Free Download: Intuition- I Ruined These Songs for You Too

A year after his first stab at ruining gems from Amy Winehouse, The Black Keys, Portishead, and Grizzly Bear, emerging Los Angeles MC Intuition is back with a brand new bag of unauthorized collaborations. Instead of tackling obvious trendy remix bands like Toro Y Moi and Little Dragon, Intuition challenges music nerds of all shapes, sizes, and external hard drive capacities by manipulating more obscure songs from Jai Paul, Icona Pop, Javelin, and Jessica Lee Mayfield, while putting his own spin on less celebrated cuts from headliners such as Sublime, Erykah Badu, The Strokes, and Raphael Saadiq.

Ruined or renewed? You be the judge.

Listen to Intuition on BandSoup

Download I Ruined These Songs For You Too

Track List:
01. Jai Paul - BTSTU (feat. Intuition)
02. Icona Pop - Manners (feat. Intuition)
03. Phantogram - When I'm Small (feat. Intuition)
04. Sublime - Get out (feat. Intuition)
05. Neon Indian - Deadbeat Summer (feat. Intuition)
06. Javelin - Susie Cues (feat. Intuition)
07. Frank Ocean - Swim Good (feat. Intuition)
08. Jessica Lea Mayfield - Our Hearts Are Wrong (feat. Intuition)
09. The Strokes - Under The Cover of Darkness (feat. Intuition)
10. Raphael  Saadiq - Good Man (feat. Intuition)
11. Erykah Badu - Soldier (feat. Intuition)

Using QR Codes to Promote Your Music

By: Kevin Bruener

If you’re not familiar with QR codes (quick response code), they are the little black & white checker-box images that are popping up on posters, kiosks, signs and just about everywhere else information is displayed.  You’ve probably already seen them in use and just didn’t know what they were.  When you spot a QR code, simply scan the code with a scanning app on your iPhone, Android, or camera-enabled smartphone.  The QR code can initiate a number of smartphone functions, from linking to digital content on the web (like your music on CD Baby) to triggering a text message.  One of the more useful functions for QR codes in music promotion is to link directly to digital content that enhances the message on your show poster or flyer.

So how can you actually draw people into your music with a QR Code?

For my band’s recent album release show, we embedded a QR code in the concert poster that took people directly to a mobile-optimized site that immediately played a track from our yet-to-be-released album.  This not only allowed the user to instantly hear new music, but also gave them the opportunity to take info about the band with them to check out later at their own convenience.  QR codes turn your postering efforts into a multimedia experience that leaves a deeper fan impression.  See the images below.

8 Reasons Why You Need to Have Your Own Website

Michael Brandvold recently posted a very important blog on why it is important for a band/solo artist to have their own website. Due to the popularity of various social media networks, musicians have forgotten and ignored how important and imperative it is to have your own site that generates attention and value to your brand, rather than forwarding traffic to another entity. Here are 8 reasons why you need to have your own website:

It’s 2011 and you would think it is obvious why you need your own website. I can’t tell you how many conversations I have had where the other party says “I have a MySpace page, or I have a Facebook page or I have a Reverbnation page… I don’t need a website.” Or how many people have their own website, but spend all their efforts driving everyone to Facebook. All they seem to care about is how many Likes they can get. You should care about how many visits you get to your website. Some people don’t look at a website as a significant part of their business or brand. They may see it as a afterthought, something they guess they should do. If you were to open your own restrauant is the building and location that last thing you would think about? It is your future, everything you hope to achieve depends on it. Your website is your bit of real estate on the internet and it will be yours potentially forever. Make sure you treat your online presence with all the seriousness you can.

Here are some important items to keep in mind.

1. Own your domain and site

Easier said than done, but you should make every effort to retain ownership of your domain name and website. Don’t change the Administrative Contact for your domain over to someone else unless you absolutely must. Try to avoid signing contracts that when they are terminated leave your domain and website under the ownership and control of another party. If that occurs you will have no control over what happens and you won’t see any revenue from a website with your name on it. During a contract you can let someone else manage and operate your website, but do not let them own it.

2. Do not redirect your domain to MySpace or Facebook

You should be using Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation or any of a dozen other social network sites to generate traffic to your website. To redirect your domain to a social page is to give your traffic to somebody else, for them to monetize and you to not share in the revenue. Traffic on the internet is money. When you are finally ready to launch your own website how do you plan to get everyone who is going to Facebook or MySpace back to your site? You have already conditioned them to just visit Facebook or MySpace.

Sketches of SXSW Archetypes: The View from a Local Company

BandSoup has returned home safely from their trip to SXSW and after numerous run-ins with unoriginal, pseudo-apathetic, bottom feeding hipsters, it's a good feeling to be home again. Even though the good people at SoftwareAdvice.com were extremely nice in their write ups, they covered the various personalities one would see at SXSW 2011 to perfection. Here is what they came up with...

As a local Austin company, we have a love/hate relationship with South by Southwest (SXSW). We love the shows and the action, but parking sure is a drag right now. More than anything, we’re enthralled by all the visitors to our small, Texas town. As a diversion from our day jobs (writing about electronic health records software, and such), we thought we’d sketch out some of the archetypical characters we’ve been seeing around town during the festival.

INTERACTIVE

Aspiring Entrepreneur

“We’re Twitter meets Zynga with an API that transforms the social graph.”

He’s an alpha male in a beta body, rockin’ the hoodie and flip flops – just like Zuck. SXSW Interactive attracts a swarm of these php-smokin’, eager beavers. You’ll find him at “Business Model 101: How To Actually Make Money?,” but he wishes he was at the Android Developer Meetup. You’ll often find the PR Chick and the Venture Capitalist in hot pursuit – a stunning reversal of the social order that was in place during college, last year. At least one of these aspiring entrepreneurs will join the digital elite within a year. And OMG, you totally ordered a Bulleit on the Rocks next to him at the Mashable party.

Venture Capitalist

“This is the last year I fly commercial to Austin.”

The truth is that the tier-one VCs still won’t leave Menlo unless it’s on a G6 to Aspen. The ones you’ll find at SXSW are the other 1,000 who, while Stanford-educated, accomplished, and handsome, are awkwardly sandwiched between angel investors and Russian billionaires. They realize they’ve got to hump it down to South By to meet the next Ev Williams if they want in on the series A. Aside from the good looks, you’ll have a hard time spotting the Venture Capitalist by his attire, since he dresses down to his audience (no, the hoodie ain’t gonna happen). Instead, peel your ears for cliche’s like, “We’re active money. We really roll up our sleeves to make it happen for our portfolio companies.”

Band Name Origins

Ever wonder where your favorite band came up with their unusual name? I always do. Below are some name origins (factual and rumors) from notable rock and roll bands. 


If you are a BandSoup band, let us know how you came up with your name in a comment or reply to the facebook post here. If you have any more origins to add from other bands-- post those too!

AC/DC - 1) It is said that one of the band member saw it on an appliance and thought it had something to do with power. (It does mean "alternating current / direct current".) The band used it not realizing it was also slang for a bisexual- the band claims NOT to be bisexual. 2) In the vogue of other anti-everything bands, it stands for Against Christ/Devil's Children.

BEASTIE BOYS - According to Michael Diamond, BEASTIE stands for Boys Entering Anarchistic Stages Towards Internal Excellence.

BLACK SABBATH - from a 1960's cheap horror movie starring Boris Karloff about the holy day of witchcraft.

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - They changed the name to Creedence Clearwater Revival, after a friend of a friend of Tom's, Credence Nuball. The first name, with its connotations of believability and integrity, appealed to the group. Clearwater also had two meanings. It came initially from a beer commercial, but also resonated with the burgeoning environmental movement of the time. Revival, however, had one meaning. It was the band's aspiration, that after four years as the Golliwogs, after ten years of playing together, this new change in their fortunes would take the band where they all knew it could go. John would often say, "The most important part was revival."

DEVO - DEVO - shortened form of "de-evolution" - the opposite of evolution - expressing the band's opinion on what the planet is going through.

ELTON JOHN -  Real name: Reginald Dwight. Created from two other British musicians: Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.

IRON MAIDEN - Steve Harris named the band after the iron maiden torture device as shown in the film, The Man in the Iron Mask.

JOY DIVISION - In order to avoid confusion with the London punk band Warsaw Pakt, the band renamed themselves from Warsaw to Joy Division in late 1977, borrowing their new name from the prostitution wing of a Nazi concentration camp mentioned in the 1955 novel The House of Dolls.

LYNYRD SKYNYRD - They were named after Leonard Skinner, a gym teacher at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida who was notorious for strictly enforcing the school's policy against boys having long hair.

MODEST MOUSE - Their name derives from a passage from the Virginia Woolf story "The Mark on the Wall," which reads, "...and very frequent even in the minds of modest, mouse-coloured people..."

RADIOHEAD - Originally known as "On a Friday", the band was given two weeks after signing to Parlophone to change their name. The band renamed themselves after the 1986 Talking Heads song "Radio Head" on the album True Stories, claiming it as the "least annoying song" from the album.

STEELY DAN - Named after a dildo in the novel Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs.

BandSoup Bands at SXSW 2011

This is the last SXSW post, we promise (maybe).

Here is a comprehensive list of all the BandSoup bands and solo artists that will make an appearance at a SXSW event in Austin, Texas (official and unofficial) this year. If you are attending the festivities, make sure to check them out and show your support!

If we missed your SXSW event, please let us know and we will add it to the list!

Or, The Whale- San Francisco, California (Alt Country)

Thursday, March 17th @ Soho Lounge @ 10pm

Ghost Ghost- Brooklyn, New York (Indie Rock)

Friday, March 11th @ Austin Music Hall @ 6pm

Saturday, March 19th @ 7507 E. Crest Dr. @ 2:30pm

Rabble Rabble- Chicago, Illinois (Punk)

Tuesday, March 15th @ Cedar St. Courtyard @ 10pm

Saturday, March 19th @ Kenny Dorham's Backyard @ 12:45pm

Saturday, March 19th @ House of 88 @ 6:45pm

Dudes Die- Austin, Texas (Garage)

Friday, March 18th @ Pearl St. Co-op @ Midnight

Saturday, March 19th @ East Side Yard @ 12-9:30pm

Guadalupe Plata- Eubeda, Spain (Swamp Blues Rock)

Wednesday, March 16th @ Nuvola @ 10pm

Danny Brown- Detroit, Michigan (Hip Hop)

Wednesday, March 16th @ Austin Convention Center @ 4:40pm

Friday, March 18th @ Beauty Bar/Palm Door @ 11pm

The Watermarks- Houston, Texas (Electro Rock)

Saturday, March 19th @ Shiner's Saloon @7pm

Open Mike Eagle- Los Angeles, California (Art Rap)

Friday, March 18th @ Club 1808 @ "It's early"

Friday, March 18th @ The Bat Bar @ 9pm

The Awkward Robot- Austin, Texas (Folk)

Saturday, March 19th @ 7507 E. Crest Dr. @ 2:30pm

The Smiles- Los Angeles, California (Lighthearted Beach Rock)

Wednesday, March 16th @ The Rusty Spurs @4pm

Friday, March 18th @ Uncorked Wine Bar @9pm

Crew54- Kileen, Texas (Hip Hop)

Friday, March 18th @ The Marq @ 10pm

3/19 @ 2:30 PM- Free SXSW 2011 Acoustic Show w/ The Awkward Robot, Ghost Ghost, STAY, and Others

BandSoup.com proudly presents a FREE acoustic event on Saturday, March 19th @ 2:30PM- 6:30PM. The unofficial SXSW show will feature acoustic performances from The Awkward Robot (Austin, TX), Ghost Ghost (Brooklyn, NY), STAY (Boston, MA), amongst other performers. 

7507 E. Crest Dr 

 Austin, TX 78752

FREE beer! (PBR) will be provided for anyone 21+

ID required

RSVP to this event on Facebook
...or just show up.

Anacron

Unsung heroes. You might read about them on page six of the newspaper or hear about them on the 4:30 am newscast, but, unfortunately, their capes never get to shimmer in the limelight for long.

After 15 years of rapping, singing, writing, producing, composing, DJing, breakdancing, and arranging classic Los Angeles hip hop, Anacron is preparing a heroic 2011 and feels that this is the year the unsung hero makes the front page and 6 o'clock news; this is the year where the hard work pays off and the underground "legends" become common lore.

As he awaits the release of his solo LP on Delicious Vinyl, Anacron plans to release four EPs in 2011, each produced completely by a fresh new producer to the underground game. "My goal in 2011 and the future is to begin exposing the world to new underground talent." Anacron told us in a recent email. "I feel that hip hop has become a mainstream of it's own, showing love and props to the same people over and over while new guys have such a hard time getting in and getting love."

Until Anacron begins to bless us with material from his new EPs, we bring you his latest video/single from his Facelift 2 Mixtape. Anacron’s re-working of the Sleigh Bells hit “Infinity Guitars” caught the attention of Los Angeles based film-maker Ian Forester, who couldn’t wait to build a visual for the stand-out track from “The Facelift 2”. Ian’s film company, Stolen Shot Productions, worked quickly to pair Anacron with several beautiful LA-based models, a gang of skateboarders, and a couple of sexy strippers to create the music video short for the song. The result is immense -- a gritty and sexy, appealing and underground clip that hits hard and fast, giving viewers a taste of what every true-blue AnaManiac loves most: good music, underground lifestyles, and hot chicks.

Listen to Anacron on BandSoup

How To Be South By South Best (SXSW Video Guide)

Hysterical!

IFC.com and BajillionHits.Biz present the definitive guide to dominating your time in Austin during the 2011 South By Southwest Interactive festival. This video checklist will provide you with everything you need to be the coolest, hippest, indiest, networkiest and successiest person at the whole festival. For more, follow @BajillionHits on Twitter!

Directed by Andy Schlachtenhaufen