Simply Six: Davy Mooney

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer.  For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later.  Is there such a defining moment for you?

I wouldn’t say that there was a specific moment.  My two uncles played guitar and sang Beatles songs all the time, and my brother and I wanted to be like them.  I started playing guitar and singing when I was about 9 years old.  One eureka moment that I remember, however, occurred while I was watching the MTV show ‘Headbanger’s Ball’ one Saturday night when I was 11 (I watched the show every Saturday in those days, being an antisocial adolescent).  I was accustomed to the typical early 90s music: some thrash metal, some glam-ish metal, lots of hair; everything was fairly polished and slick sounding.  Then, out of nowhere I saw the video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.  It freaked me out.  There was nothing like that on MTV at the time.  It was so raw, so real.  That really changed my life and shaped my music.  I know I don’t sound much like Nirvana, but the honesty of that music, and the raw quality of the singing; both were huge influences on my approach to my singer-songwriter material.

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to?  Who are some of your favorites?

I go through phases with different artists.  I always enjoy Sting’s music, it’s consistently sophisticated, intelligent, and unpredictable.  I love everything he’s ever done except 2004’s ‘Sacred Love’.  I don’t know what happened with that one!

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Kate Bush and a lot of Liz Phair.  They’re quite different, but I love Liz Phair’s honest delivery and her lyrics, as well as Kate Bush’s vision and the demented quality of ‘The Dreaming’.  That record is a trip!  On the jazz side I can never get enough Kurt Rosenwinkel.  And I always love Chet Baker, Tony Bennett, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong.  Finally, there’s a lot of great music here in NYC that no one’s ever heard of.  Especially my peeps from Denton, TX: Snarky Puppy, Sarah Renfro, Alastair Ottesen, Mike Maher.  Lots of us down in the trenches up here.

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

My greatest moment was, without a doubt, the concert I did on April 15^th, 2009 as a member of the Brian Blade Fellowship.  I remember seeing the band live (with Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar) in New Orleans in November of 2004, and thinking to myself that if I ever got to play with the band I could die happy.  It took almost five years, but I made it! 

4.  Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to?   How much can music influence current events?

Pop music is a great mobilizing force, it can help organize people into large groups that can then be affiliated with various causes, but the music itself…I can’t think of any song that changed the world.  Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, various others, they’ve used their celebrity and music to organize people, but the songs themselves didn’t effect change directly, although if the songs hadn’t been good people wouldn’t have listened and organized around them!  So music can help bring people together, and people can change the world, but the music itself does little to influence current events.  

5. How has technology affected the music industry?  How has technology affected your career as a musician?

Ah, technology.  I have mixed feelings.  It’s nice to be able to make my own records for cheap, but I want people to hear them, and it’s still expensive to promote things, even with the internet.  If you know from the outset that the record isn’t going to sell, and you’re not going to get picked up by a record label, or if you do that there isn’t going to be any reimbursement for production costs or any advance….The decline of the record industry cannot be seen as a good thing for the professional musician.  Most of us are short on cash, we can’t afford the publicity costs to be successful.  I’m a little bit skeptical of the idea that you can just make a great record in your bedroom, put it up on the internet, and then wait for it to spread through word of mouth, leading to hordes of people showing up at your gigs, licensing opportunities, etc.  Selling a record costs money, selling a band costs money, selling anything costs money!  And most of us don’t have that kind of bread.  So on the plus side, yes you can do a cheap record and put it out easier these days, but it’s harder to sell it unless you’ve got a large bank balance.  There’s no record label that’s going to take a chance on you….

6.  Now for my Barbara Walters question:  If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?       

A worn out pair of running shoes.

Simply Six: Janine Wilson

Janine Wilson is an artist from Washington D.C.

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer.  For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was theBeatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later.  Is there such a defining moment for you?

I don’t remember one specific moment that made me want to be a musician but there seemed to be a lot of influences around me.  I heard Jazz and Dixieland from my Dad, and I loved watching musicals on television with my Mom.  My sister and I used to ride around in the car with Mom listening to the radio quite a bit.  I was in school plays and choir as well.  I suppose my love of music was instilled in me at an early age and I wanted to be involved in it somehow so eventually that came true.  Although I do believe that if I told my teenage self that I would have put out three albums, written songs, won awards and performed for a crowd, I wouldn’t have believed it!

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to?  Who are some of your favorites?

My favorites are Springsteen, The Black Crowes, Shelby Lynne, Astrid Gilberto, 70’s Bette Midler, Adele, Tom Jones, AC/DC, Liz Phair, Patsy Cline and so many others….

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

My latest album has been the greatest experience so far because it’s my first of all original material.  The song, “It Should Be Me” has done really well (even winning a songwriting award) and it’s pretty amazing seeing an event in my past come to life in song and connect with so many people.

4.  Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to?   How much can music influence current events?

I absolutely believe music can change the world!  Look at what happens when people go see a live concert.  The many times that I’ve seen Bruce Springsteen in concert I still get so excited the second the lights go down and there is a unified roar of happiness at what is about to take place.  Music soothes the soul, gives us a hug when we’re sad, gets us moving in the morning and can change the way a person thinks.  And all we have to do to see how music can reflect and influence current events look at the 1960s!

5. How has technology affected the music industry?  How has technology affected your career as a musician?

Technology has greatly affected the music industry in both good and bad ways.  The ease of accessing music these days is incredible but also has helped in the decline of CD sales.  It is much easier to connect with fans, and give them access in many ways that weren’t available before with Facebook and Twitter.  It also takes an incredible amount of time away from being creative, songwriting, etc, but it seems to be a necessary evil.  I long for the days of going into a record store and browsing around and discovering new music.  I loved readingliner notes – I discovered so many songwriters and musicians that way.  Now with downloading a song, you don’t have that information readily available.  In this fast paced world our attention spans are shorter and shorter and don’t allow us to stop and truly absorb the moment before we’re on to the next thing.

6.  Now for my Barbara Walters question:  If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

I would be silver glittered 4 inch platforms!  I would wear them every day with everything!

Simply Six: J-Punch and Dave Moonshine

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer.  For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later.  Is there such a defining moment for you?

We knew we wanted to make music when we saw Nirvana on the Ed Sullivan Show.

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to?  Who are some of your favorites?

Nirvana, Weezer, Beck, Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Hum, Placebo, The Cardigans, Liz Phair, Arcade Fire, The Pixies, Massive Attack, Lonely Island, Depeche Mode, Radiohead, Silversun Pickups, Doves, Bjork, Pinback, House Music.

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

(DAVE) Recording an album in the same music studio Michael Jackson had used, with the same engineer the Foo Fighters were working with. It lasted about 2 weeks, off and on. The studio smelled like egg rolls, and I had a 102 degree fever. Either that, or when a tube amp gives nice feedback on stage, and people think I'm doing it on purpose.
(JUSTIN) - When "Temple," became the #2 song on the MUSIC CHOICE electronica station on my television. That felt awesome.

4.  Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to?   How much can music influence current events?

I don't think music "changes" the world. It's a part of the world already. It is one of the more pleasant aspects of the natural course of human events. It does appear to alter mindsets and emotions, though that effect, as well as the existence of the music, is likely fated to have existed, both from a spiritual and scientific perspective. If the "current event" is a volcano errupting, music has little to no effect. If the "current event" is a little kid crying or not crying, then music is likely to at least appear to influence that situation

5. How has technology affected the music industry?  How has technology affected your career as a musician?

All musical instruments and methods of recording or amplifying sound are forms of technology. Modern technology, specifically digitization of sound and computerization of the recording process has greatly increased the amount of music available to audiences. As such, the audiences have learned to make their own music. Now, basically everyone can make high quality sound experiences to share with others. Due to this, when we try to participate in this infinite miasma of sound, our contributions, however decent, are lost in the screech of the hive. "Technology" has both enabled and doomed our careers as musicians, in that it has allowed us to more effectively create music, but also created a system wherein we cannot profit reliably.

6.  Now for my Barbara Walters question:  If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

Converse All Stars.

SONG OF THE DAY

Today's song is from Liz Phair's Exile In Guysville album.  I was driving home the other day and the song "Canary" came on my Ipod and I was enjoying it and thought I'd make it the Song of the Day.