Important News!
"Children of Light" will only be available for a short time, as it will not be renewed when expired. The same is true with Breckley & Shepherd's "Still Not Over You" CD. The CD will still be available directly from Section 17 Records while supplies last. We will have info up soon on how to order an autographed copy of the CD!
Ok, I admit it. I could not resist the title! As this is my first blog entry as Co-Producer for Section 17 Records, I had to come up with something a bit catchy :)
But seriously, this is really a "hats off" blog entry dedicated to my close friend of almost 30 years, our Producer and leader, Chuck Shepherd. I'm in total agreement with his assessment that, in fact, the internet is actually helping, not hurting, "Underground Music." In fact, I believe it's given us a platform for underground that is allowing artists to bypass the BS in between (all the people who want a "piece" of an artist or a band -- as if we were property -- in the name of "brainwashing commercialist music" and, of course -- and most importantly to them -- because they crave money, power & control......three words that should NEVER be tied in any way to the artistic process.)
So, I'm right with you, as usual, Chuck!! And, I seriously doubt that the philosophies and guiding principles behind this label are rarely, if ever, found. The artist's vision on every song and the quality of the recordings (which is all due to the talents of our Producer/Engineer, Chuck, who has been recording music since the days that the Commodore 64 was first used for midi recording) are our FIRST and most PARAMOUNT priorities. We rarely talk about money and marketability. Chuck runs the label with all of us in agreement that, if we feel a song moves or touches us and we put all we have into recording it and THAT is the focus during the recording process, then all else will fall into place when it is meant to be. I'm so proud to be part of Section 17 Records!! And, finally, since I started with the title of "Video Killed The Radio Star?", I find it fascinating that that song was the first ever to be aired on MTV. And, by the way I think it did! But that could be the subject for another blog entry.
Liza Albright
Co-Producer & Accountant for Section 17 Records
info@section17records.com
06/25/10
Did the internet kill Underground Music? There are people that believe that the Underground Music scene died when music started appearing on the internet, since the music was no longer "underground". The term "Underground Music" has many definitions, and vary from person to person. The heart and soul of Underground Music is very much alive, and more people turn to it, in one form or another, to get away from the mainstream and listen to something fresh, and not produced from an airplay standpoint, but rather a pure musical enjoyment standpoint.
To quote Wikipedia on this:
"Shlomo Sher's "philosophy for artists" argues that there are three common misconceptions about the "underground": that it refers exclusively to the rave/electronica scene; that it can be described with a vague, broad definition of "anything which is not mainstream"; and the myth that underground music is kept secret; he points out that no band or performer "exclud[es] virtually anyone or anything" using "secret passwords and hidden map points". Instead, Sher claims that "underground music" is linked by shared values, such as a valuing of grassroots "reality" over music with "pre-wrapped marketing glossing it up"; sincerity and intimacy; freedom of creative expression is valued over commercial success; art is appreciated as deeply meaningful fashion; and the Underground "difficult to find", because the scene hides itself from "less committed visitors" who would trivialize the music and culture."
Underground Music defies genre, and can appear in any genre. The main focus is artistic freedom over production restraints. As a producer, I work hard on each song to try and help create music that you will enjoy for years to come, not just for a few months. My commitment to helping to create and promote the art of music goes many years back. I never listened much to mainstream radio, but always found the Alternative, or Underground Radio Stations to listen to. I loved to hear fresh music that I wasn't familiar with and soon found myself wanting to always hear "something different" in music, so when I started to play guitar, I always tried to write something that had a different feel to it than what was popular on the radio. I had no clue what a lot of the music they played and really didn't care. Even to this day, I can barely tolerate commercial radio, and listen more to artists that share total artistic freedom in their music, and most of it would never be on the radio.
Again, from Wikipedia:
"The term underground music has been applied to several artistic movements, such as the psychedelic music movement of the mid-1960s, but the term has since then come to be defined by any musical artist/band that avoids becoming a trend/mainstream."
So in my opinion, the internet did not destroy Undergound Music, but strengthened it even more. With worldwide communication via the internet, Underground Music has an outlet to be heard by more people, without sacrificing the artistic freedom, and allowing listeners to hear music as the artists want to portray it, not the producers.
Peace & Love,
Chuck Shepherd
Owner/Producer
Section17 Records
info@section17records.com
05/29/10
If you have read our homepage, you will know that we have changed our views on our mission and goals to reflect what we feel is an injustice to the Art of Music. Let me make it clear that we do appreciate the efforts of mainstream music, though we disagree with the outlook of Major labels, as well as many Independent Labels and artists. We do believe that there is a place for every outlet that music can be incorporated, and it's good for our mental health to listen to music, for various reasons.
As we stated on our homepage, we feel that many Indie artists have turned to mimicing mainstream Pop music, and the term Indie has lost it's meaning and independence. The term Underground seems more fitting to the type of music we believe in, since we can write and produce music without restrictions and timing songs to fit mainstream airplay standards.
As we have appeared inactive on the internet for some time, we have been working behind the scenes to reformat our objective and to draw an audience that enjoys music without limitations.
We feel that part of the problem with today's music is the time restraint and the attitude that the average listener has an attention span of 3-3:30 minutes. Since music has the capacity to create a healing effect on the listener, longer songs can help to sooth the soul and replenish the spirit, which makes a person happier, more effective, and more efficient in daily life. It has been proven long ago that Classical Music has many positive features that can help a person's health. "Music can dull pain, lower stress, increase musical intelligence in children, and raise IQ" - This quote comes from a Brain Training game called "Brain Challenge" and the game is designed to help use more of your brain. I found this quote particularly interesting and revelent to this blog entry. Classical music has been proven to help raise the IQ of children, and Beethoven's Piano Sonatas have been recommended by top medical professionals to help relieve stress and anxiety. Today's commercial music, with the time restraints tied to it, are affecting people's attention span in a negative way, and conditioning the minds of those who listen to it to the point that the reverse of my previous statement is true... Today's music is partly responsible for the decrease in attention span BECAUSE of the producer's role in overstepping their bounds to take away artistic freedom. Our thoughts do not follow today's trend in music, which is our reason for representing ourselves as an Underground Label.
We encourage those that share our thoughts to contact us and if we get enough feedback to show support for breaking the mold and branching out into the freedom of music, we will start a forum that is dedicated to Underground Music Supporters. Help us return music to the artists and allow them to express their artistic freedom. We will not use your email for any purpose outside of Section 17 Records and would never give or sell our mailing list to anyone for any reason.
I will be making a small banner for the label and encouraging people to place the banner on their pages to help show support for our efforts and spread the word about a true alternative to mainstream music. As we work on releases, some of which are right around the corner, we also have long term projects in the works. I am nearing completion on my solo instrumental "Don't Harsh My Mellow' which will be available as a free download as a Fan Exclusive on my ReverbNation page very soon. It would have been there by now, but I had a lot of work to do on the business side of the label and was distracted. As I do the website, recording, mixing, and promotion for all of the music recorded here, my time is broken up and I can't spend the quality time I need to sit and write music without interruption. I'm working hard on spending less time on the internet and more time in the studio now, so I can get that song finished. I have many more songs in the studio that are nearing mastering stage, so I will have new releases of totally different genres of music coming as soon as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please contact me if you would like to show support for the efforts we are making to bring Underground Music to the Masses!
Peace & Love,
Chuck Shepherd
Owner/Producer
Section17 Records
info@section17records.com