foundations.

Kate Nash, my new favorite artist, has a kick ass video for her song "Foundations". Check it out.

Apple: New Song

For all you Apple lovers, I am sure you have noticed the new Apple Air commercial. I'm loving the song, New Song by Yael Naim, which is the feature song. Check it out. And interestingly, she's Jewish, from France, and most, if not all, of her albums are in Hebrew or French. Nifty.

the sea and cake

Stumbled upon this band hailing from Chicago, IL. Apparently I am 14 years late with noticing this band. They've been around for quite some time but went on a brief hiatus from 2004-2007. They just released a new album. I don't know much about them, but I can say I am digging this song. Check it out.

Calm those nerves

This is a bit off topic of what I am used to writing, but I read this article and found it to be dead on. Most people, like myself, get extremely nervous speaking in front of large crowds and stiffen up. I have this anxious fear of singing in front of people, even if they are close friends, which always seems to be worse than if it were complete strangers. But, here are some simple steps to calm those jitters.

1. Accept that fact that your feeling nervous.
Just deal with it. If your anxious in an interview, concentrate on the words that are coming out of your mouth. If your singing, think about the notes your hitting (and watch that pitch!), and if your stressing and nervous about all the work you have to accomplish, take it one step at a time. My professor, George Howard, has good links on his blog to getting things done efficiently.

2. Stop trying to be perfect.
This is by far my favorite tip. If your anxious, your trying to be too perfect, and when you try to be perfect, you'll always catch a flaw or a simple mistake you made. No ones perfect. And remember, no outcome is as bad as you think!

3. And...Don't be so nice.
If your over the edge, your body is trying to tell you to deal with your problems. So if something is on your mind, talk it out. Let it go. Stand up for yourself. You'll feel a whole lot better if you do.

4. Take a walk on the mindful side.
Not only is walking good for your physical health, but also good for a sense of clarity. Or if you prefer yoga, I am sure it has the same benefits.

5. Face your fear.
If your nervous about singing that song, try practicing in front of small groups of people and continue adding people until your singing comfortably in front of a large audience. If its public speaking, same advice. Start small. And interviews work the same way. Your fear will go away slowly but surely.

And always be yourself.

RATM..for sure.

This weekend, while working at VooDoo Music Experience, I had the opportunity to see Rage Against The Machine. Incredible. At least 45,000 people watching one band at one time. It was such an experience to see how a festival this size can capture the attention of so many people, all because of one band. Granted, many people came throughout the day to see other acts and local shows, but RATM stole the night. They have the ability to control the crowd like no other. Now I have seen many bands over the years who were beyond phenomenal, but no band has had the complete and utter attention of their fans.

To begin with, their set design was simple, yet bad ass. Their stage presence was more than you can ask for from a band. When you were watching them, you knew they came to play a show for thousands of fans. There were mosh pits, crowd surfing, chanting, pictures being taken at every second, and lighters lit for majority of the show. When the main stage lights lit up the crowd, I was blown away by the masses of people joining in unionson with dancing and fist pumps.

I'll stop ranting, but if you get the opportunity, please go see RATM, even if your not that big of a fan, because the crowd alone will amaze you. And, support VooDoo! VooDoo Music Experience is a great 3 day festival that manages to attract thousands by setting up great lineups! And besides, this all helps NOLA, and we for sure need the help!

RIAA Lawsuit

So if you don't know already, the RIAA finally won a lawsuit over illegal downloaders, or piraters, as I like to refer to them. Jammie Thomas was charged and ordered to pay $220,000 to the RIAA. You can read the complete story here.

But have no fear, the people are here to help. Recently I read that there is a website set up for Ms. Thomas called Free Jammie where the public can voice their opinions, and of course, donate money to her cause.

Not to be ranting and getting off on a tangent, but shouldn't she have thought about this when she was illegally downloading music? There is a reason music cost money. It's not for free. The money from the record sales supports the artist(however that is rarely the case, given the fact the artists barely sees their cut from the sales of their records), but besides the fact. The price isn't there just for the fun of it. It's there because it's a purchase.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't like the RIAA. I'm not fond of major labels either. And I'm sorry that Ms. Thomas was the one to be made an example of in this situation. I realize she can't afford to pay all these lawsuits and she seemed to be innocent in this whole situation. She stated that she ONLY downloaded 24 songs. But it's hard for the RIAA to just sue people who could afford to pay the fines. Then it's discrimination. So avoid the whole situation and pay the $9.99 for a digital album.

Hopefully people will learn from Ms. Thomas and not download illegally. Or better yet, maybe digital tracks will be released for free or at a "pay what you will" scheme, like Radiohead initiated a week ago. Good thinking Radiohead. And that's why they(Radiohead) rock!

Something needs to be done about the music industry. I don't have a solution, but I'm sure someone out there does.

A Living Soundtrack/The Octopus Project

I recently went to a show at The Parish in New Orleans and saw two great bands A Living Soundtrack and The Octopus Project. Both bands were phenomenal. ALS was more melodic electronica music, while The Octopus Project was more intense experimental, electronica, with distorted guitars and a touch of pop. Octopus Project had a great set visually too. They had video footage playing in the background the whole time and decorated their amps with ghost like sheets and christmas lights. They even had homemade masks on while they played, but they didn't seem to stay on the whole time (due to heavy head banging and jumping around). And interestingly enough, they kept switching up instruments after each song. The highlight for me was the female in the band, Yvvone, played a Theremin for majority of the songs. It was so interesting and added such depth to the set list.

ALS is the type of band I can see myself relaxing too. They had a soothing effect, even though some of their songs had a hint of edge to them. They also have wonderful artwork on their album and website. They're really experimental and innovative musicians. I recommend checking them out whenever they are in town next.