John Bommarito: This is 891 WEMU. I'm John Bommarito, and you're listening to The Song Break. Joining me on the program today, via Zoom, from NPR is Bobby Carter, Host and series producer of the Tiny Desk Concert. Welcome, Bobby. Nice to meet you.
Bobby Carter: Nice to meet you, too, John. Thank you.
John Bommarito: You're very welcome. How long have you been a producer for Tiny Desk concerts?
Bobby Carter: I've been a producer for Tiny Desk concerts for about 11 years. I produced my very first Tiny Desk concert in 2014. I've been with NPR for 25 years now, but I've been in the Tiny Desk fold and in the NPR music fold for about 11 of those years.
John Bommarito: Well, sounds like a pretty good run. I wouldn't mind having a run like that.
Bobby Carter: It's not a bad gig, John.
John Bommarito: No, I bet! My show, The Song Break, celebrates the art of the song where the Great American Songbook meets the modern-day songbook, in the jazz realm anyway. So, this contest seems to fit in kind of nicely because you're focusing on the craft, really, the song, right?
Bobby Carter: That's right.
John Bommarito: Is that are you judging the entries based on?
Bobby Carter: One song, you know what I mean? I think everything else is sort of the cherry on top, you know, the visuals and how, you know, the audio quality. It's all about the song for us in this situation, right? And I think each year, once, if we focus on that, you know, we land on something really great. Thinking about last year's winner, The Philharmonik in his song “What's It All Mean?” It's a message. It's a song that we can all relate to year over year. And we think about this year with everything going on in the world. Like, it's just a reminder. Like, I'm working so hard, but what's it all mean? So yeah, it's an opportunity for real songwriters to put the pen to paper and really, really affect some lives. You know what I mean, John?
John Bommarito: We should probably tell people what we're talking about because I didn't actually mention the contest, but I will. Currently underway until midnight on February 10th, the annual Tiny Desk Contest. How many years is the contest been going, by the way?
Bobby Carter: This is year 11.
John Bommarito: Cool! You've been there for all of them then, right?
Bobby Carter: Yeah, I've seen it. I've seen it all in the world of the contest.
John Bommarito: Why is the desk in the video important? Is it to see if people can follow directions?
Bobby Carter: See if you can follow directions. See if you can put yourself… picture yourself in our world because the winner gets the opportunity to play at the Tiny Desk. So, it's kind of like a bit of a head start. A dry run, if you will, to kind of, you know, put yourself in our space. The Tiny Desk is one of the most unique live music platforms in the world. And, when an artist comes in, sometimes they think that it's a sound stage. But the moment you step into the office, you realize it's just an office. So, it’s for consistency. We'd love to see how artists get creative with the desks and we want to have some fun with it.
John Bommarito: Must have been subtle and some of the recent winners, because I do not see a desk in the 2023’s winner, 2022’s winner or the 2021 winner. Like, where the desks?
Bobby Carter: Yeah. Well, in some cases they're sitting on them, and in some cases, they'll have someone create a little mini desk and they'll show it before the performance of their show or at the very end of the performance. We don't give specifics as to where the desk should be or how big the desk is. We just want to make sure a desk is in there and they have fun with it.
John Bommarito: We don't want people to be limited by the desk...
Bobby Carter: That’s right.
John Bommarito" If you have to be creative about getting the desk in there.
Bobby Carter: If you told me right now that a desk had to be in my video, I will have to just point the camera down to it because there's no way you could see it. Right?
John Bommarito Well, when I get in my head, “What defines NPR music,” I pretty much think all genres are welcome. And then I usually think non-mainstream. Is that kind of how you interpret the NPR music brand?
Bobby Carter: Absolutely. You think about my teammates on NPR music where we all love music in general, but there's nothing like music discovery. To me, it's like the ultimate high. Hearing a song that just pierces your soul. Hearing a song or a sound that you never heard before and that like tingly feeling you get inside like it's like, “Wow! Something fresh, something new.” And every day people on the music team and on the Tiny Desk team, we're scouring the Internet. We're looking through our email inboxes, just trying to discover that new thing, that fresh sound. That's one of the joys of being a part of this contest because we literally get thousands upon thousands of entries. And then we discover something great.
John Bommarito: How do you select judges to have those entries gone through because that sounds like a lot of work.
Bobby Carter: Yeah. But you know, every year we know at this point we want a few people, a few artists who have played the Tiny Desk to have that experience. We invite some of our DJs from the member stations. I'm usually in the fold and some other producers on the NPR music team. Over the past couple of years, we've invited industry insiders to provide their insight as to what they're looking for. Because, in many cases, these artists eventually end up getting signed to a record label. So, this year as well as last year, we pair the winner with a music industry insider to sort of help guide them, advise them on how to move through this crazy music industry.
John Bommarito: Who's been the most successful of your previous winners?
Bobby Carter: You know, every winner has had their own version of success. We've had just a couple of days ago, our 2017 winner Tank and the Bangas. They won a Grammy Award. Our very first winner, Fantastic Negrito. They won Grammys. But also Gaylen Lee has written for Broadway. I think you have so many...most of our winners. You know, last year's winner, he is about to embark on a tour. He was playing at Blue Note earlier this year. You name it. Everyone has sort of started a music career. But you know what? The thing that I love the most is that whether or not you achieved this big superstardom that most people look for, I think the thing that I love most is that it jumpstarts a real career, right? It takes you from maybe working a 9 to 5 to actually performing for a living and actually doing your music for a living. And to me, that's a huge, huge success as well.
John Bommarito: Yeah, you're right. Well, we're in Ypsilanti, which is an arm's distance to both Ann Arbor and Detroit. And I know one of the entries last year from Detroit was recorded in Grove Studios, which is in Ypsilanti. Kenyatta Rashaan. I don't know if you remember all of your entries, but she was she was a good one. Any notable mentions over the years from Detroit or Ann Arbor that stick out to you when I say those cities?
Bobby Carter: Wow. None that come to mind. Now, you know, the one thing… the cities all sort of meshed together to me. You know what I mean? I know that, the Midwest and Detroit, they have such a storied history and deep soul. So, I know that we've seen a few bands that that are super, super soulful that remind me of the of the Midwest. Obviously last year we had someone from Northern California win. So none from your area come to mind right now in terms of entries
John Bommarito: Not yet.
Bobby Carter: Not yet. That's what I was about to say. Not yet but hopefully will. You know, Michigan and Ann Arbor and Detroit steps up this year. Maybe we'll crown someone from your town.
John Bommarito: What's the hint you could give our local contestants? What are you listening for?
Bobby Carter: Something unique, something that we can feel. Someone who is not aiming for a trend. Something that feels original. You know, when I listen to the radio a lot of the times and I'm listen to a couple of songs in a row, it all sort of feels like the same thing. Everybody's looking for something catchy. Everyone's looking for something that people can dance to, which is all great, right? But we'll look for someone who really, really stands out, whether it's a vocal that we've never heard before, whether it's someone who makes us cry, you know what I mean? Someone who makes us laugh, someone who's quirky. We're just looking for something that stands out from the rest. And I would advise anyone who's entering the contest to go back and look at some of our winners. And the one commonality that they all share is that they're different. You know what I mean? They stand out. It’s something unique. So, no specific genre, you know. Any genre, whatever you play we're going to listen to. But something that really, really stands out.
John Bommarito: Well, Bobby Carter, NPR's Series Producer of Tiny Desk Concerts, thank you so much for joining us on WEMU. Where is the best spot to find info about the contest?
Bobby Carter: Yes, Thanks, John. You can go to https://tinydeskcontest.npr.org/2025/open/. You have until midnight on February 10th. So please, please, please get those entries in.
John Bommarito: Thank you again for your time. Bobby! Great to meet you!
Bobby Carter: Thank you! Take care!
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