Mevio Music

On this episode of the Rock and Roll Geek Gadget Guide, Michael reviews and demos the Digitech iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard.

If you’re a guitarist, chances are that you’ve got your share of effects pedals sitting around. Some players get by with a pretty straightforward signal chain, perhaps a little compression and distortion. Others have an entire array of pedals, with phase shifters, chorusing, digital delay, wah wah – you name it. Whatever end of the continuum you tend toward on stage, it’s rare that you’ll find a guitarist who doesn’t like to play with effects when given the chance, but at $50 to hundreds a pop, most of us are limited as to how many we can actually afford.

Here’s where the iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard comes in. Hook it up to your iPad, and you’ve got a virtually unlimited combination of pedals, amps and cabinets at your disposal. It lets you choose from 87 pedals, 54 guitar amps and 26 speaker cabinets to emulate. You can use up to ten pedals in any order at a given time, and put them into presets to call up for specific songs. You can also add an amp and cabinet combination to each preset. You can then access the entire setup with footswitches, just like a regular chain of stomp boxes.

It’s also got a built in tuner, and presets to approximate the guitar sound of your favorite records – Queen, Hendrix, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Metallica – a huge selection of classic sound shapes. Add your own custom presets and the variety is mind blowing.

USB output or 1/4 inch, so you can go into a computer for recording without an amp, or plug into an amp or board.

I’m thinking a Ratt Overdrive into a 4×4 Marshall might be nice. What about you?

DigiTech IPB10 Guitar Floor Multi-Effects Pedal available for $499.95 at Amazon. iPad not included.

It’s Martina and Jackie versus Selena Gomez with her video for Hit The Lights on this episode of Music Video Reform School.

The nineteen-year-old Texas native is back with the third single from her third album with The Scene, When The Sun Goes Down. Both the song and the video are lighthearted and happy, with an uptempo Club feel, bright colors, pink balloons, sparklers and that ever-present Selena Gomez smile. The lyrics are about not being afraid to take chances, go with your instincts and live in the moment.

Hit the lights, let the music move you
Lose yourself tonight, come alive
Let the moment take you, lose control tonight
Hit the lights, let the music move you
Lose yourself tonight, come alive
Let the moment take you, lose control tonight

Both Jackie and Martina loved this song, as well as the video, giving it a solid A+, and noting that Selena Gomez is – yes she is – the most beautiful person in the world.

Although the lyrics and style of the song show a bit more maturity than some of Gomez’ previous work, there’s no sign here that she’s moving away from her clean cut image ala Brittney or Miley. In other words, so far she’s doing it right.

The Mevio team got together for a little holiday celebration last week, and while they were handy, we sat them down and did some interviews. The result is Holday Memories, which can be seen on Mevio Today.

In this episode, we asked about their favorite holiday songs. Their answers ranged from the sublime (White Christmas) to the absurd (Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer) to the bah humbug, as in, “I hate Christmas music.” Amidst traditional favorites such as “O Holy Night” and “The Little Drummer Boy” – and 80s favorites like “Last Christmas” and “Christmas In Hollis” – it seems odd that nobody mentioned the song that ranked number one on the Rolling Stone Reader’s Poll: John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”

Here are the top ten, according to Rolling Stone readers.

• Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – John Lennon
• Fairytale Of New York – The Pogues
• Thank God It’s Christmas – Queen
• All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
• Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town – Bruce Springsteen
• Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy – Bing Crosby and David Bowie
• Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley
• Father Christmas – The Kinks
• Wonderful Christmas Time – Paul McCartney
• Christmas In Hollis – Run-DMC

If you look at the hot holiday records for 2011, it gets even more depressing. According to the iTunes charts, Justin Bieber has three songs in the top twenty, and Andy Williams is at #19, sandwiched in between two Glee covers. At least Nat King Cole made the top ten.

Whatever you’re listening to this Christmas, we hope that it puts you in the Holiday Spirit. Here’s wishing you the very best of all things as we close the books on 2011, and good health and prosperity in the year ahead.

A little something to get us into the holiday spirit this week, as Music Video Reform School takes on Train’s video of Shake Up Christmas.

Train got their first big radio exposure in 1998 with the song “Meet Virginia” from their debut album “Train.” The song made the top twenty of the Billboard Charts. In 2001 the San Francisco Pop-Rockers had another massive hit with “Drops of Jupiter.”

Their latest album is called “Save Me San Francisco,” which was released in 2009, and Train had another big hit on their hands as “Hey Soul Sister” brought them back into the limelight.

This Christmas single, “Shake Up Christmas,” is included on the “Golden Gate” edition of “Save Me San Francisco.” It was also featured in Coca Cola’s Christmas commercial series last year, and rose to the #12 spot on the “Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.”

Jackie and Martina both loved the song and the video. As they note, you’ve got to love a song that has you singing along the first time you hear it. The story is a nice expression for the season as well, with what the Germans call “Das Happyend.”

The final report card for this one? Double A.

Shake it up!

British Power-Pop heroes The Kooks playe live at the Fillmore in San Francisco last evening. Our man Eddie was there with his trusty camera to score these shots.

More information, including tour dates and info about their latest album, Junk of the Heart, is on the official site at http://www.thekooks.com.

Black Box Revelation opened for Beady Eye at The Warfield Theatre in San Francisco on Friday night and Eddie was there. The Belgian Duo are touring the States for the first time, and causing quite a stir wherever they go.

Here are some photos from the date.

More info and tour dates on the Web at http://us.blackboxrevelation.com.

Jamie Scott from Graffiti6 dropped by Mevio’s Studio B for this live set from Mevio Underground. He played ”Over You” from the debut album “Colours” and “Free” from the most recent Graffiti6 EP.

Hailing from Great Britain, Scott first came to prominence in a band called “Jamie Scott and the Town” touring with artists like Alicia Keys, Ryan Adams and Kelly Clarkson. He teamed up with producer and songwriter TommyD (who produced Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy”) for what was intended to be a solo album, but the two of them soon realized that the whole was bigger than the sum of its parts. Graffiti6 was born.

Graffiti6 Discography:

Stare Into the Sun (sampler) – 2009
Stone In My Heart (EP) – 2010
Annie You Save Me (single) – 2010
Colours (Full Length Album) – 2010
Free (EP) – 2011

Click here to watch these exclusive live performances from Jamie Scott of Graffiti6 on Mevio Underground.

Visit the official site at http://www.graffiti6.com for tour dates and more.

Eddie has an interview with Boots Electric (a.k.a. Jesse Hughes) during a recent stop in San Francisco on this episode of The Rad Report.

Boots Electric is a man of many names. Born Jesse Everett Hughes in Greenville, South Carolina, his mom moved to Palm Desert, California when he was 7 years old. It was there that he met Josh Homme (his eventual bandmate in Eagles of Death Metal) and the two became fast friends. Homme gave Hughes the nickname “The Devil” after watching him enact a rather devious revenge on someone who had picked on him. In addition to “The Devil,” “J. Devil” and “Boots” he’s also sometimes known as “Fabulous Weapon.”

Whatever his alter ego at the moment, he’s been making some incredible music. The debut album under the Boots Electric moniker is called Honkey Kong, and it was co-written by Money Mark, longtime Beastie Boys collaborator. Touring extensively for the album’s release, Hughes said that the stop in San Francisco (where he once lived, working at GAP) was “like returning to a home.”

The album has a little bit of something for everybody, even for lovers.

I believe in romance. My heroes are my grandmother and grandfather, because when they were 78 and 82, they would still have these moments when I’d catch them alone sweet talking each other.

As an added bonus, Hughes gets to put romance to the test every night on tour, since his girlfriend Tuesday Cross plays bass in the band.

Watch the full interview here.

Learn more at http://www.boots-electric.com.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals

Michael Butler and Sam Levin help you get ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping with a look at some of the coolest gadgets available this year.

Plantronics Voyager PRO HD Bluetooth Headset – $99

The Plantronics Voyager PRO HD has something called “Smart Sensor” technology that automatically knows when you’re wearing it, so you can answer calls simply by putting it on. It features brilliant HD audio and superior comfort. Not only that, Sam swears that the chicks dig the look.

Jabra Freeway Bluetooth Speaker Phone - $104.94

The Jabra is the first speakerphone to have a 3-speaker stereo system, HD Voice Ready technology and Virtual Surround Sound. It produces crisp audio from both voice and music. If you’ve been frustrated by other bluetooth speakers, this is one that really works.

Twelve South Compass iPad Stand – $39.99

The Twelve South Compass is a compact folding stand for your iPad that works as both an easel and a typing stand. When you use it as an easel, it can display your iPad in either portrait or landscape modes. To transform it into a typing stand, you simply flip down the secondary leg and your iPad will sit at the perfect angle for comfortable typing.

Usocket FastMac AC Outlet with Built In USB – $29.95

Ever wish you could charge or power your USB devices by plugging them directly into the wall socket? Now you can. U-Socket is a duplex AC receptacle with built-in USB ports to power any device that is capable of being charged via USB. No need for an adapter. Extra groovy.

Seagate GoFlex Satellite Portable Hard Drive with Built In WiFi – $181.60

The GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage lets you to carry your media library with you while on-the-go. You can wirelessly stream movies, photos, music and documents to your iPad, tablet or smartphone. With storage for over 300 HD movies, it’s the perfect thing when you’re on long trips and don’t have enough onboard memory on the device.

Check back for more episodes in our Holiday Gift Guide as the shopping season continues.