Author: Kara Murphy

Exclusive Deets on the John Colins Live Music Showcase

Tomorrow night (December 14th), at the newly-renovated John Colins in downtown San Francisco, DIG is hosting a one-time private event with a guest appearance from a major recording artist whose music has been featured on Jay Leno, the OC, Charmed, and Grey’s Anatomy – just to name a few. A reliable, anonymous tipster (yes, I actually have those believe it or not) has given me the details on who the surprise artist is. Read on to find out…

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‘Tis the Season to be Winning: The Ultimate Holiday Giveaway Guide

Okay, I promise you I’ll never consider pursuing a career as a copywriter with the headline above but I just can’t help myself; some of the premiere products and services in the music tech space are giving back to the community in a generous way this Holiday season and I’ve decided to round up some of the key promotions happening in cyberspace at the moment. ‘Tis better to give than receive, of course, but winning is still a whole lot of fun when prizes of this caliber are up for grabs.

Keep reading to find out how to win an unlimited subscription on Rdio for one year, a trip to the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, and a $100 gift card from Threadless.

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SF MusicTech Summit 7: Why Attend and How to Save on Admission

In less than a week, the seventh installment of the biggest and best day-long music technology conference to ever grace the Bay Area will take place on Monday, December 6th at Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco’s Japantown district. If you’re an artist, music journalist, or involved in any facet of the industry, then you certainly don’t want to miss out on the sessions or, quite frankly, the abundance of opportunities to network and learn from some of the leaders and innovators in this space. After the jump, find out more about the event and how you can save money simply by being a reader of Spinning Platters…

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Show Review: Tu Fawning, Suckers, Menomena at Great American Music Hall

Working the alto sax.

What an inopportune time to have a camera battery die on you. I don’t mean run out of juice, as I’ve already learned that lesson in the past, but actually up and die as in refuse to work. As a result, I didn’t get the opportunity to shoot Tu Fawning, the up-and-coming Portland-based quartet that opened for Suckers and Menomena on Tuesday, September 14th at Great American Music Hall.

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Channel Surf the Blogosphere for the latest tracks with Shuffler.fm

Go ahead. Don't be shy. Select a genre and get going.

It seems like every other week, a new music service is launched with the intention of being the ultimate, one-stop “music discovery tool.” Truth be told, any savvy music aficionado will own up to the fact that they use at least two or more tools to find, stream, and download new and classic music alike.

Since there’s always the promise of “the next big thing” looming, whether it’s the rather failed impact Ping (the social extension of iTunes 10) had on consumers or Google’s forthcoming music service that’s reportedly making a grand debut on Christmas day, I decided to spend some time with Shuffler.fm, which I discovered through a feature on Mashable, to see if it’s something I’d actually use on a consistent basis. The answer, quite surprisingly, is “yes” and “daily.”

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Flux Summit 004: How to get your music licensed in video games, film, and television

This past Thursday, I attended the fourth installment of Flux Summit – a free, single-evening event that unites up-and-coming electronic and hip hop artists with professionals for an open discussion on the evolving dynamics of the industry. Hosted at Pyramind Studios, the session featured three panelists doling out expert advice on how you can get your music licensed in television shows, video games, and film.

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Show Review: Robyn, Kelis, and Dan Black at Mezzanine, 7/24/10

Robyn and Kelis share a hug during the final encore song.

On a chilly Saturday night, I exited my car, parked on 6th Street and Howard, clad in black stiletto ankle boots and a form-fitting black/white striped dress accented with a scant red cardigan that provided a bit of warmth en route to Mezzanine – located a few blocks away. Normally, I’m a jeans and hoodie kind of gal when it comes to attending live shows. However, since my Spinning Platters colleague, Dakin Hardwick, and I were meeting Dan Black, one of the opening acts on the All Hearts tour, co-headlined by Robyn and Kelis, for an in-person interview, I felt an overwhelming urge to dress up.

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Show Review: Goldfrapp at The Fox Oakland 6/26/10

Alison Goldfrapp. Photo by Kara E. Murphy.

With everything that’s been going on lately on the job interview and contracting front, it’s almost a miracle that I found the time to get this review posted. I’m thrilled with the photos I took for the Goldfrapp show at Fox Theater this past Saturday evening and I’m hoping the words in the post can do the incendiary performance some justice.

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The Top 4 Reasons you should attend High Sierra Music Festival

The twentieth Annual High Sierra Music Festival, which takes place in Quincy, CA, is almost upon us and if you’re still seeking out plans for the long weekend of July 4th, then you should consider heading up to the mountainous town located eighty miles North of Reno to experience four days of music, exercise, workshops, parades and much, much, more.

Formed in 1991, the family-oriented, kid-friendly festival attracts between 7,000 – 8,000 attendees as well as a myriad of influential music acts that span across neo-hippie jam band-friendly genres including roots rock, electronica, afrobeat, jazz, bluegrass, and funk. There’s a lot of entertaining options offered up on the Plumas Sierra Fairgrounds to consider so without further ado, here are the top four reasons you should attend High Sierra Music Festival (HSMF)…

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Show Review: LCD Soundsystem at The Fillmore, 6/3/10

It’s truly a pity that James Murphy, the man behind LCD Soundsystem and the legendary DFA record label, which has released all of the band’s material including their 2002 hit breakthrough single, “Losing My Edge,” has decided to pull the plug on what is inarguably one of the coolest, most transcendent musical outfits to emerge in the past decade.

Just as Jerry Seinfeld and the cast bowed out at their peak after a nine-year run with their hit television show, Seinfeld, Murphy has decided to call it quits after the same amount of time when fan interest is at its most fervent, dedicated level. Continue reading “Show Review: LCD Soundsystem at The Fillmore, 6/3/10”