Category: Music

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Cardboard record player

GGRP Sound resurrects the folding cardboard phonograph

Image of cardboard record player made by GGRP Sound

Sure, it’s nothing new. Folks who grew up in the 70s have probably seen something of the sort. For the younger bucks, though, this thing is absolutely fresh: a cardboard 45rpm record sleeve that can actually play vinyl. Like magic.

While audio engineering company GGRP Sound obviously can’t claim responsibility for the clever creation, their decision to resurrect it for a marketing material (they sent it to creative directors across North America) is definitely awesome. Even though you’re likely to only play it for the novelty of doing so, it could make for a meaty few minutes of absolute fun.

The Folding Cardboard Phonograph is a sleeve made from corrugated cardboard that houses a complimentary 45rpm record pressed by GGRP. More than a humble sleeve, however, it details instructions on how to use the packaging to play the included record. Once assembled, you can put the record through the attached needle and spin it using a pencil (or any pointed object) punched through a preset hole. The sound vibrations are amplified through the cardboard material.

Just like a real record player, you can spin it slower or faster to alter the resulting tune, perhaps even scratching it for a slightly modern twist. The video below should give you a clearer idea of how it can be played.

Courtesy CoolThings.com

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Letraset and Mute Records

Photo of Letraset user, 1978
Letraset user, 1978

Some products are inextricably infused with nostalgia. Letraset is one of them. Sheets of film that would be rubbed with the end of a pencil to give way to beautifully formed letters—as long as you had a steady hand and the patience of a saint.

Letraset launched its dry-transfer lettering system in 1961, and graphic designers and architects embraced it with gusto. But so did amateur bedroom publishers, where Letraset became de rigueur for music fanzines and school magazines.

Simon Garfield, author of Just My Type: A Book About Fonts and an early adopter of the technology, writes, “The range included all the standard popular fonts, but there was a sort of anarchic freedom to the wilder designs, something indelibly linked to the 1960s and ’70s, and now much used in retro branding.”

Photo of label, Mute Records first release in 1978 by The Normal, T.V.O.D. / Warm Leatherette
Mute Records first release in 1978 by The Normal, T.V.O.D. / Warm Leatherette. Image courtesy Discogs.

With their DIY philosophy, young punk rockers embraced Letraset for their gig posters and record sleeves. One interesting example is the 1978 Mute Records logo, its “walking man” plucked from a Letraset sheet of architectural symbols. Daniel Miller formed Mute Records as a vehicle to release his own single, “T.V.O.D.”/”Warm Leatherette,” under the moniker The Normal. The label, once home to Depeche Mode and Erasure, continues today—with Mr. Miller as its executive chairman—under the EMI banner.

Image of poster created by Basement Light Design, utilizing Letraset type.
Poster created by Basement Light Design, utilizing Letraset type.

Letraset history courtesy BBC News
Mute Records history courtesy Ibiza Voice

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“Most Awesome Brochure”

Cover of Austin Symphony Orchestra 2013–14 brochure designed by Scott M Deems, Basement Light Design

I’m totally stoked to announce that a brochure designed by Basement Light Design for the Austin Symphony‘s 2013–14 season has been awarded the honor of “Most Awesome Brochure” for 2013 by the League of American Orchestras. I am proud of the work that ASO Marketing Director Jason Nicholson and I continue to produce over the past five years. I urge every Austinite to support this wonderful musical institution as often as possible!

Brochure design by Scott M Deems, Basement Light Design; principal photography by Kenny Trice

 —Scott

The following story is reposted via Trevor O’Donnell, who regularly blogs about marketing the arts

I’ve written before about the great work Jason Nicholson from the Austin Symphony is doing. Today I’m delighted to let you know that his 2013/14 season brochure has been recognized by peers at the League of American Orchestras as the “Most Awesome Brochure” in his category.

You can see the complete brochure here.

Early reports suggest that the brochure is pulling ahead of last year’s, but we’re waiting for overall results. What we insiders like and what works aren’t always the same thing, of course, so we’ll have to hold off on making judgements until the numbers are in. (Surprising as it may seem to some veteran arts pros, sales results are the only reliable indicators of an orchestra brochure’s quality.)

From a strategic perspective, however, I can identify several elements of this brochure that make it worthy of its awesome designation:

  1. It’s based on research into audience motivations. Jason learned from audience members on the outer fringes of his support system that the experience of enjoying a night out was as important as the content of that night out, so he created a brochure that focused on the customers’ experience.
  2. It’s as much about the customer as it is about the product. Commercial marketers know that one of the best ways to sell a product is to show happy people who represent their target demographic actually enjoying the product. This does that beautifully. (Larger orchestras that use their promotional real estate to talk exclusively about how wonderful and important they are could learn a thing or two from this.)
  3. It tells a story. Rather than simply presenting sequential product information, this brochure tells a compelling emotional story about a couple’s night at the symphony. It uses narrative to draw consumers in and help them identify more personally with the product. That last shot of the happy couple walking hand-in-hand up the aisle under the words “Subscriber Information” is priceless.
  4. It breaks the fourth wall. I could write a lengthy treatise about the rhetorical impact of that shot of the patrons and musicians in the same hallway.
  5. It meets the audience where they live. Arts institutions often maintain a philosophical belief that audiences should aspire to their level, which is fine and may be true, but allowing that philosophy to spill into marketing messages can be suicidal. This brochure avoids condescension by saying, “This is about you,” which is exactly what it is.

I’m a huge fan of the work the Austin Symphony Orchestra is doing and I look forward to seeing great things coming from Jason and his team in the future.

Congratulations, Jason. Can’t wait to hear how the campaign works.

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New music from The Sour Notes

Austin, Texas band The Sour NotesI first met Austin band The Sour Notes at SXSW 2011. I was hurrying across town to catch my friend and local artist Kacy Crowley at Betsy’s Bar and hoped to arrive in time for The Sour Notes’ set. Four of the members stood onstage… waiting… while the drummer was outside somewhere, stuck in traffic. It was an awkward moment for the band, but they’re nice folks, and handled the situation with aplomb and humor.

Watch the music video below of a new song, shot by Paul Avellino.

Here is some more information, with another link of the song streaming on the Red Bull Sound Select site.

The album, “Do What May,” is due out soon. Please enjoy (and be sure to use your napkin)!

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Alan Lomax’s historical recordings to go online

Alan Lomax (right) with musician Wade Ward during the Southern Journey recordings, 1959-1960.
Alan Lomax (right) with musician Wade Ward during the Southern Journey recordings, 1959-1960.

Folklorist Alan Lomax spent his career documenting folk music traditions from around the world. Now thousands of the songs and interviews he recorded are available for free online, many for the first time. It’s part of what Lomax envisioned for the collection — long before the age of the Internet.

Lomax recorded a staggering amount of folk music. He worked from the 1930s to the ’90s, and traveled from the Deep South to the mountains of West Virginia, all the way to Europe, the Caribbean and Asia. When it came time to bring all of those hours of sound into the digital era, the people in charge of the Lomax archive weren’t quite sure how to tackle the problem.

“We err on the side of doing the maximum amount possible,” says Don Fleming, executive director of the Association for Cultural Equity, the nonprofit organization Lomax founded in New York in the ’80s. Fleming and a small staff made up mostly of volunteers have digitized and posted some 17,000 sound recordings.

“For the first time, everything that we’ve digitized of Alan’s field recording trips are online, on our website,” says Fleming. “It’s every take, all the way through. False takes, interviews, music.”

“Alan would have been thrilled to death. He would’ve just been so excited,” says Anna Lomax Wood, Lomax’s daughter and president of the Association for Cultural Equity. “He would try everything. Alan was a person who looked to all the gambits you could. But the goal was always the same.”

Throughout his career, Lomax was always using the latest technology to record folk music in the field and then share it with anyone who was interested. When he started working with his father, John Lomax, in the ’30s, that meant recording on metal cylinders. Later, Alan Lomax hauled giant tape recorders powered by car batteries out to backwoods shacks and remote villages.

Lomax wrote and hosted radio and TV shows, and he spent the last 20 years of his career experimenting with computers to create something he called the Global Jukebox. He had big plans for the project. In a 1991 interview with CBS, he said, “The modern computer with all its various gadgets and wonderful electronic facilities now makes it possible to preserve and reinvigorate all the cultural richness of mankind.”

He imagined a tool that would integrate thousands of sound recordings, films, videotapes and photographs made by himself and others. He hoped the Global Jukebox would make it easy to compare music across different cultures and continents using a complex analytical system he devised — kind of like Pandora for grad students. But the basic idea was simple: Make it all available to anyone, anywhere in the world.

Lomax was forced to stop working when his health declined in the ’90s, and he left the Global Jukebox unfinished. Now that his archives are online, the organization he founded is turning its attention to that job.

The Association for Cultural Equity is housed in a rundown building near the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan. Most of Lomax’s original recordings and notes are now stored at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. But Fleming says the New York offices still exude the DIY vibe they had when Lomax was working there — right down to the collection of castoff chairs and desks, none of which seem to match.

“There was never any money in it for Alan,” says Fleming. “Alan scraped by the whole time, and left with no money. He did it out of the passion he had for it, and found ways to fund projects that were closest to his heart.”

Money is still tight. But that never stopped Alan Lomax, and it hasn’t deterred Anna Lomax Wood, either.

“He believed that all cultures should be looked at on an even playing field,” she says. “Not that they’re all alike. But they should be given the same dignity, or they had the same dignity and worth as any other.”

Almost 10 years after his death, his heirs are still trying to make his vision a reality — one recording at a time.

Courtesy NPR

Image Shirley Collins/Courtesy of Alan Lomax Archive

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SXSW 2012 Music

SXSW 2012 Music festivalIt’s time once again for Austinites to grab the handrail tightly as the city braces for yet another SXSW festival. This year’s music portion (the focus of this article) is March 13 through 18.

This writer will be reporting mainly from the downtown and east side areas, on his trusty $90 flea bike. As usual, I will be attending mostly day shows, because I am “thrifty.” Here are some of the highlights of my weekend…

Wednesday the 14th… Spiderhouse will have Bare Wires, country rockers Natural Child, FIDLAR, Austin’s own Dikes Of Holland and Rayon Beach, garage band The Allah-Las, and two more Austin bands, Alfie Rabago’s Lola-Cola, and Crooked Bangs, featuring two rockin’ dames, Leda Celeste Ginestra and Samantha Wendel. Bare Wires play again at Beerland. Trailer Space weighs in with San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees, Mean Jeans, and Natural Child… Thursday the 15th… the east side’s dirty dive the Legendary White Swan hosts a night show, featuring Jesse Malin from D Generation performing a solo set, Atlanta’s haircut band The Biters, and more great haircuts with headliners Prima Donna… Friday the 16th… totally scuzzy dive bar Trophy’s will host a day show with Barrio Tiger from L.A., with Miami guitar legend Jimmy James. Jackalope has a stellar lineup with Tommy Stinson, Jesse Malin, Austin survivor Alejandro Escovedo (The Nuns, Rank And File, True Believers), and—hang on to your hats—a reunion of Peter Case and Paul Collins (The Plimsouls, The Nerves). 29th St. Ballroom has fuzztone bands like Thee Oh Sees, Burnt Ones, Xray Eyeballs, and Kid Congo Powers‘s new band, the Pink Monkey Birds. Beerland has Denton’s Wiccans and two great Austin Bands, OBN IIIs and A Giant Dog. A new burger joint on Manor—Flat Top—will host an unspecified appearance by The Wedding Present (spoken word? music? meet ‘n’ greet?). Lustre Pearl has The Drums. The New (and awfully big) Emo’s East has a super noise fest with The Gories and Spits… Saturday the 17th… Waterloo Records continues its excellent free parking lot show tradition with a series of day shows, including appearances by Blouse, Strange Boys and Kid Congo. Trailer Space has Ty Segall pal Mikal Cronin and Austin darlings Hex Dispensers. Beerland has the wonderful local power pop band Bad Sports, fronted by the talented Orville Bateman Neeley III (also of OBN IIIs and A Giant Dog), plus Bass Drum Of Death and Flesh Lights (I’ve been singing this band’s praises to anyone who will listen—frontman Max Vandever is a dynamo). Peelander-Fest returns to The Grackle with headliners and hosts, Peelander-Z. Lots of other Japanese rock/punk bands will feature. Spiderhouse hosts Ben Tipton’s Burgermania, with Paul Collins and Peter Case and cool Atlanta power poppers Barreracudas. Wayne Kramer will play Lucy’s Fried Chicken. Rock sisters Bleached play the Red Eyed Fly patio… Sunday the 18th… Renate Winter’s excellent ‘zine Rubberneck hosts a showcase at Sidebar with Austin artists the Ugly Beats, Quin Galavis, Hex Dispensers, and Air Traffic Controllers (Matador Records’ Gerard Cosloy), Thom Tex Edwards’ Purple Stickpin (former Nervebreakers). Closing the festival with style and grace, the missus and I will enjoy a rare one together, at Congress Avenue’s beautiful camera shop, Lomography. They promise free cold ones and her fave all-acoustic rockers, princeton University’s Miracles Of Modern Science.

For the best, most complete, and up-to-date SXSW music listings, I always recommend Showlist Austin.

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SXSW 2011 festival

SXSW Music, Film, Interactive festival, March 11–20, 2011“But will they have free drinks?” That cry will be heard throughout Austin during the SXSW festival, from March 11 through 20. But of course we all have our different reasons for attending. Filmmakers, technology geeks, and live music enthusiasts alike can get their mojo on.

Wednesday through Saturday, the Austin Convention Center will house the 29th annual Flatstock poster show and the Texas Guitar Show. Flatstock has the latest in screen-printed poster designs, and promises to have a “portable” printer on-hand to show you how it’s done. Both shows are free to the public.

Interactive design firm Frog Design will host its annual SXSW kickoff party March 8. Industry peers will gather for a night of revelry and conversation.

And, oh, the music! I will be attending mostly day shows. Wednesday the 16th… Neo soul boys Fitz & The Tantrums will play a free show in the Waterloo Records parking lot. Texas’ own Bad Sports will play a day show at Trailer Space Records. Two interesting bands feature at Red River Street goth club Elysium: tough and tight garage rockers The Woggles, and Japanese punk crazies Peelander-Z. San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees will be at Spiderhouse on the drag. Draft beer emporium The Ginger Man will have three great Texas bands: Ugly Beats, Thunderchiefs, and Eve & the Exiles. On the east side, newly-opened pub The Grackle will host “Gracklefest”—four days of free shows. Do not miss Flesh Lights, an Austin trio led by that young bolt of lightning Max Vandever. Two more must-see Austin bands OBN IIIs and my soccer mate Alfonso’s band, Manikin, will be at Beerland. Thursday the 17h… Poet, survivor, lover Kacy Crowley will open for The Sour Notes at Betsy’s Bar downtown. Soul shouters Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears will dominate another free parking lot show at Waterloo, and then later at the Mohawk. I love the twee-ness that is The Carrots, and they’ll appear at the east side’s Baby Blue Studios. For $10 you can see former 13th Floor Elevators legend Roky Erickson and pals including Peter Buck from R.E.M. at Threadgills. For me a SXSW highlight will be UK band Pete And The Pirates at British pub Dog & Duck. On the same stage are The Minus Five, featuring former members of R.E.M. and The Dream Syndicate. Friday the 18th… Last year I spent some time on the beautiful grounds of the French Legation Museum. This year electroclash hell-raisers !!!, Cults, and tUnE-yArDs are my picks. The Shangri-la is a cherished east side neighborhood spot, and local boys done good The Hex Dispensers will be a good reason to stop by. Two festivals ago, I witnessed Gentlemen Jesse And His Men perform a scorching set in a record store parking lot. This time, the men will be outside at the Mohawk—not to be missed. South Congress Avenue shouldn’t be left out, and tiny outsider art gallery Yard Dog will somehow manage to find space for former X frontwoman Exene Cervenka to perform. Two excellent indie rock bands—Okkervil River, and Surfer Blood—perform at Flamingo Cantina. If you remember 1980s punk rockers ALL, their former singer is now fronting a band called Drag The River, and will be performing a few shows around town: at Hole in the Wall, Liberty, and Barbarella. Saturday the 19th… “Gracklefest” continues with Peelander-Z, 8-bit electro nerds Anamanaguchi, and my friends Cody, Zach, Nick, and Weston from Austin punk rockers Lost Controls. Rainey Street is fast becoming an alternative for dining and entertainment, and Okkervil River and Tapes ‘n Tapes will grace Lustre Pearl’s patio stage. Sunday the 20th… The last day of the festival goes out with a bang at the Side Bar. Flesh Lights, former Guided By Voices guitarist Doug Gillard, and two garage bands, Austin’s Ugly Beats and Pittsburgh’s Cynics will bring the house down.

For the most accurate, complete, and up-to-date SXSW music listings, I urge you to visit Showlist Austin.

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The Black Keys rock ’n’ roll marriage

The Black Keys drummer Pat CarneyThe Black Keys are a rock duo from Akron, Ohio, and recently won two Grammy Awards, including the best alternative music album prize for their latest album, “Brothers.” I was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, a former industrial town on the bank of the Ohio River. It’s at the southern tip of the state, bordering on Kentucky and West Virginia. I never actually lived in Ohio—my father relocated our family to Chicago, and my mother returned to her Ohio hometown to finish the final trimester of her pregnancy with me. But feel an affinity with the state. It’s not a glamorous place, and I follow with interest the careers of Ohio artists and applaud any artist able to earn a name for themselves.

I remember clearly when the Black Keys’ first album was released, 2002’s “The Big Come Up.” At the time, drummer Patrick Carney was married to his teenaged sweetheart, Denise Grollmus. Grollmus is an excellent writer, and detailed in a post for Salon her love affair and ultimate painful divorce. It’s a moving story, and humanizes her relationship with a rising rock star through reminiscences of the Black Key’s first appearance on “Conan,” and she describes a poster for a band she and Carney formed before the Black Keys.

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South Florida mourns loss of Johnny Salton, guitar legend

Johnny Salton R.I.P.On October 18, rock ‘n’ roll guitar god, Johnny Salton, joined Jimi, Janis and John Bonham in rock ‘n’ roll heaven, succumbing to cancer. Salton began his career playing bass of all things (one scribe commented that his band the Reactions had so many talented string players they could afford Salton on bass). His big break came with Charlie Pickett’s band, eventually touring the USA. Salton’s wicked slide guitar graced a number of Charlie’s albums, and in 1985 when Charlie turned off his amp to pursue a career in law, Salton formed Psycho Daisies with some of Charlie’s guys. Salton’s main inspiration came from Paisley Underground bands such as Jeffrey Lee Pierce’s Gun Club and The Dream Syndicate.

I had the honor of playing drums in Psycho Daisies behind Salton in the early-2000s, even recording a CD, “Snowflakes Falling On The International Dateline.” Neither Johnny nor Charlie are household names today, but they sure deserve to be. Luckily, we still have the albums to remember him by.

Read the obituary.