Business and Music - Paul Tobey

Many musicians out there know that I admire Kenny Werner’s teachings and highly recommend Kenny Werner’s book Effortless Mastery.  He is one of my favorite musician authors. His teachings offer insight on the relationship between performance and spirituality.  Kenny’s book also offers an abundance of valuable information for both emerging and professional artists.

I am saddened by the news that Kenny Werner just lost his young teenage daughter early this week.  I offer my heartfelt condolences to him, his family and all the lives touched by his daughter.  Kenny, you and your family are in our prayers.

Paul

_________
News
South Fallsburg girl dies after car hits tree

By Heather Yakin
October 04, 2006

Times Herald-Record

South Fallsburg < Katheryn Werner was a dynamo, a joy and an inspiration to
everyone around her.

At 16, she was a photographer, a musician and a straight-A student. She
feared nothing.

“She was very, very bright. She was actually going to graduate a year and a
half early, and she was going to take a year off to do community service and
then go to NYU,” said Tammy Pratt, a family friend.

About 5 p.m. Monday, Katheryn “Kat” Werner was heading from karate practice
in Mountaindale to her family’s home in South Fallsburg when her 1995 Volvo
850 rounded a 90-degree curve on River Road and she lost control. The car
hit a tree and caught fire. Some men who’d been fishing in the Neversink
River just below the road heard the crash and called for help.

Rescuers couldn’t free Katheryn from the car. She was pronounced dead at the
scene, the latest in a stream of young drivers killed in car accidents.

Fallsburg police Chief Angel Lamboy said it appears that Katheryn, who had a
valid junior license, was going too fast for the road and for her level of
driving experience. “It wasn’t a fender-bender.” Lamboy said. “It was quite
the impact.”

An autopsy will be done later today to determine the cause of Katheryn’s
death.

Yesterday, 15-year-old Jena Berman came to a makeshift memorial, adding a
handful of wildflowers to the bouquets at the base of the tree.

“I can’t believe this. Oh, my God,” she said, searching for words. “There
was something about her. She was very open to anyone she’d meet. You
wouldn’t feel afraid to tell her anything.”

Friends gathered at Katheryn’s home to remember her life and to comfort her
parents, Lorraine and Kenny Werner.

“We’ve been getting lots and lots of calls,” Lorraine Werner said. “We had
no idea how many people she had connected with.”

The family moved here from New Jersey three years ago. Katheryn was
home-schooled; the Fallsburg district oversaw the program. Yesterday, the
district called in a crisis team to offer counseling to the students.

Lauren Pratt, 17, and Emily Grigsby, 16, were home-schooled with Katheryn
for a year.

“She played guitar and piano. She sang,” said Lauren. Katheryn had put
together a photo portfolio to submit to the Aroma Thyme restaurant in
Ellenville, hoping for an exhibition. Emily and Lauren plan to submit the
portfolio for her. Katheryn had raised and trained a seeing-eye dog for a
group that helps blind people get service dogs. She traveled the world with
her father, a well-known jazz pianist.

“They’ve got to go easy with the cars,” Lorraine Werner said. “There’s a lot
of time. Go easy.”

A memorial service is planned for 6-9 p.m. tomorrow at the Colonial Memorial
Funeral Home, Main Street, Woodbourne. Donations may be made in Katheryn’s memory to the Prasad Project, 465 Brickman Road, Hurleyville, NY 12747. Please put Katheryn’s name on the check’s memo line.

I’ve recieved a few requests to speak on the issue of Tinnitus and depression from the percpective of a patient.  Some medical and music organizations also want me to speak about occupational risks when it comes to noise induced hearing loss and/or tinnitus.  As a trained certified speaker, my “live” style of speaking is entertaining vs. my “mentoring” style that I apply to my tinnitus audio.  And though I speak of a serious issue, I do use an enrolling and engaging format to make certain everyone is giving 100% of their energy to the topic at hand.  I remain absolutely grateful for the opportunity to continue to raise awareness about tinnitus.  For booking information please contact Nancy at 519-756-5381 or email info (at) paultobey.com

I love people’s buying habits!  They download my free music to check it out.  If they like what they hear they go to my store to buy something.  But wait! About 30% of the time, my fans will stop and think “I’ll email Paul and ask him which CD I should buy”. 

I love you guys for asking! So, for you perfect piano loving strangers!  Here it goes!

My favorite instrumental piano jazz cd that I have recorded is Street Culture! My second favorite jazz piano album is my solo piano album is Live at the Glenn Gould. 

Now both are currently sold out so you can email me to check the availability of the albums at info (at) paultobey.com.

Both are available in the complete Paul Tobey Anthology which is now ON SALE! http://www.paultobey.com/store/home.php?cat=250

My personal favorite piano cd is my Christmas at the Piano and it’s available here http://www.paultobey.com/store/home.php?cat=103 ! 

I truly believe my heart is in this Album! You won’t be dissappointed!  Great Christmas albums are hard to find, and the playing from all the guys on this album is really beautiful.  Check it out, it’s called “Christmas at the Piano“.  It’s also the best seller all year round!

Thanks for asking what is my favorite instrumental Piano Jazz CD!  For other questions email info (at) paultobey.com

Musically yours,

Paul

Portland must be a piano loving state! According to the online stats, there are over 2000 searches a day for a Piano teacher in Portland! If you love piano music, sample some free music downloads http://www.paultobey.com/free-download-able-music.html

Musically Yours, Paul

I’ve been asked to describe this suite of music I’m about to debut with the Brantford Symphony in Feb.  An interesting comment from someone the other day who said “you sound like a cinematic music composer”.  Fair enough.  The music does sound like a full film score.  It’s inspirational, motivational, dramatic, big, and commercial.  Yes, there I said it.  The music is very audience friendly, radio friendly and even film score friendly. 

My music is certainly not in the tradition of Mozart, Beethoven, or Tchaikovsky.  However, in the spirit of my influences like Bach, Bill Evans, and Gershwin, I think the music is inventive in that it combines classical, jazz and spanish folk flavours into a beautiful cinematic vibe. 

My music is not for classical purists.  Nor is it for jazz purists.  In fact, its not for any kind of purists. I think I’ll let the music critics do their job and label the music.  For now, I’ll just keep writing the music!

If you are interested in listening to a pre-view of the works, just send me your request(s) to info (at) paultobey.com

Musically Yours,

Paul

As an indie arts content producer, I have 3 very good arts & entertainment based programming available for cable channels; 2 arts documentaries, and one 2 hour piano show.

I sold one of my docs “The Brotherhood”  as a one time 90 day licence to Inspiring Heart, a UK based DVD club back in 2004.  Filmed inside the sacred walls of Santo Domingo de Silos in Spain, I interviewed Padre Ramon, a Benedictine Monk (the order are famous for their Gregorian Chants, selling 7 million albums world-wide).

I was also offered a one year licence by Bravo for my Live at the Sanderson piano show, but I still have to find the time to fill out that Canadian Content paperwork!

I also have over 60 hours of amazing film from the Road to Santiago in Spain.  I edited a short documentary about my pilgrim’s journey while I composed music on the famous ancient route.  I’d like to make a feature from that someday.

You can either download programming samples of my work on my website at www.paultobey.com or you can see low resolution samples on google video:

Sample of Live at the Sanderson http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-8514145210326715686&q=paul+tobey

Sample of Oh ye of Little Faith:http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=2902488393279431261&q=paul+tobey

You can order these films online at http://www.paultobey.com/store/home.php

For other information please email info (at) paultobey.com

Paul

Did you drop in to listen to my free steaming media?  It’s free and It’s pod safe!  Check it out!

Free Download - Green Green Grass of Home - A Tom Jones classic this song was recorded by Paul at an intimate concert at the Brantford Club. Tickets for this event were a whopping $127! But if you read the reviews you’ll see why no one complained about the price!

Free Download - Thanks For The Memories - Bob Hope’s classic theme song is re-arranged in this live solo piano version recorded at the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts in the Fall of 2003. Also available for purchase on Paul’s CD and DVD “Live at the Sanderson Centre.”

Free Download - Brubeck Medley -  A medley of two of the greatest Jazz Compositions of all time - Take Five and Blue Rondo a la Turk.

Free Download - Linus & Lucy -  Theme From Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special

Free Download - Music Box Dancer - A completely re-worked arrangement of Frank Mill’s popular piano favourite.

If you like the streaming samples, remember to visit my store at www.paultobey.com!

Everything is on SALE now before the new stock arrives!

Everyday I get emails from aspiring musicians wanting to know who I believe the best international entertainment booking agents are in Canada!  There are professional booking agents like Feldman & Associates, Paquin Entertainment and my wife Nancy… amongst a handful of others.  However, the best booking agent for a developing artist is someone passionate about your work.   The best agent is someone who understands and appreciates that it takes tons of phone work, hours in follow-up, much heart, and habitual consistancy to pave the road for an emerging artist. 

The ideal candidate is the person with good sales ability, detail oriented, willing to learn and passionate about your work.   A passionate agent could easily be your girlfriend, your sister, your mom, your aunt or your best friend.  This is quite common in the business.  Remember that a pro agent isn’t looking for you unless you are ALREADY a money maker.  Agents work based on results, and so often agents are motivated by your ability to draw in some big $$$.  While they are servicing their top billing artist, they don’t have time to sweat the small stuff.  Understandibly so. 

If you don’t yet have the reputation to be booked for 10K or more don’t get discouraged.  Simply find an emerging agent to work on your behalf so your careers can flourish together.  Until you have created a bit of demand in the marketplace, it would be a dream to land a big agent.  And dreams need investment. 

Most agents are self-employed, self-taught, and passionately motivated by the love of someone or the love of the music.  Presenters are not adverse to dealing direct with the musician either.  In fact, I have heard some presenters say they prefer to deal with the musician directly.  So if you have a people personality, I bet you can be your own great agent.

Whether you are booking yourself, or you are a new agent, here are a few tips that may be helpful: 

• Make sure that you accumulate testimonials from each show.
• Communicate consistantly with the presenters in Canada and make sure the other presenters know you had a good show.  Keep a calling with rhythm…make it a habit.  Everything in this business is built on relationships.
• Always leave thank-you notes after your shows. And make sure to follow up within 30 days to say thank you again by telephone. 

There are no short cuts to fame.  My wife Nancy and I started together in this business exactly 13 years ago.  She managed to book me all over the world including the Hague, Japan, the Middle East, and several tours across Canada.  It was a team effort. Without passion, those opportunities would not have been created.

Wishing us all abundant opportunities!

Paul