If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Original, talented, independent and self-reliant, women are in the forefront of music today. I may be biased, but I truly believe that women can be THE FUTURE OF MUSIC AND THE WORLD. Now we can really say, we've "come a long way baby".
Performing live is difficult for most musicians. Successfully conveying emotion to a crowd takes practice. Even professional musicians make mistakes. One great gig can be the difference between fame and obscurity, so don't sabotage your debut before you even arrive. Follow these tips to avoid shooting yourself in the foot onstage.
With their second album, The Fall of Romance, the Winnipeg-based Indie band Imaginary Cities is moving up another notch in the music business.
If a male artist goes from YouTube sensation to being courted by every major label, he is in charge. But if an emerging female artist gets asked to contribute to the Girls soundtrack, she must be a sell-out, a puppet, mangled to sell something the corporations already own.
The closing gala for this year's New York Indian Film Festival (HuffPo), held in a banquet hall above NYU's Skirball Auditorium, was alive with artist...
The MVR is a unique approach to music video production. 20 bands are paired with 20 filmmakers at random. They have just one weekend to write, film and edit a music video.
You start with one person. And if you can get one person to really like you and your band, I mean gushhhh over you like a 13-year-old over One Direction, then, one fan will become two, two will become three, three will become four. So chill out, take off the sunglasses, and hang with your fans.
This was my big dream -- to work with Sting. I experienced first-hand his brilliance and his unique ability to draw out the best in those around him. He took care of his body and his instrument. No matter what the situation, he was always prepared, and he expected the same of us.
When summer finally hits in the Great White North, it blooms into a music festival paradise. From Osheaga in Montreal to NXNE in Toronto to the folk festivals out West, this land was made for music fans. Here are some of the best fests happening this summer.
I don't want to have to compromise my morals in order to make a living. I don't want my words to be taken out of context. I don't want to be infantilized because I refuse to be sexualized. I don't want to be molested at shows or on the street by people who perceive me as an object that exists for their personal satisfaction. I'm tired of men who aren't professional or even accomplished musicians continually offering to "help me out" (without being asked), as if I did this by accident and I'm gonna flounder without them. I'm sad that my desire to be treated as an equal and as a human being is interpreted as hatred of men.
Sadly, neither Drake nor Director X was there to accept the award. They robbed me of probably my best moment to run on stage and "Pull a Kanye." I think that's what sent me into the downward spiral. I ordered another drink. Then a double. Then a triple. And a Regina triple is pretty stiff, let me tell you
I set off on a journey around the country to interview 50 record stores who I thought would be amongst the last shops standing to find out what they had done to survive whilst hundreds of others had failed. My book was made into a movie, and is now the official film of Record Store Day on April 20.
It never occurred to me that my music and sexuality could be helpful in this way. I have just always written what I write. But never as a political act. But today I sang in front of several hundred queer high school students. My lyrics suddenly took on new meaning. I can't stop thinking how this conference could have completely changed my youth.
SXSW has such a palpable hedonism. It is a parade of acts, a carnival of different kinds of food, sunshine, and music heard in every street. Though I guess I am 'here to work,' I would love to experience this festival, as a performer, responsibility free (am I a diva?).
I write here about my experience not as an administrator since I am not one of those, or even as a librarian although I am one of those. I offer this opinion only as an impenitent bin rat that has collected songs going back to the original days of vinyl.
Say what you will, but after the spectacle died down and the top honor of the night went to Mumford & Sons' album Babel, at least one thing is clear: We are in the midst of the New Sincerity. Being really into something is cool now, even if that something is, well, God.
