Tag: Music

Preview: Cat Power: Not to be confused with Thunder Cats…

watsonsauce

The Ark is a wonderful venue in Ann Arbor. They are skilled at bringing lovely musicians to the area and have recently been kicking off some new album tours, the most recent of which was Ingrid Michelson.
Cat Power has been performing on and off since the mid-90’s and has recently come out with a new album: “Sun.”
I was introduced to her music in 2007 in a mix CD from a crush. Her sound is somewhat reminiscent of MOBY. She has a beautiful voice and clearly has a finely tuned ear for music.

“Sun” is a blend of electronica, ethereal vocals, and computerized ticks. “Critics have noted the constant evolution of Cat Power’s sound, with a “mix of punk, folk and blues” on her earliest albums, and elements of soul and other genres more prevalent in her later material. [3] [4] [5] Her 2012 album Sun incorporated electronica, in a self-proclaimed move from the “really slow guitar songs” she initially wrote for the album. [6]” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Power) “Really slow guitar songs” are what Cat Power has filled previous albums with. Her early music has a little Patty Smith flavor through out it’s execution. It is refreshing to experience an artist with such a past in the industry reinventing her sound for this album, the first original she has released in Six years. These style changes are not always well received within the music critic and listening community.

This show takes place on Saturday October 27th at the Royal Oaks Theater http://theark.org/3343.html

Learn more about this talented lady: http://www.catpowermusic.com/

Cat Power: Ruin: \”Sun Announcement\” – Video

Preview: El Ten Eleven: Post Rockin, Double Necking

watsonsauce

This LA duo, El Ten Eleven, is coming to The Blind Pig on Saturday October 20th 9pm. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. 18+
Their sound is entirely musical, no vocals. Very rhythmic, using drums, keyboard, fretless, double necked bass and loop pedal in innovative ways to create a physically and mentally captivating sound. They are beautiful to watch and amazing to listen to. I highly recommend checking this group out after the Michigan State game on Saturday!

The Blind Pig Calendar:
http://www.blindpigmusic.com/calendar.html

El Ten Eleven – KEXP

Preview: Battle of the Bands: A Roman Blood Bath

watsonsauce

Mark your calendars for this epic battle of Spartan proportions, which will take place on November 16th: Pendleton Hall in the Union
Although this event will not take place until November is bears mentioning now for those of you who have a band and are interested in joining the fray!
New Beat Happening (NBH), a student group on campus, holds this event every fall to showcase local talent from around Michigan and the University. NBH brings a bigger performer to campus in the Winter semester for general student enjoyment and moral boosting, not to mention potentially introducing you all to something you wouldn’t have otherwise been exposed to. (In the past NBH has brought: Atlas Cloud, Girl talk…..) Although this cannot be guaranteed by NBH, due to the finicky tendencies of musicians, the winner of November’s Battle of the bands may be able to open for Winter’s headlining band. If not NBH may be able to offer the Battle winner their own headlining show on campus, to be adored by all who are fortunate enough to bask in their glory.
If you would like to throw your band’s, or your own solo-performing, name in the ring for this Battle please send a sample of your music to:

nbh.battle.2012@gmail.com

and wait with bated breath to see if you will be chosen to battle against fellow musicians for the title of:
New Beat Happening’s 2012 Battle of the Bands Victor!

Preview: Music-Con: The Comic-Con of Michigan Music

watsonsauce

Music-Con is an event sponsored by The Center for Campus Involvement, The Ark and the University of Michigan’s own, student-run, musical performance organization: New Beat Happening.
Sunday, October 21st, 12:00pm-4:00pm (FREEEEEE!!!!)

This event is for students who are interested in learning more about the music world through workshops on Demo Listening, Talent Buyer and Agent Forum, How to Get and Promote Gigs, a Song Writing Workshop, Street Marketing and Social Media as well as a Panel of local arts talking on “Being the Artist.”
Active members of the Michigan music scene lead all of the workshops. The keynote speaker for this event is Eric Morgeson; founder, producer and engineer at Studio A (http://www.studioarecording.com/).
Other workshop leaders hail from The Blind Pig (http://www.blindpigmusic.com/), The Ark (http://theark.org/), Radio hosts, iSPY magazine (http://mispymag.com/), and others.

This event takes place on Sunday October 21st 2012 from 12-4pm in the Michigan Union.

Registration is open to all students until Tuesday October 16th.

Register at: http://campusinvolvement.umich.edu/content/music-con-2012-registration

(if it is after Tuesday the 16th and you are still interested in registering go to: http://campusinvolvement.umich.edu/article/music-con-2012 to find updates on registration)

Please come and absorb the wisdom of these incredible human beings for the furthering of your musical and personal success!

EVENT BREAK DOWN:
11:30am-12:00pm Registration Check In – Michigan Union, 2nd Floor

12:00pm-12:45pm Keynote Speech: Eric Morgeson, Founder, Producer and
Engineer at Studio A
Eric tells us how he got to where he is today owning and operating a recording studio, and the lessons he learned along the way.

1:00pm-1:45pm How to Get and Promote Gigs: Get insider tips on forging through
the local scene to book successful gigs. These experts have worked
in many areas of the industry and offer up-to-date advice.
w. Susie Giang, Vice President and Agent at Fleming Artists and Joe Choma, Owner and Talent Buyer for Grand Circus Media

Talent Buyer and Agent Forum: Have questions about the talent buyer vs. agent relationship? Want to know more about this as a career? This panel discussion will give you the chance to ask questions.
w. Mike Green, Agent for TG2Artists, Adam Bauer, President and Agent at Fleming Artists, Anya Siglin, Programing Director at The Ark, and Jason Berry, Talent Buyer for The Blind Pig

Demo Listening: Demos submitted at the session are listened to, and then our experts provide a to-the-point discussion on what they are hearing and what music execs listen for in a demo.
w. David Siglin, Former Director of The Ark, and Rob Reinhart, radio host at WDET and Acoustic Café

2:00pm-2:45pm Street Marketing and Social Media: From flyering to Facebook,
this meeting explores the trends in marketing and social media.
w. Tim Adkins, Bro-Founder of Pakmode Media + Marketing, and Publisher of iSPY, and Matthew Altruda, Radio Host for Ann Arbor’s 107.1FM Treetown Sound and Marketing Event Coordinator for Sonic Lunch

Songwriting Workshop: Get creative and start writing some songs. This workshop provides guidance in getting your music on paper.
(speaker TBA)

Being the Artist: A discussion with local artists about making a name for yourself, creating albums, being a role model and more.
w. Dante LaSalle, Hip Hop Musician and Deejay
(other artists TBA)

2:45pm-4:00pm Trade Show: Featuring live music, a raffle for Ark tickets and local
vendors offering information about their music related products
and services.

All sessions will be located in the Michigan Union.

Here’s how to have your best conference experience:
· – Make sure you arrive to register between 11:30am-12:00pm so you don’t miss any of the keynote speech by Eric Morgeson!
· – You can choose 1 session to attend from 1:00pm-1:45pm and 1 session to attend from 2:00pm-2:45pm.
· – There will be a 15 minute break between each session to go to the rest room, check your cell phone, grab a snack or ask the speaker a one on one question.
· – The sessions will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. So go to your desired session first, and if it is at capacity, we will ask you to choose another session.
· – Planning to attend the demo listening workshop? Bring your personal demo in on CD for the chance to have your demo critiqued by the experts.
· – Planning to attend the songwriting workshop? Bring a pen and paper.
· – This conference is for you to build your knowledge about the music industry, so make sure you ask questions of the speakers during the Q&A portions of the sessions.
· – Don’t miss out on the trade show at the end of the conference. There’ll be more time to mingle with the speakers, check out local vendors who offer music related products and services, live music and a raffle for a chance to win tickets to The Ark!

PREVIEW: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Hannah Weiner

Several years ago, Alex Ebert was lost and confused; previously a hard-partying member of the band Ima Robot, he left the band, broke up with his girlfriend, moved from his house and joined Alcoholics Anonymous. That was when Edward Sharpe, a messianic figure sent down to earth to heal mankind, was born.
The band was created by Ebert after he sketched out the character of Edward Sharpe and met Jade Castrinos in downtown L.A. Shortly after, they began touring the country in a giant white bus, meeting fellow musicians and having them join for the adventure. Besides for singing songs about 40 day dreams, setting your spirit free, and celebrating life, the band also loves charismatically dancing around stage, creating a cinematic experience while belting out gospel-like vocals. Their most popular song, “Home,” is often performed while Ebert and Castrinos joyfully jump up and down – Ebert usually clad in all-white.
After a cancellation of their May 29 show, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros will be playing September 25 at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. The small venue will not only showcase their fun, quirky, and hippie-esque performances, but the theatre is perfect for their exuberant and layered sound.
Tickets can be purchased through the following link: http://www.royaloakmusictheatre.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=54

PREVIEW: F.O.K.U.S Vanguards

nina.j

F.O.K.U.S Vanguards

If you are strolling through the Diag this Saturday, April 14th, you will see something like a circus taking place. A velcro wall, a bicycling, skateboarding, and bedazzling stations, throwback food, live music, live artwork, and, of course, lots of dancing. The student group F.O.K.U.S (Fight Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success) is holding its 8th Annual Vanguards Event. Music by Maimounna Yousef and other fabulous performers will be sounding from the Diag from noon to 5pm, so be sure to walk by and add a little flavor to your Saturday. I attended last year and had a celebratory time being creative and collaborating with other students who were excited about creativity and social justice through the arts.

F.O.K.U.S. strives to create and foster a diverse community by using the arts as a common medium.
We encourages artists, art enthusiasts, and other communities to work together and expand their comfort zones
through arts-related events and dialogues; we provide inspiration for artists to follow their dreams,
for perspective artists to attempt an art and for audiences to enjoy it all through our productions. F.O.K.U.S. events
attract artists and audiences from all walks of life as we see this inclusive nature as the only way to truly grow and
develop as a community. Since 2003, F.O.K.U.S. has been creating exciting spaces for people to explore themselves
and widen their appreciation for the arts.

art is…what unites us.

For more information, check out their website and Facebook event. See you there!

Photos from last year’s Vanguards