Constellation, Episode 68 | The Music Episode: Festivals and Touring, Discovering New Music, The Economics of Streaming, Remaining Relevant
Added 2024-04-22 16:00:13 +0000 UTCWelcome to an unusual episode of Constellation. It is I, Colin! Some time ago, I expressed that I'd like to pursue 'themed' episodes on occasion, and indeed we pursued such a program with episode 60, which was purely political in nature. This time around, I wanted to cover another of my deep passions -- music -- and I wanted to do so with the perfect companion: My best friend, Ramon. Ramon is the writer and musician behind all of Last Stand's theme music, yes, and it's true that we met as freshmen at Northeastern due to our shared love of 311. But, in his own right, he's also an accomplished and experienced working musician with excellent insight into the business, who knows obscure bands and records like I know Vita games, and who's currently toiling away on a new project of his own. We touch on a lot of topics, and we do so loosely, so... no timestamps (sorry). Click play to listen to us wax about Coachella's lame crowds and the grind of touring, the rise of the mega-festival, how the '90s helped fashion our musical tastes, the downside to the streaming economy, how the pandemic affected live music, and so much more. We discuss bands like No Doubt, Limp Bizkit, Blur, Ben Folds Five, and the Deftones, and touch on some non-music fare, too, like pro wrestling and baseball. Please enjoy.
Comments
Big cities (and especially the biggest ones like ATL) have a lot more options for independent venues not tied to livenation/ticketmaster
Gooch Gobbler
2024-05-08 21:53:32 +0000 UTCFeels like a mistake not snatching Gene for this. Be like having the politics one without jaffe, or a fallout show episode without Matty, oh wait...
Bailey Callis
2024-05-02 22:48:52 +0000 UTCMan's casting sleep on me
Bailey Callis
2024-05-02 22:47:52 +0000 UTCNo dad joke? Oh wait
Glen Yelenovic
2024-05-02 17:12:21 +0000 UTCYeah this feels a lot more like a knock back than a stelly
Glen Yelenovic
2024-05-02 17:05:10 +0000 UTCI know it's gonna be a good podcast any time Ramón is on. Loved hearing y'all speak on music; especially when one of the guests lives it🤘🏻
Chris's Closeted Weeabo Side
2024-05-01 20:30:22 +0000 UTCI’ve played in metal bands for 10+ years and I am finally seeing some modicum of success through my most recent band. We recently put out our 2nd album through a fairly renowned label and it is the most fulfilling thing to see streaming numbers push higher and higher into the 20-40k range per song instead of the “<1000” most musicians I’m sure are used to seeing. Over a decade of playing to no one and nobody caring to finally getting some sort of appreciation and respect. We did our 2nd longer tour last fall, a little over 3 weeks on the east coast and midwest all cities we have never played before. We were lucky enough to have great turnout most nights and come back more than breaking even. This all has me wanting to push the project further and further and I am ready to quit my day job if they have issue with me taking time off for another tour. It is a passion few understand with little monetary gain. My entire life is set up around making music work and I am ready to take the jump. I live fairly simply in order to keep my bills and overhead low and savings high so I am ready to jump ship and have padding between day jobs if needed.
WarshCloth
2024-04-30 21:14:42 +0000 UTCGlastonbury is the festival that you should attend
Dean
2024-04-25 10:33:58 +0000 UTCKnockback?
Nuuuw
2024-04-24 06:35:31 +0000 UTCLoved the hockey talk here! I'm a huge hockey fan, Colin you ever though of doing a show on just hockey as a one-off? Go Bruins!
Yiorgos
2024-04-24 00:04:34 +0000 UTCNo really a fan of the one offs like this. See you next week stelly
The Central Long Islander
2024-04-23 21:38:14 +0000 UTCHad the same thought about 100 gecs. The kids are alright
Zack
2024-04-23 20:36:33 +0000 UTCNever heard of Tyler the Creator but it sounds like something my kid niece would follow for Roblox tips.
PRETENTIEUX
2024-04-23 20:18:16 +0000 UTCYeah, basically no Constellation this week.
PRETENTIEUX
2024-04-23 20:08:49 +0000 UTCI loved this episode as its own thing, but it doesn’t feel like it’s a Constellation episode, especially given that Knockback this week is the exact same format of Host/Best Friend talking about a singular topic. Just feels like this should have been in the Knockback feed too given the lack of panel.
Jared R
2024-04-23 17:43:57 +0000 UTCI want to say thank you to Ramon for sharing his experience of living with someone who is immune compromised. My wife is as well, so I can definitely relate to his feelings. <3
David Moran
2024-04-23 16:54:26 +0000 UTCThere are still plenty of $10 or Pay what you can concerts at least in Atlanta, I’ve seen 50+ shows and never paid Ticketmaster for a fee but I guess it depends on your area, maybe Ramon has less of these diy shows
Yeti ATL
2024-04-23 16:20:53 +0000 UTCI freaking LOOOOOVE the band Snot. I didn't expect to hear that name pop up, that album was absolutely incredible. So was the tribute album. We used to go to the record store back in the day and each week pick up 1-2 random albums from bands we'd not heard of before. We hit the lottery twice when we got Incubus and Snot on separate occasions.
Lou & Rei Loper
2024-04-23 12:59:52 +0000 UTCI discovered Deftones with the Diamond Eyes record when I was in highschool lol
Lemon Pepper
2024-04-23 12:06:42 +0000 UTCAgreed, I can't get down with that perspective at all.
Lou & Rei Loper
2024-04-23 11:40:43 +0000 UTCSame for me, they've been my uncontested favorite band since I was 16 back in '96. They still haven't put a foot wrong for me, which is amazing to me. I have a weird tradition where every single new audio device I get, the very first song I play through it is Fireal. I've been doing that for so long I feel like it's been my whole life haha.
Lou & Rei Loper
2024-04-23 11:39:32 +0000 UTCThese episodes are far more organized yet still loose and free flowing. Keep em up! Maybe have a genre one with something like Dramas (Mad Men Redux anyone?).
rileydelete
2024-04-23 04:02:32 +0000 UTCI just wanna say I love Ramon and don’t care about the haters, him on an occasional constellation episode is good not bad
Brandon Tyler
2024-04-23 01:05:29 +0000 UTCDeftones need to step back and allow lesser bands to flourish because they’ve had a successful career for over 30 years? Bad take.
Whiskeywhiskey
2024-04-23 00:08:33 +0000 UTCLove when Ramon is on. Just seems like a good dude. Would love to hear a list of his favorite albums.
Diddy’s Dong Quest
2024-04-22 23:09:51 +0000 UTCI think this was definitely ramons best appearance. I don't not enjoy when he comes on, but the cadence of his speech has really improved over time. Well done.
Bleedingedgeofpoo
2024-04-22 22:08:37 +0000 UTCA different perspective on festivals! They are amazing experiences. I’ve been to hundreds of concerts and wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of my top 10 are from fests. I’ve discovered so many artists I would have never listened to otherwise. They’re not for everyone, but if you have any desire to go to one, you at least have to try it out once. Also not a huge fan of either by any means but Tyler The Creator is more famous than No Doubt ever was. Edited my comment to not exaggerate lol
Mattveego
2024-04-22 20:16:12 +0000 UTCDeftones are my favourite band. Throughly loved the discussion about them. Koi No Yoken absolutely slaps. Incredible album. Colin, listen to the song Rosemary. It’ll take you to another place.
Russell Garrett
2024-04-22 20:05:54 +0000 UTCMy two biggest loves in life are videogames and music. This episode definitely reminded me of a lot of conversations I've had with a lot of my friends. Especially the ones that are musicians aswell. Both of your music tastes are pretty top notch and yes the first three Ben Folds Five albums are killer. Would love to see Dagan and Chris on music part two at some point.
Eric the human
2024-04-22 19:49:44 +0000 UTCI love how Ramon can't be mentioned without the title of "My best friend" 😂😂😂😂
Grant MacNamara
2024-04-22 19:42:09 +0000 UTCLove your relationship with the guy, but my dude just simply rambles and it makes for a very frustrating listener experience
Kyle Barreira
2024-04-22 19:05:40 +0000 UTCMonday is Stelli day!
Tristan Kimball
2024-04-22 18:48:50 +0000 UTC100 gecs fans represent 😎
Conor Wilson
2024-04-22 16:58:51 +0000 UTCI love the apology for not having timestamps for this episode when this show is known for frustratingly never having timestamps lmao
Jared R
2024-04-22 16:06:19 +0000 UTCPeak content
Conor Wilson
2024-04-22 16:01:16 +0000 UTCDamn you're a fast listener
Deemac
2024-04-22 16:01:09 +0000 UTCBest episode yet!!!!
Have you considered considering considerations considerately considerate
2024-04-22 16:00:36 +0000 UTC
