Scott Carroll at AMD has an awesome job. He works with geeks in the entertainment industry to make sure they are using AMD processors. One of the places you’ll see his work is in the audio booth at the famous PBS show Austin City Lights (been going for more than 30 years and has filmed many of the world’s most famous music stars — a piece of the original stage was even turned into guitars by Gibson).
So, when Scott says “I have some people you should meet” you drop everything and go along. What did he take us to on Thursday night? The Austin City Limits studio where R.E.M. filmed a concert and then did a radio show (we made it for the radio show, and then did an interview with David Hough who has been an audio engineer on the show since the very beginning (that will be up on FastCompany.tv in a couple of weeks). Here’s Scott welcoming us in the entryway to the studio.
We filmed a bunch of stuff with our professional HD cameras, but of course I filmed with my cell phone too.
Sound checks (they were doing a live radio show).
Sound board during radio broadcast.
R.E.M during the radio show, where the lead singer talks about the importance of the Internet to their business. The interview starts at about 3 minutes in (it’s only a piece of the interview that was played on the radio) and they talk about the Internet at about 5 minutes into the interview.
An interview with John Rosenfelder of EarBender.com talks with me about promoting music (he is a professional music promoter).
Thanks to AMD and Scott for getting us access and introducing us to David. It’s a real pleasure meeting innovators like him.
By the way, the audio that David recorded sounded way better than the concert did outside. I totally understand why he loves his job and doesn’t like to leave his booth, which we’ll take you into after Rocky edits our show.
After the R.E.M. deal we went back into downtown Austin where we found Jo Hell and the Red Roosters ripping it up. We were so impressed that we stayed for something like two hours listening to him. Wow, what a great performer. After that we went to the Playboy party where Moby was entertaining about 1,000 people but we felt that Jo was just a much better performer. It’s amazing sometimes who gets popular and who doesn’t in music.
It was the first time I had a chance to see some music at SXSW and, boy, I wish I had been able to stay the whole week. They closed down sixth street and you could just walk from bar to bar, each with a different act.
Remember, you can download all the music from SXSW legally and free too. It’s just like walking down Sixth Street, albeit without the crowds or waiting in line for crappy pizza.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention, but the band will stream its new album for free on March 24th on iLike. Here’s iLike’s CEO, Ali Partovi, talking about the deal.
Thanks for sharing! This REM fan is jealous.
Cheers,
Connie
Thanks for sharing! This REM fan is jealous.
Cheers,
Connie
Robert… huge REM fan here… thanks for the story… What’s Michael Stipe like to interview and talk to? Interested on your view…
Robert… huge REM fan here… thanks for the story… What’s Michael Stipe like to interview and talk to? Interested on your view…
David: I thought he was the smartest on the band. His approach to the Internet is far further evolved than the usual RIAA view (the band is giving away its music for free on iLike on March 24).
David: I thought he was the smartest on the band. His approach to the Internet is far further evolved than the usual RIAA view (the band is giving away its music for free on iLike on March 24).
I stayed for the whole of Music a few years ago and loved it. Completely different vibe than interactive but great fun
I stayed for the whole of Music a few years ago and loved it. Completely different vibe than interactive but great fun
Sites for those interested:
disclosure - friends with Michael, work with the band:
http://supernaturalsuperserious.com
http://ninetynights.com
Sites for those interested:
disclosure - friends with Michael, work with the band:
http://supernaturalsuperserious.com
http://ninetynights.com
Michael Stipe has always been forward-thinking. One of the things that keeps me coming back as a fan. And I’ve been following them for more than 25 years…
Michael Stipe has always been forward-thinking. One of the things that keeps me coming back as a fan. And I’ve been following them for more than 25 years…
[...] Robert Scoble goes to an R.E.M. “show”. I’m so jealous. [...]
Wow, deleted my comment:
http://supernaturalsuperserious.com and http://ninetynights.com are the sites talked about by Michael in the interview.
Wow, deleted my comment:
http://supernaturalsuperserious.com and http://ninetynights.com are the sites talked about by Michael in the interview.
Ethan: your comment was just moderated. Not deleted, as you can see here.
Ethan: your comment was just moderated. Not deleted, as you can see here.
hello brurr…
hello brurr…
cool robert. glad you enjoyed the interview and such. michael is a huge huge geek and we had many late nights in SXSW talking about technology. I was at the Austin City Limits set for soundcheck before having to leave to go back to LA.
Look for more REM + Tech stuff happening soon.
cool robert. glad you enjoyed the interview and such. michael is a huge huge geek and we had many late nights in SXSW talking about technology. I was at the Austin City Limits set for soundcheck before having to leave to go back to LA.
Look for more REM + Tech stuff happening soon.
The R.E.M band is one of my favourite bands. How could we neglect the smoothness found in their music. The band has its own style and its audience. And I’m one of thousands of people who love this band’s style. And this is remarkable in their concerts where it becomes so hard to get a ticket and prices become so high. Lately, a friend has recommended me a site where to compare ticket prices for free and I find it a great idea because this way one could look for the cheapest prices offered by ticket brokers.
R.E.M Tickets
http://www.ticketwood.com/concerts/REM-with-Modest-Mouse-and-The-National-Tickets/index.php
You may not like the band but for me it’s different.
The R.E.M band is one of my favourite bands. How could we neglect the smoothness found in their music. The band has its own style and its audience. And I’m one of thousands of people who love this band’s style. And this is remarkable in their concerts where it becomes so hard to get a ticket and prices become so high. Lately, a friend has recommended me a site where to compare ticket prices for free and I find it a great idea because this way one could look for the cheapest prices offered by ticket brokers.
R.E.M Tickets
http://www.ticketwood.com/concerts/REM-with-Modest-Mouse-and-The-National-Tickets/index.php
You may not like the band but for me it’s different.
[...] Original post by Robert Scoble This entry was written by admin and posted on March 15, 2008 at 4:45 pm and filed under [...]