CleverJoe's Musician Resource Blog

July indulgence's, Harry Potter and Kevin Hearn

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Tue, 05 Jul 2005 21:28:00 +0000

Ah, sweet July. The epicenter of summer invites indulgences. This summer, two of Joe's are the mid-July release of the new Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and an older Kevin Hearn CD.

Ok, the new Potter book is obvious, Joe has long been a fan. The Kevin Hearn CD
"H Wing" was actually released way back in 2001. It's been on Joe's to-get list for a darn long time but for some reason he never got around to picking it up (cartoon characters tend not to earn much). A few years ago, Kevin Hearn, keyboard player for the Bare Naked Ladies, had a serious fight for his life battling against leukemia. Released shortly after his recovery, this CD is Kevin's first, and it's hauntingly beautiful. 'Nuff said. There are lots more reviews of Kevin Hearn's music kicking around if ya really need 'em.

Review excerpt, Sean Carruthers, All Music Guide:

"Following his recovery, he returned to the Barenaked Ladies and played on albums by Rheostatics and Gordon Downie, but H-Wing is the first time he recorded his own material since that point. It's a very strange album in that it shows two impulses fighting each other -- the mournful "Death Bed Love Letter" is followed by a whimsical song about a "Bonefight at the Museum" ("They've thrown what was left of the tee-ran-a-saurus and Egyptian bowls/It's no fun getting hit in the head with a bone that's a million years old")."

That's all. If you don't need him, Joe will be in his hand-drawn hammock for most of July with a good book and a pair of earbuds.

For all you clever Canucks with hammocks of your own:

Eyeing the iBall

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 07:43:00 +0000

CleverJoe is keeping an eye out for the new iBall MPV, a brand spanking new mp3 and video player being offered into the portable digital music market by Geil. MPV is short for "Music Plus Video", and true to it's name, video streaming is one of the features being packed into the iBall mpv player. With the unique shape and size of a small pocketwatch, the iBall appears cool and sleek from the promo pics and specs, but will it be enough to take a bite out of Apple's sexy iPod? Geil is sending CleverJoe an iBall for review, so hold on to your hats and get the full scoop soon.

The review will be posted to the MP3 Player Comparison page:

Best MP3 Player Reviews

Cheers!

Best iPod mp3 player, reviews and comparisons.

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 10:08:00 +0000

Best Apple iPod Mp3 Player, Reviews and Comparisons

What is the best Apple iPod mp3 player, you ask? Compare the plethora of mp3 players and recorders from Apple, iRiver, Rio, Sony, Panasonic, Creative Labs Nomad. There's no doubt about it folks, there are more MP3 players on the market then there are apples on a well known fruit tree in Spring. Er... Fall. The point is, if you're a newbie to the whole MP3 player phenomenon, it can be a daunting task trying to wade through the murky, mysterious world of mp3 players. Just so you know, CleverJoe has done some wading himself and found that it's not so murky after all. And the thing is, you're really missing out on buckets of cool. Ok, grab a pair of rubber boots and jump right in.

The "Best MP3 Player" completely depends on your personal needs. There are a few differentiating factors between the various iPod players available, and one of the most obvious is storage space.

CleverJoe's guide to mp3 players:

iPod Storage

How much music do you want to store on your iPod? The more music you feed your head, the deeper you'll need to dig into your wallet. These days, you can hold a serious amount of music on your player. Here's a guideline:

40GB. Stores up to 10,000 songs
20GB. Stores up to 5,000 songs
10GB. Stores up to 2500 songs
5GB. Stores up to 1250 songs
...You get the idea...

Owners tend to speak about their Apple iPod in religious terms. The iPod is slim and feather-light, offering hours and hours of music along with a small barrage of other bonus features including a personal appointment calendar, phone book, alarm clock and games. Apple has always managed to make it's products both user manageable and sexy. They keep the user's end experience in mind, and this philosophy has translated into a family of iPod mp3 player products that are easy to use, great to listen to, nice to look at, and fun to brag about. Apple iPod mp3 players are the most popular portable media players on the market with something in the iPod family for everyone's music and file storage needs. Check out the links above for reviews and more info.

The Artist's Way, A Guide for Blocked Musicians and Artists

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 11:55:00 +0000

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

So you're a musician, artist, writer, poet, painter... name the particular tune - it's all related. The fact is, we're all naturally creative people, no question. And as creative beings, we all become blocked from time to time, and we're not talking suppositories. It happens to the best of us. Creativity... sigh. It can be a quirky monkey-mind type of affair. CleverJoe recently picked up his still-new and somewhat shiny copy of the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Bought in an excited moment many moons ago, the book offered the opportunity of reclaiming the natural flow of creative juices - a return to all the dreams and possibilities that childhood boldly lays on the table. For many of us, it's easy to become bogged down in the 'every day' of adulthood, which, if we're not careful, can end up stretching far and away into and endless series of tomorrows.

So now once again this guide seems like exactly the right moment for a revisit. Happy Valentine's Day all, if you have a sweetie, consider writing them a list of the top 50 things you love about them. If you don't have anyone to snuggle with, trying writing a guilt-free list of 50 things you love about yourself, including that freckle behind your left knee. It can be quite therapeutic and re-affirming process whether you are in a relationship or not.

And if you have a chance, be sure to check out Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way. It could change your life, or at least your socks:

The Artist's Way, by Julie Cameron

Cheers!

Cheers!

Nouveau Flamenco Guitar, Canadian Recording Artist

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 21:16:00 +0000

Canadian Flamenco Guitar Music

Flamenco guitar playing - are you a fan? CleverJoe always perks up when a 'world music' CD demo comes across his desk. This week saw the arrival of a great instrumental CD by flamenco guitar player and Canadian songwriter Johannes Linstead. This is Linstead's fifth CD, called 'Mediterranea'. A multi-instrumentalist, Linstead also plays piano, mandolin, bouzouki, bass, wood flute and percussion. He has played and recorded with musicians from around the world, including Cuba, Columbia, Syria, Greece, Mexico, Russia and Ukraine. Influences from many of these countries can be heard on 'Mediterranea', although it never strays too far from Linstead's signature flamenco guitar playing roots. It seems to take a couple of songs for the CD to really 'warm up' to the passion flamenco music is known for, but by the fifth song "Adelita", Linstead is in full form and no longer holding back. Passionate and well written songs such as "Estrellas Sobre Ella" are a treat for the ears and heart, with hauntingly beautiful instrumental arrangements and subtle background vocal layers. Although it takes some time for this CD to abandon restraint, if you're a fan of flamenco music, 'Mediterranea' won't disappoint. To check it out yourself, see www.JohannesLinstead.com.

Remember, if you have a band or musician web site, two great places to promote your music (for free!) are:

Btw, If you're looking for flamenco music guitar tablature or sheet music, try:

GuitarTab.ca, Guitar Tablature and Sheet Music.

Music Copyright. What a Songwriter Needs To Know

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 07:06:00 +0000

Music Copyright Protection - Tips for Songwriters

Wondering how to copyright protect the music you've written? You're not alone. One of the most popular musician articles on CleverJoe.com is part of a series written by Austin Smith, a Canadian songwriter who is doing it for real in Nashville, Tennessee. Yes, it is possible to make a living as a songwriter. Austin is an old friend of CleverJoe's, and Joe is happy to be able share his musician articles about songwriting, publishing and copyright protection. Dig in:

Copyright protecting your music

After my last column, entitled "Songwriting, Music Publishing, and Other Anomalies", I received lots of e-mails from folks with questions about various aspects of this business of songwriting. Since the questions that some of you posed were ones that anyone interested in pursuing a career in songwriting has at one time or another asked themselves, I thought it would be a good idea to address some of those questions in this column. Sound good?

All right, here we go...

Copyright protecting your music for use on the web

One e-mail I got was from a writer whose band was looking into putting samples of their songs on their own website. One of his bandmates was concerned about the possibility of someone ripping off their songs if they put them out over the Web like that, into infinity. He wanted to know if the band should 'copyright' the songs first, not put them on the Web at all, or what? Well, I gotta tell you. I think this is a great question and one a lot of people have pondered since the Internet became such an integral part of our culture. It can be a great promotional tool, but it has also opened up a brand new can of potential copyright infringement worms.

Click here to continue article...

For more of Austin's musician articles for songwriters, see:

Confessions of a songwriter
Join Austin on his strange but true songwriter's musical trek.
How Music Publishing Works
What songwriters need to know.
Music Publishers
How to get a good music publisher.
Writing Lyrics For A Living
Can you really?
Music Copyright Laws: How to use cover song versions legally
CleverJoe's Main Musician Articles page

Kathmandu Nepal Musical Instrument Scene

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Sun, 23 Jan 2005 08:05:00 +0000

Kathmandu, Nepal Musical Instrument Scene

CleverJoe says: "Travel light, leave your fears at home."

It's no secret that CleverJoe likes to shoulder the backpack from time to time and venture out on the big wide road to see where it might lead next. One such sojourn took him to the backstreets of Kathmandu and the shadows of the Himalayas. Okay, so Kathmandu is not quite in the shadows, but you would be able to see the mountains on a clear day after a few days of banning vehicles from Ktm, which is one of the most polluted cities in the world. The pollution is exasperated due to the city's location in the Kathmandu valley. But we digress.

The sheer amount of life that can traverse across the front of your nose when you're not looking is staggering. Wandering in the old parts of the city and Durbar square is like strolling through a chapter in a living, breathing history book - new pages being written at record speed, but with grace and purpose. If you listen closely, you can actually hear the quill scribbling quietly as you make your way down the old streets. The sound pauses as you stop for a moment to dodge a rickshaw, cough up some phlegm and move along again, the quill scribbling softly after you.

CleverJoe stopped hearing the quill after a mango lassie and rough haircut at the local barber which included a surprise Ayurvedic eyeball massage. With dark, pulsating spots in his eyes, he staggered through the twisting alleyways towards the guesthouse in Thamel, looking forward to getting to his room and relaxing with a drink and something sharp to poke out his flaming eyes.

As luck would have it, Clever took a wrong turn and quickly became lost in the maze of narrow streets that make up the old part of Kathmandu. It was late afternoon, and the sun was quickly disappearing. Realizing it would be difficult to navigate the darkening streets in a city where street lamps were a premium, Clever ducked into the nearest shop his eyes could 'spot'. Little did CleverJoe know that he had just stumbled into the very epicentre of the Nepalese music scene.

Rubbing his eyes and surveying what would become his personal spiritual retreat for the next few weeks, CleverJoe sighed, coughed, then jumped in surprise as a brown hand thrust itself at him between two djembes. "Namaste" said the voice attached to the arm, and Joe shook the hand. CleverJoe could barely take in the scope of what his clearing eyes were seeing. Looking around the inside of the small shop, Nepalese and Indian music instruments of all manner were piled from the floor to the ceiling. In all directions were sitars, harmoniums, tablas, sarangi 'violins' and of course, stacks and stacks of the popular Nepalese double-sided hand drum, the Madal.

The person attached to the arm turned out to be a Nepalese gentleman named Ram. And it was Ram, who for the next few weeks would be CleverJoe's guide along the magical musical instrument mystery tour. Ah, such a delicious time of discovery and fresh ginger tea.

There is something universal about musicians hanging out at their local music store, and Canadian musicians are no exception. It's true that Ram's music shop has a certain Asian flare to it that is tough to beat back home, but as CleverJoe likes to say about Canada in January:

"There snow place like home".

To help guide you through all four seasons of the Canadian musician's path:

And just in case you have a hankering to hang out at Ram's music shop, or simply if you want to travel to Nepal become enlightened a là Leonard Cohen:

Fruity Loops Studio Review

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Mon, 17 Jan 2005 08:22:00 +0000

Fruity Loops Studio, Music Software in Review

So returning once again to the subject of the myopic Fruity Loops Studio music software. Also known as Fl Studio (or Fruityloops FLStudio for the more discerning search engines who might be reading this - you know who you are), this is music creation software at it's best. CleverJoe has been using Fruity Loops for many moons and it's still an old favorite.

Long before the rest of the world got themselves a computer and clued into the fact that Fruity Loops is a brilliant bit of music making software, a small Fruity Loops community began to grow, eventually thriving into an army of techno geek electronica artists who knew a thing or two about computers and music.

These days of course it's perfectly acceptable to be a computer geek, and let's face it, it's a little bit embarrassing if you're not. The good news is that Fruity Loops is not too difficult to get your head around once you stick it in. Your head.

See the full Fruity Loops review here:

Fruity Loops FL Studio Review

You can also check out the music software section at CleverJoe.com for free music software download links, reviews, music composition software and more:

Asia Earthquake Tsunami Relief Effort

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Sun, 16 Jan 2005 19:36:00 +0000

CANADA FOR ASIA TSUNAMI CONCERT

The Asia earthquake and tsunami relief effort has seen a great outpouring of compassion and donations across the world, including Canada. A few days ago saw a special three hour televised Canadian music concert called "Canada for Asia". The event was organized in part by Tom Cochrane and CBC (for all you non-Canucks, CBC is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's public television and radio broadcaster.

Canadian Music Industry Directory

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 23:25:00 +0000

Oh, Canada. If you're stuck living up in the great white north, one of the first things you'll realize is that you're not exactly 'stuck' unless it's in the literal meaning of the word, as in 'stuck in a snow bank'. This is actually a frequent mishap of Canadian musicians and snow bank stickings are responsible for the majority of unsigned record deals successfully not made in the country every year. Global warming is also cooling off the music industry in Canada but this article is not about the country's unique snow dwellings. Sticking to the facts, depending on where you live in the country, it can be a darn cold place if you happen to be caught outside in a snowstorm wearing only a bathrobe. The lucky ones are curled up inside eating a potato on their couch and the luckier ones also have a guitar or other musical instrument to curl up with on those cold winter nights.

So how -do- musicians keep warm through those long, cold Canadian winters? The official answer according to the Canadian Government StatsCan web site, 86% of respondants answered:

FruityLoops

Who'd have thought?

To Blog Or Die

noreply@blogger.com (CleverJoe) — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 21:51:00 +0000

Well it looks like the blog fest has finally caught up with CleverJoe. Clever has been hearing about blogs and the positively anarchistic mayhem that blogs have been causing for quite some time now. So, he figured it was time to join the blogging revolution. No longer could he ignore the throngs of CleverJoe.com visitors, silently urging on the intertia of a forward-blogging motion from Joe.

Yes, the time for the CleverJoe Musician's Resource blog had finally come. With keyboard quill in hand, and deep, dark pools of Canadian music and musician thoughts ready to be exploited, CleverJoe readied himself for some old fashioned hard-blogging work. There was one problem of course. As a cartoon character, Clever has a hard time typing with one hand, let alone two. So here am I, faithful CleverJoe servant so to speak, ready to help impart Joe's years of wisdom in the general fields of music and musician gear, travel, and life's spiritual oddities. As you may have already guessed, this blog is the spiritual guide to all things Clever.