2009 Mashup from DJ Earworm

This year in the charts, so many of the pop songs this year seem to tell the same story: Yeah, we’ve been through a lot, but right now we’re gonna celebrate with music and dance, and it’s gonna be ok. With that spirit in mind, I invite you to…BLAME IT ON THE POP

• The Black Eyed Peas - BOOM BOOM POW
• Lady Gaga - POKER FACE
• Lady Gaga Featuring Colby O’Donis - JUST DANCE
• The Black Eyed Peas - I GOTTA FEELING
• Taylor Swift - LOVE STORY
• Flo Rida - RIGHT ROUND
• Jason Mraz - I’M YOURS
• Beyonce - SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING ON IT)
• Kanye West - HEARTLESS
• The All-American Rejects - GIVES YOU HELL
• Taylor Swift - YOU BELONG WITH ME
• T.I. Featuring Justin Timberlake - DEAD AND GONE
• The Fray - YOU FOUND ME
• Kings Of Leon - USE SOMEBODY
• Keri Hilson Featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo - KNOCK YOU DOWN
• Jamie Foxx Featuring T-Pain - BLAME IT
• Pitbull - I KNOW YOU WANT ME (CALLE OCHO)
• T.I. Featuring Rihanna - LIVE YOUR LIFE
• Soulja Boy Tell ‘em Featuring Sammie - KISS ME THRU THE PHONE
• Jay Sean Featuring Lil Wayne - DOWN
• Miley Cyrus - THE CLIMB
• Drake - BEST I EVER HAD
• Kelly Clarkson - MY LIFE WOULD SUCK WITHOUT YOU
• Beyonce - HALO
• Katy Perry - HOT N COLD

This just sounds painful to me

Guitarists' Brains Swing Together

ScienceDaily (Mar. 18, 2009) — When musicians play along together it isn't just their instruments that are in time – their brain waves are too. New research shows how EEG readouts from pairs of guitarists become more synchronized, a finding with wider potential implications for how our brains interact when we do.

Steven Page ventures out on his own

Steven Page, former lead singer of Barenaked Ladies, is working on a solo album, and he has an interesting blog post about the process.

Springsteen is ‘exactly where I want to be’

I think this is turning into a "All Bruce All The Time" blog ...

MSNBC.com

The Big Man keeps Rocking

Great article about E Street Band saxman Clarence Clemons. No matter what - surgeries, age, racism - he just keeps on rockin'.

Re-Meet The Beatles

PopMatters.com is saluting the genius that is the Fab Four with a month full of feature articles and blogs. Enjoy!

Geeks get a hold of Hey Jude

This is exactly what we need - a flow chart for "Hey Jude."



From the loveallthis.com blog.

So When Does the MEB get our White House Invite?

Lots of cool music has been happening at the White House, with lots more planned.

MSNBC.com

R.E.M. Rediscovers R.E.M.

This is a very interesting interview with Michael Stipe of R.E.M. He makes some interesting points about how you never know which of your songs will be popular.

Love this quote from Mike Mills:

"The fact is," Mills says, "that you never know what your best songs are. Losing my Religion is a five-minute song without a chorus where the main instrument is a mandolin — and it’s our biggest hit."

TimesOnlineUK

Rockin' In Rochester

Looks like a fun weekend down the Thruway. Road trip?!?

2nd Annual Rochester Independent Music Festival

Kanye, Kanye, Kanye

Dude, really?!? I mean, yes, Beyonce is a goddess and deserves all the acclaim she gets, but why diss Taylor in the process? C'mon, man, you're better than that.

All Hail Motown

Motown turns 50!

What's Your Fantasy?

Wanna spend a week rockin' with the stars? Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp will let you do just that, and this year's guest artists include Ace Frehley, Jon Anderson, and Meat Loaf. Does it get any better than that?

Bruce, You Totally Rock

On September 20 in Chicago, Bruce Springsteen is going to play the entire "Born To Run" album in concert. If you were trying to define awesome, this is it.

MEB rocks Eleanor Rigby & Colder Rain

From the Tim Herron Corporation's Company Picnic, here's Steve O's arrangement of the Beatles classic.



And here's a partial recording of Mike's song "Colder Rain" from our latest CD.

Roger Wilco!

We're big Wilco fans. Check out this article from MSNBC.com about their new CD.

Bruce tells a Chuck Berry story

Eminem: Inside The Comeback

MSNBC.com has an in-depth article on Eminem and his latest release. It's an interesting read.

Another Reason I Love The Internet

Just like this writer, I love how exploring the web for music about a particular artist or style can take you in so many directions. This guy started out looking for some Lou Reed music and ended up immersed and obsessed with Afro-pop.

Go music exploring, I think you'll love it.

Hipsters Love 'Em, But Why??

People who claim to be hip and cool love some very strange music, and Spike lists 7 bands that the hipsters love but they are not impressed with.

Are you really listening?

Gizmodo had a great article on "audiophiles," those folks who will spent tens of thousands of dollars on fancy audio equipment, because they swear it sounds so much better. They say that the trend of popping little tiny ear buds in, listening to highly compressed low bitrate mp3s while we attack the treadmill has ruined our appreciation for the way music can really sound.

The author of the article is understandably skeptical when he's getting ready to meet this gentleman, but he changes his tune by the end. It's a good read; check it out.

Rock Hall inducts its New Class

Metallica, Run-DMC, Bobby Womack and more were inducted into the Rock Hall in Cleveland this weekend. Lots of articles, videos and photos at Cleveland.com.

R.I.P. Uriel Jones - Motown drummer

One of Motown's Funk Brothers, drummer Uriel Jones (pictured above with Annie Jamerson, left, and Rosalind Holmes of the Vandellas), passed away in Detroit Tuesday. His muscular, hard-rocking drum style was an integral part of the Motown sound on classics such as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations. Jones was 74.

DetNews.com

VH1 is Bringing Back "Behind The Music"

I LOVE this idea. Can't wait.

TheHollywoodReporter.com

Geddy Lee says Canada is "really farkin’ cold"

I think you'll get a kick out of this laid-back casual interview with Geddy Lee of Rush. I think I want to party with this guy.

Blender.com

Road Trip to Cleveland, Anyone?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced that it will launch "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen" on April 1. If you're a music fan, you gotta visit this place once in your lifetime. And what better time than now; the exhibit runs through spring 2010.

MSNBC.com

A Movie About Beer is a Good Thing

Beer Wars - The Movie

They're doing a screening and event on April 16th. Check their site for more info. Here's the film's synopsis:

In America, size matters. The bigger you are, the more power you have, especially in the business world.

Director Anat Baron takes you on a no holds barred exploration of the U.S. beer industry that ultimately reveals the truth behind the label of your favorite beer. Told from an insider’s perspective, the film goes behind the scenes of the daily battles and all out wars that dominate one of America’s favorite industries.

Beer Wars begins as the corporate behemoths are being challenged by small, independent brewers who are shunning the status quo and creating innovative new beers. The story is told through 2 of these entrepreneurs - Sam and Rhonda - battling the might and tactics of Corporate America. We witness their struggle to achieve their American Dream in an industry dominated by powerful corporations unwilling to cede an inch.

This contemporary David and Goliath story is ultimately about keeping your integrity (and your family’s home) in the face of temptation. Beer Wars is a revealing and entertaining journey that provides unexpected and surprising turns and promises to change the world’s opinion on those infamous 99 bottles of beer on the wall.

5 All-Girl Tribute Acts You Can't Miss

The folks from Gibson guitars bring us this very entertaining link. Sit back and revel in the awesomeness of AC/DShe, Lez Zeppelin, The Iron Maidens, Mistress of Reality, and Misstallica!

Sure, there are plenty of classic rock cover bands — but for some reason we never get sick of seeing all-female groups tackle songs by some of rock’s most testosterone-driven acts. Below are five of our favorite YouTube superstars who have come together to prove that women can’t just rock harder than men, they can also replicate their songs so flawlessly that if we close our eyes we can’t tell the difference.

Gibson.com
Thanks to Jim for the link.

C'mon Out To JP's

Saturday night February 28 we'll be hanging out with Carrie and Casey at JP's in B'ville, bringing our All-American rock'n'soul to the masses. You know you want to be there, and we look forward to seeing you.

And don't forget to put our upcoming dates on your calendar:
- Sat. March 7 - Badlands Saloon, B'ville
- Sat. March 14 - Shifty's, Burnet Ave.
- Tue. March 17 - Dinosaur BBQ (St. Patty's Day)

Take a Ride on the Sushi Conveyor

Keeping up with the latest music

I know they don't really play much music on MTV or VH1 anymore, instead we get Brett Michaels or Flavor Flav, but they still do a Top 20 video countdown every weekend. It's a good way to check out the latest videos and some cool new music.

I'm especially loving the Jason Mraz/Colbie Caillat tune - they're two of my favorite artists.

Alas, Our Streak Continues

Once again, the MEB was shutout of the Grammy's. When will they ever learn?!?!

Full list of winners.

Guitarist Tim Herron joins the MEB

Echoing the wave of forward-looking change sweeping the country, the Baldwinsville-based acoustic-rock Mike Estep Band is making changes, adding veteran local guitarist Tim Herron to its lineup.

A stalwart on the Syracuse music scene for many years, singer-songwriter Tim is best known for fronting the Tim Herron Corporation, and most recently helmed the funk-rock unit The Assassins of Hip.

When founding MEB guitarist Jeff Favalo left the band in 2007, the three remaining members – Mike Estep (vocals & acoustic guitar), Steve Orlando, Jr. (vocals & drums), and Paul Opel (vocals & bass) – invited Tim to join the group, but scheduling commitments and conflicts meant the time just wasn't right. As the calendar turned to 2009, former guitarist Brian McArdell left the band to pursue other interests and Tim's schedule opened up, so the invite was extended again.

“We're really fired up about having the chance to work with someone as talented and experienced as Tim,” said Estep. “He's a great fit in the MEB, both musically and personally. We expect the folks that come hear us will have just as much fun as we're having.”

Fans will have a number of chances to hear the new lineup in the next few months, starting with a show Saturday February 7 at Coleman's on Tipp Hill in Syracuse, and including a special St. Patrick's Day performance at the Dinosaur BBQ on March 17.

Much more information, including the band's performance schedule and a music blog can be found at their website and social networking sites MySpace and Facebook.
Band Website: http://www.mikeestepband.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mikeestepband
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Estep-Band/33985972132

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

In the immortal words of David Bowie:

Oh, look out you rock and rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Pretty soon now
You're gonna get older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time

Tune back soon for more info ...

See, Songwriting's Not That Hard!

OK, this is just hilarious. Lots of entertainment.

Microsoft SongSmith allows you to sing into your computer and it will add its own music allowing you to create songs just by singing. Thanks to this, many (especially azz100c on YouTube) are taking classic songs, extracting the vocals, putting it through SongSmith, and dubbing the new song over the original music video. Here are some of the best videos we've seen that prove computers know nothing about what sounds good.

The Geek Pad

Where's the Hall of Fame? Walk This Way

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2009 inductees: Run-DMC joins the heavy metal band Metallica, guitarist and former Yardbirds member Jeff Beck; soul singer and guitarist Bobby Womack and doo-wop group Little Anthony and the Imperials as this year’s inductee class.

MSNBC.com

Rapping with Bert & Ernie

Thanks to Ken for the suggestion.

New Music for 2009

The Buffalo News lists its picks for some music you'll be hearing about in 2009. It's gonna be an interesting year!

Pop Music in 2008 - A great mashup

This is a great combination of the top 25 pop hits of 2008. Watch the video in high quality.

Thanks to Beth for sending this to me.

2008 MEB Year In Review

From the very beginning of the year, 2008 was a year of firsts for the MEB, and it was a great ride. Follow along as we recap a few of the highlights of 2008.

It all got started when Brian joined us for the very first time in January, and we performed live on Dave Frisina's Soundcheck show from the Redhouse in Armory Square. Brian did a great job in his premiere, and we had a wonderful time showcasing our music for the enthusiastic crowd in attendance and the folks tuning in on TK99.

On March 14, the new MEB made its club debut at Muskie's in Fulton, both the first time at this bar, and the first time we played full gig together. Lots of Mike's former Miller crew came out and it was a special night.

May provided us with a very interesting day, as we spent one Saturday afternoon at a Hinerwadel's clambake for the nurse's union, then dragged our stuff over to JP's Tavern in B'ville for a night of beer, tequila and rock and roll.

We made an appearance at the Dinosaur BBQ in June and had some great pics taken by our friend Timothy Andrews. Hot summer gigs at the Fireside Inn, McNamara's and Metro Sushi followed in July.

Sandwiched between shows at Coleman's and Shifty's, we made a triumphant return to the Paper Mill Island Amphitheater in August, opening for Pink Floyd tribute band Childhood's End. As usual, it was a steaming hot day, and there were the typical technical issues, but we pulled together and managed to put on a great performance.

Former MEB guitarist Jeff Favalo made a guest appearance at our Friday October 3 Dinosaur BBQ show, the first time we'd booked a weekend gig at this iconic venue. We enjoyed the reunion with old and new friends.

We finished October with our 3rd Halloween Bash at the Brae Loch Inn in Cazenovia. Can't beat a party like that, can you?

After a busy November and December, we closed out the year on December 27th at Buffalo's, where we shared the evening with a bunch of Brian's friends celebrating a 40th birthday of one of the lovely ladies.

All in all, it was another fun year for all of us, and we're thrilled to be able to spend it with so many of you. 2009 is looking great and should be incredible, and we can't wait!