Well, it’s hard to believe CMJ has come and gone.  Mike wrote an awesome recap about some of the artist showcases we saw, but I thought I’d give some other highlights about the conference.

I spent my days with Aliki at the tradeshow and, as always, I loved meeting our members face to face. If there’s one thing I can say, is that Sonicbids has some of the craziest, hilarious and most talented artists in the world!  We took some great photos, videos (more on that below), and even found some time at the end to pal around with our friends like Paul Bodlovich, the Executive Director of WAMi – that’s him and me underneath the box he put on my head!

Mike spent a lot of time at the Artist Lounge at the Bowery, meeting and talking with more members.  Over there, he was also giving away free D’Addario strings – a must have when you’re touring and rocking a bit too hard on that guitar. (more…)

Tuesday @ Crash Mansion/BLVD
Sydney Wayser was someone I had been meaning to see for a few months, and her set at Crash Mansion was really enjoyable. Backed by a guitarist, drummer, and standup bassist/toy pianist, the quartet clearly has musical chops but show considerable restraint. They understand how less-is-more works; “Banjo Bayou” has a Spoon-like swagger and climaxes without a desire to build a loud crescendo. It just doesn’t need to.

Later in the evening, I heard the opening notes of “And the Hazy Sea” upstairs at BLVD, and was in for a set of several songs by Cymbals Eat Guitars. I saw their show in Boston earlier this summer, and now believe Joseph D’Agostino has some of the best vocals in rock and roll these days. Like Malkmus he can be hushed and quiet one second, only to explode into a scream that never runs away from him, never cracks unless he wants it to. The quartet played several shows during CMJ’s duration; this was not going to be their best attended (maybe 25 people there?), but it did not seem not affect the members. (more…)

Here’s one artist’s experience using Sonicbids and thoughts on his musical successes. Adam Payne has been a member of Sonicbids since July 21, 2004 and has booked over 200 gigs using Sonicbids to date.

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To say that Sonicbids has been a huge help to my musical career would certainly be an understatement.  I will dust off Bette Midler’s well-known words and say that Sonicbids has been the wind beneath my wings!  For real.

I’ve booked over 200 gigs with this company, not to mention the countless gigs I obtained using Sonicbids connections.  Also, I’ve built lasting, beneficial relationships with fellow Sonicbids artists, booking agents, and others in the music industry.  The Sonicbids staff do an exceptional job of not only helping you with an issue or concern, but more importantly, they truly make you feel appreciated as a member.

Just like anything else, though, Sonicbids is what you make of it.  If you put in the time and effort to understand how to best navigate the site while ‘putting your best brand forward,’ you’ll see a return.  As an artist, I find comfort in knowing that the opportunites to which I submit have met or exceeded specific standards of quality, which saves me a whole lot of time, effort and energy messing with cold-calls and the like.  Plus, you get a sharp electronic press kit, which is extremely useful in so many ways!

I feel like I have learned a large portion of what I know about this music industry through being a Sonicbids member.  The information and tips for success made available to members are a great resource, and have helped me to avoid some serious pitfalls over the years.  Wow, this probably sounds like an informercial script!  Truth is, I don’t feel as if I am exaggerating at all.  Sonicbids is much more than a place for artists to get gigs; It can be your mentor, manager and booking agent all at the same time.  For independent cats like myself, it can be the momentum that keeps your musical going.

-Adam Payne

Adam Payne’s EPK: www.sonicbids.com/AdamPayne
Adam Payne – Official Website: www.AdamPayne.biz

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For more success stories on Sonicbids, visit www.sonicbids.com/success.

Hey all,

Thought it’d be cool to share that the Sonicbids SXSW Tweetup was a HUGE success and we had a ton of fun!  Thanks to all that came down to our office and spent their evening with us. An extra special thanks to Scott McNearney and Brent Grulke from SXSW for flying in to meet folks and give their insights.

I personally got to meet some awesome members like Adam Payne, Neara Russell, Lauren Flaherty… I even met another Tess from the group Miss Tess! Below are a couple photos for you to check out, but I’d recommend you check out our Facebook event at http://tinyurl.com/SonicbidsTweetup to see a whole bunch of them. (By the way, feel free to tag up those photos if you’re in them or you know who are!)

Finally, it wouldn’t have been a Tweetup without Twitter, so you can check out the hashtag that we used #sonicsxsw. You can click on that to see the tweets and photos that folks who attended posted during and after.

Thanks again for all who attended. We had a blast!

Tess

PS: Panos just posted a blog that you might find interesting also about the Tweetup, “7 Tips To Get You Noticed by SXSW” Check it out!

In case you haven’t already heard about this, on Wednesday 10/28/2009 from 5:30pm through 8:30pm(-ish), we’ll be hosting our very own Tweetup here at the Sonicbids office in Boston.

As you may know, we have an open door policy for our members to drop by anytime, but this night will be extra special, since we’re bringing in a couple of friends from South By Southwest: Brent Grulke (SXSW’s Creative Director who oversees their team that reviews and selects the bands) and Scott McNearney (SXSW’s Sponsorship Manager).

This Tweetup will be a very casual get together, where you’ll get the chance to not only socialize with your fellow local peers and the Sonicbids bunch over food and drinks, but to also meet the folks from SXSW in person and pick their brain on what they look for in their showcasing bands.

So come down and join us next Wednesday; we’d love to see you!

RSVP here: http://tinyurl.com/SonicbidsTweetup

Tess and The Sonicbids Team

PS: If you can’t make it, have a listen to this phone interview we did with Brad First from SXSW’s selection committee.

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UPDATE on 10/28/09:
The Tweetup is today! The hashtag to follow and tweet to is #sonicsxsw

Also, be sure to say “hi” to our Sonicbids Twitterers:

Me (Tess) for support: http://www.twitter.com/sonicbidstess
Lou (product): http://www.twitter.com/sonicbidslou
Benjy (fresh gigs & application deadlines): http://www.twitter.com/sonicbidsbenjy

“Radio is dead.” This is a sentiment I hear constantly. And while I don’t necessarily agree with that statement (as long as radio remains a free medium of entertainment, it will never truly die), I certainly understand why people feel that way. With the rise of commercial radio formats, syndicated playlists, and voice-tracking, radio has certainly lost some of the significance and power that it used to wield, the internet and satellite having claimed that ground in recent years.

Radio has had a profound impact on my life, both as a listener and as an employee of the industry, and I have very fond memories of what radio used to be. So it was quite disheartening to hear about John “Mr. Magic” Rivas’ untimely passing 2 weeks ago (due to technical difficulties, I had to hold off on posting this until now). For those who are unaware, Mr. Magic was one of the first to bring raw, independent hip hop to the commercial airwaves back in 1983 with his groundbreaking Rap Attack show on WBLS in New York City. With a young Marley Marl on the 1’s and 2’s, Magic exposed his audience to music that may not have been heard otherwise on a weekly basis, never kowtowing to the execs that would rather have him play the commercial hits of the time. (more…)

Hello to all our dear Sonicbids friends!

Every year, October kicks-off our busy travel season during which we get the chance to hit up tons of great events and meet lots of good friends from all corners of the earth. We’re very happy to be officially kicking off our “events season” this year with an event as awesome as the CMJ Music & Film Marathon 2009 in New York City! See that picture to the left of yours truly? That’s from the Beauty Bar two CMJ’s ago. Getting pretty.

If you’re planning to attend CMJ 2009 as well, be sure to stop by the Sonicbids booth at the Tradeshow (we’re booth #7) and say “Hi”! I’ll be there along with Tess and Aliki and we’d love to chat with you in person. In addition to our sunny disposition and helpful tips and advice, we’ll also have some cool treats for people who visit, including a Marshall halfstack (MG100HFX head and MG412A cabinet), a year supply of D’Addario XL Strings (20 sets), a Planet Waves Instrument Cable Kit and the entire First Official Beatles Strap Collection by Planet Waves.

You should also check out the “Specific Business Concepts Applied For The Modern Day Music Artist” panel that our founder, Panos Panay, will be moderating on Tuesday, October 20^th at 12:30pm, in Room 905/907 at NYU’s Kimmel Center (located at 60 Washington Square S.). The panel will cover topics that will help the modern-day empowered musician like you manage the business aspects of your career.

If you’re also showcasing at CMJ, we’d love to catch your set; post your showcase info here (date/time/location)! We’ll see you at the CMJ Artist Lounge too, where we’ll be giving away even more gifts by D’Addario and our good friends at Jakprints.

Last but not least, don’t forget to follow Tess on Twitter (@SonicbidsTess), as she will be keeping you posted with the latest event news and fun stuff!

See you in New York!
Mike

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UPDATE FROM TESS:

Hello from NYC!  Thanks for all the responses and comments, everyone. We’ve been having a great time meeting you and checking out the showcases. We still have some t-shirts and Sonicbids undies to giveaway so come by to our booth (we’re #7).  We’ll post another full blog post when we get back, but I just wanted to make a quick update to say thanks!  — Tess