– Visual Artists – Writers – Musicians – Composers – Designers –
Need legal advice? Check out this webinar. Yeah, I said Webinar. It’s short for “web-based seminar.” I didn’t know such thing existed until I found this thing. Basically, it’s an online seminar, but not to be confused with a webcast. Webcasts are one way – the people talk at you and you watch. But webinars are interactive. You have the ability to give, receive and discuss information in a webinar.
The ARTS & BUSINESS COUNCIL of Great Boston is putting this webinar shenanigans together. Unfortunately, there is a fee of $20, but hey, cheat the system. Just have five friends come over, and then you only pay $4 each. Not bad, eh? Read more…
On the eve of Cursive’s 1-year anniversary for their latest release, Mama, I’m Swollen, Cursive swung through Chicago to play one of my favorite venues in the city, the Metro. Playing two sold-out shows with Alkaline Trio and the Dear and Departed, this is the first time we have seen Cursive in the windy city in over 6 months, and the first time we have seen them not in the headlining position of a tour. Before the show on Sunday I had a chance to catch up with bassist Matt Maginn, a man who majored in environmental science but was quickly whisked away into the life of a touring musician.
FYW: Two years ago I caught your performance at Subterranean where you guys previewed your newest album to the crowd before it was even entirely recorded. Is this something you try to do with every release?
MM: Anytime we can we try and do that- we did it with Mama quite a bit. We did it with Ugly Organ, but with Happy Hollow not as much. Ideally yes, but with every record we don’t have to. Mama was the most thorough we’ve ever [road-tested the album]. We were playing songs live that we’d never even recorded. That’s good and bad, because then there’s a few fans out there that heard it, or have a YouTube clip of it and they’re like “you guys are jerks, why didn’t you put that song on the record?”
Read more…
March 15th 2010: Musicians at Work Forum: When to Get a Manager
I’ve got a an event coming up here for you guys and gals to check out.
I couldn’t make it out to the last AT WORK: Touring Tips forum through the Cultural Center, but I heard it was pretty good from my colleagues who made it there. So I’m going to tell you about the next one coming up since this stuff is legit.
This FREE event is great for musicians and bands in limbo. But it’s not only for those guys and gals; if you’re a music business major or getting some sort of an arts management degree, you should go, too. It’ll help you see what it is that artists and musicians are looking for, and help you get the upper hand when looking to manage them.
This forum is a panel discussion [only an hour and a half – you can handle it]. Read more…
FREE MUSIC INDUSTRY EVENT – The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs has some rad stuff coming up with co-sponsor Chicago Music Commission. [They’re the fellers that put together Chicago Music City.] It’s nice to know that the city is still keeping the arts alive with events like this.
This February they have their “At Work Forums” which is a series of well …forums that “brings artists and experts to discuss the best practices for Chicago’s creatives in music, dance, theater, visual art, and more.” [Thanks, Explore Chicago].
This shits good. And best part – it’s FREE.
Yeah, panel discussions can get kind of dry at times. But it’s free education and insight about what’s going on in your industry. Here’s one that you all should know about:
Musicians at Work Forum: Touring Tips for Finding and Booking Gigs
Date/Time:
February 22, 2010
Networking: 5:30pm-6:00pm
Panel: 6:00pm-7:30pm
Location: Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St., 5th Floor Washington Room
Chicago, IL 60605
Moderator:
Joanna Quargnali-Linsley – Misery Loves Co.
Check out the Panelists: Read more…
© Sebastian Mlynarski
Every once in awhile a band lands a gig in a major motion picture and is quickly forgotten after the movie-goer leaves the theater. In 2008 the major motion picture adaption of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is centered around the film’s two main stars, Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, searching for the band “Where’s Fluffy?” who just happens to be Brooklyn’s own Bishop Allen.
Bishop Allen began back in 2003 with Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, friends who met while attending Harvard University. Their name came from Bishop Allen Drive, the street where Rice and Rudder lived in Cambridge, MA while attending college. Rice and Rudder make up the core of Bishop Allen, but over the past seven years Rice and Rudder have been joined by various musicians to complete the Bishop Allen live lineup. Now, with three studio albums and 12 EPs under their belt, Bishop Allen’s live set could be endless. Read more…
Scared about getting a job after school?
Ch-ch-check this out.
For all you arts business kids – whether it’s music, performance art, visual art, literary art, or media art, this is a must-be-at event.
The SEA Conference [Self-Employment in the Arts], is held all over the U.S. hitting up Washington, Cali, Florida, Missouri, Minnesota, and Illinois.
They hold a conference every year around February in Lisle, IL. The conference is over two days with panels, performances, speakers, workshops, etc. It’s designed to cater to multiple arts and businesspersons and put together by the Coleman Foundation, Columbia College, North Central College, and a few other sponsors. It’s designed for college kids studying to enter the arts industries.
My faculty advisor does a lot of work for the conference, and has been quite animate about getting me to go this year. My marketing teacher also raved about it, too. I looked in to the conference a bit more and asked some other people about and I did get some mixed reviews. I guess it can be dry at times, but has overall been found beneficial. Hey, it’s worth a shot. Read more…
About a week ago I took another adventure to visit The Wanton Looks, but this time to a safer neighborhood. The ladies were headlining the Girls Out Of The Garage showcase presented by NoVo Arts at Lincoln Hall. Having only seen them perform in their dimly lit practice space with some burnt out cables, and not quite to their full potential, I was excited to see them in all their glory.
© Gali Firstenberg
For those of you looking to break into the music business, the best advice I can give you is to intern, intern, intern. Yes, you are working for free. Yes, they may take advantage of you, force you to work long hours, and not even buy you coffee, BUT every once in awhile you find an internship with perks. My last internship was at a PR company – the perk… a Starbucks machine. All the free hot chocolate I could ever drink in a day. My latest internship, one of my all-time favorite venues in the city of Chicago, Schubas. The perk? Lots of live music!
One of the bands that is playing the aforementioned venue this week is Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (SSLYBY). This band came highly recommended at last year’s CMJ Music Marathon, but unfortunately I was not lucky enough to catch a performance. I won’t make that same mistake this time around. Now with three studio albums under their belt, SSLYBY has captured my ears and made a new fan.
Although their Myspace gives you the ultimate discography of SSLYBY throughout the years, they are also nice enough to allow fans to stream all their albums for free online. On their latest 2008 release, Pershing, “Glue Girls” and “Modern Mystery,” have become two of my personal favorite tracks. Read more…
It has come to my attention that I have yet to actually write about a Chicago band on here, which has made be kind of feel out of touch with the local scene a bit. So, I guess it is just my luck that I’ve recently been turned onto Castevet, who were actually recommended to me by a fan of the site. After a few listens of their debut full length Summer Fences, I was hooked on their unique, interesting style. If Castevet’s sound was a cocktail, it’d be a pretty easy recipe to follow:
The Castevet
2 parts 90’s Emo (Cap’n Jazz, American Football)
1 part Beardcore vocals (Small Brown Bike, Hot Water Music)
Shake well. Served best in a crowded basement or art space.
Despite the simple ingredients, the four piece’s sound is complex as Summer Fences is quite instrumental based and all but one song exceeds the 5-minute mark. Their sonic dynamic was enough for Deckfight.com to called them “the balliest band in punk rock”.
Read more…
For those of you who, like me, shed a small but significant tear when you heard The Hush Sound was no longer making music, I have some good news. That angelic voice, those bouncy blond curls, the endearing stage presence… they’re back! Gretta Morgan is starting from scratch.
Photo: © Kevin Hayes
I could characterize Gold Motel’s sound myself but Lauren Henry really put it best: “Gold Motel represents the evolution of a musical identity that hearkens back to pop’s crowning achievements: the dreamy energy of The Kinks, the quickwitted lyrical dexterity of Elvis Costello, the unassuming sophistication of a Beach Boys melody, light as air and deep as the Pacific. The youthful energy and sheer joy of Greta’s work is captured on the Gold Motel EP…”
Some of the songs exhibit a hint of the Hush Sound’s sound (hah) but overall this really is a departure. Not the she-shaved-her-head-and-bought-a-Harley kind of departure, but significant enough to make this a project entirely separate from the Hush Sound. To those looking for a female singer-songwriter ala Cat Power and Mirah (but with a more uplifting tone), I turn your heads towards Gold Motel.
Greta will be playing her first show as Gold Motel this Sunday (12/20) at Beat Kitchen, followed by 4 sold out shows at Schuba’s opening for Butch Walker.
