John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

Dear friends of WWJDD,

This message could be one word long; VOTE!  That's my main message.  But a bit deeper lies what you're voting for or against.  Someday when we meet in some night club we'll discuss this at length but right now I urge you to go to the media, websites, internet blogs, friends & family to get the facts, however fluid they may be.  You're smart & can separate the lies from the truth (also fluid) & I'm sure you will vote for the right guy . . . no, not the one who suspends his campaign every time there's a dip in his poll numbers or some crisis he must attend (not really his job), uses falsehoods in adverts or agrees w/ 90% of Pres GWB's policies.  Please VOTE & vote for someone who can restore our FAITH & HOPE in this country.  BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT AS A CITIZEN & VOTE!  THIS MORE IMPORTANT NOW THAN EVER.

Thanks for allowing me a little soap box time & for your support. Below is a list of the different state's voter registration deadlines.

yours in solidarity,

John Doe

p.s. get yr slacker friends to register & vote too!

If you have any questions about registering or voting contact your Secretary of State. Click here to for a complete contact list by state at Rock The Vote.

If you have questions for John Doe about music, the music business or life feel free to email them to wwjdd@knowthemusicbiz.com.

For more information on John Doe check out theejohndoe.com or YepRoc.com.

Matthew Ryan first debuted in 1997 with May Day (A&M Records) and since, has amassed an impressive catalog of critically lauded major label, DIY and indie releases to date. Matthew Ryan vs The Silver State is Ryan's 11th record released by Brooklyn indie 00:02:59. Photo by Bob Delevante.

I'm in a mood today. So this could read grumpy, or even curmudgeonly (if that's a word).Things are good, things are above the waterline. Work is good, I'm writing, I just scored a television show and there's more ahead. I just released a new song called Some Streets Lead Nowhere via iTunes and I'm finding there's a new flux of listeners finding me. My last tour was successful, more and more people coming out and singing along. My listeners are beginning to help me tell my story. And I'm genuinely moved by this new migration of intimate advocacy. It's a humanizing hum in all the flash and adverts. But there's a part of me that continues to feel unsatisfied in the new lawlessness of music and the way it's internalized.

I don't wish to mourn the horse-drawn wagon vs. the automobile. But things have changed, and there's no going back. The days we knew are a boutique, progress isn't always progress. Often it's what's expedient or more thoroughly marketed.

I miss the tactile nature of music. The submersing seduction of artwork. The smell of the ink on paper with the images and the liner notes. The large speakers, the console, the ritual of removing the plastic wrap and inserting the breathe of a world changed by someone's ability to say and sing something. I miss it. It's what I wanted for my work. I wanted it to exist for those that needed it, and I wanted my work to hopefully confide and insist that things are always on the verge of exploding into a perfect opportunity. I'm confused by the homogenized experience of downloading music now. There's no physicality to it now. There's no unique sensation to the event. It's a click and a few seconds and then a declaration of war vs. instant judgment. Now, the quality of music itself has been compromised for speed of delivery. The system of delivery is rarely gonna mug you like a sudden rain or burst of sunshine will. It's more of a cute little machine that looks more like it could light a cigarette rather than unleash Love Will Tear Us Apart, Positively 4th Street or Keep On Rockin' In The Free World on you.

But it is amazing isn't it? Even with all the new traffic online, and as compromised as technology has made the width and clarity of recordings, songs still arrest you. Anonymous and handicapped, they still take over a room, shake you, force you to shake your ass or stop cold in reflection, cry and smile. Songs. You can't fucking kill them. And if you're song is good enough, honest enough, clear enough.... It will create a universe all its own through the migration and delivery in cold places like email and Yousendit. And on the end of those strange transmissions lie ears and a heart still wanting to be moved.

So I say, give your music away. Not all of it, but consider which song of yours at this moment is the ONE song you'd want anyone to hear. That's the song you should unlock the cage for. Be smart. Pay your rent. Work hard. Stay open and hopeful. Don't buy into subscriptions and donations and other silliness, If your songs are good enough they will speak for themselves. You should lean for life outside of your cult. People value what moves them. If you engage people, they will engage you. And eventually they will tell your story for you.

When we do our jobs, when we deliver on our promises, we're rewarded. I suggest that we understand that. Listeners, lovers of music, want artists that full fill their promise. And in return, they understand the reality of it. They will become patrons of your work. They'll come to your shows. They'll buy your t-shirts. They'll pass your music along with genuine heart and advocacy. Because even still, music is one of the few things that can connect, comfort and rile us in such a pure way. It has value because (watch out, this is gonna get redundant) when it has value, it has value. It's indefinable, scary and dangerous. The new world can't be bought. At least the halls of truly meaningful music cannot be bought. The Jonas Brothers and other drivel will always exist. It's brainwashing. It's bought and designed and sold and bought and re-invented and sold again. But the halls of the meaningful have to carve their own path, it has to exist ultimately based upon its merits and some collective willingness to understand or feel it. Those merits are cousins to magic, and it depends on its ability to confide something that everyone knows, but can't manage the words let alone a melody. That's the work of artists. You gotta be willing to release those songs like a bird into that great wide open. Cause you know, if you love something, set it free. If it never returns, it was never yours. If it returns to you, it's yours forever.

Martin Atkins has a 30 year career in the music business that includes touring with the bands Public Image Limited, Killing Joke, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails and Pigface, owning an independent record label celebrating its 20th anniversary with over 350 releases, and is an instructor at Columbia College Chicago teaching The Business of Touring, Applied Marketing, and Indie Label Management. He is also the author of the book Tour:Smart.

No, not shellfish philanthropy - SELFISH - what I mean is this - GIVE of yourself - open up and HELP someone other than yourself - it will PROBABLY help you way more than spending the same amount of time doing the same old stuff you have been doing and not getting the amazing results you read about on the side of the cereal box.

Lets look at a tiny example - putting up posters........you could put up another 50 of the same posters that no-one has really been taking any notice of for the show that you haven't sold many tickets for - OR, offer to help another band (maybe an out of town band you've connected with through the internet) don't try and hash out some quid pro quo deal before you do it - I LIKE the idea that I'm allowing someone the option of totally ripping me off - that's the best way you can see very quickly what they are really made of - and, when its only a few posters and a few staples (and a parking ticket and a trip to the emergency room because you stapled your hand to a telegraph pole) - then its a pretty cheap litmus test of personality - ok?

So, what might happen - well, the out of town band might also ask if you know of a place to stay - do you?, they might also ask if you know where they can get their mellotron fixed, or they might think that here is a guy that's DOING SOMETHING in a city they need help in - and what would happen if you were actually on the bill???
Maybe, after doing this for ten bands you meet the promoter(s) in town. Believe me the ones that are really doing this will NOTICE someone who is running around putting up posters - instead of talking the talk and then binning them! They will see you here and there and register this activity - so that, when they have a problem with a show that needs some extra work and all of their street teamers are off touring with their band or sick or sick of touring or whatever - you will get the call. Maybe you'll just get to know the people at Kinkos and get a discount or meet your new guitar player (been there, done that). 

I'm not saying, hang on tight cos next week you're joining the fucking BEATLES!!!!!!!! I'm just offering up some different ideas.

 I'll be in New Orleans on Monday sept 15th at Loyola - a free Tour:Smart lecture open to the public at Nunemaker Hall from 5 til 6pm - come and get a flyer that gets you in to my dj spot later that night for free! Then I'll be at the Baltimore Music Conference, New York City (Film Screening and Art Show), Philadelphia and Virginia - come and say hi!

Peace Love Respect

Martin Atkins

John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

A Question from Matthew in Liverpool

Hi John,

I'm a big X fan and I love your solo work particularly, 'Meet John Doe'...a  great album, I hope maybe Rhino Records may remaster it.

My question is something I've already emailed Peter Case about, I play guitar but find that when I try and flat pick I can't get the right sound. I use 12's on an old EN acoustic, I'm fed up of playing finger style and want a tougher sound. Are there any tips you can give me about flat picking? Should I be using a thumb pick or a particular plectrum?

Yours with Respect.

Matthew 

WWJDD?
 
Hey Matthew,

  Peter Case is a much better guitar player that I am, so take his advice first.  Most good gtr player that I know use very heavy picks & a very light touch. Billy Zoom uses something like Fender heavy & Dave Alvin uses a heavy thumb pick & both use their fingernails for more intricate picking parts. To avoid my own confusion in switching picks from bass to gtr, I use Herco nylon flex 75 (silver) which are fairly stiff. They do the job w/ both bass & gtr & don't turn floppy during a show.  Certainly trial & error is the best method to find out what works best for you.

best of luck, hope this helps & as always thanks for writing,

If you have questions for John Doe about music, the music business or life feel free to email them to wwjdd@knowthemusicbiz.com.

For more information on John Doe check out theejohndoe.com or YepRoc.com .