Back from extinction

The Heineken Music Conference will take place on September 1st and 2nd at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds.

By DAVID BRINN
faith no more music festival 248 (photo credit: )
faith no more music festival 248
(photo credit: )
At next week's Heineken Music Conference taking place on September 1st and 2nd at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds, the music may not even be the primary attraction. Sure, the lineups on both nights boast a variety of quirky, international indie bands from various decades - the first night features local heroes Monotonix, the American guitar garage rock of Dinosaur Jr (who may be in a career resurgence surpassing their initial peak in the 1990s), and 90s crossover act Faith No More. The second night opens with the British prog pop of The Dallas Guild, and moves on to the Californian indie pop of MGMT before closing with the dazzling disco electronics of the LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy and Pat Mahoney. But during the daytime hours, when rock & rollers are supposed to be asleep, there'll be a series of panel discussions geared toward music professionals featuring some of the artists as well as their behind the scenes managers and record company executives. While the sessions are free of charge, they require registration in advance. Among the sessions will be discussions on new and hot trends in the music world; building a promoting strategy for artist development and the art of making an icon; marketing through musical content; the new media age and the transformation of record companies to content management companies. The conference will also feature a master class given by Dinosaur Jr's guitarist J. Mascis. Arriving specifically for the conference will be some leading music industry types, including Jerry Blair who manages Mika, Mark Kates, MGMT's manager who founded the 'alternative' division at Geffen Records, Paul Ambach, the managing director of huge tour operator Live Nation Belgium, and Charlie Presburg, the editor of the British version Pollstar magazine, the 'bible' of the touring industry. Local dignitaries who are joining the guests include Ivri Lider, Izhar Ashdot, Penina Edri CEO of NMC, and Roni Baron, CEO of Helicon. Tip if you're attending Mascis's master class - wear earplugs. A limited number of tickets are available for the public at the Heineken Israel website http://www.heineken.co.il.