NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW

For filmmakers, musicians, & creative people who do amazing things and want to make the world better in some way.

Grammy-Nominated Musician, CD Baby’s VP of Marketing – Kevin Breuner

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The first band Kevin Breuner joined after college, Smalltown Poets, received a Grammy nomination for their first album. That band has been through a number of changes throughout the years, but they’re still active 20 years later. Kevin has also stayed active in the music scene, playing in a couple of bands in addition to Smalltown Poets. One of those bands, Hello Morning, recently got included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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When Kevin joined CD Baby, digital distribution was in a nascent stage and CD Baby was an early adopter. That gave him a front-row seat to see how that innovation would go on to transform the music industry. Kevin is currently CD Baby’s Director of Marketing, and he co-hosts their DIY Musician Podcast and helps to organize their annual DIY Musician Conference, which is happening in Nashville this year.
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Kevin Breuner podcast interview
As an accomplished musician and as someone who engages musicians on a daily basis through his work at CD Baby, Kevin is ideally positioned to give advice about how to stand out in today’s music landscape. Some of the things we discuss in the episode include
  • When it makes sense to sign with a label, if ever
  • How to get your music on film and TV soundtracks
  • Getting traction for your music with a live listening party
  • How to get access to the same fan engagement tools that Oasis uses
  • What artists like Ingrid Michaelson did to build a successful career while staying independent
  • How filmmakers on a budget can work with CD Baby to get memorable music for their films
  • What stats to pay attention to on Spotify
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Sponsor for this Episode

Fable House and I are partnering together to produce distinguished music videos for bands with big visions who want to share their music with the world in memorable, imaginative, and soulful ways.

Based in Louisiana, Fable House is a production company that has produced millions of dollars worth of content. They have shot features for the SyFy channel, produced a number of polished music videos, and shot a short film that screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

 

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Ready to bring your music dreams to life? Let’s discuss: podcast@nsavides.com

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Related Things

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Bands & Recording Artists Mentioned

  • Bon Iver
  • Chris Robley
  • Gotye
  • Ingrid Michaelson
  • Journey
  • Macklemore
  • The National
  • OK Go
  • Smalltown Poets
  • Twenty One Pilots
  • Walk Off the Earth

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How to Optimize Your Live Music Show with Wade Sutton

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Wade Sutton has almost 20 years of experience in professional radio journalism. These days he’s focused on helping musicians take their careers to the next level, specializing in live music production and media coaching. He has clients in major cities like Nashville, New York, London, Sydney, and Toronto. Highlights from his clients include playing with Stevie Wonder, dancing with MC Hammer, and being featured on Buzzfeed.
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Wade Sutton podcast interview
Some of the things that we discuss in this episode include
  • How to enhance a song’s emotional impact during a live music show
  • What every band should do before releasing a new album
  • How artists can uncover the hidden stories that make them unique
  • How to find an angle that will interest local newspapers and TV shows
  • What is the most important feature of a band website
  • When is the right time to do a music video
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Listen to the Episode

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Sponsor for this Episode

Fable House and I are partnering together to produce distinguished music videos for bands with big visions who want to share their music with the world in memorable, imaginative, and soulful ways.

Based in Louisiana, Fable House is a production company that has produced millions of dollars worth of content. They have shot features for the SyFy channel, produced a number of polished music videos, and shot a short film that screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

 

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Ready to bring your music dreams to life? Let’s discuss: podcast@nsavides.com

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Related Things

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Bands & Recording Artists Mentioned

  • A.C. Jones
  • Britney Spears
  • Chance the Rapper
  • Dean Larson
  • Garth Brooks
  • Katy Perry
  • Kierstan Kelly
  • Lady Gaga
  • The Listening Wall
  • MC Hammer
  • Rolling Stones
  • Taylor Swift
  • Zach Stone

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Music – Ship of Fools, That Space Cathedral Sound!

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Ship of Fools is a cello-driven indie-rock band with a distinct sound that some (this podcast) might describe as space cathedral. The band has played at SXSW, opened for bands like Santigold, and toured across the Southeastern United States. They’re also fun to hang out with, which is worth stating right from the start.

Indie rock band Ship of Fools on The nsavides Podcast

I interviewed the band at Highland Coffee,  a location that has certain significance to their origin story. Some of the things that we discuss in this episode include

  • Instruments and pedals that the band uses to create a distinct sound
  • The unexpected benefits that come from serving a community
  • Getting the most out of studio time with advanced planning
  • How artists can use branding to make a better impression
  • When to release music videos to amplify an album release
  • What makes for a memorable show
  • How to book gigs at elite venues

The ep. also includes the song “Roger” from the Ship of Fools EP.

Ship of Fools at Highland Coffee

The band poses for a photo after our interview at Highland Coffee.

 

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Listen to the Episode

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Sponsor for this Episode

Fable House and I are partnering together to produce distinguished music videos for bands with big visions who want to share their music with the world in memorable, imaginative, and soulful ways.

Based in Louisiana, Fable House is a production company that has produced millions of dollars worth of content. They have shot features for the SyFy channel, produced a number of polished music videos, and shot a short film that screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

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Ready to bring your music dreams to life? Let’s discuss: podcast@nsavides.com

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Related Things

Ship of Fools by Hieronymus Bosch

  • Ship of Fools by Hieronymus Bosch, 1490-1500
    • Notes on the painting from the Louvre
  • Matthew Schwartz is the producer for the Ship of Fools EP. He is also the frontman for Pacifico. His podcast ep. is here.
  • Want another cello-driven band recommendation? Check out this podcast ep. with Mystery Loves Company, a chamber-rock band from Houston that recently played a show in London.

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Bands Mentioned

  • Grateful Dead
  • Mother Falcon
  • Santigold
  • Ship of Fools
  • Slomile Swift
  • Yes

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How to Succeed as a Musician with Bree Noble

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One of the highlights of Bree Noble‘s career as a musician was getting to sing at Dodger Stadium in front of 60,000 people. At one point she was also the Director of Finance for one the top 15 opera companies in the US. These days she is focused on helping other musicians find success and build long-lasting careers in music industry. Through her site femusician.com, Bree offers music-industry resources and coaching. She’s also the host of Women of Substance, a radio program where she curates music from soulful female musicians.

Bree Nobles discusses the music industry on The nsavides PodcastSome of the things we discuss in this episode include

  • How to turn ordinary audiences into energized super fans
  • When’s the right time for a band to make a music video
  • How to make a good impression with industry insiders
  • Where filmmakers can find capable musicians for their projects
  • Recommendations for how to get more people to sign up for your mailing list
  • How to connect with music supervisors and other influencers
  • Practical suggestions for making a living as a musician
  • Communicating with music venues to get results

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Listen to the Episode

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Sponsor for this Episode

Fable House and I are looking to partner together to produce distinguished music videos for bands who want to share their music with the world in memorable, imaginative, and soulful ways.

Based in Louisiana, Fable House is a production company that has produced millions of dollars worth of content. They have shot features for the SyFy channel, produced a number of polished music videos, and shot a short film that screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

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We’re looking for bands who want to collaborate with accomplished craftsmen and fellow artists and have the drive and the resources to dream big. Let’s discuss: podcast@nsavides.com

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Related Things

Bree Noble sings at Dodger Stadium

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More Resources for Musicians

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Xan Aranda – Duplass Brothers producer, Andrew Bird director

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Xan Aranda has collaborated with the Duplass brothers on a number of projects including Blue Jay, a film that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival with critical acclaim. It is now available for streaming on Netflix. Xan also helped the Duplass brothers produce Room 104, their upcoming series for HBO.

Producer Xan Aranda on The nsavides PodcastXan has also produced and/or directed a couple of music videos for Andrew Bird and directed the feature-length documentary Andrew Bird: Fever Year. Another one of her notable music-related credits includes directing an album trailer for Neko Case.

This is Me, the docu-series she produced to supplement Amazon’s Transparent, got nominated for an Emmy.

Very often producing can be matchmaking.” – Xan Aranda 

filmmaker and music video director Xan Aranda photo

Some of the things we discuss in this episode include

  • What a creative producer can bring to a project
  • Working with artists to help them express themselves
  • What goes into producing a music video with animation
  • How a producer can get better performances from actors
  • When it might make sense to do an album trailer instead of a music video
  • The unexpected benefits that come from hanging out with those we cherish
  • Exploring challenging topics like transgender issues with people of faith

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Sponsor for this Episode

nsavides productions – Here are some of the videos I’ve done. Let’s work together on something: podcast@nsavides.com
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Related Things

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Films & Shows Discussed

  • Andrew Bird: Fever Year
  • Blue Jay 
  • Room 104
  • This is Me 
  • Transmormon
  • Transparent

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Literature Discussed

  • “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen

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SXSW 2017 Podcast Coverage Part II – Music & Interactive Interviews and Concluding Thoughts

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This is Part II of my SXSW 2017 podcast coverage. Part I includes the film-related interviews I did while attending the festival. On this episode I share my interactive and music-related interviews. Then I share my takeaways from the music, interactive, and film aspects of the festival that I experienced.

The episode concludes with my own personal SXSW story. In it, I explore some of the big questions that the festival evoked, meet Tim Ferriss and a few other luminaries for the first time, and share my struggles in attempting to navigate the festival without a drop of alcohol. Some complications ensue.

The nsavides Podcast coverage of SXSW 2017The interviews and my concluding thoughts are interconnected, which is why I kept them together in one episode, but we cover a lot of ground so you might want to reference the start times below if you have a particular area of interest.

Note: The length of the episode seems to affect how the web player displays the time. If you are trying to get to a certain section and aren’t hearing it, try going back a few minutes, up to 10 minutes or so as you get towards the end of the episode.

Guests in this Episode

  • Gregory Kallenberg, founder of the Louisiana Film Prize  – starts at 6:15. He has been attending SXSW since year one and has been on the board for the interactive side of the festival for 20+ years. We discuss some of the changes that the festival has undergone throughout the years, notable aspects of the interactive portion of the festival, and some of the Louisiana Music Prize alumni who have gone on to play at SXSW.
  • Merisa Torneo & Josh Volkov, the friendly husband and wife duo behind the country-rock band Lovella – starts at 17:57. Merisa and Josh played daily at the SXSW Registrant Lounge right across from the Austin Convention Center. They also played a showcase at Cooper’s BBQ towards the end of the festival. We discuss the origins of the band, their experiences at the festival, and what they consider to be a successful show.

Lovella at SXSW 2017I interviewed Merisa and Josh on this balcony at the Austin Convention Center.

 

  • Michael Bonfiglio, co-director of May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers – starts at 32:40. His music doc (and/or the musicians and the filmmakers) got three standing ovations when it premiered at SXSW 2017. It went on to win 24 Beats Per Second audience award at the festival. Mike explains how they captured vulnerable moments from the band and what it was like to collaborate with co-director Judd Apatow.
  • Mark Falgout, owner of Blue Moon Saloon in Lafayette, Louisiana – starts at 45:20. He put together a showcase at Antone’s, a storied music venue in Austin, to help close out the music portion of the festival. Three of the bands in his Louisiana themed showcase have received Grammy nominations, one has appeared on NBC’s The Voice, and one has recorded music for HBO’s True Blood. He explains what he looks for in bands and shares some tips to musicians trying to make a living from their music.

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My Take on Things

  • Music – starts at 1:00:25. Here I talk about some of the music shows and keynotes that caught my attention.
  • Interactive – starts at 1:07:26. This includes some of the brands, panels, and keynotes dealing with technology and politics that I experienced.
  • Film – starts at 1:32:38. Here I give some recommendations to filmmakers trying to navigate the festival and share some of the films, shows, and keynotes that I got to check out.
  • My SXSW Story – starts at 1:57:55. Here I share some of the ups and downs that I experienced at the festival while doing podcast coverage and trying to figure out why I had a sense that I should attend the festival this year.

profiterole at Chez Nous in Austin

The profiterole I ordered at Chez Nous

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Sponsor for this Episode

nsavides productions – I make videos and tell stories. Check out some of my work.
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Let’s talk about what we can do together. Email: podcast@nsavides.com.
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Related Things

This is the playlist I put together of some of the bands performing at SXSW 2017. It is a sort-of soundtrack to my festival experience.

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  • This keynote from National Geographic photographer and Canon shooter Cory Richards had a big influence on how this episode turned out.  
  • Writer and film critic Ben Parman also influenced this episode and provided feedback on it. Thanks for that, Ben.
  • pollstar.com – the site Mark mentioned for tracking band touring numbers

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Other Notable Keynotes & Q&As from SXSW 2017

This keynote from Joe Swanberg in 2016 is also worth a watch.

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Films & Shows Discussed

Update: METH STORM: Arkansas USA is another film I saw at the festival. It was difficult to watch, but it deals with a challenging topic in an evenhanded way and is worth seeing.

I overlooked it when going through my notes for this episode, possibly because parts of it were so searing, but it was not an intentional omission. That said, it would take me a few minutes to expand on my reactions to it. Considering that this episode is already over 3 hours long, it is probably best that I save that discussion for another time.  

METH STORM is directed by Brent and Craig Renaud. A few months ago,  Craig came on the show and discussed some of the other films he has directed with his brother.

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