Hella Solutions blog: "Document. Share. Inspire."

Not a wonderful way to round out 2009 but I reckon “that’s life”…I wish it wasn’t. Admittedly, I haven’t listened to a lot of Amacher’s work but what I have listened to I love! A truer use of sound you will not find. And a much better eulogy you can read HERE (with a sample of her work).

news creative process

Berkeley Fire Department

The “Big Apple” has been successful in branding FDNY. I really think our area firehouse should do the same.

Happy Friday, funny stuff BFD, funny signs

Hey, if you’re as much into hybridity as I am, you will most likely want to check out this January show in SF.

Masters of extreme technical death metal Nile are partnering up with long-time friends Immolation and Krisiun as well as Abigail Williams and Dreaming Dead for the first round of American tour dates in support of their new album, scheduled for worldwide release this Fall on Nuclear Blast Records.

The 32-date tour commences on January 15th, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Guitarist / musical mastermind Karl Sanders spoke with Revolver Magazine earlier this year and said Nile’s sixth full-length album will likely be their most eclectic offering to date: “We’re going to some very unexpected places. I’ve been listening to some oud [Middle Eastern lute] music, Iranian music, and some Hindu stuff, and that stuff’s definitely rubbing off on the new songs.”

Seriously, this sounds like it could be, shall I be cliche, AWESOME! Well, I guess that is still very subjective. Oh well, music lovers unite! http://www.slims-sf.com/ . You can also hear the CD HERE.

entertainment concerts, music venues

To all you audio-centric job seekers, the wonderful StoryCorps is hiring here in the San Francisco Bay Area. StoryCorps is a national project that brings fully equipped sound booths to towns large and small. They offer the space to people to share their life stories. It doesn’t cost the participants anything (anyone can do it) and it all goes towards documenting the lives of everyday people like you and me. Of course the best stories get featured on the StoryCorps website as well as other places. The requirement that excluded me to this job opening is that you need to be bilingual in Spanish-English…darn my teenage stubbornness of not fully applying my self in school.

jobs radio

Personally, I really enjoy some well- placed and -selected music in audio projects. I don’t subscribe to the NPR model of limited music use and the idea that you’re only allowed to use tunes that are directly connected to the interviewee. Bah. Anyway, today I simply wanted to share some good sounds from a guitarist up in Canada. He has a great instrumental CD out and if you’re looking for some rock sound for a project or just need some new tunes, why not check him out.

Visit: Scott Kroeker .com

audio sample entertainment

I’ve spent this week taking an online course called “How to be an Entrepreneur as a Business Journalist“. While I am not technically a business journalist, a significant project I am brewing here would definitely put me in that ballpark – but more on that at another time. More importantly I have learned a LOT and here a just a few of my learnings:

• Sometimes free content is actually amazing! As this whole week’s worth of classes was free AND amazing.
• It pays big time to be part of professional organizations (whether formally or informally organized). For example, I found out about this weeks class through an ad-hoc freelance group I belong to.
• Your goal is to work less trying to get work and spend more time working. So stop dawdling by thinking you don’t know enough to get started; but if you feel you really need to learn something you will find a way of getting that information (and sometimes for free).

Those are some of the thoughts that come to mind but of course, I have a whole lot more to process through before the day is over. Have a great weekend!

audio training, how to free how-to, learning

I really hate the idea of commercial brands USING musicians to sell their products. It’s a popular method that only seems to be growing. Check out this posting on the Audio4Cast blog. I’m all for artists getting paid but I guess I want to live in an ideal world where they get paid because their work is valued; not because their work is seen as a good platform to sell ones’ own product. Though I do have to back-peddle a bit. In my own ventures I am exploring the idea of connecting local businesses with local musicians as a way to boost each other. I see these two as having more in common and not so much of a “big guy” exploiting the “small guy”. Am I wrong?

capitalism, entertainment branding, consumerism

Indeed! I’m trying to learn myself consistency. Consistency in producing audio, consistency in blog posts, consistency in going to the gym, consistency in being consistent. What a pain! For example, in trying to remain consistent in creating blog posts, I find myself ranting and pontificating about social and political issues that I’m passionate about. Then I find myself deleting those posts as I’m concerned of what potential clients might think seeing these thoughts outside of really knowing me. So, today I am taking a stab at writing about “the process” (aka the creative process) and all that goes into trying to make it as an entrepreneur and independent radio producer. Clearly I won’t shy from my ideals but starting this day forward I am going to edit myself….<grumble, grumble…that’s more like censor myself…grumble, grumble> Am I listening too much to my marketing guru friends?

news creative process

Here’s a short little something for your Friday listening. Produced by Chicago-based audio producer Lloyd Brodnax King. If I’m not mistaken this “little something” is in response to an incident when a certain sportscaster used some ugly language to describe female basketball players. Have a great weekend!

Happy Headed No

Happy Friday audio sample, creative audio, entertainment

I just posted a new podcast over on the Imagine 2050 blog. I hope you’ll take the time to visit the site, listen, and leave a comment.

The Imagine 2050 podcast sits down with everyday Americans and asks the question, what does it mean to be American? We ask this in the context of recent census studies that show by the year 2050 there will no longer be a clear ethnic majority in the United States.

Check it out!

podcast american identity, same-sex marriage