Why Do Musicians Think That They Deserve To Be Paid

Hot Topic: Why Do Musicians Think That They Deserve To Be Paid?
We lost an amazing soul this week. Lou and Katie celebrate the music of B.E. Taylor and let the rest of the world hear what they have been missing.  And…. there is Lot’s of talk these days about how bad the music business is… so here’s the question, is it even reasonable for musicians to expect to make money? The answers will surprise you! PLUS  Music by Loudini Artists:  Matt Andersen ,  Alice Underground  ,  Bad Cop

B.E. TAYLOR

B.E. Taylor, (birth name William Edward Taylor), was born and raised in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. B.E.’s parents, Bill and Betty Taylor, knew at a very early age that their son was destined to become a singer.

B.E. was stricken with a very serious kidney disease, Nephritis – “Bright’s Disease,” at the age of 11 that caused him to be hospitalized and confined to home care for over a year. He had to be tutored and had limited visitation since he was so susceptible to infection and germs.

You can only imagine the sadness he experienced watching the other children playing outside on hot summer days and sledding in the winter months. He filled his time by reading and listening to music. His parents bought him a guitar to help pass the time, and that’s where it all began. He practiced endlessly, learning to accompany himself as he continued to have fun singing.

He recovered from his long illness and returned to school the following year. From that time on, he pursued his musical career. He was in various high school bands that played at dances, weddings, and local taverns. He eventually met up with four musicians and formed the successful B.E. Taylor Group.

Music by Loudini Artists:

Matt Andersen  http://www.stubbyfingers.ca/

Matt Andersen has been enthralling audiences with his one­-of-­a-­kind performance in North America, Europe and Australia for years. Earlier this fall, the award-winning artist once again de­camped from his New Brunswick home – this time to record his upcoming album. Produced in New York with Commissioner Gordon (Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse, KRS­One), Honest Man follows up the JUNO Award nominated Weightless and sees the songwriter pushing himself into new territory. Blessed with a rich gospel soul voice and armed with a new set of songs, Matt Andersen found a perfect partner in crime with Commissioner Gordon.

“Gordon has worked with so many different people, like Santana and Quincy Jones, on so many historic albums,” says Andersen. “He has such a great approach and was able to tie-­in so many new ideas to what I’ve done in the past without losing touch with my sound.”

From writing around drum beats to bringing in a cast of players including Andy Bassford (Toots and the Maytals, Burning Spear, Natalie Merchant), Benji Bouton (Ibibio Sound Machine), Josh David Barret (The Wailers, Lauryn Hill), and Lenny Underwood (Mary J. Blige, Amy Winehouse), Honest Man expands on what we already know and love from Andersen and brings it to a new level.

“Gordon brought a drum beat to one of our first sessions that I loved, and I wrote ‘Let’s Get Back’ around it. When we tracked, we did it the same way as the others ­ myself on acoustic guitar, Benji on electric, Josh on bass. Using beats is something I never thought I would go for. But it was a lot of fun and I’m really excited with what we recorded. If I was left up to my own devices it would have been a very different record.”

The ten songs that make up Honest Man explore both the political and the personal. The title track, co­written with Chris Kirby, was inspired by a US political cartoon while “Let’s Get Back”, co­penned with Andy Stochansky, has Andersen thinking about how his country as a nation has changed, but not for the better. “Who Are You Listening To?” was hatched with Ryan Hupman during a pre­election social media flood and emerges as rally call for people to make up their own minds and not be swung by the ‘information’ we’re being fed.

The album opens with a song written with Thom Swift titled Break Away, a song to remind us that sometimes a change of scenery is all we need. On “All The Way”, written with Gordie Sampson, Andersen takes a more personal approach as he sings about the decision to fully commit to a relationship, while on the alluring piano ballad “I’m Giving In”, composed with Andy Stochansky and Jamie Hartman, he muses about the moments leading up to that commitment.

“The song ‘I’m Giving In’ was the final one that I needed to lay down vocals for,” recalls Andersen. “It was my last night in New York and the studio we were using was underneath a ballroom where Alicia Keys was rehearsing for a performance the next night. We managed to get the piano recorded in between the breaks of the rehearsal but had to skip the vocals. We went back to Gordon’s studio to listen back to the weeks’ work and enjoy a scotch when we decided to take a stab at recording the vocals. This was at 1am. It was a special way to wrap up the sessions with Gordon.”

On one of two songs created with Donovan Woods called “One Good Song” Andersen sings about exactly that. He explains, “All songwriters desire to have that one good song that just gets everybody. Not necessarily a hit, but a song that when it’s heard you can’t help but listen. This song is about the journey we all take to get there.” There is no need at all for Matt Andersen to worry about one good song, Honest Man is a watershed album full of transcendent musical moments that should elevate the songwriter from internationally acclaimed to world renowned.

About Matt Andersen

With over 10 million views on YouTube, a 2013 European Blues Award, and winning Best Solo Performer at the Memphis Blues Challenge, it appears that the entire world is now discovering Matt Andersen. A powerhouse performer with a giant soul-filled voice and commanding stage presence, Matt has built a formidable following the old fashioned way – touring worldwide and letting the converted audiences and Andersen devotees spread his reputation through word of mouth. In addition to headlining major festivals, clubs and theatres throughout North America, Europe and Australia, he has shared the stage and toured with Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Greg Allman, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Randy Bachman, Little Feat, Jonny Lang, Serena Ryder, and more. Andersen has won the 2013 Euro Blues Award for Best Solo /Acoustic Act, three Maple Blues Awards in 2012, and nabbed him 2010 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Andersen has received a JUNO nomination for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year, a CIMA Road Gold award, and two consecutive Maple Blues Award for Male Vocalist of the Year.

Alice Underground  http://aliceunderground.net/#/

Alice Underground is a time traveling caravan to an anachronistic era set in a locale that’s both familiar and fantastical. For the five members of the LA-based group, however, this has been a journey by happenstance. What was a one-off show now has the quintet chasing mythical characters and architecting a swamp cabaret aesthetic.

Five years after its fateful first show, the LA-based quintet now issues a stunning debut, Cambria Sessions. An album bathed in the blue hues of broken dreams, noir romance, and Golden Age Of Hollywood opulence.

Alice Underground whisks listeners and concertgoers away to an elegant underbelly teeming with deviant jazz, punk rock vigor, vaudevillian theatrics, and sensual emotionality. The group’s oeuvre varies between originals that feel like they were plucked from an American Songbook from a Tim Burton-themed time capsule, and jazz standards reimagined to showcase Alice Underground’s gift for conjuring longing and lasciviousness. The group counts as influences David Bowie, Ella Fitzgerald, Trent Reznor, and Billie Holiday. Fittingly, Alice Underground has been described as “gypsy jazz with a proto-punk edge.”

The quintet’s dark seductiveness, gothic glamour, and mythological imagery of the character Alice as a conceptual muse have endeared it to fanatics of steampunk, fantasy, and cosplay. Live highlights for the band include appearing at Los Angeles County Museum Of Art’s New Year’s event Golden Stag, hosted at the famous Los Angeles Park Plaza Hotel, and performing at the closing ceremonies for the Anime Expo in Los Angeles. There the group played originals, and backed cult artist Yoko Takahashi, singer of the theme song for the popular animated Japanese television series Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Alice Underground is Tash Cox vocals, bass, piano; Sasha Travis, vocals; Scott Landes, guitar, piano; Gordon Bash, standup bass, piano, guitar, vocals; and Steve Kefalas, drums, percussion. The band members boast eclectic and impressive resumes. Lead vocalist Tash Cox formerly sang with The Beta Machine, which included members of A Perfect Circle and Eagles of Death Metal. Tash has also sung in many operas, Neely Bruce’s, “Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides” being her favorite. Scott Landes has played with Collide, Android Lust, I, Parasite, and ¡BASH!, among others. Steve Kefalas has also been a member of Android Lust, I, Parasite, and ¡BASH!. Gordon Bash is an active jazz and rock musician, that has appeared on America’s Got Talent playing with William Close. He heads up the punk/rockabilly band ¡BASH!, and is also the bassist for the popular ska band Save Ferris. Sasha Travis is a singer, producer, director, and all-around artist. She has directed and produced for the Labyrinth Masquerade Ball, and Golden Stag events, written and directed for the Astra Dance Theater, and been a long time co-collaborator at Sypher Arts Studio.

The Cambria Sessions is threaded with a wildly fishtailing story of two girls moving to Hollywood to make their dreams come true. Detailing the narrative are the intertwined voices of Tash and Sasha. The story is rife with surrealism and mythology, with subtle allusions to Joseph Campbell. In the end, the protagonists flee Hollywood for the safe haven of Cambria, the beautiful wine country expanse in Northern California.

The album’s lead off single is the slinky “Superman.” The dizzying track swings mightily with whimsically zigzagging melodic passages and a seductive urgency oozing from voices of Tash and Sasha. The song intimates a love triangle. One of the girls is far too preoccupied with a male lover whose bravado has gotten him into a dicey situation. “It’s about how in love, we either put someone else on a pedestal, or we struggle with being put on a pedestal,” Tash explains. “I don’t need a superman—I just want to love as a human being.” The video for “Superman” is a collaboration with fashion photographer turned director Jean Renard It’s a feast for the senses boasting a cross section of LA’s finest dancers, eye-popping visual technology, and steamy film noir imaging.

Other standouts on the Cambria Sessions include a nostalgic and impressionistic version of the jazz standard “Fly Me To The Moon” and, the sultry and dark, “LA Is Burning.” Traditionally, the evergreen “Fly Me To The Moon” is a swinging track that soars with optimism. Alice Underground’s rendition is reflective and romantic, evoking the moment right before dreams slip away. Gordon says: “We went for that ‘hero with her hair flying in the wind’ feel. It’s right before the girls escape for Cambria. It’s very Thelma & Louise.” The city smolders, and the torch ballad “LA Is Burning” wafts in from the rubble. “There is a lot of pain in that one,” Scott shares. Tasha adds: “It evokes that sentiment of feeling alone in a faraway place, engulfed by loneliness.”

The odyssey to Alice Underground began in the goth/industrial/metal scene. Outside of Alice Underground, Tash, Scott, and Gordon play with the group Mankind Is Obsolete. While on tour with the group Android Lust, they befriended the New York-based band’s drummer, Steve. When Steve relocated to Los Angeles, he joined the trio. Sasha came into the fold when Tash heard her softly singing during an arts and crafts project. The two instantly had a deep connection. “We are both from Texas, we are preacher’s kids, our names rhyme, and we’re both Scorpios,” Sasha explains. “We were meant to be soul sisters.”

Alice Underground also has an extended family of thinkers, artists, and dancers. Shawn Strider, the creative director of the Labyrinth Masquerade Ball and producer of the Golden Stag events, helped forge the concept of Alice Underground and continues to contribute lyrics and story ideas. Others in the close circle include saxophonist Joe Berry (M83, Taylor Swift, Save Ferris), cellist Eru Matsumoto (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Demi Lovato), and hotshot Nashville guitarist Jordan Roepke (Restless Road).

Every myth has a valuable story within the narrative, and in exploring the fantastical realm of Alice Underground, the band members have been artistically and personally transformed. “There have been so many amazing moments with this band that truly feels like family,” Tash marvels. “It’s changed my life—these people brought music back in my life,” Sasha confides. Gordon adds: “I love what we have done. We’ve created something indefinable.” Steve concludes: “We got thrown into the fire with these jazz shows, and I’m so proud we found a voice and means of artistic expression within a genre many of us didn’t know before. “

Bad Cop  http://www.badcopmusic.com/

Management: 

Sam Saideman // Sam@InnovoManagement.com

Licensing: 

Chris Burque // Ghost Town Music // chris@ghost-town.com

North American Radio: 

Distiller Radio Promotion.

@BadCopMusic on IG

@BadCopMusic on Twitter

www.BadCopMusic.com

RELEASES:

2010: "Harvest The Beast" full length debut album, on ROIR! Records.

2011: "I Can't Slow Down" Free EP released through Prince Cook LLC.

2012: "Bad Cop/ Turbo Fruits split 7" through JefferyDragRecords /FrenchKissLabelGroup. *SOLD OUT* 

2013: "The Light On Ep" through JefferyDragRecords/ FrenchKissLabelGroup

2014: "Wish You Well" (Converse Rubber Tracks Sessions) Free EP through JefferyDragRecords/FrenchKissLabelGroup

http://badcopmusicnashville.bandcamp.com/