Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

Yeah, you read right.  Free.  Crazy, huh?  “Seven Cities” was always intended to be a loss leader and a vehicle for building my fan base rather than a cash cow, and now that I’ve actually paid off the production costs, I’ve decided to take a page from Jonathan Coulton’s playbook and release all of the tracks from the album under a Creative Commons license.

What does this mean for you, my friends and fans?  For starters, you can now download my album for “any price you deem appropriate” — including $0 — from my BandCamp store.  Any money received goes toward helping me continue to make music without starving.

Next, it means that you are free to– and I encourage you to– spread this album far and wide.  Share the link above on Facebook or Twitter.  Send the tracks to friends or family who might enjoy them.  Put them on mix tapes.  Use them in YouTube videos.  Remix them.  Remaster them.  Mash them up.  The only restrictions are:

• Thou shalt give credit where credit is due (i.e. always include my name and a link to drcommander.com whenever you share or use my songs)
• Thou shalt let people know if you modified the songs in some way (i.e. add “remix” to the title or whatnot)
• Thou shalt not use the songs for commercial (i.e. money-making) purposes

Some further musings regarding why I did this can be read here. Basically, blame Woody Guthrie.

Really, though, I have nothing to lose at this point.  After 8 months of trying to sell and promote my album, including thousands upon thousands of spins on streaming radio, ad buys, you name it … I have made about $100 and spent a lot more than that.  I have had very little success in using the album as a promotional vehicle to book solo gigs.  It is simply not finding its audience.  Art is a form of communication, and thus art without an audience is like a tree falling in the woods.  Whether or not it makes a sound is kind of irrelevant if there is no one there to hear it.  Artists are natural self-doubters, which makes it particularly hard when we, as indie artists, also have to be shameless self-promoters.  When our art doesn’t “hit” the way we expect, our natural impulse is to press the reset button and try again.  In the case of “Seven Cities”, it was a gamble to come out of the gate with a concept album, particularly in a market that is not very receptive to bandless singer/songwriters.  So I understand why it’s not selling well, and from a business point of view, I would rather not throw good money after bad.  From an artistic point of view, however, even though I know that I have a better album in me, I can still be proud of what I’ve done and believe in the concept and believe that there is an audience for it somewhere.  Who knows?  Maybe it’ll be huge in Japan.  Thus, I’m switching from a pinpoint laser approach to a scatter bomb approach, in hopes that by letting the music run wild, it will eventually find its way into the ears of new fans.  Meanwhile, I’ll be finishing up writing songs for my next project and financing it via sideman gigs.  I hope to get started on my sophomore album in earnest this year.

In short, please pirate my album.  I would consider it a big favor.

(subject to change without notice)

• John Burr, “Spiderman Theme” (Alison Brown Quartet:  “Replay”, 2002)
• Michel Camilo, “A Night in Tunisia” (Michel Camilo:  “Through My Eyes”, 1997)
• Chick Corea, “Spain” (Chick Corea:  “Akoustic Band”, 1989)
• Russell Ferrante, “Rain Dance” (The Yellowjackets:  “Greenhouse”, 1991)
• Bruce Hornsby, “King of the Hill / Twelve Tone Tune / Mystery Train (Live)” (Bruce Hornsby:  “Intersections”, 2004)
• Ethan Iverson, “Big Eater” (The Bad Plus:  “These Are the Vistas”, 2003)
• Keith Jarrett, “Groovin’ High” (Jarrett, Peacock, DeJohnette:  “Whisper Not”, 2000)
• Herbie Hancock, “The Good Life” (DeJohnette, Hancock, Holland, Metheny:  “Live at the Mellon Jazz Festival”, 1990)
• Lyle Mays, “San Lorenzo (Live)” (Pat Metheny Group:  “Travels”, 1982)
• Bill Payne, “Whispering Waters” (Leftover Salmon:  “Leftover Salmon”, 2004)