Huge Mega Update!!!

Band Spotlight
If you've never heard of the band Moving Mountains, I suggest you look them up immediately or read the interview I had with their singer Greg. Doing an album review Waves is on the things to do list. Anyway, check out their new video for "Cascade" below.



Another band that has been brought to my attention recently is, The Body Rampant. I was sent their music video for "Sativa." They recently released their new album, Transient Years on April 5th. I'm not sure who they remind me of yet (which is a good thing), but they have that same Moving Mountains feel to them. I guess for the time being we will go with Armor for Sleep meets a melodic Taking Back Sunday. Check out their very interesting video below.



A'tris song of the week
As usual, I will remain faithful to my buddy Mason of A'tris and update you all on the song of the week project. Can you believe they are up to week 21 already? Keep up the good work boys! Check out 20 and 21 below.






Playdough Releases New video
Don't worry my hip-hop heads, I have something for you too! Check out Playdough's new video for "Ya Heard" featuring Mr. Dibbs vs. the Black Keys. Read my interview and review of his album here.



Jon Santos of Fallzone Releases a Teaser
My favorite producer, Jon Santos of 1176 Studios, gave us a little promo of what's going to be on the new Fallzone album with a backyard BBQ rendition of "Dance with Me." Give it a listen below.

Oh yeah, and this too



New Episode of Hollywood Girl
Speaking of Jon Santos, have you seen the show he works on, Hollywood Girl? Congratulations are in order because Hollywood Girl will soon be featured on a local channel out in California. Courtney Zito, keep up the good work! Watch the new episode below.



Process of Fusion
Last but certainly not least in my heart, check out my band in the Aquarian Weekly (click that). Special shout out to Dave Incognito for the hook up. Also, for anyone wondering on the status of the new album, it's almost here. It is completely finished, we are just in the process of creating artwork and getting some background stuff taken care of. Listen here for the first two singles.


Also, check out a side project of mine with singer/songwriter Matt Beck, called Cross Town Rivals. Listen to our first single "Fool Me Twice" here.

Effects of Illegal Downloading on the Music Industry with Interviews

The final project I worked on in my group was on the long-term affects of music piracy on the music industry, labels, and artists. Looking at the trends of music from 2000 to 2011, we wanted to capture the general feeling and decline of music sales since online servers like Napster and Pirate Bay. We set out to see if people were downloading illegally more than they were purchasing. To no surprise, the answers, surveys, and studies we did all pointed to people illegally downloading with seemingly no conscience about it. Why do we need anything else if it is in front of our fingertips in seconds and it's free? This is why a multi-million dollar band like Metallica has to sue Napster for copyright infringement.
I conducted three short interviews with three people covering different plains of the music industry. The three professionals interviewed are: Scott Vollweiler-owner of Broken Records Magazine, Mason Taylor-singer/songwriter and front man of indie rock band A’tris with expertise on social networking and music marketing, and Jon Santos-formerly signed by Wind Up Records in the early 2000’s with then band, Sevenwiser. I asked them all the same seven basic questions, and though biased because of their position within music, they gave great answers. The questions were:

1. What are your general feelings about music piracy?

2. Do you think it hurts or helps the artists?

3. Ultimately is piracy more of a problem for labels or artists?

4. What are ways artists can use piracy to their advantage if any?

5. Do you think it can be stopped? Should it be stopped?

6. Do/would you yourself download music illegally?

7. Do you think having something like iTunes deters people from downloading music?

Scott Vollweiler is the creator of Staten Island’s own Broken Records Entertainment. Within the company, Vollweiler has a magazine, recording studio, photographer business, and various other ventures. In just six years time the company has grown exponentially, and the magazine has featured some of the worlds biggest musicians like Aerosmith and Carrie Underwood to name a few. Vollweiler is no stranger to piracy. He was formerly in a band himself and is quite aware of the difficulties that come just with being a musician; let alone being in a place to create music.

His views on music piracy, as expected are strictly against it saying, “Music piracy is wrong. I know the music business is crooked, but bands that are trying to make it are losing their opportunity.” He explains that piracy can only hurt musicians and labels because newer bands will not receive the same support as major ones. He feels that although there are possibilities of piracy helping, it is unlikely saying, “A billion dollar corporation can easily go broke. Look at EMI, they've been bought twice.”

Vollweiler goes on to say that piracy will never be totally gone because “There’s always loopholes on the net.” He then admits he himself has illegally downloaded music in the past, but stopped once he started the company. He was able to understand the struggle of an artist a lot better. Lastly, he doesn’t feel iTunes deters people away from illegally downloading but instead provides a “happy alternative.”

Mason Taylor, the lead singer of A’tris is not in a signed band, so while his views on piracy tend to agree with Vollweiler’s, he finds a hope in it. When asked what his general feelings on piracy are, he said “It would be nice if people paid for music.” Interestingly enough, Taylor feels that while piracy hurts the artist, he also feels it greatly helps as well. He doesn’t doubt piracy negatively impacts the whole industry, but thinks there are ways for musicians to capitalize on it. “I don't believe that encouraging piracy is beneficial to artists. Promotions involving free or discounted digital components are a better solution in my mind as they can be structured advantageously for fans and bands. For example, an artist may offer a free download in exchange for a fan's e-mail address,” he said.

Sure enough, this is exactly like something A’tris is doing. Every Tuesday A’tris records a new song and releases an accompanying video for it on Youtube. Youtube is of course a free service, but A’tris also offers the instrumental track for free download if you join the mailing list. In the mailing list A’tris suggests listeners to take the solo track and record their own versions or covers of the song. Also in the email, they encourage the listener to check out and purchase some merchandise. At the end of the 52-week period of songs, A’tris will take the top viewed videos they released, and create an album off of those. This is a way to get fans involved with the creation of an their favorites band’s recording process. It’s a good way to entice an audience to give you a chance. They feel involved and want to invest in you.

As far as sites like iTunes and Amazon, Taylor had a lot to say,

“…Convenience is king. I believe that, if people are empowered to legally consume music when they want, the way they want, we will see piracy continue to decline. Already e-retailers like iTunes provide a frictionless solution for purchasing music. With Amazon and Google offering cloud locker services, and Apple rumored to debut a similarly but potentially more feature-rich option, I hope that we will see piracy further reduced by choice. 

On a side note, I believe it's interesting to note that Amazon and Google currently offer their services without label support. Apple is reportedly the only company that is moving into the cloud space at this time with signed agreements from the four majors. Choice is key. If people have more options, they may choose to exercise them.”

Taylor seems to be on the verge of something great, and really understands the concept of being an independent artist. A’tris will have no problems in continuing on with the growth of their music.

Jon Santos is a former touring and signed lead singer of once popular band Sevenwiser off Wind Up Records. Santos has heard his music played on The Punisher Soundtrack and in the movie Cursed. In addition to this his music has been featured in video games MVP 2004 I and Nascar 2005. He currently works as a producer/engineer and videographer/photographer in his Whitestone, Queens studio, 1176 Studios. At the moment he is filming a short show series on Youtube that has just been picked up by a small cable network, Hollywood Girl. Clearly Jon is no stranger to the music industry and media in general. More so than my other two interviews, he’s been there and done that. He perhaps had the strongest and almost angriest type of reactions to the questions.

His general feelings about music piracy are bluntly honest as he says, “ I’m really not a big fan of that. I don’t understand how people can feel good about themselves when they steal someone’s work. It’s the same thing as walking in to Best Buy and just taking the CD right off the shelf and walking out the door, is that right?”

Like Taylor, Santos feels that piracy is two fold as far as helping or hurting, “If a new upcoming band gets themselves out there a bit more by letting their music out for free and they pick up a few hundred or more fans then great for them. The problem at that point is you can’t track your sales and numbers and you can’t build much of an income to float the band.” Santos also believes that piracy has mainly killed the label, which in turn destroys the artist. Now instead of making money on music, the label takes a big chunk of what a band makes on touring and events, let alone having to split the money with your band mates. “Not unless you are Lady Gaga or any of them other big time artists that are making 90 million a year from sales and have crazy live shows, [are you making money]…good luck with that,” he said.

Santos feels very strongly about stopping piracy but isn’t quite sure of exactly how saying, “How about everyone just walks around and starts stealing people’s homes, taking their cars, not paying for anything; what will be the future for any of us at that point?  Can it be stopped? Not unless we stop technology and revert back about 20 years.” He doesn’t think it can be stopped in full, but thinks it can be slowed. 

These three music professionals have seen music from the inside and out and obviously know where the trends of music are going. The future is certainly not clear, but it has become increasingly difficult for an artist to make any money on their craft. Santos told me the most money he has made in music is through his placement in movies and games. I remember meeting Taylor and asking him what he thought the keys to getting your music heard was, he said “placement.” All of the ideas are the same, but none of the direction is clear. In the long run, music for sure is in a down place just like the rest of our economy. It’s up to the future of music to try and turn it around like A’tris is trying so hard to do. To quote Clay Shirky, “Nothing will work, but everything might.”  

Eyes of Tragedy Music Video, ARK Breaking News, A'tris music, Incognito Theory, POF, & Jon Santos

Check out my brothers in Eyes of Tragedy! They just made a rocking video to their song "Rapture." Word on the street is, they are also looking for a lead singer, so if interested contact them!


A'tris Song of the Week 11 & 12


Week 11



Week 12


Again, great work A'tris, I think I may have to interview Tiger Darrow. She is an amazing singer, and complements Mason's vocals well.


Incognito and DePalma and Romolus X Records and ARK News

Incognito Theory record will be out in summer 2011 and Incognito and Depalma will debut in May. Also, adding to the family is two new band members for ID. Mindy Kern has joined on the bass and Daniel Eng on drums.





Also some exciting news from CEO of Romolus X and ARK: Dave Incognito has been named as the A&R guy for the company, and will also be working in promotions. Another big announcement is the joining up of 1176 Studios and the ARK. Jon Santos will now be working with Romolus X, and hopefully branching out recording more artists. This joint venture is very exciting and good for the surrounding area of bands and musicians.


Process of Fusion Break Contest info and Poster Contest!

Where will you be April 2nd? If you said the Crazy Donkey at 4:40pm to see my band in the final round of the Break Contest for Bamboozle, that's an amazing guess. Shameless plug aside, it will mean the world to me if you could come out and support my band. Tickets are $12, and if we win we play Bamboozle! It's a life changing opportunity and we are very close.

Secondly (not sure if that's a word), we need fans to take the default pictures on our sites and post them up in various places. Take a picture of you placing the flier in whatever place you want and send it to us! In turn we will send it to the Break Contest and somehow get more points.

Check out some studio updates!!!

Be on the Look Out for This Great band, A'tris Interview with Mason Taylor

It seems indie music is making its way from the underground hipster crowds and finding its way into the mainstream. The word indie, used to stand for independent, now it's just another style trend. Everywhere you look, these "indie" groups are popping up ranging from dark electronica to trippy inspired Beatles like tunes. The first indie groups that really took flight were, Weezer and Radiohead. Now you have groups like MGMT, and the upcoming Graffiti6 gaining momentum- not to mention all the indie inspired rap in the mid west.

Perhaps the coolest thing about these bands is their ability to be like "you." What is greatly missing from their music is the rock star glitz and glam. These bands are aiming for people just like them. The music is passionate, raw, and most importantly, different. It's bands like these that are now starting to shine and gain their proper due.

Interview with Mason Taylor of A'tris

(L to R) Nate Lueck (guitars and Bass), Ben Azar (Guitars), Mason Taylor (vocals and keys), Travis Abel (Drums)
Photo by: Elizabeth Budd

One of these such bands, is A'tris, who are generating a buzz on the indie circuit through college radio and the Internet. Don't look for any meaning behind the name, singer and front man Mason Taylor says, "We wanted it to be a word like Google. It could be a noun, a verb, or an adjective; but, regardless of its function, we aim for it to be synonymous with great experiences." He describes their sound as similar to Radiohead and REM, but distinctly their own thing.

Mason, a former student and music major at Berklee College, started the band in 2003 upon meeting Mike Kreher in his music writing class. Kreher became Mason's writing partner and musical mentor, as well as band manager and ideas guy. The only thing Mike doesn't do, is travel with the band and perform. "He's in the band and just as important as anyone else, except he's behind the scenes," said Mason. Taylor handles all the vocal duties, co-writes the songs, leads the social media charge, and plays piano. The other members of the band have rotated frequently, but one of the mainstays has been the guitarist, Nate Lueck who has been with the band for about three years and just finished a national tour opening for Meatloaf.

A'tris has been touring about once a year, and averages about a CD a year. There debut CD, Appeal, was released in 2005. Their second release was in 2007, an EP entitled, Commons. The most recent full length, Lensing, came out in 08 and featured their biggest single to date "Automatic Doors." The video was featured on MTV a few times, and gained a lot of plays on the college radio circuit. Purchase Lensing and Appeal here.



They have done all they can to get noticed, but Mason says, "The future is in placement. The newer A'tris music is more commercially viable." If a band can crack the walls of radio, TV, or movies, it opens a big door of opportunity. In addition to this, Mason is constantly using social networking to reach out to people. "Social media is tough because everyone can use it, but I use these sites to make friends. My ultimate goal is to one day pay the bills with music, so I have to do whatever it takes." Taylor says A'tris has never been on a label, but instead uses "structured partnerships." In this way, they aren't tied down to anything by contract, but still have some security in what they are doing.

Recently, Mason moved from the Boston area the band was originally located in, to New York. He feels the opportunities in the city are bigger. As of right now the band isn't playing shows. They are working on a college campaign tour, and are only playing shows of significance. They are biding their time for when a tour is a feasible. They are trying to build a local support in NYC, to have a strong backing before they hit the road.

And speaking of the road, Mason has plenty of great stories, just ask him. The tours are set up by Mike, and their first time out they hit 25 states. Taylor aims for about five or six shows a week, and sometimes doubles up on days. To save money they usually sleep in the van, but on occasion a stranger lets them in for the night. "Touring has a way of humbling you. I always feel like, when I come back from the road, I am a better person. At the very least, I'm a more worn-out version of myself," he says.

(L to R) Ben Azar, Mason Taylor, Nate Lueck, Travis Abel
Photo by: Elizabeth Budd

Sometimes things on tour don't always work out, and other times they are a success. Regardless Mason takes it in stride and believes in some way there is a bigger purpose for everything. He looks at all the positives the band has accomplished like: "Automatic Doors" being on MTV, or being in the top half of popular Reverbnation artists. They have even been the top band on Ourstage.com, and were in the top 100 for radio bands.

Some of the more memorable things about being in A'tris have been, "When I see someone in the crowd connect with the music from the stage. It makes it all worth while." One particular moment that was almost a failure but wound up being really cool was, "At a show, all the sound went off and would not turn back on. We made the set acoustic and I loved it. The only real failures I've experienced have been in my personal life," Mason said jokingly.

Mason's hope is that in five years A'tris will be able to tour abroad and go to other countries. "I'm looking forward to sharing our music with new audiences and look forward to seeing where it takes me," he said. As for the immediate future, he plans on having A'tris do something really big but Internet based.
"So tune in, we have some really cool stuff in the pipeline."

LINKS

http://atrishq.com/Home.html (This will link to a number of social networks the band is on.)