Ok people right now I am on a train going in to Manchester and I thought it would be a good time to write a new blog. Now I am not killing time this is my life and the reason I feel it’s a great time to write is because I am on the way to the magistrate’s court for the second time to be charged with Illegal Street trading of CDs. As ridiculous as it may seem when there are so many real criminals out there the system feels it’s a good idea to try to criminalize a musician for trying to get his own music out to the public.
As many of you know from my earlier blogs I have been at war for sometime with Manchester City Council and have been fined £250 in an earlier case. In the previous case I had no certificate so I was advised to plead guilty as a not guilty plea would have resulted in a steeper fine as the CCTV evidence made it clear that I was selling CDs to the general public. However, I now have a certificate and there is no way that I will be pleading guilty. It’s like the legendary Mohammed Ali said just before the 1974 fight against George Foreman
“I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I’m so mean I make medicine sick.”
Well am not saying this is case equals the greatest boxing match of all time or that I am equal in statue to the greatest boxer there has ever been but I have done something new for this fight. I intend to defend myself and put these people who accuse me on the witness stand and I have the right by law to do it. I am not sure that will happen today as I think once I plead not guilty they will set a trail date but I will let you know what happens a little later.
The truth is that the council being local government want people like me off the streets and out of the city but my truth is that what you call your city is also my city I was born here and I grew up here. It seems they are saying to me that you can not choose the way you make your money and you can not come into the city centre to make it. Basically they have drawn a line around the city and anyone trading within that line is viewed as a criminal even though there is a law that says I can trade. That’s like giving someone a 3 ft ladder to climb a 50ft wall. Well this is my city and if I can’t sell here I will play here. That is exactly what I have decided to do. I have bought a £1000 worth of equipment In order to take my music to the streets, if they won’t feel me then they will hear me. Not only will I take it to the streets of Manchester but I will go to many other cities. Your city is mine. This also solves the problem of promoters who don’t wanna pay an artist to perform. A problem I have been having a lot lately, no in fact that is just standard in the music game middle men who wanna take but not give. Yeah I’ve been told that if you street perform it will devalue your music and you will be just a busker but the truth is I don’t give one. There are good buskers and bad buskers; there are good street performers and bad street performers. If my music is devalued as a result then so be it. I am looked at as a criminal for selling my music on the streets anyway and in my heart and mind the value I put on my music is not defined by where it is played. At least I will control it and my destiny. And I will have FREEDOM to play where I want to. (Don’t speak too soon Elavi the council may have some agents trying to shut down street performing too). To me this is a logical step in a music business that ignores to a large degree Urban music isn’t it right that I should make it truly urban?
Ok am going into Piccadilly train station so I will give you part two of this blog on my retune journey. In a bit Elavi people……….
Part 2
Ok am back on the train and as I suspected there was no case to speak of I was just asked to enter a plea and now a date has been set which is the 14th January. It’s a pain in a sense am dying to have some fun examining the witnesses. It’s the only time a brother like me is going to get to make these agents answer my questions between now and then I am going to hit the streets and make as much money as possible because in the end I guess the system is stacked in their favour and I may end up have to pay these people more money, but hey life is full of drama right? Plus, I am going to use this case to get as mush press as I can, I mean, you can’t blame a bother for capitalizing on a situation. On the serious side I think we have to highlight things like this case because selling music on the streets is now a way of life. It is making it possible for maybe artist to make a mark on the industry or even bypass it altogether and that is needed because the industry is very sick and no amount of medicine can help it, not only that but the country and world is financially sick too. So what are people supposed to do? Just sit back and accept failure? Say because I haven’t got a record deal I will give up and sign on to job seekers and join the millions out of work? To me the answer is a simple one. I must fight to create the success I desire because life is a fragile thing. There is no guarantee that you will live another year, day or even hour for that matter. So why live your life in despair or in a situation where you are not trying to achieve your dreams and desires. My way is to create my own label which I have done and sign myself to that. Create my own music, market it and sell it. Create my own videos just like the big players do. And who’s in control? That’s right me.
People say to me why don’t I go on the X factor? As an alternative to selling my own music? Well some people say it. People who in my opinion believe that it would be better to sell my soul to the likes of Simon Cowell than it is to sell my music to the public. I don’t hate X factor, don’t get me wrong, its entertainment and if you are bored on a Saturday and want to indulge in the karaoke cheese fest that is X factor then go for it. What I do think is crazy is the fact that so many artists believe that this is the way to go, and pin their dreams on being the next Leona Lewis. This truly is the musical matrix controlled by agents like Cowell who take pleasure in crushing dreams under foot as he dominates as the number one star maker.
I would rather take my chances with the council for now and like Kanye West said and I am sure many before him. What don’t kill you will only make you stronger. And it is making me stronger by the day. I hope that many of you will pass by when am playing in the city (cities). Look at it as a free gig, well unless you want to throw money my way after all I do have court costs to pay. I will be sending out bulletins to let you all know when and where. It might even turn into a tour. The, “Your city is mine” tour. What do you think? Got a little ring to it don’t you think?
Elavi
AKA the Street Disciple
DROPPIN SCIENCE by ELAVI
ALBUM SOUL SCIENCE AVAILABLE AT ITUNES
FAITH IN THE VALLEY by ELAVI
ALBUM SOUL SCIENCE AVAILABLE AT ITUNES
BOMBS by ELAVI
ALBUM SOUL SCIENCE AVAILABLE AT ITUNES
ELAVI INTERVIEW
As many of you know from my earlier blogs I have been at war for sometime with Manchester City Council and have been fined £250 in an earlier case. In the previous case I had no certificate so I was advised to plead guilty as a not guilty plea would have resulted in a steeper fine as the CCTV evidence made it clear that I was selling CDs to the general public. However, I now have a certificate and there is no way that I will be pleading guilty. It’s like the legendary Mohammed Ali said just before the 1974 fight against George Foreman
“I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I’m so mean I make medicine sick.”
Well am not saying this is case equals the greatest boxing match of all time or that I am equal in statue to the greatest boxer there has ever been but I have done something new for this fight. I intend to defend myself and put these people who accuse me on the witness stand and I have the right by law to do it. I am not sure that will happen today as I think once I plead not guilty they will set a trail date but I will let you know what happens a little later.
The truth is that the council being local government want people like me off the streets and out of the city but my truth is that what you call your city is also my city I was born here and I grew up here. It seems they are saying to me that you can not choose the way you make your money and you can not come into the city centre to make it. Basically they have drawn a line around the city and anyone trading within that line is viewed as a criminal even though there is a law that says I can trade. That’s like giving someone a 3 ft ladder to climb a 50ft wall. Well this is my city and if I can’t sell here I will play here. That is exactly what I have decided to do. I have bought a £1000 worth of equipment In order to take my music to the streets, if they won’t feel me then they will hear me. Not only will I take it to the streets of Manchester but I will go to many other cities. Your city is mine. This also solves the problem of promoters who don’t wanna pay an artist to perform. A problem I have been having a lot lately, no in fact that is just standard in the music game middle men who wanna take but not give. Yeah I’ve been told that if you street perform it will devalue your music and you will be just a busker but the truth is I don’t give one. There are good buskers and bad buskers; there are good street performers and bad street performers. If my music is devalued as a result then so be it. I am looked at as a criminal for selling my music on the streets anyway and in my heart and mind the value I put on my music is not defined by where it is played. At least I will control it and my destiny. And I will have FREEDOM to play where I want to. (Don’t speak too soon Elavi the council may have some agents trying to shut down street performing too). To me this is a logical step in a music business that ignores to a large degree Urban music isn’t it right that I should make it truly urban?
Ok am going into Piccadilly train station so I will give you part two of this blog on my retune journey. In a bit Elavi people……….
Part 2
Ok am back on the train and as I suspected there was no case to speak of I was just asked to enter a plea and now a date has been set which is the 14th January. It’s a pain in a sense am dying to have some fun examining the witnesses. It’s the only time a brother like me is going to get to make these agents answer my questions between now and then I am going to hit the streets and make as much money as possible because in the end I guess the system is stacked in their favour and I may end up have to pay these people more money, but hey life is full of drama right? Plus, I am going to use this case to get as mush press as I can, I mean, you can’t blame a bother for capitalizing on a situation. On the serious side I think we have to highlight things like this case because selling music on the streets is now a way of life. It is making it possible for maybe artist to make a mark on the industry or even bypass it altogether and that is needed because the industry is very sick and no amount of medicine can help it, not only that but the country and world is financially sick too. So what are people supposed to do? Just sit back and accept failure? Say because I haven’t got a record deal I will give up and sign on to job seekers and join the millions out of work? To me the answer is a simple one. I must fight to create the success I desire because life is a fragile thing. There is no guarantee that you will live another year, day or even hour for that matter. So why live your life in despair or in a situation where you are not trying to achieve your dreams and desires. My way is to create my own label which I have done and sign myself to that. Create my own music, market it and sell it. Create my own videos just like the big players do. And who’s in control? That’s right me.
People say to me why don’t I go on the X factor? As an alternative to selling my own music? Well some people say it. People who in my opinion believe that it would be better to sell my soul to the likes of Simon Cowell than it is to sell my music to the public. I don’t hate X factor, don’t get me wrong, its entertainment and if you are bored on a Saturday and want to indulge in the karaoke cheese fest that is X factor then go for it. What I do think is crazy is the fact that so many artists believe that this is the way to go, and pin their dreams on being the next Leona Lewis. This truly is the musical matrix controlled by agents like Cowell who take pleasure in crushing dreams under foot as he dominates as the number one star maker.
I would rather take my chances with the council for now and like Kanye West said and I am sure many before him. What don’t kill you will only make you stronger. And it is making me stronger by the day. I hope that many of you will pass by when am playing in the city (cities). Look at it as a free gig, well unless you want to throw money my way after all I do have court costs to pay. I will be sending out bulletins to let you all know when and where. It might even turn into a tour. The, “Your city is mine” tour. What do you think? Got a little ring to it don’t you think?
Elavi
AKA the Street Disciple
DROPPIN SCIENCE by ELAVI
ALBUM SOUL SCIENCE AVAILABLE AT ITUNES
FAITH IN THE VALLEY by ELAVI
ALBUM SOUL SCIENCE AVAILABLE AT ITUNES
BOMBS by ELAVI
ALBUM SOUL SCIENCE AVAILABLE AT ITUNES
ELAVI INTERVIEW
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