WEEKENDS, WHISKY, AND BEARS OH MY.
Birthday Parties should be about supporting and loving those people who were kind enough to think of you and invite you to the celebration. I went to my friends last friday and boy was it just like most of thier parties a few core members are there through out the night nursing our problems on the keg and my bottle of whisky, but many of the "friends" would come drink some free beer and then take off. It really buged me how these people act at a "friends" party. Call me and elitist fuck or what have you, but friendship goes deeper then blood. I belive me and Scott are the only ones who fucking understand that. I think that this is going to be the last party that I go to that Mande is throwing. I am always out to have a good time, but when they are all together there is nothing but constant complaining about boys and blah blah blah blah blah. They bring me down and then I look like the fool of the party because I am trying to make them all feel good and have a good time. Never again. I am usually the last person to reject free anything, but I am never going to go to a party at Mande's house never. I love the girl she is like my sister, but her and her friends have this aura about them that makes me go uuk. I can not even explain it other then if you know my bro Justin and his ex. it is an atmosphere like that.
I guess that now is the time to stop bitching and help someone out.
I like leaving you guys with some song lyrics so here you go.
LES SAVY FAV
"REFORMAT" - The Cat and the Cobra.
All nerve endings shut down.
Stiff lipped at the countdown.
All systems are go,
All systems are gough,
All systems are ghosts.
In a can/
In a cupbord/
In a submarine,
There's nothing left inside,
In a basket at the bottom
of the guilliotine
Is where the sailor died.
He never said a word
To the jury of the press
And when the ax-blade bit
his neck,
"Set me free" is all he said.
In a pixel/
In a portriate/
In a T.V. screen
There's nothing left to hide.
Stitched each instant
by the firing electron beam
Let the camera man decide.
He never said a word
To the jury of the press
When the on-air light turned red,
"Cut Away" is all he said.
When she opened it up,
She dropped her coffee cup,
and when the cup hit the ground
The whole damn house
came stumbling down.
Good by my memory.
From this point on I'm
unsettling.
In Brooklyn we stay home.
GOD SPEED
Peter Telck
PISSING OFF ROCK STARS
I will let you read the letters and decide what is going on.
Ok I first decided in my head that Blaze James was the cause of the break up of the Murder City Devils so I took matters into my own hands with this.
This is an open letter to Blaze James.
Mr. James I sat back and watched you destroy At The Drive-In. I was
sad by this turn of events, but figured that my original love The Murder
City
Devils would stay together. Well gee it seems that is not going to happen
now,
and why is that could it be that you, sir, have ruined them as well. I have
included in this letter an article written by one of the greatest in America
Steve Albini. I urge you to read this if you have already done so then
please
do it again and again until it sinks into your head, then you will
understand
that you are not “HELPING” these bands that you are “working” for you are
hurting them. It is suck faces like you who destroy everything that is good
and pure in this world. There are so many bands out there that are trying
so
damn hard to make it work and when they finally get to taste just a little
bit
of the good stuff. Bottom dwellers and bottom feeders like you come along
and
suck out the energy and love of the band then you discard them in a pile of
shit and destruction that you leave behind. I shudder at the thought of you
getting your hooks into another one of my favorite bands. Please just be a
good boy and think about it get out of the music business don’t ruin anyone
else.
Peter Telck.
p.s. Please read the Steve Albini Article.
The problem with music
By Steve Albini
This is an article from Maximum Rock n' Roll #133 written by Steve Albini,
and
it details the problems encountered when dealing with a major label.
Reprinted
without permission.
Whenever I talk to a band that are about to sign with a major label, I
always
end up thinking of them in a particular context. I imagine a trench, about
four
feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny,
decaying shit. I imagine these people, some of them good friends, some of
them
barely acquaintances, at one end of this trench. I also imagine a faceless
industry lackey at the other end holding a fountain pen and a contract
waiting
to be signed. Nobody can see what's printed on the contract. It's too far
away,
and besides, the shit stench is making everybody's eyes water. The lackey
shouts to everybody that the first one to swim the trench gets to sign the
contract. Everybody dives in the trench and they struggle furiously to get
to
the other end. Two people arrive simultaneously and begin wrestling
furiously,
clawing each other and dunking each other under the shit. Eventually, one of
them capitulates, and there's only one contestant left. He reaches for the
pen,
but the Lackey says "Actually, I think you need a little more development.
Swim
again, please. Backstroke. And he does of course.
I. A & R Scouts
Every major label involved in the hunt for new bands now has on staff a
high-
profile point man, an "A & R" rep who can present a comfortable face to any
prospective band. The initials stand for "Artist and Repertoire." because
historically, the A & R staff would select artists to record music that they
had also selected, out of an available pool of each. This is still the case,
though not openly.
These guys are universally young [about the same age as the bands being
wooed],
and nowadays they always have some obvious underground rock credibility flag
they can wave. Lyle Preslar, former guitarist for Minor Threat, is one of
them.
Terry Tolkin, former NY independent booking agent and assistant manager at
Touch and Go is one of them. Al Smith, former soundman at CBGB is one of
them.
Mike Gitter, former editor of XXX fanzine and contributor to Rip, Kerrang
and
other lowbrow rags is one of them. Many of the annoying turds who used to
staff
college radio stations are in their ranks as well.
There are several reasons A & R scouts are always young. The explanation
usually copped-to is that the scout will be "hip to the current
musical "scene." A more important reason is that the bands will intuitively
trust someone they think is a peer, and who speaks fondly of the same
formative
rock and roll experiences. The A & R person is the first person to make
contact
with the band, and as such is the first person to promise them the moon. Who
better to promise them the moon than an idealistic young turk who expects to
be
calling the shots in a few years, and who has had no previous experience
with a
big record company. Hell, he's as naive as the band he's duping. When he
tells
them no one will interfere in their creative process, he probably even
believes
it.
When he sits down with the band for the first time, over a plate of angel
hair
pasta, he can tell them with all sincerity that when they sign with company
X,
they're really signing with him and he's on their side. Remember that great
gig
I saw you at in '85? Didn't we have a blast.
By now all rock bands are wise enough to be suspicious of music industry
scum.
There is a pervasive caricature in popular culture of a portly, middle aged
ex-
hipster talking a mile-a-minute, using outdated jargon and calling
everybody "baby." After meeting "their" A & R guy, the band will say to
themselves and everyone else, "He's not like a record company guy at all!
He's
like one of us." And they will be right. That's one of the reasons he was
hired.
These A & R guys are not allowed to write contracts. What they do is present
the band with a letter of intent, or "deal memo," which loosely states some
terms, and affirms that the band will sign with the label once a contract
has
been agreed on.
The spookiest thing about this harmless sounding little memo, is that it is,
for all legal purposes, a binding document. That is, once the band signs it,
they are under obligation to conclude a deal with the label. If the label
presents them with a contract that the band don't want to sign, all the
label
has to do is wait. There are a hundred other bands willing to sign the exact
same contract, so the label is in a position of strength.
These letters never have any terms of expiration, so the band remain bound
by
the deal memo until a contract is signed, no matter how long that takes. The
band cannot sign to another laborer even put out its own material unless
they
are released from their agreement, which never happens. Make no mistake
about
it: once a band has signed a letter of intent, they will either eventually
sign
a contract that suits the label or they will be destroyed.
One of my favorite bands was held hostage for the better part of two years
by a
slick young "He's not like a label guy at all," A & R rep, on the basis of
such
a deal memo. He had failed to come through on any of his promises [something
he
did with similar effect to another well-known band], and so the band wanted
out. Another label expressed interest, but when the A & R man was asked to
release the band, he said he would need money or points, or possibly both,
before he would consider it.
The new label was afraid the price would be too dear, and they said no
thanks.
On the cusp of making their signature album, an excellent band, humiliated,
broke up from the stress and the many months of inactivity.
II. There's This Band
There's this band. They're pretty ordinary, but they're also pretty good, so
they've attracted some attention. They're signed to a moderate-
sized "independent" label owned by a distribution company, and they have
another two albums owed to the label. They're a little ambitious. They'd
like
to get signed by a major label so they can have some security you know, get
some good equipment, tour in a proper tour bus -- nothing fancy, just a
little
reward for all the hard work.
To that end, they got a manager. He knows some of the label guys, and he can
shop their next project to all the right people. He takes his cut, sure, but
it's only 15%, and if he can get them signed then it's money well spent.
Anyways, it doesn't cost them anything if it doesn't work. 15% of nothing
isn't
much!
One day an A & R scout calls them, says he's 'been following them for a
while
now, and when their manager mentioned them to him, it just "clicked." Would
they like to meet with him about the possibility of working out a deal with
his
label? Wow. Big Break time.
They meet the guy, and y'know what -- he's not what they expected from a
label
guy. He's young and dresses pretty much like the band does. He knows all
their
favorite bands. He's like one of them. He tells them he wants to go to bat
for
them, to try to get them everything they want. He says anything is possible
with the right attitude. They conclude the evening by taking home a copy of
a
deal memo they wrote out and signed on the spot.
The A & R guy was full of great ideas, even talked about using a name
producer.
Butch Vig is out of the question-he wants 100 g's and three points, but they
can get Don Fleming for $30,000 plus three points. Even that's a little
steep,
so maybe they'll go with that guy who used to be in David Letterman's band.
He
only wants three points. Or they can have just anybody record it (like
Warton
Tiers, maybe-- cost you 5 or 7 grand] and have Andy Wallace remix it for 4
grand a track plus 2 points. It was a lot to think about.
Well, they like this guy and they trust him. Besides, they already signed
the
deal memo. He must have been serious about wanting them to sign. They break
the
news to their current label, and the label manager says he wants them to
succeed, so they have his blessing. He will need to be compensated, of
course,
for the remaining albums left on their contract, but he'll work it out with
the
label himself. Sub Pop made millions from selling off Nirvana, and Twin Tone
hasn't done bad either: 50 grand for the Babes and 60 grand for the Poster
Children-- without having to sell a single additional record. It'll be
something modest. The new label doesn't mind, so long as it's recoupable out
of
royalties. Well, they get the final contract, and it's not quite what they
expected. They figure it's better to be safe than sorry and they turn it
over
to a lawyer--one who says he's experienced in entertainment law and he
hammers
out a few bugs. They're still not sure about it, but the lawyer says he's
seen
a lot of contracts, and theirs is pretty good. They'll be great royalty: 13%
[less a 1O% packaging deduction]. Wasn't it Buffalo Tom that were only
getting
12% less 10? Whatever.
The old label only wants 50 grand, and no points. Hell, Sub Pop got 3 points
when they let Nirvana go. They're signed for four years, with options on
each
year, for a total of over a million dollars! That's a lot of money in any
man's
English. The first year's advance alone is $250,000. Just think about it, a
quarter million, just for being in a rock band!
Their manager thinks it's a great deal, especially the large advance.
Besides,
he knows a publishing company that will take the band on if they get signed,
and even give them an advance of 20 grand, so they'll be making that money
too.
The manager says publishing is pretty mysterious, and nobody really knows
where
all the money comes from, but the lawyer can look that contract over too.
Hell,
it's free money.
Their booking agent is excited about the band signing to a major. He says
they
can maybe average $1,000 or $2,000 a night from now on. That's enough to
justify a five week tour, and with tour support, they can use a proper crew,
buy some good equipment and even get a tour bus! Buses are pretty expensive,
but if you figure in the price of a hotel room for everybody in the band and
crew, they're actually about the same cost. Some bands like Therapy? and
Sloan
and Stereolab) use buses on their tours even when they're getting paid only
a
couple hundred bucks a night, and this tour should earn at least a grand or
two
every night. It'll be worth it. The band will be more comfortable and will
play
better. The agent says a band on a major label can get a merchandising
company
to pay them an advance on T-shirt sales! ridiculous! There s a gold mine
here!
The lawyer Should look over the merchandising contract, just to be safe.
They get drunk at the signing party. Polaroids are taken and everybody looks
thrilled. The label picked them up in a limo. They decided to go with the
producer who used to be in Letterman's band. He had these technicians come
in
and tune the drums for them and tweak their amps and guitars. He had a guy
bring in a slew of expensive old "vintage" microphones. Boy, were they
"warm."
He even had a guy come in and check the phase of all the equipment in the
control room! Boy, was he professional. He used a bunch of equipment on them
and by the end of it, they all agreed that it sounded very "punchy,"
yet "warm."
All that hard work paid off. With the help of a video, the album went like
hotcakes! They sold a quarter million copies!
Here is the math that will explain just how fucked they are:
These figures are representative of amounts that appear in record contracts
daily. There's no need to skew the figures to make the scenario look bad,
since
real-life examples more than abound. Income is underlined, expenses are not.
Advance: $ 250,000
^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^
Manager's cut: $ 37,500
Legal fees: $ 10,000
Recording Budget: $ 150,000
Producer s advance: $ 50,000
Studio fee: $ 52,500
Drum. Amp, Mic and Phase "Doctors": $ 3,000
Recording tape: $ 8,000
Equipment rental: $ 5,000
Cartage and Transportation: $ 5,000
Lodgings while in studio: $ 10,000
Catering: $ 3,000
Mastering: $ 10,000
Tape copies, reference CDs, shipping
tapes, misc. expenses: $ 2,000
Video budget: $ 30,000
Cameras: $ 8,000
Crew: $ 5,000
Processing and transfers: $ 3,000
Off-line: $ 2,000
On-line editing: $ 3,000
Catering: $ 1,000
Stage and construction: $ 3,000
Copies, couriers, transportation: $ 2,000
Director's fee: $ 3,000
Album Artwork: $ 5,000
Promotional photo shoot and
duplication: $ 2,000
Band fund: $ 15,000
New fancy professional drum kit: $ 5,000
New fancy professional guitars [2]: $ 3,000
New fancy professional guitar amp
rigs [2]: $ 4,000
New fancy potato-shaped bass guitar: $ 1,000
New fancy rack of lights bass amp: $ 1,000
Rehearsal space rental: $ 500
Big blowout party for their friends: $ 500
Tour expense [5 weeks]: $ 50,875
Bus: $ 25,000
Crew [3]: $ 7,500
Food and per diems: $ 7,875
Fuel: $ 3,000
Consumable supplies: $ 3,500
Wardrobe: $ 1,000
Promotion: $ 3,000
Tour gross income: $ 50,000
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
Agent's cut: $ 7,500
Manager's cut: $ 7,500
Merchandising advance: $ 20,000
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
Manager's cut: $ 3,000
Lawyer's fee: $ 1,000
Publishing advance: $ 20,000
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
Manager's cut: $ 3,000
Lawyer's fee: $ 1,000
Record sales: 250,000 @ $12 = $3,000,000
Gross retail revenue Royalty
[13% of 90% of retail]: $ 351,000
Less advance: $ 250,000
Producer's points
[3% less $50,000 advance]: $ 40,000
Promotional budget: $ 25,000
Recoupable buyout from previous label: $ 50,000
Net royalty: $ -14,000
^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
Record company income:
Record wholesale price
$6.50 x 250,000 = $1,625,000 gross income
Artist Royalties: $ 351,000
Deficit from royalties: $ 14,000
Manufacturing, packaging and
distribution @ $2.20 per record: $ 550,000
Gross profit: $ 7l0,000
The Balance Sheet: This is how much each player
got paid at the end of the game.
Record company: $ 710,000
Producer: $ 90,000
Manager: $ 51,000
Studio: $ 52,500
Previous label: $ 50,000
Agent: $ 7,500
Lawyer: $ 12,000
Band member net income each: $ 4,031.25
The band is now 1/4 of the way through its contract, has made the music
industry more than 3 million dollars richer, but is in the hole $14,000 on
royalties. The band members have each earned about 1/3 as much as they would
working at a 7-11, but they got to ride in a tour bus for a month.
The next album will be about the same, except that the record company will
insist they spend more time and money on it. Since the previous one
never "recouped," the band will have no leverage, and will oblige.
The next tour will be about the same, except the merchandising advance will
have already been paid, and the band, strangely enough, won't have earned
any
royalties from their T-shirts yet. Maybe the T-shirt guys have figured out
how
to count money like record company guys.
Some of your friends are probably already this fucked.
He then replyed with this to me.
dear sir.
i worked with at the drive-in for seven years, i apologize that you feel
that at somepoint i made a wrong turn, but i was there long before anyone
else ever cared and we did some great things. the murder city devils had
problems well beyond my control long before i was involved and i apologize
that i was unable to solve them all.
steve albini is a piece of shit, and you sir, can kiss my ass.
He then sent it to Gabe the Roadie for the Murder City Devils saying this
damn, the love just keeps flowing.
Gabe then emailed me with this.
Hey Peter,
this is gabe, and i am sitting here with most of the band. We think it is
completely ridicoulous that you are trying to point fingers as to who to
blame for not only our band's choices, but At The Drive-in's as well. The
facts of our break-up are completely unknown to you, so how could you blame
somebody outside of the band for them. Both us, and the new band with
members of ATDI, Sparta are continuing to work with Blaze, because he is a
breath of fresh air in the music industry. He works hard, and doesn't bleed
our energy or suck our money away from us. Not that it is any of your
business, but he hasn't made a dime from us for the last 6 months.
I can not explain to you how stupid your letter sounds. Why do you feel
this way, you don't explain at all. Let me be the first to tell you that
with or without blaze in the picture Derek and Leslie would have left the
band, and Blaze probably did more than anybody else, outside of the band, to
make sure that everyone was happy with the way The Murder City Devils ended.
I can't make you apologize to him, and i can't make claims to understand the
ATDI situation, but I do know that we are upset that somebody is blaming our
friend for something involving us, that he had no control over, let alone no
blame for.
Hope you rethink your position.
gabe
I will keep you posted as new developments come around
GOD SPEED
Peter Telck
