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THE INDIE ROCK BLOG
The Indie Rock Blog is a collection of Sugartune Artist News and entries from our friends at the Rock and Roll Report. If sweet, sugartunes are stirring in your soul, keep your soul stirred with a subscription to our news feed. 
The 5th Annual Indie Music Video Festival kicks off at NXNE on June 9th, 2006 at the NFB Cinema on 150 John Street in Toronto. There are a ton of cool and innovative videos that you probably won’t see on MTV or Much Music so check them out here.
Later.
The 10,000 Lakes Festival, which takes place in Northern, Minnesota on July 19-22, 2006 has announced that both Phil Lesh and Trey Anastasio will be headlining the event. Gor you Phish-heads out there, Trey will be playing with former Phish bandmate Mike Gordon. The festival will also feature The String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams Incident (performing with The String Cheese Incident), O.A.R. (…Of A Revolution), Keller Williams (solo), Umphrey’s McGee, The Benevento/Russo Duo featuring Mike Gordon, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Railroad Earth, The Everyone Orchestra, Hot Buttered Rum and over forty additional bands. Recent artist additions to the 10,000 Lakes Festival include Assembly of Dust, RAQ, Papa Mali, and The Breakfast.
Full Festival Details:
10,000 Lakes Festival
Show Details: Wednesday, July 19 - Saturday, July 22, 2006
Soo Pass Ranch
25526 Cty Hwy 22
Detroit Lakes, MN 56501
For tickets or more information visit http://www.10klf.com or call 800-493-3378.
Advance General Admission Music & Camping Tickets are $135. Limited tickets are available at this price range and the cost will increase to gate price July 5.
VIP Ticket Packages are $350 per person and are available for a premium music and camping experience. Each VIP Ticket includes 2 meals per day Thu-Sat, a 10KLF camping chair, 6 drink tickets, access to the backstage VIP lounge, and access to the special VIP seating section at the Main Stage.
Each General Admission and VIP ticket covers camping and all music from Wednesday, July 19 through Sunday, July 23.
For non-camping music enthusiasts, there are 3-Day Music Only tickets available for $90 which include music Thurs. 7/20 - Sat. 7/22 1-Day Music Only: $50 Any day | Wed. 7/19 - Sat. 7/22 Children 12 and under are admitted at no charge with their parent’s paid admission.
All listed artists have confirmed their appearance at the 10,000 Lakes Festival; however, artists are subject to change without notice.
Tickets are available at the Official 10,000 Lakes Festival website: www.10KLF.com or by calling 800-493-3378 and at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations and MusicToday outlets.
Official 10,000 Lakes Festival website: http://www.10klf.com
No sooner than I decide to rev up the Rock and Roll Report than I head off for a few days for some fishing in Northern Quebec but the always rockin’ International Pop Overthrow Festival is currently rocking out in Liverpool as we speak. It started May 25, 2006 and winds up May 29th so if you happen to be in the area you should check it out. You’re guaranteed a great night of rock and roll. You can find the schedule for IPO Liverpool here.
Later.
UK firm 7 Digital have premiered the beta of their brand new Indiestore download service. Featuring the full gamut of services musicians have come to expect from a download service including blogs, event listings, photos and video downloads in adition to the downl;oad service itself, artists get 70% of any sales and they can list up to 4 tracks for free. Check out all the details at their site.
Later.
Of course there are tons of shows and festivals that you can attend but here are a few that look interesting:
Boston Garage Band Weekend - June 23-24, 2006 - Cape Cod, Mass, USA - How about spending a weekend at the beach on Cape Cod rocking out to a bunch of groovy garage bands? Sound cool? Thought so. The Beachcomber, which bills itself as Cape Cod’s only oceanfront restaurant and bar presents a great garage rock extravaganza on the 23 and 24th of June. For only 22 bucks you get the chance to see The Konks, the Downbeat 5, Tampoffs, Spitzz, Triple Thick on Saturday and the Dogmatics, Muck and the Mires, Nikki Corvette and the Stingrays, the Coffin Lids, Black Clouds, Swinedells and Jay Allen on Sunday. Tickets are available here for Saturday and here for Sunday.
Primitive! Festival - June 22-24, 2006 - Rotterdam, NL - The 3rd annual Primitive Festival featuring some of the coolest garage bands from both sides of the pond is ready for another year of rock and roll mayhem. Featuring a ton of bands from The Cynics to The Strollers to The Madd to The Last Vegas, this line-up is going to make you hop on the next tramp freighter to Holland with nothing but an iPod and an open mind. Looks like a winner.
North by Northeast - Finally Canada’s own North by Northeast kicks off another edition in Toronto from June 8-10, 2006 featuring performances by the Buzzcocks and the original line-up of Television and way too many other bands to list. Check out their site for all the details.
Later.
Ian Copeland, who managed such influential bands as R.E.M., the B52s and The Police died of melanoma yesterday. Part of the fearsome rock and rolling Copeland brothers (Stewart we all know and love and Miles who is another rock and roll impresario), Ian was only 57.
Later.
MusicDish At MIDEM: CD Baby, U.S.A.
Aggregator, Digital/Mobile Service & Distributor, Digita//Mobile Solutions & Service Provider, Importer/Exporter, Retailer/Record Shop
by Anne Freeman, 
Company: CD Baby
Type: Aggregator, Digital/Mobile Service & Distributor, Digita//Mobile Solutions & Service Provider, Importer/Exporter, Retailer/Record Shop
Genres: All Musical Styles
Website: www.cdbaby.com
E-mail: cdbaby@cdbaby.com
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CD Baby describes itself as "a little online record store that sells CDs by independent musicians," but it is actually the largest seller of independent CDs on the internet. Starting out as a one-man operation in Portland, OR, Founder and President Derek Sivers’ company has sold over $25M independent CDs since its humble beginnings.
Recently, Derek added a digital distribution service, which brought CD Baby to "MIDEM, The World Music Market’s 40th Edition." Attending MIDEM along with Derek Sivers are Gray Gannaway, head of digital distribution, and Spencer Trowbridge, licensing coordinator.
I passed by the CD Baby booth several times a day during each day at MIDEM to attempt an interview with Derek, but he was in meetings with potential clients at every pass. Finally, after the conference ended and Derek and his staff were packing up, I chanced upon Derek and grabbed a few minutes with him.
[MusicDish] How are you doing, Derek?
Derek Sivers Good. A little tired it’s the end of a long conference.
[MusicDish] Derek, this is CD Baby’s first year at MIDEM?
Derek Sivers Yes.
[MusicDish] What did you bring to MIDEM and what will you take back with you?
Derek Sivers I brought a lot of fliers and I’m taking back a lot more (laughs). MIDEM is very business-to-business, which is why I’ve always avoided it all these years. Everybody told me that it’s just suits, there are no musicians here. Maybe one or two, but for the most part it’s just suits shaking hands and doing deals. And that’s never been our thing.
CD Baby is a service that deals directly with the musicians themselves. If somebody comes to us from a big record label and says, "Hey, we want to sell our catalogue through CD Baby," we say we don’t really want to deal with record labels, we just deal with musicians, and we sell directly to music fans. That’s how it’s been historically.
We are now a digital distribution program where we’re actually selling our complete digital catalogue to song companies and the next iTunes, whatever that might be, so now we actually have a business-to-business angle to what we do. So that is why we came here for the first time.
[MusicDish] Will you have some exciting news to bring back to your CD Baby members after your experience here because of your interactions with other businesses?
Derek Sivers I think that it was a little daunting here. It’s amazing how much distribution a musician can get. Distribution has become a commodity. It’s amazing. In 1998, when I started CD Baby, you could not get distribution. If you were a musician without a distribution deal with a big label, nobody would sell your CD. Maybe the little local record shop where you knew the owner and you could sell it on consignment, but there was nowhere to sell your CD in 1998. That’s why I started CD Baby, because there was no distribution anywhere.
Fast-forward a few years, and now everybody and anyone who warbles into a mic can get massive, world-wide, international distribution, in this galaxy and beyond. It’s amazing.
[MusicDish] I’m sure that your members, and particularly those who are using your digital distribution service, will be very excited to see the fruits of this conference.
Derek Sivers Absolutely amazed. They’re gonna be amazed at how many new places their music has reached to, in other parts of the world that they never thought that they’d get to.
[MusicDish] That’s terrific, Derek. Thanks so much to talking to MusicDish at MIDEM. We’ll see you next year.
Derek Sivers Thanks, Anne.
Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2005 - Republished with Permission
INDIE NEWS BEAT
May 24, 2006 Edition
* Porn Stars, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Death And Hollywood’s Underbelly Come To The Surface In Michael Mangia’s The Invisible Wall CD
* Music-Tech.Net Indie Artist Showcase Accepts Submissions
* Above The Madding Crowd Stands Apart At New Music West
* MusicDish Network Adds World Rock To Roster With ASHRAF
* Music Discovery Network Launches The Da Vinci Contest
* Pompeii Master Record, Begin Tour
* The Good Luck Joes Announce National Tour In Support Of New Album!
* FWE Recording Artist, Alkebulan Wraps Up 19th Annual Brown/ Parrish Black College Tour
* HCM Wins Kweevak Award!
Michael Mangia is not your typical artist. And The Invisible Wall (
) is not your typical CD. The latest album from Hollywood-based indie singer-songwriter-pianist Mangia, while filled with compellingly beautiful melodies on the surface, actually buries some deep dark themes. In many ways, Michael Mangia is the David Lynch of pop music.
The Invisible Wall is the story of a painter, taking listeners through his canvas, which is filled with the lives of addicted porn stars and their admirers, children’s sci-fi fantasy books, an Italian mobster/father’s death, the façade-filled world of Hollywood and the effects of television on society. The album is all tied together through the haunting themes that lurk beneath the beauty of Mangia’s piano-driven melodies.
The new album was produced and mixed by Mangia over a 2-year period in his own high-tech loft studio in downtown Los Angeles (which was featured in an article in Keyboard Magazine). “Having my home also be my workspace allowed me to play around with sound techniques, in a Beatles-esque way, with whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. As I continued to write, the songs pieced themselves together into what would become The Invisible Wall.” Mangia has employed the talents of guest musicians on this remarkably eclectic CD veterans who have played with a wide range of artists, including Jimmy Paxson (Stevie Nicks), Zac Rae (Alanis Morissette) and Ed Maxwell (Gary Jules, Devics).
But Mangia’s favorite song on the album is actually not even officially listed. There is a new hidden bonus track at the end of the CD entitled “Life Support on Xmas” that for Mangia sums up all the themes on this album. “It really captures the meaning and the feel of this record more than any other single song. I wanted it to be like a special gift for listeners. I placed it on the CD nearly four minutes after the album has supposedly ended, because it’s a song that is very much about the peace that follows the silence.”
Influenced by artists as diverse as Tori Amos, Ben Folds, Portishead, Travis and Rufus Wainwright, Michael Mangia is unique. And now, with the release of The Invisible Wall, Mangia is preparing to bring his hauntingly gorgeous melodies and deeply moving, sometimes disturbing, sonic paintings to the world. What is “The Invisible Wall?” For Mangia, “It’s the barrier that separates the good from the sordid, light from dark, even reality from fantasy.” Get ready Michael Mangia is about to take you on an unforgettable musical trip through The Invisible Wall.
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Music-Tech.Net Indie Artist Showcase Accepts Submissions
MusicTechNet LLC presents the Music-Tech.Net Indie Artist Showcase. The showcase is a competition for independent bands and artists with market ready music CDs for sale. The showcase selects the number one band or artist based on the number of CDs sold through the Music-Tech.Net website during the July 10 August 24, 2006 twelve week sales period. The deadline for submission is May 30th 2006.
Artists who submit to the showcase receive:
* a CD review
* a chance for the review to post to the Music-Tech.Net website
* consumer and industry exposure
* commissions from CD sales
* a chance to receive distribution and syndication via the showcase podcast
* a chance to win a gift certificate up to $7,000.00
* gifts and prizes from sponsors
Post-showcase marketing support
For more information visit the Music-Tech.Net website:
http://www.music-tech.net/submission.html?source=mi2n+pr
For sponsorship information contact Walter Boone at 229 878 0058.
Music-Tech.Net is your premier digital product retailer and marketing engine with products including music software, music instruments and sound equipment, computers, music books and sheets, music CDs, CD media and CD duplicators. Music-Tech.Net is committed to provide quality products and services and is dedicated to supporting the independent music community.
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Above The Madding Crowd Stands Apart At New Music West
Roots songwriter Lee Lindsey will soon begin touring select markets internationally following the successful debut launch of her second record Above The Madding Crowd off of her bi-continental upstart label, Tall Poppy Records at New Music West last month. More information will be posted online in the incoming weeks as dates areannounced.
Lee originated Tall Poppy Records in London, UK in 1999 as an urban roots and folk rock label, with producer/engineer Jack Guy (INXS, All Saints, Sugababes). In the same year, she began a weekly series of showcases to benefit the local independent music community called Tall Poppy Presents Lee Lindsey and Friends. The night ran with great success and industry recognition for three and a half years and continues today with the Best Of series running every three months at the prestigious Bush Hall.
Having recently moved to Vancouver, BC, Lee Lindsey and Tall Poppy have been expanding their brand of showcases to both BC and Alberta along with announcing newly signed artists in 2006. Lee believes live music should be a part of everyones life and her vow is to provide a platform for talented, committed artists to develop and grow, both locally and internationally.
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MusicDish Network Adds World Rock To Roster With ASHRAF
The MusicDish Network announced that it recently added Toronto-based band ASHRAF to its roster of independent artists and bands. Drawing from the styles of acts like Maroon 5, Lenny Kravitz, Rob Thomas and Prince, his songs blend influences from the east and the west to create a unique connection with today’s global audience.
ASHRAF will benefit from the MusicDish Network’s artist development program, including:
* Defining & implementing the band’s business/marketing plan;
* Leveraging the company’s marketing services such as including syndicated & community marketing, online street teaming, webradio promotion and p2p distribution;
* Regional market development, particularly expanding the band’s performance schedule and geographic reach, industry networking and fan building;
* Representation at major music conferences.
Led by Egyptian-born singer/songwriter Ashraf Amin, the band combines an international roster of veteran musicians ranging from Bulgaria and Ukraine to France. Their debut album “Perfect Chaos” (),
set for release this summer, was recorded and mastered at Metalworks Studios, home to international recording artists, Prince, N’Sync, Christina Aguilera and Sum 41. 
The album is a compelling and exciting audio journey drifting across the fringes of soulful and jazzy blues-rock, with tracks like Shatter or Blue Flame, to emotionally charged and hard-hitting power-pop ballads like Angels Only Knew and Whispers.
“I’ve watched Ashraf grow and evolve since I first spoke to him late last year,” noted MusicDish Network’s Eric de Fontenay. “From a starting singer/songwriter/composer with some recorded tracks, he’s built an impressive and tight band, successfully released the single “Shatter” and begun hitting the Toronto club scene, including a monthly residency at DeGrassi House. We’re delighted to welcome Ashraf to our roster.”
The single “Shatter” ()
will be featured on the 8th volume of the Songsalive! CD Sampler promoted worldwide this fall, with an acoustic version already included on the Acoustic Rainbow Sampler CD, sent to over 1200 DJs worldwide in the fall of 2005. ASHRAF’s songs have already been placed in several prominent network television shows including the home reality series: “Hometeam” scheduled to air on NBC, Fox, WB and cable TV across North America this Fall. The music video for the single “Shatter” has been featured on “Swept Away TV” a teen music television show syndicated across 64 US markets.
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Music Discovery Network Launches The Da Vinci Contest
The intrigue of the Da Vinci Code and Leonardo Da Vinci’s life inspires new contest to build greater appreciation for independent music and art.
The Music Discovery Network (MDN), Creative Musicians Coalition (CMC), Artistic Outlet (AO), and a number of enthusiastic sponsors launch the Da Vinci Contest. A rendition of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Self Portrait has been painted by up-and-coming artist, Peter Gullerud, with several imbedded codes, which challenge contestants to solve an intricate puzzle. The Da Vinci Contest will reward multiple participants for a variety of solutions.
Ron Wallace, founder of MDN/CMC/AO says, “My passion for the past twenty years has been to expose up-and-coming artists and their music to a greater audience. Dan Brown, author of the Da Vinci Code, whom I worked with for a decade, was one such artist. His interest in Leonardo Da Vinci rubbed off. The popularity of the book along with my fascination for Da Vinci, inspired a way to draw more attention to our current artists and the opening of our on-line gallery, Artistic Outlet.”
The Da Vinci Contest runs through October 31, 2006 on-line and nationally at participating retailers. One Grand Prize, thirty Place Prizes, one Best Invention Prize, and various daily prizes will be awarded. Individuals may enter once per day. The contest, rules, and prize list are available on-line at http://www.DaVinciContest.com.
The Music Discovery Network was established in 1993 to provide marketing and distribution services to members of the Creative Musicians Coalition, a 22 year old musicians’ cooperative. Artistic Outlet is a new on-line art gallery offering original art from up-and-coming artists.
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Pompeii Master Record, Begin Tour
Pompeii will be embarking on a tour of the South West beginning 5/19 to showcase material from their forthcoming Eyeball Records album due out this fall. Their first full-length was produced by D. James Goodwin (Murder by Death, Sleep Station) was mastered this past week. The band is currently working on the artwork for it as we write. Three songs, “Numbers,” “Stories and Charts” and “Miracle Mile” are available as a stream on (http://www.myspace.com/pompeii) Pompeii’s myspace page and the song “Catalogue” as video and mp3 here on (http://www.eyeballrecords/artists/pompeii/) the Eyeball Records site. The second video for the record will also be shot in LA during the tour. Shane Stevens offered this to fans, “We leave tomorrow and are really looking forward to seeing some of you. For those of you we wont see on this tour, we will be heading out again in August through the midwest. And for those of you that live here in Austin, please come out and show your support. Don’t be shy either, come up to us and say hi.”
Currently confirmed tour dates are as follows:
05/19/2006 @ Red Eyed Flyr, Austin, TX 73301
05/20/2006 @ The Hive, San Angelo, TX 76901
05/21/2006 @ The Bean, Mesilla, NM 88046
05/23/2006 @ The Scene Bar, Glendale, CA 91205
05/24/2006 @ The Knitting Factory, los angeles, CA 90028
05/25/2006 @ The Golden Bull, Oakland, CA 94612
05/26/2006 @ The Phoenix Theatre, Petaluma, CA 94952
05/27/2006 @ Gigantic Vintage, Bakersfield, CA 93301
05/28/2006 @ Rock N Java, Las Vegas, NV 89123
05/29/2006 @ The Joint, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (Free Show)
05/30/2006 @ Santa Fe Brewing Company, Santa Fe, NM 87500
05/31/2006 @ The Pod, Amarillo, TX 79106
06/01/2006 @ The Glasnost, Oklahoma City, OK 73101
06/02/2006 @ The Door, Ft. Worth, TX 76106
06/03/2006 @ Emos, Austin TX 73301
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The Good Luck Joes Announce National Tour In Support Of New Album!
The Good Luck Joes are one of the hottest young bands out of the Midwest today, creating waves in the music industry and catching the ears of listeners nationwide. Since their conception in 2002, the Milwaukee-based quintet have caught the ears of discerning listeners (young and old), as well as some key movers-and-shakers in the music industry. The band’s forthcoming sophomore album, What Do You Think of That Noise? (in stores July 11, 2006 through Redeye Distribution) runs the gamut of the modern pop-rock spectrum. Between the summery, stadium-pop of “Middle of Me” and the ethereal electronic sounds of “Butterflies,” lies a collage of garage, folk, classic rock and modern Top 40, each blended with a sense of playfulness into a brand of pop that has something all its own. With the help of Chad Fischer’s (Colin Hay, Cary Brothers, Alexi Murdoch) production, the GLJ’s have refined a sound that treads nimbly around Coldplay’s piano-driven grandiosity, George Harrison’s guitar hooks and Wilco’s intimate confessions-in-song.
Live, The Good Luck Joes have a charismatic and highly energetic stage presence. Audiences relate emotionally to the band’s lyrics, which are done justice by lead-singer Andrew Martin’s impassioned and honest delivery. Next to him are lead-guitarist Andrew Krei and keyboardist Andrew Citron, who both intrigue with their stage presence: at some moments they are pictures of stoic concentration while at others they move with exuberance and rock’n'roll abandon. And in the rhythm section are, surprisingly, two non-Andrews; Joe Scheltema and Peterson Goodwyn on bass and drums, respectively, provide the groove and kinetic energy that drive the bands performance.
THE GOOD LUCK JOES 2006 TOUR DATES
05.16 Milwaukee, WI WMSE Live Studio Performance
05.18 Milwaukee, WI Points East Pub (with Thomas Dolby)
06.01 Baltimore, MD Ram’s Head Live (with ABC and The English Beat)
06.04 Montreal, QC The Medley (with ABC)
06.07 Toronto, ON The Republick Nightclub (with ABC)
06.08 Detroit, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre (with ABC)
06.09 Cleveland, OH House of Blues (with ABC)
06.11 Chicago, IL The Wells Street Arts & Music Festival
06.11 Chicago, IL House of Blues (with ABC)
06.13 Pittsburgh, PA The Club Café (with ABC)
06.14 Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theater
06.16 Londonderry, NH Tupelo Music Hall (with ABC)
06.17 East Hartford, CT East Hartford Community Cultural Center (with ABC)
06.20 Charlotte, NC Amos Southend (with ABC)
06.25 Chicago, IL Private Party
07.08 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest - Potawatomi Casino Stage
07.14 St. Paul, MN Station 4
07.16 Milwaukee, WI Bastille Days Cathedral Square stage
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FWE Recording Artist, Alkebulan Wraps Up 19th Annual Brown/ Parrish Black College Tour
Up and coming R&B/Soul artist, Alkebulan (pronounced ah-kha-buh-lan) recently completed a tour with high school students titled The Nineteenth Annual Brown/Parrish Black College Bus Tour kicking off on Monday April 10th ending on Friday April 21st 2006. A talented and gifted singer/songwriter, Alkebulan (her name means land of the original people) will release her exhilarating debut album, “Rebel Soul” this summer 2006 on Freedom Williams Entertainment (FWE). Sponsors of the tour include VIBE, Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, 107.5 WBLS, and Freedom Williams Entertainment.
The Brown/Parrish College Bus Tour traveled to campuses of 27 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Because choosing a college or university will be the most important decision that a young adult will make in their lifetime, the tour gave students the opportunity to walk around 27 HBCU’s campuses, talk with admission personnel, deans and professors, attend college preparatory seminars, and participate in extracurricular activities. For more info visit www.blackcollegebustour.com.
In addition to her duties as a recording artist, Alkebulan is Vice President and Chief Curator of the Rufus Perry Foundation, of which she is in charge of research and project development. Every year the foundation donates $1,000 in a scholarship to African American students who excel in academics and who wish to study African culture at a university level. Rufus Perry was the great-great grandfather of Freedom Williams, born a slave in Smith County, Tennessee and escaped to freedom in Canada when the slave traders were going to sell him in Mississippi. Perry learned to write Hebrew, Latin, and Greek and became a scholar who penned classic books on the African and Greek people. Carter G. Woodson, Williams Wells Brown, and T. McCants Stewart spoke and wrote about him as one of those “Negroes” who will live forever in the memory of Black people.
Look out for Alkebulan to spread music, knowledge, and love as she prepares for the release of her debut album, “Rebel Soul”. She says, “It was a fulfilling experience being able to touch the hearts and minds of students on the Black College Bus Tour!”
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Heart Consort Music has been notified that it’s latest release, “Patch Work” by James Kennedy has won a Kweevak 2006 “Reader’s Survey” Music Projects of the Year Award. This is the third year in a row that HCM has won this award. The Kweevak Music Awards have shone the spotlight on great music releases and the bands and musicians who have created them since first publishing their site in 1999. The 2005 “Reader’s Survey Awards” were presented to the top-50 winners as chosen by visitors to the Kweevak.com website. Almost 150 music projects (CDs/EPs/DVDs) were nominated to be voted on and over 3650 votes were cast. Heart Consort Music extends a big “Thank You” to all of our friends and fans who took the time to vote for us, making this award possible.
Heart Consort Music was founded in 1986. In the intervening years, the company has released 14 albums in a variety of styles, ranging from folk/acoustic to rock/fusion, jazz and world music, and more. All of these releases have received international radio airplay, distribution and exposure. Heart Consort Music’s catalog has also been licensed by 3M, AEI, Bravo, Disney, The Discovery Channel, PBS, DMX, Playnetwork, and many others. Celebrating 20 Years of “Music From the Heartland” in 2006!
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Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 - Republished with Permission
OK so I checked out of the rock and roll clinic for awhile to make space for other things including another blog, which is not neccesarily the most brilliant thing to do when you are suffering from the dreaded 2006 disease called "blogging burnout." Nevertheless I was out of the music space doing other things, etc. and in that time I don’t think I listened much to anything so my MP3 player collected dust on the night table waiting for its chance to once again plug into the rock and roll main vein.
Finally a few days ago I was using iTunes for something or another and I (finally!) noticed the podcasting section and had a quick look at the Music section. Lo and behold I noticed that one of my favourite bunch of rock and roll miscreants at Garage Punk.Com produced a podcast. Now these are the people behind The Wayback Machine on KDHX FM in St. Louis, Missouri USA so you know that they will have some very cool raving rock and roll on tap so I decided to download their Garage Punk podcast to my newly dusted off MP3 player and hopefully shake the cobwebs from my brain.
After that download the wheels started to turn and I started to think that I needed to balance out this sample of fine, snotty garage punk with something a little more melodic like power pop so off I went to the mighty Not Lame record label to see what was happening over there. I was actually looking to download some of the MP3 freebies that they have on tap every Tuesday but was floored when I realized that they too have a podcast called iPop which was next up to get loaded onto my MP3 player. I was now starting to warm up all over again to this whole podcasting thing so I kept on trolling for more.
How about something a bit more modern or (god help whoever coined this phrase) "alternative I thought? Well I have always been a big fan of the indiefeed podcast and more specifically their alternative/modern rock podcast so I started downloading a bunch of those with abandon as they offer a fine mix of individual songs from a wide variety of indie rock bands and singer/songwriters. And so the megs just kept filling up but I was not quite done yet.
I decided to head back to some more punked up rock and roll action and downloaded the latest from the Detroit flavoured Plan 9 Rock Show, a link incidentaly that I picked up from the Garage Punk website (something that tends to happen as you wander from podcasting site to site). Well the latest show kicked off with the New York Dolls so I knew the show would be worth it but I figured I would download just one more podcast and call it a night since I still had to find the time to listen to all this stuff (a common problem with things like blogs and podcasts where you sometimes get so carried away subscribing to their RSS feeds that you realize you can’t sleep for the next three weeks if you possibly want to read and listen to everything on your computer or iPod).
So finally, to finish of my podcast smorsgabord I headed over to The Podcast Network and their TPN Rock Show for some more happening modern rock and roll. The TPN Rock Show is similar to the Indiefeed podcast in that it features indie rock and roll but they mix things up with a variety of shows featuring just one song with longer 30 plus minute podcasts.
Now for those of you that are already on the podcasting bandwagon I know I am preaching to the converted but to those of you who crave rock and roll but for some reason remain committed to your local commercial rock radio outlet the only thing that you can do to save your sanity is to SHUT IT OFF. The podcasts that I have just mentioned are the tip of the iceberg. Every one of them featured something that I had never heard of but enjoyed enough to play multiple times and then take the next step and actively search out where I could listen to more and buy the CD. What things like podcasts, streaming internet-only radio shows and websites like My Space and stores like CD Baby offer the music fan is the chance to explore. Now to some people the idea of exploring rock and roll, listening to various bands and records and trying to figure out what you like and don’t like is a foreign concept. It sometimes seems that it is easier to sit back and listed to Hotel California and Immigrant Song for the 4000th time than to possibly take a chance listening to something that you might not like. Plus there is just so much out there! True enough but in the words of the immortal "Way-Outs" from the Flintsones, "That’s where the fun is."
And if you think you need an iPod to listen to this stuff I can assure you that you do not. Any MP3 player will do and they get cheaper every week. Another alternative is to download a bunch of podcasts and burn them to a CD so you can listen to them in your car or on your stereo. It’s a low-tech way to enjoy a high-tech phenomen that just gets better every month.
Give it a shot tonight. Google "rock and roll podcast" or try the ones I’ve listed here and take them for a spin. If nothing catches your fancy just wait for the next edition or search out some more. Use the multitude of free music being made legally available on the net to sample the incredible variety of great, bona fide rock and roll that you thought had gone extinct in 1974. Trust me it will open up your eyes and make your ears smile. Once you start you won’t be able to stop and soon you will see that rock and roll is alive and well in 2006, just not being played on your FM dial any more.
The adventure continues.
Later.
I haven’t featured much lately here at Rock and Roll Report Central but while I get things organized and clear out my inbox, check out these very cool bands and let me know what you think. More to come soon!
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INDIE NEWS BEAT
May 15, 2006 Edition
* Mariana Bell Makes Second GarageBand ‘Track Of The Day’ Feature
* Braun and Brains Music Riding High Tide with Next Wave CD
* Like A River Featured on CBC Radio One’s BC Almanac
* Kobo Town Sets Up Residency In Bytown
* National Student Music Awards UK Final
* Indie Rocker Monica Yonge Releases New Single “One Way Track”
* R&B Hip Hop Talent Search For TuneTank Compilation CD
* New London Fire Annouce Album
* HOURCAST To Release State Of Disgrace On Alkamedia Records
Mariana Bell Makes Second GarageBand ‘Track Of The Day’ Feature
New-York based singer/songwriter Mariana Bell has once again been alerted by GarageBand.com that she would have her song “Scene From the Movie” featured as ‘Track of the Day’ “as a result of some very enthusiastic reviews from members” noted the site. “Scene From the Movie,” which has been awareded 5 stars, will be featured on the 17th of May, 2006 (PST) in the GarageBand.com’s Folk front page at http://www.GarageBand.com/go/WD0XEHXU46
Mariana has been busy introducing her self-tiltled EP, making her debut performance at Philadelphia’s renowned World Cafe Live on April 22th, and following with a show this 28th of May at New York’s Rockwood Music Hall. She was also selected to play the 1st Annual Texas Independent Musicians (T.I.M.) Showcase at the Troubadour Saloon during the 2006 South by Southwest (SXSW) music and film festival and conference in Austin.
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Braun and Brains Music Riding High Tide with Next Wave CD
Braun and Brains Music hits a new high with the release of their paramount CD, Next Wave. The CD is a collection of tunes spanning various music genres including pop rock to alternative to roots rock, electronica, americana, smooth jazz, new age, funk, hip hop and country. Twenty original songs by twenty unique artists equates to a blend of music sure to tantalize your senses and embrace your soul.
The Next Wave compilation is another captivating project by Braun and Brains Music, geared to broadening it’s scope to include new independent labels and artists. “Our mission is to offer the best in unique and imaginative unsigned music and to provide creative promotional opportunities for independent artists,” the President of Braun and Brains Music, Norine Braun clarifies.
“These songs stand out in that they have all the elements of a great composition, such as outstanding and brilliant melodies, poetic thoughtful lyrics, excellent and intriguing productions.” Braun offers. “The songs are brimming with intense emotional expressions, polished heartfelt performances and authenticity. Most of all they moved me in some way.” Norine Braun is a songwriter-recording artist with 5 independent releases and her distinct sound has charted on college charts including Top 10 and has been featured in film and TV. She was honored with the Stonewall Society Musician of the Year Award for album Now and Zen and Winner of Artists For Literacy International Songwriting competition.
The contributing artists and their unrivaled sounds are a reflection of the brightest and most talented artists selected from hundreds of submissions sent to Braun and Brains Music from around the world. “Diversity in the compilation is very much treated like an album though the genres are widely different, it flows like a solo artist album or great mix tape. The project is put together by an independent artist not a corporation so the bottom line is about putting together a work of art, making a statement about independent music today.” Braun explains. “These songs rose to the top as we waded through submissions and the dedication of the artists to their craft and muse was apparent with one listen. With many listens the songs remain fresh and compelling.”
Next Wave includes tracks from a contrasting group of independent artists and gives them a platform to showcase their talent. From Norine Braun’s sophisicated 70’s retro blend, the disturbing yet contagious goth pop of Morgan, the merry Americana melodies for morose malcontents by MINiMAL, the emotional folk and blues offerings of Holly Figueroa, the gritty R&B flavoured hip hop of Flow to the soulful rock sounds of Raymond Fiore - the ensemble is unprecedented and enthralling.
With an uncompromising blend of sounds and lyrics, Braun and Brains Music has been successful in assembling an array of eclectic, emotionally charged artists and their songs that are certain to tantalize and mesmerize even the most discriminating ears. Each song was hand-picked for its ability to engulf, captivate and charm its audience and regenerate their longing for consequential lyrics and engaging musical composition.
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Like A River Featured on CBC Radio One’s BC Almanac
Lee Lindsey’s song Like A River from her debut album I was featured on CBC Radio One’s BC Almanac show on Friday April 28, 2006.
Lee released her debut album I via bi-continental upstart Tall Poppy Records in 2001. She recently released her second album, Above The Madding Crowd this month via Tall Poppy Records as well.
B.C. Almanac airs daily from noon to 2 PM. The show connects British Columbians as they share stories and ideas about what they have in common and what makes them different.
During the first hour, listeners hear interviews and news from around the province. At 1:05 p.m., the phone lines open. Topics range from the top B.C. news stories to what’s new and controversial in areas such as health and education.
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Kobo Town Sets Up Residency In Bytown
Toronto-based Caribbean band Kobo Town is proud to announce their monthly residency at Mercury Lounge, a Mecca for the arts in Canada’s capital city, located at 56 Byward St., Ottawa. Kobo Town’s residency dates include May 27, June 17 and Canada Day (July 1), after which the band will play the first Saturday of every month. The residency comes on the heels of the band’s debut album “InDependence” slated for release in early June.
The band will be delivering their unique brand of old-time kaiso (calypso), roots reggae and dub to a city already familiar with many of the members who played under the band’s prior incarnation as Outcry. “Outcry had really developed a following in Ottawa. So for many us, it’s a little like coming back home,” noted band leader Drew Gonsalves. “And Kobo Town has gotten such a great vibe from playing at the Mercury Lounge, we can’t think of a better venue to have our Ottawa residency.”
Dubbed ‘Toronto’s hottest new Calypso-Reggae-Jazz ensemble’ by AfroToronto.com’s Shawna Marlay, Kobo Town has been making their mark in their hometown of Toronto where they recently opened for calypso legend David Rudder and Caribbean-jazz giant Andy Narell at the Mod Club’s Jazz by Genre concert on April 2. The concert brought them a prominent feature that night on CityTV’s 11 PM news edition as well as a series of radio interviews, including:
* Big City, Small World with Claudia Garcia de la Huerta (CBC 99.1)
* Liming in de African Diaspora with Verlia (CKLN 88.1)
* Island Breeze with Jarrod Lall (CIUT 89.5)
* Global Rhythms with Ken Stowar (CIUT 89.5)
* Caribbean Connection with Jai Ojah Maharaj (CHIN 100.7)
* Smooth Jazzy Grooves with Glen Morgan (CHRY 105.5)
“It was clear that things were jammin’ the moment I walked in the door. I was late, of course, but I was lucky enough tocatch the tail end of a set by a fairly new band called Kobo Town, made up of talented young Toronto Trinis with a very cool vibe. The front man is Drew Gonzalez, and I’ll be surprised if this band doesn’t go places. Calypso, rapso (a 3-Canal feel, but more laid back) and a flaming saxophone kept the audience very happy.” Donna Yawching, Trinidad & Tobago Newsday
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National Student Music Awards UK Final
There’s nothing worse than being the very first band on a lineup that includes 6 (with the Headliners), knowing that most people are not even dreaming of getting to the venue for at least another hour.
Having said that, Lotus Lullaby made the most of the situation, going first in the UK Final of the National Student Music Awards in London on Thursday. Before they were done they had made themselves a nice handful of admirers in the nice handful of a crowd. Only about 50 people were stood in front of the stage when they started. By the time they finished, this had swelled to about 200 or so, punters making their way in from the adjoining bars to see what the fuss was all about, because fuss there most certainly was.
Instead of the usual sporadic round of polite applause that you would normally get when each song finishes, Lotus Lullaby were rewarded for their efforts with serious and sustained whistles and clapping. They had, certainly, made themselves some new fans.
In terms of the judges, though, not enough. Unofficial reports afterwards suggested that the vote came down to one judge. Half put the Irish lads as best, and half put them as Runners Up. Lotus Lullaby apparently ended up as Runners Up to the Bloc Party-like Olympus Mons by one point. Kind of like winning an election on second preference votes. The English winners were good, and realatively easy on the ear (although, in my opinion, not nearly as entertaining) and were obviously much more ‘topical’ then the hard-to-categorise Irish winners.
Overall the gig was enjoyable but nothing more than that. The rest of the bands who made it through hundreds of entries to reach the Final were not much more than filling for the sandwich between Lutos Lullaby and Olympus Mons. One was a bit too “Madchester”, one not much more than a pub/party band and another was just plain uninteresting. I can’t recall a single song from any of them, although that could be down to the quantities of Southern Comfort consumed since the night (it was a three-day marathon for us although it seems like it was three weeks). All in all, as Lotus Lullaby’s Gavin Dunne stated on the night: It was a disappointment if not really a surprise and it was a pretty good first-ever London gig. Olympus Mons were very good at what they did. Picture Bloc Party mixed with…. well, more Bloc Party and you’ll get the idea.
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Indie Rocker Monica Yonge Releases New Single “One Way Track”
Songwriter/guitarist Monica Yonge is a unsigned musician from Toronto, Canada. Her new single “One Way Track” is a euphony of alternative/pop/rock. Yonge’s new single can be heard at her myspace page. One Way Track is available by mail order only.
Monica Yonge’s debut “Rock On” released in October 2004 went to the number one spot on KGFM Grossmont College Radio and has received radio play in Canada and the U.S. She is also the founder/publisher of e-zine indieguitarists.com
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R&B Hip Hop Talent Search For TuneTank Compilation CD
width="150" height="77" hspace="2" vspace="2" border="0" align="right">Tunetank is going to BillBoard R&B HipHop Music Conference & Awards 2006 USA to showcase the finest young R&B Hip Hop emerging artists & songwriters on our special release compilation CD “TuneTank R&B HipHop Express @ Billboard R&B HipHop Music Conference & Awards 2006 “.
The CD will be distributed to all 1000 Billboard R&B HipHop Music Conference & Awards 2006 delegates: agents, managers, producers, press and record label executives, music publishers, radio, and music supervisors for film & TV.
GET ON IT: TuneTank is now looking for artists & songwriters seeking individual song placement opportunities.
Selected participants will also receive feature space on the TuneTank website, 5 copies of the CD for their own use.
Genres accepted are R&B, Urban, Hip Hop and Rap.
Deadline is May 30th 2006
Submissions are now open at our partner site Sonicbids
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First, after a very long wait, New London Fire and the Eyeball family would like to happily announce today that we finally have a release date SET for the upcoming full-length: “I Sing The Body Holographic” (EYB-044) for the end of the summer. Sadly, we cannot give the exact date yet but the 12 songs include “Different” and “We Don’t Bleed” from the limited-edition “Different” EP as well as tracks “When I Try,” “I Sing The Body Holographic,” “Tonight,” “Someone Like You,” “To Breathe,” “Nadine,” “Happy Now,” “You Will Disappear,” “Gremlin in the Machine” and “Somewhere In Between.”
Second, confirmed upcoming shows include these recent additions/changes :
5/12/2006 - Oakland NJ @ the Oakland Elks Lodge (33 Ramapo Valley Rd)
with TOURMALINE, GOING HOME and MAKING IT RIGHT
**the Jason Debiak special day celebration**
5/22/2006 - New York, NY @ Avalon (47 w. 20th st)
w/ Mute Math and Action Action
5/23/2006 - Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East (downstairs)
w/ Mute Math and Action Action
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HOURCAST To Release State Of Disgrace On Alkamedia Records
Heavy music is often the result of deep emotions. Sadness, frustration and anger combined with a musician’s talent can result in music which is awesomely powerful, uniquely deep, and thought-provoking. Such is the case with HourCast.
Born out of Boston, Massachusetts, HourCast combines elements of hard rock and metal with a distinct electronic influence. “We had no preconceptions as to what the band would sound like,” says vocalist Patrick McBride. The members of HourCast Mcbride, drummer Jerry Clews, guitarist David Henriquez and bassist David Sullivan - have combined their varied influences to create a unique sound that incorporates the heavy flavor of Deftones and Tool with the dark electronic atmosphere of Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode.
The somber tones of State Of Disgrace are a result of these efforts. From the introspective opening track “This Life”, to “Freeze” (which McBride describes as an “epic, desperate song”) State Of Disgrace has a cold, sharp intensity. The self-loathing “Smash Up” eschews a bitter tone, while “Lunar” tells a tale of longing and loneliness. “The music and lyrics are a reflection of what was going on at the time,” explains McBride. “I found myself in a new environment and was going through a big change in my life and that comes out in the songs.” State Of Disgrace will be available at iTunes on May 2nd and in stores on June 20th, 2006.
Not being signed to a label could serve as a liability to some bands, but not HourCast. “We didn’t have a label telling us what to do and that allowed us to add variety and flavor to the album,” says McBride. HourCast is a band looking to gain ground in the current music scene. “Myspace and live shows are definitely helping us to build a fan base,” says McBride.
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Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 - Republished with Permission
Wasn’t there an episode of the Simpsons based out of Toronto, Canada?
Seems the show’s producers left one of the characters behind. The Crazy Cat Lady is currently doing her thing on the city’s main drag — weighing in on the country’s bilingualism. Perhaps we can attribute her near coherency to Canada’s Universal Health Care and Cheap Meds. Damn she’s even starting to look a little sexy in a ‘laugh while you vomit all over yourself’ kinda way.
View the Crazy Cat Lady in Human Form (QuickTime Movie: 1.8M)
Where did the Real Live Crazy Cat Lady’s furry friends go? After viewing the movie above, you may insert your own feline anatomy metaphor here.
INDIE NEWS BEAT
May 8, 2006 Edition
* Indieoffice.com Releases New Suite Of Booking & Promotion "Powertools"
* Bandit A&R Newsletter Gets Great Review From UNSIGNED MUSIC MAGAZINE
* SCM Releases New Artist: "The Specialist" - A Musical Explosion
* Justice Trough Music Streams Neil Young’s Historic Living War CD
* Vernon Neilly Explodes On To Billboard Charts
* Dream Pop Band Molotov Elysian: Debut Performances
* Who Let The Dogs Out?
* Manhattan At Dawn Inject Nu-Jazz into Rock with Debut Album
Indieoffice.com Releases New Suite Of Booking & Promotion "Powertools"
IndieOffice has released what CEO Charlie Cheney calls "the ultimate instrument for booking and promotion" available immediately online and in retail. The all new IndieOffice and IndieOffice Lite are affordable, powerful, and easy to use database software packages to manage fans, press, tours, finance, merch sales, and more.
Designed to solve the key organizational issues facing musicians at home and on the road, the IndieOffice packages run on both Macintosh and Windows computers and are packed with the sexy online features like personalized mass email, integration with online maps, and data exchange with Palm, Outlook, Act, and ListBaby. You can also quickly print labels & contracts and track conversations from contacts found in the Musician’s Atlas Online, Galaris, Pollstar Online, and the Indie Bible. It even has a built-in "Email Kiosk" to replace your paper based email sign-up sheet at shows… yes, the days of retyping illegible email addresses are over, let your fans type for you. All this at a ridiculously low "musician friendly" price; IndieOffice Lite is on sale through May 30th, 2006 for only $24.95 (a 50% savings). And remember, this is NOT a "monthly subscription" price, it’s a one time fee, that’s it!
"No one else offers such a comprehensive database management tool at such an affordable price." said Cheney, "In fact, comparable systems in real estate, catering, or construction start at $2000 and move up from there."
The music press are chiming in with high praise as well; NoCover Magazine calls it "an incredible way to stay organized"; Performing Songwriter says it’s "fabulous and will have you up and running in no time"; and American Songwriter Magazine raves "it works because it was made by someone who knows what it’s like out here on the independent scene."
You can try it for yourself for free. Fully functional demo versions of both IndieOffice and IndieOffice Lite are available online for free download to "try before you buy". The web site is also packed with step-by-step tutorial videos, a detailed user manual, an interactive user forum, and even a place to post your blog.
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Bandit A&R Newsletter Gets Great Review From UNSIGNED MUSIC MAGAZINE
Review by Ian Cole, Editior of the UNSIGNED MUSIC MAG April 2006
First, the publications aim is to provide indie rock artists with open music opportunities and even though the publication is out of the U.K. and most of the opportunities are within the U.K., there are some U.S. opportunities as well.
So, what would we expect from a publication aimed at giving the indie rock artist leads to possible career opportunities? Well, we would expect the following.
* The information must be accurate (contact info, website links, etc)
* The information must be timely (it doesn’t help to tell me about last month’s opportunities. I need to know NEXT month’s opportunities.)
* The information must be detailed (I need to know who, what, when, where and how)
* The information must provide value to the artist (is it worth the money)
So how does Bandit stack up against our criterion? Let’s see.
Accuracy Score 97% - We checked out all of the links in the newsletter to make sure they were valid and all except three worked properly. One website link actually took you to your email app, one link was dead and the last one had a space between the website name and the dot in dotcom.
Timeliness Score 100% - All of the opportunities we checked were still very valid and not "oversold", in other words there weren’t so many submissions that the companies didn’t care anymore.
Details Score 98% - All of the opportunities contained enough detailed information to let you decide if it was something you would want to pursue or not. There’s not much they can give you in the way of compensation, but knowing who, what, when, how and where is all we can ask for from anyone. The 2-point deduction is for the inaccurate links, details…details…details.
Value Score 100% - OK, so how does all of this stack up? Well, you can subscribe to the Bandit A&R Newsletter a number of ways.
1 Issue = 10.00 pounds (app. $12.00 USD)
3 Issues = 25.00 pounds (app. $30.00 USD)
12 Issues = 77.00 pounds (app. $93.00 USD)
These rates are to have the newsletter delivered via mail; email rates are slightly less. If the issue we reviewed is any indication of the number of leads you’ll receive in each issue (24) then on average you should receive almost 300 leads per year, which equates to $0.33 USD per year per lead. Now that’s a good value, especially since just
one of these leads could easily create an ROI much greater than you thought.
Bandit’s editor John Waterman has done a great job of bringing good, solid information to the readers at a very fair price. Do we recommend the Bandit A&R newsletter - YES!
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SCM Releases New Artist: "The Specialist" - A Musical Explosion
SCM, Inc. announces the launch of The Caribbean sensation artist known as "The Specialist".
This creative and inventive artist brings a whole new out-look to "world music", in fact you could say he is the missing element, with his music project, "Pickin Up", The Specialist has brought Caribbean music to a whole new level!
The Specialist, has successfully bridged the gap between old-school reggae and dance-hall, mixing R&B with Latino beats and controling the whole mix with his own unique style of (as he states) "love and harmony." His history and vision has created a sound that is both familiar yet soul quaking in it’s new approach assuring you just won’t get enough. "The Specialist" has a deep rooted history in the reggae world, playing on the same stage as reggae mega-stars "Peter Tosh" and "Robert Nester Marley" just to name a few. The single "High Grade" was released a month ago is in rotation and can be heard on most stations across the US.
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Justice Trough Music Streams Neil Young’s Historic Living War CD
Justice Through Music, a non-profit dedicated to using music to change the world for the better, is coordinating with Neil Young to promote his new historic CD, Living With War. The entire CD can be heard on the JTM site, including the controversial tune, Let’s Impeach The President. The CD has gotten great reviews and JTM was one of the first to hear it at a private listening party last week. The CD expresses a hope for peace and an anger and sadness for the fatalistic decisions of the Bush Administration.
Justice Through Music has been a pioneer for the past five years in using famous bands and artists to promote civil rights. More and more artists are coming to JTM to get out their political message, including recently, Pink, Eminem, the Dixie Chicks, and many others.
Last week, JTM launched a new campaign and contest for the best protest music videos in coordination with the alternative band, Op-Critical. Filmmakers can submit their own videos of Op-Critical tunes or bands can submit videos of their own tunes, and the winners will receive a generous financial prize and massive exposure on the Internet and on cable TV. The first video in the campaign was filmed at Arlington National Cemetery and it portrays the sadness and suffering of a dead soldier’s wife and children.
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Vernon Neilly Explodes On To Billboard Charts
Just 2 weeks ago, Boosweet Records recording artist Vernon Neilly’s new single from the award winning CD "G-Fire II" was released to the world via AC/UAC commercial, satellite, cable, internet stations across the globe. Having an immediate impact at radio, the single "Unconditional Love" () was the #1 most added single at AC radio, and picked up early indicators at UAC radio according to BDS reports. Going into week 2 the single was still firecracker hot as it remained in the top 5 most added singles at #4, jumping up the chart (fmqb) from #148 to #69,and added an incredible +129 spin increase over the prior week.
For most any artist major or independent to jump out of the gate with those kinds of numbers after only two weeks of a release, would have them jumping up and down for joy. The best news was yet to materialize though, and did when the Nielsen Soundscan report rolled in last week to show that not only did Vernon’s "G-Fire II" CD spike at retail, but exploded onto the Billboard Chart at #12 Contemporary Jazz Albums. "Unconditional Love" is one of the hottest singles out right now, and is especially getting overwhelming response from the 24-54 female demographic, because of it’s very lush, romantic musical track, and passionate vocal delivery.
The "Unconditional Love" single can be downloaded at Boosweet Records website, or can be found at emusic.com, apple.com/itunes, rhapsody.com, sonyconnect.com, walmart.com, and all major digital download retailers. The Full "G-Fire II" CD can also be downloaded at these sites, but is also available at most major and major independent record stores, and most major online retailers such as amazon.com, allmusicguide.com.
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Dream Pop Band Molotov Elysian: Debut Performances
Molotov Elysian, on the rise as the hottest new Dream pop band, brings to stage their first set of live performances in two major U.S. cities, performing at TT the Bear’s in Cambridge on 06/01/06 and at R&R in New York City on 06/06/06 event "The Road to Hell is Paved with the Best of Intentions." Daisuke Fuchigami (artist/sound designer) and Leah Chandra (artist/vocalist) co-write and create sound collage compositions that balance otherwise opposing aesthetics. Dream pop, marked by sonic textures and elusive vocals, is a sub-genre of alternative music merging shoegaze elements with traditional pop songwriting.
Molotov Elysian takes this genre to a new level with greater extremes and takes the next step for post-rock. Together, the members embody their name - one’s contrasting of fragmented, abstract, sound explosions against the other’s richly melodic and ecstatic song. Fuchigami, a Japanese-native who has lived in Germany and the U.S., produces their distinct sound which contrasts strong resonant noise with soft and appeasing harmony. He crafts the sonic textures and harmonic arrangements through a series of computerized transformations - sampling, programming, mixing, and processing.
On stage, he becomes part of the sound collage by adding the "molotov-ic" texture through his guitar, bow, and lap steel guitar. Chandra, a native Northeasterner and formerly of project Reflecting Skin, has a voice that has been described as reminiscent of Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Lisa Gerrard. However, defining her style as simply "mesmerizing" is not sufficient to portray such a spiritually soothing voice. Her strong interest in global music genres has not only nurtured her vocals but also gives them an energy that transforms into a gentle melodious message to our weary souls. Her inimitable singing of deliberately obscured lyrics heightens the etherealness of the "elysian" aesthetic.
Molotov Elysian’s debut single is found on Cleopatra Records’ compilation Unquiet Grave Vol.4, and their EP While We Were Sleeping () - released September 2005 - on iTunes and eMusic. The full-length is mixed, but not yet released. The band has already accumulated over 8000 fans on their myspace.com site since it first appeared last September. They also reached the top ten charts in 2004 on Broadjam.com, one of the world’s largest indie rock web community sites.
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Poetry Rock. Funk, Hip-Hop, Folk-Funk, Wacko-pop, and all around Party Animals - San Antonio’s seemingly unclassifiable Dog Men Poets have been described as a mind-boggling combination of various genres, several unique unto themselves. The band’s combination of pop-songwriting with soaring rock choruses, a steady funk rhythm section, hints of Spanish-folk influence, and hip-hop beats and vocals has drawn comparisons to artists as varied as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, George Clinton, the Beastie Boys, Gorillaz, and Stevie Wonder.
Whatever their pedigree, the people of San Antonio don’t seem to mind, and of late have been barking their praises loudly. Dog Men Poets were recently voted "Best Rock Band" and second best hip-hop act by the readers of the San Antonio Current, the authoritative source for local music in San Antonio, which earned them a showcase at the weekly publication’s "Best Of" celebration at the San Antonio Museum of Art. For you dancers out there the band was also selected as "Best Party Band" and "Best Ska Band" by Edge Magazine Readers in their online music poll.
This all follows a strong showing in last year’s reader poll which placed Dog Men Poet’s debut CD "Birth of the Cool" () at the top of local releases.
In addition to winning over the hearts of local music fans throughout Central Texas, DMP can be heard globally on over 86 stations; placing on Terrestrial radio’s Top 20 Alternative charts from Omaha to New Zealand. While gigging non-stop throughout the Lone Star state this spring, Dog Men Poets have also been preparing for a very busy schedule of high profile gigs and a summer tour. Last month saw DMP open for hip-hop collective Black Eyed Peas at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and in Mid-August, they will be return to get down with KC and the Sunshine Band. In the meantime they will play Albuquerque’s Hyperactive Music Festival in June and trek through a mini-tour of the West Coast.
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Manhattan At Dawn Inject Nu-Jazz into Rock with Debut Album
Signs that Manhattan At Dawn is not your average band:
1. Vocalist Frank Rosania firmly states, "I don’t like the microphone."
Evidence: Having played guitar in many local New Jersey favorites, Frank Rosania began a solo project in late 2005. He started recording at drummer Steve DeMaio’s Drop It Like It’s Hot studios and recruited longtime friend and bass player Timmy Lamb to help lay down tracks. It soon became evident that the chemistry between them was undeniable-this solo project had evolved into a three-piece band. Due to the overwhelming amount of intricate guitar parts Rosania had written, and the fact that he hated not being able to move around on stage as much as he would have liked, Manhattan At Dawn added a fourth member, guitarist Nick Brescia - to free him up and add some extra noise.
2. Manhattan At Dawn creates music with dramatic nu-jazz rock stylings- a melting pot of sounds which range from early 60s rock to disco and funk.
Evidence: Each member of Manhattan At Dawn has experience from previous bands that they contribute to the mix .The result is an organic sound that makes the band stand out from the pack without even trying. By combining the elements that are missing in rock ‘n roll today– jazzy progressions, blues leads, and rhythmic patterns–along with 80s and heavy punk rock influences, Manhattan At Dawn intends on bringing "the feel" back to rock. In the first six months songs were added to the band’s MYspace page, it received over 19,000 plays and ranked among the top NJ bands on the site.
3. The members all work together writing, playing, producing and recording other artists in order to learn more about each other musically.
Evidence: "We could have easily been another 15-minute stardom act," states the band. Instead, Manhattan At Dawn works with other artists, currently female musicians, writing pop songs for them. The band used an unorthodox recording style for its debut album, Hook, Line and Sink Her, due out in late Spring 2006. All the songs are self-produced and were created by tracking. The recording process took nine months, as the band worked once a week on the music and then took a week off to study what they did during pre-production. In total, the 17 track album was recorded in about eight weeks worth of time. Determined to make it on their own terms and relying on their keen business sense, the members of Manhattan At Dawn have created their own label to release the album on.
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Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 - Republished with Permission
Lack of ambition may sound like a tragic tale of laziness but really it isn’t.
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We’re on top of the world, looking down on a creation… |
In fact, I’ve managed to work my way out of many incidents of stunted ambition and pushed on to create a bright new future for myself. Somehow I managed to reject these false notions of self and moved on to a brave new world. I became a protagonist once again and instigated the come back tour of a lifetime. The madness and mayhem are behind me now.
Tragedy can be seen in many lives but not in mine. Although I do have more than one unfortunate tale from my past, I fail to live up to any Greek form of tragedy. Even if a person did consider my conditions tragic, he or she would only have to think of all the people killed in their attempts to achieve greatness or perform goodness to see real tragedy. These are people who actually attempted to achieve something but were somehow destroyed or struck down by forces beyond their control. This is what tragedy is about. It’s a fall from grace. It’s the hopeful who drops the ball and who never recovers.
It’s a thankless world out there and only those who attempt to act with ambition and failure can adopt the term tragedy to their lives. If you are fortunate enough to lose it all or die in the process then I salute you. You are benevolent beings to which everyone should ascribe. It is this type of behaviour which will recreate a pleasant world for all. Without tragedy, our lives are meaninglessly bound to safety. They are simply constructs and abstractions within a network of control. Fortunately, there are a few men and women out there who truly live their lives to the fullest.
Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m one of them.
