Alain Clark and The Dan
Moses Avalon
Last week the co-manager of 30 year-old Dutch artist, Alain Clark invited me to his LA recording sessions.Who was there when I arrived: Steve Gadd and Dean Parks.If you don’t know who they are and you’re into music, then you’re probably under thirty-five.They are the cats behind the tracks on albums like Steely Dan’s Aja and about 5 out of 10 of the great studio recordings made from the mid 1970s to the present.
To hear Gadd/Parks work their magic before it’s mixed and layered is pure heaven.At 65 years old, Gadd is still playing perfect and gigging all the time.Ask him if CD sales being down is relevant.
With hundreds of studios in Europe and some of the best musicians, Alain (pronounced A-lan) crossed the pond to work in Los Angeles.Why?He liked the vibe.That’s it.He wanted US cats and a sound that he felt was obtainable via the LA scene.
I was there and I think he got it.His next album will resonate with anyone who has a kink for the Dan, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, etc.
And here’s the part that concerns you.
HEARTBREAKING
Alain’s talent is impressive.He produces and arranges his tracks, he’s young, and has the look and personality of a star.In fact he is a star– over there.Over here he still has to wait for a table at Dennys.
I saw Alain perform at the 2009 Eurosonic conference in Holland.(I was the Key Note speaker that year.)He blew me away with a great R&B song called “Father and Friend.”It’s quadruple platinum in the Netherlands but in the US the majors don’t know what to do with him.He had a deal on Warner for US marketing. It went nowhere.Why?
The fact that these label-luddites keep paying him lip service about “loving it” but not moving forward resonates with why I left the creative side of the business.It’s too heartbreaking.Anyone who has the power to do something, listens to this guy’s music and then shrugs at what to do with it, has no juice or has no soul.It’s that simple.And there are just too many people in positions of power that fit this description, unfortunately.
Why have labels decided that people’s tastes in music are somehow different in the US?Why, with the internet and social networking, will the US be deprived of Alain’s work?What has to happen before the “global economy” hits the music business and an artist that is big in Holland can come to the US for a warm welcome?
Anyone..?Anyone..?
This is why CD sales are down.It’s not P2P.It’s not the downfall of radio.It’s that labels can not pick a winner anymore.
It doesn’t matter.Alain’s now on our radar.Someone reading this will hear him, grow a pair and have the singer in every iPod, while majors are still asking themselves why he spells his name wrong.
Take a listen/look to this YouTube video and see if you can guess why Warner failed to figure out a strategy. If you have a clue, respond in the comments section below.I’d like to hear it and so would others on this list.
Mo Out
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbqF6Xv1mNU[/youtube]
my story is similar to alain’s:
In 1997, I left Houston, Texas for Taiwan after living in chinatown (houston) for a few years. I was persuaded to do so by a talent agent recently returned from Taiwan. Her promise was to show me around the record companies. I speak fluent mandarin, though caucasian.
I went to the taiwan consulate and submitted all forms necessary to get a performing visa. But the consulate said they could not give me one, and that the tourist visa they gave me would be sufficient to perform on TV (this was 100% not true).
When I got to Taiwan, I was shopped around to EMI, BMG, etc. At EMI I was told by the A&R after listening to my demo , ” If i give you a contract will you leave Taiwan?” I said ” you mean Hong Kong, Japan etc?” he said ” No, i mean Europe. You cannnot stay in Asia.”
At BMG, they said “We have a rule not to allow any foriegn people in because we, Sony, Warner, have agreed not to compete too strongly against each other.We feel bringing in foriegn talent would raise the bar too much.Also, the mafia might come down on us for messing up things”
All the while, all the companies told me that my music would not sell in taiwan because Taiwan people only buy western music from westerners who live OUTSIDE TAIWAN. They also said they didn’t know how to market me etc. I told them they could market me the same way they market western artists.
I have appeared on several TV shows where I dissed the record industry practices. I was immediately verbally attacked by some famous televison star, as if he had been told before hand how to deal with me.
When I went to the foriegn police bureau to renew my visa, a record company card fell out of my wallet. The office grabbed it from the table and called the producer on the card and threatened him saying ” You’d better not hire a foriegner to do a record. It’s against the law” (actually it is LEGAL with the proper paperwork, but the taiwan government made it so that you an make a record, but you can’t go on TV or vice versa)
Also, I was schedualed to appear on a radio show. When the announcer found out my list of topics I wanted to discuss (industry practices) he immediately called a famous producer to come over (this was supposed to be a one on one interview). The producer started out by using a racial slur for me on the air, then went down my list, defending the industry.
There was a club that had a contest in which I won second place. The boss told me she loved my performance and asked when I would come do a show for her.
When I came back to arrange a time, the boss said she needed my demo. When i said that she hd already heard me, hence my coming back to ask when we were doing a show, she said “no demo no show”. After I sent the demo, she said she was booked up. Finally she said she had never liked my music to begin with.
I beleive a local “artist” coalition joined to keep me out. As one guitarist told me ” Don’t play too good in taiwan. You’ll be sorry”.
When I am on ANY show, they try to put me on the very end , even though I was schedualed to be on first. Everytime.
There is an unwritten rule in Taiwan- foriegners may be in a band, but not front the band. There are forigners who have made records in taiwan, but they were worse than the local standard (token artist). The only one who has done anything is Matthew Lien, and he is undoubtably been picked by the Taiwan Cultural Bureau as a “safe” foriegn artist. In fact, he is so fringe (nature/new age music), he’s zero threat to the pop industry.
Speaking of “threat”, I have been watched on MORE than one occassion.
12 years of my life. Thing is,was all of this stone walling necessary? I could have done my little record and been forgotten by now. What was it about me that they just couldn’t let me do one record? Even one little one?
Randy coplin
(stage name , Randy Lin)
The intro and first 2 verses made the most impact on me. I just like listening to them. The pre chorus doesn’t really “sit” and sounds a bit forced. The chorus itself is OK but not better than the verse. All in all not a hit in the sense that everyones gonna like it but a song that deserves to be heard and i think that is the key point.
Alain has talent, but this is the USA. A very tough crowd for sure. I checked out several of Alain’s videos and I can tell you that he’s good…. not great.
So, Moses, is he the Netherlands version of Justin Timberlake? If so, he’s not quite good enough for the US. Here’s why I say that. Is he better than Robin Thick, Maxwell, Usher, or Joe, to name a few? How about the Idols such as Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks and Elliot Yamin to name a few more? Is he really heads above better?
As good as he is Moses, he’s not better or it’s a little too close. So, if you are going to break him here something else must be done.
So, what can be done? We do have guys on the charts right now who do not sing as well as Alain. Those guys use creative production and catchy (gimmicky) songs. For example, David Guetta, Trey Songz and Jason Derulo to name a few.
Alain & his people must look at where he can stand out amoungst the crowd mentioned above. If they try to go head to head with them, they are ar a enormous disadvantage. I can see why the US labels are backing off. The old saying “we are looking for something unique” does apply here. Good luck to Alain!