Tocquigny

As broadcast TV and radio media look to transform their business models and content delivery, some new media pioneers are making serious headway in claiming valuable niche territory.  For a few years now, I’ve been listening to various shows on a “podcast network” dubbed “TWiT” (originating from This Week in Technology).

Created by broadcast radio personality Leo LaPorte, aka “The Tech Guy,” this single network has around 35 niche shows – which LaPorte prefers to call “netcasts,” because “podcast” implies it’s only been uploaded to iTunes.  In fact, each weekly netcast can be viewed LIVE or pre-recorded via any smart phone, iTunes, Android app, iPhone app, various set-top boxes, YouTube, you name it.

The live version is mostly for the die-hard fans, many of which log into a chat room to provide real-time fact finding and expert consensus.  Every once in a while, the host needs help on a topic faster than a Google search, so they’ll say something like, “I don’t know…chat room, can you help me?” and within seconds the question is answered accurately, and you’re moving on to the next topic.

All content is free, and their ad model depends upon each show host to put their own spin on in-show mini-monologues that are often much less annoying than a produced piece. If you’re out and about while listening, and want to dive in deeper once you’re at your computer, each show has easy-to-find show notes with related resources and links.

So, we all know what podcasts are…it’s just amazing to watch LaPorte build his empire on a shoestring with everyday technologies like Skype and to realize how hard it will be for other players to catch up in the niches that TWiT chooses to dominate.

My favorite netcasts are TWiG (This Week in Google  - covering all things ‘cloud’ with special focus on Google) and TWiT…the flagship netcast after which the network was named. 

One fun and useless thing I learned this week is that you can Google the phrase “Google logos” to find a repository of all those clever holiday Google logo doodles – cool to see them all in one gallery.

Check it out on www.twit.tv. Even better, look up ‘twig’ or ‘twit’ in your iTunes app (or one of the various Android apps) next time you hit the gym or walk the dog…if there’s any geek in you at all, I promise it will not disappoint!

Being headquartered in the heart of the Live Music Capital of the World, it’s all but a requirement for music to play a pivotal role in the lives of all on the Tocquigny team. Take a walk around the office. At any given point in the day, ~7 out of 10 Tocquigny-ites can be spotted bearing headphones — each head bobbing to a different beat. Some could say that we’re wild about music.

Companies in the Northern US have snow days; banks have Federal holidays; we have SXSW music days. Once a year, 2,000+ musical artists arrive in our neighborhood for the famed SXSW Music & Media Conference, momentarily rubbing shoulders with the Silicon Valley & Madison Avenue elite evacuating the town following the close of SXSW Interactive. Every bar, restaurant, theater, yard, street, bowling alley and power plant in Downtown Austin is taken over by the world’s most prominent musicians playing alongside the crème de la crème of under-the-radar acts. The latter is what the conference is really about — discovering what’s next.

So without further ado, my personal Top 5 Breakout Musical Artists of SXSW 2011:

1. Givers

I’ve never seen an act as platonically unified as this five-some on stage at The Windish Agency’s Saturday afternoon showcase. Their Dirty Projectors-inspired pop music is sonically complex, yet perfectly constructed for an afternoon of dancing in the sun.

2. Foster the People

Also a part of the Windish day-party, I was tipped off by Thrillist, FILTER, MTV and a handful of other sources about this LA indie rock trio. Spinner referred to them as “the next MGMT”, but I left their show digging them infinitely more than the 2008 breakout artist.

3. Cults

I don’t know what it is about these folks. Recently signed to Columbia Records, I attached to them immediately after they plucked the first notes of “Go Outside” at the [hot, hot, hot] Columbia showcase. Four guys and a gal, Cults not only played an authentic energy-infused show, but were even more fun to hang out with after. Surf-rock? Twee-pop? I’m not sure how to describe them, but count me as a new fan.

4. Oh Land

Beautiful and talented, Oh Land is the electro-pop music project of young Danish (by way of NYC) songstress, Nanna Øland Fabricus. I kicked off my SXSW marathon week with her performance at our client’s FADER Fort by FIAT side-festival — just days after watching her American TV debut on Late Show with David Letterman. Oh Land is about to blow up.

5. Skrillex

I’ve never really gone out of my way to listen to house/electronic music — that is, until October 2010 when I caught Deadmau5’s inspiring sunset performance at Austin City Limits Music Festival. Weeks later, Deadmau5 tweeted about Sonny Moore and his music project, Skrillex. All it took was one tweet to suck me into the dubstep craze. While I saw Skrillex live a month ago, SXSW 2011 seemed to be Sonny’s ‘coming-out’ party. As he opened for Duran Duran at C3 Presents’ famed Late Night Party, the crowd of music industry influencers and celebs (including Kevin Costner & Mischa Barton) caught on. As dubstep slithers its way into pop music vernacular, Skrillex will be the genre’s leader.

Bonus: DeYarmond Edison

Okay, so not a “breakout artist”, per se, but a breakout show. Rumored for over a week, and finally confirmed on the FADER Magazine website on Friday, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon reunited with his college buddies for a once-in-a-lifetime 3-song performance at the FADER Fort by FIAT. (If you don’t know Bon Iver, stop what you’re doing right now and grab a copy of the 2007 masterpiece, For Emma, Forever Ago.) Tucked in between a set by South African hip hop artist Spoek Mathambo and super secret surprise guest, Diddy, Vernon & team silenced the audience with their powerful indie folk ballads. Wow. This half hour defined SXSW 2011 for me.

Hard choices. Thoughts?

If you had your eyes open at SXSWi this year, you probably ran into a few grilled cheese sandwiches here and there. So, what’s the deal? Are grilled cheese sandwiches the new cupcakes? What do you think: grilled cheese #FTW or #WTF ???

Arts and crafts hour at Tocquigny.