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In Brief Toronto police have charged the manager of chart-topping hip-hop band the Black Eyed Peas with assault after a confrontation with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton at Sunday's MuchMusic Video Awards. Liborio Molina, 36, was ordered to appear at Old City Hall in Toronto on August 5 to answer the assault charge. In our humble opinion this would have been an opportune time to really kick the crap out of that "I wanna be famous weasel Mr. or is it Ms. Hilton "? We had enough of him 10 billion years ago. Oh wait we weren't here then and neither was he, see we're getting hiltonized. A stupified condition which causes one to ramble on about nothing important and actually get media attention doing so. If Mr. Hilton thinks he's going to get the milage and free publicity that Rhianna and Chris Brown got from their " fist-a-cuffs " Ms./Mr. Hilton thinks a great deal more of himself than we do for certain. So far the only thing that little piggy has done is lose a bit of weight although his face still looks like a " coco puff with eyes " I can't imagine any sane person digging this dude, I mean come on people acceptance and tolerance is a good thing, but promoting pure shyte is entirely another, and Mr. Ms. Hilton is pure shyte. Urban Network sets sights on Big Apple Los Angeles, CA June 19, 2009 -- After a very successful event launch May 2nd in the heart of Hollywood, which featured panelists such as, Aaron Bay-Schuck, Sr. Director of A&R for Atlantic Records, Terrence Nelson, A&R for Interscope Records, and Jermi Thomas, A&R for Columbia Records, the Urban Network now sets its sights on the Big Apple. "It's a great opportunity for aspiring artists, producers and songwriters to be heard. ...more 
MP3 Digital Music Mp3 digital music is one of the most popular forms for music to take these days. Digital music just seems to make sense, and is a natural step forward in the music world today. Everything else is digital these days, why wouldn’t our music be? While music is still purchased in the form of CDs, it is very often converted into mp3 digital music for use on a computer or mp3 player. Indeed, sometimes it seems like CD players are all but obsolete now, and I almost never use mine anymore. However, it is nice to have music backed up on CDs, and I try to keep my CD collection current even if I’m not listening to them directly very much. I have a sort of inherent distrust of computers and all things purely digital, and I’m just waitng for my digital music players to explode one day. Mp3 players have a lot of nice advantages to them over CDs. First of all, they are of course much smaller. Most mp3 players can easily fit into your pocket, unlike bulky CD players. Even the smallest portable CD player is enormous compared to the average mp3 player. Also, mp3 digital music can be stored on a hard drive of an mp3 player or computer, and so no CDs are needed. You can load up all the mp3 digital music you want on your computer, and never have to worry about losing or scratching any of it. One of the most popular portable digital music players today is Apple’s iPod, and since it’s made by Apple it just has to be different. Therefore it does not use the mp3 digital music files other players use, and instead uses its own spiffy Apple format exclusive to iPods. As an owner of both an mp3 player and an iPod, this fact continuously frustrates me, as it is nothing short of a pain in the ass to transfer music from one player to the other. Mp3 digital music is also of a fairly small file size, which is handy. My laptop has a 120 GB hard drive on it, and I can fit my entire music collection on it in the mp3 digital music format without making a dent in the overall space available. The mp3 digital music format poses some serious threats to the music industry, as it is so easy to share and pass around. Shaping The Career Of Bob Marley When visiting Jamaica’s beautiful Ocho Rios make sure you take some time out of your vacationing, water sporting, fun in the sun, and exciting nightlife partying to visit the Bob Marley Nine Mile, the community that helped shape the life and career of one of the most famous musicians of all time. Even if you’re not a particular fan of the man’s music, you’ll get a real sense of what he was about. Many Bob Marley fans come to Ocho Rios specifically for this unparalleled experience. The quaint village of Nine Mile is nestled high in magnificent mountains of St. Ann, and serves not only as the birthplace of the legendary Reggae King (1945), but also where he was laid to rest in 1981. Fans of Marley have described the Nine Mile experience as one that allowed them to get more in touch with the musician’s roots, to understand the depths of his lyrics, and to come away from it feeling a renewed sense of faith about what’s most important in life. Be sure to check out the small family house—where the Bob Marley legend all began. Some of Marley’s family are still there, most notably his mother (“Mother B”) and Uncle Lloyd. The small home is littered with photos of the renowned late musician, and you will likely hear stories of Marley’s childhood and early musical career from his mother and/or uncle, as well as the guide. You should also visit Mount Zion Rock (the famous Bob Marley meditation spot), the Fireside, where he cooked many meals, and finally, the mausoleum, the King of Reggae’s final resting place. If you’re not quite sure how to go about touring through the Bob Marley community, try a Nine Mile guided tour complete with an authentic Rastafarian guide (in authentic Rastafarian garb, no less!) who will take you through the village from one important element to the next, so you don’t miss anything and so you can soak in the entire experience from beginning to end. Urban Survival To start with, let's get over the idea that all survivalists are going to get out of "the city" in time to set up a "survival retreat". Not all survivalists are going to have the money, time or inclination to leave the city life and move to the middle of nowhere. First off, leaving your job and having no money will doom you faster than anything you can think of! Also some of us just enjoy the city lifestyle and do not enjoy the bucolic life. So the problem remains, what are the urban survivalists to do? Let's start with shelter. Most of us live in either single family homes or apartments and if you rent your house or apartment that limits what you can and can not do there. After all, it would do little good if you were to set up a fully equipped nuclear bomb shelter in the basement and got thrown out the following week! However, this does not mean you are totally at the mercy of the landlord and the elements. First off, try talking to your landlord about survivalism, or just feel them out about their ideas of the future. This might include nuclear war, depression, gov't control over their life, etc. If done carefully, many people who would otherwise think of you as a fool or nut case will come around very nicely. If not, well you aren't out anything. If you live in one of the impersonal high-rise apartment buildings, and they have nothing to do with you outside of getting your rent check, you might try and find out where the chimney and venting pipes are and if you are near enough you can tap into them for your heat and air without anyone knowing. If the heat supply was cut off for some reason, you could put in a small wood/oil burning stove, vent it right out the chimney, and no one would know it was you. For a water supply, you could use 2 liter pop bottles or plastic gallon milk jugs. If you happen to live in an apartment building with a gravity fed water system, that is the water supply is on the roof, during bad times you could simply go up on the roof, shut the valves off, and tell everyone the water supply ran out. No matter what you do, it would not hurt to have a good supply of water stored just in case. As to food, a years supply of freeze dried, air dried and canned goods can be stored in a closet; so space, if you really want it, should not be a big problem. Normally there is a lot of "dead" space to be found, under tables, beds, dressers, desks, etc., so that you should be able to store a goodly amount of stuff away where it will be out of sight, or at least out of the way. For cooking that food a wood stove will work just fine; although camp stoves, such as the Coleman, are also small, reasonably light weight and easy to use. Remember however that burning anything will use up your Oxygen, so have an outside air supply coming in. This is especially true of charcoal stoves or grills. Used in an enclosed area it will simply put you to sleep, for good! Also beware of treated wood or plastics that will give off toxic fumes, so you don't poison yourself. Now I know you've been waiting for this, so we will now talk about guns. What exactly you need is not easily done from long distance, although there are a few basic things that most people can agree on. In urban fighting, distances are not likely to be long, a few hundred yards at most, so you don't need a full power battle rifle capable of shooting 1000 yards and through several walls. Also depending on where you are, you may not be able to legally own handguns or "assault" style weapons. All is not lost however. A short barreled lever action rifle, such as the Winchester 94 "Trapper" model, Marlin 336, 1894 or Rossie M92 is not likely to send the neighbors into fits of rage as would a H&K 91 or 94. The SKS in 7.62x39 is in about the same power range as the .30-30 and is extremely cheap right now (in the $100-$140 range, although this is always going up), as is the ammo, so you might consider it as well. The Marlin "Camp" guns in either 9mm Luger or .45 ACP would also make good " house" guns, although the range out of the short barrels or in the pistol calibers would be limited. That's not all bad however, as a city in break down is likely to have roving bands of gangs or even National Guard units (remember after Hurricane Hugo when the Guard units joined in the looting?) that are better armed and/or more willing to use their weapons than you. So the less shooting you do, the less attention you will attract to yourself. For close range firepower or "street sweeping" it is hard to beat a shotgun. A discount house here (and many gunshows) often have the Remington 870 Express model with a rifle slug barrel and a vent rib "Rem-Choke" (interchangeable screw in choke) barrel for under $300.00, which has to be one of the great bargains in the firearms field. The only down side of this gun is it is only available in 12 gauge, and many smaller or less experienced shooters might prefer 20 gauge, although regular 870s are available in just about any gauge you could want. Other shotguns you might also want to look at are the Winchester 1200/1300 or Ranger models as well as the Mossberg 500, especially the Bullpup model that moves the action back just in front of the recoil pad and gives the gun an overall length of under 30" with an 18" barrel or just over 30" with a 20" barrel. Get the longer 20" barrel as the added few inches will dampen the recoil and especially the noise or blast when compared to an 18" barrel. 
Jewish Influence in Mass Media In 1986 Ze'ev Chafets, an American Jew who had moved to Israel, returned for a while to the states to do a book about the American Jewish community; he entitled the resultant volume, Members of the Tribe. Following an AIPAC (the powerful Israel lobbying agency based in Washington DC) organizer who was "hunting Jews" across America, he noted an interesting incident at a Jewish gathering at the Stardust Motel in Moline, Illinois. Chafets writes that a fellow Jew sitting next to him in the audience poked the American-Israeli in the ribs, and then "tapped my copy of the Quad-City Times ("The Midwest's Most Exciting Newspaper") and whispered, 'This is a Jewish newspaper' ... The man was referring to ownership, not content ... Determined to make an impression, the man poked me again. 'See this motel?' he asked. 'It's a Jewish motel.'" [CHAFETS, p. 39] In 1999, the chairman of the Newspaper Association of America was Richard Gottlieb. He is also the chairman of Lee Enterprises, based in Davenport, Iowa, which owns 21 newspapers and 16 TV stations across the United States -- from Billings, Montana, to Madison, Wisconsin, to Lincoln, Nebraska. Lloyd Schermer retired as CEO of the company in 1999. A corporate subsidiary, NAPP Systems, constructs printing plates for about 350 newspapers in 30 countries. In Nebraska too, John Gottschalk is the chairman and president of the Omaha World-Herald company. He is also publisher of the Omaha World-Herald. [BATT, J., 3-24-2000] In northern California, in the heart of the internationally important high-tech area of Silicon Valley, David Cohen controls an area-wide empire as the Publisher/CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Newspapers (SVCN Inc.). Cohen founded Metro, "Silicon Valley's weekly alternative newspaper." A SVCN subdivision is Metro Newspapers. Metro, in turn , "purchased the Los Gatos Weekly and the more than 100-year old Los Gatos Times-Observer, which were combined as the Los Gatos Weekly Times. In 1991, the company acquired the weekly Saratoga News and the Willow Glen Resident ... In 1993, Metro Newspapers began publishing a newspaper in Cupertino, and acquired its competitor the Cupertino Courier, in 1995. The company founded The Sun in 1993. The most recent addition to the community family was The Campbell Reporter, which began publishing in March, 1999." [CUEPERTINO COURIER, 4-11-01] In Colorado, Edward Lehman publishes a few small town newspapers, including the Longmont Daily Times-Call, the Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald, and Superior in Lafayette. The executive roster for all these papers includes Edward Lehman at the top, Dean Lehman as president, and Lauren Lehman as vice-president. (Ruth Lehman is the Associate Editor at the Longmont journal). In 1975, in New Hampshire, journalist Kevin Cash wrote an entire volume criticizing the concentrated media and political power of newspaperman William Loeb. Loeb owned New Hampshire's two major newspapers -- the Manchester Union Leader and the New Hampshire Sunday News, as well as the Vermont Sunday News, and a few smaller New England area papers. Loeb was also in the habit of writing regular editorials in his newspapers. "The truth is," wrote Cash, a former reporter at the Union Leader, "is that [Loeb's papers] are to a large extent monopolistic in nature within the limits of New Hampshire." [CASH, K., p. 3] Loeb was of Jewish heritage (both parents were Jewish); he once published in one of his papers, however, his father's 1906 Episcopal baptismal document, signed by American President Theodore Roosevelt (his father was Roosevelt's executive secretary). ... if you would like the continuation of this article, please send an email The Weather Underground Ayers, 63, spent 10 years as a fugitive in the 1970s when he was part of the "Weather Underground," an anti-Vietnam War group that protested U.S. policies by bombing the Pentagon, U.S. Capitol and a string of other government buildings. Nobody was hurt in the attacks by the defunct organization, which the FBI labeled a "domestic terrorist group." Today, Ayers and his wife -- fellow former Weather Underground fugitive Bernardine Dohrn -- live in Hyde Park, where they moved after surrendering in 1980. Federal charges against the two were dropped because of improper surveillance, so they avoided prison. article continued here ... |
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Grammy Nominated Drummer & Percussionist, Bobby Sanabria Participates and Performs at the Latin Music USA Panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival on June 29 - July 5 Jazz extraordinaire Bobby to be featured in a panel discussing the upcoming ground breaking four hour PBS documentary, Latin Music USA. Los Angeles, CA June 19, 2009 -- International percussionist and drummer Bobby Sanabria joins world leaders from all over the globe at The Aspen Ideas Festival, to be held June 29th through July 5th 2009 in Aspen, Colorado. Presented by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic Magazine the annual event has sizzled up a stimulating and inspiring festival of presentations, lectures, panels, and debates. The event will also host architect Frank Gehry, painter and photographer Chuck Close, and Director Damian Woetzel. The festival will also include actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith, Executive Producer WGBH Elizabeth Deane, and the president and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mr. Sanabria will be part of an elite panel that will focus on Latin Music USA, a new documentary about the musical fusions that have deeply enriched popular music in the US for over more than eight decades. Produced by a world-class production team at WGBH and the BBC, Latin Music USA invites the audience into the vibrant musical dialogue between Latinos and non-Latinos that has helped shape the history of popular music in the United States. This ground breaking film is slated to premiere during Hispanic Heritage month and will air on PBS and BBC on October 12, 2009 (episodes 1 and 2) and October 19 (episodes 3 and 4). "Bobby has been an amazing resource for Latin Music USA. His deep understanding of Afro-Cuban music as well as Jazz and his relentless talent are priceless to this project," explained Pamela A. Aguilar, producer, Latin Music USA. "We are grateful for his contributions!" "I am very excited to be a part of such a prestigious lineup of world leaders and business luminaries that will be attending the festival" says Bobby Sanabria. He adds, "I'm looking forward to discussing the upcoming documentary Latin Jazz USA, as it will shed light on how Latin music has had a deeper a broader reach than most people realize." The Aspen Ideas Festival brings together people from different fields and offers a one-of-a-kind event to share, connect, and transform their ideas. Audiences will get to know Bobby Sanabria and explore the musical fusions that have enriched America's popular music. Bobby Sanabria continues to deliver to a myriad of listeners across the world with a diverse body of work that includes three Grammy nominations for his solo CD's. His most recent album in 2009, Kenya Revisited Live! (Jazzheads Records) has him conducting the Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra. Kenya Revisited "Live" is a unique interpretation with new arrangements of the legendary Kenya album originally released in 1958. The original album featured alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, trumpeter Joe Newman and conga virtuoso Candido Camero--who graces the present-day recording of the Kenya repertoire an incredible 50 years later. Chip Boaz of The Latin Jazz Corner writes "Bobby Sanabria is leading this charge… on a creative ride through one of the most important albums in Latin Jazz history on Kenya Revisited Live." About Bobby Sanabria: Bobby Sanabria is a drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, recording artist, producer, filmmaker, multicultural warrior and educator. Maestro Sanabria has been featured on numerous Grammy-nominated albums, including his own Grammy nominated Live & In Clave!!!, 50 Years of Mambo--A Tribute to Damaso Perez Prado, and most recently for Big Band Urban Folktale. He has performed and recorded with such legendary figures as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, Candido, Chico O'Farrill, Paquito D'Rivera, and the creator of the Afro-Cuban jazz tradition, Mario Bauzá. Bobby co-produced the documentary The Palladium--Where Mambo Was King, for the BRAVO network, which received the 2003 IMAGEN Award for Best Documentary for Cable TV as well as the 2007 ALMA Award for, From Mambo to Hip Hop - A South Bronx Tale, for PBS. Sanabria is an associate professor at the New School University's Jazz & Contemporary Music Program and a professor at the Manhattan School of Music. Bobby has been the recipient of many awards, including induction in 2006 into The Bronx Walk of Fame where he has a street named after him and the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award by KOSA for his outstanding accomplishments in jazz and Latin music both as a performer and educator. www.bobbysanabria.com About the 2009 Aspen Ideas Festival: For more than 50 years, the Aspen Institute has been the nation's premier gathering place for leaders from around the globe and across many disciplines to engage in deep and inquisitive discussion of the ideas and issues that both shape our lives and challenge our times. The Aspen Institute seeks to engage a broader audience in a discussion of some of the significant ideas and issues that touch all parts of our society as found in the arts, science, culture, religion, philosophy, economics, and politics. With the partnership of The Atlantic, the festival offers a stimulating and invigorating celebration of some of the liveliest minds on the stage today. The 2009 Aspen Ideas Festival will engage its participants in a variety of programs, tutorials, seminars and discussion events that together are guaranteed to charge the atmosphere with vibrant intellectual exchange. For more info: www.aifestival.org About Emerson Bran Management: Emerson Bran Management is a full-service booking and management agency dedicated exclusively to the Latin Jazz & Jazz industry. Our commitment is to bring you the best performers, but from a cultural perspective. Latin Jazz, from the Afro-Cuban and Brazilian perspectives and the rest of Latin America, from the traditional to the contemporary, folklore and more. EBM artists are some of the finest performers, clinicians and educators in the world. We have produced events featuring Grammy Award winners, national and international recording artists as well as emerging talent. From international and national headlining performances, to unforgettable collaborations and special presentations, EBM's artists offer a diversity of genres and rhythms for any size engagement. For a complete roster of EBM artists, please go to: www.emersonbranmanagement.com Los Angeles Band, "Beatnik Jr.", Gets Animated Experimental Rock Band, "Beatnik Jr.", readies for their TOKYOPOP® independent anime film debut. Los Angeles, CA June 16, 2009 -- Los Angeles-based experimental rock band, Beatnik Jr., is pleased to announce that they have been signed on to provide music for the soundtrack of anime/manga giant, TOKYOPOP's (www.tokyopop.com), upcoming independent film production, "Van Von Hunter in Maiden Quest". Beatnik Jr.'s title song, "Beatnik Jr.", was chosen for publication in the independent anime documentary, whose worldwide estimated release date is scheduled for late July 2009. Beatnik Jr., an alternative mix of electronic and experimental rock, is furthering their foray into the independent film world with an upcoming live performance at "VIGNETTE" (www.vinyetproductions.com), a bi-annual film festival featuring animation, documentary, experimental and narrative shorts by Los Angeles-based independent filmmakers. The June 17 event will be held at KING KING Hollywood, and Beatnik Jr.'s appearance - the only live band performance of the evening - will serve as the mid-viewing break between film sets. Beatnik Jr. will continue their nod to Hollywood's modern, eclectic entertainment mix, with a July 9 follow-up performance at KING KING, closing out the venue's popular, French-style cabaret show "L'effleur des Sens", now in its fourth season at this location. "The band is thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute their music to such dynamic and creative mediums," said Simon Yi, Beatnik Jr.'s manager. "Beatnik Jr. has such a unique sound, and we're honored to have been chosen to participate in not one, but three, equally individual, artistic projects." Beatnik Jr. recently completed their participation in Hard Rock's Ambassadors of Rock Battle of the Bands contest, where they were one of only five bands advancing to the final phase of the contest, worldwide online voting. Those five bands had triumphed over the initial 150+ band entries, from all over North America. Beatnik Jr.'s recent live performances include their April 9, April 23 and June 2 shows as part of the Hard Rock's Ambassadors of Rock Battle of the Bands contest, as well as two performances at the legendary Sunset Strip live music venue, The Viper Room. The band also recently played at Fat City, in San Francisco, as well as two dates at the House of Blues Sunset Strip. After their June 17 performance at KING KING Hollywood, the band plays a July 1 show at Cantina Lounge, in Fullerton, CA and a July 3 show at the Troubadour, in West Hollywood, before returning to KING KING on July 9. About Beatnik Jr. Los Angeles-based Beatnik Jr. began playing together in late 2007. To date, they have played a multitude of shows in cities and venues all over Southern California, as well as appearances in other locales across the nation. The group, which is known for incorporating elements of electronic rock into their music, has built quite the following in the past year, appealing to a varied demographic - from other emerging local and national acts, artists and musicians, to seasoned music industry veterans who hale Beatnik Jr.'s musical talents, feats and nuances. At the helm of Beatnik Jr., is John Maro. John, a Philadelphia native, has been making music his entire life, which is now devoted to heading up Beatnik Jr. He sings and writes, plays guitar and keyboards. Jordan Vernik, also from Philadelphia, is both lead guitarist and producer, molding and focusing the band's live and recorded sounds. Collin Winner, new to Los Angeles from Connecticut, is the band's bassist. And hailing from Virginia, drummer Drews' unique creativity lays down the Beatnik Jr. rhythm. Fans have referred to Beatnik Jr.'s music as sounding similar to Radiohead, The Faint, The Postal Service, Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, and even The Beatles. Beatnik Jr.'s music is available for download on iTunes, as well as other sources. Beatnik Jr.'s sponsors include DirtBag Clothing (www.dirtbagclothing.com) and Zzyzx SnapJack (www.zzyzxsnapjack.com). For more information about Beatnik Jr., to view upcoming show dates, and to listen to samples, please visit: www.BeatnikJr.com or www.sonicbids.com/BeatnikJr. Requests for further information and booking inquiries can be directed to Beatnik Jr.'s manager, Simon Yi, at 213.700.6448. French LiLi Roquelin Releases EP, Entirely Funded By Fans
French Singer-songwriter-producer LiLi Roquelin's clear and captivating voice enchants listeners world wide. With her true, poetic and melancholic bilingual lyrics and the depth of emotion in her voice, LiLi stands as a musician who has a soul to share with the world. She has been doing music since Middle School; at 14 she decided she would leave home (France) to come to the US for her music career. She proved her professionalism in Cleveland - home of rock'n'roll - working with various top-notch bands and producers. After experimenting music styles (acoustic rock-pop, melodic hard-rock) she settled into an alternative trip-hop. Pushing herself to living music to the fullest, she moves to New York City, writes her own project in her Pro-Tools studio and performs live on the piano. Entirely funded by fans, her EP was mixed and mastered by New York based three-time Grammy Award winning engineer Marc Urselli and it includes a music video. To be released: Oct. 4th 2008
Desmond Pringle Releases Duet With Gospel Legend Shirley Caesar On ReverbNation
Los Angeles, CA - Gospel songwriter/producer Desmond Pringle is a passionate vocalist with a unique brand of balladry -- and one of the most talented songwriter/producers in gospel music today. To celebrate the launch of the artist's ReverbNation profile, Desmond is making his duet with Gospel Legend Shirley Caesar available as free mp3 downloads exclusively through the site at http://www.reverbnation.com/desmondpringle One of the highlights of Pringle's career was recording the hymn "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" with Shirley Caesar. Pringle recalls, "One day, Pastor Caesar said, Dez, why don't you sing with me?' I was floored that she would offer me that opportunity alongside all of these legends she has on her project but that's how it came about. She asked me and I wasn't about to turn her down [laughs]." ""Just a Closer Walk With Thee" by Desmond Pringle is a joyful hymn that features the Grammy-nominated artist singing back-and-forth with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. Both artists have powerful voices that beckon everyone to take heed to the song's influential lyrics. The song has a warm feel to it and while the instrumentation is impressive, it is the dueling vocals that steals the show here. "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" is an incredible highlight from Desmond's inspirational album, 'Be Still'." Eric Hartline, MusicDish "Pringle also duets (in real time) with Pastor Shirley Caesar on Kenneth Morris' prize find, "Just a Closer Walk with Thee," making her the second former Caravan to be featured on this CD (yes, Cleveland sang with the Caravans - check your history!)." The Black Gospel Blog Reviews "Be Still..." contains new material - plus tracks from Desmond's participation as singer/songwriter on award winning, radio chart toppers including CeCe Winans and The Born Again Choir and Bishop Paul Morton and the Full Gospel Baptist Mass Choir. "Creating music that is biblically sound, message-driven and church friendly is important to me, says Desmond. "I was honored to be able to work with some of gospel music's most gifted artists. Websites:
Helping Boost The Indie Music Revolution!
Boston, MA -- If you're riding the wave of the indie music revolution you're about to get a huge boost. Music career coach Peter Spellman has just released the second edition of Indie Marketing Power: THE Resource Guide for Maximizing Your Music Marketing - a 388-page resource-rich handbook designed to help all music entrepreneurs navigate through the hundreds of marketing and promotional opportunities available today. "This is a guide you can refer to again and again because it is full of easy-to-apply best marketing practices any music company can benefit from," says Spellman. "Just put this Indie Marketing Power on your desktop and you'll have a reliable marketing tool kit to refer to for all your promo and marketing needs." Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby has this to say about this new book: "INDIE MARKETING POWER is the most helpful book for musicians promoting their music that I have ever seen. I'm considering this not just essential reading, but REQUIRED reading for every musician I know!" Indie Marketing Power delivers market intelligence, smart strategies and fresh perspectives on essential music marketing ideas and practices. It covers everything from discovering your unique market niche and assessing your current marketing practices, to tapping the power of your audience, securing profitable license deals and expanding your music overseas. In between you'll discover the best promotional practices for live performance, selling merchandise, working the media, using ecommerce, building your mailing lists, securing radio airplay, finding the right distributors, attracting sponsors, and much, much more. The final chapter walks you through the process of writing a results-driven marketing plan, and three glossaries and a 38-page Further Resource Guide top it off. Indie Marketing Power sells for $24.95 (eBook) and $34.95 (print) respectively and is available exclusively from Music Business Solutions (mbsolutions.com/books). Additional MBS Guides include "Plan Your Band!," "Your Successful CD Release" and "Indie Power: A Business-Building Guide for Record Labels, Music Production Houses, and Merchant Musicians." Author Peter Spellman is Director of Career Development at Berklee College of Music, Boston, and a recognized expert on music business development and grass roots music marketing. He is featured in the documentary film, "What is Indie?" and his Guides are used in universities across the country and in over twenty-five countries around the world.
Box 7 was a group that was formed by producer Herbert Reid, after meeting Stewart Resnick at a company sponsored audition - Stewart was confident and cocky, Mr. Reid muses "and handsome, quite the ladies' man, much to my chagrin" a poor man's Rick Springfield, only more handsome. I think Rick was a tad more talented than Stewart, I don't know? I named the band Box 7, because my birthday is on the 7th day, the 7th box on a calendar. Stewart wrote the band's first single " You're Not The One. " It was the also the label's first single. We hired two of Stewart's buds to back him on lead vocal and rhythm guitar, other session players came and went. I liked Stewart I thought he had great potential. The other, more serious, bands on the label didn't see the artistry in this genre of commercial, mainstream rock. Independent labels don't do well with this particular product. We did several recordings with Stewart Resnick and Box 7. We only have the two tracks, hopefully somewhere there are other surviving tracks. I will say this for Box 7. They played their own instruments and sang their own songs. 
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The difference between Majors and Indie Labels? Explore what's right for your music at Record Labels and Companies guide.
Track Testing is a new and innovative way to bring music lovers, and music makers together, the participant gets to play Simon Cowell, without the TV cameras. The participant is rewarded for his or her efforts with music vouchers which can be redeemed for free MP3's. There are approximately 5,400 band involved in the project with about 1000 testers - the tester listens to a 30 second clip, and then rate's the band, and if need be the tester can take the option to listen to the whole song. This information ( the tester's rating / opinion ) is given back to the band and certain record companies. So the tester AKA listener gets to have a say in who gets the brass ring as it were. For more information go to http://www.tracktesting.com and follow the instructions and hey don't forget to have fun ! 
Hit Recording Artist Matt Brouwer Receives Two Covenant Award Nominations
Brouwer will participate in the Canadian GMA week festivities including leading at the kick off "Worship Night" concert at Calgary's First Alliance Church, speaking at the music and songwriting seminars, and performing "Beautiful Now" at the Covenant Awards Night ceremonies. "I'm thrilled to be nominated for a Covenant Award and to perform at both the GMA Canada's opening kick-off concert and the Covenant Awards Show," said Brouwer, who released the single in June of 2008 throughout North America and has watched it rise to #1 on both the CRW Global AC and CanCon Pop/Contemporary charts. Brouwer's has previously landed hits on the Billboard CCM records chart (I Shall Believe); CCM CHR chart (Water); and the New Music Weekly Hot 100, AC, Indie AC, and Top 40 charts (Surrender). Where's Our Revolution, marks a huge step forward for Brouwer, being hailed by critics as an artistic and production bench mark for the artist. The success of Beautiful Now points to a very successful run as the album is full of radio friendly pop singles. Indie Extreme, a Nashville-based independent record label management firm, provides Brouwer's Black Shoe Records with label administration services such as marketing support, distribution, administration, e-commerce, book keeping and inventory management. Black Shoe Records is the first label that Indie Extreme has signed to a management deal. "It's an honor working with Matt and his independent label, Black Shoe Records," said Indie Extreme CEO Kathy Douglas. "The Where's Our Revolution CD has been a result of years of preparation and growth in Matt, both as a writer and musician. He is a unique individual with a clear yet gently confrontational message to his generation, one of love, hope and authenticity." Brouwer's Where's Our Revolution is currently available in limited release throughout the U.S. and Canada as well as online, with a massive distribution deal in the works for 2009. For tour dates and the most up-to-date information on Matt Brouwer, visit http://www.mattbro.com, www.myspace.com/mattbrouwermusic or http://www.indieextrememusic.com/matt_brouwer Koko Dozo, Polarity/1 & Danny Schechter Present "The Home Sweet Home Project"
A call to arms against the predatory financial industry that brought us the housing & credit crisis Koko Dozo will headline a diverse gang of committed, pissed-off musicians out to get YOU pissed. Focused on the legalized loan-sharking that has fueled the subprime crisis and predatory credit card practices and school loans. LINE-UP: Reality Check by Danny Schechter 'The News Dissector,' journalist, Emmy award-winning filmmaker, author and agitator WHEN: Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
Home Sweet Home was written in 1823; and though the language sounds really ancient and drippy -- it gets to the heart of the fact that a person's HOME has deep primal importance; but to the financial corporatocracy a home is just a piece of property that gets bought, sold and scammed for profit. The millions of Americans who signed onto subprime mortgages and other scams believed they would have homes that they would eventually pass onto their children. Many of those mortgages were offered to high risk buyers that the lenders knew would ultimately be unable to pay off. By selling off the debt to hedge funds and other securities, the lenders could offer dangerously risky mortgages with no risk. They cared nothing about the people who would invest in the risky debt and -- worse -- cared nothing about the people whose lives would be devastated by the loss of their homes. With three and a half million families facing foreclosure because of this government-sanctioned crisis, why aren't millions of people out in the streets demanding rescue and justice? The Home Sweet Home Project hopes to get people up off the sofa and out into the streets. This is not a liberal or conservative issue. It's a national disease that is striking people of every economic class -- even the rich are losing homes due to foreclosure, every ethnic group, red states and blue states. That is why we want musicians of every type: rock, rap, country, blues, r&b, folk. We want to post your version of Home Sweet Home on the site with links to the lyrics. We want these songs to reach people and spearhead a movement for change. Not only is this song familiar in one form or another to practically all Americans -- it's also in the public domain so we don't have to license it. Here's the rules: You're free to change the lyrics on the verses. But use the chorus lyrics as is -- sung or rapped. On the verses you can be loose with the melody and feel free to reharmonize (alter the chord progression); but -- again -- on the choruses stay pretty true to the original. Instrumental versions are welcome too. The idea is to work the issue of people losing their homes because of predatory mortages. That covers a lot of topical and emotional territory that can be explored: from sentimentality to rage. My own political songs tend to be pretty hard edged (Duck, News Goo, D.C. Whore recorded by Koko Dozo) but the Polarity/1 version of Home Sweet Home is very sentimental -- a first for me. No need to try to kick every aspect of the issue -- it's probably best to find one angle and make a strong message. This is not about getting ironic or parodying the sentimentality of the original song. The whole point is to get people active about regulating the financial industry and informing those at risk of foreclosure about where they can get help. Everybody is victimized by this -- whether it's mortages, school loans or credit cards that jack up their interest rates at will.
KOKO DOZO truly is music for the Space Age. It's ultra modern and it's made using the latest technology and olde skool organic matter. Are other people out there in space? Who knows? Koko Dozo believes that such beings have been sitting around for billions of years waiting for the music to start. And Koko Dozo is bringing the party to the space persons. TheyÍre beaming up sound waves that vibrate in the key of GROOVE, dipped in the house special surreal sauce. Urban organica. Celestial demonica. Yeah...Space Is The Face. BFM Digital and Mi2N Help Indie Labels Get Noticed
Mi2N, one of the most popular sources for delivering music news, has created a special, premium version of its successful PR Gold service exclusively for BFM's content providers. The exclusive package focuses on delivering broad online distribution and awareness of their press release directly to their intended audience: fans and music professionals. In line with this more 'street team' approach to PR marketing, Mi2N will include distribution through its newswire network, over 100 online communities and music blogs utuilizing SoundCloud. "We have already used the PR Gold services to successfully promote some of our high-profile album releases. It is the easiest and most effective method for targeting prospective fans and consumers," says BFM CEO, Steven Corn. "Offering such packaged services as this reflects our commitment to help our artists expand their online presence." BFM will make this service immediately available. Utilizing their current digital assets, BFM will provide a turnkey process. In adition, Mi2N will create a customized ordering system to permit BFM's labels and artists to easily submit their album features and press releases. "It was important to develop a simple-to-use system that adressed the specific needs of labels such as BFM Digital's members: more exposure reaching more eyeballs and ears," noted Mi2N Founder Eric de Fontenay. "We look forward to helping introduce BFM's family of labels to the online music community." BFM Digital, LLC
Rollin' Connolly's Pub With Hell's Kitchen Rocker
Connolly's Pub and Restaurant, located at 121 W. 45th street in mid town, was the host for the launch of Not Fade Away Records' third album "The Cost" by the Tim Young Band. The party was a terrific celebration of over a year's hard work. Recording began on the album during March of 2007. Tim had located the independent production team of Counter Clockwise Music through an association with Mike Stephens who hosts a podcast in Wayne, MI. Producer Mark Meisel heard the track 'Renegade' on Mike's podcast and became interested in contacting Tim.
Since such strong bonds had been created during the week when basic tracks were recorded, not to say anything about the months of mixing through via emails, it only seemed damn appropriate that the entire Detroit team be on hand for the release party. Let's say I was more than pleased when after I made the suggestion to Mark Meisel and Bob Becker that they get themselves to New York City for this party, they enthusiastically approved.
It was the celebratory mood and the rejoining of old friends that helped to lift the party into the higher vibe at Connolly's. The Klub Room is the party room and the good times are as easily spilled there as a pint of beer. Many old and new fans of the band were in attendance. Over one hundred in all. The constant gigging among the bars of Hell's Kitchen's ninth avenue have turned out to be so very valuable. Aiding to the sounds of the party was Tim's son, Adam, who brought along his laptop packed with great rock n roll to fill in the gaps when the band was not performing. Adam was also involved in one of the highlights of the show during a jam of Tim's song 'New Orleans' at the very end of the performance when he and engineer Bob Becker popped up on stage to help sing the chorus.
The music and enthusiasm would not be contained once the Klub Room had to dim the lights so an impromptu after party materialized at The famous bastion of dive bars, Rudy's, over on ninth avenue and 44th street. The band and the entire Detroit contingent swooped into Rudy's where, Danny, the most cordial manager, immediately tossed 'The Cost' CD on the player and everyone drank toasts aplenty. A fitting night cap to an evening replete with great friends and rock n roll. | ||||||||||||||||||
Nashville, Tenn. - Indie Extreme/Black Shoe Records recording artist 
Los Angeles, CA - 
That's how the story begins. The rest, as they say, is history. The collaboration between 
To make things even more complete, two other players who made such important contributions to 'The Cost' were also able to attend. Dave Leeds, who plays bass on all the tracks, as well as Bob's brother, Rick Becker, who added the amazing electric guitar parts to the remake of 'Renegade.' Mark Meisel also tore the place up with his electric guitar. Mark added electric guitar to all the other tracks on the album in addition to all the keyboard parts.
That's what was so appealing about the mood of the evening. An extended family brought back together for a reunion and I think everybody could feel those connections. Marks' wife, Billie Meisel, also helped keep things flowing smoothly by seeing that everyone that came into the room received their copy of 'The Cost' for their five dollar contribution.