With the online launch of the Consortium of Rock Evolution just days away we decided to sit down and learn a little bit more about CORE's founder Lee Kagan, his colourful past, his relationship to the music and his take on the state of the music industry in the web 2.0 era.
CORE Blog- First and foremost what is CORE?
CORE Blog- First and foremost what is CORE?
Lee Kagan- CORE is for the fans, run by fans, for the artists, run by artists. There’s plenty of indie labels and artist development and management companies out there all doing great things. We really, REALLY focus on the relationships between the talent and their supporters. I mean face to face type thing. We provide many revenue streams for our artists, even a very unique pool system of funds for our “family”, push the royalty brackets to a minimum of 40% and up. As for the fans, well, we track and monitor the involvement they do on our site; in the field at shows and on the street and in turn we use our point system to reward them… from great discounts on tickets and merch, to VIP access at our shows, our limited or not for sale “Club” merch that simply by wearing it gets you perks, all the way up to involvement on the company’s end, even potential employment.
CB- How did you decide to start CORE?
LK- Really I wanted to see something in the industry that really satisfied my wants and needs as a musician and performer, so I simply said “well, instead of waiting around for someone to do that, I will.” So I did.
CORE's Lee "Grim Riffer" Kagan
CB-How do you think the internet has changed the music industry?
LK- Many ways. People find new bands to listen to SO fast, share their opinions and reviews across borders, also with Myspace, Facebook etc., self-promotion became possible on a scale rarely seen. Now, we all know about the debates around the downloading and file sharing, it has its pros and cons, but fact of the matter is, it’s our reality and we have to deal with it in a positive way.
CB- Why metal?
LK- From my days of classical guitar and piano at the Toronto Conservatory as a tiny kid, my first TAPE!!! I bought when I had some freedom to start listening to different music, I picked up by fluke was Metallica’s Ride the Lightning….and that was that man. From then on, it was always the kind of music that I related to. A lot of anger in my past, a lot of sadness, lot of dislike for the world around me… Metal and Rock music just spoke to me so personally. It was always there for me and will always be there for me.
CB-What differentiates metal fans from, say, your casual pop/rock fan
LK- In my opinion, they’re some of the only fans that I know of that would jump in front of a bus to save their favourite artists. I mean loyal and devout would be an understatement. I remember when people would badmouth metal or punk or whatever I really liked, and I would be more filled with the feeling of wanting to argue my side of the story while choking them out... We are that intense in loving of these genres that mean the world to us.
CB-What effect has the internet had on the metalhead community
LK- Good question. I think it hass allowed the community to have a digital “face” if you will. Like, we know that there’s crews in Toronto, and LA, England, Norway, Japan, etc., but the net has allowed us to meet each other without having to be in those physical locations. I think it’s a beautiful fucking thing man.
CB- We have seen metal fall in and out of the foreground and change aesthetic over the course of the past 40 odd years. How would you describe the contemporary metal scene? How is the sound and aesthetic of today different from that of yesterday? How is it the same?
LK- Hmmm., I mean, some things are the same some things are not. Like, I love when I see some 14 year old kid wearing a Sabbath shirt, and actually KNOWS the songs. Sound wise it has really progressed, the technique across the instrumentation has become so advanced, yet it still resonates of the past influences. The options of what you feel moves you in terms of bands has become very expansive. I mean, you got your pick, thrash, doom, black, hardcore etc., there’s something for everyone. Even though I have my personal favourites I love the fact that its grown so much.
CB- Metal has often been the target of criticism from advisory groups such as the PMRC (Tipper Gore). Do you think any of these allegations have any merit? How can metal be positive (despite having seemingly ‘dark’ messages)? How does CORE contribute?
LK- From my own experience, Metal specifically is going to take that dark subject matter and bring it to the forefront. Whether it be anger, addiction, depression, ‘anti’-positions, it’s not going to simply say “hey everything’s peachy and the sun always shines”, no, it says “look man, life can be hard, people won’t like you sometimes or understand you, relationships will come and go, and there’s crazy shit going on in the world, but when you feel like you don’t fit in anywhere, guess what, you do, judging by all 30, 40, 50 thousand of us in the stadium.” It helps us deal with our issues in a positive way by addressing the issue and feeling understood. All those things I mentioned for this question, I’ve dealt with personally, and I’m a better man today for facing them.
We contribute to this by personally dealing with the bands we work with, and that if these pressures are affecting them… FUCK what the rest say about “it’s just business and I can’t help you with that”, not me man, I’ve battled addiction, I’ve done time, I’ve had my share of violence and what not, but now I can turn that around to help, guide and counsel, using the lessons I’ve learned to show the way I’ve dealt with those things to become a good man and good person today. My motto is this, and as simple and cliché as it is, treat others the way you want to be treated. Period.
CB- What is your relationship to the music?
LK- Well a lot like what I just said, but also the fact I’ve been playing with bands for the last 15 years, recording in audio engineering, going to the shows, contributing back to the community anyway I can. It is a part of me that won’t ever leave. Music is so deeply engrained in my psyche that I makes up a very fundamental part of who I am.
CB-Can you tell us about your personal musical output?
LK- My style, if that’s the question, is a fusion of my favourite influences coupled with the way I only know how to play. I mean despite my music collection, really all day its Black Label Society, Children of Bodom, Lamb of God, Metallica, that all contributes to how I think to write songs. I mean I know some people hate to compare themselves to what bands they may sound like, and I’m not doing that. My influences are just the bands that move me, and what a great fucking list to be inspired to model your abilities after.
CB-What is your wildest concert experience as a musician or fan?
LK- Oh man, probably the SARS Stock show and BLS with Bodom and Clutch in Toronto. At SARS Stock, got there early, got hammered, lost my friends I came with, somehow lost my shirt, got a bad sunburn, met some chicks, hung out and partied with them, lost my wallet, heard the drums to Dirty Deeds Done Cheap come on ( I was there for ACDC), grabbed their hands, made a fucking bee-line to the front of the stage all the way from the back through 500K people or so, looked up, there’s Angus doing his thing, looked right, there’s my pals, with my wallet and shirt, looked left there’s other pals I didn’t know were there. What a night.
