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New TMA Leader Attends Pamphlet B and SET Negotiations

October 31, 2016 IM

by Tony D’Amico, Theatre Musicians Association President and Member of Local 9-535 (Boston, MA) and Local 198-457 (Providence, RI)

The Theatre Musicians Association’s 21st annual conference was held mid-August in Washington, DC. At the end of the conference, I had the honor of being elected president of the Theatre Musicians Association (TMA). After serving 10 years as director of the Boston chapter, I couldn’t be more thrilled to step into this new role and serve this remarkable organization.

On behalf of all my fellow theatre musicians, I’d like to offer my thanks and congratulations to outgoing president, Tom Mendel of Local 10-208 (Chicago, IL), and Vice President Walter Usiatynski of Local 802 (New York City) for their inspired leadership these past years. They leave some very large shoes to fill.

One of my first duties as president was to attend a week of negotiations in New York City between the AFM and the Broadway League/Disney Theatrical Productions for a successor agreement to Pamphlet B and the Short Engagement Touring Theatrical Musicals Agreement (SET), which occurred in September. Along with the typical proposals for increased wages and per diem, we asked for an assortment of increases and improvements for our traveling musicians to recognize the value these players bring to the touring musical theatre productions they enhance.

Among the items we put across the table for both Pamphlet B and the SET Agreement were an increase in rehearsal rates, and a provision that would make all weekly contractual wages and premiums pensionable. Other issues of importance were electronic instrument premiums—to address technology being operated by drummers and guitarists—as well as wage increases, and travel and hotel concerns.

In the SET agreement, we are seeking wage and rehearsal increases, as well as raises in vacation pay and pay for those who double or play more than one instrument in the pit. One pressing issue discussed regarded local keyboard substitutes hired by touring musical productions. These local keyboard players are called in to sub on increasingly difficult keyboard books, with no additional compensation for the huge amount of time they put in to prepare these books.

While we did not reach a deal in these September sessions, AFM President Ray Hair made a strong case for paying our musicians wages and benefits that correspond to the value they bring to these productions. We have excellent input from all the AFM representatives on our side of the table, with special recognition to AFM Touring/Theatre/Booking Division Director Michael Manley and Contract Administrator George Fiddler, and valuable contributions from Player Representatives Michael Epperhart of Local 802 and Joshua Priest of Locals 802 and 149 (Toronto, ON).

We meet again in November to continue our discussions. I’m confident that in the end we will emerge with a fair contract that provides the security and compensation that these hardworking musicians deserve.

On the Cover

Serena Ryder Discovers Utopia Through Her World of Contrasts

September 29, 2016 IM

Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Serena Ryder is known for her vocal range and full voice. A natural talent, the six-time Juno winner has opened shows for Aerosmith and One Republic, and traveled with Melissa Etheridge on her 2011 tour across Canada.

Through hard work, networking, and creativity, she’s built a steady following in Canada with her catchy, genre-blending songs. Ryder relocated to Petersborough, Ontario, from the small town of Millbrook at age 18 to launch her career. Roughly nine years later she had her first hit “Weak in the Knees” (2007) and then won her first Juno Award: Best New Artist of the Year (2008).

Though people stateside might not yet know her name, they may have already heard her music. The catchy tune “Stompa” from her fifth album (Harmony, 2012) was featured on both Grey’s Anatomy and Hawaii Five-O. In 2013 Ryder performed the platinum recording on the Tonight Show.

Now a six-time Juno winner, she has sold more than one million singles from her releases. All the while, she has been a member of Local 149 (Toronto, ON). “Now, as an adult I’m seeing the importance of being a part of a larger community and learning from that community,” says the singer songwriter who will release her sixth album, Utopia, in early 2017 and launch an international tour.

As a child, Ryder’s mother would write out the lyrics to songs she wanted to learn. At age seven, her mother found Ryder a private music teacher who ended up becoming more of a collaborator. “I already knew a bunch of songs—Linda Ronstadt, Buddy Holly, Roger Miller. He would play them on piano and I would sing. I did my first gig when I was eight years old at the Legion hall in Millbrook.”

“I just knew I always wanted a life in music,” says Ryder, who began writing her own songs at age 11, after her step-father gave her a guitar.

“My biggest influence was definitely Roger Miller,” she recalls. “He was a quirky, amazing songwriter who kind of blurred the lines, but always made it fun and kind of silly. He didn’t take himself too seriously, which I loved,” she says.

She was further influenced by her parents’ record collection. “When I was about 13, I went into my basement and just started unearthing all this vinyl,” she says. There she discovered diverse artists—from Leonard Cohen to The Beatles. Their sounds now resonate in the music she creates.

Ryder says that the Canadian weather inspires her. “It’s the changing seasons that really make Canadian music and gives artists diverse emotional perspectives. The weather affects how you feel. When it’s freezing cold—minus 30 degrees Celsius—you don’t want to even walk to the corner store. Music becomes more insular—about your close friends and family. In the summertime it gets as hot as Los Angeles and you’re [music is] inspired by spring fever.”

At just 33, Serena Ryder says she has seen huge changes in the way technology helps her create music. She says that, with the past two albums, she’s had more creative freedom. Beginning with her fifth album, Harmony, she completely changed her writing process.

“It shocked me that I could go into a studio, write a song, and have the track finished in four hours. I used to write for a year or two, get all my songs compiled, find a producer, hire a band, and then we would get into the studio to learn the songs. Then, that would take a couple weeks,” she explains.

She also finds her new process more instantly gratifying. “I feel more free to write whatever I want because it doesn’t feel so painstaking and it doesn’t cost as much in terms of money and time,” she says.

“I made my last record mostly in my garage studio,” she explains. “My producer stayed in my basement. In the morning he went to the studio and got all the tracks ready and the sound running. I’d go out with my guitar and start riffing and write for a couple hours; then he’d produce it. By the end of a day, we had one song done, sometimes two. The main recording of the whole album took a couple weeks.”

Among the innovations it allows, is the ability to experiment with different instruments. She recorded some of her own harmonica and drum tracks. She also plays these instruments at her concerts. “Sometimes for an encore I’ll play drums and guitar and sing, all at the same time,” she says.

Ryder says the process of creating her sixth album, was even more unrestrained. “For Utopia I recorded stuff all over the world,” she says.

With all her success, Ryder is the first to admit she’s had struggles with depression and self-doubt along the way. She advises struggling musicians to look within themselves for answers. “The more you think about what you should be doing or how you should be doing it, the more complicated it gets.” She says that one of the best pieces of advice Ryder received came from veteran AFM Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) musician Melissa Etheridge who told her simply, “Do what you love.”

The two met through Ryder’s manager, Sandy Pandya, and developed a friendship. When Etheridge was looking for a Canadian musician to pair up with for her Canadian tour, she turned to Ryder.

“Melissa Etheridge was an amazing person to be on tour with; she’s one of the coolest people I’ve met and she kind of took me under her wing,” says Ryder who was just 29 at the time. “She heard one of my songs, ‘Broken Heart Sun,’ which I’d written with one of her producers and she loved it.” Etheridge recorded the song as a duet with Ryder and released it in Canada before the tour began.” The pair also performed the song for the 2011 Juno Awards.

Of late, Ryder has been particularly prolific. She’s written about 80 tunes in the past three years. “I really love them all,” she adds, explaining how she followed her own advice. “I think it’s because I haven’t been taking myself so seriously, and I know that not everything I do matters as much as I think it does.”

She says that being true to yourself is important in songwriting. “Write from the place where you feel, even if you think it’s a bunch of shit!” she advises. “A year later you will look back at the songs you wrote and think they are amazing. I may not always be present with myself in some sort of happy state that we all want to be in, but I am honest.”

Coming to terms with her inner struggles is at the heart of the new album’s title, Utopia. The idea came from a First Nations story about two wolves. “There is a white wolf inside of you that is love and peace, happiness and joy, and it’s starving; there’s also a dark wolf inside you that is anger, jealousy, resentment, pain, and it’s starving too. They are battling each other. The wolf that wins is the one you feed.”

“Utopia, for me, is about marrying the light and the dark, and making a gray area—a balanced area. It’s about finding your own balance in life. Utopia is a place of absolute light and perfection,” she says.

This balancing act brings Ryder’s typical diversity to the album. “There are a lot of dark songs about dark feelings and dark places, like the song ‘Killing Time’—one of my favorites. It’s about wasting time and getting caught up in your head. Then there’s ‘Got Your Number,’ which is a single I wrote while jamming on the drums in my apartment. I was thinking about New Orleans, which I love, and people dancing in the street.”

“Then, there’s a song called ‘The First Time’; it’s about treating your relationships like you are meeting the people in your life for the first time. We all have history and we think we know our mom, sister, brother, but in actuality, we are always changing and every second is a new opportunity to see things differently.”

Serena Ryder is pre-releasing a few singles from Utopia over the next few months, with an album launch planned for early 2017. “We are doing a lot of intimate shows to test out some of the new stuff live to see what the industry thinks,” she explains.

On the Cover

Behind the Scenes with One of Nashville’s Most In-Demand Players: Brent Mason

September 1, 2016 IM

One of the most in-demand Nashville session guitarists of the past 30 years, Brent Mason of Local 257 (Nashville, TN) advises young players who would like to become a part of the Nashville music scene to do as he did: Come to Nashville, hang around, pay your dues, and learn the ropes from today’s hot players.

A self-taught guitarist, Mason grew up playing in a family band with his parents and brother Randy, a drummer. As a youngster, he says he was always reading liner notes to find out who the instrumental heroes were who accompanied the named artist on his records. He hoped to join their ranks one day.

Eager to bring home a steady paycheck and save money, Mason took a job in a toolbox factory when he finished high school. One day he put a rivet through his thumb and realized that, if he stayed in the factory, he might lose his chance to use his natural talent.

Fortunately, his mom was already on it. She always knew her son’s future was in Nashville and had connected him with steel guitarist and Local 257 member Paul Franklin. After hearing a recording of Mason, Franklin offered to introduce Mason to the Nashville music scene.

Arriving in Nashville, Mason was suddenly thrust into a world where he was meeting his liner-note heroes face to face. “I was a nervous wreck,” he says. “I was around all these guys who were playing on records, names like renowned session drummer Larrie Londin and bassist David Hungate. In my eyes, they were stars; when I was around them, I had butterflies. Truth is, they were nice and they could see a musician’s talent and potential from the first few notes.”

One of the most important things Mason learned from the session players is the importance of the union and union contracts. “Pandemonium would occur if things weren’t run through the union,” he says. “Like all unions, there’s strength in numbers. It sets a precedent for pay, a scale. Somebody trying to do it alone could be quickly taken advantage of.”

“The pension is something I’m really happy about. I’m 57 now and I’ve got a pretty good pension,” says the 35-year AFM member who adds that he’s also benefitted from the Special Payments and AFM SAG-AFTRA funds. “They can tally up what you’ve played on only by pulling union contracts.”

“If a guy just hands you $100 when you play on something, then later you find out it sold a hundred million records, there’s no proof you played on it,” he says. “Musicians need to be respected and compensated for their playing and intellectual contributions to songs. We want to know that our history of work is well documented and compensated fairly in retirement.”

A couple years after arriving in Nashville, Franklin’s brother-in-law, Gregg Galbraith of Local 257, helped Mason land a steady gig at The Stage Coach Lounge honky-tonk with the Don Kelley Band. For the next few years, Mason paid his dues, gigging until the early morning hours, then often heading out to Music Row around 8:30 a.m. for his growing session work, sometimes followed by a co-writing at the Monk Family Music Group where he
also worked as a songwriter.

“It was kind of an ambiguous time for me. It was starting to wear me out,” he recalls. That’s when Chet Atkins called him up. “He said, ‘I’m going to come tomorrow night to hear you play and I’m bringing George Benson. I was nervous, not only because they were going to show up, but also because it was a pretty dangerous redneck bar!”

“But, I thought it was a chance. When I looked over and saw they were digging it, that kind of calmed me down,” says Mason, who got his big break shortly thereafter when Atkins phoned him and said, “I’d like you to be on my record on a song with Mark Knopfler.”

The album, Stay Tuned, was a compilation featuring many guitar players. “I remember going into the record store when it came out to see if my name was on it. I thought I would sneak and open the wrapper,” says Mason. The staff was on to him and kicked the 27-year-old out, doubting his claim of being on the record.

Eager to be discovered, Mason put everything he had into every job. Working as a songwriter, he frequently recorded demos. “I knew the recording would get pitched to the artist and the producer; they would say, ‘Who’s playing guitar on it? We need him on this,’” says Mason.

The strategy paid off when Keith Whitley decided to cut Mason’s song, “Heartbreak Highway,” and requested Mason play guitar on it. “That was Whitley’s last album [I Wonder Do You Think of Me]; he passed away before it was released in 1989. The album became legendary, and everybody started calling me,” says Mason.

Aside from always putting his best foot forward, he also credits his success to timing. “At the time, the studios were all running the instruments direct. It was very pristine, with no amps,” he says. “While Dwight Yoakam was already doing the live roadhouse kind of honky-tonk music on the West Coast, they weren’t really doing it in Nashville. We—Glenn Worf, John Jarvis, Lonnie Wilson, and myself, just to name a few—were sort of pioneers of that sound. I drug my smokey, buzzy, Stagecoach Lounge Fender amp to the studio to record with.”

Among the earliest sessions Mason recorded in that way was the very first Brooks & Dunn album. “It was like an evolution of music—rock and roadhouse, rather than urban cowboy,” says Mason. “Alan Jackson followed. His songs are a lot of my Fender Telecaster. I gained a lot of fans through Jackson’s stuff.”

By the 1990s, Mason was working around 23 sessions a week. To date, he has played on well over a thousand records and is a 12-time winner of the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Guitarist of the Year Award and two-time winner of the CMA Musician of the Year Award. Among the long list of artists that Mason has recorded with are country legends like Josh Turner, Dolly Parton, Travis Tritt, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Shelby Lynne, Trace Adkins, Terri Clark, and Trisha Yearwood of Local 257; George Jones; Merle Haggard; Willie Nelson of Local 433 (Austin, TX); plus artists in other genres such as Alabama, Natalie Cole, and Neil Diamond of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA).

In addition, Mason has a catalog of more than 100 original instrumentals heard regularly on television, in movies, and on commercials. He’s played on many movie soundtracks, including A Few Good Men, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Home Alone, and Indecent Proposal.

One of the things Mason loves most about session work, particularly in Nashville, is the creativity involved. “In Nashville there are a lot of creative juices in the studio; musicians throw out their ideas for what are often just shells of songs,” he explains. “In L.A. or New York all the arrangements are pretty much written out for you, but in Nashville we sometimes don’t know what we are going to play until we show up in the studio. I really love to be part of the creation of a song.”

He also welcomes the variety in session work. “You may do one thing for Shania Twain, but it’s going to be different when you go in for George Strait. It’s fun to have that challenge. There is an art to being a chameleon. When you walk out of the studio, you want to leave the impression that you’ve played that style of music since you were five years old,” he says. “You try to leave them with their jaws dropping and thinking they couldn’t have gotten a better part.”

Mason says he often brings a whole arsenal of guitars to the studio. “If we don’t have the luxury of hearing the stuff before we get there, I’ll bring the whole kit and caboodle—20 to 30 different guitars—a couple Fender guitars: Stratocasters; some PRS guitars—a baritone; some Gibsons—a Les Paul, a 335. You may run into something where you want a hollow-body sound, so a Gretsch with a Bigsby. I’ll bring a Rickenbacker, a 12-string, and maybe a sitar.”

Mason says the industry has changed fundamentally in the years he’s done session work. “Moving from analog to digital has flipped it over sideways. Music is done a lot more expediently now. You don’t have to slave over it and play something just right. Give them a bunch of takes and they’ll put it together. It’s endless what you can do now by manipulating the music with software such as Pro Tools and Nuendo; you can even change the key of the song without changing the tempo.”

It also makes music more accessible, he continues, “Somebody can sit in their living room and play an amazing guitar solo, or write something, and the whole world can see it. The kid in the middle of Iowa can become a star, and rightly so. On the professional level, somebody can send me a track from London or Brazil, and I can play on it, and one of the top musicians in L.A. can be on it, then somebody from Cuba can be on it. We are all playing ‘together,’ but we didn’t ever look anybody in the face. While there are good things about that, I’m always looking for the human element of playing off each other.”

Another benefit is having more time to create the music. “I can take the time to do the best solo that I can do, while back in the old days, we only had like 15 or 30 minutes to get the solo and move on,” he says. “The drawback is that the music can be manipulated so much that somebody can ‘play god’ with it and it becomes fairly mechanical, stagnant, when you can hear the hard tuning.”

“I never thought music was about perfection. If you took Ray Charles and tuned him up, would that be Ray Charles anymore? Would that be soul music? How did The Beatles sound like they did? By not making it perfect; it was a time of invention,” he explains.

Though the industry has changed, and there may be less work, Mason says that the best way to become a Nashville session player remains the same. “Hang out; come into a session and watch. Be a good listener and learn how Nashville works. Be friendly and not arrogant. Find someone you can hang out with, but don’t be too aggressive. Be patient and persevere. Find out what equipment guys are using to get a certain sound, and learn all the tricks of the trade firsthand.”

Though Mason is far from retirement, he says that he feels secure enough with his AFM pension that he can relax and focus more on teaching and creating some of his own music. “I’m a pretty good example of what the union can do for a guy—taking the pressure off him as he gets older,” he adds.

It’s surprising that one of the most recorded guitarists of all time has only done a couple solo projects. His first album, Hot Wired (1997), was nominated for a Grammy. In 2006, he released the jazz and Western swing album Smokin’ Section with his brother Randy, also a member of Local 257. Mason will finally find time to begin work this fall on a second solo instrumental album.

Lately, he also enjoys sharing his knowledge with the next generation through teaching clinics. “I’m able to have a little more fun now, rather than working myself to death!” he says.

Legislative Update

Convention Delegates Renew Commitment to Legislative and Political Action

August 16, 2016 Alfonso Pollard

The 100th AFM Convention became the forum for our delegates to organize around legislative and political issues that impact the lives of professional musicians. Delegates to the Convention stepped up in very real, tangible ways, committed to support our goal to keep government focused on the honest treatment of musicians impacted by legislation and regulations that might be harmful, if not kept in check.

Not enough praise can be bestowed upon Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee. The congressman took time on Father’s Day, June 19, to travel to Las Vegas from Mississippi to engage the delegates. He addressed our ongoing immigration battle over delays in P-2 and O-1 visas, filling the delegates in on the work he and his staff are doing with the AFM Office of Government Relations to address this complex issue.

Prior to his appearance at the Convention gala, the congressman met with AFM President Ray Hair and AFM staff to lay the groundwork for congressional action. Thompson was true to his word about resolving this issue as evidenced by ongoing meetings with his congressional staff and exchanges with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administrators.

(L to R) AFM Legislative-Political Director and Diversity Director Alfonso Pollard, Congressman Bennie Thompson, and AFM President Ray Hair.

It should be noted that resolution of this matter will be “a process,” not a quick fix, as his staff establishes a path toward a permanent solution. In his comments to the delegates and to the congressman, AFM President Ray Hair noted, “The AFM has no greater champion on the issue of repairing the broken P-2 visa process than Congressman Bennie Thompson. My long-term relationship with him and my family over decades underscores the fact that he is a man of means and great integrity. Congressman Thompson is very knowledgeable about, and has a wonderful appreciation for, music and the arts, as well as a heart of gold as relates to the plight of professional musicians struggling to earn a living. We welcome a man of his stature and superlative character into our house and pledge to do all within our power to assist him in his endeavor toward a resolution of this difficult issue.”

A discussion also took place over the importance of locals getting behind HR 1733, the Fair Play Fair Pay Act. Convention delegates were treated to a remarkably lucid presentation by SoundExchange President and CEO Mike Huppe. An independent nonprofit collective management organization,
SoundExchange collects and distributes digital performance royalties to featured artists and copyright holders. Huppe was able to clearly outline the nexus between the importance of a solid royalty stream to artists and the passage of the act. HR 1733 will provide a permanent royalty stream for current day musicians whose sound recordings are performed on AM/FM radio, as well as provide copyright law protection for artists who performed on pre-1972 recordings.

On the political front, special appreciation goes out to the AFM convention delegates, all of whom showed exceptional leadership by joining the AFM Signature TEMPO Campaign. This vital leadership campaign was developed as a platform for AFM officers and members to more actively engage in our legislative-political work. Signature Members participate in group conference calls discussing long- and short-range plans to create a stronger national legislative political base throughout the union. In addition to participation on strategic calls, Signature Members receive special TEMPO marketing tools, along with a monthly copy of The Atlantic Magazine to share with members.

We also thank AFM International Representatives and AFM TEMPO Coordinator Sandra Grier in Washington, DC, for the work they do promoting this special campaign. Convention membership increased exponentially due to their diligent monthly promotion of the campaign. Again, this is not just a fundraising drive but a strategic effort to boost AFM member participation in government affairs.

This year, convention delegates participated in the first AFM TEMPO sweepstakes. It replaced the AFM Convention raffle, giving all participants a chance at winning the grand prize. Winner of the sweepstakes piano was Local 34-627 President Don (Warner) Warmbrodt. Congratulations, Don!

Five TEMPO Achievement Service Awards went to locals that meritoriously participated in TEMPO fundraising over a three-year period between the 2013 and 2016 conventions. AFM Local 257 (Nashville, TN), led by President Dave Pomeroy, had the fifth highest level of contributions. AFM Local 9-535 (Boston, MA), led by President Pat Hollenbeck, achieved the fourth highest level of contributions. Local 47, led by President John Acosta, achieved the third highest level of contributions. AFM Local 161-710 (Washington, DC), led by President Edgardo Malaga, achieved the second highest level of contributions. The highest award went to AFM Local 6 (San Francisco, CA), led by President David Schoenbrun. We congratulate the outstanding work of these locals as we work to find ways to successfully integrate all AFM Locals into the TEMPO program.

New USFWS Rules on African Elephant Ivory

On July 6, 2016, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) placed new rules in effect regarding the African elephant ivory ban that includes positive language for musical instruments. After more than a year, working in cooperation with our national ivory partners (League of American Orchestras, The Recording Academy, Chamber Music, American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers, National Association of Music Merchants, and Performing Arts Alliance) we finally accomplished regulatory language that provides a level of comfort for musicians who own musical instruments with de minimis amounts (200g or less) of banned African elephant ivory, particularly musicians who wish to buy, sell, or otherwise trade instruments with de minimis amounts of banned ivory. Helpful new guidance from USFWS in the form of frequently asked questions is found on the website: www.fws.gov/international/travel-and-trade/ivory-ban-questions-and-answers.html, appropriately titled, “What Can I Do with My Ivory.” A more extensive review of these new rules and the AFM’s ongoing efforts to “do no harm” to professional musicians in every musical genre will be posted in the September International Musician. For additional information contact Alfonso Pollard at apollard@afm.org.

Officer Columns

2016 Diversity Committee Report to the 100th AFM Convention

August 15, 2016 IM

by Lovie Smith-Wright, President of Local 65-699 and Diversity Committee Chair

Local 9-535 (Boston, MA) member Ashleigh Gordon (center) receives the Charles Walton Diversity Advocate Award from Diversity Committee Chair Lovie Smith-Wright.

The Diversity Committee had a full agenda at the 100th AFM Convention. Following is a summary of the committee’s activities.

As a follow-up from our 2013 convention, the first presentation of the Diversity Committee at the 100th AFM Convention was the Women’s Caucus, Monday evening, June 20. There were 28 delegates and guests present. The caucus lasted approximately 75 minutes.

Topics of discussion included interest in seeing a permanent subcommittee of the Diversity Committee to represent women. It would be tasked to come together in support of the union’s agenda on organizing, legislative-political work, and job actions. There was a desire to have a women’s caucus meet more often than every three years. It was noted that, since 2019 will be the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, perhaps a part of that AFM Convention might focus on womens’ contributions to the labor movement and society in general. Our gratitude goes out to Diversity Committee Member and Local 6 Secretary-Treasurer Beth Zare for organizing and chairing the meeting.

The next order of convention business for the Diversity Committee was the presentation of the 2016 Diversity Awards on Tuesday, June 21. The two awardees selected by a non-AFM committee of labor leaders were:

Ashleigh Gordon, recipient of the Charles Walton Diversity Advocate Award. Gordon is a member of Local 9-535 (Boston, MA). Congratulations to Gordon, Local 9-535 Pat President Hollenbeck, and members of the local.

Christian Vegh received the Charles McDaniel Youth Award. Vegh is a member of the AFM Local 566 (Windsor, ON). Congratulations to Vegh, Local 566 President Christopher Borshuk, and members of the local.

The committee met later to watch a Diversity Awards video produced by Assistant to the President and Director of AFM Freelance & Membership Development Paul Sharpe during the 2010 Convention. It includes statements from members of the 2010 Diversity Committee that provide insight for the newest members of the Diversity Committee. It also outlined the committee’s progress in an effort to create a bridge to where the AFM needs to go.

Local 566 (Windsor, ON) member Christian Vegh (right) receives the Charles McDaniel Youth Award from Diversity Committee Chair Lovie Smith-Wright, while AFM Legislative-Political and Diversity Director Alfonso Pollard (left) looks on.

Committee members expressed their desire to organize around important issues that will further the advancement of the Federation. In an effort to create a contemporary roadmap, each committee member was asked to express what was important to them concerning diversity, so that we would have all concerns and issues on the table for presentation to the development subcommittee and to the AFM International Executive Board.

The Diversity Committee was very active in the 100th AFM Convention. Of special note is that the group, not only met as a committee, but several members of the Diversity Committee also served on the Law, Finance, Organization & Legislation, and Small Locals committees.

I was appointed earlier this year by AFM President Ray Hair to serve on the 2017 Planning Committee for the AFL-CIO MLK Civil and Human Rights Conference, sponsored by the Civil, Human, and Women’s Rights Division of the AFL-CIO. I was also elected as an alternate delegate to the AFL-CIO Convention.

A Development Committee was created as a subcommittee of the Diversity Committee. It is made up of the AFM Director of Diversity plus two members from each of the following: the original Diversity Council; the 2003 Diversity Committee, which became the first standing committee of the AFM; and the newest members since the 2013 AFM Convention.

The Development Committee will plan how to work and implement the ideas and concerns that have been discussed. Its focus will be on engaging musicians of color in all AFM jurisdictions. They will use the Diversity mission statement and position papers as guides so that the Diversity Committee remembers why it was created.

Diversity Committee

Members of the AFM Diversity Committee are: Director of Diversity Alfonso Pollard; Chair, Local 65-699 President Lovie Smith-Wright; Local 105 (Spokane, WA) Vice President Tina Morrison; Local 586 (Phoenix, AZ) member Madelyn Roberts; Local 802 (New York City) member Miho Matsuno; Local 5 (Detroit, MI) Secretary-Treasurer Susan Barna Ayoub; Local 6 Secretary-Treasurer Beth Zare; Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) President John Acosta; Local 369 (Las Vegas, NV) Secretary-Treasurer Keith Nelson; Local 174-496 (New Orleans, LA) President “Deacon” John Moore; Local 56 (Grand Rapids, MI) member Bennie Keys; Local 424 (Richmond, CA) Secretary Mike Sasaki; and Local 161-710 (Washington, DC) member Otis Ducker.

Officer Columns, Secretary-Treasurer

What You Can Expect

August 9, 2016 IM

by Jay Blumenthal, AFM International Secretary-Treasurer

It is an honor and privilege to have been elected to serve as your AFM International Secretary-Treasurer. Over the years I have come to know many of you through my attendance at conventions, conferences, and various negotiations. In my new role as secretary-treasurer, I look forward to developing new relationships with those of you I do not know and building on my relationships with those of you I do know.

As director of the Symphonic Services Division, I have worked closely with AFM President Ray Hair and the members of the International Executive Board. Having attended IEB meetings over the past five years, I’ve gained a good deal of familiarity with the way the IEB operates and the kinds of issues that come before it. This will allow me to “hit the ground running” at the upcoming IEB meeting in September.

As many of you know, the position of Secretary-Treasurer is a hands-on, nuts and bolts job. Put another way, it’s the lubrication that keeps all the various parts of the Federation working smoothly. This takes attention to detail, a physical presence in the office, and a dedicated AFM staff. And I can share with you from my firsthand knowledge, we could not ask for a better staff. They love this union! Many have worked at the AFM for years. Twenty, 30, and even 40 years of service is not uncommon.

In fact, it was not long ago that one of our staff members retired after more than 56 years of service to the AFM. This longevity is a testament to our dedicated, experienced staff and creates value-added for the membership because each staff member performs their duties well and works with great efficiency.

So what can you expect from your new secretary-treasurer and what are some of my goals for the AFM?

When you call me, I will make every effort to be responsive to your question(s) in a timely fashion. Even though I have the benefit of 18 years of union experience (working as a Local 802 officer, executive board member, and Federation employee), I may not have an immediate answer for you. But if I don’t, I know where to find out and I’ll get back to you quickly.

When local officers have questions for the secretary-treasurer, often the answers they receive can have significant ramifications for their locals and the answer to a member’s question may well impact that member’s career. I take all these questions seriously.

AFM Finances

I have always been cognizant of the fact that every dollar we receive at the Federation is attributable in some way to the work performed by our members. Each dollar is important and needs to be spent in a way that improves the lives and protects the livelihoods of our members. Much has been accomplished during the last six years to improve the Federation’s financial condition. But expenses can get out of hand quickly, unless one maintains a constant vigilance. Allowing the Federation to slide back into tenuous financial territory will not be an option.

Continuing to “cash up” the Relocation Fund is a high priority. Growing this fund will eventually allow us to move forward with the purchase of office space rather than continued renting. We will carefully search for the right opportunity to own our office space.

So I look forward to working together with AFM President Hair, the IEB, local officers, and the entire membership in our effort to build an even stronger, unified, and more powerful Federation.

Officer Columns, President's Message

100th Convention: A Union that Is Stronger Together

August 3, 2016 Ray Hair

120 years after our founding Convention in October 1896 in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Federation convened its 100th Convention—a milestone for any union—June 20 in Las Vegas. With more than a century of advocacy and 100 conventions to its credit, the Federation’s enormous accomplishments for professional musicians, economically and politically, were celebrated not just by elected officials and delegates, but by our sister unions, dignitaries and guests. Continue reading →

Music Business, Traveling Musician

Protect Your Equipment: The Right Insurance Policy Makes a Difference

August 2, 2016 IM

by Marcus Paxton, Managing General Agent, Entertainment Division, Take1 Insurance

As a professional musician, you have most likely invested heavily in both your career and your instrument. Your equipment needs to keep you performing at a peak level every time you take the stage or enter the recording studio. As a result, you do everything possible to make you’re your instruments are protected and maintained. But, when it comes to insurance, many musicians simply assume that their standard homeowner’s policy is all that they need to protect their investment.

Put simply, musicians should take the time to ensure their equipment investments are protected against the unexpected. Fire, flood, or theft can impact your livelihood. Many musicians rely on standard homeowners coverage, when specialized business insurance is better suited to protect valuable instruments.

Homeowners insurance is designed to protect the home and its contents when used as a house. Many personal policies actually exclude coverage should a claim arise and there is a business exposure in the home (recording studio), or if the equipment is damaged in a paid performance. Home insurance companies will often agree to cover a music studio in the garage, when alerted in advance. However, the additional premium they charge may end up being more expensive than obtaining a specialized policy to cover the equipment.

Look for commercial insurance carriers with expertise in the entertainment industry to provide enhanced policies designed with the professional, traveling musician in mind. These carriers have a dedicated claims staff that understands the difference between a keyboard and a soundboard. Policies provided by such carriers can provide not only coverage of the cost associated with replacing the damaged or lost equipment, but also coverage of additional expenses such as expedited the delivery of the new instrument to a performer’s next venue, if the artist is out on tour.

Specialized entertainment insurance carriers can also evaluate your business for gaps in current coverage. Coverage from a homeowner’s policy often excludes claims arising from touring activity or even something as common as theft of equipment from an unattended auto. Insurance should be in place to safeguard artists when a third party is injured, or the property of others is damaged, as a result of a performance, or equipment failure. For example, equipment plugged into the venue’s power supply may start a fire, someone might trip over an artist’s electric cable, or a drumstick tossed into the crowd could injure a spectator. These are just a few examples of claims that can occur with touring entertainers—claims that might not be covered by a standard policy.

So, when it comes to protecting the artist and the artist’s equipment with insurance, take the time to review your current policy with an entertainment industry professional who understands the real world challenges that touring professional musicians face every time they take to the road and go on tour.

Marcus Paxton Marcus has more than 18 years of professional experience in the insurance industry with expertise in the area of entertainment industry insurance. If you have additional questions about obtaining insurance for your business you can contact him at: Marcus.Paxton@take1insurance.com

Executive Board Members, Officer Columns

When We Fight, We Win!

August 1, 2016 IM

by John Acosta, AFM IEB Member and President of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA)

It is with great humility and a renewed sense of purpose that I begin this message to you as a newly elected member of the AFM International Executive Board. I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to thank all of the delegates who supported my candidacy. I pledge to work on behalf of all locals, whether large or small, and all constituencies, be they symphonic or recording, freelance, or somewhere in between.

In thinking about what would be the proper message for my first IM communication to you, I asked myself, what are some of the biggest challenges facing our union today? The answer may vary from local to local, but the three issues that I believe are consistent across our Federation are: loss of membership, diminished and reduced employment opportunities, and apathy. The phenomenon we see throughout the Federation as our older musicians pass on, is not recruiting new members at the same pace as we lose our seniors. I see this trend at Local 47, even with ongoing programs to attract new members and efforts to bring new work under contract.

I am convinced that success in growing our union lies in organizing. We will only grow through internal and external organizing—building upon the ranks of existing members and organizing potential members. What does this mean? For me, it means working with our committees and rank-and-file leaders to strengthen bargaining units in order to fight the growth of nonunion work, whether in the recording realm, classical chamber music, or jazz gigs. Each negotiation is an opportunity to organize by bringing together the union and committees and working to identify the concerns of our members and formulate the best possible responses.

We see attacks in every sector of our industry. In regional orchestras, we see management chipping away at our employment by reducing orchestra size, displacing union members with students, or proposing major rollbacks at the bargaining table. It is essential to build a committed membership in order to fight the growth of nonunion work and fight back attempts to erode our agreements, local
and national.

Across our entire employment spectrum, musicians face wage and benefit theft through misclassification. Whether it’s being classified as an independent contractor—which denies our members their rights to unemployment compensation, social security benefits, and workers compensation—or being paid “off contract” for a recording that ends up being played far and wide, depriving musicians of new use payments and health and pension contributions, strong rank-and-file leadership is essential.

With strong committees and focused leadership, we will speak musician to musician about the type of legacy we wish to build today in order for AFM members, present and future, to earn a fair salary, feed their families, and put away a decent retirement. If we come together for this common purpose and fight for what we believe, we will win!

Member Profiles

While Firmly Entrenched in the Phoenix Music Scene, Joe Costello Still Longs for the Road

July 1, 2016 IM

Joe Costello of Local 586 (Phoenix, AZ) put his promising music career as a drummer on hold nearly 25 years ago. At the time, the now 54-year-old musician says, “I thought I would save money and stash it. Being in the corporate world would support my music.” He became a weekend warrior, touring with a blues band, often doing shows in three states over three days, and returning late Sunday to begin a normal workweek.

Eventually, Costello started his own software company. It was the 1980s, at the beginning of the dot com era, and Costello says, “I thought something magical would happen. I’d buy a tour bus and tour the world.” In 2004, he moved from New York City to Phoenix. It would take him another seven years to shed the software, networking, and home automation jobs and return to music.

He pared down his belongings and anything that required a monthly payment. “It meant being lean and mean,” he says. To his astonishment, something remarkable did happen. The moment he let his business life go, music work started coming in.

Indeed, the projects now seem inexhaustible. He plays four to six nights a week (including the union hall of Local 586), and leads three working bands. He also presides over the jazz ensemble The Joe Costello Project. He heads a highly successful booking agency, Onstage Entertainment Group; teaches private drum lessons; produces shows; and as a session drummer, he records percussion tracks for a number of in-town and touring artists.

In May, Costello launched his most ambitious effort yet, The Performers Institute. The Phoenix-based facility offers summer music camps, private lessons, band coaching, music business seminars, clinics, workshops, and online courses. Costello says he wants to help artists make a living with their talent and passion for playing music, but also teach them entrepreneurial skills.

“If more musicians were educated on the business side of being a performer, they could better sustain themselves and make a living at what they love to do,” says Costello.

In business clinics he tells young musicians, “Don’t do what I did. You’ve got to go for exactly what you want. Meet it head-on.” He emphasizes that it takes more than talent. It takes learning to communicate and learning about music as an industry. He eagerly imparts what experience has taught him: develop business acumen, PR, and marketing skills, and above all, have integrity. Costello adds, “Make sure you answer your phone. Get back to people.”

Instructors and teachers at the institute are professional musicians. Costello explains that the kids absorb on-the-job lessons from people in the trenches. His goal is to bring in top-notch musicians, but also draw on professionals and experts in the field. For instance, entertainment attorneys who could explain contracts and clarify copyright for songwriters, and accountants could help independent artists with tax issues.

He wants the institute to be a destination for professional musicians making their way along the Phoenix-to-LA corridor to do seminars, workshops, and concerts. According to Costello, more musicians are relocating to Phoenix for the weather or its proximity to Los Angeles, a mere six-hour drive. Some performers cut their teeth in LA, but get tired of the rat race and move to Phoenix.

His hope is that the Performers Institute becomes an institution on par with the Musicians Institute of Los Angeles, which was similarly conceived as an innovative education facility for creative and professional careers in the music industry. People in the community know Costello is funding the institute with his own money—on a musician’s income—and they have rallied, volunteering and donating equipment, food, furniture, keyboards, and drums.

There is a particular camaraderie in the Phoenix music scene and the union is well-represented with a number of transplanted musicians. Costello holds what he calls a “musicians’ hang,” essentially a networking event where musicians show up with business cards—and a sense of what they want to accomplish in their careers. Costello feels strongly that it’s important to bring the music community together: those who want to play for fun and those who need the work. The hang helps to fast-track connections
for people. He says, “It gets things moving in the community.”

Costello grew up in Port Ewen, New York, just south of Kingston. His father owned a restaurant that was a hot spot for music. He sat in and listened to a lot of bands and learned to play the sax. But his idol was Buddy Rich, the drummer. When his parents took him to a show, he would walk out shaking. Although he played drums in high school, he entered Fredonia School of Music as a vocal major—an operatic singer. Gradually, he moved into radio, sound recording, and performance and proved to be a natural drummer for the school’s jazz ensemble.

After graduation, in between odd jobs, he performed with a quartet. Some of the musicians he played with were in Harry Connick, Jr.’s band and periodically Connick of Local 802 (New York City) would sit in and play.

Ideally, Costello says he’d model his career on that of his friend, the versatile session drummer Steve Gadd of Local 802. As a studio musician, Costello is well versed in jazz, funk, R&B, and country music. For all his accomplishments—cultivating the Costello brand and building a center for contemporary music, to say nothing of endorsements from cymbal, stick, and drum companies—you would think Costello would be content and too busy to think of anything else. Still, he has not strayed from his original dream. He still longs to tour the world.

“It’s vast,” he says, “I want to see every part of it. If I can do it, and if I can make a living, that’s my ultimate dream.” He has a core team in place at the institute and ample support from the community. One day, he hopes to have a stream of income that allows him to leave it behind for a while to just travel and play music.