If you are packing your bags for Austin Here are my tips for you (This guide is not just for SXSW; it’s also for any music conference out there!)

Envision What You Want Before You Arrive

My first bit of advice: Arrive prepared. Know who will be attending and create some goals before you get there.

Attend at Least One Music Conference Each Year

I believe all serious musicians should make it part of their job to attend at least one conference a year. They can be expensive to get to, but think abut it this way: Music lessons were at one time expensive, and so was your equipment and those things are also vital for your career. Conferences are the best place to meet people who work in and around the music industry and are a relaxed environment to connect with people in it who can change the course of your career.

Austin, Texas, a wonderful city, and its distractions are many. But, keep in mind that this is not a vacation. It’s a work-related learning experience, and with a little planning and foresight you can have a million-dollar conference.

Before You Go, Get Connected!

SXSW Social Media:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SXSWFestival

MySpace:www.myspace.com/sxsw

Twitter: www.twitter.com/sxsw

Get registered to the South by Southwest Directory

Go through the site, which is VERY user friendly and links to your Twitter and Facebook seamlessly to determine whom you may want to meet before you arrive. Drop them a personal e-mail using their interface.

Bring Business Cards, Fizzkicks Cards & Postcards

Yes, You should have a business card and your card should not just have your name and number. It should have good information about what you or your band sounds like (your pitch) , your Twitter handle, Myspace & Facebook URLS, and links to any other places people might be able to find you online. A photo of you or a band logo would also be highly recommended.

Don’t Haul A Ton Of CDs

I do not recommend bringing a lot of CDs. People are overwhelmed with free CDs and they won’t want to carry them home so it’s better to get people’s business cards and mail them a CD or better yet send your music digitally through Bandcamp of Soundcloud as a follow-up after you get home.

Talk To Strangers

Don’t be scared to take risks and meet people. Conferences are friendly places. Just walk right up and ask “So, what brings you here?” You’ll have a new BFF in no time.

Attend Panels – You Will Learn Something J

It’s tempting to blow the panels off and hit all of the free day parties but I encourage you to make an effort to sit in on at least one or two panels per day, on any topic that interests you, and take notes.

Get Mentored!

Most conferences have amazing mentoring sessions where you can sign up to have one-on-one face time with the industry peeps. Some of the most important people in the music business will be sitting there ready to meet with you.

When you do go to a one-on-one mentoring panel, be prepared to meet these people, and make sure that you have done your research and have specific questions to ask them.

Follow Up!

The moment you get home, make sure to send thank you notes, e-mails and follow up with every single person that you met. If appropriate, add them to your e-mail list. Never send your pitch or talk about business in the first initial e-mail. Get people to respond to your follow up by just being friendly. If you do not follow up your trip and hard work will have been a waste of your time. So, don’t rip yourself off here!

The 2nd Annual Metronome Celebration will deliver over 20 original bands on 4 unique stages, featuring a Rock Stage planned by Empty Bottle Presents and a Latin Pop Stage (new this year) selected by the Congress Theater on Saturday, June 12th, while Sunday, June 13th will include a Punk Stage curated by MP Productions and a Folk Stage booked by The Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival. Our options for families and children will be greatly expanded this year with the ‘School’s Out Forever’ Zone, with 5 times more space devoted to face painters, balloonartists, inflatable rides, carnival games, arts & crafts and tons of other activities and family friendly programming.

Add in culinary delights from over 15 restaurants, innovative sponsors and vendors selling paintings, sculpture,fashion, music and more, and you’ve got one of the more unique festivals in all of Chicago.Located at one of the most highly visible intersections in Chicago on Milwaukee Ave at Western & Armitage, thevenue is book-ended by stops on the CTA Blue Line Train, and is less than a half-mile away from the Kennedyexpressway and Metra Rail service. Over 30,000 people will descend on the strip to experience Chicago’s ultimatemusic and gastronomic fare.

The Metronome Celebration will benefit the Logan Square Neighborhood Coalition, which will distribute proceeds tothe Greater Goethe Neighborhood Association, the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce, Friends of GoetheSchool, Chase Elementary School. And once again, we are committed to making the event a model of efficiency,minimizing waste and maximizing recycling on the venue.

MUSIC LINEUP WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN EARLY APRIL!

For more information or to get involved in Metronome go to www.metronomechicago.com.

Location: Milwaukee Ave. from Armitage to Rockwell (2000-2150 N. Milwaukee Ave.)

Date & Time: Saturday and Sunday, June 12-13, 2010, Noon to 10PM

Admission: $5 Donation

Check out some pictures from last year’s Metronome Festival here!

Just like the miracle of chocolate and peanut butter, Calvin and Hobbs, and Jack and Coke, there hasn’t been a better mashup of music like the announced, Electro Vs Dubstep show at the Portage Theater, in Chicago, IL.  Bringing together the best of both worlds, well known, electronic sing-a-long dabce tracks that have reached extraordinary levels of popularity in the past few years from artists such as, Chromeo, The Bloody Beetroots, Daft Punk, Girl Talk, and Boyz Noize amongst too many others to name.  The genre brings together fast paced music, with interesting melodies that make people want to dance.

On the other end of the spectrum you have the newer sensation that is dubstep.  Heavy hitting, large drop’s, and more wobble than you can handle.  The genre is picking up steam with artists such as, Benga, Rusko, Caspa, Excision and many others leading the pack at the forefront.  The popularity of the genre is becoming recognized by electronic music festivals all over the world, with Ultra and Coachella just among a few that has added dubstep artists to their lineup for 2010.

Saturday, March 6^th will be one show to remember, giving again the best of both worlds from local Chicago electronic scene DJ’s, such as, Midnight Conspiracy, Phaded, Nameloc, Solo, Broken Disco 1980, Action Adventure and Destruction, along with live visuals to finish off a night, full of what will surely be an intense array of dancing, drinking, partying, and being exposed to new music at this months 18+ showcase at the Portage Theater. There’s nothing left to say besides, don’t miss out on the opportunity to expose yourself to what truly moves the youth of today, a never ending array of diverse and different music.  See you on the dance floor.

Story by, Chris Hemstreet

Check out the artists playing at, Electro Vs Dubstep online:

Electro:

Midnight Conspiracy: http://www.myspace.com/midnightconspiracy

Broken Disco 1980: http://CustomVibes.com

Action Adventure: http://soundcloud.com/action-adventure

Destruction: http://www.myspace.com/thedjdestructionproject

Dubstep:

Phaded: http://www.myspace.com/sosophaded

Nameloc: http://www.myspace.com/namelocmusic

Solo: http://www.myspace.com/iscratchrecords

Find the event page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=266525074648&ref=ts

The Big Gigantic & Two Fresh Winter Tour

Saturday, February 27^th, a day to be remembered for all of those who attended the last day of the Big Gigantic and Two Fresh’s Winter tour at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago, IL.  With crowds constantly pouring in through the doors until it seemed like there was no room left for eager attendees, yet more kept coming.  A sea of happy faces mixed in with multi colored LED hula-hoop’s and the crowd bouncing like there was no tomorrow, it was easy to see how excited people were for the headliners.

With openers such as, The Malah, INDIGoSUN, J A S P E R, and GHETTO SEXUAL setting the stage for what was to come, the suspense and buildup were intense.  With the constant flow of music anywhere from jazzy/electro to dub step, all anyone seemed to want to do was dance and have a good time, and in this writers personal experience it succeeded.

What was to come was the much-anticipated moment of the night, Big Gigantic taking the stage, on lookers crowding to catch a glimpse of the duo, followed by an impressive array of lasers and lights to accompany the moment, it was impressive for both sight and sound.  The noise rattling hits of the drums, and the piercing saxophone made the experience one of a kind.  Its hard to find new, original musicianship in a world crowded with internet sensations, but this particular show was an excellent example of both.  With Two Fresh finishing up the night, followed by a collaboration from the two bands simultaneously, it was an exhilarating way to finish off a night of good music, with an excited group of people who refuse to just accept music that is thrown at them by popular culture.  This is a truly talented group of individuals who deserve to be heard.

Story By:  Chris Hemstreet

Check out the list of bands and their MySpace’s to hear more great music:

Big Gigantic: http://www.myspace.com/biggigantic

Two Fresh: http://www.myspace.com/twofreshbeats

The Malah: http://www.myspace.com/themalah

INDIGoSUN: http://www.myspace.com/underanindigosun

And a list of future events at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago, IL can be found at:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000472704412&ref=ts

Spoon has not released an album for some time, almost 3 years. It would be an understatement to say that they possess a dedicated following which has been clamoring for new material in that relatively substantial gap. And for good reason, Spoon has released more than their share of stellar albums, and a couple indie-classics, and are commonly regarded as one of the best bands of the 00’s. Their latest musical incarnation is Transference; and unlike earlier albums, this one is produced by Britt Daniel and Jim Eno (a.k.a. the lead singer/writer of all the songs and the drummer). For this reason much was wondered about what this approach this album was going to take.

The album opener immediately strikes one as odd, not only for Spoon but for any band. It’s a sluggish track recorded with a lo-fi sound, titled “Before Destruction,” and it is an overall subdued song and devoid of the vigor usually inherent within their openers. It is also apparent that they are taking on larger life issue as one can tell by Britts opening lines, “Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty / Everyone loves you for your black eye.” It’s most definitely an atypical choice to start with, and surely designed to catch listeners off guard and communicate that this album’s aim might be unalike their previous ones. Yes, its true that on their prior albums they never began with complete rompers, however, their opening songs always had a sort of distinct-catchy-inertia that made them a solid beginning choice (like with “Don’t Make me a Target” on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and “The Beast and the Dragon Adored” off Gimme Fiction). Yet this song feels distinctly more like an album closer, and while there is value in catching your audience off guard, it seems outweighed by the awkwardness of the choice. As the next song begins, we quickly see that the tone of introspection continues, it’s a very short song titled “Is Love Forever?” in which Britt questions “When I’m older, start to wonder was that love or instinct working? Have I felt it ever? What’s the object? Is love forever?”

The first song that really speaks ‘Spoon’ is the 3rd, “The Mystery Zone.” It has that great crisp, swinging, deceptively simple, toe-tapping rhythm that we have come to expect, and love, with this band. It is what they do so well; they can sit in the pocket like few others can. There is a cool minimization to only drums in the song, at which point it appears like maybe an interesting little psych-jam is in the works, but then this momentum is suddenly cut and the song reverts back to its old form anticlimactically. They are indeed being mysterious, but at 5 minutes, the song is just awkwardly long for a relatively in-dynamic song; and then ends so abruptly, as if to make it overtly clear that the normal rules have been temporarily abandoned.

“Who Makes Your Money” is the next number and it arrives with great drum and vocal interplay, with cool periphery sonic effects and just the right amount of subtle psychedelia throughout. It might be the gem of the album; it’s a great example of their ability to effortless groove. In the song the lyric ‘Who Makes Your Money’ is recorded, and played numerous times, but is effected so that at times it sounds like “Who makes your mind?” This juxtapositions of meaning achieved through a mixing technique is just wonderfully effective and is edivence of the production skills of Britt and Jim. This song also has a great breakdown/closeout, with the astute addition of a shaker, which adds a great Spoon’ish swagger. It seems that in this song they followed their former songwriting techniques, and the results were solid.

Overall though, the A-side is a little bit of an emotional downer and seems peculiarly designed, although none of the songs stand out as clearly “bad” and it may contain the best single track. Spoon’s best attribute has always their grasp of the rock-simple, and their ability to mold that time-and-time-again into songs that strut with style and class. Yet I think in a couple tracks on the A side they replace this grasp of the simple with a sort of subtle forced minimalism & deviation from their past.

In the end the B-side comes off as the better planned of the two. Although, like the first side, it has a pensively reflective sound to it throughout. It begins with “I Saw the Light”, which kicks off with great swing. Then oddly it morphs completely, midway through, into a quickly paced instrumental jam of sorts with a grand piano leading the way. It’s a great jam and that builds well and the incorporation of the grand piano is a choice addition, and it’s one of the surprises of the album, but unusual in the way it’s almost hidden behind another song within the middle of the album. It’s another instance of how this album is a conscious practice of the unorthodox. ”Trouble comes Running,” the second song of the B-side, is another song with a lo-fi feeling to it, but this time it translates better and the result is a pleasantly stomping song that contains high enthusiasm yet still has an overall hushed sound and attitude through the deceptively simple production techniques used. The sound and lyrics come off as if Britt is being forthright and reticent at the same time, which could be said of many moments within the album.

The next number, “Goodnight Laura,” is a piece with just Britt and his grand piano. It’s a pretty sleepy song, but pleasantly emotive and with that feeling that its just you and Britt in the room. It may be the first one of that manner they have recorded also. It also probably would have been the most appropriate song to end the album with, if they were interested in that sort of thing. “Out go the Lights” is a reserved song, that is classic Spoon in the way emotional sounds swirl around an unchanging beat, and upon repeated listening is a number that can grow on a listener. “Got Nuffin” is not downtempo at all, and is the closest thing to a party song on the album, although it still has a quasi-melancholy feel to it as Britt tells us he has “Got nothing to lose but darkness and shadows / Got nothing to lose but loneliness and patterns.” Even when they rock out, they are still contemplatively brooding. And while this song is a fine one, it probably would have rounded out the album better had it not been released 6 months ago as a single and been well known already.

As if in memento to the feeling of uncertainty within the album it ends with “Nobody Gets me but You,” which initially sounds like Spoon doing some sort of Talking Heads impression with electric drums and bass line interacting in a very 1980’s fashion. They began the album with a surprise, so why not end with one? Yet while it may sound 80’s, its no party song; Britt ends the song and album by asking, “Do they get me / Do they get me like you? / Nobody / Nobody / NO / Nobody.”

It is very apparent that Spoon intended to release an album here that was unalike anything done by them prior. In fact it’s an album done unlike most altogether. There are a couple lo-fi sounding songs, a couple clean-swinging “traditional Spoon” songs, a hidden jam of sorts, a song with just piano and vocals, not to mention the anomalous track ordering. What is so odd about this is that the production technique and philosophy varies from song to song, something most of us are totally unaccustomed to. Spoon once sounded like well-crafted garage-lo-fi, but not since 1998’s A Series of Sneaks, since then it’s been a consistently waxy & polished sound. So to randomly jump between these two production styles, and then throw in a few novel ones, is really quite surprising.

Upon first listen most Spoon fans will be caught off guard by the subdued sound of the songs and the almost mid-life-crises feeling behind the lyrics. While people new to the band will probably either find it eclectic or just assume that this band is random by nature. With further & repeated listening, though, this album starts to reveal itself as an interesting peak into the world of a man, and a band, in a substantial period of transition, reflection, and questioning. And that amalgam of seemingly unfitting musical pieces, under the umbrella of the utter confusion inherent in moving through life, actually starts to coalesce in its own unique way. Its no wonder the album is titled Transference, with a picture of a slouching adolescent looking like he doesn’t want to be where he currently is.

All of those positives being said, Spoon has created better albums, and they probably could have profited from the check and balance that a producer (one whose not also in the band) brings to an album. However, that seems like it would have flown in the face of the mentality of this work, or possibly the necessity of this work for the band members themselves. So in conclusion, while this album is good – for Spoon, it’s not great. Yet that is okay, one may happily keep listening to Spoon’s Transference and enjoy it as an observance of uncertainty put to music. Nevertheless, for Spoon’s sake, and ours, let’s hope that they are in Transference towards something, and won’t remain in doubtful limbo for the next album. Because they are have more musical potential than most.

By Sean Poynton Brna

SeanBrna@gmail.com

You may repost this article, as long as you leave the author’s information and link back to this site, thank you!

It was undoubtedly a full house at the Metro Thursday night for St. Vincent, and a genially excited crowd it was at that. St. Vincent is the moniker for the musician Annie Clark, who has previously been a member of the Polyphonic Spree and toured with Sufjan Stevens’ band. She is well known to be an accomplished musician with multiple instruments.

She came out looking beautiful in a simple dress with interesting shoulder ruffles, holding her red, white and black electric guitar (I was curious which instrument she would come out with). Her dress would at times appear black, and at other times a deep red, depending on the lighting (a very cool effect indeed). She opened with “Strangers”, the opening track off her newest album, “Actor.” For the most part it sounded similar to the album version, with its quick kick drum keeping time over other slower moving sounds, as Annie often told us to “paint the black hole blacker.” Yet she sang it in a different time, cleverly falling slightly behind or in front of the beat, yet never losing her place, which sounded pleasantly different than the album version.

She then went into the second song off her latest album, “Save me from what I want.” Again this song uses vocal stylings that don’t, on the surface, appear to match the quicker time of the music, yet this is where St. Vincent shines. She also decided to show off some of her flexibility as she employed a very cool guitar break own within the song, again something else that wasn’t found on the album version.

She seemed to be totally relaxed and in complete control over her music on the stage in front of the anticipating capacity crowd at the Metro. She at one point gave a witty explanation of why Ice Cube’s “Today was a Good Day” is one of her favorite songs, and then somewhat comically transitioned this explanation into her playing a highly emotive solo cover of Nico’s “These Days.” This song was the slow moving highlight of the evening, as she put a very personal twist on a deceptively simple song.

That being said, there were many other quiet moments within her performance that I found imprudent. I understand that Annie Clark’s voice is sultry sweet, and it’s beautiful. Yet a mellow voiced musicians playing mellow music is nothing exceptional, especially not in the indie world. But it’s when the smooth maturity of her voice, which communicates some sort of alluring disordered innocence, is juxtaposed with either gritty, intense or quickly moving sounds that her music jumps out and demands attention. This was a fact not lost on the audience. It was on her swiftly paced numbers such as “Marrow,” and “Actor out of Work” that one could really feel the energy of the room respond, as if people were saying “this is what we came for!”

Also, she was playing to a completely packed house (and therefore warm) of people standing on their feet. In this situation it is highly unadvisable to play numerous downtempo songs in succession, as happened a couple times this evening. Had we all been sitting, it might have been more acceptable. In addition, in her performance just as her album, it would have helped to space out the first few energetic songs throughout the evening instead of presenting them at once, which creates for a “come down” of sorts in the course of the performance.

Nonetheless, it was still a formidable performance, and one in which this author walked away very impressed with the musicianship of St. Vincent. She didn’t stick to the album versions of her songs, she connected with her audience, and she clearly played her heart out. Yet, should she continue to explore more so the plainly enjoyable contrast between her placid voice and her more energetic musical creations (as she did on this last album much more than the previous one), she will find her true niche and continue to positively grow. I look forward to my next encounter with St. Vincent, because I have a feeling it might be completely different from this one.

by Sean Poynton Brna.

Feel free to re-post this blog, just leave the authors name and link back to this site, thanks!

Organizations are going to need to develop greater central missions and community outcomes. Here is a list of questions that all companies should ask themselves (provided by Ben Cameron of Illinois Arts Alliance):

What is the value of the arts for my community?

What is the value the arts alone bring or bring better than anyone else? In this economy especially?

How would my community be damaged if my organization were to close it’s doors tomorrow?

How can my organization be optimally structured and positioned to be my communtiy’s best?

By taking arts organizations and transforming them into strong social opinions, causes, and outreach to the community will ultimately transform every sector of the arts. I especially liked the last bullet point he mentioned in his list of questions, “And how can my organization be optimally structured and positioned to be my community’s best conduit to the arts—a question that invites us not to jettison all we do, but to keep what is most central and viable, to expand to embrace the new possibilities we may not have seen before, and to discard past behaviors that do not and will not serve us in the future, regardless of how they may have served us in the past”.

Economic turmoil can be found in every single sector of the arts. A huge industry that has been affected is the concert & festival production industry. With that said, the turmoil is directly linked to arts sponsors budget cuts, and vendor budget cuts which ultimately affects the entire process of finding the best acts to perform. Not only are corporate budgets being cut but even AEG admits that “they are seeing a lower attendance at every show across the board”. It is apparent that a lot of the corporate concert promotion companies are being the most affected by the economic downfall.

With the record industry collapsing, it forces musicians to find another stream of revenue, live performance. Even though the record industry has collapsed it gives live concert production companies more business. Finding new ways to organize live music is the new trend. Many smaller independent concert & festival companies are on the rise finding different ways to integrate live music with live art, social activism, and other forms of entertainment in the arts.

The economic turmoil could bring about a lot more creative and strategic thinking. Arts organizations have to be smart and use every resource they have to do things cheaply and together. No matter what, people will always want to see live performances. The experience of surround sound live sound, the energy and enthusiasm of others enjoying the same show, the lighting and visual effects, I could go on and on, will always be a demand. Adding more than the feature performance could draw not only a wider audience but the value of the ticket would increase.

Ultimately I believe, every problem has a solution and every problem is temporary. The key is not fighting the changes and enhancements of technology, or the uncontrollable fact that right now people just plain aren’t spending money. Really recognizing future trends, and working with the resources that are available can help the arts overcome their personal economic battle.

My first passion in life is to create awareness and activism about a large number of different social, political and environmental issues that I’m quite knowledgeable about. This passion of mine intertwined with my love for music and the arts have made me realize that I must promote these issues through music and art. Coming up with the perfect strategy to intertwine the two and interest young people is something I am constantly trying to develop.

In my industry there have been many attempts to promote environmental issues through music festival’s but I think it could be gone about in a better way. Also many smaller concerts have been combining eye-opening, mind expanding live art presentations. One company called Pivotal in Chicago actually “greens” events. They will take an average event and make it completely carbon free. Businesses like this are ever-growing and I believe these types of companies are the future of the concert and festival industry.

Personally I couldn’t begin to fathom a community without arts organizations. Art gives a community a portal for individual expression. It ultimate expression of creativity and without creativity new ideas wouldn’t be developed. The arts not only helps to expand ideas but it also inspires and calms people. A community can be shaped and transformed by different forms of artistic expression. The balance of logic and abstract is essential to the human existence.

By: Shayna Gladstone

shayna.gladstone@gmail.com