INDIE NEWS BEAT February 15, 2005 Edition

Posted by inanglia on 2005-02-21 00:00:00 (3449 views)

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February 15, 2005 Edition
* 3 KISSES Releases Wings CD, Yellow DVD
* CatDesigners Releases Sneak Preview On File Sharing Networks
* Pale Beneath the Blue's 'In 2 U' Receives The Club Remix Treatment
* 5th Annual Chicks RockFest Scheduled For April 8th & 9th
* Victoria Speaks About Parents, Pressure and Passion for Pop Music
* Hammond B-3 Legend Jimmy Smith Passes
* Europe Steps Up Action Against Counterfeiting And Piracy
* TourVote Brings Democracy To Live Music
* Warner Bros. Danny Kee Confirmed To Speak At Indie Music Week
* VeriTouch Announces World's First Bio-Secured P2P Network

3 KISSES Releases Wings CD, Yellow DVD

Just days after the "Wings" LP release, Tish Meeks of 3 KISSES was featured on Indie Artist Radio's syndicated Indie Limelight show, hosted by James St. James. This was followed up with 3 KISSES signing on with an international booking agency and a publicity deal with TinderboX Music entailing the launch of a CMJ radio campaign. The contract was signed with TinderboX Music the last week of October and 3 KISSES CD, Wings, was launched to over 400 radio stations nationwide the first week of December. Wings is making the CMJ charts on stations such as Chicago's WIIT and Pittsburgh's WPTS. 3 KISSES will be following up the nationwide airplay with live performances starting with the House of Rock in Denver on March 19.

The band plans to give audiences everywhere the opportunity to take part in the 3 KISSES experience. Career Austin musician, Lauren Dillon says, "3 KISSES was doing their thing and outshining anyone I'd heard Å a sound that sets them apart from other Austin bands... they radiate warmth and are engaging and fun to watch." Steve Syx of Working @ Syx Productions concurs, "...this group has what it takes to make an audience want to listen."

It's true that 3 KISSES is making an impression in Austin. The Austin American-Statesman's Austin Band Hotline Directory selected 3 KISSES as their featured artist for the Alternative Rock genre in their Fall 2004 edition of SHOWCASE, A Preview of the Central Texas Music Scene. On November 7, 3 KISSES played at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for over 19,000 race participants and on November 21, 3 KISSES played at the Motive Bison Stampede to benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. But it isn't just in Texas where people are taking notice. Jon Rucker of Rockland World Radio in Rockland, NY, recently interviewed Tish and has invited 3 KISSES up for a live studio performance. RadioIndy.com voted 3 KISSES the best new Austin band and Wings album of the year in the annual Austin Chronicle music contest.

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CatDesigners Releases Sneak Preview On File Sharing Networks

In conjunction with the MusicDish Network, CatDesigners have released a sneak preview of a track from their upcoming album "Zuta Minuta" through an innovative campaign featuring the band's personalized P2P software, powered by TurstyFiles. The track is a demo version of a song called "Here Comes My Thrill" which was originally recorded for CatDesigners second album, 'Strange Little Creature' - .

"The positive reaction to the band and their second album has been so tremendous, we felt we had to be very proactive with their upcoming album," noted MusicDish Network President Eric de Fontenay. "Releasing the preview track through a comprehensive peer-to-peer campaign will keep CatDesigners at the forefront and help build the buzz for 'Zuta Minuta'."

CatDesigner's p2p software will allow fans to access his site in one click as well as share promotional multimedia content with other file sharers. Fans will also be able to access the latest music news from Mi2N.com, CD/DVD reviews from MusicDish.com as well as contests and promotions from other MusicDish Network artists. CatDesigners file sharing software can be downloaded direct at http://www.musicdish.net/P2P/music/CatDesigner_TrustyFiles.exe

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Pale Beneath the Blue's 'In 2 U' Receives The Club Remix Treatment From Renowned DJ Twisted Dee

Pale Beneath the Blue's song 'In 2 U' - from their latest release titled Hologram - received the club remix treatment from DJ/producer Twisted Dee (Denise Gurney), the renowned Fire Island DJ who has remixed songs for other artists such as Gioia Bruno (of the group Expose) and Scandelle among many others.

Hologram's producer, Blake Althen (of Human Factor) was the driving force in getting singer/songerwriter, Rhonda Everitt (aka Pale Beneath the Blue) hooked-up with Twisted Dee. 'We started recording what became Hologram in February 2004. After the record came out, Althen called Twisted Dee and asked if she would be interested in remixing any of the songs," explains Everitt. "I thought it sounded like fun and he was interested to hear what she would do. She grabbed 'In 2 U' and sent me a file several weeks later. I really like what Dee did with it. It's fun to hear your song as this big dance track. You can imagine the lights and the smell of the club as a floor full of people are dancing to it.'

Twisted Dee has been playing her mix at two of the hottest clubs in New York - Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines - and at the very popular dance club Apex in Washington, D.C.

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5th Annual Chicks RockFest Scheduled For April 8th & 9th

The 5th Annual Chicks RockFest rolls into Southgate House this year for two nights of female rock on April 8th and 9th. Last year's CRF in Downtown Cincinnati drew over one thousand people to two different venues over two nights to see over thirty "female-centric" acts on three stages. This year's CRF promises all that and more, including vendors and other surprises, on three stages at the historic Southgate House in Newport, KY.

"The show is about females that are involved with the bands," says Chicks Rock founder Jenny "Jem" Schmidt on her reason for founding CRF. "It's not a novelty. It's not even something that hasn't been done before, like Lillith Fair. Well, this isn't your mama's Lillith Fair. But, what's better than putting a hot chick up there who says, 'Hey, come watch me. I sing. I play guitar'? Ultimately, it's all about having a good time. That's my agenda."

"There isn't a whole lot you remember when you organize a festival like this, but I do remember taking a minute with Rhonda Everitt (Pale Beneath The Blue/rhe) who I knew had just had surgery less than 3 weeks prior. She showed up with a freakin' heart monitor/I.V. looking thing attached to her! I remember I told her she needed to go home, but she marched herself on into the Barrelhouse, propped her leg up onto the keyboard, played out her set and rocked the house! She kicked butt like she had 2 good legs!"

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Victoria Speaks About Parents, Pressure and Passion for Pop Music

Call this a crazy time for Victoria Acosta. Less than a year ago, she stepped into a professional recording studio for the first time and started laying down vocal tracks for her debut CD, "Once Upon A Time". Now, her first music single, The World's Gone Crazy, has just been released. Preparations are being made to shoot her first music video. The CD is scheduled to be released April 26, 2005 and the honor roll student still has to keep up with her schoolwork.

You have been trained as a mariachi singer, and you're so good you won the title "Best Mariachi Vocalist in the United States." Do you prepare differently when you sing Mariachi versus Pop music?
Victoria: Oh yes. When you sing Mariachi, it's less action, a lot of long vibrant notes, and you have to connect with the audience. With Pop, there are a lot of quick cuts and your movement on stage usually requires a lot of action. You have to entertain the crowd, and you have to make sure that you keep them interested.

What was it like the first time you stepped in to the studio?
Victoria: I was actually very comfortable. The only thing was, I wasn't holding the mike, and I had to put headphones on and I couldn't move around like I was on stage. I had a great time. It was a wonderful experience. I learned how to harmonize so I was right in tune, and how to double myself exactly the same way every time.

Did you always want to be a singer?
Victoria: I love to sing. This is my first love. I want to be a singer, but I also love to write because when you write, you become the creator of everything that happens. You get to be creative and you get to let your imagination flow. I'd like to some day put the two togetherâ€¹singing and writing.

Who do you listen to?
Victoria: I listen to a lot of people. When I sing Mariachi, I listen to Linda Ronstadt, Patsy Torres because of Fiesta Texas, and then I also listen to a lot of people on the radio, of course. Today, my favorite bands are Maroon 5 and Evanescence. I also like Jessica Simpson, JoJo, and Usher.

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Hammond B-3 Legend Jimmy Smith Passes

Jimmy Smith, the Hammond B-3 icon who creatively revolutionized the instrument in Jazz, died of apparent natural causes on Tuesday, February 8, at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Funeral arrangements are pending.

"Jimmy was one of the greatest and most innovative musicians of our time. I love the man and I love the music. He was my idol, my mentor and my friend," fellow Hammond B-3 artist and friend, Joey Defrancesco said yesterday.

Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania on December 8, 1925, Jimmy Smith ruled the Hammond B-3 organ in the 1950s & 1960s. He turned the instrument into almost an ensemble itself, fusing R&B, blues, and gospel influences with bebop references into a jubilant, attractive sound that many others immediately absorbed before following in his footsteps. Smith initially learned piano both from his parents and on his own. After service in the Navy, in 1948 he studied bass at the Hamilton School of Music and piano at Ornstein's School of Music in Philadelphia. He began playing the Hammond organ in 1951, and soon earned a great reputation that followed him to New York, where he debuted at the CafÃ© Bohemia. A date at Birdland and then a 1957 Newport Jazz Festival appearance launched Smith's career. He toured extensively throughout the 1960s & '70s.

Smith's Blue Note sessions from 1956 to 1963 were extremely influential and are highly recommended. They included collaborations with Kenny Burrell, Lee Morgan, Lou Donaldson, Tina Brooks, Jackie McLean, Ike Quebec, and Stanley Turrentine, among others. Smith also recorded for Verve from 1963 to 1972, many of them featuring big bands and using fine arrangements from Oliver Nelson. These included the excellent Walk on the Wild Side.

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European Commission And Member States Step Up Action Against Counterfeiting And Piracy

Statistics just published by the European Commission show a significant increase in the amount of counterfeit and pirated articles seized at the EU's external borders in 2003. Customs officials seized almost 100 million of such articles in 2003 compared with 85 million in 2002, of an estimated value of one billion euros. Of particular concern in terms of consumer health and safety is the increase in the number of seizures of games and children's toys, with 12 million seizures representing a 996% increase over 2002. Seizures of food products and medicines increased in the same period by 77%. The trend in recent years of a move from smuggling luxury goods to smuggling more everyday products continued in 2003. While the compilation of statistics for 2004 has not yet been completed, the results so far demonstrate that the customs authorities of the new Member States have intercepted a significant amount of counterfeit goods.

"Counterfeiting and piracy increasingly involve children's toys, medicines and food products and this constitutes a real danger to consumers" said EU Taxation and Customs Commissioner LÃ¡szlÃ³ KovÃ¡cs. "The customs authorities of the Member States are already working hard to combat this problem but we must take many more very concrete actions if we are to protect ourselves and the world from this threat to our safety and to our economy.

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TourVote Brings Democracy To Live Music

When the band Army Of Me takes the stage at Washington D.C.'s venerable music venue The Black Cat on Friday February 11, they will be secure in the knowledge that at least a portion of the attending audience had proactively requested the show. Both the band and the venue are taking advantage of a unique, new "request line" that empowers music fans to communicate their live music wishes not only to the musical artists they want see in concert but also to the venues and promoters that put shows on stage.

Rather than simply waiting and hoping that local music venues and promoters will book shows by the musical artists they want to see, some consumers are registering their requests through a growing number of web sites Â collectively called The TourVote Network Â run by live music venues, promoters, radio stations, entertainment publications, and the artists themselves. The requests are funneled to the artists and to live entertainment buyers who want to gain direct insight into the deepest desires of concert-goers.

"The people have spoken. DC loves Army of Me. That's cool because we love DC," said Army Of Me lead singer Vince Scheuerman. "TourVote is great Â it gives the fans a voice. Let them be heard." Army Of Me currently has the distinction of being the most-requested indie band in the DC Metro area, according to the TourVote system. A much larger number of fans have requested live shows by Army of Me in other cities around the US, fueling the band's hopes for breaking out into a wider market.

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Warner Bros. Danny Kee Confirmed To Speak At Indie Music Week

Indie Music Week has announced that Danny Kee, Director of A&R for Warner Bros. Records, Nashville, will be participating as an Indie Music Week panelist. IMW, taking place in Nashville March 11-12, will feature three industry panels of Major and Independent A&R, promoters, label executives, producers, managers and lawyers, and will wrap up with a Music Industry Summit.

Danny Kee has been with Warner Bros. Records for 17 years and has been Director of A&R for 10 of them. He currently has A&R responsibilities for such acts as Big & Rich, Shannon Brown, Faith Hill, Anna Owens, Ray Scott, Blake Shelton, Rick Trevino and Lane Turner. Prior to working in A&R, Danny was production assistant to Jim Ed Norman (former president, Warner Bros., Nashville) and worked on records Jim Ed produced including Hank Williams, Jr., Crystal Gayle, Michael Martin Murphey, Kenny Rogers, Brenda Lee, Forester Sisters, Mac MacAnally, Kathie Lee Gifford, & Southern Pacific to name a few..

"Danny is one of the most forward-thinking and capable A&R people in the industry and we're honored he agreed to speak at Indie Music Week. Everyone present at Indie Music Week will learn something from his years of experience," says Jonell Polansky, President of Indie Music Week.

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VeriTouch Names David McNab New Technology Chief, Announces World's First Bio-Secured P2P Network

VeriTouch Ltd. announced today that world-renowned technologist David McNab of Auckland, New Zealand, has joined VeriTouch as its Chief Technology Architect. Mr. McNab, inventor of Freemail, the first encrypted messaging system for Freenet, and the encrypted instant messaging client PSST, is a world expert in the implementation of web-based systems to protect the anonymity and security of individuals and data, and will support the delivery of VeriTouch's new solutions for the secure transfer of valuable entertainment properties during production and pre-release.

In a tandem announcement, VeriTouch is scheduled to release vNETÂ®, the world's first biometrically-encrypted and accessed P2P network incorporating VeriTouch's patent-pending Personal EncryptionÂ®. vNET will offer music, film, video and video game production companies, artists and executives VeriTouch's advanced biometric encryption and user authentication for the transfer of music, video and video game properties during production and in pre-release stages to prevent piracy. vNET will also include the world's first biometric watermark technology, bioMARKÂ®, which embeds biometric forensic information into files secured and exchanged over the P2P network.

In an official statement, CEO Gary E. Brant commented, "We are very excited to have David joining our company as VeriTouch introduces a comprehensive anti-piracy P2P network and related tools for our clients in the music recording, film and video production, and video gaming industries. His world-class expertise in designing solutions for data encryption, user authentication and secure transfer of information over next-generation networks will accelerate VeriTouch's leadership in providing a robust and secure world-wide P2P network to the entertainment industry going forward."

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