“I don’t want to have to perform art in a way that is catering to other people or making concessions.”
Lawrence Greenwood, the charming young man who is the driving force behind Melbourne-based acoustic indie-folk outfit WHITLEY, has decided to call it a day, much to the horror and dismay of his adoring fans. Greenwood has been struggling with the decision for a while now; caught between his desire to follow his calling to create and perform music whilst simultaneously not wanting to perpetuate what is in his mind a deeply flawed and money hungry music industry. Greenwood took some time to speak with me amidst the final Whitley tour about how he managed to come to terms with such a momentous decision.
“Basically there’s just a whole lot of bullshit in the music industry and I’m not really happy with how it all works,” Greenwood states, fairly bluntly. “I have to, for my own sanity, choose between being a musician who busts and tours his ass off to help a system support itself or figure out a way around or out of that system the best way that I can. I just want to write music and I don’t think anything should be compromised for that.”
He goes on to say, “I don’t think I should have to be like a little jukebox, to keep playing and just do one more show or one more tour and management companies, meanwhile, are all walking away with tens of thousands of dollars, smacking their lips and feeling pretty good about themselves. So I suppose in a nutshell – I don’t want to have to perform art in a way that is catering to other people or making concessions.”
Trying to be helpful, I suggest that perhaps Greenwood could follow the example of Amanda Palmer, singer and pianist in punk-cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, who after years of bashing heads with her record label, Roadrunner, is relishing the freedom of having full control over when and how her music is released now that she is an independent artist. He politely stops me, saying, “I’ve got to make it clear – I don’t actually have the shits with my label. They’re a bunch of good people who really care about the music that they release. It just happens that the system that they are working in is something that I’m beginning, as I get older, to not agree with and think that this isn’t actually the most productive route for music to be made.”
“I’ve looked at the independent route, absolutely,” he continues. “I would love to do that but I’ve signed an agreement with a company – that’s been one of the many concessions, I suppose, to try and get my music out to as many people as possible – so I’ve come to terms with the fact that if they want to release more of my records, I have to do that and I will do it. I’m not trying to make this painful, but if I can become independent I would really love that.”
Admittedly prior to this discussion with Greenwood, I couldn’t for the life of me understand the logic behind his decision. The timing of it seemed highly questionable – with two stellar, heartfelt albums under his belt and a solid fan base in tow, why throw it all away? However as he speaks it becomes clear this is not a decision he has made lightly. A man of his integrity and ideals clearly does not fit the mould the music industry wishes to place upon his shoulders. But does this spell the end of Lawrence Greenwood as a recording artist? Not quite. “I’m definitely not quitting music entirely. I don’t think I really could,” he says. Whitley fans can only hope that following this self-imposed break, Greenwood can somehow find a happy medium between the artistic creation and business ends of the music industry.
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