NICKSAV Film & Music SHOW

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

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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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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Burris Singer on the Wholesome Purpose of Rock and Roll

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Chris Hochkeppel recently graduated from college and is already making a living as a full-time musician. He’s the singer and guitarist for Burris and also hosts the singer-songwriter nights at Lava Cantina in Baton Rouge. Burris has done scaled-down acoustic shows, but at full-force the band is a seven-piece powerhouse that has a distinct rock sound with jazz and funk influences. In addition to guitar, drums, and bass, the band brings along a violin, saxophone, keyboard, and auxiliary percussion to their big shows, which makes for quite an energetic live performance.

BurrisIn this podcast interview we discuss the inspiration behind Meant to Be, the new album from Burris. Some of the other topics we discuss include

  • finding success by serving a community
  • dealing with rejection
  • how to be a good hang-out guy
  • how to interact with fans in a way that connects
  • finding purpose in the things we do

UPDATE: If you want to subscribe to just the music-related episodes of the podcast on iTunes, click the link below:

http://bit.ly/nsavidesPodcastMUSIC

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Related Things

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  • The singer-songwriter showcases in Baton Rouge
    • The one Chris hosts at Lava Cantina is usually 8:00 PM, 1st and 3rd Wednesdays.
    • Jolie Pearl one is 1:00 PM, every Sunday.
    • Brew Ha-Ha one is 6:00 PM, every Sunday.
    • This Jive Flamingo post includes more details about each night and some quotes from Chris.
  • Albums Chris mentioned
    • Live at Radio City – by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, released on August 13, 2007 (As it happens, Dave makes reference to a traumatized Iraq veteran in that album, which relates to the last short film I directed.)
    • Morning View by Incubus, released on October 23, 2001
  • Musicians mentioned
    • Ben Herrington plays the keys for Burris. He also plays accordion, piano, and trombone for Minos the Saint.
    • Jordan Searcy was featured on the Voice in 2014. He recently played at Chris’s showcase.
    • Kenny Acosta, another musician at Chris’s showcase, is a blues icon who has played with the likes of Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Taj Mahal, and The Neville Brothers. Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden declared June 11 to be Kenny Acosta Day.
    • Marc Broussard, the “Bayou Soul” singer-songweriter, is one of Chris’s musical influences.
    • Matthew Schwartz of Pacifico has also been featured at the Lava Cantina showcase. He’s how I met Chris. This is the podcast interview I did with Matt.

Thanks to Ben Dye for letting us use his recording space for the interview.

Sponsor for this episode

nsavides productions – This “Alone in Space” music video I directed for Long Division was nominated for an award by Veer Magazine:
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BUKU Music Festival 2016 – Band Interviews & Personal Reflections

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BUKU Music + Art Project is a music and art festival in New Orleans that takes place at Mardi Gras World, where many of the Mardi Gras floats created by Kern Studios are stored. This adds a surreal quality to the festival, which meshes well with the electronic dance music performed there. While EDM is the primary music genre at BUKU, the festival also includes indie rock, hip hop, and other hybrid music styles.

Some of the better known acts at BUKU 2016 include Pretty Lights, Kid Cudi CHVRCHΞS, Miike Snow, Griz, and Above & Beyond. The festival has only been around for five years, but the event sold out, and there were over 30,000 people in attendance according to the festival’s estimates.

Buku2016-nsavides-podcast-coverage

Based on other festival coverage I’ve done (like the New Orleans Film Festival and the Twisted Oak Music Festival) I was given the opportunity to do media coverage for BUKU. At first I was apprehensive since I don’t know a lot about EDM, but then I noticed that some bands I recognized were playing there.

 

I decided that doing media coverage for the festival could be a good opportunity to learn more about EDM and some of the related genres that have grown popular in recent years. To prepare for the festival, I talked to some music enthusiasts who were well versed in the electronic music scene and listened to some BUKU-related playlists.

I attended both days of BUKU and saw as many performances as my schedule would allow. At the festival, I interviewed

  • CRWNS
  • Donovan Wolfington
  • Fro-Yo Ma
  • DJ Soul Sister
  • Taylor Guarisco from the Givers

DJ Soul Sister during her set at BUKU

 

Some of the topics that came up include: mixing musical genres, audience interactions, drug use, and how to have better collaborations with other artists. After the interviews, I share my festival impressions and some of my experiences while attending.

Prior to BUKU, I had some things on my mind, and they stayed with me throughout the festival. In short, I was wondering if it was possible to find answers to some of the bigger questions while surrounded by all the noise and flashing lights.

I address some of those questions in the episode, which turned it into one of the more personal episodes I’ve recorded.

 

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Related Things

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Fro-Yo Ma and his peeps try to teach me the fine art of hand signals. Still not a skill I’ve mastered. 

In addition to musicians and venues, I also photographed some of the outfits that caught my eye.

Here’s an example:

If you’re curious, you can see more of my BUKU photos on Instagram.

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Sponsor for this episode

nsavides productions – This is the “Alone in Space” music video I mentioned in the show:
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Puppet Maker, DJ, & Filmmaker Clay Achee on Finding Creative Enthusiasm

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Getting established within an area’s filmmaking, music, or design community takes some effort. Now imagine finding success in all three areas, and you’ll start to understand why Clay Achee‘s resume is so impressive.

Clay on set

Clay on set for Pacifico’s music video “I’ve Finally Found What I’m Looking For”

 

As a filmmaker, Clay has a page worth of credits ranging from boom operator, to foley artist, to first assistant director. He’s also directed shorts and music videos and is on staff with Tommy’s TV, a production company in Baton Rouge. On the music side, he’s heard regularly on Baton Rouge’s WHYR 96.9 FM, where he DJs and talks about the history of rock ‘n’ roll on his weekly show. He was also the guy responsible for booking local bands for the esteemed, but now defunct, music venue Mud & Water. Back in 2013 he penned an Open Letter to the Baton Rouge Music Scene that was embraced by the local music community. On top of that, Clay runs a company with his wife called Beyond the Garage, where they make puppets and other artisanal craft projects.

beyond the garage puppets

Some of the puppets made by Beyond the Garage

 

Clay came on the show to talk about how he got connected with all those different scenes. He also gives advice to bands trying to get a DJ’s attention, offers collaborative tips, and makes an impassioned plea for artists to work together in their communities.

 

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Related Things

Clay directed this Dark Crystal fan film which got featured on The Jim Henson Company’s YouTube page.

Sponsor for this episode

nsavides productions – I make music videos, commercials, and short films with heart and personality. Check out my work on Vimeo.
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Twisted Oak Music Festival 2015 Recap

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Joel Willson, founder of the Twisted Oak Music Festival, was a recent guest on The nsavides Podcast. After hearing Joel describe the caliber of musicians at the event and why it might be a life-changing experience, my curiosity was piqued. I decided to attend and do some additional coverage to recap the experience.

Longleaf

From Longleaf’s Instagram account

Below are the people I interviewed at the festival.

  • Jackson Pierce, a performer with CYT Baton Rouge
  • Alex V. Cook, a writer, music critic, and a singer/guitarist for The Rakers
  • David Fuller, Laura Smith, & Carrie Stephens, the musicians who make up the newgrassical band Longleaf, one of the bands that played at Twisted Oak

twisted oak

After the interviews, I share my take on the festival. I also expand on my ongoing efforts to navigate through the faith vs. reason dilemma, which continues the discussion from Joel’s episode.

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To learn more about the Twisted Oak Music Festival click here for my interview with Joel.
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Related Things

  • The Twisted Oak Music Festival website
  • Alex V. Cook’s site
  • Longleaf’s Facebook page
  • Music and films I mentioned:
    • Sondre Lerche’s album Two Way Monologue
    • My Dinner with Andre, a rare film that can sustain drama almost entirely with its extended philosophical discussion
    • The Martian
    • Interstellar 
  • Norman Mailer’s interview with EW. I mentioned this one last time too, but it does relate to the ongoing discussion, and I’m still a little unsettled by the matching date.

Sponsor for this episode

nsavides productions – This is the “Alone in Space” music video I mentioned in the show:
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Let’s talk about what we can do together. Email me: podcast@nsavides.com.
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Musician Joel Willson on the Creative Vision behind Twisted Oak Music Festival

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Joel Willson is the violinist of the Baton Rouge chamber folk band, Minos the Saint. He’s also one of the organizers behind Spontaneous Combustion, a live event that creates unique musical experiences and artwork based on the input of the audience. He came on the podcast to discuss his music outlook and his vision for the Twisted Oak Music Festival that he founded three years ago.

Twisted Oak Music Festival

 

The Twisted Oak Music Festival is driven by an idealistic mission statement that aims to rekindle spirituality while encouraging entrepreneurship, serving others, and nurturing a sense of community. This year the festival happens on Friday, November 13 at the Shaw Center in Baton Rouge.

In addition to Joel, here’s a list of the other musicians who will be performing:

Hot Club of Baton Rouge
Treble Bass Movement
Longleaf
Amy Willson + Eric Liffmann
Darrel Hale
LSU Graduate Woodwind Quintet
Spontaneous Combustion

The festival will also feature the live art of Janene Grodesky, Heather Kenyon, and Neda Parandian.

During my interview with Joel, we discuss why the festival might be a life-changing event, the value of art that aims to make others better, and how to build a sustainable career as an artist.

After the interview I share some thoughts about our conversation. I also reflect on the Mets in the World Series and tie it to some of the big questions that keep me up at night. (Seems an appropriate enough way to end a discussion about an event scheduled for Friday the 13th.)

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Related Things

Sponsor for this episode

nsavides productions – I aim for sincerity and excellence with my work. This music video I directed for the band Long Division was nominated for an award by Veer Magazine:
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