Tag: Bandcamp

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Moore, Stanfill, Stuart

Music Video Monday is reading your mind!

The pandemic has disrupted the lives and careers of musicians everywhere. As a result, it has also prompted a wave of home recording, and encouraged new collaborations. The Bandwagon project is one of those.

“It’s basically musicians in these quarantine times recording and writing together via email,” says Joshua Crosby. “Like, I send Jeremy Stanfill an idea, then he adds guitar and sends it to, say, Jeff Hulett. And he adds drums then he sends it to, say, James Godwin, and he adds bass. And then it comes back to me in a way I never imagined it and then we put it up on the Bandwagon Bandcamp page. So, it’s a way to collaborate with folks you maybe never would’ve — be it not for quarantine — and also a way to let go of creative control. And anyone is welcome to submit songs.”

“Telepathy” was written by Mark Edgar Stuart and recorded by Jeremy Stanfill and Landon Moore. Director Billy Worley found some awesome vintage footage of psychics “at work” to create a memorable music video. Take a look.

Music Video Monday: Moore, Stanfill, Stuart

If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com. 

Categories
Music Music Blog

The Ellie Badge Releases Live EP

CREDIT: Courtesy The Ellie Badge

Courtesy The Ellie Badge

LIVE at Growlers in 2019!

The Ellie Badge released a surprise album today, Friday, September 4th. The album, LIVE at Growlers in 2019!, marks the band’s first release of a live recording. When, on a phone call with frontman Jeremiah Matthews, I suggested all the band needs to do now is release a double-length concept album, Matthews laughs and says he has a rock opera in the works.

Courtesy The Ellie Badge

Jeremiah Matthews

“It was about a year ago, when we opened for Listener and ’68,” Matthews says of the recording, noting that the band pushed themselves into “heavier,” more bombastic sonic territory — Listener and ’68 are both on the more face-melting side of the music spectrum. So fans of Matthews’ solo shows, defined by his proficiency with guitar and keyboard loops and his clear, angelic vocal delivery, might be in for something of a surprise. To help achieve the desired sonic intensity, the setlist was taken primarily from The Ellie Badge’s newest full-length release, Horse Stories + Personal Fables. “It’s four songs from the newest record and two from the record before that,” Matthews says.

LIVE at Growlers was recorded by Josh “Baby J” McKemey. It was mixed by Jim Gray and mastered by Joel Mariani of Endless Bummer Records out of Boston, Massachusetts. Endless Bummer has put out two of Matthews’ earlier releases, but that’s not the only reason he picked Gray and Mariani to mix and master the record: “Any money they raise off of any of their music stuff, they donate to BLM.”

The album is available via the band’s Bandcamp page, and Matthews hopes proceeds from the sales will help fund his next recording project, a pair of dual EPs. “The first Friday of every month, they waive their fee,” Matthews says of Bandcamp. “Hopefully we can raise a little money to record when everything’s calmed down.”

Courtesy The Ellie Badge

LIVE at Growlers serves another purpose: It’s something of a placeholder for The Ellie Badge, who have been dormant during the coronavirus pandemic. “I haven’t really seen any of them,” the songwriter says of his bandmates. “I’ve been writing a ton, I’ve been demoing at home. I have my drums set up, and I’m recording live drums. I’m just writing as much as I can so [we’ll be ready] when we can safely be together again.”

The players on the live record are Matthews on guitar and vocals, Eli Wilson on guitar and backing vocals, Wyatt Braden on bass and backing vocals, and Patrick Curran on drums. Matthews says the album represents an end of an era, in a way. It marks the last recording with Wilson, who has since moved to Knoxville. “This is the only live stuff we’ve ever released.”

As for how the record sounds? Though this listener is on record as a die-hard fan of Matthews’ quieter solo work, LIVE at Growlers is a welcome balm in these days of no live concerts. It’s loud, raw, with frenetic guitar riffs and Matthews stretching his voice to the breaking point. “Hospital Song” is excellent, Matthews’ vocals clearly audible above clean guitars and a driving drum beat. And “Just Stay Home” is a particular standout, combining Matthews’ ear for catchy melody with his band’s ability to harness wild riffage to rip the roof off. It’s well worth a listen, particularly for erstwhile concert-goers growing tired of just staying home.

Categories
Music Music Blog

Programs Ramp Up To Assist Musicians Losing Work Due To COVID-19

CREDIT: Courtesy Blues City Cafe

Courtesy Blues City Cafe

For musicians, the brave new world we all face in the shadow of COVID-19 is especially difficult. As a recent NPR story notes, “almost at once, it seemed like the entire March calendars of musicians across the country were wiped clean. Within hours Wednesday, thousands of dollars in expected income vanished.”

While many are exploring live-streamed concerts and the tips they can provide, for many players the funds from these events are too little, too late.

But there are signs of hope for these artists, often from very local institutions who realize that if Memphis is to remain a music city, something, or someone, has got to give.

Yesterday Music Export Memphis, a nonprofit that has assisted so many touring acts based here, announced that it was launching fundraising for a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. While details of how financial assistance will be administered are still being worked out, the program is now taking donations, in anticipation of an ever-escalating need in the weeks and months to come.

The Blues Foundation is another local nonprofit that is stepping up its community assistance, with a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund for Blues Musicians. As the foundation announced that its upcoming Blues Music Awards will pivot to become a series of online events, “they are asking those who have purchased 2020 BMA tickets and/or Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony tickets to convert those purchases to donations to be applied directly to this Emergency Relief Fund. Ticket purchasers will also be offered the option for a refund of their ticket purchases or to apply those purchases to next year’s events.” Noting that The Blues Hall of Fame Museum is closed for the time being, they add that they “will continue to accept phone calls and respond to emails throughout the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.”

On a national level, other efforts have sprung into action. The Recording Academy®, which oversees the Grammy Awards, and has a strong chapter based in Memphis, has operated the MusiCares® foundation for some time. It typically offers medical relief to musicians caught off guard without insurance or other niceties of salaried jobs, but has now begun a COVID-19 Relief Fund. 

And Bandcamp, where so many independent artists offer their recorded wares (or files), made this announcement on Tuesday:

To raise even more awareness around the pandemic’s impact on musicians everywhere, we’re waiving our revenue share on sales this Friday, March 20 (from midnight to midnight Pacific Time), and rallying the Bandcamp community to put much needed money directly into artists’ pockets….Still, we consider this just a starting point.

So get online tomorrow and purchase those singles, EPs, albums, and downloads. Your spending will go directly into the pockets of musicians in need. And if you have the means, consider donating to some of the initiatives above. For a musician, it could make all the difference.