You're in for a treat, ladies and gentlemen!
Chicks With Guns Magazine's very own staff writer, Mario R. Martin, spills his guts. (He had quite the career before making millions of dollars writing for us). In addition to the interview, he's been hard at work for May's edition of "The Death of Modern Rock."
In a stunningly beautiful fight to the death, Oasis and Echo & the Bunnymen go head to head.
Both articles are included below... enjoy!
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Celebrity publicist, Mario Martin has been around the block and back, but never fails to ask for more. Hyperactive as he is creative, Mario spends his time as a freelance writer, professional press-acquirer, and entrepreneur. An avid music lover, Mario lives/breathes/bleeds music.
Mario got his start in the music biz co-hosting a college radio show that broke emerging Milwaukee bands, and featured national touring acts. His life changed after scoring a backstage interview with Alt-Punks, Zebrahead. From that moment on, Mario took his music biz career to the next level, becoming a music writer for local Milwaukee and national publications. After establishing his writing career, Mario decided to step his game up, landing a job in promotion and publicity at major label, EMI.
While at EMI, Mario worked with the Narada Label Group, scoring national press with ease for big names, and breaking up-and-coming artists on the local and national press circuit. Then, without warning, EMI closed down Narada Records' Milwaukee office and absorbed all operations into the New York offices. Unscathed, Mario headed to sunny Los Angeles, scoring a gig as head publicist for an Indie Rock publicity firm, working with acts like The Appearance, Veruca Salt, and L.A.'s best outdoor concert festival, Topanga Days. After a profile in Celebrity Access, Mario was tapped by GoTV Networks to head their publicity department.
Currently at GoTV, Mario has helped successfully launch ES Musica, the first originally programmed Latin music channel for GoTV, while continuing efforts in the hip hop world with parnerships with Guerilla Union (Rock The Bells, Paid Dues, Cypress Hill's Smoke Out, etc.) and for the first time, sponsoring a showcase at SXSW for rock channel “Altitude.”
CWG: One of your most famous projects (and most successful) was a then little-known imprint of EMI. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
I worked for the Narada Label Group which incorporated Narada Records, Narada Jazz, Narada World, Shakti Records, Back Porch Records, Luaka Bop Records (owned by Talking Head David Byrne) and Real World Records (owned by Peter Gabriel).
Narada was such a niche label (as were the others as well) that I quickly learned about the markets. Radio and publicity were so different, but I was becoming a double threat since I was doing both. Eventually, by myself for an entire label’s roster. Anyway, Narada taught me about different genres of music that I didn’t listen to personally. It gave me a better perspective on the broad senses of music and consumer markets.
It was one of the best experiences I could have ever asked for. In addition, it afforded me the ability to learn the genres, and pull out what I personally liked, or maybe disliked, and use it to benefit the artists I was representing. Granted, I wasn’t also spot on, but I was learning. That was a really great time in my life.
CWG: Is it true that one of the artists signed to Peter Gabriel’s Real World label, thanks to your efforts, out-sold Peter Gabriel on his own tour?
Yup. Peter Gabriel signed Uzbeki singer Sevara Nazarkhan to his Real World label. They toured in the UK with some enthusiasm, but in the US, since I had the set up, product and determination, Sevara was getting full page spreads in each market, while Gabriel was only a side bar. Bad ass!
Check her out - Sevara Nazarkhan
CWG: One night at the Roosevelt Hotel bar on Hollywood Boulevard, you told our editor the story of how you landed a job at EMI. Can you tell our readers that story?
Absolutely. I was working publicity and marketing for an industrial manufacturer. I was at a trade show in Houston, TX for the company, and then 9/11 happened. I returned to Milwaukee and within a month I was permanently laid off due to the drop off rate in industry. I wasn’t the only one. About half the company was let go. Regardless, this lay off provided me the severance and time to pursue music more aggressively.
I became very familiar with all the labels in my area. I thought of Century in Chicago, and so forth. But then I came across Narada Records, right in my backyard in Milwaukee. Soon there after, I came across an ad in the Sunday newspaper that Narada was looking for a publicist. So I responded. I remember thinking it would be great to stay in my hometown and do music, but I was also just trying to find work in a horrible job market, so I didn’t have the highest hopes. But eventually I got a call and an interview. It went really well. The problem was that the music industry was undergoing its own poor market as well. I was told that Virgin/EMI had put a freeze on all new hires, and that I would have to wait. Well, I did.
I remember that after I heard that, I thought I would have to become the front-runner for the position, so I sent a resume weekly with a whole new cover letter. I made this my job since I wasn’t working per se. I wrote and I sent and I stopped into the office. Just to keep my face known. Anyway, eventually, the director of publicity called me and told me that she really liked me, but that I didn’t need to send resumes every week. So I started sending two per week after that point. I thought that since I had someone’s attention, I could make a believer out of them.
My persistence paid off because eventually the freeze came to an end. It lasted about 6 months, but it came to an end. Due to my varied experience, I had not yet gotten another job in that time, and the job market became more and more strained. So 6 months later, I was not only the front runner, but I was also one of the few who held onto a dream or desire to work in corporate music, that I had not taken a temporary job or anything like that. So, that’s the story on how I got to work for one of the largest record companies in the world. While there, my co-worker left, so that meant more work for me. And years later, my director left as well, so I was gaining my job security, until corporate decided to shut the doors. Oh well.
CWG: What kinds of bands did you work with while at EMI?
Grammy winner Ramsey Lewis (piano)
Frank Black of the Pixies
Jane Birkin (namesake for the coveted Birken Bag by Hermes)
Grammy winner Lila Downs
Grammy winners Blind Boys of Alabama
Afro Celt Sound System
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
CWG: The rumors say that you took a quick break from the music biz to hock soda machines for Coca-Cola. Can you tell us about that?
Sure thing - When I started doing sales at Coke, I was somewhat shy, but I picked up the knack really fast. By the end of the time I was there, I was on the very top of my game. I had all the major accounts in Southeastern Wisconsin, and I could be anywhere in the territory at any given time.
I had the rap to go with it too. I learned the mirror technique in college, and I was basically mirroring people all day long for my own benefit. I didn't manipulate anyone, I simply presented myself the way they wanted to see me.
For example, I would be in a business park, and roll up my sleeves and meet engineers while smoking a cigarette. I would be in an urban area and lose my tie and put in earrings. I would go to a doctor's office, put on different shoes (the first thing people look at in sales), and straighten my tie. It was about this time that I would be the cockiest.
I would walk in, dressed to impress, not holding a briefcase or anything else. I'd be nothing but smiles until it was time to talk. I would do the 2 minute run down of what I could offer (rather, what I was willing to offer, since I made commission), dig up a pre-written contract (again, cocky) out of my back pocket, and say that's what I could offer.
More than half of the potential clients would scoff at me and call me cocky. I'd retort that my confidence in my superior product, and the unparalleled service I would personally provide, are far from conceit.
They'd say they were going to go with Pepsi since they offered more. I'd refold my contract, put it back in my back pocket and tell them I completely understand. I'd then hand them a card, write my cell number on the back, and tell them they'd need it.
They'd say things like "you're pretty sure of yourself, etc." Then I'd say "yes, I am sure of myself. How do you think I make most of my business? Sir, I don't need this sale. I made all my numbers for this month, last month! But I urge you to try something else before you stay with me."
CWG: What kinds of esteemed publications have you written for (besides Chicks With Guns)?
Wow. Well, I got my start with Maximum Ink Music Magazine in the Midwest. Rokker, the publisher, really gave me a lot of creative freedom with all my pieces that I can’t even express how invaluable the experience was. I really came into my own through that publication.
Then, I was asked to write for Lumino Magazine out of Chicago. That was great too. I had a lot of freedom there too, and the layout was all web-based, as so many things were going toward, so I liked the new medium.
Then, I wrote for The Onion and later for M Magazine when I was put on the cover. That was trippy. Even later, I branched out to the UK and still contribute to Subba Cultcha. I like the reach of that one since it’s UK-based.
It’s just wild that someone across the pond may be reading my rants.
CWG: Where’s your absolute favorite place in L.A. to see a show?
Well, there are a lot of them, but my absolute favorite place would have to be Avalon. It’s usually not on anyone’s list, but I like it for a few reasons. First, it’s right in Hollywood. I’m not going to the Orpheum or the Forum to see a show. I want my entertainment right in my backyard. Second, the Avalon reminds me a lot of the kidn of venues back in the Midwest (where my heart is). The Riverside or Pabst theaters in Milwaukee, or the Aragon in Chicago have a similar layout. They were built for plays and such, and the architecture is sublime.
I like seeing live music at those kinds of venues because it reminds me that it’s nothing new, and that people have been enthralled with entertainment long before me.
My second choice is the Roxy on Sunset. I absolutely love the sound there.
CWG: What artist are you currently listening to?
I listen to a lot of different music regularly. As of late, I’ve been in my Stereophonics phase. I go through it often. I really just love that band. If you would ask me what I think of Stereophonics, I’d have to say that I think they’re one of the most consistent bands out there, and one of the most talented. When people say U2 is their favorite band, you get it. I think that if you give Stereophonics some time, they’ll be in that echelon. I hope so at least! I also am really digging the Gallows and Enter Shikari. Brit punk and hardcore hasn’t sounded this good since the Sex Pistols. Then I have also been listening to a lot of electronica – Kruder and Dorfmeister, Thievery Corporation, Costa Music, etc. It’s all on my spectrum man; it just depends on what mood!
CWG: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
I moved to Los Angeles after the music industry, that I worked for, closed doors on me. Moving from the confines of home, and a less volatile job market, made it the craziest thing I could have ever done. It paid off though.
If you’re looking for the comical or adventurous things though, I’d say that when I climbed Mount Everest in my early 20s, then hang glided off the highest plateau peak with my guide, I’d say that was the craziest thing. It’s one of those things that you do and can’t really top it easily. And you spend the rest of your life trying to top it. Naw, I didn’t really do that. I don’t do crazy. I quantify and qualify pretty much everything in my life, so it’s all thought out. Some people are spontaneous, I’m a planner. Trust me, the world needs people like me.
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Oasis vs. Echo & The Bunnymen!
“Rescue” – Echo & The Bunnymen – (Crocodiles, Sire 1980)
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I’m conflicted this month. Usually I rant and rave about how people don’t know about the older bands that tend to influence newer bands. Usually it’s of the funk denomination too, so people are even more vexed by my tastes. Alas, I also grew up fancying the alternative genre, before alternative was a genre. Hell, I used to call it “new wave” and I was really fucking into it.
Putting aside the Billy Ocean, Mary Jane Girls or Midnight Star records, I was also really into the likes of Depeche Mode, The Cure and Love and Rockets. And I remember the first time I heard Echo and The Bunnymen.
Now, I got on the Echo scene by 1985 when I heard a cassette a friend had. It was the compilation record called “Songs To Learn And Sing.” The first song from that record was “Rescue” and the guitar work, as well as the somewhat pained, yet somewhat angry vocals by front man Ian McCulloch, was out of this world!
Yes, there were a ton of these kinds of bands around in the early/mid-1980s. Some were good and some just released a single or a record and went away until the retro-heads found the track and started making 80s compilations. Anyway, out of the sea of fluff bands like Flock Of Seagulls or Frankie Goes To Hollywood, emerged Echo.
The quick history is simple: Echo was the name given to the drum machine belonging to the drummer-less band, The Bunnymen, a band of ex-members of other bands in Britain. The band has their roots in the late 1970s Brit-rock scene. The drum machine was ditched after Pete de Freitas joined the band, yet the name stuck. “Crocodiles” was Echo & The Bunnymen’s triumphant debut. The percussive de Freitas left and rejoined the band, and was later the tragic reason the band parted ways when he was killed in a car accident (late 1980s). McCulloch went his way; The Bunnymen went their way; only to reassemble in the late 1990s. There’s the history. Now you know it.
Around this very same time, there was a buzz about another British band who called themselves Oasis. The Mancunians fought and made headlines, yet played and made headlines as well, so the working-class heroes we all of a sudden mega superstars.
It’s easy to confuse it, but all in all, Echo paved the way for Oasis (as did Bauhaus for Nine Inch Nails, and The Replacements for The Strokes, etc.). Oasis is the Echo & The Bunnymen for the 90s generation, despite Echo still being a viable musical entity.
I guess my reason for this month’s column is simple. It doesn’t stray too far from my usual rants because for every artist you hear today, there was another band they got their chops from. Hell, Kurt Cobain often said he ripped everything from The Pixies, and Al Jourgensen would go onto say he took ZZ Top’s sounds. Nevertheless, history lessens on modern music should be taught at all schools. The earlier the better!
What sparked this? Well, Coachella just took place this weekend. I was always an avid Coachella festival-goer, but this year, I sat out. I do recall attending in 2005 though. Nine Inch Nails, New Order, Bauhaus, etc., it was great. I was walking through clouds of stinky ignorance, and I overhear a few kids.
Now, by kids, I would say they are about 13 or 14-years-old. They’re getting adamant about how bad this band is that’s playing and they don’t know who it is. They’re asking each other and none of them know. I overhear it, stop in my tracks, and backtrack a few steps and say, “This is Bauhaus dude!”
The adolescent looks at me, smiles at his friends, and in unison, they all say “They suck!”
I had to process what I was hearing (over “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” mind you), but I managed to say, “Wow, okay. Well, without Bauhaus, there’d be no Nine Inch Nails. You like them [as I point to their recently purchased shirts] don’t you? Where do you think Trent Reznor got his style?!”
They listened, so I’ll give them credit for at least hearing me, but then the de facto leader of stooges says, “They suck. Fuck you, grandpa!”
And they all had a good laugh at my expense, as I walked away to laughter from my own friends, as I shook my head all the way to the non-stinky VIP area.
Yes, ‘fuck you, grandpa’ indeed. If being informed and versed in all aspects of music garners that lack of respect from the youth, then yes, I will take my lumps. But it’s these little geniuses that will say the same shit: “I’m an old school fan of NIN. I’ve been into Nine Inch Nails since ‘I wanna fuck you like an animal’ came out.” It’s these future trailer home owners that will put down the eyeliner wearers who follow The Cure, yet love Kiss. It’s all of this that creates divides between people.
Skip tee ball and flag football people. If your children don’t understand the impact that Manchester and Britain had on middle America, they might never know. Don’t even get me started on the Joy Division/New Order and Revenge/Electronic offshoots they gave birth to.
If reading is fundamental, then listening should be constitutional.
Apr 30, 2008
Reality Check #6 - Mario Madness
Uncommon Music - Willie Nelson - Birthday Article
Written By: Nichole Wagner
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Some critics suggest that if the only song he’d ever written was “Crazy,” he’d still go down in songwriters history. Luckily for our ears, Willie kept pickin’ out tunes and sharing them with the world. His five-decade career has produced many hits and honors.
This year, on April 30, the red-headed stranger will turn 75. His hair may be more grey than red but it still hangs in two braids and his songs stand the test of time.
One of the original outlaws of country music, Willie does things one way: his way. This attitude gets him in trouble with the law every so often and it may be part of the reason he’s been married four times. Anyhow, his pot-smoking, rule-breaking, law-avoiding, environmental-thinking, political-speaking ways make him the kind of person we all wish was our grandfather but would have denied any relation to in junior high.
His personal journey of ups and downs is detailed in the new book, Willie Nelson: An Epic Life. Nothing super groundbreaking if you’ve been listening for any length of time but still not a bad read.
Austin’s favorite troublemaker and Texas’ favored son will also be honored in a star-studded radio broadcast on KGSR 107.1 in Austin (listen online - link to www.kgsr.com.) Anyone who’s anyone (including Joe Ely, Kelly Willis, Ian McLagan, Ray Benson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Patty Griffin and Willie’s daughter, Paula) in Austin will be dropping by to celebrate the birthday boy with a song or two.
In the meantime, go plant yourself next to the record player and listen to Red Headed Stranger, Wanted! The Outlaws, and one other album of your choosing. Meander over to the television set and watch Wag The Dog, Honeysuckle Rose and Songwriter. Then go find a way to spread some peace or put some vegetable oil in your truck. Finally, see if you can’t dig up a carton of Ben & Jerry’s “Willie Nelson’s Country Peach Cobbler Ice Cream” and repeat. As a side note, if you happen to live by a Ben & Jerry’s, they’re giving out free ice cream on April 29, which is today.
Labels:
chicks with guns,
uncommon music,
willie nelson
Artist To Watch - Oppenheimer
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Like the Postal Service? You'll LOVE this band. A duo of Irish persuasion, able to mix tall melodies with a single song, adding a dash of sweet, sweet Electronica.
Bio:
Oppenheimer
Take The Whole Midrange And Boost It
Bar-None (6.3.08)
Roll back nearly two years to a small room in a house in Belfast Northern Ireland. Toying with ideas and pushing all the buttons on their keyboards led duo Rocky O’Reilly and Shaun Robinson, otherwise known as Oppenheimer, to fall into a sound that the BBC called “all poetic and blip-tastic.” After looping, cutting and recording enough tracks, they soon started playing in local clubs. Encouraged, they started sending music to their favorite labels, Bar/None Records being the first. In the six months that it took an intern in the Hoboken office of Bar/None to dig their CD from a pile, the two had continued writing and recording two minute slices of pop, and were making friends at home. They played shows with acts like Ash, Architecture In Helsinki, Tilly & The Wall and The Bravery and were proclaimed to be “immensely watchable pop-peddlers‚” by the Belfast Telegraph.
By the start of 2006 Oppenheimer put the final synthesizer bleeps on their debut album. After completing a session with guest vocalist Tim Wheeler of Ash. A limited edition, hand printed 7” was released in the UK in April, selling out quickly. Bar/None released the album on June 6th, followed by releases in Australia, Japan and Thailand. What followed was hundreds of shows, sixteen weeks of touring in the states and another sixteen in Europe that helped Oppenheimer hone their lush electronic pop sound.
At the same time their tracks began finding their way into television shows like How I Met Your Mother and Ugly Betty and commercial campaigns for Fujifilm and Nike, switching even more people onto this Irish two piece.
Oppenheimer were then invited by They Might Be Giants to tour North America, before returning to Ireland to record again…
And now the dynamic duo are set to release their sophomore long player for Bar/None, brazenly titled Take the Whole Midrange and Boost It. We ask, is it a shot at the shallow pre-fab pop machine, a heady and complicated insight to their own sound engineering techniques or are Rocky and Shaun going macro, rendering a title that we’re supposed to take as a metaphor for Life on Earth?
The new record embraces some pretty esoteric themes: politics? fireworks in New Jersey and Cate Blanchett impersonators to name a few. But they’re certainly not all above the neck. The band’s soaring, visceral approach is pure pop for now people, winning the love of friends, fans and press alike-- Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol proclaiming, “Oppenheimer are like the Irish Flaming Lips or Mates of State. It’s extremely rare for a band from Belfast to have that otherworldly sound. They’re an incredible new band.” Alternative Ulster Magazine voted the band #1 Most Likely To Succeed Amongst Irish Music Professionals and Ireland’s Hot Press has said, "Their warm electro pop make Oppenheimer stand apart in a city dominated by dreary guitar bands.”
And it hasn’t only been the obvious giving the duo their props, "I am stoked and thankful to have been a part of this record," says Matt Caughtran of thrash-punk godheads The Bronx who lent his voice to the appropriately heavy handed “The Never Never,”
The other 11 songs embody Oppenheimer’s trademark epic synth and guitar driven pop, but introduce a more obvious mandate to rock hard. While the album kick off “Major Television Events,” is reminiscent of “Breakfast In NYC” from their 2006 self-titled debut, the step up to a poignant grind is undeniable. Scribe Gordon Matthews even said, "Look Up may be Rocky and Shaun's 'Born to Run.'" The aforementioned “Cate Blanchett” is a vast pop soundscape, “Support Our Truths” harnesses a sweet, memorable melody in classic Oppenheimer form and “Only Goal And Winner” slides from a swirling haze of synths and chorale voices before locking into a beat that takes it to another level of pop ingenuity. And that’s just to describe a few. But why dance about architecture?
In a few short months, (June, to be exact), Oppenheimer’s Take the Whole Midrange and Boost It will be released on Bar/None Records. Hang tight till then.
Singles Club - Jamie Jo. - U Turn Me On
Website
Jamie Jo. - "U Turn Me On"
The name Jamie Jo has a provocative, sexy sound to it – and that sound comes to you on a wave of electro. Sporting a seductive melody and chorus, pulsing beats, and sparkling ripples of synth, Jamie Jo’s debut single, “U Turn Me On,” is pop confection at its tastiest. It also features an instantly recognizable guest star - the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb, who lent his talents and inimitable voice.
Capable of scorching up the dance floor, house party, and iPod alike, Jamie Jo’s upcoming full-length album, In Violet (Oden Media), entails a lip-glossed kiss to lovers of catchy modern electro in the vein of Kylie Minogue and Goldfrapp, with a blistering edge. It’s an album and sound inspired by globetrotting nights spent in the world’s most trendsetting music venues, from Lenny Kravitz’s The Florida Room in Miami to Europe’s Crystal’s to New York City’s Don Hill’s.
“There’s something special about electro, the sound,” Jamie Jo shares. “I think that it really touches your senses. And I want to portray and bring people a sultry, sexy feeling through my music.”
Jamie Jo was fortunate to be surrounded by superb pop tunes from childhood. Literally, in fact. Her parents were friends with a number of prolific musicians, including the Bee Gees and Frank Sinatra.
Jamie Jo explored and immersed herself in many creative fields throughout her youth, traveling at length in the process. At age seventeen she embarked overseas for a rigorous European art tour of the masters. Back home in the States, she was exposed to contemporary American art gurus and figureheads. Jamie Jo recalls how, one day after school, her mother took her to meet and model for Andy Warhol’s famed portrait photographer, Christopher Makos (the resulting photo, a life-sized portrait sectioned into fourths, was part of a magazine assignment).
She went on to study photography at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and majored in Art History at the University of Miami.
She also followed her parents’ example in philanthropic, altruistic endeavors. Jamie Jo received a "Young Leadership Award" from the Prime Minister of Israel for scholarships she raised for Israeli children in need, and served as President of the Young Society for Juvenile Diabetes at the Diabetes Research Institute at University of Miami, while she regularly puts in appearances at Miami-area benefits, charity balls, dinners, and events.
Yet, artistically, it was clear from early on that music was the creative path she was destined and determined to walk. In 1996, she slipped some songs to family friend Barry Gibb and started working with seasoned producer/studio engineer/musician, John Merchant. One of those early tunes was employed as a commercial jingle for major Florida department store chain, Burdines.
Jamie Jo cites American icons Madonna, Elvis Presley, Janet & Michael Jackson, and Prince as early favorites, while UK acts Portishead and Everything But the Girl dominated her teens and, later, influenced her songwriting. So did Miami Beach itself: sanguine moments on the beach, in nightclubs, and with friends, family and romantic partners.
“I like to tell stories, but small stories,” she says. “Each song is about moments. So I usually look at things moment to moment.”
Moments - steamy, intense, and ambrosial – make up In Violet’s crop of 13 songs. And while electro is the dominant genre, it’s a sonically diverse assortment. “One thing I love about In Violet is its songs don’t all sound the same,” Jamie Jo explains. “You stay really interested all the way through. Some are electro-pop and dance-oriented, one has an island-y flavor. A really beautiful combination and a lot of wonderful imagery.”
The title track and album’s name, In Violet, entails a play on the term inviolate, she explains. “Inviolate means without being blemished, something pure. And I think violet is a beautiful color and portrays light and rays of light. There’s something transcendent about it.”
The upbeat “U Turn Me On” is simply about dancing with an amazing partner, while the more poignant “So Close” is about being close yet so far away from a goal or person you desire. On the flipside, “Believe” is about drifting away from someone after enduring a difficult time together. “If you’re a guy listening to it and have to get out of a rough spot with a girl it shows you how to do it,” she laughs.
The sensual, Astrud Gilberto-inspired “Boy You Got Me” is “about lust,” Jamie Jo reveals. “Waking up on the beach next to that special person, looking into their eyes and enjoying them.”
Yet one of the album’s hottest tracks is no doubt a cover of Alannah Myles’ hit, “Black Velvet,” here completely reinvented as an urban, arms in the air booty-shaking anthem guaranteed to cause seismic waves in nightclubs.
In Violet’s team of producers, collaborators and contributors – including Damon Elliot (Destiny's Child), Dillon O'Brian (Bonnie Raitt, Shakira), and Bobby Robinson (Jennifer Lopez, Lindsay Lohan) – helped bring the album a sonic versatility that ultimately makes its tracks a brilliant fit for every situation and setting, from the nightclub to lounge to living room to Jacuzzi.
In Violet’s tracks would certainly shine in a runway show setting (especially the hip, groove-infused “Down Deep”). Apropos, considering Jamie Jo’s love and association with fashion’s movers and shakers. She counts Luca Luca, Cavalli, and numerous London designers amongst her favorites and friends. “Luca Luca is an amazing designer, so demure,” she grins. “And how can you not love Cavalli? Everything he makes is cut for a woman to look gorgeous.”
You can see Jamie Jo working some of the above designers’ garments on her website, www.jamiejo.com, while her own designer aspirations will soon see fruition with a gorgeous, namesake line of candles (some with a “velvet” theme), jewelry, and jeans. In keeping with her altruistic efforts, proceeds from some of these items will go to charities and organizations.
Meanwhile, Jamie Jo wants you to get in violet, and you can wear whatever you like while it’s on. With the ripples of lush, sexy electro it comes with, that could mean nothing - which is certainly fine with her. “I like that!” she laughs. “I like being able to put on a CD in different settings. Something you can go out to and hear in a club or stay home and listen to in the bath.”
Labels:
chicks with guns,
Jamie Jo,
Single's Club,
U Turn Me On
Apr 29, 2008
Dear in the Headlights #13 - Lisa Aybike
CWG: What's the most unusual project you've worked on?
CWG: If you could do one thing to make the world a sexier place, what would it be and why?
CWG: What artist are you currently listening to?
CWG: What was the worst date you ever went on?
CWG: Favorite place to hang out in L.A.?
CWG: What's your guiltiest pleasure?
The Music News
Written By: White Chicks On Rap
Prince Played Coachella
“You are the coolest place on earth right now!” Prince told the crowd on Saturday.
Prince sang some of his greatest hits like “1999”, “Purple Rain” and “Let’s Go Crazy”, but he added Radiohead’s “Creep” and The Beatles’ “Come Together.”
Now don’t think that Prince hogged the stage to himself…Morris Day (of The Time) sang “Jungle Love” and Shelia E sang “The Glamorous Life” (and you thought that Fergie was the only one singing about the glamorous life).
There are rumors that event organizers paid close to $5 million to get Prince (they have been trying to get him since the festival started in 1999). I say fuck the cost…it’s Prince.
M.I.A. Played Coachella
One of the coolest female rappers…M.I.A. played one of the dance tents. Her set included “Boyz”, “Galang” and “Paper Planes.”
Amy Winehouse Arrested Again
I have to wonder what was going on in Amy’s head last week when she head-butted a guy outside a London bar.
Maybe, she missed her incarcerated husband, Blake, and thought she would surprise him by becoming his new cellmate.
Well, whatever she thought got her arrested last week. After being interviewed by the police, she was given a caution (which means she is free to go, but cannot get into any further trouble).
So, look forward to seeing Amy during her trainwreck tour- coming to bar near you.
Labels:
American Princes,
coachella,
White chicks On Rap
Top 10 Rap Albums of the Week
Written by: White chicks On Rap
Rick Ross moves into the number one spot with his second album. Trina is still reppin' the females in the second spot (the only female in the top 10). Snoop Dogg is also moving up. Jay-Z's American Gangster is back in the top ten after 24 weeks on the chart. New to the top 10 is Dark Lotus' The Opaque Brotherhood. The third album from a group comprised of members from the Insane Clown Posse.
| Artist | Song | |
 | Rick Ross | Trilla |
 | Trina | Still Da Baddest |
 | Snoop Dogg | Ego Trippin' |
 | Flo Rida | Mail On Sunday |
 | Shawty Lo | Units In The City |
 | Webbie | The Savage Life 2 |
 | Dark Lotus | The Opaque Brotherhood |
 | Lupe Fiasco | Lupe Fiasco's The Cool |
 | Rocko | Self-Made |
 | Jay-Z | American Gangster |
Midwest Teen Sex Show #15 - Break-Ups
Labels:
break ups,
chicks with guns,
Midwest Teen sex show,
MTSS
Apr 25, 2008
Artist to Watch - Mikal Blue
Myspace
Buy On:
Mikal Blue is a more-focused Duncan Shiek, or a less-sappy Paul McCartney. Unabashedly singer/songwriter, this East Coast rocker throws his all into "Gold."
Mikal Blue's also a humanitarian, taking the time to donate a free song for Earth Day. Go Mikal!!
Biography:
After shaping the sound of many of today’s most compelling indie acts – artists like Five for Fighting, Augustana, Limousine, OneRepublic, The Daylights, Colbie Caillat, Drowning Pool and Gary Jules - producer Mikal Blue finally heeded their constant urging to put his talents to use on his own work. Last year, he took time off to write and record his debut album, Gold. Tackling themes of alienation, love, and redemption, Mikal stepped out of the shadows just long enough to reveal himself as a remarkable singer-songwriter, unafraid to have a little fun along the way.
While growing up in the UK, Blue’s love for the Beatles promptly turned into a full-fledged obsession with music. At seven years of age, he began attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts for 11 years, studying everything from classical composition to prose and Shakespearian acting, and even voice production. “At a very young age, I learned about breathing and how to get the notes out,” Mikal recalls. He also muses that the school’s elocution lessons softened his regional accent as well, drumming the “Newcastle out of him.”
By sixteen, he was already playing North London clubs and his band was the youngest ever to make the final four in the UK’s popular television show Band of the North. “Make no mistake,” he says, “the club circuit wasn’t quite as glamorous as you’d think.” It was certainly an eye-opening experience for an adolescent lad. “We were sharing bills with strippers in clubs on Sunday afternoons,” he laughs.
Fast forward to his move to the States in the early ‘90’s. Immersed in the American music scene, Blue found himself spending his nights with the indie acts that played the Hollywood clubs and was asked to do pre-production work with Orange County punk stars The Offspring. To his surprise, he quickly became a highly-sought after record producer and decided to shelve his own ambitions.
Mikal built a studio, Revolver Recordings, and began a production career. “I became a producer as kind of a by-product while on the road to developing my own career as an artist plus my love of music,” the enigmatic Mikal says. “I found myself working on other people’s recordings, helping them co-write, playing instruments and using my knowledge of engineering. Now I’ve come full circle taking ideas that even go back to when I was a teenager – even a couple of melodies – and pulled it all together into this album. I guess you could say it’s an album I’ve been preparing for my whole life.”
The result is Gold: A tapestry of resonating emotion and vivid musical textures built on atmospheric framing for surging songs imbued with often-subtle, yet lasting power pop hooks. Produced by Five For Fighting’s Curt Schneider and John Trickett, Mikal seized the opportunity step away from the studio boards as he spent six months writing songs and honing material.
The songs on Gold were sketched out on acoustic guitar or piano. “Melody is always the driving force,” Mikal says. “If is doesn’t have a strong melody the song won't get finished and the lyrics are usually what I’ll work on last. I’ll even start recording a song without having all the lyrics as long as that melody is there. And being so into the Beatles was and still is a great way for me to understand pop song arrangements and production; even in working with contemporary artists that’s in the back of my mind.”
People that have heard the record often make comparisons to some of the more notable Brit-pop artists and power pop bands including such luminaries as The Beatles, Crowded House, Split Enz, XTC, Matthew Sweet, Oasis, Keane, and Daniel Powter just to name a few.
Television audiences got a preview of the leadoff track Gold when it made its debut on the new ABC show October Road last year. It is now being heard on Triple A, Non-com, and Hot AC stations across America.
Like Mikal? You may also like: Pete Yorn, Duncan Shiek, Stone Temple Pilots, Paul McCartney
Labels:
Chia Gold,
chicks with guns,
mikal blue,
planetary group
Top 10 Heatseekers of the Week
| Artist | Song | |
 | M83 | Saturdays=Youth |
 | James McMurtry | Just Us Kids |
 | MGMT | Oracular Spectacular |
 | Worth Dying For | Worth Dying For |
| Cut///Copy | In Ghost Colours | |
| Jason Nevins | ThriveMix Presents: Dance Anthems 2 | |
 | Teddy Brent | Fashionable |
 | The Sword | Gods Of The Earth |
 | We The Kings | We The Kings |
 | Five Finger Death Punch | The Way Of The Fist |
Jay-Z To Play Glastonbury
Written By: White Chicks On Rap
One of England’s well known and respected music festivals is creating controversy.
Festival organizers have added Jay-Z to the lineup and some from the music community have come out to complain.
Noel Gallagher of Oasis said that "I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong."
Dizzie Rascal (a UK rapper) said "I don't know if Jay-Z has got that cross over element. Kanye West or Eminem, they've both got that. Jay-Z is a bit of a funny one”, but he added that “It's amazing to me man, as a fan that's just like wow, I never saw that coming and I could never picture Jay-Z at Glastonbury but it's all good."
Emily Eavis (organizer) said that she does not understand Noel’s comments as Glastonbury has hosted other rap acts such as De La Soul, Cypress Hill and The Roots to great success. Emily also addressed the issue raised by critics that Jay-Z was booked only to help poor ticket sales by saying that "Glastonbury has always managed to attract a diversity of acts, which is, I hope, part of its unique appeal."
Ticket sales have spiked because of the news and time will tell if Jay-Z performance is a success.
Labels:
chicks with guns,
Jay-Z,
White chicks On Rap
Uncommon Music - Meet John Prine
Written By: Nichole Wagner
Buy On:
You may not know who John Prine is, but you know his music. Just about everybody and their dog has covered his songs. I mean everyone. Bette Midler, Loretta Lynn, REM, John Denver, Kasey Chambers, Todd Snider, Steve Goodman, Nanci Griffith, Johnny Cash, George Strait, John Mellencamp, Tammy Wynette, Carl Perkins, Carly Simon and oh yeah, Bonnie Raitt. Over the Rhine sings that "if a song could be president / John Prine would run the FBI / All the criminals would laugh and cry".
You may not know who John Prine is, but you know his music. Just about everybody and their dog has covered his songs.
By everyone I mean the likes of Bette Midler, Loretta Lynn, REM, John Denver, Kasey Chambers, Todd Snider, Steve Goodman, Nanci Griffith, Johnny Cash, George Strait, John Mellencamp, Tammy Wynette, Carl Perkins, Carly Simon and oh yeah, Bonnie Raitt.
Over the Rhine sang that "if a song could be president / John Prine would run the FBI / All the criminals would laugh and cry." And they're probably right.
What these fine artists and many others have discovered is one of the greatest songwriters to put a pen to paper. He was a postman, was in the army and somewhere along the way started writing songs. He's not exactly the darling of the Billboard Charts but he's won a roomful of awards and his fans are seriously devoted (the main fan site is called "J.P. Shrine".)
He's got funny songs:
Dear Abby - Dear Abby, Dear Abby / My feet are too long / My hair's falling out and my rights are all wrong.
Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian - Waka waka nuka licka, waka waka nuka licka / would you like a lei? Eh?
Aw Heck - The cannibals can catch me and fry me in a pan / long as I got my woman.
Onomatopoeia - Bang! went the pistol / Crash! went the window / Ouch! went the son of a gun. (Seriously. The man wrote a song about onomatopoeias - how often do you even use that word??)
He's got political songs:
Flag Decal - But your flag decal won't get you / Into Heaven any more / They're already overcrowded / From your dirty little war.
Paradise - Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel / And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land.
Some Humans Ain't Human - Or you're feeling your freedom / And the world's off your back / Some cowboy from Texas / Starts his own war in Iraq.
He's got songs that'll make you smile:
Long Monday - Soul to soul / Heart to heart / And cheek to cheek / Come on baby / Give me a kiss / That'll last all week.
Fish and Whistle - Father forgive us for what we must do / You forgive us / We’ll forgive You / We’ll forgive each other till we both turn blue / Then we’ll whistle and go fishing in heaven.
Big Old Goofy World - She'd sing like an angel / And eat like a bird
And if I wrote a song / She'd know ever single word.
He's got songs that'll make you tear up:
Sam Stone - There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes / Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose / Little pitchers have big ears / Don't stop to count the years / Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Angel From Montgomery - When I was a young girl well, I had me a cowboy / He weren't much to look at, just free rambling man / But that was a long time and no matter how I try / The years just flow by like a broken down dam.
Unwed Fathers - From an teenage lover, to an unwed mother / Kept undercover, like some bad dream / While unwed fathers, they can't be bothered / They run like water, through a mountain stream.
With some 20 albums, including the more recent, Standard Songs for Average Peoplewith Mac Wiseman (2007) and the 2006 Grammy winner, Fair & Square there's lots of material to choose from. And since he's recovered from his brush with cancer nearly seven years ago, it seems he's been either on the road or in the studio. You can catch him this summer with assorted guests including Iris Dement, Sarah Lee Guthrie, Peter Case and a special date with Emmylou Harris at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado.
Labels:
chicks with guns,
john prine,
nichole wagner,
uncommon music
Cherry Ghost - Dear Johnathan Rice
Written by: Cherry Ghost
Dear Johnathan Rice,
It has come to my attention, after bearing witness to last night’s show, that the girls of Los Angeles love you SO HARD!
1. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many women at Spaceland.
2. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much dancing at Spaceland.
3. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many happy people at Spaceland.
The last time I saw you play was at the Ben Gibbard solo show at Royce Hall, UCLA. I loved it so much and have been listening to your album since that time. I must say that I rather enjoy you with a full band. It suits your music. But please tell Spaceland that they can turn it down a notch or two so that we can all actually HEAR the music – without stuffing napkins in our ears.
*Side letter within a letter: Dear Amoeba, Please reissue the little capsules with earplugs you used to hand out with purchase. I lost mine.*
Johnathan, I want to take a moment to tell you that I’m in complete agreement when you say that we should “give coldwater canyon back to the coyotes”. I’ve been thinking this for years. I just couldn’t find the right melody to pair it with. Which brings me to my next question: How is it that you write such eloquent songs about Los Angeles and yet you aren’t even from here?
Thank you so much for your lovely set last night. And for your lovely friends in the audience. (Neil: I would like you to please make me my own guitar. From scratch. For free. On the double.)
Yours truly,
Cherry Ghost
Ps. Johnathan still has next Monday night. It’s free. You’ll like it. It’s fun. Go see the girls swoon!
Labels:
Cherry Ghost,
chicks with guns,
johnathan rice
Apr 24, 2008
White Chicks On Rap - British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music
Label: Rough Trade
Rating: 3 Guns
Buy On:
Do you like rock music? Well, you will like British Sea Power. For those not familiar with British Sea Power, they are similar to Arcade Fire. Don’t mistake British Sea Power as an Arcade Fire knock off. The group’s third album is redefining what a traditional rock album is. The sweeping sounds of guitars, drums, violins and organs infuse each track creating a dramatic landscape.
The track “Lights Out For Darker Skies” expands and contracts in it’s six and half minutes. The line “And we fall like sparks from a muzzle” is repeated several times in this almost epic poem. Speaking about the confusion and abandonment in relationship, the two standout lyrics for me were “When something’s wrong, you know it’s just not right” and “Stop acting like you’re my best friend, when you don’t why and you don’t know how it ends”.
“Atom” makes a very astute observation with the line “I'll be the first to admit this is a bright but haunted age."
The album goes from loud to quiet back to loud, with elements of chanting thrown in. The themes of the songs range from evil, death and the apocalypse. After listening to this album you will love rock music and British Sea Power.