Travis Dickerson Recording Studios Forum

It seems the Praxis show in Chicago and the selling of the DVD at shows has  caused a bit of a stir. I have been asked my opinion by people on every side of the situation. Firstly, the show in Chicago was a Praxis show, not a Buckethead show. Some have expressed disappointment at the show in Chicago and Buckethead was one expressing his disappointment. There were a lot of things happening behind the scenes and because Buckethead was asked to be there as a guest he had nothing to do with the staging, set list or people playing and had no control over the out come of the show. Buckethead has always put his fans first and strives to make each show a unique experience. Where else but at a Buckethead show will the performers throw out gifts and make sure you hear a lot of your favorite songs. I know of no other artist who has recorded personal individual CD for fans. Here is someone ho has turned down lucrative deals to stay true to ideals and true to who he is and what his fans expect or in his case could never expect from him.  I know personally he agonizes over every show to make sure its a good experience and so know one feels it more than he does when those expectations aren\'t fulfilled. No one is blaming anyone for anything that happened, Buckethead was with friends and the band is in itself is an experiment, mix up the ingredients shake well and sometimes it boils over into a hot explosion and ...sometimes not. If you were at the Chicago show and were disappointed it is asked that you write to Greg@Bucketheadland.com
and express yourself. Buckethead would like to find a way to make it up to you. Now the DVD. Now here is a case of just not being able to win. It\'s also a case of Buckethead feeling for his fans and wanting to do something to get at least some DVDs into peoples hands. I have a feeling people don\'t realize the DVD is not the property of Buckethead to do with what he would like. The DVD was made with Bucketheads cooperation but he had noting to do with the business of it\'s making, pressing or distribution, that\'s in the hands of the people that put considerable investment into it and who\'s business responsibilities have dictated the fate of the DVD till now. The merits of taking the DVD out on the road pre-release can be argued but it was Bucketheads desire to get the ball rolling first by making a plea to get some at least for fans that were at shows so not to violate any pending distribution deals, and behind the scenes to try to find some form of limited distribution that wouldn\'t jeopardize the DVDs producers from recouping their investment. This is another case of art meets business and the struggles that come of it. It\'s my opinion that nobody is a bad guy here, certainly not the investors in the DVD that were willing to take a chance on such an unusual product and especially not Buckethead  who could\'t be in a more awkward position of trying to please fans and his investors.  Normally I keep quite about stuff like this it almost always works itself out, but this time it kind of pained me to see some of the reactions to someone who has taken the long hard road to be an individual lone voice. I sure hope I didn\'t embarrass Buckethead but I felt I needed to say something.

QuoteThe DVD was made with Bucketheads cooperation but he had noting to do with the business of it\'s making, pressing or distribution.

thanks for making that clear, Travis. I hope he didn\'t get as screwed over in that deal as some of his fans did.

Thanks travis for those words , if you dont mind T , I\'d like to post some words that FrankenSuess posted for the buckethead community over at www.buckethead.tk (for people who dont know , suess was one of the creators of the DVD and has done alot of artwork for Big B\'s albums)

Suess wrote : Hi. I was the designer for the DVD so I just want to say - please don\'t blame Buckethead for what\'s going on with the release. Secret Recipe was funded by a record label, not by Buckethead, so they are the ones who control what happens to it. No one is more frustrated than Buckethead, Syd and I by the lack of a release. We worked as long and hard on this thing as you have waited for it. We were still working on it long after we stopped getting paid for it, because we wanted it to be great.

Unfortunately, releasing it does not seem to be as big of a priority for them as it is for us and for you. (At least, that\'s what it seems like to me, but then I don\'t know about business or about the negotiations with the distributors.) Buckethead wants to sell it on the web site, and to have it in every store in the world. We all wish it happened long ago but, it didn\'t. Hopefully it will be soon.

I\'m not up to date on the latest developments (I didn\'t know about them being sold at the Praxis shows until I read about it online) but the fact that he was actually able to get some to bring on the tour sounds like a good sign to me. At least it\'s one step toward it being available.

Sorry for all the waiting - I wish we\'d never even told anyone we were making it! But I\'m proud of it - I hope everyone is able to enjoy it when it comes out and that DVD will not be an obsolete format by that time.

I wonder if there will be flying cars though?

your pal,

Bryan Theiss, Frankenseuss Laboratories



I thought it was really cool of Bryan to try and clear some of that up for everyone.

Thanks Saul, sounds like Bryan and I are using talking points.

Awsome...

Bryan as in Buckethead?  I thought only his mother calls him that. hahahahahah


I feel like an ass doing all that bitching about the Chicago concert.. I sure hope Bucket doesn\'t read the boards.. I don\'t want him to think his fanbase consists of an ass..

Jeff

Could not have been said, or explained any better. Thank you Travis

QuoteSome have expressed disappointment at the show in Chicago and Buckethead was one expressing his disappointment.

Not to sound dumb, but what does this mean?? Buckethead Expressing his dissapointment?

Thanks,
Jeff P

QuoteAwsome...

Bryan as in Buckethead?  I thought only his mother calls him that. hahahahahah


I feel like an ass doing all that bitching about the Chicago concert.. I sure hope Bucket doesn\'t read the boards.. I don\'t want him to think his fanbase consists of an ass..

Jeff

No , Bryan as in bryan aka frankensuess.

And yeah , sometimes you really need to think things out before blasting someone on the messageboards , obviously Buckethead himself was kinda disapointed by the show in chicago too.

he shouldnt be though ... I\'ve heard the recording and IMHO it was a good , although kinda short , set!

thanks for the words.

Sorry to everyone that couldn\'t get a dvd because of that stupid Ebay stunt.  My deepest sympathies to you guys who really really wanted it and to buckethead who was also disappointed that his fans were sad.  That\'s really really cool man.  He\'s really really cool.  What an awesome guy.

Hopefully the somewhat unhappy reaction to the show won\'t cause hesitation on Buckethead\'s part to take part in such live experiments in the future.  One "unhappy" show compared to so many other great ones is a fairly good record

Wow. Travis, thanks for letting us know what\'s happening here. I kinda figured Bucket probably felt bad about people being unhappy. That\'s the music industry for ya! :-/
Thanks for the info, and thanks to Bucket for being one of coolest musicians out there.

Thanks for saying something, Travis. I appreciate it.

This situation has bothered me too. Now let me take a crack at it...

Look, I bought a roundtrip airflight from NJ to Chi and back. I also paid for two nights at the Hard Rock Hotel. So it all wasn\'t cheap. I went to the show, and as always, Buckethead was the most amazing musician I\'ve ever seen in my life. I had so much fun at the show. Yeah, the set was short. So what! I have no regrets! Shit happens! I\'ve always felt that Buckethead was one of the few real musicians in the world that has integrity and tons of love and respect for his work and his fans. His contributions to his fans have been overwhelming. I\'m sure Buckethead will always be as loving as he\'s been. I\'ve never seen someone so creative and productive, altogether. I\'m just totally impressed with everything about and connected to him. That show in Chi was the sixth time seeing him in a calendar year - and yes it was the worst performance of them all - however, I\'d buy a ticket faster than you can say "headcheese" if and when he comes back to NYC/Philly (and I\'d fly out to see him anywhere if I have the fundage). I\'d never stop going to see Buckethead or buying his albums and exploring other musicians he works with. Honestly, I\'ve been giving it a real listen lately and I must say that Axiology is an all-time favorite now. You were sick on that album, Travis. Totally impressive and beautiful. Ramy\'s beats were ridiculously tight too. I have more gratitude than most could imagine. I\'ve said it before and I\'ll say it again - Buckethead is TRULY lightyears ahead of any other guitar player. Call it a "gut feeling"....only time will tell. In my opinion, he makes Lane, Vai, Hendrix or any other genius look like children learning their first notes when it comes to playing. That\'s MY take on it all. The speed, dexterity, cleanliness, attack, precision, on and on....nothing short of astounding. That\'s just my opinion: he\'s strictly unbridled and unsurpassed. There is no comparison though really - in a league of his own now. I\'d leave every single thing in my life (besides my kid, and Buckethead has toys for him too!) behind to go work for Buckethead. There\'s not a task I wouldn\'t take on to support him. I\'d drop it all in a second for the chance. Personally, I think his management sucks so badly. He has never been represented (been listening to Buckethead since high school years) with HIS best interest in mind. If he\'s going to be so damn productive, he needs the appropriate amount of support. The way he plays his music (the seriousness and commitment) should be the way his representatives and staff support him. I know the artists he partners with all have his back. But these scumbags that just own shit (record labels, etc.) and don\'t know a thing about having a soul need to go immediately. I don\'t know who they are and I don\'t care. Buckethead is the man and deserves more, period.

I wish those bitches that complained a whole lot could be premanently banned from listening to Buckethead or something. It\'s like they\'ve lost the privelege of hearing such beautiful music, in my book. But who knows, maybe they need to hear it to snap out of their negativity. Objective criticism is one thing, being an asshole is another. I love ya Buckethead and I\'m committed to your success in any way I can contribute. You will always have my support.

Travis, you\'ve done so much good work with Buckethead and it\'s amazing. From the music you create to the studio/biz you run, to the commitment you have with each other as friends. You should be very proud of yourself and know that you\'re part of something that is truly special and sacred (which I\'m sure are and know). I just can\'t express enough gratitude for all you guys who make all this possible.

(I want in! Where do I sign up? hahaha, boy do I wish...)

Much Love,
Brian

It is absurd to think that fans of Buckethead would consider
themselves a fan if they think that Buckethead OWES them an apology or an explanation.

Eloquently Put Buddy!!

Livin In UK I woulda been grateful for 3 minutes!!