Bands Battle, Everyone Wins at Xconomy's Battle of the Tech Bands

A rockin’ good time was had by all at this year’s Xconomy Battle of the Tech Bands 3 held at the Middle East in Cambridge. Whether you were a fan of electronic hip-hop, country-rock-soul, heavy metal or something in between, the face off between East coast and West coast left little to be desired as Boston bands attempted to defend their hometown honor against Seattle rivals.

The clash of guitars, drums, and tech minds led to loud noise and the winner of the third Battle of the Tech Bands, The Dirty Truckers, Boston’s own “gritty country rock band.” The Dirty Truckers, who were the 2009 audience favorite, won by a narrow margin of 182 votes to the 180 votes of electronica hipsters, Deadbeat Darling.

To kick off the party a little bit early, CHEN PR hosted an event before the Battle of the Bands at ZuZu, the restaurant upstairs at the Middle East. We were joined by clients and friends to socialize, drink and of course eat some of the great food. We had a great time and more than 60 people showed up—many of which joined us for the show afterward. Check out the pictures!

This Xconomy event was not only a fun time for those of us in local tech circles; it also helped generate some much-needed financial support for the Science Club for Girls and Year Up Boston. This year’s show raised $1,100 for each organization

Xconomy: Battle of the Bands is Back!

The Battle of the Bands has come to offer a welcome respite for the winter blahs. For the last few years, Xconomy has pulled together this fun event at the venerable Middle East in Cambridge, and the tech community has responded with enthusiasm. Everyone heads in to huddle from the cold, reconnect with other techies and share some brews.

This year's event has a twist - the event will pit Seattle bands against Boston bands. Privately, colleagues - who would only agree to comment off the record - have expressed concerns about this matchup. While Boston has a vibrant music scene, Seattle's record of successful bands speaks for itself. Brows are furrowing.

February 4th will tell the tale. We'll see you there.

Xconomy Launches XSITE

We knew that XSITE was being incubated, but now it's been officially launched. Xconomy announced the event today, billing it as the Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship.

From the site:

This full-day conference will celebrate New England innovation and showcase the panorama of transformative efforts underway in the region in such fields as energy, life sciences, robotics, cloud and mobile computing, and transportation-at universities, startups, and large corporations.

Xconomy has partnered with Boston University's Office of Technology Development for XSITE. The conference will be held on June 24, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can register here.

Here's the lineup of heavy hitters:

Keynote -- Juan Enriquez, Founder, Chairman, CEO, Biotechonomy

Other notable speakers:
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Phil Sharp, Institute Professor, MIT, Co-founder, Biogen, Nobel Prize winner
John Abele, Co-founder, Boston Scientific
Yet-Ming Chiang, Professor of Ceramics, MIT, Co-founder A123Systems
Jeff Nick, Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, EMC
Mohamad Ali, Massachusetts Senior State Executive, IBM
John Maraganore, CEO, Alnylam
Reed Sturtevant, Managing Director, Microsoft Startup Labs
Christina Lampe-Onnerud, CEO, Boston Power
Tillman Gerngross, Co-founder, GlycoFi, Co-founder and CEO, Adimab, Professor of Engineering, Dartmouth
Mick Mountz, CEO and Founder, Kiva Systems
Carl Dietrich, CEO, Terrafugia
James Carey, Co-founder and Principal Scientist, SiOnyx
Maria Rupnick, Co-Founder, Zafgen, Instructor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Thomas Hughes, CEO, Zafgen
Noubar Afeyan, Managing Partner and CEO, Flagship Ventures
Jeffrey Ives, CEO, Satori Pharmaceuticals
Brian Shin, CEO, Visible Measures
Bill Taylor, Co-founder, Fast Company

Always Look On the Bright Side of Innovation…

With all due apologies and credit to Monty Python, last night’s WebInno conference had me whistling that infectious tune from the end of Life of Brian – and for good reason.  In the shadow of life seeming “jolly rotten, there’s something [we’ve] forgotten,” and that’s innovation is what drives us in both good times and bad. There was positive energy in a very full two rooms, a lot of active discussion and some pretty cool innovations, the vast majority of which were targeted at making life easier (and in some cases cheaper) for all of us – consumers, businesses, shoppers, parents and even golfers.  They’re fixing, as Eric Idle croons in the song, the things that “make you swear and curse.” 

I also took the opportunity to pose a couple of questions of two great execs of side dish companies, asking first what keeps them excited and confident that now is the right time for innovation, and secondly, why they chose Boston to make that innovation happen (see Xconomy and Innovation Economy for more on this discussion.)I’ve embedded their answers in the videos below.  But without further ado, here’s a snapshot of what last night’s lineup had to offer: 

• Adroit Interactive – improving campaign performance and reducing costs through dynamic ads
  
• BravoCart – as one exec described it, “drag and drop ecommerce”
  
• LilGrams – extremely easy platform to consolidate and share baby/kid memories (i.e. make sense of the thousands of pics and vids on my hard drive and across WAY too many sites)
  
• CoachesTown –  Customized and secure portals (and automatic communication mechanisms) for youth sports teams and leagues
  
• JitterGram – instant mobile coupons and promotions for dinners, lift tickets, stores, resorts, etc.
  
• JotNot – Turn your mobile phone into a document (as well as whiteboard) digitizer
  
• mCaddie – One-stop destination for courses, instructors, tournaments and leagues to make the golf experience easier and more successful
  
• PickupZone – Tap a network of local businesses as your personal package delivery location so it’s never left unattended on your doorstep again
  
• Wiggio – Group collaboration for everyone  
  

A special thanks goes out to Abe Gurjal, co-founder of JotNot and Tim Blasko of CoachesTown for taking the time to chat with me about what they’re doing and their outlook on the environment in which they’re doing it.  As I’m about to start coaching my soon to be 8 year old’s baseball team, Tim’s product is just what the doctor ordered. And my wife will likely be calling Abe soon, since I now even have more of an urge to get an iPhone.   Thanks guys and best of luck in what I’m sure will be a successful year for both of you.

And now for something completely different…video interviews!  

  

Xconomy's Battle of the Tech Bands, Take Two

Last January, several of us CHENers, along with a couple of adventurous clients, checked out Xconomy's first Battle of the Tech Bands. That was the first time I'd set foot in the Middle East in more years than I care to count, and I had a good time. (I really need to get out more.)

Xconomy reports that close to 350 people gathered last year to hear six local groups, so they're going to stick with a winning formula. The event again will be hosted at the Middle East in Central Square, Cambridge, on January 22. This year, half of all ticket proceeds from the event will go to benefit local charities.

To be eligible, at least one member of the band must have a day job at a New England-area technology or life sciences company or a venture-capital or private-equity firm that invests in technology. Check this for the nitty gritty details. The deadline for entries is Friday December 12.

Prizes go to the Audience Favorite and Most Innovative bands.

Meanwhile, Xconomy recently announced that it has closed the first tranche of its second round. CommonAngels re-upped from round one and LaunchCapital, a small early-stage fund, also participated. Individual angels rounded out the round.

Xconomy is on a roll. In June, Xconomy Seattle launched, followed by Xconomy San Diego in October. According to Xconomy, these were "key steps in fulfilling our mission of providing hyperlocal coverage of the innovation communities in key technology and life sciences clusters."

Tonite: Xconomy's Battle of the Tech Bands

Don't let the snow flurries, wind and 20 degree weather get you down. We're tough New Englanders!

A bunch of CHENers are going to brave the elements tonight to venture out to Xconomy's Battle of the Tech Bands. The event starts tonight at 7 p.m. and you can still register at EventBrite. Just $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

According to the site, some brave souls are going to sport their chops so that us hardened tech types can vote on best band of the evening. Contestants include:

Deadbeat Darling / Akamai
The Knuckledusters / Bioprocessors Corp & Veritas Medicine
McAlister Drive / Linedata Services
One Hand Free / IBM
Sad Marvin / Smiths Medical
The Souled Out SuperBand / Bose

Who knew IBM could rock out? :)

Hope to see you there.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead + Battle of the Bands!

Everyone is doing year-end retrospective articles. I'm enjoying getting to know the Xconomy site, and its laser focus on local innovation. Because the site launched mid-year, it is featuring the whimsically titled: "Half-Dozen-Stories-of-the Half-Year Awards."

The awards lead with the "Who Knew? Story of the Half Year," which highlights the rockin' music scene around Boston. The article provided the inspiration for the site's Battle of the Tech Bands, which will be held at the Middle East in Cambridge on the evening of January 22nd. (At least one member of each featured band must be working at a New England tech, life sciences or tech investment firm.) What a fun idea. Audience members will pick their favorite band, and so will the Xconomy editors. More here.

Meanwhile, over at Scott Kirsner's Innovation Economy blog, he's offering suggestions for what we can do to goose the local economy in '08. Amen to this one:

Culture is created by the beliefs and actions of individuals. Can we stop repeating the old trope that the culture here is somehow closed, or unfriendly to new ideas and people, and act in ways that make it feel more open and welcoming?

For a broader view of the tech scene, check out:

The Most Bookmarked TechCrunch Posts of 2007 here
or
Engadget's Top Posts here

And since we know there's life beyond tech, check out Newsweek's 2007's best in "microculture": viral videos, podcasts, blogs, advertisements. If you've somehow missed the YouTubing of poor Miss South Carolina Teen USA explaining why Americans can't find the U.S. on a map (which somehow takes us to South Africa and Iraq), you'll find it leading the article. You know it's a great article because Fake Steve is named as one of just two breakout blogs of the year.

Happy New Year!