In case you missed the whole “oh my God my house is sinking” mess that was March in New England, here’s a brief recap:

And, naturally, I responded by writing something incredibly stupid. And it’s available for my beloved subscribers right now at Matthew Ebel dot net

If you’re not yet subscribed to Matthew Ebel dot net, here’s a sample:
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At this point UStream is suffering from a system-wide meltdown. Hopefully they’ll get it fixed soon, but until then I can’t do my weekly concert!

I’m going to try again at 4:30pm
UStream’s still fooked, trying again at 4:45
You guessed it, still no love. Been standing here an hour now pressing the “Login” button like a lab rat trying to get a food pellet. Shooting for 5pm now.

WE’RE ON!

When it happens, the show’s at www.matthewebel.com/ustream

Something I’ve been meaning to write for a long time, now finally out there for my subscribers! If you’ve ever been to Kaua’i, you’ll know why I wrote this song. I love birds, and seeing these little guys all over the beach was rather amusing for the 2 weeks I spent in paradise.

If you’re not yet subscribed to Matthew Ebel dot net, here’s a sample:
Download MP3

Two days before leaving for the 140 Characters Conference I hiked into the woods of New Hampshire with two of my best friends. We didn’t have smart phones, laptops, or iPads, just dry goods and supplies to keep us alive and warm. I’m not sure what it is about the primitive nature of backpacking that makes me happy. Perhaps it’s the lack of networking that acts as an internal Reset Button. Maybe it’s the fact that I get to play with a different kind of technology (aluminum camp saws, Whisperlite stoves, titanium sporks).

Cut to Monday night in Manhattan, NY. My world grew from a population of three to the City that Never Sleeps. My survival tools change from flint rods and ceramic filters to business cards and CD’s. I hiked seven miles in snow over the weekend, but in NYC I’ll hail a cab to go 10 blocks. I wasn’t struck with a sense that one wilderness is better than the other, just that they are different. Honestly, though, the cabbies of New York City scare me more than the bears of New Hampshire.

I learned two things from my experience last week. One is that we rely on others for wildly varying reasons. Aaron and Brad kept me from freezing to death in the middle of the woods. C.C., Lynette, and Jeff kept me from looking like a nobody in a sea of important somebodies.

I mentioned recently how often I need to thank the people around me. Part of it is simply the nature of running a business as a one-man operation, but in my case I think I’m just surrounded by extraordinarily generous people.

The other thing that I discovered is how adaptable we are. To retrieve and sterilize your own drinking water one day and present the future of technology with major-label execs the next is quite the paradigm shift. It’s enough to make me wonder what else we’re capable of when we step out of our comfortable living rooms and into the scary world of bears and cabbies.

If I wrote a blog post for every person I needed to thank on a day-to-day basis, my database server would catch fire.

I like to complain about how much stuff I have to do as a one-man operation and how much time it all takes. There’s a lot that goes on behind the music that most people really don’t care about; Facebook page management, booking shows, writing, website design and maintenance, digital distribution management, etc. I can tell you with all certainty, though, that I could spend a full 40 hours a week thanking the people that make my existence possible.
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If you weren’t at the 140 Characters Conference in NYC, you probably missed our little chat about the real-time web and the modern music industry. Fortunately, the modern music industry has the real-time web so I can show you what we did!

I’m on the left, next to me is Syd Schwartz from EMI, then Ted Cohen from TAG Strategic, and finally Steve Greenberg from S-Curve Records.

In what has become the best last-minute gig I ever thought I’d land, I’ll be playing my first official NYC show as part of the 140 Characters Conference.

That’s Tuesday, 1-2pm, in the Art Gallery

Please spread the word using the hashtag #140conf and mention @matthewebel when you do!

If you want to get in touch with me, just Tweet @matthewebel

After a month of exclusivity to Matthew Ebel dot net members (not including all those months they’ve already had the songs in their feed), I’m so frickin’ thrilled to announce that SFTV2 is now available for anyone who wants it!

You can grab your copy at CD Baby, iTunes, or Amazon. And please leave a review if you do!

I’ve mentioned Pandora a few times as the future of internet radio, at least here in the states. If you’re still not clear as to why I’m in love with it, check this video out.

I swear, my favorite fan-made videos aren’t done by professional cinematographers, they’re by middle-school students working on a project.