Tag: Paul McCartney

RSVP HERE: The Fantastic Plastics Live Stream Via Twitch + More

Welcome to our weekly show recommendation column RSVP HERE. Due to live show cancellations we will be covering virtual live music events and festivals.

Photo by Angelyn Toncray

This week marks the one-month anniversary of most COVID-19 lock downs in the US and everything that came along with that. Mass amounts of tour cancellations have ushered in a new world of consistent live streaming on social media. While most bands are still adapting to this new quarantined way of being, NYC-based synth dance punk duo The Fantastic Plastics are about to celebrate their one year anniversary of live streaming on Twitch. Self-described as “the future of the future,” the Fantastic Plastics are heavily influenced by Orwell and sci-fi movies, so maybe they knew this particular dystopian fate was coming all along. Their visually stimulating live show includes matching outfits, backing projections, Moog synths and a theremin and is guaranteed to captivate your attention, whether in person or from the comfort of your phone screen.

The Fantastic Plastics’ interactive Twitch stream is tonight goes live every Wednesday and Friday at 9pm EST, with occasional bonus shows on Sundays and Mondays – your next opportunity to tune in is tonight, April 17th! We chatted with The Fantastic Plastics about some of their live stream effects, their sci-fi movie favorites and their advice for starting your own Twitch channel.

AF: You were in the live streaming boat far before quarantine started. Coming up on your one year anniversary on Twitch, how has your performance style grown over the year? How has your fan base changed?

FP: Our performance style over the last year on Twitch has evolved to become more interactive with our audience. Before we started live streaming, we were accustomed to jumping on stage to play a quick 30-45 minute set and then tearing our stuff down off of the stage as quickly as possible. Now with streaming, we stretch our performance out over 3-4 hours with lots of chatting with our audience between songs. Our fan base has changed in that we spent years touring and trying to find our audience, whereas with live streaming, most of our audience has found us instead. We are also able to reach people in parts of the country and world that we’ve never toured.

AF: What goals do you have for streaming in the year to come?

FP: Streaming more often, making our stream more interactive, and branching out with a variety of content.

AF: Have you noticed a change in your audience since the quarantine began? Has the quarantine affected your creative process in any way?

FP: Since the quarantine began we have noticed that our audience, as well that of many other musicians on Twitch, has grown quite a bit as people are searching for new ways to see live music. As far as our creative process goes, we’ve been putting more energy into ways to make the stream more interactive and visually stimulating, and of course there’s always the pressure to keep writing new music.

AF: How do you make your outfits change pattern during your set?

FP: We are misusing the chroma key effect, haha! We actually used this same effect in a music video we filmed for our song “Teleport” in 2017 and thought it could work really well with our video projection show in the background on Twitch.

AF: What are your favorite sci-fi movies? What movies have had the most influence on your sound?

FP: Most sci-fi movies that we like, such as Barbarella, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner, influence more of our aesthetic vs. our sound. Musically and lyrically, we have always been really inspired by William Gibson novels and of course 1984 by George Orwell.

AF: How do you think an extended quarantine is going to affect musicians’ (and humans’ in general) relationship with technology and live music?

FP: There has definitely been a shift and more of an appreciation for watching live music performances via streaming, and it seems like people are making a switch from passively watching Netflix to enjoying the chance to have more interaction with the musicians and bands they like via streaming. Hopefully after things start opening up again, this will be beneficial for both streaming and live, in-person gigs as we know everyone really misses the energy of being in live concert venues and is looking forward to seeing those rescheduled concerts.

AF: What advice would you give someone starting their twitch channel?

FP: The best thing to do if you are thinking about starting a Twitch channel is to just watch as many other streamers on Twitch music as you can – most importantly to learn the culture. Once you start streaming, just be consistent, and don’t give up.

AF: What are your plans for the rest of 2020 & beyond?

FP: We have a remix album, MLFNCTN, coming out at the end of the Spring/early Summer this year, and we just plan to keep writing new music, releasing more videos on our YouTube channel and streaming on Twitch as much as we can.

RSVP HERE for The Fantastic Plastics live stream on Twitch 4/17 9pm est. 

More great live streams this week…

4/17 Zola Jesus via Saint Vitus Instagram. 8pm est, RSVP HERE

4/17  Jeff Tweedy via Recording Academy’s Facebook page, Amazon Music’s Twitch page, and Pickathon’s YouTube page. 1 p.m. pst, RSVP HERE

4/17 Mima Good via Baby’s TV. 10pm est, RSVP HERE

4/18 Air Waves, Juan Wauters via Baby’s TV. 3pm, RSVP HERE

4/18 Lauren Ruth Ward, Veronica Bianqui & More via Youtube – Couch LA. 6pm est. RSVP HERE

4/18 Global Citizens Fest feat. Alanis Morissette, Paul McCartney, Lizzo, Lady Gaga + More via Youtube. 8pm est RSVP HERE

4/19 Erykah Badu via Instagram. 8pm est, RSVP HERE

4/20 Weedmaps “Higher Together: Sessions from Home,” featuring Wiz Khalifa, Billy Ray Cyrus, and more. 12 p.m PST, RSVP HERE

NEWS ROUNDUP: Music Lawsuits, New Music from Marianne Faithfull & More

Music Lawsuits

Spotity

One of Spotify’s former sales executives, Hong Perez, is suing Spotify and her former boss, head of sales Brian Berner, for gender discrimination, equal pay violation and defamation in New York’s Supreme Court. Perez’s complaint accuses Berner of taking mens-only employee trips to the 2016 and 2017 Sundance FIlm Festival, as well as to Atlantic City strip clubs. Perez also alleges Spotify awarded higher compensation to male employees and promoted employees despite sexual harassment warnings. Spotify denied these claims.

Drake

Drake filed a fraud lawsuit against model Laquana Morris (aka Layla Lace) on Tuesday in the Superior Court of California, accusing her of civil extortion, fraud, defamation, abuse of process, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Drake admitted to having consensual sexual relations with Morris in Manchester, England February 2017. In April 2017, she claimed on social media that he dumped her after she told him she was pregnant with his child. The case also alleges that Morris demanded money from Drake and filed a police report alleging the rapper raped her during the Manchester hotel encounter. Manchester police cleared Drake of of sexual assault allegations.

The New New

Nick Cave and Marianne Faithfull released a collaboration titled “The Gypsy Faerie Queen,” which will be included on her twenty-first album Negative Capability, due out November 2nd. Avril Lavigne released first song in five years, “Head Above Water,” which describes her battle with Lyme Disease. Major Lazer and South African singer Babes Wodumo released “Orkant/Balance Pon It” with a video that showcases people of Durban, South Africa dancing on buses, in classrooms and on the streets.

End Notes

  • The Senate passed the Music Modernization Act (MMA), that will modernize copyright protection for songwriters on streaming services and other digital platforms.
  • Paul McCartney has first Billboard chart number one album debut with 18th solo release Egypt Station.
  • A new Amy Winehouse documentary entitled Back to Black has been announced, highlighting the making of her iconic record.

NEWS ROUNDUP: RIP Aretha Franklin, Azealia Banks’ Elon Musk Sleepover & More

Aretha Franklin 1942-2018

Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, voice of the civil rights movement and feminist icon has died at the age of 76 of pancreatic cancer according to her family. Franklin not only defined her times with her powerful voice, but transcended them to become a key figure for social justice. With more than one hundred singles on the Billboard chart over the course of her career, she become the most charted female in history. She also had a large collection of purses that made many public appearances, with Franklin even taking them on stage on with her. 

What happened to Azealia Banks last weekend?

According to now deleted Instagram stories, Banks spent the weekend waiting for Grimes at Elon Musk’s LA home, describing the scene as a real live version of Get Out. Banks and Grimes were supposed to collaborate on a single for Banks’ forthcoming album, but when Grimes never showed, Banks went on a Musk-bashing tirade, claiming he tweets while on acid, that he is only dating Grimes because he needed a date to the Met Gala, and that she overheard Musk on the phone scrambling to find investors for his projects. Elon Musk responded by saying he has never met Azealia Banks and that her story is “complete nonsense.”

The New New

Nicki Minaj dropped her fourth album Queen this week and although she is not the main artist listed on 6ix9ine’s “Fefe,” she added the song as track 20, most likely to boost album sales. Cat Power has a new song called “Woman” featuring Lana Del Rey. Paul McCartney released a “raunchy” new song called “Fuh You.”

End Notes

 

NEWS ROUNDUP: Beyonce, Lana Del Rey, & Daytrotter Festival

beyonce-formation

  • Father John Misty Stars in Lana Del Rey’s “FREAK”

    In the 11-minute long video, the two go on a hike before dropping acid. The last few minutes are slow motion footage of people frolicking in a swimming pool, set to a gentle piano ballad. According to Father John Misty, the video was inspired by a time he took acid at a Taylor Swift concert. Uh, sure it is. Read our review here.

  • Inaugural Daytrotter Downs Fesitval Starts Next Week

    What is Daytrotter? They bring in fairly well-known artists for recording sessions featuring alternative or reworked versions of their songs, and sometimes brand-new material. And from February 18 to February 20, they’ll be hosting a music festival in Davenport, IA featuring artists such as Lizzo, Mothers, and Curtis Harding. Check out a Daytrotter session from the Alabama Shakes below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo-qvB9hZtU

  • Beyonce Drops New Video, Internet Explodes

    There’s not much left to say about Beyonce’s “Formation;” she released the song and video the night before the Superbowl, but didn’t stop there. After her halftime performance, she announced a 2016 tour and a new, upcoming album. Trying to buy some cheap tickets? Good luck.

  • Happy Valentine’s Day From Paul McCartney & … Skype?

    Nothing says “Rock & Roll” or “I Love You” quite like corporate sponsorship. Skype is introducing some new love-themed Mojis, and the company put Paul McCartney to work recording their sound effects. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for some desperate artist to do a MailChimp collaboration.

  • OK Go Release Video For “Upside Down & Inside Out”

    “Gravity’s just a habit that you’re really sure you can’t break:” OK Go is known for their off-the-wall music videos, and “Upside Down & Inside Out,” which was released yesterday, is no exception. It features the band literally bouncing off the walls in zero gravity along with some dancing flight attendants. While the song was included on the 2014 album Hungry Ghosts, it’s safe to assume to the delay was necessary to rehearse in that crazy setup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6fyWs8KSdE