I enjoy both the disclaimer and the fact that some of the largest wanna be corporate rock semi-self-funded bands of today are mentioned directly below my rant. Ironic? No. If you accept you want to be a whore, than by all means ma’m, by all means.
Go add muen on myspace where this was originally published, it always has great interviews with amazing bands and is always way ahead of the fraying knot that is the shit most people call music.
MUENTALK:
Not necessarily the views of MUEN as a whole.
10/25 ….
throw stones(hard)
By Sheldon James
Rage against that machine. It will be hard. You have integrity. You will overcome.
You will not become a corporate rock whore.
You will not sell out. You will not make music that can be listened to and accepted by the general public.
You will not allow yourself to be perverted and touched by the greedy hands of a corporate record label.
You will write and practice. You will Self-promote and Self-fund Your tour and sell merch. You will take money from young people and their parents and apply it to that fund. How else do You pay for merch and recording? Of course You Self-record. Self-mix. Self-master. That saves money. You can buy more merch to sell. Design the merch Yourself. Design Your whole cd and do limited edition short run pressings of them. Yourself. Sell those. Put Your music on the internet.
Sell it. Sell Your music. Sell Yourself.
Sell!! Sell!!
But by all means, rage against that corporation. You are better than them. You have feelings. You actually care about Your fans. You know them by name and talk to them on the internet or even the phone. When You tour their town, You talk to them, not because their money funded Your instruments or Your tour van and bought the merch and cd You are about to sell them. If they buy enough of Your creation then You can finally afford to buy a new tour van. Or a new guitar. Or even new shoes since You’ve been on tour with those for a while and they are pretty gross. Maybe buy a new home recording outfit so You can make more recordings to sell.
Buy!! Buy!! Sell!! Sell!!
Rage against that machine. You might not be a corporate rock whore, but you’re still a whore.
- Sheldon James
GUITAR CENTER / ON STAGE FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
Please join us in congratulating the six finalists in Guitar Center On-Stage: Your Chance To Make Rock History. Guitar Center and Mötley Crüe announced the bands today – check ‘em out below!
These bands were chosen from a pool of 30 semi-finalists, who performed Monday and Tuesday in front of a panel of industry experts at Guitar Center’s legendary Sunset Boulevard location. The panelists were: Eric Sherman, President of FUSE TV; James Michael, Producer and Front man of Sixx: A.M.; Julie Pilat, Music Director of Los Angeles radio station 98.7; Chris Nilsson, Tenth St. Entertainment and Frank Woodworth, General Manager of Eleven Seven Music.
The final six bands will continue onto the finals to perform live for Mötley Crüe at the world famous Whisky A Go-Go on November 10 in Hollywood. The winning band gets the opening slot on Mötley Crüe’s U.S. Tour, $25,000 cash, $20,000 in exclusive new gear from Gibson Guitar, management from Tenth St. Entertainment, and a recording deal from Eleven Seven Music, Mötley’s management and record label.
And the Finalists are…
The Spittin’ Cobras
Seattle, WA
Lorene Drive
Victorville, CA
The Dirty Pearls
New York, NY
Waterstreet
Peoria, IL
Something to Burn
Los Angeles, CA
The Heroine
San Antonio, T
9 Comments
Hmmm. I have never heard of any of those bands.
Well, of course I have heard of Rage Against the Machine.
I will look up the other ones. (:
it wasn’t directed at rage against the machine.
they did an excellent job of pushing the envelope politically and socially while at the same time acknowledging that from a corporate platform they had a chance to reach a wider audience. while im sure they made a bit of money, they in no way seem like whores to me. but i’m biased. fuck you i wont do what you tell me is a pretty good line.
I knew that it was focused on them.
But I like how you threw them in.
It was good writing.
I dated the lead singer from The Spitting Cobras
I hate Alex
Really Chris……I guess it’s because I called you on being a silly spoiled rich girl…hmmmm …..Look inward Chris, You might not like what you see. and by the way, I don’t hate you…..I just don’t care.
Bitter:
Hateful or hostile – “They’re bitter enemies.”
Cynical and resentful – “I’ve been bitter ever since that defeat.”
Is it ironic that the purpose of this little rant of mine was to mock my self, that I was bitter and jealous and now my digital art imitates the words of these two, it would appear? Oh my. Life and art and love and hate, all defined so tidily in bit form.
for the update:
Guitar Center is excited to announce that THE LAST VEGAS from Chicago, IL has replaced SOMETHING TO BURN as one of the final six bands vying for the greatest prize in rock history!
SOMETHING TO BURN unfortunately has withdrawn from GC On-Stage and will not be participating in the finals.
Don’t miss your chance to see the final six bands perform live for Mötley Crüe at the world famous Whisky A-Go-Go in Hollywood, Ca on November 10th at 7PM! The show is free to the public.
Continuing its support of aspiring artists, Guitar Center and the world’s most notorious rock band will provide one up-and-coming band the ultimate, career-altering opportunity—the chance to open on tour for rock icons, Mötley Crüe. The winning band will also receive $25,000 cash, $20,000 in exclusive new gear from Gibson Guitar, management from Tenth St. Entertainment, and a recording deal from Eleven Seven Music, Mötley’s management and record label.
for the update pt 2:
straight from their wikipedia entry:
he Last Vegas are a hard rock band with styles including Glam, Metal, and Punk citing influences such as Aerosmith, GnR, Cheap Trick, and Skid Row. They hail from Chicago, IL and have been one of the most consistently working bands in the midwest for the last 6 years.
The band released their first record, “Lick ‘Em and Leave ‘Em” on independent distributor Get Hip Records in 2003, which was met with critical success, allowing them to establish a cult following across Europe. From that time onward, The Last Vegas has toured persistently, releasing three more albums and headlining concerts in over 17 countries worldwide. Seal the Deal (2005), High Class Trash (2007) and their newest album (self-titled) which brings back memories of kids in the early 70′s jamming away in the garage or basement. It’s raw and rough around the edges, but captures the band’s demeanor and live sound accurately.
The band signed to 11-7 music and 10th street entertainment in early 2009. They are working on a new release for spring of 2009 working with acclaimed producers Marti Fredericksen and DJ Ashba. They will support the album by touring with Motley Crue throughout Feb and March.
Won Guitar Center: On-Stage: Your Chance to Make Rock History contest from Mötley Crüe and Guitar Center, winning an opening slot for Mötley Crüe’s 2009 U.S. winter tour, $25,000 cash, $20,000 in new gear from Gibson, a management deal from 10th Street Entertainment and a label deal from Eleven Seven Music. There were over 7,000 contestants to include Lenny King and The Heroine of San Antonio, TEXAS and The Spittin’ Cobras of Seattle, Washington. http://www.makerockhistory.com
Chosen as Spin Magazine Chief Editor’s pick for best breakthrough band of SXSW 2008.
Performed several times at the nation’s largest music festival “Summerfest” in Milwaukee, WI.
Featured entertainment at various Kyle Busch NASCAR Summer 2007 events.
Beating out thousands of bands, The Last Vegas were the winner of the 2006 RedOctane “Be a Guitar Hero” contest. Their track “Raw Dog” is featured in the video game Guitar Hero II which has sold in excess of 10 Million units to date.
Musical highlight at the 2006 Extreme Sport Dewfest Tour, Portland, Oregon.
Music featured on MTV’s Ghole, Pimp My Ride, Cribs, FUEL TV and Fearless Music.
none of the other bands, save lorene drive, have a wikipedia. and the last vegas’ entry dwarfs lorene drive’s.