7 posts tagged “interview”

W♥M040: Amber Ojeda [download (20 mins)]

Subscribe to our show at gcast.com (RSS). Our podcast show requires large amount of data to upload and download, so I apologize in advance if you have problems downloading the show (offtopic: in late December, podcasting service Podango closed its door).

First off, huge apology to Jen, we had taped a segment, but the audio recorder didn't quite work out. I'm going to look into other Skype recorders, yes, I will even pay for it (the current one I'm using is free). If you have any Skype recorder suggestions, let me know.

Amber Ojeda - Lady Like Amber Ojeda - Here I Am 2 comments

Today's special guest on We Heart Music Radio is Amber Ojeda (pronounced 'oh-hey-da'), R&B / Urban Pop singer from San Diego/Los Angeles area. You can find out more about her music via amberojedamusic.com (which actually redirects you to myspace) or follow her on Twitter.

She first came to my attention for her involvement with Veronica Mars, a show that I'm sad to see have ended with the third season, and I wanted to have her on to ask about working on the show. If you want to find out more about her as an actress, IMDB does a great job on compiling her appearances.

Veronica Mars: Amber Ojeda

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As for music, you can download her 9-track album over at True Anthem for FREE. However, you get what you pay for as there is a brief 15 seconds or less 'commercial' for Old Navy prior to the song playing (which doesn't actually seem like a commercial at all). Also, if you download all the tracks, True Anthem will allow a bonus video for download. The video is professional shot and edited of a live performance of "Don't Rush". Definitely worth checking out, especially for the sax!

Some of the topics we chatted about:

• Her influences
• Veronica Mars
• Tara Caballero
• True Anthem
• social networking
• What she's listening to lately

Victory Ship at the 400 Bar, Minneapolis (01/18/09) ♥ photo by Brody

Also, just quickly, I just wanted to mention I did make it out in the cold-snow-Minneapolis (shock, shock!) to show support for Brody's show. I caught most of Sika (sikaband.com/myspace) and Victory Ship (myspace). I'll have to say, there was quite a good crowd last night. Not really sure if Sika and Victory Ship should be paired together because they don't really sound that similar - Sika seems really Muse/Story of the Year and really passionate on stage. Victory Ship came off as sounding very sixties Americana-sounding.

It's also kind of funny to see the mystery of Brody unveiled in tcdailyplanet.net:

Whomever Brody McCoy was, he had reason to be proud. Last night’s show, the first ever presented by Brit Rock at the Top, was a great success. McCoy is a Shoreview native, but as its name suggests his blog celebrates all things British and rockin’; the thread meant to tie the night’s three acts—Joey Ryan and the Inks, Sika, and Victory Ship—was a degree of trans-Atlantic affinity.

I'm sure the success of this show will ensure more shows in the future.

 01/18/2009 22:41:26 ♥ vu ()♥weheartmusic.com♥podcast.weheartmusic.com♥news.weheartmusic.com

 12/29/2008 10:37:02  ♥ written by vu ()

ANDREA GERAK (download)    SALLY (download)

Subscribe to our show at gcast.com (RSS) or mypodcast (RSS) (Update 12/29/08, currently mypodcast service is not working, this will be the last time I'm mentioning the awful service).

We're back from Christmas hiatus. Considering the majority of my Sundays are taken up because of managing schedules, interviewing, and editing the show, so I am no longer actively requesting bands to come onto our show. It is part of our 2009 strategy which I'll address in January. Let's just say that the volume of music review in 2009 will not be as much as this/last year (as per my request).

However if you are serious about being on the radio program, please email me with the subject title "Podcast" and I will get back to you with an available schedule.

The audio recording is excellent, I'm using a new USB Logitech microphone, say goodbye to the analog mic! I'm also using a brand new Skype recorder called Call Graph - which seems to make its money off advertisements via their Call Graph Browser. It's free and worth checking out if you're into doing some Skype Recording.

I don't like how it records my audio on the left speaker, and my guest on the right (I ended up making the file as mono).

Andrea Gerak - Edes Gergelem Andrea Gerak & Barozda See Also Enya http://weheartmus... First off, I've edited together a few video sessions and we're going to call it a Holiday Buyer'...

PART ONE: ANDREA GERAK
andreagerak.com ♥ myspace.com
We recently mentioned Andrea Gerak and I'm happy to have her on the show to talk about her mostly-Hungarian traditional music.

She has three albums, Authentic Hungarian Village Music, Árva az a madár (Lonely Is The Bird), and Madárka, madárka (Little Birdie).

Download Andrea Gerak's Segment (19 mins)

We touch on:

• her background, from Hungary to Sweden
• "Rorogwela"
• All of her albums and the musicians that played on them
• She's looking forward to playing more live gigs and currently working on new music
• The story behind "Édes Gergelem" (My Sweet Gergelem).

PART TWO: SALLY!
schnitzelsafari.blogspot.com ♥ sally.weheartmusic.com
If you aren't familiar with Sally, she's one of W♥M's active writers, based in Australia.

So, join Sally and I, as we reminisce on days of yore, when music was hard to come by. When we were still trading mix cassettes, when we live and die by the next issue of Select Magazine.... Unfortunately all the lovey dovey Blur and Pulp trivia was toss out due to the audio software failing to capture Sally's microphone the first time around. What was left was a 50 minute of me talking to myself - which is way creepy.

So Sal was generous enough to re-do the recording, this time with her rock and roll Singstar microphone.

Download Sally's Segment (32 mins)

Pulp - The Boss (demo)

Pulp

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And we sang about:

• Sally's gift-to-herself ABBA Singstar game and microphone
• we struggle to remember the Tears For Fears cover song by Gary Jules ("Mad World")
• Kill the Cod fanzine
• Supergrassy Furry Animalsssss
• Choose 1995, Triple J, RAGE, and other musical things
• John Farnham and Jet
• Jarvis Cocker seduced Sally
• "Cities Bands" (I have an idea what that means, but it's not a term I'm aware of) "Shitty bands" (damn aussie accents), the Internet and the "Golden Age of Australian Bands"
• Schnitzels: the mysterious love of schnitzels
• Britpop Night, upcoming Primal Scream, expensive Razorlight concert ($60 AUD/$40 USD), Charlatans,
• Sally's unabashed love for Mental as Anything

Links: www.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com

 12/15/2008 03:31:30  ♥ written by vu ()

Subscribe to our weekly show at gcast.com (RSS) or mypodcast (RSS).

The Lucksmiths - California In Popular Song

PART ONE: THE LUCKSMITHS
thelucksmiths.com.au ♥ myspace.com
Representing The Lucksmiths, a band that needs no introduction, is bassist Mark Monnone, from the Summer-er-ness of Melbourne, Australia (while I'm buried in a blizzard in Minneapolis).

You would think that since I am a longtime Luckies fan and having over 200 of their songs (and knowing most of them by heart), it would be easy. It's not. Add on top of that, 0% preparation time... well a disaster, I tell you.

Vu's Lucksmiths CDs

Also, the audio for this interview is terrible, and it's all my fault. When I couldn't hear Mark's vocals, I had set his audio to maximum and forgot to reset it back - so as a result the audio is extra loud. I tried to fix it as best I could by applying some filters, but I think the audio could be better.

So super apology to Mark and the Lucksmiths.

PS, just to let you know what a dork I am when it comes to this band, if you type in "successlessness" dot vox dot com into your address bar, guess where it takes you?  I eventually had to change the name to "we heart music" as no one in the world can spell that 's' word.

Download his segment:

Part One: The Lucksmiths (31 mins)

Some topics:

• The Lucksmiths' less than thrilling secret origin
• Extra four band member
• MiniDisc!! (the first song I've heard from the Luckies is "Shine on Me")
• The recording of First Frost in Tazmania
• "First Frost" recent tour last November
• The story behind "Young and Dumb" and "Requiem For The Punters Club"
• The Smiths Tribute album
• Thoughts on Tali's Guild League
• About Spring A Leak
• "Transpontine" explained
• Mark's been listening to The Harpoons and The Crayon Fields. Both bands come highly recommended, so I'll be sure to add them to my to-do list for 2009.

Be sure to catch them on December 20^th at the free instore at Pure Pop Records in Melbourne! I would be totally there if I wasn't stuck here.

Amy Campbell-The Airport Song

Amy Campbell

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PART TWO: AMY CAMPBELL
amycampbell.ca ♥ myspace.com/amycampbellsongs
Amy Campbell is an acoustic folksy singer/songwriter from Toronto, Canada. She came on W♥M Radio to talk about her music. You can buy Oh Heart, Oh Highway directly from her website. It isn't so pricey if you consider it's two discs with a book of art and writing from Amy Campbell. Plus it's in knowing the money goes directly to the musician, not some corporation, so it's all good.

Download her segment:

Part Two: Amy Campbell (22 mins)

Some highlights:

• Canada and Poutine
• Description of Oh Heart, Oh Highway, a 2-disc set with book
• Joni Mitchell-description
• Battleaxe Folk
• Her approach to songwriting
• The recording of Oh Heart... and the musicians involved in the album
• Touring and booking dates
• New songs being written

Also, she'll doing some (public) shows:

Tour Dates
02/07/09 The Cameron House Toronto, Ontario
02/21/09 Lodge On Amherst Island Amherst Island, Ontario
02/22/09 The Black Sheep Inn Wakefield, Quebec
02/27/09 Cafe Ole Pembroke, Ontario
02/28/09 Cafe Ole Pembroke, Ontario

Links: www.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com

 11/17/2008 09:31:40  ♥ written by vu ()

Devi-When It Comes Down Devi 2 comments DEVI Tour Dates 11/30/08 Mercury Lounge NYC (also: Faith) New York City, New York 12/10/08 The Goldhawk (also: Wynne Paris) Hoboken, New Jersey Mary Shelley Overdrive-The Devil You Know Mary Shelley Overdrive

Links: www.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com

 08/30/2008 20:46:00  ♥ written by appples ()

The Dan Sheehan Conspiracy-Tired Eyes The Dan Sheehan Conspiracy 1 comment Tour Dates 09/23/08 Working Musicians (TV show taping) White Plains, NY 11/01/08 Mama Java’s Coffee House Phoenix, AZ 11/02/08 Plush Tucson, Arizona 11/13/08 Ciccone Theater - Bergen Community College Paramus, NJ Discography [1996] Side One EP (Banter) [2002] Urban Pastures (Banter) [2008] The Dan Sheehan Conspiracy Influences Led Zeppelin http://weheartmus... Not to be outdone by The Goo Goo's Greatest Hits, is Led Zeppelin's Greatest Hits CD, Mothership....

Hailing from Long Island, New York, Dan Sheehan has spent the last several years perfecting a unique blend of classic and alternative rock. With his Latest effort The Dan Sheehan Conspiracy he has proven his abilities as a musician and a producer. The album, produced, written, and played (the drums are the only thing he doesn't play)  by Sheehan himself is an hour long journey through a wide range of musical styles, from softer folk influenced tracks, to more modern alternative influenced guitar rockers reminiscent of a strange love child of seventies arena rock run through a 90's alternative filter. I was able to contact Dan via E-mail and conduct a brief interview with him.

We Heart Music:  The influences on this album are quite varied, what would you say were the things that really inspired you to start making music in the first place?
Dan Sheehan: Listening to classic bands like the Who in my teen years made me aware of how wonderful music could be.  Also my sister worked for DoubleDay books and would bring me home free books, some of which would be music biographies.  Reading about the Beatles' and other bands' formative years made pursuing music out to be about the most exciting thing I could do.

The bands that I've loved the most, from The Who and the Beatles and Led Zeppelin to the Meat Puppets and the Screaming Trees and Pearl Jam have always been bands that varied their material rather than sticking to formula, and so on this album I consciously decided to allow myself to present a variety of songwriting and performing styles.  Why constrain oneself to one mode of expression?  I can't answer that, but it seems a lot of artists and labels place that constraint.

W♥M: What music that is coming out these days inspires you to continue writing music and trying new things?
DS: Lately I've been reviewing underground bands at GarageBand.com, and coming across some diamonds in the rough.  I have to say I am less enthused about the artists in the mainstream these days.  I know that's something a lot of people say, but I think it's true that the major label system and Clear Channel are not taking enough risks to put out really inspiring arists, so I mostly catch great new artists when I go to shows.  A few bands whose shows have grabbed me in recent times have been a band called Stone River from Toronto, and a Long Island band called The Headie Berrie.  I also really like the album from the reunited Meat Puppets and anything that Cris Kirkwood has done recently, as well as the new Mark Lanegan/Greg Dulli project the Gutter Twins.

W♥M: The album sounds very good, did you go to school for music production or did you just sort of pick things up along the way?
DS: After a long time of struggling with recording gear, I did go to an audio program at Emerson College in Boston which gave me a good foundation to then be more successful and picking things up afterwards.

W♥M: Do you have a day job or is music a full time thing for you?
DS: At times I teach audio production courses at a few colleges in the New York City area, which is a great way to meet upcoming young musicians.

W♥M: What are your thoughts on the effect that proliferation of affordable digital recording technology and sites like Myspace have had on music as a whole? are you for or against these changes?
DS: I think the proliferation of affordable recording technology is excellent.  It's great to be able to record a decent sounding album without the psychological impediment of watching the clock tick away hundreds of dollars while trying to stay focused on creativity.  However, I think recording musicians should make a point of being on top of the craft of recording if they're going to self-record and self-produce, and should take care to get outside opinions to maintain objectivity as the recording and mixing process move along. 

I also really like the opportunity of sites like MySpace to expose one's music to people who otherwise might not come across it.  Of course, MySpace has its down sides, such as people abusing it and spamming too much, but you have to take the bad with the good and overall it and other sites such as SoundClick are another avenue for exposure which is always welcome.  As long as artists can control what can and cannot be downloaded on these sites, I think they're a winning situation.  Plus, they save musicians a lot of postage money!

W♥M: Are you currently working on another album or any other projects?
DS: The DSC will be recording an EP in September which will include a Wierd Al style parody of Green Day's American Idiot, only this time the idiot will be from our hometown of Long Island (NY).  It will also have some super-catchy originals.

W♥M: How was/ is your tour going?
DS: Myself and my band have been having a great time playing shows at some great clubs with some great supporting acts, and have helped raise money for some deserving charities such as a cancer treatment center in Fredonia, NY and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through some benefits we've been part of.  I also have been playing some solo shows which puts an interesting spin on the music and gives me opportunities to try the material out in a different format.  This fall we'll be hitting college campuses throughout the Northeast and I'll be doing some solo shows out west for the first time, which will be very exciting.  The dates will all be posted on our website.

Lately, I've been doing a TV tour, hitting some local TV shows with my acoustic guitar.

W♥M: And the perennial question on everyone's mind, what do you think about today's political climate in america?
DS: Just listen to "Collateral Damage" from the DSC (or better yet, watch the video at YouTube) and you'll have a pretty good sense of my thoughts on the political climate in America.  I think all the partisan politics and the influence of greed is disgraceful, and that too many Americans are letting themselves fall prey to propaganda from cable news pundits and bogus mass emails.  However, I acknowledge that these unfortunate circumstances are not unique to America.  I have good hope that Americans will continue to open their eyes and be able to recognize the real deal as we wise up after the post- 9/11 period of giving in to our worst fears.  I hope in a few years we can fix the health care system instead of politicians pandering to insurance and drug companies.

For more information about Dan and his music be sure to check out his website at www.dansheehan.net, and as always stay tuned to We Heart Music for the latest in independent music!

Links: dansheehan.net myspace.com/dansheehan

S*M*A*S*H - Icon S*M*A*S*H 1 comment Link S*M*A*S*H Revisited http://s-m-a-s-h.net S♥M♥A♥S♥H Footnotes [1] From amazingforums.com [2] When the song is done live, I'm told that Ed changes the name to more modern targets. [3] S*M*A*S*H Website created 29 July 1998. [4] Guardian Friday January 28, 2005.

I couldn't hold back my excitement when I got the new S*M*A*S*H album, Icon, in the mail the other day. The album will be available in stores October 8th, 2007. However if you attend their concert on September 28th at Viva La Punk in Cambridge, you can pick up the album weeks earlier.^[1]

Although I've mentioned S*M*A*S*H here a couple of times already, I think it's about time that they got a full featured article. You are in for a treat down memory lane!

Back in 1994, in my DJ days, my music director gave me Self Abused to listen to to pick out the "good" tracks so she can add it to our playlist. Usually I'll find one or two good songs, but I swear, this album was AMAZING! I loved ALL the songs, especially the hidden track, which was an acoustic version of "Lady Love Your C♥♥♥" (of course, I didn't know the title back then).

So after buying as many singles as I could find on S*M*A*S*H, I did discover that the song title was actually stolen from an essay written by Germaine Greer, published in 1971. The essay in its entirety was reprinted in the Spring 1994: Real Surreal single.

So, S*M*A*S*H is from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. The trio consists of Ed Borrie (vocals/guitar), Rob Hague (drums) and Salvatore Alessi (bass), who found each other through political ideals in 1984. By 1992, they were playing gigs and eventually releasing their records through their own label, Le Disques de Popcor Records. Their debut single, Real Surreal was picked by both NME and Melody Maker, as Single of the Week.

This was an explosive start for the band.

Their most controversial song is "I Want to Kill Somebody" which was released and deleted on the same day. The single didn't do too well in the charts, mostly due to the fact that the song was heavily censored and outright banned on radio stations. It is because the song named people that needs to die:

Margaret Thatcher, Jefferey Archer, Michael Heseltine, John Major, Virginia Bottomeley, Gill Shepherd^[2]

Although to be fair, the lyrics states: "it's not that I want them dead, it's just that the world will be a better place if they never existed."

After they released their final single, Rest of My Life (Dec 1995), the band split and was never heard again.

You have to remember that back then, the internet was in its infancy and there was nothing on S*M*A*S*H on the internet. I didn't know what happened to S*M*A*S*H, so I decided to put up a little website on them with nothing more than a discography and lyrics section.^[3]

Things were pretty silent on the S*M*A*S*H front until 2002 when I received an email from a L.Hague. He said he was the son of Rob Hague and he was searching online for bands that his dad was in. As it turned out, he didn't realize how big S*M*A*S*H were!

He asked his dad about the band and pretty soon, Rob tracked down Ed and they were talking to each other again! In some strange ways, I was kind of responsible for getting the band back together.

This quote from Ed, pretty much sums it up:

We were built up as the leaders of a scene dubbed the New Wave of New Wave. I didn't complain because it focused attention on the records. It went wrong for us fairly quickly, mostly as a result of my worsening drug addiction. Being in the spotlight didn't help. Rob and Salv were my two best friends since we started in a scout hut. They weren't prepared to watch me kill myself so they said goodbye. I ended up in despair, then rehab. Eighteen months ago I went round to Rob's house, had some tears and said a few apologies. We've started playing again but we have no aspirations to go through that shit again. We'll play a few gigs, make a little record and it'll be as innocent as it was in the beginning.^[4]

Once again, Icon, will be released October 8th, 2007 through a small independent label, MLP, which mostly specialized in live recordings. They are headlining Viva La Punk on September 28th, at the Cellar bar. Also on the bill: Out of Nowhere, Psycho Bombs, and The Cougars.

Here are some selective S*M*A*S*H songs and rarities for you to listen to:

S*M*A*S*H - Lady Love Your C♥♥♥ (acoustic)	S*M*A*S*H - Real Surreal (single version)	S*M*A*S*H - Petal Buzz	S*M*A*S*H - Bang Bang Bang	S*M*A*S*H - (I Want to) Kill Somebody (Topper Mix)
S*M*A*S*H - Turn on the Water	S*M*A*S*H - Drugs Again (demo) 1 comment	S*M*A*S*H - Interview	S*M*A*S*H - All By Myself	S*M*A*S*H - Rest of My Life

 09/25/2007 22:34:15  vu my♥posts vu@weheartmusic.com www.s-m-a-s-h.net