Jen de la Osa and Henry Beguiristain have been writing, singing, and playing guitar together since they were young. Today they are the core of Boston-based Aloud. The songs on their sophomore album Fan the Fury are an engaging collection of observations, each expressed with urgency and true emotion.

The world is full of great guitarists. Spend just half an hour on Youtube and you will be convinced that every bedroom in the world now houses an unknown prodigy. Standing apart from this crowd has become no small feat, but Seattle based guitarist Ed DeGenaro has managed to do it by blending an unusual approach to the guitar with a bottomless musical imagination. The result is tasty jazz-fusion, seasoned with Latin, country, and rock, and topped with a dollop of humor. It is a musical flavor that is uniquely his own. Recently I got a chance to chat with Ed about his guitars, his music, and his new CD “Less is Seldom More”.

It’s one of the most common questions anyone is asked when meeting for the first time. What do you do? For musicians and songwriters, it may not be such a clear-cut answer. In this open question to our readers, I ask how do you answer the question: what do you do?

Times are tough. Unemployment is rising, pay cuts are everywhere, and it’s becoming harder and harder to pay the bills. Everyone is looking for ways to supplement their income in 2009. For songwriters and musicians, there are many different ways to make money making music. Here are some ideas to help you leverage your music and songwriting skills to earn extra income this year.