Night Rider Official Music Video Release

Hey ghouls and goblins and all other creatures of the night.  SCROLL DOWN BELOW TO CHECK OUT OUR LATEST MUSIC VIDEO FOR NIGHT RIDER.  It's crazy how quickly it ended up online.  This video was conceptualized, filmed, edited, and released in less than 2 weeks which sort of blows our minds.  Special thanks go to the amazing Andy, our good friend and brain behind the video.  He suggested we film it at an old abandoned church in downtown Gary, Indiana, so we headed out there one Sunday afternoon and shot the whole thing.  Although we had planned quite a bit of the video in advance, we were awestruck by the overall creepy vibe of the church and ended up just being quite spontaneous as we ran through the church like it was our own personal playground, searching for locations to film different scenes.  We also want to thank our good friend Jazz who spent so much of her time getting us all dolled up with makeup and to our friend Adriana, singer of Wonderland Honey, who plays the gimp (remember Pulp Fiction?) in the video.  Lastly, but certainly not least, thanks to our good friend Johnny for helping us out throughout the day with various tasks.  In an upcoming blog, we'll post pictures from that day and soon a 'making of Night Rider' video.  But for now, Happy Halloween.  Enjoy!

PINTO AND THE BEAN - NIGHT RIDER OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

A New Life Begins

Howdy folks - this is Paul - I've given permission for my emotions to control the content of this blog entry today; if you're not in the mood for anything deep, then I suggest reading it some other time, or just skipping it altogether.  I guess you could say I'm in somewhat of a strange mood because a chapter of my life came to an end today - and I feel it strongly now.  I never thought I'd cry as I left work, but today, walking down the stairs and out the door for the last time, I couldn't help it.  Tears filled my eyes as I got into my jeep and drove away.  Although I'm super excited about the adventure that lies ahead, I sit here questioning what I'll miss of my past.  In case you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about, let me back up for a moment - I've been a Bilingual/ESL teacher for Chicago Public Schools since 2005; I've made a very good living in this profession and I truly feel lucky to have been able to survive as well as I have.


But in early January of this year, you could say I "woke up".  It occurred to me that I couldn't exist every day in this comfortable life anymore.  It's not that I don't like being a teacher.  In fact, I often have a blast with my students.  It's an incredibly rewarding job, especially when you witness the positive impact you've made on other people's lives.  And it's not like I'm trapped in a corporate America 9-5 cubicle.  Being a teacher allows you to get creative and be spontaneous.  I decided it was NOT the teaching that I disliked.  It was my lifestyle that really brought me down.  Throughout college, I told myself I would never fall into the trap of becoming a part of the "real world"...and then one day, I found myself living there quite cozily - and for some time, I really enjoyed it.  It's easy to get used to a consistent paycheck and benefits that give us peace of mind, but the truth is, I never set out in life to have those things.  All I ever wanted was to make music that moved people and to one day do that for a living.  In some ways, I feel I've gone backwards, but when I really think about it, I know that becoming a teacher helped me grow as a human being; I feel it has given me a reason to be humble about the journey I'm about to take.


So, I've decided to leave it all behind.  I thanked my boss for the opportunity to teach at such a great school.  I said goodbye to my students.  I'm disconnecting from a world that many people think I'm crazy for leaving, but it must be done.  The biggest changes in life happen when we force ourselves to step outside of our comfort zones.  The thought of spending every single day working on music is what's always made me feel alive.  There is no denying that, but I found a safer place to live for years - and now it's time to head out on a journey into the unknown and see the world from a new perspective.  There is no guaranteed paycheck where I'm going and there are no benefits to keep my mind at ease.  Musicians sure do have it tough, and maybe that's why so many give up and find jobs in other fields; creating music becomes a memory of their youth or simply a hobby.  I guess the thing with me is that I refuse to ever let that happen; I am determined to find a fulfilling life doing what I love.  Part of why Ivan and I work so well together is because we are both crazy dreamers that don't let the reality of the world get the best of us.

To close out this blog today, I want to share one of the final lessons I taught students during the last days of school; several of us read the book "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"  As you know, Pinto and the Bean's album is called "The Waiting Place", and it's named after a pivotal part of this book.  When I asked my students what they felt "The Waiting Place" was, quite a few of them really understood the metaphor - it's a place where we've stopped chasing after our dreams; it's a place where we've decided to get jobs we don't really want; it's a place we've chosen to wait for someone else to save us when in fact, only we can save ourselves.  I loved hearing these responses from the kids and I let them know that I've been in my own waiting place for quite some time.  They needed to understand that I'm not leaving them because I dislike them or I dislike teaching.  I'm leaving because I woke up one day and realized it's just time to move on and do exactly what it is I've always wanted to do.  Some of them bought copies of "The Waiting Place", which I thought was pretty funny.  But when I think of it, our album really is a mirror of exactly what is about to happen and it's pretty exciting.  Today is my last day as a professional in the real world.  Everything that lies ahead is unpredictable.  The adventure is just beginning.      

The Birth of Our Band

One wintery day in 2009, Ivan was headed off to O'Hare airport to jump on a plane to visit family for Christmas; right before he took off, he said something along the lines of "why don't we start up a band as a duo?  Things will be easier if we just start something on our own without relying on other musicians to be on the same page as us."  We came to this realization that the two of us alone could create a band we were passionate about.  So when we started it up in early 2010, we didn't really know what direction it was going to go in musically.  We only knew that our songwriting styles and our voices worked well together; the combination of those two elements would be enough to build the structure of this band...so with an acoustic guitar, a drum set, and our voices, we started Pinto and the Bean.

As song ideas were born, we felt like getting a bit more experimental with what we were doing; Paul thought it would be interesting to take his acoustic guitar and morph it into something different by running it through an effects pedalboard; so he started shopping for guitar pedals - Ivan thought about turning his drums into an acoustic/electric hybrid set so he purchased an 80's Simmons electronic drum kit (one of the first electronic drum kits ever made).  We bought a microKORG (you've probably seen a band or two or a million use this because it's an incredibly badass little toy).  Plenty of other musical contraptions were also purchased along the way.  So, to make a long story short - some weird sounds/effects started creeping their way into an otherwise raw/acoustic band.  We eventually started playing shows with these new toys and sounds; later we recorded the songs for our album 'The Waiting Place'.

One of the songs on our album is a ballad called "Wake Up" and it happens to be a favorite among many of our fans.  If you don't know the song, you can download it for free by signing up on our mailing list in the upper right hand corner of this screen.  We recently noticed one of the top search terms for our web site is "Pinto and the Bean Wake Up Lyrics"...which is interesting because we didn't realize people were searching for our lyrics (Did you know all our lyrics are hand written in crayon?  You can find them on the music page of our web site).  "Wake Up" was actually the first song we wrote together; we hadn't really decided to officially start a band yet but we were experimenting with songwriting anyway.  Ivan had a vocal melody idea and chord structure and he had a general vision of what he'd like the lyrics to convey.  So we worked on writing the song.  Now, you may know 'Wake Up' from our album, but did you know there's a version we recorded with Ivan playing percussion on a garbage can lid?  There's some piano in it and other odd instruments as well; when we listen to our album version next to the original recording, they are so completely different - almost like two different bands.  Head on over to the secret page of this site to take a listen to the original recording.  We just posted it and we'd love to know what you think.  Anyway, do we talk too much?  We'll stop rambling now.  Talk to you soon :-)

New Music Video Now Officially Available!

Check it out friends!  Our third official music video, shot completely on an iPhone, we present to you,

Let's Make Noise

NEW MUSIC VIDEO NOW UP ON THE SECRET PAGE!

Hey folks!  We don't have a bunch to say today.  We'll let our newest music video for 'Let's Make Noise' do the talking.  It's up on the secret page of our web site RIGHT NOW!  All you have to do to check it out is enter your email address in the space below.  You'll get immediate access to it before it's officially released to cyberspace next week.  

New Music Video Is Here!

Our ‘Let’s Make Noise’ music video is HERE!  The specific video release date information is listed below.  Nick Palazzo, our director and good friend, is just working on the final touches as we write this.  We realize many of you are excited to see it; but rather than do the traditional YouTube release as we’ve done in the past, we decided to spice things up a bit…because we’re pinto beans – and pinto beans are best served spicy.

Two of the ways you can access the video involve you and ourselves watching it together while throwing back a few beers.  The other two options are much more cyberspacey if that’s more your thing.  So, without further ado, below are 4 ways YOU can check out our music video for ‘Let’s Make Noise’.

1)  Friday, March 30, 2012 (Double Decker House Party - 2953 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL) The Premier of 'Let's Make Noise' music video.  This will be the very first time any human being aside from ourselves will witness this video.  We will be releasing the video on a projector at a hot and sweaty house party in Logan Square before our performance.  Our good friends 'Bad Bad Meow' will also be releasing their first official music video that night with us.  If you like drinking until the early hours of the morning in packed houses, then you'll probably have a bad ass time at this party.  Last time we were there, you could barely move!  Fair warning.  Tune into wluw.org on Thursday, March 29 @ 9pm central time for a 'Battle of the Music Videos' radio interview.    

2)  Thursday, April 5, 2012 (Beat Kitchen - 2100 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL) - 'Let's Make Noise' video premiers via projector at Chicago's Beat Kitchen before our performance.  For those of you who missed the party, this night will be more of an OFFICIAL release of the video, with extra perks.  Each person who signs up for the free raffle will receive a goodie bag including a free copy of our album 'The Waiting Place', and opportunities to win free t-shirts, signed posters, drum sticks, and guitar picks.  Also, by coming to this show, you will be supporting a good cause.  The CCAC (Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center) will have a table set up at the venue to explain how you can prevent sexual child abuse.  

3)  Thursday, April 12, 2012 (Exclusive Mailing List Members Only Video Release) - 'Let's Make Noise' music video will be released to the 'secret page' of our web site, which is ONLY accessible to our mailing list.  Be sure to sign up on our mailing list BEFORE April 12, 2012 to access the video on this date.  Click here to sign up now.

4)  Thursday, April 19, 2012 (Worldwide Video Release) - 'Let's Make Noise' music video will be officially released via YouTube to the general public at 4 p.m. central time - in order to view it, simply visit pintoandthebean.com/video.  More details coming soon on how you can appear in our next music video by helping us promote and share this one.    

  

Respectable Oscars vs. Trashy Grammys

The 2012 Oscars aired this past Sunday and watching the show was a lovely experience.  It makes you want to sit back, relax and order a pizza to go with a nice glass of wine.  It's three hours of seemingly honest appreciation and recognition in the world of film.  This year's Oscars resonated with energy, soul, and passion.  We haven't seen any of the movies nominated, but that didn't really alter the effectiveness of the show.  There was a segment where several random actors/actresses briefly discussed why it is they are so deeply in love with acting and another segment where they discussed in detail what movies truly mean to them; several of the of the award speeches were incredibly inspiring and heartfelt.  It's refreshing and liberating to witness people in the movie industry speak highly of one another, and demonstrating gratitude for the awards they receive as a result of the blood, sweat, and tears they put into their passions.  All in all, from the beginning of the ceremony to the closing credits, it was a hugely intriguing end entertaining three hours that you didn't want to see come to an end.

Now...let's discuss...the Grammys for a bit...possibly a long bit...sorry to kill the positive vibes but we're artists/musicians here, and honestly, the Grammys, which aired a few weeks back, just stink.  They're a pile of dog poop sitting on a sidewalk on a hot summer day.  It's very difficult to admire the Grammys and the funny thing is that the show is set up in a very similar fashion as the Oscars.  There are similar types of speeches, acknowledgements, and awards, all given to professionals in the music industry who apparently deserve all this praise.  Here's the big difference between the Oscars and the Grammys.  The Oscars FEEL carefully thought out and sincere (hopefully they actually are).  The Grammys FEEL confused and plastic-like; there doesn't seem to be much integrity that goes into choosing the best acts of the year.  See, the music industry has been crumbling apart ever since underground artists/bands discovered avenues of promoting themselves online.  Whereas in the past, musicians at the top of the food chain (a.k.a. megastars such as Lady Gaga, Green Day, Foo Fighters, etc...) had all the power over the independent world of music, today, the playing field is the same for everyone; if you make smart decisions and work hard as an indie artist, you can definitely make a living in the music industry today.  Many of these bands/artists whom you have never even heard of are turning their art into full time careers, by carving out their own little niches, finding die hard fans, and living their music dreams.  Because there are SO many artists out there who are successfully doing this, the music industry is in a serious state of confusion - major label acts are no longer selling nearly as much product as they were 10 years ago because now they're competing with the world of independent musicians; indie music has skyrocketed to become a HUGE part of the music market.  Because the world of music has changed dramatically, die hard music fans now have access to a wider variety of music than they ever did before; the internet has opened up so many doors for artists and people are no longer forced to listen to what the mainstream industry throws at us - music fans can now pick and choose; it's sort of like being at a candy store.

So what does this have to do with the Grammys being trashy?  Well, it seems the Grammys only acknowledge what's hot on the Billboard charts, while ignoring the ENORMOUS amount of independent music being created and released.  Many of these bands are ones you've seen perform at your favorite music festivals; you purchase tickets to their concerts months in advance; you buy their merchandise and music as soon as it's available; you adore them and thousands of other people do too - this seems to be where the Grammys are confused.  They KNOW you're a die hard music fan out there and that an enormous amount of independent bands are making very noticeable dents in the music industry; but it's not noticeable enough to the mainstream viewing public, so would nominating any of them on the Grammys look attractive to its audience?  The Grammys need to be on top of what's hip.  These bands DO make very good livings as professional artists, but they aren't on the top 40 Billboard charts selling as many records as Adele, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Nickelback, and many others.  It's not that any of these artists mentioned are bad.  These musicians certainly work very hard on their craft, just as independent musicians do.  This is NOT why the Grammys stink.  The Grammys stink because everything about them seems to be a popularity contest which concerns only those listed in the top of the charts.  That's understandable, and the Grammys tried to trick us into thinking they knew what was cool in 2011 by awarding Arcade Fire with the best album of the year.  But really, that was a desperate attempt for them to show they knew something about art when they clearly don't.  Bottom line is this: the music industry has fallen apart - the Grammys don't know left from right or up from down, so they choose to nominate what's hot and popular to the mainstream public even though they're very well aware the music industry is in such a huge state of change, and the independents are slowly but surely taking over.

Maybe the film industry is as bad as the music industry, but it just doesn't seem to be as blatantly obvious.  It seems to truly embrace the beauty of film and what it stands for.  The Oscars seem to want to acknowledge the people out there trying to do something different with their passions and those people who are trying to make a difference in the world to make it a better place.  That's why art SHOULD be acknowledged, but right now the music industry is having an identity crisis and the Grammys don't seem to understand that.