Review: Cirque du Soleil Zarkana @ Radio City Music Hall

It's been a long time... Consequently, bits and pieces of reviews have been queued up, waiting completion. This one is from this past August:

There are few reasons that I feel can justify going into a city. Cities are full of people and dirt. Ground dirt, the kind you plant things in, is alright, but puddles of stagnant city water and subway slime are unsightly and disgusting. And I’m not into that.

But like I said, there are a few things that can justify the trek. There are upscale restaurants, some nice music venues, and I have some friends that I will bear the masses for. But a unique opportunity presented itself to me a few weeks ago; one that, indeed, justifies going into a city.

So I got an email from Chase, my credit card company. Most of these emails are just shy of spam and promptly deleted – special discounts and savings that I’m not interested in. But then I got an email for savings on Cirque du Soleil tickets. For their last year in New York City with their current show. Afterwards, I’m assuming they’ll just be back in Vegas, which is inconveniently far away. New York I can drive to.

And so I looked at tickets, just for kicks. And it hit me: Kelly’s birthday. She’s always said that she wanted to see them and I had seen them as a kid, but wanted to see them again. So I found literally the only weekend it could possibly work, this past weekend. And the only way that it way that it worked was that we were in upstate New York for a wedding on Saturday night and left first thing Sunday morning; a lot of traveling, but worth it.

Naturally, Kelly figured something was up when I suggested we go to NYC, but she didn't know what. There was much protest, but eventually she gave up and we were on our way into the city. It took some time, but we found a place to park (accidentally the $45 valet parking garage) and were out into the city. As we walked up to the prestigious Radio City Music Hall, I handed her the tickets. There wasn't much time to eat so we grabbed a sandwich at a café and headed back to find our seats.

Our seats, which were awesome, because, as I've stated before, a show (in this case, not a concert) isn't worth seeing from a distance. As you approach the nosebleed section, the point for going is quickly outweighed by sitting at home, watching on your big-screen TV. So since I hold such a philosophy and it was a special occasion, I figured the center of the second row would be pretty good.

If you are unfamiliar with Cirque du Soleil, they are basically a circus acrobatic act. Except take whatever you just thought you perceived and make the stunts harder, add choreography, a plot, and music. This particular show was Zarkana.

Which is a rock opera? Something about the word “opera” is an immediate turn off. And actually, I didn’t know that this show was anything opera related until we got there; Kelly looked up the show description on her phone. Not that it would have turned me off from Cirque du Soleil, but it’s just something I’m not into.

And neither is foreign language. I’m the guy who complains about the cereal box having Spanish on it. We’re in the US; speak English. But that’s a separate discussion. The point being, that this show wasn’t in English. There were English words thrown in here and there, and some French, but most of it was in what Kelly thought may have been Italian (I'm still thinking French, but it was hard to make out any words ...opera, remeber). So an opera in Italian? What a great way to waste a life experience.

Except this is Cirque du Soleil. The plot is there, but it’s such a small part of the performance that not understanding the language or the plot in its entirety is okay. And, this is a rock opera, not just an opera. So the music was something I could relate to.

And that’s the goal, right? To relate to people. It makes you real and accessible. It made Italian (French?) opera singing and trapeze acts relatable; it was like you were flying through the air with them. But it was relational beyond what I thought it even could be. There were progressive notes of Dream Theater, some quirky Zappa-esque movements, and some world music thrown in. Not only does a lot of world music relate back to my experiences in Burkina Faso, but this particular instance showcased a Kora, the mysterious 21-stringged, gourd-bodied harp instrument that I had brought back with me. And not only that, but the Kora was played in a traditional-western hybrid style that made it relational to the western music which it was accompanying.

So this was a concert and theatrical production in support of the overlying acrobatic themes. It made the music stylings come to life in vivid colors and movements. It is truly amazing what these people do. They will take something traditional like a tightrope, but mix in leaps, flips, and even jump-rope. These are believable stunts taken beyond what you know, to what you know to be impossible. And it’s all done choreographed to music; relatable music that makes you believe that maybe you could do something like them. But it is a showcase of the impossible?

You need to see it. I will be back for sure, presumably in the front row next time.

After the show, we walked around the city for a little bit. We stopped in at Magnolia’s Bakery, where they had a signature Zarkana cupcake. It was good, but who the heck puts glitter on a cupcake?

Olympic Music for Free?

So I'm reading my facebook feed and see that Andy McKee has posted something. He usually has good things to say, so I took a look:
http://www.theleadingevents.com/?p=6538

As some of you might know, the Olympics are sometime soon. That's about all I know; I've been too busy to bother with actual dates and all of the hoopla that is associated with big sporting events.

But this article touches on the music of the Olympics. I do music stuff sometimes, so that interests me. And if you think back to when they were in Beijing, China, there was a lot going on with music, especially for the opening ceremonies. It was pretty neat and will be a hard act to follow. So it does beg to question what London has planned??

Well, the plan is to not pay the musicians. It's for "exposure."

One word of the article sticks out: ethics.

As a charitable event? Sure, "exposure." As an audition for a bigger, paying gig? Maybe. As an unestablished act at a small local venue? Maybe. But at an event where everyone else is fairly compensated and even getting to the event could cost thousands? Ethics?

And they're being written off as "volunteers?" When is a professional service a job for a volunteer? Volunteering generally requires no skill. A volunteer is a body with basic functions. A volunteer doesn't do something for "exposure."

So ultimately, despite calling them volunteers, you have professionals paying their way for a chance at some exposure. Not a garage band trying to hit it big, mind you. These are professionals who do this for a living. They will be providing a value-added service for free, to the benefit of all those who are getting paid for their value-added, professional services.

To the core, this is unethical. The worst part is that this will most likely not be stopped. Actually, no, the worst part is that people don't see a problem with this. They see playing music as "fun" and novel, but not as a job. It's a silly thing that grown men do to prevent themselves from growing up and facing the real world. But let's say that all of those people weren't in music because all music, musical services, etc. were free? Our airwaves would be filled with Justin Bieber and similar children who don't have to make a living.

Which is why you pay musicians. "Steal" my music all you want, but my services - the services of musicians everywhere - should be compensated.

Think about a sweat shop. Can we agree that they are unethical; people working for pennies a day? Well, take those pennies away. And then endorse it by the global community.

Review: Trace Bundy at World Cafe Live

If you've ever seen Trace Bundy, you know it's more than just a guy playing guitar. Everything around you is part of the experience. It's not just music; not just stories...

Which is why I'm going to start this review off with a review of my meal. See, the Trace Bundy experience leaves you remembering the details. You've got this journey leading up to one of the most exciting shows of your life. The details get you there.

And understanding what a show I was in for, I decided to start the night off with a good meal. Not that you shouldn't ever not eat well, but World Cafe Live does a pretty good job at good food.

The Meal
I got the halibut fillet. It was served over sauteed broccolinni, topped with a chilled corn relish, and roasted yukon potatoes on the side. A savory garlic butter sauce topped the dish.

The flavors were great. The richness of the garlic butter tied together an otherwise light dish. The halibut was good, not great. Despite being cooked perfectly, melting in your mouth, half of it was under-seasoned and rather bland. The potatoes and broccolinni went very well with the dish, but the star of the show was the corn relish.

Yes, the corn relish. To start off, it was chilled. That helped to set it apart from the rest of the dish as not only a textural element, but also a contrast in temperature. To top it off, it was slightly charred. This brought out a lot more sweetness than you would generally associate with it, as the sugars in the corn had started to caramelize. The end result was this sweet, zesty, slightly acidic element sitting atop a plate of much more savory-oriented food. I wanted more.

To end the meal and start off the show, I got creme brulee. It was good. Actually, it was the first creme brulee I've ever had. I can't compare it to others, but can say that I enjoyed it. I was looking for a little bit more egg flavor, but then again, I don't know if that's what it was supposed to taste like or not... Regardless, it was quite enjoyable. Trace actually asked for a bite of mine when he saw it (he was joking), and then got one of his own after the show.

Now on to the show:

The Show
For this we'll have to back up. Earlier I mentioned that every Trace Bundy show includes the journey you took to get there. Well, our journey didn't begin with dinner. It began with buying the tickets. See, originally Kelly was going to go, so I got two tickets. And originally Andrew was going to bring Jean and Joe, so he got 3 tickets. Our dinner reservations were, therefore, for 5.

Well Kelly dropped out. She was off to a bachelorette party early the next morning. And Joe dropped out. He was headed to a wedding early the next morning. And then there were 3. We exhausted our list of people who may be around/may want to go and ended with 4, adding Casey.

It was unfortunate that we didn't get a 5th. Or was it? Once we got there, they seated us at our table for 5, which was really a table for 6. But we only needed 4... A few minutes and some of Andrew's charm later, we were relocated to the table for 4, sitting front and center.

Here's a picture Trace took on his phone of the crowd. Note that we are the closest. #win

Now we get to the actual show.

This was the last show of Trace's CD release tour for Elephant King. His last show at World Cafe Live was a year and a half ago, right before his son was born. Right before the show after that (the D.C. show I was at), his wife had gone into labor. Seemingly irrelevant to the show, but I guess when stuff like that happens in your life, you remember the details. Trace's memories of Philly, in this case, were good ones; a great way to start off the show!

So as the show progressed, there were a handful of things that were the same as the previous shows: the medleys, the iPhone version of Superstition, and some of the stories. I knew what was coming. Part of me wanted to think that it was gimmicky. But it's not - everything that was the same was just as good, if not better, than the first time. The version of Superstition, for instance, that he plays with a guitar app on his iPhone - way better this time. After another year and a half of practice he went from looking super nerdy, sitting and playing his phone, to standing up and rocking out.

And the stories... he's just a great story teller. Take his opening song, Patanga, for instance. What is the meaning behind it? The beauty of a made up word is that you can make up the meaning ...which is what he does every single time. Maybe a few of the times he uses the same stories, but it's unlikely that you will ever hear the same definition/story of Patanga twice.

The stories go from complete nonsense of how Patanga is the film on top of SPAM to how he had a nearly-fatal climbing accident 10 years ago and how the song, Traverse, is partially about that. And they touch everything in between. Elephant Kings. Ninjas. The baboon guard. A monkey referee. He has the imagery of the great song writers, only he builds it into the dialogue surrounding his compositions.

It takes a lot to be great. Some people say 10,000 hours. But that's only to be good at your instrument. To be a good entertainer. To make people laugh To make a dining room fall silent. That's something you don't just have. I'd like to think that I have some pretty good stories surrounding my songs, but I don't have near the delivery. When you see Trace Bundy live, you see a real person. Rock and pop stars are so disconnected from reality that you don't get them. Singer/songwriters are generally more real, but they're a dime a dozen; it's the same thing time in, time out.

With an instrumental act, you've got to work hard. First, you've got to be able to hold people's attention with your ability. If you don't have the chops, you're going to fail. But in order for people to listen, you have to get their attention. And you get peoples attention by relating to them. You relate to them with songs like Joy and Sorrow; telling about how there is this dichotomy that governs life, making you feel joy when seeing your newborn son, but sorrow when he pees into your eye...

And then you do things for the people. Stories about your life experiences are great. Stories that are just stories are too. But something that people like, for whatever reason, are covers. And Trace does a few. He turns them into feats of finger ninjary, doing the one-man-band bit on Oldies, Zeppelin, and Eminem.

But in the end, for me, it comes down to the music. He's brilliant. And for once in my life, I made the brilliant decision to write down the setlist. Since you most likely weren't here, you can watch the videos sans-stories (for the most part), on youtube:

Patanga

Pachelbel's Cannon

Elephant King

Oldies Medley

Superstition on iphone

Overtime
     Couldn't find a video
Tres Capos
     Couldn't find a video
Traverse

Dueling Ninjas

Joy and Sorrow

Lose Yourself Kashmire

Hot Capo Stew

U2: Where the Streets Have No Names

What's Trending

I’m a bit of a nerd. Sure, there are the occasional LAN parties, but they’re few and far between. Beyond that, though, I mean, c'mon, I’m an engineer. It’s to be expected. I analyze EVERYTHING. I track changes and try to make informed decisions based on statistics. Wouldn’t it make sense that the more informed decisions you make, the better your decisions can be?

I have spreadsheets for everything. I track my weight, my 401(k), my schedule, etc. There’s just something about organizing data into a palatable form that makes so much sense. A single number means nothing without it's context. By analyzing data, you can see patterns and can predict response based on decisions you make.

And, of course, this flows into my music. I track how many CDs I sell at each show, how much I get paid at venues, how I do on tips, and I even track what elements I am using in each song. The last point there has helped me in writing/forming album 2 and has helped frequently in creating set lists (whether they are pre-planned or made up on the spot).

So I’ve got all of this data. And I organize it on my own. It’s not nearly as daunting as it may sound, but it is nice to have the work done for you every once in a while. Such is the case with this blog. Conveniently, blogger tracks everything from which posts get the most views to where the viewers are geographically and what internet browser they use.

Most of these trends make sense. Sometimes my writing is better or sometimes I get some views from friends mentioning my blog, etc. My Kaki King post, for instance, was mentioned by my friend, Ken Mueller. Compared to most of my other posts, it blew up! Likewise, I reviewed a Kyle Rictor show and, after he posted a link of it, it started to get a lot more traffic.

But here’s one that doesn’t quite make sense. A while back I wrote a post on my new Adamas guitar. Since then, it’s gotten more views per month than most of my other posts ever do. And it’s consistent. A few views per day, usually. So either Adamas guitars are booming right now or I really hit on something with a review of the guitar…


So I think that will be up next on the agenda... Reviewing some more gear. Specifically, my guitar collection. It'll help introduce everyone to the family and will give me topics that aren't just calling everyone out for not trying hard enough.

PRG Rope Burn

This past weekend, Kelly and I went to the Philly Rock Gym Oaks and competed in their Rope Burn competition. It was actually her idea. The comp was open to all skill levels, so we went in as novice, expecting there to be tons and tons of competition. After all, neither of us had ever competed before and when the guys ahead of us said they climbed 5.10s and 5.11s, they were only placed in as intermediates. We may have climbed a few 5.10s, but not more than a handful and definitely no 5.11s.

I’ll get right to the punch with this one – we both won first in our level and were told we should try intermediate next time. Kelly would have placed in intermediate with her score, but I would have fallen short by a few hundred points… It’s something to work towards, but not too bad all the same.

It was a great experience and definitely a new view of climbing. One thing that really stood out, though, was the number of young climbers there. We’re used to Reading Rocks where the kids there are either with boy/girl scouts or birthday parties. The regulars are college aged and older. Naturally, we figured there’d be tons of adults in the comp. Instead, we were outnumbered by the youth – and those were only the youth that had made it to the final round. We later found the score sheet from the youth comp, which was 2 pages of names in about 8 point font; probably about 150 kids or thereabout.

I think it shows an interesting shift. When I was a youth, kids played team sports. Unless you were practicing with your team, you really weren’t able to practice the sport. Sure, you could practice juggling a soccer ball, but without others, you couldn’t practice playing soccer. It’s not quite the same.

With things like cross country it’s a bit different. You can run on your own and, ultimately, no one cares about your team’s performance. And maybe that’s a good comparison because I think that these kids were also on teams, where there was a team score, but you worked for your own individual score. The team performance is a great measure of the caliber of your training, but that’s all.

What it seems like is that we have this changing definition of what a team is. We now have climbing teams in the way that we have snowboarding teams. You’re no longer reliant on the rest of the members of a team to be successful.

And that’s what we’ve seen in music in the past decade. You no longer need ANYONE. Whether you’re a band or a solo act, you no longer need a “team” to succeed. As technology has advanced, more and more is able to be DIY. You can record in your bedroom, do your own publishing, book your own shows, and publicize your own material. It’s a full time job, but it’s the full time job of an individual, not of some corporate entity.

This aligns well with the ever fleeting need for a label. It used to be that that was the only way, but now it’s common knowledge that you don’t need them. They can enable a lot of neat things – organizing tours, collaborations, etc – but are not necessary. You can succeed without them.

But to succeed, you have to dedicate your life to it. While we were there, we talked to the one kid’s dad about the youth programs. They were from North Jersey, but would travel all over the place to compete. The previous weekends, they had been up in Massachusetts for competitions. For climbing competitions?! On top of an almost certainly grueling training schedule, this kid is traveling up and down the east coast. And all of the kids there were pretty much like that from what I could gather.

These kids are competing. So are you. You may not be lined up next to your competitors, but know that you’ve got every other musician out there vying to flood peoples’ airwaves. And there will always be someone who will do it for cheaper or for free. You have to be the best. And that takes no team.

Guitar Lessons

You won’t get better if you surround yourself with mediocrity. Sure, if you’re any good, you’ll stand out in a mediocre crowd, but you’ll stagnate. And where does stagnation and mediocrity get you? Nowhere.

The key is to continue learning in whatever you do. And you need to learn from the best. The guy down the hall in your college dorm may have put together this really catchy tune using garage band, but you’ll be hard-pressed to learn much from him. Using garage band is great, but to be a recording engineer, you need a lot more. Likewise, his one song won’t help to teach you how to compose. The I, IV, V and gritty vocals won’t quite get you to the top.

Now I’m not saying you need to necessarily take music theory classes or even lessons, but you do need to be immersed in exceptional talent in some way.

In my time at Messiah, I listened to tons of mediocre singer/songwriters who played all the same songs, all the same way. Of those, there were a few gems who were inspiring; who could teach you something. And you could learn something from them. Those were the people I tried to surround myself with, musically. The few collaborations I did in my time there, especially, were huge growth experiences.

Since then? I’ve got a single room in a city that tries, but doesn’t do anything great. I’ve met a ton of great people at open mics, but I can’t walk down the hall at 2 am to find someone to give me a hand with a new composition. I’ve played guitar more than I got to at school, but there’s been something missing.

Within the percussive fingerstyle genre, who do I really have to look to? Trace Bundy, Andy McKee, Antoine DuFour? Since I can obviously just stroll over to their respective houses and soak up their imparted knowledge and skill… Right. It’s not that easy. It never is.

Then one day I get this email. Along with hundreds, if not thousands, of others… I mean, it’s mass fan-mail. This guy I had a gig with a couple years back had some slots open for lessons.

Now those that know me …like really know me – know that that would never entice me. I’ve recently talked about taking cello lessons or jazz lessons, but regular guitar lessons? I took lessons eons ago and quitting them was one of the best things for my progress. They were great to start, but I was just sitting there learning other people’s songs that I didn’t want to learn. That’s not me. So why would I want to take lessons ever again?

Well, see a few years ago I played a gig with a guy by the name of Trevor Gordon Hall. A percussive fingerstyle guitarist who loops, uses distortion, and does everything with tonal perfection. I’ve never known anyone to have better tone. Ever. Hands down. Ever. I have never met a single guitarist with better tone than this guy. EVER. If you follow my blogging at all, you’ll see his name pop up every once in a while with regard to innovation and tone.

So lessons with Trevor? He’s right outside of Philly; actually only 5 minutes from Kelly’s parents place… So I gave it a try. I’ve had two lessons and feel I’ve made years worth of progress. I’m doing things I didn’t know I didn’t know. And I’m practicing?!?! For the past 8 years, my practice has consisted of me writing new material. Practice wasn’t working out kinks or getting better, but writing new, exciting things. That’s how I practiced. Over the past two weeks, I’ve practiced only finger exercises, fingerpicking technique, arpeggios, sweeps, and scales.

It’s enlightening. It really is. This guy makes me feel like I know nothing about playing guitar. Every time I sit down to practice I can see and hear where I am getting better. Whatever is going to transpire of this will blow minds. In the meantime, I’ll be locked in my room.

Customer Service (8thstreet.com)

I recently got a new job. I’m still working for Alcon, but am on direct, no longer a contract. People celebrate things like this in different ways. Obviously one of my ways of celebration relates to guitars. And no, I did not get another.

My current tone enhancement efforts are to upgrade my cables. People will contest the notion that there is any difference between types of cables, but I can hear the difference. It’s subtle, but it’s there. I’ve been using Monster Standard cables for ages now. They work really well and are reliable, but a few months ago I picked up a Monster Acoustic cable… and wow. The difference is subtle, but the difference between good and great is achieved subtly.

So I wanted to pick up another. I’ve got an input and an output to my board, so it would make sense that I would want two.

I turned to amazon. As it turns out, they’ve got the best prices on most guitar equipment. I won’t buy a guitar off amazon …ever, but strings, cables, etc.; yeah that makes sense. My preference is for 10-15 ft cables, so of the 12 or 21 ft options, I chose the 12.

A day later, I get an email from 8thstreet.com. They’re the company that I bought the cable from, through amazon. Turns out the 12 ft isn’t in stock and will take a few extra days.

Thanks for telling me. Seriously, it’s nice to know when a delay is expected. I don’t want to wait day after day for something that won’t come for another two weeks.

But they take it a step further. Because they know that the customer is more valuable than the product. It doesn’t matter what you’re selling if you don’t have customers. They take it a step further by offering me a second option. I can either wait for the 12 footer or they can send me the 21 ft cable at no extra cost. The 21 ft cable retails for twice what I paid for the 12 ft cable.

I opted for it because I want the cable sooner rather than later. And I always like to have extra cables. And because I like having extra cables, I will likely pick up a 12 ft cable later. And it will be from 8thstreet.com.

And here’s a quick review of the cables on amazon!

Video - Debris of a Brainstorm

To continue with the song explanations, here's Debris of a Brainstorm. This is off of my debut album, Deconstructing the Temporal Lobe, along with one of the earlier videos, Ice Mountain.

The idea behind Debris is that it's sort of how most of my compositions have been written; that is, phrase by phrase, pieced together. So often in the process there are tons of little experimental licks that don't make the cut. Most of the time those are lost. And I don't care. I believe that the best licks, the best songs, the best albums are those that you remember. Those you forget? You lose them. So what?

This song is a culmination of parts and ideas that weren't quite lost. It's in a different tuning from anything else I've written (C-G-C-G-B-E), but really builds off of ideas from previous brainstorming sessions, primarily those from Horse in the Clouds. If you're familiar with that one, it was my first lap-tapping song and is the first track on the debut, largely inspired by the movie, August Rush.

While writing Horse in the Clouds, I had lots of ideas and just no great way to cram them into one song. So I went back and forth between the two different tunings and worked on them simultaneously, really only intending on finishing one piece. After Horse in the Clouds came, when a second tune came, it was obviously the "debris" of the "brainstorm."

Because nothing else I've written is in this tuning, it doesn't get much play time these days... But I do really enjoy playing it and usually, I like to think, other people like it too.

Enjoy!

Video - Muscle Memory

So this one has actually been up for a while... But I want to give stories behind all of my work, ya know, make them a little more real. What better way than to explain the song and give you a point of view of me playing it? I'm convinced that it would be easier to learn to play guitar this way, but that's not what this is about.

This is actually one of the songs that will be on album 2, but one that's familiar enough to throw up here for everyone. As a matter of fact, this almost made it onto Deconstructing the Temporal Lobe, my first album, but it wasn't in a polished form at that point. And actually, this had a different name at that time as well.

So how did it make it to the second album and get a new name? It started roughly a year after the first album, when I went back for another recording session with Jeremy Bentley at MR.STUDIO. I recorded the song in that session and ...that was it. Fast forward a year and I'm thinking about the next session and a full album. So I go back to listen to what I already have ...and have no recollection of this song?

It was bizarre. I had a general idea of what tuning it was in, but that's it. So I had to basically deconstruct the whole song and reteach myself. It was difficult, but eventually I remembered the shapes I was using, how I was plucking the strings, etc. Hence, Muscle Memory.

It's nothing technically dazzling, super complex, or obtuse like much of my work. Instead, it's just a well rounded, very agreeable composition. Easy listening without needing to think to appreciate it. Hope you enjoy!

Buying Fans??

Everyone wants to sell you something. Whether it's a used car or a record deal; don't trust them. There's truth down there somewhere, but you've got to dig to get to it. You want to know exactly what you're getting, what it can do for you, and why you need it.

Sometimes, the digging is all done for you. Take this example. Below is an email I got from some promotion company (If your music is out there, you probably see these as well - one every few months or so at least). Basically, for a fee, they will sell you facebook fans, youtube plays, and website hits. They sell numbers. And I'm not okay with that. So, I sent them a reply:

From: Label - DianaHolland

Subject: Hi, Alex Brubaker you will love this Reverbnation Music Promotion

Date: 02/15/2012 6:22 AM

Hi Alex Brubaker my name is Mike with http://TalentHouseLIVE.com, the #1 site for Artist Development and Promotion. I've listened to the majority of your music and I think we can help you convey your talents to a much bigger audience.

Talent House Live will help you promote your music and grow your fan-base with our innovative marketing and brand management services. We specialize in a number of services like ReverbNation Promotion, Artist Development, FaceBook promotion, Twitter fans, YouTube promotion, DatPiff promotion, album cover designs and much more.

I am truly passionate about our dedication to help "Indie Artists and Indie Record Lables" with new and creative ways of marketing that traditional record labels can't match. If you are looking to launch your music career to new heights using internet marketing then check out Talent House LIVE. Get Revernation Promotion athttp://talenthouselive.com/portfolios/reverbnation

http://talenthouselive.com/portfolios/reverbnation 
Get 10 percent Discount on all other Promo when you use the code mikepromo 
Call Talent House Live directly @ 800 871-2314 and tell them Mike Referred you.

and my response:

To: Label - DianaHolland  

Subject: reverbnation promotion

Date: 02/15/2012 1:12 PM

Mike,

Thank you for the email and reaching out to help. However, I do not prescribe to the idea of "selling plays." It's a great business model, to find young, naive artists and to show them big numbers; who wouldn't jump at that? But it's never about the numbers. It's about the music and the fans. When you turn your fans into numbers, they remain numbers. And numbers are not sustainable. Hype is not sustainable. This creates anomalies in statistics and makes overnight success look like a great thing. It's not. You need fans, not numbers, to sustain that. And if you don't know your fans, they might as well be numbers.

Music is something I see as a career. For me, it’s a career on the side, but still a career. A career in music is built on relationships with fans, friends, and other artists. One builds a career one gig at a time, during one song at a time, by one fan at a time. It’s not some one night stand with 100,000 faceless names.

Sorry, but my music is about the music and the fans. I won't cheapen that by buying fans and plays like some sort of commodity.

Alex Brubaker 
www.alexbrubakerguitar.com

Matt Walsh at the Collaboratory

Yesterday I had the pleasure of getting to hear Matt Walsh speak at the Collaboratory at Messiah College. I know, I graduated last year, but I still help out with Collab and really wanted to hear Matt. He and his family are missionaries at the center that I was at in Burkina Faso two summers ago. That, and he’s got good things to say.

Through his talk, he had a lot of great things to say with regards to work in Burkina, as well as work in other non-westernized cultures. Though one thing struck me… and I think it has to do with actually having gone over there and being a bit older and, perhaps, a bit wiser.

His point, the shot no one saw coming, was that sometimes we need to impede our successes. We need solutions that are both “good” and also sustainable. An overnight boom in anything is seldom sustainable and, often times, it’s “goodness” is measured strictly in quantity. In the case of Matt’s work, he provided many examples of foreign aid on things like crop yield that, overnight, would double or triple yields, but in the process would cripple communities and actually increase poverty in the area.

In the case of this blog, with the main focus on music, the same can be applied.

One of your worst fears as an artist is to explode overnight. So many strive for it and anxiously await the day, but it seldom does any good. You’ve seen it so often (i.e. top 40), where all of the sudden everyone is singing the same song and everyone likes the same band and it seems like everything is going well for said artist.

Fast-forward a week or two from that instance. Has the song been forgotten? Overplayed ad nauseam? Has the artist been forgotten? At that point, maybe not. But then fast-forward a few years. In almost all cases, you’ve got a burned out act playing dumpy bars and clubs, riding the coat-tails of the good ‘ole days.

Instead, you want something sustainable. You don’t want a fling with success, you want a career in it. And a career is sustainable. A career isn’t made with a hit. A career isn’t made by hype. Those are quantitative results, recklessly obtained with no regard for quality. People see that and that’s why they forget about you.

You need to build slowly. The fans you get shouldn’t be the drifters, following whatever the tastemakers are saying is hot. The fans you get you want to be life fans. Those are fans that know when you’re in their city and know when your next big project is coming out. Those are the people who you talk to after the show and have meaningful conversations with. Those are the people that you smile to and thank for coming to the show. They will build your career and sustain it for you.

It’s always about the fans; always about the people. If it starts to be about the money, the hype, and the fame, you’ll all but be forgotten tomorrow.

Birthday Post

So yesterday was my birthday. Since I haven't blogged in a while, I will post regarding births.

Stop having children. If you can't put the effort forth, don't bother; you'll spawn children that also don't put any effort towards anything. They will make poor music and poor life decisions. Fact.

SOPA

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/19/anonymous-hackers-claim-to-take-down-justice-department-website-in-retaliation/

So it's the Stop Online Piracy Act... Perhaps you've heard of it? It's basically everyone up in arms like how it was with Napster back in the day.

And as I'm sitting here typing this, crazy stuff is going down. See, a preemptive strike was made, shutting down megaupload.com. It's a site where you could upload music, videos, etc. Basically, it was "legally" used for piracy, like half a million other sites are, where you get others' uploaded content. Like Napster, but less blatantly illegal. But after word got around that that happened, that brought Anonymous, a global collective of hackers, out of the woodwork. Now they're going on a hacking spree. Here's the count so far:

1. justice.gov
2. universalmusic.com
3. riaa.org
4. mpaa.org
5. copyright.gov
6. hadopi.fr
7. wmg.com
8. usdoj.gov
9. bmi.com
10. fbi.gov

But what's the big deal with piracy?

Piracy is "theft." It's people stealing things they don't believe they should have to pay for. We live in a day and age where you can have anything and everything at your fingertips. It's no surprise. It's an age where it's harder to "make it" not only because of there being less money in recorded media, but there's also so many more people fighting for the same taste of the limelight.

The old way is done. You won't make money selling cassettes the same way that CDs are on their way out. I still like CDs, but it's all digital now. And digital, people believe, should be free.

As an artist, I'm actually all for sharing media. If you want to "steal" my music, please, do. Today, you need people listening to you. No one is willing to spend money on something they don't believe in, so first you've gotta make them believe in you. At that point, you've got fans, not just people spending money blindly. You actually have people vested in you. And that's how it should be.

I have no problem "stealing" music online from sites like megaupload. I limit my buying to two cases: artists I know or see/have seen live and artists that absolutely blow me away. The second accounts for hardly any of my music. But after downloading something, if I like it, I'll tell people about them, I'll see them live, and buy merch when I see them live.

Those complaining about piracy haven't caught on. Money isn't in the media, but in the experience. Make people want to support you and come up with new ways for that to happen. Innovate or be left behind ...or, as the case is today, HACKED :)

Get Back Up

I just got back from a weekend in New York with Kelly and her family. We were taking her sister, Jamie, back up to school and, while we were in the area, took a couple days to snowboard. It was a lot of fun and, since I haven't posted anything in a while, I feel like I should somehow relate snowboarding to music...

So here's what I've got:

The most important thing you can learn from snowboarding is to get back up. When you fall, you can either quit or you can get back up. Those are your only two choices and, as the case is with snowboarding, you are faced with that choice often.

See, snowboarding has one of the highest learning curves of any sport. If you didn't learn to snowboard when you learned to walk, tough luck. You WILL fall and you WILL get hurt. And it will take a long time until you are "good" at it. Through all of that, most people give up. You get a taste of snowboarding that is associated with catching your edge and having your head slammed into the ground. It's not a good feeling, but it is part of the learning process.

Me, being the adrenaline junkie that I am, have gone through all sorts of injuries in my learning process. I like to say that I was "raised" by skiers, as most of the guys I hung out with while I was learning were all experienced skiers. Experienced, meaning that I was constantly being pushed to go faster, steeper, and bigger than I would have liked. This led to injuries on all parts of my body - a fractured tailbone, unknown injuries to my knees and wrists, a mild concussion or two, etc.

When you're laying on the ground, wondering if you can move your legs and arms, you feel like quitting; like it's not worth it. Then you get up and do it again (sometimes after days or weeks of recovery). It's either because you've got masochistic tendencies or because you're passionate about what you do.

The first day we were out, Kelly and I took Jamie. Maybe she only got in 4 or 5 runs over the course of the day, but she ended with some accomplishments. Being able to link a few carves together is impressive, regardless of the swollen knees and sore appendages that it took to get there.

So this is where it ties to music. You WILL write crappy songs. You WILL play crappy shows. You'll hear people that can play circles around you. And you can either push on or you can give up. But if you're going to push on, do so intentionally. Bounce ideas off of friends, study your recordings, watch video of your performances. Go out with some intention on getting better. If you settle for what you're failing at, you'll just fall again and again.

And seriously, we don't need people who put out the same sound and the same performance over and over again. Know that it's okay to fall. You just have to get back up and keep moving forward.

Video - Ice Mountain

Kids! I did youtube! Finally!

See, I snowboard. Like, hardcore. I'm not the best. No backflips or huge jumps (though I think I hit a 45' once ...which is pretty big), but fast and steep. That's what I do. So when helmet cams came out a few years ago I was thinking that'd be pretty awesome to document some trips and whatnot. Well, originally, they were like $1000  ...which is a bit unattainable, seeing as how I also have other hobbies and, at the time, didn't have that kind of money to spend.

Fast forward a few years and you can get a helmet cam that shoots 1080p for under $200. Find it on steepandcheep and it's even better! So that's what I got for Christmas, just in time for the Vermont trip.

Unfortunately, the conditions weren't too great when we had the cams out on the mountain, so we didn't get any great footage. What I did get was used to adjust settings and whatnot.

But after getting back from Vermont and not having any more snow, I figured out how I could still make use of the cam w/out the snow - guitar stuff!

So here's the first installment - Ice Mountain.

Hello, 2012.

...and I'm pretty new to this youtube thing, but I think you can subscribe to my channel or something like that? Check it - www.youtube.com/alexbrubakerguitar 

2011 - Year in Review

I debated a lengthy review of everything that happened this past year, but decided that there was just too much that happened.

Instead, here are a few brief highlights of 2011:

• Played a ton of awesome shows, including a bunch of open mic's
• Released a website
• Graduated from Messiah College, got a job, and moved
• Played my first podcast on the NSFWShow
• Ranked #5 on amazon mp3 "easy listening" charts
• Began extensive work on the next album
• Got more amazing fans

And some things to look forward to in 2012:

• Bigger, better shows
• More looping, delays, etc.
• There are plans for more merch (i.e. t-shirts and stuff)
• Album #2
• Youtube

Details to come.

But in the meantime... check out my good friend, Caleb Hawley, bringing in the New Year!