It's All About The Music
Nashville Tennessee
with
James Dean Fisher
HERE'S TO THE NEW YEAR FROM MY POINT OF VIEW
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!!!
It's late... Actually it's the middle of the night, the house is quite and it's cold outside but that's what is expected and it's the norm in middle Tennessee for the month of December. We, here in middle Tennessee have not experienced any snow so far and winter is upon us and I am sure winter will bring cold weather soon, and probably some snow before we see the warmth and sunshine of spring 2012.
From the desk of James Dean Fisher, editor, here in Music City, Nashville as well as all the writers and staff that brings you a great entertaining magazine that is FREE right to your computer or other media, we would like to wish everybody, one and all, a Merry, Merry Christmas and a blessed new year. Thank you to all our faithful readers all over the world that has made this magazine the success it is today!
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC........and we are here for you, a true music magazine!! Here’s to 2012!!!!!
I was just thinking, the C. M. A.'s have come and gone, absolutely no surprises there, the A. C. M.' S also gone, with no surprises. Taylor Swift, entertainer of the year and so on and so on. It just seems to this writer that they have in a great big award show for everything now days, ah, don't get me wrong, everybody likes getting awards and being recognized by their peers for their hard work and accomplishments. But how much hard work do they really do? The chosen few come on the scene this year, next year they’re up for the entertainer of the year! You tell me, is that right.... when there are great musicians/entertainers here that have been working for years and never get the chance to be recognized for their hard work and their ability to entertain people. NO record deal for them! It's a shame to say this, but this writer has seen several of the" New" stars walk out on a large stage and simply " Flop" for lack of experience! I think the new entertainers need to have a few more years and more experience on the stage before they are up for the huge awards and all the recognition and celebrity status they are getting these days! Great entertainers are not made overnight, it takes years of working the craft of entertaining to become a great entertainer, deserving the title" Star!"
Sitting here in the quite of the night, my mind carries me back over the past several months of the year 2011. It has not been a great year for the music industry or for the working musicians, at lease from my perspective. Many of my regular working musician friends are not working this year and many of them that have worked most every New Year's Eve will not be working this year. Many of the clubs that has been hiring live entertainment, bringing in bands on a regular basis, have either closed the doors or they have gone to D. J.'s or karaoke, either way the clubs and entertainment venues are not using live bands. With the economy just narrowly hedging the great depression, not only is it hard for musicians to find work, it is hard for thousands of people in general to find work! It’s not only musicians but people of all walks of life. Will this change or is this the future of the entertainment business? Some say is going to get better but I see no improvement at this time. The economy, they say is growing, well, maybe, but not in the employment areas for musicians.
I am seeing more "Pay-To-Pay" clubs coming on the scene as times and business modes change. I would vote for all the musicians to say "NO" to the "Pay-To-Pay" businesses that are popping up. This kind of business exploits the musicians and the new comers by telling them they have music executives coming to their businesses when in fact, there are no people connected to the industry ever visiting that bar/club! Maybe is they wrecked their car and needed to call the police! If the musicians would jion together and demand a fair fee for their services, this kind of business would not see the light of day....or I should say, the "Night!" The AF of M once served this purpose; however, this entity has ceased to serve much of any purpose other than self enhancement. Their dues are evidence of decline in membership. After all, why should anyone be or remain a member if there are no benefits for the member! In today’s music market, it would behoove all musicians to stick together and say "No" to the music buying market that does not want to pay a fair wage for services rendered! Just say "NO!" They will come around after they find out they have no entertainment!
I have a friend that plays in a Mexican band here in middle Tennessee. They have enjoyed some small success over the years. I have seen how they operate and how they book their band services. They just updated their P.A. equipment and I bought most of the equipment they were using. I had a chance to talk with the band leader and we talked about the money they made and the demand for their brand of music. I was shocked when he told me how they went about pricing their services! I won’t call any names but the band leader told me he simply told the club owner or the person wanting the band, how much they charged and there and there would be no negotiation, that was what it took to get them to play the gig! He said no other Mexican band would undercut them, they had a business rule among the bands and they stuck to it regardless! They stick together, therefore they work most weekends and as much as they want. They say they will not work for any amount less than what is a good fair wage for the band and the band’s expenses. They pay the expenses first and then pay the musicians accordingly. THAT, my fellow musicians is the way WE once did it here in the Nashville area! We need to return to that work policy, hence, working conditions and demand would get back to where a good musician can make a fair living practicing his craft...playing and entertaining in the music business!!
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
THE "JAMES DEAN SPOTLITE" WILL FEATURE SOME OF NASHVILLE’S UP AND COMING NEW ARTIST!
WATCH FOR ENTERVIEWS WITH JET WILLIAMS, Hank Williams Senior’s daughter, Mike Elley, one of ELVIS’S co-actors/singer/songwriter! A NEW ARTIST ON MD RECORDS, JASON THOMAS AND MANY OTHER COMING UP ON THE "JAMES DEAN SPOTLITE" in 2012!!
DAMNGOODTUNES.COM, THE MAGAZINE JUST PARTNERED WITH "REVE RECORDS!" We will be having more to say about this new venture in the very near futrue! CONGRATULATIONS TO BRUCE MAIER for being named to head up ‘REVE RECORDS!"
THE "JAMES DEAN SPOTLITE" takes pride in introducing a NOT SO NEW ARTIST, BUT NEW TO MOST OF YOU!
HERE IS MY FRIEND, BRANDON MADDOX
Artist, singer/songwriter!
Used by permission by Brandon Maddox
Brandon Maddox: Out of the woodshed and into the big leagues
It seemed like a forgotten relic sitting in the corner of his grandfather’s tool shed, that beat up old classical guitar with the crack in the body and the strings long since rotted to dust.
But Brandon Maddox, now a Nashville-based singer-songwriter, saw it as a ticket to something better. He was 11, and he pulled it out, cleaned it up and put a new set of strings on it before commencing to teach himself how to play. "My dad played guitar growing up, so every Sunday morning he’d bring out the guitar," Maddox told The Daily Times this week. "That day happened to be a Sunday, so when I saw the guitar in there, I’d already been thinking about learning to play it. I knew my parents weren’t going to buy me a new one unless they saw I was really interested, and I knew if they saw me playing something that was cracked, they’d buy me something better."
His parents, it seemed, underestimated Maddox’s determination. Within a couple of months, he was playing his first song, probably something out of a Beatles songbook owned by his dad. Drawn to the pop-rock of the 1960s – the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Monkees – he labored over learning various chord progressions until he felt confident enough to take his guitar to school.
"I didn’t have a shy bone in my body," he said. "I took it to school at the age of 13, and I’d just been playing for a year and a half. I was trying to impress the kids, and I knew I could with what little bit of learning I had. But I never really got encouragement to play music for a living."
In college, he pursued a business degree at the urging of his folks; but the more he got into music – especially songwriting. His early exposure to the songs of John Lennon and Paul McCartney taught him that magic can be released through the combination of words and phrases into meaningful, thought-provoking lyrics, and he’s been on a quest ever since to write songs that touch the heart. By the time he graduated college, he’d made up his mind.
"I saw that I didn’t care to do anything else for a living, so I said, ‘I’m leaving for Nashville,’" Maddox said. "My parents said, ‘You could be making a lot of money doing what your degree is in, but if you want to do that, we’re not going to stop you.’"
They did steer him toward Pigeon Forge, where he tried for a time, in 2004, to make it as a theater musician. It wasn’t the same as Music City, but it was working in his chosen profession. However, a standing gig at the Black Bear Jamboree fell through, and that same week, he totaled his car. At that point, he decided Nashville was where he needed to be.
It wasn’t easy, and sometimes the lows followed closely on the heels of the highs. In 2008, he landed a staff writing deal at a Nashville publishing company; a year later, a housing situation fell through, and someone he trusted dirtied the waters for him among the songwriting community. But he refused to give up, and now there’s a little light at the end of the tunnel.
"I’ve struggled financially at some points in time, but I’ve never gotten to the point of giving it up," Maddox said. "I’ve had times where I thought, ‘I don’t care to do this anymore,’ but I never thought I shouldn’t have tried it the first time. I’ve never regretted that."
Brandon Maddox reminds me of a young George Straight. He had the ability to bring forth a song and deliver the song in a manner that makes people stop and listen. The ability to deliver is the key to selling records and becoming an entertainer worthy of the title "Star!" I have seen the reaction from people as well as other songwriters when this artist sings…….they stop and listen! This is because Brandon has the talent to produce a great song, a piece of art that is the heart and soul of a hit song!
I, as an artist/songwriter and journalist, am proud to call Brandon Maddox my friend and it is always a pleasure to see him perform and listen to the songs he writes. Watch for BRANDON MADDOX to become a huge success on a major label in the very near future! He has the talent and the drive to get the job done!!!
BRANDON ON REVERBNATION HERE
James Dean
Editor, artist/journalist
Music City, Nashville
James Andre Dean Fisher
MUSIC CITY EDITOR
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