A# Sharp Recording Studio

Serendipity

 

There's a saying that goes "Success is when preparation and opportunity meet".

The more I read, the more I realise that though we all strive to be successful, as artists - bands - engineers - songwriters - producers and no matter how hard we try and no matter how thoroughly we strive for excellence, there's one word that says it all about if it's gonna "happen" for us or are we to be content with a "day job".

Serendipity

A couple of modest examples:

  • George Martin meets the Beatles in 1962.  He didn't sign them because they were a great band, he signed them because he was attracted to their personalities.  I mean - what's the chance of signing the world's biggest band ever, because you find them delightful chaps.
  • Ed Sullivan saw a whole bunch of girls at Heathrow Airport in 1963.  He asked them what are they are doing here?  They said they were waiting for the Beatles... he said "What's a Beatle?".  Four months later they appeared on his show with the highest rated T.V.appearance ever.
  • Mike Chapman (producer for Blondie, The Sweet, The Knack i.e.:"My Sharonna", Suzi Quatro) was just trying out a guitar in a music shop.  A guy gave him a card, he joined a band, and ended up became a world-famous producer...it stated with him trying out a bloody guitar in a shop for crying out loud- no-one EVER does that...tries a guitar out in a music shop...!!!!
  • Jimi Hendrix, as a no-body (yet) played a club in Greenwich Village in 1966.  He loved the way it looked, so when he decided to create his own club,when he was famous, which ended up becoming "Electric Ladyland Recording Studio", he got in touch with the guy who designed the Greenwich Village Club...
  • Jet.  What's the chances of one of the biggest firms in the world (Apple Computers) liking one of the songs off your first CD and using it to launch a new product?? read "Megabucks". That's got to be a one in a million chance... 
  • silverchair.  From day one, everything fell in place for these guys from Newcastle to sell-out gigs in the US.
  • Ray Charles is one of the greatest musical EVERYTHING of the 20th Century and Quincy Jones is one of the greatest arrangers + producers of ALL TIME...so when Ray moved to Seattle..who else lives in Seattle...yep, you guessed it...little Quincy...talk about a leg-up...and for who..??..both of them, that's who..!! 

(Sometimes you just gotta get a touch jealous about SERENDIPITY when it happens to others...but having said that...who would like to be Curt Cobain..??.. )

Again, it's not that Jet-silverchair-The Beatles were the best bands of their time, with the best songs, it was just --

Serendipity

  • Billy Ray Cyrus - with that song that surely no-one dislikes (Achy Breakey Heart)

    • Is that one of the best country song ever written?  No.
    • Is that one of the best country song ever sung?  No.
    • Is that one of the most SUCCESSFUL country songs ever?  YES

Why? 

Serendipity.

The market was ready, willing and able.

Even in my own modest little studio, where we can record up to 5 bands per week, one of those bands was The Vines, their first CD, went Number 5 worldwide. At the time of them doing their demo with my engineer Glenn Santry, they were just another band recording in the studio. 

But as Shakespeare said "Nothing comes of nothing".  We're all playing at that one chance in a million, success hits a lot of folk, and you've got to be in it to win it. It might as well be you!!!

There are heaps of scientific discoveries that happened by accident while someone was trying to do something else.... batteries, the microwave oven, penicillin. So, often songwriters become producers, artists become managers and unfortunately, stars become truckdrivers.

So the message here is keeping doing what you're doing, and do it the best you can, 'cos you don't know where it will lead you - maybe a No. 1 in the US or just a nice little job in your home town.  But without being too New-Age about it...

Be happy where the road leads you.

 

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339 Belmore Road, Riverwood, NSW, 2210
Phone: (02) 9153 9988 • Email: jeff@asharp.com.au