Sunday, January 29, 2006

U2 Tickets

In the fall of 1976, a popular high school student Paul Hewson observed a note on the notice board of Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin . It was from a 14 year old student Larry Mullen and he had asked for some music lovers to come and join a band. Paul's immediately answered the call and so did three other lads, Dave Evans, Dick Evans and Adam Clayton. A five-piece band was organized with the name of "Feedback". However, Dick Evans left the band to join another one after some time. The band altered their name to "The Hype" but ultimately they set on to " U2".It was this name which took them to the heights of the sky and made it one of the hottest band of 1980's. 17 th March 1978 was an unforgettable day for U2 as they got their first major break by wining a music talent contest on St. Patrick's Day in Limerick . One of the judges of the contest was Jackie Heyden working for CBS Records. Observing the electrifying performance of the boys, he became an immediate fan of U2. It was Jackie Heyden who first took U2 to the studio for recording their debut demo. Although it was not so successful it was still a real confidence booster for the young men. Their thrilling music and breathtaking performances soon managed to amass crowds of dedicated fans. Through the combination of devotion and passion they rose to be the most popular rock and roll bands of 80's. The zealous struggle of U2 allowed them to nab a respectable place in the music world during the era of synthesized pop and heavy metal music. They launched their debut album in 1979 with the name "U 2 three", which grabbed the top place in Ireland music charts. Later when it was released in England , it was a disappointing failure. The next year was filled with extensive touring worldwide for the band. In a couple of years two of their albums were in the market, naming "The Boy" and "October", and the boys were now recognized in Ireland . Nevertheless, U2 really hit the big time with the release of their album "War", released in March 1983. The "New Year's Day" single became chart topper in England . U2 was on the flow and their records were selling like hot cake throughout the world. Their 7 th LP "The Joshua Tree" did record breaking selling in England and remained the big seller in 22 other countries. The fame of U2 was swelling uncontrollably and they amassed millions of dollars from world over. Next albums were "Achtung Baby",1991, "Zooropa",1993, "Pop"1997and their latest album " How to Dismantle a Atomic Bomb",2004, which are still remembered by millions of rock music lovers. There has been no deterioration in the fame of U2 till the present day. Several U2 concerts are still due during this summer in Spain, England, France, Italy, Holland, Switzerland and other European countries. Millions of fans are excited about these concerts all over the world, as can be judged by the fact that most of the tickets have been sold out. U2 has been maneuvering the rock music scenario constantly for over two complete decades which is an achievement of sorts. They have chartered success on their own terms on both the artistic and business sides in the music industry. And it seems apparent to thousands of their fans that their sun of limitless fame might never set!

http://www.ConcertTickets.org

Where Did The Music Video Come From?

Although the first music video ever broadcasted was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ played by MTV in 1981, some consider the music video to be much older than that year. It seems that the film Alexander Nevsky, directed by Sergei Eisenstein in 1938 had some extended images of battles which had been choreographed by Sergei Prokofiev. These new scenes were so innovative that they have lately been considered to be the first music video. Apparently, the music video is even much older than these innovative scenes. The 1911 Alexander Scriabin’s symphony – Prometheus: Poem of Fire was written for orchestra and ‘light organ’. Oskar Fischinger’s animated movies were considered to be other ancestors of the music video as they were called ‘visual music’ and they were equipped with orchestral scores. Max Fleischer’s short cartoons were also considered to be attempts of a music video. He created a new type of cartoons, the sing-along cartoons which he called Screen Songs. These short cartoons were inviting the public to sing along to famous songs at that time. Few years later, in the 1930s, these cartoons were changed; they displayed the musicians singing their hit songs in front of the camera in a live-action show. Walt Disney also contributed to the music video evolution through his ‘Silly Symphonies’ which were based on musical pieces. The Warner Brothers cartoons were also created around songs. But the most popular videos were the live music concerts, performing popular singers, videos which were displayed in theatres. Bessie Smith’s dramatized performance of a song was another attempt to make a music video. This performance consisted in a short film named Saint Louis Blues. It was very popular and it had been played in theatres for more than 3 years. She wasn’t the only musician that appeared in short musical materials. Many musicians liked the idea and started shooting their own materials. Music historian Donald Clarke considers that Louis Jordan’s strange feature film Lookout is the official ancestor of the music video. In conclusion, it seems that the first music video issue is still a controversial subject. The important thing that needs to be noted is that the music video is by far much older than the television which made it famous: MTV.

Music Software 101

Which Music Software Programs Fit Your Needs? Want to find out how to listen to all your favorite songs whenever you want? If so, you’ll want to learn more about music software and how you can install some programs onto your computer. Here are some descriptions of some basic music software programs you will want to learn more about: CD Ripper A CD Ripper program allows you to convert tracks from a compact disc to your mp3 player, or onto your computer. You can make your own mp3s from audio CDs, so that you make your own song selections. You can also convert batches of WAV decoded files at a time to mp3 files on the CD Ripper, and if you want to download this program onto your computer, you’ll need to have Microsoft Windows 95, 98, or 2000, and a CD-ROM drive. For most CD Ripper programs, you can try a free download first before purchasing the product. Audio Editors If you are into recording and creating your own music, an audio editor program may be a good investment. An audio editor program allows you to save your own studio sessions or songs to modify later. Most include a metronome (to keep music and vocals in rhythm) and an audio mixer. The mixer allows you to adjust different music track settings like tone, pitch or volume. On some programs you can even ‘beat match’ between tracks, thus allowing for a smoother transition between songs. One audio editing program you may want to try is Blaze Media Pro, a program which is also a CD burner and converter. And, if you’re recording a large file, most audio editors will be able to support your files with no problem at all. If you are using a multi-track editor, one thing to keep in mind is whether your sound card and memory capabilities are up to the task of handling large volumes of songs. Although most audio editor programs are commercial (and not freeware) and have a standard price tag, you can receive free trials for audio editor programs as well. Be aware of the memory and sound card requirements as designated by the company who produces the software. Depending on who makes the software, it may be available for Windows XP, Windows 98, ME, 2000 and even Mac OSX.

Music Business Success

Incorporate these skills into your strategy for success and you’ll move forward quicker than you ever dreamed! 1. Hustle: generally, people who make it big have one thing in common—they are dissatisfied with the status quo. They will not take what is “common” or “expected” and let that define their lives—they move past it and excel. You must work hard and hustle. 2. Character: someone coined the phrase, “character is what you do in the dark.” In other words, when no one is looking, will you behave differently than if someone was looking? If not, then you have character. If you are attacked, be tough—not hard. Don’t be a pushover, but be compassionate, gentle, and flexible—especially on procedure (not principle). 3. Risk Taking: this isn’t gambling, it’s a willingness to be bold, hearty, and to push forward. People who refuse to take risks are definitely going to lose. If you refuse a new promotion because you’re not confident of your skills, you will likely be passed over when a different chance arrives. Don’t be afraid of rejection, just take it as part of life and you’ll find there’s nothing to be afraid of—especially in the word “no.” “No” is just another opportunity to find a way around an obstacle and to use creative problem-solving skills. 4. Time Management: we all know that one minute has 60 seconds and that one hour has 60 minutes. One day has 24 hours, and one year has 365 days. But one year also has 525,600 minutes. We don’t think about a year in such small increments, but maybe we should. We waste minutes as if they’ll always be around, and the fact is that time wasted is time we can never get back. We might miss a deal or promotion of a lifetime by wasting just a few minutes. Proper time management is essential as you climb to success. Continue to break goals down in to manageable chunks—do that with relation to your day and the time you’ve been given. You’ll accomplish far more this way and you won’t regret using your time wisely. 5. Master Non-Verbal Communication: it is said that our body language and facial expressions do much more communicating than our words will ever do. When the words that you speak don’t match the expressions on your face or the stance of your body, you confuse the listener and muddle your message. Be aware that when you try to “multi-task,” you often end up short-changing something, and the last thing you want is to short-change people. Don’t try to do too much at once—your willingness to do this tells people they aren’t important, even if you’re expressing your appreciation of their work and effort. Be aware of what message your body is sending off!

5 Sure Fire Ways To Get Radio Play For Your “Independent” Music!

You have to find radio airplay time if you’re going to be heard and we’re not just talking the local college campus. The trick is called promotion. Now that doesn’t mean you just put your press kit in an envelope with a demo and hope they take pity on you. Perhaps you call a station and they give you the standard pitch of, “Send it and if we like it we’ll put you in rotation.” After a few months of never hearing your music, you automatically think you’re not worthy. First, don’t buy that. You’re one of hundreds, maybe even thousands depending on your city. Your disc will probably end up in the trash or, for more enterprising DJ's, on Ebay in a one-cent CD sale. If you want to be heard and make potential sales, you have to stand out from the crowd, and in this jewel of an article, I’ll show you Five(5) Knock ‘em Dead Ways to Do Just That!: #1 - Get your CD into the right hands. The intern that’s too busy to getting coffee or typing up a report for the station manager isn’t going to be the one making the airplay decision. So find out who the head honcho is in that department and touch base with them. If the club you’re playing at charges an admission or you have a show coming up offer to send the stations tickets to give away to listeners. Now keep in mind you can’t give the tickets to the staff, since that’s illegal and called payola, but you can offer free giveaway items to your potential audience. #2 - If you’ve got one station in your pocket, then drop names. Let them know that WABC is playing your music and it’s getting a great response. #3 - Make genuine friends in the business. If you’ve got a disc jockey that’s got you in rotation and really likes your sound, get to know them. Find out why they enjoy it and see if they’ve gotten any responses from listeners. If they haven’t, ask if perhaps they might Q & A their callers about your music so you get a feel for your target audience. It’s not a bad idea to ask them for a testimonial or quote if they’re well known in your area if you know them personally. People help people. That’s a fact so if you treat your area disc jockeys like a living and breathing human and not dollar signs, that’s a foot in the door. Another good source is club owners. If they play your music and the fans go nuts ask them to say a few words about your sound that you can pass along to prospective stations, but be sure to sit down for a drink with them. Ask them about the picture of him and the woman and two kids behind the Magic Kingdom. Don’t be fake, but be genuinely interested. #4 - Network. Find out if someone you know (or someone they know) has connections to the music stations. Remember six degrees of separation - you’re only six people away from knowing anyone on the planet and yes that includes station managers, concert promoters and record execs. The trick is it takes a great deal of work and time, but if you’re serious, it’s well worth it. #5 - Go local, state, national. Don’t think you’re going to skip your local and state stations and be the next Matchbox Twenty. It doesn’t work that way. Start small and then get big. Making contacts and getting names can be tough, that’s why you should start with a tested and proven music industry resource like The Industry Yellow Pages - Music Industry Contact Directory at http://www.TheIndustryYellowPages.com The TIYP is helpful and loaded with contacts you can start using immediately without doing all the legwork yourself.

Hints On Booking Live Music For Your Wedding

Part 1 - Types of music Ceremony There are a myriad of ideas for music during the ceremony, from string quartet to bagpipes! Singers -from solo to a choir, organist, trumpet, brass ensemble and harpist are just some of the many other options. Reception Drinks and / or Wedding Breakfast For background or 'dinner' music between one and three musicians is ideal, unless you are expecting more than about 100 guests, when you might want a slightly larger band. Vocalists can be somewhat distracting for purely background music, particularly during a meal, as it can seem like more of a performance, and guests may feel rude talking while they are singing. Musicians particularly suitable for background music are: Jazz trio or duo, (or quartet for larger events); Solo jazz guitarist; Solo classical guitarist; Solo Spanish guitarist; Jazz or classical pianist; Harpist; String quartet (an exception to the 1-3 musicians rule). Dancing For a wedding it is important to remember that there are likely to be a very wide mixture of guests, with a correspondingly wide mixture of tastes. It is therefore prudent to consider whether your choice of a profane rap band is really what your Granny is going to dance to. A quality covers band should be able to cater to a wide audience, encouraging your guests to dance without beating them over the head with pumping bass drum when they are still digesting the sumptuous wedding breakfast.

Some History Facts On Music Videos

Music videos represent a crucial part of the music industry. Artists owe their careers to music videos as they are being given the chance of impressing the public not just with their vocal talent, but also with their looks or moves. Thirty years ago, music video used to be less important then it is nowadays. MTV (Music Television) was the phenomenon that gave so much power and importance to the music video. MTV started broadcasting in 1981 in the USA and it marked the beginning of the music video’s ruling over the music industry. The first video ever played on MTV was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by The Buggles. As MTV was broadcasting 24-hour-a-day music, music videos were needed to be produced. Consequently, music video began to play an important role in artists’ careers. It is considered that even Madonna’s career has been greatly influenced by her videos that presented a sexy, appealing look of the artist. Some experts say that Madonna has been inspired by the image that the actress Greta Garbo has used in her silent movies. MTV has been highly controversial: some saw as the beginning of an amazing, new, fresh era in music, others considered it to mark the end of true musical talent, as artists have been become more appreciated for their looks instead of their vocal abilities. Nowadays, the music video is as important as the song itself, sometimes even deciding the success of a song or artist. Collections of music videos are being sold on tapes or DVDs. Music video’s greatest fans are apparently watching them muted just to enjoy their artistic value, as they consider it to be a new form of art. They consider that a music video should be assessed based on its visual qualities and not on the song quality. It seems that the music ‘gurus’, corporate managers, have realised the potential of using female sex-appeal in music videos, therefore this feature is being used excessively as it is more popular for the public. The birth of the music video has created a new type of directors: video directors. MTV started even listing directors with video credits and this profession has become more and more popular. But it seems that most video directors don’t specialise in this particular art form, they see it as being just a step on the way to directing a movie. Many start directing videos or commercials, hoping to get the recognition to build a name and to direct a movie. It seems that even video directors admit the fact that a music video is secondary to the song itself. In conclusion, although music video’s fans have tried to elevate this form of entertainment to the title of an art form, the music video is eventually just a work of commerce, destined to sell a product: the song.

5 Secrets To Getting Results In The Music Business

1. Set out deliberately to make every day highly productive. Decide on one main purpose for each day. Determine that you’re going to achieve that one object above everything else. If you accomplish even one worthwhile thing each day, you’ll be inspired to keep moving ahead! And a series of successful days makes a highly productive year! Achievement begins with a definite, written plan for each day’s work. Be strict with yourself on this one. It’s vital to your best progress. After planning your day, start working right away with passion and excitement. Do your honest-to-goodness best. If some part of your work seems boring, put more heart and purpose into it, and you’ll be surprised at the satisfaction and motivation that’ll pop up! 2. Make the most of your opportunities each day. Whatever you do, always expect success. Make the most of your best talents. There are opportunities all around you! Look for them. Grab them and hold on tight! Keep your eyes fixed upon one purpose, and remember that perseverance may carry you far beyond your immediate goal. It could bring you even greater success than you anticipate. Don’t wait for your best working mood, but create it. Concentration is one of the great secrets of achievement. Apply yourself wholeheartedly to a task for one hour. You’ll accomplish more than you will from several hours of aimless effort. Get used to doing one thing at a time and to do it thoroughly. 3. Appreciate the privilege of work. You can’t afford to take things easy while climbing the ladder of success. Don’t back up because difficulty comes knocking at your door. Move ahead. Don’t be scared of a little work. Work is the medicine of the soul. It’s more than that - it’s your very life. You don’t need extraordinary abilities for the highest success. In most instances successful folks rise to the top by making the most of ordinary talents and opportunities. A person of average ability inspired by hard work and determination will outstrip a genius who doesn’t know where he’s headed. 4. Be courageous! You’ll be confronted by difficulties and discouragements, but decide to be strong and focused at all times. Make yourself do the difficult things. Get them out of the way first. Your courage and motivation will grow. 5. Develop extra energy reserves. Store up energy for future use. Now, you may wonder how you can store up what you don’t have, but you’re better equipped than you think. At the next sign of mental or physical laziness or inclination to give up because of a challenge, try the following exercise: Stand up straight, breathe deeply, rise on your toes, and stretch your arms toward the ceiling. Repeat this several times with gusto. Shake out the lazies, and then get back to your work with renewed energy. Change of work is restful and revs up your brain power. People don’t often break down from overwork but from lack of organization and knowledge. Work during all the working hours of the day. Try to make every moment count. Put your whole strength and best effort into the work of the moment. Also, make time for leisure outside of your regular business hours. Free time is actually most enjoyable when there’s plenty of hard work before and after it. Really! Take action on these 5 steps, and you’ll find your days filled with great joy and effectiveness.

Free, Legal Music Online

Almost everyone has heard about the massive crack down on Internet music piracy that has been occurring over the past few years. Napster was taken down (although it has now returned as a pay service), other file sharing programs now require users to pay for a license and the RIAA and other similar organizations are doing their best to hunt down copyright offenders and put an end to their crime sprees. The consumers on the other hand argue that their actions hurt nobody, that there is no damage done to anyone by their not buying an album. Furthermore, they claim, MP3s allow them to sample a CD before purchasing it, thus actually helping sales. I'm not here to argue the pros and cons. Basically it's not worth it, as neither side of the argument will ever see the opposition's point of view. What I'd like to do is take a look at the completely free and legal alternative to 'stealing' music. Those wonderfully talented musicians who are willing to put their creations online to download for free, solely for the joy of spreading their creations to the masses. Free music is surprisingly easy to come by, even music by famous bands. Sometimes it needs to be 'streamed' from the Internet, meaning that you can only listen to a song while you're online, but with the ever-growing popularity of broadband Internet this is really no longer a problem. Sites such as MP3.com and purevolume.com provide free music by almost any band you can think of, although there is a large amount of it that has to be streamed and not downloaded. A search for 'free legal MP3 downloads' will reveal a huge number of pages to visit. For something specific, try visiting the artist's website, or the site of their record label. These will often offer a few sample tracks to download for free. It's not quite as convenient as having access to every song that you want, but it's not a bad alternative. But how about we forget about the mainstream for just a while and move towards the alternative? Towards the hopefuls, the talented bands that have yet to be 'noticed'. There are a huge number of these smaller bands out there that are sticking their stuff online for any and all to listen to, just so that they can be heard. These can be easier to find, because most MP3 sites will be filled with these smaller acts. A great place to start is http://www.garageband.com/ or the aforementioned http://purevolume.com The great thing about smaller bands is that you can often find bands that come from your local area and then go and see them play live. Being able to see a favourite band live more than once a year (or lifetime) without expending huge amounts of money and time is pretty cool. Many music search engines will let you search for bands of a particular genre in a particular area, which makes it all quite easy. A fairly major contributor to the online music scene is the remixer. These people take other tunes and redo them, often in a techno style because one person can do this competently. Chief among the tunes selected to be remixed are those old ditties that used to play through the simplest of sound chips on now aging consoles: the video game theme songs. People now go and grab the main tune line from an old favourite and fill it out, making real the work our imaginations used to do for us to turn the single tone melodies into orchestral masterpieces. A few good places to start are http://remix.kwed.org and http://remix.overclocked.org as well as a personal favourite band http://machinaesupremacy.com I hope this has given you something to think about. It's not hard to come across illegal MP3 rips, in fact it's often hard to avoid them, but if you give the free music scene a look you may find something completely different and new that will really do it for you. With web hosts already being penalized hugely for illegal content being stored on their servers (having an entire server taken down because of one inconsiderate user is damaging and irritating beyond belief) and moves being made to charge ISPs for the content being accessed by their users, it makes more sense than ever to get out there and grab yourself an awesomely original and completely legal music collection.

Rap Is More Than Music

This is a style that stays aside all the other music trends. Not aside, but somewhat deeper. The reason is it is a reflection of the race, the plurality of people united by roots and origin. Rap is the culture of Afro-Americans, the continuation of their language and traditions. Rap is a mixture of speech and music, actually it is speech laid on music or beat it’s better to say. And when we claim that people are united through music, meaning every single human being on this planet, rap unites the ones close to blood by music and then everybody else, either welcoming or being hostile to a newcomer. What attracts people in rap? Is it catchy? Maybe. Those non-natives to rap often state the flow of speech is too quick and it is difficult to differentiate the words. Sometimes it seems rap music is only for those from the cradle. Foreigners are not invited. Rap is classified as urban poetry of lyrical resistance. Thus it is not the music for village like country music. It is the gathering power of those united by music in big cities. The aim is to resist the grieves because misfortunes are more dramatic and numerous in urban areas. Rap does not only speak to the mind and emotions, but speaks to the society all around people, for people. If the words or courage to say those words are not there, the subconscious takes over and the Rap lyrics kick in. But once captured by the beat, most people - mainly younger ones - begin to hear the words, and the words may describe just how they are feeling that day. If the boss came to work with an agenda to screw everyone, some people will "feel" the words and the beat, especially when enclosed in a car doing 70 on the freeway. It’s something about riding with the music turned full-blast that has a way of absorbing the mind and supplying a means of temporal escape. Some songs have innocent words that impress upon the mind to be released later at the water cooler. Some choruses are catchy and when sung by certain artist will stay within the subconscious long after. Various rappers have unique voices that some people find attractive or along the same vocal tone as their own voice, which it makes it easier to sing along. First goes the beat, and then goes the lyrics! It is not as smooth and tender as classical music, not as glossy as pop, but it has the scream of pain of real emotion of the world’s harshness. One may even state that rap is the most pain expressing music style. Those who sing it or it is better to say read it revive their feelings not only concerning love, as most of the other styles do. Their message is about life and the problems, especially the ones of the Afro-American people. The music of pain and oppression, rap is a remedy to the latter. Let all the pills be like that!