Billboard

Industry Rediscovers Its Troubadour Traditions.
by Wes Orshoski
December 22, 2001

NEW YORK--Five for Fighting's Jon Ondrasik is living proof that, during the past decade, it hasn't been particularly easy to be a developing male singer/songwriter.

Launching his career in a decade that was first ruled by grunge, then by alt-rock, hip-hop, and teen pop, Ondrasik found himself coping with many frustrations in the '90s, including the closure of his first label, EMI, and industry execs bluntly telling him that, although he wrote good songs, he wouldn't sell many albums.

He was probably one of dozens who heard the same thing during this period, when female singer/ songwriters were faring much better than men--the mass popularity of Jewel, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Sarah McLachlan, and the like exemplified by the three Lilith Fairs helmed by McLachlan.

So, when Five for Fighting (essentially Ondrasik's one-man show) toured the U.S. late last year in support of former EMI labelmate David Gray--who had been dealt his own set of frustrations from the label, both before and after it closed--Ondrasik found himself filled with pride and hope for his own career as he saw firsthand how, after years of being ignored by U.S. record buyers, Gray was enjoying stardom in the States.

"I remember us laughing, because we both had suffered through [the U.S.] EMI [Records label] closing and every other record company passing on us and our records," Ondrasik says of a shared moment on that tour, which ended roughly a year before Ondrasik himself would begin tasting mainstream success with his "Superman (It's Not Easy)" single.

"It was so neat for me to see [Gray] having success," Ondrasik says.

"At the time, we had no idea what was gonna happen with Five for Fighting. But it was so great to see him kind of leading the way."

After years of relative exile from the mainstream--and nearly two decades since their heyday in the 1970s--a wider interest in male singer/songwriters seems to be gaining favor with radio and video network programmers and mainstream listeners, as a new buzzed-about group of such artists (some with similar career trials as Gray and Ondrasik) seems to be emerging from under the radar.

Among them are Ondrasik's fellow Aware Records graduate John Mayer, alt-country prince Ryan Adams, alt-rock newcomer Pete Yorn, former indie darling Elliott Smith, piano man Rufus Wain-wright, soulful singer/slide guitarist Ben Harper, Canadian songcrafter Ron Sexsmith, lauded Brits Tom McRae and Badly Drawn Boy (the latter another one-man show), charismatic Texan David Garza, ex-Jellyfish/Grays member Jason Falkner, Real World's Joseph Arthur, quirky storyteller Dan Bern, surfer-turned-musician Jack Johnson, and the recently-gone-solo Ben Folds and Grant Lee Phillips (of Grant Lee Buffalo).

Helped out by the radio and TV exposure devoted to Gray's White Ladder singles--most notably, "Babylon"--Ondrasik, Yorn, and Adams are making waves, apparently confirming that more and more opportunities for such artists to be heard have arrived.

And that, say some of these male singer/songwriters and a number of industry execs, appears to come from a desire for more substantive music born out of two things--one, years of seemingly ultra-present, manufactured teen pop, and, two, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Though noting that it is "quite subtle," Wainwright says there's "definitely something going on, whether it's Ryan Adams, or me, or Elliott Smith--it's almost like a low-grade fever, which we hope will spread and become a horrible disease!"

Wainwright and most of his peers stop short of proclaiming themselves part of a male singer/songwriter movement. "It could be something as big as a movement, or it could be something as small as a trend," rising indie star Johnson observes. "It could just be that boy bands are kind of fading and people are wanting to hear songs that actually come from a person--something that's not such a product."

Of the possibility of a full-fledged movement, Nic Harcourt, music director of Los Angeles noncommercial KCRW and an early supporter of White Ladder, says, "If you had asked me six months ago, I would have probably said no. You know, every now and then, somebody talented like David Gray sneaks through. But now, I think there is definitely an interest in these guys, and part of it may be a result of this new acoustic movement, or whatever you want to call it--groups like Travis, Coldplay, and Starsailor."

Modern AC WVRV St. Louis PD Mark Edwards says, "It may be the next big thing." But pop music is cyclical, he notes, and it may simply be no more than male singer/ songwriters' turn to shine.

Veteran singer/songwriter John Hiatt concurs. "It just seems like every generation or two, the troubadours start coming around," Hiatt remarks. "I think it's a part of the American music tradition."

Whether they call it a trend, a movement, or happenstance, most agree that what's happening could be traced to the success of Gray's platinum White Ladder album (see story, page 76). With "Babylon" and the follow-up singles "Please Forgive Me" and "Sail Away," White Ladder seems to have, at the very least, pried open the door for Ondrasik's "Superman" and Adams' "New York, New York" singles. Both are getting solid airplay- especially on VH1, another staunch supporter of Gray's.

"You can't help but compare a lot of this new music to him," says Valerie Knight, PD at adult top 40 KRBZ in Kansas City, Kan. "You say, 'Oh, wow, it sounds a little bit like David Gray, so it's probably gonna work.'"

If nothing else, the album's success has inspired some of Gray's peers, who, like the 30-something Englishman, have experienced numerous label ups and downs while garnering piles of glowing reviews and selling relatively few records in the past.

"I find David's breakthrough--and just the whole way that thing went down--really encouraging," says Sexsmith, who is on his second label and fourth album. "He did the record by himself [after EMI closed], and I don't think he had great expectations for it. It made me feel like my career might not be doomed to cult status my entire life."

WHERE HAVE THESE GUYS BEEN?

So why have younger male singer/songwriters been ignored for so long? "That's a hard question to answer, because they've certainly been out there," admits Rick Krim, executive VP of talent and music programming at VH1.

Indeed. Gray, for example, went largely ignored in the early to mid-'90s as he criss-crossed the U.S. in support of his first three albums. As of early this year, his first two records--although critically lauded--had only sold a combined 20,000 copies in the U.S., according to SoundScan.

And few of his peers have fared better. Meanwhile, rock's pioneering class of male singer/songwriters--Neil Young, Bruce Spring-steen, and such Billboard Century Award honorees as Billy Joel (1994), James Taylor (1998), Randy Newman (2000), and John Mellen-camp (2001)--have prospered, despite trends.

"As far as the music biz goes, the singer/songwriter just doesn't exactly fit into the corporate mold as it now stands," Hiatt says with a laugh. "I think the bigger, the more corporate the music business gets, the more it's about entertainment and being an arm of a big entertainment conglomerate and less about music."

One reason for these younger troubadours' lack of mainstream impact is that a young, lonely guy soul-searching with a guitar or a piano often proves too difficult a sell to consumers, some execs and programmers believe. "One of the hardest things in the world is to set up a solo artist from scratch--whether they're male or female--and break them," says Ray Cooper, co-president of Virgin Records America.

"The cost of doing business to the point where you're doing your first TV can be a million dollars."

Krim says labels seem to have been looking for "something a little more immediate" in recent years, whether it's bombastic rock bands or teen pop acts.

Some note that Ondrasik probably benefited from using a moniker that evokes an image of a band instead of a lone singer/songwriter. "It's easier to get something across with a five-piece band with an attitude and a new sound," says Brandon Kessler, head of New York City indie Messenger, which has released albums by Bern and Chris Whitley. The problem, he adds, is often that the audience is underestimated. "I don't think they're just out there for stupid teenage bullshit," he says. "I think they've always wanted good stuff-they just needed there to be an opportunity for them to get to it."

In any event, because these acts were being skipped over, "a hole for music that's relatable" was created, Knight says. "And that's where the Five for Fighting track comes in and the Ryan Adams song comes in."

SUBSTANCE VOID

Some say these tracks are filling avoid of songwriting of substance. Others, like Edwards, add that they mark the return of "music that means something."

They are finding an audience "who wants to hear real songs, listen to words, and be moved," Krim says, pointing to the success of not only these solo artists but that of hard-rock act Creed as proof.

"I think a big part of [Creed's] success is that their songs connect with people," he points out. "There's a message to them, and it's positive. Ya know, you don't sell 10 million records just because you have a nice-sounding song. There has to be a connection."

In the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, that connection has become even more important. "I happened to see some of the e-mails [Ondrasik's] been getting since Sept. 11," Krim continues. "And people are really listening to the words. They were beforehand, but even more so now, people are just paying so much closer attention to what the songs are saying and looking to music for their diversion, or for inspiration, or for hope."

From the shows he's played post-Sept. 11, Sexsmith says he's got the feeling that "people are looking for something to have a little more substance to it, or maybe they want less of that kind of escapism, or whatever. But maybe they want more of it. Maybe it's too soon to tell."

Certainly "Superman" and "New York, New York"--two personal and reflective tracks written prior to the attacks that carry Sept. 11 overtones--have been embraced in the past few months, boosting Ondrasik and Adams' careers.

Len Cosimano, VP of merchandising and multimedia for Borders Books & Music, says he's even starting to see such older artists as Hiatt benefit from a change in attitude toward male singer/songwriters.

"It's hard to quantify," Cosimano says. "But I think part of it is that you're starting to see excitement over bands kind of wane."

Prior to and since the attacks, Ondrasik says he's had fans thank him for "bringing songs back to music. And the nice thing is that it's not just 25-year-olds--it's 14-year-olds, it's 15-year-olds. These kids know who Stevie Wonder is. They know who the Who is. They know who James Taylor is."

THE POST-SEPT. 11 FUTURE

As is the case with almost any young artist in any genre, these musicians must have both support from their record companies and great songs if they are to continue to prosper and enjoy even a fraction of the early mainstream success of their predecessors.

The success of "Superman"--currently No. 15 on The Billboard Hot 100--would not have materialized, Ondrasik says, if not for a practically undying commitment to Five for Fighting's second album, last year's America Town, from Columbia.

"With [Five for Fighting], Pete Yorn, and John Mayer, they are interested in building careers," Ondrasik says. "And to see what they've done with my record--I mean, my record came out over a year ago! And they have stuck with it"

Similarly, it was months after ATO--the new BMG-distributed label co-founded by Dave Matthews--issued White Ladder that "Babylon" finally caught on.

Co-founder Chris Tetzeli says, "Because David was our only act-- our first act--it was our mission, and we were able to give it focused attention and stick with it. We just knew we had something, and we went for it."

Columbia seems to be leading a return to the "old days of artist development," Krim says. "In all these cases, whether it's Five for Fighting or David Gray or even Train's 'Drops of Jupiter'--they're obviously a band, but that song has that singer/songwriter vibe--it's a long haul.

"These records were worked for months. And I think there was a mentality--and I think there still is to a degree, but hopefully it's changing--of going for the quick hit, rather than taking the time to develop things. I think people are changing the way they're thinking, and learning now that you can't just shove these things out at radio-that you have to let them breathe, get a groundswell going, and then you'll have a much better chance of success."

For Columbia--the career-long home of Springsteen and Joel-- such artist development is very much in the tradition of the label, says Will Botwin, executive VP/GM of the Columbia Records Group.

But he acknowledges that the label's approach to such artists as Five for Fighting and Mayer is "a bit of a throwback," considering today's marketplace. "And I'm really proud of it, and I think those of us at the management of the label are really proud of what we're doing with these artists, because they're not the easiest to get on the radio and on TV.

"A lot of it," Botwin continues, "is just based on a traditional, old-school approach. It's not so much just going for the TRL video and that kind of marketplace. It's much more based on touring and critical press and sort of just day-to-day, week-to-week maintenance of what we're doing on those acts-and managing our own expectations."

PRIORITY NO. 1

But in a time when artist development almost always takes a back seat to the bottom line, what is most important--Mercury Nashville chairman/Lost Highway president Luke Lewis notes--is that these guys, at the end of the day, "have hits."

"You can have singer/songwriters out the wazoo, and if they don't at some point write a compelling song that somehow or another gets exposed--or is compelling enough to get exposed by the gatekeepers in this industry--it's always going to be niched out," Lewis says.

He adds that although PDs--like most people in the music industry--are music junkies who may be hungry for songs with more substance, they may be a little slower warming to a song like "Babylon."

"Some of the programmers I've talked to have described that record--in terms of the way it broke through, or in the way they programmed it--as sort of a flavor track," Lewis says. "I don't have a sense that programmers, at this point, believe that there's a movement afoot. And I don't think that they believe that one artist is gonna change the pie. Ya know, I think it's gonna have to be a half a dozen breakthroughs, and then I guess it opens the door, and everybody will at least spend some more money marketing these people and trying to get them on the radio and do what we all do to get things exposed. At this point, I think everybody's being kind of tentative about it."

Despite the fact that more opportunities seem to be arising for these artists, it's unclear whether they've become a hotter commodity. "It's always been on the agenda that these kinds of acts do get signed," Cooper says. And Virgin is no exception, signing Harper, Arthur, and Brendan Benson, among others, during the past decade.

"I think the more intelligent A&R guys, whether they are working for major labels or working for smaller labels, gravitate to that quality of voice and the brilliance of songs," Cooper adds. "And you're always going to get a lot of these types of artists signed on that basis."

In the past few months, Ondrasik says he's heard that "Superman" has caused some changes in the A&R community: "I've heard a few rumors of people at record companies going, 'Ya know, we need to find something like Five for Fighting,' which is so great.

"But we've only seen a couple of songs," Ondrasik continues. "We'll have to see where we are two or three years from now. I think we still have a lot to prove. I've had one song that seems to touch people. You go to an Elton John concert, and you'll hear 50 of 'em. So I still think we have a long way to go, but it's nice. As a songwriter, you ask for one thing, and that's a chance to be heard. And guys like me [andi Ryan Adams, we're getting that chance.

"And will we grow into some of these guys? Maybe a couple of us will. I just think it's exciting we're getting the chance. You look at guys like Ron Sexsmith and Elliott Smith, who are so under the radar, ya know, they deserve that chance, and they deserve the voice that people like James Taylor, Dylan, all those guys did. And if it does happen, it's about time."

Trend or movement, Ondrasik says the rise of such artists helps return a healthy balance to mainstream music in the U.S.--between sugary pop and songs and artists with integrity--that has been missing in recent years.

"I think that's why I--as a music fan--and my friends are so frustrated with pop music. You really don't have the balance," he says. "When we grew up, there was New Kids on the Block, right? But there was also U2 and the Police."

Hiatt concurs, "Good pop music is great. I love good pop music, I'm totally all for it, but there's been a lot of garbage--there's been a lot of turds floating down the river lately. Let's not kid ourselves, and I'm sure the labels aren't kiddin' themselves, either."

SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND

One thing to keep in mind is that male singer/songwriters are sort of intended to clash with the mainstream. Or so says WainWright, the son of quirky folk singer Loudon Wainwright III.

"The funny thing about male singer/songwriters is--and I can say this because I'm pretty much an expert on them, because my father was one-it's a very tenuous kind of situation, because it is kind of based on this macho, I'm-alone-in-the-world/I-don't-need-anybody-but myself sort of vibe," Wainwright candidly explains. "So it thrives a little bit off of not having massive success, in a weird way--not being a success-monger is sort of part of being a great male singer/songwriter.