Sample Music from Wombat

The musicians with Wombat, an Atlanta based funk-jam fusion band sent over a 7 minute audio clip of one of their latest originals to give away here called, Sunburst. The track was written primarily by Shawn McCrystal, and was recorded live at Smith's Olde Bar on February 09, 2008. While it's only a clip, as the entire track is almost 20 minutes, I thought some of you might enjoy listening to it. Their sound is definitely not for everyone though, especially if you are not into improvisational music, but there's no denying that Wombat is comprised of some incredibly talented musicians. The Creative Loafing called their sound "tried-n-true rock jamming served with a side of greasy funk," and Jezebel Magazine said Wombat "combines high energy and funky rhythms with long improvisational jams."

If you would like to have the entire song, just send me an email. Also, if you're in a band or a solo musician and would like for me to consider posting a sample of your music here,  just drop me a note.

Make Free Calls While Touring

There's a new mobile companion service called RingBranch that I think could help reduce road expenses for many touring musicians, but, to be as transparent as possible, I work for RingBranch so this post is a plug for the company as well. But, I wouldn't write about it here if I didn't think it could legitimately help some musicians - here's how:

Both T-Mobile and Alltel offer mobile calling plans that allow unlimited any network calling. For example, under T-Mobile's MyFaves™ plan, you can make and receive an unlimited amount of phone calls for free with up to 5 of your friends, family members or colleagues, regardless of the phone service these 5 contacts use. Alltel has a similar service called My Circle® that allows up to 20 contacts.

With RingBranch, if you are using either T-Mobile's MyFaves™ plan, Alltel's My Circle® or another similar kind of wireless plan, you can effectively expand the total number of contacts you are able to call to as many as 100. What this means for you is that while you are on the road touring, and if you are using a service like T-Mobile's MyFaves™ plan, you could essentially expand your contact list beyond just your friends, but to also include venue numbers, booking agencies, sound and lighting rental companies, indie record stores, crash pads, numbers for points of contacts with opening acts, headlining acts, etc. So, by using RingBranch in conjunction with your MyFaves™ plan, you could call any of these kinds of numbers and talk for up to an additional 1,000 minutes per month for free, no matter what mobile network you are calling, if the number is a landline or mobile number, or where they are located in the continental United States. You could even reduce your monthly mobile service costs as well.

To get started, just signup for a free RingBranch beta account and get your free dedicated unique telephone number. It's a standard phone number (area code)-xxx-xxxx that could even be used as your band's main contact number. Then, add your contacts into your RingBranch virtual telephone directory - up to 100. Next, add your RingBranch number with your MyFaves™ or My Circle® plan via their websites. Once that's completed, you will then call into your RingBranch number from your wireless phone, such as T-Mobile, and then select the person you want to speak with from your virtual telephone directory. RingBranch will then route your call to that person, and because a call into your RingBranch number is treated as a free call under the MyFaves™ , My Circle® or other similar plans, you should not be charged for airtime. Additionally, you could give your music biz contacts your RingBranch number, and the call will automatically forward to the mobile phone you choose utilizing a calling plan like MyFaves™ or My Circle®. As a bonus, when they call into your RingBranch number you should be able to talk for up to an additional 1,000 minutes per month for free because it's listed in your MyFaves™ or My Circle® plan.

It's free to try out, so why not? For more information, visit the RingBranch web site. Btw, the 1,000 additional free minutes per month is how much talk-time RingBranch provides in addition to your monthly calling plan.
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I was listening to: Albert King via FoxyTunes when i wrote this post.

Rodney Mills Interview: An Audio Podcast on the Art of Mastering

Atlanta based audio engineer and friend, Clay Smith recently interviewed the legendary sound engineer Rodney Mills who has produced, recorded, mixed and mastered over 40 gold and platinum albums for influential artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pearl Jam, Curtis Mayfield, R.E.M., and many other global acts.  The interview is focused on the art of mastering, but it's a must listen for any artist considering DIY mastering versus outsourcing to a professional mastering engineer. Click here to listen to the entire interview.
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I was listening to Hank Crawford & Jimmy McGriff - Peanuts via FoxyTunes when I wrote this post.