Hectic Music Week: EMP Pop Conference, Music & the Brain, Record Store Day, Coachella, NAB Show, WBAR-B-Q, and KFJC Bowling Party

The next 10 days are jam-packed with music and radio-related events, including conferences, festivals, and parties being hosted by college radio stations. Who said music wasn't alive and well??


EMP Pop Conference (April 16-19, 2009)

First of all, the annual Experience Music Project (EMP) Pop Conference starts in Seattle today (through Sunday, April 19th). Sadly, I won't be there this year, but I attended in 2008 (and posted a bunch of summaries) and it was an insane who's who of rock-star journalists (and musicians and academics). I love getting all intellectual about music and have given papers at similar events put on by the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (their annual conference is in San Diego in May).

This year I was particularly excited to hear that two of my idols: David Grubbs (amazing musician from Gastr del Sol, Squirrel Bait, etc. AND an academic) and Holly Kruse (wrote a great book Site and Sound: Understanding Independent Music Scenes, which is one of the few pieces of academic research that covers college radio and indie music) will be on a panel together. Super bummed to be missing that. But, I am looking forward to watching the blog-space for full reports from you lucky folks soaking in the conference.

For the college radio angle on the conference, check out some of the blog posts by affiliated station KEXP, including some interviews with this year's participants.

Symposium on Music and the Brain: Spontaneity and Improvisation (April 17-18, 2009)

I just heard about this fascinating free conference at Stanford University, all focused on the neuroscience of music and improvisation.

Record Store Day (Saturday, April 18, 2009)

This Saturday, April 18th is Record Store Day, a chance to show your support for your local record shop. See the website for all the details, including testimonials from various artists. The global celebration will include special events at record stores, ranging from live performances, to deals on limited edition releases. Major labels, like Warner Brothers are even involved, hyping some of their special vinyl releases. You can search for local participating stores here. Among the many events, Amoeba Records will be having live performances and giveaways at their stores in San Francisco, Berkeley and Hollywood.

Coachella (April 17-19, 2009)

Oh, and, um, there's this massive music festival, Coachella, out in the desert of Southern California this weekend too. Lots of indie-ish bands (and big ones too) over the course of 3 days (April 17-19), from Paul McCartney to Vivian Girls and everything in-between. I'm not sure if any college radio stations will be broadcasting from there, but there will be a live webcast on the AT&T site. Public/college radio station KCRW will be there and they are promoting the fest on their website with links to in-studio performances by Coachella artists.

NAB Show (April 18-23)

This weekend there is also the massive National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, which includes a bunch of different conferences within the conference (Broadcast Management, Broadcast Engineering, etc.) and NAB Show. Sounds like it covers all kinds of content, including radio, TV, video games, Internet, and technology in general.

BEA 2009 Convention (April 22-25, 2009)

Following NAB, the Broadcast Education Association hosts their 2009 convention in Las Vegas, where broadcast researchers and educators convene to chat about radio and broadcasting in general. This year's conference theme is related to ethics.

KFJC Listener Appreciation Party (April 25, 2009)

The station where I DJ, KFJC, is starting its 50th anniversary celebration with a Listener Appreciation Party at Redwood Lanes in Redwood City on Saturday, April 25th starting at 8pm. It's free and there will be bowling, bands and DJs spinning live. Death Sentence: PANDA! and Slow Poisoner are on the bill, as well as KFJC DJs Cy Thoth, Cadillac Margarita, Captain Jack, and Belladonna. We're also hoping that lots of alumni DJs will come to the party.

WBAR-B-Q (April 26, 2009)

WBAR (the Barnard College radio station that I visited last month) hosts their annual WBAR-B-Q on the Barnard campus in New York City. It's a free event with a great lineup of live bands including Gang Gang Dance and Metalux. Read all about it on Brooklyn Vegan.

How many of these events will you be partaking in?