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Watch Roger Waters Perform Medley of ‘The Wall’ Songs on ‘Colbert’

Roger Waters was the musical guest on last night’s episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where he played a medley of ‘The Happiest Days of Our Lives’ and ‘Another Brick in the Wall Pts. 2 & 3’. Watch the performance below.

Roger Waters will return to North America this summer for his This Is Not a Drill tour, which kicks off on July 6 in Pittsburgh, PA.

Kiwi Jr. Unveil Video for New Single ‘Unspeakable Things’

Kiwi Jr. have shared the new song ‘Unspeakable Things’, which is taken from their upcoming album Chopper. The track arrives with an accompanying music video directed by Morgan Waters. Check it out below.

Vocalist/guitarist Jeremy Gaudet commented on the song and video in a statement:

People are always trying to sign into my email. What do they think they’re gonna find? The public appetite for dirty laundry is wild. Having moved the world online has not helped. Dan Boeckner had the idea to use the Moog sound for the hook, which was originally on guitar, and that sound brings the song into a sort of new-wave territory that was fun and different for us. We kept referencing the vibe of Michael Mann movies when recording the album, and then Morgan heard this and came up with the idea of making the video look like the movie Heat. Somehow TSN’s Jay Onrait, Jonah from Fucked Up, and comedians Tom Henry and Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll were convinced to cameo in it. We also were wearing these hockey masks filming all day next to a busy road getting a lot of car honks and didn’t realize until much later that we filmed on an actual Friday the 13th.

Chopper is set to drop on Night Vision August 12 via Sub Pop. Kiwi Jr. previously shared the album’s title track.

Amanda Shires Releases New Single ‘Take It Like a Man’

Amanda Shires has released ‘Take It Like a Man’, the title track from her forthcoming album – out July 29 on ATO Records. The track was co-written by Shires and producer Lawrence Rothman and features her husband Jason Isbell on guitar. Check out a live video for it below.

“I wrote that last line, ‘take it like a man,’ but then I changed it.” Shires said in a statement. “I realized you can try and do what they say and take it like a man and show that you can withstand anything. But truly you can only take it like yourself.”

Lorde Shares New ‘The Path’ Video

‘The Path’ is the latest single from Solar Power to get a music video. The clip was directed by Lorde and frequent collaborator Joel Kefali. Watch it below.

“On the occasion of the solstice, I wanted to share a sixth video with you, for THE PATH,” Lorde said in a statement. “This video is the first chapter in the mystical Solar Power story, a prequel to the title video. You see my character joining her friends and family on the island where they’ve chosen to start life anew, arriving in her trademark suit and quickly being transformed by nature’s strange magic. I’m so proud of my buds for learning the dance in this one. Hope you like it.”

In the same statement, Lorde also reflected on the anniversary of announcing the album and the mixed response to its release. “I can honestly say it has been the year with the highest highs and lowest lows I think I’ve ever experienced,” she wrote. “It took people awhile to get the album — I still get emails every day from people who are just coming around to it now! — and that response was really confounding and at times painful to sit with at first. I learnt a ton about myself and how I’m perceived by making and releasing this album, and I feel significantly more connected and alive in my art practice and life than pretty much ever before. Sounds dry but it’s true!!!”

“I was sitting with a friend recently drinking chai at a country house in England, she’s an artist too, and we got on to the topic of the album somehow,” Lorde continued. “She said, ‘It’s clearly one of those works that gets made between peaks, the kind that’s necessary for makers sometimes, no less precious, in fact, there can’t be peaks at all without such works.’ I think this is true of the record. Playing songs from ‘SP’ live each night in what is undoubtedly my best live show ever is also an incredible feeling — it all makes sense there, both to you and me, in a new and vivid way. And thanks to ‘SP,’ I’ve been able to work through some big personal stuff that was making it pretty difficult for me to do stuff like travel or play shows without getting completely overwhelmed.”

Lorde previously shared videos for the Solar Power cuts ‘Secrets From a Girl (Who’s Seen It All)’, ‘Leader of a New Regime’, ‘Fallen Fruit’, ‘Mood Ring’, and the title track. Check out our review of Lorde’s set at Primavera 2022.

Julien Baker, Lala Lala With Tomberlin, Faye Webster, Wednesday, and More Contribute to ‘Through the Soil II’ Benefit Compilation

Julien Baker, Faye Webster, Lala Lala with Tomberlin, Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, IAN SWEET, Squirrel Flower, and more appear on the new benefit compilation Through the Soil II, which is out today via Bandcamp. The 37-track collection is the sequel to last year’s Through the Soil, which benefited the NAMI COVID-19 Mental Health Support Fund and became the best-selling compilation in Bandcamp history. The latest installment also features new recordings by Parannoul, Dummy, Babehoven, Floatie, Horse Jumper of Love, Jodi, Ratboys, and Gabi Jr. All proceeds will be donated to The Trevor Project, an organization focused on mental health awareness and suicide prevention amongst LGBTQ youth. Check out Through the Soil II below.

“As a kid, I felt very trapped and othered and struggled to see people like me in media and even just in everyday life – like many queer kids do,” Gabi Jr. said in a statement. “I knew I couldn’t be honest about my feelings in the communities I occupied as a kid because it would likely end in conversion therapy. That, combined with the many suppressive things in our culture, led to self hatred and hopelessness.”

They continued: “I was fortunate enough to make it to a point where I was able to overcome those feelings, find community, and build a support system for myself. But all those kids out there who are still doing that and need support and love to get to a point where they can do those things, can turn to groups like the Trevor Project for safe care and guidance. To not feel so alone and have the opportunity to see themselves in the person who’s helping them on the other line. It’s beautiful and— without any exaggeration at all—it saves lives.”

“It was important to take part in a project like Through The Soil II that is supporting something like Trevor Project because everything right now is so fragile,” Joe Trainor of the Los Angeles quartet Dummy commented. “There is a near constant effort to take away the rights of LGBTQ+ people, along with women and POC. To not be a political band in 2022 is beyond us”.

Lala Lala added: “It’s special to be able to support organizations I care about, like the Trevor Project, through my art. Young queer people need and deserve protection and the Trevor Project helps provide that.”

Through the Soil II Cover Artwork:

Through the Soil II Tracklist:

1. MJ Lenderman – You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In
2. Sword II – First Rule of the Bug
3. Cryogeyser – Obvious
4. Horse Jumper of Love – Hotel Swimming Pool
5. Knifeplay – Trevor Project Benefit Compilation Song
6. Squirrel Flower – Rockets
7. Deadharrie – Tower
8. Teethe – Lucky
9. Hiding Places – The Fly
10. Floatie – Over the Terrain
11. Bedside Kites – Artificial Labor
12. Sipper, Russy – Byebye
13. Triathalon – For Now
14. Koleżanka – Hot Toddy
15. Lala Lala, Tomberlin – Good Luck New Year
16. Gabi Jr. – Muddy
17. IAN SWEET – F*ckthat (demo)
18. Shep Treasure – Two Heart
19. Skirts – Tunnel Vision
20. BEX – Fantasy Of
21. Faye Webster – What Used to Be Mine (Live)
22. Boosegumps – One Morning
23. Jodi – Where
24. BABEHOVEN – Bad Bad Good Good
25. Onlyness – Lonely in Paradise
26. Ratboys – Lie, Lie, Lie
27. Julien Baker – Milkman of Human Kindness
28. Friendship – Lucinda on Junebug
29. Euphoria Again – This is the Time (Hermit)
30. Swim Camp – Soccer
31. Wednesday – Who Me?
32. Sun Organ – High In the Shower Pt. 2
33. They Are Gutting a Body of Water ft. Highnoon, Karly Hartzman, Ruth in the Bardo, & Valerie Barbosa – Floe II
34. Sam Silbert (ft. They Are Gutting a Body of Water) – Riddler’s Mind
35. Computerwife – Lexapro
36. Parannoul – Lost and Found
37. Dummy – Ethereal Security Guard

Artist Spotlight: Flasher

Hailing from Washington, D.C., the members of Flasher spent years cutting their teeth in the local DIY punk scene before releasing their debut album as a trio, Constant Image, in 2018. As their audience grew – thanks in part to the joyful, dizzying urgency that made their brand of post-punk stand out – things started to shift. After touring for Constant Image, founding bassist Daniel Saperstein left the band, which reformed as a duo comprised of guitarist Taylor Mulitz (formerly of Priests) and drummer Emma Baker. Given the uniquely collaborative nature of Flasher, recalibrating wasn’t an easy process. But by leaning into as well as opening up their roles within the group, Mulitz and Baker have come through with a follow-up, Love Is Yours, that’s invigorating and dynamic in new yet familiar ways. Constant Image featured shared vocals, but the new album more prominently brings out both of their voices, with Baker taking on more lead vocal and songwriting duties. Recorded with longtime friend Owen Wuerker, the songs are crisp yet intricately layered, illuminating the duo’s mature perspective on the fragility of relationships. Flasher’s music may no longer be defined by raw angst, but the warmth, directness, and vulnerability that permeate Love Is Yours make it no less thrilling.

We caught up with Flasher for this edition of our Artist Spotlight interview series to talk about finding a new direction for the band, the process behind Love Is Yours, searching for the perfect feeling, and more.


In the four years between Constant Image and Love Is Yours, a lot of things changed – in the world at large, the scene that you came out of, the structure of the band itself. When you decided to start working on a new album, did you find yourselves reflecting on where you’ve been in order to move forward? Or, by that point, was it more about focusing on how to work things out in the present?

Taylor Mulitz: I think that’s a really good question, and I would say it was both. Musically, in terms of leaving the past behind and trying to blaze a new trail forward and not pigeonholing ourselves at all based on what we’ve done in the past when it came to writing the musical parts of the record – that was how it felt. And I think the thematic elements in terms of the lyrics deal with reckoning with your past self, embracing change and forgiveness.

Do you feel like you were working through these changes as a band and you were also processing them in your music, or were they two separate things that ended up mirroring each other?

TM: I think they were intertwined.

Emma Baker: Yeah. [laughs] For me, for sure.

TM: Writing the record was really fun. It didn’t feel like a challenge, but it felt like – it’s kind of when you start a new band and everything feels really fresh and exciting and it’s kind of an open field – you can go in any direction.

Emma, in what ways do you feel like it was intertwined for you?

EB: Just on a basic level, my involvement with writing on this record – we’ve always written music together, but our process previously when we were trio was more like: we’d all get together and jam and we would write a whole instrumental, finish a song from start to finish instrumentally without adding vocal parts yet. And this time around, it was kind of the opposite. We were starting with a demo that has a lot of singing, really vocal-forward, and in the past, that’s not really been what I contribute to Flasher. I really wanted to be productive and work with Taylor on getting the record going, and I’m not just going to sit around and wait for Taylor to write the whole record. This was my first time really starting to write songs myself at home, and then bringing them to Taylor for us to finish. But certainly, when it comes to writing lyrics, I lean more towards writing more… what’s the word?

TM: Personal?

EB: Yeah. I definitely worked some things out in the songs that I wrote on this record.

TM: It’s funny, I just had a flashback to when we first started demoing the record and we would do this thing where we were trying to work out melodies, we’d have this one riff that we just knew and we would sing into the microphone. And one of the songs that we would sing over pretty much every song in a different key was ‘Running Up That Hill’.

If there was a time to put out a cover of that song…

TM: We attempted it at karaoke the other night.

EB: Neither of us can sing like Kate Bush.

With Daniel Saperstein’s departure from the band, to what extent did you have to reconsider what Flasher’s identity as a band would be as a duo? Was that something you had conversations about, or was your approach to just work together and see what naturally emerges from that?

EM: I think there was a brief moment of like, “Oh shit, is this new band? Do we totally rename this band?” Obviously, that didn’t happen. Logistically, it wouldn’t have made sense to do that. And the origin story of Flasher actually was just me and Taylor in another band previously, so it kind of feels like returning to that dynamic, which always felt natural.

In what ways do you feel it’s different?

TM: That band was called Young China, it was like a punk band. It was very decidedly, like, we’re going to try and be in a punk band, because neither of us ever really had – despite having been in the punk scene forever, I guess Priests gets considered a punk band – but we were like, we’re gonna try to do that. And we still didn’t quite do that. [laughs] Because we’re too obsessed with pop music and it’s gonna find its way in there. But when we started working on this record, we were really wanting to move away from punk.

Have you always been obsessed with pop music?

EM: We’ve kind of always loved it.

TM: Yeah, we’ve always loved it. I mean, to be honest with you, as a young teen, I was really into indie rock. And then I think later on in my teenage years, I was really ashamed of that. I felt like it was embarrassing. So I kind of pushed that to the side, and now that we’re a little older, I can be like, “Actually, some of that music was good,” and it’s finding its way back into my own songwriting.

You said it was partly a logistical decision to keep making music as Flasher. Musically or aesthetically, what’s something that you feel like has and will remain a constant in your work as a band? Or is that too hard to conceptualize?

EM: Yeah, it’s hard to put a finger on.

TM: My answer is so boring. It’s like, the types of chord progressions that we gravitate towards – if I’m trying to find a throughline between Constant Image and this new record, I think there’s a lot of that. Or the types of melodies that we’re into or the way things resolve. But that’s so amorphous, you know. At first I was like, “This sounds totally different.” And it’s been interesting to see people’s reaction to it because some people are like, “This is so left-field or way out there.” And then other people are like, “It still sounds like you guys.”

Did find yourselves trying to move away from those kinds of chord progressions or melodies while making Love Is Yours?

TM: Not at all, honestly.

EM: Pretty much the opposite of that.

TM: We were like, “Let’s just go for it.” Just write the songs that feel good and let them find their way naturally.

Going back to Constant Image, you’ve said that the making of that album was marked by tension. Did you make a conscious effort going into this record to try and take steps to avoid a similar experience?

EM: I don’t think this time around it was our goal to not recreate that experience per se. But the circumstances of the pandemic led us to where we ended up making the record.

TM: Well, in a way it kind of was that way because we did two test recording runs with different producers to see how it felt.

EM: True.

TM: And it didn’t quite like click. I think before the pandemic hit, actually, we had decided we’re going to record it at home because that feels really comfortable. We had already been demoing here with Owen and already felt so attached to the demos, so when we worked with other people, we were like, “Oh no, this is not cool.” [laughs] And then we’re like, “Let’s just do it ourselves.”

Was there any shift in your collaborative approach, too, that was intended to make it more comfortable?

EM: Taylor and I both just started demoing stuff on our own because he was living in Baltimore when we were starting to write this record and I was still in DC, and then we would get together a couple of days a week to share what we’ve been working on. I think the difference this time around was that I was writing stuff too, and that both of us were demoing a lot more on our own in ways that we hadn’t before. Since Daniel is a recording engineer, they would do all the engineering part of making our demos in the past. So this time was me and Taylor learning how to use Logic and stuff ourselves and making backing beats for things that we’re writing.

What else did you learn from having less of a fixed role in the band?

TM: I’ve definitely started experimenting with a lot of different types of instrumentation outside of just guitar and bass, which is exciting, like drum machines, Emma mentioned recording in Logic – I just feel like I’ve learned a ton. But one thing that I really take away from the process of making this record, which I kind of alluded to before, is trusting your gut and not feeling like you have to force something into a box that doesn’t come naturally. Feeling like, “Oh, this doesn’t sound like Flasher,” you know, whatever – in the end, it did. And that was just because it’s the same people making it. Your voice is always gonna come through.

EM: Clearly, I learned how to play a lot of things I don’t normally play. Like, let go of my identity being, I’m the drummer. It was kind of freeing to have songs on the record that just don’t have live drums, because going into the process, the idea was that everything would have live drums and that certain demos that had drum machines, that’s just a placeholder. But in the end, lots of the songs sounded better with the drum machine, so… That’s been a big change for me with this process. That no longer has to be all that I am.

TM: Which is funny too, because the songs on the record that have the drum machines, now that we’re playing them live and have been trying to play with the drum machine, we’re like, “No, this needs live drums.”

EM: [laughs] Yeah.

TM: Just reworking songs, which is fun.

I wanted to bring up a line from the opening track, ‘I Saw You’: “I’m not looking for a meaning/ Stuck in the search for a perfect feeling.” I feel like that’s a theme that runs throughout the album. Do you think that by the end of this journey, you come closer to understanding what that perfect feeling is?

TM: I would say the conclusion reached the end of the record is that there is no perfect feeling, and that’s okay.

EM: Yeah, the search is life. [laughs]

TM: And being in an ambiguous state, feeling comfortable being in that place, I feel like that’s what a lot of the songs are about. And you definitely hit the nail on the head with ‘I Saw You’. I feel like that song really encapsulates the sentiment of a lot of what we’re talking about on the record.

If it’s more about the search, what drives you to keep searching for that feeling?

TM: I think we both, as is the case for most people within the past few years, feel really depressed and despondent, and it’s easy to just crawl into a hole and not address anything that’s going on or not seek out experiences that challenge you or make you scared or push you into a different mindset. And I think the manifesto is that’s part of what makes life worth living. There’s songs like ‘Love is Yours’ and ‘All Day Long’ – both of those are kind of about relationships feeling uncomfortable but really exciting at same time, and I think that the two go hand in hand.

EM: I feel like that’s just the mature outlook on life – or more mature than what we might have previously had. A lot of this record is just accepting that about relationships. The work put in the search for the perfect feeling or whatever – that is also the joy of life.

Could you share something that inspires you about each other?

TM: Where do I start? Emma is one of the most talented musicians that I know, truly can do it all. She’s really dedicated to playing music and being a musician, regardless of what happens – if this record tanks, people hate it, label drops us, whatever – I just know that Emma’s ride or die. And it inspires me to keep playing and not give a fuck about anyone else.

EM: [laughs] Damn. Taylor is so deeply charismatic. I know that now we’re co-leaders of this band, but I still think of you as the person that holds it all together. You uplift me every day to try new stuff. I feel very… God, I can never find the right word. You just push me to do more stuff, always. I haven’t always felt like that in all of the bands that I’ve been in.


This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Flasher’s Love Is Yours is out June 10 via Domino.

Top 5 Soprano Episodes Everyone Should See

The Sopranos series is known to fans as a classic, the drama that first brought to TV what became known as the “tormented, characterless protagonist.” For those who look at television more technically, The Sopranos was the series that “changed the wheel.” Even before her, television did not have the fame it has today; it was considered superficial and pasteurized, with series that repeated formulas and lived off advertisers’ expectations.

1- “Chasing It” Season 6, Episode 16

One of the episodes of The Sopranos chose a famous casino to make an amazing episode. The casino chosen was Borgata Casino, and this casino is still up and running today. In this episode, we follow Tony facing a streak of bad luck, losing his money in bets. At this point, AJ also ends up having to make some choices in his relationship with Blanca and Marie runs into Tony, trying to deal with her son full of problems. It’s an intense episode full of ups and downs.

2. “Long Term Parking,” season 5, episode 12

This is the episode where Adriana dies, and the moment our hearts are broken. We discover that the opening scene is not real and that she is actually inside her car on her way to death. Yes, it’s a tragic ending for a character with good intentions. It’s a heartbreaking scene, but we’re talking about The Sopranos. And we all know that most of the time, whoever plays in two teams hardly wins.

3. “Employee of the month,” season 3, episode 4

We know Dr. Melfi’s office very well, this is the setting for Tony’s many revealing moments. But in this episode of season 3, the story changes, and we end up watching a devastating scene in which Melfi almost tells Tony about the trauma she is facing, and we, on this side, wish she had. But it didn’t, and that’s precisely why The Sopranos is applauded for realism. The detail of Tony’s pause before moving forward and walking to Melfi’s chair is brilliant. “Should I or should I not” cross the line between patient and physician?

4. “Made in America,” season 6, episode 21

The last scene of the previous episode of The Sopranos is still a mystery to many fans. We can’t find out what happened in this ending because there is no resolution or lessons learned. It is, therefore, a masterpiece, gloriously enigmatic and loaded with symbols that can be interpreted differently by each of us.

5. “Whitecaps,” season 4, episode 13

The most significant emotional impact we get from The Sopranos occurs inside Tony and Carmela’s house. A couple loved each other profoundly and argued like crazy for reasons very common to many families: money, secrets, and infidelity. This season we are faced with the end of several decades of uneasy truce between the couple. And in this scene, Tony and Carmela immortalize one of the series’s best moments, which demonstrates precisely why The Sopranos transcends expectations to become something timeless.

History of The Sopranos

Tony Soprano tries to be a good family man on two fronts: to his wife, children, and widowed mother, and as a New Jersey mob boss. The pressures of work and family cause him anxiety attacks, so Tony starts seeing a therapist – something quite unusual in his social circle, which can end up killing him.

So, it is necessary to keep a secret about the treatment. What caused all this stress? Her marriage is faltering at home, and her mother urgently needs to be committed to a nursing home (the official name is a “community retreat,” but she still refuses to go there). Uncle Junior wants to use Tony’s childhood friends’ restaurant to take out a guy named Pussy Malenga, but Tony avoids the blow by blowing the place up.

When the Czech mob tried to take over the Soprano family business, Tony’s hot-tempered nephew Chris solved the problem, murdering the Czech representative and dumping the body on Staten Island without asking the administration’s permission. And on top of that, Tony is haunted by the feeling that the mafia’s glory days are long gone and that he may not be able to reach the same level as the past titans.

10 Slides That Should Be Included in a Pitch Deck

A pitch is typically a 30-60 second summary of an idea or product. The goal of pitching is to get the attention of potential investors, customers, or partners – not to bore them to the point that they switch off. Hence, you have to craft a short but engaging visual aid to help your presentation – and that is what we call a pitch deck.

What do you need to include in a pitch deck?

  • A clearly defined problem (what makes it interesting, and why we should care)
  • Your solution (elevator pitch – what is the benefit – how does it work – why will this scale – who benefits most from your idea?)

You can achieve these points with only ten slides which are adequate for structuring company pitches and the like. And if you are not an artsy person, there is no need to worry. Venngage infographics are readily available for your needs. You may check their website for excellent business pitch deck examples.

The Problem Slide

This slide succinctly defines the problem with supporting data to back up the factors that impact the market. It should be clear about what is broken or not working properly.

How this slide helps your presentation deck

This slide summarises how to work around the problem. With an example of a customer or company beneficiary, you can make a great point.

If you are looking for business customers, this slide gives them confidence in an ROI on their investment (time and money). If it is for consumers, this shows them the benefit they receive by using your product/service.

The Market Size Slide

More than conveying numbers, this slide helps give people context around the size of your market opportunity. You can put it into real terms which relate to their experience, be that clients they work with or consumers they buy from.

Bringing more information to your investor pitch deck

This slide is essential in getting you to think about the scale of opportunities available in the market. When used correctly, it has the potential to strengthen your pitch to the investors. It would make an investor feel confident that you have looked at information from competing businesses.

The Solution Slide

This slide describes how your solution works, detailing the process/features/differentiators which give customers value through solving their problem. Compare with competitors for both what is good and bad to help build confidence with your innovative offering.

This is where you detail your competitive advantage, showing why it is better than others on the market. Do not just state the competitors’ names when asked. If problems are broken down into smaller tasks then list these alongside key benefits for each task (how do I address problem X ? – we solve that by doing Y).

This slide should help an investor understand your solution and the scope of the opportunity across various markets. It also shows you have thought through how it will be deployed/marketed/distributed to your audience, thereby increasing your chances of success. If you are pitching for funding, this should show why it is scalable – which is easier if there is evidence of success already.

The Customer Segments Slide

List your customer segments in order from those with the most potential to the least. Also, offer a brief explanation about what they gain from using your product or service as differentiated from competitors. You can then use it as part of the feature set slide when discussing differentiators.

For example, you may list two groups as those with the most potential to those who have less potential. It is pivotal not to leave out the less obvious customer segments; they may come back and bite you if they are key segments that you failed to mention initially.

This slide helps an investor see where markets may be fragmented and thus, opportunities exist for competitors, new entrants, or even your business to expand into further segments in the future.

The Funding Slide

This slide is only necessary if you are pitching for capital, and therefore need to give investors some idea of how much money they need and what its use will be.

Adding credibility to your investor deck

The funding slide is helpful because many customers will not deal with start-ups unless the team has records of previous success. Examples include either financial or operational breakthroughs, such as having raised funding previously. When investors see how the group will manage the funds, they are more likely to say yes.

The Team Slide

This slide provides an overview of the team members and their skills/backgrounds that will help convince investors that your team can build the product or service you are pitching. It also shows how experienced key people are (e.g., the CTO has built infrastructure like Facebook).

This helps convey credibility in your business plan, but more importantly, to you as a founder or co-founder. If no one on the team has raised funding before, it is unlikely they will take you seriously when raising money yourself!

This slide should give some idea of why investors would want to invest in the business. Perhaps it is because you have experience scaling up startups already. Or maybe your group has industry experience relevant to your proposal and will bring in customers through their existing network.

The Competition Slide

This slide is beneficial if you are pitching for capital money and therefore need to give investors some idea of how much money they need and how you will allocate them.

If you want to know how a typical competition slide looks, you may check out the Venngage website. There are a handful of examples there that you may use as a basis for your design.

The Finances Slide

This slide gives a forecast of future income/expenses based on current figures and assumptions over a given period (typically a month). This helps show investors what sort of growth they can expect from repeatable activity on an ongoing basis. It also helps validate opportunity and traction with customers by showing that initial costs are relatively low and that scaling up to generate significant income can be done without needing extra money.

Highlighting Finances in Pitch Presentations

Some start-up pitchers may be unsure about what they should include in this slide. As a rule of thumb, just highlight the salient figures. Look for numbers that may pique the interest of your potential investors, and emphasize them.

Note: it is fine if you do not have every single figure available off the top of your head. Just do the best you can and update things later when more information is known.

The Product Slide

This is a simple slide that gives a visual representation of how your product or service works from a functional perspective for the user. It is typically beneficial to include intended new features on this slide as well so that investors can see how their money will be used to develop the product further.

The Call to Action Slide

After presenting your information to your target audience, that last step is to deliver a convincing imperative. Craft a call to action that will get them on their feet and help you forward your vision.

The call to action slide, despite being the last slide, should be the one that is most carefully done because it will leave a lasting impression. Use strong verbs, include compelling pictures, and state facts that will make your investors remember you.

Create the Best Pitch Decks

Whether you are an experienced digital designer or a neophyte, having tools would greatly help you create the best pitch decks. If you are looking for more pitch deck examples, please check out Venngage! This website has a wide array of pitch deck templates that you can easily customize for all your pitching needs.

Eli Winter Announces New Album, Releases New Song ‘For a Chisos Bluebonnet’

Eli Winter has returned with news of a new self-titled ensemble album, which is set for release on August 19 via Three Lobed. The LP features contributions from Yasmin Williams, Ryley Walker, David Grubbs, Cameron Knowler, Tyler Damon, jaimie branch, and more. Listen to the new song ‘For a Chisos Bluebonnet’, along with a video directed by Josiah Lydon, below.

In a statement about the track, Winter explained:

Chisos bluebonnets grow in Far West Texas. My family took road trips there when I was a kid, and I had toured there with Cameron Knowler shortly before spring 2019, when this song fell into my lap. As the song grew surer of itself, it encompassed a band. I hope the sense of looking for hope in its seeming absence comes through, and the inherent struggles of maintaining faith. In that—and, I think, the music—it’s a microcosm of the album.

I wanted to make a music video that winks at the conventions of music videos, and this song seemed like a strong vehicle to attempt that. I wanted it to show things I might do on a given day, in places I might go, without being strictly documentary, truthful, or faithful. And I wanted to make people giggle.

Eli Winter Cover Artwork:

Eli Winter Tracklist:

1. For a Chisos Bluebonnet
2. Davening in Threes
3. No Fear
4. Brain on Ice
5. Dayenu
6. Unbecoming

THICK Announce New Album ‘Happy Now’, Share Video for New Song ‘Loser’

THICK have announced a new LP, Happy Now, which arrives August 19 via Epitaph. The album finds the Brooklyn trio reuniting with producer Joel Hamilton. Today’s announcement comes with the release of the new song ‘Loser’, which is accompanied by a Jeanette D. Moses-directed music video. Check it out and find the album cover and tracklist below.

“Especially in music, it’s so easy to feel like a loser and a fuck-up,” the band said of the track in a press release. “We want people to know that it’s okay to mess up and that everyone’s a loser sometimes. It’s really the best way to live, instead of trying to be number-one all the time.”

“This song is an anthem for everyone who feels outshined and overlooked by the people around them,” they continued. “Ultimately, it’s about using that chip on your shoulder to do better and realizing that you’re never going to be a winner if you keep using other people as your measuring stick.”

THICK released their debut LP, 5 Years Behind, in 2020.

Happy Now Cover Artwork:

Happy Now Tracklist:

1. Happiness
2. I Wish 2016 Never Happened
3. Loser
4. Tell Myself
5. Her Chapstick
6. Your Garden
7. Montreal
8. Wants & Needs
9. Maybe Tomorrow
10. Disappear
11. Something Went Wrong