LiveWorld Transcripts

garageband.com presents

Dave Jerden
Outside the Mainstream

December 13, 2000

Jane's Addiction, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Social Distortion… if these names mean anything to you, then so will the name Dave Jerden. Dave produced these original, groundbreaking bands and shares his expert opinion on the music that's outside the mainstream. Dave has advice for bands and artists that want to know how to remain true to their own ideas.

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Garageband: Welcome to the Dave Jerden live chat event with garageband.com. Dave, throughout his career as a producer and an engineer, has specialized in a no b.s. approach to music production. His ideas have drawn some of the most influential bands of our time to his consoles and expertise. Dave has produced for Jane's Addiction, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Social Distortion, to name a few. But today, he is here to discuss music with you, so send in your questions, and chat with Dave. Welcome to the chat, Dave!

Dave Jerden: Hello everybody, I'm sitting here in Burbank, with my dog Captain, and my other dog Frank, and hopefully I can answer your questions for you. And if I can't, maybe my dogs can! They probably have a better memory than I do. So let's get going!

Lolla: Do you feel like there are artists currently putting music out that even come close to the originality of music released by Jane's Addiction and Alice in Chains?

Dave Jerden: Certainly not as Jane's Addiction. I don't hear anything, I think back on what I do hear is a lot of copying--I won't say rip off. Rock and roll music has always been very incestuous, but I don't hear of anything that excites me. What I am now listening to, however, is Macy Gray, who I think is fabulous.

Jim Zero: What is your take on the state of popular (radio friendly) music today?

Dave Jerden: Well, I don't even listen to it. The station I normally listen to is KROQ in Los Angeles. I find radio in Europe a lot more interesting. It's more like in the late '60s, early '70s, in Los Angeles, it's more freeform. You can be on any station, anywhere in the United States, and the radio sounds the same, except for maybe college radio, which I think is an important forum.

Juke88: In the greater scheme of the music industry today, is it really feasible for an artist to do all of his or her own production, and market the product on the web?

Dave Jerden: Yes, of course. However, the problem for me as I see it, is that there is no winnowing out process, per se. However, with Internet sites such as garageband.com, there is an opportunity to weed out the good from the bad. And what is especially exciting about it for me is that the audience participates, more than let's say the promotion man's money. I think taking it all into consideration, when talking about yesterday as versus today, making it in the music business for an artist or band, was always difficult. It is difficult, and it will always be difficult, but I do believe people with real talent and that do have something to say can, and usually do, find an audience. I find my experience through the years, that there is a big misnomer about a lot of unsigned bright talent that is being overlooked by the music industry. The music industry, fortunately or unfortunately, wants to make money, and if they find a gold mine, they'll milk it to death. In fact, one of the problems I see today in music is they will sign anything, hoping to make a buck.

Jim Zero: With the record industry always trying to force a "next big thing", do you think it is possible for a "ground-breaking" band or style of music to ever reach the mainstream again?

Dave Jerden: It's hard for a band that is working a very specialized form of music, all by themselves, to break through--unless they are part of a "scene" that's happening, let's say in Cleveland, Los Angeles, or wherever. Again, record companies want to make money and if they see any kind of a trend anywhere going on they will be there with the bucks and a lot of crap can get signed in that process. Record companies use a term called "heat seekers". When I was working at Atlantic Records, at the A&R meetings, over and over again, the term "heat seekers" was used. Obviously, it sucks.

Drum Composer: What were some of the best drummers that you worked with, and why were some better than others?

Dave Jerden: What comes to mind immediately is Steve Perkins, Matt Sorum, Yogi Horton, who is deceased. I've worked with a lot of great drummers, and I've probably seen, in the last ten years anyway, that the level of drumming expertise has really come up. In the early days, and I'm talking the '70s, I worked with some really bad drummers. Who had the haircut, and the style, but they had no talent. Today it seems that you have to have talent, and the haircut obviously doesn't matter as much.

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