G. Love’s Philadelphia Mississippi and the trip to NFT land
G. Loves to look blue
G. Love, a solid bluesman with 30 years of live performance, has crossed over from his hometown of Philadelphia into the electronic space of NFTs with the release of Philadelphia Mississippi. G. Love previously toured with his band Special Sauce, but this summer it’s a one-man show as the opening act where he takes his family on the road.
G. Love began recording in 1993 and has now released 13 albums plus two compilation albums and seven additional bootlegs, demos and outtakes.
Love hit the radar too Rodeo clowns a decade ago. This song was written by Jack Johnson before Johnson’s career as a performer took off. Love’s performance of that song holds up today:
Jack Johnson and G. Love – Rodeo Clowns – YouTube
Love’s current music catalog is still relevant and up-to-date. Love from Philly on its latest release Philadelphia Mississippi the album touches on modern infusions into blues-based music.
Philadelphia Mississippi is a modern blues album about making a pilgrimage from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Cold Water Mississippi in the service of hill country blues. The album is about the new generation of bluesmen and women who carry their culture forward. It’s the follow-up to G. Love’s 2020 Grammy-nominated release The law.
G. Love has five people on the road next to him now: his wife, their 6-, 2- and 1-year-old children and his tour guide. The tour started in Mesa Arizona where G. Love performed in 110 degree heat on stage. On this trip, he plays an acoustic solo with the whole family on the bus. Love plays thirty-minute sets, opening an amphitheater tour for OAR
Love says, “Music is about creating a connection and bringing a community together.” He asks what can you do with them? He asks, “What is the greatest experience he can give these people and create a connection?”
Meanwhile, in collaboration with Josh Katz and the YellowHeart team’s transformative NFT ticketing platform, G. Love has authorized 1,000 NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) that provide a limited edition vinyl copy of Philadelphia Mississippi along with the chance to win vinyl sample pressings, plus a four-pack of tickets and an artist meet and greet with G. Love. There’s even the prospect of winning a G. Love house concert in the backyard of your home.
This collection follows the 10,000 part NFT collection for Juice gang in collaboration with Andres Soler and his first NFT release which was the first tour poster released in NFT form.
Love likes the way NFTs are open on the internet and provide a mechanism for authentication, whether it’s for a collectible like a watch or for tickets to the next G. Love show. The NFT conveys the history of ownership, where the current owner of the NFT is the party with the capacity to exercise any remaining rights.
G. Love worked closely with YellowHeart to get NFT out. He sees NFTs as transformative like Napster was twenty years ago. Web3 is a disruptive force for the record industry as the power shifts to artists to control their own destiny. G. Love is trying to help people move into new technologies: blockchain, cryptocurrency and NFTs.
Love sees the NFT room is a DIY (Do It Yourself) room, new technology in Web 3 and navigation through the wild, wild west. It is also a new way for artists to make money as they now have their own capacity to distribute products through Web 3, and the residual benefit of a percentage of the trade every time an NFT resells. Also, when an artist makes the first sale of an NFT, they keep as much as 90% of the revenue, while when they sell an album through traditional distribution their percentage can be as low as 14%.
With a project that Philadelphia Mississippi NFT label G. Love has two separate tiers of distribution: the old school terrestrial door and store model of sales where most of the revenue goes to fund the process, and the YellowHeart model of using technology to get the music to the fans.
It’s always fun spending time with G. Love. Our conversation is here in video and audio podcast formats:
Any music fan must realize the difference between the new and quickly gone trendy artists, and those who have devoted their lives to the road. G. Love is the real deal. He’s been working the circuit for a lifetime, and that’s how you become a craftsman. Really, the story of the American road warrior is the story of a musician and an instrument, plus time and miles. It’s G. Love and he’s welcome everywhere singing the blues. With its deep catalog of song options, Love always makes the experience unique. This is the rare situation where the blues creates a happy space and G. Love is the curator. Grab a drink and let the blues wash over you. You are in good hands.
