JP Corwyn is Featured on Audio Gumshoe 141

Download (Duration: 18:44 — 25.8MB)

Songs Played

- Dire
- Find Myself
- That Sensation
- Rain

“JP Corwyn isn’t quite “Stevie Wonder blind”, or “Ronnie Milsap blind”. But then, those icons would have made music regardless of what their eyes were capable of. Maybe they did it a little better than those who can see; maybe their intuition is stronger and their sense of the click-click-clicking of the world around them is more keen. JP Corwyn makes excellent music, of which you should really be aware, without his eyes, and with his hands, and with his mouth, and with his mind, and his hips, and his spine, and his legs and fingers and toes and nerves.”

Lately I’ve found myself more discerning and much more critical of the submissions to Audio Gumshoe. I wasn’t sure why, but I think it was because I was looking for something with a bit more “edge”; maybe something with more grit or punch. I needed to kick it up a bit.

As I delved into the many songs that had arrived in my drop box I kept finding music that didn’t satisfy this quest. Then, as I looked at the many suggestions provided by Sara and Christine at Ariel Publicity, I found it. I found the music of JP Corwyn.

From his site:

“How could you be so blind? You haven’t heard of JP Corwyn? You haven’t seen him live? You haven’t heard his music? How embarrassing for you. Really, though. It’s ok. You’re in the right place. For JP, the rationale for the blind jokes is, well, reasonable. He is legally blind. Born with a degenerative condition, he has been legally blind since birth, with the shades pulling ever tighter throughout his as-yet-brief-but-potent life. This makes his genre tag of Blind Indie Rock make more sense. Otherwise, he’d just be sort of pretentious and snarky, but not in the fun depraved sit-com way. Corwyn’s vocal-driven indie rock style is infectious, reminiscent of Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Glen Phillips co-writing songs with Angie Aparo that get snatched by Adam Levine of Maroon 5, with occasional stomps into Creed and Pearl Jam-esque electric anthem territory.”

It is apparent that JP has a great sense of humor — or at least acceptance of a life that could have taken him down other roads. Through it all, though, he has produced an EP and two full albums, including “In Plain Sight“. The latest, The White Cane Conspiracy” will be released in January 2011. Working with multi-platinum producer Michael Seifert, he has grounded his sound more firmly on the acoustic side of indie rock. It has, as mentioned on his profile, “affirmed the great maturity of [his] songwriting.”

I think you’ll dig the sounds of JP Corwyn. Give the show a listen, sample the four tracks featured, then find yourself at any of the links below to purchase more of his music. Show the love and I’m sure that JP will continue to give us more great tracks.

Get the Music

Artist Links

JP Corwyn Web Site
JP Corwyn at Facebook
JP Corwyn at Twitter
JP Corwyn at MySpace
JP Corwyn at iLike
JP Corwyn at Last.fm
JP Corwyn at ReverbNation
JP Corwyn at YouTube

Associated Links

Association of Music Podcasting
Blubrry Podcast Network
Audio Gumshoe on Twitter
Audio Gumshoe on Facebook
Audio Gumshoe on MySpace

The audio file for this work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Escape Directors - Featured on Episode 140 of Audio Gumshoe

(Duration: 27:10 — 25.0MB)

Sponsor: Visit http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/">gotomeeting.com, click the try it free button and use promo code: Podcast.

Songs Played

- Car Crash
- Honest Man
- When You’re Gone
- Mrs. Davenport
- Fall Together

“The Escape Directors create a sound bound to appeal to a mass audience. With inspiration ranging from indie-greats Death Cab for Cutie and Damien Rice, to rock powerhouses Coldplay, the band creates a crisp and clear sound.”

-Alicia Fiorletta
Entertainment Editor – Pioneer Times

So Jersey Joe sends me an email that says that an awesome, young New Jersey band is giving away their CD for free. Tell me, who wouldn’t take a few moments to investigate the group to find out if it is “worth” getting the CD for free? Wait, how can a FREE CD have any worth? Truthfully, this one holds more value than can be realized by monetary gains.

It is obvious that the band Escape Directors is learning from Ariel Hyatt’s (CyberPR) “Music Success in Nine Weeks” program. It is a good thing, too. Because of their efforts, they are building momentum, generating buzz, creating hype — whatever you want to call it. They are getting more listeners and earning more fans. Isn’t this one of the points in creating music? Of course there is the gratification of the creative process. But, overall, I think it is always the greatest gratification to know that you’ve created something that others truly want to hear.

I jumped in with both feet (ears?) and downloaded the CD “ Ladders“. I found a very radio friendly collection of tunes. As an evangelist for independent music, you might think me an enemy of all things radio friendly. Not so. I simply don’t like the same old commercialized, formulated, and often pop music factory assembled drivel that we seem to hear in rotation hour after hour. I can, however, appreciate that a band refines their craft, giving tedious attention to the production process, and building a product that is worth hearing, keeping, and even sharing.

Escape Directors market themselves to “appeal to a mass audience”. They cite their influences to be Death Cab For Cutie, Coldplay, Radiohead, The Beatles, Brand New, Local Natives, Sigur Ros, and Coffee. [Is that the band or the drink? Coffee influences me almost daily.] Regardless, they have created a very catchy album that I’ve not been shy to listen to over and again. The stand out tracks for me are those that I’ve played in this episode of Audio Gumshoe, but I found it very difficult to refrain from trying to play the whole album for you. I hope that you’ll take the time to listen to the entire show — and if you like what you hear, download the songs for your listening pleasure, as well. Be sure to tip the band if you feel so inclined — or pay for the album at iTunes or Amazon. The links are below. I know the guys would appreciate it.

Get the Music

Ladders at iTunes

Ladders at Amazon.com

Artist Links

Escape Directors web site
Escape Directors at Facebook
Escape Directors on Twitter
Escape Directors at ReverbNation
Escape Directors on YouTube
Escape Directors at MySpace

Associated Links

Association of Music Podcasting
Blubrry Podcast Network
Audio Gumshoe on Twitter
Audio Gumshoe on Facebook
Audio Gumshoe on MySpace

The audio file for this work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Jordan Reyne - Audio Gumshoe 139

Sponsor: Visit gotomeeting.com, click the try it free button and use promo code: Podcast.

Jordan Reyne

Songs Played

- The Dead
- The Proximity of Death
- The Brave
- Blood

“…an industrial-folk musician who uses 19th century factory noises, steam sounds, and celtic melody to tell folk tales in a new way.” – CyberPR

Jordan Reyne stopped by my Facebook page to leave me a comment. Obviously curious, I visited her site to learn more about her. The opening of her site stated that Jordan Reyne is “industrial-tinged alternative folk, from the edges of the earth”. How could I not listen?

What I discovered were songs from her 2008 release “How the Dead Live“. This haunting collection of music is captivating, as well. It drew me in to the story of Susannah Hawes – an early New Zealand pioneer. When exploring Jordan’s electronic press kit at Ariel Publicity, I learned that she had been commissioned by the New Zealand Arts Council to tell the story of Susannah Hawes. Here’s a quote from the press kit:

In this concept record sharing a dialogue between Susannah and History and exploring the darker areas of New Zealand’s pioneer past, Jordan makes sharp commentary on culture which culminates in History’s annoyance with the lack of gore and grand narrative in Susannah’s story and its choice to forget her by throwing her name into the sea. As How the Dead Live is a historical piece, Jordan defined the sound of the record with industrial noises that would have existed at the time of Susannah’s life, like hammers and anvils, gold pans, and two-man saws, and visualizes how death is close to pioneers even in the simplest actions of life in a music video for the single “The Proximity of Death.”

It shouldn’t surprise any of us that Jordan would be asked to write for such a lofty project. She has received three nominations for the “Tui” Award in her native New Zealand. You can also find her performances on the soundtrack of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films.

I am captivated by Jordan Reynes music. Her inclusion of non-instruments as instruments helps to weave textures and sounds that create ambiance within the music. In “How the Dead Live” she has woven these together in such a way that we can hear the story and feel the pain and suffering of pioneer Susannah Hawes.

Though you only hear four of the songs from the album (and they are out of context), you owe it to yourself to listen to the complete collection. As described on her site:

Jordan combines pioneer-era industrial found sound, with folk instrumentation and etherial vocal melodies. She usually writes “concept” albums with stories, old and new, told song by song. This means it makes sense to hear them whole. For that reason, her first 4 CDs are available via the discography listing to the right of [Jordan's web site] for private listening purposes.

Get the Music

Artist Links

Jordan Reyne web site
Jordan Reyne at Twitter
Jordan Reyne at Facebook
Jordan Reyne at YouTube
Jordan Reyne at Last.fm
Jordan Reyne at iLike
Jordan Reyne at Reverb Nation
Jordan Reyne at MySpace

Associated Links

Association of Music Podcasting
Blubrry Podcast Network
Audio Gumshoe on Twitter
Audio Gumshoe on Facebook
Audio Gumshoe on MySpace

The audio file for this work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Drop.io Acquisition Spells Bad News for Many Music Podcasters

The recent announcement by Drop.io that it will soon cease operations has been a bit of bad news for some music podcasters. These show producers, many of whom are members of the Association of Music Podcasting, use the service to allow independent musicians to submit their songs.

According to the Drop.io blog we have until December 15 to move files out of our accounts. Many music podcasters have already looked for alternatives, including Soundcloud and Dropbox. However, I haven't found either of these services to offer the same ease of use and simple interface for the musicians. They may provide me with a place to receive tunes for review and possible inclusion in the show, but they don't offer much in simplicity for the person doing the submission. I love Dropbox for personal and business use, but I don't want artists to have to open yet another account simply to upload a few songs for my show.

Even Mashable reported that Drop.io offers:

"...file hosting and sharing service of considerable renown in Web world, particularly among those who espouse the need to keep things simple."

Why the closure? Drop.io reports:

Today, we’re proud to announce that we’ve struck a deal with Facebook.  What this means is that Facebook has bought most of drop.io’s technology and assets, and Sam Lessin is moving to Facebook.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be winding down the drop.io service. As of this week, people will no longer be able to create new free drops, but you’ll be able to download content from existing drops until Dec. 15. Paid user accounts will still be available through Dec. 15 and paid users will be able to continue using the service normally.  After Dec. 15, paid accounts will be discontinued as well.

Though I use Facebook, I'm becoming quite annoyed by the many acquisitions that it has made. These often [read: usually] cease the existence of other services that I use. The technology is then used in ways that I would never find myself participating at my Facebook account.

Perhaps I'll return to using the cforms plugin for Wordpress that I had used in the past. I found it to be buggy and unreliable, but at least it was simple for the artists. Perhaps there have been improvements made since I used it last that will show it to be a good alternative.

Atomic Tom Jam On Their iPhones

I believe this is my new favorite music video. Great job, Atomic Tom.

I've Drifted So Far Away

Taking Music Surveys

For well over five years (so long I can't remember) I have participated in music surveys at RatetheMusic.com. They claim to be "the internet's first music rating site."

The service selects a genre for you to participate based on your submitted profile.; My recent survey was for "Adult Rock". A short 15-20 second snippet of a song is provided, as well as the song title and artist. The survey asks:

1. Are you familiar with this song? (yes/no)
2. Rate this song: (Unfamiliar/Dislike It a Lot/Dislike It Some/So-So/Like It Some/Like It A Lot)
3. Are you tired of hearing this song? (yes/no)

After you submit your response to the 30 songs, the survey provides you with a list of the songs that you heard and the opportunity to listen to them again.

Becoming Unfamiliar

I have found over the past several years that my survey results are becoming quite predictable. It seems that my responses to almost every survey I take starts with "No, I am not familiar with this song." This happens even with songs by mainstream artists and many artists that I at one time considered to be favorites. The survey I took this morning had ONE song that I'd heard. Almost all of the artists were familiar names to me.

My listening habits over the past few years have been focused on independent artists. I RARELY turn on a commercial radio station. When I do turn on the radio, I do so under duress because other options, such as my iPod, are not available to me. I often find myself switching from station to station to avoid commercials or songs that simply do nothing for me.

As a result, I find that I have drifted so far away from the mainstream. I am probably not the best candidate for the RateTheMusic service these days. When I attempt to update my profile I cannot fill in the radio stations with any clarity. I don't listen to terrestrial radio, so there's nothing to add. So I fill in the three slots with "Pandora", "Slacker" and "ooTunes". All are services (with apps on my iPod and phone, as well as the computer) and all offer a myriad of listening options. But I don't stick to any one channel or station on any of these.

So Many Options

I hope that people will explore more options than what is offered on their local, terrestrial radio stations. If you are being spoon-fed music that the corporations are offering, you are missing the many talented musicians that have tunes to offer. Explore music podcasts, such as can be found at the Association of Music Podcasting. Visit online services such as ReverbNation, CD Baby, and Bandcamp, among others. Find out what you're missing.

And if you want to hear my show, please visit AudioGumshoe.com. I feature an independent artist on every episode.

Audio Gumshoe 125: Desiree Million

Download Show

Songs Played

- You Used To
- Oh Baby
- Chains
- Who Is She

Get the Music!

Desiree Million at Amazon.com

Band Links

Desiree Million Website

Associated Links

Association of Music Podcasting
Blubrry Podcast Network
Audio Gumshoe on MySpace

Enter coupon code pod16 or blu16 to get 10% off your entire order at GoDaddy.com

Special thanks to Bob Taylor and Drew Hardwal for their voice talents on Audio Gumshoe. Please visit their sites, as well as Rich’s voiceover site, for your voiceover needs.

The audio file for this work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.