A few months ago I discussed with HVB, The Back Office, and The Mod (collectively “the Board Members”) the possibility of forming a Rock Town Hall Recording Society. The concept would be that someone records a basic track (as simple as just a beat or a single instrument track, but no more complicated that a sparse track containing chords and a melody/lyrics). Then, they would forward it to the next person in line so they could add something to it, and so on until we have a finished track. We could evaluate each addition and decide whether or not it should stay in the mix. If we could figure out a way to forward the thing as unmixed tracks, then everyone could take a shot at a final mix. The idea is that anything on any track can be edited, deleted or replaced, including my lyrics or melody. No experience necessary!

The main issue is what format would we use.

This should be a digital project. That way we could have all of the tracks sync up while their being passed from machine to machine. Also, I think we should be able to save the tracks as WAV files and it wouldn’t matter if people were using PCs or Macs. Based on my previous discussions the Board Members, a series of WAV files would quickly become too big to e-mail, so we might need to snail mail a disc from person to person. I’m not a very tech savvy guy, so Board Members feel free to remind me why this wouldn’t work.

I have a song that I wrote back in the days when RTH was a Yahoo Group. Someone had suggested that we write short songs about Angry Gnomes. I wrote one that day but have never recorded it. I’d gladly offer up that gem as a starting point. If that’s the starting point, I could record a rhythm guitar track and a scratch vocal track. It’s about a minute long.

I’m certain the final outcome will conclusively prove that creating art by committee is a fool’s errand but I think it could be an interesting journey, especially if we get to the point where different people are mixing the same tracks.

Anybody want to give this a shot? Any suggestions how to make it work?

While they probably never aspired to the gold standard Super Group status that Cream enjoyed, over the years some folks have thrown in their lot with other similarly situated folks (read: modestly successful/past their prime/second or third banana in a successful group) and formed “B” curve Super Groups. Sort of like if The Green Lantern, The Atom, and Hawkman formed their own Justice League (I’ve been watching a lot of superhero shows with my 4 year old lately).

Anyway, which of the following second- and third-tier Super Groups did you think had the most promise before you actually heard the music?

Which did you like the most after you heard their music?

Feel free to add a poor man’s Super Group of your own but make sure that it is comprised of at least three people who have had a modicum of success on their own.

• Gutterball (Long Riders, Dream Syndicate, Silos)
• Continental Drifters (Bangles, Cowsills, dB’s)
• Magic Christian (Flamin’ Groovies, Plimsouls, Blondie)
• Tinted Windows (Cheap Trick, Fountains of Wayne, Hanson, Smashing Pumpkins)
• Damn Yankees (Styx, Night Ranger, Amboy Dukes)

Early poll results, as of 11:05 am EST on 5/13/09.

This is a tough one so I thought I’d create a post to work this thorny issue out in public. I’d need someone with good writing and organizational skills and an eye for detail. They would also have to be reliable.

Springsteen and Buckingham both strike me as control freaks musically. This could be a big benefit if channeled properly. I would imagine that they would really turn in good work product when they were done, and Springsteen in particular has a way with words. My concern with both of them is that they might let Great become the enemy of Good. Seldom are things perfect in life and I can’t be waiting around on a project while they continually revamp it in search of perfection. So, I’ll bring them in for interviews and hang on to their resumes but they wouldn’t be my first choices.

Sheryl Crow and Chrissie Hynde are appealing because they both strike me as team players, notwithstanding Chrissie’s past association with the punks. Also, as women, I could get away with paying them 33% less than a man, and in this economy I have to keep an eye on the bottom line. However, over the years I’ve heard a lot statements that Chrissie has made in support of various causes and I can’t risk her blurting that kind of stuff out during meetings when we are trying to close a deal. As for Sheryl, I suspect there is very little chance that she would pass the drug screening.

Peter Gabriel is out because he bailed on Genesis right as they were on the cusp of getting big. To me, this shows that he will put his own interests before that of the team. Also, I’m uncertain if he’s charmingly eccentric or just plain weird. In either event, I have a business to run and I don’t want to have to revise my office dress code to include the phrase “no fox head hats”.

That leaves us with Seger and Petty. Both seem very dependable. Seger is the ultimate “C curve” guy. He would punch in right at 9 and leave right at 5. He would meet every deadline. He would be a real asset to the company softball team. But I wouldn’t expect any extra effort from him no matter what the circumstances. And there might be union problems.

There’s no question that Petty’s work product is much higher quality than Seger’s. I often tend to underestimate Petty (perhaps it’s the lethargic speaking voice), but he is extremely reliable. You’re rarely going to get “A” quality work with him but you will always have a steady stream of “B’s” and “B pluses”. His loyalty is well demonstrated by the fact that he stuck with his second bass player through his addiction and after Howie died, he hired the original guy back. He’s constantly progressing but in a steadfast way. He seems like he’d put in the extra hours if need be but he wouldn’t let the job take over his life. I don’t want my staff to burn out.

So I’m going with Petty. I’ll offer the low range of the salaries and two weeks vacation but I’ll let him talk me up 10% on the salary and up to 3 weeks’ vacation so he can feel like he’s getting a deal. I’ll need him to start ASAP.