Here’s a cool article on Brit Daniels and his band Spoon, and his workman-like approach to music: The singer-guitarist-songwriter says his years intently listening to radio hits were like “extensive research.” Knowing from the beginning that he cared most about music, he set out with realistic, step-by-step ambitions. Now, he even treats the studio like [...]
5 Questions with Evan Brubaker of Cake Records
March 20, 2006 By Leave a Comment
In the mid-90s producer/engineer Evan Brubaker founded Cake Records as a boutique label, producing and collaborating on records by artists such as Holly Figueroa and Kym Tuvim. Since then, Cake has undergone a dramatic growth spurt, embracing a wide range of musical genres, securing national distribution and garnering lots of press interest as the Little [...]
On being “real”
March 14, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Seth Godin’s blog is another non-music website I think all working musicians should read. Godin has a rep as a marketing “guru” but I suspect his true talent is a keen grasp on what people really value in their lives. Godin has a great thought-provoking post today on the value of authenticity which really speaks [...]
5 Questions with Michael Tarlowe of Virt Records
March 13, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Michael Tarlowe started his independent label Virt Records in 2001 with a tight focus on the Triple-A and performing songwriter markets. Virt’s modest roster includes critically acclaimed artists Vienna Teng, Shane Nicholson and Brenda Weiler. New releases from husband-wife duo Ellery and San Francisco folk-popsters The Bittersweets are planned for 2006. When I discovered that [...]
The power of audacity and other networking tips
March 10, 2006 By Leave a Comment
This week I finished reading Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferazzi’s book on professional networking. There are some people who seem to be naturally adept at making connections with others; I’m not one of them. However, I personally feel that networking is totally a learned skill just like singing or playing an instrument. If you can [...]
What is Square One?
March 10, 2006 By 1 Comment
I’ve been reading Kathy Sierra’s blog forever now and recommend her to almost every musician I know. Funny, because she writes about software development and learning, not music. But her ideas and observations are completely applicable to just about any profession, including working musicians. My latest favorite: Don’t forget square one, a reminder to keep [...]
Global gigging via the Internet
March 7, 2006 By 2 Comments
5 Questions with Ronan Chris Murphy, producer/engineer
March 6, 2006 By 2 Comments
To say Ronan Chris Murphy has had a varied and interesting career would be classic understatement. As a musician, he’s shared stages with The Flaming Lips and the Henry Rollins Band; as a producer and engineer he’s worked with King Crimson, Tony Levin, The California Guitar Trio and members of Tool, Ministry and Weezer. Ronan [...]
Kid Rock a Whole New Ball Game
March 3, 2006 By Leave a Comment
A recent article on CNN.com reports that although music sales in general might be on the decline, there is one genre of music that is boasting a rise in sales and popularity: kiddie rock. As an increasing number of parents started to express interest in music that would be appealing to both children and adults [...]
