From antimusic.com:
Rock Ridge Music is expanding the Hotel Carolina brand by starting an new event weekend scheduled to take place at the Grape Room in Philadelphia on January 27 and 28, 2012.
Like the original South Carolina event (which has taken over The Windjammer on Isle of Palms for three years in a row in late summer), the Philadelphia event will feature the best in touring singer-songwriters.
Read more HERE.
Filed under Industry, Venue News
Any band that has booked a show at The Grape Room in the last 6 months knows how much emphasis we put on them to utilizing ReverbNation. And if you’ve been a music conference in recent years, chances are you’ve had a conversation with co-founder / not-an-Eagles fan Lou Plaia. Walking the walk, you’ll find their schedule widget right on the front page of this website. - Anthony
From ReverbNation.com:
Today we’re announcing some major upgrades to our popular Facebook app, My Band. We’re giving it a new name (Band Profile) and some seriously powerful new features. More details are below, but to check them out right away you just need to login to Band Profile and click on the Appearance tab (if you haven’t upgraded your band page to Facebook’s new layout, you’ll need to do that too, but it’s as easy as clicking a blue ‘upgrade my page’ button upgrade your Facebook page).
Your App has Fan Boosters to grow your Fanbase
We know fans are critically important for an artist, and that’s why we wove Fan Boosters into the fabric of the new app. Fan Boosters help you grow your mailing list, build the Likes to your Facebook page or spread your music virally. They are super easy to activate, and they work automatically after you set them.
Read more HERE.
GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot (aka Flattus Maximus) will perform with his band, Mensrea on Sunday, March 13 at The Grape Room.
Calling Richmond VA home, Mensrea can be described as a schizophrenic rain-dance of metal and hardcore archetypes. From shredding at break neck speeds giving way to experimental, if not jazz induced instrumental passages. Clearly a group of individuals, the members that comprise Mensrea share a common vision to their brand of Metal.
Also performing: Throne From Royalty, Gloominous Doom, The Fetals and Barbarism
Doors at 6pm
21+, $10 cover
Filed under Band News, Industry, Venue News
From thefeast.com:
Philadelphia’s Amos Lee released his latest LP of funky folk, Mission Bell, last week. Yesterday, it reached #1 on Billboard’s album chart, a milestone that used to be every artist’s dream, but now, signifies nothing as much as the swiftly changing music industry. Lee’s album, with only 40,000 copies sold, immediately became the lowest-selling LP ever to reach Billboard’s #1.
Lee, who was born in Philly and went to Cherry Hill HS East, had released three previous albums on Blue Note, none approaching the popularity of his latest effort. The artist, whose sound encompasses a kind of Stevie-Wonder-meets-James-Taylor-in-a-jazz-club vibe, has been busy promoting the album’s release, and headlining an International Tour, so he must be doing something right.
Read more HERE.
Filed under Industry, Philly Music Scene
From nydailynews.com:
Is the music age of the once-mighty MySpace coming to a close?
With the social-networking company on News Corp’s chopping block and half of the staff slashed last month, the site appears to be in a free fall.
In the fading light of the social network, there is a place musicians are turning to: Bandcamp. Taking up the DIY mantle, the company, launched in 2007, offers musicians the chance to sell and promote their tunes directly to the people. Founder Ethan Diamond describes the site as “a publishing platform for bands … your fifth, fully geeked-out Beatle — the one who keeps your very own website humming and lets you get back to making great music and building your fan base.”
Diamond’s mind-set may be just what independent musicians were looking for.
Click HERE to read more.
Read Ethan Diamond’s interview with AbsolutePunk HERE.
Filed under DIY, Free Download, Industry
From indie-monster.blogspot.com:
Origivation Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards Show will be Thursday, March 10th, 7:00pm – 10:00pm at The Legendary Dobbs 304 South Street Philadelphia, PA. Cover is $8. Check out the Nominees below.
Best Pop Act: Ike, The Fractals, Post Post, The Beekeepers
Best Indie Rock Act: Cheers Elephant, Toy Soldiers, The Quelle Source, TJ Kong & The Atomic Bomb
Best Folk Act: Up the Chain, Sisters 3, The Spinning Leaves, Bells Bells Bells, The Bird Choir
Best Singer/Songwriter (Male): Hezakiah Jones, Ryan Tennis, Don McClosky, Chris Kasper
Best Singer/Songwriter (Female): Birdie Busch, Suzie Brown, Christine Havrilla, Hunter Gatherer, Christie Lenee
Best Live Show: Dr. Dog, Da Rezarekt, Man Man, Downtown Harvest
Best Touring Act: Good Old War, Free Energy, Dr. Dog, Hoots & Hellmouth
Best Music Venue: Milkboy Coffee, World Cafe Live, Johnny Brendas, North Star
Best Open Mic/Oen Jam: Triumph Brewery, Dawson St. Pub, McGuilicuddy’s, World Cafe Live
Best Music Video: The Swimmers, Metropolis America, Parachuting Apostles, Sun Airway, George Stanford
Read more HERE.
Filed under Band News, Industry, Philly Music Scene
The LAUNCH Music Conference has announced more panelists. Among them… Dan DeFonce (Love As Arson Booking Agency), Leah Urbano (Crimson Management), David Silbaugh (Grammy Chapter Board Advisor/Summerfest) and Josh Maloney (director of A&R for Dean Guitars and DDrum).
Click HERE for the most current list.
Filed under DIY, Industry, Philly Music Scene
From roxborough.patch.com:
Second acts can be hard in rock ‘n’ roll. Then again, for The Memorials and Just Like Vinyl, who will be playing The Grape Room Feb 1 (7 p.m., $10), this is more like the umpteenth act.
Memorials drummer Thomas Pridgen has played with Foxy Shazam, Juliette Lewis and, most famously, The Mars Volta. Guitarist Nick Brewers has done time with everything from reggae to metal. Just Like Vinyl’s Thomas Erak fronted prog-metal act Fall of Troy; bassist Henry Batts was on the road crew.
Memorials frontwoman Viveca Hawkins is the one fresh face among the vets. Sure, she’s got plenty of experience with music, but rock was a new game for her.
“(Pridgen) wanted it to be an original sound. I provided that with an ignorance,” she said. “I didn’t listen to much popular music. There are those hardcore rock fans who don’t hear what I hear. Where I’m coming from is a totally different background. All the different ways I choose to use my voice come from gospel and jazz and hip-hop and soul.”
Read more HERE.
Article written by Joe Pelone.
From altpress.com:
Recently, Ace Enders announced that due to financial constraints, he would likely not be able to continue touring, and the album he’s working on now may very well be his last. Since Enders revealed this, he’s received a massive outpouring of support. Fans have sold T-shirts and wristbands to benefit Enders, his wife and young child. Supporters have solicited donations to help the musician continue being, well, a musician. The response has not been entirely positive, however. Some people think that if you’re a famous musician (or at least relatively well-known) you shouldn’t need or accept financial support. The circling question seems to be: If musicians sell records and merch and get paid for playing shows, why don’t they have any money?
The idea that musicians—even well-known musicians who sell out large club shows—have money is a misconception for the most part. Financial concerns and viability obviously vary from artist to artist; no two musicians are exactly the same when it comes to money and how it’s made and spent. But what most fans fail to realize is how much it costs to be a musician and how much more it costs to be a musician on the road.
Read more HERE.
From ynotradio.blogspot.com:
Tune in on Wednesday at 11am and 10pm for this week’s edition of Y-Not Philly. Our old friends Pepper’s Ghost will be guest hosts, playing some of their Philadelphia favorites, plus performing their own songs livein the Bunker.
