Weekend Music Links: Issue 6

Welcome to Playground Music's sixth edition of Weekend Music Links. If you have any favorite blogs, message boards, videos, sites, bands, upcoming events, or anything else that you think deserves a mention, please send them our way. We love to get your feedback!

Remember-If you are a local musician or in a band (or know of one) and would like to get the word out about upcoming shows, releases or projects, drop us a line.

You can follow and contact us on twitter @ playgroundpc, or send a message to our Facebook page administrators: Ford Seeuws or Justin Weathermon.

LOCAL ARTISTS

Sam Weigle

Sam was born and raised here in Panama City, beginning his music career with piano lessons at a young age. It was footage from the Eagles' live concerts that inspired him to take his music to another level. At about this time, he had begun practicing five hours a day on the piano, and his parents suggested that he take up guitar.

So at 16, he joined the legion of aspiring guitarists out there, and because he realized he was getting a bit of a late start, Sam's competitive nature drove him to practice hard and be the best he could be. He went to college for engineering, but switched to music while at Memphis where he both recorded and performed regularly.

Armed with a number of years of teaching experience in varied environments, a certificate from Berklee in music production and a studied command of the fretboard (see him featured in this week's Youtube Talent segment below), Sam returned to Panama City and is now a sought-after teacher and performer in Panama City's growing music scene.

Though difficult for him to pin down due to his wide appreciation for various styles, Sam finds his musical center somewhere between classic rock and heavy metal. He cites the following artists as having the most profound influence on his style of playing the guitar (long list!): Joe Satriani, John Petrucci/Dream Theater, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Van Halen, Kirk Hammett/Metallica, Yngwie Malmsteen, The Eagles, Collective Soul, and Dave Matthews.

For the aspiring musician, Sam recommends a well-rounded approach:

Being a teacher, I'm always full of advice, for better or worse! Most obviously, practice. A lot. And not just songs you like, but techniques and exercises. Practice learning by ear. Learn to read music even if you think it's a waste of time. Learn at least a little bit of music theory--for some reason people think theory is boring and takes the fun out of music. That's stupid. It's fascinating and it will make both listening and playing a more fulfilling experience. Don't let anybody tell you you'll never amount to anything with doing music. There's a lot more jobs in this biz than you would think. Just decide if it's something you love only as a hobby, or you want to do for a living, and then stay that course.

One day he hopes to run his own recording studio, but in the mean time he is teaching lessons, performing at Margaritaville with his band Twice Daily (he is in the market for a bass player by the way), and posting some great guitar tutorials on Youtube.

- Twice Daily's MySpace.
- Sam's Youtube tutorials and other guitar goodies.


LOCAL NEWS

* In Issue 3 we did a profile on the Carolinas. To see what they are up to now, check out their July Update. They've got some cool stuff coming including what sounds like a pretty big opportunity with the Gap. They also landed a solid review on music review blog The Fire Note.

* Last week we mentioned that Anthony Peebles was going to be opening for Coolhand Luke and Save the Ship's show on August 7, but he has just informed me that the remainder of his band The Dukes of Appleton will be back in town, so he won't be flying solo that night. This is going to be a great show (details below)!

LOCAL EVENTS


The News Herald has a great page listing weekly summer music events.
Check it out: Summer Concerts Will Have a Backstage Twist.


Individual Events

Cool Hand Luke, Save the Ship, Lily White and The Dukes of Appleton
Friday, August 7
6:30 pm
Lynn Haven United Methodist Church - 4501 Transmitter Rd.
$7
Check their Facebook Event Page for more info.

The Carolinas, Lily White, and The Bookends Live at the Rabbit Hole
Friday, August 14
6:00pm - 9:00pm
The Rabbit Hole on Harrison Ave.
$5
Check their Facebook Event Page for more info.

Ongoing Events

Backstage Pass Concert Series
Legacy (R & B/Funk) Performs Tonight!!
Dark and cool speakeasy atmosphere. Show up early and tour the backstage area. Local bands and you on stage!
Friday Nights from July 24th-August 28th
6:30 - 8:00
Marina Civic Center (Stage Entrance at Northeast corner of building)
$5
Tickets are available in advance - online at www.marinaciviccenter.com and at Civic Center box office window.
More information on their Facebook Event Page.

Live in Concert at the Martin Theatre
Sundays from now through Sept. 13
The Martin Theatre Green Room
3 - 7 p.m.
$2
This week featuring Gileah Taylor.
Details:
3 to 4 pm is a meet and greet with the artists,
at 4 we begin recording the show for WKGC.
Come and be a part of the show. 5PM to 7PM is music and more music.
Every week Lucky Mudd opens up the the afternoon of music for a different musical guest.
For more details visit Emerald Coast Studio.com.

Jazz Jam at the Granite Cafe
Every Wednesday
The Granite Cafe (on the corner of Beck Ave and 10th St. in St. Andrews)
6 - 10 pm
FREE
Bring an instrument and a bit of rhythm and join the jam!


FEATURED PRODUCT

This week we take a look at Crafter's TRV23N-a great compact guitar for travel.



YOUTUBE TALENT

* A chef mixes beats:


Thanks to sTuFF i wANna SaY for the find!

* Sam Weigle shreds through Dream Theater's newest single (start @ 2:53 to see the blistering solo):



* We've started a little discussion on Playground Facebook page regarding the future of Post Rock. If you aren't familiar with the term, check out one or two of the following examples and join in the discussion (or if you already have an opinion, let us hear it on our Facebook Page):







LINKS/NEWS

* Students have been known to exploit teachers' hearing loss by using ring tones at too high of a frequency for the teachers to hear. Noise Addicts has a cool little app that allows you to test your ability to hear higher frequency tones. Mine cuts out at 16 Khz, while Justin was able to hear quite a bit higher. Try it for yourself: Noise Addicts' Hearing Test.

* CBC reports that new Mozart works have been discovered. (Thanks to The Daily Swarm for the link)

* Wired has a story covering the new app making it possible to use your iphone not just to play music, but to make music: Best Ways to Produce Music on an iphone. (Thanks to Daily Swarm again!)

* Having passed the mid-year mark, All Songs considered has revealed the results of a poll it conducted of its listeners cncerning their favorite songs and albums of the year thus far. The results are at All Songs Considered.

* Pandora Radio has to be one of the best radio innovations in recent years. It's not perfect, sure (I had a baroque station that kept insisting on playing fiddle tunes-nothing wrong with fiddle tunes, mind you, but not quite sure how the musical genetics of fiddle and baroque could be considered similar), but it is a breath of fresh air to those of us who tire of radio as usual. Pandora has just opened its second poster design contest for all you artists out there. Grand Prize gets 500 bucks, so if you're a quick draw (yuk, yuk) give it a shot.

* At the end of 1978, after Star Wars had achieved box office dominance, someone thought it would be a good idea to make a holiday special that has since been shunned by all parties involved (see Wikipedia's Entry on The Star Wars Holiday Special). The following clip was taken from that special, which is worth a look just to see Chewbacca in a goofy-looking gown, but the real reason it's being posted here is because Princess Leia sings, and not only are the lyrics the stuff of rejected first drafts of the cheesiest nursery rhymes, but they are sung to the tune of Williams' famous score. Brings whole new meaning to the term "epic":



TOTALLY RANDOM

* While we're on the subject of Star Wars, might as well throw this one in. Classic. The creator's description is below the video...

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

My friend Amanda had never seen a whole Star Wars film. When I asked her if she wanted to watch the original trilogy she said that she would, but that she already knew what happens. So I took out my voice recorder and asked her to start from the top.
I then created some very basic animation in Final Cut to go along with her narration.
www.fishrockit.com

Well, that's all for this week. Thanks for reading!

Weekend Music Links: Issue 5

Welcome to Playground Music's fifth edition of Weekend Music Links. If you have any favorite blogs, message boards, videos, sites, bands, upcoming events, or anything else that you think deserves a mention, please send them our way. We love to get your feedback!

Remember-If you are a local musician or in a band (or know of one) and would like to get the word out about upcoming shows, releases or projects, drop us a line.

You can follow and contact us on twitter @ playgroundpc, or send a message to our Facebook page administrators: Ford Seeuws or Justin Weathermon.

LOCAL ARTISTS

Anthony Peebles
Last Friday Night Anthony performed at Save the Ship's show with his band the Dukes of Appleton. After hearing rumors of his dynamic voice, my interest was piqued, so I contacted Anthony to find out more about his band and to hear them for myself.

It turns out that last week's show, though their first, was the Dukes of Appleton's last because their keyboard player is leaving for college. But Anthony is still in Panama City and is committed to continuing his solo work...and that's a good thing because not only can he carry a tune, but he carries it with a confident earnestness beyond his years.

At age 18, when most contemporaries would be concerning themselves with learning the fine art of screamo or angst-ridden whining, Anthony cites the likes of the Beatles, Fleet Foxes and John Denver as his most profound influences, and judging from his delivery, he's carrying on these traditions well. Word has it that during Friday night's show he proved that he has some other tricks up his sleeve, crooning soulfully on a bluesy original song called "When Angels Cry."

Anthony started his musical journey with drums a few years back and made the transition to playing guitar and songwriting two years ago. When pressed to give advice for up-and-coming musicians, Anthony's unassuming answer was, "Just sing what pops into your head while you play your riff. It'll turn out grand most of the time."

Judging from what I've heard, this has worked so far Anthony, so do yourself a favor and check out his MySpace and if you hear that he's playing, be there.
- Anthony's MySpace Music Page
Anthony will be opening for Cool Hand Luke's show at Lynn United Methodist on August 7 (see below).

UPCOMING MUSIC EVENTS

The News Herald has a great page listing weekly summer music events.
Check it out: Summer Concerts Will Have a Backstage Twist.


Individual Events

Heart of David Worship Series
BRITTANY LEWIS-WILLIAMS accompanied by Thomas Watts,II will present selections of Christian Music ranging from Gospel, Contemporary and Liturgical Arias
Sunday, July 26, 2009
6:00pm - 7:00pm
GULF BEACH BAPTIST CHURCH
10620-HUTCHISON BLVD
Panama City Beach, FL
Heart of David Worship Series Facebook Event.

Cool Hand Luke, Save the Ship, Lily White and Anthony Peebles
Friday, August 7
6:30 pm
Lynn Haven United Methodist Church - 4501 Transmitter Rd.
$7
Check their Facebook Event Page for more info.

The Carolinas, Lily White, and The Bookends Live at the Rabbit Hole
Friday, August 14
6:00pm - 9:00pm
The Rabbit Hole on Harrison Ave.
$5
Check their Facebook Event Page for more info.

Ongoing Events

Backstage Pass Concert Series
ON CALL BAND (Jazz/R & B) Performs Tonight!!
Dark and cool speakeasy atmosphere. Show up early and tour the backstage area. Local bands and you on stage!
Friday Nights from July 24th-August 28th
6:30 - 8:00
Marina Civic Center (Stage Entrance at Northeast corner of building)
$5
Tickets are available in advance - online at www.marinaciviccenter.com and at Civic Center box office window.

Live in Concert at the Martin Theatre
Sundays from now through Sept. 13
The Martin Theatre Green Room
3 - 7 p.m.
$2
This week featuring Grant Peeples.
Details:
3 to 4 pm is a meet and greet with the artists,
at 4 we begin recording the show for WKGC.
Come and be a part of the show. 5PM to 7PM is music and more music.
Every week Lucky Mudd opens up the the afternoon of music for a different musical guest.
For more details visit Emerald Coast Studio.com.

Jazz Jam at the Granite Cafe
Every Wednesday
The Granite Cafe (on the corner of Beck Ave and 10th St. in St. Andrews)
6 - 10 pm
FREE
Bring an instrument and a bit of rhythm and join the jam!


YOUTUBE TALENT

* A friend did this, so maybe my objectivity is a bit lacking, but I thought it was hilarious: JT on Drums.




* Stan Gibson keeps a phenomenal blog on just about anything you can imagine-from philosophy to analysis of popular music and television to theological musings and literary criticism. In one of his latest posts listing links and comments on various topics, he linked the following video and had this to say about it,"I am pretty sure that if you looked up the word ‘horrifying’ in the dictionary, this is what you’d find."



Yes, let's all agree not to do a cover like this...ever.

* But If you're bent on co-opting counterculture, you might as well do the source material justice. Justin found a perfect example: Nirvana gets Rick-Rolled.



* One man brass band: Nat McIntosh demonstrates multiphonics.




LINKS/NEWS

* The Dallas Brass is no stranger to Panama City, but if you happen to be a stranger to them, definitely give them a look. I attended one of their performances a few years back at the Marina Civic Center in which they managed to hold the attention of a packed house composed of the toughest critics imaginable: middle-schoolers. Perhaps it was Nat McIntosh's demonstration of multiphonics or his rendition of popular hip hop songs on Sousaphone that did the trick (see above). They play musical numbers from just about any style imaginable with stirring technical ability that is shaped by their nuanced musicality. They are big on the education side of things, providing clinics for school band programs, too.
- The Official Dallas Brass Web Site
- Dallas Brass on Myspace
- Dallas Brass on YouTube

* While we're on the subject of Sousaphones, the Onion had a funny riff on the Guitar Hero craze that deserves a look and a chuckle:
- Activision Reports Sluggish Sales for Sousaphone Hero.

* Another bit of brass news: NPR Music had trumpeter Dave Douglas and co. appear for their Tiny Desk Concert Series. If you're unfamiliar with the series, Bob Boilen, host of NPR's All Songs Considered has musicians over to perform live in his office. This week, the staff was wary to have a brass ensemble in the cramped space, but everyone seemed impressed by the show.
- Dave Douglas and Brass Ecstasy
- Tiny Desk Concert Series Home Page

* Babelgum's ad on Facebook is trying to sell Coldplay's Strawberry Swing Video as Radiohead-like. No offense to the video itself because it is fantastic, and no offense to Coldplay because the song is fine, but Radiohead? Posh...
The video is very well done, however, taking sidewalk chalk to a whole new level. Incredibly visualized: Strawberry Swing.

* We sent out an update this week with the following gadget, but in case you missed it, check out the following video/mixer/time waster...thingy. Special thanks to Bob Boilen (again!) of NPR's All Songs Considered for the heads up on this one.
- Time Killer in B Flat
- All Songs Considered

That's it for this week!

Weekend Music Links: Issue 4

Welcome to Playground Music's fourth edition of Weekend Music Links. If you have any favorite blogs, message boards, videos, sites, bands, upcoming events, or anything else that you think deserves a mention, please send them our way. We love to get your feedback!

This week we introduce two new sections. The first is Our Featured Product. Yeah, it's an advertisement, but we promise to keep it lively and interesting, turning you on to new products. Who knows? Maybe you'll learn something new!

The next new addition is called Totally Random. Each week we'll feature some web-oriented gizmo or discovery that will most likely have nothing to do with music, but should prove to be interesting nonetheless.

Remember-If you are a local musician or in a band (or know of one) and would like to get the word out about upcoming shows, releases or projects, drop us a line.

You can follow and contact us on twitter @ playgroundpc, or send a message to our Facebook page administrators: Ford Seeuws or Justin Weathermon.


LOCAL ARTISTS

Last week we featured the Carolinas and mentioned the free show they were doing at Pier Park. For those of you who didn't get a chance to make it, they put on a great show! Here's a short video from the event:



Remember to check them out at The Carolinas Rock.Com.

Save the Ship

In 2006 two couples, Thomas and Leah Irby and Zach and Dayle Stidham, joined forces with local drummer Pat Douglas to form Save the Ship. In August of 2008 Pat moved on to devote more time to his solo effort The Cries Of. Pat was replaced by Matt Via, and Save the Ship was off and running again until Leah and Thomas received the exciting news that they would be having a baby. Stepping in to take Leah’s place is Ashley Rader (of the Rader Family Band fame), whom the band has taken in as one of their own. She'll be performing with them tonight at The Onion (see below).

And their sound? They describe themselves as female-fronted, melodic indie-rock. While Save the Ship desires to make the best music possible, they are committed to building relationships through their music. Thomas Irby (lead guitarist) explains:

We are in this band because we want to positively impact people's lives. We want people to receive joy from our music, but also from getting to know us. Talking to the people that come to our shows is a very important part of why we do this. We have developed some very strong friendships over the years that began with someone walking up to us and saying "I really like your music".

Every person is very important and worthy of love. We believe that a lot of people (especially teenagers these days) don't get told that enough.

In addition to tonight's event, Save the Ship will be playing a show on August 7th at Lynn Haven Methodist Church, which features local band Lily White and the kind-of-a-big deal (as in really) Cool Hand Luke.

Visit Save the Ship's MySpace for songs, event lists, etc. You can watch a video of their performance at Element 3 in Tallahassee on Youtube:

Civil War Inside


And since this post is called Music Links, I might as well throw one more in: Thomas maintains a blog with some good musical links, reviews and arts-related content. Follow him at Wells Without Water.


UPCOMING MUSIC EVENTS

Show at Vineyard Church TONIGHT!!
Friday, July 17th
Panama City Beach Vineyard Church (looks like a big onion-on south side of Back Beach, just west of Alf Coleman)
6:30 pm
Featuring Save the Ship, Paxico Via Mexico(indie/folk from Gainesville), Longshanks (brand new indie rock band), and Not Ourselves (indie folk duo)
$5 (four bands for the price of half a cd!!)
Facebook Event Page

Live in Concert at the Martin Theatre
Sundays from now through Sept. 13
The Martin Theatre Green Room
3 - 7 p.m.
$2
This week featuring Jubal's Kin.
Details:
3 to 4 pm is a meet and greet with the artists,
at 4 we begin recording the show for WKGC.
Come and be a part of the show. 5PM to 7PM is music and more music.
Every week Lucky Mudd opens up the the afternoon of music for a different musical guest.
For more details visit Emerald Coast Studio.com.

Jazz Jam at the Granite Cafe
Every Wednesday
The Granite Cafe (on the corner of Beck Ave and 10th St. in St. Andrews)
6 - 10 pm
FREE
Bring an instrument and a bit of rhythm and join the jam!

Bay Arts Alliance's Backstage Pass
Bay Arts Alliance is hosting a summer concert series showcasing local talent. The details:
Friday Nights July 24-August 28
The Marina Civic Center
6:30 pm
$5 Admission
Enter through backstage corner on NE side of building
For more info visit Bay Arts Alliance or check out the event on Facebook:
Backstage Pass.


FEATURED PRODUCT

This week we take a look at the fine line of Native American flutes from High Spirits:



For more info about High Spirits flutes visit their facebook page and their website, and come on down to Playground to give them a try!

And just for fun-take a look at Barry Wood's NAMM oddities. Wood compiles a list of the most interesting new instruments found at the yearly convention for music retailers, and this year High Spirits made the list.

The contraption below makes it possible to play two or even three notes at one time...


YOUTUBE TALENT

I suppose we should just change the name of this section to "online talent" being that this is the second time we've featured videos from other sites, but, hey, the term "Youtube" is kind of like "Coke"-the brand that ends up being a catchall for the type of product...at least that's the justification for now anyway...

* This one takes a bit of time to get going, but it's worth it:

Stand By Me | Playing For Change | Song Around The World from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

* You just never know what you're going to find out there...
I just found a humbucker electric kazoo in one of our catalogs. Out of curiosity, I did a search on electric kazoos, and here's what I found:

Vehicle on Electric Kazoo


Johnny Flash: Misirlou - Dick Dale Cover


Enter Kazoo Man - Metallica Enter Sandman performed on KAZOO by Mister Tim


So if you're looking for a cheap and novel alternative to the talk box, there's always the humbucker electric kazoo!


LINKS/NEWS

* WKGC's Peter Michael Bardach is hosting a new show called Emerald Coast Studio, which plays on FM 90.7 Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. The show features a variety of local musicians and bands that run the gamut of musical styles. They also happen to be the ones responsible for the weekly event mentioned above: Live in Concert at the Martin Theatre. One of our own, violin instructor Ford Seeuws, made an appearance on the show with Fran Bullock's ensemble the Bay Arts String Quartet. An excerpt from that show can be heard here. Other local musicians/bands that have been featured on the show include: Steve Wiggins, David Goldflies and Jim Ward, Save the Ship, the Emerald Coast Chorale, the Screaming Fleas, Ashley Rader and many more. So, yeah, it's just a tad eclectic!

For those of you interested in performing on the show or finding out more, visit Emerald Coast Studio.com, and don't forget to tune in to WKGC @ 5 p.m. on Saturdays to hear local artists take the radio waves.

* If you are learning guitar or have been playing for a long time, but cannot, with any degree of certainty, identify the note names of frets in standard tuning, check out Fretzilla.net. It works like this: make it your home page so when you crank up the internet, it prompts you to identify randomly assigned frets in a given time limit in order to load the webpage of your choice. If you get the answers right, the page loads, if not...try again. It's a good way to make your knowledge of the fretboard become second nature.

* NPR has some free music up for grabs through I-Tunes. If you like Folk or Jazz visit Free 'NPR Music at Newport' Samplers for two FREE 12 song samplers.


TOTALLY RANDOM

We’ll kick off this new section with something tasty, or at least something that makes sour stuff tasty. Have you ever heard of miracle fruit? CNN did a story on it here: "Miracle Fruit" Turns Sour Things Sweet. Apparently this is a type of fruit found in West Africa that will truly alter your taste buds' interpretation of sour tastes. None of us here have tried this yet, so if any of you have some more info, chime in. You can purchase "miracle fruit" from Miracle Fruit Man.

Thank you for checking in this week. Remember to drop by again next Friday, and if you have any feedback for us, let us know!

Weekend Music Links: Issue 3

Welcome to Playground Music's third edition of Weekend Music Links. If you have any favorite blogs, message boards, videos, sites, bands or upcoming events you wish more people knew about, please send them our way. We love to get your feedback!

This week we introduce two new sections dedicated to local talent: Local Artists and Upcoming Music Events. If you are a musician or in a band (or know of one) and would like to get the word out, drop us a line.

You can follow and contact us on twitter @ playgroundpc, or send a message to our Facebook page administrators: Ford Seeuws or Justin Weathermon.


LOCAL ARTISTS

The Carolinas


The Carolinas have just released their first album Songbook 1: Moonlight or the Ghost.

From their MySpace:

The Carolinas’ first release, Songbook 1: Moonlight or The Ghost, is filled with alternative country gems and indie rock n’ roll anthems. A labor of love that compiles a year worth of songwriting and rehearsing has resulted in an album that is pure, engaging, and poised for a grand reception with energized fans. Songbook 1 features the talents of Lee Baker on the guitar and lead vocals, Casey Morgan playing bass and vocals, and Adam Carter on the drums and vocals. Ben May, a great friend, played guitar on the album and Weston Hine has stepped in to play guitar for the band live. The entire record was tracked live over a two-day span at Branch Studios in Panama City, Florida.

Often compared to famous musicians such as Ryan Adams, Wilco, Kings of Leon, Son Volt, and Tom Petty, the Carolinas are founded on blue-collar work ethic, friendship, and exceptional songwriting. “I can honestly say I’ve never been more proud of any record I’ve ever been a part of,” Lee explains. “Songbook 1 is just four guys in a room playing songs and having a great time, and I think that translates when you listen to the record. You hear the stories, the imperfections, and the beauty of these songs and what they’re about. I hope people really connect with the reality, warmth, and energy of this record.”

Check out their Facebook Page to hear their stuff. They're having a show this weekend, too (see below).

ERIC SCHROTENBOER


Eric released his first solo album in High School, and since then he has released five additional albums and written scores for various motion picture productions.

His most recent work was featured on the feature length documentary The Anatomy of Hate, an official selection at the Boston International Film Festival and the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival (samples here).

He's new to Panama City so let's make him feel welcome! Visit his website to learn more about Eric and check out his Facebook Page.


UPCOMING MUSIC EVENTS

The Carolinas
Saturday July 11th
Blender Clothing/Pier Park
2-5pm
Free
Facebook Event Page

Bay Arts Alliance's Backstage Pass

Bay Arts Alliance is hosting a summer concert series showcasing local talent. The details:
Friday Nights July 24-August 28
The Marina Civic Center
6:30 pm
$5 Admission
Enter through backstage corner on NE side of building
For more info visit Bay Arts Alliance or check out the event on Facebook:
Backstage Pass.


YOUTUBE TALENT

Don't try this at home...or anywhere: Professor Norman Gray on Clarinet


For drummers and/or fans of The Dark Knight: check out Tom Grosset's The Dark Knight Remix.



LINKS/NEWS

* Not music related, but...today is National Cow Appreciation day at Chik Fil-A, and if you are willing to dress up like a cow, you can get a free meal. So if you're a chicken sandwich addict, pull out a sharpie and some old t-shirts and get over there. WJHG has the whole story on their website.

* Saxophonists and jazz enthusiasts: check out Jeff Rzepiela's Page. He offers free transcriptions and some fantastic online lessons addressing improvisation.

* Local writer Del Stone Jr. has cataloged his own list of worst songs ever at The News Herald. My favorite is #4...

* Some of us (myself included) probably did not even know what an ocarina was until the good folks at Nintendo released a Zelda game that was built around the instrument, but apparently St. Louis has a whole store dedicated to Ocarinas, which has now released the Teacarina: a teacup that doubles as an ocarina. See Take Me Out to the Ballgame performed on said instrument here. Never again will you have to set your Earl Grey down when you have that uncontrollable urge to play the Song of Storms. (Source: NAMM)

That's it for this week!

Weekend Music Links: Issue 2

Welcome to Playground Music's second edition of Weekend Music Links. If you have any favorite blogs, message boards, videos, or sites you wish more people knew about send them our way. We love to get your feedback!

YOUTUBE TALENT

Beatboxing Flute


World's Fastest Guitar Player? - According to the Guinness Book of World Records-Yes. (admittedly not a Youtube link, but still video).

LINKS

If you're interested in forming a band, but don't know where to start check out Band Mix. Functioning like a classifieds or personals page for potential band members, the site could be a useful addition to your networking arsenal.

For trumpeters: Dave Douglas, a composer and famed trumpeter, maintains a blog with entries that span everything from Dave Grohl's latest project to brass happenings and composer news. Check it out at Green Leaf Music.

NEW ALBUMS

We're new to the music review scene, so we'll probably just be linking to other sites for the most part. If you consider yourself an expert on the topic, we'd love to have your input. The CD's this week have been getting some pretty favorable reviews on the whole, so if you have heard any of the below albums and disagree, we'd love to hear your thoughts.

Also, if there are albums you'd liked to see plugged here, let us know ahead of time. You can always visit Billboard to see what albums are being released, or if that list is too long (which it is), you can take a look at Metacritic's List.

Hard Rock
Killswitch Engage - Self-Titled (2009)
Fans of melodic metalcore should be pleased with KE's fifth album. Reviews on Ultimate Guitar.com are solid. Sonic Dice says that this album is definitely worth taking seriously and gives it a 5 out of 6. Hear their stuff on their MySpace page.

Alternative Rock
Wilco - Self-Titled (2009)
Wilco's new self-titled album is getting generally favorable reviews according to Metacritic. The consensus seems to be that though the album is not earth-shaking, it has enough in it to keep fans of the genre happy. A chances are, if you haven't heard of Wilco, then you are probably not a fan of the genre, but take a listen just the same at their MySpace page.

Electronic/Eclectic
Moby - Wait for Me
Moby's latest is also receiving fairly favorable reviews according to Metacritic. Moby says that he wanted to get back to the basics with this album, shooting less for commercial success than for artistic expression, so he recorded the album in his home. You can hear the album and read some of his musings on his website: Moby.com.

Country
Brad Paisley - American Saturday Night
The Washington Post extols American Saturday Night as being filled, for the most part, with songs that showcase Paisley's stirring delivery that is "full of feeling and fine-tuned to its emotional core." The Dallas News gives the album an A-. For samples and news visit Paisley's Blog.

Pop Rock
Rob Thomas - Cradle Song
Rolling Stone and the L. A. Times have praised Cradle Song as a surprising success in its attempt to merge various styles and appeal to a broad spectrum of listeners. Mikael Wood of the Times says, "What's surprising about "Cradlesong" is how rarely Thomas' please-'em-all attitude saps his music of its distinctive vitality." Visit Thomas' MySpace page to hear some sample songs.

Weekend Music Links: Issue 1

Greetings, and welcome to Playground Music's first edition of Weekend Music Links. We'll be taking a brief look at what's happening in the world of music.

Just a reminder to our patrons and fans: the Panama City store will be closed the week of June 29-July 4. But remember that our website is always open for business!

Youtube Talent

Admit it-we probably all cave in to those "you gotta' see this" moments in which we try to one-up our friends with our Youtube discoveries. In case you're running low on videos in your Youtube quiver here are a few with some wow factor, all of which will hopefully prompt the instrumentalists among us to get back in the practice room.

Ronald Jenkees on Keyboard


Flight of the Bumblebee...on accordion?!


Yes, Solovakia has talent (start @ 1:32)


Musings

In case there was any doubt that "classical" music is here to stay, have you ever listened to any Philip Glass? If you have, you may have found more than a passing resemblance to a prominent band frequented by listeners who are growing tired of Coldplay, but perhaps not quite ready for Radiohead.
Listen to Glass' "A Rubric" and then listen to this.

We're definitely not the first ones to notice the similarity: my blank page

It turns out that this band was in fact influenced by Glass' work in the making of two of their albums according to this source.

So, kids, start practicing those arpeggios-they may be useful one day!

New Albums:

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm : While reviewers are giving it passing ratings, The Onion makes it clear that you will have an early nineties flashback, but in a good way.
Check their stuff out here

Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings: Ever since the late eighties Dream Theater has been pushing the limits of virtuoso performance. On this, their tenth album, Petrucci, Portnoy and co. balance their technical wizardry with some more approachable metal hooks, but there are still a couple of 10+ minute songs for the guitar heroes out there to geek out to. Check them out here

Regina Spektor - Far : Considerably more approachable than Dream Theater's offering, Spektor's new album is receiving pretty solid, though not stellar, reviews according to Metacritic. Her piano-based tunes are whimsical and relaxing. Her song Laughing With gives you an idea of what to expect.

Developments:

Low Notes - If you like the sound of the cello, but don't relish the thought of toting a cello around, a violinist named Mari Kimura has discovered a way to make deeper sounds on a violin that sound eerily cello-ish (you just have to hear it to believe it).


Kimura discovered these new tones (subharmonics) while practicing an advanced bowing technique. It fascinates me that people are still discovering new tricks on an instrument that is over 400 years old.
Visit Kimura's page for more information about this stunning development.

Electricity + Air + a little programming love = Music? - If technological advances are more your speed check out these singing tesla coils also known as Zeusaphones