MySpace
myspace music my music  featured playlists  top artists  music videos  karaoke  shows  forums 

Blog

MySpace.com | rss | sign in
Curt Smith / Tears For Fears



Last Updated: 9/18/2009

Send Message
Instant Message
Email to a Friend
Subscribe

Blog Archive
[Older      Newer]
 /  / 
October 23, 2009 - Friday 

Current mood:equanimous
I posted quite a few tweets yesterday, primarily in exchange with a fan (Traci), regarding my position on gay marriage. For the record: I'm for it. If two consenting adults wish to marry, I see no reason that every state in the U.S. shouldn't allow them do so.
In one particular exchange, Traci tweeted: "All people are created equal. I just don't agree with gay marriage."
To which I responded, "So all people then are not created equal?"
This in turn prompted an email from another fan (Chris), who added an interesting insight to the mix. He wrote (in part):
The fact is that all people are born unequal in every meaningful way that equality can be supplied. All people are born unique (even identical twins), but some have more opportunities than others, some are smarter than others, some are born with trivial disadvantages of skin pigmentation, some will be fat, some skinny, some tall, some short, etc.
The idea of equality is an important one, but this is a legal concept: regardless of the situation of your birth or your development, in order to have a fair and orderly society, each individual should be beholden to the same standards. In the US system, that means rights as defined by law. While there are problems with the way the US applies these laws, in theory, each person should be granted the same rights and have the same liabilities regardless of their race, sex, sexual preference, creed, religion, etc.
That's exactly what I meant when I tweeted about all people being equal: not that we're a species of replicants, but that everyone should receive equal rights and protection under the law - as, indeed, the founding fathers of the U.S. spelled out in the Declaration of Independence. In fact, the only issue I have with Chris' statement is his reference to "sexual preference." Being gay isn't a "preference," or a "lifestyle," it's a biological fact, just as heterosexuality is.
I do understand - and respect - that many of those who oppose gay marriage do so based on their religious beliefs. But I object to those who would impose those beliefs on what is, ultimately, a civil matter. No marriage ceremony in the U.S., whether religious or civil in nature, is valid without a license. And those licenses are issued by the state, not by a church.
Many, many weddings do take place as strictly civil services with no religious component or officiant. My writing/producing partner Charlton Pettus is an atheist, and has a license to officiate marriages. My manager Arlene and her husband were married by a judge. The bottom line is that you don't need any religion's blessing to be legally married in this country.
Having said that: if a given church doesn't want to sanction gay marriage, that's fine by me. As the U.S. also enjoys freedom of religion, no law should force a church to perform marriages that go against its beliefs.
Just don't tell consenting adults who don't share those beliefs that they cannot wed and enjoy the attendant legal protections and benefits of marriage.
As always, I welcome your comments in response, asking only that you treat others' opinions with the same respect you'd like your own to be given.
Peace and love for all,
Papa S.
1:11 AM 
13 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
October 13, 2009 - Tuesday 

Current mood:  creative
I got an email today from Claus, a fan in Germany, who also happens to be a recording artist. He wrote:
I've been reading more about Creative Commons and your thoughts, but still there remains a question on my mind which has not been answered. Apart from the fact that you - in contrast to artists like me - already earned enough money to take this approach easily from the financial POV, I worry about the following. If I decide to share my music and also release every new song as soon as I've finished recording it, how can I protect my music and style from being 'stolen'? I believe that my new material is exciting and new, hence I'm afraid that as soon as I make it available on MySpace, some established artists or producers will steal the idea and publish this style under their name. Something like that would never happen to you as an well known artist - no one would dare to take away your melodies and style - but how can I protect myself as an unknown artist?
This is a good question, but it reveals two common misperceptions about Creative Commons.
The first misperception is that if you choose a Creative Commons license, you'll be giving your music away for free and you won't make any money off of it. I don't give my music away for free (save the occasional promotional track). Lots of people have bought my music from iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, The Sixty One, and other retailers. I invest a great deal in making the music, and I charge for it so that I can recoup my investment, and have money to spend on making new music.
What I do recognize is that people share music they love with their friends. (As do I.) They use songs for their school projects or talent shows. They remix things as a hobby. All good.
The Creative Commons license I use expressly permits these and other "Non-Commercial" uses. In even plainer English, that means that as long as you're not making money off of whatever you do with my music, it's fine. You don't need to seek or obtain my permission; I've already given it by virtue of the license.
It's a different story if you will be making money in any way by using my music, for example by selling a remix, or by including a song on a soundtrack or advertisement. I expressly reserve these and all other commercial rights. If you want to use my music in a project that will generate revenue for you, you first need to obtain a commercial license from me, and you also need to compensate me.
The second misperception is that by using a Creative Commons license, people will be able to "steal" your music and distribute it as their own. This too is untrue. First of all, every CC license stipulates that all uses, even those permitted freely, must be attributed to the creator. So if you do use my song on your school project, you don't need to ask me first, but you do need to include a credit for me.
This "Attribution" provision, in combination with the "Non-Commercial" provision, ensures that people cannot "steal" my music and republish without my permission. If they do, they'll be in violation of the license, and of my copyright, and I will seek the appropriate legal redress. It has nothing to do with whether I'm an established artist or not. If someone uses your copyrighted creative work in a manner you haven't authorized, you have the right to prosecute them for it. Whether you can prove the misappropriation, or have the money to spend on the lawyers to do so, is another thing entirely - but it's got nothing to do with whether you use a Creative Commons license.
Creative Commons offers a variety of licenses, depending on the uses of your work that you're willing to freely permit. They offer licenses for audio, video, images, text and interactive works. These licenses save time, money and confusion, while still affording copyright protection to those creating the work. I encourage you to visit the Creative Commons website and learn more about them.
One last thing: Creative Commons is a non-profit organization. Whether or not you're an artist, you can support their work by contributing to their annual fund drive, which has just started. More info is available at https://support.creativecommons.org/donate.
 
11:46 PM 
3 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
September 29, 2009 - Tuesday 
For those of us who knew Gordon "Gungi" Paterson he was a giant among men, figuratively and literally. At 6'11" the giant Scotsman touched the lives of all those who worked with him. He was one of the unsung heroes, the ones who make tours sound great and run smoothly. As our sound engineer and tour manager he made every day on the road easy for us but rarely got the recognition he truly deserved as he was just a member of the "crew". Gungi passed away today after a long battle with cancer and will be sorely missed by us and all those who worked with him. Feel free to stop by www.friendsofgungi.com to learn more, you only need to click on guestbook to see how much he meant to so many, and for those so inclined leave a note or make a donation. He leaves behind his wife Bridget and two sons. R.I.P big man, and thanks to all those unsung heroes that work with us each day on tour.
1:32 AM 
6 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
September 28, 2009 - Monday 
Sad to announce the passing of our good friend Gungi Paterson - R.I.P big man, you'll be sorely missed.
11:14 PM 
8 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
September 28, 2009 - Monday 
Hi All,
As promised, i will let you know here first. The potential dates in Feb/Mar in Manilla, Singapore and Australia will not be happening. The reasons are financial and the fact that Roland could not be away from his family for that long. We never intended for these dates to be made common knowledge as we were doubtful they would ever happen. We apologize to those who were looking forward to them, but publicly announcing the possibility was due to the potential promoters not us. As of now we are looking at dates on the east coast of the US next summer, I emphasize the "looking at". As always, thanks for your support and love.
EZEZEZ
Papa S. 
5:00 AM 
12 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
September 16, 2009 - Wednesday 
Hi all,
It seems the rumor mill has been in overdrive regarding potential tour dates so I thought I'd pop by and give you a heads up. Right now we are looking at dates in Singapore, Manila and Australia late February-March next year. Until we've done the math nothing is confirmed (hence the "looking at"). In the summer of next year we're (again) looking at dates on the East coast of the US but it's far too early to say if these will come off. I will of course keep you updated with any potential dates if and when they get confirmed.
EZEZEZ
Papa S. 
2:15 AM 
29 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
August 28, 2009 - Friday 
Last summer I taped an episode of "Soundtrack To My Life," a Cat Deeley-hosted interview and performance program that was telecast in the UK and Europe, but sadly not in the U.S. The episode is available to watch on YouTube, though, if you're so inclined. It's in three parts; just click on the links below to watch. (Video embedding has been disabled on them, otherwise we'd include them on my page.)
We also have a selection of candid photos from the shoot in the Photos section of my website.

Papa S.
EZEZEZ
6:25 PM 
4 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
August 24, 2009 - Monday 

Current mood:  pleased
I'm pleased if not a bit humbled by all the attention my interview with Creative Commons' Eric Steuer has received this past week. (If you haven't already read or heard it, click here.) I'm pleased because it's bringing attention to an organization whose work I champion. Creative Commons just makes sense.

I chose to release Halfway, pleased under a CC license for a number of reasons. One of those is because it truly recognizes the way people consume music. If I had released the album under an "All Rights Reserved" copyright, and you decided to do a remix of a song for fun, or lent the CD to your friend to make a copy, or performed a song at your school concert, you might well be in violation of the copyright.

That's just silly. As I said in the interview, we as artists want to share our music. We want it to be heard, by as many people as possible.

Second, an "all rights reserved" copyright just doesn't take into account the way people behave - we all "share" music with our friends, or play it at school events - and is therefore impossible to enforce.

Third, I'm thrilled if people like my music enough to share it with their friends or perform it for others. Do I want to suppress that by making you ask me for permission every time? No, I don't. Do I want to deal with a multitude of requests such as "is it okay if I use your song as the backing track for my school video project?" No, I don't. It's fine. Do it.

Creative Commons makes it very easy to release my work under a "Some Rights Reserved" Creative Commons license. The one I chose (and there are several) says: do with my music what you will, as long as you give me credit, as long as whatever you do is released under the same terms, and as long as you're not receiving income for it. It's all in very plain English, no lawyers involved.

The rights that I've reserved, then, largely have to do with commercial exploitation: Television or film soundtracks; paid performances; commercials; sampling; etc. Basically, you don't have the right use my music in a way that generates revenue for you without my permission and without my participating in that revenue.

One misconception I should like to clear up about Creative Commons is that all music released under a CC license is free. Some is, to be sure, but not all. Some artists choose to release their music for free and concentrate on other revenue streams (such as live performances) for their income, others (like myself) do not. I invested a great deal in the recording and release of Halfway pleased, and charging for it is a way for me to recoup those expenses and to have the funds to invest in making more music.

That being said, I think I've been as democratic as possible in the way I charge for it. You can buy a track at a time from digital services like iTunes, AmazonMP3 or thesixtyone. You can buy the entire album digitally, or on CD. And you don't even have to buy it to listen to it, since it streams for free on my website. If you're a registered member of my site, you can download a track for free. That's all pretty fair, don't you think?

Last, Creative Commons isn't just for music. It's for video, for text (all Wikipedia entries are now CC licensed), for photos (CC is an option on Flickr, for example). It's not just for the English language; licenses are available in a number of languages and for a number of countries.

Some of you have asked how you can help spread the word about Creative Commons. I myself found out about it through a colleague, so the best way to spread the word is... to spread the word. If you have friends who make art, make sure they know about it. The website is www.creativecommons.org, and you can follow them on Twitter @creativecommons.

That's it for now. I'm enjoying the last week of summer with the girls before they head back to school next week. Hoping to do some more solo shows in and around Los Angeles in the next few months, and of course I'll let you know as soon as those dates are confirmed.

Papa S.
EZEZEZ
7:34 PM 
13 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
August 14, 2009 - Friday 
 Hi All,
Yes I'm back and trying to catch up. I deliberately didn't take my computer on holiday which was liberating, but on the downside means it has taken me a while to get up to speed. Thanks everyone for the many posts about the photo journal and the TFF tour. I'll write a longer blog over the weekend when hopefully the kids are back on LA time and not getting up at 5 or 6am. I'll quickly address a rumor that we're touring in November - we're not. Any news on that front will come from me directly if and when it's confirmed. At this point there is nothing planned unless you know something that I don't :)
All of you that are near LA - I'll see you next Thursday in Pershing Square I hope. Afton will have a starring role I feel.
 
EZEZEZEZEZE
Papa S. 
6:10 AM 
7 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
July 23, 2009 - Thursday 

Current mood:  pleased
Hard to believe that the TFF tour is already over. A good time was had by all, I think, so much so that it's likely we'll do it again. (Don't ask me when or where - we haven't gotten that far yet, and as you know whenever there's news to share, I'll share it.) The audiences and venues were all most hospitable, and I for one enjoyed getting to meet so many KOOKs along the way. Thanks to all of you who were able to come out and support us. I don't know that Michael Wainwright ever found his true love, but not for lack of trying, as those of you following my tweets and photos already know.......
With the tour behind us, I'm now off on a well-deserved holiday with Frances, Diva and Wilder. As usual, we'll be visiting family in the UK and in Italy. I'm sure I'll tweet some photos here and there, but I hope you'll indulge some relative online quietude from me over the next few weeks while I relax with my family.
However, I'm jumping right back into things upon my return home: I'm playing a (free!) solo show in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, August 20 as part of TheSoundLA's "Sound of Summer" concert series. Charlton and Doug will be joining me as usual. If you'll be in L.A. that evening, do come on down to Pershing Square, and bring your friends.
So, until I blog again, enjoy your summer, and please remember to play nicely...
Papa S.
EZEZEZ
4:50 AM 
20 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
July 6, 2009 - Monday 
Hello all,

Wainwright (our support act and rather excellent backing vocalist) is looking for female singers to perform a song with him on the TFF tour. If you're an aspiring singer then go to Wainwright's page - http://www.myspace.com/wainwright - and maybe you'll get to be a part of the show!

EZEZ

Papa S.
4:16 AM 
9 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
May 29, 2009 - Friday 

Current mood:  thankful

Hello all. 

I've been in the studio with Charlton quite a bit recently trying to finish up track one of the new material. "Halfway Home" has now turned into a 60's hippy lovefest called "All Is Love". I confess it's a little tongue in cheek as the lyrics are actually about how all the baby-boomer hippies turned into the CEOs who have run the country into the ground. It's catchy, it's poignant, it's full of piss and vinegar, you know - the usual :)

The TFF live album is slowly coming together but probably won't be done in time for the tour. I will obviously keep you updated as the process moves along. 

For those of you who didn't catch the Kevin Pollak chat show, it's now online at:

www.kevinpollakschatshow.com

but if you just want to see the fabulous awe inspiring theme song click on last week's episode (episode 9) and it's the intro. 

The free download on the site has changed; I've decided to go with "Coming Out" - enjoy.

Before I go let me tell you about my run this morning. You know you run consistently when the following say hi to you in a five mile stretch: Marcos & Lisa's nanny out walking with Luca, two other runner's whom I see most days, two cyclist's ditto, two of the fireman from the Mulholland fire station, Val the fedex lady, UPS guy who always calls me Mr. Smith, old lady who lives next to Barbara and Robert whose little dog always wants to attack me, oriental guy always out with his Samoyed, Englishman who is also a runner and keeps the tidiest garden known to man, my friend Chris the Arsenal supporter who just gave me an "I'm sorry about yesterday" look. THe only people who ignored me? The paparazzi outside of Zac's house - be thankful for small blessings.

EZEZEZEZ

Papa S. 

1:16 AM 
14 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
May 25, 2009 - Monday 

We have added a date to the summer tour - July 21st Phoenix Celebrity Theater. This was just confirmed so no news on ticket sale date yet.

Papa S. 

4:20 PM 
9 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
May 1, 2009 - Friday 

I thought I'd pop in and say hi! I'm aware that some of you Kooks get a little antsy if you don't hear from me but I'm at the least blog-worthy part of a new project. i.e. writing and attempting to find an interesting direction for the new material. Right now I'm feeling simple and quirky :) 

Outside of this process things are good on the home front. I can't believe the school year is coming to a close, it's gone so fast. Each year there is a class project for the kids, so tomorrow I will be at the 3rd grade Hopi/Chumash social studies play and in two weeks the 1st grade Earth Gallery. I love these end of year events as it shows me just how much my kids are learning and growing.

Frances has been traveling a lot lately due to store openings in NY and the UK but thankfully that's starting to slow down.

Don't forget the McCabes gig on Saturday May 16th in Santa Monica. It will be the same set up as The Standard, intimate and ever so slightly amusing. Even if you can't make it you could always notify friends and/or message boards.

TFF live album is coming along nicely and sounding great, hopefully we'll have finished it before the summer tour. iTunes are also attempting to put together a TFF tribute album of covers done by up and coming bands, the proceeds of which will go to charity. We received the first track yesterday and it sounds amazing. On that note I shall leave you dangling :)

More soonish........

EZEZEZEZ

Papa S. 

11:58 PM 
22 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate
April 16, 2009 - Thursday 

Current mood:  happy
I just got some updated information about on-sale dates for the summer TFF tour. The new information is in BOLD. Note that the Santa Rosa tickets will go on sale this Friday; all times are PDT.

July 10, Chateau Ste. Michelle: on-sale April 25 at 10am
July 11, Portland: on-sale April 25 (tentative)
July 14, Santa Rosa: on-sale April 17 at noon
July 15, Saratoga: on-sale April 26 at 10am
July 17, Costa Mesa: went on-sale March 28
July 18, Las Vegas: on-sale April 25 at 10am (although Green Valley Ranch is already offering room-and-ticket packages)
July 20, San Diego: went on-sale April 4

And a reminder for those of you who are (or will be) in the L.A. area on May 16: tickets for my solo show at McCabe's are now available from their website.

An especially good day for me today as Manchester United are through to the semi-finals!

Papa S.
EZEZ
6:07 AM 
23 Comments
(Add Comment) |
Translate