I wanted a simpler hashtag - something that would be easily memorable, not take up too much precious characters in a tweet, and yet capture the entirety of my argument. Well... While it ticks off the first box, I can see how it falls short on the other two. At the very least, the statement is provocative enough that it may just prod people - perhaps even Dr. Dre himself - to ask why I am leveling that charge.
Who am I?
My name is Kareem Powell; I am a pianist from Dayton, Ohio. Depending on who you ask, I am either a brilliant overlooked pianist, a nice guy, or a laughing stock that gets called only as a last resort. Frankly, I'm at an age where I've ceased to care. I take care of my family and sometimes I actually get to make music. If you want to learn more about me, browse through the Curriculum Vitae on my website.
Front cover of my album
The more relevant thing to note is that in 2011, I released my first - and to date only - solo piano album "Reflections in Black and White." The back of the album cover says "Sunstrike Entertainment LLC." What it doesn't say is that I am Sunstrike Entertainment LLC. I wrote most of the tracks and arranged all of it for piano. The studio time came out of my pocketbook. I used my car as collateral on a loan to pay for that album. There is no agent, no manager, and no producer. The risk was solely mine.
Honestly, the album got very little traction. I couldn't even book a local gig with it. No one was interested. Three years later, I've given away far more music than I've sold. Do I stand by the music? Absolutely. I gained valuable experience that I'll put to use whenever I do a followup. The point is that "Reflections in Black and White" is my hard work - blood, sweat, tears, risk, reward and failure. All of it.
Ins and Out of Digital Distribution
Like most recording artists, I use digital distribution. Where the major-level artists are concerned, the major record labels - all three of them - are responsible for getting their work out into the digital marketplace. Because they have the big-name artists that consumers most want to hear, the record labels are able to negotiate directly with each of the platforms: iTunes, Spotify, Rdio, etc. All of them.
Well, I'm not signed to a record label, remember? For my album to be delivered to these digital marketplaces where you can find it along Taylor Swift and my "enemy" Dr. Dre, I have to use what is called an "aggregator." You see, each place has certain things that need to be done to the music files in order to be delivered best on their platform. The record labels have people whose job it is to do that. My one-man-operation doesn't. An aggregator collects all of us stragglers - I mean - independent musicians, processes our music, and sends it right to the marketplace. For that service - which is the only way we little people can distribute our albums along with the majors - the aggregator charges a fee or percentage of the royalties. My aggregator of choice is CD Baby.
For the most part, I have been pleased with the quality of CD Baby's customer service. They were the shining jewel in what was otherwise a chaotic process of self-releasing my first album. Just because you like someone doesn't mean everything they do is perfect.
The CD Baby Account Dashboard
One of the things I like about CD Baby is their record-keeping. I can go inside my member profile and see when an album or track has been sold, which site it sold on, and how much money I will be paid as a result. My revenues are nothing to brag about, so my browsing through this is more of a "morbid curiosity" type thing. I can also see which platforms are streaming my music, which tracks are getting streamed, and what they are paying me. Again, it's nothing significant, but it gives me a little personal insight into the ongoing discussions about digital streaming.
Here are some "very exciting" screenshots of my streaming reports from:
Streaming Report: Deezer
Streaming Report: iTunes Match
Streaming Report: MediaNet
Streaming Report: Muve Music
Streaming Report: Rdio
Streaming Report: Rhapsody
Streaming Report: Spotify
Yes, the individual stream revenues are laughable. I was actually tickled pink whenever I saw anything even resembling a penny per stream, seeing as Spotify likes to pay me 4 hundredths of a cent. I joked to a friend a few weeks ago that Spotify usually pays me enough to buy half a candy bar per year.
On Sunday November 16, 2014, I happened to take a peek at my account overview and I saw with delight that my album was now being streamed on Beats Music for the first time and these were the first streaming reports. (There is usually about a 2 month lag between the streaming and the actual report.) Again, this is typically about entertainment value for me, so I went to see how many streams and what minuscule amount that Apple's newest acquisition would be paying me...
Streaming Report: Beats Music
WHAT...
...THE...
.......@#$%!!!!
Fifty-three streams - which is the equivalent of listening to my album four times - and I did not get paid a damn thing by a corporation that Dr. Dre had just sold to tech juggernaut Apple Inc for THREE BILLION DOLLARS.
Needless to say, I was hot. Assuming it was a mistake, I asked CD Baby what was happening.
"Dear CD Baby: WTF, Dude?"
"Dear TKP: Yeah. We sold you out, Bruh."
"Dear CD Baby: *insert expletive-laden rant*"
Yeah, I blew my stack. I was already earning jack shit and Beats Music just got to use my music at no charge so they could build their own customer base?
How do I respond?
Good question. I didn't need a lawyer to know that what Apple/Beats Music just did was perfectly legal. Like everyone else, they negotiated with CD Baby and the other aggregators and CD Baby agreed. If the major record labels accepted this arrangement - again, I don't know... they don't call me - then I could easily see Apple turning to the aggregators and saying "This is the deal; take it or leave it." Again, there's no doubt in my mind it's legal.
Do you know what else is legal? Using eminent domain to route a sludge pipe through a farmer's corn field. Starting a Black Friday sale during Thanksgiving Dinner. Passing laws to criminalize feeding the homeless. Legal does not mean right.
My initial reaction as you see from the email above was to remove my album from Beats Music, reconsider my relationship with CD Baby, and be done with it. Once my initial anger subsided, I started wondering if that would really solve the problem. It's not like I was the only musician this affected.
1.) Did other musicians (particularly with CD Baby) know this was happening?
2.) Did Beats Music negotiate that agreement with everyone?
3.) How can this practice affect the entire market?
4.) Who has the leverage?
Again, Beats Music - the brainchild of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine - is owned by Apple. Apple owns iTunes, who single-handedly determines the maximum sales price for digital downloads. Why? Because everyone goes there. Any other marketplace will just want to match or beat iTunes price. So yes, they control that part of the industry and will take their 30% cut. Could Beats Music possibly do the same thing to streaming?
Spotify - the favorite punching bag of Taylor Swift and Scott Borchetta - is valuated at $3 Billion last I checked. Pandora - an online radio service whose royalties are set by law - is valuated at $2.6 Billion. Apple Inc. is valuated at $662 Billion. (What'd you expect? Beats Music was worth $3 Billion to them.) I'm neither an economist nor a businessman, but I'm pretty sure with pockets that deep, they probably will take over streaming once they figure out the right product. If Apple/Beats Music can get away with setting a new standard - that artists do NOT get paid for music streamed during "trial membership periods" - then all other streaming platforms will follow suit.
So, yes, I could take my album off of Beats Music aka take my ball and go home. In a few months, I'd just be finding out that Spotify, Rdio, and everyone else will be doing the same thing and not compensating artists for streams on their "free versions." Apple has already been in negotiations with major labels to reduce their royalty rates. What do you think that will do to the rest of us?
It is time to speak up.
Other musicians need to know this was happening. Other musicians need to know this could possibly be happening to them. They need to check their reports and tell their stories. Speaking out against Apple/Beats Music is the only way I can see convincing them to end this practice and pay artists for all the music streamed on their platforms.
And from my standpoint, that begins with holding "one of our own" to task.
Dr. Dre needs to be held accountable.
Yeah... Technically, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine sold Beats Music to Apple. While counting their billions, they are both still at unspecified roles at Apple. What are they? No one knows and the sale is nearly 6 months old. The fact is that Beats by Dre still has his name attached to his product. Beats Music is a spin-off of Beats by Dre. Dr. Dre is an integral part of that company. There is no way he "didn't know" what his company was doing to artists. He knew. He condoned it. He profited from it.
Back in 2000, Dr. Dre sued Napster because his music was being uploaded and shared onto that platform. Users were sharing his music for free and he received nothing. 14 years later, he's streaming the work of other musicians on his own platform and what is he paying them in return? Nothing.
Dude practically wrote my opening attack.
"Yo, Dre! Are you a hypocrite or what?"
Yes, I wrote it by hand on a notepad, took a picture of it with my cell phone, and posted it to Instagram. Short, sweet, and to the point. Despite my "fantasy" of this sparking a movement, I wasn't sure what to expect out of it or if anyone would really care. Dr. Dre is a musician/producer/entrepreneur who makes more in one minute than I do in an entire month. He is a billionaire and popular icon that has built an empire. I'm a poor, fat, hairy schmuck in debt up to my eyeballs.
It struck a chord. My friends felt strongly enough to share it. A friend of mine posted it to imgur with the caption "Dr. Dre is a hypocrite" that in a few days would become my hashtag. The imgur picture didn't have the details the Instagram or Facebook caption had, but it did spark a discussion. That was a start.
You called out Dr. Dre; what do you want?
As nice as money would be for my 53 streams, the market value is not worth the price of postage. This is about a basic principle: If you use my creative work, I should be paid for it. I did not release my album to build Dr. Dre's empire. This is what I'm looking for:
1.) The practice of Apple/Beats Music streaming music to "trial members" without compensating the artists who created it needs to end. If you play my music, I should be paid regardless of whether or not you are collecting money. It's one thing for me to decide to give away my music. It's another thing altogether for a multi-billion dollar corporation to give away my music.
2.) Musicians need to be aware this is happening. They have the highest stakes in this "game." They need to check their streaming reports and SPEAK UP! Apple and Beats Music will continue getting away with this as long as we and our fans let them.
3.) Consumers need to recognize that smaller level, independent artists are just as (if not more) affected by what is happening as the major label artists. There has been a lot of talk about the "greedy major record labels" getting their comeuppance for screwing their musicians and very little talk about independent artists like me who own all our rights. To be clear, the labels do me no favors with their "deals," but these tech companies - regardless of how good they are from a consumer standpoint - aren't exactly being good "partners" either. Apple used my music to expand their customer base and paid me nothing in return.
4.) Someone needs to tell Beats Music/Apple to fix the page on their knowledge base to more accurately reflect how they are "paying better royalties." Here is my correction:
Aw, hell. I'll say it here: Beats Music TOTALLY lied.
5.) Dr. Dre needs to answer to his peers - the musicians, not the billionaires. He needs to look musicians in the eye and explain how he can go from fighting against piracy to condoning and placing his name on a legalized incarnation of the same practice. I asked the question in my first Instagram post: "Did $3 Billion turn you into a hypocrite?"
As far as I'm concerned, you know what the answer is. If Dr. Dre would like to discuss this, I'm all ears. For now, though...
I decided to continue reviewing the - well - one comic book that I'm reading at the moment. Look earlier on my blog if you want to see my review of X-Men 7. It also gives a brief overview about what led to this moment. Briefly, last issue saw the return of Monet St. Croix to the X-Men and an introduction of the new Lady Deathstrike, which is an amalgamation of the old one (Yuriko) and a teenage socialite (Ana Cortes). There was a failed attempt on what she expected to be the Omega Sentinel technology. The "cliffhanger" was Lady Deathstrike discovering Arkea and having hired Typhoid Mary.
Now... Let's get into the current issue.
Synopsis:
Lady Deathstrike's hired hand Typhoid Mary sets off the security system at the Jean Grey School. Psylocke chases her, but she escapes. If you've been reading this series so far, you can make a really educated guess what Typhoid Mary made off with.
Rachel calls Sublime to tell him the news. He just happens to be at Lady Deathstrike's place. Typhoid Mary arrives with the package. Sublime tries to convince Deathstrike of the danger and inadvertently makes a discovery that gives him hope. Deathstrike demands more info. Sublime refuses. Typhoid Mary doesn't have time for that and does her thing! Now, LD and TM know where the rest of the "package" is!
Sublime is saved by Psylocke, who saw the latter part of the exchange. She has what I consider the best line of the book.
LD and TM head to the first part of the package and run into another villainess not typically associated with the X-Franchise. After the awkward confrontation followed by a recognition and a conversation, LD makes her an enticing offer.
Jubilee is trying to get Bling! to talk with Storm and Rachel about her problems with Mercury. Bling! has other ideas. Awkward moment made worse by M's timely arrival to announce Jubilee needs to suit up for a mission.
Typhoid Mary decides to renegotiate her fee with Lady Deathstrike. LD is agreeable. With three people on their team, she announces that this is the beginning of The Sisterhood.
What I liked:
The rapport between Rachel and Psylocke is consistently one of the strongest parts of the book. You can tell they are good friends and at the same time Psylocke is frustrated with her.
Storm and Rachel have an exchange that wasn't contentious. Of course, everyone else wasn't there at the time.
Wood's not trying to make this Lady Deathstrike like her previous portrayals. Granted, it is only her second issue, but the new LD definitely has her host's brashness.
Psylocke's "voice" was consistently awesome and her first line as she spoke to Sublime was gold.
Small thing... but I liked how Sublime knew he wasn't alone.
Jubilee's dialogue was thankfully more big sisterly in this issue, even during the WTF moment. Jubilee's "not impressed" face was priceless. In this particular scene, I suspect the art told more of the story than the dialogue.
What I didn't like:
Typhoid Mary managing to break in and steal something from the Jean Grey School. It seems as problematic as Lady Deathstrike's assistant hacking into their files and no one knowing anything about it. That place and the information on Arkea she got should have been locked up tighter than NORAD. Security - much less at a school that is being attacked every other day - shouldn't be that weak even at night!
Too much of this setup relied on coincidences. Sublime just happened to be at Lady Deathstrike's place when Typhoid Mary swiped a piece of his sister? One of the meteor pieces Lady Deathstrike is looking for just happens to be in the same place where Thor imprisoned the Enchantress? The Enchantress just happens to recognize Lady Deathstrike, who is in a new body and wearing facepaint she never wore before?
Have Lady Deathstrike and the Enchantress ever been in the same comic book together? (Honestly... I don't know. Hope someone can answer that for me.) And even if so, WHY would the Enchantress just break down and tell her everything? Or Lady Deathstrike sit around and listen? Don't get me wrong; if there is indeed a prior relationship between the two characters, I would LOVE for someone to let me know. It just came across as "We're all villains. Let's hang out and form a partnership."
Bling! WTF?! If that was how you asked Mercury out, you deserved to get punched.
Other thoughts:
Lady Deathstrike as Yuriko is a martial arts badass... but this one is not. Not only was Sublime able to knock her down and rip the Arkea piece from her, but Typhoid Mary put a sword to her neck and didn't get so much as smacked. Perhaps Cortes is a
greater part of her consciousness than we're being led to believe.
Honestly, I don't know how Lady Deathstrike thinks a glorified technovirus that will probably take her over is going to give her unimaginable power to make her partner's dreams come true.
I don't think Bling! is being straightforward with Jubilee. Why else would the art point out Mercury and Bling! glaring at each other before Bling! makes her WTF move or Mercury's reaction?
I seriously hope Jubilee's not taking Shogo on this mission with her. If that is going to be a regular thing, then the X-Men look like fools for not staging an intervention or calling Children's Protective Services. Part of my expectation as a reader is that her return to the X-Men (with baby that she just officially adopted... even though it would have been less hassle if he had been her biological child) would cement her status as Senior X-Man as opposed to the longest fledgling status ever.
I didn't like this issue as much as I did the last one. The reliance on sheer coincidence and complete implausibility in order to push the plot forward really weakens what is the one book I've been looking forward to for the better part of a year. I will acknowledge that a launch delay, a shoehorned and contrived X-Men "event", and a major cast change early in the book completely broke up the flow, but it doesn't encourage me when I have to suspend my belief this far to explain this plot is unfolding.
Don't misunderstand me. I want this book to succeed, not due to the "novelty" of having an all-female team, but because it is the only core X-Men that doesn't have a thing to do with the some old tired Wolverine/Cyclops pissing match that Marvel has been shoving down our throats for the past few years. While I could let some things go (like the pay phone with a "redial" button) in the first arc, the number of "just happeneds" that I had to let go of in this issue alone makes me concerned that it will fail and Marvel will get the wrong message about why.
If you have been following me on Facebook, then you know that one of my “things” is periodically snapping pictures of my father. Usually, we’ll be at some restaurant about to eat. I don’t know why I started doing it, but I do. His reaction has run the gamut of “Put that phone down” to “I’m hiding my face!” Dad is just Dad.
Crash course on Dad: Born and raised in Hampton, VA in the midst of Jim Crow. It’s not a chapter in a history book for my father; he lived it. Schools were segregated. Blacks were barred from certain places and positions. Classmates of his were lynched. When he was an adult, he wasn’t allowed to vote. I could go on. Attended Hampton Institute (now University). Served in the U.S. Army. Attended Penn State for grad school. Worked for Owens-Illinois in Research and Development. Had eight children, two with severe disabilities. Married to mom for 42 years. A bunch of other stuff. It’s Dad.
Dad is one of the smartest people I know. I’m not just saying that just because he’s Dad, either. Even from a young age, he was crazy about science. One of my uncles told us this story about my young father figuring out how to make a small bomb and inadvertently exploding it in my aunt’s face. This guy is one of the few people I know who worked on computers back when they were the size of an entire building, required punch cards, and had MUCH less memory in them than you have on your I-Pod. He worked on the patent for the Coca Cola bottle! Oh yeah… and he has three Masters degrees… After he retired, this guy looked up everything there was to know about running and physiology and taught himself how to coach track/cross country and got results from his runners! There’s all sorts of stuff I could throw out there about him.
For the love of God, if you ever meet Dad, don’t fucking bullshit him. He can smell it a mile away. He’s the sort that will let you continue while giving you enough rope to hang yourself. If you’re going to argue with him - and all of his children have done plenty of it - just know your stuff. Don’t insult his intelligence because you are the one who is going to look like a fucking moron.
Dad is also one of the strongest people I know. From current health challenges to devastating life experiences, he has kept going even in the darkest of times. He’s got a list of health conditions and yet every day is up to mischief, arguing with all of us, teasing all the medical staff, and plotting on how to get solar panels on the roof. If anything comes up, he’s googling it.
There are a few bad habits of his, however. No, I’m not talking about alcohol or cigarettes or anything like that. I’m talking about his feedings the dogs off his dinner plate… or spying on me through Facebook… You know that Stevie Wonder song? The correct refrain is “I just called to say I’m hungry.” Back in my college days, Dad would call me at 2:30 AM because “Why weren’t you in your dorm at midnight?” There are times I’ve said to him “I’m 36. If I can’t find my way home by now, I’m going to be lost forever.”
I admit that I do joke and pick on Dad and - yes - argue with him. A lot. The reason is because I am so glad that he is in my life. I wouldn’t give up Dad for anything in the world, even the $100K Bosendorfer or Steinway pianos I’ve been lusting after for years. I will share my father, however.
Happy Birthday and Happy Thanksgiving, Dad. We love you.
Oh… and we all forgot to buy the sweet potatoes. Sorry, Dad. All the stores are out. No sweet potato pie this year.
Wait... Hold on... This blog is about my music and my career. What am I doing posting a review of a comic book on it?
Frankly... Why not? I've never done a review before and I need to get back in the habit of writing anyway, so I just decided to start going for it. Who needs focus, anyway?
So... I'm reviewing X-Men #7. The creative team is made of Brian Wood (writer), Terry Dodson (pencils), Rachel Dodson (inker), and Jason Keith (colorist).
A little background
on me and Marvel Comics:
If you have connected with me on Twitter or Facebook, then
you likely know that I like comic books, particularly the X-Men. There was a
time in my younger days where I used to drop pretty close to $40 a month on the
X-Men and their various satellite books. As bills have increased and my income
decreased, I have since become increasingly selective. I’m not going to spend
my limited money on what I feel is low to mid-level, called-in,
editorially-dictated, big event-driven garbage. Age of Apocalypse, Operation:
Zero Tolerance, Onslaught… I wasn’t a fan of all of them, but at least there
was cohesion. There was a gripping story that made sense in all the levels.
Nothing that
Marvel has put out in recent years compares even remotely. Straight out, their
directions as of late have become increasingly contrived and focused far more
toward the “plot” than the characters involved. “Hey… Let’s power up the
Scarlet Witch to a cosmic level and have her remove a fucking gene from millions of people across multiple
realities… and then have no current or prominent X-Men be affected in any great
or permanent capacity and ignore all the depowered mutants formerly in their
ranks.” “Let’s have the X-Men split off between Wolverine and Cyclops.” “Let’s
have the Avengers and the X-Men fight over the avatar of the Phoenix for the
first time EVER and make a shock with THE PHOENIX FIVE.”
Straight out, it’s all bullshit. The current direction and
angle of the X-Books are pretty much centered around Cyclops and Wolverine’s
played-to-death 30+-year-old Jean Grey squabble. It was old when Jean died the first time. It’s still old years after Grant Morrison killed her off. (Don’t get me
started on the logistics of that.)
Brian Wood’s X-Men
relaunch:
ANYWAY, when this
new X-Men book by Brian Wood was announced, I actually got excited because as
far as I could see it had nothing to do with Cyclops vs. Wolverine. Storm,
Rogue, Psylocke, Shadowcat, Rachel Grey, and bringing Jubilee back with a subplot.
A lot of potential, obviously. I figured with other writers in the works that
there was no way Wood was going to be able to hold onto all of them, but he
would hopefully be able to do quite a bit.
“Primer” was the first arc. I won’t rehash or review
everything, but I was overall pleased with it. It was clearly a setup for the
book, introducing the characters and the subplots. Here’s what you need to know
about it:
Sublime kicked his sister off-world billions of
years ago. She’s back for revenge. She controls technology.
Jubilee kidnapped – er I mean – adopted an
implanted orphan from Bulgaria. His name is Shogo.
Arkea infected Omega Sentinel/Karima Sharpandar.
Rachel and Sublime have chemistry… and she has
no clue Sublime is the one that killed her mother Jean Grey.
Rachel and Storm are openly fighting each other
for leadership.
On the tail of this solid introduction was a one-off and the Marvel event “Battle
of the Atom,” which was billed at celebrating the X-Men's 50th Anniversary. Straight out, Battle of the Atom SUCKED. It was contrived like
all the Marvel events are and I tried to give it a chance and honestly, I’m mad
at myself for wasting the money on it. Just… Don’t touch that garbage.
NOW… onto X-Men #7.
Yes, there be spoilers. They're semi-general here, but they get more detailed when I get into the likes/dislikes.
Synopsis:
It begins by introducing out new Lady
Deathstrike, Ana Cortes. (No relationship at all to X-Men foe Fabian Cortez.)
It explains her background and shows how she becomes the new Lady Deathstrike.
There are still things left open about why
she wanted this. I figure that’s something we’ll find out later. She wants
something from the X-Men.
Jubilee gets good news and her mood is ruined by
Monet St. Croix’s timely arrival. If you haven’t read Generation X, they have
history.
Monet meets Karima Sharpandar who has a new
development. They bond quickly, which makes sense.
Lady Deathstrike starts to make her move and
starts too soon. She didn’t count on M. She escapes because she’s not ready.
M and Karima tell the informal X-Men team what’s
up. Storm asks M to hang around. More tension.
Bling reveals to Jubilee what happened.
Lady Deathstrike finds out something that
interests her FAR more and her new partner is revealed on the last page.
What I liked:
I’m a fan of the new Lady Deathstrike already. Her
setup did justice to the name and to the characters. Her look is awesome. Her
being the same age as Jubilee also shows promise.
M joining is perfect, both in terms of balancing
the departure of Kitty and Rogue, but also in the long-term tension with
Jubilee. They were rivals in Generation X and both had fallen in love with
Synch just before he was killed!
Karima Sharpandar’s new “status quo” is
promising.
M’s instant clicking with Karima makes sense
given what both of them had experienced.
Surprised by M using telekinesis. I don’t think
that has been done since the introduction of her sisters back in the Phalanx
Covenant. It was definitely the first time this
M used it that I remember.
What I didn’t like:
The art. The Dodsons generally do good work,
however the coloring and look were problematic in this issue. M, Karima, Lady
Deathstrike, Typhoid Mary, and even Psylocke could all be mistaken for each
other at different points in this book because they’re all women with long dark
hair with extremely similar skin tones.
Jubilee acted too “teeny-boppery” overall. Fine…
She’s 18. She has a child. She is finished with high school. (Thank God, seeing
she’s been around since 1989.) I understand she’s young. She’s not that much younger than M or even Rachel!
There hardly seemed to be any difference in the maturity level between her and
the kids still in school. With the exception of that one scene where she’s
acting “big sis” to Bling, she’s really coming off “junior X-Man” when she’s
supposed to be their equal.
I’m totally not feeling the Rachel vs. Storm
thing. Storm has been the leader of the X-Men for 30 years. I just don’t see
the justification for Rachel challenging her for leadership.
Reiko hacked into the X-Men’s database and the
X-Men don’t have a clue? Rogue was right. Beast is slipping. That shit should have been sealed up tight.
Other thoughts:
I’m really
hoping Bling isn’t crushing on Jubilee. I was really liking Jubilee being the “Big
Sis”/Mentor in previous issues, which is a capacity that none of the other
X-Men are filling with the teen group at all. Bling should definitely be Shogo’s
official baby-sitter. (Just say no to
Broo.)
I’m interested to see why Ana chose to go this
particular route and why Wood chose her to be so young. Hot girl? Rich? Young? I
don’t know why, but I’m kind of hoping the new Lady Deathstrike is the
Sabertooth to M’s Wolverine.
The racial and ethnic diversity on the team is striking.
Storm is African-American. (Before anyone corrects me, she was born in Harlem.
Look it up.) Psylocke is a British woman wearing a Japanese body. Jubilee is
Chinese-American. Karima Sharpandar is from India. Monet is Black French/Algerian.
Rachel is a Ginger from the Future. As noted before, it was at times difficult
to tell Karima, Monet, and Ana Cortes apart. It’s almost enough to make me
forget that the creative staff of
Marvel Comics is overwhelmingly White males.
Marvel really needs to tell the artists to cut
it with the promotional artwork displaying Jubilee with her pyrotechnic powers
if they have no intention of ever bringing them back. Personally, I’d rather
they just give her mutant powers back.
Overall, I liked the book. It’s the only X-Book
I’m getting right now, though I may pick up Peter David’s rebooted X-Factor
when it comes out. Simply because it isn't completely centered around the Wolverine/Cyclops circle *cough*, I'm really hoping that it succeeds as all these subplots are built up and developed.
All the best! I'm curious to hear what others think of the issue.
Back in October, I had the pleasure of talking with Joleen Knowling-Norman, Publisher and CEO of JO Magazine. The main focus is on entertainment, fashion, and the arts. What has me particularly excited for her and the magazine is that it is focused on uplifting the community, which is all too often marginalized. I would much rather be profiled along the likes of actor Omar Gooding or Earvin Magic Johnson than whatever professional athlete acted like and idiot this week. In any case, here is our interview as published in Issue 10 of JO Magazine. I encourage you to check it out.
-------------------------------
A Word with Kareem
Powell
By Joleen Knowling-Norman
Reflections in
Black and White
JO: I love the
title of the CD. How did you come up with it?
Kareem: While I
was practicing the piano, I happened to look down and see the reflection of my
hands on the keys.
JO: How did this
project come about?
Kareem: My
concept of being a professional musician has always been centered around
recording, touring, and performance. While I had been playing with different
bands and working as an accompanist and choir director, I knew that none of
those alone would pave a road for my working and touring with major artists. To
reach that level, I needed to shop around something that showed a taste of my
musical abilities. I needed my own product!
It’s nice to have the idea, but the actual execution was
more than I counted on. Recording costs money and with my chief sources of
income being from part-time and contract work, that meant a shoe-string budget.
I even took a loan out against my car! It was well worth it. I learned so much.
Time, money, and lack of experience were all factors, so I
made it a priority to keep everything as simple as I could. The entire album is
strictly solo piano with every track either an original compositions or an
arrangement of a public domain songs. Where genre is concerned, I decided
against either jazz or classical. The competition for either is overwhelming,
cut-throat, and not the direction I was headed. With my personal stake in this
so high, I wanted to maximize the opportunity and set myself apart in an
extremely crowded field.
As reluctant as I was to embrace the New Age title, I knew
that was my best opening. It provided a clearer route to my goal of breaking
into recording and session work. I knew I could create an individual “sound”
that others could possibly hear and imagine being on their projects.
Using an acoustic piano was extremely important to me, not
only in terms of artistic sound quality, but legitimacy to myself. Just to make
it clear, I understand why others prefer electronic pianos. They’re mobile.
They don’t have to be tuned. They can be plugged directly into the sound
system. They can imitate a range of other instruments. They can loop, sequence,
and a bunch of stuff I don’t know. A particularly lazy pianist can get around
playing in other keys by pressing a button.
My background and training is as a pianist, not a keyboard
player. Once it involves buttons, switches, a programming book, or more than
three pedals, you’re getting away from my core as a musician. There is also the
visual aspect. I have noticed a tremendous difference in how people respond to
me after I’ve played an acoustic versus an electronic piano.
I better stop. I’ll talk about this all day!
JO: Now that the
recording is released, how does it feel to have fans creating playlists with
your music all over the world? I hear that your music is even being played in
Austria…
Kareem: The
Digital Age is something else, isn’t it? It’s both amazing and humbling that it
is easier than ever to distribute your music all over the world. Where the
challenge before was distribution, the new challenge is in finding ways to cut
through a highly-saturated market. More musicians than ever are pushing their
music out there and the danger is in becoming yet another one jumping up and
down screaming “HERE! HERE! LOOK AT ME!!!”
At the same time, you have to find places where the fans
are. Right now, I’m being carried on Pandora, Woodroot Radio in Austria, SoloPiano.com,
and Sky.Fm Solo Piano Radio. Distributing through CD Baby has been particularly
useful in getting my music out to other digital platforms such as iTunes and
Spotify. It’s out there and available. The challenge is getting people to
remember your name! As you can see, I focused primarily on internet stations.
Perhaps I’ll figure out terrestrial radio next…
JO: How did you
get into music?
Kareem: I was
about five when I started. My older sister was taking piano lessons and I got
extremely jealous... and probably very whiny. At the time, there were five
other children in the house and my parents likely wanted a reprieve. I took
piano lessons for a few months before my teacher moved and then didn’t have
another one until I went to college! Obviously, I hadn’t stopped playing the
piano.
JO: So your
sister inspired you?
Kareem: That
won’t see print, will it? I don’t want it to go to her head…
JO: Have there
been any significant mentors or role models along the way?
Kareem: Absolutely!
A lot of them. There is Paul Murachanian, from whom I took both clarinet and
saxophone for nine years and was constantly pulling together instrumental
ensembles. My high school choir director Malana Turner went out of her way to
provide opportunities to grow.
One of my greatest influences was Dr. Maria Thompson Corley,
my piano instructor at Florida A&M University. That woman put me through my
paces both at the piano and away from it. Literally. I had to walk a mile off-campus
to the Florida State University music library to do research for her legendary
take-home exams. She did a lot to inform me and other students about what it
takes to be a professional musician and perform at that level.
Getting away from just people I know, I also looked at the
career of Jim Brickman. In terms of mainstream music, he’s an excellent model
in maintaining his identity as a pianist and songwriter even while
collaborating with the likes of Dave Koz, Martina McBride, Lady Antebellum, and
all these other artists. One of my goals is to be one of those pianists so iconic
that a listener will be able to pick me out just from the sound.
Kareem: It has
exceeded my expectations! I had made the decision at the beginning that this
was going to be a starting point, regardless of how it sold. The project served
as a foundation to field further opportunities and build my career. It hasn’t
been easy, but it has been rewarding.
Kareem:
Boomerang, Bebe’s Kids, Black Panther, The Boondocks, Django Unchained… Yep.
That guy. He even mentioned it on his website! He said it passed the “play in
the car” test. I’ll take it! It sounds much better than if he hurled it out of
the window, ran it over, and then backed back over it again to make sure it was
completely pulverized, along with the rest of my hopes and dreams…
JO: You’re
melodramatic, aren’t you?
Kareem: How so?
JO: SO… What have
you been up to lately?
Kareem: My big
story is that I got to play the Grand Ole Opry House on September 18th.
JO: The Grand Ole
Opry? Nashville?
Kareem:
Technically, it was the Tuesday Night Opry, but yes… Same venue!
JO: How did you
get to the Grand Ole Opry House?
Kareem: Twitter!
It was a fluke and an awesome example of serendipity or God’s grace.
A little over year ago, I was looking into Nashville.
Twitter suggested a country singer/songwriter by the name of Jimmy Wayne. I
knew nothing about him or his music, but I clicked “Follow” anyway. Glad I did!
The man has a powerful and inspiring story. Here is the
Cliff Notes version: His mother was in and out of jail. Jimmy and his sister
were in and out of foster care. When he was a teenager, his stepfather dragged
Jimmy and his mother all over the country trying to escape from the law. Jimmy
was dumped at the bus station at gunpoint and left on his own. While he was
homeless an older couple took him in and housed/parented him enough so he could
finish high school and go to college. He’s dedicated his life and music to
advocating for kids who have been in his position.
Anyway, Jimmy and I started tweeting back and forth at some
point. He announced this “Spotlight Artist of the Week” feature on his website,
so I sent in a link to a YouTube video I’d done of “Take It Away” from my
album. It was selected and he said to me in his Appalachian drawl “You know, we
should do the Opry together.” I figured that was the last time I’d hear
anything. That was the beginning of August.
On September 13th, he called me up and asked me
to accompany him on the Tuesday Night Opry on a not-yet-released song he wrote
with Pat Alger called “How Jesus Felt.” (Pat Alger also co-wrote “The Thunder
Rolls” aka the biggest country song ever.) It was only going to be me on the
piano and him. I think I said yes before he even finished asking…
The entire situation was definitely intimidating. I was on
one of the world’s most famous stages with a national artist in front of 4400
people and being broadcast by WSM Radio to countless more people all over the
country. Also performing the same program was Lorrie Morgan, a freshly-shaven
Kellie Pickler, and Dierks Bentley. Jimmy was a pro and the performance came
together exceptionally well. The coup de grace was when the Opry House raised
its lights to show the audience applauding on their feet. I was all done
after that.
JO: Wow! So what
happens next?
Kareem: As far as
a definitive follow-up, I cannot say. I’m pretty sure Jimmy and I will be
working together again at some point. (We played The Ryman Auditorium on
December 11.)
In the meantime, I’ve been working on tightening up my
music-writing and piano. Nashville is a highly-addictive place for a musician
and I’ve been making every excuse I can to get there as much as possible and
meet people! My goal remains to break into the major recording and touring
circuit, which means I need to make some new friends and become a part of the
community. The most intimidating part is the sheer amount of stuff I don’t
know. Well… and bills don’t pay themselves.
Regardless, another album is certainly in the works. 2013 is
set to be an exciting year!
JO: I agree! JO Magazine congratulates you on your start
and wishes you much success in this new direction. Thank you for speaking to
me!
Kareem: Thank
you! This looks like it is going to be a year of growth for both of us! I wish JO Magazine nothing but the best. Let’s
go places!
So Long, 2012!
Thanks for the Memories! Part 2 of 2
Part 1 described how my New Year’s philosophy changed from focusing
on “relief from pain” to “appreciation for blessings and optimism toward the
future.” After years of bitterly ruing the WTF moments of the past year, I
ended 2011 on a thankful note for major progress goals achieved and eagerly
anticipated what was to come in 2012.
AND BOY DID 2012 DELIVER! Now, you’re going to see why. I’ll
warn you now that this will be a bit lopsided.
Personal Highlights
of 2012
1.) Kathy Parsons
reviewed my debut album Reflections in
Black and White on MainlyPiano.Com!
Ms. Parsons sure knew how to kick off my New Year!
MainlyPiano.com is an online hub all about piano releases. If you like solo
piano music, this is the FIRST place that you need to check out. It’s chock
full of reviews, artist interviews, artist profiles, and even a concert series
she hosts. I highly encourage you to check it out!
Here’s a little taste of her review:
Reflections in Black & White is the debut CD by
Ohio pianist/composer/arranger Kareem Powell. The thirteen tracks are an
eclectic selection of original jazz-infused compositions and his
arrangements of three traditional folk songs and spirituals. Powell has a
very impressive background that dates back to his starting piano
lessons at the age of five, and continuing through to a BS in Music
Education from Florida A&M University (1998) and a Masters of Music
in Music Theory from Indiana University (2001). Since then, his musical
activities have shown tremendous versatility - Music Minister, director
of musical theater, chorus rehearsal accompanist, adjunct faculty, to
name only a few of the items listed on his website. While Powell’s
playing is masterful and elegant, he has a strong sense of when to keep
it simple...
And that's just what she said about me! Go read the rest of it. Needless to say, I was speechless.
2.) Reginald Hudlin
listed Reflections in Black and White
on his list of 10 Musical Moments for 2011!
Reginald Hudlin is a writer/director/producer whose work
spans across several media. You've seen his work in House Party, Boomerang, Bebe’s Kids, The Boondocks television
series, The Black Panther animated series (and comic book), and recently a
certain Quentin Tarantino movie called Django.
He’s got good taste and I’m not just saying it because I’m on that list!(Though, I AM in good company!)
Check it out. It won’t be too long before the 2012 list
comes up.
3.) A special choral
arrangement
While cleaning my bedroom, I came across an arrangement I
did of the Negro spiritual “Soon I Will Be Done.” It was scored in 8-part a cappella
chorus with alto ad lib solo and descant. I didn’t have Finale at the time, so
I had done it in pencil and then gone over it in ink, which was pretty
pain-staking. At the bottom of the score, I saw that it was completed in
February of 2002 and suddenly realized why it was special. Most of my other
work from that time had been lost in the housefire that had claimed my
brother’s life. I had worked on that arrangement in the classroom of the school
where I was teaching at the time, which is the only reason I still had it.
My original hand-written/inked version of "Soon I Will Be Done."
Now that
I had my office and the equipment and the Finale program, I decided I needed to
notate it properly. I finished the updated arrangement and posted it on this blog February
27, which was the tenth anniversary of my brother’s death. It is dedicated to
him and his twin, who died in a separate housefire in 1980. The two of them were
autistic. This choral arrangement has yet to be performed, though I plan to
change that in 2013.
Months later, I flexed my arranging chops again, this one
being the Christmas song “I Wonder as I Wander”, SSAATTBB with tenor solo also
a cappella. I’d spent a lot of time working with choirs so I guess it really is
a part of me. More arrangements are definitely on tap for 2013.
4.) A family affair
at Wasson Music Center.
I can’t remember when, but I had approached Carol Wasson about possibly hosting a
recital at her store in Centerville, Ohio. I saw her smirk at store manager
Steve Makofka and knew something was up. For some time,
she’s been hosting art galleries throughout the store. She thought some live
entertainment would add something festive to the atmosphere. I just happened to
know a certain artist who specializes in digital techniques: my youngest
brother, who uses the name Prince of Pompeii! Breath-taking
talent. By sheer coincidence, Carol’s daughter also happened to commission a
piece from a good friend and classmate of mine, comic artist Justin Wasson! (Yes, I know they have
the same last name, but they aren’t that closely related.)
A rendition of yours truly, courtesy of Justin Wasson!
After we started pulling things together, I found out
that my eldest sister JoAnna C. Powell
aka Sister #A planned to drive down from Detroit. While I don’t believe in tearing
others down, I also don’t believe in exaggerating their talent and
skills. This is the truth: JoAnna is a world class vocalist, arranger, and entertainer. She is the real deal and is way too good, even for the concert I was doing. She came down
to support and being the obnoxious little brother I am, I put her to work! She stepped up to the plate, did half the show, and really made it a night to remember. Even more, this was the first
time in my 35 years of life I have EVER worked with or performed with her! It
was just an awesome convergence of family and friends that made it one of my
favorite nights of the year.
5.) My first country
gig with Bovine Hobo!
What kind of name is Bovine Hobo? A ****ing awesome one that
is! I’ve grown up with most of these guys. They’re from the same town and we
were in the school choir all together. I occasionally crash their rehearsals or
performances and tell them every obnoxious thing on my mind and they still let
me come. They kept joking they were going to get me up there with them but I
said no. The last thing I wanted was Dad to find out I didn’t hate country music as
much as I had told him or that I even knew how to play songs. (Hey… It’s
never cool to find out you’re turning into your father.) On my birthday, Bassist
Bill Hans tried to goad me to do a show and I said “Fine. You get 50 Likes and
I’ll do it.”
With the exception of the sound blowing out my ears, the
show was awesome! I have fun every time I hang out with the guys. I thoroughly
enjoyed myself. And rumors of my sharing my piano bench with tambourine playing
birthday diva are exaggerated. (PICS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN!!!)
6-10.) The BIG thing…
Even when I was just sketching out the blog entry, I knew
this part was going to overwhelm everything else. Any day now, I expect someone
to say “Are you ever going to stop
talking about this?!” The answer is: No.
I won’t. It’s that ****ing awesome. Even if God smites me tomorrow, I’ll be
sitting up there telling St. Peter all about it.
I was a reluctant Twitter user. 140 characters? I had to go
back and tighten THIS up. Well, I started messing around with on my phone
whenever I had time to kill. While I was still managing to hide that I actually
liked country music, I couldn’t deny I’d fallen madly in love with Nashville. (Quit
cackling, Donna.) I even started following country musicians. Twitter suggested
this guy named Jimmy Wayne so I
followed him. This was sometime in 2011.
Most of the tweets I got from the others I followed were ads for shows or the
latest press releases. Then, I see this tweet from Jimmy where he mentions
having been homeless. I’m like “Say wha?!” Then more tweets started rolling in about the needs of foster children,
their aging out and being left on their own, and his own experiences. He also
mentioned that as a teenager, he had been taken in by a couple and lived with
them while he finished school and attended college. Oh… Yeah… And there was
also something about his dropping everything in 2010 and walking from Nashville to Phoenix to draw awareness to the plight of foster children. There’s more.
Much more. The fact is that his tweets actually had substance to them.
Turns out he’s a damn good singer, too!
Don’t know how good your ears are, but that’s a cover of
Hall and Oates “Sara Smile.” They’re singing backup for him. Who the HELL
covers a song with the writers singing backup for him? Jimmy Wayne does.
I don’t remember exactly how, but we started talking back
and forth. And as I’ve done with Bovine Hobo, I sent him unsolicited critiques
whenever I would catch his Opry performances on live stream. This guy has toured
with Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley, knows what the Billboard looks like, had
Hall and Oates backing him up, and was performing on the BIGGEST stage in
Country music and I was this nobody pianist from Ohio making suggestions about HIS
music.
Despite it being a perfectly reasonable response, he never once
told me to go **** myself! Instead, we talked music.
I also started getting to know some of his fans, like…
Windi - The
skydiving, John Deere-riding, bass-fishing, pistol-packing, barefoot-walking,
bridal shop-owning, balloon-sculpting, rattlesnake-killing,
unapologetically country gal from South Georgia. (I’m pretty sure she’s the
first one I “met.”)
Sharon - Who has this unhealthy obsession with sock
monkeys and trying to convince me to use a “man purse.” Don’t ask. All sorts of
crazy conversations happen on Twitter and Facebook.
Lauren – Diva Tupperware dealer who I ran afoul of by going
to Cracker Barrel without her.
Carolyn – A teacher who works her heart out for her students
and stands up for the teaching profession.
Eva – Proud resident of NY with great taste in music!
Julie – Sweetheart from Wyoming always ready with loads of
inspiring pictures of scenery.
Jessica – La persona unica que me manda practicar mi
español!
Connie – TROUBLE PERSONIFIED!!!
Devvi – Puts together incredible tribute videos with Jimmy’s
music as a soundtrack. Tough negotiator. She might be the one fan who scares
me… (Just kidding, Devvi! You know I love you.)
Ann – The Eavesdropping Tattle Tale.
Debbie – The Mountain Girl Moonshine Queen.
Steph – Steph, Steph, Steph. People file charges for what
she wanted me to do!
Honestly, these are just a few of Jimmy’s Posse. (Yes, I
coined the term, inspired in no small part by Windi’s brutal slaying of that
poor rattlesnake.) There are many many many more who come from all walks of
life, promote a cause near and dear to Jimmy’s heart, and many even have
stepped up to become Court Appointed Special Advocates for foster children. So,
I think the term “Posse” is very appropriate.
Anyway, Jimmy and I are talking back and forth on Twitter. He
announces this “Spotlight Artist of the Week” feature on his recently-relaunched
website. I’d been making “garage videos” on YouTube for a couple of years. I had
recently made another one with “Take It Away” from my album and sent it in. It
was selected for the week of August 6, 2012 and my phone went nuts with tweets
from The Posse! Jimmy was apparently also getting good feedback from his
corner. He said “You know… We should do The Opry.”
I said “Sure.” I’ll admit I was thinking “Yeah right. Like
this guy is REALLY going to bring someone he met through Twitter onto The
Opry.”
Lesson #1:Don’t put ANYTHING past Jimmy Wayne! He only
accepts it as a challenge.
On September 13, he sent me a direct message on Twitter.
“Send me your phone number.” I did. We talked. He asked what would need to
happen to get me to The Tuesday Night Opry on September 18. I said “I’d get in
the car, drive 5 hours, and stay at my sister’s.” He checked a couple of things
with people and then told me it was good to go! So, I’m sitting at home in my
office thinking to myself “What the **** did I just agree to?”
So… Then I started scrambling. Why? Because I knew right
then and there I had to move quickly to inform all of my family before it
started hitting social media. Mom and Dad were on their way to pick up my
brother, so I told them in the driveway. I also told them not to tell my
brother. I told him when he got home.
After they left, I sent the following text to Sister #1 who
I knew was in Cape Cod on business: “So…. Lesseehere… I’m accompanying Jimmy
Wayne on the Tuesday Night Opry. Hope everything is well.” Five seconds later,
my phone rang. I didn’t know it at the time, but she left a business meeting to
make that call! By that point, she’d only been with them (or even in Nashville)
for six weeks. Now her little brother was going to be on The Opry. Her office
gave her so much flack… for the short notice! (It’s okay. I gave her a bunch of
CDs to help make peace.) After she got her tickets, I called up Sister #A aka JoAnna
in Detroit – the one you see singing up above. Then, I finally posted it on
Facebook. “Looks like I picked up an accompanying gig next Tuesday.”
That’s about the time Jimmy posted on Twitter “Who’d like to
see/hear @tkareempowell perform with me @opry Sept. 18, 2012 7:30 PM?”
Yeah. I thought my phone blew up after I became the
Spotlight Artist of the Week. Nope. My phone vibrated so much from all the
tweets coming in that I had stop myself several times just now from making a
raunchy comparison. While that was going on, I went to Facebook to confirm it
and create the Facebook Event. People were asking “Really?” and I think they
knew for certain it wasn’t a joke when The Posse started responding.
You’d think I’d have been nervous out of my mind, but in
actuality I was actually feeling extremely calm. I don’t think I really
believed it was happening. I was more worried I’d commit some obscure faux pax
(and piss someone off, get banned from The Opry and all Gaylord estates, be
blacklisted in Nashville, and live the rest of my life in ignominy…) than I
ever was about completely botching up my first (and possibly only) performance
in the world-famous Grand Ole Opry House with national recording artist Jimmy
Wayne performing a not-yet-released “How Jesus Felt” co-written by Pat Alger
(The Thunder Rolls, Unanswered Prayers, etc.) in front of 4400+ people on the
Tuesday Night Opry show broadcast to who-knows-how-many-other people including
my friends, family, and the Posse members who would be listening online. (Oh…
and Lorrie Morgan, Kellie Pickler and Dierks Bentley, but I didn’t think they’d
care or remember who I was anyway.) Again, I don’t think I believed it was
happening.
Knowing Facebook’s ****ing filtering system, after I made
the initial Facebook Event, I would periodically post a countdown of the exact
hours and minutes with a link to the Facebook Event. I think that actually did
a great job of getting the word out and getting people hyped up to help spread
it and tune in. Fortunately, WSM 650 AM Radio streams the broadcast on the
internet, so everyone who wanted to was going to be able to catch it.
After buying my clothes off the clearance rack – yes, I did –
I drove to Nashville and crashed at my sister and brother-in-law’s. Boy, was I
fortunate to have got there, because unknownst to me, I had apparently run over
a nail! I found the flat the next day on Monday! (Yep… the day BEFORE the
Opry!) Fortunately, it was a quick fix and I was soon mobile again. I called up
the Steinway Piano Gallery of Nashville and found a relatively close place to
practice. Jimmy and I met for the first time in person at his favorite
steakhouse, talked through everything, had an awesome conversation about
anything and everything and pretty much got along just fine. (Yes, his song “Do
You Believe Me Now” came on. ) It was a blast. The idea was to meet there, I’d
follow him over, and everything would be good to go.
That said… I COULD NOT SLEEP THAT NIGHT. Again, not nervous,
but so ****ing wired I probably could have run a marathon. I’ve wrestled with
stage fright my whole life but I didn’t have a LICK of it that night. Never
questioned for a moment that performance-wise everything would be just fine. It
blew my mind.
Tuesday, we met up and I followed him over. Since I had NO
clue where I was going, I probably drove a little bit on the maniacal side.
(Hey… I was taking NO chances!) Pulled in. Hit the wrong parking space. Drove
to the correct one. Walked up to meet Jimmy and the JW staff. In the back of my
mind, I’m thinking “BEHAVE. Don’t do or say anything to piss anybody off.”
(Yes, I’m REAL good at doing that!)
There is something to be said about walking into the back
entrance of The Grand Ole Opryhouse. I always thought my first time there would
be as a patron and here I was a performer. We were led to the dressing room,
soon to be joined by more of Jimmy’s guests. After we got settled, we managed
to get in a run-through of the song. (Yes, that was indeed our first
rehearsal.) We started to go through it again when the Stage Manager was there
telling us it was time to get out there!
Jimmy did “Stay Gone” and “Do You Believe Me Now” with the
Opry band and then started to introduce the song we were going to do together, “How
Jesus Felt.” About that time, the Opry pianist waved me over to show me how to
adjust the monitor. I thought nothing about it until it occurred to me that
“Oh… wait… Jimmy was introducing me and I was already out on stage.” I figured
it would be worse to leave the stage and then come back on so I sat down at the
piano. Man… Yes… Here I was, hired on Twitter, and I completely ruined the
dramatic impact of this awesome introduction! Jimmy turned, saw me, was
surprised, and went on.
And yes, even while out there on the stage, I STILL did not
believe it was real.
It started off fine. The introduction was spacy enough that
I could quickly snatch my hand down to turn down the monitor. (For a band, it was
perfect… but for just piano, it needed to be turned down a lot.) Once I got
used to it, everything started to fall into place. I’ve spent a lot of time as
an accompanist and working with choirs, so I knew how to listen to a singer’s
breath, respond, and anticipate where he’s going to be. I had the song
memorized so we went for it. My take on it is that this was lightning in a
bottle. It breathed. Everything was placed. I ended it with a pentatonic run up
the piano.
Sept. 18, 2012 at the Opry House! Compiled courtesy of Jimmy Wayne's staff.
When I realized I had done – as if the thunderous applause
hadn’t been a clue – I think I just kind of looked at my hand and thought “Did
that just happen?” I stood up and yes, I was STILL in denial. Jimmy said they
were on their feet and the Opryhouse raised the house lights to show me and I think
THAT was when it first started to hit me. After we left the stage, I said
“PLEASE tell me we’re going to do that again.”
(Yes… I know… Ghermin’ out. You can listen to it HERE. Search for Sept. 18 and we're on about 1/3 of the way through.)
I managed to sneak in an “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!” Facebook
post from my dying phone. The feedback behind the stage was pretty
enthusiastic. Jimmy’s staff didn’t loot my wallet. (There was virtually nothing
in it anyway and they would have been REALLY disappointed with the debit
cards.) There was so much talking and so many people including a drummer for
George Jones with a really sharp poking finger who told me to keep doing what I
was doing. WSM Radio told us that they planned to put the performance into
their rotation. After some talking, we went back to the dressing room where I
was still in complete denial.
(On an unrelated note… We passed Kellie
Pickler who not long before had shaved her head in support of a friend battling breast cancer. Even balder than Sinead O'Connor, that woman is
beautiful.)
We went backstage to watch Dierks Bentley perform his set. I
know it sounds bad, but THAT was when I first realized just how big the house
was! There was a whole other section in the stratosphere which is where my poor
sister, brother-in-law, and nephew were seated! (My sister DID manage to get
some pictures with her cell phone and have them posted on Facebook.)After that set, my sister had planned to take
the tour so she could get back to see us, but after exchanging some texts, we
all decided we needed some food instead.
So, when you leave the Opry House, people are waiting outside
to greet the musicians. Jimmy of course received his applause. I waited back
and next thing I knew I was shoved out to my own applause. Not used to it at
all. Completely different world to me!
After some wrangling, we figured out a place. I managed to
reach the restaurant as it was closing. While the JW “entourage” was inside, I
held the door open with my foot and waited for my sister to get there. (Thank
GOD for GPS on cell phones.) I had the unfortunate duty of telling people as
they arrived that the restaurant had just closed. I got a reaction I wasn’t
expecting…
“Hey… Aren’t you the piano player?”
“Actually, yes!”
“Would you mind taking a picture with us?”
“Sure! I’d be glad to!”
We took a few pictures at the door and I wished them well as
they went on their way! Yep… Totally different world. I’m NOT used to the
attention! My brother-in-law asked me what was going on as they arrived and I
happily told them.
Dinner was great. Jimmy’s staff. Friends. I think there were
people from CASA. Again… and awesomely great time. Once we left, we agreed to
stay in touch. So after getting back to my sister’s – and my poor nephew had
school the next day – I turned on my laptop to find 64 Facebook notifications looking at me and well-over 100 tweets on Twitter. I didn’t touch the
notifications. (It got up to 92.) Here I was… and I STILL couldn’t believe it happened! It didn’t
feel real to me. Even with all those witnesses, including family/friends/Posse.
My mind was elsewhere… AND I STILL COULDN’T SLEEP.
Honestly, I don’t know how people had a conversation with me
for the next couple of days, because I don’t think I was capable of uttering a
single intelligible thought. On Wednesday, the fans gathered together online and
mercilessly hounded WSM Radio until they played the song on the air. My
brother-in-law and I listened through my computer and it was just the most
overwhelming experience to hear it and say “Wow… That’s ME playing.” I have an
album out myself and never experienced that and here I was on terrestrial radio
accompanying Jimmy Wayne.
On Thursday, I was in the shower and that’s when that switch
finally went on in my head. I completely just lost it. I can’t describe the
torrent of thoughts in my head. Yes, it happened. Yes, it went well. Will I
ever do it again? Is this as it goes? Is this the start of something bigger?
Can I go back to scrounging for work at home and playing for nothing? Even just
thinking about it now causes my head to swim.
The experience was incredible and there is no question in my
mind that it was the right time. That nagging demonic voice that said “Am I
good enough? Am I worthy?” went dead and good riddance. Still, it brought to
mind all the experience I don’t have.
I know slightly more than nothing about recording. The Opry was the first
national stage I’ve ever touched. I know nothing about this area, this level,
or this business. Hell… I couldn’t even book myself in my hometown!
Yes, Jimmy took a chance. He went with it. It worked out
well. It completely changed my life. By the same token, I recognized neither he
nor anyone else in Nashville (or even at home) owed me a damn thing. I’m the
one that owes a debt that frankly can never be repaid! I had and still have NO
IDEA where this is going.
So… yes, it completely took over my personal highlights, but
I’m fine with that because it was just SO ****ING HUGE. Even over three months
later, I’ve never felt like this in my entire life. To experience that moment
was amazing enough, but to be able to SHARE it with my family and friends.
That’s incredible. That’s humbling. I can’t help but appreciate it.
11.) Do you have a
nice shirt?
Fortunately for me, I got the answer to at least one of my
questions on December 11. I scraped some money together and drove to Nashville
to visit my sister’s family and deliver my nephew’s Christmas presents. I also
figured it would be a great time to touch base with friends and get out into
the community. I saw on my Twitter feed that Brentwood Hills Church of Christ
was holding a homeless dinner the next day on December 12. (Yes… 12-12-12!) I
figure that would get me something great to do while I was there.
Twenty minutes after I arrived, my phone rang. It was Jimmy.
“Hi Kareem! I was
wondering… Do you have a nice shirt?”
“Well, I suppose I could get one… Why?”
“Teeheehee…”
Remember Lesson #1 from above?
LESSON #2:
Can you guess where this one is going?
Accompanying Jimmy Wayne. December 11, 2012 at The Ryman Auditorium.
12.) Brentwood Hills
Church of Christ – The Bridge
Well, the next day – after some quality time with my old
friend at the Steinway Piano Gallery of Nashville and making NEW friends at
Nashville Pickers next door, I reported to Brentwood Hills Church of Christ. No, I didn’t
know a soul, but they quickly found me something to do. I helped carry some
boxes of fruit into the church and went to set candles out for the buses that
were carrying the homeless guests to the dinner. They had originally expected
450 but ended up with over 600.
Fortunately, they had a healthy volunteer turn
out as well. I shared hosting duties for a table and there were already two
servers. Our particular guests were a mother and her three children and yes,
they got more attention than they probably ever imagined! It was a great time.
Now… Of course, I played it all low-key and told them nothing except that I was
from Ohio visiting my sister. Another volunteer ratted me out.
LESSON #3:
No point hiding.
Well, believe it or not, the church was completely
piano-less. (Their services are a cappella.) So, I couldn’t help Jimmy out this time when he did an impromptu
performance before their service. I tried to get cell phone video but my
battery died before it was done. (It ended up blurry anyway, so I erased it.) I
stayed for the children’s pageant and excused myself partially through the
service. I’d been out for a few hours and I figured I’d go ahead and make my
way back to my sister’s.
God didn’t like that.
Once I turned from the church’s parking lot onto the street,
the car started vibrating and getting really antsy. Battery light came on. I
pulled into the nearest street which is directly across from the church. My
thought process was that I’d go to the end of the cul-de-sac and turn around.
Well, the engine cut out on me altogether and would not restart at all. And to
actually make me nervous, this street was OOZING with money. All I could think
of was that “Oh shit… I’m an out-of-state skuzzy-looking Black man wearing dark
clothes and stuck in front of some rich man’s home. And my phone has no power.
Please don’t let me get arrested…” I walked down to the church which was still holding
the service and looked around for someone to see if I could get a jump. My new
friend David was the first person I ran into. We waited until the service had
finished before we headed out.
Well… Since it was my alternator, a jump wasn’t happening.
He called AAA so I could tow it to my sister’s. While we were waiting, I had the
best time chatting with David, his son, daughter-in-law, and his lovely wife
Vickie. I handed them CDs and definitely promised to stay in touch and visit
the church when I return to Nashville.
Even the ride back to my sister’s was cool. The AAA driver was
– like so many in Nashville – a musician in Christian metal, which I know
absolutely nothing about. You know you are a geek when you’re talking to him
about something, stop in the middle of the sentence to comment on a nice keyboard
string transition leading into the thrash guitar solo.
Have I mentioned how much I love Nashville?
Even when a WTF moment happens, there’s still so much
inspiring and uplifting to be found. (And yes… I’m glad I wasn’t on the highway
or on my way to The Ryman when the alternator blew. That would have been
BAAAAAD.)
Some final
thoughts:
Just because I’ve chosen to focus on the positive doesn’t
mean that everything was perfect. If you read through everything, I mentioned
my alternator and the flat tire. I’ve got things to deal with just like
everyone else and I’m honest to myself about them. I could easily list them in detail,
but no one wants to hear it and those that do are only looking for dirt to use
against me. Things happen, both bad and good. I refuse to let myself be eaten
up by the WTF moments.
I’ve had some really AWESOME things come together happen and
I thank God for it. I also thank God for a supportive family, old friends, new
friends, crazy friends, relatively good health, my basic needs being met, the
gift of music, and delivering peace, inspiration, and strength of mind to stay
true to myself. Thank God for 2012!
