October 31 isnt for another 6 weeks, but Old Navy already has their stock of kids Halloween costumes in store. Actually, they’ve had them for more than 2 weeks already. If you have a young un who will be doing the trick-or-treating, you’d better head down and pick your costume quick - they’re going fast.
My mom used to make Halloween costumes for us when we were kids. She spend hours at the sewing machine using patterns to make princess, spaceman and vampire costumes for my brother, sister and I. Now, in this disposable generation, it’s much easier to buy the costume for $30 at Old Navy, wear it for the 30 minute trip around the block, and then flip it on Craigslist for $25 the next year.
Here are some of the costumes we’ve trucked Le Grand Monsieur through, tomorrow we hit Old Navy down south to make our final purchase.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Winner will be drawn at random live on Ustream on Wednesday Sept 24, 2008 from all people who pony up at least $5 to either Team Diabetes account before deadline.
Good luck, and thank you!
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Yellowtail is called “easy drinking” for a reason, it’s mass produced wine that preaches to the lowest common denominator. Yellowtail is to wine what McDonalds is to food, find the simplest flavours and exploit them.
Yellowtail wines are notoriously over oaked and sugary sweet, just the sort of flavours that will appeal to the masses and assure that they sell millions and millions of bottles a year.
I don’t want to go all wine snob on you, my palate is not even close to being worthy, so let’s wander the wine web to see what others are saying on the topic.
Take Wine Library TV’s Gary Vaynerchuk for example. He gets that these wines are safe and easy drinking, and that’s the problem. You’re not doing your palate any favours by soaking it in oak and sugar.
Want some more?
“If you wanted to visit the Yellow Tail winery (for instance) you would think you were visiting an oil refinery. These wines are made in such staggering large quantity that the wine must ferment and age (if they do that) in huge above ground tanks.” [ezine]
“Yellow Tail is a marketing phenonmena, and many love it, but I don’t think its popularity has much to do with its quality. It’s mass produced, and I (and most people I’ve encountered in the wine world) find it overly fruity and sweet.” [Ottawa Citizen]
“Once home, I opened the bottle and right away smelled the ‘Yellow Tail aroma’ - Gigantic bunches of red fruit. I sensed I was about to drink a glass of cherry-flavored HI-C … So imagine you drink wine for the first time and it happens to be Yellow Tail Shiraz. Rather than swearing off wine because it tastes like vinegar and going back to beer, you think, “Wow, wine is yummy.” [basic juice]
Yellowtail is not about wine, it’s about marketing. It’s popularity launched an entire genre called “critter wines.” Cute names, fun labels and always involving an animal. Why? Because that’s what women want.
There are some other local brands you might see getting hyped up that are using the exact same approach as Yellowtail. Painted Turtle and Wild Horse Canyon are nothing more than marketing campaigns for cheap, bulk sourced juice. Don’t waste your money on either.
Today, Celebrity Chef Jason Roberts swaggered his Aussie accent around Nat and Drew and hyped up Yellowtail for the 95Crave morning show.
His promo team left behind a gift basket for me that I gave an extra special treatment.
Life’s too short to drink bad wine Yellowtail.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Since the spring, I’ve committed to doing all I can on the side to try and raise money and awareness for Team Diabetes Easter Island.
This past weekend I hosted a Songwriting Workshop for Radiostar. I received a $150 honorarium for spending a sunny Sunday inside for 6 hours, and that’s going in to the Team Diabetes Account, along with $250 from the stack of cheques I cashed today from TextLinkAds and GoogleAdsense.
That should put my total just over $3 000. An excellent start, but still short of my $10 000 goal.
Still to come, the annoucement of a donation from LA Weight Loss and tomorrow I will give you your first chance to land Vancouver Canucks tickets by helping out Team Diabetes.
The offer still remains to any companies looking for voice talent, acting talent, hosting talent or talent talent. I will do the work for you, in exchange for a direct donation to Team Diabetes. You get a professional product AND a tax receipt instead of an invoice. Win-win-win.
Email me for more details.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Leona Lewis shot to stardom after winning X Factor in the UK, an American Idol styled show created by Simon Cowell.
Here’s the wikipedia entry that was so wrong that Leona sets straight:
She wrote and recorded a number of songs including a demo album called Twilight. When she was fifteen years old, she recorded a version of Minnie Riperton’s “Lovin’ You” with music producer Marley J. Wills, after which Lewis and Wills were invited to the U.S. by Sony. Wills commented that “Leona could hit the notes and I think she did it better than the original.”
Unable to secure a contract, Lewis considered placing her music career on hold to attend university, before her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor[wiki]
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
So to swing a foot over the ledge of the AXA building’s 19th floor this morning was a bit of a big deal. But it’s for the kids.
The Easter Seals Drop Zone will be going all day with people dressed up as Superheroes and swinging over the edge and repelling down the side. I saw Batman, Wonder Woman, the Pink Power Ranger and assorted people with Lone Ranger masks on. Me, I dusted off the legendary SuperBuzz costume.
Yes, it’s all for the kids.
Easter Seals Canada, is dedicated to serving children, youth and adults with disabilities, striving to ensure that no one is left behind. More than 100,000 Canadians and their families annually access programs and services provided by Easter Seals organizations across Canada.
The most well known services are the Easter Seals camp programs. In 2008, 22 camps across Canada provided camp opportunities to more than 6,000 kids with disabilities. Since 1949, an estimated 160,000 children with disabilities have attended Easter Seals camps.
Other Easter Seal services include the provision of specialized mobility and access equipment to Canadians and their families including mobility aids, assistive technology, adaptive computers, augmentative communication devices and adaptations to homes and vehicles for wheelchair accessibility.
It would be great if you could drop a few coins in the 95Crave online donation box. My colleagues Sarah Bartok and Barbara Beam will be hitting the glass later in the day.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
Curtis Sanford has selected a winning mask design from more than 300 entries made to the team’s website during the two-week contest. Canucks fans submitted mask designs from all over British Columbia and as far away as Scotland; the youngest designer was aged four.
Kirk Car, a commercial fisherman from Mission, BC submitted the winning design, which features a stylized orca whale with gaping jaws surrounding the mask cage. In addition to having the design featured on the mask itself, Mr. Car will receive an autographed Curtis Sanford jersey plus a meet and greet with Sanford and the professionally finished mask.
“I was very impressed with the number of great mask designs and choosing the one I’ll wear this season was not easy”, said Sanford. “I chose Kirk’s design because he made the orca come to life. I’m excited to see how it looks on the mask once it’s been painted.”
Local artist and certified mask designer, Ian Johnson of Excalibur Airbrushing is currently painting Sanford’s mask. Sanford will unveil the mask at the Canucks training camp in Whistler, BC, which opens September 20th. Canucks TV will be there to capture the creation of the mask and feature the design process on Canucks.com.
It’s been an all around Canuck kinda day. Training camp opens this weekend and the half and full season ticket holders formed a steady stream down to GM Place today for the first day to pick up tickets. This is my first year as a full season ticket holder and I am impressed with the treatment those who pony up are given. Check out the binders I got to stuff under my arm.
I’m going to go through the tickets tonight and will be tossing up the first auctions to raise money for Team Diabetes Easter Island by the weekend.. if you want to go to a Canucks game this season AND you’d like a tax receipt .. pay attention!
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
That was a tweet I got from Fiona Forbes yesterday.
I’m guessing Fiona is asking because LA Weight Loss is a sponsor of my Team Diabetes Easter Island effort. So, yes, I’m being “paid” to represent the company - but here’s the deal, if it was only kinda working, I’d tell you about it, but I wouldn’t be so evangelical. I would fulfill my requirement to spread the word, but I am going out of my way to preach because, honestly and truly, I am marvelling at this system.
I don’t know if I should call it a system, it’s really just learning how to balance your meals throughout the day. Simple lessons, really. Eat lots of little meals, have protein with each one, drink a ton of water. I’ve cut out sugar, pasta, rice and potatoes - that’s pretty much it.
LA Weight Loss supplements the cravings with great snacks called LA Lites. They’re similar to protein bars you’d get and they really knock that chocolate lust I get each day right out of the park.
I have been tweeting a little exuberantly about it, because for the first time in a long time, the digits on my scale and flipped from 2… to 1…. When I was at my heaviest this spring, I tipped in near 215. This weekend I rolled it to 199. Have a look at the number I dialed up on my scale this morning:
Does LA Weight Loss work? Yes. Call 310-LOSE and get started with your own personal weight loss coach today!
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
LA Weight Loss is a sponsor of Buzz Bishop’s Team Diabetes Easter Island.
Call 310-LOSE to get started with your personal weight loss coach today!
For the final segment, Jim Vallance came out and joined the previous presenters for a live critique of some songs that had been submitted.
Jim Vallance shouldnt really need an introduction. He’s a member of the Order of Canada and has written for Bryan Adams, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osborne and more.
We listened to nearly 2 dozen demos. Without actually hearing the music, it’s hard to understand what the critiques were about. Instead I’ll do my best to summarize the points that Jim and panel made about the songs so you can apply the principles to your own production and song writing.
don’t go too crazy with the reverb
title is important to the point that after hearing the song once, or after first 60 seconds you should know the title of the song… thinking of getting on radio or having commercial appeal you should be able to know the title of the song right away
many times Jim would comment on the chord progression, always able to mimic back the keys to the songwriter F, G, A#, G etc. Jim thinks chord progressions should have something to make the chorus and verse different from each other, don’t have the same loop over and over and over again.
vocal embellishments can take away from the melody of a song. by embellishments, Jim means vocal acrobatics and odd phrasing. again, keeping it simple is sometimes better to let the song stand on its own instead of the singer trying to overpower it
I found many of the songs to be not quite “done”.. they’re lacking a certain professional quality. Yes, we all have the technology to record in our home, but when we try to add too many layers, things can go off the rails unless you really understand the tools you’re using.
Many of the songs were bad 3rd generation dubs, or had vocals too hot, drums too tiny, or vocals that missed too many notes. If you’re just a songwriter looking for a deal and these are demos, that’s fine. If it’s the finished product you’re sending to radio, you’re better off getting the song perfect otherwise too many doors will close prematurely.
There was one artist, however, that everyone was clamouring to get a cd from. Her name is Tea, we reviewed her track Fire and Flame and nobody had a bad thing to say - in fact, I’ll be giving it to my Music Director tomorrow.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
The biggest star on the resume of John Alexander is the discovery of Alanis Morissette. He met her when she was 14 and said she was so ready to pursue a career, that “there was nothing I could do but sign her to a recording and publishing deal.”
It was at a meeting in NY, after 2 semi successful dance albums in Canada, that Alanis said to John that she didnt want to sing other people’s thoughts an ideas anymore. John put her together with Glen Ballard and Jagged Little Pill was the result.
Currently he’s the Senior Vice President / Creative Affairs, Membership US for ASCAP.
What is a music publisher?
Can advance you money for your work, ie you have songs on hold for Aerosmith, tv etc. They can get you money for work that’s forthcoming.
They can also exploit your songs. In this sense, exploitation is a good thing.
Get them to people who are recording, get them on film/tv, get them in commercials - the creative side of publishing.
They collect the monies due to you as a songwriter and protect the rights of the songwriter.
When do you need a publisher?
You can do your taxes on your own if you just have a T4. If you have multiple levels of income and investment - you get an accountant.
If you only have 1 song, you can do it on your own. If you start to become very active and have songs in different mediums, and all over - then you need to seek out a publisher, or self-publish your music.
The answer is simple: when you have activity.
Getting a publishing deal can be difficult, but you the tools are available to get more exposure for your music to make yourself a more valuable investment. You need to become successful first it seems, but that’s almost the truth. John is working with an 18yr old artist and the company said “what’s her platform” before signing her. In other words, is she on American Idol, got talent etc. A&R / Marketing people expect someone else to do the work for you.
Myspace/Facebook/YouTube etc all help you get the deal
Sources of income from a publishing deal?
performance
(i was grabbing a water for John and missed this section)
mechanicals
royalties from the sales of an album, so much per song per side
9.1 cents / song - full statutory rate
(if you have a million selling single, you generate $90k, if you sell 1M albums with 10 songs on a disc it can equal $910k)
synchronization
it’s simple, and complicated. if you take your song and turn it into an audio/visual work. be it on tv, film, commercials etc.. there is a synchronization fee (sync fee) that’s paid to the publisher. these fees are ‘whatever the market will bear’ .. using a Beatles song in a movie will cost more than Joe on the corner. you can negotiate them as complete buyouts, or limited use in region or time, you can get rollovers (there is no such thing as a standard contract)
print
when people buy sheet music, or you get your song lyrics published
educational institutions, karaoke, marching bands, orchestras, greeting cards
digital
itunes, myspace, youtube
a current problem spot for the industry and things are getting bogged down
every revolution goes through phases (industrial, technical)
1. chaos 2. establishing rules 3. calm
we’re in the beginning of phase 2
How do you find who needs songs?
In Canada, there isn’t a set way to find out who’s needing music - they just rely on relationships with managers.
New on the Charts - a list of who’s in the studio, who’s recording, who is looking for music. WhosLooking.com - Who’s looking, who needs, and how to submit. The thing is, it costs money $4500 a yr
How do you get unsolicited music noticed?
You can call the labels directly. Don’t go for the heads, go for the junior reps and try to build relationships.
Network network network. Go to clubs and talk to bands / managers, go to CMW and meet everyone.
It’s not that difficult, it’s just incumbent upon you to present yourself as a professional songwriter.
What about copyright?
There are two things about copyright: having it, and protecting it.
Copyright is: as soon as you’ve created a work you’ve got copyright. But, if you’re a member of SOCAN register it so that they will track your music to make sure you get paid. The Song Vault acts as a date and time stamp for when the song was created. (mailing it to yourself doesn’t hold up in court)
It can come up with unsolicited material. If you send it someone, they can hand it off to someone else to record. Using the Song Vault is a way to protect your music worldwide.
How do you start a publishing company?
Pick a name. The publishers have a list of all the ones that have been taken. So you submit 5 different names to make sure yours hasn’t been taken.
You need to join (in Canada) SOCAN.
Here you’ll need some help. Are you going to be a serious or professional songwriter? You’ll need a business license. Corporation, sole propreitorship, etc.
Open a business bank account.
Contact a mechanical rights organization (CMMRA). SOCAN covers performances, this one covers the other side.
The benefits:
If you have activity, you’re going to get paid and get paid directly, you dont have to share.
Can have friends join the group and you can start to earn money off other people as well. Build a roster and you never know what might happen.
How do you pitch for tv and film?
Get in hold with Music Supervisors. You can do this at imdb.com, look up the crew for tv shows, movies etc. Contact info for the Music Supervisors will be there and you can find out if they’re looking for songs.
In Vancouver you can also get in touch with the CBC, Sam Feldman Organization or other independents.
You don’t need a publisher before you pitch, but if they want to use your music then it’s a bridge you’ll have to cross. None of these deals are standards, there’s always something to be leveraged or negotiated.
Find out what they’re looking for before you pitch. They’ll be able to tell you exactly. The last thing that goes in to a production is the music, they know the scene and what they need. So only pitch what they need.
Kirk Car, a commercial fisherman from Mission, BC submitted the winning design, which features a stylized orca whale with gaping jaws surrounding the mask cage. In addition to having the design featured on the mask itself, Mr. Car will receive an autographed Curtis Sanford jersey plus a meet and greet with Sanford and the professionally finished mask. 
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