Operation BAMMsterdam, Day 1

We're taking this show on the road, folks. A couple weeks ago, Jamie, Jeff, and I were in Chicago working with web.illish.us on a Pay-Per-View live stream concert for Erin McKeown. This week the three of us are in Amsterdam. Rough life, I know.

We're here to work with BAMM EU. They serve a bunch of roles for BAMM.tv, a lot of back end work, EU programming, some editing, and program development. Nick Hansen (Co-founder and brother of Chris Hansen) has been over in Amsterdam and London for the better part of a decade. BAMM.tv has been on the collective mind of the Brothers Hansen for as long as I've known them (six years), and even longer, so it only made sense for Nick to put together a team to keep watch on what's going on in the music world on this side of the Atlantic.

Jamie (business operations), Jeff (media), and I (music operations) are here to help unify the fronts in terms of production and program development. As is the case with any start-up hurdling towards its launch, there are a lot aspects--production, finance, promotion, platform development--that need constant attention, so transparency between the two offices is critical. BAMM.tv's platform launch will take place at South by Southwest in March. We are officially "on the clock."

BAMM.tv is a forward thinking media company that produces, edits, and distributes and video content entirely in the digital realm. New website and platform currently in development.

Miscellaneous:

- Had an open seat next to me on the flight (nine hours)...until a lady moved from her aisle seat to the middle seat next to me mid-flight. What? The dude next to her kept falling asleep on her shoulder. To the guy who kept falling asleep on this lady's shoulder, thank you very much for messing up a good thing for me. When is the next time I'll have an open seat next to me on a nine hour flight? Never, that's when.

- Checked out a taping of Amsterdam Acoustic last night. So cool. Check out their site--a bunch of killer bands in equally cool settings. The band, Shout Out Louds (Merge Records), was incredible. Shot entirely on film (16mm) in a frat house. Not what you think when you think frat house--this building is somewhere between 300 and 400 years old--yet the odor is universal.



- I thought the tram running throughout Amsterdam was free. It is not. IOU 2.60 Euros.

BAMM.tv in Chicago: Erin McKeown

Somehow, someway, I am writing this post from the Presidential Suite at the Belden-Stratford Hotel in Chicago (great view, crappy continental breakfast...is there any other kind?). The weather has been picturesque and post-card autumnal. The city is no less than cinematic. It reminds me of when folks come to visit us in San Francisco this time of year. The weather is perfect and the city has its best foot forward. Our visitors remind us how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful city, which is true, but we know--oh, how we know--that SF soup fog is rolling in approximately three minutes after dropping our guests off at SFO. In other words, Chicago is about to get cold, and it's important to remember this simple fact when romanticizing to such extremes.

Allow me to get to the topic at hand--why is BAMM.tv in Chicago? We are here working with our friends at web.illish.us on a live stream concert by Erin McKeown. As some of you know, we've done our share of streams from our studios in San Francisco, but tonight we are streaming a live concert from the beautiful Lincoln Hall. If all goes well, you might be seeing a bit more of BAMM.tv on the road. We are also testing out a pay-per-view concert model.



Full disclosure--I hadn't heard of Erin McKeown until this project came up. It didn't take long to realize she's an immensely talented songwriter that challenges the very notion of categorizing. More impressive to me, she's been at this music thing for over ten years. Perhaps my appreciation for persistence and longevity serves as proof of my own aging, but it takes balls to commit to a music career for that long. It really does. Tonight marks the ten year anniversary of McKeown's first studio album Distillation (Signature Sound), and to celebrate she will play Distillation in full. The second set of the night will feature requests from the online audience. I know--a lot of variables in play tonight, but it should be interesting to see how the whole online audience impacts the show in the venue. Definitely worth checking out here.

Miscellaneous:
--Jeff, Jamie, and I got up close and personal with a tiger. Although lame to see in a zoo, still pretty cool to see.



--Went to the Alder Planetarium to see a 3D show. I know space is cool. I know. I just wish I cared.



--Unos deep dish pizza for lunch. Birthplace of deep dish pizza. The crust is where the magic happens.
--Lincoln Park is a really cool area of Chicago. Close to Wrigley, lots of cool bars and restaurants.
--Went to the Apple Store to grab a hard drive. Really cool store to go to when you get to snicker at the people waiting in line for their iPhone-related issues. I want to feel bad for them.