The Music Gardener - Artist Manager, Music Marketer

American Music Awards

The Music Gardener watched the American Music Awards last night.  As always there were surprises and plenty of entertainment. Probably the most entertaining moment was when Jermaine Jackson accepted an award for his brother, Michael Jackson, wearing Michael’s glove while introducing his son Jermajesty. Did he really give his kid that name?  Music Awards shows are now definitely about the skin, flash, shock and anything else available to draw our attention away from the actual music. Sad but reality. I couldn’t help but reminisce and wish the artist of the present day possessed the talent and class of artist from 20 to 30 years ago. I did enjoy some of the performances by Keith Urban, Mary J. Blige and Janet Jackson. It was also nice to see Taylor Swift sweep the awards without interference from the music industry’s favorite dufus, Kanye West.  I would have preferred not to have been exposed to the horrible Adam Lambert spectacle but at least I know now not to buy his record. Let’s hope 2010 brings us a better show.

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The Music Gardener had the opportunity to attend the Christian Music Summit Overlake at Overlake Church in Redmond, WA  last week. I had never heard much about the summit until about a month ago when one of our marketing clients brought us up to speed. Not sure sure why we don’t hear much about this in Nashville but everyone in the Northwest sure knows what it’s all about. Integrity Music and Save The City Records know what it’s all about as they both had a large presence at the conference. Some of the major instrument dealers also show up in big force. Both Roland and Yamaha had a huge presence. The conference was started a few years ago by Bruce Adolph and was designed as a conference to help musicians learn how to maximize their talents and ministries. Classes and workshops are offered to attendees and taught by some of the greatest musicians in the business. CMS also offered concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings featuring Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown, Brian Doerksen, Brandon Bee, Matt Redman, Carl Cartee, Lincoln Brewster, Laura Story and New World Son. If you don’t know about this conference, let me encourage you to dig in and find out about this major footprint in the Northwest!

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Benjiman

The Music Gardener recently came across a record that I can’t get out of my head. As an artist manager and music marketing consultant I have avoided the rap genre. Mainly because I normally don’t enjoy listening to that style of music which makes it extremely difficult to give it 100% of myself. I like the occasional Eminem or Nelly song that has melody but that is about as far as I go. A few weeks ago, I was given a cd from the artist Benjiman. Benjiman just released a his new cd “Skript” on Save The City Records.  I began my listen with the single “Back Home” and was blown away. The beat and melody of “Back Home” have the elements of the Eminem songs that I have enjoyed in the past only Benjiman’s lyrics bring an incredibly positive message. As I dug a little deeper, I found the rock stuff that Benjiman is known for from his performances on some of the Kutless and Falling Up records. Little hints of P.O.D. and Rage Against the Machine influence cut through. What really tops the record off is Benjiman’s rendition of “Over The Rainbow” This has to be the most beautiful rap song I have ever heard! Benjiman weaves his rap lyrics into the classic song “Over The Rainbow”. I highly recommend this cd for anyone who enjoys music!

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The Music Gardener recently had the opportunity to visit Yamaha’s Artist Relations office with Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers. As an artist manager, I have formed relationships with many of the instrument dealers but Yamaha was one of the few on my short list that I hadn’t connected with. The ironic thing is that their headquarters for North America Artist Relations is located in Franklin, TN which is right in my back yard. Byron secured an endorsement deal from Yamaha earlier in the week so we went by for a visit.

Byron "Mr Talkbox" Chambers @ Yamaha Office

Ben James, Yamaha Artist Relations Guru, gave us the tour. Yamaha keeps a low profile in Franklin to avoid heavy tourist traffic. So low that you would never know this beautiful office space even existed on the 2nd and 3rd floor of one of the old buildings on the Franklin Square. Beautiful hardwood floors and ceilings, floor to ceiling windows overlooking main street and a wonderfully stated kitchen. Best of all is the artist room which houses the Yamaha Discklavier Baby Grand along with a Yamaha home theater complete with a leather sofa. The office has such a cool vibe that Byron and I thought about moving in. We are excited about Byron’s new relationship with Yamaha and he is looking forward to making some great music together with them.

Byron “Mr Talkbox” Chambers “Ground Zero”

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