A Buck and a Dream
We recently were able to get on a conference call with Greg Bowman, owner/founder of Buck and a Dream. On the conference call some artists of the company chimed in, here is what went down.
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Why don’t you guys start off by introducing yourself? Greg: I’ll start off, my name is Greg Bowman, I’m the ring leader of a Buck and a Dream, along with my partner Teddy Riley, who’s currently in the studio with Beyonce that’s why he didn’t make the call today. That’s it basically, I’m the ring leader, are you familiar with the company. Yea, I’ve been looking into you guys and see your trying to help a lot of the up and coming artists that really don’t have a spot, that being the avenue to get to the record labels. It’s a real cool idea what you guys have going on, I’m really impressed. It’s a similar idea the way we’re working, we’re trying to get the music scene back here in Tampa, Florida, the state in general, back to the grassroots, where you don’t have to go through every hoop you can. So we’re definitely getting your dream and we really like what you’re doing. |
G: Well thank you, and on the call I have Asiah Lewis and Ms. Luchi, they are both songwriters and are contributing to Buck and a Dream, doing the Bringing Back Good Music Campaign as contributing artists. I’m not sure if you’re aware of that but we can discuss that later.
Asia: Hi, how you doing? My name is Asia
Luchi: Hi how are you my? My name is Ms. Luchi
Nice to meet you both, how are you tonight?
A: We’re good, we’re good how you feeling?
Hey, hanging in there, trying to survive the heat down here. Where you calling in from?
L: We are in Atlanta.
Ok, and your there as well Greg or you somewhere else?
G: Yea, I’m in Atlanta as well, everyone is Atlanta except for Debbie, I think she is in Chicago, you in Chicago?
Deb: I’m still in Chicago, yeah.
So you’re based in the Atlanta area then?
G: Atlanta, LA, New York, correct.
How did you form this, how did you come up with the idea. I see you started up about two years ago, what brought you the motivation to get on board, and actually do this for people in the music industry?
G: Well what happened was, myself along with my partner Ted, and we was just sitting down one day, and truth be told, we was flipping through the radio stations, and I think we turned to three different radio station, and the song was just starting on one station, and in the middle on another station, and it was going off on the last station; and we was like this is ridiculous. And we just sat down, and broke it down and analyzed it, and came up with the fact that the reason why is because; there not that great of a selection. And the reason there not that great of a selection is because there aren’t that many artists out there being signed. And to fix that, and try to amend that, what we decided to do was to create a company where we can give the average Joe Schmoe, whose more talented then the person who is lucky enough to be related to someone who can give them a deal. From like Iowa, Wyoming, Wisconsin, just make an even playing field; give everybody a chance. Because we’re firm believers that the best talent doesn’t necessarily come from a major city. That’s basically the way that Buck and a Dream came to form.
So your two songwriters are they singers as well, or writing for artists you have under the Buck and a Dream talent pool?
A: We’re singers as well; we write and reference all of our stuff.
How long have they been on board for?
G: They’ve been on board for about 6 months; they will be participating in the Bringing Back Good Music Campaign which is something that’s huge. And which we’re doing as a motivation piece, and as an introductory of our company, to the, I guess to the main stream. Actually were going to do are public launch through the Bringing Back Good Music where Asia and Luchie and a few other writers will be.
Can you tell us a little more about that, what you got going on, you going to be going through out the U.S. or?
G: Well, with the Bringing Back Good Music campaign, were actually giving away $2,000,000 worth of production, and I know that sounds crazy. But the reason we’re doing it is because we are investing to bring back good music. Because if music goes the pace it’s going now, it won’t be here twenty years from now. And when I say it won’t be here, music will be here, but we just won’t have control of it. Because this is the first time, where we as a people, have actually had enough power where we can decide what comes out. And I don’t think were doing a good job of it, therefore we decided to do the Bringing Back Good Music Campaign. And the way were gonna do it is with an online concept, and 2 major syndicated radio shows, which is gonna last 6 weeks. Then will also do a small mini tour, and hit 10 or 13 cities, what did we say it was gonna be Deb?
D: I think we said 13.
G: So we’re gonna hit like 13 cities, and just bake the town out, and we’re gonna give away a total of $2,000,000 worth of production. Whether it be a song, or a produced track, or a combination of both.
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I was wondering, I understand your Bringing Back Good Music campaign, in that, obviously the way the industry is right now, it’s full of pop, make a couple million dollars and your out of it. Where do you see the industry going in five to ten years? G: At the current pace that it’s going now, I see us loosing control of one of our greatest assets and that’s our own creativity. So therefore I think we need to interject and bring back the Babyface’s, the Jimmy Jams and Terry Lewis’, so that’s why we’re reaching out to all of them to be a part of this campaign as well. So we can get quality music back. I mean right now lyrics don’t really matter. And I want it to get back to where the lyrics actually did matter, where a man can sit there and say he cried and he telling you he cried thinking about his woman last night, we don’t hear that anymore. So that’s what we trying to do, just trying to bring those good days back. |
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So obviously you started a lot of online campaigning via your MySpace and your website. Do you think the industry is going to where CD’s are going to be gone within the next ten years, where everything is strictly online, iTunes, or do you think it’s going to go another route?
G: Well, I think CD’s will be around for a long time, only because they are convenient. Like iTunes is cool and iPod is good, but when you need to transfer things, I think CD’s are actually one of the better ways of doing things. Just because they are easy to transport, and they are cheaper. You know, you loose your CD you burn a new one, you loose your iPod you gotta work two weeks. What do yall think?
A: I always buy CD’s, but then I’ll burn it onto my computer, and put it on my iTunes, but at the end of the day I still got my CD, I’m a CD collector anyway. I mean I got to get the credits and all that good stuff.
I’m definitely on the same page, I mean when you go online you can’t see who the producer was, who the art director was, who engineered the album. Do you have any engineers/producers that are on this dream and are helping to make hits like the classics?
G: As far as our production team?
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Yea, who you got working with people? G: Aw man, of course we have Teddy Riley, his resume is ground breaking, and it speaks for itself. We have Jeffrey Smith and Peter Loyd; they’re responsible for Paula Abdul, The Goodfellas, Living Color. Then we have Seth Solo, he did Kelly Rowland, Destiny’s Child, Genuwine, Anthony Hamilton. Then we have Asia Lewis and Luchie, they’re responsible for Mary J Blige. We have Rock City, they did Mario. The list goes on. You guys got a great roster for these new artists that are up and coming, that they have probably never experienced in another way besides that. G: Never, never. And that’s the reason why we did, because normally they would never be in a situation where right out the gate you get to sit in a room with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Right out the gate you get to sit in a room with Teddy Riley. No new artist can ever say that they had that opportunity. It’s an awkward situation, I like to call it the gift and the curse, cause you have to have you’re A game cause your working with the best right out the gate. You have no where to go but up. |
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So, what are you looking for in an artist, what do you think makes a successful artists, not only to grab the attention of you, but grab the attention of everybody. What do they need to do to make an impact on their crowd?
G: I think an artist needs to be 360. You have to be, you have to live, eat, sleep, and die it. You have to be just well crafted. You also have to know your history, cause history repeats itself. And if you don’t know your history, you can’t honestly know your future; you have to know what to do.
A: I agree, because sometimes, the majority of the times you’re working with out a check, and you get rewarded along the path of your journey. So if you’re patient and sincere, and do what you need to do you will get rewarded. But if you lookin’ for quick money, which a lot of people do, it’s not going to work out.
Where can people send these albums out to, where do they get there recording to you for submissions?
G: Well we have the website which is buckandadream.com, the physical mailing address would be: Buck and a Dream.com 1741 Commerce Dr Atlanta, GA, 30318.
What do you want from them, a demo CD, a bio, artwork?
G: The more the better. Like I got told early in the game, “The more you know how to do on your own, the better you are.” Then Hammer told me “Listen, you going in there, you have to treat this as it’s a complete business, like you work for yourself.” You have to go in there with your product, CD, your artwork, your marketing plan, business plan, projection plan, the more you come with, the less the labels have to do, and the more they’re willing to embrace you. Because it’s a risky situation, so they like to think they dealing with complete business men. So if you can come in there like a business man and sound and act like a business man, they will take you.
To visit Buck and a Dream's MySpace page click here
By. Drew Zambrano
