Friday, July 13, 2012

Crowdfunding Canadian Ideas With RocketHub


Until recently, Canada was underserved in the world of crowdfunding. But now thanks to RocketHub, Canadian artists and entrepreneurs can liberate their ideas through this innovative form of fundraising - built on harnessing the power of community.

On Wednesday July 25th 2012, Karim Kanji - host of XConnectTV – will speak with Brian Meece of RocketHub on the growth and popularity of crowdfunding. Register to attend this special taping:

http://rockethubintoronto.eventbrite.com

On the musical front, RocketHub and the urban folk collective Fedora Upside Down have joined forces for an ongoing showcase of tuneful storytelling. Meet these collaborators every Thursday evening at The Cameron House in Toronto as they showcase stories from the creative class:

http://www.fedoraupsidedown.com/futhursdays.html

In addition, last month Meece was in Toronto to present a workshop on crowdfunding at NXNE Interactive, the digital arm of the popular film and music festival. The audience was evenly divided among artists and entrepreneurs from different parts of Canada. Meece recently spoke about his excitement for Canadian crowdfunding in an interview on Canada.com:

http://o.canada.com/2012/06/12/rockethub-founder-brian-meece-on-crowd-funding

“Canada is our second biggest market,” Meece says.

“We’re going to be doing a lot more with Canada over the next year. We’re going to do a lot of community outreach and education showing artists, entrepreneurs and academics how to leverage crowdfunding to make things happen.”

RocketHub
RocketHub is known as The World's Funding Machine - enabling thousands of artists, entrepreneurs, scientists, and social leaders to raise millions of dollars from across the world. The company has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, NBC, Variety, NPR, The Economist, CNN, Billboard, Washington Post, etc. while becoming the fastest growing crowdfunding community.
www.RocketHub.com

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Not Just Another Metal Band

Armed with a crisp new sound up-and-coming rock band The Rift, signed to Holodigm Media, packs a punch with their debut CD. The band has a great deal of raw song writing talent and their music combines the musicianship of heavy metal rock with great pop hooks. Founding members/brother John and Aris Anagnos have been playing music together for years and are the heart and soul of the band.

Although The Rift has only been together for two years, they share great chemistry on stage having made them a quite popular live band. They have earned a reputation that has allowed them to share the stage with bands such as: The Misfits, Exodus, Yngwie Malmsteen and Midnight Theory.

The Rift has worked with several Producers including Geza X (Dead Kennedys, The Germs, Black Flag, The Avengers and The Weirdos) and Paul Roessle (Screamers, Nina Hagen, 45 Grave,Mike Watt, Twisted Roots and more), but it wasn’t until recently that the band found the sound they had been looking for, thanks to Crooked Creek Studios and Producer Chuck Bennet who took the band’s sound to the next level.

When asked, lead singer Aris Anagnos states his personal musical influnces are the likes of Led Zeppelin, Metallica, 30 Seconds to Mars and Atreyu. Other members of the band include Tyler Holsclaw, Matt Melamed, Tesh Hatharasinghe, and John Anagnos. Most of the other band members state their influences are almost identical, making the band very consistent and well suited for the alternative/hard rock music that they play.

Their self titled album The Rift is now available on iTunes
Check out The Rift on Facebook

Get to know the guys at Myspace
http://www.facebook.com/theriftmusic
http://www.myspace.com/therift
http://www.twitter.com/therift_

Email: jeanpaulanagnos@gmail.com

The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life Rocks Geneva, New York!


Mark your calendars, because another chance is here to show your support as The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life returns to Geneva on July 28-29, 2012. The event will take place at the Geneva High School located at 101 Carter Road, Geneva, NY. A complete schedule of artists follows below. Relay For Life is a great opportunity for the entire community to help the American Cancer Society create a world with less cancer, raise awareness, support overall wellness, and find cures to fight back!

As the overnight celebration takes place, there will no short supply of fun and entertainment for everyone, as an eclectic long lineup of musical talents will be ready to rock the crowds and celebrate hope and survivorship. At the forefront artists such as progressive female guitarist Christie Lenee and bohemian rockers The Devyl Nellys are thrilled to be playing for such a worthy cause. Experimental musician, Jessie Kilguss, will also be set to perform and says that “incredible things happen when groups of people get together for a good cause.”

With the overwhelming success of Relay For Life events, more birthdays will be celebrated for years to come.

For more information on the Geneva Relay For Life or the American Cancer Society, call 1-800-227 -2345 or visit relayforlife.org/GenevaNY.

For media inquiries, please contact Laurena Marrone at Grit PR, LLC, info@gritpr.com or 503-415-1211.

Together, we will make a difference

ARTIST SCHEDULE

4 – 4:45 p.m.
Bryan Johnson & Family

5 – 5:30 p.m.
Atomic Solace

5:45 – 6:45 p.m.
Christie Lenee

7 – 7:50 p.m.
The Devyl Nellys

8 – 8:50 p.m.
Jessie Kilguss & Radio Gold

9 – 9:50 p.m.
Jennings

10 – 10:50 p.m.
Rachael Sage

11 – 11:45 p.m.
Jeneen Terrana

Midnight
The Jam

World5 To Present New Album On Facebook, Sunday, July 22 2012


The three hour interactive Facebook event will allow the band’s growing fan base to ask questions and chat with the band’s five members and the production team. The event will be moderated by DJs from radio stations from different countries and will include the broadcast of all the songs on the album.

The event will take place on Sunday July 22, 2012 on the Facebook site ,a href="http://www.facebook.com/world5band">http://www.facebook.com/world5band at 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm EST, 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm GMT

Another presentation event for the Asia and Australia time zones will take place in August 2012 (exact date and time to be announced)

"Global Experience", the debut album of the band WORLD5, was released May 1, 2012 and songs of the album had already reached the top 10 in the unsigned, adult-genre chart on iHeart Radio within 5 days of its release.

The album is broadcasted worldwide through terrestrial and internet radio, podcasts and music blogs and has also been added to playlists on giants such as Clear Channel Network and CBS affiliate radios stations.

The band also has received critical acclaim from a variety of music critics including Amazon music giving the album a 5-star rating.

Prior to its initial album release date, the band released the single "You and I", which reached No. 1 at various online internet radio outlets and was later accompanied by a widely viewed music video.

"Global Experience" was produced by Randy Miller, whose credits include Burt Bacharach and Destiny's Child. The album is digitally distributed by Island Def Jam Digital Distribution, Valleyarm, Asia Pacific’s leading digital distributor and 88tc88 for greater China.

For more information go to http:// www.world5music.com or http://www.facebook.com/world5band

# # #

ABOUT WORLD5:
The band WORLD5 consists of five close friends: Raimund Breitfeld (Gothenburg, Sweden), Don Bruner (San Diego, CA), Stephan Goessl (Munich, Germany), Steffen Goeres (Wellington, New Zealand), and Roland Childs (New York) who all have performed live together over the years but later found homes in separate countries. Having great chemistry and the advantage of the internet, the band is able to collaborate and create musically while communicating via Skype. 16-time nominated and 4-time Grammy winning producer Randy Miller heard the potential in their songwriting and wanted to work with the band, as did mastering professional Stephen Marcussen (Santana, Pete Yorn, John Hiatt) on their debut album.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Aurovine Music Platform Launches With Best Artist Payouts On The Web


Aurovine - the music platform offering the best artist payouts on the web, today launched their first official public version of their website. In Beta since May 22nd, Aurovine have been listening to artist requests and making improvements to the site on a daily basis.

The site offers a unique and rewarding way for bands and fans to interact instantly and enables artists to sell music directly to the fans with every transaction immediately paid out into their paypal accounts.

"We bring the bands directly to the fans with no need for complicated aggregators, middle men or music industry vultures. In a sense we are the new way forward for the music industry because we put all the control in the hands of the artists and fans" said Aurovine's creators Ken Foster & Mark Szymik.

Incredibly Aurovine also offer promotion on top of their market leading initiatives. "We already syndicate our chart and promote our bands through social media, third party blogs, websites and radio stations but we have a secret 'coup de resistance' in the pipeline which will help virally promote our artists." said Foster.

Aurovine's website is at aurovine.com

Notes to editors:
Aurovine feature:
• Best Payout Rates in the Music Industry
• Instant payments to artists
• High quality WAV & Flac files along with 320kbps MP3's
• Bespoke artist pages
• Digital & Physical sales possible
• Integration with your Social Networks
• Free promotion via our Podcasts, Charts and Reviews
• Social Network Promotion via AVMS (Aurovine Viral Marketing System)

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Death And Rebirth Of A Beijing Livehouse - A Talk With Josh Feola


By Zhang Si'an (aka Jean Sebastien Hery)

Mandarin folk artist and bandleader/guitarist for Beijing rock band Amazing Insurance Salesmen Zhang Si'an (aka Jean Sebastien Hery) sat down with Josh Feola for MusicDish*China. From D-22's death to its rebirth as XP, his online platform Pangbianr and views on the evolving Beijing scene, Josh illustrates how despite his short stay thus far in Beijing, he's carved an important role building its local music industry.

How long have you been in China and what pushed you to come here?

I've been in China for just over three years now. Originally, I came because the first job I found after graduating university was at an internet startup in Beijing. Previously, I had spent a semester in Yunnan province studying archaeology and anthropology, and for some reason felt compelled to come back to China despite no formal training in Mandarin. After a year of working in Beijing, I became interested in the music scene and decided to quit my job and focus on music.

What was your role at D22 and what is your role now at XP?

I started at D-22 as a booking assistant in November 2010. Eventually, I was doing almost all of the booking, and kept that position until D-22 closed in January 2012. At XP, I am the general manager, so I oversee all booking/event programming, the bar, the cafe, the record store, etc.

Why did D22 close and why did it re-open as XP?

D-22 reached a natural end. The bands that started out there have by now gone on to a fair amount of success and recognition. By the end, the most interesting shows at D-22 were the weekly Tuesday night experimental shows, called Zoomin' Night. So we wanted to open a new space focusing specifically on this aesthetic and this scene.

Read the full interview here

Email: chinasounds@musicdish.com

Sunday, July 8, 2012

There's No Backing Out Of Dazefeast 2012!

Source: http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=13234
DazeFeast 2012 at Beijing's small but mighty club Dos Kolegas proved to the 1,000 plus crowd that Beijing truly is the hub of the Asian music scene. With the Beijing air quality index at an impressive level of 239 (health warnings of emergency pollution conditions) and impending clouds in the sky, nothing could hold back this critical part of the World Music Days June 23rd celebrations in the capital city.
Starting at 4 PM and ending at 4 AM, the 15-band (local save one band) showcase celebrated the diversity, dedication, unity and power of the Beijing music scene.
The set list was impressive not only in number but in range of sounds and styles: SUBS, Fever Machine, Bad Masaman, Amazing Insurance Salesmen, Residence A, Randy Able Stable, Flying Mantas, Not There, Perpetual Motion Machine, Devils at the Crossroad, Lulu Galore, Capoeira Mandinga, Richard Todd, bluegrass Jam, Sorry Darling for my Silence, Li Xia and Ember Swift.
Arriving on the scene at 8 PM, yours truly was still suffering from a toxic street taco from the night before. After a mere glance at the crowd, the feeling of enthusiasm and pure party spirit made it clear: there was to be no backing out. I was in it for the ride until 4am. Dos Kolegas put their awesome back yard to good use: beer tent, food tent (think of lamb meat on a stick and noodles), pool table tent, DJ tent, and hanging out tent were packed out. Inside the small club, the sound system was getting a full workout; things were running smooth as silk. Purple Smog, tribute band to the mighty and sacred Jimi Hendrix, was playing their last gig ever as I entered.
Lots of familiar muso faces were around, and the first person I ended up talking to was owner of Temple, another major club and hub of the local music scene. Clement Berger has been in Beijing for 8 years and when asked about the Beijing music scene, said the following: "There are different sounds, different styles. The scene is new and young and moving a lot. There is punk, metal, electric, traditional, rock. 10 percent of it is good. 2% of it is excellent. Tonight will be great. Look, it's free and that is awesome. The bands are not in it for the money. Just enough for a taxi home."
I then watched the Flying Mantas and have to say; they are talented musicians with a wave surfing (not crowd surfing) sound. If you ever want to feel like you are on a surfboard in the middle of Beijing, this is the band to see. What more do you want? Suntan oil?
The next chat was with Joris, the guitarist and singer from the wall-of-sound Devils at the Crossroad. When asked about the Beijing music scene he stated, "It is the best music scene in Asia due to Beijing being an expat and local melting pot." The changes he has seen over the last six years include, "The quality of bands and venues. Dos Kolegas is the best."
Devils at the Crossroad always pull in a crowd with their shredding, killer guitar riffs, strong stage presence and heavy head-banging sound. Needless to say, they've done it again and remain one of Beijing's front running bands in my opinion.
I was lucky to catch up with the event organizer, the legendary Badr. When asked about the difference between last year's DazeFeast and this one he said, "It's bigger, it's better organized. Now bands come to me. I don't have to find them."When questioned about where the music scene is currently at he stated, "It's at a nice stage. It is one of the most vibrant music scenes I have come across in a long time. It is happening, it is growing, it's vibrant and it is mostly amateurs so it is more genuine. It is open-minded and warm-hearted…… " How is the scene changing? "Heavy metal is on CCTV (Chinese Central Television) now and there is rock in ads for Adidas and Converse."
When asked why Beijing is the centre of the music scene in China/Asia he affirmed, "Beijing is a city of culture and music is culture. Musicians come here from all over China and this is what we have today... look at this" (he points to the 1000 + crowd, up from 7-800 last year despite a major downpour)
One of the more surprising acts of the night for me was Randy Abel Stable. A foot-stomping, banjo picking, harmonica blasting ho-down fit right in to the night's killer mix of music. Crowd sing-alongs, quirky lyrics and straight up bluegrass left me craving for some Jack Daniels and another set by these guys.
The SUBS took the stage around midnight. The SUBS have become a bit of a buzzword and hopes are high for them. Their 80's punk sound and look is far from original but certainly new to Beijing. The female vocalist puts a lot of theatrics, stage makeup, jumping and fantastic clothing into her sets. Actually, these guys (and gal) are pretty in your face and a very high-energy band. For a young scene, it is no surprise that they are gathering a bigger and bigger following. They get a good mosh-pit going, too. The first time you see them it is quite a spectacle. But then the second and third times are very much like the first and offer nothing new. However, the SUBS have packaged themselves well and are sure to go far.
I also got to check out a band called Fever Machine, who came all the way from Shanghai just to kick it for one night. Tight shredding guitar solos with an air of heaviness, a strong driving sound with flashbacks of Sabbath, they added plenty to the night of musical delight. I personally think they should all move to Beijing. That way we could see them more often.
Next up, I spoke with Zhang Si'an (Jean-Sébastien Héry), front man of the Amazing Insurance Salesman It would take a full feature to get into what he does, so let me just call him "Mr. All Things Music In Many Languages And Styles." When asked where the scene is headed, he answered, "No idea where it's going. It has been a long road."When questioned on who is going to break big in Beijing, he stated, "Apart from us, don't see whom." I would have to agree.
Their amazing set at DazeFeast featured their attention grabbing fusion rock sound and rounded it off with beer bottle slide guitar, full-on crowd interaction and crowd surfing. These guys, to put it simply, never disappoint. Add into the Insurance package an amazing drummer (think Animal in the Muppets) and a red-trouser wearing pipe-smoking maniac of a bass player. Yes indeed. If I could turn myself into a fancy record-producer, I'd be quitting my day job tomorrow.
Beijing metal-god Jaime from the popular Bad Mamasan had some good insights to share about the local scene.
When asked where the scene has been he alleged "Developing." When questioned where it is going, the answer was: "Developing faster. There are going to be some real pop stars coming out of these groups. Things are accelerating."His prediction of the breaking band? "The K. Actually a number of bands could with the right producer."Other predictions? "We are going to blow the roof off of this (M*F*) place tonight!"
When asked what makes Beijing the centre of all things music, he said, "It's the political seat of the country, very working man. The Northern China mentality goes well with art, art is dirty."
Bad Mamasan is a true homage to old school heavy metal. Their set consisted of ear-splitting covers complete with power stances. Head-banging metal devotees went wild. Broken strings, flying hair, fast riffs, soaring vocals and a high-speed mosh pit. Is metal dead? The unequivocal answer is 'Hell No!' Don't believe me? Well, then go see Bad Mamasan.
At 3 AM, Not There took the stage. How could a band possibly follow up from a day like that? Answer: They could. The hard-core hanger-on-ers were still going strong. Some were muddy (it had POURED down earlier), some were drunk. And there was some super free-style dancing going on. And yes, we were all in a daze.
Not There had an electro-keyboard, smooth solid bass, and funky snazzy drum sound featuring electronic calls to outer space: it was a Close Encounters of the Third Kind vibe and what better time for aliens to land in Beijing than Dos Kolegas at 4 am in the morning? The perfect closing to a perfect event, indeed.

New L'illon Single, "I'm In Love", Winner Of Platinum Auddy, Released On The 4th Of July - Independence Day Starts With A Bang!


Music artist L'illon, founder of the genre Lucid Pop, is set to release her brand new single "I'm in Love" on July 4th. This song is the first since her debut album Warrior Angel, which received the GrIndie Music Award for music excellence.

On this new track, L'illon seeks to covet more than the heart. With her unique sound and flaming vibe, L'illon showcases her "It" factor and ability to mesmerize fans. This intense song has many layers and degrees behind it; hear it and you'll be wanting more and more.

L'illon's sultry lyrics and fiery voice maps a constellation of fireworks… fireworks… and BANG. The magic and sparks that are released on this track are a perfect kick-off to Independence Day which celebrates love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

In addition, "I'm in Love" has just been awarded the Platinum Audionaut Award (Auddy) by uPlaya's patented Hit Song Science, which analyzes a song's hit potential.

"I'm in Love" is now available exclusively online.

For more information visit: http://www.nimbitmusic.com/lillon
http://www.lillon.com