06.13
Hotel Acceptable, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Daybreak…
09.13 Reading at the breakfasting trough…
The Minx is travelling home from Estonia today, very happy with The Humans’ performances.
If It’s Retail, Is It Still Rock?
“Everyone is in agreement that taking advantage of the appeal music has as a marketing vehicle is in their interest,” says Michael Megalli, a partner at Group 1066, a strategic branding firm…
… The Rolling Stones have teamed up with the likes of Sprint and Budweiser for concert tours, and the band hawks everything from bras and panties to leather bomber jackets.
Everyone?
To be sure, some rockers, like Bruce Springsteen, still refuse to form corporate partnerships. “Bruce made a decision a long time ago that he didn’t want to rent his name or stage out,” says Jon Landau, Mr. Springsteen’s manager. “It just wasn’t something that was in his comfort zone.”
Everyone but The Boss then? Springsteen is an exceptional artist, and the quality of his professional life (IMO) reflects his personal quality. That Bruce does not form corporate partnerships tells me not-so-much something about the man, more about corporate partnerships. King Crimson doesn’t do beer & cigarette licensing. So, almost everyone, then.
Those who view music as an activity easily compromised by being co-opted to serve the interests of commerce, comfort zone isn’t quite the right term: danger zone is more appropriate.
10.06 Remarkable plumbing sounds are emerging from a man on the next table. Repeatedly. This is not a problem that appears available to easy solution. Now, more plumbing sounds are emerging from another, closer, next table. These are not problems preferably addressed in an environment nominally dedicated to eating.
10.46
Lobby call at 11.00.
21.24 Punctual departure with Mr. Beefy …
… to Rockville Civic Center Park I…
II….
III….
… and The Cottage…
Tour guitars: the Beaudoux electric…
The Beaudoux acoustic, generously given to the cause by Jonathan…
The 48th. Street…
A good rehearsal, run-through & fine-tuning of the running order…
A short meeting, acknowledging that we are at the end-of-rehearsal stage & moving to the on-the-road stage. My declared primary aims for this tour, the fourth in the current series (Italy, Spain & Portugal, Argentina) is manifestation. We present our work in public:
for verification by our peers & the community of the (at least) competent;
to put something of value into the world. This assumes that GC has something of value to offer beyond our own subjective interests, the declared view of Elizabeth Bennett when visiting the Red Lion House, a view with which I concur.
What’s missing from this picture? Yes! It’s Mr. Beefy…
Back to Silver Spring for afternoon café-computing. Borders & Starbucks were both packed, so around the corner, a café was empty…
… and available to computing.
Evening-practising done, baggage is mostly ready to roll tomorrow…
Enough.
"Be very careful about the beginning.
Then, be very careful about the end.
Then, be very careful about the middle."
