More info on our 11/1 Celebration

So we are mere hours away from our short event in which eleven local artists will play one number one song, all at once.  See previous post for more info, but here are the artists and their locations (which weren’t listed in that post):

Decollage - Tivoli Square (near King Center)

Green River Vibe - Tivoli Courtyard (inside near where info tables usually are)

Megan Burtt - Sculpture yard/Science Building

Petals of Spain - Breezeway (Between Arts Building and West Classroom)

Izcali - Sigi’s Pool Hall

Eldren – P.E./Gym patio

Take To the Oars - North Classroom Atrium (East Side)

Paul Musso - West Class, South Patio

UCD 6 - St. Cajetan’s Steps

Featuring! Us - South Class Room Lobby/Plaza

CAM Records Marks 11-1-11 With Number One Songs From Eleven Artists…At Once

11-1-11
12:20 p.m.
Look around and listen.

CAM Records, the student-run record label that is part of the College of Arts and Media at the University of Colorado Denver, will be recognizing the occasion of a numerically uncommon date with an uncommonly short musical event.
On Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, eleven Denver and UCD-related artists will appear in the hallways, sidewalks and lounges of the campus to simultaneously play one song and one song only. Each of them will perform a tune that has hit number one and then the brief celebration will be over.
Artists currently scheduled to participate at various locations on the Auraria campus include Petals of Spain, Izcali, Green River Vibe, Megan Burtt, Featuring! Us, Decollage, Eldren, Take to the Oars, and Seek. The College of Arts and Media’s a capella group UCD 6 and professor Paul Musso will also perform as part of the short event.
The students of CAM Records have organized this celebration of a once-in-a-lifetime date that is also in recognition of the label’s next release. The album will be released in limited quantity later in the school year and will feature Colorado artists covering number one songs.

An interview with Leslie Brown

I recently had the chance to sit down with April’s Artist of the Month, Leslie Brown. Check out the Q&A below, then head over to Leslie’s website, theoriginallesliebrown.com, to check out her tour dates!

How do you describe your music, for anyone who may not have heard it?
It’s a combination of Jazz, Soul and Blues. But it’s moving into a little poppier direction.

Where does the inspiration for you music come from?
Life experiences. Always. Usually it’s about boys, but sometimes I branch out.

Do you have a favorite show you’ve ever played? Any events that stick out in your mind?
I’ve played in a lot of situations; hip-hop groups, rock, even at weddings. We packed a 2,000 attendance night at Beta once. It was for a Fashion show in 2009, playing with a rapper. That was cool. Fashion shows are really fun to play at too, one of my favorites. It’s cool to collaborate with up and coming designers in Denver.
But even playing at weddings is a different kind of high.

So do you play covers or your original songs at weddings?
Mostly covers. Sometimes they’ll give me songs to play.

What’s coming up in the future for Leslie Brown?
I have a show on April 29th, it’s with a full live band. It’s been a lot of work, but a lot of pay off also. I’ve been writing, arranging, and creating different parts. And I’m going to Dallas in May to play at Contemporary Ballet Dallas. They’ve choreographed a ballet to my music.

No way! How did that come about?
Someone involved with the ballet company likes my music, and they created a story line to it. One of the songs in the ballet is “Gone”, which is about recovering from a breakup. I’ve seen the dance and it’s pretty cool.

It seems like you’ve got a lot of big stuff going on! How has graduating from UCD helped your career? Has it had a big impact on you?
Everything I can do is derived from what I learned in the program. I was a piano major, but just from knowing people and the opportunities that came from that… You’re in a generation, and that is the same generation of people when you move on. People you have classes with turn into your industry peers.

May Artist of the Month – Salem

Salem

Salem is a five piece hip hop/jazz/afro-cuban band from Boulder. Fronted by Todd Anders Johnson, Salem fuses jazz with hip hop beats and diverse, socially conscious lyrics. The band has been touring nationally for six years, and in 2009 began touring with the Risan Project, which was founded by Johnson. The Risan Project brings together music, action sports films, and environmental awareness to promote a sustainable lifestyle.

Members

Todd Anders Johnson – Drums, Vocals, Songwriting
Thomas Haupt – Guitar
Zach Antonio – Bass
Stephen Thurston – Keyboards
Dexter Payne – Saxophone

Links
Web site: http://www.salem-music.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Salem/51492493070?v=info
Risan Project: http://www.risanproject.com

Free photo booth and pizza at our Reload event this Wednesday

Hello!

The good folks at CAM Records have another exciting event coming up this week on campus in the Roger Braun Lounge, on the first floor of the Tivoli. This Wednesday,  May 4th, from noon ’til 3pm,  we will be having our Reload event, where you can “reload” your CAM Records USB wristband with new music and videos. There will also be a FREE photo booth, pizza, and The Digital Connection will be DJing for the afternoon. Be sure to bring your CAM Records wristband to get new, free music (and music videos!) added to it. Don’t have a wristband?  You can purchase one (already loaded) at the event.  Please stop by!

FREE live music and CD’s from CAM Records at Spring Fling!!!

Spring Fling is this Wednesday and Thursday. And CAM Records will be there with FUN stuff, FREE CD’s, and a FREE concert for YOU!

On Wednesday, April 20th, enjoy exciting FREE live music from five artists making waves in the Denver music scene. Join us at the Tivoli Amphitheater as CAM Records presents Izcalli, The Digital Connection, My Body Sings Electric, Team Latchkey, and Young Cities. Music starts at 10:15 a.m. and continues until 2:30pm.

Swing by the CAM Records table both days to pick up one of our awesome USB wristbands! They are loaded with tons of great music from up-and-coming Denver artists, and music videos produced by our own UCD film students. As a bonus, when you buy a wristband we will give you one of our CD’s for free! So come by, get some cool stuff, sign up for our mailing list, or just say hi!

Be sure to share this with all your friends so that nobody misses all the fun!

April Artist of the Month – Leslie Brown

Introducing our April artist of the month:

Leslie Brown

Leslie Brown (who happens do be a UCD graduate) began, at the age of five, as a classical pianist. In the twenty years since she has explored a wide range of musical styles. This exploration has lead to a soulful R&B debut EP, Disarmed and Dangerous. As you would expect, there is no shortage of exceptional piano playing on Leslie’s first EP. The piano is layered with smoky jazz horns and fun doo-wop background vocals, all providing a bed for Leslie’s sultry alto voice. You want to know another cool thing about this EP? It’s free!! Just head over to http://www.theoriginallesliebrown.com/ to download it! Make sure you check out my personal favorite track, Dangerous.

Upcoming Shows:

April 29, 2011 8p – Tuft Theatre, Swallow Hill – Denver, CO – $10
May 7, 2011 8p – Texas Theater – Dallas, TX (Performance with the Dallas Ballet)

Links:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theoriginallesliebrown
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/MissLesliebrown
Website: http://www.theoriginallesliebrown.com
ReverbNation: http://www.reverbnation.com/theoriginallesliebrown
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/theoriginallesliebrown

An interview with Michael of Air Dubai

This week we are continuing our artist of the month series. I recently had the chance to talk with Michael Ray, keyboardist for Air Dubai.

You guys have seven people in your band, that’s a lot! How did that develop?

Julian and John started Air Dubai in 2008 and came out with an album using beats and mostly electronic stuff. They knew Nick, or drummer, from another band and he brought in Lawrence, our guitarist and it kind of grew from there. There have been a few members that came and went, but we’ve had this lineup since march of 2009.

With so many members, what is the creative process in the band like? Do you have one or two principal songwriters, or does everyone add certain parts?

We are a very democratic band. Sometimes someone will come into rehearsal with an idea, but there’s no one who’s a designated songwriter. We all write our own parts. It can be frustrating sometimes when like seventeen people have to approve a song before we’ll play it live, but it definitely helps weed out the weaker songs.

I’ve heard you guys described as a very genre-bending band. How would you describe your sound?

This question is hard. How can I describe my own music? We’ve been called everything from strait up alternative to “hipster hop.” A lot of us don’t even listen to hip hop. I think we are often considered that because we have a rapper in the band. Our influences are very varied. We always talk about Phoenix Mike Snow. Wesley, our trumpet player, is all about jazz. It’s definitely a melting pot. When we’re writing a song we don’t go into it saying it’s going to sound one way or another.

You guys won 93.3′s hometown for the holidays. Can you talk a bit about how that contest works? What did you get out of it, and what was that experience like?

It was really exciting. It was our first time to enter the contest. Winning was kind of shocking. First you submit your song, then a panel narrows it down to the top ten. Then they put the top ten into regular rotation on the radio, which was awesome! It is so great to have local bands being played on a Clear Channel station. Then people filled out music surveys, and that brought it down to the top three. The top three was us, The Heyday, and My Body Sings Electric. We’re good friends with the guys in The Heyday, and they’ve been in the top three for the last three years. Going in we were thinking these guys know what they’re doing, you know? The top three played a show at Castleman’s. There was a $1,000 prize for best live band. We felt pretty good about that part. We’ve created a lot of our buzz through our live shows. That’s definitely one of our strenghts. The grand prize was three days of recording time. We ended up wining both of them. I’m not sure anybody has done that before. We’re going to be playing Not so Silent Night later this year. It was such a great experience.

Do you have a favorite live show that you guys have played?

We have been fortunate enough to have some awesome opportunities. We opened for OneRepublic at the First Bank Center. Playing in a venue that size was just a crazy experience! We have also done a couple of shows with The Flobots. We played at their CD release show that sold out. Each show has its own different memories, but those are the two that stick out.

Any exciting plans on the horizon?

We are going to be hitting some areas outside Denver for a little while. We just did a couple of big shows in Denver and Boulder. We just played in Vail last night. We have some dates in Breckenridge, and northern Colorado. We are playing at the Snowball Music Festival March 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th in Vail, which The Flaming Lips are headlining. We are also going to South by Southwest for the first time this year. We are talking to some prospective producers to work with, but I can’t really say much about that until it’s official.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/airdubai
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/airdubai
Website: http://airdubaimusic.com/

February Artist of the Month – Air Dubai

Hi all, and welcome to a new semester at CAM Records! Kimi, my blogging partner in crime, and I will be picking up where Harrison left off. There are so many exciting things going on at CAM Records this semester. We will be documenting it all here, so be sure to check back often and see what we’re all up to!

One of or new projects is the Artist of the Month program. Each month we will highlight one of the great artists we work with. There will be interviews, pictures, videos, and much more. So without further ado, I present our first ever Artist of the Month:

Air Dubai

Air Dubai began with vocalists Julian Thomas and John Shockness. Looking to turn the hip hop world on its ear, the duo released an independent album entitled The Early October in October of 2008. Shortly after the release of this album, as they were working on an EP, the duo experienced a change in musical direction. They decided to make the switch to a more organic sound. From there the band grew to its current seven member lineup, solidified in March of 2009.

Air Dubai went on to establish a reputation for their incredible live shows. Their sound evolved into something so diverse that it really defies classification. Their debut LP, Wonder Age, was released on October 5, 2010 (which can be streamed and/or purchased here).

Air Dubai is:

Julian Thomas – Vocals
John Shockness – Vocals
Lawrence Grivich – Guitar
Michael Ray – Keys/Synth
Taylor Tait – Bass Guitar
Nick Spreigl – Drums
Wesley Watkins – Trumpet

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/airdubai
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/airdubai
Website: http://airdubaimusic.com/

Learning about Glowing House

We’re back here for day 3 in our continuing interview series with the acts performing at our video release show, which in case you didn’t hear is TOMORROW AT 6PM AT THE CROSSROADS THEATER ON 27TH AND WELTON.

Today we spoke with Glowing House, whose tunes are the absolute definition of grace and beauty. You can hear for yourself here.

What inspired you to make music, and at what point did you make the decision to start a band?

That’s always a tricky questions because I know it was many factors.  My parents were very determined to keep me involved in music.  If I quit one instrument, I had to pick another.  So I played piano as a kid, then saxophone, and finally I picked up the guitar when I was 15.  That’s when I really started making music.  I was pretty shy due to a stutter I’ve had since I was 8, but it’s very rare to stutter while singing, so it was a fantastic way to present my thoughts and feelings to people without worrying about stuttering.  I feel like the band formed itself really.  I met Jess on the first day of songwriting class during my last year at UCD and after a while of playing as a duo, we asked Patrick Kline if he would want to drum for us and things have been great ever since.

What’s your creative process like? Do you write on your own and then show the other person for feedback, or is it collaborative from the very beginning of a song’s life?

It’s really become a team effort.  At first, we were playing songs that Jess and I had written before we met, which are the songs on our first album.  Since then, everyone has been contributing a lot the best they can.  Jess and I write the lyrics and music and then we present it to Patrick, who invariably comes up with a really cool rhythm; it’s just fine-tuning harmonies and arrangement from there.  The ideas that Jess and I present to each other are always at various levels of development.  I might play a chorus for her that I like, she might have a simple phrase that she knows can be a song, or one of us might even present a complete song to the other for critique.  I should mention, however, one of my favorite guitar parts that will be on the next album – the finger-picking sections of Any Part of Her - was actually written by Patrick, so there’s no telling at this point the extent at which each of us will contribute to future songs.

A few days ago your Twitter mentioned that you’re recording a new record in a church. Where are you recording, and can you tell us anything else about the upcoming album (like when we can expect to hear some songs…..)?

We are recording the new album at Morrison Community Church, which is a small, white chapel built in 1885 tucked in the heart of Morrison.  It’s an amazing place to record.  We actually did our first album there as well, but this time around the production duties are in the hands of Jamie Mefford, the engineer/producer behind Gregory Alan Isakov’s albums and Dan Craig’s new EP, which are just two of his great works he’s done in town.  Unfortunately, there won’t be any music from that record for a while.  We just started tracking the first guitar and vocal takes so it’s a long road ahead.  We have plans for an EP during the wait, but those details still need to be hashed out.

You just made a music video with CAM Records. Which song did you use? What was it like making a music video?

We used our song Taming Lions, which is becoming one of our favorites to perform.  Making a music video was a lot of fun.  It was hard to get everyone in the same place, so our video is basically the material from one afternoon of shooting, but we’re really happy with the outcome.  There’s definitely things we will do differently next time around, but it was a really interesting experience to see how a video is done.  I never realized how many times you have to play the song for all the different angles to be shot!  We were definitely tired at the end, but I can’t wait to do it again sometime.

Do you play cover tunes? If so, what are some of your favorite songs to play?

There are a couple cover tunes we enjoy.  Gillian Welch’s Look at Miss Ohio is one that we indulge in occasionally, but the real crowd-pleaser is Oo-da-lally from the animated Disney version of Robin Hood.  People love hearing that song and we worked out some great harmonies, so I think it sounds great too.

What’s the worst gig you’ve ever played? What’s the best gig you’ve ever played?

A band in town asked us to open for their CD release show.  It was at a great venue in town and CD release shows are always beneficial, so we were optimistic for sure.  Our set went fine, it was the way the headlining band acted the rest of the night that made it so horrible.  Their music was awful and it just became a room full of sloppy drunks.  Ever heard a band call for their own encore three times? We have.  Our favorite gig was pretty recent actually.  We opened for The Centennial (members of the former band Meese) at the Hi-Dive and other than the fact that our keyboard stand got stolen and our truck got towed while we were loading up equipment, it was a great night of music.

If you could pick any venue in the world to play, what would it be and why?

I can’t speak for the others, but my answer is a pretty normal for Coloradans I imagine: Red Rocks.  It’s a natural amphitheater and I don’t know if a venue can get much cooler than that.

Any exciting gigs (either in or outside of Colorado) coming up?

Of course we have the music video showcase this Thursday at Crossroads Theater, but other than that we’re really excited about January 13th at the Meadowlark with our good friends Dave Preston, Dore Taylor, and Erick Rudolph and the Township.  Also, we will be opening for Churchill’s CD release in February (details coming soon).  They heard our set at the Hi-Dive and wanted us play with them.  I got to know their lead singer as he drove me to the impound.  Good times…