Despite their efforts to gather the same artists that normally perform at the event, the clashing schedules of various bands meant many would not be able to attend. Rather then have a mediocre line-up for 2010 the owners of the Double JJ Ranch decided it would be best to hold off until next year. Regretfully, the loyal patrons of Rothbury will have to spend their fourth of July weekends without music from the ranch.

Although on the positive side, everyone who turnouts for Rothbury 2011 can be sure they will be witness to one of the best performances to have taken place at this locale. There are other music festivals taking place during the summer months that individuals who appreciate music can attend. These festivals include Summercamp, Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Moe.down, and All Good. There is never a shortage of good music so despite this bad news get out there and enjoy it!

Imeem

While this site has been around for only a little while and is probably the best in terms of music, it’s still a great site for free music streaming.  Imeem has a large variety of free streamble music, as well as videos and pictures of the artists.  The sound quality is much better than Youtube, and you can even make play lists.  The only downside is while listening to a song, they have a popup basically forcing you to register.  In my opinion, it’s worth it.

Songza

Songza is a largely ajax music player that streams music from various websites.  An obvious downside is a lot of them come directly from Youtube.  However, their interface is very well put together.  You can browse songs while looking through and searching for new songs to listen to.

Other video streaming websites

There are also tons of other video streaming sites that have been around for years.  Here’s a quick list where you can get all your audio needs:

Dailymotion
MetaCafe
Vimeo
Blip.tv
Veoh

While this new move certainly isn’t Youtubes fault, it seems they could come up with a better way to deal with the situation. Perhaps giving a percentage of the profits to record labels for those particular videos? This move is hurting end users more than anything, while most likely not effecting record company profits what so ever.

You get the movies before they come out:

Movies that have yet to be released in theatres, or which are still out in theatres, generally are not be available in the DVD format. If very recent titles are being sold on an auction or other online retail sites, they are most likely pirated.

Notice the obvious grammar error in their quote? Conclusive proof the MPAA is a gang of morons? I think so.

Pirated movies are cheaper than the ones we sell:

Even if you are hoping to get your favorite movie titles at a discount, new or used, the extremely low prices offered on some Web sites might indicate pirated product.

Pirated copies, unlike ours contain no DRM and are region free:

In addition, if anywhere on the package it reads that the disc is an “All-Region,” “0-Region,” or “No Region” product, it’s highly likely that the DVD is pirated.

Is pirating your movies starting to sound better and better? Would you like to learn more? Excellent, the MPAA kindly gives you a list of applications you can use to download free movies. As a courtesy they’ve also said that these programs can be used to download that $600 Adobe product you’ve always wanted, or that South Park episode you missed.

A peer-to-peer service is a network that enables computers to connect directly to each other in order to distribute and copy files. Software programs utilize these networks to search for and trade every kind of file. Examples of P2P services include eDonkey, KazaA, Limewire and DirectConnect.

Careful kids, because as we all know downloading music is FAR more damaging and worse than stealing a used pair of shoes.

It is no different from stealing another person’s shoes or stereo, except sometimes it can be a lot more damaging.

I’m convinced, are you?

So what bands do you think will be there for sure? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. I’d say a few givens are Umphrey’s McGee, STS9, String Cheese Incident, maybe moe., and Bassnectar hopefully. Hopefully we can all have another amazing fourth of July weekend that we’ll remember for years to come.

You started off playing at parties and mixers and now perform at immense concerts with well-known artists, how does it feel?

Playing in front of a big crowd is amazing! There is nothing like the feeling that you get when there are a couple of thousand people singing along with one of your songs. That said we still have a great time playing smaller shows. Every year we play a handful of acoustic shows at smaller venues Like the Ram’s Head in Annapolis, MD or Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, NH. The small acoustic shows are really special because we are really close to the audience and there is a very intimate connection.

Why do you think the band became so successful?

Songs + Hard work. Our singer, Barry Privett, writes all of our lyrics and I think that he has a very personal style that a lot of people can relate to. I love it when I hear a song on the radio and I think that it’s about me or that the singer is actually talking to me. Barry seems to have that ability to connect with people. From a musical standpoint, we like to keep things interesting, so there are a lot of different sounds and instruments being plugged into the format of a rock song and hopefully this helps the songs stand out a bit. We also have been working pretty hard (busting our asses, actually) for several years.

Having to play numerous shows a year do you prefer traveling or miss staying in one place?

We have been fortunate enough to be home for most of the past year and a half or so. After the last major tour we were kind of burnt out form the road and really needed to take a little time off to write and record. Since 2002 we have always been in a hurry and we really felt rushed doing the last album, Love Loss Hope Repeat. It was time to concentrate on songwriting and not just rush into the studio whether we were ready or not. While we have been home, we have been pretty busy though. I have a rehearsal space / studio set up in my garage and we have spent a lot of time out there.

What was it like to win the Coca-Cola New Music Award? Where did the inspiration come for the winning song “The Boxer”?

It was crazy! Who would have imagined that one day we enter a contest on the Internet and then 6 months later we would be playing on the AMA’s?? The whole experience was bit surreal! For the song The Boxer, Carter wrote the music and then Barry used boxing / boxers as a metaphor for the sparring between a man and a woman.

There have been rumors that a new studio album will be released in 2009, is there any truth to that?

True. The last I heard, we will be releasing the new Album on April 21, 2009. We have also been working on several songs for the Curious George 2 soundtrack, which will be released on DVD in the spring. Hopefully we’ll figure out a way to get those songs out too.

There are also rumors about how the bands name Carbon Leaf was created, is there any story behind it?

There are no great stories… sorry! Barry and I were on a hiking trip to Tennessee and we were brainstorming in the van on the way home. Somehow, “Carbon” and “Leaf” got suck together. Our first show was at a house party the next week and the girl who was having the party put “Carbon Leaf” on the flyers… I guess it stuck!

What is it like to turn on the television and hear your song playing on sitcoms, as well as films?

It’s pretty weird. A few months ago I hear Life Less Ordinary at Home Depot while I was loading bags of mulch into my truck…. It was kind of bizarre.

Are there any performances that are especially unforgettable to you?

There are several that come to mind. The American Music Awards, The Dr. Phil show, our first show at the 9:30 Club in DC, Bumbershoot in Seattle, Friday Cheers here in Richmond, the acoustic shows… they all seem to be memorable.

How do the band members interact with each other? Are you more like brothers or co-workers?

We are definitely more like brothers who fight and disagree, but love each other at the end of the day.

Are there any artists you’ve looked up to? Have you had the chance to play with any of your idols?

I guess that my idols might be ranked in a few different categories of hugeness. My major influence / inspiration is Neil Young and I have met him yet… or the other huge ones like U2 and REM. We have been lucky enough to play with and meet some amazing artists over the years: The Dave Mathews Band, David Grey, Great Big Sea, Blue Traveler, Big Head Todd and The Monsters, Jason Mraz, The Wallflowers, The Counting Crows, John Mayer, etc.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians trying to make it big in the music world?

I put together a list of advice a few years ago:

Terry’s Advice to Young Musicians

For The Musician:

1) Practice a lot on your own and with your band. I have also found that playing along to the radio (even to songs you don’t like) is also good way to learn new stuff.

2) Take lessons. Find a good teacher that can teach you about music theory in general as well as your specific instrument.

3) Use your ears and follow your instinct. You know what you like, so don’t be afraid to follow a different creative path if that is what a song needs. Conversely, if you have a feeling that something isn’t working or that it sounds bad, then you are probably right and should approach things differently.

4) Learn some piano. The piano is a great foundation for all types of music, so it will help you with your music theory and in arranging songs for a band. Also, you can use a piano style keyboard controller (I use an M-audio Oxygen 8) plugged into a computer to control all kinds of software – giving you access to sounds a diverse a strings, drums, bagpipes and weird synths.

5) Learn a little (maybe a lot!) about computers and try recording your bands rehearsals into a program like Cakewalk, Protools, Logic, Garageband, etc. This will allow you to a) hear what your songs actually sound like b) make demos to get gigs c) make mp3s to put on the web.

For the Band:

6) Get a good lawyer and don’t sign anything without running it by them first. You don’t need a big shot entertainment lawyer at this stage, just a trusted friend of the family who will give you honest (and cheap!) advice.

7) Start a website and out up free downloads of your songs.

8) Start an e-mail newsletter

9) Buy the best gear that you can get, but

10) beware of credit cards.

11) Ford E350 Vans (with either the V10 or Diesel engine) are great for touring.

Words of wisdom from the rest of the band:

Carter Says: Practice and have fun.

Barry Says: Go to Medical School.

Jason Says: Just Rock.

Jon Says: Work hard and practice your scales.

Starting on the east coast, the majority of the concerts will be performed, finally finishing in California.  The reformed band will simply be known as the Dead, and will include the original members Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann.  Ticket sales will start on Janurary 23rd.

Personally I hope to see them playing at outdoor venues since they’re touring in the summer.  Hopefully they rock out and set their former problems asside.

How was Pseudopod formed? Where did the band members meet?

We met at UCLA, where we were all students, in 1998. The drummer (Tim) and guitarist (Ross) had been playing together since junior high. They came to UCLA and met Fox(Bass) and Matt Keegan( Sax) in the music dept., then saw Kevin playiing his own sogns in a local bar and just decided to start writing and playing together.

How was the bands name, Pseudopod, decided on?

We were originally called “Pod”, for no real good reason, then that Christian metal band from San Deigo came out (P.O.D.) and we had to change it. I saw the name pseudopod in my medical text books (I was pre-med) and though it looked like a cool word. Not too deep:)

What was it like winning Rolling Stone’s Best College Band contest? Did it open any doors for you?

That was definitely our break. This was back when the whole dot.com thing was huge and music websites had a lot of money. Before that, we had been touring the west coast a bit and had some fans, but that really gave us national exposure via the net, plus we got a good chunk of money, which helped pay some bills and allowed us to record our second album, which then got us a well-connected manager and got us signed to Interscope.

How would you describe your music?

I guess kind of pop-leaning improvisational rock:) Or a poppy jamband(?) We like to improvise and weren’t afraid to have ten minute songs, but we also weren’t afraid to have 3 minute songs and definitely appreciate a hooky chorus.

Is it difficult improvising on songs or does it come naturally?

It comes naturally. Honing things in to create a tight arrangement is the hard part. We all come from jazz backgrounds, and especially Tim, Keegan, and I were very influenced by Bitches Brew-Era Miles Davis and records like that where almost the whole record is improvised. We all play in bands where we do that the whole time.

Where did the inspiration come from for “Pod”? Where did it come from for “Rest Assured”?

“Pod” was recorded about 4 months after we first played together. So it was really just getting our initial ideas of how to write songs together out there on a disc

“Rest Assured” was the one where we really took some time and had a bit more money to play with things in the studio. I think we had so long between those albums that we had like 40 songs we were choosing from to put on there. It’s probably a bit “all over the place” stylistically, but that was fine with us.

What kind of music did you listen to growing up? Have any bands influenced you?

I went through many phases, initially hard rock and metal, like Guns n Roses, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, then got really, really in to Pink Floyd, later Phish, and a bit of the Dead, then really in to funk like Tower of Power, James Brown, The Meters, Medeski, Martin and Wood. I love Keith Jarret, Radiohead, Tom Waits, Dredg, Countring Crows, The Frames, Miles Davis. My favorite guitar players are Slash, John Scofield, and David Gilmour.

Do you have any memorable performances? If so, what made them memorable?

One of the first bigger shows we played was opening for Blues Traveler at a sold out Rialto Theater in Tuscon. They asked me to come up and jam with them on “Mountain Cry” which was always my favorite song of theirs. Trading solos with Jon Popper, this guy I had watched and admired growing up, was pretty amazing.

We also got to play at Red Rocks with BT, which was an amazing venue

Have you always played guitar or have you played other instruments as well? What makes the guitar the best pick for you?

Guitar was my first instrument (Age 7) But I played sax for many years, also clarinet, flute, piano. Guitar was always the one that felt right for some reason though. Not sure why:)

Do you have any famous icons you look up to?

I guess some of the guys I already mentioned. Miles Davis, for always staying fresh and changing what he was doing. John Scofield, for being one of the most unique voices in guitar playing.

Is Pseudopod working on any new projects or planning any for the future?

All of us are in different bands now, doing different things. We put out three albums and toured all ove the country for three years and then needed to come home for a while. We may get back together soon. Not sure.

Do you have any advice for all the amateur musicians out there following their dreams?

Just do what you love, with people you love, and enjoy every step of the way. Enjoy the little milestones. Always take time to look around and smell the roses.

1.) Umphrey’s McGee is hosting a New Years party in Chicago at The Auditorium Theater.  Known for it’s good acoustics, this three day event starting December 29-31 will definitely be a great time.  Umphrey’s is known for their ability to get everyone dancing, and they will definitely rock out through New Years with one of their many great songs.

2.) Known for his ability to get everyone jumping and dancing, solo DJ Bassnectar will be remixing his way through New Years at Concourse Exhibition Center on New Years eve. This San Francisco venue offers a multi balcony viewing area with a large dance floor, making it the perfect place to host his wild concerts.

3.) STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9) will be dancing their way through the New Year in Atlanta, Georgia at the The Masquerade, and The Tabernacle. This large event will be held for four days starting on the 28th. Tickets on New Years eve are already sold out, as well as the after party. If you act fast, you can get tickets for main stage, and the after parties for all of the other days.

4.) The Disco Biscuits will be rocking through New Years with an awesome five day party at two different venues. They’ll be playing four shows including the 31st at Nokia Theater, and one show on the 29th at Highline Ballroom. If you live new New York, this is definitely going to be a great show.

5.) Buckethead, known for the KFC bucket he wore on his head will be shredding through New Years at The Moore Theater in Seattle, Washington. This incredibly multi-talented artist is guaranteed to be a hit.

6.) Keller Williams, yet another solo artist with his unique playing style is another cool concert to attend on your New Years adventure. Playing at the Shoreline Ballroom in Hilton Head South, Carolina his acoustic guitar is sure to please anyone who appreciates his style of music.

7.) Deep Banana Blackout is a great psychedelic jam band that is sure to get you rocking through New Years. This two day event will be held at Fairfield Theater Company in Fairfield, Connecticut.

8.) Carbon Leaf is playing at Gaylord National Hotel in National Harbor, Maryland. The venue has a 6 stage dance floors, and 16 party areas, making it a great place to jam out on New Years.