It is hard for anyone to come to terms with giving away stuff you've worked your ass off on haha but I realize that with music, asking people to pay for an album deters 99% of listeners... so here it is for free. You can still absolutely buy it from iTunes -- and I will love you for it -- but I'd rather you listen than not!!
download it free at www.DavePatten.com
Shout out to the heavy supporters at FABTASTIC! Music for one of the nicest album reviews of my life
Get my album "Exposure" free from www.DavePatten.com
Taken from The Lesfetz Letter, James Cameron (yes, the Avatar JC):
"...But what James Cameron said was:
"'Failure has to be an option.'
"Whoa, isn't this what killed the major labels? They wanted to eliminate all the failure! You can't trust the act you sign, you've got to hook 'em up with famous songwriters, you've got to use the name producer, you've got to buy insurance.
"'Failure has to be an option, in art and in exploration. Because it's a leap of faith. And no important endeavor that required innovation was done without risk. You have to be willing to take those risks.'
It hurts to fail.
But if you come to bat more than once every two or three years, you're gonna get better, you're gonna learn something, your odds of success increase."
Read the rest of the post here. I think Lesfetz has said everything I could say. Cameron doesn't wait around for producers in Hollywood to present him a script and a budget -- he goes out and writes his own (Avatar, for example), invests in his own equipment (3D Cameras, which was like a $70MM+ expense), goes out there and gets it done! I'm doing that now and will continue to do it until I reach a similar level of success. It's not always about money, but I do believe it's always about succeeding.
"Failure is an option, but fear is not" -- James Cameron
You can watch James Cameron's video here too (2:45)
@DRicks3 and I had a spare few minutes this weekend in LA, so we got to work! He knew of a pretty awesome spot in the hills where we could get some filming done. In LA it's hard to just go out and film because you need permits for EVERYTHING. Last time out we were cited by the cops for filming on the train tracks...
I also wasn't about to fly my guitar out to LA only to have it be destroyed by the TSA and baggage guys. So the odds were a bit against us.
So we concocted a plan: Went in to a guitar shop and bought an acoustic guitar. Went to the hills and snuck to a secluded spot where we figured we'd have at least 30mins before authorities were called in haha. We filmed, packed up and got the heck out of there. Stopped back at the guitar shop and returned the guitar.
That's how to do it!! haha
Also, definitely download the song "Impossible" from iTunes -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/exposure/id408650311
My day consists of waking up at 4am to drive to the airport to hop on a 730am plane, flying in to MN and hanging out in the airport for a few hours before hopping on another plane back to PHL, which arrives at 7:30pm. Full day of doing nothing but sitting haha it's exhausting. I'm looking forward to tomorrow...
MN Airport, blizzarding outside
I was sipping some terrible tasting fresh brewed hotel-room coffee, standing out on the balcony looking at this view:
And it just put me in a great mood. We're gonna make it!! My team and I are making moves and even when we face walls and people trying to hold us back, we always seem to find another way around it. I love my team. Let's go!!!
I think Ricks and I are going to shoot the performance scene for part of my song "Impossible" (If you want to hear the song, def dl my album reallllll quick from www.DavePatten.com).
There are a few epic lookout spots at the top of the mountain ranges that I think we're going to treck up to and film at. I have to hit up Guitar Center real quick and buy a guitar for the shoot, and we need a few supplies to bounce light, etc., and then we're good to go.
I'll have to post the music video concept for "Impossible" soon, I mapped it all out on the plane ride out to LA Thursday. We've also got music videos in the making for "Come On", "Melt" and "Maybe" so getttttt ready!!! You know I am
Scheduled up a meeting at Warner Bros Records out in LA yesterday, met with one of the execs of the outfit (not just some A&R guy) which was cool. Hung out in the lobby for a good while before the meeting, watched Wacka Flocka and Gucci Mane videos in succession the entire time lol.
I'm not gonna type up some pipedream bs and tell you that the meeting was wonderful and we're off to the races. I have no reason to lie... it was a bad meeting. We played all of my videos, checked out the new album, etc., and then he passed on me.
The main issue is that my songs aren't "hits", so there's no way he or anyone else at the label would walk my music up to the Chairman to check out. By "hits" he mentioned Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, Katy Perry and other such similar joke artists (in my opinion).
And so the line was drawn. This is the difference between the old generation and the new. Why do you think the Best New Artist at the Grammy's this year was the jazz cellist chick (Esperanza Spalding)? Not Drake?! Not Beiber?! omgomgomg.... this cellist woman won #1 because she's an actual musician and that's what the Grammys are supposed to be celebrating and #2 because a statement needed to be made. Everyone is sick of the bs we're being fed. I'm sorry but the majority of Young Money songs on the radio are NOT GOOD lol but after hearing them 100 times/day we naturally assume other people must like it, and that it MUST be good bc it's being played so many damn times, and so we go ahead and start bobbing our heads to the beat.
I dunno, I'm not going to just rant about how the industry sucks and my music is the greatest and no one understands great music like I do haha bc that's not at all my mentality. Obviously I think my music is pretty good or I wouldn't be here. What I can't stand is the labels and how risk-averse they are.
If you read between the lines, the guy at Warner basically said he and the label won't be interested in me until I have a #1 hit on the radio and 100k fans already in the bag. Sure, then they'll come a-knocking and want me to sign away my masters and publishing and give up everything I've worked for!! That's like me saying hey, go out and start up a small bookstore. Once you get to the point where you are looking to franchise and have as much profit as Borders does... come to me, and sign over the company into my name :)
I just don't get it. But it's cool with me because I'm just more motivated than before. My team is going to takeover and become the next record label. I've never been one to depend on others... Just wait til a year from now. 6 months from now. Yall will see!!!!! haha I'm feelin extremely tough and empowered right now
Warner Bros Records Building, LA
