Illegal Downloads and Ruby Red Slippers

Since we have two really creative and innovative types in our band (Claire and Charlie), we’re always thinking of new ways to expand our audience and get our music heard. Well, really, it’s more like some of us are always thinking of it, while the other contents herself with reading tabloids and celebrity gossip websites (no shame!).

Today is a surprising turn of events, I was reading something online with some substance. I stumbled upon an article in a semi-reputable magazine that talks about cultural trends towards “freeness.” I thought that it was interesting since we talk about that a lot in our practice room and band business meetings, specifically the trends towards “freeness” with digital downloads of music (whether they‘re legitimately free or illegally pirated downloads). In fact, finding a way to creatively keep up with the trend is one of the main motivators behind our Single Revolution experiment. In talking about “freeness” the article says:

In terms of music, it means that bands might give music away for free (Radiohead!) in hopes of creating new fans and reaching more people who will one day attend a concert or (gasp!) buy an album. It’s about creating a relationship with the audience, tapping into the collaborative spirit of the networked age and recognizing that music (and other cultural work) was never intended to be a commodity that lived primarily in the transactional, economic space between producer and consumer. On the contrary, culture has always been firmly rooted in community and a shared sense of understanding and making meaning together.

So, anyway, I thought that this was cool and I wanted to share.

Every time I explain the Single Revolution from stage, I take far too much time and get all bogged down talking about “touchy-feely” things like relationship and fostering community. Really, I’m not sure that I’m willing to or even need to apologize for that (the touchy-feely part… not the taking too much time talking between songs, because I’m really working on that) because I do think that part of what makes the whole system of musical creator and musical participant function appropriately and efficiently is that both parties do their part. And ultimately, without the musical participant finding meaning in it and buying into the vision cast by song, then the musical creator hasn’t really created anything worthwhile in the first place. We have to find it together. Seriously. I’m not just being “touchy-feely” right now. And, I totally haven’t been drinking… yet.

I guess that’s what the coolest part of the Single Revolution is to me. We make the stuff, but this is the test for us… to see if what we create is really something that resonates with people. Did we make something that people are willing to be a part of? Is it good enough to entice them to suspend their reality and get swept away in the story? Is our piece good enough to hold its own in this cycle? So far it’s worked and people have been incredibly supportive, which is affirming, encouraging and exciting. We have just a few more of the third single in the Revolution left, “Alive Again,” and we’re hoping to have them sold out so that we might release the next one next week weekend at our Warehouse show with the Soft Targets. We’ll see. Again, it’s an interesting experiment… we’ve been pleased so far with our results and hope that through it, we will learn more about the symbiosis between the band and the fans.

And… in other news, I’m going to see Where the Wild Things Are tomorrow and I’m so excited about it, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to sleep tonight!

And… in other news, we added a new member to my nuclear family this week. Sarah Mac Band family, meet Ruby.

Sommelier: Handy Vocabulary for Trivial Pursuit

Sommelier: Handy Vocabulary for Trivial Pursuit

My housemate has a friend who is a sommelier. What a cool word, eh? For those of you (who like me) can’t afford to go to a fancy restaurant that employs a sommelier, or who haven’t read Ruth Reichl’s books (side note: if you still have my copy of one of her books, please give it back!!) in order to know how important one of those guys is, please use this opportunity to learn and then tuck the knowledge away for future use in Trival Pursuit.

The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics explains that a sommelier “is skilled in the art of matching wine with food to augment the food’s flavor.” Shayn, the 2002 Washington Wine Commission Sommelier of the Year, who is featured in the linked article, says that his job is to “demystify wine.”

That’s a really cool way to look at it—to sort of make wine less haughty-taughty and more accessible. Because really, who in real life knows about wine? I mean, I hang with people who pretend to (because that’s what you do when you’re young , hip, single, and trying to be sophistocated), but they just talk big with the assumption that nobody else really knows enough to know that they’re faking it. And since I know enough (from my Wine for Dummies book that Charlie gave me for Christmas last year) to know that they’re faking it, but not enough to contradict them and make any kind of intelligent argument, I just let it slide.

Recently, I was introduced to the sommelier friend indirectly, when I opened our refrigerator to find four new bottles of wine chilling. I decided that he was my favorite of all of my housemate’s friends as I took advantage of his generosity and poured myself a big ol’ glass of the white with the prettiest label. I later found, much to my surprise, that the wine I chose is also the sommelier’s favorite of all of the bottles that he sent home. Apparently I have good taste in wine… French wine, no less (which undoubtedly make it that much more grown-up and chic)!

Interestingly , my favorite wine is also French wine. Some of you may have been at Chez Pierre on the night that the very attractive bar tender jumped on stage and handed me a glass of the best wine I have ever tasted and then acted like he was going in for a kiss? I didn’t take him up on the kiss because I’ve spent 28 years avoiding herpes…and well, you never know. But, I did take him up on the wine, which was phenomenal. I always look forward to Chez Pierre shows, not just for the beautiful scenery, fun atmosphere and the dancers, but also in anticipation of the taste of that wine that I’ll have afterwards (since we don’t drink when we’re working… except Claire because she’s a rebel).

Lucky for me, we’re booked to play Chez Pierre again this weekend. This time, I might actually switch it up and try the mystery French white with a little added party atmosphere. I’m sure that it will be that much better! We’ll see if I can track down the sommelier friend to find out what it is. The bottle has long since been emptied and sent out to the recycle, so I can’t check the pretty label again.

Come out to Chez Pierre on Saturday night, October 10th. We’ll be providing music and other entertaining hijinks from 7-11, and then I’ll start drinking white wine!

Outside of having the best wine ever, and celebrating the fact that we’re playing at home again after a lot of traveling, we’re trying to finish out the “Alive Again” Single Revolution discs this weekend. The last time we played at Chez Pierre, we sold out of “Something Beautiful,” selling 26 in one night. There are far less than that left of the “Alive Again” singles… not even half that many. If you’re reading this and you suddenly remember that you’d like to have one and have yet to buy it, I would encourage you to do so now form our online store. I’m not totally sure that we have enough to make it to this weekend.

We’re excited to finish “Alive Again” out so that we can get started on production of the next song in the Revolution, “I’m Not Scared.” Kids, believe me, if you have been impressed by what we’ve put out so far in the Revolution, you will certainly not be disappointed in the next one. Keep it on your radar. Keep us on your radar. Come out and see us on Saturday and keep your fingers crossed for great weather!

Until we meet again…. High five!

VIDEO: Just Like a Woman (Bob Dylan)

Sarah Mac Band covers Bob Dylan’s ‘Just Like a Woman’

April 24, 2009
“Bob Night”
American Legion Hall
Tallahassee, FL

Times, they are a’ changin: Episode 6

Times they are a’changin

Boy are they ever.   I was just reading an online article from Digital Music News and what I read was very sobering from a musician’s standpoint.  Now get this: according to Nielson Soundscan there were 105,000 new full-length cds released in 2008.  You read that right, 105,000! I did some quick math for 2008, remembering of course that there were 366 days in the year because of leap year, and that comes out to almost 287 new full length cd releases per day.  And that is every day including Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, etc, etc.  And this is ‘full-length’ folks. It doesn’t apparently include all the single releases and eps.  Wow! 

I don’t know about you but that is just mind-blowing to me. I can’t even fathom that number on a daily basis and to make matters worse it appears that these are numbers for releases in the US only.  Clearly the business to be in is not music but in Making cds.  No wonder discmakers can afford to flood me with regular glossy advertising catalogues.  They get it.  The real money is in making the cds for all these releases. 

And even more; this article also had stats on bands on myspace.  Apparently there are now over 10 million bands on my space.  Now I understand that anybody can make a band on myspace  but 10 million?  That is unbelievable, and I bet almost every one of them wants to put out a full length cd.  Again, the business to be in is making all these cds. 

So, where does this leave the poor musician who is trying to forge a living in this brave new world?  Well, for the most part, lost in the mass of humanity trying to get noticed.  If you are playing music because you think it is your ticket to fame and fortune, well you might have a better chance playing the lottery.  Yeah some people make it so why not me, right.  Well, some people win the lottery too it is just not a good career plan.  No, you need to be playing music because you love it.  Because a piece of you will die if you don’t play and you will play regardless of the money.  If that is you, then you may have the intestinal fortitude to make a living at this; but you know that you will play even if that does not happen.  But if the only real goal is fame,  then there is a high likelihood you will be very disappointed with music as a career. 

I still can’t get my head around the numbers that these guys are reporting but I can tell you this.  I prefer living and playing music in this time as opposed to the old way. At least now I get to record music and get it out to people.  And while the chances of being heard are not great, well at least I get to play the game and that is cool with me.

As usual I have many more thoughts on this but I think that is enough for now. At least it gives you something to think about. 

Later,

Charlie

“Charlie” featured in the Tallahassee Democrat!

Check out our friend Kaitlyn Summerill, Creative Director of Unseen Stories, wearing her SMB Charlie shirt while working to educate Beninese (Benin, W Africa) parents on the dangers of child trafficking. We have pictures of all of you from all over the world in our “Where in the World is Charlie?” series. Kaitlyn is the first to actually get her Charlie pic in a newspaper. Rumor has it that she was also interviewed live on Beninese TV wearing her Charlie shirt last week. She has set the bar very high, folks. Click the link below to read the full article and step up to help stop child trafficking.

"Charlie" featured in the Tallahassee Democrat!

To read the full article, click HERE

NOTE: We have been sold out of Charlie shirts for several months. For those of you who have been asking for one, we are ordering new ones! We’ll let you know when they are in!

VIDEO: Something Beautiful Interview (short edition)

Sarah Mac and Justin Barfield (co-writer of “Something Beautiful,” ex-SMB percussionist, and current guitar/mandolin/banjo/egg shaker player for Maida Vale) talking about the formation of the song. To see the FULL edition of the interview along with other exclusive videos, purchase the *LIMITED EDITION* CD and you’ll be granted access to the special website! http://www.sarahmacband.com

TOMORROW NIGHT

Just a quick update- unfortunately, Sleepin’ Dogz aren’t going to be able to make it for the show tomorrow night. We’ll try to schedule something with them again soon! In light of this last minute change, we decided to keep it in the family…..Sarah Mac and her dad (Elwood) are going to open for us tomorrow night!! This is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time – you definitely should try to make it out to see this.

FRIDAY, MAY 29th
SMB “Something Beautiful” Release Party!
Tallahassee, FL
w/ Elwood and Sarah Mac
The Warehouse
9pm
ONLY $5

We hope to see you tomorrow!

SMB Joins Campaign to SAVE PASTE MAGAZINE

Our most recent single “Burden Beast” is included in the SAVE PASTE Campaign. We are beyond excited to be in the company of Over the Rhine, Emmylou Harris, Indigo Girls, The Decembrists, Ben Folds, Bettye LaVette, Neko Case, and MANY other amazing artists! Donate a few dollars to Paste Magazine and get lots of free song downloads!

VIDEO: Can you spot the SMB?

Check out this video of the Riverside Arts Market in Jacksonville. We played there in April- it is a GREAT Saturday Market if you ever find yourself in/around Jax! Our good friend Maggie (of Textures Handmade Market) sells there several times a month.

See if you can spot us….. we’re kinda like Waldo.

Riverside Arts Market from Michael Walter on Vimeo.

New Boyfriend

After a long awaited (and much appreciated) break week, we were back on the road this weekend. We were in Atlanta on Thursday night, playing at the 500 Songs for Kids event. It was fun, as usual. I’m always impressed by how tight of a ship they run up there at Smith’s Olde Bar when they’re doing ten consecutive nights of fifty bands per night. If you think about the massive amount of preparation needed to accomodate that many people and keep them moving in and out in a timely manner without a cattle prod, it could almost insight a panic attack. But, the guys there (a big shout out to our buddy Jed who works there and always treats us well and makes sure that we’re set soundwise) really do a fantastic job of supporting the artists, the foundation and making it an easy, stress free environment for us. 

I cannot even begin to explain how much of a relief that is. As much as most of the people who work in venues are accustomed to working with artists and anticipating and accomodating their needs, it’s a very dynamic environment. Things are always changing, things are always unexpectedly arising and screwing up the plan, equipment is always breaking, and sometimes the last half hour before a show is the very embodiment of what I expect that Hell is like. The staff at Smith’s and the volunteers and staff for the foundation really did a good job of mitigating any weird issues and presenting a very professional and well run event. Please check out their website and make a donation.

We spent the night in Atlanta and then had a leisurely morning, and in what has become our Atlanta trip tradition, dined at my favorite restaurant,  the Flying Biscuit Cafe. We then took the road for Birmingham. 

I have a hard time staying awake in a moving car (not if I’m driving though). Claire and Charlie sit in the front seats of the van and chit-chat… sports… performance enhancing drug baseball bannings… stock market… Lady GaGa… Terry Bowden… the unveiling of the third generation Prius… and I sit alone in the back, drifting in and out of consciousness, lulled to sleep by the vibrations of the car and the constant droning of a language that I pretty much don’t understand. 

Kind of like a dog, my ears perk up when I hear my name, because that’s just about the only word I understand when they have elevated car conversation.  For some reason though, the word “Talladega” was one of those words that passed through my ears and rang a bell somewhere deep in the recesses of my brain. I awoke just in time to see Claire taking a picture of a huge race track right there on the side of the road next to the interstate highway. Although I’ve only ever seen snippets of the Will Farrell movie Talladega Nights on TBS marathons, I have seen enough to understand the idea behind the movie. And.. it blew my mind that the race track was in fact real! So I wanted to stop and check it out. Since when on tour, we’re journey people instead of destination people, Charlie and Claire obliged me and we stopped.

We didn’t so much make it to the actual race track, but in keeping with the “cars” theme, we stopped at the gas station just down the road. It happened as I was perusing the 3/$10 Alabama souvineer t-shirts and buying my awesome new camoflauge baseball cap that says, “God, guns and guts made America free, let’s keep all three.” I saw him… my new boyfriend…

I’ve heard stories from other rock stars about conquests on the road. And I do sing a naughty song about breaking up somebody’s home, but I just never though that it would happen to me…

It was sweet and over too soon. We never spoke, but when I looked into his eyes, I knew. I don’t even know his name, but I know that we had Something Beautiful.* And at the time, when I realized that Claire was invading our totally private, personal moment there in the Stop ‘n’ Shop, I was irritated. But she is my best friend and she was totally looking out for me and knew that I would want to savor that moment for the rest of my life, so she snapped a photo with her iPhone. And since I’m so happy and blissful after meeting my perfect match, I thought that I would share with you too, our extended family. 

Behold, my new boyfriend…

. 

Next weekend, we’re playing in Port Orange, just south of Daytona Beach, which I’m told houses another race track. So, I’m hoping against all hope that his work will take him to where my work is, and we might meet once again. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

* We’re completely sold out of Burden Beast singles and the new Something Beautiful singles will open up for sale this week. Keep checking your inbox for the exclusive pre-order link if you’re on our email list. If not, check the myspace, blog and website to find out when they’re available!!