World United Music: film

Showing posts with label film. Show all posts

Friday, April 1, 2011

Stephen Gordon

About: Stephen Gordon

Growing up in Memphis, Stephen Gordon settled on a career early on. He planned on being a professional basketball player, and at 6’4″, it seemed like a logical choice. Still, music was always there, weaving itself into his life.

His parents bought him his first guitar when he was eleven and he still looks back on those early days as a burgeoning musician with fondness. “I was introduced to the music of Chuck Berry, and I just lost my mind. His were the first songs I remember learning and singing.” His passion continued to grow, and in his sophomore year, the deal was sealed. “My first performance was in the tenth grade at the school talent show. We put a band together and played a song that I wrote. I still to this day cannot describe that exhilaration.”

Stephen began pursuing music in earnest. His grown-up musical palette expanded beyond Chuck Berry, with new favorites like Neil Young, Ryan Adams, and Josh Ritter.

Stephen’s first record was I Have Seen Your Shining Spirit in 2009. Showing an intensity and maturity beyond his 22 years, it established him as more than just another kid with a guitar and a microphone. It was just a taste of things to come.

Stephen was building a career in the brave new world of a post-iTunes music industry. The time was ripe for artists to forego the traditional attachment to a record label, and Stephen took advantage of that. Spreading the word of his unique musical sensibilities via word of mouth and social media, Stephen quickly had a full schedule of touring and making new music.

Still, he faced many of the challenges unique to independent artists. “The tough thing is that every day there are seemingly a thousand different things I could do… each of which could potentially be beneficial or futile. Making all these little decisions and following through with no one looking over my shoulder saying, ‘make this happen,’ has taken a lot of practice. I’m still learning to keep a good pace.”

Stephen released the four-song VA in 2010. The brevity seemed to add to the brilliance of songs like “Letterboxes” rather than burying them amid a dozen mediocre tracks. It leaves one wondering if things would have sounded the same under a record label contract. “The great thing is that I have all the freedom in the world to make art and to keep learning how it can best serve people—without the weight of the bottom line. I am growing as an artist and musician well beyond just being a singer/songwriter at this point, and I don’t know that that would have happened had I not had the freedom to explore my gifts and passions on my own.”

His 2011 full-length album, So Young Now, was another brave step, but this time, Stephen took his fans with him. Joining the ranks of an increasing number of creative professionals, the record was crowd-sourced through a Kickstarter campaign. This solidified the connection between Stephen and his loyal fans, ensuring that his creativity could continue to enrich their lives in new ways.

Would he trade it all in? If he could go back to middle school Stephen, would he tell him to stick with basketball and never listen to that first fateful Chuck Berry tune? “I make music because I love it. I’ve seen the deep down good it can do for people and relationships, community and comfort. I don’t presume to understand all of the ways that it works and moves, but I’m dedicated to learning and using that to bring folks something worth listening to.

Contact: http://www.stephengordonmusic.com/

Learn how to get your song on itunes at ReverbNation.com

Stephen Gordon – Official Website

http://www.stephengordonmusic.com/
Stephen Gordon - MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/stephengordon
Stephen Gordon - Reverbnation
http://www.reverbnation.com/stephengordon
Stephen Gordon - Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/StephenGordonMusic
Stephen Gordon - Twitter
https://twitter.com/stephendgordon
Stephen Gordon – World United Music
http://worldunitedmusic.blogspot.ca/2011/04/stephen-gordon.html
Videos!
Stephen Gordon - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/StephenGordonSounds
Buy Music!
Stephen Gordon - Bandcamp
http://stephengordon.bandcamp.com/
Stephen Gordon Music - Bandcamp
http://stephengordonmusic.bandcamp.com/
Stephen Gordon - iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/stephen-gordon/id189554088
Stephen Gordon – CD Baby
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/StephenGordon
Stephen Gordon – Last FM
http://www.last.fm/music/Stephen+Gordon

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Shawn Gallaway

About: Shawn Gallaway

Shawn Gallaway is a singer/songwriter, visual artist, author, ceremonial healer, workshop facilitator, Energy Worker and Certified Lifeline Practitioner. He has traveled throughout the world sharing his message of Healing Through the Arts, and branding Conscious Music, which is music with a purpose — to awaken the collective heart of humanity to Love! His I Choose Love song and global movement continues to encircle the world over, igniting the hearts of people everywhere to consciously move with Love each day in their relationships, actions, words, and commitments.

As a workshop facilitator and a ceremonial healer, Shawn has assisted and blessed many over the years with his keen insight and his ability to bring a sense of humor to the healing process. He has also stepped into the role of a screenwriter, combining all his gifts into a multimedia theater production and film called The Choice. The Choice chronicles the healing journey of eight brave men and women who, together, choose Love and walk the path of the Heart, transforming their fears into love in service to humanity and the earth. The Choice can best be described as a healing experience that can enlighten and inspire the masses into loving action in the world through the use of the arts.

To date Shawn has four CDs, two DVDs and a screenplay to his credit. His I Choose Love Book and CD follows the soul’s healing journey through pain, confusion and struggle to emerge into the freedom of self-awareness, purpose, compassion, joy, and connection. The book includes songs, stories, photographs and a series of original paintings that chronicle Shawn’s own journey back to peace. His visual art has also been shown in galleries through out the United States and abroad. Shawn’s I Choose Love DVD is a heart stirring music video with both images and Mary Beth Haubrich signing the song in American Sign Language. It includes interviews with Shawn, Mary Beth and a section teaching children how to sign the song.

Freedom Cries brings in Shawn’s gifts and expertise in gender reconciliation work, specifically healing the masculine spirit and bringing balance to the internal masculine and feminine heart within each of us. Love Will Overcome, Shawn’s 3rd release is about giving back and putting into action the Love in our hearts for the healing of the earth, all sentient life and the global structures that run the world economies right now. It includes themes songs for The Peace Alliance, The New Energy Movement, Go Gratitude and the Satyana Institute.

Livin’ Love – The Shift is On, is a powerful album about moving into joy with gratitude and Love Songs for the Soul, an acoustic album, is a simple expression of purity and Divine Love. The DVD Choice Point is Shawn teaming up with Joy Gilfilen and Uniting Creatives, for a very intimate concert related to social change.

Shawn has shared the stage with authors Gregg Braden, Bruce Lipton, Robert Holden, and with rock and pop masters Orleans & Friends. Shawn has also had the high honor of being present for the showing of his I Choose Love music video during the bestowing of the 2009 International Freedom Award by the National Civil Rights Museum to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. World and social change leaders like Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and activist Archbishop Emeritus Desmund Tutu have also embraced the song I Choose Love, reaffirming in their own mission its spirit and calling.

Shawn currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee USA and continues to tour and share his passion for healing through the arts and conscious music all over the world.

CONTACT: http://shawngallaway.com/

Shawn Gallaway – Official Website

http://shawngallaway.com/
Shawn Gallaway - MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/shawngallaway
Shawn Gallaway - Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/ichooselove
Shawn Gallaway - Twitter
https://twitter.com/shawngallaway
VIDEO
Shawn Gallaway - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/shawngallaway
BUY MUSIC
Shawn Gallaway - iTunes
http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/shawn-gallaway/id5082892
Shawn Gallaway – CD Baby
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/ShawnGallaway
Shawn Gallaway - eMusic
http://www.emusic.com/artist/Shawn-Gallaway-MP3-Download/11582724.html
Shawn Gallaway - Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Shawn-Gallaway/e/B001LHGNIE

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Jen Gloeckner

About: Jen Gloeckner

All things beautiful are destructive, too, and musician Jen Gloeckner provides a taste of both in “Mouth of Mars” (2009), the long-awaited follow-up to “Miles Away” (Gloeckner’s debut album released in Europe through One Little Indian Records UK in 2005). MOJO Music Magazine in London has described Gloeckner’s sound as “spell-weaving…different, dark, ethereal, funky; an alluring big-sky, small-room mystery.” As in “Miles Away,” Gloeckner home-recorded “Mouth of Mars” in her bright orange upstairs-bedroom-turned-studio, and its “big-sky” themes are evident in more than the album’s title. Her new release is an instinct-driven exploration of primal emotion, where minimal lyrics and layers of sound evoke a universal, gut-level knowledge of desire, separation, and the sacred connection of souls.

For better or for worse, Gloeckner’s music seems to say, this is the human condition as revealed through sound—raw, dirty, brutal, healing, serene, and sacred all at once. Gloeckner describes her artistic inspiration in connection to moods and images that she receives in dreams, and her fans, too, perceive a kind of mythical, collective-unconscious underlying the music that she creates—songs that can be as unrelenting as your darkest nightmares and as redemptive as your purest desire. Gloeckner is indeed a fearsome seductress—masculine in her lyrical directness and often aggressive, driving rhythms, yet at other times as delicate with longing as a Victorian on a fainting couch. Like “Miles Away,” “Mouth of Mars” has coherence in the tightness of the oppositions it balances, and Gloeckner appears again in the persona of an ancient goddess whose scythe clears the field with one hand while it heals with the other. Pick your poison; Gloeckner’s intensity will not release you from its grip.

Attesting to this is the growing recognition of Gloeckner’s powerful sound and unique appeal within the US music industry. After releasing “Miles Away” through One Little Indian Records in 2005, Gloeckner received rave reviews worldwide in several major music magazines including MOJO Music Magazine UK, Classic Rock Magazine, and Blitz Magazine in Portugal. In 2006, the late French musician and record producer, Hector Zazou (Bjork, Suzanne Vega, John Cale, Jane Birkin, etc.) heard Jen’s song “Only 1,” and contacted her to record vocals on a song for one of his upcoming releases. Zazou traveled from France to Jen’s home studio and together they recorded his rendition of the old French pop song “O’Biche Oh Ma Biche.” In 2007, American artist Joseph Arthur heard Jen’s songs on her MySpace site and was intrigued. This led to Arthur appearing on two tracks of Jen’s new record: “Die” and “Sleep to Dream.” At the same time, acclaimed record producer, Brian McTear (Espers, Apollo Sunshine, BC Camplight, Danielson, Woven Hand, etc.) heard tracks from “Miles Away” and requested to collaborate with Jen from his Miner Street Recordings Studio in Philadelphia on what would eventually become “Mouth of Mars.” In the winter of 2008, Gloeckner traveled to Philadelphia where McTear mixed 15 of Gloeckner’s home-recorded songs and in the process, introduced Jen’s new work to Espers cellist Helena Espvall (Vashti Bunyan, Bert Jansch, Espers), who fell in love with the tracks and played on several songs for the new album including the title track “Bailing Water” and “Come In My Garden.” Canadian electric violinist Joel Zifkin (Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Emmylou Harris, Townes Van Zandt, Elvis Costello, etc.) also contributed to several tracks on the new record.

Gloeckener continues to write and record music from her home on the shores of the Mississippi, which cuts through the heart of the America and situates Jen quite aptly on the brink between light and dark, dream and wake, destruction and healing. From little room to big sky and back again, we await “what dreams may come” to this intensely powerful young musician.

Jen is currently working on a New Album, "Vine" which will be released in 2017. Check out Jen's Pledge Music Page for more info

CONTACT: Jen Gloeckner

Counting Sheep – (Forth Coming Album: Vine - 2017)

Julia Dream – (Pink Floyd Cover - 2012)

Pulse – (Album: Mouth of Mars – 2009)

Prodical Son – Album: Miles Away – 2004)

Jen Gloeckner LINKS:

Official Website

http://jengloeckner.com/

Soundcloud

https://soundcloud.com/jengloeckner

ReverbNation

http://www.reverbnation.com/jengloeckner

Last FM

http://www.last.fm/music/Jen+Gloeckner

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/jengloecknermusic

Twitter

https://twitter.com/jengloeckner

VIDEO

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/user/jengloeckner

Purchase Music @ the Following Links:

Official Store

http://jengloeckner.com/store/

Bandcamp

https://jengloeckner.bandcamp.com/music

iTunes

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/jen-gloeckner/id14141929

CD Baby

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/gloeckner

Friday, December 3, 2010

The Dodos

About: The Dodos

The Dodos began playing music together in 2005, when musician Meric Long, who had been gigging steadily in San Francisco as a solo singer-songwriter, was introduced to Logan Kroeber through a mutual friend (a college acquaintance of Long's that happened to be Kroeber's cousin).

Meric Long self-released a solo EP titled Dodo Bird in March 2006, in which Long played all the instruments. While they performed the songs from this release, Long and Kroeber met and started playing together. They worked to blend Long's training in West African “Ewe drumming” and Kroeber's experience in metal bands to create music in which "drumming could be a center role and help bring out the syncopated rhythms coming out of the acoustic guitar."

The duo released the 2006 album Beware of the Maniacs, which was self-released under the "Dodo Bird" moniker. In support of the album, Long and Kroeber toured relentlessly for most of 2007. The band began to receive critical attention and developed a growing fan base. Fans began referring to Dodo Bird simply as "The Dodos", and the band decided to change their name accordingly.

In December 2007, the Dodos were signed by Frenchkiss Records and they released their second album Visiter in March 2008, to critical acclaim.

In an April 2008 interview in the L.A. Record, Long revealed the origin of the name of Visiter. "The reason it’s misspelled is because it’s from a drawing this kid gave us. We played a show for a bunch of kids in South Central L.A.—Dorsey High. A friend’s sister [Barbara Lempel] is a special-ed teacher there, so we went down there to her class and we played for the kids and it was super fun. Then it came to the kids asking us questions and then one of the kids came up to us and he gave us a drawing with that written on it. The drawing is the cover actually of the album, and just—I dunno we liked it. Actually we used all of the drawings that the kids made in the artwork on the album. It was definitely a fun, interesting venture for us. We’d never played for kids before—we didn’t know what to expect but they were clapping and dancing."

In 2009, the song "Fools," also from the Visiter album, was featured in an advertisement for Miller Chill.

After the release of Visiter, the band included Joe Haener (formerly of The Gris Gris and Battleship) in its touring line-up, playing xylophone, toy piano and additional percussions.

Their album Time to Die was released for digital download on July 27, 2009 in the UK and July 28, 2009 in the US. The physical LP release was on August 31, 2009 in the UK and September 15, 2009 in the US. Joe Haener was replaced by Keaton Snyder during live performances.

Copies of Time To Die were sold at The Dodos' August 14 performance in Seattle, WA.

The Dodos' fourth album, No Color, was released on March 15, 2011. It features vocal contributions from Neko Case. Vibraphonist Keaton Snyder is featured on this record, but is not part of the band. As of March 24, 2011 the album has peaked at No. 70 on the US charts. The band was chosen by Les Savy Fav to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curated in December 2011 in Minehead, England.

The Dodos are known for using an alternate instrumental approach. Logan Kroeber plays on a drum kit without a bass drum, playing often on the rims of the drums, and also uses a tambourine taped to his shoe. During live performances they have a third member playing a vibraphone, a drum, and two cymbals placed on each other (like a hihat). Meric Long plays mainly acoustic and semi-acoustic guitars during performances, but he also owns a Springtime and a Tafelberg drum guitar built by Yuri Landman. Long has been known to favor using his fingertips instead of a guitar pick

The Dodos – Official Website

http://www.dodosmusic.net/
The Dodos – MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/thedodos
The Dodos – Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/dodosmusic
The Dodos – Twitter
https://twitter.com/thedodos
The Dodos – Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dodos
The Dodos – World United Music
http://worldunitedmusic.blogspot.com/2010/12/dodos.html
Videos!
The Dodos – Various
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=The+Dodos&aq=f
Buy Music!
The Dodos – Official Store
http://thedodos.store-08.com/no-color/
The Dodos – iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-dodos/id266025481
The Dodos – eMusic
http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/artist/the-dodos/11882018/
The Dodos – Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/The-Dodos/e/B001LIEGTQ/ref=ntt_mus_dp_pel
The Dodos – Rhapsody
http://www.rhapsody.com/#artist/the-dodos?&_suid=1357830510675018882858684715692
The Dodos – Last FM
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Dodos

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Prototyp - Adrian Iowa

Prototyp - Adrian Iowa – Official Website
http://www.prototypmusic.de/
Prototyp - Adrian Iowa - ReverbNation
http://www.reverbnation.com/prototypadrianiowafriends#
Prototyp - Adrian Iowa - MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/officialsiteprototyp
Prototyp - Adrian Iowa - Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001538812130#!/profile.php?id=826492019
Prototyp - Adrian Iowa - Twitter
https://twitter.com/#!/PROTOTYPMusic
Prototyp - Adrian Iowa - iSound
http://www.isound.com/adrian_iowa_and_friends_prototyp
Prototyp - Adrian Iowa - Xing
http://www.xing.com/profile/Adrian_Iowa
Prototyp - Adrian Iowa – Power of Prog
http://powerofprog.com/profile/PROTOTYPAdrianIowaFriends
Prototyp - Adrian Iowa – IM Radio
http://www.imradio.com/index_main.php?f=artists_view&id=52

Buy Music!

Prototyp - Adrian Iowa -
http://www.prototypmusic.de/

BIO: Prototyp - Adrian Iowa

In 1981 Adrian Iowa founded the band PROTOTYP and "prototyp" became the program for the band. With every concert, the four musicians presented new compositions, there were no repetitions!

Adrian Iowa began his musical career with his own band PROTOTYP and pleased his fans with melodious Artrock songs, selective melodies and stirring rhythms. Whoever saw and listened to this band before, knows why they succeed in filling the masses with enthusiasm straight away! The melodies go into the ear, the lyrics leave an imprint. The end product is merciless Entertainment, full of surprises and because they don't become tired, they show their qualities live on stage to proof it - the performance on stage is a must.

Adrian Iowa is composer and copywriter of the band, (Some of his poems appeared in magazines). Remarcable about the band was, that for 6 years(during 1981-1987), they renounced the bass guitar. However, this was compensated through the development of an individual guitar tuning and gave the Prototyp sound something really unique.... although lyrics existed only instrumental songs were played for years... Adrian Iowa wanted to draw the audiences attention to the special tuned guitar of his.

Adrian Iowa and his band called PROTOTYP has become new members and define themselves somewhere between a production team, studio musicians, family and band. They come together to realize this project, a unique Rock-Opera, a musical event of special kind called.

"Not better than the others - just other than the best - so, B OriGinaL -don't ImiTate!"

Adrian Iowa
PROTOTYP

Artrock Made in Germany
Contact:

PROTOTYP Music Productions
Bozener Str. 3
72379
Hechingen
Deutschland
Phone: 0049 (0) 7471 622943
Fax: 0049 (0) 7471 621641
E-Mail: kontakt@prototypmusic.de

Friday, September 24, 2010

Damien Dempsey

BIO: Damien Dempsey

Roddy Doyle wrote that “the Irish are the blacks of Europe and Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland and the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin”. Born in Donaghmede on Dublin’s Northside in 1975, Damien Dempsey is the voice of that underclass and the quintessential Irish singer songwriter.

An imposing six foot two, Dempsey is a former amateur boxer and a survivor of street gang culture. His youthful audience identify with a singer who has emerged from the rough working class streets with his powerful self belief intact. And his lyrics - “Stevie smashed the delf / ‘cause he can’t express himself / He’s consumed by rage / Like his father at his age” - speak of their shared childhood experiences.

But the optimism that he reaches for amidst Ireland’s industrial and social collapse - “I can see the evil, but I can feel the good, shining out to greet me” - is an inspiration to his burgeoning troubled audience. His concerts can be almost spiritual occasions – his fans sing along to every word and look to him as a leader for expressing such intense social and cultural concerns. Dempsey is reminiscent of Terry Malloy the prize fighter turned longshoreman in Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront – a man whose conscience forces him to speak the truth, despite the consequences of his honesty.

The Times recently described Dempsey as “the Bob Marley of Ireland”; a comparison which holds true when one witnesses the devotion of his audience and his charismatic presence on stage. “Going to a Damien Dempsey show was like stumbling on a secret society” observed David Sinclair. “The audience greeted him like a superstar.”
His singular stage presence was nurtured by the legendary Irish Folk singer Christy Moore who in mentoring a shy, young Dempsey advised him, “if you’re nervous, tell the audience you’re nervous”. Dempsey concludes “the audience has always been with me. They feel what I feel.”

Since his first concerts in 1995 Dempsey has come to be regarded as the pre-eminent Irish singer songwriter. The Irish Examiner wrote that “he now stands as one of the most important and evocative Irish singers of all time.” Morrissey, who was deeply moved by Dempsey, declared that “to hear him sing is to realise the magnitude of his astounding voice and heart. The songs are true, and his is the best and often the saddest voice of this generation.” And it’s a generation that Dempsey is compelled to speak up for: “the kids have no religion now, nothing to look up to. I try to teach them about their history and lead them towards spirituality, give them some light and some purpose”

Yet Dempsey’s music and vision extend far beyond Ireland itself. He speaks to Africans, Aborigines, the dispossessed and underprivileged, never more poignantly that on his 2005 song “Colony” - “how many years and sure still we’re not free, and your mother cries and you ask God why. Greed is the knife and the scars run deep, how many races with much reason weep. And your children cry and you ask God why.” Dempsey has travelled on his with his guitar throughout Australia, and America and his empathy for the people he's seen is palpable. “Those people [the aborigines] have a spirit that we have almost lost. They have kept a spirituality that we’re not preserving.”

As a child Dempsey was influenced by Christy Moore, Luke Kelly, Shane MacGowan, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley. He attended a music school at Ballyfermot College of Further Education. When he graduated in 1995 the college released his debut EP, The Contender, on their own imprint. In 1997 he released a single “Dublin Town” on the tiny Treasure Island Discs. Although the song went to number 18 in the Irish charts, Dempsey didn’t release his debut album until three years later. In March 2000, They Don’t Teach This Shit In School, established Dempsey as an exciting new talent and attracted the attention of Sinéad O'Connor who took Dempsey out on tour and championed him as an important new talent . “I don't think there's ever been anyone like him. I think he represents the sort of voice in Ireland that is not allowed to be heard" she said.

His second album, Seize The Day, released in May 2003 featured contributions from Brian Eno and Sinéad O'Connor and began a successful artist producer relationship with John Reynolds. Seize The Day marked an artistic leap for Dempsey. He had matured as a writer and was garnering praise from some of the most prestigious publications in the world. “He writes about the street life of suburban Dublin, in all its glory and malice” observed The Sunday Times, “with an evocative and unsentimental affection rarely seen.” Morrissey became a passionate patron of Dempsey’s music, taking him on a full North American, British and Irish tour, releasing Seize the Day in the USA on his Attack imprint and championing him tirelessly in the press. The album won two Meteor Awards, the Irish equivalent of the Grammys.

But it was with Shots in 2005 that Dempsey delivered his masterpiece and his defining album. Backed by Eno, John Reynolds and Justin Adams, the music achieved a new finesse and songs like “Sing All Our Cares Away” and “Not on Your Own Tonight” were bracing views of Irish society that were both shocking and compassionate. On “Colony” he spoke of the bloody colonization of the world and identified his own countrymen with the indigenous people of Africa, Australia and America: “They raped, robbed, pillaged, enslaved and murdered / Jesus Christ was their God and they done it in his name / So he could take the blame if it's not all a game / With bible in one hand and a sword in the other / They came to purify my land of my Gaelic Irish mothers / And fathers, and sisters and brothers” The Times described it as “a powerful fierce polemic, sung with quivery emotion”. His mentor Christy Moore observed that “Damien uses his own language; he's not looking to Hollywood for his vernacular” and proudly added, “when Damien reaches where he is going to reach everyone will say 'we always knew he'd make it - we've always loved him from the very start'.” The album topped the Irish charts and went Platinum. He released his first live album, Live at the Olympia which captured the enthusiasm of a wild Dublin audience. He then toured the USA coast to coast and was honored as Best Irish Male at 2006's Meteor Awards.

In 2007 he released To Hell or Barbados, which debuted at number two in the Irish charts. It was a harder edged record that opened with the brutal “Maasai”; “When I die / I want to die / Not in a home built for the unknown / But by the hand of a Maasai / When I love / I want to love / Not like some swine with no semblance of spine / But like a flower loves sunshine.” The album’s title referred to the 50,000 Irish sent as slaves to Barbados by Oliver Cromwell in the 1600’s. The Guardian stated that “To Hell or Barbados confirms Dempsey’s position as one of Ireland’s great singer-songwriters”. The album debuted at number one in the Irish charts and won him the Best Irish Male award at the Meteors for a second year running (he has won six Meteor Awards to date).

In 2008 he recorded a set of traditional songs with the Dubliners for his fifth album, The Rocky Road. Mojo wrote that “listening to the ancient folk anthems like 'Kelly from Killan' and 'The Hot Asphalt' it’s like hearing a social history set to music, but the arrangements lend the performances a stirring mix of grit and grace”. Dempsey said that he recorded the album not for the old folk music guard but the teenagers who came to his shows; “I have a lot of very young fans, so naturally these kids are gonna hear all these timeless songs that they may not have heard otherwise. I want to give the young kids an alternative to the new MTV generation, gangster rap, Britney Spears and maybe get them interested in their own history through music”.

The live tour that followed demonstrated that Dempsey had equaled and surpassed most of his peers, The Guardian noting that Dempsey’s “musical heroes are now his admirers”. He had become the most vibrant and vital Irish live performer working today. Having played with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, U2 and The Pogues, Dempsey’s stage craft and voice had become so powerful that it prompted Bono to say “when he opens his mouth - it's like the end of the world."

After returning this summer from an extensive furlough in South East Asia and Australia, where he was invited by Brian Eno to perform a sell out concert at Sydney Opera House as part Eno’s inaugural Luminous Festival, Dempsey was asked by U2 to support them at the Croke Park concert in Ireland. He has begun recording his sixth album with John Reynolds. It promises to consolidate his position as one of Ireland’s greatest ever songwriters. As Shane MacGowan recently explained “It's great music and it’s great lyrics. It's angry and it's humorous. He sees the beauty that is Ireland and that is Ireland's past and that can be Ireland's future.”

Damien Dempsey – Official Website
http://www.damiendempsey.com/
Damien Dempsey – MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/damiendempsey
Damien Dempsey – Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Damien-Dempsey/10624378523?v=wall
Damien Dempsey – Twitter
https://twitter.com/damodempsey
Videos!
Damien Dempsey – YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/DamienDempseyMusic
Damien Dempsey – Fan Videos
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=damien+dempsey
Buy Music!
Damien Dempsey – iTunes
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/shots/id156843391?i=156843417
Damien Dempsey – Official Shop
http://www.damiendempsey.com/SHOP.aspx
Damien Dempsey – Soundcloud
http://soundcloud.com/damiendempsey
Damien Dempsey – Last FM
http://www.last.fm/music/Damien+Dempsey

Write-ups:

"It (To Hell or Barbados) confirms Dempsey's position as one of Ireland's great singer-songwriters" - The Guardian (London)

"...one of the greatest songwriters of his generation" - Irish Abroad (USA)

"To Hell or Barbados is folk and roots rock with substance, with the sound of Ireland mixed in for good measure. A most intriguing cocktail." - Billboard

"It's clear from the first moment he sings a note that Damien Dempsey is one astonishingly gifted individual" -The Daily Express, London - 5* review of To Hell or Barbados

"...whip-smart lyrical tours de force...his songwriter's eye for detail astounds.." - HOT PRESS (Shots)

"A phenomenal voice..." - Sunday Times (Seize the Day)

"...Dempsey's arrow-true voice has a liquid quality...this is bold, compelling stuff" - Mojo (Shots)

"...not for the faint hearted...extraordinary" - Q (Shots )

"This is a hearty, fraternal embrace of an album" - Telegraph (Shots)

"If you need to be convinced, look no further; Damien Dempsey is the real thing" -Hotpress (Live at the Olympia)

"...the future of Irish songwriting is in good hands" -Irish American News (Shots)

"...America is about to hear a voice she will not want to forget" - Irish Voice(Shots)

Thursday, June 10, 2010

John Sokoloff

About: John Sokoloff

John Sokoloff’s music comes from his Russian-American heritage. Melodic and soulful, John's piano-based songs are unique in their lyricism and passionate honesty. Combining a variety of instruments and styles seamlessly, The John Sokoloff Band has released five compact discs of compelling, instrumental music.

John served as composer for the critically acclaimed CBS Primetime "The Bonnie Hunt Show" for David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Productions. He composed and played on the theme and all incidental music for the show.

A song from his debut cd Vacation Beach, was the featured theme for Moscow’s 850th Birthday official documentary, produced by award winning director Tofik Shefardeev. Commissioned by Mayor Lushkov and sanctioned by the Moscow government,

DVD copies of the documentary were distributed to the gathered mayors of the world’s major cities.

Additionally, The John Sokoloff Band has been heard on radio and television in the United States and Russia.

The piano-based band also allows for eclectic instrument combinations and a variety of influences - from Blues and Classical to Russian Folk.

From congas to violin, electric guitar to balalaika - the common denominator is soul…

The Albums:

Vacation Beach: Release date - 1993

"Vacation Beach refers to an area in Northern California near Guerneville on the Russian River. I spent all my summers there as a kid and had gone back in the early nineties to re-discover the ghosts of the past.

So the title is partially ironic. Many of those I looked for there were gone...

The recording process was preceded by about 4-5 months of rehearsals at CBS TV City where I was working for Carol Burnett's production company at the time. This first cd was like giving birth. No rules yet established. Seeing your work through the prism of a band: Hardly pain-free, but wonderfully cathartic...."

Valleys: Release date - 1996

“Valleys”…concerns emotional, as well as physical valleys. A reflection on a time in the 80’s when I worked as a manager of a Floor Covering Distributorship in the San Fernando Valley, while driving the 210 to Rosemead (San Gabriel Valley) on evenings to visit my then girlfriend.

It was a distinct and transcendently compelling period. Of a time, yet seemingly timeless.

A decade later when I heard she was getting married to my friend, I regressed into reflection. An epoch crystallized. Valleys was the result …”

Eastern Shadows: Release date - 1998

“Eastern Shadows”…had a terrible crush on a girl who didn’t have a terrible crush on me. However, in her reticence, she presented enough of an empty canvas on which to draw my delusions. And draw I did. Needless to say, opposites did not attract. Eastern Shadows is about reaching into a void. Grasping at smoke.

Listening to one’s own music….”

Bliss Misplaced: Release date - 2000

"Bliss Misplaced”...An artist he shuffles, when able to fly…an artist he soars, when the well does run dry...An artist shall seek, a life full of friction...where others want normalcy, he contradiction..."

Bliss Misplaced is about this masochism of the artist. Creating conflict in order to transcend it through art. Grabbing the thorns while ignoring the rose. Choice?

In The Melancholy Way: Release date - 2004

“The best way to describe In The Melancholy Way is Russian Blues. Because Russians often see life in a melancholy way. The songs styles vary with some utilizing two electric guitars, drums and a B3 Organ; while others might use a piano, violin and flute or balalaika. The common denominator is a sense of the blues…. A sense of melancholy….with a distinct minor key Russian feeling.

The band felt quite good together and we recorded several of the songs live…with minimal overdubbing…This brought an energy that makes me want to go out and perform this material. We plan on doing that.”

CONTACT: John Sokoloff

OR Write to:

The John Sokoloff Band
Orchard Avenue Records
15824 Hartland Ave
Van Nuys Calif. 91406

John Sokoloff Music (Playlist)

John Sokoloff (Live)

The Albums:

The Melancholy Way – (Full Album – 2004)

Bliss Misplaced – (Full Album – 2000)

Eastern Shadows – (Full Album – 1998)

Valleys – (Full Album - 1996)

Vacation Beach – (Full Album – 1993)

John Sokoloff LINKS:

Official Website
Soundcloud
Reverbnation
Last FM

VIDEO
YouTube
YouTube 2

STORES
iTunes
Amazon
eMusic

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Magnetic Cherry

About: Magnetic Cherry

Magnetic Cherry began life in Sunderland, North-East England in early 2009 when local lass Emma joined forces with her brother Chris to develop some long-standing ideas for ‘original’ music.

From the very beginning, the goal was to draw on a zenith of experience and musical knowledge that they shared.

With her powerful but melodic vocals, Emma had an immediate impact on the north-east’s acoustic blues and folk circuit cementing her innate natural ability as a songstress.

Her brother Chris established himself as a veritable ‘one-man-band’ by his early teens but drums are where his talent really lies and it is this that forms the solid foundation of the Magnetic Cherry sound.

Also recruited was self taught guitarist Mark Bushell who had been playing along to electric blues and rock music since he first picked up a guitar aged eight.

This brings us to the music itself which is difficult to ‘pigeon-hole’ but were you to dissolve a core of folk-rock into a melting pot of blues and add a dash of country you wouldn’t be a million miles away!

Band Members:

Emma Louise Callaghan

Mark Bushell
Chris Callaghan
Richard (Lionel)Johnson

Influences: Sarah MacLachlan, Ingrid Michaelson, Sarah Bareilles, Joni Mitchell, Eagles, John Mayer, Leona Neiss

Magnetic Cherry is Currently on Hiatus.

Magnetic Cherry - MySpace

http://www.myspace.com/magneticcherry
Magnetic Cherry - Blogspot
http://magneticcherry.blogspot.ca/
VIDEO
Magnetic Cherry – Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/user/magneticcherry
BUY MUSIC
Magnetic Cherry - Itunes
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/electric-confessions/id348675994
Magnetic Cherry – CD Baby
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/MAGNETICCHERRY
Magnetic Cherry - Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Confessions/dp/B0032CUR60
Magnetic Cherry – Rhapsody
http://www.rhapsody.com/album/Alb.39779924

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Peter Buffett

About: Peter Buffett

Peter Buffett has an acclaimed career that spans more than 30 years as an Emmy Award winning musician, composer, philanthropist and author. He began his career as the musical mind behind many of the early MTV bumpers of the '80s, and the climactic crescendo in the memorable "Fire Dance" scene in 1990's Oscar winning film Dances with Wolves.

Buffett has received critical acclaim for his Native American-inspired music, most notably composing the full score for 500 Nations - the eight-hour Emmy-awarded CBS miniseries produced by Kevin Costner. Peter also conceived and composed the musical production Spirit: The Seventh Fire - a Native American inspired show incorporating live native dancing, powwow singing and IMAX-scale visuals (which premiered on the National Mall as part of the opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.).

From 1987 to present, Buffett has released 16 records, and has been signed to such labels as Narada, Epic and Hollywood Records. He also owns two independent labels, BisonHead and BeSide Records. Most of his releases had been instrumental recordings until 2006 when Buffett began experimenting with vocals and a more eclectic pop/rock sound.

Buffett has collaborated with Grammy-nominated recording artist Akon as well as Grammy-winning artist Angelique Kidjo on human rights inspired songs, one of which, Blood into Gold, debuted at a special event at the UN General Assembly. He is also the only man to have performed at Eve Ensler's 10th Anniversary V-Day celebration in New Orleans.

Peter is the co-president of the NoVo Foundation and co-chair of its Board of Directors. In partnership with his wife, Jennifer, he helps to guide NoVo's vision, strategic mission, and program development.

Buffett's inspiring book, Life Is What You Make It, has been translated into over 15 languages and has sold nearly half a million copies worldwide. Described by former President Bill Clinton as "a wise and inspiring book that should be required reading for every young person seeking to find his or her place in the world" Life Is What You Make It is about following one's passions over conventions, taking up the reins of your destiny, and living life to the fullest.

To bring the message of the book alive, Buffett has crafted Life Is What You Make It: A Concert & Conversation with Peter Buffett, a live music event that incorporates personal stories, photos and video, to give the audience an authentic, inspirational, and impactful evening. The show has been performed throughout the United States, Canada and China. Using his own life story and experiences as illustration, Buffett ultimately conveys that it's ones values-and what we are able to give back to society-that shape and define us as individuals. Buffett's integrity, candor and musical talent make for an uplifting and rewarding evening.

CONTACT: http://www.peterbuffett.com/contact.html