The music industry is one that changes constantly. A band can be tearing up the charts one week and then drop off the face of the Earth the next week. The same goes for the mediums used to listen to or play music. These days, if you buy any iPod or MP3 player, it’s out of date in as little as one year, maybe even months. The iPod and all of Apple’s products are perfect examples of how quickly today’s music business moves.
The digital age embraced
According to second quarter numbers for the iPhone and iPod, people are welcoming the digital age with open arms. Alexandra Osorio’s article “Apple Earnings Go Kaboom…90 percent Quarterly Gains” for digitalmusicnews.com says that the iPhone sold 8.75 million units (double last year) and the iPod sold 9.75 million units. The number of iPods sold is slowly decreasing, but that is because the popular iTouch and iPhone are slowly taking the iPod’s place.
Further proof that the digital movement is being embraced comes from two Point Park University students who say they prefer the switch. Tamara Rivera says, “it’s a good thing because it saves a lot of space than it would to have CDs laying around. You can have 300 songs without having to carry 50 CDs around all the time.”Cory Bosket adds saying, “you can pick any song you want, any time you want and it’s a lot easier to find the ones you want to listen to.”Other things the students like about the digital age are: the cost is cheaper, it’s easy to share or transfer files to different devices, and it’s easier to use digital versions for projects.
When will CDs become obsolete?
In 2006, Judas Priest front man Rob Halford said, “it’s inevitable that CDs will become obsolete; you have to face the fact.”Later on in his interview with MetalTemple.com writers, Halford said, “I think there’ll always be a market for some kind of physical collection. It’s just moving south fast.”
It is only a matter of time before CDs become obsolete, but it will take a while. In the past; it has happened to 8-tracks, vinyl records, and cassettes, so it is bound to happen to CDs with digital downloads on the rise. People can only guess at when the full transition will take place because even those in the industry are unsure of the progress. It might be in five, ten, or twenty years, but a music world without CDs is definitely on the horizon.
Protest The Hero is coming to Mr Smalls this coming Sunday, May 2nd with guests: Architects, Oh No! The Afterlife, and Dethlehem. Protest The Hero is a Hard Rock/Metal band that is touring for the newest album Gallop Meets The Earth, which was released in 2009. The bands Oh No! The Afterlife and Dethlehem are both regional bands. Oh No! is from Slippery Rock and Dethlehem is from Pittsburgh, so to any Metal fans out there, head out and support your local bands! The doors open at 6:00pm and the show starts at 7:00pm. Tickets are $12 and are available through Ticketweb. For more information on Mr. Smalls, visit the website here.
This Thursday, Apirl 29, Miss May I will be playing live at The Smiling Moose in the South Side. Miss May I is a Metal/Hardcore/Thrash band from Ohio and released their album Apologies Are For The Weak last year. Miss May will be playing with guests Abandon All Ships. The show starts at 6:30pm and the doors open at 6:00pm. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster. For more information on the venue and the show, visit The Smiling Moose's website.
Next Thursday, April 29th, We The Kings will be playing live at Altar Bar. The band is currently on tour for their latest album Smile Kid which was released in December 2009. In 2007, We The Kings burst onto the scene with their single "Check Yes Juliet" off of their self titled album. "Check Yes Juliet" was catchy and very infectious and the band sticks with that style on their new album. We The Kings will be returning to Pittsburgh later this summer for Warped Tour at First Niagara Pavilion.
We The Kings is touring with The Maine along with special guests Cartel, Artist vs Poet, and Stereo Skyline. The show is at Altar Bar at 7:00pm. Tickets are $18 in advance and are available at Ticketmaster. Tickets are $20 at the door and all ages are welcome. Berore the show, check out one of We The Kings new singles "Heaven Can Wait"
Brand New is an alternative band from Long Island, New York. The band is scheduled to play at Club Zoo this Sunday, April 25, at 7:30pm. Unfortunately, the show is sold out. Both Ticketmaster and StubHub are out of tickets, but StubHub is still accepting tickets from anyone that wants to re-sell. Brand New's latest album Daisy was released in September 2009 and the band is currently touring for the album. The band's next two tour dates are sold out, but check the band's MySpace for any updates on tour information. The band is also working on creating a new official website which the page says is "coming soon." I would definitely recommend giving this band a listen and watch for any near by shows!
This Wednesday, April 21st, Greg Joseph of The Clarks will be visiting Point Park University's "A Look Inside the Music Business" presentation. Greg will be speaking as well as giving a solo performance. The road and tour manager of The Clarks, John Williams, will also be speaking during the event. The event is for Point Park students only, but The Clarks will be playing a show in Pittsburgh in June. The summer show is at the Amphitheater at Station Square and the doors open at 6:00pm. The band will be joined by guests The Spring Standards and Good Brother Earl. To keep updated on The Clarks, visit their website here.
Christina Aguilera's new album Bionic will be released on June 8th later this year. The first single off of the album, "Not Myself Tonight" was released on April 13th and the video for the song is in the process of being produced. There are no tour dates scheduled yet since the release of the album release date is so far off, but Aguilera is scheduled to launch the album on the Today show's summer concert series. "Not Myself Tonight" is currently available on iTunes and Amazon as well as on Christina Aguilera's website. Pittsburgh will have to wait and see if Aguilera decides to pay the city a visit. Until then, check out "Not Myself Tonight" below.
Willy Porter with guest Luke Brindley, Doors open at 6:00pm and show starts at 7:00pm **This show was rescheduled from Nov 13, 2009. Anyone with tickets from that date can use them on Sunday!
Tickets for all shows are available on TicketWeb. Ticket prices for the Friday and Saturday shows range from $6 to $8 and Sunday's show is $18.
Blue October will be performing live at Mr. Smalls this Thursday, April 15th, at 8:00pm. The band is currently touring for its newest album Approaching Normal which was released in March 2009. The Pick Up the Phone Tour is in full swing after many of the shows had to be canceled last summer due to various circumstances including wildfires. The band is joined by guests Stars of Track and Field and Hurricane Bells on the tour. Since this information came to me a little late, here are some other dates that are close by:
Saturday 4/17 Cleveland OH
Sunday 4/18 Columbus OH
Tickets are available through Blue October's website, Mr. Smalls' website, and TicketWeb. Get your fix of the band by listening to one of their new tracks "Should Be Loved" here:
By now any Pittsburgh Lady Gaga fan knows that regular priced tickets are sold out! Tickets went on sale to the general public this morning at 10:00am and have been on special pre-sales since Tuesday April 6th. Anyone else that has been checking both ticketmaster and Gaga's site religiously since the date was announced will feel the frustration other fans are feeling.
Pittsburgh was skipped on Lady Gaga's first round of touring in 2009, and anyone who was not able to get tickets surely feels skipped again. Although, if you're willing to spend a little extra, StubHub has tickets begining at $150 and going as high as $2033. Options to see the show are to either save a ton of money between now and September 5th or check out one of her shows in a neighboring city. Visit Lady Gaga's website to find the closest show! Good luck!!
For anyone who is starting to plan what concerts to see this summer, here is a small guide. Make sure to check ticket and/or band websites for times since they may change between now and the concerts.
**Slide orange arrow that says 2010 to see any shows that are cut off
The Goo Goo Dolls have finally announced their 9th album!!! The release date has not been set, but a new website and a new tour have finally been built around the album. The band has been able to stand the test of time and continues to crank out new and good material.
The Goo Goo Dolls announced the recording of their new project a few years ago, and I have been following the progress obsessively since the announcement. The new album Something For The Rest of Us will be released later this year and the band begins their tour tomorrow in North Carolina. The band will stop in PA three times in April, but Pittsburgh isn't on the list just yet. The Goo Goo Dolls are amazing live, I have seen them twice, and usually hit the 'Burgh sometime in July. Hopefully, the Pittsburgh date will be announced soon and will not be skipped on the new tour. I have to admit that if Pittsburgh gets glossed over, there will be one very unhappy fan running around!
For more info on the band and their tour, visit their website here. Check out The Goo Goo Dolls performing a new song at a concert before the final NCAA basketball game:
Another Battle rages on at Altar Bar this weekend! This Sunday, April 11, another Battle of the Bands begins at 4:00pm. This Battle is not part of a series, and I was not able to find much information on what the winner receives or anything on Gorilla Productions, the sponsor of the event. This could be due to my impatience with the internet at the moment, but info was hard to find and Altar Bar's lack of links/info on their website didn't help much.
This battle features 12 bands that all call the Pittsburgh area home. Some of the bands performing include: Fire and Sex, The Guest List, Color Me Blind, The R4 Project, and A Whisper Rising along with seven others that I couldn't find information for even after a few searches. Out of the bands listed, I would give Color Me Blind and The R4 Project a listen. I was actually able to listen to their songs the entire way through, unlike the others.
Fire and Sex had a fairly monotone sound to them and they didn't have much of a stage presence in the clips they had on their site. The Guest List's music was good, but the singer had a very nasal sound to his voice that was difficult to listen to. A Whisper Rising only had two songs posted so a fair review can't be given at this time.
For more info on the event, visit Altar Bar's website. Hopefully, any searches on the other bands will be more productive than mine were!! Good luck and make sure to support your local bands!
Via Audio will be at The Smiling Moose tomorrow, Friday April 2, along with: The Spring Standards, Tecumseh EQs, and Small Cities. Tecumseh EQs is a local band and is classified as Experimental/Post Punk/Psychedelic and was formed by Pete Williams and Jeremy Justice. Small Cities is also a band that hails from Pittsburgh and is classified as Southern Rock/Soul/Americana. The show officially belongs to Via Audio and The Spring Standards who both have new albums out and are currently on tour promoting them (Animalore for Via Audio and Would Things Be Different for The Spring Standards). The doors open at 6:00pm and the show starts at 7:00pm. Come out early and support the local bands!!
