Seattle Film and Music Blog Office of Film and Music and Special Events

Seattle Film and Music Blog

MYSPACE WILL ACQUIRE ILIKE

by Leave a Comment

The Hollywood Reporter
News Corp.’s MySpace unveiled its first acquisition under CEO Owen Van Natta on Wednesday, saying it will buy iLike, the firm behind the top music application across social networks, including competitor Facebook. Van Natta announced the deal in a conference call with reporters, saying he wants to take the iLike approach to areas beyond music. He particularly mentioned entertainment, video and games as key focus areas for MySpace, in which iLike could develop future applications. Asked by The Hollywood Reporter about possible film apps, Van Natta said: “Film is an important part of MySpace…It is one of the areas that’s a potential.” Blog reports in recent days have buzzed about a potential deal for iLike. While the companies didn’t disclose the purchase price Wednesday, reports have put it at anywhere between $13.5 million and $20 million.

Share

US DIGITAL MUSIC SALES TO ECLIPSE CDS BY 2010

by Leave a Comment

Ars Technica
Despite the popularity of digital music, from single-track purchases to subscriptions, physical media has continued to generate the most music revenue in (almost) every market in the world. According to data from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), though, that will soon change: revenue from digital music sales worldwide are on track to equal that of physical sales as early as 2016, and by 2010 in the United States. Consumers in the United States buy the most digital music relative to their total music purchases—revenue generated by digital music was 36 percent of the total at the end of 2008. Asia trails the US when it comes to digital music buying, though South Korea is currently the only place in the world where digital downloads trump physical formats.

Share

MT. ST. HELENS VIETNAM BAND AT MT. ST. HELENS

by Leave a Comment

Seattle WeeklyMSHVB
Traveling with a band of indie rockers like Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band has its plusses and minuses. For starters, the friendly five piece are some of the nicest musicians in town. If you climb in a 15 passenger van with these guys on a three hour journey, you’ll find they’ve got freshly baked chocolate muffins ready for you. Bite into one and you’ll be happy that you did, until you learn that the band’s 14 year old drummer, Marshall Verdoes, claims he made said muffins from scratch and swears he didn’t wash his hands. Over the weekend, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band played a great set of music at Mt. St. Helens, the volcano in which they partially named themselves after.

Share

INDIE ROCKER BEN CHASNY SETTLES INTO SEATTLE’S PASTORAL SCENE

by Leave a Comment

Seattle Timeschasny
Not only is Seattle the epicenter of indie rock’s current obsession with all things pastoral, but we’re a destination for like-minded musicians. Meet 34-year-old Ben Chasny, a recent transplant from San Francisco best known for his work as Six Organs of Admittance. Over the last 10 years, Chasny has taken Six Organs into shamanic, shambolic realms. Un-pigeonhole-able, Chasny also contributed blistering electric guitar on the last two Sub Pop albums by psychedelic metalmeisters Comets on Fire. Chasny relocated to Seattle in November and is now focusing on Six Organs, whose new album, “Luminous Night,” comes out Tuesday, coinciding with a release party at the Crocodile that night. “Luminous Night” is his initial collaboration with celebrated local producer/bassist Randall Dunn, who recorded the album in West Seattle in March and enlisted a Who’s Who of Northwest avant-gardists to flesh it out: drummer Matt Chamberlain (Tori Amos, Pearl Jam), flautist Hans Teuber (Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet) and violist Eyvind Kang (Secret Chiefs 3, Animal Collective, John Zorn).

Share

LOCAL GUITAR-CRAFTSMAN RANDY PARSONS ROCKS OUT IN NEW DOCUMENTARY

by Leave a Comment

Seattle TimesParsons_guitar
There’s a gleaming slab of cow skull on Randy Parsons’ work bench. Nearby are several smaller pieces that have been sliced with such precision they look like captured frames from an MRI scan. The polished bone is destined for the ribbing and neck of an electric guitar that Parsons is building for an unnamed luminary of the local music community. It’s the second instrument in a design run of two that Parsons has dubbed “Strolling With Bones.” No. 1 is in the possession of Jimmy Page, making this extremely limited-edition guitar a collectors’ item of the highest order. Parsons Guitars is an unassuming hideaway on Westlake Avenue North adjacent to the superstore of the Seattle Guitar Center, the flagship of five shops Parsons operates. With a shadowy interior swathed in candlelight, worn leather furniture, the lingering scent of incense and a background soundtrack of classic rock riffs, the environment Parsons has created fits his personality and trade in a way that’s akin to Dale Chihuly’s glassblowing shop on North Lake Union. Parsons is a modern luthier — a maker of stringed musical instruments — and it’s not just his ego talking when he describes himself as the Chihuly of electric guitars. Parsons and his guitars are featured in the rousing new documentary It Might Get Loud directed by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), which opens Aug. 28.

Share

FRESH AND LOCAL: IT’S THE LIVE @ HIDMO SERIES

by Leave a Comment

christinorbe_hidmoSeattle Times
For a free night out enriched with music, head out to Hidmo. The Central Area restaurant is hosting a free summer concert series, called “Live @ Hidmo,” with such Seattle artists as Laura “Piece” Kelley, Orbitron and J. Pinder. “We want to make local talent accessible to the local community,” said Rahwa Habte, Hidmo’s managing owner. All sorts of music will be represented every Friday — soul, spoken-word, funk, pop, rock and hip-hop. And shows are all-ages. The setting is an intimate family atmosphere, where the Who’s Who of the local arts community go to relax and sit back as audience members.

Share

EXPERIMENTAL TUNES AT SOUNDS OUTSIDE

by Leave a Comment

Sounds Outside
Monktail Creative Music Concern presents SOUNDS OUTSIDE: A Celebration of Adventurous Music & Community Saturday, August 15 Cal Anderson Park, 1635 11th Ave (between E. Denny & E. Pine). Performers include Melbatones, Figeater, Greg Sinibaldi, Syncopated Taint Horn Quartet, and Bert Wilson. Music will run from 1 – 8 pm and admission is free.

Share

LEVI FULLER: THE MAN BEHIND THE MIXTAPE

by Leave a Comment

Seattle Weekly
There are plenty of ways to find out about new or otherwise obscure music in Seattle and beyond, but it’s a select, wise few who know to pick up Levi Fuller’s unassuming compilation CD, Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly, when a new edition comes out every three months. The case is made of chipboard and silk-screened with a minimalist design of circles (a play on the Ball of Wax theme), and the songs come in CD-R format. But this humble yet visually appealing homemade packaging contains one of the best ways for interested Seattleites to discover new or unsung local and national bands. You can order the compilations online (out-of-print back issues are available for free download), but the best way to get a copy is at the Ball of Wax CD release shows; these take place at the Sunset Tavern, and the cover charge, $7, includes a copy of the CD.

Share

CROCODILE ENGINEER JIM ANDERSON CONTRIBUTES MASSIVE AUDIO COLLECTION TO UW LIBRARY

by Leave a Comment

Seattle Timesjim_crocodile
Audio engineer Jim Anderson — a designation often shortened to “sound guy” or “sound man” — has a reputation for being one of the best in Seattle. Simply, he seems to care how bands sound in the Crocodile. Not just how bands sound to him, but how a band sounds to its own members, and also to audience attendants with opinions. Evinced with Anderson’s sincerity, this inclusive type of caring is exceedingly rare. He also has a reputation for his gigantic vault of live recordings, which are now all at the UW.

Share

PEARL JAM BREAK OUT NEW SONGS, RARITIES, RONNIE WOOD IN LONDON

by Leave a Comment

Rolling Stonepearljam
Last night in London Pearl Jam broke out rarities, brand new songs and even the Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood. Playing in the legendary Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Eddie Vedder and Co. kicked off the evening with “Sometimes” from No Code before briefly visiting Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive,” which served as a segue into “Corduroy.” The band then introduced “The Fixer,” the first single from their upcoming Backspacer, to the 2,000 stoked fans packed inside the tiny venue. Pearl Jam’s mini European tour continues Thursday in Rotterdam with additional stops in Berlin, Manchester and London’s O2 Arena. The band recently announced more U.S. dates this fall and will also play a half-dozen outdoor gigs in Australia and New Zealand. Backspacer is due out on September 20th.

Share