This Saturday – Studio @Webster Hall Showcase

Reposted from ‘Knocks from the Underground’

This Saturday, May 29th, Rethink Pop Music presents genre-bending trio Ghost Ghost live at the Studio @ Webster Hall with Heypenny, The Vanguard, True Womanhood, and The Sour Notes. Ghost Ghost will be joined onstage by the unstoppable Charlie Kemmerer on paints, the uneditable Tim Bartlett on live video and the unbelievable Mark Christensen on guitar. Tickets are normally $10 ADV or $12 DOS, but the band teamed up with Knocks for an awesome giveaway: the first fan to email knocksny@gmail.com with their favorite ghost joke wins both tickets! (If you don’t have a good ghost joke, a knock knock joke will do.) Video teaser for the show here.

Ghost Ghost loves you so much that they’re also offering their latest single, “Vassar Days,” for FREE download here. Learn more about the rest of the album, No Clothes on Ragged Island: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay, on their website – they wrote and recorded the entire album in only one week! Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a little history on Edna St. Vincent Millay via a rock album?

Show starts at 8 pm with Ghost Ghost headlining. The Studio @ Webster Hall is located at 125 East 11th Street in New York City.

Buy tickets below or visit: RPM-RSVP.com

Tags: ghost ghost, heypenny, knocks from the underground, music, nyc events, RethinkPopMusic, showcase, the sour notes, the studio at webster hall, the vanguard, true womanhood, webster hall

Whyleaveastoria.com Turns 2 and Wants to Celebrate with You!

Presented by Spaten, in association with RethinkPopMusic, Studio Square, and Thrillist:

On Thursday, April 8th at Studio Square, Why Leave Astoria?! will celebrate two giant milestones, its second birthday and growth topping 4,000 members. The event begins promptly at 7pm at Studio Square–located at 35-33 36th St. Astoria, NY 11106

To honor the event, WLA has partnered with Spaten beer, RethinkPopMusic, Studio Square, and Thrillist to bring Astoria the largest centralized celebration Queens has ever seen. In anticipation of growth over last year’s celebration attended by over 1,000 people, this year’s event features five of the borough’s biggest musical acts and washed down by TEN FREE KEGS of Spaten and Franziskaner beer. The event will also mark the kickoff of Studio Square’s participation in the hugely popular WLA Card program.

Fifteen of the most talked about independent clothing and accessory designers in the borough will be displaying their wares throughout the evening. There will be giveaways and contests as well as performances throughout the evening by Sol Dance Center, CrossFit Queens, and the New York Circus Arts Academy.
There is no cover charge for the event.

EVENT RUNDOWN:

7:00 Red carpet guest arrival hosted by Sunday Morning Mimosa, Performance by Bobby Kane
7:45 Performance by Illimanjaro featuring Hops
8:30 Performance by TJ Moss Band & Pie Boys Flat
10:00 Performance by The Vanguard
11:00 DJ Lo-Fi of ADG, Performance by Sol Dance Studio

The Vanguard
The Vanguard have been featured on Matt Pinfield’s Morning Show on 101.9 RXP. They have played every noteworthy venue in NYC and were featured in a half-dozen SXSW 09 showcases. They also played The Exit festival in Serbia along with a 7 day UK Tour, MPMF in Cincinnati, Miami Music Festival and their video for “Both Sides” was featured on MTVu. SPIN.com named them a buzzworthy up-and-coming band because of their “bubbling melting pot of sounds, influences, and ethnic backgrounds.” With their second EP ‘Playtime!’ about to be released this fall, The Vanguard are gearing up to hit the road for their next international tour.

TJ Moss Band
TJ Moss Band mixes pop, rock, soul, Fenders and firewater to create their own unique brand of rock and roll. This Astoria, Queens based trio recently opened for Joss Stone at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK. They were featured in TimeOut New York magazine for “Battle of the Bands: Brooklyn vs. Queens”, which they proceeded to win. Their song “It’s Over” was featured as the finale-winning performance on Bravo’s hit show, Step it Up and Dance last summer.

Pie Boys Flat
For the last few years the fan base for Patrick, Fitz, and Jason has been growing all over the city, country, and abroad! With their history of playing live shows across the world PBF has truely crafted an original live experience that you don’t find anywhere else. Known for writing songs that cross many genres (from rock ‘n’ roll to reggae, blues to bluegrass, latin rock to jazz funk) they bring all the styles home everytime with very unique arrangements. There’s something different about the voices that these three young musicians put together. But in the end you understand that regardless of how, all these sounds come together underneath the same roof that is so sublimely PIE BOYS FLAT.

Illimanjaro
Formed in 2004 and based in Queens and Brooklyn, Illimanjaro have built a reputation as a power trio with a unique brand of punk/funk-infused hip hop for the young and rowdy. Following the release of their well-received debut album ‘A Problem’ (February 2007) and four-song EP ‘Not Invited’ (February 2008), Illimanjaro are back with their third record entitled ‘Boiling Point’ (December 2009)—featuring eight tracks that bubble with the kind of scorching intensity and raw energy that has made the band such a hair-raising live act.

Bobby Kane
There are few songwriters these days that place so much of their souls into their music; Bobby Kane is one of them. Every lyric of every song comes from life and life experience. From mellow and melodic to furious and un-tamable, his styles trample the guidelines of modern music and then transcends them all. With a unique vocal style and an ear for warm sensual chord structures, the potential to go down in history as one of the “Great Ones” of our age is evident.

For More Information: http://www.whyleaveastoria.com/events/wla-turns-2-4000-member-party

Tags: astoria, event, music, NYC, queens, RethinkPopMusic, spaten, Spaten Beer, studio square, the vanguard, thrillist, why leave astoria

The Aviation Orange @ D.I.Y.Bushwick Music Festival

The Aviation Orange is playing in the inaugural D.I.Y. Bushwick Music Festival on:

Wednesday 3/26 – 11pm at Brooklyn Fireproof – 119 Ingraham St

Thursday 3/25 – 11pm at Bushwick Music Studios - 55 Waterbury St.

C0ming off a huge buzz from SXSW, The Aviation Orange is the must-see band in Brooklyn this week.  Read the details below and buy passes HERE

Official Site

INAUGURAL DIY BUSHWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL CELEBRATING ARTISTIC DIVERSITY AND PERSEVERANCE IN BROOKLYN, NY

“Let the music industry have South By Southwest and the CMJ festival. Brooklyn has its own DIY Music Festival for Brooklynites by Brooklynites.”
- NY POST

Brooklyn, New York – Bushwick Music Studios in association with Deli Magazine and Arts In Bushwick are proud to announce the official schedule for DIY Bushwick, A Musical Festival, taking place March 24-27, in nine venues throughout Bushwick. The inaugural festival will feature Brooklyn-based bands, DJs, and artists performing in alternative Do-It-Yourself spaces just a walk or a bike ride apart. Admission prices range from free to $10 with an average ticket price of $5. Festival passes will be available online for $20, with Friday/Saturday passes available for $10. This is part of an effort by festival organizers to make sure that the events are accessible to all.

Tito Fleetwood Ladd, owner of Bushwick Music Studios, decided to organize the festival in an attempt to galvanize the neighborhood’s flourishing music and arts scene. In the last few years, Bushwick has emerged as a frontier for DIY venues, attracting artists and musicians with the limitless opportunities provided by these raw spaces. Although the scene has been growing for some time, a Bushwick-centered festival of this scale has never been attempted.

Ladd’s vision was that by working together, the Bushwick music scene would ultimately receive more visibility. “There’s this incredible energy and all these cool spaces with amazing talent in Bushwick,” says Ladd, “This is our way of showing that to anyone who wants to pay attention to us. We’re all doing it together.” When he reached out to several venues and organizations in Bushwick, he immediately received enthusiastic support.

Deli Magazine and neighborhood stalwart Arts In Bushwick have both signed on to help coordinate and produce the event. Bushwick Music Studios will be joined by nine spaces including Party Expo, Goodbye Blue Monday, Brooklyn Fireproof, Castle Braid, The Opera House Lofts, House of Yes, Eastern District, and Northeast Kingdom.

Two Brooklyn-based companies have pitched in their efforts: The first, an online gig-booking agency, GigMaven, has been helping to book bands. And the innovative StreamJam will stream the shows live online. The festival is truly a local DIY effort that takes pride in its self-dependence. Corporate sponsors are nowhere to be found. DIY Bushwick is pure grassroots.

The festival kicks off at Wednesday the 24th at Eastern District at 5:00 with a free show!

Passes cost $5 for the day, $10 for Friday and Saturday, or $20 for all four days.

Tags: brooklyn, bushwick, bushwick music studios, diy bushwick, music festival, RethinkPopMusic, SXSW, the aviation orange

SXSW 2010 Showcases – RSVP now!

RethinkPopMusic is hosting two amazing days of officially awesome unofficial awesomeness!

Friday – 3/19 – Fado’s – FREE

http://bit.ly/bi2jra

Join us Friday at Fado’s feat our 6 artists and 6 of the best local Austin bands. Fado’ is located next door to the Filter Magazine Courtyard and will have free Spaten beer, Yak Pak giveaways all day and NO COVER! As an added bonus we have 2 world renown DJs Lindsay Luv of NYC and Jeremy Lloyd of Laissez Faire Club London spinning all day!

Noon - http://www.myspace.com/myeducation
12:40 - http://www.myspace.com/thegloriousveins
1:20 - http://www.myspace.com/zookeepersworld
2:00 - http://www.myspace.com/ohnoohmyband
2:40 - http://www.myspace.com/thesournotes
3:20 - http://www.myspace.com/theaviationorange
4:00 - http://www.myspace.com/eatsugarmusic
4:40 - http://www.myspace.com/thevanguardatmyspace
5:20 - http://www.myspace.com/shuttledebris
6:00 - http://www.myspace.com/ambassadorsband
6:40 - http://www.myspace.com/theyesway
7:20 - http://www.myspace.com/builtbysnow

Saturday – 3/20 – Chupacabra Cantina – FREE with RSVP

Free with RSVP at http://www.RPM-RSVP.com or with wristbands and badges.

RethinkPopMusic and Twogroove Presents: The Officially Awesome Unofficial SXSW day and night party featuring free booze, Yak Pak giveaways all day, Trevor Ray Thompson Photobooth and the following bands and DJs:

Day Bands

2pm Random Ninjas (Los Angeles, CA)
2:45 Jessie Torrisi & the Please, Please Me (Austin, TX)
3:15 Rook (Austin, TX)
4:00 The Yes Way (NYC)
4:45 The Static Jacks (NYC)
5:15 Ambassadors (NYC)

Day DJs

2pm – Greg Poneris (Eat Sugar)
4pm – Jeremy Lloyd (Laissez Faire Club London)

Night Bands

8:00 Whitman (Austin, TX)
8:45 The Vanguard (NYC)
9:30 Frantic Clam (Austin, TX)
10:15 The Aviation Orange (NYC)
11:00 The Factory Party (Houston, TX)
11:45 Eat Sugar (Cincinnati, OH)
12:30am STEREO IS A LIE (Austin, TX)
1:15am Heypenny (Nashville)

Night DJs

8pm – POSR
9pm – Jeremy Lloyd (Laissez Faire Club London)
10 pm DJ Scorpio (EZ Action! Austin)
11 pm Revered Of Rock and DJ B. Wonder Jones (Seattle)
12 am DJ Verse (Seattle)
1 am Kadeejah Streets (Seattle, Innerflight, Black Neon)

FREE with RSVP @ http://www.RPM-RSVP.com

RethinkPopMusic Presents: Ambassadors, The Yes Way, Fugitive Souls, Emily Long and Dinosaur Bones – The Village Voice

A little RPM love over at The Village Voice camp. Reposted from: http://www.villagevoice.com/slideshow/rethinkpopmusic-presents-ambassadors-the-yes-way-and-dinosaur-bones-1655446/

“Five bucks, five bands, free booze” RSVP at http://www.RPM-RSVP.com to enter for only $5 and get a FREE download! RethinkPopMusic’s youngest band Ambassadors, is excited to announce that they are back and stronger than ever after a 2009 full of adversity. Ambassadors’ keyboardist (Casey Harris), who has been blind since birth, had to have a kidney transplant (from his mother) last November. The kidney disorder wasn’t discovered until he was a senior in high school and little is known about the disease because the correlation with vision loss is EXTREMELY rare. However, have no fear! Casey is back to 110% and the time off allowed Ambassadors to incorporate some new instruments into their already outstanding live show. The showcase at Santos Party House on 02/18 will be Ambassadors first since taking 3 months off following a very successful UK Tour and CMJ Showcase. RSVP and RethinkPopMusic will email you a secret link to download their first single “Tropisms” which was featured on mtvU The Freshman. Their self titled debut EP is slated for an early summer release.

Tags: 5 bands 5 bucks free booze, ambassadors, dinosaur bones, emily long, fugitive souls, RethinkPopMusic, santos party house, the village voice, the yes way

My Daily Thread – RethinkPopMusic – B Sides: Live at The Village Lantern – NYC

Our good friends over My Daily Thread were kind to post about our new project ‘B-Sides’.  Check out the post below and be sure to head over to their site.

Industry innovators RethinkPopMusic are at it again. Known for putting artists first, the most recent project, B-Sides Live, answers the overwhelming need for NYC artists to debut new material, play acoustic sets or unveil side projects.

The weekly event will turn The Village Lantern into the artists’ playground, allowing independent artists to have full administrative control. In fact, participating artists can choose to play their entire album acoustically, collaborate or just play favorite covers for an hour. The only catch? This event isn’t intended for acoustic singer/songwriter sorts but rather artists already in a band with no intention of going solo.

B-Sides Live is scheduled to launch at The Village Lantern on February 4 and run every Thursday thereafter (excluding Feb. 18 when RethinkPopMusic will be holding its showcase at Santos Party House and March 18 when SXSW will be taking over everyone’s attention). Share the love grassroots style through word of mouth in the independent artist community. There will be no cover charge, no fliers and very little public promotion. Think of B-Sides Live as a living room jam session with friends…just a few more of them.

reposted from: http://www.mydailythread.com/mydailytracks/2010/2/2/rethinkpopmusic-b-sides-live-at-the-village-lantern-nyc.html

Tags: b-sides, my daily thread, RethinkPopMusic, the village lantern

Grammys: That’s Not MY Music Industry

I have been following the writer of this article, Jason – http://www.jasonparkermusic.com/, on twitter ( @1WorkinMusician) for a few months.  You should check out his site here: http://oneworkingmusician.com/. Couldn’t agree more with this article, seems like there are two separate music industries; 1. run by suits who want to throw celebrity infused blah down the throats of tweens and make big bucks 2. independent musicians like Jason and probably everyone reading this post.
Originally posted at: http://oneworkingmusician.com/grammys-thats-not-my-music-industry

Watching the Grammy Awards tonight I was struck with one thought:they might call that the Music Industry, but that has nothing to do with what I do as a working musician. I have been a professional musician for 15 years, and it’s been my sole job for 9 of those years. But whatever that was on the TV tonight, that’s not even close to my world.

And you know what? Rather than that thought being depressing it is actually quite liberating. Just when I started to get upset about the things I was seeing I realized that the only reason for it to upset me is if it effects me, which it doesn’t. All that pomp and circumstance, all the tuxes and evening gowns, all the money that went into the production, all the out-of-tune and/or lip-synched performances, all the celebrity presenters – that’s a reflection of a completely different world than the one in which I live and work. Once I realized that I actually found myself happy for Taylor Swift when she won Record of the Year. She was the one winner tonight that seemed genuinely surprised and pleased to win. You go girl!

Like most musicians I know, I did at one time have fantasies of someday winning a Grammy. I will admit that when I was a kid I would practice my acceptance speech in front of the mirror in my bedroom, thanking my family and my as-yet-unknown record label. But I long ago gave up those fantasies, and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t change much about my music industry.

Sure, it’d be cool to have my music heard and appreciated by a larger audience. And to make a little more money than I do now. I’d love to have a savings account and a health-care plan that’s not the least expensive one I could find. I hope to one day buy a house.

But what’s great about my music industry at this moment in time is that all of those things are up to me 100%. No longer do I have to hope for a manager to take notice of me and a PR firm to help spread the word so that a major record label would take a gamble on me and loan me a ridiculous sum of money that I’ll never be able to pay back so that I can make an album that will hopefully get noticed by Rolling Stone and played on the radio and then sell millions of copies just so I can eat for a few years until the next guy like me comes along and takes my place.

Those days are over. Now, I can make the music I want to make, find people all over the world who appreciate it and are willing to support me, and live a comfortable and…wait for it…sustainable life as a musician.

That’s my music industry. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tags: grammys, jason parker music, music industry, one working musician

Nicky Digital “Both Sides” Review

Check out the amazing review of The Vanguard’s video for “Both Sides”
reposted from: http://www.nickydigital.com/index.php?/blog/comments/the_vanguard_both_sides_music_video/

The Vanguard‘s new video for ”Both Sides“ isn’t called both sides for nothing; the song combines the duality of a relaxing yet danceable and remix ready track, espescially with the acapella breakdown in the middle.

As for the video itself, who wouldn’t want to hang out in a prairie with dandelions in their hair, and get down with their band.

If they keep putting out tracks like “Both Sides,” this New York group could become serious fan favorite!

They are also giving away the mp3 for the mere price of you email address over at TheVanguardBand.com!

Tags: Aaron Barr, Nicky Digital, Nicky Digital Both Sides, Nicky Digital RethinkPopMusic, RethinkPopMusic, review, the vanguard

DJ Lindsay Luv – Guest Feature on MusicIsArt

Reposted from: http://musicisart.ws/guest-feature-lindsay-luv/

(Toronto Film Festival 2009 Photographed by Ademar Dias for Lifeline Photography)

The Experience of Being a DJ
Written by Lindsay Luv

My background was originally in the music industry having worked in business development at the Orchard and as an agent with top artists like The Raveonettes, as a DJ booker with notable DJs like Eddie Baez, and then in brand event marketing with emerging DJs and artists including Justice, Chromeo, Ladytron, Crystal Castles, Dangerous Muse, Busy P, The Presets and so many others. For five years I worked the business side of the sphere yet my jobs always relied on my ability to seek out new artists and emerging talent. This was definitely an inevitable setup for me to one day pursue DJing although I never even thought it a possibility until my friend, Adam Goldstein aka the late DJ AM, pointed out I should give it a whirl.

I was sitting with him in his room at the Bryant Park Hotel catching up before his set at Deko Lounge in Jersey and shouting some of the latest tunes I had discovered from relatively unknown artists at the time, Canada’s Thurderheist and Dragonette, as well as LA’s own Shiny Toy Guns, as he downloaded them in a fury. Adam loved the tracks and gave me a sideways smile and asked me if I have ever considered DJing…. No, I hadn’t.

(Photo Credit : Coachella 2009- Palm Springs | Photographed by: Denise Mijares |
MakeUp & Hair: Courtney Wolfe | Styled by: Dalit Gwenna | Shirt by Wildfox Couture)

When the recession hit and music marketing started to hit a standstill, I remember sitting on my couch bored and restless thinking what the HELL am I going to do with my life! I remembered Adam’s words and I just picked up and jetted over to Guitar Center and bought everything I would need to teach myself to DJ (with some help from my DJ friends). Without a trust fund or a sugar daddy (ha!) the basic facts were I needed to make money to survive here and fast by switching my focus in the music industry. However instead of taking the easy way out-Ipod DJing etc-I wanted to learn from the ground-up no matter how challenging it seemed and eventually be respected for my craft. With my friends the Boyd brothers opening up their clubs to me, and DJ friends like Cindy Kim, I studied, practiced and learned what I needed to start spinning. I practiced at friends’ studio spaces and these venues during the day for hours –pretending the place was packed.

Landing great gigs was made possible by my industry contacts from my past work and thousands of followers on Myspace, Facebook, and Joonbug. Today, after a year of full-time DJing (and always practicing every day) I still feel like I have so much more to learn. To be a ‘DJ’ these days is a loose word, but to be a true ‘DJ’ is a whole different ballgame, and one that I continue to self teach myself every day and improve upon. My business motto is to start in the mail-room if you want to be a CEO, and I apply that to my own skill set and career. I know who I am and where I started and where I am going. I think if you want to be successful at any activity you need to put in the time but stay confident in your progress and be real.

What AM saw in me was my ability to discover new music and emerging artists–I think that is what makes me special in my craft– the same way mash-ups are what made him extra special in his.  I was so excited to one day maybe have an opportunity to DJ with him and am so incredibly sad he is gone.  He is and will forever remain a huge inspiration in my career.

(Photo Credit : Coachella 2009- Palm Springs | Photographed by: Denise Mijares |
MakeUp & Hair: Courtney Wolfe | Styled by: Dalit Gwenna)

Things that I’m Currently Obsessed With::

ART of Sebastian Picker

I dated his nephew, singer-songwriter Pablo, for a number of years in college and fell in love with his artwork. Pablo had a few of his paintings and when I left Boston to pursue a career in NYC he gave me an original piece from his early days to christen my new apartment. The canvas hangs above my bed and his use of a monochromatic color scheme is calming and stunning and sends a message of struggle, hope, peace and love. His work is highly regarded in the art world and I hope to buy more pieces in the near future.

MUSIC of The Raveonettes

I essentially never stop talking about my favorite band, The Raveonettes! I have grown up with this band throughout my NYC years. They were in many ways my first big ‘break” in working in the music industry. I came here by myself after college from Boston- not knowing anyone and knowing I had to “make it” here to survive.

I began working with the management team for this new band right when they were releasing their very first EP “Whip It On”, and have continued to support and work with them in varying capacities even today. The Raveonettes have released multiple full length albums and have toured with the likes of Depeche Mode and the Strokes, playing hundreds of sold out shows in the US and abroad.

The band is truly original and their sound is unlike any other artist I have heard today. I have seen them perform in major cities– Chicago, Austin, LA, NYC– and my parents will see them this week in Boston. They are both friends and an inspiration and continue to surprise and delight me with each CD released.

MOVIES of The 80s

I am pretty much obsessed with everything 80’s and am known to watch Pretty In Pink on rainy days. I have loved re-discovering my 80’s movie favorites and can’t get over how kooky and borderline creepy Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth” is! I love, love, love David Bowie and think this movie and the music and imagery is simply genius! Some other favorites include Weird Science, Lost Boys, Big, Say Anything, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Can’t Buy Me Love. The 80’s rock!

Lindsay Luv MixTape
(For Streaming Purposes Only)

I love electro house and the 80’s, so here are some of my favorite tracks of today and yesterday, all with an electric edge! Rawk! — Please visit the original post (http://musicisart.ws/guest-feature-lindsay-luv/) for the Mix Tape and a FREE download.

Tags: dj lindsay luv, lindsay luv, music is art, RethinkPopMusic

The Vanguard interviewed on Planet Music, London

The Vanguard was interviewed on Planet Music, before their recent show at The Legion in London

Check out the review below, including insite on the new EP and some background on the guys in the Vanguard!

http://planetmusicreviews.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/the-interview-with-the-vanguard/

Tags: Aaron Barr, Bob Berman, laissez faire club, London, planet music, RethinkPopMusic, the vanguard