The Next Great American Band

Ian 'Dicko' Dickson knows his music.  A veteran of the music industry for twenty years, Dickson has for small labels, bug labels and has been integral in bringing many bands to the world's attention.  Originally from England (where he was friends with American Idol's Simon Cowell), Dicko moved to Australia a few years back and has been a staple on television ever since, most notably as a judge on Australian Idol.  His newest gig has brought him, for the first time, to the United States as a judge on FOX's The Next Great American Band.  We talked to him earlier this week about his new job, coming out to the States and the pressures of being the “bastard judge.” 

Below you will find the written transcript as well as the full mp3 audio of the interview.

For those of us in the States that don't know, can you give us a little background about how you got started in the music business? And then how you ended up on Australian Idol?
                                           
Yea. I've been in the industry for 20 years now. I started at a kind of, independent, but really cool label called Creation. We found bands like Jesus and Mary Chain and Primal Scream, and of course they famously went on to sign Oasis. But at that point, the lure of the big bucks and major labels had taken me over. So I moved to Sony Music, or CBS as it was then, and then basically shamelessly slept my way to the top. And I ended up working as the Vice-President of International for BMG UK where I met Simon Cowell. And I must have done something wrong, because I was deported with my family to Australia. But as I left those shores, I had these words from Simon: ‘You've got to be the bastard judge on Australian Idol!' And I said: ‘Why is that, Simon?' And he said: ‘Because you get loads of chicks hitting on you. The nastier you are, the more they love you.' I said: ‘Well I'm married Simon, so it does no good for me.'


Did it take a lot of practice to become that bastard judge?

It did actually. Here's the weird thing. The one thing I've realized is ... you know, I didn't want to be nasty. I didn't want to be like Simon Cowell. Simon has turned into, almost a parody of himself. Almost like a pantomime baddie with a hat and pencil mustache tying young maidens to the railway lines. I wanted to just be honest and that was my motto. I say: ‘I don't kill for fun, I only kill to eat.' I was general manager of BMG in Australia and we wanted to make sure we got some really good business out of Idol. It is bizarre. You have to realize in the record industry you never actually tell anyone the truth. We lie to everyone. We lie to our office, the managers, the media, retailers ... and those lies are generally passed off as marketing. But we do lie to each other. And that was what was strange when I first had to stand in front of kids and tell them what I really thought about them. And I think it wasn't so much what I was saying to people, but the fact that I was saying it to their face. That's what was so confronting to me and the public.


I imagine once you start saying these things and you get such a great response and your lauded for it, it must be kind of addicting.

No. It's not addictive. When you do stomp on some dreams and stomp on some careers, it's dehumanizing. It really is dehumanizing. Once you've agreed to be the person that's going to be super honest, you can't really go back. Once you've taken that blue pill, you're in, really. I have to say, and I'm ashamed to admit this, but once you've had the first few whiffs of blood in your nostrils, it does get easier.


We're only a few episodes in, but is there a difference between being brutally honest to bands as opposed to young Idol talent?

Yeah. You've got more people that send you hate mail. Bands are usually occupied by at least four or five. I think the big difference is that with solo artists, you can kind of forgive the delusion. A lot of people are just standing there in their showers, singing where the acoustics are great. I mean, even I sound good singing in the shower. So you can kind of understand the delusion when they turn open their rubbish, but with bands ... what's your excuse? There are four of you there. All bad. And presumably there are drivers and roadies and a whole infrastructure surrounding your band. None of you actually picked up on the fact that you're total crap. So that's unusual, I find.


Well one of the most interesting things I think about the season so far is that you take a band like Northmont, the judges can kind of single people out and splinter the group. Is that something that you anticipated going into the season?

I figured that we would be testing the fabric of these bands. But frankly, that's something that that singer Ward should have done a long time ago. And frankly I felt sorry for him, but that was his own fault really. For someone so intense, and intent on making it in the record industry, he should have had his own internal quality control turned up a bit higher. That band really wasn't that good.


For that top 60 that you guys culled down to 12, did you have any say in who those 60 bands were?

No. No we didn't. When we saw those bands, we were completely fresh. We didn't know who would turn up or what would turn up. I'll be honest, I was petrified that we were going to get 12 clones of Good Charlotte. I was really worried that it would be sort of this shabby, pop/punk-fest. I was thrilled to see the diversity.  America is like a continent sized country. It's got this vast heritage and it's just this melting pot of different styles. So, I was thrilled that we had a bunch of bands turn up that reflected that. We got heritage music. A lot of country stuff. Swing bands. Rock Bands. Punk Bands. Black rock bands. Black solo, soul funk bands. Hip-hop. So I was really thrilled with the diversity.   


Diversity is also different from quality. Were you happy with the quality of those 60 bands?

Not always ... but by and large I'm really happy with the final 12. There are a couple I'm looking forward to seeing in the back-half. I'm really hoping to see one of my favorites, grow and prosper in this process.


You seem to be the one judge when judging the bands looking at the potential commercial appeal of them. How hard is it to judge that across vastly different genres?

Not at all frankly, because the one filter I always apply that I find is full proof is this filter when I look at them, and even when Sheila and Johnny go: ‘These guys are great.' I actually apply this filter to say: ‘Would I invest my own money into this band?' And I know the cost of doing business in the record industry. It's huge. It's colossal. You're not going to get that much change out of a million dollars launching an act these days. So I think if I have a million dollars to invest in these five, would I? And if the answer is: ‘Oh, I don't know. I think they'd be a risk,' you really have to think whether we're going to put this band through or not. And frankly, if they do win, some poor bugger at the record industry is going to have to push the buttons and to meet man hours and dollars to this band.


Yeah. And then you wonder, is any major record label going to invest money into a big band, a swing band these days?

Well I don't know. I think at the moment, no. But if these guys learn, if these guys develop themselves, if these guys invent themselves to such an extent that the public votes for them and takes them to their hearts, then at that point, I guess, they'd be worth it. What we do on Idol and what we do on Next Great American Band ... it's a classic filter system, but it's one in which the public will tell you what they're ready for. And all of these self start-outs in the record industry you'd think by their sheer will and passion they could turn brass metal into gold. They get it wrong all of the time. That's why Idol is so successful. It risks what is a very risky process.


Looking at the top 12 bands, do you single out any one of them as the favorites to win it all? Do you have any idea how America's going to vote?

I don't know. I'm really fascinated to see how the public sees. I'm looking with different eyes. I'm listening with different ears. I really love The Clark Brothers. I think they're just special, they're fresh. They've got a really great feature to them. But even now I'd part with good hard earned money to buy their record and watch them live. I think Franklin Bridge are great, but I think they over complicate things a little too much. What I'm hoping is that through these subsequent rants and the advice that we give them that these bands can start looking at themselves with a more critical eye than they ever have before. Develop. Grow. That's what happens in Idol. I just hope we can do that in Band as well.


Alright Ian, after the season are you going to go back to Australian Idol? Do you have any interest in working more here in America?

I think it's a bit early for that. This show has to grow and develop and establish itself. And from a personal point of view, you have to be accepted by the American viewers. There's no guarantee there. It may be one bitchy, limey too many. Who knows?

-Interview Conducted by Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)