New Years Resolutions

Last year I blogged a few new years resolutions, and since it’s almost 2008 and a full year has passed I figured this is the time to revisit them.1. Get people using Indaba Music – this one was obvious, as this website has occupied the majority of my life in 2007. However, I am very happy to say that we did get people using Indaba; quite a few actually. This community enters 2008 about 20,000 artists strong, and I hope you’ll join me in welcoming everyone else who continues to join us in the new year!2. Learn more about new music in NYC – I think I can declare success on this one too. Although there’s always more music to discover here in NYC, I helped myself to a hearty serving in ‘07 – seeing many bands live for the first time including Jukebox the Ghost, Little Grey Girlfriend, Ra Ra Riot, and Beat Radio. Hell, we had 29 bands play here at Indaba for CMJ – most of which I had never heard or seen live before (Nous Non Plus kicked ass). I got my fill at After the Jump Fest out in Brooklyn too. Although it doesn’t count as “new music in NYC”, I was also fortunate enough to see a ton of major acts live, including Daft Punk at Coney Island (which bordered on a spiritual experience), The Killers, Springsteen, and Roger Waters at Live Earth (which was INCREDIBLE).

3. Go to Bonnaroo and SXSW – didn’t make it to Bonnaroo, but I did make it to SXSW, and it was certainly a great time. I saw and heard Paolo Nutini for the first time, and even visited my first authentic country dancing bar. Looking forward to heading back with the rest of the Indaba team in ‘08.

4. Get back to Africa – unfortunately I didn’t follow through on this one, and I have to blame Indaba for taking up all my time. I absolutely loved the time I spent in Africa in 2005, and I’ve been hoping to go back ever since. Hopefully 2008 will be the year!

Stay tuned for this year’s resolutions…

Jukebox the Ghost, Wakey Wakey at Mercury Lounge

Jukebox the Ghost (here, here, and here) played an awesome set last night at Mercury Lounge. Although I’ve gotten used to watching them perform here at Indaba, I understand that I can’t have them all to myself and they must play out in the real world. Highlights for me included Static to the Heart (one of their new tracks that I really enjoy), some other, newer songs I can’t remember the names of, and a rare rendition of their multi-part song about the end of the world.

Also, kudos go out to Wakey Wakey and their ever-successful manager Seth Kallen (and former Indaba intern, now This Side Up Sounds) for completely selling out their CD release event which went off right before JTG’s set. Despite being on the list, I couldn’t even get in because the bouncer said it was a fire hazard. Good job guys – that’s what I call creating buzz.

Meeting Ashley Witt

While we were out in L.A. last week we had the privilege of meeting one of our most active users, Ashley Witt. We talked about a ton of interesting stuff, from Indaba to Ashley’s work on the Olympics theme music to the history and development of MIDI. We also talked about Ashley’s sweet ride – a 1955 Thunderbird – the first year Ford made that model. You can see it in this pic behind me, Ashley and Dan.

Facebook Saves Lives

Well, not exactly, but pretty close. I’m out in Colorado this week with a bunch of friends (many of whom also happen to work for websites) and one of the group slipped a few minutes ago on some wet, snowy tile and dislocated his wrist (our friend Joe, founder of the website essembly). OUCH, I know. Anyway, the EMT showed up, and because our friend was in too much pain to really talk lucidly, Sam (founder of drop.io) pulled up Joe’s Facebook profile to get all his important bio information for the medics.Kudos to Facebook for assisting web entrepreneurs who, in times of medical emergency, couldn’t think of anything better to other than log into Facebook. Luckily, the EMT now knows Joe’s relationship status, and the fact that he’s a fan of Battlestar Galactica.

Indaba Does L.A.

Dan, David, and I were out in L.A. this week to spread the Indaba love…and we definitely had a great time. Free accomodations, a night at In & Out Burger, and 72 degree sunshine – what else could a snowed-in New Yorker ask for?

We were lucky enough to meet Eric from Creative Commons – Dan and I have always been big fans of the work they’re doing (see our post when we deployed CC support), so it was kind of like meeting a minor celebrity for us. If you aren’t familiar with Creative Commons check them out – the work they’re doing to innovate copyright and licensing for musicians is very important and will eventually (if not already) impact every member of this community. We’re looking forward to working more closely with CC in the future in ways that enable musicians to take advantage of all the great work they’ve done.

The final highlight of the trip for me was our meeting with Ashley Witt – you may know him as one of the most badass users here on Indaba. It was really fun to meet him in person, hear what he had to say about the site, and see his awesome restored 1950s Thunderbird convertible (please be patient for a picture, once David uploads them I’ll include it here). He recently composed the new themesong for the upcoming Olympics – so if he’s interested in one of your sessions, listen to what he has to say! He’s pretty serious stuff.

On a less positive note, Dan and I are looking for someone to explain the seemingly bizarre traffic system in LA to us. Why does the walk signal only stay up for about half a second? Are there no elderly people crossing the street in lala land? Also, we noticed while driving that the lights don’t go green in a single direction, they go green for a single block, then you stop and wait, then you do another blog, and on, and on. It was like being in a NYC cab with a jerky driver. Anyway, thought I’d vent and see if anyone has any insights.

I’m lucky enough to be out in Colorado for the next few days, so I’ll try to post some pictures over the weekend.