On the bus home

On the Ferry home...

Yuto Miyazawa - 8-Year Old Japanese Guitar Phenom!

SXSW Interactive vs. SXSW Music

Happy Friday from NOLA

Zero Chester's 98

Ten years ago...

http://www.archive.org/details/zero1998-03-20
http://www.archive.org/details/zero1998-03-21
http://www.archive.org/details/zero1998-03-22

The Inbox Challenge: Folding Dirty Laundry

Every workday, it seems, I engage in a struggle to keep my email Inbox down to a manageable level.

Some days it's a slow leak, other times i can't help keep the deluge back. It's not even spam anymore, since Gmail takes care of most of that for me thankyouverymuch.

It's the back and forth, the new inquiries, the daily ping pong match of discussions and debates that weave in and out of my consciousness and propel conversations into the future.

Then my friend Nate sent me this song by Radioinactive:
Folding Laundry which sounds a lot like it feels to battle with your Inbox everyday.

Awareness Test

Meester

Photo by John Werner

I'd known Martin Fierro for over 10 years. From the first moment I saw him on stage at the Maritime Hall in San Francisco, I knew he was the real deal. Warm, funny and genuine he could always bring a smile to my face. He told the corniest jokes, but it helped to pass the time during Zero's "short" breaks between songs.

I had the rare opportunity to interview him in person when Zero played Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1998. It was incredible of him to agree to sit down and talk with a naive and green newcomer to his musical universe and open up so vividly and positively about his history and spirit. I'll never forget it. I'll have to find the video and transcribe the interview, which was actually never published.

Not to mention, it was one of the all time greatest run of shows ever (Listen Here) and completely defined my musical life for 10 years. Check out the High & Lonesome, Cripple Creek > Catalina from the 3rd night. Mindblowing.

Thanks for everything Meester, we'll miss you.

Chut Up!

JamBase Martin Story & Comments

Lil’ Bush Episode 203: Featuring Phil Lesh from the Grateful Dead

Sweeeet!

Shut the front door!!!

My JamBase Widgets: Spread Live Music!

Since the moment I started JamBase, I've been enamored with the idea of allowing music fans to help promote the music they love. Much of the foundation for the site was centered around helping passionate music lovers tell their friends about their favorite bands, and when they might be coming to town.

Today we're excited to announce another peg in the evolution of that concept.

The My JamBase Widget displays a list of shows for your favorite bands in the area of the person looking at it.

To set-up your own personalized widget, just head over to www.jambase.com/myjambase/widgets and grab the code. If you don't have any favorite artists yet or want to add more, you can use the links provided to import your iTunes bands or enter them individually. Once you've got your Widget set the way you like it, you can add it to your blog, myspace, facebook or one of the other various social networks provided.

For the developers out there, this widget uses the publicly available JamBase API which anyone can use to pull concert dates into whatever format they'd like (non-commercial use only, if you'd like more info contact us)

This is simply the first of what will hopefully be many more of these types of features to come in the near future. We hope you enjoy, and it helps get you and your friends out to the show! :)

Seth Godin's live Music Talk

Seth Godin spoke to Columbia Records last week about the state of the music business.

His points are, as always, on point. He talks about cultivating a devoted tribe of music fans, how labels can still succeed with the assets they have if they can only learn to communicate effectively with their customers, and how Ricki Lee Jones never emails him to tell him when she's coming to town.

Godin has been consistently preaching the gospel of word of mouth, permission-based marketing for years. His books introduce the concept that marketing should be anticipated, personal and expected. It's not about just advertising anymore, or if it is, the advertising becomes invisible.

I've started calling what we do "Information Marketing"

Since first hearing Seth speak at an ExactTarget conference several years ago, I'm constantly amazed at how timeless his lessons are amidst the day to day bubble-candy-sprinkles of modern day marketing schemes. You can't fake this stuff, and I fundamentally believe that you can't fool people (at least not all the people) all the time.

The tricky part is that once you've read his books and peek behind the curtain of the tactics, it's hard to go back to the innocence of classic consumer behavior. Oh my, can it be? Is Seth Godin really the one?

Take the red pill...

Ben C Returns to the Planet