered event because the LGBT community didn't stop with that one act of civil disobedience.  They'd been pushed to their limit and pushed back.  They reclaimed their businesses in The Village.  They took credit for all the work they had been doing in the entertainment industry and their fight continues and they moved forward taking on the AIDS battle, legal protection for their families, their jobs and their property.

Occupiers are not fighting.  They're whining.  Yes, the cops beat you up.  No, police brutality is not right.  BUT...how about fighting back?  I'm not talking violence.  Don't like the banks?  Find private investors and start some good old fashioned savings and loans.  Don't have a job?  Make one.  All you 6-digit engineers and mechanics?  How about some new manufacturing of green products?  Come up with new energy sources.  REINVENT THE FUCKING CAR!!!  Don't depend on Corporate America to save your sorry ass.  They're not gonna change.  They will continue to try to control America and buy out our government.  The only way to win is to DO IT YOURSELF!!!

So here's my survey.  I want to start an Anti-Corporate Arts and Entertainment network.  A place that anyone looking for help can come and find producers, directors, galleries, labels, whatever support they need to get GOOD art out there that is not corporate or government sponsored.  I do not want to take a dime from NEA because I don't want anyone involved to be beholden to a politician or be at the mercy of the any fed budget vote for financial support.  I will however apply for tax-exempt status as a non-profit because why should we give any more money to the people who do NOT support US!!

Many of you know I have my own conspiracy theory in regards to controlling Americans through entertainment.  You'd have to have been living under a rock for the last 30 years to know that GOOD music does not spin on terrestrial radio with very few exceptions.  I would venture to say that at least 75% of U.S. radio is now owned by ClearChannel and CBS who survey the following markets: New York, Miami, Chicago, Houston and L.A.  Playlists are handed down by corporate bosses to PDs who in turn give them to DJs.  TV shows have deteriorated to "reality" contest shows or privacy invasion of the biggest whack-jobs in the country.  Everything is geared for "short attention span theater".  Movies?  Don't even go there.  Thank the gods for Jerry Bruckheimer and Pixar who somehow get big studios to fund their projects.  Every so often we are teased with a British film so that we're thrown off the scent that we are being played.  Even Broadway has sold out.  Reusing old pop/rock music instead of finding original score composers and PAYING them to make good theater.

While pondering the fact that some of my old-school 'Burner' friends have decided against returning to the Playa this year due to the negative changes to the event, I saw an analogy as I considered them spinning off and creating new smaller festivals in other places.  It's like a dandelion.  The base cannot hold the seeds any more so it releases its hold so that the wind can take them where it will.  They land, they take root and the following year they will repeat the process with those seeds going to other places and so on and so on.  Burning Man will always be the parent but the kids are going to take what they learned and build something new somewhere else with it.  That's how this network can work.  I already have connections in Boston, New York, Chicago, Austin and L.A.  Those people are connected to other cities and so-on and so-on.  Get where this is going?  Databases can be created and constantly updated.  People can be connected.  Money can be found in the private sector.  With a national community/tribe of all the satellite tribes working together a powerful thing can happen and when it finally comes to the attention of Corporate America and the government it will be too late.  We will have put good art and entertainment into the eyes, ears, hands and feet of Americans,  seen artists paid what they deserve and all with only "rendering unto Ceasar" what our annual individual income tax returns require.

Here's what I'm asking you:
1) If you are someone who would be directly involved in this effort, leave a comment
2) If you are a casual arts fan but know people this would pertain to or know people who know people, pass this link on.  You're welcome to leave comment here also.

What I want to know:
1) What is your position currently in the arts and entertainment industry
2) Are you currently corporately sponsored (signed to a major label, studio, publisher, etc)
3) Would you consider leaving that sponsorship for an endeavor such as this
4) If you are already an independent artist, writer, filmaker, performer would something like this help you
5) If you are a philanthropist would you invest in projects involved in this effort
6) How much would you pay for a monthly or annual membership to this organization
7) What would you expect in return for that subscription fee

This is a marketing survey.  I really believe in this project.  I know it will be huge if it works.  I don't expect to be the soul proprietor of it.  I will depend on the networking of the project to provide the experts that can bring it to its maximum effectiveness.  I have the passion and the drive though.  I'm tired of seeing some of the most fantastic talent in the country squelched, stifled, marginalized and sometimes even vilified to keep their music off the radio and out of the racks, their screenplays off the big screen, their gorgeous street painting deemed vandalism and their books relegated to on-line publishing for which they see little or no return.  So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE  take a minute to respond to this, then pass it on.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

sLab Art | Street Art Blog | Street Art Matters

sLab Art | Street Art Blog | Street Art Matters:

'via Blog this'

Arts nerds

Yeah, that's a label that got thrown at us at one time or another.  But while searching "Google Play" on my tablet, looking for an origami app, I learned to embrace that label even more.  I also would like to add "Arts Geek".  Why?  Because we artists have embraced the 21st Century and the technology that comes with it.

At this point more and more cell phone users have switched to some form of smartphone.  Tablets are becoming incredibly affordable and for those of us who need our technology to be mobile, they're a lot easier to schlep around than our laptops.  I would think it safe to assume that a large percentage of artists of any genre have a portable computer also and then there is the big old desktop sitting at home where we really grind out our work.  Personally, I'm on Android OS phone #2 having gone "smart" last year.  This time I spent good money and got the top of the line of my personal favorite.  It is a speedy little devil and is loaded up with all my productivity and travel apps.  Next is my tablet.  I have a crazy hybrid, a Touchdroid as the rest of the geeks have labeled it.  I got in on HP's 'fire sale' of Touchpads then ported Android onto it as WebOS, albeit stable, sucks for app availability, especially free apps.  My TD has things that I prefer using in a bigger environment...Evernote, calendar, Skype and Splashtop which allows me to actually work on my home computer while on the road.  It also has a lot of my news apps.

This morning I put in "arts" to the search field in "Google Play" (formerly The Marketplace) and the returns I got blew my mind a little.  Did you know that MoMA has an app?  How about Arts Institute of Chicago?  Speaking of the Windy City, the 2012 Lollapalooza app is already available.  Art Basel in Miami had an app for this year's gathering.  Of course there are a million city visitors guides where you can find arts events, galleries and performances.  Or just a simple app called "Famous paintings" where anyone can either acquaint or reacquaint themselves with historical masterpieces.

Behind all this are the digital artists.  The graphics designers who 'paint' the backgrounds for websites or the layout designers who put it all together in a way that is pleasing to the eye.  For many of these folks, that's their day job.  Away from the cube farm, these artists get into Illustrator and Photoshop and let their styluses and their imaginations run wild.  One of my favorite digital artists in Android Jones who is not only pushing the limits of what his computer can do to create a 'painting', he's taking the display of his art to new and amazing extremes like projecting it on the Sydney opera house.  There are photographers like Jamais Vu who take their alread amazing snapshots and then manipulate them into exotic settings.  Or musicians...yes musicians like DeadMau5 and Skrillex who are pushing sound creation programs into deep, dark places that result in places that challenge the ears and the mind.

Artists embrace your nerdiness.  Let us claim our share of the technological age for beauty and creativity.

The key of simplicity

About ten years ago a friend of mine dropped a very interesting phrase into my spirit; "Life isn't easy but it should be simple. If it's not simple, then simplify it."  A few years after that I had a revelation about a bible verse that always gave me hope.  St. Paul said that God will never give you more than you can handle.  The revelation was, that if you can't handle it then God didn't give it to you.  Which means that either someone handed it off to you because they didn't want to deal with it or you took it from them out of sympathy or frustration.

No, life is not easy.  Children are born.  People die.  Jobs and money come and go.  House burn down.  Cars crash.  Friends move away.  There are floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes and every other form of natural disaster.  These are normal things that humanity has to deal with.  Definitely not easy.  However, dealing with these things can be simplified.

The age of technology has brought good and bad with it.  The good, for example, in the case of an impending weather related disaster, is to inform the people how to prepare, give evacuation information and provide updates from rescue and repair organizations.  Unfortunately the TV, radio and internet also throw in things to increase fear levels, broadcast incorrect information and generally make things worse.  When facing a disaster, keep it simple.  Prepare your home, make sure there is sufficient food, batteries, candles, communication devices.  If told to leave, pack necessities quickly and orderly.  Follow the prescribed exit routes.  DON'T PANIC!.  When it is over and the "all clear" is sounded, return in as orderly a fashion as you left.  Take stock in the condition of your own property.  If it requires assistance, follow the procedures to secure the resources needed.  If you, your family and their residences are sound then move on to offer your help to your neighbors or organizations who are supply aid.  Follow directions.  Put in a full day's work without complaint.  Don't take on other people's issues if they are capable of handling them themselves.

Probably one of the most impressive examples of simplicity under pressure is the Japanese after the earthquakes last  year.  One of the most telling photos was of school children within a week after the devastating trembler, walking to school...through rubble that included a large freighter (ship) that had washed miles inland.  The people knew that life had to continue after this disaster.  They immediately set to work clearing roads, finding shelter and getting people fed.  The lines at gas stations were long but people waited in them patiently, knowing that pushing, shoving, swearing and fighting was not going to make the situation any better or go any faster.

Simplicity isn't needed just in the case of a huge event.  It can be brought into your day-to-day living.  Accept your current lot in life.  That's not to say that you have to accept staying in your job, living in your house, or driving your car.  You can work towards something better or different but don't pile all manner of unnecessary stress, complications and negativity on it.  Go to work with a positive attitude.  Simply do your job.  Come home and seek out a new occupation, taking any set-backs in stride and moving forward.  Keep your home simple.  Do you need a wall full of chachkies collecting dust?  Does your bedroom require three dressers, a chest-on-chest and an armoire?  Does your fridge have to have French doors, an ice maker, AND a water tap on the door?  Worse, does your fridge need a built in smart screen?  Is there a reason for the 80" plasma, HD, flatscreen with Surroundsound in your living room?  Again, don't take on other people's issues.  Life is not a competition.  He who dies with the most toys wins...NOTHING!

Simplicity's place in wisdom is a large one.  Simplifying allows you a clearer view of the whole picture.  It gives you the ability to organize and prioritize.  It opens your mind and spirit of clutter that bogs you down and slows or even prevents progress.  It is one of the critical character traits of the inner child.  So look at your life and start simplifying.

Hans Haveron - an artful life

Earlier this year I sat down with Los Angeles artist Hans Haveron.  The goal was to educate myself and subsequently my readers about the man and his art.  What I learned was that this is someone who is deeply passionate, emotional and spiritual.  He is dedicated to his craft and sees all of its results as a Thank You note to the Divine Spirits for blessing him with his talents, family and friends.  

In our recent conversation, Hans reiterated all of this to me while sharing his latest endeavors and filling in some blanks since our talk back in May.  Haveron is pretty relentless for a man who is so chill and laid back.  Even in those rare moments that he disconnects and unwinds from day-to-day stress, he is still in an artistic state.  Hans Haveron creates no art without purpose or message.  From the body art that started with Lucent Dossier which has now progressed to gorgeous sugar skulls for a film feature in 2012 and alluring blue Shiva princesses for another potential film project to live painting exhibits, Haveron feels his way through each new project.  

After taking a few days of downtime at his eighth trip to the Playa this summer for a "burn" that Hans described as mellow, he was back at it, working on pieces for his solo show at C.A.V.E. and doing live installments with John Park.  If that wasn't enough Haveron jetted to Miami just a week before the gallery opening for Basel, touted as the most prestigious art show in the U.S..  Hans teamed up with Fish Tank, LLC to add his own style to the gondola midsection of the groups art car.  He adorned one side with a mermaid and the other with his signature Telescope Goldfish to add to the fish/water theme of the car.

As for his live works with Park, we discussed some of what late-comers miss in the creation process.  I had noticed in some of the time-lapse photo videos I've watched of these installments both Hans and John start out by sketching in Sharpie on the surface they will be painting.  Although much of what is sketched doesn't get painted into the final piece, Hans explained that due to the markers' oil base, some of the sketches will bleed through the paint.  I told him I saw that in the most recent project he had included the children that are the focal point of "Sepia's Secret".  In this drawing one child holds a dagger pointed at an eye on the garment of the other.  I asked if there was any significance, knowing that everything thing in Haveron's work has symbolism and meaning.  Hans said that, again it is the inner child at the root of the creative process.  The dagger symbolizes protection and the "All Seeing Eye" keeping spiritual watch.  

The "Shiva" make-up was used in the filming of the Kickstarter information video for Elijah Sound's "Jesus Christ Superstar" remake project.  Sound is a friend of Haveron's and owner of the 2013 Boutique in L.A. The Kickstarter is to fund a full-length trailer for the JCS project which portends to be a massive endeavor.  The sugar skulls made their first appearance at Insomniac's "Escape From Wonderland-Life After Dusk" Halloween installment in San Bernardino.  Hans says we will be seeing them again.  

There was a great moment of spontaneity in our conversation when I mentioned my complete inability to draw even a decent stick figure.  We followed one of my favorite arts tangents; "what art do you wish you could create in but pretty much suck at?"  Hans said he wishes he were better at electronic music creation.  He said that he has dabbled in it in the past and may not completely suck at it but just needs more time to work it out.  He would love to take a stab at music production some day.  For now though, drawing and painting consumes most of his time so he is fine with just listening to as much music as possible.  

As posted previously, the "Black Diamond" one-man show will have its gala opening this evening in Venice, CA.  Also mentioned in the promotion article, "Caducues" is the central piece of this show and Haveron is incredibly proud of it.  Based on his enthusiasm explaining learning about the early history of the Caduceus symbol that was revealed in Sumerian tablets discovered in 1912, this painting is inspired on every level.  Like myself, Hans is intrigued by the crossovers in most spiritual mythologies.  The Sumerians depict tales of winged creatures that would be identified as angels in Judeo-Christian myth and a human creation story with similarities to those found in the Bible and Torah.  It was not surprising that the Vatican and other religious leaders tried to squelch information regarding the tablets from being released to the public.  Haveron's rendition of this messenger of the gods is stunning in her serenity.  She is a woman of strength but with a countenance of peace and grace.  

Hans Haveron has worked hard to get to this point and is not likely to take a moment off until the bitter end of the afterparty in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Even then, he might allow himself a little downtime but assuredly will be back at it again soon with new projects and revisiting some of his favorite arts haunts.  It will be exciting to see what he comes up with next.

Creative Workshop of New Haven announces 43rd Annual Celebration of American Crafts

Celebration of American Crafts

Thru December 24  

21st Century Craft:
Chris Amundsen
Sunday, November 13, 2 pm

CT Artists Night
Thursday, November 17, 5pm

Shop for fine crafts and unique gifts at the 43rd Annual Celebration of American Crafts! Over 300 artists from across America will be featured, representing the finest in glass, ceramics, jewelry, wearable and decorative fiber, handcrafted furniture and much more.

Open daily: Mon-Sat 11 to 6, Thu 11 to 8, Sun 1 to 5 , December 24, 11 - 2

The Celebration of American Crafts is an annual juried exhibition and sale sponsored by CAW. The exhibition is held in CAW's handsome two-story Hilles Gallery.

A prestigious showcase for professional craft artists, the Celebration presents fine contemporary American crafts in every medium. To maintain the high quality of the Celebration, the acceptance process is very selective, with a limited number of exhibitors chosen to represent each medium. The Celebration attracts nearly 10,000 visitors from all over the Northeast, and media coverage is extensive. Work is sold on a consignment basis, and CAW retains 40% of each sale. These funds go toward the support of the community art school.

Call for Volunteers

CAW needs volunteers to help staff this event. Volunteer while surrounded by fine crafts from across America! Volunteers are needed to help clerk the exhibition and sale in November and December. If interested, please call (203) 562-4927 x12 or email celebration@creativeartsworkshop.org.

 

Creative Arts Workshop   80 Audubon Street   New Haven, Connecticut 06510   

http://www.creativeartsworkshop.org/

Stop! Look! Learn! Move forward - Cassidy Haley

Photo: Sunshine Rebel Records

 It’s been almost two years since I first interviewed Cassidy Haley.  Since then he and I have both come a long way and learned a lot.  For me it was doing verbal interviews instead of by email.  I now provide myself and my readers results that are more connected and offer a much wider range of motion.

As for Cassidy's life and career lessons?  The attention he initially received in the beginning, set off more of an explosion rather than just sparking his ambition and creativity.  With offers of management, promotion, etc. he immediately saw this huge picture of national tours, album releases and big productions.  However, he learned quickly that it wasn’t that easy.

My first question was, “what have you learned?”

CH: I learned to take my time. I don’t need to be where I want to be right now.  It is better to be me, where I am right now and take small steps.

I’ve learned that, basically, my grand vision of what I want to see happen is my best asset but it is also my worst enemy because sometimes I lose sight of where I am right now. I’m thinking about a huge stadium concert with fifteen back-up dancers and ten costume changes instead of about getting thirty people to my next show.  So now the 'grand vision' is kept more in check."

Cassidy went on and broke the explanation down further.  “To become a great artist you need that grand vision of where you want to go so it’s not a bad thing.  It’s just that you have to be really aware that it can put you in the fantasy of where you want to be which then distracts you from where you are”.  It was very clear already in our conversation that he has adjusted his focus to a sharper point.

From there I went back to our first interview where I was introducing people to the many facets of this incredibly creative person.  Does he still design clothes, draw, or do performance art?

CH:  Right now I’m really honing in on the musical craft.  I’ve set aside the clothing company, the graphic novel,  and am zeroing in on the music.  Of course I couldn’t be satisfied with one facet of music so I am creating three different live performances.  They include all the same songs but each is styled for a different audiences.  The rock & roll band of Cassidy Haley and The Sunshine Rebels remains.  Then there is the new ‘boy band’ The Mixtape Project which caters more to a queer audience with choreography and very pop orientation.  For the acoustic angle there are performances of either just myself solo on guitar or piano or may occasionally include other artists with acoustic instruments. “

Apparently there is a fourth performance option that Haley went on to explain. 

CH:    "There is a solo show with a more theatrical tinge that includes costumes for nightclubs and the underground scene." 

Cassidy doesn’t liked being boxed in by styles or genres.  For him, even though it may be the same story, there are many ways to tell it.  Sometimes it needs to be resculpted to speak a different audience.  Still a thru-line is there in that they are all his songs.

“Smart art” is risky though, especially in the music business’s current state as far as money goes.  Cassidy is yet another musician who has taken advantage of Kickstarter.  This program offers anyone from fan to investor the opportunity to work directly with artists. 

CH:  “It (Kickstarter) allows me to take my own risks and for my fans to take those risks with me." 

Over the last two years I’ve embraced my music career whole-heartedly.  There was so much to be learned and now I have experience to produce an album, promote an album and release an album in a way that will take me a lot farther.  The Fool was a great album but I want to reach a larger audience with The Lovers and I believe I have the tools to accomplish that now.

Good things that came from Round One of Haley’s venture into his music career were the recognition of his music videos by large media outlets such as Logo TV and AfterElton.  Logo had Whiskey In Churches in rotation for many months.  I asked, based on the insanely high quality of the production of those videos, if that notice got him any calls to work as a production designer, set artist, location scout or director.

CH:  Thankfully no.  Those were not areas I wanted to work in.  They did, however, help to grow my fanbase though.

Videos are a critical part of Cassidy’s concept for all of his music.

CH:  “Every video starts with my vision and then I’m fortunate to be able to bring in very talented people who work for practically nothing to produce videos that I’m extremely proud of and that can stand up to any major artists' videos and do it on a shoe-string budget.  I would make music videos all day long if time and money would allow.  Every song I’ve written I have a music video in my head for.  If I could I would make all those videos because I feel that the visual is integral to the story of the song.   The world is multi-media.  It’s not limited.  So I want to tell the story in every way possible and use every sense that I can.”

Based on the fact that Haley has been putting out a steady stream of songs over the past two years, I wanted to know if he thinks he’ll ever run out of inspirations or lose touch with his muses.

CH:  “No.  The biggest inspiration I have is the experience of life.  When I look deeper into smaller independent artists, there is so much going on and new artists coming out every day.  I’m so encouraged by what I am seeing and hearing, really interesting new things.  For me songwriting is a way I manage my emotional state.  I’m so crazy and such a dramatic person.  I’ll never run out of material.  I’ll spend my whole life processing and trying to evolve as a person and be writing songs the whole time.”

Cassidy did two performances over the Labor Day Weekend to promote his Kickstarter project for “The Lovers”.  On September 2, with The Sunshine Rebels, he performed at The Mint.  On September 5^th  he did a theatrical interpretation of the new single “Champagne or Suicide” in San Francisco.  September 12^th is an acoustic show at Bar Lubitsch.

You can learn more about Cassidy at www.cassidyhaley.com, keep track of his upcoming performances at http://cassidyhaley.com/events/event/listUpcoming, and contribute to his Kickstarter at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cassidyhaley/the-lovers .  Listen to the music at http://cassidyhaley1.bandcamp.com/ then buy it at http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/cassidy-haley/id323191139

Cassidy Haley is also connected on all your favorite social networking options:

http://www.facebook.com/cassidymusic

http://twitter.com/#!/cassidyhaley

http://www.youtube.com/user/cassidyhaley

I owe Cassidy a big apology for not getting this posted in time to promote the 9/2 and 9/5 shows.  Life got in the way and then came Irene who knocked out my power for two days.  I hope anyone in the Los Angeles area that is available can make it to the 9/12 performance.  

Success vs Sellout - hanging on to idealism and integrity

A cup of coffee and a shower got the brain moving into this train of thought...if an artist reaches the point of “success” will it always result in “sellout”.  Can idealism and true creativity survive a record deal, business venture or publishing contract.

In the circles I run in, probably the best known cry of “sellout” gets thrown at Green Day.  These Bay Area punk rockers started with their altruistic mission to share the angst of the young to the point where the kids would sing along.  Billy Joe and his cohorts created musical art that broke the rules.  They felt the simple design atheistic of three or four chords, a solid bass line and a drum track that was the heartbeat of a patient suffering from a severe panic attack and worked it into really good songs.  In the beginning success was getting a gig in a small club and having ten people turn out.  Success was those ten people sharing the emotional experience of Green Day’s musical art.  The boys went home, after calming their adrenalin high with the beer they got paid in, and relived the moment over and over, allowing it to feed the muses.  

Everything seemed to genuine and organic through album after album.  The artistic integrity prevailed until...American Idiot.  Now it wasn’t that Green Day didn’t have any radio hits to that point.  Gods only know how many high school graduations had to suffer through “Good Riddance” (Time Of Your Life)?  But...it was still music for the sake of recreating emotions and sharing them with an audience.  American Idiot, initially, was a grander creation.  I’m not saying that it was the band's vision for it to become a massive pop-rock record that would produce multiple singles, massive videos, arena tours and a shit-ton of merch.  I want to believe it was created from the heart.  And maybe Billy did have thoughts in the back of his head about the eventual Broadway musical and that it would be art for art’s sake with nothing to do with the major bank it would all bring in.  But it is obvious that somewhere along they way, American Idiot became a cash cow and the follow up album was just a rehash/sequel.  

With new artists of all genres showing up on the radar screens lately, especially in the current pop culture environment of “cheap art”, what does it mean for them?  First and foremost, it’s easy to separate sheep and goats when it comes to people with talent who just want to make a buck.  They are picked out easily by managers, promoters, and agents.  You hear them on the radio, see them on movie posters (as graphics artists and actors), watch them stealing shows on television or choosing their sculpture from a display at Pier 1.  Could any of them be a real artist?  Yes.  Do they want to be?  Well they think they are but it really is about the dollar signs.

Then there are the people that truly do have the artist mentality and heart.  They start out with the greatest of intentions to change the world through their creations.  Today they take their royalty checks feeling the tug on their guilty conscious, telling themselves that they need to eat and as soon as the car, house, boat, etc. is paid off they will go back to creating art with substance.  They won’t but they tell themselves they will.  Does some genuine art come from this group?  Yes.  Definitely more than the previously mentioned one.

Then there are the true idealists.  They really do love the ‘payment’ they receive in the reactions of their audiences.  They smile watching us walk down the street in their clothes knowing that not only is their name on the label but they actually designed it.  Their hearts melt a little when they hear us humming one of their compositions.  Watching us ooh and ahhh as they hang upside down in the midst of an aerial ballet makes them fly higher and spin faster.  

I want to believe, as more of them enter the mainstream and share their art with larger audiences, that that idealism remains.  Coming from tribes where it has been nurtured and cultivated with added measures of concern for humanity and the planet, there is a strong ethic within them.  But it will take audiences challenging themselves to open up to this level of art rather than demanding it be brought down to a discount store level for it survive on a broader plain and for the artists to make enough money to live without selling out.  To help promote this effort, visit your local gallery, small music venue or summer stock theater.  Don’t break down and turn on Top 40 radio, patronize some big arena tour or buy a framed print at Home Goods.  Help grow a new integrity in the arts and their audiences.