On to the next one
3 March 2010

It's been a year since I jumped back into the music game full-time after I ran off to Florida for 6 months (then returned to finish out my Communications Degree at Lynchburg College). Looking back, assessing where I am and where I want to go, I'm really happy with what I've accomplished this past year. The past two weeks alone have been worth it for me.

Geoff and I returned to Coupe DeVille's in Charlottesville to do another show this past weekend and it was one of the best performances we've done to date. We have a lot of shows in front of us too, which I'm very excited about. However, the big news... well I guess Geoff and I are the big news technically, but a really fun (at least for me) part of this job is working with mass media. In the past two weeks an interview was run with me in both The Burg and the News & Advance. Click here to read the interview. I mentioned LynchburgMusicScene.com in the article and I've just created a Twitter account for the site at twitter.com/lbcmusicscene. It automatically tweets about new performances in the area, so check it out if you're looking for something to do!

My camera is on the way back from Virginia Beach, so I'll be posting pictures from the last few performances very soon. Our next performance is in Roanoke and I'm really looking forward to it - I've heard a lot of great things about 419 West. We'll be using the new PA we purchased last week, so we should sound even better!

Over the course of the next few weeks Geoff and I will be getting more merchandise (perhaps some exclusive t-shirts you can only pick up at our performances) and we'll begin recording a new EP. The songs are already written and we're ready to record. We're also getting ready to expand musically and will be auditioning a few musicians in the area, so lots of work ahead, but I wouldn't have it any other way.


In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded
10 February 2010

This has been one of the best weeks of my life. It was my birthday yesterday and we performed three times in the past week - first in Charlottesville at Maya, then at Awful Arthur's in Roanoke and finally at the Green Parrot Grille in Virginia Beach. Despite getting snowed on in Charlottesville and again in Virginia Beach, we had great fun at every show and want to thank everyone involved. I think there will also be an interview coming out soon too, so lots of exciting stuff happening and we have many more performances coming up. I'll get pictures up of the past few shows once I get my camera back (I accidentally left it in Virginia Beach, thanks for sending it to me Jen!).

I'm happy to be posting below our (abridged) interview from WNRN this past November. Either click on the play button or the title to hear it. Thanks again to WNRN and David Dillehunt for the interview.

 


Helping Haiti
27 January 2010

First and foremost I want to announce that from January 25th to February 7th, $1.00 dollar from every CD sold online will go to the Haiti relief effort. So please check out my new album, it's streaming for free on my media page and there is a link to purchase it. It's for a good cause, you get my brand new album, you help out with Haiti, and you feel good. It's a win-win situation any way you look at it.

Secondly Geoff and I have quite a few performances coming up. We've been rehearsing quite a bit, filming ourselves performing and improving our stage show. I'm really excited about the direction it's going in. Coming up we're performing January 29th in Charlottesville at Maya (let's hope it doesn't snow!), February 3rd in Roanoke at Awful Arthur's, and February 6th in Virginia Beach at Green Parrot. See my events page for more information (like links to venue websites so you can get directions).

I found some old music I had completely forgotten about, music which I absolutely adore. It's a bit confusing - both of the bands were called "The Bees". One was from America and one was from the UK. The way I remember it, I think the UK group had the name first, but because there was a conflict with using the name in the U.S., the UK group went by the name "A Band of Bees". In any case, "The Bees" from the U.S. changed their name to "The Silver Seas", but the band from the UK left their name as "A Band of Bees" in the U.S. So you see it's all a bit confusing, but the music is great.


I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.
20 January 2010

I meant to post an update earlier, but I've been wicked busy getting all our ducks in a row regarding the distribution and promotion of our new CDs. Geoff and I had a great time the weekend before last at the Regal Beagle Taphouse in Virginia Beach! The folks there were great to us. Thanks for letting us crash at your place Jen and Eric! And I can't forget to say "Hello" to our new friend Brandi. :) As of right now Geoffrey and I have five shows ahead of us: check out our upcoming shows on the Events page. Speaking of events, I don't think any event has disappointed me more than the lack of a once annual event that has now ceased in 2010, specifically a lack of a certain shadowy figure at Edgar Allen Poe's grave. No roses and cognac this year.

I can't wait for all this hard work to pay off so that one day I too can turn down Paul McCartney for John Paul Jones in my rock supergroup. It's 2010 now and I have been writing and performing my own music for about five years now and having just received my bachelor's degree in May of 2009, 2010 is the first year that I can devote to music. It's amazing how fast the music industry has changed in the last five years and even more so in the last decade. Ten years ago, no one owned an iPod. Now, because of the Internet, music is instantly accessible and the music industry in general is still reeling from this rapid change in their business model. There was no Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Skype, Wikipedia, or Flickr to rapidly share information and connect with fans ten years ago either. It's an exciting time. The Internet has grown by 380.3% - a little over 25% of the Earth's population uses the Internet. According to Internet World Stats that's about 1.73 billion people. Clearly an impact can be made on this digital frontier. In my opinion it is a new Renaissance in a way, such as the one spurred by the invention of the printing press.

There is a downside, however, as explained by an open letter from OK Go. OK Go had a couple of minor hits, but really exploded when they uploaded a self-made music video on YouTube. The same outlet that spawned their success is now being denied to them by their record label because they aren't quite sure how to use this new-fangled technology to make a profit. Maybe they should use this girl's guide to photobombing to learn how to get maximum exposure. ;) In all seriousness, this is ridiculous - no one should be fined more for sharing a song than for child abduction, stalking, or murder. That is not rational, logical or sane.


Happy Holidays
5 January 2010

I hope everyone had a good holiday. I relaxed and spent quality time with friends and family. I even saw Avatar and thought it was just ok - it's no Apocalypto. I spent last week up in Connecticut at Foxwoods Casino and Resort. Leave it to me to meet all the theater kids at the bar. For two months Foxwoods is putting on a big "Legends" concert with great performers backing up great impersonators - the musicians and dancers all seemed like really fun people. It's funny how no matter where I go I find the theater kids.

In any case, I had a nice break and I'm ready to get back out and perform some more in 2010. Geoff and I are still barreling ahead, promoting our new CDs while we begin writing and recording our next one. Our next show is January 8th at the Regal Beagle Taphouse in Virginia Beach.

In other music news, Rolling Stone released a list of the top 100 albums of the decade. As always, they got it wrong, but if you're looking for some decent music you haven't heard, check it out. If you have a short attention span and a decade is too long, check out Metacritic's best of 2009 - it's more accurate and has a wider variety than Rolling Stone. Let us not forget that The Beatles released remastered CDs in 2009 either. It was an interesting year in music; kudos to Lil Wayne and Lady GaGa. 2010 is going to be my year.


Bob Loblaw's Law Blog
16 December 2009

Geoffrey Osborne and I did performances in Richmond, Virginia at The Camel and in Charlottesville, Virginia at Coupe DeVilles a week and a half ago. I'd like to thank Luke and Hayden for letting us crash. We had a lot of fun performing with all the other acts at The Camel and enjoyed the fun crowd at Coupe's. Those UVA kids know how to party.

The Baron's Pub This past weekend Geoff and I performed in Portsmouth, Virginia at The Baron's Pub and the crowd was great. I loved the energy in Portsmouth. Thanks to Terry and Roberta for putting us up. While we traveled the 3 to 4 hours to Portsmouth, Geoff introduced me to a song by The Fratellis despite me having introduced him to the band. I thought it was great and I am sharing it below - it reminds me of an old dance hall, ragtime, brit-pop, who-knows-what-genre song... it's just catchy. I'm also sharing a Take Away Show introduced to me by my friend Dustin featuring a band called Fleet Foxes. They're beardly men, the Fleet Foxes, but their tunes are beautiful.

Don't forget my next performance is this Friday in Roanoke at Zak's Cafe. Get there at 6:30pm and order because we'll begin at 7pm. It's going to be a blast.


New CD release!
2 December 2009

This is a big update. First and foremost Geoffrey Osborne and myself have released our new CDs! Click here to listen to my CD for free. While you're at it, sign up for my mailing list (on the top right-hand side of this page) and get access to even more exclusive music.

This past weekend Geoff and I had a great time performing at the Cowboy Cafe in Arlington, VA. Geoff says we're going to have to go back to the Cowboy Cafe when they get a t-shirt in that's his size. Special thanks to Amy and Matt for coming with us to the show and for showing us around Winchester this weekend... and an extra special thanks to all the Jackson's for their hospitality and delicious food.

The day after the show we stopped at WNRN in Charlottesville for an interview. Thanks so much to David Dillehunt (host of the LocalMotive) and the entire WNRN staff for being so accommodating. We had a lot of fun and look forward to going back to do a live performance. Congratulations to Graham from Harrisonburg for being the third caller and winning our new CDs before they were even released!

Over the next month or so you should see our new CDs on all the digital services out there like iTunes and Rhapsody and such. Your local record store should also be able to order it too if they don't have it. We'll be sending out free digital download cards to independent record stores and have plans for t-shirts, stickers, and more! Be sure to check back for limited and deluxe packaging of both my CD and Geoff's CD in the near future. Lastly, since there was technically five weekends in November, I feel obligated to release one more video. So here is the last video for the month of November, a previously unreleased song entitled "Casablanca by the riverside".

P.S. We got a live performance tomorrow night in Richmond at The Camel - there will be lots of acts and we'll go on later... show begins between 6pm and 7pm. We'll be performing in Charlottesville at Coupe DeVilles the next day (Friday, December 4th) at 10pm.


The end of the real world
23 November 2009

This is the end of the real world.


You can hear the recorded version of the song on my media page.


New video time
16 November 2009

Above is the third video to be released this month and features an unreleased song entitled "Play". Hope you enjoy. We got a lot of shows coming up - should be an exciting holiday season. Our CDs are still scheduled for release in December and we're still plannin' on having a private release party.


The gazelle who trampled the elephant eyes her next prey
9 November 2009

"The gazelle who trampled the elephant eyes her next prey" or more simply, "Abby", is a previously unreleased song and will not appear on my compilation so enjoy the video! There will be 2 or 3 tunes released via YouTube that will not appear on the compilation, so check back next week when Geoff and I release our next promotional video. And don't forget to check out Geoff's new website!


Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?
1 November 2009

As promised, the above video is our first official promotional release this month. There will be another video next week. Let me know what you think. Geoffrey Osborne's website is now live, go check it out, the rumor is he's got a good sense of humor. While you're here sign up for my mailing list (on the top right-hand part of this webpage) - you'll get access to exclusive music and other media before anyone else.


Happy Halloween
31 October 2009

Happy Halloween and happy daylight savings to my friends here in the U.S. We get to sleep for an extra hour tonight... except Hawaii... and probably most of Arizona. Today I went up to Winchester, Virginia to see a Picasso and Matisse exhibit. I really like Matisse, but I love Picasso. I was also reintroduced to some great work by Jean Lurçat, definitely check it out if you ever get a chance.

Speaking of French and French-influenced art, I was introduced to some music this past week from a band called Flotilla, based in Montreal. They just released their second album "One Hundred Words for Water". I listened to it from start to finish and Veronica (the lead singer) has an amazing voice. Somehow it's airy like a cloud, but it still has power behind it. Listen to my favorite song from the album, "Charlie, I'm Through", below. Oh and they're playing in New York soon!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow because we're going to be releasing a video weekly during the month of November (beginning tomorrow!). Geoff's new website, GeoffreyOsborne.com, will officially go live tomorrow. I will also be sending out my first newsletter, so sign up for my mailing list (look at the top right-hand side of the screen) now! You'll get exclusive music no one else can get and see our videos before they are officially released.


If you've heard this story before, don't stop me, because I'd like to hear it again
19 October 2009

I've been so busy lately - I designed a new website for my guitarist Geoff (GeoffreyOsborne.com) and it will officially launch on November 1st, 2009. To promote the release of his EP and my compilation album, which are both tentatively scheduled for release on December 1st, we plan on releasing a new song on YouTube once a week throughout the month of November. The songs being released on YouTube are from a performance we did that was filmed at Lynchburg College for a television pilot. Other promotional activities and appearances are in the works, but for now we've got a show booked up in Arlington the day after Thanksgiving.

While I was checkin' the tubes I came across a forum post by Trent Reznor about the ever-changing music industry. It made too much sense. If you are a budding musician, I recommend you read it. I also found a short interview on YouTube with Tom Harrell. When he's playing jazz trumpet, he's a genius. When he stops, he's completely disabled by schizophrenia. His story is absolutely incredible; read more about Tom Harrell by clicking here.

I've been listening to a ton of female vocalists lately so below I've posted "At Last" by Etta James and "Pussy" by Brazilian Girls. "At Last" is my favorite recording and favorite vocal performance of all time. "Pussy" is crude and some would say in bad taste while others will love it, but the music, man! The music!


Become a product of your imagination
7 October 2009

Wow, this past month flew by. I spent a a week in Old Lyme, Connecticut and performed this past October 3rd at The White Hart with Geoffrey Osborne (our first time performing all original material). We had a great audience and great food. We also finished recording Geoff's songs last night for his upcoming CD release. Now we just have to get the packaging and distribution together, then release his new CD along with my compilation album. Then onward to our first co-written album.

Soon we will debut Geoff's website with his new songs and speaking of websites I created a website for my local music scene, uncreatively titled LynchburgMusicScene.com. Well today was a good day, I even got another email from someone in charge of licensing songs at MTV. I've been so busy with traveling, booking, recording, and performing that I haven't been able to keep up with the latest music trends. In fact I've only just read my new issue of Tape Op; will someone please introduce me to some new music?


The grass is always greener in a parallel universe where you did different stuff
8 September 2009

I can't believe it's almost autumn. Where did summer go? I just spent a week in Florida and didn't have time to post an update on the website, but our last show at Starbucks in Boonsboro was knockout! The picture of us performing was taken by my friend Bri, Kenya dig it? After the show a big group of us went out for mexican food and drinks - it was aces. I believe I'll be heading up north to Connecticut again in a few weeks, but when I return Geoff and I will be playing a show at The White Hart on October 3rd.

One of my friends (and former Disney World bosses and son of Foghat's lead singer) runs a music-based blog called The Peverett Phile and posted an interview with me. Thanks Jason!

Occasionally I like to include music news on this website, but I have intentionally kept quiet about Michael Jackson... until now. I just want to say, after all the hullabaloo that went on in the media - I don't care about Michael Jackson. However, he did own part of the rights to The Beatles catalogue. It seems anywhere I go now I see The Beatles because of the new Rock Band game. The commercials trip me out for some reason. In any case, it's time to stir the pot again.


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