Rebecca Loebe moves beyond NBC’s The Voice with Swallowed By The sea

by Bill Palmer

A nation of television viewers now collectively know Rebecca Loebe as the contestant from NBC’s The Voice who electrified the early rounds of the show with her sultry rendition of Nirvana’s Come As You Are, and then had to make the difficult snap decision to go with Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine over Christina Aguilera for her team choice. But longtime Beatweek readers know Rebecca as the indie singer-songwriter who was featured all the way back in the first issue of Beatweek Magazine years ago. Now that her days on The Voice have come and gone, she’s returned to making her own music – and the first song in that regard is the gently soaring Swallowed By The Sea, which just hit iTunes today.

“It’s a super honest explanation of who I am and what I do,” she tells Beatweek of the new song. The mid-tempo affair reminds us of what we’ve liked about Rebecca Loebe’s music all along. So go and get it.

Dana Alexandra: the Beatweek interview

by Keri Franz

Sometimes it takes a little soul searching to realize where you really belong in life. Dana Alexandra knows a thing or two about that. The young indie starlet has lived in big cities and rural towns of the northeastern US. Though calling southern Pennsylvania home, Dana has travelled all over the states self-promoting her first acoustic record, “Fashionably Late.”  With a tireless attention to her singer-songwriter craft, she has put together a new assortment of full-band, pop-rock songs that are sure to get people moving. Dana is officially releasing, “Wash Your Mouth Out,” on June 24th at the Strand-Capitol Theatre in York, PA.  I was lucky enough to chat with her about working in Nashville, heading to Iowa, and living in a town without traffic lights.

You’re from Stewartstown, which is a small southern Pennsylvania town with no traffic lights.

I always feel kind of hypocritical when I say that because we could use one. It’s not like a town in the Midwest with tumbleweeds. It just doesn’t have one. I didn’t realize how amazing it was until I left the area and people would ask me about where I’m from. I would be like, let me put it into perspective what Stewartstown is like we don’t have a stoplight. They’d be like, what?? People in New York would be so weirded out by that!

What kind of area do you prefer to live in? A rural area like your hometown or a big city?

I always used to think I wanted out of here, but now I appreciate this area. I think that I would do really well living right outside of a city. When I moved from New York I wasn’t ready to come home yet, so I moved to Philly just to give that area a try. I didn’t actually live in Philly though, I lived in the village of Ardmore, which is a few miles outside the city. There’s still public transportation to get to the city and everything’s close, but it’s not IN the city. It was almost Stewartstown size. I like the peace and quiet, but I like the hustle and bustle too. It’s really hard to find a place like that!

What made you realize that you wanted to make music and make it more of a hobby?

I’ve always been a singer even when I was little. I got real serious about it when I was 14. Even when I was in high school, I wasn’t really sure. I was looking into marine biology until I realized I sucked at math. Music is my passion, but I have other interests too. It’s not really something that you choose to do, but it kind of chooses you. As it gets easier, you keep thinking maybe this is what I should be doing. Writing songs comes more naturally to me than trying to force other things.

Musically or family or whatever, who is one of your biggest influences when it comes to writing your music?

In general, my mom is a huge inspiration. he doesn’t give up on anything. She’s had rheumatoid arthritis since she was six. It’s such a problem for her. I don’t have any excuse for not doing whatever it is that I’m complaining about. She does so much in a day, so it’s a big reminder that I can’t get lax with my music. A lot of times, I reach this comfortable level, and I feel like I don’t need to work that hard. Then, I’m like wait my mom never got a break, so I can’t take a break! It kind of kicks me in the butt which is nice.

Would you ever like to be on a record label one day or is that not something that interests you?

I’d absolutely do it if I found the right fit and the right contract. I’ve never really felt ready for a record label yet because I haven’t been able to make the right thing to present to them and say this is what I am. I feel I’ve actually done that with this record. This is what I am, and I’m ready now after all these years. This is what I sound like and I don’t need to be changed. I’ve already changed myself enough over the past ten years. I would probably end up going for a smaller label because it’s more personal. But, I wouldn’t turn down a major label—as long as they’re decent people. I just want to be successful.

What was it like recording your first full-length album?

It was so awesome! I was down in Nashville with [producer] Dustin Burnett. He is the first producer that has ever actually come up to me and said I like you exactly how you are. He’s really good at what he does too. We wrote a lot of new songs together. The last CD that I made wasn’t planned. My friend in Baltimore has a studio, and I said I need a CD of what I sound like–nine solid songs, not even ten. This album’s going to be a little different. There’s a part of me that wants to make music that gets people moving and dancing, so it’s going to be that and very organic at the same time.

Of all the places that you’ve been to, what is your favorite (to play)?

Some of the places I don’t even realize that I’ve been too because it went so fast. I went to about thirty-two different places last fall, so it’s hard to pick a favorite. Some of the favorite places that I’ve played have been in the Philly area. Though, I was really surprised by Des Moines Iowa. I didn’t know what to expect, but it turned out to be a sweet little city. Actually, Missouri turned out to be a lot cooler than I realized it could be. I don’t mean to sound rude, but I just didn’t know what to expect. You just think the Midwest is farmland. There’s so much going on there.

If you could give someone who hasn’t listened to your music a good reason to listen to your music, what would it be?

I feel like anyone that would listen to it would enjoy it because it’s very real and honest. I want to have fun, and I don’t want to be bored. My music will hopefully get stuck in your head. If you look at me as a songwriter with the guitar, I look just like anybody else, but it could be different and you just might like it. Just keep an open mind.

Learn more at DanaAlexandra.com • iTunes • Twitter • Facebook

David Cook: the Beatweek interview – inside This Loud Morning and more

by Bill Palmer

David Cook managed to score himself a couple of hit songs his first time around. But for record number two he wanted a more cohesive album and he wanted to get deeper into the writing process, and if it took him nearly three years to get the goods into the hands of his audience, then so be it. The resulting album This Loud Morning offers overarching themes, grandiose soundscapes, songs that flow into each other, and of all things, a plot woven around circadian rhythms. Released today, fans are already declaring the album worth the wait. 

In our Beatweek interview we spoke with David Cook at length about This Loud Morning, what was going on behind the scenes all that time, and a little trip down memory lane to the days back when he was winning American Idol.

This record has a more grandiose structure in comparison to the first one. At what point did you realize you wanted that to be a goal for this record?

Pretty early on. The last record, everything was such a gut call, which I’ll be the first to admit is actually my preferred working environment. Just get it done and move on to the next thing. But with this record I wanted to give the whole album a little bit more of a cinematic feel, and that’s when Matt Serletic’s name came into the conversation because I’ve heard some of his other work and always thought that it had that cinematic feel to it. Consciously, it was pretty early on. Where that took us was all kind of done as we went through the process. But I think where I had it in my head and where this record ended up, I’d have to say this record probably actually exceeded what I had in my head. I wanted big choruses. I like those things. I feel like in the current music marketplace maybe there’s an avenue for it.

How do the circadian rhythms of the first song tie into the whole “loud morning” theme?

Circadian was inspired actually by Rapid Eye Movement, the last song on the record. Rapid Eye Movement was a song that I wrote pretty early in this process, and this record doesn’t exist without that song because I think that song really opened up my thought process for the rest of this record. As I was going through this record and going through the writing process, I was also dealing with some things that had happened during the last tour that I’d really shelled, both good and bad. As I really sat down to start writing this record, the world around me was just crazy. I had a million different things going on in my head. Rather than shy away from those things, I just decided to write about them. I think once I got Rapid Eye Movement in the can and realized I liked that romantic idea of living an entire life for yourself while you’re asleep, then Circadian kind of popped up and the idea of circadian rhythms. There’s an homage, I guess, to sleep terminology. But it’s that idea of using sleep and dreams as a reprieve.

Have you traditionally been an insomniac?

No, I’ve historically been really good at sleeping. But especially for the goals that I set for myself on this record and all, it got pretty hard there for awhile to turn my brain off when it came time to.

The phrase “This Loud Morning” is used near the end of the album, but did you have that album title in mind before you wrote it into the lyrics?

The credit for finding that title probably has to go to my manager. I had written the song lyric months before the title ever popped up, but I was out in Sweden writing, I think, either Sweden or London. I was having dinner with my manager and we’d been talking about the title, and she was like, “What about This Loud Morning” from that lyric in Rapid Eye Movement?

It just made sense. I spent probably the next six months trying to top it, and couldn’t. It just felt like the right title for this record.

You’ve got two songs on here, We Believe and Hard To Believe, quite different songs but their titles are centered around the same word. That concept must have been on your mind quite a bit when you were crafting this.

Belief is conviction. It’s faith. It’s one of those large themes that revolves essentially around conflict. You’ve got to have commitment to have faith, and I think that can parlay itself into love, which is another major underlying theme of this record. And so it became one I guess one of the many trigger words for this record.

You co-wrote every song on the record.

Yeah.

At this point, is that an absolute must for you? Do you feel like you have to be involved in the creation of a song in order to want to turn around and put it on your record?

You know, it was really important to me just because with the last record we put out two singles and they were the only two songs on the last record that I didn’t have writing credit on. My experience with that was that going out on stage, I had a different connection to those songs than I had to every other song on the record. I felt a little bit more of a kinship to the other songs on the record. No discredit to Light On or Come Back To Me. And so with this record I just felt like, okay, this is my second record. Everybody is kind of calling this a make or break record. I’d rather fall on my own sword than fight with somebody else’s.

Having gone through that process on the last record, with collaborators coming left and right, having gotten that experience before, did that help this time around?

Absolutely. The record everything was so new, and I was far more green than I am now. And so I went into those sessions less assertive and probably leaning a little bit more on other writers than I would have. Not that I didn’t write and work hard and wasn’t involved. But this record, just walking into the room and having more of a concrete vision, and using the people that I got to write with as maybe more facilitators than co-conspirators.

At any point in this process, did you ever say to yourself, “Hmm, my records are going to be two and a half, three years apart. Am I taking too long?”

Constantly. Timing is everything. But I think for me, any time I thought that, I would always take a step back and realize what my original thought when we started this project was. I’d rather take the time and get this record right, and have nobody remember me or anything, than rush a record that disappointed not only myself but my fans. I just put a lot of pride on making good records. That’s all I want to do. I want to make great records and play great shows. And if I can do those two things consistently, then the songs will be there, the success will be there, and everything will work itself out. As we got into these songs and into this record, it became really apparent that it was going to take some time. Thank God, so far the reception seems to be good. My fans have been extraordinarily patient, I think.

What is the songwriting process like when you’re writing with your own bandmates as opposed to outsiders?

I live with my lead guitar player Neal, and my other guitar player Andy is here most of the time anyway. So it’s certainly less structured, I think. We wrote, I want to say five, maybe six songs for this record. A lot of them were works in progress over the course of a few months. Goodbye To The Girl was probably the one exception. That song came together I think in a couple of days. But yeah, just less structured. If I go into a writing session with somebody like Ryan Tedder, we put it together a few weeks in advance and then I go an we write, and if we don’t get more finished then we book more time and finish up. With Neal and Andy, it was just “Hey guys, I’ve got the day off. You guys want to come over and we’ll try to knock this song out?” I’ve had a rapport with them, I’ve known them for ten years and so there’s a familiarity. I think maybe we pull less punches.

A lot of people want to know where the theremin is on this album. I have to admit, I can’t find it.

[Laughs] It’s buried in there. It’s used less as a centerpiece. It’s on a couple of the songs but it’s used purely as a boost, as an ancillary kind of background noise thing. I’ve actually listened to the record and I know where it’s at, and even when I listen, it’s in there but it’s ducked for sure.

If the current American Idol judging panel were place back when you were on the show in 2008, do you think you still could have won?

Oh wow, I don’t know. I’ll be the first to admit this judging panel is different. Not necessarily in a bad way. I think they were probably across the board more nurturing than Simon, Paula, and Randy were. Not to say that they didn’t offer constructive criticism, but there was certainly more of it. I don’t know. I’d say maybe not, only because the negative critiques I got from Simon and Randy, and I can’t remember if Paula was ever anything but nice to me, but those kind of lit a fire under me all the time. I kind of took them as challenges, so if the judges had been any nicer I may not have felt as challenged and I may not have pushed myself as hard as I did.

Did your trip to Ethiopia influence the record?

Absolutely. In fact the song you brought up earlier, We Believe, was inspired by two separate but complementary events. One was going to Ethiopia, and then the other was all the way back on my season on Idol when we did Idol Gives Back. We all snuck up to a balcony during one point of the show and watched Annie Lennox perform. It was just her and a piano, and she had all these kind of heavy images of the trip she took to Africa behind her on this giant screen. Just a very raw, poignant moment, I think. And those two things were kind of stewing in my brain.

Is the beard here to stay?

It’s here for the foreseeable future, I think. I enjoy the beard.

Do you have a sense of what the next single might be?

I am the worst barometer of singles. I don’t think I ever have a future as an A&R guy, I can tell you that. I don’t know.

With this album having the structure and the theme, is that going to play into how you do the setlists in concert?

Yeah. We really prided ourselves on the last record and the last tour trying to play a different setlist every night. In 154 shows, I think we did 150 different setlists. That was because we had the versatility and the ability to do so. Our show was very loosely structured, so it worked out that way. I think with this one, obviously with more of an arc to the record, that’ll certainly change the way that we attack things. I think right now my goal is to try to have anywhere from two to four revolving setlists and change it up every night.

Do you know what month you’re going to hit the road in?

The talk right now is late summer, early fall. I’m just trying to find the right package to come out with. For me, we did the headlining thing on the last record and I really enjoyed that. With this record I want to try the support act thing and get in front of some bigger audiences and do some more international, and really tour the wheels off on this record. I really enjoyed touring on the last record, and I want to do more of it.

Learn more at DavidCookOfficial.com • iTunes • Twitter • Facebook

Beatweek Magazine #105: David Cook interview, iPhone 5 vs Android and much more

Beatweek Magazine issue #105 highlights:

• David Cook cover story interview: This Loud Morning, behind the scenes of the past three years, and a trip down American Idol memory lane

• Top iPad and iPhone accessories for travel; iPhone vs. Android

• Interviews with Hey Monday, Dana Alexandra, and more

Read this issue now

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Break: iPhone 5 release date brings 5 reasons for iPhone 4 era to end

The release date of the iPhone 5 would traditionally bring with the re-filing of the iPhone 4 to bargain bin status, as Apple has done with the outgoing iPhone model for each of the past few generations. But it’s time for the iPhone 4 era to go away entirely, fun as it was, as the arrival of the iPhone 5 should bring with it a lineup whose pricing and positioning means the iPhone 5 can occupy the entire range – and the iPhone 4 can recede into the past. Here are five reasons why the iPhone 5 release date should also mean the discontinuation of the iPhone 4 altogether.

Overdue and warmed over: Unlike other iPhones which were around for twelve months or so, the iPhone 4 is looking like it’ll get about fifteen. That’s long enough. Add in the fact that there have essentially been three iPhone 4 eras (original, Verizon iPhone 4, white iPhone 4), and that’s enough for one product. It doesn’t need to be around for twenty-seven months by playing sidekick to the iPhone 5; the iPhone 4 motif has been overused already.

Currentness: Apple will want you to buy an iPhone 5 in the iPhone 5 era, even if the iPhone 4 is still there as a cheaper model. But Apple’s bigger goal should be getting you to an iPhone at all – and peddling a 2010-launched product in late 2011 and 2012 is just not good business strategy in the face of competition from all sides. Rather than asking customers to pay two hundred bucks and up for the current iPhone 5 or settle for last year’s iPhone for under hundred, why not make it a win-win by offering iPhone 5 models at one, two, and three hundred dollars – and then differentiating the latter two with more than mere capacity boosts so customers will be tempted to upsell themselves.

Controversy: You’ll never find any mainstream iPhone 4 users who had any actual difficulties with their reception due to antenna-related issues. But once the geeks conspired to concoct an “iPhone 4 antenna issue” which could be hypothetically recreated for demonstration purposes despite having zero real world impact, the reptutational impact was done. Apple gave these clowns free cases to shut them up (and it worked), but there are still unwitting consumers who keep asking whether Apple has “fixed the antenna issue” so they can finally buy one. Apple would do well to simply put the iPhone 4 to bed entirely, as the simple fact that the iPhone 4 is gone will lead confused folks to believe that the “iPhone 4 antenna issue” died with it.

Fracture: It sounds an awful lot like the iPhone 5 will be a single hybrid model which works across all networks and carriers. If so, keeping around two different incompatible iPhone 4 models for AT&T and Verizon will only add confusion to the mix. Additionally, if Sprint and T-Mobile are to be a part of the iPhone 5 era, they’d be shut out of the iPhone 4 (just as Verizon is shut out of the iPhone 3GS now). Easier to shut down all the various iPhone 4 models and make a clean, fully compatible, unified fresh start with iPhone 5 models across the board.

Power: If Apple really wants third party app developers to work on taking advantage of the power of the A5 processor in the iPhone 5, it can start by not putting any more A4-powered iPhone 4 units on the market. By employing A5 across its lineup this fall, Apple can increase the percentage of iPhones in use which have an A5, thereby motivating developers to get around to coding for the A5 sooner. Here’s more on iPhone 5.

Four: iPhone 5 release date, iOS 5 must see 4G, 4 carriers, 4 features

The best case for the iPhone 5 and iOS 5 is that their release date arrives not just soon enough to please, but brings with it a strategy of four: top marks for the iPhone 5 will require that it deliver itself on four carriers, with 4G networking, and offer four iOS 5-related features to put any talk of legitimate competition to bed. Here’s a look at what Apple needs to pull off with the iPhone 5:

Four carriers – this is straightforward. Too many would-be iPhone buyers will never do so until it arrives on the carrier they’ve married themselves to, by choice or by contract. The iPhone 5 release date must include Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile in unison so as to leave behind any “I’d buy an iPhone 5 in a heartbeat if it were on my carrier” snafus, which have dogged the iPhone for as long as it’s existed.

Four gee – nevermind that most users won’t be able to get a whiff of 4G LTE in their neighborhood in 2011. The 4G marketing train has left the station, all carriers, all stops, all tracks, and the carriers won’t fully promote the iPhone 5 if it doesn’t it into their 4G marketing agendas. Yep, Apple must include a feature which most users can’t take advantage of in order to make sure that the iPhone 5 is properly marketed by the carriers, who still hold undue allegiance over their minions of customers despite each offering a level of service which falls within the same unacceptably mediocre ballpark.

Four features – Apple has already nailed two of them by announcing that iOS 5 will include Notification Center and iMessenger. Nevermind whether those features are useful innovations or mere fads (the latter certainly feels like one); this is about taking away the reasons which users cling to their competing smartphones. By adding these features, and doing a better job of implementing them, it completely neutralizes the “…but I don’t want to give up my BlackBerry Messenger!” crowd. But these two features are built into iOS 5 for all users. What Apple hasn’t yet shown are iOS 5 features that are specific to the iPhone 5, set to integrate into iPhone 5 hardware features, and haven’t yet been unveiled because the iPhone 5 itself is still under wraps. Once is almost certainly NFC, which Google calls Google Wallet and Apple will likely call iWallet; mainstream consumers would know it better as “turning your iPhone 5 into a virtual credit card.” The fourth iOS 5 / iPhone 5 feature will have to be one that no one else has already implemented elsewhere, and something that Apple can claim all unto its own. Good luck guessing that one.

Here’s more on iPhone 5.

review: Logitech Z906 5.1 Speaker System

by Bill Palmer

Ready to blow down your neighbor’s house while turning your own into a true surround-sound audio experience? Enter the Logitech Z906, a 5.1 speaker system consisting of a giant square subwoofer, five satellites, a control center with digital readout to tie it all together, and a remote so you never have to leave your chair. It’s the future of watching movies at home, whether you hook it up to your television or your computer. And with a combined five hundred watts built into the Z906 in total, it also might be the future of going deaf if you don’t use it responsibly.

But let’s assume for the purposes of this review that you understand how to protect your own hearing (and the limits of good taste) when it comes to immersive audio. The Z906 brings a truckload of beautiful audio into your home. It’s enough to fill your entire home with decent sound for party purposes, or an entire room with immersive sound for movie watching purposes. Immersive gaming experiences will do just as well.

I’m always initially a little leery of audio systems which are complex enough so as to require their own control unit (I can’t help but ask myself, “shouldn’t it be enough to just hit “play” and sit back?”). But as far as the control unit on the Z906 goes, this one is pretty straightforward and allows you to easily tune each speaker to a separate volume. And because the system has both digital and analog connectors, you should be able to hook it up to just about any device in your home with no problem. That’s good news for those who prefer to do their gaming on their TV console, on their computer, or on both. And for those who just want to sit back and watch the movie without ever having to get up, the included remote is a nice inclusion.

At four hundred dollars, getting your money’s worth will require placing the six speaker units in positions such that you can take advantage of the extra flexibility; a system with this many components wasn’t really meant to simply be pile-stacked. But with the satellites designed such that they can be sat anywhere from the floor to the TV stand to being mounted on the wall, all you’ll need is a bit of fine-tuning to figure out how to position them so you get the most ideal audio experience in terms of what you’re looking for. That, and you’ll need a discerning enough sense of audio quality to appreciate what audio this good really sounds like.

price: $399 • Logitech.com • Amazon.com

Sharks: the Beatweek interview

by Keri Franz

No, it’s not “shark week” yet, but it’s about time you got familiar with Sharks. This UK punk rock band has been making music across the pond since 2007. Composed of James Mattock, on lead vocals and guitar, Andrew Bayliss, on guitar, Cris O’Reilly, on bass, and Sam Lister, on drums, Sharks recently released “The Joys Of Living 2008-2010″ in the US. I spoke with Mattock for a moment about where the band name came from, what inspires them, and playing in America for the first time.

For those people who haven’t yet heard of Sharks, how would you describe your sound?

High energy rock and roll reminiscent of the British punk explosion.

How did the band come to be?

We started the band at school. We loved the idea of making music and resented the idea of working, so we’re doing our best to find a good balance.

Where did the name, Sharks, come from?

The song, “In The Belly Of A Shark,” by Gallows. We were thinking of a band name and this song came on in the background and without much thought just went for it. It’s bold and simple.

Is there anything that really inspires you to create your music?

Yes, absolutely everything. Everyday things from art, music, films, and books to politics, life, death, love, and fear.

The band will be going out on the entire Vans Warped Tour this summer. Have you ever played it, and what are you looking forward to most about it?

We’ve never played a show stateside, so we’re really looking forward to it. Just to be out in the sun, driving across America, and generally living is what I’ve always wanted to do. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.

You have your own label, Velvet Scene, with Rise Records. What made you want to have your own label?

We wanted to work with Rise because they are great people, and we felt a really positive vibe about going there. But, we all agreed that this subsidiary would be necessary to separate us from the existing Rise roster. Regardless of whether we’re fans of any of the music on the roster, I think Rise was looking to expand their label into other genres. I’m stoked that we’re the band they chose to make that move.

Is there anything that you would like to add?


Our record is now out, so please check it out!

Learn more: Sharks • iTunes • Facebook • Twitter

review: Blue Microphones Yeti Pro desktop USB mic for Mac and PC

by Bill Palmer

Blue Microphones wants to offer users professional level audio recording from a desktop USB microphone, and it largely pulled that off last year with the $149 Yeti – a bells and whistles adjustable mic which sets nicely on your desk in its stand and connects to your Mac or PC for recording. But not all “professionals” are in the same league, and as it turns out, the Yeti didn’t offer high-end features like 192 kHz recording and XLR analog outputs, and while most homebrew podcasters don’t even know what those terms mean, there were those with high-end needs who were left out in the cold. So enter the $249 Yeti Pro, which is an immediately visibly different product from the standard Yeti in that the Pro is largely black as opposed to all-silver. But of course you’re not paying a hundred bucks extra to get it in a different color.

Based on our previous tests, the Yeti was already what we considered the ideal desktop USB recording microphone for most users. But throw in the pro features mentioned above, and it becomes a true “pro” product. Is the Pro worth the $100 extra? That depends on how badly you need them, and I suspect that the standard Yeti will prove to be the more popular product of the two based on sales numbers. But in a consumer technology era in which everyone qualifies a semi-pro just by getting out of bed in the morning, it’s nice to see that the true professionals aren’t being left out of the game as well. And for the record, yeah, that black trunk of the Yeti Pro looks pretty sleek.

price: $249 • BlueMic.com • Amazon.com

Game: iPhone 5 release date touchdown sets iPhone 6 stage a year early

“I can’t wait until the iPhone 5 comes out so I can use it to start researching the iPhone 6,” one jokester proclaims on Twitter, but there’s a more than a bit of truth to what he’s saying as the world plays the game of putting more focus on the next iPhone than the current one, with that attention set to immediately shift once the next iPhone has been revealed and all the mystery has escaped of the bag. Apple’s iOS 5 operating system is officially set for touchdown in the fall of this year, and the iPhone 5 is unofficially expected to arrive along with it. And yet the focus being piled on the iPhone 5 (learn more about the iPhone 5) right now might lead some to suspect that the iPhone 4 had already been put out to pasture – and that attention may well be fully passed on to the iPhone 6 once the iPhone 5 is delivered. Here are the various groups whose focus is all about the iPhone 5 (and to an extent, iOS 5) right now despite the product not existing.

The buyers: People who’ve tentatively decided to buy the iPhone 5 are now looking for more info. After all, even after you’ve picked out a car from the lot, you still want to test drive it before officially committing. For would-be iPhone 5 buyers, the “test drive” they’re looking for comes in the form of specs, features, details – and very few of them are known yet for sure. So they keep digging.

Bonus: need a battery case for your iPhone 4? Our top recommendations

The comparers: The iPhone 6 does play into this after all, albeit directly. Many folks are trying to decide whether to buy an iPhone 4 now or an iPhone 5 later. If they opt for the former, it means they’re effectively shutting themselves out of the iPhone 5 era (in terms of upgrade-eligible pricing, at least) and so they may be hanging onto that iPhone 4 until the iPhone 6 arrives. That’s a tough call to make now, with so little known about the iPhone 5 and literally nothing known about the iPhone 6.

The haters: There are people who get out of bed in the morning for the purpose of expressing as much public hatred for Apple and its products as possible, even going so far as to take retail sales jobs which allow them to attempt to talk as many consumers out of buying Apple products as possible. These people want to know the iPhone 5 specs and features as soon as possible so they can start figuring out how to mislead people into buying their pet Android phone instead. Think these folks don’t really exist? They got their hands on an iPhone 4 prototype early just so they could manufacture the imaginary iPhone 4 antenna issue, which never actually existed but was easy enough to fake with the correctly practiced finger position.

Bonus: traveling with your iPhone 4 or iPad? Our road warrior advice

The insiders: For those people who know just enough about Apple and the iPhone such that their friends and family can’t stop asking them when the iPhone 5 is coming an what it’ll offer, attaining any scant information possible can help deflect such questions – even if the info gathered is sketchy and unsubstantiated. Hence the hunt for details is merely an attempt to stay one step ahead of the questions. Here’s more on iPhone 5.

iOS 5 beta 2 warning: history from iOS 4.2 days shows it’s a bad idea

For those looking to get their hands on the beta 2 version of Apple’s iOS 5 operating system for iPhone and iPod touch, we can sum up our advice on the matter in one word: don’t. There’s no massive revelation about a defect in the beta, no discovered defect, no specific dire consequences. But the mere fact that it’s a “beta” means that it’s officially unfinished. The entire point of the iOS 5 beta testing program is to allow iOS app developers to be the sacrificial lambs who slog through the incomplete version of iOS 5 so they can discover and report on everything that’s still wrong. And while others may want to get their hands on it because they just “can’t wait” until the fall for iOS 5 to officially arrive, be warned that it’s not the real thing. It’s dangerous, and even if it weren’t unfinished, it still wouldn’t be the real thing. The iOS 4.2 / iOS 4.2.1 saga of 2010 proved that.

Last year Apple released iOS 4.2 beta for developers, which they dutifully tested even as other “enthusiasts” illicitly acquired the beta for sporting purposes. Those folks found out the hard way that the call it beta for a reason, as installing it on their iPhone made it less than reliable – something you don’t want to do to your cellphone. Then the iOS 4.2 “golden master” came along, which was the official, “finished” version of iOS 4.2 which was released to developers just before it was to be released publicly. Except, oops, the golden master turned out to have bugs in it which were nasty enough that Apple scrapped the entire iOS 4.2 release and instead later released iOS 4.2.1 instead. In other words, even when you think you’re getting the finished version, if you’re acquiring it through unofficial channels, you may not be getting the real thing. And if you’re downloading something that has “beta” in its name, such as iOS 5 beta 2, you’re just asking for trouble. If you just can’t help yourself, at least be sure to install it on a device you have no need for reliability from, such as an iPod touch or an old iPhone you no longer use as your phone. After all, that’s what real developers do – they know enough not to install a beta on their real iPhone. Take a page from them. Or better yet, just wait until the real iOS 5 is released in the fall; it’ll have everything (and more) that the current beta has now, and as a bonus, it’ll actually be safe, finished, and reliable. Here’s more on iOS 5.

Missing iPad 2 apps for Skype, Facebook detract by half for now

The iPad has been around for fifteen months, the iPad 2 for a season itself, and yet the makers of a few of the most popular iPhone apps on the planet don’t seem to have a clue that its tablet counterpart even exists. Even as the iPad continues to enjoy roughly ninety percent marketshare among tablets and single handedly transforms the tablet concept from obscure geekwank to useful mainstream device, Facebook and Skype just don’t just seem to get it – or at least their lack of an iPad specific app would appear to speak on their behalf. Fear not, as both apps are said to be on their way. But it’s puzzling, to say the least, as to why they haven’t surfaced sooner.

In their collective defense, Skype and Facebook both have apps designed for the iPhone and iPod touch which work, technically, on the iPad. But they literally display at three and a half inches tall on the iPad, leaving the rest of the screen blank. They can be magnified to double-size to mostly fill the screen, but the resulting resolution looks like crap and wastes the iPad’s high resolution display capabilities. Of course these are far from the only two iPhone apps to have made it as far as the iPad 2 and still not have a version which takes advantage of the iPad’s larger screen. But these two are popular enough that they have no real excuse for taking this long, although is each is in a different situation.

Facebook, for its part, has essentially unlimited funds and resources. But since the departure of Facebook iPhone app developer Joe Hewitt, said app has stagnated. Perhaps it’s his absence which has led to the Facebook iPad app taking forever. But really, with as much money as Facebook has, there’s no excuse. Then again, this is the same company which never has released a desktop app for Mac or PC (even Twitter has a Mac app). Facebook appears to still be under the illusion that web browsers are the future of social networking or of technology in general – or perhaps Facebook’s ad revenue is simply greater when a user visits via web browser than via app.

Skype is a different animal. It was long one of those open source companies which was seemingly run by anonymous kids in their garage, but somehow ended up in the hands of eBay. Anyone who’s spent time on eBay understands it to be a vast wasteland of wasted potential, a website which requires ten clicks when it should require one. So it’s no surprise that Skype never saw an iPad app during its eBay-owned era, although oddly enough, eBay does have its own iPad app. Skype has since fallen into the hands of Microsoft and that means five things: there will be a Skype iPad app for sure, but it’ll be late, it’ll be buggy, it’ll be convoluted, and it’ll be time to look for an alternative which isn’t owned by the least competent software developer on the planet.

So maybe the hopes aren’t high for the Facebook or Skype apps to turn out particularly well even once they do surface. Facebook lost the one guy who seemed to know what he was doing with apps, and Skype has become a hand-me-down company which has fallen into the worst possible hands. But it’s a safe bet that both apps will surface while the iPad 2 is still the current iPad, and before we start asking why the iPad 3 doesn’t have Facebook or Skype apps. One can hope. Here’s more on iPad 2.

Top iPhone 4 and iPad battery life extending products of 2011 (so far)

Even as devices like the iPad and iPhone continue to gain more battery life with each new generation, there are always going to be users who need more juice – especially in an era in which there are ever more power-hungry things to do with your device’s screen turned on. The iPhone 4 has a number of worthwhile choices, and while the iPad 2 doesn’t have anything yet (unfortunately), the original iPad has a surprisingly viable option. Here at the midpoint of 2011, here are Beatweek’s top rated iPad and iPhone battery products of the year – so far:

Mophie Juice Pack Air and Juice Pack Plus for iPhone 4: Mophie’s iPhone battery offerings have evolved over the years from a comparatively awkward cradle to a sleek ruggedized rubber case. The Juice Pack Air covers the iPhone 4 controls and buttons and replicates them nicely, while protecting all four corners and offering matching styling with brushed silver down the sides. The $79 Air won’t quite double your iPhone 4 battery life, but the thicker $99 Juice Pack Pro will. Learn more.

Kensington PowerBack for iPad: The idea of a battery cradle for the iPad sounds like an intimidating proposition, but Kensington pulled it off about as well as could be expected with the PowerBack. It’s thick, it’s heavy, it doesn’t protect the iPad’s top corners, and it doesn’t even double your iPad’s battery life. Nor is it physically compatible with the iPad 2. But it gets the job done, and for power-hungry iPad 1 users, it’s a godsend. Learn more.

As we said, these are merely the best-tested options on the market in 2011 so far. After all, the year is only half over. But for those who want to buy a battery product for their iPhone 4 or iPad now, rather than waiting for our “Best of 2011″ awards at the end of the year, here you go.

True Blood: Janina Gavankar talks season 4 premiere, Luna Garza role

by Bill Palmer

With tonight’s season four premiere of HBO series True Blood, Janina Gavankar finds herself stepping into a starring role as the “new girl” in season four of a popular television show. Tonight she becomes Luna, the shape shifting school teacher in True Blood’s Bon Temps. Years ago, she arrived partway through the successful run of The L Word in the form of Papi. But while that particular character was a night and day difference from the real Janina, it turns out True Blood’s Luna isn’t quite so far off.

“She’s a nice girl,” Gavankar says of Luna. “She meets Sam at a sort of gathering of shape shifters. He’s been going to anger management meetings, and he meets me at one of them.”

As for the ways in which Luna isn’t quite as radical of a departure as Papi had been, “It’s definitely closer for a few reasons” she says. “I don’t have a Luna walk and a Luna voice. She’s not from the south. She’s not from Bon Temps, so she doesn’t have the Bon Temps twang.”

But she adds, “My thoughts are totally different, of course. The things that trouble me are completely different. She had a big old back story of stuff (laughs), and she’s just trying to keep it together.”

As for tonight’s True Blood season premiere, “I’m just going to say that there are a lot of surprises. There are a lot of surprises.” Even by True Blood standards? “Yeah. People are going to be like, whoa. And mark my words, this season will not disappoint.”

Learn more at Twitter.com/janina • HBO.com/true-blood

David Cook tells Beatweek about “Circadian” from This Loud Morning

David Cook’s new album This Loud Morning is more than a mere collection of songs, as the various tracks weave in and out of connected themes and sonically flow into each other. But one need not get any further than the unusual opening track with the unusual name, Circadian, in order to see that this record is something different altogether – and that first song was spawned out of the album’s final track, he tells Beatweek.

“Circadian was inspired, actually, by Rapid Eye Movement,” Cook reveals in the cover story interview for the June 28th issue of Beatweek Magazine (available in full on Beatweek.com that same day). “Rapid Eye Movement was a song that I wrote pretty early in this process. This record doesn’t exist without that song, because I think that song really opened up my thought process to the rest of this record.”

“Once I got Rapid Eye Movement in the can and realized I like that romantic idea of living an entire life for yourself while you’re asleep, then Circadian popped up, the idea of circadian rhythms and all that. There’s an homage, I guess, to sleep terminology. But it’s that idea of using sleep and dreams as a reprieve.”

Asked if he himself has traditionally been an insomniac, Cook says “No, I’ve historically been really good at sleeping. But especially for the goals that I set for myself on this record and all, it got pretty hard there for awhile to turn my brain off when it came time to.”

In the full Beatweek cover story interview, David Cook discusses This Loud Morning in full, including its narrative themes, his more authoritative role in the writing process, and more – and he also reveals whether he believes he could have still won American Idol like he did back in 2008 if he’d been facing a judging panel of Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez instead of Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul.

Beatweek readers and fans can choose which photo of David Cook will appear on the June 28th issue of Beatweek Magazine. You can still vote once per day, in four different ways. Vote now.

13-18 months: iPhone 5 release date bounces around the calendar map

The iPhone 5 release date equals freedom for those who feel entrapped in the mean time. Thirteen to eighteen months sounds more like a prison sentence than the projected length of the iPhone 4 era, but with the one year anniversary of its launch having come and gone, the year-plus nature of the iPhone 5 release date waiting game means that the timeframe is worth attempting to narrow down for those who are unsure of just how long they’ll have to wait. Here’s our best effort at helping you determine how long you’ll have to wait for the iPhone 5, based on the fact that it isn’t happening in June, isn’t likely to be sat on until next year, and there are other hints about just where it’ll fall in between.

The near term: If the iPhone 5 were being released any time in June or even in early July, it would have been presented publicly at WWDC four weeks ago. Instead, Apple knows that the iPhone 5 release date is far enough away that it didn’t want to kill iPhone 4 sales in the mean time. So figure late July at the very earliest.

The long term: Apple just showed off iOS 5 with a “fall” release date, and there’s almost no chance it hits the market before the iPhone 5 does. So according to the technical definition of fall, you’ll see the iPhone 5 no later than mid December 2011, meaning there’s no chance of the iPhone 5 being a 2012 baby.

The middle of it: Apple never releases major new hardware any later in the calendar year than September. So look for Apple to hold a press event to introduce the iPhone 5 and reveal its release date no later than the first half of September 2011. Combine that with the likelihood that the iPhone 5 won’t surface any earlier than late July, and that narrows it down to about a six week window from late July to early September. There are no guarantees, but that should give you an idea of the realistic timeframe for expecting the iPhone 5 to see its appearance date and then its release date.

Got a different take on the timeframe for the iPhone 5 release date? Share it in the comments below. Want to share this article? Use the Facebook “Like” button or the Google “+1″ button below. Want to know more? Here’s more on the iPhone 5.

Wait: iPad 3 in no rush as iPad claims nearly 9 in 10 tablet users

Talk of the iPad 3 coming before 2011 ends has been coming fast and furious from those who are tired of waiting for it. But such a rush job makes less sense on Apple’s part, as the numbers don’t lie: despite a flurry of iPad competitors hitting the market in 2010 and 2011, a recent Comscore survey shows that eighty-nine percent of internet surfing on tablet-based devices worldwide is coming from iPads. In other words, about nine in ten tablets in use are iPads – either that, or iPad users are using the internet way more than their counterparts.

Even if there is any truth to the latter notion, it doesn’t particularly alter the fact that the vast, vast majority of tablets being sold are iPads. Even as a multitude of Android-based tablets flood the market, even as BlackBerry continues to push its PlayBook, even as Samsung rams its Galaxy Tab products down people’s throat, even as 4G tablet options are hyped left and right, the iPad still dominates the sales and marketshare battle in a laugh-out-loud manner. The utter failure of Android based tablets to gain meaningful marketshare makes a strong case for the sales success of Android-based phones being little more than a carrier-based vacuum-filling exercise during the iPhone’s early, AT&T-exclusive years – but that’s another argument for another day. What it shows with respect to the iPad is that the three month old iPad 2 is doing just fine in terms of competition and there’s no competitive reason for Apple to rush the iPad 3 out the door.

Apple may ultimately decide to push the iPad 3 to market in 2011 after all, if it’s ready ahead of the holiday season. After all, the evolutionary nature of the iPad 2 suggests that it was a mere fallback and that Apple has been working on what will ultimately be the “iPad 3″ for more than a year now. So if it’s finished by the fall, Apple may decide to be an overachiever and give the world the iPad 3 as an early holiday present. But if Apple does decide to wait and allow the iPad 3 to arrive in its expected March 2012 timeframe, don’t be too surprise – after all, the iPad 2 is already overachieving in its own right. Here’s more on the iPad 3.

review: xlSync cable for iPad (1 and 2), iPhone and iPod

by Bill Palmer

Some products are so utterly simple, and yet so beneficial in the hands of the right users. The xlSync from CableJive falls into that category if you’re among the iPad, iPhone, or iPod users who find the standard three foot USB sync cable to be too short. In contrast the xlSync clocks in at a full six and a half feet allowing your iDevice to be charged and synced from a further distance away from your computer or your wall charger.

The potential uses are obvious: your desk is cluttered and there isn’t room to set your iPad down within three feet of your computer. Your iPhone is plugged into the wall and you want to keep talking on it while it’s still charging. After testing out the xlSync, I can confirm that it works precisely as advertised, having tested it with both the iPhone 4 and the power-hungry iPad 2. Beyond that, there’s not much to say about the product beyond the convenient fact that it can be had in a choice of black or white to match the color of your device. As far as whether it’s worth its $12.95 price tag, that’ll depend on how much you value those extra few feet of cable.

CableJive.com • Amazon

iPad 2 and iPhone 4: must-have battery, audio, and travel accessories

Hitting the road with your iPad 2 and iPhone 4 in tow is a great way to make your trip go smoother – but adding these accessories for the two devices will allow you to get even more out of the experience. Whether it’s additional power or expanded functionality, the iPhone and iPad can use tweaks ranging from batteries and chargers to keyboards and more. And let’s not forget that behind every great iPad and iPhone user there’s probably a MacBook user in the picture as well. So here’s what we recommend for enhancing your iPhone 4 and iPad 2 experience. Some of these products are also backwards compatible with the original iPad or older iPhones:

Mophie Juice Pack Air and Plus for iPhone 4: The iPhone 4 has a forty percent longer batter than its predecessor, but that’s small comfort when you’re in the middle of intense screen-turned-on work and that “battery low” warning comes on. And when on the go, a form-fitting battery case is the ideal way to make that happen without becoming cumbersome. Depending on how much extra juice you need and how much thickness you’re willing to tolerate, the Juice Pack Air 4 or Juice Pack Plus 4 is the way to go. Learn more.

Dexim P-Flip for iPhone 4: Too many hotel rooms have no electrical outlets next to the bed. You can get around that quandary by docking it in the P-Flip overnight. It’s a flipstand with a battery built in, meaning that so long as you charge up the P-Flip during the day, it’ll keep your iPhone 4 fully charged overnight. Also doubles as a bottom snap-on battery. Learn more.

Logitech Keyboard Case by ZAGG for iPad 2: Most iPad typing can easily be done on its virtual keyboard. But heavy duty writing means a full-ish size physical keyboard is a plus. For at-home user, Apple’s in-house iPad Keyboard Dock is the way to go – but it’s not suitable for travel. Logitech’s Keyboard Case, made by ZAGG, the makers of the original ZAGGmate for iPad 1, is the way to go for iPad 2 users on the go. Learn more.

Kensington PowerBack for iPad: The only product of its kind, the PowerBack is to the iPad what battery cases are to the iPhone. Unfortunately, this product has thus far only arrived for the original iPad and it isn’t physically compatible with the iPad 2 – we’ve tested it. Learn more.

Kensington PowerBolt Duo: This one charges your iPad 2 and iPhone 4 at the same time in the car, and charges your iPad 2 twice as fast thanks to one of its USB port offering double the amperage. Learn more.

Soundmatters foxl v2: This bluetooth wireless sound bar costs two hundred bucks and sounds way too good for something this small, making its price tag worth it. You can pair it up with your iPad, your iPhone, your bluetooth-enabled laptop, or even your iPod touch. And is has a built in rechargeable battery. Learn more.

Twelve South BassJump for MacBook: The two speakers built into the MacBook and MacBook Pro are tinny when it comes to music playback. Rather than traveling with a multi-speaker set, this subwoofer uses software to team up with the built-in speakers, breathing new life into them. Learn more.

Just Mobile Lazy Couch for MacBook: Elevating your laptop is important for cooling, typing, and posture purposes. On the road, a full sized laptop stand isn’t practical. But these small nodules are easy to travel with, as they elevate your laptop nicely, and snap together when not in use. Learn more.

iPad 3: three revolutionary left turns from simple iPad 1-2 evolution

The third date is always the one which defines the relationship, and iPad users can look to the iPad 3 to take their digital relationship to the next level – or so they hope. After the iPad 2 amounted to a mere evolutionary step forward from the similar original iPad, Apple is in the position of having had up to two full years (depending on its release date) to make the iPad 3 a revolutionary leap forward from the simple evolution experienced last time around. Here’s what iPad 3 buyers should be hoping for when it comes to Apple taking the third generation iPad to the next level.

iOS 5: On paper, and in the Steve Jobs demo, iOS 5 appears to turn the iPad 3 into less of an oversized iPhone and more of a fully functioning computer. But the differences in the iPad and iPhone/iTouch versions of iOS 5 will define just how much of a computer replacement the iPad 3 can be; even as of iOS 4, the iPad feels an awful lot like a ten inch iPod touch. So what does Apple really have up its sleeve in terms of iPad-specific iOS 5 functionality? That might matter more than any iPad 3 hardware aspects.

Unlimited 4G: The non-3G version of the current iPad turns into an etch-a-sketch as soon as you try to use it away from wifi, which in 2011 still means it’s a homebound (starbucks-bound, hotel-bound) device. The 3G iPad 2 isn’t much better with its slow data transfer speeds and limited data plans. Can Apple strong-arm the carriers into opening the iPad up to unlimited data in the 4G era? We shall see.

Structure: The iPad 2 features the same home button (way down on the bottom of the device) and nearly the same tiny (tinny) speakers as the iPhone. Can Apple step it up with these kinds of built in features so as to make the iPad 3 more computer-like? Here’s more on the iPad 3.

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