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youbloom | HEADROOM #1: Featured Artists from the Los Angeles 2015 Music Festival

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Welcome back to the HEADROOM! The only place on the web where music freaks such as yourselves can get acquainted with unsigned bands before they hit the stages of the youbloomLA 2015 Music Festival.

Here at HEADROOM, we take pride in our poking and prodding abilities. We’re bona. fide. gossip merchants, born at your great auntie Joan’s kitchen phone and raised by one too many Q&A pages in rock’n’roll magazines.

We like the dirt.  The skinny.  The real weird stuff.

And we make one heck of a great cup of tea.

 

It’s no secret that rock bands – and musicians of all genres, really – have no shortage of strange and positively indecent stories to tell. I mean, the people, the places, the…the… hairstyles!

It’s…scandalous altogether.

So pull up a chair, really, honey, it’s no trouble. And just wait til you hear this…

 

We asked artists to tell us about the first experiences they had with music (hey, we all have to start somewhere). Here’s what a few of them had to say:

On the horn. Cooper. The Ultra Violent Rays

 “My first experience with playing music was in the after school band program at my elementary school in Tacoma, WA. I played the flute. I remember the magic feeling of learning my first song and playing it with the other band musicians. I’m sure we sounded terrible; all us seven year olds blowing away on our horns. But to me it sounded like the best noise in the world.” – Cooper, (bass & vox, The Ultra Violent Rays)

Mirror, mirror, on the wall: who’s the noirest of them all? The Ultra Violent Rays aren’t exactly violent, but they do craft a masterful, cold sultry sound that promises something hot-blooded despite being surrounded by a kind of endless chill. Lovingly produced, carefully communicated electro-class for the space rogue in all of us. For fans of: Joy Division, Gary Numan, Patti Smith

 

Offbeat influence. Jim Priest.

“My first experience was the result of a worn out bearing in our washing machine when I was a kid. Every time it went into the spin cycle it produced ethereal poly-rhythms I only recognized years later when I heard Fela Kuti and Ginger Baker. Eventually the damn thing just broke, but by that time I had discovered Slayer.” – Jim Priest, (singer/songwriter/storyteller)

Hypnotic acoustic guitar meets wrong side of the tracks storytelling, leading us down a dark alley of spoken-word intrigue; it’s tangible, like a newspaper headline – we wonder where it all went wrong. Jagged harmonicas tear in, reminding us that we’re only listeners, but we’re involved, affected all the same. Jim Priest is not to be missed.  For fans of: Tom Waits, Loudoun Wainwright III, Sage Francis

 

Eric Rabid Young

“When I was younger, I had older cousins who listened to super heavy music, and it was crazy to me! Up to that point I’d only heard music that was on the radio. I probably didn’t exactly “get it” because I was too young, but I think even on a subconscious level I had a switch go off that there was a whole world of different music out there that wasn’t mainstream. That’s probably when music “discovery” started for me. I actually went in search of different music that excited me instead of just listening to whatever was available or on the radio and MTV.” – Eric Rickey (vox & songwriter, Rabid Young)

Dreamy and wistful yet energetic and soulful electro-indie made in Vegas, baby. Expect to be filled with a nostalgia for a time and place you were never part of. Impressive stuff when a band can do that. For fans of: Imagine Dragons (kind of), Grouplove, eighties guy/gal duos

 

Prada Gino Cork Boyz

“I was introduced to music when I was a freshman in high school. I moved into a lower income complex where I (made) friend from Little Rock, Arkansas, who was very passionate about poetry and music. I had a karaoke machine in my bedroom that we would put cassette tapes into and record ourselves singing. Eventually this grew into songwriting for us and we recorded a track called “The Anthem”. I continued to pursue music throughout high school until it became my main career goal.” – Anthony Greene (sick rhymes, Prada Gino)

Sincere prose is woven through thoughtfully chosen samples and surprisingly sultry and classy beats. Belongs on a list of the top intellectual rappers in the game. Hometown Chicago oughtta be proud. For fans of: Kid Cudi, Illogic, Eyedea & Abilities

 

julianrender

“My first conscious experience with music was at three; my dad used to drive a lot to every place me and my little brother needed to be, and when we went to the playground or preschool he’d play some cassettes from Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Queen or The Beatles (I cared more for Transformers at the time). We were exposed to lots of music, and sometimes went “off the road”. At age 10, someone gave us a Spice Girls tape, and as soon as we pressed play, my dad turned off the radio and gave me my own first tape, Kiss, Alive 4. From then on it’s been nothing but rock and roll.” – Julián (lead vox & guitar, RendeR)

All the way from Chile, with commercial sensibility coming out of their eyeballs, RendeR are polished, tight, and they know their genre like nobody’s business. Headbangers welcome. *Heads up! It’s in Spanish. For fans of: Frequency 54, Underwhelmed, Staind

 

 

*Please note: at this time, individual showtimes and venues have not all been confirmed. We’ll update this blog as soon as they are!

 

 

 

 

First Listen | Artists playing the youbloomLA 2015 Music Festival

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los angeles at nightAh, Los Angeles.

That great meeting of desert and sea, where razzle dazzle meets dusty trail, heartbreak meets lucky break, and practically everything has the potential to be seismic.

Few towns on earth can boast such creative corpulence; the talents of this town run the streets, they walk the beat. They create a hum, if you’re listening: it’s unmistakable.

At youbloom we know all about the treasures waiting to be found on any given Los Feliz or Silver Lake night, in any of the endless bars, clubs, and venues. After all, LA is our home away from home.

 

As such, we’re extremely proud to be returning for another year to host the youbloom LA 2015 Music Festival & Conference. We’ve got three days of music and industry guidance lined up and ready to roll. If you thought the summer was hot, heads up!

There are speakers you can’t afford to miss. There are bands who are going to seriously up your listening game. And there’s the chance to show your colors and come be part of the global music village.

We’re chomping at the bit.

Can’t wait to see you there. In the meantime, do your ears a favor and have yourself an exclusive listen to just a few of the artists in the lineup. Gig listings released soon, so stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

How to Totally Suck at Touring

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Don’t bring merch. Alison Shaw summed it up perfectly in August for youbloomTV:  if a person (likely in a state of inebriation) who has never seen you before decides they like what they hear, they’re going to want to take something home with them that they can listen to again, or a T-shirt they can wear so they have a story to share with their friends (free advertising!). Offer nothing as a follow-up to your show and it doesn’t matter if you just played the most epic set of the tour: you immediately halve your exposure potential.

Patches and buttons can be made very cheaply. Just sayin’.

sportin'.
sportin’.

 

 

Don’t introduce yourself. You know that band that are just way too cool to say hello to the audience, and instead plow wordlessly through their set before unplugging and stalking offstage for dramatic effect? Yeah, don’t be that band.

Be rude to the sound guy. A crucial element to the success/enjoyment of every gig is whether or not you piss off – intentionally or inadvertently – the guy/girl in control of what people are going to hear. So a few basic rules to follow:

  • Arrive to soundcheck on time. Remember that sound check is not band practice. If you think it is, you shouldn’t be on tour.
  • Follow the engineer’s instructions. He has a lot of mics and levels to organize, and doesn’t want to be there tweaking for two hours. You’re also (probably) not the only band this person needs to cater to. If he asks you to turn down your amp (guitar players, looking at you), just do it already.
  • Communicate politely and clearly. If you can’t hear something, have a request, or something isn’t working, let him or her know.

soundguy

 

Don’t say thanks. To the crowd for coming out, to the support acts or the act you’re supporting, to the sound engineer (see above), the booker, the venue…gratitude gets you a long way in this game. It endears you to the strangers who’ve chosen to spend their evening and money on you, and can get you invited to play more gigs or to come back again in future.

You're too kind, really.
You’re too kind, really.

 

Don’t promote. You know, you might get really lucky and have a booking agent or a venue that’s willing to promote the show on your behalf. Or you might score a sweet support slot for a band that you know are going to draw a crowd no hassle. But listen up: you still need to promote your show.

Why? Because that’s part of pulling your weight as a touring band. The deal is exposure – for everyone, not just for you. The least you can do is make an effort and throw up an event page on facebook. If just one person from your friend list comes along, you’ve done your job.

 

Try to adhere to a schedule/routine/backline setup. Life on the road is mayhem. Pure and simple. Vans break down, blizzards shut down roads, venues cancel shows for no reason.

Amps blow, pedals go all ghost function, leads and stands and 9 volt batteries mysteriously vanish.

Absolute arseholes steal bands’ gear. Shit. Happens. yellowvan

 

It goes without saying that you should have some level of organization to your plan, and to be responsible at least for your own gear and your person, but if by some crappy twist of luck, something un-ideal happens, the worst thing you can do is freak out; throw a fit; start a fight; get all demanding.

 

The best touring bands stay positive, remain flexible, expect the unexpected, and roll with the punches. They pitch in to help other bands when something goes wrong, knowing the road to memorable gigs is two-way, and paved with selfless acts.

 

These are the bands that people travel to other towns to see, that get asked back, that other bands reach out to when they’re thinking of hitting the road again.

 

Then again, it is entirely possible that touring just does not suit your band. And the only way to find that out is to do it. Just do everyone a favor once you do and stop.

 

Give up. You already know something unforeseen is likely to happen. So what should you do when it does? Well, if you want to totally suck at touring, take it as a sign that this gig/leg of the tour/entire thing is a sham and shouldn’t be happening at all. Sigh deeply, pull a U-ey, and drive your miserable butts back to Minnesota, or wherever it is you came from. Everyone will thank you later.

Or.

Show up anyway (better late than never), shake a few hands, explain what happened, offer to play and improvise if need be (house parties make great backups for venue cancellations, and often provide a night’s sleep), make friends and rack up another bonkers story for the tour diary.

Just NAUSIA being chill.
Just NAUSIA being chill.

 

Do it right, and in a year or so, you’ll be itching to start a new one.

youbloom artist spotlight: Trevor Lyon

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Introducing Trevor Lyon:

I had the pleasure of hearing Trevor Lyon’s performance last year at Griffin’s of Kinsale in South Pasadena, CA for youbloomLA 2014 and recently reconnected with him to find out more about him as an artist and what has been going on since the festival.

Both a solo artist and a band contributor, Trevor considers his music a “robust blend of Reggae infused with elements of Rock, Blues, Hip Hop and Jazz.” A Napa California native, Trevor can be found performing locally with his hometown band, The One Little Story Band—a collection of musicians he has met over his years of playing in Napa. It consists of a guitarist, a keyboard and flute player, a drummer, and Trevor contributes bass and vocals. But, because his band can generally not travel far or stay on the road for any length of time, Trevor often performs solo acoustic or even track shows (shows with a DJ instead of a band) when he is not in the Napa area. This freedom allows him to collaborate with other bands when he is on the road. This is how he first met Mendo Dope in 2012 when they approached him after a solo show in Ukiah, CA. They began performing together, which exposed the Mendocino County area to Trevor’s music and grew his fanbase there.

In 2013, Trevor joined the band, Mystic Roots as a backup bassist and special guest artist. He toured with them for about 8 months, traveling around Oregon and California and even opening up for Ziggy Marley at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. During this same time, Trevor played bass for a world fusion band called Cosmos Percussion Orchestra, playing many festivals including Bottlerock (Napa Valley, CA), Earth Day (San Francisco, CA), and Ashkenaz (Berkley, CA).

In the Spring of 2014, Trevor joined up with Irie Fuse from Marin County, playing bass for about 4 months in a ton of different shows in the area. But, Trevor began feeling the pull to focus on his own music again. He slowed down the rest of the year, playing with his own band and attending a few festivals (including ours!). After the festival, Trevor took some time off to enjoy some family time for the holidays. Nevertheless, he was able to push his holiday single (“Happy Holidays”) by Christmas (which you can find here).

In February of this year, things kicked back up for him and he played some acoustic gigs around the San Francisco Bay area. The momentum continued into Spring when Trevor played with his full band in venues including the Legendary Ashkenaz in Berkeley, CA. This summer, Trevor’s gigs ranged from playing solo acoustic shows to playing festivals with his whole band. The venues ranged from The Shrine World Music Venue in Harlem, NY to the Napa Porchfest in California. Now that the summer season is ending, Trevor has returned home and is focusing his attention on the studio.

One of Trevor’s studio projects began on September 7th in Mendocino County and took place (get this…) in the world’s first Ganja Tree recording booth. This is not the first time he has collaborated with cannabis culture Hip Hoppers, Mendo Dope. Trevor will be contributing guitar, bass and vocals on their album. This will be the first ever hip hop album that’s recorded inside a marijuana tree. We can’t wait to hear this one…

Additionally, Trevor is excited to begin recording his next EP entitled, “One Little Story.” This album will be a collection of reggae songs that Trevor has been playing live for quite a while, but has yet to lay down in the studio. He also has a second project in the works which is slightly more acoustic and has less reggae overtones. Though this project (tentatively called “When It’s Good) is currently an EP, Trevor explains that he is writing songs at such a rate, it may end up being an album. Besides recording and performing, Trevor is also working on branching out from his own merchandise items into building his own clothing line. And (as if that’s not enough), Trevor is working on building his own studio. “My main focus at first will be to have my own space to record anytime I wish, but I also want to write for and produce other artists.” Trevor knows it will take some time, but he is happy to begin the process and use the industry resources he has gathered over the years to make it happen.

You can stay informed of upcoming shows, albums, and other news here:

And you can find Trevor’s music on Itunes or Amazon

Hey Lana Del Ray, there’s a new girl in town.

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This year over sixty bands played at our youbloom Dublin music festival. You name it, we had it. Indie rock ‘n rollers, heavy metal moshers, earnest singer songwriters, feisty folksters and electro pop synth wizards. Hidden in amongst this treasure trove of unsigned talent was a wee lassy from Cavan. She arrived unassumingly at the youbloom tv pop up studio in Musicmaker. Herself and the inimitable Paul Cox, he of Cavan TV fame were ready to shock and awe us.

aine-cahill

Aine Cahill stunned the room into silence as soon as the first note of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang” hit.
She’s twenty and writes all her own songs. She’s a shimmering little songbird with powerful polished vocals and a penchant for writing tales of glossy melodrama.
Believe it or not, this is the girl who couldn’t get into the school choir. At Loreto College, Cavan they was told her she wasn’t good enough. She never sang at all till she was sixteen. Her pivotal moment happened when two pupils sitting at the school piano were struggling to hit the high notes of an Adele song. Aine walked over and started singing. She hasn’t stopped since. She did a music course in Cavan five years ago, just as she started writing her own material. She gets inspiration from artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Melody Gardot, Lana Del Ray, Marina And The Diamonds and Lady Gaga.

We discovered Aine in June. Since then she has been chosen by 2FM to play at Ireland’s biggest festival Electric Picnic. She’s playing three stages over three days. She’s performed her new single “Black Dahlia” live for Ian Dempsey on national commercial Irish radio station Today FM. She wowed crowds at the boutique Ballinamore Fringe Festival. She’s turned up at secret gigs and is set to headline her own gig at Whelan’s in Dublin on September 27th.
Here’s a link to her new song “Black Dahlia”. A tale of Hollywood murder mystery from the 1950’s. If chocolate was sonic, it would sound like this… (but that’s just my opinion).

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