President's Blog - Jonathan Minkoff
Hi. I'm Jonathan Minkoff. I live in New York City where I perform, produce, record, compose, and practice law. I seek out strange new life (you) and new civilizations (your group) and I boldly go ... uh... well I boldly go wherever I'm going. I'll try to steer you clear of pitfalls, guide you to opportunities and generally share this beautiful and bizarre journey. These are the voyages ... (cue high soprano "ah!")

Permission to Arrange for Live Performance
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Sunday, 14 October 2007

Does a group need to get permission to arrange a song before performing it live? It’s a question that comes up a lot. The answer to that is it depends on where you perform. Live in the shower? No, you don’t need permission. Unless you invite the public.

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Last Updated ( Monday, 15 October 2007 )
 
Why do we perform?
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Thursday, 02 August 2007
Carefully, patiently dissecting the urge to perform yields the unexpected anatomy of our truest motivations. What are these factors that drive us? They may be obvious or obtuse, noble or base. They may appear in one guise, only to be exposed later in truer form. They often take a bit of coaxing before revealing themselves. But if, as Socrates believed, the unexamined life is not worth living, then this part of life, this sliver we share with so many others, is perhaps most worthy of our unfaltering gaze. Why do we perform?

 

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Last Updated ( Saturday, 04 August 2007 )
 
Minky’s Official A cappella Drinking Game: LIVE EDITION
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Sunday, 08 July 2007
Deke Sharon wrote a great blog called “Summer Vacation A cappella Style” in which he lovingly paired fine music and classic drink. I suggested we expand on the idea in a manner more in keeping with my lowbrow ways, namely a drinking game. Samir Joshua Paul took the ball and started running with it, posting several suggestions for an a cappella ipod drinking game. Lest I be outdone, I give you…

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Songwriting Tips
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Monday, 18 June 2007
Every composer is a fount of songwriting creativity … until deadlines loom. Then it’s writers’ block after writers’ block stacked into a nice tidy pyramid. Break the curse! Get out of that tomb! When you’re dry as a mummy, from whence springs that river of creativity? Try these ten approaches on for size and see if you can’t give writers’ block the boot!

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 21 June 2007 )
 
A Peek at Producing and Programming CASA’s East Coast A cappella Summit
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Tuesday, 01 May 2007
I had a good friend come talk to me the other day. Confidentially, he leaned in, looked from side to side as if checking for Soviet spies, and said something like, “You know, Blue Jupiter has performed in the last four summits.” Then in that breathy, confessional voice movie-actors use to indicate deeper importance he added, “People know you’re involved with the group. I think you should make sure they don’t do it next year.”

Cue dramatic music.

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Ten Reasons to Attend the 2007 East Coast A Cappella Summit
Written by Jonathan Minkoff   
Monday, 19 February 2007

In no particular order …

1) Your group gets a one-on-one coaching, saving you big bucks and increasing your chances of doing everything from winning your next competition to finishing your next show with a standing ovation.

2) You find out the winners of the CARAs before anyone else and then make your friends beg you for the results, extracting favors of all kinds.

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Last Updated ( Monday, 19 February 2007 )
 
Harmony Through Harmony
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Thursday, 01 February 2007
“Harmony through harmony” is a phrase we like a lot around CASA. It neatly sums up a powerful experience we’ve all had: seeing positive personal and social change arise from singing a cappella music. Whether you hear it or sing it, it’s pretty hard not to get the message of cooperation and mutual respect. No one needs to say, "Hey now, cooperate." It's obvious from listening. Beauty transcending culture, class, race, sexual orientation, education and every other conceivable division springs up from the subtleties of dynamic phrasing and ringing intonation. The experience is miraculous. And as it echoes in those who witness it, it inspires the miraculous.

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Fair Enough
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Thursday, 12 October 2006
Fair Use is a concept in copyright law that allows you, under certain limited circumstances, to use someone else's copyrighted work without paying them any fees or obtaining their permission. The idea is so enticing however, that some have begun to hallucinate, to see Fair Use mirages shimmering everywhere in the desert of copyright. Despite what we may personally believe to be the ethical harmlessness of our actions, sometimes the answer is just "No, you can't use this without permission." This article may not give you the answers you want, but it will help you ask the right questions.

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Last Updated ( Friday, 13 October 2006 )
 
Before Starting Your Recording
Written by Jonathan Minkoff   
Friday, 01 September 2006
When groups prepare for a recording, they know they need to get their arrangements in order. They know they need to raise money. They know they need to book a studio with an experienced a cappella engineer and producer. But here are ten oft-overlooked issues for the group about to record. Plan for them before you walk in the studio and you’ll be a lot happier when you walk out.

Square Pegs; Round Holes.
Very often people sing the songs they like to sing. That’s the karaoke approach to recording. Don’t do it. When you sing the songs that play to your strengths, that’s art. 

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 07 September 2006 )
 
Here's My Pinky, Here's My Thumb: Here's My Copyright Infringement Suit; You Better Run
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Wednesday, 05 July 2006
More and more members of the a cappella community are hosting their own sites. And being musicians, we often, for better or worse, include copyrighted material on those sites. In looking for guidance on what we're allowed to do, many look to the big guns, the Googles of the world to see if whatever we're planning is OK. ("But Maaaaaaa, Google did it!" "Oh really? Well if Google jumped off a bridge...") But how many of us look into the code? (Ok, sit down Geek Squad. Even you guys don't read the friggin' code. Often.) This article discusses how one bit of coding made the difference between "Okee dokee" and a court injunction due to likelihood of copyright infringement. The case is Perfect 10 v. Google Inc. [416 F. Supp. 2d 828 (C.D. Cal. 2006)]. 

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Last Updated ( Sunday, 09 July 2006 )
 
Top Ten A Cappella Competition Rookie Mistakes
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Thursday, 18 May 2006
Just got back from Washington DC where I had the pleasure of judging the Finals in the 2006 National Championship of High School A cappella (NCHSA). As I sat with fellow judges Wes Carroll and Dave Baumgartner, we discussed the surprisingly good caliber of the competitors. We also discussed the pervasive rookie mistakes. Here are ten, at least half of which you can fix in one rehearsal. I both dare and beg you to master all ten by your next competition.

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Last Updated ( Sunday, 21 May 2006 )
 
Who’s With Me?
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Tuesday, 18 April 2006
I often write casual versions of brilliant scholarly analysis. Or at least inside scoop stuff. Today I’ve chosen to simply ramble in my blog. Blah blah blah blog.

If you’re like me, you still buy CDs. But you immediately rip them to high-quality unrestricted MP3 format (192) and listen to the ripped tracks on the computer (wirelessly streaming to the stereo) and the adorable, elegant and ubiquitous ipod (video 60gig). (One reason I’m including the specs in this piece is to see how fast the technology appears antediluvian. Six months? A year? I should be so lucky.) Eight and half bizillianquadrillion songs in one molecule. It’s coming. But honestly, I’m still pretty psyched about taking every piece of music I own with me. Always. 

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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 April 2006 )
 
Legality Of Arranging
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Saturday, 18 February 2006
Here's my studied opinion on the legality of arrangements. It's general information as of February 2006 that can help inform you, but it isn't legal advice and cannot take the place of actually consulting your lawyer about your particular situation.

WHERE DOES THE RIGHT TO MAKE MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS COME FROM?
The constitution of the United States gives Congress the power and responsibility to encourage the arts. Title 17 of the United States Code is the law created by Congress pursuant to this charge which grants artists protection for their original works, including musical arrangements.

Copyright protection in original musical works, including any accompanying words or sound recordings is provided by section 102 of this law. Section 103 makes clear that the protection afforded these original works also extends to derivative works. Artists' exclusive rights are described in section 106 and they include the exclusive rights to "prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work".

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Last Updated ( Friday, 03 August 2007 )
 
Lip Buzz is the New Vocal Percussion
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Wednesday, 04 January 2006
Mathew Selby, the former vocal percussionist for M-Pact began using lip-buzzing regularly in concert and on recordings in the mid to late nineties. Kickshaw's Jake Moulton began using the techniques at nearly the same time. It's not surprising that Jake later replaced Mathew when he stepped away from M-pact. Utah-based Eclipse began using Paul Hanson's lip-buzz to powerful effect in just the last several years. What's happening?

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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 February 2006 )
 
Inside Oreo: A Jingle for Record Companies
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Monday, 21 November 2005
Mi, mi, re, re, do, do, ti-sol. Hum it. Sound familiar? “Milk’s Favorite Jingle” is the name, but you know it as the Oreo Cookie Theme. September 2005 marked the Finals in the nationwide competition to replace the well-known melody with a brand new one. CASA reported that Blue Jupiter won first place, becoming the new voices for Oreo on a national radio commercial with CASA board member Diana Preisler providing the voiceover and co-production by CASA president Jonathan Minkoff and the Studio of American Idol's Randy Jackson. But that’s just the beginning of the role a cappella music plays in this story.

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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 February 2006 )
 
There Ought To Be a Law
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Saturday, 08 October 2005
Michael Jackson writes a song. It's a hit. Your group wants to record it so you pay the Harry Fox agency for your run of 500 and everyone wins. Michael as composer gets his share. You have a simple system for

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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 February 2006 )
 
Why A Cappella Groups Trump Bands and Then Lose the Advantage
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Tuesday, 02 August 2005
I sang for 1,000 people this Saturday at Oswego, New York's own Harborfest. Like many summer adventures in family fun, sunshine and the flirtation with alcohol poisoning, there were numerous performance stages with a bedazzlingly varied panopoly of artists. Country acts, alt rock, jazz combos, clowns and Blue Jupiter, the four-man, funky, pop a cappella group.

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Last Updated ( Sunday, 23 October 2005 )
 
A Cappella As Art
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Sunday, 24 July 2005
In the world of pop and rock, cover bands dont generally command the same respect that original groups do. Imitation is perceived as a less impressive skill than innovation. Creation trumps interpretation.

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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 February 2006 )
 
The Jane Pauley Show
Written by Jonathan A Minkoff   
Thursday, 30 June 2005

After appearing on The Jane Pauley Show (NBC air date 12-23-04), the phrase, "the Magic of Television" has taken on a new meaning for me. Sure I've opened for major acts, toured the country, sung for massive audiences, but none of that prepared me for my trip into the looking glass which is NBC's studios at Rockefeller Plaza.

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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 February 2006 )
 
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