:)

Part Two

I can't wait for the next exciting episode of
"Elliott's Secret Meeting With Clive Davis" Part 2
Adventures In Vegas--maybe?

EY_Forever--you crack me up! :rotfl: Very creative! :thumbsup:

GOOD WORK. Who is Rick Rubin??

LOVE IT!!! Keep us posted - K? :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

He started Def-Jam records back in the 80's with Russell Simmons. He's a record producer that's work with all kinds of artists. Here's a link to his wikipedia just to get an idea of what he's all about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin

Thanks for posting, EY! :thumbsup: :clap:

Rather long article in USA today a couple weeks ago - he sounds like he was made to work with E





By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY
MALIBU, Calif — He has a boyish laugh and a mountain-man burliness, a taste for demonic speed-metal and angelic doo-wop harmonies. He has amplified the vilest spewing by shock artists, from the Geto Boys to Andrew "Dice" Clay, then coaxed choirboy delicacy from Roy Orbison and rekindled the wholesome singer/ songwriter craft of Neil Diamond.
Rick Rubin may be as impossible to pigeonhole as the starry and swollen catalog of music he has produced.

A LOOK BACK: Rubin, from Diamond to Cash

Declared by Rolling Stone the most successful producer in any genre, Rubin is the oracle of audio, a studio savant whose highly sought services launch trends and resuscitate icons. He's having a banner year as the knob-twirler behind a trio of hot albums. The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium bowed at No. 1 in May, followed two weeks later by the chart-topping debut of the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way. This week, Johnny Cash's posthumous American V: A Hundred Highways, the fifth collaboration between Rubin and the country giant, hit shelves.

More is in the pipeline. Rubin is producing music by Linkin Park, Metallica and Justin Timberlake and is executive producer of Slayer's Christ Illusion, out Aug. 8.

The barefoot Buddha with the woolly salt-and-pepper beard seems out of sync in the courtyard of his hilltop English Tudor home, where best buddy actor Owen Wilson is steering his blue scooter out the driveway after a visit. Rubin heads for the backyard garden overlooking Zuma beach. He opens a bottle of passion-fruit green tea and sits lotus style in a deck chair, his tiny Yorkie Henry in his lap and a black Hungarian puli, Chompa, at his feet.

Highways, recorded in the last months of Cash's life, is cause for bittersweet celebration. Their collaboration represents another incongruity. Rubin initially struck Cash as a hobo. As their friendship deepened, they took daily communion together.

"We had a surprising amount of common ground, although on the face I can see it looked odd," Rubin, 43, says. "We both loved music and the history of music. We were interested in spirituality."

They met in 1993, when Cash was at a low ebb creatively. He felt burned out, and public interest had cooled after Columbia dumped him in 1986.

"I thought it would be a challenge to find a true legend who wasn't doing his best and see if we could change that," Rubin says. "Johnny was the first person I thought of, someone without peer, still capable of good work. He felt lost artistically."

Their first outing, 1994's American Recordings, reignited his career and drew young fans. Rubin persuaded him to overhaul such unlikely rock tunes as Nine Inch Nails' Hurt, Soundgarden's Rusty Cage and Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus. On Highways, his frail vocals bring a profound sadness to Gordon Lightfoot's If You Could Read My Mind. It's one of 60 tracks the pair recorded after American IV and before Cash died Sept. 12, 2003. Highways holds a dozen, and others will forge an American VI.

Highways "transcended record-making," Rubin says. "There was a dual purpose, a therapeutic benefit. It was important for his life, and I wasn't looking at the end result."

Devastated by Cash's death, Rubin channeled energies elsewhere, teaming with Slipknot, Jay-Z, Rage Against the Machine and The Jayhawks in 2004 and producing key 2005 releases: Weezer's Make Believe, System of a Down's Mesmerize and Hypnotize, Audioslave's Out of Exile and Diamond's 12 Songs.

Arguably the best in the American series, Highways and its sly wisdom, vulnerability and steely sense of acceptance defy conventional wisdom in the music industry, where artists normally peak early and fade. "It shows he was a true, honest artist and a great legendary hero from beginning to end," Rubin says.

Cash is the warmest chapter in Rubin's career, launched in 1984 when the Long Island native and Russell Simmons co-founded the Def Jam label, "a fun hobby that ended up being my job." The New York University film student had intended to enter law school (his needle phobia nixed med school plans) but detoured into production as a way to acquire music he couldn't find in stores.

"I'd buy 12-inch singles that didn't really reflect what hip-hop culture felt like," he says. "So as a fan, I started making records I wanted to hear. I didn't know it was a viable job."

A rap fanatic, Rubin soaked up "aggressive sounds and outlaw music" after growing up on heavy metal, punk, James Brown, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, oldies radio and doo-wop. He played guitar, joined punk bands and worked as a club DJ but never considered himself a musician.

As a producer, he made an immediate impact, playing a key role in rap's rise with such pivotal works as LL Cool J's Radio, the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill and Public Enemy's Yo! Bum Rush the Show. He pioneered rap-metal with his Walk This Way fusion by Aerosmith and Run-DMC.

In the early '90s, he left Def Jam and founded the rock-freighted Def American (later dropping the "Def"), expanding his palette with Tom Petty's Wildflowers and Mick Jagger's Wandering Spirit. Eclectic and adaptable, he has less a signature than a sonic diary, taking on diverse acts from Danzig to Donovan. In 1991, he delivered the Peppers' breakthrough Blood Sugar Sex Magik plus parental nightmares by Slayer and Dice.

Why does this meditating vegan delight in music's wicked fringes?

"I like things that are unique and extreme," he says. Steeped in the edgier realms of metal and rap, Rubin retained his Zen vibe. He never tried drugs. "It's the combination of meditating and always being deeply into something. When I was young, I was into magic. Kids I knew did drugs or got drunk out of boredom. I didn't want to give up my time."

Music's a constant, yet he finds time for reading, movies and a serious girlfriend. An only child, Rubin never considered parenthood an appealing option until recently.

Owen Wilson says laughter bonds their eight-year friendship, along with Vespas and body surfing.

"He's also a fan of professional wrestling, and if you need a good yoga person, go to Rick," he says. "I'm not connected to his music stuff, though I might get a CD from him before people can buy it at Tower. We just have a good time laughing. He has a funny take on stuff. A lot of lines in my movies came directly from Rick. I can see him doing something outside music. We even talked about working on a comedy idea for HBO."

Nominated three times for a Grammy producer of the year award, he isn't driven by hits or honors. It's the journey. His role is "to inspire and challenge artists to do their best work, and to do it for the sake of the work as opposed to the ends," Rubin says. "So much is about the process and pleasing ourselves, not thinking, 'Can it get on the radio, will it be done in time?' I try to erase all the restrictions that I've seen impede great art over and over. If the album is great, everything else will follow."

Such was the plan for 12 Songs. Rubin says Diamond, whom he ranks alongside Paul Simon, created a cabaret image by drifting from his emotional core as a singer/songwriter.

Diamond agrees: "I was one of those radio stars killed by videos. It was hard to get back on track. With Rick, I found the right path. He picked up on the vibe of acoustic guitar and understatement, something I haven't done in years and wasn't able to replicate until this album."

"He has an inner peace," Diamond says of Rubin's studio manner. "He's a throwback to the '60s, a big lovable bear of a man. The only problem I had was his habit of hugging. At first, I was taken aback. After a while, I got to like it. He's like Father Earth taking you to his bosom."

Diamond was delighted when 12 Songs generated his strongest reviews since 1980's The Jazz Singer.

"It's been a long wait," he says.

Today's surplus of lousy albums results largely from the twisted agendas of labels and managers who fixate on deadlines and marketing rather than nurturing talent, says Rubin, adding, "I try to run interference and refocus everything on the art and the artist's truth. But I'm not a babysitter. I don't do hand-holding."

Veteran musicians are less rigid than insecure beginners, he says, noting, "Grown-up artists are usually more open to experimentation because they know who they are. When I did a song with Roy Orbison for a soundtrack, he knew I wouldn't make him less Roy Orbison."

Rubin plucks a broad assortment as favorites from his canon: Petty's Wildflowers, the Peppers' Californication, System of a Down's Toxicity, the Red Devils' live King King, Slayer's Reign in Blood and the new Cash. He'd love to produce a U2 disc.

He's dismayed by recent hip-hop's bling-oriented lyrics and derivative metal and blames much of pop's slump on a singles-oriented sensibility that regards artists as disposable. And he's offended by the industry's treatment of fans. "No other business could survive such an incredible arrogance against the consumer," Rubin says. "They don't seem to care about giving consumers what they want or giving value for their money."

Hailed as a song swami with sterling ears, Rubin says that he has never stopped learning and that every project has been an educational swap meet. He's reminded of a symbiotic moment, when he visited Cash and the singer was too ill to collect a lifetime achievement award. So he and Rubin watched the ceremony on TV.

"I could see he was in pain and having trouble seeing," Rubin says. "I didn't know what to talk about. I said, 'What have you been working on?' And he said, 'You probably don't remember this, but about five years ago, I wrote a song and you looked at the lyrics and told me maybe we should take out some of the I's and me's. Ever since you said that, I've been working on using the words "I" and "me" less.' Even at his worst, that depth of character came through."

The lesson? "Aim to be like that."

Very creative and funny! Thanks!

Thanks for digging that up, Lind! A great read, and I totally agree with your statement before it. So the guy's a big hugger...the two of them would be like a couple of teddy bears!

Very interesting meeting. Can't wait for part 2! :D

Really cool!! Looking forward to Part 2.....

:etrain:

Freakin awesome! :thumbsup:

EY...I love it! Looking forward to another meeting! :rotfl:

From that article it appears that Rick Rubin is the Anti-Clive.

Loooooved the cartoon!

EY Forever! Brilliant. Maybe you are psychic? With any hope..... :ilikeit: :etrain: :goodpost: :woohoo:

:rotfl:

:amen:

Hey EY Forever! That's about the funniest thing I've read all day! :rotfl:

:goodpost: :ilikeit:

Hey, the truth was bound to come out!!!! :P

Elliott - we can't wait until you come out with something that's YOURS!!! :woohoo: :wub:

Love the cartoon EY, that's very creative, I'm patiently waiting for part 2 though! :D :rotfl: :ilikeit:

And Lind, thanks for the Rick Rubin article too, he sounds like an interesting guy, that's for sure.

:goodpost: That's funny. Good job!! :ilikeit:

Very cute and creative! :rotfl: I loved the article too!Let's hope E signs with someone like him! Happy Birthday sweet E!

:rotfl:

Awesome! :rotfl: I can't wait for part 2! :D

:thumbsup:

:ilikeit: :ilikeit: :ilikeit: :rotfl:

Here's a brief summary of what Rick Rubin achieved with Johnny Cash:

Rick Rubin's American record label. American Recordings, released in 1994, won a Grammy for best contemporary folk album. The follow-up, 1996's Unchained, earned the Grammy for best country album in 1997. His 2000 release American III: Solitary Man, included a cover of Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man," which won Cash a Grammy for best male country vocal performance in 2001.

In 2002, Cash released American IV: The Man Comes Around which included the Nine Inch Nails single "Hurt." Cash earned three CMA awards in 2003, and the acclaimed video for "Hurt" won an MTV award and a Grammy.

But there's a story that goes along with this that still makes me smile when I think of it almost 2 years after I saw it on CMT. In 2004, CMT did a series on controversies in country music. One of them was "Johnny Cash vs. Music Row." I'm relying on memory since I haven't been able to find any specifics through an Internet search, so I'll try to give a summary that is accurate but without specific dates and details:

Basically, Nashville turned its back on Johnny Cash. He didn't have a record label though he was still touring. I remember Rosanne Cash in her interview saying that she was very skeptical when her father told her he was approached by Rick Rubin. Even with the success of his albums with Rick Rubin, Nashville continued to turn its back on Johnny. His videos were shown on MTV but not CMT!!! He was winning Grammys and wasn't even nominated for any country awards. Here's the link to the ad Rick Rubin placed in Billboard Magazine:

Rick Rubin's Billboard Ad
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

The rumor of Elliott signing with Rick Rubin and American Recordings is one that a fervently hope is true.

:goodpost: Cute, creative, and probably truer than we all think!! Nicely done, EY!

:ilikeit: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

I would like to see that "push the envelop" and suggesting Clive wanting it from behind from Chris and Ace.

so creative, loved it. Always so impressed by our E trainers and their creativity.
Am waiting for part two of this very mysterious discussion
EY, you rock!

Great cartoon, very creative minds ride the E Train.

Here is another link to an interview with Rick Rubin. It's too long to post. This guy could be a dream come true for Elliott. He is not just a record producer, Rubin is an ARTIST producer.


http://www.digitalprosound.com/Features/In.../RickRubin2.htm

OMG!!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

EY- that's freaking awesome!! I love it!!

That "meeting" was brilliant. Thanks for posting.

Thanks also for the articles. They were very interesting.

That's a good one! Clive sure looks like a corpse.

More please? I'd love to see one with Nigel the vampire. You rock!! :cheerleader: :cheerleader: :ilikeit:

ROFL! You forgot to mention UNITS!!

EY!!!
(The laughing smilie is gone; I wanted to put in a few.)

Is there ANYTHING you can't DO?

Awesome thread! Thanks for the cartoon and the Rick Rubin article. Nice way to end the day.

Rick Ruben is VERY cool. So is Clive Davis. But, Rick would be an awesome move for Elliott.

If E goes with Rick Ruben...it sounds like a perfect match...he seems to concentrate on quality versus quantity....not trying to mold a pop star....staying true to the artists talents....nuturing them.... :wub: :ilikeit:

EY_Forever, you own me! :rotfl: nice job!!!