Now is the right time to become an American Federation of Musicians member. From ragtime to rap, from the early phonograph to today's digital recordings, the AFM has been there for its members. And now there are more benefits available to AFM members than ever before, including a multi-million dollar pension fund, excellent contract protection, instrument and travelers insurance, work referral programs and access to licensed booking agents to keep you working.
As an AFM member, you are part of a membership of more than 80,000 musicians. Experience has proven that collective activity on behalf of individuals with similar interests is the most effective way to achieve a goal. The AFM can negotiate agreements and administer contracts, procure valuable benefits and achieve legislative goals. A single musician has no such power.
The AFM has a proud history of managing change rather than being victimized by it. We find strength in adversity, and when the going gets tough, we get creative - all on your behalf.
Like the industry, the AFM is also changing and evolving, and its policies and programs will move in new directions dictated by its members. As a member, you will determine these directions through your interest and involvement. Your membership card will be your key to participation in governing your union, keeping it responsive to your needs and enabling it to serve you better. To become a member now, visit www.afm.org/join.
Fender’s new Brad Paisley Signature Esquire guitar was made in collaboration with the Grammy winning artist, a member of Local 257 (Nashville, TN). The guitar takes the elements that have made the Esquire a staple and provides subtle upgrades, including a Seymour Duncan Brad Paisley Signature “Secret Agent” neck pickup hidden under a pickguard adorned in a custom paisley pattern—keeping the image of the instrument intact while delivering a robust palette of sounds.
In his debut album, Pianist Elliott McClain of Local 257 (Nashville, TN) honors the traditional country songs for which his hometown of Nashville is known. “You Don’t Know Me” is a nod to Ray Charles’ cover and is influenced by the piano stylings of jazz great Gene Harris. Perhaps his favorite performance on the album is “Faint of Heart,” a song by Vince Gill (Local 257). Other tracks cover songs popularized by Willie Nelson of Local 433 (Austin, TX), Dwight Yoakam of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA), Paul Simon, Johnny Cash, and Glen Campbell.
McClain is known for his improvisational skills and expressive playing style. Blind since birth, Elliott began playing the piano at the age of four and was influenced by radio and his uncle’s record collection. He was especially drawn to live radio programming and recordings of live performances. Jazz and blues deeply inform his compositions and interpretations.
Seven albums into his career, Riser was a defining album for 14-time Grammy nominated country singer/songwriter, restauranteur, and philanthropist Dierks Bentley, of Local 257 (Nashville, TN). The album’s blend of down-home party music and introspective ballads resulted in one of the most personal of his career, garnering rave reviews, critical accolades and chart-topping success.
To commemorate the fifth anniversary of Riser, Capitol Nashville/UMe will release it on vinyl for the first time on January 31, 2020. The record will be available on standard black vinyl as well as on limited edition translucent orange vinyl, exclusively available via uDiscover and UMG Nashville’s web stores.
Embraced by Bentley’s fans as well as country radio, Riser topped the Billboard Country Albums chart and marked his fifth career debut in the top spot and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Album.
Author Martin Popoff examines the music of Led Zeppelin as a complex amalgam of blues, rock, folk, and country. He details each of the group’s 81 studio tracks—how and why they were created and the historical context, as well as the recording process. Sidebars detail personnel and instrumentation for each album. The book contains many rare performance and offstage photographs, along with memorabilia.
Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs, by Martin Popoff,
Voyageur Press, www.quartoknows.com.
A celebration of women in country, Americana, and bluegrass music, Woman Walk the Line is a collection of deeply personal essays from some of America’s most intriguing women writers. From Maybelle Carter to Dolly Parton of Local 257 (Nashville, TN), k.d. lang of Local 145 (Vancouver, BC) to Taylor Swift of Local 257 to Rosanne Cash of Local 802 (New York City), Woman Walk the Line speaks to the ways in which artists mark their lives at different ages and in various states of grace and imperfection—and ultimately how music transforms, not just the person making it, but also the listener.
On September 29, Dolly Parton of Local 257 (Nashville, TN) releases her first children’s album, I Believe in You. Proceeds from the album will go to the Imagination Library, which provides monthly, new, age-appropriate books to children in four countries. Founded 20 years ago in Parton’s hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee, the organization has served more than one million kids. The most honored female country performer of all time, Parton has been a member of the union for 50 years this December.
