Fixing Phase problems

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Recently I have noticed that there have been a growing number of searches coming to my blog that relate to fixing phase problems. Although I have mentioned the importance of phase in recording I do not believe that I addressed fixing phase problems.

Ok let’s get started.  You have a multitrack recording and somewhere there seem to be phase problems. Are you sure? Probably not.  Let’s review for a second.

Phase is caused by two or more microphones being used on one item that you are recording. In some cases the varying distances between the mic cause the sound waves to line up peak to trough and this means they are out of phase.  If you are in the process of recording this sound then you fix the problem by moving the mics around until the sound falls into phase.  Also it should be noted that EQ adds phase problems to any signal it is used on. This is an absolute as far as I am concerned although I have been corrected by engineers on this point they are wrong and I am right damn it. If you add EQ it adds some phaseyness. Usually this is acceptable and part of the sound. Sometimes too much EQ makes a thin phasey mix.  How do you fix this problem? Drop all of the EQ it’s that simple.

The most common situation for phase problems is recording multiple tracks of one particular instrument on one pass. When do you do this? Every time you cut drum tracks. So let’s assume that you cut four simultaneous tracks of drums last night and know it’s time to mix and damn it sounds out of phase.

The first thing you do is prove it to yourself. Drop every track except one. Now listen carefully. Does the track sound fat? Does it have bottom? It does, ok move on to the next track. Most likely all of the individual tracks will sound fat and have bottom. Now start putting up combinations of tracks two at a time. One you happen upon one combo that sounds thin, phasey and has no bottom mark it down and move on.  There may be multiple problems. Sometimes, but not usually the problems may be between two tracks recorded at different times.  Remember listen closely.  You are looking for thin sound with no bottom. If you are unsure what phase problems sound like put up a track and then switch the positive and negative wires on your studio monitors. Step back away from the speakers and play the track. That’s the sound of a phase problem.

So now you know what phase sounds like and you have two or more tracks that are definitely out of phase with each other. Can you rerecord? No ok then let’s fix it.

In all likelihood the sounds are not perfectly 180 degrees out of phase. They rarely are.  It doesn’t matter. If it is enough of a problem to be heard as out of phase correcting the phase will help.  In short what you need to do is reverse the phase on one track and then listen. Does your board or software have a phase switch? If it does you are all set. Switch the phase on one track , it doesn’t matter which, and then listen to the offending tracks. When it comes into phase you will hear much more bottom and the thin wavy quality will disappear. If you have more than two tracks at issue you may need to mess around with various combos of phase switching in order to find the best phase situation.

What do you do if you don’t have a phase switch, which is common with many boards. Does the board have an insert section with paired plug ins/outs? In this case you take a cable open one end up and cut the two or three wires. Switches the connections on the positive negative. Now use this cable to flip the phase on the individual channels. Use the same process I outlined above.

What do you do if you have a board with no phase switch and no insert section? Shot yourself? No, calm down.  Try doing the same trick with a basic guitar cable. Then send the sound out of one channel and record it on the next open track with the phase reversed.

Now I will address the more complex method since someone that thinks they are smart will certainly post a comment about it. I may even decide to approve said comment if it contains a good joke or the new home phone number of my high school girlfriend.

There are phase relationship altering outboard and inboard equipment. They allow you to dial the phase around 180 degrees. They are magic. Let an engineer run them, preferably an engineer that would never record two tracks out of phase.

Finally I’ll talk about phasing in a mix. A depressingly common problem is a mix that sounds shitty. It sounds muddy, or phasey or both. How do you fix this? Well if you are trying to fix a mix that is done and is a stereo master than take it to a good mastering house. If you are trying to fix a mix that you are working on then there is still hope.

Let’s say you have a home studio. You do a mix. The next day you take the CD of the mix and pop it into your car stereo and, jeez, does it sound like shit. Don’t worry everyone does shitty mixes. It’s only a problem if you release it  to the world.

Ok try this. Put up the mix. Eliminate every EQ that is engaged. This alone may solve your problem. After you remove the EQ’s the sound may very well clear up. Try running a mix with no EQ on anything just rebalance the tracks and call it a mix. No compare the two. Which one sounds better? The most common problem I have seen in mixes is too much EQ. If this doesn’t help the mix try adding the tracks one at a time listening specifically for the phase problem to appear. When you find the offending track strip it down to the basic track without effects. How’s that?  If it isn’t caused by some kind of outboard effect then the most likely problem is that the offending track(s) sound too good. What!!??? That’s right. A common problem with recordings is that every single track is recorded as if it the only track on the recording, that is to say tons of bottom, tons of mids tons of top. If you do this on every track then the mix will sound like shit. Remix engineers make great money taking multitrack tapes and removing various frequencies in order to make them sound clearer.  Try removing a little bottom from a few tracks with the eq. Try cutting some of the mids. EQs are much more beneficial when used to remove frequencies then when they are used to add frequencies……..

© Brad Morrison/Billiken Media 2013

How to gain access to the people in the music industry…….Pt 2

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In my last blog I wrote about researching your own record library. If you haven’t read that blog DO SO NOW!

OK so you have a hit list of people in the music business that you think are somehow important.  You live in the age of Google, in the age of the total surveillance state, in the age of narcissism, all of these people will be listed somewhere on the web.  This is a huge blessing for a band looking for an agent, manager or label. In the old days you had to piece all the info together in your head and in your phone book. (Ya,Ya I know who gives a shit about the old days)

Now build up a list of targets, say ten names of people or labels or agents. Start at the top of the list and dig for phone numbers on the web. Start making calls. This is where you act dumb, and dumber.  If a person answers the phone at a music industry company you must be hyper polite. The people (usually female) that get stuck fielding incoming calls are harassed grumpy people. I usually start with trying to get this person’s name in the most polite manner possible. Remember, everyone else calling is being a self important asshole.  I will give you an example of how this might work.

In the mid eighties I was managing Miracle Legion. They wanted to be on Columbia Records. (we eventually got an offer from Columbia but then they fired me so that never worked out) I found out everything I could about Columbia. I had a little bible of stupid facts I wrote down about Columbia.  I would call and speak to the two operators. I always had A & R, the part of the label that gives out deals, as my target.  I read an article about Columbia buying a small San Francisco label and the label owner David Kahne, joining the A & R department. I also knew the Columbia phone system and the operators. Each area had a main secretary that took the incoming traffic. I called, greeted the operator BY NAME, she knew me I called regularly and often spoke to promotions peons looking to get info or offer favors so I could get tighter to the label.  I asked to be transferred to David Kahne, this took me to the A & R secretary. This woman was tough, really, really tough. She had a list of approved callers. She also worked in a huge corporation so she was always polite. I would call and she would stop me cold. But I was extremely nice and would try to engage her in conversation. She never gave an inch but was still civil.  One day i called, asked for David Kahne and she said “Brad, you know that I won’t put you through to his secretary unless you are on his approved list.”

I said “Yeah I know but you know I’m just gonna call back”

Her reply “Well, don’t call back in 15 minutes cause I will be out to lunch and Amanda, David’s secretary will be covering the phone”.

I hung up and realized that my twice weekly calls and unending politeness had paid off.  I called back and sweet talked Amanda into giving me her extension. I then called her twice a week. I soon knew her sons name, her vacation schedule and she would often bitch about what a shitty job she had.  Within a few weeks she told me she had told David of my calls and he said “Yeah, I heard of that guy. What’s he got?” This got our demo in the door.  Soon he was taking my calls. Then he got promoted to head of A & R. Within six weeks we had an offer.

This is just one small example of how to get through the wall that is built up around the music business.  Use your head and do the research and most of all be persistent. ……

©Brad Morrison/Billiken Media 2013

How to find music industry people and gain access to them (part 1)……….

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I realize, or maybe remember, that when you are starting out in the great adventure of being in a band that the music business is a great mystery. It seems to be this magic city on a distant hill and the road to go there is nowhere to be found. Gee ain’t I poetic?

This is reality for most musicians and it can be intimidating and disheartening. How the hell do you break into the music business? These people fly overhead in gold plated jets while you slog away gigging in the mud. Right?

Well, not exactly. Let me pull away the curtain and correct many misconceptions. This should help you understand the music business and gain access to people.

First major misconception; the record labels and agents and producers are in the music business and you are not in the music business. This is utter crap. If you play in a band you are in the music business. If you play a show, anywhere, you are in the music business. If you write songs, you are in the music business. The fact that you don’t make money at it doesn’t mean you are excluded. The vast majority of musicians make little or no money from playing at different points in the life. The people that are commonly thought of as being the music business people are PARASITES that attach themselves to bands and music. They don’t play, they don’t write, they don’t perform or tour or practice or anything. They only exist to attach themselves to other people that make music. The people that make music are called MUSICIANS and they are truly the heart of the music business.

This may seem like a minor point but it’s not. If you play in a band; you and your bandmates are the real deal not the turd sitting at a desk in the record labels southeast distribution division. Keep that in mind at all times. Don’t let them intimidate you.

Now, those that know me, know that I actually like and even admire some of the characters that inhabit the music business. It’s true there are a few good people but they are rare. When you meet the good guys in the music business you will know them. They will stand out from all the turds. Always remember that you can’t polish a turd.

Next, I’ll give you a tip. You have access to a huge library of reference material that contains the names and some of the contact info of the people in the music business that you are trying to reach. You may be stunned to discover that your main research library is not the web. It is the stack of CDs piled next to your bong.
I remember being 15 and reading the back of the Yes album “Close to the Edge”. They listed the band members and there was a listing for a guy named Eddie Offord. He was called the producer. I thought ‘what the hell is a producer?’. I was pretty stupid when I was 15. (I haven’t blossomed with genius in the past 38 yrs). Then I noticed that he was named on an ELP record as well. There was even a song about him called “Are you ready Eddy?”. I slowly dawned on my clouded teenage brain that this was the guy that recorded the band’s records. This revelation passed for genius when I was 15.
Your CD and vinyl collection is a treasure trove of info for you. If you take you ten favorite records and read all the little notes in the CD booklets you will end up with a list of music industry names that are involved with your favorite bands. Often you’ll see references to managers and booking agents. You’ll see the names of roadies and girlfriends. You see the names of other bands that the band pals around with. These kind of notes are most common on a bands earliest CDs. When a band finally gets a record deal they feel like they have to thank everyone that helped them get to the top. So they list all their names on their first release.
Gee, let’s think about this for a minute. You have a list of people that helped Joe Schmoo and the Dickfucks climb their way from a basement in Joplin Missouri to a deal on Crackhead Records. You love Joe Schmoo and the Dickfucks. You even sound a little bit like Joe Schmoo and the Dickfucks. You are a young band that is part of the new Dumbfuck Rock movement that Joe Schmoo started. Wait a minute… I feel a flash of teenage brilliance coming on….I’ve got it! Maybe a few of these people could help your band climb out of the swamp and become a star! They did it once they could do it again.
The dirty little music business secret is that people in the business are always looking for the next great band.
Over the past three decades I have seen scores of “Guide to the Music Business” scams. You give some ass $400 and they send you a poorly printed list of all the major record labels and all the major agents. These guides are worth about $4. This blog is worth a hell of a lot more if you actually want to find your way into the music business. You can make a much more current and useful guide by digging through the notes of your CD collection. (for those of you that have a collection that consists of 50,000 ripped songs with no art, or CDs you are shit out of luck. You can ask your buddy that buys the music of the bands he loves if he will let you look through his collection)
In the old days most records had almost no names of music business people on them. This has changed. Since we now live in a culture that seems to be “all about me” the people at labels push hard to have their names included in the CD booklet. The bands usually hate this. Any band would rather put their cat’s name in the CD booklet than second assistant asshole from the label.
If you want to take this to the next level find copies of your favorite bands indy releases. These always have tons of info on them. Sometimes they will even put their manager and booking agents phone number in the booklet.
Once you start this list it can quickly become the heart of your black book that contains the contact info of everyone that could possibly help you in any way. Every bit of info helps. For example you may see a reference to another band in the thank you section of the booklet. That band may very well still be hunting for a deal and as a result they may play small clubs. It will be easy to figure out a way to bump into that bands road crew or manager and they may become fans after you give them the gift of your music.
In the next blog I will explain how you can use this info to open a few doors…….
© Brad Morrison/Billiken Media 2013

The Only Bands that Matter…………..

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I was given my first album at age 5, a disc by the band The Four Seasons. They were a cheesy vocal pop band that competed with the Beach Boys at the top of the charts in the early sixties. (you’ll notice that they don’t appear on the list later in this blog) From that moment I was hooked. I have been collecting and, more importantly, listening to music compulsively. I don’t watch TV. I don’t follow sports (I do enjoy baseball as a live spectator sport)  Now why, you may ask, do you give a damn about this little personal biography?

50,000,000 fans can't be wrong

50,000,000 fans can’t be wrong

Oops! Forgot one or two

Oops! Forgot one or two

It’s simple really. For the past 48 years I have been listening to music, mainly rock, and learning what counts, what is related to whom and what is truly worth listening to. If you are in a band then listening to other bands is the most important thing you can do. It’s research. It’s what influences your thinking and what shapes your music.

If you are a young musician then most likely you are obsessed with one or two bands or at best obsessed with a particular rock movement like Nordic speed death metal with superhero themed concept albums. This is natural when you are young. You are developing your sense of aesthetics. (feel free to look that word up, I did) You may also be convinced that French guitar pop or Early 80’s straight edge hardcore or Electronica or Zydeco or Polka blues is the most important music in the universe. You are wrong.  It is very important to you and it has its place in the great pastiche of rock but it is not the only form of rock that is important.

The most common mistake bands make (other than not firing the drummer)is they are too focused on the one or two bands that they love. As a result they end up sounding just like the bands that they admire (or worship) and end up making music that is a pale imitation of another band.

I have listened to thousands of demos in the past thirty years. Really great bands are rare. Really bad bands are equally rare and often can be highly entertaining because they are so awesomely bad (The Shags for example) the vast majority are OK, mediocre, uneventful and they are always derivative.  This is the mistake that almost every band makes; they sound like another, successful band.  They fail to do anything new, to do anything risky, and to do anything that makes them truly special. Why listen to a band that sounds like the Black Keys? Why not just listen to the Black Keys?

No one bought our record and now we're the theme song to that 70's show

No one bought our record and now we’re the theme song to that 70′s show

That brings us to the subject of this blog and likely a few more to follow – What bands really count? What bands are great?  And I mean undeniably great. I intend to list a shitload of bands in an effort to outline a good basic knowledge of rock and roll. As you read through the list you will likely say to yourself, ‘hell, I know all these guys. There is nothing new here’. That may be so. I doubt it but assuming you do know all of these bands are there any on the list that you haven’t heard? If it’s on the list and you haven’t heard it then you should check it out then wonder ‘what other cool bands are out there?’.

I am also posting this list to spur people to comment. Please suggest additions to the list. Feel free to criticize my choices and to justify your suggestions. I know that I have ignored large sections of rock history. This is a result of putting together a quick list. Feel free to post bands the comments section.

I will be posting some lists from other people soon. I am certain that the following lists will highlight some of the holes in my first list.

Finally I’ll close with a rock anecdote. When Columbia records acquired The Clash for the American reissue of the first Clash record and for all the follow up records someone at the label’s PR department came up with the slogan “The Only Band that Matters!” In one of those truly rare moments in history the record label had it right. In many ways The Clash were the most important Punk band and Punk was the most important change to come along in a decade.  Over the intervening years it became apparent that The Clash summed up and perfected all of the elements that made Punk important.  You may disagree with this opinion or you may agree.  If you never had bothered to listen to the Clash’s five main albums could you really claim to have an understanding of Punk and be certain that your Punk band is really something fresh and new, something great with a capital G?

This is Rock

This is Rock

[for the sake of brevity I have only included bands and artists from the first 4 decades of rock, that is to say 1950 to 1990]

Classification(s)  B-blues, J-Jazz, P-Punk, PR-Prog Rock, CR – Classic Rock, F-Jazz/Rock Fusion, H- Hardcore, I-Influential, S- Soul, A- Alternative Rock, N- New Wave, O – Folk, SY-Psychedelic Rock, C-Country, Reggae –R, Metal – M, Glam Rock -G

The only bands that matter Part 1

The Clash – P, The Sex Pistols – P, The Buzzcocks – P, The Damned – P, The Germs -H, The Dead Kennedys – H, Mission of Burma – A, The Modern Lovers – I & A, Velvet Underground –I & A, The Beatles – CR, John Lennon – CR, Paul McCartney -CR, George Harrison – CR,  Big Star I &  CR & S, The Small Faces -CR, The Faces -CR, David Bowie -G, Robert Johnson – B, The Kinks CR, Jimi Hendrix –CR, Creedence Clearwater Revival –CR, Velvet Underground-I, The Soft Boys- I, The Pogues – P, The Band – CR, XTC- N, Nick Drake – O, Tim Buckley – O, Fairport Convention – O, Sandy Denny –O, Richard Thompson –O, Traffic –CR, The Byrds –CR, The Ramones –P, The New York Dolls – I, Yes – PR, King Crimson – PR, Frank Zappa –PR, Captain Beefheart  - I, The Talking Heads – N The Creation – SY, Love-SY,  Scott Walker –SY, The Pixies –I & A, Genesis –PR,  Leon Russell -CR, Cream –CR, Derek and The Dominoes – CR, Hank Williams –C, Johnny Cash – C, The Dictators – P Tommy Roe –CR, Jimmy Webb –CR, Joni Mitchell –CR, Janis Joplin CR-, Lou Reed –I, Jethro Tull –CR, Echo and the Bunnymen –N, Bebop Deluxe – N, War – S, Sam and Dave –S, Otis Redding – S,  James Brown –S, Gang of Four –N, The Smiths –N, Curtis Mayfield – S, Booker T and MGs – S, Ray Charles –S, Blind Lemon Jefferson – B, Bob Marley and the Wailers –R, Peter Tosh – R, Jimmy Cliff –R ,  Bob Dylan –CR, Led Zeppelin –CR & B,  Van Morrison – CR & S, Temptations –S, Ike and Tina Turner –S, Peter Gabriel –N, The Who –CR,  The Rolling Stones – CR, The Dead Boys – P, REM – A, Flamin’ Groovies – I, Thelonius Monk – J, John Coltrane – J, Charlie Parker –J. Count Basie – J, Chet Baker – J, Santana –CR, The Feelies – A, John Cale – I & A,  The Replacements – I & A, Deep Purple – I & CR, Little Feat – CR, Grateful Dead –CR, Metallica – M, T Rex – G, U2 – N, Elvis PResley – CR, Buddy Holly – CR, Beach Boys – CR

©Brad Morrison/Billiken Media 2010

New Format and things I like…………..

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Any old readers, returning to this blog, will notice that I have dumped the old format of Black and Red. It worked well for awhile but as the number of posts grew it became unmanageable. So I have trotted out a new format.

I haven’t posted in a dogs age. Instead I have been compiling everything I have written and expanding the material for a book. This, unfortunately is not as fun or easy as tossing a blog up onto the web.  Feel free to send comments on the idea of a book and what should be included.

Well that’s enough blather, on to today’s subject – listening to cool bands.

So far all of my postings have dealt with the mechanics of being in a band and promoting yourself up the food chain. I haven’t spent much time writing about music. Music, is, of course, central to the whole damn experience of being in a band. In some of my early blogs I posted what I was listening to as I was writing. I did that to, hopefully, turn people on to cool bands that they hadn”t heard.

A large part of being in a successful band is writing undeniably cool music. Even if you are gunning to be the next Madonna you need to understand cool music and have a good grounding of all the rock gods that have come before.  The more you listen to music the greater the spread of your tastes should become. For me this is certainly the truth. I have been steadily listening to music since 1966 and I am still finding cool things that are new to me.  If you only listen to your favorite band and the half dozen other bands that sound like them you are doomed to writing music that is derivative and likely boring. Your influences are like a color pallet is to a painter. You need many colors and influences in order to have depth and art to your music. You can argue that Picasso painted cubist masterpieces with one basic color scheme. You would be correct.  If you are the equivalent of Picasso in his blue period then you don’t need my advice on influences. Of course Picasso traveled through the history of painting and explored color and light and perspective masterfully before he decided to reinvent art by becoming a cubist.  If you ever had the great fortune to meet Picasso and ask him how to be a great painter, and he answered your question (he was notorious for being cryptic). He would likely tell you to teach yourself the history of art.  It’s the same in music. You need to know the past in order to forge ahead.

So my advice in today’s blog is to learn to listen to new things. Be aggressive about it. Dig into the info on bands you love and find out what their influences were. Then listen to those bands/artists. This will take you down new paths that will provide inspiration.

In my next blog I will post a list of some great bands that you may or may not know. It’s impossible to be comprehensive but the list may introduce you to a few names that you have never heard. I also encourage every reader to post band names in the comment section. DO NOT POST YOUR OWN BAND! That’s a cheap trick and we reserve cheap tricks for me.

© 2012 Brad Morrison/ Billiken Media

Pussy Riot, music as the voice of dissent………………

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Those of you that have read my blog know that my main topics of discussion always relate to succeeding with your band. (or music) I write about the practical end of becoming a rock star and getting your music out into the world, or, failing that, the mechanics of making the music or firing your drunken bass player. I have never addressed a deeper, underlying question, why is music so damn important? This, in many ways, has been my motivation to be involved in music and to spend my life listening to or producing music.  Today’s blog will address that core idea and, because they have earned everyone’s support, discuss how Pussy Riot are important.

Courage under fire

Those of you that haven’t now heard of the Pussy Riot trial, yes there may be a few of you living inside an asteroid, orbiting Neptune, with only old MTV to watch on your steam powered wrist watch communicator, Pussy Riot are a Moscow based band. They sound like the Ramones but with Russian lyrics. They love to do outrageous things like fuck in public or, in the story that is taking the world by storm, jump up on the alter of the Orthodox church and shoot a video of them miming one of their songs. The song in question calls the President of Russia a tyrant. I have to assume that is what the lyrics say since I speak Russian a little bit better than I speak Elvish.  They uploaded the video and the shit hit the fan. They were arrested and have spent months in jail while the Russian government and Church fume over the fact that this band pointed out the tyrannical rule of the psycho Vladimir Putin. I am guessing that they picked the Orthodox Church since the Church, historically, has gleefully helped the Russian Rulers oppress and bleed the Russian Population.

The band has now been tried, convicted and sentenced to two years in jail for Hooliganism. For this act of oppression I hope, quite earnestly, that the feral dogs of Moscow get to feast on Vladimir Putin’s entrails. I hope that they get fed this megalomaniac’s liver real soon.  I have stated in another blog that this act of protest by Pussy Riot was a PR stunt. This is certainly true. The band does things like copulate publicly or stage a video on the altar of a church to get in the press, to get people’s attention, to succeed at Rock. There is nothing wrong with the young ladies in question being whores for attention. I expect it of them and their fans  certainly love it anytime they do something outrageous.  This is punk.  Punk, and I can humbly state that I am an expert on the purpose behind Punk, is an art form that at its heart is social protest. Of course the band pulls stunts to become famous, they are doing what any good rock band does to get their music listened to.  The important point here is that their message, and yes they have an intelligent, adult message, is that they are living in a country that isn’t free.  They are voicing the dissent of the young people of Russia. They have guts to do it and they deserve our support for having the courage to stand up and speak out.  They knew that they would get stomped on if they spoke out and that is exactly why they did it.

Music has often been used to voice dissent. Musicians are usually outcasts from everyday society and often see themselves as outsiders looking in on Mainstream life. They are, if they are any good, on the cutting edge of change.  They speak out using their art. They are uniquely qualified to do so. They are compelled to do so. This is the core reason why music is so damn important.  This is why Punk is the most important trend in the late twentieth century. (along with Rap)

The members of Pussy Riot could have chosen to play any style of modern music. They could have taken dance lessons and tried to be the Russian Britney Spears.  They chose to play Punk and Punk is, at its heart, social protest music.  They believe, as many young people in Russia believe, that they are living in an oppressive political system. They’re right. Hell, Vladimir Putin was the former head of the Soviet secret police.

This could be you………..

The band’s uniform, short dresses, punk boots and ski masks is pure genius.  The coming battle over rights will center in many ways around the fact that the world’s power elite are rolling out a complete surveillance system to oppresses us all.  In the years ahead masks are going to become an important part of standing up to oppression. The governments of the world are working very hard to identify, tag and track us all. We, on the other hand, have a right to be anonymous if we choose.  The members of Pussy Riot have made this an issue to fight over. We should all thank them for that courageous act.

The band has been convicted of Hooliganism. The power structure of Russia are treating the band as if what they have done is the equivalent of a drunken soccer fan setting a car on fire.  This is an artful lie. The band are destructive but they are out to destroy a system that is oppressing and controlling the culture they live in.  That is fundamentally different than random mindless destruction.

So please understand the message of this blog. Music has been and can be a powerful vehicle for dissent. It is an idiom that crosses boundaries of language and culture. It has a long history of putting pressure on the world to change for the better. When it moves in that direction I believe that we should all support its purpose.

And finally I will send a message to the scum at the top of the Russian Government. When the band Pussy Riot called attention to your tyranny you had a choice. You would have served your own interests better by ignoring them.  You took the bait and decided to make an example of the band. That was a big mistake since the band knew that you would be forcing the youth of Russia to choose sides.  Now you have a tiger in a sack.

I know that my blog is read by many people in Russia. To those readers I say -stay the course and support this band. They know what they are doing and they are acting as leaders and heroes for all of the youth of Russia……………

©Brad Morrison/Billiken Media 2012