"I don't think I've ever not been able to make music"
056: Aaron Whitby
Good morning! This is Play It Like It’s Music. I’m Trevor, thanks for listening.
On Wednesday, September 16th of 2020 Music is not content, it’s connection.
Today we are blessed to have Aaron Whitby with us.
But first here’s a random thought: Music used to be important.
And it was a haven for the self important. It still sort of is, but musicians no longer make the same level of impact economically or culturally.
It’s not quite running on fumes, but nowadays most of us would be happy for musicmaking to be merely sustainable. Some might even say that being sustainable is better than being important. But guess what? Back in that golden age when music was quote “really important”, it was not sustainable then either.
What I mean is that we take our literal life in our hands when we choose to set about making music. It’s a risk, man.
We’re actually getting closer to sustainability now, you could say it’s a beautiful time (aside from it being the apocalypse). Most of the time music works out ok if you work hard enough, make decent choices and keep your priorities more or less in line. But it’s not a magic ticket to some rarefied kind of existence where you get to hold yourself above other people.
I mean, in America you can run your business however you see fit, but there are two sides to this coin: you find the fan who worships at the altar of the musician they love, and the musician who sometimes seems like they might just be seeking to be worshiped above all else - whose ego may be running the show.
I won’t name any of them, but you know the trope. You probably also know that it’s not that simple.
Not all musicians are provocateurs, serial abusers, pedophiles, womanizers, drug smugglers, tax cheaters or general get-somethin-for-nuthin types. Nor are we all deadbeats, addicts, vagrants and underearners.
Most of the time we start out just wanting to play. Not knowing where the train is actually going, we chose to follow the energy and inspiration to wherever it may lead.
But when an artist gets a little traction and starts working with investors (and that’ll be most of the artists you’ve heard of, barring almost none), oftentimes the investor will only stay happy if the artist continually generates energy around themselves, in order to generate attention for the music and get the numbers up so that the investor can profit. It’s not just a label or what have you, but it’s all the members of the artist’s team whose livelihood (and future) depends on those same numbers.
It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle: artist “just wants to make music”, gets some help in the form of a band, production team, label etcetera. Then the pressure starts to multiply. Every person added to the team is a new set of mouths to feed and before you know it, the artist has to become a factory of attention-getting tactics. Only some of which are related to creating excellent and satisfying music. They have to meet those numbers or the show falls apart.
It’s an obligation entirely separate from the creative process. Folks wonder “where everything went wrong” but it’s part of the design. Basically, the music business will turn you into a pirate, and if you don’t want that to happen then you’re probably better off digging into what you’re really after and why. And if what you want is quote-unquote “real music” then keep listening because today we’re talking to a live one.
(Which is good, because I’m about talked out here. )
The point is Music is literally the most important thing for us here at the show. You just have to take the music seriously and not take yourself too seriously. The folks on here tend to really bring it.
[Photo by Michael Weintrob]
So. Aaron Whitby:
is an award-winning record producer, composer/songwriter, pianist, engineer and educator born and raised in London, England and a longtime resident of Brooklyn, New York.
Whitby is best known for his work with longtime collaborator Martha Redbone, who we heard from last week. Whitby and Redbone are recipients of many awards and are currently developing a musical commissioned by the Public Theater in NYC.
[Photo by Molly Magnusson]
Mentored by Ohio Player/Funkadelic Walter ‘Junie’ Morrison, Whitby has recorded with; Natalie Cole, George Clinton, Randy Brecker, Lisa Fischer, Tony Trischka, John McEuen, Raul Midon, Neil Sedaka and Rodney Holmes among many others. He has performed with Nona Hendryx, Brian Jackson, Vernon Reid of Living Colour, Ben Sollee, Mino Cinelu and Brooklyn Raga Massive among many others.
He and Martha have been stacking up awards and commissions. That’s ongoing.But with Cousin From Another Planet, his debut album as a frontman, Whitby comes full circle to his jazz and funk roots pulling together an amazing cast of friends to realize his musical vision, as described by Greg Tate, “a funk-da-fied jam session feel undergirding tight, knotty jazz-smart progressions”. With tunes inspired by the animated energy and profound innocence of his young son, humorous lyrics that celebrate empathy and empowerment and musicians given the freedom to take the music wherever it feels good. According to Tate, this album is “one of this era’s hardiest re-dedications and festival-tent revival of soulful and exploratory jam-gnocity.”
Cousin From Another Planet live onstage is a music and visual experience accompanied by a video artshow by VJ Lady Firefly (who has also worked with Dave Chappelle and The Roots) to capture the colorful, cartoonish and movement-inspired worldview.
Like I said, we got a live one here. Check out Aaron Whitby.
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Thanks for listening to Play It Like It’s Music. Thanks so much to Aaron Whitby and Martha Redbone for spending some very generous time with us on these last two episodes. You can find Aaron at Cousin From Another Planet Dot Com, follow him on IG @cousinfromanotherplanet and definitely pick up the new album on Bandcamp. It’s out on Ropeadope Records.
I can’t believe we’ve gotten to 56 shows! If you believe this show deserves a wider audience, please tell a friend:
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We're all contending with a mutating professional landscape, jacked revenue streams, a catastrophic global pandemic and plenty of other noise out in the culture.
But you gotta keep playing.
We don't draw any lines here between scenes or styles.
As always, thank you for listening and remember to play it like its music.
You can check out my music on bandcamp and other places. It’s all at my website, trevorexter.com. Sign the mailing list on substack to get this show sent right to you the very moment it comes out.
Music is a beautiful thing and it makes the world go round.
Big love to your ears.
Trevor
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