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Been in a band for a while and we recording with our initial lineup a couple of years ago, but it was never released and that was pretty shit. Right now we are recording a new set of tracks with a pretty different looking lineup and it will be ready very soon. That is the background out of the way.

The recording process has nothing on the live performance. It is a boring and arduous process needing much repetition and I would compare it to rehearsing. Nothing beats the live gig for sure.

The first place we recorded was in a dude's house and it was great that it was relaxed. We drank the good stuff and ate without hassle, but the guy was a weirdo and it was way too far away.

This time we weren't meant to drink near the gear and there wasn't anywhere for me to relax, but the gear was good and the guys were into the music and cool. It hasn't taken very long at all and it looks like we will have a CD within a 2 week period. Oh and apart from the cost of the tape - yes we are recording on tape, it was free.

So what would be the ultimate? Free recording, in my house studio (no I don't have one) beer flowing, guys doing it who love reggae and a 2 week turn around for the release. It is a nice dream.

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The Bob Marley sensation

September 20th 2006 09:14

Bob Marley... the comedian

It was over a year ago that a BBC journalist embarassed the UK's most reputable news source when they requested an interview with the great man as part of documentary on the man. First of all, surely if you are going to do a documentary on the man, you should know enough about him that would make you aware he had died almost 25 years before. It does pose another question however and that is whether the theory that Bob Marley took reggae to the rest of the world was actually true?

Did Bob Marley make reggae and himself a household name across the world? It depends. A lot of people still do not know what reggae is. Many of those are of an older generation, but there are those who aren't. There are those who have heard of it, but are not actually aware of what it is. Fair enough, that's no skin off my nose.

Another case that points me to think about the Bob Marley influence is the US comedian of the same name. His bio reads very well, but doesn't a man by that name in an industry where name changes aren't uncommon, change it? Or is he using the name as a bit of a gimmick? Is there a chance this man doesn't even know who the reggae legend is. I am not blaming him for using his own name, but you have to wonder how many mix ups there are because of that name.

Marley (the reggae musician) needs no further back slapping from me - the man was a genius, but I do wonder how far into the mainstream world Bob Marley and reggae has penetrated. Perhaps not as much as some would think. Sometimes I hope not as much as I think it has.

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The ethics of podcasting

September 13th 2006 06:26

I just saw a thread on a forum about whether or not it was illegal to listen to podcasts. Why it would be considered to be illegal is if you were listening to a music radio show, meaning you are really just downloading a bunch of mp3s together with someone talking between.

A normal radio station needs a license and through its relationship with APRA, artists are paid royalties.

When someone downloads a podcast then, they are pretty much getting free music. Is this a problem? I don't think so. At least I don't when it does include the podcaster talking between songs. It is a way of being creative without actually being in the band. Just like a zine creator or a website maker, it is about discussing and celebrating the music - something of great worth. It is also promoting music to a new crowd.

My problem with it is that the file size is generally very large. This means you have to have broadband to download it. I don't have broadband and I know that many other don't also. The problem is then that the people who can usually afford to buy the music also have access to free podcasts.

The pros and the cons...

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Boycotting Myspace because it is owned by News

September 11th 2006 12:12

I am very close to boycotting Myspace. I have a personal page and have made a page for the band I am in, The Signals, but I am very close to cutting off my use of the site. Why? Earlier this year, Myspace, one of the most popular online communities, was bought by News Corp. News own Fox, a number of tabloid newspapers in the UK, and closer to home, papers like The Daily Telegraph. Myspace became so popular for its independence, its dodgy (site constantly crashing) way of connecting people and bands and its simplicity. Obviously this independence is undermined when it is bought for millions of dollars by a huge multinational corporation who I believe partake in advertising journalism. Recently, I have noticed that although they don’t promote the fact News own the site, they do have ads cross promoting other News interests. Read: The Simpsons on Fox.

One may say with the Internet you can’t avoid contact with multinationals, but that would be a cop out. With music that I like, it has for a long time been about small record labels, individuals or small groups doing zines and people just getting stuck in to help push something they love. How then, can we go from that, to aiding this huge company to make ridiculous amounts of cash for the sake of a little promotion? I don’t think we can.

So I figure I have a number of options:

I can let it go and be thankful that it is a good way of discovering new music.

I could boycott Myspace entirely, taking down the pages.

I can write on The Signals myspace page that we don’t agree with being associated with a site that is owned by News, pointing people towards our home page, which has the same resources on it.

I am interested to hear what you folk think. Please leave feedback!

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Reggae City Guides

September 1st 2006 09:47

I have done a little bit of a city guide for Sydney that can be found at http://dizzybeatnetwork.com/cityguide which, though poorly maintained, aims to present Sydney clubs, radio shows, record shops and scooter shops. I have tried to give visitors a bit of direction to where to head.

I have since then come across a city guide of Barcelona Spain. Knowing how good this town is for reggae I was pretty excited. Not that I have been, but I would love to. Go and check it out at: http://www.boss-sounds.org/guide/

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Reggae City Guides

September 1st 2006 09:47

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Rasta Dog

August 31st 2006 12:20

There is a dog up the road from my house that doesn't look especially like a dog. You don't notice it until it barks and then you look and you see a dog with dreadlocks down to the ground. It is of course known effectionately as the rasta dog. Its breed is a Hungarian Puli.

I didn't really take to this dog at first, but as I walk past each day it grows on me

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Reggae in the suburbs

August 24th 2006 11:19

You won't even come across a guy like this in Sydney's suburbs

This week I started my first week of prac teaching. I am at a high school about half an hour south of where I live in Newtown. I am teaching a year nine geography class of low ability students and a year ten commerce class. Not the point of this blog exactly, but there you go.

Normally my day is based around reggae and ska. Yes I go to uni and I have a wide variety of interests, but a lot of my thinking is on music and much of my time is spent organising, corresponding and listening. It's all about ska and reggae.
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Press a vinyl record

August 15th 2006 13:16

Despite the huge movement towards digital media, there remains a place for the good old vinyl record in the world. See it as a collector's item or a Deejay's best friend and already you have a pretty good market for the 45 RPM record or the 12" album running at 33 RPM.

You also have a movement towards people buying their new music on record, where they would normally buy it on CD or download it. People like having something tanglible so there is a place for bands and record labels to release mateiral on the ol' fashioned format.
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Dynamite Dancefloor Etiquette

August 7th 2006 10:04

I went to a top night on Saturday night called Dynamite! It was a launch for a CD on Soul Jazz Records called Studio One Soul 2. I managed to score a CD for free, which I will review tomorrow. The night started off slow – we got to the Bright Up Bar around 10 pm and there was very few people. We considered coming back later, but the sounds were too good. This night had very little promotion outside Surry Hills and when I was chatting to one of the organisers, he said he’d just gotten back from four years in London. I wasn’t expecting many people with the slow start, but I was enjoying having a dance, even if many others bar our crew were.

Slowly (like me getting to the point of this lecture – and it is a lecture*) people started to filter into the bar. I will admit the bar isn’t especially big, but before it was full people started to move onto the dancefloor to stand. Notice the word stand not dance! When there is a visible change between dancefloor and carpeted floor, do not stand on the dancefloor particularly when there are people dancing on it. I know there is often room on the dancefloor, but that space has been set aside for busting a move. If you aren’t a dancer, steer well clear please.
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Bob Marley, Tuff Gong and the Resort

August 4th 2006 10:33

I thought I would check out what was going on in the Tuff Gong camp today. Tuff Gong is the label that has released Bob Marley material for some time. They also released some current artists’ songs, usually those who are alive. They aren’t actually on Tuff Gong, but rather sub labels. Tuff Gong is also a studio and record store in Jamaica. I digress however. What I didn’t know and what I wanted to discuss was the fact Tuff Gong is part of an overall larger Bob Marley Group of Companies.

I don’t know enough detail about how this is structured, but it does seem strange the directions they have gone in. Tuff Gong and the Bob Marley museum seem natural enough and it is good to see there are charities apparently giving back, but what is with the Marley Resort?
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Reggae and Ska zines

July 12th 2006 11:57

I am in the process of putting together a new zine (short for magazine). Though the tidal wave that is the web has brought the wonderful e-zine, there is something special about the touchy feely zine that you don’t have with the internet based mag. Having done a couple myself, I know how much longer it takes to produce a print zine than one on the net and for this reason I enjoy them so much because more of the writer comes with the product. Unfortunately printing and distribution costs remain a main obstacle to the self zine provider so print zines are rare. What you often find in this day in age is rather than printing1000 copies and sending them all over the world, zine producers will print some for their place in the world and put them on the web as PDFs for people on the other side of the world to download. Not quite the same, but it’s something and of course totally understandable.

In terms of ska and reggae zines there are a number to look out for. George Marshall, who now runs ST Publishing is one of the most famous zine writers. He did the both very popular Skinhead Times and Zoot zines and more recently though long well dead, Pulped. He is also known for writing the Spirit of ’69 amongst others.
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Ali G and Skinheads

July 7th 2006 00:49

Okay so I don’t know how closely connected we can consider Ali G to reggae, but I suppose the Jewish English boy has some Jamaican in his character as Ali G. In the clip below we don’t have the Ali G character, but rather the gay Austrian character taking the piss out of skinheads. Now don’t get me wrong I think the skinhead thing is fantastic – it has a rich connection with reggae music, but I never got this bastardisation, where it became connected with Oi! Music let alone fascist music or some cases both. It is therefore enjoyable to see this bloke take the piss out of some pretty misguided folk. I don’t think it is as humorous as the skits done with the Americans because they tend to show how clueless they can be whereas this skit relies more on misinterpretation.

Sometimes a tangent is a good thing and sometimes you have to laugh at yourself. Enjoy...
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Reggae Love Songs

July 5th 2006 23:25

Reggae love songs, or should it be songs of misery? Though I won't get all emotional on you, I'll spell out some songs for both the lovers and those who have lost love. Seek them out as they are all fantastic reggae, rocksteady and ska songs.

Everything I Own - Ken Boothe

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