2 Songs from Buffalo
Announcing a new, second podcast from wnypodcast.com: 2 Songs From Buffalo
I’ve had this idea for several months now, but finally have put it into action. That is a shorter podcast that is less-restricted by my self-imposed rules that the Buffalo Live! Music Podcast follows. Whether you call them rules, or a format, this show will be different. I envision it as more of an audio blog where I share a couple pieces of music on any topic that comes to mind at that time.
While the BLMP has been satisfying to do, and I still feel important to showcase the talented bands and musicians in our area, it is a lot of work and there have been times when I can’t maintain the schedule I had wished.
The shorter format of the 2 Songs show will let me do shows more frequently and with less effort. Some of them may be live recordings. Some may even be pretty lo-fi, caught with minimal equipment. Others may be from band submissions, web pages or even CDs. I won’t always base the topic on a musician, either. Some shows may be more about a event, or venue I visit.
I hope the shorter show will also be more user-friendly. I appreciate the dedication someone must have to download and listen to an hour-long podcast. You must really want to hear the music to do it. It takes significant time out of your busy schedule. The shorter show, on the other hand might be just right for finding a new band you’ve never heard, or to listen to on your daily commute. I know it will be easier for me to keep it interesting and keep my energy up for it, so it will sound more interesting to you.
Private: All WNY Radio Shows
Private: Archives
Do not edit this page
Private: Tip Jar
The Buffalo Live! Music Podcast is free to listeners, free to musicians and always will be.
But there are expenses incurred to make the podcast each week and host it. There are modest, but recurring monthly hosting costs. Then there is the expenses of traveling to shows, admissions, equipment and other expenses. We all know what the price of gas has been doing lately! And of course, you don’t expect me to be there for several hours and not have a beer or two!
We could have banner ads, or sell commercial spots in the podcast. Someday we might have to do that, but let’s avoid that for as long as possible.
If you enjoy this podcast and would consider supporting it, please make a donation. Consider it a tip. Or think of it as buying Doc Wu a beer!
Any amount can be entered in the PayPal form, so give what you can afford. Even a couple bucks is appreciated! Suggested amount? $3 is probably an average price for a beer at most shows or a gallon of gas to get me to a gig. $10 hosts the podcast or this blog for the month. $20 would cover both for the month and make you a real patron of the arts! Where else can so little give so much enjoyment! Just hit the donation button below.
Another way you can support this podcast is to use our affiliate links. If you’re going to buy something, start your search here and a small commission is given back to the podcast. Right now I’m set up with Amazon.com, so why not shop for CDs, book, movies and computer hardware and more by using the search box here? It adds nothing to your cost and helps us out!
And if you’re in the market for web hosting, try 1 And 1 Internet. They supply our hosting and I’ve used a few web hosts and can say from experience, you can’t get a better deal anywhere and their product is the best. They offer packages for any user from personal page to corporate web presence, to e-commerce. Apache or IIS, Microsoft FrontPage Extensions, PHP and MySQL, even dedicated servers. They also have great email products, from forwarding to webmail to full POP/SMTP mailboxes all with features like spam filtering and virus protection. If you host a web site through them using this link, they’ll give a little something back on our costs, which will help keep the podcast coming!
Private: Subscribe via email
You can now sign up to receive an email with any new posts to this podcast/blog. This is great if you don’t use a RSS Feed Aggregator. Don’t miss a podcast, sign up now!
You now have two options to subscribe. Use this form to get just the podcast notices
Or, get the whole enchilada. Subscribe with this form to get all postings, including podcasts. (The podcasts are probably 75% of everything here, anyway!)
I promise, you won’t get any spam, just notices about this web page. And you can stop getting the emails anytime by going to the link at the end of each email. It’s automatic, I don’t even see your email address, just the little number in the Feedblitz icon goes up!
Add feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com to your address book or email whitelist to be sure to get your notices.
Private: Bands: How to get the most out of podcasting.
Okay so we’ve done a podcast together or maybe you’re just a musician who’s curious about podcasts and how they might be a tool in promoting yourself.
Obviously, a podcast will bring your music to an audience, usually according to whatever theme the podcast follows, whether it’s a musical genre, geographic focus, a Podsafe directory, or just because it catches the podcaster’s attention.
The Buffalo Live! Music Podcast is a bit unique among podcasts. It’s focus is live performances and interviews with local musicians, along with pre-recorded tracks. Many podcasters either never meet the musicians or only deal with them via email. If we’ve done a podcast, I’ve probably met with you, done an interview, recorded a live show and (most importantly) received your permission to use all of that in a podcast. We have a person to person agreement.
On the other hand, this podcast is relatively small and since it is focused on local music, so the audience is also somewhat limited. Many other podcasts are much larger and more widely listened to.
Way back in the early days of podcasting (like a year ago) podcasters didn’t give much thought to copyright issues. They just played the music they liked and hoped it was appreciated. Like all good things, that came to an end and some of the larger podcasts were told to stop using copyrighted music or else pay licenseing fees. The only problem was, there isn’t a fee structure set for podcasts. They were too new and weren’t anticipated by the people who set the fee system up. Streaming audio licenses didn’t fit, either did broadcast radio licensing. To this day there still isn’t a podcast license where a podcaster can legally play copyrighted music. The few who do, either are part of a broadcast company and are covered under their license or pay through the nose to get a streaming audio license.
Podcasters didn’t give up though. They realised that while they may never be able to play the big names, (Why would they want to? Broadcast radio is already doing that!) they could work with independant musicians who still controlled the rights to their own music. They formed the Podcast Music Network, and similar sites, where musicians can grant permission to any member podcaster to play certain songs royalty-free in exchange for promotional value. The podcasters agreed to certain things as well, to announce the artist and song names and to whenever possible, let the listener know where they can buy the CD. The Podcast Music Network is even working on providing direct digital sales of music to listeners on behalf of the artist.
Since I work with local music and not many local musicians are in the PMN, I rely on the direct granting of permission by the artist. This is why I can’t do cover bands or play a cover of another artists song - the performer can’t give me that right.
But, many other podcasts play music from the PMN exclusively. There are other sources of “Podsafe” music as well. Most unsigned or indie artists, or even those represented by small, progressive labels, can still grant permission to a podcaster to play their music and many do.
So, with that as background, how can you, the musician, songwriter and artist make the most of getting your songs played in a podcast?
First of all, we do the podcast. That’s straightforward. But once done, let your fans know it’s there. Put a link to it on your website, mention it at your shows, send a MySpace bulletin about it etc. The more people you drive to the podcast the more people hear it. It also causes my podcast listenership to grow. That’s fine for me, but it also makes it more likely for someone to discover it by accident and hear your band on it. You are always welcome to use my site to promote your music.
Second, let the podcast sell your CD. Make sure there is an online way for people who listen to the podcast to buy your music. If you’re not big enough to show up on Amazon.com, get your CD out to an online seller like CD Baby. Or even Itunes. I will always provide links to your website and to any place a listener can buy your CD. Just get me the information.
Third, consider putting some of your songs into a “podsafe” category. Join the Podsafe Music Network and put a few songs in there. I’m just one small podcast. If you get lucky and get played by one of the bigger podcasts, you may see results quickly. A number of bands and musicians have been very successful in using podcasts to promote their music. You may have song samples on your website or myspace page, but that doesn’t automatically grant permission to a podcaster to play them. Put the same songs (perhaps in a higher bitrate) into a podsafe directory and then they know for sure you allow it.
I saw a statistic (I can’t remember the source or the exact numbers, so I won’t attempt to quote it, but) that said the most avid podcast listeners were podcasters themselves. I can believe that. What that means to you is once your music is in a podcast, other podcasters are likely to hear it as well. If it is “podsafe” they can play it in their own podcast as well.
Some Podsafe music directories that might fit your needs:
Finally, get to know podcasts. Listen to some and find ones that fit your music style. Then email them and ask them to play your music. Send them a CD. Usually, they will be happy to do so and it may make a fan out of the podcast owner.
Here’s a couple of interesting articles I recently found:
Link: MySpace for Musicians
Link: The Art Of Podcasting
Jay Moonah, of the Toronto band Uncle Seth, has a lot of information on using podcasts to promote your music. Check out his Online Music Marketing podcast for ideas.
[This page is a work in progress and I will be adding more to it. Please check back again!]
Private: My Podcast Equipment
Hardware:
Sennheiser HMD-280 - I like the Sennheiser headphones. They are very comfortable and fold inward which helps when storing them. They also are the only decent headset with boom mike I could find. I actually like these better than the Heil Boomset I use with my Ham Radio equipment. For inteviews, a boom mike is like having an extra hand.
MXL-990 - The MXL-990 mikes are a great value. Very sensitive and a lot of output. I think if I was to order them again, though, I’d get the MXL-990S model which has 10db attenuator and low-cut switches built in.
Audix OM5 - The Audix OM5 dynamic mike is a workhorse and very rugged. The salesman who recommended it actually bounced it off the carpet and caught it! Not a cheap mike, but I got a good deal. If they go back on sale, I might pick up another. I got it for very high sound level use, such as to mike a PA speaker, but found it suits my voice and I often use it to record the dialog in my podcast.
MXL-993 - Sometimes a small-diaphragm condenser mike would be better. These also have atten/low-cut. I finally picked up a set of these and a bracket to put them up as a pair for stereo recording. They have saved the day a couple of times, other times, they are just one more tool in the array.
Marantz PMD-660 - The Marantz PMD-660 is a nice little recorder. It records to Compact Flash media, but I used a 4 GB Microdrive. Two drawbacks: The mike inputs (XLR) overload easily and it is only a 16-bit recorder. I’ve also had a couple weird things happen with recordings. Several times I have forgotten to put it into record, because the difference between pause and record is so slight you don’t notice. But that’s operator error. I’ve also had recordings that skipped for no apparent reason. Oade Electronics sells a modified unit that adresses several of these problems, but they only offer it in new units, no retrofits. It’s not a bad recorder, but I predict newer models will come out that are better for less money.
Sennheiser MD46 - When I bought the PMD-660, I got a package deal. It was aimed at broadcast interview work and included this mike. I probably wouldn’t have bought this mike otherwise, (it’s a bit hard to find) but haven’t regretted it. It has a nice heft and the extra length is handy when holding it in front of an interviewee. An being a Sennheiser, it’s both rugged and sounds good.
Alesis Multimix8USB - I thought it would be handy to use the mixer as the USB interface to the computer. Unfortunately, it doesn’t want to work with my laptop, which is where I do my podcast work. I haven’t tried it on any other computers, but it might work fine. I use it as a straight mixer and it works well. As well as a plain mixer that would have cost a third of the price. 
ART Cleanbox - This is a recent addition and if I had had it a couple of months sooner, it would have saved a lost session or two. I used this at the Icon for the Glengarry Bhoys and got really clean results, when going direct into the mike jacks was distorted. It solves the main problems with the PMD-660 input overload.
Fostex MR8-HD - I always wished I had a second recorder sometimes. I finally picked up this unit. I can now record using up to four inputs at a time. It’s really cool to be able to mix them afterwards different ways. The quality of the recordings should go way up. Having a second recorder makes it so easy to get a quick interview between sets, or even talk with audience/fans. I’ll dedicate the PMD-660 to interview work and use this for the session recording.
The latest addition to the podcast studio is a pair of KRK Rokit-5 powered studio monitors. I’ve used a bunch of speakers, from the ones built into my laptop to some fairly expensive ones, but they just didn’t cut it. The last straw was when the $100 Klipsch speakers I had been using died because of a poorly designed power connector.
So what is a powered studio monitor? Basically, it’s a speaker cabinet with the amplifier built-in, so all you do is plug a line-level audio source in and turn on the power. And yes, they have POWER! They sound great.
The Zoom H2. I picked this little gem up recently and it’s a handy addition. Recording off the built in mics is not only easy, but produces some pretty good results. My original plan was to use it for interviews, but it’s also a great low profile recording rig.
Wish list:
MXL-990s - Same as the 990 but with attenuator and low-cut for not much more.
Software:
- Cool Edit Pro (old version of what is now Adobe Audition)
- Cast Blaster (I don’t use it, but it’s fun to play with and I support the concept and development of the software.)
Web services:
- Libsyn - bandwidth hosting, stats and backup blogpage
- Feedburner - doin’ whatever it is they do (stats, backup blogpage)
- Wordpress with Podpress plugin - my main page content management system
- 1 And 1 Internet - providing affordable hosting
Private: Upcoming podcasts
The way I put these podcasts together takes a bit of lead time. Here’s what’s in the works now:
Shows about to come out:
- None, right now, but this page is always out of date!
Shows scheduled to record:
- None, right now, but this page is always out of date!
Bands I would like to meet
I’m interested in any musicians playing and writing music in Western New York. If you fit that category and would allow me to put together a podcast about your music, please feel free to contact me.
Way out wish list: Buffalo/WNY artists that I’d like to work with (but probably haven’t got a hope!):
Ani DiFranco
10,000 Maniacs
Goo Goo Dolls
Spyro Gyra
…and probably more I haven’t thought of right now…
A more realistic wish list, artists I would like to podcast, but haven’t approached yet:
Jealous Gods
Tommy Z
The Juliet Dagger
Jinxed
…many more that I have forgotten at the moment. I’ll add them as I think of them.
Buffalo Live! Music Podcast
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| Buffalo Live Music Calendar | The Photo Gallery |
Buffalo Live! Music Podcast
After two years and over 70 shows, I’ve decided to stop producing the Buffalo Live! show.
The amount of work needed to put out each show is considerable, since each one features live, on-location, music. The editing and production as well as the time needed to attend and record the source has become prohibitive. I am also trying to reduce the amount of time I spend in front of a computer, as I need to find healthier, more active, things to do with my time.
When I started out in 2005, podcasting was fairly new. The oldest shows had only been going for less than a year and there was a lot of promise of podcasting becoming an alternative to mainstream media. Issues of use of copyrighted music still needed to be resolved (and still haven’t) but alternatives were there.
I had hoped there would be enough interest in our local music to support the podcast. In all fairness, the musicians and venues were both cooperative and appreciative and I’ve tried to make the show positive and promote them. But response from listeners has been lukewarm and the numbers support that. I’ve probably not done the best job of promoting it, but living in a vacuum of response makes it hard to be enthusiastic about it.
The future of podcasting in 2005 looked bright. There was a lot of talk about “monetization” and while I have always put out the podcast out of my own pocket without asking for any revenues, but without any source of income from it, it makes no sense to keep on doing it if I’m not enjoying it.
So, at this time, I am no longer producing any new episodes of the Buffalo Live! podcast. I won’t say never, but no new shows are planned.
Go to Buffalo Live! Music Podcast show listings
2 Songs From Buffalo
I started the 2 Songs show as an alternative to the longer Buffalo Live! show that would let me put out a less labor intensive show.
I put out about 5 shows in one sitting in a spurt of energy and enthusiasm over the concept. I still like the idea.
To define the 2 Songs From Buffalo podcast concept, it is meant to be
- Short
- Fit a topic that has something to do with Buffalo or WNY
- Not necessarily live recordings, but could include web samples or CD tracks
- Often devoted to one artist, but not necessarily so. If the theme was supported by songs from multiple artists, so be it.
- Be candid, not staged. Unauthorized, even. The subject of the show need not be involved in the project.
By following those ideas, the show could be much more flexible and easier to produce. But I’ve still had a hard time coming up with the energy to put them out, after the initial few. Without that energy, the show just doesn’t work. If I’m not excited about it, how can I make the listener get excited?
So, I’m also putting the 2 Songs project on hold. Once again, I won’t say never, but they may be very infrequent for some time.
If the right person came along, I’d consider a guest host.
Go to 2 Songs From Buffalo show listings
The old About Page
I started this podcast with the idea that there is a lot of great music in Buffalo. I still think this is true and the longer I work with the people in the music scene around Buffalo, the more I feel this is true.
Not only do we have a lot of outstanding singers, songwriters and musicians that deserve to be known elsewhere, not just the local area, we have so many of them that are realists. They know that the chances of them “making it big” are one-in-a-million. But that’s not what it’s about to them. They genuinely love their craft and doing it is more important than pursuing the almighty dollar and selling out for a big contract.
They deserve more than they are getting. They deserve to be appreciated beyond the walls of tonights’ gig. I hope I can help with that in some small way.
We’re fortunate to have a number of businesses that appreciate that too. It’s no coincidence that Buffalo is home to Ani DiFrancos’ Righteous Babe records and Robby Takak’s Chameleon West operation. They know what Buffalo has to offer to nurture developing music. Buffalo was good to them and they are giving back and contributing to that.
But it’s more. We have venues that support live music. Small clubs and bars with a stage or back room for music. They give the musicians the opportunity to perform and perfect their craft. Many of the owners of the smaller places do it because they are musicians and music fans themselves.
Contact us
You can always e-mail me at the following email address:
Announcements of shows for our calendar should go to:
p o d c a s t @ w n y p o d c a s t · c o m
(Please don’t send to both addresses.)
To reach me by telephone, you may call me at 716-628-5041. This would be especially good for last minute details about meeting up at a show!
Mail can be addressed to:
Al Gritzmacher
P. O. Box 730
Lockport NY 14095
And if you’re curious about whatever else I’m up to check these links out:
My personal Blog
My MySpace Page
Thanks!
Private: Photos
We’ve moved the photos to a new location: Visit our Photo Gallery
Besides the photos listed here, I have more (and many of the same) at my Opera Photo Album
What’s a PODCAST?
According to Wikipedia,
Podcasting is a term coined when the use of RSS and other syndication technologies became popular for distributing audio content for mobile devices. Today podcasting is a more generic term that is evolving as people understand what it means.
A podcast is simply a web feed of audio files (although increasingly people are applying the term to video and other media) that is placed on the Internet for anyone to download. It’s usually possible to download the files directly from the website, just as one would normally do; however, special programs called podcatchers exist that let users subscribe to podcasts in order to automatically download and store the media files for later playback.
That about covers it. If you have ever played an online radio station, streaming audio, or Shoutcast, Real Audio or similar content, then a podcast will be simple. All you need to start is your computer with sound and an internet connection.
That’s the minimum. However, some things will make it easier and more enjoyable to listen to podcasts regularily.
The first thing is a broadband connection. If you are still on dial-up, it will seem painfully slow to download podcasts and you will probably want to limit yourself to just those you really want to hear. You’ll also want to steer clear of those two-hour long shows!
You can listen to this, and many other podcasts, right from the web page. My blog which powers the podcast, uses Wordpress and the Podpress plug-in, which puts a player button right in each podcast article. Just click and listen.
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Try it at the bottom of this page to play Uncle Seth’s - “You Don’t Need An iPod” |
But, if you get into podcasts and start listening to them regularily, you will want a podcatcher
or feed-aggregator
. This is a program that lets you create subscriptions to your favorite podcasts. Often, it is also a RSS feed reader that will let you read your favorite blogs. The main difference between them is a podcatcher downloads automatically once subscribed, where the feed aggregator may require you to initiate the download. Some examples are FeedDemon, Juice, Transistr (formerly IpodderX), Winpodder and others. You can even subscribe to podcasts in Itunes. For a comprehensive list see the Podcasting News list.
It also helps the podcast if you subscribe using either a feedreader or web based service like Yahoo/iTunes/Odeo/etc. They register as a subscription in the sites that track the podcast. That gives us feedback to let us know how many people are repeat listeners, rather then just raw download numbers. This will be important as the podcast grows.
It’s FREE! While we talk about subscriptions, that’s just a term meaning you’ve elected to receive a podcast automatically. There is no charge for this and most podcasts. Actually, subscription is a bad term to describe it. You don’t even sign up for anything, except in the program on your own computer that fetches the information for each podcast. Your privacy is safe. All we see is that someone downloads the file. We can tell what program was used (iTunes, web browser, web client, etc.) but no personal data at all.
But you don’t need all that to just try podcasts. Simply download the podcast, save it on your computer and play it back with your favorite media player, Winamp, Foobar2000, Windows Media Player, MusicMatch Jukebox, ITunes, Quicktime, etc. Podcasts are almost all MP3 files, the most common audio file format on the internet. It’s also the most common format to use in your portable media player, such as an IPod, or any MP3 Player. Use your software that comes with the player to put the files on the player.
But wait, there’s more!
You can listen to podcasts even more ways. If you don’t have a MP3 player, you can still hear a podcast if you have a CD burner. Simply burn the podcast to a blank CDR disk and listen to it on your stereo CD player, Walkman CD, or even in your car stereo. Remember to use your CD burning software to create an audio CD. You can fit up to 80 minutes on an audio CD, so most (but not all) podcasts will fit on one disc. If you have a player that will play MP3 format audio, you’re even luckier. You’ll be able to fit several podcasts per disc.
No ipod needed!
Of course, if you have one, go ahead and use it!
And you don’t need an iPod. Almost any portable MP3 player from any manufacturer will play MP3 podcasts. But they’re addictive - you’ll fill up a flash based player in no time. The 20 Gb and up models are best.
Several web based podcast services also offer to let you collect your favorite podcasts on them in your personal account. Yahoo Podcasts, Google, Newsgator and others will show all your favorite podcasts in one page and many let you play them directly from the web page. If you have an internet appliance like the Roku Soundbridge, you may even be able to play them through it.
Recommended podcast clients
One-click Subscription Links
Click the service of your choice to subscribe to this podcast.
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This is a working player button. Try it!
