INDIE NEWS BEAT Week of March 6, 2004

* 4th Annual Women In Rock Extravaganza
* California Senator Introduces Bill To Protect Talent From Scams
* Sara Groves Set To Release The Other Side Of Something
* TREE63 Returns With The Answer To The Question
* Progressive Pop Artist Leslie Berry Releases Was It Blue?
* Vision Music USA Takes Their Services To The Next Level
* A.C. Reed May 9, 1926 - February 25, 2004
* The Windrift Music Songwriting Competition 2004 Opens
* MFA Holds Concerts To Rally The Youth Vote

4th Annual Women In Rock Extravaganza

Daisy Rock Guitars presents the 4th Annual Women In Rock showcase at The Lucky Lounge, 209 W. 5th on Saturday, March 20th from 5:00 to 11:00pm in Austin's downtown loft district. The evening will consist of electric performances by female performing artists from all over the country! This very special event is driven exclusively by donations and the support of our sponsors, and is completely open to the public. There will be a raffle contest to win a brand new Daisy Rock Guitar at night's end.

Women In Rock, Inc. is a non-profit, collaborative organization promoting a community of women in a creative environment. Their mission is promoting public awareness of new and emerging female performing artists by producing top quality music events designed to encourage shared values, collective resources, and common interests.

Sara Groves Set To Release The Other Side Of Something March 23rd

On the heels of her critically acclaimed project, All Right Here, Sara Groves will release her third project with INO Records, The Other Side of Something on March 23, 2004. The project features two producers, with four tracks crafted by Charlie Peacock, and the remaining seven by Groves' long-time producer Nate Sabin.

Groves spent 2003 wrestling with God and struggling against the hold evil has on this world. She emerged with a few cuts and bruises, but she also gained a new perspective, a more sure-footed faith despite life's uncertainties.

"Spiritually, it's where I was," she says. "I felt beat up, but I returned to my corner. Now I'm rested and ready to go. And I feel more sure of my call, more confident in what I'm doing."

When producer Charlie Peacock asked her to define the effect the last year had on her, she explained that it felt like she was on the other side of something. That sentiment sparked "Compelled", an ultimately optimistic tune she wrote with Peacock: "I have a new hope that blows away/The small hopes I knew before/And at the end of the day I am yours/And I am compelled."

"I had been a fan of Charlie's for a long time, watching from afar," Groves says. She was also curious about how her sound would change with another producer. That's how Peacock was tapped to help Groves bring to life four of the songs born out of last year's struggles. To produce the balance of the album, she relied on the talents of long-time collaborator Nate Sabin. The result is a mix of songs that find Groves gamely exploring new musical territory while remaining always true to who she is.

From the introspective "Leave It Like a Skin" to the marital honesty of "Roll to the Middle" and the timely "Esther," which touches on the African AIDS crisis, Groves isn't afraid to probe some still tender topics if her insights can challenge others and move them closer to God and each other.

Murray Introduces Bill To Protect Talent From Scams

Senator Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles) announces the introduction of new legislation to ensure the protection of aspiring entertainers from scams.

SB 1687 closes a loophole in the Advance Fee Talent Service Act (AFTS). AFTS was enacted in 1999 to protect individuals in the talent business from scams such as paying for job applications or making up-front payments for unsuccessful job placements.

Unfortunately, scammers have found a way around the law and continue to charge up front fees. Rather than explicitly charging artists up front for representation, scammers draft contracts to disguise the costs as photographs or acting classes.

Specifically, SB 1687 will make sure that these practices do not continue by specifying that the term "advance fee" includes a fee paid for the purchase of a good or service in order to obtain representation, counseling or promotion.

Progressive Pop Artist Leslie Berry Releases Was It Blue?

Was It Blue?, an adventurous new CD created by South Carolina-based, progressive pop artist Leslie Berry, is set for official release on March 8. Was It Blue? incorporates elements of electronica into Leslie's unique brand of piano-pop.

Ranging from ambient to pop to classical to electronica to Celtic, the songs on Was It Blue? are all connected thematically and share a reflective but melancholy mood. Atlanta's Creative Loafing describes Leslie's music as simmering with "understated unrest." Indie-Music.com calls her music "piano-driven pop storytelling led by a vocal that is delicate and magical, dancing over notes like a ballerina, blending harmonies that are positively ethereal."

This CD release is unique in that Leslie recorded all of the instruments and the vocals herself in her home recording studio. Was It Blue? was conceived, recorded, arranged, produced and mixed by Leslie using her Kurzweil PC-88 electronic keyboard, as well as various hardware and software synthesizers and her home computer. She enlisted the help of engineer, composer, guitarist and band member David Berry to master the CD.

"Writing the songs on Was It Blue? was a cathartic experience for me," Leslie says, "and a diversion from much of my previous work. After years of performing in mostly acoustic settings, I decided to create a CD that was entirely electronic and keyboard-based. These songs are also very personal and honest and so I feel a strong connection to them."

Leslie also includes "Boys of Kilkenny," an arrangement of an Irish traditional song that she originally recorded for the Converse College Dance Ensemble. In "Chopin Interlude," Leslie includes excerpts of the "Ballade in F minor" by Frederic Chopin, recorded by Leslie during her senior year of college. The piece takes on a new life as she adds ambient sounds to create a spacy effect.

TREE63 Returns With The Answer To The Question March 9

Inpop Records' Dove Award-winning, best-selling rock trio Tree63 is preparing for the release of the band's third project, The Answer to the Question, hitting streets March 9.

Two singles simultaneously released from the album are already climbing rapidly up the radio charts. "Blessed Be Your Name" debuted at #9 on the Christian Radio Weekly (CRW) AC chart and was the most added Christian AC song this week for Radio & Retailing (R&R). The album's title song enjoyed a #18 debut on the R&R Christian Rock chart, where it has currently rocketed up to #11 this week.

Tree63 garnered a string of #1 and Top 5 singles with its first two releases, the Dove Award winning self-titled debut and 2002's The Life and Times of Absolute Truth. The trend looks to continue with The Answer to the Question as the album's first two singles garner adds and praise from radio programmers across the country.

In addition to its #11 spot on the Rock chart, "The Answer to the Question" is also receiving play at key CHR stations. Concurrently, "Blessed Be Your Name" has been added at 23 stations since the singles launched Jan. 9, including WAY-FM, KSBJ Houston, KXOJ Tulsa, and the K-LOVE radio network, whose morning on-air personality and vice president for programming management, Jon Rivers, commented on the song.

"Tree63 is one of the surprises of the new year," Rivers said. "Seemingly out of nowhere, their version of 'Blessed Be Your Name' is a fresh treatment of an already established worship favorite. They somehow developed the perfect blend of intimate, edgy vocals cradled in gentle rock riffs and grooves that fit perfectly in today's contemporary formats. Our listeners love it!"

Vision Music USA Takes Their Services To The Next Level

Vision Music USA is a one-stop resource for independent musicians that can assist you with every aspect of your career, whether you are just starting out or have been doing it for a while and struggling to get to the next level.

Vision Music USA started because the owners, Nick Stamoulis and Josh Epstein, felt that musicians trying to make it on their own needed a true and real resource to help their career. Unlike any other type of company out there, they really offer the experience, expertise, knowledge and vision that all musicians need to jumpstart their careers by providing professional advice and guidance every step of the way. All of their services are 100% customized to fit your music and goals. When they say, "We are a no BS firm," they mean it.

Recently, in an effort to increase their line of product offerings to give artists a complete and thorough needs assessment and by taking a proactive stance by actually making services and products immediately available, provides the results artists are looking for. The firm's desire to help an artist take their career to the next level has become more powerful than ever before.

A.C. Reed May 9, 1926 - February 25, 2004

Famed Chicago-based blues saxophonist, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader A.C. Reed - a leading elder figure and the best-known sax player of the Chicago blues scene - died Wednesday, February 25, 2004, from complications due to cancer. He was 77. During the course of his career, Reed played his fat-toned, elegantly simple tenor sax with artists like Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Son Seals both on stage and on record, as well as leading his own band, the Spark Plugs. His three solo albums and numerous singles all featured his wry, humorous songs - some of which have been covered by other artists including Magic Slim, Charlie Musselwhite and Eddie Shaw.

The Windrift Music Songwriting Competition 2004 Opens

The Windrift Music Songwriting Competition 2004 is now open, with fabulous prizes, and fantastic Industry Professional Judges.

FREE GIFT worth over $175US, as well as many amazing Industry Discounts, given to every entrant. Additional prizes include, Monthly Spot-Prize Draws, Multiple Entry Bonuses, Early Bird Bonuses & Early Bird Draw, as well as many random free entries available

The Competition is open to both self-published and unpublished Songwriters. The Competition accepts all genres of music, and is open to residents of all countries. There is no limit to the number of songs that you can enter.

MFA Holds Concerts In Over 18 Cities To Rally The Youth Vote

Music For America's "Party and Politics: Not Your Average Party Politics" inaugural event at The Henry Fonda Theater brought together some of conscious Hip Hop's finest for an all star studded event that included performances from up and coming local bands Move.meant, Burning Star and Freestyle Fellowship trail blazer Abstract Rude and the Abstract Tribe Unique.

Turntablist extraordinaire Mike Realm pushed the envelope even further setting the stage for Spoken Word phenom Saul Williams who in a multi-tiered performance added his unmistakable political and socioeconomic infused brand of poetry that served as a natural compliment to conscious mix. Murs form the Living Legends Crew, brought his unique brand flavor of lyricism setting the stage for the concerts biggest draws, Lyrics Born and Blackalicious. These internatioanally renowned artists kept the party rocking till early into the wee hours of the night with their conscious infused brand of booty shaking head nodding hip hop.

1250+ hip-hop enthusiasts enjoyed this diverse eclectic series of performances setting the stage for Music For America to make a resounding impression on the crowded LA media market. The message from Friday nights event was clear "Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry generation X will be a factor in this year's election and our voices will be heard!"

Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright Tag It 2004 - Republished with Permission