If the answer is yes, you'll want to drop by the Swiss Tavern on Sunday when the filmmakers behind Tacoma production "It Don't Rain on Sunny Days" will be shooting "a major scene" and raising money to finish the thing. A bunch of local bands are pitching in towards the effort, and the evening's musical lineup includes several bands that are contributing tunes and performances to the film, according to writer/producer Randy Sparks. Check it out:

Hosted by Randy Oxford

Featuring (in order):

The Trevalyan Triangle
The Randy Oxford Band
Kim Archer Band
Nicole Fournier and Her 3lb Universe
Loose Gravel and the Quarry
Swampy Draws
I Defy

Local musician and former Shoboat owner Joe Rosati (above) will star in the forthcoming indie film "It Don't Rain on Sunny Days." Rosati will film a scene with a cross-section of local music all-stars -- including Randy Oxford, Junkyard Jane's Leanne Trevalyan, Nicole Fournier and others -- Sunday at the Swiss.
COURTESY PHOTO

Just got off the phone with Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan, who wrote "The Indie Band Survival Guide" ($14.95, St. Martin's Griffin). And I thought a few of you South Sound rockers would want to check out their site for a few ideas on building a fan base. Their site covers tons of related topics, from how to sell your music through CD Baby to using "podsafe" music collectives to get heard.

Recently got word of a Degrees reunion show set for next weekend. The Degrees have been out of commission since '06, but the Tacoma band is getting back together for a benefit show Aug. 23 at Bob's Java Jive, according to an e-mail press release I just received. The band is raising money for drummer Andy Coffey, who suffers from diabetes and whose vision is consequently impaired.

"Any proceeds beyond the cost of a pair of glasses will go towards a new PA system for Bob's Java Jive," reads the show announcement.

That night's bill will also include Rayblazer, Bandolier, Carparty, Darrren Selector and Kyong Kim of Post Stardom Depression. Drop The Degrees' Reylan Fernandez a line at sonsofivan@gmail.com for more details.

“Band in a box.” That’s the general concept behind Saturday night’s electronic music showcase at Bob’s Java Jive, according to Tacoma singer-songwriter Deborah Page, one of the acts scheduled to perform.

For the past several months, Page and band mate Paul Uhl have cut their teeth at the Jive, Sanford & Son Antiques & Auctions and other local venues. Page’s singing reminded me a bit of Natalie Merchant when I spun her CD “Stay.” And the duo produces a breezy style of pop that melds folky guitar melodies with electronic textures and looped drum beats.

That combination makes the outfit a bit of a square peg on Tacoma’s rock scene. Page recalled drawing interest about performing at a local festival, only to have it wane once organizers learned her band was a laptop-enhanced duo.

“They wanted to see a drummer, and they wanted to see a bass player,” recalled Page, who goes by Deborah Ritchie offstage. “And that’s a little bit of the trouble we’re running into. People think one guy and a guitar or two people and guitars. They’re not gonna have the sound we want, even though we sound huge.”

The aim of Saturday’s gig was to bring together like-minded, digital music enthusiasts on one bill. Bandolier, Bumtech, the Story of Light and Dark and DJ Darrren Select will also perform.

“The genre of what we fall into is kind of difficult,” Page said. “So we talked to some of the people at the Java Jive and tried to get a like-sounding group together. Some of it’s more electronica. But it’s all integrating the computers with the live vocals, with the guitars and music that we’ve all written.”

Making music digitally has afforded the group great freedom, she said. “Everything we’ve written ourselves, recorded ourselves and mastered ourselves. That’s why it’s cool with the band in the box thing. You’re just like this one unit that just goes around, and you can present your music, and we sound like a full band.”

Saturday’s show kicks off at 8 p.m., and there is a $5 cover charge; 253-536-5729 for more details.

But Old Town will be the place to be for blues fans on Saturday when the 16th annual Old Town Blues Festival takes over Slavonian Hall, the Spar Tavern, the Mountaineers Club and Old Town Park.

This year’s lineup includes Portland’s JoeMcMurrian Quartet, Billy Roy Danger & the Rectifiers, Becki Sue & the Big Rockin’ Daddies, Loose Gravel, Junkyard Jane, Alex Weed, Jay Mabin, Tim Hall Band, local legends Little Bill & the Blue Notes and more.

Many of Saturday’s performances are free. But cost is $5 each or $20 for an all-day pass to catch Brown & Blues Band, Billy Roy Danger & the Recftifiers, Angel Grace and local legends Little Bill & the Blue Notes at the Mountaineers Club and the Blues Café at Slavonian Hall; 253-759-2518.

Big Brother is here, and he lives in fancy video phones. So of course there's You Tube footage of last night's near fight at White River Amphitheatre. The incident is making national news, and I'm working on a follow up story. So if you were up close and saw what happened, drop me a line at 253-274-7389 or e-mail ernest.jasmin@thenewstribune.com.

I'm a huge Nine Inch Nails fan and couldn't wait to hear how Saul Williams, Bill Laswell and a handful of other folks had chopped up and rearranged the tracks from Nails' last album on the new "Y34RZ3ROR3M1X3D" CD. I'm partial to what Williams and the Faint did with "Survivalism" and "Meet Your Master" respectively.

But the coolest part new album - for hands on music fans, at least - is the data CD. Nails' Trent Reznor is among a growing number of artists that give fans tools for coming up with their own mixes (see also: Beastie Boys, Moby.) And the second disc that comes with the new remix album is chock full of sample kits and presets that you can load into Garage Band, or whatever sequencer you have handy, and go wild with.

"Me, I'm Not" is may favorite track from the "Year Zero" disc, so that's the first kit I dragged onto my iMac's desktop. And if you click the link below, you can hear what I came up with after about an hour of tinkering around in Ableton Live.

OK, I know I'm asking for it as someone who has penned many a snarky dis about other people's music. But in tomorrow's column (related to my previous blog on D.I.Y. electronic music) I invite readers to check out a few of my beats – stuff I threw together one afternoon using Acid Music Studio and a couple of sample bundles I had saved on my laptop.

Hopefully, it'll inspire some of you to do your own thing, too. I made these in one afternoon without having read the entire Acid manual. And with minimal musical talent.

Gravy Pump demos

My Funk Is Mighty, Indeed

Hip Gnosis

Soul Food Medley

Buzz: Killed

Here's a how-to sidebar that was originally slated to run with today's SoundLife story on making your own electronic music. Hope it'll inspire you to save up your ducats and get started:

So you want to build your own digital recording studio at home. Well, it’s not as hard as you might think. Here’s a basic shopper’s guide:

Start with a decent computer: Chris Middleton, the author of “Creating Digital Music and Sound,” recommends that your computer have at least 60 GB of hard disc space, a 1 GHz processor (though 1.6 GHz or higher is preferable), and 1 GB of RAM.

You can find towers with those specs for $500 to $800 these days, or cheaper if you look in the classifieds. Comparable laptops cost more, but you may want something portable to lug around as you collaborate with friends or perform.

Or use your Playstation Portable: Eidos Interactive will launch it's new Traxxpad on Friday, which will reportedly allow you to use your PSP as a sampler and sequencer. It will retail for $39.99. Can't wait to try that one out. But meanwhile, if you're using a computer ...

Pick a software package: Many programs combine the functionality multi-track recorders, samplers, sequencers and more in one tool.

Novices will want to start with less expensive packages, like Acid Music Studio ($69.99), Sound Forge Audio Studio 8 ($69.99) and FL Studio 7 (formerly Fruity Loops, $139), which allow you to make cut and paste music with samples or basic band demos.

Once you get a little experience under your belt, you might want to upgrade to one of the programs that many professional electronic musicians use to compose.

“A lot of these (programs) are geared more towards certain things,” said electronic musician, Eliot Lipp. “Making techno in Ableton Live is really simple.”

The latest version of live will run you $499.99. Other popular options include Logic Pro 7 ($299); Propellerheads Reason ($399.99); Cakewalk Sonar 6 ($499.99).

Pro Tools M-Powered ($249.99) isn't specifically designed for electronic music. It's a bare bones version of industry standard recording software. And you may be better off using it than a multi-track recording hardware, which can be more expensive and which you can't upgrade with plug ins.

MIDI keyboards are a cheap and versatile alternative to synthesizer workstations, when used in conjunction with the above programs. Expect to spend $100 to $250.

Get an audio interface: These aren’t essential if you’re just making beats for MySpace.com page. But you’ll want a quality interface for incorporating instruments and MIDI into your compositions, or for outputting sound during live performance. M-Audio Firewire is a popular line. Expect to pay $200 to $400.

Maybe you read the story I wrote for today's SoundLife on making your own sample-based music and hip-hop and electronica as D.I.Y. movements. Hope you did, and maybe it inspired you to build your own beat station at home.

Along those lines, I also got an e-mail from a guy at TCC who's making it that much easier for his students to get involved. Here's what he wrote about a class he's teaching:

In case you wanted to follow-up article on this topic – I have designed a class at TCC that uses some of the software you mentioned to teach students about music. TCC has been really supportive of this, and has helped to invest in some really cool hardware and software. Not only are these accessible tools for aspiring musicians, but they are also fantastic tools for teaching the understanding of musical concepts.

Let me know if you ever want to come over and check out the MIDI Lab at TCC. Although we are not offering this class in the summer quarter, it will be going strong again in the fall. And I would be happy to give you a tour of the lab anytime.

Thanks again for all you do for local music.

John Falskow, PhD
Music Department Chair
Tacoma Community College
(253)460-4374

If you can't wait for John's class, I'll be posting some resources later to help you figure out what you're doing. (I'd do it now, but I don't have all my resources in front of me. Heh. Check in later.)

Haven't been to the Viaduct yet, so I can't yet vouch for what the place is like. But the folks behind short lived all-ages rock spots the Frame Shop, the Hall and the Junkyard are behind it. And they've posted this.