F. Scott Fitzgerald famously opined “there are no second acts in American lives.”

With no disrespect to the great chronicler of the early 20th century, no realm of the arts has proven him more wrong than that of music. To the contrary, the artists who have not burned out or faded away have had their careers defined by late stage comebacks, reinventions and renewed interest by younger audiences. Bob Dylan’s career path has been so varied and gone through so many evolutions that it would be more accurate to say he has experienced second, third and fourth acts, still continuing to follow his muse in new directions well into his late sixties.

In the twilight of his life Johnny Cash recorded a stripped down series of albums most notably “American Recordings” with famed producer Rick Rubin that broadened his appeal to a new generation of listeners, many of whom would have never considered listening to country music. I had the pleasure of seeing the Man in Black at the now defunct Bismarck Hotel in Chicago. Punk rockers with mohawks and multiple body piercings chatted amiably with senior citizens in what was easily the most eclectic concert audience I have ever experienced. 

Now, the great Gil Scott Heron now follows suit with his ironically titled new CD “I'm New Here”. Heron’s music defies classification, spanning blues, soul, spoken word and hip-hop. Of course, he was doing hip-hop 40 years ago, long before anyone had coined the phrase. The stunning new release is largely autobiographical, describing his upbringing in a house of strong women who did not think of their home as broken, instead focusing on what they had, not what they had not.

The best of these songs are pure poetry, the story of his life writ large, in the greater context of the human condition and what it means to be a black man growing up in America. True to his early work, it has anger, sadness, and beats so catchy you almost forget you are hearing a man’s life story and social commentary to boot. The video for his cover of the Robert Johnson song “Me and the Devil” is nothing short of chilling.

His first album in thirteen years, “I'm New Here” proves that some second acts are well worth waiting for.

A collection of artists and designers from around the world will be participating in the Haiti Poster Project. The project seeks limited editions of posters from artists and designers around the world, whose work will be auctioned off to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. This is a very worthy cause for a group that does great work with no regard for personal gain, and often, personal safety. They literally put their lives on the line in the most troubled parts of the world for the simple reason that they can save lives by doing good.

Deadline for poster submissions is March 15. We need to get cracking. 

The Philadelphia Orchestra recently underwent a comprehensive brand repositioning, encompassing a new marketing strategy, website design and online campaign, with the goal of increasing single ticket sales. Like many orchestras, they have been facing a shortage of funding, an aging core audience, and a perception that the are no longer relevant in an ever-competitive marketplace for entertainment dollars.

I was curious to see the results, as the campaign touches on a number of my longtime passions; graphic design, wordplay and classical music. As a longtime subscriber to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, I have a good sense of the demographics involved and the unique challenges faced by orchestras as they try to engage new audiences.

To meet these challenges, Pennsylvania branding agency Annodyne came up with the concept and tagline “Unexpect Yourself" to roll out the new marketing campaign.

Which is unexpectedly terrible.

Coined phrases have their place in marketing. They can engage an audience in a fresh way when they roll off the tongue, are memorable or particularly euphonious. This is none of the above. While strategically off-base, it also has phonetic connotations that are clumsy at best and downright unpleasant at worst.

Extricate. Expectorate.

These are the words that come to mind, like trying to pull one's foot out of a bucket of sludge. Not the association one wishes to conjure up when branding a world class orchestra. Classical music and the attendance of live performances thereof elevates us. It's not always easy to appreciate, a bit like reading a challenging novel. It can be daunting, but it is ultimately rewarding, and upon becoming familiar, quite a bit of fun. To convey this, the website compares attending an orchestra performance akin to taking a road trip. Which is about as different an experience from a classical performance as I can imagine.

Apart from the clumsiness of the tagline, the campaign is off base because it does not accurately address the offerings of the Philadelphia Orchestra. A quick glance at the schedule reveals a typical greatest hits lineup of classical music clichés.

Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky.

These are all brilliant artists, but they are the equivalent of turning on your FM dial and hearing Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones in rapid succession. They are many things, but unexpected is not one of them.

The campaign has created a backlash in Philadelphia and the arts community.

Which, to be honest, is not wholly unexpected. 

In the touring days of their reckless youth, the band the Who were often referred to as the Horrible Who. The sobriquet had nothing to do with the quality of their music; far from it. It was bestowed on them because of their manic behavior, both onstage and off. Their shows were nothing short of full frontal assaults on the senses, invariably ending in smashed guitars, bloodied fingers, and in the case of guitarist Pete Townsend, profound hearing loss. Keith Moon, the manic drummer who served as the model for the Muppets' Animal, is the archetypical self-destructive musician who "died before he got old".

It was a different horrible Who at the Superbowl last night. Truncated into anemic medley format, their songs were stripped of the peaks and valleys that gave them their anthemic resonance. It was a bit sad to see Roger Daltrey omit the "F word" from Who Are You. No doubt the network was mindful of Janet Jackson's notorious wardrobe malfunction from a few years back.

I realize asking musicians to maintain authenticity at the Superbowl is the equivalent of asking Rod Blagojevich to have a sense of personal dignity. It's a halftime show, full of schtick and fireworks, more akin to a Vegas spectacle than a full blown concert. However, there's something about the Superbowl halftime show that sucks the life and energy out of the best of bands (Prince being the rare and notable exception). Regardless, watching the Who perform was a bit like seeing your favorite uncle drink too much at a family reunion and get sick on the gardenias. You still love the guy; you just don't want to ever see him like that again.

The greater underlying issue here is one of authenticity. When does a band of note cease to be that band? Keith Moon died in 1978, bassist John Entwistle in 2002. Do two surviving members, albeit the primary creative forces, still constitute the authentic band? Could Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr credibly perform as the Beatles? What about the idea of reuniting Nirvana sans Kurt Cobain for next year's performance?

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, indeed.

We are very pleased to announce that Substance has been selected to partner with AIDS Foundation of Chicago to develop the branding and marketing campaign for this year's AIDS Run & Walk Chicago. A 5K event with over 7,000 participants, the event benefits over 70 local organizations. This is a very high profile event, as any who lives in the city can tell you, from the ubiquitous CTA banners to the messaging that is prominent throughout Chicago.

We're thrilled about the opportunity and looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting to work for this very worthy cause and organization.