Unemployed, like so many of us? If so, this song might not be for you. I kid I kid, You’ll surely relate to this song when you land that job you’ve been on three interviews for. The one you are so patiently awaiting a call back from. We suggest having the new Pancake Breakfast video for, “Hoot Hot Damn!” in the que and ready to celebrate.

www.pancakebreakfastmusic.com

Author: Ginger

The Oregonian caught up with the Derby fellas for a little video session and a quick in-home performance of some of the songs off of Madeline EP. Derby shared the reasons behind recording live as a band, their thoughts on putting out an EP,  and the liberating process that entails. For anyone who wants a good picture of the type of jokes that Derby can dish out, then this is the interview for you.

Artist Website: Derby
Artist Info: Digital Press Kit

As the grey of winter departs, and the spring shyly shows it’s sun-backed eyes, Portland begins to remember what it was like to to see sunbeams. In celebration of this yearly event, and for some friends’ residency and upcoming album, Jason Gears and JP Pederson talked with Portland, Oregon’s very own Sunbeam. They spoke of their upcoming album Sunbeam & the Lovely Ghost, Charlie Morris’ affinity towards sweaters, red beards, and Sunbeam’s upcoming residency at the White Eagle Cafe and Saloon. It’s been a long and arduous process, but Sunbeam & the Lovely Ghost is done and dusted. Brian Hall and the gang share with us their insight into the process, and the origins of Sunbeam the band.

Have a listen, and enjoy some good-hearted laughs with great people.

Download: MP3 of Podcast
Artist Website: Sunbeam

A 6-piece baroque pop band from Portland, Oregon, Sunbeam channels influences as diverse as Cat Stevens, Nick Drake, and the Zombies. The typical sentiment in modern folk music might be one of melancholy and withdrawal, but Sunbeam aims to evoke, as well, the romanticism of David Bowie, and the childlike wonder of a Shirley Temple film; it’s rare to hear a band explore so many ideas and still remain truly cohesive. Sunbeam is both refreshing and distinct in Portland, for It is neither gimmick nor novelty—it’s a genuine attempt to move past the dredges of indifference and experience life to the fullest.

After Sunbeam’s successful “Best of the White Eagle” show, they signed on to pump out the jams every Monday of the month of February, 2011. If all goes according to plan, Sunbeam’s delicious new album, “Sunbeam & the Lovely Ghost” will hit the streets in late Spring. From us at Pet Marmoset, we say “it’s about time.” Each Monday, Sunbeam will be supported by some of their closest friends, such as the Parson Redheads, Norman, and Old Light. Make no mistake, this will be a lovely time.

Shows start at: 8:30pm
Where: The White Eagle Cafe Hotel & Saloon
Address: 836 N. Russell St., Portland, OR 97227
Ages: 21+
Admission: Free

Artist Website: sunbeamband.com

SHOW DATES:

2.7.2011 – w/ Josh White and Great Wilderness

2.14.2011 – w/ Mike Coykendall and Ezra Carey

2.21.2011 – w/ Norman and Joel Swenson

2.28.2011 – w/ The Parson Redheads and Old Light

Pancake Breakfast is back, with their latest video installment off of their self titled record “Pancake Breakfast.” The peeps in Pancake Breakfast offer up “Trouble” for their latest in a theatrical walk through their record.

Pancake Breakfast have taken it upon themselves to film a video for every one of their songs off of the record, with each video shot right here in the greater scenic Portland area. Come take a drive with us all the way through “Trouble.”

“Trouble” by Pancake Breakfast from Pancake Breakfast on Vimeo.

+Artist Website: Pancake Breakfast
+Artist Info: Digital Press Kit

Pancake Breakfast is a nine-member roots machine from Portland, Oregon. Most of their songs were made up on a little farm, far away from the big city. Pancake Breakfast brings an old time rootsy and down to earth feel mixed with a whole lotta fun, to the masses. And there’s nothing more down to earth then having a nice sit down chat. Pet Marmoset’s Jason Gears and JP Pedersen sit down with Pancake Breakfast to discuss the record, how the band came to be, and some candid dialog. Note: Gears is the latest (and greatest!) addition to the Marmoset Team.

Pet Marmoset has another exciting band coming down the pike. We’re really excited to help out such a great group of people, and help evangelize their fun attitude towards music.

Pancake Breakfast is a  9 person Portland based band lookin’ to have fun. Written away from the hustle and bustle of city life, Pancake Breakfast brings an old fashioned country fun feel with their self-titled release Pancake Breakfast. Listen to the album all the way through. It’s a real album, with good songs… like in the old days. There are country songs, folk songs, rock songs, and every other kind of song. But most of all, you’ll hear good stories about truckers, angry birds, magic cars and unfortunate fish.

Pancake Breakfast was recorded by Mike Coykendall (She & Him, Blitzen Trapper, M. Ward) in a comfy house, in the shadow of a neighboring dormant volcano.

Take a gander at a few of their songs, download one or two and share it with a friend:

+ Download: Little Bird (mp3)

+Download: The Ballad Of Maynard Noe (mp3)

+ Contact: Saxon Baird | saxon@petmarmoset.com | 646.647.5402

My business finance-minded friend, Adam Steffen, recently passed along an interesting article he read in the New York Times about how new solutions are emerging for how artists can fund their projects, recordings, etc. This especially piqued my interest, being I’m fresh off of eleven days as SXSW in Austin, where I overheard a variety of conversations and stories about artists using solutions such as Kickstarter to help fundraise from fans to financially support their next record.

In fact, while in Austin, I spent one afternoon catching up on things while working in a coffee shop (Highly recommended: Thunderbird Coffee at 2200 Manor Road), where I made the introduction of some cook kids in a band named, The Dead Trees. (Brief aside: The band recently spent a couple years in Portland before landing in LA, and after chatting for few minutes, it became clear that we have a handful of mutual friends. Portland’s small-world effect never ceases to amaze me!)

The Dead Trees have finished writing and recording their new album, however, they ran out of cash as they approached the mixing phase. There is a certain producer who they are hoping to hire, if their budget allows, plus after mixing, they’ll need to pay for other basics such as mastering, duplication, publicity, a digital/online marketing strategy, plus any other complimentary efforts they may need, like making a video and touring. They guys actually handed me their iPhone and headphones right there on the spot and invited me to listen to a couple of the rough mixed new songs. (Note to artists: never be too shy/proud/cool to play your music for new people!) In all honesty, I loved what I heard and if I had an extra $17k laying around, I would seriously consider funding it myself. Yes, it was THAT good. Not to mention, it doesn’t hurt that their manager also manages The Strokes…which has to open some doors along the way at some point.

The Dead Trees are using Kickstarter to raise funds for the record they’re making, asking fans to chip in and become virtual shareholders in the project. The perks of becoming a shareholder include a long list of options, depending on your support level, such as an advance copy of the record, signed 12″ vinyl, an advance copy with customized CD artwork, a home recording of a cover song of your choice, a Skype-based music lesson with any member of the band, and the top donation level allows you free admission to any and all of their shows for the rest of your life. I love the creativity and innovative places where this band’s mind is. You can check out their Kickstarter campaign page here: The Dead Trees on Kickstarter. And if you like these guys, maybe consider giving them a little boost.

At the time of this essay, the band has 67 financial supporters and is getting close to the half-way point to their $17,000 goal. Also worth noting is that the Kickstarter platform requires a timeline for all fundraising campaigns. The Dead Trees have 72 days left to raise the balance of what they need…and the real “kicker” is that if they don’t meet their goal within the fundraising campaign period, all bets are off, no money will exchange hands, and the band would be back to square one with no additional financial support. With Kickstarter, either you reach your goal or you don’t. There is no gray area.

As this crazy and unknown landscape otherwise known as the music business continues to reveal new learnings, changes and surprises in the coming months and years, I believe this fan-supported fundraising model may be something for unsigned, independent artists (that most of you!) to seriously consider. So far, I like what I see… If you can inspire and lead your fans and followers, your opportunities are endless.

Here’s a link to Friday’s New York Times article on this topic, which I recommend reading:

New York Times: You, Too, Can Bankroll A Rock Band

Hey y’all!  As you can tell, the Marmoset blog has been nearly non-existent for the past several months. It’s not because we’ve fallen off or have lost any enthusiasm or anything like that… It’s actually because we’ve been quite busy, launching a number of new ventures, projects, working on publicity campaigns and strategy for clients, plus a whole lot more.

You may have noticed that we launched a proper record label: Timber Carnival Recorders. We’ve very excited about the community of bands and artists we’re working with and are truly humbled by the talent that each of them bring to the table. We encourage you to take some time to check them out and give them a listen.

As you can see, we’ve also relaunched the Pet Marmoset website and have finally started identifying what we do publicly and have started offering our talent and services to the masses. If you are an artist or a band or an organization who is curious about what we do and how we can help you, please don’t hesitate to reach out and say hello. You can reach me (Ryan Wines) by email at ryan@petmarmoset.com.

We’ve also expanded our team and the scope of services and capabilities that we provide. You can learn more about our talented team and what we do at www.petmarmoset.com. We are incredibly fortunate to have such an amazing team of people to work with and team with on a wide variety of projects. Pet Marmoset PR + Digital Strategy is committed to helping artists do what they need to do to make others aware of your work and create opportunities for growth and overall success. It’s not easy, but we can definitely make it easier for you. From web hosting, to email marketing, to direct-to-fan sales strategy, to content strategy and development (photos, videos, recordings and more), to merchandise strategy, to distribution, publicity, social media strategy, and a lot more. We’re working with some of the most talented people creative people in the Northwest and are capable of doing some pretty amazing things. Please let us know what you need and how we can help you.

Last, but not least, the folks of Pet Marmoset (ie: Joe, myself, and the team) are involved in launching a brand new entity with our new friend and creative music composer guru, Brian Hall of Polyphone Music. This new and separate venture will be called Marmoset Music and is essentially a new kind of music house and boutique music licensing agency, focused on collaborating with the uber talented music community of Portland, the Pacific Northwest, and beyond to produce custom composed music for commercial use (ie: advertising, branding, creative use, etc). We are in the process of uniting a ridiculously talented community of artists and advocates who can help leverage and better monetize our (the community’s) existing talents in maximizing new opportunities (and monetizing them!). In fact, if this is something you have experience with or are interested in learning more about, please contact me directly at ryan@petmarmoset.com. We’re super excited about this venture.

Okay, now for confession… When bloggers don’t blog, they feel guilt, shame, defeat and a lot of other self-depreciating feelings. Sure, that may sound weird to most people (normal people), but for bloggers, not blogging regularly is something akin to not mowing your lawn or not shaving. It’s public and it’s an obvious indication of neglect. Talk to any serious blogger and they’ll tell you the same thing.

Well, we don’t want to feel bad about not blogging any longer. The Pet Marmoset blog is back and we’re coming strong. Like LL Cool J said, “Don’t call it a comeback – we’ve been here for years!”. In addition to ramping the blog back up and posting again with greater frequency, we’re also changing our approach to the Pet Marmoset blog and will be focusing on the following areas:

+ DIY Strategy for independent artists.

+ Industry news related to DIY strategy and the rapidly evolving state of the record biz.

+ New strategies, campaigns, sites, etc for Pet Marmoset clients, friends and others.

+ Case studies from our real experiences. (As opposed to other industry “experts” who talk a good game, but don’t really do anything)

+ Quick suggestions, thoughts, and questions to get conversations started and wheels turning among our audience.

+ Occasional reviews of nachos and other musings of our team.

In summary, while we’ve been busy doing a wide range of things, we’re back with the blog – so be prepared for some good news, strategies, rants and more coming your way. Thanks for following and subscribing to the Pet Marmoset blog and for your ongoing interest, support, and collaboration with us. There is nothing better than being part of an active, vibrant, positive and helpful community and we sincerely enjoy being part of such a community with you. Please keep in touch and let us know how we may be able to help each other and work together in the future.

Colin Meloy’s tweet reads “Some students in England made this video for ‘the rake’s song.’ gotta love the Baba Yaga reference”

A stunning animated video for “The Rake’s Song” by The Decemberists, The Rake’s Song video was made by Saint Martins College Of Art students. It was created and directed in Moscow by Alex Dashino and Varvara Volodina. Alex and Varvara are second year students studying Moving Image at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London.

The Decemberists – “The Rake’s Song”

Team Marmoset: Joe Solis