Photography by: Erick Doxey
Topic: Viper Creek Club
Recorded: April 18th, 2010
The members of Viper Creek, a Seattle band, came to visit us in the studio to talk about their upcoming album. The night prior, they performed at what was formerly known as The Blvd. (now it’s the Seaside). We talked a little about their concert from the previous night, the process of recording an album as well as working the current scene as a band.
Website: Facebook
Photography By: Erick Doxey
Topic: The Truth Lenders
Recorded: May 9th, 2010 @ 11:15 a.m.
The author of the locally produced novel The Truth Lenders, Thuy-Dzuong Nguyen, came into the studio to discuss her book, especially one special element of the multimedia novel: music.
Website: TRUTHLENDERS.COM
The Swell Season will be touring through Spokane, July 22nd and performing at The Knitting Factory. I highly suggest all of their music. This may be one of the most important concerts coming to the Spokane community this entire year. (Well, important to me.)
Madeline McGee
July 11th, 2010
Madeline returns to Spokane for her summer vacation from Western Washington University. She was on Save the Moon last year and now she’ll be back on the show to perform some brand new tunes.
The Truth Lenders
May 9th, 2010 @ 11:00 a.m.
The author of the locally produced novel The Truth Lenders, Thuy-Dzuong Nguyen, will be in the studio to discuss her book, especially one special element of the multimedia novel: music.
Website: ThuyDzuong.com
Martin Sexton will be touring through Spokane on May 16th and performing at The Knitting Factory! I’ll also be featuring his music on my show every Sunday morning up until the performance. Should be fabulous!
Music is one of my passions and photographing live bands is not something i’m a stranger to. What is new to me however, is shooting bands w/ an SLR camera. It’s not easy but it sure is fun when you get the opportunity to shoot a band that is not only cool to listen to but visually engaging as well. That was most certainly the case w/ Viper Creek Club, an electronic pop duo from Seattle. These guys love what they do and it shows. With their songs and their delivery, their passion for what they’re doing comes out.
Any band can slap on a fancy suit and dance in front of strobe lights but only the rare musicians can bleed that genuine passion. When that happens, it’s easy to get a great shot.
A conversation on Twitter sparked a conversation on what radio programmers look for in the pile of music that is sent to a radio station on a weekly basis.
Once a week when I come in to do my show, I scan through a stack of music that sits in the music librarian’s box. I judge a book by its cover and look for… stylish album art. It is low and vain, but it is all about what gets my attention. That is what you can expect from a small community radio station. Or me at least.
If that option is not available to you, then I suggest the cleaner and simpler your presentation the better. The one thing I dislike the most about home made album cases and cd duplication is messy hand writing and pixelated graphics. Please make sure everything is neat, tidy and high quality.
A corporate station is a completely different story. From the horse’s mouth (a local drive-time DJ), here are some tips on how to submit your music for radio play. This applies everywhere.
1. A Focus Track
We only have a few minutes to spare, what song out of ALL your songs do you want us to hear the most. It should be the song that best represents your band and album.
2. Album Name
Perhaps we want to see the artistry of your vocabulary. Or we just want to know what to call it… instead of just saying “it”. It’s important to highlight the name of your album.
3. Release & Impact Dates
When is your album coming out? Do you have an album release party? What upcoming dates affect me?
4. Label Contact Information
If we have any questions about your group, how can we get a hold of you, your manager or record label? Include e-mail, phone and mailing address.
5. Short and Sweet Bio
When I took screen writing classes in college, we were taught to pitch our story to a producer in the time it takes to travel in an elevator. Learn the same concept.
6. Tour Dates
I’d hope if you sent your album to me, you’d be touring in my broadcasting area. Please include a list of tour dates especially if you’re be in the area.
7. The Dreaded FCC
Does your music contain profanity or other obscene and indecent lyrics? If so, please mark which ones do. According to FCC regulations, we can not play such music and it could risk our broadcasting license.
