+ NEWS ARCHIVE+
WBLM
& SHIPYARD RELEASE GREETINGS FROM AREA CODE 207 CD VOLUME
7>>>>>102.9
WBLM-FM and Cornmeal Records, in association with Shipyard Brewing
Company, Casco Bay Brewing Company and The Inn On Peaks Island,
are proud to announce the release of "Greetings From Area
Code 207, Volume 7", a compilation CD of songs from Maine
bands and musicians. As
with "Greetings From Area Code 207 Volumes 1- 6" (compilation
CDs released in 2000-2005), 100% of the proceeds will go to benefit
The St Lawrence Arts Center on Munjoy Hill in Portland. The six
volumes (plus a best-of CD, "Maine Tracks", released
by Bangor Savings Bank in 2007) have raised over $100,000 to date.
Headlining
Volume 7 are previously unreleased songs by Ray Lamontagne, Rustic
Overtones, Phantom Buffalo, Sara Cox, The Coming Grass, As Fast
As, The Boneheads, Darien Brahms, Adam Gardner (Guster), Jon Nolan,
Steve Jones and Seekonk, along with 9 others. The disc was mastered
at the world famous Gateway Mastering studios in Portland by Grammy
Award winning engineer Adam Ayan. The new CD will be available
at all Bull Moose stores (located throughout Maine and in Portsmouth
and Salem NH) and at Borders Books and Music in South Portland.
It will be available on-line at www.bullmoose.com and at www.cornmealrecords.com.
“I
guess I say this each time we release one of these compilations,
but this is the best one yet“ said Charlie Gaylord, the
CD’s executive producer and principal of Cornmeal Records.
“It is a testament to our local musicians and music scene
that, pound for pound, we continue to be asgood as any city in
the country”.
Of special note on Volume 7 are the two live tracks recorded at
One City Center by Ray Lamontagne and Rustic Overtones. Lamontagne,
with a solo acoustic song, is appearing on his fourth consecutive
GFAC 207 CD and The Overtones recording is from their historic
comeback show held on July 27, 2007 on the BLM patio, overlooking
Monument Square, in front of an estimated 6,000 fans. These two
tracks are not available anywhere else.
NEW
BENEFIT ADDED FOR PMF MEMBERS>>>>>We're
constantly working to drum up new member benefits. This month,
we've signed up Port Media, a relatively new
recording studio down in Kennebunkport. Built in an 18th century
farm house and designed by Tom Marks of Los Angeles,
Port Media's relaxed atmosphere is designed to inspire creativity.
Equipment
includes: Pro Tools; Neumann, AKG, and Shure microphones;
Millennia Media and Universal Audio microphone preamps; and Universal
Audio's 1176ln compressor... just the tip of the iceburg of gear!
Port
Media is offering a 10% discount off of its hourly
rate to PMF members.
Check
out www.port-media.com
for all the details, or email Michael McNerney,
the proprietor.
“MISTAKES
WERE MADE” EVENT OFFERS PLENTY OF LESSONS>>>>>
On
April 16, a brave crowd fought against the sunny weather and the
impulse to watch the Sox play the Yankees to hear nine professionals
in the local music industry talk about the lessons they’ve
learned through some of the mistakes they’ve made as they’ve
built their careers. Here is a synopsis of the major points:
Sonya
Tomlinson, aka Sontiago: Don’t assume people know
who you are. Don’t try to promote your disc nationally without
a paid publicist. Don’t forget to sign up with ASCAP or
some other publishing firm. Don’t forget you can write all
your music expenses off as part of your taxes.
Herb
Ivy, station manager, WCYY, WBLM: Don’t forget
to communicate and plan. Calling something a McPigeon sandwich
on the air is a bad idea if McDonald’s advertises with you
radio station. As the stakes get higher, plan more.
Dan
Connor, musician, Goud’s Thumb, Gypsy Tailwind:
Don’t name your band Goud’s Thumb. Make sure you think
about your band name, have a story behind it, and use the English
language.
Kate
Schrock, solo musician: Make sure you understand the
motives behind the decisions that are being made for you by people
who work for you, like publicists and agents. Don’t forget
that people make bad decisions for bad reasons, and sometimes
it can sidetrack your career.
Todd
Richard, musician, publicist, jack of all trades: Don’t
forget to take some of the money your band makes for yourself.
Even a little bit for a few beers or gas money means a lot. If
you’re a Christian band, don’t worry about how many
Jesuses per minute you have in your songs. Seriously. Check the
credentials of the people offering to work with you or for you.
Yasmin
Craig Vitalius, violinist, Portland Symphony Orchestra (and other
ensembles): Always be prepared, whether it’s for
an audition or a gig. You might have five minutes that will affect
the rest of your career. Don’t practice so much you injure
yourself. Make sure to take care of your body and treat it as
nicely as you treat your instrument. Stop if you hurt, but take
it to the limit if you can.
Spencer
Albee, musician, Rustic Overtones, As Fast As: Don’t
put your high-minded ideals about taking advantage of good opportunities.
If you have a chance to play in front of everybody who’ll
be distributing Arista’s albums for the next year, don’t
just play the songs you think are cool and impressive. Play your
hits. If a famous producer like Daniel Lanois wants to work with
you, don’t try to dictate the terms. Just make the record.
But also make sure you listen to your instincts and don’t
make something that isn’t yours.
Brett
Wickard, co-owner, Bull Moose Music: Always remember
what’s in it for the other guy. Make sure the bar does well
the night you play, or the store that sells your record makes
money off it. If there’s nothing in it for them, why would
they contribute to your success? Always make sure you treat the
frontline people well, whether it’s at a record store where
you’re making an appearance or at a club where you’re
playing. The owner of the place will judge you by how you treat
the counter people and the waitstaff, so don’t shit on them
and then suck up to the owner. That won’t get you anywhere.
Scott
Ordway, owner, Ideal Entertainment Group, management firm:
You need to treat your music like a career, and it can be your
career if you treat it that way. Focus on the business aspects,
learn about contracts, make sure you network and develop contacts.
Like any business, whom you know is as important as what you know
or how you play.
PMF
IN-DEPTH SESSIONS HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR CYBER LITERACY>>>>>
If you missed our first members-only, in-depth educational sessions
back in February, here’s a tip: make sure your email
skills are polished and refined. For the roughly 75 members
in attendance at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, the message that
came through loud and clear in both the Press Relations 101 and
Gigging 101 sessions is that journalists, booking agents, club
owners and virtually anyone else in the business likes to be contacted
digitally, not by phone, and definitely not with a hard-copy press
kit (dang, those are like soooo 1996).
In
the Press Relations 101, Press Herald scribe Aimsel Ponti emphasized
the need for a decent subject line, to help her wade through the
hundreds of inquiries she gets daily. She said she responds to
everything, but maybe will get back more quickly to someone who
gives her a frame of reference and lets her know that she’s
covered that band before. Chris Dahlen, writer for internationally
known web site www.pitchforkmedia.com and national magazine Paste,
said he unfortunately can’t reply to all of the emails he
receives (not many at all, actually), but he’s looking to
establish a connection with band, and hopes that bands contacting
him have an idea of his past writings and why he’d be likely
to review them. Sam Pfeifle, music writer at the Portland Phoenix,
agreed with both Ponti and Dahlen that nothing should be mailed
without a request. An initial email can say that a CD is being
released, and ask if the writer would like a copy. Once bands
get a”yes,” they’re much more likely to have
their postage rewarded with a review than if an album showed up
unannounced on a writer’s doorstep.
In
Gigging 101, Lauren Wayne, talent buyer and promoter for Live
Nation and the White Heart, agreed that all communication should
be done via email, and emphasized that bands looking to get opening
slots should be able to present a business case for why they should
be included. Pat May, northeast agent for Skyline Music, a talent
seller, agreed with this, saying bands need to develop their “stats”:
how many can you put in a room, how often, and where? How many
plays do you have on Myspace? Mark Lourie, May’s colleague
at Skyline, emphasized that bands shouldn’t get ahead of
themselves. “These bands come to me saying they can draw
300 in their home town and say, ‘Let’s tour the country.’
No. The next step is playing in cities reachable on one tank of
gas.” Alias, a hip-hop artist who’s toured the U.S.
and Europe with the anticon label, pointed out that Portland is
a great place to be for just that reason: Within a day’s
drive you have Boston, Worcester, Northampton, New York, Burlington—all
of them with music scenes and live clubs.
Finally,
Recording 101 didn’t focus much on emailing, but did emphasize
that bands prepare for their studio experience so that they make
the most of it. Jim Begley, recording engineer and producer at
the Studio and elsewhere, said it’s sometimes the simple
things that need to be taken care of—getting new strings,
new drum heads, getting guitars properly intonated, etc. Walt
Craven, guitarist and vocalist for Goud’s Thumb, 6gig, and
Lost on Liftoff, said it was important to record yourself, and
listen to yourself, often before even entering the studio. Just
a boombox in the corner of the practice space is often all that’s
necessary for a band to realize that all the parts don’t
quite fit on a song. There was also much talk of the role of a
producer. Adam Ayan, mastering and recording engineer at Gateway
Mastering and DVD, said most producers he’s worked with
have very much been in it for the art and the artist, but that
bands need to learn to trust producers if they’re going
to get anything out of the experience.
This,
of course, is just the tip of the iceberg of what was discussed,
as attendees were treated to four hours of presentations.The
next round of educational courses will be offered April 16 and
May 14. Click here
for info.
