• The Monthlies – Come on Eileen

    20Apr
    Categories: For Musicians, H.O.T. News, Industry news, Mastering, Mixing, Music Marketing, Music Reviews View Comments

    For about two years now I’ve been working with a fantastic LA based indie/pop band named The Monthlies. Over the past few weeks we’ve been putting the finishing touches on their upcoming EP titled “Horror Flick“, which will include a very cool version of Dexys Midnight Runner’s ‘Come on Eileen’. If you search YouTube for this song you will see that several groups have covered it, but most versions are similar to the original. Not this one!

    The Monthlies, in doing what they do best, have put their own unique spin on this 80’s pop standard. I won’t say much about what you’re going to hear other than if you are expecting an updated rehashing of the Dexys version you’re in for a big surprise. We hope you enjoy The Monthlies version of ‘Come on Eileen‘ and please leave a comment below if you’d like to share your thoughts with the band.

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    The Monthlies are…
    Wes O’lee – Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
    Jana Bonderman – Lead Guitar
    Chris Hall – Bass, Backing Vocals
    Nick Miller – Drums

    If you like what you hear check out their MySpace page for more songs and a video of their last single, Hip Girl.

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  • Connect with fans

    18Mar
    Categories: For Musicians, Industry news, Music Marketing, Other stuff View Comments

    I think we all know that Trent Reznor has done some very cool things for his fans on his own, without a label. Here is a video case study from midem that consolidates all of his efforts into one presentation. What I find most mind boggling is the amount of money he’s made from these efforts. And he isn’t getting a percentage of this, all of the revenue goes straight to him. I’m really not a fan of Trent or NIN, but this is impressive and he’s done an amazing job at turning the industry’s business model upside-down.

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  • The Limousines – Very Busy People

    03Mar
    Categories: For Musicians, Industry news, Music Marketing View Comments

    I’ve been hearing the song Very Busy People on several channels while listening to XM radio. I just looked up the band, The Limousines, and on Wikipedia and it says ” The band’s single “Very Busy People” was released by Universal Republic records but the band is not currently signed to a label”. Huh? Distribution through a label without being represented by that label? Is this new? How will the label make money off of this agreement?

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  • The World’s First Album Cover – Alex Steinweiss’ Greatest Hit

    27Oct
    Categories: For Musicians, Industry news, Music Marketing, Other stuff View Comments

    From Undependent.com

    World's First Album Cover

    While there is no shortage of interest in the album cover medium, there’s no obvious web page out dedicated to the world’s first record cover. I’m apparently I’m not the only one looking for it (See: “Anyone have a scan?“) I’ve seen scattered images from articles about Steinweiss but I’ve not found anything resembling a Shrine.

    Such a noteworthy artifact in the history of mass media screams for its own page. Google returns 300+ results for the phrase “Sgt Pepper’s Album Cover” but nothing definitive for the phrase “First Album Cover.” Here’s my humble stab at such a page.

    For the complete history of the album cover and its creator, just hit Wikipedia or pick up a copy of “For the Record.” Alex Steinwess, a then 23 years old designer, convinced Columbia’s suits to create the first true album cover. Until then, 78s were sold in generic sleeves.Recently, I came across an apparently original edition of this album and was able to pick it up for almost nothing. Someone unwittingly dumped it onto eBay for chump change. I mean, if they’d known what they had, I would’ve at least expected the auction to include “World’s First Album Cover!” and a reserve price of $100, $500, who knows? Instead, I picked it up for less than $30.

    I have been eager to get it posted for all the graphic designers, media theorists and vinyl enthusiasts out there googling “steinweiss +first album cover.” I wanted to get these images out into the world for broader circulation.

    Read the entire article and see more shots of this album cover at undependent.com

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  • Waves Vocal Rider – Genius or just plain lazy?

    22Oct
    Categories: For Musicians, Industry news, Mixing View Comments

    Waves Vocal RiderSo Waves came out with a new plug-in called Vocal Rider and I have one question.

    • Is this plug-in really necessary?

    I guess this may work well in the broadcast world, but they’re pitching it as a mix tool for vocals. To me that means mixing, as in mixing music. Does anyone else feel that the engineer who uses this plug-in is just plain lazy?

    Maybe I’m a little irked because a HUGE part of mixing a song with vocals, especially a lead vocal, is the human placement of the vocal within the track. That requires listening to all the parts of the arrangement and finding the best place for the vocal as the song progresses from beginning to end. That requires feel and emotion from the mix engineer. Can you get that from a plug-in?

    Then again, maybe the real reason I so annoyed is because this could potentially put me out of a job. It’s like the Ronco Rotisserie of audio – “just set it and forget it”.

    To me, I think this may be the laziest plug-in ever created. What do you all think? Feel free to leave a comment below.

    You can read a description of Vocal Rider on the Electronic Musician web site.

    (Side note: I actually have the Ronco Rotisserie and it is awesome! If this plug-in produces the same results I’m screwed.)

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