Earth, Wind & Fire are Monster musicians and marketers

Everyone has to be a little more creative when it comes to working these days. People are often forced to define their own job, creating something where they see a deficiency. Particularly in the music industry, the changes have been analyzed and reanalyzed, as its become both easier and more difficult for new music to be heard. So how does a band that has been awarded Grammys, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has hits so ubiquitous that anyone from the age of 25 onward who even just sort of likes music would be able to chime in if a tune came on the radio, stay relevant today? This was the question on my mind when I walked into Bjorn’s in San Antonio, Texas, to check out a SXSW-like Q&A panel with Earth, Wind & Fire.

Earth, Wind & Fire are the masterminds behind 70s hits like “Shining Star,” “September” and “Sing a Song,” and have been recording and touring with minimal breaks since that era. Bjorn’s is a high-end, locally owned electronics store in San Antonio. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked into the store on a Monday evening. I was immediately greeted with folding chairs scattered around a forest of flat screen TVs, with three reclining chairs sitting up on a raised platform near the center of the menagerie. Naturally, Earth Wind & Fire was the musical choice being pumped through the store speakers, and I sat among a throng of older fans – the handful of kids who were there were children of attendees. There was free wine and hors d’oeuvres, and my boyfriend and I happily partook of chocolate covered strawberries as we sat and waited.

It was a surreal backdrop, and the main event was just as dreamlike. To introduce the stars of the evening, the store tried to blast a live video of the performers, but they had issues with the speakers, so Verdine White, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson entered the space almost nonchalantly, as applause slowly built around the room when they were recognized. Bjorn himself, the namesake of the store, was the host for the evening, and he seemed almost as overwhelmed by the uniqueness of the situation as the rest of us, briefly stumbling over the performers’ names as he admitted, “I’m just going nuts right now.”

The questioning began at the beguine, as my father would say. As the band members talked about the group’s formation, I sat totally baffled by how young they all looked. Philip just turned 60, and Verdine and Ralph are right on his heels, both with 60th birthdays in the next few months. Bjorn joked that the men looked quite different from the photos he’d seen of them, and Ralph quipped, “It has been 40 years. What if we got out pictures of y’all 40 years ago…”

Bjorn told an anecdote about attending the band’s show in San Antonio the previous week, and egged on Verdine: “Tell these people what you did.” Verdine smiled, and responded, “Well, I took my shirt off. I gotta show people what 60 looks like!”

The guys said the secret to their continued energetic live shows was the healthy food they ate. Ralph said firmly, “Drink the green tea!” Philip later attributed it to God – he seems very spiritual indeed, which many of the San Antonians in the room particularly appreciated.

Bjorn asked the group what they remembered most from their early days, and the guys shouted out, “Station wagons! Cheesecake! We’d just gotten turned on to chef’s salads. Walkie talkies!” This was back in the days when there were an underground college favorite, which is an incredible thought to try to process – at one time, they were just another Arcade Fire, waiting to find that one hit.

Earth, Wind & Fire are not only brilliant musicians, but also incredibly savvy marketers and businessmen. When Bjorn asked why they would ever play smaller venues, Verdine explained that they read their markets carefully. They play the big venues where the audience warrants big venues, and the small venues where fans would appreciate that setting more. “I always tell me friends, we’ll get you out by 11,” he said, acknowledging their fan base’s stage in life. “I know a lot of you have babysitters, and you gotta get back home.”

Thus, it is not at all surprising that the band has partnered with the electronics company Monster Cable. Monster makes accessories for home theaters, computers and mobile devices, and have been making high-end headphones, too. Being the audiophiles that they are, Earth, Wind & Fire partnered with Monster to make in-ear and outer-ear headphones. The in-ear headphones will be called “Gratitude,” and Phillip explained that they improve the listening experience for layered music like Earth, Wind & Fire’s. Ralph vouched for the headphones as well, saying he was very particular about his listening experience but found these phones to be balanced. Verdine explained, “Our records were mastered very carefully – that’s why people still like them today, and they hold up.”

Clearly, this partnership is going to work in favor of Earth, Wind & Fire. Fans in the crowd could be overheard whispering, “Oh, we’ll definitely have to get a pair of those!” It’s just a smart pairing – the band knows that their fan base comes from the era of a tangible listening experience, when vinyl was widespread and people cared about their speaker system. This trend is resurfacing, too, which could mean new fans for the band.

Most of all, the band is thankful. They thanked Monster for their partnership, thanked Bjorn for his hospitality, and thanked their stars for what they’ve been able to do. When Bjorn asked the group if they’ve contemplated a stopping point, they all quickly shook their heads no. “I am awestruck that we are paid doing what we love,” Philip said. “We don’t even think in terms of stopping. We’ll always be creative people.”

(L-R) Ralph, Philip, and Verdine sit on a platform while Bjorn passes the mic off to the band's manager. Verdine's nephew, far right, also helps on tour.

Check out Zack’s hilarious and fun take on the event here.