Gate.io threatens legal action against rumor-mongersInsolvency rumors surfaced after a series of events involving Multichain. Gate.io has denied any liquidity issues.

Elon goes to China, Rivian is selling stock for $3 billion, and Fiat’s cutest tiny EVWelcome back to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B.
Rebecca Bellan here, and yup, I’m still steering the ship.
The biggest news this week has been Elon Musk’s visit to China, a move that has the potential to strengthen Tesla’s ties with the world’s largest auto market. It’s Musk’s first visit since the COVID-19 pandemic, and his commitment to China isn’t surprising given how much China’s vehicle sales carry the automaker’s global sales. In Q1, China accounted for over half of Tesla’s deliveries.
Even though Twitter is banned in China, Musk has still managed to make himself something of a legend to the Chinese people, reports Rita. The CEO has over 2 million followers on Weibo, where Musk shares his admiration for China, his opposition to cutting off supply chains and his plans to expand his business in China.
“The China space program is far more advanced than most people realize,” wrote Musk on Weibo.
His sweet-talking has earned him the nickname “Iron Man.”
The pieces of Musk’s visit to China are still falling, and we’ll keep updating, but here’s what we know so far. Musk kicked off his trip by dining with Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, one of the largest battery manufacturing companies. There have been talks lately of CATL and Tesla partnering to build cheaper batteries in the U.S., but there’s nothing solid yet.
Musk also paid a visit to the Shanghai Gigafactory, where he met the staff behind Tesla’s popular Model 3 and Model Y.
We’re keeping our eyes out for more news of Musk’s happenings in China. And with that, onto the rest!

Want to reach out with a tip, comment or complaint? Email Kirsten at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com. You also can send a direct message to @kirstenkorosec. Or you can reach Rebecca at rebecca.techcrunch@gmail.com or follow her at @rebeccabellan.
Reminder that you can drop us a note at tips@techcrunch.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, click here to contact us, which includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging apps.
Micromobbin’

Cake is expanding into India via a partnership with Pepfuels under the brand name CollarEV.
Cowboy is being sued by eBikeLabs, a French startup that builds embedded software for e-bikes, for patent infringement and copying eBikeLabs’ tech in its latest feature, AdaptivePower. Cowboy has refuted the claims and accused eBikeLabs of running a smear campaign. As Romain Dillet reports, “This is a messy story about a business relationship that fell apart between a small startup that doesn’t have deep pockets and a popular consumer brand that wants to protect its reputation.”
Zoomo will start offering Urban Arrow’s electric cargo bikes on its e-bike subscription platform.
Residents of Santa Barbara can check out e-bikes on a weekly basis from a new e-bike lending library.
Honda filed patents for two new moped-style electric scooters called Dax:e and Zoomer:e. Both are poised to enter the Indian market.
Zeus launched a solar panel charging pilot program in Regensburg, Germany. Under the pilot, scooters parked at the company’s three “Zolar stations” will get a charge from the sun. Maybe they should be called Helios stations, amiright?!
Porsche has launched two new e-bike cross-performance models that look like they can absolutely shred mountains.
City Spotlight: Atlanta
On June 7, TechCrunch is going to (virtually) be in Atlanta. We have a slate of amazing programming planned, including the mayor himself, Andre Dickens. If you are an early-stage Atlanta-based founder, apply to pitch to our panel of guest investors/judges for our live pitching competition. The winner gets a free booth at TechCrunch Disrupt this year to exhibit their company in our startup alley. Register here to tune in to the event.
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin (opens in a new window)
Deal of the week

Lucid Group plans to raise $3 billion through a stock offering, the majority of which will come from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). PIF already owns more than 60% of the company, and it’s agreed to buy 265.7 million shares in a private placement for about $1.8 billion, which suggests a price of about $6.80 per share. The rest will be raised from a public offering of 173.5 million shares of common stock, according to the company.
Shares immediately dropped 9% after-hours on the news as investors considered how much more money Lucid would need to surmount its rising losses and diminishing available capital. And all of this amid a looming recession, a Tesla-sparked price war, and the aftertaste of large-scale layoffs in March.
Sure, Lucid can bring in more cash, but the company really needs to cure its spending problem. In the first quarter, Lucid’s cash and cash equivalents dropped to $900 million, down from $1.74 billion at the end of Q4 2022.
Other deals that got my attention this week …
Boeing has fully acquired eVTOL startup Wisk Aero. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Boeing already owned part of Wisk and had committed $450 million in capital back in January.
A British consortium that includes mining company Glencore will invest $9 billion in Indonesia’s mining and EV battery sectors. Indonesia has the world’s biggest nickel reserves.
General Motors and South Korea’s Posco Chemical are getting C$150 million from Canada’s federal government and Quebec to build a battery materials facility. The companies aim to have the C$600 million project up and running by 2025.
Loewi, a Paris-based e-bike refurbishment startup, raised €1 million in funding to help it reach 300 refurbishments per month and expand globally.
Ola Electric, an Indian manufacturer of electric two-wheelers, is said to be preparing for an initial public offering before the year’s end. The company achieved a valuation of $5 billion during its most recent fundraising round in 2022.
Notable reads and other tidbits

Autonomous vehicles
A California bill that would require a trained human safety operator to be present anytime a heavy-duty autonomous vehicle operates on public roads passed the state’s Assembly floor. It’ll go to the Senate now and, if passed, to the governor’s desk. The AV industry argues the bill stifles California’s competitiveness and defeats the whole purpose of self-driving trucks. The bill’s authors are concerned about safety on highways and job security for truckers.
Cruise is expanding hours of operation in San Francisco for certain riders who have access to its free service. For some, rides will start at 9 p.m. and go until 5:30 a.m.
Einride announced a partnership with the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure to deploy 2,000 EVs, 200 autonomous vehicles, eight charging stations and Einride’s SaaS product Saga across 550 km of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The partnership is expected to play out over the next five years. Einride did not share the financial terms.
Serve Robotics and Uber have expanded their existing partnership. Over the next couple of years, about 2,000 of Serve’s little autonomous sidewalk delivery robots will deliver food via the Uber Eats platform in multiple markets across the U.S.
Electric vehicles, batteries and charging
Arcimoto unveiled its new tiny, three-wheeled flatbed truck called the MUV. It has a customizable rear storage space, top speed of 75 mph, and about 102 miles of city range. The MUV is available now for $23,500, and Arcimoto is aiming to sell fleets.
Select 2024 Audi and other VW Group cars will have Webex available to download from the automaker’s in-app car store. Webex is also available on the 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and in Ford vehicles.
Fiat’s new Topolino tiny EV is so cute we could scream. The remade Citroen Ami is a retro-looking quadricycle with a convertible top and ropes instead of doors, and aside from a teaser image, that’s really all we know about it. It probably won’t go any faster than the Ami, which hits around 28 mph, so it’ll be a no-go for the States. Which is sad because, again, it’s super cute and better for the environment and urban landscapes than an electric Hummer.
Ford’s CEO Jim Farley said the automaker might not break even on its EVs until 2030.
Geely is preparing to enter Thailand’s electric vehicle market.
The 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV is a practical, luxurious car with top-notch tech in the form of a Hyperscreen and a handful of driver-assist features. It’s great for tech-forward families who like the finer things in life and plenty of space. Only downside? The exterior is a bit meh. As Tim Stevens describes it, “The result is a bit of a blob that absolutely disappears into any parking lot.”
Polestar’s latest software update includes YouTube. Like other similar iterations, users can stream video while stopped, like if they’re waiting for a pickup or charging their vehicles. The Polestar 2 software update also includes an updated version of Apple CarPlay that lets you project Apple Maps onto the instrument cluster.
Rivian has teased its smaller, lower-cost R2 SUV design over the Memorial Day weekend during an Instagram Q&A. CEO RJ Scaringe stood in front of a clay model of an R2 covered with a black cloth, outlining a boxy-looking compact vehicle.
Tesla says all of its Model 3 sedans now qualify for the full $7,500 EV tax credit.
Toyota has committed another $2.1 billion to its battery factory in North Carolina. The automaker also said its first U.S.-made electric SUV will be built at its Kentucky factory.
Volkswagen has finally debuted its U.S. version of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz minivan after years of teasing. The specs on the U.S. van are, unsurprisingly, much bigger than the European bus. The whole feel of it is retro-meets-cool, and indeed, we have ourselves asking, Can VW make minivans cool? Once factoring in the nostalgia aspect, the answer is undoubtedly yes. And VW will need that as it coasts into EV-land.
Volvo revealed some details about the interior of its new EX30. From what we can tell, that good old Scandinavian design is really pulling through to optimize space in the small SUV.
Miscellaneous
Attending Apple’s WWDC this month? Check out this new website from flight tracking tool Flighty to find others who are traveling to the event and connect with them, maybe even en route!
Delta Air Lines is being sued in a class action lawsuit for allegedly greenwashing. The company made a $1 billion pledge in 2020 to become carbon neutral, but the plan relied on carbon credits to offset the airline’s pollution.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed a new rule that would require all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. to be equipped with automatic emergency braking systems.
Tesla has been given the all-clear by NHTSA after the agency closed an investigation into Tesla for allowing in-dash gaming while its vehicles were moving.
Bored of the standard navigation voice on Waze? Now you can have Roger Federer give you turn-by-turn directions, because why not?
Wingcopter and Siemens have signed an MoU to develop and roll out an integrated drone delivery solution to transport lab diagnostics and other medical supplies in Africa.
Ride-hail
Ford launched a new pilot called Ford Drive that will give Uber drivers in San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles access to flexible leases on Mustang Mach-Es.
Revel is diversifying its all-Tesla ride-share fleet with about 50 Kia Niro EVs.
Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other app-based ride-hail and delivery companies will have to reimburse California gig workers potentially millions of dollars for unpaid vehicle expenses between 2022 and 2023. The backpay comes from a provision in Prop 22 that gives low-earning drivers a vehicle reimbursement fee of $0.30 per active mile driven. That fee was meant to increase with the rate of inflation, but for the past year and a half, it has remained stagnant.
Uber is dropping the 5% discounts on rides that it used to offer members of its Uber One subscription service. Instead, riders can now earn 6% Uber Cash on rides that can be spent on more Uber stuff. It’s a bold move, and one that might see the instant gratification seekers among us ditch their memberships. But if it works out for Uber, the company might see even more spend coming from its subscribers.
* A previous newsletter inadvertently had some missing words in the following write-up. Here is the complete sentence. QuantumScape, the solid-state battery company, is (sort of) pivoting. The company said it is planning to focus more on the consumer-electronics sector in an effort to bring in the capital it needs to commercialize automotive-grade cells.
Elon goes to China, Rivian is selling stock for $3 billion, and Fiat’s cutest tiny EV by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch

Linda Audio Releases FREE Instavibe Effect Plugin
Linda Audio releases free Instavibe saturation plugin for Windows. You might say to yourself: “I’ve got plenty of  saturation plugin“- however, we both know that is a wrong statement and there is always room for more. If you’re looking for saturation and distortion with a more creative bent, why not check Instavibe from Linda Audio? [...]
View post: Linda Audio Releases FREE Instavibe Effect Plugin

Vicious Antelope Memory Keys 2 - Memorymode Memory Keys 2 soundbank contains 100 classic synth keys for Cherry Audio Memorymode synthesizer. The sounds are influenced by 80's and 70's music mainly. They fit for cinematic, sci-fi... Read More

Product Profile: Mackie DLZ CreatorMackie’s new DLZ Creator is an adaptive digital mixer for podcasting and livestreaming designed around a 10.1-inch high-resolution touch screen. The colors and screen resolution on the DLZ Creator’s touch screen are exceptionally clear and vibrant. The Touchscreen is designed to be glare resistant, so that it can be clearly seen from any angle. The CPU processor on the DLZ Creator is fast and responsive and helps to make using the DLZ Creator a transparent and enjoyable experience. Three large buttons on the top right of the DLZ Creator are: Home, which gets you back to the top-level screen; Record and Automix (more on the DLZ Creator’s Automix function below). 

Mackie’s DLZ Creator features four professional-quality microphone preamps borrowed from Mackie’s Onyx series of professional mixers. Each channel has mute and solo functions. Each of the four available channels has a combo jack capable of accepting microphone or line input. The fact that the Onyx preamps have enough headroom (up to 80 dB) to be capable of effectively capturing content at a high sound pressure level opens the possibility to livestream or capture just about any kind of live content you can think of and opens up some serous creative possibilities. The back of the DLZ Creator has also two additional quarter-inch inputs (channels 5 and 6) designed for plugging in keyboards, turntables or even the outputs of another mixer. 

You can with the DLZ Creator stream directly to your DAW or OBS via the available USB C port. While there is no internal memory on the DLZ Creator, you can record to an SD Card. To increase your available recording time, you can also plug a USB flash drive into the DLZ Creator’s USB-A port. The DLZ Creator also has an Ethernet network port that will be supported in a future firmware update. 

Mackie’s DLZ Creator features an automated set-up process that walks you through the entire process of configuring and setting up your input and gain levels. The Mackie DLZ Creator has three selectable user modes: Easy, Enhanced and Pro, which unlock progressively more sophisticated audio and routing features depending on the end user’s level of experience. 

When you first turn it on, The DLZ Creators Mix Agent walks you through a comprehensive setup process that assists you in setting up the Creator DLZ based on whatever user mode you select. It is important to point out that the DLZ Creator’s full suite of features is available in all three user modes, albeit with progressively more user configurable options depending on the user mode selected during the setup process. (You can go back and change the user level experience setting at any time.) 

The DLZ Creator features a full suite of reverb and delay effects available in Expert or Pro modes. The front of the Mackie DLZ Creator has four rotary encoders that adapt to control whatever function that is on screen at a given time. 

Once you select your input sources, DLZ Creator’s on-board Mix Agent technology lets you automatically set your levels for instruments or microphones. In Automix mode (selectable from the top left panel), the built-in software algorithm will automatically keep your levels correctly set during your livestream or podcast so that your content is correctly captured. For the novice user or a user who doesn’t know anything about recording technology, the DLZ Creator has been designed to be dead simple to operate. When I mean simple to operate, its icon-driven interface displays icons of different microphone types, and the comprehensive setup script and Automix technology works incredibly well so that virtually anyone can operate it and the chances of user error is extremely low. The Automix function, when selected, will also automatically mute unused channels and adjust the ones that are in use to unity gain to automatically keep all of your mix set at the correct input level throughout the recording process.

While not an industry first, the DLZ Creator’s ability to automatically set your input levels, not to mention keep track of your mix levels while capturing live content, is a huge time saver for experienced users and a big help for anyone who may not necessarily know anything about correctly setting input and gain levels. 

For podcasters, the Mackie DLZ Creator has a number of professional features to help in your podcast productions. The mix-minus feature lets you use your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone to patch live into your podcast. There are six sample triggers that are fully assignable to playback whatever stored samples are selected (up to four banks of six effects). The DLZ Creator has four headphone outputs, each one capable of its own custom headphone mix and an eighth inch stereo input for plugging in your phone. On the back of the DLZ Creator are two quarter-inch TRS balanced outputs that can be used to connect studio monitors, connect to a PA or even to another mixer, if required. 

The Mackie DLZ Creator is a purpose-built podcasting solution. That said, Mackie has incorporated into the DLZ Creator enough technology from their extensive experience designing pro audio mixers to make it attractive to self-producing artists and musicians looking to capture and stream live or studio content. 

The flexibility and ease of use of the DLZ Creator is impressive. As with all Mackie products, Mackie’s DLZ Creator offers a strong value proposition relative to competing products. The fact that the DLZ Creator has three user experience modes makes the DLZ Creator a great fit for a wide range of end users both inside and outside traditional MI channels. The touchscreen on the DLZ Creator is fast, responsive, and provides for a genuinely immersive user experience. After using the DLZ Creator for only a short time, the touch screen interface, ease of use and advanced feature set on the Mackie DLZ Creator made me a believer. 

The Mackie DLZ Creator is available now for MAP $799.99 

       Find out more at mackie.com/dlz

Plugin Boutique’s June FREEBIE Is Softube’s Dirty Tape
Plugin Boutique offers the Dirty Tape plugin by Softube as a free add-on with any purchase in June. Clean audio is fine, but sometimes you need some grunge. If you’re feeling a little light in the wallet since it’s the first of the month, then fret not because the fine folks at Plugin Boutique have [...]
View post: Plugin Boutique’s June FREEBIE Is Softube’s Dirty Tape

British Pedal Company unleash King of Fuzz Tone Bender The King of Fuzz is a limited editon version of The British Pedal Company's Tone Bender effect, and has been produced to commemorate the coronation of King Charles III.

Warren’s alleged work with short-seller shows anti-crypto army heating upElizabeth Warren reportedly took advice from Wall Street short-seller Marc Cohodes, who cashed in on the collapse of Silvergate and Signature banks.

Authentic Soundware Space Age Rhythm Embark on a fantastical musical voyage with Space Age Rhythm! This collection comprises seven core rhythm section instruments that define the sound of the midcentury studio orchestra. Each... Read More

Singers Sound-Off 2023Well, it’s that time again, time for our annual array of vocal artists from across the musical and multi-generational spectrum. And this year is our most action-packed and diverse to date. Please join us in welcoming shared experiences and insight from Stormstress guitarist-vocalist Tanya Venom, singer-songwriter and educator Florence Dore, active rock- and country-charting singer-songwriter HARDY, Larkin Poe lead vocalist Rebecca Lovell, and Motown living legend Martha Reeves.

 Tanya Venom

Contact: tanyavenomguitarist@gmail.com • stormstressband.com 

Tanya Venom is the guitarist and vocalist for heavy metal power trio Stormstress. The Detroit native, along with twin sister and bassist-vocalist Tia Mayhem and drummer-vocalist Maddie May Scott, has been steadily building a national following since her formation of the group in 2019. Venom is featured on the band’s 2022 full-length indie release Silver Lining and is also active as a session guitarist-vocalist, songwriter, arranger and educator.  

FIRST PROFESSIONAL GIG

It was an all-female classic rock band called 4D. Our mom’s friend from work was a drummer in the band and she told her about my sister Tia and I. We were both 16 and just starting out. They invited us to play with them and we were making money in clubs playing all over the metro Detroit area. It was pretty cool.

MUSICAL INFLUENCES

My first big influences were Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin and Freddie Mercury of Queen. I liked that high range, epic rock & roll type of singing. Later, I turned to Lizzy Hale of Halestorm and heavier bands, like Butcher Babies.

MUSICAL EDUCATION

Berklee College of Music was awesome! I majored in film scoring and my principle instrument was guitar. And through that school I met so many amazing people and made connections I still keep in contact with today. Berklee was like a Hogwarts wizarding school for music.

FRONTING A TRIO AS VOCALIST AND GUITARIST

At Berklee my twin sister Tia and I started a band called Flight of Fire. We had a great lead singer in that band and I was starting to sing more complicated harmonies. Toward the end of that band, in 2017, I really liked singing, but I needed to improve my pitch and timbre. We then started a duo, Venom and Mayhem, where I did more lead vocals and expressive melodies.       When Stormstress started in 2019, I began to apply lead singing, harmonies and guitar together. I learned to write less complicated parts while I was playing riffs and singing over chords. Now I’m getting really good at playing riffs and chords simultaneously. You have to trust what one thing is doing to focus on the other.

VOCAL HEALTH JOURNEY

I had never been properly trained as a vocalist, which is where I think these problems were rooted. In 2022 we were doing a ton of gigs—post COVID—and I was finally confident in my voice and working it a lot. I got really sick with an upper respiratory infection around Halloween. And Stormstress had a show that, even though I was wildly sick, I did anyway. I performed full blast and made it through the show. But my voice never fully came back after that. My voice was giving out after only an hour of singing and I started to panic. I tried to get more sleep and tried eating different foods, but nothing was helping. 

After a few months I saw an ENT doctor. He stuck a camera up my nose and saw a polyp right away on my right vocal cord. I was scared when he recommended surgery, but he assured it was pretty common. He said it looked like I had good singing technique, but that I’d injured myself. I cancelled a lot of gigs and was not singing as much. When I finally got the surgery at the beginning of August the polyp had shrunk considerably. After a month my voice started coming back really gravelly at first. I started seeing a speech therapist who helped me in many ways from a singing and medical perspective.”

VOCAL SUPPORT TIPS

Hydrate the day before you sing, because it takes time for water to be absorbed by your vocal cords. Coughing and constantly clearing your throat can scratch your vocal cords as well. Try to speak light and gently from the front of your mouth and, by all means, don’t sing when you’re sick! •

MARTHA REEVES 

Contact: Chris Roe, chrisroemanagement@gmail.com • marthareeves.net 

Martha Reeves is a bonafide Motown superstar who, with her group The Vandellas, garnered a string of hits for that storied label in the early ‘60s. “Dancing In The Street,” “Heat Wave,” “Jimmy Mack,” “Nowhere to Run” and “Come and Get These Memories” are just some of the chart-topping gems that put Reeves and company on the legendary musical map. In the ensuing years, the Detroit Diva has been an actor, film narrator and solo artist, but these days she is actively campaigning for a well-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. With a hefty price tag attached, June 2023 is the final month of eligibility for this esteemed honor.

FIRST PROFESSIONAL GIG

When I was three years old we sang in my grandfather’s church. It was in Detroit at the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church. One Saturday evening my brothers Benny and Thomas let me sing with them and we sang a song called “Jesus Met the Woman at the Well.” We won this singing contest and we were the only talented kids of all my dad’s siblings. That made me professional.

MUSICAL EDUCATION

I had operatic training in high school with Abraham Silver. He was one of the finest teachers I ever had. Music was in the schools then. But he picked me out of 11 girls in the choir to sing Bach’s aria “Alleluia.” And we sang it before 4500 people at Detroit’s Ford Auditorium. I’ve always felt that our musical instructions for life came from school. And we’ve gotta make it more important for our youngsters. Education is the key.

MUSICAL INFLUENCES

My dad played blues guitar and, when he wasn’t listening to spiritual music, woodshedded with John Lee Hooker. He never went professional, but he was one of my biggest influences. Mom sang Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn and those ladies. They were both talented.

SELECTING MATERIAL TO SING

Music is supposed to soothe the soul. And I’ve only sang songs that I could put my faith in. But at Motown it wasn’t so much about us choosing material. It was the producers there who were writing the songs. I worked in the A&R department and I helped them write songs. But I was never given credit for being a writer, producer or anything. And there was no chance of getting any publishing. But I helped them write and sing on demos. And I couldn’t sing a song unless I could put my heart in it. I helped choose the words and made them spiritual. People could tell they were from my heart.

AFTER MOTOWN

I lived in Los Angeles for 14 years. When Motown left Detroit, so did I for a while. I had no other choice if I was gonna continue my career. I was also on the MCA label and had an album recorded by Richard Perry—one of the best producers for Universal Music. I’ve been in movies and I’ve done narration for documentaries in the U.S. and for the BBC. To be honest, we’re more famous in the U.K. than America.

HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME

Here comes this Hollywood star project that I didn’t ask for, but I feel I deserve it! Someone started this issue and I have to continue with it. So, I’m here in Detroit famous as I can be, but not rich.

KEEPING THE VOICE IN SHAPE

Well, I’ve been singing since I was a baby. I sing every day, praising the Lord. I’m the product of public school teachers. I was already singing when I started working as a receptionist at Motown. All I had to do was just apply what I had learned about my voice. And it was my determination to sing songs that I could honor God in.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

People are opening doors and we are coming back with gigs in July and August, going into the Fall. So, things are looking up. People have shown me love that I didn’t know existed. •

Larkin Poe Variety Playhouse 2023

  REBECCA LOVELL

Contact: Emily Ginsberg, ginsberg@bighassle.com • larkinpoe.com 

Rebecca Lovell is lead vocalist-guitarist/multi-instrumentalist and half of the duo-led blues-based roots rock band Larkin Poe. Along with her harmony vocalist-guitarist sister Megan, Lovell has been gradually building their southern-flavored brand of Americana since backing such luminaries as Elvis Costello, Conor Oberst and Keith Urban. Larkin Poe’s latest album is called BloodHarmony (Tricki Woo Records). 

FIRST PROFESSIONAL GIG

In 2004, my two elder sisters and I started a band called The Lovell Sisters that transitioned almost imperceptibly from hobby into a professional gig over the course of five years. We disbanded in 2009.

KEY INFLUENCES AND MENTORS

Chris Whitley has been, and continues to be, one of my biggest influences. As a triple threat singer, songwriter and guitarist Whitley ticks all the boxes for me. I feel incredibly grateful to have had an extensive list of mentors who invested a great deal of faith and attention into my musical growth over the years. I am particularly indebted to Elvis Costello for sharing his wisdom and perspective to my writing ventures from the ground up.

MUSICAL EDUCATION

I started classical violin and piano lessons at four years old and continued in the Suzuki method for almost 10 years. In our preteens, my sisters and I dropped our classical lessons and fell headlong into bluegrass music. Ever since then I have been predominantly self-taught.

PREFERRED STAGE MONITOR SYSTEMS

Coming up in tight rock clubs, I routinely used to sing my voice out trying to sing over the cymbals. We transitioned to in-ear monitors six or seven years ago and it has made all the difference.

SONGWRITING PROCESS

Songwriting is an ever-evolving practice for me. As my capacity for vulnerability in the creative process continues to increase, I find that my toolbox gets bigger. Simply continuing to remain open to new ways of thinking and feeling about songwriting is the biggest goal.

STAGE HIGHLIGHTS AND MISHAPS

Being put in challenging or adverse circumstances on the live stage is a huge opportunity for growth as a musician and performer. I look back over the past 18 years of touring with gratitude for the countless times I’ve fallen onstage, struggled to hear myself or played to the bar staff. Until you’ve truly hit the ground hard and tested your own mettle, you won’t know what you’re fully capable of.

TURNING POINT IN YOUR CAREER

Starting our own record label in 2017 and committing to self-production.

VOCAL HEALTH AND WARMUPS

Before and after shows I religiously follow a vocal warm-up and cool-down routine. At this point there are so many great resources available on YouTube. There’s absolutely no reason that a singer shouldn’t be experimenting with this aspect of vocal caretaking. I don’t drink on tour. And pending how my voice is feeling on any given day, I will limit my talking as well. Prioritizing vocal rest and hydration is always a focus for me. •

HARDY 

Contact: Jess Anderson, jess@bigloud.com •

hardyofficial.com 

The pride of Philadelphia, Mississippi, HARDY is an artist who’s really difficult to pin down. To a great degree, he’s a jack of all trades, and a master of many, as well. His latest critically acclaimed album titled The Mockingbird & The Crow (Big Loud Records) successfully drives home his diverse writing and production style. His half-country, half-hard rocking approach is multi-laterally straddling the charts at active rock radio, pop and modern country combined. He’s previously toured with Thomas Rhett, Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean and has amassed numerous accolades, including the CMA Triple Play, ACM “Songwriter of the Year Award” and the 2022 BMI “Songwriter of the Year Award,” to name a few.

SONGWRITING ORIGIN AND TURNING POINT AS A WRITER

I started writing my own songs as a teenager. My sister is a couple years older than me, and she went to Belmont in Nashville for college. Eventually I ended up in town there, too, at MTSU. Right after I moved to Nashville, my sister encouraged me to sign with a PRO. She interned at BMI, so I signed with them. Shortly thereafter, I was lucky to have a meeting with Leslie Roberts where I played her the five or six songs that I had to my name at the time. She told me that, on the whole, the songs were okay, but there was one in particular that was pretty good. She said I was on to something with what I had to say as a songwriter. That was one of my first meetings in Nashville and that one comment that she made validated something in me and made me believe that I could make it as a songwriter.

BALANCING COUNTRY AND ROCK RADIO

As a songwriter the rule is always the same—best idea wins. It doesn’t matter what genre or idea. We just wanna write the best song we can. As an artist, especially with the last album, the split between rock and country happened organically, basically by accident. For this last album I had about 16 songs—8 songs each genre. Things just kind of happened on their own.

VOCAL HEALTH AND TECHNIQUE

I started implementing some, like, nu metal and scream vocals on the rock half of my record, and that’s been really cool to learn about. I’ve formed some friendships with some guys in that world, like Jeremy McKinnon, who’s on “Radio Song” with me, and Caleb Shomo from Beartooth. I’ve learned a lot from them about how to protect your voice as much as you can while still getting to have fun with it.

FAVORITE SONGS IN YOUR CATALOG

I love our headline set on this current tour. We start off pretty rock-heavy and then throw in a good mix of country songs from my first album. I play “God’s Country” and am always proud to play it and its message. Another song “Wait in the Truck” has been really powerful live. And every time I get to sing it with Lainey (Wilson) it means a lot.

FAVORITE COLLABORATORS AND ARTIST WISHLIST

Because of songwriting and our HIXTAPE collaborations, I’ve gotten to work with so many of my favorite artists and a lot of my friends. I’m excited to collaborate with some people in the rock world as a writer. I’ve never had a Tim McGraw cut or a Kenny Chesney cut, so those are definitely on the bucket list. •

FLORENCE DORE 

Contact: Wendy Brynford-Jones, wendy@hel lowendy.com • florencedoremusic.com 

Florence Dore is a North Carolina-based singer-songwriter, as well as a Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is author and editor of the new book The Ink in the Grooves: Conversations on Literature and Rock ‘n’ Roll (Cornell University Press) and, also just released her second album, and debut for Propeller Records, called Highways and Rocketships. 

FIRST PROFESSIONAL GIG

I would say The Rathskellar or The Middle East Café in Boston. There was kind of an anti-frat house in college called Eclectic House where I played some early shows too.

MUSICAL INFLUENCES

Warren Zevon and Steve Earle come to mind, for sure. When I was little it was The Beatles and The Band. When I was eight years old I wrote a fan letter to Joan Baez and her mother wrote me back. I also love Crystal Gayle, Bonnie Raitt and Loretta Lynn too.

THE INK IN THE GROOVES AND HIGHWAYS AND ROCKETSHIPS CROSS-PROMOTION

The record took a really long time to come out because of the pandemic. We recorded the first single “Rebel Debutante” in March 2020. I also made a benefit record for the popular venue Cat’s Cradle during the pandemic as well. We recorded some things remotely until vaccines happened. We were the last people to record in Mitch Easter’s studio before the pandemic and the first people back in after vaccines. The record came out in June 2022 and my book came out in October. The timing worked out great for both.

THE CONVERGENCE OF ROCK MUSIC AND LITERATURE

I was working on a book about Southern fiction in the 1950s. And then I put on a conference at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Steve Earle. Steve had just put out a novel and a record called I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive. We brought all these scholars and musicians together and I noticed all these novelists, like Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem and Dana Spiotta, were writing about and referencing rock & roll songs. There was this interaction with music and literature that was evident in a lot of their work.

VOCAL HEALTH AND TECHNIQUE

I try not to talk too much on singing days. When I was younger I never took lessons and I sang right from my throat. But I eventually did take some lessons from someone who helped me. I’m singing every night, so I try to use my head voice, even when I’m singing low. I also drink a lot of water.

SONGWRITING PROCESS

There are all types of tools you can use to write songs. It happens all kinds of ways. It’s a lot of rolling up your sleeves and getting involved in words. I like to use a thesaurus. There is a great book by a guy named Pat Pattison called Writing Better Lyrics. I try to write for 10 minutes every morning and do object deep dives to just get you thinking about the world in a real and sensory way. I also think about how to make cool metaphors. Sometimes it may go nowhere or it may just get you thinking about things in a songwriter way. Sometimes things come to you and sometimes you have to produce conditions for things to come to you. The more we do that as songwriters the more you lay the groundwork for a song to hit you. And then you’ll be able to receive it when it arrives. •

Gig workers get paid, Fidelity slashes Reddit’s valuation and AI conquers MinecraftHey, folks, welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter that recaps the week in tech. Hope the summer’s treating y’all well — it’s a balmy 90 degrees here in NYC! — and that some much-needed R&R is on the agenda.
Speaking of “agenda,” mark your calendars for Disrupt, TC’s annual conference, kicking off in September. Whether you’re a startup rookie learning the ropes or a founder hell-bent on changing the world, Disrupt will deliver the tools, knowledge and connections to help you make it happen. You don’t want to miss it.
Elsewhere, stay tuned for City Spotlight on June 7 (Wednesday), which will highlight Atlanta, Georgia, this go-round. Atlanta has emerged as one of the buzziest new hubs in the nation, with booming cybersecurity and software-as-a-service sectors as well as a slew of investors looking to back the hot new startups coming from the metro. Among the speakers at City Spotlight will be mayor Andre Dickens — we’re looking forward to hearing his perspective.
Now with the PSAs out of the way, here’s your WiR!
most read
Fidelity sours on Reddit: This week, Fidelity, the lead investor in Reddit’s most recent funding round in 2021, slashed the estimated worth of its equity stake in the social media platform by 41% since the investment. The devaluation, part of a broader trend that has hit a variety of growth-stage startups across the globe in the past year, raises uncertainties about whether Reddit will maintain its initial intent to reportedly go public at a valuation around $15 billion.
Amazon Prime Data: Amazon is considering offering low-cost or possibly free nationwide mobile phone service to Prime subscribers in the United States, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The tech giant is reportedly in talks with Verizon, T-Mobile, Dish Network and AT&T.
Gig workers get paid: Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other app-based ride-hail and delivery companies will have to reimburse California gig workers potentially millions of dollars for unpaid vehicle expenses between 2022 and 2023. The back payments come from a provision in Proposition 22, the controversial law that classifies gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees and promises them half-hearted protections and benefits.
Volkswagen’s ace in the hole: Volkswagen is betting big on the upcoming ID.Buzz electric van. With availability of the vehicle still a year out, the automaker is counting on years of pent-up anticipation to not only sell the bus shrouded in nostalgia, but to also have it act as a halo product to bring customers to the brand’s entire EV lineup.
Shopify launches Shop Cash: Shopify’s Shop app is introducing a new rewards program called Shop Cash, the e-commerce platform announced on Friday. The new program is funded by Shopify and earns shoppers 1% back on purchases made using its Shop Pay online checkout service.
Stripe gets into credit: Stripe wants to make it easier for businesses to access credit. The private financial infrastructure giant announced a new charge card program today from Stripe Issuing, its commercial card issuing product. Denise Ho, head of product at Stripe, gave TechCrunch the exclusive details — go read the piece by Mary Ann.
AI conquers Minecraft: AI researchers have built a Minecraft bot that can explore and expand its capabilities in the game’s open world — but unlike other bots, this one basically wrote its own code through trial and error and lots of GPT-4 queries. Called Voyager, this experimental system is an example of an “embodied agent,” an AI that can move and act freely and purposefully in a simulated or real environment.
YouTube Shorts, in minutes: Dumme, a startup putting AI to practical use in video editing, is already generating demand before opening to the public. The Y Combinator–backed company has hundreds of video creators testing its product, which leverages AI to create short-form videos from YouTube content, and it has a waitlist of over 20,000 pre-launch, it says.
audio
Need a new podcast to get your weekend started right? Good news — TC has you covered (and then some). On Equity, the crew took a look at the latest from Web Roulette, Stripe’s acquisition of Okay, what Klarna’s Q1 means for the fintech market and QED and a16z’s early-stage strategies. Found spoke with Dr. Stacy Blain, the co-founder and chief science officer at Concarlo Therapeutics, about the company’s novel therapeutic solutions for drug-resistant cancer. Over at Chain Reaction, Gary Vaynerchuk, the chairman of VaynerX and the CEO of VaynerMedia and NFT collection VeeFriends, spoke on his experiences in the creative media industry. And the TechCrunch Live folks dove into how AI doomerism is overblown — and why the blowhards doing the blowing want it that way.
TechCrunch+
TC+ subscribers get access to in-depth commentary, analysis and surveys — which you know if you’re already a subscriber. If you’re not, consider signing up. Here are a few highlights from this week:
Competition concerns in the age of AI: AI is rapidly changing how businesses sense, reason and adapt in the market. But these groundbreaking capabilities are creating an upheaval in how companies engage with competitors and consumers. Henry Hauser is counsel in Perkins Coie’s antitrust and litigation practice groups. He muses on this in an informative piece.
Salesforce becomes a data company: Could the data exhaust being generated by the Salesforce family of products become more valuable than the products themselves — at least in terms of new revenue adds? This piece explores the possibility.
Why don’t more scientists become founders?: Why is it so common to see outsiders bringing research out of the lab and not the scientists themselves? It’s a complex issue to unravel, but Rebecca does it deftly.
Gig workers get paid, Fidelity slashes Reddit’s valuation and AI conquers Minecraft by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

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The post Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y & Indie Music appeared first on Hypebot.