Merry Christmas BUCKETheads!! It’s the old-time country Christmas special, as Corey and Lou settle by the fireplace with eggnog in hand and Christmas sweaters adorned. They look back at the best Christmas specials and Christmas movies of all time, while bringing you tons of podsafe Christmas music for your holiday driving enjoyment.  206-337-9910 is the BUCKET “pail mail” line, call us today! (Direct Link to MP3, Recorded Dec. 19, 2009)

206-337-9910 is the new BUCKET line number … call the show today, let us know your thoughts

CHRISTMAS NEWSLINE
The big northeast blizzard of 2009 in full effect
Mrs. Claus prevented from marching in parade next to Santa
Real trees “greener” than fake trees
12 Days of Christmas costs $87,402

SKYMALL ITEM OF THE SEASON
Aculife Therapist Deluxe ($150)

POPCORN BUCKET
25 Best Christmas Movies of all time (MovieFone)
25 Best Christmas Songs of all time (MusicRadar)
9 fattiest Christmas Creations (from Thisiswhyyourefat.com)

CHRISTMAS PODSAFE SONGS FEATURED:
“The Podsafe Christmas Song” by Jonathan Coulton (link)
“Not So Silent Night” by Charlie Crowe (Music Alley)
“White Christmas will be Blue” by Beatrice Ericsson (Music Alley)
“Oh Holy Night” by Allison Crowe (Music Alley)
“Re-Gifting for the Holidays” by The Alice Project (Music Alley)
“Jingle Bells” by Natalie Brown (link)
“Merry xXxMas” by Tailhook Echo (Music Alley)
“Walk a Thousand Miles” by Matthew Ebel (Music Alley)

INSTRUMENTALS / BACKGROUNDS
“Little Drummer Dude” and “Joy Bounce” by Charlie Crowe (Music Alley)
“Linus and Lucy” by J.E.L.L.i. (Music Alley)
“Let it Snow” by Bit Shifter – by The 8BitPeoples (link)
(check out PodsafeChristmas.com for the best in podsafe music this holiday season)

REGULARLY FEATURED MUSIC and MEDIA:

“SkyMall item of the week” theme: “Planning for the Routine” by Leaving Richmond (Music Alley profile)

The new BUCKET Remix theme composed and performed by The Geoff Smith. Old theme too!

All podsafe artists/music are courtesy of IODA Promonet and Music Alley, or are registered with Creative Commons.

SUPPORT INDIE MUSIC!!
Know of a great podsafe/indy artist we should feature? Let us know at BUCKETRemix(at)gmail.com!

Subscribe now to BUCKET on iTunes

BUCKET is hosted on Mevio

Follow BUCKET on Twitter

E-mail: BUCKETRemix@gmail.com

E-mail Corey : BUCKETCorey@gmail.com

E-Mail Lou: BUCKETLou@gmail.com

206-337-9910 is the new BUCKET line number … call the show today, let us know your thoughts!

If you like piano rock and technical problems, hop on by!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/matthew-ebel-on-tour

It’s over now. Better luck next time!

Hali of Firpine was FWA’s guest of honor, and now he’s streaming a concert live on ustream at 6PM EST, which can be viewed through an experimental FurAffinity page. Stop by and have some fun.

Hali Live

As you Myxer faithful know, Myxer.com is the biggest and best place to find ad-supported (that means free, homes) content for your mobile phone. Our motto is “Go with it!”, and when users zip content to their phones, we call that being “mobilized by Myxer.”

Well, meet indie musician Matthew Ebel. (He’s a handsome devil, ain’t he?) The Boston-based rocker is literally Going with it and being “mobilized” in a way we’ve never seen before. Ebel — who’s known for his spunky, fun rock tunes (his bio proclaims he’s a “space pirate captain that takes his fans and friends beyond the mundane” … and we totally agree with that) — recently gave a shout on his blog that Myxer couldn’t resist.

Since Ebel is spending the summer rocking the residents on Block Island, Rhode Island, he needed some wheels to get around. But he also wanted to make a difference, and not use a gas-guzzler for his island-based travels. “I want to show this island a better way to get around than the usual single-occupant SUV,” he wrote in the post. “You can help me make it happen! Most people won’t want to bike everywhere like I do, but I want to introduce them to an electric bike conversion kit.”

Ebel asked for corporate sponsorshop to snag the kit, and Myxer.com rose to the challenge. Behold, the first video Ebel created about his soon-to-be-constructed electric bicycle:

Ebel will be posting updates about the “Myxercycle” on his blog in the weeks ahead. (Now if we can just get him a spandex suit that says MYXERMAN, he can give the Dark Knight a run for his money.) It’s a cool story of an independent musician not only caring about the environment, but giving a holler to the community for support.

Even cooler than the Myxercycle is Ebel’s music itself. His music is a fun blur of rock and pop, with intelligent lyrics. Check out free samples of his music here, and dig his Myxer Artist page. There, you can snag some ad-supported (that’s free, homes) ringtones based on his songs.

Finally, click the link below to listen to — and download! — the title track of Ebel’s latest album, “Goodbye Planet Earth.” It’s free!

Matthew Ebel – “Goodbye Planet Earth”

If you are reading this, then chances are you are on my new website! Building this site in WordPress was easy and fun, and I love all of the flexibility I have with features, pages, and log-in options. New features that excite me about this new site:

1. Cleaner audio listening page
2. Great related RSS feeds on all pages
3. Password-protected fans-only page
4. Easy to manage, customized right column
5. Editor-heaven via a standard but effortless page editor
6. Integrated blog so it’s all in one place
7. Simple, classy themes to choose from (love mine)
8. Manage all blogs and site content in one place (my music blog and “the most beautiful thing” are all hosted here, so one-stop edits and analytics)
9. Instant analytics on my start page
10. Great support and tips via the HUGE helpful WordPress community pages

A big thanks to my friend and fellow-musician, Matthew Ebel for singing the praises of WordPress to me when I was looking for new home for my site. Check out his great website at www.MatthewEbel.com – he’s done some amazing things with his customization!

Hope you like it here. Let me know what you think!
- Heather

I’m just about finished with my first show!  I’m excited, not sure about the rest of the world, but I am   Since this was my fist outing I stuck with one artist.  So thus is born the Matthew Ebel Tribute show.  Hope to have it up tomorrow but for now if you see this go visit his web page at matthewebel.com!

I decided to write 8 more things about me because Chris Brogan also tagged me. I previously answered this meme when tagged by MrsB aka Karen Cardoza. But hey, Brogan is a hero of mine so I’ll answer any question he wants to ask, if I can.

- Before Virtual Hot Wings, I felt stuck in Arkansas and much like I couldn’t make a difference from there in anyone’s life. Add a little marketing, a little ninja, a new business, great clients, wonderful community and poof! Confidence! Achievement! I’ve changed so much over the last two-three months that my best friend was shocked when we had a phone conversation a couple days ago. Thank you, Chris, Matthew, C.C. and Brogan!

- I have a habit of saying thank you to people when I’ve connected with them or when they’ve touched my life in a way that changes it. I appreciate each touch, each change and think that people should know the effect that they’ve had on me.

- I’m hyperfocused. I get attached to projects emotionally. It helps me to be good at what I do but also affected by the outcome. That can be both good and bad at times.

- My goal in the next 5 years is to be front and center on the new media and music marketing stage. I believe that extending my ability to create fast and interesting media and connecting with many people on a personal level are the keys. I’m great at connecting, just need to focus it. And gather more tools for creating the means

- Almost daily I look at the clock at exactly 9:11. Strange but true. I am slightly superstitious but not about every little thing.

- I hate needles. I abhor needles. If given a choice I will not get a shot or blood drawn. I refuse to have my finger poked with those tiny needles. Nope.

- I have a thing for superheroes. Superman, Wonder Woman or just Heroes. Superheroes rock.

- I like to read. I started at age 3 and spent most of my early life as a bookworm. My favorites varied between classics and Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew.

- When I want to recharge, I go out to dinner with a friend or crank up “Working Sunday” by Dorado Sound. Nothing like dancing around in private to change the mood.

Hmmm. Who to tag this time around? How about Neil, Chris, Matthew, Peter and Clarence, if they haven’t been tagged already!

I think I need to introduce myself.

Hi. I’m Michelle Wolverton. Also known as Chel Pixie. Now that you know my name, let me tell you who I am.

I came to the web to find community outside of the small sleepy Arkansas town I lived in. To that end, I joined Memespace (the old version on Caucus), which was founded by Christopher Abraham. Memespace held a lot of interesting people who inspired each other. I was a host there for a period of time before the Caucus version closed it’s doors and moved.

From there, I found my way to Howard Rheingold’s Brainstorms. I’ve been a member of this virtual community since 1999. Here I learned to communicate better online, to voice my opinions to a group of people and hosted two or three conferences. I was also editor of The Brainstorms Scoop for a time before several projects refocused by attention.

During this time, I also majored in Paralegal Studies at Kaplan University. I am member of Lambda Epsilon Chi honor society. I love reading and writing legal documents and doing legal research for cases. Family law is most interesting to me though Contracts is a close second.

Last year, I discovered Second Life. My avatar’s name is Chel Pixie. I am events planner/coordinator for SL Brand. I am a Second Life Relay for Life team member. I love events and people and live music. I love planning events and creating an environment for people to have a good time. Second Life is a great platform for live music, several musicians that I’ve had the opportunity to hear are Rich Desoto, Cylindrian, Uncle Seth, Jaycatt Nico, Kurt Bestor, and Louis Volare.

I discovered podcasting through Bucket and went on to add a list of podcasts that I’ve found interesting and inspiring. I am contemplating my own and working on a project that is inspired by podsafe music. I am looking forward to PodCamp Boston2 to learn more from people who are willing to hand you their knowledge and inspire you to use it.

Professionally, I’m working with my partner and mentor Christopher Penn as Project Lead and Marketing with Virtual Hot Wings. Virtual Hot Wings is a digital CD of tunes from Matthew Ebel’s Second Life tour. Many people have asked why are you talking about this musician at great length? Are you getting paid for this? And er, some other not really repeatable suggestions. Isn’t enough that I believe in someone enough to give them my energy and time?

I am spreading the word about Matthew because his music is more than just another album released. Each song tells a story and I relate to each story. His music inspires me every morning when I wake to do better, to do more, to make my effort on something that matters. He’s very gracious and for the record has never asked for anything of me. I’m fueled by my own desire to help him and others.

My desire, my goal isn’t only to reach people about Matthew Ebel or Anji Bee but to make them pay attention to the issues in the music industry and to help them discover why indie music is so important. Imagine shutting down the RIAA because the public takes their listening habits in their own hands and makes the decision to listen to independent and podsafe music. There is a community available that I have joined that can help make that happen.

I am the pixie behind WickedPixieMedia.com. WickedPixieMedia is new media music label. It is representative of the musicians and the music that I promote and support, using new media to reach out to others about independent music. Then to encourage others to discover independent music, to encourage them to realize that it’s only with a community that a change can begin.

I am the student of new media and using it to market an idea or thought or presence that seems interesting to me and that I think other’s will find interesting. Ideas that can expand the community and its knowledge. I love learning how to apply these skills to reach people. In the past, I’ve managed an office, been an assistant to 2 CEOs, a receptionist and then later a legal assistant.

Who I am has changed in the last couple months. My mind has been opened to what I can achieve and how. I’ve found confidence that I didn’t have before in my ability to make a difference. A little instruction and an open door can go a long way in bringing out the best in people and inspire them to great lengths (thanks ninja).

I think I’ve summarized in a few sentences what’s next and in more than a few who I am. That’s changing because we grow and change on a daily basis. Want to find out more about how to open the doors? Just click on that contact me button at the top of the page, I love conversation.

I am now safely landed in Columbus, OH. A city where I lived for four years before going back to Arkansas. I have real life friends here and will be visiting them over the next couple weeks while getting a break from Arkansas. I will also be getting together with Rich Palmer and his lovely wife! I can’t wait to meet Rich and Sierra and give them RL hugs.

Today I’ll be spending the morning getting organized and then this afternoon, I’m hoping to see one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I was only going to come back to Columbus some day to see him but as it turns out I can see him a few times over the next two weeks, that’s even cooler!!!

During the trip, I didn’t get the MacBook out to take photos but the drive was pretty uneventful. I wanted to get here and fast because driving ten hours is really not fun, especially with a cracked rib. Note to self: don’t do that again. What made it even better was listening to Matthew on the way, I started my trip out appropriately with ‘Drive Away’. Now my iPod holds all concerts and Virtual Hot Wings and Beer and Coffee at the moment, so that and a little Diana Krall and Howie Day kept me going.

I am planning on speaking with a couple of places for a bird to play in Columbus. There are a lot of great music venues and OSU campus is one of the best places to play near. Plus there’s the shopping factor of High Street which is calling me. Urban Outfitters, here I come! So far that’s all I have actually planned. This more of a freestyle type of trip. And I’m enjoying every minute of it. Well, you know, except for the soreness.

Between Christopher Penn and Chris Brogan it’s a wonder I don’t have a headache. Christopher posted about a month ago about Second Life, Superheroes and the greater good. Last week, Chris Brogan posted about being the grasshopper.

I’ve been a little busy with a little something so I’ve just now gotten the chance to comment on some of this stuff.

I wanted to share my response to Penn’s post re: superheroes. I think it’s important to realize that we all hold a very special key to something that can change the world.

“We’re only as good as the powers we put to use in our lives to reach out and touch the world and make a difference. It doesn’t matter *where* you are physically, if you’re online, you’re in the game. In Second Life (and this applies to real life too), there’s a wide open door to anything that you want to do. Personally it’s taken my powers of insight, the ability that I have to feel out and touch other people, to hold their attention and give them something to talk about. And a bird and ninja.

It cannot be left to one person to change the planet however, that’s why there are superheroes, not a single superhero. You can change the world one person at a time, but that change has to affect others. So that the effect is those taught become superheroes and pay forward in their own way. Creating a chain of goodwill and affecting the greater good. Teaching what you know and sharing that with others is the key. Brogan’s words are still ringing in my head, “Be a grasshopper. Teach. Share. Grow.”

That, IMO, is the real way to being a superhero.”

Teach to share, share to grow. Tap into your knowledge and gather people around you that ask you to use it on a daily basis. Remember that we all need help building our dreams.

Toward that end, I’m pretty lucky that there are some real superheroes that I’ve worked with lately including C. Penn, Matthew Ebel, C.C. Chapman, Crap Mariner and Dedric Muriac.

Virtual Hot Wings has been a fantastic project and if I haven’t said it loudly enough; working with Christopher Penn, Matthew Ebel, C.C. Chapman, Crap Mariner, and Dedric Muriac; has been an amazing experience. That experience was celebrated yesterday during a concert by Matthew in Second Life.

During the concert, I received some IMs regarding the CD and the concept. One of the IMs was from a guy and what he had to say touched a nerve. The conversation (with names omitted) went like this:

[11:53] Random Guy: oh which CD?
[11:53] Chel Pixie: virtual hot wings
[11:56] Random Guy: ah didn’t even read most of the web page, it’s a cap of some Concerts in SL?
[11:57] Chel Pixie: it’s cuts of the concerts and then the concerts
[11:57] Chel Pixie: as well
[11:57] Chel Pixie: 7 hours
[11:58] Random Guy: ah I get beer and coffee
[11:58] Random Guy: the streams I can cap myselfe

He was wearing a fan tag above his head, enjoying the music, and it wasn’t the first time he’d been to a concert.

Yes, you can capture and record the future streams yourself. Think about it this way, if you couldn’t access the artist in the same way, if you had to purchase a CD in order to hear the music that you loved, then you would do so. No questions, no second guessing. You would be supporting that artist in doing so the only way you could. Supporting Matthew is one purpose of this project.

There is no money that gets sent to iTunes, there’s no money that CD Baby eats up, it’s all 100% to feed that bird who sang and played his heart out to his fans several nights in Second Life. This CD isn’t just a few tunes cut and slapped down to download, it’s over 7 hours of music.

If you don’t like Matthew’s music, I can understand not making the purchase. Not making the purchase because you can capture future streams yourself, that’s not supporting the artist who you claim to be a fan of.

Photo taken by C.C. Chapman

Two weeks ago I started a conversation with a ninja (Christopher Penn, to those of you who don’t know) in Second Life who had broken into the treehouse to listen to a live stream of Matthew Ebel/Hali Heron in concert. The result? Virtual Hot Wings, a landmark fan created and released album of Matthew’s Second Life tour, is now available for download. This brilliant piano man gives himself to his fans each time he puts his fingers on the keyboard and does it so well.

Unlike buying an album from CD Baby or iTunes, which then take a cut from the sale, this album entirely benefits Matthew, 100% of all proceeds are instantly paid to him!

With the assistance of C.C. Chapman and crayon (read the press release here), this release has the power to change the way that the music industry works. The record labels and the RIAA have a whole lot of catching up to earn the love and loyalty of the fans the way that Matthew has.

Join the live concert by Matthew on tomorrow from 11 AM – 1 PM SLT (2-4 EST) at the Coke’s Virtual Thirst Pavilion. You can purchase a copy of the CD during the concert! I’ll see you there!

Don’t forget to digg or tweet this to the world, spread the word and show the RIAA what it means to be a fan! (All multimedia on this release can be found here.)

This is a very important entry for me to write and it’s taken time to get it just right, to say what I want and need to say to those involved in this effort. My grandmother is currently fighting against lung and pancreatic cancer. Relay for Life provided me with an opportunity to do something good and not feel so helpless while she fights for her life. It’s thanks to amazing effort that the fundraiser with Matthew Ebel in dedication to my grandmother was such a success, the generosity of the donations and the words touched my heart in a way that is profound and will stay with me for the rest of my life.

First of all, thank you Matthew for your music, your words, your encouragement to donate, and for providing your time, your effort and your voice for Second Life Relay for Life. I am honored.

A heartfelt thanks to my friend Crap Marnier for his role in the creation of the stage and for helping me with all the tasks barked out to him before the event. Couldn’t have done that without you and wouldn’t want to either.

Thank you Madison and Corey (Jen and Corey in RL) for the time, the stream, and the hosting of this event. The beautiful decorations were provided by my teammates, Mystic and Seaway, to turn the amazing outdoor space into the elegant surroundings which we danced the night away. Thank you so much, girls.

A very special thanks to an anonymous helper that made the evening run more smoothly. Your efforts are appreciated more than you know.

My grandmother and my family have asked me to pass along our heartfelt gratitude to everyone that participated and donated during this event. It cannot be said enough! Every single donation helps, it helps raise awareness, it helps in the fight against cancer and goes towards finding a cure. One day we’ll find a cure…..one day.

If you’d like to make a donation you can contact me, I can give you a pledge card or you can simply go to this website.

Radar asked me the other day, is Second Life a game? I can honestly say that the connections that I’ve made and the friendships that I’ve formed are stronger because we share a second life in the midst of our first together. I am very lucky to know that there are such wonderful people who care about me and as a result come together for something so very important.

I attempted to die in for the first time ever this morning over at Los Arboles with The Goddess and Gomem among others. That was interrupted by a wee bit of a RL thing that took me away for the last 10 minutes. But alas, it’s been a day of RL here so far including laundry and house cleaning and coffee (let’s just say among a host of other things)!

Last night was a Night Full of Crap, hosted by Crap Mariner at SoHo and DJ’ed by Gomem Desoto (yes the real one). Wanting to see a tower of plaid I tp’ed over and found a party going on! Crap even set himself on fire again! It was a fun evening of a party.

Tomorrow is the big concert event for Relay for Life on Nowhereville. Second Life being down does not help me manage some of the stuff I need to in world today but hopefully things won’t be too bumpy when we come back up. I still have some things I can do offline to prepare. If you haven’t, get your finest dress on and come join us tomorrow at 7 PM SLT!!! You don’t wanna miss Hali Heron if you can help it. If you don’t get a group notice from me, then feel free to IM me (Chel Pixie) or Seaway Brodsky for a tp to the event.

I’ll likely update today a few times, rather than my random weekly postings.