Sir Paul & the coffee shop

Paul McCartney's newest project, Memory almost full, is being released today - on the brandnew Starbucks "Hear Music" record label. In celebration Starbucks is playing the new CD all day long in its more than 10,000 stores in 29 countries. The album will be sold at most Starbucks stores worldwide, in all major music retailers, and on Apple Inc.'s iTunes online store, making it the first of McCartney's 21 solo albums to be released digitally.

I am writing this as I sit at a Richmond, VA, Starbucks, and so far I have heard about half the CD. Most people don't spend hours and hours in Starbucks - but for those of us who use it as our office away from home, it likely will become a bit monotonous today. It's enjoyable, but I doubt I would listen to it much if it wasn't Paul of the Beatles. It is, however, a great marketing stunt - great exposure both for McCartney and for Hear Music. For a good synopsis, read CNN's article about Memory almost full.

James

"I would advise you to keep your overhead down; avoid a major drug habit; play everyday, and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it, and you need them to hear it."

James Taylor

Back to school

I usually do not write a lot of personal info on this blog - but I wanted to make an exception today. For the past year I have been consulting at Thomas Dale High School in Chester, VA - working with the orchestra students on putting together a benefit concert for a local teenage cancer patient. The students worked on everything from song selection to arrangements, from poster and T-shirt design to the actual program, and from radio interviews to marketing and advertising. The result was a fantastic concert - performed by the Thomas Dale High School Orchestra and my band, Offering - with songs like My Immortal (Evanescence), Suddenly I see (KT Tunstall), and Sweet dreams are made of this (Eurythmics). It was unique in many ways - amazing original arrangements for rock band and orchestra and students taking the lead on a large chunk of the project being just two of them. If you are in the Central Virginia area, make sure you don't miss the concert next year, and for those of you who aren't - maybe we'll do some kind of an internet broadcast, or at least post something on YouTube.

This morning I was back at the school for a follow-up meeting with the students - and to start planning for next year. And since summer vacation is coming up - happy summer to all TDHS orchestra students, and thank you for the fantastic work you guys did! I look forward to making it even better next year. And congratulations to the graduating seniors..... I will miss working with you guys!

Gladys Knight - WOW

I actually enjoyed watching Gladys Knight during last week's American Idol finale perform with the top six female contestants of this season. Unlike some of the guest artists and mentors of this season, while she is not the youngest anymore, her voice still sounds amazing, and when I just looked her up on Billboard.com, I saw that she was born in 1944 - she's 63 years old, people! You GO, Gladys!

And did you know that she started performing with the Pips when she was only 8?

My favorite music blog....

.....is one I just found: The Secret Music Life of Kat. Kat, in her own words, is a thirty-something stay at home mom who has lots of ideas and needs an outlet. Her vision for the blog: "I love music. I love technology. I love business. This blog is a repository for ideas that pop into my head, interesting news that I read and hopefully for eventually creating a community of people who are interested in music and helping musicians use technology to promote their art."

I have only been reading her blog since last week, but I am hooked. I can find great music sites, the fantastic "forms to get a musician organized", links to other artists' blogs, concert ideas, info on record labels and on where to get free music - basically Kat rocks! How she does all does while being the mom to two toddlers and one newborn........ no idea! Check out Kat's music blog - you won't regret it.

Suzanne's second life

Singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, who is releasing her first album in six years, Beauty & Crime" on July 17, has become more and more involved with online virtual reality platform Second Life. Last August, Vega performed "Tom's Diner" in avatar form within the world of Second Life.

I have to admit, I signed up for Second Life a few months ago, created my avatar, and checked around a bit - but I never took the time to really figure it out, and while my profile is still active, I have not been there in a while. Second Life is one of those internet places where you have to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the possibilities before you really start functioning well within its boundaries, and this little tidbit about Suzanne is motivating me to take a - no pun intended - second look.

Apple vs the record stores

Amaechi Uzoigwe, head of independent label Definitive Jux, said during this year's NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) convention that he might be more inclined to have an artist appear at an Apple store than at a music store(Source: Billboard, May 12, 2007). He has a point: young music fans are not as inclined to visit a traditional record store as you or I did during our high school and college years. Which leads me to ask the question: where do you buy music? Here's a poll -let me know!

Shock

Melinda is voted off. If you don't know what that means, you have not been watching American Idol this season. Every blog that has anything to do with music has already weighed in to this, but for the record I just want to add to the countless posts: Melinda Doolittle was hands down the best vocalist Idol has ever seen, her being voted off in my eyes is a disgrace, and I am convinced that she will have a fantastic career ahead of her (I am sure there is quite a bit of discussion at different record labels today about potential deals they can offer her). I will watch the finals next week, but I won't enjoy it as much with the best singer out of the competition.

75,774

The U.S. music industry issued 75,774 album titles in 2006, or 15,000 more than the 60,331 albums that came out in 2005. Despite that jump, new-release sales dropped 9.4% last year to 220 million. (Source: Billboard Magazine, May 12, 2007)

We all know by now that physical CD sales are dropping - but still, more than 75,000 new CD releases? In the U.S. alone? Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

However, 55,516, or 73.3% of all new releases last year failed to even sell 100 units. Yikes. And suddenly the fact that our band sold 2400 CDs last year does not sound bad. At all.

Just some statistics for your thoughts.

If a musician plays, and no one listens.....

A few weeks ago I came across an interesting article in the Washington Post about world-class violinist Joshua Bell who played for 45 minutes during the morning rush in the DC metro L'Enfant Plaza station. The question posed in the article is interesting: "Each passerby had a quick choice to make, one familiar to commuters in any urban area where the occasional street performer is part of the cityscape: Do you stop and listen? Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation, aware of your cupidity but annoyed by the unbidden demand on your time and your wallet? Do you throw in a buck, just to be polite? Does your decision change if he's really bad? What if he's really good? Do you have time for beauty? Shouldn't you? What's the moral mathematics of the moment?" Read the article.... it's fascinating!

Save Darfur - the songs of John Lennon

I saw an interesting ad on the back of Billboard magazine this week: a recording project called Instant Karma - The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. It features new recordings of classic John Lennon songs by groups and artists like U2, Avril Lavigne, Corinne Bailey Rae, Snow Patrol, The Flaming Lips, Los Lonely Boys, Christina Aguilera, Green Day, R.E.M., and Lenny Kravitz. The project's goal is "to rally global support for the desperate people of Darfur", according to Yoko Ono.

The project is due in stores and online June 12.

Beatles on iTunes?

It looks like the Beatles' catalogue will finally makes its entrance on iTunes...... Paul McCartney's new album, "Memory Almost Full" will be released June 5 on iTunes and it's expected the Beatles' music will not be far behind. It's about time.....

American Idol - part 2

We're now one week into the finals of American Idol 2007, and I have noticed two things: the absolute supremacy of Melinda and Lakisha, and the amazingly bad efforts of Sanjaya, Brandon, and Haley. Yes, at this point the American public is, at least partly, to blame for three just BAD singers being in the top 12, but what were the judges thinking to advance them over, say, Tami Gosnell? Out of thousands and thousands of auditions, we could not find better options? If the judges keep saying this is a singing competition, as well they should, then that is what the main (not the only, but the main) point should be. And if AI needs back stories and drama, there is plenty to be found in Lakisha (the single mom who is blowing everyone away after what must not have been an easy road so far), Melinda (the back-up singer who is so obviously head and shoulders over almost anyone she has ever sung back-up for), Chris Sligh (who I love - but let's face it, he is not the stereotypical Idol-candidate), and I could go on. And by the way, I love Sanjaya - he is cute, he is sweet, and I think his voice has good potential. He is just not ready to be on that stage and there is no shame in that.

Going back to my first point, if anyone stops Melinda and Lakisha from making it into the finals (unless they really mess up vocally one week) - then it's all the more clear that AI is not a singing competition. So here's to Melinda and Kiki, reaching 1 and 2 and staying on top of the music world for a long time to come. And to a good record contract for Blake and Chris S., and someone to take Jordin under their wing so that she has the chance to become the amazing that she shows all the potential of having.

American Idol

This is the first season I have - sort of - watched American Idol since the first episode. To be honest, I Tivo it and then watch bits and pieces, especially the results. Most of the people I know who watch American Idol in my circle of friends love the first rounds the best - they love seeing the people who think they can sing but really can't, they love the entertainment of those first audition episodes. I, on the other hand, mostly enjoy the later rounds where the real singing, and performance, competition starts. I love seeing the progress the contestants make, and I will be spending increasing times in front of my TV the coming three months. For those of you who watch American Idol - which part of the competition do you enjoy most?

Grammy's - part two

Well, I obviously was not entirely in tune with the voters from the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences :). The one group I left out completely and that ended up the major winner Sunday night of course was the Dixie Chicks, and while they have never been much on my radar screen, I have to admit that I gained a new appreciation for them during the Grammy Awards Show. I love tight harmonies, and the Dixie Chicks do harmonies very well.

The one artist I really wish had ended up with a Grammy is KT Tunstall - her entire project "Eye to the telescope" is fantastic, in opinion, and she is one example of an artist who has been working long and hard for the success she has now finally attained - it would have been nice to have seen that rewarded with a Grammy. But hey, I think she is in this for the long haul and I have a feeling this will not be the last time we have seen KT on the Grammy nominee list.

Grammy Awards

For personal and work reasons I have not had the time to keep up this blog the past three months, but it's a new year, with lots of new music, and I am excited about that..... so I am starting this blog up once again.
This weekend of course is dedicated to the Grammy Awards - tonight live on tv. I will miss the first hour of the show - or rather, I will Tivo it, because I want to see the Police perform during the opening sequence of the program! - because my own band is playing tonight and we won't be home until about 9:30 pm, but there will be plenty left to see in the last half of the broadcast.


Who is going to win? No idea. Who should win? Here are my personal favorites:

Record of the year: Mary J. Blige "Be without you" - I hope that Mary J. Blige will be THE comeback story of the year at the Grammy's. I love how she has reinvented herself, and I love her sound, and I can't wait to see her perform tonight!

Album of the year: John Mayer "Continuum" Because I just LOVE John Mayer. Period.

Best new artist: Carrie Underwood - I think she has proven to be way more than the 2005 American Idol.

Song of the year: "You're beautiful" James Blunt - Maybe it's corny, but this is a great song, and a great breakthrough, and Blunt both co-wrote and performed the song, which is not easy and I have a lot of admiration for.

Best Female Pop Performance: this one is hard for me. A tie between KT Tunstall's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", and Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten. I love both songs and artists. Can we give out two first places here? Please?

Best Male Pop Performance: "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter. Yeah, yeah, American Idol ran this one into the ground. But I love the song and it's infectiously funny, I love hearing it, I love singing it. I think Daniel deserves it!

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal: The Fray "How to save a life"

Best Rock song: "Chasing cars" Snow Patrol

There will be a lot more rewards handed out tonight, but these are some of the most prestigious ones. We'll see tonight what the judges decide!

Cello

Like I mentioned in my previous posting, the cello is one of my favorite instrument. I love cello concertos, I love using the cello in our own music, I love the sound alone and in ensembles..... I wish I could play cello! since I can't, I settle for listening to a lot of cello music, and am very happy we have a cellist as a part of our band.

Daniel Barenboim

My parents introduced me to classical music at an early age, and even though my own music work is firmly in the rock/contemporary realm, I have never lost my love and appreciation for classical music. My favorite instrument: cello; composer: tie between Beethoven and Dvorak; orchestra: Concertgebouworchestra, Amsterdam. I am taking a course on web design at Berklee College of Music online - very challenging for me, since I had no prior experience or skill in the area - and have been researching lots of websites to get an idea of what I like and don't like in web design and sites, and realized there is a plethora of classical music sites and musician sites. A favorite - because it has an extensive blog associated with it: Daniel Barenboim website. Daniel Barenboim is a world-famous conductor whose first wife, Jacqueline Du Pre, was one of the great cellists of the 20th century (she passed away after a long battle with multiple sclerosis in 1987). He is a fascinating conductor, musician, and person.

Community

This is not a specific music-themed post, but more an observation of how much the internet has contributed to creating and maintaining communities over the past few years. Blogs, Podcasts, MySpace, Facebook, the examples are almost endless. This blog is new, but I can see that there are a lot of people from all over that have visited it. If you read this, leave a comment, and keep coming back!

MySpace

I used to think that MySpace was the place where people had a site who could not afford a "real" site...... boy was I ever mistaken! With almost every band having a MySpace presence (take your pick, U2, Collective Soul, Diana Krall to name a few examples/genres), and hundreds of thousands of smaller indie bands joining in the fray, MySpace has become a veritable force in the music industry. Most bands establish a site and then let it run its own course, but there are some artists that make great strides through MySpace. Check out Mandi Perkins for an artist who is using MySpace to its full potential. And hey, this is my blog, so I can mention my own band's MySpace page, right? Here you go: Offering MySpace.