the dotmatrix project

Photo by Tanya Peterson

Josh Neas and I had a blast rapping about DMP, talking ConvergeSouth and listening to some of the live tracks by veterans of the project on his Wednesday night, 6pm to 8pm show on 90.9FM WQFS.

Check it out:

Right on the heals of the CC video we have this gem. Thanks to all the filmmakers for shooting — Andy, Matt and Dara — but especially Matt for the great editing work.

You can follow the building of our music video library by subscribing to our channels at either Vimeo or YouTube.

Hats off to Andy, Matt and Dara for a job well done, especially Matt and Dara on the edit.

You can follow the building of our music video library by subscribing to our channels at either Vimeo or YouTube.

A shout of thanks to Mark Burger for the well written story. You never know how these things are going to turn out…

In newsstands tomorrow!

Sorry to say, there’s no prize for Chris, but he does own the distinction of becoming the very first dotmatrix project musician and audience participator by shooting and uploading this short diddy of Carolina Clearwater performing at the May 22nd show.

It’s not too surprising, though; Chris paints, makes films and blogs when he’s not kicking it with his brothers in Old Stone Revue. He’s an all-around creative kinda guy.

So when you come out to a show, be sure to bring your camera. If we get enough audience participation, we’ll try to work your media into our music videos. Just be sure to tag your files with “the dotmatrix project” so we can find it wherever you drop it online.

(originally uploaded by paulcollinsbeat)

We’re coming down the homestretch to the first show and yes, I’m feeling a bit antsy.

Nothing is wrong, I mean, so far we’re all on point — the media crew is collaborating with the bands, the bands are actually putting together set lists so we can make sure we film the right songs, Andy just bought a light fixture for the filmmakers at the show to use, Justin is knocking out posters to go out this weekend around town, Molly has been contacting the local media…

You know what it is? I just want everybody to have a great time. And as the show approaches each day, I guess I’m realizing that I have less and less impact on that happening.

I’m not performing. I’m not shooting. I might be helping with sound, but probably by simply staying out of the way.

I’m not used to this — this not doing thing.

Which is fine, because each and every one of the people who are making this gray matter burp a reality are ridiculously talented people, who have all done this before.

I need to get over myself and stay out of the way.

T-minus 8 days.

After a bunch of cat wrangling through acres of honey-drenched fields, I’m happy to announce that the kick-off dotmatrix project gig has finally been booked.

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UPDATE: David Bartel had to cancel his trip, but The Radials have stepped up to open for SAD. It’s going to be a great show.

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David Bartel and I go waaay back, all the way to the days of CD-Rom game development — yes, there was life before the internets took over. We teamed up as sound producer (David) and animator/illustrator (me) deep in the belly of Soho’s edutainment production row. When we weren’t twisting pixel’s arms to make them dance to our whim, we’d catch the Thursday night Mingus Big Band show at the Fez like clockwork — it’s where I learned to love jazz. Those were the proverbial days.

Soon thereafter, David dropped a tune on Abstraktions, Volume 1 and then started Deep Sound Channel, on which he dropped his second collaborative album, 01. If you dig avant-garde, ambient & abstract music, you’ll enjoy David’s set. I’m psyched and honored for him to make the journey down from Philly just to play this gig.

Our featured act, Sorry About Dresden, blew me away last year at a Local 506 show in Chapel Hill. I originally made the trip to powder blue country to meet my buddy, Nate Aune, who was in town for a conference. Due to SAD’s killer performance, I ended up focused in on the show like nothing else existed. Sorry Nate.

Aside from their distinct indie rock sound, SAD represents exactly the type of band that we’re looking to promote — a local/regional act, playing to succeed, either unsigned or on an indie label. A big shout of thanks to James and the fellas for agreeing to kick-off our event.

So get your cameras recharged, your recording devices fine-tuned and we’ll see you at the show!

If I wasn’t planning on attending the Original Music Showcase in Raleigh this Sunday, there’s no doubt I’d be shopping for free at The Hive.

You gotta love the anarchists.

Tag your flickr picture with “hopeactchange” and join the party.

Fun stuff, but I’m patiently waiting for the McCain version of this 2.0 remix — the directions will probably be to tag your flickr pictures with “noyoucant.”

(via Joho)

The deeper I get into Greensboro’s music scene, the more I hear musicians complaining about the propensity of support for cover bands over original acts. And while it’s true that some local bands enjoy a steady following — The Mantras, Old Stone Revue, The Urban Sophisticates, to name a few — it’s a fact that most venues can’t consistently draw a crowd to check out (read: pay a cover) original bands, unless they’re retreads from the eighties like Pat Benetar or Van Halen.

And at that point, that’s kinda like listening to a cover band, you know?

There’s no silver bullet out there that will radically increase Greensboro’s patronage of original music to reflect, say, a Chapel Hill or Asheville, but I do believe in the power of cross-promoting community — from artists collaborating on projects to jamming together at shows to showing up as a band to listen to and support other acts, bringing new fans with them.

More can be done; I’m sure of it.