Calling, calling, calling. The phone is still a very viable thing isn’t it? I wasn’t woken this morning by another phone call from an important music business person. But I did get a good phone call last night as I was doing an impromptu mix for another musician. He’s a rapper that comes in to my studio fairly often and is attempting to do some good with hip hop and rap. There’s a program he’s developed called Learning Through Hip Hop. While I understand the concept of attempting to connect with kids in a format they will enjoy, I sometimes question things like that. So far I think the content works.
This same artist is interested in writing some spots for NBA use with me. I’m pretty cool with the idea, so now it’s a matter of time before he comes in and we write in and record it. While I was changing something for him he recorded last week I got a phone call from one of my two acting agents. That’s right homie has an acting agent and not just one, but two. How crazy is that?!? What’s more nuts is that I don’t fancy myself an actor, I’m a musician, a songwriter, and a performer (of music) who works on being entertaining. However, a buddy of mine set me up with a fantastic photographer and suddenly I’ve got shots that acting agents wanted. I got set up with a meeting for an agent and walked out with representation. It was weird, but hey – I’ll take it.
Move through time a week or two and I get a phone call one afternoon saying you’ve got an audition for so-and-so, can you make it? I’m juggling things in my brain and realize yeah I can make it. They e-mail me the information and the next afternoon I’m sitting in a casting place in Los Angeles waiting for my turn to showcase my look. While I’m there a guy walks by and notices my guitar and asks about it. I’m happy to sit and chat so I pull it out and show it to him. We talk about playing guitar and getting custom ones made, because mine are custom made. The one I happened to have with me is called a Diner Series by Joe’s Guitars out of Salt Lake City. It’s made from old diner style table top with the slogan Eat At Joe’s along the fretboard of the neck. It’s unique, it’s odd, it’s cool. The guy really liked it.
Turns out he’s the guy in charge of the audition I’m going into. Even better is that the part I’m up for is for someone who can sing and play guitar. Mind you, I’m the only one who brought a guitar. The worst of it was, I forget the Headshot/Resume thing that all actors seem to keep on their person at all times. I’m a musician – I carry an iPod and custom guitar picks with my signature and website as my calling cards. The part required leather pants and some other rock style stuff that would be reminiscent of maybe Keith Richards – I didn’t have that either, I’m more modern. There’s other cats who are there that are actors and they all are wearing the clothes requested. At this point, I’m thinking I’m screwed.
A poloroid is taken of me and I’m wisked into a room with a camera and given a few directions as to what they want me to do. They give me a change to rehearse it once before they decide to turn on the camera. So I run it once and the guy looks like his eyes are about to pop out of his head. He was shocked I could sing. We run it again and they film it this time. He digs it again then asks for something slightly different. We run it one more time and then he asks me another question and I’m on my merry way. It was exciting, most likely because it was a new experience for me. I like new experiences if they’re not bad for my health. I didn’t think I’d really get it.
Well that call last night was from one of the two agents representing the so-called actor who is me. Telling me that I’ve been called back for the commercial. Which means they want me to come in again for the part. From what I gather if they like me after this one, I get the part. Whatever. I was told to wear the exact same outfit as I did last time. Doh! Ok, I remember most of the clothing, but there’s the issue of the t-shirt I was wearing, I don’t remember. So I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll be bringing in 3 t-shirts to go with the rest of the outfit, but as I’m sitting here now, I’m not ever sure what jeans I was wearing. Ugh. Do actors really have to remember this shit? I mean for an audition and a call back. Oh, and they reminded me to specifically remember to bring in the headshot and resume. Well, I remember as much as I can and the rest I’ll just be winging it.
Erin says I could be the guy that other actors will hate. All because I got an agent on my first try. I got a call back on my first commerical audition – which if I get the actual part it will increase the animosity because I got it on my first time out. All I can say is if I’m right for what they’re looking for what does it matter? Could it be because I really don’t care if I get the part? I mean, why couldn’t music have gotten me in the door like this on the first time out? At least there’s some good things brewing on the music front, but it’s so odd how the music industry feels like its locked up tighter than a rock, but at least now I’ve got some representation like Maurice, that’s a pretty heavy weight to have.
As for Evanescence I can remember a year or two ago when their first hit came out. I was hanging with some friends in Hermosa Beach at a place called Sharkey’s. I heard the song come on and I was like, hey I like that. I wanted to hate it, but I couldn’t. It was the sound I wanted for myself a few years earlier, but I never quite achieved it and I moved in the direction I have now with Practical Insanity. Amy Lee has one of the most amazing female rock voices I’ve ever heard. When she’s on, it crushes me. I bought the first album because of the first several songs I had heard. While the production on it is awesome and extremely consistent, I didn’t feel the same about the songwriting. Most of the songs were good, a couple were lame and a couple were stellar.
A month ago I was surfing the net and ended up seeing a video for this song somewhere. I was skeptical that Evanescence would survive after the main guitarist split the band because he supposedly did the bulk of the writing. That’s usually a death sentence for a band – especially if they’re just getting out of the starting gate. I was sitting there and my jaw dropped again. Mostly because of the production tricks they used in the intro. Then I started to pick the song apart for the melody and harmony. Amy’s voice and the choice of how they stacked the vocals there just floored me. This is a powerful song in it’s feel and vibe. So I ended up checking out more of the rest of this new album. Like the first outing the production is top notch. However unlike the first one, this one is much weaker overall in the songwriting. I ended up only buying two tracks off this one, gotta love iTunes for that. I can buy the songs I end up liking. This is by far and away the strongest song on the CD and it’s the obvious choice as the lead single. The other song I bought may end up as the second single, but I think this CD will have a short life. I think that’s a bummer.
Anyway, I thought of this song more for the fact that it’s about making calls between people. When you dig deeper its between two lovers. Delve even further and its about one dumping another because they just weren’t a good match and the concept of giving too much too late won’t work this time. Musically speaking I really enjoy how they twist modern metal/rock sense with extreme classical harmonic shifts in tonality. Another band that did that a lot was Stabbing Westward. I’ve done mild versions of it on Practical Insanity, but I think I’ll do it with a more drastic version with one song on my next CD. I’ve made so many predictions of what I’d like to do on the next CD that I’m probably going to forget them all and screw it up. I hope Amy can rebound on the Junior effort. It would be a drag if she ends up as a flash in the pan.
(** Disclaimer: If Amy’s label decides to hit me with a call that is sobering, I’ll be drowing those sorrows by driving the audio out on a river of alcohol. The post will remain to remind me not to do that again. **)
OK, I have to ask: which Stabbing Westward song are you talking about? I ask because I’m a Stabbing Westward fan. And I didn’t know you liked them.
It’s not a particular song. It’s a general sense of a classical harmony. There is a lot of what I call chord pivoting or key axis, but in classical terms it’s sometimes called a picardy third depending on the resolution. Both Evanescence and Stabbing Westward do it a lot.