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youbloom | HEADROOM #2: Featured Artists from the Los Angeles 2015 Music Festival

28-Oct-2015 By Shannon Duvall

There’s nothing quite as devilish as a little dish, is there?

You know it’s true, otherwise, you wouldn’t be here at HEADROOM, the official source of all dirt dug on the artists who’ll be tearing up the stages of this December’s youbloom LA 2015 Music Festival . We’ve got over 50 bands lined up already for this winter’s hottest fest, and with that much rock ‘n’ roll in one place, there’s bound to be something juicy to unearth.

In my other job, as youbloom‘s very own private eye, I’ve learned a thing or two about a thing or two, and before I burst at the seams, I invite you to sit down, take a load off, and bask in a little of the gossy stuff – all horse’s mouth, scout’s honor.

You know how first bands can make or break you, musically speaking? Somehow, these all led to make.

Kevin Direct Divide

Kevin Proctor (songwriter/keys/guitar, Direct Divide): My first band was a group of fellow football players and bored teenagers who played Ted Nugent, Metallica and Slayer covers. We were called War Dance and definitely should have had one of those logos that just looks like a leafless tree. SO METAL! My second band sounded a lot like Hootie and the Blowfish.

Razz Direct Divide

Razz: (songwriter/vox/violin): My first band was an all-girl pop punk quartet called the BlowUpDollz. Think 90’s pop punk meets 80’s hair metal and you’ve got the gist. I LOVED that band; we were underage, unapologetic troublemakers sneaking into dive bars to play gigs. We are all still very good friends even though the band isn’t together anymore. We just had a reunion show this year that was hilarious. I definitely learned a lot about stage presence and antics from that group.

It’s a curious thing, the electric violin. At once impossible to ignore and signature (what would The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” be without it?), it’s a rarity in rock and pop music; its full range of sounds as yet uncharted in the more well-known genres. Putting it front and center are what Direct Divide do, which is both brave and intriguing, their unique sound complemented by tight rhythms, searing vocals, and intelligently placed guitar melodies. For fans of: Lourds, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Andrew Bird’s darker stuff

 

BJ Smith

BJ Smith: When I was 17, I met up with another male vocalist and two female vocalists through a friend of my parents who managed bands. We used to toy around singing songs a capella, and quickly formed a vocal group called Black Suede. Our manager said we needed a band and knew of one looking for a vocalist. We went to Santa Ana, California to meet up with this band (they called themselves Oasis, but not the Oasis you’re thinking of). We walked into the rehearsal – they sounded great! They were funky!! They had a conga player, a dude with timbales, synths, a sax player, and a drummer with electronic triggers. They were groovin’ all the funk and R&B jams you heard on black radio stations. I was in awe, like, damn this is the S#+t! Then out of nowhere, their manager and bass player started arguing. They knuckled up and started straight out brawling! We stood there in amazement; we’d rehearsed on our way there, but still had not sung a note! When the fight was over, the bass player grabbed his gear and left, and so did half the band. It was all over before it even started. A few weeks later we came back, they had a few new members and we did our first gig together in LA. We didn’t have a sound man, our mics were feeding back…we thought we sounded great until we were done, and the DJ started spinning the songs we’d just played as a way to mock us! That was last gig Oasis featuring Black Suede ever did; nevertheless, I got the bug, and the rest was history!

Cool, clever, and impassioned, the masterly BJ Smith has the kind of industry chops you hear whispered about across the bartop when he walks into the room. He produces. He sings and plays. He writes songs. He tours with top brass; picks his own band members; slides an R&B song your way like passing a love note. He’s impeccable. Don’t miss him. For fans of: Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson, your own heartbeat

 

Kirk Round 12

Brian Kirk (drums, Round 12): The first band I was in was with my two cousins who lived 35 and 120 miles away. We would practice once a month (if we were lucky). We were a “christian punk” band and we were booed off stage at our first performance.

A truly eclectic band if ever there was one. Vocals are raw and obstinate. Instrumental phrases seem cobbled together by a deranged Gepetto who was listening to Motorhead at the time. You can bang your head one minute, sway drunkenly the next. It’s capable, engaging, and likeable, as if it can’t be restrained by just one choice. For fans of: Frank Zappa, Stiff Little Fingers, Van Der Graaf Generator (we know)

 

Matthew Foreign Affair NI

Matthew Irwin (rhythm guitar/lead vox, Foreign Affairs NI): The first band I was in didn’t have a name. When I was 15 I was desperate to create my own music and play punk rock songs in any way I could! So I got into contact with a few friends on social media and we jammed and unsuccessfully played one show! We didn’t have a drummer so we borrowed another bands’ and he arrived late and too drunk to hold a beat! I was also a massive cringe –  it was all very embarrassing. However, it did make me feel cool at the time so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

An ardent, sincere take on a well-loved genre. Sounds are clean and tight. There’s energy and storytelling in spades. Foreign Affairs NI show up with their hearts on their sleeves, ready to sleep on your kitchen floor if you’ll let them play a gig. This is how the best pop punk should be. For fans of: The Ataris, You Know The Drill, The Get Up Kids

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Artist Discovery, Independent Musicians, Interviews, youbloomLA Tagged With: 2015, band interview, community, DIY, featuredartists, HEADROOM, live gigs, live music, los angeles, music, music conference, music festival, music industry, music industry news, music scene, musicians, spotlight, youbloomLA2015

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

22-Oct-2015 By Shannon Duvall

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!

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Artist Discovery, Independent Musicians, Interviews, youbloomLA Tagged With: CA, california, DIY music, featured artists, la, live music, los angeles, music conference, music festival, music industry, youbloomLA2015

First Listen | Artists playing the youbloomLA 2015 Music Festival

15-Oct-2015 By Shannon Duvall

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!

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Artist Discovery, Fans, Independent Musicians, youbloomLA Tagged With: live gigs, live music, los angeles, music festival, nela, playlist, silver lake, youbloomLA2015

How to Totally Suck at Touring

08-Oct-2015 By Shannon Duvall

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.

Filed Under: Artist Matching, Artists, Independent Musicians, Music Advice, Music Industry, Tour Tagged With: bands, DIY, how to suck at touring, independent, live music, promotion, tour, touring, youbloom

The Top 5 Ways to Build a Better DIY Music Scene According to “Salad Days”

26-Jul-2015 By Shannon Duvall

It’s not so much the unpaid gigs. That you can handle – for now, at least.

 

It’s more the lack of sustained recognition; the very real blood, sweat and tears channeled into creating and sharing your music, only to receive enthusiastic responses in fits and starts. Those silent pockets of time between gigs make you want to put your mic stand through the computer screen.

The struggle is real. Photo of The Faith by Jim Saah.
The struggle is real. Photo of The Faith by Jim Saah.

You know your music is good, your audience knows it’s good, but how on earth do you get – and keep – the kind of momentum you need to make this what you do for a living?

 

It’s no secret that a lot of people in your local music scene are distracted. Last year’s music report by information measurement bastion Nielsen showed that, despite access to unlimited sources of new music online, the radio is still the source of the majority of new music discovered by Americans.

It’s as if fans still want the industry to do the legwork for them, telling them who’s worth listening to and going to see live. And research shows little likelihood of this trend slowing.

It’s a result of what has been dubbed “the tyranny of choice”. Simply put, with so many options  out there, it’s easier and less risky for listeners to follow and spend money on artists who they perceive to have already proven their popularity. And all a record label has to do to make you perceive an artist in this way is to spend millions of dollars on PR and marketing campaigns, along with relentless radio play – money and resources up-and-coming musicians simply don’t have.

The truth hurts. Minor Threat. Photo by Jim Saah.
The truth hurts. Minor Threat. Photo by Jim Saah.

Still, music scenes survive – even thrive – on their own, far from the bank accounts of corporate music institutions. Often, it’s these scenes, organically grown and self-sustaining, that catch the attention of label scouts, leading to the discovery of a wealth of musical talent. Think CBGB-era New York, or the grunge scene of 1990’s Seattle, which exploded into a pop culture force majeure.

 

Salad Days, A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC, is a documentary chronicling one of the most influential DIY music scenes in American history.

salad-days-final-poster

It’s a rousing, thorough journey through the hearts and minds of musicians in 1980’s Washington, DC, who, without support from major – or sometimes even minor – labels, set out to take control of their own exposure, making and distributing their own records, creating their own record labels, putting on their own gigs in any spaces they could, and self-promoting by way of independently made ‘zines, posters, and mail order setups.

Without directly preaching, the film has a lot to say about how you can (and really should!) build, strengthen, and work to sustain the music scene in your own town.

 

Embrace everyone. The next generation of music heroes are going to be inspired by what’s going on right now, so you want them in your audience.

Consider the power of all-ages shows.

These can be held in outdoor spaces or school gyms, auditoriums, or rec centers. If you’re playing at a bar or in an establishment which serves alcohol, talk with the owner or booking manager beforehand to find out what they’re willing to allow. Often, the solution to letting underage fans into bars and clubs is as simple as marking their hands with visible X’s, so that bar staff know not to serve them alcohol.

Play music because you want to. After this, your reasons for strumming that guitar or writing those lyrics are your own. There are no rules, and no forms to fill out. Every reason for playing is a valid one, even if all you want to do it is to try it out for the laugh. If you have a message, by all means, share it. If you don’t, don’t feel pressure to come up with one for the sake of it. Don’t let anyone stop you or make you feel like you should explain yourself. Just show up and play.

I don't know what it is but I like it. Photo by Jim Saah.
I don’t know what it is but I like it. Photo by Jim Saah.

 

Play music for each other (and support others who do) because it’s inherently human. Western culture has somehow managed to appropriate music as the specialty profession of a select few, which, in other parts of the world, is crazy, because in most other societies, making music is something everyone does. Don’t fall for the hype. You’ve got a right to play. Encouraging others to do the same leads to a super creative DIY music scene you’ll be proud to call your own.

Hook each other up. Maintaining a strong, convicted community is the only way this works. Whatever your skill or skill level, get involved.

Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson of Minor Threat, hard at work in the front porch/Dischord Records office.
Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson of Minor Threat, hard at work in the front porch/Dischord Records office.

Offer up any resources you might have. Got a car? Offer to drive bands to and from gigs. An empty space can be a spot for bands to play shows or hold practices. Have access to a printer or photocopier? Help make posters, album covers, and ‘zines.

Share your talents and skills. Everyone has something they can contribute. Write reviews. Take photos and let the zine guy use them. Draw some sweet cover art or cut and paste a rad collage for a poster. If you’re good at talking to people, offer to answer phones for small labels. Give bands crazy haircuts. The options are literally endless.

And, hey, while you’re at it, promote equality. Everyone should have a shot and a say.

Get off your butt.  At the end of the day, none of the talent and support matters without a motivated, no-nonsense approach to getting things done.

 

A strong DIY music community is one where bands and fans come together, show up to each others’ gigs and events, and stay active.  That means not waiting around for something to happen. No one will release your record? Do it yourself. Remember that just by doing stuff, you’re contributing to the history and substance of the DIY scene in your time and place, as well as the formation of new, exciting music to come.
And don’t wait for tomorrow. Mark Andersen (founder of Positive Force, an activist group that was instrumental in organizing music and social events within the DC scene) agrees. “(The time) is always now,” he insists. “So go. Make it real. NOW.”

Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat has a moment. Photo by Jim Saah.
Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat soaks in the moment. Photo by Jim Saah.

 

Filed Under: Artists, Independent Musicians, Live Music, Local Gig, Music Advice, Music Industry, Music Promotion Tagged With: community, DIY, live music, music, music documentary, music scene, Salad Days

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