Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 2:46 pm Post subject: Guthrie Website
I know that Guthrie is not famous for his "website" per se, but I think its worth mentioning that www.guthriegovan.co.uk has completely stopped working over the last few days... I don't know whether Mr.C. of GG want to look into it or post an update? I also noticed the re-registration date for the site is coming up pretty soon, so they might want to jump on that as well. I'd hate to see Guthrie's domain nabbed cyber squatter stylee.
K
P.S. If I officially save Guthrie's website then I bagsy a free lesson
Sadly we don't have any say over this stuff, but I'll pass it on to a few people who do have a say _________________ Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"
If someone else nicks that name then that would be pretty bad for him!
GG.com has been registered but nobody is using it yet and EroticCakes.com is a porn site!!!
Get the 'people who have a say' to retain the .co.uk and I'd build him a bloody website. My bands website made it to the top 5 best local music site for 2007 in Brighton recently. Dunno how we managed that but we did! A free guitar lesson would be wasted on me though, just get him to buy me a beer or if he's feeling really generous a new guitar and a Cornford Hellcat
Yeah, I've been a bit surprised that the site is taking so long, too. I guess what puzzles me is that there is enough content to get the website up and running. For example, there is:
1. A legion of videos floating around
2. A CD
3. A handful of interviews
4. A biography and list of works
5. Miscellaneous media and lessons
6. Gear info
7. A forum
8. Hopefully a new Fellowship CD coming soon
It really seems like there is enough content to get a very standard and solid site up and running. I guess if nothing else, for the time being couldn't the website just organize all the information and media scattered throughout this forum and the rest of the internet?
I think the lack of even a basic functional website is killing a lot of exposure that Guthrie could otherwise have, and I think this is something that should not be easily written off. Let's be real honest. Most people don't want to have to sign up for a forum to hear a new guitarist; they want to click two or three times and get the media. Without sites like YouTube, Guthrie would have very minimal exposure to only a select number of people. But the added advantage to a personal site is that the webmaster and Guthrie can select what media is added as well as upload audio that can't be hosted on sites like YouTube.
There have been as many calls for a more detailed website as there have been offers to write a new web site.
There have been as many invitations to write a new website as there are teeth in a crocodiles mouth.
How many is that?
Dunno, Boss, noone ever stopped to count 'em.
I think Guthrie is focussing on the day to day things and musical output rather than a website. I don't think a web presence is a vital weapon in his promotional arsenal. Look at the number of bands who have amazing web sites and news letters but really nothing much to report, including gigs.
I think he's going for the viral marketting approach, he's not promoting anything... we are. He's getting on with stuff... too cool for the internet or just too focussed on his music to be looking around trying to rally fans.
Although that's my interpretation, I am very clever .. so it's probably all true _________________ Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"
Although that's my interpretation, I am very clever .. so it's probably all true
Modest as always Frankus.
In all seriousness though, I agree with you. Web promotion doesn't seem very high up on Guthrie's list of priorities, so it shouldn't bother most. As long as the forum is kept alive, then I'm relatively happy. _________________ "He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him a spinal cord would fully suffice." - Albert Einstein
I guess I just think the power of a website can be very underestimated and its level of even basic exposure and integrity as well as the impact that a lack of one has in terms of first impressions tend to be misunderstood. Forgive me for being frank (no puns intended ), but in the present day when someone says "check out this guitarist", but he doesn't have a website, it's kinda hard to take him seriously because it comes across as if the musician is not very serious about promoting himself. It even may give a wrong impression about the quality of his CD. It kinda makes Guthrie look like one of the chumps who attends a Disc Makers conference, has a CD because he can, but gets all of his gigs playing at non-name clubs who take anyone. I'm not trying to be rude, but I think that's how many people would (and maybe already do) see the Guthrie.
As a sample, I just asked a couple of fellow guitarists what their gut reactions were to someone who would tell them "Hey, you should check out this guitarist. He doesn't have a website, but he has a CD". Here's what I got:
"No way. I literally blow off anything said to me in regards to the person."
"Old school".
The point is that the lack of a website keeps some people from even wanting to check out Guthrie. If anything, I would hope that we'd want Guthrie's music to turn people off, not his lack of basic marketing.
As far as a newsletter goes, I think it comes down to 1) how often one is sent out, and 2) just flat out being creative.
Actually, I think a lot of it comes down to being creative in ways that make the most out of the least. Heck, something as simple as a new lick every couple of weeks, and then a periodic video clip every now and then is plenty to give people a reason to come back. The one thing that Guthrie has that really sets him above other guitarists in this area is that he has a very unique personality that never seems to lack in creating interest.
In the end, I agree that it is all Guthrie's decision, and so it is his call, not mine. I just think we are overthinking what has to be on a Guthrie website to make it interesting. It's not so much about having one with loads of content as it is about having one where the content that is present (however much that may be) is interesting. But that's why there are people who specifically serve as the 'minds' behind these sites, people who naturally find ways to make things interesting with what little they are given...which would eliminate 95% or more of the time and effort Guthrie would have to put into his site. If anything, all the time is in the webmaster's hands.
I guess I just think that the lack of a website is a big marketing mistake. I know in some sense there's this sort of mutually exclusive mental image of Guthrie and marketing, perhaps because of the misconception that marketing means running around in chaps with your rear end hanging out while scantily clad women in hot red dance around you. It's really just about having a point of contact with your fans. Surely Guthrie enjoys playing gigs and selling CDs or he wouldn't already be doing it.
Sorry, this is all just a pet peeve of mine, but it has been balling up inside me for a while.
But with all that said, I understand that none of us really have any control over the website. It just felt good to get those thoughts out of my head and into text
Why go to the extreme length of practising for years to be the best you can possibly be at something, take a job teaching, release instructional books, play in a band, release a CD and all the while not want anyone to know about it by using the most obvious promotional tool out there at the moment.
His playing style isn't exactly 'I'll just tuck myself away at the back of the band and take 8 bars in the middle if that's OK?' is it? It's 'hey guys I'm over HEEEEERE!!! take a f*cking look at this then'. Maybe his personality isn't quite like that but at the end of the day I'd say HE definitely wants people to know he is around and it's not just us wanting people to hear him so we can say 'There you go told ya! bleedin good ain't he?'.
I say a website is a good thing even if Guthrie never ever contributes a single thing personally. It would just give everyone who does want to know what he's about the opportunity to find out without having to trawl loads of different pages.
I agree with both ends of this debate, though I tend to lean toward GG having a website because in the end, the presentation is just as important as the content being presented. I'm a graphic designer and I've said this
so many times: You could have two cans side by side, both filled with the
greatest beer/ale/brew of all time. One is labelled 'Beer', the other is the
beautifully packaged design. 9 times out of 10, the consumer will go for the
well packaged one, even though they are both exactly the same content. The package is just as important as the content. Look at the current state of music....Brittney?? Great Package!!! American Idol?? PACKAGE!!!
I personally found the Erotic Cakes CD to be really clever packaging, it even got me a bit of flack at work when someone thought it was porn...haha. I agree that there is more than enough content to make a great site for GG and to get the 'official' word out there.
Guthrie has achieved an incredible amount of success and notoriety on-his own without an 'official' website, and that is largely inpart to all the fine folks out there (yourselves included) who spread the word on GG at any chance given (I tend to play his CD in heavy rotation at the music school I teach at and believe me, a few people have since purchased the disc). But so many times, I hear "Where is his website????".....I say, "He hasn't got an official one yet". The reaction is as follows:
"WHAT???"
"HUH???"
"EVERYONE HAS A WEBSITE???"
"MY FRIGGIN' AUNT WHO DOES NEEDLE POINT HAS A WEBSITE"
"EVERY STRIPPER/PORN STAR/HOOKER HAS A WEBSITE"
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME????"
"I've heard of him....."
"That guy is insane...his YouTube vids are simply amazing"
Frankly, I think Guthrie will prevail because his talent is far too superior to ignore, but a good website would help ALOT.
Guthrie (or those close to him), do yourself and your career a favor....get a website, and let the rest of the world hear the talent which you hold. It is rare that such a guitarist like yourself comes along and causes such a stir. The last one I remember was this little italian virtuoso who went by the name of Steve something.....hmmm.
Mike Keneally's newsletters are fun and Martin Taylor's dog's blog is a good idea - but it works because it's the dog blogging rather than Martin promoting himself.
Lets go the other extreme Justin Sandercoe: amazing website, really useful, instructive and conscienciously maintained, well promoted too - the number of people who tell me it's a great site... I'm proud I played a small part in that... but the site overshadows Justin's personal musical achievements (IMO).
Then there's Web 2.0, I work at the BBC on their web-sites and it is really annoying when people say: we want to build a forum, a blog, a photo uploading tool, a social networking system with music clips, a social networking system with applications... 9 times in 10, they'll even say: we want to build our own phpBB, blogger, flikr, myspace, facebook, wikipedia, del.icio.us, amazon, digg, last.fm or google ... they don't realise the value of using these systems and promoting to them.. well Alan Yentob did with his contribution on youtube, sadly pulled, as someone at Radio 1 said "It was a bit Dad at the Disco"... and there are facebook apps for the beeb too.
Guthrie isn't using the web, we're using the web to put stuff on youtube, review articles on amazon, bookmark stuff in del.icio.us, posting on this forum .. and others, theres a myspace page, wikipedia entries, it's high up on google all thanks to these links... then there's the master stroke, something Architects understand but Web architects just don't get: space.
There is no instant gratification to find out Guthrie stuff: there are reflections by others, snippets but no auto-biography promoting some pedalled image, no quick win so you can read a bit and then move on to the singing squirrel with large swinging testicles... this kind of marketting worked a treat for another long haired bearded guy a few millenium ago. Not that I'm making any other comparisons
At a tangent: these days if you ask a kid what they want to be, they'll often say: "famous" ... famous for what? "I dunno". We're breeding celebrities. Well, we're not; we're just elevating everyday people with no talents or commendable qualities and wanting to know their inside leg measurement is, what bubble bath they use, what they had for dinner and who they've slept with. Pointless. All these people are is puppets for tabloids, dumbed down tv, ad agencies and faceless companies used to promote more mediocre crap.
Whereas: there's a guy who enjoys playing guitar and is pretty good at it; he's written a few books and released a CD. Are they any good? See for yourself.
I agree with lots of the above however this is 2007 and it's the way of things now whether we like it or not! Talentless crap acts have always been around and they have always been at the top of the pile with mainstream audiences. Nobody with an ounce of common sense actually believes these people are real celebrities (whatever that is?), it's just a label given to any person that the media might be able to make a few quid out of. Years ago we had to look around to find real talent and we found it because it was there. It's there today in the same way as it was before, it hasn't disappeared but you still have to look around to find it. A website makes it just that little bit easier to find for the people who are digging for nuggets!
Early on, Guthrie dropped by this forum, answered some questions, and offered up a few select Guthrie-isms. Then he disappeared...
I expect he probably still drops by here occasionally to see what sorts of things we're saying about him. But I confess I rather like the fact that he blew us off. Oddly, it makes me respect him all the more.
Like Frankus said, the web scene is pretty tangential to what he's all about. He's doing his thing with delightful disregard for the reception he gets. He reminds me a bit of some of the ski junkies I romp with, several of whom cash in everything they have each winter to buy lift tickets while they live in an igloo or a yurt in the woods. To all the world, they look like bums. But when they ski, it's pure poetry -- like watching water flow down the mountain. Total commitment with indifference to the customary rules. I like that kind of thing.
Got a bit off topic there, didn't I? Oh well, sorry for the rambling...
To all the world, they look like bums. But when they ski, it's pure poetry -- like watching water flow down the mountain. Total commitment with indifference to the customary rules. I like that kind of thing.
Got a bit off topic there, didn't I? Oh well, sorry for the rambling...
I think that's spot on topic, simply using a metaphor or figurative um thingy.
Life's about living, and it's very much part of many religions that you can't be all that you can if you're stopping to watch yourself living it. Or describing things you've done to people, you might compromise truth to keep it interesting
Website:
The problem is that one centralized web site to fulfil your needs is not 2007 it's 2000 it's all about what we call aggregated content
I think not having the web site doesn't impede hearing snippets, seeing videos, buying the books, registering opinions whatever... the only thing it really affects is Guthrie diaries and a list of gigs... I'd settle for a list of gigs, really, as Guthrie doesn't have a dog (like Martin Taylor's) to blog for him. _________________ Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"
stratoskier wrote:
[i]To all the world, they look like bums. But when they ski, it's pure poetry -- like watching water flow down the mountain. Total commitment with indifference to the customary rules. I like that kind of thing.
Got a bit off topic there, didn't I? Oh well, sorry for the rambling... [/i]
That was a spectacular view.....
I agree with that completely. Especially in America, you are SO judged by your monitary success (or lack there of), and yet so many people wish they could be just left alone to their own devices (myself included). It's hard when you have to support a family, pay bills/mortgage/car/school/food and such and try to make some sort of semblence of enjoyment from the 'hobby' (as it's often referred by those who have no clue to the amount of commitment it takes to actually learn how to play an instrument).
As for viewing your ski-buds as bums....I bet if you asked those who judge what they would rather be doing, skiing or going to their 9to5 gig, they would trade almost anything for that sort of freedom and carefree edge so many of us have lost along the way toward self-sustinance.
As for GG - Like I said before, i think the man has done such a tremendous job sans website, it's pretty darn admirable. I just wish there was something a bit more 'substantial' for those who are just getting into him. But then again, YouTUbe is pretty much a god-send (save for every wanker who thinks they can cop the Steve Vai solos in their bedroom).
As always, this forum is filled with really 'on-point' views and commentary and very intelligent opinions. Such a pleasure to read from time to time. Now I must go spin Erotic Cakes and hang my head in humility while staring at my gray-clothed cubical wall......
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