How Did I Google This?!?

A New Project

A funny thing happened on the way to releasing all the backlog of material and upcoming albums we've been working on and preparing to release...

- When I Was Your Age (recorded 2009)

- The Best Of TheSongOfTheDay.com (Double-Album!) 

- So Much To Rock About (recorded 2010) 

- Remixes (In A Heavy Syrup) (recorded this year)

A completely new music-related writing project just knocked two of us in the band upside the head (Randy and me, Jason). So, he and I are focusing all our energies that way so we can “give it our all” like we did with our IndieGuide.com site and our books, The Indie Band Survival Guide and The DIY Music Manual.

If you're a musician who follows us, you may have noticed that we’ve put the IndieGuide.com blog, some of our social media (Twitter, Facebook, Google +, etc.), and the free How-To’s on “pause” for the time being. That’s because we’re changing things up going-forward as we share our research from this project. Of course, we’d like to hear your feedback as well as we work to elicit ideas, get your success stories, thoughts, and ideas.

A big thank you to all those who have written to us with their comments, suggestions, and compliments regarding the book. We definitely appreciate it -- it keeps us motivated and it’s the very reason why we’re rolling up our sleeves now and diving into research and writing.

Oh, and in between writing, we'll continue to master and prepare the above albums. There's a lot of us in this band, you know.

It's A Trap!

We saw this cute video...

...and couldn't help but think about "Star Wars (A Film Like No Other)". Third verse, the good Admiral says his immortal line. (It's goes by quickly!)

Beatnik Turtle CDs and MP3s at Your Fingertips

The good folks at CDBaby have extended their store -- allowing us indie musicians to sell directly from our website. All our albums are available in their new widget -- Sham Rock, All In A Day's Work, The Cheapass Album, the 12 albums of TheSongOfTheDay.com, and more!

Go on, give it a try! We need people to test the purchasing functionality. :)

RPMChallenge 2011 -- We Did It!

We just completed our 5th RPMChallenge!

We kept it primarily under wraps -- only because we didn't know if we could pull it off this year with the band split between the US and Ireland. But, about 14 days into February, we rolled up our sleeves and gave it a go after being encouraged by many friends and fellow RPMers.

Besides, how could we break our run of 5 albums?

We couldn't.

So, with the band split across the world, we opted to boot up the hard drives and try our hands at making an album that would require very little recording -- a remix album.

We'd never done a remix album before, so it was quite a challenge. We opted for more of an old school "80s long version" type remixing rather than a "techno dance, thump-thump-thump-thump" type of remix.

To do this, we found that it was far easier to try new things to those songs in our back catalog that were more off-the-beaten path such as The Love Notary, Mr. Brown's Daughter, and Lies Make The Baby Jesus Cry. That said, we also tackled a couple of our more popular songs found on our albums such as others from our albums like Under The Radar and My Cereal.

Looks like we'll be doing what we usually do with these RPM albums -- keep working on them and release them in the future.

All in all -- another fun project! If you're a musician, consider trying your hand at the RPMChallenge next year. We hope to be there for our 6th!!

RPM 2011- To Be Or Not To Be?

With our band split across two continents, we're debating what to do for RPM. We officially surrendered two weeks ago, thinking we wouldn't be able to do anything. But then, a fellow RPMer, Strummindude, suggested we do a remix album. "You've got an awsome catalogue. Use it, tweak it, twist it, abuse it!"

So that got us thinking. And you know what that means.

Behind-the-scenes work is happening at a mad and frantic pace as we see whether we could pull off such a challenge. We only need 10 songs...

Drunk Man's Junk

You can buy all the whiskies mentioned in the song at Heathrow Duty Free. Sweet!

http://thesongoftheday.com/index.cgi?_w=1&_d=090709

The Good, The Bad, and The Geeky Podcast

One of our songs, Ms. Nutcraker-Sweet, is featured on The Good, The Bad, and The Geeky's annual "Extreme Christmas Extravaganza" podcast. Tons of songs, laughs, and holiday extravagoodness!

Some of the other musical guests include: our buddy JT Shea (on uke of course!) and 2 Drunks & A Guitar. There's also a fun rendition of Jonathan Coulton's Chiron Beta Prime.

Check out the podcast here!

Happy Holidays!

Quick "Beer Beer Beer" Video

Beer! from Bret Gerding on Vimeo.

Just discovered this video. Nice camera work, editing, and soundtrack! The song, "Beer Beer Beer" is from our album "Sham Rock" available at CDBaby and Amazon.

More Radio Plays!

Our album Sham Rock has been picked up by two more radio stations! The radio station at Whitman College (KWCW) in Washington state has songs from the album playing regularly on its Global Gumbo show. The show is a multi-genre collection of world music from all corners of the globe. Also, Sham Rock is on medium rotation at the University of Pittsburgh (WPTS) for the next eight weeks! A big thanks to the music directors at these stations for their dedication to playing independent music! 

Dude, Get Your Free Pizza! ("Pizza: The Rock Opera")

Man, was it 3 years ago already when we wrote, recorded and released our 10-minute opus, "Pizza: The Rock Opera" as part of our TheSongOfTheDay.com project???

Wow. 3 years. Time is ticking away. You know, ticking away the moments that make up a dull day. Next thing you know you'll find 10 years have got behind you, you missed the starting gun, there was some new brick in the wall, and all that stuff...

Like all our music at TheSongOfTheDay.com, we released our song under a Creative Commons license. But few realize that we also bundled up the song, the lyrics, and the album cover into a zip file for anyone to download. It's been buried at our SOTD site for awhile. I think it's time to rectify that.

So, here's the free song, linked below for your enjoyment. Better later than never, I think!

Pizza: The Rock Opera (2007) - FREE!

"It's like all of TheSongOfTheDay.com in one song!"

DUDE, FREE PIZZA!

Pizza: The Rock Opera is Beatnik Turtle's 10 minute opus chronicling one man's struggle to order pizza. We've all been there...except this time it's put to music.Written in one song-writing session in summer of 2007, it debuted at TheSongOfTheDay.com on November 2007 after a few overdubs were added. And, it's now available FREE for download.

Download Pizza: The Rock Opera ZIP File here.

You get: "Pizza: The Rock Opera" in MP3 at 256Kbps (that's like really high quality!) Lyrics & Information Sheet Album Cover No DRM crap - issued under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License (Attribution-NoDerivatives-NonCommercial) Some extra toppings, er...bonus stuff just for being cool

All we ask in return is help us spread the word about Beatnik Turtle, our music, and TheSongOfTheDay.com.

Share the song with your friends, add it to your online players, blog about it or our little band, and help spread the word about Beatnik Turtle, our TheSongOfTheDay.com podcast, and our music.


Hey, enjoy the free pizza!

Sham Rockin' The Radio

That's right! Songs from our album Sham Rock are being played on the radio. WVVS, the station for Valdosta State University in Georgia has added "Beer, Beer, Beer" to its rotation for the next few months. And the Proud To Be Irish show on WVCR based out of New York played "Holy Ground" on a recent episode. Then near the end of October, the Celtic Show on WRFG Radio Free Georgia in Atlanta also played "Holy Ground" on an episode.

Also, the hilarious site HoboTrashcan played "Well Fuck" on their Hobo Radio podcast, episode 152: Where in the world is Lars?. This episode features extensive food discussion (purple potatoes!), reminiscing about first cars, and movie talk. Check out the episode here! Big thanks to Joel for playing us.

As always, you can get your own copy of these songs and support Beatnik Turtle!

Well Fuck (iTunes, Amazon)
Sham Rock album (CDBaby, Amazon)

All of our songs are podsafe, so contact us if you are a podcaster who would like to play any of our music.

What Music Were You Listening To When You Met Your Spouse?

Chip, Beatnik Turtle's trombonist, recently got quoted in the local press here in Chicago. The article was about "what music were you listening to when you met your spouse"?

Chip answered Beatnik Turtle, of course. Check it out here.

Our Junk On The Evil Genius Chronicles!

One of our songs, Drunk Man's Junk, appears on the latest episode of the Evil Genius Chronicles Podcast! This very classy song was co-written by the podcast host Dave Slusher, who is in fact an evil genius. The song is also based on a true story about a kilt-wearing drinker who picked the wrong day to go commando.

This episode also features a song from our friend George Hrab. Check out the podcast episode here.

Inbox Infinity. Used up 61% of my Gmail Allotment

"You are currently using 4565 MB (61%) of your 7479 MB."

I'm not one of these Inbox Zero guys. I have no problem receiving tons of emails, reading them, and letting them just sit there in my inbox. I rarely tag or organize them into folders (unlike what I have to do at my job in order to make Outlook work right). I've used Gmail's search function way too much to know I can rely on it. Plus, I don't delete because I've learned from experience I have no idea which email is important in the future.

I receive a ton of email thanks to the two books I co-wrote, the Electronic Musician column (we told you we're writing for Electronic Musician Magazine right? Er...), the IndieGuide.com site, and Beatnik Turtle alone. That doesn't count all all the bacn -- notifications I subscribe to --  from Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and various indie musician services, financial services, and newsletters. And then there's all the family, friend, and general correspondence stuff. It's all adding up. 61% so far.

Anyone out there who uses Gmail close to 100%? Maybe you've gone past it? I'm curious as to whether you sat down one weekend and deleted all the needless stuff to bring it back down a bit or just said, screw it, my time's valuable and reached for your wallet to pay the great Goog? If you've got any suggestions, please email me -- er, just comment at this blog.

Redesigned the Site!

We've been silent for awhile, but that's because we've been working hard behind the scenes re-designing our site here and also working on our forthcoming albums (When I Was Your Age and The Best Of TheSongOfTheDay.com). It also didn't help that two of us moved to Ireland in the meantime!

We still have a bit to go on the website (we're currently fixing the plumbing of beatnikturtle.com so it points here), but until that time, please enjoy our Beatnik Turtle Radio. Since we've got hundreds of songs, we designed it so each hour the playlist changes. It's been updated with even more songs. And, like a real radio station, the DJ is powerless and the computer figures out what to play!

Launch BT radio now.

BT on the Geek Pop Podcast!

This week the Geek Pop podcast played our song Bunsen Burner on their July episode. This online music festival features artists who are inspired by science! After Bunsen Burner you can hear all about their upcoming geeky science song contest!  Click here to listen to the episode.

You can get your own copy of Bunsen Burner and support us by purchasing it from iTunes, Amazon, or CDBaby.

To any podcasters looking for music to play, all of our songs are podsafe and free to use on your show. Please contact us if you’d like any songs or info.

BT on the Rock And Roll Geek Show!

Last month our song Mason Rocket (Spy Extraordinaire) was played on the Rock and Roll Geek Show! The host, Michael Butler, played the song as part of his "Listening With Butler" segment and said some very kind words. You can hear Mason Rocket on Episode 398: Laughlin River Run 2010 Recap. We are really glad to be part of a long-running 'cast that showcases indie artists.

As always, you can grab your own copies of Mason Rocket (Spy Extraordinaire) on iTunes, Amazon, or CDBaby and support the band!

And for all of the podcasters out there, our songs are podsafe and can be played on your show or used as theme songs. If you are a podcaster looking for music, contact us for songs and info.

BT on Insomnia Radio Chicago!

This past weekend our song Mason Rocket (Spy Extraordinaire) was played on Insomnia Radio Chicago.  Episode 3: A Country Mile features rock bands from all over the Chicago area. Insomnia Radio has seven podcasts, each one playing music from specific cities or regions. We are very excited to be representing Chicago on one of the show's first episodes. Click here to listen to the 'cast!

You can get your own copy of Mason Rocket (Spy Extraordinaire) and can support our music by purchasing it from iTunes, Amazon, or CDBaby.

All of our songs are podsafe and can be played on shows, used as theme songs, and more. If you are a podcaster looking for music, feel free to contact us for songs and info.

BT Featured on The Stone Zone Show!

Our music was featured on the finale of the tenth season of The Stone Zone Show! The hosts Big D and Dr. Dubious played three of our songs: Well Fuck, Speaking of Beer, and The Bong Song. If you couldn't tell by their song choices, this show is about hilarious happenings while under the influence. Click here to check out the episode.

You can support the band and purchase these songs here:

Well Fuck (iTunes, Amazon)
Speaking of Beer (iTunes, Amazon)
The Bong Song (iTunes, Amazon)

Also, for all the podcasters out there, remember that all of our songs are podsafe and free to use on your show. Feel free to contact us if you’d like any songs or information.