Nick Carver - No Idle Frets

It’s very hard to argue that the single, greatest benefit of the Internet is the seemingly endless (and complete) exposure one can get to whatever they may be interested in. As I was first getting interested in learning to play jazz, I completely immersed myself in whatever I could find. Every book, CD, magazine, and backing track was bought, and obviously I spent hours and hours scouring the Internet for every website devoted to jazz guitar I could find.

When I stumbled upon Nick Carver’s No Idle Frets jazz guitar podcast, it was like manna from heaven. Here was a guy spending countless hours not only putting together a podcast that exposed people to jazz guitar, but here also was someone who gave virtually every jazz guitar player a chance to shine and start making a name for himself. With so many players out there all fighting for the same piece of pie, it’s very hard to get your name out there and be noticed. Nick has, thankfully, created a fantastic resource for players and jazz guitar lovers alike.

As it seems the players get all of the kudos and recognition, I thought it would be nice to turn the spotlight around for once and talk to one of the guys behind-the-scenes that is pushing the music forward. We all owe Nick a great debt of gratitude, and hopefully this interview (and exposure to his podcast) is a small way of paying it forward.

Tell us about your music/guitar background.

Musically speaking, I played piano as a kid (not well), but was a band geek. I played oboe, bass and contra-bass clarinet and the various lower saxophones (bari and bass). I also dabbled on the bassoon.

When did you first get interested in jazz?

In college (circa 1974) I got into audio equipment and started reading Stereo Review magazine. I read the record reviews and they had great jazz reviews at the time. I didn’t know anything about jazz but I started picking up jazz records. One of the first ones I bought was “Bad Benson.” It was a complete revelation. I didn’t realize guitar could sound like that or be played like that! I started analyzing my music tastes and realized that I really loved guitar, but especially players like Carlos Santana, Steve Howe, and Clapton and groups like Steely Dan (still a big fan). So, I realized I was really more into jazz than pop/rock and started buying more and more jazz albums.

How did you come up with the idea for the No Idle Frets podcast?

I first read about podcasting around Valentines Day, 2005. The reason was that the local newspaper (Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel) ran an article about this couple, Dawn and Drew, who did a podcast out of their house in Wisconsin. I had done sound reinforcement stuff over the years, so I had some recording equipment and knew how to handle the technical side. So, in March of 2005 I started a podcast where I just talked about stuff that interested me: movies, theology, coffee and jazz. I did a three part “introduction to jazz guitar” podcast, complete with Amazon.com lists with CDs.

Well, some guy in Taiwan did a search on Podcast Alley looking for guitar podcasts and found my podcast and emailed me. He told me that I seemed to be knowledgeable and passionate about jazz guitar and I should think about putting together a podcast where I played music. I had been part of the Google Group rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz and I knew there were a lot of guys on that group that had music I could probably play so I decided to try it.

In the beginning, was it an easy sell to the guitarists to send you their songs?

The guys on the RMMGJ group were very willing to have me play their music. In many cases I already had their stuff in my iTunes library since I had gone to their websites and downloaded free music. In some other cases I actually bought CDs from them as a way to “encourage” them to let me play their stuff.

The big break for me came when I sent a 1 minute promo mp3 to Adam Curry and he played it on the Daily Source Code, which may have been the largest podcast out there at the time. He also was doing a weekly show on Sirius that highlighted various podcasts and he featured No Idle Frets on that as well. My listener base went from about 100 to 800 in one week! So, then when I contacted a guitarist I could tell him/her that I had 800 listeners each week. Virtually every one I’ve ever contacted has told me I could play his/her music.

How about now? Do you still have to actively seek content, or do the guitarists come to you now?

I get some that come to me, but mostly I seek them out. I read Down Beat and look for ads and reviews, but most of my artists come from Just Jazz Guitar. This magazine comes out four times a year and if I read a review or see an ad in that I just contact the artists and tell my story and they usually send me CDs or I have them upload mp3s to a site.

Plus, now that I’ve been doing this for five years, many of the artists that I’ve played on the show are putting out their next CD, so I’m getting those in the mail (just got one from Pat Kelley today!).

How do you decide what tunes make the cut each episode?

If someone sends me music I try to play it. If I think it is a little off of what my listeners really like, I will make sure to surround it in the show with some great stuff. That being said, I really see my job as trying to introduce my listeners to new artists; sometimes hearing something you don’t like is as important as hearing something you do like.

Have you ever included one of your own songs in the show?

No. I want more listeners, not fewer!

Ever involved in any payola scandals? [This is a joke!] Anyone ever beg you to put them on NIF?

Beg? Like I said, as long as it has guitar that is kind of jazzy, I’ll play it. As you know, I’ve played stuff that is more in the folk realm and even classical. Pure rock stuff can be had anywhere, so I’m not going to use that.

Was there any guitarist that you considered a real high point in getting their permission to use one of their songs?

Jimmy Bruno is a monster player and I wrote him and asked him if he had anything I could use. Most of his stuff was released on Concord, so I couldn’t use it. I said “How about something from a live gig or something where you don’t really state the melody but just improvise.” He came back to me and sent 3 mp3s with titles “Track 3″, “Track 6″, “Track 8.”  He said “Here are some tracks that I don’t even have titles for yet. I think they’ll be on my next CD.” They were, in fact, on “Maplewood Avenue” released in 2007, but the first time anyone heard them was on No idle Frets.

Any special plans for 2010, or just keep going as you have been?

I have to say that some weeks I think “Maybe I should just quit doing this.” I’m not in it for the money, obviously, so it can be a little burdensome at times. But then I get a great email (or someone sends me a list of questions for their blog!) and I decided this is great. Plus the free CDs is a nice benefit.