"I Hate The Man Who Runs This Bar: The Survival Guide For Real Musicians"
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Since I started these reviews I have hoped to find a book that was written with a more realistic outlook on the music business. Sure, theses books all give good ideas and tips that can be implemented in any career, but their usual goal is national recognition. Besides Tim Sweeny’s books, I think I this one comes close and is funny to boot. I Hate The Man... will not tell you how to get rich, become famous, or how to land a record deal. What it will give you is some great advice and narratives on life as an artist and working musician. Eugene Chadbourne is an experimental jazz musician, sometime session player, and touring artist that most people have never heard of. Although unknown by mainstream music fans, he manages to be in the genealogy of several notorious acts including Camper Van Beethoven and They Might Be Giants, and that is just a couple of them. Chadbourne’s own technique is a frantic, free-form kind of string playing with rebellious lyrics and he has done a lot of shockabilly stuff. Since Im reviewing his book and not his music I’ll leave it at that and just say you won’t be downloading his originals from iTunes anytime soon. Despite his lack of public notoriety he can be found on Yahoo's Launch, MSN Music, and has his own Live 365 Radio site. Chapter One is an alphabet of bar owner personalities. The reader realizes quickly that Chadbourne does not hate bar owners, in fact, he seems to have quite a bit of empathy for their plight. There are twenty-six short stories on all the various bar owner/manager types that working musicians have all encountered. Some of them are wicked scoundrels that use every trick to help themselves to your hard earned money and others are endearing personalities that genuinely care about their local scene and the musicians. Unfortunately, the latter seem to burn out, quit, or otherwise give up after years of toil; while the former go on and on. Chadbourne has toured throughout Europe and around the world, sadly, many stories don’t seem to be much different from location to location. Some of the stories of communist bar owners are a testament to the power of music. This is the longest chapter in the book. Chapter Two chronicles the many relationships that Chadbourne has forged over the years. It has some great advice on the importance of creating friendships and bonds within the global community. What's Good About Music is an incredible chapter on the history of music and its part in modern society. There are some great viewpoints in this chapter. Throughout this book the author gets into some deep subject matter, but quickly rebounds with wit and sarcasm. Another notable chapter includes Understanding The Non-Creative Mind; Chadbourne attempts to explain the differences between those who create and those who tolerate them. There are some are humorous stories on how some are compelled to create and why others just don’t get it. Chicken Public vs. The Avant-Garde is a brief presentation on Eugene Chadbourne’s unique type of music. I sense some bitterness here, but, if you play the kind of stuff this guy does you have to expect a fairly limited audience to appreciate it. There is also a chapter devoted to the importance of publishing titled appropriately, Publishing. This chapter also has some great advice on dealing with attorneys, managers, and business people in general; and some great advice on looking out for your colleagues. The chapter on Living Under New Machines has some interesting insight into how our society is so quick to embrace new technologies and weather that is a good thing or not. The book was published in 1997 so Internet tools are not included. I would be very interested to know what Eugene Chadbourne thinks about this new world. Chadbourne’s House of Chadula Records website is a testimony to loyalty. Do a web search and he is mentioned hundreds of times. The book concludes with Chadbournes tales of schlepping records around himself and various bands he has started and been a part. If you are a working musician then this is a great book to read and commiserate with. Its nice to know someone out there is going through the same things you are and managing to make it on his own. If you are just starting out and have visions of glory this is a great book to bring you down to earth and has some good advise. Eugene Chadbourne is the Yoda of the real musician. I am glad to have been introduced to his world. |
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