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Interview with John Kalodner
JDK (John Kalodner), from music critic to Atlantic
Records, to the signing of Foreigner
& head of A & R to Geffen Records & reintroducing
Aerosmith, our hometown boy does
good!
So here we go..........
Geo: Where did you grow
up?
JDK: I grew up in
Suburban Philadelphia.
Geo: Was photography your first venture
into the arts & did you study at a school?
JDK: I was first a photographer
and a crappy painter and I didn't attend school for either.
Geo: Do you play an instrument or write?
JDK: No, neither.
I'm just an avid music listener.
Geo: What was your first music
review for the Philadelphia Bulletin & did you enjoy your time as a
music critic? (I was @ the Roxy Music
show that you reviewed &
took photos of.)
JDK: I don’t remember my first review. It was an
enjoyable time until Matt Damsker came along at the Bulletin. Then I
went to work as a reviewer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. All
in all, it was great, even when people sent me letters saying that they
papered their birdcages with my reviews.
Geo: Did your eye for taking pictures help
w/ your position at Atlantic Records in the publicity department (1974)
& did you have a hand in helping the photographers plan publicity
layouts for Atlantic artists (w/ your background in photography &
newspaper work seemed like a+)?
JDK: I was the photographer
for Atlantic in 1974 and 1975. In fact, until I left for the West
Coast in October 1976, even after I signed Foreigner
, I was still the photographer. I didn't
help to plan the layouts, I took over 10,000 pictures that Atlantic used
in those three years in New York at Atlantic.
Geo: Later you began work with
Atlantic in the A & R department. Did you have a hard sell w/
the then solo Peter Gabriel
as a new act for Atlantic? Did they feel it was a
risky addition to the Atlantic roster?
JDK: Peter
Gabriel just exercised his leaving member clause in Genesis
, so there was no decision in signing him. I think
it was a hard sell until Atlantic heard the first album, which was
produced by Bob Ezrin. And then I was stupid enough to pass on Peter
Gabriel's second or third solo record because he took a song off the
record when I told him I thought it could be single. That was a big
mistake, but I learned from it.
Geo: One act you were bent on
signing was Foreigner in 1977. What was it w/Foreigner that sold you & how did you find
them? Was one fact that a couple members were from King Crimson
&
could maybe help sell the band or were you sold on the songwriting of Mick
Jones alone?
JDK: I signed Foreigner in 1976. I
went to see this band called Trigger
in June
1976 and I didn't like them. Then, the next week, I saw a tape of a
band called Trigger on the desk of Jerry Greenberg's secretary (Jerry
Greenberg was then president of Atlantic). So, I said to his
assistant, "I just saw this band, can I listen to the tape"? She
replied that my boss, Jim Delehant (then head of A&R at Atlantic)
already passed on it. I wanted to listen to it anyway, so I put the
tape on in my office and the first song on the demo was "Feels Like the
First Time". Immediately I called to see Jerry Greenberg and told
him we had to go see this band, since it was obviously not the Trigger I
had just seen. When I played Jerry the demo of the song "Feels Like
the First Time", he said they were managed by Bud Prager and Bud was down
on his luck, but maybe it was time for his luck to change. So he
said we could go and see them. We went to see them in Bud Prager's
office at 1790 Broadway and they played us three songs live, including
"Feels Like the First Time" and "Cold As Ice". When we got back down
to Jerry's car, I said they were great and we should definitely sign them
and he said "Okay, it's your project, now make it work". So,
the short answer is that is was all about Mick Jones and Lou Gramm's
songwriting.
Geo: After establishing your self
as a very good A & R man, did you visit Philadelphia & look at any
of the bands gaining a following (such as: the A's, Robert Hazard, Kenn Kweder
, etc. in the late 70's early 80's) as
a possible act to sign a record deal with?
JDK: I looked at some of them and I
thought that they were just average and really weren't my
taste.
Geo: Later you moved over to David
Geffen's new label, Geffen Records. Were you instrumental in breaking
XTC
in America w/ the Todd Rundgren produced 'Skylarking' &
the beautiful 'Oranges & Lemons' albums (great singles: Dear God &
The Mayor of Simpleton)?
JDK:
No, in the case of
XTC , I was just lucky. I signed them once
to Virgin/Atlantic in 1978 and then signed them for the U.S. through
Geffen in 1986. They made those records without my A&R input, I
was just lucky to be at the right place at the right time in their
case.
Geo: You also signed White Zombie, Cher &
Berlin to Geffen
. It seems that most artists
& bands you work with are all male. Do you see more of a selling
market w/ male artists/bands then female?
JDK: Each of these example artists represented women,
White Zombie
had a female bass player, Cher is a woman, and Berlin had a
female singer. It's only about star power and hit songs with me,
gender does not matter one bit.
Geo: What did you see in Aerosmith
to sign them since most of the record industry thought they were washed up
& drugged out (it seems that one of your motto's could be: 'I'm not
afraid to take chances'!)? How did you convince the label to go all
the way with the band?
JDK:
A superstar is a
superstar, whether drugged out or not. It’s just easier to work with
people who are not high. I didn't have to convince the label at all
to promote Aerosmith
, their music spoke for
itself. And David Geffen never second-guessed me.
Geo: Did the songwriting & pop
appeal of the Beatles
have an influence on you when it came to choose an artist
to sign to your roster or did you look at what the public had an interest
in (or a combination of both)?
JDK: A combination of both, the Beatles are my biggest
musical influence, but what people want to listen to and buy is very
important to me, especially if it's melodic and fun.
Geo: How & when did you become the
founder of Portrait Records? Who was the first artist signed?
JDK: Portrait was founded in
the 1970's by someone, I think maybe Lenny Petze, at CBS Records. I
just used the name for a classic rock label because Sony already owned the
name. I wanted to concentrate on the music, not the name of the
label. Cinderella was the first band I signed, but I never got to
make a record with them. Classic rock did well in concert venues,
but not in CD selling, although there are still two bands on Portrait – Iron
Maiden and Union
Underground
. Portrait is Sony's
label, not mine.
Geo: Will you be working anymore w/
Tom Keifer (of Cinderella
)?
JDK: I don’t think so, but one can
never really tell. He's one of the most talented singers and
musicians I have ever met.
Geo: Do you feel soundtracks sell much
better today than an individual artist or is this a way for a new artist
to get exposure for themselves?
JDK: Neither. The soundtrack business has been
severely damaged by the stealing of music on the internet and most movie
directors only want artists they know. It's really too bad what's
happened to movie soundtracks.
Geo: What is your relationship w/
Bon Jovi
today? Do you advise him w/direction or song selection for new
release's?
JDK:
I am Bon Jovi's A&R guy, like I have been for the last fifteen
years. I advise him on direction and song selection and whatever
else he wants input on in his career. David Geffen and Don Ienner
were always kind enough to let me work with Bon Jovi, even though they
were not signed to my label.
Geo:
Do you think that the record industry should try marketing more NEW
artists at the $9.99 (CD) price range to keep down the stealing of music
off of the web & maybe bring back more sales to the market & for
the artists?
JDK: This
is a question for record companies to answer. In my opinion, CD's
should cost $9.99 and people shouldn't steal music.
Geo: What is next for you in 2003 to break
with?
JDK: I don't
know. I have a lot of exciting projects that I'm looking forward to!
Stay tuned.
JDK
For more information w/ JDK visit his web site @ http://www.johnkalodner.com/Home.htm
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