JJ Rocks article # 285: ReverbNation scam revealed!

JJ Rocks Article # 285: Reverbnation Scam Revealed!

Hi! As many of you know I support independent bands and scout for major label executives like the ones in my RN photo section. So I am writing to tell you that Reverbnation finally admitted to me that people who buy their “tools” and use them are the ones that get higher rank on their site. This came after I complained about being knocked off the #1 national position in all genres in the Virgin Islands by someone with much lower stats. Now the only reason that I even care about rank on that site is that I occasionally invite people to my scouting site to be heard and possibly referred to a major label for free. So I want them to get a good impression. But I know that most of you use RN to promote your music and think that your chart position is based on the quality of your music. It’s NOT! Many of you are proud of your chart position. But why? No one is really judging your music on the RN staff nor can your friends rank your tunes there. So the people above you on the charts are there because they buy these so called “tools” from the site and it gives them a higher rank. Here is just part of what Reverbnation sent me back when I told them that someone with much lower stats took over my position on the charts.

"There is no "excuse" for you being knocked out with lower stats because the total number of stats you have has nothing to do with your chart position. If the other artist in question has promoted more efficiently using ReverbNation tools in the last 2 weeks, then they would be ranked above you, no matter the total number. The charts are designed to show the success, again of ONLY using ReverbNation tools, in the last two weeks."  - RN employee

So now you know! I am going to pass this along to the over 7000 subscribers to my profile, 56,000 fans, and all the members of my site “The Spotlight Zone”. So I hope you pass it along to all your friends. It’s time to put your foot down and stopped being fooled into thinking your RN rank has ANYTHING to do with your music. I personally don’t need the rank (as you can see on my profile page) so it’s just the principal and me looking out for all my friends that are trying so hard to promote their music. If you have anything to say about this scam on RN to make you think that your music quality equals your rank, please post it on the RN community forum.
Peace, JJ Rocks - major label talent scout and good friend.
www.thespotlightzone.com

JJ Rocks article # 8: My music student: Leroy Woods

By James (JJ Rocks) Johnston

Leroy Woods has been my bass student now for around three years. He’s never been a demanding student as far as what music he wanted to learn. He has always trusted my judgment on what directions to go in, after he leaned his basics of course. A student who does his homework, Leroy has always come through for me with on what ever I give him to practice. And at lessons, what ever chart that I decide to pull out he will try to play. No matter how many times I ask him to go through a piece if music, he’ll never complain. Recently, he’s really shown a great interested in playing melodies. This ability is very hard to find in a bass student. Whether it’s a piece by Bach or the head (melody) to a Charlie Parker jazz tune, Leroy is always up for task. He has several basses, but prefers to play his Ibanez electric/acoustic bass. So here we go with our first music student of the month interview!

SCM: When did you first get interested in playing the bass?

LW: In 2001

SCM: Do you have a favorite type of music to play?

LW: Jazz

SCM: What is it that you like about jazz?

LW: Technical challenge of the style.

SCM: Do you like funky groove jazz with smacking and
popping techniques, or do you prefer the standard
walking jazz bass?

LW: Standard walking jazz bass

SCM: Do you like to take bass solos?

LW: Yes

SCM: What are some of your favorite melodies to play
on the bass?

LW: Autumn Leaves, Four Blue Bossa, etc.

SCM: How often do you practice?

LW: Daily

SCM: What would be some advice that you would give to
bass students just starting out?

LW: Practice, Practice, Practice

SCM: What are you goals as a bass player?

LW: To be the bass player in my retirement home band.


Well, obviously a man of few words, his answers are in a way like his bass playing. They’re solid, meaningful, and right to the point. Thanks LeRoy!
So the next time you’re at golden rock, stop by his “Quality One Hour Photo” store
and tell him STCROIXMUSIC.COM sent you. He likes to talk jazz. - JJ Rocks www.stcroixmusic.com


October, 2006

JJ Rocks article # 10: From Berlin, Germany: Go Panic

By James (JJ Rocks) Johnston

It wasn’t until after I heard this band that I noticed that they were in the “Indie rock” genre. Now discussing the differences between genres these days is very interesting and worthy of a column all its own. But right now I’m only concerned about writing something special about a very special band. This band has a refreshing sound that seems to draw a little from the clean, clear and catchy music of the sixties, while maintaining the adventures pursuits of a modern day rock band. This band is called “Go Panic”.

Their music is well constructed and well thought out. No bar jammers here. As soon as you hear them you can tell that all the parts of their songs are well placed like the gears in a fine timepiece. Every part has its purpose and function and is meant to take you on a journey through several minutes of a very enjoyable musical experience. Fresh is the first word that comes to mind when I hear this group. Listening to their first song just made me want to hear the next one. It didn’t leave me all wound up or depressed like some of the “new rock” that’s been coming over the air waves lately. I’m sure that you will easily recognize that the intentions of this band are to keep a clear focus on the song itself, not the playing abilities of any individual member. Along with having great vocals, this band has quite a nice package of tight instrumentation and a well balanced recipe of rhythmic, lyrical and melodic statements. And of course they make the whole thing fun by being as catchy as any song that you’ve ever hummed or whistled while still keeping their originality. That’s a hard formula to find.

This band is another fine example of some of the music that is part of this magazines effort to reach great bands on an international scale. Being an excellent group from Berlin, Germany, Go Panic is now part of the St Croix music magazine’s musical family along with the other five bands that we featured in our first two issues. And let me say as the publisher, that we are glad to have them onboard. We will always keep back issues so they, along with our other artist will always be here for you to enjoy! We will also have news updates on Go Panic as well as our other bands.

The members of this wonder group are Nic Olsen on lead vocals and guitar, Adam Conner on lead guitar, Jeremy Teigan on rhythm guitar, Cliff Alexander on bass and Ben Sander on drums. Anyone who enjoys any kind of rock or pop music would be missing out if they passed up the opportunity to download and listen to this band!
- JJ Rocks www.stcroixmusic.com


You can visit them http://www.gopanic.com or http://www.myspace.com/gopanic

November, 2006

JJ Rocks article # 9: Local St. Croix historian: Clifford Gumbs

By James (JJ Rocks) Johnston

One of the things I’ve learned from being here on and off for the last 25 years is the fact that St. Croix’s senior citizens love to talk about their younger years here on the island. This column is dedicated to those wonderful people who always seem to have a warm smile and a kind word. You know it’s funny in a way because I grew up in the states under the impression that older people (grandparents age) were always grumpy if they didn’t know you. But down here on our wonderful island, our kindest, most trusting, and most pleasant people to be around are the ones that are the oldest.



I can remember the first time that I walked past a domino game on the way in to a local gas station. There were some elderly men slamming their hands down on the table and yelling at each other. Well, to someone that just got here and didn’t know anything about dominos, it was kind of strange. I think the first thing that I thought was “man, these old guys are grumpier than the ones in the states”. Then someone walked past and said to them “good night, “and they all turned around and said the same thing back. Real loud! So, of course I figured that they knew the person and left it at that. But I started seeing the same kind of thing all over the island and one night on my way in to the same station I said “good night”, and they all turned and looked at me and said the same thing back. Later I learned that you’re considered rude if you don’t say it. I also learned that if you take the time to say hi and talk for awhile, you will most likely make a new friend. It’s just that easy. The results of me stopping to talk with some of these wonderful people will be in "Mango Memories", which is occasionally a part of "Special Features". - JJ Rocks www.stcroixmusic.com
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Clifford Gumbs is a very kind gentleman who loves to talk about when he first got here in the late fifties. These are some of his memories

SCM: Could you tell us a little about your life when you first got to St. Croix?

Clifford: I came here in the late fifties and I stated cutting cane.

SCM: Were on the island did you work?

Clifford: All over. Do you see those houses up there? (Sion hill) It was all cane. Over the hill on both sides of Sunny Isle was all sugar cane. All down by pueblo was all sugar cane. All over the island was sugar cane. We would cut for the people who grew it and they would sell it to the sugar factory. Then they would pay us, sometimes 50 cents, and sometimes 75 cents an hour. The money was small, but the cost of living was cheap!

SCM: What was the price of food like?

Clifford: Food? Man! In those days you could go and get a big duck, about five pounds, maybe six pounds for $1.50. You could get a big chicken for 50 or 60 cents.

SCM: What about lobster?

Clifford: You could get a three or four pound lobster for about a dollar. And those pants you got on, you could get those for a dollar. And you could get shoes for about a dollar and fifty, maybe two dollars.

SCM: How was the fishing back then?

Clifford: Alot of fish! Alot of lobsters! We had traps, you know, fish traps. And we would go on a line and we’d catch red snapper. We used to catch alot of fish! I still have a small fishing boat.

SCM: Were there many cars back then?

Clifford: Yeah! We had cars! But at that time the cars were not so public. But we had stick shift. You know, with a clutch. At that time I didn’t have many dealings with cars really. But if you wanted to go like, from Christiansted to the airport, it was three dollars in a cab. But gasoline was just fifty cents a gallon!

October, 2006

JJ Rocks article # 7: St. Croix Drummer Bobby Richards

By James (JJ Rocks) Johnston


Go up to any seasoned musician on St. Croix and ask “Who’s the best drummer on St. Croix” and most likely the answer will be “Bobby Richards”. Not known for picking up any little gig at some backwater bar, Bobby Richards always seems to be surrounded by “real musicians”. Not with hobby players who are just out to make a buck while attempting to be part of the “music scene” with only three chords to offer. Bobby is the real deal and he’s what a lot of drummers wish they could be.

I’ve had the opportunity to play with him in several totally different kinds of bands. We’ve done progressive rock, blues, reggae, and jazz bands together. His timing is flawless, but what I like the most is his tone. He treats his drums like a fine instrument instead of a set of cans to bang on like some drummers do. And he always carries himself in a very professional manner as if he were playing at a five star hotel/casino, no matter where he plays. That’s just his nature.

But more on the musical side, to be in an improvisation mode while playing with bobby is almost, in a way, a telepathic experience. Now I know that not all of our readers would understand that, but the musicians who experience a lot of connections with other players while soloing will definitely know what I mean. Sometimes I felt like he was reading my mind as I came up with phases on my guitar. It’s as if he would know what I was going to play before I played it! That’s rare in most cases. With bobby it’s expected. He’s also one of the only drummers that I have played with in St. Croix that doesn’t make me spend half the gig turning around and giving cues. The only reason that I turned around on stage with Bobby in the band was to watch him play! So let’s take a look at the life of a great St. Croix drummer.

Bobby Richards is a self-taught, Virgin Islands government-honored musician-drummer/percussionist, vocalist, composer, recording/performing artist, producer, audio recording engineer, and music/drum teacher. He comes from a musical family and started playing the drums at the age of five. He has performed with Jon Lucien, Najee, Jimmy Hamilton, Jimmy Owens, and the Mighty Sparrow, to name a few. Bobby is heavily influenced by Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kassav, and drummers Elvin Jones, Billy Cobham, and Omar Hakim, as well as the elements of Frederiksted. He has composed, produced, and released a solo album "This Life Anew" and a single "It's Kwanzaa Again".

As a young teenager, Bobby and his brothers Ricky and Tony and close friends started the very popular "Soul Busters". They opened for and have accompanied numerous accomplished stateside and Caribbean acts. Later they became "Quiet Fire" and released the critically acclaimed LP "Tropical Depression" and a few others. These two-time STX Festival road march kings performed twice in Columbia, S.A. as ambassadors of the Virgin Islands.

Bobby just recently hand-built a state-of-the-art recording studio and is composing a movie soundtrack, two solo CDs, a Kwanzaa-concept album, and is presently teaching an 8-year old female drummer who will surely turn heads. He has also formed "FOSSIL", a new group whose goal is to revise and revive the Virgin Islands/Caribbean music scene. Through this group he will introduce new concepts in rhythms and drumming. Bobby has also been the drummer with numerous groups here at Sunset Jazz. To say the least, his resume, honors and awards are too extensive for this column.

We here at SCM hope that one day Bobby would like to contribute an instructional column to our “Woodshed” so he may be able to give some good advice to drummers who are just starting out, or maybe even to some of the pros.
In the mean time, if you want to hear a truly great drummer here in St. Croix, just try to find out where Bobby Richards is playing and try to get a seat up close so you can watch him work his magic. - JJ Rocks www.stcroixmusic.com

October, 2006

JJ Rocks article # 6: Andres Segovia

By James (JJ Rocks) Johnston:

In the beginning, there was Andres Segovia. Now, he wasn’t the first guitar player in the world, but he was the first to bring respect to the instrument. Most articles on maestro Segovia talk about him being the father of the classical guitar, but there is much more to the story than that.
Andres’ incredible life began in Spain in 1893. He began playing at the age of four. Being a guitar teacher myself, I find that to be incredible. He would go down to the local guitar-builders and hang around and watch them make and play their guitars. During this period in history, the guitar had about as much respect as the kazoo does today. It was only played on street corners or in the back of a local bar. I’m talking no stage at all. The guitar had no place on the stage. Actually, bars didn’t even have a stage. The only stage in that part of town left every morning at 8:00 am. But this didn’t stop little Andres. He knew what he wanted to do the first time he heard someone play the guitar. Believe me, i know the feeling. But this kind of ticked off his dad. You see, everybody else who played music back then played violins and pianos and other “proper” instruments. So when Andres asked for a guitar, well, you can imagine what his father said. (If you can imagine in Spanish)

I’m not sure where his first axe came from, but he managed to get one from somewhere. Not only did the little guy play this very unpopular instrument, but he started transcribing classical music over to the guitar. The other musicians around town said that he would be laughed off the concert stage if he ever got on one with a guitar. Well, guess what? When he reached the ripe old age of sixteen he got his first gig. He blew them away! Finally, the guitar was on a real stage! And it was because this kid stuck to his guns. He was pulling off Bach and a bunch of the other great classical composers at that time on his guitar!

I guess business increased down at the guitar shop. The only problem is that his beloved instrument wasn’t loud enough. Of course there were no amps back then so he started making modifications to his guitar. I guess he was the predecessor to the “marshal stack” seeing on how he was the first guitarist who wanted to be louder on stage.

After awhile he got some gigs in America in 1928 and continued to blow people away with his amazing abilities. Then everybody wanted “Segovia”. I once read that he said “I have truly felt the roundness of the earth beneath my feet”. Like that’s not enough; he was the first “real” guitar teacher! And to be a student of Andres Segovia was like winning the guitar lotto. Soon other guitarist were perfecting their craft and passing it on to their students. Guitar finally got the respect that it deserved. It was being played on stages all over the world. It was being taught in the world’s finest music conservatories. And most of all it spread out in more directions and was being played in more styles than any other instrument in history.

So the next time you get on stage or the next time you see a guitarist on tv, think of Andres Segovia………………………. Thank you, Andres.
The greatest thing that ever happened to the guitar died in 1987.
He was 94 years old. – JJ Rocks www.stcroixmusic.com

October, 2006

JJ Rocks article # 5: Musical Segregation

By James (JJ Rocks) Johnston

Musical Segregation:

You would think that the musical youth of today would have learned a lesson from the history that was taught to them in school and broadcasted to them on TV. The struggles and horrors of the segregation of mankind have existed for centuries not only in our country, but in all countries throughout history. So why, at this time, when there seems to be a glimmer of hope and a light at the end of the tunnel, did music segregate so drastically?

I can remember a time when I would see race riots on the news and it would really frighten me. But then I would turn on the radio and listen to the top ten count down that would range from the Beatles to James Brown and everything in between. Being a young guitarist at the time, this confused me. The” Top 40” radio station gave a child the impression that people of many colors and backgrounds were all in the same room playing music together. But yet on the news some people were tearing each other apart while others were reaching for the moon. And why was it that some early rock n’ roll bands would record blues songs that were written by black musicians, and then have some of it’s members be seen in picket lines in front of an all white diner? Well, thank God because it seems like most of us have risen above those times. But unfortunately, as we learned to unite in our social way of thinking, the one thing that we had from the past that used to bring us together has now split us apart in many directions.

While researching bands from around the globe (via internet) to be guest on “THE SPOTLIGHT ZONE”, I was surprised at the amount of musical genres that I discovered. At first I was pleasantly surprised, then disappointed in the segregation of some styles of music. If a band on an independent music site submitted their music into the “rock” genre for reviews but may have sounded a bit like “pop rock”, they would be torn apart. If someone submitted a tune into the “country” genre but had a little too much story telling in their song, some bands were told to get out and resubmit in the “folk” category. This would be present in almost all the genres that I reviewed bands in. Fortunately most of my music is theatrical or instructional and there’s not a category for either one so I just use these sites for demo storage just in case of another Hugo. (That’s a big nasty hurricane, for all of you that aren’t from St. Croix.). But I have submitted demos from my upcoming musical” Between the tides” in the past just to make contact with other bands, along with reviewing over 800 bands worldwide. (And that number grows every day.)

So anyway, I would log on to one of these sites and listen to a song being performed by a nine year old from Russia, then read a review on it by a punk rocker from Detroit that was tearing the song apart piece by piece. I really felt for the child knowing that they had to read the vicious remarks written by someone who probably had a ring in his nose. Fortunately there are real musicians that are very kind when reviewing songs and most of the time that makes up for the morons. I also must make it clear that these are not just “songwriting contest” being judged by a panel of celebrities. These sites are where bands judge each other by performance, production, playing ability and much more. You could get high marks from some professional musicians one day, and on the next day have your score brought down by a twelve year old “Emo” rocker “critic” who just received his first guitar. It can be like throwing yourselves to the wolves and their puppies! But that is just one side of the coin.

Song contest are not generally known for producing top billboard hits. But on the independent band sites some artist that are coming in at #5 and #6 on billboards top 10 charts. They are also giving a band in let’s say, Tampa Florida, the chance to communicate, or even jam with a band in France or Japan via the internet. My guess is that it’s the best thing to ever happen to bands that are trying to get noticed by the rest of the world. They didn’t have that when I was a kid. But as I said before, they also didn’t have today’s self appointed genre guardians who stand at the gates of each musical style like pit bulls guarding a boom box that’s playing a hot dog jingle!

But aside from that, independent band sites will also be producing a lot of the great artist that will be featured in our “SPOTLIGHT ZONE” column. You should be pleasantly surprised at some of the talent that we choose from around the world to do articles on. Some of the bands will even be invited by us to travel to St. Croix and play at some of our wonderful music venues. And some of our own musicians will have the chance to be exposed to many, many countries.

I guess I first got interested in the international music scene back in the late seventies when I was invited to Hollywood to produce “Tony Villa, superstar of the far east” and a band from the Philippines called “The Manila File”. I was even invited to work with “Victor Wood”. Now these artists were virtually unknown in the states but very big in their countries. I went to a few of their shows and the size of the crowds rivaled many of the rock concerts that I attended. Why they picked a kid from Baltimore like me to produce their music is still beyond me. I guess I was in the right place but the wrong time zone. Anyway, being a producer at “Gold Star Studios” (A+ M records) and hanging around next door at “Earth Wind and Fire” rehearsals was a real trip but I had to leave that scene for family reasons and never went back. But my interest in music from around the world has stayed with me ever since. So now, I get to do something about it!

But those are topics that just surround the point that I’m trying to make in my first “Musically Speaking” column. Even though I may sway to and fro in my thought process as these words leave my fingers, this article is mainly about the separation and segregation of the people that so strongly believe in their styles of music and put up defenses that are totally uncalled for. And I don’t mean just picky opinions of the listeners. I mean changes in entire lifestyles. Whether it’s the baggy pants and hand motions descending from LA Street gang’s that’s portrayed in hip hop, or the blackened hair and eyes of the gothic heavy metal rockers, this time around, it’s the music that’s separating people. Even the Grammies have been more like a circus with a different ring for each genre. Instead of something we can see like the color of one’s skin or the actions of the ignorant tearing us apart, it’s now the music that we hear that’s affecting how we feel about ourselves and the people around us. What will it be next? Will the people who eat one kind of food start to dislike the ones that eat something different? How about judging people by the cologne that they wear and forming different societies because of it?
It may just be human nature to always find some way to separate ourselves from one another. Personally, I’m a big promoter of individuality. But there’s a difference between finding ones own self and finding differences in everyone else. Musically speaking that is. - JJ Rocks www.stcroixmusic.com

October, 2006