Hannah and Maggie Not The One (live in Northampton, MA)

Update and Thoughts on the New Year

Hey everyone, hope you all had a good Christmas and are enjoying the holiday season.  I thought I would take some time and put my thoughts down about what I am planning for the New Year as well as update you guys on some other stuff.

Things are still going well on blogtv although we are in our usual Holiday slump at least as far as stats are concerned.  Usually I take a break but didn't do that this year, I enjoy doing the show and the people that did come by and hang out seemed to need the music anyway.  So I just stuck to a basic music format with a few videos thrown in.  Since I didn't have anything to talk about, I didn't have anything to record and that is why there aren't any recent videos on YouTube.

My New Years resolutions for the show are as follows;

1) Record something, anything to post on YouTube every week, even if it's something stupid, those seem to be the most well loved videos anyway.

2) Relearn how to broadcast effectively in "standard" format so that I can use the co-host feature and bring back live music.  In regards to this one I would even be ok with an "open mic" format as long as the musician is playing their OWN music and not some freaking cover.  No one coming to my show wants to hear that shit anyway.  Not trying to be an asshole, I'm just being honest.  But yeah, I might just throw open the door, invite musicians to come on and play, even if I've never heard them before, and see how it goes.  I dunno, but live music has to come back FOR SURE.

3) Musician interviews, haven't done many of these since the move to blogtv.  This used to be one of my favorite features of the show.  I have several ideas on how to bring it back, none of which are set in stone but all involve using SKYPE in some way......
 a) Use standard skype to skype chat and play the conversation over the audio feed
 b) Put credit on my skype account like I did before and call the guest
 c) Create a phone number on my skype account and allow the guest to call in

I realize that B and C are basically the same, I've just learned that some people don't like to give out their phone number (gee I wonder why...lol) and the advantage that blogtalkradio always had when I did the show over there was that the musician had a handy call in number and it really made things easier.  The other advantage was that other people could call in and ask questions of the guest instead of just typing it in chat and it really made for an interactive experience.  People really love musician interviews and it was great publicity for the show so this feature has to come back as well.

4) Post more blogs.  Find something to talk about and post it.  Since I've had this blogger page, this past year I've been the least active and that has to change.  If there isn't something new to read on a regular basis, people will stop checking out this page.    

In short, my thought process isn't so much as "taking the show to a whole new level" as much as getting back to our roots and doing the things that make the show not just a good show, but a great one.  I don't plan to just move along with how I've been doing things over the last year.  While the format has worked well enough, I don't do just "ok" things. 

The show deserves to better, not only because of the musicians I play that deserve airplay, not only because of the people who have been loyal and have hung in there in chat good shows and bad, but because of what the show has done for me!

In the last very chaotic couple of years in my life, doing the show has kept me grounded, no matter what else might be going on in my life every Sunday I've had a familiar touchstone to reach out for, and I'm very grateful for that.  Being able to do Indie Spotlight Live has done alot for me and I need to give something back.

These are my New Years Resolutions for the show.  I put it in writing so I expect you folks to hold me to it.

Interesting Infographic

From Ray Beckermans blog;


Created by: www.OnlineGraduatePrograms.com

Update Blog 12-18-12

Hey everyone.

First of all I have to say that I've gotten so addicted to using the HQ broadcast on blogtv that I don't know how to broadcast in standard and have it sound good anymore.  Yes, I confess...lol

I just spent some time on my test channel trying to tweak, and relearn how to use the standard blogtv broadcast, and recorded a part of it.  Yeah, I've totally forgotten how to do this shit.  Since I'm off from work tomorrow I plan to spend some time on it.  Why do I care?  Well, it's simple, I want to bring live music back to the show and the only way I can use blogtv's cohost feature is to broadcast in standard and while I know the music mp3's and videos I play won't sound as good as when I use the HQ encoder it at least has to be heard and sound as good as it can. 

I've really gotten spoiled using the encoder, because it automatically compensates for what I like to call "redlining" when the sound starts to distort because it's turned up too loud on the broadcasters end and the "standard" method of broadcasting doesn't compensate for this.   How to get it loud, but not too loud is what I have to relearn on that format. 

On that note I'd love to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season, I'm sure we'll survive the Myan calender end of all time as well as the Zombie Apocalypse and I'm looking forward to a great 2013.

Lord knows we need it after how this year has been for many of us.  

Quick Update Blog

I think I might need to send out some emails on blogtv, from my old riskybusiness04 account.  I'm not 100% sure that the word got out that I moved the show to a new channel over there.

That being said, especially for a new channel and the format of the show (since I'm not a musician playing live) the stats have at least been comperable to when I was broadcasting on the previous channel.

For those of you that might not know (although I'm sure regular blog readers do) a couple of weeks back I moved the show to a new channel on blogtv. 

http://www.blogtv.com/people/indiespotlightlive is the new home for the show. 

Real blog coming soon....

Stop Jivin Start Drivin

Deb played this during her broadcast last night.  Great song and a great message.  BTW check out the the dudes boxers at about a minute and forty seconds in.....lol

Sweet Papa Dave Band to be featured on the Unsigned Musicians Show

This coming Wednesday starting at 9 pm (eastern) my good friend and colleague Deb will be featuring the music of the Sweet Papa Dave Band.

It's not normal for Deb to feature just one band, in fact it's really quite rare.  I can only remember a couple of times that she's done this and every time she has it's been well worth her while.

Please join us at the Unsigned Musicians show on blogtv this week, you won't regret it. 

New Blogtv Channel for the Show

As I announced on the show this past Sunday I'm moving the show to a new channel on blogtv.  Starting this coming Sunday (November 25th) I will be broadcasting the show at

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

The reason for the move is simple. 

The screen name should match the show name.

Please join us at our new home and don't forget to reset your bookmarks.  Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Important Announcement Tonight!

Important announcement about the show along with some new music, join us tonight starting at 9:15 (est) and have a great weekend!

What? No Blogs?

I haven't posted a blog in forever.  Guess I haven't had anything to say...lol

I'll get back into this guys.

I Finally Did It!

Last night (or early this morning) I finally created a group on Facebook for the show.  Feel free to become a part of it.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/IndieSpotlightLive/

Rob Mazurek Interview 8-5-12

Randy Travis Arrested, Drunk and Naked

Indie Spotlight Updates 8-7-12

Hey guys, haven't posted an update blog in a while because there really isn't anything new to update you guys on...lol

Had a great interview with Rob Mazurek the other night, while I wasn't able to capture the video I will have the audio portion of the interview posted on youtube in the next day or so.  My thanks to Rob for coming back on the show!

As far as the blogtv show goes, all is well, we've been "keeping on keeping on", although I'd love to bring back live music but in order to do that I'd need to relearn how to broadcast in "standard" (as opposed to the HQ format that I've been using) so that when I play mp3's they still sound good.  I tried this the other night, it didn't sound good at all so I think I'm going to have to try to play with that on my test channel before I try it again during the regular show. 

Justintv?  Well I haven't been back over there since I did that one show back in February.  I'd like to try to get something going over there, it's just making the time.

Have a great week everyone!

~Jack

Rob Mazurek on Indie Spotlight on 8-5-12

Yes, I lost my mind....lol

Rob Mazurek on Indie Spotlight this Sunday! (8-5-12)

Rob Mazurek Returns to Indie Spotlight

Hey everyone, I know it's been a long while since I've posted a blog.

This coming Sunday our good friend Rob Mazurek will be making his Indie Spotlight return.  We'll be talking about the new CD that just came out (Lock and Load which is available on I-Tunes) as well as talking about a little of his background, since many people on blogtv weren't around when we did the first ever interview.

I'm really looking forward to having Rob back on the show, be sure to drop in this Sunday!

United Airlines Employees Abuse Disabled Veteran and His Service Dog

What this man and his service dog went though is to me, beyond words.

Update 5-30-12

Wow, been a long time since I've done anything on here, hope this finds everyone well. At this point I really don't have anything really to update you folks on. The blogtv show overall is still going well, missed broadcasting this last Sunday due to being away from my computer (read having a beer with my Dad) but that is really the only show that I've missed recently. I haven't been back on Justin.tv since that one show I did back in February, it's kind of a hassle because I have to do almost a seperate playlist for that one since all the music played over there has to be CC licensed. Most of what I play is, but not everything. Some people have been asking me if we are going to do an event this year. Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show and I have talked about the possibility of it but that is as far as that conversation got, we haven't even decided if we are even going to have one this year so it's a wait and see. While a labor of love they are hard to put together, especially when you consider that you are trying to fill 12 hours of programing. So we'll see, right now to be honest as far as live events go we might be sitting this year out. That is pretty much it folks, have a great rest of your week!

Horseshoe Crab Love

Updates

Hey everyone, it's been forever since I've done an update blog, or any kind of blog.

There really isn't a hell of a whole lot going on with the show right now, I had to cancel last Sunday's blogtv show because it was Easter and I had to be at work at a ridiculous time the next day (5 am with an hour drive).

I've been pre-scheduling the blogtv show when I know I'm going to be able to do it, usually it's scheduled the day before so at least the email notifications go out.

Justin.tv, well I haven't been back on there since I did that first show. I do plan future shows on there so if nothing else my regulars at blogtv can at least check out the archived show and have some music to listen to while they work on other stuff.

And I haven't put anything on YouTube in freaking forever, haven't had time.

So, thats it, there is your update, have a great weekend everyone and again, I do appreciate all the support.

Yes....

There WILL be a show this week, please drop by my channel on blogtv, this Sunday night, starting at 9 pm (eastern)!

Missed you guys last week, hope ya'll can make it by.

No Show This Week

I'll have to be at work super early (6 am after working all weekend) so there will be no show this week. I'll post on FB if I'm up to a Monday night broadcast.

Show Update

After more than my fair share of back and forth, this is where I'm going with the show.

Actually both of them.

Indie Spotlight Live on blogtv is back and is staying on Sunday nights, at 9 pm (eastern). This is the primary place for the show, anything special that I do will happen here.

The Justin.tv show is going to be an occasional show when I have time to do it. Right now I'd like to keep that one on Monday nights, but at this point it will be broadcast when I have occasion to do so. I'm not giving up on justin.tv after only one show, but even the stats on the recorded show have left something to be desired so I'm not even sure at this point if there is an interest there.

A Better Player

I edited out the first part of the show where I really didn't do anything. If the player doesn't play when you hit play, hit pause and then hit play and it will work.


Watch live video from indiespotlightlive on Justin.tv

This Week's Justin.tv show

Shows done on justin.tv archive for 7 days, the show I just did is already ready for view. If ya missed the show or are just in the mood for great original music by independent musicians check out the archive! If it doesn't play when you hit the play button, hit pause then play again (I actually had to do this myself) and the show should play afterwards.


Watch live video from indiespotlightlive on Justin.tv

Update 2-19-12

Follow Up Blog Regarding the Show

This is what I've decided I'm going to do.

I'm moving the blogtv show back to Sunday nights. If my work schedule permits, I will do a regular show there, at 9 pm (eastern).

I'll also be debuting the show on Justin.tv, on Monday nights, haven't decided the time yet, but it will likely also be at 9 pm (eastern)

The difference between the two shows are that on blogtv I can play all the musicians I currently play, so if my work schedule doesn't permit me to do a full show I can at least give equal time to all the musicians, especially the ones that I can not play on justin.tv because of the CC rules over there.

The show on justin.tv will be all CC licensed music, and will archive for 7 days so if people miss the live show for whatever reason, and want to check out the music later, they can. They can even listen to it while working on other stuff without wondering what they are missing in the chat :)

So, that is what I'm going to do, lets see how it goes.

Thank you Kevin, for your Monday night time slot, unfortunately it wasn't as good to me as it was for you. You did a great show once upon a time, and I know that I for one would take a night off from my Monday show on justin.tv to hang out with ya on blog, anytime. Just sayin......

My HQ Test Show on Justin.tv

Watch live video from indiespotlightlive on Justin.tv

Another Show Update

Hey folks, hope this finds everyone well, and I hope that at least so far everybody is having a great 2012!

As anyone who has been a regular to the show, as well as a reader to this blog knows that I recently made a move to Monday nights. I have to say that unfortunately the viewers just haven't been there on Mondays.

Since the intent of the show is to promote independent musicians, that is not going to cut it, these folks deserve better. So, today I sat down and started exploring other websites for broadcasting the show.

The first one I tried was a neat little website called TalkShoe, which is similar to our old broadcasting home blogtalkradio. Ok, let me backtrack a bit, I checked out blogtalkradio to see what the improvements were, and from what I saw, unless you become a paid subscriber ($39.99 a month) you are limited to a 30 minute show per day, and can not broadcast in "prime time" (7 to 11 pm) so I said screw that and did a Google search for sites similar to it and thats how I landed on TalkShoe.

I really and truly wanted to like TalkShoe, I really did, but, it took forever to load, kept timing out, and when I finally managed to get on to do a test show, I kept having problems with the website loading. I stopped and restarted Firefox in safe mode, that let the page load faster, but then I had a couple of issues broadcasting. What my idea was, to broadcast the show in Skype, but I couldn't find a link to call in using Skype. You had to use the dial in number, which would require Skype credit, which I currently do not have. So then I tried using their proprietary call in feature "TalkShoe Pro" and when I played it back, it didn't sound good at all. In fact I had a user show up in the chat and tell me that my best bet was to use Skype as he had a similar experience on his show. While I thought it was beyond awesome that all I was doing a test show, still had a listener show up and offer advice, the site just didn't work the way that I think it needs to for the show to regain it's past glory. I really wanted this to work, it just didn't. If I, as a host, had issues even loading the site, people looking for the show would have the same, most would give up, so as much as I wish it would, it's just not going to work. I will check back at a later date to see if there are improvements, however at this time, as much as I wish it was, TalkShoe just isn't a viable alternative.

So, I then turned my attention to the account that I had recently created on Justin.tv. After tweaking and playing around for a few hours, I have to say that this one went better, but there are some issues to me taking the show over there. The first issue is that because all the shows archive, and every broadcast on the site itself is licensed under Creative Commons, all the music I play would have to be as well. While the majority of the music I play is indeed licensed under Creative Commons (CC) there are several musicians whose music I currently give airplay to, are not, nor would I ask them to. While I do have the permission of the song writers and the musicians that do not license under CC that I am currently giving airplay to (and honestly consider these guys friends as well), I myself am not comfortable giving them airplay on a site that by default licenses everything broadcast on it under CC. These musicians have not offered their music under CC, so it is not my place to play it on a site that is a CC site, whereby offering their music under CC, it's not my place to do so, it's just that simple.

The other thing I notice is that Justin.tv doesn't have a co-feature like blogtv does, not that I've used it much at all in the last year, but it is handy. The bonus with Justin.tv is that the entire show would archive for 7 days after broadcast so even if people weren't able to catch the live show, they can listen to the archive at a later date if they wanted to. I also found that I can use the Flash Media Encoder that I currently use on blogtv for the better sound and video also works over there, and the better quality archives as well.

So, here is what I'm thinking in regards to the future of Indie Spotlight Live. I am starting to think (nothing written in stone of course) that I might be moving the regular broadcast to my channel on Justin.tv. In addition, because several of the musicians that do not license their music under CC have been with me since day one, obviously also deserve airplay, I am thinking that I might also continue a semi-regular broadcast on blogtv. The other idea is to move the blogtv show back to Sunday nights, and do a shorter version of it featuring all the musicians I currently play, with a full sized show featuring the CC music on Justin.tv on another night (maybe not Monday, but another night where I can do a full sized broadcast) and seeing if I can attract a whole new following on there.

At this point, all ideas are on the table, at this point in time, at least this week, I am doing the Monday night show on blogtv. If I don't see the stats at least start to improve, I really need to start thinking about how, and where I am going to go next with the show. I know from past experience that doing 2 shows a week is draining, and is hard to keep up with, especially if you are doing them on 2 different websites, I've tried this before and it was a bit much. But to give the majority of the musicians that I currently play on the show airtime as well as taking care of the guys that have been loyal to me their due as well, to me it's worth it. I can even use the playlist that I would put together for the justin.tv show and insert these guys for the blogtv show. There are many ways I can go with this.

Bottom line is, I can't currently go back to doing the full show on Sundays, the viewer/listener stats aren't there on Mondays, so I need a plan B.

I'll let you folks know what I decide. Have a great evening!

Just Testing

Watch live video from indiespotlightlive on Justin.tv

Indie Spotlight Live Now on Monday Nights!

Due to my work schedule I've had to move the show to Monday nights (see earlier blog post)

Hope you folks will join us on Monday nights at 9 pm (eastern) we'd certainly love the company!

Just Want To Say Goodbye | Troy Castellano

Really great song by Troy, longtime listeners/blog readers will remember that I had the honor of having him on the show a couple of years back.

Indie Spotlight Live on Monday Nights

Just to let ya know we have moved to Monday nights, still the same time, 9 pm (eastern). Hope to see you folks there!

Indie Spotlight Live Update 1-30-12

Indie Spotlight is Moving

Since the show's inception we have done the show on Sunday nights, from way back during the NewsTalk days up until now. The time has changed, the old time slot for NewsTalk was, believe it or not, 11:30 on Sunday nights. We gradually moved to our current time of 9 pm Sundays especially since our format switch from a news program to a music oriented program, and now, that is about to change.

Starting this week, the show will be broadcast on Monday night at 9 pm (eastern)

The reasons for the change are several, the first being that my current work schedule isn't going to work with me doing a show on Sunday nights. After I wrap the show, I'm looking at maybe a couple of hours sleep before I go to my day job on Monday morning. Since it is my regular job that pays the bills (I make no money doing the show) it's obvious that my regular off the internet job has to have top priority, particularly now. I can not be dragging ass on Monday morning just because I ran the show longer that I had planned, which happens just about every week. The quality of my regular day at my regular job would suffer, and to be honest, the quality of the show would also suffer since when it's usually getting good I'm more worried about signing off than having an awesome show.

I'm also thinking it might be easier to book musicians for interviews if I was on a different night than Sunday, since it's not the weekend, not as many live gigs that they might need to go to. Monday is not the best, but I think it might be at least easier than Sunday.

Lately there seems to growing competition with my show on Sunday nights on blogtv. That is all I'd care to say publicly about that.

I did ask Shovelheadkevin if he was interested in continuing his show since he hasn't done one in quite a while (Kevin held the Monday timeslot previously in our little group of blogtv hosts) and he told me that he isn't planning a return to blogtv, and if he wanted to do something he knew I would gladly defer to him, which I would.

So, there it is folks, starting this coming week Indie Spotlight Live will now be broadcast on Monday nights, starting at 9 pm (eastern). I hope for your continued support, I have some awesome things planned for the show this year.

It's Up to You - Eva Walsh (original)

Indie Spotlight Live Roundtable Discussion 1-22-12

Show Recap

Had a great conversation with Rob, Deb, and Angela the other night. First live roundtable discussion for 2012 and I have to say that I have missed these! Special thanks to all who participated either on the SKYPE call or in the chatroom, what a special treat!

I will be working on getting the audio portion posted on YT with a slide show and all the links hopefully today.

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

I also made a major announcement regarding the future of the show. We are moving to Monday nights, starting this coming week.

New Show Motto

I'm adapting this from a comment I saw on YouTube...

to all the plastic manufactured "pop stars" of today...

Here's a lesson for you. Go pick up an instrument, turn off the auto tune, learn how to truly perform. Go to a seedy bar, entertain the few that are there, repeat that for a few years. Do it like the talented musicians you will hear on this show. Real musicians, with real instruments and real talent.

This is my new motto for the show.


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Show notes;

Tomorrow night I'll be joined on the show by our good friend Rob Mazurek, Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show, and possibly Kyle Marney for a round table discussion about the music industry as well as the recent goings on with the now tabled so called anti piracy laws as well as recent developments regarding copyright infringement online. You won't want to miss this one!

Show about Recent Goings On This Sunday

Unless you live under a rock, there has been a lot happening regarding copyright laws lately.

How does this affect independent musicians, as well as internet broadcasters who are trying to promote independent musicians? Tune in this Sunday for a roundtable discussion to find out!

Joining me on the show this week will be our good friend Rob Mazurek, Deb from the Unsigned Musicians show, and I believe Kyle Marney will be joining us as well.

Indie Spotlight Live, this Sunday starting at 9 pm (eastern) and I hope you'll join us.

Next Week (1-22-12)

Real blog about the upcoming show coming soon.

Next Sunday...

Written blog coming soon...

Indie Spotlight Returns to blogtv tonight!

Back from my holiday break, show starts at 9 pm (eastern) and I hope to see you folks there!