Nomi was born in Bavaria, West Germany, on January 24, 1944.
In his youth in the 1960s, he worked as an usher at the Deutsche Opera in West
Berlin, where he would sing arias on stage in front of the fire curtain after
the shows for the other ushers and maintenance crew. Around that time he also
sang operatic arias at a Berlin gay discothèque called Kleist Casino. A post
modernist at heart, Klaus Nomi combined opera with pop, rock, and cabaret.
Klaus Nomi made a name for himself in New York City's art
scene in 1978 with his performance in New Wave Vaudeville, a four-night event
created and hosted by artist David McDermott. Dressed in a skin-tight vintage
sci-fi space-suit with a clear plastic cape, Klaus sang the aria My Heart Opens
To Your Voice from Camille Saint-Saens 1877 opera Samson et Dalila. The
performance ended with a chaotic crash of strobe lights, smoke bombs, and loud
electronic sound effects as Nomi robotically backed away into the smoke.
It was a performance that imprinted Nomi in the New York
scene and the epicentre of the tidal wave which followed.
Klaus Nomi Live - The Cold Song (composer: Henry Purcell)
Interviewer : When you arrived to New York, how did you earn
a living?
Klaus : Hum... like Rudolph Valentino. (laughs) kidding.
Well, I did everything, even dirty jobs, like dishwashing or delivery boy for a
grocer, delivering flowers, cooking, peeling vegetables... it was a curious
story, up to a point it became unbearable. The urge to sing was stronger, so
one day I performed in a club and it was very successful; then I could give up
all those dreadful jobs, and devote my time to music.
Interviewer : Why did you choose that name,
"Nomi"?
Klaus : It was on inspiration. I think the name sounds good,
it doesn't really have a certain national taste, you know, it could be any
nation, because I see myself as universal, not as German, American, French or
whatever you want, cause we are all on this planet, we're all living on the earth.
Interviewer : It's not enough for you to be Nomi, you must
also wear the Nomi symbol?
Klaus : well you know now I'm in the business, I like to
promote myself, and I think this is a very nice badge, this is my own design.
Interviewer : It was said about you that you were either the
8th wonder of the world, or a tragic accident of the nature. What do you think
of this definition?
Klaus : oh it's wonderful, it's extraordinary. I hope it's
true.
Interviewer : Who has drawn your costume?
Klaus : I have.
Interviewer : What does it mean ? (seeing Klaus' hesitation)
Nothing?
Klaus : I don't know. I hope it means something, people talk
about it a lot.
Interviewer : Why this clown-like, cold make-up?
Klaus : I don't think it's clown-like, I don't think it's
cold. It's very theatrical, very intense. It's an unnatural make-up, made for
stage. It's like a doll or a cartoon. You see it once and never forget it.
Interviewer : Why are you hiding behind this make-up?
Klaus : I'm not really hiding, I'm showing out, because the
way I am it's hard to look like a normal person. You know, in the streets, when
I was a kid, people always said I looked strange, and it made me feel very
unhappy. And all of a sudden I go on stage, and people like me for that ; but
as soon as I'm outside, I feel like I have to hide, because people laugh at me,
because of the way I look. Now I'm using this look, it works for me, I even
exaggerate it. I used to hide my large forehead, but now I'm selling it.
Interviewer : How do you.. work your voice?
Klaus : I think I do have my own technique, because I've
been disappointed by teachers, maybe because i didn't meet the good one. I
don't like to depend on teachers anyway. So I'm walking on my own way, and I
try to be as natural as I can. I think it's the only way to be yourself.
Interviewer : What kind of music do you listen to?
Dido's Lament (composer: Henry Purcell)
Klaus : Oh... honestly, all of them. You know, I like to try
things, to experience, especially with electronic music.
Interviewer : Are you touched by modern life issues, or do
you live in your own world, in your own character?
Klaus : I feel threatened, and sometimes it makes me angry
because I can't do anything about that, there's just too many issues. But in a
way I think my work is meant to get people out of that.
Interviewer : I read that you wanted to be a magical
character..
Klaus : Well I think it's a nice to be a little magical.
Today we need this. All that we can read in fairy tales or books, I think
somewhere it's all around us. But nowadays we can think that this magic has
been killed, and I try to make it survive as long as possible.
Interviewer : Do you want to become a star?
Klaus : I don't know what that really means... I want to
accomplish my work and fulfil my dreams, and do something with my life, and I
hope I'll be able to accomplish it. It's very much work, but I like it.
Marketing in music is something I’ve always wanted to write
about due to the fact that it seems to get a lot of bad press due to common misconceptions
and differing extreme opinions on what is and is not acceptable behaviour to be
classed as a musician.
A lot of the time, it seems to be that people associate marketing with selling
out, conforming one or more aspects to fit a glove, in order to possibly feign
or replace talent, all as an effort to increase popularity by seeking out
attention.
It can be true in some cases, I will not lie, but I’m not here to judge or
criticise, because I do feel that as an artist we all share uniqueness in our
own way, and to knock someone for doing something they love is quite an
injustice. It also makes you sound like a jealousy enraged gorilla.
Be thee Gorillas?
Nay, ye are but humankind.
The main aim of this essay is to clarify these misconceptions of marketing in
music, to lessen the annual average number of gorilla behavioural incidents and
to perhaps prompt some of the new kids on the block to effectively market their
sound and perhaps grow their audience more effectively by helping people
remember them.
Since the time of kings, queens and emperors, music like any
form of art has been viewed as a tangible object of value as well as an intricate
expression of one’s own emotions.
Never since the modern era has the idea jumped into the minds of laymen that
the value of artistry diminishes with the marketable demand of a particular
form of music. It was around this time that said laymen started using migraine inducing
phrases like ‘real music’ to distinguish from the artistic and the marketable.
Such phrases that pretty much deserve a knuckle to the visage.
In an earlier article about the T.Rex album Electric Warrior, I talked about Marc
Bolan’s bad press from a lot of extremist members of the underground
psychedelic scene who bashed Bolan for “going pop”. I’ll not get sidetracked so
you can find it all here.
One of the most fundamental traits of being human is the
ability to question things and develop opinions on things. In some cases and
disciplines understanding can be black or white, in art this is not the case.
It is a vast grey area, where differing opinions are allowed and disagreeing is
also allowed.
Take for example; I walk into a guitar shop with two completely fictitious
people of which any likenesses to any person real or fictional, living, dead or
undead is completely coincidental and I am not legally liable on behalf of any
defamatory charges for the sake of this analogy; Leroy and Chad.
Firstly; Chad and I walk into the shop and both stare dewy eyed at a vintage
1960s Les Paul that has just caught our eye. Chad picks it up and plugs it
directly into a Marshall half stack and starts wailing through the first few bars
of Sweet Child of Mine. Because of
this, a crowd of casual Guns n Roses fans gather around him to appreciate the
sound Chad is providing, but in my mind I want to put some knuckle in his eye
because he’s ruining a perfectly good guitar.
Leroy walks in and picking up the same instrument, starts plucking through the
first few bars of Deep River blues.
Because of this, 84% of the crowd who gathered around Chad have now dispersed
and carried on with their daily lives, uninterested in the mastery of Leroy’s playing
style. However, a smile is growing across my face as I am appreciating the tone
of the instrument being used in the context it was originally designed for.
This boys and girls is how difference in opinion works.
Therefore there is no such thing as a definable ‘real’ form
of music, regardless of tone, vocal style, genre, musical intricacy or
technicality, simplicity or marketability when its very existence is open to
taste and interpretation. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Ok, now that all that’s cleared up, I’ll get down to
business.
How to market effectively as a band/artist
We are all a brand.
Right now, you are reading my blog, which is a specific journal of specific
subject matters all brain-farted by the same person directed towards a
particular group of people. As a person, you have your own preference of colour,
clothes you wear and of music taste and what you play, how you write and your
attitude are all part of your brand identity. You are a tangible object that
your audience wants no matter what your value is; you are a friend, a brother,
a sister, a musician, a teacher, a doctor, a confidant or whatever.
An understanding of this can help you to connect with your audience more; by
focusing first and foremost on creating a sound and style that is an extension
of who you are as a person, to the extent that you as a silhouette can be
associated with your music, in the most identifiable, out there and Batman
villain way possible; Musician 101 right there.
The next thing is to extend that person into an expression
in as many different forms and media as possible, so that more and more people
become aware.
Looking the way people want you to look is a load of
absolute bollocks; look how you want to look. Being comfortable in what you are
doing is most important and the right people will like you if you tick all of
their appropriate boxes. If people don’t, someone else will most certainly come
along if you hold out.
Wear what feels right. Even if it's Tartan trousers and a non existent shirt.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is eligible for a complimentary, official Study in Audiosynthesis knuckle to the
visage signed sealed and delivered by me with free postage and packaging,
usually dispatched within 3-4 working days.
Having said all that, it is nothing shaming to change or adapt to a new sound
or style; we all change all through our lives, and the act of experimenting is
in no way frowned upon by the non enraged gorilla proportion of society.
It’s
just important to make sure you’re changing for the right reason; because you
are naturally progressing to a different route like Electric Warrior Marc Bolan or the transition of Queen from the 70s glam to the 80s leather clad rock with the release of The Game; Not because a band member or a friend
or an audience member or a manager said you have to.
It’s important to note that; I tried to be normal until the age of 13. It was
hell y’all.
Never again.
In the early days of Queen, the band were much more Glam metal than Pop
with Freddie rocking the sequined leotard look.
He later dropped this for reasons unknown and swapped to Yellow leather.
One of the best assets a band can have is an effective use
of the internet. The very existence of the internet can be either a hindrance
or a help depending on how you manage it. Keeping fans or followers regularly
updated can keep their interest stimulated and they get less of a window to
forget you. Promo photos, Artwork, updates, tour logs and even free music on
Facebook, Twitter or Soundcloud are good suggestions to keep fans updated.
Especially free music. We all love free music. I love free music. If you have
free music, email me your free music and I will totally check it out and review
it.
Effectively, you will become less that person they saw play on Grafton Street
once but can’t think of the name of and more that person they’ve been following
and watch grow since they saw you play on Grafton Street and went to your gig
in Captain America’s 2 weeks later and it was awesome because they got free
music. Yowzah!
Passenger busking on Grafton Street.
This is also not a 100% necessity. People worked hard to
build an audience back in the pre-internet era. This usually involved playing
everywhere and anywhere and plastering things with posters. Using the internet
is also not to be seen as a lazy way out; usually the time it saves is used to
work on something else.
The choice is yours which way you want
to go; no one’s forcing you if you feel you’re not the most computer literate.
Networking is always a plus. Not just in the electronic
sense but also in the physical social sense. If you endorse other bands or
artists or make it your duty to go to their shows, they’re more inclined to
return the favour.
The free music aspect also comes into play in this one if you know any DJ’s who
want to expand their original material, don’t be afraid to allow the odd
remixes so they can put their stamp on things. Any sane person will not knock
you for experimenting in a different genre or music scene. It’s such a great
form of collaboration that introduces your music to a different audience; if
someone likes a remix, they’re more inclined to scout about for the original,
and you could make new fans that previously wouldn’t have had much of an
interest in the genre you identify most with.
Never make the mistake of openly criticising another band as it actually
doesn’t damage their reputation at all in the slightest. It damages yours.
Heimdall the Watcher (Idris Elba) showing who the real
god of thunder is by laying sick ass beats.
Posters, promo photos and album art are another great way of
marketing your sound. A lot of the time, people don’t just associate a sound
with a sound; they associate it with an experience, a memory and often
different senses such as visual or smell. If someone invited me to a Jazz gig,
I can guarantee I’ll be able to picture Thelonius Monk and Louis Armstrong and
smell tequila and cigars in a frenzy of excitement before I even hear the first
trumpet.
A company who are world renowned for their production of album art is Hipgnosis. I really need to do a
write-up on them because they’re absolutely phenomenal. All of their work can
be found here, which I’d really recommend checking out; they have a knack for
bringing in that visual association with their individual clients repertoire.
Their work for David Bowie changes theme with each album but yet they reflect a
part of Bowie in each of them; the very same with their work for Biffy Clyro or
Pink Floyd and countless others.
Arguably one of the most Iconic album covers of all time, designed by Hipgnosis for
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon.
Someone who takes colour association to a whole new level is
Jack White. In the beginning of his career, Jack associated candy swirls with
the childish, laid back theme of The White stripes’ Garage rock sound on songs
like Astro. This evolved to him using
a candy swirl pattern on Meg’s drum kit and both musicians rigidly sticking to
bright striking red white and black clothes on stage and album art. The colour
theme then changes with each act he does; The Raconteurs adopted less rigid
earthy tones with Jack using a copper guitar, The Dead weather later branched
off into 50s inspired German expressionism with stark contrasting black and
white, and since Blunderbuss Jack’s
solo band have adopted very cold colours such as blue, grey and black with the
music videos having a very blue or grey filter. None of this is coincidental;
it is all planned down to the finest detail so that the visualisation of the
sound sticks with the audience.
The candy red and white colour scheme of The White Stripes
The candy red and white colour scheme of The White Stripes
For bigger more electronic artists or bands playing house
parties or garage gigs are also clever ideas. Unknown to many, this is what
Nirvana did first in the Seattle grunge scene of the late 1980s where they got
to know the members of Soundgarden and Buzz Osbourne and Dale Crover of The
Melvins. Despite the members of Nirvana being from Aberdeen, it allowed them to
perform to a group of like minded alternative punks from the surrounding
suburban area of Seattle and break into the scene which ultimately made them
their fame.
A way of testing your popularity with your audience, or even if bigger bands
want to increase a lot of public popularity; randomly playing unannounced free
gigs in the most absurd of places Similar to how a flash mob works. Places can
be such unassuming, non traditional places as pubs, venues, guitar centres,
church halls, college radio stations or random public areas.
This has been adopted by many Punk and noise rock bands from the UK and USA, an
example of which is Biffy Clyro, who are known for playing obscure sets at
Blackburn College and outside the steps of Hull University.
This allows them to connect more with an intimate audience of dedicated fans
based in the particular location without a large amount of people finding out
and mobbing the area.
Commonly referred to as Guerilla gigs, increased popularity of online forums
and social-networking sites has made it possible for bands to immediately
disseminate news of a gig to thousands of people often only a few hours before
a performance. This allows them to advertise at minimal cost, and by bypassing
the traditional print and radio-based methods of publicising concerts.
It’s all a matter of playing your cards right really. It’s all what you make it
to be.
