strange bird labs.

Pitchfork.tv

Rich Orris — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:29:58 -0500

You are saying to yourself, "Rich, where have you been? You haven't posted in 2 months?"

Well...I was lucky enough to do some working with the EFF for Super Tuesday. I built a new site for Jen and Erin. I've been working with the super folks at GreenYour helping to save the world. Jen and I bought a house in Asheville. Oh, and there is this little site called Pitchfork.tv that I've been slaving away on.

After months of seeing the same videos over and over, I still find most of them enjoyable especially Daytripping with Man Man.

I'll write some more technical posts about it sooner, but for now I'm just going to send my love out to:

SXSW Music 2008

Rich Orris — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:42:41 -0600

South By Southwest just posted their showcasing artist list coming in at 1,594 band (subject to change, of course). If you are anything like me, this would be totally overwhelming so I like to boil down that list a bit. Here is the (still unmanageable) list of artists that I'm really excited about that are playing:

Akron/Family
Astronautalis
Blitzen Trapper
The Blow
Bon Iver
Born Ruffians
Bowerbirds
Billy Bragg
The Concretes
Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
Diplo
DJ Donna Summer
The Dodos
Jason Forrest
Georgie James
Ghislain Poirier
Harlem Shakes
Headlights
Holy Fuck
Jim James
Kaki King
Jens Lekman
Los Campesinos!
Lyrics Born
The 1900s
Jim Noir
Ra Ra Riot
Jay Reatard
Rogue Wave
Kelley Stoltz
Tapes 'n Tapes
The Teenage Prayers
Tokyo Police Club
Via Audio
The Weakerthans
WHY?
The Wombats

Pictured above: Andrew Bird from his 2007 SXSW Showcase at Stubb's

De Novo Dahl

Rich Orris — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:24:27 -0600

I took the top photo right before The Flaming Lips played at Monolith this fall. I thought they were just some guys in funny suits until...

Every few months, I like to review the records that the office gets to make sure I didn't miss anything good. I basically go to every MySpace page and listen to exactly 3 seconds before closing the window sure of my original decision to ignore it. Every now and then I'll find a new band I didn't know about. So I google "De Novo Dahl", hit their MySpace page, and see the second photo and immediately think, I know those guys.

Well, I didn't know them, but I looked through the thousands of photographs from the last few months and there they are. Haven't listened to the album yet, but they sound interesting.

Aaaaaaaahhhhhh.

Rich Orris — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 17:12:06 -0600

You would normally be seeing my blog and portfolio, but our hosting company screwed us. We'll be back up soon. I promise.

Happy Holidays

Rich Orris — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:00:00 -0600

It's December 14. Hanukkah is over. Jen is graduating today. We're leaving Maine next week. What's going to happen next you ask?

We're driving back to Albany for some rest, relaxation, and (more) wedding planning. Starting January 1 we are heading down to Asheville, North Carolina. Why? Because Maine made us hate cold, but we still like snow and we are trying on cities for the next year to see where we want to end up.

But before that all happens, I've got work to do. I'm working on many projects that I love and I feel like I've never been this efficient. Thanks in part to weather, but mostly due to my favorite current event, the writers strike.

In the meantime...
Recent professional site launch: Museum as Hub for New Museum
Recent personal site launch: Jennifer Nathan for Jen

Happy Thanksgiving

Rich Orris — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 08:00:00 -0600

Jen and I are home for the holiday, enjoying some well-deserved rest, and getting serious about wedding planning.

Alias and Astronautalis

Rich Orris — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:00:00 -0500

The year isn't over yet, but I'm already calling this the best show of the year for me. Partly because it was a surprise, but mostly because it was just excellent.

I didn't know Astronautalis before I heard about the show, but is quickly becoming one of my favorite hip hop artists. His recent album Mighty Ocean and Nine Dark Theaters would make you think he's gone more acoustic and mellow, but kid can freestyle with the best of them.

And while Alias is definitely one of my favorite producers, I've never heard him rap and now I can't get it out of my head. Brendon, aka Bren the Microphone Wrecka, has recently moved back to Portland from the left coast after helping blow up anticon. I'm hoping to run into him around town.

There are also some videos. First up, Alias featuring a NIN sample and then Astronautalis takes audience suggestions and disses Madonna over a T.I. beat.