Tim Easton's "Porcupine" Limited Edition

Posted by Chris Campbell at Friday, January 15, 2010 4

Now this is how it should be done. Actually, this is going leaps and bounds ahead of how it should be done. I'd been eying Tim Easton's Porcupine vinyl special-edition for months now. It's priced at $40 plus $5 in shipping so I'd hesitated for months. After growing to really like the record, I finally made the plunge. I've been a fan of Easton's dating back to the Haynes Boys and all of his records, most notably, the classic Special 20, get regular spins, and likely will for years to come.

Yesterday, while continuing to battle some sort of flu, I left the apartment for a bit to take some photos. As luck would have it, I stopped into a bakery for a muffin, and not one hour later seemed to have been hit by a major case of food poisoning. Perhaps that sounds hard to believe, but yep, that's what happened. When I finally made it home, feeling as though I could barely stand (literally), there sat the package from Easton. Although I was in too much of a fog to really absorb the beauty of it all, I did muster up an ounce of energy to open the package.

After almost 24 straight hours in bed, I finally gave a good look this morning. In addition to a hand-painted cover/back, Easton even adds a simple touch by drawing a guitar in marker on the package. I wish I could say that this a great lesson for the major labels, but well, that ship has sailed. Perhaps this a great lesson for artists and independent labels. This direct-to-fan touch, though time consuming, is unbelievably rewarding for the listener. Fantastic work, Tim.

Back Up Your eMusic Downloads

Posted by Chris Campbell at Sunday, December 27, 2009 0

As more and more music companies are merging, folding and being sold for nickels, The New York Piece of Crap Post is reporting that eMusic may be seeking out a suitor.

eMusic is a major destination for music afficionados and those looking to actually "keep" their music, as opposed to fans who go the way of streaming services (many do both). I've been a subscriber since 2005 and I've generally been very happy. Although they upped the price nearly 50% in the past year after adding "premium" content, most of which is not appealing to their audience (obvious exceptions (Springsteen, Dylan, etc.)), I still get 50 downloads for $20/month. That's about $5/record. But keep in mind, despite the "indie" feel of the site, eMusic is owned by JDS Capital, not exactly the kinda fellas you're going to see pouring cash into the jukebox at Great Lakes in Brooklyn.

These things can happen fast, or they can take months or years, but given the current climate, similar companies have been gobbled up with little notice. imeem was swept up by MySpace for a few bucks, lala seemed to make out okay with iTunes and who knows who's next. But if you're a subscriber, and especially if you've been so for a long time, I'd get those tracks on a hard drive asap. As imeem users know, the service can disappear in an instant.

Or you can be like me: Get it all on a hard drive and go back to buying physical.

Surpassed 100,000 Plays on last.fm

Posted by Chris Campbell at Monday, December 07, 2009 0

The song that nailed the 100,000 mark:



I've been an enormous supporter of last.fm over the years. I even moonwalked into the CBS building for a few interviews a few years back. Although I'm really starting to move back to CDs, in addition to vinyl, and don't check my last.fm nearly as often as I used to, I still love the service. That said, with charts and such, they really should have put more product time into connecting people with similar musical tastes. A simple "neighbor" section buried near the bottom just doesn't do the trick.

After 100K tunes, my top 25 artists:

2009 Grammy Nominations!

Posted by Chris Campbell at Thursday, December 03, 2009 3

It's no secret that the Grammys have been nothing but an absolute joke for many, many years. They're akin to going to a fashion show hosted by Bruno, without the funny parts. I haven't watched since Elliott Smith nervously performed in his white suit. Or wait, was that the Oscars? I did watch a video clip of Costello, Springsteen, etc. performing "London Calling" in tribute to Strummer.

Take a peek at this year's Album of the Year nominees:

* I Am…Sasha Fierce (Beyonce)
* The E.N.D. (the Black Eyed Peas)
* The Fame (Lady Gaga)
* Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King (Dave Matthews Band)
* Fearless (Taylor Swift)

I mean, are YOU KIDDING?!?!?!??! I could understand if those were nominated for Worst Albums of the Year, but best? The BLACK EYES PEAS?!?!?!? BEYONCE?!?!?! TAYLOR MATTHEWS BAND?!?!? Can you fathom sitting down for 50-60 minutes and listening to one of these records front-to-back while not in a straightjacket?

And then there's Best Rock Album:

* Black Ice by AC/DC
* Live From Madison Square Garden by Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
* 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day
* Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King by Dave Matthews Band
* No Line On The Horizon by U2

Eric Clapton and Steve Windwood Live at the Garden???? What human being would listen to this garbage??? AC/DC put out a record this year? U2!!!!!

It's as if the voters are now just completely kidding around. And if they are, well, I give them credit; it's pretty hilarious.

Ryko Absorbed by ADA, All Staff Let Go

Posted by Chris Campbell at Thursday, April 23, 2009 3

Word is that Ryko will still operate under the ADA/Warner umbrella, but who really knows what this means for one of the greatest labels ever to put out records. If Ryko's days are over, this is another truly sad development in the dismantling of the music business. Two of the industry's most important creative labels, Touch & Go and Rykodisc, are now seemingly on the outs.

In the spring of 1996 as I began my search for a "job," I sent my nearly blank resume to two companies: Rykodisc and Tony Margherita Management. I never heard back from either (I almost landed at Margherita's company years later), but these were the first places that struck me.

During my late-teens and early-20s, whenever I walked into Tower Records or Compact Disc World in Paramus, Soundtracks or Ramsey Books & Records in Ramsey, NJ or Nuggets or Newbury up in Boston, if I saw a disc packaged in that clear case with slight blue-ish coloring, I knew it was something good. My CD racks are now jam-packed with classic Ryko releases from Kelly Willis, Meat Puppets, Golden Smog, Josh Rouse, Morphine, Bob Mould, The Posies, Mission of Burma, Frank Zappa and Sugar.

What a wonderful label.

The Unravelling at Miles of Music

Posted by Chris Campbell at Monday, March 09, 2009 0

Boy am I late to the game on this one. I knew that Miles of Music had gone through some difficulties, but I had no idea that they'd closed shop late last year.

In the mid-to-late 90's I used to place regular orders from MoM. Not only would I order CDs, 7-inch singles and magazines from MoM, but I'd read their website interviews and often correspond with co-owners (and I believe husband and wife?) Jeff and Corey. We'd share annual top ten lists and they'd turn me on to acts from all over the world. I recall Corey telling me about The Handsome Family.

I stopped ordering from them sometime around 2003 or so. Delivery times became very sporadic and oftentimes customer service inquiries would receive no response. Nevertheless, I've always had a soft spot for Miles of Music. They played a huge part in turning me onto many bands, and were an integral part of the musical "movement" that changed my life.

This is a fascinating story.

Fabchannel To Close

Posted by Chris Campbell at Friday, March 06, 2009 0

What a shame. I have watched many full concerts via fabchannel.com, including Joe Henry, Josh Ritter and many more. The site will cease to exist on March 13th.

Note from the CEO:

Dear Fabchannel viewer,

After nine passionate and beautiful years of sharing the most amazing concert recordings with you, Fabchannel is stopping. A great number of record labels still won't allow us to record their artists. This prevents us from offering what we need to keep Fabchannel alive.

We want to sincerely thank you for all support through the years! It has been an amazing time, but unfortunately this is where it ends.

With a bleeding heart we're pulling the plug of our online archive Friday 13th of March. Until that time, enjoy your favorite concerts and who knows… we'll meet again.

Justin Kniest, CEO

Yep Roc Records Stimulus Plan Sale

Posted by Chris Campbell at Wednesday, February 25, 2009 0

One of the best labels on the planet, Yep Roc, is having a pretty nice one-week sale. You can land many a cd for $5 and some great vinyl finds for just $10. Buy Stuff

Saying Goodbye Almost a Year Later

Posted by Chris Campbell at Monday, February 23, 2009 0

Today marks exactly four months since I've been day job-less. Although it was imeem that employed me for the last seven months of my daytime work life, it was SNOCAP, the company purchased by imeem in early 2008, that brought on those five stages. Once I was let go, my almost three-year connection to a job and company that I truly loved came to an end. In retrospect, perhaps I should've cut ties when SNOCAP was acquired, especially given that imeem really didn't have a good fit for me, but a feeling of responsibility to SNOCAP's partners and the building recession made it hard to walk away. And just like SNOCAP, I did go in with high hopes to contribute and grow.

Since late October, I've gone through the stages of trying to let SNOCAP go. This was the job of a lifetime, one where I worked alongside some people who inspired me, taught me, and remain some of my closest friends to this day. Oh, we certainly weren't perfect, but while it lasted, this was a truly fantastic place to work. Some of my colleagues were really in it for the music. Others weren't as fanatical about tunes, but provided personalities, intelligence and individuality that made this place so interesting and inspiring. And the people I met and places I went due to my role within SNOCAP will never be forgotten. There was the fantastic dinner in France with the CD Baby and Koch folks. A bunch of us hung out and chatted with The Buzzcocks in Austin. A seemingly mundane breakfast with a partner in LA was far from mundane. There were the many happy hours with co-workers, many of whom have left the area. There was Avenue B with Eric and Gerald. There were the joys of nailing down deals. The memories are truly, truly endless. We were always surrounded by music, a passion for what we were doing, and despite mixed results on the business front, a deep desire to help the musicians and labels we were working with.

It was certainly high-stress at times. Many nights I couldn't find much sleep due to the pressures and mounds of work that the next day would bring, but such a workload and responsibilities were always met with excitement and a feeling that I was being tested. And for perhaps the first time in my career, I truly felt the challenges and ups and downs of a business in its embryonic stages. And this was thrilling.

I'm still trying to figure out what's next, but one thing's for certain, landing in work that is as rewarding and challenging as my days at SNOCAP will not be easy. The wins, the losses, the frustrations, the celebrations, the agreements and debates all fell together to leave a lasting impression.

Touch & Go Story Gets Worse

Posted by Chris Campbell at Friday, February 20, 2009 0

As many feared, in addition to shedding the distribution arm, it appears as if Touch & Go will cease signing new acts and will basically go the catalog-label route. That's right, it appears as if the label is done putting out new music.

I Get Many Soul 45s Here (Photo)

Posted by Chris Campbell at Wednesday, February 18, 2009 0

, originally uploaded by ccsbandwagon.

I basically just walk in, go to the fella in the pic, and ask him to pick out 10-15 good ones.

Touch & Go To Close Distribution Arm / Cut Staff

Posted by Chris Campbell at Wednesday, February 18, 2009 1 comments

Now this is sad news. Touch & Go distributes such fantastic labels as Drag City, Overcoat, Flameshovel, as well as Merge and Kill Rock Stars in parts of the country, to name a few. One can only imagine that this will also impact Touch & Go's own future releases. T & G has been home to Slint, Don Caballero, Calexico, Rachel's, Dirty Three, Mekons, Silkworm and many other bands that simply do not suck.

Statement from co-founder Corey Rusk:
"It is with great sadness that we are reporting some major changes here at Touch and Go Records. Many of you may not be aware, but for nearly 2 decades, Touch and Go has provided manufacturing and distribution services for a select yet diverse group of other important independent record labels. Titles from these other labels populate the shelves of our warehouse alongside the titles on our own two labels, Touch and Go Records, and Quarterstick Records.

"Unfortunately, as much as we love all of these labels, the current state of the economy has reached the point where we can no longer afford to continue this lesser known, yet important part of Touch and Go’s operations. Over the years, these labels have become part of our family, and it pains us to see them go. We wish them all the very best and we will be doing everything we can to help make the transition as easy as possible.

"Touch and Go will be returning to its roots and focusing solely on being an independent record label. We’ll be busy for a few months working closely with the departing labels and scaling our company to an appropriate smaller size after their departure. It is the end of a grand chapter in Touch and Go’s history, but we also know that good things can come from new beginnings."

Best Sources for Good New Music

Posted by Chris Campbell at Monday, February 16, 2009 2

Where are people who don't have awful taste going to find new music today? And I don't just mean music that's released today, but rather just tunes that aren't terrible. I used to find just about everything I needed from a fantastic music listserve that I was on from 1994 - 2008, but having departed that list, I've been trying to find some good new homes. Magnet and Blurt are probably my favorites but they're hardly comprehensive. I seem to have grown a bit bored with Largeheartedboy, though I do check his site a few times a week. Pitchfork has clearly lost its way and offers next to nothing now. The old big players such as RS, Spin, etc. are clearly chock-full-of-crap.

Where else can one turn? I haven't found any of the hyped bloggers (Aquarium Drunkard, My Old Ky Blog) to really offer that much, so I'm sort of at a loss. Whenever I hop on the computer just looking to scour a music mag/site for an hour or so, well, I just don't find one. I end up scraping through eMusic or reading reviews on Allmusic. Well, I usually just end up hitting Youtube and looking for Possibilities videos. And then I end up departing and heading to Facebook, reading a few incredibly boring updates and dozing off with Croce streaming from my last.fm page.

Live Nation & Ticketmaster Merger

Posted by Chris Campbell at Tuesday, February 10, 2009 0

Comedy

Springsteen & Ticketmaster

Posted by Chris Campbell at Thursday, February 05, 2009 0

Seems that Bruce is making slip after slip these days. I haven't bought a ticket via Ticketmaster since that Yanks/Royals game in the mid-80s when Roy White had a sweet double off the right field wall. With his pull and influence, the fact that he's finally speaking out brings on a bit of a yawn. Here's his exchange to fans and Ticketmaster's response:

A LETTER TO OUR FANS:
We know there was much confusion regarding Ticketmaster and TicketsNow during last Monday's on-sale dates. We were as confused as you were, as we were given no advance notice of the major changes in the Ticketmaster-TicketsNow world. (Bear in mind that we are not clients of any ticketing company, and that all those arrangements are between venues and ticketing companies.)

Last Monday, we were informed that Ticketmaster was redirecting your log-in requests for tickets at face value, to their secondary site TicketsNow, which specializes in up-selling tickets at above face value. They did this even when other seats remained available at face value. We condemn this practice.

We perceive this as a pure conflict of interest. Ticketmaster is there to ensure that we have a good, fair sale of our tickets at their face value plus normal ticketing charges. TicketsNow is supposed to be a secondary site where people who already have tickets may exchange, trade, and, unfortunately, speculate with them. We have asked this redirection from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow cease and desist immediately and Ticketmaster has agreed to do so in the future and has removed its unwanted material from their and our site.

We know the many cynical arguments some make in favor of the Ticketmaster system: There are rumors that some artists or managers participate in Ticketmaster charges--we do not. There are rumors that some artists or managers are receiving a percentage of the amount above face value at secondary outlets like TicketsNow--we do not. Some artists or managers may not perceive there to be a conflict between having the distributor of their tickets in effect "scalping" those same tickets through a secondary company like TicketsNow--we do.

While many of you have sent notes to us and your local promoters, you may also send accurate informational letters to Albert Lopez of Ticketmaster and he will try to address your questions.

A final point for now: the one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near monopoly situation in music ticketing. Several newspapers are reporting on this story right now. If you, like us, oppose that idea, you should make it known to your representatives.

The abuse of our fans and our trust by Ticketmaster has made us as furious as it has made many of you. We will continue to do our utmost now and in the future to make sure that these practices are permanently curtailed on our tours.

Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team

AND FROM TICKETMASTER...

An Open Letter of Apology to Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team:

While we were genuinely trying to do the right thing for fans in providing more choices when the tickets they requested from the primary on-sale were not available, we clearly missed the mark. Fans are confused and angry, which is the opposite of what we hoped to accomplish. We sincerely apologize to Bruce, his organization and, above all, his fans.

We recognize that we need to change our course. We have committed to Bruce and state publicly here that we have taken down all links for Bruce's shows directing fans from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow. This redirection only occurred as a choice when we could not satisfy fans specific search request for primary ticket inventory, but to make sure there is no misunderstanding in the future, we also publicly state that we will never again link to TicketsNow in a manner that can possibly create any confusion during a high-demand on-sale. Specifically, we will not present an option to go to TicketsNow from Ticketmaster without the consent of the artist and the venue, both of whom work together to bring the joy of live entertainment to millions of fans.

If any fans inadvertently purchased tickets in the resale marketplace believing in error they were purchasing from the initial on-sale, we will refund the difference between the actual purchase price and the face price of the ticket. (Please don't abuse this good faith gesture as we did not give brokers any preferential access to tickets.)

We are committed to helping deliver the most transparent and best live entertainment experience to fans. We will do better going forward.

Sincerely,

Irving Azoff, CEO, Ticketmaster Entertainment

45 Friday

Posted by Chris Campbell at Friday, January 30, 2009 0

Before heading to the park for the afternoon, I figured I'd spend an hour or so listening to some 45's. It was a good decision.

You're Gonna Make Me Cry - The Staple Singers
Hotel Happiness - Brook Benton
You Ain't Going Nowhere - The Byrds
Looking for a Way Out / Take My Word - Uncle Tupelo
My Kind of Soldier - Guided By Voices
Mary Jane - Blue Mountain
California - Courtesy Move
Ain't No Doubt About It - Wilson Pickett

And now I'm blastin' "Placemat Blues" by Slobberbone.

You serve them Bizkits and Korn with a spoon
But I think you just serve you
Where's the place at the table for folks like us
When there's no one that we can trust
Where's the place for us

Fleet Foxes on Major Labels

Posted by Chris Campbell at Thursday, January 29, 2009 0

I am not exactly riding the FF hype machine. I think the record's fine and all, but the praise that they've received has been a bit silly. They're a good band who put on an average live show.

Although bashing of major labels has gotten somewhat old, I did find their take on rumors of the band signing to Virgin to be kinda comedy. However, I hope they do realize that they're signed to Sub Pop Records, which is distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance, which is owned by Warner Music Group. Ya know, just sayin'.

After reports circulated that the Fleet Foxes had signed with Virgin, Pecknold put up a MySpace blog post to stomp them down in the most unambiguous possible manner:

"So, I went to the (truly insane and heart-swelling) Dept of Eagles show at Neumo's tonight (sang along and bought a Tee) and a couple people said something about hearing we signed to Virgin Records and they are reissuing a 'special edition' of the CD LP. This is false. I think a Seattle Weekly blog post started this fire, which I will now extinguish, with this statement - 'Fleet Foxes will never, ever, under no circumstances, from now until the world chokes on gas fumes, sign to a major label. This includes all subsidiaries or permutations thereunder. Till we die.'

"I just don't see the point. Most major labels seem anti-music. We've pursued no such deal with Virgin (or been pursued to my knowledge, I think it was just a bit of news they reported) and would be idiots to be unhappy with our fam of label folks. It is true though that all copies of the CD LP will now include a free copy of the EP (like it is currently with the vinyl), but that's not a 'special limited edition,' it'll be that way in perpetuity, no extra cost or packaging change.

"That's all! Also I cut all my hair off."

Rolling Stone Magazine

Posted by Chris Campbell at Saturday, January 24, 2009 0

RS has become the MTV of music magazines. Of little surprise, they have given Springsteen's new record Working on a Dream five stars. Yes, they gave it a better review than Nebraska, which landed a 4.5 rating. Brian Hiatt, who reviewed the record, compared the ending of "Outlaw Pete" to, oh my goodness, "Jungleland". Seriously, how do these people land these jobs? He then compares "Life Itself" to The Byrds' "Eight Miles High". These comparisons are akin to saying that "Marley and Me" is reminiscent of "The Godfather".

And then there's the feature by Mr. Has-Been David Fricke, who calls Working on a Dream, Springsteen's "most ornate album since 1975's Born To Run". It may be "ornate" Mr. Fricke, but putting these records in the same article, let alone sentence, is absurd.

Again, there are a few good tunes on this album. I've really grown to like the title track, "The Wrestler" is one of his finest songs in years and "My Lucky Day" is a nice rocker, and honestly, there are other songs that are growing on me, but FIVE STARS?!?! Then again, they gave Magic the same rating and that record pretty much sucked. These people need to be industry casualties. I can't remember the last time anyone said, "I bought that album because of Rolling Stone's review." They still do occasional nice pieces from time-to-time, especially on current affairs, but Jann Wenner should have canned his entire editorial team years ago. Ya know, right when that memo went out that read: "Anything by Neil Young, REM, Pearl Jam, U2 and Springsteen gets 5 stars. You don't even need to listen to the record, just give it five."

Initial SXSW List

Posted by Chris Campbell at Thursday, January 08, 2009 4

The Backsliders @ Liberty Lunch, SXSW 1999

The odds of me attending this year are just about zero, and given the initial list of acts, I can't say I'm too disappointed.

The greatest part of South By is hanging with friends in-and-out of the music business. And as the years pass, that number seems to be getting smaller and smaller.

But for those bound for Austin:

8Ball & MJG (Memphis, TN)
Akron/Family (Williamsport, PA)
Al Kapone (Memphis, TN)
Alina Simone (Brooklyn, NY)
Amanda Blank (Philadelphia, PA)
Amber Smith (Budapest, HUNGARY)
Angry vs The Bear (Essex, ENGLAND)
Anthony Snape (Sydney, AUSTRALIA)
ARABROT (Oslo, NORWAY)
Arc Angels (Austin, TX)
Asher Roth (Morrisville, PA)
Asobi Seksu (Brooklyn, NY)
Astrid Williamson (Shetland Islands, SCOTLAND)
B.o.B. (Atlanta, GA)
Banda de Turistas (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Bar-Kays (Memphis, TN)
Bavu Blakes (Austin, TX)
Ben Kweller (Austin, TX)
Benny Gallagher (West Wickham, ENGLAND)
Black Cherry (London, ENGLAND)
BLACK SKIES (Chapel Hill, NC)
Blaqstarr (Baltimore, MD)
Blue Scholars (Seattle, WA)
Bomba Estereo (Bogota, Columbia)
Brick Bandits (Philadelphia, PA)
Buck 65 (Halifax, NS)
Buraka Som Sistema (Lisbon, Portugal)
Candy Coated Killahz (Toronto, CANADA)
Cashier No.9 (Belfast, IRELAND)
Casiokids (Bergen, NORWAY)
Charles Hamilton (New York, NY)
Choc Quib Town (Bogota, Columbia)
CHOO-CHOO (Bern, SWITZERLAND)
Chris T-T (Brighton, ENGLAND)
Come On Gang! (Edinburgh, SCOTLAND)
Crystal Method (Los Angeles, CA)
Crystal Stilts (New York, NY)
Damero (Berlin, Germany)
Dananananaykroyd (Glasgow, Scotland)
Dave Alvin (Los Angeles, CA)
David Garza (Austin, TX)
Dead Prez (New York, NY)
Dekadens (Bucharest, ROMANIA)
Dirtblonde (Liverpool, ENGLAND)
Division Miniscula (Matamoros, Mexico)
Doctor Krapula (Bogota, Columbia)
EBONY BONES! (London, ENGLAND)
Ella (Bristol, ENGLAND)
Empire ISIS (Montreal, CANADA)
Explosions in the Sky (Austin, TX)
Flood of Red (Glasgow, SCOTLAND)
Franki Chan (Los Angeles, CA)
Free Sol (Memphis, TN)
Futumomo Satisfaction (Tokyo, Japan)
Gabi Almedia (Sao Paolo, Brazil)
Gary Clark Jr. (Austin, TX)
Grimy Styles (Austin, TX)
Hacienda (San Antonio, TX)
Hickoids (Austin, TX)
Ida Maria (Stockholm, Sweden)
Insite (Mexicali, Mexico)
Invincible (Detroit, MI)
Jokers of the Scene (Ottawa, ON)
Kap Bambino (Bordeaux, France)
Kid Sister (Chicago, IL)
Killer Mike (Atlanta, GA)
LA Riots (Los Angeles, CA)
Los Fancy Free (Mexico City, Mexico)
Madi Diaz (Nashville, TN)
Manana (Basil, SWITZERLAND)
Mandi Perkins (Los Angeles, CA)
Mexican Institute of Sound (Mexico City, Mexico)
Micachu (London, ENGLAND)
Midnight Youth (Auckland, NEW ZEALAND)
Mika Miko (Los Angeles, CA)
Mike Badger (Liverpool, ENGLAND)
Mistah FAB (Oakland, CA)
Monokino (Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS)
Moriarty (Montreuil, FRANCE)
Motel (Mexico City, Mexico)
Mundo Livre Sa (Recife, Brazil)
My Crew Be Unruly (Baltimore, MD)
My Federation (Hove, ENGLAND)
Nacho Vegas (Gijon, Spain)
Nacional (Glasgow, SCOTLAND)
NAVEL (Erschwil, SWITZERLAND)
Outasight (New York, NY)
P.O.S. (Minneapolis, MN)
Pato Machete (Monterrey, Mexico)
Peter Bjorn & John (Stockholm, Sweden)
Peter Rosenberg (New York, NY)
Port O'Brien (Cambria, CA)
Primal Scream (Glasgow, Scotland)
Reflection Eternal (Ohio/New York)
Rob Quest (Houston, TX)
Sage Francis (Providence, RI)
San Quinn (San Francisco, CA)
Scribe (Christchurch, NZ)
Shad (London, Ontario)
Shawn David McMillen (Austin, TX)
Simplifires (Mexico City, Mexico)
Soulico (Tel Aviv, Israel)
St. Vincent (Dallas, TX)
Suzy & Los Quattro (Barcelona, Spain)
T Bird & The Breaks (Austin, TX)
Tanya Morgan (Brooklyn, NY)
Temposhark (London, ENGLAND)
The Beat Poets (Belfast, IRELAND)
The Carrivick Sisters (Devon, ENGLAND)
The Courteneers (Manchester, UK)
The deBretts (London, ENGLAND)
The Deep Dark Woods (Saskatoon, CANADA)
the Devil Wears Prada (Dayton, OH)
The Everyday Visuals (Boston, MA)
The Knux (New Orleans, LA)
THE MOOG (Budapest, HUNGARY)
The Pepper Pots (Girona, Spain)
The Sonics (Seattle, WA)
The Temper Trap (Nth Fitzroy, AUSTRALIA)
thecocknbullkid (London, ENGLAND)
Thee Oh See's (San Francisco, CA)
This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb (Pensacola, FL)
Tittsworth (Washington, DC)
Tommy Tee (Oslo, Norway)
Toy Horses (Barry, WALES)
Twilight Hotel (Winnipeg, CANADA)
Virgin Passages (London, ENGLAND)
Volodja Balzalorsky (Ljubljana, SLOVENIA)
WAZ (Los Angeles, CA)
We Have Band (London, ENGLAND)
We Should Be Dead (Limerick, IRELAND)
White Lies (London, ENGLAND)
Whitechapel (Knoxville, TN)
Willem Maker (Turkey Heaven, AL)
Willy Joy (Chicago, IL)
Yarah Bravo (New York, NY)

Ted Leo on the Economy and Music

Posted by Chris Campbell at Wednesday, January 07, 2009 0

"If you're not getting tour support from a label, it's really tough," says Leo. "We've managed to make a go at it as full-time musicians for a few years now, largely due to the sheer amount that we're on the road. I'm pretty sure we're not going to be able to do that for the next year. People get jobs, people lose jobs, people find other jobs. I guess it's time to find another job." -Spin Magazine, January 2009