Duke’s Note: I had a weird music teacher in elementary school. Instead of teaching theory or music history, he brought in a different instrument every week, played it for a minute, then asked for volunteers to take a swing at it. More importantly, this Beatle-maniac would just play records he thought were awesome, and encouraged us to do the same.

That was the only place I ever heard Julian Lennon (except for an animated version of “David Copperfield,” where Lennon played the titular character, but let’s not talk about that). I remember thinking “Scary how much he sounds like his dad.” A couple hits and he disappeared. So what happened? Like most artists, he felt “chewed up & spit out” by the industry bigwigs & left.

At a young 46 years, he’s back & he brought friends. Seeing the industry being remade as organic and artist-friendly, Lennon is ready to do his part to help artists avoid the misfortunes that befell him.

From the Boston Herald:

With digital pioneers Todd Meagher (MyStore.com) and Michael Birch (Bebo), he has launched theRevolution, an artist-focused, music-service company. He’s also releasing his first new music in more than a decade on Tuesday: the charity single “Lucy,” co-written by newly-signed theRevolution artist James Scott Cook.

…“I still had contacts at the major labels – or what’s left of the major labels,” he said with a chuckle. “And I met with a few indie companies. But I felt that I had to find a new way forward as an artist and a businessman, because you’ve got to have both caps on these days.”

Enter theRevolution.

…“An artist can’t work every angle independently,” Lennon said. “I had a very big chip on my shoulder after how I was treated. But if theRevolution system works for me, it will work for other people. Maybe that means them partnering with us or just using us for help with management or recording or touring or whatever. Each artist’s deal is specific to how they want to run things.”

Thanks to Jed Gottlieb for the 411.

Incidentally (or not), the first single released by theRevolution is “Lucy,” a tribute to the fallen inspiration behind “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” Lucy Vodden (who passed away recently from Lupus). The single’s net proceeds go to charity.

But enough talk. Go check out theRevolution for yourself.

Read more at the Boston Herald

Technorati Tags: julian lennon, lucy, therevolution

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