What's the point of this website?  Aren't there other websites that review music?

There are some excellent websites where you can discover excellent independent musicians, including The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music, Musical Discoveries, CDBaby, Green Man Review, and Ariel, an artificial intelligence bot who happens to like music.  But GiveCDs was created with a dual purpose in mind:  To promote giving music, and recommend particular musicians to give.  The idea behind GiveCDs is to create a entirely new mindset when it comes to music:  Make music the first thing you think of when you're wondering what to bring to somebody's house or give them for everyone's favorite gift-giving holiday, Arbor Day.

How do you select musicians and bands to review?

Like most things in life, the selection is somewhat random.  (Ever wonder what would have happened if you had take a different bus that day and never bumped into your friend whom you hadn't seen for eons and who introduced you to his friend, who later became your wife..?)  Musicians are welcome to contact Bill Adler to have their music reviewed. 

What's the bottom line?

GiveCDs is entirely not-for-profit and a labor of love.  Bill Adler, the website's creator, makes a buck or two when people buy his books in bookstores and at places like Amazon, but this website came about because he feels that promoting good music benefits everyone.

I'm new to music.  Where should I start?

I assume that you're asking about buying music, not performing at a karaoke bar.  It doesn't really matter where you start -- all the music on GiveCDs has been thoroughly tested and is guaranteed to perform as described.  But if you're just looking for somebody to make a decision for you, then why not start with October Project if you like progressive pop, Capercaillie if you like Celtic Music, Vienna Teng is you're inclined toward lush female vocals, and Jimmie Spheeris if rock is (or once was) your cup of tea.

Should I buy CDs or download music?

Many independent musicians let you download samples of their music from their websites, in the hope and expectation that if you like the music you'll buy their CDs.  While there are a number of stores on the Internet where you can purchase music entirely in digital form, there's something nice about owning and giving actual physical media -- the CD.  (And CDs aren't subject to computer viruses and glitches that can wipe out an entire digital music library in an instant.)  One of the purposes of GiveCDs is to help promote independent musicians, who earn their livings giving performances and selling music, so buying actual CDs goes a long way toward helping insure that there's going to be good music to buy. 

This is an interesting website, but I'm not really into music.

You probably mean, "not into music anymore."  Chances are that when you were in college and for years afterwards you listened to music quite a bit.  If you're thinking that you're too busy for music, you're not:  Music is something you can enjoy while driving, cooking, cleaning, even mowing the yard.  If you think that there's nothing out there that you'll like, that's not true either:  There is so much new music that there's something for every musical taste, and even for people who don't have a particular musical taste.  One of the true joys in life is discovering something new -- be it a new restaurant, a great new author, a f\new friend, a new travel destination, a shortcut to work...and music.  Music is an adventure that you can take that's not terribly expensive and doesn't have any bad side effects.  For some people,  music is calming; for others music gets the heart pumping; and for still other people music inspires the intellect.  Give some new music a whirl. 

Who's this Bill Adler guy and what does he know about music?

The wonderful thing about music is that you don't need to be an expert to love music and write about it.  But truth be told, the only instrument Bill Adler can play is an iPod.  (Well, a long time ago he studied classical guitar, but that's only because classical guitar doesn't require singing.)  Adler's a pilot (again, nothing to do with music, but flying does require a bit of intelligence for a few minutes every hour), a father (teenagers:  that offers a lot of involuntary music listening), and a writer (ah, here we go:  something a bit creative.)  His first bestselling book was Outwitting Squirrels (really, not kidding -- look it up).  Most recently he completed How to Negotiate Like a Child, and is currently writing Boys and Their Toys:  Understanding Men by Understanding Their Relationships with Their Gadgets.  Adler's most recent book, How to Negotiate Like a Child:  Unleash the Little Monster Within to Get Everything You Want was selected by the Houston Chronicle as one of the ten "most significant business titles of 2005."  In his spare time, Adler takes a lot of photographs.

How come the reviews are so short?

Do you really want to read long music reviews?  Anyway, Adler's purpose here is to whet your appetite, get you interested in some of the musicians -- and then it's up to you to decide what you like.  That's best accomplished through bite sized reviews. 

This is a great idea, what can I do to promote music?

First, buy a half dozen CDs of your favorite musician.  Second, if you're part of a club or organization, pass along this idea.  For example, Bill Adler owns the Cleveland Park Listserv, the Washington, DC's area largest neighborhood email list.  Every week he recommends a new, independent musician to all 2,800 people on that email list.  Another thing you can do is throw a house concert (also called a living room concert):  Invite your neighbors and friends to hear a musician perform in your living room.  Visit www.houseconcerts.org for more on how to do this.

Where can I talk about giving music as gifts?

There's a Google group for people who like to give music as presents at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/GiveCDs. 

I have some more questions for you.  How can I contact you?

Our contact information is on this page.