Green Day at the House of Blues, AnaheimIn mid-March, punk powerhouse Green Day was neck-deep into its four-day Saviors rehearsal at Anaheim’s 2,200-capacity House of Blues. But playing to a virtually vacant venue wasn’t a particularly telling measure of the band’s bearing and it lacked the all-important audience energy. So the trio elected to put up an actual show and at noon on Monday, March 18, a pop-up at Anaheim’s House of Blues was announced for the following day. Like a Taylor Swift show squared, the intimate jamboree sold out in minutes rather than hours.

In a case of tasty timing, Punk opener Ultra Q – fronted by Billie Joe Armstrong's youngest son Jakob – had released its second record Empty Eddy on March 13. Following the solid thirty-minute warm-up set, Green Day took the stage and launched into “American Idiot,” its de facto signature anthem. Throughout the hundred-minute, thirty-song performance, every track from the fifteen-song Saviors was played, virtually in order, save for the title track. “Saviors” was delivered second, which marked its live debut, as did several other first-time tunes, as below. Selections from American Idiot and Dookie – which this year celebrate their twentieth and thirtieth anniversaries, respectively – were likewise sprinkled in. Accordingly, bangers such as “Homecoming,” “She” and show-closer “Minority” electrified show-goers. Spotted in the audience was Green Day’s longtime master mix engineer and friend to Music Connection Chris Lord-Alge accompanied by his assistant Brian Judd.

After the post-show house lights had come up and the crowd had thinned, drummer Tré Cool doled out drumsticks from the stage, which had the feeling of an after-dinner mint. The remaining flock of fans couldn’t have been served a daintier dessert. Produced by longtime collaborator Rob Cavallo alongside the band, Saviors dropped on January 19. The world tour kicks off May 30 in Spain.

Setlist

American Idiot

Saviors

The American Dream Is Killing Me

Look Ma, No Brains!

Bobby Sox

One Eyed Bastard

Dilemma

1981

Goodnight Adeline

Coma City

Corvette Summer

Suzie Chapstick

Strange Days Are Here to Stay

Living in the ’20s

Father to a Son

Fancy Sauce

Burnout

Chump

Pulling Teeth

Coming Clean

She

F.O.D.

Give Me Novacaine

She’s a Rebel

Extraordinary Girl

Letterbomb

Homecoming

Whatsername

Encore:

All By Myself

Minority

Universal Music invests in ‘superfan’ platform Weverse, as it strikes new 10-year agreement with HYBEHYBE has struck an expanded long-term agreement with Universal Music Group
Source

A musician’s view of TikTok legislation: Guest post by @TheBlakeMorganMusician, artist advocate, and founder of #IResepectMusic, Blake Morgan, cuts through the TikTok mania to offer a musician’s view of legislation that overwhelmingly passed the US. House and is currently. Continue reading
The post A musician’s view of TikTok legislation: Guest post by @TheBlakeMorgan appeared first on Hypebot.

Spotify tests courses in Songwriting, Production, Performing Live & moreSpotify is testing the addition of video-based courses from BBC Maestro, PLAYvirtuoso, Skillshare, Thinkific, and others. Lessons in songwriting, music production, overcoming live performance anxiety, and more can be found alongside how-to's on entrepreneurship, photography, and productivity.....
The post Spotify tests courses in Songwriting, Production, Performing Live & more appeared first on Hypebot.

5 bands that empower just like Riot GrrrlHappy Women's History Month! These five groups bring a similar anti-patriarchal punch to punk music just like Riot Grrrl.....
The post 5 bands that empower just like Riot Grrrl appeared first on Hypebot.

How Our Music Affects the EarthSuperstars flying private jets are in the spotlight thanks to those who closely monitor environmental footprints, but less time is devoted to considering how the music industry as a whole plays a role in impacting the environment.

ARTIST TO ARTIST: THE BIG STUDIO DIFFERENCEBy Kevin Flournoy

Pictured (L-R) in Studio B at United Recording are producer, pianist, songwriter Kevin Flournoy; recording engineer David Rideau; steel drummer and percussionist Leon Alexander, Jr.; and singer/songwriter Amanda Cole. Photo by David Goggin.

Young emerging artists who grew up in the era of GarageBand, Ableton and all manner of home studio rigs probably can’t fathom a time when every commercially released recording was produced in a professional studio with all the attendant bells and whistles. Guess what? The best and most polished tracks in most genres still are! Veteran composer, keyboardist, producer and artist Kevin Flournoy says that no matter one’s budget, every budding indie artist should experience the difference between recording at home and tracking live in a pro studio.  

As a pop, R&B and contemporary jazz producer, I work with a lot of talented indie vocalists who are always looking for an edge to stand out from other artists. I’m reminded of a conversation I had over lunch in Beverly Hills a few years back with a Toronto based female artist I was about to record with and her friend Kevin Teasley, Owner of TONIC who’s a multi-talented producer, , audio mixer and music director for top artists like J Lo. The subject of the best type of recording environments came up and I mentioned something that I always tell the up-and-coming singers and producers I work with. Just because they can go to Guitar Center, buy a relatively inexpensive rig and software and become their own producer doesn’t mean they should. Some tell me that they’re on a budget – but even if they had the money, they wouldn’t opt for or need to work in a big studio.

I consider that limited thinking on their part. I tell them, “You owe it to yourself to learn something about recording in a real studio.” I’ll ask them who their musical heroes are, and they’ll invariably mention superstars like Beyonce whose magic working with many producers happens in one of those facilities. When they respond that they have limited funds compared to  top selling artists, I challenge them: “Okay, then just record part of a single song at a big studio to learn what it actually sounds like.”  

As someone who has recorded in hundreds of different environments on budgets of every size, I can attest to the great difference in quality and sound when we’re recording in a real studio. I’ll admit that some artists in the rap/hip-hop arena can be successful with good sounding tracks done in a home studio, but I can assure you that none of the great country songs coming out of Nashville – whether from legendary artists or newcomers – are doing it in the garage, so to speak. Because the lunch conversation was with a vocalist who had been successful as a club performer but was just starting to record her own music, I told her she should compare how her vocals come out in a home recording environment vs. a bigger studio.

I told her that there were some high-end studios here in Hollywood like East West Studios and Westlake Recording Studio who understand limited finances and will let new artists work a few hours at a discount. If you’re up for the comparison challenge, you should find a way to develop a relationship with the person running the studio you have in mind. Enquire about what day the studio might have open in the future and allow your schedule to be flexible for that session time. See what kind of deal you can arrange based on your willingness to be flexible. Pick the tune you love the best. Make a decision on what tracks you’d like to overdub in the big studio environment. I would recommend recording your vocal tracks or add a live drummer to the mix. If you are successful in getting those few hours, you will notice an immediate upgrade from anything you can achieve at home. Singing in your bedroom or bathroom studio is fine, but you won’t have the power that can come from using a $20K vintage mic – or a veteran engineer whose experience and keen ears can make a huge difference.   

Once you’ve recorded your vocals at the studio, go home and do some toggling. The lingo I use for this process of comparison is “AB,” i.e. comparing version A to version B. So please AB what you tracked earlier using your private setup and the new high-end recordings. You will hear the difference.

While the original conversation I had about this process was with a vocalist, the AB test works just as well with different instruments because of the array of mics generally available at a studio. One of the best examples is capturing live drums. It’s difficult to get a premium sound in an untreated or halfway treated home setting. Many of the commercial studios I work in have a lot of mics to choose from that can collectively capture the perfect sound. What’s the point of investing thousands of dollars on a high-end drum set when you’re just going to record them at home with cheaper microphones? I call this simple education - please educate yourself about the difference in sonic quality. High-end and some mid-grade studios have both vintage and new mics like the Telefunken ELA M 251 and the Neumann U 87 Ai. If you decide to work at a smaller studio that doesn’t have that kind of selection, you can always rent a mic and bring it to your session.

As a keyboardist, I’ve done the AB test between track recordings of the acoustic piano sound I can create on my Yamaha keyboard at home vs. a well miked grand piano at the high-end studio. The difference is quite clear and I’ll always choose the grand piano when I can, but with a caveat. While it’s ideal for pop, R&B and especially jazz, you can’t use a grand piano with nice mics for a genre like reggae, which is defined by its charming raggedy keyboard sound. That aside, I always prefer real keyboards like the Fender Rhodes if they’re available over, an electric keyboard sound from a synthesizer. Using a high-end mic to track a real Rhodes as opposed to creating it on a keyboard will help the sound sit in the mix better.

For a lot of indie artists working on a small budget, my advice here may be a bit overwhelming. So I suggest you take some small steps. Just pick one part of the song, a certain segment or maybe one of the vocal or instrument tracks and book a few hours at a major studio at a reasonable negotiated rate. That’s all you need to do AB and learn the difference. Believe me, you will thank yourself!

About Kevin Flournoy: For over 30 years, the multi-talented keyboardist, composer and producer has been a powerhouse behind the scenes force for some of pop, R&B and contemporary jazz’s most iconic performers. Starting with saxophonist Ronnie Laws, The Emotions and Teena Marie in the 90s, he has written, performed or recorded with Chaka Khan, Babyface, The Pointer Sisters, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Jeffrey Osborne, Jennifer Hudson, Howard Hewitt, Jamie Foxx, The Jazz Crusaders and contemporary jazz greats Boney James, Norman Brown, Kirk Whalum and Harvey Mason. In the 2000s, Flournoy toured with Donny Osmond for six years. His latest release as an artist, the urban jazz single “Smooth It Over” is a collaboration with Ronnie Laws.

Website: www.KevinFlournoy.com

Instagram www.instagram.com/kevin.flo 

YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/c/KevinFlournoy100 

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@kevin.flournoy 

Facebook www.facebook.com/kevin.flournoy1 

Warner has 13 days to launch a bid for Believe, as French company agrees to let WMG peruse its ‘data room’This is the latest twist in an ongoing corporate saga
Source

Tencent Music users are ‘willing to pay’ for music produced with the company’s AI tools… and 3 other things we learned on TME’s latest earnings callKey takeaways from Tencent Music Entertainment's latest earnings call
Source

Challenges for musicians are abundant, but so are the opportunities [MIDiA’s Hanna Kahlert]Anyone can release music thanks to technology, but getting anyone to hear it seems increasingly difficult. Hanna Kahlert of MIDiA Research explores the challenges and the opportunities for change.....
The post Challenges for musicians are abundant, but so are the opportunities [MIDiA’s Hanna Kahlert] appeared first on Hypebot.

Tracy Chan exits SoundCloud, joins AI music platform Splash as CEOVeteran music tech executive Tracy Chan has exited his role as COO of SoundCloud after less than two years to become the CEO of red-hot AI music creation platform Splash.....
The post Tracy Chan exits SoundCloud, joins AI music platform Splash as CEO appeared first on Hypebot.

12 Impressive Women Who Give Back to the Music Industry [Ariel Hyatt]International Women's Month was the perfect time for Cyber PR's Ariel Hyatt to ask twelve impressive women three questions about how they support others in the music industry.....
The post 12 Impressive Women Who Give Back to the Music Industry [Ariel Hyatt] appeared first on Hypebot.

TiaCorine and Friends at the EchoplexIt's a solid fact that all of the best hip-hop shows this writer has been to over the past year have featured all-female bills. "Female rap" isn't a genre, and we're not going to patronize anyone. But this is indeed a golden period, and the women are killing it.

From Doja Cat and Baby Tate to Flo Milli and Bia, with openers including Doechii, Maya the Don and Lakeyah -- every single show has felt like an event, and on Saturday night TiaCorinne, A.R. The Mermaid and BbyAfricka continued the trend with another gig that was gold from start to finish.

The pride of Inglewood, BbyAfricka, opened the show and didn't stop moving throughout. "He loves me 'cos I'm model-skinny and I'm bad and rude," she purrs on the freaking magnificent "Baton Rouge," while proving all of those things to be true. BbyAfricka takes no shit.

Memphis' A.R. The Mermaid is next -- a blur of fine rhymes delivered with her trademark drawl. A.R. is a phenomenon and one of the hottest rappers on the scene right now. She is as close to a magical figure as we have in real-life hip-hop. She’s entering the scene on a wave of positivity, joy and color. She might stick out her tongue and flip the bird, but she’s doing it with a wink and a smile, and it’s easy to get on board with that air of gleeful anarchy. At the Echoplex, we got all that and "Watt We Doingg" was a standout.

North Carolina's TiaCorine headlined, as she celebrates the release of her latest EP Almost There, her first major release since her full length I Can't Wait in 2022. In between guest appearances by a few friends including influencer Aliyah's Interlude, TiaCorinne thrilled the Echoplex crowd with a set of razor sharp tunes including "Pancakes" and a handful from the new extended play.

The crowd was well up for it, the DJs popping, and the Echoplex essentially exploded in a tornado of hip-hop joy. Three strong, talented, female rappers, one awesome evening.

French regulators step in to remove roadblock for possible Warner Music Group bid for BelieveBelieve's board turned to the AMF to adjudicate whether a particular move by a consortium led by Believe founder/CEO, Denis Ladegaillerie, was lawful
Source

Getting It Done – The Week in D.I.Y & Indie MusicThis week, our tips and advice for all the independent, do-it-yourselfers covered how to cure imposter syndrome, a quick Spotify profile refresh, how songwriters get paid, and much more......
The post Getting It Done – The Week in D.I.Y & Indie Music appeared first on Hypebot.