Legendary Musician, Composer, Piano Player – Chris Nole
Chris Nole mesmerizes audiences worldwide with his piano melodies of jazz, country, pop, the blues…whatever the mood! He’s best known as John Denver’s piano player in the 1990s as well as tours and recordings with Faith Hill, Travis Tritt, the Oak Ridge Boys, Don Williams, Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris, and others. Chris Nole’s quest is to entertain you with music that makes you feel good.
Transcript
I, I could only hope that, people who listen to my music get some, of course entertainment, but maybe at a deeper level, some, peace, some inspiration . Music's a funny thing.
Chris Nole:Sometimes you really can't say what you're trying to say, but through music you can.
Catherine:Hello there.
Catherine:I'm Katherine, your host of this variety show podcast.
Catherine:Your positive imprint is transforming how we live today for a more sustainable tomorrow through education and information, your own positive actions inspire change.
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Catherine:Well.
Catherine:Your favorite podcast platform.
Catherine:Music by the legendary and talented Chris Nole check out Chris and that music playing right now is Gumbolaya, Chris Nole's music.
Catherine:Check him out, ChrisNole.com c H R I S N O L E.
Catherine:Thank you again for listening and for your support of this podcast.
Catherine:Your positive imprint.
Catherine:What's your PI.
Catherine:So guess what, everybody.
Catherine:He is here.
Catherine:My guest today is none other.
Catherine:Wait, wait, wait.
Catherine:Okay.
Catherine:I'm gonna do it this way Music by the talented Chris Nole.
Catherine:That's c H R i S N O L E.
Catherine:. Okay.
Catherine:Yes, indeed.
Catherine:The one and only composer of your positive imprint's
Catherine:music "Elevated Intentions.".
Catherine:Well, I met Chris in 1997 and I knew him as John Denver's piano player during the 1990s.
Catherine:But during the years, Chris introduced me to his own compositions not just for the podcast, but during my classroom years, for those environmental days, school
Catherine:He plays them with passion, and I'm always excited to share his music with you.
Catherine:And I have some of my own favorites.
Catherine:Well, his talent reaches across the genre spectrum with jazz, soul, reflective melodies, the blues, just everything.
Catherine:He's so talented, and I certainly admire Chris for his compositions that entertain me.
Catherine:Chris describes his extensive career as a quest for music that makes you feel good when rhythms, sounds, melodies, and stories all come together to create magic.
Catherine:Well, his magic, mesmerized me.
Catherine:It's awesome to finally, Chris, finally to have you on the show to share your positive imprints
Catherine:Chris Nole, welcome to Your Positive Imprint.
Catherine:. Chris Nole: Ah, you do that so well.
Catherine:You have like the best podcast voice.
Catherine:Oh, , thank you so
Chris Nole:much.
Chris Nole:It's so soothing and interesting.
Chris Nole:And thank you for the such kind words.
Chris Nole:My
Catherine:word.
Catherine:Oh, well my gosh, they fit to a t.
Catherine:You don't, they, I
Chris Nole:think.
Chris Nole:I hope I'll try to live up to that.
Chris Nole:Thank you so much.
Chris Nole:And uh, yeah, "Elevated Intentions.".
Chris Nole:I remember you were forming the podcast and you wanted to use some of my music and I said, well wait a minute.
Chris Nole:Why don't I just try to sit down, write something for Catherine, personalize it, and uh, it's a pretty cool melody if I say so myself
Catherine:Oh, Chris, thank you so much for elevated intentions and for taking the time to do that.
Chris Nole:I, uh, I threaten to release it as a single at some point I think I might do that.
Chris Nole:I believe it's a little short right now to release but I'm gonna revisit it and I like the song a lot and I'm glad you do and I'm glad you use it.
Chris Nole:And maybe we need to get, get it out there on all the platforms also.
Chris Nole:So it's on my to-do list,
Chris Nole:. Catherine: Well, Chris, whatever you wanna do, I am just thrilled it
Chris Nole:And I, again, thank you.
Chris Nole:So you're here, my gosh, to finally share your positive imprints.
Chris Nole:And we have been trying for literally years , to get
Chris Nole:together.
Chris Nole:Yeah.
Chris Nole:I thought it was gonna be your first
Catherine:guest.
Catherine:I know.
Catherine:It was, it was absolutely go, but then things just didn't go right.
Catherine:And then we were trying to do 2020, and then of course we know what happened there and, but now, wow.
Chris Nole:Uh, how many, how many podcasts have you done to date so far?
Catherine:I have done 191.
Chris Nole:I remember you were just launching this.
Chris Nole:You've, you've such the professional now, aren't you?
Chris Nole:? Catherine: I like to think so.
Chris Nole:I like to think so.
Chris Nole:And uh, started out and I had, of course I had a sponsor and then Covid hit and my sponsor died of Covid, which was, I know it was really sad for his family, but
Chris Nole:So we're gonna look back at that and say, what the heck happened?
Catherine:I'm so sorry that we didn't get to have the couple of gatherings that we were planning that big one in 2020.
Chris Nole:Yeah.
Chris Nole:Uh, we are originally gonna do this.
Chris Nole:Side by side.
Chris Nole:Yep.
Chris Nole:Uh,
Catherine:live in New Mexico.
Chris Nole:in New Mexico.
Chris Nole:Up in your secret retreat.
Chris Nole:That's
Catherine:right.
Catherine:. So, oh, Chris, it's so, so, so good to have you on the show and, and listeners are so used to hearing your name on the show.
Catherine:And I do receive emails and I know you've received emails in the past from listeners, and so your music is, is just wonderful.
Catherine:So we're gonna start with, my gosh, Chris, how did you get started piano playing.
Chris Nole:Well, it's, it's probably a common story.
Chris Nole:Like every little kid seems to wanna, wanna play the piano or maybe nowadays guitar, drums, oh, God forbid your kid wants to play drums.
Chris Nole:We, uh, my.
Chris Nole:Little brother Michael, who's not that little anymore, but he played drums and there was no, like the headphones and the, the little pads and all back then we had real drums in, in a tight little neighborhood,
Chris Nole:It was a mess.
Chris Nole:We had a very musical household.
Chris Nole:But, um, back to how I started, I, I was always fascinated by just looking at the instrument and I start asking for one around five years old and like every other mom and dad, they thought it was just a, a little
Chris Nole:So I kept asking and asking and asking for years.
Chris Nole:It, it turned out to be four years before they sprung for a piano.
Chris Nole:And I was nine at that time and I was doing really good in school.
Chris Nole:And after, I guess some really amazing report card
Chris Nole:my dad finally said, okay, we're gonna get this boy a piano . And, and they did.
Chris Nole:It
Catherine:was awesome.
Catherine:Oh my gosh.
Catherine:So, and then you took lessons or you taught yourself, or did your mom teach you?
Catherine:No,
Chris Nole:uh, so they brought in this big piano.
Chris Nole:It was huge to me.
Chris Nole:It, and, and uh, hindsight, I think it was only like a five foot mini grand piano, but the lid opened up and everything, so I thought it was like a concert grand on a symphony stage, to me, that's what it looked like.
Chris Nole:But, uh, so they.
Chris Nole:Load it in and set it up.
Chris Nole:And so I got my piano and then I didn't know what to do with it.
Chris Nole:I, I start touching the keys and I had no clue what to do.
Chris Nole:So, thankfully mom knew, uh, a neighbor, a friend down the street, Mrs.
Chris Nole:{ClaudeNikki}, who taught piano, and I don't remember the date, but I remember it was a Wednesday at 3:30PM that I walked up the street for my first piano lesson.
Chris Nole:And that's how it started.
Chris Nole:I think the first lesson was like,
Chris Nole:(piano) something like that.
Chris Nole:Like C D E E D C, . So there
Catherine:you go.
Catherine:. Awesome.
Catherine:And so, The piano, why not the drums like your brother why the piano?
Catherine:What intrigued you?
Catherine:Was it something in a movie?
Catherine:Was it something in the store?
Catherine:Church?
Chris Nole:I don't know.
Chris Nole:I, I guess some kind of, uh, intuition that, that it suited me.
Chris Nole:If I was smart, I probably would've grew my hair real long and played lead guitar cuz they get all the chicks,
Chris Nole:. Catherine: Oh, that's funny.
Chris Nole:But, uh, I opted to sit at the piano and I, I made it through those scales and those early books and, you know, my hands start feeling
Chris Nole:What are these guys doing?
Chris Nole:Why are they so cool?
Chris Nole:Why do I like that sound so much?
Chris Nole:And after a few years I backed away from the lessons and got more into uh, listening, you know, when anyone asks me about excelling on their instrument, the three words are listen, listen, listen.
Chris Nole:You have to listen to what experts are doing or great musicians are doing.
Chris Nole:Um, and point your dart at that.
Chris Nole:But anyway, yeah, I, I start gravitating more towards pop music and, high school friends that played music and forming these little bands and, and, uh, yeah, just, just get, I, I
Chris Nole:Growing up on Lansing Drive in Mantua with my three brothers.
Chris Nole:And we had of course our record player upstairs and our record collection.
Chris Nole:We covered a wide range.
Chris Nole:But I'm proud to say that I was listening to Bill Withers and Billy Preston at a very young age.
Chris Nole:And of course they were, uh, current stars at the time and currently on the radio.
Chris Nole:So there was a big station in Philly called W F I L.
Chris Nole:And I think that's where I heard most new releases from these pop artists.
Chris Nole:And of course we had John Denver playing on the AM radio all, all the time too, and my mom used to treat me to sheet music.
Chris Nole:Uh, I guess every payday or every other payday, she'd let me pick out, uh, a piece or two to bring home and Uh, I guess every payday or every other payday,
Chris Nole:And I vividly remember, uh, selecting back home again, uh, from the music store and taking it home.
Chris Nole:set it up on the piano and starting to learn this John Denver tune that was all over the radio.
Catherine:Little did you know,
Chris Nole:little did I know and little did he know.
Catherine:Yeah, that's true.
Catherine:And little did he know,
Chris Nole:we used to get the radio stations out of Philadelphia, but I, I grew up in the Jersey Farms, the tomato farms and peach farms, and, uh, I picked peaches and apples.
Chris Nole:Uh, that's how I start buying my first keyboards was working on those farms.
Chris Nole:But so, uh, not too far away, but very far away in a, in a different sense,
Catherine:You obviously learned quite a bit from the people you were working with and for, because you became a gardener yourself.
Chris Nole:It, it, uh, I remember going from a skinny, uh, 13 year old to a muscular 16 year old, cuz the work was so grueling in the heat and long hours and lifting and, and driving tractors.
Chris Nole:And also, yeah, it was, it was an amazing time and uh, all three of us boys worked, worked on that farm and it taught us a lot.
Chris Nole:And of course we start saving money and buying our instruments.
Chris Nole:So yeah, it was a stepping stone to a lot of
Catherine:things.
Catherine:Absolutely.
Catherine:Oh my gosh.
Catherine:I hope that farm is still in existence today.
Chris Nole:I think it is.
Chris Nole:It's called High League Orchards and it was founded by, uh, an old German immigrant and it, it's generational.
Chris Nole:So the younger generation probably still runs it to this day.
Catherine:Well, such great experience.
Catherine:And I did not know that about you.
Catherine:You've never talked about I had met any surprises.
Catherine:You do.
Catherine:And I, that's, that's an exciting one because it, like you say, it was grueling hard labor.
Catherine:You learned a lot.
Catherine:You, you met a lot of people.
Catherine:I think that when kids at a young age work someplace where they have to learn responsibilities, I just think you grow out of it so much better.
Chris Nole:I would recommend it for any youth.
Chris Nole:Yeah, absolutely.
Catherine:And wisdom grows and you also have a lot of memories for reflection, and I think that's important too, as we grow.
Catherine:Yeah.
Catherine:One
Chris Nole:memory is, uh, getting up at 5:30 in the morning.
Chris Nole:Riding the bike four miles to a cold dewey August morning and swearing that I cannot do this for the rest of my life and I need to do music.
Catherine:So there you go.
Catherine:And it was a stepping stone,
Chris Nole:it was a motivator.
Catherine:It was, yeah.
Catherine:My husband was on a farm in Missouri and his family had a farm, so it was the same thing.
Catherine:And carrying those bales of hay and driving the tractors and he would say to himself, I'm going to be an engineer.
Catherine:But it teaches you values and the value of, of family life too, I think.
Catherine:I think so.
Catherine:In a lot of respects.
Catherine:So now you finished schooling mm-hmm and you decided to just
Catherine:pack it up.
Chris Nole:Not quite yet.
Chris Nole:Okay.
Chris Nole:So I went from the, the farm to, uh, I started teaching a little music at the D Mall to, piano and organ customers.
Chris Nole:People who just would purchase, uh, and they really had no clue.
Chris Nole:And I'd start showing them the, these easy book, uh, songs.
Chris Nole:It was really about selling the pianos and organs, but I was there to kind of encourage them to play better.
Chris Nole:And that lasted, uh, I think two years, something like that.
Chris Nole:And I, I was getting ancy so I would go out and sit in with some local bands and, and the whole scene in my area was country music.
Chris Nole:Believe it or not, , uh, dance halls.
Chris Nole:And so this is where I would start meeting people.
Chris Nole:And I finally got an offer to join a full-time, six nights a week, dance hall type of country venue, country band thing.
Chris Nole:I thought it was an amazing offer.
Chris Nole:And the money back then was, I guess just under 300 a week.
Chris Nole:But in the seventies, that was like, Hey, yeah, 20 years old, making adult wages.
Chris Nole:So, uh, I jumped into that band and I kicked around in many of those bands, uh, pen, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware for, I don't know, 5, 6, 7 years.
Chris Nole:But, but that also served me by playing with different entertainers, singers, and bands
Chris Nole:forced me to get more comfortable on piano and keyboards.
Chris Nole:And this was prior to moving to Nashville.
Chris Nole:So I think that helped me prepare to move to Nashville.
Catherine:The positive imprints that
Catherine:you were already building and leaving imprints with those students that you were teaching and inspiring them to play.
Catherine:Now you don't know where they are today, but the value and the positive imprints you have is pretty extraordinary and goes way back.
Chris Nole:I'll tell you where one of those students ended up.
Chris Nole:He's a very successful actor outta New York City now.
Chris Nole:He does movies and TV commercials and, uh, cable and yeah, we've been, we've stayed in touch for those many, many years.
Chris Nole:And we actually talked just a few days ago, but, uh, he came into that store
Chris Nole:just wanting more background on how to play a little bit better.
Chris Nole:And little did I know he was this major accomplished singer who would later sing on Broadway.
Chris Nole:So that's one of them.
Chris Nole:I don't know where the rest went.
Catherine:Chris Nole's piano playing career has been successful.
Catherine:Sadly his dad would not live to watch his son grow in his musical talent.
Catherine:Chris's dad passed away at a very young age in 1973.
Catherine:Following the loss of his dad, Chris continued working hard and building a career in which he has played for not only the late John Denver, but Faith Hill, Travis Tritt, Oak Ridge
Catherine:Chris recounts his past and the decisions he made in order to fulfill his dreams and goals.
Chris Nole:Well, I kicked around the area in these local bands and I just, I.
Chris Nole:I was thinking there's gotta be something more, and I wanna, I wanna hang with the bigger dogs.
Chris Nole:And it was either move to New York City, Los Angeles, or Nashville.
Chris Nole:And because of my, uh, love of bands like the Allman Brothers and Leonard Skynyrd, and I just like, you know, if you listen to some of that stuff, the keyboard parts are amazing.
Chris Nole:And that really attracted me.
Chris Nole:Mm-hmm.
Chris Nole:, it really did, uh, pop music, uh, at that time was a lot of synth and drum machines and guitar and I, I just liked playing a real piano, (piano) you know, so those styles attracted me.
Chris Nole:I figured I, I should head south and that's what I did.
Chris Nole:It was just my mom was raising three boys and we lost her in 2019, by the way.
Chris Nole:My other two brothers had left and I was about to leave to go to Nashville and I felt really guilty.
Chris Nole:It's like, oh, you know, to, to leave and then knowing your mom would be alone, but she was much younger back then and very resilient and did, did pretty good as far as I remember, uh, when her last boy moved out.
Catherine:How old were you when you threw everything in your country truck
Chris Nole:Oh yeah.
Chris Nole:My old Chevy truck.
Chris Nole:I think I was 26.
Chris Nole:I didn't really have a plan.
Chris Nole:I, , loaded up what I had- keyboards and, uh, I think an old mattress and found a really cheap apartment.
Chris Nole:I think my rent was $260 a month.
Chris Nole:. Yeah.
Chris Nole:Now you can imagine what that looked like.
Chris Nole:But yes,
Chris Nole:that was, uh, late eighties.
Chris Nole:Late eighties.
Chris Nole:So, uh, yeah, it was kind of a dump, but it worked for a single guy, kicking around and really just doing the music thing.
Chris Nole:So, there I was Nashville.
Chris Nole:So what do you do when you get to Nashville?
Chris Nole:Well, I don't know what you do now.
Chris Nole:It's probably similar.
Chris Nole:You, you go out every night and you go hear bands and you walk up on breaks and say, Hey, I'm Chris.
Chris Nole:Uh, you guys sound good.
Chris Nole:You think I could sit in with you?
Chris Nole:? And,
Catherine:and how many yeses did you get?
Chris Nole:Uh, you know, mostly yeses because a lot of these venues were set up to accommodate that.
Chris Nole:They were like jam nights and, multiple bands.
Chris Nole:And honestly, looking back, you could land a major tour because a lot of these guys hosting the things were in.
Chris Nole:National acts and touring and all, and then they would also do these jams.
Chris Nole:So, I mean, you were going right to the source back then, and if you played really good, people would get your phone number.
Chris Nole:So I'm, I'm thinking it's still the same thing.
Chris Nole:I'm just kind of too lazy to go out at night anymore and, uh,
Chris Nole:But I think the same process is going on
Chris Nole:. Catherine: Oh, that, that's, that's so cute.
Chris Nole:Now people could see you.
Chris Nole:All over social media.
Chris Nole:Yeah.
Chris Nole:And YouTube.
Chris Nole:So, uh, yeah, the exposure is ridiculous.
Chris Nole:Now, I, I, I really don't know how to even sort through that because if you have some little wizard getting millions and millions of views on YouTube, he's not gonna go out.
Chris Nole:He or she is not gonna go out to the club.
Chris Nole:They're gonna stay on YouTube.
Chris Nole:, honestly, no matter what the exposure is, your focus really should be right here.
Chris Nole:Are you playing good?
Chris Nole:It's not how many people are listening, whether 10 or a hundred or a million.
Chris Nole:How are you playing?
Chris Nole:I say the toughest gig for me and I think for most people it's playing for 10 people, like a house party or a living room because they are right there and
Chris Nole:And I've done a few of those gigs and I love them and I've kind of got comfortable with, with the situation.
Chris Nole:When we were spinning them records up in the bedroom, learning them songs as youngsters, millions of people that that's what you wanna play for.
Chris Nole:You wanna go big time And of course, That is big time.
Chris Nole:But I've learned over the years you could be playing a festival with 40,000 people, a sea of faces, and they're so far removed from you in your performance.
Chris Nole:The connection is not the same at all.
Chris Nole:Uh, you're connecting with, with your monitor guy who's 10 feet away from you, your fellow band mates and maybe your artist will look at you and talk to you and you might
Chris Nole:It's difficult, but in a living room, you need to connect with all 10 or 20 that are sitting right in front of you and they wanna be entertained and they wanna connect with you.
Chris Nole:.
Chris Nole:And I've stayed a fan, uh, the whole way.
Chris Nole:I know they had some strange years and crash and burn, but they, they were resurrected and yeah, I'm, I'm one of the, Rock Front men, Stephen Tyler and Rock History, of course.
Chris Nole:And yeah, and all original members still, I do believe, but I remember, I, I was young.
Chris Nole:I, I don't know, 14 or 15, and I remember the smell of this aroma all around me.
Chris Nole:Oh, it was a new smell.
Chris Nole:Kind of a pleasant smell.
Chris Nole:and Wow.
Catherine:your introduction to
Chris Nole:the whole arena filled with this beautiful smell of burning plants.
Chris Nole:Yeah.
Chris Nole:,
Chris Nole:How did you do that?
Chris Nole:Were you trying to find auditions?
Chris Nole:Yeah, um, well, I moved to Nashville.
Chris Nole:I had to pay rent, so I got in a van and went out with this band, and we played, uh, Holiday Inn lounges, you know, and, um, the drives were brutal.
Chris Nole:And the gigs, I appreciate the income, but the gigs were like four sets a night playing covers, but.
Chris Nole:It served me well.
Chris Nole:It paid my rent and it kept me on stage.
Chris Nole:Tiny stage, but a stage nevertheless.
Chris Nole:Of course I knew there was more to music than that, so I kept my antenna up and uh, I, I got an audition with a band that had a record deal, it was called Ry the River.
Chris Nole:And I was very impressed with that.
Chris Nole:I was go going from cover band to okay, these guys are on the radio, now they weren't that famous and you probably can't find a thing about them.
Chris Nole:I think they had, uh, one song make it to like 40 on the country charts.
Chris Nole:But to me that was a big deal.
Chris Nole:These guys been in the studio, have a record deal.
Chris Nole:I think it was, uh, Arista for like five minutes.
Chris Nole:They were on the record label, then dropped.
Chris Nole:So then we start playing the big Nat clubs, uh, the grizzly rows in Denver and Tullies in Phoenix.
Chris Nole:So we had, we were on a bus and it was a ratty old bus, but we were on a bus and we thought that was a big deal, and we were now traveling the country playing these big rooms.
Chris Nole:So that was a step up to me, and the money was decent.
Chris Nole:And after two or three years I was, we were all figuring out there was really no future.
Chris Nole:I think they, they peaked and, and it was just a downward slide.
Chris Nole:So, but all the time, paying rent so that, that counts for something and experience.
Chris Nole:Mm-hmm.
Chris Nole:, lots of experience.
Chris Nole:And when at that time in the bigger clubs, uh, national acts would come in, people currently on the radio, and we'd warm up and shake hands with them.
Chris Nole:And so I felt like I was brushing up against the big time, finally.
Chris Nole:And then I started getting auditions for people with record deals, I like to say they're on the radio cuz there was no internet, YouTube blah, blah blah.
Chris Nole:Nothing if you, you had to be on terrestrial radio to be on your way up or really doing anything.
Chris Nole:It was all brick and mortar radio stations.
Chris Nole:So I think my first national act that had a deal on Columbia, Columbia Records Nashville was Shelby Lynn.
Chris Nole:And they were spinning her, her records and I was in her band.
Chris Nole:And so that, that was the first time I was with an artist who had a record deal and, and the whole, whole enchilada.
Chris Nole:I started kicking around from ACT to act and, the, the goal is to, get into better situations, whether that's money or, accommodations or more dates throughout the year.
Chris Nole:I think from Shelby, I went to a fantastic talent on RCA named Laurie White, fabulous singer and entertainer.
Chris Nole:And then, uh, Laurie took a break.
Chris Nole:She was in between record deals.
Chris Nole:And then I got an audition for this, Unknown chick singer.
Chris Nole:Nice long blonde hair named Faith Hill.
Chris Nole:Oh my . Yeah.
Chris Nole:And no one knew who she was except a few folks in Nashville.
Chris Nole:So I went to that audition and we just hit it off.
Chris Nole:It was great.
Chris Nole:She liked my backup singing and she liked my piano playing and I clicked with the band, so she hired me and I've seen Faith turn into a superstar like in four weeks.
Chris Nole:I've never seen anything like that.
Chris Nole:Uh, they really maybe Was your piano playing?
Chris Nole:Oh yeah.
Chris Nole:It was absolutely my piano playing . The record was recorded before I got the band.
Chris Nole:Oh, okay.
Chris Nole:The song was Wild One and they released it and it flew to like top 10.
Chris Nole:Number one.
Chris Nole:And then Letterman booked her, Jay Leno booked her the Grand ol Opry booked her and I did all that stuff with her.
Chris Nole:It was truly amazing.
Chris Nole:How fun.
Chris Nole:Yeah.
Catherine:Let's talk about your contributions to our community, the worldwide community.
Catherine:The global community with the music that you're writing.
Catherine:You're not just writing music, you've also written a book.
Chris Nole:Uh oh.
Chris Nole:Yeah.
Chris Nole:Um, actually I'm, I'm working on that.
Chris Nole:I'm updating it.
Chris Nole:It, and, and, and, uh, I wanna say it's more of a guide.
Chris Nole:I, I wish it was a full book, but I don't have that much patience.
Chris Nole:And, and I think
Chris Nole:, Catherine: you write music, Chris.
Chris Nole:Well,
Chris Nole:I feel like I try to get the point across as quick as I can.
Chris Nole:And it's really, it's really to point musicians in the right direction.
Chris Nole:It's, uh, it's called Collect Your Music, royalties!, exclamation point.
Chris Nole:Cause uh, you want me to tell you a little bit
Catherine:about that?
Catherine:Absolutely.
Catherine:It's part of your positive imprint.
Catherine:I've already had inquiries and I've already sent people where to go for the
Chris Nole:book.
Chris Nole:Okay.
Chris Nole:So, I run with a lot of guys my age who have done amazing musical things, singer songwriter performers.
Chris Nole:One guy flies to LA every few months talking to music supervisors and, and doing the soap opera music and you know, so these guys are professionals making a living and know a lot about the music business.
Chris Nole:And in discussions with them, I would mention this term or another term or this type of royalty or in the entity.
Chris Nole:And they would look at me, kind of glassy eyed.
Chris Nole:So I'm going, oh, these guys are professionals and are a little confused.
Chris Nole:I know these indie artists have to be really confused.
Chris Nole:So I put this guide out about, when you release music, see today everyone can release music because of the digital realm and digital, , distributors.
Chris Nole:So you're actually your own little record label.
Chris Nole:You're, you're functioning as one, but we're all forced to function as one but you really don't know how.
Chris Nole:How to go about it.
Chris Nole:So basically, uh, long story longer, uh, I'm, I'm trying to point these folks in the right direction.
Chris Nole:Well, if your music is being played here, you need to look out for this royalty being kicked off and here's how you collect it.
Chris Nole:And there, there's so many different types of royalties and entities that collect them and all these accounts you need to create.
Chris Nole:So my guide helps a little bit with that,
Catherine:and it's for United States.
Catherine:But I will tell you, a couple of folks in England who contacted me and they have access to Amazon and they did go to, grab that book.
Chris Nole:No, no.
Chris Nole:They, they could use some of it.
Chris Nole:The reason I say it's for the US based independent arts because our collection agencies mm-hmm.
Chris Nole:deal with, uh, streams in the US and collections in the us, but.
Chris Nole:Having that information for anybody and even translating to how it works in your own country, it Yeah, there's a benefit to glance and at it for sure.
Catherine:Absolutely.
Catherine:And now with the streaming, it goes over the borders.
Catherine:So there's a lot.
Catherine:With my podcast, I have to purchase all sorts of things for the international laws for streaming and for the cookies, the cookies that we have on our websites.
Catherine:Europe was really strong on those back when I launched the trailer of December, 2018, I had to have all of that in place.
Chris Nole:And it sounds like you, you had a crash course in that, so I think, I think I, I see you writing your own 50 page guide to help other podcasters,
Chris Nole:. Catherine: I'll need your help.
Chris Nole:Yeah.
Chris Nole:I, I don't, I don't think so.
Chris Nole:But your, your music.
Chris Nole:So there are other things that you do besides writing your music.
Chris Nole:Chris has always happy to answer questions from any musician, especially piano players.
Chris Nole:And so he's now gearing up, in the planning stage, a course.
Chris Nole:This course is to inspire practice methods, goal setting, and other ways for piano players to grow their talent.
Chris Nole:He also volunteers his time and expertise with
Chris Nole:Music Therapy of the Rockies, a nonprofit founded by Mack Bailey.
Chris Nole:The time Chris has spent with Therapy of the Rockies has touched him, changed him, inspired him.
Chris Nole:The music therapy.
Chris Nole:The Rockies were, were co-writing with, , people affected with PTSD . that's been a big part of my year this year too.
Chris Nole:It's sharing music and sharing experiences really aimed at, , music as healing, a way to healing through music
Chris Nole:It's changed my life and, like a lot of musicians, some of us are introverts, we like spending time with our instrument.
Chris Nole:And then co-writing could be a chore sometimes, cuz you have to, share the space with, with this other entity.
Chris Nole:And in Nashville we're really good at it.
Chris Nole:The co-writing thing is very common and very familiar.
Chris Nole:That's a great thing about living in Nashville where I was, exposed to that early on.
Chris Nole:So I'm really comfortable with co-writing.
Chris Nole:Anyway, Mack Bailey founded this organization and he has this, , amazing system, and part of that system is pairing people like me up with a veteran or, and it's not limited to veterans anymore.
Chris Nole:It, he's expanding into, other , people affected by PTSD . Anyway, I've learned to sit in a room with some of these wonderful people and, talk and listen and laugh and cry and put their story to music.
Chris Nole:And for them to be able to let it out and actually have , a guitar or a piano player like me put it to music and put it to rhyme and reason and verse and chorus, and it's their story.
Chris Nole:Mm-hmm.
Chris Nole:and the transformation, A little bit of pride that it's, it's their song and, and a little bit about people are listening to me, I'm being heard.
Chris Nole:It's just an amazing experience for the writers, for Mack and for the veterans or whoever we're, co-writing with.
Chris Nole:I, I have to add, we're not the only people co-writing or writing songs with veterans, but, but I have to tell you the way Music Therapy of the Rockies does it, and I've seen it up close and personal many times now.
Chris Nole:So, Makes me proud to say it really does some good and you know, how how big could you grow it?
Chris Nole:Cuz you know, the, the, the magic really comes from Mack Bailey's empathy, right?
Chris Nole:And the experienced songwriters who have learned to listen and just visit with, with these folks and just be with them.
Chris Nole:So it's just a beautiful boutique organization right now.
Chris Nole:How big it grows, I don't know.
Chris Nole:We shall see.
Chris Nole:We've got big plans for 2023 and, I'm, I'm part of the Nashville Crew.
Chris Nole:Music therapy of the Rockies is now functioning in Atlanta, Boston, Missouri, Colorado.
Chris Nole:But, uh, I mean, big plans for 2023.
Chris Nole:We just did our first live music, benefit a few weeks ago, and it was, it was a joy, man.
Chris Nole:We, we had four of us singer songwriters on the stage, and everyone hit their mark and the crowd loved it.
Chris Nole:And we had two veterans get up with us and perform, so That's awesome.
Chris Nole:That's great.
Chris Nole:That was good time, boy.
Chris Nole:That is inspiring.
Catherine:Yes.
Catherine:There's so much good out there.
Catherine:So I'm just gonna mention a co a couple of, actually one other song that is an absolute favorite of mine, , and you already know, which is my favorite,
Chris Nole:uh, no, I'm guessing in my head here.
Chris Nole:Tell me, tell
Catherine:me what one Oh, the, we've talked about it before.
Catherine:Lay across my piano.
Catherine:Oh.
Catherine:Oh, baby.
Catherine:Yeah.
Catherine:Yeah.
Catherine:I love that one.
Chris Nole:Yeah, I, I remember you came to see us, uh, out at the Broadmoor, and I, I do believe you were slightly disappointed we didn't include it.
Chris Nole:And I wish, I wish I did.
Chris Nole:I wish I did that night.
Chris Nole:So I regret that.
Chris Nole:But, I will get it in on the next show.
Chris Nole:Oh,
Catherine:that'd be great.
Catherine:Yeah.
Catherine:I love that song.
Catherine:And you sing it just absolutely perfect.
Catherine:And, uh,
Chris Nole:oh, I remember the, the very germination of that song, and it's for folks who haven't heard it, you, you, you're gonna have to check it out.
Chris Nole:It's kind of a smokey blues ballad.
Chris Nole:If you're really gonna lay across my piano, make sure you take off your boots and don't scratch up the top of the piano
Catherine:But,
Chris Nole:uh, I was playing a piano, it was a restaurant with a, a grand piano in it.
Chris Nole:And my wonderful co-writer Stephanie Siegel, we were singing and, and I think the, the restaurant kind of emptied out.
Chris Nole:There might have been three people at the bar.
Chris Nole:And I just, you know, (piano) start, start, uh, messing with this smoky blues thing.
Chris Nole:I guess I, I looked at her and said, lay across my piano baby.
Chris Nole:And uh, she start laughing.
Chris Nole:It was kind of a joke, . And then she came out with like, the next line, I play a song for you, and the song, it was like four lines really wasn't a song.
Chris Nole:So in the coming days and weeks, it's like Stephanie, that that's got a cool smokey vibe.
Chris Nole:Kind of a kind of a little bit of a love lovey dovey thing and sexy thing.
Chris Nole:So we finished it and uh,
Chris Nole:I remember doing
Chris Nole:that song at a sound check at the Wheeler Opera House , just checking the piano and mic and Jim Horn was strapping on his sax, he came over to the piano and wailed this sexy bluesy sax solo.
Chris Nole:. I would love to hear a version of that at someday too.
Catherine:Oh, that's funny, . Yeah.
Catherine:Well it is a great song.
Catherine:I love it.
Catherine:And I think that you and Molly Weaver would've done a great job at The Broadmoor, which I would love to
Chris Nole:duplicate.
Chris Nole:I will put that on to do list.
Chris Nole:I would love to do that that show again, that was, that was incredible.
Chris Nole:And how we learned all that music that quick.
Chris Nole:Cuz a lot of folks think we have so much rehearsal time and so much prep time, but so many times you don't have a whole lot.
Chris Nole:Like you kick around a list, oh, let's do this, this, this, this, this.
Chris Nole:Okay, we got 20 songs.
Chris Nole:Let's run through them real quick.
Chris Nole:And then, then you're on stage.
Chris Nole:And so, that was a good
Catherine:night.
Catherine:It was a fun night.
Catherine:But, and you look at your experience too, Chris, as you were saying earlier, when you were younger and you were playing for all of the different people it was giving you that confidence
Catherine:And I think John Denver you didn't have an audition, you were just kind of put at the moment.
Catherine:It didn't happen.
Catherine:You didn't have to sub, but it was just, here's music and voila.
Chris Nole:Yeah, that's true.
Chris Nole:I, I guess I always kind of disregard that, but that's kind of gets in your DNA after doing it over and over and over again.
Catherine:Join Chris Nole and me next week when Chris shares more positive imprints, including his time playing for John Denver.
Catherine:Chris's piano playing transforms lives.
Catherine:Next week.
Catherine:Well, I thank you for all of it and I'm.
Catherine:So excited and thrilled that we finally made it to virtual, but we're virtual in having you here on the show, sharing your positive imprints.
Chris Nole:So well, it was a pleasure being here and chatting with you.
Chris Nole:Thank you, Catherine.
Catherine:Oh, you're so welcome.
Catherine:So to end the show, of course, this is Chris Nole, the one and only who is the composer of Your Positive Imprint's "Elevated Intentions."
Catherine:Chris, so wonderful to have you here.
Catherine:Thank you so much.
Catherine:You're welcome
Catherine:To learn more about Chris Nole go to ChrisNole.com.
Catherine:That's C H R I S N O L E.
Catherine:Chris Nole is going to end the year with our Christmas message here at your positive imprint on December 23rd.
Catherine:But again, join us next week for part two with Chris Nole.
Catherine:Music used with permission.
Catherine:Rocky mountain high and leaving on a jet plane from Chris's flyaway album.
Catherine:Low brow blues from piano blues, gumball Leia from barrel house boogie.
Catherine:And lay across my piano from it.
Catherine:Be what it be.
Catherine:Don't forget to hit that follow subscribe or download button now.
Catherine:And thanks for listening.
Catherine:Your positive imprint.
WOW! I love “Lay Across My Piano”. So bluesy! So cool.
Terry, I will let Chris Nole know. So glad you love it! Thank you for listening.