Post by Klingoncelt on Aug 21, 2011 18:51:32 GMT -5
August 18, 2011
“Los Amantes De Terciopelo Rojo” [Red Velvet Lovers]
“He’s a good lad that Greenie” … I’m on the phone To Mark Fuller, the flamboyant proprietor of The Sanctum Soho, the only BoHo Rock n Roll hangout still open for what I would term ‘business as usual’… Who’s Greenie you may ask? He plays drums in the very excellent “Detroit Social Club” & I was recently introduced to him by David Burns their singer.
“So – How do you know Greenie, he lives in Newcastle?” I asked Mark … I spend a fair amount of time with Mark, & Greenie has only recently started playing drums for me, so I wasn’t aware that the two were acquainted with one another !
Mr. Fuller went on to explain – “We have started managing a young female artists new band, & Greenie came for the audition – he told me he had just recorded the drums on your new material so that was enough for me & we hired him”…
“Flattery will get you everywhere – so what can I do for you?”
“Are you up for some production, this is right up your strasse” - [If indeed I have such a place].
Mark is partner’s with the legendary Smallwood/Taylor organisation, notably of Iron Maiden fame who currently command the largest Rock Management Co. in the UK. He then went on to further explain who was acting as the bands Booking Agent & who was handling “Media Relationships” – A fairly formidable team indeed!!!
The bands called “Red Velvet Lovers – “Los amantes de terciopelo rojo” [coincidentally a great name for a Spanish brothel]…
The Line-up of the band is as follows;
Katie Waissel – Lead Vocal, Piano, Guitar
Greenie Green – Drums
Rex Roulette – Guitar
Will Kontargyris – Bass
My first instinct is to question the exact circumstances ie; Basically, will there be any interference from a label at this point, because with the team he described working this – well it didn’t seem to needed anymore at this stage. And the development of material & that certain “band sound” are not something one would want a label to be involved with, no this is pure conceptual belief, you ain’t in Kansas now Toto, all roads lead to somewhere, but which is the correct path to take.
Well you have to be for real – which I define as pursuing a direction that reflects your tastes & influences & not merely as a commercial vehicle to attain fame. And the true test is when a young band are confronted with the choice between instant gratification via manipulation, or dealing with the transitional hardship driven by your desire … You’ve got to have metal in your character & determination to be heard on your own terms, which inevitably means that the side of the industry that exists by providing creative welfare won’t have much to offer you, that’s if you’re doing it for real… And fuck em’ anyway.
Coincidently, I had recently doled out the exact same advice… Why can’t girls kik out the rock jams, no reason to keep hiring celebrity driven management, get a real band, not just a bunch of tossers posing for a video, & if you don’t give the writing a go you will never know… If you have a half decent voice, its a means to begin to express yourself, follow you gut instincts, you are young & only live once, so make your mistakes, go home totally pissed off, then get yer ass out of bed, shrug it of & start all over again… Year after Year after Year.
“You can always return, go back from whence you came – but you will never know what lies ahead unless you are prepared to risk taking the journey”…
There’s only so much you can do for anyone, if they don’t have the capacity to make everyone believe their dreams are achievable, nobody else can. The most successful collaborations in the music business have been all about relationships, founded on something way deeper that the odd Guetta style re-mix hit … You only have to look to the Adele album to understand what that means & how it penetrates your soul. When its for real.
When people say to me “Andy do you know what you are up against” - I can’t help being somewhat glib & will say – “Of course I do & in a way that you could never begin to understand”, and there’s a plethora of shit I could get into, but first & foremost the challenge is musical, making something sound undeniably great… Everything after that has a different tone to the perception, an old friend of mine once said - “There’s nothing like a hit song for inspiring forgiveness”.
I also have deep experience of a media that for no justifiable reason castigated one of the most original & successful writer/singers of his generation, which still to this day I use as a reminder of how wrong the media can get it, as they did with DD in the early years and the endless criticism he/we had to endure thruout.
There is a section of the UK media that is a corrupt, criminal concoction of sycophants & losers, who’s primary instinct is to seek out the worst in people, it’s actually more of a mirror image of how they probably see themselves. Seriously, you have to question what kind of minds are driven to pursue this roundly discredited vocation & to effectively run what was [until they were recently well & truly busted] nothing more than a protection racket…
So we know there’s 500lb Gorilla in the room, there always is – whether its now, or further down the line, apparently this is what a section of society wants, your grubby little secrets… So with Katie as the singer in the band there’s a colourful mix of shit going down – BUT – They love to talk about her … And you have to give credit to a gal that’s endured some horrible coverage without suffering a permanence of neurosis or a Camden habit, & then goes out & attracts the attention of the very best managers, agents & advice forming a credible backbone [& none of whom do this as a hobby] … And of course had the genius of foresight to contact moi & also found Greenie [and he lives in Newcastle].
I’m Anglo Saxon English – I love a battle, don’t fuckin tell me it can’t be done, that’s when all the trouble starts – So if you must, go tell me I’m nuts & wasting my time & see if it makes a jot of difference … It won’t! A Multi-Dimensional Challenge of sorts, right up my new found strasse… In professional terms – Judge a person by the company they keep, you need an experienced team, we have formidable – That, along with the slightly mischievous chance to play a role in something that’s rejected the facile jibe of the so called celb/pop industry & in doing so given one the opportunity to demonstrate what “The Real Deal” is, when it comes to making a career as a contemporary music artist.
But you won’t see me banging on about how this is the best thing ever recorded or how its going to change your life, or wait till you hear this record… blah blah blah, drowning in one’s own hype !!! Talking a record up in public, that’s never been my style, actually inventing one is what the job entails, then the rest is down to the tastes of the audience… The creative process is not something you can really provide a running commentary to, [it wold be mid-numbingly boring also] maybe after the event there may be a story to tell, but until then there’s a lot of work to be done & the advice I would give any recording artist in this world of endless distractions – “Ladies & Gentlemen please – ALL of your phones, ipads, social media et all … check them in at the cloakroom before entering the club, & you can collect them on your way out, when we have finished the sessions”.
Welcome to the Real Music Business… Goodbye Real World
“Los Amantes De Terciopelo Rojo” [Red Velvet Lovers]
“He’s a good lad that Greenie” … I’m on the phone To Mark Fuller, the flamboyant proprietor of The Sanctum Soho, the only BoHo Rock n Roll hangout still open for what I would term ‘business as usual’… Who’s Greenie you may ask? He plays drums in the very excellent “Detroit Social Club” & I was recently introduced to him by David Burns their singer.
“So – How do you know Greenie, he lives in Newcastle?” I asked Mark … I spend a fair amount of time with Mark, & Greenie has only recently started playing drums for me, so I wasn’t aware that the two were acquainted with one another !
Mr. Fuller went on to explain – “We have started managing a young female artists new band, & Greenie came for the audition – he told me he had just recorded the drums on your new material so that was enough for me & we hired him”…
“Flattery will get you everywhere – so what can I do for you?”
“Are you up for some production, this is right up your strasse” - [If indeed I have such a place].
Mark is partner’s with the legendary Smallwood/Taylor organisation, notably of Iron Maiden fame who currently command the largest Rock Management Co. in the UK. He then went on to further explain who was acting as the bands Booking Agent & who was handling “Media Relationships” – A fairly formidable team indeed!!!
The bands called “Red Velvet Lovers – “Los amantes de terciopelo rojo” [coincidentally a great name for a Spanish brothel]…
The Line-up of the band is as follows;
Katie Waissel – Lead Vocal, Piano, Guitar
Greenie Green – Drums
Rex Roulette – Guitar
Will Kontargyris – Bass
My first instinct is to question the exact circumstances ie; Basically, will there be any interference from a label at this point, because with the team he described working this – well it didn’t seem to needed anymore at this stage. And the development of material & that certain “band sound” are not something one would want a label to be involved with, no this is pure conceptual belief, you ain’t in Kansas now Toto, all roads lead to somewhere, but which is the correct path to take.
Well you have to be for real – which I define as pursuing a direction that reflects your tastes & influences & not merely as a commercial vehicle to attain fame. And the true test is when a young band are confronted with the choice between instant gratification via manipulation, or dealing with the transitional hardship driven by your desire … You’ve got to have metal in your character & determination to be heard on your own terms, which inevitably means that the side of the industry that exists by providing creative welfare won’t have much to offer you, that’s if you’re doing it for real… And fuck em’ anyway.
Coincidently, I had recently doled out the exact same advice… Why can’t girls kik out the rock jams, no reason to keep hiring celebrity driven management, get a real band, not just a bunch of tossers posing for a video, & if you don’t give the writing a go you will never know… If you have a half decent voice, its a means to begin to express yourself, follow you gut instincts, you are young & only live once, so make your mistakes, go home totally pissed off, then get yer ass out of bed, shrug it of & start all over again… Year after Year after Year.
“You can always return, go back from whence you came – but you will never know what lies ahead unless you are prepared to risk taking the journey”…
There’s only so much you can do for anyone, if they don’t have the capacity to make everyone believe their dreams are achievable, nobody else can. The most successful collaborations in the music business have been all about relationships, founded on something way deeper that the odd Guetta style re-mix hit … You only have to look to the Adele album to understand what that means & how it penetrates your soul. When its for real.
When people say to me “Andy do you know what you are up against” - I can’t help being somewhat glib & will say – “Of course I do & in a way that you could never begin to understand”, and there’s a plethora of shit I could get into, but first & foremost the challenge is musical, making something sound undeniably great… Everything after that has a different tone to the perception, an old friend of mine once said - “There’s nothing like a hit song for inspiring forgiveness”.
I also have deep experience of a media that for no justifiable reason castigated one of the most original & successful writer/singers of his generation, which still to this day I use as a reminder of how wrong the media can get it, as they did with DD in the early years and the endless criticism he/we had to endure thruout.
There is a section of the UK media that is a corrupt, criminal concoction of sycophants & losers, who’s primary instinct is to seek out the worst in people, it’s actually more of a mirror image of how they probably see themselves. Seriously, you have to question what kind of minds are driven to pursue this roundly discredited vocation & to effectively run what was [until they were recently well & truly busted] nothing more than a protection racket…
So we know there’s 500lb Gorilla in the room, there always is – whether its now, or further down the line, apparently this is what a section of society wants, your grubby little secrets… So with Katie as the singer in the band there’s a colourful mix of shit going down – BUT – They love to talk about her … And you have to give credit to a gal that’s endured some horrible coverage without suffering a permanence of neurosis or a Camden habit, & then goes out & attracts the attention of the very best managers, agents & advice forming a credible backbone [& none of whom do this as a hobby] … And of course had the genius of foresight to contact moi & also found Greenie [and he lives in Newcastle].
I’m Anglo Saxon English – I love a battle, don’t fuckin tell me it can’t be done, that’s when all the trouble starts – So if you must, go tell me I’m nuts & wasting my time & see if it makes a jot of difference … It won’t! A Multi-Dimensional Challenge of sorts, right up my new found strasse… In professional terms – Judge a person by the company they keep, you need an experienced team, we have formidable – That, along with the slightly mischievous chance to play a role in something that’s rejected the facile jibe of the so called celb/pop industry & in doing so given one the opportunity to demonstrate what “The Real Deal” is, when it comes to making a career as a contemporary music artist.
But you won’t see me banging on about how this is the best thing ever recorded or how its going to change your life, or wait till you hear this record… blah blah blah, drowning in one’s own hype !!! Talking a record up in public, that’s never been my style, actually inventing one is what the job entails, then the rest is down to the tastes of the audience… The creative process is not something you can really provide a running commentary to, [it wold be mid-numbingly boring also] maybe after the event there may be a story to tell, but until then there’s a lot of work to be done & the advice I would give any recording artist in this world of endless distractions – “Ladies & Gentlemen please – ALL of your phones, ipads, social media et all … check them in at the cloakroom before entering the club, & you can collect them on your way out, when we have finished the sessions”.
Welcome to the Real Music Business… Goodbye Real World
