Music piracy, as we all know, is the sole reason for the downfall of the Big Label Music Industry™, right? Those damn kids with the BitTorrents and the WiFi’s, P2Peeing all over my lawn like they own the place. They don’t value music at all anymore, so musicians will have to earn their living selling shirts or with a side job. Right?

Bullshit.

My industry, like many right now, suffers from one major source of adversity: De-humanization. For twenty to forty years “stars” had been bred as an image of an elite icon, something above the rest of us. Rock stars are whisked away after the gig into a locked bunker where only the VIP’s are let in. Rap stars drive Bentleys made of solid gold, at least according to all of their videos. Country stars are driven to the Nipper’s Corner Starbucks in a Hummer limousine, yet are expected to sing the ballad of the blue-collar working man.

When the peak of “legitimacy” in your industry is to become an icon so far removed from reality, you rob the entire process of its humanity.

It’s something like the tale of Icarus from Greek mythology. The larger-than-life images are like wax wings, taking the industry higher as the fantasy appeals to the buying public. Soon thereafter, the perception of music itself changes: Regular human beings don’t make this stuff, rock stars do. There’s no emotional or personal connection with the human being that made that album on that torrent site, so it’s much easier to download it without feeling guilty. The human being simply isn’t perceived as a part of the process anymore.

The wax wings just took the industry so high that they melted under the heat of reality.

At the heart of all creations- music, textiles, cars, websites -there is a human being burning calories and sweating to make it happen. There always has been. We don’t value music or toasters or plumbing nearly as much as we value each other. This new world of new media has made it so much easier for fans to connect with the artists they love. Maybe we can still be larger than life, just not so far above it that our own hubris brings us down again.

The only thing that will save the music industry- and any industry, to be honest -is a focus on re-humanization. Less of the factory-farmed processes and more of a real, personal “I made this” approach. Everyone loves a fantasy, but as any geek living in their mother’s basement can attest, eventually you must connect with other human beings as a human being.

People, at least in this life, are more valuable than anything else.

More concert footage from Atlanta earlier this year, one of my personal favorites to play. This one was actually written for an Atlanta-area fan who was part of my first Entourage. Matthew Ebel dot net All-Access and higher members can actually download the full-quality versions as they come out.

The audio was graciously engineered by Keith Lesinski (same guy that made us sound awesome at the live event), the video was shot and edited by Aaron Zschau.

What made you a Matthew Ebel fan? (Assuming you are one. If not, grab some free songs and tell me what you think.) It’s not always easy to quantify, but I’d like you to try. It may not even be my music that brought you here.

I know what made me a Ben Folds fan- His ability to produce amazing sounds with only a few instruments just seemed brilliant. Even the album he made for Shatner sounded great.

I know what made me a Henry Rollins fan- NOT his music. Seriously. His spoken word stuff is amazing; it should all be called “Tales of a Man Who Abhors Bullshit.”

I know what made me an Amanda Palmer fan- Her ability to parlay mediocre label support into a self-sustaining music career is inspiring for those of us trying to skip the label step entirely. She’s anything but Top 40 material and yet has a following that just won’t quit.

So what made you a fan of ME? What is it about me or my music that made you support me?

I’ve discovered that there are two factors that motivate The Powers That Be (otherwise known as the Us from my Manifesto): Eyeballs and Influence. You, my awesome fans, matter only insomuch as either how many of you are out there or how much you’ll do when I ask you. You’re either a valuable demographic or an eager volunteer.

If you want me to become famous and tour the planet, you need to help me prove myself to the Big Industry Players. At least, that’s the way they want it to work. If you ever want to see me on a big stage with sparklers and moving lights, I have to show The Powers That Be that I can mobilize you like… well, like a Robot Army.

Would you do that for me? If I asked you not just to share my music but to get five or ten of your friends to join my mailing list, would you make it your mission? If I book a show 50 miles from your house, would you pack the car with friends and road-trip out to the concert? Those are the kinds of things The Powers That Be want to see; I must be able to command you like the President deploying the 101st.

Fuck that.

Again, as I said in my Manifesto, you are not just a listener drone. I don’t empower you, You empower me. I am neither your commander-in-chief nor your boss nor your mom. All I’ve done to deserve your support is show You support when you use your voice.

Do I need more fans? Of course I do. Would “being noticed” by the Big Industry Players help me get on stage in your town? Very likely. I won’t pretend that an active crowd of Matthew Ebel fans wouldn’t propel me into a new echelon of rock stardom. I’m just not going to pretend I’m your leader, even if I call myself General Ebel from time to time.

If you need a mission, there are always a few over at www.matthewebel.com/help. But I’m proud to say that my fans are not mindless followers. You are creative, you are proactive, and you mobilize me.

All I ask is that you influence others as much as you’ve influenced this lone piano-rocker.

I am not a revolutionary. I am only a Voice, just like you.

I did not begin as a Voice, I began as a listener. Like many music fans I spent my childhood plugged into radios, tapes, even an old 8-track. I listened to the music that was given to me by those who controlled me: Parents, teachers, preachers, radio stations, and record labels. Back then I thought I had no choice.

I became a pianist because, even at age five, I wanted to become more than just a listener. For twenty years, however, I learned to listen and repeat. Bach, Mozart, Rachmaninov- they were all Voices, not listeners. I learned to mimic them for two decades or more, learning how to be a better Voice, if I ever became one.

Meanwhile those with power used their Voices every day. The message remained consistent: Practice well and someday one of Us will let you be a Voice. One of Us will anoint you and make you famous. Us chooses who climbs the charts because we make both the Voices and the charts they climb. You can become one of those Voices eventually, but first you must please Us.

I’ve never been good at pleasing Us.

I listened as best I could to my teachers and professors, earning a degree that made me a Better Musician™. Still, I was not a Voice. I worked for a record label that made the music I listened to, but still I was not a Voice. I played with some of those who had been anointed by the record labels in venues anointed by the Us of the media. Still, I was not a voice. I thought I’d done everything I was supposed to, just as Us had been telling me since I was five.

Then, in 2005, I met You.

You, like me, were taught that you were not a Voice unless Us decided you were. You listened and listened until finally You grew tired of the Voices that Us fed you. Like me, You saw technology as a way to reach more of You. Like me, You no longer wanted to wait for Us to make you happy. You learned that You were everywhere.

I did not find You, You found me. You anointed me because You made yourself into a Voice. You created podcasts and internet radio shows, You invited me to become a Voice along with You. You lived in virtual worlds when the world of Us did not suit you. Us taught me to understand and mimic the Voices, but You finally made me one.

Now Us is not pleased. Fewer of You listen to their Voices, but still Us fights to maintain control of You. Us will tell you that the Voices you choose- even your own -are the “Cult of the Amateur“. Us will tell you that only through their Voices will anyone else listen. A band is “just an indie” until Us makes them “legit” or “famous“. A show is “just a podcast” until Us broadcasts it with an hour of advertisements to weigh it down. An idea is “just a blog post” until Us prints it on dead trees.

Us wants you to listen quietly, but no one can stop a Voice. Us needs You.

We cannot destroy Us- we must not. Us is our past and our foundation. Like King David, Us is an example of both good and evil. We must learn from Us even as we free ourselves from its control. We do not fight to silence any Voice, we create them. We transform listeners into new Voices even as we teach old Voices how to listen.

Us taught me to listen, You made me a Voice. We must not stop fighting until all become listeners and Voices.

After many requests for older, archived live recordings, I’ve succumbed to peer pressure and made them all available at the Matthew Ebel Store. If you missed your chance to get that recording from that convention show or that house concert, now you can find it!

All of the recordings are exactly as they were released to the Matthew Ebel dot net subscribers. Seriously, I just copied the files on the server and put them in the store, so you’ll be getting the same downloads that my members got when the concerts were first released.

Of course, I have to mention that you can get all of these recordings as they come out for as little as $5 a month, and all Matthew Ebel dot net members get a discount on Matthew Ebel Store items. So if you want to grab some of these live recordings and get all the new ones at an extreme discount, go grab a membership at Matthew Ebel dot net