My friends over on Social Blend have put together a great interview with Adam Savage from the Punk/Metal group Mongrel.

Not only is the tunage pretty tasty (if you are of the punk/metal ilk) but you can hear first hand what its like to be knee deep in the harder end of the Indie music scene and get an understanding of what its like to have hard core fans so dedicated that they tattoo - yes tattoo - your name and lyrics on their body.

Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads up. Check out the interview with Mongrel on Social Blend.

Oh and if you are looking for a singing or drumming gig and you play in their style, you definitely want to check it out since they are looking for one of each.

The ugly truth about being a musician is that it’s not only about the music. For evidence of this, simply turn on the radio.

Truly making it requires an understanding of business, marketing, PR, social media, distribution … the list is huge.

Problem is, those of us who care spent most of our time honing our sound, not getting an MBA. The moment I started to understand this is the moment I started becoming a collector of information in answer to these very key questions:

• How do I get as many people to hear my music as possible for the smallest amount of money?

• What the heck is online music marketing?

• How do I sort out all the junk on the Internet to find what truly works?

I was a bit lucky. Having a bit of a background in marketing, I knew all I had to do was find a way to apply those strategies to music. The problem was trying to condense all this information into a usable package.

Then I found Label 2.0, a site that not only professes to help you publish, communicate, distribute, convert and monetize your music, but also lays out everything I ever sought to learn in one neat, tidy package.

For weeks now, I’ve been soaking up everything they have to offer like a sponge and I’m proud to say that their strategies for Internet music marketing simply work.

Founders {Eric and Greg} built this course from the ground up out of proven real life, field tested techniques that translate your efforts into a tenfold marketing blitz. They understand the big picture. They understand musicians.

Within one week I was seeing fruit: over 20 new fans on my mailing list, and $30 worth of music sold. Those are real results, and over time, a real return on your investments in both my time and money.

If you want a winning career playing the music you love and you’re willing to do the legwork, this is the course for you. Check out Label 2.0 now!

Ever get a bad case of the Mondays? When you don’t want to brave traffic and endure your job one more day? Instead of going to work, Darius Lux decided that he was tired of waiting tables in Manhattan, so he left and traveled throughout the Pacific, Asia, Europe and South America. He now writes, produces and performs music to help us get though Mondays a little easier–music that is uplifting and inspiring. His latest release is appropriately named Arise and it is a reminder that we need to aspire to reach the excellence beyond ourselves either by recreating our lives or doing what we do better than we ever have. Not a bad way to start the week eh?

What songs on your album do you most like to play live?

There are 3 main songs that I enjoy playing for different reasons. With “XtraOrdinary”, I begin by beat-boxing and then loop that beatbox beat in my pedal while the band slowly build around it thru the song, it’s great to start something so small and end so big and the crowd always gets engaged in the process

I must have played “Human Race” over 150 times live and the guitar riff always gets people moving, that can only be a good thing. This song also works well acoustically, as well as with a full rockin band grooving behind me, and it’s also easy to do a live reggae version when the mood calls for it.

Finally, “Hey You” is a blast because by the final chorus most people are singing along and that’s when I really feel like “mission accomplished”.

What is your biggest inspiration behind your writing?

To offer something that is inspiring and insightful and may help fill a hole in the lives of people, who like me, feel something is missing sometimes. I wasn’t always turned on by everything around me growing up and loved the escape music provided and another way of seeing the world offered by the writers.

You are a producer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist, and a performer, which of these roles do you like the best?

The different roles move in waves. I do really like them all equally if in balance. Songwriting is a specific moment in time where I like to focus my existence on absorbing and reflecting. Then I hit a limit and want to bring them to life and playing the different instruments is a blast and allows me the chance to become a better player. Producing can be for myself or for another artist and often involves more of a ‘science’ in getting the best sound or arrangement. This is also when you can do the ‘editing’ that I wouldn’t do in the early writing stages. If I am producing for another artist it is also nice to take a break from my own thing and be more objective. Plus, you always learn so much working with other people. Performing is a whole other rush, whatever nerves there may be initially, are quickly transformed into bliss—channeling all the different emotions thru my voice onstage feels like the purest form of expression I have ever known.

If you were broke and had to dress up like a character and stand outside Mann’s Chinese Theatre, who would you dress up as and why?

Ha! That’s funny  I was walking by there yesterday. Off the top of my head—Ace Ventura .  I think any Jim Carrey character gives you a huge license to just be a total whack job in public and get away with it ;-P

What was your favorite album growing up?

Acchhh, do I have to pick only one!! Ok, I need to pick 3.

Blood Sugar Sex Magic by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Wow, blew my mind, total pinnacle of all their talents blending perfectly: creative, fun, deep. I can still listen to that and feel the same rip of energy as the day it came out. This was essential pubescent listening!

Euphoria Morning by Chris Cornell. Although this kinda flopped at the time, I was enraptured by the very musical and soulful musings of Soundgarden’s frontman. This album plays like a friend by your side, you can tell he had been waiting a while to show this other face of his talents. Every song is perfection, there isn’t a single wasted note here and of course, that VOICE!

Songs In The Key Of Life As a child I found an old unmarked cassette copy left in an abandoned cupboard and I started listening to it and never looked back. I didn’t know who it was for years, but Stevie Wonder taught me most of what I needed to know.

Have you ever thought of writing rap songs under the pseudonym D-Lux?

Ha, another great question, I think I’ll spare the world my rapping. Any attempts at ‘freestyling’ usually slide into potty mouth pretty quickly – although Eminiem made a whole career of that….

Find Darius on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter

-Sheena

Some interesting changes are taking place in the music industry lately. Labels suing ISP’s, new pirate sites opening up every day and musicians wondering where their next dollar will come from. It makes you stop and really consider where the whole digital music world is heading.

Soon I will be starting a series on Piracy but until then let’s take stock of today and where we see ourselves being in the future. One authority is “music futurist”, Gerd Leonhard. His site, http://mediafuturist.com gives us an inkling. Music 2.0 is Gerd’s way of describing where we are all poised, the brink of a new era that will see more mobile content and less physical cds.

This is where the future starts, with a term called “Music like Water.”  The Future of Music is treating music like water. Music readily available whenever it is needed and as important to life as water is to the body. The ability to buy music will be as easy as turning on a tap. An almost unconscious decision because it is so accessible.

Once the change occurs, issues such as piracy will become a moot point. What is the point of piracy when a song is so readily available anyway. Does this mean that as musicians we lose the value of the song along with the income.  We shouldn’t lose either. Even under the Music Like Water model, the music only “Feels Like Free”. There are plenty of models that operate under the almost free system. It not only encourages the embracing of new music, it allows the artists towards the end of “the long tail” to finally be heard.

There are several terms used in this blog like “The Long Tail” and “Feels Like Free” that need to be explained so stay tuned for the next couple of weeks as I look into the concept of each and how it will affect us all in the music industry.

The Future of the music industry is about to be turned on its head. Are you ready?

Shayne Locke
Cowbell Digital Music – It’s Your Choice

Oh, the sonic joys of youth! When laughter was crisper and songs weren’t transient, but left deep lasting impressions on our souls. Doesn’t it feel as if some of the best memories in you life were enhanced by a subtle song playing in the background? Or perhaps, the music was the main attraction–driving around in the the car with your high schools friends and singing your favorite chorus to the cars beside you. Those were the days. For my latest interview, I got to speak with Frederico (see pic below) from the band Youth Sounds. By the end of the interview, I was reminiscing, hopefully you’ll recall fond memories as well. Enjoy!

What inspired the name Youth Sounds?

I was thinking about band names and what would go well with our sound and Youth Sounds just seemed to fit with what we were doing. Our music is really driven by a sense of nostalgia.  I feel that as we get older our memories are intermingled with a handful of pop songs and albums that really meant something significant to us during the time the memory was being created. I want Youth Sounds to have that affect on people. So, hopefully in a couple of years when people think back on what they were listening to, maybe one of our songs will be tied to one of their memories.

Is it harder or easier to be in a band with your sibling?

I would have to say that it’s a lot easier being in a band with my sibling. We’ve been working together for so long that we’ve reached an understanding with one another. We respect each other’s form of artistic expression and trust each other’s ideas and opinions completely. I trust that any decision she makes will be made for the betterment of the band and that the end result would be a positive one and not at all detrimental. I believe that she shares this point of view as well, and the confidence we have in one another really affects all our musical endeavors.

As brother and sister, what is the worst argument you’ve gotten into?

I can’t really recall any intense arguments we’ve had in recent years. We’re actually really close so we don’t get into it when we disagree about something, but believe me, as kids we had some genuinely ridiculous arguments to say the least. There’s one minor spat that comes to mind that ends with Erika’s foot in a wall, lol. I will spare the long details on how she got her foot in the wall but let’s just say that the result of that argument was the both of us getting into some major trouble, hahaha.

Who are your influences and do they differ between the two of you?

They definitely vary between the both of us. We’re a very musical family and we’ve been surrounded by music all our lives, so our appreciation for different genres started very early. Our grandparents and parents have been a huge influence, introducing us to so many artists with varying styles and sounds.  So we’re very open in our selection of music and I believe that has really helped us find our bands sound. Erika is really into soulful artist with unique voices and will freely admit that she’s a sucker for some good ol’ R&B. My music selection changes daily whether I’m listening to all of David Bowie’s albums or Broken Social Scene, Ryan Adams, or Billy Holliday. It all depends on what I’m in the mood for.

You’ve just finished recording your new EP The Bit Parts what song are you most excited to show other people?

Honestly, we’re very excited about all the songs on this EP. We’re ready to get them out there and into people’s hands so that they can hopefully enjoy the music we’re making. This EP has been a long time coming and we want to share it with whomever is willing to listen. And if not, we’re just gonna have to hit the streets with our instruments and harass passersby with our obnoxious singing, hahaha.

Was it always a party growing up in the capital of Mardi Gras?

Yeah it’s definitely always a party down here in the big easy. No joke, this is the city that will turn anything into a party no matter what it is. It could be something arbitrary, like ending your shift at work, or important, like your kid graduating from kindergarten. You’ll have all these kids together on a space walk and all the adults getting plastered, partying it up. For all the locals, Mardi Gras has become something you learn to survive. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really beautiful and a unique experience but it is in no way convenient for the locals. Basically, the whole city shuts down, so you can imagine how difficult it can be getting from one point to the other. But growing up in a city with so much culture and life is absolutely a plus, no doubt about it.

One of the tracks on The Bit Parts is called “As Strangers Would,” which leads me to the question have you ever taken candy from a stranger?

No, I can’t say that I’ve ever taken candy from a stranger. I wonder if anyone does that any more?

From what I understand, the members of Youth Sounds have been in the music game for a long time. This is just their latest project. So go on, become a friend on MySpace why don’t ya.

After years of reviewing and sharing other peoples music with you, I finally decided it was time to throw my hat in the ring by writing and recording some music of my own. Better yet, I am giving you the chance to listen to it and review it.

The name of my debut CD is “Never Too Late”. You can check out every song by stopping by the music page on my site PlanetCorey.com.

Better yet, can get 3 of my downloads, each with a personal introduction, for free by visiting my fanlist signup page now.

If you want to review it, all I ask is that you are completely honest. You can either put your thoughts in the comments below, on my artist site, your blog OR if you have a site or social media profile (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc), you could share and post it there.

Anyway, go grab your tunes now. I’m excited to hear what you think.

Cranium Melody III

I just wanted to pass on a little something for you listening pleasure. Every 3 or 4 months I get together with the guys from Social Blend (Joe and Gregg) to talk about underrated and/or little known bands and artists.

I know you are going to dig it because it really doesn’t get much more “Musicgoat” than the fairly wide spectrum of music we play and discuss (some metal, country, Americana, hard rock and some indie alternative. What we do is pick a few selection and then tell a story about each (which generated some good, meaty discussion as well).