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INTERVIEW WITH RED K
RECORDS CEO CLAYTON SAVAGE
by James Auburn
Virginia-based label CEO Clayton Savage has been in the music industry at
all levels: musician, songwriter, producer, and independent record
executive. Once signed to Manhattan Records, his history includes extensive
work with Sugarhill Records, Kool Moe Dee, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Sequence,
and many others.
Clayton spoke with me in a three-hour interview from his Virginia offices. A
mentor at heart, he is as generous with his insight as he is with his time.
JA: Care to talk about how you broke off from them [The Robinsons]?
CS: It was ugly. Joey Rob, Jr. was accusing me of some relationship
with his girlfriend. The aforementioned Shonte' who was truly my best and
coolest friend at the time and we were not involved in any way. Joey, Sr.
invited me into their office to "talk" about it. I did not do that…
They got some loot from my deal at Capitol too but didn't deserve it.
Anyway, while I was on the road with The Furious Five, some crap I'll never
know of went down. I guess they didn't want me too close to the Furious
cause as the only musician/producer/writer they had at the time I could
likely have jetted with Mel or something.
I had vision... still do.., so they made some way to separate us. Not really
sure about this but after I left I don't remember too much coming out from
the camp. I really had a lot of ideas the artists were accepting but not
company. They lied a lot to their artists… To everyone. They had a big deal
with MCA for distribution/ They didn't have any vision for the future. They
turned down a lot of acts including Run DMC.
JA: I'm sure they did...Think about everyone that was big in the
mid-80s...you know they all sent their first demos to Sugar Hill.
CS: I'm pretty sure they had. We had a lot of music from artists
around, some of it made it to records without them. Such is the biz.
JA: I know, right?
CS: Still shady as heck. I won't use a sample to this day or allow
any on my label. I respect the creative process too much.
JA: Not even a break beat, nothin'?
CS: Hmmm…well, if it's part of a package in software I might! I don't
build on loops. What's cool is letting other producers remix my stuff
though. DJ Tony Vibe from the UK is doing that right now with my song
“Pimpin’ It.” He and the Radio Killaz are going to give it that other
element for the remix. I remix stuff but I write original tracks for my
remixes. Otherwise it's not a Red K remix.
JA: What would you say is the vision of Red K?
CS: To provide a higher standard of music… kind of like Bank of
America's higher standard of banking. We know what you expect from music.
Great music… great artist, great performances and real people with real
personality. No beefs in the camp People wanna be able to invest in music
again. Fall in love with music again. Not just Hip-Hop, but the love affair
with music has been damaged.
JA: "Damaged" by who or what?
CS: Are consumers really focused on the music anymore? The Puff
Daddies of the world have redirected everyone to image and bank accounts.
Plus their mediocre talents have reduced the overall quality. Today most
artists need a compilation of guest appearances to complete the album.
JA: Right.
CS: People now say, “who's on the album?” It should be expected that only
the artist will be there. Perhaps a surprise guest but definitely not
expected. With the removal of artist development and the replacement of
presidents by boards of directors and all the mergers, no one is a musician
or producer at the very tops. I pity the record labels right now.
They can't make their own products or can't tell when a good artist comes
along or has potential. Now they must invest in the safe route and that
means they will utilize Timbaland, Pharrell, Jazzy Phe, Li’l Jon and the
bunch as singled out sources for their products. They no longer wanna take
risks or have a connection to the music. They have turned themselves…totally
into investment bankers.
JA: Do you think they see their own demise on the horizon?
CS: Hmmm. Some of them but really they have the capital to buy their
futures. Note there used to be six majors. I can't tell what independent
means anymore since everyone scrambles to be tied to a major somehow.
JA: Right.
CS: And it usually leads to the death of that indie label eventually. Well
that death is part of the plan of assimilation. Majors are the Borg.
JA: Gotcha. What current artists would you have on your label if you could?
Any that fit the vision?
CS: Lupe Fiasco for sure.
JA: I like him.
CS: Mya. She's grown so much since she started. Some of today's stars have a
sound that so integrated with the producer's that I can't tell where their
uniqueness lies or assess their true level of skill.
JA: Yes. R&B/Hip-Hop is very much a producer-driven medium now.
CS: Totally. When [Notorious] B.I.G. and [2]Pac died the mediocre took over
and replication became the norm.
JA: The singer or MC is just a vehicle for the producer's sound.
CS: Totally. Less risk for accountants/labels.
JA: There ya go. I wanted to ask about the Manhattan/Capitol days... How did
you come to the attention of Gerry Griffith?
CS: (Laughing) Wow you know a lot! OK. At first he heard me and didn't
respond. My then girlfriend hooked me up with a family friend that became my
manager and then Gerry called me and said he liked what he heard. He
explained to me that just coming to the door knocking wasn't the way in. You
gotta have a contact no matter how talented you are. Skill is not enough to
this day. Now you don't need skill so much as a contact. It's almost like
they don't trust their own ears... they gotta know that somebody else likes
you first...
JA: Hmmm, well yeah…
CS: If you’re my boy and you say something is hot I trust you more than
anyone including myself, if I'm that kind of person. The music biz is a
boutique industry: completely privatized one way or another. Exonerated it
seems from the rule and practices of other business. Therefore not compliant
with EEO.
JA: So what did you work on while with Manhattan?
CS: Well mainly my solo album which didn't take really long as I recorded
really fast. Most of the problem was in the politics. They really didn't
know what to do with a technically crossover artist but they let me produce
my own CD totally: from picture concepts to studio engineers. The Payola
scandal thing went down just as my album was released and that fu*ked stuff
up for promotions. They don’t know how to promote on the legit tip. None of
the biggies do.
JA: What did they do wrong with you? As far as promotion, etc.?
CS: Well it was going along pretty good in California but they didn't know
how to promote me to the Black market. Not that I need much help. The songs
took care of themselves. But they "invested" in promotions people. The
scandal went down and money was lost. Mainly my record money.
JA: So the album didn't have a straight radio R&B sound?
CS: Nah. The song “Virgin Lover”? Ohhh so Prince like… As an aside, Gerry
Griffith also discovered Whitney Houston but Clive got the credit. Such is
the way...
JA: So the album had that R&B/rock kind of crossover sound?
CS: Most def. And other sound, it was contemporary.. kind of what Urban is
today.
JA: And what year was it released?
CS: ’86.
JA: Did you work on any other projects while you were with them?
CS: Could have should have! During that time I had the song “Palm of Her
Hand” as the opener for BET's Video Soul and they wanted me to do a show in
St. Thomas and other things but Manhattan went through a lot of personnel
changes and well, stuff just got lost. Me with it. So they wouldn't push a
video or anything. At that time videos were still seen as superfluous for
Black acts.
JA: When did the deal finally fall apart?
CS: I’m not sure. I moved to Minnesota and never heard from them again.
Manager vanished too. Funny time in my life.
JA: Man, just like that?
CS: Just.. like...THAT!
JA: What year was that?
CS: ’88.
JA: What made you leave for Minnesota?
CS: Nothing in particular. I'd never been there. I was in the airport
heading from New York to Virginia and literally changed my ticket and said
I’ve never been there so I went. I was there for five years from that day.
JA: Just on a whim...?
CS: Less than a whim. I'm an adventurer.
JA: So where exactly, Minneapolis area, or...?
CS: Minneapolis and St. Paul… a lot of time living in St. Paul but they are
closer than a witches .. uh.. u know.
JA: Tell me about Westside.
To find out more check out Part 3 coming
December 18, 2006.
For more information about Clayton Savage please visit
his site.
To find Clayton’s albums please visit:
http://www.cdbaby.com/claytonsavage
http://www.cdbaby.com/claytonsavage2
http://www.cdbaby.com/claytonsavage3
James Auburn is a
keyboardist, musical director, arranger, educator, and all-around
audiophile. He's also the co-founder of the Boston Hip Hop Alliance.
Part 1
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Part 2
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