Here’s Randy Johnston, and his Pursuits Unknown playing “Fool’s Paradise.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Fool’s Paradise” was written by Mabel Cordle, Jerry Fuller and Robert Geddins.

Banjo Jim’s is a great musicians hang as you can see.

Since 2005, volunteers have generously collected music from many of the artists who will be performing at SXSW and put together a torrent.

For everyone going to Austin this year, check out these two torrents for a really robust selection of the artist who will be performing down there.  Who is going to be the breakout artists from Austin this year?

http://sites.google.com/site/sxswtorrent/2010

Also, here are other some links relating to SXSW you should check out:

Do512 – What to do in Austin

Ultra 8201 – Free parties! and check out their Austin links on the right

I love the spin action on this custom rig.

My high school physics teacher had this sort of  fearless ingenuity regarding taking stuff apart and putting things together. Alas, he wasn’t a sick DJ.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you’re ever bored, or, in the mood for something cool then check out Looptracks, an interactive music video.

You hit the page, get a few colored squares that end up turning into a logo and then you’re off to start (or read information).

All the music, visuals, and programming are by Conor O’Boyle.

Just check it out. If you don’t then you must not be too cool.

Since broadband internet became the status quo, content producers have been itching to use the web as a primary distribution vehicle for video.

For the most part, however, there have been some bright spots with a lot of limited success.  There was LonelyGirl, which landed the creators a production deal.  That being said, since LonelyGirl, the creators have had trouble landing the type of national success they had garnered originally.

There was also Quarterlife, where the original creators of My So Called Life created a web series, then were successfully were bought by NBC, and then was cancelled after one episode on TV.  Essentially, everyone is still trying to figure it out.

Basically, there is the success of syndicated TV online at Hulu (like 30 rock), then the success of pure user generated content on Youtube.  Those successes, however, have been few and far between, with the UGC content not being properly monetized and the Hulu content, struggling to recapture the advertising dollars they have on TV.  “If I can Dream,” created by Simon Fuller of American Idol acclaim, is another attempt to prove that direct to web distribution can be the gold mine that everyone hopes it can be.

This reality show focuses on three aspiring actors, a musicians and a model, and is a strong attempt to figure out the conundrum of how to monetize video online.  Check out the first episode or maybe even you should audition yourself online.

I’m a skeptical if it will catch on, especially when there continue to be hit shows being created by major content producers on broadcast TV, but we’ll see how it does.  At the least, it can provide some fodder for gossip blogs and the like.  Here’s the first episode, courtsey of Hulu.

Remember last post about Weezy having to get his grill fixed? Every newsbyte about Lil Wayne’s pending trial feels slightly ironic. Maybe it’s because he covers so much territory lyrically. A true verbal acrobat. Here’s the Daily Swarm’s aggregation of the most recent snag on Weezy’s sentencing hearing, delayed yet-again. This time, because of a light smoke billowing throughout the courthouse. If I were him I’d be enthusiastic about getting in and doing my time, so I could come out and make some more mixtapes. Can you make mixtapes in jail?

It’s been more than a week since that sweet day when I first heard Lawrence Arabia’s “Apple Pie Bed” on The Hype Machine.

And now, just today, I see a friend who’s posted “APPLE PIE BED” on his facebook status. Let me tell you, New Zealand’s Lawrence Arabia has got it goin’ ON. They’ve got that bit of Beatles in their sound, as well as some very warm, analog bass and guitars and captivating reverb.

Their MySpace features a touring itinerary that does not include the NY metro area, WHAT?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Go to ClubCreate.com and you’ll find a collection of web apps to compose your heart away. I happened to play with “The Music Studio“. There are more web app options to choose from, so after reading you can check them out here.

About ClubCreate (via ClubCreate.com):

ClubCreate stands at the intersection of music, technology and culture providing free, web-based music creation tools for the masses. ClubCreate breaks down the barriers to music creation providing Brands with unique ways to engage new customers. We have worked with top global brands such as Microsoft, MOG, Myspace and Vodafone to create these unique experiences that help promote brand awareness via music.

I’ll talk about the good first.

There are a lot of loops and options. I could take a loop and add reverb, delay, reverse, flanger, phaser, 3 band EQ, normalize, and distortion if I wanted to. You can also edit pan and volume by inserting nodes and moving them around. I also had the ability to solo and mute.

Working within the app is really easy, just drag and drop. You can’t cut a loop (I couldn’t find an option), but you can add or delete the loop by clicking on a ‘measure’ (simply put).

The Music Studio is actually a lot of fun, but I had some odd experiences. For example, I’d add the same loop a few times, then delete a couple of them and the specific track would no longer work. I don’t know why, but after clicking a whole bunch of times, it eventually worked again. My biggest frustration, though, was when I saved the project and came back to it. The whole project was a mess. Everything was in it’s place, but a lot of the tracks, more specifically tracks with effects, did not have the appropriate sounds. It was really annoying and after awhile I finally (or hopefully) got it back to the way it was supposed to sound. You’ll notice quickly what I’m talking about when you watch the video I created compared to the widget they offer to play your track in. You’ll notice that a lot of the sounds are just straight up wrong. I found the program unreliable.

You don’t necessarily have to be very creative to make something cool. That said, if you want you can get creative with what you have available. I found that with the limitations I was still able to change the project to my liking.

Check out the video to see/hear my demo ‘composition’, then listen to the widget track. You’ll have to skip ahead in the widget track because I had a few measures in the beginning I couldn’t get rid of. You’ll quickly notice the difference.

Anybody up for throwin’ a rhyme on top of the beat?

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’d be cool if someone rapped over my mix. Surprise me! Let me know and I’ll add it to this post.

written by GigMaven guest-blogger Jonathan Goldman, photo by Amy Touchette

By day Jonathan Goldman is Assistant Professor of English at the New York Institute of Technology.  By night he leads and plays trumpet in Spanglish Fly, NYC’s own Latin soul and boogaloo band.  (http://www.spanglishfly.com)

Catch Spanglish Fly at R-Bar on Weds. March 31st for GigMaven Presents: the NYC Music:Tech Meetup

About 100 people crowded the back room of Union Pool last night for the debut of Smoota, but I imagine that years from now many more will claim to have attended.  Smoota is the alter-ego of local semi-legend Dave Smith, a much in-demand trombonist known for his work with Burnt Sugar, the Red Baraat Festival, Chin Chin, the Reverend Vince Anderson, and others. Two years ago, alone in his bedroom, Smith (Smoota) recorded “Fetishes,” a suite of raunchy, unironic, unapologetic songs about sex and idiosyncratic desire.  Last night, Smoota finally went public, backed by a trio; Kevin Blackler (keys), Mike MiWi Williams (bass) and Evan Howard (electro drums) successfully breathed new life into Smoota’s tuneful dirty psychedelic soul.  (Imagine an updated Shuggie Otis but one with a willful, jagged, and endearing unprofessionalism.)

Ever been to a band’s first show where half the audience could already sing along with the lyrics?  That happened at Smoota.  It started with the incantatory, repetitive opening to “Pink Bra” and continued through the night’s finale, “These Are the Things (That Fuel My Desires)” – a musical litany that celebrates surgical scars and lovers who leave the bathroom door open while sitting on the can, among other fetishes.

The crowd’s early familiarity with Smoota’s tunes serves as testament to the grip he already has on his audience.  Other testament comes in the form of my friend’s parting words as Smoota closed out the set.  “G’night” she said to me, jerking a thumb toward her husband, “We gotta go have sex.”

Kudos also go to opening acts Afuche and and Sonia’s Party & the Everyone’s Invited Band.  Sonia’s rendition of Etta James’ “I’d Rather Be Blind” never fails to hold an audience spellbound.

Found this article and vids today via Dailyswarm via Popsci.com (Popular Science).

To catch you up, this guy has created a way to interface hand drums, machine drum beaters and wiimotes. He has a serious background in computers and music, and it seems like a big part of his life’s work has been to allow machines to learn to improvise. Nifty stuff. I like his smirk around 3:30.