dubstep

Music takes center stage on the heels of the official registration opening for the Nike+ Human Race, the world’s biggest one-day running event taking place on August 31, 2008.  The race brings together the power of sport and music to inspire and connect runners from every corner of the planet.  Participants in this unprecedented event will experience an exclusive music performance by some of today’s top artists in each of the 25 designated race cities.

In Los Angeles, nine-time Grammy Award winning artist Kanye West will headline the run’s post race concert for the grand finale of the 25-city Nike+ Human Race.  Runners will take to the streets passing the city’s most famous landmarks before ending at the LA Coliseum to see West take the stage.  
“I’m hitting the stage in Los Angeles for the Nike+ Human Race, Nike's dopest 10k run ever. This race is bringing together hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world to run and listen to some great music while serving a higher cause, and I’m excited to perform in L.A. as part of the grand finale.”
West’s performance will bring to a close, an unprecedented day of races and activities around the globe starting in Taipei, ending in LA and including cities across Europe, Asia and North and South America. 

In London, runners will be treated to an exclusive performance by world-renowned American DJ, songwriter, musician and singer Moby in the city’s famed Wembley Stadium.  Other all-star artists confirmed to play at the Nike+ Human Race include chart-topping rock band All-American Rejects in NY; hometown favorite Fall Out Boy in Chicago; R&B songstress Kelly Rowland in Paris; dance-electro-pop duo The Pinker Tones in Madrid, Turkish pop sensation Kenan Dogulu in Istanbul; the Fantastic Four in Munich; Beijing-based singing duo Yu Quan in Shanghai and American rock band Boys Like Girls in Singapore.  

Beyond running and music, the Nike+ Human Race is also an opportunity to give back. Participants will be able to run for a worthy cause and support the three official Nike+ Human Race charitable partners: the Lance Armstrong Foundation – uniting people in the fight against cancer; WWF - the global conservation organization addressing the causes and impacts of climate change; and the UN refugee agency's ninemillion.org campaign – bringing sport and education to refugee youth.  Together, Nike and runners will raise funds to donate at least USD $3 million to the Nike+ Human Race charities.  Money will be raised via givebacks from registration fees, a percentage of Nike+ Human Race t-shirt sales and a donation of USD $1 million from Nike.
The Nike+ Human Race will also feature an online pledge tool so individual runners can donate additional funds to the cause of their choice and invite friends and family to contribute on their behalf.

“As a committed runner and a cancer survivor, I’m proud to be participating in the Nike+ Human Race,” Lance Armstrong said. “The race offers the best of both worlds by bringing together a global community to run together and support worthy causes like the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the UN refugee agency’s ninemillion.org and WWF in our combined efforts to have a positive impact on the world.

Other Nike athletes will also be joining the movement to run with the world and for a cause.  Like Lance Armstrong, they will serve as honorary athlete ambassadors for the charities and join in Human Race activities.  Six-time marathon winner and current NY Marathon Champion, Paula Radcliffe and middle distance runner Kara Goucher will be running to support WWF, while marathoner Meb Keflezighi will be representing ninemillion.org.

Nikeplus.com will be the official destination for the Nike+ Human Race and for all pre-race training needs. Here, runners can create a personal profile page or stay motivated by sampling and downloading the latest in Nike+ Sport Music offerings. Sport Music offers runners the best in original Training Run and Coaching Mixes designed specifically for treadmill and road runs.  Beginning June 15, runners will also be able to visit Race City pages covering local race info and news, Training pages for information and links to in-city training runs, events with official race partners including 24Hour Fitness and Starbucks and Nike+ Coach training.  Gear pages covering the latest in Nike performance training gear and Nike+ product will also be offered.

About Nike+ Human Race
On 08.31.08, Nike hosts a run like no other before with the Nike+ Human Race - the World’s Largest One Day Running Event.  Nike’s first global race will take place over the course of one day, with a goal of one million runners, across 25 cities and featuring 25 top musical acts.  The 10k event celebrates runners and their sport, offering participants across the globe the chance to run and compete together in an unprecedented race experience.  Spanning multiple continents, Nike+ Human Race cities will include LA, New York, London, Madrid, Paris, Istanbul, Melbourne, Shanghai, São Paulo and Vancouver among others.  Following races in each city, participants will be treated to an exclusive music concert featuring one of today’s top artists.  Participants will be able to run for a cause as a portion of funds raised will be donated to three Nike+ Human Race beneficiaries: WWF, the global conservation organization, Lance Armstrong Foundation and UN refugee agency's ninemillion.org campaign.  The race will be open to anyone, anywhere. Runners outside of the 25 race day cities can join by logging into nikeplus.com.  With the help of Nike+ and the Nike+ SportBand, every city and every road can become a race-day course.  For more information, visit nikeplus.com.  

David Cook is an American rock singer and songwriter. He was born in Houston, Texas on December 20th, 1982 and was raised in Blue Springs, Missouri. On May 21, 2008, he won the seventh season of the reality television show American Idol. David Archuleta was the first runner-up.

Cook auditioned for American Idol in Omaha, Nebraska, performing Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer." He originally did not plan to try out for the show as he was going on a trip to China; he came to the auditions initially to support his younger brother Andrew (who did not make it past the auditions) and then decided to try out himself. For his first Hollywood audition, Cook performed "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Later in the week he performed "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain.

Cook took advantage of the decision to allow contestants to play musical instruments. Besides his Hollywood audition, he also accompanied himself on electric guitar for his performances of "All Right Now," "Hello," "Day Tripper," "I'm Alive," "Baba O'Riley," "Dare You to Move," and "Dream Big," and on acoustic guitar for "Little Sparrow," "All I Really Need Is You," and "The World I Know." Since the Top 12 week, he has also been wearing an orange wristband to support a 7-year-old fan, Lindsey Rose, with leukemia.

Cook won American Idol season 7 on May 21, 2008, receiving 56% of the votes. Cook then sang "The Time of My Life", the winning song of the 2008 American Idol Songwriter's Competition. David Cook's strong vocal and guitar-playing skills should help him obtain plenty of commercial success after his impressive American Idol victory.

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latest mp3 blog tracks from all over

The style of music you would like to play should be kept in mind when browsing for a beginner acoustic guitar. A nylon-stringed guitar is better for those wishing to play Latin, classical, and certain types of folk or pop music. A steel-stringed guitar works better for rock, country, and other types of pop or folk music. For beginning guitar musicians, it is suggested to play the various types before arriving at a final conclusion as to what sound you favor.

Because nylon is easier on the fingers, many teachers recommend going with a nylon-stringed beginner acoustic guitar. This Is not always the most effective recommendation, because not everyone wants to play the kind of music that a nylon-string guitar produces. Some would like to play like a rock star, or just don't care for the tone that comes from a nylon-stringed guitar.

If your goal is to learn to play steel-string music, you should absolutely begin by practicing on a steel string guitar. At the beginning, your fingers will certainly be sore, but with time you will develop protective calluses as all guitar players do. If, however, you want to learn classical music, don't be enticed or distracted by a steel string guitar.

Here are some pointers for you when looking for a classical nylon-string guitar. Classical guitars have the same relative dimensions. The defined features of classical guitars are their small bodies and wide fingerboards and most importantly, their classical sound. Despite equivalent physical features, each classical guitars still have their own feel and tone so test several to find the beginner acoustic guitar that best matches your preference. A six-string dreadnought is the most commonly bought beginner acoustic guitar. There are only minor size variations among dreadnoughts, and they offer the kind of tone that is popular with guitarists who are just starting out.

The wood your beginner acoustic guitar is made of makes a significant impact on the tone or the sound the instrument makes. You will quickly learn that most beginner acoustic guitars consist of a spruce top. Be sure your new guitar has a solid spruce top rather than a two-piece one. This will increase the durability and stability of your new guitar. Your choices of wood for the back and sides will likely include mahogany, rosewood and spruce. Mahogany wood produces a light tone. On the other hand, rosewood results in a heavier tone. Which you prefer defines your preferences.

Looking for a beginner acoustic guitar with comparatively low action is something else to think of when you are a new guitar player. The space between the string and the neck is called the action. An action that is too high it can be a distraction and a deterrent to learning.

While you are out buying a beginner acoustic guitar, you will want to pick up an adequate electronic tuner at the same time. You have not had adequate experience yet to develop the ear of an expert. If you can spend less time in tuning your new guitar, you'll have that much more time for practicing on it and actually playing.

For more information about the absolute most innovative multimedia course on Learning Acoustic Guitar with a host of special bonuses, please visit our web site at http://www.acousticguitarnow.com

You might not know Matt Irving's name but we can guarantee you've seen or indeed own some of his handiwork. With a knack for geometric flow and a natural flair for clean lines, his style is instantly appealing and offers snippets of humour in unexpected places. From his own work under the banner of Delphi, which included some great designs for Element, and more recently one of our shoes of the year in the Milk Blazer SB, he has had his finger in more than a few pies. Right now though, he's taken on a pretty big job handling all the visuals for the embryonic adidas Skate team. From the ads to bongo vans and videos of the Gonz in full flight, Irving is all over it. The trefoil is in good hands...

How and when did you start working on adidas Skateboarding and in what capacity do you work for them?
It all started about a year ago. My friend Brett Critchlow and I were approached separately by adidas to create concepts for their ads. We were both too busy with other projects so we decided to team up and the next thing you know we got the gig and started working on it full time. We handle everything visual for adidas Skateboarding except for the actual product design. So it’s things like ad campaigns, commercials and video projects, catalogs, website design etc. Two weeks ago we were asked to redesign the paint job for a 1970s split window VW bus for adidas Brasil. Our projects can be really random at times.

What’s your overall goal with adidas Skate? Where do you want to take it?
Personally, I just want it to be sincerely focused on skateboarding and not try to be too much of a fashion thing. Just shoes for skateboarders, and if other people seem to like them, then that’s cool too. I like that the team is solid and respected by skateboarders and adidas is being very slow and steady about what shops carry the program. Being a little bit picky isn’t necessarily being exclusive and snobby, it’s about committing to the skate shops that have been around for a long time and supporting the scene.

 

How do you, in general terms as well as specifically in regards to adidas Skate, feel about non-skate companies entering
the skateboarding world?
It’s all fair game in this day and age. There aren’t any rules about who can and can’t have a skate program. I think that skating has changed a lot since I started doing it. When I was a teenager I probably would have hated it if the bigger companies were getting involved because skating was something to break away from the mainstream. These days skating isn’t what the outcast kids are doing, it’s something that is considered cool. That doesn’t mean that there is a right and a wrong, skating continually eats itself and neglects its roots.

What do you think adidas Skate can offer to skateboarding?
I think they can offer up some really good quality shoes and support some of the best skateboarders to push what is possible on a skateboard. They have a level of quality in materials and production that is much higher than most of what is out there. If they can last longer than an average pair of skate shoes, then that’s good for everyone. I think it’s also really cool that the majority of skate shoes out there have always looked to many of adidas’ classic shoe designs for how they design their shoes. Like the Shelltoe, Stan Smith, Rod Laver, Campus, Gazelle or even just the iconic stripes on a side-panel.

 
What projects are you working on right now?
I just got back from five days of filming in Berlin with the adidas Europe team. It was a really fun time and super productive. That team is so driven to get out and skate. Right now we’re out in New Zealand to shoot Mark Gonzales with a small film crew and studio. It’ll be a three minute film about Gonz out in New Zealand because he has been living out here with his lady-friend while she gives birth to their child. That happened a few weeks ago and it’s a boy.

What new product can we expect from adidas Skate in the future?
Well there’s a new hi-top style of a shoe called the Roster Mid that will be coming out in January, as well as a vulcanized version of the Campus. The Gazelle was just redesigned with subtle improvements so it’s totally skatable. I really like how that shoe turned out and it’s not going to smash the crap out of your heels because of a lack of padding. Then in the middle of 2008 there will be a redesigned Shelltoe coming back that is modeled after an original late seventies model of the shoe. It’s completely dialed in, looks amazing and is true to the style of Shelltoe everyone used to wear in the early nineties.

 

How do you juggle working for adidas and your other projects?
Lately there hasn’t been a lot of juggling actually; Brett and I have just been focused on it as much as we can so the foundation is set for this first year. I still manage to do a few outside co-op projects in the evenings but I’m making a conscious effort to dedicate more time to that sort of stuff. It’s been nice to take a break from Delphi projects and personal artwork. I think I overdid it and kind of got burnt out on work. Now it feels fun again and the ideas flow naturally, I can have a fresh approach and know that it’s art or design projects for that very sake. I can live off the adidas work and keep the personal projects focused on new ideas and personal growth.

What other projects are you working on at the moment? What about Delphi?
I did a bunch of stuff for Nike ACG before I started working for adidas. It’s a Delphi/ACG design co-op collection that drops this spring. I just wrapped up a board, sweater and tee for a German skate brand called Hessenmob. Some shirts and a jacket design for a clothing line in Paris called Sixpack and some board graphics for Element. I might actually get to have some of my photography on wine bottles for Francis Ford Coppola’s winery, but we’ll see how that turns out.

What is floating your boat at the moment? Music? Art? Drinking?
Traveling has been consistent this year and that’s always great. Going to new cities, meeting new people and seeing different art and architecture. I think it’s important to rip yourself out of the your everyday life, it’s easy to get complacent. I also get really hyped on seeing friends starting to gain acknowledgement for their artwork. It’s inspiring to see people become successful at their random ideas and eventually to a level where they can live off of it. I have a friend who shapes surfboards under the name Mandala and his impeccable craftsmanship is blowing up. I don’t really even surf, but I certainly appreciate how cool-looking his boards are and the level of quality that he demands out of himself. I like that, it’s rare!

What keeps you motivated to work in this industry? Inspires you?
I grew up skating and it kept me out of trouble. I’ve always loved it and for some reason the love hasn’t gone away. I really only enjoy working for things that I believe in, and skating happens to be one of those things. Any design work I do out of skating is usually in the streetwear realm, I only do that because I like that world too. It’s young and energetic; I just don’t like the ‘trophy-hunter’ aspect of it.

 

 

What’s your take on the current state of skateboarding and how do you feel about the constant reference of skateboarding in streetwear, despite the fact the majority of streetwear brands have little, if any, history in skateboarding?
That’s a weird one. I actually think that streetwear is loosely tied to skating because a lot of the people that run the companies tend to be skaters or ex-skaters. There’s an entrepreneurial spirit that is sort of consistent from watching skate companies come up and get successful. In many ways, streetwear of today reminds me of the skate companies in the early 90s and I think that’s why I like it.

By Steven Vogel

For more info on Adiskate, hit up their website here

 

Music is a business. You have to decide how seriously you want to pursue your personal enjoyment versus making money. This is not to say that you can't have both and sometimes if you plan carefully you can have a rewarding experience in every way.

Many of you have played music on different levels and it's good to talk to other musicians to get ideas and learn from their experience. Some musicians are happy to rehearse together only, some are happy to do cover songs and others write and play original content and go for the big time. No matter what you decide, the planning of your endeavor is a most often ignored and important part of your success.

MUSICAL STYLE

Rock, Country, R & B, Classical, Jazz, and other styles of music target certain audiences. You can have a mixture of these styles and you really should determine what it is that you want to play. Do you want to do cover songs, originals, or a mix? Before you can move on to selecting band members or plan rehearsals give it all some careful thought. How much time do you have to devote to your music?

The talent level you have and the type of music you want to play are determining factors in how long it will take to get your act off the ground. Take a look at the venues that hire musicians to play the style you select and see how often they play. If you can keep your band together long enough, you may be able to select a few different styles so you can keep working and get to play your favorites. You may only have Rock and Roll or Blues in your veins and there is nothing wrong with doing the music you enjoy the most.

The audience will pick up on the enthusiasm or indifference you have no matter what level of musicianship you have. You have a "feel" for the music you play and you need to "get it off the stage". This can only be done if your style fits your talent level and the amount of time you want to dedicate to your music.

Locally, some styles may be more or less competitive than others. New Rock styles vary in complexity and sound. Expect to pay some heavy dollars for equipment and lights. Oldies and Classic Rock may not have many clubs to play but there are many other "gigs" out there to keep an Oldies band quite busy. Country music is revived and in some areas you can play a lot, especially with a mix of old and new country. Jazz and Classical have limited venues and a select number of musicians generally dominate the local jobs. Original music might be more fun to play and more rewarding than doing cover tunes. Make sure you protect your songs legally and again, make sure the whole band is into the style.

You may already have another job and play music on the side. Don't make it like work. If you don't enjoy your music, change your circumstances. Select a style that you can "get into" and enjoy. Your audience will be more responsive if you do.

Other Organizing a Band articles written by this author:
Musical Style, Selecting Members, Goals and Timelines, Dealing with Change and Keys to Success.
The American Italian Baby Boomer
Charles Priore

Many people ask themselves 'how can I teach myself to sing?' as the cost and time associated with learning from a professional instructor is horrendous not to mention the scrutiny you must learn under. How then can you teach yourself such a complex skill to a degree that can make people sit up and listen when you break out in song? Well with the wealth of resources on the internet and a few tips you can easily better your voice.

Firstly there are a few things you can do yourself that will help you develop a good singing voice and expend your range.

• Breathing
  
  If you learn to breath correctly while singing you will go a long way to improving your voice. One issue many people have is that they hold their breath while singing rather than letting the air flow through them. If you do not have enough breath to sing long notes then you need to develop a better breathing. To do this you must draw breath into your diaphragm down at the bottom of your lungs instead of what is called belly breathing or chest breathing it is called diaphragmatic breathing. An exercise you can do for this is to place a hand on your diaphragm and a hand on your chest and breath in and out steadily, while doing this make sure the hand on your chest does not move much at all while the pother hand should be moving with your expanding and retracting diaphragm. Once you can breathe properly and learn how to sing without holding back you can really start to get into it.
  


• Emote
  
  While technical skills are vital if you cannot move people with your voice you are not much of a singer. When singing even practicing be emotive, use your whole body and face and limbs to show the emotions you are feeling when you are singing the song. A singer who cannot bring emotion into their voice is like a flame without any heat, it fulfils one criteria but it is not complete.
  


• Practice
  
  As simple and clichd as it sounds practice is vital, it may not make perfect but it does make much, much better! Do not over do it and get a sore throat but sing whenever you can! Sing in the car! Sing in the shower! Sing when making a meal! Make music and singing an every day part of your life and experiment while you do it. You will learn a lot this way and you will become more comfortable with your voice and breathing. Also while practicing if you can use a mirror to sing in front of you can see how you body reacts when you sing, changing slight things with your posture and face when using a mirror can give you remarkable changes in your voice you may not be able to get if you cannot see yourself.
  

While there are a great many things more than this you can do to learn singing by yourself these is a good start. Then comes the hard bit, the technical skills and training yourself to find the correct pitch and tone and many other detailed and complicated aspects of singing. To teach yourself to sing you now need resources and lucky for you the internet is a great place for these things. How can I teach myself to sing online you ask? Well you could trawl through youtube and various websites but there are an abundance of professional courses out there you can download that give you an amazing wealth of skills that you can use from your own home. Using teach yourself singing software is the only way to get past a certain level of singing you can learn yourself without these resources.

Convinced you can learn to sing without forking over stacks of money and time to an instructor?Want an amazing singing voice that will make people really sit up and listen? If so you need a self learning resource to teach yourself to sing click here to see which product on the market is best for you! http://www.squidoo.com/learn_to_sing_software_product_review

Reigniting our popular bootleg feature with a great MMJ set... My Morning Jacket 10-23-2005 Murat Theater Indianapolis, IN Disc 1 01 - Intro 02 - Wordless Chorus 03 - It Beats 4 U 04 - Gideon 05 -… (in post Bootleg Justice - My Morning Jacket Live @ Murat Theater in Indianapolis, IN (10.23.2005) from Musical Justice. Download this at Amazon iTunes More by this artist at eMusic)

This article is for anyone looking for information about playing Q*Bert online or about DJ Q*Bert. The Original Q*Bert game was created in 1982 by Gottlieb. It was actually created by Warren Davis and Jeff Lee. It is a game involving a pyramid of tricolored cubes. You as Q*Bert must jump around changing the colors of these cubes to beat the level.

The enemies in this game are

Coily a Snake

Ugg a Purple Pig

Wrong Way a Gremlin

Slick and Sam who are green creatures who turn blocks back to their original colors

The game is available for download most places online. Be advise do this at your own discretion as rom and emulators are illegal. There are many legal places where you can play these Arcade classics from your internet browser. It's an easy game to find most places on the internet without much of a hassle.

This game has also inspired stage name for DJ Richard Quitevis "DJ Q*Bert". He is featured DMC DJ Hall of Fame along great Mix Master Mike. He is a very credible DJ being strongly influence by music. DJ Q*Bert has won many awards as being one of the DJ greats in the world. If you have never seen/heard his musical influence you should start today.

This game was different then most other games of the time as it featured a Votrax Speech Synthesis for each character making it more advanced sound. It was an innovative game that paved the way to many great games of the future. For the others of you who this influence to play the Arcade classic Q*Bert enjoy and good luck.

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The newly launched Nike 1World project has been created in conjunction with select cool kids in the “sports, music, art and design fields”, presumably hand-picked for their innate panache on a global scale. The scope of 1World has been defined as 18 original shoes, which will be launched month by month via Nike's awesome AF-1 website.

Today the first three have now been revealed – from the rainbow excess of Busy P to the refelective digital camo of Gore-Texer (Nitro Microphone Underground) and finally Rasheed’s hightop with ‘Max Air’, you couldn’t find three more different AF-1s if you tried. Definitely a bright start to this project...
Just go to http://www.nikeairforce1.com and hit the 1World button - all will be revealed in due course!

 

So a review of the new Forward, Russia! album from a self proclaimed obsessive? Not exactly going to be scaling the dizzying heights of impartiality? I will try to do my best, but maybe you might want to shave of .5 of a point from the final score, and I think if you read through, this isn't going to be the "OMG, this album is the roxxor!" that you may assume it to be.

The album opens with a quick build and a burst "This is a problem. There is no solution." If you are familiar with Tom's "singing" then you know the fevered urgency with which he screams the lyrics home. Guitar hooks a plenty, an amazing baseline, and a breakdown just after a minute, this truly is the excellent start to the album that Forward Russia needed to assure everyone that the next 50 minutes will be a glorious one.

Track one fades into track two, We Are Grey Matter, and the jolt of the intro track pulls back to let you gasp for breath in anticipation of what is going to happen with the rest of the album. The first chorus assaults you with "let me make this fucking clear!" in the most screechy voice Tom has achieved. It is a little unnerving to hear, even from him, but he just about pulls it off. The hooks are coming thick and fast, with the sound that we have come to know from the first album, Give me a Wall. And indeed, the bridge of track two is reminiscent of Seventeen from that record.

Track three, A Prospector Can Dream closes the opening segment of the album. Its opening time signature comes a little out of left field for anyone not expecting it, but it is well within FR's remit. The lyrics of this track are also a bit hit and miss, but the lynchpin of "we could be something in a new location" is dripping in second meanings and wild interpretation. The track builds to its close with a section that is sure to become a live favourite. I hope FR are bold enough to release this as the next single, because even though it is a bit strange, it really does sum up what this bands sound is, especially when compared to the recent single, Breaking Standing.

Spring is a Condition brings the album into its second phase, and is also the first song on this record to truly play with the idea of fluctuating time signatures, in the vain of Twelve from Give me a Wall. It just about works; by no-means is it a bad song, it just can't deal with the responsibility of having to follow A Prospector... but again, the melodic bridge is very good, and the chorus ain't bad either.

Track five is unfortunately album filler and doesn't showcase anything other than a love for 3/4 time, something which this album features heavily.

Some Buildings... starts slow in a time signature that I just couldn't pin down (not an expert on these things), and found to be deeply irritating, but soon settles into something alot more managable. At almost 7 minutes, and being the very middle track, it has a tough job, but it does extremely well. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Jesus Christ and Lazarus" is an excellent chorus with a sublime hook. This is the kind of sound that I think FR will want to develop further; not being afraid of long songs with repeating lyrics. However, the liberal use of unorthodox time signatures may have caused the casual listener to become nauseous by now. The thing with 4/4 timing is that because it is so widely used, people who perhaps listen to a more commercial brand of music, hear a song that is 7/4 for example, and it just sounds wrong to them. It sounds broken or missing bits.

Some Buildings... has the unenviable task of flowing into the current single, Breaking Standing. I don't know if it's because I've listened to it a lot away from this album, but Breaking Standing seems like such a lame song within the confines of these other tracks. It does not represent the album as a whole, it relies exclusively on 4/4 time, is very clean and Tom could probably sing this in his sleep. But I guess they wanted some radio airplay. The song mirrors Eighteen from the previous album, but would fit there a lot more than it fits here.
Gravity and Heat is a tour de force, which features a heavy muse-esque section that works very well. Another long track, this song signifies the closing stages of the album. This song plays with the idea of doing a slow ballad, but decides to fuck that idea pretty swiftly, probably catching the listener unawares. This song moves very fluidly between a range of sounds and time signatures, and is definitely the latter half's high point.

Two relatively short tracks follow, which are surprisingly unremarkable: The ballad which was denied previously, and the urgent A Shadow... which is heavy, but ends up sounding more than a little like Gravity and Heat, from no less than 4 minutes ago. They lead into Spanish Triangles, the band's self proclaimed magnum-opus. Just shy of nine minutes, it never really builds to the heights that you would hope it to considering the rest of the album. Having listened to previous tracks which dart and dive through various melodies and time signatures, Spanish Triangles stays almost disappointingly similar throughout. That isn't to say it isn't a fantastic journey, it is still one of the album highlights, has a great melody and I'm sure live it will be a spectacular closing, especially if the audience participate to the level I'm sure the band is hoping.

All in all then, an excellent album, an excellent follow up, and proof that this is a band that know what they are doing with music. They are a true Indie band, doing things their own way, making the music they want to listen to. Who cares if the album doesn't break the top 20? They love what they are doing, and this definitely comes across in an album that was clearly slaved over until it was just so.

I was not disappointed.

8.5/10

From the mouth of Fenton Bailey. Find his blog at http://fentonbailey.blogspot.com

Another re-issue from Lacoste's stable of early '80s performance tennis shoes, the Eclair features an outsole designed for hard court use and a chunky as hell midsole that is reminiscent of the Puma GV. If you squint hard enough, it might even tempt AF-1 lovers looking for a spring fling. The upper features suede overlays linked into the lacing for support and the tongue branding is an authentic replication of the Lacoste Crocodile from this era. As part of a triple pack, this jaffa is only a hint of what's to come – if it had a cream centre and choc icing, we'd be in heaven. Smash!

 

With 70 million baby boomers, personal fitness training is a good profession to be in. Boomers want a better quality of life which puts their health and exercise at the top of their list. They have discretionary income and will be looking to fitness professionals for help.

Personal trainers have the potential to earn a very good salary, but many of them struggle to attain clients and retain them which directly affects their earning potential.

A huge demographic for personal trainers is golfers.

Golfers are educated, earn a high salary and have discretionary income, which is the perfect scenario for fitness professionals.

Also, golfers are use to paying for services. Many if not all of them have paid for a golf instructor, and these instructors charge roughly the same as trainers, so the "sell" is not near as hard.

Golfers are also a "hungry" market! They are desperate to play better. Fitness can be a quick solution for many senior golfers who have declining physical capabilities. Trainers can capitalize on this during the interview process.

Golfers have many playing partners and buddies. Do a good job with the first one and you'll have them lined up... all wanting your new golf fitness personal training services. This is a dream for any trainer! A built in referral system that can double or triple your earning potential. Since it's a "specialty" you can also charge more per session. Find out what the golfer pays for lessons and charge the same.

Many people don't even consider a trainer til later in life, and golfers are that demographic! They are in their 40's, 50's, 60's and above. Perfect for trainers!

Once you become the "golf fitness professional" in your locale, you'll have a flood of golfers wanting your services. All you have to do is get the first few golfers to see amazing results in their driving distance, golf swing consistency and score and they'll be your client for a LONG time.

Golfers are borderline superstitious. They will not want to try out different trainers. If they find one that does a good job, they'll use that trainer for years to come. As in any service business, retention is critical to your earning, and keeping a client is much easier than getting a new one.

Once you build a relationship with your new golf client, you can ask to play with them and analyze their golf swing even more. Talk about elevating your perception as an expert! They will be thoroughly impressed to say the least. Personal training golfers can be very rewarding.

The more you get to know about your golf clients golf swing the better you can devise a program to improve his/her swing faults and golf-specific physical limitations. This will enhance and speed up results even more. If one of your golfing clients see's results in a week or so, they will be hooked for life! We all want "instant" results, and fitness for golfers can almost do that.

If you are a serious fitness professional you should also have a website that your local potential clients can find you. This may entail you to hire a search engine optimization specialist to help you get high rankings in the search engines.

Just picture clients finding your website all day every day. Do you think you'll have some solid leads from that? I think so!

These are exciting times for personal trainers. Especially the ones who really treat it like a business and apply approaches like the ones I discussed today.

For more information on fitness search engine optimization, visit the golf fitness personal training site.

The world was ripe after weeks of waiting, so we ushered in the solstice with a trip to the U-Pick farm just up the hill. One hour and seventeen pounds of sweet, deep red berries later, we staggered… (in post Strawberry Sunday: Berry Coversongs from Michelle Shocked, Bruce Cockburn, Sarah Harmer & more! from Cover Lay Down. Download this at Amazon iTunes)

So you want to learn to play piano at home? Get ready for some stinging stumbles and intense stress along the way.

Just kidding! Don't be turned off by that. There are a lot of resources and tips that help you learn to play piano at home. And I'll be spilling down some of the tips that helped me greatly in this endeavor.

These tips are really easy to remember. Let's name it H.O.P. and you'll see later why. But before that here are some more guidelines that would help:

Keep a piano nearby. You need to have access to this because...that's what you're practicing to play! Pretty logical, isn't it?

Surround yourself with supportive people. No matter what your endeavor is, there will be hard times along the road. You need people who can cheer you up and give you a pat on the back during these times.

Now let's get to the learn-to-play-piano-at-home tips...

"H" For Have Fun

There's no point in doing something that you don't enjoy. Your reason for learning to play piano could be to please your family or look sophisticated before your friends. But if you're not having fun, you'll burn out and stop.

Have fun playing those ivories!

"O" For Optimistic

A very outgoing friend of mine once told me: "Whether you think you can or you can't...you're right!"

He's right! If you surround yourselves with negative thoughts while trying to learn to play piano at home, you'll stumble and fall more times than you'll care to count. Keep a positive outlook no matter what. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

A word of warning: Don't go overboard and aim to be a Mozart in 2 weeks. These maestros practiced for years. You'll be setting yourself for a huge disappointment if you go for an unrealistic aim like the one I mentioned.

"P" For Practice

Just like any attempt in life, may it be playing the piano, passing an exam, or whatever, you need daily practice. Setting 20-30 minutes to learn to play piano at home is a lot better than setting an hour every week.

Be consistent!

There it goes...the H.O.P. All you need now is have the lessons available. You could hire an instructor, buy lessons on DVD, or you can learn to play piano at home with a good online course.

Think about which suits you best.

If You have struggled to learn piano in the past, you can learn piano online the easy way with a proffesional piano techer, guranteed results

A covers CD showed up on my doorstep last week: The Polka Floyd Show . The name says it all, Pink Floyd done in a polka style, but don't let that scare you. I think the accordion gets… (in post The Polka Floyd Show from Fong Songs. )

Formed in 1965, The Doors became a well-known, controversial band that would become one of the many successful rock bands during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The band would have probably continued, but they decided to disband shortly after the death of Jim Morrison. Jim Morrison was the one responsible for bringing the band together in the first place. He was not only a singer and a song writer; he was also the author of a few poetry books and a film director. It was unfortunate that such a talented individual would pass away at the age of 27, but he had apparently become depressed. Exactly how he died has caused much speculation.

Coming together in 1965 and staying together until 1971, the band consisted of Jim Morrison, who was the singer, Robby Krieger who was the guitarist, Ray Mazarek, who was the keyboardist and John Densmore, who was the drummer for the band. The Doors covered a few music genres, including hard rock, blues rock, acid rock and basic rock. The group was fairly popular as many enjoyed their music, but the band was the center of much controversy; or rather, Jim Morrison was the center of some controversy. Though the band worked together on many of their songs and performances, Jim Morrison appeared to suffer under the tensions of his position. As time went on, he began to become more dependent on alcohol and he also started to have emotional outbursts on stage. Interest in his music began to wane. By the time The Doors were starting their year long tour, the concerts that were set during the year were canceled after Jim Morrison was arrested and charged for indecency and obscenity. While this could very well have been very discouraging for the rest of the band, they continued on and Jim Morrison continued to pursue some of his interest in poetry and filming.

During their time together, The Doors put out a number of successful albums that continue to sell very well today. The other three members did not seem to let Jim Morrison's problems get in the way of their music too much. From 1965 until 1971, the four members worked together to put together songs and compile numerous albums. After Morrison's death in 1971, the other three members of the band continued on for about one year. In 1972, they decided to dissolve the band. While this may have been the end of the band at that time, the surviving members did manage to come together for reunions a few years later, in 1978. They also had a partial reunion in 2001 and 2003. It is calculated that The Doors continue to sell about one million albums a year, which shows that though the life of the band was brief, they continue to be favored and well-liked by the general populace of North America. They may have been controversial, but the bottom line was that they had good music that people enjoyed listening to, despite whatever concerns or rumors may have existed about the band.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments. You can find the best marketplace for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments at these sites for used the doors CDs and autographed the doors CDs.

The newly launched Nike 1World project has been created in conjunction with select cool kids in the “sports, music, art and design fields”, presumably hand-picked for their innate panache on a global scale. The scope of 1World has been defined as 18 original shoes, which will be launched month by month via Nike's awesome AF-1 website.

Today the first three have now been revealed – from the rainbow excess of Busy P to the refelective digital camo of Gore-Texer (Nitro Microphone Underground) and finally Rasheed’s hightop with ‘Max Air’, you couldn’t find three more different AF-1s if you tried. Definitely a bright start to this project...
Just go to http://www.nikeairforce1.com and hit the 1World button - all will be revealed in due course!

 

Breedlove's Atlas Series contains a number of different basses, including the ABJ250/SM4, which is made with Breedlove's jumbo body (seventeen inch lower bout, along with five inch body depth at the tail block and a four inch body depth at the heel) with a soft cutaway. The top is solid sitka spruce, whereas the sides/back are made out of mahogany. The combination of sitka spruce and mahogany results in a deep, mellow, sound.

Additionally, this acoustic bass guitar produces decent volume as a result of the large jumbo body (not to mention the JLD bridge truss system - one of the few acoustic bass guitars with one installed at the factory). One of the biggest complaints about acoustic bass guitars is that they lack the volume needed to play without an amplifier. The ABJ250/SM isn't loud by any means, but the volume is sufficient to play unplugged along with perhaps two or three other guitars/mandolins/banjos, but with more than that the bass would be overpowered.

What I really like about this acoustic bass guitar is it's clear note separation. I even used a plectrum and did a little bluegrass flatpicking and, although you might expect a garbled wall of bass, the notes came through cleanly.

Features of the ABJ250/SM4 include a hardshell case, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, pearl position markers, satin finish, Tusq nut and saddle, JLD bridge truss, Fishman Classic IV Pickup with bass-optimized E.Q., chrome Grover tuners, satin finish, and an abalone rosette with black border.

Michael Stone owns a website that sells Breedlove Guitars, Mandolins and Accessories and has played the acoustic guitar and mandolin for nearly twenty years.

You might not know Matt Irving's name but we can guarantee you've seen or indeed own some of his handiwork. With a knack for geometric flow and a natural flair for clean lines, his style is instantly appealing and offers snippets of humour in unexpected places. From his own work under the banner of Delphi, which included some great designs for Element, and more recently one of our shoes of the year in the Milk Blazer SB, he has had his finger in more than a few pies. Right now though, he's taken on a pretty big job handling all the visuals for the embryonic adidas Skate team. From the ads to bongo vans and videos of the Gonz in full flight, Irving is all over it. The trefoil is in good hands...

How and when did you start working on adidas Skateboarding and in what capacity do you work for them?
It all started about a year ago. My friend Brett Critchlow and I were approached separately by adidas to create concepts for their ads. We were both too busy with other projects so we decided to team up and the next thing you know we got the gig and started working on it full time. We handle everything visual for adidas Skateboarding except for the actual product design. So it’s things like ad campaigns, commercials and video projects, catalogs, website design etc. Two weeks ago we were asked to redesign the paint job for a 1970s split window VW bus for adidas Brasil. Our projects can be really random at times.

What’s your overall goal with adidas Skate? Where do you want to take it?
Personally, I just want it to be sincerely focused on skateboarding and not try to be too much of a fashion thing. Just shoes for skateboarders, and if other people seem to like them, then that’s cool too. I like that the team is solid and respected by skateboarders and adidas is being very slow and steady about what shops carry the program. Being a little bit picky isn’t necessarily being exclusive and snobby, it’s about committing to the skate shops that have been around for a long time and supporting the scene.

 

How do you, in general terms as well as specifically in regards to adidas Skate, feel about non-skate companies entering
the skateboarding world?
It’s all fair game in this day and age. There aren’t any rules about who can and can’t have a skate program. I think that skating has changed a lot since I started doing it. When I was a teenager I probably would have hated it if the bigger companies were getting involved because skating was something to break away from the mainstream. These days skating isn’t what the outcast kids are doing, it’s something that is considered cool. That doesn’t mean that there is a right and a wrong, skating continually eats itself and neglects its roots.

What do you think adidas Skate can offer to skateboarding?
I think they can offer up some really good quality shoes and support some of the best skateboarders to push what is possible on a skateboard. They have a level of quality in materials and production that is much higher than most of what is out there. If they can last longer than an average pair of skate shoes, then that’s good for everyone. I think it’s also really cool that the majority of skate shoes out there have always looked to many of adidas’ classic shoe designs for how they design their shoes. Like the Shelltoe, Stan Smith, Rod Laver, Campus, Gazelle or even just the iconic stripes on a side-panel.

 
What projects are you working on right now?
I just got back from five days of filming in Berlin with the adidas Europe team. It was a really fun time and super productive. That team is so driven to get out and skate. Right now we’re out in New Zealand to shoot Mark Gonzales with a small film crew and studio. It’ll be a three minute film about Gonz out in New Zealand because he has been living out here with his lady-friend while she gives birth to their child. That happened a few weeks ago and it’s a boy.

What new product can we expect from adidas Skate in the future?
Well there’s a new hi-top style of a shoe called the Roster Mid that will be coming out in January, as well as a vulcanized version of the Campus. The Gazelle was just redesigned with subtle improvements so it’s totally skatable. I really like how that shoe turned out and it’s not going to smash the crap out of your heels because of a lack of padding. Then in the middle of 2008 there will be a redesigned Shelltoe coming back that is modeled after an original late seventies model of the shoe. It’s completely dialed in, looks amazing and is true to the style of Shelltoe everyone used to wear in the early nineties.

 

How do you juggle working for adidas and your other projects?
Lately there hasn’t been a lot of juggling actually; Brett and I have just been focused on it as much as we can so the foundation is set for this first year. I still manage to do a few outside co-op projects in the evenings but I’m making a conscious effort to dedicate more time to that sort of stuff. It’s been nice to take a break from Delphi projects and personal artwork. I think I overdid it and kind of got burnt out on work. Now it feels fun again and the ideas flow naturally, I can have a fresh approach and know that it’s art or design projects for that very sake. I can live off the adidas work and keep the personal projects focused on new ideas and personal growth.

What other projects are you working on at the moment? What about Delphi?
I did a bunch of stuff for Nike ACG before I started working for adidas. It’s a Delphi/ACG design co-op collection that drops this spring. I just wrapped up a board, sweater and tee for a German skate brand called Hessenmob. Some shirts and a jacket design for a clothing line in Paris called Sixpack and some board graphics for Element. I might actually get to have some of my photography on wine bottles for Francis Ford Coppola’s winery, but we’ll see how that turns out.

What is floating your boat at the moment? Music? Art? Drinking?
Traveling has been consistent this year and that’s always great. Going to new cities, meeting new people and seeing different art and architecture. I think it’s important to rip yourself out of the your everyday life, it’s easy to get complacent. I also get really hyped on seeing friends starting to gain acknowledgement for their artwork. It’s inspiring to see people become successful at their random ideas and eventually to a level where they can live off of it. I have a friend who shapes surfboards under the name Mandala and his impeccable craftsmanship is blowing up. I don’t really even surf, but I certainly appreciate how cool-looking his boards are and the level of quality that he demands out of himself. I like that, it’s rare!

What keeps you motivated to work in this industry? Inspires you?
I grew up skating and it kept me out of trouble. I’ve always loved it and for some reason the love hasn’t gone away. I really only enjoy working for things that I believe in, and skating happens to be one of those things. Any design work I do out of skating is usually in the streetwear realm, I only do that because I like that world too. It’s young and energetic; I just don’t like the ‘trophy-hunter’ aspect of it.

 

 

What’s your take on the current state of skateboarding and how do you feel about the constant reference of skateboarding in streetwear, despite the fact the majority of streetwear brands have little, if any, history in skateboarding?
That’s a weird one. I actually think that streetwear is loosely tied to skating because a lot of the people that run the companies tend to be skaters or ex-skaters. There’s an entrepreneurial spirit that is sort of consistent from watching skate companies come up and get successful. In many ways, streetwear of today reminds me of the skate companies in the early 90s and I think that’s why I like it.

By Steven Vogel

For more info on Adiskate, hit up their website here

 

If you are learning or planning to learn chord based piano, its a must that you learn how to construct chords.

If youre already familiar with scales, its very easy to construct chords. The following steps will help you construct 48 chords in about 5 minutes.

First, In order to learn how to construct chords on your own, you need to memorize formulas. Each chord type has its own specific formula. There are 4 basic chord types, thus 4 basic formulas: major, minor, diminished, and augmented.

When constructing chords its helpful to think in terms of steps. After all, chords are made of thirds which are made of steps. A half step is the shortest distance between two notes. For example, from C to C# is a half step, C# to D another half step, and so on.

3 half steps = minor third (M3)

4 half steps = major third (m3)

Heres the formula for the first 4 chords:

1) M3 + m3 = Major triad

Ex: C E G = C Major

2) m3 + M3 = Minor triad

Ex: C Eb G

3) m3 + m3 = Diminished Triad

Ex: C Eb Gb (or F#)

4) M3 + M3 = Augmented Triad

Ex: C E G#

The above examples are based on the scale of C major. Now apply this formula for all twelve keys and youll have 48 triads under your belt! Once youve mastered these basic chords, you might want to add more complex chords such as 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th. While they might sound intimidating, they simply are extensions of the basic triads.

So throw away your chord chart books. You dont need to memorize hundreds of chords. Now you know how to construct your own! Remember: memorize formulas, not chords.

Alex Nguyen is the Rapid Piano Expert who has been playing piano for over 20 years. Now hes helping others learn to play piano rapidly and enjoy it from day one. To get your FREE mini report The 7 Most Powerful Tips To Learning The Piano Rapidly, and learn how you can get personal piano coaching from Alex for FREE for a limited time, visit http://www.RapidPiano.com