AND THE OSCAR GOES TO….THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THIS YEAR’S MOVIES

March 11, 2010comment

Maybe it was a last minute attempt to derail The Hurt Locker’s chances of winning the Academy Award, but just days before the Oscars it was announced that the makers of the film were being sued by an Army Bomb Disposal Expert who claimed screenwriter Mark Boal had based the story on his life. He may or may not have a case but he does have a persuasive enough argument because Boal wrote a story about him in Playboy Magazine back in 2005. But how would Boal have come up with the real storyline if he hadn’t at least gotten first hand info from the expert? On the other hand, Quentin Tarantino based the title of his Inglorious Bastards on a 70’s action flick of the same name. Incidentally, that movie was a low budget “B” version of the hit movie The Dirty Dozen. My personal favorite this year, Crazy Heart, had Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges’ character based on so many real life country artists who turned to booze as they got older and their careers began to fade. And Avatar? Well that was a retelling of Dances With Wolves; placing the story on another planet where the natives are 9’ tall and blue – all, of course, in glorious 3-D! So when does “inspiration” for a movie actually turn into “plagiarism?”

That’s a hard question to answer and I guess it’s ultimately for the courts to work out when a lawsuit is filed, but the truth is everything has to start somewhere. I got the idea for his blog from reading the story of The Hurt Locker lawsuit, but I didn’t steal the story; I simply used it as a launching pad. I think the same thing could be said for someone like Quentin Tarantino in that his Bastards is really nothing like the 1978 version of Bastards, which as earlier noted, some considered a rip of The Dirty Dozen. However, the great film buff Tarantino has never been shy about his influences and even stated in an interview regarding Bastards that the idea of actually “killing” Hitler came from an obscure 1939 film. Furthermore, his heroine who is the double agent was based on a real German double agent who was also an actress. So regardless of where it originally came from, a great storyline is worth retelling again and again. The legendary Japanese film The Seven Samurai, was remade in the US as the hugely successful The Magnificent Seven and then remade as comedy The Three Amigos (this time obviously with only three “soldiers for hire”).

The most engaging storylines are built on powerful human emotions like love, hate, revenge, greed, sex and fear. The hero can hit the lowest of lows as long as there is redemption in the end. Based around these emotions, there are only so many ways to tell a great story, and to keep an audience’s attention, you have to first have the great story, then tell it in an intriguing way without actually getting so close to original that you end up in litigation. Think of it as an “unauthorized” sequel as it were, but as my mother used to tell me, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Therefore, successful directors as diverse as Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island) and Mel Brooks (High Anxiety – spoof and tribute rolled into one) willfully pay tribute to the masters like Alfred Hitchcock who inspired them to pursue filmmaking the first place, but most importantly, hopefully in their own unique way.

Coda: While working on this blog, I was reminded of a story I heard many years ago. It seems a talented screenwriter was really struggling with writer’s block and confessed to a friend one day, “Each night, I wake up from a deep sleep with the most fantastic idea for a movie, probably the basis for one of the most compelling stories I have ever come up with. But when I wake up, I can’t recall a thing!” His friend suggested that he place a pen and paper next to his bed and when he wakes up, he should write down the idea then in the morning he’ll have captured it. The writer did just that - scribbling the idea down and when he awoke in morning he was so excited to see the brilliant idea for a script - “Boy meets girl.”

@8:56 pm
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T-BONE WOLK - MISS YOU MY OLD FRIEND

March 4, 2010comment

When someone we know passes away, we always tend to think it was too soon. That doesn’t always have as much to do with age, but more that we regret that we had so many things we wished we had told them when we had the chance. This week I found out that Tom “T-Bone” Wolk passed away of an apparent heart attack at 58, but in his case, it was simply way too soon. To most everyone in the music business, he was a household name, from his years in the Saturday Night Live TV house band, and since 1981, as bassist and most recently, guitarist and band leader for the platinum duo Hall & Oates. In between he played on and/or produced recordings for such major artists as Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, Bette Midler, Carly Simon and Avril Lavigne. Like many musicians of the baby boom era, he started out on accordion, but switched to electric guitar after seeing the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. And our mutual love for the Beatles is where I will pick up the story.

The first time I met T-Bone was around 20 years ago when he came through Chicago on one of his tours with Hall & Oates. I was invited to the sound check to meet him and I was treated to an impromptu concert as the backing band ran through a warm-up set of Beatles’ tunes. Being a bassist myself, I was amazed at how he captured McCartney’s melodic style, but none-the-less had his own signature style. We chatted for quite a while about the Beatles, the fact that we both still had our original Hofner “Beatle” basses just like Paul’s, and a strong bond was formed. From that moment on, whenever Hall & Oates came to town, T-Bone would always call and personally invite me and my guests to the show.

A few years later I joined Fender as Director of Artist Relations and because of his James Burton autographed Telecaster guitar and his original ‘61 P Bass, I knew that he was truly a “Fender” guy. But he never asked for anything special from me until one day after a H&O performance, he wondered if he could come out to Fender’s Custom Shop with his beloved P Bass to have one of our master builders create an exact replica of the bass, down to every little ding and scratch. I knew how excited the builders would be to see this famous bass up close and personal, and to also have the honor of replicating it so he could use it on tour and leave the original bass safe & sound in his studio. Even with that, T-Bone insisted on paying for the instrument because he just wanted the chance to work with the best craftsman. And of course, as was his style, he couldn’t have been more sweet and humble when meeting the Custom Shop crew.

The last time I saw him was at a Hall & Oates concert late last year at a local So. Cal Indian gaming resort. I had pushed the favor a bit by asking for enough tickets for my family which include my wife, stepson and my brother Ed who was visiting from Chicago, plus a few friends who also happened to be die hard fans. John Oates graciously took care of the request so T-Bone didn’t know I was there until a few minutes before the show when he caught a glimpse of me backstage and came running over. In typical T-Bone fashion, his perennial “Porkpie” hat atop his head, he treated my family and friends as if they were, well family. He was stellar on guitar that evening and the band never sounded better and the audience reaction was over the top. For the following week, we exchanged text messages about how great the show went and how taken aback they were at the audience’s adoration, my family, and even the cool retro shirt I was wearing that night. A nicer more genuine person you couldn’t find and I was happy for him that he seemed to be at his peak.

Certainly my fondest memory of T-Bone was a few years ago when he called me over the Christmas holidays to not just wish me season’s greetings, but to tell me that Daryl Hall and he were in Abbey Road Studios in London and that he was sitting at the very same piano the Beatles used on so many of their legendary recordings.
Because he knew how much I would appreciate it, he wanted to convey the overwhelming spiritual connection to their music he experienced just being in that room - I say
“Amen” my dear friend!

@12:02 pm
Author: skorinc
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CHARLIE SHEEN - THE LATEST IN THE MEDIA FUELED SCANDALS

February 25, 2010comment

In the past year or so, it seems like the media is crawling over itself to uncover the latest celebrity/politico scandals. From Mark Sanford to John Edwards to David Letterman to Tiger Woods to Charlie Sheen and everyone in between, there seems to be no quenching of the publics thirst for humiliating stories. Back in the good old days of the Kennedy administration, those stories were respectfully kept under wraps as the media considered them personal matters and not for public consumption. But all that changed when the media discovered that ratings depend on instant sensationalism which all too often relegates the real news, like those pesky little wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for instance, to second class status. Understandably, there are so many media outlets fighting each other for the “scoop” that they are forced to make almost everything they report a “gotcha” moment. The good news for the recently shamed is that our and the media’s attention span is so short that it won’t take long for everyone to, if not totally forgive, to at least partly forget.

But that raises the real question - is a celebrity’s talent in any way diminished by his personal weaknesses? True, the scandals do sidetrack them for awhile, and in the case of politicians, they typically derail a political career which is punishment enough. But in the entertainment industry, if they truly entertain us, we would rather have them back doing what they do best. Take Rush Limbaugh for example. He once said something to the effect that all drug users should be deported. And then as irony would have it, he was busted for “doctor shopping” because he was addicted to pain killers to the point that his poor housekeeper was forced to become his connection. El Rushbo claimed he really wasn’t an addict because he suffered from back problems, went into rehab, and his millions of dedicated listeners stuck with him. Of course, the only “victim” in this case was Rush himself (and maybe his embarrassed housekeeper). However, for Sanford, Edwards, Letterman, Woods and Sheen, the real victims were their humiliated spouses and that’s the personal matter each couple will have to work through in private. The only public part should be their apologies because everyone enjoys a good redemption story and besides, there isn’t anyone among us that hasn’t experienced some sort of scandalous behavior close to home with friend or family member. Of course, those are thankfully not plastered all over the media.

Charlie Sheen checked himself into rehab his week for “protective” measures and I have been thinking a lot about him because I have a somewhat personal connection. I have been involved with product placement on Two and a Half Men practically since its inception - not just with the guitars and amps “half man Jake” plays regularly, but also with those distinctive retro panel shirts worn by Sheen. I have met him a few times on set and he was nothing but charming, not unlike his more roguish “Charlie” character on the show. Sheen has had his demons in the past but overcame them to be one the highest paid actors on TV in one of its most successful sitcoms. I wish him nothing but the best and I have no doubt that he will come back at some point, and I know I will gladly be watching when he does.

CODA: Some of the greatest names in music became victims of their own abuses at tragically young ages - Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison to name a few from my generation. I have never heard anyone in our industry claim that the manner in which they died in any way diminished the greatness of their talent. In fact, after the tragedy of their passing, the saddest part is they, their fans and generations to come were robbed of all the great music that could have been.

@9:45 am
Author: admin
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The Who: Talkin’ About My Generation!

February 15, 2010comment

It has been one week since the Who performed during the Super Bowl’s halftime show and the internet has been abuzz with comments. Most of them are unfortunately of the “Who are these old geezers” ilk. However, there were some interesting facts during the performance. According to one of my coworkers, I was surprised to find out that the most Googled name that day was not Drew Brees or Peyton Manning, but Who lead singer (in fine voice I might add) Roger Daltrey! And in the most watched televised event in history, Twitter was overloaded during the band’s performance and the next day, their greatest hits package was the number one downloaded CD. The company I work for, Fender Musical Instruments, partnered on a Who sweepstakes with Universal Music and Live Nation called “Name that Riff” that was linked through nfl.com which received a tremendous boost in op-ins during the performance. In today’s massive social network era it wasn’t baby boomers like myself that were responsible for the above events, but the Gen X & Y’ers who were anxious to find out more about this band. I’m sure, due to their music featured on Rock Band, the Who’s classics are familiar to many gamers (don’t forget “Happy Jack” as the soundtrack of those Hummer commercials years ago), even if they are not familiar with the band itself.

When I was in my early teens, the Beatles and Stones were the two biggest bands. I loved them both, but there was another British invasion of bands like the Who, the Yardbirds and the Kinks who had hit records, but were more eclectic for pop bands of that era. I remember one of buddies nicknamed “Mick” because he bore a slight resemblance to Mick Jagger, (or at least he had the same hairstyle - hey, I was nicknamed “Beatle” - go figure) and the reason we became close friends was because of our mutual admiration of the Who. Ever since “The Who Sings My Generation” was released, we couldn’t wait for them to tour the states. I got my chance when they were booked at a local teen club called “The New Place” just north of Chicago. I remember the DJ who promoted the shows, Dex Card, collecting money at the door and we complained that $5.00 seemed quite expensive, even for the Who. He assured us that they would smash all the equipment and we gladly paid the inflated cover charge. We were witnesses to one of the most incredible shows I have ever seen - Daltrey lassoing the drums with his mic cord, as Keith Moon savagely punished his lovely “Pictures of Lily” Premier drum kit, and Townsend wind milling his doomed Fender Stratocaster as John Entwistle calmly moved out of range as the finale exploded. I might add it was also one of the most aggressive shows with the band violently smashing their gear as promised, and the road crew smashing the faces of the audience members who dared try to pick up the pieces as the band left the stage (even Daltrey and Townsend got into a scrap on-stage when the frustrated front man tried to walk off in disgust because their stack of gear overwhelmed the circuit breakers).

I have seen the Who many times since that historic moment in my musical fandom, and they never cease to deliver. A few years ago, my wife Bettina and I went to see the band at the Hollywood Bowl and she being born in the sixties was not sure she would recognize many of their songs. From the opening riff of “I Can’t Explain” to Daltrey’s classic scream in the encore “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (accompanied by almost everyone in the audience), she sang along with every song. And that’s why classic outfits like the Who end up on the Super Bowl – they can deliver a wide range of music familiar enough to the enormous demographic that watch the game, and more importantly for the network, all without a wardrobe malfunction.

FYI: For all you youngsters interested in really seeing what this band is about, I highly recommend the documentary The Kids are Alright. And for us geezers, the recent Amazing Journey – indeed it has been that.

@2:15 pm
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AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE GRAMMY AWARDS

February 4, 2010comment

In our continuing series on “An Inside Look At…..” which means anything I am lucky enough to get the Wayne’s World “All Access Pass” to, this week we will focus on the 2010 Grammy Awards. The show garnered its biggest ratings since 2004 – American Idol heights with 28 million viewers. I attended the rehearsals on Saturday and I knew something special was in the wind. This was spectacle pure and simple. With the music industry sales in a long downward slide (blame it on illegal downloads if it makes you feel better), and most of what we get from singles oriented artists being disposable with little or no shelf life, the record industry got just what it needed by a big rush of adrenalin, with the assault lead by some incredibly talented women with absolutely amazing productions. From Lady Ga Ga teamed with Elton John on their “monster mash-up” opening number with a mind blowing set that channeled Metropolis and Modern Times, to Beyonce’s emotion packed medley – and that was just the opening numbers. Pink followed with what I thought was one of the most awe-inspiring performances I have witnessed in all my years; suspended almost to the rafters of the cavernous Staples Center on purple velvet fabric, she was then dipped into a large pool of water then lofted back up to the top while spinning creating a pinwheel of water that rained onto the elegantly dressed crowd below (my wife was in the audience and she said almost everyone of the main floor got at least a sprinkle). As remarkable as Beyonce’s performance was, it was almost as if Pink was saying “Take that Dreamgirl.” The only downside was the others that had to follow. I felt particularly bad for Taylor Swift who really struggled to hold her own with Stevie Nicks. During Saturday’s run through, Taylor was having so much trouble that they cleared the room (for the media at least) as they tried to deal with her uncertain pitch. It sounded as if they were using some sort of electronic pitch correction but the actual Grammy performance on Sunday suffered just as bad, plus it unfortunately sounded even more “electronically enhanced.” To be fair, Taylor is a talented songwriter that has really struck a chord with her following, to the point that the Grammy voters awarded her the top prize “Album of the Year.” Stevie Nicks has so much more experience (as did most of the other performers) that it’s not a fair comparison and Taylor will no doubt improve her vocal qualities as the years go by.

That reminded me of the 2001 Grammy Awards I attended. U2 was at the top of their game and they absolutely blew the roof off the place with a powerful yet melodic version of “It’s a Beautiful Day.” Poor In Sync was no match and not only was their performance unforgettably lackluster, but it sounded as if some of the vocals where actually prerecorded (the band broke up a little while after that but at least Justin Timberlake proved he had the goods). I thought to myself at the time, “There’s nothing like a great live band.” I also thought then as I think today – the true stars that stay on top have worked so hard on all areas of their craft – songwriting, performing, execution and emotion. Jeff Beck has been revered as one of the greatest guitarists of all time which he proved again at this awards show with his tribute to Les Paul on Paul’s classic “How High the Moon.” If you got it, you got it no matter what you attempt.

Which brings me back to the spectacle. Today’s artists know that to keep a listener’s or viewer’s attention, you’ve got to wow them. But that’s not so different from great rock artists in the past. Jerry Lee Lewis would take an axe to his piano, Jimi Hendrix burned his axe, and the Who destroyed practically everything on stage – and that was every show! Think about a Kiss show or David Bowie’s Spiders from Mars tour where it actually seemed like Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust came form another planet. For years, the Stones thrived on huge stage productions as did U2. I can go on and on but you get the picture. True, great bands came along like the Clash and Nirvana who disregarded the spectacle and replaced it with a stripped down show supported only by raw emotion. But that’s the beauty of the ying and yang of the music industry. Right now, people are talking about Pink, Beyonce, Lady Ga Ga’s costumes and Eminem, Drake and Lil Wayne’s profanity laced ending performance for quite a while.

And that’s a good thing for the music industry and there ain’t anything wrong with that.

@8:07 am
Author: admin
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AN INSIDER”S LOOK AT THE NAMM CONVENTION

January 26, 2010comment

Chances are if you are a musician, instrument manufacturer, member of the music press or in the retail music business, the NAMM show is a key component of your life, or at least your career. If you are not one of the above, you probably aren’t even aware of the NAMM Show because it is not open to the public. In fact this year, was the most stringent I can recall with regards to non-members getting in. For over 100 years, the non-profit National Association of Music Merchants has been showcasing the latest products to the industry through these annual shows; one in winter and one in summer in the US, and one in March in Frankfort, Germany (mostly for European distributors).

My first NAMM experience was when my band mates in GAMBLER and I attended in the early 1980’s. We had a major recording deal with Capitol/EMI and we were there to look at new gear and hopefully walk away with an official endorsement which meant that we most likely wouldn’t have to pay for the new gear. Back then, endorsements were pretty simple because manufacturers knew that a free guitar, amp or drum kit was a small price to pay for all the exposure a brand would receive, particularly if an artist or band hit it big. With the advent of MTV, it became more important than ever to have an artist promoting your products through a trendy new national showcase. Eddie Van Halen alone brought Kramer guitars to the forefront of guitar business when he played their guitars (along with the exclusive Floyd Rose Tremolo that allowed a player to “dive bomb” the strings like Ed). Thousands of little “Eddies” made Kramer the number one selling guitar in the nation – for a short time anyway.

That first NAMM show, I remember talking to Dean B. Zelinsky, a young guitar master builder who had launched his Dean Guitars a few years before and was already gaining notoriety through MTV darlings like ZZ Top, Heart, the Cars and Kansas. Dean’s designs were somewhat based on some of Gibson’s less traditionally shaped guitars like the Flying V and Explorer (which were actually launched in the 1950’s but didn’t find a following until much later on). Dean didn’t have a large booth like the big kids on the block, such as Fender and Gibson, but he added the coolest Rock n’ Roll aura to everything he did. A few years later, Dean gave me my start in the guitar business in sales and marketing for his company and I never looked back. After Dean, I moved on to Washburn and then for the past fifteen years I have been at the industry leader, Fender Musical Instruments.

What has changed since my first NAMM Show? Not that much – musicians are still looking for endorsements, dealers are looking for the “wow” factor with major artists appearances in manufacturer’s booths, but instead of new designs, guitar shapes have become more and more standardized with virtually every company having a version of the Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster, P Bass or Gibson Les Paul (for non-musicians, these are the models played by most of the world’s top artists since the dawn of Rock n’ Roll). But what was most exciting to me were all the new companies who are attempting to bridge the gap between video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, with guitars that can be played as real instruments or used as controllers in conjunction with the games. Pretty exciting stuff if you are a guitar manufacturer because now you are speaking to the next generation of potential players in their own language.

Even after an up and down year for the music industry, this was one of the best NAMM Shows I have ever attended. There was enthusiasm throughout the show, almost as if we made it past the “great recession” together and now we’re ready to get back to business. The gamers, who used to be our competition, have now joined us as our partners to lead us into this brave new world where traditional melds with the future – kinda like MTV did in the 1980’s. The overall mood of the show? Let’s celebrate our industry!

Coda: What about Dean and Washburn? Dean sold his company and is back at it again with cool new designs on not just guitars, but amps as well, with his new venture, DBZ by Dean B. Zelinsky Guitars. Washburn was sold to another company but their booth looked about the same as in years past so they seem to be holding their own. I wish them both the best!

@7:22 am
Author: admin
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WHEN GOOD BRANDS GO BAD – THE UNCOOLEST BRANDS OF 2009

January 13, 2010comment

I really didn’t want to begin 2010 on a negative note, but I couldn’t pass up saying goodbye to 2009 without at least discussing some of truly disastrous turns taken by some previously strong brands. It takes a long time to establish a truly respected brand, and in some cases, just a few moments to destroy, or at do some serious damage to it. So let’s get to it - to follow are my selection for the 10 most tarnished brands of the year:

10) Gatorade was the first of the Tiger Woods’ corporate sponsors to announce they would be cutting ties with Woods following his “indiscretions” by discontinuing their “Tiger Focus” line. If we are to believe the company spokesperson who said this decision was made prior to his domestic problems, then we must concur that the drink was a stiff, instead of a “stiff drink.” Gatorade was designed for high intensity sports like football (it was launched in the “swamp” where the Florida Gators play) and granted that some consider Golf a sport, but a typical golfer will hardly break a sweat riding in a golf cart between swings. Actually, the only golfers I know that drank Tiger Focus on the course mixed it with some libations because, after all, the whole purpose of golf is for relaxation. Note to Gatorade: if things work out in the future for Tiger, maybe you should launch a drink aimed specifically for the weekend duffer – how about 90 proof “Tiger Spirits?”

9) Sadly, in 2009 General Motors announced that they are phasing out their Pontiac brand. Launched in 1926, the glory years of the brand were certainly the muscle cars of the 1960’s. The GTO still reigns as one of the coolest muscle cars of the era, and the Firebird, Trans-Am, Bonneville, Le Mans and Catalina models also bring back fond memories of beauty and power. I recall when my aunt and Uncle brought home their metallic gold Catalina convertible they were the envy of the block (I loved cruising in the back seat when the top was down as long as I promised not to soil the white interior). My love of Pontiac was further enhanced when grandfather gave me his canary yellow Le Mans – a very cool car for a broke musician to drive – and haul gear in! Whether it was adding the fuel efficient plastic Fiero, discontinuing convertible models, or the introduction of new models like the Montana mini-van, the beast eventually ended up killing the beauty.

8) The once proud LA Dodgers brand was first soiled when star slugger, and fan favorite, Manny Ramirez, was suspended for fifty games for testing positive for a banned substance. Neither Manny nor the Dodgers actually apologized and when Manny returned drug free, he turned out to be a pretty average player certainly not the super-star of “Mannywood.” But Manny’s descent was nothing compared top the battling McCourts who aired the dirty laundry of their bitter divorce to the press. The team ended the season in disarray which left the fans wondering who would take ownership of the once storied franchise in 2010.

7) The Republican Party was taken over not by leaders within, but by the far right media which included now author and Fox commentator (and non-politician for the time being), Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and his “Mini-Me”, Glenn Beck. Leading the tea bagger’s revolt, the GOP has now been high jacked by the extreme far right who thinks that anything President Obama does is wrong so their agenda has become to fight him every step and therefore they have become “The Party of NO (ideas).

6) The Democratic Party demonstrated how you make sour lemons out of lemonade. They had control of the house and senate, had a charismatic young president that galvanized young and formally disenfranchised voters, and yet they couldn’t seem to get anything accomplished. Even as the economy slowly improves, they are getting little or no credit because they seem to be in such disarray to the point that it looks like the Republicans will rebound in the mid-term elections. Their only strategy is to “hope” that the GOP are bigger screw-ups.

5) As the US taxpayers were bailing them out of the fine mess they created for themselves, Goldman Sachs made plans to create a market for so-called “death” bonds. These are securitized life insurance policies that were sold by policy holders to speculators, who essentially are betting that the original policy holder will die soon enough to yield a profit on the policies. Add to that the big bonuses they still want to pay their execs for failure and you can see the kind of thanks we get for coming to their rescue.

4) For the twenty plus years I have been in the guitar business, the industry has been dominated by two brands Gibson & Fender. I work for Fender and actually relish the competition from Gibson but 2009 proved to be quite a stumbling year for them. It has been a tough year for the industry as a whole but the usually savvy Gibson company made two giant blunders that added to their woes: First they released a “Strat” shaped Jimi Hendrix licensed guitar in spite of the fact that Jimi is one of the most famous Fender Stratocaster® Players of all time. They found out very quickly that they couldn’t rewrite history when they discovered that the internet was filed with blogs and chat room conversations denouncing the guitar. A few short weeks the guitar mercifully disappeared form their website. Immediately following that debacle, the Feds and local police raided Gibson Guitars manufacturing plant in Nashville and charged them with violating the Lacey Act, a key piece of environmental law, for importing endangered species of rosewood from Madagascar. Sources reported that Gibson was involved in a scheme that shipped the wood from Madagascar to Germany and then to the United States. Adding insult to injury, Gibson’s CEO and Chairman, Henry Juszkiewicz, stepped down from his position on the board of the Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of tropical forests that is supported by many major artists. Throughout their one hundred plus years, Gibson has been faced with tough times and has been able to bounce back, and they will again, but they have their work cut out for them to overcome these two serious back-to-back clumsy mistakes.

3) Based on a Yale University study last year, makers of Breakfast Cereals spend more than $156 million yearly on marketing on television. Their strategy also including placing these unhealthy cereals in grocery stores at the eye level of small children. This also means that the average preschooler sees more than 650 cereal commercials yearly. All brands are guilty of trying to sell these sugar laden “foods” as healthful so take a moment to look at this:

- Cereals directed towards children, have 85% more sugar, and 65% less fiber than those that are not.
- 42% of children’s cereals contain artificial food dye, compared to the 5% in adult cereals.
- All cereals marketed directly to children – including Cocoa Puffs (44% sugar), Cap’n Crunch (44% sugar), Froot Loops (41% sugar), Lucky Charms (41% sugar) and Cinnamon Toast Crunch (32% sugar) – meet industry’s own nutrition standards for “better-for-you” foods. Nice that the industry can make those claims when they are self-regulated but thankfully the FDA is on their case and some are begrudgingly removing the “healthy” labels from the packaging.
2) New age self-styled spiritual guru James Arthur Ray was one of the fastest rising stars in the “self-help success” field. That was until two people died in his sweat lodge retreat near Sedona, AZ. Attendees paid between $9K and $10K to attend the seminar and once inside the lodge, the heat became so unbearable that one man told him he was afraid he would perish. Ray’s alleged reply was “It’s a good day to die.” After two did perish, and many more became ill, Ray accelerated the bad press by talking about how tough it was on him and stalling the investigation by launching his own internal one. Whether it was his ego, or just a really bad PR firm, people will now think twice before following his spiritual guidance.

1) It goes without saying that Tiger Woods would have to lead the pack. No one who worked so hard on his public image fell so far so fast. Not only was the scandal so embarrassing to his family (with all the women coming forward, Tiger may soon steal the crown worn by Warren Beatty with the alleged 12,700+ women he bedded, but remember that Warren stopped when he got married) but his handling of the press was even more disastrous. Instead of AP naming Tiger their “Athlete of the Decade” they should have named him the more appropriate “Player of the Decade” (hey, if the Nike shoe fits…..) Tiger will undoubtedly come back as a top golfer, but he will never attain the level of admiration he once had and therefore the “Tiger Woods” brand will forever be tarnished.

@3:52 pm
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TIGERGATE – THE SAGA CONTINUES

December 21, 2009comment

Okay, I might be as tired of the non-stop coverage of the Tiger Woods image implosion as much as anyone, but since I wrote my last blog about his tarnished brand, the Woods escapades have become the Energizer bunny for the world’s media. Since my last blog, a whole bevy of beauties (or should I say bevy of birdies, or how about gaggle of groupies?) have stepped up to announce their liaisons with Tiger. At the same time, his sponsors support has been dropping like his 30 foot putts. Gatorade was the first to announce they would be discontinuing their “Tiger Focus” line. A spokesman for the company said this decision was made prior to his domestic problems, but let me translate from corporate-speak into real English: “We don’t know what effect Tiger’s flawed image will have on our product, but the drink was a stiff anyway so this gives us an out, and in the future, if his image rebounds, we don’t want to burn that bridge.” In my opinion, Tiger Focus made no sense in the first place. Gatorade was designed for high intensity sports like football. Golf may be a sport but a typical golfer will hardly break a sweat riding in a golf cart between swings. Actually, the only golfers I know that drank Tiger Focus on the course mixed it with some libations because, after all, the whole purpose of golf is for relaxation. Note to Gatorade: if things work out in the future for Tiger, maybe you should launch a drink aimed specifically for the weekend duffer – how about 90 proof “Tiger Spirits?”

Which brings me to the AP naming Tiger their “Athlete of the Decade.” No doubt he was the best at what he did, but once again, Golf is more about skill than pushing your body to the limits to surpass other athletes at the top of their form. What about Lance Armstrong, who so dominated a grueling sport like bicycle racing, got cancer, beat it and came back to win the Tour de France got injured in an accident and came back to win it again – a record seven times in all? I don’t doubt AP’s motives, but it couldn’t have hurt their media coverage by tapping into one of the hottest media topics.

Which brings me back to Tiger the man vs. Tiger the brand. The difference between Tiger and someone like Gene Simmons of KISS, even if the number of women they slept with ends up being in the same ballpark, is that Simmons never played himself up to be a perfect role model and family man the way Woods did. We expect (almost demand) our Rock Stars behave like, well Rock Stars, but we expect more perfection of our idols. To be fair, no one could ever live up to the squeaky clean image Tiger worked so hard to portray. Kobe Bryant is just one example of someone who had a sexual encounter outside of his marriage (okay it was only one) and was able to work things out to regain his sponsorship dollars. Heck, even Michael Vick is playing in the NFL again and his crimes were serious enough to send him to prison. I believe that Tiger will one day reclaim his sponsorship crown but to do that, he will have to be at least at dedicated in rebuilding his personal life as he was in perfecting his swing.

After all, if it’s one thing the public loves more than a good scandal, it’s redemption.

@2:14 pm
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TIGER WOODS: THE MAN VS. THE BRAND

December 3, 20091 comment

Like most fans, when the news first broke that Tiger Woods had been in a car accident, my first reaction was that I hoped his injuries were not serious. Then as the story began to unfold, I initially didn’t give it much thought, although the details of how the accident happened didn’t quite add up. But then with each passing day my voyeuristic tendencies began to take over as the alleged affairs began to surface. Tiger had it all: youth, great looks, a charming personality, prodigious talent and a beautiful loving family, not to mention almost a billion dollars in earnings with potentially even much more to come. It seemed downright bizarre that he would first risk it all, and then do such a miserable job of handling the bad publicity (how much does he pay his public relations team anyway?).

Let’s go back to the billion dollars. He will shortly become the first athlete to reach that rarified figure and a majority of it comes from his endorsement fees. If anyone wonders if brands still matter, just ask the companies that are willing to invest that kind of money to be associated with “Tiger” the brand - Nike, GM, Gatorade, American Express and the beat goes on. Nike has already stated that they will continue their relationship with Woods (hey, the guy moves shiploads of their products). Several commentaries on Tiger’s ordeal have focused on that fact that even though he has the right to privacy in his personal life, he relinquishes some of those rights when he enters into our world. After all, once he markets himself as brand by endorsing products that he and his backers hope the public will purchase because of the equity of that brand, he himself becomes a commodity.

But I believe there’s more to it than that.

When I was growing up, the great guitarists I wanted to emulate made it look so easy to play their instruments that I was certain I could do the same. Once I really began to practice, and the better I became, the more I began to appreciate how incredibly talented and creative artists like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix were. It’s the same experience we had watching Michael Jordan defy gravity, the unbeatable Michael Phelps gliding through the water at record breaking speeds, or how effortlessly Tiger could drive a ball 300 yards. All but a few of us could ever hope to achieve that kind of greatness and even their closest competitors are in awe of their talents. But instead of becoming discouraged, we celebrate that one of our species could push the human boundaries to achieve such greatness. As Tiger said in his first official statement after the accident, “I am human and I am not perfect.” The problem is that we are human too and therefore also not perfect and so sometimes we need our heroes to reach higher on our behalf.

Final thought: My wife and I went to see This is It and were so moved to see a confident Michael Jackson preparing for his comeback that for 90 minutes we forgot about the circus his life had become in recent years and just sat back and enjoyed this gifted artist once again putting his heart and soul into reclaiming his place in music history. Once Tiger works out his personal problems in private with his wife and gets back to the links, doing what he does better than anyone, I trust most of his fans will put this sideshow behind them as well.

@11:46 am
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Has Music Become Disposable?

November 21, 20091 comment

I had the pleasure of seeing a new documentary about the Grammy Camp – an 8 day program where talented high school aged teens from around the country are invited to participate in a special course at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. They are guided through everything from songwriting and arranging, to playing with each other in a full band culminating with a final performance at the Grammy Museum in the heart of Los Angeles. I have to add a disclaimer here that the company I work for, Fender Musical Instruments Corp. supports the Grammy Camp and the Grammy Museum and I participated in the filming of one of the scenes, but that did not influence my opinion of the power and beauty of the film. The strength of this movie is based on the passion and dedication these young musicians have towards their craft. They come from diverse backgrounds, but one message came through loud and clear and that in scene after scene; their proclamations of how music is the most important aspect of their lives.

That got me to thinking: if these budding artists think that way, why does music today seem to have such little value to most everyone else? I’m not saying that music doesn’t matter to the average person, quite the contrary - people love music today just as much as past generations did. And the introduction of the iPod allows us to take a good portion of our favorite music wherever we go so we “never leave home without it.” What I mean about music’s value is that so many fans are use to thinking that they can rip music from the internet without paying for it that music no longer has the monetary value it once had. Furthermore, some record label execs and radio stations choose to promote music that is uninspired and unoriginal because it’s all about the instant hit, with no longevity for the record or the artists past the initial launch. Disposable music that’s here today and gone tomorrow to make room for the next disposable track. This is great for advertising revenue for the radio stations particularly when it is attracting a certain demographic, but not great for an artists’ long-term career.

And I hate to bring out the old punching bag one more time, but American Idol is also to blame. Each year we get a batch of artists and the winners and runners-up get a record deal, tour, and then they fade by the time the next season begins. Sure there’s a few that last past their expiration date, and even become bonafied stars, but for every Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Daughtry who used the show as a springboard, there are more Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard’s whose fame barley lasted until the next season of American Idol. There’s inherently nothing wrong with a springboard – The Police dyed their hair blond to perform as a punk band in a UK commercial for bubblegum, but of course, they didn’t build their career around being in that commercial, and had the goods to rise to be one of the top bands of all time.

Just before seeing the Grammy Camp doc, I had just finished reading “Cornflakes With John Lennon” by long-time Los Angeles Times music critic Robert Hilburn. In the book, Hilburn focuses on the creative process of such top artists as Bruce Spreingsteen, Bob Dylan, Bono, Johnny Cash and of course John Lennon.

The one thread that runs through each artist is the passion and determination to never settle for anything but the best with each new record. And to do this, they had to open up their hearts and souls to the listener – not an easy or comfortable thing to do, but necessary to remain at that level of creativity. To them, music would never be “disposable”, but just the opposite – a sometimes all encompassing driving force in their lives. I saw the same passion in those young musicians in the Grammy Camp and I believe they represent the next generation of artists, and because of that, I think music is going to be just fine.

@4:42 pm
Author: admin
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