Guest Music Bloggers

By Liz Singer

Tim Young Band’s ‘The Cost’ is the perfect summertime soundtrack. It feels best to listen to it while sitting in front of a campfire, surrounded by company but alone with your thoughts. Every fleeting idea of pain, loss, and confusion come to full circle on each track, bringing to light the themes we all need to spend time thinking about.

The single ‘The Cost’ tugs right at your heart-strings with fully-charged, emotive lyrics like ‘Now the night is sawin’ at my heart…nobody knows the cost of losing you.’ Moving forward from the pain of loss, this twang-y, sorrowful lament about heartbreak infuses country-western rock to create a catchy melody. ‘Outta Town’ adds the electric guitar and makes you imagine what it would be like to just run away from all your problems as Young lists daily hassles we all deal with, such as traffic, landlords, and stresses from work.

One of the strongest songs, with the best intro, is ‘Drifting Cowboy.’ With sliding guitar riffs, the vocals slow down, providing a nice tune to meditate to, amidst your confusion. While listening, you can actually envision a cowboy alone on the ranch, gazing out at the flat land ahead, wondering where to go. Creating an original story on this track, Young tells the tale of a young cowboy from Alabama who quit school: ‘Rejection filled his cup until he landed on the stage in Nashville.’ As Young switches to first person with ‘I’m a drifting cowboy,’ we have to wonder if Young himself is the drifting cowboy. Either way, the story is nothing short of riveting.

‘Just For You’ has a nostalgic feel to it, bringing Elvis’ generation of country/rock back to the mainstream music scene with strumming guitar and wailing, honest vocals: ‘I’d shine every night just for you / I can see just what I need to do.’ ‘Remember’ certainly has an Elvis attitude, with its ‘bad boy’ tone shining through: ‘And even when I write these words / I don’t understand the past.’ The track presents a concept any listener can understand: being at a crossroads of the past and present, trying to decipher what’s happened before in order to know where to go in the future.

On ‘Hangin’ In,’ Young sings the blues, country-style, telling middle class woes of trying to get by, while inspiring listeners to keep their heads up: ‘It’s a long road every day / everyone I know says they’re hangin’ in.’ Shifting the album’s tone, on ‘Cold Wind’ Young introduces the theme of being, as Bob Dylan sings, ‘Blowin’ in the wind’: ‘Cold wind keeps on blowin’ me around; cold wind spins the truth right through the ground.’

‘Renegade’ fittingly closes the album, since after moving from a wandering cowboy, to a lost soul, to the dust blowing through the cold wind, Young advances to a renegade: a proud, brave man advancing forward through nature and city scenes alike, ready to dominate whatever environment he finds himself in. Without looking back, and with his eyes always set straight ahead, Young proves the ability that we all have to completely move on past the painful yesterdays and transform ourselves into powerful individuals that we never thought we could become. Then, truly, the cost of the pain becomes inconsequential; all that matters are the rewards reaped from the incredible growth process that we all are able to enter and emerge from.

‘The Cost’ forces listeners to ask themselves, ‘Where am I? Where have I been? How does it all make sense?’ And more importantly, ‘Where am I going?’ But by the time the CD stops spinning, you realize, thanks to the Tim Young Band, that, no matter what the answers are, everything’s going to be all right.

http://www.timrocksweb.com
http://www.myspace.com/timnycyoung

Polarity/1, the multi-genre artist best known for bold, honest, hard-hitting songs, is releasing a brand new instrumental record titled Music From the Other Side. Fitting to the title, the album consists of smooth, jazzy tracks much different from louder albums like Yankin’ the Food Chain. Polarity/1’s music has been incorporated by dance theaters and documentarists, including Danny Schechter’s feature-length film documentary ‘In Debt We Trust and Battery Dance Company’s 26th Annual Downtown Dance Festival last year.

Music From The Other Side is the soundtrack for a dance performance by Lisbon’s Quorum Ballet. The Other Side’s principal objective is to fuse the style and art of the dance of Lisbon and New York. The work is the collaboration of choreographers Daniel Cardoso, Jonathan Hollander and Thaddeus Davis, artistic directors of Quorum Ballet, Battery Dance Company and Wideman/Davis Dance, respectively. Dark, moody, erotic and aggressive, it explores the theme of oppression, which has always been an issue for the people on both sides of the Atlantic. The piece examines the roles of the different agents: the instigator, the oppressor, the oppressed and the observer.

The most impressive song is the vocals version of “Fulano de Tal,” included on the album as a bonus track. Also noteworthy is the exotic, media-infused sound of “Land O’ Debbies.” The entire albums feels like the fusion of every type of media coming together to blend spooky, unique melodies that echo through every track. What really drives the record, though, is the steady, trance-like beat that proves impossible to ignore.

The music of Polarity/1 is exactly what the name suggests - “conjoined opposites,” including the new (cutting-edge electronica, hip-hop and nu-jazz) and the old (roots music of America, including blues, funk, country and early jazz, Brazil (samba, pagode, etc.) and West African groove science).

You can check out Polarity/1 for yourself and learn how to purchase Music From The Other Side by heading to http://polarity1.musicdish.net

Long-running syndicated program of exotic electronica on radio, satellite and the internet, Musical Starstreams, commences nightly run in Chicago on WNUA. Proven, unique mix of mid- to down-tempo “exotic electronica” has been perfected by its producer and host, Forest, over show’s 21-year history

Musical Starstreams, the internationally-syndicated radio program and full-time format of ethereal, spacey, futuristic, progressive, ambient, worldly, dubby, trip hop, acid jazz, downtempo, chill music (simply called “exotic electronica”) begins a seven day per week, nightly schedule tonight on WNUA, Chicago, the USA’s third largest national media market and streaming on WNUA.com.

Longtime WNUA MD and programmer, Rick O’Dell, said, “Starstreams has been ‘can’t miss listening’ for its legions of Chicagoland fans for 21 years on WNUA. And, for every listener who’s asked us over the years to ‘give us more,’ we finally have some good news with the new nightly broadcast of the show.”

Musical Starstreams originated and first aired in San Francisco on December 20th of 1981. Ronald Reagan had been our president for just eleven months, interest rates were in the double digits and recordings were sourced from vinyl and cassettes - there were no compact discs or digital music files.

After a brief stint in the Chicago market on WCKG, Starstreams first aired on a weekly basis on WNUA in November of 1987. In 1991, the program was nominated for a prestigious Billboard magazine award for Network/Syndicator Adult Program of the Year. Over the years Starstreams has aired on over 200 radio stations - including WNUA, KKSF San Francisco, KNTU Dallas, XM CHILL Channel 84, DirecTV and numerous satellite channels and the Internet at Starstreams.com, Live365.com and the top rated, full-time AMBIENT channel at radioIO.com.

Thousands of programs later, producer and host Forest has perfected and evolved a proven, unique mix of mid- to down-tempo “exotic electronica” — neither head banging techno, nor syrupy new age — and in the process Starstreams has consistently garnered top ratings and loyal listeners worldwide.

Musical Starstreams, the exotic side of radio, is offered without charge weekly, nightly or full time, on a barter basis, to radio stations worldwide.

http://www.starstreams.com
http://www.myspace.com/starstreams

WellMixed.com is now offering internet-based mixing and mastering services for Apple Logic and Steinberg Cubase users. Previously, WellMixed.com offered services to GarageBand and Digidesign ProTools users only.

According to Clay Vernon, the audio engineer and entrepreneur who launched the site in July, the move is in response to user feedback. “Some e-mails I read expressed interest in Cubase specifically,” Vernon said. “It was always my intention to include the Cubase community, but because it was clear some opportunities were being missed, it became a higher priority. So now the site is ahead of schedule.”

Vernon also announced that all new users will be given one FREE mix (up to 3.5 minutes in length) in exchange for completing a beta survey through September 15, 2008.

WellMixed.com is the first internet-based music studios to allow users to upload their complete sessions (up to 2 Gigabytes in size) via the internet. It attempts to solve the problem of gifted musicians who record themselves, but lack the resources to make those recordings sound their best for distribution via digital download distributors such as iTunes, Amazon, MySpace, etc… It also provides a solution for GarageBand users who want their sessions converted to the industry standard ProTools format.

Prices for mixing and mastering of a Logic, Cubase, GarageBand, or ProTools project are $99 for a piece of music up to 3.5 minutes in length, and $149 for a piece of music up to 6 minutes in length.

Logic is Apple’s professional audio editing software.
Cubase is a computer program for music production published by the German company Steinberg.
GarageBand is an audio editor for musicians that has shipped on every Apple computer since its release in 2005.
ProTools, published by Digidesign software, is the music industry standard for audio editing with versions available for both Mac and Windows computers. WellMixed.com is an internet startup by audio-engineer Clay Vernon.

For additional information visit

WellMixed.com

http://www.myspace.com/beatpoets

Described by NME as ‘Blistering, Frenzied, blood-stirring, rock that weaves its way through U2, the Foos and The Vines’ The Beat Poets are quickly becoming one of the most exciting new acts to emerge from Northern Ireland in recent years. BBC ATL in 2007 described them as “Northern Ireland’s hardest working unsigned band” with the Irish Star claiming they could be the biggest band to come from the North of Ireland since Snow Patrol. 2008 saw the band again praised by the BBC as a band destined to go far, with legendary Irish music magazine ‘Hotpress’ in April 2008 stating The Beat Poets are “a band on the cusp of something big…truly special…our new favourite band”.

Receiving airplay worldwide including the UK (Xfm, BBC, Virgin), Ireland (Today Fm, 2fm), USA (K-Rock) and Australia (Triple J) the band has been crowned Xfm unsigned winners, Virgin Radio Xtreme unsigned winners, Today Fm’s Rising Artist and were recently spotlighted by the New York CMJ Festival (July 2008). With their music now licensed by the BBC, Channel 4 and Sports Giants O’Neill the poets will further push their music via MTV worldwide in 2008.

Touring relentlessly the Beat Poets have supported World renowned acts such as Sonic Youth, The Chemical Brothers, The Duke Spirit, Nine Black Alps, The Parlotones and much more from venue’s such as Marlay Park (Dublin) to two impressive shows at 2008’s Canadian Music Week.

The Bands debut single ‘Turn It On/Shadowlands’ with Pronoia Records UK (2007) was a stepping stone for the band to self-release in 2008. Working with world acclaimed producers ‘Greg Haver’ (Manic Street Preachers, Lost Prophets), Dave Way ( Foo Fighers, Stevie Wonder) and Neal Calderwood (Fighting With Wire, The Answer) the band will release the highly acclaimed anthem ‘Staring Stars Down’ as part of a double A-side with G.I (Generation Innocence) on Oct 6 2008, with their debut album planned for Spring 2009.

Recently endorsed by Gio-Goi clothing (Liam Gallagher, Kasabian, Amy Winehouse, Babyshambles, The Enemy and The Artic Monkeys) the band are working with music photographer Graham Smith (www.grahamsmithphotography.co m) capturing the on the road life of the quintessential Independent rock band! As the band continues to receive the highest acclaim….here’s to 2008 and a year for the Poets!

Detroits own rising country music star Billy Craig has accepted the position as spokesperson for imusiccd.com, an elementary school CD Recording Project produced by All Things Media, a company based out of Michigan. It started in the Midwest and is fast growing a reputation around the country.

With a state of the art mobile recording studio brought right into the school, the kids are recorded singing their favorite songs by classroom. The recording is then edited, mixed and mastered and a personalized CD of the school is produced and sold to the parents as a fundraiser…All Things Media actually rolls into the school with the same recording technology used in your top studios in New York, Nashville and LA and before each session a presentation is done about the recording industry including the copyright issue.

Billy loves the project and thinks it’s a great way to bring the excitement and experience of the recording industry into the schools and expose the kids to something that they might not otherwise experience and at the same time bring money into the school. “It has been very popular because it’s such a different and unique kind of fundraiser” says Billy “and it has been successful in every school.” He’ll be contacting broadcast companies around the USA as a way to reach out to their communities. Billy also said, “This is a public relations goldmine for any corporation as a way for them to reach out to the American public in a way that really touches them”.

“Billy is an exciting new music artist coming out of the Detroit area and we’re so happy to have him part of our team” says Brad Johnson national promotions manager.

You can check out All Things Media at www.imusiccd.com or call 586-321-2286

www.billycraigmusic.com

The 2008 Jus’ Blues Music Awards Week is a wrap. Memphis, home of the Blues and the birthplace of Rock and Roll has hosted another spectacular music special event. Blues and Soul music celebrities, executives and fans came together to network and celebrate the accomplishments of their peers at this year’s Jus’ Blues Music Awards Show held at the historical Daisy on Beale Street.

On Wednesday August 6th, the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation hosted “The Night Of The Living Legends.” The event was a delicious dinner, performances and tributes to the 2008 Jus’ Blues Music Awards Honorees. A special highlight was the tribute to Grammy Award winning, legendary Blues and Soul singer Joe Simon with the 2008 Jus’ Blues Music Lifetime Achievement Award. The music veteran was responsible for many hits in the 1970’s and is very active in his community works. The Honorees are listed below:

2008 Jus’ Blues Music Awards Honorees

Jus’ Blues Music Lifetime Achievement Award
(Outstanding Lifetime Achievements in the African-American Community and in Blues and Soul Music)
Joe Simon
Lowell Fulson Lifetime Achievement Award (Outstanding Career Achievements twenty plus years)
Theodis Ealey
Denise LaSalle Award for Recording Excellence
(Outstanding Recording Excellence Award)
Roy C
Percy Mayfield Award for Writing Excellence
(Outstanding Written Compositions in Blues and Soul Music)
Latimore
Jack “The Rapper” Gibson Radio Pioneer Award
(Outstanding Contributions to Blues and Soul Music in the Radio Industry)
James Wolfe
James Brown Heritage Award
(Outstanding Blues and Soul Music Live Performer)
Mel Waiters
Johnnie Taylor Newcomer Award
(Outstanding New Blues and Soul Music Artist or Group)
Floyd Taylor
Willie Mitchell Producer’s Award
(Outstanding Blues and Soul Music Productions)
Leon Haywood
Jus’ Blues Music Legends Award
(Outstanding Contributions to Blues and Soul Music)
Millie Jackson
Jus’ Blues Music President’s Award
(Outstanding Contributions to the Business of Blues and Soul Music)
Al Bell, Alpine Records
Aaron T-Bone Walker Award
(Outstanding Guitar Musicianship in Blues and Soul Music)
Preston Shannon

Read the rest

Artist development and marketing firm MusicDish announced that four new acts have signed on to its roster over the last month, including 2008 GMA Dove Award winning Ryan Farish, gospel singer Desmond Pringle, jazz fusion artist Gary Paul Bryant, and NY rocker Tim Young.

Each artist will be supported by a customized mutli-pronged marketing campaign incorporating a mix of PR, syndication, online street and viral distribution. Marketing will be coordinated a variety of platforms, from its business music portals and syndicated network to MP3 blogs, webradio and groups/forums. For more information, visit http://www.musicdish.net/marketing/

Ryan Farish
Grammy nominated, 2008 GMA Dove Award winning songwriter/producer/composer Ryan Farish, first launched his music career on the first generation mp3.com, where his music quickly took to the masses obtaining a whopping 1,800,000+ downloads of his trademark, electronic-jazz-world music.
http://www.ryanfarish.com

Desmond Pringle
Tommy Boy Gospel artist Desmond Pringle is a passionate vocalist with a unique brand of balladry — and one of the most talented songwriter/producers in gospel music today. Whether delivering his signature-smooth ballads, thought provoking lyrics or energetic choir songs, Desmond has already taken his place among the ranks of great gospel artists of his generation.
http://www.desmondpringle.com

Gary Paul Bryant
Veteran jazz fusion artist Gary Paul Bryant has released his latest (10th) album “WildLife.” Applying the rock energy of artists like Joel, John and Keith Emerson with lighter touches of Jazz and New Age artists like David Arkenstone and David Lanz, Bryant creates a unique blend of rock, pop jazz and world music that’s very unique and appealing.
http://www.wildlifethecd.com
http://www.garypaulbryant.com

Tim Young
Rocker Tim Young, veteran to the New York music scene, has been performing in Manhattan for years. Tim Young’s third CD The Cost features twelve new songs and a brand new version of his own tune “Renegade” from RED. On the album, Tim takes guitar, bass and drums and puts them together in a classy classic kind of way to create music that envelopes not only rock, but also country and folk influences woven into the fabric of rock ‘n roll.
http://www.timrocksweb.com

MusicDish, LLC has been at the forefront of the digital music sector, publishing some of the industry’s leading music magazine, including MusicDish.com and Mi2N.com, as well as dynamic white label content solutions. MusicDish also offers artist development and label management support, combining saturated online marketing with business networking and consulting.
http://www.musicdish.net

Recently featured on the iTunes music store, BFM Digital and SRI Records announces Ray Brown Jr’s new album, “Friends And Family”. The new CD is an all-star duets album with Ray joined by Dionne Warwick, Jane Monheit, James Moody, Dr. John, Freda Payne, Melba Moore, David “Fathead” Newman, Sophie B. Hawkins, Paul Williams, Maria Muldaur, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Terry Gibbs, Sally Kellerman, Dave Somerville, Haylee and Kim Hoyer. “Friends And Family” was produced by Shelly Liebowitz.

Born in New York City, Ray Brown Jr. was raised in a family of musical royalty (the son of singer Ella Fitzgerald and legendary jazz bass player Ray Brown). “Friends and Family” reflects the amazingly diverse musical pedigree that Ray possesses.

Original and unconventional arrangements and song choices set the tone and unique style of this release. Friends And Family shows a completely different dimension of Ray Brown, Jr. with these artists who have come together to create this historic album.”

It also includes two very special tracks:

* Haylee (Ray’s daughter) doing a duet with her Dad on Grandma’s first hit “A Tisket A Tasket”

* A live version of “How High The Moon” with Ray joining his mother (Ella Fitzgerald) and father (Ray Brown).

“What pleased me the most was seeing the talent of Ray Brown Jr. hold up so well with all these brilliant and different sounding artists. As a result of his versatility and the unique arrangements of the songs, we were able to capture a wide variety of flavors, which I think offers something for everyone on this album,” says producer Shelly Liebowitz.

To honor our veterans, a portion of the proceeds from the download sales of the duet by Ray Brown Jr. and Dr. Lonnie Smith on “Everybody’s Cryin’ Mercy” will be donated to the National Veterans Foundation.

The album will be available at all digital outlets via SRI’s digital distributor, BFM Digital.

About SRI Records
SRI Records and SRI Jazz (www.srirecords.com) are divisions of the SRI Entertainment Group. It is our mission to bring great music to the public at reasonable prices. The core audience for our music is the baby boomer generation, but by no means is it limited that group alone. Our record companies market recordings by major artists, many of which have never before been available. We offer the opportunity for established artists with completed albums to be distributed and retain ownership of their masters. We also produce and distribute recordings by talented new artists. The management of SRI Records is made up of experienced music industry professionals. SRI can provide private label CDs for companies that require them for premiums and give-a-ways.

In addition to being an active record company, through SRI Entertainment we produce concerts, tours, television specials and other events. Plus we have a video division (SRI Video) for VHS and DVD releases and a music publishing division, Golden Shellsongs Music.

About BFM Digital, LLC
Connecting music to the world since 2004, BFM Digital (www.bfmdigital.com) is an innovative digital distribution company committed to serving the independent music community by helping them maximize their catalog’s potential through global digital distribution. BFM Digital offers labels, artists and content providers access to all major online and mobile store fronts. BFM represents hundreds of catalogs in every genre and works closely with labels to ensure top placements through ongoing promotions with retailers and target campaigns for key releases. BFM is also affiliated with leading global publishing companies such as The Royalty Network, Inc.

Virtual Venues Network (VVN), a pioneering media company that produces high-definition, virtual concert experiences at clubs and theaters, has introduced an exciting new opportunity for independent filmmakers, music documentary producers and makers of alternative content. “Indie Roadshow” will provide an alternative to traditional theatrical presentations with a new, state-of the-art digital showcase environment offered to nightclubs and college music venues. The “Indie Roadshow” will be offered exclusively through the Virtual Venues Network beginning October 2008.

“This is an entirely new channel for independent distribution” says CEO Michael Horne, “In addition to the great concert footage that has been submitted for inclusion in our “Virtual Concert Experience” environment, we’ve received great documentaries and indie projects that are perfectly suited to the college and nightclub audience.” The Indie Roadshow will feature pre-release exclusive screenings and stage DVD release events city to city, on tour, all year round.

VVN books high-definition music content onto nightclub stages, replicating the live concert and bringing national touring acts into smaller markets they would not reach on tour. VVN is currently outfitting nightclubs and college venues with projectors, their patented, ClubLyncTM digital players and installing life-size screens on-stage at each venue. They are currently coordinating a 60-city tour with “Hi-Def From Red Rocks featuring The String Cheese Incident.” While The String Cheese Incident is no longer touring live, the three hour, twenty minute Virtual Concert Experience is reuniting fans in hometown venues across the country.

Visit www.virtualvenuesnetwork.com for programming info and upcoming Virtual Concert and Indie Roadshow screenings or contact Virtual Venues Network at 831-421-9500.