I’m back!! This is the show you’ve all been waiting for! Some of you may be wondering why it takes a week (or more) to produce the show. Good question.
Grab Today’s Show
Click on the podcast icon below to download the show in mp3 format; it should automatically play when the download is complete (under a minute).
The answer is not all that complicated. Basically I speak to or at least make the effort to speak to all the bands before I use their material on SoundTrip. This accomplishes 2 things. First it helps me form relationships with the bands. This is important because promotions are a two way street.
Second, and most importantly, I make the extra effort to obtain high quality encodings of the recordings. My goal is to produce the best available sound quality for both you the listener and the band; otherwise what is the point? Most downloads of mp3’s are already encoded at a subpar 128k. Mashing them up in the grand mix further degrades the lossy material. One word sums this artifact of mp3 wizardry up, crapola.
I have been comtemplating making flac versions of the show available; depending on demand. So by all means, please let me know if this would be of interest to you.
As time goes on I will build up a large enough library where the shows will start to come out more frequently. For now my goal is once a week!
Today’s show features the following Artists
Fisher - The Life
Ron Wasserman and Kathy Fisher have already accomplished what most bands can only hope to achieve. The have a family, their music has been featured in movies, reached the top ten on Billboard and chronicled in Time, Entertainment Weekly and the Los Angeles Times. But this is just a small selection from their huge resume. The band has been featured on the Tonight Show and recently released a Toyota commercial featuring their latest single “Beautiful Life” that can be seen at their band website thefisherband.com.
Ok, enough about where they’ve been. Their journey underlies the true talent of the poet-singer-composer team from LA. Kathy’s velvety vocals and Ron’s compositions are too diverse to pin as a simple alternative-pop band. Together they form a powerful presence that begs to be played repeatedly as demonstrated in the SoundTrip opener “The Life”, a song that takes on Fiona Apple for her flippant attitude toward the music industry that many people fight to become a memer of.
By all means check out Fisher’s material on their personal band website. The following link will lead you directly to their new CD that can be purchased at Amazon.
Rantings of Eva– Infrared
Here’s the sploofy props on Rantings; they rock! The Georgia band was just featured on stage at the 2005 Atlantis Music Conference and is in the studio working on a new CD for 2006.
These guys have been tearing it up with their guitar driven rock and mysteriously excellent vocals. I am a big fan of the Def Tones and the Stone Roses so it is no surprise that Rantings caught my ear as they find a middle ground somewhere in between. Check out their other material such as “Panic” on the band website and watch the latest video. The new CD will be one to watch for. Get on the band mailing list and let them know you are waiting eagerly for the release.
Ballyhoo– Longshot
Say Hello to Howi, Mista J, Dino and Blaze. Ballyhoo is listed as a groove rock band on Garage Band but I am beginning to suspect that this genre is being used for bands that don’t really fit into any one category. In any event Ballyhoo identifies themselves with 311, Hoobastank and Sublime. I think the vocals are a close match with Sublime backed by heavy Ska Rock instrumentals. These cats are fun.
I played Longshot but Ballyhoo fans will recognize another Ballyhoo clip in the lead in mash up on today’s show. That familiar “let’s get ready to rumble” line is indicative of the intensity and energy the band brings to the stage. Longshot is the compromise in Ballyhoo’s conficted arsenal of reggae ska rock personality.
What’s that? Did I hear a guitar lead? Thanks guys, too many bands of today have left the guitar lead behind. Ballyhoo shows that it is OK to include a lead and a bridge in one song! Check them out on their website. Ballyhoo has a new CD scheduled for release on January 24th.
MadHats - Plastic Scissors
As usual I like to change things up on SoundTrip. I like to play good music period. Fans of Oysterhead and Primus will dig the latest song, “Plastic Scissors” from the MadHats. This fits my definition of experimental or jam rock. I love the jazzy rhythms, frippish change ups and serpentine bass against the deranged vocals. The digital goddess Beth (my better half) gives “Scissors” a thumbs up; what more is there to say?
MadHats hails from South Dakota. Stop by the band website or check out PodSafe to grab all their songs.
Dirtywhite Fashion - Throwing Stones
I came across Dirtywhite Fashion on one of my extended searches through Garage Band. I have a formula that I follow religiously when browsing the large band directories; pick a genre, close my eyes and click. It takes quite some time to find just the right song and Dirtywhite helped shorten my search with “Throwing Stones”. The song provides a solid mix of vocals, keys, guitars and drums that fit the bill for this show.
“Throwing Stones” is off their second CD “Reality Music”. The band comes to us from New York and is following up the success of their first CD “Thirteen”. The band recently signed on with Memory Lane Music group out of New York. Stones is one of many songs that have been getting attention from their latest release. Check out the single Sugarland as it becomes the bands 5th song to climb into the top 25 at Garage. You can buy the bands CD’s on their home site and on CD Baby.
Cush - Little Black Dress
Cush is everywhere. Podcaster, musician, publisher and management at Other World Productions seems to sum it up but likely only touches the surface. I even think he jams with Fisher!
One ot the best things about people like Cush is that he can appreciate that mp3’s need to be distributed at something higher than 128k. I was surprised to find “Little Black Dress” on Podsafe at 256k. Podsafe and 256k! Someone went out of their way to make podcasting of their material easy.
Little Black Dress is simply awesome. A 70’s style rock song with a modern mix of turntables, keys, clean delay and crisp harmonies. The production is top notch. This is how it is supposed to be done. Straight, simple and not over produced.
Brad Peterson - Nine
Brad Peterson joins us again on SoundTrip as the feature band of the month. “Nine” shows the diversity of his professional entourage and rock solid song writing with this jazzy number. My family and friends were vying for this song as the opener in the last show but as I said back then, Brad has too many great songs to choose from. The Red Album is a must buy for fans of music no matter what style you like. Get this album and be happy you did! Don’t forget to catch Brad playing at the Double Door in Chicago on Friday January 27th. Check out his website for more information.
- Trip
Technorati Tags: Podcast, Music, Entertainment, Blog, Podcasts
