My blog posts have really been lacking due some crazy hectic schedules - seems to be a common theme with my blogs over the last couple months.  I apologize for that....I'm trying!  Speaking of hectic, I just got back from a two-day trip to New Orleans.  I had some great food while I was down there, and was able to catch some of the Mardi Gras festivities. 

One of the highlights of the trip was having the opportunity to take part in a live Ustream chat with the great people of Artists House Music.  I had a great time, and it was really interesting to chime in on the community that they have/are creating.  It's a great collaboration of a lot of different music industry minds, that makes for some very informative content.  If you want to see the video from this week, check it out here.  I recently started talking with them via Twitter (follow them - @artistshouse), and they graciously invited me to take part in their weekly chat while I was in town.  (Thanks guys!!)  I encourage all of you to check them out and become part of the community that they are building.  With the changing scope of the music industry, it's great to be able to hear what everyone is doing and trying out, and be able to throw in your two cents. 

I'm going to keep this one short, but get out there and get involved!

With the ever changing music industry today, it is interesting to watch independent artists/band experiment with different things.  The Nadas are no strangers to the music industry, having been around for over 15 years.  They have managed to make a career out of music, and establish a following around the country.  They have also started their own label, Authentic Records, and successfully developed several other bands. 

The Nadas constantly strive to stay up with the trends in music, and have greatly impressed me as of late.  There are a lot of online tools available to bands, and The Nadas are doing a great job with the tools they are using.  Almost every member of the band is on Twitter, and posts fairly regularly.  They use Twitter in an effective manner too - not just to promote their music, but to build relationships with people.  They also have their label on Twitter.  They utilize this to mention things that are going on for their artists, and also release a weekly "Ear Snack" via Twitter.  The Ear Snack is a free download from one of their artists that you can obtain by going to the Authentic Records website.  Some of the band members post TwitPics regularly, of sometimes random stuff, but fun.  In addition to Twitter, they update blogs, post live streams of shows on Ustream, and much more.  The Nadas also do a good job of incorporating the online tools they're using with the offline.  These guys put on a great live show, and truly appreciate people coming out to see them and hang out. 

Probably the most unique and interesting thing that they're doing right now is their new album called Almanac.  The album itself is an interesting concept - for the year of 2009, The Nadas are writing, recording, and releasing one song per month.  At the end of the year, they will release the full physical album.  The coolest thing they are doing with this project is allowing fans to be part of the process along the way.  They recently posted on Twitter that they were listening to the final mix of the the first song on Almanac, and were looking for feedback.  This message was accompanied by a link to their live in-studio Ustream feed.  They allowed fans to listen to the mix, and give their feedback live.  They are also offering many other options for fans to be involved in the process, with several different monetary offering varying access.  I'm very anxious to see how this approach works out for them - offering access to something fans typically are not involved in, for a price.  I think this may be the way the industry goes, and am very excited for these guys and glad to see them on the cutting edge.  Check out the different packages they are offering below, and go check these guys out when they're near you - their great music and fun/crazy/sometimes drunken/and often hilarious shows are well worth it!