The Importance of the Live Show

Amy Winehouse has gone completely over the deep end.

Check out this video of her performance of "Rehab" from last week's Glastonbury 2008 where she is obviously uncontrollably under the influence and actually hits a fan in the audience!

As funny and ridiculous it is to watch, it's really sad to see such a successful Grammy award-winning musical artist slowly waste any talent or hard work she's already accomplished. She can't even start the song correctly and tries to blame it on her drummer. Watching this video inspired me to think about the importance of the live show for musical artists.

With CD sales dropping by the year, musical artists rely more than ever on touring and their live show. It's where they'll find the money to sustain being an artist in a very competitive industry, selling tickets, merchandise, music. At the center of all this is the fans and their support of their favorite artists. Major labels have started realizing this in the past couple years and are trying to cash in on artists with their 360 Deals- agreements that the label takes a percentage of tour/merch sales in return for having artists on their labels. Some artists have completely left their labels in favor for concert promoters. Last October 2007, Madonna announced that she was leaving Warner Music to be the founding artist for the new music division Live Nation Artists. Now more than ever, the live show is the most important part of being a musical artist. 

So then why are some of the highest top-charting artists completely disregarding this?

Remember last year's incident with Akon tossing a kid off stage which caused another kid to have a concussion? Let me refresh your memory:

All that because the kid threw something on stage at him. Akon was in trouble again earlier this year for pulling a 15 year-old girl on stage and started simulating sex and molesting her. What is he thinking?

When I pay to go to a concert, I'm expecting to see the best performance possible from the artist performing and nothing less- I mean, it's their job, right? In 2003, the band Creed was sued for ticket refunds because members were to stoned to finish multiple songs. Now flash forward today and we have performances like Amy Winehouse's stumbling show at Glastonbury 2008. I would want my money back- especially if she elbowed me in the face!

I want to thank all the musical artists out there that work hard- in the studio and on stage. That is what being successful and respected in the industry is all about. Hopefully Ms. Winehouse can regain control of her life soon or we'll have more videos to laugh at on Youtube. (On second thought, maybe it's not that bad of an idea:)

The Beatles on Guitar Hero/Rock Band?

That's right folks. Looks like representatives of The Beatles from Apple Corps and EMI have been in discussions with Activision and MTV Games, makers of Guitar Hero and Rock Band respectively, to bring The Beatles catalog into the video game world, according to yesterday's report in the Financial Times. 

I find this news story very interesting. The Beatles catalog is considered the Holy Grail of digital licensing, with people waiting for the day for Beatles music to be released on iTunes. If and when it is released on iTunes, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that billions of downloads will result.

Then why release it digitally through Guitar Hero and Rock Band first?

There's also no doubt in my mind that it'd be a huge success if released on those video games, but at the same time it'd be riskier than releasing them through iTunes before. Guitar Hero and Rock Band have options to download music, even full albums, to strum to via guitar, but fans cannot transport the music to a music player. It'd also wouldn't be as successful as releasing them through iTunes because of the amount of people (and age/sex group) who own Guitar Hero/Rock Band compared to those who have iTunes accounts. Is there some plan we, the public, are not in on yet?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I'm excited. I just find it a very interesting move.

Maybe Apple Corps and EMI want to introduce The Beatles to a newer generation in a completely different way than it has ever done before. It will definitely work. The Guitar Hero series has been introducing new and old, almost forgotten, music to fans since 2005, reviving the rock genre from it's sleepy existence. Not to say that The Beatles music is living a sleepy existence. Not by any means. But it is an interesting way to bring music to the masses.

I guess I am just surprised and excited to see that someone is taking a risk in the industry. We'll have to wait and see what comes of these reports... I have to say, Playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps on Rock Band would pretty much rock my shit.

AthFest 2008: The Last Day

After yesterday was over, I had to get some rest, but now I'm up and ready to blog!

The day started off a little later around noon. Good for me because my ears were still ringing from the night before. I need to remember to bring ear plugs.

...nah.

Around 1:00, Lefty Williams performed a great set. From where I was working, I could only listen to his music. After reading his bio, I learned that this Atlanta native was born without a right hand but had been playing guitar since he was four. That's some serious God-given talent. He delivered some funky, blues flavored music to the start of the day.

I managed to catch iMOYUBA! on the second stage later in that day and Im glad I did. They're a unique percussion quartet playing some mean Haitian and Cuban music on the congas. They had listeners dancing and hula hooping in the streets.

I took a break in the Budweiser Tent and watched an intense game of beach volleyball inside. It involved many head shots and knocked over beers. 

I also got to see the Heaven and Hell Car that's been touring the nation for 10 years now. By local Athens resident Chris Hubbard, the awesome car has been winning art car show awards all across the U.S.

The final band to play at Athfest was Dubconscious on the main stage. This eclectic six-piece band drew a huge crowd with its funky, bass-heavy reggae sound. They've been making a name for themselves performing at festivals like Wakarusa and Bonnaroo and bringing a great and unique sound to the Athens scene. We definitely need more reggae here in the Classic City.

There was a huge rumor about R.E.M. making a surprise performance at the end of this year's AthFest. For about 10 minutes, I was seriously getting excited, but after a few phone calls, it was given the real news. Everything made sense though, since they just performed in Atlanta the night before. Oh well, it was fun getting texts from friends asking about it though. Maybe in the future?

Overall the day was awesome and the weather was great. Up until the very last minute: we were just about done tearing down and packing and the skies started pouring like a waterfall. I was soaked! But that couldn't keep me from having the best weekend I've had in Athens in a very long time.

AthFest 2008 was a very successful year and I am so honored that I was able to be a part of it. Thanks to all the awesome bands and the great people I was able to work with and I can't wait till next year!

Now back to my regularly scheduled blogging;)

AthFest 2008: Day Three, Baby.

Forget about what I did today- who gives a shit? I'm going straight to the awesome bands I saw throughout the day:

I got a chance to catch Heidi Hensley Band earlier in the day. It featured local Athens legend, John Keane (far right on stage), producer for bands including R.E.M., Indigo Girls, and Widespread Panic. It's always a blast to get to hear John on guitar on stage. The band definitely set up a chill atmosphere for the day's events.

Next band that rocked my socks was Blue Flashing Light. Man, they can really kill it live. They've been rocking all around the world, including being invited to perform all over China last year. Since coming back from China, they've been involved with the UGA Music Business Program Student-Run Record Labels and performed at the SRRL Showcase this past April, where they rocked the Melting Point in Downtown Athens. These guys are awesome and I can't wait to see them make it big across the nation. After listening to them again today, I finally realized that they sort of remind me of the band Live, especially Ian Schwarber's voice. Awesome job guys!

Hells yes- I bought their CD "ShadowBoxing" and got Ian to sign the cover and this is what he wrote. He's been working a lot for AthFest and doing a great job as Promotions Chair. If you're reading this, Ian, you rock man. And thanks for the ticket;)

Modern Skirts closed the main stage tonight as the headlining band for Saturday, and close it they did- Washington street was PACKED! They played crowd favorites along with new songs that will be on their new album coming this August. About time! I've been waiting for a new album for awhile. These guys know how to put on a great concert and everyone in the crowd was having a great time. 

I've been wanting to make it out to see We Versus the Shark for ages now and tonight I finally got to. Put it simply: We Versus the Sharks fucking rocks. They began performing around midnight at 40 Watt and the rest was history. It's hard to explain, but these guys are so clean and so distorted at the same time. The sound just melted my face off! They also had great stage presence and I could tell they loved what they were doing. Of course, I had to pick up their CD. Can't wait to see them live again, hopefully soon.

After WVTS, Cinemechanica came out and burned the place down with their awesome set. These guys are just so awesome live, I couldn't recommend enough to go to one of their shows. I first got to see them last fall when they played at Nuci's Space as a part of the UGA Music Business concert groups I was a part of and since then they've been one of my favorite bands ever. That show was Nuci's Space's highest attending benefit concert they ever had and once you see them live you'll completely understand why. They're souring melodies and ever changing rhythms had everyone at 40 Watt bobbing their heads and jumping tonight. At the end, the crowd was cheering them to come back out and play and we convince them to have an encore performance playing "Yen" which completely shut out AthFest as the best encore performance this weekend. I'm sure people could feel the sounds all the way to Tasty World.

We managed to sell most of the merchandise. I listened to some absolutely amazing bands today right here in Athens, Ga. My feet are about to fall off. I love what I'm doing and I'm excited about being in the music business. My ears are ringing.

Today was a good day:)

AthFest 2008: Day Two!

The day started up with setting up all the outdoor stages for the event and all the vendors setting up their huts. I spent most of the afternoon icing down drinks so they'd be cold by the time the first band played around 5.

Mmmm... well, not really. I stuck with the water.

I got to listen to all the bands on the main stage today, which was great because they were all pretty awesome! The notable ones were Kite to the Moon, Five Eight, Down with the Woo, and Dark Meat. I actually got a couple of Down with the Woo's CDs so once I get a chance, I'll have to check them out.

Here's a picture of Five Eight performings. Oh and I tried to take a crowd shot, but I got a picture of a girl looking awkward instead:

God only knows what she was confused about.

Dark Meat, tonight's headliner, proved to be pretty awesome, featuring 15+ members on stage. Very bluesy Psych-folk sound. They've been on the road touring for the past couple of months after they landed a deal with Vice Records and tonight marks their welcome home to Athens in awhile. A welcome it was- downtown Athens was pretty packed, especially for a Summer day. Dark Meat definitely helped welcome attendees to the night festivities all over town and this weekend.

Well I managed to get to see Contraband, even though it was their last song:( better luck next time. Curiously, they played music from Ninja Gaiden and not Contra. Oh well, awesome nonetheless.

Today was an awesome day and I can't wait to start it all over it again tomorrow! Er... later today! Now I shall sip on a beer:)

Athfest Kick-Off Party!

My first taste of Athfest 2008 was pretty delicious!

Today marked the official beginning of the 12th Annual Athfest Music and Arts Festival in the beautiful downtown Athens. To kick-off the awesome weekend ahead, there was a kick-off party in the patio area of Farm 255. I took a good friend of mine and had a great time relaxing listening to great music. Many of the board members of the festival were present along with their guests and some local musical artists like Ian Schwarber of Blue Flashing Light and Allison Weiss. Delicious hors d'oeuvres and wine was served to attendees. It was pretty tasty:) For our hungry ears eager for this weekend, The Josh Perkins Experiment provided some great music for the party. I'll have to catch them again sometime this weekend if I get a chance.

After the party we headed to the Morton Theater where the 2008 Flagpole Athens Music Award Show was being held and hung out at the merch booth. You could hear the sweet cadences of UGA Redcoat Drumline performing even outside. Just hearing them makes me excited about the Fall football season:) Anyway,  I was able to get a t-shirt and my staff lanyard from the merchandise chair, Paul Thomas, and check out some of t-shirt designs we worked on a couple of months ago. One of my ideas made it on a shirt! it's minor but cool. I'll get a picture of it tomorrow. The designs are pretty cool, so if you're reading this, definitely pick one or two or three up!

I'm really pumped about tomorrow. I get to watch and help the festival get set up and rolling. Gotta get some serious sleep for the long and awesome day ahead!

My Adventure Through Athfest 2008!

It's only a couple of days away! The 12th Annual Athfest Music, Arts, and Kids Festival will be taking over Downtown Athens, Ga (home of artist legends like REM and the B-52's) from June 18th through the 22nd. 

Athfest is an awesome 501 nonprofit annual music festival that is tailored for local Athens bands, big and small, and to educate and promote the arts culture of Athens as a whole. Past featured acts have included Beyond Tomorrow, The Whigs, and Drive By Truckers. This year's featured bands are Modern Skirts, Dubconscious, and Dark Meat, with over 150 bands playing all day on two outdoor stages and various bars downtown. All your favorite local acts will be playing in famous venues like the 40 Watt, the Georgia Theater, and Tasty World.

I've been working as the merchandise assistant for Athfest for the past couple of months and the bulk of my work is during the festival itself. Lucky for me, I will be hanging around the festival all weekend. Lucky for you, I will be blogging daily about my adventures running around the festival taking pictures on my iphone. I will be hanging out mostly around the merchandise booth enjoying the intense Georgia heat, swimming through the humidity:) Come find me if you're in town!

Top 5 bands I want to see (in no particular order) (well, maybe) (okay, yes):

1) Cinemechanica

2) We Versus the Shark

3) Modern Skirts

4) Trances Arc

5) Contraband

For more information on the festival or to see the amazing lineup, check out the Athfest website. 

Stay tuned here and my twitter page for more updates!

Can You Keep A Secret?

While I was eating up all the info in the June 7th issue of Billboard, I noticed an interesting article titled "A Secret No More," which reports about the success of Myspace Music's Secret Shows across the nation. It first started in January of 2006 and is about to host it's 150th show with Gnarls Barkley on June 8th in the Big Apple. In the past, it's hosted such act as Maroon 5, The Killers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ice Cube, Shadows Fall, Relient K, and Moby. How I did not know about this awesome franchise is beyond me (I've been blaming everything on being hooked on watching LOST), so hopefully I'll be enlightening you as well.

Basically, Myspace Secret Shows is a user profile and when a fan signs up as a "friend," the fan will get a bulletin a day or two before a show with something like, "Tomorrow night, The Killers in Las Vegas. First Come, First Serve." The awesome thing is that these shows are smaller and more intimate, offering the core fans more enjoyment. Better yet- these shows are FREE. If you're a human being, free is always a good thing.

I can only see benefits for everyone that brings together these shows.

Myspace. Let's face it. Myspace can be really ugly and overly convoluted with garbage with its ads and user created profiles. The main reason why I still use Myspace is because of its huge popularity in the music industry with Myspace Music. I know I'm not the only one that feels this way. (Yeah, agree me. You know it:) It's no wonder that Secret Shows is Myspace's most successful and longest-lasting music program in its history and the one program with the most user interaction. Secret Shows' main goal is to keep fans coming back and remain active on Myspace Music and it's definitely accomplishing that. 

Musical Acts and their Labels. Bands play these Secret Shows for free in exchange for promotion on Myspace Music, which extra costs absorbed by the label as a marketing and promotional expense. Myspace usually contacts labels for established bands that are already on tour or has recently released to be featured for the shows. I think this a good deal for bands and their labels. Because of Myspace's large social network that they can pull from, Secret Shows are guaranteed to fill an entire venue, even with the limited time restraint of bulletin announcements. Plus promotions and marketing is always a good thing, especially in this industry. These shows are a great way to give back to the core fans of bands that want an intimate performance from their favorites.

Clubs/Venues. It's win/win for these guys because they get all of the revenue from drink sales at the bar and bragging rights that Gnarls Barkley played at their bar. Every club would do anything to bring big acts from Secret Show's roster to their place.

You and I. Did I already mention that these shows are free? You'll be able to enjoy the bands better because of the smaller, intimate venues they will play in, which will definitely prove to be much more memorable. Plus you might receive one of the rad posters for the show.

Myspace made a wise decision with Secret Shows and the best part about it is that everyone wins! Myspace gets more hits, bands get more promotions, clubs get more people drunk, and you and I have more gas money! Got any more points I missed? Share it in the comments section!