Welcome to Just Plain Notes
Just Plain Notes: Volume 1.184, December 24, 2009
Written by Brian Austin Whitney
Visit the Website:
www.jpfolks.com Mail CD's @ 5327 Kit Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46237
Copyright 2009 Just Plain Folks Productions.
Just Plain Folks Member Population: 50,017
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Would you like to join the JPF message boards? It's quick and easy. Just click this link and choose a password and user name and you'll be posting in no time! We'd love to hear from and about you.
To register: (It's a separate registration from JPF membership):
http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?action=agree***************************************************
Just Plain Quotes:
"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live." -Flora Whittemore
"She had wit, she had grace, she had beauty; But above all, she had truth." -Leo Tolstoy writing Anna Karenina
"It isn't kind to cultivate a friendship just so one will have an audience." -Lawana Blackwell
"Stop asking yourself if you can do something better than those who are successful. Instead ask yourself if you really have something to say." -Brian Austin Whitney
My Take:
I've been suffering from a wicked case of writers block ever since the JPF awards process and our subsequent UK/Ireland tour ended in October. I usually try to use this space to say something upbeat or at least motivational in the context of our music community and the music industry which surrounds it. I've gone around and around trying to do what I think I am supposed to do and it finally hit me. I needed to stop trying to compete with all my previously successful "My Takes" and just write about something real. When I thought about it, I knew exactly what to write about today.
The world is full of people who are happy to teach you how the music business works (or at least used to work). They lay out their theories and give you roadmaps that they claim will lead you to success. Then there are others who will show you how to make better recordings so you sound as good as what is on the radio. Still more folks will examine the craft of songwriting in great detail and teach you to write in a format and style and how to use techniques that are proven to work for hit writers which we'd all love to surpass. And while all these things can be 100% correct in context, they are missing the single most important factor that all artists of all types must face and successfully overcome.
Stop asking yourself if you can do something better than those who are successful. Instead ask yourself if you really have something to say. That's the thing that very few people ever coach you on. Sure, you may be able to write the heck out of a story, but do you have a story worth telling? You may be able to sing in perfect pitch but are you getting across an emotion that is real and meaningful? You may be able to record an album that equals the best engineering feats in the world, but is there something underneath that beautiful wrapping paper that actually says something worth hearing?
I realized I was so worried about writing something that would 'succeed' in terms of this column and which would stand up to all my previous quotes and quips, that I had forgotten to ask myself if I was saying something of value in the first place. So my sage advice for today is to stop and ask yourself if you really have something to say that is honest and meaningful and which will connect to some of us out here who will recognize those little truths that make up our own lives. Tell a story, big or small, that helps the listener realize that they aren't alone in this big old world and that when they listen to your music, they really feel like we're all in this together. Accomplish that and you're a success as an "artist" no matter how the rest of it works out.
Learn, Succeed and Thrive, We're All In This Together! Just Plain Folks.
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2009 Just Plain Folks Community Partner Sponsors!
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www.discmakers.com/jpfolksTAXI: The world's leading independent A&R company, has been successfully helping Songwriters, Artists and Composers get their music heard and signed by top Publishers, Major & Indie Labels, and Film & TV music supervisors since 1992. TAXI, is your best bet! See them at
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www.Hostbaby.com..***************************************************
Just Plain Folks Founders Award Winners and 2009 Awards Recap
I needed to take a little step away from the awards so that I could have a fresh look at what we collectively achieved this year. The numbers and workload were so overwhelming that it almost seemed like someone else was doing it all and we were sitting outside of it shaking our heads while it all went down. Have you ever had that experience?
So now that I've had a bit of a breather, my enthusiasm and awe for it all has come back and I can really enjoy and appreciate a job well done not just by myself and the JPF staff, but also the thousands of volunteers who donated 100's of thousands of manpower hours to screen more music than anyone has ever screened in world history for an awards of any kind.
The winners and top finalists are posted for the Album, Song, Video and Lyric categories on the site. We also have posted the "Founders Awards" which are sometimes overlooked even though they represent the largest awards of the process.
The JPF Founders awards are given to the artists and writers who we felt reached beyond just the highest level of talent. We also considered who we felt best represented our entire community this year of 50,000 artists, writers and music industry professionals. These winners are essentially ambassadors for JPF to the music world and beyond. We also recognize some deserving volunteers who help make JPF possible!
2009 Chapters and Coordinators of the Year:
John Kloberdanz & the Buffalo, NY Chapter
Linda Kraemer & the Orange County, CA Chapter
John and Linda did a fantastic job over the last few years leading their chapters. Both have done a wonderful job reaching out beyond just the JPF community and into their local music scenes bringing other organizations together with ours and helping artists and writers connect with their peers. Both have been excellent role models for the future of our Chapter programs and we're happy to recognize them and their local members for keeping the spirit of JPF going locally! Please check out the info later in the newsletter about starting a local chapter in your area!
2009 Guardian Angel: Adrian James
This award goes to the key Volunteer who had the biggest impact for JPF. JPF is entirely Volunteer run and we live and breath based on the talent and passion of those who give their time and talents to our community. Adrian is the person behind our new JPF Website Design and T-Shirts and Trophy Re-designs. He donated 100% of his work on these projects and even helped out during Awards Show Weekend as a JPF Photographer. Just check out our shiny new website at justplainfolks.org to see his amazing work!
2009 Horizon Artist: Arami
This award goes to the JPF artist we feel demonstrates the brightest future in the musical work they do. We don't just base it on potential commercial success, but rather their potential in making amazing music and sustaining outstanding passionate careers. Our previous winners have made our choices look pretty good in hindsight. Our last winner, Chris Young, just had the #1 Country Music Song in the world and other previous Horizon winners continue to succeed in their own careers. We expect Arami, who we feel is more than just an excellent Paraguayan Harpist and composer, to succeed in her field as well!
2009 Vocals (Group, Female and Male) of the Year:
Group Vocals of the Year: Gravity 180
Female Vocalist of the Year: Lena Anderssen
Male Vocals of the Year: Russell Smith
We choose our vocalist of the year winners not simply on the biggest voices but rather the voices that "move" us the most in the context of their genre and work. What makes this collection of winners really interesting is that some are widely known and respected for their songwriting abilities, but we feel their vocal abilities might be a bit under the radar. Gravity 180 is a Smooth Jazz trio made up of vocalists/songwriters Harold Payne and Clydene Jackson Edwards (along with non vocalist/percussionist Oliver C. Brown) and this mix of old school blue eyed soul and 5 octave power goddess is beautiful. Though Clydene's resume as a first call vocalist is beyond world class, there's an all new magic that occurs when she sings alongside her long time bandmate Harold, who is also a multi-platinum songwriter and long time writing partner of Rock Hall of Famer Bobby Womack. Together they create a vibe in their music that almost defies classification but always hits home nonetheless. Our female vocalist of the year Lena Anderssen is considered a national treasure in her home country of the Faroe Islands. Long considered their greatest female singer-songwriter, for me it's her vocals that cut straight to the heart. Our male vocalist of the year is long time industry veteran Russell Smith who not only has a signature country voice, but one of the most identifiable in all of music. These are the wonderful voices that moved us the most in 2009.
2009 Artists (Group, Female and Male) Of The Year
Group of the Year: Kou Chou Ching
Female Artist of the Year: Jasmine Cain
Male Artist of the Year: Sekou (tha Misfit)
We choose artists of the year based on more than just their musical talent. We look for people who we think best represent what Just Plain Folks are all about and who we want to represent us to the world at large. Kou Chou Ching, hailing from Taiwan, bring a special energy and charisma to their unique blend of traditional Taiwanese music combined with current hip hop and electronica. They are so highly thought of in their own country that the Taiwanese government paid to send them to our awards show because they wanted Kou Chou Ching to act as musical ambassadors for their country. It worked. They charmed us and they moved us. (My own mother charged the stage to meet them after they performed!). In return we want them to represent JPF and the vibrancy and diversity of the grassroots music community to the entire world.
Jasmine Cain originally hails from another world in the secluded region of South Dakota. Growing up with little TV or radio reception and without local movie theaters or common conveniences most of us take for granted, she started performing in clubs at 6 years old. Cutting her musical teeth in seedy bars and biker rallies, she's developed her bass playing and lead vocals the old fashioned way. She's the epitome of a hard working, self reliant, band leader and small business woman as she pays her band full time and books all her own gigs and activities without help. Playing 6-10 shows a week is not uncommon and life on the road as a single female has informed her writing and playing style. She can rock hard with the best of them and pull back for a heart wrenching ballad. But most of all, she's an amazing woman who has demonstrated that you can come from anywhere, work hard and raise yourself up without anyone handing you anything. She's a fantastic representative for JPF.
Our male artist of the year is a long time coming for us. Sekou (tha misfit) is the most awarded artist, writer and producer in JPF Awards history. Starting with our first awards where he won a record number of trophies (not broken until this year by Jasmine Cain) he's won more overall awards than any other artist in any genre. His cutting edge Spoken Word recordings have raised the bar consistently and demonstrated the heights that his art form can achieve. His live performances can leave the audience breathless with laughter, breathless with tears and breathless with the realization that a guy that talented really does exist in the world today. He can craft his performance to fit any audience from the most surburban to the most urban, from the hippest to those needing hip replacements and it he transcends all stereotypes, be they cultural or artistic, in a single bound.
We couldn't be more proud to have these incredibly diverse and talented people representing our entire community this year!
2009 Lyricist and Instrumentalist Of The Year
Lyricist of the Year: Danny Ellis
Instrumentalist of the Year: Adam Frey (Euphonium)
Live Artist of the Year: Janis Ian
Producer of the Year: Vee Diawara
In keeping with My Take above, we look for Lyricists who have something to say and this year we felt Danny Ellis best represented that ability. His album "800 Voices (My Childhood In An Irish Orphanage)" not only produced this year's winning individual lyric, but is filled with gut wrenching and heartfelt tales across the entire range of emotions felt by a young boy growing up in difficult conditions. This year's Instrumentalist of the Year is virtuoso Euphonium player Adam Frey. He received 2 album nominations in the Classical Orchestral category for his Concerto work which has to be heard to be believed. Our Live Artist of the Year is living legend Janis Ian, who is not only a prototype singer-songwriter but a passionate performer who can have you crying tears of sadness or tears of laughter with ease. Her standout performance at our JPF Bluebird Cafe Show in Nashville where we had 7 of our most talented JPF members ever on stage together in one evening put her over the top. Our Producer of the Year hails from Lithuania and produced or co-produced 4 nominated albums and 10 nominated songs by Skamp and Jurga. (He was also producer or co-producer in 2006 for the record setting 12 nominations that Skamp received that year). His mix of genres, languages and production approaches (along with his cohorts in Skamp and the team working with Jurga) are stunning and we felt that the music coming out of Lithuania was probably the most cutting edge hybrid music we heard this year and Vee was often in the center of it all. Vee and his musical partners have been way ahead of the musical trends and we are proud to recognize them once again!
2009 Song, Album and Songwriter of the Year
Our 3 biggest awards went to 3 record setting winners this year. Of course it's difficult to place any 1 song at the very top of over 560,000, but when the votes were tabulated, one came out on top. Jasmine Cain blew past the previous record of 4 wins with her 6 JPF Awards which culminated in overall Song of the Year for the Rock Ballad "Give Me Love." The final 10 songs vying for overall Song of the Year (since we don't announce "nominees" for that honor because we don't want to bias the earlier judging) included (in no particular order)
2009 Overall Song Of The Year: Give Me Love by Jasmine Cain (Jasmine Cain)
Adar Man y Myndd by Sian Jame (Sian James, Henry Sears)
Baby Don't Let Me Go by Rachel Proctor (Rachel Proctor, John Lancaster)
Beautiful by Storm Large (Large, Caveseno, Whitaker, Carnes, Hal)
Bozo The Clown by Evil Masquerade (Henrik Flyman)
Home by eggnoise (Ondrej Galuska, Ondrej Kopicka)
Laying in the Street Half Dead With Tom Waits by Ben & Eleanor (Benjamin David Alfred)
Mystery by Michael Logen (Michael Logen)
Pocket Change by Berkley Hart (Calman Hart)
The Time I Have by Zachary Provost (Zachary Provost)
Note: Most of these songs won their individual categories, but what set them apart to make the final 10 were the number of ultra passionate supporters each one had through all rounds of voting combined rather than just the final round.
It wasn't much easier to come out on top for Album of the Year. The final 10 were all exceptionally strong. In the end we chose the album we felt moved it's genre farthest forward in new and exciting ways. Sekou (tha Misfit)'s winning double album "Poetic License" was a tour de force by the most decorated JPF Artist in history. As good as the album is, we suspect there's even more to come from this brilliant performer, writer and producer. Joining Sekou in the final 10 overall albums this year were (in no particular order)
2009 Overall Album of the Year: Poetic License by Sekou (tha Misfit)
Bridging The Gap by Todd Herzog (Jewish)
Chandelier by Rachael Sage (Female Singer-Songwriter)
Folk Is The New Black by Janis Ian (New Folk)
In Your Wake by Alissa Moreno (Pop)
Instrukcija by Jurga (European)
Japanese Bathhouse by Rebecca Zapen (Cabaret)
La Porte Plume by Amelie-les-crayons (European)
Locks & Keys by Jasmine Cain (Rock)
Redder Than Ever by Eric Schwartz (Novelty)
Note: Most of these albums won their individual categories, but what set them apart to make the final 10 were the number of ultra passionate supporters each one had through all the rounds of voting combined rather than just the final round.
And finally, this year's Just Plain Folks Songwriter of the Year went to record setting 3 time album winner Gretchen Peters. Anyone who is familiar with her body of work won't be too surprised and for those of you who aren't familiar with this outstanding writer and artist you should check her out. Though she's had great success writing some iconic songs for others, her solo work will move you just the same. We're really proud to have her representing all the songwriting talent we came across in 2009!
For a complete list of all of this year's nominees and winners, please visit our awards page on the site. You can also see photos from the Pre Awards Showcase and the show itself. We hope to have video of the awards show available in early 2010.
Winners & Finalists:
http://www.jpfolks.com/default.php?page=awardsThanks again to the 10's of thousands of volunteers and artists & writers who helped make it all possible! I also want to thank Matt Kramer, Mike Dunbar, Bob Malone, Karen Angela Moore and Linda Whitney for going well above and beyond to help us pull off the awards show weekend and to our families who had to give us up for most of a year while we toiled away on this project.
Stay tuned for info on the next JPF Awards here in the newsletter and on our website.
-Brian Austin Whitney, 2009
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2010 JPF Roadtrips
We are starting our planning for the 2010 Just Plain Folks Roadtrip schedule. Over the past 12 years we've visited 48 US States and 18 countries around the world. We are very interested in meeting all types of musicians, songwriters and industry professionals and we've backed up the rhetoric by traveling to meet over 25,000 JPF members face to face in their own hometowns. As the org. has grown, it's gotten a little more difficult for me (Brian) to be out the 6-10 months like I used to. Still I've managed to get out and over the years we've had over 15,000 performances at one of our Roadtrip or Chapter showcases.
We're considering the following tour areas for 2010 & 2011, but we want to hear from all of you about where you'd like us to visit next:
US/Mexico Southwest Tour: (including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Northern Mexico)
US/Canada Northeast Tour: (including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia)
US/Canada Northwest Tour: (including North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Colombia & Alaska)
Baltic Sea Tour: (including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany & the Netherlands)
Adriatic/Mediterranean Tour: (Including Croatia, Greece, Turkey & Egypt)
South American Tour: (Chile, Peru, Easter Island, Galapagos Islands)
Pacific/Asian Tour: (Japan, Taiwan, Philippines)
But we're open to other ideas as well! So if you'd like us to come through your area, and would be willing to help set up a local networking event, chapter meeting, member music showcase or educational workshop, please email me personally at jpfolkspro@aol.com and put your city/state/country in the subject and inside include your contact info and some info on your town and why we should visit as well as how you may be able to help out.
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2009 Just Plain Folks Music Awards Winners and Photographs
We're still celebrating the completion of the world's largest music awards. If you missed any of the announcements, you can find all of this year's winners and finalists posted on our Awards page on the JPF site. Here's a link:
http://www.jpfolks.com/default.php?page=awardsWe're currently working on getting the footage of the entire show up on line and on DVD so anyone who missed it when it was broadcast live or who wants to see it again can check it out. I hope to have more news on it at the start of the new year.
In the meantime, we posted thousands of photos from the show and also updated the entire JPF website with lots of photos built into the framing of the site pages. Thanks to Adrian James, our 2009 Guardian Angel Volunteer winner, for getting those up for us. For those of you who attended the show, if you have any additional photos to share, please send them us and we'll create a member gallery from the awards weekend as well.
Awards Weekend Photos can be found here:
http://www.jpfolks.com/default.php?page=awards (just scroll down a little and they're all linked there).
We're already planning the 2010-2011 JPF Music Awards. Right now we're considering Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Nashville and we're working on some new partnerships to go along with our long time partners to help us with the process which has obviously gotten a bit unruly in size. With the number of releases quadrupling in the last 4 years alone, we expect that trend isn't going to slow down going forward for a while. Stay tuned for updates when we have our latest strategy in place to recognize some amazing music made by the "other" 98% of the music world which goes unnoticed by the mainstream press and televised awards shows.
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Just Plain Folks Cookbook
There's a fun project in progress on our message boards right now where some volunteer members are collecting recipes from members for their best dishes. The long term goal is to put together a fund raising Musicians Cookbook, but for now, we're really enjoying the simple fun of sharing your best food ideas!
Visit this link and share your best recipes!
http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/128/page/1***************************************************
Just Plain Folks Chapters
We plan to expand and restart many dormant chapters in 2010 both in the USA and in key cities/countries around the world. Local chapters simply serve to bring the music community together with friendly meetings and activities which are chosen and run by the local members involved. Often each chapter has their own local personality and we work with them to bring resources and opportunities to their attention as well as help them with formats and ideas we've gathered from other chapters. They can meet weekly, monthly or in some cases just a few times per year depending on the interests and needs of those involved. It's common for chapters to have local showcases for members to perform (similar in format to an open mic, but much better) and these showcases can lead to additional opportunities for everyone involved. We also frequently visit chapter cities and set up Roadtrip stops with them. Roadtrips are tours conducted by myself where we set up tour stops in a particular region and bring members together in new towns they've never played in to make new friends and contacts for future touring and other opportunities.
We require at least 10 interested musicians/writers in a town to form a chapter. (If you have less, we can get you started with as little as 1 motivated coordinator volunteer and work to bring the minimum number of folks into the fold). If you would like to help launch a chapter in your area, please contact me and please follow these instructions exactly as requested so we have the info we need in the format we need it in.
Send an email to: justplainfolks@aol.com (please use that address ONLY!).
In the subject field, please include "Chapter Request: (City, State and Country (if not the USA))
Inside, please include some info on yourself, your local community (i.e. the size or info on the local music scene etc.), as well as your complete contact info including mailing address and phone number and best email address to use to contact. We also need your full real name.
Please note: We really need people who are comfortable with, or willing to learn to be, our JPF message board. That is an important communications tool we can use to quickly bring more members into a chapter and we need folks who are willing to post notes and info and respond to interested members there.
To register: (It's a separate registration from JPF membership):
http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?action=agreePlease register under your real name. The idea is to network and meet real people and form important relationships.
Right now we particularly want to find new coordinators for some of the larger cities around the USA and Canada and across Europe. Bi-Lingual volunteers who can translate JPF info into French, Spanish, German, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese etc. would be helpful!
I look forward to working with those of you who want to expand your networking beyond the Internet and into real life face to face activities in your area!
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Creative Problem Solvers United!
(Authors, Painters, Photographers, Actors, Film Makers etc.)
Since I started JPF I have always planned to include other artistic disciplines into the music community portion of what we do. Since we have a large number of musician/songwriter members who also do these other disciplines of art (and very well I might add) the easiest pathway to expand would be to just get those of you with these other talents to share them with us the same way you share your music.
I need help!
We need some mentor level members to help us develop some resources and info and tools for other types of artists. Do you teach Painting? Do you write screenplays in your spare time? Do you take photos for the local newspaper? Do you act or direct in Hollywood or the local community theater? Are you a videographer who can teach folks about running cameras or lighting? Are you a published author who can share your experience in the book world? You get the idea. We need experts in these areas or simply motivated hobbyists who want to share what they know with others. If that is you, please step up!
The long range plan?
Our plan is to start combining the arts in new and interesting ways. Sure, people have crossed over since the beginning of all these disciplines, but we haven't found many organizations who worked actively with their membership to combine their talent, knowledge, networking contacts and passion on the grassroots level. With the explosion in technology we need an equal explosion in creativity to take advantage of it and the best way to tap into that energy is by combining and reexamining each of these pursuits through fresh but seasoned eyes. How would a gothic painter solve the problem with the third line of the chorus in your song? How would a country songwriter envision the story told on the canvas? How could both of these folks work together to create a new Internet TV series? You get the idea. We want cross pollination and the sharing of ideas and experience. Creative problem solvers united!
If you have a lot of demonstrated talent or success (or fanatical passion) in another discipline of the arts and want to help us build some new wings in the Just Plain Folks Organization we want to hear from you.
You can email: jpfolks@aol.com (Please be sure to use this special email address)
And place "Creative Problem Solvers United" in the subject.
Inside please include some info on what other talents and experiences you have and would like to share.
We also have message boards set up so you can stop in and say hello and post your photographers, creative writing and other creative arts along with links to your music for feedback. Jump in!
Note: You must be registered on the message boards, so please click here if you haven't previously used the message boards: To register: (It's a separate registration from JPF membership):
http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?action=agree***************************************************
Copyright 2009 Just Plain Folks (R) Productions.
Thanks, Brian- one of the most important yet overlooked considerations in creative endeavors is the thought/feeling behind the work itself. Most of us start out to write or sing or dance driven by either a need to express something we feel or think , or by the pure joy of performing. Those who just love performing sometimes compose works simply in order to have something to perform, and though that sometimes works out, it is a poor motivation. The greatest creations grow out of something the composer wishes to communicate to their audience- to share with them. If that is the sheer beauty of a rich and melodious voice, it is admirable and enjoyable, but will not change the lives and minds and hearts of the listeners the way that same voice and melody can when expressing an idea beyond the sound. Each sort of creation has its function and value, but when choosing how to invest ones time and energy, it is often well to prefer the greater return on that investment.