Praise for new Member Daddy Flip

[Spanky(Andy)]

I applaud anyone who thinks outside the square. B&M stores embracing Rock Band or other non-traditional sales channels makes great business sense to me. As does the kind of service that passionate super-sales people like Zombi provides. He goes above and beyond to provide the kind of sales service I can only dream of experiencing. I certainly hope his efforts don't go unrecognised.

And hats off to EBMM, for pretty much everything they do. BP and the crew continually think outside the square and push boundaries, all the while keeping a human side to business and a level of interaction with their customer base that I seldom see in this day and age of marketing-driven hype and buzz words.

Cheers

Andy

[boombox]

i think a big advantage for EBMM is the ability to learn, think and adapt, i think even BP can agree that he doesn't know where the future of music or the music instrument is going but he does now how to deliver to not one but many relevant “audiences”

Daddy Flip is in his 40’s...he plays rock band AND plays a BONGO....(which was not around when boston was cutting tracks.) Hats off to you sir!

[Stephen]

A few months ago I read an interesting piece about those games. The most interesting point being that the latest versions of Guitar Hero & Co outsold the single or album charts in a comparable time span 20-fold and higher. Now that *has* to have an impact!

[oddjob]

they really just want the ring tone. [/B]

Despite what has been said - I spend my entire day with 1652 11-15 year olds... and in most cases (not all) it is VERY true. It has nothing to do with rebelling against sound alikes, quality of tunes, writing, etc... it has everything to do with attention span. I would love to say that music is an enduring artform but I have seen so many changes in my 14 years of teaching that I couldn't guess what will happen next (good or bad). EBMM has always been with/ahead of the curve and that is why they do so well.

[Big Poppa]

I think that the ringtone comment is a little bit of just an example of the short attention span...daddy flip will add to it but it was a figure of speech im sure

[tkarter]

I think white bongos need to make a come back.

tk

[oddjob]

I think that the ringtone comment is a little bit of just an example of the short attention span...daddy flip will add to it but it was a figure of speech im sure

I know it was but it is amazing how I have seen attitudes shift over the years. Styles have come and gone, attitudes about it have changed. I have decent kids this year and they like it when I have music playing when they come in the classroom... arguements over how long it plays happen just after they arrive They want to skip songs, listen to just parts, repeat some things over and over. Other groups have done the same thing (hell, I did it too) but not to the extent I see now. I'm not sad about it or upset, it is just evolution of the beast.

[oddjob]

I think white bongos need to make a come back.

tk

green?!?!?!?!

[JimB52]

Some interesting and provocative thoughts. The attention spans are definitely getting shorter, in all forms of entertainment. Look at the editing pace in an action film today compared to one from 20 years ago. Live music still brings 'em out where I live, but there are more oldsters than youngsters in the audience.

Jim B

[tkarter]

Who wants to do dial up Internet?

tk

[Eggman]

I think Daddy Flip uses them words real good.........

[tkarter]

I think Daddy Flip uses them words real good.........

me too.

tk

[DaddyFlip]

On the praise... BP, you are the one that deserves the praise by offering and actively participating in this forum, personally interacting with your customers and making a high quality, high value product. I just want to support the forum and its members by being a positive contributor.

On the games... I've noticed that people my age (30-40) enjoy playing almost every song (except Beastie Boys for me) because we can appreciate the music and the technical aspects of mastering the song. I've noticed that the younger crowd (10-18) won't even touch the songs we call 'classic rock', only playing the new songs they know, over and over. Someone said that the real instrument is 1000x harder than the game; I agree, and it can be discouraging to go from beating the GAME on expert to learning an INSTRUMENT and floundering. My advice; if you are an adult gamer convert, don't give up and find REAL PEOPLE TO PLAY WITH AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you are a parent, encourage your child gamer convert WITH THE SAME ADVICE.

On the industry... BP gave us a glimpse of what the dealer was back in the day; he did what he did because he had passion for his business and he supported is family with it. The big box guys don't have to do this and, in general, the guys working for them are short-timers looking for a paycheck and a discount (remember, in general; there are exceptions). I have praised my dealer, Brandt@TPB, several times on this forum because he is the real deal. It would take a blog for me to completely explain this, but it's the CONSUMER that is killing this and every other industry out there that relies on people to make things happen. It is my opinion that the technology we create (internet, blackberry, DVR, twitter, cell phones, etc.) is driving us apart rather than bringing us together. Think about it, every advance allows one to be anywhere at anytime and "stay completely connected"; connected to what? OKAY- I have to cut this short. I surfed the net for weeks looking at every bass under the sun and daydreaming about what I could buy. I spent three hours with Brandt one Saturday, driving 10 hours round trip, to finally get educated on what I should buy and why. I wouldn't trade that time for anything. If more people could appreciate PEOPLE again, rather than pricegrabbing the best deal on the net and not being bothered by people, except to be twittered or pinged or buzzed or paged or ringtoned...

On ring tones... Finally; for what you all have been waiting. BP was right; the comment was meant as a metaphor for the short attention span of the young generation. But it was also meant literally as my observation of the kids around me (oddjob apparently sees the same). I read an interview with Lenny Kravitz on how he and his friends knew the names of all the session players, the studio, the production staff, the instruments, nearly everything about the music they loved. I was the same way about the bands and music I liked. I don't see that anymore; now it's how many ring tones you can pack on your Blackberry when you're 14. The kids don't care about the music or the musicians; they just want something that sounds cool RIGHT NOW so that they can be PERCEIVED as being cool by their friends because they got the ring tone first and everyone will come to them to download it. I was a Stereophile for a long time, and the high-end music industry loathed the advent of Napster and mp3 for the apparent degradation of the musical signal. I used to sit in front of multi-thousand dollar systems to LISTEN to music and enjoy the nuance of the performance, regardless of the genre. Show me ANYONE under 20 who will SIT and LISTEN to music; it doesn't happen. Music is either background noise or a ringtone. Live music is either a festival or a nuisance.

On music... I love music and even though I don't think music is as good as it used to be, there is still great music and great bands out there making new music all the time that I fall in love with. Again, it's the CONSUMER that is killing the music industry, but that's another digression and blog opportunity.

I like this forum and getting to know the PEOPLE on it. Let's stand together as musicians of every ability and enthusiasm, support one another, and the industry that supplies the tools that gives us the means to the ends which is the MUSIC.

[Big Poppa]

The customer has a dilema....they are being squeezed at every turn and would like to have all the modern conveniences.....THey are forced to vote with their dollar...The way they voted was to have one of everything and nothing of substantive quality....that involves sacrifices....I think that people are tired of the 69 dollar dvd player that breaks shorlty after buying it on an evening where you are dying to watch that new disc.

I bought a smoker/grill from indonesia called the Komodo Kamado its 3600 bucks and weighs 550 pounds...I was seriously floored by the fact that I had bought something that my grandchildren could be able to use in 50 years....Its that beefy.

Maybe people will vote for fewer possessions but more quality when voting in the future.

[Drmckool]

hate to contradict you but i'm 19 and i sit and listen to music all the time. Throw on a good record on my Vinyl player and chill for a bit. but on a holistic level i see where you are coming from on your points. it is just from my experiences as one of the younger members here i can say that things are not a dreary as they seem to be. Now of course i cannot speak for those who are a few years younger than me as i am a university student and therefore am not exposed to people who are much younger than me at all.

basically what i'm getting at is there are some blanket statements being thrown around that from my experience are just not true. there are tons of Kids who play instruments these days. let's just see these "band games" as what they are fun video games to play with friends at parties. yes they have an obvious effect on the music industry but i think there are bigger pull factors to guitars and basses such as it's fun, looks cool and it will help you get familiar with the opposite sex (if you get my drift)