blog.shrub

Tanya Andersen, a 41 year old disabled single mother living in Oregon, has countersued the RIAA for Oregon RICO violations, fraud, invasion of privacy, abuse of process, electronic trespass, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, negligent misrepresentation, the tort of “outrage”, and deceptive business practices:

11. Settlement Support Center also falsely claimed that Ms. Andersen had “been viewed” by MediaSentry downloading “gangster rap” music at 4:24 a.m. Settlement Support Center also falsely claimed that Ms. Andersen had used the login name “gotenkito@kazaa.com.” Ms. Andersen does not like “gangster rap,” does not recognize the name “gotenkito,” is not awake at 4:24 a.m. and has never downloaded music.

some of the folks sued by the RIAA are fighting back:

“If somehow this activity was to somehow been pinned to me, it was somehow done so fraudulently,” she says. “There is no way it came from my household.

“I have the least expensive computer system you can buy from Dell. The type you order off television for $499.00. It was purchased in the summer of 2002 and has the smallest hard drive they make. I have no cd writer on it and the cd-rom that I do have, does not even work correctly.

“I live alone with my 8-year-old daughter (who would have been seven at the time the alleged occurrence took place). I am a single mom who is disabled and unable to work. I live on Social Security disability and struggle to support my daughter and myself. If I am put in a position where I need to defend myself regarding this situation, it would create extreme financial hardship on me. I have no money and did not do what is being said. I also must admit that all this stuff that has been occurring with this whole ordeal has triggered my medical condition to flare lately.
…
“These files you are speaking accusing me of sharing (which Mr. Eiler told me about), are not and never have been on my computer system. Several of those artists, I have never even heard of! One, I understand, is a rap song. I am 42-years-old and do not even like rap music. The login that this person who did this apparently used, which Mr. Eiler told me of, is not a login name I have ever used or heard of.

puff piece on BigChampagne. this quote is perhaps the best part:

“If you had a laptop under your arm and a pitch that went, ‘Wha wha wha wha Napster wha wha wha,’ you could get a meeting with anybody in the mediasphere,” recalls Garland. At one meeting, a famous producer turned down an urgent call from one of his biggest stars so that he and Garland could keep talking about computers. “He turns to me and says, ‘Hey, kid, when was the last time somebody told you you were more interesting than Axl Rose?’”

Sony BMG settles NY radio probe for $10 million:

“Instead of airing music based on the quality, artistic competition, aesthetic judgments or other judgments, radio stations are airing music because they are paid to do so in a way that hasn’t been disclosed to the public,” Spitzer said at a press briefing.

House Concert Connection
HouseConcerts.com
HouseConcerts.org
HouseConcerts.ca
Russ and Julie’s House Concerts
FolkMusic.org

I’ve just update my house concerts web site with details for three shows:

• Libbie Schrader, July 30 [RSVP]
• Sam Shaber, August 27 [RSVP]
• Edie Carey and Anne Heaton, September 18 [RSVP]

Libbie is the former frontwoman for Pantene Pro-Voice winners Think of England. She’s opened foe Poe, Jewel and Rusted Root. Her music has been played on NPR and KCRW. But the important pat is she’s just that good. Just how someone makes and emotional connection with listeners is hard to describe; no matter; Libbie does it.

I found out about Sam Shaber through my friend Diana’s old house concert series. Sam’s won awards in the John Lennon, Billboard, and USA Songwriting Competitions. Whether she’s writing about family, love or New York, Sam is a joy to watch and listen to.

Anne Heaton and Edie Carey — this is my first two-performance show. Also discovered via the aforementioned series. Anne’s quirky, smart, upbeat writing style (listen to “Underdog” or “Megan & Kevin”) and candid conversations are sure to win you over. Oh yeah, she also opened for Jewel.

MTV’s Road Rules featured one of Edie’s songs. Please don’t hold that against her. :) Her four solid albums of folk of introspective folk-pop more than make up for it. She’s also caught the ear of NPR at the Utah Olympic organizers. Now, let her catch yours.

They call him The Star Maker of the Semipopular. Groan.

Everyone’s favourite Canadian law professor Michael Geist calls attention to the recent Federal Court of Appeal decision on file sharing.

Graham Henderson of the CRIA says:

The judge has determined that uploading, downloading, it’s illegal.

But, wait! It’s not true:

Actually, the court did no such thing. Concluding its copyright discussion at paragraph 54, the court says:

“I make no such findings here and wish to make it clear that if this case proceeds further, it should be done on the basis that no findings to date on the issue of infringement have been made.”

Jorge Cortell, who had taught at Polytechnic University of Valencia UPV in Spain for five years was forced to resign after the Dean caved in to pressure from the Spanish Recording Industry Association and the MPAA.

from wikipedia, of course:

CBGB, also CBGB’s or CB’s is a legendary club in the Manhattan Bowery district of New York City, New York. The full name is CBGB OMFUG which stands for “Country, Bluegrass, and Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers”.