A blog by psychoanalyst Michael Jolkovski who looks at music ensembles, businesses & creative teams and other examples of human nature at work and play.
There is a common theme to all of this. I promise.
The band Machine Head has gone public with its rather sensibly making use of Oakland therapist Suzanne Slyman to help with the working relationship between frontman Robb Flynn and bassist Adam Duce.
The remarkable thing about this is that it’s not done more often. In any normal business, using a consultant or mediator is an absolutely ordinary thing. If there is a personality conflict that threatens the operations of Apple or Nextel (to pick a couple of serious companies at random) you can bet they will avail themselves of consultation and help — perhaps from this guy. They can’t afford not to — the stakes are so high. Read more »
This vignette of Amanda Palmer’s tour manager, Katie Kay, gives a glimpse of the one of the unsung heroes of the performing universe. More power to you, Ms. Kay.
Andrew Dubber is a smart fellow, a UK music-industry consultant and a source of keen insights. He’s been thinking about the problems of consulting to an industry where people are worried about putting gas in the van, as I have. He’s offering a model of consultation (in UK-Speak, “Consultancy”) modeled on the ramen-noodle-budget indie tour. He’s willing to travel like a student and couch-surf if he can put together a string of people who can pay him a bit here and there and feed him. Very much like a singer-songwriter doing a tour of house concerts and coffeeshops.He calls this “Unconsultancy” in the spirit of the UK “Unconventions” Read more »
Following up to a comment to this post, There is certainly the sentiment that it’s better to make a statement and quit than fade away. Long-lived bands are always subject to complaints from their fans that it’s not the same, etc. Metallica is a great example of a band whose fans seem to include an army of whiners. Do Metallica fans like anything Metallica has ever put out? (I think the real complaint is “you’re not young any more and neither are we and it’s your fault”).
I prefer to think of this as a creative problem, especially for groups who fill stadiums when they are young. What do they do with themselves as they grow up? There are a lot of ways to play it, and I don’t feel the need to prescribe how they should go. My big point is that when bands implode from their toxic social dynamics, this creative problem and creative choice is taken away from them, and that’s a shame. Maybe they’d do something interesting with it. Read more »
Bands and startups have a lot in common. I have been exploring this idea for a couple of years. I’ve been spending time talking to musicians and tech entrepreneurs.
I’ve been gestating a blog post on this idea — but it’s out of hand and it wants to be a book. I will try to be a good little blogger and offer my thoughts in little bites. This goes against my nature, but it’s a good discipline.
