Echo Park - Music Weekend Recap

This past weekend I spent some time in Los Angeles, specifically Echo Park, where I got to experience just a snippet of the amazing unique music scene LA has to offer.

To start, we attended Camchella. You read that right CAMchella, a birthday bash for a guy named Cam, clearly inspired by Coachella but remains a small private music festival in the hills of Echo Park and is attended by friends of Cam & the bands. This isn't your typical music location...instead the stage setup is outside at the back of the driveway and people spread out dancing where cars should be parked and line up on stairs to get a second story view.

Dirt Nap at Camchella

The lineup of course is all local bands that are most likely connected to Cam in one way or another. I never even met Cam so who's to say! :) My sole purpose of attending this event was to watch an acoustical performance by Dirt Nap aka David Dennis, the lead singer from Voxhaul Broadcast and also happens to be my bother's roommate. David's powerful vocals filled the neighborhood as he played brand new songs he's been working on these past few months. Trust me if I could share the songs I would! But unfortunately this music is so new, it's yet to be recorded so stay tuned to see when the tracks will be available to the public.
 
All in all I would say that was the most unique birthday party I've ever been to and a great way to hear some local bands for free! I even witnessed some neighbors having their own gatherings on their rooftops enjoying the show from afar. Thank you Cam for hosting one hell of a birthday party and for letting me be a guest.

KITTEN at Bootleg with Set List. Photo courtesy of @russmclovin.

My final night in LA, we went to Bootleg Theater to catch KITTEN's last residency performance for free. My brother has been seeing KITTEN forever & swears that was the largest crowd yet & I don't question it seeing as I had barely enough elbow room to rock out. KITTEN got up on stage fearless & immediately rocked out with hair whips, belting, jumping up & down off speakers & getting the crowd going. Did I mention she was barefoot the whole time? She even asked the crowd multiple times 'Will you catch me?' before she jumped backwards off the stage crowd surfing. Let me tell you this girl can put on show! Even if you never heard her music before she will get you dancing in no time and playing a cover for 'Like a Prayer' mid set definitely helped too. My brother has said it multiple times but after seeing it in person I can confidently agree this band is going places. The best part, they have time on their side seeing as she is only 17 & already filling up live venues!

Check out some of KITTEN's official music videos here and if you're ever in the LA area be sure to look up shows for KITTEN and Voxhaul Broadcast, I promise they will not disappoint!

Tip: Visit KITTEN's official website to download "Cut it Out" & "Sugar" for free!

~ @LAByram

Have You Updated Your Twitter Banner Image Yet?

Twitter is now allowing you to jazz up your profile page by adding a header image similar to Facebook and Google+ to further drive home your brand.

It is a very simple process...

1. Check out the spec page to gather the right size images
2. Then go to Settings > Design > Change Header (under the 'Customize' section)
3. Upload your new header & move to scale it
4. Set your 'Background' and 'Link Color' to match
5. Update your profile pic if it does not match (Settings > Profile > Change Photo)

Your new header image appears behind your profile pic along with your bio, location and website so just do your best to choose pictures that work together to help build your brand for your followers.

Here are some examples of our newly re-vamped Twitter header & some of our clients...
Blooming Footprint
BoomBox
Canopy Parking
Expresso Parking
Green Parking Council
Harmony Yoga

On the road with BoomBox

 We love it when our band clients visit our home state, so when BoomBox came to town, the Blooming Footprint team decided to hop on tour with them for their latest Colorado run. Our first stop was at The Eldo in Crested Butte, an intimate venue tucked deep in the Rockies with a true wild-west feel. The energy from the sold-out crowd turned The Eldo into an extremely steamy dance party. BoomBox opened the evening with Mr. Boogie Man and played a mellow set that, never the less, kept fans bopping all night. Musical highlights included Stereo which has been re-introduced into BoomBox's live catalog and ignited a full-crowd sing-along, Kool Aid Smile, and dark and dirty Shakedown Street. BoomBox was joined by painter John Bukaty who painted this beautiful depiction of the band during the show.

The next night, BoomBox was off to Carbondale where they played at PAC3, a new venue that was converted from a school to a theater. As ambitious as we are, the Blooming Footprint crew decided to opt out of this journey west to rest up for the following evening. However the report from fans was that BoomBox played a beautiful version of their new song Dream. Keith Brooks made a recording of the song's Colorado debut at State Bridge Amphitheater last July, which can be downloaded from BoomBox's SoundCloud here.     

We reconvened at The Boulder Theater on Friday and were greeted by another, much larger sold-out crowd. Opener Ramona got the the dance floor buzzing by throwing down an uptempo "new beat" set. By the time BoomBox took the stage the audience was beyond ready to boogie with them. Little did we know that we were in for one of the most exciting sets the band has played in Colorado, in our humble opinion. The set list included (in no particular order) Planetary Mirror, House Jam, Dream, Diry Red Penny (a new, un-released track), and Me and My Baby.  Notable moments included one of the best versions of Drum Dub that we have seen from BoomBox and a bum-rush of the stage by excited fans during Stereo at the end of the set. 

Our last stop was The Mishawaka Amphitheater where we were treated to a camp site on the famous island behind the stage. We set up camp and moseyed over to the amphitheater in time to catch Octopus Nebula play an etherial mixture of ambient, acid jazz and rock and roll. BoomBox once again rocked out a high-energy set playing favorites like Shakedown Street, Koolaid Smile, Dirty Red Penny, Drum Dub, and closed out the weekend with Wanted. Much thanks to our photographers Brian Brace with 303 Photograpy, Joel Meaders and Keith Brooks for providing excellent shots of the weekend.

What do you think of the 2012 London Olympics logo?

It's fascinating what happens with a brand's development when a whole world feels personally connected to it.  We all are drawn to the Olympics as the one pure international event that we can depend on to be fair (or at least attempt to be).  Everything else, politics, war, and business is essentially a corrupt free-for-all. Which is why the reactions to the logo I've been hearing are so strong and a source of conversations just as much as the actual games. 

This year's summer Olympics is represented by an edgy, modern logo that's far from traditional.  So much so that most that see it, first can't figure out what it is.  'What are these lumpy blocks suppose to represent?  Ohhhh!  It says 2012…?! '  As a designer who's developed many logos, I was surprised to see what London's $400k Olympic branding budget came up with.  In my experience, it's absolutely unacceptable to leave so many people in doubt and unsure about what a logo represents.  The last thing you want is someone reading into your logo and saying 'it's someone getting a blow job!' or 'it says 'ZION' or just 'huh?'.  When I think of the years of planning leading up to this ultimate outcome, all I can come up with is there were simply too many cooks in the kitchen, cooking for way too long.  This logo is overcooked. 

Read about the logo and brand's intention on the Olympics' website here. 

Tips to Setting Up Your Social Platforms

Since we work along side many brands, we are constantly helping our frustrated clients get their existing Social Media accounts in order or we simply take over setting them up. We figured we'd share this play-by-play to help anyone else out there who might be confused about all this.

Linking Facebook to Twitter....
Are you sick of posting on Facebook and Twitter? Here is a little trick to help save you time and energy. Anything you post on Facebook will show up automatically on Twitter, with a link to that specific Facebook post...encouraging Twitter fans to follow you on Facebook too!
- Be sure you are logged in as your brand in Twitter before you start
- Go to this link: https://www.facebook.com/twitter/
- Click, "Link to Twitter"...go thru flow and you should be set up

Adding an Admin to Your Google+ Biz Page...
We are still not sure why we need to be on Google+, but better safe then sorry. You can enlist the help of your staff or other band members by making then Admins to help add content and keep the machine rolling.
- Log in to your personal Google+ profile
- Look for new navigation on left side
- Click "MORE" at the bottom and look for "PAGES"
- All pages you are an admin of will come up
- Hover over "Switch to this page" and "Settings" & "Managers" come up
- Click "Manager" and add new person by email

Using ArtistData to Auto-Create Facebook Events...
This is a great tool for touring bands if you are having to manually add your show dates in multiple places. Use ArtistData and you only have to do this one time for your website and Facebook!
- Login to your ArtistData account
- You must have upcoming show dates added to your profile
- Go to "Tools" in top navigation
- Click "Social Networks"
- Click "Facebook" on left navigation
- "Update Event Calendar"...click to activate
- We also like to have "Status updates for Pages" active...sends day or show reminders automatically
- Don't forget, you can also add your "Tour Date widget" to your website, blog or anywhere else you can embed html.

Claiming Your Venue on Foursquare...
When you claim your venue, you're asking to become the manger of the venue. Then you'll be able to edit title ad address info, view analytics and offer specials.
- Create a personal account for your business on Foursquare i.e. Blooming Footprint
- Go to your venue's Foursquare page
- The URL of your venue will look like www.foursquare.com/venue/xxxx
- Search Foursquare for your business and while on the venue page, click on the link: "Do you manage this venue? Claim here."
NOTE: This link will only appear if the venue is unclaimed. If the venue is already claimed you will need to contact support and request to be added as a manager manually.
- Once you have claimed your venue you can begin to manage your venue and create check-in campaigns

Creating A Foursquare Business Page & Add Mangers...
Foursquare offers merchants and venue owners free sets of tools to help you attract new customers and keep your best ones coming back. It's a unique way to stay engaged with your followers no matter where they are!
- Log into your personal account for your business i.e. Blooming Footprint
- Go to https://foursquare.com/business/
- Click on Brands ---> https://foursquare.com/create_page
- You must complete the following before your page will be featured:
*Add a banner
*Add a picture (profile)
*Write a description
*Link to Twitter
*Write 5 tips (about other venues)
- Once you create a business page you can add managers by clicking here https://foursquare.com/settings/managers
- After you create a business page you can embed the "Follow Button" on your site which will increase your following

Creating a Company Profile on LinkedIn...
LinkedIn allows individuals to view the business end of your company, see recent hires and promotions, new job opportunities and company profile updates.
- Join LinkedIn or log in if you already have an account
- Click "Companies" in top navigation
- You can search for your company or click "Add a Company" in the top right under the search box
- Add your Company name and email address at work i.e. name@bloomingfootprint.com
- Click "Continue" then add basic info like description, URL and industry
- You can upload a logo
- Your company profile is now available and you can view the company's followers and activity

Adding Admins to Your Company Profile on LinkedIn...
To become an admin on a Company Page you have to meet certain requirements; new admin must be a LinkedIn member connected to you with a company email address.
- Join LinkedIn or log in if you already have an account
- Click "Companies" in top navigation
- Search for your company and click on it
- Click "Admin tools" on the top right & select "edit"
- In the "Manage Admins" section, type the name of the person you want to add as an Admin
- They will show up, click on them and they will be auto-added
- Click "Publish" in top right & you'll see your page was successfully updated

We hope you find this info helpful when managing your online accounts. If you still feel overwhelmed with all this information feel free to contact us and we can help manage and your brand!