music #10: something dubiously alcoholic with Renny Field and Kent Eastwood
It was under peculiar circumstances that I met Sydney-based independent artists Renny Field and Kent Eastwood in one of our friend’s backyard. They’d just performed their first ever house concert, a trend that’s taking off on Sydney’s Northern Beaches amongst a small circle of independent artists. When I caught up with them the next night at Sydney’s Opera Bar in Circular Quay in a quick moment before their show, I was struck by how much of their personality had transferred from the night before. These guys, in the grand scheme of things, are pretty little-known, but there’s something about the two of them - together and as individual artists - that’s really interesting. We chatted about their positions as independent artists over something potentially alcoholic in nature, and I got to see further into the musicians’ perspective of the media’s war on music sharing.
Every Google-savvy person’s first port of call is, of course, Wikipedia. I suggested perhaps that in addition to their websites a Wikipedia page may be in order. ‘Give you a chance to blow your own horn’, Kent chuckled. Renny was a little more serious about the offer. ‘Doesn’t have to be blow your own trumpet, just talk about how you got to where you are, and set up your childhood … tell your story a little bit better than you get to in your music bio.’ In a culture where we’re privy to small frequent gigs with up and coming artists, people still don’t get the opportunity to know the people behind the music. On this local independent level there’s a greater opportunity to get to know these artists and small intimate performances give us a chance to focus on real people and astounding musicians instead of sensationalised tidbits and falsehoods about the more exposed artists signed to labels.
House concerts seem to be the way to go. According to Renny, some people have got it down to a fine tuned art, and all the power to them. It’s definitely harder being an independent artist, the majority of them depending so much on crowd turn-outs and CD sales. This is especially true today with the rate of internet downloads. After touring Australia and Ireland in the last few years, Renny has an optimistic view of the way online music sharing seems to be going. ‘As an independent musician I guess I should be saying it’s terrible that people are taking songs, but I don’t, I don’t feel terrible about it. If it takes your music to a new audience then that’s great.’ When all you’ve got is your face, your voice and your guitar to market, online sharing gives musicians ‘a chance to make a connection with a new audience.’ Music sharing between friends, he says, is good for independent and developing musicians.
Connections and public rapport aside, there’s always the niggling point in the back of everyone’s mind that they should be buying the CD or making a donation to a busker in the street to help support their expensive recording pursuits. Some artists like Kent much prefer a more rustic do-it-yourself approach. ‘It’s a lot less stressful when the financial obligation [to a record company] isn’t there. Sitting around fumbling around trying to get something right it can be really stressful. I’ve done that and I know what it’s like - we’ve both been there - and I prefer not doing it.’ The freedom of self-production seems to be a big concern for a lot of independent artists. Once a record company is involved, there’s a particular sound and particular marketing strategy that could be coming from a different ball-park altogether. This way, artists maintain a lot more control and a lot more of their pocket money.
In this light, it seems like independence is a good position to be in, but there’s still the reliance on distributors. Renny admits that without their help, he wouldn’t be able to pushy his records all around Australia. ‘If suddenly your song’s got played on something and everyone knew about it, those companies have the facilities to send out the music all around Australia. .. so I’m happy to give away that percentage.’ As Kent says, nodding from beneath his little cap and cardigan get up in the quickly cooling air, ‘It’s not really a rip off everyone’s got to make their living’. This is a fairly moderate, understanding attitude from someone that society often tends to champion for the sake of a controversial story about music downloading. These guys seem to have it figured out. Just recently they just collaborated on Renny Field’s upcoming album, imbibing it with all of the unique attitude and sound I’ve come to love hearing on music streaming websites like YouTube, Myspace, and their personal sites.
As they both said, in the end it’s more about making the music and getting the music out to people so that they can enjoy it. Although the new wave of music sharing has reduced the amount of immediate sales, more often than not it has the positive effect of exposing the artist to new audiences, and showing them for what they truly are, not a marketed product with an over-produced sound. In the end, most independent musicians enjoy the position of ensuring that their music is exactly what they want it to be: real. ‘I prefer to have something that… represents you and what you do, and with no other expectation other than to be able play your gigs and tell people something you’re proud of.’ If that means pulling up a garden chair in a friend’s backyard or pulling up a stool in the Manly Fig, Renny Field and Kent Eastwood are happy to play their stuff just the way they like it, and for anyone who wants to hear some really kick-ass music.
Every Google-savvy person’s first port of call is, of course, Wikipedia. I suggested perhaps that in addition to their websites a Wikipedia page may be in order. ‘Give you a chance to blow your own horn’, Kent chuckled. Renny was a little more serious about the offer. ‘Doesn’t have to be blow your own trumpet, just talk about how you got to where you are, and set up your childhood … tell your story a little bit better than you get to in your music bio.’ In a culture where we’re privy to small frequent gigs with up and coming artists, people still don’t get the opportunity to know the people behind the music. On this local independent level there’s a greater opportunity to get to know these artists and small intimate performances give us a chance to focus on real people and astounding musicians instead of sensationalised tidbits and falsehoods about the more exposed artists signed to labels.
House concerts seem to be the way to go. According to Renny, some people have got it down to a fine tuned art, and all the power to them. It’s definitely harder being an independent artist, the majority of them depending so much on crowd turn-outs and CD sales. This is especially true today with the rate of internet downloads. After touring Australia and Ireland in the last few years, Renny has an optimistic view of the way online music sharing seems to be going. ‘As an independent musician I guess I should be saying it’s terrible that people are taking songs, but I don’t, I don’t feel terrible about it. If it takes your music to a new audience then that’s great.’ When all you’ve got is your face, your voice and your guitar to market, online sharing gives musicians ‘a chance to make a connection with a new audience.’ Music sharing between friends, he says, is good for independent and developing musicians.
Connections and public rapport aside, there’s always the niggling point in the back of everyone’s mind that they should be buying the CD or making a donation to a busker in the street to help support their expensive recording pursuits. Some artists like Kent much prefer a more rustic do-it-yourself approach. ‘It’s a lot less stressful when the financial obligation [to a record company] isn’t there. Sitting around fumbling around trying to get something right it can be really stressful. I’ve done that and I know what it’s like - we’ve both been there - and I prefer not doing it.’ The freedom of self-production seems to be a big concern for a lot of independent artists. Once a record company is involved, there’s a particular sound and particular marketing strategy that could be coming from a different ball-park altogether. This way, artists maintain a lot more control and a lot more of their pocket money.
In this light, it seems like independence is a good position to be in, but there’s still the reliance on distributors. Renny admits that without their help, he wouldn’t be able to pushy his records all around Australia. ‘If suddenly your song’s got played on something and everyone knew about it, those companies have the facilities to send out the music all around Australia. .. so I’m happy to give away that percentage.’ As Kent says, nodding from beneath his little cap and cardigan get up in the quickly cooling air, ‘It’s not really a rip off everyone’s got to make their living’. This is a fairly moderate, understanding attitude from someone that society often tends to champion for the sake of a controversial story about music downloading. These guys seem to have it figured out. Just recently they just collaborated on Renny Field’s upcoming album, imbibing it with all of the unique attitude and sound I’ve come to love hearing on music streaming websites like YouTube, Myspace, and their personal sites.
As they both said, in the end it’s more about making the music and getting the music out to people so that they can enjoy it. Although the new wave of music sharing has reduced the amount of immediate sales, more often than not it has the positive effect of exposing the artist to new audiences, and showing them for what they truly are, not a marketed product with an over-produced sound. In the end, most independent musicians enjoy the position of ensuring that their music is exactly what they want it to be: real. ‘I prefer to have something that… represents you and what you do, and with no other expectation other than to be able play your gigs and tell people something you’re proud of.’ If that means pulling up a garden chair in a friend’s backyard or pulling up a stool in the Manly Fig, Renny Field and Kent Eastwood are happy to play their stuff just the way they like it, and for anyone who wants to hear some really kick-ass music.