Festivals

As a "musical omnivore" I find that festivals are the place to be if i want to discover some cool new music. Granted, the bigger names will get me there but it is all the smaller, unknown, indie bands that I hold close to my heart.

If you're up for finding some new music while enjoying music from acts that you love you might want to look into catching a festival. Tours like Warped, Ozzfest, Projekt Revolution (their show in Germany had 30,000+ attendees!), the Hard Summer Fest, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and All Points West. Now, these are not the only festivals around, just some of the more well known ones that you could attend.

To experience A LOT of indie bands at a festival check out the MidPoint Music Festival, the Pitchfork Music Festival (today and Tomorrow actually) or maybe the Pygmalion Music Festival.

The possibilities are endless, seriously. Tomorrow and Sunday the Mile High Music Festival will be taking place in Commerce City, CO with relatively unknown bands (Flobots, State Radio, etc.) performing in the morning and more well known bands (Dave Matthews band, Jason Mraz, etc.) performing in the afternoon/evenings.

I wish I could make it to all of these festivals but sadly, I can't. There is sure to be some amazing unknown talent at all of these shows so if you can, get out there and discover new music!

Saving Lives

I've been noticing lately that there are several music videos where people are saving lives. I never noticed before and I just wonder if it is something brought on by events like 911 and Katrina and there is a need to emphasize the idea of being a good Samaritan. There are also a lot of songs about saving a life or wanting to be saved and I can't help but wonder if there is more to it than the multiple cries for help that seem to come from these songs. Perhaps I think too much. Ha.

Here are a few examples:
#1: Rascal Flatts - Everyday, a video about several different situations where someone comes along to save someone's life or help them in some way. There is an EMT, a couple adopting a child, a woman saving another woman from an abusive relationship, etc.


#2: 3 Doors Down - It's Not My Time, In this video you see a car accident involving a mother and child Vs. a delivery truck and then a rewind of the event where a random guy runs across buildings all over the city, superhero style with flips and death defying stunts, and jumps in front of the car to prevent the accident.



#3: Unwritten Law - Save Me
Too much fun leads to accidental suicide in this animated music video. If the girlfriend would have just gone into the apartment maybe things would have turned out differently.


#4: Xandria- Save My Life
This one is simply a song about saving a life, not necessarily a video about it.


#5: The All American Rejects - It Ends Tonight

Here is another song that seems to be a cry for help but the video doesn't quite reflect that. It seems like it will but then there are fireworks and everyone is happy.


#6: Shinedown - .45
In this video things are a bit ambiguous as to what is going to happen but after a big fight with a girlfriend the lyrics lead you to believe that something bad is going to take place. Sad.


#7: Tokio Hotel - Don't Jump
The title of the song conveys the meaning of both the song and the video. This band also has a song called Rescue Me and I'm not sure what he is asking to be rescued from...maybe his poor hair style choices? I don't know. Anyway, here is the video.



Eh, I thought about doing a list of ten videos but I realize that it is slightly depressing to think of all these but it is something that I have, for some reason, taken notice of lately. Anyone else noticing any videos like these they want to add to the list?

Tragic News

TICKLE ME PINK BASSIST JOHNNY SCHOU FOUND DEAD

press release from Wind Up Records

Fort Collins, CO --- Tickle Me Pink bassist Johnny Schou was found dead this morning at home in Colorado. The quartet from Fort Collins was to celebrate the release of their debut album with an in-store appearance in Denver today. Further information regarding the band's plans, and dates that have been previously announced, will be forthcoming in due time. Johnny Schou was 22 years-old.



Tuesday, July 1, 2008

I'm digging through my brain trying to find words to describe what's happened this morning. I'm choking on the tragedy, and the bitter irony with everything I can think of to say. On the day that the world was to be exposed to the brilliance of four young men from Ft. Collins one of those young men is no longer with us. Johnny Schou of Tickle Me Pink was found by his band-mate Sean this morning dead in the band's home. This day that should have been a milestone at the beginning of the band's career is instead the end of the short life of one of their own.

I speak for the entire staff of Channel 93.3 when I extend my deepest condolences to Johnny's Family, Friends, and Fans.

Please let the band know how you feel by giving them some encouraging words on their myspace page, or bringing candles and flowers to Independent Records next to the Ogden this afternoon.

Nerf
Program Director, Afternoon Personality
Channel 93.3


This is awful news. What a shocking and sad way to celebrate the date of their album release. I just saw Johnny a few days ago.

Here is the band performing "Typical" to a sold out crowd a few months ago with an introduction by Nerf. :(


For more news read this article .

RIP JOHNNY

3OH!3 and FLOBOTS

3Oh!3 is a band from Boulder, CO that earned a spot on the Warped Tour this year. Congrats guys! They are a really fun group that is a kind of hip-hop/electronica. There are two guys that make up the band and although they have been together for about four years they are just now getting the attention they deserve. Their song "Don't Trust Me" is a favorite of mine and can be found when 3OH!3's new album "Want" goes on sale July 8, 2008. Enjoy this video of "Hollar Til You Pass Out."

Catch 3Oh!3 on the Warped Tour starting tomorrow June 20th.


The Flobots are a Denver band that is starting to make it big in the world of music. Their recent hit "Handlebars" made it to #3 on the US Modern Rock charts and #49 on Pop charts. According to Rolling Stone the Flobots sound like, "Linkin Park with Rage Against the Machine's Zach de la Rocha and his political leanings at the microphone and a violinist building the tension. Jonny 5 raps about topics like human rights, globalization and drug legalization on the band's major label debut Fight with Tools."
The Flobots are also another band to add to the list of those that have branched out into the world of comics. This can be seen in their new video for "Handlebars" but can also be seen on their website. On this site you can read Tales of the Flobots: Architects of Change. The comic is a reflection of the band's and fan's ideas. The comic isn't complete but is updated often. Also on the comic site you can find a link to a third website for the band. This third site is about activating change. They are not just a band that sings about making a change in the world but are active in bringing it about. Bravo guys and gal
2006 Version:


2008 Version:


If you would like to learn more about this band check out their websites. if you feel like joining them in making a change you can join their Street Team and do just that.

It's been a while

I have been absent from this blog for a while, while I moved and got settled in Denver. Now I'm back and there are a few musical items I wanted to say something about. :) Weird huh?

First: Weezer = brilliant. Their video for "Pork and Beans" is absolute genius. The idea of doing a tribute to viral videos for a music video is something fun and interesting for them to do. Rivers has dropped the glasses (sad face) but he dons a new porn stache which is funny to see. I think that this was a good video for the guys to make because a lot of new fans are going to find the video THROUGH sites like youtube, so incorporating faces of people they are used to seeing is a clever thing. The song seems silly with talk of "eating candy with the pork and beans" and using Timbaland to get to the top of the charts, but the song has a really good message too. It discusses how people are expected to be one way in order to be cool but the guys of Weezer say they'll do their own thing and live life the way they want because they like who they are. Good for you guys!


Second: I want Katy Perry to be my new best friend. Her debut cd dropped yesterday and everyone should go buy "One of the Boys" right after you read this. :) Her current single "I Kissed A Girl" is excellent. It is a catchy, sing along type song about well, kissing a girl and liking it. For any girl that has ever done so simply out of curiosity this could be a kind of anthem. Well, maybe not, but it is still fun and explores the emotions of the first time a girl kisses a girl. It is not a song about being a lesbian, but about being curious. It is fun and flirty and the video reflects that idea really well. There are hot girls, pillow fights, lingerie...just watch.


Third: Sister Hazel is back with a live acoustic cd. Click on the link to get to their site and hear some of the new versions of old greats by this band. They really know how to jam and it is a blast to listen to them doing what they do best. They have new arrangements and they are refreshing and keep you listening because they don't sound the way you necessarily remember them. The versions of "All of Me" and "Your Mistake" blow my mind. If you are a fan of Sister Hazel you need to own this CD. If you're not a fan of Sister Hazel I hope that this CD will make you one. :) I don't have a video from the CD but here is a video from Ken Block discussing the set list. Watch, or don't, but buy or at least listen to the CD.

Grand Theft Auto + Music = Big Money?

The release of Grand Theft Auto IV on Tuesday is going to mean big things for the music industry. Music has always played a big part in video games and the GTA series is no exception. If anything it is more important to the series than it is to other video games. The music that is captured within the game sets the mood the way that music plays a part in movies. Without it the game would have less life to it. The "Grand Theft Auto" crime series has used music to establish the tone for each installment's storyline, setting and era. "Vice City" just wouldn't be the same game without the 80s music found within the game, "San Andreas" wouldn't be the same without the 90s hip-hop, and now the game will take place in NYC with various genres players can choose to listen to.

According to a Reuters article today big things are happening with the relationship between GTA IV and the music industry. "First, it will have the largest soundtrack of any videogame. Second, it will be the first game that lets players tag songs in the soundtrack for subsequent purchase online." "Taken together, these feats make 'Grand Theft Auto IV' the most important videogame release for the music industry since "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero III" on promotional and financial levels. 'Grand Theft Auto IV' is a more traditional game, but still one in which music plays an important role."

In the NYC based game players will be able to tune in to various radio stations within the game. Each station will be like a soundtrack of its own. Several NY DJs have lent their voices and talents to the game and play host for the stations in the game. "Fans of dance/electronica have Electro-choc, hosted by Francois "K" Kevorkian. Punk fans have Liberty City Hardcore hosted by Murphy's Law vocalist Jimmy Gestapo. Nigerian artist Femi Kuti spins international funk on IF99, while Ukrainian superstar Ruslana hosts the Vladivostok FM channel of Eastern European pop music."

So, how many songs will be in the game? The article says that, "'Grand Theft Auto IV' features a record 16 music-based stations that generally hold 10-15 songs each. So expect more than 200 songs in the new title." With that many songs in the game the money going to the music industry is also incredible. It is said that, "Rockstar is paying as much as $5,000 per composition and another $5,000 per master recording per track. If that deal applied to all songs, Rockstar's soundtrack budget may exceed $2 million." That is a lot of money that goes to the music industry. And that is just for the use in the game. There are around 200 songs in the game (supposedly) but word is that only about 15% of those songs will be songs that are easily recognized. A lot of unknown or little known acts will be present in the game.

Let us not forget the new addition to the game...the ability to tag songs for purchase. "In an industry first, "Grand Theft Auto IV" includes a feature that allows players to tag any song in the soundtrack for later purchase on Amazon. Each tagged song is added to a custom playlist that gamers registered with the Rockstar Social Club social networking service will then find waiting for them on the Amazon site. The deal with Amazon, allows for single-song sales and is the first time that the industry will be able to track the direct cause-and-effect relationship between including a song on the soundtrack and its subsequent sale."

These are exciting things for the music industry and for the video game industry. Perhaps this will be the beginning of a new trend in video games and music.

The NorVa has become a winner

The May 1st edition of Rolling Stone has declared The NorVa, in Norfolk, VA "one of the nation's five best rock clubs." Rick Mersel, a partner in NorVa Productions LLC, says that musicians regularly tell him that the 1,500-capacity venue is their favorite place to play. And why wouldn't it be? There is a hot tub, as well as a basketball court, sauna, a fully equipped game room. What act wouldn't want that?

Mersel said that, "Before The NorVa was built, a lot of the northern tours ended in Washington, D.C. and Southern ones would end in Raleigh or Charlotte," and that "Oftentimes we were skipped over. We had to make it better than anywhere else, so artists would demand to come here ... They want to come back and they spread the word."

The NorVa opened 8 years ago. It didn't take very long for them to become one of the best. I have only been there once but it is a great establishment. The same company has recently opened a downtown concert space in Richmond, VA. The National sports a Jacuzzi, a sauna and a steam room backstage as well as a well-stocked theater room. Even though both of these clubs have amazing amenities for the performers the audience has not been forgotten. The National has the same high-fidelity V-Dosc sound system at that impresses music fans at The NorVa. Both venues provide a great location for both performers and audience members.