By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Black a better man with Equity

With 20 number one hits, a dozen Top Five videos, seven platinum albums and multiple CMA, ACM and Grammy awards under his belt by 1999, country music singer-songwriter Clint Black was the darling of Nashville during the 1990s, whose popularity and record sales — like other artists — were eclipsed only by Garth Brooks.

After breaking into the business with chart-topping, triple-platinum albums like 1989’s “Killin’ Time” and 1990’s “Put Yourself in My Shoes,” for RCA Records, the former Texas ironworker and fishing guide helped usher in a subtle shift in country music during the ‘90s and a return to the more traditional sounds of the genre. A prolific songwriter, he recorded more than 100 of his own songs, including No. 1 hits like “Killin’ Time,” “A Better Man,” “Like the Rain” and a duet with his wife, actress Lisa Hartman Black, “Something That We Do.” His rugged good looks even helped land him some acting roles on television, and it seemed like Black was destined for a comfortable life as a hit-maker for the Nashville machine.

But a funny thing happened on the way to Music Row. Black ended his 13-year relationship with RCA Records in 2001 and started his own publishing company, Blacktop Music Group. He moved to Los Angeles and took five years off between studio albums to help raise his daughter, Lily, only to be accused by the Nashville establishment of turning his back on country music.

Judging by Black’s dedication to country music’s traditions, nothing could be further from the truth. Black continued to tour during his recording hiatus, then he started the second chapter of his career in 2003 when he co-founded the Equity Music Group with former Sony executive Mike Kraski, and released 2004’s “Spend My Time” and 2005’s “Drinkin’ Songs and Other Logic” on his own label. Along the way, Equity has attracted promising young country music artists like Little Big Town, Laura Bryna, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Carolina Rain and Mark Wills.

The label’s name — which implies justice, fairness and impartiality — resonates with Black’s approach to the music industry.

“I didn’t want to go back into a system I think is breaking if not already broken,” says Black, who has moved back to Nashville. “I had a lot of great success and great years on one of the major labels and loved a lot of the people there, but I don’t see them being able to adapt. They’re too big and lumbering, and I feel the industry needs to treat the artists better than they are. So I started my own label based on my experiences of how artists are treated.”

Unlike major record labels, Black’s business model is artist-friendly, he says. He pays royalties on time, based on a flat rate — no formulas — and he signs artists for the long haul to help nurture them instead of treating them like disposable commodities. With the majors, many artists are dropped when they fail to produce hits, and if they are paid royalties, many have to wait as long as five years to get a check.

“To me, the artists are the reason for the company, and sometimes I think the guys at the top of these big companies think the company is the reason for the artist,” Black says. “I’m also concerned about the music culture and what’s driving it. There’s always been a business side to it, but when you look at the early days and how companies were taking from the artist, it’s really no different now.”

So far, Black says, his small, independent label has proved itself to be a fierce competitor in an industry dominated by giants, earning Billboard’s No. 2 Independent Imprint of the Year and No. 4 Independent Label of the Year awards over all genres in 2006.

“It’s tough. We’re a small company and we need to be on our toes to compete,” he says. “We have to be really smart and have great artists, which we do.”

The most rewarding aspect of owning the label, Black says, is helping musicians make an honest living.
“I know the value of that,” he says. “I know the value of having anyone who genuinely cares for you. It really means a lot to me to have a positive impact on anyone trying to live their dream.

“I want them to have long careers so they can make more music. I look at Merle Haggard and Buck Owens and what they did with the Bakersfield sound, and I think ‘thank God we have that music’ because if they had done what they were being forced to do, we would not have that sound.”

The dream also continues for Black. This week, he released “The Strong One,” an ode to mothers and the first single from his forthcoming and untitled album due in stores this fall. He describes the album as “groovy” and “lighter,” adding “I wanted it to be fun for parties or while driving in the car.”

Black says when country music is at its best, it can relate to anyone.

“You don’t have to be a professor of sociology to get it,” he says. “And if you keep listening, you can find layers in it. I try to put them in everything I do to the point where the message is clear, but there are things that make you think.”

CJC honors jazzers

The Community Jazz Center will host its seventh annual Des Moines Jazz Hall of Fame Reception and Concert on Oct. 21 at Adventureland Inn. This year’s inductees include trumpeter and educator Robert Weast, bassist and educator Dartanyan Brown, educator Phil Mattson and club owners and musicians of Des Moines’ bygone Center Street scene — Seymour and Howard Gray. Musicians Paul Micich and Rob Messer will also be honored with an award, as will Johnston High School student Paige Sanders. Tickets to the ceremony and concert are $25 for adults and $15 for students. Call 276-0777.

This just in

Bob Dylan and His Band will play Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Oct.
24 at 7 p.m. with openers Elvis Costello (solo) and Amos Lee. Tickets,
$47.50 and $67, go on sale Friday at noon through Ticketmaster.

Scene notes

Rascal Flatts and Jason Aldean play Wells Fargo Arena Oct. 26, at 8 p.m. Tickets, $36 and $59, go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at LiveNation.com, dahlstickets.com, the arena box office and area Dahl’s Foods, or by phone at 866-55-DAHLS. … Homegrown indie rockers Poison Control Center celebrate the release of their new Afternoon Records CD, “A Collage of Impressions,” with a show Saturday at 9 p.m. at the M-Shop in Ames. Tickets are $5-$7. … The Civic Music Association kicks off its 2007-08 season with a performance on Sunday by the Borealis Wind Quartet at Drake University’s Sheslow Auditorium at 3 p.m. Other shows include the Turtle Island Quartet (Nov. 10), Joe Lovano and his Nonet (Jan. 26), Ruby Hinds (Feb. 22), Dr. Michael White’s Quartet (March 7) and the Ahn Trio (April 11). Visit www.civicmusic.org or call 280-4020. … The Anchor Coffee House at Westminster Presbyterian Church announced its 2007-08 music season. Performers include Denice Franke (Sept. 29), Chris McCallum (Nov. 3), The Kinsers (Dec. 8), Mike and Amy Finders Band (Jan. 19), Julie Loyd (March 1) and Dennis Warner (April 12). Season tickets are $50. Individual show tickets are also for sale at the church and Uptempo Music. Visit www.westpress.org or call 274-1534. … Funeral services were held last week for local drummer Larry Chambers, 57. Chambers was the timekeeper for The Wasie River Band for several years. Guitarist Rob Lumbard described Chambers’ abilities as “God given talent.” He is survived by his wife and four children. CV

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