Mailbag

Subject: From Tamara re Lahaina fires
My son is eight years old and lives to surf Breakwall & Harbor breaks in Lahaina. He does the HSA competitive circuit. My daughter is 3 and a half and just two weeks ago she stood up on her own board. She likes to sing to the big waves. They also skateboard at the Lahaina Skate Park where our community hosts Friday Night Skate with free food and gear for anyone who comes. We live in old town Lahaina, one block from Front Street. We ran out with the shirts on our backs. We made it out. Hundreds did not. Our homes are ash. Our town is gone. We were locked into an inferno.
There has been a lot of faulty reporting on this, so I’d like to give you what I experienced, and as a former journalist I take my facts very serious.
We live on Wainee Street. One block from Front Street across from the historic Prison. At 4am our power went out due to hurricane winds. Power goes out a lot in Lahaina. So this is not unusual. We gathered our friends to come have lunch because we have a generator an no one has power. We had 15 people at our house. Earlier in the day we were told there was a fire but it was 100% contained. I never got that alert. Some friends did. The winds got so bad that our fence flew off, pieces of our roof. Still no alerts. Then we smelled smoke we walked outside and within seconds it was in our backyard. We grabbed the kids and ran with the shirts on our backs. I was driving the car with my son and two boys we watch out for who live at the homeless shelter. The fire was chasing us from behind. We got to the main road and it was gridlock. A power line was down blocking the way out. Again. No sirens. No evacuations. No one directing traffic. Fire rushing at us. When we finally through we saw three workers with chainsaws cutting the pole to pieces to unblock the road. Only three workers! People who left after we did not get out. Unconfirmed deaths from the police we know is hundreds. Families burned alive in their cars. We reunited the shelter boys with their mom and siblings the next day. She told us some people at the shelter had no transportation and just waiting for the fire to get them. This is what I saw. This is what happened to me and my family and community. Everyone knows Front Street. What you don’t know is that a few blocks up is lower income housing, a homeless shelter, generational hawaii homes. This is Hawaiian land. We must keep Lahaina in Hawaiian hands. I’m in the board of a local non profit. We’ve gotten in emergency supplies. We have been to ground zero. We have seen the cadaver dogs looking for bodies. We know a firefighter who said they lost water pressure during the fire and could not get water to fight the flames that day.
What happened is criminal. What is happening now is criminal too. Land grabs. Barricades. Blocked access.
People are angry. Rebuilding will be Herculean. But we are Lahaina Strong. I want to give a special shout out to my friends in the music business who have come through for me, you know who you are and I’m forever grateful.
There are many organizations to give to. I only ask that you give to a Hawaiian organization not a multi national one. The one I’m on the board of a small and focused on underprivileged youth. Manamentors.com. We will take care of the kids of Lahaina the best we can and partner with real community leaders and get them emergency supplies and hope.
Mahalo
Tamara Conniff
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Subject: Colonoscopy
Hi Bob,
A few weeks back you were advising everyone to get a colonoscopy. I had been putting it off for ten years. I turned 60 on July 7th and finally got one. And what I thought was bleeding hemorrhoids was Stage 2 Rectal Cancer. My Oncologist said every one thinks they have bleeding hemorrhoids. Fortunately, my wife works in administration at the cancer center of a local hospital. So everything has been moving along at lightning speed. I've had my scans, it hasn't spread. But I'm looking at chemotherapy for three months then surgery. I should recover completely. But if I'd gotten my first colonoscopy at 50, all of this could have been avoided, because this tumor started as a polyp. Which is much easier to deal with then a 3 inch tumor. One of the Oncology nurses who has been employed 30 years at the hospital told me she's seeing colorectal cancer in adults as young as 30 now, unheard of in years past. I'd advise every adult over 30 to get checked. . Yes, the colon prep is annoying and aggravating, but what's one day in the context of the rest of your life?
A Colonoscopy Evangelist,
Sean Brown
Asheville, NC
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Subject: Re: Not Everybody Has Talent
I love you Bob. Right on the money. I haven't done any sets for about 3 months. You can bet that the Chateaux and all the other clubs will be seeing me do my stuff for five minutes at at a time to get my sea legs. Often I do sit in the back of a club watching comedians of all different types of experience. And usually I say to myself, who encouraged this? Either because they’re not funny or just plain vanilla. Like everyone else. When I do see someone with a true comedic voice, taking risks, it’s thrilling. I’m hopeful every time someone hits the stage. Here’s a thought. Don’t follow your dreams, do what you’re great at. And if you’re oh so lucky, your dreams are what you’re great at.
All my best,
Jeff Garlin
(Comedian of some notoriety)
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Subject: RE: Not Everybody Has Talent
Hi Bob,
You are spot on regarding Steven Wright's talent and humor. Steven was in a couple of classes with me at Emerson College in Boston in the 1970s. Several fellow students thought he was weird, while I found him clever and humorously understated. Being understated in comedy is hard to sell unless you are seriously good at it. He is.
In one class, I heard Steven behind me talking to himself about buying a cordless extension cord and not knowing where he left it. He was working on his act. That's what talent does. He had to exercise a thought that had just come to him.
Other talented and successful comedy classmates, Denis Leary and Eddie Brill, were louder and bigger than life. That was the perfect contrast for Wright. He had his own lane, which helped when he hit the road on the comedy club circuit.
He still cracks me up.
Don Thomas
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From: David Sutton
To: Bob Lefsetz
Subject: Re: Lucinda Williams At The Ford
Hey Bob
My P-bass you mentioned at the Lucinda gig reminded me of when I first got it on Christmas morning when I was 16. It was brand new and I remember seeing my reflection perfectly when I opened the case. I try not to think of all that paint in my bloodstream.
David Sutton
From: Bob Lefsetz
To: David Sutton
?Funny, I got e-mail saying it was a replica, bought worn down/used!!
From: David Sutton
To: Bob Lefsetz
Had they only noticed the other parts of the bass that only a young player would regretfully do to it …….having to put on a generic replacement neck after pounding out the frets on the original neck for his obligatory Jaco Pastorius phase. As well as adding a 3 lb replacement bridge which makes it the heaviest bass I’ve ever strapped on….
Def NOT a newer “relic” bass.
David Sutton
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From: Peter Noone
Subject: Re: Play Live
Sometimes if you are already a star it is even more difficult to stop the people dancing.
The main difference today is the lack of enthusiasm for live music, which can’t be photographed
When I was a teenager I went to the twisted wheel in manchester and the Spencer Davis group backed two American girls and at around 3 am Steve Winwood came out with a12 string and played and sang Georgia on my mind and just like seeing the Beatles for the first time in a field in Urmston I knew…..live was and is always the truth in music, unless you have midi running you.
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Subject: Bill Payne
Thanks for giving us a chance to hear from Bill Payne. In addition to being an amazing presence behind a keyboard, he is a very nice guy who genuinely loves music. My band, Several Dudes, reformed a few years ago to keep alive the memory of a bandmate, Nick Stevens, who was hit and killed while cycling. We have been writing new music and raising money for cycling safety advocacy.
Our fallen bandmate’s wife sent us his old lyric notebook which included lyrics to a song called Your Heart. At the top of the page was a posta it note where he wrote: “Dude. New Tune. Very Little Feat”. We went all in on the Little Feat vibe when we wrote the music and somehow got it to Bill Payne. Bill replied that he loved the tune and had to be on it. Two days later he sent us perfect piano and organ parts and simply asked that we make a donation to one of his favorite charities - Feeding America. The world needs more Bill Payne’s!
Devon Engel
Scottsdale, Arizona
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From: Dave Frey
Subject: Re: Music Burgeons
Hi Bob,
I that hope you’re well. Just got around to reading this one and wanted to share an opinion I agree with. When my son was 17-days old he was hospitalized for about a week with a stomach condition that was cured. He had an excellent doctor (Dr Lee) who was well versed in both Eastern and Western medicine and I learned he was also involved in early-human sensory development studies with the university. I got to know him and shared that there were some concerning challenges (at the time) with the rapid decline of bundled physical music products. He reassured me that music wasn't going anywhere, ever. Though not scientifically proven his theory was that because sound is our first and oldest sense that there’s a tremendous amount of unconscious / subconscious activity connected to it. In his opinion sound is turned on in the womb at at 6-months because it’s also tied to balance and that babies are at a size where being upright is helpful. Not that many are consciously aware of it but music is a big memory trigger too. When I hear “Happy Together" I’m right back at Jarvis Street Beach, summer of 67 with Dick Biondi on WLS blasting out of every transistor radio. Good times. Dr Lee also said that research was proving there’s a core human connection to sound. Fore-instance a person can feel “at home” by sounds they may know little about. Like the sound of the LIRR instead of the El, robins instead of starlings, the wind off of Lake Michigan instead of the Mississippi, all that. Again, I hope that you’re well and keep up the good work.
All the best - Dave
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From: Robin Ruse-Rinehart
Subject: Jerry Moss
OK I’m outing my 20-something self as clueless but I love this story: I was a film/TV production person until there were back to back strikes of actors and writers in the early ‘80s. I was lucky to get a job as the receptionist at Irving Azoff’s Front Line Management, where one of my first tasks was to update the Rolodex (!).
I called A&M Records and innocently asked, “Is Jerry Moss still with your company?”.
The switchboard operator waited a beat and replied, “What do you think the ‘M’ stands for?”.
Pretty sure I was the best laugh on La Brea that day!
Robin
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Subject: Re: The Kesha/Dr. Luke Story
As the music editor of The Times, I think it's worth me pointing out to you and to your readers that this particular story is what we call a "subscriber exclusive," which is a designation we often give to deeply reported, investigative stories. It's true that these "subscriber exclusives" may attract less overall readers than stories that can be accessed more easily, but they also prompt new readers to become subscribers, which is why we package them that way. In fact, the Dr. Luke/Kesha story brought in more new subscribers to the LAT than any other story the paper published in the past 30 days, a testament to the great journalism of Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton.
Best,
Craig Marks
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Subject: The Ladder
Bob:

Overall, The Ladder was really good advice for artists with the exception of #6.

As a nobody ex-manager I am biased, but I have to stick up for all the young nobody managers you’re throwing under the bus with their clients.

Outside of being an artist, being a manager is the toughest gig in the business bar none.

How did all the big managers get to where they are? It’s simple: they managed big artists.

For all the hard work that goes into managing, a lot of the success is luck—right artist at the right time.

As a manager you can do all the right things and your clients don’t succeed. An artist can have a manager who does a lot wrong and still have success.

Almost all of my former clients were managed somebodies before me, but those somebodies were not able to get the major label deals, publishing deals, tours, syncs, commercial radio play, press, and playlists that I got for my clients. I stopped managing in 2018 before TikTok and other short form video platforms that power today’s marketing exploded, so I didn’t have experience with that.

If you’re an artist with a young nobody manager who is smart, resourceful, ambitious, has your best interest at heart and is moving your career forward, don’t fire them when the bigtime manager tries to poach you. If your young nobody is all of the above, they’ll learn what they don’t know and make the connections they need to make to help your career.

In my time working for big management companies and managers before going out on my own, I saw many artists leave their nobodies with the thought that this somebody was going to make them a star like his or her other big clients. In every case it didn’t happen. At the first sign of trouble or a downturn in the artists’ careers, those somebodies checked out and eventually decided that the up-and-coming artists weren’t the right fit.

Also, there’s so much more to managing than making deals and marketing. Anticipating and solving problems is a huge part of the job as is the psychology of working with creative and, many times, sensitive human beings—not to mention all the organizing and planning it takes to make sure all aspects of an artist’s career run smoothly. Yes, experience helps with all of this, but it’s not a prerequisite for navigating these complexities successfully.

I will agree that not signing a contract with a nobody is good advice. I never had contracts with artists. Some bigtime managers don’t either.

If your manager is busting their ass for you and getting results, don’t leave because you think there’s greener grass on the other side. You just might just find yourself in a drought.

Seth Keller?SKM ARTISTS
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Subject: Re: Don't Boast
??????????????????????????????Amen!
This has probably happened to you in some form or fashion, or probably a lot.
I'm at a gig or in public I'm hanging out with "Guy Dudenband" ??????????????????????????????whom I just met through a friend, he doesn't know me from Joe schmoe, we're talking about life, music, the Sox, just shooting the shit like new bros.
Then up comes drunken sceneguy ??????????????????????????????and he slobbers out "oh wow you met Dan, he is Mr booking guy he should book your band!"
And suddenly the conversation that was going so nicely turns into "what can you do for me we've played here and here and we really want to play ??????????the house of blues can you get us that gig?"
And the other variation, the neighbor's cousin who plays in a crappy cover band. "You should talk to Dan he works in the music business."
All my close friends and circle are all under specific instructions to never tell anyone what I do without my permission.
Seriously.
When I meet someone new and they ask me what I do I tell them I work in the toy department or that I'm in logistical consulting until I sus out whether they have an uncle who plays in a band.
Dan Millen
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Subject: Re: Don't Boast
I’ve been in sales for over 20 years. Early on the best piece of advice I was given was, “You were born with two ears and one mouth, use them proportionately.” So many salesmen talk themselves out of a deal because they can’t shut their mouths. All of these egomaniacs are like this in their private lives too and most of what they boast about isn’t even true.
Neil Johnson
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Subject: Re: Don't Boast
Single biggest lesson I ever got in business was from an old school sales manager. He pinned a note to the inside of my blazer that simply said STFU. I learned to, over time, and it’s paid dividends ever since.
You got two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Listen twice as much as you speak.
Michael Leonard
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Subject: Re: Don't Boast
This is spot on. I’ve tour managed some famous artists, and I can’t tell you how many times they were more engaged with the handful of people that were actually mindful and confident enough to steer the conversation in a direction other than their music. Their hobbies, their childhood, where they grew up, etc… that’s where the artist was engaged.
Do you know how we knew that conversation engaged the artist? Because the artist talked about those conversations once we left the venue and we’re on our bus to the next town. All the other conversations? Nobody remembers.
Trinidad Sanchez III
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Subject: Re: Don't Boast
…a good ol’ country bus driver once told us…”if you gotta tell you are…ya’ ain’t”.
Mitchell Fox
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Subject: Re: Don't Boast
Man, this one REALLY hit home. As a session musician in LA, it was always a delicate balancing act of trying to let people know you have some credit and credentials while also not looking like you’re name dropping. This is especially true when meeting someone above your pay grade, like a more established player, producer, manager, etc.
I learned this lesson even before I moved to LA when I sat next to the guitar player from my favorite band in the world at a wedding reception in upstate NY. In fact, I asked if the seat was taken before I sat down, so I got permission to join the table. Then, another fan came over and talked this guy’s ear off for 10 minutes, and he only left when the reception was starting. The guitarist looked exasperated, and I leaned over to him and asked him sympathetically “that’s got to happen to you a lot huh?” He answered “Yeah” with a look that gave all the frustration of his emotions. “A lot!” He added.
Lesson learned. Even though I was a massive fan and was just about to move to LA, I didn’t speak a word about music to him. Only when it came up in conversation did I mention my plans. My discretion, and my date getting along with his wife, was the reason I left the reception with his home phone number…given to me unsolicited.
During my time in LA as a session player, I had perfected my “7 second elevator introduction”. If it was a musician above my station and I wanted to meet them cold, I’d walk up to them directly, look them in the eye, extend my hand and say “Hi ______. I’m Christopher Maloney. (Casually say) I’ve worked with (drop two good names here), and I just want to tell you that I like (say honest compliment about them).”
This did a few things. They knew I wasn’t just a fan and that I had SOME credibility, but then I immediately turned the attention to them and gave them a sincere compliment from a contemporary (or at least I’d hope they’d see it that way). They’d always say thank you, and then I’d immediately ask a non-music question that could get a conversation started. I could tell by their response to this quick interaction whether or not they wanted to continue speaking to me. If so, cool. If not, I’d say “anyway, I just wanted to say a quick hi. I appreciate talking to you”.
It was the same whether I’d be cold calling managers to get on a tour, producers to record on a track or any other interaction.
This worked everyone except for meeting John Entwistle at NAMM. He gripped my extended hand with one arm while simultaneously pulling me past him with his other. I didn’t even get my first name out before I was behind him and he was ten feet away. It was the coolest move I’d ever seen, though my friends that witnessed it never let me live it down.
Anyway, your advice was spot on!
-Christopher Maloney
www.practicewarriors.com
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Subject: Re: Don't Boast
One time my band got to open for One Republic on tour. Ryan Tedder threw a BBQ in the parking lot after the second or third show. We were all a bit intimidated, being the baby band & first of three, but I mustered up the courage to ask him if he needed help with the grill. My brother is a chef, I told him. We talked about cheeseburgers for 30 minutes and it was delightful. Didn’t bring up music once.
Zac Taylor
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From: LEO MUNTER
Subject: Re: Don't Boast
Bob-
I remember when I was hanging with George Harrison and Ringo and we began talking about our mutual friend Bob Dylan. George said, "Ya know, I was telling Eric (Clapton) just the other day that I always remember Bob's advice to me. Bob said, 'No one likes a name dropper!'"
Yes. Bad look. No one cares!!!
Leo
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