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Sponsorships

In this post we discuss the who and why of sponsorships in regards to Danger Days. As discussed in previous posts we associate more within that borderline of rock and pop-punk, with an aesthetic hold similar to that of bands such as Sleeping with Sirens or The Maine. Bands like this have done endorsements and sponsorships through various brands, but I tend to see them working alongside the brands they've worn for years or those who are often found at their venues. For example, when most people think of the rock or pop-punk scenes (especially among younger groups of fans) Hot Topic comes to mind almost immediately.

Following Hot Topic comes Vans and Converse, both staples for footwear and accessories among concert goers within the scene. While Liquid Death is newer among the scene, having only been released in 2019, it's solidifying it's spot. Throughout the fall term I've attended four concerts, one of which was a festival as well, and I saw a whole plethora of Liquid Death cans in people's hands (and in my own as well). Each of these four companies / brands fit our approach because they've been apart of it since long before we even came about, making it more of us approaching their scene.

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College and Beyond

The photo above contains the contact information for colleges and universities that we would play at successfully. The overall decision making process came down to each schools music programs and venues, selecting those which fit us best.

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Jamie Ciero v. Disney, et al.

DEFENDANTS

-Various Disney entities, Wonderland Music Company, Kristen Lopez, Robert Lopez, Idina Menzel , and Demi Lovato collectively -Defendant's song titled 'Let It Go' from hit movie Frozen (Nov. 2013). -Written by Kristen and Robert Lopez to be performed in Frozen, published by Wonderland Music Company. LINK TO SONG HERE

PLAINTIFF

-Jamie Ciero -Plaintiff's song titled 'Volar', released in 2007 -Written by Jamie Ciero, publisher unknown LINK TO SONG HERE

CASE DETAILS

The plaintiff's complaint was originally filed in November of 2017, four years after the release of the movie 'Frozen', though the case was not handled until May of 2018. He alleged that the defendants had infringed on his 2007 work 'Volar' with their 2013 work 'Let It Go', despite the courts not finding enough substantial evidence behind his claim. The defendants were successful in having the case dismissed, however, the courts allowed the plaintiff a second try. They found that he had not stated that he had no knowledge of the musical piece, with special attention to it's 'lack of discovery' prior to November 23, 2014. The absolutely huge impact Frozen had worldwide makes it very difficult to believe the plaintiff had no knowledge of this piece, regardless of where he was from. In July of 2018, the plaintiff filed his second amended complaint, dismissing Menzel and Lovato, as well as dropping the cause of action 'Integrity of copyright management information.' He claimed that the two musical works shared the same harmonic structure through the chorus, among many other small, near insignificantly similar pieces of each work. All of his claims that he brings to the judge have enough substantial evidence to benefit him in any way. In May of 2019, stipulations were filed on both sides, showing that the plaintiff had dropped the case.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Personally, after listening to both pieces, there was no need for this case to have been filed nor brought to the court's attention. There is almost no similarity between the two songs aside from the chorus, and that in itself isn't enough to file such a complaint. While the vocal melody does match quite well, the instrumental aspects are two entirely different pieces that bring about a distinct difference. There is also the matter of timing from the plaintiff. Why did he wait so long? His timing was very odd, given the popularity of the movie and it's mark. Was his claim just to make a pretty penny, or was he genuinely concerned about his work being misused? Maybe we'll never know.

[prodbyxander]

World Records Interview [15 Oct.]

On 15 October 2021 I had the opportunity to properly interview someone who's made a lasting impact in my life over the past two years. Patrick Evans, known more personally as Pat to friends and customers, is the owner of World Records, one of Bakersfield's longest standing record stores. The shop has been open since June of 1982 and moved locations throughout the years. Starting on Oswell and Coffee, then Stockdale and Coffee, a little stop on G street, and finally the well known green shop on F street.

Pat's hope for World Records has always been to connect people through music, letting like minded people build bridges with each other in the safety of a music store. World Records doesn't just sell CDs and Vinyl LPs, but they put on concerts as well, bringing in national artists and enabling an even broader way for music fans to connect.

Link to interview here

[prodbyxander]

We Need the Venue

I'll be honest. I don't have a team or a band yet, but I'm working everything as though I do, going through all the same hoops. Today's blogpost relates to 'our' group's sound, vibe, and style, as well as how to reach out and get a venue to play.

Let's say we were to play the western region of the U.S., covering everything westward from tornado valley right in the country's center. The five best cities to circuit a tour through would be Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Colorado Springs. As for our sound, think of one of those multi layered dips but with rock, pop, punk, and electronic elements. Show vibe is loud, powerful, colorful, and highly interactive with fans, keeping the whole room charged with energy even through slower songs.

We'd fit best playing smaller arenas, outdoor festivals, theatres, and music halls. Examples include Hollywood's The Fonda, Pasadena's The Forum, and the Pasadena Civic Center.

The following sample email is set as if the band was travelling through California to get from Seattle to Phoenix and wants to book a stop in the LA area, which happens to be a Pasadena venue.

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The Daft Punk Wannabe (Remix)

Canvas Category: Remix Assignment

And we've reached the finish line just in time! The Daft Punk Wannabe was something I knew I would go back and draw from, remix, remaster, etc. It was good, but...not good enough. So, I took a segment of it, then another, and set off to create something almost entirely new. Thus we now have The Daft Punk Wannabe (Remix)!

Truth be told, there really isn't a balance between my loops and MIDI track as there's only one MIDI and many more loops, but it worked best that way.

One example of sampling from an artist I listen to a lot is ATEEZ's Take Me Home (2021) sampling Rolland Corporation's 169 Aaaah! (1995). The sample is used throughout the song to provide a bit of background vocal. It's such a simple addition that has a ton of impact, and I believe that Take Me Home truly wouldn't be the same without it.

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Holding Hands in a Coffee Shop

Canvas Category: Recording Assignment

Oh my, we're reaching the end of this course. I'm quite sad that it's gone by so quickly, but much has come out of it. This song relies heavily on the loop pack I found (the Chill Melody loops, as well as Breathless Harp and Breathless Piano) though the loops have been mixed with some spoken audio in what is resemblant of a bridge and the end, and some vocals layered with the synth and some MIDI inputted cellos.

I chose the sounds I did because they were softer and have what I call the 'coffee shop vibe', i.e. something you might hear in a movie when the lead couple is cooped up in a coffee shop or bookstore confessing their feelings or reiterating how much they love one another. It has a very calm feeling to it, and unlike the past two pieces I've created that strayed entirely from their beginnings, this one did not. It's almost exactly what I was envisioning.

Arranging the loops was probably the most complex decision-making process, as they blend so well in many different pairings. I set the bass first, as that would stay constant throughout, and then experimented with the guitar until it suited the overall feel I was going for. The synth and audio recording were next, but I still felt like something was missing, something to throw the listener off just slightly. This is where the harp and piano came in, and the cellos were added for a fuller effect.

Without the audio, I do feel pretty successful, and maybe I'd feel better about my audio recordings if they weren't my own voice recorded with a low-end, older mic. But that's more personal taste than an objective thought process, so I'll still say I feel successful with this piece.

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did creating.

#SoundCloud

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We'll Meet Again in the Arms of the Water

Canvas Category: 3 Track MIDI

Similar to 'The Daft Punk Wannabe' this project ended much, much differently than it began. I started with a coffee shop sound, then alternative, and somehow ended with classical. Truthfully I dropped a segment by a couple octaves and found that the lowest note gave me the feeling of a Pirates of the Caribbean esque feel and went from there.

While I don't have an external MIDI I used (since I work from home and don't own an external MIDI) I did work entirely in Logic Pro, which I've read can be considered a MIDI. Overall, I used violins, violas, cellos, upright basses, a kick drum, French horns, and a solo clarinet and flute. I was initially going to only use upright basses, cellos, and violins but as I continued adding sounds and changing registers it brought a fuller sound to the piece. The sound was panned to have certain instruments more or less on either side, so it's best listened to with headphones or earbuds.

I am (mostly) satisfied with the end result. Could it have been better? Absolutely. Did I still try my best? Definitely. If I had more time I'd likely try to find a way to layer more sounds rather than all the instruments playing the same thing in different registers or keys. Who knows, in the future I may rework it to be a full symphonic piece to be played.

#SoundCloud

[prodbyxander]

The Daft Punk Wannabe

Canvas Category: DAW Assignment

When approaching this assignment I knew I had to cover at least three bases: a lead line, bass line, and a percussive element of some sort. The loops I have in my final project are not what I started with and actually have an entirely different sound, but it's one I prefer and that feels right. In each category I used...

Lead - Lightspeed Layers, Aftershock Synth Lead, Afterburner Synth Lead

Bass - Short Circuit Bass, Aggressive Stance Bass, Afterburner Sub Bass

Percussive - DJ Dreams Beat 1, DJ Dreams Beat 2

I feel like I would've used much different loops with more freedom but with the limited loop packages I have (not enough room on my little old MacBook for much more) I made do, and personally feel like it's not half bad. These eight loops came together to make what I call a Daft Punk Wannabe sound, and as someone who's grown up listing to Daft Punk with my dad, I absolutely loved that I could attribute certain sounds to their vibe so I kept it.

When it came to structuring I didn't go in with a true idea and just sort of let the creativity flow, readjusting loops where they'd fit better until there were three distinct sound sets to make different sections of a song and eventually provide a structure to the piece.

On the topic of purely looped songs being a legitimate way of producing music I believe it depends on what you're creating. If it's more of an EDM sound then absolutely, EDM and similar genres rely heavily on looped sounds. However, if you're working on something like an alternative song or a pop song then no, there needs to be another layer of production and creativity from the hands of a human, not just the pre-made sounds of a computer.

#SoundCloud

[prodbyxander]

Look the Part

In this week's blogpost I'll be announcing the ten artists that prompted last week's location list as well as sharing with you a Pinterest board to give you a general vibe for my project.

First up, the artist list.

1. ATEEZ 2. ONEWE 3. The Rose 4. Day6 5. N.Flying 6. ONEUS 7. All Time Low 8. The Maine 9. LOWLIVES 10. Seventeen

Now, linked here is the aforementioned Pinterest board.

[prodbyxander]

Around the Globe? Eh, Sorta

Short bullet point list under the cut.

1. Los Angeles 2. New York City 3. Baltimore 4. Phoenix 5. Seattle 6. Chicago 7. Toronto 8. Vancouver 9. London 10. Glasgow 11. Manchester 12. Berlin 13. Seoul 14. Tokyo 15. Manila

[prodbyxander]

Music Business Worldwide

From Vine to Musically to TikTok, the music and video short apps continue to roll out from new developers worldwide. In this case, however, the new app in question comes from a company who has already planted their feet in the ground. Bytedance, creator of Douyin (dubbed the ‘Chinese version of TikTok’) and the worldwide TikTok app, is set to launch a new music streaming platform later this year. The news comes from multiple independent sources and the service has been in development since 2019. The team behind Douyin is said to be behind the streaming service app, named “Luna” to those on the inside and provisionally named "Feilo."

As they work with record labels and companies to secure deals and set their sights on independent artists I can’t help but sit here and wonder. Why exactly is it that there are so many streaming platforms worldwide? Why are they exclusive to specific countries while others are outright banned? Take Spotify for example. While the app can be used in multiple countries and has struck deals with plenty of labels and companies, the restriction on certain music is dependent on the region you are in. Personally, I feel like the increasing number of platforms will prove to be messy and inevitably they will fail entirely or result in the prospective idea of a joint service with regional restrictions.

All in all, I wish luck to the Luna development team and hope all goes well for the Chinese streaming platform.

Link to article HERE

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Behind the Screen

Working in the music business is not limited to playing an instrument or playing gigs. There are promoters, sound engineers, physical engineers (i.e. the ones who design the stages) graphic designers, photographers, videographers, drivers, web designers, merch salesman, the list goes on and on. There's so much to do within the business. For me personally, I tend to focus on the performance, production, and promoting aspects above all else.

Throughout my career, I'd like to grow to a point that I can reach out and request to collaborate with bigger artists and producers. As someone just starting out those doors are sealed shut with gorilla glue and Flint Lockwood's Spray on Shoes. It doesn't stay that way though as you make your mark and show you're worthy of the collaboration, that your skills are of use to them. These collaborations can come as performances, studio recordings, or being a part of the production process.

Outside of collaborations, I want to sit in as the recording engineer and producer for one of these bigger artists, to work with them in a more intimate (that word doesn't sound right, does it...) way throughout the process to make a set of polished tracks or a full album.

Bringing my sights a little lower and starting small, I want to be the studio engineer and head promoter for my dance team on campus. Being the leader of this team puts a great deal of responsibility on me to make sure I handle things properly, whether it be our performance gear, costumes, event planning, or something as simple as picking out the right snacks. It will give me a small taste of what's to come later when things get bigger and more intense than a community college dance team.

[prodbyxander]

Oh Dear, The Elevator Pitch

Coming Soon!

[prodbyxander]

Learning Synths

The Learning Synths assignment through Ableton is something I can confidently say brought fun and education to not only me, but my younger brothers as well. It's quite difficult to keep little ones away when your laptop is making buzzy bee and '80s video game sounds.

My main areas of interest fall to envelopes, LFOs, and oscillators. On their own they bring enough to work with but when adding them all together to produce one cohesive sound it could get a little tricky. However, I will say it was eye opening to see how easily someone can make a siren or alarm. The opportunities this could bring for future videos, songs, and games are endless. As for the LFOs they seem to go hand in hand with the oscillators as the latter modulates and controls the LFO pitch and speed. It was very intriguing to see how different waveform shapes brought different sounds with even more sounds possible if you mix the waveform shapes.

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Fans and Playlists

As with the earlier blogpost this will also hold two lists, however it will be more in depth the further down you go. Read on to find out what songs inspire my upcoming music and my primary audience!

My primary audience consists of people who: Are gender non-conforming Are homosexual or asexual Are between the ages of 16-22 Listen to bands such as All Time Low, The Maine, Pierce the Veil

OR

Korean groups such as ONEWE, ATEEZ, N.Flying Favored artists of past decades include Beyonce, The Weeknd, Britney Spears

Playlist Link

The overall sound of the playlist and the reason behind these being my inspiration pieces stems from the instrumentals to all of them. Nearly all of them place emphasis on a key instrument while also blending them perfectly at the same time. This is relative to the music I work on in the sense that I use a more rock-like feel, with a personal emphasis on the bass or percussive elements and higher vocals than what's probably necessary.

Rocky by ATEEZ - This song has a very strong message, especially lyrics such as "It ain't over never die" and "we're never gonna give up." The song also has an easy-to-follow percussive element and layered vocals from different group members.

AuRoRa by ONEWE - The main vocalist of ONEWE, Yonghoon, holds out very powerful notes deep with emotion, particularly through the chorus. In the bridge the guitarist, Hyungu, has a guitar solo that has caught my attention from the moment I heard it (and my father has also said part of it is resemblant of old hair metal bands.) Finally, the bassist Giwook adds on a little flair towards the end of Hyungu's solo. This added layer brings more depth.

Dear Sputnik by TXT - In Dear Sputnik TXT uses call and response vocals in the post-chorus, and after the bridge there are added backgrounds vocals and adlibs. The guitar riffing through the chorus is also pleasing to the ear.

반드시 웃는다 I Smile by Day6 - The intro melody from keyboardist Kim Wonpil sets the stage for an emotional, somewhat heartwrenching song telling the story of someone who is hurting but covers it with a smile out of fear that they may never see the person again. The drums and bass climb through the chorus are little touches that I find calming.

Who Are You Now by Sleeping with Sirens - This song is in the playlist for lyrical purposes. I have spent years screaming the lyrics to this song when I've been betrayed or screwed over, or watching people who treated me badly try to come back like nothing ever happened.

EDEN by IZ - EDEN opens with a beautiful melody from guitarist Hyunjun and is soon added to with a heavy bassline from bassist Junyoung. This melody is brought back throughout the choruses, and a guitar solo is added in place of a bridge. Very similar to ONEWE's 'AuRoRa' the members all have very powerful vocals, though Jihoo surely shows his place as main vocalist.

Guts by All Time Low - Another lyrical song. Emphasis on lyrics such as 'catch my breath and go for it', something I've lived by for years. This song is one of the few that have kept me going despite what life throws at me.

TRAUMA (Aquarium) by ONEWE - The guitar solo is a heavy point for me in this song, just like it is in 'AuRoRa.'

Stand By Me by N.Flying and If また逢えたら by Day6 - These two songs will be discusses as a pair. They remind me of each other, and in all honesty I could see 'Stand By Me' as the opening to an anime and 'If また逢えたら' as the closer given the general vibes of the songs. 'Stand By Me', however, does have a brighter sound to it while 'If また逢えたら' has a darker, more angsty sound.

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Job Avenues and Teams Too

This week's blogpost will be a simple and quick read. Under the cut will be two lists: one for prospective job avenues to go along with being a musician and another for my new creative team. Read on!

In no particular order, here are other professional avenues that hold my interest:

In-Home Care Provider (Current Job) Cosmetologist (Focus on hair) Photographer Dancer ESL Teacher Music Teacher Performer Dance Team Leader Event Planner Barista Author Clothing Line Owner Medical Volunteer

My creative team that I've built so far is comprised mostly of close friends and those who have ties to me through family members.

Graphic Designer: Elizabeth Ortiz Recording Engineer: Nicholas Albiar Videographer: Mikah Whitten Photographer: Katy Kelley Web Developer: Isabel Gyde