Your Own Personal Pete

Be careful with those earbuds. Digital Music News reports:

The ubiquitous iPod could be sowing the seeds of an ubiquitous hearing epidemic, according to an alarming research from Johns Hopkins University. The group estimated that one-in-three Americans currently suffer from some sort of hearing loss in at least one ear, a number that could easily expand. That translates into a total of 55 million people, most densely concentrated among males, whites, and the undereducated.

More alarmingly, the researchers estimated that one-in-six, or 29 million Americans, have trouble understanding conversational speech. "The prevalence of hearing loss in the United States is predicted to rise significantly because of an aging population and the growing use of personal listening devices," said Dr. Yuri Agrawal. "Indeed, there is concern that we may be facing an epidemic of hearing impairment."

Peter Townshend points at high volume headphone use as the cause for his tinnitus. What is it about white, undereducated males that make them susceptible to loud volume? Two words: Free Bird. Read more!

Oh Good, Another Industry Best Buy Can Destroy

Digital Music News posted this announcement:

The sinking CD is often contrasted against healthier music industry segments like touring, publishing, merchandising, and advertising. But sales of music instruments are also quite healthy, and a reflection of an ever-increasing demand in music.

Against that trend, big boxer Best Buy is now stocking up on musical instruments, according to details revealed Monday. Best Buy will house the instruments within specialized, in-store musical centers. Manufacturers like Fender, Gibson, and Roland will be represented, alongside thousands of other products.

In total, Best Buy is planning to open as many as 85 centers by year-end. "We're not just extending the shelf space in the store, we're creating a designated area specifically for this experience," said Kevin Balon, vice president of Musical Instruments for Best Buy.

My sources at the record labels have railed against Best Buy for years, not happy with the loss leader status music sales assumed within the big boxes inventory. Will Best Buy make a run at Guitar Center, Manny's, and Sweetwater? Read more!

Connections Between Artists and Club/Mobile DJs

Click to join AIMusic

On the AIMusic list on Yahoo Groups, Kerry Jackson asked the following question:

In a forum of DJ's that I frequent a lot (IE: live in LOL), one of the biggest complaints is the theft of music.. DJ's who DO support the musicians (by buying CD's or paying online) having to compete against the DJ's that steal everything. The music industry doesn't care. Why? Because DJ's have lost their connection. I am NOT talking about the Radio DJ's, I'm talking about the club and Mobile DJ's. We only play charted music, because its easy to get and we know our playing customers like it (no risk involved). Because the "charts" are controlled by "big radio" and "big corporation", the simple DJ just continues being a mindless subset of "big business".

WHAT WE NEED IS REVOLUTION.. DJ's NEED to start promoting the INDIE artists, and the indie artists NEED to start using DJ's as a way of promoting their music. The question is... How do you connect the two together? That would be free to both and easy to do?

My answer is there are several aspects to the question; 1) economic (how does one compete in an era of free or stolen music, 2) competitive (how does one differentiate oneself in an era of limited commercial outlets and audience preferences, and 3) network (how do indie djs and musicians exchange value.

Re: #1- A long time ago when I did promotion and sales for CBS Records, important club DJs were on the local branch mailing list to receive new demo records. So my DJs got all the new albums and 12" singles. I know in NYC, club DJs like Jelly Bean Benitez had direct relationships with producers and A&R folks and would often get test pressings or tape copies of hot off the presses new tracks to try out in a club environment.

Club DJs that didn't rate a direct label connection had relationships with the One Stops (distributers) and would get their demos from them (the labels give demos to the One Stops). If not there, then at the record store level. If not there, then a friend who worked in the business along that chain.

Everyone else bought their music to play.

So, if you want to be legal and relevant, establish a relationship within the music making value chain to get access to free music (of all types), or else buy it, or find Creative Commons released music that gives you rights to use the music for your business.

Otherwise, you are of no value to the industry. Harsh but true.

Re #2- This is the art and talent side of the question. Practice, practice, practice. Slowly expand your audiences horizons. Be subtle. Balance what they know with a little of the new and make sure they fit together well.

Re #3- Musicians and especially indie musicians are always looking for venues for their music to be heard. But we don't like to give our music away for free unless their is some value exchanged; a web or press review, a published playlist listing, a CD or download sale we can tie to the freebie, strong word-of-mouth exposure, a mention in a blog. Something that reaches other fans we couldn't have reached
otherwise (geography, demographics, genre, etc).

I spend a lot of effort to make myself relevant as a recording artist and work hard to document when others note that relevance. Those endorsements (radio play, reviews, press mentions, performance schedules) lend credence to my work.

As a DJ, what is your reputation? Who is your audience? Does your work influence others? Will people know my music and my name from your work? What value to I receive by giving you my music? How does it advance my career or my fanbase?

If you can convey that value to me, and my music can fit into what you are doing, then there's a basis for an exchange.

And how to make the connections: MySpace, FaceBook, going to performances and talking face-to-face, email, get your name into music publications and make it known you are looking for music or to connect, lists like AIMusic, community events, art events...

Ultimately, you have to drive this for yourself. The reality is that DJs of importance do have a connection to the music industry. But the industry no longer needs to make you important, nor to make the connection. That is up to you. Read more!

Moog Groom's Cake

Moog
Originally uploaded by Capital I

The groom's cake made for my friend Jeff Kunzelman's recent wedding. It matches his wonderfully restored, by Kevin Lightner, Mini Moog. Someone actually tried to play it (see crushed B key). Read more!

Athens Pop Fest, August 12 - 16, 2008

The annual Athens PopFest, produced and presented by HHBTM Records, is more than an event where people passively consume entertainment. Now in its fifth year, the Athens PopFest has proven to be both a facilitator of and catalyst for a renewed international community spirit among discerning rock and pop fans.

International fans plan their entire Summer around the event and fans from the US often travel hundreds (for some, thousands) of miles to attend. Sure, they want to see the bands but what separates the Athens PopFest from the average summer festival is that each year friendships are made and deepened. It is, in many ways, an annual reunion which adds more 'family' members each year. Hence, the festival has been referred to for years as "Indie-Rock/Indie-Pop Summer Camp". From our first year which drew 800 attendees to last year which drew over 3,500 the Athens PopFest continues to grow exponentially in both size of audience and quality of entertainment presented.


What we have always sought to do with the Athens PopFest is present a high quality, multi-day and night event where people not only see their favorite bands but also those bands they would never get a chance to see otherwise; Where they meet and form lasting bonds with people and fans from around the world, each of whom has decided to make Athens a do-not-miss destination.

Full festival passes are on sale now in the Athens Popfest Store.

Tuesday, August 12
Cine
8:00 PM - Fish Schticks
8:35 PM - Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars
9:10 PM - Allison Weiss
9:45 PM - Titans of Filth

Wednesday, August 13
Little Kings
2:00 PM - Boy Genius
2:35 PM - the Hotwalls
3:15 PM - Amo Joy!
4:00 PM - Afternoon Naps
4:45 PM - Nervous Systems (not yet confirmed)
5:30 PM - Oh Sanders
8:00 PM - Supercluster
8:35 PM - Blondie-Grunt
9:10 PM - Nana Grizol
9:45 PM - Hot Pants Romance
10:20 PM - the Coathangers
11:00 PM - Whistling School for Boys
11:30 PM - Judi Chicago
12:00 AM - Spring Tigers
12:35 AM - the Selmanaires
01:15 AM - We Versus the Shark

Thursday, August 14
The 40 Watt Club
8:00 PM - Patience Please
8:30 PM - Velcro Stars
9:00 PM - Bunnygrunt
9:30 PM - Cars Can Be Blue
10:15 PM - Great Lakes
11:00 PM - the Love Letter Band
11:45 PM - Dark Meat
12:30 AM - Roky Erickson & the Explosives

Little Kings
2:00 PM - That's My Daughter
2:40 PM - Little Birds
3:20 PM - A Faulty Chromosome
4:00 PM - Panda Riot
4:45 PM - Averkiou

Flicker Theater and Bar
6:00 PM - Night Driving in Small Towns
6:45 PM - Good Graces
7:30 PM - Mary O Harrison

Caledonia
8:30 PM - the Ocelots
9:30 PM - the Besties
10:30 PM - Twin Tigers
11:30 PM - Dead Confederate

Friday, August 15
The 40 Watt Club
8:00 PM - Cryptacize
8:30 PM - Secret History
9:00 PM - the Faintest Ideas
9:30 PM - Ruby Isle
10:00 PM - the Buddy System
10:30 PM - the Lolligags
11:00 PM - Fishboy
11:30 PM - the Apes
12:15 AM - Boyracer
01:00 AM - TBA

Little Kings
2:00 PM - Railcars
2:40 PM - Tendaberry
3:20 PM - One Happy Island
4:00 PM - Hat Company
4:30 PM - Fat Planet

Flicker Theater and Bar
6:00 PM - Oh Fortuna
6:45 PM - Noisycrane
7:30 PM - Gospel Gossip

Caledonia
8:30 PM - Laminated Cat
9:30 PM - Ham 1
10:30 PM - My Teenage Stride
11:30 PM - Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies

Saturday, August 16
The 40 Watt Club
8:00 PM - the Smittens
8:30 PM - Big Fresh
9:00 PM - Thee American Revolution
9:30 PM - Pipes You See Pipes You Don't
10:00 PM - Andy from Denver
10:30 PM - Casper & the Cookies
11:00 PM - Circulatory System
12:00 AM - Elf Power
01:00 AM - the Music Tapes

Little Kings
2:00 PM - Lognhalsmottagningen
2:15 PM - Bad Animal
3:00 PM - the Young Untold
3:30 PM - Bright Lights
4:15 PM - American Cheeseburger

Flicker Theater and Bar
6:00 PM - Oh Fortuna
6:45 PM - Marc with a C
7:30 PM - Hot Lava

Caledonia
8:30 PM - Sgt Dunbar & the Hobo Banned
9:30 PM - Thrushes
10:30 PM - the Sterns
11:30 PM - Man Factory Read more!

Different Skies 2008 Space Music Festival, Sept. 14-20, 2008

Different Skies is back again for its 6th year September 14-20, 2008, with musical artists old and new, a new palette of ideas, and a lot of energy and drive to create beauty for you. The venue will once again be Arcosanti, an hour north of Phoenix, AZ.

Different Skies is an electronic space music festival, a workshop for artists in these and related experimental music genres, a working vacation, an intensive and rewarding creative environment, and many more things. It is held at Arcosanti, Paolo Soleri's urban laboratory an hour north of Phoenix, Arizona.


Recording Magazine editor Mike Metlay began Different Skies in 2003 with the assistance of Tucson musician and radio show host Doug Wellington, as an opportunity that rarely presents itself in the rarefied world of space music: a chance for members of the electronic music community to get together for an extended period of time in a controlled and isolated environment, to network and learn from one another, form new professional alliances and new friendships, and to create and perform an evening of entirely original new music for an enthusiastic audience.

Electronic music, which features the synthesizer and computer as prominently as it does traditional amplified and acoustic instruments, is traditionally viewed as a lonely art form, created by musicians working alone in small studios. Opportunities to build community among these musicians are rare.

The first step was to find a place which was inspiring and welcoming to visiting musicians, where rehearsals could be both relaxed and energetic, with a fixed goal in mind while allowing for flexibility of scheduling on a day to day basis. Arcosanti, with its wonderful admixture of futuristic architecture and art-colony sensibility, seemed a perfect choice.

Performers this year include Different Skies veterans Giles Reaves (Salt Lake City/Nashville), Mike Metlay (Boulder), Otso Pakarinen (Helsinki), Bill Fox (Nazareth), Jim Combs (Atlanta), Allen Goodman (Phoenix), Joe McMahon (Silicon Valley), Rus Foster (Phoenix), Dave Fulton (Portland), Ivan Schwartz (Seattle), Dave Herpich (Kansas), John Rossi III (Florida), Greg Hurley (San Diego), Paul Vnuk Jr. (Milwaukee), Tim Walters (San Francisco), Nick Rothwell (London), Greg and Hong Waltzer (Pennsylvania), and Jeff Kunzelman (Phoenix). First time Different Skies performers include Kevin Haller and Klimchak (Atlanta), and Michael Sanders (Portland). Read more!

electro-music 2008 Festival in Kingsport, TN Aug. 14-16, 2008

Electro-music 2008 is a three day conference/music festival to be held at the Renaissance Center in Kingsport Tennessee, August 14 - 16, 2008. The program will include lectures, demos, jam sessions, and concerts.

The scope of this festival is very broad, covering all aspects of electro-music, experimental electronic music, including circuit bending, computer music, electro-jazz, modular synthesis, musique concrete, improvisation, algorithmic composition, multi-media, visual art and much more. The focus will be on participant involvement, sharing, community development, audience education, and great music.

A three day pass is available for purchase online for only $50. Tickets for individual concerts/events will be available at the door.


Performers currently scheduled to perform include: usr/sbin, Tony Gerber , O.V.O., Remnants of Dissonance, Spacecraft, Kip Rosser, Mahoney and Peck, Rinse, Repeat, slicnaton, xeroid entity, Murphy and Murphy, Amos Gaynes, Kurt Michaels, Velva, Bicameral Mind, Per Wikstrom, Lunar Moon Patrol, Kevin Spears, electric bird noise, Acoustic Interloper, Shane Morris, safe 2, Jeremy Bible and Jason Henry, Sensitive Chaos, Aligning Minds, Spitznagel, Project Ruori, Kevin Kissinger, new collaborations, Fringe Element, dRachEmUsiK, laptop battle winner, Harmaline, Destroyifyer, Remora, MyOwnYoko, Earthgirl, John Hoge, and others to be announced.

Presenters will include:
Dale Parson- Human-to-human chess game-to-music generator
Per Wikstrom- Building large analogue modular synthesizers
Per Wikstrom- Random sources in composition
John Rose- Live sound in large venues
Amos Gaynes- Programming the modern Moogs: Everything you always wanted to know (you get to ask)
Michael O'Bannon- Translating Physiological Rhythms into Music and Sound
Howard Moscovitz- Ambiophonic Sound
Howard Moscovitz- Time Quantization
Michael O'Bannon- Biofeedback demonstrations
James Spitznagel- Tenori-on demonstration
James Spitznagel- Creating music with the Nintendo DS
Kevin Spears- Electric Kalimba
Cary and Robert Murphy- "Chair" - experiments in total sound immersion
Tony Gerber- Music in the virtual world of Second Life
Amos Gaynes- Mooged Out with Amos: featuring the Moog Multipedal

electro-music 2008 will build on the success of the previous electro-music events in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The participants at those events felt it was a ground-breaking and inspirational experience. After three successful years in Philadelphia, the festival moves to Kingsport Tennessee. We expect many of the artists who were at the earlier events to return this year, along with some interesting and talented newcomers. More information can be found at the event web site: http://event.electro-music.com/ Read more!