Words &music

HEYMAN'S HEYDAY: Acclaimed New York singer/songwriter Richard X. Heyman, whose previous album, Cornerstone (1998), was on now-defunct label Permanent Press, suddenly has a new album out (Basic Glee, on his own Turn-up Records label); a companion disc on the way, thanks to novel self-marketing; and an autobiography, Boom Harangue—Life in Mid-Century Through the Eyes of a Rock'n'Roll Survivor (Writers Club Press).

The book, baby boomer Heyman notes, comprises "short stories dealing with my brushes with fame and the funny things that happened growing up as a musician in the '60s."

A guitarist who started playing drums when he was 7, Heyman has plenty of memories on which to draw. "I look pretty young but I'm just backdated," the still-boyish artist says, stealing a lyric from the Who's "Substitute." While he does not divulge his exact age, he's decidedly proud of having made it through the '60s and offers many entertaining stories from that period. One concerns an opening stint for the Beach Boys by his band the Doughboys (shortly after a name change from the Ascots, which had recorded a pair of singles for Bell Records): After breaking a borrowed floor tom, the group withstood an angry assault by its irate owner, Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson.

Heyman also declares his "worship" of Joni Mitchell. "I learned to play piano from [Mitchell's 1970 album] Ladies of the Canyon—that and the Band's second album really hit home in terms of song composition," he says. "I used to listen to what she was doing with her left hand, learned how her chords flowed, and adapted it: The way you play piano affects the way you write, because you write within your ability. Listening to Joni expanded my ability."

Heyman eventually switched to guitar and began writing "what I call 'melodic pop music,' " he says. His new album was recorded at his East Village Tabby Road home studio; he and wife Nancy Leigh (also his bass player/engineer) are big cat lovers. But they cut 34 tracks for the 14-song disc, and 14 of the remainder will soon end up on Rightovers ("as opposed to Leftovers," Heyman says).

"I did a presale on Basic Glee involving two different [fan] clubs," Heyman explains. "For $25, the 'Basic Glee booster' received an autographed copy. For $50, the 'Basic Glee choir member' got the autographed copy, their name in the liner notes, and the exclusive Rightovers."

But Heyman notes that Rightovers may appear in general release as well. "Ironically, people who have heard it already say it may be the best thing I've ever done," he says, "since the songs are more adventurous and daring—and not what I would normally include on my albums."

Meanwhile, the Arrex Aitch Music (BMI) writer has been promoting Basic Glee on his richardxheyman.com Web site and at "house concerts" in fans' living rooms. "They invite all their friends, and it's so intimate that sometimes we don't even use a P.A.," says Heyman, whose recent house concert in Louisville, Ky., was lensed for a segment on an upcoming episode of the PBS series Right on the Money—about artists who promote their work in atypical ways.



BMI'S OWR: BMI has launched Online Works Registration (OWR), a new online registration system for musical works. Developed in conjunction with FastTrack alliance partners, the user-friendly system is the first step in rolling out FastTrack-compliant digital tools for the use of songwriters, composers, and publishers worldwide.

FastTrack is an alliance among nine copyright organizations in eight countries and involves a decentralized network for sharing data and streamlining internal operations in benefiting the member societies' rights-owners. Songs by writers who use the new OWR system will be automatically added to FastTrack's global database, permitting instant and accurate identification of the works by FastTrack alliance partners around the world.

OWR also facilitates the registration process for BMI affiliates via a simplified user interface, expanded "wizard" functionality, and the means of editing information. New works registered via the system will be rapidly added to the FastTrack Global Documentation and Distribution Network.