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Uarts Music Alumna Venissa Santi Awarded Pew

At the same time, she began teaching at the Asociacin de Msicos Latino Americanos, a community music school in North Philadelphia. Sant has become an active participant in the Latin community and the Latin music scene of Philadelphia as a soloist in many world and jazz group's concerts and recordings. She has done four one-month research trips to Havana and Matanzas, Cuba. Working with master singers she immersed herself in African Yoruba religious music and Rumba. From 2002 Santi studied with master singer Jorge Salazar in Havana. She mentored with pianist Orlando Fiol from 2002-2006 and continues her studies with Elizabeth Sayre with whom she's been studying since 2001. Her first solo recording, Bienvenida (unreleased), is a bilingual album of jazz and Cuban standards and Afro-Cuban folkloric songs, she wrote and arranged herself.

Don Caballero Debuts New Music, Announces Headlining Tour

DON CABALLERO (Damon Che: drums, Jason Jouver: bass, and Gene Doyle: guitar) see the first preview track, "Bulk Eye," taken from their brand new full length "Punkgasm" debut today via Pitchfork Media's Forkcast.

"Punkgasm" was recorded at Rust Belt Studios in Michigan with long-time producer / engineer Al Sutton. The album's complete tracklisting is as follows: "Loudest Shop Vac In The World," "The Irrespective Dick Area," "Bulk Eye," "Shit Kids Galore," "Celestial Dusty Groove," "Pour You Into The Rug," "Challenge Jets," "Lord Krepelka," "Why Is The Couch Always Wet?," "Slaughbaugh's Ought Not Own Dog Data," "Dirty Looks," "Who's A Puppy Cat," "Awe Man That's Jive Skip," and "Punkgasm." "Punkgasm" is set for an August 19th North American release date, August 25th internationally and is available for pre-order at this location.

I Am Failing To Get Excited About Napster's 6 Million Songs

Napster just announced that they are now selling their entire catalog of 6 million songs for $0.99/each, no DRM. And for some reason I'm having trouble getting excited about it (CNET, however, has more than enough excitement for both of us, saying "This is a huge day for digital music." Whatever.)

Music stars offer to help with fundraising to restore Texas

Rick Perry said several Texas country music stars have offered to help raise money for the restorations of the Texas Governor's Mansion, which was heavily damaged earlier this month in an arson fire.

Musicians, friends pay tribute to Pat Hansen

The lineup that rocked Billings a decade ago will be back on stage with old favorites and perhaps some new songs from Egnew’s reorganized LA variation of the band that released "Dog and Pony Show" in 2003. Drummer Kristen Coyner and bassist Holly Hoagland Shawver round out the trio’s most celebrated lineup.That lineup released "Relief" in 1998, "Hide Me from the Moon" in 2000 and "Industry Whore" in 2002. A four-piece Pope Jane also released an album on cassette that is bound to be a collector’s item now.If you are unfamiliar with Pope Jane or it’s been too long, there are 20 songs available for download at www.MySpace.com/PopeJane. Hardcore fans will be excited to find 10 Pope Jane ring tones there as well. The official website is www.PopeJane.com. The event in sponsored by Montana Pride in conjunction with the daylong Montana Gay Pride Festival on Saturday, June 21.

Rooney Heat Things Up At New York’s Irving Plaza

The band played a hefty mix of songs from its self-titled debut and last year's Calling the World, along with a couple of covers and a bonus track titled "Get Away." Fans greeted each song with enthusiasm, singing along to favorites such as "Blueside," "I'm Shakin', "Are You Afraid?" and "When Did Your Heart Go Missing?" I actually had a chance to see Rooney last year before Calling the World was released, and while the music was really catchy, it was a lot more fun to hear the songs now that I'm more familiar with them.

The music was a perfect blend of pop-rock, occasionally psychedelic guitars and keyboards, and some very '80s-inspired riffs. Lead singer Robert Schwartzman was oozing with charm throughout the night and was clearly well aware of his adoring fans, even teasing them at one point by pretending he was about to stage dive.

TV, film and music companies should get smart

The music, film and television industries have been slow to grasp the significance of the digital age, preferring a combination of denial, panic and retribution. Meanwhile, the horse bolted.

It's not as though we owe the networks loyalty. Not when they run shows late, move them around the schedule at will and drop them mid-season without explanation.

Free Blood

The group entered the studio to record a trio of songs in the Fall of 2005. The studio was owned and operated by the Topolsky Brothers (Josh and Eric), and built into a closet in their Greenpoint apartment. Not knowing what Free Blood Music was supposed to sound like outside of the sweat-boxes they were accustomed to performing in, they set about learning how to make noise in a control environment. Still digesting the music they grew up on (Midnight Star, Squeeze, Chaka Khan, Stevie Nicks, Level 42, Cameo, and oldies radio) strange inspirations began emanating in great echoing belches. With the Brothers, Free Blood formulated a delicate symbiosis of electronic/mechanical and acoustic/organic elements in order to create a pop song for people who hate pop songs. A year later, they had two and half pop songs finished (Quick & Painful and Never Hear Surf Music Again).

Music matters: Brain calisthenics

Well, a note of music on paper can be viewed as a mere dot. Notes, themselves, are not music, just as dots, alone, are not works of art. It's the placement and sequence of these musical dots that, amazingly and when properly performed, create aural wonders.

The song is made up of a lot of notes. But each note, properly learned, demands a lot from a youngster.

Waukon High School Music Department students experience trip to

More than 80 students from the Waukon High School Music Department, along with about two dozen adult chaperones, made a trip to New York City Friday, May 30 through Monday, June 2. Each participant was responsible for his/her own funding for the trip, much of which came from fundraising efforts throughout this past school year and prior.

The group departed from Waukon at 1 a.m. Friday, May 30, traveling to the airport in Minneapolis, MN for a 7 a.m. flight to LaGuardia Airport in New York. Among the group's activities for the first day in New York City were stops at Radio City Music Hall, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the studios of NBC, CBS and ABC, Trump Tower, FAO Schwartz, Empire State Building and Tiffany's, with dinner being eaten at an establishment of individual choice, some of which included Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe, or some of the famous New York delis.

New songbook for Ladies songwriter

What�s more, he doesn�t even want to sing his own songs.

Working in concert with Artistic Director Andrew Burashko of the Art of Time Ensemble, Page will be performing new arrangements of songs by Leonard Cohen, Radiohead, Paul Simon, The Magnetic Fields, Rufus Wainwright, The Mountain Goats, The Weakerthans alongside some of Canada�s finest musicians for The Songbook II, June 20-21 at Harbourfront Centre�s Enwave Theatre.

�They did this event last year with Sarah Slean and I saw some stuff from that and it was really cool,� says Page on the phone from his Riverdale home. �They came to me this year and I was over the moon about it.

�All I was thinking about was �What songs have I always wanted to sing?� �

But Page says he doesn�t want to do karaoke with songs he�s chosen.

Mainstreet Wilmington Music Festivals

Downtown Wilmington will be bustling this summer with the Brown Bag Lunch series and the Downtown Alive music festivals, both productions of Mainstreet Wilmington.

The second concert will be on July 18, and will feature a blues ensemble, The Hadden Sayers Band.

A life less ordinary

Fraser, who performs June 24 at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia, displays a knack for lustrous pop songs with smart lyrics, set against polished arrangements of piano and acoustic guitar. And though there may be many quick to pin the Christian label on her, given the earnest devotion that permeates the disc, there is the sense, too, that she is seeking, very obviously a believer, but one who wrestles with her own doubt and distractions, reluctant at times to accept the full weight of her emerging purpose even as she yearns for an enduringly profound connection to God.

�In Australia and New Zealand, there is no such thing as a Christian industry, so I never had to face that as a believer,� says Fraser, who moved to Sydney a few years ago, where she is a worship leader with the youth ministry Hillsong United.

Music Review A Slimmed-Down Diva Keeps Her Vocal Heft

The baritone Thomas Allen was excellent as the frazzled Music Master trying to console his disconsolate student; Alan Oke was lively as a sleazy, camp Dancing Master in a bright yellow suit. Gillian Keith illuminated Zerbinetta's coquettishness with perky flair, slinking around in a sexy red dress during the Prologue, although her light, appealing voice didn't always penetrate the dense orchestration. She nimbly scaled the coloratura heights of her showpiece aria, but didn't quite capture the nuances of her multifaceted character.

Ariadne's island cave (the scene of the opera within the opera) is updated here to a bedroom painted with images of antiquity. Ms. Voigt, clad in a long black cocktail dress, slumped over her dressing table like any jilted woman moping in her modern cave equivalent.

Death knell sounds for CDs

The compact disc has less than three years left in its reign atop the music industry in Canada, with new data on music sales indicating the download will officially be king by 2011.

It is expected that at some point in late 2010, the compact disc – which inherited the most-used music format throne from the cassette tapes and vinyl records that came before it – will be surpassed by the digital download.

Kenya: You Either Visit Rural Home Or Face the Music

It is expected that the popular saying "East or West, home is the best" should hold true to the Maasai workers in urban centres like it does to workers from other communities.

Have Faith

Intveld employed 4 producers, including himself, to create the 10 songs, typically a recipe for too many cooks spoiling the goodies. Not here because the results indicate it didn't matter who was at the controls. All four maintain a very traditional sound and don't mess with the sound that Intveld so clearly loves. There's a lot of pedal steel ("A Woman's Touch" from Doug Livingston, twangy guitar and fast-paced guitar. Intvelt delivers the songs with a sense of emotion, getting soulful on the title track and tackles gospel on the closing "Walk With Me" with The Jordanaires providing backing vocals. Intveld's last release came out in 2000. Too bad the wait was so long because his latest is of such high quality that he better not wait so long again. .

Join the clubs: Three new venues aim to boost live music scene

Music venues in Madison need all the smashed-guitar luck they can get. After a string of closings in recent years -- King Club, the Klinic, Adair's Lounge, the Slipper Club -- the music scene is getting a boost with three very different venues opening just in the past six months.

CD reviews

But where past albums offered jolts of energy, there is a morose atmosphere throughout Songs, especially on the final track. The soft lullaby of "Goodnight Goodnight" sounds like Pierce has arrived at the fifth stage (acceptance) of the grieving process as the song (and album) ends with him repeating "funeral home, funeral home, funeral home."

I was immediately hooked when I heard The Futureheads’ self-titled debut way back in 2004.

Killing the Dream / Ruiner / The Carrier - live in New York

Some of the songs are played way too fast, sometimes distorting the ability to even recognize the song, and Rob Sullivan's vocals are delivered through this raggedly intense scream that counters any chance on trying to follow along with him. But you know what? They're the most honest band in hardcore, hands down. It's more than just the obvious stuff -- the incredibly bare bones narratives on Prepare to Be Let Down and the album title itself. There's absolutely no bullshit to what they do. They get up on stage, release their tensions in furious 1:30 bouts (Sullivan awkwardly whacking at the curtain that was draped along the wall stage left), possibly say a few angry words of banter in between songs and leave. In fact, when they opened for what was to be This Is Hell's CD release show with Soldiers on Long Island during such a tour a few months ago (the show was shut down due to capacity and violence issues), Sullivan hysterically introduced the band by simply saying "You can move up.

Hai Fidelity - Hikaru Utada: Heart Station

Hikki's breathless vocals aren't enough to keep anyone from switching songs. Sure, we might get sucked in by those repeating piano notes but there isn't anything to keep us around unless, of course, you're simply waiting to see if the piano line will change at some point. I'll save you the trouble and give you the answer: not really.

In case you didn't know that "Kiss & Cry" was the commercial song for Nissin Cup Noodles, the song will not-so-gently remind you in the lyrics. This song is so confusing. It talks about loving the bass drum and cymbals but then buries those sounds under a keyboard synthesizer. There are some random lines about some typical family problems and the product placement. Meanwhile, the rest of the lyrics talk about wanting to be emotionally closer to someone.

Grand Ole Opry star Mel McDaniel to perform

The quality of his deep voice, mixed with well written songs, has kept his songs active in country music radio rotation.

DARKANE Drummer Issues New Album Update - June 18, 2008

Also, I have to say that I'm very happy with the final outcome of the songs with vocals, and I think this will be a very solid CD.

"Besides the DARKANE recording I've also been busy mixing Stefan Rosqvist's first solo CD together with Stefan. He's a good friend of mine and a great guitar player. The album is titled 'The Guitar Diaries' and is an instrumental CD with lots of different moods and song styles. It ranges from more hard rock influenced tracks to very soft ones with trio setup (guitar, upright bass and drums). It would be wrong to say that the 'softer' songs are jazzy since they're not in swing beat or anything, but they do have that loose attitude and sound. Christofer (Malmström, DARKANE guitarist) is also featured on two songs and his guitar playing is nothing but fantastic on these songs! Personally, I am very happy with my drumming that sees me playing a big variety of styles.

AMP Robot Makes Your Music Follow You

Designed primarily as a high-styled entertainment bot for music-obsessed teens and adults (16 to 25 years old), A.M.P. (which stands for Automated Musical Personality) balances on two wheels and will follow his remote or roam around the house while blasting music from a high-fidelity, three-speaker system.

Balancing with proprietary gyroscopic technology on a pair of large, somewhat rugged-looking rubber wheels, the robot has a number of modes including Drive, to direct the A.M.P.

Desperately Obvious revamps lineup

“We've known about this show for four months, and we've just decided to start practicing now," said drummer Ryan Stewart in between songs.

Frets on Fire is like an open-source Guitar Hero

You can play along to the included songs, or you can import your own from Guitar Hero 1 or 2 discs, a neat trick. Or you can create your own with the in-game song creator. Or, and this is the part that's fun, you can import songs from other instrumentoke sites like Keyboards on Fire.

Bono meets Bob Marley in reggae singer

Songs on the album discuss global and humanitarian issues such as global warming, the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and the crisis in Darfur. The topics are insightful and serious, fans say, but the grooves, melodies and rhythms are familiar to reggae.

Weekes wrote "Deidem," which Weekes says means "all of us," after the death of both of his parents in 2006. "The record didn't start off how it is now," he explained in a telephone interview. "I went through a period of mourning."

Weekes decided to scratch the songs he had written about his own grief, songs with titles such as "From Clay To Dust," and work on 12 new tracks that drew from global politics for inspiration.

"It was always about giving something back," Weekes said. "Even though two people died for me, people are dying every day." The singer said that one of the goals of his music is to help society "take a holistic approach and not an individualistic .

Boogie Nights with Bert Newton

The theme was “Songs that Make You Want to Dance" but it could just as easily have been “Songs You Can't Get Out of Your Head".

The official list of 10 to One Songs that Make You Want to Dance went like this: 10. Let Me Entertain You by R. Williams; 9. Mamma Mia by ABBA; 8.

Motorola ROKR E8 Music Phone and MOTOMUSIC Music Service debut in

As mentioned before, the ROKR E8 is a music phone, but apart from the highly enhanced music features, the phone also includes state-of-the-art features such as the ModeShift technology, FastScroll navigation wheel and the ground-breaking haptics technology which transforms the device from phone to music player in just one touch. The first haptic touch pad from Motorola offers a vibrating, tactile feedback when the user touches the virtual buttons.

You can play magic with the ROKR E8. When powered off, the surface of the phone is smooth, with no visible keys. When switched on, it presents a virtual numbered keypad on the front surface. With just one “press" of the virtual music key, the phone keypad disappears and control keys for the music player – play, pause, fast forward and rewind – appear in its place.

Microsoft double-backs and extends DRM support for MSN Music

As of August 31st, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers.

On April 22, Microsoft notified you that as of August 31st, 2008, we would be changing the level of support for music purchased from MSN Music, and while your existing purchased music would continue to play, you would no longer be able to authorize new PCs and devices to play that music.

Tackling 'Unknown' takes some time

And, like the band, the new songs are all about the slow build. Unknown's nine tracks take musical cues from classic album rock of the '70s, and the guys are unapologetic about their propensity for jamming.

Trains of music all summer long

Those were the days when love was dire, summers were full of expectation and music was the soundtrack to it all.

My kids have helped keep me abreast of the latest songs of the season.

Why You Should Buy Karaoke Music Online

Karaoke is a form of entertainment that gives anyone the chance to sing along with their favorite songs. With the help of a PA system and microphone, you can project your voice so that it can be easily heard above the music. Most of the time the music consists of well known pop and rock songs where the voice of the original artist is removed or faded into a lower level. You sing the lyrics from a sheet or from a prompter. Colors or moving symbols will guide the singer along with the lyrics so they know when to sing which words. If you want to start having karaoke parties in your home, you will need to invest in a few things. You will need some sort of a microphone setup, and you will need karaoke music as well. A monitor to display the lyrics is option, although many times you can turn your television set into a monitor with the aid of DVD technology.

Stars describe inspiration for APRA-nominated songs

Once I got the line "You could be better than that" the whole concept/subject of the song unfolded pretty quickly and I was able to engage a little more of my cognitive songwriting skills to what I can only describe as the ritual of songwriting.By the end of the process it was nothing like a reggae song and turned into one of the "poppier" songs I've written. Who would have thought a reggae-influenced song played on a banjo would have such a great life in the world of commercial radio? That's what I love about music - the song kinda does what it wants no matter what somebody, even the songwriter, sometimes may think it needs. Lost and RunningPowderfingerWriters: Jonathan Coghill/John Collins/Bernard Fanning/Ian Haug/Darren Middleton Darren Middleton: I was driving one afternoon and I just started humming the chorus.

Find music, theater, bikes and antique treasures this weekend in

"A lot of the story comes out through the music," said Sims. Shepherd said he has always loved the music in "Children of Eden," which he describes as "typical Broadway style." He said the music includes big show numbers and beautiful love ballads that convey emotion. The play's music was written by Stephen Schwartz, composer of such scores as "Godspell," Disney's "Pocahontas" and the recent film "Enchanted."

The show will run Friday through Sunday and June 27 to 29. The Friday and Saturday performances are 7:30 p.m., and the Sunday performances are at 2:30 p.m. All performances will be held in the Rockingham Community College Advanced Technologies auditorium. The cost is $10 for adults and $7 for students and children. To reserve tickets, call 627-0228 or visit http://www.tgrc-nc.com.

SLAYER's KING: Next Album 'Supposed' To Be Ready By The End Of

We've talked about maybe putting out a couple of songs from an upcoming record through iTunes, so we can play something new on the Unholy Alliance III tour. You know, that's not so far outside the realm of possibility. As far as how much we're gonna get done by the end of the year? I have no idea.

McIver: Are any new songs ready to go?

King: Jeff [Hanneman, guitar] has a couple of things. I've got ideas that I've never finished, so I wanna get back to working on those. Some of them are really cool. I haven't recorded anything yet because I want to finish the songs first — I like them to have a beginning and an end before I demo them.

McIver: Tom [Araya, singer] said that after the next SLAYER album, you guys would have to discuss your future as a band, because he's reaching an age where it might no longer be viable.

Music Fest Set To Kick Off

As well as two days of free music, the Alliance Francaise Fiji Music Fest 2008 promises something different for everyone.Speaking to Fijivillage, VTY Fijian Idol Coordinator Reverend James Bhagwan said the start of tomorrow’s Music Fest will be focused on exposing young children to the world of music.The Fiji Music Fest 2008 kicks off tomorrow at various venues around Suva and will feature local and international bands from New Caledonia. .

Kanye West Announced As Grand Finale Performance For The Nike+

The race brings together the power of sport and music to inspire and connect runners from every corner of the planet. Participants in this unprecedented event will experience an exclusive music performance by some of today's top artists in each of the 25 designated race cities.

"I'm hitting the stage in Los Angeles for the Nike+ Human Race, Nike's dopest 10k run ever. This race is bringing together hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world to run and listen to some great music while serving a higher cause, and I'm excited to perform in L.A.

Harry Potter devotees put wizard tales to music

While the band names and lyrics pay homage to Rowling's elaborate fictional universe, the music is all over the map, from pensive singer-songwriters with acoustic guitars to blue-eyed soul and banjo-inflected country.

The Missouri festival attracted fans from as far away as Scotland, Wales, Quebec, British Columbia and South Africa — many of whom were visiting the country for the first time.

ZZ Top Live From Texas Blu-ray Review

The set has been logically arranged in reverse order for the most part with the newer songs leading off, the MTV songs my generation grew up watching and listening to in music videos in the middle, and the older La Grange and Tush songs bringing the show to a close. This structure makes sense to take advantage of building momentum with better songs as the show goes on. They even arranged Gimme All Your Lovin', Sharp Dressed Man and Legs back-to-back, which is a perfect setup to easily listen to all without interruption on Blu-ray via the track selection menu.

The complete track list is as follows: 1) Got Me Under Pressure 2) Waitin' For The Bus 3) Jesus Just Left Chicago 4) I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide 5) Pin Cushion 6) Cheap Sunglasses 7) Pearl Necklace 8) Heard It On The X 9) Just Got Paid 10) Rough Boy 11) Blue Jean Blues 12) Gimme All Your Lovin' 13) Sharp Dressed Man 14) Legs 15) Tube Snake Boogie 16) La Grange 17) TushI realized while watching Live in Texas that my mind is so in-tune with the '80s ZZ Top songs and, to a lesser extent, the '70s songs, that I found myself unimpressed with the newer stuff.

Infiltrating music

My sleeplessness, in fact, resulted from hanging out with musician friends at a music studio near the corner of Gorordo Avenue and the Ayala access road.

I have never composed anything in the way of music before, though, for a while now, XO? has presented improvised music and performances. The only difference this time around is that the music would be more structured.

EPICA: Footage From 'Classical Conspiracy' Concert Posted Online

The band performed a 45-minute set of metal adaptations of classical songs and movie soundtracks, accompanied by the orchestra and choir as well as symphonic versions of its own songs (including a few orchestral songs from singles and "The Score", which have never been played live before).

According to EPICA, fans attending the concert heard extracts from the following songs:

"Peer Gynt Suites" (E. Grieg)
"Romeo and Juliet" (S. Prokofiev)
"The four seasons" (A. Vivaldi)
"Star Wars" (J. Williams)
"Spiderman" (D. Elfman)
"Pirates of the Caribbean" (K. Badelt)
"Stabat Mater" (G.B. Pergolesi)
"Carmina Burana" (C. Orff)
"9th symphony" (A. Dvorak)
"Requiem" (G.Verdi)
"Opera Serse" (G.F. Handel)

Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be viewed below (clips uploaded by YouTube user "fijk319").

Readers’ Rock List: The Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time

To bid farewell to our Greatest Guitar Songs issue, we're revealing our readers' Top 25 list of the best six-string classics ever recorded. After two weeks, the votes have been tallied, and the readers have decided to load up on guns and bring their friends by selecting Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as the number one guitar jam of all time. Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" settled for number two, but don't worry classic rockers, the list is stocked with Hendrix, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Stones. Check out the full list below:

1. Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" 2. Radiohead – "Paranoid Android" 3. Led Zeppelin – "Stairway to Heaven" 4. Guns N' Roses – "Sweet Child of Mine" 5. Deep Purple – "Smoke On The Water" 6. Chuck Berry – "Johnny B. Goode" 7. Jimi Hendrix – "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" 8.

Jewel Is Perfectly Clear About Her Home in Country Music

But Jewel's music hasn't always been so easily accepted or marketed. Her music has floated from genre to genre on the Billboard charts, landing in the hot dance and club charts as well as adult contemporary. Despite this genre-jumping career, Jewel's pure and chilling vocals mixed with her sincere and poignant lyrics remained a constant, ultimately making country music an undeniable fit.

"I grew up in the country format, a real fan," she said. "A lot of my heroes were great storytellers like Loretta Lynn and Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard. That's something I've always tried -- to stay true in my writing. It's just being honest about what I am and where I'm from."

Now, after a decade of writing and recording music, Jewel has finally found her home in country music.

MUSIC: McMurtry's cinematic style wins fans

His exception was the music of fellow Texas native Steve Earle. When Earle released "The Revolution Starts Now" in the midst of the 2004 presidential campaign, it inspired McMurtry to pick up his pen.The result was "We Can't Make it Here," a sneering, searing indictment of the Bush administration released online just before George W. Bush won a second term. He invited fans to make their own videos, making it a YouTube hit viewed more than 150,000 times and the best-known song of a 20-year musical career.A Democrat in Texas, McMurtry felt like his vote didn't matter. "The one power that I did have was the record deal," he said. "I went for it and it turned out to be a song, not a sermon. It turned out to be a song with a narrator that a lot of people could relate to."The momentum from "We Can't Make it Here" carried over to the new disc, "Just Us Kids," which topped the Americana chart for more than a month this spring.

Expat in France: Making a little night music echo all around the world

But also World Music Day, or as it is known in France (and especially St Pardoux) Fete de la Musique day.

Clayton seeks talent for 'Battle of the Bands'

Five bands will be selected to perform three songs for about 15 minutes in total length. The grand prize is worth $1,000 with second and third prizes $500 and $250 respectively.

Youth Want a Music Subscription Service

Maybe the music labels are on to something. As they struggle to embrace a digital world, their execs have a keen interest in subscription services, in which they would sell access to all their tunes for a monthly or even one-time fee. Yet it seems consumers haven't bought into the idea. Subscription services like Rhapsody struggle to gain a foothold.

Digital trading has helped fan interest in music of all kinds, the survey points out.

A music, wrestling love

Saving Abel's Jared Weeks is on top of the world. His band's self-titled CD debuted in March with the first single ''Addicted'' standing at No. 3 on Billboard's U.S. Mainstream Rock chart.

''She sent us a MySpace comment just congratulating us on the single and just telling us how much she liked the song,'' said Weeks, who formed the band in 2004 with guitarist Jason Null.

Music: Ssion's riotous camp

Ssion (pronounced "shun" as in "passion") is an ever-evolving collective of musicians, video editors and performers making hi-NRG dance music that sometimes strays into Italo disco and punk rock. Five years ago the band and its larger-than-life stage show became the subject of much buzz after a series of dates with Liars and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

But despite that exposure (Critcheloe also created the pencil drawing sleeve art for YYY's debut album Fever to Tell) the band has remained under the mainstream music industry's radar. Instead, Ssion has built a cult following from its home base in Kansas City with a series of graphically colourful music videos and riotously campy live shows.

This DIY theatricality makes Ssion an ideal act for Shame, the Pride edition of Will Munro's Vazaleen party, happening at Wrongbar on Fri, Jun 27.

Forward Music Festival brings Midwest scene to Madison

Madison has hosted homegrown music festivals before, but few of them have been as ambitious as the new Forward Music Fest, which runs Sept. 19 and 20 at venues throughout the downtown, including the Orpheum, the Majestic and the High Noon Saloon.

When all is said and done, more than 50 acts will be packed onto Forward Music Fest's schedule.

First Chinese leisure travelers to US greeted by music, hospitality

United States arrived Tuesday night at Dulles International Airport in Washington and found themselves surrounded by Jazz music, smile and hospitality.

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TSO takes off with Star Trek: The Music

But the performance later this month is beaming geekdom up to a whole new level with Star Trek: The Music. Will Captain Kirk be there? No, sadly not. But John de Lancie, a. k. a. Q, and Robert Picardo, the holographic doctor on Voyager, will be. Dave McGinn spoke to Kunzel:

Kunzel: In the early TV days, absolutely.

Hitting up West Indian Girl

Francis Ten: We're playing four songs off the next record that we're just recording now. We'll be hashing it out onstage, so it'll be a one-off, and not be the same the next time we play. We're adding "Rise from the Dead." It's one of my favorite songs to play, because I get to play guitar on it. It's darker, with a heavier side to it. We'll extend some songs, and bring back songs we haven't played in a while off the first album. Last time we did a Nick Cave cover, and I think this time we'll try Bob Dylan.

Warning: Will make you want to shake booty

It flows like a series of songs interspersed with slices of scenarios about love. There are also snippets from Lovefinder - a website where lonely people seek out companionship. These capture the more ridiculous criteria from a truly Cape perspective, including a guy looking for someone who enjoys his farts as much as he does, a girl who loves the etv show Brainbox, two bergies looking for a third person, and the list goes on .

Music World Entertainment Partners With ESSENCE Magazine to

"Essence Music Festival, Volume 1" was released June 17, 2008 on Mathew Knowles' Music World Music. The CD features studio recordings of music performed at the Essence Music Festival's triumphant 2007 return to New Orleans, LA, last year. This release is the first in a series of CDs and DVDs featuring music and live performances from Essence Music Festivals from the past, present, future as well as other compilations that will is sold exclusively in store at Wal-Mart nationwide through July 28th; as of July 29th the release will be available at all retailers as well as many digital retailers online.

The new release will be for sale at this year's Essence Music Festival in New Orleans at the Wal-Mart booth located inside the Convention Center. The first 300 customers to purchase "Essence Music Festival, Volume 1" will receive a limited edition t-shirt.

Live music events from Roanoke to Floyd

Selections range from traditional organ repertoire, theater organ, patriotic music, demonstration of the varied sounds of the organ, children's performances and more. Free, donations accepted. 4 p.m. Sundays. Music this week by Oliver Wolcott, a 16-year-old award-winning organist from Charlottesville. First United Methodist Church, 125 W. Main St., Salem. 398-9307, 989-7414.

A concert by the couple who play a range of traditional Celtic and American folk music.

Sharing songs -- and life

The residents laughed at the silly songs and loved the change of activities.

"If I had not gotten to know and love the volunteers from St. Luke's while at St. Vincent's, I don't know where I would have turned when my cancer was discovered," said a single mother of two who has beaten drugs, graduated after one false start from St. Vincent's and gotten a job with benefits.

Brothers in harmony

The way it worked out was, one of the guys he used to play songs for way back, 20-plus years ago, ended up signing us to our first publishing deal. Even while in that relationship, we had to have extra income and jobs. Now, it being the summertime with things escalating to where they're at, we don't have to wait any tables right now."

"We're at what you'd call the starving artists-period of our lives right now," said Andy. "Where we're doing all the basic groundwork and all the gruntwork, and hopefully someday when it happens, we will just coast."

Songwriting is an important part of who Rich and Andy are as artists. In 2005, the two signed an exclusive worldwide publishing/artist development deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) Nashville. This huge stepping stone has given the men an opportunity to collaborate with some of Nashville's top songwriters and producers.

Cohen, Whalum sing the praises of gospel music

Blanche Lincoln praised the Mid-South's gospel music heritage.

In a Jam: Byfield music program charts its own course

Pine Island Music will offer four, one-week Summer Jam sessions in June and July.

Summer Jam sessions will be held June 23-27, July 7-11, July 14-18 and July 21-25. All sessions will run for five days, Monday-Friday.

JT Smith, ‘Music Man of Southwest Florida,’ passes

After graduating from Hudson Falls High School, John went on to Crane School of Music-SUNY in Potsdam and obtained his Music Education/Teaching Certification/Voice Major degree in 1979.

After graduating from college, he found himself working as a singing waiter in Boston and quickly began directing these events. This experience led to a job as music director in a New Hampshire summer stock theater, which brought about a change in career direction.

Soon he ended up in New York City on Broadway and off-Broadway for an eight year stint. During this time, he worked as music director for many shows including Stardust and the off-Broadway hit, Applause. He also served as voice coach for such performers as Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft, Kaye Ballard, Leslie Uggams, Marni Nixon, Judy Kuhn and Faith Prince.

VISITING ACT | Dan Tyminski Band

"There are some sad songs for sure," Tyminski agrees. "I think there are some situations where the melody of the music makes you feel what the words are saying. Others have a more happy, feel-good groove to them. It's a mix. What was on my mind as we worked on things was to showcase these guys as a talented group. We worked up each song as it came to us, and the important thing to me was making sure each sounded right for this combination of guys. Bluegrass music can definitely cover a lot of area. You don't have to stay within one particular vein. I think this album showcases the different directions you can take.

When we started recording this record, we only had about half of the songs together.

Interview: Adam Bravin of She Wants Revenge

Their songs are curious tableaus about pain, love, lust and how it all interacts � or not. Some of my favorites are Black Liner Run, Tear You Apart, and What I Want. Made up of a duo, Justin Warfield and Adam Bravin, She Wants Revenge has released 2 cds and 3 eps. They've now produced their newest ep, Save Your Soul on their own label. Bravin, a charming talent, talked with me from Minneapolis a few days ahead of their Seattle show.

AB: Well, it's changed. I've been doing it a really long time. Back in the day you really had to be a good DJ to be able to spin at clubs and parties. Now it seems like you can be a celebrity and not know how to DJ and still DJ all the parties. As an experience, DJing for a crowd that's there to actually hear music and dance and they appreciate the types of selections that you're giving them � it can be really amazing.

Music Preview: Alejandro Escovedo finds rock 'n' roll to be a sure

"I became a little disillusioned with music for a while, because you saw the under-workings of the music industry, how slimy and sleazy it was. I guess it hit me at that concert. I was expecting this great rock and they weren't -- they were burnt out, they were disillusioned themselves, partly because of how Malcolm McLaren manipulated them."

After the tragedy with Sid and Nancy at the Chelsea, "the vibe there changed," he says, and Escovedo moved on toward more rootsy rock in the '80s with the alt-country pioneers Rank and File, recalled in the new song "Chip N' Tony," named for the Kinman brothers.

Thrice: The Orange County hard rockers exploring The Alchemy Index

It was the release in 2007 of Dustin Kensrue's independently released solo album 'Please Come Home' which, with its explicit faith songs, finally laid to rest the "is he a Christian" debate that had been clogging up fan websites for years. Now Kensrue's newly found spiritual boldness is evident all over 'The Alchemy Index' EPs. For instance on the 'Fire' disc, Kensrue quotes the prophet Isaiah in the song "The Messenger" and in "King's Upon The Main" on the 'Water' CD he offers the couplet "But grace can still be found within the gale/With fear and reverence, raise your ragged sail."

Twins make golden harmony

Now, they are taking their good looks and four-octave-range voices on the road, melting hearts along the way, singing Il Divo-like classical songs, pop tunes and original material. Their self-titled debut CD has already gone gold in Canada and the brothers are on a tour that brings them to Centrepointe Theatre tomorrow.

Colby and Dean are Recipients of the Donoghue Music Scholarship

Bryant, a pianist, will be attending Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she will be studying songwriting and music business.

He has sung in the a cappella choir for five years and was a soloist with the rock ensemble.

Social Media joins hands with Isayaruvi and Hello FM for Tamil

Social Media is organising the Tamil Music Awards 2008 in association with Isayaruvi and Hello FM. The Awards are aimed at recognising and honouring the achievements of the Tamil music fraternity with nominations and votes from the general public. The award function will be held in Chennai on July 5.

Smoother than Smooth

Mr. Benoit modestly claims that he picked out songs he enjoyed by artists who had influenced him. But he is selling himself short here. Mr. Benoit clearly did a net present value calculation, adding up the cumulative lifetime earnings of various compositions, then discounting the total into current dollars. He was then able to select songs that had the highest potential financial impact when covered on a jazz CD.

This clever mathematical analysis came up with a track list that goes from Michael Jackson's “Human Nature" to Elton John's “Your Song." Then stops at the Doors “Light My Fire" and then goes on to the Beatles and other hit artists. Of course, some jazz songs are a necessary evil on a jazz CD.

Five O'clock Heroes, Industry, London

As Ellis ran through songs from his forthcoming album, Speak Your Language, the crowd showed little interest and scant appreciation. They were waiting for one thing: the arrival of Ms Deyn.

When Ellis introduced Deyn on stage, the crowd perked up.

Music sales lowest in 20 years, IFPI says

The global music agency known as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (hey guys, how about updating the name?) has come out with what it says are some depressing numbers for worldwide music sales for 2007, and -- perhaps not surprisingly, given the group's history -- it is using the new figures to lobby for legislation that would force Internet service providers to nab illegal music downloaders.

According to the industry group, last year's numbers include paid-for downloads of individual tracks, with 10 downloads equivalent to one traditional album.

Songs of street evangelist

His music is interspersed with humour and anecdote as he shares his songs and reflects on his 25 years as a street evangelist in the Chesterfield area.The concert will be held at Fairhaven Methodist Church, Woodlands Road, on Saturday June 28.Doors will open at 7pm for the event to begin at 7.30pm.Tickets, including refreshments, cost £5 for adults. Children go free. Tickets can be pre-booked on (01253) 794770. .

Newsboys success owed to fans' devotion to Christian genre

There's even some songs from this record that didn't make the cut because they weren't far enough along. They might end up on the next record or maybe two or three records later.

"Kids who started listening to us 20 years ago, now they have families, and they're bringing their kids and they bring their parents," Phillips said. "Quite often, we're seeing three generations of families come to our show.

Solomon Burke - Like a Fire

Despite the slick, adult contemporary arrangements that are employed throughout Like a Fire, Burke�s voice remains in fine form, and he delivers the songs on the endeavor as well as anyone possibly could. Unlike many of today�s artists, Burke doesn�t attack the lyrics by adorning them with ridiculously long streams of trills, notes, and other distractions. He sings them sweetly and purely, elevating the emotional content with the subtle nuances that are inherent in his vocal inflections. In fact, he frequently salvages what could have been a rather drab outing by simply being himself. Surely, fans of 21st century R&B-imbued pop could stand to see someone of his caliber infiltrate their realm.

The bigger issue, however, is that Like a Fire falls prey to the same forces that caused Burke�s career to veer off-track in the first place: To put it simply, he was handed a batch of lesser songs to cover, and although he tried to run with them, he can�t seem to escape their undertow.

Kiss Wasn't Made for Lovin' the Internet

The new world order of the music industry might turn up faster than Simmons expects. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iTunes is already the largest music store in the U.S., based on the amount of music sold. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) no longer fight over the top spot, and pure-play record store chains such as Tower Records and CD Warehouse have fallen into obscurity or bankruptcy.

And have a chat with fellow rockers like Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, or Talking Heads front man David Byrne.

Kooper soars on inspiration and imagination

In between, he regaled the crowd with tales of discovering those songs, told stories about the artists he'd worked with over the years, and shared a few amicably crude jokes.

Kooper paid special attention to what he considered his holy trinity of rockabilly guitar: Cliff Gallup (represented by Gene Vincent's "Be-Bop-A-Lula"), James Burton (Ricky Nelson's "Milk Cow Blues"), and Scotty Moore.

School continues for Calvary Baptist children

Close to 400 children are participating in the beach-themed event, making bracelets, learning new songs and dances and holding bible studies. All the activities are aimed at bringing children into a close relationship with God.

"The songs are about Jesus, the stories are about Jesus, their crafts are based around Jesus. So everything that they do teaches them about the love of God and the love of Jesus Christ," said children's director, Lisa Jennings.

WTOC's production assistant Mark Zeigler, was one of the counselors helping the children this week. Vacation bible school will end on Friday with a big concert that night. It's at 7pm and is free and open to the public.

Oldest Known Computer Generated Music Found

"I think it's historically significant," said Paul Doornbusch, a computer music composer and historian at the New Zealand School of Music.

In fact, the first machine to play music was Australia's first digital computer, CSIRAC, which performed a rendition of Colonel Bogey before audiences, but no recordings of the CSIRAC's music have ever been found.

In Branson, pre-recorded music hits a sour note with musicians

Some are all tracks, without any live music.

And it isn�t happening only in Branson.

Use of recorded tracks is a growing trend in Las Vegas, New York and London, as well as on many cruise ships, said Billy Linneman, the secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Musicians� Local 257 in Nashville, Tenn.

The union has been fighting tracks for years.

�Audiences have been �dumbed down� musically,� Linneman said. �They think they�re getting a lot. The quality is high-tech, but the feel is much, much worse,� lacking the spontaneity of a live performance.

Comedian/ventriloquist Jim Barber, co-owner of the Hamner Barber Theater in Branson, says he loves live music. But he can�t afford it in his show, so he uses tracks.

Music festivals feel growing pains

Last year, Marc Fathauer came to the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival from Florida in a rented RV. This year, he slept in a tent. Though Fathauer, 30, of Sarasota was determined to attend, rising gas prices combined with cost of the RV rental kept some friends home and forced Fathauer to cut back. .

Ludacris is busy building his resume

"This is a site where you can get your music heard," he said. "You put your original music on here, you can get feedback, and this is a new way for music industry executives to sit in the comfort of their own homes and look for artists."

Ludacris, whose real name is Christopher Bridges, said he's found country and alternative artists he may add to his Disturbing tha Peace imprint, distributed by Def Jam Recordings. "We're actually looking to sign some artists from the site already," he said.

TuneStudio: Mixing Music on Your iPod

Once the files are on a computer, they also can be enhanced with various music editing software. I cut and edited my recordings with the Mac version of the free audio editing and recording software Audacity. TuneStudio comes with a copy of Cakewalk Music Creator LE.

Picking up my trusty guitar one more time, I recorded several different tracks onto my laptop, layered and edited them with Audacity, and then added a vocal track.

Jonas Brothers thrilling tweens

And then right before we left for Europe we went into the studio for a week co-producing those songs with John Fields. It was incredible. Being able to co-produce was really cool and definitely something we�ll be doing a lot more of.
Q: Tell us about the recording of your new album, �A Little Bit Longer.��
Nick: The writing of the record started when we were shooting �Camp Rock�� up in Canada. We had about 10 to 15 songs that we wanted to record, but we didn�t have any time that we could schedule in the studio. We met with our managers and we said, �Where can we record these songs, because we�re going to be so busy?� So what we did is they retrofitted a Gibson guitar bus to be a studio, and they brought it out and our producer John Fields started working on the road. We did that for about two weeks on the bus, and then we went into the studio for about a week after that for a couple last things, and then the record was done back in January.

Games Prove to Music Industry that Content is King

Many will argue that games have little or nothing to do with the music industry. Indeed both are about as far apart as you can get in terms of industry and development. However, it's important to point out some things that have been prominent in the news lately and have signaled to me the real problem that faces the music industry - as well as a possible solution, if the industry will raise up off its laurels and get to work.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report predicts that the video game industry will soar to $68.3 billion in sales in 2012 - from $41.9 billion in 2007. This is what's known as a compounding annual growth rate - equivalent to about 10.3 percent. If the future holds steady and expectations are realized, the growth in gaming will trump all other media-based sales except for online advertising and fee-based systems like cable TV.

OVIF: 'Devast' Artwork Unveiled - June 18, 2008

The CD was recorded with veteran producer Glen Robinson (VOIVOD, GWAR, ANNIHILATOR) and contains 13 songs, five of which are sung in French.

"Devast" track listing:

01. Psycho Carnage
02. Serving The Cowards
03. Infect
04. Notik
05. Mastery
06. Devast
07. Délire
08. Dimension Insane
09. Découpe
10. Jamais
11. L'Émeute
12. Supérieur
13. 13

The official OVIF lineup consists of two musicians:

Erick Paquin (Drums, Guitars)
Jessy Bilodeau (Vocals, Bass)

Local gigs around the Quebec province will follow during the summer.

OVIF is currently looking for a session drummer to complete the group's live lineup.

"Raw" samples of four songs (drums and guitar only) are available for streaming on the band's MySpace page for the drummers who might be interested in joining the project.

Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo Gears Up For Summer Tour

Giant monsters, huge video projections, inflatable monkeys, camp fires and circus tents combine with songs about wizards, dancing sock puppets, and furious rock and roll aerobics to bring the nation a much-needed dose of insane fun.

Harry and the Potters sing songs about the plight of being a young wizard, and have primarily toured libraries for the past 4 years. Math the Band sings songs about the water cycle while doing aerobics. Uncle Monsterface sings songs about wearing capes as accompanied by sock puppets and giant monsters. Harry and the Potters have godfathered an entire genre of music known as wizard rock populated by over 500 DIY bands, all performing songs about the Harry Potter book series. Math the Band performs so hard that he throws up after every show. Uncle Monsterface does a sock puppet rock band cover of Madonna's 'Like a Prayer'.

Summer school: memorize these dates

But, according to Berman, the new batch of songs are "really different" from previous efforts "in that the songs have more epic settings. They are faux-heroic. Or rather foe-heroic." How literarily hilarious. But with a solid track record, don't expect this Jews offering to disappoint.

June 24 - Immortal Technique "The 3rd World"

In the five yeas since his last LP, "Revolutionary, Vol. 2," rapper Immortal Technique has thoroughly carved out his niche as one of underground rap's fiercest emcees. Although Technique's frequent use of the word "faggot" and misogynistic tendencies hint that he might not be as progressive as most self-proclaimed "revolutionaries," his wordplay and political knowledge are unparalleled. Regardless, his new disc "The 3rd World" is being released on his own Viper Records with D.J.

social news,

Music videos from Universal Music Group's artists are now available on social music site Last.fm, the companies announced Tuesday.

"We want to offer a video library that rivals our unparalleled music catalog, as we work towards Last.fm becoming the only place you need to go to for all music-related content," co-founder Martin Stiksel said in a statement, "and this deal marks the first step towards that goal." Rival Imeem, a start-up that focuses more on playlist creation than music discovery and which pulls in either comparable or greater traffic than Last.fm depending on which metrics source is used, has also been inking video deals, and the far bigger MySpace offers music videos on its MySpaceTV player.

Dierks Bentley Talks About Life on the Bus

We're playing video games, playing songs, we're writing songs, we're just hanging out listening to music, so it's actually fun for me to be traveling. I'll look to see if I can find something that's tough, but it's pretty, pretty easy. Well, it's not easy, but it's pretty fun.

You've never been tempted to get a bus just for yourself?

I've got a bunk just like everyone else. I don't have the back lounge taken over like most folks do. It's just me and the band on one bus, and we all have our own bunks, and then the back lounge is open for people to make phone calls. We call that the phone booth back there. You've gotta sneak off and call your girl, so you've gotta have someplace like that. For me, when you're on the road, everyone's equal. It's like a ship. Everyone's got a job to do -- from the guy driving the bus to the guy selling T-shirts to the guy singing the songs.

Four-time Grammy winner comes to the PAC

The jazz vocalist, who just released her first album of new material in five years, will perform love songs from "When You Know" and some of her other hits when she makes her East End debut on Saturday, June 28, at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. The album, featuring standards that reflect the full spectrum of love, from youthful innocence to knowing maturity, also contains the original song inspired by her mother. "Today Will Be a Good Day" focuses on self love and is the last song on the album.

Ms.

Air guitar championship about to rock Portland

Any of the songs on Rolling Stone's just-released 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time should help with achieving ultimate airness.

Fan-filmed video footage of JUDAS PRIEST performing the songs

JUDAS PRIEST's double-disc concept album, "Nostradamus", is scheduled for release via Columbia Records on Monday, June 16 in Europe, and a day later in the U.S. on Epic Records.

JUDAS PRIEST will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline", hosted by Bob Coburn, on Monday, July 21 at 11:30 p.m. EST/8:30 p.m. PST. Fans can talk live with JUDAS PRIEST by calling 800-344-ROCK (7625). To find a station near you or to listen to the show live via the Internet, go to www.rocklineradio.com. .

Campaign-Song Oddities From the Past

Or, for that matter, popular bands with wide radio play whose songs he could sample at rallies. This was, after all, 1840.

Through the 19th century and a chunk of the 20th, before popular recorded music became available to the masses, presidential campaign songs were one of two things — original compositions or bastardizations of existing tunes salted with new lyrics that fit the volatile political climate.