A New Record
This past weekend I was hired very last-minute (Friday evening) to write music and mix YouTube’s April Fools Day video.
Now, the music isn’t particularly original; I was basically asked to re-create a stock music track that YouTube liked, add an new section to it, and arrange it so the musical changes fit better with the video edit. Check it out:
Now it’s April 2nd, and I’m already moving on to the next project. But I just looked at the final posting and saw this:
That’s a new personal record: most ears reached! It’ll be a tough one to break.
And please remember to subscribe to Love + Radio via iTunes (or through any other podcast/RSS platform).
BIG NEWS!
For the past several months I’ve been working on an a podcast called Love + Radio with my friend and co-producer, Nick van der Kolk. Love + Radio features intimate interviews with an eclectic range of subjects from the seedy to the sublime, permeated by music and unusual production and sound design. (Imagine an Errol Morris documentary combined with Radiolab-esque audio production–except completely different.) Last year we won the top prize at the 2011 Third Coast Festival Competition, often described as “the Sundance of public radio.”
This week we inked a deal with Chicago Public Media to license six new episodes of the show; we’re a bona-fide WBEZ podcast! (But don’t worry, NYC friends, I’m producing it remotely.) And as luck would have it, this happens to coincide with the release of our hour-long season 3 premiere, “Fix:”
A crusader for truth, or, as Karl Rove called him “a nut with internet access?” Jason Leopold always wanted to be a part of something big. We follow Jason’s labyrinthine misadventure through record industry decadence, threatening mafioso, long-distance love, and an unlikely career in investigative journalism.
When was the last time you heard about glam metal, the mafia, and Karl Rove all in the SAME radio story?
Come celebrate with us at Union Docs on Saturday, May 26th at 7:30 pm with a mind-blowing full-length audio screening of “Fix,” followed by Q+A and ample celebration. I’ll be there, along with co-producers Nick vdK and Sarah Lu via video conference from a simultaneous listening party in Chicago!
What: LOVE + RADIO SEASON 3 RELEASE PARTY
IN NEW YORK CITY
Where: Union Docs, 322 Union Ave. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
When: Saturday May 26th, 7:30 pm – 10:30 pmIN CHICAGO
Where: High Concept Labratories, 220 E. Chicago Avenue
When: Saturday May 26th, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Hope to see you there! And if you can’t make it to the party, please be sure to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes (or the podcast tool of your choice).
OH HEY! We’re also planning a social media blitz when the episode drops next Wednesday and would really appreciate your help spreading the word. Follow us on Twitter @loveandradio for the latest info! (And why not “like” us on Facebook while you’re at it?)
Lotsa love,
– Brendan
Today would have been John Coltrane’s 85th birthday
In homage, here’s a piece of original music Joel Zimmerman and I have been collaborating on, which is built in part around a sample from one of my favorite Coltrane recordings (with Duke Ellington, who wrote the song, on piano).
Enjoy!
The Third Coast Festival (the South By Southwest of public radio) interviewed Nick van der Kolk, Nick Williams, and I about how we developed and produced our radio story The Wisdom of Jay Thunderbolt for Nick vd K’s show, Love and Radio.
I know, I know. I promised I’d write more about how we put the piece together back in April, and then quickly got swamped with other work. BUT Thanks to Third Coast, you can read everything I would have written here on their site.
Follow the link and click “extra.”
Eh. What the hell. Or you can read the mirrored interview, below.
Hey lookee here at this thing I produced/scored/remixed in collaboration with Nick van der Kolk for his intrepid radio show/podcast, Love and Radio. Heads up: this episode is intended for mature audiences listening with headphones.
I’d like to tell you more about how we put it together sometime soon, but for now I’ve got to focus on finishing those durn taxes.