“Dreams of Freedom, a Life I Can Dig”
Beyond 10,000 Hours Feat. Cristy Barber: I was born and raised in Lansing, MI and from a very early age I was obsessed with music. When other kids were asking for Barbie dolls for their birthdays, I asked for vinyl. At a very early age I fell in love with Tom Jones, and not only did I meet him later in life but also got a Tom Jones tattoo on my arm!
Let me give you an example of how serious I was about music – at ten years old I would unplug all the phones in the house so I could watch the Grammy Awards. Two more people got me hooked on music – Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics inspired me as a Producer. I loved what he did to songs. And then WHAM. I was watching HBO and between movies they would play music videos, and I saw the “Young Guns” video; it changed my life.
“You Can Get It If You Really Want”
I knew that to get a foot in the music business I’d have to leave Michigan, so I moved to New York in 1992. I loved the band A TRIBE CALLED QUEST and listened to a lot of radio stations that played hip hop but on Sunday nights they’d feature reggae. I really got into an artist named Super Cat and decided I was going to interview him – and that literally started me on the road to the music business – I ‘became’ a journalist because I got to go out to Long Island to interview him and then I pitched the story to a bunch of magazines.
I worked as a writer until I got a job as Director of Operations at KRS One’s entertainment company. From there I worked everywhere – Capitol Records as a publicist, Columbia Records (home of WHAM!) doing reggae promotions and Chris Blackwell’s Island Jamaica imprint. In the late 90s I went to Elektra where I worked on Sly and Robbie’s Grammy winning album Friends. There was literally nowhere I didn’t work! I do have a really long history with the Marley family but that’s for another blog!
I have a million stories, and I am so blessed. There is only one more thing that I want to achieve -I want to WIN a Grammy. I’ve been nominated, but have never won one, and I am not shy in saying I want to. Badly!
“I’m a voice of the people, a rhythm from the heart”
It’s hard to be an artist today. I still work with new artists, and I know first-hand how difficult it is and how passionate you have to be to succeed. For me to be interested, an artist or a band have to know music well and has to have influences across genres. Music is a blur now; you need to be able to cross boundaries and reference all musical styles. I want to work with educated artists. I want them to be curious, ask questions and know how the industry works. And I won’t work with musicians who don’t work hard. Every single, every album, has to be promoted like it’s the first one you ever put out.
I manage expectations by being honest and transparent. I am 100% honest, I overshare with my artists. An artist has to be the artist – they write songs, they perform – but I want to educate them on what I am doing. The music business changes so quickly right now, you have to stay on top of every aspect of it and the minute I know something, my artists do too. It’s not just about managing their expectations; it is about managing mine too.
“We all want our dreams to be real”
Most of the changes I see in the music industry aren’t positive ones to be honest. It’s sad to see just three major labels. I think streaming isn’t entirely fair to artists and it’s hard for them to make a living making music. I really applaud any artist that wants to make music right now. Social media is also a double-edged sword – artists should be able to focus on their craft but coming up with fun things on social media is now part of their jobs. There is so much disrespect on social media platforms now, saying nasty things about people you don’t even know. I think it’s really discouraging to musicians when strangers say nasty things for no reason.
This industry isn’t for the faint of heart. If this is ALL you can do, and you couldn’t live without doing it, then you have my respect. It’s HARD. I like to tell young artists to surround yourself with people who know who the boss is – it’s you. The people who work WITH you and GUIDE you, need to understand that you’re the artist. They should contribute to your craft but never control it.
“Let’s get together and feel alright”
I am currently working with Lord Abstract, I think he’s amazing. “Holy Water Whiskey” is out June 20th, EP Love Song for Losers coming in the fall. That’s my priority.
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