Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Episode 7 with Amy Davidman of The TBA Agency

First of all- GOOD NEWS! If Stitcher is your preferred place to listen to podcasts, WE ARE THERE NOW! Click here to follow us there, and you can find this podcast on all the other places here. 

Amy Davidman is one of the partners of The TBA Agency, a booking agency that was formed by a team of booking agents that were all let go of Paradigm Agency due to COVID-19. We had a lovely chat about her start working at The Bowery Ballroom, the shock of being a major player in the NYC music scene in the 2000’s but, somehow, not getting a mention in the book Meet Me In The Bathroom. We also talked a lot about what it’s like to be a booking agent, and what it takes to help support each other during times of crisis. Oh yeah, and about starting a business in the middle of a pandemic! 

If you have any feedback about this episode, feel free to email me at dakin@spinningplatters.com. If you like what you heard and want to help support this thing, feel free to Venmo me whatever tip you feel is adequate @Dakin-Hardwick.  And, most importantly, please go to SaveOurStages.com to find out what you can do to help independent promoters and venues weather this COVID crisis so we have shows to go back to when this pandemic is over. Thanks for listening!

Single Of The Week: tonight by Alaina Castillo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki2QhRMlNAc&feature=youtu.be

Do you remember a time when you would actually cancel on plans to go out because you wanted to stay home, alone? It’s hard to think about that, but there definitely was a time this was true. I’m sure when this is all over, and we get back out into the world, within about six months many of us will be back there. The joy of Alaina Castillo’s latest single, “tonight,” is it helps take you back to, um February, when we weren’t trapped in doors, and were able to do things like hug and share a straw and whatnot. The accompanying video is great, too! It’s clearly shot with socially distancing measures taken, without feeling like it was shot like that. 

You can purchase / stream “tonight” in all the usual places. One of the options is Tik Tok, so you can really make the president angry by listening on his least favorite platform! 

SF Sketchfest 2021 *UPDATE*

I’m going to start with the bad news. SF Sketchfest, also known as the most insane three weeks of live comedy programming in San Francisco, was due to celebrate it’s 20th year next January in an epic fashion. Well, you may have heard that at little thing called COVID-19 has ravaged the live entertainment world, due to the fact that having fun in large groups is about the fastest way to get it, alongside side church, gyms, and working in an office. So, it looks like we are going to have to wait a bit longer to enjoy whatever the good folks at SF Sketchfest will bring us. And, whenever that happens, we will DEFINITELY need to get together and laugh.  Continue reading “SF Sketchfest 2021 *UPDATE*”

Spinning Platters Presents: “How Did I Get Here?” Episode 6 with Carlos Alazraqui

This is an exciting episode… For the first time in the five episode run of this show, our guest is someone that I have never met before! It’s Carlos Alazraqui! He’s probably most famous for voicing the Taco Bell Chihuahua. Or Rocko, of Rocko’s Modern Life. Or as Deputy Garcia on Reno 911. We had a great chat about the Bay Area stand up comedy scene of the late 80’s / early 90’s. We also talked about moving from stand up to voice over to live action acting, and a bit about what it’s like to work in TV during COVID. 

Carlos can be found in Twitter and Instagram! You can also check out the season 7 of Reno 911 on Quibi, and his latest film, Witness Infection (costarring the great Erinn Hayes), is coming out soon!

If you have any feedback about this episode, feel free to email me at dakin@spinningplatters.com. If you like what you heard and want to help support this thing, feel free to Venmo me whatever tip you feel is adequate @Dakin-Hardwick.  And, most importantly, please go to SaveOurStages.com to find out what you can do to help independent promoters and venues weather this COVID crisis so we have shows to go back to when this pandemic is over. Thanks for listening!

Vinyl Reissue Spotlight: Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes. by John Lennon

Terminology in recorded music can get really confusing sometimes. There is the “remix,” which is generally a dramatic alteration of a song, with new elements added, and some elements removed. The “mix” is only a small element of the change. When I opened up the press release for Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes, I was skeptical to say the least… I was expecting a full album of Diplo-fied John Lennon songs, and expected it to be pure pain. By the grace of either God or respect for one of rock’s most important songwriters ahead of his 80th birthday, this release is NOT that. Instead, it’s a compilation of many of John Lennon’s greatest tracks, only going back to the original master tapes and giving a few subtle adjustments to the actual levels of different elements. Continue reading “Vinyl Reissue Spotlight: Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes. by John Lennon”

Single Of The Week: At It Again by Slow Pulp

Admittedly, when I saw this press release come to my inbox, I got my hopes up, thinking we had a new Pulp single. I looked at it again, and realized the name of the band is “Slow Pulp.” I was mad and refused to listen to it. Then, when trying to decide on my single of the week, I gave it a whirl. And, much to my delight, this balance of fuzzy and dreamy is right out of early 90’s / 4AD Records heaven! Coming in somewhere between Belly and Curve, “At It Again” is a fantastic song that deserves repeated plays, and will force you to forgive them for the name. 

Their debut album, Moveys, is coming out October 9th, and can be preordered / presaved from a a slew of places that you can find here!

Spinning Platters Presents: “How Did I Get Here?” Episode 5 with Clare O’Kane

Clare O’Kane is one of the finest stand up comics to come out of the 2010’s SF stand up scene. She’s been featured in Viceland’s show Flop House, and is a writer on Hulu’s Shrill. She’s also one of my favorite people in the world to talk with. We had an excellent chat about her decade in stand up comedy, how she programmed her career, and how she fell into TV writing. 

You can keep an eye on everything she’s doing on her website, clareokane.com, and you can also find her as @babysfirstgun on Twitter and @clareisokane on Instagram. 

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Presents: “How Did I Get Here?” Episode 5 with Clare O’Kane”

Single Of The Week: Our Deal (Live In Studio 2020) by Best Coast

This week’s Single Of The Week is a bit of a cheat. It’s a great song, but it’s also 10 years old. HOWEVER there is a compilation coming out TODAY- That’s Friday, September 4th. And it’s ONLY AVAILABLE TODAY. It’s called Good Music To Avert The Collapse Of American Democracy, and is only available at Bandcamp. It’s the brainchild of Dave Eggers (of 826 Valencia) and funds raised will be donated to Fair Fight, and organization that is fighting for free and fair elections. Which we really, really need right now. 

So, please, buy the compilation. And, while you are floating around Bandcamp, remember that today is the day that Bandcamp doesn’t take any commissions from sales, so buy some records / merch from bands that can’t tour this year! 

Full Track Listing is after the jump Continue reading “Single Of The Week: Our Deal (Live In Studio 2020) by Best Coast”

Spinning Platters Presents: “How Did I Get Here?” Episode 4 with Stefan Aronsen of Balanced Breakfast

Stefan Aronsen is the creator of Balanced Breakfast, which is a group of musicians and music industry professionals that get together for breakfast to discuss how to best help each other reach the widest audience. There are chapters all around the world, and they are meeting online during the pandemic. We talked about how he got his start in the music business and how to Balanced Breakfast managed to grow quickly and how to manage that. We even discussed the annual Balanced Breakfast Summit, mostly about how magical it was that they managed to get in a 2020 edition before the world closed. 

Feel free to follow Stefan and Balanced Breakfast around everywhere: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Presents: “How Did I Get Here?” Episode 4 with Stefan Aronsen of Balanced Breakfast”

Single Of The Week: Hysterical by Sad13

Sadie Dupuis of the excellent Speedy Ortiz is getting ready to give the world her 2nd solo album. But, before that happens, there’s the usual trickle of singles. That brings us to this week’s Single Of The Week, the addictive “Hysterical.” This song is catchy as hell, and is just one of those songs that immediately latches onto you! Ironically, it’s a song about comedians complaining that political correctness is killing comedy. The accompanying video, directed by Spinning Platters fave Jamie Loftus (At least follow her on Twitter. You won’t regret it.) and Kate Banford and features Loftus, Mitra Jouhari, Demi Adejuyigbe and some murderous ghosts. 

Sad13’s sophomore album, Haunted Painting, is coming out on September 25th, and physical copies can be preordered here, as well as digital copies for the excellent price of $6.66!