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 Expresso
Walk And Talk with... The Dream, Perry & Lil Wayne
Extended.Admin Deals With Warner Chappell for Grammy
Award-winning, chart-topping R&B singer/songwriter and producer,
Terius
“The-Dream” Nash , renowned pop songstress Katy
Perry who ascended to household-name-status since her 2008 hit
“I Kissed a Girl,”
and rap heavyweight Lil
Wayne.
The-Dream has worked with countless megastars in his young
career, and is one of the most sought-after songwriters in the business.
His modern classics include Rihanna’s “Umbrella,”
Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and the 2010 Grammy award-winner
for “Song of the Year,” Beyoncé’s “Single
Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” among many others. He's back in
the studio working on a new album, titled The Love IV slated for
a Summer 2011 release
In May of 2010, Katy Perry released her second No. 1 Single,
“California Gurls,” and in August 2010 issued the album
Teenage Dream. All three of her album’s singles so far, “California
Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” and “Firework,”
have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, catapulting the
album to the top of the Billboard 200. Perry is currently on tour
in Europe and will return for a stateside tour this summer alongside
fellow Warner/Chappell artists Marina
& the Diamonds, as well as pop star Robyn
Lil
Wayne co-publishing agreement includes Wayne’s back catalog
and future recordings. Born Dwayne Carter and raised in the infamous
New Orleans neighborhood of Hollygrove, Lil Wayne began his millions-selling,
prolific rap career at just 14 years old with the famed southern
rap label, Cash Money. Lil Wayne, then referred to as Gangsta D,
partnered with B.G. to form the duo The B.G.z and released their
debut album True Story in 1995. Wayne later joined the hardcore
rap group The Hot Boys—consisting of B.G., Juvenile and Young
Turk—who released their debut album Get It How U Live! in 1997.
The Hot Boys’ next album, Guerilla Warfare, reached No. 1 on
Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
 RO$$
Maybach Label Partnership. Warner Bros. Records announced a
partnership with Maybach
Music Group, the label imprint founded by best-selling hip-hop
artist and entrepreneur Rick
Ross. Maybach artist roster include the rappers Wale, Triple-C,
and Meek Mill, who will become part of Warner Bros. Records roster.
“We are thrilled to be in business with Rick Ross. He is an
entrepreneur who built his company from the ground up... a music
magnate, a lightning rod, and an empire builder,” says Warner
Bros. Records Co-President and CEO Todd Moscowitz. Ross who spells
his last name w/ $$ signs rose from ruling Miami’s underground
rap scene before coming out of the shadows to release the three
biggest scores of his career: 2006’s Port of Miami, 2008’s
Trilla, and 2009’s Deeper than Rap, which each debuted on the
SoundScan chart at No. 1. Ross is known for his hit singles “Hustlin’,”
“Aston Martin Music” featuring Drake (which went to No.
1 at urban radio), “The Boss,” and “BMF.” He
is currently recording God Forgives, I Don't, the follow-up to his
fourth studio album, 2010’s gold-certified Teflon Don. Ross
is also preparing to hit the road with Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and
Travis Barker for the I Am Music II Tour, which kicks off March
18th in Buffalo, NY, a 24-date trek across North America that kicks
off Mar. 18 in Buffalo, N.Y., and wraps May 1 in East Rutherford,
N.J., with a headlining set at Bamboozle. Ross and blink-182 drummer
Travis Barker will perform a DJ/drummer set with Mixmaster Mike.
Ross dropped a new album. The 12-track TEFLON DON arrives June 29th
on the Boss’ Maybach Music label, bringing some serious fireworks
to the Independence Day blow-up. The album’s first single pick,
“Super High” featuring fellow Def Jam artist Ne-Yo, and
members of the Miami-based Triple-C (Carol City Cartel). The A-list
guests featured on TEFLON DON include Jay-Z, Kanye West, Chrisette
Michelle, Drake, T.I., and Raphael
Sadiq. “Super High” was produced by DJ Clark Kent,
who leads a squad of producers including J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League,
the Runners, the Inkredibles, (all of whom worked on Deeper Than
Rap) and the Olympics. The players all come together on Teflon Don:
The Movie, a documentary film that probes the making of the new
album. Mr Ross says: "God fogives. I don't."
 Two
Signings Warner/Chappell Music has signed a worldwide administration
agreement with renowned modern folk musician Sam Beam of Iron
and Wine. As part of the agreement, Warner/Chappell will administer
his entire catalog and future works. Iron and Wine was formed by
South Carolina-born, Texas-based front man Sam Beam. His latest
and fourth studio album, Kiss Each Other Clean, was released on
January 25th, 2011, and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
This is Iron and Wine’s highest-selling debut, having sold
39,217 copies in its first week, and its first released on Warner
Bros. Records Warner/Chappell
has also signed a worldwide CO-publishing agreement with singer/songwriter
John West for his existing and future works.Born in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, John West began honing his craft while in high school.
He later moved to Chicago, enrolled in Colombia College—a school
for visual, performing, media and communication arts—and continued
playing guitar with a number of bands in the area. After college,
West moved to Los Angeles and began performing on the 3rd Street
Promenade in Santa Monica where he ended up selling more then 35
thousand self-released CDs. Soon, he began selling out popular LA
venues like the Roxy and the Troubadour. West is currently in the
studio at work on his major label debut with industry heavyweights
like Ari Levine, Kevin Rudolf, Jerry Wonda, Benny Blanco, and Mike
Elizondo, and recently collaborated with Pusha T from the Clipse.
John West is headlining the Key Club Hollywood on April 8th and
is scheduled to open for Travie McCoy on a number of upcoming tour
dates at colleges across the country.
Seven Facebook Management Tools For Your Fan Base According
to British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, human brain has 150 cognitive
limit to the number of people you can be friends with. Remeber this
when you add a new friend to your facebook page! Now if you're an
artist, the game changes. You need an army of fans and it's a big
world. Social networking allows the world to keep going in a massive
conversation, but you might find that your band is having a bit
of problem staying in touch with its fan base. So, here are seven
customer service applications that allow you to quickly respond,
stay in touch, and continue to enhance your brand’s presence
on Facebook. We will look at these tools in the two issues of studioexpresso.
Feel free to test drive them and see which one serves your fan base
best.
Tool #1 --Assistly
Announced last month, Assistly has enhanced and improved its ability
to offer customer service support for businesses’ Facebook
pages. Control and monitor the conversation — as well many
other digital services — directly your desktop with their product.
The desktop application works in real time, providing the opportunity
to interact and be more available for their customers. Any member
of a company can connect to offer assistance on a particular question.
With prices ranging $39 to $99, Assistly serves as a customer relationship
management product that helps your fan base be an arm’s length
away to ensure you are offering the best quality customer service
for them.
Tool#2
--Buddy
Media
Buddy Media designs Facebook pages and does a lot to continue to
engage your fan base after your brand’s finished site is up
and running. The company is the popular choice for many reputable
to be a one-stop shop for all social marketing, including customer
relations. The tools offered by Buddy Media track responses, monitor
mentions of rival companies, and quickly connect your fans when
any issues may arise. Utilizing these tools can help you post the
best possible content that will engage your fans by analyzing exactly
what is working. While the brand does not specifically offer a product
labeled as customer relationship management, the company’s
solutions cover just about all areas to help you have the most mutually
beneficial relationship with fans possible.
Tool #3 --Faceconnector
If you simply can’t wait for Salesforce.com to make its own
Facebook CRM product available, here’s something you can use
right now. Formerly called Faceforce, Faceconnector is a third-party
application that plus into Salesforce.com for enriching and growing
your professional relationships.It’s
somewhat similar to LinkedIn in prompting you to search your personal
network for professional leads and potential new customers —
find someone who could make an introduction, reach out to a new
customer based on shared interests, and aim for an improved customer
relationship by taking the time to learn a little more about specific
target audiences. Faceconnector is an interesting integration option
for Salesforce.com. I question just how useful it might be to access
to my entire personal network in the interest of maintaining and
growing any business relations. I guess you never really know who
may be a friend of a friend.
Tool
#4 Get Satisfaction
This company is the customer service support software of choice
for many reputable brands, and the Facebook-enabled plans sold by
Get Satisfaction begin at $49. A support tab will be installed directly
to your Facebook page, similar to the feature offered by Parature.
Obviously as plan price increases, more features become available
including: more moderator seats, improved widgets, and an integration
of help CRM and helpdesk tools. They offer specific details of their
plans and examples of companies that would fit into each category.
They also have a Price Genie, and their staff is readily available
to answer questions. Overall, from the basic plan forward Get Satisfaction
offers widgets, Google analytics integration, a statistics dashboard
to keep track of what is working, and so much more to help build
a quality presence in the interest of attracting loyal fans. Begin
searching their page today to see their wide range of capabilities
to help continue to grow your brand.
Next month we will review three more. Stay tuned!
 Can
Celine Dion Save Las Vegas?"
She's been called a one-woman stimulus bill, projected to generate
thousands of jobs for Las Vegas. Expecting one person to turn around
a "sluggish" $18 billion economy is optimistic.
Hey, it's a start: Resurrecting Vegas is "a lot of weight to
place on one diva’s bony shoulders," says Joe Brown at
Las Vegas Weekly. And yet, the one million tickets Celine
Dion is likely to sell over three years "has already meant
the addition of hundreds of jobs, including an orchestra of 30-plus
union musicians and singers." But if Dion's fan-base —
middle-class men and women who are not hardcore gamblers —
returns to Las Vegas, the hope is that it could make up for the
crowds lost to bad economy. Caesars Palace has signed Dion through
2014, promising her a reported $100 million to perform 70 times
a year in its 4,082-seat Colosseum . Ticket
sales have been brisk, at $55 to $250 a seat, but can Dion really
salvage an entire city?
 Nic
Harcourt New Podcast At
Guitar Center . Hosted by music tastemaker and music journalist
Nic Harcourt the podcasts feature interviews and intimate performances
with some of the biggest names in music. The podcasts are available
now on the iTunes, Zune and Blackberry networks. Past sessions have
presented Weezer, Cake, Peter Gabriel, Jane's Addiction, Buddy Guy
and The Cult.
Brandon Green
Wins Yes, the same Brandon
Green who won an American Idol audition in 2008 and claims to
collect his clipped nails in a bag. Eew! You could say he's rediscovered
by Guitar Center. Yes, talent across the United States are invited
to submit their music at YourNextRecord.com
for a chance to win a thrilling prize packages to include $10,000
in new gear from Guitar Center and TuneCore distribution. OurStage.com
is to collect and present each music artist's submissions and allow
music fans to rank them. "It is harder than ever to get noticed
as a musician, even if you are producing really great material.
That's what Guitar Center and I hope to change for one talented
artist or group that's ready to go to the next level," says
Barker who teamed up with the retail giant to give one undiscovered
artist the opportunity to record with the acclaimed drummer and
producer Dan Huff at Red Bull Studios in Los Angeles.
 artist
expresso-- Ask Claris
Artists write or call us every day from all corners
of the world -- US, France, Germany, Russian, Israel, Asia, Australia
and Middle East. Most are interested to get heard or build their
careers. Now and then we'll feature a letter or feedback and share
our response. Our goal remains to empower new artists and encourage
them to find their voice and musical path. Most importantly, we're
here to remind the artists that it's a long journey, so enjoy the
process and grow your fan base.
We encourage artists to provide a link to their music site when
they contact us...if you're interested to have a producer or mixer
involved, specify number of songs, budget and desired delivery date.
Meantime, visit production
talent at studioexpresso to find the right production partner
for you.
Let us know if you would enjoy having us host sessions given by
our community where your music will get heard and you can have direct
access to industry. Send an email with "I want to get heard"
in the subject line to [email protected]
Art &
Revolutions On March 12th studioexpresso dropped in Robert Berman
Gallery (2525 Michigan Ave Santa Monica, CA 90404) to enjoy a reception
presented by Subliminal Projects and view REVOLUTIONS, The Album
Cover Art of Shepard Fairey. The exhibition continues through
April 23rd, 2011.
 
A star in the
world of street art for nearly two decades (his stickers of the
wrestler Andre the Giant earned him an A on an assignment at the
Rhode Island School of Design), Mr. Fairey has parlayed his stark
imagery into a successful design and marketing company, Obey
Giant, with corporate clients like Pepsi. The parking lot of
the gallery was filled with lines of fans who stood in the cold
to get a glimpse of the collection. Wait, this looked more like
a rock concert than an art exhibit! The gallery featured over 80
pieces of Punk, Rock, New Wave, Jazz, and Hip-Hop inspired artwork
based on the 12" record cover format. To mark the occasion,
two special Limited Edition Album Cover Print Box sets were released
for the exhibition. Performances by bands OFF!
and The
Nichemakers made
the parking lot look more like a big party!
In 2008 Mr. Fairey
earned a new level of mainstream attention. His stylized "Hope"
poster of Barack Obama became one of the most highly visible, though
unofficial, images of the presidential campaign. Mr. Fairey's 2008
show "Duality of Humanity" at the White Walls Gallery
in San Francisco, his third and largest there, sold out before it
opened, with some pieces going for as much as $85,000. (On obeygiant.com,
prints go for $75; studio pieces are normally around $20,000.) Perry
who is diabetic and married with two young daughters is often arrested
for putting up his posters. Because the charge usually amounts to
a misdemeanor, expunged after six months, Mr. Fairey typically pleads
guilty and pays a fine. "He's raising important issues about
consent and who decides what we see in public spaces," said
Jill Medvedow, director of the Institute of Contemporary Art. ''It's
Norman Rockwell crossed with the Dead Kennedys crossed with Communist-era
propaganda,'' says Fairey of his art.
RIP Eruarc
Ernesto “Seco” Uribe Alpizar
1958- 2.23.11
 
Portrait of Seco (1958-2011) Portrait by Donna Granata FOTM Portrait
Series 2004; Seco at an exhibit in Ventura with portraits of musicians
including LA Phil's Maettro Dudamel
Mexican-born Ojai resident artist Seco
died on the 23rd of February, 2011. He was 58.
In spite of his successful initiation as a promising writer and
journalist, Seco found himself as a visual artist. At the age of
33, after five years of studying human anatomy, he had his first
solo exhibit at the Jardin Borda Museum. In
'96 Seco came to the United States creating a large and impressive
body of work based on classical music and the musician.
In '98 he was the guest of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
where he sketched the orchestra with Gustavo Dudamel conducting
during their closed-door rehearsals. Seco´s gesture and brushstroke
capture the movement and the energy of his subject, drawing us close
to his passionate vision of life. "Ernesto was generous...he
did not hesitate to donate his time and talent to benefit local
musicians. His art will live long but he'll be missed," says
Claris Dodge.
He is survived by his sons Jorge, Olmo, Omar and Emilio.
A memorial service is planned for Sunday, May 1, 2011
at 2 p.m. at the Stoneworks Studio
300 Ventura Avenue (back unit). The public is welcome.
RIP Joe Willie
"Pinetop" Perkins
July 7, 1913 - March 21, 2011
One of the last great Mississippi bluesmen, Pinetop enjoyed success
as a solo artist since the 1980s, and is known for holding down
the piano chair in the great Muddy Waters Band for twelve years.
The great irony of Pinetop’s career is that he didn’t
blossom as a headliner until his eighth decade – a phenomenon
that resulted in the release of 15 solo records in 15 years, beginning
in 1992. Aside from his well-deserved GRAMMY® recognition, Pinetop
also received a National Heritage Fellowship in 2000 from the National
Endowment of the Arts. He has been featured in the documentary Piano
Blues, directed by Clint Eastwood for the Martin Scorsese PBS series,
The Blues. Most recently, Pinetop received a Grammy in 2010 for
his work with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith for Best Traditional
Blues CD for Joined at the Hip with Telarc Records.
The Pinetop
Perkins Foundation is a tax exempt non-profit organization.
It's mission is to provide encouragement and support for youth and
young people at the beginning of their musical career; and help
provide care and safety for elderly musicians at the twilight of
their career.
Celebration
of Life Monday, March 28, 2011 - 8:00PM Antone's Blues Club 213
W 5th St Austin, TX 78701
RIP Elizabeth
Taylor
February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011
Taylor defined
Hollywood glamour and became an icon crossing cultural and language
barriers. Warhol's 'Liz #5' is currently owned by hedge-fund manager
Steve Cohen. Sources say he has enlisted Phillips de Pury to auction
off a turquoise Andy Warhol portrait of the screen star for at least
$20 million at its major sale of contemporary art on May 12 in New
York.
And yes, Taylor really did have violet eyes.
A private funeral service for legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor
will be held at Forest Lawn in Glendale
Last
Time I Saw Her In Paris
The Award
for Fearless Self-Expression Goes to Tom Waits
 Watch
Tom accepting 2011 Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame award
and comparing it to the City "...key that fits nothing!"
Congrats Tom for your fearless self-expression.
"At our humble studio in the hills of Sonoma County we're expressing
the gratitude we feel for the opportunity to work with such an iconic
artist. We want to thank Tom Waits for forging a unique path in
music and maybe imparting some of that same courage onto everyone.
Irreverence and a sense of humor is another aspect of Tom's work
that has continued to inspire and remind us of what we are here
to do.... defy the laws of convention and maintain integrity."
--Mark "Mooka" Rennick of Prairie
Sun Recording Studios (Tom
Waits' Discography at PSR)
Happy Holi,
Happy Spring!
What's Bhang? An intoxicating white drink (cannabis or marijuana
mixed with milk, almond, spices and sugar) served by people in north
Hndia on the festival of Holi. We recommend espresso. Your choice!
Watch
the Hindu celebration of color
EXPRESS
YOURSELF!
Until
next month... celebrate, because you are the key!
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At
The Village is producer/engineer Alan Parsons (center) with his
new project, SubClones. Photo: Jessica Shokrian
At
