Whether 'Tis Nobler in the Mind to Suffer...for One's Art?

I call this photo: "City Street, 2:01am." That's fairly descriptive, right? It doesn't really pertain to anything other than the fact that as a musician I'm usually up at 2:01am after just having gotten home from work. So I see this view of the city a lot.

So what is it, exactly, that we do as musicians? The darker view is that we entertain drunks and tourists in bars, pass the tip bucket, then go home with a stack of $1 bills feeling like strippers just off our shift at Billy's Topless. When we get hired to do a private function in a mansion or country club, I've often said that we're curios in the parlours of the rich and famous. There's no feeling quite like dressing in your finest James Bond shawl collar tuxedo, cuff links, studs and bow tie, only to be made to take the service elevator out by the dumpster scum in the alley because you're an (ugh!) musician. That's the seamy underbelly of what we do and how we're regarded by polite "society."

A brighter view of what we do was once put to me by a painter who said that even in bars full of drunks, we create a unity of spirit and energy, bringing people together in a common expression of joy with our meter and musical ruminations. I find this an incredibly bright spin put on an otherwise questionable profession in (formerly) smoky nightclubs where vice and alcoholism are practiced simultaneously with our unifying artistic expressions. But the painter had a point, especially as it pertains to concert stage performances, festivals, original music, etc. Occasionally we are part of some very powerful vortex of human energy, moving a massive crowd in perfect unison towards some realization of joy or pathos or catharsis or protest. These are the moments we cherish.

These are the moments we think about at 2am when getting home from another bar in the city. Even if two people in the bar have been entertained, transfixed, transported, soothed, or encouraged by what we do, there's some nobility left in what we're accomplishing. It's easy to lose sight of sometimes. It's also difficult to explain to the laity that playing a bar gig isn't a lowering of professional standards. Quite the opposite, it allows us to practice our craft, keep fluid on our instrument, and generally stay in touch with people, tastes and trends.

The challenge here is trying to find avenues to introduce new original material. This proves much more difficult. Drunks in bars want to be entertained by cover material, songs they know. This is understandable. After the economy has tanked, the pension fund is gone, the pink slip has been delivered, the last thing a late night reveler wants to hear is an experimental piece of music advancing the boundaries of jazz harmony and stretching concepts of previously accepted listenability. This is as it should be. People need and deserve to be entertained in a setting like that.

But if a musician is aspiring to be an artist rather that just an artisan, there needs to be some venue available to stretch the boundaries, to create anew. Fortnately for me I've found a couple of like-minded compatriots this year who have also decided that it's time to do something original. We've been meeting at the drummer's house every week or so to play and record each other's original material. The results have been enormously satisfying.

To whit, I'm about to release a CD of my original writings recorded with my friends Jim Dower on keys and Joe Goretti on drums. All of it is us playing live in the "studio" (ok, Joey's spare bedroom), all fun stuff. The music is something like Ramsey Lewis and Lou Donaldson having a jam session with The Meters. It's soul jazz. It's music you can simultaneously wrap your mind and your booty around. It's our expression of who we are, what we do, and why we play music at all. I'll keep you posted about the release date. I'm aiming for May 1. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile I'm off to play another long bar gig tonight, entertaining drunks and tourists in Times Square. It's not Madison Square Garden or Carnegie Hall. But I can't think of a nobler pursuit....

Ivan Bodley
Brooklyn, NY

Check out my website: www.funkboy.net
Visit me on MySpace: www.myspace.com/funkboynyc
Follow my blog at: http://funkboynyc.blogspot.com/

Road Rage

I call this photo "Road Rage." It's a self portrait, shot in traffic, that just happens to capture my old skull and crossbones rear view mirror air freshener.

Alas, the air freshener died finally. It took about a month for the smell to finally die out so I could just enjoy the artistic value of it. It's an old homage to one of my favorite movies of all time, Alex Cox's "Repo Man." The line is: "There's one in every car. You'll see..." I quote this movie every day of my life, just like i do "This Is Spinal Tap." But to be accurate, in "Repo Man" they're referring to a standard green pine tree air freshener, not the skull & crossbones. So there, I've really revealed something very personal to you about my life. Don't judge me.....

But that's not what I'm enraged about. I'm mad as hell. And I'm not going to take it any more! OK, I'm not really that mad. I just couldn't resist another movie quote. What I am concerned about, however, is road work, as in touring, as in life on the bus, as in "Hello, Cleveland!" (see above).

As I've mentioned, I have an upcoming, impending, imminent CD release coming down the pipeline. Any day now, really. It's all stuff I managed to get recorded in between other gigs and travels. It's a trio effort, myself, Jim Dower on keys, and Joe Goretti on drums. These are guys whom I consider my "road buddies."

We travel. We play. We back up soul legends like Sam Moore, The Temptations, and recent special guests of Sam's like Elvis Costello, Sting, Wynonna, Travis Tritt, etc, etc.

But here's my concern. And I'm not sure if this is just a semantic problem or not. We never ever get on a bus, each person to a bunk, and hit the highway. As much as we would like to, that's just not the reality of the music business these days. Every gig is a one-off. Every show is a weekend out and back. The day after we play with one of these lovely superstars, we're unemployed again.

There's no touring. Tours don't exist for us in the way that people perceive. I'm constantly asked: "so are you around town these days?" The answer is: "yes, I'm around!" Call me for your gig! I'm not on a plane to Bali. I'm in Brooklyn! Last year I spent 50 nights on the road. And by "on the road" I mean away from home. The longest kip was a week in Tokyo with Sam Moore. I assume that could be considered a "tour." But we played only one town, Tokyo. Out & back. No bus. No itinerary.

That means I spent 316 nights at home. (Last year was a leap year, wasn't it?) Don't get me wrong. I did 214 gigs last year. I was busy! Working! But "touring?" Not so much. I think there's a mis-perception about what we do and how we do it.

Even the big "touring" bands tend to go out for a month in the summer only. I've got one buddy who's currently on a superstar tour, as big as tours ever get. And he's home every week or so unless they're overseas. So while I'm happy to perpetuate the myth, the legend, the mystique of what it means to be a "Rock Star," I'm leery about letting the perception remain among people who actually know me and know what I do for a living.

I know another person who is actively trying to develop a "rock star" career. It's kind of funny to see what this person goes through and what this person is actually aspiring to. By that definition of "rock star," that's exactly what I am and what I do. And while Bill Wyman's solo 45 from 1981 was called "Je Suis Un Rock Star," I'm not sure that's what I really am.

So here's the topic of discussion: Do I perpetuate the mystique for the public? Do I save the real deal for clinics and classes? I'm not trashing hotel rooms, demanding only green M&M's, doing drugs or hanging out with groupies. I WORK for a living. But I do enjoy my work.

Your thoughts?

Ivan Bodley
Brooklyn, NY

Check out my website: www.funkboy.net
Visit me on MySpace: www.myspace.com/funkboynyc
Follow my blog at: http://funkboynyc.blogspot.com/

It's the Stupid Economy, Stupid!

So I keep having friends asking me how the "economy" is affecting my business. This is always an interesting question to me, not because I consider myself having any particular interest in matters financial, but because I'm a musician. By definition, until I have my 25th million-seller, I don't have any money. And I'll argue with you a long time about how rich most "rock stars" actually are. Yes, there are exceptions. But even Michael Jackson has run into "financial trouble."

So for all intents and purposes, I have no actual "money." My rent is paid. I'm fine. But "money" in the stock market? 401K? Real estate holdings? Not so much. I have a couple of basses. They have pink strings. Nice.

Furthermore, the people asking me these questions are invariably of a similar financial stratum as myself. None of us ain't got no money! Never did. So unless one of us gets laid off from our job at GM, the "economy" affects us how? The news media is all abuzz with the financial world going to hell in a hand basket. It certainly is. And we could well be on the brink of a major depression, certainly the worst recession in 30 or more years.

And?

So now what do we do?

We survived the "recession" of 2001 when NYC completely SHUT DOWN after 9/11. I was working in the Village for $15/night just to get myself out of the house. I was ready to flip burgers or lick envelopes, whatever I had to do, to keep my head above water. Fortunately I never had to. So unless this latest one turns into the dust bowl again, I think we'll survive it as well. What choice do we have?

I've seen some corporate clients cancel parties that bands I work for have had booked. I've seen wedding bands lose bookings because rich people are now afraid to spend $50,000 on a wedding by hiring a band. They trim their budgets to $40,000 to make themselves feel better. Mazel tov!

The bigger problem in NYC is not the latest economy. It's that the last two mayors have CRIMINALIZED sound. Any sound at all. If there's ONE crank on the block that calls the cops to complain, they're compelled by law now to show up and stop the noise. I don't know how familiar you are with sociology and demographics. But there's ALWAYS ONE crank on every block. So now that Manhattan has become a playground for millionaires, there is no support for arts, culture, or especially live MUSIC.

I've been yelled at for playing too loudly in night clubs in NYC for about the past 10 years. Lest you think I'm the reincarnation of John Entwistle (of The Who, Buiness Book world record holding loudest band. What? Too obscure of a reference?), the irony being that I get these reprimands before the band ever plays a NOTE. I.e, the clubs are getting hassled by the cops. And they're trying to head off the problems before they start. So needless to say clubs are closing at an alarming rate in New York.

The first ticket the cops give a club owner for a sound violation is $750. Keep in mind that a sound violation technically now can be for even ONE decibel of sound audible outside. That's right: ZERO sound. The second ticket for a sound violation is $1400. The third ticket is a padlock on your door. The city closes you down permanently. It's happened a couple of times already on Bleecker Street, home of music in New York, birthplace of the music scene that spawned Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Donny Hathaway, etc, etc.

So most of the gigs I do for money in the past 5-10 years are increasingly private parties, out-of-town gigs, weddings, funerals, and bar mitzvahs. I ain't mad. I'm happy to keep working. But that brings us back to the "economy." More of these type of functions are generated by corporations. And corporations are having a devil of a time with the "economy."

My "economy" hasn't changed. My rent bill, light bill, gas bill, and phone bill are all due the same time every month. So how is my business affected by the "economy?" I'll have to get back to you on that one. I'm a freelance musician. Everything I do is a one-off on a personal referral. The day after one plays at Carnegie Hall, one is once again unemployed. I'm unemployed a certain number of days on any given week. When I do my end-of-year roundup for 2009, I'll let you know....

Ivan Bodley
Brooklyn, NY

Check out my website: www.funkboy.net
Visit me on MySpace: www.myspace.com/funkboynyc
Follow my blog at: http://funkboynyc.blogspot.com/

Digital Distribution?

Does anyone have any good experience with digital distribution and/or physical cd fulfillment? I'm gearing up for a new release. The title of my new release, you ask? Why, I'm glad you asked! The "album" (do we have albums any more?) will be called:

"Pigs Feet and Potted Meat."

There's a sneak preview of the CD cover. You're the FIRST person on your block to see that. Feels pretty special, doesn't it? Trust me, the CD is even more fun than it sounds! But more about that later.

What I'm interested in is hearing about anyone's experience with digital distribution, positive or negative. Do you actually find yourself getting PAID for downloads? Does your digital distributor take a bigger bite of your life than they should? Stuff like that.

For instance, I'm getting checks from one digital distributor one of my CDs is with, but not the other. Hmm...

Ivan Bodley
Brooklyn, NY

Check out my website: www.funkboy.net
Visit me on MySpace: www.myspace.com/funkboynyc
Follow my blog at: http://funkboynyc.blogspot.com/

To Blog or Not to Blog?

That is the question! In this day and age, with SO much information available on the web, what would necessarily make one blog more interesting or readable than another? What could possibly make me think that I either have anything to say that anyone else cares to read or foolishly make me believe that even if I had something unbelievably PROFOUND to offer the universe that it would ever be discovered in a random blog posting? But I've been encouraged by knowledgeable voices from several quarters that blogging is the wave of the future. It's the way to keep in touch with an increasingly wired in populace. And, let's face it, with a new CD that I'm about to release, a blog is one of the best ways to get the word out about what I'm doing. So much more information about that will follow: the recording process, my influences in composing the music, stories about our weekday afternoons in the studio creating something from nothing in the face of so many unemployed hours in the winters.

So for now, I simply say to you: Blog we must! I've decided to embark upon an exciting new chapter in online communications. I only hope that you're mildly entertained by any of it or moved to contemplate, act, or respond....

Ivan Bodley
Brooklyn, NY

Check out my website: www.funkboy.net
Visit me on MySpace: www.myspace.com/funkboynyc
Follow my blog at: http://funkboynyc.blogspot.com/