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Soundcheck

Thursday, March 13, 2008
  • SXSW

    SXSW: Gateway to the Music World

    Hundreds of foreign musicians are in Texas right now searching for the American dream: a chance to crack the U.S. music market. Today on Soundcheck: The world comes to Austin. The second of two special live broadcasts from the South by Southwest music festival. And later: offbeat soul band The Heavy hails from outside Bath, England. They claim to “specialize in making everything wrong sound right.” We find out just what that means when The Heavy join us for a live performance in the studio of our host station, Classical 89.5 KMFA.

    Follow our journey into the belly of the (music industry) beast on our blog, Soundcheck On Site: SXSW!

Quarto das Cinzas

Austin's Global Pull

In the past, a record deal was the most coveted prize for international acts looking to crack the American music market at South by Southwest. Now, a film or TV placement might be a better deal. We talk with first-timer Grant Dull, manager and DJ at the Buenos Aires club Zizek, consultant Tracy Mann, who promotes the international presence at the conference, and Amy Rosen, in charge of licensing for Grey advertising.

Zizek web site
Grey Group website

Oppenheimer

Soul Power ... From Noid, England

The Heavy are not, in fact, a metal band. The five-piece British outfit grooves like Marvin Gaye fronting the Stooges. The group joins us for a live acoustic performance.

Find out more about our host station, Classical 89.5 KMFA.

The Heavy on MySpace

Introducing our Video Contest

Soundcheck

John Schaefer gives the lowdown on Soundcheck's music video challenge with the Fiery Furnaces.

In Studio: Los Amigos Invisibles

Soundcheck

The Venezuelan funk-rock band "Los Amigos Invisibles" was discovered by David Byrne in a Manhattan record shop. They perform live on Soundcheck.

In Studio: Angel Deradoorian

Soundcheck

The 22-year-old multi-instrumentalist performs live in our studio.

Cucu Diamantes Performs Amor Cronico

Soundcheck

Cucu Diamantes went from a tough childhood in Havana, Cuba, to an art school in Rome to underground New York City, where she co-founded the Latin alternative band Yerba Buena.

In Studio: The Decemberists

The Portland, Ore., band's latest album, "The Hazards of Love," is a concept album with a mythological flair. They joined Soundcheck to play live for a studio audience in WNYC's Greene Space.

Sound Off

Soundcheck

Throughout May, Soundcheck presents “Sound Off” a Friday series on the many aspects of noise in music and our lives. The series -- which coincides with “Better Hearing and Speech Month” -- looks at issues like New York’s noisiest neighborhoods, the latest research on iPods and hearing loss, and what happens when noise becomes a musical ingredient.