Selling or Sharing your music? That’s the question… By Ari Mendes As much as I hate to admit it, any form of art is intrinsically connected to money. Why is that, we’re artists, we’re only supposed to think about art! But we eat and send kids to college like everybody else… Would that be the reason why a lot of incredible musicians die in poverty, and even worse, only get the recognition they worked hard for all their lives after they die? Papa Was a Rolling Stone, the poet sings… We all love our kids, but the responsibility of teaching our Children well (there we go, the poet sings again!); we don’t have a choice on that one, do we? The variety of the Beatles, the rawness of the Stones, the incredible and complex works of Yes, Floyd, Jethro Tull, Focus etc, to me, that was music, feeling and technique. So here I am, watching TV one day, and Mr. Kenny G. himself has the audacity of entering my sacred home through the telly! God forgive me, I hated the guy! Dentist music! As I was getting ready to change the station, the interviewer asks him: So, you do know that you have a reputation for being a sellout amongst musicians, how do you feel about that? Ok, this is going to be good, I said to myself! Kenny says nothing, grabs his soprano and starts playing Donna Lee faster than Jaco, immediately followed by Take Five, and The Four Seasons by Vivaldi, one of the most beautiful renditions I’ve heard… At this point, I’m dumbfounded, and feeling really strange... So Kenny grabs the mic, and lays it on all of us: You know, I grew up on all that stuff. Playing low paying gigs for people who couldn’t care less. One day, I was approached by a record label exec who offered me a deal, playing “popular“ tunes. I’m like, no sir, I’m a purist, not selling my music. The executive replies: I don’t mean to offend you, I don’t see it as selling, more like sharing. You’ll be able to be heard by millions of people, isn’t that the whole purpose of music? Spreading a message? I thought that was cool. He hands me an envelope with a contract. I wait until I get to my (rented) home to open it with my wife. Wow. In that envelope, a future with no more late nights in smoking bars, more time with my wife and kids, a new (owned) home, and total control of the repertoire! I don’t know about you, but to me and my family, that was a blessing. Now, I play jazz when I want, and pay musicians handsomely, so they can share my blessings! I guess we all get the point. I have an acoustic guitar CD that has been a huge success. Simple, A big lesson to me! Not everybody understands all that technical stuff that we studied hard. Sometimes, it’s just about that one note that says it all, Santana, Clapton, SRV, hello! And that’s what Blues music is all about, isn’t it? Straight to the Heart! By the way, sharing hacked software and music is NOT ok. I remember 15 years ago, the only way of recording was either paying a fortune for a studio, or recording to a cassette. The software guys granted us creative freedom, let’s make sure that they also get food on their table. The following friends were not mentioned on my last article, The Cultural Explosion on the Treasure Coast, due to lack of space. Last but not Least: Albert Miller, (former the Critters), Jim Liberato, (former George Throrougood), Bob Schilling (Fifth Avenue), Brent Brown (bass extraordinaire), Dwight Bell/ Premier Applause Productions (Promoter, Music lover), Mel Pfirrmann (former Cornelius Brothers), Karen Gordon, Richard Hall, Mike Davis, Alphonso Johnson, Lena, Don Vitalle, Pete Sandoval, Dennis Mulder, Jerry Adams, Ronnie Incitti (singer, keyboards, guitar, bass, sax, violin, etc, all Very well!), Ryan Larson, Matt Smith, Ashley Best, Brian Coke, Deborah Ramsey, James Broxton, Jimmy Autin, Glenn Tappan, James and Kimmara (Music for Candles), Katherine Charland, MarkTatton, David Munoz, Chris Petrosky, Don Camacho, super bassist Barry Barnes, Elliot Abrams, Bill Lynn, James Archer, Doug DeRosia, Bob Verastro, Jerry Tillman, Milt Koster. And Pat O’Donnel, Tim’s dad, who’s a bass player and makes the best custom guitars and basses in the whole world, right here in Jensen Beach! I got 2 of his guitars… Ari Mendes’s Record Label, AMP (Ari Mendes Productions) has a team of lawyers and financial advisors to help you develop and manage your music career. He plays guitar, bass and drums, and grew up listening to Blues, Zep, Floyd, Yes, Beatles, Charlie Parker, Jobim and Tchaicovsky. But he always listens to “The Sound of Music” soundtrack when he’s feeling blue… Contact me at producer@amenstudio.com, or 772 5010697. Peace, love and Music