Saturday, November 29, 2008

Eagles Songwriter Jack Tempchin Live With Dave Mason Dec 14th

Jack Tempchin, pioneering co-architect of the Southern California country-rock sound, will play with Traffic co-founder Dave Mason at The Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach on Sunday, December 14th at 8pm.

Tempchin is a composer of legendary hits: Peaceful Easy Feeling and Already Gone for THE EAGLES (two songs on the best selling album of all time *RIAA.com); You Belong To The City, Smuggler’s Blues, I Found Somebody, The One You Love, for GLENN FREY and Slow Dancing for JOHNNY RIVERS. Recently, he also landed two cuts on the Eagles’ latest multi-platinum release, Long Road Out Of Eden .

His songs have also been covered by other career artists including GEORGE JONES, GLEN CAMPBELL, CHRIS HILLMAN, TANYA TUCKER, EMMYLOU HARRIS, TRISHA YEARWOOD, RICHIE HAVENS, DAN THE PALADINS, and have been sampled by JAY-Z and COOLIO.

Jack Tempchin's music has been featured in the movies THE BIG LEBOWSKI, THELMA & LOUISE, SGT. BILKO, THE LONELY GUY, BAD SEEDS, AN AMERICAN MURDER and others.

For 2008, Tempchin releases own solo CD simply titled ‘SONGS’. Included is his own version of the hit song he co-wrote with Glenn Fry called ‘SMUGGLER’S BLUES’, once featured prominently in the 1980s MIAMI VICE TV show. ‘SONGS’ is out on his own label Night River Records, distributed by Burnside Distribution.

JACK TEMPCHIN with DAVE MASON
December 14, 2008 8pm
Belly Up Tavern in San Diego
143 S Cedros Ave
Solana Beach, CA 92075
Cost: $26.00
http://www.bellyup.com/show/detail/17895

http://cdbaby.com/mp3lofi/jacktempchin5-07.m3u
http://www.myspace.com/tempchin

Friday, November 28, 2008

Call For Entries: Holiday RiffRumble Holiday Song Contest Judged By Rooney

Record a song with RiffWorks and enter to win a Dean Markley Guitar, an iPod touch with FourTrack and more.

Los Altos, CA - Sonoma Wire Works announces the Holiday RiffRumble, the 14th song contest for RiffWorks recording software users. Contestants worldwide will compete for $4120 in prizes, including a Dean Markley Acoustic Guitar, an iPod touch with FourTrack by Sonoma Wire Works, an Ultrasound AG30 Acoustic Guitar Amplifier, 12 sets of Dean Markley VintageBronze Guitar Strings, RiffWorks InstantDrummer Sessions by Discrete Drums, and Recording Magazines. Any RiffCast enabled edition of RiffWorks, including RiffWorks T4 free recording software may be used to record solo entries and online collaborations with a holiday or winter theme. The power pop band, Rooney, will choose the Grand Prize winner. Entries will be accepted for two weeks: November 24 - December 7, 2008. Votes accepted November 24 - December 14. No purchase necessary and no entry fee. Contest & Prize Details: http://www.riffworld.com/riffrumble/rr14

Three Categories to Win

* Grand Prize (Rooney's Choice): The musician who enters the song chosen by Rooney band members wins a Dean Markley DM-J360 E Acoustic Guitar. This flat-top jumbo acoustic recalls the Gibson J-160 that John Lennon used with the Beatles. It features book-matched mahogany back and sides, a solid mahogany neck, a solid book-matched spruce top, a slim 15 fret ebony fret-board, gold-plated tuners with simulated tortoise knobs, ivroid binding, and a gold-plated stereo input jack for a neck position installed custom pick-up with both volume and tone controls as part of the body (valued at $3250). Includes hard shell case. 5 RiffWorks InstantDrummer Sessions by Discrete Drums ($49.95) and Recording Magazines ($19.95). Total Value: $3320

* 2nd Prize (Contestants' Choice): The musician who enters the song that receives the most votes from the contestants wins an Apple iPod touch 8GB (value $229) plus the FourTrack iPhone/iPod touch app by Sonoma Wire Works ($9.99). An Ultrasound AG30 Acoustic Guitar Amplifier - the best selling compact acoustic amp on the market for the last 5 years is built to Dean Markley's specs for Ultrasound Amps. At 30 watts and just 20 pounds, the AG-30 is perfect for recording and coffee shop gigs. Feedback control, EQ shape control, effects loop, direct out, line out, headphone out, and a 5-year warranty fill out the features (MSRP $300). 5 RiffWorks InstantDrummer Sessions by Discrete Drums ($49.95). Recording Magazines ($19.95). Total Value: $600

* 3rd Prize (Most Public Votes): The musician who enters the song that receives the most shouts from the public wins 12 sets of Dean Markley VintageBronze Guitar Strings in a wooden gift box (MSRP $135). Five RiffWorks InstantDrummer Sessions by Discrete Drums ($49.95). Recording Magazines ($19.95). Total Value: $200

About RiffWorks
RiffWorks easy-to-use guitar recording software includes automatic track creation, loop recording, guitar-oriented effects, InstantDrummer, professionally recorded drum tracks, online music collaboration, and song posting. RiffWorld.com rolls it all into a vibrant online community. RiffWorks Standard Pricing: $129. RiffWorks T4 free download available: http://www.sonomawireworks.com/T4

About RiffRumble
RiffRumble song contests are hosted by Sonoma Wire Works on RiffWorld.com and sponsored by the hottest music industry companies. Sponsors for past RiffRumbles have included Line 6, IK Multimedia, Taylor Guitars, Seymour Duncan, Schecter Guitars, Recording Magazine, and more. Holiday RiffRumble: http://www.riffworld.com/riffrumble/rr14

Why America Was Ready For Obama

The Little Old Racist Lady And Her Black Friends Next Door

by Polar Levine for Yankin' The Food Chain, Polarity1.com

In the run-up to the primaries I enjoyed weekly debates with one of my close pals. He was positive that Guiliani would be the next Pres. I responded that our ex-mayor was too socially liberal for the Republican base and too ugly for everyone else. My guess was that Obama would be the guy. During the '04 Dem convention when I watched Obama cruise up to the podium like a young Smokey Robinson and croon like a superstar, I said, "That's the next president." Actually I thought it would be another four years down the road. My friend was dead sure that America would never vote for an African-American; we were too racist and too stupid. But I disputed that argument over the course of the entire election drama. My rationale was based on one little old lady from New Jersey.

Betty is 83, a daughter of immigrants and raised in a blue-collar suburb of Boston. She was programmed with all the racial stereotypes and resentments that were unmitigated by the social stigmatization of racists that prevailed half a century later. Her son, a long-time friend of mine, told me how his mom freaked when he brought home an African-American friend in first grade. "Never bring him around here again. Never!" He experienced the same tirade over his black girlfriends in high school and much later well into adulthood.

Pretty shocking, huh? Actually to me it was really shocking because I always loved Betty. When I was in high school she was funny and generous -- the favorite of the moms and the favorite aunt of my friend's cousins. How could such poison inhabit a sweetheart like Betty who let her freak-flag waving son's freshly painted and scrubbed bedroom walls become a canvas for his friends' obscene radical graffiti? Those walls were left untouched when he left for college, and the room was not re-painted until the family moved to a house a few blocks away. It's easy to imagine decent, smart people harboring some latent form of relatively benign racism -- i.e. never expressed in a punitive way. But Betty made it clear that any person of a minority background whose skin was darker than Betty's could be subjected to humiliation. Betty was never struck by the ironic fact of her own minority status. She was a typical product of a pre-Freudian, pre-irony generation and culture.

That was before a black family moved in next door some time in the Eighties. I laughed till I almost suffocated when I was told.

A decade later she told me about how she offered to house that same family, by then her favorite neighbors, when their home was destroyed by a fire and how depressed she was when they moved. Turns out Betty had never actually interacted with blacks or Latinos before; had never known that middle class versions of "them" existed. And I watched her yuk it up with the African-American guests at my friend's wedding. Sixty years of programming was erased virtually overnight. And last month when she told me she was voting for Barack Obama, her tone was as matter-of-fact as if she's said she was going to the dentist on November four.

While all the infoheads were spouting on the Bradley Effect, I knew that over the course of a full generation millions of people like Betty saw the darker skinned "others" on TV, in the movies, in the neighborhoods, in the doctors' offices, in the supermarkets, at their children's and grandchildren's birthday parties and school plays. They've also been getting used to gays and probably will be voting against bans on gay marriage when Obama is running for his second term.

There are millions of other Bettys out there who will do America proud. It may take an imminent cataclysm or one of "them" moving in next door, but I have this faith-based trust in Betty. She's the change I can believe in.

Subscribe to more articles by Polar Levine aka Polarity/1
http://www.polarity1.com
http://polarity1.musicdish.net

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Prepare Yourself For Clash Of The Artists 2009!

Now in it's third year, Clash of the Artists 2009 will once again raise the standard of artist competitions across the world! At Art For Progress, we inspire exceptional international talent to get involved and support art education while having the opportunity to win fantastic prizes geared for the career artist. Here's your opportunity to show the art world, peers, and fans your best work. The world will decide who makes it to the finals for the BIG EVENT in New York City in March 2009.

The annual competition encompasses genres of visual art, film, fashion, live music, DJ's, and the exciting open category, "creative". The interactive judging process allows the on-line community to view short films, listen to music, and see the work of artists and designers from Australia to New York. Over a five-week voting period, three finalists will be chosen in each category. Through Clash of the Artists we have awarded winning artists some very exciting prizes.

Below are some examples of past prizes: Dubspot Full Music Production Package, NY Fashion Week Shows, Meetings with Magnum P.R. and People's Revolution for Musicians and Fashion Designers, DJ performances at Miami's Winter Music Conference, Abel Cine Tech Full Film Production Packages, Sony Music + Film Production Software, Apple's Final Cut Pro Software, Music + DJ equipment from Audio Technica, AFP Memberships, Career Building Workshops from MShop NYC, Gift Certificates, and this year CASH!! Our prize packages will be even bigger this year.

Get on board! Submit your work and get exposure for your talent while supporting art education. It's your time to shine and we're here to make it happen.

You can submit your work at http://www.artforprogress.org beginning November 17th or you can mail in your submissions to Art For Progress, 151 1st Avenue, Suite 26, New York, NY 10003. We'll be accepting submissions through January 9th 2009. Than it all goes live on January 19 when everyone gets to experience the best in art, music, fashion and film from across the globe. Votes will be tallied through February 28th. Did we mention our new super-secure voting process?

Last year, 150 artists were featured, over 15,000 people voted on-line, and over 300 people attended the finals event!

All of the proceeds from Clash of the Artists 2009 will support AFP's growing Art & Humanities Education Program. Art for Progress is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization.

Sponsors for Clash of the Artists 2009 include: Sony, Audio Technica, Blick Art Materials, Magnum PR, People's Revolution, M-Shop NYC, Social Chord, Flavored Layers, MusicDish Network, Absolutearts.com, Art Calendar Magazine, 320 Studios, ArtDeadline.com, Fashion Fabrics Club, M&J Trimming, Fabric Direct, and B&J Fabrics.

http://www.artforprogress.org

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

David Wright - New Instrumental Music Release 'Dreams And Distant Moonlight'

David Wright continues to produce instrumental music of the highest standard and this epic new dreamy program of music is his most impressive creation yet. Fifteen interlinked tracks spanning a colossal 77 minutes that is stylistically a cross between his 2002 classic "Walking With Ghosts" and the 2004 opus "Continuum". The music is varied and laced with superb Pink Floyd style lead guitar, bass guitar and occasional vocal textures that will no doubt draw comparison with David's electronic rock band Code Indigo. However, this is a very definite David Wright album - high class melodic electronic music that is rhythmic and flowing. There is some gorgeous music here; wonderful piano on tracks like "Dreams", trademark solos and imaginative sequencing on the tracks "Just an Illusion" and "State of Confusion”, while David's string arrangements have never been more inspired on "Cry to the Moon" and "The Canyon." Other tracks like "State of Bliss" with its evocative guitar and stunning blues arrangement, the sparse "Heatwave in Blue" and the Klaus Schulze inspired "Amorphous" highlight that David is prepared to take risks. He is able to multitask and present various styles while retaining the vision and cohesion to present a very listenable instrumental music album without deviating from what people recognize as his core style. Huge in scope, this new album will be a real treat for fans both old and new. If you like the look of the Yes like science fiction sleeve then you should investigate this set. Available on CD or as a 256kbph digital MP3 or flac file download via http://www.admusiconline.com and also available from all major outlets including itunes and Amazon.

Download David Wright's mp3 for "State of Bliss (part 2)"

Sunday, November 23, 2008

New music from Polarity/1 - 'Home Sweet Home' (mp3)

"Home Sweet Home" is Polarity/1's take on the classic Sir Henry Bishop and Howard Payne composition. Heavy on percussion and featuring powerful vocals, this rendition still manages to remain chill at its core. This is probably Polarity/1's most sentimental song to date.

Download Polarity/1's "Home Sweet Home" free MP3

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"Home Sweet Home" Lyrics

Some live by religion; some of us common sense
Some love their neighbors; some want to build a fence
Half of life is spirit; the rest is skin and bone
They all come together in the place that we call home

chorus
Home Home sweet, sweet Home
There's no place like Home
There's no place like Home

I work hard to make a living; it's hard from nine to five
But it's home that does the giving; it's where I am alive
The world is very hungry; sometimes it eats its own
I'm going where I'm someone; I'm on my way home

chorus

My house ain't no cash cow; ain't no golden goose
It don't flip like a gymnast; ain't liquid like juice
I watch my kids sleeping. They're real, not Kodachrome
Not living on some property; they're growing in our home

chorus
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The music of Polarity/1 is exactly what the name suggests: conjoined opposites -- a mash up of new: cutting edge electronica/hip hop/nu-jazz and old; roots music of America (blues, funk, country, early jazz), Brazil (samba, pagoda, etc.) and West African groove science. Polarity also describes the dual streams of Polarity/1's musical output: songs and instrumentals.

http://www.reverbnation.com/polarity1
http://www.polarity1.com