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December 31, 2007
2007: The Year in Music
When it came to music, what mattered to you in 2007?
I'll start the bidding. Oscar Peterson's passing was very significant for me. My musical idol. He was one of those artists who comes around rarely - like a Fred Astaire or a Picasso. The transcendent figure who leaves a unique footprint. I mourn his departure. But I'm glad to have been a witness - thank god he put out so many records (over 200) - to keep us company in his absence.
I look forward to reading Pandora listeners' patchwork of musical memories.
Happy new year to everyone.
Tim (Founder)
Posted by Tim Westergren at 10:55 PM | Comments (29)
December 19, 2007
Pandora Presents... a new audio episode, "The Blues Scale"
The blues are mysterious. Otherworldly, even. Tonally, the blues forms its own universe, neither minor nor major. There's a dominant seven, there's a cluster of chromatics around the tritone, and that pillar of tonality -- the third -- is liquid, bending like a lakeside reed. Bob Coons plugs his guitar in and helps me investigate the heptonic blues scale. We also hear how Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" works over blues changes, and see how even Henry Mancini bent the three.
Thanks for taking the time to listen,
Kevin
p.s.: For a free subscription to all of the video and audio episodes of Pandora Presents... Pandora.com/show.
Posted by Kevin Seal at 04:40 PM | Comments (25)
December 09, 2007
Return to Nashville Recap...
Nashville, Nashville. What can you say. There's just no place quite like it. I knew I was headed there when half the people I boarded the plane with were carrying instrument cases...
Had a terrific couple days. Started with pancakes at the Pancake Pantry, with the camera crew from DigForFire who have joined us for the roadtrip (keep an eye out for some cool road trip videos coming soon...they're a very talented bunch - if you have a minute check out their great live video of St. Vincent performing live at Other Music in NYC... check it out) -
I recommend the 'sugar and spice' pancakes. Betty, who's been slinging dishes for 37 years there took great care of us. Sweetheart. The extra carbs wound up coming in handy... what a day it became...
Quick jaunt to Grimey's record store for my usual 'fill 'er up ' of local music, and recommendations for what I should do that night. Great indie store jam packed with music, and knowledgeable sales folks... we dug into the Local Music bin...
Then on to a luncheon with A2iM - local chapter of a budding organization serving indie labels for a discussion about the future of their sector and how I hope Pandora will make a difference.... big priority for us. Thanks to Al "YouTube" McCree for the invitation. It was great as always to talk with the folks on the front line of the biz.
Everyone's hard at work figuring out their future in a digital world. In spite of the pace of change, i think it's a great time to be an indie label. The future is all about being nimble, and about people who have a real passion for music...
Raced over to a radio interview with Trippe Fried. Talked about the 'survival' years. Then jumped in a car to the burbs for a session watching the Gabe Dixon Band in pre-production for their upcoming record on Fantasy. Got to watch them go through painful, nit picking process of prepping a song for the studio, with their producer Neil driving from his mac laptop...
Gabe, Winston and Jano have been through quite an adventure. From Univ. of Miami music program (where they roomed with pandora's own Jeff Anthony), to temp jobs and check-counting in NYC, then suddenly signed overnight to Warner, two months later in LA making record, living in Warner apartments, then 2 years on the road... but without a released CD. Got shelved when their champion left the company. It's amazing how common this is. Somehow they kept it all together and have emerged on the other side with a lot of energy for their next chapter. Funny, kind of the same timing as Pandora... I wish them all the luck.
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity in the frigid night for a taxi, we made it back just in time for a town hall at BongoJava. Man, oh, man. What an evening. For the first time ever we had to turn people away. And that's after Ken did a yoeman's job packing people in.. thank god for his complete lack of interest in fire codes...
We squeezed in 40 more people after this picture was taken... it was the first town hall 'in the round' :)
I felt like we were at some underground bolshevik rally...
And a great audience. Wouldn't expect anything less from this loving city. I met a few people who had moved to Nashville so they could hear more music. How cool is that? I couldn't think of any other place where that's true. And it shows. Respect for music runs deep hear. There was a ton of discussion around how to use thumbs on Pandora. A couple youngsters asked about video on Pandora. We'd love to add that... figuring out how, when. Got a decent pile of Cds from artists in attendance.
Then jetted over for the requisite Bluebird Cafe drop in. Watched a typical Nashville acoustic 'in the round' set from some great local singer/songwriters - Victoria Shaw, Gary Burr and Jim Photoglo.
The Bluebird was recently acquired by a local songwriting organization. Would have gone for a much higher price to a developer but the exiting owner wanted to keep the tradition alive. How cool is that? Amy thanks for letting the crew bring in the cameras. Really appreciate it.
Left Bluebird for a last set at the Mercy Lounge.. a recovered industrial brick building. The Altered Statesmen played a great alt-rock-punk-country set. Six piece band including a slide guitar and harmonium.
Then to bed... for a few hours.
Started early with a couple more interviews, Ryan at the Tennessean, then the great folks at Lightning 107 for their MusicBusinessRadioshow. Should be up in January. Great folks.
Could have talked for hours, but had to cruise over to the Hatch Print Shop (continued the interview in the car with Dave's mobile recorder)...
...for a conversation with Patrick Keely, drummer for the Raconteurs, and founder of the Greenhorns. He's been around the block. We talked a lot about the journey that's brought him here. He toured for a while in a hearse... talk about paying your dues. He's spent a year recording and getting ready for what promises to be a mad touring year with records coming out from both of his bands...
Then raced to airport... just in time for flight home. Bag way full of CDs.
Taking a break from the road over the holidays, but already planning a busy '08 - Austin TX, Boston MA, North & South Dakota, Des Moines IA, Cleveland, Omaha NE, and many more.. Can't wait.
Tim (Founder)
Posted by Tim Westergren at 12:21 PM | Comments (29)
December 08, 2007
Pandora Posters - A Charitable Holiday Gift
Just wanted to let everyone know that the winners of the Pandora Poster Contest are now available, just in time for the holiday season... For a contribution to Global Giving you can get one of the 3 beautiful posters (any contribution above $20 gets you all three, but please give more if you can manage). They're great for gifts, and all the money goes to support some very worthy music-centric charities.
Click this link for the Poster Information
Happy holidays.
Tim (Founder)
Posted by Tim Westergren at 10:25 AM | Comments (13)
December 03, 2007
Video: Celebrate Brooklyn
There's nothing that brings a community together quite like a free music festival, and there's no festival quite like Celebrate Brooklyn. Every summer, BRIC Arts|Media|Bklyn treats families in New York to free concerts in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. These shows are not run-of-the-mill freebies, either; these are big-ticket artists such as TV On The Radio, Joan Osborne, the Stills, the Sam Roberts Band and Maceo Parker. Our guest on this episode, Celebrate Brooklyn executive producer Jack Walsh, explains how it works, and tells us how this festival has grown steadily over the course of 30 seasons.
If you'd like to subscribe to this series for free in iTunes, just tap on this link right here.
No sleep 'til... (cue guitar...) BROOKLYN!
Kevin
Posted by Kevin Seal at 10:56 PM | Comments (16)
