Get Signed LIVE!

GSL! Playlist Vol. 22 - 26.04.2010

2010-04-26T15:36:00.002+01:00

It's another random mix of tracks that have kept us going throughout the last week. With Beach House being the book ends to a bizare, rather dubby clash of bangers. Click here and enjoy.

Beach House – Zebra

Patch William – Last Bus

Bowerbirds – Beneath Your Tree

Efterklang – I Was Playing Drums

Duran Duran – Rio

Mia – Bucky Done Gun

Kenneth Bager – Fragment Eight (Sound Of Swing)

Justice – Stress

Chrispy – Badman Sound

Rusko – Woo boost

A Tribe Called Quest – Can I Kick It?

Beach House – 10 Mile Stereo

Album of the Week 26.04.2010, Beach House

2010-04-26T15:33:00.002+01:00

This weeks album of the week comes from the brilliant Beach House. Their 2010 album 'Teen Dream' came out a few months ago and we have had a couple of tracks from them on the weekly Playlist, but we realised they deserved more! So here it is 'Teen Dream' by Beach House'.

GSL! Playlist Vol. 21 - 19.04.2010

2010-04-19T15:30:00.004+01:00

Vol. 21 is upon us. There is no real theme to this one apart from an eclectic mix of our favorite tracks. Its all bangers no mash...

MGMT – Flash Delirium
Melodica, Melody & Me – No Time To Skank
Professor Green – I Need You Tonight (feat. Ed Drewett)
Neotropic – Sirens Sister
Vandaveer – The Streets Is Full Of Creeps
Cat Power – Nude As The News
Gabby Young & Other Animals – Whose House
Band Of Horses – Compliments
The Black Keys – Same Old Thing
Doves – Kingdom Of Rust
Yeasayer – O.N.E
MGMT – Song For Dan Treacy

Album of the Week 19.04.2010, MGMT

2010-04-19T13:58:00.002+01:00

This week we have put MGMT's latest as the Album of the Week. 'Congratulations' seems to be the perfect follow on from 'Oracular Spectacular', pushing forward from the older pop sensibilities, twisting and turning into a more complex yet somehow catchy eruption of psych-pop this album should keep you going for while.

The Peoples Music Awards 17/04/ 2010

2010-04-14T10:51:00.000+01:00

This weekend its The Peoples Music Awards, taking place at Mass in Brixton this Saturday. It's THE award show for the untapped music with amazing acts performing throughout the night.

You can get your tickets now from www.thepeoplesmusicawards.com

Here's what they say...

The People's Music Awards is a new website where unsigned music artists, bands and producers can upload their music to be heard and voted for by the public and top industry professionals. We are the first and only global unsigned / new music awards. There are a variety of different categories artist can enter their music into, such as Hip hop, Indie, Rock, Dance, RnB etc... Bands can enter 1 song per awards cycle and there are 3 rounds:

Round 1: The people's vote - where the public vote for their favourite bands and songs. Remember you have to vote for 3 songs for your votes to count in this round!

Round 2: The guest judges round, where music-industry professionals listen to, vote, and give useful feedback on the songs they have heard.

Round 3: The Peoples Vote (Final)

The final round is all up to the people to choose a winner. People simply select their favourtie atists in each category. The top 2 artists in each category will then go head to head until final voting closes, and will have the opportunity to play at the awards ceremony, where the winner(s) will be announced!

The winner of each category will not only receive the People's Music Award trophy and the title 'winner of the Peoples Music Awards 2009!' but will also be included on our 2010 winners compilation album, which is distributed throughout the musc industry and will be made available for sale through The Peoples Music Awards website and associated music shops.

The idea of this site is to give artists and fans the opportunity to:
Showcase your music and take your first steps to making it big!
The chance to perform live at the awards ceremony (which will also be streamed on this website)
Gain exposure and get direct feedback from the public and top music-industry professionals (Guest Judges)
Gain recognition and awards for your hard work
Become part of an international music making network and community
Get Special deals with our associated partners
Connect Fans with the hottest new bands and music on the planet
There are millions of talented unsigned musicians and producers out there and this awards programme gives you a unique opportunity to get yourself heard and create a strong fanbase in the process. As we all know it can be very hard, if not impossible, to get leading industry figures to listen to your music. The People's Music Awards gives you the chance to do just this and get the recognition you deserve, and will be a benchmark by which the music industry will assess your talents.

*Artists can enter up to 2 categories but are limited to one song per per band.

"It is the aim of the Peoples Music Awards to become a benchmark for the next big thing, and to open the world of music up to everyone."

GSL! Playlist Vol. 20 - 12.04.2010

2010-04-12T10:45:00.002+01:00

So all too quickly its the beginning of the week again and so we have prepared another playlist to keep you going through the week. Hopefully something old and something new for everybody. So click here, turn the volume up and sit back.

Port O'Brien – My Will Is Good

Two Gallants – despite what you've been told

Lawrence Arabia – Apple Pie Bed

Darwin Deez – Radar Detector

Kenny Rogers – The Gambler

Morcheeba – Blindfold

Will Smith – Miami

Muse – Map Of Your Head

Nirvana – Heart Shaped Box

The Mars Volta – Inertiatic Esp

We Are Scientists – Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt

Port O'Brien – Tree Bones

Album of the Week 12.04.2010, Port O'Brien

2010-04-12T10:38:00.003+01:00

This weeks album of the week comes from American nautical folksters, Port O'Brien. Their 3rd album comes with a darker edge. Threadbare is a great ensemble record, the gathering of friends to create an atmospheric dreamland of folking musings.

Have a listen click here. ENJOY.

There's more to life than Nando's...

2010-04-09T12:18:00.004+01:00

Report Submitted By Special Agent Slappa Debass
Dept. GSL! Undercover Reporting Team
Operation: Method Man
Location: Matter, 02, London

Yesterdays evening was spent at Nando’s eating a HOT chicken breast wrap accompanied by chips and some coleslaw – delicious! What you may actually be interested in though is what I got up to afterwards; I went to Matter to see arguably Wu-Tang Clans finest and one of hip hops legends: Method Man.

The doors opened at 7pm and DJ Skeptic was playing some of hip hops golden oldies from Nas’s ‘Halftime’, to Gang Starr’s ‘Full Clip’, to Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s ‘T.R.O.Y’. Method Man made his appearance around 10:15 accompanied by a Wu-affiliate Streetlife. Tracks from the ‘36 Chambers’ were played alongside songs from Method Man’s first solo album ‘Tical’ and even some from the collaborative album with Redman ‘Blackout 2’.

The venue was packed and I (now regrettably) opted out of the mosh pit where every so often Method Man would launch himself into the crowd and surf his way back to the stage. He gave away his cap to an elated fan, walked on top of obliging crowd member’s shoulders and against the regulations of the venue, repeatedly smoked on stage!

The show was great and almost every song I had hoped he would perform was performed. I saw Genius / Gza recite his Liquid Swords album a couple of years back in Camden, which was undoubtedly great, but I had been long awaiting an opportunity to see Method Man perform – one of my all time favorite rappers – and I couldn’t fault it.

If you missed it, I strongly advise that you snap up the next opportunity.

GSL! Playlist Vol. 19 - 07.04.2010

2010-04-07T10:35:00.002+01:00

So its a bit later in the week than usual (we have easter to blame/ thank fro that!) but it is here. And we certainly have an eclectic assortment of tracks. From the sweet folky sounds of Peggy Sue to the intelligent and eloquent beats of A Tribe Called Quest, via a dose of rock from Mars Volta, Them Crooked Vultures and more. Its here for you to enjoy free on your Spotify. Just click here to listen.

Peggy Sue – Watchman

John Butler Trio – Zebra

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Run Through The Jungle

The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldier

Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang

The Mars Volta – The Widow

The Dead Weather – I Cut Like A Buffalo

DJ Shadow – Organ Donor

Mr. Scruff – Get A Move On!

Fat Freddy's Drop – Roady

A Tribe Called Quest – Luck Of Lucien

Peggy Sue – Careless Talk Costs Lives

Album of the Week 05.04.2010, Peggy Sue

2010-04-07T10:22:00.002+01:00

This weeks album of the week comes from Peggy Sue... Their debut Fossils And Other Phantoms is out now on Wichita Recordings. Or you can click this link to listen now on Spotify.

GSL! Playlist Vol. 18 - 29.03.2010

2010-03-29T10:44:00.002+01:00

Well well. Its that time already. The monday morning blues are in... but... we have the new GSL! Weekly Playlist ready for you and because we have Laura Marling latest 'I Speak Because I Can' as our album of the week we decided to do Ladies Week on the Playlist. So we have tracks from Carly Simon, Björk, Fever Ray and Emily Haines amongst many others. So sit back and enjoy.

Laura Marling – Goodbye England (Covered In Snow)

Emily Haines – Doctor Blind

Dusty Springfield – Spooky

Sia – Breathe Me

Donna Summer – I Feel Love

The Knife – Heartbeats

Bat For Lashes – What's A Girl To Do?

Björk – Hunter

Portishead – Machine Gun

Fever Ray – Seven

Carly Simon – You're So Vain

Laura Marling – Alpha Shallows

Album of the Week 29.03.2010, Laura Marling

2010-03-29T10:30:00.002+01:00

This week we have an amazing album for you. Laura Marling's latest offering 'I Speak Because I Can'. The folk songstress has created an album reminiscent of the traditional folk style with England as a muse and womanhood as a consistent undertone. It offers a much matured style with an epic backdrop brought by vocals from Marcus and instrumentation from the others from Mumford & Sons. Enjoy in now on Spotify.

GSL! Playlist Vol. 17 - 22.03.2010

2010-03-22T10:27:00.002Z

Welcome to the GSL! blog. There is lots going on at the moment with tickets on sale and Demo Mission Derby getting record votes. This week we have a playlist to sooth and yet enthrall you the humble listener! We have tracks from our album of the week, The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, we have a track from First Aid Kit, Cherbourg and Laura Marling. Click here to listen. ENJOY.

The Besnard Lakes – Albatross

Glasser – Apply

Seabear – I Sing I Swim

The Tallest Man On Earth – King of Spain

JJ – My Life

Johnny Flynn – Drum

Jamie T – Emily's Heart

Laura Marling – Devil's Spoke

Cherbourg – Horses

First Aid Kit – I Met Up With The King

Oh No Ono – Swim

The Besnard Lakes – Glass Printer

Album of the Week 22.03.2010, Besnard Lakes

2010-03-22T10:21:00.003Z

This weeks album of the week comes from Besnard Lakes. Their new album The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night is making waves over at SXSW so we thought we would bring them over here with a bit of time with GSL!

Listen to the album here by clicking the here and let it appear unto you in your Spotify.

2010-03-19T17:37:00.006Z

Tickets on sale NOW!

2010-03-18T12:25:00.002Z

The tickets for Get Signed LIVE! in May are now on sale for £20.

get them now at WWW.GSLEVENT.COM

We are waiting for our website to move over to www.getsignedlive.com

But in the mean time we have our site live at www.gslevent.com so have a look at what we've got to offer...

New Show Feature - Sound Performance

2010-03-17T11:48:00.006Z

.:NEWSFLASH:.

Sound Performance has joined Get Signed LIVE! in May.

Sound Performance offers UK CD and DVD replication to the Music Business. Established since 1994 they are a leading supplier to the Industry and have recently increased their CD and DVD capacity to a combined 60 million units p.a. Customers are also given a full one-stop service that includes supply of associated print and packaging and a broker service for high quality Vinyl pressings 7" and 12" Coloured and Picture discs.

www.soundperformance.co.uk

New Show Feature - The Talent Tour

2010-03-16T11:58:00.003Z

.:NEWSFLASH:.

The Talent Tour is making a stop at Get Signed LIVE! in May

The Talent Tour is based in and around a professional recording studio housed within a 27-foot-long vintage Airstream caravan. Armed with multiple TV screens, a PA system and an array of quality musical instruments, we can bring a unique environment and a truly innovative musical experience - straight to you!

The Talent Tour is the talent contest where everyone wins! Recordings, HD YouTube videos, the chance to buy mastered CDs, DVDs and promo-packs, and an all-round unforgettable experience.

www.thetalenttour.co.uk

Heart of Gold

2010-03-16T11:56:00.001Z

.:NEWSFLASH:.

Heart of Gold have joined GSL!

Heart of Gold are a recording studio with a difference. Based in North London, Heart of Gold Music combines a stunning range of high-end vintage analogue with state-of-the-art digital gear.

Add to this our team of super friendly engineers, producers, and musicians all at your disposal (whatever your requirements) - plus full lounge facilities and great transport links.

www.heartofgoldstudios.co.uk

New Exhibitors - Amati Studios

2010-03-16T11:50:00.002Z

.:NEWSFLASH:.

Amati Studios join GSL!

Amati Studios is a new recording studio booking company currently with 7 recording studios on its roster in London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Wales. Day rates range from £160-£250 including VAT and a sound engineer, making them perfect for bands across the country looking for top quality results on a budget. If you’re new to recording, advice is on hand from the Amati team and the company’s website has a blog that includes advice on choosing a studio and recording tips. They will be at stand 260 so come a long and see if they have the studio for you.

info@amatistudios.co.uk

www.amatistudios.co.uk

New Exhibitors - withtheband

2010-03-16T11:37:00.002Z

.:NEWSFLASH:.

withtheband join GSL!

withtheband is a creative design agency specifically for musicians. We realise that bands and songwriters often don't have the time or skills to put together a good website or produce attractive promotional materials, so we offer professional design, photography and video services at prices that won't break the bank.

We draw. We shoot. You rock.

Visit the withtheband stand for a free 'M.O.T' of your website and promotional materials.

As well as being on hand to answer any general questions you have about how withtheband can help you, we will be offering a chance to sit down with us and chat through your current marketing materials and website. We'll offer you advice on improvements and share some new ideas with you. Any ideas or services we suggest to you will be written down as a 'prescription' which you can take away with you. If you decide to come back to us to work on any of the services we suggest within 6 months we'll offer you a discount.

Remember to bring along any current promotional materials you'd like to discuss.
We'll be at stand 234 if you want to book your M.O.T slot or just want a chat about how we can help you.

emma@withtheband.co.uk
www.withtheband.co.uk

GSL! Playlist Vol. 16 - 15.03.2010

2010-03-15T11:38:00.002Z

It's the beginning of the week, so once again we have picked some of our favorite tunes to show to you. We've got some blues, some dance, some pop, a club banger and a couple of classics thrown in for good measure.

If you've got Spotify click here and it will magically appear in your player. Otherwise here is the track listing so you can create your own!

Broken Bells – The High Road

Underworld – Born Slippy

Fun Lovin' Criminals – Scooby Snacks

The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist

Patch William – Ballerina Nina

Dark Dark Dark – A Cloud Story

AA Bondy – A Slow Parade

Franz Ferdinand – The Lobster Quadrille

Professor Green – Hard Night Out

Ke$ha – VIP

Morcheeba – Friction

Broken Bells – Vaporize

Album of the Week 15.03.2010, Broken Bells

2010-03-15T11:28:00.004Z

This weeks album of the week comes from the collaboration in a long long time. Danger Mouse and Shins lead singer James Mercer team up to create Broken Bells. Their first album of the same name is the perfect follow on from Danger Mouses swing beat influence we saw in 'Gnarls Barkley' and the tender touch of James Mercer's guitar and vocals.

Here is a promo for their album or you can click here to listen free on Spotify.

Broken Bells Album Blip 2 from Vern Moen on Vimeo.

Tickets on sale soon.

2010-03-09T13:21:00.002Z

Tickets will be on sale very soon. In the mean time register your interest and we will keep you up to date.

GSL! Playlist Vol. 15 - 08.03.2010

2010-03-08T11:23:00.002Z

We've got another eclectic mix of tracks for everybody this week. With everything from the current UK number 1 Tinie Tempah to a track from the late Sparklehorse. We also have two tracks from our album of the week Be Brave by the brilliant Strange Boys. Enjoy.

The Strange Boys – Be Brave

Tinie Tempah – Pass Out

OK Go – This Too Shall Pass

Gramophonedzie – Why Don't You

Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy

Muse – Resistance

Moby – Extreme Ways

Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down

Coldplay – Cemeteries Of London

Johnny Flynn – Hong Kong Cemetry

Sparklehorse – It's A Wonderful Life

The Strange Boys – Night Might

Album of the Week 08.03.2010, Strange Boys

2010-03-08T11:17:00.002Z

It's that time again. We at GSL! HQ have been listening to this a lot in the office. It's the new album by Strange Boys, 'Be Brave'. Its the six peace texas based bands 2nd album and this time it's released on Rough Trade. So for all the GSL! locals you can pop down to Rough Trade East and get a copy.

GSL! Playlist Vol. 14 - 01.03.2010

2010-03-01T15:08:00.001Z

Once again we have compiled our favorite tracks of the week for you to all get your teeth around. With the album of the week from Gil Scott-Heron, Gaggle's new single and some old classics from the likes of Bill Withers and Johnny Nash this is one playlist you don't really want to miss.

Get it here for free and it will simply magic itself into your spotify.

Gil Scott-Heron – Me And The Devil

Filthy Dukes – Tupac Robot Club Rock

Gaggle – I Hear Flies

Jazzsteppa – Five

Aim – Cold Water Music

Trentemøller – Take Me Into Your Skin

Vetiver – More Of This - Neighbors Rmx

Fairport Convention – Autopsy

Sia – Soon We'll Be Found

Bill Withers – Lovely Day

Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now

Gil Scott-Heron – New York Is Killing Me

Album of the Week 01.03.2010, Gil Scott-Heron

2010-03-01T14:59:00.004Z

This weeks album of the week comes from the 'Godfather of Rap'. Renowned for his innovative use of spoken word, fused with a soul and jazz backing as a precursor to hip-hop he quickly became known as musical revolutionary. Since his first recordings in 1970 he's been building up a cult following and now the wave has reached new heights with his latest album 'I'm New Here'.

Get it here free on Spotify.

GSL! Playlist Vol. 13 - 22.02.2010

2010-02-22T09:58:00.002Z

We've got all the way up to Vol. 13 on the GSL! Weekly Playlist. This week we have mixed it up with a genre defying melting pot of bangers. Go on click and get your NOW!

Caravan Palace – Je m'amuse

Plaster Of Paris – Beat it, Influenza
Nurses – What Then
Nurses – Winter
Cold War Kids – Audience Of One
The Features – Me & The Skirts
White Denim – Shake Shake Shake
Cameo – Word Up
Little Brother – Tension
Chromeo – Bonafied Lovin
Chef – Chocolate Salty Balls
Caravan Palace – Jolie Coquine

Digital Disc Duplication Join GSL!

2010-02-16T17:09:00.002Z

.::NEWS FLASH::.

Digital Disc Duplication have booked their stand at GSL! in May.

They will be offering special rates for replication deals for show visitors, just head to their stand and pick up a voucher. At the show they will have various packaging samples and will provide custom quotes for visitors while there. They will provide advice for how to submit masters and artwork and general queries regarding any requirements for professional CD (or DVD) manufacturing. For example differences between duplication and replication, licenses required and how to make the most out of the capacity available by creating Enhanced CDs rather than simply Audio CDs and all this at no extra cost.

They also have facilities over the pond, so when you make it big and break America you won't have to find a new company!

Album of the Week 15. 02.2010, Flight of the Conchords

2010-02-15T11:13:00.002Z

Following our Valentines theme for this weeks GSL! Playlist we've dug out a special record for you all.

Here to inject some lovin' into your week... Flight of the Conchords with their debut album... Flight of the Conchords! Enjoy.

GSLove! Playlist Vol. 12, Valentine Special - 15.02.2010

2010-02-15T10:40:00.002Z

If you spent Sunday alone, with your friends or with that special person, here are some of the greatest love songs to carry you through the week, remind you of the good times, or help you cry yourself to sleep. Please listen responsibly. Valentine’s Day was made official by the Pope back in 496AD, not everyone knows that…

Its the GSLove! Weekly Playlist

Flight Of The Conchords – Ladies of the World

Mousse T. – Horny - Horny '98 Radio Edit

Savage Garden – To The Moon & Back

David Bowie – Be My Wife

Madness – It Must Be Love

Nina Simone – My Baby Just Cares For Me

Toploader – Achilles Heel

Barry White – You're The First, The Last, My Everything

The Velvet Underground – Some Kinda Love

Bon Iver – Skinny Love

Elbow – One Day Like This

Flight Of The Conchords – Business Time

Tiger & Dazed - Chinese New Year

2010-02-12T09:59:00.004Z

Report Submitted By Special Agent Crouching Tiger
Dept. GSL! Undercover Reporting Team
Operation: Tiger Beer/ Dazed and Confused Chinese New Year Party
Location: China Town, London

Last night some of the GSL! team headed down to China Town for the Tiger Beer and Dazed & Confused magazines Chinese new year party. The year of the Tiger fast approaching it was the popular beer brands greatest marketing tool... and it might have just worked!

We headed first to Chuen Cheung Ku for the Photography Exhibition, grabbed a few bottles of free Tiger on the way in and set about to admire. The work on show was a mix of high art and Lo-Fi candid snap-shots. There was a slightly British feeling in the work but with an overlying sense of Asia, a nice contrast to a lot of the drab and somewhat lazy style that has become tied to the 'trendy' and fashionable London scene. It was a good, interesting exhibition but not enough to hold us there for too long, so it was time to continue.

We left to go to the Art Exhibition on Gerrard St. but annoyingly it was full, so off we set back to the Photos. The room was packed by the time we got back and the food had been put out for everybody to cull their vulturous tendencies with. So we attempted to get near the food and then continued to watch all the Dazed characters go by.

The final port-of-call was New World, where they were hosting the live music and of course the party proper. With White on the mixer playing some classics and more food and Tiger beer being handed round we mingled, chatted, and filled ourselves with all the free things we could before bloat-idly heading back to our final resting places... Bed! That did unfortunately mean missing the legendary Howie B, but when you've eaten as much Chinese food as we did then you'd understand!

Over and Out

GSL! Playlist Vol. 11 - 08.02.2010

2010-02-08T10:05:00.003Z

Its Monday (again). But every cloud... Its the GSL! Weekly Playlist. Here once again to serve your aural pleasure, stimulate those ear holes and hopefully make your monday just a little better! So this week we have everything from Gipsy Kings, Peggy Sue, The National and White Flight. Its a strange mix of worldly inspired tunes. Enjoy.

Gipsy Kings – Bamboleo

Rodrigo y Gabriela – Tamacun

Raghu Dixit – Hey Bhagwan

Peggy Sue – Yo Mama

Caetano Veloso – Dreamland

Nurses – Caterpillar Playground

White Flight – Solarsphere

Panda Bear – Bro's

Devendra Banhart – Don't Look Back In Anger

The National – Racing Like A Pro

Justin Vernon & Aaron Dessner – Big Red Machine

Gipsy Kings – Bem, Bem, Maria

Album of the Week 8.02.2010, Gipsy Kings

2010-02-08T09:54:00.003Z

We may just be 23 years late on this one but we think its worth putting up. It's played and sung in our office a fair bit. So without further ado we present to you... Gipsy Kings' 1987 album 'Gipsy Kings'

To Maccabee or not to Maccabee? (3.02.10)

2010-02-04T15:40:00.008Z

Report Submitted By Special Agent Kiev
Dept. GSL! Undercover Reporting Team
Operation: Maccabees
Location: The Regal, Oxford

So after a long day, I had to make my way up to Oxford on The Oxford Tube. Uncomfortable seats, rain beating down onto the road and a long, long journey. Not an ideal way to spend your evening, but it was what was at the other side that kept us going, it was the reason for our tiresome travels. The Maccabees at The Regal.

We arrived at the venue to find a queue full of what seemed like school outing. The door staff the grumpiest I have ever seen acting like teachers or members of the fun police. The main bar was closed so we have to go to a tiny room at the top for a drink. That however was so full we decided to go out and get a pint in the pub opposite. But, in now typical school teacher fashion, if you left the venue you were not allowed back in! People were even being I-D’d if they wanted to leave for a cigarette. It was all becoming a bit to like a prison camp for my liking but we stayed with it in anticipation to see both what ridiculous rule they were going to up with next and to see the band.

After another run in with staff allowing only one drink at a time and our patients run out with this Dictator-esq regime of door policy finally the Maccabees started.

The set was an epic wall of sound with the brass band in the background. The pure noise that is evident in the Markus Dravs recorded Wall of Arms is on full show, but annoyingly not to full affect as the sound engineer was obviously not used to the controls in front of him. The sound just became a mesh. No that any of the kids at the front cared as they moshed for the full hour and twenty that they played. The Maccabees themselves were great and their songs have this brilliant balance of tender adolescence and brutally epic maturity and this is what carried them through the night, the younger members of the audience belting out tracks such as ‘First Love’ and ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ while the older generation picked up on the musicianship of the Maccabees latest offering.

All in all it was a great night with a great band playing just a shit venue with shit staff. If it was any lesser of a band it could have been enough to tarnish the night but Maccabees had it spot on.

www.myspace.com/themaccabees

It's Trips Kingdom...(2.02.10)

2010-02-03T11:17:00.003Z

Submitted By Special Agent Slim Chin
Dept. GSL! Undercover Reporting Team
Operation: Trip

Location: Dublin Castle, Camden

So we left the office last night to head over to the Dublin Castle to watch Trip. Our man on the inside Will was floating around the bar as we walked in. Getting himself ready for some high-class synth playing stage antics! Trip himself is wondering around relaxed but ready. It’s been a few months since I last saw them play in Koko to a fairly big crowd, but I’m warned that it’s dead inside the venue section of the pub. I peeked in to have a look… Yes its dead, another same old, same old band playing to their parents who are standing at the front with their camcorder ready.

Finally its Trips turn to take the stage. We saunter in most of the bar clientele coming in as well. The room is much fuller but by no means near capacity. Oh dear… But Trip starts in typically energetic fashion leaving few thoughts on how small the crowd is. It’s a much rowdier set than any of the recorded material would suggest and they burst through some heavy tracks Trip poetically recalling the stories of his being.

The two stand out tracks of the night ‘Laundromat’ and ‘Who’s That’ are big hitting punk/ UK rap style bangers. The band are tight and damn exciting to watch. The energy they deliver is full on and their heavier tracks are clearly the crowd favourites.Its just strange how the venue was not full. They should be drawing a big crowd. They’re good and they run wild with a fresh look at The Streets styled story telling.

They are a band you have to check out. Watch them live, its worth the few quid to see them.

www.myspace.com/tripskingdom

Demo Mission Derby

2010-02-01T15:21:00.004Z

It's Here... Demo Mission Derby

After the success of our Weekly Playlists on Spotify. We are now running the GSL! Tune of the Week. GSL! is about new music, emerging talent and unsigned bands. So were getting behind it to promote you to all our Blog readers, Myspace friends, Twitter followers, Youtube Subscribers, andFacebook friends.

CALLING ALL BANDS

If you submit your band name and a track to us at demo@getsignedlive.com we will pick 3 acts each week for our promotion.

The act with the most amount of plays on our myspace wins. It's that easy.

If you win you will then be put through for a chance to play on our live stage at the show in May.

Each band selected will get be featured on our blog and will be tweeted about daily, with reminders to listen to the tracks on our Myspace.

So now go and email us your tunes and then we can start pushing your music to the right people.

Good Luck!

GSL! Playlist Vol. 10 - 01.02.2010

2010-02-01T11:59:00.000Z

Well hello Playlist lovers and newbies. Once again we have compiled 12 tracks to take us through the week. With Alberta Cross being album of the week there's a bit of Folk-Rock, With Sam seeing Etienne de Crecy in Leeds and Olly seeing Jack Beats in Elephant and Castle there's a bit of Electro/ House and with an outing to see The Maccabees in Oxford on Wednesday there's a little dash of indie as well.

So hopefully a bit for everyone...

Alberta Cross – Rise From The Shadows

Arcade Fire – Lenin

The Maccabees – Can You Give It

Calexico – Goin' To Acapulco

Jeffrey Lewis – Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror

Race Horses – Cake

Gorillaz – Stylo

Jack Beats – Get Down - VIP

Etienne de Crécy – Fast Track Live Vs We Are Your Friends

White Town – Your Woman

The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition - Doorly's Dubstep Mix

Alberta Cross – ATX

Etienne de Crecy 29.01.2010

2010-02-01T10:53:00.008Z

Report Submitted By Special Agent Boston George

Dept. GSL!'s Undercover Reporting Team

Operation: Etienne de Crecy

Location: 02 Academy Leeds

Last Friday I went to see Etienne De Crecy’s Live Beats N’ Cubes at the O2 Academy in Leeds. It was without a doubt one of the most impressive live performances I have ever seen. The music was expectedly brilliant, but what I wasn’t prepared for was The Cube itself.

The O2 Academy in Leeds is a great venue with a huge stage dominated entirely by The Cube - which was until Etienne’s set concealed by a curtain. When his set finally arrived at 01:00, the curtain was dropped and The Cube was revealed. The Cube is a giant structure standing 6 metres wide and 6 metres tall. It is made up of nine separate boxes which display an impressive light show that works in unison with the music De Crecy plays from his booth in the central Cube.

During DJ’s sets I have often gone to get a drink or braved the cold for a ciggie, but with Etienne’s Live Beats N’ Cubes I was rooted to the dance floor throughout. I strongly advise anyone who gets a chance to see Etienne De Crecy play Live from within his Cube to do so. You will not be disappointed.

GSL! Album of the Week 1.02.10

2010-02-01T10:47:00.002Z

Pinch, Punch 1st of the Month... And to kick it off we have the amazing album 'Broken Side of Time' from Alberta Cross. Its a killer Folk-Rock album so have a go, fire up your Spotify and take a listen its that easy!

Local Natives New Video.

2010-01-27T17:37:00.002Z

The new video from our current album of the week.

Local Natives release the video for Airplanes from their amazing debut Gorilla Manor. Take a peek...

Airplanes

Local Natives | MySpace Music Videos

More with the A&R Guy...

2010-01-27T12:27:00.000Z

Here we go... Part 1 of The A&R Movie.

Promo-CD.co.uk have booked their stand at GSL!

2010-01-26T17:58:00.006Z

.::NEWS FLASH::.

PROMO-CD.CO.UK JOIN GSL!

Matt Bishop, the co-director of the London based company works with a motto that I wish was shared by others ‘To keep things simple, our prices include absolutely everything!’

Their minimum quantity starts at just 100 and costs only £65. This includes label design by a professional Graphic Designer, each CD in its own clear plastic sleeve delivered to your door all in under than 24hours. Nice. No need to be caught short before you gig again, or left out of pocket.

They have full details on their website, but they will be offering a special offer to all visitors of Get Signed LIVE! so come and meet them and talk through what you need.

Launching GSL! Tune of the Week.

2010-01-26T11:30:00.005Z

.::NEWS FLASH::.

GSL! TUNE OF THE WEEK

Launching on Monday 1st February.

CALLING ALL BANDS

If you submit your band name and a track to us at info@getsignedlive.com we will pick 3 acts each week for our promotion.

The act with the most amount of plays on our myspace wins. It's that easy.

If you win you will then be put through for a chance to play on our live stage at the show in May.

Each band selected will get be featured on our blog and will be tweeted about daily, with reminders to listen to the tracks on our Myspace.

So now go and email us your tunes and then we can start pushing your music to the right people.

Good Luck!

Hints from the pro's...

2010-01-26T09:39:00.001Z

Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips gives his guide to stagecraft.

THE music industry magazine feature GSL!

2010-01-25T15:04:00.003Z

The UK's best music industry magazine Music Week featured Get Signed LIVE! in there latest issue (23.01.10)

Enjoy.

Artrocker Magazine Feature

2010-01-25T15:01:00.003Z

We put a link to it a few weeks ago but if you missed the coverage we had on Artrocker.tv, heres a screen grab.

GSL! Featured in the new improved Rock Links

2010-01-25T14:59:00.004Z

The Rock Links website has had a re-vamp and to kick them off Get Signed LIVE! is there home-page feature.

GSL! In Slave to Sound

2010-01-25T14:56:00.003Z

Get Signed LIVE! was featured on Slave to Sound this month.

LIVE UK Jan 2010 - Issue 120

2010-01-25T11:30:00.005Z

GSL! We were featured in LIVE UK this month. For those that did not catch it...here it is.

Album of the Week 25.01.2010, Local Natives

2010-01-25T11:15:00.004Z

The album of the week comes from the inspired Local Natives. We saw them play at The Hoxton Square Bar last week. Amazing gig. Click the link to get their debut album 'Gorilla Manor' free on Spotify.

http://bit.ly/2CQeRn

GSL! Playlist Vol. 9 - 25.01.2010

2010-01-25T11:10:00.003Z

The new GSL! weekly Playlist is ready for you. This week we have a Psychedelic inspired track listing. Muchas enjoyment to be had by all!

Local Natives – Airplanes

The Flaming Lips – Worm Mountain

Yeasayer – Wait For The Summer

Devendra Banhart – Baby

Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes

The Dodos – Fools

Pink Mountaintops – Axis: Thrones Of Love

Beach House – Norway

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – 40 Day Dream

Monsters Of Folk – Say Please

MGMT – The Youth

Local Natives – Camera Talk

The typical A&R

2010-01-22T10:29:00.002Z

And this is why we do what we do....This is what the typical A&R guy will try and do to you!

Thanks to Make It In Music for tweeting this.

Arising Artists

2010-01-21T09:16:00.003Z

Yesterday Toby went and had a meeting with the impressive Arising Artists.

New in the UK they offer advice and guidance to new musicians trying to make it in the music game.

Heres what they have to say:

"Arising Artist offers music industry insight from the inside - with no strings attached.

What does that mean? Basically, we are Music Industry professionals that have joined forces to offer a full service consultancy to artists, labels, managers and publishers. You hire our time like you would any professional’s.

We offer consultancy services relating to your act, including A&R, Publicity, Plugging, Marketing, Management, and General Business Affairs. Our advice is insightful, impartial and completely confidential.

Arising Artist has every aspect of the industry covered and can speak from both artist and business perspectives.

Our unique offering allows you to get an opinion on what you're doing with your music and act from consultants who are actively involved in the Music industry, making our feedback relevant and in-step with the current climate of this exciting and evolving business."

We like!

Metropolis Studios

2010-01-18T16:38:00.005Z

.::NEWS FLASH::.

Metropolis Group join the show.

World famous recording studios Metropolis has signed up to GSL! in May at The Old Truman Brewery.

Showcasing services such as their value for money iMixing and iMastering. Metropolis, Europe’s largest, and one of the most established recording houses have special rates for up and coming and independent artists, understanding the importance of grass roots and aware that many emerging acts bypass the labels and take on the industry themselves.

They will also be speaking in one of our workshops about the importance or mastering, something that many emerging acts brush over.

You can come and meet them, talk about your band and see if they have what your looking for at Get Signed LIVE! on 22-23 May at The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

GSL! Playlist Vol. 8 - 18.01.2010

2010-01-18T13:10:00.003Z

We have a bit of a Reggae Special this week because office man Sam put Matisyahu at the top of our list, somewhat setting the tone for this week. Enjoy the sounds.

Matisyahu – King Without A Crown

Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse – Valerie - Baby J Remix Ft Rukus, Precha, Alex Blood and Malik

Lutan Fyah – Praise Jah

Groundation – Suffer The Right

I Wayne – Living In Love

Collie Buddz – ..Come Around

Ini Kamoze – Police

Max Romeo – I Chase The Devil

Lee Perry – Roast Fish And Cornbread

Levi Roots – Red Hot

Sizzla – Be Strong

Matisyahu – Refuge

Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers

2010-01-15T12:59:00.003Z

.::NEWS FLASH::.

Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers join Get Signed LIVE!

'Widely acknowledged as the leading insurance broker for the music and live event industry’ Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers are the people to know if you need insurance for you band.

They have arranged cover for some of the biggest names in the industry; from their early days as young bands starting out, to the huge international stars they are today.

If you’re a big band or a small band it does not matter they have packages to suit your budget and will always provide the same consistently high standard of advice and services to all their clients.

Come and see Robertson Taylor Insurance Brokers at Get Signed LIVE! 22-23 May 2010 at The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

www.robertson-taylor.com

New Exhibitors - Promote Your Band .co.uk

2010-01-15T11:05:00.003Z

.::NEWS FLASH::.

Promote Your Band .co.uk have joined Get Signed LIVE! in May at The Old Truman Brewery.

Promote Your Band .co.uk specialise in amazing value for money printing for your band. You name it they print on it. T-shirts, flyers, banners, drum skins, even your guitar!

They are run by musicians for musicians and have a great understanding of small bands and are priced accordingly. Here's what they say:

'We understand the difficulty of promoting your band on a limited budget. That's why we have brought together a collection of low cost, quality merchandise that can be ordered in small quantities.

From T-shirts and hoodies to stickers and posters; in fact everything you need to promote your band.'

Come and see them at Get Signed LIVE! 22-23 May 2010 at The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane. www.promoteyourband.co.uk

Is this the Future?

2010-01-14T09:36:00.003Z

I don't know if you spotted this in Music Week (12.12.09)...Mflow

This is another of the new ways to supposedly combat the so-called 'file-sharing problem'. It is a platform for artists to sell their music, interact with fans and promote themselves. So nothing new then..?

Well actually it just might be. Mflow believes in empowering its users. Giving their promotional power some worth. You are able to share playlists and recommend tracks to other people in your social network. They can then listen to what you put to them and if they buy it, well then you get credit in their store.

On the face of it this seems to be a good concept. I spend my life sending my friends stuff i've found and in turn they let me know of the best stuff they find. It's my number one source for finding out about new things, so why not get rewarded for it. Why has it taken so long to work this out. I am always being told by people when it comes to marketing or trying to promote something that word of mouth and personal recommendation is the most effective thing.

So now what we have is a concept to promote the idea of word of mouth. Will it work? As a temporary solution...I hope so. As a way of destroying the 'criminals' who file-share...probably not. But its a good idea, and a strong step forward.

Mflow is still in 'invite only' mode but will hopefully have its proper release in the coming months. Find out more about Mflow at www.mflow.com

Skinnyman Smoking Ban

2010-01-12T14:27:00.001Z

Just a little something we've been enjoying in the office. Thought we would share it with you.

GSL! Playlist Vol. 7 - 11.01.2010

2010-01-11T10:21:00.003Z

Its here...Following our album of the week Blakroc we have a mainly Hip Hop themed Playlist, with a bit of new indie and psyche-pop thrown in for good measure.

Go on click this link, download it to your spotify account and play it non-stop! You can also share it with you friends by copying the link below:

http://bit.ly/8Jxhrd

Heres what we've got for you this week:

Blakroc – On The Vista

Jurassic 5 – JAYOU

RUN-DMC – My Adidas

Beastie Boys – Sabotage

Will Smith Feat Dru Hill & Kool Mo Dee – Wild Wild West

Ian Brown – F.E.A.R. - UNKLE Mix

Crystal Castles – Crimewave

Drums – Let's Go Surfing

Everything Everything – Suffragette Suffragette

Beach House – Gila

The Black Keys – Same Old Thing

Blakroc – Stay Off The F*%$#n’ Flowers

Artrocker Magazine

2010-01-07T12:56:00.003Z

............Breaking News..............

GSL! is now featured in the news section of artrocker.tv. Take a peek.

52 Commercial Road from The Daily Street

2010-01-07T10:42:00.002Z

Thanks to The Daily Street for pointing this band out to us at GSL! HQ. 52 Commercial Road however aren't as their name suggests, they're a fresh post-rock that seem to be off the commercial path. In the same vein as 'This Will Destroy You' and 'Explosions in the Sky' with their spacious soundscapes they are a band to watch out for.

The Daily Street have a free download of their track '24' so visit their site and read the article.

New Exhibitor Feature

2010-01-05T16:21:00.002Z

Fluid Mastering will be exhibiting at Get Signed LIVE! on the 22-23 May 2010 at Brick Lane’s Old Truman Brewery.

Nick Debney and Tim Watson, the pair behind one of the UK’s finest mastering facilities will be showcasing their cost effective packages for up and coming artists and super stars alike. Their client list contains Thom Yorke, Kasabian, Wolfmother, Coldplay and Keane to name a few but the list goes on, see for yourself on their website.

Their client lists shows quality, so you will be surprised when you see their price list… In a nutshell, they offer a high standard solution at a low affordable cost. Get in touch with them now to see how they can help you get the sound you want or meet them at the show.

GSL! Playlist Vol. 6 - 4.01.2010

2010-01-04T10:47:00.003Z

Happy New Year! First day back at work? Well us to, but our New Playlist is up and ready to go. Hopefully with a few tracks to keep you happy...

John Sebastian – Welcome Back

Muse – Feeling Good

Marina And The Diamonds – Mowgli's Road

Chromeo – Fancy Footwork

MGMT – Weekend Wars

Devendra Banhart – Fall

Operahouse – Change In Nature

Easy Star All-Stars – Money - Feat. Gary "Nesta" Pine & Dollarman

Collie Buddz – Blind To You

Will Smith Feat. K-Ci – Will 2K

The Streets – Turn The Page

Big L – Put It On

GSL! Playlist Catch-up.

2009-12-26T16:13:00.002Z

Happy Christmas everybody. If you've missed any of our Playlists this year here they all are ready for your listening pleasure. Download them to your Spotify now:

Get Signed LIVE! Vol. 1

Get Signed LIVE! Vol. 2

Get Signed LIVE! Vol. 3

Get Signed LIVE! Vol. 4, Christmas Special

Get Signed LIVE! Vol. 5, End Of Year Special

See you all in the New Year.

Slave to Sound Feature

2009-12-23T13:35:00.001Z

We are one of the featured news stories on Slave to Sound. Take a peek at what they say!

The Best of GSL! 09 Special Edition Playlist

2009-12-21T13:36:00.003Z

The Final GSL! Playlist of 09 is out now...Its a sort of best of. Not in the traditional sense as you can see. More of a collection of our favorite albums, artists and singles, mashed into one playlist. Because life's to short to do a playlist for each category and everybody else has done it.

Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name
Violet Violet – C-C-C-Cat
Devendra Banhart – 16th & Valencia Roxy Music
Noah And The Whale – Blue Skies
The Flaming Lips – I Can Be A Frog
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Desert Song
Animal Collective – My Girls
The Horrors – New Ice Age
Bombay Bicycle Club – Always Like This
The Maccabees – Dinosaurs
The xx – Infinity
Jamie T – Sticks 'n' Stones

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Part II

2009-12-16T09:36:00.003Z

Later than promised...but we wanted to build the tension! Here it is part II of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros 12 part series 'SALVO!' We will keep putting each part up as they are released, so stay tuned to complete the series. Think of it as like collecting parts of a toy from your favorite magazine!

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros "KISSES OVER BABYLON" from Edward Sharpe on Vimeo.

GSL! Christmas Album

2009-12-14T11:32:00.003Z

GSL! Album of the week. Well following the Festive Playlist the album of the week is from 2006 and still probably the best Christmas Album to date... Sufjan Stevens 'Songs for Christmas'.

2009-12-14T10:47:00.002Z

The GSL! Christmas Playlist is up and ready for you festive enjoyment:

John Williams – Holiday Flight

Sufjan Stevens – We Three Kings

Low – Just Like Christmas

Eels – Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas

The Killers – Don't Shoot Me Santa

The Polyphonic Spree – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Bobby Helms – Jingle Bell Rock

East 17 – Stay Another Day

Brenda Lee – Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime

Jona Lewie – Stop The Cavalry

Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday

The founder of The Musicians Clinic joins the bill for GSL!

2009-12-10T18:24:00.003Z

When you mention the dentist to school kids they run a mile, when you mention legal to bands you get a similar effect, the truth is, it’s important.

Today our Event Director had a lengthy discussion with the Music and Corporate law team at Camden’s Leonard Lowy & Co. Solicitors. Between them they have over 50 years experience in the music industry and regularly host Music Clinics upstairs in the Howley Arms . On the panel of the Clinic you will find professionals from all corners of the industry from PR, Merchandise, Touring and Legal. For more information be sure to stay in tune to find out when the next meeting is, it will be on a Monday in January, which exactly is TBC.

What I can tell you is, Leonard himself will be hosting a Workshop at Get Signed LIVE! on the 23^rd May at The Old Truman Brewery and will be talking through tips and tricks that affect all music makers who are trying to turn their passion into profession. The legal aspect of the music industry is what keeps it together and that can’t be ignored, thanks to people like Leonard you can know what you need to know, not what you don’t. Full details on Leonard’s Workshop and others will be revealed in the New Year.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

2009-12-10T11:55:00.003Z

Here is the video for Desert Song taken from 'Up from Below' GSL!'s album of the week by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Part II Tomorrow.

Who said Video Production should cost the earth?

2009-12-09T17:33:00.003Z

Music videos are often looked upon as expensive luxuries to emerging acts and are often simply fantasy for many bands. This is no longer the case.

Camberwell Studios offer cost effective professional production from as little as £750. With Youtube still being more popular than Myspace, music videos are the most valuable piece of self-promotion a music maker can have in today’s industry.

Whether its Hip-Hop, Rock, Electronic, Blues or Folk Camberwell Studios have experience in delivering high-end production to suit your budget in their fully equipped professional film studios. You even receive top class support from their in-house video editors to insure that you are left with a quality-finished product showcasing your music how you want it.

At Get Signed LIVE! Camberwell Studios will be showcasing what they do best but if you can’t wait till then check them out on: camberwellstudios.co.uk or budget—music-video-production.co.uk and speak to Andy to go through your ideas and see what you can achieve.

GSL! Album of the Week 7.12.09

2009-12-07T11:45:00.003Z

This week's album come courtesy of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. These wondering troubadours are at the beginning of releasing a 12 part film of their album, have a look at Mysapce. The full album is now also available on Spotify. Enjoy.

GSL! Playlist Vol.3

2009-12-07T11:36:00.004Z

The Weekly GSL! Playlist is once again ready for your ears. You can listen now on Spotify.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home

The Spencer Davis Group – I'm A Man

The Beach Boys – Sloop John B

Elvis Presley – Blue Suede Shoes

A Flock Of Seagulls – I Ran (So Far Away)

The Knife – Silent Shout

Air – Tropical Disease

Devendra Banhart – Lazy Butterfly

Girls – Laura

Lykke Li – Little Bit

White Denim – Mirrored And Reverse

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Kisses Over Babylon

Illegal Downloads? Part II

2009-12-04T11:06:00.002Z

From Whitey's Blog

A response to Patrick Wolfs response to Lily Allens Blog...

I have a slightly different view to Patrick. I think that this whole moment is a natural evolutionary extinction. Empires rise and fall, species come and go, there are huge seismic cultural changes going on but- so what. Its natural. Its happened. So- now what?

Yes- sales are as good as dead. But music itself is thriving, and what we have now is the widespread appreciation of music, of all types, by a generation with the greatest free musical banquet in history spread out in front of them.

Sales are dead- but live and ticket sales, merchandise... all healthy and thriving, bigger than before.

There is no point, no matter how well intentioned, to pleading for people to develop a sense of guilt and cease free sharing. I've said before- thats King Canute behaviour. Its too late, the genie is out of the bottle.

The reality is that now, musicians have to go out and play to make money. Your single, or album, is now a 'flyer' for the live experience.

And by living like this, musicans are now returning to the life of a musician, the real life that countless endless musicians lived over and over throughout history, since music was invented. You see, before this brief 'silly money' period of the last 60 years, musicans, like actors, or variety performers, or circus folk- had to go out and perform to survive. And if you wanted to hear it- you went to see it. Thats how it had been since somebody banged two sticks together around a fire.

Thats the real 'norm' of being a musician- thats the truth of it. The last 60 years were an exception to the rule. This is not the end of music- just the end of a strange era within musical history- the Pop era. Things are now going back to normal. To finish, I'll tell you why this may be good:

(1) To do it now, you have to love it.

(2) You will have to suffer to do it. This means the fakes, the opportunists, the fame-hungry empty souls, all no longer have any reason to clog up the air. Evolution is thinning the herd.

This puts the new musicians in the same boat as Leadbelly, or Robert Johnson, or the Jazz purists still carrying a torch since their era ended with the 1950's. Mozart died poor, remember? Basically- now you really have to BE a musician. You will do it because you love music. No frills, no Lear jet, no Ferrari collection. The surreal 20th century party is over.

Sure- moneys nice. But that not why I started, and you wont catch me whining online about my lawyers fees and the fact I cant buy a nice detached house in the country. That was never my mission objective.

I'll end this where I started- evolution:

Survival of the fittest is a powerful evolutionary force- it creates new forms, and it always pushes onwards, upwards.

How can that be a bad thing?

Patch William

2009-12-03T10:00:00.013Z

Report Submitted By Special Agent Howling Wolf

Dept. GSL!'s Undercover Reporting Team

Operation: Patch William

Location: The Monarch, Camden

I ran over to The Monarch in Camden last night to catch a brief glimpse of Stephen Fry's favorite new band Patch William. I know what your thinking, Stephen Fry?? Is he into music?? does he know what good modern indie sounds like??

Well it turns out he does. Patch william played a blinder of a set, and played some really quite memorable tunes. They did a great version of The Boy With The Guitar, and played some cruel Hendrix-esq solos. The musicianship in this band is incredible and it shows through well crafted songs with great hooks. That's a lot more than I can say for the band after them, Amoriste who were a limp pop factor band in the same style as The Feeling. How did they get the top slot on the bill?

Patch William's new debut album is out now on iTunes.

www.myspace.com/patchwilliam

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Brixton Academy 1.12.09

2009-12-02T13:12:00.007Z

Report Submitted By Special Agent Juju

Dept. GSL!'s Undercover Reporting Team

Operation: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Location: Brixton Academy

...yeah x3 were QUITE good last night- as good as I expected anyway. Guitar not loud enough, wet acoustic version of their best song, the atmosphere and electricity was not there- I was never truly gripped and absorbed like one likes to be. However…. the sparkling set design and production, enhanced by Karen O’s wacky attire and on-stage charismatic sex appeal, helped create a crowd pleasing performance in a 5,000 capacity venue from a punk pedigree band more suited to a dirty New York dive-bar (in my opinion)....[out]

Roger That...[over and out]

Ear we come, Puretone Music and Ian Clifford join the Show

2009-12-01T18:08:00.004Z

A great day for Musicians, DJ's and Music Lovers with Puretone Music securing their stand at Get Signed LIVE! bang opposite our central workshop, which also secured an industry insider. Ian Clifford will be speaking about his career working in Music Law, Management for Songwriters, Producers and well recognised Bands. The Author of Make it in Music isn't one to take the stage but recognises our cause and will be sharing his stories and advice. Date and time tbc...

Who will you meet?

2009-12-01T12:16:00.004Z

from www.wordle.net/

Vampire Weekend

2009-11-30T15:03:00.002Z

Vampire Weekend return with their new tune 'Cousins'. In the same vein as 'A Punk' but with a tiny hint of attitude! I can't help but see the similarities with Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues (video included) but its not a clichéd attempt at a classic like so many other bands have so half heartedly attempted but more a modernisation, and a good one at that.

::New:: GSL! Vol. 2 Playlist.

2009-11-30T10:00:00.002Z

GSL! Vol. 2

Lend me your ears.

Florence + The Machine – You've Got The Love - Jamie XX re-work Feat. The XX

Joy Division – Transmission

Grizzly Bear – Knife

Wild Beasts – All The King's Men

Karen O And The Kids – All Is Love

Mumford & Sons – Thistle & Weeds

Passion Pit – To Kingdom Come - Grum Remix

Audio Bullys – We Don't Care

Mint Royale – Singin' In The Rain

Crystal Fighters – I Love London - Delta Heavy Remix

A Tribe Called Quest – The Jam

The xx – Crystalised

Odd Blood?

2009-11-27T12:13:00.003Z

Yeasayer are back with new single Ambling Alp and along with it the years weirdest video.

The basic premiss of the video is that the band appear out of some yellow gunge surrounded by naked people while lead singer Chris Keating has his face pulled around by some mysterious hands. Then you also have a man in black riding his horse through the desert and another playing a drum on a hill. Weirder still two men in black with mirrors for faces have a boxing match with mirrored gloves on, until the naked people decide to go running around. ???

Its good to have them back!

This would have been on the GSL! playlist but it still is not on spotify. Anyway here is the link on Pitchfork: TV.

Illegal Downloads? Part I

2009-11-26T10:27:00.004Z

From Matt Bellamy of Muse to Lily Allen

Lily,
My current opinion is that file sharing is now the norm. This cannot be changed without an attack on perceived civil liberties which will never go down well. The problem is that the ISPs making the extreme profits (due to millions of broadband subscriptions) are not being taxed by the copyright owners correctly and this is a legislation issue. Radio stations and TV stations etc have to pay the copyright owners (both recording and publishing) a fee for using material they do not own. ISPs should have to pay in the same way with a collection agency like PRS doing the monitoring and calculations based on encoded (but freely downloaded) data. Broadband makes the internet essentially the new broadcaster. This is the point which is being missed.

Also, usage should have a value. Someone who just checks email uses minimal bandwidth, but someone who downloads 1 gig per day uses way more, but at the moment they pay the same. It is clear which user is hitting the creative industries and it is clear which user is not, so for this reason, usage should also be priced accordingly. The end result will be a taxed, monitored ISP based on usage which will ensure both the freedom of the consumer and the rights of the artists - the loser will be the ISP who will probably have to increase subscription costs to compensate, but the user will have the freedom to choose between checking a few emails (which will cost far less than a current monthly subscription) and downloading tons of music and film (which will cost probably a bit more than current subscription, but not that much more).

Shakespeare and Friends free give-away.

2009-11-25T16:56:00.003Z

Shakespeare and Friends have been involved with The Long Beach Film Company and made a short documentary about the band. They are also giving their album away for free at Bandcamp.

GSL! Spotify Playlist

2009-11-24T11:28:00.007Z

Here's what we're listening to in the Get Signed LIVE! office. More playlists to come so you will get to know the team's sometimes insipid, often inspired, always eclectic music tastes:

Jeff Buckley – Mojo Pin

Sigur Rós – Við spilum endalaust

J. Tillman – New Imperial Grand Blues

Stephen Malkmus – Ballad Of A Thin Man

Fleetwood Mac – The Chain

Phoenix – Too Young

Urban Species – Blanket

Yeasayer – 2080

Animal Collective – My Girls

Eels – Fresh Blood

The Kills – U. R. A. Fever

Jay-Z – D.O.A. [Death of Auto-Tune]

Serious about Sound

2009-11-18T16:32:00.005Z

As you, the avid readers of the Get Signed LIVE! blog may have noticed, Olly seems to be hogging blog space with extremely lengthy entries. Since we have added the poll option to the side of the page, I thought I would dive in to protect my title as Captain Blogger, a title I have had for months within the GSL! ranks...

Today has been interesting. We are in talks with Andy Shiach, MD of Advanced Communication Solutions (ACS), the hearing specialists for bands and artists alike. They have worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry for a number of years and are gearing towards Get Signed LIVE! What I particularly like about Andy’s firm is that they have a genuine care for artists and are fully aware of the damage that loud music can cause to young musicians, and to their careers.

This is down to their own experience which adds a raw side to the firm’s mission. They know how it can affect careers, and will do all they can to stop it so good music can still be made, and good ears can be salvaged. We will be meeting next week to talk through ideas around the show, one of which consists of onsite screening which uses the very latest automatic audiometers. Stay tuned to hear how we get on…

Vote Toby! (Shameless, I know.)

Monsters of Long... Very Long Sets

2009-11-18T09:41:00.010Z

I went down to the Troxy on Commercial Rd last night to see Monsters of Folk. Conner Oberst & Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket, M. Ward of the M. Ward Catalogue and for the tour on drums "the swiss army knife of indie rock" Will Johnson.

So doors opened at 7.30 and we headed down at about 8 thinking we would miss the the first support act only to find that MoF had already started, what? They were on at 8 on the dot, so wheres the support act we thought? Turns out we were in for a long night no support act just the band doing their album and various songs from their own respective bands.

Another oddity of the night was the insane amount of security, the ban on photos and mobile phones and the split pit, where the front was semi empty and the back was heaving, so no photos I'm afraid (well apart from my ticket to prove I did go!) anywho we were here to hear some of the most established American folksters and thats what we heard. We got a good helping of Bright Eyes tracks which were incredible, a couple of slow ones and a couple of roaring belters using the haunting vocals of Yim Yames. The set built up and soothed down, with the band swapping instruments after almost every song, changing the dynamic from country, to folk, to rock. They even changed up the line up for about an hour in the middle of the show, just keeping a couple of members on at any one time. Mr. Yames took control bringing one of his band mate up one at a time, heartily saying how proud he was of each of his 'kids'! The surprise of the show was their drummer Will Johnson who got out from behind the kit to sing and strum on what for me was one of the best tracks of the show.

After a beautifully quite hour of folk they band reconvened on stage the blast us with an assortment of epic and haunting folk rock tracks. After 3 hours they left the stage. My back killing me and the crowd starting to fizzle out we thought and somewhat hoped that was it, just so we could rest. But no they came back on.

Playing two Bright Eyes classics in now typically epic style. Another Travelin' Song first and Conor played it with a characteristic pained voice but with a more bouncy backing from the others. Building the song up and up Conor stands on the kick drum one foot on the tom and stamps his foot till the kit starts to smash and he finishes by kicking the cymbals over and breaking whatever he can reach. So finally that must be it...but know the roadies are back on stage reconstructing the drums. Then one final song, this time Mr. Oberst behind the piano, surely nothing to break here, but sure enough by the end of the song and finally the end of the set, he pushes the piano over down the stairway to the back stage door and stumbles off stage.

The house lights go up. 3 hours 15 minutes later Monsters of Folk leave the stage for the last time. It was epic, bigger than epic. It was personal at times but most notably of all it was long, very very very long.

Some pretty interesting stuff about the current state of the music industry.

2009-11-16T15:37:00.008Z

From http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/transformative-vs-incremental-change.html

By Steve Lawson

OK, I’m going to try and explain why Big Music genuinely doesn’t get what’s happening with the online stuff. It’s easy to dismiss the thoughts coming out about ‘3 Strikes Laws’, and Bit Torrent being to blame for the death of musicians’ livelihoods etc. as being a bunch ofreally rich people want to keep their massive piece of the pie - and there is some of that, for sure. But there’s also an entire way of thinking that explains why they feel the way they do.

The problem is to do with the difference in response required between transformativechange, and incremental change.

Sticking with the music industry, let’s have a look at some examples of both, starting with incremental change:

The invention of cassettes, and 8-track cartridges was an incremental change- suddenly there were more ways of selling hard copies of recorded music. More places to play them, new machines needed, new possibilities for the length of music that could be issued in a single entity (90 minute cassettes were pretty standard, and some enterprising labels took to reissuing 2 albums as one on cassette, thus breathing new life into back catalogue.)

The same happened again with CD - more incremental change - the chance to pretend it was higher resolution than vinyl (a lie) that it was indestructable (a lie) and that you could take it anywhere with you (true). CDs were a breath of life to a fairly static industry - suddenly, all the people who were teenagers in the 70s at the dawn of stadium rock were now successful 30-somethings with disposable cash and a deeply fragile sense of self. Also business was the new rock ‘n’ roll, so hi-fis cropped up in offices, and needed things to play. Result? Brothers In Arms.

What about transformative change? How about the invention of recorded music.Before that, as the wonderful Andrew Dubber keeps reminding us, sheet music ruled the roost. You wanted to hear music? you or your friends had better learn to play it. Or you went to a concert. Concerts featuring ‘stars’ were prohibitively expensive, so very few people ever got to hear the ‘real deal’. That didn’t matter. Music was magical, everybody played and sang, and lives were enriched by it.

When recordings came along, it all changed. Lots of previously burgeoning industries shrank to the point of collapse. The piano/pianola business crashed - who the hell wanted a player-piano when they could listen to the greats? (issues of sound quality were clearly hard to argue back then too…) And the sheet music industry slumped.

Why was it transformative? Because it wasn’t a tilt in either direction - it wasn’t more or less of what was happening, it was a completely new, new industry, new infrastructure, new sales pyramid, new shops needed, new factories, new careers, new artists, new medium. NEW EVERYTHING!

When you take an industry that has 4 big costs - recording, manufacture, distribution, promotion - and remove 3 of them, that changes everything. All the assumptions about how much it costs to make a record, what infrastructure is needed to make a sales team effective, who needs to own the trucks and delivery guys who take your product to shops - they all disappear. They are all now choices that you make, not assumptions.

If you don’t want to release CDs or vinyl because the chance of not recouping is too high, don’t. You cut out 2 of your 4 big costs straight away.
If you already have a fan base who love what you do and are willing to talk about it, empower them to do it. You’ve removed another one of your big four.
If you are willing to look at what’s possible with new recording tech instead of moving into Abbey Road for 2 months, you can reduce your 4th cost to a tenth of what it was.

Advertising is completely broken. Recording tech is better and cheaper than it has ever been, fans are more and more willing to talk about and share your music, and far more happy to buy physical product from you than from a third party. Website merch is easy to do, either in short run, big order or even one-offs.

The record industry before the internet was built on the assumption that to have a chance of making it ‘big’, you needed to have deep pockets to risk the kind of gambling collateral needed to have a shot at being in the 0.1% who ended up rich. The labels funded their gambling by owning the services they were charging you for, by keeping you in debt so they didn’t have to pay you, by keeping product prices artificially high, and by perpetuating myths about what it was that we all wanted and needed, as both artists and consumers.

Everything has changed. If you look at the current possibilities as an incremental change to the industry - that is, if you see the infrastructure as still being the same, and see MP3s as ‘invisible CDs’, you are truly truly screwed. It’s awful. That’s why the industry says ‘the sky is falling’. They aren’t willing to let go of that old infrastructure.

If you see the real changes, throw all the cards in the air, and realise that instead of hundreds of artists making millions of pounds, we can how have millions of artists making hundreds of pounds (and a straight, shallow line on the curve up from there), we’re all in good shape.

Music-world doesn’t need millionaires to be significant - music doesn’t change my life based on the wealth of the artists - and Simon Cowell will make sure that there are plenty of clueless, talentless, dressed-up, fame-hungry disasters for people who really don’t care but just want an inoffensive noise to soundtrack their day. He’s good at that. The success of X-Factor - which, like Lily Allen’s career, has started and grown post-Bit Torrent - proves there’re still macro-industrial processes at work in the world of music. They just don’t concern us any more. We can make the music we love, and make it available to our audience without debt or bogus mythology.

And of course, when our careers naturally grow to the point where we need all that help, we can still hire touring professionals, and radio pluggers and designers and CD pressing plants, and agents and everything. The difference is now that it can be a straight line. It’s not the pole vault any more, where to have a shot you need a million dollar pole the breaks if you miss the bar. You climb the hill, slowly, normally, without any of the life-shocks that instant fame brings. And you, YOU make the decisions, based on what you and your music need.

Fame is the downside to success. Don’t be taken in by a dead industry that doesn’t care about your music, but instead wants you to be famous. Consider the transformation, and you’ll be reaching for the shades.

How do you roll?

2009-11-12T17:53:00.007Z

Today, Sam spent much of the day exploring the market of Tour Vans for bands, successfully finding the best deals for the slickest bands wanting wheels.

In other news: after combining a gift from India given to the office from a member of our Sales Team (cheer’s Sam) and a page from the new edition of Egg Mag we’ve found an uncanny resemblance of a well known logo of a popular high street music store. Can you guess it?!

Tweets, Pokes & Myspace

2009-11-10T16:10:00.004Z

We are now up and running on social media. Come and follow us on Twitter, poke us on Facebook or have a look at our favorite tunes on Myspace.

We have a home!

2009-11-09T17:50:00.007Z

After months of planning, today was the first full day in the office for the Get Signed LIVE! team. We've moved into our new home in Hoxton, East London. Proud owners of a brand new door mounted coat hook and the world's smallest stapler, affectionately named Bambi. Our new business cards look great and have already been handed over to some future exhibitors and event partners.

Just to prove we don't have a fetish for office supplies we'll be posting regular blogs all about the latest exhibitors, speakers, show features and acts for the live stage.

Stay tuned and find out how you can get involved and when you can book your tickets for Get Signed LIVE!

Coming soon...

2009-06-06T17:54:00.007+01:00

We're really excited to be launching such an important new event. If you want to be part of it, want to find out more, or maybe you just want to help out somehow then send us an email.

Check back soon for lots more on what Get Signed LIVE! is all about.