back

Just got back from Thanksgiving break – and from not being online for eight days, which is probably the longest I have been offline in a long time. So that’s why I was gone….. and now I am working on catching up! Another post in a few minutes . 

websites and press releases

One of the things that I love about being an independent musician is that I get to run our musical life, so to speak – it’s of course also one of the most challenging things about it. That’s also why I am taking Berklee classes. And during these few weeks there are a lot of things that I have to work on for class that are incredibly timely for work as well: we’re redesigning our website (and hiring someone to do the actual design work), we’re issuing several major press releases for big events in the coming six weeks, and we’re working on a functional database. Not to mention podcasts, blogs, and social networking sites. What makes the classes absolutely amazing is that I can immediately put what I am learning into practice – I just sent out a press release that I wrote in class last week to all major Richmond media outlets. We’ll see if it works…..

boston

Tomorrow I am heading to Boston, to see friends and for a day of meetings at Berklee. I am looking forward to it – I’ll get to meet people I have been working with for years but have never met in person. My books are going with me – I am leaving on another trip on Saturday and am trying to get my assignments for this week and next week done by Saturday night….. not sure if I will succeed but I am definitely giving it a shot.

tech stuff

This week we are studying tech and innovation in my Artist Management class at Berklee. I use a decent amount of technology, but I know I can and should do much better. So this week I am burying myself into sites like Digg.com, learn about RSS feeds, and get to know some new ideas even for this blog.

paul potts

I was spending a little time on YouTube tonight, and found the video of Paul Potts’ first performance on Simon Cowell’s “Britain’s Got Talent” this past summer. If you know who Paul Potts is, you know just about how much my jaw dropped – and if you don’t, your jaw is about to. Watch below. This is a phone salesman from Wales with no professional experience up till this competition.

ouch

A study revealed today that most people who downloaded Radiohead’s new album upon its digital release paid nothing for it. Ouch. To be honest, I had not expected that. Read the full article here.

amazing weekend

We just got back from the Fredericksburg retreat where we played this weekend – and it was amazing and wonderful. I always love singing and playing, but there are times when everything just clicks, and this was one of those times. Music can be so much fun, and so fulfilling – and it was all of that the past few days.Major props to Ben Park, who came and played drums for us Saturday night and Sunday morning – without ever even having met us before, let alone having practiced! Ben, you rock! And we hope to play with you again soon! (and maybe even rehearse…. wow….. what a concept)

radiohead revisited

Radiohead just announced that they signed a record deal with British indie label XL Recordings for the physical distribution of their new project. Click here to read the full article.

eva

Today, November 2, is the 11th anniversary of Eva Cassidy’s way-too-early death. I, like many others, did not get to know her music until years after she passed away – the very first I heard her was during a scene in the first season of TV’s “Smallville” – where the producers paired her version of “Time after time” with the funeral of a character’s dad. I did not even catch it on network TV, but rather on DVD a few years later, and I immediately knew I wanted to find out who that amazing voice belonged to.Record labels never quite knew what to do with Eva (her style was deemed “too eclectic”, and she was a singer but not a songwriter), but I don’t know anyone who has heard her voice and has not in some way been touched by it. According to those who knew her, she never had any idea of how good she really was. I wish I had gotten to know her and hear her while she was still alive.And for those of you who have not heard Eva till today – two YouTube clips – one of the Smallville scene that first introduced me to her music, and her version of Somewhere over the rainbow (Live at Blues Alley).

google vs. facebook

Interesting article about Facebook and Google.