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http://www.rubyfruitradio.com/
All indie, all female awesome weekly podcast from NYC
Q: You have aired over 100 shows so far, what keeps you going, why do you want to promote artists?
A: I like hearing new music and I like sharing music I find with people around the world. I sometimes look at the show as being my mixtape for the masses. I used to make mixtapes for friends of music I would stumble upon and this is not different. The internet just takes it to a much larger scale.
Q: How long have you been broadcasting?
A: The first episode of Rubyfruit Radio was in November of 2005. I have a background in radio as a dj and a producer and I used the podcast to get back into that.
Q: In your opinion, what does a good song need to consist of?
A: A good song needs a good beat and a good melody, even songs that aren’t necessarily thought of as being melodic like punk. Great lyrics also don’t hurt.
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Q: I see that you did two of Ariel’s artists in your last episode, KaiserCartel and Carla Lynne Hall, what was your reason for choosing these musicians and what do you think of Ariel’s artists?
A: KaiserCartel and Carla Lynne Hall both fit perfectly in with the type of music that I play on Rubyfruit Radio. Carla Lynne Hall is an amazing artist who has been on my list of people to play for a while, but I was saving her for this particular episode. Likewise, the first time I heard KasierCartel, I immediately fell in love with their sound. I saved both of these artists for episode 142 because they are both based in NYC. I recently moved from Atlanta to NYC and did a special episode where I only played NYC based artists.
Overall, I have never seen an organization with such such a high calibur of artsts. I’ve played many Ariel artists in the past and have many set to go for future shows.
Q: How can Ariel’s artists reach out to you to try and get their songs put onto one of your new episodes, what are you looking for?
A: First and foremost, the artists need to be female or be a female fronted band. I play a wide variety of genres on the show from alternative to folk to country to punk so there is a place for almost anyone. They can send me an email at rubyfruitradio@gmail.com with an mp3 or a link to their Facebook or Myspace profiles and we can go from there.
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http://mikeshotdish.com
http://www.myspace.com/mikeshotdish
Are you sick of hearing the same songs day in and day out on the radio? Do you find yourself listening more and more to your existing music collection? Do you wonder where you can find more great music like what’s already in your music collection? There are literally hundreds of independent bands that you have never heard of that would drastically expand your music collection, and Mike’s Hotdish is here to help. Mike looks for music from the hottest heavy metal to the mild (but flavorful) rock and pop. Each show will bring you something new that you can add to your music collection. The best part is, if you loved the song, you can rewind and listen again. If you hate the song, fast forward to the next song. You control what you hear and you can tell us what you like.
Q: What is your favorite band and why?
A: While grew up with mostly country music, I always liked the music that was a bit heavier. Garth Brooks really filled that ticket real well. Now after listening to all of the independent music I play on my show, I can’t just really pick one. It really depends on my mood. Matthew Ebel is one that really enjoy listening to. His music allows my mind to wander and build my own story with his lyrics. On the hard rock side, I have been enjoying Nick Black and Clawfinger lately.
Q: What do you think artists can do to prevent themselves from becoming ‘One-hit-wonders.’
A: Don’t release all of your music at once and don’t focus solely on the single, a well done album could be full of great singles. You need to stay in touch with your fans and those that play your music and inform them of your new single. Maybe create a new song that isn’t on any album or send a station ID to shows that have played your music in the past and introduce a new single. Nothing is cooler than a band sending a station ID to a show without having to ask for one.
Q: Is there a reason why you tried to incorporate the idea of food with your blog and podcast? If so why?
A: I first started out with a different show. Being inexperienced at the time, I branched that show off so quickly that I didn’t have time to focus on them all. I threw that whole concept out the window. When coming up with a new name, I wanted something that reflected the variety of different things that I would have in the show and have a simple name so it would be easy to remember. But I also wanted something fun and something that would make a person do a double take and came up with the name “Mike’s Hotdish”. Hot dish is a term in the Upper Midwest for a dish that contains some sort of combination of meat, sauce, noodles, vegetables, and cheese. I believe it is also known as casserole in some areas. That really fits my show. It is a combination of various types of music and other things. Whatever appeals to my “taste buds” for that show is what you get. To add to the fun factor, I like to make use of the many puns available to me.
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Q: What inspired you to become a music critic?
A :I don’t think I am much of a critic. I usually play only what I like to listen to. I have little musical background but have always loved music. I usually don’t pay much attention to the details of the band or who is in what band. If I like their music, I listen to it and play it on my show.
Q: What do you think is the number one mistake artists make?
A: Marketing. Either they are doing it the wrong way, or they aren’t doing it at all. Many times I have had a band just send a message saying something like “Hi, could you play my music?” They don’t make any sort of effort to make it look personalized, even if it is a mass mailing. More often than not, those emails get deleted because I have access to so much music and get so many emails that I don’t have the time to play it all or listen to it all. Make your email catch my eye somehow and I’ll definitely look more into your band. Many times that includes mentioning my show by name or my name. Another part of that is if all they have is a MySpace page, what will happen when MySpace closes up shop? They need their own website with some way to reach out to their fans and it needs to be something they have more control over. I don’t think the band has to have a degree in marketing by any means, but they should invest at least some time in learning some of the methods that work or find some people or fans willing to help them out.
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Man Behind the Monitor: Jason “Macedonia” Smith
Radio BSOTS : Both Sides of the Surface
BSOTS: A cyberspace archive of life commentaries and music reviews written between 1999-2005, as well as a portal to artist and record label sites and online music stores, also the home base for the Radio BSOTS podcast playing electronic soul, funk, and hip-hop.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a podcaster?
A: My biggest challenge is (and continues to be) successfully navigating my way through this world of new media and social networking. I consider myself an old head using new technologies in order to express my love for music and support for its artists. I am flesh, blood, and bone, but to be a part of the podcasting game you must learn the language of ones and zeros to some degree, whether it’s RSS feeds, tagging blog posts, search engine optimization, or whatever new social platform will premiere in the next five minutes. All of these things fight for my attention; as a result, time management and prioritizing become rather challenging. Never mind that real life demands that you go to your day job, make sure your child gets to day care, etc. I can only speak for myself: I do not have a mind for marketing or metrics. I do, however, have a mind for music. My passion for music drove me headfirst into podcasting.
Q: I’ve noticed you tend to feature on your podcast more unknown and indie hip hop artists what’s your reasoning behind that?
A: Radio BSOTS was created because I had so many friends that were making great music – MCs, DJs, producers, and beatboxers. I just wanted to be a platform for them, an avenue for them to get some exposure. So right from the beginning, championing the unknown and independent artists was key to the show. In my opinion, their efforts can stand alongside and even outshine so much of what’s being released within mainstream circles. Soul, funk, and electronic sounds add to the musical makeup of the show, but hip-hop remains at its core. To be honest, I didn’t even realize how much of a hip-hop head I was until I started doing this podcast.
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Q: Any words of wisdom … anything you’ve learned so far in podcasting that you’d care to share?
A: What’s true for an artist goes for a podcaster: this has got to feel good to YOU, first and foremost. Podcasting is too much work for it not to be fun, so what got you excited about it in the first place has to remain present in order for you to continue doing it. All artists go through their creative slumps or feeling of apathy about their craft. However, if those times start to outweigh the good times, you seriously need to reassess your situation. Beyond that, there is no “right” way of doing this. Since August of 2005, I’ve been podcasting on a dial-up modem and a computer that still had Windows Millennium Edition on it. I just got a new computer in the past month, but the dial-up situation remains. I didn’t let that stop me, though. When you have something that you’re passionate about, you find ways to make it work.
Q: I see you are very active in the Twitter world. Why do you think Twitter is important for a Podcaster, Internet Radio Station, etc.?
A: Honestly, it was the simplicity of Twitter that got me hooked. It’s a microblogging tool that’s perfect for a person like me who’s constantly on the losing side of time. With Twitter, you’re forced to get your point across quickly and in a limited number of characters. Somewhere along the way, I started notifying people whenever a new episode was posted. A number of my followers tend to go check it out within minutes after that. For a musician, blogger, or podcaster, that’s valuable real-time feedback from people who have a vested interest in your content. And if you’re involved with communicating with your followers, it’s only a matter of time before relationships build into something more tangible. What you have is a potential community.
Q: What’s next for Radio BSOTS?
A: Right now, I just want to continue putting together the best shows possible. There’s so much incredible music out there it’s almost overwhelming. As much as I like putting together freeform shows, I see more genre-specific episodes in the future, as well as shows dedicated to one record label’s output. With the summer coming up, it’s a great excuse to put more continuous mixes together as well. The month of August will mark the third-year anniversary of Radio BSOTS and I’ve been trying to figure out how to celebrate. Maybe I’ll unveil some “behind the scenes” recordings or audio collage craziness from my college days, who knows? What’s next is more music, more episodes, and more reasons to spend your cold hard cash in support of talented artists so that they can continue doing what they love.
The Indie Maximum Exposure List is Ariel Hyatt’s manifesto on how indie musicians can realistically profit from Web 2.0 & social media. 