Author Archive for SandraPage 12 of 30

Bandize: Organize Your Band (Alpha)

Bandize: Organize your band from the ground up! This service is not even in beta yet (invite only for now), so it’s impressive that they’re already getting noticed. By helping you organize and manage all aspects of running a band, will Bandize put band managers out of a job? Probably not, but it will likely make it a hell of a lot easier. Artists should focus on making more great music and not have to worry about the minutiae of day-to-day band management, like accounting and product management.

Just based on their splash page, Bandize looks promising – a clean and intuitive look and feel as well as clear and concise organization of the various areas of band management. Let’s take a closer look at the areas they cover:

Shows/Tours – Manage dates, plan accommodations, track merch sales, store maps and directions…

Accounting – Log expenses, track money owed, tag transactions…

Social Network Synching – Push all your data from one place. Includes SNs like Myspace, PureVolume, Last.fm, Eventful…

Product Management – Track inventory and sales, get “out of stock” alerts…

Contact Management – Manage and categorize contacts, keep track of who talked to whom, when and why…

Task Management – Create and assign tasks, set due dates, send reminders…

Communication – Send internal messages and leave comments, upload files…

Asset Management – Log and track your gear, personal items…

Album Management – Upload cover art, album info, post reviews…

Sounds pretty sweet, right? For more, check them out at SXSW, follow them on Twitter, read their blog, or have your say at Get Satisfaction.

New Orleans Mardi Gras in the 40s and 50s

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! As you prepare to give something up for lent, watch people you know go through the process, or just enjoy the festivities surrounding the occasion, I leave you with a glimpse of the early days in New Orleans:

RemixComps.com: Remix Contest Tracker

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We recently stumbled upon another solid resource for all you remixing aficionados out there. RemixComps.com is a new site that finds all the remix contests going on and tracks them for you. That’s right – it tracks them for you. Go ahead, be lazy. Just bum around on the site and find stuff to remix. Browse contests easily by Top Rated, Closing Soon, Quick List etc and even access old contests in Just Ended or the Archives. Or, for the ambitious UGC-prone among you, you can also submit your own contests or ones that you find.

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Once you are sold on the concept and create an account, you can comment on and rate the contests. That’s how the good ones end up in Top Rated, obviously.

This service goes hand in hand with MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard for those who set up their remix promotion as a contest, i.e. set a deadline, include prizes. For example, Zion I’s remix contest is currently being featured on RemixComps – it ends March 12 and features some pretty kickass prizes like the winning remix being featured on Myspace and played on a radio set/podcast, plus signed copies of rare Zion I vinyl and more. Definitely worth a shot!

What a great way to delve deeper into DIY remixing culture. Rather than wasting time scouring the internet for songs to remix and sites that allow it, you can spend your time actually splicing and dicing the music and creating your own killer mixes.

For more info, check out their blog and follow them on Twitter.

Controlled Substance Sound Labs Round-Up

controlled_substance_charcoal_biggerIt’s been a great day of new music releases on Twitter and everybody at MixMatchMusic would like to give a big shout out to the folks at Controlled Substance Sound Labs (label umbrella for Stoopid Records and Law Records) for making the tra.kz launch a promotion to remember!

BUT… the music isn’t over yet, as you’ve still got a chance to grab the Controlled Substance tracks and share them with your friends. Check out the complete list of songs that were released today, and download them to your heart’s content.

To download a track, right click on its ‘Download’ link below and click “Save Link As…”

“Behind Closed Doors” by Fishbone
Stream it here: http://tra.kz/f
Download
 
“Too Much (straight board mix)” by Pepper
Stream it here: http://tra.kz/p
Download
 
“Set Me Off” by The Expendables
Stream it here: http://tra.kz/e
Download
 
“Closer to the Sun” by Slightly Stoopid
Stream it here: http://tra.kz/ss
Download
 
“Under the Landslide” by Mat McHugh and The Blackbird
Stream it here: http://tra.kz/m
Download
 
“Feelin’ Alright” by Rebelution
Stream it here: http://tra.kz/r
Download
 
“Love 2 the DJ” by Sabotage Soundsystem
Stream it here: http://tra.kz/s
Download
 
“Season’s Change” by Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
Stream it here: http://tra.kz/g
Download

To download a track, right click on its ‘Download’ link above and click “Save Link As…”

Tra.kz Artist Spotlight: BLVD ("Vortex")

Live electronica is a unique art form that brings together two very different communities, the dance music club scene and live music fans. BLVD seemlessly integrates the two into a stunning hip-hop, house and breakbeat experience that uses both riveting samples from the studio and organic live sound.

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At times reminiscent of the live jams of bands like String Cheese Incident and Phish, the foundational grooves of BLVD have an air of spontaneity that lend themselves to live crowds. As if the juxtaposition of jam band style instrumentals and riveting electronica beats weren’t enough, add to the mix the lyrics of MC Souleye, a “conscious wordsmith”, and you’ve got something pretty unique. Listen to/download their track, “Vortex”, here.