Beatnik Turtle
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Beatnik Turtle is an indie rock band from Chicago formed in 1998. Beatnik Turtle plays alternative pop-rock "with a sense of humor." Their sound is rooted in the song-based pop-rock sound of They Might Be Giants, Fountains of Wayne, The Saw Doctors, Barenaked Ladies, Cracker, Cake, and The Beatles.
In 2006, Beatnik Turtle published an online guide for indie bands called the Indie Band Survival Guide, written by sax player Randy Chertkow. The Indie Band Survival Guide is a free, 100+ page resource licensed under a Creative Commons license and shares "everything they've learned so far" about running and being in an indie band. Topics include the importance of digital distribution, promotion, copyright, and more. One section called File Sharing: An Independent Band's Perspective discusses file sharing from an indie band's point-of-view and argues that file sharing is good for indie bands with research based on important works from Lawrence Lessig, Janis Ian, Eben Moglen, and others.
A hardcopy book edition of The Indie Band Survival Guide, written by Chertkow and vocalist/guitarist Jason Feehan, will be published in August 2008 by St. Martin's Press (U.S./Canada) and in 2009 by Random House (UK/Europe/Worldwide) as The DIY Music Manual.
In 2007, Beatnik Turtle began TheSongOfTheDay.com where they released an original, free-to-download song every day during 2007 as a podcast. This was accomplished in part through the involvement of numerous "guest" musicians and other creative individuals who contributed their efforts to the project. The band is continuing this format, in a modified form, throughout 2008 with The Song of the Week.
Contents |
[edit] Band Members
- Beatnik Turtle band members include:
- Jason Feehan - Vocals, Guitar
- Randy Chertkow - Saxes, Vocals
- Dave Hallock - Trumpet
- Chip Hinshaw - Trombone
- John Owens - Drums, Vocals
- Tom Roper - Guitar
- Tom Susala - Bass Guitar
A number of other musicians frequently perform with Beatnik Turtle.
[edit] Discography
- Beatnik Turtle has released six album-length CDs:
- Sham Rock (2008), produced for the 2008 Record Production Month (RPM) Challenge
- All In A Day's Work (2007), produced for the 2007 Record Production Month (RPM) Challenge
- Thanks For Coming Out! Beatnik Turtle Live! (2006)
- The Cheapass Album (2004) (Music based on games from Cheapass Games, with album cover art by Phil Foglio)
- Santa Doesn't Like You (2002) (also known as "The Un-Holiday Album")
- What We've Got (2001)
[edit] Notable Airplay
- Chicago Public Radio's Eight Forty-Eight
- Dr. Demento
- Jonathon Brandmeier
