Interview with Guitarist and Educator John Stowell - John Stowell Pg 5

MW: Following up on being your own booking agent. It’s a lot of work to maintain all of these relationships yourself, as opposed to someone who has an agent doing this work for them. Do you find in an economic climate like we’re in now, that all the personal contacts you’ve made over the years have helped you to keep working, where others may not be able to find teaching or playing opportunities right now.

JS: I think that’s true. Most of the time I’m dealing with friends in these situations, which helps when I’m trying to sell a gig or clinic. We have to remember though that in sales, and not just selling ourselves as a musical product, but sales in general, the rate of return is somewhere around 5 to 10%. The people who are able to get a 5 to 10% return are the ones that are willing to make the eight or ten follow up calls and emails, and who aren’t afraid of hearing no. I hear no a lot more than I hear yes.

When I do a tour I don’t start out with ten or twenty dates, I start out with one date. Maybe I have a gig in New York for 75$ a man, and I live in Portland, Oregon which means I have to fly there. If I know I have one gig booked I can talk to the thirty or forty people I know within a two-hundred mile radius of the gig to try and find more work.

One of the good things about living on the West Coast is I have gotten used to long trips, as I drive everywhere out here. If I have a gig at the Berkeley Jazz School for instance, that’s an eleven hour drive. I usually try and break that up with a stop half-way there, maybe in Redding California, where I can do a gig, or at least take a break. When I get to the East Coast I try and do the same thing. If I have a gig in New York, I can rent or borrow a car and drive out of the city for another gig, and then back again. I will also try and find gigs in surrounding states. I’ve even gone as far as Ohio and Kentucky from New York in a rental car to do a gig.

This has allowed me to get used to doing long trips when I’m on tour. I’ve been doing this for so long that I have become acclimated to these types of trips. So I can take a long drive and get out of the car and teach a clinic and I’m fine. It’s very demanding but I really enjoy these types of experiences. The other thing is, I am grateful for every little commitment. I only play the gigs and teach the clinics that I want to, even if it’s playing background music at a restaurant, if I’m playing my music and with people I like, I’ll have a great time.

Sometimes the gigs are high paying, and the audience is listening, but that’s not always the case because I’m not famous. If Joe Lovano’s on the gig it’s going to be great, because he’s earned it, he’s famous. But in my case it’s not always ideal. Though, I’ve found that there are quite a few people out there who are creating playing situations that may not be high profile, but it is a quality experience. It could be a house concert, which usually pays better than a club, and everyone’s listening. I only take gigs and clinics that I enjoy doing; even if the gig isn't ideal, I'm always playing interesting music with people I like musically and personally. It’s not the same as playing a concert hall for a few thousand people, but in some ways I like it better.

I also have friends who have created their own record labels. Two guys named John Bishop and Matt Jorgenson, two drummers, own a company called Origin records. I’ve done four recordings for them, with a fifth one coming out this Spring. In that case I pay for production, they do a limited pressing, but I get a bunch of free CD’s which allows me to make my money back.

They also have a mailing list and are great about promoting new CD’s and put on jazz festivals and host a jazz walk in Seattle. John started from nothing, just working with friends, but has now developed a catalogue of over 240 records, and has a great reputation within the industry as an independent label. None of us are getting rich off of this, but they are documenting our work, and helping to get music out into the marketplace.

There are a lot of guys like John and Matt that are starting up little production companies all over the country. They may not be a big name like Blue Note, but they can still produce a product that looks and sounds just as good as anything done by a big label.

One of the things I tell people at clinics is that most of us are not famous. On any instrument there are probably less than fifty guys that are travelling around the world living the life of a Pat Metheny or John Scofield, going from big festival to big festival. But for the rest of us, we can still have experiences that are just as fulfilling. Even if we’re playing to smaller audiences, that doesn’t mean we have to compromise our artistic integrity in any way.

I think what keeps us going is the love of music, not the chance of fame or fortune.

MW: That’s a great close to this very insightful conversation. On behalf of our readers I’d like to thank you for taking the time to talk with us today, I really appreciate it.

JS: My pleasure, thanks for having me.

Acoustic and Electric Guitar