Ian Hunter – HuffPost 9.13.12
Mike Ragogna: Ian, with a career like you’ve had, what advice do you have for new artists?
Ian Hunter: Hell, I don’t know. I really don’t know what they’re up against these days. It’s moving so quickly, it’s almost like you’ve got to be an IT genius to keep up with what you’re supposed to do next. It’s very difficult. I think hone your chops, really work on a live gig situation. A bit of showmanship doesn’t hurt these days. You’ve got to be different than the next band. There are so many bands that want to make it, there’s got to be something odd about you. I don’t think records seem to be the way to go anymore. It just seems to be gigs. So you want gigs, and they’re difficult to get. A lot of clubs make you pay or at least make you guarantee that a certain amount of people will show up.
MR: And, of course, clubs stick you in for like a half an hour with ten or so bands palying a night to load up the numbers.
IH: But to be honest with you it was always that way. We never had to pay to play in the beginning, but you played for nothing.
MR: I don’t envy the kids in that nowadays, they have to divide their time between being creative and being their own management with social media.
IH: Yeah. And social media’s continually changing. One minute it’s this, next minute it’s that. One of my sons is in IT and it’s really hard to keep up with. Every three months, there’s a whole situation change. It’s going too fast, I think.
MR: There’s nothing savored, and I think it’s creating a lot more disposable music than we’ve ever had before.
IH: Well, now you’re seeing what the labels had. Everybody hated the labels, but that’s what they were doing; they were listening to thousands of things every week, most of it crap. It always has been about ninety-eight percent crap, two percent great.
MR: Right, they were a filter, with all the good and bad that implies.
IH: Yeah. Can you imagine doing that for thirty-four years? All the stuff you’ve got to listen to? I guess it’s like reviewers on magazines. Imagine the amount of stuff they’ve got to go through?