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March 31, 2006
Houston Day 1
Began my tutorial in Chopped&Screwed today at the side of Eric 'BigLove' - long time Houston rapper, composer, producer and entrepreneur. Eric spent many years alongside DJScrew at the inception of what has become the next big evolution of rap/hiphop. It's a totally infectious style of music, mashups of the latest rap & hiphop records, or classic R&B sounds, slowed to half speed and mixed with samples, grooves and original parts. It's hypnotic. I was treated to a realtime screw session in his northside studio with Stink, BigLove's up and coming protege); including a freestyle duet with Big Tee (the file will make it's way to this post soon enough) thanks for the shout out you guys). I have to say, I've always been blown away by folks who could freestyle. I highly recommend that anyone who hasn't done so, go check out a freestyle rap show, genius poets at work. Plain and simple.
Aside from the explosion of great new tracks, there's also a fascinating grassroots music business forming in Houston. It's all about the underground mixtape. Producers provide opportunities for new artists to record, financing the recording and pressings. They wholesale the $2 CDs for $5 to artists and producers, which they in turn resell straight to fans for $10. Everyone gets a piece. It's not uncommon for a tape to sell 20000 copies in a few weeks, mostly from the back of cars. The CD's quote liberally from the latest hit records (sometimes pre-release if someone knows one of the recording engineers!). You might think this would generate lots of copyright issues, but the source artists like the promotional value – even hiring the hot DJs to screw their tunes. It's mainlining now, with artists like Kanyae West and JayZ picking up on the style.
I'll have a fuller post with pictures any more on BigLove's background in the next few days… Gotta start building our C&S collection.
I have a long day planned today; but looking forward to meeting folks at Star Pizza tonight.
Posted by Tim Westergren at 07:06 AM | Comments (6)
March 29, 2006
Pandora Widgets for TypePad
Tonight, in partnership with SixApart, we're rolling out a new feature that makes it really easy for you to add a list of the songs you're discovering on Pandora, or a list of your Pandora stations, to your TypePad blog.
All you have to do is visit our widget page, pick the widget you want to add, pick a style, enter your pandora username, and click the "Install on TypePad" button. That will send you to the TypePad website where you can easily place your new Pandora widget in your blog sidebar.
We're doing this as part of TypePad's cool new Widget Gallery, make sure you visit their site to see all the cool options.
Posted by Tom Conrad at 11:14 PM | Comments (10)
March 27, 2006
Progress
We've made a handful of changes tonight at Pandora. Among these are one you can just barely see, and one you can't see at all.
The first is a tiny (some would say almost invisible) progress indicator underneath the album art for the currently playing song to give you an idea of how much time is left in the song. It's just a tiny little stripe. Look for it closely.
The other change is a pretty big one, but you won't be able to see it at all. You'll have to listen for it. We've updated our playlist engine to play a greater variety of music on your stations. For some time we've known that we weren't playing the full breadth of songs in the Music Genome Project collection. This was a problem with our approach to playlist generation; it really didn't have anything to do with the size of the collection itself. We've been hard at work on this, and tonight we're rolling out a significant upgrade to the playlist generator. Don't expect to notice a big change right away, in fact it might take a few hours of listening before you notice at all, but it's there. Your stations really will be playing all kinds of music that they wouldn't have before. Hope you enjoy the new music.
One other feature in this release that's worth pointing out is a new choice in Guide Us: "I'm tired of this song." Let's face it, there are some great songs out there that we've all heard just one too many times. Now there's a way to tell Pandora that you've heard something one too many times: just click Guide Us and select the "I'm tired of this song" choice and we'll put the current song back on the shelf and not play it again on any of your stations in the next 30 days.
As always, this release has a number of other subtle little changes; my favorite this time out is that the songs fade out as you skip or change stations. Just another tiny little detail.
Posted by Tom Conrad at 11:49 PM | Comments (58)
Denton, TX
For those who don't know about Denton, its time to find out. It's a small town about 30 minutes north of Dallas and is home to the nation's largest, and most distinguished music program - the University of North Texas. Their '1-O'clock' jazz band is world renowned, and truly the gold standard for undergraduate jazz performance.
This music program, which started long ago with a music education focus, has turned Denton into a music mecca. The list of well-known artists that have come from Denton is pretty staggering (if any of you read this, we'd love to hear from you). It of course has a live music scene to match that. I had the pleasure of getting a good taste of the scene.
Spent a great couple hours talking with a group of music students - many thanks to my gracious host, Dr. John Murphy - tenor saxophonist, ethnomusicologist and self-described techie... As always, it's great to just be around young folks with a passion for music. I hope I have the chance to talk with more college audience on the road trip - it's like a pit stop... recharges the engines. Paused on my way out at the department's archive room to load up on the best student ensemble recordings from that last 10 years. Treasure trove of great music discovery for jazz lovers... can't wait to get that into the Genome.
Drove into town that evening and had a great meetup at the Flying Tomato. Great conversation with Patrick, David, Collin, Beth, Tim, Zev, long timer Mr. Joe and Greg. Thanks to all for coming - got a good tutorial in Denton music history and shared ideas for where we should take Pandora Media Inc. I continue to be struck by the friendliness and warmth around the state.
That evening I was treated to two excellent bands at Dan's Silver Leaf. Dan is a generous patron of the local music scene, dedicated to providing a venue for new artists and supporting the scene. Oso Closo launched the evening - 5-piece band with some great songwriting and arranging - brought Queen to mind. The headliner, local funk-jazz outfit Snarky Puppy was celebrating their CD release party. All UNT students, 4 piece horn section, backed by a slammin' rhythm section. It's a real pleasure to hear fusion music. Some serious chops, but also an effort to write interesting songs. Particularly impressed with the bandleader Mike, on bass. He was all over that thing. They'll soon be in the genome (as will Oso when their CD comes out... get on it guys).
Left in the early morning hours, ears ringing (again)... but inspired.
Posted by Tim Westergren at 09:50 AM | Comments (19)
March 25, 2006
Dallas, Part 2
Dallas part 2
Started the afternoon hanging out with Chelsea and Tony - diehard music fans from Crystal Clear - a Dallas distributor. They focus on the local Texas sound - gave me a box full of stuff to check out. Interesting to know that virtually none of the musicians they gave me are making a living at it. Let's hope we can start building the musician's middle class.
Kristy Kruger
Jason Eady
Was fortunate enough to connect with Pascale Hall, the owner of a local coffee shop called Standard and Pours on the Southside of town. As it turns out, Pascale, with the help of MIke Zuchowski, is fast becoming a Dallas institution for local emerging talent. They've been hosting an open mic for about 9 months that has grown into its own local music scene. About 20 artists shared the stage, from 7-10pm, 2 songs per player, first come, first served. Saw some great talent, and was also impressed by the first-timers braving a live audience for the first time. Kristy Kruger, Jason Eady, Becky Middleton and the duo Fishing for Comets highlighted a great night of acoustic music. Also was blown away by a guy named Anson... who sang and played a bass. Anson, where are you? ...couldn't find you on myspace.
Becky Middleton
Fishing for Comets
Anson
What's also very cool is they broadcast the performance live over the web. They actually have their own radio station running 24/7 online. It's the future, man.
Kristy told me she had not long ago spent 6 weeks on the road, and traveled 16,000 miles playing all the way up into Canada... Alone! Amazing how hard musicians work. The most I ever did was 5,000 miles, and that was sharing the duties with 5 bandmates, and even that was exhausting.
On to Denton...
Posted by Tim Westergren at 03:22 PM | Comments (9)
March 22, 2006
Dallas, Part 1
Wow. This was a day of love and good karma. Texas has an extraordinary music scene, period.
First, the morning.
Guided by our local guardian angel, Kim Young to whom I will be forever grateful, I spent the morning at Booker T. Washington high school. Probably the nation's most productive music magnet school, whose alums include Erykah Badhu, Norah Jones, and countless others.
A hearty thanks to our incredible host, music director Kent Ellingson, who somehow managed to steer us through the morning while juggling umpteen simultaneous commitments.
The first class was midi ensemble - a twelve piece synth-vocal-jazz-pop-funk band. Watched them run through some great original tunes. Some seriously accomplished musicians. Four-part vocal harmony over a 6 piece synth section.
Then sat down with Otis Gray (Latin music director) and a group of students to talk about music careers. Great to spend time with budding young musicians from all disciplines.
Topped the morning off with Bart Marantz and his six-piece jazz ensemble that is heading to the San Jose Jazz Festival. Packed with talent - and great to see the mentoring provided by a long time performer/educator like Bart. Advice and guidance that could only come from a seasoned player. Good luck you guys.
I was reminded of just how powerful the arts are in development and maturation of young kids. There's so much for youth in learning to play an instrument: discipline (practice), creativity, teamwork (ensemble play), physical coordination and dexterity, planning & execution (learning new pieces), public performance...
Had lunch with Mike Orren and his partner, founder of texasgigs.com, another great music portal focused on local talent. Their userbase is growing fast and they're adding layers of great features for artists - gig schedules, live podcasts, video podcasts, promotions tools... I think we're going to start seeing a growing number of these companies intensely focused on serving local musicians. who don't really have these resources.
Second half of the day to follow.
Posted by Tim Westergren at 10:05 AM | Comments (12)
March 21, 2006
Meetup in Denton, TX
Meetup is set for this week, Wednesday evening (3/22/2006) at 7:00pm
The Flying Tomato
1226 W Hickory Street, Denton
(940) 383 1111
Come by for some food, drink, music talk and maybe a flying tomato or two...
Tim
Posted by Tim Westergren at 04:30 PM | Comments (43)
Austin, Day 3
Coming up for air.
Spent a great evening over Texas ribs (and a string of awesome bluegrass bands) with Stuart Sullivan, owner of Wire Studios, and a veteran recording engineer. Grew up in rural Indiana, eventually gravitating to the music mecca of Austin, via Bloomington and a degree in audio recording at IU. It was a period of revolution in recording - multi-tracking arrived which completely transformed the art of making records, and suddenly elevated the role of the producer and audio engineer who's talents could now be harnessed - instead of just placing mics for a one-take live recording. Lots of experimentation (often aided by assorted substances) as artists pushed the new medium. John Lennon sang hanging upside down from a rope, spinning around to emulate the sound of a rotating leslie amp... crazy and great.
Wire Studio is clearly rooted in the analog sound - a truly a vintage studio. API mixing board, 2" tape, a cupboard full of old ribbon mics... In a world of proTools and sequencing, Stuart really committed to the traditional recording style. He has engineered in some of the world's most famous studios, including Air and The Manor in England (and speaks with a childlike giddiness about his latest mic purchases - which I enjoyed vicariously), and has 'seen some &#*$' as they say. He and his longtime business partner, Paul Leary, founding guitarist of the Butthole Surfers have quite a track record. Including the Reverend Horton Heat, the MeatPuppets and Sublime's eponymous platinum album - a session where Stuart witnessed the lead singer Bradley Nowell's self-destruction on valium and heroin. Josh overdosed shortly after the record's release. Engineers have a bird's eye view into the lives of successful musicians - and it's often not a pretty picture.
A new father of twins, Stuart is very philosophical about the music industry. Fame and fortune are often fleeting - interesting for him in a town that attracts so many aspiring artists, looking for that elusive record deal. He's seen bands come and go, and is becoming more and more intrigued by the organic grassroots approach that bands and labels are starting to take. Grow slow, control your future, don't overspend. He regaled me with the stories from back in the day - big advances and big excess.
Posted by Tim Westergren at 09:23 AM | Comments (3)
March 20, 2006
More from SXSW
More great thoughts from Kevin Seal at South By Southwest:
My last post went up when SxSW's music program hit its halfway point, and it's been a flurry of activity since then. Friday night's big plays made for an overloaded highlight reel: Dungen (after a transatlantic flight, their drummer still managed to guide those songs with an impossibly light touch and the most subtle of ghost-strokes), the Freak Accident (squealing trumpet, stomping singalong, squiggly synth, Sharrocking guitar -- Jello Biafra was standing next to me through their whole set, and he loved it too), Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings (dry, dead-sexy classic soul with a full Stax-bred horn section and a simmering rhythm section), and Neko Case (her lyrics fascinate me -- no one else can describe hitting a deer with her car and have the song seep with such a disturbing combination of dread and religion and sticky sensuality).
By Saturday night, I was bleary-eyed and checked out of my hotel room. I had to be at Austin-Bergstrom airport by 5 a.m., so I stretched my calves, did a few jumping jacks, and prepared for a marathon. For this final night, I was ready for flat-out discovery. I wanted to throw myself into unfamiliar music, and be blasted out the other side. Standing still was tending to tire me out, so I vowed to preserve my alertness by continuing to run from club to club.
Hence my short-attention-span Saturday. Hold on, and keep your boots tied.
8:15 Swearing At Motorists: Dayton by way of Berlin. Just a guitar and a drum set, with impassioned singing and lean songwriting. No dead weight or ballast. MZ thought Dave Doughman's voice sounded like that of Phil Lynott, which made me laugh until I listened a bit more and nodded in agreement.
8:40 Cadence Weapon with DJ Weasel: This was a score. I'd never heard of -- much less heard -- Cadence Weapon, but MZ was hip to it. Clever, literate, snarky lyrics about playing videogames and other suburban distractions. And my favorite hip-hop tagline of the year: "High-energy beats and raps from Edmonton, Alberta."
9:05 Rumplestiltskin Grinder: Skullcrushing thrash metal. Shaved-head frontdude was wearing a Municipal Waste shirt, which was community-minded and supportive. Municipal Waste played later on the same bill.
9:25 Richard Swift: This show was sold out, so we stood outside the chain-link fence and listened for a few songs. '70s-style piano rock that sidesteps a lot of the cheese that the genre sometimes allows. Ever heard Tom Waits' The Early Years? The songs he did efore he took on the persona of the grizzled, greasy-spoon customer? More like that than, say, Elton John or Ben Folds.
10:00 The Joggers: Wasn't a great night for these Portlanders, as they were besieged by sound problems. But their angular guitars and multi-man vocals still worked, especially on the straight-to-shuffle-to-straight We've Been Talked Down."
10:30 Lisa Germano: What happened to Lisa Germano? Either she didn't show, or she played a 28-minute set and packed up. Hmm. Someday, I'll get to see her in person.
11:00 Martha Wainwright: Great little club called Eternal with a balcony-wrapped upstairs, from which you could watch the band from behind. The bartender said that the BBC had simulcast an unannounced show by the Flaming Lips a few nights earlier. It would have been amazing to see them in such cozy environs.
11:15 Deathray Davies: Garagey, '60s-based rock. They were doing it well, and I would have stayed were it not for the lure of the competition.
11:25 Lyle Lovett: Quite a contrast to the style-conscious indie rock that abounded. Lyle Lovett was the perfect palate-cleanser. Kudos to the sound engineer at Stubb's for making that stand-up bass sound so clear and full in a giant outdoor bandshell situation.
12:00 Lady Sovereign: Lady Sov's Vertically Challenged contained two of my favorite dance-club anthems of the year, and thankfully, she did those two at the top of her set: "Random" (Chorus lyric: "Everybody get random, all gyal dem, all man dem / Everybody get random, just do sumfin random") and "A Little Bit of Shhh."
12:30 John Boutte: I stumbled into a jazz bar on my way back from the West side, long enough to hear New Orleans singer Boutte finesse and cradle his last two songs of the night, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. One was a heart-pulverizing cover of Annie Lennox's "Why," addressed to the tragedies of his town. Boutte is a nuanced, soft-sell, light-touch soul singer in the tradition of Al Green and Curtis Mayfield.
1:05 Dirty Projectors: Those Boutte ballads left me with a grin on my mug and a tear in my eye. Could have ended the night there. But I pressed on, and I'm glad I did. As soon as I walked into the Habana Calle, the Dirty Projectors split my head open like a melon with a mallet. Just what was needed right then. I had no idea how Dave Longstreth would present this material live, since his albums are either orchestral or cut-and-paste assemblages. As it turns out, the current live incarnation of the Dirty Projectors is a syncopation-obsessed, guitar-driven pop band. Yep, syncopation-obsessed, and beautifully so. Think of the jumpy, wide-eyed offbeats of early Talking Heads and then push it ten times further. With those snaky, burbling, intertwining lines, the songs began to approach the rhythmic density of West African music. Really, though, it sounded like nothing I'd ever heard. After their final encore -- the crowd was going nuts for them -- I scooped up the chunks of my shattered skull and walked out into the rain.
2:15 Brothers Past: The official SxSW shows had ended, but I still had a few hours to kill before cabbing it to the airport. Our friend Mike from Ultimate Ears encouraged me to hit this afterparty. Free food and drinks until 4 a.m. Good deal. The party was sponsored by a certain taurine-spiked energy drink, so the cocktails were designed with awakeness in mind. On stage, a Philadelphia quartet called the Brothers Past stirred up a trancey combination of electro jam, dubby post-rock, and ambient music that landed somewhere between very early Pink Floyd, "Third Uncle"-era Eno, German prog bands like Can or Faust, and the Rum Diary. If you ever want to stay up all night, swaying and simmering on a taurine narcosis, I'd recommend these guys as your soundtrack. Harmonized lyrics occasionally surfaced, but mainly the band dealt the kind of time-compressing, moment-expanding instrumental music that Sandy Pearlman or Terence McKenna might describe as transcendent.
Speaking of Sandy Pearlman... he came by the Pandora booth and spoke with us for a good long time, and I'm very glad he did. You know that SNL Christopher Walken skit, in which the producer of "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" is requesting more cowbell? Sandy Pearlman produced "(Don't Fear) the Reaper." That character is based on Pearlman. Aside from his work with Blue Oyster Cult, he also produced records for the Clash, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Dictators, Dream Syndicate, and Romeo Void. Anyhow, it really brought the week full-circle for me to meet him. He immediately and instinctively understood the philosophy and principles behind Pandora, and his questions cut right to the core of what we do.
Posted by Tom Conrad at 02:07 PM | Comments (3)
March 19, 2006
sxsw digest 3 = roundup
so sxsw is over and I'm back home, sitting in the living room. I'm too tired to nap - go figure. my bags and guitar are still in texas most likely, and I'm too tired to even be properly angry about that. I know I have to post some pictures and summary show notes before the memories fade too much. it was a great long weekend...
my sxsw 2006 highlights:
walking for a block of the anti-war march down 6th street with Billy Bragg, chatting about his dog, and his first US shows at the old 9:30 club in washington dc. I was a teenager soaking it all up.
seeing Harry Shearer in the convention hall and quickly starting up a Spinal Tap station. He didn't walk over, unfortunately, but if he had, he would've heard "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight."
I already mentioned this, but Of Montreal was incredible. man I wish I had pictures.
Last night we saw a few songs of killer edmonton alberta "high powered raps and beats" brainiac Cadence Weapon with his scratchalicious dj weasel. for fans of Aesop Rock and similarly brainy not brawny hip-hop.
cadence weapon
dj weasel
Neko Case was very very good. the show was very nearly perfect, a few too many self-consciously "interesting" and "literary" lyrics took it down a notch for me, but her songwriting bridges the gap between Elvis Costello and Patsy Cline - so interesting and crafted around the content. the song forms are unique without being overly self-conscious, and the lyrics very nearly accomplish the same thing. and imho neko's voice is truly the stuff of legend.
a bad picture of neko
we caught the very end of the Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. Outrageously well-conceived and implemented old school classic soul. doing the james brown thing, too. it seems to me that it would be impossible to be disappointed by this band right now, especially live. whoo!
Dungen was a tremendous force of surprisingly muscular and almost proggy scandinavianity. I really enjoyed watching the drummer play - he was so chill about it, but he had a kind of "million arms of thunder" thing happening. does that make sense? Saw my friend Bart Davenport at the show, and he said a friend of his said we wouldn't like Dungen so much if we could understand they lyrics. So what? really interesting stuff on the record, very melodic, creative and colorful. don't sleep on dungen.....
dungen's leader Gustav Ejstes
dungen's drummer
Tim Fite was hilarious, creative and generally irresistible. just listen, it's too hard to describe.
Tim Fite (with a video of himself as a third band member)
Tim Fite's Radio
I loved the part of Ariel Pink's set that I caught. so weird and good. very distorted beats and samples and seemingly improvised lyrics in one song, which featured the appopo but kind of goofy repeated lyric: "south by southwest austin." you had to be there.
ariel pink
we didn't technically get in, but we still saw and heard 3 Richard Swift songs, which seemed good, though I felt like the intricacies of his arrangements weren't coming across to those of us who chose to take in the show from the other side of the chain link fence.
richard swift
we also caught Rumplestiltskin Grinder, whose name alone makes me a fan. they're thrashy metal and to be honest I wasn't as into it as I hoped to be. but so be it. still like the name. a lot.
once more, The Teeth could well be everyone's favorite band in a few years if they play their cards right, eat broccoli, and stay together. I loved that show.
ditto for Dr. Dog. Park the Van Records is a great little label, check em out...
so that's just about that. what a great trip. wish every day were like a day at south by southwest.
best,
mz
Posted by Michael Zapruder at 04:03 PM | Comments (1)
rare birds and such
well, the booth's all packed up and in the hands of (hopefully) capable shipping companies, and I'm in the austin airport waiting for my plane, drinking some tea, and feeling very tired but good. I'm thinking about this email I got yesterday:
*
Hi Michael,
Say, I really enjoyed meeting you at your booth yesterday. And I listened to some of your stuff and was very impressed. Seriously. One of the unfortunate facts of life is that people see us as they first see us. Meaning, I would not have expected you to be as serious an artist as you are because I first heard of you through [your job with] Pandora. Anyway, very cool vibe. I can see why you're having the successes you are.
*
given my neil young rant of thursday, given the fact that we didn't book a show in or around sxsw (our record doesn't come out until August), and given the general tone of the particular weekend I had (i.e., lots of talking about music but not much playing; lots of listening to other peoples' bands), I find myself sitting here thinking about that email and mulling over questions of what constitutes legitimacy, what defines artistic identity, and how the need to be special fits in (or doesn't) with public evidence of an artist's more quotidian, less special existence.
to start with, the email above is totally understandable. he's exactly right about the "unfortunate fact" (though I wouldn't characterize it as unfortunate, necessarily) that we make judgments about everyone we meet or see by using the context in which we encounter them as a measure. context is fundamental to people's ability to comprehend a work of art or entertainment; and some psychologists even go so far as to say that all human meaning is a by-product of our understanding of the way in which others perceive us.
so of course it's not surprising that someone might be skeptical about the quality of the work of an artist he meets working on the floor of a music industry trade show (lord knows I would be - I'd even go further to say that anyone who isn't skeptical about the work of any artist at all probably isn't being very realistic. making a record these days is technically pretty easy, but making a good record is just as hard as ever; and making a great record remains as nearly impossible as it has always been).
part of my job at pandora is to listen to the submissions of artists who have not yet found much of an audience, and one of the distinguishing factors is definitely a lack of sophistication regarding these issues of legitimacy and credibility. I give each piece of music its chance, but there have been a few cases where, even though the music may possibly good enough to be discovered, the artist is not. that is, I can't be sure that the experience of discovering this artist will be satisfying to listeners.
so clearly an artist isn't solely made of the art that he or she creates. there has to be some image, some public representation that symbolizes the specialness, authenticity, and vision of that person's art and of his or her very life.
now I was at sxsw partly to work at the trade show for pandora; and the job of working the pandora trade show booth is one which, though I think I do fairly well, could also be done well by many other people. in visibly taking on that semi-public, non-artistic, non-singular role, I'm working against a behavioral norm that asks artists to demonstrate, to always appear, in character, as other, better, exotic.
it's foolish to deny the existence of this romantic perception. we want artists to be rare birds, never sighted out of their narrow strip of habitat, never engaged in common activities, and always fulfilling limited, esoteric needs. and given the chance, I guess that's what every artist would probably do. but the thing is, in this world artists don't look or act in any generally defined ways, nor do they only engage in artistic activities (one of my favorite artists right now is a socially awkward sports fan who looks as if he's more likely to be a cab driver than what he is: a stunningly brilliant, nationally published poet. by the way he's also a teacher... see the neil young post).
on the other hand, it's a fact that really good artists really are in fact rare birds (no matter that the rareness that artists are able to uncover within themselves and express to an audience is probably something deeply individual that most if not all people possess; it's still apparent that a strong artist in performance is achieving something beyond the everyday).
so there you go. it's a contradiction, and it's one that I think lots of artists encounter, especially since so many have to transition to and from their visionary, special selves into their less glamorous coffeeshop/bookstore/janitor/trade show selves. personally, I like the idea that anyone around this departure gate could be a great artist. first of all, I like the idea because it's true. secondly, it's encouraging and empowering to people. and thirdly, I just find it humorous to think that the more someone looks like an artist, the less likely it is that they really are one. that's my contrarian streak I guess, but I'd also say that it's my artist's natural instinct toward freedom from narrowness and limitation.
lots of poets I know are like chinese sages who live amongst us but never stand out. some of my musician friends are like that, too. so although I like the david bowies and jack whites of the world, I sometimes prefer my artists to embody a less predictable, and therefore more interesting mystery.
here's to not knowing,
mz
Posted by Michael Zapruder at 01:56 PM | Comments (2)
March 17, 2006
sxsw digest no 1
it's been quite excellent here in austin so far. every hour at the pandora booth is surprisingly fun and also kind of intense. I don't usually talk this much. it's sort of like a high school reunion, but it's better because I don't know these people (and let's be honest, it's easier to go to a reunion where no one knew each other back in high school). I'm hoarse. jolly ranchers do not help for this.
I've seen old friends (chris grabau from the undertow collective and bands magnolia summer & waterloo, who I saw last night and who are both in pandora), plus ian brennan, who curated and created the "best of the west" tours that I was lucky enough to do back in the day. and the biggest non-musical thrill so far is that we met dave allen from gang of four! yesterday morning! I'm all a-quiver. looking forward to keeping in touch with him for sure.
we saw the new heavy metal documentary called a headbanger's journey, which was great. expect a continuous flow of metal to be coming into pandora over the coming months. I've kind of got the bug... we've eaten at ruby's bbq. went to the annual pre-sxsw swollen circus show with mostly songwriters and rootsy sorts of folks. it's put on by walter salas-humara of the silos. that was a cool way to kick things off in authentic austin style.
I've seen some great bands, of course. it's amazing how many incredible bands are here. I won't list the bands now, but the major highlights so far have been: field music at the kork/polyvinyl showcase at emo's! field music are 3 brits who sound like early xtc, but even more like the mommyheads (anyone remember them?? they were sf's best band in the early 90s, signed to geffen and got burned by the major label flames....). field music was quirky, brilliant, energetic, with lots of vocal harmonies and shifting time signatures. it's clever music, but beautifully so. their record comes out here in april and I'm on it.
of montreal was absolutely amazing. they all had glitter in their hair and around their eyes, and had weird butterflies on the necks of their guitars. kevin barnes is a white indie rock prince (as in Prince, the artist) - jumping around and effortlessly cranking through a bunch of surprisingly dancey songs. I was kind of expecting more of their psychedelic pop stuff, but I didn't care. they were massively entertaining, weird and great. definitely a favorite band of mine.
and last night I went to the park the van showcase to see the teeth and dr. dog. dr. dog was brilliant, a kind of bizarre mix of the band's rootsy americana and camper van beethoven's brainy angularity. but they have a really buttery feel to their music, so even the angular stuff goes down smooth. lots of vocal harmonies, too. but the teeth, the teeth are my fave new band. I liked their record, carry the wood, which came out last year, but their live show is ridonculous. super high energy very short songs that careen wildly on a pop odyssey through endless twists and turns. the show was reckless, exuberant, surprising and brilliant.
a long post, I know. I have to head over to the booth now. it's friday morning. but just one more thing: I can't help but think of sxsw as a kind of benevolent death star. is it ok to say that? it's just incredibly well-run and organized, so I guess I mean death star more as a compliment than anything.
a couple o photos:
here's tim getting fitted for some earplugs:
a typical sxsw nighttime scene on 6th street:
Dr. Dog setting up:
until later,
mz
Posted by Michael Zapruder at 12:54 PM | Comments (2)
San Antonio
Quite a day in San Antonio. Turns out it's a mecca for heavy rock. Frequent destination.
First stop was KRTU-FM 91.7, Trinity University's college jazz radio station. Great to sit down and chat with music director (and accomplished pianist) Aaron Prado and station manager Ryan Webber, surrounded by floor to ceiling vinyl. We had a nice interview and they gave me a quick history of the San Antonio jazz scene. Drummer Jerry Gibbs has led a modern jazz resurgence over the last few years, before leaving town. They sent me off with a notebook full of recommendations for local music that evening.
Local music critic and rock bassist Steve Elliott filled out my knowledge of the local hard rock scene; Pitbull Daycare, Anger Kil, Lokey, Powderburn among his favorites. Also pointed me to Hogwilds, the local indie store where I picked up as much of the local music as I could find.
The afternoon was a study in contrasts. Mellow jazz set with Joan Carroll and Hanz Frommeyer and Carmen’s de la Calle, followed by an acoustic open mic run by songwriter/local music mentor Eric Geyer. Met a bunch of his friends, already regular Pandora users. Mary Kay second from right was there with her acoustic guitar for the open mic - she's using Pandora in her middle school class.
Before hitting the road, I finished the night off at the White Rabbit listening to Forgive Durkin from Seattle rip through a hard rock set - impressive band, loud as hell, but really intricate. Got a good look at the San Antonio teenage thrash metal set... They were the last of 8 bands on the bill. Hard working groups - really deserve respect.
Headed out that night with a front seat full of CDs, ears still ringing. All in all a great day.
Posted by Tim Westergren at 10:28 AM | Comments (12)
Pandora at SXSW
Kevin Seal, one of the music analysts from the Music Genome Project, just sent in this update from the SXSW conference:
Music Analyst Seal here. Long-time listener, first-time caller. I'm here in Austin all week to shake hands, kiss babies, and hear live music. I love my job. For me, these are the five most revelatory music moments so far at this year's SxSW:
1. Field Music. Dang dang dang. Field Music are from Sunderland, England, the town that gave us the Futureheads. Three guys -- two trade between drums & guitar, the third plays synth bass on a USB controller and higher textures on a Rhodes. Nice. All three sing. Angular rhythmic counterpoints abound, and they love them some 7/4 and 7/8. None of this distracts or detracts from their melodic sensibilities. Great expectation-defying arrangements, playful and mind-stretching and unpretentious all at once.
2. The Fiery Furnaces. Sure, of course, Matt & Eleanor Friedberger are the most barnstorming brother-sister duo in the history of rock. No surprise. But the real secret to their sound is their drummer, Andy Knowles. Those jarring tempo changes would sound brainy in the hands and feet of a lesser skinsman, but Knowles ably turns those shifts into visceral punk momentum. The mini-epic "Chris Michaels marries song fragments better than any work since Bee Thousand or Abbey Road. Their new songs are great, especially "Policeman" and a salacious bit of obsessive voyeurism called "I'm Waiting To Know You." They'd have been in the #1 slot if my expectations for them had not already been so high.
3. My Brightest Diamond. Great arrangements, and a lead chanteuse with a distinctive voice named Shara Worden. They've been opening for Sufjan Stevens on his recent tours, and she sings a lot on his Illinoise album. Her voice has shades of Nina Simone, Bjork and Edith Piaf, without sounding derivative of any of those iconoclastic artists. Her "Musicians Wanted" Craigslist post makes a great deal of sense: "String Players Wanted: If you like Pierre Boulez as much as PJ Harvey, call meMy Brightest Diamond has not yet released an album, but you can bet that once they do, they'll be up on Pandora.
4. Voxtrot. These Austin guys brought the smile-pop hooks with charm and smarts, but no smarm or charts. Happy music will always have a place in my world, especially when it's tied to such indelible melodies. Beneath some of their cheerier choruses, though, lay darker double meanings that fans of Stuart Murdoch might appreciate. Their hometown crowd loved them, of course, but so did the new converts like me. They also had, yes, Rhodes. Foxtrot has only released EPs so far, but their full-length debut is coming soon.
5. The Dresdon Dolls. Heavy metal piano and drums. Weimar cabaret as played by Iron Maiden fans. They rocked an astonishing and faithful cover of "War Pigs," and given how many people have played that song well (Faith No More, the Flaming Lips with Cat Power, Gov't Mule, Hayseed Dixie, and... oh, right, Black Sabbath), I was ready to shrug and head for the beer line until I heard how well they delivered it, and how honest it felt. Political dissent and headbanging are righteous bedfellows.
Neil Young's keynote interview was great, too. Also really enjoyed the premiere of Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, a well-researched love letter to the often misunderstood and misrepresented world of the horn-handed.
There are way too many shows to see everything I'd like to see, but for tonight, I'm leaning toward the Alternative Tentacles showcase at the Jackalope. Or Rapider Than Horsepower at the Lava Lounge. Or Ted Leo at the Red 7. Shearwater, maybe. Or Dungen. Uh... ask me later.
Posted by Tom Conrad at 10:13 AM | Comments (2)
sxsw digest no 2...
so I was at the keynote interview yesterday with young and jonathan demme, which was ok, but I have to make a confession: I have major issues with the big boomer dinosaurs of song. I guess it's mainly because I think they never accepted the teaching responsibility that naturally belongs to leading artists. teaching is a necessity for artists who work in less financially remunerative forms, and I say that's a good thing. it's good for the artists and the students/future artists, and it's good for the art. it creates a scene, community, etc (however insular and backstabbing it might be).
it always bugs me to think that people like neil young never really came down off their rock star mountaintop to teach and share what they do. that's some selfishness right there. that's entitlement. but it goes even further, because not only didn't they teach, but in some vague way they still to this day imply that what they do can't be taught. they characterize themselves as the chosen vessels of the muse, as if they never worked or tried to figure out how to do it. I guarantee you that when neil young was in his teens and twenties, that all he did was try to figure out how it's done. but in the keynote, young trotted out his worn-out old notion that says you have to treat creativity like a wild animal, approach it cautiously, make little noises to get it to come out of its hole, and then carefully try to engage with it for a while before it runs away.
ok, first of all, there is something profound about this notion, don't misunderstand me. it's quite true, and it's inspiring. but coming from someone like neil young, there's an antique, sixties, almost cheesy whiff of anti-intellectualism about it that I find both kind of funny and also really really irrelevant. maybe it's some kind of dusty, kerouac-lite romanticism? I don't know, but I've experienced this at bob dylan shows too in the last 5 or 10 years, and I'm a HUGE dylan fan. it reminds me of easy rider, like these guys have a little dude inside themselves cruising around on a chopper, wearing an american flag helmet and thinking "right on man, I'm free out here where no one can touch me, talk to me or tell me what to do." listening to young yesterday, I was thinking: "it's a different world now, neil. you can park the bike and get involved. it's ok."
ok, maybe we all have that little chopper dude inside us, if we're really trying to be honest here. fine. and you can't think your way into making good art, everyone knows that. but come on, any aesthetic approach that systematically amputates a human ability, especially one as central to our nature as reflecting, considering, imagining, thinking, is just wack. call me crazy, but I'm into the whole person making music. use what you've got however you feel you need to, and make sure what you produce is good. that's the game. oh, and it's something everyone can do. that's important.
ok, let the angry replies begin. I know it's probably going to take some back and forth to clarify.... but before the real flames start up, please remember that I know that mr young is a definitive, titanic genius. I have no problem whatsoever with the work he's done over many many years. I lurve his songs and records. I just can't relate to some of the things he says. and I don't think it's crazy to think that superstardom might have distorted his perspective about some things.
just a thought,
mz
Posted by Michael Zapruder at 02:54 AM | Comments (20)
March 15, 2006
Austin, TX Day 1
My first visit to Austin, TX, got off with a great start. Had a great lunch with Michael Point at Threadgills, one of the town's longest standing restaurant and music joints. It was founded by Kenneth Threadgill, the first man to put Janis Joplin on stage (playing fiddle in a folk band).
Michael came of age in the Houston blues scene in the 70's, where among other things he drove Lightnin' Hopkins between recording gigs. He wrote and recorded songs for $25 a pop, no royalties. Ah, the music business...
A longtime jazz writer, Michael brought an interesting perspective to the blues. His theory is that as the business became oriented towards younger, photogenic artists, the support system disappeared for the older generation of bluesmen. Many of them left the US for Europe, a lot of them to England. Blues is one of the musical styles that is best learned at the feet of artists - watching them play live. It's truly a spontaneous, emotional genre and finds most of its greatest moments on live performances (not a coincidence that many blues records are live recordings). The movement of great bluesmen (Bo Didley, Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Muddy Waters) overseas found its way into brit rockers - Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page... the list goes on. The US in the meantime, didn't see a similar explosion of blues guitarists (save of course the freakish Jimi Hendrix). A true illustration of the power of mentoring.
Interestingly, a similar phenomenon happened in Jazz a little later. Older musicians were displaced by the Young Lions - dapper young players that found homes with the majors, while the older generation were left out.
One consequence of these changes is the signing of artists without any back catalogue, which puts enormous pressure on them to sell lots of records quickly, as the label doesn't have a collection to draw from.
That afternoon I enjoyed a long talk with John Kuntz, founder of the legendary Waterloo Records, Austin's longest standing indie record store. When you walk in his store you can really feel the music-lover energy. Three distinct features of his store: you can open and listen to any record; you can get full store credit for any purchase even if it's just because you didn't like the record; the store is organized alphabetically - not by genre. What struck me about all of this was that he has clearly established a special relationship with his customers - one that is obviously reciprocal. They've had 24 consecutive years of sales growth. They also are frequently disproportionate sellers of breakthrough artists (Norah Jones, Los Lonely Boys), because they're early to recognize ad market promising new artists. We raised a glass to him and his wife's vinyl anniversary (33 1/3 years). Now that's what you call a music lifer!
Spent the late night at Nasty's listening to DJMel spin some reaggaton and r&b/hiphop. Some serious grooves kept the dance floor full all night. It was a great mixture of classic R&B and the newest dance tracks. One thing that's clear, good grooves don't age.
Posted by Tim Westergren at 08:29 AM | Comments (4)
March 14, 2006
Meetup in San Antonio on Wednesday
Heading to San Antonio on Wednesday morning, March 15th, 2006.
If you'd like to meet me for some hearty Tex-Mex food at the Taco Garage, please do.
I'll be the guy in the Pandora hat ordering carnitas at around 7:30 p.m. From there I'll head to Salud! There is an open mic there hosted by Eric Geyer which I have heard good things about.
Hope to see you there. Tim
Posted by Tim Westergren at 06:49 AM | Comments (7)
March 11, 2006
Meetup in Austin on Tuesday
When: Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 6:30pm
Where: Spider House Coffee Bar, 2908 Fruth Street (512) 480 9562
Come by for some food, drink and musical conversation. Have a CD? Bring it along.
Hope to see you there. Tim
Posted by Tim Westergren at 08:46 AM | Comments (27)
March 10, 2006
Portland, Day 2
Another great day in Portland. Woke up buzzing from last night's open mic.
First stop, breakfast with Ezra Ace Careaff, local music editor for the Portland Mercury and owner of indie label Slowdance (home of the Velvet Teen). I continue to be inspired by the entrepreneurs who have started these labels. 50/50 joint ventures. It's the future model for indie music.
Spent a fascinating couple hours with Bob Price, music teacher at the local DaVinci Arts magnet school. I knew we were in for an interesting conversation when he told me the first record he heard, at age 11, was Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. Grew up in the Amoco-funded arts mecca of Dallas Ft. Worth, TX in the 70's, where he dove straight into experimental improv on the clarinet. He has had a long career in academia, and has witnessed the gradual decline in funding for music education. This is truly one of the great tragedies of today - the gradual dissappearance of music programs in youth education.
In his effort to interest his kids in jazz, he recently created a big band arrangement of System of Down's BYOB (Listen Now). I got a great kick out of this - one of my greatest complaints about music education at all levels is the unwillingness of teachers/departments to accommodate the relevant interests of kids, and use that to draw them into theory. I think it's the reason there is so little collaboration between rock musicians and classical musicians. Which if you ask Paul, John, Ringo and both Georges, has its benefits.
Spent the afternoon with Christopher Cooper, founder of Cavity Search (who had the honor to release Elliott Smith's first solo record Roman Candle)- a true music fan. Had a great conversation with Connie Wohn who that very day had been the subject of a front page profile in the Oregonian life section on "queen's of portland rock". A long time booker of DJ's, she clearly brings a passion for music. I was really jazzed about a program she works with called "Rock N Roll Camp for Girls" - a 6 year old program for 6-18 year olds to empower women through music. It sounds like just a fantastic program. They don't even need to have played an instrument. The kids form bands, write a song, rehearse it, and record it - all overseen by a steady stream of female rocker role models. Can't say enough about how valuable this is (see previous paragraph on the decline in education funding).
Topped the trip off with a magical evening at Millenium Records. About 70 people showed up for a lively conversation about digital music and the future of radio (with Peter Carlin and Rick Emerson - thanks gents). A very engaged audience, including folks currently working in radio from all sides. One emerging thesis was the need for terrestrial radio to localize more. Thanks again to owner Terry Currier and his crew (pictured here holding their favorite obscure disks for the genome). Their hospitality was a reflection of the whole trip.
Final thought - after spending two days talking with music fans, I've come away even more convinced of the transformative power of music. One thing I noticed about all the music fans a ran across - they all look much younger than their years. Something we should all contemplate…
Posted by Tim Westergren at 02:01 PM | Comments (15)
March 09, 2006
Pandora Sidebars for Your Blog
Tonight we're rolling out a really easy way to integrate your Pandora stations and favorite songs into your website or blog. For an example of what this looks like click here and look in the sidebar on the right-hand-side. You can add this kind of sidebar to your page by inserting just two lines into your homepage or blog template.
Let's say that you'd like to share the stations you're creating with everyone that visits your blog or personal homepage. We thought it would be cool if it was really easy to add these items to your page. To that end, we've created this new kind of feed to compliment our existing RSS feeds.
These new feeds are JavaScript includes that you can place into your blog or homepage template with one simple step. There are two different feeds. The first generates a nice looking list of all your stations. Your site visitors will be able to click to liste and it will always stay up to date with your most recently created stations. The second feed lists the songs your discovering on Pandora; choose from a range of styles including a compact version as well as a beautiful version that shows off the song album art. Your site visitors can click through to learn more about the song, listen to a sample, buy the track from iTunes, buy the album from Amazon, or create a new Pandora station from the song.
Creating the embedding code is really easy. Just visit this page: http://www.pandora.com/feeds#blog, pick a style, enter your Pandora username (your email address) and click the "Generate HTML" button. Copy the code that's generated to the sidebar portion of your blog and you're done.
For all the CSS hackers out there, you're welcome to customize the display style with CSS. Each element has been given a unique id to make it easy for you to assign custom styles.
Update 3/13: We released a new version tonight that should make things work better in a wider variety of settings. In particular we're using CSS that is a bit more explicit about what should be displayed and how. We've also updated the mechanism we use for opening new windows that should fix some problems with popup blockers. Thanks for your help and feedback on all of this these last few days.
Posted by Tom Conrad at 01:19 AM | Comments (33)
March 08, 2006
Coming back to Washington DC
It looks like I'm going to be heading back to DC for another town hall meeting. Had a great response from enthusiastic listeners last time, and can't wait to come back to meet new users and see some familiar faces. The full details are below!
When: Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 - 7pm
Where: DCJCC Community Hall
1529 15th St NW
Directions
Please RSVP by sending an email to tour@pandora.com with DC in the subject line. Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
Tim (Founder)
Posted by Tim Westergren at 01:52 PM | Comments (2)
Update from Portland
First let me say the Kennedy School is far and away the most unique and interesting hotel I've ever stayed at. A converted Elementary school that still looks and feels like... an elementary school. Complete with art projects on the walls and chalkboards. Great fun.
Started my day with great conversation with Dave Allen, bassist for the Gang of Four, and serial entrepreneur who's most recent company, Pampelmoose is filling the new role of modern label/manager/producer in the digital age. I was joined by his business partner Ned Failing, drummer for the up and coming Dirty Martini in Portland, and former drummer for Pacific Northwest favorites, the Strangers. Also there was Ezra Holbrook, very talented local producer and musician (I listened to his latest effort Michael Jodell in the car after our meeting - really good sounding record, nice stuff Ezra - can't wait to hear the mastered version). Ezra also books bands for the Imbibe in town.
Spent most of the lunch talking about the changing relationship between record labels and artists... and things ARE changing. Portland is a microcosm of the change. It has a great grassroots indie scene, full of musicians that are chasing alternative career paths. Forgoing traditional label deals to release records as joint ventures with small labels or artist management companies. It's a very fundamental shift that shows signs of accelerating. The essential arrangement is a 50/50 split on expenses/revenues. The partners grow the business organically, never getting ahead of themselves, and there's a living to be made there for all parties.
Ezra hit the nail on the head when he pinpointed cheap home recording software as a pivotal factor in this change. And as a former Capitol and Geffen artist, he speaks from experience. Artists can now produce high quality records without needing big up-front investment to finance them - it's the need for the big advance that has long dictated label deals. These deals are rational but tough on the artist - the label puts up all the money (often over $500K for a first record/tour) and gets the lion's share of the profits. Labels lose money on most of their records, and hope for a couple big successes to carry the business - just like the venture capital business. Now, with artists often coming to the table with a completed record, the dynamics have really shifted. Lots of what you now hear on the radio was recorded in someone's basement studio on ProTools (ProTools is one of numerous software programs that turn a standard computer into a professional quality music recording system... all you need is a good mic and a good pair of ears).
After swinging by Pampelmoose to load up on their latest projects, I jetted out to Clackamas Community college for a chat with Jadon Triplet - budding journalist and punk rock guitarist.
Dropped in on Jim Brunberg the owner/operator of Mississippi Studios - a beautiful listening room that books mostly acoustic shows. The room, decorated in old wood, deep red fabric and warm glowing lamps, is entirely focused on the stage which makes it a very attractive venue for visiting players. These venues are really a dying breed, which is a terrible shame because they're such great places for musicians. Jim filled my arms with local talent - all soon to be in the Music Genome Project. He particularly recommended Raina Rose and Mira Flores. Death Cab for Cutie, Ricki Lee Jones, John Wesley Harding, Fastball, are among the better know artists that have come through.
I've known Jim for many years, back to when his band Box Set and my former band gigged together in San Francisco. Box Set was a great band that worked it's way up from coffee houses to headlining the Fillmore, then got signed to Capricorn after a showcase at South by Southwest (see the upcoming Texas leg of the trip). The record didn't pan out and they've since gone their separate ways. Really interesting to talk to someone who has truly been through the whole arc. Even though the label went under, the leftover advance allowed him to start the studio - happy ending. Jim has really found his niche up in Portland where he thinks of his role at band 'coach'. Does everything from producing, and engineering (they have a full blown digital studio upstairs) to helping bands plan their touring strategy.
Topped the night off with an evening at Goodfoot Pub's open mic. I was blown away by the talent. First band I walked in on called themselves the Prescott Trumbo's - terrific songwriting. They're just getting started, so it was raw, but let's hope this trio makes a CD some day - would love to have them in the genome. Two Vandals Lawncare ripped through a Phish-esque guitar rock set. Some fancy arranging and good melodies (rare bedfellows).
And the cover charge... wait for it... $1.
Can't wait for tomorrow.
Posted by Tim Westergren at 10:43 AM | Comments (7)
March 02, 2006
Toronto Meetup Friday Night March 3rd, 2006
I'm in Toronto for the Canadian Music Week conference.
This is super short notice, but I'm going to head to Rushton Restaurant Friday evening around 10:30pm for a get together with any interested folks. The Rushton coordinates:
740 St. Clair Ave. W.
Phone: (416) 658-7874
Ian Milne the DJ has recently setup of a Squeezebox and plans to spin the tunes.
Hope to see you there!! Tim
Posted by Tim Westergren at 10:35 PM | Comments (24)
March 01, 2006
Pandora + Squeezebox
Today we're launching Pandora + Squeezebox.
Squeezebox, from Slim Devices, is simply the best way to deliver digital music to your home stereo. It's a beautiful device, with an elegant user interface and exceptional audio quality. Plug it into your home network (wired or wireless) and enjoy Pandora from the comfort of your couch. You'll be able to listen to all of the stations you've been creating at Pandora.com, rate songs, and bookmark favorites all with a simple remote control.
Pandora + Squeezebox is available to Pandora subscribers ($36 for a year or $12 for three months) and will work with any Squeezebox 2 as well as the new (and very beautiful) Squeezebox 3.
Pandora and Slim Devices are offering free 90 day Pandora subscriptions to new and current Squeezebox 2 and 3 owners. To get started you'll need to signup for Squeezenetwork. When you connect your account with your ad-supported-free Pandora.com account (you'll do this from your account page at the Squeezenetwork website) we'll automatically upgrade you to a 90-day-free subscription on Pandora. No credit card required.
Click here to learn more about Pandora + Squeezebox.
Here's what David Pogue at the New York Times had to say recently about Slim Devices and Pandora:
"the Squeezebox will do something no other hi-fi component can do: it will hook into Pandora... Slim Devices predicts that Pandora will become a wildly popular feature, and that's probably true." (read the entire story, see the video)
Posted by Tom Conrad at 12:19 PM | Comments (15)
Pandora in Portland - March 6th & 7th
I'm very excited to announce our trip next week to our friendly neighbors to the North. I'll be heading up to Portland, Oregon for a couple days of musical exploration and conversation - March 6th & 7th, 2006. The main event of the trip is a 'town hall' get together at Music Millenium (801 NW 23rd Avenue) on Tuesday evening at 6pm to talk radio and digital music. Terry Currier, the longtime owner has generously agreed to host us at this indie music mecca. I'll be joined by Rick Emerson, a much beloved local radio personality, active blogger, and longtime music industry commentator for a provocative discussion on 'radio in the digital age.' Peter Carlin, journalist for the Oregonian, and a thoughtful writer on media will moderate, incite and lead what will hopefully be a lively and informative conversation about the impact of the digital revolution on the modern music industry, with a particular focus on radio.
It should be great discussion. I hope you'll come by to join the conversation.
We have couple other events planned as well, including a meetup at Mississippi Pizza (3552 N Mississippi Avenue) on Monday evening at 6:30pm. After this I'll be heading over to Goodfoot Pub then possibly Ash Street Saloon to check out the local talent at their weekly open mics. Company is welcome. The more the merrier.
Last time I headed up I5, there were six of us packed in a van with the PA system and more music equipment that we should have been able to fit. This time I'm heading out with a laptop, boxes of T-shirts and caps, and empty bags that I hope to fill with a wonderful and eclectic collection of local recordings. I'm hoping to come away with a better understanding of the local music scene, and with armfuls of great new music for our musician analysts to sink their teeth into.
If you have any comments or suggestions please share your thoughts below. The musical conversation starts now!
Tim (Founder)
Posted by Tim Westergren at 09:49 AM | Comments (51)
