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.

Comback Crüe

It must be the year of the comeback for 80s bands because yet another band has announced a summer CD release and tour. Mötley Crüe announced yesterday that they are heading "Crüe Fest". According to Yahoo News, "the heavy metal band announced the launch of the first-ever Crüe Fest. The summer rock festival will feature the four original members of Mötley Crüe — singer Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars and drummer Tommy Lee — as well as Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M. and Trapt."

The tour kicks off on July 1st, just a few weeks after their CD "Saints of Los Angeles" is released on June 17th. This will be the ninth studio album for Mötley Crüe , the first since 2000. In 2006 the Crüe released the CD Carnival of Sins, a live album.

Mötley Crüe's latest single "Saints of Los Angeles" was released on April 11th, and can be found on the video game Rock Band as of yesterday.


For more information and tour dates visit http://www.motley.com or http://www.myspace.com/motleycrue

Bumbershoot 2008

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Beck, Stone Temple Pilots, Lucinda Williams and Neko Case are among the first acts confirmed for the 2008 Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. The event will be held Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at Seattle's City Center.

Also set to perform during the 38th annual event are Ingrid Michaelson, Jakob Dylan, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, !!!, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Saul Williams, M. Ward, the Walkmen, Blitzen Trapper, John Vanderslice, Dan Deacon, Tim Finn, Bedouin Soundclash and Final Fantasy.

There will also be nonmusical offerings at Bumbershoot. Some of those that have been announced are: "Wonderboy," a collaboration between San Francisco-based choreographer Joe Goode and New York-based puppeteer Basil Twist, plus appearances by authors William Gibson, Dan Clowes and Adrian Tomine. Performers for the comedy program have not been announced.

Bumbershoot three-day passes are on sale now via Bumbershoot.org. Single-day tickets go on sale July 15.

Last year's Bumbershoot marked the first partnership between organizers One Reel and AEG Live to bolster talent buying and sponsorship resources.

Bob Dylan -- a Pulitzer Prize winner

CNN says, "Thanks to Bob Dylan, rock 'n' roll has finally broken through the Pulitzer wall. Dylan, the most acclaimed and influential songwriter of the past half century, who more than anyone brought rock from the streets to the lecture hall, received an honorary Pulitzer Prize on Monday, cited for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

It was the first time Pulitzer judges, who have long favored classical music, and, more recently, jazz, awarded an art form once dismissed as barbaric, even subversive."

I never knew that a Pulitzer could be awarded for such a thing. Way to go Bob!