John Doe of X Assesses The Music Industry

May 6, 2009 1:45 PM PDT
Former punk John Doe on P2P, music labels, Radiohead
by Greg Sandoval
via cnet

There's hardly a corner of the entertainment business John Doe hasn't explored.

John Doe has gone from punk to folk, and says technology helps and hurts.

He's not one of the people who waxes on about rights and wrongs in the music and film industries without any hands-on knowledge. The band Doe formed, X, was part of the first wave of punk rock bands that stormed Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The band's 1981 "Wild Gift" was named Album of the Year by Rolling Stone and The New York Times. Doe is also an actor and has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows, including "Boogie Nights," "Roadhouse," and "CSI Miami."

Thirty years after founding X, Doe is churning out well-received country and folk albums on indie label Yep Roc Records, and has developed a love-hate relationship with technology. He appreciates how it can help simplify the recording process, but isn't a fan of the sound quality on many digital music players.

He also complains that file sharing hurts musicians. He thinks artists deserve to make a living.

Just weeks after the debut of his latest album, "Country Club," recorded with The Sadies, Doe agreed to speak with CNET News.

Q: How has technology changed the music industry?
Doe: Everything is more immediate and you can do things remotely. Anytime you can look backwards, you think everything was so naive back then. People still have vinyl. I think CDs are going to become more collectible because they hold a lot more information and they sound better than most of the files that you can get from iTunes and from people sharing stuff.

What do you think of file sharing and how do you think it impacts music?
Doe: I think that the music industry was asking for it and that's why they got smacked down. But I don't believe in music just being free because everybody deserves to make a living and it is intellectual property and you have to pay something for it. I think people that just share files and don't care and think "That's bull**** man, they're making plenty of money," never wrote a song and they never were proud of that song and feel as though they should get paid for it and things like that.

What did you mean that the music industry had it coming?
Doe: They stuck their heads in the sand. They spent too much money foolishly. A CD costs a $1 to make. Cassettes were $10 and CDs were $20...You sort of deserve it.

What do you mean music can be made remotely?
Doe: I get (drunk) and sort of put the whole process on remote...It's the drugs (laughter). I got to keep myself as heavily medicated as possible...really, The Sadies and I played a festival and we had a great time. They backed me up on a few of my songs. Kathleen Edwards was also there. I thought "Oh my god, this was a country record I could make." It wouldn't sound weak or too polished. My voice is sort of...it's a good voice but it's not a weird or distinctive voice so me with Nashville country backing would be a snooze. But me with The Sadies is exciting. A year later I went to Canada. We cranked out about 20 songs in maybe 10 days. I took files back to California, added a couple of people (to the tracks)...added some overdubs and (inaudible) mixed it in Toronto and sent me YouSendIt files, which I downloaded and then could play in Bakersfield, where I live, on my stereo through the computer.

It was a big file, just like the mix. I could play it on my stereo so I know what it sounds like and could call up and say, "Hey this is great. What if this thing here was better?" After a conversation or two, we could form four or five mixes and everybody was happy. And I didn't have to hang out in Toronto, which is a lovely city, for two weeks or 10 days while they mixed it.

And you wouldn't have been able to do that a decade ago?
Doe: Well, I guess you could have five years ago. You can do all kinds of things while they're mixing at the same time. You can go to a recording studio and sing to a track as it's being mixed across the country. There is all kinds of crazy stuff you can do. This was a poor man's version of that.

Some people argue that all music should be free and they have a right to music. Are they rationalizing or are they...
Doe: That's exactly what they're doing. I think they are foolish and young and haven't experienced what it's like to work for something and haven't suffered the pain, hardship it takes to create something. There is a really great movie that goes back to the 1970s called the "Festival Express." There was this visionary guy from Canada that took The Band and Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead and maybe Gram Parsons on a train to Canada. This is right after Woodstock. And everyone at the gates was saying "This is bull****, $10?" And they broke down the gate and everybody got in for free and they did that at every one of these shows because a precedent had been set.

This guy lost his ass. He had a vision, an incredible vision, and because people were selfish and didn't want to spend $10 and said, "The man is sticking it to us..." Yeah the record companies have been sticking it to the public for a long time but it doesn't mean that the artist shouldn't get paid.

It's just the reality and you can't bitch about it even though I am a little bit. I think file sharing is great to expose people to music but eventually you should pay for it. I do.

What do you think of the efforts by Trent Reznor and Radiohead to find a new model for the music industry?
Doe: I think they're dozens and dozens of people who are doing that on a small level and on a big level. It's catering to the super fan. All the value-added stuff is worthwhile. I don't have the discipline or the organizational skills to have my own label but I take my hat off to anyone who does. Radiohead does that. Aimee Mann does that. Dozens of punk bands do that. It's a good idea, especially if you have a fan base that's going to pay for that stuff.

Tell me about your experience with record labels?
Doe: They do serve a purpose. But they need to have business skill as well as a love of music. That's kind of rare. I'm still really happy with Yep Roc (recording label). The only thing I would change in any label is to have their accounting practices more transparent so when they send you an accounting you can actually follow it. No, labels aren't bad. But I think major labels in the past were foolish and did take advantage of their artists.

Do you think that will change?
Doe: I don't think it has, no. I think they are still trying to get the super home run, "Thriller," Britney Spears, bazillion selling records...I'm just glad I don't have to deal with that anymore.

M.I.A. Asks Oprah To Bring Attention to Sri Lankan Civil War

M.I.A. Meets Oprah, Asks Her to Bring Attention to Sri Lankan Civil War
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"SHE SQUEEEEZED MY HAND SO HARD, I WAS CONVINCED SHE CARED."
via Pitchfork

When M.I.A. nabbed a spot on this year's TIME 100 list of the most influential people on earth-- alongside people like Oprah Winfrey-- it was damn impressive. But meeting Oprah in person is on another level entirely. She's the Queen of America, people!

M.I.A. met Oprah on Tuesday night at the TIME 100 gala event at New York City's Lincoln Center. And she felt like they made a connection.

According to a post on M.I.A.'s MySpace blog:
"SHE SAID SHE LIKED MY JACKET FROM THE MAGAZINE (THE ONE MY BROTHER GOT FOR ME FROM THE SIDE OF THE STREET AT SXSW 09) SHE SQUEEEEZED MY HAND SO HARD, I WAS CONVINCED SHE CARED. MICHELLE OBAMA GAVE A SPEECH AND THERE WAS MAD SECRET SERVICE IN THE AIR SO I DIDNT GET TO THROW A PAPER PLANE AT HER SAYING 'STOP THE BOMBING OF THE TAMILS IN SRI LANKA'"

Since when was M.I.A. scared of a little secret service?

She continued, "I MET MANY MORE PEOPLE , SOME KNEW ME , SOME DIDNT ....... I WASNT SURE ABOUT MY INFLUENCE BUT........IF I DO HAVE ANY INFLUENCE, I WISH I COULD GET THE MEDIA TO SPOTLIGHT THIS:," before linking to a Channel 4 News story about the horrific conditions in Tamil refugee camps in northern Sri Lanka.

"OPRAH CAN YOU DO SOMETHING BOUT THESE CAMPS PLEEEEEEEEEEASE?"

Perhaps Oprah will consider a "special episode" with M.I.A. about the current civil war in Sri Lanka. Weird to think about, but that could actually happen at this point. I mean, they shook hands! Hard!

Posted by Ryan Dombal on May 7, 2009 at 12:15 p.m.

Wilco's Jeff Tweedy Responds to Jay Bennett Lawsuit

Wilco's Jeff Tweedy Responds to Jay Bennett Lawsuit
By Austin L. Ray on May 5, 2009 3:15 PM via PasteMagazine.com

According to a story published at ChicagoBreakingNews.com, former Wilco member Jay Bennett filed a lawsuit yesterday against bandleader Jeff Tweedy. The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, claims Tweedy owes Bennett "damages of at least $50,000" for his time in the band, including his less-than-favorable depiction in the 2002 Wilco documentary, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.

Bennett's lawsuit (which can be viewed in full here) states that he "is entitled to compensation for his services rendered in the form of continuing and perpetual artist royalty payments." Furthermore, the suit states that Bennett was paid for his time in Wilco, but that the "infrequent partial payments" only amounted to 15% of the band's income. Finally, Bennett's suit argues that Tweedy didn't compensate him for, or obtain the proper release for, Bennett's appearance in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.

In an e-mail exchange with Paste, Wilco's publicist provided the following statement from Tweedy:

"I know exactly as much as everyone else does. I've read the news and I honestly have no idea what these claims are based on. It was such a long time ago. Aside from everything else, I'm being sued for not paying someone for appearing in a movie I didn't produce. Go figure. I am truly sad it has come to this. I am equally convinced, however, that I have done nothing wrong and that this will be handled fairly and swiftly."

That's all we know for now, but if any pertinent details emerge, we'll be sure to keep you posted on Wilco (The Beef).

Upcoming Suzanna Choffel shows

Check out one of my fave Austin artists in her local shows leading up to a Stubbs post-Jenny Lewis gig.

May 8th 10pm Lamberts
May 9th 2:45pm Brew B Que Fest
May 12th 7:30pm McGonigel's Mucky Duck Pub
May 22nd 9pm Jack's Backyard
May 23rd 8pm The Image Warehouse
May 24th 5pm Austin Wine Festival
June 5th 10pm Momo's
June 22nd 10:30pm Stubbs - indoors (after Jenny Lewis)
Jul 18th 6:30pm Central Market