When I walked into Pearl Street, I had no idea I would soon encounter Mick Jagger’s incarnated self in The Booze’s lead singer Chaz Tolliver; watch a musical giant (quite literally) in Earl Greyhound’s Matt Whyte; or get blasted in the face by OK Go’s confetti canons.

When I walked out of Pearl Street, I had a new expectation for how head-shakingly fantastic every other Tuesday night show should be.

If you get a chance to see any of these bands, I highly recommend it. I can assure you, hearing a recording does not do any of them justice.

Read the entire review here…

And special thanks to @nagelface for the pass hook up and for taking this shot:

myself with drummers extraordinaire PJ Curtis of The Booze + Big Ricc Sheridan of Earl Greyhound

image via http://www.justgetthere.us/blog

If you’ve read my thoughts on ubiquitous music or have been paying any attention to my twitter feed it’s pretty easy to understand why this article by Babak A. Parviz gets my geek up.

Let me visualize, without aid of a mobile device, meta data on things around me and embed a music player in my ear so I can have a constant soundtrack and I would be one happy camper. Really happy. You could cancel my birthday and Christmas for the rest of my life and I’d consider that a fine trade.

This slide show is from The Builders and The Butchers record release at the wonder ballroom in PDX with Loch Lomond & Ah Holly Fam’ly.

Check out the entire review right here…

Currently working with design legend and all around bad ass Austin Howe on getting the word out about his new book Designer’s Don’t Read, preaching and practicing some interactive and social media strategy with Matt @ Factory 25, helping out Pascal @ booquet, cranking out ridiculous iPhone apps with Kyle from Big Sprocket and just accepted a post as an associate editor (as well as photographer and writer) with melophobe.com ( @melophobe ). Honestly, I think I did that more to remind me what to do tomorrow than to tell you all whats going on.

OK, back to the point of this post. I was discussing a social media strategy with Matt from Factory 25 today and he asked if there was a good rule he should be following on twitter for the ratio of personal content to content relating information about his products. There are a ton of posts about twitter’s golden ratio being friends to followers, but isn’t the real golden ratio to be found in the ratio of the kind of content you’re putting out?

My first reaction to Matt’s question was to recoil in horror. OK not horror, but I’ll admit it hurt a little. I hated to think that something that I feel is so organic and based on relationships could have a “golden rule.” I mean it’s all about conversations and not campaigns right (thanks for that @mzkagan)? Be genuine and passionate about what you’re talking about and good things will happen. Surely this is more art than science right?

I’m sure there will be both scientific and go-on-your-gut approaches to this question, but before we go that far we really need to define the kinds of content a little further. Matt originally thought that there were two kinds of content, marketing his goods and relaying information. I know some reports have broken twitter content down into 20 or so themes, but really that would make for one messy ratio. To make it easier, lets say there are three kinds of tweets, ones that are:

1. marketing something (even if it’s yourself)
2. relaying relevant & interesting information
3. expressing personal feelings or things unrelated to what you’re marketing and having conversations

Even writing that I realize that if what you’re marketing is yourself then 1 & 3 are pretty much the same thing, but for the rest of this post, let’s assume that what’s being marketed is goods and not personal services or a personality.

While I haven’t done any solid research on the subject, my initial response was to try out a ratio of 1 (marketing someting) : 2 (relaying information) : 2 (personal & conversational). Going on the idea that even on a heavy day Matt would probably be posting 10 tweets, that would mean two of them were product related, four were industry/entertainment related and four were personal & conversational.

Would love to hear other kinds of crazy math pertaining to this subject…

That’s right.
Nothing.

That’s one boring state.
The sunset in henrys lake was downright amazing, but other than that I’m just glad it’s over.

(yes this post is a day behind, apparently they don’t have the internet in idaho or yellowstone national park)
and now for the musical hits of the day…

Local(e) listings 2:
Black river killer – blitzen trapper
Do wah diddy – Corey Harris
Cracks in a photograph – Ryan Adams
Redemption Song – matisyahu
Where happiness lives – Magnet
Lowdown – MMJ
Wantin her again – ben kweller
Suddenly – the bogmen
Whatever I fear – toad the wet sprocket
I saw the light – tom leach

DOWNLOAD THE TUNES HERE

Passers-by were able to stand in front of a series of three background images which had “SNOW” flakes falling in front of them. Using the motion detection software, people could move the falling snow in random directions as it fell to the ground by waving their arms or legs… or whatever else they could think of.

In addition to the installation itself, I also co-produced the spot which featured the installation for the seasons TV campaign. Check it out by clicking the link to the right.

roles: concept, producer, implementation, technical producer, photography

• all the money i had is gone / the deep dark woods:
  a timely release if there ever was one. ever tried to make losing all your money sound happy? somehow deep dark has done it. i haven’t heard much of their new album, but if it’s anything like this tune, i’ll be picking it up. and besides, who doesn’t like bands from saskatchewan?
• crabapples / bruce peninsula:
  another talent from north of the border. not sure how to explain what their sound is… i think that’s a good thing. heavily laden with vocal play, there’s an element of marching band maybe, toss in some drum circle? ok there’s no way to classify it. at least not that i can think of. give a listen.
• the devil never sleeps (alternate version) / iron & wine:
  recently I&W released some alternate takes from 2007s “the shepard’s dog” including this stellar version of the devil never sleeps. the collection is no long available from the site itself. find it. pronto.
• everyday / vetiver:
  off of the new “tight knit,” vetiver’s everyday keeps up with the bands light-hearted, head tilting sound. kinda sounds like it belongs in a coke commercial, but totally worth the time. and for my friends without a mild depression problem, this is right up your alley…
• going out tonight / andrew vincent:
  i expected andrew to be 22… he’s definitely not. i do dig the tune, though i doubt how much damage this guy could do during a night out that “ain’t gonna be good” and “ain’t gonna be right.”
• liar / mumford & sons:
  what would a music list be if it didn’t include at least one artist from across the pond? so here they are, mumford & sons. liar is a pretty dramatic song with very simple lyrics and for me, somehow brings in the feeling of being seaside(?)… can’t explain it. definitely a permanent favorite though.
• sweet, sweet magdalene / justin vernon:
  justin vernon (aka: bon iver) put out “self record” in 2005 to little or no notice. too bad because it’s pretty badass. featuring his non-falsetto self, “sweet, sweet” has a bit of the story teller vibe to it.

couple this with the fact i saw fleet foxes’ new album for sale on the other side of the counter a few months after they shot to the front of my playlist, and i’m beginning to think i’m old and slow.

ouch.

well either that or i should get a job @ starbucks…

ok so here’s the first installment of music ramblings which i’ll call “on the radar”. the bands mentioned here have come to my attention in one way or another (live, commercial recordings, indie recordings, recommendations, whatevs…) and i figure they’re worth writing about on some level. i most likely won’t spend too much time writing about bands i don’t like since that seems to be a reasonably large waste of time.

regarding the opinions stated in these ramblings, some will agree with me, some will not.

matt will most likely call me a hippie.

decide for yourself which path to follow…

the old believers:
in other words: (from relix) “Alaskan natives, Nelson Kempf (vocals, guitar, balalaika, beat sequencing, keys, lap steel, harmonica, mandolin, banjo) and Keeley Boyle (vocals, guitar) left their small fishing town of Kenai after graduating high school in 2006 and embarked on a journey most easily summed up by listening to Simon and Garfunkel’s “America.”Inspired by home and leaving it, their album, Eight Golden Greats, is ideal for road trips and rainy days, with a free-spirited funky folk sound and lyrics that will make you cry. “The sad nostalgia in our songs has a lot to do with us both being away from home for the first time,” Kempf relates. This lyricist, who isn’t even of legal drinking age could join the ranks of Dylan someday with verses like, “I’d curl your smoke/Around my little fingers/And laugh at jokes/That I don’t get.””

my take: the first of what i’m calling the night’s “family band” theme. these guys could stand to lose a few members (maybe 4?) i think they had about a dozen people on stage and the sync wasn’t there. you could feel it when they were on, so the potential is present, but they’ve got a long road ahead to make it to the level of either of the other bands on the bill.

check out: meh… wait a few years.

loch lomond:
in other words: “Loch Lomond’s latest release Paper the Walls is due from Portland’s Hush Records fall 2007. Loch Lomond started as a solo recording project of Ritchie Young in 2003. With help of engineer/ producer Rob Oberdorfer, Ritchie crafted the first Loch Lomond album, When We Were Mountains (In Music We Trust Records). Over the next few years, Loch Lomond performed the West Coast via their home in Portland, Oregon in various incarnations. Live performances would range from Ritchie by himself to an eight-person band. During this time, many different recording sessions took place in various studios and homes. These recordings were eventually compiled on an EP called Lament for Children (Hush Records) the summer of 2006. In the later half of 2006, Loch Lomond solidified into a full band, and the group is now busy rehearsing, writing and recording the second full-length Loch Lomond album; expected fall 2007 *Hush Records). The group will be on the road between recording times, some shows utilizing the full line-up, and others as a condensed, but equally powerful version of the band.”

my take: the first few songs out of loch lomond made me wonder why the hell i hadn’t heard much of them before. their “chamber music” and vocal stylings have a way of wrapping you in a little bit of wonderland if you allow it to do so. definitely something i wouldn’t mind hearing pop in the audio-technicas once in a while, but not something i would listen to an entire album of. i can see putting this on a play list for my two year old also (as an alternative to nursery rhymes and chipmunks songs).

check out: elephants and little girls

blind pilot:
in other words: Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski are Blind Pilot. Friends since college, Israel and Ryan have traveled many a mile to get where they are today–literally. Last year Israel and Ryan embarked on a West Coast bike tour. This wasn’t a tour where they road bikes, and had a van hauling the equipment. They hauled everything on their bikes. No gas. 100% leg powered. Playing little towns that don’t often get shows by “touring bands” – they were able to share their brand of music with people who weren’t particularly familiar with indie-pop, or indi anything. But they found that heart-felt lyrics an beautiful music appeal to just about everyone.

my take: pretty much the best complete album (3 rounds and a sound) i’ve heard in a long time, especially when it comes to first releases. great tunes with just enough orchestration to make it stand out from the crowd. toss in some great, head-tilting rhythms and clever lyrics and i’m buying in to these guys. as a friend noted, israel sang pretty much the entire show on his toes. that gives you kind of an idea as to the energy that comes out in a live performance.

check out: go on say it, one red thread, 3 rounds and a sound, oviedo, poor boy, never show a heart of gold

just buy the album and get it over with…

well it’s up.
it works.
people like it…

and it’s soon to be the subject of a TV commercial.

the installation finally went up amid a whole lotta hoopla (see above) and despite a few snafus like someone taking two mighty tries to bust in through the front door to get to the goodies last sunday night (thank you schlesinger brothers for taking care of that for us!) things have been going fairly smoothly.

the next step in the evolution of this thing is a TV commercial about the installation it’s part of the series being done for Portland’s Downtown Marketing Initiative by NORTH. it’ll air locally through the holidays. you’ll also be able to see the spot on the downtownportland.org site once it gets distributed.

stay tuned, and as always, read more here.

as a parting shot, if you haven’t read this great article about the future of advertising (among other things) i would highly suggest it.

doooooooo it.

it’s worth the five pages.