The WRB Project

The WRB Project

I am apparently managing a rock band that is currently getting airplay in Norway.  I say apparently because I know next to nothing about the business side of the music industry.  I do know that many musicians are in dire financial straights right now due to the pause in touring.  It is tough to make money from CDs, streaming, or mp3 downloads.  The musicians I know all tell me the money is on the road.  They have to tour to generate income.

So, how did I, an illusion conjured up by some other guy, get to be the manager of a rock band?  As always, there is a story.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:  I am a big fan of the movies of Wes Anderson.  He is an auteur, and I greatly appreciate his vision.  Last night I rewatched The Grand Budapest Hotel.  During this viewing, I was paying particular attention to how he framed each shot.  I was also keeping an eye on his use of color.  For our purposes, the setting is a drab, empty dining hall of a once magnificent hotel.  You are asked to imagine me as F. Murray Abraham sitting across from Jude Law as I tell my story, such as it is.

My tail begins in 1979.  It is early morning, before the start of school.  I drive to Billy Bessant’s house to pick him up so that we can get a run in before the school day begins.  In the fall of 1979, I was a senior, and Billy was a freshman.  We were teammates on the cross country team.

That is how I met Billy, also known as William R. Bessant, the WRB of The WRB Project.  My only point is that we have known each other for a long time.  I also knew his brother (great guy) and Dad (a true character who always brightened my day when I saw him).  We can now move the story forward forty years or so.

A few years back, I ran into Billy and his wife, a woman known affectionally as Yoko (not her real name), at one of my favorite restaurants.  I had only seen Billy a few times since I left high school.  I knew he had been in some bands, and I knew he played bass.  He told me he had been making music in his home studio, and he offered me a CD of 7 or 8 instrumental tracks.  I took it home and listened to it over and over.  Each song was good, professionally done.  I liked the music.

Had I met Billy a few years earlier, I don’t know what would have happened.  I certainly would have listened to the music, but I might not have had any ideas on how to get the music heard.  That leads me to (of all people) Pattie Boyd, a woman who is famous for her marriages to Eric Clapton and George Harrison.  For reasons unknown, I read her autobiography some years ago.  I probably read it because three beautiful songs were written for and about her: Something, Layla, and Wonderful Tonight.  I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

After reading that book, I decided to read Clapton’s autobiography.  When I finished the book, I took a deep dive into his music.  I was familiar with most of it, but I wanted to see what else was out there.  I dialed up YouTube and clicked on a random Clapton playlist.  As I was working with Clapton as background, I glimpsed the screen.  All that was there was a picture of him with a guitar.  No video was included.  Also, the picture did not shuffle through various images; it remained static—one solitary image for hundreds of minutes of music.

After I had listened to Billy’s CD dozens of times, it occurred to me that I could create a channel for his music and post a video of each song.  I had no idea how to do that, but I figured it must not be difficult.  So I set up the channel and immediately came across a big problem.

Billy was always known as WRB.  I did a Google search and found hundreds, if not thousands, of people or groups going by WRB.  No one would ever be able to find Billy’s music if he went simply by WRB.  As a long-time fan of Alan Parsons, Joe Perry, and The Simpsons,  I knew what to do.

How many times have I referenced The Simpsons in a post?  Too many to count.  It wasn’t hard at all to find a relevant quote for this post.  Homer is definitely versed in music, and in one episode (Homerpalooza), he schooled his kids on the history of rock and roll.  Here is his insight.

Grand Funk Railroad paved the way for Jefferson Airplane, which cleared the way for Jefferson Starship. The stage was now set for The Alan Parsons Project, which I believe was some sort of hovercraft.

That is how The WRB Project was born.  There are no plans for a hovercraft, but I am not opposed to the idea.  If any manufacturers are reading this, leave a message, and I will get back to you.  The WRB Project Hovercraft does have a nice ring to it.

The first “videos” I posted were nothing more than pictures cycling through the screen like they do on an electronic picture frame.  They were easy to make and presented no problems when I posted them.  Then an exciting and unexpected thing happened; people started to view the videos, lots of people—hundreds and then thousands and then 10s of thousands.  It was time to up the production value.

I always wanted to learn video editing.  The opportunity had never come up until I decided to take a hard look into making videos for the music.  I started watching tutorials and reading everything I could get my hands on.  Before long, I built myself a new computer to handle the load.  Video editing is very resource-intensive; it brought my old computer to its knees.  The new one is doing fine.

We shoot the videos with whatever cameras we have available.  I have found that the camera on my phone is better than anything I have ordered off Amazon.  We shoot everything in one take with a budget of zero.  As you might imagine, COVID hasn’t helped the situation.  It has made shooting very difficult; many of the things I want to do have been put on hold.

I just checked the views for The WRB Project, and the total number is approaching 40,000.  That is about 40,000 more than I thought we would get.  It’s not that the music isn’t good; it is. It’s just that it is easy to get lost in the shuffle in today’s market.  I have heard people argue that if The Beatles were a present-day band, there is a chance their music would go unheard and unappreciated.  Such is the lot of an artist in the world today.

If you happen to be in Norway (or have an internet connection), there is a radio station in Bergen that has Say Goodbye in heavy rotation.  The song is being played 12 times a day.  As of yet, I have not been contacted by any agents for Norwegian supermodels, but hope springs.

As of today, The WRB Project is composed of WRB (Billy Bessant), Justin Thompson, and Stickman (Richard Palm).  More music is being created, and I hope the fan base continues to grow.  The guys deserve it; all three are incredibly talented.  If they weren’t…well, you get it.