MGMT, the budding wunderkinds of the indie pop scene, visited our studios today delivering their brand of electro dominated songs. The live versions in this session feature a little more prominent guitar than you'll hear on the studio album. MGMT is Andrew Vanwyngarden (guitar and lead vocals) and Ben Goldwasser (keyboard maestro and vocals), joined today by James Richardson on guitar, Matt Asti on bass, and Will Berman on drums.
Mr Murphy Law was also in attendance! Who invited him?
To start things off, the band's gear was delivered to the wrong location --- and MGMT uses a lot of gear! Our best laid plans of loading in a little early this morning were shot.
thump, thump, -- thump, thump. 110 over 70. What? Me Worry?
With help from our venerable, do-it-all, mailroom guy, Jason Groman, we actually got the stuff in studio a little after 9AM. THANKS JASON!!
But, James' guitar amp wasn't working. Their crew had a back-up in the van. Hurry to go get it.
thump, thump, -- thump, thump 120 over 80. --- 25 minutes to air.
So James has a new amp up and ready. Sounds good! But ---- The Juno keyboard (which is key to the song "Electric Feel") starts buzzing and wheezing.
thump, thump, -- thump, thump 125 over 85 -- 18 minutes to air.
The battery in an effects pedal was dead/dying. replaced. We're on again!
But, but --- then our headphone system mysteriously stopped working.
thump, thump, -- thump, thump 130 over 90. 10 minutes to air
Finally, I got that sorted out, but we were just about out of time.
The band went through one song before Nic gave me the thumbs up that we're going on. So, what you hear on-air was pretty much without a sound check. Major kudos to the band's house engineer, Billy Bennett, who cued me on everything coming up and manned the effects channels in the mix.
This was a little like music festival mixing, where no band really gets a sound check. Up you go, and it is what it is. A mix engineer has to call on their experience in situations like these, and ride it through as best you can. Oh, and compressors are indeed your friend.
The session still came off sounding pretty good considering the circumstances of the morning.
Ray Guarna
Now that the subscription drive and two weeks of convention coverage are over, it's back to business as usual in the performance studio at KCRW. Today we were visited by Marching Band, the project of two lads from Sweden, Erik Sunbring and Jacob Lind.
Watch or Listen to the Marching Band Live Session here
The set features charming pop songs masterfully mixed by the band's record producer, Adam Lasus. Check it out, and enjoy.
Ray Guarna
Recently an LA radio trade publication published an objection by a reader that another station’s reporter commented there weren’t many persons of color at the Republican National Convention. The reader felt it was a cheap shot and everything shouldn’t be turned into a racial issue.
I agree that everything definitely should NOT come down to a question of race. Yet this is an election of contrasts.
Contrast an older white war veteran running against a younger African American who was raised in Hawaii no less. Contrast a white Washington insider VP running mate vs. a relatively unknown governor who is young, attractive woman running mate who has had family issues which many average Americans can identify with.
Contrasts.
I’m writing this from St. Paul as I wait for my flight back to LA. I’m not a political wonk or claim to have any expertise on who has done what for whom. I however have been at both conventions for the last two weeks and I have eyes. I watched the speeches with groups of locals in both cities at public spaces. I’ve spoken with and listened to delegates, cab drivers, bus riders, cops and other behind the scenes worker bees. I’ve heard from those who hold a viewpoint on the left, middle, right, right to life proponents and others somewhere in between. I’ve been impressed at the conviction which people hold their views and beliefs, whether I agree with them or not. I’ve not expressed a viewpoint when listening so much as I’ve engaged and listened. Last night I walked around the arena at the seating area as the RNC program was underway, prior to McCain appearing. Here’s what I’ve noticed.
In Denver the make of the attendee’s “looked” a lot like the population of Los Angeles. There were people of all colors and creeds. There was electricity in the air as most had the feeling they were there to witness a piece of history, the nomination of African American as the democratic candidate for President of the United States.
In St. Paul the overwhelming majority of the attendees were white. You can’t hide that. Were there other colors and creeds? Yes. Was there large number of women there? Yes. But without fail, the majority of those in attendance where white. On several occasions I took the bus back to the hotel from downtown St. Paul just a few blocks from the convention site. Greater than half of those on public transit in the evening were non-white, much like LA. Looking about the streets, bars and hotels, the population here is largely white, but not to the degree seen at the RNC. Any number I’d attach would be a guess but based on my observations, there is a far higher ratio of non-white faces here in the host city than those who attended the RNC.
The air at the RNC was energized by the selection of Sarah Palin, but the tenor was not that of making history, but rather to prevent Obama from winning this race. We heard from the Republican Party ideals many of use would like to see: smaller government that stays out of our business, fiscally restrained and pro-American. There’s nothing wrong with that. Having been at the last two presidential conventions, these sound like the same points which were made in those cycles.
So what? Why do I make these observations and dare write them down, being a white guy from the Westside of LA? Because if these parties and their delegates represent America, it’s pretty telling which part of America they are representing.
It’s not about race, but you can’t deny race is a driving factor this election.
After spending two weeks with two legged lawyer type sharks here at the convention sites, I had an opportunity to experience REAL sharks, you know the aquatic type at the “Underwater Adventures Aquarium” located at the Mall of America.
Mike Newport and I headed there very early this morning to swim with the fishes at the Rainbow Reef exhibit, touted as their newest EXTREME adventure. It's an artificial reef filled with over 60 types of tropical fish, including puffers, stingrays and some sharks. Two Zebra sharks appropriately named "Obama" and "McCain" were swimming about the tank with us. (Obama is slightly larger than McCain).
As a long time diver, ocean swimmer, surfer and underwater hockey player, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to slip into the tank and experience this up close and personal.
Officially my favourite festival of all time though I didn't get to see as much of it as I hoped. Def heading there next year.
After many cans of beer I felt full of Scottish hospitality. :-)
I got up early the next morning and decided to explore the city and walked miles and miles to find me a pair of wellies and a raincoat. Really got a great taste for the city, took hundreds of pics and got back to the flat later than I should have.
I then hopped a lift with the band to Inveraray. I've never seen scenery like it (though I am poorly travelled). It was mind blowing and it didn't seem like a long drive at all. I will get all the various pics I took together and stick them on here.
On getting to the site the first thing that struck me was how uncrowded it was. 15,000 people. That's not even half a field's worth at Glasto. I was alble to walk around at a normal pace, see all the things I wanted to see and not feel hassled or claustraphobic.
The first act I got to see was Amplifico as it took me ages to get my tent up in the rain. I hate errecting tents in the rain, most depressing. Anyhow, they were really really good. The last time I saw them was the Islington Bar Academy a few months back and although they were great then, they seem to still be moving onwards and upwards despite an apparent hiatus.
A new addition to the band in the form of Az, as a percussionist and backing vocalist, really added a new depth to the sound. Allowing for a much more layered and high impact vocal performance. Az is a temporary fixture I think which is a shame as she was a great supliment to an already very tight act. Be sure to check out her myspace, have a listen to Sunshine as her sliky vocal is the perfect antidote to festival comedown. :-)
With my extra stong cider in hand, I stumbled accross Gomez. I'd forgotten about Gomez! I loved them when I was at Uni. The Bring It On album was an essential on campus for every student, I think it came in the post with the student loan ad's and free condoms. As they came on stage they announced "It's been ten years since we relased Bring it On, so we thought we should just play through the whole thing". I couldn't have asked for more. It's been years since I heard the album and I had a huge hit of nostalgia. I could practically smell the pot and McCoy crisps, though that might have been the hippy next to me.
I quickly ran to catch the end of Broken Records' set, I've liked them for a while. The guy that manages them used to be an A&R guy and is a really nice chap. He even came to a few of my old bands gig's back in the day. I only caught a couple of songs so it wouldn't really be fair to try and sound like an expert. Though I will be heading to more gigs in the future. Be sure to check them out soon as I know they're just going to get bigger and bigger.
After sampling much of the festival fayre available before I knew it I was watching Bloc Party in the evening. They were fricking amazing. I really wasn't prepared for the show at all. I could never say I was a hug fan, but seeing the performance on Saturday left me dizzy. At a basic musical and musicianship level they're stunning and I still think their drummer is one of the best around today. The crowd actually booed on hearing "Here's a new one for you off the new album". That's totally wierd!!?! All the classics were a 'new one' at one point. If you want a best of set go see a tribute band. Personally I think their performance is one of the best performances I've seen and probably will see all year. Really good stuff. As always, have a look and a listen if you're not familiar.
After having my eyes rattled by bloc party I hooked up with the Amplifico chaps again as I wanted to see where the parties were at (and hopefully get backstage for some free drinkies). We ended up in a dance tent dancing our tits off to the sounds of bagpipes and drums. I think that is something missing in clubs. I'd love to launch a clubnight of celtic music. It was MENTAL. People dancing on tables, hanging from the ceiling, everyone was smiling and going crazy. It was a great feeling. I took my video camera and will upload footage shortly.
On the Sunday I MISSED SPARROW AND THE WORKSHOP. I can't describe how gutted I was. This was due to being stuck in the mud at the opposite side of the site. So I couldn't get accross there in time. Travelling around the site was a bit difficult sometimes. Anyway, luckily the BBC filmed them and I hope to see the footage up online soon. Please have a listen to their stuff if you haven't already as I think I've truly fallen in love the Jill's vocal on the tracks they've recorded so far. I cannot wait to hear something produced outside their flat. Any producers who want to get involved be sure to send them a message.
BBC introducing had a strong presenence there and video'd a lot of what went on. I think their sites are fantastic, especially after they totally eclipsed Glastonbury's own site with their coverage this year. It really is become a great resource for new talent. Have a look there to wet your unsigned whistles.
After the 11 hour commute back I was welcomed to Camden with my girlfriend's homemade pizza and a very warm welcome from my housemates which reminds me why I love living there so much. Was worth going away just to come back. Anyhow, before I get gushy I will start the huuuge catchup process of going through the new submissions.
I hope all is well with you.
After flying from Denver to the twin cities and setting up our equipment yesterday, TODAY was my day off. It turns out in addition to the Republicans about to begin their National Convention, Minnesota is hold it’s state fair here, not 5 minutes from where we happen to be staying.
We got Warren Olney’s goat at the fair and later with tip of the hat towards “Good Food”, I snapped a few shots of some of Minnesota’s offering to fair cuisine. Deep Fried Alligator and Teriyaki Ostrich on a Stick stood out for me, but under the “I can’t believe I saw it there…” category, Deep Fried Spam Curds are at the top of my list.
For the record, I lost nearly 3 lbs in Denver and probably put it all back on tonight. My night at the park was fairly tame: BBQ Beef Sandwich with fries, a strawberry shake, strawberries and cream, and a couple of beers. I can’t believe I passed by the funnel cake!
See below for some of the stands I noticed…
I'm really excited.
Firstly, I'm going to what is probably one of the most beautiful parts of the country and secondly I'm getting to see two of my favourite bands of the moment. Amplifico and Sparrow and the Workshop. Both of which are going to be filmed by the BBC and there are a couple of interviews and such happening. So it seems that interest is already building. Not too quickly I hope as I want to be punting them to the labels at some point.
Have a look at the pics on google of the place, it's really lovely.
I'll be taking my cameras along so will have plenty to show when I get back. Please do have a listen to Amplifico and Sparrow and the Workshop as I think you will really like em.
Managed to catch up on a lot of submissions yesterday and a lot of good stuff has come through. I think gone are the days of half baked demos.
My searches of Myspace, LastFM and the various usnigned podcasts I listen to have also produced heaps of good stuff. I'll have to do some shortlisting in my tent this weekend. :-)
Anyhow, hope all is well with you.
Yesterday I wrote about some of the behind the scenes technical & logistical aspects which goes into our setup at the DNC. Today I thought I'd share a bit more of what happens behind the scenes.
I'm really the advance man on these convention remotes. I was at Pepsi Center in June to get a preview of the venue and what the organizers had in mind for us. From there I put together and tested our equipment shipped it from L.A. Next I got up at 4am Friday morning 8/22 for a 6:30am flight from LAX to Denver, rented a car and got to the site about noon Denver time.
This is a video and first look of our location and workspace in the parking lot at the Pepsi Center Friday.
Tonight I visited my friends from WBUR radio who are in a separate Pavilion (aka tent) who happen to be near one of the entrances. This next clip shows a building you may have seen in the media already and probably 1000 delegates or more hopelessly delayed as they wait for the secret service security screeners to check everyone out quite thoroughly. Think of TSA screens with lots of guns and little humor, aka the secret service.
This video was shot from inside the security parameter and is not exactly a friendly scenario as all these delegates are waiting to get through about 7pm Tuesday night. That's it for now I hope to share with you some more of our view of the convention, in the outside.
My name is Steve Herbert and I’m the Chief Engineer for KCRW. One of the many roles I fulfill for the station besides technical support is that of logistical support. As such, this election year marks the fourth presidential political cycle for which I’ve been sent to by the station in bringing you our programming.
This time we are broadcasting “To The Point” (TTP), live from “workspace” provided by the political parties at both venues at the host cities of Denver and St. Paul. In Denver, our workspace is located in one of four, 40,000 square foot tents set up in the parking lot of the Pepsi Center, the indoor stadium home to the Denver Nuggets here.
If you are reading this, you’ll recognize that while To The Point from a technical stand point is a fairly straight forward topical interview program, the show itself draws on a vast and varied database containing contacts of 10’s of thousands of people who can speak intelligently on nearly any subject which is in the news of the day. As such, the guests are invited to the program.
I mention all this because in a typical radio setup at these conventions, there is something called “Talk Show Row”, which consists of rows and rows of tables, clustered together so someone with a point of view and credentials to get past the perimeter security of the venue can effectively appear on dozens of talk shows and radio programs as they work their way down the lines of tables, with radio stations with their link up back to their studios & host sitting at a 3’wide portion of the table, side by side with the next station or organization.
Because of the nature of To The Point, we do not have our setup on Talk Show Row or a similar ghetto found inside the convention center (or in this case Pepsi Center) called Radio Row where the radio guys can be found under stairwells and crevices along the rings of the arenas. NPR & American Public Media (two separate organizations) are found in such a crevice behind an awkward segment on the second floor ring of Pepsi.
TTP by contrast typically is housed among the print journalists in workspace a bit removed from the circus atmosphere which engulfs these rows. In Denver we have 10’ x 15’ piece of real estate backing space occupied by the New York Times and the Boston Globe in our “Media Pavilion”, aka tent.
While we are furnished the floor space free of charge, EVERYTHING contained in that space we pay for at trade show rental pricing. Those who have exhibited at a trade show can relate to what I’m about to describe. Everything is rented. The tables, chairs, partitions for sound isolation around the parameter, phone lines, internet connection, carpet, electricity…EVERYTHING which makes up the temporary broadcast facility is rented from one of two large trade show “exhibition” companies.
Most of the equipment we utilize is owned by the station and used for these remotes and the likes of Morning Becomes Eclectic when on the road. But unlike MBE, we are dealing with the very quickly shifting sands of politics and time blowing around, attempting to make sense of it and present it to you, the listener.
Fortunately my role is not to produce the content you listen to, but rather plan, create, assemble, order, design, ship, wire, and support everything needed by the producers, technical director and of course Warren to broadcast this from the space. There are only five of us in total for each political convention. This means in addition to the above, I get to be a go-fer, meet with guest who are live from the space instructing them on what to expect when they get in front of Warren, how to use the microphone, headphone controls and to remember it’s live radio. I deal with issues as they arise. At one minute I may have to create a routing path which lets Warren and the technical director hear the producers at the studios through their headphones without being resending it back to the studios as part of the program. Another minute I may be meeting a guest and explaining what is about to happen with them. The next minute I may be correcting a paper jam, fetching a pen, headphones or anything else needed at that moment. This is not a job a vocational counselor ever will tell you are suited for, and yet it’s something that most people never have an opportunity to experience. Those producing a program are very demanding and for good reason as they have to have it, and have it now!
In future entries I hope to share some of the encounters we have behind the scene with the delegates, media operatives, action groups, support staffs and volunteers, cops, fire fighters, food vendors and other folks who make up a major political convention like this and some of the contrasts you’ll run into.
Here’s a small bit of irony to start. Pepsi and Pepsi products are the only beverage sold at the Pepsi Center, but our media Pavilions (tents) are furnished with Coke machines.
Going through blogs today and I've come accross three (so far) that have blatantly created other blogs to comment on their own tracks. Seriously, is there a need?
When you get 5 profiles, created the same day, all of which without a picture, and no content, and each comment they leave is something along the lines of "This is amazing!!! I'm sure you'll get signed up in no time" etc etc it's fairly obvious.
If you really want comments on your tracks, ask other people. You'll often find encouragement from other artists if you look!
Hope all is good with you
IB