{"id":12086,"date":"2006-08-17T12:00:36","date_gmt":"2006-08-17T17:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=12086"},"modified":"2026-01-21T19:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T01:19:10","slug":"the-modern-day-musician-part-1-reason-and-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/the-modern-day-musician-part-1-reason-and-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"The Modern-Day Musician – Part 1: Reason and Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"ColumnHeaderBillPerryJr-COLOR\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It seems that everywhere you look, musicians are either conforming to the sounds of today, or trying to break down barriers to establish a \u201cnew sound\u201d amidst all the decadence we call music today.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not to say there\u2019s not a great variety of good music today, which of course is a matter of taste and preference, but when you look at the state of popular music in this new millennium, the 21st century, it makes you wonder if this music now will be remembered and revered like Jazz, Blues, Rock, Country, and Hip-Hop were in the previous century.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can we begin to compare, say, Tupac Shakur <\/b>to Miles Davis<\/b>? Will people speak of Tupac 50 years from now like we speak of him today? Will we discuss his body of work with the same reverence and respect we approach Miles\u2019 work? Well, considering that there are college courses that teach about Tupac\u2019s music and his life, I believe he will be remembered in such a fashion\u2026 but only time will truly tell!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can we see traces of Billie Holliday <\/b>in Erykah Badu <\/b>or Jill Scott<\/b>? Can our modern-day icons hold up to these legendary figures of music? I guess this is a matter of opinion and who you ask, but is there truly any \u201creal\u201d breakthroughs happening in music today, like when Be-Bop took over the Jazz scene in the 40\u2019s and 50\u2019s, or when Jimi Hendrix <\/b>changed the way guitarists would approach that instrument after his avant-garde style? Well, if you\u2019re an optimist like me, you would like to believe that there is indeed a \u201cnew movement\u201d emerging in the shadows of clubs and home studios throughout the world, especially with the internet in existence, which creates the widest musical variety humans have ever known\u2026and it\u2019s steadily expanding!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was having a casual conversation one evening with Dennis Herring<\/b>, owner of the Sweet Tea <\/b>studio and record label in Oxford, Miss., and I was rambling on about if we\u2019ll ever see another major breakthrough in music anytime soon, considering everyone seems to sound alike in a lot of ways, and he said that there\u2019s probably some kid somewhere in his or her room, rockin\u2019 out to themselves creating in private what will be as significant a change in music as Charlie Parker <\/b>or Jimi Hendrix were in their lifetimes. I liked Herring\u2019s optimism about the whole thing, and his faith in musicians and their capabilities to expand and transcend beyond \u201cthe norm\u201d and the ability to create something new\u2026 evolution is a fact in all things!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"MilesDavis\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Getting back to the issue of popular music, during the times of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart <\/b>and Ludwig van Beethoven<\/b>, their music was considered very popular, in the mainstream sense of the word, but their music was also profound and very influential for future generations to grow from.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can we truly grow from say, the lyrics of \u201cYeah\u201d by Usher<\/b>? Alright ladies, don\u2019t hate me for that\u2026I dig some of Usher\u2019s music. And not to say every song should hold within it some deep and profound message or statement buried in the music, but is it wrong to ask for a little substance from our artists?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By now I\u2019m probably coming across sounding like a \u201cpurist\u201d like Pulitzer Prize winning Jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis <\/b>is accused of being because of his views on keeping Jazz music \u201creal,\u201d but I\u2019m trying to stress the importance of remembering the fact that music IS art first and foremost, and before you embark on any musical endeavors, you should always remember to maintain respect and humility for music\u2026 it\u2019s the only way you can grow as an artist.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Music is Divine! And as for the musicians who the public entrust to produce new and enlightening music, they must realize the importance in always trying to reach beyond oneself artistically, so they can produce something new. And the only way to do that is to look deep within you, as well as going against the \u201cnorm\u201d and going through, not around, the conventional, orthodox styles of today. In other words, we need a new musical revolution!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As my father Bill \u201cHowl-N-Madd\u201d Perry Sr. <\/b>puts it, music has the power to change the world around it, even during turbulent times. Bob Marley<\/b>\u2019s music got two opposing movements in his home country of Jamaica to join forces at one of his live concerts\u2026 and these two sides were killing each other at the time. But Marley\u2019s music and positive outlook on humanity that rang through in his music inspired these feuding parties to lay down their differences, if for just one moment in time, to come together for this event.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power of music indeed!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yes, there are those of us who see themselves as \u201cthe new movement\u201d in music today, however pretentious and bold that may sound.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most artists in all genres of music see themselves as innovators, but frankly, you can still hear the \u201cstylistic sameness\u201d in every style of music that exists today, from Hip-Hop, Rock, and Jazz, to the \u201cnew schools\u201d of music like Jungle, Techno, and Drum & Bass (*DnB), which the DJs of the world have claimed as their own \u201cmusical movement\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I struggle myself with trying to produce something new\u2026 it is an incredible task for all musicians to pursue. But if we don\u2019t try to look a little deeper into our sound, then we are forced to continue down the same paths that have already been traveled, and in turn become a generation of imitators.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when I play jazz piano at any given event, I try to first \u201cspeak the language\u201d of jazz musically to the best of my ability to establish a certain vibe, then I begin to search for a way to express Jazz piano from a \u201cGeneration X\u201d perspective, while still maintaining the colors of Jazz.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And getting back to the DJs, I know and work with some DJs and I must say, they do seem to have a grasp on the idea of \u201cexpanding their musical frontiers\u201d beyond the popular mainstream, or what you\u2019re \u201ctold to like\u201d in a sense.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like an Ivan Pavlov experiment, where the media conditions the public to \u201csalivate\u201d to a certain sound and accept it as \u201ccool\u201d or the \u201cit\u201d sound of the moment. That\u2019s all fine and dandy if you\u2019re just looking for \u201cthe hits\u201d, which is your average consumer and listener, but for the musician it should be a deeper mission involved with the creative process. Also I believe a lot of musicians who do have great new ideas and concepts about music are either apprehensive or afraid to test these ideas out on a public who can be harsh, and even cruel, when it comes to establishing a new sound or idea that\u2019s not already in the mainstream, or if you deviate from a style you\u2019re known for to experiment with other ideas (i.e. Bob Dylan and Miles Davis going \u201celectric\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So are we to say that the mainstream media (MTV, VH1, etc) are to blame for this \u201cdisintegration\u201d of the music scene? I have mixed feelings about this question\u2026 the reasons being that in the end, people make up their own minds on what they want to hear, and also it\u2019s up to the artists who owe it to themselves and the public to be more than just the \u201csame ol\u2019 deal\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another big problem that modern musicians have about secular or popular music is that they don\u2019t want to \u201csell out\u201d to the mainstream because it will \u201cdamage their art\u201d in doing so. That can be true, if you\u2019re not looking out for your art and its \u201cintegrity\u201d. But other than that, it\u2019s not a very strong argument, but rather a fear of succeeding in the mainstream world of the music industry. This to me is a narrow-minded argument because those of us who are actually living the \u201cstarving artist\u201d role are trying hard to make music our careers, and should therefore try to reach as many people in the world as possible. And in all honesty, to reach such a broad audience, you need the \u201cevil empire\u201d of mainstream media to expand your fan base\u2026unless you\u2019re content with playing clubs and small venues for the rest of your life\u2026 and for some musicians, that\u2019s enough\u2026. or at least they \u201cput up a front\u201d that they\u2019re content.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And also for some musicians, positioning themselves for \u201cbig time\u201d stardom creates a paradox in their minds because of the uncertainty of what\u2019s to come once they\u2019ve made it, and this also creates a conflict of interest with wanting to succeed in the music industry. Becoming successful, however, does not legitimize your plight in becoming a \u201ctrue musician\u201d per se, but becoming successful in music enables you to inspire and entertain people beyond your own means of promoting your music to the masses.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And to be blunt, if you\u2019re \u201cfinancially handicapped\u201d (P.C. for \u201cpoor\u201d\u2026lol), you need to have some capital to build upon, enabling you to pursue your musical endeavors with more financial security for your efforts in promoting your sound to the world; your musical aspirations are only limited to your imagination.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, if you truly desire to make music your life and a way of expressing yourself and your ideas, try to look for the Divinity in music. What do I mean, you ask? Well, try to aspire for those rare moments when the music you hear around you takes you to that \u201cother-worldly\u201d place that only music can take you; when everything is \u201cin the pocket\u201d and the music is going smoothly. You can achieve this state of musical nirvana through performing music with pure passion as well as listening to music for its essence and how it makes you feel, rather than listening to a song simply because it\u2019s a \u201chit\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember when you were a kid and it didn\u2019t matter what you listened to, as long as it made you feel good you dug it? That\u2019s the innocence I\u2019m asking you to \u201cchannel\u201d\u2026.humble yourself before music like a child. Try to listen to music with your soul and your heart, as well as your ears, which many musicians tend to forget once they begin performing and recording music on a regular basis\u2026.even I have \u201clost touch\u201d with that innocence at many stages of my musical development\u2026every musician is susceptible to forgetting the essence of music.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must all stay in the practice of maintaining humility in the presence of the divine entity, which is music! We must try to create with more substance and depth if we are to grow from our current creative stagnation in modern music. I\u2019m trying to do my part by staying productive and maintaining love and respect for the art of sound. We must become \u201cone with music\u201d, and in turn we become one with the universe through sound.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allow the Creator of the Universe to enter your soul through music, releasing sounds and visions within you that were once hidden from you.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in closing my fellow musicians try to maintain a real sense of reason and purpose with your music. Music is only misunderstood to those who do not comprehend its true intent, which is to entertain, inspire, uplift, enlighten, and in its purest form, to simply be sound! I leave you with this quote I came across when I was reading the Autobiography of Miles Davis by Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe, \u201cA musician\u2019s attitude is the music he plays\u201d. I bid you adieu fellow artists.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally printed in The Local Voice<\/em> #9 (published August 17, 2006).<\/strong><\/span>
To access the digital edition PDF of <\/em>The Local Voice #9<\/em><\/strong>, <\/em>click here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLICK HERE to read The Modern-Day Musician Part Two: The Color of Sound<\/a>.<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems that everywhere you look, musicians are either conforming to the sounds of today, or trying to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":243,"featured_media":12091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[33569,271,5,4],"class_list":["post-12086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creative-writing","tag-33569","tag-bill-perry-jr","tag-mississippi","tag-oxford"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/ModernDayMusician_Feat_part1.jpg?fit=620%2C349&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/243"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12086"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155163,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12086\/revisions\/155163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}