The Fingertips Q&A: Dave Derby of Gramercy Arms

Dave Derby, second from left, isn't sure what's going on either

THE FINGERTIPS Q&A

Dave Derby
(Gramercy Arms)

February 2009

The Fingertips Q&A was launched in August with the express intent of allowing actual, working musicians the chance to talk about the state of the music industry in the digital age. This is not intended as a comprehensive discussion; each time I ask five (relatively) simple questions, all having something to do with making sense of what popular music in the 21st century is about. Easy!

This month we welcome aboard Dave Derby, of the band Gramercy Arms, whose song "Automatic" was featured on "This Week's Finds" in December. The band released its self-titled debut album in November, which featured a number of indie rock semi-celebrities, including Matthew Caws from Nada Surf Joan Wasser of Joan As Police Woman. You may know Derby better as the front man of the Dambuilders, a Boston-based band that gained a footing on alternative rock radio in the '90s.

Q: Digital downloads have well-documented advantages and well-documented disadvantages, both from a musician's point of view and a listener's point of view. From your perspective as a musician, what's one good thing about digital downloads that people don't seem to be talking about? And what's one bad thing?

A: Hmm. It's hard to come up with advantages or disadvantages that other people might not have mentioned. I like the fact that MP3s are small and allow you the opportunity to publish your music instantly. I think they enable people to share music in a way that people never could. You can send an MP3 to a friend and say, "Hey this made me think of you, check it out." I also love the way a download can follow a review so you yourself can be the judge, immediately!

I guess one different perspective is the way they can make life so easy for collaboration between musicians. I can easily upload a bunch of MP3s to a server so someone I know can listen to my music and learn it, or vice versa. or it's an easy way to kick start a collaborative songwriting type of thing.

A downside, for me is that they don't always sound that great. When I want to listen to a record that is really well produced, I will want to get the CD or search out the vinyl if at all possible. It's funny that way because I've noticed that as a fan of music I'm starting to develop this multi-tiered sort of perspective. For a lot of new stuff by artists I don't know I'll start out with the MP3. If it's something that's more about the sound I'll try for CD and if it's a desert isle type of disk I'll go for vinyl.

Maybe this is ultimately a good thing? I'm not sure. I wonder if other people have a similar attitude about music and the media context they choose to hear it in. Maybe it's good that labels are starting to price records more cheaply because it will give emerging artists more opportunity? I'm not sure.

Q: What would you like your iPod to do that it doesn't do?

A: I wish it wasn't broken! Ha. I don't know how it happened but I broke my iPod and have been too busy to get it fixed. When it's working, I guess I wish that it were easier to navigate. I love the idea of randomization even though I never use it.

Q: How has your life as a musician been affected--or not--by the existence of music blogs?

A: I think blogs are fantastic. It's weird because in a way they really level the playing field. Anyone can be a critic and anyone can be subjected to criticism. I think that's a great thing. I also love the ephemerality of it. You can be a superhero or object of scorn and ridicule for a day in someone's digital corner of the universe. In some ways it's overwhelming and frustrating to navigate because there's so much of it. I love the way blogs and bloggers have to keep working to reinvent themselves and maintain their audience. The gatekeepers have to keep reinventing themselves.

I think it's a really good time to be a fan of music. It takes some work to keep up of course, but there is so much great stuff out there if you're willing to just follow the links, listen to the podcasts, etc.

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