[ROCK SHOP] Music Community Meetup TONIGHT

Tuesday, September 27, 2016 – 7pm
Music Community Meetup @ iZotope
60 Hampshire St.
Cambridge, MA 02139

iZotope has graciously offered their space so that we can meet up. We’ll have time for people to briefly introduce themselves…talk about what you’re working on…and what you’re interested in…

The hope is that everyone can make some new connections among members of the greater Boston music community (in the interest of community-building and future collaboration).

This event is open to anyone – musicians, other members of the music community, music fans – and is open to people of all ages.

Feel free to forward this along to anyone you think might be interested in this event…

…but we do ask that you RSVP via Eventbrite so we have an idea of how many people will be attending: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/music-community-meetup-tickets-27599958218

We hope to see you there!

-Rock Shop

8/16 The Evolution of Studio Tech

Join iZotope on 8/16 at their HQ to discuss how audio tech has changed the world of music-making.  They’ve assembled a panel of local voices including John Weston (Futura), Matt McArthur (The Record Company), Matt Beaudoin (Q Division, Rubber Tracks), and Philip Cohen (AudioCommon), and the conversation will be moderated by iZotope’s Director of Education, Jonathan Wyner.

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RSVP and more event details here.

5/23 The State of Live Music in Boston

There is an important discussion to be had about the state of live music in Boston. From bands being asked to play for free to bands being asked to pay-to-play, let’s talk about how musicians get paid. Venue room fees and transparency are a common concern.

We’ll discuss the treatment of live music by venues in Boston. And how Boston can be a better city for music…and musicians!

This will be an open forum where we can discuss the issues that matter to those of you involved with live music in Boston. We want to hear from you!

We want this event to be as inclusive as possible so please feel free to invite anyone that you think should attend.

*We do ask that you please RSVP here (to get an idea of attendance): http://stateoflivemusic.eventbrite.com

Monday, May 23, 2016 iZotope 60 Hampshire St. Cambridge, MA 02139 7-9pm All ages welcome Free and open to the public presented by Rock Shop Boston with Anngelle Wood Media

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6/4 I Need a Dodge! – Joe Strummer on the Run – Boston debut film screening @ The Somerville Theatre

‘I Need a Dodge!’ Trailer from Tindog films on Vimeo.

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Thursday, June 4, 2015

Rock Shop presents
I Need a Dodge! – Joe Strummer on the Run – Boston debut film screening

The Somerville Theatre
55 Davis Square
Somerville, MA 02144

All Ages $10
7:30pm

Advance Tickets * FB Event

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Soon after the filmmaker started investigating Joe Strummer’s refuge in Spain in 1984/5, they’d heard a recording of an interview on Spanish national radio from 1997. In the interview Joe talks about a car he had in Madrid some years earlier. One day he left the car in a carpark but couldn’t remember which one. And there it stayed. In the interview Joe appeals to the Spanish people to help him find his car. The filmmaker couldn’t help wondering what had happened to Joe’s Dodge and what he was doing in Madrid without the rest of The Clash. I thought I’d dig around…Joe Strummer touched many peoples’ lives in Spain during this period. He became friends with the biggest stars in Spanish music and produced an LP for a rock band from Granada. Everyone interviewed for the film tells an interesting and often funny tale of their time with a rock star at a professional and personal crossroads. It was a story that needed to be told and an investigation that needed to be carried completed – just in case!

 

ICYMI: “Fifteen years of idealism for Boston’s Ben Potrykus” via Impose Magazine

Pretty interesting read below:

These were the days the Potrykus brothers lived the dogma of Dischord Records. They were  intoxicated by Ian MacKaye platitudes like “music is no joke, and it’s not for sale.” All that mattered to Ben was creating accessible, experiential music, and a contract meant losing that freedom. “With the exposure we were getting and the amount of people we were getting to come dance and freak out at shows,” he says, “we already had the advantage.”

via Fifteen years of idealism for  Ben Potrykus | Features | Impose Magazine.

Speedy Ortiz “Don’t Care Unless It Helps Their Friends Too” via The FADER

To an outsider, it might seem like they’ve already outgrown the scrappy Northeast DIY scene they came out of. For the band, though, success only counts if their friends are up there next to them. “It’s cool when we get written about and stuff,” Dupuis says, “but I’m always like, super psyched and texting my friends when I see that Pile gets a feature somewhere, or that Krill is on this festival lineup.”

via Speedy Ortiz Is Boston’s Best Band, But They Don’t Care Unless It Helps Their Friends Too | The FADER

This serves as a nice reminder to bring your friends with you on the way up.

Ryan Agate of O’Brien’s

Last night, I took my Venue Management class from Bay State College to O’Brien’s Pub to talk to the booker Ryan Agate.

Ryan has over a decade of experience booking various rooms in the Boston area. Mainly focused on smaller venues/bands, occasionally he will work in bigger rooms.

I’ve known Ryan for around 10 years and have never had a bad experience dealing with him.

I asked him to talk to my class about O’Brien’s, how booking works, and how the shows work there.

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O’Brien’s is a 70 capacity small club located in the heart of Allston, MA. It’s mostly 18+ during the week and 21+ on weekends. It’s open every night of the week and usually features 3-4 bands.

As the booker for O’Brien’s, Ryan is the first line of contact for many of the newer bands in the city of Boston. It’s where a lot of bands play their first show or their first few shows. A lot of bands come to him with a full line-up in mind, but if not, he’ll do his best to pair your band with other like-minded bands.

The deal at O’Brien’s is so reasonable ($75 on weeknights / $100 on weekends) that any band that can bring 10-20 of their friends out to the show is going to walk with some money at the end of the night.

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Ryan, what do you look for in new bands that you book?

When looking for new bands, we want people who are passionate about the music they make and are excited to play, but on top of it all, are easy to work with. As I always say, a smile goes a long way!

What’s the best way for a band to get a show at O’Brien’s?

Bands can reach me at obriensbooking[at]gmail.com

How far in advance do they need to contact you?

For weekends, 3-4 months out, as much as I hate that. For weekends, 2-3 months usually works, but there are always last minute changes.

Anything else new bands should know about playing shows at O’Brien’s?

A good attitude always helps!

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Check out obrienspubboston.com for a schedule and more information.

 

Dan Shea and Sam Potrykus of Boston Hassle / BRAIN Arts Organization / Boston Compass

I had the honor of hosting Dan Shea and Sam Potrykus in the Venue Management class I teach at Bay State College on Monday.

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Dan Shea started putting on shows in Boston in 2001. He heads up the 501(c)(3) non-profit BRAIN Arts Organization as well as the Boston Hassle website and event series and has put on shows at various and myriad sympathetic music (and otherwise) venues all over the Greater Boston area. He throws a number of festivals each year, including Boston Hassle Fest.

He is also the Music Editor of the Boston Compass, a listing of local underground shows and unique art / film/ comedy experiences & a medium for different kinds of 2D art distributed for free throughout the greater Boston area.

As director of the  Dan also plays music, writes for NPR’s The Artery, and lives in JP with his wife and son.

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Sam Potrykus started putting on shows in the greater Boston area in 2005. He co-runs the Bodies of Water Shows and Boston Hassle Shows entities which host between 5-12 shows a month in the area. He has put on shows at various house venues, rents function halls and VFWs, finds alternative spaces such as art galleries and churches, regularly books at clubs and bars like Great Scott, The Middle East, and O’Briens and has recently begun doing shows at The Sinclair. He and his partner Dan Shea book and run an annual festival – Boston Hassle Fest. – now in it’s 7th year.

He is the Editor-In-Chief of the Boston Compass newspaper, a listing of local underground shows and unique art / film experiences distributed for free throughout the greater Boston area. He is also the director of the BRAIN Arts Organization.

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We spoke about Dan’s background, how he starting going to shows at The Rat as a teenager, how that led him to look for more alternative viewpoints expressed in music, and how that led him to booking house shows and alternative venues.

Sam spoke of throwing shows at his parent’s house and touring as a 16-year-old and how that took him on a 45 day tour of the States. He got to see all the awesome things happening in other cities and wanted that for Boston.

Dan and Sam have put on shows in houses, churches, Elks lodges and VFWs, art galleries, video stores, warehouses, tv studios, schools, and community centers. While they do throw shows in more traditional “legitimate venues,” they focus on creating a more ideal music community in Boston, one that features greater interaction between the people putting on the shows, attending the shows, and playing the shows.

In addition to the shows they put on, Dan and Sam, through the BRAIN Arts Organization, are leading efforts to bring more small to mid-size performance spaces, affordable living space, and affordable work / practice space to the Boston area.

They are working to open a “volunteer run, multi-functional space constantly filled with music and art, and offering workshops to volunteers and community members.”

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If you’re interested in getting involved with what Dan and Sam are working on, contact them at bostonhassle[@]gmail.com.

4/9 RYE COALITION: The Story of the Hard Luck Five @ The Somerville Theatre

Rock Shop is pleased to present the Boston premiere of Rye Coalition: The Story of the Hard Luck Five at The Somerville Theatre on Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 8pm:

We are honored to be joined by director Jenni Matz, who will be available after the film to answer questions and tell some stories about Rye and the film.

Tickets are available HERE. FB event is HERE.

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Like countless rockers before them, Rye Coalition were childhood best friends who started a band in a basement with a couple simple goals in mind: have fun and play good music. As one of the first bands to develop the new “emo” sound, they were at the forefront of a movement that included Shellac, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker and Karp (with whom they later recorded a legendary 12″ split). Rye Coalition’s first recording was a demo cassette tape (1994’s “Dancing Man”, self-released), backed by an East Coast tour in a beat up school bus long before most of them had their driver’s license. As their talent and fan base grew, they released albums on indie labels and toured the country for over ten years on bigger and bigger bills: (At The Drive-In, Mars Volta, Queens of the Stone Age).

After gaining momentum from 2002′s “On Top” LP, engineered by Steve Albini, they were signed to Dreamworks Records and none other than Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) came on as their producer. Then, it all imploded.

Supplemented with the band’s own home movies, the filmmaker has continuously documented these singular rockers for over a decade, brazenly chronicling choice moments with Rye Coalition (and those who know them well) on tour, at home and in the studio. Although the band was praised by critics and supported by an absurdly dedicated grassroots fan base, somehow these Jersey rockers never got their due. Until now.

Featuring: Steve Albini (Shellac), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Tim Green (Nation of Ulysses), Jared Warren (Melvins). 2014; 77 minutes. Dir. Jenni Matz. 

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Winner, Best Documentary Film, New Jersey International Film Festival 
Winner, Best Rock Documentary, AMFM Film Festival 
Winner, Best Music Documentary, Kingston Film Festival (2014).
Winner, Best Local Film, Golden Door Film Festival 
Winner, Best Director- Feature Documentary, AC Cinefest

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Rock Shop was started by Kevin Hoskins and Steve Theo (of Pirate!) as a gathering to give back to the music community by hosting discussions, guest speakers, and panels on topics we feel would benefit artists and bands.

We gather to meet new people and discuss topics relevant to bands, artists, and the music community.

More information on Rock Shop is here and you can view a list of past of topics here. You can follow us on Twitter here.