Tag: "Vivian Darkbloom"

CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival is set to take New York City by storm on October 20 – 24 2009, but you need to act fast if you want to see your name on the bill. Applications to play the festival will be considered only through July 15th, so apply now if you think you have what it takes.

Those selected will join the ranks of over 20 other OurStage artists who have been able to add CMJ to their resumes. Check out our past coverage of CMJ to get a feel for what the CMJ programmers are looking for. Here’s a little sampling to keep your ears happy:

Fans and artists who aren’t quite ready for the spotlight still need to hop to it because the price of festival badges goes up as time goes on. Register for your tickets now and you can save 15%! Get your CMJ badges here!

…And, who they influenced!

My first installment of Staff Picks! I finally get my chance to share my list of the three college rock bands that I think we owe the most thanks to. I’d had this list on my desk for weeks before our editor Jessica finally let me publish it – apparently all I had to do was “ask”.

College rock is one of the most important forces driving the evolution of music forward. Where would we be without the bands that met in the basements of dirty dorms to howl and screech instead of writing papers? That is not a world I want to live in, I can tell you that.

3) They Might Be Giants.

Sure they’re nerdy. Of course you don’t hear an accordion used in rock music often. But when it’s done well, people listen. They Might Be Giants came from humble beginnings, including recording some of their first songs on an answering machine as the greeting in order to spread the message about their songs. Their unique sound took them from gigs in front of an answering machine to one of the best-recognized rock bands of our time.

2) R.E.M.

Allmusicguide said it best when they wrote, “R.E.M. mark the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock.” No other single band so clearly straddled the gap of turning a fringe movement of complicated vocals and carefully laid out guitar work. Everyone remembers Automatic For The People as one of the immortal albums.

1)Pixies.
While they weren’t a massive commercial success, the Pixies turned out to be one of the most important bands to sparking the grunge and alt rock revolution of the early 1990’s. Even Kurt Cobain of Nirvana attributed much of his own success and inspiration to listening the Pixies. In a 1994 interview, Cobain said:

“When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band – or at least in a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard.”

These bands, in addition to shaping the future of modern rock music, have played a heavy hand in shaping alt rock on OurStage as well. Check out some of the below artists for a sample – they the cream of our crop, all with powerful influences from some of the bands mentioned above.

Just last week we told you about all the Glitterati spotted on OurStage including Rainn Wilson, Rachel Ray and T-Pain. Well now, they are coming out in droves!

You might remember Vivian Darkbloom from our post about their Wii/Guitar mashup. They are getting all kinds of buzz for their creativity and are currently featured on Rainn Wilson’s new site, SoulPancake. The site is a place where artists and intellectuals meet to discuss big, and sometimes taboo, questions. Vivian Darkbloom’s Rob Morris was selected for the sites inaugural artist interview, which covered a variety of strange and interesting topics:

SP: When do you feel most creative?
RM: I feel most creative when I’m in a place of absolute loneliness. Out of emptiness, I feel most strongly the need to create.

Then, the very next day, guess who pays a visit to Vivian Darkblomm? OK Go’s Andy Ross and Damian Kulash! They had to give Rob’s Wiitar a spin for themselves. They also did some YouTube marketing brainstorming together so keep an eye out for some interesting videos. We all know what OK Go is capable of producing, so we know whatever they have up their sleeves is bound to be good!

For our parting shot, we offer you a somewhat related video pulled from the ever-entertaining SoulPancake. See, we told you Dwight Schrute loves indie music!

Hey! You! Put that video game controller down and get over here! I’ve got something that might interest you…

Today, in the Boston Globe, OurStage band Vivian Darkbloom was featured for an unusual choice of musical equipment. Guitarist Rob Morris has fashioned a Wii Remote (the controller for the popular Nintendo Wii game console) to his guitar as a means for controlling his effect usage. He uses the remote’s motion-sensing capabilities to allow the tilting of his guitar, as fed through computer software, to control how his guitar sounds.

Read the full article here and check out Vivian Darkblooms fanclub, and see if you can make your own Wii-powered guitar!

We had a chance to sit down with indie rockers and tech wizards, Vivian Darkbloom. Hear what they had to say about extending an instrument, balancing busy schedules, and writing songs. If you like what you hear be sure to pick up their music on iTunes.

Check out this video of Boston’s, Vivian Darkbloom, performing “The Planes”, at the OurStage Artist Showcase at CMJ. Yes, that is a Wii-mote strapped to his guitar and yes, its doing what you think it is. Vivian Darkbloom have been getting some attention in the tech-blogs lately for Rob Morris’ Nintendo wizardry, and rightfully so. They’ll be playing Ryan’s Smashing Life Halloween Concert this Friday on a great bill.

Dead Men Dreaming | “Chemicals”

Dirty Fuzz | “The True History Of Rock n Roll ”

Joanna Erdos and the Midnight Show | “All the Water”

Vivian Darkbloom | “Cold War”