Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with musicians

Music/musicians or music & kids related charities?

You Should See the Other Guy — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:19:23 -0800

This season I would like to raise funds for a music/musicians or music and kids related charity. I'm aware of Sweet Relief, Music Box Children's Charity, and Rock for Kids. What are some others that you would recommend? In addition, there was a music/kids related post on the blue I can't find... an older guy who makes instruments for free--hundreds over the years... anyone recall? Thanks!

A musician for Uncle Sam?

Jenna Brown — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:52:23 -0800

My nephew, who definitely needs structure and self-discipline, is considering joining the military. He would like to become part of a military band, as he is a trained and talented musician and performer. What should he ask for and look for and how can he get an assignment he wants? He has two years at a college-level music school and is a tall, goodlooking, polite young man who would be an asset to any military band, etc. His parents think the military may be a solution for him, as he has burned his bridges at the music school by non-attendance and otherwise lame but not illegal or unethical behavior; he apparently is also interested in the military, at least theoretically. In short, he is a 22-year-old who is in danger of a "failure to launch" situation. I have zero knowledge of military recruiters, but I am afraid that he, a naive and trusting young man, will be the target for a "bait and switch" by unethical recruiters and that he'll end up with an assignment that is not useful or suitable. I am aware that I sound like a handwringing aunt, but he and his parents really could use some advice.

mustaches

Pants! — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:47:12 -0800

Could you point me to pictures of musicians in the 1970s with mustaches? Lots of pictures, please.

Modern Rock for the Classic Rocker?

Alabaster — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:41:44 -0800

Best modern bands for a classic rock fan and musician who wants to hear some genius? Who are the best *musicians'* bands out there today?

I'm a big classic rock fan, especially Led Zeppelin (for sheer awesomeness), and The Beatles (for variety, creativity, and brilliant songwriting).

I tend to like interesting music with variety in harmony, structure, and arrangement. But I also like a good 3-chord jam if it's got some real grit and groove to it, especially if there are genuine soloists. (Lynyrd Skynyrd's 3 chords, yes; Limp Bizkit's 3 chords, not so much).

Current bands I do like:
Radiohead
The White Stripes
The Mars Volta

I'm NOT a stylistic purist -- it doesn't have to sound like classic rock. Hip hop elements are fine, electronic elements are fine (I like System of a Down), metal is fine, genre-crossing is fine. Also, when I ask for musicians, I don't necessarily mean progressive/virtuosos -- I'll take brilliant songwriting, clever arranging, etc. Basically, who are the really, objectively, *great* bands out there today?

Bonus question: What did I miss in the 90s when I was listening to my Zeppelin box set instead of joining the grunge era? I like Radiohead and NIN, and I'm prepared to take a dip in the Nirvana pool to catch myself up -- what other worthwhile 90s bands should I seek out?

Who were these jazz musicians - if they were jazz musicians?

Xere — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:22:30 -0800

Who are the jazz musicians I flew with from Los Angeles to DC today? They were talking about performing at the White House (maybe), and had fangirls (well, two). There was a group of maybe six or eight African-American men, aged anywhere between late forties to early sixties. They looked like jazz cats, and were dressed in black suits, some with hats, very dapper, looking sharp. I vaguely heard them mentioning something about a concert at the White House.

Most of these musicians were in first class, and one of them was across the aisle from me in coach. The guy in coach had some sheet music with him, and was working on more sheet music on his laptop.

When we landed at Dulles, I saw two college-aged Caucasian girls talking excitedly to one of the men - I didn't see any of the other guys around. He dug a photograph out from his rolling bag and signed it for them, and I heard the girls saying "We love..." (I'm assuming this ended in "your music" or "your work")?

Anyone have any idea who they were? I tried searching for upcoming jazz concerts in DC and the White House, of LA-based musicians performing in DC, but no luck so far.

Is it possible to introduce my kid to NYC's musicians?

agentwills — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:46:40 -0800

NYC music filter: How can I find musicians who would be willing to let my kid hang with them? I’ve got a musical eight year old on my hands. I’m in Manhattan, which is an awesome place to raise a musical kid, and I feel like there’s this whole city of possible mentors for him that I just don’t know how to tap into. Other kids his age can’t keep up, and since he’s only 8 years old it’s not like he can go to open mic night. Nothing motivates him like playing with or being around musicians…but where to find them? I think he’d even be happy just sitting in on a rehearsal or something.

Before you file me under “crazy stage mother”, I’m really just looking for opportunities for him to be encouraged and for him to pursue his love of music (plays drums/piano, and composes/writes lyrics). We have a few resources that currently work and some we’ve tapped out, e.g. his school, our church, music camps, and of course his instructors.

I’m looking less for structured lessons (which he does take) and more for inclusion in that atmosphere with people who get him and he can really, really learn from just by being around them. Obviously safety is an issue so random Craigslist postings are completely out of the question.

How can my friend's band promote themselves?

patientpatient — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:28:10 -0800

A good friend of mine just wrapped up a full length album. They are a trio with a little bit of live experience, but no real contacts. How should they go about promoting themselves, both to play in bars/clubs or for possible label representation?

Tickling the Ivory

netbros — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:57:19 -0800

Who are the keyboard players who are really wowing you these days? I'm looking to enhance my listening pleasure. Any style or genre is fine. Audio or video samples would be even better. Thanks for your help.

Rock My City

Miko — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:13:02 -0800

How do you make a town more local-music-friendly? What things can individuals, businesses, and cities do to encourage a better local music scene? I come from a small city in New England. In many ways, it has a thriving local music scene.But there are reasons to be concerned about the health of local music. The number of venues, particularly the 100-300 person type venue that is so important for regional touring acts, has declined as a major room closed and another is in financial straits. A few bars provide local music 7 nights a week, and there are a few successful music series that draw a consistent crowd. But crowds are getting smaller and, overall, it seems like the scene is in a slump.

Tonight I'll be attending a meeting of musicians, venue owners, and music fans to generate some ideas about reviving the scene. What are some things we could put on the table? How has your town or city used its resources to encourage the development of the scene? What makes your town music-friendly (or not?)

What we have:
-a number of active cultural leaders, including a great alternative newsweekly, an indie bookstore active in the culture scene, a real brick and mortar record store, a bunch of small venues, a few larger venues but farther afield, some coordinated music marketing in the form of this website, a good summer concert venue (but weather-dependent), some awesome music-focused annual events like the RPM Challenge

What we lack:
-affordable housing, population density, a lot of young people (the closest college is about 20 minutes away), large rooms, good 'draw' strategies to get people out, and .....?????

We might look at things like:
-developing alternative venues
-promoting - encouraging people to learn the art of promoting
-workforce/affordable housing - are 'creatives' being driven out of the market because of high real estate prices?
-attracting audience - how, when, what gets people out the door?
-genre variety - who goes out to hear music? What kind?
-neighbor issues, ordinances, etc
-festivals
-scene 'branding'
-whatever you recommend! What works where you live?

Please flood me with ideas! Thanks!

The Jam: That's Entertainment?

Silky Slim — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:20:07 -0800

How can I break up a jam session tastefully? Our last party featured a live band. It was a great success, with plenty of guests/spectators, and the live show was terrific. Now we're planning our next party, and I want to address a problem that arose last time. After the band finished its show, a bunch of musicians (who never played together before) got up and started jamming. The jam session was great, but... it did drag a bit after a while. After about 20 minutes, the natives started getting restless, but we didn't know what do. The jam was trippy and meandering, the energy generated by the live band started dissipating, and the DJ couldn't start his set. Every time a song ended, the guitar guy who led the jam immediately started playing another. Finally, the jam ran its course after about 45 minutes.
Now don't get me wrong, jams are great etc, but they do tend to be open-ended. We are going to encourage musicians to come with their instruments and jam this time too, but how can we contain it? Limit them to 2 songs ahead of time? Allot a time frame? A nudge and a wink after a while? Each of these solutions seems slightly jarring and uncomfortable. It's a show, and introducing a clock, in any shape or form, seems incongruous. or is it?

Musicians in "Mixed Marriage"

swarkentien — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:45:12 -0800

My music theory professor challenged our class to identify a married couple where one plays the violin and the other the trumpet. His theory is that the personalities of violin and trumpet players clash. Can anyone name a prominent musical couple where one plays a bowed instrument and the other brass? I would imagine that a saxophone player or drummer would be equally incompatible with a string player.

Where can I spread the word about my project to musicians who might be interested?

racecar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:53:20 -0800

How can I reach independent musicians? My friends and I have built a great service for artists who promote their music online. The people who use it rave about it. But we'd like to grow to serve a lot more people in a more eclectic range of music. Right now, we're running AdWords, messaging similar artists on MySpace, and organically spreading the word through musicians and fans that already love our service.

I know musicians are busy people, but I'd like to somehow show more people what we've built. The service gets cooler for everyone as there are network effects involved.

English listing of artists from promotional video of Chinese 2008 Olympics?

Quarter Pincher — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:53:12 -0800

Is there an English listing of all of the artists found in the China 2008 Olympics promotional video/theme? Specifically, I'd like to know the artists from 2:59, 3:24, and 4:00.. but I'm sure a listing of everyone would be helpful to more than just myself ^_^

How much overall do the major record companies pay to artists?

johnsu01 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:52:49 -0800

What portion of major record label gross income goes to pay artists and how much does the average American spend on music each year? A few years ago I heard that (1) the major record companies paid 4% of their income to the musicians, and that (2) the average American spent $20 a year on music. I've tried and failed to find these figures again. The first seems especially difficult to find (or maybe I'm just being dumb). There is plenty of information about what the average contract gives to the artist, but I'm not interested in that -- I'm looking for aggregated figures. Help? .

Max Axe

netbros — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:22:27 -0800

Who are the most talented guitar players alive today? Not style specific, any genre. I'm looking to enhance my listening pleasure.

LA LOCAL MUSIC

klangklangston — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:55:27 -0800

LOS ANGELES LOCAL BANDS, recommend me. I used to cover local music in Ann Arbor. Now that I've moved to LA, I'd like to engage in some more blatant localism, to cop from JFA. I read the Weekly, City Pages, Onion and Record. I keep up with a couple of local blogs. Still, I want more, especially based on the WEST side, including West LA, Westwood, Santa Monica, Venice and Culver City.

Please tell me: Their name, where they're based, WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE, whether they have shows coming up, whether they have records out, WHETHER THEY HAVE FREE SAMPLE MUSIC UP ANYWHERE.

I tend to favor weirdo punk like No Age, Crystal Antlers, Underground Railroad to Candyland, as well as pop, hard rock, jazz (preferably freakout/skronk jazz), metal and rap. But the important part is that they're local and they're playing out, and, ideally, I don't have to drive for an hour to see them.

Celebrity Pixel Art?

stevil — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:02:18 -0800

Who created those 8-bit pixel art graphics of many famous characters? This was a big blogosphere thing maybe 2 or 3 years ago? An artist created this huge number of blocky front-view representations of all sorts of famous people and it was almost a game to see if you could figure out who it was. And the fun part was that you COULD tell who they were, even though they were really minimal. I remember some of them were individual characters (I'm figuring Star Wars characters) and some were groups (I remember Kiss and Guns 'n Roses).

I looked here and boingboing under any variation of 8-bit, pixel-art, icon, celebrity, etc. and I can't find it.

I think this even ended up in the mainstream media at one point. I'm sure this is an easy one but my mind is totally blank and my Google-mojo seems to have left me.

Music to politics

Chrysostom — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:32:38 -0800

What musicians have successfully made the leap to politics? Examples that come to mind are John Hall (late of Orleans, currently a US Congressman), and Peter Garrett (former lead singer of Midnight Oil, current Australian Environment Minister).

Any others?

Getting music out of my brain away from home.

2or3whiskeysodas — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:13:42 -0800

How do you, fellow musician, capture musical ideas when you're nowhere near a recording device? I'm the chief songwriter for my indie-rock band. 95% of my ideas hit me when I'm not around an instrument or recording device. Usually something like this will happen:

• I'll get an idea for a melody, rhythm, chord progression, whatever.
• I'll let that part roll around in the back of my mind for a while.
• Complimentary parts will sort of build themselves around the original idea

until I have a nice little full-band thing going on. But, of course, if I don't get it out of my head pretty quickly, it's gone by the time I get home.

I've used a digital voice recorder, but just going "dah-dah-DAH-dah-dah" doesn't do much to capture the idea. Plus it's a drag to listen back to. I've tried various forms of notation, but it's not fast enough.

Ideally, you're going to point me at this awesome multi-track sequencer that plugs directly into a jack implanted in my skull (and costs under $200). If we can't achieve the skull-jack part, a device would honestly be preferable, some sort of ultra-portable...multi-track...sequencing...I'm having trouble imagining what something like this would look like.

Apart from that, though, what method do you use? I'd like to hear about it even if it's something I've already mentioned. Maybe if I got better at the voice recorder or written notation thing it would suit my needs fine.

Jazz on the Flute?

pasici — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:01:54 -0800

My niece, a freshman in high school, is interested in playing jazz on her flute and in convincing her teacher that there is a role for the flute in the school's jazz ensemble. I'd like to get some really good C.D.s of jazz flautists for her enjoyment and to enlighten the teacher, so I am turning to MeFi for help. Please help me find C.D.s of good jazz played on the flute. (No need to mention Bolling's Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio; we already know about that one.)

How can I find young musicians to hire in London?

gfrobe — Thu, 24 May 2007 09:02:44 -0800

I'm interested in hiring some musicians for some steady part time work in the West London area. Other than Craiglist and Gumtree, are there any free or inexpensive places I could advertise? It's performing for kids so I don't necessarily need pro musicians but rather just some good amateur ones looking to earn a few bucks. I tried Gumtree and Craiglist and the response was pretty light so just wondering if anyone has better suggestions.

How to find a long-distance musical partner ?

dinkyday — Thu, 17 May 2007 07:05:58 -0800

Singer / songwriter looking for producer / arranger / multi-instrumentalist type for a serious collaboration over the internet. I have given up on the people in my hometown: is there a site that would help me find a musical partner anywhere else on this planet, someone who doesn't mind not being able to meet face-to-face? I've got the words, I've got the melodies and I've got the voice. What I don't have is a talent for creative arranging or production. It's a bit like U2 without The Edge or Coldplay without Johnny Buckland (not to mention the other guys in those bands). I'm looking for a Daniel Lanois/Mitchell Froom type of person, someone with real creative vision.

I'm in love with a man but I can't work out whether he has feelings for me or not!

jonathanstrange — Wed, 09 May 2007 06:48:32 -0800

I had a short but serious relationship with someone I'd been friends with for a while, and with whom I was in love with. Now I'm not sure if he still cares for me - even though I know nothing that prevented our relationship from working out has changed yet, or if I'm just seeing what I want to see. Much Much More Inside About a year ago, I made friends with the drummer of one of my favourite local bands here in Melbourne. I'd seen them quite a few times by that stage and my best friend had a major crush on the drummer, Wally, and had become really good friends with the guitarist Kris.

We hung out with them in the studio, and Wally (whom I'd been communicating with slightly via myspace) mentioned noticing comments from Talia to me about a boy I'd been casually seeing, and asked if I was dating him. We sat next to each other and chatted the whole night, and read the paper together, and were the only sober ones in the room. We'd communicate with a glance as we tried to hide a very drunken Talia's wine glass from her. I realised I was attracted to him and had my first suspicion that he had a thing for me.

skip a few months where our friendship had developed, and I ended up catching up with him and spending the day with him in one of the most romantic areas near Melbourne. We had fish and chips on the cliff top, walked down the pier, discussed everything under the sun, and both commented on how completely comfortable we felt with each other, that neither of us even felt the need to say anything for long periods of time, not because we had nothing to say, but because we didn't need to talk to say it.

I realised that day that I was in love for the first time, as opposed to having a crush.

at around the time I met him his second solo album came out, and he started to get big. then bigger. then bigger. then huge, and lets just say he was in the top 10 of Triple J's hottest 100 - a radio survey where people vote for their favorite songs.

I knew he liked my company, had heard from a friend that he loved spending time with me, thought the world of me, and that if he could be in a relationship he'd be in one with me.

and then in december last year we finally hooked up. he leaned over and kissed me while we were watching a movie together, and I couldn't have been happier.

Except less than a week after that (and seeing each other a few more times) he calls up and says he just can't be in a relationship at the moment. His career is what he needs to concentrate, and he can't dedicate time to a serious relationship while his career is just taking off.

I should point out at this point that Wally is someone who doesn't take sex lightly - he doesn't believe in casual sex. At all.

so we go back to being friends, and I try to hide my heartbreak.

In feb I turn up to one of the bands shows - the band isn't as well known as his solo stuff - and i turn around to see him kissing a girl, who I later find out he's been seeing for a couple of weeks.

I message him and tell him I feel like I was fed a line, and he calls back a week later to apologise, and tells me that everything he told me was the truth. that this girl lives on the other side of the country and the reason that he's pursued something with her is that he doesn't feel that it will develop into anything serious at this stage, and it's a kind of escapism. She's not just random sex, but he's not interested in a long term affair with her at this stage. he just wants to concentrate on his music and his work.

I wrote to him a few months after that, since I'd pretty much cut off all contact after I found out about the girl, and wanted him to know why I kept cancelling on invitations, and I was sick of pretending that I was fine with things. So I wrote him a letter telling him how I felt, that I was in love with him, the things I love about him, and told him I understood his position, and was trying to move on, but needed him to know.

I didn't get much of a response - but then I wasn't expecting to. He did write back that he thought my letter was beautiful and that it made him sad, and he thought it deserved more of a response.

We arranged to catch up for breakfast the next week, but in the meantime my kitten was suddenly killed, so our catch up consisted of me crying my eyes out on him, and him sitting there looking at me with his arm around me, while I sat there trying to hold the pain and tears in.

The next week I turned up to one of the bands gigs with a group of friends, and saw him there with the girl, and when he saw me the look on his face was one of pure horror.

So to cut a huge story short, (so sorry!) I know he likes me as a friend, but some of the signals I think I've received make me wonder if he cares more about me than just as someone he had a fling with once. But is this just my rampant imagination?

will knowing that he cares help me to move on?

Is it just a timing thing, or am I just a ridiculous hopeless romantic to think that there could be something in the future?

I don't believe in "The One", I believe in "The Ones", and although he is "One" if it doesn't work out with him there will be other "Ones" in the future... but I don't want to potentially lose out on something amazing I could have with him.

Is this naive and stupid of me?

Venue reviews on the web, by and for musicians?

Artifice_Eternity — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 09:50:35 -0800

Are there any websites where musicians review venues at which they've performed, in terms of staff, crowd, sound system, payment policies, etc.? It seems like there must be, but I've not found anything via Google. In particular I'm interested in reviews of NYC venues. P.S. At the moment, I'm looking to find info on The Mean Fiddler (W. 47th St. b/t 8th Ave. and Broadway), where I might be performing soon. And I might submit a review of Club Midway (Ave. B b/t 2nd and 3rd St.) and their excellent sound guy, with whom I had the pleasure of working last week.

What else should I say Everyone is gay

ashbury — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 17:41:56 -0800

I need a list of gay rock/pop and jazz musicians and naturally thought of the obliging folks here at AskMe. So...any ideas? Strangely enough, all I can think of is Bob Mould.