The Passion: Staying Sane and Creative Under Pressure
So far in this series, we’ve talked to musicians about everything from breaking into the business, to working with labels, recording, and going on tour. This time, our grizzled industry warriors discuss dealing with many of the working musician’s every day challenges, from creating a “marketable product,” to switching labels, to learning how to make music when you’re under intense amounts of pressure.
The Undisputed Truth
New to our cast of gurus is Brother Ali, a hip hop artist on Minnesota’s Rhymesayers label. Ali, who has just released his sophomore album, The Undisputed Truth, is proof positive that it is still possible for artists to make the kind of music they want to make without succumbing to industry pressure. “Working with Rhymesayers means that I get to focus on making the best music I can, I’m not pressured to do anything other than make the best albums possible,” says Ali of his independent label. “I’m supported in everything I feel is important.”
If you’re into the hip hop scene, then you know that the mainstream is currently flooded with the basely unimportant: generic club music that maintains the aggression of the “old school” rap scene without the depth of thought to back it up. Not so with The Undisputed Truth, which contains tracks that find Ali delving into his intense personal history, blended seamlessly with wry, cutting critiques of the current political climate.
And although Brother Ali is an albino Muslim—not the easiest role to play in this life—he manages to keep it heavy without being a drag. This is thanks in no small part to the danceable, if not particularly original, beats laid down by producer, ANT, which make this album likely to please at a party or on an iPod. In fact, the eminent playability of The Undisputed Truth begs the question, why aren’t we hearing this music at clubs and on mainstream radio?
The Genre Issue
Producing music that fits into a commercially viable, “radio friendly” genre affects the career of every artist. “Genre is a lot, but not everything,” argues Red Blanket guitarist Dan Stewart. “Since we don’t have a singer, we’re not really alienating many people. In that sense it makes us much more open to playing shows with varied line-ups.” And it’s true that Red Blanket’s funky thrash makes for a good live show, but without a singer, the band is having trouble breaking into pop-friendly mainstream radio.
Veruca Salt’s frontwoman, Louise Post, who is more rocker-chick than pop-diva, can sympathize. We asked her why so many mainstream female artists are fitting their sound into a heavily pop genre. “Much of the music we hear on the radio these days is fear-driven in its production and in its sentiment.” The grab for that highly coveted airtime has resulted, she says, in a “fear of daring to be original or unique, for fear of commercial failure.”
Choose the Label, Don’t Let the Label Choose You
Lucky for us whose sounds are less than “club sensational”, we’re living in an era where musicians are no longer limited to mainstream success or total obscurity. The rise in power of the indie label has many artists choosing smaller labels rather than relinquishing their creative rights to a “major.” In fact, all the bands we’ve talked to for this series are signed with indie labels, by choice rather than by lack of commercial opportunities.
“The label-changes Veruca Salt has gone through have landed us presently on Sympathy Records,” says Louise Post, of the band’s arrival on Sympathy for the Record Industry. “ Sympathy allows me all the creative freedom in the world.” And this freedom is something that few artists signed with major labels can claim.
Brother Ali signed on with Rhymesayers Entertainment because of the flexibility and sense of community that the indie label offers. “It’s a partnership,” he says. “We make the decisions together. Put in the work and sacrifice together and share the outcome. They manage me and I do the musical parts. We trust and believe in each other to the utmost. And yes, I’m treated more than fair financially.”
Major Money vs. Indie Integrity
Few artists know that smaller labels can often mean larger royalties, as album and ticket sales do not have to support the massive corporate infrastructures of major labels. However, the marketing work done by indies still doesn’t compare to the exposure artists enjoy on major labels.
Veruca Salt’s Louise Post told us about her frustration over the marketing efforts that surrounded the recent release of the band’s newest album, IV. “Getting our music out there and widely heard right now is certainly proving to be a challenge on an independent label,” she reveals, comparing the success of IV to that of Veruca Salt’s first album, American Thighs. “Of course, once you’ve had any level of success, the pressure follows to sustain that success and/or top it.”
Louise is talking about the music industry’s three-pronged pressure—to constantly sell albums, to become ever more successful and profitable, and to maintain the creative genius that got you to the top in the first place—and it can grind even the best artists down to the point where the constant pressure to produce becomes too much.
Surviving the Rock and Roll Lifestyle
Louise Post had to find a way to go on after her band’s albums, Eight Arms to Hold You, and Resolver both failed to live up to her expectations in terms of commercial success. “I never threw in the towel,” she reflects, “but just took some time off, so that I could go into the next record with the same sort of light and drive and passion which inspired me in the first place. I instinctively knew I needed the mental space and emotional freedom that only a step back would allow me.”
Taking a step back can be harder than it sounds. In a business where it’s often just good manners to do a line or drink heavily at every meeting and party you attend, turning to rampant substance abuse to relieve the pressure can seem natural. Brother Ali, who has been a devout Muslim since his teens, has had to find ways to balance the two conflicting lifestyles. “Your choices have to be your own and you have to own them,” Ali says of his strategy for hanging out but keeping clean. “You only have trouble if you’re not secure in your own self.”
Being secure can be extremely difficult, especially for those whose sensitivity is the source of their creative ability. However, remember that this advice is coming from a guy who went from being a brutally-teased albino kid from the Midwest, to an emcee known to dominate the hip hop battle circuit. Brother Ali’s success is a testament to the fact that the self-confidence you need to survive comes from the inside. No one can take it away unless you let them.
The Poetry and the Passion
In all this mess of label-hopping, marketing decisions, and lifestyle pressures, how is a musician supposed to stay focused on what is important, namely, the music? When it comes right down to it, your most important relationship will always be between yourself and your artistry, and that relationship needs to be nourished and protected at all costs.
Just ask Veruca Salt’s Louise Post, who left us with this thought:
For me, the only reason to write and record records is to try to create an honest, intimate, artistic expression of whatever may be happening personally or internally to me, as well as reacting to the world around me, all in the efforts to stay as authentic and true to myself as I can. The process isn’t always pretty, but it’s worth it. In the end, it’s all about the poetry and the passion.
Thank you Louise. Thank you Brother Ali. Thank you Nick Urata from DeVotchKa and Dan Stewart from Red Blanket. And thank you to all our readers out there. We hope that somewhere in this series you’ve found something to fuel your courage, inspiration, and, of course, your sense of humor.
Keep making music, and never stop believing in your own ability, and in the value of what you create.
Author's biography:
Anne Stewart is an author, music journalist, and songwriter based out of Victoria, British Columbia. While biding time awaiting the publication of her best-seller and subsequent retirement on a yacht Ken Kesey-style, she writes for multiple online publications and runs her own successful web design firm, Float Solutions.
