tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-169413742012-01-25T10:04:51.112-06:00Notes From The CubicleWelcome to Sean Claes' blog.
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Who is Sean Claes, you may ask? Well, I am a copywriter, a freelance entertainment writer,and a photographer. Thanks for stopping by. My main homepage is http://www.seanclaes.comSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.comBlogger4391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-62942798029574701982012-01-24T10:48:00.001-06:002012-01-25T10:04:51.125-06:0052 Weeks of Austin Music Interviews Another of Sean Claes' 52 Weeks Projects52 Weeks of Austin Music Interviews
I'm Sean Claes. I like turtles... and my marshmallows on fire... and Austin music.
Week 1: Scott H. Biram (1/10/12)
Week 2: Heather Bishop (1/17/12)
Week 3: Ransom Jack (1/24/12)
1/12: I'm embarking on a new challenge in 2012. I'm attempting to feature 52 Austin bands in 52 Weeks.This will happen from 1/10/12 - 1/1/SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0Austin, TX, USA30.267153 -97.7430607999999730.058051 -97.92804229999997 30.476255000000002 -97.55807929999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-3608330517918363782012-01-09T08:33:00.000-06:002012-01-09T08:33:21.782-06:00I'm Going To Live In _________ for ________ months! (Facebook Thing)I saw a couple people posting on Facebook that they were headed somewhere exotic for a weird number of months...
Here's the code breaker.
You use the month and day you were born on.
Write: "I am going to live in (month you were born [see below) for (day you were born) months!
January - Mexico
February - London
March - Miami
April - Dominican Republic
May - France
June - St. Petersburg
July - SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-25062242750171891252012-01-05T13:09:00.004-06:002012-01-05T14:34:02.144-06:00Week 52: Bands As Retail Stores(This is Week 52 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Welcome to my final week of this journey.
Your Band As A Retail Store
A few days ago I was in Wal Mart and I checked in on FourSquare… mostly because I have delusions of grandeur and think two things:People really care about where I’m at all day long and it’s important to note that I’m looking for a winter hat for kickball;SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-28826474992318530812011-12-29T14:30:00.009-06:002011-12-29T15:24:05.905-06:00Week 51: To Play Free or Not to Play Free(This is Week 51 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
That's this Weeks Question.
The first week of music in January in Austin, Texas has been known as “Free Week” for almost a decade. It started when Graham Williams (Transmission Entertainment/Fun Fun Fun Fest) was booking at Emo’s and was an attempt to get folks out to a bar during the cold weather in between college SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-4018590133318094442011-12-20T16:40:00.000-06:002011-12-20T16:40:59.787-06:00Merry Christmas (CD)The Claes4 Christmas CD Liner Notes
Those who know my wife Jodie and I... you know we have put together a Christmas CD every year for the last 11 years. What we try to do is introduce people to some of our favorite songs that motivated us in the previous year. Many of these songs are from bands/artists from the Austin, TX area.Of course, it's a Christmas CD, so we find a cool/different SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-18174807519803924582011-12-01T16:15:00.004-06:002011-12-05T11:17:37.796-06:00Week 50 - Are You In A Fan's Life? (This is Week 50 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Are You in Their Life?
One of my favorite bands of all time is KISS. I got my first KISS album, Dynasty, in 1978. I’m not quite sure what would compel my parents to buy a 5 year-old a KISS album, but I’m glad they did. I spent the next 10-15 years trying to play air-bass like Gene Simmons. I’ve bought more records, then SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-72024242210275347442011-11-29T10:23:00.000-06:002011-11-29T10:23:39.903-06:00MOVEMBER - Support and donate.
I call this my NedMOterhead
(Combination Ned Flanders and Lemmy)
It's DAY 29 of my luxurious ironic Movember mustache. It may look silly, but the fact that 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime is not funny... at all. That's why I'm growing this...with Movember Team Austin. I'm trying to get 20 people to be aware and to donate to my Movember page. I've got 10 donationsSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-86396032689959118002011-11-01T06:35:00.000-05:002011-11-01T14:46:54.036-05:00CANDY REVIEW: Caramel Apple Sugar BabiesCandy Review for O'Ryans Village
Happy Sugar Babies
Caramel Apple Sugar Babies
5oz Box
22 pieces per service (3.5 servings in box)
Find them here - http://www.oryans.com/caramel-apple-sugar-babies-halloween-candy.html They did it. This candy tastes exactly like an inside-out caramel apple. Each one of the Sugar Babies is individually coated with a green candy coating that is flavored SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-79479528640034286542011-10-24T11:42:00.000-05:002011-10-24T11:42:38.657-05:00
The Kyle United Methodist Church will have a bake sale / craft sale booth at this festival. C'mon out!SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-58701757857846782932011-10-13T16:46:00.002-05:002011-10-14T08:40:33.426-05:00Week 49 - Your Stage Self (This is Week 49 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Hi, I’m a Rock Star.
Who The Hell Are You?
Do you have a pitch? Do you know how you’re going to present yourself? Do you know how you’re going to act on stage? There is a persona. There is an “other person” you can sink your soul into when you hit that stage and those can lights shine down on you. You just need to find it.SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-81586580206880187792011-09-23T13:58:00.004-05:002011-09-23T14:14:44.801-05:00Week 48: Which Comes First?So, I took 2 weeks off… I’ve been busy being sick. Instead of writing the column, I’ve been sleeping. It’s amazing what sleeping for 8 hours a night for a few nights can do for you.
---
(This is Week 48 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Which Comes First, The Gig or the CD?
About a month ago, a question was posed to me from a friend of mine, who happens to be a guitarist, SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-36463496426433245152011-09-06T14:35:00.000-05:002011-09-06T14:35:06.754-05:00Week 47 - Ian Moore (This is Week 47 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
An interview with the amazing Ian Moore. There are very few artists I can think of that have walked away from a major label and recreated themselves into what they desired to become, musically, and been successful.
Ian Moore is the textbook definition of DIY.He began his career as an Austin-based blues axeman who was being SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-17434845132169264662011-08-29T11:10:00.001-05:002011-08-29T11:12:39.047-05:00Week 46 - The Plan (This is Week 46 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
3 Plans for Musicians
What do you want to do with your band’s life? I know.. you wanna rock. Thank you Dee Snider. But, really, if you’re serious about music, you should make a decision. You should make a plan. Are you just playing to play, or is this something you’re counting on doing for a long time, and/or as a career?
SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-34493685311536750882011-08-19T14:51:00.001-05:002011-08-19T14:52:54.935-05:00Week 45: Promote From Your Phone (This is Week 45 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice) Is That A Promotional Tool in Your Pocket? Hey, got a Smartphone? Pick it up and look at it. Do you know you’re holding what could be the center of your band’s promotional efforts? With what you’re holding you can e-mail, call, surf the web, and interact with the world at large, or just one person at the tap of a screen.
SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-24189924033706385562011-08-12T12:05:00.002-05:002011-08-12T12:11:32.977-05:00Week 44: Treat People Right(This is Week 44 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Do-It-Yourself Music Advice)
Treat people right.
Take a tip from Santa... ALWAYS pose for photos.
If you can’t look people directly in the eye each time you deal with them, you better fix yourself. It only takes pissing off one person to ruin your name in the music arena. And if you’re still struggling to get a foothold becoming a band that SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-57608860173152909872011-08-04T06:14:00.000-05:002011-08-04T21:42:46.300-05:00Week 43: What's In A Name?(This is Week 43 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
What’s in a name?
It may be too late to talk about this for you and your current band. Chances are if you’ve played out in public, you’ve got a name. I hope you took the time to research and think about the name before you actually used it.
It’s important. It’s how people will know you. If your band breaks through, itSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-62105466835751822182011-07-28T21:52:00.005-05:002011-07-28T22:23:42.158-05:00Week 42: Where Are You Headed?(This is Week 42 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
Know Where You’ll Be
In case you don’t know me, I support local music. I really am a fan of homegrown talent. Luckily, I live near Austin, Texas so it’s pretty easy to find good music (although I’ll admit there is A LOT of music I wouldn’t want to hear again that I’ve heard in Austin). Sometimes bands and entertainers SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-2147756741642326962011-07-21T22:17:00.008-05:002011-07-22T10:06:00.680-05:00Week 41: Standing Out or Outstanding?
(This is Week 41 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
Mike Truth and the Replacement Killers - Stood out.. and were outstanding.
They are no longer playing together though.
Let me first state something that I’ve stated a few times before, but I’ve been told I’ve got a lot of new readers to this column… so it bears repeating. I make one simple, but important, assumption SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-65175123167009626292011-07-14T16:23:00.003-05:002011-07-14T19:35:48.486-05:00Week 40: Wasted Potential(This is Week 40 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
Don't Waste My Timeand Your Potential
If there’s one thing that bothers me in the music world, it’s wasted potential. Bands that just don’t try.
I’m not talking about bands that make great music effortlessly, I’m talking about the bands who have a good thing going, but for some reason they don’t work on promoting SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-13958009324786739452011-07-08T06:07:00.003-05:002011-07-08T16:22:45.448-05:00Week 39: What goes Around....(This is Week 39 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
Treat Every Interview Like It's For Rolling Stone.aka: What Goes Around Comes Around.
I’m an entertainment writer. My specialty is music. Friends who aren’t completely into music don’t get me. I don’t have the newest CD that is being promoted on radio. I couldn’t really name 3 of the top 10 songs on the charts rightSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-81454641635767311542011-06-30T11:06:00.004-05:002011-06-30T13:28:37.188-05:00Week 38: Five Ways to Brand Your Band(This is Week 38 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
Five Ways To Brand Your Band
Photo by Brandon Marshall (from willienelson.com)
Quiz Time:
Name That Musician/Band:- The Red Headed Stranger (hint above)
- The Pelvis
- The Lads from Liverpool
- The Jazz Singer
- The Man In Black
- King of Pop
- “You wanted the best and you got the best, the greatest band in the worldSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-82264104660888017462011-06-23T10:34:00.003-05:002011-06-24T08:14:08.210-05:00Week 37: It's A Job(This is Week 36 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
Hard at Work or Hardly Working At It?
You’ve got a job. It’s making music. It’s entertaining people. It’s not one that pays regular. It’s not one that will impress most people outside the musical realm. It’s probably not something you can put on a resume that will garner you a $60k a year job. But it’s a job.
For SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-48653221438832686372011-06-22T14:36:00.001-05:002011-06-22T14:46:25.352-05:00SOUR PATCH EXTREME (Candy Review) for O'Ryan's Village
Sour Patch Kids Grew Up...er...Extreme!
Candy Review: Sour Patch Extreme
When O’Ryans Village (http://www.oryans.com/) put out a call for candy reviewers via their Facebook page, I’ve got to admit, I was a happy camper. Free candy? Sign me up. So my first package came in the mail and as I opened it, I realized they paired me up with three things I really don’t like in a candy… sour, gummy, andSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-3591888869670655332011-06-16T10:29:00.003-05:002011-06-16T11:02:32.170-05:00Week 36: How NOT To Treat Fans(This is Week 36 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
How NOT To Treat Fans
I have been an entertainment writer for over 15 years. I've been backstage, at the bar, in the dressing room, recording studio, and homes of some pretty interesting characters in this time. I'm not saying this to boast... it's to prove a point.
I've often told people that I get a viewpoint thatSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-76994454692134459942011-06-06T11:14:00.003-05:002011-06-07T16:36:37.655-05:00Week 35: What's the Big Idea?(This is Week 35 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
What's the Big Idea? Here’s a tweet I posted recently, based on a true story:
Musician: This group needs to do a compilation. Me: Awesome. Here are the steps to do it. Musician: Oh, not me...but someone should do that"
Apathy strikes again. Here’s the deal. You can do anything. I put out a compilation CD a few yearsSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-11322633801055233752011-05-25T14:06:00.000-05:002011-05-25T14:06:10.960-05:00Tim Haden's 4/24/11 Blogworld slide showInteresting.... so I post it here.
From Tim Haden
Prepared for Mobile?: QR Codes & Current Trends
View more presentations from Tim Hayden SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-57126760545505940802011-05-24T09:52:00.004-05:002011-05-25T14:03:42.641-05:00Week 34(This is Week 34 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
The Average Lifespan of a BandMusic is said to be a young person’s game. Mostly because by the time you reach your mid-to-late 20s you have things you want to do with your life that doesn’t include being out until 2:00a on a Friday night. There was a country song by a little-known country artist by the name of Rusty SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-1406381161770288542011-05-17T11:02:00.001-05:002011-05-17T12:13:31.271-05:00Week 33: Tell The Truth(This is Week 33 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself Music advice)
WEEK 33: TELL THE TRUTH
Me getting my swagger on.
So, last Sunday I played a gig. For all of you musicians out there, that’s not a big sentence. I know. But for me…. It is. You see, I’ve written about music and interviewed bands, and helped good people in the entertainment world become better known for SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-74216333661577835772011-05-09T08:47:00.001-05:002011-05-09T08:47:40.056-05:00Front Porch Days 2011 - Plum Creek (Kyle, Texas)Front Porch Days 2011 - Plum Creek (Kyle, Texas), a photo by seanclaes on Flickr.What are YOU up to next Sunday?I'll be here.Front Porch DaysThe Plum Creek Neighborhood in Kyle, Texashttp://www.frontporchdays.comI'm actually performing at 1:45p with the Kyle United Methodist Church Praise Band.It's going to be a great time.SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-73929675714417228072011-05-06T15:13:00.000-05:002011-05-06T15:13:46.965-05:005/15/ 2011 WASHER'S TOURNAMENT IN KYLE, TEXAS2011 KYLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH WASHERS TOURNAMENT
Plum Creek Neighborhood in Kyle, Texas
May 15, 2011
A shot from the 2010 Washer's Tournement..Front Porch Days 2011 will be held on Sunday May 15, 2011.
My church, the Kyle United Methodist Church will again be sponsoring the Washer's Tournament.
If you are in the area and want to play washers.... come on out.
Here's the information - http:/SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-1302389735823875972011-05-04T06:01:00.003-05:002011-05-04T16:40:13.696-05:00Week 32: What are you wearing?(This is Week 32 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Dress for work
Marshall Dylan rocks a look (in 2009)
I know… you got in to music so you didn’t have to have a “real” job. You started playing for the chicks and bar tabs and late nights and to keep the party going all night long. To quote Robert Earl Keen, “The road goes on forever and the party never ends!”
Right?
Not SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-31147489681823121692011-04-26T09:11:00.001-05:002011-04-26T09:11:57.091-05:00Week 31: Playing Festivals(This is Week 31 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
It’s A Festival!
From Backwoods Bash 2008 (I'm on the far left)
This week the line-up for Lollapalooza was announced. I thought it would be the right time to talk about festivals. If you are trying to make it in music, you have to play and play often. One of the best ways to be discovered by fans is by playing festivals.
SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-72371908507526844642011-04-14T09:53:00.000-05:002011-04-14T09:53:47.050-05:00Week 30: Standing Out(This is Week 30 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
A person walks into a room. There are five bands standing there. Your band is one of them. The person spends a few minutes looking at each band and walks out of the room.
Is your band going to be remembered? Why or why not?
That is exactly what happens each time you play a gig. You are on the bill with four or five other SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-82580455010218424652011-04-08T09:19:00.004-05:002011-04-08T10:06:23.147-05:00Week 29: Notes From The Cubicle(This is Week 29 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Week 29: Notes From The Cubicle:
Career or Passion or Both?
I’ve spent the last 28 weeks giving you advice on how to make a move in the indie music business. I hope I’ve given you some good advice, and for those who have tried something I’ve suggested, I hope it’s worked out. Would love to hear a story or two.
SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-53371269317116742382011-03-31T06:25:00.000-05:002011-04-01T06:48:06.700-05:00Week 28: Interviewing 101 - Tips on Talking to the Press(This is Week 28 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Interviewing 101Tips On Talking to the Press
Butcherwhite talks with DaveTV at The Parish Room in 2007.
By: Sean ClaesI’ve interviewed people in the music industry for over 15 years. In that time I’m pretty sure I’ve asked the same question about 200 times, each to different bands, each with a unique answer. When yourSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-78625989773839407312011-03-24T06:32:00.000-05:002011-03-24T21:32:28.849-05:00Week 27: Keep It Real(This is Week 27 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Keep it real
By Sean Claes
You don’t need a guest spot by Kanye or a producer like Timbaland in order to write a hit record. What you DO need is finesse for words and a unique view on a subject that almost everyone can relate.
Take for instance, Susan Gibson’s greatest hit. She talks about heading out into the world. SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-17187263174576833862011-03-22T10:31:00.001-05:002011-03-22T10:39:06.519-05:00Rest in Peace Pinetop Perkins.We lost a legend yesterday.
Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins passed away in his Austin home.
"He was one of the last great Mississippi Bluesmen. He had such a distinctive voice, and he sure could play the piano. He will be missed not only by me, but by lovers of music all over the world" - BB King
Selected Stories:
LA Times
NME
NPR
Austin 360
Here's a special that was done a few years SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-28674860263549783832011-03-18T14:17:00.004-05:002011-03-18T16:24:49.673-05:00Five Music Lunches in Austin (Day 5 - 3/18/11) Mike Primeau @ Trophy's (Whoopsy!)
All week I'm going to catch a live band every day at lunchtime. My mission.... get to a show, take a video.. take photos... and get back to work.
I'm trying to hit a different venue each day.
Day 1: Jackie Bristow @ Dart Music International House (at 219 West)Day 2: Lost in the Trees @ Babelemusic Takes on Texas (at Phoenix Ultra Lounge)Day 3: Admiral Fallow ( at Takoba)Day 4: Don ChaniSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-66828268087801612462011-03-17T19:00:00.008-05:002011-03-18T08:19:12.295-05:00Five Music Lunches in Austin (Day 4 - 3/17/11) Don Chani @ Ruta Maya (ATX Wildfire)All week I'm going to catch a live band every day at lunchtime. My mission.... get to a show, take a video.. take photos... and get back to work.
I'm trying to hit a different venue each day.
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(This is Week 26 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Hey, Hey, What Do You Say?
By Sean Claes So, you've written a bunch of SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-55288380558191068492011-03-16T22:25:00.029-05:002011-03-18T08:20:16.545-05:00Five Music Lunches in Austin (Day 3 - 3/16/11) Admiral Fallow @ TakobaAll week I'm going to catch a live band every day at lunchtime. My mission.... get to a show, take a video.. take photos... and get back to work.
I'm trying to hit a different venue each day.
Day 1: Jackie Bristow @ Dart Music International House (at 219 West)Day 2: Lost in the Trees @ Babelemusic Takes on Texas (at Phoenix Ultra Lounge)Day 3: Admiral Fallow ( at Takoba)Day 4: Don Chani @ SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-46064680398481344592011-03-15T23:30:00.038-05:002011-03-18T08:19:51.219-05:00Five Music Lunches in Austin (Day 2 - 3/15/11)All week I'm going to catch a live band every day at lunchtime. My mission.... get to a show, take a video.. take photos... and get back to work.
I'm trying to hit a different venue each day. Day 1: Jackie Bristow @ Dart Music International House (at 219 West)Day 2: Lost in the Trees @ Babelemusic Takes on Texas (at Phoenix Ultra Lounge)Day 3: Admiral Fallow ( at Takoba)Day 4: Don Chani @ ATX SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-9376545689217098172011-03-14T18:00:00.022-05:002011-03-18T08:19:31.653-05:00Five Music Lunches in Austin - 3/14 - 3/18 2011All week I'm going to catch a live band every day at lunchtime. My mission.... get to a show, take a video.. take photos... and get back to work.
I'm trying to hit a different venue each day.
Day 1: Jackie Bristow @ Dart Music International House (at 219 West)Day 2: Lost in the Trees @ Babelemusic Takes on Texas (at Phoenix Ultra Lounge)Day 3: Admiral Fallow ( at Takoba)Day 4: Don Chani @ ATX SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-30537485278085433112011-03-10T12:08:00.004-06:002011-03-10T12:22:39.178-06:00Week 25: Reviewing the Role of a Reviewer(This is Week 25 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Reviewing the Role of a Reviewer
Why did you get into music?
Was it for the love of playing?
Are you proud of what you’ve done thus far in your music career?
Does it make you happy?
If you answered “yes” to most of thee things, hold on to that thought.
Good reasons!
Here’s the deal. You are a musician. You’ve chosen SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-87659929368086733022011-03-04T06:40:00.001-06:002011-03-04T06:47:57.931-06:00Week 24: The Hustle(This is Week 24 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
The Hustle
Crowd surfing at the Red Eyed Fly
The music industry is dying. You can hold the #1 spot in Album sales and be considered a failure (just ask Amos Lee). Major artists are leaving their labels and self-publishing.
All of those things lead up to a bitter pill for Record Executives. The king is losing his crownSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-3794119060570772422011-03-01T13:20:00.002-06:002011-03-01T13:25:07.046-06:00PRAY BALL Spring 2011I don't know if you know this about me or not, but I'm the coach of my church's kickball team.
The Kyle United Methodist Church Co-Ed Kickball team, PRAY BALL, has been playing in the Kyle Parks and Recreation Department's Adult Kickball League for the last 6 seasons. We've had some amazing times being able to hang out with some great people and praise God while playing a kids game.
This SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-8563445679830397472011-02-24T16:11:00.000-06:002011-02-24T16:11:59.876-06:00Week 23: Check Your Music(This is Week 23 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Sound Off!
In case I haven’t mentioned it enough. You need to know that all of the promotions in the world aren’t going to do you a bit of good if you put out an inferior product. What this means is, if you aren’t putting out music that people like, you’re going to go nowhere.
Old Spice has doubled its sales since that SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-87239572542143600312011-02-17T13:40:00.013-06:002011-02-18T06:28:44.363-06:00Week 22: Promotions One Oh One(This is Week 22 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Quick, name three songs you heard today.
Go ahead... Havoc from Behemoth is waiting.
Not so easy is it?
For the most part, it’s information overload out there. From the time you wake up to the time you go to bed there’s something vying for your attention. Work, kids, television, radio, billboards, computer games, SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-3474245637968077152011-02-10T21:45:00.002-06:002011-02-11T06:25:34.112-06:00Week 21 - D-I-Y Poster Child: One-Eyed Doll(This is Week 21 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice) Do It Yourself Poster ChildONE-EYED DOLL
Gather around children… it’s story time.
Singing "New Orleans" at Stubb's 1/09
I was in Houston this past weekend visiting some friends, Hoot and Mandella, for my birthday. We were sitting around and Mandella was on her computer. She turns to me and asks. “Have you ever heard of SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-77278344843985044912011-02-03T12:55:00.003-06:002011-02-03T15:03:30.964-06:00Week 20: Entertain or Perish(This is Week 20 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
ENTERTAIN OR PERISH
From the Trashy and the Kid CD Release in 2010
By Sean Claes
Entertainment dollars in are spent on a variety of things. Any given day someone will have the option of going to the movies, a dance club, the theater, a sporting event, a restaurant, or going to a entertainment center that hosts a SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-59017179734163276662011-01-27T12:48:00.002-06:002011-01-27T19:18:54.496-06:00Week 19: Come To My Show(This is Week 19 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Come To My Show... Please?
So, a friend of mine, Ben Mills, who’s been in a number of bands in the Austin area in past years (including Nooner, She Craves, and presently Waiting for August) and runs Rockshow Promotions posed a question on his Facebook page today. The question?
“Lets say that I can't adjust cover for a SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-29343417398920714312011-01-20T21:27:00.000-06:002011-01-20T21:27:11.783-06:00Week 18: Who's Voting?(This is Week 18 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Who’s Voting?
By Sean ClaesThis week is a little bit hard for me to write, because I don’t agree with the premise of this type of promotion, but if you’re going to be a band who is reaching for the next level, you’ve got to make a decision if you want to get involved in things like this. I’m talking about taking part in SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-67984993068272094692011-01-13T12:47:00.000-06:002011-01-13T12:47:32.913-06:00Week 17: Be A Gracious Host(This is Week 17 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Be A Gracious Host
You ever wonder why there are some DJs that are in much more demand than others? To clarify, I’m not talking about the amazing DJs you see at a club. I consider them musicians. I’m talking about the wedding DJ, the DJ at a dance, the one at the carnival or public gathering.
I mean, all they do is play SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-35118031460256622032011-01-06T10:31:00.004-06:002011-01-07T16:52:39.212-06:00Week 16: Who's Talking?(This is Week 16 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Who’s Talking About You?
I was visiting the Facebook page of a band I saw live a few months ago to see what they were up to and they had only 2 updates in a month. One had nothing to do with their music. The second is a single sentence that read “Why aren’t we famous yet?”
Hopefully they typed that as a tongue in cheek SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-42647588458340210362011-01-04T16:41:00.000-06:002011-01-04T16:41:23.973-06:00TOP 5 DUMB SOCIAL MARKETING TOOLS TOP 5 DUMB SOCIAL MARKETING TOOLS
By Sean Claes
Everyone is falling over themselves making lists of tools you should use for social marketing. I decided to make a quick list of 5 things you should NOT consider for your social marketing strategy. I conducted a poll of 1 (myself) and 100% of those who chose to participate rated these five things at the Top 5 Dumb Social Marketing Tools.
So... SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-73157420681883459902010-12-30T10:52:00.002-06:002010-12-30T11:02:42.017-06:00Week 15: Steps To Advertise on Radio(This is Week 15 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Unlocking the Mystery of Radio Advertising
According to the Federal Communications Commission, there are 14,547 licensed radio stations in the United States as of September 2010 [source]. No matter how much you think you’re losing people to iPods, Satellite Radio, and CD Players, the number of people who actually listen SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-20967881541932835522010-12-25T19:57:00.003-06:002010-12-30T10:54:39.183-06:00Week 14: IT'S CHRISTMAS - COMIC TIME.(This is Week 14 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Week 14: Do You What I See?OK y'all. This is the week of Christmas. Instead of writing an article, I'm going to share a few "music related" cartoons. You may think I'm slacking off (and you'd be half right) but think about it. You can actually learn from these jokes. THIS is how some people in the public perceive music andSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-57675601698138077072010-12-22T14:01:00.002-06:002010-12-22T16:15:05.667-06:00Sean Claes' Top Ten Austin Music Releases for 2010
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The Top 10SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-31712028050892104092010-12-16T09:18:00.003-06:002010-12-16T09:50:40.147-06:00Week 13: Basic Ground Rules (This is Week 13 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice) Basic Ground Rules
Treat your band like a business. I have mentioned a few times in past articles and will continue to mention this throughout this series.
Like most of the musicians I know, I have a day job. Making a living off of being an entertainment writer is just as difficult as making a living off of music itself. SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-56381840802090222092010-12-09T11:04:00.000-06:002010-12-09T11:04:48.219-06:00Week 12: Where’s Your Glass Ceiling? (This is Week 12 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Where’s Your Glass Ceiling?
Photo from Flickr by Christopher Baird
By Sean ClaesSome people flip burgers, some work at a retail store, and some may work security at night to make a little extra money. You play music. The difference is, “promotions” in music is 100% in your hands. You create your own glass ceiling. The SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-74654459954388887682010-12-02T16:59:00.001-06:002010-12-02T17:01:24.140-06:00Week 11: Keep It In Your Pants (This is Week 11 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Keep it in your pants.
This week, I had lunch with a really prolific musician whom I’ve been following for a few years. He just keeps getting better and better musically. And because of this, he’s slowly climbing the ladder of popular Austin musicians. He’s being tapped for some pretty neat gigs. He played Austin's “RallySeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-1625611475168463862010-11-25T05:51:00.003-06:002010-11-25T05:54:01.631-06:00Week 10 - What's the Point? (This is Week 10 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice) What’s The Point?
Image Credit: www.nataliedee.com
So, I was talking to a friend about this series and he offered a topic… and it seemed that it would be a nice one to throw out during Thanksgiving Week… so here goes.
If you’re not enjoying yourself, quit.
If you are playing music, it’s because the music bug bit you a long SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-87265446105401918342010-11-18T20:19:00.000-06:002010-11-18T20:19:48.720-06:00Week 9: The Rock Star Treatment (This is Week 9 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
ROCK STAR TREATMENT
Kirk Hammett IS a Rock Star. (Photo by Jay West)
You are not a rock star. You want to be one someday, but you are not a rock star yet. You don’t get to treat people like dirt, give bad interviews, and show up drunk to performances. Want to check and see if you are a rock star? Do these three things on aSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-33199288722591626212010-11-17T22:13:00.000-06:002010-11-17T22:13:06.493-06:00Who is Sean Claes?SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-61711249545731847982010-11-15T13:56:00.002-06:002010-11-15T15:13:34.905-06:00Brand HaikuThis Guy Aaron Stout
Came up with a Haiku post
And challenged others.
The name of the game
is Brand Haiku, want to play?
Post, blog, tweet, or write.
Share your brand Haiku
Could be about anything.
Food, service, or biz.
Examples do sit
at Citizen Marketer
Follow link to see.
Below I will try
To post my own #brandhaiku
Hope you enjoy it.
--
Sonic shakes are great.Butterscotch makes my toes SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-65790030691812727362010-11-11T16:20:00.003-06:002010-11-16T17:07:34.313-06:00Week 8: How To Release Your Music (Part 3 of 3)(This is Week 8 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Do-It-Yourself Music Advice)
Three Part Series: HOW TO RELEASE YOUR MUSIC
Part 3 – Get Media Excited
Technically, there is no order to this three part series because you should be working on getting media coverage of your band long before the CD release show (and long after as well) and the idea of what format you’re music will be presented in is really SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-82222303973308044532010-11-09T15:41:00.000-06:002010-11-09T15:41:01.364-06:00CD Review: The Banner Year“Remember that night you told me as long as I have faith in something I won’t be on my own?” - Bottomless
The Banner YearTheBannerYear (2004)
This Saturday marks the final show for The Banner Year. Lead singer Jason Small is moving to… well.. not Texas. This is a pretty sad thing. I’ve made no bones about stating how much I really enjoy their music. But life goes on and I’m going to be standing SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-7307595048997276462010-11-05T09:44:00.000-05:002010-11-05T09:44:05.541-05:00Response To "NerdyAppleBottom" 11/02/10 BlogThis is a blog response to a blog posted by someone I don't know... the site is http://nerdyapplebottom.com/ and the blog title is My Son Is Gay. The writer blogs as "Cop's Wife" or "Nerdy Apple"
Please go read that before reading below. Really. I post this as a blog because... well.. I wrote this response to her.. and I bet she'll never get to read is since this morning she's got over 21k SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-77066939758820929392010-11-04T16:26:00.006-05:002010-11-04T16:52:38.488-05:00Week 7: How To Release Your Music (Part 2 of 3)(This is Week 6 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Do-It-Yourself Music Advice)
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HOW TO RELEASE YOUR MUSIC
Snake Skin Prison's Keith Ploeger with the bands 11/19/10 release Nine Kinds of Bad
Having reviewed new releases for the last 15 years, I’ve seen a lot of different ways a band handles this subject. What I’ve gathered is there’s pretty much three pieces to this process, and each one is as importantSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-7938761840646993042010-10-22T14:59:00.002-05:002010-10-22T22:33:46.057-05:00CD Review: The Roving Gamblers
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“Just take my hand, let’s get out of this place. We’ll go somewhere far where there’s room and a space to run, run, run.” - Run
The Roving GamblersThe Roving SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-21937979876955377562010-10-21T14:48:00.005-05:002010-10-22T14:42:50.866-05:00Week 5: How To Write A Press Release(This is Week 5 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
PRESS RELEASES
OK, we’re five weeks in on this project, so it’s time to deconstruct the promotional piece known as a press release. There are a few things that you need to make sure are included.
First and foremost, what are you promoting? Nothing is worse than a press release with no direction and no main point. Yes, you wantSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-33351037375688141402010-10-18T09:56:00.002-05:002010-10-22T14:41:18.760-05:00DIY EXTRA - A few examples...I thought I'd share a couple of examples of bands I think are doing it right... these folks are promotional engines... and it shows in the audience at their shows.
Here's some bands and what they're doing on YouTube to promote themselves and shows.
Example 1:
Austin's Full Service - October 23 @ The Parish promo video. They teamed up with Austin's Pizza for a show.... Pizza and music... at a SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-46331207377662127712010-10-14T14:21:00.005-05:002010-10-14T14:54:51.751-05:00Week 4: Publicity(This is Week 4 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
Week 4:
If Your Band Is A “Best Kept Secret”
You’re Not Doing It Right.
Josh Homme interviewed by 101x's Toby Ryan on at 2007's ACL Music Festival
Step 1 – Repeat this out loud “Publicity is not the same as promotion.” Step 2 – Go back to Step 1 until you truly believe this line.Step 3 – Proceed with this article.
This SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-53035570746034704522010-10-11T11:28:00.000-05:002010-10-11T11:28:35.637-05:00A (Re)Discovery - LOS TEXAS WRANGLERSAbout 5 years ago I wandered down to the Austin City Hall to catch a Conjunto band play a free lunchtime show. The band was Los Texas Wranglers. They are out of Austin. I took the above photo and it ran in the June 2005 INsite Magazine as an INsite Hindsite.
Fast forward to last night. I was looking for a band to play a Dia De Los Muertos show in my hometown and I posted to my Facebook page for SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-8050019807122716632010-10-08T22:37:00.003-05:002010-10-14T14:53:49.914-05:00Week 3: Merchandise and Swag
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Week 2: Tweet your Facebook all over MySpace.
The Set Up: Let’s assume you have booked a show… since you are a band. So… next step is promoting said show. We’re going to call this one “New School” promotion. (Because last week’s was “Old School.”)
There are a whole heaping helping of great (and not so great) things out SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-35836793017684301402010-09-24T15:54:00.005-05:002010-10-14T14:37:59.252-05:00Week 1: Gig Promo PostersPosters and Handbills ARE Important (This is Week 1 of my Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice)
By Sean Claes
The Set Up: Let’s assume you have booked a show… since you are a band. So… next step is promoting said show. We’re going to call this one “Old School” promotion.
A 1990 Poster designed by Christa Nelson
promoting a high school band Nelson was in.
Poster – Get one doneEven SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-5901277227027569982010-09-24T15:23:00.056-05:002012-01-05T13:29:53.611-06:00Fifty-Two Weeks of Music Do-It-Yourself advice52 Weeks of Music DIY Advice The link to each week is below. To learn about the project read under the sexy photo of me.
Week 1: Posters and Handbills (9/24/10)Week 2: Social Media (10/1/10)
Week 3: Merchandise (10/8/10)
Week 4: Publicity (10/14/10)
Week 5: How To Write a Press Release (10/21/10)
Week 6: How To Release Your Music: Part 1 of 3 (10/28/10)
Week 7: How To Release Your Music: Part 2 SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-72099676393135132422010-09-17T21:45:00.001-05:002010-09-18T11:49:13.867-05:00September 21 is HAAM Benefit Day in AustinNext Tuesday, September 21 many Austin restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds and musicians will donate their time and talent for the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. It's the annual HAAM Benefit Day.
"HAAM Benefit Day is a uniquely Austin event where businesses donate 5% of the day's proceeds to HAAM to support musicians' health. Musicians, most of whom are HAAM SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-29749170907961521182010-09-09T11:09:00.001-05:002010-09-09T11:10:36.448-05:00Week 52: Deadman - Live At The Saxon Pub(This is week 52 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“I hear that train a'comin' down the line
She's carrying music and some old friends of mine.
And when they get here, we're a'gonna let loose
Gonna play about midnight, you can come if you choose.” – Don’t Do This To Me
DeadmanLive At The Saxon PubGonzolandia Records
It is no mistake that the Deadman CD Release SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-42895897313339873892010-09-01T09:49:00.001-05:002010-09-01T09:56:34.408-05:00Week 51: Tin Can Phone - Tin Can Phone EP(This is week 51 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“But as we walk along the path of life
Each experience is significant and that is whyI’m dying to tell you the things I’ve learned” - Zero
Tin Can PhoneTin Can Phone
Thanks to Greg “Phive” Cooper, I’ve been introduced to some really good local reggae bands in the last year. One of those is Austin’s Tin Can Phone (TCPSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-79206525001921802292010-08-25T10:57:00.001-05:002010-08-25T11:06:48.805-05:00Week 50b: Emily Shirley - Tiny Truths(This is week 50b of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“I have moments of brilliance / But they’re rare
Easier to shine / When you’re standing there. Come on honey / Take me away
Let me show you / How I like to play.”
- Earnest
Emily ShirleyTiny Truths
In the online bio that Emily Shirley has up on CD Baby she explains the reason she is a musician. “I write songs SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-87804751828746989132010-08-25T09:49:00.001-05:002010-08-25T11:06:22.908-05:00Week 50a: Woolgather - Disenchantment EP(This is week 50a of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“Now I’ve said too much / You’re wearing your soul like a burden.” – Per Se
WoolgatherDisenchantment EP
What’s in a name? Woolgather. I had to see what that meant. After a bit of help from my friend “Mr. Google” I learned that the term refers to the act of idle daydreaming.
Not a bad name for a band who has a progressiveSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-55388966914646721512010-08-12T07:53:00.003-05:002010-08-12T09:19:40.910-05:00HAAM & AAMP Founder, Aaron Williams Passes Away (Press Release from Austin Art & Music Partnership)
HAAM & AAMP Founder, Aaron Williams Passes AwayMemorial Celebration, August 14th, 2pm
AUSTIN, TX, August 10, 2010 — The Austin Art & Music Partnership (AAMP) is sad to report the death of Aaron S. Williams, co-founder and Director of the Austin Art and Music Partnership, who died last week at his home in South Austin. A memorial SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-37648572792503003992010-08-11T13:23:00.002-05:002010-08-11T13:24:35.872-05:00Week 49: Bobby Bookout - Bobby Bookout(This is week 49 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“I can’t forget
And forgiveness has yet
to come to the forefront
of my thought process.” – Broken Promises
Bobby BookoutBobby Bookout
Let me get your first question out of the way. Yes. Bobby Bookout is his real name (well... it’s Robert). Bookout is a powerhouse of a singer. He’s got a Jason Mraz-meets-Maroon 5 voice SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-82836437973229317972010-08-06T00:01:00.003-05:002010-08-06T00:27:12.625-05:00Week 48: 3 Kisses - Lethal Love Addiction(This is week 48 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“Stop playing it safe.
Back down your guard.
Turn your labor of love
into a work of art.”
- Work of Art
3 Kisses
Lethal Love AddictionRat Pak Records
The tunes that Austin area band 3 Kisses produces has been billed as “Texas Party Punk.” That’s fairly accurate. The music has got the punk chugga-chugga beat, lead SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-9287426989770945392010-07-29T11:43:00.002-05:002010-08-02T23:08:08.418-05:00Week 47: Ugly Elephant - Ugly Elephant(This is week 47 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
Ugly Elephant
Ugly Elephant
In 2008 a jazz-meets-funk instrumental band called Ugly Elephant formed after a conversation between musicians at Austin’s Eeyore’s Birthday Party. The five piece band has been playing around town at venues like Ruta Maya, Headhunters, and Red Eyed Fly. On Thursday August 5 they will be heading SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-27064004222388788152010-07-26T13:26:00.002-05:002010-07-26T14:07:16.144-05:00Have Great Photos of Plum Creek in Kyle? GO20tx wants them.Here's a press release I received about a photo contest. If you've ever taken photos (or are looking to take photos) in the Plum Creek neighborhood of Kyle, Texas, this contest is for you.
What is GO20TX? It's a blog positioning Plum Creek as the center of Central Texas (OK let's not get geographically correct or anything) and promoting the awesome things that are about 20 miles from our SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-65253549507268398542010-07-22T10:37:00.002-05:002010-07-22T10:39:54.527-05:00Week 46: Alejandro Escovedo - Street Songs of Love(This is week 46 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“I hope you live long enough to forget half the things they taught you / When it’s all said and done I hope you’ve got your own set of rules to hang on to.” – Down In The Bowery
Alejandro EscovedoStreet Songs of Love
Released on June 29, Alejandro Escovedo’s new offering is everything a fan could hope for and much more. TwelveSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-4317139077833866852010-07-15T11:38:00.001-05:002010-07-15T11:42:05.361-05:00Week 45: Trashy and the Kid - Songs in the Key of Blow Me(This is week 45 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“Bring me your cast-off your troubled and abused / We’ve got Kool-Aid and burgers and are easily amused.” – Cult Next Door
Trashy and the KidSongs In The Key of Blow MeImmoral Records
Unapologetic, somewhat vulgar, angry, and self-deprecating… these are a few words that would describe the Austin-based punk band Trashy and SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-74609954986244815402010-07-14T17:39:00.001-05:002010-07-14T17:39:54.948-05:00I'm Geauxing Global - On A Podcast 7/15/10For the second time since I began the 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks project someone has invited me to be on their internet show about it. Pretty cool. The first time was as a guest on
EntertainMeTX with Robin Blesch ( the 05/06/10 Show) and now the live podcast of Chad Potier's Here We Geaux. He's also got a blog of the same name. If you follow the blog.. you could stand to win a free prize (SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-37709081036390616772010-07-09T09:38:00.001-05:002010-07-15T11:43:16.343-05:00Week 44: The Mother Truckers - Van Tour(This is week 44 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“Everybody’s got something stuck in their ear / The God started talking and nobody could hear.” – See You Tonight
The Mother TruckersVan TourWorld Records
Any album that begins with an old-school sounding rocker celebrating the end of the world would fit into the category of interestingly different in my book. But then youSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-5660759087501392122010-07-07T12:41:00.000-05:002010-07-07T12:41:26.362-05:00The 2010 Brew B Que in Buda was awesome. Here's my slideshow.
You can see the individual photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seanclaes/sets/72157624428388974/ SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-24280535973749019892010-07-02T15:20:00.001-05:002010-07-02T15:21:45.988-05:00What A Kick Off!FRIDAY JULY 2 FROM 5-7P(or see the Website for donation spots)
Join us in kicking off the 6th Annual School Supply Drive at the Whataburger located at 5401 S FM 1626 in Kyle, TX.
All donations will benefit children in the Hays CISD area who are in need of supplies for the upcoming school year. If you are unable to attend or live out of town, visit our website to see how you can help! SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-11218342872370178362010-07-01T08:29:00.005-05:002010-07-15T11:41:13.937-05:00Week 43: Paula Held - Drive(This is week 43 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project) “I don't care about the moon, too hard to hold, too far away, I only care about you 'cause I can hold you every day” – I Don’t Care About The Moon
Paula HeldDrive
The debut release by Paula Held is a long time coming. It seems she’s been dabbling in music her whole life, but it wasn’t until she moved to Austin that she SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-69413316712071305152010-06-24T11:05:00.003-05:002010-06-25T09:58:45.283-05:00Week 42: Indofin - 2x Broken(This is week 42 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“I’ve got sunshine on my mind. I’ve got a heart so hard to find. I’ve got troubles no one cares to know” - Sunshine
Indofin2x BrokenNonprofit Boozer
Fresh from a trip to the Wakarusa Festival in Ozark, Arkansas, the guys in Indofin are gearing up for the release of their second full-length studio release 2x Broken. If youSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-91239665108222071932010-06-21T07:29:00.000-05:002010-06-21T07:29:21.601-05:00Under 18 in Kyle? Hays CISD is feeding you this summer.FREE BREAKFAST & LUNCH ALL SUMMER AT HAYS SCHOOLS
Several schools within the Hays CISD school district are offering free breakfast and lunch for kids all summer long (except July 5-8). This photo was taken Thursday (grilled cheese day) at Negley Elementary.
Here's the information from Hayscisd.net
Any child under the age of 18 is eligible for free breakfast or lunch this summer SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-71659728905712292302010-06-18T11:10:00.002-05:002010-06-18T11:12:46.035-05:00CD Review: Tristan Clopet - Purple EP“But do they know what they want? / Could they heed what they need? / Would they pull the knife out / or continue to bleed?” - Ethereal Evidence
Tristan ClopetPurple EPSussex Recordings
Those who follow my writing know that I’ve got a thing for Austin music. I don’t often review folks who live too far outside the ATX city limits. Not because I don’t think there’s great music outside Texas, itSeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16941374.post-55093088619715305682010-06-17T11:26:00.002-05:002010-06-17T12:12:56.615-05:00Week 41: Dave Madden - Open Eyed / Broken Wide(This is week 41 of my 52 Austin CD Reviews in 52 Weeks Project)
“God made the world and saw that it was good. Not fair, not happy, not perfect, but good. And little understood, like rain.” - Rain
Dave MaddenOpen Eyed / Broken Wide
When many bands are quickly releasing EPs and getting their mp3s on iTunes in order to get ahead of the music curve and to satisfy the need-it-now demands of SeanclaesDOTcomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859152105633480206noreply@blogger.com0