While many a student has drifted into slumber to the soundtrack of a teacher’s drone, I highly doubt any kids will be falling asleep in LaMar Queen’s class. As an educator in a South Central Los Angeles middle school, Queen was getting more attention for his Kayne West style than for the algebra equations he was trying to teach the students. His solution was to combine their interests and his by creating raps that integrated his math lessons, and soon Queen’s raps were the talk of the school.
Together with fellow educator Jimmy Pascascio, Queen founded Music Notes, a educational music company designed to engage students through high-quality music and videos. Their second album of algebra-inspired raps will be released next month, along with an album of geometry tracks by a second artist to join the Music Notes team. We’ll be bringing you an interview with him next week, but for now, check out LA Music Blog’s discussion with Queen and Pascascio below. You just may learn something.
Few careers are as unstable as those in the arts, and given the current state of the recording industry, many once successful musicians are now facing financial hardships. Add to that the disastrous state of our heath care industry, and the result is a whole lot of professional musicians who not only can’t afford to pay their rent, but also can’t afford the treatments necessary to ward off illness and disease.
When singer-songwriter Victoria Williams faced these same hardships after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1993, a group of her friends recorded an album of all-star covers of her songs to raise money to alleviate her medical debt. Williams, knowing there were other musicians in similar situations, decided to use some of the proceeds to start the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. Since then, millions of dollars have been raised and dozens of artists in need have been helped through Sweet Relief.
LA Music Blog recently talked to Sweet Relief’s Executive Director, Rob Max, about the artists the fund is currently assisting, how he became involved with Sweet Relief, and what the organization has planned for the future.
So what do Prince, Jimmy Buffet, and Tupac Shakur have in common (besides sharing space on my iPod)? The answer is Gary Katz. In addition to producing some of the greatest albums to ever grace the modern music industry—including the seven original Steely Dan records, all but one of which were nominated for the Grammy for Best Album of the Year—Katz was a premier member of Warner Bros Records A&R staff and was also was responsible for signing Jimmy Buffet, Chaka Khan (Rufus), and Jim Croce to Dunhill Records. He is now the man behind Let’s Finish This, a company calling for an end to the dramatic polarization of America, proving that not only does he know a good band when he hears one, he knows a good idea, too.
LA Music Blog recently talked to Gary Katz about his new venture, the current state of the music industry, and the pain-in-the-ass correspondence that got him a job working for the president of Dunhill Records.
Forget the Hollywood sign. When I made the move out to SoCal from the east coast, the first sight I wanted to see firsthand was the famed Amoeba Music. When the Hollywood location opened its doors in 2001, it instantly became the attraction of choice for music fans and for good reason. As the world’s largest independent record store, Amoeba is sure to have something for everyone, and in case you were wondering what that “something” might be for other music lovers, Amoeba has you covered. Through their highly entertaining “What’s In My Bag?” web series, fans get a voyeuristic glimpse into the purchases of other customers, staff members, and musicians who visit the store on their way through town. Amoeba’s in-store performances provide music fans with a little live music to go with the vast amounts of recorded, and further confirm my suspicion that I could probably live a very happy life within the four walls of the store. As big as Amoeba is, no one would notice a girl with a sleeping bag under one of the vinyl racks, would they?
LA Music Blog recently talked to Daniel Tures, a manager at Amoeba’s Hollywood location, about his favorite LA artists, transitioning from PhD student to Amoeba employee, and dispelling the myth of the cranky record store clerk.
We at LA Music Blog rarely experience the joy of having someone sing to us during an interview, and even more rarely is that person singing a theme song from a hit ‘80s soundtrack, but after interviewing Jared Gutstadt, CEO and Co-Founder of Jingle Punks Music, who was joined by Jeff Peters, one of the company’s composers, damn if I don’t wish it happened more often. The young tastemakers from New York are truly bringing music licensing to the next level with a company that has been featured in Billboard, Wired, and Variety magazines and was named “one of America’s most promising start ups” by Business Week. Their client list includes ABC, NBC, Comedy Central, Vh1, MTV, Bravo, TLC, Starz, History Channel, and A&E, and that’s not even including the vast number of ad companies they’ve worked with.
I had the pleasure of attending the Jingle Punks LA Jingle Jam at Spaceland last week, during which members of the Twilight and True Blood casts, Mike Del Rio, Mandi Perkins, and a host of other celebs took their turns behind the mic for karaoke backed by the Jingle Punks house band (a highlight of the night was definitely witnessing Chantal Claret of Morningwood performing the Ramones classic, “Blitzkrieg Bop”). Seeing how much fun the Jingle Punks crew had playing music and engaging the crowd, it’s clear these guys really are all about the music, and we were thrilled to get the chance to talk to Jared about how the company got its start, how bands can become involved with the site, and the music that threatens to get their hipster cards revoked.
Any of you who ventured out to Club 3 in Hollywood last night are undoubtedly already familiar with the Rumble, a series of monthly parties that take place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Austin, Las Vegas, and New York. However, you might not be familiar with one of the men behind the events, Larry Little. As the co-founder of Future Sounds Inc, Little spends his days helping new and unsigned bands get their music out into the world, and he recently talked with LA Music Blog about how he got his start in the industry, the resurgence of the DIY attitude, and helping rock and roll rookies get their turn at the plate.
As the voice of the world-famous KROQ from the hours of 8 pm until midnight Monday through Friday, Nicole Alvarez gets to live her childhood dream of spinning songs on a daily basis, but thankfully for LA Music Blog, she never seems to tire of talking about music. We were recently able to catch the DJ off-air and pick her brain regarding the state of modern radio, how she got her start in the industry, and why being a dork for music is never a bad thing.
Since arriving in our sunny state in 2003, Matthew Arnold has built a career on his creativity, doing everything from photographing musicians to creating an award-winning documentary. According to Arnold, the only art form he doesn’t attempt is the creation of music, but he’s found a way to even get involved in that. His Legends of La La documentary-style web series features artists trying to make a career out of music from the entertainment industry epicenter: Hollywood. Since its inception, the series has highlighted such artists as Lissie, Mason Reed, Dan Bern, D Henry Fenton, Elle King, Jay Nash and many more local talents. LA Music Blog recently talked to Matthew Arnold about the web series, his entre into the music industry, and taking La La from the monitor to the big screen.
