Isaac: Do you feel that Indie music gets the respect it deserves? Why or why not?

Red: Yes and no. It does seem like the indie scene/ musicians have more opportunities than ever before and I think we have technology to thank for that. But if you look beneath it all, there's only a finite amount of contracts available, venues and slot times available for the musicians to perform or make a decent living playing/selling your music.

The music market is flooded with all these artist, and if you look closely it's mostly self-promotion... there's nothing wrong with that but unless you have 10 million hits on your YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, etc..., it's difficult to get respect as an indie artist because the industry has so many to choose from....that in a way, leads to indie artists often being taken advantage of. Although I think there's plenty of respect within our circle of fans, friends, family and the indie artist community so that's good. So we play for them and gain more one at a time...

Odarka: The big boon now is that if we are good at the marketing we have direct access to potential fans, what becomes tough is that people want everything for free, the music, and the performance, and the economy is not helping .

There does not seem to be anything music consumers are willing to pay for. For indie artists like us still playing small venues living in a country which worships the paper money gods, I guess culturally speaking we have no respect. Somehow we are taxed with getting that from internal sources. But it’s not always easy. Applause can only get you so far. In a lot of ways, music consumers are really oblivious to all that. We are in a tough place really…

Isaac: If you could change one thing about the music business, what would it be and why?

Red: “Music on the radio is trash!” I don't listen to the radio nor the recycled playlist of old hits on satellite radio... as a general statement, the music business promotes crappy, disposable music for the sake of fast and large ROIs... this is so true in pop music.

What I would change is the criteria for AR reps to not only look for profitable artists, but to find and promote artists who are good at their craft, honest, self-involved, original, hardworking, etc.... an artist (solo or group) who can write their own materials, play their own instruments in the studio and live.. is much more as asset to the music business and culture than a karaoke queen or prince.

Odarka: That’s Red quoting one of his lyrics in a soon to be released song haha I think if we could bring back an old fashioned appreciation for live music in small intimate venues it would be great for the performers and the audiences. If we could make that actually lucrative that would be amazing.

Isaac: Do you think in the near future that DIY artists/bands will be the norm and big record companies will be very limited?

Red: It's the norm now, except most DIY artist/bands have a day job.

Odarka: But some of them don’t. The truth is its all hard to do without some kind of financial backing. Indie artists are just using their own money. The realities are that it’s hard to do, you get nothing for free. The more time you spend promoting the less you spend writing or playing. It’s vicious circle.

They have alternate ways of support artists in other countries, where categories of artists and traditional musicians that are supported but government cultural programs and even paid for doing the work they do. We have nothing like that here and as a result it is all driven by pop culture and the most common denominator of what will sell to the most people and make the most money. Which can be great or not, and not always the best of what our society or culture has to offer.

Sometimes you just have to dig deep to find the gems. I think the Market for DIY music has opened up lots of opportunities, but the best (or maybe the most popular) will gladly give up DIY life for a more focused artist’s life. There will be a place for it all, it just might look different then it has in the past.

Isaac: What type of feedbacks have you been receiving about your music from fans and music critics?

Red: Most of our feedbacks are from our live shows and they have been well received.

Odarka: We get asked back a far bit, that always a good sign.

Isaac: If you knew that you would never gain fame and fortune with what you are doing now, would you continue to make music? Explain.

Red: Yes. It's a labor of love. That should explain it all.

Odarka: Yes, an artistic life is a way of living.

Isaac: How do you handle negative feedback or negative energy about your music?

Odarka: What negative feedback??

Red: I love negative feedback, though sometimes I don't receive it well That's the only way you can find out what needs improvement.. to get better, which is relative. Sometimes it's just good information.

Besides, most people won't tell you you suck if they liked you... so it's honest. Sometimes it’s well-meaning advice from people who don’t know much about the issues. Red seems to get all the weird comments… I only get compliments for our work together... Maybe I just don’t hear it…maybe they are afraid of me But more often than not, the complaints relate to mechanicals.

We don’t always play in ideal venues. We often are the sound people, so I have no doubt much of this could just go away in the right setting. In any case: please direct all complaints to Red. Last one I got was “You really shouldn’t wear glasses.. uh… ok?? I never had anyone say hey, that song sucks! Stop playing it!, But I would get a kick out of it if someone said that!

Maybe we’d have an on the spot rewrite session Negative feedback is never as bad as the stuff we come up with our selves… Anyway, we love feedback in all shapes and forms because it just helps see what the audience sees. It’s great!

Isaac: What part/role does your family and friends play in the equation of your quest of a music career?  

Odarka: My immigrant parents paid for years of music lessons, and my family supports the musical ventures, well it so much a part of who I am, there is no question that my family wouldn't support it, but it’s not always easy...

Red: My family is happy I have a hobby that keeps me off the streets, away from drugs and alcohol so they're okay with it.

Isaac: What is the best site/s that you can be found on the Internet?

Odarka: Please find us on FACEBOOK!

www.facebook.com/pages/Slight-Imperfection/185155026043

Listen to our music there, and watch for new material coming soon. We are working on a huge amount of new stuff and very excited about it. Our Facebook page is what we are currently most fond of at the moment.. If you hate Facebook, we totally get that, MySpace is still a great place to hear our stuff , as is our Website www.SlightImperfection.com. Just email us to get on “the e-list” si@redskyrs.com

Isaac: The floor is yours; final words…

Red: Odarka is the best harpist I’ve ever played with

Odarka: Yeah, well I’m the only harpist I think... Red writes fabulously without me and is an extremely prolific songwriter over the course of 25+ years. Having said that, we find a great synergy in the ideas we get from each other. I love our mutual creations we think & hope our listeners do too. Thanks for your interest in our music and watch our pages and site, cause we have new material coming out real soon! Thank you so much for your interest in our music. It is our honor and pleasure.