Under The Radar 04: Dr. Steel

Singer/Composer:   Dr. Steel. 

Dr. Steel is not unlike Marilyn Manson or Ziggy Pop in that he totally embodies a character.  He also has created a whole back story and world for his character to live in.  His live shows (of which I've only seen video clips) go well beyond just a band on a stage and are an extension of his entire back story.

Song: "Back and Forth" - I think it's got a good groove and a lot of character.

Video:  Shockingly - therer are apparently no "official" videos for him... Apparently he's reached out to fans to make videos for him... here is one example... 

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YT_J5HRsIY.

Pesonally while it is impressive that he utilized a fan base to create videos, I would love to see a video featuring Dr. Steel with the character of his website.  I think that would be much more effect to reach a wider audience.

Audience:  Impresively, his act has motivated many people to join in both on stage and off to be a part of his "movement."  In an earlier blog I quoted someone talking about how you might just need a 1000 true fans to support a music career.  Dr. Steel would be a perfect candidate for that model and he definitely keeps up the store and "products" to support the effort.... The list of products is pretty astounding.

So - here is an example of an independent musician totally embracing commercialism in order to support creating the music they love.

You can visit Doctor Steel's World at his website:  www.doctorsteel.com

If you want a glimpse into his mise en scene, be sure to visit " The Dr. Steel Show."

how it relates: I think more and more we will see this kind of "event based" musicianship in the years to come as it will be more and moer difficult for artists to stand out as singers or players alone.

Every single person on this site is aware of at least one "event based" band.....    "Alive."  So the concept should be very familiar.  While their character were more closely blurring reality and fantasy than other examples - their "scene" and "event" was as important as the music itself.

This is not going to work for all musicans.  The charm of some muscians like alivenotdead's joyce leemay very well be the simplicity of the singer/audience connection.

On the other hand, I could see an act like alivenotdead's  tinkerchelgrowing into something like this eventually.  Her "act" is very well defined already.  But when I see her charming videos, what I see is how it could grow into something like this... though a totally different character and world.