Download the New Cut Copy Single!
Plain and simple, if you don’t like this, you’re a dick and you hate summer.
Check out the new video for Holy Ghost’s remix of “Drunk Girls” by LCD Soundsystem, courtesy of Adult Swim. Love love love this remix, and the video ain’t bad either if you dig jousting and semi-steampunk imagery.
DOWNLOAD the New Tesla Boy Single!
I know, I posted the video yesterday, but now you can download the new single from Russia’s Tesla Boy, “Thinking of You,” to listen to where ever you please! Thank the kind folks at Mullet Records for this one, and be sure to pick up the band’s new album, Modern Thrills.
NEW TESLA BOY!
Tesla Boy - Thinking of You
If you haven’t picked up the new Tesla Boy record, Modern Thrills, you’re missing out on some of the best new old music around. I featured the band’s EP, Tesla Boy, on here awhile back and was eagerly anticipating this record. Thankfully the album delivers on the retro, synth-laden, nu-disco that I loved about their EP.
The video above is the band’s new single, “Thinking of You.” While, the video is relatively uninspired and, well, boring, the track is stellar. Buy their record(s) so they’ll come tour in the states already.
WASHED OUT - Feel It All Around
Is this what they call “chill wave?” Silly genre names aside, Washed Out is dreamy, hazy, lush, and flat out gorgeous. This is perfect music for hunkering down on a cold winter night, as well as cracking beers in the backyard on lazy summer sunday. Enjoy!
So I played a show with my band back in February down in Greensboro, NC. While it’s a town full of amazing people and amazing bands, not everyone knows that there are some amazing photographers taking incredible live photos of bands. Our friend Andrew Day showed up and snapped a few shots, which I felt compelled to share due to their awesomeness.
Check out more of Andrew’s photography at his website: AndrewDayPhotography.com and if you’re in a band, I suggest you hire him to make you look way more awesome than you really are.
Pay to Play and Why It’s Bullshit
Recently a friend brought this article from the Phoenix New Times to my attention. The article concerns the ruminations of a local Phoenix music message board, and the concept of Pay to Play. If you’re unfamiliar, Pay to Play is one of the more prevalent and shitty ways in which bands get screwed and promoters suck the quality out of a music scene. It works like this, Venue X is throwing a show, which may or may not be headlined by some second rate scene band, and in an effort to make sure the show doesn’t flop, the promoter sells the opening slots on this mediocre event to whatever local bands are willing to sell enough advance tickets. Anyway, as someone that’s been on the promoter side AND the artist side, I felt the need to weigh in, and more or less back up the dude that wrote the Phoenix article.
I understand why promoters practice pay to play, obviously. It ensures that they don’t lose money, it allows them to hold more shows, and it makes their job easier. But let’s get one thing straight: if your job is “talent buyer,” “promoter,” “booking agent,” or any other variation of that term as it relates to a venue, then your job is to promote the show. Your job is NOT to prey on the dreams of unassuming teenagers and force them to do your job for you. Your job is not to fill the concert calendar and hope for the best. If you have trouble getting bodies through the door without practicing Pay to Play, then you’re simply not good at your job, as you are making poor business decisions and providing a miserable experience for your paying customers.
Perhaps the most offensive thing about Pay to Play is how deceitful it is, and promoters who practice it should really feel ashamed of themselves. Bands that fall for the Pay to Play scam are brought in under the guise of opportunity, but are given the worst slots, short amounts of time, and are given either no, or incredibly unfair, pay. What’s worse is that the people these bands turn to in order to sell their tickets are their friends and family, and what good does playing for 20 minutes to a room full of family and friends do? We both know that opening for The Click Five on a Tuesday night (or any night) isn’t going benefit anyone, so why are you forcing bands to come up with the cash to support this show that you shouldn’t have booked in the first place?
Promoters that practice Pay to Play may not realize it, but they’re also alienating their paying concertgoers, because the concept lacks quality control. By putting cash above all else, the practice is sacrificing quality by giving exposure to the artists that are willing to pay, not necessarily those that deserve to be heard. It’s a dilution of the accessible talent pool and it has decreased the quality of live music at the local level. Personally, I’ve been subjected to this disregard for the listener so much, that there are venues I refuse to go to even when there’s a headliner I like. I’ve just been burned too many times.
As disgusting as Pay to Play is, you bands need to listen up: you are not off the hook. The internet has made you lazy. Making a Facebook event and inviting your friends list does not a promoter make. Design a flier, photocopy it, and put it in the hands of every person that may be interested in your show. Pass it out at other shows, at the mall, at school, at rehearsal studios, practice spaces, kids on the street that look bored on a Friday night, etc. This has become so rare that actually doing it is bound to get you noticed. Let’s be honest, most of us just click the “Not Attending” tab on our Facebook invites before we even finish reading them anyway. And if you’ve even logged into Myspace in the last year for any reason at all, well, you’ve got bigger problems. So get out there and make that personal connection.
And you don’t have to stop there! Demonstrate that you care by being well-practiced. If you make every live event an awesome, memorable experience for promoters and the audience, then you’ll get that success you’re looking for.
In closing, let’s cut the shit. If bands and promoters all put a little more effort into their respective responsibilities, there would be more shows, more often, and with better bands. Please, help make live local music enjoyable again and stop acting like a bunch of adult babies.
OK Go - End Love
It’s not their best video, but it’s still leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. Other bands, you WISH you were this creative with your videos.
MUSIC MONDAY
CHIN CHIN - Stay
I’m not really one for the whole retro motown/funk/soul explosion thing. It usually doesn’t click with me. But after catching Chin Chin in their opening slot supporting Dam Funk this past weekend, I was forced to reconsider my position. Perhaps it was the excessive amount of air humping by Chin Chin frontman Wilder Zoby, or maybe the dance floor humping of a few ecstasy-ridden teenagers; but I suddenly found myself in the middle of an incredibly entertaining, if oversexed, party. Let the good times roll.
Oh, and check out their video for “Go There With You.” It’s pretty awesome. Both tracks come from Chin Chin’s new album, The Flashing, The Fancing.
MUSIC MONDAY
The Rocketboys - Islands
These guys opened for my band a handful of times, while we were touring through Texas. I always remembered them because of their live precision, which I found quite impressive. Not only were they tight, but they had a real knack for melody and such control over their instruments. They were a breath of fresh air compared to the local openers we’d run across on a daily basis.
Anyway, they’ve recently released a new album, 20,000 Ghosts, which is full of melodramatic indie pop akin to bands like Eisley, Deas Vail, or Lydia. Is it totally original? No. But they do it better than the rest, and without a label to boot. If you like it, pick up the record or check out their shows. I’ve got a real soft spot for the DIY road warrior types.
The Rocketboys Tour Dates:
6/23 - Wichita Falls, TX @ Iron Horse Pub
6/24 - Amarillo, TX @ Northpoint
6/25 - Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
6/26 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Rocket Room
6/27 - Wichita, KS @ Rock Island Live
6/28 - Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge
6/29 - Tulsa, OK @ The Marquee
6/30 - Norman, OK @ The Opolis
7/1 - Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
7/23 - Dallas, TX @ The Loft w/ Lydia
7/24 - Austin, TX @ Emo’s w/ Lydia
7/25 - San Antonio, TX @ Sam’s Burger Joint w/ Lydia
7/26 - Houston, TX @ Mangos w/ Lydia
7/27 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon w/ Lydia
7/28 - New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks w/ Lydia
7/29 - Tallahassee, FL @ The Engine Room
7/30 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
7/31 - Macon, GA @ 567 Cafe
8/1 - Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
8/2 - Norfolk, VA @ 37th and Zen
8/3 - Brooklyn, NY @ The Knitting Factory
8/4 - Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java
8/5 - Asheville, NC @ Lexington Ave. Brewery
8/6 - Nashville, TN @ Exit In
8/7 - Memphis, TN @ Young Avenue Deli
8/8 - Little Rock, AR @ Juanita’s
