Making of Video for Snow Patrol “Just Say Yes” Cover
The ”behind-the-scenes” video of my recording “Just Say Yes” is now live.
As many of you know, I spent a few weeks recording an acoustic cover of Snow Patrol’s, “Just Say Yes”, the single from their new album Up to Now. I also recorded video of myself doing it for a YouTube experiment. See what you think…and if you’re up for it, maybe even favorite it? ;)
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New Song: “Just Say Yes” (Snow Patrol cover) & Music Video Experiment
My acoustic cover of the new single by Snow Patrol, “Just Say Yes“, went on sale yesterday (two weeks before Snow Patrol’s version will be in stores on Oct 30th). How’s that for an unsigned band moving faster than a record label? Digg It!
Snow Patrol’s “Just Say Yes”, the single from their new album Up to Now, caught my attention with its techno qualities, atypical of the band. I thought it might be interesting to record a stripped-down, acoustic version of the track, using an acoustic guitar, cello, a capella beatboxing, and piano. So I did - check it out below.
I also thought it’d be interesting to capture video of myself recording the song for a YouTube video as an experiment. I’ll be posting that video here in a few days — stay tuned!
Listen & Download
Check out the track, and let me know what you think in the comments below. (You can even compare it to the original Snow Patrol version.) Though I can’t give the track away for free (I’ll need to pay royalties on any sales to Snow Patrol), it’s available at the new GarageSpin Store, for anyone interested.
Watch Video
Once the video is launched on YouTube, I could really use your help promoting it — giving it ratings, “favorite” votes, etc. It’ll be fun to see how it does.
Other Stuff To Do
In case you’re interested, you can also:
- Sign up to the mailing list so you know when new songs are available
- Check out more GarageSpin songs
- Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace
- Read the Snow Patrol “Just Say Yes” lyrics
Thanks for listening!
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How to Change Your Band’s MySpace URL with MySpace Email
MySpace finally created a way to change your band ’s MySpace URL — I just did it today.
Changing Band Names
Several years ago, I decided to make my ‘band’ name “DreamSpin”, and created a MySpace band profile with that name, as well the accompanying MySpace band URL www.myspace.com/DreamSpin. Later on, I decided to go with the band name ‘GarageSpin’ instead to match my blog name, after already having built up a friend network, a comment history, and song play history. Unfortunately, MySpace didn’t provide a way to change URLs, annoying a lot of bands and musicians in my situation…until recently.
Change MySpace URL for Your Band
NOTE: MySpace changes certain processes from time to time. It worked for me today (October 11, 2009), but if you’re read this in the future, I’d strongly recommend testing this process with two dummy account URLs to make sure the steps still work, and no unnecessary account-erasing takes place.
1. Make sure the band MySpace URL you want is available. Hopefully, no one’s claimed the URL. Or, maybe you reserved it yourself by creating an account with the new name. (I had snatched up www.myspace.com/GarageSpin just in case…not that I could imagine anyone else wanting that particular MySpace URL.)
2. Delete your “reserved” band MySpace URL, if you had reserved it at some point. If you own the new MySpace URL, and want to swap your old MySpace account to it, you’ll need to delete the new one first to make it “available”.
For example, in my case, I owned both www.myspace.com/DreamSpin, my active account, and www. myspace.com/GarageSpin, the one I reserved. I had used the DreamSpin account for years, but wanted to transfer all the account’s friends, comments, and plays to the new MySpace URL. So, I deleted the GarageSpin account.
To delete the “new” and “unused” account, go to “My Account” in the navigation bar, click on the “Account” link, and click on the “Cancel Account” link on that page. To emphasize, DO NOT DELETE YOUR MYSPACE URL ACCOUNT WITH COMMENTS, PLAYS, AND FRIENDS!
3. Set up an @MySpace.com email account to change your band’s MySpace URL. MySpace launched MySpace Mail in July of this year, giving bands the ability to have the email address BANDNAME@MySpace.com, which is cool. Even cooler, however, is that while creating the email address, bands simultaneously confirm or edit their URL using the same “BANDNAME”. In so doing, bands are given the chance to change their URL for the first time in a while. The new functionality created a new way for musicians to change their band’s MySpace URL. But, IT CAN ONLY BE DONE ONCE. So make sure you get it right.
To create your MySpace Mail address, click on “Inbox” in the navigation bar, then look for a link in the top right corner that says something like, “Create your @MySpace .com email address with MySpace Mail!” You will then be asked to enter a sequence of characters (probably your band’s name) that will become both your MySpace URL AND your email address. For me, they became “GARAGESPIN@myspace.com” and “www.myspace.com/GARAGESPIN”.
NOTE: When I did it, the process was a little wacky. I typed “garagespin” into the email address field, and MySpace told me, “Sorry, this MySpace URL and email address is not available.” I thought that was odd, since I’d recently deleted that very account. Then I noticed that MySpace presented four alternative MySpace URLs that were available…and “garagespin” was listed as one of them. I selected it, and now the message “available!” appeared. Weird. But at least it worked!
4. Finished! Your account now permanently has the new band MySpace URL. In addition, MySpace kindly redirects the old URL to the new one automatically. However, anyone can claim the old URL (I tested it, and yup, the old URL is up for grabs), so, I would recommend creating a new MySpace account using that old MySpace URL, and simply entering some redirection instructions in the “About Me” section of the page to your new band URL, in case anyone comes looking for you.
Good luck.
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2 Songs Used in Webisode Series ‘The Oligarch Duplicity’
My songs Spinning Daydream and 20/20 Foresight are being used in the new spy-thriller webisode series, The Oligarch Duplicity. Sweet!
They’re in Episode 3, which aired today, and which I’m embedding below. Saxon Mills is the digital video company producing the series. They’re also producing an online fictional newspaper, The Metrocity Times, containing articles and columns that refer to events unfolding in The Oligarch Duplicity.
You can play the “I Heard a GarageSpin Song” Drinking Game with me by sipping your favorite beverage every time you hear one of the tunes in the background…
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Snow Patrol - Just Say Yes to Their Own Publishing Company
Snow Patrol’s next album is a ‘greatest hits’ album called “Up To Now”, which features their new single Just Say Yes. It’s scheduled for pre-release a week before the album launch on November 9th. The Snow Patrol “Just Say Yes” video has apparently already been shot, and is airing soon.
Creating a hits compilation at the top of a band’s game is a smart move — sell old tracks to all the new fans gained recently…it’s basic catalog cross-selling. Another intersting move — they’re creating their own publishing company to help new artists:
“We get given CDs by new artists and writers all the time and have talked about how we could help the best of them move up. Forming a publishing company seemed the obvious way to go.” — Drummer Jonny Quinn.
Cool. Out of appreciation, I may just create my own cover song and video for Just Say Yes for kicks. (Though that’s mostly part of a bigger project I’m hoping to launch at some point in the future…which may mean 2010…so no need to tap your foot and wait, see?)
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GarageSpin Chosen for Microsoft Sponsored Songs Program
GarageSpin was one of 1,000 bands (selected from over 400,000 at ReverbNation) to be part of the newly launched Sponsored Songs program that Microsoft is sponsoring.
What This Means For…
YOU: You can download my song “Spinning Daydream (Acoustic Remix)” for free, an acoustic remix exclusively available through the program (along with 999 more exclusive tracks from other bands).
MICROSOFT: Microsoft gets to slap their logo on 1,000 pieces of album art, as well as generate awareness for their new Windows on Myspace presence.
ME: I get $0.50 per download, up to a $50 cap, and bragging rights.
Bands were selected by Reverbnation based on a combination of fan counts, song plays, song downloads, and profile visits, leveraging fan activity to drive the selection process. As I write this, GarageSpin is #34 in the Alternative category, and #404 across all categories. Check out the 1,000 song catalog, the songs are actually pretty good (and if you feel so compelled and/or generous, please download mine while you’re at it ;) ).
More detail is available in ’social media speak’ in the press release, as well as at Marty’s blog (Microsoft Group Marketing Manager and Social Media Strategist). Some interesting discussions have spawned at Hypebot, with artists both praising and trashing the new program. Healthy debate stuff. Some artists think the caps are insulting, whereas others are psyched about the promotion. As a social media marketer, I think it’s a pretty sleek way to drive brand enhancement and awareness. As an artist, I appreciate the promotion, payout, and press kit-building opportunities. As a music fan, I enjoy wallet-free music discovery. Kudos, ReverbNation.com.
Did I already mention the “Spinning Daydream (Acoustic Remix)” free download? I did? Nevermind, then… (Hey, the baby needs a new onesy…)
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How Uncle Sam Can Help You Shoot Your Music Video for Free
Celebrate the upcoming 4th of July holiday by using a US law to shoot a music video for free.
That’s what the band The Get Out Clause did (except it was in the UK). From the Future of Media:
“The band set up their music equipment, from microphones to drum kit, in eighty different locations, including buses and what appear to be taxi cabs, and then requested all of the footage using the Data Protection Act, an English statute similar to the U.S.’s Freedom of Information Act that mandates any individual should have access to all information collected about them.”
Pretty sweet. Now yes, granted, though the footage was free, the travel expenses and editing costs probably weren’t. But it’s still an awesome idea. The video looks great, and the song…well…I’ll let you form your own opinion:
Who will be the first band in the US to accomplish the same feat? (Thanks Taylor! Via chasejarvis; via Telegraph)
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Song Pages Now Have Guitar Tabs - Record a Cover & I’ll Post It
I finally got around to updating my song page templates to include guitar tabs, background info, and recording gear used. If you record yourself playing a song, let me know and I’ll post the audio or video here. (Which reminds me, I need to create remixable audio clips of my vocals and instrumentals…)
I’ve received a decent amount of requests for guitar tabliture for both “Spinning Daydream” and “20/20 Foresight” lately, and figured it was time create some. Though it’s not fully developed tabliture — I didn’t include strum patterns — hopefully you’ll be able to figure it out from what I’ve provided.
If you try a song and have questions, please let me know. More importantly, if you record audio or video of yourself playing a song, definitely let me know, and I’ll post it on a soon-to-be-launched “Your Stuff” page.
Oh, and I also included “background info” for each song for songwriting geeks, and “recording software/gear used” for each song for gear heads. It’s always fun to share ‘n’ compare, right? No doubt.
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