Bay Area Bands
Friday, February 3, 2012
Could BMI Live Help Local Musicians Get Paid?
Business / Bay Area Bands Kathleen Richards — Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 11:49 AM
A year ago, the music licensing giant BMI launched a new endeavor called BMI Live, which allows songwriters to register for free and get paid royalties for their live performance (as far back as six months prior). Yet few musicians seem to know about the program.
BMI Director of Corporate Communications Ari Surdoval said the company is trying to spread the word about BMI Live to bands and encourage them to sign up. Musicians enter their show information online (or through an iPhone app), and royalties are distributed quarterly. According to Surdoval, the amount of royalties depends on various factors such as the venue, how many songs performed were written by you, and if you’re the sole songwriter. “We had people who made thousands of dollars last year,” he said.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Lookout! Records Calls It Quits
Breaking News / Business / Bay Area Bands Kathleen Richards — Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 9:43 AM
It's been a little more than six years since Lookout! Records released any material, but today the famed Berkeley punk rock label officially called it quits. On its website, Lookout! Records owner Chris Appelgren cited several factors in the decision, including the loss of Green Day and Operation Ivy to its catalog, as well as the demise of its CD manufacturer/distributor and mail order partner.
Appelgren writes: "We considered all options but kept coming back to realization that the best use of our energies would be to shut the doors once and for all - for the legacy of the label, for the bands, and for benefit of the relationships and friendships with artists, partners, and stakeholders."
Monday, January 16, 2012
Watch: Trails and Ways Cover Drake's "Headlines"
Bay Area Bands Ellen Cushing — Mon, Jan 16, 2012 at 2:47 PM
It's no secret that we here at the Express are fairly rabid supporters of Oakland's Trails and Ways, but their recent cover of the mega-ubiquitous Drake single "Headlines" truly pushes the fandowm over the top. Enjoy:
Friday, January 13, 2012
New Single from RnB Millionaires: "Hotel Rooms"
Bay Area Bands Rachel Swan — Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 11:28 AM
Rappers Jay Casio and Justin Loans of the group RnB Millionaires were apparently exercising humility, when they told us they were just a couple of regular 99 Percenters, recording beats in a West Oakland bedroom studio, working retail jobs at American Apparel, and struggling to pay off their college loans. If you trust the lyrics of the duo's new downtempo single, "Hotel Rooms," they actually live pretty exciting lives. Drinks on deck/Probably be another night that I won't forget, Loans slurs, before name-checking the Occupy movement and his click, Trill Team 6. The beat, produced by Casio, is sparse, fuzzy, and purposefully disorienting. To hear it, click here.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Wallpaper Signs to Epic Records
Bay Area Bands Rachel Swan — Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 1:16 PM
Pinole-raised electro-"crunk" singer, UC Berkeley music department alum, and unabashed AutoTune user Wallpaper (who, full disclosure, is my cousin — let's just get that out of the way) signed to Epic Records. And SF Weekly music editor Ian Port wrote a pretty nice blog about it, in which he notes that Wallpaper — who also goes by the name Ricky Reed — was summoned to the sparkling Beverly Hills office of Sony Music on December 2. There he met with producer Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and hip-hop artist Ciara. He's been sensibly quiet about the terms of his contract, but seems pretty pleased about it. We are, too.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
New Beats: Some Ember Debuts on Wide-Ranging Crash Symbols Compilation, Plus New Video From Parentz
MP3s and Song Samples / Bay Area Bands Will Butler — Wed, Dec 21, 2011 at 2:14 PM
Watch it:
Next: Check out Dope Mountain Fuck vol. 2, a new, incredibly wide-ranging mixtape featuring a few of our favorite East Bay dudes.
Friday, December 2, 2011
New Rap: Oakland's Main Attrakionz Had a Busy Week
MP3s and Song Samples / Bay Area Bands Will Butler — Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 12:50 PM
It’s been a busy week for “Cloud Rap,” the budding Bay Area scene headed up by young Oakland rappers Squadda B and Mondre M.A.N., aka Main Attrakionz. The duo has been putting out tapes at an insane clip for a couple years, finally coming into their own with this summer’s 808’s And Dark Grapes II, but they haven’t slowed down at all.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Drake Was Here — and Can Teleport, Apparently
Bay Area Bands / Pics and Video Will Butler — Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Over the weekend, hip-hop behemoth Drake took the Bay Area by storm, landing, according to the Internet, pretty much everywhere. On Saturday night he tweeted: "In the bay area... love it out here." And if Twitter is to be trusted, Drake really does love the Bay — like, literally all of it. Composite internet reports tell of a whirlwind adventure that took the Canadian artist through both San Francisco and Vallejo, as well as a handful of just about the most random East Bay spots you could think of (including Southland Mall, Eastmont, the Oakland Zoo, and Gordo's Taqueria on Solano). Who knows how much of it is true, but according to several sources, it looks like he got some work done.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Mistah FAB's Turkey Drive Begins Today
People / Bay Area Bands Will Butler — Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 12:24 PM
Mistah FAB, who's been a better community advocate than rapper in recent years, is parking the yellow bus at 45th and Market streets this afternoon to begin his Thanksgiving food drive. As SF Weekly reminds us, he's be holding the fourth annual neighborhood event from 1-6 p.m. today. In addition to the dozens of turkeys that they deliver to needy families, there'll be food, clothes, and a mobile health clinic administering AIDS tests for free. FAB has thrown in thousands of his own dollars, and is still welcoming donations via Paypal, to dabusride@gmail.com. Follow @MistahFAB for updates.
Monday, November 21, 2011
The Guy Who Co-Wrote Kreayshawn's “Gucci Gucci” Just Dropped An Album — So Why Don’t People Care?
Media / MP3s and Song Samples / Bay Area Bands Will Butler — Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 3:15 PM
“Daddy was right — I never do listen/but the blind old c*** couldn’t really see my vision/credit score low and I never held a job down/snackin on Xanny-bars just so I could calm down/my friends question why I’m so offbeat/or why I choose to write my name in wet concrete”
