Why It Matters

You’re a music fan, right?  Would you jump at the chance to get an autograph?  How about rare live tracks or even rarer memorabilia?  Shoot, why stop there — what about your own personal concert, or a shot at being an executive producer?  Sounds crazy, I know, but I’m going to tell you how.

Living Colour’s Corey Glover is working on a follow-up to 1998’s Hymns, and you can get in on it.  Talk about DIY — he’s raising the funds himself to finish this thing, and he is reaching out directly to his fans to do so.  I love this idea.  For me it’s about the opportunity to contribute — to be able to proudly say “I was a part of this record.”

So sure, there is the joy of becoming a patron of the arts and the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve paid back some of my karmic debt to Corey for almost twenty-five years’ worth of music stitched into my personal soundtrack.  But who am I kidding?  I’m in it for the goodies, too, in my case a handwritten copy of the lyrics to “Cult Of Personality.”   How cool is that?  I helped Corey Glover finish an album and I have my own little piece of music history.

What’s really amazing is that there’s something for everybody.  For $15 you can get an autographed copy of the new album; for forty bucks you can get a set of live downloads that are out-freaking-standing.  It’s an insane amount of music.  And up and up we go from there, the merch getting better as the donations get bigger.  The whole idea is just so cool.

Music matters a lot to me.  The best and worst moments of my life are scored by artists like Corey.  I still remember throwing Vivid on the stereo for the first time and being blown away.  I was there, front row at the L.A. Coliseum when Living Colour opened for Guns N’ Roses and The Rolling Stones.  “Nothingness” from 1993’s Stain kept me company during the near suicidal depression that eventually ran me out of Los Angeles. And just a couple of years ago I reconnected with my L.A. roomie at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco for a Living Colour / Fishbone show and lots of good memories.   Now that I spell it out, I feel bad about only contributing fifty bucks to the cause.

So that’s a quick peek at why Corey’s music matters to me.  But why does it matter to him?  I asked him via email:

It matters cuz it’s about a conversation between me and the people who listen. Really it’s us listening to each other.

It matters cuz  I’m not trying to sell a million records. That’s not what’s important.

It matters cuz music matters. It’s how we express ourselves. It’s better than speaking in some cases.

It matters cuz it works.

Yes indeed.  Go say thanks for the music, become a patron, and get some goodies that are a hell of a lot cooler than a PBS tote bag:  http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/coreyglovermusic

One last thing – For every new subscriber to “Why It Matters” I will up my donation to Corey’s project. Simply click the “follow” or subscription links.