STEPHEN WESLEY

Stephen Wesley is currently in the process of putting a tour together.  He says, "I'm really looking forward to getting out on the road and playing for all my fans and new friends!"

He's excited for good reason.  The road hasn't always been easy for this talented musician with a rich, melodic voice.

In 1997 Wesley went to prison for a crime he did not commit.  He was 18 years old and hope was hard to find.  But, a prison Chaplain overheard him singing one day and was touched by his voice.  That 'chance' encounter led to the chaplain inviting Stephen to join his choir, which led to much acclaim.

After his first church performance outside of prison, church members lined up for his autograph.  And at that moment, Wesley 'knew' what his destiny was to be.

His music crosses genre's.  Influenced by a life-long love of music and inspired by his family - all musically talented, this singer - this man, who has known what it's like to be down as far as a person can be has built a niche for himself that is sure to continue for many years to come.

His recent song, "COWGIRL" with none other but Slash, is fun and sexy. NEVER ENOUGH is upbeat and filled with wisdom and FEELS GOOD TO ME made me tap my toes and rock with the rhythm.  

I love his voice and his music.  I think you will too.

Scroll down to see his video.  I love it because not only is Stephen Wesley talented, but he doesn't take himself too seriously.  I respect that.

www.Myspace.com/StephenWesley

MELLOW DOWN EASY

Every day, a portion of my time is spent checking out new bands on Myspace and listening to their songs.

MELLOW DOWN EASY isn't a new band to me, but I hadn't checked out their Myspace in a while, so yesterday I stopped by to check in on them.

They describe their music like this: "Mellow Down Easy's songs are a soulful mixture of guitar-driven, classic rock-flavored, Outlaw country-tinged, Blues-inspired music which is all tied together by a unique, highly original sound that is all of their own."   I just call it Southern Rock.  No matter.  Whatever you call it, they're amazing!

I'm posting a video, (scroll down to find it), I 'borrowed' from their Myspace.  Not the greatest quality, but the sound is fine and gives you a taste of what they're all about.

The guys will be playing CAPONE'S in Johnson City, TN on March 27th at 10pm.  (227 E. Main Street; Johnson City, TN).  If you're in the area, you'd be smart to stop in and check'em out.

The band's music has received acclaim by artists as diverse as the legendary Johnny Cash, Ryan Adams, George Jones, members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and rapper Young Buck from the popular hip-hop group, 'G-UNIT' to name a few.

MELLOW DOWN EASY is: Andrew Adkins, (guitar/vocals), Rodney Russell, (drums/percussion), and Daryl Dasher, (bass/vocals).  Notice anything?  hmmmm?  It struck me that each member of the band has the same initial for his first and last name!  I thought, "this band is perfect, numerologically speaking!" 

Never mind my new-age digressions, MELLOW DOWN EASY is the real deal.  They've gotten some pretty cool recognition along the way.  For example, in 2006 Adkins was voted, "Number Three Best Local Songwriter" by THE NASHVILLE SCENE, a Music City publication.  

The team keeps themselves busy.  Dasher tours with country artist Ricky Lynn Gregg  in his spare time and recently has been recording in the studio with former Waylon Jennings producer,  Jerry Bridges.

The really BIG news, however, is the April 2009 release of their new album, COSMISUTRA, on Dualtone Records. 

I have my fingers crossed that MELLOW DOWN EASY will play in the Atlanta area soon!

SEND ME YOUR BAND VIDEO'S

The more you get your video's 'out there' the better the chances for exposure to new people and fans.

Send me your video's.  I'll post them here, and possibly on my Myspace as well.  I'll follow up by Tweeting the video's thru Twitter.

This is especially a great idea if you have a show coming up.  We can leverage the video to advertise the show!

My email is: MooschMusic@gmail.com

*** If the video file is too big to email, send it through this free service:

www.CuteSendIt.com  They are able to send big media files via email! (They're a god-send.)

INDIE VENUE BIBLE

I just got the INDIE VENUE BIBLE from the folks at Indie Contact Newsletter, who have spent countless hours combing the entire USA and Canada for every venue, event and booking agent to be found.  They have listed alongside each venue, which genre's of music they accept to make things much easier on you when booking.

To streamline things  for bands to plan a tour, they have broken the 'Bible' down into 7 volumes: 

• NORTHEAST: NY, NJ, CT, PA, MA, RI, VT, NH, ME, DE
• SOUTHEAST: DC, FL, MD, GA, NC, SC, TN, AL, MS, VA & WV
• NORTH CENTRAL: IL, IN, KY, MI, WI, OH,IA
• SOUTH CENTRAL: TX, LA, OK, CO, AR, KS, MO
• NORTHWEST: WA, AK, WY, MN, NE, ND, SD, ID, OR, MT
• SOUTHWEST: CA, AZ, NV, UT, HI, NM
• CANADA

I ordered the South East directory.  It arrived IMMEDIATELY after placing my order via email in pdf format.  My account is good for one year.  The Bible is updated continually, so I can log on and update my information as often as I wish throughout the year.  This is of major importance to bands.  The southeastern edition has over 300 pages!  This is comprehensive stuff.

There are thousands of bars, coffee shops, restaurants, house concerts, theatres, clubs, halls, bookstores, even churches - any place that offers a venue for bands, listed within the pages.   Colleges and festivals are also covered fully. This is THE resource to have!

Additionally, there are 1000s of quality venues listed in smaller towns that previously have gone ignored.  Not only are major cities covered, but everywhere in between.  

I loved the way each venue listing was color coded with each genre they play.  It's so easy to glide through this guide quickly and find exactly what you're looking for.

If you order a minimum of any two directories, you will also receive their 268 page book of articles by major players in the Indie Music world.  There is a wide range of articles - everything from Booking Agents, Booking Gigs, Contracts to Touring Tips and Promotion.  It is a replete reference tool. 

Whether you are a band, a promoter, agent or P.R. agency, this is THE TOOL to have!

Social Media Tools for Promoting Your Indie Band

A band member contacted me today asking about which sites were best for the local music scene.

While we all have our opinions as to which applications are best or which we find most useful, there are some things to keep in mind.

First, have a blog. I don't care who you have your blog through, just have a blog and write in it regulary. It's fun to read diary entries from the bands - they can write about preparing for or playing a gig, practice schedules, even ask their fans for advice on venues to play or hairstyles!

WordPress is a special fav of mine, but you can find the one that feels most comfortable to you.*(I have had some disappointments with Blogger.com. Without rhyme or reason, my blog went 'black'. When I tried to get help, Blogger - ie: Google - provides little in the way of help - they want you to use message boards, which doesn't guarantee help - I never got any. So I moved my elsewhere.)

Next, have Myspace and Facebook accounts. That's a no-brainer. Make sure you add your blog to the Myspace blog so you get double coverage. Myspace offers you the ability to send out bulletins which your friends can read. You can leave cool comments on your friends pages through Myspace as well. This keeps you in the forefront of your fans mind AND exposes you to tons of potential new fans. Definitely spend an hour or two a week leaving Comments on all the Myspace pages you can!

Youtube. Video, people! Here's the thing to remember about video: keep them SHORT. I mean it. I've seen so many video's of bands that go on for 5 or 10 minutes. People generally have very short attention spans. So make it just a 'clip' from a song. 30 seconds is great. No more than a minute. Funny clips are especially good. I've filmed clips of someone in the band saying something off the wall - might have been a 20 second clip, but it got lots of play because it was both entertaining and consumable, (short).

Post these video's on your Myspace and Facebook (and through Tumblr.)

Twitter and Tumblr. You gotta be on both. Both have value, both keep you in front of your audience. Stay positive, upbeat and don't push too hard to get people out to every show. Relax with it and have fun.

Listen to what others are saying and learn from them.

With money being so tight these days, hear what the fans are wanting from you. Maybe an outdoor show on your uncle's 40 rural acres? No, wait!.that was Woodstock!

If you write newsworthy articles, information for other bands to learn from, post it on Google's Knol and on Wiki's. That's a great way to get exposed.

And lastly - cuz that's a lot to keep up with: www.Squidoo.com. You must create a lens about your band and add many more about gigs, new band members, whatever you can think of - even disputes within the band can be spun into a fun way to get fans involved and talking about you.Once you create your profiles, you can easily come up with a simple plan to work each day. The key is to link these sites together as much as possible and to keep your pages fresh and alive.

LOCH LOMOND

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2009/01/mp3_of_the_day_loch_lomond.php

Kinda cool info on this indie band!

Check out their myspace:
www.myspace.com/LochLomondMusic

ROYAL FAMILY

ROYAL

FAMILY

I keep getting requests to hear more about Royal Family.

I can understand. They're one of Atlanta's premier rock bands.

And, they're fashioning out quite a cool niche for themselves.

Their music is totally original. They never try to sound like anyone else. The thing I love is how their sound has evolved over the years. They continue to be fresh AND relevant. When does that happen?

Frontman, Josh DeRosa was kind enough to give me some deet's as to what's happening RIGHT NOW with Royal Family.

"We've just released our album, "Kick In, Kick Out". They feel this album most expresses who the band is as artists at this point in time.

DeRosa said, "We did a lot of things with this album that we would never have done in the past. Like the whole album was recorded live with minimal overdubs just to try and capture the vibe of the band instead of trying to be perfect."

The bands excitement over this release is apparent. They are proud of their accomplishments. But no where is the excitement over Royal Family more obvious than at a live show, watching the fans! There isn't a soul standing! The fans get nearly as involved as the band in making the show Rock.

KICK IN, KICK OUT, is a departure from Royal Family's last album, "Vintage Romance," which was largely a compilation of songs written when the band was named The Wild Cards.

The new music is soulful and deep. DeRosa's voice has deepened or matured. I'm not sure which, but the sound is true and captivating.

The album is available at: CDBaby and Itunes. You'll want to purchase two - one to keep and one to share. They're that good!

UPCOMING ROYAL FAMILY EVENTS:

Feb 17 : 10pm LIVE on WREK 91.1 fm in Atlanta - GA Tech Radio - they'll also be appearing that night the GA Tech St. Center.

Feb. 26 : 10pm The Masquerade in Atlanta with WE WON'T STOP and NO FUEGO

March 4 : 10 pm Caledonia Lounge in Athens, GA with HOWLIES

March 27 : 10 pm Club Fathom, Chattanooga, TN with THE BOROUGHS

MOOSCH MUSIC ON WWW.INDIELIFERADIO.COM

Before a show in Atlanta, GA!

Okay - the info is this:

I'll be writing articles for the amazing people at Indie Life Radio! They have an online rag and need content.

I love to write and love to help promote bands so...seems like a fit to me!

If you wanna send me a couple images of your band and a few paragraphs about what's happening with your band now...then send to: MooschMusic@gmail.com.

We'll try to do our best to print articles on as many bands as we can! Time, however, is sometimes a cruel master.

I love ya'll babee's!