The time has come: after posting their album digitally for fans to play on their MySpace page, DOOMbird will finally release a physical album this Sunday, August 29th at Harlow's.
For such a cheap ticket price, this show is worth coming out for on a Sunday night. You'd be supporting new local music and a great cause! Plus, chances are you'll hear a few bands you've never listened to before.
Oh, and in case you missed it: DOOMbird recorded three tracks and an interview for Paduta - Fresh Music Every Day and Off Air at Capital Public Radio at Ira Skinner's Alley Avenue Recording Studio.
Quite a few folks had something to say about some of the choices, and moreover those who were NOT chosen. But, like any list of nominations, somebody gets left out. And quite frankly, the public had a chance to vote their favorites in. So if some band/DJ/dance night got missed you can't really blame the folks who put on the Sammies.
Their debut album, a self release called Rock Like a Murderer, is filled with tons of raw energy and excitement. Imagine Adam Ant, the Stray Cats, and your favorite horror flick wrapped up in one band and you'd have The Buboniks.
Once again, a Sacramento band has proven that with enough drive and passion, musicians can produce and release solid records without signing to a label first.
See what I mean - so much energy and loud awesomeness coming from these three guys (did you see one of them plays the upright bass? Upright!). The Buboniks' debut is not only part of a distinct a genre but it celebrates it as well. Mikey, Brian, and Andy take psychobilly to the next level - they have managed to make Rock Like a Murderer more accessible through catchy song writing and still gritty and, yes, a little terrifying.
This Saturday, August 28th, Mikey Bubonik is doing a solo performance at The Plea for Peace Center in Stockton with Imperial Can, Brian Hanover, Danny Secretion (of THE Secretions) and Johnny Young. It starts at 8pm and is only FIVE BUCKS! If you live in Sacramento, this show is worth the short drive! And, if you're in Stockton - no excuses! Be there for this show!
Music blogs have been featuring their tracks, LA Weekly has covered them, and this year they will be embarking on an exciting West Coast tour to promote their debut album Bellow which will be rounded off with performances at this year's CMJ awards in New York City and Brooklyn.
After working relentlessly for a year on recording our debut album, we have finally finished it. We are incredibly proud of our record but we are eager to travel and play our music live all over the country. We are here on Kickstarter because we need your help. For over 2 years, we have toured in very uncomfortable situations (in several different vehicles ranging from barely functioning to out of our budget rentals). After a solid year of recording our debut album, "Bellow", we are finally ready to tour nationally upon it's release. We have worked extremely hard and are ready to work even harder to spread our music to those outside of California.
So, here we are. We have joined Kickstarter in the hopes that we can find support in order to reach our goal in attaining a touring van. We want to travel the ends of the earth and play music for you! We want to travel to big cities, little cities, towns, villages, communities and meet you, sing to you, hang out with you! We want to experience all that music will allow us to. In order to accomplish this, we must have a touring van.
That is why we are asking for your help. If you can afford to make a pledge today it will not only help us reach our goal on Kickstarter but it will continue to help us for years to come. Your pledge will enable us to keep touring, to keep pushing, to keep keepin' on. With your help, we will be able to spread our music all over the world.
We are offering a variety of reward items and prizes for anyone that can pledge. We will also be posting exclusive updates throughout the fundraiser-so please keep checking back for more updates.
We want to thank you for reading this and for all of you who have attended a show, listened to our music or given us a hug or high-five. Thank you for your support. It means so much to us. We want to give back to you. We want to come to your city and town and play for you and meet you.
Love, Terra, Dani, Nicholas, and Jeff. Sister Crayon
Prizes range from limited edition EPs and personalized autographed posters, to guitar lessons, to having the band cook dinner for you!
So go check out their videos, prizes and the status of their Kickstarter fundraiser and while your at it, watch the video for their single "(in) Reverse" directed by Robert Ascroft. Maybe you'll even donate $1 to the cause . . . maybe? You could say you supported Sister Crayon in their early years, and I'm sure they would super appreciate it!
Sister Crayon's Fall Tour Dates:
10/8 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern 10/9 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios 10/11 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Crepe Place 10/12 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill 10/13 - Los Angeles, CA - The Bootleg Theater 10/14 - Pomona, CA - Pitzer College
Sure, Paduta is really good looking, but did you also know we're pretty smart too?
To help spread the word about Paduta - Fresh Music Every Day (a site in the works that helps all types of musicians and bands to sell their music online and gives fans new music to listen to everyday) we submitted a presentation proposal for next year's round of talks at SxSW.
Some past proposals and talks have dealt with social media and band promotion, and heads of records labels, and artists like Devo have presented as well. Basically this is a pretty big deal, and we want in on it!
Our presentation is called "Must Have" to My Choice in Music Marketingand discusses the major changes in the way music is marketed to us. For example, in the past commercials were saturated with music from pop icons, music that we hear in multiple different formats and locations throughout the day (on television, on the radio, in our neighbor's cubicle, etc). However, in the last few years, agencies are licensing music from "lesser known" indie bands. In doing so, the average American (with the help of the internet) is given the opportunity to choose whether or not they like the song and want to buy it, as opposed to feeling forced to "buy into" pervasive pop music. We talk about why this is happening and how it will and has impacted both major and indie labels alike.
Also, our presentation features music and thoughts from local artists like The New Humans, DJ Mike Colossal, SIMPL3JACK and more about how marketing affects them, and where they feel the industry is headed. If Paduta makes it onto the list of presenters, we figure this would also be a great opportunity to showcase some of Sacramento's amazing talent.
In 2002, Clay Nutting began the Sacramento chapter of Concerts 4 Charity, a non profit organization whose mission is to raise money for music and arts education.
Since then Clay Nutting, with a highly dedicated staff, collaborative partners (like Adam Saake who helped organize the Sac Electronica Festival) and local like-minded musicians, has put together some amazingly eclectic shows, donated guitars to 450 kids and taught them how to play, and today they continue to expand their outreach.
As an audiophile who attended concerts since adolescence (his first being Huey Lewis and the News), Clay is constantly driven to put on the next great show. And according to him in order to beat a bad economy and a societal ethos that he says is too easily "captivated by Thursday night television" it is important to make every show special.
What's the first step: put together a diverse line up that draws a crowd.
CN: There are some people who aren’t that interested in the indie music scene in Sacramento but they’ll come out for John Vanderslice, [and] once they’re there they see DOOMbird open and that knocks their socks off and then Sea of Bees – how can you not like them. All of a sudden you’ve bread or cultivated this group of people who may have come out to support John Vanderslice but are now supporting the local music scene that they may not have been connected to before.
Or one of the newest projects in the works: an adaptation of the classic Peter and the Wolf featuring Harley White Jr. Utilizing famous jazz performers as representations of instruments the goal is to encourage and invigorate jazz education.
This is what Clay is talking about by making the show "special." Create an event that brings people of different interests and tastes together to get them exposed to music or arts they wouldn't regularly be exposed to. However special the show, C4C also puts together a cohesive marketing strategy to help spread the word. The trick is, it is a delicate balance according to Clay. You have to "tell the story of the show without overwhelming and turning people off by over promoting."
It would appear in the age of social networking that online promotion is the best way to get people interested in your band, show, etc. It's quick and easy. Using your phone you can post on your Facebook wall, update your MySpace status and Twitpic your show photos on your lunch break. From Clay's experience, however, this is still not enough.
CN: Social media has become a crutch for a lot of people. They think they can put it on Facebook and MySpace and people will “know” about it [the show]. But I think the opposite is true. I think it compliments a whole promotion strategy, have something that someone might see out at a coffee shop, then they see it online and then you shake their hand at Concerts in the Park, for example and say "hey I’m doing this thing" and then all of a sudden it all comes together and they are more likely to come out.
A key promotional tool, outside of social networking, that Clay uses to catch the eye and interest of people around Sacramento are posters with original art.
CN: I have really cool people doing poster design like Asbestos Press and Melissa Arendt. They bring a whole other element to it because there are people who like music and there are people who are visually turned on by the design and check out the music later. And many of the artists develop an identity by doing it [designing poster art].
By infusing art with music, concerts with fundraising, Clay Nutting and the rest of the C4C's staff and supporters have truly created an important support system for local music and arts education. And despite the frustrations of running a non profit in a recession, of drawing people to events and inspiring them to buy tickets, Clay is positive and driven.
CN: I think the music in our community is very strong. You just have to sometimes look harder. [But] If you’re not happy with the amount of people who are aware of the music and arts community find ways to bring them into it. I take it upon myself and my friends to bring other people in.
As a promoter you focus on the scene as a whole. [The plan is to] throw out this net and hope people come but really you have to pay attention to the people who influence – ask them to help you, even if it's not your show, to bring people out. Support the Verge Gallery, support a show at Old Ironsides, at Press Club, at Townhouse. Wherever there’s music going on, bring someone out and hopefully increase the number of people that are excited about the community.
So for a guy who loves music and knows how to put on a great show, I was curious: if he could put together a music festival here in Sacramento, who would he book?
I should point out, when I asked him this question he agonized over his answer. He became quiet and intensely pensive.
CN: It's painful for me because in my mind I need to put together the perfect bill.
After a few moments, he threw out some names, suggested that he would take over a few city blocks in the Midtown/Downtown area and then stopped - stumped and looking a little defeated.
Later that day, I went through my Facebook Inbox and found a message simply headed "I thought about it..." sent ten minutes after I left our interview. Here's what he came up with (with a little added flare on my part):
Be sure to check out Concerts 4 Charity and one (or ALL) of their upcoming shows!
TNHZ = Scott Simpson (Vocals, Keyboards), Mike
Steez (Drums), Cole Cuchna (Piano), and
Robert La Casse (Bass)
After winning a Sammie back in 2008, Sacramento’s indie electro pop outfit, The New Humans are finally releasing their very first EP called Avalanche.
Many have speculated when this talented quartet was going to put out a record. Amazingly they have been able to pack venues, gather a strong local fan base, and release a music video for their single “Fever” without one.
And quite frankly, no one is more excited than The New Humans to finally have a finished and polished product that they were able to produce on their own terms.
In an age of digital downloads and advanced technologies that make home recording simpler for musicians, it is certainly easier to create an album without the help of a label. However, an absence of financial backing does present some pretty obvious bumps in the road for any emerging artist seeking creative freedom: The New Humans are no exception.
Scott: We couldn’t go on a West Coast tour right now because I work a part time job, [Mike] teaches drums, [Cole] is going to school, and Robbie is the only one with a full time job. Sometimes it does seem a little out of reach without financial help. We do want someone to put the EP out after we release it, even if it’s a small independent label just to get it out there more, give us the ability to tour.
Left to Right: Cole Cuchna & Robert La Casse
Unsigned they have been able to release their first single "Fever" on iTunes and become a fixture of the local music community.
Their infectiously catchy and powerful sound (an infusion of blues, swing, and electro pop) draws huge crowds to all of their shows. They have even created a cohesive sense of on-stage style. So what's the hardest part of the music biz for them right now: finding the time to promote.
Cole: That’s the most important thing about labels now. Anyone can make a record and put it on iTunes. I think promotion is the biggest appeal for artists right now. Not like “oh they can put me on the radio” or “they can put my CD in stores” - that’s pretty easy to do now. So, from our standpoint we’d just love to have our music promoted to extremes we could never do on our own. Robbie: Have them book a tour for us, or put us on the festival circuit, or put us in all the top blogs or ads in the indie press.
Until now, The New Humans haven't had the tangible product needed to send to labels - an EP that took two years to finish. Apparently, the completion of Avalanche took so long after their win at the Sammie Awards in 2008 that a Sac Bee reporter wrote an article called "The New Humans: Where Art Thou?" in 2009 wondering when or if TNHZ would ever release an album.
What the writer wasn't aware of were the creative differences they experienced with their original producer. Eventually, TNHZ turned to local producer and owner of J Street Recorders and Alley Avenue Recording Studio, Ira Skinner to help finish off what they call "Avalanche V2.0". This proved to be a bold but smart move for the young musicians who say working with Skinner was a different yet immensely better scenario.
Left to Right: Scott Simpson & Mike Steez
Scott: [Our original producer] was more commercialized – [he liked to make] everything sound perfect – very formulaic. I’ve known him for a long time too, and he offered us a deal we couldn’t refuse, which was an honest offer on his part. Ira is actually the exact opposite. He’s kind of the hand on the board and he’ll give us his two cents…
Cole: If we ask for it.
Scott: Our first producer was super detail-oriented and [Ira’s] like super relaxed. Ira is a great musician with a great ear and definitely has helped us do some cool stuff to the songs. But as far as being there, he’s more like “I’m your friend, I like your band” – he’s more opening up his studio for us to use.
Robbie: It’s a lot more inviting an atmosphere; a lot more comfortable.
Cole: He knows our sound really well [Ira’s played drums and extra percussion for TNHZ in the past]. He knows what we’re going for. And he doesn’t try to control it at all.
Sounds like an ideal recording situation and if their track "All the Kids" is any indication Avalanche is definitely going to be an upbeat, electric, and fun listen - proof that all their hard work has finally paid off.
First 50 Pre-Sale tickets are only $7 and include a FREE copy of Avalanche EP! >>Buy Now<< Or how about we do a GIVEAWAY!!!
We have 3 copies of Avalanche PLUS 5 tickets to the Release Party for you to win and here's how:
Copy and Paste this Text into your Facebook Status: "Read an interview with electro-pop band @The New Humans at @Paduta's blog and enter to win their new "Avalanche" EPor a ticket to their CD Release Party Aug. 21st! http://paduta.blogspot.com"
Make Sure:
1. Both "New Humans" and "Paduta" are tagged in the status by "Liking" both pages and putting "@" in front of both.
2. That the link is present and visible.
That's it!
Contestants will have until Monday at NOON [12 pm | PST] to copy and paste our blurb into their status. 8 Winners will be randomly chosen and notified by Tuesday 12pm [PST]. Good Luck
August is a good month for Sacramento indie electro-pop outfit The New Humans. It's been two years since they won a Sammie Award and after switching studios and producers, their first EP entitled "Avalanche" is finally complete.
Thanks to Fuel (the all natural energy drink) pre-sale tickets are available NOW. The first 50 to order receive not only a ticket to the CD Release Party on August 21st but a FREE copy of Avalanche for only $7!
It is smart, fun(ky), and the perfect soundtrack for summertime.
What I appreciate about DJ Colossal is that he truly embodies the spirit of the working artist. This tape was recorded and produced from his home, and he's releasing it on his own.
And he's even offering Mad DOOM: The Mixtape as a FREE DOWNLOAD!
A particular dream of mine came true Friday night when I got my first chance to actually take pictures with all the other really real photographers along with some video during Moby's killer DJ set.
Not only that but I got closer than ever before to him "side" stage during his acoustic set with fellow Folsomite and amazing vocalist Kelli Scarr. We (meaning Nick and I) recorded so many great videos of both Moby sets that I thought a vlog of sorts was the best way to capture his involvement with this year's Wanderlust Festival.
Friday Night
First up, we met the nicest lady backstage who got her pass from a friend who said she could have it ONLY if she got Moby's autograph. Sure enough, Moby came out of his trailer for a few moments (I mistakingly and crudely thought he was taking a leak - he was not) and Nick and I handed over our schedule along with an Insight on Capital Public Radio pen and cheered her on as she walked over to him.
While taking photos in front of the stage (thanks to my trusty photo/video pass) I caught some video of Moby and the crowd. What I didn't capture was what happened moments later: security increased along the crowd barricade because all the yoga folks almost pushed it over with their intense passion for house music.
Saturday
Nick and I hung out "side" stage during Moby's acoustic set with female vocalist and tour mate Kelli Scarr at the Yoga Tree Tent. This ended up being a very honest show that I'm truly glad I got to see and capture.
This was an amazing moment. What surprised me most about this very mellow and "unplugged" inspired acoustic set is that Moby is really quite funny and charming. It probably has something to do with all that wheat grass he drinks. Plus Nick does a great job introducing Moby and even gets a round of applause when he mentions Capital Public Radio - Huzzah!
Oh and they cover "Ring of Fire" - which is awesome!
Moby played a numbered of his most popular songs "acoustic style" but his version of "Porcelain" struck me as the best. This featured Kelli Scarr on piano and John Shannon's band mate on flugelhorn.
Watch more videos backstage, side stage, around the Village, and all over the festival at Paduta's Facebook and Off Air's Page! You can take a look at photos as well at both sites: especially all the wonderful pictures we took during the Brazilian Girls set on Sunday night!
Next time . . . more interviews with members of the
What an amazing trip - beautiful scenery and super nice people. Plus great food and music!
View from High Camp
As I mentioned in our Wanderlust Festival preview post, this year the structure of events was very different. Instead of this being a music festival with yoga, it was the other way around.
I really think this has to do with ticket sales and schedule conflict. Last year, bands played all day long at High Camp (pictured left) while yoga classes went on in the Village simultaneously.
Yoga with a View (High Camp Class)
This year music was a celebratory affair. Yoga folks posed all day in a number of glorious and breathtaking settings, and then danced their well-toned butts off during the headlining performances on the Pulse Stage at night.
And for those who took a break in between classes a number of artists and groups performed in the middle of the Village on the Casbah Stage. Nick Brunner from Off Air on Capital Public Radio introduced two of these performers: Kelli Scarr and John Shannon.
Kelli Scarr | Friday July 30th
A few things struck me about the young vocalist. First off, she's from Folsom and so am I! Secondly, she has a great tone. She sounds like a bluesy, modern Karen Carpenter. Scarr has the ability to both really belt it out and to be quiet and moody.
After a little research I was even more excited to hear that she's been featured on NPR a number of times:
You can currently listen to her new album "Piece" in its entirety on NPR's First Listen.
In May she performed a Tiny Desk Concert with Moby in which they cover not only Johnny Cash, but Lou Reed and Neil Young.
John Shannon w/ his band | Sat. July 31st
Here's the thing, I completely admire and respect the mystical and spiritual aspect of Wanderlust, but I just don't get it. I'll take a few yoga classes, but I'm no fanatic (I certainly can't do a handstand). I may appreciate it, but I don't regularly listen to new age music.
So I have to admit, I was thoroughly surprised by John Shannon last weekend. His album American Mystic illustrates his personality and sound to a tea.
Think of him as Sting and Matthew McConaughey's love-child: he's super chill, at one with the earth, and has a strikingly memorable voice - oh and he plays a mean 12 string!
I have to give BIG HUGE thanks to C3 Presents who made sure Nick and I not only had tickets to the festival, but an amazing room, and backstage/photo passes. These guys and gals put on not only Wanderlust, but Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza! Check them out!
Photos by Meg Sevier & Nick Brunner | Wanderlust 2010
Next Time . . . Wanderlust Recap: Backstage Edition!
