Daily Dose: Two Freebies!

First, apologies for the silence on this site; editor Sam’s been down with the flu (not THAT flu), and it seems that the rest of us have been running amok in our daily grinds, or maybe just running amok in general. Anywho, I figured I would give today’s dose because there is a double-shot of mega-awesome, and it won’t cost you anything but gas and drinks, if you choose to consume.

First up is Martin Atkins at Speakeasy at 6:30 pm. Martin is known for his bands (Public Image Limited, Killing Joke, Pigface, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, etc…), his record label Invisible Records, and NOW author of TOUR SMART and also speaker on the same topic, which will be the topic for Tuesday night. Here’s some notes on the event, courtesy of Aaron Hamilton of the late Cave 9:

If you are in a band or aspire to be in a band, there’s no excuse for not being there. You WILL regret it. Your friends in other bands will have an upper hand of knowledge on you.

If you’re not in a band, but manage bands, record bands, book bands, run a label, own a club or work at one, make music videos, dj on the radio, or write a music column or blog, among other things, you won’t want to miss this because this still seriously applies to you whether you think so or not. I guarantee you will walk away happy with plenty of new knowledge, thoughts and ideas.

I’ve had the opportunity to catch Martin Atkins speak the past couple years at South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas and I have to say that he has one of the most important and informative seminars that I’ve seen.

A few suggestions. Get there early and get a good seat. Bring a pad and a pen. You will want to take notes. Bring questions. Martin will speak for 90 minutes and then take questions for the last 30 minutes. You also might want to eat a bite before the seminar. You won’t want to leave in the middle of it and miss out.

Also, in case you want more, Martin will be selling his book TOUR SMART, which I also suggest you buy, because it truly has information that would take you an entire music career to learn on your own.

What I have to gain is to see anyone wishing to succeed in their music careers (bands, managers, booking agents, lawyers, club owners, music writers, dj’s, recording engineers, etc…) take away some bit of knowledge and use it to better their careers. I also want see the Birmingham music scene continue to grow and thrive.

Final suggestion for the Atkins speaking gig: visit http://tsseminaratspeakeasy.eventbrite.com to secure tickets in case the event gets packed out.

After Speakeasy, jump over to Southside down 3rd Avenue way to the Bottletree Cafe for Radio Free Birmingham! Tonight’s line-up is packed with locals of a wide variety, including Beaux Animaux, Vegas Williams and the Dark Heart Band, Nymphotomy, The Sleep Design, and Let’s Get Invisible.

Your Sample Schedule:

Speakeasy: Martin Atkins at 6:30 pm (more like 6 pm; get there early to save your spot or go to http://tsseminaratspeakeasy.eventbrite.com/ for tickets!)

Bottletree: Radio Free Birmingham at 8 pm (or roughly 8:30, if you have questions for Martin Atkins back at Speakeasy or are interested in hearing others’ questions answered)

Again, both shows are FREE! Adults only, though; they’re both 18+.

DISCLAIMER: Unlike the shows, the beer is NOT free, as the image might suggest. It’s probably not from Taiwan, either.