I know this stuff is supposed to happen behind the scenes. No business here. We are just regular guys who suddenly magically emerge as rock stars due to the demands of the screaming fans. Well, it's just not how it works. We've gone at this pretty hard on our own now for a few years (3 1/2 to be exact) and now we're ready to take the next step up. We've already had dozens of offers from managers and labels, but thus far, nothing in either realm has met our goals and needs. So, here we stand and here's what we're looking for. I wouldn't expect that declaring this here will lead to results, but consider this our public-search declaration.
Manager - The primary thing we need here is connections. We're looking for someone who has at least one act significantly bigger than us on their roster (or strong connections with bigger acts), and even more specifically, can help us get opening slots on shows and tours with bigger acts. We would also like someone with significant label-shopping experience (including a track record of success)!
Label - I would love for us to work out something with an indie label that I am personally a fan of. We're not looking for massive advances, A&R guys buying us champagne, or low-rider limousines (I'd definitely take a low-rider limo though). We're looking for a way to make making music sustainable. That sounds easy, but it really is not. Some of my favorite small-to-moderate labels: Team Love, Saddle Creek, Merge, Hardly Art, SpinArt, Darla, Jade Tree, Secretly Canadian, etc.
I just wanted to throw that out there. We're in the pre-production phase of a new album now and we're hoping to have this all sorted out before it's complete. We're happy to hear your thoughts. I know there is a myth about how great the music world is for truly DIY, independent acts and how you don't need anyone to do this stuff for you, but it is indeed, in my opinion, a myth. I'd really like to see us be able to continue doing what we're doing, but it's becoming harder and harder to maintain forward momentum given the limits of what we can easily do ourselves.
The arcade version of Dance Dance Revolution X, which we believe features The Motion Sick's "30 Lives (Up-Up-Down-Dance Mix), is now out! We hope that it will start appearing in arcades around the country any second now. As soon as we locate one nearby, there will be a band field trip to film ourselves playing the game. Anyone know where they are sprouting up? Anyone have $10,000 so I can buy one to keep at home?
Until then, I will just have to enjoy these great videos of people in Asia playing our song in the arcades there:
Most of all, I am looking forward to it so that I don't have to just play skee ball and that feats of strength game to win tickets to get a spider ring...now I can dance too!
Just in case you don't remember my dancing skills, here's a video of me playing along to the song at home. I hope to get some videos of these other guys playing too soon.
Amnesty International fights to protect basic human rights around the world. They work to ensure that a uniform set of rights exist across the world's wide range of cultures and political systems. They base their activities on a document called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights developed by The United Nations. From their web site, some of the things they work to do are: Stop violence against women, Defend the rights and dignity of those trapped in poverty, Abolish the death penalty, oppose torture and combat terror with justice, Free prisoners of conscience, Protect the rights of refugees and migrants, and Regulate the global arms trade.
Sounds pretty good, right? Well, now you can download The Motion Sick's music for free (yes, FREE!) while simultaneously earning revenue for Amnesty International.
When you go download these (not just stream them, you actually have to press that down arrow to download), the ad revenue is divided bewteen Gimmesound, The Motion Sick, and Amnesty International. A good deal for everyone!
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On another note, we've been asked to participate in a special promotion with Reverbnation and Microsoft. Basically, we were asked for an exclusive track that they could post in conjunction with a branded web site. So, head on over and download an exclusive version of "Winged Bicycle" (Live on WMBR) at http://bit.ly/YfupF
This isn't our first handshake with the computer giants. You might also remember that they aksed us way back in the day if they could work with us on ad that featured in SPIN Magazine and on a special web site: http://themotionsick.com/themotionsick/talk-win.html
As we rock out here in the land of The Motion Sick, we come across a lot of different services and websites that help us in our quest to take over the world. In an attempt to share the wealth, here is a quick bit on 10 sites and services (plus one extra tip rounding it to a nice, uneven 11) that you should be using if you are in a serious band.
1. Copyright
Before you do anything else, you need to file PA (performing arts) and SR (sound recording) copyrights with the Library of Congress at http://copyright.gov/
The PA filing protects the rights to the words and music and the SR filing protects the rights to the actual sound recording. So, if you write all of the songs on a CD, you can submit the CD and simultaneously file both PA and SR rights. If you include a cover, you should file for SR rights on the cover, but not PA rights.
Incidentally, getting permission to cover a song is generally now a really easy and quick process, both for physical pressing and digital sales. Just head on over to The Harry Fox Agency web site and take a look at their Songfile system (http://www.harryfox.com/index.jsp).
2. Join a Performance Rights Organization (PRO)
Now that your copyrights are registered, it's time to join a PRO. PROs handle royalty collection for copyright holders whose works are used publicly. That includes radio, TV, live performances, and any of a plethora of other such uses. The PROs exist to eliminate the need for radio stations, music venues, and other such organizations from having to individually negotiate rights to play music with artists. The PRO determines the rate that say, a radio station, pays annually. The radio station airplay is them polled using a magical, mystical system (that isn't completely transparent), and artists are paid quarterly based on the airplay that they receive. This doesn't quite always work as desired, but that's the idea behind it.
The primary PROs in the U.S. are ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. I am registered with BMI. I have generally been unhappy with my interactions with them. I have considered switching to SESAC, but I am not certain that any one of the three is better or worse. I think, if starting anew, I would join SESAC, but this is not any kind of offical endorsement or advice. Check them all out and see which fits your needs best.
!!!!!VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!! I learned somewhat recently, and too late for my own good, that the PROs do much of their tracking through third-party services including Nielsen (http://www.bdsonline.com/). It's very important that you register your music with these services (select the services used by your PRO) if you want to see royalties.
I hear that for PRO tracking, it is also important for your CD master to include ISRCs embedded in the disc information. Read about ISRCs here and make sure to talk to your mastering engineer about including these.
Similiar to the PROs, there are also sometimes royalties for SRCOs (Sound Recording Copyright Owners). Soundexchange is one organization that helps to collect these royalties. Right now, these are primarily related to online streaming of songs via services like Last.FM and Pandora (we'll get to those later).
3. CDBaby Digital Distribution
Although you don't HAVE to use CDBaby as your digital distributor, they have a really simple process with pretty clear and fair cuts and reporting. I recommend using them for simplicity. Other people prefer alternative services and I am sure many of those could be fine as well. If you submit your album to CDBaby, they will distribute it to iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Napster, and a bunch of other digital sales services. Letting them do this makes life easy for you and it gets your music onto these services in a manner that is quick and easy, neither of which would describe the experience you would have if you tried to do it on your own. They also directly sell physical copies of your CD and digital downloads. They pay out once a week and generally have pretty good customer service in my experience.
CDDB (now Gracenote) and FreeDB are two database services that help people to identify your CD when it's in their computer. This may not sound like such a big deal (they know your CD is in their computer, right?), but it makes life 1000 times easier for people making digital copies of your album for their own use. Find yourself some software that allows you to submit to both of these services and make life easier for your fans!
5. Gimmesound
Gimmesound is a newcomer, so whatever I write here may be inaccurate in a week or two (Today is June 24, 2009). They are using a revenue-sharing system that results in artists getting paid for downloads even though the downloads are totally free to consumers! How much did I get paid last month? 71 cents a download! There is no way the payouts will continue to be so high as more artists sign up, but get in there while the getting is good!
Download all of our music for free at Gimmesound!!!
6. Last.FM / Pandora / Grooveshark
Last.FM, Pandora, and Grooveshark aren't quite all the same thing, but they share certain aspects. They all provide Internet radio services that allow users to select music to hear and then provide additional music that is calculated to be of potential interest given the likes and dislikes of the user. Last.FM and Grooveshark allow artists to submit their music directly without limitation. Pandora maintains a curated collection of songs. You can submit two songs per album for consideration. Thus far, every single indie artist I know (including The Motion Sick) has been rejected by Pandora.
7. Social Networking - Facebook / Twitter / Myspace
First things first. I have to warn you that only a fool believes that social networking has evened the playing field between indie artists and corporate artists. That same fool also believes that collecting friends on these services has any relation to collecting useful fans. These systems are wonderful because they allow artists to foster and maintain actual relationships with fans. They allow one-to-one and one-to-many interactions that were previously difficult to develop. Myspace, as far as I am concerned, is 100% dead. Sure, you should make a profile there and put music on it (with extensive links to your real web site) just in case some kid searches for you there, but you will not gain anything by adding lots of friends or sending out bulletins. No one cares. The entire failure of Myspace is rooted in the fact that they did not allow bands to have any direct method for communicating with fans. The Motion Sick has almost 14,000 Myspace friends and exactly 0 ways to contact any of them. The bulletin system is ignored, the invitation system is ignored, the status system is ignored, and mass direct messaging is not allowed. All of that equals one big fat useless service. Your best bet if you have a ton of Myspace friends is to try your very best to contact them one at a time and by bulletin or event to get them to join your actual e-mail mailing list. An actual e-mail mailing list is the only real way to identify and keep fans. Anything done on social networks is meaningless. I repeat that: an actual e-mail mailing list is the only real way to identify and keep fans. Anything done on social networks is meaningless.
That said, I go back to my original point. The social networking systems allow for more direct interaction between artists and their audience. Facebook is almost as much of a failure for bands as Myspace. They've restricted bands to using the Page system rather than the Profile system. Guess what? It doesn't allow you to send messages or event invitations to your fans. Useless. So, my solution is two-fold. I've made a questionably disallowed profile for The Motion Sick and I also extensively use my own personal profile to interact with fans of the band. I make friends with the fans. I personally send them event invitations and post band updates. So far, this has worked pretty well. I am hoping that Facebook stops their foolishness and essentially transforms the page system into something actually valuable.
Twitter is essentially a glorified method for updating my Facebook status, but I figure, it's another network of people who might read what you're saying. I also use Twitterfeed to automatically tweet a link and teaser for any blog entries that I've posted on the band blog or any of the other blogs that I write for. This helps reduce my workload and helps to promote all of the work I am doing.
Before Artistdata came along, I complained every single day that I had to update my show information in too many different places. Well, they came up with a solution that is about 3/4ths of the way there. Ultimately, I believe their goal is take all of the bits of information about your band and allow you to edit those in one place while automatically dispersing it to all of the social networking sites, music profile sites, and download sites you use. You edit once, everyone is happy. I look forward to their forward movement on this task.
9. Reverbnation
Reverbnation is the absolute leader in music profile sites (and there are many, many, many) because of its relatively sophisticated widget system. If you look on the sidebar of this blog and at much of our web site at http://www.themotionsick.com, you will see many instances of Reverbnation widgets in action. For us, it's primarily the mailing list and the music player.
Speaking of the mailing list (!!), we use Reverbnation's Fanreach system for sending out band e-mails. It's easy, relatively advanced, and flexible. It's great for both maintaining the list and composing messages. I highly recommend it!The Motion Sick on Reverbnation.
10. Music Licensing Sites: (e.g., Taxi, Broadjam, Youlicense, Sonicbids)
Getting your music heard is hard work. You need to be willing to put in the time (and money) to make it happen. There are a number of music-licensing services that can help you find placements that will provide you with exposure (and money) for your music. Rather than rewriting the whole summary here, I point you to a past entry I did on music licensing resources at: http://www.the-motion-sick.com/2008/10/quick-guide-to-indie-music-licensing.html
I also want to point out that I am starting my own Boston-focused music publishing/licensing company. You can read more about that at: http://launchover.com/
11. Your Own Web Site and Your Own Blog!
Maybe I am an old-fashioned guy, but absolutely nothing says unprofessional to me more clearly than someone giving a Myspace page (or even a Reverbnation page) as their official web site. Don't do it. Make a useful, simple, and rich web page for yourself. Fill it with information and content that doesn't fit on Myspace. What it comes down to is, if you want me to take you seriously, you had better have your own page. If you want to keep fans up to date in an organized, fun way, make a blog that includes both band updates and other posts with general entertainment value (like a post about 11 sites and services that are essential to bands)!
Prior to The Motion Sick, I had played in a number of bands in college including Simian Aides, Shiver U.K., and Binary Test Record. After graduating and moving to Boston for graduate school, I decided I wanted to either continue in the goth rock direction of Binary Test Record or form a silly, twee band modeled after some of my favorites at the time: The Magnetic Fields, Holiday, and Tullycraft. This was the origin of my first Boston project, Boys Suck. It was intended to be sort of catchy, mopey songs that were played loosely, but made up for lack of precision with humor and lyrical twists. I worked with a number of other collaborators while simultaneously playing a lot of solo gigs as well. We self recorded three limited-edition EPs (Short, Pale, and Ugly, Fool's Gold Lining, and God Blesse America) and a bunch of tracks for a variety of homemade collections of music. We had a fun time, even making 100 unique covers for our second EP. These are long out of print, but several of the songs from this era were rewritten into current songs by The Motion Sick. Short, Pale, and Ugly's "Communication Breakdown" became "Satellite," Fool's Gold Lining's "APD" was reworked into "Walk on Water," and god blesse america's "My Country" remained largely the same in its recording on The Motion Sick's first album, Her Brilliant Fifteen. The band pretty much completely dissolved around 2002. At that point, I began recording demos intended for eventually turning into a full-band project.
Around this time, Terry Rice of Dead Puppy Records, an Internet label asked Sophia Cacciola to help him put together a tribute album of bands covering songs by Boys Suck called Out of Tune. This has been kept available at: http://boyssuck.com/boyssuck2/tribute.shtml. In an attempt to be funny, I also recorded a song for this tribute album that was a cover of Sophia Cacciola's "Jean-Paul Approximately," which later became The Motion Sick's "Jean-Paul."
Three versions of demos exist from this post-band era, known as The Pink Demos, Beta, and simply Demo Sampler. The recordings contained on these three demos (which contained much overlap) would be the demos used to select songs for Her Brilliant Fifteen. Sometime in 2004, I decided that essentially, I was going to stop playing music mostly, but I wanted to make a sort of vanity album of band performances of the songs I had been working on from about '99 to '04. I enlisted Jordan Tishler of Digital Bear Entertainment to take on this project. I brought him 20 songs and told him I wanted to pare it down to 10 and do a full recording.
The 20 tracks I submitted to Jordan are now available for streaming and download at: http://www.gimmesound.com/TheMotionSick-HerBrilliantFifteenDemosandScratchTracks/. They are labeled as "original demos" here. Jordan selected 10 songs. Of the songs on Her Brilliant Fifteen, this original selection did not include "Grace Kelly" or "God Hates Kansas" and did include "The Cyclical Nature of the Ferris Wheel." I insisted on inclusion of those two songs, so that left us at 12 initially. Jordan suggested significant rewrites on many of the songs. "Grace Kelly Falling" was almost completely rewritten to become "Grace Kelly" - most others are relatively similar, but include lyrical rewrites, key changes, removal of parts, and general restructuring. Jordan and I didn't find a way to easily revise "The Cyclical Nature of the Ferris Wheel" so that we were both satisfied with it, so it was scrapped relatively early in preproduction. This left us with the 11 tracks included on Her Brilliant Fifteen.
After lengthy practice and revision time, I got together with David Little, who played drums in Blitzkriegbliss, another band I was in at the time and singer-songwriter extraordinaire Joe Kowan. We rehearsed for about 3 days before the album was to be tracked. We took some of the songs in strange, unforeseen directions, but it was a lot of fun, and I think a lot of great ideas came out of those sessions. Once we began tracking, Jordan expressed concern about Joe's limited experience playing bass (as he was primarily a guitarist - and a great songwriter). So, he ended up being replaced during the tracking sessions by the album's engineer Matthew Girard (The Motion Sick's bassist).
For those of you unfamiliar with recording techniques, we used the common strategy of recording scratch tracks of my guitar and vocals first so that all of the other instruments could be layered on top of those and they could be used as a general song guide. After the other tracking was completed, the vocals and guitar were replaced by real vocal and guitar tracks. The process of recording scratch tracks was doing roughly a single take on each song while playing along to a click. The performances are very uninspired (and poor) and are not really intended for future listening. Still, for your amusement, I have posted the scratch tracks from this session at: http://www.gimmesound.com/TheMotionSick-HerBrilliantFifteenDemosandScratchTracks/. They are labeled here as "scratch guide track demos."
Many musicians were brought into the studio to complete the layers of tracking present on the album. Most everything that was tracked was kept on the album. The only thing I remember totally removing was a spacey guitar on "Pre-Existing Condition" that didn't work for me. Someday, I might dig up those original session mixes so you can hear the original idea.
After some final tweaks and a mastering visit with the great Jeff Lipton of Peerless Mastering, the album was complete!
While the recording was happening, I had spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the heck to do for artwork. I had explored a number of ideas until finally becoming satisfied with extracting a bunch of images from an old medical book from the 1940s. My father agreed to put in a copyright request so that I could obtain the rights to use the images on the artwork. The album was designed and layout was completed - all by the multi-talented Joe Kowan. Then, some bad news arrived. The publisher refused to grant usage rights. I suspect it was because they were not even sure if they owned the rights to the images. So, I was in trouble and had no idea what to do.
Here was the original picture used on the cover:
Then, one day, it hit me. I went on eBay, bought a couple of old nurse outfits, a bunch of old medical supplies, some old medicine bottles, a gas mask, and all of the other items shown in the set of images from the medical book. I built the weird respirator machine out of an old sine-wave generator and a vacuum cleaner tube. I enlisted my (girlfriend at the time, now wife) Sophia Cacciola to play the part of the nurse and Bethany Blodgett to take the photos in our living room in Somerville, MA. We worked really hard to recreate the images reasonably well and to generate a final image that felt old, but not tied to a specific era. I posted on The Noise Board telling everyone that I found the photograph and was considering using it for album artwork, but I was trying to figure out when it was taken. I asked the board users to tell me what they thought. They gave a variety of answers: '40s, '50s, '80s trying to recreate '50s, etc. Everyone was fooled. Here is what we chose as the cover:
The original bio photo also came from this session. While we were playing around with composition and shooting with a digital camera before we switched to the film B&W shots, Bethany took a spontaneous shot of Sophia kissing me. Everyone who saw it loved this image so much that it became the bio image for the early days, despite the fact that Sophia was not ever in the band. It even made it into SPIN Magazine! Some of the reviewers at the Taxi music publishing service told me that it was their favorite bio photo that they had ever seen. I think this photo actually may have contributed significantly to the early success of the band.
After the album was complete, I did a large-scale mailing to press and radio on my own. I expected to be done with music at this point, but figured, I may as well send off my work to see how people react to it before I wave goodbye. The response surprised me quite a lot! Lots of college radio stations started putting it into heavy rotation. It even hit number 1 a few places! Most overwhelming was that SPIN decided to feature the "band" on their website (and eventually in the magazine). So, it quickly became clear that this wasn't quite yet my last musical breath...
Part 2: The Formation of the Band and the recording of The truth will catch you, just wait... coming soon.
"With, the same straw raincoat command is made with the game of 繧ｳ繝翫Α. To tell the truth, when Family Computer edition "soul 譁�ﾂ�#133;" 繧ｳ繝翫Α繧ｳ繝槭Φ繝�"on left and right left and right BA under upper rising and falling" is input, there is a reverse side skill that, the remaining machine becomes 30, it is the case, these "30 Lives" that it is made that in motif."
Now, we have another fine entry in the Babelfish goes wacky translation:
I say to them that I enlisted bad with this group, and I was already made fan. It enchants the sound, the acute letters, guitars and the voices to me. Ideal for that long trasnoches of work or design.
They are happy and releases life to the indie rock"
They refuse to include us in their system. Bummer. It's sort of tricky to decide how to feel about this. I don't really understand how they make the decision here. I assume it's a single person's aesthetic choice. I wonder what percentage of music they accept.
I submitted "Jean-Paul" and "30 Lives" this time. I couldn't submit our first album because for some reason, there is a problem with Amazon identifying the UPC despite the fact that Amazon lists it in their catalog. I didn't feel like chasing down the problem, particularly after this rejection, so eh...
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Dear The Motion Sick,
Thank you for your music and your interest in Pandora. There's no easy way to say this, so we'll just be direct: we have decided not to include your submission.
We handle a very, very large number of submissions, and do our best to make our decisions based upon the quality of the music, and whether it fits into our collection - it's a task we undertake with the utmost care. We understand that you probably disagree with our decision and think we've made a mistake. All of us who make these decisions at Pandora are working musicians as well and we know that reasonable people can and do disagree all the time about the evaluation of creative work.
We wish you the best of luck in your musical career. Most importantly, we hope that this small disappointment won't discourage you from continuing to develop your art and sending us more material in the future. One of Pandora's principle goals is to support working musicians at all stages of their careers.
It's true. It's starting to get a little sketchy. Ever since the order for our July 10th show was selected using dice, I have been on the edge of losing it. All I can do is make Dungeons and Dragons references. My bandmates are scared. My family is scared. They think I might become obsessed with the occult and the differences between my character and my reality will become blurred. I will run around with a dagger of light + 1 looking for goblins. I'll probably end up killing some weird, grey-skinned person because I think they're actually a kobold. Tom Hanks and I will forever be insane because of the game! (See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084314/ if you have no idea what I am talking about.)
1. Download all of our music for free and we still get paid!
2. We're opening for Pansy Division tomorrow
3. We've got a song on a workout DVD
4. The Motion Sick coming to U.S. Arcades soon
5. We've begun super-secret work on a new recording
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We've talked in the past about exploring new models for distributing music and still making ends meet. Well, we've got something new that we're testing out. Download our music free here and we still get paid (guilt-free for you!!!):
The site requires a quick and painless signup and we only get paid for downloads (that is the arrow next to the song), not for streams. Check it out and download away until you've got it all!
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Tomorrow, we have the wonderful opportunity to open for absolutely legendary and groundbreaking gay punk rockers Pansy Divsion. They've been rocking for a long while and have done tours with the biggest of punk bands including Green Day. They've just released a new CD and DVD, so check them out and be sure to come early and stay late!
06/17/09 TT the Bear's Place Cambridge, MA The Motion Sick - 9 PM
For those of you trying to shake yourselves into tip-top physical shape, you can now do that with a bit of accompaniment from The Motion Sick. We are included on a new exercise DVD called Cardio For Indie Rockers. You can see a bit of video including our music and read some more at: http://www.the-motion-sick.com/search/label/cardio%20for%20indie%20rockers
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The North American Arcade version of Dance Dance Revolution featuring The Motion Sick's "30 Lives (Up-Up-Down-Dance Mix)" song and video is coming very soon! Until then, you can see some of the kind of Freestyle Arcade dancing to the song that goes on in Japan, where the game is already out in the arcade. Check out one awesome dancer at: http://bit.ly/oBnCD. You can also go check out some past posts about our inclusion in the 500,000+ selling home console versions of DDR (XBox and Playstation) including an interview with the fellow who programmed the dance steps for the song. Read more at: http://www.the-motion-sick.com/search/label/ddr
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The band has been holding top-secret meetings in a secret, undisclosed lair inside a volcano to work out the details of our forthcoming album. We plan to post some demos and some peeks into the songs along the way so that you can be part of the whole process. Be sure to keep an eye on our blog at http://www.the-motion-sick.com for those updates. We also highly recommend using the RSS feed to subscribe using your favorite RSS reader: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheMotionSick
I don't really know much about this or if we even want a deal with Myspace Records, but here we are. Feel free to pretend you are playing our song on a cassette (if you're old enough to know what a cassette is). Hit "grab this" to share this widget.
There's a new literal video out for "Total Eclipse of the Heart." This one is the best one in some ways, though the singing is pretty painful to listen to...
Will K (under the name Secret Goldfish), a Lexington High School student and a member of the band High Off You recorded this really neat, dare I say Dashboard Confessional-ish, version of "30 Lives."
We thought you all might dig it as much as we do, so here it is:
Now, for the record and for your amusement, here is exactly what I actually wrote to them in response to several questions regarding the dangers of iPod overusage:
There have not been any long term studies examining music listening habits and changes in hearing, so we can only hypothesize about the risks. Listening to music at high levels for long periods of time can increase the risk of hearing loss.
The key factors affecting this risk are listening level and listening time. So, both turning up the volume and listening longer may increase the risk of hearing loss.
As a set of general guidelines that ONLY applies to the standard headphones that are packaged with iPods, you can listen at about 3/4 volume if you only listen for 1-2 hours per day with relatively little increased risk of hearing loss. If you listen for closer to 4 hours per day, volume should be reduced to 2/3 to keep the risk low. At volumes around 3/5, it is probably okay to listen for up to 8 hours without a significant increase in risk of hearing loss.
Listening at 90% and above should be avoided at all times, even for short periods.
Some may choose to purchase new headphones for their iPod. The volume percentages given may not apply at all to other headphones. The best headphones are the ones that encourage you to listen at the lowest level. If you listen in quiet environments, headphone choice matters relatively little for safety. If you listen in a noisy environment, headphones that block background noise are better. This is because people tend to raise their iPod volume above the level of the background noise that they hear. If the background noise is reduced, they will tend to listen at a lower level.
Tomorrow is a day of great excitement for us. We're opening for Richard Lloyd. As you may or may not know, Matt and Travis participated in The Cult of Point Break Society's Tribute to Television last year (The Motion Sick opened one show). As such, it should be evident that we've all got a great deal of respect for Richard Lloyd and Billy Ficca (who was also in The Waitresses, famous for the songs "I Know What Boys Like" and "Christmas Wrapping"). So please, come join us for this fine evening of music. We've also got locals Fox Pass, one of the original '70s post-rock bands - they probably would have taken over the world if they had lived in NYC instead of Boston- and former local Brett Rosenberg, making a rare Boston appearance. We go on early, 8:30 sharp!!!! So don't be late.
The web page http://konamicodesites.com/ gives a list of all of the sites that do something neat when you enter the Konami Code. What is the Konami Code?
The Motion Sick has been declared "Best Local Rock Band 2009" in the Boston Phoenix: http://thephoenix.com/theBest/Boston/Arts/Localrockband/. This is a great honor to us and we thank everyone who put in a good word at the polls.
---- Our pals in the NYC band Semi-Precious Weapons were supposed to be visiting Boston, but some sort of eyeliner accident has resulted in them cancelling the show and begging The Motion Sick, their choice for second most gorgeous band in the world, to take their place. As we would never want to let them down, we have joined this smashtacular night of killer rock:
Hypernova 10:00 PM This band is an amazing rock band from Iran who violated the law to play in the underground and very illegal music scene. Listen to this unbelievable piece on NPR about them: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11182793. They recently wrapped up a tour with Sisters of Mercy.
18+/$10 ---- Just because we love you and we like to try new things, we're experimenting with a pay-what-you-can model with our music. You can now download all of our music free (no strings attached) at: http://themotionsick.com/themotionsick/freemusic.html. We ask that if you find yourself enjoying what you hear, please consider paying an amount that you think is appropriate for it on that page. You can pay before you listen, you can pay after you listen, you can pay next month. Most of all, we'd like you to listen, let us know what you think, and support us in any way you can manage.
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Some of you may be aware that General Motors has decided to cut its Pontiac line. Pontiac muscle cars had a big impact on my youth, particularly the famed Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT), the super-rad Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from Knight Rider. My affinity for these cars added to the great excitement of having an opportunity to use an amazing 74 Pontiac Ventura in our music video shoot for our song "30 Lives." The Boston Globe made a video interviewing Pontiac owners, including Dan Poole, owner of that awesome Venture. They even included a little bit of the "30 Lives" video in the piece. Check it all out at: http://www.the-motion-sick.com/2009/04/fall-of-pontiac-30-lives-video-included.html
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We also had an amazingly awesome time at the WBCN Rock 'N' Roll Rumble and want to congratulate our pals
