Ry plays a mean slide guitar. You can here him in the guitar battle at the end of "crossroads"

You said "Cooder."

You could always charge people to hear you perform live*

*caution! Talent Required!

This guy is incredible. If you're a fan of guitar players (regardless of style) you'll love something he's done.

Ry Cooder = one of the best guitarists musicians alive today.

bukketmaster: You could always charge people to hear you perform live*

*caution! Talent Required!

THIS. If you actually have talent, than you can live a pretty nice life playing music live (which is what you love, right?).

Ya gets just one meatball

bukketmaster: You could always charge people to hear you perform live*

*caution! Talent Required!

Actually no. The only artists who make money are those that play gigantic venues and huge crowds. Mr. Mid-label guy who plays in your average club or small theatre will be lucky if he breaks even, but will most likely lose money, even if he tours on modest accomodation. Especially a solo musician like Cooder who has to pay the accompanying bandmembers out of pocket.

I know people like to tell themselves that musicians make tons of dough playing live, to justify why it's okay to steal copyrighted material, but it's just not the case.

I want him to sing my eulogy

bukketmaster: You could always charge people to hear you perform live*

*caution! Talent Required!


Are you implying that Ry Cooder lacks talent?

Well... that was odd.

InmanRoshi

I know people like to tell themselves that musicians make tons of dough playing live, to justify why it's okay to steal copyrighted material, but it's just not the case.

I never said they'd get rich doing it. But if you develop a strong following and sell your own merchandise, there's a chance it can be moderately profitable. Yes, it sucks that touring musicians don't make much, but that's the business.

Why is this so tragic, anyway? Most classical musicians spend their entire lives developing a degree of proficiency conventional artists only dream of, and they know that they'll never make much money because classical CD's don't sell. They make a living by performing, not recording. Other musicians will have to learn to do the same.

Besides, it's their own 'fans' that are killing their business. Art lovers don't buy cheap knockoff posters instead of real prints, and book lovers don't read xeroxed copies of their favorite books, but so-called music lovers don't have any problem at all with downloading and listening to inferior-quality MP3 files instead of buying CDs or, god forbid, LPs.

bukketmaster: developing a degree of proficiency conventional artists only dream of

Apples and oranges.

Ry Cooder is buckets of awesome. Try the soundtrack to "Paris, Texas". Or his album "By The River" with Ali Farka Toure (no that's not the filter working on the middle name there).

But come on now. Radio isn't dead, it just moved. Retail isn't dead, it just switched mediums. And records might be dead, but that's just a delivery mechanism. News one come and go, but the music keeps on swingin'.

1) NOT saying he's a hack but his rep is WAY overrated for anything
that he's done.

2) There is NO 'Buena Vista Social Club; he made it all up. How do I know? Well, I read it not only in a few articles but in an interview with him. Yet people still think the BSC was a real place. In one article, somee of the players said they had never meet NOR HEARD OF the others.

3) If he's so great, why hasnt he had ANYTHING regarding a hit
record besides "BSC"?

4) Hype, thy name is Ry.

5) Yup, overrated. One of those people that fans with musical knowledge laud, yet no one owns his records (with one exception).

Except me, and its not that POS 'BSC'. Nor 'Into The Purple Valley'. its an old live album with a killer version of 'Jesus on the Main Line'

mfaby: 2) There is NO 'Buena Vista Social Club; he made it all up. How do I know? Well, I read it not only in a few articles but in an interview with him. Yet people still think the BSC was a real place. In one article, somee of the players said they had never meet NOR HEARD OF the others.

3) If he's so great, why hasnt he had ANYTHING regarding a hit
record besides "BSC"?

I don't know where to start.

For starters, this bit about Buena Vista Social Club is not exactly a massive shock to anyone who's seen the Oscar-nominated documentary damn near 10 years ago, which shows how he brought all these greats of their era together. And nobody cares if it was made up, but rather that the music is awesome. So nerts to that.

And he's a support artist, which is where his real talent lies. Maybe you've heard of the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Randy Newman? He's played for all of them, never mind his solo stuff, which is still aces.

I don't even want to get into the whole "critical solo success = definite talent" argument.

It's all about the t shirt sales.

spinnum: I want him to sing my eulogy

Bastard! I came here to do that.

Boomers Story
/never gets old

Chicken Skin Music FTW
Ry is one of the best, and one of the last.

/vision, talent, musicianship, class
//all vanishing as we watch

In case you haven't heard about the new Ry Cooder album:

'I, Flathead' finds Ry Cooder once more in conceptual turf--lyrically and narratively. His basic story revolves around some salt-flats ne'er-do-well car jockeys (including our narrator/hero Kash Buk), and the strange and wonderful extraterrestrial visitor called Shakey who can fix or invent anything from anything and who, in turn, is followed from galaxy to galaxy, by a sinister character, known only as the Passenger....the entire story is told in a 100-page, hardbound novella that accompanies the Deluxe Edition....

I sure liked that last concept record about the cat.

My personal faves are:
1. Jazz
2. Paradise and Lunch
3. Chicken Skin Music

Ry Cooder has opened my eyes to more great musicians than anyone else I can think of.

Best ... slide guitar ... evah!

/ No offense to Bonnie Raitt

ragsthetiger: Chicken Skin Music FTW

Srsy. Ry Cooder is also one of the coolest guys on this planet. When people say "They don't make 'em like that any more" they mean people like Cooder. "Into the Purple Valley" was the soundtrack of my frosh year in kollidge.

/Bop 'till You Drop, y'all

Jack Butler: Best ... slide guitar ... evah!

/ No offense to Bonnie Raitt

Ya know, it would make a good book to examine the Cooder/Raitt/Lowell George/David Lindley axis of great California slide players. You can talk about the Southern boys like Duane Allman and Johnny Winter (and I am a dedicated fan of both) but I've always thought the Cali players had their own thing going.

The man plays a mean mandolin, too:

Link

If I die of vanity, promise me, promise me if they bury me someplace I don't want to be, you'll dig me and transport me unceremoniously away from this swollen city breeze, garbage bag trees, whispers of disease and acts of enormity and lower me slowly and sadly and properly.

Best run-on sentence ever.

Retail is gone. Good riddance.

Radio is gone. Better riddance.

Records are gone. fark 'em. I own five hundred albums and they all fit in my goddamn pocket. The physical CDs and vinyl are shut away in a closet, along with a hard drive full of lossless rips. I take the CDs with me on car trips and put on an LP or two when I have a quiet moment to really sit down and listen hard. Once it becomes practical for large lossless files to be hosted by the average seller and downloaded by the average consumer, physical product will no longer be necessary, or at least limited to collectors.

Goddamn, Ryland can pick!

slide on "memo from turner"
rising sons band with taj mahal
chavez ravine
buena vista
paris texas
mambo sinuendo
etc

InmanRoshi: bukketmaster: You could always charge people to hear you perform live*

*caution! Talent Required!

Actually no. The only artists who make money are those that play gigantic venues and huge crowds. Mr. Mid-label guy who plays in your average club or small theatre will be lucky if he breaks even, but will most likely lose money, even if he tours on modest accomodation. Especially a solo musician like Cooder who has to pay the accompanying bandmembers out of pocket.

I know people like to tell themselves that musicians make tons of dough playing live, to justify why it's okay to steal copyrighted material, but it's just not the case.

Fail

You can make a fine living playing live music, if you take into account a few ground rules.

1) You may not get rich. In fact, you probably won't. If you are in it to be a millionaire or a rock star, you might as well buy lottery tickets or try to play pro football.

2) It will take longer than you think to make a consistent income. Everyone starts at the bottom, and most give up or turn music into a hobby. It's just like any other job, you need to meet contacts, develop your musicianship, and learn how to make money. It may not come for 10 or 20 years and you have to be ok with that.

3) If you think it's all cocaine and blowjobs, you are guaranteed to fail. Nobody wants to work with somebody that can't show up on point because they partied too hard at the show last night.

4) You need to be versatile. You should know basic styles well. If you have to play a country gig, you better be able to at least fake it really well. If you turn down a jazz gig because you can't play a bossa nova, you won't get called again.

5) You need to work hard. The life of a musician is not easy. You have to learn and keep learning your instrument, play late nights, drive long distances to and from gigs, rehearse, maintain your gear, listen to lots and lots of music, play gigs you may not want to, and generally have no time off. It's hard sometimes and not for everyone.

6) You need to learn a shiatload of songs, even if you don't like them. How do you think Elvis got started? By playing cowboy songs. How did the Stones get their start? By playing the blues and Chuck Berry songs. The more songs you know, the better you get at styles and basic musicianship. This tends to snowball; if Mr. Star Singer says "it's kind of a Paul Simon feel, you dig?" and you can pull it off, life is good for everybody.

7) You need to get along with people. The nice guy that is a good player will usually get a call before the excellent player that is a dick and no fun to be around. Especially if it's a situation that involves more than one gig.

8) You need to subdue your ego. This applies to hired guns. You are there to make the singer happy. If they want you to try the bridge pickup or a different snare drum or a brighter sound, shut up and do it with a smile. Save your vision for your solo album.

9) You need to be smart and handle money well. That $40 you got for the gig last night? That's not beer money, that's rent money. Not everyone can understand this. Pay your taxes, hire an accountant if you need to. That shiat adds up.

10) Be humble. You may have to (gasp) play some cover songs. You may have to play a wedding. You may have to host a blues jam on Sundays at the club. You may have to play corporate parties for the man. You may have to play a casino for 5 hours on a Sunday.

It can be done. In every city there are musicians that make a living playing live. Go find some and ask them how they do it.

And see number one again. You had better be in it because you love music. Any other reason and you will be miserable. But if you truly are a musician there is nothing better.

If you are in a shoegazer band wondering why the rest of the world doesn't care about your awesomeness and you're broke as a bone, I can't help you.

/I don't punch a clock
//And you can't beat that with a bat

Retail isn't gone. Radio isn't gone. Records are making a comeback.

Does he never go outside?

The good news is that the "I was listening to them before they went mainstream" crowd can just STFU and not bother us anymore.

bukketmaster: Art lovers don't buy cheap knockoff posters instead of real prints, and book lovers don't read xeroxed copies of their favorite books...


Museums... Libraries. We get to experience those art forms for free after the artist has made his dollar. What was your point again?

Paradise and Lunch is the best going to work pickme up album ever.

"looked over at the amen corner..and the started to shout"

you get no bread with one meat ball

He's a drop-out of the best college possible. Really, all drop-outs like him should be fellated.

RabidSquirrel: And he's a support artist, which is where his real talent lies. Maybe you've heard of the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Randy Newman? He's played for all of them, never mind his solo stuff, which is still aces.

A collective 'So?' to your comments.

The guy is overrated, the same as Waddy Wachtel.
Technically proficient but no soul or life to their playing.

Well respected by their peers dont mean shiat.
Where is a body of work that manages to touch more than a few snobby music lovers who think dropping his name is a sign
of being hip?

That body of work doesn't exist.

And Waddy? What a farking azzhat he is. Ive seen him play more than once and he is totally unimpressive; again souless, bloodless playing.

Waddy? Stop wearing ripped-up tank tops and start dressing like
you make a few bucks.

I got a feeling both these guys are major league star farkers.

but will he sing my eulogy?

/obscure?

Kade: but will he sing my eulogy?

/obscure?

-facepalm- read the thread, sparky.

dammit....i did read it....but obviously not closely enough....sorry about it.

/The Hip FTW

InmanRoshi: bukketmaster: You could always charge people to hear you perform live*

*caution! Talent Required!

Actually no. The only artists who make money are those that play gigantic venues and huge crowds. Mr. Mid-label guy who plays in your average club or small theatre will be lucky if he breaks even, but will most likely lose money, even if he tours on modest accomodation. Especially a solo musician like Cooder who has to pay the accompanying bandmembers out of pocket.

I know people like to tell themselves that musicians make tons of dough playing live, to justify why it's okay to steal copyrighted material, but it's just not the case.

Except that the situation has always been worse with regard to recorded material than to playing live. Unless an act has been around long enough with enough prior success to negotiate new contract on its own terms, the musicians get a pittance for recorded music sales. After the band pays back the various recording costs (what, you didn't think that the record company paid that out of its own pocket, did you?) there isn't a whole lot left on their end of the paycheck.

If an artist isn't bringing in enough people to the live shows to support himself, then recording sales probably aren't going to do it either.

I loved all his slide gee-tar work on John Hiatt's Bring The Family.
I think he played with a couple of other people too.
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