This is the mission statement of my most recent business venture.  I am the co-founder of Bring Music Back To Chicago, as well as Nathan Klinger.  You can leave a post on here, go to our website www.bringmusicbacktochicago.com (still under maintenance, will be up Wed, April 8th, 2009), or email us at BringMusicBackToChicago@yahoo.com.  We appreciate your support and promotion of this new project.  Thank you!

Bring Music Back to Chicago
Back in the 1930’s and 1940’s, the Chicago jazz and blues scene was at it’s peak.  Musicians would come from far and wide to Chicago to lay down their tracks at legendary recording studios, most of which have either branched out to other locations and closed their Chicago locations, or just plain went out of business.  Since then, the Chicago music recording scene has become almost non-existent.
Our goal is to reach 1 million dollars in advertising revenue to bring music back to Chicago.  The 1 million dollars will be used to open a recording studio that will allow local and undiscovered bands to record their full-length debut album for FREE!  We will allow bands to submit their music for our consideration through a link on the main ad page.  This sets it up so that each person/band that wants to submit their music has to view the ad page first before they submit their songs, which will make the traffic on the website grow day by day.  This is beneficial to both the advertisers and the musicians.  There will be 1 million pixels available for ad space, which will be sold at $1 per pixel.  Anyone that purchased more than $250 in ad space will qualify to participate in the selection process in deciding which bands will have the opportunity to record their debut album for free.   This is what we like to call the “popular vote” and will be taken very seriously, however, ultimately, we will have the final say in who gets recorded.  We are going to choose a total of 10 bands to record.  We are not looking for any specific genre of music/musician.  All bands entries will be given serious consideration regardless of genre.  We will also assist in CD creation, design, and distribution as well as band merchandise.  From the point that the 1 million dollars is raised, the ads will stay up on the Bring Music Back to Chicago ad home page for a minimum of 1 year (or however long it takes to record, produce, create, and distribute all CDs and merchandise for all 10 bands).  News and events will be displayed on a web page that will be linked from the ad home page, which will give the musicians a chance to view the ads prior to viewing the news and events page.  Once the whole production process is completed, the Bring Music Back to Chicago ad home page will be cleared and put back up for sale.  You may ask why we are going to do that.  Well, the answer is that once the CD’s are completed and mastered and the merchandise is made, you will be able to purchase them through a link on the ad home page.  That means that everyone that wants to buy the CD’s and merchandise of the bands that we have recorded has to view the ad page first.  This will sky rocket the amount of traffic on the ad home page.  This would usually up the price of the ad space because it is more valuable and the volume in which your ad will be seen will increase, however we are keeping the price the same, $1 per pixel.
We will also be accepting donations.  If you don’t have anything to advertise or you don’t want an ad up, we will allow donations.  Even if it is just a $1, we will happily welcome it.  You can also say that you were a part of something great.  Same as buying ad space, if you donate more than $250, you will reap the benefits of helping in the decision process of choosing the bands.
Our vision is not to make money, but to bring the music recording and performance scene back to Chicago.  We want to give bands the opportunity to have their music recorded and heard by millions!  If this endeavor proves to be successful, we will keep the recording studio open and continue to record bands for as long as everyone will have us around.  Another positive to this project is that, if the 1 million dollars is raised and we are able to open up the recording studio, we will have a program that will allow college students to intern with our company, giving them real life music recording experience.  If you are wondering what the 1 million dollars is going to be spent on, let us provide you a list of what costs we are going to have to endure:
-Renting a space in downtown Chicago to transform into a recording studio.
-Building costs and utilities to get the studio up and running.
-Professional recording equipment (mixing boards, cables, computers, software, hardware, monitors, speakers, etc) and in studio instruments and accessories (guitars, basses, drum sets, keyboards, pianos, amplifiers, effect pedals, microphones, cables, etc.).
-Cost of actual production of CD’s and merchandise.
-Cost and maintenance of Bring Music Back to Chicago ad home page and other linked pages.
-Cost of living for 2 families.  (Because in order for us to devote our time and energy to this recording project, we aren’t going to be able to work as many hours at our everyday jobs).
If there are any other questions about our vision or our purpose, please leave us an email at BringMusicBacktoChicago@yahoo.com.  I hope you decide to support our cause and allow for us to bring the spirit and history of music back to Chicago, as well as giving bands the opportunity to get their music and message heard.  Thank you!
Rock On,

Michael Baier (Gladington McCoffee/TheCoffeeGuy85) & Nathan Klinger (Guitarman1244)

This is #16!  I have had an overwhelming response to my Tokio Hotel posting about a week ago.  Hopefully you will all also catch on to some other artists and songs and albums that I feature here on this blog.  Thanks for reading.  Enjoy

Artist:  30 Seconds to Mars           Song:  From Yesterday            Album:  A Beautiful Lie
This band was formed in 1998 by Jared Leto (Actor in such movies as Panic Room, Alexander, American Psycho, Fight Club and Requiem for a Dream, as well as others) and his brother Shannon. When coming up with the band’s name, they read a thesis by a Harvard professor.  One of the section of the thesis was entitled “thirty seconds to mars” and it talks about the exponential growth of technology that relates to humans and saying that we are quite literally thirty seconds to mars.  The band took that as a sign and thought that this thesis would best describe their music, in short.  This song appeared on their sophomore album A Beautiful Lie and was released as a single in 2005.  It was widely popular and proved that an acting to music transition can prove to be successful.  However, he was a musician before he was an actor, and someone scouted him to be a model and he modeled for 2 years prior to appearing in dozens of movies.  It is good to see that he is getting back to his roots of music.  They have an album coming out in April of 2009 and Jared Leto is also starring in a movie to be released this summer called Mr. Nobody.

Cheers,

Gladington McCoffee

The Guess Who…fantastic band!  This is one of my favorite bands of all times.  I hope you enjoy reading this and I hope you go download some of their music!  Enjoy!

Artist:  The Guess Who              Song:  These Eyes                Album:  Wheatfield Soul
The Guess Who started out as a local band in Winnipeg, Canada formed by singer/guitarist Chad Allan in 1960 and were originally called Al and the Silvertones.  In 1962, they changed their name to Chad Allan & The Reflections.  By 1966, the band had gone through so many musician changes that they felt they needed to change their name because they weren’t the same band anymore and they landed on The Guess Who.  This song was the 1969 ballad, which was the first Top 10 US hit for the band.  They where the first Canadian band to have a #1 single in the US.

Cheers,

Gladington McCoffee

Another day…another posting.  Enjoy all!

Artist:  Foo Fighters                Song:  Everlong              Album:  The Colour and the Shape
The Foo Fighters was formed by Dave Grohl (former drummer for Nirvana) and was supposed to be a one-man project, until he drafted Nate Mendel on bass.  He acquired a drummer and a guitarist to accompany his vocal and guitar talents.  The band went through many changed in personnel but today is comprised of Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, and Chris Shiflett.  The band has had 6 full length studio albums, 3 of which won Grammys for Best Rock Album, and all 6 have been nominated for Grammys.  After Nirvana, Grohl was offered many positions with various artists and almost accepted a permanent position as the drummer for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, but ultimately decided to form the Foo Fighters.  This song is from their biggest and most popular 2nd album entitled The Colour and the Shape, which was released in 1997.  This album spawned other hits such as “Monkey Wrench” and “My Hero” (featured in the movie Varsity Blues).  When you think of Foo Fighters, you think of this album and, most certainly, this song.

Cheers,

Gladington McCoffee

Hey ya’ll….oooo, I take that back…im not Southern at all.  Well regardless, here we go on #13!  Enjoy!

Artist:  Zero 7              Song:  Destiny              Album:  Simple Things
Zero 7 is a band only comprised of 2 guys, Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker.  Most people think they are many more people in the band because their first, and most successful, album, Simple Things, featured Mozez, Sia Furler and Sophie Barker on vocals.  “Destiny” features Sia Furler on vocals over the ambient music of Binns and Hardaker.  You will notice that in 4 more songs, you get to a song by Sia, which is Sia Furler’s band that sounds very much like Zero 7.  Most people get thrown off when they buy Zero 7’s second and last album because all of the vocal parts are male, instead of female.  Destiny was also featured in the movie Blue Crush.

Cheers,

Gladington McCoffee

#12 in the series.  I hope you’re lovin it!  yahooooooo!

Arist:  Rush             Song:  The Spirit of Radio           Album:  Permanent Waves
Most people think that Rush is an American band, however, they are actually Canadian and contains a masterful trio of members.  Geddy Lee is on lead vocals, bass and keyboards, Alex Lifeson on guitar, and drummer Neil Peart.  All three of these members are said to be 3 of the best musicians in their instruments of choice.  Alex Lifeson is always evaluated as one of the top 20 guitar players of all time.  Geddy Lee has a very unique voice and is a mastermind on bass, often recognized by his peers to play on their albums.  Neil Peart is, arguably, the best drummer of all time.  They are 4th behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold or platinum albums by a rock band.   Most of Rush’s songs are very long and epic, however they tried to scale it down a little bit to be more radio friendly for their 1980 album, Permanent Waves.  This featured their first single “The Spirit of Radio” on this album.  Even though the song is still clearing 5 minutes, it is still a large reduction from the previous 8 to 15 minute songs.

Cheers,

Gladington McCoffee

This is #11…I hope you’re prepared! Have a great Saturday!  Enjoy!

Artist:  Elliott Smith          Song:  A Fond Farewell            Album:  From a Basement on the Hill
Elliott Smith was so massively successful on the underground scene, even though he was supposed to be considered a mainstream artist.  His birth name is actually Steven Paul “Elliott” Smith.  He left his original band, Heatmiser, in 1994 to pursue a solo career.  He is most well known for his song “Miss Misery” that was released in 1997 and featured on the soundtrack for the movie Good Will Hunting and was subsequently nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.  This song is actually off of what was supposed to be his 6th studio album.  He bought a house in Los Angeles, and set up a recording studio so he didn’t have to leave his house.  He suffered from extreme depression, alcoholism and drug addiction for a lot of his later life.  At age 34, he died of 2, thought to be self-inflicted, stab wounds to the chest, but was also found with a lethal combination of prescription and illegal drugs and alcohol.  A burned CD was found just a foot away from his body, which was the final draft copy of the album he was writing.  The album, From a Basement on the Hill, was released posthumously in 2004.  This song is off that album and is probably the happiest, yet haunting song on the disc because it is a goodbye to all of his friends and family.  The whole CD is basically a memoir of his last few months alive.

Cheers,

Gladington McCoffee

It’s time for #10!  Let’s do it to it!

Artist:  Rod Stewart           Song:  Maggie May           Album:  Every Picture Tells a Story
Rod Stewart is a British singer/songwriter.  He came onto the scene in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s fronting The Jeff Beck Group and then Faces.  He was said to be very influential in the heavy metal and punk rock genres.  6 decades later, he has become an international sensation in his solo career.  This is probably his most notable single to date.  The song expresses the ambivalence and contradictory emotions of a young man involved in a relationship with an older woman.  This is said to have come from Stewart’s own experience.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Gladington McCoffee

Dunkin Donuts claims that in a nation blind taste test, more American’s prefereed the taste of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee over Starbucks.  They also claim to have the most fresh and well manicured beans of anyone in the coffee business.  It is a unique blend of “top rated” 100% Arabica beans from Central and South America.

What most people fail to understand is that Dunkin’ Donuts does not really appeal that much to true coffee lovers and drinkers.  I dont know if you have ever been to a Dunkin’ Donuts, but if you want cream or sugar, they put it in for you.  They use a thick, syrupy cream that comes out of a pump and regular granulated sugar.  They pump so much sweet cream and sugar to the cup of coffee that you can barely taste the coffee.  It does not specify in the blind taste test whether or not they allowed the participants to have cream or sugar in their coffee.  If they did, that would highly compromise the taste and body of the coffee.  The high percentage of coffee drinkers in the United States are not TRUE coffee drinkers or coinessuers, so of course they are going to love a drink that gives you a jumpstart to your day but is completely loaded with cream and sugar that you can barely taste the actual coffee.  Plus, Dunkin’ Donuts only has 2 types of regular coffee brewed a day, regular and decaf.

Starbucks brews 3 different types of coffee everyday, just as fresh and brewed as Dunkin’ Donuts.  They always offere a medium and a bold roast, as well as a decaf blend.  They also have countless different types of coffee beans from all over the world that you can purchase, have ground to take home, or have French Pressed right in the store for you to enjoy.  Does Dunkin’ Donuts do that?  Obviously the answer is NO!  Starbucks takes the best beans from all over the world to create a unique coffee experience, as well as hybrid coffee blends taken from different parts of the world.  If you LOVE coffee or you consider yourself a coinessuer, im sure you will agree that Dunkin’ Donuts is the “kids” version of coffee, loaded up with so many sweets that all you taste is a thick cream and a pound of sugar with a dash of “smooth”, fresh brewed coffee.  That is NOT coffee people!

In these commercials with Dunkin’ Donuts “outperforming” Starbucks in a blind taste tests, they take some jabs at Starbucks.  However, you may have noticed that Starbucks just took it in stride with no retaliation because they know that their coffee is superior and that people love it because they keep coming back, making Starbucks the most profitable coffee corporation in the world.

In conclusion, I feel that Dunkin’ Donuts is really catering to the common, run of the mill American coffee drinker that doesn’t really like the taste of coffee, but still wants something to wake them up in the morning!  To those people, I say…”EAT A FRICKEN’ APPLE!”.  Apple’s are the most common, potent and eye opening form of energy in the morning, or throughout the day.  Please, don’t ruin coffee for us true coffee lovers and coinesseurs by voting Dunkin’ Donuts, of all places, the #1 preffered coffee in the United States.  European coffee cultures have got to be laughing at us “American coffee drinkers” right now.  Dunkin’ Donuts…really?…come on!

Cheers,

Gladington McCoffee

Here’s #9 for you!  A Thank You is in order for the Tokio Hotel US Fanclub for a post on a recent installment of the music mini-bio series.  Enjoy this entry!

Artist:  Nick Drake           Song:  Pink Moon            Album:  Pink Moon
The story of Nick Drake is so unique.  He was English and was best known for his acoustic, mellow music.  He mostly played guitar on his tracks, even though he was proficient at piano, clarinet, and saxophone.  He was not very popular during his lifetime, just as Shakespeare.  He signed to Island Records when he was 20 (1968) and released his first album in 1969.  By 1972 he had recorded 2 more albums, none of which sold more than 5000 copies.  What was interesting is that he did not like to perform, which contributed to his lack of popularity.  He suffered from depression and insomnia throughout his life, and upon completion of his 1972 album Pink Moon, from which this song came, withdrew from performing and recording and moved to his parents’ house.  In November of 1974, he died from an overdose of prescribed anti-depressants at age 26.  His music never went out of print.

Cheers,

Gladington McCoffee