The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts.

Other than Sooner enthusiasts and fans of the 1990s NBA, I am going to guess that most people, let alone sports fans have never heard of Stacey King.  You may be surprised to know that he was a role player who contributed to three consecutive championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993.   Similar scenarios, although involving even lesser known individuals, have been infiltrating the music industry for decades.  For example, would there be hit singles such as “American Girl” & “Breakdown”, if there were no Heartbreakers?  The first Heartbreakers’ name that I ever learned was Benmont Tench, the organist/keyboardist of Tom Petty’s band.  The reason I came to know his name was by reading the liner notes of several 1990s albums and seeing him listed as a session musician. Green Day, The Wallflowers and Ryan Adams are the first to come mind.

Along these same lines there is Neal Casal.  This singer-songwriter had a modestly successful solo career (1995’s ‘Fade Away Diamond Time’ is a must listen), but what has had made him a career musician is the fact that he is best known as a member of Ryan Adams' backing band the Cardinals, and currently plays in the Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes) Brotherhood.  There is also Karl Denson, who had a triumphant run as a solo musician and band leader of The Grey Boy AllStars, but is now the touring saxophonist for The Rolling Stones.  Settling into the role of unheralded session player or band mate seems to be vogue these days, particularly if it allows you to become a career musician.

In fact, Fran Strine’s documentary film ‘Hired Gun’ which is targeted for a late 2015 release, tackles this very same subject matter.  It seems to me that some artists are more comfortable not being the superstar or household name and are more at ease with the idea of taking their names off the marquee.  Is there something about stepping out of the spotlight and being a part of the crowd that is more appealing?  There are numerous examples spanning  the late 1960s to the present day.   Groups like Blind Faith formed & disbanded in a whirlwind, leaving one unbelievable album in its wake.  Journey sprouted up as a side-project of musicians who had been playing with Santana and the Steve Miller Band.  The 1980s had the Traveling Wilburys and in the 1990s there was Temple of the Dog.  These days, Justin Vernon, (aka Grammy Award winning artist Bon Iver) can now be seen and heard as the lead vocalist for the band Volcano Choir. 

I believe this is the modern concept of synergy.  I once worked with a band that included a descendant of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner as well as a drummer of two different influential alternative rock bands and it was more than just a musical anthropology experiment.  The musicians worked extremely hard to blaze their own trail, and although the end result landed their one album in the discount record bin, it was a firsthand experience for me to see that music is not entirely all ego.  So next time, please keep an eye on the musicians standing in the shadows of the stage and listen closely to how they contribute. 

Thank you for reading