screams, whispers and songs from planet earth

Month: February 2012

Ticket Masters vs. Music Fans: Unraveling the Sticky, Tangled Web of Today’s Concert Industry

Ticket scrambles, scalping, unsavory characters, and disheartened music fans have been around for a long time, but the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger added a layer of complexity to what was already a Godfather-esque state of affairs, in what has to be the dirtiest corner of the uber-sketchy music business.

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Yellow Ostrich Roosts at Great Scott Saturday Night; Hatches New Album

photo by Kyle Reinford

photo by Kyle Reinford

Yellow Ostrich, who I first talked about back in October of last year, are back in Boston (Allston actually, at Great Scott on Saturday night, March 3) to celebrate the release of their new album, Strange Land, out 3/6 on Barsuk Records.

I spoke of how eclectic and experimental they were on their earlier recordings. They’re even more so now, at least based on one of the singles, “The Shakedown,” which surprisingly (or at least to me) is a pretty straightforward guitar rocker! You can download it from them, but have a listen to another single from the imminent album, “Marathon Runner,” which is more to my personal tastes, but that’s just me. It’ll be interesting to hear the rest of the album, and it’s refreshing to discover another band not beholden to any particular genre.

Also on the bill Sat. night is the duo of Nicolas Snyder and Joshua Sickels, known as 1,2,3 and Old Abram Brown. This stop in Allston is the opening night of Yellow Ostrich’s national tour which takes in SXSW, lands at the Bootleg Theatre in L.A. with Niki and the Dove, and circles back to the Mercury Lounge in NYC on April 12. They’re also playing at Sasquatch in May.

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Introducing SeñoritAwesome – Recording & Editing Workshop at the Apple Store (w/ acoustic performance) – *tomorrow*

photo by Evol Graphics, Atlanta

photo by Evol Graphics, Atlanta

Lauren Fareira (a.k.a. SeñoritAwesome)
Workshop: Recording and Editing on a Mac (& acoustic performance)
the Apple Store, 815 Boylston Street, Boston, Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 7:00 pm

Atlanta artist Lauren Fareira’s stage name, SeñoritAwesome, suggests something showy and gimmicky, though truth be told, she’s anything but. As soon as her music begins, you’re immediately taken in by her warm, soulful jazzy pop vocals, intelligent lyrics, plucky ukelele and intimate acoustic guitar. There’s also some fine instrumentation that includes strings, flute, piano, percussion, though the focus is squarely on Lauren’s compelling storytelling.


[audio:http://www.bostonsurvivalguide.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ImaginaryLoveSong.mp3|titles=”Imaginary Love Song” (album edit)]

Her debut album, I Sing, I Play, I Write… was released back in March of last year, and true to the DIY spirit, she recorded and edited her demo album using GarageBand, Logic and Pro Tools (and iMovie to create her promo videos). She’ll be conducting a workshop on using these important tools at the Apple Store on Boylston Street, Boston, Wednesday February 22, 2012 at 7pm. The presentation will also include a short acoustic set from her album, and she’ll discuss how she uses Apple software to run her music career. This sounds like a very interesting evening for musicians just starting out, and for music fans who’d like to check out a natural talent. Awesome indeed.

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Help Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys Sow 28 Seeds

Ok, so what the heck is/are 28 Seeds?? It’s an “apocalyptic, sci-fi, steampunk collaboration” between experimental theater company Liars & Believers and the steamCRUNK band Walter Sickert & the ARmy of BRoken TOys. According to the Merry Pranksters Broken Toys, 28 Seeds “tells the story of how greed and ignorance destroyed the world. This is HP Lovecraft meets rock music and 1000 channels of cable TV; it’s government conspiracy, burlesque, ray guns, and tentacles; it blends a live rock show, science fiction, dance, theatre, video and sound into an immersive performance experience.”


The show premieres April 19, 2012 at the Boston Center for the Arts, with over 25 Boston artists and performers taking part in the extravaganza. They promise innovative theatre, musicians, actors, dancers, video artists, sound artists, graphic artists and more.

Here’s where you come in. They NEED HELP to put on this wildly ambitious project, so they have a Kickstarter campaign to raise the cash – and there’s just 13 days left for them to meet their goal! Some of the goodies available for your donations include a digital download of the soundtrack, poster, a wicked cool-looking comic book designed by Mr. Sickert himself, pins, VIP tickets, meet and greets with the band… and even those paupers among us who can only afford a $10 donation can get a limited edition signed ‘art card’ from Walter. Anyone not familiar with his bizarre and delightful artwork should have a look right now. So get crackin’!

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UK folk pop tonight at T.T. the Bears with Slow Club

Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson of Slow Club

Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson of Slow Club

Slow Club 11:30pm, Air Waves 10:30pm, and Ryan Lee Crosby 9:30pm
Friday, February 17 @ T.T. the Bear’s Place (Central Square, Cambridge)
$9 adv / $10 @ door

What looks to be a nice evening of folksy pop, rock and country, and fine singer-songwriting tradition will be going down at T.T.’s tonight. From the UK there’s Slow Club, whose latest release back in September was Paradise (Moshi Moshi Records). Joining them are Air Waves, with a blend of folk, rock and country, and singer-songwriter Ryan Lee Crosby. Put on by CQ Presents.

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Eastside L.A. Roundup – Part II of II

Sarah Negahdari (photo by Zoe-Ruth Erwin), Robert Francis, The Henry Clay People

Sarah Negahdari (photo by Zoe-Ruth Erwin), Robert Francis, The Henry Clay People

Continuing on with part II of my Eastside L.A. Bands 2012 Roundup. Again, I’m only including artists who either are doing significant touring this year, or who have a new album just out, very recently out, or are working on something. If I’ve missed anyone or something big, please let me know. I’m going to bed now. Goodnight and good luck.

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Eastside L.A. Roundup – What’s going on this year? (part I of II)

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Being as how it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I should show some love for those Eastside L.A. bands I really like (the ones that live and/or play there – you know who you are). Let’s see what you guys have planned for this year. I’m so sorry I’ve neglected you… can you forgive me?

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