Back in the 70's there was this thing called "Artist Development," which meant a record label would sign an artist or band to their label and nurture their career until they had reached their full potential. Bands like The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers or Fleetwood Mac all started as complete unknowns but with the help, or development, of their respective record labels, they became superstars. Of course, good songs helped, but the reality is that without the record label taking the time to help their artists with their songs, their look, their promotion and giving them major financial support, no one reading this (or anyone else on the planet for that matter) would have ever heard of these bands. That is because none of these bands would have ever made it past playing in the garage. Mick Jagger may have ended up a gas station attendant. Tom Petty may have ended up a guitar teacher in his hometown of Gainesville, Florida.
The point is that without a full staff of people helping a band or artist, the chances are slim to none that anyone will ever hear them. This is because today, a record label will sign 50 bands that all sound similar, send their single to radio (which you might hear once) and see how many people call in to request that song again. If lots of people (you) call in to hear it again, the record company gives all their money to promoting that one band. The other 49 usually get dropped by the label and go back to their day jobs (waiters).
Luckily, however, their are a small number of people out there who realize that Artist Development actually worked, and are going back to the way things used to be done. You haven't seen or heard from me in a few months because I've been spending quite a bit of time in Nashville, TN (or on a plane every weekend flying between LA and Nashville) to work with a new Artist Development company, Paul Reeves Entertainment, that has taken me on as a client to help develop my career as a solo artist. I've been working with Nashville producer, Paul Reeves, in developing my songs, vocals, and overall vibe as and artist. In two weeks I'll be recording my third album in Nashville, TN at Johnny Cash's house/studio, The Cash Cabin, with an array of Nashville studio musicians, recording engineers, producers and Johnny Cash's own son, John Carter Cash.
It will be a full length, 9 song album, which will go to radio in the spring. I'll be doing live radio performances and music video shoots this winter to promote the record before its release and hopefully touring the country. I'll keep you posted on the progress. Thanks to all of you who have stuck around to see this thing through.
Patrick
