INDIE NEWS BEAT February 8, 2006 Edition
* 2006 Annual Canadian Radio Music Awards Nominations
* Kobo Town Live at the Canadian Music Week Festival
* Music Gorilla Brings Live Label Showcase Series To SXSW
* The Gypsy Jazz Groove Series Presents Etric Lyons & KUSH With Special Guest BROWNMAN
* FilmClix On The Download With INTENT
* Rock Ridge Music Signs The Accident Experiment
* Toadies Announce Reunion Show
* Billionaire Boys Club Host Record Release Party At Union Square's Virgin Mega Store
* L.A.'s Hippest Rabbi, Reb Jason Delivers Religious Message Through His Music
* Inthemix.com.au Launches Australia's First Podcast To Feature Licensed Dance Music
Canada's hottest music stars will be honoured at the 9th Annual Canadian Radio Music Awards (CRMA) on March 4, 2006. Arcade Fire, Matt Mays and El Torpedo, Bedouin Soundclash, Divine Brown and Massari are among the artists nominated in ten categories honouring the hottest new radio music stars in Canada. In previous years, the CRMAs introduced rookies such as Avril Lavigne, Sam Roberts, Nickelback and Sum 41.
Presented by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), the 9th Annual Canadian Radio Music Awards will be handed out at a gala luncheon on Saturday, March 4, 2006, 12:30 p.m. at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, as part of Canadian Music Week celebrations.
"We are thrilled once again to see the remarkable new talent that has emerged over the past year," said Glenn O'Farrell, President and CEO of the CAB. "Canada's private radio broadcasters congratulate the nominees on their achievements, and look forward to providing musical acts with continued support and encouragement."
"The CRMA nominees for 2006 demonstrate the wealth and diversity of Canadian musical talent and the dedication of private radio broadcasters to promote these rising music stars," said Gary Slaight, President and CEO of Standard Broadcasting Corporation and one of the founders of the awards. "This premiere entertainment and broadcasting event provides us with a great opportunity to celebrate the vital ongoing connection between Canadian music artists and Canadian private radio."
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Kobo Town Live at the Canadian Music Week Festival
Calypso/Roots Reggae band Kobo Town has been invited to showcase the Amnesty Internation Showcase presented by Canadian Music Week, the largest Music & Entertainment Convention in Canada. Kobo Town will take the stage at the Revival on Thursday March 2 at 10:00 PM.
WHEN: Thursday, March 2, 2006 - 10:00 PM
WHERE: Revival - 783 College St., Toronto, Canada Phone: 416 535 7888 http://www.revivalbar.com
Kobo Town is an eight piece Toronto-based group formed in order to help revive interest in the art of traditional calypso (kaiso), and to demonstrate its contemporary relevance by engaging the crucial issues of our time. Named after the historic neighborhood in Trinidad's Port-of-Spain where calypso was born amid the boastful, humourous and militant chants of the roaming stickfighters, Kobo Town has been sharing this tradition of rhythmic and melodic cross-pollination with audiences around Ontario, including Kaiso Breakfast Lime (Scarborough), The Studio Theatre (Perth), Clinton's Tavern (Toront), Mercury Lounge (Ottawa).
Music Gorilla Brings Live Label Showcase Series To SXSW
Music Gorilla, a revolutionary new service company that provides bands with a simple solution and maximum exposure, is pleased to announce its SXSW Live Label Showcase Series. It will be held from March 16 to 19 at Austin's Coyote Ugly, the closest venue to both the SXSW convention center and official hotel. The four day showcase series will feature 23 of some of Music Gorilla's most promising member bands.
Bands and artists wanting to be considered for the Music Gorilla's SXSW Live Label Showcases must register before the submission deadline of February 13th to be considered. Other upcoming showcase opportunities include a NYC show in May 2006 and a West Coast show later in the year.
Label showcases have always been a key Music Gorilla strategy to expose and connect member bands with industry representatives.
"At MusicGorilla.com we strive to open doors for our artists," noted Music Gorilla Co-Founder Alexia Helfand. "Industry reps constantly hear bands say 'You have to see us Live'; we provide that opportunity. Sure, we'll provide the ability to showcase for label reps, but at what price? At Music Gorilla, this opportunity is free; in fact we have flown in label reps at our expense to attend showcases.
"At our October showcase at Pianos in NYC, we had a panelist from Epic who took notes and gave feedback to each band. That information was priceless and most of the bands that performed that night have made improvements based on his suggestions."
For Rick Barrio from the band 2nd Day Crush, the feedback they received at the Pianos showcase was as valuable as the exposure. "By having us play their New York City showcase at Pianos', we were able to generate interest from some labels and A&R that are currently waiting on our new recordings. We were also able to get some much needed feedback from Epic Records and that has in turn gave our band even clearer direction."
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Nufunk.ca and Composition are honoured to present this special performance of KUSH -- Canadian Smooth Jazz Award nominees for Group of the Year and the opening act for ROY AYERS at the Jazz by Genre launch party in November of 2005 which packed the Mod Club.
100% live & improvised and spanning the continuums of downtempo, jazz, house, funk and soul, KUSH is the brainchild of bassist & electronic explorer Etric Lyons . From behind his mysterious and ever-evolving Kush 1.0 time machine, Lyons  the bass pocket on Canadian and world tours with Esthero, Remy Shand, and Jesse Cook, among many others over an accomplished career that spans more than 20 years -- leads drummer Robert Sibony and renowned keyboardist & producer Eddie Bullen. KUSH represents the junction of great improv jazz and DJ culture  fuelled entirely by chemistry and intense concentration.
For this special performance, KUSH will be infused with the NYC-schooled freestyle jazz genius of special guest Nick "Brownman" Ali -- leader of 7 diverse ensembles in which he is joined by some of Canada's finest musicians in defining the creative cutting edge in jazz, Latin, Afro-Cuban, hiphop, and urban cross-pollinations.
"All the hard work building KUSH on a creative and awareness level is finally starting to pay off," says Lyons. "We're all eagerly anticipating this show, especially with the buzz around us given the Smooth Jazz award nomination. And having Brownman with us brings the best in our improvisational vibe, and an open-heartedness and energy that inspires a whole new dimension to the KUSH sound."
Friday, February 17th
@ Gypsy Co-op  817 Queen Street West
10 PM -- $10 at the door
with DJ Christian Newhook and Skyhook
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FilmClix On The Download With INTENT
INTENT MediaWorks and FilmClix iTheatre announced an agreement to distribute FilmClix movies, animations, extreme sports, documentaries, and music videos across P2P networks utilizing its seamless end to end content distribution solution, which bridges corporate advertising with compelling content.
FilmClix will launch onto P2P by releasing a select group of prominent titles geared to immense audience of downloaders. INTENT MediaWorks will publish the encoded versions of FilmClix world-class documentaries, mind bending extreme sports, and independent label music videos, including exclusive content from the renown group Thievery Corporation from ESL Music.
"FilmClix has been distributing their content over the web since its inception, and its no surprise they are now blazing the trail into the uncharted market of full length video downloads," said INTENT CEO Les Ottolenghi.
"We will go where the audience is at," said Julia O'Sullivan founder of FilmClix. "INTENT is fulfilling our vision of meeting the viewer half way. We're creating something new, a network programmed by the dance of demand over a user generated medium."
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Rock Ridge Music Signs The Accident Experiment
Southern California hard rock quartet The Accident Experiment has signed to Rock Ridge Music and will be releasing their first full-length album, "United We Fear," in May. Featuring Marcos Curiel, formerly of P.O.D., on guitar, AeX is rounded out by Ernie Longoria (drums), Tony DeLocht (bass), and Pete Stewart (vocals). The band, who have released an EP already, have toured extensively, opening for the likes of Foo Fighters, Korn, Damage Plan, Drowning Pool, Sevendust, Staind, and others. Metal Edge magazine named the band one of its 20 Bands To Watch in 2005. "United We Fear" will hit stores and digital distribution portals simultaneously this spring.
Said Rock Ridge principal Tom Derr: "The Accident Experiment has created a great work of music that has been in my CD player since the day I received it, and now Rock Ridge will see that it is heard by the masses." Curiel commented: "Given the music industry's current state of evolution, we feel that Rock Ridge Music is the perfect outlet for The Accident Experiment's creative vision. This is only the beginning."
Continuing their trend of digital-only releases, Rock Ridge Music has several digital EPs planned for release over the next several months. February 7th will find an EP due out from Kittie, while the Ike Reilly Assassination will release an acoustic EP in April. In May, Five.Bolt.Main is scheduled to release a live EP. Excited about the ongoing digital offerings, Rock Ridge principal Jason Spiewak said: "The online music world continues to be a source of growth for our artists."
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Dallas based Toadies announced today that they would reunite for one show. On March 11, 2006, The Toadies will headline the Dallas Observer and Greenville Avenue's St Patrick's Day Parade Concert on Yale Blvd. The event runs from 1-6pm. Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 am through frontgatetickets.com
The line-up for this performance includes original members Vaden Todd Lewis (guitar, vocals), drummer Mark "Rez" Reznicek; and Clark Vogeler guitarist on the band's Hell Below/Stars Above record. Mark Hughes, who played the last several Toadies shows, after the departure of Lisa Umbarger, rounds out the line up.
The Toadies released their debut album Rubberneck (
) on Interscope in 1994. The album spawned the nationwide hit singles "Possum Kingdom" and "Tyler," selling well over a million units. In 2001, The Toadies released the criminally overlooked Hell Below/Star Above. Shortly thereafter, bassist Lisa Umbarger quit the band. The remaining band members played a few farewell shows, before going their separate ways.
Since the last Toadies shows in 2001, Vaden Todd Lewis has been fronting and touring with the Burden Brothers (www.theburdenbrothers.com) who released their debut cd Buried In Your Black Heart in 2004. The Burden Brothers are currently finishing their follow up, Mercy, with noted producer Joe Chicarreli. Mercy is scheduled for a late spring 06 release.
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Billionaire Boys Club Host Record Release Party At Union Square's Virgin Mega Store
The Billionaire Boys Club will officially release its debut full-length album, "What Happened Last Night", and perform in the café of the Virgin Mega Store in Union Square at 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 23.
"What Happened Last Night" features ten tracks recorded with Sal Villanueva (Taking Back Sunday, Thursday). It's the follow-up to BBC's "Career Opportunities" EP, which earned them praise from fans and critics alike. Jay Anderson at Popbang Radio reviewed "Career Opportunities" saying "The BBC's new EP picks you up over their shoulders and body slams you into a killer hook-filled assault on your ears! They take the melodic and harmonic smarts of Fountains of Wayne and Imperial Drag and combine them with the raw energy of Weezer and Redd Kross. This band is poised to be freakin' huge!"
The Billionaire Boys Club formed in the summer of 2002 by four like-minded young men, tired of being told what was cool and hell-bent on having their own say. Reef (guitar/vocals), Mark Sanderlin (guitar/vocals) and Matt Lewis (drums) teamed up with bassist Leigh Nelson and resolved to be at the forefront of a revolution years overdue-the re-birth of rock 'n roll- with a new name (inspired by an 80s B-movie starring Judd Nelson) and an injection of punk in their power-pop sound. What they stand for is simple: honest, catchy, guitar-driven/harmony-laden rock with grittiness and irony.
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L.A.'s Hippest Rabbi, Reb Jason Delivers Religious Message Through His Music
L.A.'s hippest Rabbi, Reb Jason attempts to reach a higher plane of spirituality by delivering his religious message through the blessing of music.
Los Angeles area Rabbi, Jason Van Leeuwen aka Reb Jason has embarked on an ambitious mission to spread his gospel of peace and harmony through music in the form of his debut CD release, "Shabbat Rocks."
Rabbi Van Leeuwen is the leader of the congregation at B'nai Tikvah in the Los Angeles area. Prior to that, he was the Cantor at another temple where he was renowned for his musical talents.
This is where his roots for Reb Jason began as he realized the positive impact he could have on people by telling stories through music. His vision led him to the multi- talented Rebbe Soul who lends his guitar shredding to the CD and to percussion master and engineer Dave Haddad who ripped through the drums on "Shabbat Rocks" as well as engineering the project in his Los Angeles area studio, "The Womb".
Says Rabbi van Leeuwen, "I am very excited about the response I have been getting from those in my congregation who know me and appreciate the passion I have for music and religion. The good feelings that music gives people translates into hope and better understanding of the world we live in and helps us to deal with the problems we face daily. As a Rabbi, it is my duty to find ways of connecting with people on this very spiritual level."
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Inthemix.com.au Launches Australia's First Podcast To Feature Licensed Dance Music
inthemix.com.au (ITM), Australia's leading dance music website, has launched Australia's first predominantly music based Podcast that features full length, licensed dance music tracks. The Podcasts are presented in radio show style and are available for download in high quality 128KPBS free of charge. inthemix.com.au has been granted a joint APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) and AMCOS (Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) licence for the use of their musical works into the Podcast service - one of the first of its kind granted in Australia.
The 40 minute long ITMPodcast Sessions, sponsored by Motorola, will feature five to six cutting edge dance music tracks presented by DJs Will Styles and Learned Hand of FunkTrust. The Podcasts will also feature interviews with artists and giveaways. ITMPodcast Session 01 launched 15th January 2006 and is available to download, with new sessions available on the site each fortnight.
"We are very excited to be able to offer our users Podcast content that goes way beyond just spoken word, giving them actual music that they want to listen to," said Neil Ackland, Co-Founder and Director of inthemix.com.au. "With the support of APRA, AMCOS and the record labels who have taken part, we have paved the way for Australian music Podcasts that feature licensed dance music, with full length tracks rather than 30 second samples or tracks from only unsigned artists."
APRA and AMCOS are actively involved in developing a range of online and mobile music licensing schemes, which also cover digital downloads, ringtones and now Podcasting. "The convenience offered by Podcast services has the potential to dramatically alter our listening habits," said Frank Rodi, Online & Mobile Licensing Manger for APRA/AMCOS. "We see the ITMPodcast Sessions experimental agreement as a very positive step which we are proud to be part of  with Podcast services on the cusp of becoming a new source of income for the songwriters, composers and music publishers APRA and AMCOS represent."
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Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © MusicDish LLC 2006 - Republished with Permission
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