Category: Uncategorized

Pandora: Now Taking Submissions

I registered with this website called “Indie on the Move” a couple years ago when I started helping out with a band’s booking. I don’t work with them anymore (totally friendly terms, keep doing what you do guys), but I am close to multiple people in the industry who could find this a useful resource, so I still allow myself to get emails from them on occasion. A couple weeks ago I got one with a link to an article on how Pandora had changed their submission process and no longer required artists to send a physical CD for consideration. This is great news for those “little engine that could” local bands who are trying to get their music out to a wider audience. The submission process sounds easy enough.

  1. Go to their submission page and give them basic info (name, phone number, etc)
  2. Provide a link to your bio, a link to where you can purchase the CD, and a link to 2 songs they will use to review your submission

The only other requirements are that you already be signed up for Pandora, which is free to do if you haven’t already. The article also suggests you sign up with another free service, Sound Exchange, which helps you collect digital royalties when providers like Pandora stream your music. I don’t have any experience with the site myself, but it seems straightforward enough. Based on their website, it seems that they collect royalties on your behalf and then release them to you. They can only do this if you register with them, however, because otherwise they don’t know where to send your money to. Simple! That’s the name of the game though… In this day and age, the Internet has become a great tool for giving everyone a fair shot to get their name out there. You just need to know where to find these tools to help you succeed.

Things To Do This Weekend

Quick post to let you know about two really cool shows happening this weekend in the NYC area.

1) Lyzfest, otherwise known as my good friend over at Candy Apple Red’s birthday show. She always puts together a great night of music, but she goes all out for her big day. This year the night doubles as the kickoff to Tail Light Rebellion’s tour. They go on 1st at 8pm, right after the open bar that takes place 7-8. All this is happening at, (where else?), Trash Bar in Brooklyn. It’s a great way to start a great night for a great lady. Come on out and celebrate with us, folks.

2) The 2nd show I want to throw at you is for the often ignored Long Island kids. The Pandemics are opening for The Toasters over at 89 North. They’re calling it “The Ultimate Ska Party” and I have to agree that it looks like it might be. I’ve never been to the venue myself, but my boyfriend tells great stories of hanging out backstage with The Slackers last time he was there. I’m looking forward to seeing the place. Also looking forward to seeing The Toasters again since last time I saw them I started feeling sick halfway through their set. It would be nice to actually get to dance this time…

There you have it, two great shows to get you through the weekend. I know LI feels super far away and not worth it for most people, but there are some great shows you’re missing out on with that attitude. Take a chance and come dance with us, won’t you?

Not Your Usual Valentine’s Day Post

Valentine’s Day – the time we’re all supposed to show that special someone how much we love them… or so says Hallmark. Just because tradition tells you when to show these signs of affection though doesn’t mean they can tell you how to do it. That is why today I’m dedicating this post to sharing some non-traditional ways to spend your day. These can be for singles or couples, and shared with friends or lovers. The point is to have fun without doing the whole “dinner and a movie” thing that is your typical romantic evening. So, in no particular order, let’s get started…

  • Girls/guys night – I polled some folks and a popular thing seems to be getting together with a group of friends. One lady said she gets together with her sisterwives and puts on her fancy dress for a night with the ladies. Another fella said he was planning on spending the night playing D&D (that’s Dungeons & Dragons for you non-nerdy types) with his buddies. I like this idea, and it’s kinda similar to what I used to do in college, which brings me to my next point…
  • Stay in and watch a movie – This used to be my go-to for today. Usually I go for Boondock Saints or something equally violent. My boyfriend used to do similar, but with the addition of he’d use the day to clean his guns. (Note: we live on Long Island where this is perfectly legal and normal to own and maintain firearms). Obviously the second part is optional, but having a movie night, either by yourself or with your friends, is a great way to spend any evening, so why should tonight be any different?
  • Spend a night on the town – There are plenty of things to do besides go out to a fancy restaurant you can’t even really afford. Try going to your local bar, where you might see some familiar faces. My favorite watering hole is Project Parlor in Brooklyn. Tonight they’re having an event called “Everybody Gets Lei’d“. There will be a night full of DJs, good music, and of course lots of leis. This is where I’d be tonight if I didn’t have work. Which, I was going to suggest everyone come to the awesome burlesque show I’ll be at tonight after my shift, but I just got word about an hour ago that it is sold out. While I’m pleasantly surprised, I’m going to have to suggest you save the burlesque for tomorrow when D20 gives you their Villain-tines Day celebration. If you want a fancy dinner at fast food prices, try McDonald’s, which is offering candlelit service in certain locations. Perfect for the couple who likes eating off a white tablecloth, but can barely afford said cloth, forget the food it is served on.

I’m sure there are plenty of other fun things you could be doing this day without giving in to the hype and madness that tends to go along with it. Personally I’m going to work tonight, but spending tomorrow watching Warm Bodies, the romantic zombie movie, while devouring some discount chocolate I will likely pick up at 2am tonight when I finally stumble home from my job. What is everyone else doing? Send me your ideas and maybe they’ll be included in next year’s V-Day special here. Whatever you do today, don’t let the pressure (or annoyingly cute couples) get to you. Have fun and enjoy, today and every day.

RIP Phillip Seymour Hoffman

I’m sure we all heard the news yesterday as it swept the internet – Phillip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his apartment in the West Village (NYC). He was 46 years old. The cause of death was suspected to be a drug overdose, heroin to be specific. He was found with the needle still in his arm.

I found this out because of several posts about it on Facebook, and it broke my heart. I didn’t know the man personally, and rarely ever get saddened by a famous person’s death, but this one was different for some reason. I’ve seen many of Hoffman’s movies, but the one that sticks out in my mind the most was his award-winning role in Capote. Let me preface this by saying I have had a copy of “In Cold Blood” sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time, but have never gotten around to reading it until recently. It was given to me by a friend who was moving and wanted to have less stuff that needed to be tucked away into boxes. I took it and a couple other items, but never got around to actually reading them.

My second preface in this story is that a lot of the movies I watch have been sitting in my Netflix Instant queue for quite some time before they get viewed. Usually I finally get around to watching them because Netflix is about to take them off Instant. This was the case with Capote. I’m sorry I didn’t watched it sooner, because I believe it is one of the best films I have ever seen in my short little lifetime. This was thanks very largely to Hoffman’s chilling portrayal of the title character. After finishing the movie, I immediately picked up my copy of “In Cold Blood,” and have not been able to put it down since. I also looked up the other works that Hoffman has been in and realized I had seen quite a few of them already without realizing it (or at least without making the connection). Maybe I just never cared who he was until the Oscars, which is a shame because he is brilliant. This is the same reason it was sad to see him die so young. Whether the person is famous or not it’s always said to see a life ended too soon, but it’s even harder when you think about what they could have done with the time that was stolen from them. The fact that it was something like a drug overdose also makes me angry, because that means you let an addiction to a terrible thing control your life. I’m sorry to see him go, and I’m sorry for the reasons.

I had to keep myself off the internet for the rest of the day after hearing the news. This is my first time on in about 24 hours. I needed the time to process everything and also not let it get me down. I still can’t completely wrap my brain around it, but at least I hopefully spit out a coherent post. Sorry if it’s just a bunch of rambles. Equally sorry if it’s a bummer compared to my usually upbeat self, but it’s something I needed to do so I could move on without it hovering over me all day. Now I keep on living with the silent prayer for the family he left behind. They are the ones hurt most by this, and even though it is none of my business and outside of my control, I still am sorry anyone has to go through that, and I hope it gets better soon.

Music For Car Commercials

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the Brooklyn-based indie rock band Libel, and I have to say they’ve grown a lot. One thing hasn’t changed though – from the moment I first saw them they immediately impressed me. The music was loud and fun and made me want to rock with them. This was something I could get behind.

The music itself wasn’t the only thing that hooked me in that initial meeting, it was also how much the band seemed to enjoy doing what they do. Clearly they have taken that to the next level with their album “Music For Car Commercials“. It has the usual pop/rock sound you would expect from an indie band, but it’s like they’ve taken that sound and decided to have fun with it. I talked to lead singer Gavin Dunaway and asked him exactly what he was trying to do with this album.

“We’re just trying to make music with no ulterior motives,” was his response. He went on to say, “I wanted to write songs about refusing to feel powerless in a world where control seems to constantly elude us.”

Based on our conversation I would say he was talking about commercialism and how sometimes a great band doesn’t get recognized until their song ends up in a car commercial or something similar. Pretty deep stuff, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a light-hearted side to things. Mostly he wanted to “prove there’s still some life left in rock and roll”… and “wanted to make an album that defied subgenres”.

“I was hoping Libel could sound like something people couldn’t put their finger on.”

That’s the statement that hit me the hardest, because I can honestly say I spent half the record trying to decide who they reminded me of and coming up empty-handed. Maybe that’s because Libel has a unique sound, something familiar that is really it’s own thing. And that’s ok too. Not everyone needs to be a carbon copy of any one band or use some generic formula. If that’s you’re thing, fine. If not, there’s Libel.

Of all the songs in the album, I think my favorite was “Tomorrow’s Children,” which coincidentally is the song chosen for their music video.

Gavin’s wife Michela Buttignol was the creator of said video, and in my opinion she did a fantastic job.

As I said in the opening, I have always been impressed with what Libel has to offer. It may have been awhile since that first time, but I look forward to seeing if their live show has evolved as much as their music has. We’ll all have a chance to see for ourselves, as they have a show coming up this Friday, January 17th at Radio Bushwick.

 

Shayfer James’ Red Room

New York local artist Shayfer James has released a 6-song album, “Red Room Vol 2,” which can be yours exclusively if you donate to his indiegogo campaign today. The album is filled with the hauntingly beautiful and piano driven music you would expect if you’ve heard James’ other works, including his last album, “Counterfeit Arcade,” which was released in 2011.

In his campaign, which is to fund his new album “Haunted Things,” he states that “Red Room Vol 2” was recorded in 8 hours, but that certainly doesn’t mean a lack of quality. Each song will leave some impression on you. If you’ve never heard of Shayfer James before, 1) I’m sorry; 2) you can hear samples of his work on his bandcamp page. After you’ve been wowed by the past, I hope you consider donating towards the future. I don’t have advanced knowledge, but I’m confident Haunted Things will live up to it’s name and haunt you in the best way possible.

The Blog Is Dead, Long Live The Blog

Last year was pretty dead for this blog (looking back my last post was in March, which is way too long to let something sit here and take up space, in my opinion). If anyone is still out there patiently waiting for new content here, I’m sorry to keep you waiting for so long. There were a lot of distractions to keep me occupied in my personal life. Two major factors were my move from Brooklyn to Long Island, and my only having the time to see the one band that has recently taken over a large part of my life. My writing wasn’t the only area that suffered because of it. I also majorly stopped with my photography pursuits. Fear not though, for my new year’s resolutions for 2014 are as follows:

1) Get this blog back on its feet and start posting content regularly again.
2) Dust off my camera and start taking pictures of anything and everything that crosses my path.

As I mentioned before, there was one band in particular that took over a large part of my life in the past year. That band is a LI ska band called “The Pandemics“. The guy I’ve been seeing for about a year and a half now is their bari sax player. This past year was very good to them, and they got a lot of great opportunities to play with some amazing acts. While I was pleased for them, their schedule combined with my work schedule left me with less ambition to run around taking pictures and writing about everything. I pretty much got in a routine of go to work, go home, occasionally see boyfriend’s band play. It was fine for a time, but it left me looking back on the year and wanting to push myself more in the future. I’m going to do my best to put myself out there and introduce you all to some great new things. Having said that, I’m also probably going to talk about The Pandemics a lot, simply because I have easy access to them and they are a large part of my life. Luckily for you, they’re not just some dumb band that I am close to. They actually are pretty good, and I think you will enjoy what I have to share with you. I promise to mix stuff up though and not just turn this into a lovefest for some guy and his stupid band.

Thank you for being patient with me as I work towards making this space more active again. I already have a couple of posts planned, first of which is going to be about the trip I took to Philly this past weekend. That should be out later this week, pending the status of the annoying plague-thing that has made residence in my chest. Until next time, happy new year and stay warm, kids!

The art of asking…

Last time I came out of hibernation was because Amanda Palmer inspired me to do so… Well, she’s done it again with a brilliant TED Talk that she recently gave in California. There are so many things I could say about this, but I think for now I’m just going to share the video and let this process for a bit before I even attempt to put into words all of the thoughts and feelings that surfaced while watching this video. I hope it touches you in a smilar way…

Ps – if you want some irony know that I couldn’t get the embed code direct from TED’s website. Instead I had to search for the video on YouTube. Way to make it difficult to share things, WordPress…

Life Happens

Coming out of hibernation to talk about life lessons and how sometimes they come from unexpected places.

In case you haven’t heard the news, Amanda Palmer recently canceled her upcoming year of touring to play the role of supportive friend for one of her nearest and dearest who is battling cancer right now.

Personally, I applaud her for this. She’s had a lot of momentum going in her favor with the kickstarter and new album, and taking the year off could potentially do a bit of damage (not to mention disappoint a lot of fans who eagerly awaited their next chance to see her), but the choice had to be an easy one. Someone she loves is hurting. Of course she wants to be there for him, as he was there for her so many times in the past. Easy. Right?

And that brings us to the lesson for today: Life happens.

Whether you want it to or not, things are going to happen to put a wrench in all of our plans. Jobs will fall through, loved ones will get sick, but whatever it is you just have to push through until you make it to the other side. It’s always easier when you have a great support system. I should know…

I’ve been looking back a lot on the past year, as you typically do when another one approaches its end, and I’ve realized all of the things that distracted me from keeping this and my photography website flourishing like I originally hoped. To put it short, life happened, and all of my energy got put towards staying afloat in a sea of problems. I’ve lost jobs and gained new ones, and had the same with relationships. I celebrated a year living in Brooklyn, and then was somewhat forced to move. I’m sitting in a room surrounded by bags and boxes now, all of which will be given a new home tomorrow.

But back to my point… Through everything I have found that as life happens, you quickly find out what has become my number one rule in life – People are more important.

I’ve told my friends this many times, because it is something worth repeating.

People are more important.

So yeah, Amanda canceled her tour to support someone she loves. Duh.

And yes, I would drop everything in a heartbeat for the people who matter most to me. I would hope that they would be willing to do the same. Because at the end of the day, as much as you love your job, it’s still just a job. It’s the people in your life that make it worth living. And when life keeps happening, as it tends to do, those are the people who will be there to help you get by.

Their Planes Will Block Out The Sun

Their Planes Will Block Out The Sun…

Sounds like a cool name for a book or movie, right? Well they’re actually a band from New Jersey, and they have a new single that I would like to share with you.

From the press release: The band have been hard at work on a combination of new and recrafted material, for their second album “Brasil,” their most polished to date. Each musician brings his own inspiration and life experiences to the new album, which collaboratively gives wake to a new sound. The band hopes their music will awake feelings of rediscovery and joy in their audience—and, in turn, give way to personal narratives like in the single “The Hunter”, a song about holding on to your happy moments while struggling with adversity, yet at the same time, finding hope in it.

So there you have it… If you like what you hear and want to catch them live, you have a great opportunity coming up that will also contribute to a good cause. They’re playing Public Assembly in Brooklyn on November 18th as part of Whatever Blog’s benefit for Hurricane Sandy victims.