Friday, June 27, 2008

Lucha VaVoom

Last Night I went to see Lucha VaVoom. For those of you unfamiliar, its Mexican Luchador, masked wrestling. Think Nacho Libre - the Jack Black film. It was pretty amazing. The show was part strip tease / burlesque, part wrestling. The announcers left a little something to be desired and distracted from the fighting. But at least they had enough sense not to talk when the girls / dancers came out....Her are a few highlights from the event:



A quick glance at the program before it all began, and I decided that I wanted "Shamu Jr." to win. Seeing as how this was all new to me, and they all looked the same in their funny outfits, I had to pick solely by the name. Having spent my summers in San Diego as a kid, I have a special place in my heart for Sea World and Shamu. Little did I know, he was more of the "villain" wrestler, and by no means a crowd favorite. Shamu Jr. (who was a little person by the way), came out with two thug looking beasts. They were squaring off against Los Crazy Chicken (two spastic chicken characters), and Lil Chicken (another little person). The two teams began their carnage with Shamu Jr and friends quickly taking the early lead. But in true Luchador wrestling fashion, its usually the team getting pummeled early on, that comes out the victor with a quick surprise burst of energy and sudden attack to end the match. Oh well Shamu Jr. You will live to fight another day. In the meantime, might I suggest you work on your over the back toss, head butt move...

- Chris

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Foot Fist Way

This is the movie that Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (the guys who brought you Anchorman) discovered last year and are putting into theaters now. It's in limited release but may still be able to catch it.

Check out the "R" rated trailer: (or don't if you're a wee one)



For our LA friends, this will be playing at the Beverly Center this week. This movie may become your next "Anchorman," "Napoleon Dynamite," "Superbad," etc.

Amazingly funny and very low budget. If you miss it, let's watch it at my house next year.

-Nick

ARE YOU A MUSICIAN? (I found this article interesting & inspiring)

Thanks to Larry and FUTURE SOUNDS for turning me on to this article

Want to save the music business? Manage a band. Nurture talent. Do everything in your power to get it exposed. Don't sit in front of your computer dreaming of new schemes of distribution... You'll never get the rights!

Talent. That's where the business is focused today.

Kind of funny if you think about it, because talent has never been so confused. Do you follow your own muse, or deliver the Top Forty hit the major label wants? Do you record other people's material? Do you try out for "American Idol", hoping to be rocketed to fame? Do you believe your parents and girlfriend when they say you are good, or are you willing to go to an independent expert for a more honest appraisal?

Come on. If you want to be in this business, you know what's good and you know what sells. Put your time in. Don't try to piggyback on other people's efforts, they don't need your help. Foster new music.

Believe me, Doug Morris doesn't need your help. Your distribution paradigm is worthless without a ton of cash to pay Universal and the other label groups. And, they're not going to let you do it your way, no matter how good you think your idea is. They'll cripple you from the outset. You've heard of Apple, right? And MTV? The labels are so fearful of being screwed, they'll kick the tires forever. And mandate a governor on your engine.

AEG and Live Nation? If you want to go be a pawn in their game, be my guest. It's like working at the label decades ago. Start at the bottom, and if you've got a good nose for what sells, if you can make them money, you might move up the food chain. Don't start your own promotion company. Unless you have little financial ambition. You can promote acts that will never break through in venues no one wants to play in, but if you want name talent, the agents will cripple you, put you out of business. And, if you manage to have a successful show, said act will suddenly be in business with Live Nation or AEG...

As for management... Irving Azoff will make a deal with you every day of the week. If you come in with an act. He doesn't need some brilliant twentysomething to teach him how to revolutionize the business, he's already revolutionizing the business. By neutralizing power, by getting the big boys to play into his hand, play his game. He did this by leveraging talent. Where's your stable of talent?

You might criticize Front Line and so many of the big management companies for not developing acts. Hey, these guys could be your parents, they want to make money, first and foremost they're businessmen. They risked decades back. Now it's time for you to risk!

Finding good talent is the hardest job in this business. Exposing it, breaking it through, is almost as difficult. But this is where the opportunities lie. There will be a new Irving Azoff, a new David Geffen, but he won't start off working for a public company, an established player, he'll work for himself. He'll have an eye for talent and a cunning personality that bonds said talent to him. He'll see the talent as number one. Not radio, TV or the retailer. That's why there's such an opportunity. The major labels are not about talent first, they're about money first. They're about keeping up their relationships with the infrastructure. Acts come and go, but the infrastructure remains. Their goal is to eliminate risk, not enhance it. Whereas you must be all about the risk.

There is no easy way out. If you're looking for someone with copyrights to help you make your millions, you're a sorry-assed loser. And, a hint, just in case you go this route. Steal the music first. That's the only way you can get the majors to make a deal. Can you say YouTube, MySpace...

But really, that's the past. The future is new acts. Maybe niche, maybe more mainstream. You determine this, not the crusty old infrastructure of yore. Utilize new communication/word of mouth techniques. Use technology to your advantage. But bring us more great acts. That's what we're lacking, not business insight.


Saturday, June 21, 2008

PITCHFORK by Rob Kolar

Just reminding all of you indie enthusiasts to be up to date on your Pitchfork reading. A place where you can discover amazing new artists like Vampire Weekend who manage to sound like four private school preps attempting to mix a watered down version of private school pop, 3rd wave ska and white-boy world music into a shmaltzy smoothie. Pitchfork says 8.8! Find records like this and records devoid of melody and taste all rated with expertise. Forget the 1-5 star systems of old. Pitchfork uses a 10 point scale with decimals for the most accurate rating system. Make sure all your monthly darlings have a score meticulously calculated to represent the exact quality and standard of the music. Who needs to actually listen to music to decide whats good. There's so much out there. Forget about it. Just read Pitchfork and they will TELL YOU what to listen to. Simple as apple pie. They'll even tell you what not to listen to like Dr. Dog who combines Beatles-esque melodies, innovative production, and an eerie charm ala Daniel Johnston. Pitchfork says... 4.4! Who needs it. If you're short on time in this "rat race" of a lifestyle just skip the review and head straight for the number which will tell you all you need to know. What are you waiting for go now! Or you'll miss whats hot for the next few minutes!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

blahblahlbahahhhh

latest happenings and random ramblings:

- we played a great show last weekend at the coach house in san juan capistrano...this venue is oddly cool and has tons of autographed promo shots of artist that have played there (and everyone seems to have played there)...very cool staff as well

- san juan capistrano could be a nice getaway spot with a loved one/s

- la is heating up and all i want to do is chill out poolside but life is busy right now so that will have to wait for a calm weekend hopefully coming up soon

- dreaming of cozumel and taking a siesta with friends in august...i love going down south and hope to relax in the caribbean soon!!

- i've been teaching lots at the music school which is always a pleasure...
  • top five "teach-me this song-teacher" (from students of all ages) are: 1. crazy train, 2. snow, 3. crazy on you, 4. sweet child o'mine, and the always ubiquitous 5. stairway to heaven
  • the current top five tunes that i often try to teach instead: 1. ball & biscuit, 2. only love can break your heart, 3. suzie q, 4. black dog, 5. solute your solution

- i'm obsessed with the new kills record (i've always loved this band and their new record is great..back off kate moss!!!) and the sam sparro ep right now

- mike is obsessed with the new my morning jacket...i may try to get into this one as well

- we have a bunch of shows coming up this weekend...i think we'll be seeing lots of younger folk which is always fun

yadyadayada...xo,
melissa

TV still good?

The Venture Bros. is back with the new 3rd season. So far the last three weeks have been all about origins. Pretty darn sweet if you are a fan of the first two seasons.

The show is clearly a mature, modern and more hilarious parallel to Johnny Quest. Any of us who were fans of early 80's Saturday morning cartoons can appreciate all the references to Quest, G.I. Joe, or even a little Inspector Gadget.

Seasons 1 & 2 are out on DVD. Season 3 is on adultswim.com and Cartoon Network Sundays at 11:30PM.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Sleepy Head

Sleep: A Necessity, Not a Luxury By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay Reporter - Sun Jun 8, 4:01 PM PDT

- SUNDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- The pace of life gets faster and faster, and people try to cram more and more into every minute of the day.

As things get more hectic, sleep tends to get short shrift. It's seen as wasted time, lost forever.

"For healthy people, there's a big temptation to voluntarily restrict sleep, to stay up an hour or two or get up an hour or two earlier," said Dr. Greg Belenky, director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University Spokane.

"But you're really reducing your productivity and exposing yourself to risk," Belenky added.

That's a message doctors are trying to spread to Americans, including the estimated 40 million people who struggle with some type of sleep disorder each year.

Before Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1880, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. These days, Americans average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours a night on weekends, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

"The group of people getting optimal sleep is getting smaller and smaller," said Dr. Chris Drake, senior scientist at the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit. "When a person's sleep drops to six hours or less, that's when a lot of things become very problematic."

While experts recommend seven to eight hours of sleep each night, the amount needed for an individual can vary...
CLICK PHOTO OF YAWNER FOR REST OF ARTICLE...

Saturday, June 7, 2008