Tommy Keene – HuffPost 10.31.11

Mike Ragogna: What advice would you give to new artists these days?

Tommy Keene: As far as labels?

MR: As far as what an artist should be doing. Like, where does one start?

TK: Well, the internet. Nowadays, all you have to do is put a song up on MySpace or whatever. I think a lot of these bands in the last seven years or so, that’s how they’ve gotten their start, so it’s a lot easier for them, though it’s worse for the whole music industry in general because it reminds me of a time in the mid to late seventies when funk bands started, like the Ramones. There was thinking that, “Hey, these songs are three cords, anyone can pick up a guitar and play these punk rock songs.” But they weren’t getting it because they were excellent musicians and they had a certain style, which was very sophisticated, even though it seemed very primitive and raw. I think they’ve shortchanged a lot of these bands, that they were doing this very easy, anyone can do it yourself music, which is not true. They were really talented people, and I’m not just talking about The Ramones; I mean The Heartbreakers, Patti Smith, The Sex Pistols, and all this and such. So, it created this whole explosion of putting out your own little record, which was great in itself, but I compare that to when the internet first started music trading. Putting up a MySpace page–”Here’s my album for the world to listen to.” You’ve got a lot of low quality stuff out there, and then you’ve got people who are 58-year-old lawyers whose kids have just gone off to school and they say, “I’ve always wanted to make a rock record. I can afford this.” I can just put it on the internet and maybe I’ll become somebody. So, I think it’s a great thing and it’s also a bad thing. It’s an over-explosion of “anyone can do anything they want” in this medium.

MR: How do you think a new artist can cut through that?

TK: A break or a connection. Knowing somebody that works at this publishing company. Knowing some buddy who has a hook into Live Nation. The music business is all about breaks, luck, right place/right time timing. I know that’s cliché, but there’s absolutely no getting around it.

MR: I absolutely agree with you. New artists can be led by the delusion created by things like American Idol. They’re being force-fed images that aren’t real as far as being able to navigate their own craft. It’s sort of like, “Let’s find the marketing angle,” before they even get their own craft down. And there’s just too much noise in the social mediums. Like, how does one ever find anybody? You have to be led there; there’s got to be word of mouth, of course, and if it’s going to be lasting, there should at least be talent, no?

TK: Yeah, well the American Idol thing is really distressing because it’s people plucked out of nowhere…we’ll get you to look right, and we’ll get the right song that’s just right for you, and you’re on national TV on the #1 rated show in America…boom, there you are! So, therefore, we get guys that sing “Over the Rainbow,” and then four months later, they’re selling out arenas. I don’t get it. They’re not nurturing artists.

MR: There you go, that’s it, exactly.

TK: The people that write their songs, they all sort of emulate these “soul,” over the top, histrionic singing. They’re not artists, they’re not interesting, they have nothing new to offer, they’re just kids, they’re puppets. There are a lot of puppets out there that have major label deals and faded, or are still going. It’s kind of sad, and demeaning I think. The harder they come, the harder they fall. Instantaneous superstardom–how long is that going to last? Then you look at someone like me who’s been knocking his head against a wall for 30 years and you see two opposite sides of the spectrum. Which would I want? I wouldn’t trade my experiences in a second to be on American Idol and hot for fifteen minutes. That’s not going to buy me a cup of coffee at Starbucks. It’s both sides of the coin.