July 2, 2009

If you’re not lucky enough to be at the Rothbury Festival this weekend at least you can follow the action from home. iClips has just released the schedule for their

We’d like to welcome back Ryan Holiday for a look at how the music industry got to the point it is at as well as his take on how to save it…

With the music industry in such a shambles, young bands have the unfortunate duty of figuring out which way to take their careers. On the one hand, some bands are taking the traditional route of getting signed; other, less conventional musicians are trying to find innovative ways to sell their music on their own.

However artists go about eking out their livings, one primary problem remains: any way you look at it, no one is buying music anymore. How did the industry get to this point? The simplest answer is that we have all gotten greedy. Musicians bought into the idea of selling out arenas, dating supermodels and being on Behind the Music as the only benchmarks for success, while the industry brainwashed bands into thinking that major labels were the holy grail of a noteworthy career. The new, casual listener became king and instead of building a loyal following for acts through hard work, record labels began to strip-mine and water down the talent. The consumer? Well, he’s just looking for a deal. “Free” is everyone’s favorite four-letter word.

READ ON for an example of why the music industry is failing…

When Topaz McGarrigle still lived in New York, he was a fixture – in the clubs with Topaz (the band), sitting in all over the place, a general man about town who definitely had a lot to contribute to the city’s thriving jazz-funk and jam scenes. And while it’s not as though Topaz (the man) has faded away, he’s been gone from the Big Apple for about four years now. Consider your correspondent among those who misses the infectious spirit and thrilling improvisation he brought to once-regular, now-occasional Manhattan gigs.

A native Texan, Topaz moved back to the Lone Star state in 2005, and he’s now based in Austin with a revamped band, Mudphonic. Not only is the personnel different from his earlier, jazz-funk-heavy ensembles, but Topaz also added harmonica, guitar and vocals to his own trick bag. He’s no longer “saxophonist Topaz,” at least in the sense of describing everything the man does on record and on stage.

Mudphonic, a six-piece, has a greasier, swampier, more rocking sound than any band Topaz brought on the road in his New York days – as much tethered to roadhouse blues as the jazz-inflected funky stuff on which he made his name. Mudphonic’s debut album, Music for Dorothy, came out in 2008, and while Topaz has kept the band until now a principally regional affair – most tours in the South and Midwest with once-in-a-while forays to San Francisco, New York and other spots – he’s shopping for a booking agent and readying for the next Mudphonic record, as well as more national exposure.

Hidden Track caught up with Topaz in advance of his return to a New York stage tonight at Sullivan Hall. The full Mudphonic won’t be with him; instead, Topaz will play a late show with an all-star band consisting of himself, Joe Russo on drums, Mark “Tewar” Tewarson on guitar (from Mudphonic and also the original Topaz in 1998) and former ulu bassist Justin Wallace. Expect a special guest or two, Topaz warns – the last time he was in New York, over New Year’s Eve, Will Bernard, Eric Kalb and John Popper all made the stage.

HIDDEN TRACK: You’ve been gone from New York about four years, yes?

TOPAZ: It’s been almost four. My wife is from New York, so we get back a couple times a year, and I try to set up a gig or two.

READ ON for the rest of Chad’s conversation with Topaz McGarrigle…