As the two principals of Josephmooon live roughly 15,000 km or 9,300 miles, apart from one another, certain logistical dynamics must be addressed. For the moment, our interactions are strictly via email and weekly Zoom sessions that typically go on for at least 90 minutes. There is no prospect of forming a live band to perform the songs anywhere on the horizon, which would be a logical next step.
So Josephmooon remains a band without a face.
That could be a problem in the world of music marketing, according to one of our professional advisors, Tim Devine, whose Devlin House hosts dozens of high-profile print and video productions, from interview specials to fashion photo shoots.
Tim and I have known each other for more than 45 years, meeting in 1975 as fellow “college reps” for one of the most successful independent labels in history, A&M Records, where we literally had a hand in building the careers of Supertramp, Peter Frampton, Nils Lofgren, the Brothers Johnson, and many others. He was working in northern California while I held down the fort in Illinois and few other Midwestern states. He went on to an amazing career with major record labels and worked behind many artists including Paul McCartney, Bonnie Raitt, and U2.
Of course, I wanted to hear his thoughts on the Josephmooon music, but also on what next steps we might encounter. His immediate and first comment was, “Let’s see some pictures. Who’s the front man? What’s he look like?”
Image was the first thing on his mind.
Funny, as I had just seen this Bangkok Post ed-op page headline, an article about the machinations of the brain that dovetails with a book I’m currently reading, Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Nobel prize winner David Kahneman. The book originally was recommended to me by Mr. Devine, who at one point was on a pace of reading 500+ books annually. Not sure where he’s at these days. There is a good chance it came to his mind because its cover shares the “yellow pencil” imagery of “So Far So Good.”
At the end of our conversation, we agreed that putting “So Far So Good” out into the world without the advertising budget of a major label or a live show that could play festivals or tour in support of a major act will be an act of love and faith that it might find an audience.
As for an image, I thought since they’ve “retired,” maybe we can adopt Daft Punk’s shtick.
LOVE the Daft Punk Idea! Thanks for the nod – TD