Homage, Inspiration & Imitation

If you don't know (and I don't see how you couldn't, as I've mentioned it about a BILLION times), Jill Scott is one of my musical idols. I won't say she's my ONLY musical idol, because I have many, but she's definitely WAY up there at the top with Ella and Aretha. Gosh, wouldn't it be great one day to just have people say, "Kat" and EVERYONE ON THE PLANET knows who I am? LOL. That's a ways off.

But I digress. I put that pic up because Hidden Beach Recordings is using it as her album cover for her previously unreleased work. What struck me as amazing was its similarity to MY OWN debut album.

Notice the black and white.

Notice the cat eye glasses (from the angle in mine, they're less obvious, but I assure you, they're awesome cat eye glasses)

Notice the close-up shot.

Notice the closed eyes in contentment with the music.

And this wasn't done by accident. No, I didn't find this picture and recreate it, but I did look at a lot of pictures for jazz albums that I love from back in the day and try to capture the similar feel with my own album cover.

I noticed many were close up, many were in black and white, and many were in retro clothing. None of that was difficult for me, as I am, as the album title implies, "An Old Soul", and it wasn't surprising that to create the same feel, it involved using the vintage styles as I do myself.

Very few people know that, for the longest time, this album was going to be called, "Homage". It's cover songs, and it's my way of paying homage to the greats. My producer felt it didn't give enough insight into ME, and why I, IN PARTICULAR, chose these artists and these songs. So "An Old Soul" was the choice, to let listeners know they'd be hearing vintage music, that I was a young person into that, and that, as I continue to create music, you're going to hear that in my voice.

But I don't want it to be lost on anyone that I HIGHLY revere the artists of the past that I chose to cover. I highly revered them, and they are a great INSPIRATION to me, but with cover songs, you don't want to have people go away thinking, "Wow, she sang Aretha Franklin's song pretty well." I want them to go away thinking, "Wow, that's one of the best versions of 'Until You Come Back to Me' I've heard!"

So it's a fine line between paying homage, and finding inspiration in your musical idols, and flat-out imitating them. For artists like myself, interested in preserving some of the genres of the past going into the music of the future, this is the fine line we must walk.

Agree? Disagree? Have a favorite song on the album or example for your argument? Chime in! I'm trying to get my fans more involved. This, like music, should always be a CONVERSATION. :)

Pandora.com!!!!

Oh my goodness, everyone! After an extended runaround having to do with UPC codes and ASIN numbers, etc., my music is FINALLY able to be submitted to Pandora.com for possible streaming!!

You see, in order to do this, you had to have your music being sold in MP3 form AND physical form on Amazon.com. Now, my CD is being sold in MP3 form on Amazon, courtesy of Reverb Nation's distribution package, but I found out later that CD Baby was putting the physical CD up for sale on Amazon as well. The only issue? CD Baby didn't have the UPC listed, and without the UPC, Pandora wouldn't believe I had it being sold both ways on Amazon. Then CD Baby didn't want to add my UPC so I could submit it unless I did both hardcopy AND digital distribution through them.

Now, since I haven't yet received payment from my digital sales, I didn't want to switch distributors midstream and risk delaying payment further (oh, the plight of the independent artist!). So I stuck it out and looked for loopholes in the system.

One loophole was Jango.

Jango is the new kid in the streaming market. It's very similar to Pandora, only their rating system is a bit different and I don't think their algorithms for music you might like are quite as sophisticated as those used by Pandora.

BUT, what was AWESOME about Jango is that they were completely open to new artists submitting their work to Jango for possible airtime. In fact, you didn't have to be selling your music ANYWHERE yet. You could just be putting it on Jango to see if you got fans, etc. Jango made it easy to put your music up so people could then find your profile and become a fan. By the way, feel free to search "Kat Webb" on Jango and become a fan, if you haven't already. ;)

Their system was the very simple, "pay for play" method. You pay a certain amount and get a certain amount of plays, which you can target to an audience who might like you.

And that was great...but, for now at least, PANDORA is the leader in streaming internet radio. And I needed to get on there.

So the next loophole was going to ARTISTCENTRAL.AMAZON.COM and creating an artist profile for my Amazon store. If you visit Amazon and search Kat Webb, you'll find it. :)

You go there, claim an artist (I claimed myself), and complete a profile. Then I contacted them to let them know that I, the artist, wanted to add my UPC code.

Strangely enough, THAT was complicated too! Even though I owned the artist profile, they first had to link the physical CD being sold with the MP3, and then I had to fill out a form to add the extra info.

But still no UPC code! The MANDATORY UPC code that Pandora required STILL wasn't there.

One more email to Artist Central and FINALLY it's all there. I FINALLY can submit my music to Pandora, and I have.

Three things, though.

First, the title for the hardcopy is incorrect. They have it as "Old Soul", and it's really "An Old Soul". Being that my producer and I spent about an HOUR discussing this differentiation, lol, it's now crucial that the title be correct as I intended. So I submitted the request to have that corrected and that should happen in 5-7 BUSINESS DAYS.

Second, there's another artist by the name of Kat Webb on Amazon, and unfortunately for me, her music is not the kind of music with which I'd like to be associated. I won't make a value statement on it, but I will say it's not the content material that I strive for. So if you go to Amazon, just know that the only music by ME is contained in the album, "An Old Soul".

Third, I'm selling it through Amazon Advantage as well (ADVANTAGE.AMAZON.COM). This way I can more easily make changes to any hardcopy info because I'm one of the vendors.

So yeah, wish me luck, and I'll DEFINITELY let everyone know when my stuff is streaming on Pandora.com!

P.S. Thanks for all your well wishes but I did NOT get selected as Jill Scott's opening act. :( It stinks, but I think it's just a sign that if I come to work with Jill Scott (when I work with her), it'll be as an established artist and collaborator. ;)

Kat.

P.S. Meow.

Lightning Rod

Sometimes when I perform, it's like I'm being struck by lightning. I used to think it was nerves. And, on some level, it was. I was nervous about what was about to leave my body. Certain that it couldn't be contained and that it could only be expressed by my melodic voice, rather than any feeble words I could conjure. I feel this most in church.

As is often the case, I was called up in one of my churches to sing the selection following the offering. I'd assumed this would happen, since too many members of the choir were missing, and I'd missed the last few weeks, so probably would be put on the spot. Since I was expecting it, I'd already decided I would sing "Total Praise".

Sometimes I think "Total Praise" is overdone. It's the go-to song for choirs in a pinch, and I'd definitely performed it recently at a Brooklyn street festival. BUT, I'd never performed it as a solo piece, and hearing it as a solo piece is more rare, considering the Amen fugue at the end.

Anyway, I decided on "Total Praise" and I immediately got nervous. I don't know why. I've sung in church a million times. I'd performed in public three other times in the last week alone. But my hands were shaking. My stomach felt a bit queasy, and my knees felt a bit weak.

And then I was called up. I got up and I sang as if my life depended on it. I know musical performance is highly subjective, but I was not just good, I was GREAT. I even teared up a bit, something that rarely happens. It was as if I was having an out of body experience. Like I was possessed by the song.

Walking back to my seat, my hands were shaking. The pastor said she'd recently had dinner with Richard Smallwood himself and heard that song, so God must be telling her something.

But God was also telling ME something. All those times I felt nervous were not nerves. I'm Mrs. Prepared. I'm Mrs. Organized. I'm Mrs. Rehearsed. So that's not what it's been. It's been God speaking through me. I've often felt that my singing was a calling, and that, for many years, I was repressing it. Well now, it's coming out in full force, leaving my body from my mouth and leaving me zapped and shaking.

It's a powerful feeling, and I'm so happy that I can share it with those around. That's what it's for. It's for sharing.

Kismet.

It's no secret I LOVE Jill Scott. Like, LOOOOVE her. She's a renaissance woman (singing, writing, acting), she's classy, she expresses herself beyond measure, she's beautiful, and she's a ridiculously amazing singer that backs it up with training and serious chops. Yep, she's my musical idol.

I love Jill Scott so much that, after much delay, I finally went to check out Philly for The Roots Picnic and fell in love with Philly too. It was really a shame that I hadn't been since it's so close to NYC, but, if it's not clear, I'm a bit of a workaholic and just never took the time for even day trips for myself. Well, those days are long gone. I've gone to DC, home (for something OTHER than Christmas with the family), and to Philly. I've been TWICE now, since that's where I spent my fourth of July. Anyway, I fell in love with it. When I settle down (IF I settle down...), I think I might like it to be in Philly. It's still urban, it's close enough to the city, it has a great music scene (Jill Scott, The Roots, etc.), it's got a multicultural population which is always a plus, reliable public transit, it's inexpensive (compared to NYC), and it's just plain pretty.

But anyway, back to Jill Scott. Like her, I've had vocal training. Like her, I write (I haven't written in a while, but I'm a relatively accomplished screenwriter). Like her, I keep my hair natural. Like her, I'm drawn to the jazzier, soulful side of music. My frequent drummer, Rashad King, even knew (knows?) her once background vocalist, Vivian Green. And now I've entered in the Budweiser Opening Acts competition, to be her opening act.

So is it kismet? Will I soon and very soon get to work with my musical idol, if only to get fans (and myself) ready to see her? Golly jeepers, I hope so! :)