Spill It: A Music Blog

Musicians' Challenge! Make One Album in One Month

If you're a musician and you think you are more prolific than Ryan Adams on a meth bender, do we have a challenge for you. This year's installment of "The RPM (Record Production Month) Challenge" begins at midnight tonight, challenging musicians across the globe to create one album (10 songs or 35 minutes) in one month. The challenge began on a local level in New Hampshire two years ago and last year's first international attempt drew 2,400 registrants. Even more press and viral attention this year ensures that number will grow exponentially.

Organizers say the challenge is all about being free in your creativity and connecting with artists from all over the world. The RPM Web site (find it here) allows participants to create a profile (a la MySpace) with music and blogs, giving artists the chance to give and receive feedback on the various projects. The challenge is open to all genres and amateur recordists shouldn't be put off — all levels of quality are welcome. For some samples of last year's results, check the RPM Web site's Jukebox feature here.

Stressing that this is not a contest (so, please, no wagering!), the site lays out this manifesto on its site:

What if every musician you knew put their music first for 29 days? What if every living being who could pick up an instrument spent February exploring their music? What if you recorded the best song of your life? What if you put aside the traditional expectations — that your record has to be a product that can be sold, that it has to be recorded in a studio with all the bells and whistles? What if you could do whatever you wanted? What if you recorded a solo record for the first time? What if you tried a new genre? What if you collaborated with someone you'd never met?

Sounds like either fun or a nightmare, depending on your usual creative pace. Who's in? Finally, my chance to make that Emo Opera I've always dreamed of!

If you sign up, let us know how you're doing and what your plans are. If I sign up, maybe I'll do the same (unless it sucks, which is probable).

Check out an entertaining little "trailer" video that organizers put together below the fold.

— Mike Breen

The Tuesday Drop: New Music Releases Available Today

New Music Releases Available Today, Tuesday, Jan. 29







Airbourne – Runnin’ Wild
Al B. Sure - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Al B. Sure
Ayreon – 01011001 (Prog Rock Opera alert!)
Beat Circus - Dreamland
Beck – Odelay (Deluxe Edition)
Big Daddy Kane - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Big Daddy Kane
The Blind Boys of Alabama - Down in New Orleans
Sarah Brightman - Symphony
Bullet for My Valentine – Scream Aim Fire
Jim Carroll - Praying Mantis (reissue)
Popa Chubby – Deliveries After Dark
Billy Ray Cyrus – Love Songs
Dailey & Vincent - Dailey & Vincent
Das EFX - Greatest Hits: The Very Best of Das EFX
Dispatch - Dispatch: Zimbabwe - Live at Madison Square Garden (DVD/CD)
The Doors - The Future Starts Here: The Essential Doors Hits
Dub Trio – Another Sound Is Dying

Lost in Sundance, Rolling Stone

Josh Hisle, a local Acoustic/Emo musician who works under the name Lost in Holland, is getting a lot of juice from his appearance in the upcoming Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young documentary, CSNY Déjà Vu. Besides appearing in the film jamming with Neil Young and having some songs in the movie, Hisle got to perform with band members last Friday at the Sundance Film Festival. The film is about the band's music and their political side. The band's anti-war stance made Hisle a good find for Young and Co. — Hisle is a former Marine who writes songs critical of the U.S.'s intent in Iraq.

Check out some photos of Hisle's performance with CSNY here.

The film (directed by Young under the name "Bernard Shakey") just premiered at Sundance, but as it spreads across the country in wider release, expect to see Hisle get even more attention. In fact, in the current issue of Rolling Stone, a photo of Neil Young and Hisle appears in a short piece about the film.

Josh has also received attention from news outlets like CNN (pre-mock-Primary-hysteria). Check out a clip from Anderson Cooper's show about Hisle below.

Band of Horses at the "New" Southgate House (1/27/08)

Once again the other side of the river has gotten it right. Just like the Levee revealing how much of a craphole downtown Cincinnati really is, the Southgate House is making all other venues in town look bad. They have made the extremely bold move to actually upgrade the house.

The new stage looks great and there is promise of a new lighting unit and sound system upgrades. In the words of GM Rick McCarty, “We want a place that the artist will remember.” They are also aggressively courting bands that typically forget that Cincinnati is an actual town where people go to see live music. Take a look at their lineup for the next two months and tell me you could find a better venue in town. Southgate has always been my favorite place to see live music and hopefully it becomes yours too.

With that being said, I would like to point out to the reader that with these improvements come policy changes. I have never seen so many people getting kicked out due to the use of cameras. Being a photographer, I am a little torn over this issue. I have always loved being able to go to any show and shoot to my heart’s content (except for the unpleasant experience with Neko Case). However, I use a professional camera and no flash. It drives me crazy when I see people trying to get pictures off of their camera phone. Or they take 50 pictures with their point and shoot and the flash popping every few seconds. On some nights I can barely get anything good with my camera, so I am pretty sure that your shots don’t look good at all. Nothing against a fan wanting to remember the show and have a memento, I totally get that. However, I can see why artists get a little frustrated with the constant flash popping. Luckily most people were cool with the new rule. So being the selfish person that I am, I support the policy … as long as it doesn’t affect me!

This was the first big show of the new year for me. I love Band of Horses and freaked when I saw that they were coming to town. I actually had a countdown going. Cease to Begin is ridiculously good and I can’t seem to go a week without listening to it. 

Next Thing You Know, Sammy Hagar Will Be Driving 55

It has been a field-day for headline writers the past 48 hours, as news that Amy Winehouse may or may not be entering rehab hit the news wires. Many have been back-pedaling because it appears the news may, in fact, have been false; Winehouse and some associated with her have denied it. The female Pete Doherty (or is that the brunette Courtney Love?) was alleged to have been the subject of a video the Sun tabloid found (and which was promptly seen by billions on YouTube) which featured the singer smoking "something" out of a glass pipe. What was it? I don't know, know, know (sorry!), but druggy friends tell me that's how you smoke crack.

I feel sorry for Winehouse, actually. But not so sorry for the media, which has jumped on the news with glee as they finally got the rehabilitation story they were waiting for … so they could write headlines like these:

"Winehouse in Rehab? Yes, Yes, Yes" — Associated Press
"Reports Say Rehab, but Amy says No, No, No" — Boston Herald
"Amy Enters Rehab - No? No? Yes!" — TMZ.com
"Amy Winehouse Still Saying 'No' To Rehab" — Entertainmentwise (UK)
"No, No, No Rehab for Amy" — OK! Magazine
"No, No, No (Again)" — metro.us
"Amy Winehouse Goes to Rehab  … Yes, Yes, Yes!" — CBS

Oh, the bliss that can be found in other's misfortunes. Especially when they have a song about it! What a fun job to have! And for the record, these are way better than a lot of the standard headlines, like the boring old, "Amy Winehouse Caught Smoking Crack."

Anyone can play. What's your best Amy Winehouse headline? Remember, she does have other songs! Here's an easy one:  "Back to Crack." Or how about, "No 'Wine' in the 'House' … But Lots of Crack!" National Enquirer editors take note — I am available for cheap.

(after/before photo: americangirl.co.uk)

— Mike Breen

MusicNow 2008 Lineup Unveiled

The annual MusicNOW festival keeps getting bigger and better every year. This year's event is no different. Last year, the festival — curated by Cincy native Bryce Dessner of Brooklyn-based Indie Rock sensations The Nation — nabbed marquee headliner Sufjan Stevens to round out an eclectic bill of progressive, experimental Chamber and Classical music. This year, there's several days' worth of marquee names. The event will again be held at Memorial Hall, next to Music Hall in Over-the-Rhine.

Thursday, April 3 will be "an evening of American Guitar" with classical guitarist Benjamin Verdery and Bill Frisell’s 828 Quartet.

Friday, April 4, you can catch The Dirty Projectors and Bang on a Can, which features Glenn Kotche of Wilco and Dessner.

And Saturday, April 5, Andrew Bird and Grizzly Bear (pictured) will close down the fest.

Tickets are $15 for single concerts or $40 for a series pass. They are available now at the MusicNOW Web site here. 

(photo: Grizzly Bear courtesy 230 Publicity)

— Mike Breen

Sean Paul Makes ME Sick, Too!

Maybe I need brain surgery.

A woman in Canada suffering from frequent seizures recently had an operation on her brain to correct the situation. While some seizures have been known to be triggered by strobe lights and sausage pizza Hot Pockets (OK, just made that one up, but eat one, sit on the toilet and tell me that's not a seizure), 25-year-old Stacey Gayle's grand mals were most pointedly triggered by sound. Not just any sound, but the sound of Dancehall Reggae superstar, Sean Paul, (normally) one of her favorite artists.
 

Reports say the surgery was a success and she can now listen to "Get Busy" without suffering a fit. That makes one of us.

(photo: Reggaesundays.com)

— Mike Breen

More Local Band Videos: Pomegranates

Since we're on a video roll today, how about one more for good measure? Here is a clip of the song "Whom/Who" by young Indie Pop band, Pomegranates. The band will have a new full-length album out this spring on Lujo Records, which released the EP, Two Eyes, last year. (A tip of the hat to Joe at Each Note Secure for digging this one up.) For more on the band, go here.

— Mike Breen

Eat to the Beat

Local New New Wave newcomers Eat Sugar are featured on spin.com (the site for Spin magazine) as today's "Artist of the Day." Go here and give them a "5 star" rating so they have a chance at becoming "Artist of the Year"!

Here's the band's groovy video for their groovy tune, "Sixteen," to further entice you.

— Mike Breen

"Dangerous" Men

Yes, we've been bloggin' a lot about Foxy Shazam lately. All well-deserved, trust me. Tonight is the band's big CD release party at The Mad Hatter in Covington. As a warm-up, check out the just-released video for their song, "A Dangerous Man."

— Mike Breen