#18
-------------------------------------------------------

Hey Guys,

I just got back from the 2006 CMJ Music Marathon in New York, and I had a great time. Overall, the music marathon wasn't the 24/7 thrill that it was in 2005 featuring the same calibur of acts and events, despite this it was still quite an event with a lot of good stuff to report back to all of you.

Vendors and Exhibits:

Before I continue in the next few exhibits I saw, the definite theme of this years CMJ was music distribution and promotion in the digital age. With the slow death of CD's and tangible forms of music distribution, more cost effective digital forms are being developed. Most of these forms were innovated and are worth looking into if your an artist or interested in starting a label.

Fizzkicks.com - There were two exhibits touting pre-paid download cards as the wave of the future when it comes to music distribution. For the most part, I agree. Cards let you still have the cool art desgin and make you feel that you actually purchased something tangible. Fizz Kicks lets you design your card with their card designer and print them out yourself, each with a unique serial code to protect from piracy. My only issue with this is having to print them out myself, looking at the quality of paper and printer they used for the demo cards they can look pretty bad, but to be fair that depends on how much the artist will in invest on paper and printing. This is the optimal option for fresh artists and labels to distribute music on a budget.

Dropcards.com - This is the more professional and nicer looking of the two pre-paid music card options. With DropCards the setup process takes a little bit longer and requires some extra work. This is a fair cost if you are emerging artists to make sure your distributing premium quality cards at your shows that have the quality of a credit card and are easy to keep in your wallet. I personally view Dropcards as the better premium option cause the cards have the appearance of something I'm willing to pay $5 for!

ReverbNation.com - Hands down my favorite new toy from this years CMJ. Last year I was thrilled with Pandora and the possibilities for finding music Pandora entailed. This year ReverbNation is a marketing experts wet dream as far as being able to track your artists performance... FOR FREE!!! With ReverbNation like most music sites you get a profile, you get to upload your music, tell people about your shows and all that fun stuff but that is not what makes reverb nation shine among the rest. As you get hits to your profile, ReverbNation breaks down visitors by age, gender, region and more in order to help you track your popularity and the best part there isn't an extra fee in doing so. Also, there is a thing called widgets you can use so that way when any information you type into RN can be html coded for cut and paste into myspace or any other HTML supported portals to get the information every where with ease. With an easy to run opt-in mailing list that can be filtered by demographics and ability via snocap.com to sell your music, you got one behemoth of a music service.

mecommerce.goodstorm.com - MeCommerce is a new technology to help sell your favorite products and make an extra revenue stream. You basically sell items as if you were directly selling them, and you keep a portion of the sale pretty straight foward.

Imeem.com - Another media site where you can upload music, video and photos. CMJ put up some sweet videos of the events on their Imeem so go check it out. http://cmj.imeem.com/

PlayIndies.com - Another Music Promotion site, touting to be a promotional site for music and film.

Artists and Music:

This year wasn't quite the star studded event as last year in which I got to see Coheed and Cambria, !!!, Cocorosie, Lady Soverign, Regina Spektor, Time Fite, Cocorosie, Supersystem, THe Draft, Against Me, Von Iva, THe Paradise Boys and many more. Although I did get see a few big names I've been wanting to see this year such as The Matches, Deerhoof, MSTRKRFT, and POS. So here's a breakdown of all the awesome stuff I saw.

Dragons of Zynth - These guys have tremendous potential to be one of the more original acts I've seen awhile. These guys blur the lines between Punk, Metal, and Afro Beat in a way I found quite enjoyable. Probably one of the best surprises of the trip. Check out their song War Lover at Myspace.com/DraongsofZynth

The Matches - The Matches are definetley a lot more than last years Pop Punk band of choice. Their new album proves that the transcend genre with the best of them with quirky songs and tongue in cheek honesty. These guys lived proved to put on a very entertaining show of well performed songs and high energy, definetley a band I expect to see grow very much over the next few years.

The Hot I.Q.s - Really awesome power pop, these guys were another band that came out of nowhere with really good music and just a good time. If you like bass heavy frontmen, this band has a lot to offer you.

Rediscover - Friends of mine, Rediscover played at the Purevolume.com showcase and recently becoming a four piece they have set the stage to hit the pop scene in a big way. Having seen these guys evolve over the last few years I'm excitied to see them continue to grow and evolve.

We are the Fury - I've been following this band and it's many incarnation since I was in high school (7 years ago) and never did I think when I went to college that they'd end up being good friends in my efforts to penetrate the NW ohio music scene. Two Band Names later they are still around and have evolved into one of the most raucaous rock shows around harkening back to the days of David Bowie and Iggy Pop, these guys remind the audience what rock really is. I'm really proud of what these guys have done and am anxious to see the ensuing global phenomenon they will be when their full length drops.

Game Rebellion - A Fusion of Rock, Metal, and Hip Hop done almost perfect. I went to the Canal Room to see POS and Building Better Bombs and got floored by one of the most energetic and flawless performances I've ever seen from Game Rebellion. These guys had the crowd captivated from the opening to the end with some of the most fist pumping adrenaline driving hip rock I've ever heard, if you ever find yourself in Brooklyn check these guys out.

Building Better Bombs - While Sadly I wasn't able to stay at the Canal Room Long enough to see the Solo sets by POS and Dead Prez I did stick around and see Building Better bombs the hardcore project featuring POS. If you like spaz, you'll like this band seeming like the love child of old Blood Brothers and The Locusts it was quite a fun show especially to see the audience react after watching Game Rebellion, good times.

Mary Timony - Just Really Good Indie Rock, just listen to it, it's awesome.

Erase Errata - I've heard of the troupe of ladies but I don't know if I was truly ready for the energy and quirky abrasive rock they presented. It was quite enjoyable and they are definetley an act worth catching if you get the chance.

Deerhoof - The last band I got to see this year and the crown jewel of bands I've been wanting to see this band needs no explanation, if you don't already obsess over this band then check out this weeks Now!load.

There was a lot more at this years CMJ such as a viewing of Borat which will be setting the bar a little higher for comedy and political satire. Overall it was a good Time and I'm excited to the see the music industry this year.




-------------------------------------------------------
Today's NOW!load: Deerhoof - Rrrrrrright (Erro! Remix)

#17
-------------------------------------------------------
Hey Guys,

Today the My Chemical Romance Album comes out and I've just been really curious as how this album was gonna turnout with the release the first single "The Black Parade" which had some punk flavor mixed with Queen throwbacks. They had a streaming of the album online and later listening to it I'll have to say My Chemical Romance have put together an album that is just plain enjoyable. Gerard may not be the best vocalist live, but his inflections help make these songs what they are and the guitar work has gone a long way since the first album.

While this album is much more produced that the last album it works for the 80's music vibe of this album and really suites the music being made on this album. The album is by all means a pop album, and there is nothing but good with a bunch of songs with great hooks, and I'm not gonna buy the argument that pop album means selling out. If this album was made for money they could've done a lot less than what was done on this album and sold as many albums.

This album makes me think of queen and the movie the Labyrinth and the sort of dreamy and dark imagery both conjur, with the exception that this has a lot more of aggro punk edge mixed with some finger snapping cabaret stylings which they experimented with on Three Cheers. Overall whether it's up your alley or not, there is no denying that My Chemical Romance have found their place in the music world which only they occupy, love it or hate it, they do what they do and for the most part I think it's pretty darn enjoyable.

---------------------------------------------------------
Today's NOW!load: The New Transit Direction - Survival 101

#16
-------------------------------------------------------
Hey Guys,

I finally got my hands on the new Stylex album and it's pretty darn good. Being student at Bowling Green university it's hard to be a fan of Stylex, they are the cream of the town, and it's well deserved. Having a very interesting mix electronics, punk, and a quirky sense of timing and humor create a electronic punk act that stand out among the pack in a very bold way. If you ever heard any of the previous Stylex albums you'll know that they mix very melodic synth lines, powerful bass with just the right mix of smart guitar and drums to create tunes that tetter totter between fun and chaos, but really, isn't chaos fun.

Click on todays Now!load to see their myspace page and listen to some of the best tracks off the new album which is a must have for any punk or electronic fan, or just a fan of good original music.

---------------------------------------------------------
Today's NOW!load: Stylex - ICE

#15
-------------------------------------------------------
Hey Guys,

Well I can't say I have heard all that much latley, but I have been listening to the Fiery Furnaces album, Bittersweet Tea a lot, as well as Pigeon Johns new hip hop album which is amazing if you don't have it yet. I definetley been listneing to a lot of hip and I definetley recommend you check out wbgufm.com and listen in to my show sometime to hear some of the stuff I've been playing. On more of the rock side two bands have caught my eye, the AFI meet HIM band filled with dark imagery and vibes, I AM GHOST, and the sexed up rock band from Orange Peal records, Motion Picture Demise. Definetley check them out they are very enjoyable if you need a rock fix.

---------------------------------------------------------
Today's NOW!load: Motion Picture Demise - The Way it Goes

#14
-------------------------------------------------------
Hey Guys,

Latley I've been back in the radio station and doing my show as fun as ever. My show is tuesdays noon-2pmest and for schedule of other shows check out http://www.wbgufm.com (there's a webcast, so listen in). Anyways, The New Fiery Furnaces album is a work of art as usual and I'm just in love with their experimental pop to the max. Last week on the frontpage of purevolume they had a band featured that was a little different than the usual purevolume fair, they were called SamIam and I made them this posts' NOW!load so check them out cause they are very sweet. Also if you ever have a chance to pick up any album by Daby Toure, pick them up he is amazing. You should be able to find him in the world section of your local music store.
---------------------------------------------------------
Today's NOW!load: SamIam - Do You Want to Be Loved

#13
-------------------------------------------------------

Hey Guys,

Once again it's been awhile since my last post, but trust I've been listening to a lot of stuff as of late. Mostly I've been going back to a lot of oldies but goodies including:

Coheed and Cambria - Second Stage Turbine
Monday in London - The Red Machine
Say Anything - Say anything is a real boy
POS - Audition
Darra J - Boomerang

if you don't have any of those albums, you better rectify that, cause it's all really good stuff. I heard the new single from My Chemical Romance, each album I feel the band has polished up there act but then I see them live and see that Gerard voice is still as weak live as always, which is a shame cause he's a real good performer outside of his exremely limited vocal range. I'm still gonna get the album, but cause the songs are still pretty cathartic. The new Tv on the Radio is amazing, so make sure to pick that one up, I think I'll put that as todays NOW!load. Other than that been listening to couple of the new hip hop releases like the new Outkast and Spank Rock, keep checking to see what I recommend in the music world.

---------------------------------------------------------
Today's NOW!load: TV on the Radio - Dry Drunk Emperor

#12
-------------------------------------------------------

Hey Guys,

It's 2006 and I havn't posted in awhile so I'm gona make a quick post with my top 10 of 2005! Basically a summary of what was NOW!... then. Keep checking but for the occasional plugs on awesome new stuff I've come across. This year I've already heard awesome releases from Hot Chip, Frankel, The Plastic Constellations, and more. So check those out and here is my top 10.


Alex Merceds top 20 of 2005

10. Coheed and Cambria - Dear Apollo, I'm on Burning Star IV vol.1
9. Regina Spektor - Soviet Kitsch
8. Clap Your Hand and say yeah - S/t
7. Wolfparade - My Apologies to Queen Mary
6. Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins
5. Mammoths Melting out of the Ice - Meow Hit Lot Dood
4. Blackalicious - The Craft
3. Mylo - Destroy Rock n Roll
2. Cocorosie - Noahs Ark
1. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

---------------------------------------------------------
Today's NOW!load: Frankel - All Satellites