Even if you know what's going on, you're gonna get ripped off

books:


	• So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star: How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful Of Record Executives and Other True Tales ... Jacob Slichter Broadway, 2005 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 50 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Even if you know what's going on, you're gonna get ripped off

I once figured that talented young musicians got fleeced by music-business management due to ignorance and oblivion. However, it's obvious that even when you are alert, and you have legal representation, and you perceive everything that's happening as your band gets pulled along through a record deal, the music company has stacked the deck and is going to rip you off. It even happened to the Beatles.

A Pleasant Surprise

Jacob Slichter is proof that you can be a rock star and a writer with equal aplomb. Ignoring the ghost or co-writer route and going with a straight-from-the-heart frankness, the book is at times funny and heartbreaking. "So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star" takes readers on a ride through the travails of a band that goes from being nothing to 'the next big thing' and back again. Perhaps this book touches a bit close to home, having spent a decade in the music business myself and seen this pattern repeated time and time again.

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A good read, but not enough criticism of the Music Industry

This was a good read. I came across this through Neil Peart's reading list. The constant shifting of record company exec's and promoters didn't seem to phase me after awhile. It was more or less a constant theme. What bothered me most about the book is that the drummer of the band didn't go deeper into his criticism of the music labels, so I felt he was still holding onto his feelings about it. I sensed this holdback may have been due to perhaps the possibility that their career to the stage could happen in the future.

The music industry has changed tremendously. The CD is on it's way out by 25% less sales each year, and although music downloads appear to be popular, the internet is making free music available through swapping. It's difficult for labels to make money any longer. Companies like Rhino have bought out vast amounts of libraries with the hope they can market them into something else. These record companies are fading out and being merged into other conglomerates. Less and less care is given to find bands with talent because there is less and less money to be made. Why do you see so many older bands touring these days? Because royalies are drying up exponentially and the only real money to be made is in touring and perhaps a concert DVD. This book is a good historical account of the 90's as some of these things began to happen.

It was a good read....

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Smooth transition from drummer to writer

What a pleasant surprise of a read. Slichter really does have a terrific writing style and a genuine gift for weaving humor into his storytelling. The story of Semisonic is hardly the most tragic in rock n' roll history, but this book places many larger aspects of life in the big-money music world into perspective. Wanna-be rock stars beware.

Closing Time: The rise and fall of Semisonic

If you are over 12 years old, you probably remember the song, "Closing Time" by the band, Semisonic. The song was played everywhere during the spring and summer of 1998 and reached the top of the popular music charts. This entertaining book tells the story of just how this song, and the band who recorded it, reached that pinnacle of success, as seen from the perspective of the man behind the drum kit, Jacob Slichter. He also goes on to describe how the Music Industry, including a host of executives and radio programmers, contributed to their demise as a recording group. There are likely very few books that give an insider's view of the machinery involved in producing "the next big hit" as well as this one does, and the barriers that prevent a lot of good music from ever reaching your ears (at least in the days before the internet).

Mr. Slichter reveals all his insecurities as his band suddenly takes off, his euphoria when Semisonic was at its peak, and his disappointment in his label's failure to capitalize on the success of "Closing Time" and the CD on which it appeared, "Feeling Strangely Fine." For those of you who may have relegated Semisonic to the "One-hit Wonders" category, their other CDs, "Great Divide" and "All About Chemistry" are worth a listen to dispel that impression. The latter features a duet with Carole King, "One True Love," that could easily have been a radio hit (the book describes how this song came to be, including Mr. Slichter's own star-struck reactions to the making of the recording).

This book is well-written, and well worth your time if you have ever asked yourself, "Whatever happened to Semisonic?" Mr. Slichter gives a heartfelt account of his years with Semisonic, but also reveals his wit and sense of humor in this story. He provides a cautionary tale for those who aspire to rock and roll stardom, and a guide to the pitfalls along that path...and why he would gladly do it all over again.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

After years of working day jobs and making music in his basement, Jacob Slichter wondered if his dreams of rock stardom were a vain illusion. Then he was recruited by two of his successful musician friends to form a band that became Semisonic. Who could forget the smash single ?Closing Time,? a runaway hit in 1998 that thrust Jake and his bandmates into the international spotlight and helped them sell over two million albums worldwide? But along the road to fame and success came bewilderment and personal chaos: How will we ever get a record deal? Which record company is the best? The worst? Do I really have to wear these ridiculous boots? Why isn?t radio playing our song? What if I have a panic attack right here on stage? What should I write on this fan?s CD? Am I famous? Why isn?t the video director getting more shots of me? Did I say the wrong thing during that interview? Help!

So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star is a telling and witty look at what happens just before and during one's time in the spotlight. Jake takes readers on a step-by-step journey of his evolution from fledgling drummer to globetrotting performer and proves to be the perfect guide?feisty and humbled?to the inner workings of the music industry and instant celebrity. So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star speaks to all of us who dream again and again of rock superstardom and shows how one kid can go from picking up a pair of drumsticks to picking up a platinum record.

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