Drive New Cars For Free

I’m making a CD of the best of the best top driving songs. You know the ones you roll the windows down, crank it up and pretend like you’re in high school again?! Although I drive a mom-mobile and I’m an unassuming tiny blond with a country accent, I am a metal head at heart. I love ALL types of music and my CD changer would confuse any music critic, but these songs, ahhh, these songs, bring back the days of teenage angst and the times where you just wanted to stay out late and dance around a bon fire. PS: These are in no particular order and if you have any suggestions, they are more than welcome!

1) Guns ‘n’ Roses – Paradise City

2) AC/DC – Shook Me All Night Long (tied with) Back in Black

3) Led Zepplin – Ocean

4) Metallica – Enter Sandman

5) ZZ Top – La Grange

6) Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett

7) Kid Rock – Cowboy

Radiohead – Creep

9) Van Halen – Panama

10) Motley Crue – Dr. Feelgood

Ok, what have I left out? Lemme hear it!

Guest post: Heather is a freelance writer and the resident blogger for gocollege.com, a free informational website offering tips and advice about online colleges.

Tony-award winning Levi Kreis

Tell us about your musical background.

It’s southern. It’s gospel.  The first album I ever recall listening to was Mahalia Jackson.  My granddaddy would spin her records, and Andraé Crouch as well.  I was the kid singing at a different church every weekend from the time I was 12 years old.  I also grew up on a good dose of country music as well, specifically those who were piano players like Mickey Gilley, Ronnie Milsap, and of course Jerry Lee Lewis.

What is the hardest part about playing Jerry Lee Lewis in The Million Dollar Quartet on Broadway?

The easiest part is the routine of it.  The hardest part is the routine of it.

We hear you are getting ready to tour in support of your new album, Where I Belong what part of touring are you most excited about?

Doing my own music again!! My recording career and touring has been on a bit of a hiatus while I’ve been doing The Million Dollar Quartet on Broadway.  It’s been a very rewarding experience, but I have discovered from this experience that I need my acting to be acting, and my music reserved for my own personal expression.  I’m most happy when I can convey my own personal ideas about love, life, and spirituality through songs I have penned in the privacy of my own bedroom.  Songwriting is like journaling for me.  It helps me express and heal.  I look forward to getting back to that level of personal expression in my music.

Besides coffee and songs in the key of life, what else keeps you going?

Hmm, a little daily meditation, laughing, a lot with the love of my life.  I’m also a gym rat, that’s a form of meditation for me as well and having time to myself; I’m such a scorpio that way.

What is your favorite song to perform off the new album and why?

“Not Afraid.” People really take ownership of that song, and it’s really rewarding to see.

What is the best advice anyone has given you regarding your musical career?

“Be nice to everyone, cause you meet the same people going up, as you do on your way back down,” Sophie Tucker, conveyed to me by Brenda Lee.

If down the road a Broadway musical is made about your life, who would you like to win a Tony for portraying you?

Someone like myself who steps on to the Broadway stage with no confidence in his acting skills, no formal training, and no point of reference for the strange new world he’s thrown into, yet he comes out the other end with the kind of recognition that forces him to believe in his ability, position that demands he find his own power, and opportunities that ask him to relinquish the awkward, insecure boy inside, and step into the world as a full grown man.  Whoever that kid is, I would want him to play me.

Which Disney character are you most like?

Ha.  I wouldn’t mind being Hercules on the outside, if I could stay Goofy on the inside.

Check out Levi Kreis and his latest album Where I Belong here or on Facebook. I highly recommend it.

Philosophical
Singer/writer/producer
Neil Rutman inspires

This year you will be releasing your second album Second Life, how is this album different from your last release Clawing My Way to the Middle?

Clawing was a good example of where I was at the time as a songwriter and producer but I knew when I released it that it had its limitations. Second Life shows significant growth in my opinion as a lyricist, vocalist and as a producer.

What are the main influences behind your lyrics?

I tend to write about things in my life that are happening or have happened or things I am aware of in others lives that deeply move me. Sometimes I write about things I don’t really understand and hope to gain some perspective on. I can’t say I am directly influenced by any particular lyricist though I imagine listening to Dylan, Waits and Springsteen must have rubbed off on me to some degree.

We hear you are also a producer; did you produce your own albums? What are the pros and cons of doing it yourself?

I did produce both of my own CDs though I did have a co-producer on several tracks from my first CD. One of the pros is that you can take the time to work things out that you might not financially be able to do with a hired producer (assuming you have your own studio). Another pro is that as your own producer, you dictate the schedule (to some degree) that everyone involved must work under.

One of the main drawbacks of being your own producer is that it can be difficult to say when something is finished.  When I produce others this is not the case, mostly because it is a collaboration. To make up for the lack of collaboration on my own projects I enlist the feedback of trusty friends and peers.

Tell us the story behind your new album art?

When I was in Florence, Italy several years ago, I snapped the picture which after much editing became the CD cover.  If memory serves me correct this was from the Uffizi. Later when the idea for the CD came clear to me I stumbled upon this photo and knew it would be right. “Second Life” deals a lot with starting a new chapter, new beginnings and saying goodbye, in some ways mourning the past life I had lived. The beautiful dove spreading his wings, determined to move forward said all those things to me.

What song on your new album are you most excited for people to hear?

I have a song called “Dancing On Your Grave” that I think will touch people and possibly start a dialogue. I’m not sure if it is a hit or not but musically I believe it delivers and the lyrical concept is about how people can bash someone or something without knowing the full story. “I was dancing on your grave and that’s when I found out about all the people that you saved…”

If you were leaving on a world tour, who would be on your dream lineup?

Sting, Dave Matthews, Steely Dan, Neville Brothers, Peter Gabriel, Radiohead

If you could have been the producer behind any album, which album would you choose and why?

Tough question because were I the producer rather than the actual producer (Gary Katz) then it may not have become the masterpiece that it is but I will say Steely Dan’s Aja.  Working with those writers, musicians and engineers would have been quite an amazing experience!

You currently reside in southern California; many think California is going to break off and fall into the ocean, what is in your survival kit if that happens?

If that happens I’m going to put my wife and son into a dingy with as much musical gear as I can fit (priority goes to my guitar collection), fill up the iPod with every album I’ve ever owned and a few videos for my son, then row to Hawaii where I’ll start my new life producing ukulele music!

Find him on his website or Facebook

The shift to digital music had a tremendous impact on the recording industry…

How Napster changed music online

Digital Music is a term that can be used to describe any kind of music that exists in an audio file format.  For many people the very first they heard of digital music was the online file sharing company Napster.  Napster was created by Shawn Fanning, a college student who was studying at Northeastern University outside of Boston.  The services was the first of its kind that allowed users to share music files with one another completely bypassing any commercial exchange and leading to tremendous copyright infringement and a lawsuit that eventually caused the destruction of the site and lead to a tremendous overhaul of the entire world of digital music.

Once songs previously available only for purchase in music stores were able to be traded over the Internet for free, everything changed. Sites like Napster made it very easy for anyone who was interested in music to trade files over the internet for no fee.  This essentially made paying for music that you wanted in a store virtually obsolete. Instead of spending as much as $21.99 for a CD that contained only one or two songs that the listener was interested in, Napster and its sister sites which followed in its wake created a space where users could download as much or as little of an artist’s album as they wanted, absolutely free without leaving home.  If you decided you didn’t want any of the music you could delete it without having wasted any money or even any space on your computer.

Filing sharing negatively affects artists

When the extent of the file sharing that was taking place was first realized, artists were outraged.  Many of them felt that their hard work and effort in the studio was going to virtually nothing because fans were now able to access their music for free and get all of it without remitting any payment.  In actuality the frustration with the file sharing belonged mostly to record labels. It is widely known that artists make virtually no money from the sale of their albums; that revenue goes directly to the record companies, most of whom pay millions of dollars to produce and market albums.  Seeing their monetary efforts come to nothing when fans downloaded music for free enraged them, and the backlash included numerous lawsuits filed against citizens who had downloaded music for free as well as television and print campaigns which spoke out about the unfair practices involved in free file sharing and attempted to liken downloading music for free to stealing from a music store.  The analogy was a poor one but the record companies insisted on strict reform for the ways that music sharing was enacted on the web.

Since then there have been numerous changes and reformation in the way that digital files are shared on the internet. For one thing, programs such as iTunes have created a marketplace where listeners can pay for individual songs, whole albums, music and video which previously had been downloadable for free as well on the internet.  In concert with these efforts, several other businesses devoted to file sharing had created marketplaces where users could become monthly members for a flat fee, and afterward download a large volume of music for their own personal use.

What will happen next?

For every effort being made to curb free digital music sharing, there are, of course, counter efforts being made on the part of private citizens to figure out new ways to get digital music for free. Because the internet is still in many ways, a new terrain, there will always be hackers and code writers who are capable of undoing the work of record companies who would seek to maintain the status quo with regard to the purchase and trading of digital music file sharing.

What do you think about music in the digital age?  What will happen next?

About the Author: Vera Mosley is a music fanatic and a freelance writer for a free mp3 streaming website. When she is not blogging, she loves to travel and go to concerts with her friends.

Just dusted off the Little Big Town CD “The Road to Here” country music fan or not, this band is phenominal. Skeptical, I caught their live show a few years ago and they actually sound better in person. No twang or complaining on this album, just unbelievable harmonies and lyrics that music that you can’t get out of your head. I’ve spoken with a few of the band members during radio interviews and their down home, level headed, happy-go-lucky outlook on life is contagious, which makes their music that much more enjoyable. An excellent mix of rockabilly, mid-tempo jams and easy listening love songs, The Road to Here keeps you wanting to know what song is next. The stereotypical love and loss songs of country doesn’t apply to this fun loving CD, Little Big Town has found a permenant place in my CD changer. Check out their site www.littlebigtown.com for test drive.

Must listen to songs include “Boondocks” (be prepared to roll the windows down and turn it up!) and “Bring It On Home” the perfect heart song that’ll make you want to
go home and hold the one you love.

Heather Green is a freelance writer, professional singer, model and the resident blogger for An Apple a Day… blog, a free informational website offering tips and advice on online nursing schools.

Hey, it’s Jeremy from the Fingertips web site and I’m back with a selection of the best songs featured on Fingertips in August. If you want some background on what I’m doing here, check out the May edition, in which I more fully introduced myself.

Week 1:
“Down By The Water” – The Drums
Setting a ’50s-style melody to a stately, hymn-like march, “Down By The Water” is beautiful and odd and tormented and stirring. (Read the entire review.)

(Other artists featured week 1: Meridene, The Rosebuds)

Week 2:
“Little Miracle” – Kim Taylor
Strong, nuanced singer/songwriter fare from an under-appreciated Cincinnati musician. (Read the entire review.)

(Other artists featured week 2: Chris Hickey, Cloud Cult (MP3 however no longer available).

Week 3:
“Lines” – Elsinore
Well-crafted and melodic indie rock from a Champaign-based quartet; nicely sung, too. (Read the entire review.)

(Other artists featured week 3: Icarus Himself, Like Pioneers)

Week 4:
“If You Wanna” – The Vaccines
Muddy, lo-fi music with a shiny and polished spirit. Joy Division meets the Ramones, somehow. (Read the entire review.)

(Other artists featured week 4: Land of Talk, Sarah Kirkland Snider (featuring Shara Worden))

You can read the reviews and listen to the free and legal MP3s on Fingertips every week. Better yet, subscribe to the RSS feed and you’ll never miss any of the songs.

Thanks again for taking a look and giving a listen. Keep reading Musicgoat and I’ll be back in early October with the September highlights from Fingertips.

Here’s some good news for you! According to a Sponsorship.com article, music sponsorships opportunities are growing fast and are even outpacing sports.

Why is that good news?

Well, as musicians, you and I are always looking out for new ways to support what we love doing – make music. Right?

So, I figured I would share a little info on a service that can help you and I with that. The service is called Liquid Online Media.

They are like matchmakers. Instead of hooking up men and women, they hook up musicians and companies looking to use music to advertise their wares. For the savvy musician there are plenty of opportunities out there to partner up with potential advertisers BUT this is sort of a hands of, cut-to-the-chase variety which frees up our time up for more important things.

After hearing about this new service I had a few questions for one the founders, Shayne Locke (an occasional guest poster on Musicgoat), and he was more than happy to answer them. Oh and it is a little long but the insight is worth it. Judge for yourself!

Musicgoat: How did this concept come about?
Shayne Locke: With the increase of piracy and the fact that it is so hard for the average artist to police, unless artists are prepared to give the music away in the hope that fans will pay them (a la Radiohead), we needed to find another way for artists to gain income and exposure. Whilst licensing deals are nothing new, the whole concept of licensing music for advertisers is something that really needed attention…and a name…hence the Sound Branding concept. Matching up bands with brands gives an artist an income and builds their profile by linking with an ad campaign.

“…the concept [of their service] was so unique that it actually caught the attention of actor/musicians such as Harold Perrineau (from Lost and the Matrix series) who believe the Liquid concept could extend beyond the music industry and spill over to actor endorsements.” – Shayne Locke

MG: What make you think that you will be successful?
SL: There are so many bands out in independent land that can’t seem to get the exposure they need. With this site we give them exposure directly to the advertisers, agencies and music supervisors….cutting out the middle man. On the other side, an advertiser can go through the site and listen to music that is in the genre or style that they are looking for. This means that they can specifically pinpoint the sound of their brand and find artists that match. It is a service that has been lacking in the music industry to date or, in some cases, only available if an artist signs over their whole catalogue. In fact the concept was so unique that it actually caught the attention of actor/musicians such as Harold Perrineau (from Lost and the Matrix series) who believe the Liquid concept could extend beyond the music industry and spill over to actor endorsements. Read the rest of this entry

So I’m not sure what the haiku rules are for numbers, so no haiku for this week. This band is called 930 and it’s made up of a couple of kids. Way cool that kids are getting into music that young and writing their own songs.

What is the significance behind the number 930?

Becca: September 30 is a big day in our family, so that’s how we came up with the name.

Matt: Yeah, my and Becca’s birthday is September 30 and our other twin siblings were also born on the same day 9 years later!

In your family, which set of twins do you think has the strong twin bond? Any examples?

Matt: The other twins are only 6, so they haven’t really gotten to a point where they realize that they have that kind of connection, but I’m sure they will pretty soon. Then we’re really in trouble! (laughs)

Becca: Matt and I have definitely been in situations where we can just look at each other and be like “Yeah…right? Yeah” and know exactly what the other is thinking. We spend a lot of time together too so I think that’s part of it. Even though we don’t like ALL the same things like music and hobbies – Matt is more into comedy and acting and stuff than I am – we’re still pretty similar in a lot of ways.

930 is a band that actually write their own songs, who writes the lyrics and who writes the music?

Becca: We both do, although I write more of the lyrics. I also write songs that are not necessarily right for 930 because they’re more acoustic or quiet, but I really like being creative and expressing myself with music.

Matt: But we both come up with ideas for songs and talk about it.

What generally inspires you to write a song?

Becca: It can really be anything, although I think songwriting is a really great way to express an emotion – good or bad.

Matt: Right, like when you’re upset about something, it helps to have a release and a way to tell your side of things. And with a song like “Live It Up,” we were inspired by just that happy, exciting party atmosphere – like, “Yeah, let’s have a great time!”

930 are big supporters of the anti-bullying campaign, what made you get involved with this?

Becca: Matt and I both had to deal with a lot of bullying in middle school. So we wrote the song “Get Out of My Way” as way to say like “You don’t get to tell me if I’m cool or not.” It was important to us to tell other kids that bullying and teasing really hurts.

Matt: Right, and we know how hard it is to stand up for yourself and have self-esteem when you’re being bullied. So we wanted to have a way to say to other kids in the same situation, “It’s OK, be proud of who you are.”

As twins who double as musicians and actors, who are your some of your role models in each category?

Matt: I love comedy and funny stuff, so my acting role models are people like Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell. For music, I really like Jason DeRulo and 3OH3! My dad and I always used to sing Daniel Bedingfield’s “Gotta Get Thru This” together.

Becca: I really look up to people like Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez because they do it all: acting, singing, dancing. And I really like Hayley Williams from Paramore because she has a such a cool style. Taylor Swfit writes amazing songs and always inspires me to be a better songwriter.

Would you rather tour with the Jonas Brothers or Demi Lovato?

Becca: The Jonas Brothers. I saw their concert and the stage sets and everything were so amazing. They had waterfalls inside the arena! It was just a great experience to be there.

Matt: I would pick Demi Lovato. Because I just love her.

Who are your celebrity crushes?

Becca: Definitely Nick Jonas. I think he’s super talented, and I love that he writes his own songs.

Matt: Demi Lovato and Hilary Duff. And Hayley Williams from Paramore, she’s amazing!

Check out their music at www.930music.com

Ok I know what your thinking, “Here he goes again, pimping himself and his music”. Ya, ya, ya I don’t blame you for thinking that because you are at right – at least partially. But hear me out.

Along with sharing my indie music experiences with you, the main reason I wanted to share this interview is to introduce you to a new podcaster/musician friend of mine, Eric and his podcast Songwriter Synergy.

Before conducting the interview I listened to a few episode and I really liked the subject matter. Stuff like songwriting, equipment, live performance reviews, etc.

Anyway, stop by and check out my interview, then subscribe and listen to all of the others Eric has to offer.

Go listen to the interview with Corey Koehler on Songwriter Synergy.