JasonShadrick

Before I started here there were a few blogs that really inspired me to start my own.  Considering my job, many people were asking me to somehow document all the great musicians I come in contact with on a regular basis.  Here are 9 blogs that helped me figure out how to blog, why to blog and what makes a blog succesful.

In no particular order:

GuitarNoize.com is one of the first guitar centric blogs I started to read on a regular basis.  It has a great look and feel and is a great place to find the latest guitar news that sometimes is overlooked by the mainstream.

Ariel Hyatt is a publicity wizard.  She was the first one to tell me how to make Twitter work for me and for that I am grateful.  If you are an independent musician, please do yourself a favor and check her out.

GuitarVibe.com is a really great site for concert reviews, gear reviews and some really nice interviews.  Since Zach is in the the tech industry, I really like the reviews on some of the guitar technology that is out there.

What is it with Australia and amazing guitar blogs? iHeartGuitar is a guitar news blog that features both some incredible interviews (Dave Mustaine, Ace Frehley, etc.) but lessons, album reviews and more.  I am really looking forward to finally meeting Peter at NAMM next January.

The Rock House Method Blog is not only a place to keep up on the latest Rock House news but a great resource for tons of lessons, articles and more from other websites and blogs.

John is one of our instructors at NGW and is always willing to help students (and fellow bloggers).  He has some great coverage from the summer and is one of the best examples of how to leverage the internet to create a great teaching studio.

Easily one of the most read music business blogs around, Hypebot is a great way to learn more about what is changing daily about the music business.  Bruce Houghton and his staff really do a great job of explaing complicated concepts in an easy to understand way.

Bob Lefsetz is a longtime commentator on the music industry.  Starting out as an actual letter and then progressing to an emai list, his blog is read by a large amount of the music industry.  He posts A LOT, so I would recommend checking it out from time to time and catch up.

Derek Sivers is the guy who started CDBaby and in turn empowered a generation of DIY musicians.  Much like his hero, Seth Godin, Derek’s blog is full of short useful posts that really make you think.  If I had to choose one of this list, this would be it.  HIGHLY recommended.

I know by just reading the title of this post, many of you will have a preconcieved notion of what to expect.  Even I had to admit that I thought I knew what John Zorn was all about.

That is until I read the excellent JazzTimes cover story on Zorn written by Bill Milkowski.  This is easily one of the best interviews I have ever read.  I first heard Zorn’s Naked City album while an undergrad and at the time I was not ready for it (who really is?) but it was interesting to me because it featured one of my favorite guitarists, Bill Frisell.  It was like a bunch of jazz nerds got together and made an amazing heavy metal/hardcore album.  Since I was a metalhead back in the day, that was my “gateway drug” into the world of John Zorn.

With some casual searching on the web it is easy to see that Zorn is arguably one of the most prolific and diverse musicians EVER.  Who else could write an album of string quartets like Magick (2004) develop a unique sound like the aformentioned Naked City project in addition to leading a longstanding quartet (Masada) that performs traditional sacred Jewish music in a jazz context?

His skills as a composer and musician are well documented, but after reading this interview it totally dawned on me that Zorn is also an amazing entrepreneur and a leading advocate of artistic expression.

For example, consider the following:

• Since 1995, he has been the driving force behind Tzadik, a record label that although small is easily doing better than any of the major labels.
• He recently opened a non-profit music venue, The Stone, in the East Village in New York City.  As per the website:
  • All expenses are paid for by the MUSIC itself – through the online sale of special Limited Edition CDs released yearly on the Tzadik label. Each month a different musician is responsible for curating the programs with 100% of the nightly revenue going directly to the musicians.

To me, this should be the model for every music venue in the world.   For the last 35 years Zorn has been relentless in his approach, drive and vision.  His music might not reach everyone, but musicians and businessmen alike should look to him as a model of where the music industry is heading.  I hope that both Gary Vaynerchuk and Bob Lefsetz are paying attention to artists like Zorn, because I assure you he isn’t the least bit interested in what they (or you) are doing.