Thanks for the Support!

Alright folks here we are at the end of 2010 and I'd like to take some time and say thanks to my regular viewers for all the support this year, as I mentioned the other night it means a lot and I really mean that.

I'd also like to take some time and thank the musicians who have been a part of the show, it wouldn't be a show without you guys and gals.

As we look forward to 2011, there are some plans in the works. Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show will be rejoining me on the air to talk about some of the politics and bs that go on within the music industry. We have had a lot of newcomers to the show that weren't around when we did the original series of shows so we've decided that it's time again to talk about some of this stuff, as well as update everyone on some of the stuff thats gone on since. Should be fun and informative.

On that note, hope everyone had a good Christmas, and have a happy, and most importantly, safe New Years!

Rob Mazurek Walking Through The Darkside

Weenie of the Week 12-26-10 (chat included)

This weeks Weenie...

Silver Bells - Steve Martin & Paul Simon

Merry Christmas everyone.

Weenie of the Week 12-19-10

Happy Holidays!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas and Happy Holidays!

~Jack

"Can I Smile Today" By Pete Berwick (From The Album "Give It Time")

This is why I love the indie guys, it doesn't get much more honest than this.

Show Updates

Haven't done one of these in a while, guess now is as good a time as any to do a quick update.

I really enjoyed our recent chat with Pete Berwick, he's always been a great guest to have on the show. He told me later that because of lack of sleep he was worried about sounding incoherent but after listening to the interview found out that he made perfect sense.

Yeah ya did Pete, it was great talking to ya, and having you on the show, and the feedback I've gotten from the viewers, they enjoyed it as well.

So, here we are at the end of the year, as regulars to the show as well as this blog know, we kind of get into a lull this time of year because of the holidays so I won't be doing any heavy show planning between now and the end of the year. We're just going to have great music and great times in chat. Come join us, we're on blogtv every Sunday night at 9 pm (eastern US), and if I don't get an opportunity to say it beforehand....

Happy Holidays

Weenie of the Week 12-12-10

This weeks weenie.....

Pete Berwick, Live and Uncensored

I created a playlist on youtube with the entire Pete Berwick interview, give it a listen! Had a great time with Pete on the show this week, and it's a fun interview so check it out!

No Blogger Readers I Didn't Forget About You!

I will take some time and recap the Pete Berwick interview, as well as my guest hosting the Unsigned Musicians show soon!

Haven't forgotten about you guys I promise, just been another crazy ass week.

Pete Berwick on Indie Spotlight this Sunday!

I just wanted to take a moment and remind everyone that the one and only Pete Berwick will be joining us on the show this week. Pete's always been a great friend of the show and it's been way too long since we've had him on.

From his website...

Berwick's journey began in Illinois in the mid seventies, hammering out irreverant country, roots rock and reckless honky tonk rave ups night after night to anyone in the midwest who cared to listen. Then after after almost fifteen years of non stop performing he headed to Nashville with a fistful of songs and the clothes on his back. By the time Berwick arrived in the music city, Steve Earle was on his way to jail and Jason & the Scorchers had broken up. Signed by an up and coming independent record label in the heart of music row, Berwick was heralded by many in town as the one to run with the cowpunk gauntlet left at the roadside. After years of belting it out in biker bars and nowhere dives, Pete now found himself opening shows for Charlie Daniels, Doug Kershaw, and other musical legends. He was invited to make cameo appearances in music videos by The Kentucky Headhunters and Travis Tritt, and also appeared on a commercial for Monday night Football. But as fast as luck goes up in Nashville, it comes down even faster. The promising record deal went bust, but not before the recording of the critically acclaimed "Ain't No Train Outta Nashville." Recorded in Waylon Jennings old studio, The album was shelved in 1991 due to contractual disputes and economic hardships. Disgusted with the politics of the music industry, Pete bought several acres of land fourty miles east of Nashville and resigned to shooting his guns, writing some of the songs that would become his third album "Just Another Day In Hell" and working at the local factory.

Berwick later moved back to his hometown in northern Illinois, and free from the publishing and other legal disputes tying up the album, he released "Ain't No Train Outta Nashville" on his own label in 2007. From there it shot to #5 on Cross Country Satellite Radio and #20 on The Roots Music Report Charts, and the title song appeared in Paramount Pictures "The Thing Called Love" starring River Phoenix. Prior to releasing "Ain't No Train Outta Nashville" Berwick recorded and released also on his own label "Only Bleeding" with Brian Wilson bassist Bob Lizic, and as the critical acclaim started pouring in, he hit the road once more in support of both albums.

After thirty years of belting out his sweat soaked ballads and rockers in bars and clubs, and thousands of shows and two albums later he delivered his third recording, "Just another Day In Hell", co-produced with Jason Botka and Mike Kozitka at Skye Bleu Studios In Villa Park, Illinois. An eighteen song epic of non fictional tales which colorfully and often brutally describes the trials and hardships left behind on the long hard trail, "Just Another Day In Hell" is Pete Berwick's biography and heart and soul worn on his tattered sleeve. From shattered relationships, broken dreams and drug abuse, to prison walls and battles with angels and demons, this is as real as it gets. Pete's rough and ready vocals spit out stark tales of heartache, pain and redemption, and just like life, the endings aren't always pretty.

Now in 2010 Berwick delivers his fourth album, "Give It Time." An in-your-face- assualt of blistering biker rock, hopeless romantic ballads and heartbreak anthems.

Though well below the radar throughout most of his career, Berwick's die-hard spirit and gritty songs have earned him due respect from critcs and fans weary of the cookie cutter fluff churned out by the pop and country music industry, and his albums have earned several top ten album of the year awards, and americana/roots rock artist of the year awards.

Please join us this Sunday starting at 9 pm (eastern) it's never a dull moment with Pete on the show!

Weenie of the Week 11-28-10

This Week's Weenie....

Upcoming Shows

Hey everyone, happy Saturday.

Just wanted to take a few and talk about some of the upcoming shows for December. On the 5th Pete Berwick will be making his return appearance. It's always a blast to have Pete on the show and to be honest it's been way too long. I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm also planning a end of the year recap, just a short walk down memory lane for one of the last shows of 2010 so if there are any moments (besides the night Angela and Deb showed me the pink pig, already planning it) let me know. You can leave it in the comments section below or just email me.

People have been asking me if I'm going to be doing a show on New Years eve. To be honest last years show was just a spur of the moment almost didn't happen sort of thing and I'm kinda hesitant to do one this year because there are other regularly scheduled shows on blogtv on Friday nights so it really depends partly on if I have any plans and what the other guys are doing. If I'm home and not doing anything else, and there isn't anything else going on in blogtv land, then yes.

Another idea is maybe to do it on the channel I usually use for my "test" channel. I really haven't decided yet, I'll let you guys know.

Don't forget to join us tomorrow starting at 9 pm (eastern), and have a great weekend!

Weenie of the Week 11-21-10

Weenie of the Week 11-14-10

This weeks Weenie of the Week segment. Yes I know better than to play with trolls, but its so much fun!!

Well, for a while anyway..lol

Show Recap

Well, finally made it back to the blogtv airways last Sunday, special thanks to all who came out!

We were very fortunate to be joined in the chat by our good friend Pete Berwick as we played cuts from his new album as well as other new musicians. Really had a great show and it was nice to be back.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Show notes;

Barring anything unforeseen, I expect to be able to stick to my normal schedule going forward so join us every Sunday night at 9 pm (eastern time)

While Pete was in chat I hit him up for an interview. Petes always a fun interview, you just never know what the guy is gonna say next. We gotta get the date worked out but it'll be very soon so stay tuned!

Indie Spotlight Returns to Blogtv Tomorrow Night!

Finally making my blogtv return, please join us at 9 pm (eastern) for great new music, and more!!

Hope to see you folks there!

Updates 11/8/10

Hi everyone.

I was planning my return to the airwaves last night, however something came up and instead of trying a "juggling act" I decided to extend my hiatus to 3 weeks.

So, my return to the blogtv airwaves will be this coming Sunday, November 14th. I have an action packed show with new music, a rant or two, as well as a funny weenie of the week.

Sorry I missed everyone last night, see you all real soon!

Just a Reminder

No show tonight, however I am tentatively planning my blogtv return next week.

Happy Halloween!!

Pete Berwick's new CD "Give it Time"

I usually do critiques and CD plugs during the show (with a follow up blog of course) but with the show currently on hiatus due to my work schedule I really didn't want to wait to talk about Pete's new CD so here I am at 1 in the morning after a long day. So if I babble a bit here please forgive...lol

First let me just say that when I listened to Pete's previous CD (Just Another Day in Hell) I always thought that it would be a tough act to follow. I should have known Pete would pull it off with his latest release that just came out this week. Give It Time makes no apologies with it's honesty while offering encouragement for the future and an ice cold beer along the way. While not a complete departure from Pete's "cowpunk" roots it does offer a more hard rocking punch with a bit of the Berwick sarcasm thrown in for good measure. This CD like all of Pete's music is real life, and nothing like the bubblegum crap the industry likes to try to shove down our throats. This is real music for real people, I would defiantly recommend this and I very strongly encourage anyone who would like to know what real music sounds like to go to http://www.peteberwick.net and pick up a copy.

I have to say that it's because of Pete Berwick that I can ride in the car in peace with my wife. As I've mentioned before my better half and I don't have the same taste in music and traveling together can sometimes be a trial. I like hard rocking music, with a bit of country and blues thrown in, while she likes high paced dance music, rap and too much of the RIAA's spoonfed, homogenized bullshit (sorry princess).

When the "discussion" on what to listen to while driving becomes too intense, and the radio is about to be shut off for good, all I have to do is pop in Pete Berwick.

And we go in peace. We don't agree on most music, but we are both die hard Pete Berwick fans, and given how different our musical tastes are that is saying something.



---------------------------------------------------------------------
Show notes;

As I mentioned earlier in this blog my show is currently on hiatus. My work schedule has been insane as regular viewers know happens every year about this time. While not set in stone I am planning my return sometime in November.

See ya'll around the internets!

p.s. My good friend Rob Mazurek sent me an article about some assholes from the RIAA and the major labels saying that Indie artists are "Second Class Citizens" as far as they are concerned. I haven't had time to read it yet, but when I do I'm sure I'll be posting a blog about it, and will talk about it on my next show (whenever that is). Stuff like this really pisses me off, especially after listening to "Give It Time" I think that the independents could teach the majors a thing or two about what real music is. Yeah this is really pissing me off so stay tuned!

Missing a few shows (October 2010)

Just a reminder that there won't a show tonight.

Weenie of the Week 10-17-10 part 2, the French Government

Lets give people money for something that they are gonna steal anyway! This weeks "real" Weenie of the Week, the French government...

Weenie of the Week 10-17-10 part 1, Myself as Weenie of the Week

I was the "unofficial" Weenie of the Week, part 2 coming soon!

Updates and Other Stuff

Haven't done a written blog in a while, now is a good a time as any to catch up. As regular readers of this blog and of the show know I am getting into my busy time at my job and won't have as much time to work on show stuff and will be doing pretty good at getting online to do a show at all. So if anyone out there is trying to reach me online and I don't get back to you right away it's nothing personal I'm just super extraordinary busy right now and will be until probably mid November.

I do have every intent of trying to continue the show, although already I do think I will need to scratch the October 24th and October 31st shows on account of the fact that I don't even expect to be home to conduct them. This is why I haven't been using the blogtv scheduler. Just a heads up.

Now on to better news....

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2010/10/irish-isp-wins-major-legal-victory.html

Irish ISP wins major legal victory against record labels

Interesting news from TechEYE.net:

Irish ISP wins major legal victory against record labels
No legal precedent in Irish law for disconnection

UPC, one of Ireland's largest internet service providers, has won a major legal victory against four of the world's most powerful record companies over the much-contested issue of online music piracy.

The High Court in Dublin ruled today that there was no precedent in Irish law to force ISPs to identify and disconnect people accused of illegally downloading copyrighted files, which means that despite the record companies requests, UPC will not be required to take part in the three strikes programme that had been on the table for some time now.

Warner Music, Universal Music, Sony BMG and EMI Records wanted a three strikes system that would including an informal warning at the first stage, designed to highlight the problem, a stern written warning at the second stage, threatening disconnection, and then a disconnection for seven days at the third stage. If a user continues to break the rules disconnection for a full year may follow.

Nice to see that at least in some part of the world Due Process still applies along with a dose of common sense. In my opinion disconecting internet subscribers because the RIAA says they violated copyright and piracy laws without giving the alleged user a chance to either plead their case or the record labels having to show proof beyond a reasonable doubt is wrong and unconstitutional.

Weenie of the Week for 10-10-10, Judge Isaac H. Stoltzfus

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) ― Police say a district judge from Intercourse, Pa., hid condoms inside acorns and handed them out to women in the state Capitol complex last week.

A summary charge of disorderly conduct was filed Tuesday against Isaac H. Stoltzfus, who presides over low-level cases as a district judge in Lancaster County.

The citation from Capitol Police says the 58-year-old jurist gave the acorns to unsuspecting women, who were offended when they discovered the contents.

Stoltzfus' office referred questions to defense attorney Heidi Eakin, who didn't immediately return a phone message Wednesday.

Weekly Update 10-10-10

Amp In My Casket Short Preview

Off of our good friend Rob Mazureks new CD!

"The Sadness In Your Eyes" By Pete Berwick (From The Album "Give It Time")

More RIAA (insert colorful metaphor here)

Reading this article on p2pnet this morning (thank you Ray Beckerman).

The thugs at the RIAA went after a 16 year old cheerleader.

Article here; http://www.p2pnet.net/story/44096

Whitney Harper, left, a 16-year-old cheerleader when she was attacked by the Big 4 organised music cartel’s RIAA, was the first victim in a copyright infringement suit to use the ‘innocent infringer’ defense.

She was accused by Warner Music’s Maverick Records of downloading music through Sharman Network’s Kazaa, the disgraced P2P file sharing app that’s been front and centre in the bulk of RIAA Sue ‘Em All lawsuits.

The RIAA was, and is, fronted by Holme Roberts & Owen’s Eve Burton (right).

Several years ago a federal court in Texas ordered the RIAA to either accept $200 per infringed work, or to go to trial over the innocent infringement issue, said Ray Beckerman in Recording Industry vs The People.

Then last month an amicus brief prepared by a group of professors led by Harvard’s Charles Nesson in support of Harper was submitted to the US Supreme Court, said p2pnet.

Now, says the BLT, the court’s unusual action in asking for Big Music input “is a sign of the Court’s interest in the case”.

A “recent study indicated that the Court’s request for a response significantly increases the chances the Court will ultimately grant review — which could turn into a major contest for the music industry”, says the story.

Definitely stay tuned.

Should be interesting, Ray makes the point at his blog recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com that "The 5th Circuit's ruling was ludicrous, and deserves to be unceremoniously reversed. The Supreme Court's request for a response from the RIAA at this juncture suggests that the high court has picked up on the 5th Circuit's flagrant mistake"

This one is worth watching. I can't help but wonder if the high court is starting to question the constitutionality of the money often awarded in these lawsuits.

Weenie of the Week for 9-26-10, Steny Hoyer

Weekly Update 9-26-10

Written blog coming whenever I feel like typing one out...lol

Weenie of the Week Idea

As promised, the Weenie of the Week video. Leave your ideas in the comments section if ya have 'em.

And join us this Sunday, and every Sunday on blogtv!

Ok, a Real Blog Now

While I sit here listening to Shovelheadkevin now is a good time as any to post a quick recap of this weeks show.

While at work on Sunday I chugged down a Red Bull, and a one liter of Mountain Dew. I was pretty hyper Sunday night...lol

I broke out the infamous pink guitar, and the whole nine yards. You can tell in this weeks videos that I was pretty wound up.

Later in the show as promised Kelly Hoyle Fuller made her return appearance and played a couple of her new songs. One of them is on her youtube channel so check it out!

I did record the usual weekly update, (see post below) as well as an idea I have for the show. I want to do a segment called "Weenie of the Week" and pick out someone, or something that fits the title, preferably related to the music industry in some way. As I mentioned during the show it's open for anyone with any ideas or whatever just submit them via the comments below. I'll post the video when I get it uploaded onto youtube.

One thing I noticed today that I thought was kinda cool. Blogtv has the recorded video for my Weenie of the Week idea featured on the front page, would be cool to see if anyone that doesn't usually come to the show has any ideas.

Weekly Update 9-19-10

This weeks video, I'll post a regular blog later.

Other Shows on Blogtv....

Just about every week during my show on blogtv I record a video, calling it the "weekly update". I've also called it the weekly ramble in the past, because sometimes that is how it ends up coming out...lol

What I decided this week for the video was to talk about some of the other shows on blogtv that I generally hang out at (see previous post) so I think it would be handy to have a blog post with the links as well.

All times posted are Eastern U.S.

Tonight, and every Wednesday night at 9 pm my good friend Deb hosts her show Unsigned Musicians featuring the music of some of the best of the best of the Indie Artists. If you like my show you'll love hers, in fact many parts of my show were modeled after hers including the slideshow and playing mp3's. I haven't seen many shows on blogtv doing this sort of format.

A great show to hang out at on Friday nights after a stressful week is Didgerods. As I've mentioned in past blogs he plays the Native American flute and didgeridoo. His show is a great place to unwind and relax, I'll be honest and say I don't always log in to the chat. There are many weeks I'd much rather sit back, relax and unwind. I gotta be flat out honest and tell ya, words can't describe what this show will do for you, your best bet is to check it out for yourself.

Every other Monday night at 9 pm (the next show is this coming Monday September 20th) my bud Shovelheadkevin hosts his show called appropriately enough "Just Another Show" on his channel on blogtv. He talks about everything from racing, politics, (or politricks as he likes to say) cooking tips, and everything in between. One thing I can say about Kev's show is that you never know whats going to happen next. It's never a dull moment and always a good time at Kevins show.

There are other great shows on blogtv that I didn't mention during the video. These are shows that I haven't have a chance to check out myself lately, but when I was a regular at these shows I have to say they were pretty awesome.

Tuesday nights at 10:15 Jody Parker hosts his show Jody's House. Great musician and a brilliant songwriter.

Thursday nights starting at around 10 (ish) Acoustic Brew with Jamie Gray

Friday nights generally after Didgerods broadcast the other Jack in our group hosts his show Fridaylive. He has a pretty awesome house party with really great music and broadcasts it live on blogtv.

There ya go, have a great week!

Weekly Update 9-12-10

This weeks video. Written blog coming soon!

Remembering 9/11 (Updated post from Last Year)

Reposting my blog from this day last year, with some tweaks and updates....


Do you remember where you were, and what you were doing at about 9 am (eastern time) on September 11, 2001?

I awoke to the news on my alarm clock radio, at the time they thought it was a horrible accident. I turned on the t.v. in time to watch the second plane hit. I sat glued to the t.v. and the internet, in shock.

So much has happened since, we've gone to war in Afghanistan and routed the Taliban, we still haven't gotten Bin Laden, who even today is still public enemy #1.

We've had gotten into a quagmire in Iraq, and have returned to the battlefields of Afghanistan with mixed results.

We toppled Saddam, the new Iraqi government tried, convicted, and hung him, and while he praised the terrorists he had nothing to do with 9/11.

We did all that and still haven't gotten Bin Laden.

Conspiracy theories have been formulated about 9/11, I don't believe most of them. I don't believe that the World Trade Center was destroyed by explosives, it was destroyed by airplanes flown by terrorists. Any of the conspiracy theories I've heard about the Twin Towers being leveled by our own government have been proven wrong, and explained to me in ways that make much more sense than any conspiracy theory I've ever heard.

I love the one about us launching one of our own missiles into the Pentagon. One, eyewitnesses were on I-395 heading into D.C. and saw the plane fly over and two, yes the hole looks small, almost like a missile made it, but um, the Pentagon is very large, it covers 4 zip codes so when you take all that into consideration I call it swing and miss strike two for the conspiracy theorists.

The only one that might be even remotely plausible, is that the Air Force might have shot down Flight 93 over Pennsylvania. That might have happened. They knew the plane had been hi-jacked, had no way of knowing that the passengers fought back, and didn't know where that plane was headed. Not that this takes away from the bravery of the passengers who stood up to the terrorists, nor could it convince me of any conspiracy in regards to our government.

In the nine years since the attacks of 9/11 we've forgotten so much....

We've forgotten about the fear, and anger we felt that day. We've forgotten about the intense national pride we felt on that day. We've forgotten about the firefighters and rescue workers chanting U.S.A., U.S.A. over and over again and how in awe of their dedication we were. We've forgotten how much kinder, and how much closer we were to our fellow citizens. We've forgotten the members of Congress standing together singing God Bless America?

We've forgotten about those who lost loved ones on that day.

Today, I wonder if we've forgotten about 9/11 altogether?

The nutjob in Florida wanting to burn the Qurans to keep his 50(ish) followers happy has gotten more coverage in the media than any 9/11 tribute today.

Is it just the popular media deciding what is considered news, have we forgotten 9/11, or just chosen not to remember?

Did you talk to anyone about 9/11 today? Did you even mention it was 9/11?

Did anyone else?



Have we forgotten?

The Boot Story

A funny story.

History of the Show

well, one night I was drunk.....

(kidding)

(kinda)

Videos

Over the course of the show I do sometimes hit the record button and record a segment, usually my weekly updates, along with anything else that I talk about that I might want to share and elaborate on later, interviews and other discussions.

Over the course of the following week I then upload and post on the youtube channel that I created for the show at http://www.youtube.com/user/IndieSpotlightLive so if there are videos that you might be looking for on my blogtv page that aren't there anymore there is a good chance that they are on the youtube channel so check it out!

Random Post

I'm watching UnsignedMusicians's show on @blogTV.com, come check it out with me! http://www.blogtv.com/people/UnsignedMusicians

My Take on the YouTube BS

Last Weekends Event Recap

Posting this much much later than I usually do but I would like to take some time this evening while listening to Didgerod and post my recap of the 12 hour MusicFest that Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show and I hosted last Saturday.

First of all let me say once again how much I appreciate all the musicians that came out as well as the audience. You guys (and gals) rock!

We started off the event with the promo video and our good friend Rob Mazurek's version of the Star Spangled Banner. Deb and I kicked off the show with a little commentary and music before we brought on our first musician of the day. One of the things we touched on is that while preordering for Rob's new CD is closed, his music will be available in late October on I-Tunes. Rob's website is http://www.robmazurekmusic.com go check it out!

At 12:30 we handed it off to musician Kelly Hoyle Fuller. She's played on our regular shows over the last couple of weeks, and has become a huge fan favorite as well as part of our regular group on blogtv. She's really a phenomenal musician and a great person as well. Kelly always puts together a first class performance and last Saturday was no exception.

Kelly's link;

http://www.youtube.com/user/khjavy8

I have a couple of clips of her performance on my show recorded and it's available on my blogtv page as well.

Our next musician was Ciarán Brennan from Ireland (ronb15). When we did our last event in June we had connection issues with him and it didn't go so well. I'm happy to report that it went much much better this time, his set was totally awesome and I was really happy we were able to get him on again.

Ciarán's link;

http://www.youtube.com/user/ronb15

The next musician to play was Jesse Stutsman. He played during one of our events last year, and we thought he was awesome then. Some things only get better with time and Jesse's music is one of them. Incredible talent, awesome music. When you check out his youtube link pay special attention to the lyrics of some of his songs.

Jesse's link;

http://www.youtube.com/user/stealurface1976

After Jesse we took a bit of a break from the live music and played some of the music that Deb and I usually play during our shows. Shortly thereafter we had our good friend Jim Cook come on and share some really awesome Native American music. Jim never fails to amaze and inspire.

Jim's links;

http://jimtzu.com/
http://nativeprogress.org/
http://www.youtube.com/user/jimtzu
http://www.myspace.com/homecookinstudios

John Daly came on shortly thereafter. He kept saying he was a "little rusty" but you would never have known it. He put on a really great performance (as always) and was a huge hit with the audience. I'd forgotten about his quirky sense of humor and what fun he is to have on a show!

John's link;

http://www.youtube.com/user/johndalymusic

After John we had our first (and only) newcomer to the event. Tom Meny came on and played some of the most heartfelt music I've heard in a while. Really great guy he really put on a great set. I look forward to seeing him more at future events! Right now he's recording his first CD at Wonderland Studios in Austin, TX.

Tom's links;

http://www.youtube.com/user/bobostonepony
www.tommeny.com
www.myspace.com/tommeny
www.twitter.com/tommeny

We closed out the event with our good friend (and blogtv favorite) Didgerod. Despite the technical difficulties (which had plagued us off and on all day) he put together a masterful performance. It was a great way to close out the show, leaving refreshed and relaxed. Be sure to check out his regular show every Friday night at 9 pm (eastern) you won't be disappointed!

Didgerods links;

http://www.youtube.com/user/didgerod
http://www.blogtv.com/People/didgerod

Again my special thanks to everyone for coming out!

One of the few times I'll do this here....

I'm not usually into sharing links with major musicians (besides there are no shortage of people doing that anyway) but for the folks that know about some of things that have been going on in my personal life over the last year this song has been stuck in my head for a while now. And for the folks that didn't know along with the folks that do, well just listen to the lyrics, it's a song about how people in your life can go suddenly, and about making sure the people that are left know how you feel about them. Everything can change in a New York Minute.

Booking Musician Interviews Now!

I would love to get back to doing musician interviews so if you (or someone you know) is an independent musician, who would love the exposure, please shoot me an email. Please keep in mind that this interview would have to be done over Skype, or I would need a number to call via Skype to bring you on. If I need to call you, I have no problem footing the bill, as it only costs me something like 2 cents a minute and for a great musician interview, it's well worth it to me.

Also, anyone who was on the show for an interview over the last couple of years, is also invited back to the show, we had some awesome interviews with you guys and would love to see what you've been up to since we last talked and introduce you to our larger audience on blogtv (as opposed to the old blogtalkradio channel)

I would also like to extend a special invite to all the musicians who have come by and played at our music events, I think it would be really great for our viewers/listeners to get to know you folks better as well!

Also, I know I mention it during the show, but I don't think I've ever mentioned it in a blog, but I do have a standing invitation for musicians who have been at our events, or have played live on the show before to come on and play a set. I don't always remember to ask, invite or offer so if there is a night that you guys and gals are feeling musical just ask, I would love to bring you on and entertain us!

MusicFest Recap Coming Soon

I know I promised it during the show last night, maybe I'll try to work on it later but very soon I will have a recap of last Saturday's event with all the links for all the musicians.

My thanks to all who came out and to all the musicians for sharing your talent with us!

Reminder, Indie MusicFest this Saturday August 21st!

Just wanted to jump on here real quick and remind everyone that starting at noon tomorrow on the UnleashedAgain channel on blogtv, Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show and I will be hosting a live 12 hour music event featuring the original music of artists from all around the world, come join us!

Another 12 Hour Event This Weekend!

Join us this Saturday as Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show and I host another Indie Music Fest starting at 12 noon (eastern) over on blogtv.

As always it will be hosted on the UnleashedAgain channel. We have some really awesome Indie talent lined up and I hope you'll join us!

Again, starts at noon and goes all day!

http://www.blogtv.com/People/UnleashedAgain

Indie Spotlight Returns to Blogtv Tonight!

I've been away for the last couple of weeks dealing with some personal matters. I'll explain a bit later on during the show but I did want to let everyone know that there will be a show tonight, starting at 9 pm (eastern) and I hope to see everyone there!

The RIAA Circus, Part 2

Recently the RIAA tried to justify paying over $17M (US) in legal fees to recover $391,000 stating that it's money well spent.

Sorry, still having a hard time wrapping my brain around this one.

$17M for Legal Fees Is Money Well Spent, RIAA Says

Make sure you're sitting down, I really have to wonder how the RIAA's artists, the ones who are so frequently crying about piracy honestly feel about this.

A Recording from Last Sunday

Not sure how well this will work as an embeddable player but here is a clip from Kelly Hoyle Fuller's appearance on the show last Sunday. Really awesome musician check out her youtube if you would like to hear more!


Kelly Hoyle Fuller p1- Broadcast your self LIVE

Last Weekend's Shows

Hey everyone,

Ok time for a real blog. I ended up doing two shows last weekend. How it happened was Deb and I were doing a test show with one of the musicians that will be playing at the event on August 21st. The musician pointed out that we had put in a music playing mood so we figured what the hell.

So we did a surprise show Saturday, along with the regular show on Sunday and our musical guest both nights was Kelly Hoyle Fuller (here's her youtube link) and she is awesome. My thanks for all the folks who came out this weekend to both shows, it was a blast.

I recorded some of her playing on the Sunday show as well, you can go to my blogtv channel and check out some of her music there as well. We had a great time hanging out with her, she's a lot of fun and a really talented musician. Like I mentioned before she's also going to be at the Indie Music Fest that Deb and I are hosting on the 21st of August.

Also during the show I recorded a video where I think I've figured out why sometimes people don't get the email notifications when shows start on blogtv.


Subscription Fix - Broadcast your self LIVE

If you aren't getting your email notifications when shows you've subscribed to on blogtv you might see why in this video.

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Show notes;

Sunday's show is going well, we're on every Sunday night at 9 (eastern) and I hope ya'll join us.

Don't forget we'll be hosting another 12 hour music event on the UnleashedAgain channel on blogtv on August 21st starting at noon (eastern). We have a great line up of musicians coming on to play and hope you join us.

Weekly Update 7-25-10

Real blog coming soon!

Just a Follow Up....

First I decided to remove the blogtalkradio player from the page. I don't broadcast over there anymore anyway. If you want to hear the music or check out any of those shows you can go to my homepage over there at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/riskybusiness04 and check them out. We had alot of great times over there.

Second, yes, unless something unforeseen happens I will be doing a show Sunday night. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to previously but yeah I'll be there. We'll be talking about some of the fall out from ASCAP's letter to their musicians about Creative Commons. Alot of those folks are pissed...lol

See ya at the show!

Weekly Update

First I addressed some of the things that took place during and after the previous show. I could type it all out here but I'm a lazy little bitch so here's the video...lol



Fucking haters....lol

Anyway hop on to the youtube channel for the show and check out some of the other videos I recorded last Sunday.

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Show notes;

May or may not be a show this Sunday. Haven't scheduled one and haven't decided. I think I might take a week off.

Deb and I are putting together another event. Starts at 12 noon August 21st on the UnleashedAgain channel. If you are a musician who has gotten an invite please get in touch with us, the time slots are filling up REALLY FAST.

Thats it for now have a great weekend!

Show Recap, and Other Stuff

Quick go read this http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2010/07/ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-riaa-paid-its-lawyers.html

Ok back? Alright lets take a second and talk about last Sunday's show. We had Jude from childseeknetwork.com on the show to talk about the Kyron Horman case. Some of the things we talked about were some of the "side" drama that is taking place as we took comments and questions from the chat. It was an interesting and somewhat controversial show but I'm glad that we were able to continue to put the word out about Kyron. As we mentioned during the show you can call the Tip Line if you have any information and if you think you might have seen Kyron call your local police or 911.

The second thing that I wanted to mention is that on at Danny's Blues Saloon. July 25th from 1PM til 1:30 AM (I'm assuming it's in OKC) they will be doing a tribute to our friend JD Steagall. If you're in the area I'd highly recommend checking it out.

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Show Notes;

Deb and I are planning another 12 hour music event on Saturday August 21st starting at 12 noon (eastern time). So far we have a great lineup of independent musicians playing original music and it's looking like it's going to be a great show. Please join us.


And have a great week!

Reminder...

Unless Kyron Horman is found (and that would be some freaking awesome news) my friend Jude who runs the childseeknetwork site and the Missing Kyron Horman Facebook page will be on the show to talk about the case.

We'll also be featuring some great music by independent musicians so be sure and pop in tonight! Show starts at 9 pm (EDT) and I hope to see ya there!

Show Notes and Updates

Last Sunday Deb from Unsigned Musicians and our good friend Rob Mazurek (known on blogtv as the Dasperminator) had a very interesting round table discussion about ASCAP's letter to their musicians telling them to not license their music under Creative Commons because that lets people steal it.

As we pointed out during the show nothing could be further from the truth. If anything CC provides the musicians a way to license their music without having to either go all out and put it in the public domain, or have to direct license the music. They do not lose their rights under copyright. CC protects them because depending on which CC license they use there are at least some rights reserved.

Good show, I've been uploading a couple of clips a day onto the IndieSpotlightLive youtube channel, and the show in it's entirety is still available on my blogtv page and will be so until tomorrow evening.


------------------------------------------------------------
Updates;

Unless Kyron Horman is found (and that would be some freaking awesome news) my friend Jude who runs the childseeknetwork site and the Missing Kyron Horman Facebook page will be on the show to talk about the case. I do believe we'll have another guest who is working on this case with her as well but as of yet they are unconfirmed.

Deb and I are putting together another music event, this one will be a 12 hour all original, all indie show hosted over on the UnleashedAgain channel on blogtv starting at 12 noon eastern time on August 21st.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Friday!

Real blog post coming soon.

ASCAP Declares War on Creative Commons

I knew it might happen one day.

Check out this article;

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/89494/ascap-declares-war-on-free-culture/

We will be discussing this on Sunday's show. I will be joined by Deb from Unsigned Musicians as well as our good friend Rob Mazurek.

Join us this Sunday starting at 9 pm (eastern) on blogtv.

And if I don't see ya happy 4th of July!

Eminem Rant

JD Steagall Tribute

A segment I recorded last night.

RIP JD, we'll miss ya brotha.

Remembering JD Steagall

We got some bad news last Wednesday. Our good friend JD Steagall from Buster Chopz/ JD and the Cherokee Boys has passed away.

This Sunday we'll be taking a trip down memory lane and replaying some of the great moments we've had on the show with JD. He was a really great guy, and a musical genius. I'm sitting here working on some of the clips for Sunday's show and I can't believe that he's gone, the guy was so full of life. He was always a great guest and had a huge love for music.

Please join us as we play tribute to our friend JD Steagall. Show starts this Sunday at 9 pm (eastern).

Indie MusicFest 2010 Recap

Hey everyone, usually I would do this over the course of the show the day after an event but I didn't do a show this week, was too ragged out from the event and it's easier for reference when I blog about it because I can just drop the videos and links here for you guys and you can grab 'em at your convenience.

First and foremost I would like to thank the musicians that came out to play and support the event, it would never have happened without you. All of you were amazing and it was an honor to get to know you, and host you. Thanks again!!

I'd also like to thank all the folks that came out to the event, thanks for the support and all the positive feedback. You guys rock too!!

And of course I'd like to thank Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show for putting it all together and hosting this event with me. If it weren't for you it wouldn't have happened. I'd have to say that all of the talented musicians that came to play were people that she had found and contacted to come and play for this event. She did all the organizing work for this event, I just had the honor of hosting it.

As promised here is a quick rundown of the musicians that played, and their links.

We started off the show with Lisa Ltan. Was an awesome way to kick off the show, she is a tough act to follow but none of the musicians disappointed either. You really couldn't tell she was nervous (although she said she was) but she handled it very well. Phenomenal musician check out her links below!

Here are her links;

http://www.youtube.com/user/minxafied
http://www.myspace.com/ltantunes

Lisa was followed by JR Reming. Incredible blues player, awesome guest, I think folks were totally blown away. I think it was interesting that our friend DarwinTomorrow was in the chat (awesome blues player in his own right, see earlier blog post) and was blown away. I love it when the musicians come together like that, Darwin's been posting links to his music on Facebook which I think is a huge compliment to JR!

JR's links;
http://www.youtube.com/user/StillJreming
http://ampeatermusic.com/aem020

After JR's set we had a brief call in from our good friend Pete Berwick who has always been a huge supporter of Deb's show and mine as well. He's working on a new album and is looking at a late summer/early fall release. I can't wait!

Pete's links;
http://www.youtube.com/user/peteberwick
www.peteberwick.net

Our next musical guest was RonB from Ireland. This guy is wicked talented, I wish he could have played longer but unfortunately his internet connection just wasn't cooperating. It was nice having him while we did though, like I said this guy is really good.

RonB's link
http://www.youtube.com/user/ronb15

RonB was followed by John Daly. John is another awesome musician, and you had to love his sense of humor! Really great guy, he played one of the longest sets during the event. You can tell when a chat room is really into the music, they get really quiet, kinda like they did when John was playing.

John Daly's link;
http://www.youtube.com/user/johndalymusic

After John's set Deb and I came on for a little bit to talk about our good friend JD Steagall from Buster Chopz/JD Steagall and the Cherokee boys. He's in the hospital and not doing very well at all so Deb and I did an impromptu tribute to him, and his music. He's another really great guy, and a musical genius. Take some time and drop by his myspace, please.

http://www.myspace.com/cherokeeboysbluesband

JB Dazen came on shortly thereafter and really wowed the crowd. I thought it was awesome that a good number of his youtube fans came by to check him out and lend their support. It's amazing how he took regular household objects, and turned them into music. Missed the set? No worries, much of the same is also on his youtube channel.

JB's link;
http://www.youtube.com/user/jbdazen

Byron Gore came on after JB, another awesome musician, in fact he's been on with us before and is a blogtv favorite. His screename is FX69 and he never fails to entertain and amaze.

Byron Gore's links;
http://www.youtube.com/effects69
http://www.blogtv.com/People/FX69

The next musical guest was Deb's dream come true. She's been trying to get the lead singer from Slowburn/Tequila Sunrise on her show for like, forever. Joakim was incredible! All the way from Sweden, it had to be the middle of the night for him, and he put together a really good set. He had it nailed, he almost sounds like he should be out of south Texas instead of south Sweden.

Slowburns/Tequila Sunrise's links;
http://www.myspace.com/slowburnswe
http://www.reverbnation.com/page_object/page_object_bio/artist_283372
http://www.myspace.com/tequilasunriseblues

Another fan favorite came on shortly after Joakim's set. Didgerod as always was awesome. He also does a regular show on blogtv, every Friday night. Listening to his music is always a great way to sit back, relax and unwind. Rod is fun to watch, you can tell he really enjoys playing the flute and didgeridoo just by the smile on his face. The fact that he enjoys it that much is also shown in his music, check hout his show, he's on every Friday night at 9 (eastern).

Didgerod's links;
http://www.blogtv.com/People/didgerod
http://www.youtube.com/user/didgerod

We closed out the show with Jim Cook. He was on our last event and he was awesome. He was just as awesome this time as well. I'll be honest and say that Didgerod is a tough act to follow especially by another native American flute player. Only Jim could pull it off and he did a fantastic job. He said at the end of his set that it was mostly improvised. If he hadn't have said that we wouldn't have known it.

Jim Cook's links;
http://jimtzu.com/
http://nativeprogress.org/
http://www.youtube.com/user/jimtzu
http://www.myspace.com/homecookinstudios

I can't not talk about the musicians and not talk about my good friend Rob Mazurek. He recorded a video for us for the event that was totally awesome. He is currently working on a CD, due for release sometime in late August. He posted the video we played on his youtube channel after we played it so if you missed it check out his youtube channel.

Rob Mazurek's links;
http://www.robmazurekmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/rmazurek
http://www.youtube.com/user/DaSperminatorRob

We had a really great time hosting this event. This was different from our other events because this wasn't about rallying behind a cause we really wanted this to be about the music and we also wanted to bring some new talent out. If I had to toot my own (and Deb's as well) horn I'd have to say that it was a huge success.

Again a special thanks to everyone!

Taking Tonight Off...

Had a great time hosting the 12 hour music event and will post links in my next blog.

My thanks to all the musicians and everyone that came out!

As the title says I'm taking tonight off, and will return to blogtv next Sunday June 20th at 9 (eastern)!

Clip from Last Sunday's Show

Deb and I talking about Indie MusicFest 2010. Come by this Saturday starting at noon!

http://www.blogtv.com/People/UnleashedAgain

Reminder, Indie MusicFest 2010 this Saturday June 12th

Check out the video below. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Indie MusicFest 2010 this Saturday June 12th

Hey everyone.

As I've mentioned in previous blogs Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show and I will be hosting another event this coming Saturday. This time instead of rallying behind a cause we'll be focusing on just the music.

The idea of this event is that it will be an extension of our shows, which is to find some awesome musicians, and give them some exposure. To that end we have invited musicians that generally haven't been a part of our previous events with a few encore performances from past guests thrown in. Right now the way it is shaping up it's going to be totally awesome.

Join us this Saturday June 12th starting at noon (eastern US time) for 12 hours of music and fun. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Here is the page the event will be broadcasted on...

http://www.blogtv.com/People/UnleashedAgain


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Show notes;

My show will be at it's regular time tomorrow, although we might get a late start.

Why Guest Chat Stays Off During the Show

Sometime in the last month or so I made the decision to turn off guest chat for the show. The reason why is simply because I hate having to deal with (and kick or have someone else with operator privileges kick) haters, wierdos, stalkers, drama queens, link droppers (also known as the hit and run), people that I've banned from the show trying to sneak back in and trolls out of my chat every week. It had gotten really bad so I said screw it, if someone wants to chat it only takes a minute to make an account and be a registered user. Blogtv really isn't that hard to sign up and it's totally free.

Besides there are other benefits to being a registered user on blogtv. One of them is that if we know ya, we can also grant you operator privileges. Another one is the ability to subscribe to shows you like (such as mine) so that you'll get an email reminder when a particular show starts.

The way I see it, there is no real reason why anyone would need to chat as a guest when creating an account is really so easy. So unless I know for sure who someone is that is logged as a guest the guest chat feature at my show generally stays off.

I have to say it's been real nice the last couple of weeks not having to deal with any bullshit. Sorry, just being honest.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Show notes;

Deb from Unsigned Musicians and I are putting together another event, this one will kick off at noon (eastern US time) on June 12th. Going to be tons of great new music from awesome musicians and we really hope to see ya there!

Sunday's show is also going well. We air every Sunday night at 9 pm (eastern) on blogtv. Stop by and check it out sometime!

Weekly Update, and Some Other Stuff

Hey everyone.

Late blog post I know, what I think I'll do first is recap last Sundays show, then I'll go into some other stuff.

We had our first taste of live music in a long while last week, DarwinTomorrow came onto the broadcast and played for a while. He did a show on blogtv for a while, we met him back during one of the Free the Weed 24 hour events last summer, and man-o-man is this guy good. He plays some of the best slide blues I have ever heard, right now I'm kinda kicking myself for not recording at least a portion of the show when he was on. I'm sure he'll be back on the show, I'll have to remember to nag him JUST A BIT to bring him on.

If you missed it, he does have a youtube, here's a video, you'll have to mute the blogtalkradio player to listen to it. Check it out, you'll love it



Next item, Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show and I are planning another event, this one will simply be about the music, we won't be promoting a cause this time out. It'll be called, appropriately enough "MusicFest 2010". We decided that it was time to have an event and just focus on the music. Another one of our goals is to bring musicians to this event that at least our regular crowd might not have seen or heard. In the past we've had musicians that we, as well as the regular crowd knew (and loved) be a part of these events, and these folks did a great job bringing people in and helping out. We've really had alot of fun, as well as some awesome music at the previous events, and there are a few that we are going to ask for an encore performance but what we're really trying to do is bring some of the lesser known musicians of blogtv, as well as some folks on youtube that we've gotten to know over the last year, a musician that Deb and I interviewed on the old blogtalkradio show,(stop by Sunday if ya would like to know who) basically some new faces that we haven't had at the previous events. We already know this one is going to be awesome, and it kicks off at 12 noon (eastern US time)on June 12th and we hope you'll join us.

That is it for now, join me this Sunday at 9 pm (eastern time) and I look forward to seeing ya!

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend everyone!!

The "Mister Driveby" story

Funny story Deb told on our old blogtalkradio show during our interview with Rob Mazurek. You'll need to mute the blogtalkradio player on this page.

Lisa Walks in IndieSpotlightLive Guitar Hero Series

Don't forget the one year anniversary show tomorrow night starting at 9 p.m. (eastern)!

One Year Anniversary Show this Sunday!

Damn, I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks??!??!??

Somebody remind me when I forget to do this please!

Maybe someone should punish me for it, make me type "I will remember to do my blog this week" one hundred times in the chat or something.

Anyways, that's not what this weeks blog is about....

This coming Sunday, we will be celebrating our one year anniversary broadcasting on blogtv. It's been a wild ride to say the least. In a year we've done a show just about every Sunday, some surprise Saturday shows in between, Deb and I have collaborated on 3 music events (two of which lasted 24 hours) interviewed numerous guests and have had a ball doing it.

Join us this Sunday as we relive some of these great moments over the past year. Show starts at 9 p.m. (eastern) and I look forward to seeing ya there!

"Sometimes" By Pete Berwick (From The Album "Just Another Day In Hell")

I see Pete just posted this on Youtube, take a sec and check it out (you might need to mute the blogtalkradio player)

Fonda Feingold on Indie Spotlight this Sunday

A phenomenal musician will be joining us this Sunday. The music of Fonda Feingold is awesome, and that is only half the story.

We will be talking with someone who fought the music industry and won.

As with many other musicians who sign to a major label believing the big promises and expecting big things, she had signed on the dotted line only to have her album shelved.


After a long battle she finally went indie and produced the awesome "Before and After".

Check out her website http://www.fondafeingold.com and check her out!

Joining also this Sunday as co-host will be Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show. The show starts at 9 (eastern) this Sunday and I look forward to seeing you there!

Help Missing Children

Last Sunday we were very fortunate to have Jude from www.childseeknetwork.com on the show. As the regulars know occasionally I do like to step away from the music stuff and do a special report.

This was truly special, my guest was awesome, the folks in the chat were great, and we were able to pass out some very important information.

As I said at the beginning of the show some of the most incredible influences in music outside of love, is children.

You hear it when Jody Parker (known as dreaminglad on blogtv) plays Underground, you hear it in Big Bad Sun's Sweet Melissa, to Jim Jeffery's Sky among many others.

This is why it was so important to do this show.

I work in retail, and see so many parents have that "I turned away for a second" moment (sometimes it's WAY more than a moment) and I have to think, in the blink of an eye, their worse nightmare could come true.

What do you do when that happens? Well, that is one of the things we talked about.

Some great resources are out there, I would encourage folks to check them out. I'll post some links below. As Jude pointed out, parents don't often like to think about this, sometimes they have the "it will never happen to me" and other times they just don't like to even have the thought in their mind, thinking if I wonder about it, it will happen.

The thing is, it could happen, obviously when you least expect it so why not be prepared?

As I always say, ya never know...

Here are some awesome links, please take a moment and check them out;

http://www.childseeknetwork.com/

http://www.beyondmissing.com/

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

http://www.dna-lifeprint.com/freekit.html (helps you get a free DNA kit for your child)

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

National Center for Missing Adults

amberalert.gov

codeamber.org

team HOPE (awesome website, thanks Jill!)

The DOE network

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System

CODIS (FBI site)


And here is the playlist from start to finish from Sunday's show. It's in 20 ten minute clips. Also have to apologize for the audio, it sounded great during the show, so I'm not sure what happened.

Thanks everyone!

100th Post!

Real blog to follow in a few. I just wanted to thank everyone for all the support throughout the NewsTalk days, Indie Music Spotlight, and now with Indie Spotlight!

It's been a wild ride!!

Yesterday's Show, Next Week's Guest

Yesterday we had a late start to the show, talked about some music industry stuff and had just a mellow laid back Sunday night and my thanks for everyone that turned out.

This coming Sunday (4/12) we are going to have Judy from http://childseeknetwork.com/ on the show to talk about missing children, the website and what parents might do to prevent this unspeakable tragedy from happening to them. We're going to have a lot of great information and especially if you have kids you won't want to miss this one.

Yes.....

Unless something unforeseen happens, I will be doing a show tonight.

Riskybusiness04, Wannabe Guitar Hero

On the Unsigned Musicians show on Wednesday we had talked about the "quality programming" that often gets featured on blogtv. Things like a guy talking about what he's shoved up his ass, another show where they say "fuck" every other sentence, and wondered how it coincides with blogtv's policy of "shows that exhibit good behavior and quality content" getting featured on the front page.

I decided to make a point and have some fun with it in the process....



Enjoy!

Show Notes and Updates

Haven't done one of these in a while, guess we're overdue for an update.

Hmm, where to start?

First I have pulled the plug on my recently restarted blogtalkradio show. While BTR has fixed all the issues that had driven me away from there, the listener stats weren't there. While I might consider launching a new channel over there sometime in the future to get a fresh start with them right now that idea isn't only on the back burner, it's not even on the stove but I thought that I would mention it since I haven't as of yet totally abandoned it. The other reason I decided to scuttle the show is because to be quite honest I really don't have the time to put into planning two shows a week right now, instead having just the Sunday show on blogtv and focusing my energy on that. Things on blogtv are going really well right now (had almost one hundred hits according to my stat tracker during last Sunday's show). One thing I am going to do is keep the most recent blogtalkradio show's player here on the blog, I figure it gives you folks something nice to listen to while you read my miscellaneous ramblings over here....lol

If I decide to launch a totally new show over there I'll be sure to blog about it here. As I mentioned before, it's just an idea that I haven't completely put out of my mind.

So with all that being said, what is going on with the show, what is coming up, what kind of programming can you guys expect?

Well all I can say is that while it is still in the planning stages I do believe that my awesome friend Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show will be back on to help out with a few interviews that we might have lined up. I can't wait, those shows are always loads of fun.

Call it a teaser if you will, but stay tuned, and have a great weekend everyone!

Don't forget that we are on every Sunday night at 9 pm (eastern time) on blogtv.

Click here for a direct link to the show

Heathcare Reform

We took a break from the music stuff this week at the show, instead I streamed C-Span into the show and we watched the vote on the Healthcare bill. The discussion in the chat was lively, informative and interesting.

While I agree that the Healthcare system needs fixing the solution that was passed was, in my opinion, not the answer.

I'll sum up my feelings like this, when we heard the thunderous applause after the vote in the chamber, and again on Tuesday after Biden told Obama that "this is a big fucking deal" one quote comes to mind....

At the end of the final prequel for Star Wars, the character Queen Padme stated "this is how liberty dies, by thunderous applause".....

Just a thought. (sp?)

Time Well Spent...

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Recently I put statistic counters on both the regular blogger page (if you are reading this on myspace I do blog more frequently at http://riskybusiness04.blogspot.com/) as well as the showpage over on blogtv.

The results were quite surprising. First, lets talk about the blogtv page. When I compare the statistics between what blogtv reports as viewers, and what I see on the stat counter there is a pretty huge divide. Blogtv's numbers were actually lower, the only thing I can figure is that blogtv is only counting people who actually log into the show, whereas the "stat counter" counts all the hits whether they are logged in or not which I thought was pretty interesting. I guess blogtv wants to be able to back their stats up with viewer names, your guess would be as good as mine on this.

Then, there is the blogger page. Only a handful of hits on here, so that needs to change and I have a couple of ideas.....

The majority of the time when I post a blog, I usually copy and paste it onto Myspace. Since I'm starting to try to get away from Myspace altogether after this blog I will no longer copy it onto there, instead posting a bulletin, and a teaser onto the Myspace blog to try to bring more traffic here. Another thing would be to change some of my homepage listings for the show from the blogtv page to this one, since ultimately the goal of the blogger page is to direct traffic to the show anyway.

The other reason why I feel the blogger page is important is that most of the folks who come to the show on blogtv know who the musicians are, who has a CD coming out this year, ect. That might not always be the case with the blog readers, so I see this as a separate and equally important way to promote those guys and get the word out.

So, any ideas? Leave it in the comments section on the blogger page, and if you are reading this on Myspace head on over there, and have a great day!

Regarding Play Requests...

Happy Thursday everyone. Anyone listening to the show would know that I have a pretty diverse playlist. That being said, I can honestly say that I love the music that I play every week, it's really an honor to host this show, and bring exposure to independent musicians who in my opinion are truly phenomenal.

I often get requests from musicians to play their music on the show. Honestly speaking out of 100 requests I might get one that I might like. It's no offense to the musician of course, it's just that I am kinda picky, and there are some genres/music styles that I just don't play on the show.

So please don't take it personal if you send me a request to play your music and I don't respond or play it, I do know from personal experience that there are plenty of shows that play the music I generally don't, as there are shows that don't play the kind of music I do.

I guess it's all in how the host chooses to program their music selection so I guess if you are a musician it's the luck of the draw. Have a great day everyone!

Last Sunday's Show -- Neilson Does Kinda Lie

Hi everyone, happy Tuesday to ya. Last Sunday we talked about how Nielsen ratings don't accurately show the correct amount of musical releases. According to Tunecore Tommy Boy's assessment of 108,000 new releases isn't accurate due to the fact that last year Tunecore alone had over 90,000 new musical releases.

The numbers don't add up do they? I would think that if an indie site like Tunecore had the majority of new music last year most of us would be able to turn on the radio without cringing wouldn't we?

One can dream right?

Apparently if a CD doesn't have a UPC code that the online stores can use to track, and have registered with Nielsen, they don't count the album sale. The same goes for online sales, the same UPC code is still used to track the sale, but unless it's with a major label chances are the sale isn't counted as a sale because according the Nielsen it doesn't exist.

Another way to screw the indie artists, how many nails did it take to put this hoop together so they can try to jump through it?

During the show we did also discuss how virtually impossible it would be to truly track online sales anyway with all the outlets out there, coupled with the fact that most if not all independent musicians also direct sell their music from their own websites, at gigs, ect.

In other words there is no way "officially reported sales numbers" can be in any way even in the same realm as accurate.


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Show notes;

The Blogtv show is going strong, join us every Sunday at 9 pm Eastern time for great music, awesome folks in the chat, and an awesome time.

I decided a couple of weeks ago to pull the plug (again) on the blogtalkradio Saturday night show. They've fixed all the technical problems over there, and we had fun doing the show, the listener stats weren't there and right now I just don't have the time it takes to do show planning for 2 shows. I'm sure if I focused on it I could easily bring the listener stats back up on blogtalkradio, but I've decided to focus on the blogtv show instead. With that being said, please subscribe to my blogtv channel, I do have some surprise shows coming up.

Have a great week everyone!

Video Recap of Rocking the Silence

I really don't have time for a "real blog" but we did a recap of the event on my show last Sunday. I was fortunate to have Angela (Aemissary) as well as Deb from Unsigned Musicians join me. The videos are uploaded onto youtube, will also be embedded here.

Awesome Time Today

I just wanted to say I had a great time hosting Rock the Silence with Deb from Unsigned Musicians. We really had some awesome musicians, and we'll be recapping the event on my show tonight. Thanks again to everyone for all the support!

Another Event Coming Up This Weekend

Hi everyone. Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show and I will be hosting a 12 hour music event to raise awareness about the situation out in South Dakota (see earlier blog). Like our other events this will be hosted on the UnleashedAgain channel over on blogtv. The show starts at noon featuring some new music from some of the most incredible independent musicians, I've heard some of it the music is going to be totally awesome.

Hope you'll join us.

(handy link for the show)

Wow, I Haven't Blogged in Over a Week

Guess I need to put something here soon, happy Thursday everyone!

Show Reminder!

Don't forget that I am doing a show over on my old channel on blogtalkradio tonight starting at 11 pm (eastern time)

Join us for 2 hours of great independent music!

Also, while I'll be watching the Super Bowl tomorrow I will be playing music on my regular show on blogtv.

Video from Sunday Night's Show

Here is a video clip from Sunday night, for more details see the blog right below this one. You might need to mute the blogtalkradio player to watch the video.

Your Help is Needed Now!

Last Sunday we talked about the plight of the Native Americans in South Dakota. The region has been battered by unusually cold and inhospitable weather this winter. I was honored to have Beki (Tat2dnurse) on as a guest to talk about this, and was equally honored to have Robin from NAMAPAHH Radio in the chatroom.

These folks need our help. As we discussed on the show it is an easy and almost seductive thing to think that the Native Americans live off the land, and easily fend for themselves. Well, 100 or so years ago, they could, but the Native Americans of today are just as dependent on electricity, running water, ect as we are. Right now you have a population of 15,000 living on 2.8 million acres. To cut it down to size that works out to about 2800 acres per person. In one of the most recent storms many of them lost power. Right now as they await the repair of almost 3000 telephone poles many of them have no running water, due to the fact that it's well water, no electric, no water pump, and the water system they do have is almost 200 years old.

I had promised some links during the show, sorry it's taken me so long but I'm traveling and have access only to not so fast internet on my laptop but this couldn't wait until I got home so here it is;

http://ndnnews.info/news/2010/01/disaster-declared-on-the-cheyenne-river-sioux-indian-reservation-in-south-dakota/

http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Cheyenne-River-Tribe-Storm-Relief-Emergency-Assistance

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_95604146-0ab5-11df-88a7-001cc4c03286.html

You can donate at any Well's Fargo branch (I was not able to find out if you can donate at Wachovia which is owned by Wells Fargo, will post here if I do) and any little bit helps.

One final note, not to take anything away from the victims of the Haiti earthquake, that is also a devastating tragedy. I would like to note however that for every dollar given to help the Haitian people on average only one CENT goes to actually helping these people. Think about it on a larger scale, out of every THOUSAND dollars donated, they get ONE dollar.

It's great everyone is jumping onboard and helping the Haitian people out, they certainly need it, but so do some very proud folks closer to home.

Thank you for your support.

Show Tonight on Blogtalkradio, and other stuff

First of all just wanted to remind everyone that I am doing a show over on blogtalkradio starting at 11 pm (eastern) hope to see everyone there, just follow the link below.

Also, this Sunday on blogtv I'll be talking about our wonderful friends at the RIAA contemplating a 3rd (thats right a THIRD) trial regarding the Jammie Thomas - Rasset file sharing case (click link for story).

They just don't get it. From Ray Beckerman's Recording Industry vs. The People blog;

Reported that RIAA will ask for a 3rd trial in Capitol Records v Thomas

According to news reports, the RIAA has announced that it will elect not to accept a judgment for $54,000, but to instead go for a new trial, limited to the issue of the appropriate amount of statutory damages.

Unreal.


Indie Spotlight Sessions on blogtalkradio

Indie Spotlight Live on Blogtv

Show Updates!

First of all let me talk about our return to blogtalkradio last Saturday. Regular readers of this blog know about some of the issues that originally drove the show away. Well since there is an advantage to the show, as well as the musicians I play on the show to be heard on two different websites I thought that maybe I would give blogtalkradio another go.

Things went very well. They have fixed the technical issues as well as improved the sound over there, I was very pleasantly surprised.

So the new home for the Saturday night show is now on blogtalkradio. Show starts at 11 pm (eastern) time, stop by and hang out with us.

Right now I am continuing on with the Sunday night show on blogtv. Things overall are going well over there, but I'm having some trouble booking interviews for musicians. Mostly because on SKYPE I would need to call them, and some are understandably not so eager to give their phone number to someone they just met online for an interview.

Not that I plan on moving the show (yet) but it was always easier to book an interview on blogtalkradio only because they had a number they could call in to. For that reason as well as a couple of others I am starting to contemplate a complete move back to blogtalkradio.

So, here's my plan (don't ya love that I always have one....lol) over the next month or so I'm kinda watching and seeing how things go on blogtalk and blogtv. If I see things on blogtv going pretty much more or less the same, and blogtalkradio takes back off, I think it'll be pretty clear on what I might need to do for the good of the show.

Like I said I'm not planning on making any snap decisions, right now I'm continuing with both shows and see where things go.

Indie Spotlight Blogtalkradio page

Indie Spotlight Live on blogtv