Alright, here’s today’s trivia question that carries no prize, no reward and certainly no recognition for the handful of people who can actually get it right... What is the most northern point in the continental United States? Go on; think about it for a minute... I’m sure many of you are saying that it’s either Washington or Maine, but you’re wrong. What state does Atmosphere spit rhymes about in his track “Shh... (Slug)”? Okay that wasn’t a good hint, how about the state where Bob Dylan set sail from prior to his journey to becoming an icon? Land of 10,000 lakes? That’s right, it’s Minnesota... Now that we have the infamous-yet-annoying-long-blog-intro out of the way, let’s get down to business. Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based Perfect Porridge is pure blog bliss, that’s right.. I said it, pure blog bliss. I almost didn’t want to write about it because I like it so much and thought I should keep it for myself but then I realized that there is indeed enough of this blog to go around. We chatted it up with the blog’s Music Editor Greg Swan and found that he started out writing for a Des Moines alternative newspaper and also co-founded a statewide arts magazine before started his blog. Currently he’s digging Great Northern, Eastern Conference Champions and The Annuals, so do your homework before you bombard him with your crappy demos or baby bands. Whatever you do, tell him that hhA! sent ya, over and out.

Kyle Mortensen

Name: Kyle Mortensen
Title: Artist Manager, Youth Marketing Consultant
Company: A.i. Music, Inc.
Hometown: Portland, OR
Current Location: Los Angeles, CA
Previous Jobs: General Manager, StreetWise Concepts & Culture
Marketing Manager, URB Magazine / the Rebel Organization, Inc.
Account Executive, Asylm Marketing & Insane Artists Management
Field Rep, Immortal Records / Buzztone Entertainment

--STARTING TO DIG--

>>How did you get into the music biz?
“I've written and performed music my entire life, but I found at a very early age that I thrived on telling my family and friends about great new music.  I grew up in the Agoura Hills area and was really good friends with the band Incubus, whom I'd met through a mutual friend after a show at the Thousand Oaks Teen Center.  Brandon and Alex used to give me flyers to hand out and tickets to sell at my high school to all of my friends, which helped get word-of-mouth going north of Calabasas.  I ended up moving to Salt Lake City for a bit and would bring my walkman into class and play music for the kids that sat near me.  After I while, I literally started selling their album 'Fungus Amongus' out of my backpack.  After the guys were signed to Immortal, Mikey introduced me to their Product Manager after a show at the Troubadour and was like, 'I love what you're doing. When you get back to LA would you like to do this for ALL of our bands?'  My response was 'You mean THIS is a job that I can get paid for? I'm in.'  Here I am today, managing the rock band A.i. and releasing the groups second album Sex & Robots, independently on September 11th via our label A.i. Music, Inc.”

>>What did you want to be when you were 10?
“I wanted to be the guitarist for a rock band - that was it. No questions asked.”

>>..and what did your parents want you to be?
“They wanted me to focus on music or my artwork; it didn't really matter to them.  They always encouraged me to follow my dreams. I was never in a household that preached ‘go to college and become a lawyer’.  I thank them to this very day for putting up with my stereo being jacked up to 11 all day and all night.”

>>If you had a musical genie that could grant you 3 wishes for the industry, what would they be?
“Hmmm...That’s a good one. I would say in no particular order:
1. Decisions made at the top to be based on the art, the creative expression, and not the bottom line.
2. For the "machine" (and that means every aspect of the business) to catch up to consumer buying and listening habits much more quickly. 
3. Kathie Lee Gifford should never be allowed to release another album (see 'worst album of all time' below).

>>Mentors you’ve had in the music industry:
“David "Beno" Benveniste, who manages System Of A Down, Deftones, Cypress Hill, etc.  The man has taught me so much, I don't even know where to begin; Rick Gonzalez, who was the Product Manager at Immortal that gave me my first shot; Ko Kawashima, former Bjork manager, who to this day is still the reason that I write everything down; Raymond Roker, founder of URB Magazine, definitely. 

>>Top 5 fav bands of 'right now'
1. A.i. (of course, no bias here)
2. Misery Signals
3. Underworld
4. Slayer
5. Citizen Cope (not really a band, but it's all good)

>>Worst album of all time:
“Probably one of Kathie Lee Gifford's Christmas albums. My mom used to play that shit in the house and it was the closest I've ever come to slitting my wrists...every year...in December...”

>>Your daily reads: 
“DigitalMusicNews, I'm a sucker for Perez, I'm on SuicideGirls, Billboard.com, Pitchfork, BrandWeek, AdWeek, a handful of the MP3 blogs, LinkedIn posts. Our publicist Brian forwards me a lot of great material; I would say that most of my literature comes from business associates, clients or friends.”

>>How can people get in touch with you?

       

>>Parting words?
“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. Stay tuned...”

GOODBYE SERGEANTS – “I Wish I Was Good Looking in a Boy Band Kind Of Way” (unsigned, UK)

Quick, what does the band Goodbye Sergeants have in common with CSS? They both think it’s funny to have songs with names longer the average bear’s attention span. Regardless of the length of the song title, one thing is for sure, it is 3 minutes and 12 seconds of foot-tappin, hand-clappin, gangsta-rappin genius. Well, one of the aforementioned phrases is total and utter bullshit but we’ll let you be the judge for yourself. Seriously though, this band has a handful of amazing songs and this week’s featured track is being released digitally at the end of this month. Additionally, there are talks of it being poised to be one of the only tracks in UK’s Top 40 from an unsigned artist in quite some time. Lead singer Rich Keeble evokes an emotion from the crowd and listeners in general because his songs are quick-witted and packed with power. Please keep in mind that this song IS a demo, so listen with care, but listen and let us know what you think! I already know that the bloggers love these kids, hell... that’s where I found them! More info on these guys can be found at www.myspace.com/goodbyesergeants and you can download the track HERE

STUCK IN THE SOUND – “Toy Boy” (Discograph, France)

“Check, check, check, shake... do you want me now? Stripped to the waist... my body, right? Erotic touch, you blame me for the day when you and my hands were tied.” – Seriously, how can you NOT love those cheeky lyrics?! Not to mention the song is catchy as all hell to boot. Signed to the indie label Discograph in France, this week’s music video of the week is taken from the quirky French-rock/pop outfit called Stuck In The Sound. Their video for “Toy Boy” is shaking things up in Paris and has crowds throwin’ their hands up (and pants down) all over the place. Oui Oui!! We trust that you’ll like the video as much as we do. The band has a few dozen shows coming up before the end of the year, and by the look of the live performances, they can bring the same energy live. Don’t be surprised to see these Frenchmen making their US debut sometime next year at a club near you. The song has already picked up airplay in several markets across the USA including Los Angeles and Portland. You can find out more information about the band (en français) on their uniquely designed homepage www.stuckinthesound.com

BACK-TO-BACK FOR BECK: Alternative format standard-bearer Beck Hansen makes it two weeks in a row atop the Mediaguide Specialty Airplay Song chart with “Timebomb,” the first release from his forthcoming eponymous Interscope album. In fact, the single has been receiving so much love from the specialty panel that it also sits atop the Album side of the chart, too. Back on the Song chart, VHS or Beta (Astralwerks) and the Go! Team (Memphis Industries/Sub Pop) flip-flop the next two chart positions, with the former’s “Can’t Believe a Single Word” ascending to #2 while the latter’s “Grip Like a Vice” drops to #3. The top debut on the Song chart belongs to Rogue Wave (Brushfire), who check in at #4 with “Lake Michigan,” helping full-length Asleep at Heaven’s Gate rise to the #7 slot on the Album end. It was also a good week for fans of shining armor, as Minus the Bear’s “Knights” (Suicide Squeeze) jumped to #6 on the Song chart, where it’s right in front of…Hard-Fi’s “Suburban Knights” (Warner Bros.) at #7. The two acts share a similar position on the Album chart, with Minus the Bear’s Planet of Ice at #8, again one slot ahead of Hard-Fi’s spaghetti-western homage Once Upon a Time in the West. Epitaph’s Weakerthans have an impressive chart debut at #11 with “Civil Twilight,” while Aesop Rock debut right behind them with “None Shall Pass” (Definitive Jux). Finally, congrats to Liars (Mute), whose self-titled full-length rises to #5 on the Album side, fueled in part by panel airplay of the lascivious, licentiously themed single “Plaster Casts of Everything.” If only playing with papier mâchè had been equally entertaining in elementary school...

What is the best kind of grass?

...I dunno, what??

Emo-grass, because it cuts itself.

Submitted by: Skybombers