Entrepreneur Marc Lore on ‘founder mode,’ bad hires, and why avoiding risk is deadlyEntrepreneur Marc Lore has already sold two companies for billions of dollars, collectively. Now he plans to take his food delivery and take-out business Wonder public in a couple of years at an ambitious $40 billion valuation. We talked with Lore in person in New York recently about Wonder and its ultimate aim of making […]
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Tip Jar: Mark Maxwell . . . “If You’re in a Band”If there is any one human being that knows about the trials and tribulations of living a musical life it is Mark Maxwell. The 50-something lead vocalist for Louisville, Kentucky band The Crashers and owner of Maxwell’s House of Music in Jeffersonville, IN grew up in a musical family. His father Marvin was a drummer in Dick Clark’s Caravan of Stars and also owned a music store. And his older brother Max is a 30-year veteran of the Louisville music scene and drummer in The Crashers as well.“I was around a lot of good people and met some interesting players that worked with my dad,” recalls Maxwell on his formative years. “I had no choice but to fall into this thing. I worked in my dad’s music store at 18 years old. And for 40 years I’ve worked in a music store and played in original and cover bands.”Being immersed in the music world, Maxwell garnered a ton of experience that he wanted to share with his customers and his immediate music community at large. He had developed a strong business sense as well as a creative one as a vocalist and guitarist. Undoubtedly, a major turning point in his musical career happened 16 years ago when he formed The Crashers.“We’re just a fun cover band that is comprised of the same six guys who started it,” says Maxwell. “The best thing we did was, when we got together, we sat around a table and got to know each other. We knew we were good players, but could we live with each other for the rest of our lives? Once we determined that, we discussed what were our goals? And then we came up with these lofty goals and hit each one within three and a half years.”Over the years The Crashers have become one of the premier cover bands in the Louisville area, warming up for major acts, playing lucrative municipal, private and corporate events and doing feature shows in Mexico and the Caribbean. The affable singer and front man has learned a lot along the way and wanted to simply pay it forward.About six months ago Maxwell consulted with his store videographer about the notion of starting a series on their website offering tidbits on aspects of being in, and running a band, that would help other established and musicians in their town. “Everybody knows The Crashers in Louisville and we’ve built one of the most stable businesses in this town,” says Maxwell. “And everybody started doing the same thing we were because I kept saying this is what you oughta do.”So, Maxwell began posting 30 to 60 second videos on maxwellshouseofmusic.com that soon got added to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and throughout the social media universe. The series is called If You’re in a Band and features Maxwell casually positioned in various sections of his store nonchalantly extolling tips on musical performance, practice methods, audience interaction, marketing, etc. Initially, as with anything new, there was some push back from the public. But then the tide began to quickly turn in a favorable direction.“After about a month or so of me posting these videos the world started biting in,” says Maxwell. “People from Hawaii, Colorado, Canada, Israel, New Zealand and Australia started buying into, and loving, the series. And once that happened, all of the naysayers in town, for the most part, had stopped.”If You’re in a Band comes out every morning 8 a.m. Monday-Friday EST. And, despite the phenomenal success that Maxwell has personally had through his band and related exploits as a music merchandiser, he humbly maintains his motivation for doing the series and offering real world advice comes from a place of empathy, and is organic and real.“We’re just a local music store that is solid in our foundation in what we’re trying to do to help musicians,” says Maxwell. “We’re here to help you get to wherever you need to go, with whatever gear and whatever ideas. I never once say you should buy this drum set, guitar, bass or amplifier. But this is the big key. When you don’t try to do something and you just do it for the right reasons, which was just to share this with my little town, things blow up! I never tried to sell anybody anything. But it’s the algorithm that connected with musicians and brought everyone here.”Maxwell is living proof that if you remain dedicated to your craft, develop a game plan, keep open lines of communication fluid with your band mates and keep dreaming big anyone can attain whatever level of success in the music business, or life for that matter, they want to achieve.“Being in a band is more like playing chess than checkers,” says Maxwell. “And I think most of the bands in the world are playing checkers—meaning I get one, you get one. It takes a moment to realize that the first move you make affects the eighth move you make, or the third move affects the 12th. So, if you can stop and readjust the way you make these moves it will change your thought process on how to run a band. And I don’t see a whole lot of people doing this.”The series If You’re in a Band is on all social media platforms. But to go to the source, visit maxwellshouseofmusic.com.The post Tip Jar: Mark Maxwell . . . “If You’re in a Band” first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Double Your Analog Oscilloscope Fun with this Retro Beam SplitterThese days, oscilloscope hacking is all about enabling features that the manufacturer baked into the hardware but locked out in the firmware. Those hacks are cool, of course, but back in the days of analog scopes, unlocking new features required a decidedly more hardware-based approach.
For an example of this, take a look at this oscilloscope beam splitter by [Lockdown Electronics]. It’s a simple way to turn a single-channel scope into a dual-channel scope using what amounts to time-division multiplexing. A 555 timer is set up as an astable oscillator generating a 2.5-kHz square wave. That’s fed into the bases of a pair of transistors, one NPN and the other PNP. The collectors of each transistor are connected to the two input signals, each biased to either the positive or negative rail of the power supply. As the 555 swings back and forth it alternately applies each input signal to the output of the beam splitter, which goes to the scope. The result is two independent traces on the analog scope, like magic.
More after the break…

If you’re wondering how this would work on a modern digital scope, so was [Lockdown Electronics]. He gave it a go with his little handheld scope meter and the results were surprisingly good and illustrative of how the thing works. You can clearly see the 555’s square wave on the digital scope sandwiched between the two different input sine waves. Analog scopes always have trouble showing these rising and falling edges, which explains why the beam splitter looks so good on the CRT versus the LCD.
Does this circuit serve any practical purpose these days? Probably not, although you could probably use the same principle to double the number of channels on your digital scope. Eight channels on a four-channel scope for the price of a 555? Sounds like a bargain to us.

Flyback, Done RightA common part used to create a high voltage is a CRT flyback transformer, having been a ubiquitous junk pile component. So many attempts to use them rely on brute force, with power transistors in simple feedback oscillators dropping high currents into hand-wound primaries, so it’s refreshing to see a much more nuanced approach from [Alex Lungu]. His flyback driver board drives the transformer as it’s meant to be used, in flyback mode relying on the sudden collapse of a magnetic field to generate an output voltage pulse rather than simply trying to create as much field as possible. It’s thus far more efficient than all those free running oscillators.
On the PCB is a UC3844 switch mode power supply controller driving the transformer at about 25 kHz through an IGBT. We’d be curious to know how closely the spec of the transformer is tied to the around 15 kHz it would have been run at in a typical TV, and thus what frequency would be the most efficient for it. The result as far as we can see it a stable and adjustable high voltage source with out all the high-current and over heating, something of which we approve.
Need to understand more about free running versus flyback? Read on.

Madrona Labs release Sumu Following an extensive Early Access programme, Madrona Labs have announced that their latest software instrument is now available to all. 

Live Review of Vanessa Collier in Durham, NCThe Blue Note Grill  Durham, NCContact: nick.losseaton@gmail.comWeb: vanessacollier.comPlayers: Vanessa Collier, vocals, sax, guitar; Ben Rice, guitar; Justice Guevara, bassMaterial: Blues, blues, and more blues was Vanessa Collier’s calling card this evening. With her perfectly stylized sax playing, she opened a can of whoop-ass and kicked it effortlessly off the stage, and in the process gave a nod to her Texas roots: Ben Webster, Charlie Parker, Pamela Hart and she seems to have jumped into Joyce Spenser’s skin a little bit. Playing all original material, she had no trouble moving through her new record, which she touted with thoughtful and memorable narratives. She introduced each one to this adoring crowd: “Sweating Like a Pig, Singin’ Like an Angel” was a crowd favorite, as was “Wild as a Rainstorm,” both climaxing into blues oblivion driven by her melodic and punchy sax. Ben Rice on guitar provided tasteful, in the pocket fills that left room for her soaring vocals and complemented the smoldering, low-to-the-ground groove.Musicianship: If you were looking for flashy, over-the-top blues-Magoo nonsense, there’s no place for it on this stage, on such a rare and enchanting evening. Collier’s ensemble was a study in near-perfect musicianship, effortless  playing and, with grace and occasional homage to that distant animal Roberticus Johnsonasaurus Rex, she brought the goods, had the near capacity crowd on their feet and hyper-groovin’ to her well-executed original material.  Her rhythm section was as tight as a drum, and sounding shiny and new, like they had been together for decades, without the cobwebs. Standout lower-register magic-man Justice Guevara and his knee-level slung bass (in the style of Dee Dee Ramone and Dusty Rhodes) gave a visual clue, that no matter where we are in the musical spectrum, we owe so much to the blues, a sound style that scratched out its existence over the eons to emerge as this uniquely American music.Performance: This was as sophisticated a performance as it gets. This quartet—with Collier out front calling the show—was a slow-burn study in how to pace a performance, work an audience into a near frenzy and deliver a set of original material that was engaging as much as it was breathtakingly professional. The sound was excellent, very well mixed, there was little if any downtime between songs and the whole experience flowed like Crown Royal poured over #2 sandpaper: smooth with a little bit of grit!Summary: Every now and then, a Texas sax player steps out enough to make her own mark, blaze her own trail and build an impressive resume in a relatively short space of time. Vanessa Collier is an artist who will be with us for a long time since her talent and writing seem to have no bounds and the sky’s the limit for this remarkable cyclone of sound, sax and song.The post Live Review of Vanessa Collier in Durham, NC first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Is Bitcoin heading back to $90K? Solana ETFs, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Nov. 17 – 23A crypto trader mulls over whether Bitcoin will retrace back to $90,000, Solana ETF filings flood in and more: Hodlers Digest

‘Wolfs’ sequel canceled because director ‘no longer trusted’ AppleIt may be hard to remember, but George Clooney and Brad Pitt co-starred in a movie, “Wolfs,” that Apple released just two months ago. On Friday, the film’s writer and director Jon Watts said Friday that a sequel is no longer happening; in a follow-up interview with Deadline, he explained that he “no longer trusted […]
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Close Shave for an Old Oscilloscope Saved with a Sticky NoteWhen you tear into an old piece of test equipment, you’re probably going to come up against some surprises. That’s especially true of high-precision gear like oscilloscopes from the time before ASICs and ADCs, which had to accomplish so much with discrete components and a lot of engineering ingenuity.
Unfortunately, though, those clever hacks that made everything work sometimes come back to bite you, as [Void Electronics] learned while bringing this classic Tektronix 466 scope back to life. A previous video revealed that the “Works fine, powers up” eBay listing for this scope wasn’t entirely accurate, as it was DOA. That ended up being a bad op-amp in the power supply, which was easily fixed. Once powered up, though, another, more insidious problem cropped up with the vertical attenuator, which failed with any setting divisible by two.
With this curious symptom in mind, [Void] got to work on the scope. Old analog Tek scopes like this use a bank of attenuator modules switched in and out of the signal path by a complex mechanical system of cams. It seemed like one of the modules, specifically the 4x attenuator, was the culprit. [Void] did the obvious first test and compared the module against the known good 4x module in the other channel of the dual-channel scope, but surprisingly, the module worked fine. That meant the problem had to be on the PCB that the module lives on. Close examination with the help of some magnification revealed the culprit — tin whiskers had formed, stretching out from a pad to chassis ground. The tiny metal threads were shorting the signal to ground whenever the 4x module was switched into the signal path. The solution? A quick flick with a sticky note to remove the whiskers!
This was a great fix and a fantastic lesson in looking past the obvious and being observant. It puts us in the mood for breaking out our old Tek scope and seeing what wonders — and challenges — it holds.

Release details
Release title:
Neveralone
Main artist name:
VLCAM
Release date:
22nd Nov, 2024
https://publme.lnk.to/Neveralone
#newmusic #Release #Music #indepedent #artist #Electronic #dance

3D Printed Boat Uses Tank Tracks For Amphibious PropulsionBoats normally get around with propellers or water jets for propulsion. Occasionally, they use paddles. [Engineering After Hours] claims he is “changing the boat game forever” with his new 3D printed boat design that uses a tank tread for propulsion instead. Forgive him for the hyperbole of the YouTuber. It’s basically a modified paddle design, but it’s also pretty cool.
It works on land, even if it doesn’t steer well!
The basic idea is simple enough—think “floating snowmobile” and you’re in the ballpark. In the water, the chunky tank track provides forward propulsion with its paddle-like treads. It’s not that much different from a paddle wheel steamer. However, where it diverges is that it’s more flexible than a traditional paddle wheel.
The tracked design is actually pretty good at propelling the boat in shallow water without getting stuck. In fact, it works pretty well on dirt, too! The video covers the basic concept, but it also goes into some detail regarding optimizing the design, too. Getting the float and track geometry right is key to performance, after all.
If you’re looking to build an oddball amphibious craft, maybe working with the snowmobile concept is worth your engineering time.

Last Week in DIY and Independent Musician NewsLast week, our tips and advice for the independent, do-it-yourselfers out there covered SoundCloud AI, how to find the right booking agent for you or do it yourself, how to spot. Continue reading
The post Last Week in DIY and Independent Musician News appeared first on Hypebot.

Music Industry News Last WeekIt was a busy week by any definition, and the music industry news was no exception with new Live Nation lawsuits, a closer look at fair use in AI, and. Continue reading
The post Music Industry News Last Week appeared first on Hypebot.

Music Production for Women offering Master Your Music scholarships MPW have announced that they are offering four scholarship places for female/non-binary individuals to take part in their year long Master Your Music programme

Top 25 New Music Critiques 2024Music Connection offers a variety of ways for unsigned artists to receive recognition for creating exceptional music. Each month, for example, our New Music Critiques area spotlights the recordings of a dozen unsigned recording artists. The cream of the 2024 crop is here on the pages before you. 25 remarkable recording artists, plus 20 Top Prospects who are too good to be overlooked. Unsigned recording artists of all genres are welcomed to sign up for a free critique at musicconnection.com/reviews/new-music-critiques.WRENE . . . 8.6Web: wrene.bandcamp.comStyle: Avant-popPARIS PALOMA . . . 8.4Web: parispaloma.co.ukStyle: Folk-popVENDELA . . . 8.4Web: YouTubeStyle: Alt-popVELVET HALO . . . 8.4Web: velvethalomusic.comStyle: Soft popFERAS ARRABI . . . 8.3Web: ferasarrabi.comStyle: Progressive rockNATALIE JEAN . . . 8.2Web: natalie-jean.comStyle: Country-popSIESKI . . . 8.2Web: sieski.comStyle: PopTHE REQUISITE . . . 8.2Web: SpotifyStyle: Pop-punkNO LOVES . . . 8.2Web: noloves.comStyle: PunkX . . . 8.2Web: instagram.com/theofficialxStyle: R&BORAYVIA . . . 8.2Web: SpotifyStyle: R&BJOSÉ JAMES . . . 8.2Web: SoundcloudStyle: R&BJOHNNY STANEC . . . 8.2Web: johnnystanec.comStyle: AmericanaFIIZ . . . 8.2Web: linktr.ee/fiizmusic Style: ElectropopGORDON GOODWIN’S BIG PHAT BAND . . . 8.2Web: bigphatband.comStyle: JazzMAGALI, A CULT . . . 8.2Web: SpotifyStyle: ElectropopRGB . . . 8.2Web: listentorgb.comStyle: PopCASII STEPHAN . . . 8Web: casiistephan.comStyle: Soul-rockKATELYN TARVER . . . 8Web: katelyntarver.comStyle: Singer-songwriterCAITLIN MAHONEY . . . 8Web: caitlinmahoney.comStyle: Indie-popLUCIE TIGER . . . 8Web: SpotifyStyle: CountryHER LEATHER JACKET . . . 8Web: herleatherjacket.comStyle: Pop-punkMIKKI . . . 8Web: SpotifyStyle: AlternativeDOWNTOWN MYSTIC . . . 8Web: downtownmystic.netStyle: Rock ’n’ rollBRENDA RUSSELL . . . 8Web: brendarussellofficial.comStyle: R&BThe post Top 25 New Music Critiques 2024 first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.