Do you understand copyright law?

And how it affects your creative works?

As Fast As frontman Spencer Albee and legal professional Mark Fischer will be holding an educational seminar on Creativity and Copyright at the USM Portland campus on Thursday, May 8th from 3:30PM to 5. Here's more info straight from the press release:

Record Store Day is on Saturday!

Did you know Record Store Day has been signed in by Governor John Baldacci as a national holiday? Yes, I'm telling the truth. This means all Mainers should celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday with their lovely independent record stores (not Borders, Best Buy, or FYE).

Participating local record stores in Maine will be celebrating Record Store Day with freebies, contests, and in-store performances. If there's any day to go to your local independent record store, Saturday, April 19th is the day!

At the Newbury Comics in South Portland, there will be a plethora of performers including Tim Cossar formerly of Hope Conspiracy, Chriss Sutherland and Micah Blue Smaldone of Fire on Fire, Mark Nelson of Machinery Hall, Hot Tarts, and other musicians and bands. Go to the Newbury Comics website to find out more!

It's Lips Appreciation Week!

I just received an email from The Flaming Lips newsletter, and it told me that Lips Appreciation Week starts today!

How can you celebrate? Well...I'd say blast some Lips on your stereo, iPod, Zune, or computer box? Are you a Transmissions from the Satellite Heart kind of guy, or are you more Soft Bulletin/Yoshima? Yeah, At War With the Mystics has some good stuff; I don't blame you.

If you don't have any of their music, go over to their Myspace or you can go to their official page and stream music by hitting the "Audio" tab on the upper-right navigation bar.

The Lips are giving a special 15% off deal on all of their lithographs at their online store. So if you're into the Flaming Lips, and you're into art, this is your week. Go over to the store and check out their stuff.

Happy Lips Appreciation Week!

Don't Forget To Vote in Portland Phoenix's Best Music Poll!

The Phoenix is running it's yearly Best Music Poll, so click on and vote for your favorite local bands and musicians! Vote here!

Here are some bands you'll find in the Portland polls:

Satellite Lot

The Rattlesnakes

Honey Clouds

Cult Maze

A few musical notes about Juno

Being a very independent and eccentric movie, Juno brought a lot of independent and eccentric music along with it. Included in the soundtrack are bands Belle & Sebsatian (a favorite of mine), Sonic Youth, The Kinks, and Velvet Underground.

Here's a little sample of Belle & Sebastian with their song "Jonathan David".

More about Juno music after the cut.

Gift ideas for your musical holiday!

'Tis the season to give your friend or relative a nice gift of musical delight. I made my own little list of recommendations for music buying this holiday season, a gift guide per se... Come on in to take a look!

Exclusive Release: Cheese Grater Experience's Wear A Helmet

My band, The Cheese Grater Experience, has finally released its first more-than-an-EP-not-quite-an-album, Wear A Helmet, and it's available exclusively on Man, It's So Loud In Here.

Follow this link to download the new more-than-an-EP-not-quite-an-album! Use "soloud" for the username and password.

Warning: There is some explicit content in one of the songs. To be more specific...track 3...

Here's the tracklisting:
1) A Public Service Announcement
2) Monstah
3) Lexi is a Slut
4) John Coffee
5) Beard Mountain
6) Zombie Holocaust
7) Pay Attention!
8) To The Future

We recorded all of this back in August before all of us had to split ways for college. We just did a private reunion show the other night, but we're hoping to do a public one during Winter Break. Hope y'all enjoy!

They Might Be Giants + Facebook = Love

Back in September, Justin Ellis wrote about two college-bound, to-be roommates meeting each other on Facebook before moving in together. I have a similar story to share, and it involves a girl who lives down the hall from the two mentioned in Justin's story. This story is about how I met her (and yes, it does involve music).

It was the summer, and I was single and college-bound. It was a very exciting state to be in. There were a lot of new possibilities open for me, and I had no idea what to expect, but I was thrilled nevertheless.

In my excitement, I joined a group on Facebook for upcoming Freshmen at the University of Southern Maine. I started to befriend people within the group, hoping to build new friendships for the school year and beyond. Out of all the people I befriended on Facebook, there was one girl who stood out from the rest.

The Everyday Visuals video shoot and sleepover!

Over the weekend, I had the unique opportunity to host The Everyday Visuals at my house as they prepared for a video shoot the next day. They needed a place to stay, so my mom offered our house to stay for the night. It was a bit stressful to prepare the house for five guests, but it was well worth it in the end. We ended up having a fun time: eating lasagna, playing the Nintendo Wii, and watching some good ol' Mystery Science Theater 3000.

My mom's fiance, Stephen, better known as Dr. Rock 'n Roll of Face Magazine fame, took some random footage from TEV's night at my house. This video will give you an idea of what went down:

The next day was the video shoot for their single "Dance and Holler" from the 2007 release Things Will Look Up. I was offered to be an extra for the video, so I accompanied them on the trip to an office building in Biddeford where the video was being shot. I also took some pictures and video of the shoot. You can find those after the cut.

Long Live the CD!

Last week, Justin Ellis wrote a great article in the iHerald about the SINGLES generation and the current and future state of CDs. He interviewed local New Wave band Hiss & Chambers (who I still need to check out sometime) about digital distribution and how it has improved the band's exposure. In the article, Hiss & Chambers drummer Ryan Dolan said, "We're definitely starting to see the singles generation happen." Hiss & Chambers has made the decision to push the online distribution more than the physical, because it will save them greatly on costs and allow their name to get out more.

As more and more people buy music from online stores, the sales of CDs have taken a great descent. The RIAA has reported that CD sales have dropped to $9.1 Billion from $10.5 Billion and $10.4 Billion in the previous years. At the end of the article, Todd Richard is quoted saying, "Shopping on iTunes, however convenient it is, or downloading from your favorite band's MySpace page certainly can't take the place of the kid in the candy store feeling I recall so well from my childhood." And that's where I come in.

Pop Music is Still Alive!

Today, I have a special contributor to my blog...my mom! Melissa Martin is one of the major reasons why I'm such a big music enthusiast. Here's a blurb she wrote on Pop Music:

"Pop Music....remember the jangles, the bridges, the hooks that had you singing the chorus and the songs that stuck around for years? A song that if you sing or hum, many people say "I know that song!" That's Pop Music. The music is still around and soon coming near our town. This is going a way's back but do you remember, "Went to a Garden Party...you can't please everyone, so you...got to please yourself." and "I'm a Travelin' Man...' well, that's from the 50's and 60's and it's by Ricky Nelson. Then from the 90's, if you know those two platinum blonde long-haired brothers that sang "I can't live Without Your Love and Affection" well, that's by "Nelson"- Matthew and Gunnar, sons of Ricky Nelson. This Saturday Matthew and Gunnar will perform at LL Bean doing the songs of their Father called Ricky Nelson Remembered, featuring "Nelson".

If you want to sample songs that they will be performing, go to this link.

It's free and it's a show not to miss!