CD Planning UPDATE!! Exciting info!

Greetings!

Those of you who are coming to the CD planning party may be interested in knowing:

1. Free music will be given to all attendees the night of the party.

2. Limited edition (never to be reprinted) shirts will be available the night of the event for a meager fee.

3. This is the BIG ONE: I have decided that in an effort to pass more music along to the people who matter most...and hopefully share success with you:

We will be raffling off the licensing rights to one of my songs that night. For $20 you will be able to purchase a raffle ticket, and at the end of the night we will draw one lucky winner who will then own the rights to that songs use in film, tv, advertising, games etc... That's right...if I ever make it big, YOU'LL make it big. Should be fun and I can't think of a better group to offer the opportunity to.

I will reveal which song it is the night of the event (before you buy a ticket), I'll play it for you, and I'll have the legal contract with me so we can make the deal legit. Then we'll draw and do the deed. :)

4. This is a BYO event...although we'll have some food and drinks on hand, we probably won't have everyone's favorite spirit and certainly not enough. The location is private (not a bar), so bring it with you!

5. I have reason to believe we'll have some VERY special guests that night, so bring your sharpie!

I'll be sending everyone the location address (it's in the downtown cape area) later this week.

There are approximately 20 slots left for the event. Please make contact with me if you're interested in attending as the location will NOT be revealed to the public. More surprises to come...

Have a great one!
lotsa love

jf

CD 'Planning Party' Dec 3rd, 2010

Ok gang. Here's the scoop.

'Chronicles Of Harvey' is finished as far as the recording is concerned. I am thrilled with all of the songs and the recordings turned out rather nicely. The only trouble is that I can't figure out the order of the songs, the first single to release, cover art choices, packaging...I'm a mess. I need some help and I can't afford therapy anymore...That's where you come in.

The folks who come to the Planning Party will make all of these decisions for me. We're gonna listen to the record, play some live tunes, review artwork, packaging etc...rate songs...oh, and drink until we can dance. It's guaranteed to be a good time. That said...it's free, and I only want folks that are very interested in the project and my music to attend so I'm taking a limited number of people on board the guest list...and only they will know the location of the event. The date is Dec 3, 2010 and the time is 7pm. I will contact everyone who will be attending to let you know where, but it will be in Cape Girardeau (for those considering it)

If you would like to come, shoot me an email to talk@jeffersonfox.com or hit me up on facebook, or the phone. We're close to full already so act quickly.

I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Oh yeah, I'll have some goodies for you to take home, some new songs to debut, and plenty of interactive entertainment.

Sincerely
Jefferson Fox


...and yes, we'll have a 'CD RELEASE Party when it's time' ;)

Loud...is that what you mean?

I've been noticing a lot lately that my mixes...my songs, stuff that good friends of mine in the music industry, Grammy winners, proven, tried and true engineering guru's are putting together for me... are just not as loud as the other stuff I'm hearing out there.

And yes, people have mentioned it to me. Why is your CD quieter than JOBLOW's? So I'm going to take just a minute to address this to the folks who are asking. Why isn't your CD as loud as HIS?

When you record someone or an instrument, there are very quiet parts and very loud parts, just like when they performed it. You can actually see this in the 'WAV' form of the sound recording when working in most computer based recording formats. The way to make things LOUD is to take the quiet parts and make them louder (with a compressor/limiter or combination)...the loud parts quieter, then do that again, and then again...and one more time.......until there is no dynamic quality at all to the performance (just a flat line of sound, like that machine that tells you someone is dead) and then just push the faders up to 'BLEED' and put out a CD. LOUD CD! Is that the thing to do?...

So tonight I checked out some comparable recordings that I own and the stuff my friends like Kevin Rose, Eric Weaver and Joshua Blanchard are making for me. Here's what I found (and I'm not gonna talk about my performance, just the recordings):

I take 'the other guys' music and set the stereo to 5 and the songs are at the level that my ear can enjoy them...they sound ok, professional etc. but lack life.
There is an apparent, mechanical vibe to them.

I take my CD's and turn them to about 7/7.5 and the songs are at that same level as that other dudes...only guess what...? Tons of definition, lively dynamics and a really fulfilling mix. I get the vibe from the room they were recorded in...like a live concert...awesome job gentlemen. I enjoy the experience.

Conclusion:

I don't freaking care if my CD isn't as loud as 'THAT ONE DUDE'...turn your damn stereo up and enjoy the record. (and bands, if your engineer tells you your record is loud enough, say "OK")

That's just my opinion.
jf

Songs For Sale

It's a new world we live in, and new ideas are always emerging from it. I had one recently. Quite honestly it's about marketing, so I should reveal that on the front-end of this blog.

The days of a musician mailing out demo's or bio's or anything else in an attempt to be 'heard' or 'seen' are over. We search our minds, industry references, the internet and every bartender's advice for a way to replace the old methods of 'being discovered' and mostly no one seems to have an answer.

I know the answer. Write music you love, record it, perform it with passion and slowly gather a group of supporters to help spread the word. That's all we can do. The music world is made of a vast array of personality types, age brackets, belief systems, ranges of talent etc etc... but mostly, I believe, what separates the successful from those that who will not succeed is their passion to produce the art itself. If you're in this game of music for money, you may or may not make money, but it is doubtful that you are fulfilling a desire to extend your soul beyond your body. If you're in it for fame there isn't much need in an art form at all, just do what you think the world wants you to do (something shocking or sexy) and ride that big wave till it crashes.

However, if you want to create art that you love...you can do that. The success is born in that act. You have created something you love. It doesn't matter who knows or what becomes of it after that moment. It's yours. Giving it to someone else or measuring success beyond that is something else entirely. The only difficulty in this statement is that it becomes difficult in some art forms to continue creating when the burden of financial support becomes too great. That's usually when artists start searching for 'monetary success'. It's unfortunate, but it's real. Gotta buy supplies, gotta pay to make it come to life.

I have made a decision. My songs are my art form, and their creation is my goal. Selling them to film, television, radio, Pepsi or some other financial giant is not really something I have time to do. Everyone tells me that I need to get my songs into the hands of ...someone... but it's all I can do to get them on disc and then to the stage. So I'm going to let you do it.

I am selling the licensing rights to the following songs. You or anyone you know can buy them, and if you want to let someone use them in a movie or on tv or a video game, or whatever you come up with...you own them...knock yourself out. You negotiate the price, you pick up the check.

Why would I do that? I am retaining the rights to sell these songs as downloads and in physical form on my publications (CD, Albums Etc) as well as my right to earn money performing them. If you make $2,500 or $1,000,000 licensing my songs to someone...chances are I'll sell more records. If I get to selling tons of records without your help...you'll get rich pimping my songs out to whoever has the most money. Bottom line is, nobody loses...we both win...and we win faster if we divide and conquer.

I am more successful every week in this music business and I have no doubt that the level of financial compensation that my family requires will be met, but I'd like to speed the process up a bit, buy new tires and occasionally go out for ice cream so.... I believe the participation of some eager, determined, loyal, or just money hungry fans couldn't hurt :) . Let's make something happen together.

That's it. Buy a song. Get to work promoting or wait for someone else to make it happen. Your choice.

I'm selling:

All of the songs that you will find at http://jeffersonfox.bandcamp.com/ with the exception of 'Big Top' and the 'Drench' recordings. Big Top has already been purchased and I'm hanging on to the Drench stuff for now.

If you're interested in a song or more than one send me an email: talk@jeffersonfox.com and let me know which one or ones you'd like to own or give away at Christmas and we'll go from there. No reasonable offer refused. I want eager people to get involved. Just so you know, a reasonable offer varies song to song but begins at about $500.00 Contracts for these transactions were drawn by a Missouri attorney and are available to be reviewed at your request.

I sincerely hope you become a part of this madness as it is unfolding and we celebrate our successes together.

Sincerely
jefferson fox

Leo's and the list.

I've been wandering about the country and world for awhile now and have met quite a few people. Some are friendly, some are scary, some are vastly more useful than others when your car breaks down...some are infinitely useless for any reason at all. I'm sure these people categorize me as well... God knows where.
Few people that I've met have been astonishingly kind, humble, and giving, but I have met some of them and take great pride in my acquaintances of great human qualities.

When I got an email from an Italian Restaurant in Oelwein, IA I wasn't sure at all what kind of people I would meet, but the offer was good, the timing was right and I'm always game for an adventure...so...

After a few very professional emails that both worked out the details and eased my mind that the business was a well-kept one I put the show out of my mind until time to leave.

Arriving in Oelwein, IA is a kind of experience that few people have learned or remember to treasure, but it was like opening up a page of American History for me and I immediately was thrilled to be there. The town is what's left of a Hub City boom town that once hosted music up and down every street and in cornfields to entertain 1000's of steelworkers and travelers any given night...with tracks spoking their way to the rail yard, a gas-light main st, remnants of theaters and saloons everywhere (which is an image I dearly love). The downtown area is filled with interesting little shops and restaurants and the community spills out of those streets into rural farm life. Unfortunately, the first smell I found was smoke in the air as the previous nights fire was coming to a close...the downtown antique store was now gone.

Into the bar. I'm playing at Leo's Italian Restaurant in the upstairs Lounge which is called 'Generations'. Through the door into the main restaurant area I find the room FULL...not a place to sit in the house. I was directed to the elevator to go up to the lounge but decided to go have one more smoke before going up (you know...what if it's hours before I get to or something). Outside 3 large groups of people are chatting about the coincidence that they're all there...again. I'm seeing signs.
I went back in, hit the magic 'up' button and was off. It was an awfully slow ride, although the vator seemed top of the line, clean etc. Bout a 90 second trip to the second floor...door opens...BAM! This place is pretty slick, nice floors, nice bar, hints of a good PA system, lots of staff on hand...I'm feeling good about this...but we'll see.
To the bar! Let's see what this place is about. The coolers behind the bartenders are FULL of choices, lotsa imports, lotsa local micro's, lotsa options...I like. The bar manager (or at least the lady who gave me the impression she was) greeted me as a patron, asked if I'd like a menu and a drink, which I accepted. After a short conversation she figured out I was 'the musician' which changed everything. She said very quickly, as she snatched up my menu..."you can't eat yet!"

"I can't eat yet???" I'm confused. She laughed and said the owners wanted to come down and eat with me. OK... within 10 minutes (probably 5), a sharp-dressed pair matching the photographs of the owners on the wall appeared from the door to the back deck area. They were all smiles and headed my way, but were greeted by everyone in their path so it took a minute to get us together. The greet. The small talk. We're headed downstairs because Mike Leo insists I get a good taste of his cooking and the bar has an abridged menu. Off we go!

Downstairs, I had one of the finest meals of my life in unbelievably good company. Mike and Laurie are music lovers, family people, smart business-folk, aggressive in their efforts to provide incredible service and damn charismatic. It was impossible not to be impressed. They greeted everyone who came in the room, everyone seemed to want to hug them...I was beginning to want to hug them. What's with these people?? LOL

Time to play. Mike called in the guy who set up the house PA to make sure I had all the help I needed (1 guitar, 1 mic, but he's being sure)...turns out it was a good idea, I thought I'd never find that one gain button. The room filled up, the lights came down, and a hundred or so people gave me the warmest reception a performer can receive. Nothing could have gone better. I don't know what else to say about that part. Great crowd, great room, hosts are in control of the atmosphere. Fantastic appreciation filled the air, they paid and tipped well, bought CD's, laughed at my bad jokes. GREAT!!

Show's over..."where are you staying, Jefferson?". He actually asked me earlier but I'm blogging...not writing a book...
"I don't know yet, Mike". "You're staying with us!" "deal"

Off to the Leo house! These two people, along with their son and daughter-in-law whisked me away to the homestead, so I didn't have to drive, got me settled into a nice spare room, fed me enormous amounts of alcohol (no, that was my fault), Mike and I stayed up most of the night exchanging family history, dog stories and telling each other jokes. It was a fun and fabulous night.

I woke up, had a cup of coffee, (threw up in Lauries bathroom), visited with everyone awhile, then headed off to the rest of the road trip (which was not nearly as much fun).

*********flash forward********

I've done the show at Leo's once more with the same incredible hospitality and a furthering of my belief that these people are more than good business-folk, they're not putting on an act...they are full of charity for others, supportive of everyone around them, eager to serve people, make the world a better place and a TON OF FUN!

Leo's Italian Restaurant, Mike, Laurie and Nick Leo, their staff and the town of Oelwein IA. These people and this tiny town have won my heart and moved into the #1 slot on the 'Jefferson Fox's favorite places to play' list. (they bumped Flatiron in Hot Springs, SD to #2, if you must know)

Thank you Mike, Laurie, Nick, Clay, Bruce, Gary and everyone else who have been so welcoming in Oelwein. I hope to see you soon!

Jefferson Fox

Kevin Rose and my new record

Who the heck is Kevin Rose.

I'm not sure anyone knows, really. I met the man in 1989 (ish) where he was acting as one of two guitar players in a band called 'City of Lindas'. I was living in Rincon, Ga, just outside of Savannah and the Linda's were the premier local act with a global sound that I and my musical friends couldn't get enough of. They were a smart rock band with a big flare for the dark and obscure...everything I ever wanted to be. Kevin lead the sonic mayhem, at least in my mind, with outstanding live tone and great parts that I was almost capable of playing which made it all the more attractive. We watched the Linda's blossom and then disband a few years after I was out of High School. (best band ever?, maybe)

Then Kevin began recording bands other than his own at a little studio called Elevated Basement on Waters Ave (don't quote me, I'm not Googling right now) and he became a part of another great band, GAM. Same story...phenomenal band. Crazier, darker, considerably risque. Loved it. There were other projects like Dare Dukes Band (still alive and well), Shitrocket (still alive, uncertain of wellness), I think he may have participated in Superhorse...not sure, and God knows what else the man has played on. Everybody who passes through Savannah tries to get this guy on their team and no one can blame them.

The obvious next move was to become a fishing boat captain...which he's done. ??

There was some stuff in between, like recording folks ranging from Gregg Allman to Greg Williams, starting a family, raising kids, conquering small nations with rogue independent record labels, and to be quite honest I'm not sure what else he's done. Oh yeah he has engineered the live shows and recordings of the Savannah Music Festival Live project, numerous other fine events and some random events that were probably only fine because he was on the job.

In 1997 I started a record with Kevin at the console while I was singing and playing guitar for a band called 'All That Matters'. The recordings were fabulous but the band broke up before we could finish. I was left with strong desire to complete a project under Kevin's technical direction and in Elevated Basement if possible. It finally happened.

Kevin Rose was kind enough to bring me into the studio recently for a day to see what changes had been made and just to catch up a bit really. After a few conversations we decided to cut a little acoustic record that I needed badly in a spiritual sense and for some loyal fans. Something that was virtually un-produced. Me, live, but in the studio. I picked a few songs out, he fired up the console and placed some sweet mics ...tada...'little epiphany' is born. The new record is done, is for sale in the digital form on my website and will be in print soon. I printed some test copies recently and have made the changes I needed in order to print in volume so they'll be with me at shows henceforth.

I think Kevin will tell you that he didn't do much on this project because he's insanely humble and that type of guy, but the truth is, he made some very nice decisions, has an incredible ear for tone and made my tiny little performance sound fantastic. It's the best look at what I do that I've ever had the pleasure to listen to. I'm proud of the project, indebted to Kevin Rose and eager for you to hear it.

www.jeffersonfox.bandcamp.com

Thank you Kevin,
Thanks everyone who inspires me,
Thanks Tim Gill (you inspire me too, but get a special note for housing me during the recording and all the great work you put forth)

See you soon I hope
jf

Ourstage

Hey gang,
I just wanted to say a little more about the whole 'Ourstage' thing. This is the site that I'm devoting the most of my 'musical energy' lately. There are a million places to look at artist profiles etc but this one makes sense. MTV started this a long time ago and at it's inception I wasn't very impressed...but they've changed.

They have a site now where music lovers can go find new music in several creative ways, artists can post lots of material and have a reason to do it. They are promoting 'competitions', so to speak which people can vote on and FINALLY, this site has a voting system where you CANNOT just go on and vote for YOUR guy. You have to listen to music in the categories you select and stack people up from best to worst...whoever they put in front of you. The reason I love it is that it's not a popularity contest, it's an enjoyment contest and I don't see a way to cheat in it. Everyone else like Myspace etc has created something where you tell all your friends to vote for you and the band with the most fans wins. Not very helpful in the realm of honest judgement.

Ourstage appealed to me also because I had an chance to win opportunities to play with bigger name artists, money, tools etc for entering contests. Let's face it, these are the things that artists need. I didn't have any idea that I could possibly win because historically these things are terribly unfair. Despite this fact, I entered a few tunes in the last couple weeks and at the time I'm writing this I find my song 'My Brothers Keeper' in 17th position out of 555 entries in the 'acoustic' category. My song 'Nobody's Fault' is in 32nd place out of 428 entries in 'Folk' and a couple of other entries are floating around in categories not doing as well but it's interesting.

I have 0 fans on this site as I have not promoted it in any way and I think that's fantastic. Once again, not a popularity contest.

I will ask you to log in, sign up and vote, but the wonderful part is that I can ask you honestly to just vote for the things you like, not necessarily for me. Enjoy the site. I do.

Sincerely
Jefferson Fox

Here's a link to my profile on 'OURSTAGE'

http://www.ourstage.com/profile/jeffersonfox

New Music

I've been really frustrated for quite some time by the fact that I haven't released any new music and I've heard from a lot of fans that it was time as well. So I finally decided to get some tunes out.

Here's the new deal.

'Chronicles Of Harvey' is a downloadable recording that will eventually contain 12 tracks. They are being released to my music site ... one song every two weeks (possibly even more often than that). You can spend a buck and collect the songs as they come out, you can just listen and enjoy, or you can wait until it's all there and get the collection. The first song released was 'My Brother's Keeper', recorded here in Jackson Mo. I have several new tunes in the mill and a ton already recorded so it's going to be fun assembling this record for you and satisfying to see it in your hands and at your ears.

I hope you enjoy the process as much as I am going to!

lotsa love
jf

Gone Fishin, a VIDEO RELEASE and more music!

Hello,
VIDEO:
I'm very proud to announce the release of the 'Simpleton' video. We've worked on this one for quite a while now and I am certain that this is the best work Tim Gill and I have done together. Tim directed, filmed and edited this video but more than that, he helped me with the concept, the story and my approach to making the video. He did what friends and great artists do...he made me do the right thing and find the heart of what I was after. You can see more of Tim's amazing work at www.timgill.net and you can see some of the work we've done together on jeffersonfox.com Thank you brother!

Also a huge help to us through the project was Eric Darling of Savannah, Ga. Eric is the owner of E Three Media, is an independent film-maker, editor, techie, jack-of-all-trades, all around great guy to know if you need to make something happen. Eric supplied Tim and I with essential equipment and technical assistance as well as helped develop the story as we brainstormed through the process. Check out his company at http://www.ethreemedia.com/ I sincerely look forward to working with Eric again. Thank you also brother!

The video is now on youtube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa4AEry7_rI

GONE FISHIN:
I've had a fantastic couple of years and want to thank all of you for that. It has been a rewarding time in my life, I've traveled a lot, had some nice reactions to my work, grown musically and as a person and I've made a lot of great new friends and business partners. All of it has been great. The only exception to the wonders of a great and successful period in any career is that usually they come with a strain on other areas of life.
I've been feeling a bit out of touch with my family and friends (the ones I can wave at here in my hometown) and need to pause for a moment to do some living. Don't worry, I'll write about it and record it soon thereafter, but I need a small vacation so I'm taking one.

I am going to play my Feb 18 show at Stooges in Jackson and the Feb 25 show at Loudhouse Cafe in Greenbrier TN and then I'm going to be off the stage until MAY.

I will resume touring extensively beginning May 3 at The Record Bar in Kansas City, Mo.

If you need to contact me, visit jeffersonfox.com and feel free to email me from the link on the contact page. I'll be checking that and popping in occasionally on Facebook, though I probably won't be posting much.

MUSIC:
More music is in the works. I have been working on a couple of releases and did some more recording while in Georgia this week...at Elevated Basement Recording Studios with Kevin Rose. Kevin is an outstanding musician and sound engineer (and architect, and dad etc etc) who was hugely inspiring to me as far back as my days in High School when he was the guitarist in mine and Tim Gill's favorite band 'City of Lindas'. He's played on countless projects, recorded some outstanding music, coordinated takeovers of distant planets and recently become a Captain (of the open seas). I am very excited to finally be working with him and look forward to giving you something to listen to as a result. More soon on that. Check out Elevated Basement at http://elevatedbasement.com/ and thank YOU brother!

That's it for now.
Enjoy Valentines Day, 'Simpleton', and every moment you have

Sincerely
Jefferson Fox