Make Instruments with Us!!! Expand the Vibe!

Yo' Columbus peeps with kids!! Rich and I (Team Smile and Nod) will be helping out at the 10am musical instrument making workshop of Expand the Vibe!! Loads of musical artsy fun to be had for all ages... If you don't have kids, come out for the evening show! (We won't be performing, but there will be a bunch of awesome local bands!) :D

Here's an explanation from the FB invite:

"On behalf of OpenheartART, Living the Arts, and the Peach District, we are happy to present to you our first of many benefit shows geared toward helping non-profit organizations, who support youth by facilitating programs designed around the arts. We believe that we all share the common vision of how crucial the arts are to our youth, our community, and our world. We as local organizations can come together to expand this vision in a big way!

On April 3rd we are putting on our first event in the Neo-V Gallery space, at 247 King Ave. The benefit will start out with workshops hosted by OpenheartART, geared towards encouraging ages 3 years on up, to create and re-imagine music through recycled materials and cooperative jam sessions. There will be 2 three hour workshops, and a fund raising concert later in the evening to collect moneys and or donated instruments for the Short Stop music programs."

Go HERE for more details. Hope to see you there!

6 Reasons Podcasts Rock the Party.

I am a new podcast fan. Yeah, I probably jumped on the podcast fan boat rather late... and yeah, I investigated them for self-fulfilling reasons (to get TSAN's music out there)... but dude, they are so flippin' cool. Here's a list of 6 reasons why they rock the party:

1. Complete Creative Control. They do what they want. Whatever they want. They say what they want... Play what they want... Release their shows when they want... You get my point, right? They have complete creative control to make their show exactly what they want.

2. No one owns them. They are not owned by Clear Channel. They are not owned by advertisers. They own themselves. They make their own decisions. If they decide to monetize, they do it with their own rules.

3. There are podcasts for EVERYONE. It blows my mind. Seriously. Look up anything with the word "podcast" following. I bet you you'll find something.

4. They play independent music! Many major labels won't let podcasters play their tunes. AWESOME! Fuck them! There is so much awesome indie music out there... We are happy to rock the podcasts!

5. Podcasts are by PASSIONATE people. Often podcasts are labors of love. Often the only dough they bring in is from donations. You've GOT to be passionate to do something without getting paid. Why else would you bother?

6. Podcasts and independent music are a natural fit... Often indie bands have a hard time getting radio play. How can we compete with major label money? Podcasters need music to enhance their shows. Podcasters and indie bands fill each others voids perfectly. Everyone benefits... especially listeners. The listeners get to pick a very specific niche and listen whenever and wherever they want... the podcaster only plays the tunes they dig... the musician gets exposure to a very specific group listeners... DUDE... it's a beautiful cycle.

Check out these podcasts... they rocked
Team Smile and Nod:




Dalecast! Episodes #693, #688, and #682
This podcast is an awesome mix of podsafe tunes from around the world... definitely worth checking out: http://www.dalecast.co.uk/

Radio Orphans Podcast- #241
This podcast airs weekly and plays independent music.
Go here to listen- http://radioorphans.blogspot.com/

Geek of all Trades Podcast- #37
This podcast is a variety show... Brian (the host) discusses a wide range of topics including (but not limited to) politics, movies, gaming, personal stuff, current news... and he plays a tune here and there. It is most enjoyable and humorous in nature. Go here: http://arklecast.blogspot.com/

In summary, I miss Flight of the Conchords.

Super SNEAKY Peak of Team Smile and Nod's Next Album- Mourning Time!

So we did it! We posted a track that you can download and/or stream and get a feel for our next album, Mourning Time. We included these songs: Build, Unknown, Come Back Here, She's Gone, and Mourning Time. For that matter, you can listen right now on the player to the right. Oh yeah, we've got it alllll planned out. Mwah-ha-ha... ha. We still have tons to do with the album... lots of editing/ mixing. Then we must master it. Plus, we must figure out what to do for cover art... (Any ideas? Are YOU an artist who has always wanted to do an album cover?? E-mail us if you are or know someone rad: questions[at]teamsmileandnod[dot]com
In summary, that's me and Katie's cat. Isn't she dapper?

Will our second album find completion?

Soooo... Rich and I plan to release a second CD this year. There is so much to do... Right now we're working on recording and mixing the songs. All the songs are written, however, whenever we work on the planned songs, we often get side-tracked by new songs. And soooo... while it's creatively necessary and fun, it lengthens the process. Today and tomorrow I'll record the vocals for "Truth and Fact" and either the ukulele and vocals for "Can You Feel It" or the guitar and vocals for "She's Gone." The problem with "She's Gone" is that it is massively depressing for me to play. I definitely need to be in the mood to deal with that. I am actually tearing up thinking about recording it. Seriously. When Rich and I were listening to a demo version of it and deciding when to work on it, he said "That is the most depressing song I've ever heard." But the thing is, it must be on this next CD. The CD will be called "Mourning Time." Many of the songs are about dealing with my mom's death. So yeah, an upper. Really though, it will be an awesome CD... the songs are coming together in such an amazing way. Okay... I should get to recording now...

In summary, the Kinks rock.