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The Internet-based Jimmy Bruno Guitar Institute (JBGI) announces that it has quadrupled in size, in just the last six months, to over 1350 paying students. Originally designed for 350 students, the JBGI has shattered all enrollment projections since opening in May 2007. "The growth has been phenomenal and gratifying", says Affiliated Artists CEO and JBGI co-founder David Butler. "Now that guitarists know Jimmy Bruno's unique and effective guitar method is available online, it has spread like wildfire."

Jimmy Bruno's New Worldwide Reach
Although never his intent, Jimmy Bruno may now be the most influential jazz guitar teacher in history, with students from 40 countries around the world under his direct supervision. Additionally, the JBGI student-body includes a large number of guitar teachers, who with Mr. Bruno's permission and encouragement are in turn teaching Jimmy's method to their students. Also, guitarists from areas of the world where there is no jazz instruction at all are converging on the JBGI to learn to play jazz correctly from an American jazz master.

Capacity concerns
Rapid communication amongst the close-knit guitar community, as well as open access to Jimmy Bruno has created a very large influx of students to the JBGI. Addressing concerns that the JBGI may be nearing capacity, Mr. Butler said, "It is true that we reduced our advertising while we regrouped, but we are committed to making the JBGI experience very high quality and it will continue to be available to all motivated students until our new technology is maximized."

Innovation To Enable Broad Expansion
Empowered by proprietary video technology from JBGI parent company Affiliated Artists, Mr. Bruno interacts continuously with the JBGI student-body. To keep pace with projected growth, a new generation video management system is in the late stages of development at Affiliated Artists, to be deployed later this month. "The new system automates much of the technical stuff, freeing me to spend more of my time with the students and focus on their progress," said Mr. Bruno. Mr. Butler adds, "The new Student Video Management System will increase JBGI's capacity to over 4000 students, roughly two years of projected growth."

Groundbreaking Approach - Hundreds of "Virtual" Master Classes
A large part of the success of the JBGI is the result of jazz guitar master Jimmy Bruno's "firsthand" interaction with JBGI students. Unlike static online sites, JBGI students receive direct and continuing guidance from Mr. Bruno through video interchanges, which keeps them on track. This interaction is in the form of "Master Classes", an exchange of videos between students and Mr. Bruno. An added bonus is being able to watch him evaluate hundreds of fellow students via video. This combination brings a depth of knowledge unmatched in any other music instruction approach. There are currently over 450 Master Classes posted on the JBGI, with more added each week.

A Continuation of New Lesson Materials
Since the JBGI opened its door 10 months ago, the amount of lesson material has gone from around 70 formal lesson videos to well over 500 videos, including hundreds of "Master Classes", and dozens of educational and entertainment videos. The JBGI recently added an adjunct faculty member, Philadelphia-based blues guitarist Johnny DeFrancesco, who created new JBGI course materials that focus on blues and blues-oriented rock.

The JBGI Sports A New Look
In addition to an under-the-covers technology overhaul, the Jimmy Bruno Guitar Institute has just been given a new look. Designed by Grammy-winning designer Jack Frisch, the new look enhances JBGI's leading edge music instruction mission and signals yet another phase of continued growth for the Institute.

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The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Tunes Into Dittybase

Dittybase Technologies Inc. is proud to report a landmark agreement between its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dittybase Inc. and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (The CBC). Dittybase, a pioneer of digital music licensing, becomes the worldwide distributor for the digital distribution and licensing rights for the vast CBC Music Collection. This unsurpassed collection of recorded Canadian music has been compiled over the last seventy years, and includes every imaginable genre, including Classical, Opera, Folk, World/Ethnic, Jazz, Rock and Electronica, from Canada's brightest Independent artists, orchestras and Canadian icons.

"We are proud to have been chosen as The CBC's strategic partner." said Lance Landiak, V.P. Business Development at Dittybase. "The CBC Music repertoire is certainly amongst the most unique and vast music collections in Canada, and is recognized worldwide for its diversity and quality. There is simply nothing like it in the music scene. CBC Radio directors are an integrated part of Dittybase bringing the CBC Music Collection recordings to the marketplace. This is an extraordinary opportunity for the creative media marketplace to access these recordings online and through our music director services that work in-tandem with the curators of the CBC Music Collection and its affialiated publishers."

Dittybase and CBC Records & CBC Radio Canada, divisions of The CBC, have formed this strategic partnership in order to dramatically increase the exposure and licensing of CBC-owned and affiliated music publishers and labels to a worldwide audience. Dittybase will facilitate the licensing of music on behalf of The CBC, for broadcast, film, video game, internet, wireless/mobile media and interactive media markets worldwide.

The CBC Music Collection is immense, as it has recorded countless sessions, concerts and performances over many decades. This extraordinary collection includes:

The CBC Radio Sessions: a vast and diverse collection of world-renowned Canadian music icons such as The Guess Who, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Oscar Peterson, Glenn Gould, Gordon Lightfoot, and Neil Young just to name a few.

CBC Radio 3, Canada's Indie Network Sessions: The CBC Radio 3 Sessions feature Canada's busiest and best independent artists. All performances are recorded in CBC studios across the country, with artists including Feist, Tegan & Sara, Patrick Watson, Death Cab for Cutie, Rufus Wainright, Ladytron, Joel Plaskett, Sloan, Tokyo Police Club, Bedouin Soundclash and many, many others.

CBC Records Modern Masters Series: containing the prolific compositions of Stravinsky, George & Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Shostakovich, Copland, Ravel, Ives, Rachmaninoff, Britten, Villa-Lobos and others.

CBC Records Classical & Opera Collection: the timeless works of the Masters, such as: Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, Wagner, Offenbach, Debussy, Schumann, Rossini, Dvorak, Gounod, Saint-Saens, John Philip Sousa, Chopin, Gilbert & Sullivan, Scott Joplin and other masters and rarities.

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Self-Taught Pianist Wins Synesthesia's Mandala 2.0 High-Def Drum & Synthesizer

No one guessed that the piano, harp and other sounds came from a drum - but that's what the folks at Synesthesia (http://www.synesthesiacorp.com), the company behind the stealth What's That Sound? online contest, expected. "Synthesizer" was as close as anyone got, and Megan Hardman of Deer Creek, Oklahoma is the lucky winner among those who answered correctly.

A self-taught pianist, Megan now gets to experiment with drums and dozens of other instruments with her new Mandala. She loves any kind of music - classical, rock, country, Christian - and says the Mandala 2.0 "sounds like a lot of fun." The only other thing she's ever won was a 4-foot Snoopy - back when she was just three feet tall. Megan and her mom used to raise Chihuahuas, but she says the business was doomed - they kept more than they sold because the dogs were just too cute to let go. A disability keeps her from work, but she's looking forward to experimenting with her new Mandala.

"We're thrilled to award the Mandala 2.0 to Megan," said Vince De Franco, Synesthesia founder and CEO, and inventor of the Mandala. "Anyone who's got the gumption to teach themselves piano will love what the Mandala lets them do. It's for people interested in music at any level. The Mandala lets creativity run wild, making it easy to experiment with sounds and create music. It looks like a drum and it is a drum - but it's also just about any other instrument you can imagine."

Synesthesia was behind the stealth online contest, presented here http://www.whatsthatsoundcontest.com/ - designed to showcase the Mandala's ability to accurately emulate just about any instrument: a drum, a harp, a guitar, a piano, a marimba... and much more. The contest ran in Q1 of this year.

Among the responses were bongos, a sitar, glasses filled with water, a wine bottle opening, a didgeridoo -- a wind instrument of the Australian aboriginees -- and a bouncing ball in a long tunnel. Several people answered "synthesizer," and all were entered into the contest drawing to win the prize. Representatives of Synesthesia randomly selected one contest winner from all correct responses.

A Rich, Satisfying Way to Experiment with Music

A new kind of synthesizer, the Mandala 2.0 packages a musical range so wide it simultaneously offers players the top of the line, most accurate model of a physical drum (via 3,000 professionally created, proprietary samples of the Black Beauty Snare Drum) - along with a library of sounds derived from more than 100 other instruments.

It plugs into a PC or Mac with just a USB cable, and its easy-to-use software comes with more than 100 presets for out-of-the-box functionality. Players also can create their own configurations as they explore and discover its astonishing audio range.

One pad can accommodate from one to seven different zones of sound - each of which can be configured as a separate instrument, with an array of specialized settings. Players can have a snare, a bass and a cymbal (or a harp, marimba or organ, or any other instrument) - all in the same drum head, all at the same time. One Mandala can act as one drum, as an entire drum kit, or as an eclectic combo.

The Mandala 2.0 retails for $349, and is available online at http://mandaladrum.com. Each Mandala is hand-crafted and thoroughly tested before it is shipped.

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Lily Vasquez Raises $50,000 On Sellaband

Lily Vasquez, singer/songwriter born in Colombia and raised in New York, has become part of a revolution in the music industry by becoming the first Latina to reach the goal imposed by the European consortium sellaband.com of collecting, with assistance from internet fans, $50,000 to produce her own CD.

Pasión de Mujer will be released globally in iTunes, Amazon, sellaband.com/lily starting April 15th and in stores shortly thereafter. "Pasión de Mujer," the title of the CD is also Lily Vasquez's first promotional single in which she debuts as a composer. Included in her album are pop/ballads she has written. Volvamos a Empezar, an R&B type duet with Angel López, who previously sang with "Son By Four", a group that has won several awards for their hit song "A Puro Dolor/ Purest Pain." "Perdida," another of her Lily¹s songs on the album, leans towards Latin rock.Pasión de Mujer blends many rich musical elements by combining rhythms. Yomo Toro, the best and most eminent cuatro player in the world, also lends his talents as well as legendary violinist Alfredo de la Fé.

Lily Vasquez, a professional singer, composer, dancer and actress, began practicing her artistry at the age of 4 years old in her native Colombia as she participated in diverse folkloric and artistic presentations until she migrated to the United States as an adolescent. Born in Barranquilla, Colombia under the sign of Aquarius, Lily Vasquez recognizes that her love for music came from her mother, who was a vocal teacher.

For more information please visit: www.lilyvasquez.com Her musical production shows the effort many independent recording artists go through to so their music can be heard worldwide. The support of companies like Sellaband.com highly recognizes this in the music industry and, without a doubt, saw Lily as a shining star. Sellaband.com is an internet site where musicians who lack the support of big record labels subscribe and give fans or music lovers the opportunity to listen to their songs. If they like them, they may purchase one or more shares for 10 dollars each. Once the artist reaches 50 thousand dollars, Sellaband provides the tools to record a high quality CD with producers and studios the industry demands.

For more information on Lily Vasquez, visit her website
(www.lilyvasquez.com) and MySpace (myspace.com/lilyvasquez)

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The Hills Are In His Heart
A Review of Sweet Tea a CD by Hills Rolling
by Mark Kirby,

Whatever one could say about Hills Rolling, the moniker of one-man band Trey McGriff, you can't accuse him of having shallow roots. On his myspace page he lists as influences about one hundred or so bands and musicians. There are old schoolers (Otis Redding, The Beatles, Pink Floyd), new schoolers ( The Killers, My Morning Jacket), tweeners (Nirvana, Dinosaur, Jr.) electro types (The Cure, Depeche Mode) and eclecticians like him (Beastie Boys, Beck). No doubt this is in part a smart-ass commentary on the "what are your influences" question. It is also a list of people he has most likely listened to and is another way of saying that all the music he has heard, or for that matter, everything he has been through, is recorded by the brain, swished around by time, and reflected in his songs. Loves, hates, sounds, tastes, it's all in your head. Musically and lyrically, this message comes through loud and clear on his CD Sweet Tea.

With all this in his musical blender, he has come up with a record that is like a meal with different foods, different flavors, and quite tasty. Sweet Tea is not an album with a theme or unified sound per say, but the strength of the songs and the individualism of his voice and musical palette steers the record clear of being a hodgepodge of stuff. He is not intellectually and intentionally going from style to style as if he's searching for an identity, or flailing about hoping to catch the listener's ear. The songs are well-crafted and come from his heart, making the music distinctly and honestly Hills Rolling. Not unlike a jazz artist who expresses his individual voice on an album by having a ballad, swing numbers, a blues and a song with a Latin flavor.

"Crazie" opens the record with a catchy bit of vintage hard rock that is the '08 answer to "Rock and Roll Hootchie Coo" by Rick Derringer. The macho stance of that song is replaced by the simple wonder of gettin' down with a beautiful girl that's made him so crazy that "I don't know what to do / I'm gettin' dizzy I'm shakin' in my shoes." The music works well with the song, alternating between hard bar chord guitar licks and trippy tremolo/vibrato-soaked guitar leads. His pop sensibility keeps everything tight, short and sweet like the tea. Hip hop drums open "Not Again", then the song gives way to the kind of acoustic/electric guitar-based rock that never goes out of style. Percussion and a home boy chorus give the song a party feel despite the grimness of the song's slice of life lyrics: "I just live day to day / barely keepin' my head above the water / Not again got all these feelings trapped inside me / Not again can't pay the bills I think I'm sinking your way . . . I'm so lonely / some day / we'll ride the waves into the sun."

This cut deftly combines a pleasant tune with grimness, humor, and hope all rolled into one. "Watching The Waves" is psychedelic rock by way of the Cure, with a beer soaked college kid trippin' on playing some simple guitar chords and having a moment with his friends. The harmonica captures the feeling of timeless, be-here-now grooviness that puts you right there on the beach, as McGriff chants "Standing in the ocean watching the waves roll by, roll by."

One of McGriff's other musical projects is in the mode of experimental electronica and is called Some Where Out Here. The song "Middle of Nowhere" hints in this direction. Starting with an electronic drum pulse and droning bass with a spacey guitar riff ala New Order, this piece is a soundtrack to doing . . . whatever. Weird sounds come in and out of focus as the interlocking licks and drum beat march on. Whereas these elements might seem abstract on another record, here the music maintains a grassroots, funky, down home feeling.

In her October 2007 article in the New Yorker, author Sasha Frere-Jones, the best music writer around I must add, wrote that, unlike rock from the 50's through the 80's, twenty-first century indie rock is totally devoid of the blues and soul, the root-feeding soil of so much great music. This leaves indie rock and its offshoots, in his words, "full of lassitude and monotony." No problem with that here. Hills Rolling McGriff is from Georgia or thereabouts, so the blues, soul and country are in his blood. Perhaps that is what helps blend the musical stew he's cookin' up on Sweet Tea. This CD is further proof that while commercial rock and pop are rotting and twisting in the wind, these are great days for music down here where just us folks are living.

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It's Spring Again In Bourges!

The city of Bourges gears up for another spring music festival in the center of France at the annual Printemps de Bourges! The Printemps de Bourges Festival, going strong in its 32nd year, will be held from the 15th through the 20th of April in the center of France. If you¹re looking for an event where you can see some of the biggest French stars and discover some of the hottest new French talent; look no further; Bourges is the place to be. Just check out some of the French-produced artists and groups performing during the 5-day festival: Rose, Renan Luce, Christophe Willem, Syd Matters, Cocoon, Hushpuppies, Yael Naim, Ibrahim Maalouf, BB Brunes, Camille, Moriarty, Thomas Dutronc, Cali, Yuksek, Birdy Nam Nam, Fancy, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Zombie Zombie, Sebastien Tellier, the Do, Zenzile, Caravan Palace, Asa and Rokia Traore... and that¹s only some of the fantastic talent being showcased at Bourges this spring!

The French Music Export Office will be sending an international delegation of 40 journalists and music industry professionals to Bourges see the artists perform live and meet with professionals from the French music scene who will attend the festival this year; the delegation will include members from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Russia, the UK, the US, Japan and Taiwan. With a dozen stages, as many musical genres and immeasurable talent, the mix of big stars and fantastic new artists at the Bourges is looking to make this spring a bright one! Check out their website at http://www.printemps-bourges.com/en/home/welcome.php for tickets and the concert schedule.

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Peter Bloom Opens For Juliana Sparks CD Launch

Toronto-based singer/songwriter Peter Bloom will be opening the launch of Juliana Sparks long-awaited CD entitled "Juliana" at The Rivoli (334 Queen St. W., Toronto, east of Spadina) on May 7th at 8:00 PM. Performing as an acoustic trio, Peter will perform songs from his just-released full-length debut "Random Thoughts (from a paralyzed mind)".

Peter Bloom has the perfect gift for all those people who let fear prevent them from breaking free and reaching their potential. Drawing emotional strength and wisdom from his own powerful personal life experiences, his album is an insightful, musically and lyrically compelling debut that chronicles his dramatic shift from years of self-doubt (and physical problems with his voice) to his current emergence as a critically acclaimed, award winning artist and performer.

His newly assembled band's first gig in December 2007 at The Cameron House-one of the city's hip musical venues-saw many fans lining up after the show to buy CDs and get autographs. One review described Bloom's live performance as "pure heart and raw energy." Leading up to Random Thoughts' official national March 2008 release, Peter Bloom Band is also set to play Toronto hotspot The Horseshoe, and headline for over 1,000 people at a benefit show for DANI (Developing and Nurturing Individuals), a local organization that raises money to help special needs people become more independent.

What the press is saying:

"For (people) keen to try Canadian pop but put off by all the oddball Montreal indie acts, the answer may come in the shape of Peter Bloom. Earnest as a Toronto winter day is short, Bloom makes sweeping piano pop redolent of late Beatles ballads or Chris Martin at his most thoughtful."
Download.Com - Editor's Review

"Peter Bloom is a singer-songwriter who learned all the right lessons from John, George, Ringo and especially Paul - not to mention Elton John and John (Five For Fighting) Ondrasik. This is simply gorgeous piano/orchestral-based pop, carried to the next level by Bloom's insightful lyrics and full-bodied melodic sensibilities."
Jason Warburg, The Daily Vault

For more information on Peter Bloom, visit his website (www.peterbloomband.com) and MySpace (myspace.com/peterbloommusic)

For press and other inquiries, contact:
Eric de Fontenay
MusicDish LLC
ecfont@musicdish.net

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Mashed Buddha's Zen Conspiracy Merges Electronica & Jazz Improv

Drum n Bass n Keyboardist Mashed Buddha (aka John Corda) announced the release of his latest album "Zen Conspiracy." The album represents a new direction for Mashed Buddha, first introduced in his prior EP release "Four Keys To Zen," offering an intricate blend of drum n bass, ambient electronica and downtempo funk-grooves that allow for jamming keyboard solos. In addition to a richer pallette of sounds and guest vocalist Uri Geller, he incorporates something no one else in this genre uses: jazz improvisation.

Zen Conspiracy is available through CD Baby (http://cdbaby.com/cd/mashedbuddha2) and myTracks (http://www.mytracks.com/mashedbuddha).

Mashed Buddha is the name of the one man band consisting of John Corda, his keyboards, his computer, and occasional human collaborators. A rarity in the world of electronica and it¹s various offshoots, he adds musicality and, the not-so-predictable, human touch to a form dominated by DJs and people who program machines, then let them run through their paces. Mashed Buddha falls under the rubric of jungle and drum 'n' bass, but is so much more than the terms imply.

"I like to think of my music as electronica that doesn't take itself too seriously," he states. "Mostly it's a blend of wild musical ideas that constantly run through my head. I tame them with soothing words." He further soothes them by adding a rock and pop sensibility to the framework of drum 'n' bass. He achieves this by using tried and true techniques of songwriting such as creating verses, choruses and bridges from hooks, voices, keyboard licks, snippets of sound and catchy themes.

Unlike his debut CD, 'Subdue Your Mind', each song uses drum 'n' bass -- frenetic drum beats matched against slower bass lines -- but also elements of funk, downtempo, and even '70s jazz fusion. On his latest CD, 'Zen Conspiracy', in addition to a richer pallette of sounds and guest vocalist Uri Geller, he incorporates something no one else in this genre uses: jazz improvisation.

Mashed Buddha was born out of Corda¹s need to combine his musical tendencies and experiences, maintain his forward-looking creativity, and satisfy his need to communicate with an audience, an audience that approaches music with both mind and body. "Drum 'n' bass gives me artistic freedom while tapping into an audience that wants to listen." In addition, he further explores his musical tendencies and leaves the house of Mashed Buddha, so to speak, by performing live in the Boston area with the acid jazz band Organism.

For more information on Mashed Buddha, visit his website (http://www.mashedbuddha.com) and MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/mashedbuddha) DJs and radio programmers can download broadcast-ready songs from his album at Airplay Direct (http://airplaydirect.com/music/bands/2386/)

For press and other inquiries, contact:
Eric de Fontenay
MusicDish LLC
ecfont@musicdish.net

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eMusic and Hudson Entertainment Sign Online Music Distribution Deal

Hudson Entertainment, a premiere provider of entertainment content, announced today that it is expanding its distribution reach in the online digital music space with the signing of a licensing and distribution agreement with eMusic, the world's largest retailer of independent music and the world's second-largest digital music service after iTunes.

eMusic will sell full-length music tracks from Hudson Entertainment's top independent music labels and artists to its more than 400,000 subscribers. Hudson Entertainment's extensive catalog includes over 10,000 tracks from well known and up-and-coming artists across all music genres including Kirsten Proffit, Gene and Jezebel, Beth Thornley, Omar Torrez, Del Bombers, Cloud Eleven, Alan Smithee, Punsapaya, Alan Reid, The J Band, Paperback Hero, Denny Earnest, Lastonedone, Caution Cat, Conrizzle, and more.

"Signing a deal with one of the largest independent digital music services in the world marks a major moment in Hudson's history," said John Greiner, President of Hudson Entertainment. "We have grown into one of the strongest digital music aggregators in the industry, and now with the addition of eMusic, we are reaching the most enthusiastic customers for independent music."

With the new deal in place, Hudson Entertainment's music division now reaches critical mass and becomes one of the few online labels to offer distribution for both mobile and online distribution channels. As part of its publishing service, Hudson offers a complete package including creation, promotion, marketing and distribution of digital music.

"Hudson caters to a wide audience and is especially strong in the independent music category," said Rob Wetstone, eMusic Vice President of Label Relations. "eMusic surpasses all other retailers in sales of "long tail" music, and we're looking forward to working with Hudson to increase sales across their entire catalogue."

For more information on Hudson Entertainment's music division visit http://www.hudsonent.com/ or http://music.hudsonent.com/about/index.html.

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Sad Songs Say So Much
A Review of Attention to Detail
by Mark Kirby,

There are no accidents. This lesson was reinforced recently when I was procrastinating from my assigned job of reviewing Daryle Stephen Ackerman's new CD Attention To Detail. I was playing an obscure 1974 record called Lady June's Linguistic Leprosy, featuring Brian Eno, fresh from his stint in Roxy Music, and the trippy wizard from Canterbury, England, Kevin Ayers. This record is art rock par excellence that is heavily influenced by the British pub/music hall tradition, whose sing-along style is a cornerstone of the music of Paul McCartney (think of the Beatles' "Honey Pie" and Wings' "Band on the Run") and John Cale (the Velvet Underground). I put Ackerman's songs on the same playlist and didn't notice when they started playing. They blended with Lady June's cuts seamlessly.

Attention to Detail has the vocal and instrumental sound and the grassroots sophistication of the above artists. Ackerman's songs have Ayers' dark singsong quality and his voice has Cale's world-weary gruffness, which gives him a certain gravitas that separates him from the legion of hipster indie rockers that excite a minor subculture with forced awkwardness, whiney emotionalism, and nerdiness-as-style. Don't get me wrong: Napoleon Dynamite is a genuinely cute little movie and the Violent Femmes are cool for just being themselves, unlike the legion which buys its identity and culture right off the department store rack.

Does this writer sound like an old curmudgeon? No doubt, but I like my musicians sincere, with something to say that is worth listening to, and with skills enough to say it. Daryle Stephen Ackerman has written, produced, and performed an album that fits the bill. This is rock 'n' pop for people who are not fresh out of college, who want something they can relate to. This record has a modern sound yet could just as easily have been done at any time in the last thirty years (though perhaps not in America). The songs are about timeless topics like love, the weight of life, and relationships gone south, north and sideways.

"Gave It My All" is a song about true romantic weariness mixed with a desperate hope that cuts close to the bone: "Too many chances were just fleeting romances 'til there's nothing left for me / I can't drive so I just sit and let the cars pass me by / I can't lie but I can't tell the truth to save my own hide ... get up and fight 'cause somewhere out there must be something that's right / get out tonight 'cause there must be someone to take me to the light." Holla if you're a single romantic dude who wants redemption from loneliness and despair. "Hillary Tuck" is pure and open many romanticism, and the most catchy tune on the record. "The Mississippi Flows" is a lush soft rock tune - I mean that in a good way - with fuzzy guitar and acoustic piano playing an off beat lick that shows a sophistication that is, sadly, no longer present in popular music.

This record is an actual album, not just a collection of songs. I mean that in the old school sense of exploring and developing a theme. The subjects of the songs go from love ("Hillary Tuck") to love lost ("Tear My Heart in Two") to an attempt at emotional avoidance (the unmacho "One Night Stand Man") to romantic longing ("Run Away With Me"). The entire album is meant for sitting and listening and has the quality of wintery introspection depicted on the CD cover, which shows Ackerman standing alone in a snow-covered yard.

The final cut sums up the entire record and reminds one of a truism that applies to love and other aspects of life: when one door closes another one opens. "It's Not the End" explores the complexity of a break up but one that occurs later in life: "I want to know how hard you tried / ... because I've been down this road before / many a time / and I have to know what was your state of mind / don't turn your back on your best friend / cause I believe that it's not the end / when I look out / on this life / It seems increasingly hard to believe that you're not my wife / cause I thought it was established that you would be mine / cause I thought we agreed on this for all time / don't turn your back on your best friend / cause I believe that it's not the end." The song is driven by raw and insistent drums - organic-sounding despite being made by a machine - piano, synth bass, and colored by organ. Ackerman's voice has the horse quality of one that has been discussing, then screaming, then finally pleading, a cycle all too familiar to the unlucky in love. A plaintive soprano sax solo - expressing simple guy vulnerability - ties it all together.

Attention to Detail shows a mature songwriter at the height of his powers. It also shows the importance of the internet, because without it, one could never find a guy in British Columbia making music this good, and he, not being a teeny bopper from the Disneyland school of pop, would be hard pressed to be heard.

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Moving My Feet by The Foley McKenna Band
by Mark Kirby,

The Foley McKenna Band's new EP Moving My Feet is chock full of radio friendly rock, tuneful but with just enough power and bombast to keep the ears pricked. The songs are steeped in roots rock and have a pop music flavor by way of Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Pacific Coast Highway. This is the music you'd find yourself loving if you were driving in a convertible jeep on your way to Monterey State Park on a sunny afternoon, instead of looking for a job. Or maybe that's just me. The songs are mellow and melancholy. Lead guitarist and singer Ed McKenna's vocals are a blend of Eddie Vedder and pre hippie Willie Nelson from the sixties (Willie Nelson . . . and Then I Wrote album) back when he sang a blend of country and mainstream pop.

Unlike many singers, McKenna's delivery isn't anxious at all. His voice floats in back of the beat, on top of the chords and guitar licks in a laid back and laconic way. The sound of the songs is made bigger and closer to blues and country roots by the permanent use of an acoustic guitar by Bob Nage. Drummer Phil Seshens plays basic sit-in-the-pocket, back loaded drums. He dutifully opens up when hitting the choruses and gets closer to the vest on the verse parts. The feeling of the music fits the songs in a way that harkens back to soul and blues from back in the day when men would sing of hurt and lay it on the line emotionally; for example "Last night I could have cried but I thought you wouldn't care" from the song "Brick Wall" or "Don't look back 'cause you just might see me cry" from the opening cut "Kimberley." McKenna is old school like soul giants Brooke Benton or Nelson. Those singers would combine raw emotion with masculine pride which is another way of "Keepin' It Real."

The emotions come through in a cool, conversational style on "My Friend." This tune has an easy-going groove of southern rock as played by the Red Hot Chilly Peppers in their "get chicks" power ballad mode (to quote Bevis and Butthead from back in the '90's), with Nage's blue sky guitar chords blended with McKenna's sparse, half rhythm half lead guitar, and fluid, melodic bass work by Mike Joy, who supports the chords and laid back feel of this and the other songs on the CD without getting in the way.

"Kimberley" is a serviceable number about a girl who is away and the man in the song longs for her and sadly counts the days. The song "Brick Wall," however, is much more interesting. It gives voice to those moments in a love relationship us guys try to forget - as soon as we tell our friends over drinks; that is, the moments when our women turn us into an emotional human punching bags for some minor transgression or something we didn't do. But since Captain Subtext is the in the room, casting his spell over the quarreling lovers in the song, then what she says isn't what's meant: "I die every time you say things that you don't mean / Next time just shut your eyes and think would be like to be me." And above all, Mr. Everydude, the voice in the song, must stand there dumbfounded and take it like a man: "You want me to stand like a brick and take it all . . . on / You won't be happy until your brick wall falls apart on you."

The music here, with a big sky guitar chord progression, laid back groove, and blazing guitar leads framing McKenna's drawled singing, turns a country-tinged rock tune into an anthem that has to be huge when played live. All five songs on this record are succinct and to the point, but can clearly be stretched out and jammed on. This EP shows a band with a full command of its sound and style of rock and makes one curious to hear a full scale album.

http://www.TheFMB.net/

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Great Lakes Song Contest Adds Prizes As Deadline Approaches

Thousands of dollar's worth of new prizes have been added as the 2008 Great Lakes Songwriting Contest enters its final month.

Just added, the writers of the eleven winning songs will get a year of Primo MoB membership with Broadjam.com and a year of "Song 3" memberships with Indie-Music.com. These new prizes will allow the winners free web hosting, on-line music selling and video posting, and increased promotional opportunities.

These are in addition to the previously announced prizes. The 2008 Grand Prize is $2,000 cash, plus tuition, room and board at a 3-day weekend songwriting retreat, plus the headliner spot at the contest's annual Winners' Concert in February 2009. The remaining 10 winners get a variety of prizes with a combined value of about $10,000.

Entrants can choose to enter either on-line, thanks to a partnership with SonicBids, or by mail. The contest is open to songwriters of all ages and all musical styles in the eight states and one Canadian province that border the Great Lakes: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and the Province of Ontario, Canada. Winners keep all rights to their songs. Entries must be postmarked on or before Friday, April 25, 2008.

"A lot of great music has come out of our part of the world, from Motown to Prairie Home Companion to Chicago Blues and Broadway," says contest spokesman Bill Frank. "It's produced big names like Bob Dylan, Prince, Madonna, the Barenaked Ladies, and Jars of Clay, just to name a few. But some of the best music is written by the locally known, little-known, and unknown songwriters, and that's what we're looking for."

Past winners have included an organic farmer from rural Michigan, a retired Marine Corps captain from Minneapolis, a Chicago novelist, a former child actress from New York City, and numerous high-school and college students. Winning songs have ranged from hard-rock instrumentals to jazz, country, folk, R&B, Christian, and various hybrids. For the past several years, the top winners have performed at sold-out crowds at the Winners' Concert series at the Trinity House Theatre in Livonia, MI.

Past judges have included Andrea Stolpe, the hit songwriter, author, and instructor for the Berklee College of Music's on-line songwriting program; Freebo, the singer-songwriter and long-time bass player for Bonnie Raitt; Chicago's Rich Warren, host of the syndicated radio show "The Midnight Special;" Nadir, the MTV host, author and prizewinning songwriter; and Toronto's Jodi Krangle, proprietress of "The Muse's Muse" songwriters' website and electronic newsletter. The 2008 judges will be announced when the winners are announced, in October 2008.

Contest entrants are not forced to pick a particular category for their songs. Each song is judged on its own merits, not by how well it conforms to the conventions of a certain genre of music. Rules, entry forms, and information on last year's winners and judges can be found on the contest website, www.GreatLakesSongs.com.

In addition to Broadjam.com and Indie-Music.com, contest sponsors include Songbridge, the song marketing company based in Ontario, Canada, which provides a weekly pitch sheet to its songwriting members and a free e-newsletter with tips and insights on marketing; Elderly Instruments of Lansing (MI), one of America's largest mail order suppliers of vintage and new stringed instruments; Lamb's Retreat for Songwriters of Royal Oak (MI), which holds songwriting weekends in Northern Michigan; and the CD Seller of Minneapolis, an online company that has created a CD selling tool for independent performers.

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Low Of The Low To Bring 'Land Of Lincoln' Back To Life

When the guys in Chicago based band Low of the Low discussed titles for their upcoming summer CD release, tentatively titled "Land of Lincoln", thoughts came to mind that reflected the band's views on the current political state of the country, and the effect it has had on all of the band members.

"We fumbled around a bit with various different titles for this album, but "Land of Lincoln" seemed to keep coming up whenever we talked about it,'" frontman Mark Crowley recalls. "Things are just out of control these days, politically. I mean, with songs like "Reduced to Zero" and "Amount to Anything", highlighting the strangle hold the system has put on people, from rising taxes to the disillusioned war in Iraq, we wanted to name the record something to put a face on the faceless, give a voice to the voiceless and point out all of the corruption and greed in politics these days. So, we started right here at home with the good 'ol "Land of Lincoln." It was the only title that just seemed relevant on a local level for us, being from the 'great' state of Illinois," Crowley laughed.

"We were a little leary about coming up with a name that invoked any reference to government or politics, but we just kind of threw it out there in a joking sort of way, as we all think of the current situation in politics, and it resonated with everyone in the band."

The titles of the other tracks are just as telling. Crowley mentioned "Stone Survivor," "I Think I Like It," and "Twisted and Jaded" as other titles that made the cut.

"We've recorded about 14 tracks," Crowley said. "Maybe eleven or twelve that we pick will go on the record once we are done mixing it."

For their debut recording, Low of the Low --which also includes guitarists Pete Morelli and Paul Jagmanis, bassist Pat Sullivan and drummer Frank Schuck enlisted former major label record producer John Sullivan, who now operates The Flood Zone (Studio) in Chicago, Illinois.

"We learned a lot from Johnny and his experiences in Loudmouth (Hollywood Records). To be honest with you, we also learned how corrupt the music industry is, which that's why we decided to go this release alone. Man, I guess we really are "Twisted and Jaded,"" laughed Crowley.

The band also plans on supporting the release with a fall tour, as well as a press campaign that contains a promo video that plays off of the current political landscape, just in time for the convening of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

For samples of the bands music, along with show dates and other info, visit: http://www.myspace.com/lowofthelow.

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Disc Makers, TAXI & Billboard are Calling All Indie Musicians

Disc Makers, the nation's leading independent CD manufacturer, is kicking off their 13th annual Independent Music World Series (IMWS), the biggest installment yet of the nation's longest running and most successful indie music showcase series. Over 5,000 bands are expected to enter the 2008 IMWS, and Disc Makers has sweetened this year's pot by elevating the total prize package to over $250,000 in cash and prizes.

The IMWS consists of four showcase events in four major U.S cities (2008 cities include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta). Each regional event features six acts selected as finalists by the editors of Billboard Magazine. The six finalists in each showcase compete for the grand prize in front of music industry professionals at some of the hottest live music venues in America, such as the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles and Crash Mansion in New York.

"The Independent Music World Series is all about helping artists make it on their own," commented Tony van Veen, President of Disc Makers. "We're looking for the best original artists in the U.S. Unlike other events that reward just a great voice or a good song, the IMWS is about the whole package: originality, great songwriting, and the artist's on-stage performance. Between the opportunity to network and be noticed by industry insiders and win enough gear to outfit their own home studio, the showcase slots at the IMWS offer independent artists' careers a shot in the arm like no other opportunity today."

The four regional IMWS winners will claim a grand prize package worth over $50,000 that includes world-class gear from leading manufacturers, recording time in select studios, and cash. Furthermore, each act chosen to perform at the four showcases (24 acts total) will receive $1,000 in cash and gear from selected sponsors.

This year's grand prize package features everything independent musicians need for a career boost including a complete CD manufacturing package, post-production sweetening, and promotional posters and T-shirts from Disc Makers, a Digital Studio Workstation from Zoom Audio, studio recording software from Cakewalk, professional Shure microphones, Ibanez guitars and basses, a drum kit from Tama, Electric Guitar and Electric Bass Strings from Dean Markley, Remo drumheads, a Sabian cymbal package, and a year-long membership to TAXI. Additional event partners include Samson Audio, Sonicbids, Billboard, Electronic Musician, Remix and Drum! magazine.

The IMWS is open to all musicians not currently signed to a major record label. All styles and genres of music are welcome. Past winning genres and their winners include: Singer Songwriter (Amber deLaurentis, Chinua Hawk), Hard Rock (Dirty Power), Punk/Pop (Bang Sugar Bang), Pop Rock (Plain Jane Automobile, Rich Creamy Paint), Hip Hop (The Urban Sophisticates, BurnDown All-Stars, Dura Hale), Electronic Pop Rock (Brice Woodall), Jazz (Orbert Davis), Bluegrass Rock (Rose's Pawn Shop), Rock (Shipwreck Union), Salsa (Bio Ritmo), Country/American (Deadman), Jam (Gamble Brothers Band).

Registration is now open for this year's showcase series at www.discmakers.com/imws.

Submissions must be postmarked by May 14th, 2008. For more information, please contact Jessica Darrican at jessicadarrican@maxborgesagency.com or 305-576-1171 X16.

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