New Pew Study

A new media study from The Pew Research Center lays out some interesting new data concerning online and digital news that is not such good news if you work for traditional media, especially print. Yes, the numbers of people who get their news online continues to grow at a fast clip, people are incorporating new technology, from social networking sites to cellphones, into their daily lives. According to the study: "Since the Pew Research Center's 2006 news consumption survey, there has been a substantial increase in the proportion of Americans who get the news online every day. A quarter say they go online for news every day, up from 18% two years ago; a decade ago, just 6% said they got news online on a daily basis."

There is still a major gap between the educational levels of those who get their news online--probably explainable by the sheer costs of maintaining Internet service at a personal residence. As search engines grow more specialized, the study finds that "a growing percentage is using search engines more frequently. Nearly a third of online news users (31%) deploy search engines to look for stories at least three days a week, up from 24% two years ago and 19% in 2004."

The study pointed out several differences between the way young people and older people use the Internet. It appears that more young people follow links to stories, whereas old people go straight to the news sites themselves. To me, this indicates that young people are visiting specialized sites that probably fit in with their own personal viewpoints, using trusted sites to hyperlink them to other stories they think they will like. This can be dangerous as it creates a kind of ideological ghetto, where information can become narrow-minded or singularly focused in terms of personal preference or taste. Younger people are also far more likely to check their own personal social networking sites, indicating they tend to use the Internet more for social reasons, than news gathering.

One of the most interesting aspects of the study, I thought, was the huge number of people who go online while at work. Shockingly, the study finds that "More than four-in-ten full-time and part-time workers (44%) say they regularly go online from their place of work. There are substantial education and income gaps among those who go online from work and those who do not: three-quarters of those who have attended graduate school say they go online from work, nearly four times the proportion among those with no more than a high school education (20%). And while 66% of those with family incomes of $100,000 or more go online from work, just 20% of those with incomes of less than $30,000 do so."
It makes one wonder how much productivity is being lost in the workplace, and why more businesses haven't restricted Internet use at work. It also may point to the fact that although white collar workers make more money, they tend to work less than blue collar workers. Not that it comes as a big surprise, considering many blue collar jobs are more labor intensive.
It appears that people at work have begun to fetishize the news like it was a soap opera, or lifeline to the outside world more likely--a break from the doldrums of cubicle life. The study shows that 56% who go online for news from work admit that this is not a necessary part of their jobs.

Ain't nuthin' free here

When I lived in Northern California (1995-2004) I went to a bunch of shows at world renown venues in San Francisco such as The Fillmore and The Warfield. Just walking into these historic venues is like taking a trip to a rock museum. You can feel the history in the room. Above the main bar at The Fillmore, there are huge B&W photos of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin from their days playing the club. And nearly everywhere else hang diverse concert posters in varying styles--from the '60s acid freak stuff to today's smooth computer generated product. But the coolest thing was that these venues would simply hand you a free copy of the poster (nice quality paper)at the end of the night, on your way out the door, as an added souvenir. I still have several from shows featuring the likes of Gillian Welch, Elliott Smith, Jonathan Richman and Belle & Sebastian. They're nicely done.
Today's RTD had a story and accompanying slideshow about a Charlottesville company, Public Domain, that is making posters for events at Richmond clubs The National and Toad's Place Richmond. Of course, nothing is free here. You have to pay $10 to take one home, but that's not asking too much.

One local artist who should be considered for local music posters is Adam Juresko, who lives in Oregon Hill and has worked on album covers and other music related art. Here is an article by Brandon Reynolds at Style, after Juresko won a Mountain Dew art contest.
Now maybe if promoters and local organizers threw in a live bootleg CD documenting the concert, fed directly from the sound board, we'd have another little souvenir (how about poster and CD for $15? Anyone?)

Help pick the band for VCU's 40th bash

Party down. VCU is celebrating its 40th anniversary in Monroe Park on Oct. 25 and they want you to help pick out the bands for the party. Go here to check out a list of local bands and cast your vote. You can also add a band name if you like. Voting is open until Sept. 5.

While I have to give locals Prabir & The Substitutes a thumbs up (see post below) I'm of the opinion that salsa music always works well at parties. So why not rely on Richmond's greatest ever salsa band, Bio Ritmo? Yep, that band is still doing its thing, and they have a new album coming out this fall, with an album release party in New York.
The winners of the VCU party band search will get some sort of cash prize, and probably a few free cartons of cigarettes from "friends" at Philip Morris.
By the way, here's an article about the recent Philip Morris controversy (for those who don't know, the giant tobacco death merchant funds medical research at VCU which some locals and professors have challenged as unethical and risking scientific integrity) check out this AP story.

Think the Stones are going to quit? Guess again.

People keep waiting for the Rolling Stones to quit touring, considering they're old men, they fall out of coconut trees, and at least one of them looks like a tarted-up corpse (that would be you, Keef). The New York Times just reported that the Stones have left their label EMI and signed a new three album deal with Universal Music Group.
Of course, Universal is a monster, the largest music publishing business in the world, wholly owned by Vivendi. Their flagship artists include Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Elton John, U2, and now The Stones.
While some people say they should hang it up, I'd gladly go see them play again.
With much anticipation, I caught the Stones on their last tour at UVA (the bomb threat night) and at Duke University--and they didn't disappoint. The ticket prices may have been outrageous, but those Brits really know how to give good spectacle. And you can't beat that catalog of material.
My favorite Rolling Stones tunes are always changing, but here are a few perennial favorites: "Out of Time," "She Smiles Sweetly," "Paint it Black," Connections," "Back Street Girl," "Take It Or Leave It," "Sweet Virginia," well, all of "Exile on Main" Street, actually: perhaps the greatest rock album of all-time.
Here's a link to a brief review I wrote for Style Weekly of the IMAX presentation of the Stones most recent concert movie, "Shine A Light"--one of Scorsese's lesser efforts.

Local coverage of Centerstage project

Today's RTD featured a story and audio slideshow on the progress of the tax-guzzling Richmond Centerstage project. You know, the place where blue haired old ladies, and Richmond's old money elite (read: .000000001% of the population) will get their opera and theater on.
As usual, the TD ignored the real news beneath the story and opted for a drooling, slavishly business friendly tone. At least they mentioned, in passing, that the project is $8 million over budget. For real coverage of the project, it's best to read the blogs, namely Don Harrison at Save Richmond.com.
As Harrison points out, this is just another case of the elite using the city taxpayer dollars for an endless money pit filled with overpaid con artists and schemers. Who is going to pay the millions for parking, anyway? Oh yeah, all of us. Here's hoping that they will book some artists that appeal to the masses. Highly doubtful considering we already have two new venues in The National and Toad's Place.
Meanwhile, over at Style, we had a story on the Centerstage big-butt chairs whose drink holders are already offending fat cat donors.
And Richmond Magazine had a piece about what kind of artists will be performing at the new arts center. Don't expect any big names until 2009 or 2010 at the earliest.

Interview with Prabir Mehta (of Richmond group, Prabir & The Substitutes)

Richmond rockers Prabir & The Substitutes are known for having more than a dollop of melodic Beatles influence in their shake, rattle and roll. Having toured steadily in recent years building regional fanbases for their hyperactive live shows, the three-year-old group was approached by bookers from the legendary 9:30 Club in D.C. with an odd proposition. Would they open for a Beatles tribute band, The Silver Beats, from Tokyo, Japan?
“We definitely take a lot of influence from ‘60s harmony fueled music like The Beatles and The Zombies,” says Prabir Mehta, 28, the lead singer/guitarist for the group who moved to America from Gujarat, India when he was nine. “I didn’t know anything about The Silver Beats, but I did my research the next day and realized it was going to be the weirdest gig in the world.”
To Mehta’s surprise, the show sold out.
“It was great. They look and sound eerily identical to the real thing,” Mehta says. “They also do the entire catalogue. You haven’t really heard the Beatles until you’ve felt that bass thumping in your chest in a live venue.”
When the Silver Beats planned an upcoming gig in Richmond at Toad’s Place, they remembered Prabir & The Substitutes and asked them to open again. Mehta, in turn, asked if they could join The Silver Beats in Nashville, another town the Substitutes have done well in. “They said, why don’t you just do the whole tour with us,” Mehta recalls.
And so it began: a tour straight out of a Tarantino flick that is featuring a nice contrast between Beatles influence and a full-on Beatles worship, complete with four Japanese guys who don’t speak much English but have phonetically learned to emulate every syllable and gesture of the famed Fab Four.
Mehta is a former member of local group The Rachel Nevadans, and he says that B.B. King was the reason that he began playing guitar. His new band has released three albums so far. But just how did the name The Substitutes come about?
"I was talking to my old bandmates and told them after we broke up that I'd just have to find some substitutes for them ... the name just kind of stuck."
During this tour, Mehta will be even more busy than usual on the road. He will be providing images, video clips, and a tour diary from Prabir & The Substitutes to be featured on the website Brightest Young Things.com.

Prabir & The Substitutes perform on July 25 at Toad’s Place with Hoots and Hellmouth and The Old Ceremony. They open for the Japanese Beatles cover band, The Silver Beats, at Toad’s on August 10. Pre-show day tickets are $10 and $12, respectively.

CD Review of Prabir & The Substitutes (Local band)

Prabir & The Substitutes “Five Little Pieces” (self-released)

Lead singer/guitarist Prabir Mehta moved to the United States from India when he was just a kid, but to listen to his preferred blend of ‘60s-influenced power pop, you’d think he was raised in British pubs studying the Beatles and The Zombies. The former Rachel Nevadan’s latest band has been touring steadily, earning fans with acclaimed shows that flex equal parts saccharine sweet pop and ecstatic, roots influenced rockers.
Recorded locally by John Morand at the Sound of Music, the band’s latest effort captures their hungry live sound well. It starts out with “The Kiss,” a melancholy ‘70s-styled ballad with sleepy slide guitar, la-la backing vocals, and Mehta’s confident lead vocals recalling shades of an adenoidal young Elvis Costello. Then it kicks into high gear with the raucous bar rocker, “Bad Days Are A Comin’” highlighted again by Mehta (he’s a good screamer) with rollicking piano flourishes from Charlie Glenn. Mostly, Mehta leads the group through concise, melodic pop/rock numbers while the other four members back him with the sort of structured looseness that is tougher than it sounds. Heavy cymbal workouts, organ coloring, and treble-thin guitar riffs all add significantly to the sweat factor. If Mehta ever matched his impressive vocal presence with a more meaty lyrical realism (like, say, The Hold Steady) the Substitutes might make some real noise. For now, file them alongside modern bands like Dr. Dog who inject youthful passion into well-traveled veins of music, returning to the basics for inspiration.