How to Succeed in the Music Industry (according to Brandi's Dad)

I am in Brisbane, Australia visiting my parents for the week. During my stay here, I have been lucky to pick up some valuable bits of wisdom from my father on how to succeed in the music industry. Here's what he had to say...

Skymall Shopping: The Ultimate Multi-task

On our flight down to SXSW, I discovered my new favourite activity--window shopping in the Skymall catalogue. Here are some of my favorite must-haves that I discovered from Seattle to Austin 40,000 ft in the air:


Hmmm...I am skeptical that this would help...

I have always wanted to look this cool. On a side note--can you even steer this thing?

SID PICKS - Episode 24: Krista bounces around, Brandi feels scattered, and Sheryl gets contemplative

What are the Sid girls listening to this week?

Pretty in Pink

Today is Pink Shirt Day. And so, I'm going to work today in all my pinkest things to help take a stand against bullying and bring awareness to a cause that is close to my heart. Bullying affects everyone everywhere - at school, at work, at home, and on the internet. Spoken word artist Shane Koyczan was recently involved in the creation of a video project about his experiences with bullying, To This Day, and if you haven't seen it, you need to watch it now.

Help "make some noise against bullying" by wearing pink and standing up for others. No matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. You never know how much of a difference you might be making.

Three Apps That We Can't Live Without

We’re pretty vocal about our collective love for the iPhone version of GarageBand – it’s responsible for virtually all of our demos, and given how much we’re on the road (and often away from our instruments), we’d hardly get any songwriting done without it. While it’s definitely a strong contender for the title of “Most Favourite Sidney York App”, we’ve come to rely pretty heavily on a few others too.

Here are three more apps that Sidney York would have a really, really hard time getting by without:

SID PICKS - Episode 23: Krista gets inspired in the studio, Brandi sees The Who, and Sheryl revisits songs from dances past.

(photo courtesy of Alex Wyder)

What are the Sid girls listening to this week?

The Music in Us All

Everyone is a musician. Even if they don't realize it until the chance to make music is right in front of them. I was fascinated by a video this week that showed the interactions of pedestrians with a piano that had been abandoned on a sidewalk. People couldn't help but go and press a few keys as they walked by, even if they clearly hadn't been taught how to play.

So the next time you see an instrument lying around, go ahead. Play it. Even if you don't know what you're doing. Making music is fun!