thoughts about good designs
~ David Cole Wheeler

There is an ongoing discussion in the design world regarding the importance of CD package design as we move forward into an age of music free of physical media. The halcyon days of album art are behind us; the foot-by-foot square canvas that gave Roger Huyssen and Gerard Huerta space to create some of the best-loved album art in history is gone forever, in its place the barely 5 inch square package of various configurations. There are opportunities here for interesting design solutions, however and there’s no reason to despair.

Until all music is sold on USB Flash sticks, that is. Read more

Quick Shots #3 ~Holiday Shot ‘08

12.23.08

In this episode of Quick Shots we’re going to lay some holiday tracks on you so you can get into the holiday spirit and let go of that inner Scrooge. We have a mix of styles raning from folk to blues to jazz to rock. Please visit the artists’ sites and make their holiday special by purchasing a CD or two. Happy Holidays from Unsigned Underground. Music from: Eoin Harrington, Bryan Field, Kelly Richey, Chris Daniels and the Kings, Last November and Bob Burger. Thanks to Ariel Publicity and Cyber PR

 

 Quick Shots #3 ~ On Unsigned Underground [26:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Quick Shots #2

10.3.08

Welcome to episode 2 of this abridged version of Unsigned Underground. I have a mix of songs that for some reason reminds me of music from the late 70’s and early 80’s. I’ll let you decide why they remind me of that era and who they might be emulating. Sit back and enjoy music from ~ Marvin B. Naylor , The Nyquist Frequency, Bryan Zanos, Cavedoll and Louie Zagoras.

 

 Standard Podcast [20:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

How to get a good one
Should a review be free or should you pay?

In the scramble to get your press kit completed you want to have several essential things included: a good head-shot or picture of the band, a snappy description of your album, a short bio and some press clips. Ah the press clips. Where do they come from and how do you go about enticing some unknown author to write something nice and constructive about your tracks? Can just anybody write something about your work? Does it matter if the byline of the author is Rolling Stone or Podunk Weekly? And, should a review be free or should you pay? Read more

Here are some interesting items I’ve run across on the web recently.

Derek Sivers’ new Blog
· Anyone who has any interest in the indie-music business should subscribe to this blog. Derek is the founder of CDBaby.com and not ony does this blog cover music, but it also talks about the business mindset and how to approach your music as a business. Must reading! More on what Derek is up to…

Facebook Tackles Music, Movies
· Do you use Facebook? This is an interesting article concerning those Musician Pages you’ve probably put up and the new Facebook templates.

ReverbNation
· It seems there is a new platform for digital distribution all the time. But so far it doesn’t seem that one site has everything a band needs to keep in contact, have a webpage, send emails, locate venues and create a general web-presence. It seems that ReverbNation has created something close. Try it, it’s free… See my RN page…

Episode 18
8.11.08
Writer, musician, philosopher and everyman Chris Belden is in the studio this time around to talk to Unsigned Underground about his latest CD release entitled Camouflage. Solidly rooted in the pop tradition, Camouflage is a collection of soulful songs about everything from political protest to celebrity photographers. Chris and I have had one of those classic NYC relationships where we have been in the same room many, many times but never really met. Now that we’ve both moved about 75 miles outside of NYC, we finally get together to talk about music.

 

 Unsigned Underground Episode 18 ~ interview with Chris Belden [48:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Quick Shots #1
7.29.08

This is the first shot of a new, more abridged version of Unsigned Underground. The best tracks from the CDs I have yet to play or from CDs I have played and wanted to play more of. Rock the house with a quick sampling of tracks just layin-round the studio: Osgoods, Narayan, Joe Beleznay, Hey Molly & BFA.

 

 Quick Shots #1 on Unsigned Underground [20:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Episode 17
6.23.08

You’re in for a treat – I had an opportunity to talk to one of the veterans of the indie music scene, Jefferson Thomas. Jefferson has been on the road since he was 16 and has played all over the world. His new CD Western Front is his second studio CD and he has a live CD out there as well. I always find it inspiring to talk to someone who runs his own business and Jefferson Thomas is definitely an entrepreneur in this competitive business of independent music. He has his own label, books his own tours, contracts his bands on two coasts and then oh yeah, writes some kick-ass tunes.

 

 Unsigned Underground Episode 17 [47:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Here are some things I’ve found that might be of interest to y’all:

- Measure for Measure blog
As a subscriber to the NY Times, I noticed this blog and got hooked right away. The posts from Roseann Cash are heartbreaking.
With music now available with a single, offhand click, it’s easy to forget that songs are not born whole, polished and ready to play. They are created by artists who draw on some combination of craft, skill and inspiration. In the coming weeks, the contributors to this blog — all accomplished songwriters — will pull back the curtain on the creative process as they write about their work on a songs in the making.
- Digital Cafe Tour
I found this to be an interesting new development in the ever expanding frontier of web-exposure. For those of you lookng to produce a high quality video, this may be of interest. Check it out.
- Rode University
This site apealed to me because I own a studio, but as I looked over the site I thought that this might be a great resource for an atist that doesn’t know a lot about the recording process. The tutorials are very “Recording 101″, but they’re good for the person that is going into the studio for the first time. You can get an idea of how to mic your instruments, what types of mics they might use and where they might be placed. Of course Rode is trying to sell their mics, but hey, it’s still a cheap and informative course. Check it out.