That’s us - we were there. And if you were there, what a night of music! Thanks to all who came out to support the bands and the cause - bringing music to kids in the Bay Area! Huge thanks to all of our sponsors, partners, and volunteers who made this happen.
Nokia’s SWAT team of “citizen journalists” armed with N95s snapped videos and…
and pictures…
Silicon Valley Rocks! is almost here! You can still get your tickets here - http://svrocks.eventbrite.com/ or at the door. Silicon Valley Rocks! is a benefit for Music in Schools Today. Ticket purchases are tax deductible.
Wednesday, December 3
7:00pm*
Great American Music Hall
859 O’Farrell Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 885-0750
Directions and parking: http://www.gamh.com/info/directions.html
NOTE: Parking across the street - for more options click on the link above. (Sorry, no valet for this one)
FOOD!: Great American has a full menu, too, so you can eat AND enjoy the music. Check out the menu: http://www.gamh.com/info/menu.html
*Ticketholders, please plan to arrive no later than 7:00pm. Slilcon Valley Rocks! is not your typical concert, where the doors open and the first band doesn’t go on until 2 hours later.
** Just Announced: To reward you for being on time, we will be giving away two (2) VIP/premium tickets for any show at Shoreline Amphitheatre through December 2009 (offered by SLO / A Ticketmaster Company, value: $400)! Drop your card in the door on your way in. Drawing will take place as the Open Source Band takes the stage!
You can check them out on the links above. Or connect to their profiles on Strands and discover more about them. Request an invitation to join Strands using promo code svrocks
See you at the show!
We have some incredible items up for bid at Silicon Valley Rocks! Here’s just a sampling of what you’ll see at the silent auction table. All items have been donated, and all proceeds from the auction will go to Music in Schools Today (MuST).
…and lots more, so be sure to check it out Wednesday night and put in your bid for a good cause!
photo courtesy of Kelly Koehler
http://www.myspace.com/kidkameleon
We recently caught up with DJ Kid Kameleon, who’ll be spinning an eclectic mix for us at the SVR after-party—from breakcore to b-more, dubstep to dancehall, club, pop, and maybe even a little rock.
SVR: Who are your major musical influences?
Kid Kameleon: DJ Singe and MC Verb of Soundlab, DJ Spooky, DJ C, DJ Ripley.
SVR: What’s your history? How long have you been DJing?
Kid Kameleon: I’ve been into electronic music ever since I heard Axel F in the mid-80s. I picked up DJing in the late 90s. I was involved with the Soundlab collective in New York in the early ’00s, a group that was interested in boundary-pushing music and art in alternative spaces throughout New York City. For the last 2 years I’ve been involved with a crew in San Francisco called Surya Dub that does a monthly party at Club 6 focused on the wide variety of bass music.
SVR: What’s your day job?
Kid Kameleon: Representing a currently important Silicon Valley constituency: the unemployed!
SVR: What’s your connection to the tech industry?
Kid Kameleon: Work through the Electronic Frontier Foundation, plus who isn’t connected to the tech industry in SF?
SVR: Why is music education for kids important to you?
Kid Kameleon: Exploring music as a kid, either solo or in groups, is the vital spark of curiosity on which much future learning is based.
Kid Kameleon has been mixing, mashing, and maximizing bass genres for over 10 years. As a staff writer for XLR8R magazine, both his interviews and monthly column “Basic Needs” take readers to the furthest extremes electronic dance music, as do the numerous mixes he’s made for Shockout, Mashit, and dozens of other sites. As a blogger and scholar, his work ranges from measuring the social interactions of online networks to the implications of file-sharing on music business models.
Band Members: Jonah Matranga, Tim Chang, Andrew Stess, Larry Marcus
Special Guests: Alison Murdock, Terence Swee
Tech Industry Affiliations: Tim Chang is with Norwest Venture Partners; Andrew Stess is with Music IP; Larry Marcus is with Walden Venture Capital; Terence Swee is with muvee; and Alison Murdock founded Silicon Valley Rocks!
SVR: Tell us about your band. How did you get started? How long have you been playing?
The Open Source Band: Most are in other bands or have played in bands over the years. Jonah Matranga is a singer, songwriter, and producer and has been on tour with his prior band, Far - now called Hot Little Pony. Larry is playing in the Corinne Marcus band, progressive rock band Wayward Monks and alongside jazz singer Megan Keely and honky-tonk singer Tom Brigham. He also used to play with the Flying Other Brothers.Tim was with a band called Blackporch, and also played with the Chris Marsol Band. Andrew plays with Ian Hopkinson in Los Angeles and used to play with the former SF band Buddhakowski. Terence was music director for a band when he was a student and won a band jam competition. He now guests with jazz bands in Singapore, where he recently moved from. Alison just messes with vocals, bass guitar, and keyboard at Ladies Rock Camp and sometimes Blue Bear.
We formed this band just for Silicon Valley Rocks! and will have played together for a couple of sessions before the show.
SVR: Who are your major influences?
The Open Source Band: Among all of us, there are likely many. But for Silicon Valley Rocks!, we were inspired by some of the great bands that rose to fame in the 80s such as The Police, REM, U2, and The Pretenders.
SVR: What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune—at least in the music business?
The Open Source Band: In the immediate future, play a great show at Silicon Valley Rocks! After that, who knows?
SVR: What’s your day job?
The Open Source Band: In our band, we have a mix—two VCs (Larry and Tim), two CEOs (Andrew and Terence) of tech companies, and singer/songwriter (Jonah) who embraces using technology to sell his music directly to his fans. And the SVR event producer, Alison.
SVR: How does your music influence your work or vice versa?
The Open Source Band: For most of us, music is an outlet and escape from the daily concerns of our day jobs. Also, music has the ability to bring people together, those who might only collaborate professionally. The VCs in our group focus on digital media and are lucky enough to be able to tie their personal passions into their day jobs!
Terence particularly uses his music knowledge and engineering background in the company he co-founded. muvee’s software automatically cuts video to the beat of the music, and Terence wrote the code that analyzes the music track chosen, determining its beat location, feel, and emotional index of that music.
SVR: Why is music education important?
The Open Source Band: There are so many ways music can enhance a child’s education. It can actually boost test scores, improve reading and listening ability, and improve fine motor skills. Learning music requires discipline (practicing!). And many kids become more self-confident through playing or singing in groups.
SVR: What was your own experience learning music as a kid? Who flipped that switch in your brain?
The Open Source Band: Alison’s grandmother said she started singing at 6 weeks old. As a 3-year-old she could sing no less than 20 songs by heart—which her mother insisted she do to impress the neighbors. She went to a grade school in Dallas, TX that had a strong emphasis on performing arts—in fact two of the Dixie Chicks were among her contemporaries.
Andrew got Abbey Road as his first album and from then on wanted to play music. He has composed music for radio, film, and television and played bass for 30 years. Andrew holds a bachelor of music in film composing from Berklee College of Music.
Tim, like the offspring of many Asian immigrants, dutifully grew up on classical piano and violin before rebelling in favor of rock guitar in high school (inspired by Marty McFly’s antics in Back to the Future). All the classical training made it much easier to do the self-taught guitar thing.
SVR sponsor Burson-Marsteller is a leading global public relations and communications firm that develops smart, strategic communications programs to help its clients build stronger brands and corporate reputations. We recently spoke with the company about its commitment to good corporate citizenship and its contributions to the Bay Area community.
SVR: How does Burson-Marsteller support the Silicon Valley community?
Burson-Marsteller: From a business perspective, we partner with some of the iconic brands in Silicon Valley, including Intel, HP, and SAP. But we also believe in giving back to the community. We’re actively involved in the Greater Bay Area chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, supporting their annual Light The Night walk to raise awareness and funding for life-saving cancer research, and we’ve worked on projects with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula.
SVR: What inspired you to become involved in Silicon Valley Rocks?
Burson-Marsteller: You could say we’re with the band. Some of the communications professionals and journalists who are giving their time to perform at Silicon Valley Rocks are people we work with every day. That was our inspiration. But beyond that, we counsel our clients that being a good corporate citizen is the right thing to do, and sponsoring Silicon Valley Rocks is one small way for us to take this counsel to heart.
SVR: Do you have a burgeoning band or musicians at Burson-Marsteller?
Burson-Marsteller: We do have a few aspiring musicians who are checking our virtual rehearsal space, but we have no tour details at this time.
SVR: Why do you feel it’s important keep music education in the schools?
Burson-Marsteller: Thinking creatively is how we overcome challenges and break new ground, and that applies to the communications business and to society at large. The earlier we encourage young minds to think creatively through music and other arts programs, the better for us all.
http://www.myspace.com/BLACKMAHALSF
Band Members: Lal Singh Bhatti, Jon Cook, Satish Pillai, Mandeep Sethi, Vijay Chattha
Special Guest: Tim Chang
Tech Industry Affiliations: Vijay Chattha is Chief Talker of VSC Consulting, a PR boutique focused on mobile and Web 2.0 clients ranging from start-ups to blue-chip players. Tim Chang is a partner at Norwest Venture Partners, where he concentrates on digital media and mobile investments.
SVR: Tell us about your band. How did you get started? How long have you been playing?
blacKMahal: Actually blacKMahal had two manifestations. Vijay met Lal Singh at an Indian wedding and was blown away by Lal’s amazing dhol drumming and Punjabi vocals. Vijay, at that time a DJ, decided to join forces with Lal Singh and create a new modern take on traditional Punjabi folklore.
That’s when blacKMahal was born. Over the years the band has continued to acquire members met during jam sessions, freestyles, and events hosted at Craigslist Foundation’s Darian Heyman’s house. blacKMahal has now been playing together for five years and has performed all around the Bay Area and Toronto. The band is finishing their debut album.
SVR: Who are your major influences?
blacKMahal: Too many to name. Everything from hip hop’s “golden age” (1987-1992) to Gurdass Maan to Lee “Scratch” Perry.
SVR: What’s the ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune—at least in the music business?
blacKMahal: Our ultimate direction is to bring people together through music, find universal truths that unite us all, and bring happiness to people through music. Our spiritual leader and lead singer Lal Singh Bhatti has built his storied music career around these tenets, which has earned him the distinction of playing for every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter and touring around the world.
SVR: What’s your day job?
blacKMahal: Lots of day jobs, from PR to music teacher to HIV research to venture capital.
SVR: How does your music influence your work or vice versa?
blacKMahal: Vijay: For me at least, music is an extension of the creativity we exhibit every day in helping our clients “out-innovate” their competitors. Marketing and music both take a seventh sense of dynamic thinking and creativity, so the music makes me more effective in my day job.
Tim Chang is a VC and digital media connector by day whose job often deals with working with artists such as Will.i.am. It should be noted that Tim has been a musician for three times longer than he’s been in the VC game. Tim and Vijay not only jam together but also work together in their day jobs, as VSC PR handles PR and strategy for some of Tim’s investments. They’ve also both invested in start-ups and connected each other with business contacts over the years. Music was a common thread and thus it all comes together for the Great American Music Hall show.
SVR: Why is music education important?
blacKMahal: First of all, it brings people together from every background, age, and race. Secondly, it’s a creative outlet that exercises a different part of the brain than what most of us use in our day jobs. Lastly, it’s fun to engage with an audience and other band members to create something on the fly.
SVR: What was your own experience learning music as a kid? Who flipped that switch in your brain?
blacKMahal: Vijay: My parents loved Indian Bollywood music, but I never could sit down and learn the piano or violin. When I hit adolescence, I started listening to the Oldies Channel and then hip-hop. I knew every lyric to every song in those days. Then I decided to take my first entrepreneurial leap and become a DJ. I funded my music tastes by DJing at weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and graduation parties. We had an old brown van that stored our equipment and over time we started to record our own stuff. And those were our humble beginnings.
We recently spoke with Erica Levin, a realtor with SVR sponsor Paragon Real Estate Group, about her work, her non-profit involvement, and Paragon’s commitment to community service.
SVR: Tell us about your job as a realtor.
Erica: My work allows me to be a therapist, financial adviser, designer, concierge, and overall life helper and confidant. I love that my clients really engage with me and that I am able to help them in so many ways—it is wonderfully rewarding work!
SVR: Besides your work at Paragon, you are very active in your community. Tell us more.
Erica: Yes! Sometimes I wish I could clone myself to get it all done! I sit on the board of directors of Mission Graduates. We work with kids in the public schools providing tutoring, after-school programs, pregnancy prevention counseling, and a vital program called College Connect that provides stewardship in getting kids to college. I also co-founded Inner Mission Community Association. IMCA is a group made up of residents and business owners in the inner Mission. We work on issues that are of concern to our members and coordinate to work with our supervisor, the mayor’s office, the police, and other agencies to address many issues in our neighborhood.
SVR: What inspired you become involved in these organizations?
Erica: I value engaging with the community where I live. I cannot see a problem or concern and not try to do something to address it. I believe that kids are the key to our future, and these days they need a lot of support. Knowing your neighbors makes communities safer, and having a sense of community provides people a sense of place. I feel grateful to be in a position to work with so many committed people and to learn so much and offer what I know as a resource.
SVR: What advice would you give to people who want to help?
Erica: Just get started! There are so many ways to engage, whether it is mentoring a young person, spending time at your kid’s school or volunteering at a food bank, or sweeping the street in front of your house. We each have a gift to give, and I have found that just doing something and applying the time and attention is a great way to begin.
SVR: Why do feel it’s important to keep music education in the schools?
Erica: I loved music class as a kid. I gravitated toward the creative arts and learned so much about discipline and follow-through from the creative process. Kids need the arts, and music is a great way to express oneself. It troubles me that in our time, music has to be fought for in the public schools.
SVR: Paragon Real Estate is also very involved in the local community. Can you tell me more about that?
Erica: Paragon places a great importance on community involvement. We have a community fund that each agent can elect to contribute to and Paragon will match the contribution 50/50. We participate yearly in Habitat for Humanity, and gave away $35,500 in 2007 and $25,100 so far in 2008.
A native of Chicago, Erica Levin went to the Claremont Colleges in Claremont, California and fell in love with the west coast. Erica has a B.A. in psychology and studio art and an M.A. in marriage family child counseling as well as art therapy. After nine successful years as a prop and wardrobe stylist on national ad campaigns, annual reports, and television commercials, she followed her personal passion into a full-time real estate career. Erica lives and works in San Francisco.
HTTP://WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THEMINKS
Band Members: Jennifer Michalski, Cherie Lebow, Kristina Vukic, Linda Keys, Marie Drennan
Tech Industry Affiliations: Jaman, Autodesk
All Day and All of the Night
Set Me Free
SVR: Tell us about your band. How did you get started? How long have you been playing?
The Minks: Marie started the band after taking up drums and getting hooked. She recruited Jen from a Blue Bear School of Music band workshop they were in together; Jen kidnapped Linda away from her peaceful band-less life; and Cherie and Kristina had no idea what they were in for when they answered our ad for fresh Minks.
SVR: Who are your major influences?
The Minks: The Kinks, with some Pretenders thrown in as needed.
SVR: When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?
The Minks: The band started in Marie’s basement and might have been a Who cover band, except that Keith Moon was a bit out of her range.
SVR: What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune—at least in the music business?
The Minks: We are seeking a cruise-ship gig, a prom gig, a Google holiday party gig, and a national Ikea tour (we’ve heard they do barbecues in the summer). And we want to open for Ray Davies next time he comes here. We love you, Ray!
SVR: What’s your day job?
The Minks: The Minks include a PR maven, a web wizard(ess), a writing professor, a biologist (and possible evil genius, we’re not sure but we have our suspicions), and a hotel biz executive.
SVR: How does your music influence your work or vice versa?
The Minks: Cherie: Musicians, like other artists, can contribute to teams in the workplace by keeping a keen eye on innovation and creativity and we can knock out a little Hotel California at office parties.
SVR: Why is music education important?
The Minks: So children today can rock the world tomorrow. Kids participating in music benefit from better self-discipline and higher learning. Music can help with language, math skills, creativity, problem solving, and general intellectual development.
SVR: What was your own experience learning music as a kid? Who flipped that switch your brain?
The Minks: Linda: Piano lessons were a required part of my upbringing, and I always loved everything about music.
Besides sponsoring Silicon Valley Rocks, Kaboodle is a key participant in local TechCrunch, Blogher and TiE events. As one of the early pioneers of social shopping, Kaboodle believes in fostering innovation. A testament to that is Kaboodle’s CEO and co-founder, Manish Chandra, who generously mentors other entrepreneurs. Chandra is an alumnus of the Young Entrepreneur’s Association. He is also an active charter member of TiE and chairs the TiE Special Interest Group on Internet and New Media.
“With budget cuts in California and the elimination of special interest programs throughout our school system, Silicon Valley Rocks! allows us to give back to the community and not only encourage but also stimulate our youth’s interest in the music and the arts,” says Chandra.
Kaboodle has a rocker of its own: while most employees are “more adept at playing Rock Band instruments than real ones,” resident Kaboodler mightyj is the talented bass player of the slow-core, super-mellow band Coastal. Since forming in 1999, Coastal has performed everywhere from L.A. to England. “Whether we’re grooving to Coastal tunes or any other musician’s, music is extremely important to us. In fact, some of our favorite products we feature on Kaboodle.com are musically inspired or themed,” says Chandra.
Kaboodle is a strong supporter of music as part of any child’s complete education and advocates for the arts as a way to increase overall achievement, citing studies that consistently show students who participate in arts programs display significant increases in self-esteem and cognitive skills.
About Kaboodle
Kaboodle is the largest and fastest-growing online social shopping community where people discover, recommend and share products. At the heart of Kaboodle is its engaged community of passionate shoppers—nearly 11 million strong! Kaboodle offers a forum for people to connect and inspire each other through shared advice, product feedback and suggestions, and the ability to create and join groups. Members have wish lists, styleboards, polls and other cool widgets at their fingertips, all of which they can use to express their own unique style.
What's your favorite "pickup" band name (a band of individual contributors... or is it)?
Total Voters: 9
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