Music Business (Business & Production) – Room 100
AET – Room 200A
EIS – Room 203B
Songwriting – Room 414

*Please note that room numbers are subject to change. The final room numbers will be posted in the Massey lobby prior to the event.

Below is the poster for the event, complete with the acts that will be performing. If you have any further questions about the event, please don’t hesitate to contact us at ontheblvd09@gmail.com!

Hope to see you there!

Curb College Student Leadership Council

And as always, if you have any feedback for the blog going into next year, please feel free to comment with it. We read everything y’all say here and it’s taken very seriously! Thanks, and have a great summer!

Evan P. Donohue

The Maticals

Darla Farmer

2. And speaking of Darla Farmer, the acclaimed band (winner of last year’s Best Student Album Curbie for Rewiring the Electric Forest) will be performing a concert in the Neely Dining Hall at 7 PM this Sunday. Go to that!

- – -

In a pose which was clearly not intended for blogs but made it onto one anyway. Left: Jake Thomas. Right: Miles Lowenfield.

- – -

Classic Belmont: You live down the hall from someone for an entire year before you ever discover that the person is kind of a musical prodigy. It’s the story of countless campus acquaintanceships come and gone before, and now it’s the story of Miles Lowenfield and me. This is how it goes:

Once upon a time, on Maddox Hall Floor 3, I knew Miles as the enigmatic roommate of a friend and collaborator of mine. I use the word “enigmatic” because Miles was often absent from the dorm for extended periods of time – early on, we dubbed him the “Hall Ghost” – and although I could tell he was a nice guy from the few proper conversations we had, I can’t rightly say I ever got to know the man.

I did hear things, though – occasional, unusually listenable acoustic balladry – muffled though it was by that signature Maddox cinder block – and rumors of a knack for lyrics that I frankly found somewhat surprising, given that the person in question didn’t even seem to have much to say most of the time.

As with most things you hear in passing, though, I never thought much of it. I went about my way, moved out of Maddox, life went on, didn’t hear anything at all from Miles. That was almost a year ago now.

But cream always manages to rise somehow, and now, I’m here to tell you that Miles Lowenfield’s new band with Jake Thomas is Belmont Indie Cream™ in the highest order. The Maticals have only been playing together since late November, but their MySpace page is already chock full of songs which might just blow you away with their tight tunecraft and engagingly offbeat lyrics. I’m not much of an indie rock fan myself, but I can’t help but marvel at some of this work from a technical standpoint. Go take a listen. This is what it’s all about.

Track Recommendations by Robert Duello:

The Madicals are absolutely one of my favorite bands I’ve heard come out of this campus. Here’s a quick run down of a couple of my favorite songs on their MySpace page:

Mexico: This song has one of the highest play-counts on the page…and is incredible.  A catchy opening on acoustic guitar sets the tone.  The vocals have been doubled in octaves, which means that they sound really cool and catch your attention. The electric guitar is affected and full of distortion.  They rely heavily on keyboard sounds that you would not normally think to hear in a track like this.  The drumming is rock-solid. An all-around must-listen.

Julie-Anne: If I hadn’t done my homework, I would think that this was a Bob Dylan cover.  There is no denying this song’s 1960’s folk influence, but it manages to still sound fresh.  Acoustic guitar, vocals, and shaker.  Simple, and simply beautiful.

So, we’ve linked you to their MySpace, and told you what we think.  Now it’s up to you to go and check them out!

This year has just flown by! We in SLC have been planning Best Job Ever since September, and it’s hard to believe that the big day is this close. Though BJE is just a year old, we are really hoping to turn the event into something that the Curb College can build itself around. It’s a young idea, but it has the potential to become something more than just a conference; BJE could become a Belmont tradition. If you were not lucky enough to make it to the event last year, let me tell you a little more about what we are trying to do.

First and foremost, the thing you need to know is that BJE is not just another Insider’s View or Belmont lecture. As students, we knew that we wanted to offer something different, something truly relatable and personable. This is why we’ve decided to limit the attendance at BJE. In larger groups it is easy to blend in with your peers and surrender to insecurities.  At BJE, we keep the panels and workshops to small groups. This way the professionals in the panels are able to learn your name and really get to know you. In our opinion, getting to personally know a professional is a huge advantage, especially in as small and competitive an industry as music.

Throughout the day, students will be able to attend four different panels, with a Music Business seminar credit awarded for every two panels attended, thus resulting in two possible seminar credits for the day’s activities. Our goal when deciding the panels was to offer students several different panels, all concerning different aspects and fields of the music industry. For example, we have a panel for those interested in a career in music journalism, as well as several other areas such as new media, touring, music supervision, artist management, songwriting and many, many more. You also have the ability to link the panels together. Those who are interested in production can attend not only the panel with professional producers, but also the hands-on production workshop in Studio A as well as the first-listen opportunity presented exclusively at BJE.

Speaking as a former attendee of BJE, believe me when I tell you that it is a truly rewarding experience. If you are new to Belmont, or even if you are near graduation, you need to understand that you get out of Belmont what you put into it. Networking, relationships, and experience are essential, and I don’t know of a better place to gain all three of these advantages than at BJE.

If you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late. We will be doing registration  the day of the event, this Saturday, March 21. The event will be held on the 4th floor of the Inman Health Sciences Builing. Arrive at 8:30 AM if you would like to register. Catered lunch will be served for those who registered before Wednesday, March 18. Come out and be a part of a growing Belmont tradition. I guarantee you will not regret it.

.
2. The Best of the Best Showcase, coming up on Saturday, April 25th, has also launched a website for itself, and I have to say that this one is especially snazzy. There’s a beautiful tribute page to Donna Hilley (this year’s special honoree), and you can even download press shots of your favorite Best of the Best artist. Talk about hype!

.
3. We’ve added a number of acts recently to our Band Directory, many of whom will have music of theirs reviewed here in coming days. Say hello to:

• Greg Bates
• Jameson Elder
• EX NIHILO
• Faith in Shadows
• FUTURE
• Robert Gay
• Lindsay George
• Madison Hardy
• John Shaw Group
• Kopecky Family Band
• Jordan Kyle
• Cheryl Luquire
• W.C. Marion
• Blake Aaron Mundell
• Jason Nix
• The Opposed
• The Stick No Bills

And you could be next! We’re just an e-mail away…

This is my first real post on this thing.  Along with Dan and our other writers, I hope to get this place hoppin’, rockin’ and rollin’.  So, without further ado, I present to you my first post, a review of a little thing I like to call: The Emory-Belmont Rock Fest!

So, first things first.  What’s in a name?  Emory, for those of you not familiar with the deep south, refers to Emory University in Atlanta, GA.  Emory is a beautiful campus, and was kind enough to play host to the event a few weeks ago.  Why did they partner with Belmont to put on a rock show?  I’m not sure, but I’m glad they did.

The show was a powerhouse of some of the best bands here on campus, including Fly Golden Eagle, Gabe Vitek and the Ivory, Joey Wengerd, and old Belmont favorite Steve Moakler, who does not technically go to Belmont anymore; he left to tour and generally work towards being wildly famous.   So far, his plans seem to be working well.  He has two EP’s for sale on iTunes right now that are definitely worth a listen.

But before this becomes an advertisement for Steve Moakler, the other bands that played were really killer, too. You can pick up a copy of a single from all of the bands that played on iTunes for free right here.

Anyways…descriptions of each act plus links to their MySpace pages, in no particular order:

• Fly Golden Eagle is an electro-pop/dance duo from Belmont.  They are really really great.  Their live show is fun.  I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone.  Check them out anytime you get the chance.  Tickets will be worth what they cost.
• Gabe Vitek and the Ivory – I had heard a lot of really good things about these guys before I saw them.  Boy was everyone else right.  A groove based/piano driven pop rock band, they will suck you in and make you love what they do.  According to their MySpace, they are currently on tour right now with none other than Steve Moakler.
• Steve Moakler – Speaking of Steve again, check this guy out now.  Seriously.  You need to get your hands on as much stuff as you can from this guy so that you can be the one that says, “He’s famous now?  I loved him when he was nothing!”  The good news is that his music will still be as high-quality.  Acoustic, feel good pop.
• Joey Wengerd – This had to have been my number 2 favorite band of the day behind Fly Golden Eagle. Joey has great vocals and one of the most talented bands I’ve seem come out of Belmont.  The only thing that made me a little upset was that their set was cut short by the headliner, Matt Nathanson.  I could have listened to these guys for hours.   Seriously.  You will not be disappointed.

Anyways, that’s all I got for you this time.  Hop on MySpace and check out some of these bands I talked about. They’ll appreciate the plays.  You’ll appreciate the music.  Until next time…keep it cool, Belmont.

The CEMB Awards allow students to celebrate what they consider the cream of the crop in many areas of the Belmont music/music business community, including:

• Full-Time Faculty
• Adjunct Faculty
• Internship Companies
• Showcases
• Student Artists (Bands & Solo)
• Student Albums
• Curb Cafe Shows

The results of the vote will be revealed at the Awards Show on March 25th at 7:00pm in the Curb Café, which promises to be a very fun time indeed. If you’ve got opinions, there’s simply no better way to make them heard in the community – besides commenting on CEMBlog, of course! (Or, you know, sending us an e-mail saying you want to write for it. Hint hint). Remember that you’ve only got one vote per IP Address, though, so use it well!

While you’re at it, feel free to voice your support for a particular artist, teacher or event in the comments section of this post so that people have more of an idea of who to vote for. That would be especially helpful for those write-in categories!

For example, I’m gunning for Evan P. Donohue to take Best Album for Look Bleak. What about you?

First things first, though: why are we here?

This blog was conceived with lots of shining ideals in mind, but the main one is unity. We all know Belmont is well-noted for its music/music business community and the incredible concentration of talent therein, but up until now there has never been an organized way to keep track of everything the individual members of that community have been up to. CEMBlog aims to change that.

Of course, the thing about being community-centered is that this blog’s value will be entirely what you make of it. If you add your bands to the Directory, read and comment on posts, and send us music to review, CEMBlog will be a fun and informative web-hub that provides focus and feedback to Belmont’s music/music business community. If not, the blog will be boring and lame, and you will miss out on an awesome opportunity to network (it happens on the Internet now, don’tcha know) and publicize your music to a big audience of your peers (who might be important someday) and who knows who else!

So, you get the idea. Get involved. Love the CEMBlog and the CEMBlog will love you back. Pretty straightforward.

Now, a more specific run-down of what you can expect and why it will all be so great for you:

1. We’ll write about your music! Which is pretty cool, considering we’re not you or your mom, right? We’re very interested in getting students excited (and opinionated) about everything their peers are working on, so if you direct us to an album, EP, or even just new MySpace tracks you’ve got, we’ll write about it in some capacity – guaranteed. We do have standards and will be selective in which music we dedicate full reviews to, but we promise to be fair and reign in our Belmont-snobbery once we start writing. For further information on this feature, please see our Reviews page.
2. We’ll write about your concerts! Yep. But you gotta let us know about ‘em. See the Events page for further details.
3. We’ll keep you updated on CEMB events! So there’s no excuse for not attending enough Insider’s Views or Writer’s Nights or not voting in the annual CEMB Awards anymore!
4. We’ll answer your questions! So ask them.
5. We’ll give you a place to complain about stuff! What, so you didn’t enjoy that one Showcase or Insider’s View? Well, here’s the place to let the powers-that-be know why!

Of course, that last point brings us to another point: our Comment Policy. Now, I am an ardent believer in free speech and feel that constructive criticism is key to improving anything, and that’s why CEMBlog is dedicated to providing an open forum for students and whoever else to express themselves honestly. That said, please bear in mind the following two guidelines:

1. Keep it clean. Profanity of any kind will not be tolerated. This is a school-sponsored blog and all.

2. Speak respectfully. We encourage active discussion on topics and realize this may lead to potentially heated arguments or criticisms, but please keep your remarks grounded in a basic sense of respect – i.e., no name-calling or outright antagonizing of other readers or people mentioned in the posts. Recognize that this is a public blog and anyone could end up reading what you write.

Violation of either guideline will result in the offending comment being deleted by an administrator, usually alongside a friendly “hey, [such-and-such violation] is why your comment isn’t there anymore, punk.” This measure is not intended to censor or discourage active discussion, but rather to facilitate an environment where any reader can feel comfortable expressing his or her opinion. This is a happy place.

Well, I think that about wraps up everything I had to say. Look out for posts in the very near future, send us your music to review, and don’t forget to add your MySpace or website to our Band Directory! And please, if you like what you see here, say hello in the comments. Ditto if you have questions or suggestions – let’s just get the ice-breaking over with now so we can start the fun part, y’know?

Once again, on behalf of SLC, I’d like to thank you for stopping by CEMBlog. We’re happy to be serving you.

- Dan Milliken, Editor