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AV: In 10 words or less, if you were to do a "state of the
music address" as it applies to Corte Madera, what would it be?
LB: There is more great music than ever, crossing all imaginary boundaries.
AV: Recently, you restructured and revamped (revitalized?) Backroads Music. What
did you do and how has it helped? I recall reading on a news group that you
were trying to preserve your "beloved business." It seems that you
have done so. What's next for Lloyd Barde and Backroads?
LB: The change that occurred three years ago was a veritable leap of faith, but the
outcome has been surprisingly not much different at all than the prior
"version". I announced "closing the warehouse" -- which was
literal -- and gave up 1000 feet of space, lowering the overhead by
"twenty feet" and considerable dollars. The office I now work in is
the same office I have occupied for the past 15 years, in the same building
that has been the Backroads location since 1985. The leap of faith was the
uncertainty that I would choose to continue after scaling down. And while I had
designs on growing with active partners and a new model of outreach and tech
capabilities, the fact is that I got smaller in some respects, but grew the
music selection listings and the ability to present the music in an easier and
more efficient, user-friendly fashion. Our budget does not allow for frequent
large catalog mailings, but we gladly send printed catalogs and/or email
newsletters to anyone who asks. And our catalog is now downloadable on our web
site (www.backroadsmusic.com
) where over 1000 reviews can easily be found. In
addition there are Owner's Picks that are updated monthly and appear on the
Ambient Visions site, Best of the Year listings and much more.
AV: We live in an insane and exciting time. It is extremely frustrating - to me,
anyway - that the world continues to ignore the music that it needs the most. I
refer, of course, to relaxing and meditative ambience - electronic or acoustic.
Why do you think that the world ignores "us?" on the other hand,
could we handle prosperity and/or the proverbial silver spoon?
LB: It's a matter of exposure, not receptivity. With the wellness movement,
including yoga, meditation, stress-reduction and generally healthier
lifestyles, there are many new customers seeking "peaceful" music
everyday. Outside the acknowledged space/ambient genre are several established
artists with extensive catalogs who are creating this inviting and
"peaceful" music who are currently at the top of their game. These
include Liquid Mind, Kip Mazuy, Deuter, Karunesh, Robert Coxon, and more. Add
to this list Life in Balance, Zero Ohms, Brannan Lane, Jason Sloan, Diatonis,
Darshan Ambient, Oophoi, Ashera, Alio Die -- all of whom are part of the
emerging "second generation" of space music artists -- and it is
everywhere evident rather than lonely and ignored. I will be posting an article
about these "second generation" space music artists to Ambient
Visions soon.
AV: Would you give us a brief history of Backroads Music, The Heartbeats Catalog
and a 50 cent tour of your current facility?
LB: Backroads began in Colorado in 1981, a few
years after I had co-founded and operated record stores in Colorado and run a world-wide rare record
auction as well as being tour manager for the great folksinger, Kate Wolf, from
whom I took the Backroads name.
Backroads Music is the world's best and most comprehensive Source for Ambient,
Space, World, Chill out, New Age, Electronic, Celtic, Native American, Guitar,
Piano and select Vocal and Chant Music. Backroads has always provided an
extensive and eclectic selection of the finest music titles, backed by
excellent support and knowledge, and has continually expanded its musical
boundaries alongside the fastest growing genre in music.
Since 1987, the Heartbeats catalog has provided a descriptive adventure through
the music selections that Backroads offers. Our catalogs and mailers have
remained the single most comprehensive & defining source of information
about these musical genres. We are the Source for more than 6000 titles. Our
suppliers include virtually all of the 200 or so independent domestic labels,
all the key major U.S.
labels, and artists and distributors from Japan,
Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy,
France
and The Netherlands.
For its first ten years, Backroads Music was a major wholesaler in the
alternative market, and was also the home of the Shining Star Music label,
featuring Bruce BecVar and Patrick Bernhardt. In 1991 Backroads became a
"Mail-Order only" operation, focusing all of our efforts on offering
an extensive selection of music in this vast area. We serve over 50,000
individual customers, and hope to reach many more through our on-line service.
Backroads does not sell to stores - there are no wholesale terms -and we are
not a record label. Very simply, Backroads is the #1 Source of this great music
for music-lovers far and wide. We offer group and quantity discounts. We love
inquiries about older titles and "want lists," and though we are not
a "record-finder" or "search service," we know the music
inside and out and have kept track of nearly all available titles for the past
23 years. Just ask us!
AV: Your catalog has always been diverse and deep - well over 6000 titles. To what
do you attribute your broad base expertise? In other words, how did you become
such an expert in so many diverse styles?
LB: By listening. My interests have always been very diverse, and when I owned
record stores in Colorado
in the '70's I was heavily into the British Blues/Rock groups, bluegrass and
folk, jazz and classical. I love reggae music (old school style) and always
have a place for Daniel Lanois, Peter Gabriel and Annie Lennox, not to mention
Happy Rhodes, Sheila Chandra, Sally Oldfield and new discovery Donna DeLory.
Stephan Micus ranks high, as does Willie Dixon, The Samples, The Starseeds, The
Temptations and The Rolling Stones. Within the Backroads realm, my expertise
and passion is across the board, whether it is chants and vocals, chillout
discs, world, native, tribal or ambient, eM and space music which seems to
always be at the core of our offerings. Similarly, most of our customers make
their selections from several of the styles of music we carry, although a few
are space-only or chillout-only buyers, etc.
AV: What are
your feelings about the digital delivery systems that
are starting to become a part of the ambient landscape
and how will that affect Backroads if it becomes the
norm to download the music as opposed to buying a hard
copy?
LB: Obviously this has direct
effects. The one that seems "negative"
is that less CDs will be bought and sold, and more music
will become available for fee or per song, or as download
tracks, etc. If there is a positive effect. it is the
exposure to music that is now more widespread than before,
and that people will be led to seek other music or CDs
by the artists they are hearing. In general, the
digital age of music accessibility leaves out the middlemen,
whether that be labels, distributors or catalog sellers
like Backroads.
AV:
How many of your customers request off the wall
titles that are difficult to find and when you get a
request like this where do you go looking for the title?
Are you usually successful in these quests? Can you
even lay your hands on out of print titles now and again?
LB: Sometimes this is mutually
rewarding, and sometimes very frustrating. For me, it
is like laying out a huge feast, a veritable banquet
of sounds, and having someone come to the table asking
only for one dish, and then leaving hungry! Since
Backroads has been offering music since 1981, we have
many years and many titles to draw from, so rare titles
that can't be found elsewhere can often by found here.
At the same time, we are not really a record-finding
service, and if we are the last resort for someone who
has been searching for years, it is only seldom that
we can deliver. if it is a title we have carried
historically, then there is a much better chance of
finding it right on our shelf. if I have to look
elsewhere, I draw from wholesalers who carry everything
in print (supposedly) as well as our European counterparts
who we trade with. It is only on rare occasions
that I will look on eBay or amazon.com on the customer's
behalf.
AV:
Tell me about the staff that you have working
there at Backroads Music? How many dedicated music fans
besides yourself make Backroads music run?
LB: Years ago, there were 25
employees at Backroads Music, with our own in-house
label (Shining Star Music), wholesale activity with
15000 stores, fulfillment services for large chains
(like Natural Wonders) and our mail-order services,
much like today. Since we now offer direct mail
sales only, with no wholesale, label fulfillment services,
the staff here is pretty much just me, with a bookkeeper
and occasional shipping help -- usually my son
Robin.
AV:
Has the internet made a big difference in how
you run Backroads these day? How has it expanded your
ability to stay in touch with your customers and let
folks know what you offer?
LB: The ease of using email for
correspondence and e-letter updates has been a big boost.
Our web site is friendly but cumbersome, and many
visitors do not find it easy to use. That is why
we still offer a toll-free 800# and mail out a printed
catalog (very old-school!). We do receive orders
on-line, and this is especially useful for our overseas
customers.
AV:
The economy has been pretty tight the last few
years. How has Backroads been doing as a business these
days?
LB: Surviving and trying to weather
the storm would about sum it up. Three years ago, I
let go of a large warehouse space and lowered the overhead
by about twenty feet (!) and thousands of dollars. Since
then I have found a very careful economy, in recession,
and then an industry that is on its ear, with a crumbling
model of how music sales "should" go. There
is no model that has replaced the past methods, with
labels, new acts, speculation, paying for sales, heavy
promotion, and high prices & profits. At the same
time, I have a business plan and model that allows for
1) outreach and catalog mailings, 2) web site updating,
data-base driven and 3) linking up with internet radio
and many of the vendors and labels we deal with.
AV:
I've always noticed the links you have at the
bottom of your entrance page. Why are these organizations
listed on the front page of Backroads website and what
kind of relationship do you have with them?
LB: We provide a customized music
list for groups and organizations that actively use
music as part of their programs. They might be
movement groups, bodywork organizations, DJ/Dance events,
or Yoga organizations. These groups refer all
of their participants to Backroads, and, as affiliates,
receive a referral fee for orders that are placed. In
this way, the groups need not handle CDs, money, place
orders or any of those details, and their participants
are well-served by being put in touch with the best
Source for this music there is (that would be Backroads!).
AV:
When do you find the time to listen to so many
new releases that must flow into Backroads Music? How
is it you determine what you are going to carry and
what you are not going to carry? Or do you carry everything?
LB: It is an ongoing activity
and habit to listen to and digest music constantly.
In that way, I can handle a 6000 CD library and
actually know what each of the CDs is like. The
determination is just a personal decision of titles
I feel that I can get behind and sell at least a few
copies of. We turn down probably 95% of the unsolicited
titles that are submitted, even though it may appear
that we carry everything! Because I am able to "suspend
judgement" on first listen and get a sense of what
the artist(s) are trying to convey, I am able to listen
to a lot of music with great recall and a strong sense
of what is going on. Similarly, I am fortunate
to be a first-draft writer so I can write a lot of reviews
and accurately portray what the CD offers and sounds
like.
AV:
Tell me about your involvement with Heart of Innocence.
Have you been involved with music on this level before
or is this the first time as producer? Any plans to
do it again in the future?
LB: This is the first project
I have fully produced from start to finish. I wrote
the liner notes, did the graphic design, chose the artwork,
song order and all of it. This is an area I am
particularly fond of, that being women singers, and
I wanted all songs to be in English, and to have a certain
feeling, a beauty that would touch people, alongside
messages that were real-life themed. I am lucky
to know each of the artists included, and it is an amazing
international cast of artists that are included. Some
have very "famous voices" but not well-known
names. For example, Lisbeth Scott is the voice
from the State of Grace and Paul Schwartz CDs, as well
as the vocalist and lyricist from "The Passion
of the Christ". Similarly, Miriam Stockley
is the voice of Adiemus, and the great group Praise.
others are rising stars, like Donna Delory (toured
with Madonna), Tina Malia (for all Loreena McKennitt
fans), local artists Suzanne Sterling and Pollyanna
Bush, and the legendary Happy Rhodes, etc.
The plan is for this to be a series, and the next
one will start to formulate itself later this Spring.
It is an unqualified success, and the moist moving,
beautiful CD you could imagine, aimed mostly for Sarah
McLachlan, Tori Amos and Dido or Indigo Girls fans.
AV:
Are you encouraged enough by what you see coming
down the pike as far as new releases within the genres
that you sell to be able to say that the industry is
healthy and growing?
LB: There is more good music
than ever -- that I am sure of. And the
hybrid styles that blur the lines between space, ambient,
electronic and chill out are more solid than ever while
the boundaries are less solid. Backroads actively
carries each of the areas in great depth, as well as
chants and vocals, tribal/Native/World music, music
for the Healing arts like Yoga, and contemporary styles
as well. But it seems that the core of our offerings
always has been and always will be the space/ambient
music area. Right now , our most exciting area
is the chill out section, with releases like "The
Fahrenheit project" et al from France, and labels
like Interchill from Canada, Dakini from Japan, Just
Music from the UK, Aleph Zero from Israel, and Waveform,
Spiralight and others from the USA.
AV: Where do you see Lloyd Barde and Backroads in 2014?
LB: Right here, with greater capabilities, a few less hours, and many opportunities
as journalist, record producer and other as yet unimagined outlets.
AV: Where do you see Lloyd Barde and Backroads at the turn of the next century?
LB: High in the sky. Deep in the earth everywhere evident and nowhere to be
found.
AV: Where do you see Lloyd Barde and Backroads at the turn of the next millennium?
LB: Milleniums don't turn, they just loom large in the distance.
©Ambient Visions.
Interview conducted by Michael Foster and Jim Brenholts
for Ambient Visions.
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