INDIE NEWS BEAT February 20, 2006 Edition

Posted by radiogetswild on 2006-02-28 18:12:30 (2339 views)

February 20, 2006 Edition
* Music Producer Named In Payola Case Arrested
* Rust Records To Release Lareau Debut "Changes"
* Mariana Bell Invited To Perform She Grooves Live Showcase
* MusicDish Founder To Talk About Buzz At CMW 2006
* Boost Digital Launches Worldwide Search For Independent Music Videos
* 5th Projekt Prepares For An Exciting 2006
* Bhurr Records Brings The Crowbar To Canadian Music Week 2006
* Goldfinger Drummer Launches Record Label
* Video Game And Music Professionals Launch New Digital Record Label
* Tacoma Redd Gearing Up For CMW & Debut EP Release

Music Producer Named In Payola Case Arrested

Dirty Boyz artist/producer Julian Rowe has been arrested in Fort Wayne, Indiana on forgery charges by Fort Wayne's Sheriff's Department, warrant number 06-01141 for case number D0601-CM-0000. Further, Rowe has felony charges pending in Osceola County Florida. Fort Wayne's legal system is honoring a "No Bail Hold" placed against Rowe by Osceola County, while Seminole County has a pending Class C felony theft complaint against him.

Rowe's Seminole County, FL complaint (case number 2005-249-058) and investigation stems from a recent payola controversy that connected his Dirty Bottom Corporation with WPYO 95.3's (Cox Radio) Program Director, Phil Becker and alleges they fraudulently took direct payments for radio airplay, and arranged for radio promotion which was not delivered. This complaint is currently before the Seminole County District Attorney's Office for prosecution according to Detective Mike Johnson of the City of Casselberry (FL) Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division.

Becker left WPYO after these allegations were levied and subsequently became the Program Director of WJFX 107.9 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the city where Rowe has been arrested for forgery. Other allegations surrounding the Seminole County, FL case indicate the team attempted to use material produced by Rowe and co-written by an independent artist, Ariana Stewart (a minor) to broker a deal for their Dirty Bottom Corporation and deny her use of the material, which she co-authored and recorded with Rowe. Ms. Stewart immediately severed ties with Dirty Bottom Corp and Julian Rowe and continues to move forward in her music endeavors.

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Rust Records To Release Lareau Debut "Changes"

Rust Records, an independent label out of Cleveland, Ohio, has released Changes (), the debut recording from Lareau. The band, led by singer/songwriter Larry Lareau, combines the earthy textures of Ben Folds Five and Three Doors Down with the poetic imagery of Ben Harper. Lareau is joined in the band by multi-instrumentalist/percussionist Darrin Payne, guitarists! Pete Gool, Chris Saxton, bassist Tim Reed and keyboardist Anthony Brown.

When six people click and take part in the development of a sound, explains Lareau, "itÂ¹s a spiritually transcendent event. I just could not produce the flavors and complexity of sounds, ideas and songs on my own that this band created when we worked together unselfishly."

Rust President Ken Cooper adds, "I looked at our labelÂ¹s roster and realized we had some great rock and country music talent, but were missing something in between. This band fulfills that need."

Rust is a Universal Music Group imprint. Lareau will be worked out of the Adult Alternative division of the Rust Nashville offices in Tennessee. Tour dates will be announced shortly.

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Mariana Bell Invited To Perform She Grooves Live Showcase

New York-based singer/songwriter Mariana Bell will be performing two shows in late February, including her first appearance at the She Grooves Live showcase on February 26th at Caffe Vivaldi. She Grooves Live includes some of the best female singer songwriters from NYC

FEBRUARY SHOWS

Monday the 20th at Rockwood Music Hall
(Allen bet. Houston and Stanton)
11 PM

Wednesday the 26th at She Grooves Live showcase
Caffe Vivaldi
(32 Jones Street off Bleecker and 7th Ave)
5-8 PM

In addition to performing the showcase, Mariana will be interviewed for the She Grooves radio show by host and Female Musician founder Theresa Orlando, broadcast on WCVF 88.9 PM in Fredonia, NY and 102.7 FM CILU in Thunderbay, Canada.

"Mariana Bell has what many people I have come across say is missing from much of the music these days - passion. Whether it's an old jazz record, a new jazz artist, rock from the kids down the street or the Cream reunion concerts, good ole fashion honest passion is the thread running through all great music, be it primitive or mind-boggling in its sophistication. Ms. Bell has that in spades." Mark Kirby, MusicDish

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MusicDish Founder To Talk About Buzz At CMW 2006

MusicDish founder Eric de Fontenay has been invited to speak on the "Blog-Rolling: Creating The Buzz In The New Media" panel at the 24th Canadian Music Week conference, the single longest running conference focusing on the business of Music. Eric will be discussing the growing importance of non-traditional avenues for artists to market their music as well as his company's experience in leveraging digital technology to help record labels such as Eagle Rock and City Canyon Records brand their artists.

"You surf on the web, and all you see are stories about how the iPod & satellite are killing broadcast radio. That's fine and good, but that just means that the industry needs to learn, and in some cases invent, new strategies & techniques to gain access to those iPods, XM radios and mobile phone."

"For example, advertising - the bread-&-butter of old media - is totally irrelevant in a digital world. When was the last time anyone clicked on a banner? Brand development, saturated marketing, relationship building,... this is the new lingo the industry will have to learn in order to be successful."

Eric will also take advantage of the conference to create a little buzz for Kobo Town, a Toronto-based Calypso Roots Reggae band he's managed since late 2005. The band will be performing the CMW's Amnesty International showcase on Thursday March 2nd, 10:00 PM at the Revival (783 College St.)

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Boost Digital Launches Worldwide Search For Independent Music Videos

Having launched Boost Digital Radio, an online radio station that plays music only by independent artists, Boost Digital.com is now looking for independent music videos.

The search is on worldwide for video makers who are keen for their music to be not only heard but seen. As they are received the videos will start appearing alongside all the other attractions of the site that have been submitted by independent talent.

Summing up what Boost Digital.com is all about, Boost CEO Graeme Logan said: "Boost Digital is leading the digital broadband revolution by being the first in the world to provide a full entertainment content portal providing; Music, Independent Radio, Kids Radio, Short Films, Games, Photo Gallery, music and film news and soon cell phone content 24/7 online".

Apart from submissions from video creators, Boost Digital.com is also interested in receiving music videos from school and college students whose productions will be entered in the "Student Online Arts Festival".

This carries a prize of AU$1,000 for the winning student and AU$1,000 for the winning school in each of four categories making a total cash prize of AU$8,000. The competition is open to any student attending any school or college on the planet.

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Bhurr Records Brings The Crowbar To Canadian Music Week 2006!

Since launching in 1996, Toronto indie label BHURR RECORDS has never been afraid to try something new. From the launch of the National IndieBlast Program to the infamous "10 Band / 2 Stage CMW Showcases" to the development of unique marketing programs with music-friendly brands such as Molson Canadian and Jagermeister, this division of RCD Music has always shown a "Never Say Never" attitude and hands-on commitment to Artist Development and Promotion for Rock n Roll and Roots Artists in Canada.

RCD Music has worked with Crash Kelly, C'Mon, Galore, Bucket Truck, Rocketface, Linda M, Tricky Woo, The Salads, Neil Leyton, Memory Bank, Oliver Black, Amped, The Tijauana Bibles, Lodown, Tenth Planet and Big Jeezus Truck to name just a few of the many talented Artists who have appeared at a BHURR RECORDS / RCD MUSIC Event in the recent past. With the completion of a new distribution arrangement with FONTANA NORTH, BHURR RECORDS looks forward to the opportunity to bring great new talent directly to market in Canada and around the world.

For Canadian Music Week, BHURR RECORDS / RCD Music joins forces with GENSUB RECORDS to initiate a NEW Live Music Venue into the musical madness and mayhem that is Canadian Music Week. Say hello to CROWBAR!

Plan on checking out CROWBAR during CMW, conveniently located at 577 King St. West, just east of Portland. We guarantee that you will be glad you did. CROWBAR is a fantastic live room with a comfortable stage area, great sound, a very cool bar and leather sofas at the back giving you just the place to sign your next great act!

Musically, CROWBAR has it all during CMW 2006: Rock, Roots, Punk, Funk and everything in between. Watch for the Quattro Coppas Tequila Crew on Thursday, and it's always a party when JAGERMEISTER is in the house. Plan to "Release the Beast" with the JAGERETTES at CROWBAR on Friday and Saturday night!

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Goldfinger Drummer Launches Record Label

Darrin Pfeiffer, drummer for the U.S. pop-punk band Goldfinger, is proud to announce the launch of High 4 Records, which will be operated out of Toronto and distributed by the newly formed Fontana North Distribution / Universal Music Canada.

Goldfinger, best known for their hits "Here In Your Bedroom", "Counting The Days" and their cover of "99 Red Balloons", has achieved Gold Status twice in both the US and Canada.

The decision to start a label was not something Darrin made lightly. "Starting a label was not an easy decision, says Pfeiffer, but after being a recording and touring musician for 15 years and having seen the artist prospective of the music business , I wanted to start a label which has real passion for what we are signing and wanting to give young bands a fair shot at success".

Darrin was born in Buffalo, New York and spent several years living in Los Angeles before marrying a Canadian and relocating to Toronto. "Canada is my home" says Darrin, "and I couldn't think of a better place to launch my label. The Canadian music scene is the best in the world!"

High 4 Records have plans to release 2 bands in 2006; Cauterize & Crush Luther. Cauterize, a power pop band from Oshawa Ontario, are scheduled to release their 2nd full length CD, Paper Wings, in late April. High 4 Records second release will be the self titled debut release from Toronto's Crush Luther, tentatively scheduled release in June.

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Video Game And Music Professionals Launch New Digital Record Label

Newly formed Shelter From the Storm Records develops, markets and distributes new music artists and will commence formal operations with the launch of Julia Jane on November 1st. Julia is a 20 year old Acoustic Rock singer-songwriter from Southern California. The company plans to launch several new artists over the next six months Â including Los Angeles cult classic rockers Bluebeard (www.bluebeardmusic.com), and a new female contemporary country music sensation. Music downloads are available for released artists at iTunes, MSN, Sony Connect, Napster, Rhapsody, Starbucks Hear Music and most other legal internet destinations, including the college campus music resource Ruckus.

"At Shelter, we develop artists Â not just marketing plans. In the music business, the new world order all begins and ends with the talent. Marketing and Promotion are a means to an end with the artist taking a very active role in the process." Shelter CEO Vincent Bitetti said. "We intend to build our artists via internet singles and EPs and launch full length LPs after demand creation." He continued, Å’'Although very encouraged by the three-fold increase in music downloads this year, we are talking to potential brick and mortar domestic and international distribution partners now as we expect to ship our first physical product in Q1 2006. We anticipate finalizing these deals at MIDEM in January"

The company's business model includes exclusive publishing and management agreements as appropriate for the artist. The company is also working on various mobile initiatives to promote and sell music, and intends to leverage its video game experience and contacts to benefit its artists in future video games.

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Tacoma Redd Gearing Up For CMW & Debut EP Release

Power pop/rock band Tacoma Redd is gearing up for their first Canadian Music Week showcase on Friday March 3rd at 10pm at the Crowbar. The band will be putting the finishing touches on their debut EP A Momentary Misfortune, this month as they master the six songs produced by Moe Berg (The Pursuit of Happiness).

"We're extremely excited to have the opportunity to perform at Canadian Music Week 2006. CMW has always been a great experience and a band can't help but get excited at the possibility of showcasing to so many industry people and other cool bands from all over the place," says frontman Doug Smart.

Tacoma Redd whose influences include Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Doughboys, Husker Du, Cheap Trick and AFI features Smart on vocals, Bryan Richards on guitar, Chris Bell on bass and Dean Glover on drums. Although formed in late 2003, it was 2005 where things started to happen for Tacoma Redd. Last year saw the band secure management, hooking up with Berg for their first recording and landing on the same shows as Billy Idol, Bif Naked, The Illuminati and Robin Black.

The band is hoping to catch the attention of labels, distributors, agents and publishers at the festival taking place in Toronto March 2-4. Never a band to sit around and wait for things to happen, Tacoma Redd plan to release the EP and do some touring by this summer whether the industry jumps on board or not. "The experience of working with such an established musical mind as Moe Berg leaves us feeling very confident that this album will turn some heads in the right direction," comments Smart.

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5th Projekt Prepares For An Exciting 2006

Toronto based band 5th Projekt is showcasing for Canadian Music Week at Clinton's Tavern (693 Bloor St. W., Toronto) on Thursday night, March 2nd at 1am.

5th Projekt has been busy working on new material for their upcoming full-length debut, which caught the interest of Ken Andrews (Failure, A Perfect Circle, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club). As a result, he will be mixing the yet-to-be-titled album for the band. "It is most excellent to have our music in the hands of a creative entity that we believe in and have him believe in us back," says 5th Projekt's SkÃ¶dt D. McNalty. The album is scheduled for release in the spring of 2006.

5th Projekt is a band that is difficult to categorize into one specific genre of music. Their sound has been described as lush, cinematic, ethereal & haunting. The band has drolly dubbed it "Neo-Classical Romanticism". It is very much about finding balance and by no means limits itself to the music alone. They formed in 2003 and feature Tara Rice on vocals and guitars, SkÃ¶dt D McNalty on guitars and machines, Nathan Kaye on drums and Peter Broadley on bass. The Tales of Don Quixote is their most recent EP, released under their own label, Organik Rekords, which got some great reviews.

In the last couple years, they have received tons of campus press, radio support and great backing from their fans. In 2005 they were featured in the Showcase section of Canadian Musician magazine and received a nomination for Best Alternative Artist in the Toronto Independent Music Awards.

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