Mavis Drive recently won 3rd place in 97.7 HtzFM Rocksearch 2007. They are quickly growing in popularity and have developed a fan base in Toronto. Ready to hit the world with their new CD, the band recently traveled to Los Angeles, CA to record with Mike K (a studio-guitar player and producer who worked with Edwin, J. Englishman, Nelly Furtado, and others as well as composing for several Network TV shows) to produce their latest CD.

The current line-up of Mavis Drive is Mass Chiantia (Lead Vocals), Mike Perfetti(Drums/Background Vocals), and brothers – Peter Macukic (Guitar/Background Vocals), and Chris Macukic (Bass) has been together since the summer of 2002. In that same year they recorded their first EP consisting of 6 songs with John Pacheco. In the following year that same 6 song EP got them attention from singer/songwriter Raine Maida of the established Canadian act Our Lady Peace. They opened for Our Lady Peace in 2003. The band also performed with Big Collapse. By 2005, Mavis Drive have written many songs which is when they started working with Mike K which lead them recording their current album.

Mavis Drive is currently unsigned and is co-managed by Chris Free and Susie Hu of Freebird Management. Freebird Management is currently shopping them around to record labels and is currently booking gigs and for film/TV soundtracks. Mavis Drive can be found at http://www.myspace.com/mavisdrive ,http://www.mavisdrive.com/ or their EPK at http://www.sonicbids.com/mavisdriveband

Contact:

Freebird Management
Chris Free
615-866-1325
info@freebirdmanagement.com

“As we continue to develop the label-side of our business, it is clear that this is a needed and valuable service that we could provide for our current and future client base,” comments Organic President Margo Drgos.

The booking agency will be a joint venture between Organic Entertainment and Gwiz Booking and Promotion, also based in Manhattan. Gwiz Booking and Promotion brings twenty five plus years of experience in all facets of the industry to meet the burgeoning demands of Organic’s label roster. The company will work with labels and acts that make music steeped in the Album Adult Alternative, Alt. Country, Americana and Rock genre formats.

“I’m very happy to be on board with Organic. With the staffing Organic provides, I will be able to focus solely on directive and recruitment, enabling me to revive Gwiz Booking, instead of getting bogged down in grunt work while booking a busy nightclub. I look forward to working with the artists we both recruit in the joint partnership,” comments Gwiz Booking and Promotion founder, David Gwiazdowski.

David “Gwiz” Gwiazdowski is currently the head booker at Midway, a 150 capacity venue in the East Village of Manhattan. Gwiz joins Organic on a consultant basis to head the new booking wing of the company. Prior to Midway, Gwiz headed Gwiz Booking and Promotion, which handled tours for the Heroine Sheiks, Haley Bonar, Matt Keating and a dozen others, as well as handling radio promotions for Brian Jonestown Massacre, Ipecac Recording Artists Messer Chups and Tee Pee Recording Artist Drunk Horse. Gwiz co-founded Rubric Records as Operations Manager with Kenny Sehgal in 1999, and signed Gogol Bordello, Mary Lou Lord, The Bevis Frond and Cave Catt Sammy among a 60 title catalogue of obscure psychedelia, rockabilly, indie rock and roots rock before Rubric merged with Tee Pee Records in 2003.

Organic Entertainment is a boutique service firm, multi-tiered entertainment group and newly turned record label committed to the big picture growth of independent record labels and recording artists who compete for market share with major labels. With great understanding of the new market leverage of indies, Organic creates unique business models for artists that employ traditional grass roots methods complemented by distinctive communications strategies aimed at penetrating an oversaturated and competitive marketplace. For more information, please visit www.organicentertainment.net or www.myspace.com/organicentertainment.

I have quite an interest in knowing what’s going on in the music industry as well as keeping up with band news and new releases that are coming out. It became difficult for me to keep track of all that is going on in the music world, so I figured the best way would be to have guest bloggers submit their own music news for not only me to read but for their fans and potential new fans to read as well.

There is quite a mix of information here, but the good thing is that it’s all music all the time. By reading some of the band press releases that have come through, music reviews and gig notices, I’ve discovered quite a few new unsigned bands and signed bands that I really like (whether signed to an obscure indie label or a well known record company) that I would never have heard of otherwise. If the guest blogger entry catches my eye, it’s easy to follow the included links to hear the band or artist. With the easy accessibility of the internet and band websites, this has become the most convenient way ever to listen to music. Pretty cool!

To submit guest blogger entries and press releases with images, email: info at bandweblogs dot com

By: Jenny May

http://www.musicdish.net/nmw/
http://www.newmusicwest.com

MusicDish founder Eric de Fontenay will also be presenting his seminar “Are You Ready To Innovate In The Digital Marketplace?” at NewMusicWest 2007, the largest and most influential new music festival on the West Coast, attracting businesses and individuals from all over North America.

The ‘10th Anniversary’ Showcase Series represent a determined effort by MusicDish to increase its Canadian presence and support emerging talent. The series inaugural event during Canadian Music Week created some buzz in Toronto, in addition to packing the Trane Studio where it was held, with a feature on the cover of the April Toronto Star Life Section and coverage by Live Music Report. The series will make a comeback to Toronto in June for NXNE, with more cities and dates to be announced.

MUSICDISH ‘10TH ANNIVERSARY’ VANCOUVER SHOWCASE
Official New Music West 2007 Showcase
WHERE: Library Square
300 W. Georgia St., Vancouver
tel: 604 633-9644
http://www.librarysquare.ca
LINE-UP: Blue Venus, Greenlaw, Rose Beach

ROSE BEACH
Rose Beach’s debut CD “Family Love” boasts mature songs that blend a folk singer’s lyrical depth, a pop singer’s catchy melodies, and a hip hop diva’s sultry yet raw vocal power into a unique sound. Starting in the underground – the streets of Vancouver and Tokyo – she is rising into the musical mainstream. She has sold more than  50,000 records in Japan, where she has performs weekly at many of Tokyo’s famous clubs, including the world renown Club Asia, as well as events for companies ranging from Lush and Diesel to Asahi and Mac. Rose started her career In Vancouver where she fronted a trip hop band called The Loxley Project. At the same time, she began to build a love affair with Japan, developing on her solo work in the  energy of the Tokyo music scene.
Rose Beach:
http://www.musicdish.net/rosebeach/

GREENLAW
Gracing stages from St Petersburgh, Russia to Toronto, Canada’s Greenlaw is paving the way for their much anticipated debut album with Formation Records due for International release Oct 2007. Greenlaw’s earthy soul sound is a new direction for the UK based DnB label but is one that is definitely turning heads. Front woman Skyla J comes with powerful thought provoking lyrics presented with an angelic molasses like voice that is sweet enough to be compared to an early Jill Scott meets Indie Irie by UK’s F magazine. Winners of the “most memorable show of 2004″(Monday Mag Victoria B.C) the band released their full length studio album in 2005  entitled Time and  Energy that was quickly hailed by CBC Radio 1 as one of the “top albums of 2005″. Recently the band has been nominated for an Indy  Award in London England. Greenlaw has also been featured at top festivals, showcases and venues throughout North America, Europe and the UK.
Greenlaw:
http://www.greenlawave.com

BLUEVENUS
Founded in 1998 by singer/songwriter and violinist Andrea de Boer,  blueVenus developed into a unique musical experience with influences  ranging from Indie Pop/Rock to Jazz, Latin and Electronica. After releasing their debut EP, which was co-produced by L. Stu Young (Prince) and Iain McNally (Amanda Marshall), they toured Germany and Turkey, with a core following already established in Toronto and  Boston. Receiving regular ariplay in Canada on CBC and internet radio stations, blueVenus is also highly regarded as a noteworthy live act, achieving two nominations at the 2006 Toronto Independent Musicians Awards (TIMA) for “Best Jazz” and “Best Live Acoustic Act”. Their song “Get It Now” won honourable mention at Billboard Song Contest in 2005 and continues to get airplay in Canada and Europe. Currently, blueVenus is working on new material for their next full-length album.
blueVenus:
http://www.bluevenusmusic.com

A quick sum up of what a music blog is: a blog about bands and music.

Comments are welcome if you have additional ideas and thoughts.

Okay, let’s get started:

1. Promotion
Music blogs are amazing promotional tools for bands. They are their own mini buzz machines. If the blogger likes the band they’re writing about great, if not they’ll still probably link to the band for readers to check out for themselves and at that point, readers and potential fans can make their own minds up.

2. Links
As the population on the internet continues to grow, it becomes more difficult for new up and coming bands and artists and their music to be ‘found’ by potential fans. When a music blogger adds links to bands either in a blog entry or on their sidebar, this helps expose the band more to the public eye.

3. Music
Music bloggers writing about music on a daily basis will most likely be linking to the band website and/or adding mp3s for readers to hear first hand what the blogger is writing about. If they are adding mp3s to their blogs, hopefully they’re getting permission from bands to do so.

4. Videos
For bands with videos, websites like Myspace and YouTube have made it easy for bloggers to embed video codes onto blogs. Videos are excellent on music blogs as the reader not only gets to read about the band, but can also hear the band and watch their video.

5. Fans
If a particular band is being written about favorably by influential, popular and/or trusted bloggers then there is a great chance that new fans will be made from readers of music blogs. As mentioned before, even if what the blogger is writing isn’t favorable, then there is the chance the reader simply won’t agree.
6. Community
There are quite a few music bloggers out there who dedicate blogs to specific bands and music styles ranging from jazz, blues, rnb, country, folk, punk, rock and more as well as blogs with various music topics. This can create a community of dedicated readers, subscribers and commenters who visit the blogs frequently.

7. Sales
Numbers 1-6 above could all lead to sales of music for bands and artists. Whether music blogs have direct links to artist downloads and online CD stores or if a reader decides to go out to a music shop to buy a CD after learning about a new band or album/single release after reading about it on a blog, then the music blog was indeed influential to the sale!

8. Live Show Dates
Fans are always interested to know when their favorite band will be playing live in their hometown. Music blogs help to keep the reader informed and reminded of tour dates, shows, gigs and live music events.

9. Opinion
Music blogs are great places to go for readers to find out what other people are thinking of a certain band, musician, singer. A blog search in Google or Technorati for “music blogs” can result in hundreds of current conversations taking place.

10. Easy Access
It’s so easy to find music blogs by doing a search on Google or to go to blog directories and browse their music categories. Music blogs also tend to link to and recommend other blogs on their sidebars.

Bonus:

11. Free
For now, most music blogs are free (hopefully it stays that way). The information about bands, opinions, music, videos and podcasts are free for music lovers to devour!

Bands who want to request a review from a music blogger can usually get in touch by contacting them via an email address provided on the blog or a contact page.

BandWeblogs.com adds a twist to all that is written above. Bands and artists can come here to promote themselves, in their own words as Guest Music Bloggers. PR companies, record companies and management companies can also send in formal press releases and reviews of bands for publication on Band Weblogs. I also like to write about bands and music here, from a singer/musician point of view.

Sign up as a Guest Music Blogger to add entries and promote music at Band Weblogs!

By: Jenny May

“Rose exactly represents the new breed of independent artists: globally focused, self starters that are able to bridge culture, language and values for a worldwide audience,” commented MusicDish founder Eric de Fontenay. “The fact that she sold 50,000 CDs in Japan with no industry support speaks volumes.”

Her debut CD “Family Love” boasts mature songs that blend a folk singer’s lyrical depth, a pop singer’s catchy melodies, and a hip hop diva’s sultry yet raw vocal power into a unique sound. Starting in the underground – the streets of Vancouver and Tokyo – she is rising into the musical mainstream, because people’s ears thirst for something real that they can feel. Currently, she is blowing up in Japan, where she has sold more than 50,000 records and performs weekly; all without the aid of any record label or music biz machinery.

In addition to her heavy independent CD sales, Rose Beach has been interviewed and received heavy airplay on Co-op Radio in her home base of Vancouver. She has also been interviewed and played on Inter-FM Radio in Tokyo. Rose was recently featured in the January 2007 issue of Hiragana Times.

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and raised primarily in Saskatchewan by a strong, loving and musically inclined mother of Canadian aboriginal ancestry and a farmer stepfather with a love of country music, she had the dream of music early in life. This dream took Rose to Vancouver, where she fronted a trip hop band called The Loxley Project.

At the same time, she began to build a love affair with Japan, working in many of Tokyo’s famous clubs, including the world renown Club Asia. Her solo work and the energy of the Tokyo music scene caused Rose Beach to decide to expand her musical knowledge and to become a more serious and focused producer and performer. She entered music engineering school at Columbia Academy in Vancouver and graduated from the Digital Analog Recording Arts Program in June 2005.

For more information on Rose Beach, visit http://www.musicdish.net/rosebeach/

Rose Beach joins an eclectic roster of artists under the MusicDish brand, including Haitian American singer/songwriter Karlex; electro-groove artist Polarity/1; calypso-reggae band Kobo Town; alternative rock Love Kills Theory; folk-country artist Amy Speace and drum ‘n’ bass artist Mashed Buddha.

About MusicDish, LLC
MusicDish, LLC has been at the forefront of the digital sector, publishing some of the industry’s leading music magazines, including MusicDish e-Journal (http://www.musicdish.com) and Mi2N (http://www.mi2n.com). MusicDish Network is the artist development department of MusicDish LLC. Launched in 2001 as a marketing service for independent artists, MusicDish Network has grown into a complete artist development program, leveraging brand development, saturated and relationship marketing, digital distribution and industry outreach to support emerging artists’ and bands’ careers (http:// www.musicdish.net).

Independent, signed and unsigned bands and musicians are also welcome to submit entries with press, gig dates, tour schedules, live show reviews, band stories and more.

Adding guest music blogger entries is free, quick and easy. If you have a jpg image to include with the press release or review please include in the email. All guest blogger entries and press will be reviewed and will only be published if approved.

Entries and articles on Band Weblogs receive a wide range of distribution and have appeared on websites such as Reuters, Austin American Statesman, Fox News, USA Today, Virgin Radio and more.

Established in January 2005 by Jenny May, Band Weblogs features band blogs + music blogs, Band Weblogs Podcast Show (with airplay on CBS’ KYOU Radio), free promotion for bands, opinion, band introductions, band interviews, press releases, reviews, tour dates and new releases.