Bridge The Atlantic

This week we're joined by Patrice K. Cokley, founder of The Bassline Group - a music-inspired brand management and marketing firm based in Chicago, helping to empower musicians and creative entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and reach a wider audience. In this episode, we talk about branding, the importance of authenticity and Patrice's love for Miss Janet Jackson!Highlights:- Patrice is a fan of the show!- Patrice HAS to see Janet Jackson live. She just has to.- Patrice has a lot of praise for Ross (he designed The Bassline Group’s website)- We hear about the beginnings of The Bassline Group and what Patrice does.- The Bassline is a metaphor - it’s the foundation of a song, and it’s the foundation of your career- We talk about the importance of branding for musicians- Your brand is not just your music or your appearance - it’s about showing more of who you are as a person- Ross says Marcio talks about being vegan all the time (which is kind of true)- We talk about how Marcio talking about veganism online has opened the door to new opportunities- Marcio ALWAYS uses Jared Leto as an example- Patrice tells us how she likes to get to know her clients on a personal level as it helps her to spot opportunities that they might not have thought about- Brand sounds too business-y - we need a new word!- People can spot fakery so easily - be authentic!- Newsflash! it’s 2015, not 1995. Thanks for that, Marcio.- Patrice never lets her clients go outside looking crazy!- We talk about some common mistakes artists make in their approach to branding and marketing.Advice:- As an artist, you need to show who you are as that’s what your audience will fall in love with- People gravitate towards what they can relate to- Having a niche is great, as long as it’s authentic to you- Your brand encompasses everything about you- If you love a particular product, post about it and see if any opportunities arise- If you’re releasing some new music, you need to be consistent in your approach and start your promotion at least 3 months before release.- You have to be able to take constructive criticism.Recommendations:- Janet Jackson (Music)- Joie Kathos (Music)- Jurni Rayne (Music)- Reina Williams (Music)Guest Links:- Website: http://thebasslinegroup.com- Twitter: @thebasslinegrp- Instagram: @thebasslinegrp- Facebook: /thebasslinegrp Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are joined by Topi Latukka & Ossi Mäkelä of Finnish pop-rock band Softengine. Softengine finished 11th in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with their track “Something Better” and have had some major chart success in their native Finland with their album “We Created The World” peaking at #7 in the charts. The band have just released their latest single “All About You And I” with a new album on the way. In this interview we hear about the band's experience at Eurovision, the music they've been working on, and we attempt to speak some Finnish...Highlights:- Softengine’s goal is to make the best music in the world- Topi and Ossi’s English is WAY better than Ross and Marcio’s Finnish (as evident later in the episode)- Ross describes Eurovision as the best thing in the world and is not ashamed to say it- Ross says his favourite Eurovision entries of 2015 were Latvia, Belgium and Sweden (but forgot to mention Norway... which was actually his #1 favourite)- Topi and Ossi tell us about their experience of performing at Eurovision in 2014- We hear how “All About You and I” was written with Martin Garrix in mind, but as Topi missed the deadline, it ended up being reworked for Softengine’s new album- We hear that the band’s new album is going to be released in 2 parts - one happier, and one darker- Topi tells us how he sometimes writes for other artists, and how the process differs from writing for Softengine- Topi and Ossi tell us a funny story about two identical twins who wanted a photo with Ossi in Copenhagen- Ross attempts to say some Finnish words and fails miserably- Topi and Ossi (almost) share a brain and have never tried kale- Ross tries to describe his latest blog post and completely fails. Luckily Marcio knows more about it than he does.More:- Read the full show notes at http://bridge-the-atlantic.com/044- Follow us on Twitter at @bridge_atlantic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Music publicist and blogger Angela Mastrogiacomo joins us on the show this week. Angela is the owner of Muddy Paw PR and Infectious Magazine and has worked with a wide range of musicians. Angela also started Balanced Breakfast in Toronto - a weekly meetup which encourages artists to networking by eating breakfast together, and is currently launching more of these groups across the US and Canada. In this episodes, we talk about the role of a music publicist, press releases and the importance of building relationships in the music business.Highlights:- Marcio is a seasoned pro at episode introductions- Angela’s dog is her best friend and she is totally ok with that- We hear why Angela launched her PR company, Muddy Paw PR- We discuss some of the bad press releases we’ve received- Angela tells us about Balanced Breakfast and why musicians should attend- Marcio hasn’t attended Balanced Breakfast in a while, and Angela says he is dead to her- We discuss the importance of networking and how it’s not always instant - sometimes the connections you make will come back weeks or months later- We need a new term for networking - any ideas?- We talk about the importance of working with a team that you like - it’s about relationships!- Angela tells us how many bands/artists have unrealistic expectations from their publicist- Angela’s dog Sawyer wants to have his say- We discuss how an artist’s personality can make us love their music even more- Angela shares her love for our past guest, Charlotte Eriksson- If anyone knows of a yoga class that won’t make Angela feel like she’s joining a cult, get in touch- Ross names a Celine Dion song based on the music video (and he isn’t even that big a fan)- This interview has been very pleasurable for everyone involvedMore:- Full show notes at http://bridge-the-atlantic.com/043- Follow us on Twitter: @bridge_atlantic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toronto based jazz vocalist, songwriter and musician Luke Maxim joins us on Bridge The Atlantic this week. Luke is a graduate of the prestigious Humber College Jazz program and he has performed at some of the hottest jazz clubs in Toronto including The Rex, Lula Lounge, Reservoir Lounge. His new album “Stay” is due for release in late 2015. In this interview we talk about education vs experience, specialising in a niche genre and try to define what "selling out" means.Highlights:- Luke has a captive audience for this interview in the form of multiple cats and dogs- We discuss how well dressed Luke is when he performs- We discuss how David Beckham seems to either be wearing a suit, or just wearing underwear- Luke tells us how important education and networking has been for him- We ask Luke for his take on education vs experience (the dogs seem to have an opinion on this debate, too)- Luke and Marcio talk about the role genre can play in how important education can be- We hear about Luke’s love of melody and how that has helped guide his musical direction- Luke tells us what he learned by performing with and meeting some established performers including the Gipsy Kings and Jully Black- We talk about Luke’s upcoming album and shower him with compliments on the previews we heard- We veer off topic a little and talk about Dave Grohl for a while- We all still think the 90s are 10 years ago- Luke tells us how he makes the jazz genre work for him, by finding a balance between jazz and pop- We hear Luke’s definition of selling out - and it’s doing something that isn’t honest and genuine to you, musically- We talk about pop music and how there is a lot of good pop music like what you like, and don’t be ashamed of that- We challenge Luke to incorporate twerking into his next performance, and then it all goes a little too far- We have a lot of praise for Seth Macfarlane- Luke manages to predict our final question… which has never happened before!More:- See the full show notes at http://bridge-the-atlantic.com/042- Follow us on Twitter: @Bridge_Atlantic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining us this week is Chris Keaton, an artist manager, music publisher and author based in Nashville. Chris has had tracks cut by Trisha Yearwood and Martina McBride, and has had music placed in TV shows such as Nashville and One Life to Live. Early in the interview he describes himself as fabulous, and after speaking to him, we would have to agree!Highlights:- Chris owes his career in the music industry to The Beatles- Music publishers have the nicest houses, nicest cars and all year tans- Your website is the first impression you’re going to make online, so make it a good one!- Don’t take no for an answer. No = Maybe. Maybe = Yes.- We hear about LML Music Nashville - the imprint label that Chris has just launched- Chris’s crystal ball is broken and the music landscape is constantly shifting- Chris tells us about some of the artists he is currently working with- One of Chris’s artists was commissioned to write the official state song for Virginia- We hear how Chris manages to stay relevant in the music industry- Chris tells us about a time he threw his own demo tape in the trash in order to get a meeting- Marcio has a similar story about getting a meeting at EMI records - being direct and persistent can work!- We hate the term networking, but by doing this show we ARE networking- Can Chris help you? Don’t be afraid to reach out!- Ross is going to update his vocabulary so that “no” now means “maybe”- Even the biggest names in the business have been rejected- We need more people like Chris in the music industry- Marcio has forgotten Ross’s name- Chris shares his opinion on The Voice vs American Idol and music reality shows in generalAdvice:- When you walk into a room, you either need to be the centre of attention or the second best dressed person in the room- Impressions are all that we have to leave - put your best foot forward- When being a business person is hindering your creativity, that’s when you need a manager- Everyone else in the business is just like us - we’re all running on the same levels of fear and excitement- At the end of the day, the only thing you’ve got is your network- You can have all the talent in the world, but if no-one knows about it, it doesn’t matter- If you’re not doing it, you’re not doing it- Be nice, be diligent and be presentMore:- Full show notes at http://bridge-the-atlantic.com/041- Follow us on Twitter: @Bridge_Atlantic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re joined by Emmy Award winning director Elizabeth Rohrbaugh. Elizabeth spent ten years as a director, writer and editor at MTV Networks and is now the creative director of Outer Borough Pictures. Her latest short film “Dylan” premiered at the St. Louis International Film Festival 2014, and screened at the Boston LGBT Film Festival, Queer Fest, and the Melbourne Queer Film Festival. Highlights:- Being vegetarian/vegan IS a competition- Elizabeth and Marcio have way too much in common- Bridge The Atlantic is a non-romantic matchmaking service- We hear about Elizabeth’s time at MTV and the experience of working with household names- Elizabeth’s career highlights have been the most creative ones- We hear about Elizabeth’s feature documentary “The Perfect Victim” which has been picked up by The World Channel- Elizabeth tells us about her latest short film Dylan which arose from an interview with a childhood friend- We hear how Elizabeth had to turn a 2 hour long interview into an 8 minute short film - we think she did an amazing job!- Elizabeth tells us about the casting of Dylan and how lucky she feels to find Becca Blackwell to play the part- When Elizabeth was younger, she poured a soda on someone’s head because they said she wasn’t married to Michael J Fox- We learn that they serve alcohol in the movie theatres in St LouisMore:- Full show notes at http://bridge-the-atlantic.com/040- Follow us on Twitter: @bridge_atlantic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re joined by San Francisco based theatrical rock and roll powerhouse, Kat Robichaud. Drawing on the momentum of her top 10 spot on NBC’s The Voice as well as almost a decade of experience in the music industry, Kat has released her latest album “Kat Robichaud and the Darling Misfits” in early 2015. As well as the usual topics of love and heartbreak, Kat is unafraid to tackle the issue of gender inequality in her music, and that’s just one of the many reasons we love her. In this interview, we hear all about Kat's experience on The Voice, her love for Marilyn Manson, and we all agree how much we dislike sports.Highlights:- Kat tells us why she decided to audition for The Voice- We talk about the audition process and Kat tells us how she was terrified by it- Marcio shares a story about kissing another girl in front of his girlfriend in high school (it’s not as bad as it sounds…)- We chat about Kat’s awesome new album, Kat Robichaud and the Darling Misfits- One of our listeners has a question for Kat: who are The Darling Misfits? Kat explains all!- Kat tells us about a performance on The Voice that wasn’t presented in the way it was intended, and sets the record straight- We hear the story behind “Of Course There’s Still Room” on Kat’s latest album- We talk about Kat’s video for “Why Do You Love Me Now?” and the inspiration behind it- Kat tells us about some tough times she had in high school and how she confronted the people years later for an explanation- We discover that Marcio and Kat are a little too similar- Kat tells us how she attends a meetup called Balanced Breakfast and we realise we all have a mutual friend!- We talk about how difficult it can be to make a living when people aren’t buying music like they used to- If you have an artist you really love, seek them out and help them- Kat tells us about the reality of touring or playing live when you have a band to pay (and also when there’s a sports game on…)- Marcio exercises some self restraint and manages to avoid a 20 minute rant against sports.- We all hate sports. Sorry.- Kat compares our 20 questions section to Sophie’s Choice- Instead of trying to follow a trend, you need to be a trendsetterMore:- Full show notes at http://bridge-the-atlantic.com/039- Follow us on Twitter: @bridge_atlantic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest this week is LA-based Danish singer/songwriter Tim Schou. Formerly the frontman of A Friend In London, Tim has done more in the past 5 years than many artists have done in 20. With his band, Tim finished 5th in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, has collaborated with Carly Rae Jepsen and toured Europe with the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block. As a solo artist, Tim has won multiple Danish TV talent shows, performed in musicals, starred in commercials and most recently signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV.Highlights:- “Music is what makes the world go around” - Tim Schou, 2015- Ross and Tim enlighten Marcio as to what Eurovision is (hint: it's awesome)- We talk about Tim’s track “Supernova” and how it is stuck in our head- We talk about Tim’s Eurovision experience and how it impacted on his band after the contest- Tim tells us a story he was told about The Crab Mentality- We talk about egos and how having an ego is not always a bad thing- Tim shares what he has learned from touring with the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block- Tim beat AJ from the Backstreet Boys at Ping Pong- We hear about Tim’s recent signing to Sony/ATV and what his plans are- We talk about Tim’s StageIt shows and how he invites other artists to perform with him to showcase other talent- Tim’s fans = friends. We like that.- We talk about the power of collaboration and sharing connections to help each other- Tim introduces us to this new thing called Google- Tim has made Ross’s lifeMore:- Full show notes at http://bridge-the-atlantic.com/038- Follow us on Twitter: @bridge_atlantic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jo-Na Williams is an attorney and business advisor for artists and entrepreneurs. In 2011, she founded JA Williams Law: The Artist Empowerment Firm and has worked with clients who have been nominated for Grammys, listed in the Billboard Top 100, Amazon and ITunes Top Album Charts. In this episode we about Jo-Na's work, why creatives should hire an attorney and we are branded "The Awkwards."Highlights:- Unlike the perception many people may have of lawyers, Jo-Na is very friendly. We think that could be an understatement.- Marcio and Jo-Na love Oprah (and Ross does too… just more quietly)- We hear how moving around helped Jo-Na gain different perspectives and insight into how different (yet similar) people are- Jo-Na tells us about her other business, Artist Empowerment- Ross and Jo-Na share stories about what they wanted to be when they were kids- Jo-Na brands us “The Awkwards” and we love it- We hear about the experiences that led to Jo-Na focusing on musicians in her law firm- We need more creative energy in the world, and the law should empower, rather than hinder, artists to create- Jo-Na gives us a basic overview of how contracts work in the context of hiring someone to create a work-for-hire- When someone is hiring you to create, they are essentially paying for your talent- We talk about the importance of reputation in the creative industries- Did you know Jo-Na hasn’t owned a TV since 2007?- Jo-Na makes being a lawyer cool, and the entertainment industry is where all of the crazy lawyers goMore:- Full show notes at http://bridge-the-atlantic.com- Follow us on Twitter: @bridge_atlantic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Benson, guitarist and synth player of Louisiana based post-hardcore band, Secondborn joins us on the show this week. The band is completely self funded and produced, and is made up of six individuals who have all been part of bands that have almost made it. Tim tells us all about his experiences in the music industry and about Secondborn’s upcoming EP, “Symbols.”Highlights:- Secondborn are based in Louisiana, not LA - Ross forgot the state abbreviations ;)- Being a nerd is ok in 2015!- Marcio and Tim bond over “The Power of Now”- We discuss how it can be difficult to find others who are motivated and determined to collaborate with- Tim shares the idea behind the approach Secondborn are taking (building an audience online vs touring)- There is no right or wrong way to do things in the music industry, and a lot of it is down to trial and error- Tim tells us why Secondborn self-produced their record- We discuss the pros/cons of comparisons to other bands- Tim shares the vision for Secondborn’s future, and that doesn’t necessarily mean signing to a label- We talk about how the business side of music can distract from the creative side, so it’s important to bring others on board to keep productive- Tim feels like he has an anti-bass player aura- We hear how Secondborn recruited Alex (their bass player) just by asking questions- Tim tells us how some girls tried to dance to his previous band’s songs on stage, but couldn’t figure out the time signatures- Marcio is going to be turned into a meme- Ross would like to see Bette Midler dressed up as The Riddler… how would that look?- Tim is one of the most eclectic guests we’ve had on the show- Twitter, Facebook and Instagram = the holy trinity of social mediaMore:- Full show notes at http://bridge-the-atlantic.com/036- Follow us on Twitter at @bridge_atlantic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.