Bum Rush The Charts today


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In case it isn’t stamped in your date book, today is the day to Bum Rush The Charts. If you want more info about it, read this previous post on the subject.

RZ To Interview Sparta at Their Upcoming Vancouver Show


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Sparta @ Richards on Richards

We’ve done it before and we’re doing it again. We’re really happy to announce that we’ll be interviewing Sparta at their upcoming show at the Commodore, March 30th. It was such a pleasure to meet Jim Ward last year. He’s very intelligent, insightful, opinionated (in a good way) and sure can belt out the tunes.

Last November we had the pleasure of interviewing Jim Ward from Sparta for our podcast, RadioZoom [Episode #118][Miss604 Blog Post][RZ Blog Post].

You can check out the archived episode and if you like what you hear, either Jim’s point of view, his like of sushi or yes – the tunes – then you’re in luck. Sparta is coming back to Vancouver on March 30th, playing the Commodore [HOB]. I know a lot of people were upset that the last show at Richards on Richards sold out so quickly so here’s your chance.

Friday March 30th, 2007 @ The Commodore Ballroom – Tickets $17.50
– with guests, Moneen and Attack in Black.[Miss604]

Check out Episode #118 to hear our last interview with Jim Ward, and for more RadioZoom band meet n’ greets browse our “Interview” category. If you haven’t yet picked up their new album Threes I highly recommend you do so as well.

Bum Rush The Charts


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(Cross-posted from my personal blog)

Bum Rush The ChartsI’ll try to break it down as simple as possible, but you can get the long end of the story here. On March 22nd, the goal is to get an independent music artist to the top of the iTunes music chart. To do this, podcasters and enthusiasts alike have picked out who that would be and their particular song for this event. On that day only, the intent is to get everyone, that possibly can, to buy that song from the iTunes Music Store.

The band: Black Lab

The song: “Mine Again”

The purpose of this is to “prove the power of new media more than showing corporate media that not only can we exceed their reach and match their purchasing power, but that we can also do it AND make a positive difference in the world. If we can succeed with this small example, then there’s no telling what can do next.” (As quoted from the website)

The curious thing about Black Lab is that they were on a major label, only to get dropped. They have since moved into the independent realm of creating and promoting their music, adapting podcasting into their efforts. Therein lies a lot of the inspiration and consideration for choosing them for this effort.

If you’re interested in more of the details, then find more of the Bum Rush The Charts website. If you have US$.99 to spare on March 22nd, 2007, then you might be interested in joining the mob.

Sparta on Conan O’Brien


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One of the highlights from 2006 was our interview with Jim Ward from Sparta [RZ]. Watching the band’s success grow with the release of their album, Threes, has been really fun. Latest news, according to their MySpace page, is that they’ll be on Conan O’Brien this coming Tuesday.

SPARTA LIVE ON CONAN!

Sparta will be performing live on Conan O’Brien this TUESDAY, JANUARY 16th! If you live in the NY area and are dying to attend, tickets are sold out, BUT you can call this number (212.664.3056) in case someone cancels to get on a waiting list!

Tune in to Conan O’Brien on NBC at 12:35AM on Tuesday (check your local listings)!

Public Sparta Show Added at Sundance!
If you live in the Park City or Salt Lake City area, we have good news for you! Sparta has added an evening show, open to the public at Star Bar!
Tickets are $15 at the door.

The Star Bar
“The Offical Music Venue of the Sundance Film Festival”
268 Main St
Park City, UT 84060
Doors @ 9PM

Aberdeen City’s Christmas Gift


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A little while ago Jim from Aberdeen City (the very cool manager that set up the interview with us for RadioZoom) emailed me to ask for our address. Yesterday our Christmas greeting arrived from the band. It included more information about the free holiday download that’s being offered on their official website. All is explained in my recent post [The Gift of Digital Music]

Aberdeen City [MySpace]:

“…we thought it appropriate to record a Christmas song in our hotel instead. We’re floating it out there as a free digital single for all of you, packaged with a never-released late night driving version of “God is Going To Get Sick of Me”. Use the below link to download the songs and the artwork.” www.aberdeenmusic.com/holidaysingle

Sparta on another tour (U.S. Only)


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I caught this story on PunkNews.org, and the main thing that I find incredible is the second city on the tour date list. Iowa City! And if you listen to the interview that RadioZoom did with Jim Ward, lead singer of Sparta, in November[rz118], you might recall that I lobbied for the band to consider swinging through Iowa City if they were ever in the area.

Toss this one up to the power of new media? Maybe. It would be really interesting if Jim had any part in putting IC on the list. It’s a U.S. tour only, so check out their site for details on any changes or additions.

Take that, Ames!

The Cloud Room Email Interview


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As a follow up to John’s original post [The Cloud Room Needs Your Help] about the fire in lead singer J’s apartment, I decided to dig a little deeper and get in touch with J myself. The following is cross posted from my blog, [Miss604.com: Interview with J from The Cloud Room] and talked about on Episode #121.

Miss 604: I know The Cloud Room’s been crazy-busy over the last year: releasing your album in 2005, tours in Australia, Canada, US, festivals (SxSW), TV (talk shows, MTV, MuchMusic, etc.) … When did you get back home and have some downtime?

J: Back in March we had recorded two new songs (“Lord, I’m Tryin'” and “Eleanor F.”) and figured we just keep recording our 2nd album patchwork-style. We thought we were in for a long respite in June after our 6 months of touring ended in Australia. Continue reading “The Cloud Room Email Interview”

The Cloud Room needs your help


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A little over a week ago, I caught this blog post about a recent tragedy to hit The Cloud Room. Luckily it’s not one of those things where anyone has died, but the result isn’t much better. The basic story is that J, the lead singer of the band, returned to his home in Brooklyn, NY to find it burnt down. Lost was all the recordings for the upcoming album, plus a bunch of their gear. Not good.

If you can find some extra cash this holiday season, they’ve set up a PayPal account to take donations so they can replace what they can. Your generosity would be greatly appreciated.

Sparta to appear on Late Late Show tonight


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Shamefully, we’ve known about this for a few days now, but it’s worth making a last minute post about it. Sparta will be on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight. The show airs on CBS in the states, so check your local listings to see if you can catch it in your area.

Check back here in case you miss it. I’ll do my best to track it down online and give you a link to catch Jim and the guys play live on television. I know Rebecca and I are pretty excited. It’s almost like an honor to have done the interview with Jim[rz118] and then see them on national television. Neat stuff.

BlogCritics interview with Phil Ayoub


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Phil Ayoub is an artist from the Boston area that RadioZoom played recently. He’s been gracious enough for the spin to drop a comment on the site as well as send in a personal email of thanks. When I spotted an interview with him that was posted on BlogCritics.org, I thought I would pass it on here.

This week’s Band of the Week is deep-thinking, deep-feeling, Springsteen fan Phil Ayoub (pronounced A-yoob). This quintessential all American boy from Boston has taken the long way round to his music career. Phil did what all of us know we should after high school; he went to college. Boston College to be exact, and he earned his MBA. After college he joined a large investment firm but his secret passion for music wouldn’t die. [blogcritics]

Keep reading the rest of the interview here.