Posts Tagged "push and pull"

Up Close and Personal with Aoede the Muse on Kit’s Korner! Indie104.com

Posted by Aoede Muse on Apr 6, 2011 in News | 0 comments

“Well behaved women seldom make history…”

I was privileged to be Kit McGuire-the DJ with the of gold’s-guest on Kits Korner’s on indie104.com iRadio LA early in March. Where did Aoede tour? What did Aoede develop that set her back? How did Aoede deal with it and keep her dream going? What is Aoede’s story? What’s the story behind and the main theme of Affair with the Muse? What was Aoede’s anthem through her therapy?

For answers to these questions and more, to get to know the muse behind the music, and for previews from Affair with the Muse… drink some tea or wine and kick back and listen to the in-depth, exclusive and very up-close-and-personal living room-style conversation between Aoede and Kit… and watch out, there’s a little zen in there too…

Aoede on Kit’s Korner 

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Behind the Scenes of “I Lost, You Win”… it’s a wrap

Posted by Aoede Muse on Mar 16, 2011 in Musings | 2 comments

Behind the Scenes of “I Lost, You Win”… the video that just wasn’t meant to be… It’s a Wrap!

LESSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY

Lets just review a few “lessons learned.” (Click for Aoede’s 7 Tips to Save Your Next Music Video!)

1. Always have signed contracts no matter what.
2. Do a lot of research on those you hire.
3. Be realistic- about the money, time, skill, manpower, equipment, location, direction, leadership it will take to realize a vision.
4. Assume that things can always can go wrong and have a Plan B, C, D.
5. Go in person to scout locations.
6. Don’t spend 90% of your budget on equipment and crew.
7. Know how to let go. Be willing to simply admit something didn’t work and move on.

I could go on. I’ll just say that I realized after the shoot and even now how ambitious the video really was; how many shots were required and what it took to get each shot in changing, unknown conditions. I didn’t have the expertise to know this. Apparently, neither did those with whom I worked.

In January of 2008, I was told via email that there wasn’t enough footage to complete a music video and that more footage would have to be shot at my expense, and preferably with someone else at the helm. I recall planning to have had a completed and edited music video Jan 30th so it would be ready for my release of Push and Pull in the Spring. In April 2008, I was still waiting on raw, unedited footage that couldn’t even complete our 3 minute music video… and had to demand to receive it to get some response.

I kept thinking that if I had had the raw footage earlier, I could have hired someone else to complete the video and been ready for our release…

Aoede’s Affair with the Muse Now Available on iTunes!

Posted by Aoede Muse on Mar 15, 2011 in Affair with the Muse, News | 4 comments

NOW AVAILABLE ON iTUNES !!
(click the album cover)

AND Aoede’s 2008 release, Push and Pull, included in WomensRadio’s Top Albums of the Decade
ON SPECIAL! Download the WHOLE album from iTunes (click the album cover) for only $3.99!!
It’s a SCREAMING deal!

Behind the Scenes of “I Lost, You Win”: The Video That Just Wasn’t Meant to be… the drama continues

Posted by Aoede Muse on Mar 8, 2011 in Musings | 0 comments

It was now Sunday, and unlike Saturday morning’s excitement, I was simply filled with anticipation for getting there, getting the needed shots “in the can” and staying warm as long as possible…

We had nixed the idea of getting any band footage on Sunday after realizing that without John said footage was kind of pointless, and we still had more shots to get during the day to realize the vision of the girl and the wedding dress…

So what else could go wrong?

LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!

You would have thought that by now everything would have gone smoothly on Day 2, having figured out the lay of the land and working out the kinks on Day 1? Me too!

Aoede Will Be Featured On Kit’s Corner, Indie104.com!

Posted by Aoede Muse on Mar 4, 2011 in News | 0 comments

Kit McGuire is an up close and personal kind of guy. I should know as after sending praise for Push and Pull, of which he said “…I need a copy…in the house, in the vehicle, in the studio and in my head all the time…”, he called me directly on the phone last year just to introduce himself and get to know me! He also emails and connects with me on facebook regularly! Additionally, he has a great music show, Kit’s Korner, that he hosts Monday through Friday, 12pm-4 pm daily, on Indie104.com iRADIO LA.

I am pleased to announce that Aoede will be featured on Kit’s Korner on March 8, 2011 in support of Aoede’s March 15 NEW album release, Affair with the Muse! You can catch the show live 1 pm (PST), or on Indie104.com after the interview. Thanks Kit for supporting so many amazing indie artists and for your Aoede <3-you ROCK!!   (AOEDE NOTE-FEED PROBLEMS-INTERVIEW WILL BE RESCHEDULED)

Behind the Scenes of I Lost, You Win: The Video That Just Wasn’t Meant to be…

Posted by Aoede Muse on Mar 2, 2011 in Musings | 0 comments

Putting together the behind the scenes footage for “I Lost, You Win” immediately transported me back in time to the location of the initial shoot: Nicasio, California. Nicasio is north of San Francisco and in unincorporated Marin County, and that was half the fun… and all the battle.

It was late December 2007, just before the holidays, and I awoke Saturday morning bursting with excitement to have a crew of folks to help realize my vision of making my first music video for my (as of then unreleased) single, “I Lost, You Win,” from my newly mixed, first full length album, Push and Pull (2008).

My partner in crime and life, Dave, and I had seen some of the video footage of the location and had an idea of the script and scenes. It was simple enough on paper, and involved filming under a cool oak tree, a girl, me-starring as a muse figure, a wedding dress lit up in the tree, and band footage. I think the central theme implied by the script could be the struggle between staying a child and becoming an adult.

So what could possibly go wrong?

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

Each of the crew and cast drove out to where the written directions said to go…this included among others, my now sister-in-law, Helen, who had volunteered to help with costumes; my drummer, John Walden equipped with full drums in his truck; Dave with gear, food, and umpteen other essentials in his truck; me in my small and sporty Honda Del Sol; and other assorted crew and cast. Having followed the directions best we could, we nonetheless all found our separate cars strangely turning into the same parking lot behind a church miles away from said location…none of us could find the location! Thanks to cell phone coverage in one spot, we reunited with our bandleader at the church, and all followed her through the foggy and soggy hills, and to the turn we had all missed, climbing a steep and twisty road…it was nearing 3 pm by this point!

The first point were told to stop was at the bottom of a steep hill, adjacent to a washed out, jagged and crumbling dirt road that couldn’t support vehicles. Foot soldiers were ordered to scope it out and find the idyllic location: the beloved oak tree.

view of location (left dark to indicate just how dark it was-lights in background indicate location)

When we finally stopped at the top of said hill, evident when we had to use, check and re-check emergency brakes and curb wheels, we were informed that the location was about ¼ mile down a winding foot path, that would take us to our beloved tree…a foot path that could not support any of our trucks orcars that we assumed would drive us directly to the location where we could unload …

The property and scenery were beautiful, picturesque and a perfect backdrop for the shoot… but how would we get us? all our gear? John’s drum set? to this idyllic spot?