White Noise

What’sWith TheUnsignedpg. 10Artist?

411OnAustinVenuespg. 24

I

May 2013

SXSWFollow Up

HelloCaller

With

pg. 16

2

The Unsigned ArtistWhat’s The Difference

Between Signed and Unsigned?

ColdplayWhat is the

Mylo Xylotour?

Austin Music Venues

The 411

1024

8

pg.

pg.

pg.

3

SXSW Follow Up Makena, the upcoming atistHello Caller, the two-timers

Google Play vs. iTunes

16Kid Cudi

Clash of the Titans

A Life Story in Album Covers

27

18

pg.

pg.

pg.

4

Meet the Producers

Name: Joshua “Josh” JesudassContributions: Kid Cudi, and Age of Unsigned Artists articles and the letter from the editorFavorite Songs: “Bonfire” by Childish Gambino, “Bombs Away” by B.o.B ft. Morgan Freeman and “Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake What does he like to do in his freetime?: Read, play video games and read.

Cat

Josh

Justin

Name: Cathleen “Cat” LlamasContributions: Cover, table of contents, the Mylo Xyoto, What’s Popular articles and the SXSW feature.Favorite Songs: “Sleepyhead” by Passion Pit , “Rainy Day” by Coldplay and “Sugeo Falts” by Wolf gangWhat does she like to do in her free time?: Play Softball, read and listen to music.

Name: Justin “Usher” EmbreyContributions: Biographies, Google paly vs. iTunes and the Austin Venues articleFavorite Songs: “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timber-lake, “Off to the Races” by Lana del Ray and “Same Love” by Mackelmore and Ryan LewisWhat does like to do in his freetime?: Swim, play Xbox and Reddit

5

Dear Reader,

Music is a huge part of many people’s lives and we’re guessing yours as well. Music is a huge part in all of our lives, in fact, we are all listening to music

right now as we write this. Our love for music stretches across many genres, explaining the wide variety of music represented across the magazine. We

cover everything from the hip-hop of Kid Cudi (pg. 18) to the alt rock of Coldplay (pg. 20) and to what’s blowing up in the world of music, such as indepent artists (pg. 10), what goes on after SXSW (pg. 14) or local venues here in Austin( pg. 22). With White Noise we hope to guide you through and inform you of the world of music.

A Record from the Studio

Robin Behrends

6

7

Now oNiTuNes

What Did It Take:By Cat Llamas

Mylo Xylotour

“Up With The Birds”The album has it’s own comic,

“The Mylo Xyloto”

“Us Against The World”

Chris, Guy, and Jonny each have 3 guitars for the concert. WIll

has one drum kit.

“U.F.O.” Will Champion goes through 3 sets of drumsticks on average

in a concert.

“Hurts Like Heaven”Coldplay used 60 trucks to

move all the equipment.

“Paradise”Chris, Guy, and Jonny each have

3 guitars for the concert. WIll has one drum kit.

“Major Minus”Coldplay has gained over 3 million followers on Twitter

after the start of the tour.

www.coldplaying.com/forum

Song By Song

8

Coldplay

From Australia to California, their

music has been filling rooms and radios everywhere. With

over a million fans, it seems they might

reign forever.

reigns in the music industry and has

garnered five Grammys, five albums,and seven

Brits.

The group met while in school at the University of College

London.

One of the

bands in the world

Coldplay has won eight Brits, three of them for Best British Group. Coldplay has won five Grammys in the past 15 years, including Record of the Year.

The band’s first name was “Starfish”, their first gig under the name was on January 16th, 1998.

“Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”

“Up With the Birds”

Spent over $640, 000 each concert on Xylobands.

What Did It Take:BIGGEST

With symbols representing songs on the new album and a

graffiti covered wall, the band is as lively as ever. The new tour is larger than life, and below are only a few things found in

the tour.

“Don’t Let It Break Your Heart”

“Up In Flames”

“Mylo Xyloto”

“Charlie Brown”

The tour has been seen by over two million people.

Graffiti seen in the album done by graffiti artist Paris.

The band visited 27 countires during the tour.

Performed a total of 67 concerts.

The band has been together since 1996, their first official performance in 1998.

A BriefHistory

Song By Song

9

10

X

The

Unsigned

ArtistJoshua Jesudass

11

12

a demo, send it to as many labels as you can and build

up connections. Play wherever you’re allowed, publicize yourself and try again and again to get noticed, to become signed.

This constitutes the typical idea of how to make it big in the music industry. However, this has recently been upturned by a group named Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, possibly ushering a new age in the music industry.

“Macklemore’s achievement is a big warning sign to the mega-labels,… who for the first time in quite a while, do not have a number one hit,” wrote Lincoln Elsey, a music blogger, in a post about Macklemore’s success. “These labels have to be nervous.”

“These labels have to be nervous.” - Elsey

Cut

richk

idsb

rand

.com

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis posing together.

With the rise of YouTube, social media, iTunes and more accessible recording equipment independent artists are on the rise in popularity and success and are threatening traditional labels hold on popular music.

Independent or unsigned artists are artists who are not signed to a label. They release music on their own, mostly online, without any backing from a label.

“You can be as creative as you want without restriction… the label is not pocketing a percentage of the profit,” said Elsey speaking on the pros of being independent. However, there are also cons to independence.

“Everything in the creation of the music is your own cost,” said Elsey speaking about a con of being independent. As of lately though, this is not as much of a major problem as it used to be. “Artists no longer require the traditional means of music distribution in order to monetize their work, as labels are being subverted by the Internet,” wrote John Balfe in a story on Entertainment.ie.

It is becoming increasingly easy to put your music up on iTunes or another online music store, like Google’s Play Store. Endorsing that music is another problem entirely though.

13

wik

imed

ia.c

om

“The music industry might never be the same.” - Balfe

“Marketing is on your own and out of your own wallet,” said Elsey speaking of another con of independence although one that is changing as well.

“Through just his massive online following, Macklemore was able to go to top without the help of a gigantic label covering his back or spending millions of dollars on marketing,” wrote Elsey. Macklemore even commented on it during an interview.

“I think that with social networking and just like being savvy in 2012 and really connecting with the fan base — which we’ve been able to do — I think that that’s just as powerful, if not more powerful [than a label’s benefits],” said Macklemore in an interview with The Daily of the University of Washington. But there is also a final piece in making it big, producers.

“It really comes down to who controls the producers,” said Elsey, “I give Ryan Lewis a ton of credit for the catchiness of all the hits.” Due to the importance and power held by producers though, they are high value in the music world.

“I would not be surprised if they throw a lot of money at producer Ryan Lewis for a spot on a big-time label such as G.O.O.D. Music,” wrote Elsey. A very likely possibility, not just for Lewis but also many other talented up and coming producers being discovered due to the possibility of more effectively exploring their craft.

“Advancing technology and computer programs mean that you no longer have to spend thousands to record an album - you can do it from your bedroom instead,” wrote Balfe. Something essential to producers is good equipment. Recording equipment, drum machines and synthesizers are all part of a producer’s

toolkit. In the past, equipment like this on the professional level would have been just a dream to an independent artist or producer trying to make it.

These days though, you can secure gear like this for a fraction of the price, or even get virtual equipment, like synthesizer or drum machine software. There are even free, high-quality alternatives for those who want to start small and invest time alone, like the web-based Audiotool. In the end though there seems to be a final verdict in the music world. “Most artists still prefer labels,” said Elsey. Childish Gambino is a perfect example of this, an artist who released three albums and multiple mix tapes independently until being picked up by

Glassnote Records in 2011. Artists like these look to be signed and see that as a major goal. Though many are like this, there are still the black sheep, like Macklemore. “I sincerely believe [Macklemore & Ryan Lewis] will stay unsigned,” said Elsey. They could be leading the path for others like them, along the way creating problems for labels. “If I was the CEO of [Universal Music Group] right now, I would be very mad, “Elsey said. “They obviously don’t like the fact that someone is making all this money that they feel they should have their hands on. But they will probably remain ignorant, and believe that this won’t happen again instead of taking action, which could easily backfire if it becomes the norm.” It is a very real possibility looming in the background, though. “The music landscape could be forever changed,” wrote Balfe, an opinion that has been echoed around the music world.

fore

verc

hild

ish.

com

The Heist Macklemore & Ryan Lewis2012Genres: Alternative Hip Hop500,000+ Sales

Culdesac Childish Gambino2010Genres: Alternative Hip Hop

100,000+ Downloads

A Look at Sales

14

VSGoogle Play and iTunes are the two biggest music providers on the market. There is a lot of debate regarding which provider is the best out there. This article will help you decide which is the best for you.

Google iTunesPlay

PricesGoogle Play offers music at three different prices; 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29.

iTunes offers music at three dif-ferent prices; 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29.

Google Play as not released an official number of songs, only stating that it is somewhere in the millions.

iTunes has the largest music library in the buisness with over 26 million available tracks.

Music

Since Google Play is cloud based, it can only hold 20,000 songs.

iTunes’ storage is only limited to the amount of space on the device that it is being used on.

Storage

DevicesGoogle Play is supported by all PCs and Android devices such as the Nexus 7.

iTunes is supported by all PCs and all Apple devices such as the iPod touch 4th generation.

15

Nexus Smartphone

All information from: support.apple.comwww.apple.comwww.venturebeat.comwww.royal.pingdom.comwww.pcworld.com

Photo by Cat Llamas

iPod touch 4th Generation

Photo by Kim Katopodis

S XSW26 years old and growing, SXSW is becoming a hotspot of exposure for up and coming bands. For some, it was a homecoming.

Follow-UpBy Cat Llamas

Even though measures of success is relative, a mass of people still showed up at the “Dark Twain” release party over at Stubb’s. “It was promoted out of nowhere by Bobby Bones, I think. Which was crazy, I don’t know why or how he got a hold of, but he played “Box With A Belt” I think, it was on the Friday of when he announces next week’s, all the next week’s shows, and it was like, ‘Oh and tonight...’” said Brian.

This brought good response from the community, a lot of support at the

release party of the new album. Having such success helps grow the fanbase that follows Hello Caller, even if some

of them are friends of the band. This year at SXSW, people that found Hello Caller were ones who found them on the schedule and had wristbands or badges. Most became fans of the band after the performance.

Being a “maybe” band and given the gig at the last minute, security let people go in even if they didn’t have the necessary badge or wristband that would give you access to the venues. This year, at SXSW 2013, Hello Caller was able to play at Buffalo Billiards due

to being accepted early. Having applied back in November and releasing an album got the band the spot in the festival.

“Measures of success is relative, but it feels good

to be able to be confident about what we put out.”

ello Caller looks down at the South By Southwest band page in front of

Hhim. The page refreshes and he looks down at the list to see if their name is there. It is. They get to play at SXSW, this marks the beginning of their journey at the festival.

A lot of people, whether they’ve gone to SXSW or not, are familiar with the festival through social media or word of mouth. During the festival, Austin is adorned with signs and banners informing people of bands, venues and special events. This is mainly what the people see, the outer shell of the festival. What they never see is the band’s side of the story at SXSW.

Over 9,000 bands from 49 countries came at played at SXSW in 2013 to showcase their music. Hello Caller was one of the 9,000, but they didn’t travel far. They’re a local Austin group trying to make it big, and playing at SXSW two years in a row helps.

“Measures of success is relative.” says lead singer Brian Ferguson, “But it feels really good to be able to you know be confident about what it is that we put out.”

Buffalo Billiards, the venue Hello Caller played during the 2013 SXSW festival.

Photo used under Creative Commons Liscencing

Photo used under Creative Commons Liscencing

Buffalo Billiards is a great venue, but to the band, it felt a little large. “They say when you’re touring that you should book small venues because 25 or 30 people at a small venue is like a packed house but 25 or 30 people at a large venue is like, ‘Yeah, it was OK, it feels like it’s empty.’ So it still felt a little bit empty in that regard because the second floor of Buffalo Billiards where we were playing is this huge area that has a lot of space in it.” said Brian. The only way to get into the venue was with the badges or wristbands, but a lot of their fans didn’t own one.

A lot of the people that went to last year’s show weren’t allowed to go to this year’s show because “A lot of them didn’t have wristbands or badges or weren’t able to get in...because Buffalo Billiards didn’t allow people to buy their way in. Which you know, I kind of wish they didn’t do that because there were a lot more people on the first floor playing games and stuff like that, they couldn’t get up if they didn’t have a wristband or a badge. “ said Brian. Since SXSW is so keen on having attendants own wristbands or badges to attend, the hype to get the best wristband or badge.

“Which is funny because the festival is becoming so big it’s all about having a wristband, the festival defends itself from the bands that are accepted, having too many shows that you can see without a wristband and they don’t want that since devalues the wristband and devalues the whole base.” Said Brian.

A lot of bands that applied ended up pulling out due to the hype about the wristbands. The bands that pull out are fine with doing unofficial shows or not even playing

at all because there’s so much going on during the festival. Hello Caller still played at Buffalo Billiards amongst the hype, managing to get through it and not letting nerves get to them.

“There’s always the nervousness of the certain performance anxiety of not wanting to mess anything up,” said Brian. With only one album and a few demos to play, there isn’t much to mess up on.

“It’s interesting though, they still get better and have their fluctuations of ups and downs but progressively get better over time.” This did help with the nerves because they had songs that they’ve rehearsed for a long time to play.

Every band plays with nerves, even the big names in music get nervous during performances, it’s the inevitable. Although Brian says it doesn’t affect him as a person anymore, “I kind of put it, kind of dream my way through it I feel like, it helps to not worry about a things and just kind of cruise along, just kind of twilight consciousness, twilight stage it.” said Brian. Every person has their way of handling nerves.

For Hello Caller, playing SXSW twice in a year was great. Going from a pile of “maybes” to being officially accepted was exhilarating, especially since they’re such a small band. “It’s good looking froward, it’s kind of like riding a bicycle up a hill, it’s best to just look at the ground in front of you instead of looking at the top of the hill and seeing how far it is, but in that regard it’s best to just think about what’s in front of us and continue working on new stuff which is what we’re doing right now.” said Brian.

Hello Caller featured in songseeds.org’s “10 Days/40 Bands” video series.

Photo used under Creative Commons Licensing

21

22

Indicud

Genres: Hip Hop/Rap

1. Just What I Am (feat. King Chip) - 3:48

2. King Wizard - 4:16

3. Immortal - 5:01

4. Girls (feat. Too Short) - 4:27

The Cleveland rapper Kid Cudi is a diverse artist and troubled man. As an artist, Cudi produces and records music that ranges from rock to hip hop. However, as a man he struggles with alcohol, substance abuse, and the repurcus-sions of a rough childhood. This is reflected in his deep, dark music, which offers a peek into his troubled psyche. this is his journey through the music he has released.

2013

The JoUrNeY

oF tHe MaN

oN tHe MoOn

Joshua Jesudass

sinu

ousm

ag.c

om

23

Dat

piff.

com

Nah

right

.com

Man on The Moon: The Legend of Mr. Rager - Gold

Genres: Electronic, Hip Hop, Rock 1. Erase Me (feat. Kanye West) - 3:12 - Gold2. Mr. Rager - 4:54

WZRD(collab.) - Kid Cudi & Dot Da Genius Genres: Funk/Soul, Hip Hop, Rock1. Brake - 5:042. Teleport 2 Me, Jaime - 3:58

2012

Thes

tinky

ched

dar.b

logs

pot.c

om

blog

.son

yent

erta

inm

entn

etw

ork.

com

2010

A Kid Named CudiGenres: Hip Hop

*This mixtape is shown as it jump started his music career, however any official figures aren’t available like his studio

albums.

Man on The Moon: The End of Day - Gold

Genres: Electronic, Funk/Soul, Hip Hop

1. Day ‘n’ Nite - 3:41 - Double Platinum

2. Pursuit of Happines - 4:55 - Platinum

20082009

RIA

A.c

om

Dis

cogs

.com

Play

.goo

gle.

com

24

The 411!

If you live in Austin, then you have probably already heard that it is the “Live Music Capital” of the United States. But have you actually ever been to any local performance? If not, then boy have you missed out. Austin is home to countless local bands and over a hundred different venues. Performances range from smooth soft jazz to exciting and energizing surf rock. It is almost impossible to not be able to find a show that interests you.

An insight on local music in Austin

25

Austin is the “Live Music Capital “of the United States! It is home to countless local bands that preform everything from pop to surf rock. With over a hundred venues in the eccentric and thriving downtown area it is almost impossible to not find a show going on. Some of the venues have served as catalysts for some pretty big people in the music industry. Antones, a fairly popular and well known venue, once hosted Stevie Ray Vaughn before he became famous. If you live in Austin, then you have probably already heard that it is the “Live Music Capital” of the United States. But have you actually ever been to any local performance? If not, then boy have you missed out. Austin is home to countless local bands and over a hundred different venues. Performances range from smooth soft jazz to exciting and energizing surf rock. It is almost impossible to not be able to find a show that interests you. ” I enjoy [going to local venues] because, I like the feeling of actually seeing the band, and hearing what they sound like in real life and not it some studio,” said Luke Akers, local music enthusiast, “I really like the feeling of the music surrounding me and feeling the beat of the drum in my chest, and I also like supporting bands that come out of Austin, and especially the ones that my friends are in, I also like the feeling of friendliness and just the people in the crowd,” For those with strong interests towards music, local venues are a great place to go to hang out with friends and family, to meet new people with similar interests and to discover new bands. Venues provide a way for local bands to get out there and meet new fans or to strengthen bonds with people that already love what they do and the kind of energy that they bring to the table.

“My first concert was loud and crowded, but that’s what made it fun.” - Campbell Stuart, local music enthusiast.

“It was really kind of an experience that you only feel once, because you really don’t know what to expect, just the feeling of excitement and just not know-ing what’s going to happen next is thrilling,” said Akers. Marisol Corbitt is a local musician. She has been off and on with different bands performing different types of music. Her most recent affiliation would be with Stars Collide, in which she was lead vocals. Stars Collide performed a mixture of pop and rock songs. “It’s always a good idea for a musician to be seen … the more you’re seen the better you’re follow-ing. It’s also good experience to get familiar with stage performance,” Corbitt said. David Zoilkowski, the lead bassist for the local band Pangia, started playing at local venues when he was six years old and has been performing ever since.

He has been featured at venues such as Antones, The Broken Spoke and Club Deville. “Of course... There’s no better way of getting your name out there,” said Zoilkowski. If a band plans on getting popular and wanting to perform at large more well known venues, they need to start out small. By performing at smaller venues, they get to expand their fan base and allow for other venues to them gigs. “Of course [performing locally] is, even if it’s just at your friend’s party it is still a great experience and a good way to get publicity throughout teenage groups, which can make your music spread like wildfire. Even more so if you are playing at a venue which could even land you other gigs,” Akers said. Gaining the further support of fans that already know that they love what bands create while they’re up on stage is important. Having the strong support of fans is important. Performing often strengthens the bonds between a band and their fans. “I’ve seen a lot of bands perform, but one of my favorite would be Flogging Molly. I love them so much and seeing them live was amazing,” said Campbell Stuart, a local music enthusiast. There are certain aspects that make a music venue desirable to an audience. “Club Deville is my favorite because the staff is so friendly and it’s right down town,” Zoilkowski said. Location plays a big part in the success of a venue. If a venue is placed out of the way and isolated, it will receive fewer customers compared to one that is located in a congested area with a lot of surrounding infrastructures. “Venues that are popular and get a lot of people in are good, so you’re band is seen. A good sound system is always nice, so you’re best sound is projected. A venue that gets big names to play is also good because that looks good on a resume when you’re trying to get booked other places,” said Corbitt. If a venue gets popular, more people will want to perform there. The more people that perform there, the more popular it will get. Once a venue gets popular nationwide, they can start hosting bigger and bigger named artists.

26

Antones is a popular music venue in Austin that hosts a different band nearly everyday.(Not final!)

“The local music scene in Austin is awesome. You’re almost guaranteed to find a concert every night of the week, “Stuart said. The Austin music scene is a very diverse culture. Although they are somewhat more rock oriented, they accept any type of music and won’t bash other styles that differ from theirs. “The Austin music scene is pretty cool on the fact that at any time you could pretty much go anywhere any time and see almost anyhow of music... Basically it rules,” said Zoilkowski.

David Zoilkowski is one of the three members of the band Pangia. They have played many gigs in and around Austin and have grown quite popular.

“I have and always will play shows locally in Austin TX.” - Zoilkowski

SPOTIFY