5th Annual Indie Music Video Festival

The 5th Annual Indie Music Video Festival kicks off at NXNE on June 9th, 2006 at the NFB Cinema on 150 John Street in Toronto. There are a ton of cool and innovative videos that you probably won’t see on MTV or Much Music so check them out here.
Later.

10,000 Lakes Festival announces more groovy bands

The 10,000 Lakes Festival, which takes place in Northern, Minnesota on July 19-22, 2006 has announced that both Phil Lesh and Trey Anastasio will be headlining the event. Gor you Phish-heads out there, Trey will be playing with former Phish bandmate Mike Gordon. The festival will also feature The String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams Incident (performing with The String Cheese Incident), O.A.R. (…Of A Revolution), Keller Williams (solo), Umphrey’s McGee, The Benevento/Russo Duo featuring Mike Gordon, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Railroad Earth, The Everyone Orchestra, Hot Buttered Rum and over forty additional bands. Recent artist additions to the 10,000 Lakes Festival include Assembly of Dust, RAQ, Papa Mali, and The Breakfast.

Full Festival Details:

10,000 Lakes Festival
Show Details: Wednesday, July 19 - Saturday, July 22, 2006
Soo Pass Ranch
25526 Cty Hwy 22
Detroit Lakes, MN 56501

For tickets or more information visit http://www.10klf.com or call 800-493-3378.

Advance General Admission Music & Camping Tickets are $135. Limited tickets are available at this price range and the cost will increase to gate price July 5.

VIP Ticket Packages are $350 per person and are available for a premium music and camping experience. Each VIP Ticket includes 2 meals per day Thu-Sat, a 10KLF camping chair, 6 drink tickets, access to the backstage VIP lounge, and access to the special VIP seating section at the Main Stage.

Each General Admission and VIP ticket covers camping and all music from Wednesday, July 19 through Sunday, July 23.

For non-camping music enthusiasts, there are 3-Day Music Only tickets available for $90 which include music Thurs. 7/20 - Sat. 7/22 1-Day Music Only: $50 Any day | Wed. 7/19 - Sat. 7/22 Children 12 and under are admitted at no charge with their parent’s paid admission.

All listed artists have confirmed their appearance at the 10,000 Lakes Festival; however, artists are subject to change without notice.

Tickets are available at the Official 10,000 Lakes Festival website: www.10KLF.com or by calling 800-493-3378 and at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations and MusicToday outlets.

Official 10,000 Lakes Festival website: http://www.10klf.com

International Pop Overthrow Liverpool

No sooner than I decide to rev up the Rock and Roll Report than I head off for a few days for some fishing in Northern Quebec but the always rockin’ International Pop Overthrow Festival is currently rocking out in Liverpool as we speak. It started May 25, 2006 and winds up May 29th so if you happen to be in the area you should check it out. You’re guaranteed a great night of rock and roll. You can find the schedule for IPO Liverpool here.
Later.

Introducing Indiestore

UK firm 7 Digital have premiered the beta of their brand new Indiestore download service. Featuring the full gamut of services musicians have come to expect from a download service including blogs, event listings, photos and video downloads in adition to the downl;oad service itself, artists get 70% of any sales and they can list up to 4 tracks for free. Check out all the details at their site.
Later.

Some cool ways to spend the month of June, 2006

Of course there are tons of shows and festivals that you can attend but here are a few that look interesting:

Boston Garage Band Weekend - June 23-24, 2006 - Cape Cod, Mass, USA - How about spending a weekend at the beach on Cape Cod rocking out to a bunch of groovy garage bands? Sound cool? Thought so. The Beachcomber, which bills itself as Cape Cod’s only oceanfront restaurant and bar presents a great garage rock extravaganza on the 23 and 24th of June. For only 22 bucks you get the chance to see The Konks, the Downbeat 5, Tampoffs, Spitzz, Triple Thick on Saturday and the Dogmatics, Muck and the Mires, Nikki Corvette and the Stingrays, the Coffin Lids, Black Clouds, Swinedells and Jay Allen on Sunday. Tickets are available here for Saturday and here for Sunday.

Primitive! Festival - June 22-24, 2006 - Rotterdam, NL - The 3rd annual Primitive Festival featuring some of the coolest garage bands from both sides of the pond is ready for another year of rock and roll mayhem. Featuring a ton of bands from The Cynics to The Strollers to The Madd to The Last Vegas, this line-up is going to make you hop on the next tramp freighter to Holland with nothing but an iPod and an open mind. Looks like a winner.

North by Northeast - Finally Canada’s own North by Northeast kicks off another edition in Toronto from June 8-10, 2006 featuring performances by the Buzzcocks and the original line-up of Television and way too many other bands to list. Check out their site for all the details.

Later.

Ian Copeland R.I.P.

Ian Copeland, who managed such influential bands as R.E.M., the B52s and The Police died of melanoma yesterday. Part of the fearsome rock and rolling Copeland brothers (Stewart we all know and love and Miles who is another rock and roll impresario), Ian was only 57.
Later.

Musicdish Network focus on CD Baby

MusicDish At MIDEM: CD Baby, U.S.A.

Aggregator, Digital/Mobile Service & Distributor, Digita//Mobile Solutions & Service Provider, Importer/Exporter, Retailer/Record Shop

by Anne Freeman,

Company: CD Baby

Type: Aggregator, Digital/Mobile Service & Distributor, Digita//Mobile Solutions & Service Provider, Importer/Exporter, Retailer/Record Shop

Genres: All Musical Styles

Website: www.cdbaby.com

E-mail: cdbaby@cdbaby.com

MusicDish Network Sponsor

CD Baby describes itself as "a little online record store that sells CDs by independent musicians," but it is actually the largest seller of independent CDs on the internet. Starting out as a one-man operation in Portland, OR, Founder and President Derek Sivers’ company has sold over $25M independent CDs since its humble beginnings.

Recently, Derek added a digital distribution service, which brought CD Baby to "MIDEM, The World Music Market’s 40th Edition."  Attending MIDEM along with Derek Sivers are Gray Gannaway, head of digital distribution, and Spencer Trowbridge, licensing coordinator.

I passed by the CD Baby booth several times a day during each day at MIDEM to attempt an interview with Derek, but he was in meetings with potential clients at every pass. Finally, after the conference ended and Derek and his staff were packing up, I chanced upon Derek and grabbed a few minutes with him.

[MusicDish] How are you doing, Derek?

Derek Sivers Good. A little tired ­ it’s the end of a long conference.

[MusicDish] Derek, this is CD Baby’s first year at MIDEM?

Derek Sivers Yes.

[MusicDish] What did you bring to MIDEM and what will you take back with you?

Derek Sivers I brought a lot of fliers and I’m taking back a lot more (laughs). MIDEM is very business-to-business, which is why I’ve always avoided it all these years. Everybody told me that it’s just suits, there are no musicians here. Maybe one or two, but for the most part it’s just suits shaking hands and doing deals. And that’s never been our thing.

CD Baby is a service that deals directly with the musicians themselves. If somebody comes to us from a big record label and says, "Hey, we want to sell our catalogue through CD Baby," we say we don’t really want to deal with record labels, we just deal with musicians, and we sell directly to music fans. That’s how it’s been historically.

We are now a digital distribution program where we’re actually selling our complete digital catalogue to song companies and the next iTunes, whatever that might be, so now we actually have a business-to-business angle to what we do. So that is why we came here for the first time.

[MusicDish] Will you have some exciting news to bring back to your CD Baby members after your experience here because of your interactions with other businesses?

Derek Sivers I think that it was a little daunting here. It’s amazing how much distribution a musician can get. Distribution has become a commodity. It’s amazing. In 1998, when I started CD Baby, you could not get distribution. If you were a musician without a distribution deal with a big label, nobody would sell your CD. Maybe the little local record shop where you knew the owner and you could sell it on consignment, but there was nowhere to sell your CD in 1998. That’s why I started CD Baby, because there was no distribution anywhere.

Fast-forward a few years, and now everybody and anyone who warbles into a mic can get massive, world-wide, international distribution, in this galaxy and beyond. It’s amazing.

[MusicDish] I’m sure that your members, and particularly those who are using your digital distribution service, will be very excited to see the fruits of this conference.

Derek Sivers Absolutely amazed. They’re gonna be amazed at how many new places their music has reached to, in other parts of the world that they never thought that they’d get to.

[MusicDish] That’s terrific, Derek. Thanks so much to talking to MusicDish at MIDEM. We’ll see you next year.

Derek Sivers Thanks, Anne.

Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2005 - Republished with Permission

The Indie News Beat for the week of May 24, 2006

INDIE NEWS BEAT

May 24, 2006 Edition

* Porn Stars, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Death And Hollywood’s Underbelly Come To The Surface In Michael Mangia’s The Invisible Wall CD

* Music-Tech.Net Indie Artist Showcase Accepts Submissions

* Above The Madding Crowd Stands Apart At New Music West

* MusicDish Network Adds World Rock To Roster With ASHRAF

* Music Discovery Network Launches The Da Vinci Contest

* Pompeii Master Record, Begin Tour

* The Good Luck Joes Announce National Tour In Support Of New Album!

* FWE Recording Artist, Alkebulan Wraps Up 19th Annual Brown/ Parrish Black College Tour

* HCM Wins Kweevak Award!

Porn Stars, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Death And Hollywood’s Underbelly Come To The Surface In Michael Mangia’s The Invisible Wall CD

Michael Mangia is not your typical artist. And The Invisible Wall () is not your typical CD. The latest album from Hollywood-based indie singer-songwriter-pianist Mangia, while filled with compellingly beautiful melodies on the surface, actually buries some deep dark themes. In many ways, Michael Mangia is the David Lynch of pop music.

The Invisible Wall is the story of a painter, taking listeners through his canvas, which is filled with the lives of addicted porn stars and their admirers, children’s sci-fi fantasy books, an Italian mobster/father’s death, the façade-filled world of Hollywood and the effects of television on society. The album is all tied together through the haunting themes that lurk beneath the beauty of Mangia’s piano-driven melodies.

The new album was produced and mixed by Mangia over a 2-year period in his own high-tech loft studio in downtown Los Angeles (which was featured in an article in Keyboard Magazine). “Having my home also be my workspace allowed me to play around with sound techniques, in a Beatles-esque way, with whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. As I continued to write, the songs pieced themselves together into what would become The Invisible Wall.” Mangia has employed the talents of guest musicians on this remarkably eclectic CD ­ veterans who have played with a wide range of artists, including Jimmy Paxson (Stevie Nicks), Zac Rae (Alanis Morissette) and Ed Maxwell (Gary Jules, Devics).

But Mangia’s favorite song on the album is actually not even officially listed. There is a new hidden bonus track at the end of the CD entitled “Life Support on Xmas” that ­ for Mangia ­ sums up all the themes on this album. “It really captures the meaning and the feel of this record more than any other single song. I wanted it to be like a special gift for listeners. I placed it on the CD nearly four minutes after the album has supposedly ended, because it’s a song that is very much about the peace that follows the silence.”

Influenced by artists as diverse as Tori Amos, Ben Folds, Portishead, Travis and Rufus Wainwright, Michael Mangia is unique. And now, with the release of The Invisible Wall, Mangia is preparing to bring his hauntingly gorgeous melodies and deeply moving, sometimes disturbing, sonic paintings to the world. What is “The Invisible Wall?” For Mangia, “It’s the barrier that separates the good from the sordid, light from dark, even reality from fantasy.” Get ready ­ Michael Mangia is about to take you on an unforgettable musical trip through The Invisible Wall.

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Music-Tech.Net Indie Artist Showcase Accepts Submissions

MusicTechNet LLC presents the Music-Tech.Net Indie Artist Showcase. The showcase is a competition for independent bands and artists with market ready music CDs for sale. The showcase selects the number one band or artist based on the number of CDs sold through the Music-Tech.Net website during the July 10 ­ August 24, 2006 twelve week sales period. The deadline for submission is May 30th 2006.

Artists who submit to the showcase receive:

* a CD review

* a chance for the review to post to the Music-Tech.Net website

* consumer and industry exposure

* commissions from CD sales

* a chance to receive distribution and syndication via the showcase podcast

* a chance to win a gift certificate up to $7,000.00

* gifts and prizes from sponsors

Post-showcase marketing support

For more information visit the Music-Tech.Net website:
http://www.music-tech.net/submission.html?source=mi2n+pr

For sponsorship information contact Walter Boone at 229 878 0058.

Music-Tech.Net is your premier digital product retailer and marketing engine with products including music software, music instruments and sound equipment, computers, music books and sheets, music CDs, CD media and CD duplicators. Music-Tech.Net is committed to provide quality products and services and is dedicated to supporting the independent music community.

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Above The Madding Crowd Stands Apart At New Music West

Roots songwriter Lee Lindsey will soon begin touring select markets internationally following the successful debut launch of her second record Above The Madding Crowd off of her bi-continental upstart label, Tall Poppy Records at New Music West last month. More information will be posted online in the incoming weeks as dates areannounced.

Lee originated Tall Poppy Records in London, UK in 1999 as an urban roots and folk rock label, with producer/engineer Jack Guy (INXS, All Saints, Sugababes). In the same year, she began a weekly series of showcases to benefit the local independent music community called Tall Poppy Presents Lee Lindsey and Friends. The night ran with great success and industry recognition for three and a half years and continues today with the Best Of series running every three months at the prestigious Bush Hall.

Having recently moved to Vancouver, BC, Lee Lindsey and Tall Poppy have been expanding their brand of showcases to both BC and Alberta along with announcing newly signed artists in 2006. Lee believes live music should be a part of everyones life and her vow is to provide a platform for talented, committed artists to develop and grow, both locally and internationally.

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MusicDish Network Adds World Rock To Roster With ASHRAF

The MusicDish Network announced that it recently added Toronto-based band ASHRAF to its roster of independent artists and bands. Drawing from the styles of acts like Maroon 5, Lenny Kravitz, Rob Thomas and Prince, his songs blend influences from the east and the west to create a unique connection with today’s global audience.

ASHRAF will benefit from the MusicDish Network’s artist development program, including:

* Defining & implementing the band’s business/marketing plan;

* Leveraging the company’s marketing services such as including syndicated & community marketing, online street teaming, webradio promotion and p2p distribution;

* Regional market development, particularly expanding the band’s performance schedule and geographic reach, industry networking and fan building;

* Representation at major music conferences.

Led by Egyptian-born singer/songwriter Ashraf Amin, the band combines an international roster of veteran musicians ranging from Bulgaria and Ukraine to France. Their debut album “Perfect Chaos” (),
set for release this summer, was recorded and mastered at Metalworks Studios, home to international recording artists, Prince, N’Sync, Christina Aguilera and Sum 41. The album is a compelling and exciting audio journey drifting across the fringes of soulful and jazzy blues-rock, with tracks like Shatter or Blue Flame, to emotionally charged and hard-hitting power-pop ballads like Angels Only Knew and Whispers.

“I’ve watched Ashraf grow and evolve since I first spoke to him late last year,” noted MusicDish Network’s Eric de Fontenay. “From a starting singer/songwriter/composer with some recorded tracks, he’s built an impressive and tight band, successfully released the single “Shatter” and begun hitting the Toronto club scene, including a monthly residency at DeGrassi House. We’re delighted to welcome Ashraf to our roster.”

The single “Shatter” ()
will be featured on the 8th volume of the Songsalive! CD Sampler promoted worldwide this fall, with an acoustic version already included on the Acoustic Rainbow Sampler CD, sent to over 1200 DJs worldwide in the fall of 2005. ASHRAF’s songs have already been placed in several prominent network television shows including the home reality series: “Hometeam” scheduled to air on NBC, Fox, WB and cable TV across North America this Fall. The music video for the single “Shatter” has been featured on “Swept Away TV” a teen music television show syndicated across 64 US markets.

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Music Discovery Network Launches The Da Vinci Contest

The intrigue of the Da Vinci Code and Leonardo Da Vinci’s life inspires new contest to build greater appreciation for independent music and art.

The Music Discovery Network (MDN), Creative Musicians Coalition (CMC), Artistic Outlet (AO), and a number of enthusiastic sponsors launch the Da Vinci Contest. A rendition of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Self Portrait has been painted by up-and-coming artist, Peter Gullerud, with several imbedded codes, which challenge contestants to solve an intricate puzzle. The Da Vinci Contest will reward multiple participants for a variety of solutions.

Ron Wallace, founder of MDN/CMC/AO says, “My passion for the past twenty years has been to expose up-and-coming artists and their music to a greater audience. Dan Brown, author of the Da Vinci Code, whom I worked with for a decade, was one such artist. His interest in Leonardo Da Vinci rubbed off. The popularity of the book along with my fascination for Da Vinci, inspired a way to draw more attention to our current artists and the opening of our on-line gallery, Artistic Outlet.”

The Da Vinci Contest runs through October 31, 2006 on-line and nationally at participating retailers. One Grand Prize, thirty Place Prizes, one Best Invention Prize, and various daily prizes will be awarded. Individuals may enter once per day. The contest, rules, and prize list are available on-line at http://www.DaVinciContest.com.

The Music Discovery Network was established in 1993 to provide marketing and distribution services to members of the Creative Musicians Coalition, a 22 year old musicians’ cooperative. Artistic Outlet is a new on-line art gallery offering original art from up-and-coming artists.

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Pompeii Master Record, Begin Tour

Pompeii will be embarking on a tour of the South West beginning 5/19 to showcase material from their forthcoming Eyeball Records album due out this fall. Their first full-length was produced by D. James Goodwin (Murder by Death, Sleep Station) was mastered this past week. The band is currently working on the artwork for it as we write. Three songs, “Numbers,” “Stories and Charts” and “Miracle Mile” are available as a stream on (http://www.myspace.com/pompeii) Pompeii’s myspace page and the song “Catalogue” as video and mp3 here on (http://www.eyeballrecords/artists/pompeii/) the Eyeball Records site. The second video for the record will also be shot in LA during the tour. Shane Stevens offered this to fans, “We leave tomorrow and are really looking forward to seeing some of you. For those of you we wont see on this tour, we will be heading out again in August through the midwest. And for those of you that live here in Austin, please come out and show your support. Don’t be shy either, come up to us and say hi.”

Currently confirmed tour dates are as follows:

05/19/2006 @ Red Eyed Flyr, Austin, TX 73301

05/20/2006 @ The Hive, San Angelo, TX 76901

05/21/2006 @ The Bean, Mesilla, NM 88046

05/23/2006 @ The Scene Bar, Glendale, CA 91205

05/24/2006 @ The Knitting Factory, los angeles, CA 90028

05/25/2006 @ The Golden Bull, Oakland, CA 94612

05/26/2006 @ The Phoenix Theatre, Petaluma, CA 94952

05/27/2006 @ Gigantic Vintage, Bakersfield, CA 93301

05/28/2006 @ Rock N Java, Las Vegas, NV 89123

05/29/2006 @ The Joint, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (Free Show)

05/30/2006 @ Santa Fe Brewing Company, Santa Fe, NM 87500

05/31/2006 @ The Pod, Amarillo, TX 79106

06/01/2006 @ The Glasnost, Oklahoma City, OK 73101

06/02/2006 @ The Door, Ft. Worth, TX 76106

06/03/2006 @ Emos, Austin TX 73301

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The Good Luck Joes Announce National Tour In Support Of New Album!

The Good Luck Joes are one of the hottest young bands out of the Midwest today, creating waves in the music industry and catching the ears of listeners nationwide. Since their conception in 2002, the Milwaukee-based quintet have caught the ears of discerning listeners (young and old), as well as some key movers-and-shakers in the music industry. The band’s forthcoming sophomore album, What Do You Think of That Noise? (in stores July 11, 2006 through Redeye Distribution) runs the gamut of the modern pop-rock spectrum. Between the summery, stadium-pop of “Middle of Me” and the ethereal electronic sounds of “Butterflies,” lies a collage of garage, folk, classic rock and modern Top 40, each blended with a sense of playfulness into a brand of pop that has something all its own. With the help of Chad Fischer’s (Colin Hay, Cary Brothers, Alexi Murdoch) production, the GLJ’s have refined a sound that treads nimbly around Coldplay’s piano-driven grandiosity, George Harrison’s guitar hooks and Wilco’s intimate confessions-in-song.

Live, The Good Luck Joes have a charismatic and highly energetic stage presence. Audiences relate emotionally to the band’s lyrics, which are done justice by lead-singer Andrew Martin’s impassioned and honest delivery. Next to him are lead-guitarist Andrew Krei and keyboardist Andrew Citron, who both intrigue with their stage presence: at some moments they are pictures of stoic concentration while at others they move with exuberance and rock’n'roll abandon. And in the rhythm section are, surprisingly, two non-Andrews; Joe Scheltema and Peterson Goodwyn on bass and drums, respectively, provide the groove and kinetic energy that drive the bands performance.

THE GOOD LUCK JOES 2006 TOUR DATES

05.16 Milwaukee, WI WMSE Live Studio Performance

05.18 Milwaukee, WI Points East Pub (with Thomas Dolby)

06.01 Baltimore, MD Ram’s Head Live (with ABC and The English Beat)

06.04 Montreal, QC The Medley (with ABC)

06.07 Toronto, ON The Republick Nightclub (with ABC)

06.08 Detroit, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre (with ABC)

06.09 Cleveland, OH House of Blues (with ABC)

06.11 Chicago, IL The Wells Street Arts & Music Festival

06.11 Chicago, IL House of Blues (with ABC)

06.13 Pittsburgh, PA The Club Café (with ABC)

06.14 Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theater

06.16 Londonderry, NH Tupelo Music Hall (with ABC)

06.17 East Hartford, CT East Hartford Community Cultural Center (with ABC)

06.20 Charlotte, NC Amos Southend (with ABC)

06.25 Chicago, IL Private Party

07.08 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest - Potawatomi Casino Stage

07.14 St. Paul, MN Station 4

07.16 Milwaukee, WI Bastille Days ­ Cathedral Square stage

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FWE Recording Artist, Alkebulan Wraps Up 19th Annual Brown/ Parrish Black College Tour

Up and coming R&B/Soul artist, Alkebulan (pronounced ah-kha-buh-lan) recently completed a tour with high school students titled The Nineteenth Annual Brown/Parrish Black College Bus Tour kicking off on Monday April 10th ending on Friday April 21st 2006. A talented and gifted singer/songwriter, Alkebulan (her name means land of the original people) will release her exhilarating debut album, “Rebel Soul” this summer 2006 on Freedom Williams Entertainment (FWE). Sponsors of the tour include VIBE, Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, 107.5 WBLS, and Freedom Williams Entertainment.

The Brown/Parrish College Bus Tour traveled to campuses of 27 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Because choosing a college or university will be the most important decision that a young adult will make in their lifetime, the tour gave students the opportunity to walk around 27 HBCU’s campuses, talk with admission personnel, deans and professors, attend college preparatory seminars, and participate in extracurricular activities. For more info visit www.blackcollegebustour.com.

In addition to her duties as a recording artist, Alkebulan is Vice President and Chief Curator of the Rufus Perry Foundation, of which she is in charge of research and project development. Every year the foundation donates $1,000 in a scholarship to African American students who excel in academics and who wish to study African culture at a university level. Rufus Perry was the great-great grandfather of Freedom Williams, born a slave in Smith County, Tennessee and escaped to freedom in Canada when the slave traders were going to sell him in Mississippi. Perry learned to write Hebrew, Latin, and Greek and became a scholar who penned classic books on the African and Greek people. Carter G. Woodson, Williams Wells Brown, and T. McCants Stewart spoke and wrote about him as one of those “Negroes” who will live forever in the memory of Black people.

Look out for Alkebulan to spread music, knowledge, and love as she prepares for the release of her debut album, “Rebel Soul”. She says, “It was a fulfilling experience being able to touch the hearts and minds of students on the Black College Bus Tour!”

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HCM Wins Kweevak Award!

Heart Consort Music has been notified that it’s latest release, “Patch Work” by James Kennedy has won a Kweevak 2006 “Reader’s Survey” Music Projects of the Year Award. This is the third year in a row that HCM has won this award. The Kweevak Music Awards have shone the spotlight on great music releases and the bands and musicians who have created them since first publishing their site in 1999. The 2005 “Reader’s Survey Awards” were presented to the top-50 winners as chosen by visitors to the Kweevak.com website. Almost 150 music projects (CDs/EPs/DVDs) were nominated to be voted on and over 3650 votes were cast. Heart Consort Music extends a big “Thank You” to all of our friends and fans who took the time to vote for us, making this award possible.

Heart Consort Music was founded in 1986. In the intervening years, the company has released 14 albums in a variety of styles, ranging from folk/acoustic to rock/fusion, jazz and world music, and more. All of these releases have received international radio airplay, distribution and exposure. Heart Consort Music’s catalog has also been licensed by 3M, AEI, Bravo, Disney, The Discovery Channel, PBS, DMX, Playnetwork, and many others. Celebrating 20 Years of “Music From the Heartland” in 2006!

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Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 - Republished with Permission

Podcasts from the rock and roll edge

OK so I checked out of the rock and roll clinic for awhile to make space for other things including another blog, which is not neccesarily the most brilliant thing to do when you are suffering from the dreaded 2006 disease called "blogging burnout." Nevertheless I was out of the music space doing other things, etc. and in that time I don’t think I listened much to anything so my MP3 player collected dust on the night table waiting for its chance to once again plug into the rock and roll main vein.

Finally a few days ago I was using iTunes for something or another and I (finally!) noticed the podcasting section and had a quick look at the Music section. Lo and behold I noticed that one of my favourite bunch of rock and roll miscreants at Garage Punk.Com produced a podcast. Now these are the people behind The Wayback Machine on KDHX FM in St. Louis, Missouri USA so you know that they will have some very cool raving rock and roll on tap so I decided to download their Garage Punk podcast to my newly dusted off MP3 player and hopefully shake the cobwebs from my brain.

After that download the wheels started to turn and I started to think that I needed to balance out this sample of fine, snotty garage punk with something a little more melodic like power pop so off I went to the mighty Not Lame record label to see what was happening over there. I was actually looking to download some of the MP3 freebies that they have on tap every Tuesday but was floored when I realized that they too have a podcast called iPop which was next up to get loaded onto my MP3 player. I was now starting to warm up all over again to this whole podcasting thing so I kept on trolling for more.

How about something a bit more modern or (god help whoever coined this phrase) "alternative I thought? Well I have always been a big fan of the indiefeed podcast and more specifically their alternative/modern rock podcast so I started downloading a bunch of those with abandon as they offer a fine mix of individual songs from a wide variety of indie bands and singer/songwriters. And so the megs just kept filling up but I was not quite done yet.

I decided to head back to some more punked up rock and roll action and downloaded the latest from the Detroit flavoured Plan 9 Rock Show, a link incidentaly that I picked up from the Garage Punk website (something that tends to happen as you wander from podcasting site to site). Well the latest show kicked off with the New York Dolls so I knew the show would be worth it but I figured I would download just one more podcast and call it a night since I still had to find the time to listen to all this stuff (a common problem with things like blogs and podcasts where you sometimes get so carried away subscribing to their RSS feeds that you realize you can’t sleep for the next three weeks if you possibly want to read and listen to everything on your computer or iPod).

So finally, to finish of my podcast smorsgabord I headed over to The Podcast Network and their TPN Rock Show for some more happening modern rock and roll. The TPN Rock Show is similar to the Indiefeed podcast in that it features indie rock and roll but they mix things up with a variety of shows featuring just one song with longer 30 plus minute podcasts.

Now for those of you that are already on the podcasting bandwagon I know I am preaching to the converted but to those of you who crave rock and roll but for some reason remain committed to your local commercial rock radio outlet the only thing that you can do to save your sanity is to SHUT IT OFF. The podcasts that I have just mentioned are the tip of the iceberg. Every one of them featured something that I had never heard of but enjoyed enough to play multiple times and then take the next step and actively search out where I could listen to more and buy the CD. What things like podcasts, streaming internet-only radio shows and websites like My Space and stores like CD Baby offer the music fan is the chance to explore. Now to some people the idea of exploring rock and roll, listening to various bands and records and trying to figure out what you like and don’t like is a foreign concept. It sometimes seems that it is easier to sit back and listed to Hotel California and Immigrant Song for the 4000th time than to possibly take a chance listening to something that you might not like. Plus there is just so much out there! True enough but in the words of the immortal "Way-Outs" from the Flintsones, "That’s where the fun is."

And if you think you need an iPod to listen to this stuff I can assure you that you do not. Any MP3 player will do and they get cheaper every week. Another alternative is to download a bunch of podcasts and burn them to a CD so you can listen to them in your car or on your stereo. It’s a low-tech way to enjoy a high-tech phenomen that just gets better every month.

Give it a shot tonight. Google "rock and roll podcast" or try the ones I’ve listed here and take them for a spin. If nothing catches your fancy just wait for the next edition or search out some more. Use the multitude of free music being made legally available on the net to sample the incredible variety of great, bona fide rock and roll that you thought had gone extinct in 1974. Trust me it will open up your eyes and make your ears smile. Once you start you won’t be able to stop and soon you will see that rock and roll is alive and well in 2006, just not being played on your FM dial any more.

The adventure continues.
Later.

More Cool Rock and Roll From the CD Baby Store!

I haven’t featured much lately here at Rock and Roll Report Central but while I get things organized and clear out my inbox, check out these very cool bands and let me know what you think. More to come soon!

SUPERNAUT: Livid Vol. 1The Ramones meets Motorhead meets Cheap Trick. Pabst-soaked rock ‘n’ roll with a melodic punch, sure to please both your aggressive and pop sides.

GRAVITY: Rocket Scientry“The Ramones meets Elvis Costello” Positive Vibes- High Energy - Power Pop “I’ve not met anyone yet who doesen’t love this band” Jeff Straub- Texas Hot Radio. “One of New York City’s Best kept Secrets.” Gravity…Feel The Pull

EDMUND’S CROWN: Collectedrock/indi/alternative. “Ultra-catchy hook-laden music”, “A power pop sound that’s fresh and engaging”, “Smooth melodies and hard rock force.”

CHRIS RYAN: Blackout MoneyChris Ryan writes songs that sound like a punked-up version of Led Zeppelin.

HOUSEWIVES ON PROZAC: I Broke My Arm Christmas Shopping At The MallMoms during the day, Rockers by night.

THE CLOVES: Waiting For The World To BeMelodic harmony laced indie pop coming out of Seattle

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