For a while now I’ve been thinking about starting up another funk project. I’ve been testing the waters and keeping one eye and ear out on the scene for a little while to see if the concept of getting a groovy, funky band together again has some merit.

Jeez, I must be some sort of masochist, a glutton for punishment. Another band?

Well, what can I say, I’m a bass player and I’ve always loved getting down and funky. I love the groove, especially when bass and drums merge their respective sounds into one seething mass of funk. I’m always in search of “the one” and generally, I find it.

For those who don’t know me let me shed some historical light on my forays into the world of funk.

It all started in 2000 when a mate of mine asked me to join a band called FunkStar.

The band was initially formed because this mate of mine managed to negotiate a regular Wednesday night gig at a club called the Enigma Bar and he needed a band to fill it. I accepted his offer and FunkStar was born.

However, we scored our first gig at the Rhino Room even before we had out first rehearsal which meant we had no songs to play with so, in a week and a half we scrambled together three rehearsals and hastily jammed out 15 songs.

Phew, talk about pressure but we played the gig and it was awesome.

One of the things we did really well that night was jam endlessly to make the songs longer than they should be and the rest of the time, just make shit up. It worked a treat and that became the FunkStar formula.

Back then there was a real funk scene in Adelaide and FunkStar rode the crest of the wave. We played everywhere wore lots of orange and our live shows were known for their unpredictability. We were unstoppable but sadly, in 2001 FunkStar broke up and I was left holding the baby so to speak. I was devastated.

In 2002 I decided to reform FunkStar with new members and try to pick up where the first band left off but after slogging it out for about 12 months FunkStar (Mk 2) disbanded.

I then tried the funk again in 2003 with a new band and a new name (Orangutang). We were going for a more edgier but jazzier sensibility but that also lasted about 12 months. I wasn’t having a good run.

After all that I decided to give my funk ambitions an indefinite rest, until now.

I’ve been noticing a resurgence of the funk in Adelaide over the last 12 months spearheaded by the landmark venue for all things funk, the glorious Crown and Sceptre Hotel which has been hosting funk bands on a Friday and Saturday night.

Adelaide has a lot of cool venues and I really think there is room for another groovy, funky outfit to grace its stages.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the funk project concept has some merit but I’m still dipping the toe in the water at the moment. Right now there’s so much to do with so little time but I’ll let you know what I come up in the very near future with so watch this space.

Peace,

Corey

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What you’ll read below is one of those ideas.

Before I downloaded all of the CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast series I was listening to them one at a time as they were being released. The latest podcast, features an interview with Jack Conte from the duo Pomplamoose.

Pomplamoose has gained massive amounts of exposure worldwide for two main reasons:

1. Their creative “video songs” have been collectively viewed over 10 million times (yes 10,000,000)
2. They use cover songs to their advantage.

Lately I have been getting more and more interested in using video for my own stuff as well as for the Open Mic Network so stumbling across this podcast was very timely indeed.

Until now I had not heard of the term “video song” but CD Baby describe it as a new medium of music video “…in which the imagery is an inside look into how the song is actually created.” Here is an example of one of Pomplamoose’s video songs, an excellent cover of “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire

This leads me to the second part of why Pomplamoose is so successful, it’s their use of COVERS (I can hear you cringing through the computer monitor but hey, hear me out for a second…)

For me, the answer to the covers vs originals questions goes like this…

For me, it all comes down to the attitude you have towards the music you’re covering, there is a difference between an artistic homage to a great song and a blatant rip off just to make some cash. I believe that you can still have artistic integrity while doing covers.

It’s not the song itself but how you cover it that should be the most important thing to consider.

Jack Conte in the interview was saying that for Pomplamoose, making video songs of well known covers enabled them to gain a huge amount of exposure and in turn grow a large fan base who want to be turned on to their own music.

He also goes on to say that covers are a good business decision, in fact it’s your duty as a musician to do covers, how will you stand out in the crowd if you don’t give your audience something to relate to?

Personally, a great song is a great song no matter where it comes from. Whether you wrote it or not a great song should be played, it should be listened to and it should be appreciated for what it is… A work of art.

What do you think about the covers vs originals argument? I know that it’s one of those arguments that will never be resolved but hey, it’s great fun as a conversation topic. Let me know your stance on this I’d love to hear your views.

To end my rant here is another Pomplamoose video song, a classy rewrite of Michael Jackson‘s “Beat It.” Nice!

I’m now inspired to play around with some video and if you’re lucky, I’ll put some up for you to check out.

Peace,

Corey

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I love podcasts.

I love the fact that you can subscribe to something that gives you the information you want as it comes out plus the extra benefit of being able to revisit the information at anytime you want.

A podcast is also really handy when you drive around in a car that has no working stereo in it.

I’ve only just started listening to podcasts over the last 6 months and what I’ve noticed is that there are very few songwriting and music business podcasts that are worth listening to. An exception to the rule however, is the CD Baby DIY Musicians Podcast.

I love it.

Along with the CD Baby DIY Musicians Blog it’s very informative, professionally put together podcast but at the same time, it’s personable and informal without sounding like one huge infomercial in which other podcasts I’ve subscribed to are guilty of.

I’ve just downloaded the whole series (there’s 96 of them so far) onto my iPhone and with every one I listen to I pick up at least one new idea, something that I can use in my own music business. In future posts I’ll share with you the ideas and concepts that really inspire me.

My iTunes is telling me that listening to the whole series will take 2.6 days. I best get a move on.

Peace,

Corey

CD Baby DIY Musicians Blog
CD Baby DIY Musicians Podcast

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One of the projects that I’m involved with is running an Open Mic every Wednesday night at the Daniel O’Connell Hotel called the Open Mic @ The Dan. This has been running for almost 4 years now and has a very solid following and is known around Adelaide as one of the best run and best sounding Open Mics around. This is something that I’m very proud of.

I’m also putting together an Open Mic Network in which all Open Mics can cross promote their events to a developing Open Mic community. I’m doing this because It’s my belief that grass roots initiatives such as Open Mics are essential in a vibrant music industry. I wish they were around when I first started my musical journey.

The benefits of an Open Mic are:

For everyone:

1. Open Mics are a great networking opportunity for songwriters, performers and musicians of all experiences and skill levels. Everyone gets together in one place with music as a common bond and allows magic to happen

2. It’s a great night out in a relaxed, performer-friendly environment listening to music performed by anyone and everyone. A mixed bag of good and improving performances. You can feel comfort zones being shattered.

For songwriters:

3. You can road-test new material as it is being written (even works in progress if you are daring) and get great feedback from your peers.

4. As other singer/songwriters are present you can easily find a songwriting partner.

For performers:

5. It is an opportunity to perform in front of an attentive, respectful crowd in which you can promote other shows, get names on a mailing list and sell product. If you have a band that you are starting and you want to get the vibe happening before your first gig, Open Mics are perfect for this.

6. If you are looking for other band members networking at an open mic should be one of the thing on your to do list.

7. Most open mic venues have music on other nights so consider your performance as an audition for a gig on another night.

For more information on the Open Mic @ The Dan and the Open Mic Network go to my projects page or to www.openmicaustralia.com

Peace,

Corey

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Why this blog? Why this site?

I discovered early on in my career that, as a performing songwriter and musician it’s really, really important to have people to play in front of. Seems a simple enough realisation.

Playing to an audience gives me a sense of purpose with my music, an end result to all of the hours practising, rehearsing and writing and of course it satisfies the ego but I also realised that just satisfying the ego was not enough. Performance is a two way street between performer and audience, without one the other ceases to exist.

I realised that for me to be a successful performer I need to be successful at giving the audience a reason to care, to touch move and inspire them and then find a way to keep them all in one group and give them what they want on a regular basis.

Hence this blog, this site. I’m using technology to reach out over the vast expanses of cyberspace to tap you on the shoulder and say “HI!”

I want to build a community of people around me and my music and I’ll be doing that by being me, being open and honest and documenting everything that I’m doing on my musical journey.

I’ll be putting up my music, my images, my videos, my thoughts, feelings and other interesting and useful things I find along the way. All because I want to reach out to you, my audience.

I know that might sound a tad arrogant but, I know that winning you over is not going to come easily. I have to prove my worth to you, prove that I’m worthy of your attention because your time is just as precious as mine so I don’t want to waste it.

If I’m on stage I know where my audience is. When I’m writing for this site I don’t know where you are, it’s exciting and scary all at the same time but it’s worth pursuing. My audience, my community, my friends are out there. I’ve just got to find them.

It is my hope that through this site (and what I put in it) will give you a reason to give me a go, to care enough to tell your friends about what I do, to come to my shows and to allow me to be part of your life through my music. It would be an honour and a privilege to do so.

As you can read, I take community building very seriously. It’s what the music industry is all about.

Peace,

Corey

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