Take it from the Ambassador of Music

Few musicians understand what it takes to overcome adversity to enjoy success in the industry better than Joey Stuckey. Blind since childhood, Stuckey felt and listened his way through guitar lessons to master the instrument. He got high school out of the way by graduating at the age of 14 and went on to form the Joey Stuckey Band, which has recorded five albums since 1995. Band leader is only one of his many hats. [READ MORE HERE]

Quentin vs. Coen: Art on Art

Film is an art form unto itself. It doesn’t need anything to support it, but often when it is honored through other genres it is all the more powerful. In this case the films worthy of honor are those directed by Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan) and graphic artists have put pen and brush to canvas to capture the magic of these movies, most notably The Big Lebowski and Pulp Fiction. [READ MORE HERE]

Moving On Up

There is a problem with MySpace, one of the most popular homes for artists trying to get discovered on the Internet. Fewer and fewer people are visiting the site.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, worldwide traffic on the site has shrunk 29% since October 2010. That’s over 25 million fewer potential views of unknown artists just trying to get a bite out of the media pie. But never fear, because Vevo.com is swooping in to save the day … maybe. [READ MORE HERE]

Altered States from Susan Hynes

Bio:

I never intended to be an artist it just became a way of life. Visual communication is the one thing I am comfortable with.

I don’t set out to create aesthetics. I take an abstract and experimental approach to my work with an aim to put internal thoughts and feelings into visual form. [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

A Bridge Between Cultures

It is difficult for the average Westerner to understand the people of Iran. We see Ahmadinejad making outlandish statements about the destruction of Israel. We hearreports of anti-democracy groups gaining support in the country while the potential of Iran developing nuclear weapons persists. What does it mean to live in such a place? [READ MORE HERE]

Music is Still a Hot Commodity

Nevermind that album sales are falling year over year, or that the world economy is in recession, or that old school musicians like Bob Geldof are decrying the decrepit state of music today. People still crave music. And the heavyweights in the music industry know it.

Despite being on sick leave as he fights pancreatic cancer, Apple CEO Steve Jobs will face a California district court over a lawsuit concerning its propriety iPod software. [READ MORE HERE]

Champions of the Natural Environment

At the International Finance Center in Hong Kong, anexhibition is underway to benefit the Clean Air Network, a nonprofit group seeking to raise awareness about pollution in the city. The subject matter in the artwork aims to put a spotlight on the city’s environmental challenges. For example, Wilson Shieh’s “Cloud Boys” captures the impossibility of so many people living in a way that has zero impact on the environment in today’s society: it features a cascade of interlinked nude male figures just dancing through the sky. [READ MORE HERE]

Raising the Next Generation of Writers

In Woburn, Massachusetts a group of parents recently sat down in the library of Shamrock Elementary School to look at pictures of pancakes. Their mission was to write a story using the provided images. The goal was not so much to hone their writing skills, but to learn from the receiving end how to teach writing to their young kids.

The organization that teaches these lessons is called Links to Literacy.

Wyclef: Popularity and Influence

Nel Ust Wyclef Jean, born in Haiti in 1969, is perhaps the most famous Haitian refugee in the United States. The Refugee Camp (The Fugees) was one of the hottest bands in the US and the world in the late 1990s and his involvement established him as a major player in the music industry. Now as a solo artist he continues to command respect, but not just for the music he makes. [READ MORE HERE]

Being Unconventional

 

Being different can be a wonderful thing. It means you think differently, which means as an artist you produce works that no one else has thought of quite the way you have.

Take Brian Dettmer for example. He makes sculptures out of books, and no, that’s not a metaphor. [READ MORE HERE]

Nothing like a Twist of Fate to "Drane" the Blood

Excerpt from Twist of Fate:

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you here before. Would you happen to be one of the new benefactors for the museum?” I turned around to answer the question, and stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn’t think, let alone form a coherent word. My only thought was “It couldn’t be her. Could it, after all this time?” I was totally stunned. The woman standing in front of me was a dead ringer for my fiancée Laurel. Sparkling Brown hair, lightly tanned skin and striking brownish-gold eyes were looking back at me. The only difference was that instead of dresses and full-length skirts and blouses, it was black dress pants with a cream silk button down shirt.

I also spied a pearl necklace adorning her collarbone as well as dark rimmed glasses.  It was like looking in a mirror into the past, my past to be more specific. I felt like I was back in 1909 again. I was in a flashback when I heard the woman’s voice again. [READ MORE HERE]

It's Hard to Make Bob Geldof Happy

At his keynote speech at the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference (SXSW) this week, rocker Bob Geldofmade it clear he’s not happy with the current state of music. Rock n’ roll has lost relevance, he says, to the suffering and injustices in the world today. Too much fluff, not enough substance.

All right then. [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

The Art of the Purim Shpiel

If you are not Jewish then you probably have no idea that the 14th day of the month of Adar II on the Hebrew calendar is coming up (that is, tomorrow, March 20th), which means it’s almost time to celebrate Purim. At sundown the Jewish people celebrate their deliverance from Haman’s plot to wipe out all Jews in ancient Persia, as recorded in the Book of Esther. The celebration is accordingly joyous.

“Shpiel” is a Yiddish word meaning “game”, “play” or “skit”. [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

Art in Disaster

The tsunami that devastated Japan last week has cast the works of one art show in a new light and launched a new arts initiative as well.

“Bye Bye Kitty!”, a New York art show put together by the Japan Society, was to signal a new beginning in Japanese culture.  [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

Finding an Audience

As artists, our work certainly has intrinsic value as an expression – something uniquely created out of a particular set of cultural circumstances, while giving voice to a deeply personal instinct. This unique expression, as valuable as it is in its own right, needs to enter into dialogue with others for that expression to meld into a message with meaning. Without a viable receiver, our messages are just incomplete echoes. [READ MORE HERE]

What is SXSW?

The annual South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is underway. This event is a wonderful combination of film, music and trade show featuring emerging technologies.

So SXSW is not a film or music festival, nor is it a technology geekfest. It’s all three wrapped up into one. [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

Writing to Make the World a Better Place

Much of the discussion around here is about getting your work out into the world for traditional ends using nontraditional means. Publish your book, for example, by first getting the attention of an agent and a potential audience using a site like this one. But sometimes the “getting discovered story” is less about the individual accomplishments and more about the culture created in the process.

National Volunteer Week starts April 10th, and in preparation website StageOfLife.com recently asked teens, ”What organization, company, non-profit or ’cause’ will help make the world a better place in 2011?”  [READ MORE HERE]

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Loving Through Music: The New 76ers

The New 76ers are an acoustic folk trio from North Florida. Our sound comes from a collective respect for acoustic and electric music. As a family trio, we rely on instinct to meld vocals into harmonies and let them take the spotlight. We are deep-rooted in Southern musical heritage & our original music aspires to move you physically and spiritually. Our mission is to give love through our music. We believe that music is and always will be a force to compel change. [READ AND HEAR, HERE]

Artistic Youth

When it comes to art, the earlier you start making it the better. Doesn’t it make sense to spend as much time as possible developing your skill? That’s why we celebrate youth art programs that bring the best out of our arts community novices.

Camellot Academy is a program that has been running in Kansas City, Missouri since 1966. Children of all ages get together to explore artistry and develop their creativity. In classes for dance, drama, art, guitar and vocal music they learn the basics of performance and enhance their appreciation of the arts. [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

A Little Danza, A Little Romanza

The United States may be a relatively young nation, but it is composed of hundreds of communities established long before the Constitution was ratified. One such community is St. Augustine, Florida. It was founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, making it the oldest continuously occupied European city and port in the continental U.S. That’s something worth being proud of, and the citizens of St. Augustine are. [READ MORE HERE]

A Call to Arts!

In Saugatuck, Michigan, a beautiful little town on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, a local art club is soon to put on a very special show. This summer they plan to feature art by founding and notable members of their own Saugatuck-Douglas Art Club (Douglas is the closely neighboring town to the south), but they can’t do it alone. The club is asking for help from the community to gather works by these artists, which “may be hanging on your walls, stored in the attic or neatly tucked away under your bed.” [READ MORE HERE]

Oh How We Love Nostalgia

It is such a strong feeling, nostalgia. The pain and joys of the past dulled in equal measure by its passing form a sense so powerful that we are drawn to revisit it time and time again. And we seem to enjoy it - so much that we want to experience it when the memories aren't even our own.

Steven Tyler is writing a memoir entitled Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

Cuts Cuts Cuts

In times of financial distress, governments and schools almost always set their eyes on the arts for the chopping block. While politicians and administrators commonly see math, science and economic stimuli as essential to preserving our society, they will put these concerns before graphic art, music and creative writing every time. We are seeing this trend all over the Western world in the current global recession.

In the United States we see examples of arts budget cuts everywhere from the national to local arenas. President Obama proposes cuts to both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities by $22 million or about 13% each for next year. [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

New Protest, Old Music

The state of Wisconsin is in an uproar because its governor has proposed cutting teacher benefits to balance the budget and strip them of bargaining rights currently afforded them by the teacher’s union. Teachers are on strike, parents are figuring out what to do with their kids who are home from school and 14 state senate democrats have fled Wisconsin to avoid a vote on the proposal. All this because in the face of a fiscal crisis, Gov. Scott Walker has turned to quite possibly the most hot-button sources of revenue: education and organized labor.

These teachers are pretty ticked off, and their ire has inspired musicians to produce or reproduce protest music for a whole new generation of righteous rabble-rousers. [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

Vicki Wong Explores Loneliness

Winter

As the last petal fell to the ground,
we came to the final season of the year.

The snow splintered softly across the country,
touching roof-tops,
calming empty branches,
and lastly fell onto my shoulders.
With everything covered in white,
I stood on top to admire such soundless sight.

As the morning chill sipped into my skin,
Shivers flew through my spine and awoke the sadness sleeping within.
I tucked my chin under my scarf and tracked downhill,
as thick white clouds loomed over the sky, and overcast my eyes.

Walking under the fall of tiny white jewels,
my gaze landed on the two humming snow birds sitting on the glistening branches.
Watching them finding comfort in each other
I secretly wish for the same.
I longed for love and was curious of what I became.

Slanting downward I thought I was hallucinating
but I saw snowflakes danced upon my hand,
so gentle and soft,
it reminded me of the tenderness entwined in your voice.
Reminiscing the way you used to reassure my fears
effortlessly brought me to tears.

Without your company I felt disjointed, incomplete
like a tiny bird in the cold with its frail wings weighted down by the dust of snow.
I took out the kaleidoscope you gave me this summer
and pressed it to my chest-
beneath those constricted lungs and crumbling bones,
I know we all have a heart that can withstand the consequences.

I gazed around
letting the beauty of winter embraces me
with the murmuring songs of miserable love drifting about.

[READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

The Art of Women

March is Women’s History Month in the United States and has been since Congress expanded Women’s History Week in 1987. The first International Working Women’s Day was actually observed in Germany on March 19th, 1911, but the modern International Women’s Day is on the 8th. Regardless of its varied roots – whether European socialist or American feminist – this is the month to recognize how far many of the world’s societies have come in liberating women to vote, earn fair wages and experience equal treatment with men. [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

Music Industry at a Low High

Cake just topped the Billboard Top 200 with 44,000 copies. That is the lowest-selling #1 album in 20 years, however, so the news for the band is more than a little bittersweet. In a recent interview with Melissa Block on NPR’s All Things Considered, lead singer John McCrea admitted he was pretty pessimistic about the future of the music industry as a profession. He is apparently looking forward to one day putting touring behind him and trying his hand at subsistence farming.

Perhaps the music industry is doomed. Or perhaps it just needs a reboot. [READ MORE HERE]

Writing on Writers, Writing on Writing

Oh so meta.

Author Joe Woodwardrecently shared in the Books section of the Huffington Post a review of The Best American Essays 2010. In it he points about that about a third of the content in this publication is made up of writers, writing about writing. Jane Kramer’s piece from The New Yorker, “Me Myself and I” discusses the birth of the modern essay in the works of French writer Michel de Montaigne. James Woods writes about reading George Orwell’s “A Fine Rage”. Ian McEwan describes the eponymous author in “On John Updike” as a Lutheran “toubled by science as others are troubled by God.” [READ MORE HERE]

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GettingDiscovered.net

Armory Arts Week

This weekend Times Square in New York City will play host to some strange visitors. A giant bronze mouse, a voluptuous woman made of tile and glass and 24 handmade paper sheep will appear amongst bubbling sea foam and a monument of compact discs. Such is the beginning of Armory Arts Week. [READ MORE HERE]

The Music That Was a Mile High

The news that the annual Mile High Music Festival in Denver has been cancelled for 2011 is a blow to its fans, the music industry and the American live music scene in general. Citing economic woes, promoter AEG Live announced yesterday that the event was off.

Although some may say the news is not too heartbreaking because the festival is not a long established tradition – this being only the fourth year slated for the event – we absolutely disagree. [READ MORE HERE]

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Artists Without Limits

Ever heard of James Franco the writer? How about James Franco the painter? Or the director?

Yes, these are all the same James Franco. You may have seen him acting in some films. But this busy guy – lightly barbed recently in the Weekend Update portion of Saturday Night Live for being an almost ridiculous jack-of-all-trades – has a real passion for all fine arts. [READ MORE HERE]

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