2L Jan 2004.Indd
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photo Buko Tres Shannon (leaping) and new band Th e Kurtz Project plays a Two Louies mansion studio party. Just months later Tres and Kurtz Project band mate Benjamin Arthur Ellis would open the all-ages original music venue, the X-Ray Cafe, frequent home to infl uential local original music bands like Sprinkler, Crackerbash, Hitting Birth, Poison Idea, Dead Moon, Smegma and the Hell Cows as well as touring alterna-phenoms like Green Day, Unwound and Hole. Today Tres Shannon and his partner Ken Pogson operate Voodoo Doughnut (and wedding chapel) at 22 Southwest 3rd Avenue. photo David Wilds toto developdevelop a defidefi nitivenitive soundsound oror thethe proprietaryproprietary outout andand havehave a listen,listen, Buck.Buck. I tthinkhink you’llyou’ll eenjoynjoy it.it. feelingfeeling ofof belongingbelonging toto a group.group. David Rolin/percussion A few weeks ago, Edwin Fountaine, Gary 503-289-2346 Fountaine,Fountaine, RRickick GGalarneaualarneau aandnd mmyselfyself ((DavidDavid P.S. Please feel free to contact me if you have Rolin)Rolin) decideddecided ccollectivelyollectively ttoo rresignesign ffromrom Th e e questionsquestions oror commentscomments WiseWise Guys.Guys. WWhile,hile, aass inindividuals,dividuals, wwee aallll hhadad oourur reasonsreasons forfor doingdoing so,so, threethree issuesissues werewere paramount:paramount: WISEWISE GUY AGAINAGAIN OTHER GUY RESPONDS (1) un-resolvedun-resolved fi scalscal ppractices,ractices, (2) tthehe ffailureailure ttoo Th e Wise Guys story comes to this: Dear Two Louies Magazine meetmeet ourour professionalprofessional goalsgoals overover thethe pastpast yearyear andand I run the band like a business (which it is, I read, with great interest, the Grand Ol’ (3) toto bringbring ssomeome sstabilitytability ttoo oourur rrhythmhythm ssection.ection. y’know),y’know), and,and, whenwhen a giggig isis booked,booked, I askask eacheach Soap Opry in the December issue of two Two WeWe broughtbrought in BobBob MetkeMetke onon drumsdrums andand JeffJeff OttoOtto player,player, “We“We havehave a ggigig aatt (w(wherever)herever) oonn ((whateverwhatever Louie’s. Th e revisionist version of Th e Wise Guys onon keyboardskeyboards toto formform a newnew bandband calledcalled THOSETHOSE dates),dates), andand it’llit’ll paypay youyou (whatever(whatever itit is)is) thisthis muchmuch drama prompted my letter. Characteristic of most GUYS.GUYS. - WouldWould youyou likelike toto dodo it?”it?” rumors, there are elements of truth to the story “What has happened in reality, is that members of ‘The Other Guys’ in your column but several inaccuracies beg to be corrected. are actually representing themselves as ‘The Wise Guys’, a name they My experience with Th e Wise Guys began have no right to- They have booked a private party in my name (The over a year ago when Eric Donaldson invited me Wise Guys) and the client was VERY upset when they heard my new to join a collection of musicians he called Th e version at the Spot Bar & Grill recently, and made it quite clear that Wise Guys. He expressed that his standard line- up needed the vitality I could provide with my they thought they were getting US, not them.” percussion experience. Th is selection of musicians oft en numbered as many as a dozen and would Th e result has been beyond our expectations. Th e player answers yes or no, and we go on be booked from a simple, acoustic duo to a 5 or 6 Th ee rrhythmhythm ssectionection ooff MMetkeetke (dr(drums),ums), FFountaineountaine fromfrom there...there... piece electric band depending on the client needs. (bass)(bass) andand myselfmyself (percussion)(percussion) isis anan incrediblyincredibly As leader, booking agent, owner and schlep- Th e line-up changed constantly which did little powerfulpowerful experienceexperience ttoo ttakeake ppartart in aandnd oourur ffrontront perper ooff tthehe PPA,A, wwebmaster,ebmaster, aandnd aall-aroundll-around ppromoterromoter to develop a market identity. (“Will the REAL lineline ofof EdwinEdwin Fountaine,Fountaine, GalarneauGalarneau andand OttoOtto pro-pro- ofof thethe bandband (business),(business), I ddon’ton’t ffeeleel it’sit’s aanybodysnybodys Wise Guys please stand up!”) While I will surely videsvides a uniqueunique andand excitingexciting soundsound thatthat I’mI’m proudproud business,business, (other(other thanthan myselfmyself andand thethe clubclub owner),owner), concede that the concept of maintaining a stable toto bebe a partpart of..of.. howhow mmuchuch thethe bbusinessusiness iiss aactuallyctually mmakingaking - IIss aanyny of players capable of being confi gured to any job I wish Eric and the ever-changing cast of Th e businessbusiness ownerowner eexpectedxpected ttoo ssharehare aactualctual iincomencome was a viable one for Eric from a marketing point WiseWise GuysGuys allall thethe luckluck in thethe world.world. MeanwhileMeanwhile of view, it hardly provided the continuity necessary THOSETHOSE GUYSGUYS areare kkickin’ickin’ aassss in PP-town!-town! CComeome oonn Continued on page 31 TWO LOUIES, January 2004 - Page 3 by Pierre Ouellette o leverage a metaphor by the late, great ous one to do it. (Only time and the critics will footage at many gigs and other venues, such as hot Ken Kesey, a lot of musicians get on the tell us if he was right). I played guitar in several rod cruise-ins and drives through the boys’ child- bus, but few have the spirit or perse- influential rock bands in the 60s, and served as hood neighborhoods, as well as interviews with veranceT to stay on for the full ride. Most expect an early inspiration to both Mesi and Bradley in journalists. The final cut is entitled “The Losers to get off at some nearby stop and be picked up by their teenage years. Later, I went on to become Club,” which refers to a loose confederation of a limo that carts them off to national recognition the creative partner in a major Portland ad agency, Portland musicians who found themselves without and incalculable riches. Still, a handful of players, where I picked up extensive experience in film and family during the holidays and congregated at the driven by brilliance and a strong internal compass, video production. So there you have it, a guitar guy old Parchman Farm on Thanksgivings to share each choose to stay on for the entire trip—regardless of with film chops on the side. Perfect, it seemed, for others’ company. Today, the Losers Club lives on whether it them brings fame and fortune. Every this particular gig. in a slightly different context, but is still centered American city has a handful of venerable musical Also, I had a whole new generation of video on rock, guitars and fast cars. artists that fit this profile. Along the route, they production gear on my side. Even a short time ago, The irony of the Losers Club is that, if you pass through early success, mid-term struggle, most documentaries where horrifically expensive want to be a member, you can’t be a loser. Members and finally into the relative comfort and security affairs, best left to professional grant seekers and come from a variety of professions, all the way from of legendary status. trust fund babies. They were shot on 16mm film, homicide detectives to public relations executives. Jim Mesi and Steve Bradley, each with three which required elaborate lighting, spendy film Some, like Steve and Jim, still play and record on decades of brilliant rock and blues under their processing, serious audio support, and specialized a regular basis. belts, are prime examples of this phenomenon. In editing facilities. But now, digital video cameras As 2003 comes to an end, the 20 hours of foot- early summer of 2002, I was discussing this fact and PC-based editing systems have brought the age has been cut down to a single hour, and will at a cocktail party with Bill Foster, director of the costs down to at least a tolerable level. be exhibited at the Mission Theater in Northwest Northwest Film Center. I mentioned that guys So, armed with the proper credentials and the Portland at 7:30 on Tuesday, January 13. Jim and like this deserve to be immortalized somehow, new digital gear, I began shooting Jim and Steve in Steve will play afterwards, and have agreed to let like through a documentary or some such thing. mid-August and continued through the end of the me sit in, as long as I don’t do anything too silly. Bill readily agreed, and added that I was the obvi- year. Along the way, I accumulated over 20 hours of We’ll see about that. LL Page 4 - TWO LOUIES, January 2004 RECORD PRODUCER AGREEMENTS: require the producer to sign a side agreement If the producer owns the studio where the THE BASICS directly with the record company (sometimes project is going to be produced, generally the pro- Th is month, I want to talk about the basics called a “Producer Declaration”). Th is document ducer will submit a recording budget for the esti- of record producer agreements, i.e., the kind of will say that if there is any confl ict between the mated studio fees and the miscellaneous recording agreement used when a record company or a signed terms of the agreement between the artist and costs (e.g., session musicians). Th ese expenses will artist is hiring a record producer. producer, and the recording agreement between usually be referred to in the producer agreement the artist and the label, the terms of the recording but generally will not be considered as part of the AN OVERVIEW agreement will supersede and preempt the pro- advance to the producer. Under the terms of the typical record producer ducer agreement. Th is permits the record company 2. Payment of An Advance to the Producer. agreement, the producer is paid a cash advance. to, in eff ect, override any provisions in the producer Th e agreement will provide for the producer to be Th e producer will also be entitled to be paid agreement which are contrary to the label’s normal paid a certain cash advance.