30.08.11 California Diner - 'Celebs Gone Indie!'

A long time ago, dinosaurs stalked the earth and recorded music was made available to the public only on analog media such as vinyl and tapes. It was a very difficult and expensive proposition to release a single or an album. Like much of the economy after the Industrial Revolution, it became cost effective to put out music through large, integrated corporations. This business model worked for three-quarters of a century. Like most corporate ventures, the main point of being in business is to make money. It was a big deal for a recording artist to get a record deal. The record label thought enough of their music to make an investment, expecting to make the money back many times over. This usually coincided with the listening public’s tastes. The record industry drove musical taste, and the public kept the registers ringing. But a funny thing happened on the way to the 21st century. There used to be many small record labels, which consolidated and became big record labels. Mergers and acquisitions changed the scene until you could count on your fingers how many record companies remained. Then some of these huge companies swallowed some of the others. When companies merge, sometimes employees lose their jobs. In this case, some really great artists lost their backing. Worthy music was not being heard. And as has happened over the decades, there were many local and regional acts whose music was never heard outside their region. At the same time, technology changed, and became more accessible. Between making music on a computer, self-distributing, and self-promoting via online social media, now anybody could make music. Many of the great, formerly-unknown independent bands that we champion here at Recharged Radio have taken advantage of this perfect storm. Many have never been on a record label, nor do they want to. The D.I.Y. ethic has really taken over in the last few years. And it can be a pretty good deal for them--no record label means they keep more of the hard-earned dollars themselves. In addition, there are lots of great smaller indie labels who help artists realize success by employing this same work ethic. They act in an ethical manner, and treat the artists fairly. They also bring the artists and fans together, and that’s a good thing. Some really great artists formerly affiliated with major labels or internationally-known acts have also become indie artists of late. They are finding that D.I.Y. is a great way to really reach out to fans and (fortunately) radio. Oftentimes, they’re even happier then they ever were with a label. On this week’s show, we feature four such artists. Sal Valentino, the former Beau Brummels front man is making some of the most heartfelt music of his career as a solo artist. I’m proud to say that this legend is based right here in Sacramento, California, and we’ll hear a track off of his Dreamin’ Man album, a wonderful collaboration with John Blakely. www.beaubrummels.com www.gragroup.com/valentino.html Sue Leonard is a singer/songwriter/vocalist who works in the blues, soul, and R&B genres. If you remember back in the 1990s, k.d. lang had a huge hit off of her Ingenue album, “Constant Craving”. Sue Leonard was a backup vocalist on that Grammy-winning track. You have to be good to be selected to harmonize with k.d. lang on such a memorable song. Sue has a great solo career going, and she’s both classy and earthy at the same time on the song we’ll hear on the show. www.reverbnation.com/sueleonard Patrick Campbell-Lyons is a true original. The Irish-born, London-based musician was one of the founding fathers of the 1960s psychedelic movement. His band was the original Nirvana. He’s hobnobbed with everybody from Jimi Hendrix to Salvador Dali, but remains down to earth and spiritual. He’s got some great things to say, and he shows us that psychedelia is still vital in this 21st century digital era. This week’s show features a track from his album The 13 Dalis. www.psychedelicdays.com/nirvana.html www.gragroup.com/lyons.html Debora Iyall is near and dear to my heart. She was making music back in the 1980s with legendary New Wave band Romeo Void, based right here in Northern California. Her blunt but optimistic lyrics and vocal delivery were startling at first, but made me think differently about music back when I was in college. She too is an indie artist now, and she’s another example of a well-known musician who has chosen to live in mellow, laid-back Sacramento. We’ll hear a fun song off of her Stay Strong solo release. www.deboraiyall.com If you'd like to make a request, just drop me a line at mike(at)rechargedradio.com. If you'd like to become an honorary California citizen, drop me a line at the same address. And if you'd like to hear all this great music—simply tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (GMT), 12:00-2:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com. This note also appears in the News section on the home page of RechargedRadio.com. See you then! Chef Mike mike(at)rechargedradio.com MN2BDNC Sal Valentino - Looking For You EyeWood - Lawyers and Liars Missdavinalee - Come On Baby Scream - 20th Century Baby K. C. Bowman - Mare Island Uncle Meat and the Highway Children - Long Gone Mobile Maxi Dunn - Make It Better Dana Jade - Little Sister Chad Neaves - Something In My Soul Sexfresh - True Laurie Larson - Endless Thank You Loop Karim Fanous - So Long Jenny J Nushu - Here's To Feeling Free Apple Rabbits - Queen Of The Suburbs Sue Leonard - Bend This Circle The Recusants - After The Night Out Mad Tea Party - Blues Slip In Patrick Campbell-Lyons - Flowers For Friday Dandelion Killers - You'll Find Me In The Archives Anny Celsi - First Love Freezes Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - I Roped The Moon Out Of The Sky Joseph Swidenbank - Coming Up For Air Agony Aunts - Linus's Fists Of Death Coolrunnings - Chorus Dennis Holseybrook - Take Care My Friend Debora Iyall - Be My Last Rich McCulley - Tell Me, I'm Listening Laurie Biagini - Bambuzled Peter Mayer - The Marrying Kind Lindy LaFontaine - I might not love you The Scratch - Teen Idol Mad Mush - Silent Snowfall