San Diego Music Thing Preview: Ben Taylor

About a year ago I caught wind of some free music by Ben Taylor, perhaps via NoiseTrade or some other give-us-your-email-we'll-give-you-a-song type site, and I've been loosely paying attention to him ever since. The son of James Taylor and Carly Simon, Ben's music stands on its own and you can see him at 10:30pm on Friday night as part of the San Diego Music Thing at the Sunset Temple for an all ages show. Here's what his press release has to say:

Listening is the follow up to Taylor’s critically acclaimed 2008 release The Legend Of Kung Folk - Part 1 (the Killing Bite). His latest effort seamlessly merges the sounds and styles of folk, pop, soul, urban, reggae and country/western, running the gamut from sonically spacious acoustic numbers to multi-layered vocals and fresh beats.

Ben Taylor’s music is marked by a noted honesty and authenticity of feeling, starting with his tuneful and expressive voice, the kind of voice that makes its impact with the smallest turn of a whispered phrase. His memorable melodies, immaculate acoustic guitar playing and insightful, honest lyrics have been captivating fans since the moment he embarked on this journey ten years ago. As the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon, Ben has led a life so far in which music has always played a central role. His wit and skill as a singer-songwriter showcases an artist who is comfortable both in his own skin and with his impressive musical legacy. His acclaimed previous releases comprise his debut album 2003’s Famous Among The Barns, 2005’s Another Run Around The Sun, and 2008’s The Legend of Kung Folk, Part 1 (The Killing Bite). Highlights from his previous albums include appearances on Good Morning America, The Tonight Show, The CBS Early Show, Last Call with Carson Daly and Howard Stern. Ben also made his acting debut with a recurring role on NBC’s American Dreams and has appeared in the pages of People Magazine, Vogue and even on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. His reviews and raves have been steady for over a decade now with more to come. Ben Taylor has previously toured with Sheryl Crow, Blues Traveler and Ziggy Marley among others.

See his video of "Oh Brother" below.

San Diego Music Thing: Ticket Clarification

Tonight Kevin Hellman, president of the San Diego Music Foundation, sent an email out to badgeholders with instructions about pickup. There are some points that are important to emphasize, namely that presale tickets for Pinback and Father John Misty are SOLD OUT. This is the email (my emphasis).

Just a quick note about badge pick up for the San Diego Music Thing. Our registration area at the Lafayette Hotel will be open from 10am-7pm on Friday and Saturday to pick up your badges. They should be preprinted and ready to go when you arrive. The hotel is located at 2223 El Cajon Blvd., in North Park. Please bring an ID, so our volunteer staff won't have any trouble getting you your badge. 

One thing to note: If you plan to go to the Father Johny Misty show or the Pinback show, please plan to get to those venues early. We have presold 50% of each venue for both shows, and capacity is limited. After presale tickets, badges will get priority, followed by wristbands. However once the room is at capacity, you may get turned away. So please plan to arrive early at those venues, if you are going to attend either of those shows. 

We'll see you this weekend for the 5th annual San Diego Music Thing.

Please understand what this means. The Casbah's capacity is 250, so if half the tickets were presold, there's not a lot of wiggle room for a mad rush of people. Most venues will observe a one out/one in policy once they reach capacity, but if there's a band you MUST see this weekend, you might consider settling in to that one venue for the night. Naturally, this draws the ire of badgeholders, but ideally this event will grow such that there won't be any need for individual show presales and we'll have an overwhelming response to the badge system, but until that day, this is the way the Thing's gotta fly.

This Weekend: San Diego Music Thing!!

The weekend is nearly upon us and so it's time to talk about the San Diego Music Thing. I've actually been a little bit surprised at how so many of my own friends don't know about or understand what exactly goes on, so here's the basic rundown.

Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15, sees the return of the San Diego Music Thing. Think of it less as a "festival" and more of a conference. In the daytime, there are workshops and keynote speakers at the Lafayette Hotel. Topics like Music Industry 101, Marketing, Publishing, and Touring will all be covered. Keynote speakers include Martin Atkins of Public Image Ltd, Wayne Kramer of MC5, and Chuck D of Public Enemy.

By night, the city's music venues open up with showcases featuring local and touring bands. You can see the full schedule here, but I'll also put them after the jump so you can get them on your mobile device easily throughout the weekend.

It seems the biggest point of confusion is the ticketing, so just to clear things up, you can buy tickets here. You can buy a wristband for the full weekend for $55 or for just one day for $35. These wristbands get you into all of the workshops, panels, and keynotes as well as ANY of the nighttime showcases (based on venue capacity, of course). There are also PRESALE tickets for certain showcases available on the same ticketing page. This is recommended if you're not interested or available for the daytime events and you know you just want to go to one venue for the night. For the showcases that don't have presales, they too, will be charging cover at the doors for people without wristbands. The cover charges are usually $10 per venue. If you have a wristband, you do not need to purchase additional venue tickets, but venues will be subject to capacity so plan your nights accordingly. It's gonna be tough hopping around, but I think I'll be hitting up Bar Pink, Casbah, and Sunset Temple on Friday night, with Bar Pink, Claire de Lune, and the Casbah on my Saturday agenda. Of course, that could all change depending on transportation, so we'll see, but you can be sure I'll be Foursquaring/Tweeting all weekend.

Full schedule after the jump.

Tonight: Peter Wolf Crier at Sunset Temple

Four Day Weekend kicks off tonight at Sunset Temple and I know I said I'm on the fence about going, but I remembered I shot these videos a while back when Peter Wolf Crier played at Habitat House and I just might have to go see them again. There are still a few tickets left if ya wanna check it out.

Sunday: Benefit for Kiko Cornejo & Andy Esparza

Got this little press release from my buddy Steve Kader:

Longtime San Diego Latin Jazz band Storm & its leaders timbalero/vibist Kiko Cornejo & bassist Andy Esparza will be honored at an all-ages tribute/benefit show on Sun., Feb. 28, 2010 from 6pm to 12am at The Sunset Temple in the neighborhood of North Park.

The Sunset Temple is located at 3911 Kansas St. San Diego, CA 92104 behind the Claire de Lune coffee house & live entertainment will be provided by Latin Jazz legend Jack “Mr. Bongo” Costanzo & His Orchestra featuring trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, conguero Gene Perry’s Afro Rumba, guitarist Jose Molina Serrano’s Viva Santana, & Storm.

Kiko Cornejo has recently gone through health issues & Andy Esparza has also recently dealt with family health issues & a $15 minimum donation will benefit them & their families. Cornejo & Esparza are legends in the Latin music scene in San Diego & have played with greats like Cal Tjader, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Poncho Sanchez, Pete Escovedo, Santana, Malo, & Azteca through the years. The event will be hosted by local trumpeter Bill Caballero, promoter/dj/journalist Steve Kader, KSDS Jazz 88.3 Radio Host Chris Springer of the Latin Grooves Show, & local salsa/Latin jazz promoter Tommy Rosas of Latin Flavor Productions. DJs SK & Sachamo will also be spinning classic salsa & Latin jazz & many unannounced celebrity musician special guests will also be attending.