It’s Lori here. Well, I’m mostly here (mentally, at least). My co-workers and some industry peeps stayed up really late debating/discussing the state of the music industry and the state of hip-hop. It was a great, intense conversation until the wee, wee hours of the morning. But it was worth it. And now we’re juiced for today.
Yesterday was just crazy here. The Beatport stage outside with the Red Bull bar was massively kick-ass. All the panels were packed. I was hanging out in the Ableton Room around 7 p.m. last night and overheard two attendees talking. One guy was all excited. He said, “This is the best day ever. I had a half day at work, and right after I came here [Remix Hotel], and this place is sick! I’m having a fuckin’ blast!” So there you have it. The best day ever. See? Today could be ANOTHER best day ever. So you’ve got to come out, okay?
Hi again. We’re already approaching the last day of Remix Hotel, and I’m a little woozy from all the action yesterday. If you see me and I’m downing Red Bulls, it’s ’cause the four hours of sleep last night didn’t really cut it. But it was worth it. As usual, yesterday was a whirlwind. I helped judge the iStandard Producers battle,which was cool. There were a lot of great tracks. Da Grindaz, who have apparently already worked with T.I., took home the prize for their commercial radio appeal. Their tracks were really hard-hitting and definitely had hit potential. But my personal favorite was a little left of center: Soul Nana & Taka. I believe Soul Nana is from Ghana, Africa, and Taka is from Toyko, Japan, and their tracks were as diverse as their nationalities. They didn’t have the same commercial style as Grindaz, but the tracks were really cool and original. iStandard chose the eight finalists from 60 entries, so everyone who hit the stage was really talented. And man, it takes guts to get up in front of all those people and put yourself out there. The other judges (including A&R from Interscope and Atlantic) and I didn’t always agree on everything, and we made various songwriting and technical suggestions, but hopefully our comments were helpful to the producers.
So after the battle, I ran over to watch DJ Babu scratch it up in the Rane room and DJ Rap talk about making tracks in Logic in the Apple room. And finally, the “Producers, Bring Your Beats” panel was really cool. Aloe Blacc, DJ Rhettmatic, DJ Babu, MED, Charles Goodan and a couple other producers picked numbers out of a bucket and gave feedback to people on their tracks. We’ll have a ton of video to show you of everything soon. Day 1 video will hopefully roll out here in a few hours.
Today we have T-Pain, Carmen Rizzo, FreQ Nasty and a ton of other producers, musicians, DJs, etc. in the house. Come on down! –Kylee
Okay, remember when I said this Beatport stage is gonna be crazy? Yeah, well, the cops just showed up because we’re a little too loud. Pssshhhht. Is there any other way to be when you have the hottest DJs around? Nope. But we still got the beats flowin’ for ya, baby. The Beatport stage is still goin’ off.
Also? We’ve got some Poppycock in the back room. That’s right, I said Poppycock. It is delicious. Look into it.
Right now we’re gettin’ ready for our final Shocklee panel of the evening, where we asked you, our lovely readers/producers, to bring your beats to have our panels of judges give you feedback. And who does this panel consist of? None other than DJ Rhettmatic and DJ Babu (who spun an awesome set in the Rane room just minutes ago), Aloe Blacc, Medaphoar (MED) and Charles Goodan, that’s who.
Sweeeeet. I’m gonna go check out some stuff now. See ya later.
Remix is stoked to have JBL speakers in our NARAS Producer’s & Engineer’s Wing, where our illustrious VIPs are enjoying awesome food and drink. The vibe in there is totally chill–a nice place to step away from the hustle and bustle of Remix Hotel. Many thanks to Kyle Keene with the Producer’s & Engineer’s Wing and JBL!
Man, it is crazy-ass hot in the panel room for the Ultimate Engineer’s Session. It is so packed with folks absorbing all the tips and tricks on how to get your mix right in the box. Problems are being solved left and right…it’s pretty freakin’ cool.
But I had to step out and let some more folks take my seat (well, my spot on the floor…it’s sitting-on-the-floor-room-only).
The iStandard Producer Showcase is wrapping up soon, and the crowd is totally into it. I saw many heads bobbing in time with the fat beats being dropped outside on the Beatport stage. And at 6 p.m., the Beatport stage is gonna blow up with a slew of DJs, spinning until 11 p.m. tonight. Look, ya gotta get your buns down here. Why? Well, for one, your buns are pretty sweet. And another thing, you’re missing out if you’re missing this event. We’re easy to find: We’re the ones throwing the most kickass party on Sunset tonight.
Hey again. So day one of Remix Hotel L.A. was awesome. The panels were superinformative as usual, and it was great hearing from Josh Gabriel of Gabriel & Dresden about how he works with Apple Logic Pro and his transition from Logic 7 to 8. And while DJ Rhettmatic and DJ Trainwreck were ripping it up in the Rane room, Roland was demoing its VS-8800, Hank Shocklee was moderating a mixtape vs. radio DJs panel and DJ Revolution DJ’d a live set using M-Audio Torq, I was doing a little video interview with 9th Wonder, which you’ll be able to watch here at remixmag.com shortly. I was really inspired by his True School association, which he founded after he realized that his group Little Brother’s album, The Minstrel Show didn’t “do what it was supposed to do.” True School (www.trueschoolcorp.com) caters not to the old or new schools of hip-hop, but that middle era from the 1980-95. But while 9th’s music harks back to the boom-bap era, he brings an updated slant to it in his latest album, Dream Merchant Vol. 2, which features a whopping 33 guest vocalists.
After our one-on-one talk, 9th and I met up with Hank Shocklee in the panel room and talked to a crazy-packed crowd about everything from A&R reps–”What are they there for?!” 9th exclaimed–to 9th’s love for Hank’s work with Public Enemy. 9th teaches a “Hip Hop in Context” class at North Carolina Central University, and last week, the topic of discussion was Public Enemy. Also coincidentally, he was wearing a Public Enemy shirt last night. 9th had a chance to ask Hank two burning questions he had about Public Enemy samples (again, wait for the video clips coming in the next few days). And I asked the guys about how they get the best out of vocalists. It was pretty hilarious watching them shake their heads about the trials and tribulations of working with Jean Grae and Murs (9th Wonder) and Flavor Flav (Hank). Hank said, “Flav is like taking the worst of every vocalist and putting it all together in one.” So if you find yourself in shouting matches with vocalists you work with, you’re not alone.
Today, we’ve got a ton going on: DJ Rap in the downstairs Apple room, DJ Babu in the Rane room, a bunch of top engineers (who’ve worked with Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Fleetwood Mac, The Killers and much more) talking about mixing, a beatmaker’s panel, Jay-J in the M-Audio room and so much more. Can you handle it? I think so. Haven’t registered yet? No worries. Just come on down, and we’ll register you right when you walk in.–Kylee
So we’ve got 9th Wonder upstairs givin’ his Keynote Q&A with Hank Shocklee and Remix Editor Kylee Swenson. The room is all hot and sweaty with tons of people…we’re talking standing room only. But it’s a good hot and sweaty, kinda like the last time we met at that bar down the street. That was the best time ever. Mmmhmm. Anyway, the point is this: People are stoked. And so am I. And you should be, too. Why aren’t you here? That makes me sad. But it’s okay because we have tomorrow and Saturday together. Sweeeeet.
You know what else was sweet? DJ Revolution’s live Torq set in the M-Audio/Digidesign Room; that was crazy insane awesome. People were packed inside and outside of the room groovin’ on his set. And hey, yours truly was kinda cuttin’ a rug herself, know what I’m sayin’? Wow, I think I just dated myself using that phrase. Pssshhhht. Whatever.
The bottom line? Day 1 here at Remix Hotel was totally brutal. And by brutal I mean totally frigging kickass, in a Metalocalypse sort of way. (Nathan Explosion would be proud.) Tons of people, good vibes, everyone was stoked. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow and Saturday bring. And of course, I can’t wait to see you.
Heeeeey, I’m sitting in the first panel of Remix Hotel L.A.: Building Your Team: All You Need to Know About Artist Management & Promotion. Hank Shocklee is hitting the ground running, saying that people assume that they’re going to make music, play shows and become famous. But there’s a lot more to it. Promotion is key. The panelists include managers, radio promoters, marketing-firm owners, etc. Hank asks, “What’s the difference between marketing and promotion, and what’s more important?” One panelist says that marketing is targeting a specific audience, whereas promotion is more generalized, such as blanketing with flyers, for example. But the overall consensus is that marketing is the plan, and promotion is how you carry out the plan. Another guy said, “Labels are attracted to brands.” Hank asks, “How do we create that brand? MySpace is ridiculously overrated. I got a bunch of hits on it. It doesn’t translate to anything.” In other words, creating a brand is a whole lot more than having a MySpace page. In coming up with a brand, it takes a lot of time to develop: t-shirts, radio, publicity, touring. Hank says that you have to hone in on what you’re offering. Way interesting: Hank said it’s incredibly outdated to look for a record label nowadays. All the big artists are not really artists: They’re corporations. They’re doing clothing lines, tours, acting, etc. So they’re creating an entire brand. The harsh reality, Hank says, is that, “Nobody gives a shit. I’ve seen it, heard it all…. So that’s where your promotion starts.” Sounds a little hopeless, but his point was that you have to push yourself by any means possible in a jaded world. One panelist says, “You have to pick a niche and stick with it. But when you’re just starting out, you can’t be everywhere. You have to build your team.” Another panelist suggests starting a financial plan at the same time you’re creating your promotion plan. There are a lot of good ideas flying around, and I wish I could bottle them, but my brain can’t capture it all fast enough. Sorry if my report is a little disjointed. Just too much really good advice in too short a time. Fortunately, we’re filming all these panels, so you can watch a lot of the action online as early as later tonight. Okay, Josh Gabriel’s Apple Logic demo is coming up in a half hour. On to the next thing…. Kylee
Yes, you read that right. Sinbad is here at Remix Hotel. He came out last year; he’s apparently a fan of our lovely magazines, Remix, Mix and Electronic Musician. And he loves the hands-on aspect of Remix Hotel, gettin’ all up in all the gear’s business ‘n’ stuff. Also? That dude is really, really tall. I mean, yeah, I’m really, really short, but seriously, I feel ridiculous next to him. But hey, I’ll get over it, okay? [Sniff.] And another thing? The man is NICE. He’s been a gracious, friendly guest. What a supercool dude.
Right now we’re gettin’ ready for Hank Shocklee’s first panel of the day at 5 p.m. And let me tell ya, we are frickin’ psyched. So come down here and get all frickin’ psyched with us, okay? You know you want to.
Remix Hotel L.A. is here! Registration just opened, and we can’t wait to see all your lovely faces here. We’re gearing up for our Keynote Q&A tonight at 8 p.m. with 9th Wonder. You don’t wanna miss this!
But before that, Apple is presenting a Master Class with Josh Gabriel from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Apple Room, DJ Revolution will be spinning in the M-Audio/Digidesign Room at 6:30 p.m. and DJ Rhettmatic from the Beat Junkies will be spinning in the Rane Room at 6 p.m.
And don’t miss Hank Shocklee’s awesomely informative panels, including Building Your Team: All You Need to Know About Artist Management & Promotion from 5-6 p.m., and Mixtape vs. Radio DJs from 7-8 p.m.
There’s so much more going on…but ya gotta be here. So get your sweet buns down here and check out all the action.
