Vinyl Mag – Page 46 – Founded in Athens, GA.

Ricked Wicky (aka Robert Pollard) – “Tomfoole Terrific”

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Kelsey Butterworth

It is endlessly astounding that Robert Pollard has any more music to give us. The former frontman for now-defunct Guided By Voices used the past few decades to build and polish his reputation as indie rock’s most stoned chatterbox, releasing over 20 LPs with room to spare. One wonders if Pollard is truly guided by voices who hail from a nearby astral plane, eager to be his muses. So despite GBV’s 2014 split, Pollard wasn’t going to let a silly break up stop him from recording new songs.

Singing Mountie spawn: our nation’s collective worst nightmare

Enter Ricked Wicky, Pollard’s new(ish) solo stage name. They’ve got a debut under their belt in I Sell The Circus, and their sophomore King Heavy Metal is slated for sometime this summer. (In between RW releases, Pollard unsurprisingly released a solo record under his own name a mere few months ago.) King Heavy Metal‘s lead single “Tomfoole Terrific” is Pollard-esque in every way – its loose, crunchy guitars sound like early Weezer surf metal, and ol’ Robbie’s familiar croak simmers underneath. As always, he sings in half thoughts and barely-remembered memories painted with an oft-used brush of vaguely Midwestern nostalgia. He may sound older and a little wearier, but he’s still got plenty on his mind. Hail, hail.

Listen to the song over at Stereogum, and keep your eyes peeled for King Heavy Metal.

A Woman’s Love Affair with her Jeans

Posted on June 19, 2015June 19, 2015 by Jackie Kinney

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Stuck on the First Date

He’s almost got something—but there’s a huge part of the spark missing. He’s halfway there, if only he could read a few more dating self-help books to really put him over the edge. He’s like that movie that continues to come back for yet another sequel that can never touch the original, or the turkey that won’t quite brown.

The jean version of the mid-way man? Cropped jeans, a few inches below the knee. Only halfway to your ankle but all the way to your heart, giving you a look that covers both polished and casual. Like these cropped skinny jeans.

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Ryn Weaver: “The Fool”

Posted on June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 by Andrew Plaskowsky

In the record industry, youth is one of the most important factors in the development of an artist. It’s no secret that the distribution of many mainstream musicians work is being controlled by ageism – see the Madonna/BBC debacle from earlier this year. Labels desire the young – most profitable — artists, but also want the artist’s musical output to reflect a cohesive, focused direction of someone much older.

Enter Ryn Weaver, a 22 year old indie pop singer-songwriter, whose viral hit “OctaHate” commanded attention a year ago with its sugar rush of a chorus and bouncy percussion hook courtesy of Cashmere Cat. Almost a full year later, Weaver has finally released her debut LP The Fool through Interscope Records and Mad Love. Those expecting an entire album full of the same type of single will be disappointed, however the record is a tightly cohesive set of 11 songs that all encompass emotions surrounding youth.

Album opener “Runaway” plays like the opening credits of a film. Weaver’s signature falsetto has been tampered with to heighten the emotion packed in lyrics like “They tell me temper, temper little lady / Better bite that tongue, it is not becoming” before distant warbles and tribal drums dominate the mix. The song sets up the rest of the record as Weaver replays criticisms she’s encountered due to her age and how she ignores them in favor of staying true to herself.

“Pierre” serves as a foil to “Runaway” as Weaver critiques her own actions on behalf of her naivety. She describes her relationship with a man “Pierre” and how her experiences with other men have left her both hopelessly infatuated with him and unable to be vulnerable. What sounds sad on paper ends up sounding joyous with quickly delivered spoken vocals and an effervescent chorus that provides just enough optimism for the closing line “I’ll come around.”

The record’s most heartfelt moment falls near the end with “Traveling Song,” a track that Weaver wrote for her late grandfather. While a large part of the album is focused on the boundlessness of her youth, “Traveling Song” is introspective in a way that reflects her acknowledgement that everything in life is fleeting. The emotional poignancy of the a-capella outro rivals the first verse of “Sail On,” but it means so much more when there’s a specific individual to accompany the song with lyrics like “On the very last day he said ‘shoot for your dreams, little girl, to the stars’ / well I’m taking you with me, now this one is ours.”

It’s effortless to like Weaver’s personality in interviews and with the release of The Fool; it shows her as someone who is unabashedly herself at all costs. The record was completed on her own terms with careful attention to the detailing of each song to create a mood and cohesive theme throughout. With a remarkably self-aware record, Weaver has begun her foray to becoming a must-know artist.

4.5/5

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-fool/id974785939

15 Must-See Artists At AthFest [PLAYLIST]

Posted on June 15, 2015June 15, 2015 by Kelsey Butterworth

You already know you can count on Vinyl Mag for all your AthFest coverage needs, and we figured that with such a killer lineup this year, you might need help cherry-picking which artists to see. Peep this playlist of some of our favorite bands, both big and small. As per the usual, don’t overlook the deep cuts.

As with every year, the free outdoor stages are fantastic – but you’re REALLY missing out if you don’t do the club crawl. Get your wristband here.

CUSSES at Caledonia on June 12

Posted on June 13, 2015June 13, 2015 by Kelsey Butterworth

On Friday night – well, Saturday morning, really – the Caledonia crowd was treated to some electrifying punk ‘n roll courtesy of Savannah quasi-locals CUSSES. The impossibly loud trio, made up of lead singer Angel, guitarist Bryan, and drummer Brian, played a no-muss-no-fuss set of L.A. glam rock with jagged industrial edges, and as with any good rock show, things got a little weird.

Like I said, these three sure made a racket. Every song saw Bryan headbanging to his axe, Brian’s arms swinging madly at his kit, and Angel convulsing and high-stepping about the stage. Corny as it may seem, the woman has literal moves like Jagger. She kicked and raged around like a punk rock Ke$ha (for the record, I’m positive I’m not the first to make that comparison), perfectly physically conveying the leather clad spunk in their music.

As omnipresent as punk may be at the Caledonia, CUSSES were also able to seamlessly blend their Black Flag influences with metal, hardcore and hair alike. Much of Bryan’s METZ-y riffage unironically drew from hair metal and stadium rock bombast (now would be a good time to mention Angel’s RATT shirt). “I’m Gonna Get You” feels like L.A. in the 1980’s, whereas “The Wait Is Over” sounds like Metallica’s bottom fell out.

But even metal from Georgia dabbles in performance art from time to time, and CUSSES were no exception. There were distortion jams and otherworldly time signatures; there was upside down cymbal playing; and there was a whole lot of intense eye contact. Nothing within five hours of Athens is without its experimental side.

Punk, rock, metal, glam, yada yada yada – the interesting thing about CUSSES was their ability to flirt with all those different genres without plunging into one too obviously. “Hey You” even approached pop at times, blasphemous as that may be, but it was all blended so well, trivial labels simply fell away. In short, CUSSES are like the fidgety ‘problem child’ at an elementary school – they may not seem like they fit into any particular category, and authority figures may be a little freaked out by ’em, but they’re destined to become the cool kid that everyone wants to hang with.

Green & Sustainable Vibes

Posted on June 5, 2015June 4, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

Nestled along the Connecticut shoreline, surrounded by historic Bridgeport, lies 325 acres of lush stretches of lawn, towering trees, beautiful beaches and spectacular views of Long Island Sound. Not only is Seaside Park a summer destination for beachgoers, it is also home to Gathering of the Vibes.

In its twentieth year, Gathering of the Vibes will return to Seaside Park this summer (July 30-August 2) and celebrate this momentous year with a lineup that includes the likes of Wilco, The String Cheese Incident, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Weezer, Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, and many many others.

While the festival boasts a stellar lineup year after year, the true headliner of the weekend is Seaside Park. There are not many festivals where your campsite is situated in a beautiful park along a waterfront. While the park makes for an incredible backdrop, festival attendees also must take extra care of the environment around them.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), trash and litter along our coasts and in our waterways can be harmful to our health, the environment, and the economy. Most marine debris that ends up in the water is man-made and begins its journey on land; this is trash that is not recycled or properly thrown away on land. For example, litter left behind by festival goers at Gathering of the Vibes could be picked up by the wind or washed out by rain and end up in the ocean. Any debris that finds its way into coastal waters not only affects the appearance of the surrounding waters, but also has potential to harm many kinds of animals and wreak havoc on the ecosystem.

As the festival has grown over the years, so has the consciousness of festival sustainability and the local marine ecosystem. We chatted with Harry Moran, Sustainability Director for Gathering of the Vibes, to talk about Vibes’ green initiative, Green Vibes, the festival’s annual beach cleanup, and tips for helping keep the festival eco-friendly.

“With my passion for sustainability, I’ve always been thinking about ways to minimize our onsite footprint and harness the power of our community for positive change,” said Moran as he talked about the creation of Green Vibes. “The event has always had a very real commitment to this but with the ongoing support of Ken Hays [Founder of Gathering of the Vibes], I was able to put together a dedicated Sustainability and Outreach program to coordinate and expand all of the different components.”

The goals of Green Vibes are simple: reduce negative human impact on the ecosystems and encourage responsible stewardship toward the land, air, sea, and renewable energy resources. Green Vibes looks to harness the power of our musical community and the Vibes family and transform the world by going beyond “leaving nothing but footprints.”

Each year, with the help of the Green Vibes program Vibes makes further strides towards reducing their eco-footprint at Seaside Park.

“After every year, I do a recap to see what’s working, what can be improved and identify new ideas for the following year,” Moran stated. “We’ve been at this a long time now but there’s always room to improve. One of our successful additions to our awareness and outreach work is the brief talks related to sustainability between bands on the Green Vibes Stage. We’ve had major experts come in and share ideas in a really loose and fun setting which really engages and energizes the crowd.”

Other notable successes of the green program include:

22,000 pounds of recycling was gathered and kept out of landfills.
12,516 lbs of non-perishable food,hygiene goods, and clothing was donated to local food banks, including vendor donations of unused food to local food banks and soup kitchens.
The Green Vibes Carbon Cutters, Green Vibes’ carbon reduction team, is now almost 900 members strong and has prevented close to 2 tons of CO2 from going into the atmosphere.
Food and beverage vendors used compostable products.
Environmental & social action awareness opportunities for attendees through Green Vibes Stage workshops.
Activation of a solar-powered cell phone charging station.

While 2014 was an extremely successful year, Green Vibes is already looking towards 2015 and hopes to have the cleanest and greenest Vibest yet. The program will continue to focus on reducing the festival’s carbon footprint and will be expanding the recycling program. For the sixth year in a row, Green Vibes will partner with the Terrapin Foundation to host an annual beach clean up day a couple of weeks prior to the festival. Last year, volunteers cleaned up a local beach area, loading dozens of garbage bags with glass, plastic bags, aluminum cans, barbed wire, large pieces of wood and metal and many other objects.

The Green Vibes program and strides like the beach clean up help make sure Seaside Park remains in pristine condition; keeping neighboring beaches and the environment of Seaside Park safe and clean is one of the most important parts of the festival and the Terrapin Foundation’s mission.

If festival goers cannot make the beach cleanup, they can still play a positive role by being consciously aware of items that are brought into the festival and personal trash that is created during the the four day weekend.

“Whenever possible, bring food from local farmer’s markets or your own gardens. Repackage any food into reusable containers,” Moran suggested. “Bring reusable cups, plates, etc. to minimize what goes into the waste stream. Our food vendors use eco-friendly materials too so that’s another great option.

Green Vibes offers some great pre-festival packing tips to help lighten the environmental impact:

Carpool: the less stuff you stack, the more people you can pack!
Bring reusable water bottles
Avoid bringing food that spoils easily and/or is individually wrapped
Think reusable before you buy disposable
Bring bags for garbage and recycling
Avoid styrofoam coolers
If you have to buy new, recycle the box before you arrive on-site
Avoid bringing unnecessary items that become pesky waste: silly string, confetti, glow sticks, packing peanuts, etc.

While at the festival, campers should make sure their campsite belongings are secured to reduce wind blown trash and litter. Most importantly, at the close of the festival, pack up everything you brought with you and leave the area as nice or better than you found it.

Every attendee of Gathering of the Vibes has an opportunity, and even a responsibility, to demonstrate leadership in this area. Not only is taking care of the environment an important topic, it is also vital to be consciously sustainable at Vibes to maintain the thriving ecosystem that is Seaside Park.

Rise To The Challenge: Electric Forest’s Electricology Program

Posted on June 4, 2015June 4, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

Festival sustainability does not start with being handed a garbage bag upon your arrival at the campgrounds. While that supplied garbage bag plays a vital role in encouraging all attendees to pick up after themselves at their campsites, efforts to make Electric Forest the cleanest and greenest it has ever been starts long before attendees walk through the festival gates.

Making the choice to reduce one’s waste footprint starts days and weeks prior to the festival with environmentally conscious purchasing and packing, but it also begins with education. The driving force behind necessary “eco-cation” (ecology education) prior to the start of this year’s EF has been the unique and very successful sustainability program Electricology.

Returning for its fourth year, Electricology is back with greater opportunities than ever before to get more attendees involved and make an even larger positive impact.

Last year Vinyl Mag not only highlighted the program in an interview with Rachel Wells, representative of Electricology and The High Five Program, but we actively participated in the program by bringing our recycling and trash to designated EcoZones throughout the grounds of Electric Forest, earned EcoPoints from our participation, and eventually redeemed our points by visiting one of the Electricology Stores.

As an active participant, the program seemed to make an impact on the festival as a whole. With our return to the Forest this year, we caught up with our good friend Rachel Wells to talk about the successes of Electricology 2014, new and exciting additions to the program, packing tips, green education, and glitter. Yes, glitter.

“Last year was extremely successful and we are growing along with the festival,” Wells said. “The festival has expanded its footprint over the years and we are going to keep growing to accommodate the congestion and waste produced by 40,000+ festival attendees.”

At EF 2014, the Electricology team helped collect 22 tons of compost, 8 tons of cardboard, 125 tons of recycling and 19 tons of steel and aluminum.

“People started organically creating piles of broken EZ ups, tents, and chairs on their own and that is a huge part of our labor, gathering that up. We collected and recycled over 20 tons of that stuff, so to have campers build these massive 30 foot mounds on their own on Sunday was really awesome.”

Everyday of EF there will be people on site working the fields and grounds picking up litter; but just because there are volunteers in place to pick up the trash, that doesn’t mean attendees can’t do their part in the clean-up process.

“If every person who attends Electric Forest leaves their waste tied up, in the appropriate bags, just sitting there in a nice little pile at their campsite, we could be out of there in 24-48 hours. We really could. That is our goal,” said Wells. “Everything we’re trying to do here is to cut down that cleanup. Not because we want to get done early, but because it’s going to save money for the festival and in return invest in other amazing opportunities for people to participate and it’s really going to make a statement to the community that we care and we want to come back every year.”

While one of Electricology’s goals for 2015 is to significantly cut the cleanup, the program also hopes to increase participation and educate all while having fun.

“This year our message is a little stronger,” Wells said. “The message is Rise to the Challenge. We feel like we’ve had a few years, so we know we’ll be having a lot of attendees who will be returning to the festival and I feel like this message will help EF veterans to teach the younger generation coming in and new attendees, and I think we can really make an impact. I think it’s absolutely possible to engage everyone and get everybody to set a standard for how we leave a music festival.”

Electricology started setting the eco-standard for this year’s EF by taking over the festival’s Facebook and Twitter pages one month out from the event. In addition to providing EcoTips, Electricology also talked about some of this year’s program engagements. Electricology is always experimenting with new ways to encourage participation and distribute prizes to increasing amounts of supporters. Each contest has hidden goals to increase waste diversion or reduce the post festival cleanup time, while still being a fun activity for guests.

Returning to the program is the Electricology Leaderboard Contest where EF’s top EcoPoint earners will compete for secret prizes and two tickets to next year’s festival. Additionally, Electricology has instated the Electricology Prize Cart, a mobile solution to crowd litter and instant gratification for the masses. The Prize Cart will circulate the entire festival footprint, inspiring random mass litter pickups wherever it goes, in exchange for a variety of instant prizes.

“Basically if you see our prize cart, they’ll be in areas where there is the most litter and we’re going to be inspiring these flash mobs for litter picking up and anyone who participates will get instant prizes,” Wells said. “So, for example, we might say that the first five people who can help us pick up an area by the food court will win an awesome cool prize and we might even end up taking them on our cart with us and head off to some place awesome!”

Also, for the first time this year, Bell’s Brewery will present the EcoPoints Party for top participants with pizza from Spicy Pie. The EcoPoints Party will include a special performance by the winner of Plug In’s Instrumental Forester Competition, KC Roberts & The Live Revolution. This invite-only party will take place on Sunday, to celebrate the greatest contributors to Forest Greening.

During our chat, we also asked Wells if she had any tips for this year’s festival and if she had any suggestions for things we should just leave at home.

“As renewable energy becomes more and more available and affordable, I would love to see people using LED flashlights, and coming up with some different kinds of reusable chargers and batteries. It would be great to see some alternative energies being used.”

Wells once again stressed the importance of leaving packaging home. Bought new camping gear? Unwrap it and take it out of its cardboard box, and recycle the packaging at home. Ultimately, leaving the packaging at home isn’t just going to cut down the clean-up time, it’s also going to cut down on the labor. As Wells explained last year, “Sometimes, there’s a few extra days of post production clean-up there that could have been cut if people had just left some of that stuff at home.”

In addition to items attendees should think twice about bringing, one surprise is glitter. While Wells would never tell anyone they can’t bring glitter to the festival she did explain how the Electricology team takes care in cleaning up all the leftover glitter found on site.

“Glitter is extremely hard to pick up and it goes everywhere, and there is only so much we can do to pick it up. We go around to where the campsites used to be and we’ll use a Shop-Vac to vacuum up the leftover glitter piles. Sometimes we’ll actually have to shovel out a part of that dirt and throw it away. All year round horses roam in the field where the GA camping is, so it’s important to us, that even those tiny little pieces of glitter get picked up. Within a month after the festival a horse is going to be grazing over that area and it’s very import that all those tiny little details are taken care of. Every little speck of glitter means just as much as the giant tents left behind.”

Wells also suggested leaving home plastic water bottles and bringing reusable water bottles. Hydration is a hot topic at this year’s EF and the festival will be installing 20 water stations throughout the Forest.

Festival sustainability starts and ends with each attendee. In order to keep our Forest clean and thriving, we must all be responsible with the things that we bring with us. Through Electricology, it is possible to inspire and motivate people to do the right thing and Rise To The Challenge. Of course the prizes and incentives are great, but as Wells stated, “It’s not just about getting a prize, it’s about doing what you’re supposed to be doing at Electric Forest and that’s something we’re abiding by. If you’re member of the Forest Family then this is something that you do.”

The Best Songs Featured on TV

Posted on June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 by Kelsey Butterworth

Television has always been a great medium for exposing viewers to new music. A pivotal scene can become instantly classic when paired with the right song, and it can elicit the right emotions from fans – joy, despair, or even fear. Here, in no particular order, are some of the best songs that have been featured in a TV show.

“Where The Colors Don’t Go” by Sam Phillips on Gilmore Girls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Koh-wPyQvA

Gilmore Girls is first and foremost an offbeat comedy about mothers and daughters, but beneath the surface are commentaries on American privilege. The show became beloved for its underground-leaning soundtrack, especially once Lane decided to pursue her rock dreams. A third of the way through the pilot, “Where The Colors Don’t Go” begins playing as Lorelai realizes the only way to provide her daughter with a private high school education involves asking her wealthy, estranged parents for money. “In a white room / In a white head / In a cobweb of enterprise” sets the tone for the sharp juxtaposition between Lorelai’s small-town bodega life, and the Mayflower mansion she gave up in its stead.

“I Feel Alright” by Steve Earle on The Wire

Every of The Wire‘s five seasons ends with a deep-digging montage showing where relevant characters ended up by season’s end. Creator David Simon used these crucial scenes to drive home his points about corruption and power, and season two’s is particularly powerful. As the Baltimore PD continue to investigate the local drug rings from season one, unionized dock workers are introduced to the mix. Unshockingly for a Simon production, everything goes wrong and your favorite characters end up dead or internally destroyed (whaddup George R.R. Martin!). As “I Feel Alright” plays ironically, out-of-work shoreman Nikki reflects on his less than stellar decisions, and the viewers are left with a profound sense of understanding and emptiness.

“Far From Any Road” by The Handsome Family on True Detective

True Detective can be described as ‘creepy.’ I mean, it’s a show about a cult of child killers who live in the swamp. So naturally, its theme song should give one the heebie jeebies, and the Handsome Family’s “Far From Any Road” certainly fits this bill. The minor key finger picking and güiros give it the feel of a Mexican murder ballad, and it features the killer and appropriate line “the poisoned Creole soul.”

“Boom, Boom, Boom” by The Iguanas on Homicide: Life On The Street

Before The Wire, David Simon helped with the creation of another high-quality show documenting the daily lives of Baltimore’s finest. Homicide had less grandiose character webs, but was still just as emotionally impactful. Each show deals with the sisyphean task of keeping a lid on the murder rate. Facetiously, season five’s 11th episode has the department celebrate the new year, only to have the phone immediately alert them to a fresh body.

“Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)” by Irma Thomas on Black Mirror

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raQ2WguE37A

The BBC’s recent sort of Twilight Zone remake generally centers around the dystopian future we’ve set ourselves up for. So it was a jarring treat when “Fifteen Million Merits”, series one’s second episode, featured this classic from the Soul Queen of New Orleans. In the episode, one of the characters tries to change her fate by singing the song on a twisted iteration of American Idol, only to be coerced into pornography.

“Bouncin’ Back (Bumpin’ Me Against The Wall)” by Mystikal on Treme

Hey look, another David Simon show! Treme was Simon’s The Wire follow-up, and in similar fashion, it scrutinized race and class relations in a post-Katrina New Orleans. Main character Davis comes from a wealthy French Quarter family, but (tries to) reject his privilege by moving into the musically storied but poor neighborhood of Treme. When an affluent gay couple moves in next door, he fears gentrification and tries to drive them out by turning this song up to 11.

“Dead Fingers Talking” by Working For A Nuclear Free City on Breaking Bad

One of the best items in Breaking Bad‘s bag of tricks was the cooking montage. Though not detailed enough for an enterprising fan to figure out Walt’s recipe, they still managed to make chemistry interesting. (Sidenote: what if this show was just Vince Gilligan’s attempt at increasing STEM participation?!) Our first glimpse of the scary science game early in season one, when Walt and Jesse ventured to the desert in a ramshackle RV. “Dead Fingers Talking” has a squiggly, grimy vibe that works perfectly for the first of many cooks these star-crossed friends would embark upon.

“Fresh Blood” by Eels on The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

HBO’s supreme new docu-series examines how a wealthy, disturbed man could manage to get away with murder on at least three separate occasions. The Jinx is often, nay, almost always described as Serial for TV, and it’s certainly not afraid to lay on the cliffhangers. As each episode sets up which aspect of these effed-up cases it’s going to focus on, the tension builds until Eels comes to the forefront. The lyrics don’t completely fit – the song seems to be written by a serial killer (“I’m so tired of the same old crud / Sweet baby, I need fresh blood”) whereas Robert Durst seems like a desperate sociopath backed into a corner by the falling dominos of his terrible decisions. Nonetheless, the song is synced perfectly with the surreal images of Durst and his various victims, and it’s chill-inducing every time.

Life is Loud, Protect Your Ears

Posted on May 31, 2015June 1, 2015 by Jacklyn Citero

In recent years it seems like every day is some sort of national day of celebration. Everything from National Doughnut Day, to Put a Pillow On Your Fridge Day (say what?), to Bloody Mary Day (we’ll drink to that), the monthly and daily observances are endless.

Among these fun, quirky, and bizarre days of recognition, there is one day that is worth our attention: May 31st, National Save Your Hearing Day.

Save Your Hearing Day is a yearly reminder to turn down the the music and the loud noises in our lives. It is best celebrated in peaceful environments while abiding by the 60:60 rule: listening to music at 60% of volume capacity for less than 60 minutes (this applying to concerts as well). ¹

With festival season upon us, there is no better time than now to honor this day and our ears. We sat down with our good friend Katie Carmody, founder of We’re hEAR For You, to talk about hearing loss and prevention, and to gain an understanding of “how loud is too loud.”

Carmody speaking at SXSW 2015 on the panel Be Hear Now: Hearing Protection Is the Future of the Music Industry

Noise exposure accounts for much of hearing loss in adults and has been noted as a primary factor in hearing loss in young adults and adolescents. Recreational and community noise exposure can lead to high frequency hearing loss and tinnitus. Damage from noise exposure can often be traced to listening to amplified music through headphones or sound systems, while playing music, attending concerts or dance venues, or other noisy activities.

We’re hEAR for You (WHFY) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the awareness of noise-induced hearing loss, hearing loss prevention, and the use of earplugs among the music community. The organization promotes the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus by educating individuals about the risks of noise exposure and the importance of of using hearing protection. WHFY provides free earplugs at a variety of music venues in Georgia and at a growing number of music festivals nationwide, and also offers free hearing screenings through the University of Georgia Speech Hearing Clinic.

“Hearing conservation has been a passion of mine because I have always been a huge music fan, mostly due to my father,” said Carmody. “I grew up listening to music nightly at home, and going t concerts with my family. I always knew that my father had tinnitus, or constant ringing in your ears, which developed after seeing a concert in his earlier years. Knowing this, and as an avid live music fan, I knew the importance of protecting your hearing. Now, working in the music industry, and being around live music on a daily basis, it is my crusade to educate music lovers of all kind about using hearing protection and the science that supports it.”

The constant ringing of the ears that Carmody mentioned is one of the many effects of noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). NIHL can be caused by a one-time exposure to an intense sound or by continuous exposure to loud sounds over an extended period of time (The louder the sound, the shorter the time period before NIHL can occur). The severity of the hearing loss depends on the level, duration, and frequency content of the exposure. Exposure to dangerous levels of noise can often be traced to listening to amplified music through headphones or sound systems, while playing music, attending rock concerts or dance venues, and other everyday noisy activities. Short term effects of NIHL can include auditory fatigue and possible ringing the following day, and can even lead to long term effects such as hearing loss to the point of needing hearing aids.

So how loud is too loud? According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), both the level of noise and the length of time you listen to the noise can put you at risk for noise-induced hearing loss. “Sound is measured in decibels (dB). The higher the decibel level, the louder the noise, and the louder the sound, the shorter the time period before NIHL can occur,” Carmody said. “Normal conversation occurs around 60dB. Exposure to sound over 85dB for more than 7 minutes without hearing protection results in noise induced hearing loss. Concerts can run 120+, the same for Sporting events.”

For those who attend concerts/festivals and have never thought about hearing protection, Carmody offered a few points to consider:

Noise induced hearing loss is 100% permanent and 100% preventable. It is essential you use hearing protection.

When your ears ring after a show, it is your ears telling you your hearing is damaged, and you will not hear at that frequency again.

If you have to raise your voice/scream to communicate with someone next to you, its too loud! Wear earplugs, take a break & move farther away from the speakers.

Carmody also had a message for individuals who may believe they can deal with the consequences at a later date:

“Hearing loss is gradual. Many times you may not know you have hearing loss, unless you get your hearing checked by an audiologist. Here’s a great example of our logic: When you go in the sun, say at a music festival, you take many precautions to protect yourself; sunscreen to protect your skin, shoes to protect your feet, sunglasses to protect your eyes, what about your ears? It is as simple as that, especially at a live music event! Noise exposure is damaging, and we should be more considerate of our ears, and the role hearing has in our lives. To be smart about your hearing now will save you a lot of trouble in your later years. Hearing loss is gradual, therefore you may not notice that you have hearing loss, until it is too late! Take action now, to prevent irreversible damage down the road.”

Interested in protecting your ears? There are several different forms of hearing protection to choose from:

Foam earplugs – ideal for casual concert-goers: It’s the starter earplug and WHFY provides these in mass at festival & concerts nationwide.

High Fidelity reusable earplugs – We recommend all live music fans to invest in a pair of high fidelity reusable plugs, like Earlove, that are high quality and provide a flat response decibel reduction. Also, reusable = less waste! The preserving our environment, like preserving our hearing, is important to We’re hEAR For You. Using reusable (and higher quality) earplugs helps reduce the amount of waste generated at live music events.

Musicians Earplugs – For musicians! Yours ears and ability to hear are your life, your love and your career! See your local audiologist for more details.

Children’s Hearing Protection Earmuffs – Not only are they adorable, but the earmuffs provide superior hearing protection for those little ears.

We’re hEAR for you has partnered with Headcount this festival season and will distribute earplugs at these upcoming festivals:

Wakarusa

Mountain Jam

Bonnaroo

Electric Forest

Solid Sound

High Sierra

All Good

Camp Bisco

Moonrise

Floydfest

Newport Folk

Gathering of the Vibes

Lollapalooza

Outside Lands

Arise

The Peach

Lockn’

ACL

Watch: Anne-Marie: “Karate”

Posted on May 29, 2015May 29, 2015 by Andrew Plaskowsky

In less than a month, summer will begin. This means that bars will be filled to maximum capacity; families will take cross country vacations to the beach and the same music about dancing in club will pollute both the airwaves and eardrums.

Enter Anne-Marie, the 22-year-old London singer-songwriter — who also happens to be the touring vocalist for drum and bass quartet Rudimental. Her debut single as a solo artist “Karate” premiered just shy of three weeks ago and has amassed over 50,000 Soundcloud streams.

Classically trained in musical theatre through London’s West End, her voice exudes a cool confidence that floats over the track’s sparse rhythmic lines without ever overpowering the contrast established between the two. The track’s title is even more fitting as she is a three time World Champion of Shotokan Karate, so it makes sense that she would choose to integrate this into the video.

Her debut EP “Karate” will be released on July 10 via Major Toms and includes production work by Chloe Martini, Two Inch Punch, Brad Ellis, Josh Record and Pablo Nouvelle. The tracklist is below:

1. Karate
2. Gemini
3. Stole
4. Stole (Chloe Martini Refix)

If the rest of the EP sounds similar to the slinky fusion of electrogrime and R&B, the charts could have a new competitor to watch out for. Anne-Marie is surely one to break the monotony of summer releases.